The Islamic dilemma - The Review of Religions July 2015

Why The Honeybee
is Dying and What It
Means for Life on Earth
16
Wonders Experienced
Through Fasting
26
The Islamic Dilemma
Should We Fear the
Religion of Peace?
30
Atheism or Belief -
Which is evidence
Based?
42
vol. 110 - issue sevenjuly 2015 www.reviewofreligions.org
The
islamic
dilemma
ShouldWeFearthe
ReligionofPeace?

And bestow not favours
seeking to get more in return,
And for the sake of thy Lord
do thou endure patiently.
Islam, the Holy Qur’an,
Ch.74:V.7-8.
Son of man, it were better for
thee to bestow upon a needy
person that which is in excess
of thy need, and it is harmful
for thee to withhold it, but no
blame attaches to the keeping
of that which suffices thy needs.
Begin by spending on those who
are around thee and remember
the hand that bestows is better
than the one that receives.
Islam, the Holy
Prophetsa
, Wisdom of
the Holy Prophet, 42.
Render not vain your alms with
reproaches or injury, that is to
say, never remind your donee that
you had bestowed anything on
him nor inflict any injury upon
him, for in such case your charity
would be rendered vain, nor spend
your money merely for display.
Islam, the Promised
Messiahas
, The Philosophy
of the Teachings of Islam,
p. 70-71.
Give, and it will be given to you
[...] for the measure you give will
be the measure you get back.
Christianity, The Bible ,
Luke, 6:38.
He who gives liberally goes
straight to the gods;
on the high ridge of heaven
he stands exalted.
Hinduism, Rig Veda, 1.125.5
If beings knew, as I know, the
fruit of sharing gifts, they would
not enjoy their use without
sharing them, nor would the
taint of stinginess obsess the
heart and stay there. Even if it
were their last bite, their last
morsel of food, they would not
enjoy its use without sharing it, if
there were anyone to receive it.
Buddhism, Itivuttaka, 18.
Who is honoured? He
who honours mankind.
Judaism, Mishnah, Abot
4.1.
The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
prophesied
that the Promised Messiahas
would be raised near a
white minaret, east of
Damascus. This prophecy
was fulfilled with the advent
of the Promised Messiahas
from Qadian, India, a city
directly east of Damascus.
The Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi was born to a noble family in Qadian, India.
From an early age he had a keen interest in religion and
developed a love for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. He
was also known for his honesty, friendliness and resolve.
Over time his knowledge and understanding of religion
and its application to society deepened. Being a Muslim
it was his firm belief that all religions were true at their
source but with the passage of time had drifted away
from their original teachings; he upheld the dignity of
religion and demonstrated its relevance to everyone.
His earnest defence of religion was ultimately blessed
when he started to receive direct revelation from Allah
– a blessing that he continued for the rest of his life.
His mission was to revitalise the truth that all religions
held within them and to revive the teachings of Islam. It
was through this that he would bring mankind together
and establish everlasting peace.
In 1889, under Divine Guidance, Hazrat Ahmadas
founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a
community that has since grown in its stature and
strength and has remained active in conveying the
message of Islam to the ends of the earth.
Hazrat Ahmadas
had established himself as a respected
writer and had written over 80 books. His writings
have been translated into more than 60 languages and
continue to inspire readers to this day. One of his greatest
scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of
Islam, prepared as a paper and read out at the Conference
of Great Religions in 1896.
He also wrote a fascinating treatise in 1899 entitled Jesus
in India, a book that uncovered remarkable evidence
of Jesus’sas
journey to India. In 1902, the Promised
Messiahas
initiated The Review of Religions which has
covered a vast array of topics on religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues of the day. It is the longest
running English magazine in defence of Islam and the
values it teaches.
From 1889 until the time of his demise in 1908 tens
of thousands of people accepted him. This blessing
has continued and will continue through his Khulafa
(successors).
Currently under the fifth successor, we are seeing that the
tide of acceptance is worldwide and that the message of
Prophet Ahmadas
has really reached the ends of the earth.
©makhzan-e-tasaweer
founder of
the review of religions
Giving & Receiving
world faiths

10 Untold Stories
16 Why The Honeybee is Dying
and What It Means for Life
on Earth
The alarming decline of honey
bee colonies impacts all of us.
Dr. Mohamed Alburaki, Tennessee, USA
26 Wonders Experienced
Through Fasting
, the Promised
Messiah and Imam Mahdi
30 The Islamic Dilemma:
Should We Fear the
Religion of Peace?
