Our God — Page 126
126 As the enemy offensive intensified to dangerous levels, he raised this heavenly flag higher and higher in his hands. There seemed to be some magic in these words: on seeing them, the soldiers of the opposing army began deserting their ranks and instead began to gather around this flag. The opponents harassed these people in every way—punished them socially, snatched their wealth and belongings, split up their families, assaulted them, and even killed some of them. They prevented them from burying their dead in their [Muslim] cemeteries. But such was the effect upon these people that they were readily drawn towards this flag. They were eager to relinquish their apparent freedom in exchange for servi- tude to this helpless, unknown villager. Glory be to God! What a spectacle! The opponents said that this was a gnat bothering them with its buzz. If it did not stop buzzing, they would crush it between their fingers. But today the followers of that ‘buzzing’ are attacking every citadel in the world, and even the enemies admit that if there is any force worth men- tioning in the religious world today, this alone is it. Can this be the work of a human being? No, never. Man’s work is dependent upon resources and circumstances. In this case, all of the resources were with the enemy, and the Promised Messiah as had nothing with him. But despite the enemy’s utmost efforts, the Promised Messiah’s strong message attracts the hearts of the people. At the time of his passing in 1908, he had 400,000 faithful devotees under his banner. Now, seventeen years after his passing, 1 his followers have spread 1. Though this book was originally published in 1927, as the author notes, it was largely written in 1925, which corresponds to the given reference. [Publisher]