The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 429
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya even take away the rights o f the nominal kings in worldly governments, for even they are not subjected to the re striction which the commission has sought to place on the Khalifa. The commission did realize this, and thought that perhaps it would amount to restricting the Khalifa, this is why it has also written that further deliberations are required regarding the procedure for the election o f M ajlis-e-M u‘tamadIn. T he K hal I fa alone can A ppoint the O ffice -B earers I want to make it clear that only the Khalifa has the right to appoint the office-bearers. In the case o f the Holy Prophef3, there is no evidence that he ever consulted people when making such appointments. Nor do we see his Khulafa consulting people in this matter. Almost eve ryone advised Hadrat ‘Umar1 3 not to remove Hadrat Khalidra, but he still went ahead and appointed Abu ‘Ubaidah1 3 in his place. These are the words o f the commission: “In principle, it does not seem right that the Administra tive Council should consist only o f the Nazirs. Since the Administrative Council—which works under the Khalifa— is the owner and caretaker o f all the property o f the Jama'at, it should represent the Jama'at in the true sense. The Nazirs, who are the employees o f the Jama'at, cannot be considered the representatives o f the Jama* at. We believe that the members o f the Administrative Coun cil should be elected by members o f Majlis-e-Shura. ” These words are an attack on Khilafat, because they im ply that the choice o f the Khalifa does not truly represent the Jama'at. And this assumption implies the following: 1. M ajlis-e-M u‘tamadIn owns and manages all the prop- 429