Radiclisation and Immigration
– What is the stance of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community?
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
42 The Real Dialogue
Atheism or Belief – Which
is Evidence Based?
Dr. Arif Ahmed and Ayyaz Mahmood Khan
66 The Real Dialogue
Discussion highlights.
82 From the Archives:
Eid-ul-Fitr
Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated by
Muslims after Ramadan.
Hazrat Maulana Abdur Rahim Dardra
90 Opening of Mansoor Mosque
in Aachen, Germany
The link between moderation
and mosques.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
100 The Need to Renew
Religious Discourse
ISIS and other extremist
groups do not represent the
true teachings of Islam.
Mohammad Sharif Odeh, Haifa
110 The Economic System
of Islam
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra
contents
july 2015 Vol.110 issue seven
100
30
42

M a n a g eme n t B o ard
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Secretary: Syed Amer Safir
Board Members: Mubarak Ahmad Zaffar, Ataul Mujeeb Rashed,
Naseer Qamar, Abdul Baqi Arshad, Abid Waheed Ahmad Khan,
Aziz Ahmad Bilal
C hief E di t o r & M a n a g er
Syed Amer Safir
E di t o rial B o ard
Amtul Razzaq Carmichael, Bockarie Tommy Kallon, Fazal Ahmad,
Hassan Wahab, Hibba Turrauf, Jonathan Butterworth, Mansoor
Saqi, Munazza Khan, Murtaza Ahmad, Nakasha Ahmad, Navida
Sayed, Sarah Waseem, Shahzad Ahmad, Tariq H. Malik
W eb D evel o per & I T
Hibba Turrauf, Mubashra Ahmad
A ss o ciat e E di t o rs
Nakasha Ahmad, Tariq H. Malik (Sub-Editor: Mariam Rahman)
S u b - E di t o rs
Head: Hibba Turrauf
Sub-Editors: Ayesha Malik, Nusrat Haq, Maryam Malik,
H o u se S t y le G u ide
Head: Maleeha Ahmad Team: Sadia Shah, Humaira Omer
P r o o freaders
Head: Munawara Ghauri. Deputy: Farhana Dar. Proofreaders: Abdul
Ghany Jahangeer Khan, Hina Rahman, Amina Abbasi, Aisha Patel
S taff W ri t ers & R esearchers
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A r t E di t o r
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Ruhana Hamood, Mubahil Shakir, Adila Bari, Hassan Raza Ahmad
Twi t t er
Hibba Turrauf, Mala Khan, Nudrat Ahmad
Note about references
Verse references to the Holy Qur’an
count ‘Bismillah…’ (In the Name
of Allah…) as the first verse of each
Chapter. In some non-standard texts,
this is not counted. Should the reader
refer to such texts, the verse quoted in
The Review of Religions will be found a
verse earlier, i.e. at one verse less than
the number quoted in this journal.
For the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘sa
’
or ‘(saw)
’ after the words, ‘Holy Prophet’,
or the name ‘Muhammad’, are used
normally in small letters. They stand
for ‘Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning
‘peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him’. Likewise, the letters ‘as
’ or ‘(as)
’
after the name of all other prophets
is an abbreviation meaning ‘peace
be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis
salatu wassalam’ which are words
that a Muslim utters out of respect
whenever he or she comes across
that name. The abbreviation ‘ra
’ or ‘(ra)
’
stands for ‘Raziallahu Ta’ala anhu and
is used for Companions of a Prophet,
meaning Allah be pleased with him
or her (when followed by the relevant
Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘rh
’ or ‘(rh)
’ for
Rahemahullahu Ta’ala means the Mercy
of Allah the Exalted be upon him.
In keeping with current universal
practice, local transliterations
of names of places are preferred
to their anglicised versions, e.g.
Makkah instead of Mecca, etc.
In recent times vested interests have
launched a ‘crusade’ against Islam.
Islam is labelled as a religion of terror,
backwardness and suppression.
Based on Quranic teachings, the author of
this book goes about disproving these notions
and professes that Islam provides practical
solutions to current issues; and argues that:
(1) Swords can win territories but not hearts,
forces can bend heads but not minds; (2) The role
of women is not of concubines in harems nor a
society imprisoned in the four wall of their houses;
(3) Richer nations provide aid with strings attached
and yet the flow of wealth continues to be in the
direction of the rich while the poorer sink deeper
in the red; (4) Religion does not need to be the
predominant legislative authority in the political
affairs of the state; (5) Irrespective of the thawing
of the cold war, the issue of war and peace does not
only hang by the thread of superpower relationship.
