Ahmadiyyat or Qadianism! Islam or Apostasy? — Page 132
BEYOND THE SHORES OF THE SUB CONTINENT. The 'vanquished who eventually became the victors' did not confine their victory to India alone. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's Movement, initiated in a remote and secluded region of India, travelled beyond the shores of the sub-continent to meet the 'deadly onslaught of Christian missionaries' and it successfully began to rout the 'magical spell of. Christianity which had held many enchanted throughtout the world. '. The success which this Movement began to register, threw the adversaries of Islam off their balance and stirred up considerable apprehension and anxiety which was often voiced publically. The Bishop of the Ondo Benin Diocese, the Reverend Odutola for instance, expressed his concern and admitted that 'the Christian Church was extremely worried about the growing influence of Islam in Africa, particularly in Nigeria where the Ahmadiyya Muslim missionaries were actively enagaged in their holy struggle against the onslaught of Christianity. 4 42. The Reverend Odutola's concern was not an isolated instance since similar fears constantly haunted the Church. Another Nigerian newspaper observed that 'the unprecedented growth of Islam in Africa was giving the Christian Church a serious headache. '43. This growing influence of Islam and its unprecedented growth which caused anxiety and headache to the Church was infact a direct result of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's activity in western. Africa. 44 And, it was the appreciation of this activity which forced the. European educationalist to observe that the battle in Africa was yet far from over and it was not yet decided as to whether the cross or the crescent would rule over Africa. '45. The brunt of defending Islam in eastern and central Africa also fell upon the shoulders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. According to independent observers, the Ahmadi Muslims proved to be more able 42. Daily Times: January 14, 1958 44. The Nigerian Catholic Hereld: August 19, 1955 45. Williamson, S. G: Christ or Muhammed 43. West African Pilot: January 4, 1963 133