Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 228
228 AHMADIYY AT The dissident group had formed an Association of their own which they called Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaate Islam (Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam), with Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib as its head. To start with they appointed four of their leading members, Maulvi Muham- mad Ali Sahib, Khawaja Kamalud-Din Sahib, Maulvi Ghu- lam Hasan Khan Sahib, and Syed Hamid Shah Sahib, Khali- fatuI Masih; but they soon abandoned this ridiculous attempt at make-believe. Of these four gentlemen the last named made his covenant of Ba'iat at the hands of Khalifatul Masih II within a few weeks. Years"later Maulvi Ghulam Hasan Khan Sahib also swore allegiance to Khalifatul Masih II. Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib was given the title of Amir and in his sermons and addresses began to stress his own concept of his functions and authority as Amir, which was indistinguishable from the concept of the functions and auth- ority ofKhalifa as set forth by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih 1. The real distinction, however, was that Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib, though he insisted upon it, was not accorded that sincere and wholehearted obedience and reverence by the members of the dissident group as the main Ahmadiyya Community most willingly and c~eerfully accorded to the Khalifatul Masih. Hostility towards Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II and fault finding with all that he said and did, derived from suspicion of his motives and ill-will towards him, remained for a long time a cardinal factor in the policies and activities of the group. Their principal organ for giving expression to their policies, doctrines and ambitions was the Paigham Solh; but from time to time they published pamphlets, brochures and booklets on matters of controversy between them a~d the main ,Ahamdiyya Community. For instance, Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib published his own version of the differences that had arisen over the subject ofKhilafat and the election of the Khalifa and called it The Split. Hazrat Khalifa- tul Masih II rejoined with a detailed and well-reasoned account under the title The Truth About the Split, which