(6) Without God there can be no peace.
It also contains comprehensive discussion
on interest; financial aid; international
relations; and the role of Israel, America and
the United Kingdom in a new world order.
The message of this book is timeless and chalks
a blue print for the future prospects for peace.
Read online: http://www.alislam.org/books/
Purchase print copy: http://store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html

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THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF THE
TEACHINGS
OF
ISLAM
MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD
THE PROMISED MESSIAH & MAHDIAS
The Review of Religions
serialised the famous treatise
The Philosophy of the Teachings
of Islam, by the founder of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community. Initially written
for the Conference of Great
Religions on December 26-
29,1896, each speaker at the
conference was asked to present
to the audience the beauties
of their own religion based
upon its scripture, proving that
it was the true religion, based
on the following topics:
• The Physical, Moral,
and Spiritual States of Man;
• What is the State of
Man after Death?
• The Object of Man’s Life and
the Means of its Attainment;
• The Operation of the Practical
Ordinances of the Law in
This Life and the Next;
• Sources of Divine Knowledge
SERIALISED IN
The Review of Religions
Read online:
www.alislam.org/books/
Or purchase here:
store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html

and more entrenched in his mind and
heart.Then,shortly before coming to our
mosque in the historic district of Mérida,
he came across us (the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community) on the internet and
decided to come and attend the meeting.
He told me that he had been reading our
material. He showed immense interest
in the concept of God we presented and
the universal message of Islam,especially
our belief that God Who provides light,
heat and so many more physical resources
for all of mankind, could not have left
the rest of humanity without spiritual
guidance. He could not have chosen a
single people to be the beneficiaries of
His revelation and guidance. Because of
this gentleman’s detailed and profound
interest and because he was so desirous
to have a copy of the Holy Qur’an, we
gave him one as well as a copy of The
Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam in
Spanish. He first came to one of our
meetings on 27th
November 2014, and
thereafter became a regular participant
in many of our activities.After many in-
depth discussions,this man,now a friend,
signed the Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) on
the 24th
of December. Since that day, he
has been both a devoted and inspiring
member of the Ahmadiyya Community.
Alhamdolillah (All praise belongs to
Allah).
Waseem A. Sayed, PhD
Representative and Spokesperson for
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in
Mérida, Mexico. Head of Spanish Desk
USA
Imam Noman Rana and Dr. Waseem
Sayed have been stationed there to spread
the message of Islam, Ahmadiyyat.
A Literal Shower of Divine Blessings
A faith-inspiring story,of how Allah gra-
ciously answers the humble supplications
of His servants,comes from Los Angeles,
California.
I Used to be an Atheist
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever
Merciful
This is a brief account of how the world
was completely transformed for a friend
of mine here in Mérida, Mexico, when
he embraced the message of Islam-
Ahmadiyyat. From November 2014, at
the outset of our Community activities
in Mérida,we have focussed almost eve-
rything on our ‘Coffee, Cake and Islam’
classes. This was a weekly class where
Imam Rana and I invited people to
attend as well as share coffee and cake
while having the opportunity to ask any
questions regarding Islam. One gentle-
man simply walked into one of our early
classes and, after listening to a presenta-
tion,began talking about his experiences
in depth. He began telling me that he
had never really believed in God and
would often get involved in arguments
with his teachers and others on the topic.
He explained that as he began to argue
his case and reflect on it,slowly but surely,
something strange started to happen.
He became convinced of the existence
of God. At first this was a gradual pro-
cess, but the conviction became more
[UNTOLD]
STORIES
He showed immense interest
in the concept of God we
presented and the universal
message of Islam, especially
our belief that God Who
provides light, heat and so
many more physical resources
for all of mankind, could not
have left the rest of humanity
without spiritual guidance.
10 The Review of Religions | july 2015 july 2015 | The Review of Religions 11

narrated by Hazrat ‘A’ishahra
,the blessed
wife of the Prophetsa
, regarding the
prayers for rain performed by the Holy
Prophet Muhammadsa
.
In this Saying the Holy Prophetsa
said:
“‘Praise be to Allah,the Lord of the Universe,
the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Master
of the Day of Judgment.There is no God but
Allah Who does what He wishes. O Allah,
Thou art Allah, there is no deity but Thou,
the Rich, while we are the poor. Send down
the rain upon us and make whatThou send-
est down a strength and satisfaction for a
time.’
