The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 231
the S ystem of M ushawarat d m J ama 4 at - e -A hmadiyya rh On one occasion Hadrat Khallfatul Masih III chose not to follow this tradition and appointed the sub committees straightaway without delivering the opening address. But he did make a speech at the end in which he spoke about three kinds o f consultations. He said: “I did not deliver the opening address because I have a feeling that it has become a tradition which is not really necessary. Hence I chose not to follow this procedure. When the delegates bring forward their suggestions, I may have something to say about them. ” [Report Majlis-e-Shura 1973> p. 14] PUNCTUALITY Mushawarat is conducted according to a previously drawn out programme in which the time o f each session is indicated. The delegates are expected to be present in the Shura hall before the scheduled time. Hadrat Musleh-e-Mau‘udra was very particular about this. On one occasion he remarked: “It is as a result o f long years o f servitude and the bad habits o f our country, that the Shura is about to begin but the chairs o f many Nazirs are empty, and so are those o f a number o f delegates. Hard-working nations, whose objective is to dominate the world, behave very differently from other nations. They understand their responsibilities and value their time. But we seem to think that the time that has been fixed does not need to be adhered to. . . . It has become our second nature to be late, that is why we assume that we do not necessarily have to be present 231