The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 421
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama * at - e -A hmadiyya senting these kinds o f proposals in the Shura— though they may not be intended to restrict the Khalifa—might with time encourage people to start placing restrictions upon his activities. And since this proposal relates di rectly to the activities o f the Khalifa, it is admittedly against the accepted norms. The discussion was obvi ously not meant to insult anyone, but if we start discussing the activities o f the Khalifa and this process is allowed to continue, it is quite possible that at one time someone may come up with a proposal that the Khalifa should be requested to reply personally to a certain kind o f letters. The result would be that the same M ajlis-e- Mushawarat, which the Khalifa alone can choose whether to call or not to call, w ill start placing restric tions on him! I do not at all say that this was the intention o f those came up with the proposal, but I agree with what Mr. Zulfiqar ‘A ll Khan Sahib has said, and it is one o f the points I had noted down for my speech. The sincerity o f those who have presented the proposal is beyond ques tion, but if an outsider were to look at this proposal, he would conclude that it is an attempt by a weak power to remind a powerful ruler o f his duties which he appears to have neglected. So the question is: what conclusion peo ple w ill draw from such a proposal? I do not question someone’s sincerity or intention, but anyone who hears o f this proposal w ill think that the Khalifa is being un mindful o f his duties and this is why he is being reminded o f them. Thus it is wrong to say that those who presented the pro posal intended an insult, unless this can be proved from their other actions. As long as they are sincere in every 421