Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 157
Christianity Today 157 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad belonged to a noble family of the Pun- jab. His family’s pursuits were mostly concerned with building their fortune and honour, but he distanced himself from worldly pursuits and spent most of his time in the worship of God and religious studies. He was a man almost lost to the world, little known even in the small township of his birth. Then slowly he began to emerge on the religious horizon of India as a stalwart and a champion of the cause of Islam. He became known as a holy man of such fame that he commanded respect not only among Muslims, but also from the followers of other religions. People began to witness in him a man in communion with God, whose prayers were answered, whose deep sincere concern for humanity and the suffering of people was beyond question. Islam, during this period in India, was unfortunately in a most pitiful state. It was targeted by the Christian missionaries, who in accordance with the policies of the British Empire, launched a vitriolic campaign not only against Islamic teachings but also against the Holy Founder sa of Islam. Also, in Hinduism, the major religion of India, extremely ambitious movements were taking form with a two pronged plan: to revive Hindu culture and practice and to eliminate Islam and the Muslims from India, portraying them as aliens having no right to remain rooted on its soil. The most aggressive among these was the A rya Sam a j Move- ment, which was founded by Pandit Sw a m i Dy a nand Sars u t i (1824–1883) in 1875. This perhaps further motivated Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to begin extensive research in comparative religions in defence of Islam.