Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 32
32 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) brought to the knowledge of all around him the fact that Jesus(as) did not die on the Cross. Everyone was astounded by this claim; the Christians as well as all the oth- er orthodox Muslims, who also believed that Christ was alive in Heaven with God, while Muhammad(sa), their own Prophet, was buried on Earth. In view of this fantastic claim, was it any wonder then that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) was attacked on all sides, by Christians and Muslims alike. Though the other Muslims discredited him totally and considered the Ahmadis to be outside the pale of Islam, the appearance of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) had a great effect on the state of the dormant Muslims. How could a man of such humble means and having no physical power backing him, stand alone and make such incredible claims without any fear of the might of Christianity ? In more ways than one, it gave strength and conviction to the other Muslims to sit up and take notice and to guard their faith. A lot of revival movements began a return to fundamentalism and, since then, there has been a general and marked swing towards religious awareness and conservatism. Some have obviously crossed the line and gone overboard. They see it as their duty to stop the community from sliding into secularism and Westernisation, which they equate with unbelief and immorality, and they have taken on a revolutionary role. Pakistan and Iran are dramatic examples of a universal trend in the world of Islam and religious conservatism is felt to be a new and powerful force in most of the Muslim world. DISA PP OI N T M E N T A N D F E A R OF T H E W E ST All this must have come as a bitter blow to the Christian nations of the West, whose evil plans and machinations had been thwarted yet again. They must have seriously thought that towards the end of the last century they had done their dirty deed and almost had Islam