Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page xi
xiii ACK NOW L EDGE M EN TS My deepest gratitude goes to Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV, the fourth successor of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who had confidence in me and assigned me this research project. His constant guidance throughout was the very much needed beacon which I looked up to and which gave me the strength and resolve to see it through to completion. May Allah grant him a lofty station in Paradise. To Rizwan Mirza for his initial research. To Mrs Shaukia Mir and Tanveer Khokhar and Safir Bhatti for their technical and professional assistance. To the ever-smiling Waleed Ahmad for his extremely useful contributions. To Fareed Ahmad and Fazal Shahid Ahmad especially, who have both burnt the midnight oil on many an occasion in their quest to see the project to fruition, with their technical know-how and helpful suggestions. Fazal has proved conclusively, in my opinion, that there is indeed some life after Wimbledon Football Club ! Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, the fifth and present head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who has encour- aged the re-publication of this book and authorised its translation into Urdu