Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 66
Khilafat Centenary fir st ear. The Community made a splendid response to his appeal and in addition to all other contributions provided Rs 107,000 for Tahrik-e- J adeed which w as nearly four times the amount for which he had appealed. His nineteen demands, which were subsequently raised to twenty-four, were aimed mainly at rousing the spirit of sacrifice in the Community, stimulating their moral and spiritual qualities and broadening the base of the Movement by carrying its message far and wide. The most striking activity of the Tahrik was the network of foreign missions that was progressively spread into many countries of the world, so that there is scarcely a region in which missions have not been established by now, or at least into which the literature of the Movement has not penetrated. Some idea of the progress made so far in the achieve- ment - of the purposes of the Tahrik may be formed from the fact that the budget of the Tahrik has risen from the original Rs 27,500 to a million and a half rupees today [1978]. As time has passed the Tahrik has added to its original objectives diverse types of beneficent projects; schools, dispensaries and hospitals have been opened in widely separated regions of the earth. Mosques have been built in all the continents. For all these projects finance has had to be provided through special funds running into thousands, and on occasions into hundreds of thousands, of pounds sterling. There are flourishing branches of the Movement in more than forty countries, while individual members and small groups are scattered all round the globe. He laboured constantly to build up the organization of the Community so as to fashion it as an effective instrument for the achievement of the purposes of the Movement. For instance, in 1922 he established the Advisory Consultative Council of the Movement [Majlis Shura] which is normally convened once a year to submit its advice to the Khalifa of the time on such matters as might be committed to it for advice. It is composed of elected representatives of every branch of the Movement in the country. Practical considerations have imposed the limitation of representation in the Council to branches of the Movement in the country, but it is visualized that on the needed facilities becoming available representation would be extended to branches of the Movement outside the country also. The Council also discusses the Annual Budget of the Movement and submits its recommendations on it. Every section of the Community is organized in an Association for the purpose of proper training in the exercise of moral and spiritual values and marching forward towards the achievement of the purposes of the Movement. The Majlis Ansarullah (Association of the Helpers of God) , is composed of all male members of the Movement over the age of 40 years. The Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya (Association of the Servants of Ahmadiyyat), is composed of all male members of the Movement between the ages of 15 and 40 years. Atfalul Ahmadiyya (Children of Ahmadiyyat) is composed of male children between the ages of 7 and 15 years. Lajnah Imai Allah (Association of the Handmaidens of God) includes all female members of the Movement above the age of 15 years. Nasiratul Ahmadiyya (Female Helpers of God) comprises all female children between the ages of 7 and 15 years. Each of these associations has its own office bearers and is constantly active in promoting the moral and spiritual values inculcated by Islam. One feature of the training of all sections of the Community, which is thus bound together in affectionate ties of brotherhood and sisterhood, is that all members under the auspices of their particular association carry out without discrimination programmes of manual labour, designed to uphold the dignity of labour. The female sections also carry out programmes designed to stimulate their artistic faculties and to train them in the various branches of domestic science and household duties. From the very beginning of his Khilafat, Khalifatul Masih n ra was very keen on promoting literacy and education in all sections of the Community. He paid special attention to the education of women. As the result of his directions and the methods that he adopted for the achievement of his purpose in this regard, the average standard of education among the men and women of the Movement is today considerably higher than that prevailing among the sister communities in each region. This is true not only in respect of the branches of the Community in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India but also in the case of the branches of the community in other backward