Snake in the Grass

by Dr. Syed Rashid Ali

PART II

Mirza boasts that he and his party are protégés of the British

*"The majority of people who have joined my Jamaat are those who are either holding eminent posts with the British Government, or the goodly Lords of this country, their servants and friends or businessmen, lawyers or English speaking newly educated or such famous scholars, respectable people and noblemen who have either served the British Government in the past or are serving it at present or are their relations or friends who are under the influence of their elders; or they are the humble caretakers of some religious shrines. In short, this is such a party which is the protege of the British Government from whom it has earned good name and who is worthy of the Government's favors. Or it consists of people who are related to me or are among my servants." (Poster dated Feb. 24, 1897; Tabligh-e-Risalat, Vol. 7, P. 18, recorded by Qasim Ali Qadiani; Roohani Khazain vol.13 p.348-349)

*"I know that God, the Exalted One, as a token of His special favor, has made the British Government protector of me and my Jamaat. The peace we enjoy here under the British Government, this peace can neither be found in Makkah al Mukaramma nor in Medina al Munaawara nor in the capital of Sultan of Turkey, Istambul. You want me to become the enemy of my own comfort?" (Tiryaq-ul-Quloob, Roohani Khazain, Vol. 15, P. 156)

* "In fact, we owe a heavy debt of gratitude to this (British) Government. If we stop, even Mecca or Constantinople would not give us refuge. How can, then, we cherish in our hearts any idea against it!" (Malfoozat-e-Ahmadiyya, Vol. 1, P. 146)

Ahmadiyya serves the cause of the British - Further clarification by high placed Ahmadis:

*"Verily, the British government is our shield. We move forward and on and on under the protection of this shield. If this shield is removed, we would be torn and pierced by a volley of poisoned arrows from all direction. Our interests are linked with this Government to such an extent that its ruin will be our ruin and its progress our progress. Wherever the British empire spreads, we find a field for our mission." (Al-Fadl Qadian, October 19, 1915; by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad)

*"The Muslim Ulama accuse us of cooperation with the England and taunt us at our happiness at their victories. We ask: Why shouldn't we be happy? Why shouldn't we rejoice? Our Imam (Mirza) has said: 'I am the Mahdi and the British Government is my sword.' We rejoice at this victory, and we wish to see the glare and lightening of this sword in Iraq, in Syria, and everywhere. He has said: 'Verily, Allah had sent down angels to lend support and help to this Government'." (Al-Fadl Qadian, No. 22, 12 July, 1918, by Mohammad Amin Qadiani)

Mirza sacrifices his soul for the British

To serve his British Lord, Mirza claims to be a prophet and abrogates self-defensive Jihad of the British against the Muslims, he makes his followers fight at the side of the British against Muslims, he spies for the British, he launches an attack on Jesus (as) to please his British Lord. He even literally says that he is sacrificing his soul for his British Lord:

* "We suffer all tribulations for the sake of our beneficent Government, we shall bear these in the future also as it is a duty of ours to thank it for its beneficence and kindness towards us, which after the downfall of Sikhs, God's favor through the hands of this Government had destined for us; and it it would be great meanness if any one of us forget these bounties for a moment which Muslims (meaning Mirza and his family) have recieved through this Government. Undoubtedly, we will sacrifice our soul and our property for the well being of British Government. We continually pray for its glory in absentia." (Roohani Khazain, Vol. 10, P. 81)

Even Mirza's own followers criticise his loyalty to the British:

*"Mirza's over enthusiasm which smacked of servility and flattery towards the British Government lead even his followers to criticize his action as below the dignity of a claimant to Prophethood." (Al-Fadl Qadian, July 7, 1932; by Mirza Mahmood Ahmad Qadiani)

And why does he sell his soul? For Money and Fame:

*"I was an unknown person, who was lying unnoted in the deserted village like Qadian. Then God according to his prophecy attracted a world towards me and through such continuous openings helped me financially that I cannot express my gratitude. Considering my situation I did not even expect to obtain ten rupees per month but God who raises the poor from dust and who puts the concieted ones into dust, he held my hand, so that I can definitely say that until now more than three hundred thousand rupees have come. [today's equivalent of millions of dollars]." (Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, Roohani Khazain, Vol. 22, p. 220-221 dated 1907)

*"And later on when he (Mirza Ghulam) visited this town in 1904 C.E., as the Messiah, it was WITH NO SMALL AMOUNT OF PRIDE that he recalled his early life there. Addressing a public meeting, he said: "I am the self-same man who lived here in your city a number of years. But how many of you knew me?" (Maulana Muhammad Yakub Khan, in "Quest after God", where he quotes Mirza - whole paragraph quoted in The Debt Forgottten, K.S. Mian Rahim Bakhsh M.A., p 13-14, publication of Lahore Anjuman)

Mirza's Loyalty to the British Government:

To leave no doubt about his loyaty to the British, Mirza wrote the following text, published in Exoneration pp. 5-7 (Lahore Anjuman publication, part of Kitab-al-Bariyya). This book is published in 1898, where Mirza looks back at - in his own words - seventeen years of publishing pamphlets and teachings in support of the British. To make his point, he even published a list of the works he published in support of the British and to abrogate Jihad against them, in the 17 years that preceeded Kitab al-Bariyya:

* "Now, after the death of my father and brother, although I was a recluse, yet I have been using my pen for seventeen years in favour and support of the British governmnet. During these seventeen years, in all the books that I have written I have encouraged people to be obedient and sympathetic to the British government and have set out very effective disourses about the prohibition of jihad. Then, considering it expedient, I wrote books in Arabic and Persian in order to spread this teaching of the prohibition of jihad to other countries, thousands of rupees being spent on their printing and publication. All those books were published in Arabia, the lands of Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Bagdhad and Afghanistan. I believe some day these will show their effect. Is such considerable activity, and for such a long time, possible for a man who intends treachery at heart? I ask again: whatever I have done for full seventeen years with total fevour and constancy to help the British government, to ensure peace and to dispel thoughts of jihad does this work and outstanding service spread over such a long time, have a parallel among the other Muslims who are my opponents? If this publication was not the result of a true desire for the well-being of the British government, what reward was I expecting by publishing such books in Muslim countries such as Arabia, lands of Syria, Turkey etc.? This did not happen for merely a day or two but continued for seventueen years. The places in my books and pamphlets where I have written these statements regarding good wishes for and obedience to the British Government, the names of these books with the page numbers are given below: