The Turkish Peace — Page 48
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad 48 will, in a few years, ultimately result in them perusing an age-old policy, whether openly or covertly, of forcing people to accept Christianity, or by way of persecution, compelling them to leave their region. In short, as I see it, many of the conditions of this treaty have resulted in the circumventing of the rights of [certain peoples], therefore, the sooner these matters are rectified the better it will be for the standing and good name of Europe. However, here the question arises that if the Allied powers do not modify these terms what should Muslims do about it? For me, this seems to be the most important question, for as far as I can tell the Allied powers will not soften the terms of the treaty. Various proposals have been forwarded in response to the question of what measures Muslims ought to take if the Allies do not offer better terms in the treaty. Some have suggested migrating [from India], others have called for a general jihad, while others still have called for a policy of non-cooperation [with the British government]. To me, however, none of these steps seem suitable or possible to implement. First, 70 million Muslims cannot just simply leave India, nor does this serve any benefit or purpose. Migration is only necessary when people living in a certain place are prevented from fulfilling the obligations