Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 110
'Power' and 'Life. ' On discovering this immoral and disgraceful relationship of Smyth-Pigott with one of his unmarried disciples, the Church of England took stern action against him, and he was defrocked and thus utterly humiliated. But Smyth-Pigott persisted in his arrogance and announced: 'I am God. It does not matter what they do. ' After some time, a new 'Bride of the Lamb', Sister Grace, was brought into the Abode of Love under the pretext that she would receive religious instructions. But when Smyth-Pigott wanted to have a sexual relationship with her, the previous 'Bride of the Lamb', Ruth, protested strongly and created an embarrassing scene for him. In retaliation, Ruth was defrocked in public. Soon after, she left the community without her children. After that unpleasant incident, the membership of Smyth- Pigott's church steadily declined. The public got extremely angry and became violent towards the remaining members of his church. Many times rowdy crowds demonstrated outside the gates of the Abode of Love. Once, the mob mistook one male member for Smyth-Pigott and he was brutally beaten up and tortured to death. Smyth-Pigott's notoriety was widely publicized by the press; thus he was put to shame in the eyes of the entire world in the lifetime of the Promised Messiah, Hadhrat Ahmad as. Eventually, his health and prosperity also began to dwindle and ultimately, 'the immortal God ' died in March 1927. His death further reduced the numbers of Agapemonites. By 1929, only thirty women and three men were left, two of them were gardeners. Later, the house was converted into a nursing home for elderly women. The last known member of the sect, Miss Ruth Ranken, died in 1956 at the age of sixty. The building was sold in 1962. Now, in the town where the Abode of Love was situated, hardly anyone even knows who Smyth-Pigott was. Hadhrat Ahmad as was fully appreciative of all the scientific advancements made by the Western nations. He praised their inventions acknowledging them to be helpful in the process of globalization - especially in the fields of transportation and communication. He utilized all modern means to spread his message to the farthest corners of the earth. He remained ever thankful to God for enjoying freedom of religion and expression under the civilized and fair justice system of the British Empire. He was also aware of the political and economical weak condition of the Muslims, but did not believe that their progress lay in merely copying the West. He believed in the power of pra yer and seeking help and guidance from Allah the Exalted and treading the path of righteousness. He remained critical of the Western philosophies that led mankind towards atheism and immorality. Western civilization was superficially attractive, while lacking some of the basic moral principles. He abhorred 'man- worship' prevalent in the Christian West. Use of alcohol, pork consumption, lack of modesty, absence of 'purdah ' (observing the veil) between genders, sexual promiscui ty, depression, suicides and occurrence of crime were the themes that he expounded constantly, presenting ins tead the remed y of righteousness and spiritual reformation to the West. He had great trust in the potential ability of the Western people to recognize the truth. He emphasized that the teachings of Islam should be presented to them in a manner that suited their temperament. Knowledge of their languages and cultures was essential. He was fully convinced that the noble and righteous souls in the West would be attracted to the message of truth, and the glorious Sun of Islam would shine over the West. He took all possible measures to reach out to the West. With the special grace of Allah, he succeeded. He laid down a firm foundation for presenting the beautiful face of Islam, upon which his Khulafa (successors) ha ve now built a world-wide network of Islamic missionary work. Indeed , there is hardly an y country in the West not yet reached by the Ahmadi yya Muslimjama 'a t.