Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 33
33 What should be the Principal Object of Religious Conferences Before I proceed to describe the teachings and doctrines which distinguish the Ahmadiyya Movement from other religions, I wish to remark, that whatever may be the object of the conveners of the conference, in my opinion the principal object of such conferences should be to provide opportunities for the people to contrast the merits of different religions in order to be able to decide which of them can be of assistance in achieving the object for which men consider it neces- sary to seek and adopt a religion. Hence, although it may not be necessary, in the papers which are read here, to state and explain every rule and principle inculcated by the religion to which the paper relates, it is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary that a brief but complete outline of the basic principles of each religion should be presented in order to enable the audience to judge whether a particular religion deals with every aspect of a man’s life or is confined only to a few matters of greater or less importance. Another principle which must be insisted upon is that the representatives of each religion should explain the teachings of their respective religions and not pro- ceed to expound their own personal views. If this prin- ciple is not observed, it would be extremely difficult for people to distinguish the true from the false. Ideas and thoughts are not material things which the followers of