1 May 1898

The Confiscation of Books Against Islam

After Respected Maulvi Abdul-Karim Sahib of Sialkot had finished reading out the memorial, which the Promised Messiah(as) had penned to rectify the points stated in the memorial by the Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam in regards to the book Ummahat-ul-Mu’minin, the Promised Messiah(as) said in a raised voice:

‘This memorial has been written to defend Islam and the Muslims at large, and to establish the true honour of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the greatness of the Holy Quran, and to demonstrate the pure and immaculate face of Islam. Hence, this memorial has been read out before you with the sole purpose of seeking your counsel. Is it advisable at present to write a rebuttal to this book or better to submit a memorial to the government calling for action to be taken against the authors of such books and banning their publication? Anyone from among you is most welcome to put forth their arguments freely.’ Only one person from the congregation spoke and said: ‘If the publication of this book is not banned, it will go on being reprinted forever.’

To this, the Promised Messiah, on whom be peace, said: ‘If we truly do not bring a halt to the publication of this book, which is only possible for all intents and purposes if a rebuttal is written against it, let alone once, we can approach the government even a thousand times to solicit aid so that the publication of this book may be banned, but its publication will continue. Even if for some time the book is banned, such a proposal will be no less than a lethal poison for many weak-natured people and generations to come. For when they come to know that a certain book could not be rebutted and then the government was called upon to ban it, they will develop a kind of ill-will towards their own religion.

Therefore, my principle has always been to write a rebuttal to such books and benefit from the sincere support which the government has already given us, i.e. freedom. We ought to pen such an ample response to the book that its supporters feel ashamed themselves to reprint it. Take, for example, the case of Dr. Clark; when they realised that the case had lost its credibility and when their mirage of deception faded away, they did not even present the wife and son-in-law of Atham as witnesses. Hence, my opinion and the verdict of my heart is that a crushing rebuttal ought to be given in the softest and kindest terms. Then, if God so wills, they will lose the courage themselves to reprint the book.’1