The British Government and Jihad — Page 25
25 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and publicised the claim that killing people of other faiths is not merely permitted but is in fact considered to be worthy of great Divine reward in Islam. This drew the attention of the barbaric people of the Frontier Region (who have no knowledge of their religion) and they came to believe that Islam advocates the killing of non-Muslims. After careful consideration, I have concluded that most of the incidents in the Frontier Region, and the violent hostility that has been created among its people, are due to the priests’ books, which use excessively harsh language and repeatedly draw attention towards the subject of jihad. Ultimately, after the great publicity received by Mizan ul Haqq and its subsequent poisonous effect, our government was forced to issue Act Number XXIII of 1867 in order to check the spread of the militant ideas of the Frontier’s residents. This law was applicable to six tribes in the Frontier Region, and it was hoped that violent incidents would thereby come to an end. Unfortunately, however, the subsequent violent and bitter writings of Reverend ‘Im a d-ud-D i n 15 of Amritsar and some other foul-mouthed priests greatly damaged goodwill and reconciliation within the country. The books of other ministers, which we need not mention in detail, have also sown seeds of hatred within peoples’ hearts, and they have thus proven to be a great obstacle for our noble government’s attempts at 15. Reverend ‘Im a d-ud-D i n, a former Muslim, was one of the many priests who published extensively against Islam during this period. [Translator]