The Prophetsa
then raised his hands, and kept
raising them till the whiteness under his
armpits was visible. He then turned his back
to the people and inverted or turned round
his cloak while keeping his hands aloft. He
then faced the people, descended and prayed
two Raka’at (or units of the prayer).
The story begins in 2012, when a
drought in California began. During
the past three years, the state has seen
an unprecedented dry spell, with some
of the lowest rainfall levels in centuries.
The drought damaged crops,afflicted the
economy and led to widespread water
usage restrictions.
On April 3,2015,Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, Fifth Successor to the
Promised Messiahas
, worldwide Head
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
delivered his Friday Sermon from Baitul
Futuh Mosque in London, in which
he shared stories of villages in Africa
afflicted with drought, where Ahmadi
Muslims prayed for rain with success.
Consequently, a large number of people
accepted Ahmadiyyat as a result of wit-
nessing the fruits of the prayers of these
Ahmadi Muslims.
The following day, on 4th
April 2015, I,
a member of the Los Angeles Chapter
of the Ahmadiyya Community, visited
London as part of a larger delega-
tion of members of Majlis Khuddam ul
AhmadiyyaUSA (or MKA USA – this is
a major youth group in the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community who actively pledge
to serve and be loyal to their faith,coun-
try and nation and engage in charity
appeals, blood drives and so on to help
people indiscriminately). We requested
His Holiness’aba
guidance regarding the
drought in California. We asked about
offering a similar congregational prayer
for rain in Los Angeles, to follow the
example shared in the Friday Sermon of
the previous day.His Holiness responded
favourably and guided that a Salatul
Istiska (a specially prescribed congre-
gational prayer in Islam for rain) could
and should be performed and led by an
Ahmadi Muslim. Upon our return to
California from London, the youth wit-
nessed something wondrous—rainfall at
the airport as the plane landed! It was as
though God was literally showering His
blessings on His humble supplicants.
During the course of the next few weeks,
there were intermittent bouts of rain in
California, but nothing substantial.
On Sunday, 3rd
May, Salatul Istiska
was performed at the Baitul Hameed
Mosque. Over 300 men, women and
children gathered on a scorching hot
day of 95o
F at Baitul Hameed Mosque
in Chino,California.Imam Mohammed
Zafarullah Hanjra,a Regional Missionary
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
for Southwest USA, shared the Hadith
(Saying of the Prophet Muhammadsa
)
On Sunday, 3rd
May, Salatul
Istiska was performed at the
Baitul Hameed Mosque. Over
300 men, women and children
gathered on a scorching hot
day of 95o
F at Baitul Hameed
Mosque in Chino, California.
untold stories

only the fifth rain delay at San Diego’s Petco
Park since opening in 2004.
San Diego is also experiencing its second
wettest May as of Friday evening, with a
monthly total of 2.35 inches. The current
record for wettest May is 2.54 inches set in
1921.
Record rainfall also occurred in downtown
Los Angeles onThursday where a daily rain-
fall record of 0.69 inches of rain was set.
LA broke the daily record rainfall again on
Friday with an additional 0.16 inches.The
previous record was only 0.03 inches set in
1902.”
With the sheer blessings of our Gracious
God and the guidance of our beloved
Khalifah (Caliph - spiritual leader), we
were all witness to the showering of
blessings in the form of much needed
rain in Southern California. This inci-
dent has left a lasting impression on the
hearts, minds and souls of the members
of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
in Los Angeles.Alhamdulillah (All praise
belongs to Allah).
Dr. Ahsan Mahmood Khan
Los Angeles, California
Allah then produced a cloud, and the storm
of thunder and lightning came on.Then the
rain fell by Allah’s permission, and before
he reached his mosque streams were flow-
ing. When he saw the speed with which the
people were seeking shelter, he laughed till
his back teeth were visible. Then he said: ‘I
testify that Allah is Omnipotent and that I
am Allah’s servant and apostle.’”
After the Imam’s sermon, the con-
gregants went outside and the Imam led
Salatul Istiska, wearing a white cloth to
follow the Practice of the Holy Prophetsa
.
Two Raka’at (units of the prayer) were
performed and the prayer for rain was
recited.
Only four days after this blessed event
was held, it began raining in Southern
California. The rain was much needed
as there had been incessant heat during
the preceding days. Many youth partici-
pated in a convention in nearby Big Bear,
California,where it snowed for two days.
