Refutation of the Allegation of Insult to Jesus Christ — Page 3
3 “This is eternal life that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. ” 4 The Indian subcontinent was virtually a fighting arena in which the religions of the world were wrestling with each other; especially Hinduism, Christianity and Islam were engaged in this struggle with great enthusiasm on a grand scale. At this point in time the scholars of various religions, other than those of Islam, were trying their utmost to defeat their opponents by all means, fair and foul. Thus they sometimes engaged in a disagreeable way by vilifying the founders of other religions. In doing so, they went to the extreme. By reviling the religious founders of other faiths, they thought that the more they hurt the feelings of their opponents, the better their own religion might look. At that time, the British ruled over India and obviously Christianity had the upper hand. The Christians had the most favourable circumstances for preaching, while Muslims were at a great disadvantage. For Muslims it is obligatory to respect all prophets of God and the spiritual guides in accordance with the teaching of their holy book, the Qur’an. It is part of 4 Barrows Lectures 1896-97, ‘Christianity, The World Wide Religion’, by John Henry Barrows, p. 42.