Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 291
291 Interest is a leech that is sucking away the blood of humanity, especially of the middle and lower classes. Even the richer classes are not entirely secure against its poison, but they derive a false enjoyment from it and are reluctant to relinquish it, like the leopard who is said to have eaten away his own tongue by its persistent licking of a piece of rough stone, foolishly thinking it to be the blood and flesh of another animal. Those who may be ready to forego it are too weak to withstand the pressure and momentum of the current system. The system of credit prevailing in Western coun- tries is destructive of the peace of the world in two ways. On the one hand, it helps the accumulation of wealth in a few hands, and on the other, it facilitates war. I cannot imagine any government entering upon a war of the magnitude of the one which the world wit- nessed only a few years ago unless it relied upon its ability to raise money by means of loans carrying interest. No country would have been prepared to bear the heavy financial burden laid by the war upon each belligerent nation, if the burden of the enormous expen- diture incurred had fallen directly upon the people of each country. This long and devastating war was made possible only by the institution of interest. If huge loans on interest had not been possible many countries would have withdrawn from the conflict long before the war actually terminated, for their treasuries would have become empty and their people would have rebelled in protest against the criminal waste of men and money. But the system of loans made it possible for govern- ments to carry on a ruinous struggle as they were able to