Life of Ahmad — Page 586
ELEVATION OF RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION as 586 wholesome atmosphere in which free and decent discussion of religious subjects would become possible for all. He did not mean to impose any undue restraint upon anybody. He did not like to strangle religious discussion or stifle missionary activity. He wanted for everybody perfect freedom not only in practicing but also in preaching his religion. But he held that it was necessary in the interest of religion itself, as also in the interst of public peace, that all exchange of ideas should take place in an atmosphere of courtesy and decency. Unwarranted attacks on the religion of others should be stopped. Religious susceptibilities should be respected. Abuse and vilification must in no case be allowed to desecrate the sacred domain of religion. False and malicious propaganda should be condemned. If all this was not possible, he said, he would like, even if it be for a time, to confine the advocates of every religion to explaining the excellences and beauties of their own respective faiths. In this way he tried to eliminate bitterness and to elevate all discussion of religion to a higher plane so that every religion might have an equal and fair opportunity of proving its worth. He added that reason and not coercion should be the supreme and ultimate authority in such matters. The superiority of Islam over other religions lay, he said, in its own excellence, perfection and beauty and not in the adoption of any coercive measures in its support. If this advice had, at that time, been acted upon by the Government, it would have prevented much of the