Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 21
~ 21 ~ save the Muslims from social and economical subjugation. ' 5 'This is now the obligation of each Muslim, the ordinary person as well as the leaders. You will find that despite having independence, the Muslim countries that are known as independent are subject to social and economic subjugation. They are at the mercy of the Western countries and are inclined towards imitating them. Rather than work themselves, they mostly rely on them. It is for this reason that time and time again, they play with the sentiments of Muslims. He also initiated the tradition of holding conventions on the blessed life of the Holy Prophet sa. These are the ways of showing disapproval, rather than sabotage and disorder. While addressing the Muslims he predominantly spoke to the Ahmad i s about these points. Some wrong traditions of these countries are imperceptibly creeping into some of our families. I say to Ahmad i s that you too were addressed therein. Do adopt what is good in their culture, but we should avoid what is wrong. Our reaction should be this, rather than damage and destruction. Our attention should be drawn towards self-reflection, to analyse what our deeds are, how much fear of God do we have, how much attention do we pay 5 Anw a rul ‐ ‘Ul u m , vol. 9, pp. 555 ‐ 556