The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam — Page xxi
xix appreciation and approbation. There was not one person who was not engrossed and enraptured. The style of delivery was most interesting and appealing. What better proof of the lecture's excellence than the fact that even the opponents were full of praise for it. Despite being a Christian newspaper, the Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, considered this speech to be the only one worthy of mention and it was the only one which it commended highly. The speech was written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at. It could not be completed in the two hours allocated for it, so the conference had to be extended for an extra day. The newspaper Punjab Observer filled column after column with applause for it. Paisa Akhbār, Chaudhwin Sadī, Ṣādiq-ul-Akhbār, Mukhbir-i-Dakkan and General-o-Gohari Aşifi of Calcutta etc. all these newspapers were unanimous in their acclaim. Non- Muslims and non-Indians all declared the essay to be the most superior one of the conference. The secretary of the conference, Dhanpat Roy, BA, LLB, Pleader Chief Court, Punjab, wrote in his Report of the Conference of Great Religions': "There was an interval of half an hour following the speech of Pandit Gordhan Dās 6. Here “dh" in the middle is pronounced as “dh” in “dharma”.