Jama‘at Ahmadiyya was founded in 1889 by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian who claimed on Divine authority that he was the Promised Messiah(as) and World Reformer of the latter centuries whose advent was prophesied in the ancient sacred scriptures of all great religions.
In 1989, this community of Muslims celebrated its first centenary. The last major event in the celebrations was a lecture, delivered on 24th February 1990, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London by the Head of Jama‘at Ahmadiyya, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih the Fourth(rh) (Successor to the Promised Messiah(as)).
This keynote lecture was attended by eight hundred distinguished guests including politicians, Arabists, journalists, professors, teachers, men and women from other professions and vocations and eminent religious scholars. Mr. Aftab A. Khan, National Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association (UK) welcomed the guests. Mr. Edward Mortimer presided and Mr. Hugo Summerson MP proposed the vote of thanks. After the lecture there was a brief session of questions and answers.
As it was not possible to do full justice to such a vast subject in the space of time traditionally provided for such public addresses, only partial treatment was possible. However, in view of numerous demands by many who attended or those who missed this lecture, the book based on the original manuscript is being published separately.
Since the original text of this address was dictated by the Speaker, every effort was made to faithfully record the dictation. During the first revision, some minor mistakes were discovered here and there which were duly corrected by the Speaker himself. Later on, it was considered advisable to have parts of the text reviewed by an Englishman so that he could point out any areas where the text needed further elaboration or if some expressions were unfamiliar to the English ear. We are grateful to Mr. Barry Jeffries of Queensbury, Yorkshire and Mr. Muzaffar Clarke of Stirchley, Birmingham, who volunteered their services and carried out this task admirably. Their advice was most valuable in regard to some passages, which may have conveyed a different impression to the reader than was intended mainly because of the gradual change in the connotation of some expressions and idioms in current use. Also their advice with regard to the hypersensitivity of the Western mind concerning some cultural differences between the East and the West was of considerable help. Of course everyone has a right to disagree with anyone else, but disagreement merely because of a misunderstanding of points of view should be avoided as far as possible. It is here that both these gentlemen helped immensely.
As we go to print, albeit very belatedly, we are deeply conscious of the fact that a number of issues addressed herein have assumed centre stage. A number of possibilities seen by the far-sightedness of the Speaker have miraculously begun to prove true. For instance, there has been considerable debate on inter-religious harmony in view of the renewed fatwa on blasphemy. Enormous changes have taken place after the collapse of communism in East European countries. The UN’s Security Council has acquired a new role. In Great Britain, the interest rate policy has precipitated economic recession. All these issues and events, and indeed many more, were fully and squarely discussed beforehand in this address. Alas! Had we gone to print earlier?
All that remains to be said is a humble reminder to the reader that the Speaker dictated the text of this address in early 1990 when the omens for these changes were yet in their formative stage. Seldom is a warning given in such clear terms. The message is timeless and relates to the future prospects for peace for the entire world. If the speaker is proved right in most of his ‘predictions’, as he has already been proved right in some of them, it would only be appropriate for the leaders of the world to take the message of this address seriously and make a genuine attempt to draw the maximum benefit out of it in the shaping of the new world order.
May God enable them to do so! Amen.
Mansoor A. Shah
London: July 1992