Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part IV — Page 14
BarĀhĪn-e-a H madiyya — Part Four 14 hypocritical talk to please officials and to make them believe that they are their brothers in faith, my point in citing this discourse, as observed from this conversation, is to simply highlight that one should under- stand the freedom allowed by the British government. For how can the Naww a b Lieutenant-Governor Bah a dur be offended when people of other faiths show concern for their respective religions, when he him- self ardently wishes to spread his beloved faith in India and urges others to do the same whenever he finds an opportunity. In fact, to show sym- pathy with sincerity is a good quality for which hypocritical character needs to be done away with. Urged by this very sincerity, the former Governor of Bombay, Sir Richard Temple, wrote an article regarding the Muslims that was pub- lished in a newspaper of England, the Evening Standard, and subse- quently in Urdu papers as well. He writes: It is a matter of regret that the Muslims do not become Christians and this is because their religion is not characterized by the impossible things into which the Hindu faith is plunged. It is easy to shake the faith of a Hindu or a Buddhist with simple and light-hearted arguments, but the religion of Islam stands up to reason and cannot be refuted with arguments. Christians can readily expose the inconceivable teachings of other reli- gions and thus turn their followers away from their faith, but doing the same to Muhammadans is next to impossible. This kind of sincerity is missing among the Muslim elite, let alone that they would ponder over the matter mentioned above. Humbly, [Mirza] Ghulam Ahmad