Over the following month, newspapers
and meteorologists reported the unusu-
ally large amount of rainfall in Southern
California. In fact, 14th
May 2015 saw
record-breaking levels of rainfall in
Southern California, as reported by The
Weather Channel’s website,weather.com:
“After a winter and early spring
yielding record low Sierra snow-
pack compounding a crippling multi-year
drought, parts of California saw a strangely
out-of-season soaking late this past week.
Record rainfall fell in Southern California.
On Thursday, showers and thunderstorms
brought locally heavy rainfall to the San
Diego area. San Diego International
Airport measured 1.51 inches of rain in just
about 90 minutes. A total of 1.63 inches fell
on Thursday at Lindbergh Field, making it
the wettest day in May on record.
This heavy rain brought flash flooding to the
area with multiple water rescues reported.
There was also a rain delay for the baseball
game between the Washington Nationals at
San Diego Padres onThursday night.This is
Do you have an
“Untold
Story”
you wish to share
with us?
Email us your unique story at
editor@reviewofreligions.org
untold stories
Only four days after this
blessed event was held, it
began raining in Southern
California.The rain was
much needed as there had
been incessant heat during
the preceding days.

T
here was a time when dinosaurs
roamed the earth, not worried
about being stung by a bee.Then,
about 100 million years ago, flowering
plants and bees co-evolved together.
There are about 20,000 bee species in
the world including solitary, bumble,
stingless, and honeybees; all of which
visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen.
Among these, honeybees demonstrate
social traits, build large colonies, store
honey, have one reproducing queen, and
demonstrate distinct divisions of labour.
The honeybee has been a fascinating
insect for humans because, especially
for the majority of early humans, honey
was the only sweetener for their diet.The
earliest evidence of honey hunting is an
8,000 year old cave painting in Bicorp,
Spain that shows a group of humans
climbing up vines,collecting honey from
a beehive.
The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera),
the most widely spread honeybee and the
most well known,originated in Africa but
is now found in every continent except
Antarctica.[1]
It was first domesticated
by the Egyptians who constructed the
first known beehives going back to 3,000
BCE,however,it was only in 1852,when
Lorenzo Langstroth created his movable
frame hive that we no longer had to kill
bees to obtain honey. This also acceler-
ated our ability to observe and study
this captivating social animal. What we
confirmed with these observations was
nothing less than the realisation that
honeybees are as sophisticated in their
social behaviour as any in the animal
kingdom.The famous naturalist,Charles
Darwin,was also fascinated by honeybees
and regarded them to be an evolutionary
puzzle that could not be explained by his
then-understanding of natural selection.
Lately, our interest with the honeybee
Why The Honeybee
is Dying and What It
Means for Life on Earth
Science
There are about 20,000
bee species in the world
including solitary, bumble,
stingless, and honeybees;
all of which visit flowers
to collect nectar and pollen.
Among these, honeybees
demonstrate social traits,
build large colonies, store
honey, have one reproducing
queen, and demonstrate
distinct divisions of labour.
© Fotokostic | shutterstock.com
by Dr. Mohamed Alburaki
Tennessee, USA
“You will probably more than once have
seen her fluttering about the bushes, in a
deserted corner of your garden, without
realising that you were carelessly watching
the venerable ancestor to whom we prob-
ably owe most of our flowers and fruits
(for it is actually estimated that more than
a hundred thousand varieties of plants
would disappear if the bees did not visit
them), and possibly even our civilisation,
for in these mysteries all things inter-
twine.” ― Maurice Maeterlinck, The
Life of the Bee (published 1901)

these social animals and also threatening
our very food supply.
This is because the domestic bee plays a
vitally important role in agriculture, due
to its indispensable function in crop and
natural plant pollination. The value of
the role played by the honeybee in the
pollination of flowers far exceeds the eco-
nomic returns from the hive.[3]
In 2012,
the value of crops pollinated by bees was
estimated at $14 billion US dollars in the
United States alone.[4]
The contribution
of this remarkable insect is not lim-
ited to the US but is in fact worldwide.
