The British Government and Jihad — Page 40
40 This means that there should be no compulsion in matters of religion. Can we conclude that such a book teaches warfare? What complaint can we lodge against the maulav i s when the Christian clerics have also failed to adopt the path of truth, which would have been beneficial in promoting the policies of the government. Because of these concerns, I have twice before requested His Excellency the Viceroy to suspend debates in which one party criticises the religion of another. However, up to this point no attention has been given to these suggestions. For the third time, I humbly request His Excellency to ban this practice of attacking the faiths of others for a period of at least five years. These practices are leading to chaos in the country, so much so that friendly meetings of different groups have ceased to occur. At times, one group with little real knowledge raises a baseless allegation and offends the others. Sometimes this leads to a riot. Criticism of the Islamic concept of jihad is an example of this phenomenon. Such criticism refreshes sensitive memo- ries and results in disorder. I believe that the poisonous growth of envy and spite, which is secretly flourishing, will quickly disappear if our wise government passes a law that: [a] prohibits all parties, including the clerics of the Church, from indulging in negative attacks on other religions for a period of five years, [b] asks all parties to live together with love and civility, and [c] encourages all groups to focus on the positive features of their own religions. Such action on the part of the government will be appreci- ated, will have a beneficial impact on the people of the Fron- tier Region and will also promote peace and friendship. It seems that God in Heaven wishes that wars and conflicts be