Report by Khwaja
Kamal-ud-Din about the Congress of Religions, Paris,
July 1913
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After this Congress was over, Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din
sent a letter addressed to the Head of the Ahmadiyya Movement,
Maulana Nur-ud-Din, about the proceedings, which was published
in the Ahmadiyya Community newspaper Badr (issue dated
21 August 1913, pages 45). The following is the translation
of the letter from Urdu.
Letter of the Khwaja Sahib from Paris
From Paris, Hotel
20 July 1913
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful
To the honoured leader and master,
Khalifat-ul-Masih,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
wa barakatuh.
Yesterday the Religious Congress ended
well. Gods good grace was upon us. Glory be to Allah!
What means does God provide, and how the ways for Islam are
now opening up! The place is Paris in the country of France,
the meeting is of all Western nations. People are gathered
from America, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Russia, France, England,
Spain, and in fact all Western countries. Moreover, the participants
are no ordinary people. They are professors, scholars, and
scholars too of theology, that is, doctors of divinity. There,
your servant explains the beauties of Islam. As to what the
result will be, or how far I was successful, or what benefits
there will accrue in the future, I am delighted by thinking
over these questions. I was in a state of ecstatic happiness
yesterday when during my speech, at a time when the hall was
almost full, I declared that:
The future religion of the world shall
be Islam.
Only my heart knows the satisfaction
I have felt by coming here. The organisers of the proceedings
gave me a prominent place at the meeting, that is to say,
on the dais. In addition to the president and the secretaries,
I was sitting there among the five or six religious scholars.
My residential and food expenses were also paid by the organising
committee.
The lecture I had written in London
for this meeting was not suitable for this occasion. It was
long, in the first place, and secondly, the aims of the meeting
were not what I had understood to be in London. Here each
speaker had twenty minutes, but they relaxed this rule for
me and I spoke for thirty minutes. Although I had to leave
the lecture unfinished, I was in fact myself embarrassed that
I had already taken up fifty percent more time. I did have
to write the lecture afresh after arriving here. What I can
say of Divine help and assistance! I prepared the lecture
in three hours, couched in fine language.
What pleases me is not that I presented
Islam before a large gathering of religious scholars of the
West and it made a good impression on the audience, but that
my eyes have been opened by coming here. God has opened a
very fine way and created entirely new means. The time for
the rising of the sun from the West has come near. Shortly,
I am about to make an appeal to Ahmadi and non-Ahmadi Muslims,
in which I will explain the situation in detail, but I am
writing a summary here because these events will be a source
of great satisfaction for you, sir [Maulana Nur-ud-Din]. This
was not an ordinary religious congress, as I had earlier believed,
but a congress of liberal Christian sects.
These people have freed themselves
from the bonds of the church and are dissatisfied with the
prevalent form of the Christian religion. During the Congress
there was discussion on whether Christianity means the religion
taught by Paul and the church or something else. These scholars
believe that the future religion should be one that, by deeply
influencing mans deeds and morals, creates truly spiritual
life. They do not appear to me to accept the divinity of Jesus
and the doctrine of atonement. Instead, most of them are Unitarian
and they are behind this movement. As to what should be the
foundations of morals, they said almost what Hazrat Aqdas
[Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad] presented at the Great Conference
of Religions [at Lahore in 1896]. Disagreement with Paul
was expressed in mild terms and the morals taught by Jesus
were considered insufficient, it being thought necessary to
supplement them. Jesus was regarded as their messenger and
guide in the sense that he taught some principles according
to the needs of his time and laid the foundations of a religion
of morality which needs completion. If new verities and new
moral principles are found elsewhere or are created, they
can be adopted. In this context it was discussed what relationship
should there be with other religions.
Glory be to God, what a time has come
upon Christianity! It was not stated categorically but acknowledged
that there are truths to be found in other religions, and
all other religions must be studied dispassionately and fine
principles adopted from them. It was explained that they have
the permission of Jesus to do so. This was a reference to
the statement of Jesus in which he prophesies that when
he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth [John 16:13]. Therefore the Congress considered
it necessary that criticism of other religions should be given
up and they should be left as they are to develop and flourish.
If there are any merits in them, then these should be adopted.
In this context, Christian missionary activity was disapproved.
In fact, it was thought advisable to discontinue it; attempts
should not be made to efface any other religion. It was not
stated in clear words but indirectly that other religions
are from God. Anyhow, to say so was my duty. When I discussed
the verses for every nation, a messenger [10:47]
and there is not a people but a warner has gone among
them [35:24], the eyes of the audience were opened and
the hall echoed with approval. Sir, please consider that when
pleasure is being expressed at the idea that all religions
are from God, how far have these people gone? If all Christian
nations accept this belief, the missionary movement would
finish today.
