The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 65
the S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya the participants were o f the view that the decisions o f the Conference should be considered as final, and M ajlis-i- Muftamadln should abide by them. I believe this point was raised by delegates from Simla and this view was supported by many others. The conveners o f the Confer ence, however, got apprehensive and proposed in their speeches that Sadr Anjuman should have the final say on all matters. Hence the budget, which was supposed to have been presented for approval, was presented only for discussion. The result o f the Conference—which con sisted o f representatives o f the whole Jama'at— should have been that the Conference should be able to oversee the work o f a few individuals, but since the conveners had inimical intentions, they did not give the Conference its due importance. They intended to weaken Khilafat by gaining the support o f the Jama'at, after which they would decide about the Khilafat; but since the Confer ence went against them, they dissolved the Conference. The Objectives of the Conference: But the objectives o f this particular Conference are not the same, for the past Conference was convened by those who were op posed to Khilafat, and this Majlis-e-Shura has been called by the Khalifa himself. It has different objectives, and they are as follows: (1) The H oly Prophetsa would, as a rule, consult his Companions on all important matters. There were no trains in those days and no means o f travel as there are today, the Holy Prophetsa would, therefore, assemble the people o f Medina for consultation. This practice contin ued during the time o f the Khulafa. But since there are far better transportation facilities available now and peo ple can easily come together, and I cannot say how much 65