The British Government and Jihad — Page 26
26 reconciliation. Our government did act commendably in permitting Muslims to respond to these books, although the Muslims also showed some harshness in their replies. These sharp responses did, nevertheless, serve as a striking testimony to the open-minded nature of the government. The disturbances that could have resulted from these derogatory writings were avoided because of the well-intentioned and fair manner adopted by the government. We acknowledge with great regret that Islam’s maulav i s have focused on an improper definition of jihad and have taught the Frontier Region’s tribes to unjustly harm this friendly govern- ment by spilling the blood of its honourable officers. Neverthe- less, we are also disappointed with the ‘ mull a hs ’ of Europe— namely the Christian priests—for they have inflamed the passions of the ignorant masses with their harsh and unjust publications. By bringing up the issue of jihad a thousand times, they have led ignorant Muslims to believe that this is an easy path to Paradise. If these priests were free from ill-will, they should have realised the truth themselves and remained silent after comparing the jihad of the Prophet Moses as and the Prophet Joshua as to the jihad of our Holy Prophet sa. Even if we assume that the maulav i s are largely responsible for instigating the public to jihad , our sense of fairness compels us to point out that the literature of the priests, which offers almost daily insults to Muslims, also plays a part. It is regrettable that some ignorant people sit to one side after carrying out a mischievous act, leaving the British Government to deal with ensuing diffi- culties. In my opinion, an easy way to deal with these problems is to adopt the example of the present Ottoman government.