المحراب

المحراب — Page 160

THE SPIRITUAL AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 23RD MARCH 1889 By Mahmuda Amat-us-Sami Wahab March 23, 1889 marked the most important event in the history of the Ahmadiyya Movement۔The importance۔and significance of March 23, 1889 can only be fathomed if we see it in its his- torical back-ground by peeping into the early nineteenth century which was a period of utmost decline for Islam and its followers۔The British Empire had spread far and wide in many parts of the world۔Its tentacles had reached the East, bringing the entire Sub-Continent under British subjugation۔The state of the Muslims was deplorable: they did not practise the precepts of Islam any longer۔Taking advantage of this prevailing weakness of the Muslims, East India Company with the backing of the British government, decided to propagate Chris- tianity in the Sub-Continent in 1813۔A priest, Father Henry Martin, was sent to Agra who translated the Bible into Urdu۔(History of Protestant Missions in India page 89 written by Reverend M۔A۔Shepring London 1875)۔In 1835 the renowned clergyman C۔G۔P۔Fender wrote a book against Islam known as "Mizan-ul-Haq" in Persian which was translated into many languages۔The first mission house in the Punjab was opened at Ludhiana with the consultation of the then Governor General Lord William Benting۔In 1837 the first church was constructed۔A mission and St۔John's Divinity School for training the missionaries were established at Lahore in 1849۔Thus missions started operating through out the Sub-Continent with the Punjab as their centre۔(Punjab and Sind Missions by Robert Clark London 1885, pages 161 to 164, 17, 245 and 294)۔12 In 1860, the British Prime Minis- ter Lord Pamerston and the Minister for India Sir Charleswood expressed the view that every convert to Christianity in the Sub-Continent would serve the cause of strengthening and stabilizing the rule of the British Empire there۔So a whole network of missions was spread all over۔with the result that Muslims belonging to affluent families started accepting Christianity۔Abdullah Aatham and the Priest Amaad-ud-Din were amongst those, who were converted to the Christian faith and proved to be the worst enemies of Islam۔The Christians had designs and intentions of engulfing the Holy City of Makkah also into the Christian faith۔This intention was expressed in one of the lectures of the renowned American priest Henry Beroz۔(Lecture Beroz 1896- 1897 page 42)۔During the same period literature against Islam was published abundantly۔Samuel Noëls wrote "Aina Islam"۔Abdullah Aatham wrote "Al- Maseehiat Wala Islam", E۔M۔Wherry wrote a comprehensive commentary on the Holy Quran and various other books۔G۔M۔Rouse and the priest Amaad-ud-Din wrote numerous books & magazines thus harming Islam at large۔At the same time the Arya Samaj rose and started spitting venom against Islam۔Its founder Pandat Dayanund Sarsoti (1820 to 1883) used abusive language in the 14th Chapter of his book "Sathyartha Parakash" Islam was being attacked from all sides and the state of the Muslims was such that they indulged in all kinds of evils and vices۔As a matter of fact this decline of Islam and its followers was taking place precisely according to the