The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s Praise of British Rulers in India in Context of Current Security Situation in Western Europe and North America

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

After a recent terrorist attacks in Paris, there is a surge of videos on internet in which Muslims living in Western Europe are seen pledging their loyalty to their respective non-Muslim governments. Some videos by Muslims, while using profanities asks fellow Muslims if they want to live in non-Muslim European country then they batter live as peaceful citizens, follow the laws of the land and if they disagree with governmental policies then they should follow the legal path and ask courts to ban certain law, but in no case take law into their own hands.

Current events and response by Muslims living in Western Europe and North America takes me back 150 years. In later half of 19th century two important events took place in Muslim world. One was end of Sikh rule in Punjab and take over by British rulers, that allowed Muslims to practice Islam free of persecution including return of Mosques to Muslims for worship and permission to repeat Azan (summons to prayer) [Ref: Masson, Charles. 1842. Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab, 3 v. London: Richard Bentley (1) 37)].  The other was rise of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah [Mahdi Sudiani] (1884-1885) who claimed to be the promised Mahdi. His rebel army was able to defeat the British rulers in Sudan and kill Governor General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885).

In last quarter of 19th century in India, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad started his mission to defend Islam with pen against the onslaught of Christian missionaries. This turned Christian missionaries against him. Christian missionaries lost in debates with him. When he made claim of the promised Messiah, some Muslims turned against him. They too lost in debates with him. British rulers in India were playing a neutral role so far. When HMGA made claim of promised Mahdi, both Christian missionaries and Muslim opponents of him joined hands, and made efforts to get him incarcerated in order to stop his mission. As HMGA mission was a pure religious mission and not a political mission, so in order to prevent hindrance in his mission he openly appreciated freedom to practice Islam by Muslims granted by British rulers and at the same time published his pledge of allegiance to British government. His mission was to convert the Christian rulers to Islam. In this effort he invited Queen Victoria to accept Islam as her religion. He wrote book ‘The British Government and Jihad’. I am sure if Muslim opponents had not created hindrance in his life, and wasted his precious time, he would have achieved much more in his lifetime. Anyways, as a result of his open support of British rulers, his opponents failed in their mission. But this did not stop his opponents and their progeny to this day from accusing HMGA of being ‘agent of non-Muslim rulers’. These opponents have very easily forgotten that it was they in first place who created such situation for HMGA that he had to publically announce his allegiance to non-Muslim rulers in India.

Now situation in West is such that even if there is false accusation on some Muslim living in Western Europe and North America, they will find police knocking at their door to interrogate and possibly arrest them. Today situation in these countries for Muslims is no different than what HMGA had to face in his life under British rulers in India. When Muslim gets picked up by police in the Western countries they do not hesitate to lick boots of government officials to win back their freedom, but then at the same time they come on internet and question HMGA for his allegiance to non-Muslim European rulers in India.

Opponents of HMGA feel NO SHAME in criticizing HMGA when they themselves go far and beyond to prove their innocence and allegiance.

I take current behavior of Muslims in Western Europe and North America as proof of truthfulness of HMGA. I would rather say, today majority of Muslims living in Western Europe, North America, Russia and Australia are in practice followers of HMGA. They all follow him by being loyal to the non-Muslim rulers and governments in their respective countries.