Life of Ahmad — Page 555
as DR. CLARK DRAGS HIM INTO COURT 555 support not only of the Christian Church but also of a large section of the Hindus and the Muslim priesthood of which Maulaw i Muhammad Husain was a well-known representative. The secret of this hostility to the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement did not lie in any wrong which he did to these people, but was due to the envy which is generally borne against all heavenly Messengers. This was a manifestation of the same envy which had prompted the Scribe and Pharisees to prosecute Jesus as in the court of Pilate. But although the part played by the opponents of the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement was similar to the one played by the enemies of Jesus as , yet the example set by Colonel Douglas was far superior to that set by Pilate. Like Colonel Douglas, Pilate also saw that Jesus as was innocent and that his accusers were merely actuated by envy and religious animosity. But in spite of his belief in the innocence of Jesus as , he could not muster up courage to acquit Jesus as , though he could easily have done so if he had so willed. He, like a coward, handed over Jesus as to his cruel and inhuman enemies, and thus earned for himself everlasting disgrace. But such was not the case with Colonel Douglas. When he saw that Ahmad as