The Descent of the Messiah — Page 238
THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH 44 [continued] published in the announcement of May 24, 1897. This announcement contained two prophecies: (1) "You are a people of evil practice, and you lack the moral qualities of integrity and trustworthiness. " (2) "If you continue as you are, the result will not be too laudable, nor will your end be a good one. " It was also pointed out in the announcement that it would have been better for him not to have come to see me, and that it was his sheer mis- fortune that he would return with such a warning from me. He did not like my admonition and spoke ill of me upon his return. In the announcement of June 25, 1897, I also pointed out: Is it not possible that what I have said about the internal workings of the Ottoman Empire may actually be true, and might there not be in the fabric of the Turkish government strands that will snap at the cru- cial moment and disclose their treasonable intent? These were the revelations vouchsafed to me that were made known to hundreds of thousands of people through an- nouncements. Regrettably, thousands of Muslims and Muslim editors of newspapers pounced upon me with frenzied rage. They said of Huseyin Kami that he was the representative of the Divine Caliph, the Sublime Porte, and that he was divine light incarnate on account of his righteousness. They declared that I deserved to be put to death. Let it be known that these prophecies were fulfilled two years after this, and there was an uproar in the whole of India about Huseyin Kami's embezzlement and criminal breach of trust. As an example, let me quote here an excerpt from the newspaper Nayyar-e-Āşifi, Ma- dras, dated October 12, 1899: "Huseyin Kami, with brazen cheek, misappropriat- ed all the money (collected in India for the poor victims of Crete). With great finesse and effort, the concerned committee forced him to repay the whole amount, which was approximately one thousand and six hundred rupees, and it was recovered through a public auction of 238