Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 108
108 AHMADIYY AT Ahmad's reply and speedily arranged to get rid of the three specimens whom they had assembled together. The debate was followed by the controversy whether Athim's attitude towards Islam had been affected by the prophecy that Ahmad had made concerning Athim, which terminated in the death of Athim on 27 July 1896. This was followed on 6 March 1897 by the terrible death of Pandit Lekh Ram, in exact accord with the prophecies of Ahmad. Thus, by the middle of 1897, both the Christians and the Hindus were highly incensed against Ahmad. The orthodox Muslims had already pronounced him an apostate from Islam and had declared that his assassination would be a highly meritorious act. In this atmosphere of almost universal hos- tility towards Ahmad, Dr Henry Martyn Clark devised a plan to bring about the humiliation and disgrace of Ahmad which further illustrated his utter lack of moral principles. Human degradation could scarcely have sunk lower. It is true that the device to which he had recourse was applauded by the Aryas as well as some of the Muslim divines who were ready to lend it their approval and support, but this proved of little comfort to Dr Clark when it boomeranged upon him and made him an object of ridicule and contempt. This is what happened. On I August 1897 Dr Clark filed a complaint in the Court of the District Magistrate of Amritsar charging Ahmad with conspiracy to murder him. In support of his charge he produced a youth by the name of Abdul Hamid, who made a statement on oath before the District Magistrate that Ahmad had instructed him to proceed to Amritsar and assassinate Dr Clark. On the basis of Abdul Hamid's statement the District Magistrate issued a warrant for the arrest of Ahmad and sent the warrant for execution to the District Magistrate of Gur- daspur. Soon after, the District Magistrate of Amritsar rea- lized that he had no jurisdiction in the matter and he for- warded Dr Clark's complaint to the District Magistrate of Gurdaspur and requested that the warrant that he had pre- viously sent to the latter officer for execution might be