As the UN Environment Programme
director, Achin Steiner pointed out in
March 2011,“…the way humanity man-
ages or mismanages its nature-based assets,
including pollinators, will in part define our
collective future in the 21st
century. The fact
is that of the 100 crop species that provide
90 per cent of the world’s food, over 70 are
pollinated by bees”.[5]
Unfortunately,the honeybee populations
around the world have started to signif-
icantly decline during the last decade
among those of the European breed in
particular.[6],[7]
This phenomenon of hon-
eybee decline,known as ‘Colony Collapse
Disorder’ (CCD)[8]
represents a major
challenge for scientists and beekeepers,
especially since its causes are still not
well determined. Most recently, statis-
tics in the US have shown that between
April 2014 and 2015, 42% of honeybee
colonies of beekeepers died.[9]
We should
keep in mind that if the bees disappear
altogether, 80% of the vegetables and
fruits we enjoy eating would not be avail-
able anymore and the ability to produce
food for the world’s increasing popula-
tion would become nearly impossible.
It is increasingly being realised that
the cause of CCD is multifaceted and
is no longer just a simple fascination
but a vital necessity. In fact, apart from
honey and other products of benefit to
us like venom, propolis and wax, we rely
on honeybees to pollinate one third of
all our crops including the majority of
fruits and vegetables. Even the venom
of the honeybee sting is employed for
the treatment of arthritis and is under
research for treatment of multiple scle-
rosis and other autoimmune diseases.[2]
Lately however, honeybee populations
have shown decline in North America
and Europe, challenging our bond with
The value of the role played
by the honeybee in the
pollination of flowers far
exceeds the economic returns
from the hive. In 2012, the
value of crops pollinated
by bees was estimated at
$14 billion US dollars in
the United States alone.
why the honeybee is dying and
what it means for life on earth
The earliest evidence of honey hunting
is an 8,000 year old cave painting in
Bicorp, Spain that shows humans
climbing up vines to collect honey.
© Daniel Prudek | shutterstock.com © Pics-xl | shutterstock.com
Between April
2014 and 2015,
42% of
honeybee
colonies
of beekeepers
died.

Chemical Pesticides
The second contributing factor is the
wide and excessive use of chemical pes-
ticides around the world. In order to
increase agriculture production, farmers
tend to spray more and more pesticides
on their crops to protect them from
various kinds of insects and diseases.
Unfortunately, these pesticides are also
toxic to honeybees that forage the flow-
ers of these treated plants. Some classes
of pesticides,known to be highly specific,
may not kill the bees when used in weak
doses, but even at sub-lethal doses, can
render the honeybee unable to navigate
back to their hives.[15]
An example of this can be found in the
neonicotinoid group. These chemicals
(such as clothianidin and thiameth-
oxam) are used in pesticides and have
been shown[16]
in high doses, to cause
the death of honeybees,and in low doses,
at even sub-nanogram levels, to impair,
directly or indirectly, the ability of bees
to navigate back to their hives.[17],[18]
This demonstrates that honeybees are
exquisitely delicate creatures and are
influenced by particulate toxicity in the
range of parts per billion.
CCD: A Synergistic Phenomenon
Besides the Varroa mite and the use of
pesticides, honeybees are facing many
other diseases and disturbances that are
without doubt contributing greatly to
CCD.[19,20]
Part of the problem is the
increasing urbanisation of rural areas
around the world.We have imposed our
new modern lifestyle on honeybees and
have invaded their territory by destroying
multifactorial.[10]
A few main factors
however, stand out as the principal
drivers in the decimation of honeybee
populations. It is to these, that we shall
now turn our attention.
The Varroa Mite
The first factor is the old enemy of the
honeybee and a very well studied par-
asite known as the Varroa mite. This
mite spends its life on the bee’s body
and continually sucks her ‘hemolymph’
- a substance that acts as blood does
in humans. The Varroa mite, originally
a native pest of the Eastern honeybee
(Apis cerana), came into contact with the
non-resistant Western honeybee (Apis
mellifera) in the 1960s and spread with
devastating results.[11]
Scientifically called
Varroa destructor, this mite has spread to
every continent except Australia, where
strict controls on bee import and border
checks keeps this mite out.[12]
This mite is
widely distributed throughout world api-
culture and can only reproduce through
honeybees and thus is considered harm-
less to other insects.
This parasite is extremely damaging to
honeybee colonies.While the mites alone
may cause mortality by simply feeding off
larvae and adult honeybees, they mainly
kill by acting as disease carriers and by
transmitting any number of viruses and
bacteria to the bees. It cripples adults
and kills potential workers at the larval
stage and thus weakens the honeybee
colony. In temperate climates, Varroa
mite infestation typically kills an entire
colony within three to four years,while in
warmer areas,death can occur within just
six months.[13]
In order to fight against
this parasite,beekeepers treat their hives
with different kinds of chemicals such
as Acaricides or other acidic substances
such as Oxalic or Formic acid.[14]
In temperate climates, Varroa
mite infestation typically
kills an entire colony within
three to four years, while
in warmer areas, death can
occur within just six months.