A speech in support of Islam was made by a professor
of Hebrew from Geneva University, answering the objections
that are commonly raised against Islam. He emphasized that
the present-day religion created by the church has spread
greed, envy, killing and oppression, caused wars in the world
and destroyed true spiritual life.
What is most pleasing is that these people are,
one and all, Christian clergymen and professors in various
universities who have spent their entire lives researching
religion. Some of them were, in the beginning, removed from
their positions and employment. It is also satisfactory to
note that more than three-quarters of them belong to the older
age group.
I have mentioned that they used indirect language,
the reason being that most of them are employed by the church
and if they were more direct they would risk dismissal from
their jobs. Two lectures before mine, an Oxford professor
said in his half-hour lecture that other religions also contain
truth, like Christianity, and that other religions are not
false. However, he phrased this in very guarded words.
Afterwards I attended a dinner, to which I had
been invited along with other selected persons by an aristocratic
lady. She told me there that she was delighted by my speech.
She receives The Islamic Review and said that she much
liked the thoughts of a Sufi that I had reproduced in the
July issue. In fact, those Sufi thoughts are actually taken
from the writings of Hazrat Ali, and I had described the writer
as Sufi. The word Sufi is very popular here these days.
To sum up, the gist of this Congress was that
some other religion is required for the future which should
have an effect on mans practical life, being based entirely
on faith. The principles and foundations of morals should
be sought. Study of all religions should be carried out in
a spirit of friendship and love. One of the venerable scholars,
a former president of their organisation, said that the future
religion of the world would be:
love for God and His creatures.
I said during my speech that this is not correct
and is irreverent. The future religion of the world would
be:
obedience to God and affection towards
His creatures.
I said that this is the definition of Islam
given by our Holy Prophet Muhammad. I said to them: the future
religion of the world which you have decided for yourself
is in line with the definition of Islam given by the Holy
Prophet. As to whether the religion known as Islam is such
a religion or not is a matter to be examined.
This movement began six years ago. It would
not be right to say that all Christian countries are in support
of this; in fact, they would be opposed to it. However, this
movement is in the powerful hands of the leading, top-most
religious scholars of the European nations. If this spirit,
which is today as a seed, grows, flourishes and prospers,
then the days of the spread of Islam would be near.
They are dissatisfied with the present religion
and searching for a new faith. Therefore this is the time
to present Islam. You will be surprised to hear that all the
principles and criteria that they have determined for the
religion of the future, we should make no amendments in them
but merely present verses of the Holy Quran and sayings of
the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and ask: do these satisfy your
requirements or not?
While staying here I have made introductions
with all these senior scholars, whom I respect. They have
happily accepted copies of the Islamic Review. I believe
that I have found the people among whom The Islamic Review
should be propagated. At present this movement is supported
by 120 societies and 100 highly learned clergymen and academics.
I shall try and hope to succeed in obtaining the names and
addresses of all the members of this Congress in order to
issue the magazine for them. By the favour of God I have been
able to hold conversations with most of the professors. Their
religious knowledge could be gauged from the expressions on
their faces as they deferred to me, sitting with me for hours
and joyously listening to fine points of spiritual truth.
Congratulations, O Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad], this is your
miracle!
I had an interesting talk with a professor from
Germany. He said that Hindus are giving new interpretations
in support of idol-worship and justifying it in entirely new
senses. I replied that this is just human nature. When a mans
knowledge is broadened and he thereby finds flaws in his earlier
beliefs, still his love and life-long attachment for them
do not allow him to give them up. Then a clash takes place
between knowledge and the past attachments. Those who are
weak-willed adopt a middle course. They are disenchanted with
the old wine, so by putting it in new bottles they relieve
their consciences. He entirely agreed with this. Then he laughed
heartily when I told him that this is what your Congress has
been doing for the past four days, putting old wine in new
bottles. Anyhow, this is only natural. It is an intermediate
phase and will lead to beneficial results. The professors
promised me that they would spread The Islamic Review
within their circles.
After coming here I have realized how Islam
should be presented in future and which principles should
be borne in mind when preaching to them from the Quran. How
truly has the Holy God said: Call to the way to your
Lord with wisdom [16:125].
I will send a detailed proposal to you sir,
after printing it.
KAMAL-UD-DIN. |
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