Political Solidarity of Islam — Page 13
13 country where he has not the means to become acqua- inted with the true religion; say, for instance, he lives in a mountainous region, far away from all contact with civilization and religion but he leads his life in strict conformity with the laws of nature, and does good to others, abjuring all evil ways and practices and acting unjustly towards nobody, such a one in spite of his atheistic views and beliefs, will go to heaven. If the agitation that is now being carried on against our Community with such vigour and virulence had possessed some weight and _substance, it should have been based on honesty, which evidently it is not. Only day before yesterday I saw a statement in the papers by Sir Mirza, Zafar Ali in which he says that the Ahmadis are not Muslims, that the Government is wrong in considering them to be a part of the Muslim Community and that if the Government wishes to regain the confidence of the Muslims it should look upon the Ahmadiyya Community as a minority separate and distinct from the other Muslims. It is surprising to note that the same Sir Mirza Zafar Ali, barely a year ago, at the time of the election to the Punjab Council wrote to me two letters in which he confessed that he was not hostile to our Community and that like other sects of Islam he looked upon the Ahmadis as a part of the Muslim Community. These letters are safe with us and they could be published if Sir Zafar Ali were to deny their authorship. Now when Sir Zafar Ali stood as a candidate to the Punjab Council and required our support he considered us Muslims and requested that though on some doctrinal points he differed with us he should not be -·refused Ahmadiyya support on account of that difference. He went so far as to write about one of the rival candidates that he was a sinful transgressor and an evil-doer whereas he himself was a strict observer of the Islamic prayers and on that account alone deserved our support. If we are really Kafirs, is it consistent with reason for a person holding the honour of Knight- hood and having been a High Court Judge to say of himself that he is a strict observer of the Islamic prayers and therefore deserved our support? In his letters Sir Zafar Ali admitted that he treated the Ahmadi$