In order to increase
agriculture production,
farmers tend to spray more
and more pesticides on their
crops to protect them from
various kinds of insects and
diseases. Unfortunately, these
pesticides are also toxic to
honeybees that forage the
flowers of these treated plants.
© D. Kucharski K. Kucharska | shutterstock.com
© Fotokostic | shutterstock.com

develop a rapid adaptation to the sud-
den changes towards the new conditions
and challenges they face, or if the dif-
ferences between the two environments
are extremely different, these bees will
have little chance of survival in the new
environment.
The jury is still out on the decisive cause
of CCD and, as stated previously, it is
likely to be a multifactorial problem,
with honeybee losses not only due to one
factor, but as a result of many causative
factors acting together,synergistically,the
combined effects on the honeybee popu-
lation by these negative influences being
greater than any one of them individually.
However, one common thread emerges
between many of the causes: the over-
exploitation and industrialisation of
this miraculous insect. Man with his
new technology is asking of honeybees
more than what they can afford to give.
Human nature and the desire for more;
more production, more honey and more
profit; with no consideration of the lim-
ited capacity of this insect, should be
seriously addressed.Sustainable beekeep-
ing practices should be adopted around
the world that prohibit honeybees’over-
exploitation, save their natural diversity
and protect them from decline.
About the Author: Dr. Alburaki is a
specialist in honeybee genetics and behavior.
He graduated from the University of Damascus,
and subsequently obtained a doctorate in Life
Sciences and Biodiversity from the University
of Paris VI. His current research focuses on the
causes of Colony Collapse Disorder and the
effect of agricultural pesticides on honeybee
health. He works as a Post-Doctoral Research
Associate at the University of Tennessee.
endnotes
1. Noah Wilson-Rich, The Bee: A Natural
History, (Princeton, Princeton University Press,
2014).
2. Abbas Mirshafiey,“Venom Therapy in
Multiple Sclerosis,”Neuropharmacology 53, no.
3 (September 2007): 353–61, doi:10.1016/j.
neuropharm.2007.05.002.
3. Marcelo A. Aizen et al.,“How Much Does
Agriculture Depend on Pollinators? Lessons
from Long-Term Trends in Crop Production,”
Annals of Botany, April 1, 2009, mcp076.
4. Nicholas W. Calderone,“Insect Pollinated
Crops, Insect Pollinators and US Agriculture:
Trend Analysis of Aggregate Data for the
Period 1992–2009,”PLoS ONE 7, no. 5 (May
22, 2012): e37235.
their habitats. Nowhere can the detri-
mental effect of our modern lifestyle
be seen more acutely than the discov-
ery made by Decourtye et al. in 2011.[21]
This team showed that the radio signal
of the mobile phones we so cherish and
use daily, as well as microwave antennas,
impair the honeybee’s navigation system
and affect its capability to orientate itself.
Just as with pesticide, such invisible sig-
nals prevent the honeybee from returning
from the field to its hive.
The age of globalisation that the 21st
cen-
tury has brought the world into has also
had subtle and unforeseen consequences
on the honeybee. It has been noted that
in recent years, there has been a remark-
able increase in honeybee death during
winter. As an example, in Canada, hon-
eybee wintering losses were reported at
23.8% in 2009-2010.[22]
Many reasons
could contribute to this, such as a lack
of honey stored in the hive resulting in
nutritional deficiencies; climate change
resulting in unusually cold and long
winters and the weak capacity of hon-
eybee adaptations to local environments.
It is this last cause that is emerging in
many cases as a leading contributing
factor. Globalisation in the world has
highly facilitated honeybee importation
between countries.This means that a bee-
keeper from the USA can easily bring
and keep honeybees originating from
Italy or France.However,these bees will
not necessarily be adapted to the local
environment of the USA.They will have
to face new climate conditions,new floras
and a different winter from which they
were adapted in their original coun-
tries. If the imported honeybees cannot
Man with his new technology
is asking of honeybees more
than what they can afford
to give. Human nature and
the desire for more; more
production, more honey
and more profit; with no
consideration of the limited
capacity of this insect, should
be seriously addressed.
© Tyler Olson | shutterstock.com

Environmental Science & Technology 46, no.
5 (March 6, 2012): 2592–99, doi:10.1021/
es2035152.
