The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 73
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in jam A‘ at - e -A hmadiyya ter this speech, everyone agreed that the Madrasa should not be closed down. Even Khawaja Sahib, who had pro posed the move, said that this is not what he had meant. Therefore, raising sentiments in support o f one’s argu ment is permissible, but it is dishonest to resort to sentiments alone and to try to alter people’s opinions in this manner. Thus he who knows that his arguments are weak and, therefore, tries to raise people’s sentiments, is dishonest, just as the one who knows that the arguments are wrong but still speaks in their favour under the influ ence o f his emotions. (10) There can be two kinds o f proposals: those which offer greater religious benefit, and those which aim mainly at material benefits. Since w e are a religious Jama'at, we should support proposals which offer greater religious benefits. (11) Let us always bear in mind that our ideas should not only be good, they should also be superior and more ef fective than those o f our opponents. Similarly, our work should be more enduring than that o f our opponents. For instance, if we build a house which is not in the way o f the flood water, it w ill not matter even if it is not a strong house; but if it is in the way o f the flood, it w ill be a mis take not to build the house strong enough. Therefore, our proposals in Majlis-e-Shura should not only be positive, but they should be strong enough to encounter our oppo nents. What is more, our proposals should be better than our own previous proposals. Nations fall into decline when they forget either one o f these two principles. Just as it happened in the case o f the Muslims, a time might come upon us when our opponents are weak; if such a time comes and our efforts are not better than before, we 73