17. Mohamed Alburaki et al., “Neonicotinoid-
Coated Zea Mays Seeds Indirectly Affect
Honeybee Performance and Pathogen
Susceptibility in Field Trials.”PLoS ONE 10,no.
5 (May 18,2015): e0125790.doi:10.1371/journal.
pone.0125790.
18. Christof W.Schneider et al.,“RFID Tracking
of Sublethal Effects of Two Neonicotinoid
Insecticides on the Foraging Behavior of Apis
Mellifera,”PLoS ONE 7,no.1 (January 11,2012):
e30023, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030023.
19. Brenda V.Ball,Stephen J.Martin,“Prevalence
and Persistence of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)
in Untreated or Acaricide-Treated Varroa
Destructor Infested Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera)
Colonies,” Journal of Apicultural Research 49, no.
1 (2010): 72–79, doi:10.3896/IBRA.1.49.1.10.
20. Naama Zioni, Victoria Soroker, and Nor
Chejanovsky, “Replication of Varroa Destructor
Virus 1 (VDV-1) and a Varroa Destructor
Virus 1–deformed Wing Virus Recombinant
(VDV-1–DWV) in the Head of the Honey Bee,”
Virology 417, no. 1 (August 15, 2011): 106–12,
doi:10.1016/j.virol.2011.05.009.
21. Axel Decourtye et al., “Honeybee Tracking
with Microchips: A New Methodology to
Measure the Effects of Pesticides,” Ecotoxicology
20,no.2 (January 26,2011): 429–37,doi:10.1007/
s10646-011-0594-4.
22. Romée van der Zee et al., “Managed Honey
Bee Colony Losses in Canada, China, Europe,
Israel and Turkey, for the Winters of 2008-9 and
2009-10,” Journal of Apicultural Research 51, no.
1 (February 1, 2012): 100–114, doi:10.3896/
IBRA.1.51.1.12.
5. “Press Releases March 2011 - Bees Under
Bombardment: Report Shows Multiple Factors
behind Pollinator Losses - United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP),” accessed
June 7, 2015, http://www.unep.org/Documents.
Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=664&
ArticleID=6923.
6. N. Bacandritsos et al., “Sudden Deaths and
Colony Population Decline in Greek Honey Bee
Colonies,” Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 105,
no. 3 (November 2010): 335–40, doi:10.1016/j.
jip.2010.08.004.
7. Reed M.Johnson et al.,“Pesticides and Honey
Bee Toxicity — USA,” Apidologie 41, no. 3 (May
1, 2010): 312–31, doi:10.1051/apido/2010018.
8. Dennis vanEngelsdorp et al.,“Colony Collapse
Disorder: A Descriptive Study.”PLoS ONE 4,no.
8 (August 3, 2009): e6481. doi:10.1371/journal.
pone.0006481.
9. Dennis van Engelsdorp et al., “A Survey of
Honey Bee Colony Losses in the U.S.,Fall 2007 to
Spring 2008,”ed. Nick Gay, PLoS ONE 3, no. 12
(December 30,2008): e4071,doi:10.1371/journal.
pone.0004071.
10. Judy Y.Wu et al.,“Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera)
Reared in Brood Combs Containing High
Levels of Pesticide Residues Exhibit Increased
Susceptibility to Nosema (Microsporidia)
Infection,” Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 109,
no. 3 (March 2012): 326–29, doi:10.1016/j.
jip.2012.01.005.
11. Peter Rosenkranz, Pia Aumeier, and Bettina
Ziegelmann, “Biology and Control of Varroa
Destructor,” Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
103, Supplement ( January 2010): S96–119,
doi:10.1016/j.jip.2009.07.016.
12. “Varroa Destructor (Varroa Mite),”
accessed June 7, 2015, http://www.cabi.org/isc/
datasheet/107784.
13. Yves Le Conte, Marion Ellis, and Wolfgang
Ritter, “Varroa Mites and Honey Bee Health:
Can Varroa Explain Part of the Colony Losses?,”
Apidologie 41, no. 3 (May 1, 2010): 353–63,
doi:10.1051/apido/2010017.
14. Vincent Dietemann et al.,“Varroa Destructor:
Research Avenues towards Sustainable Control,”
Journal of Apicultural Research 51, no. 1 (February
1, 2012): 125–32, doi:10.3896/IBRA.1.51.1.15.
15. Reed M Johnson et al.,“Pesticides and Honey
Bee Toxicity – USA.” Apidologie 41, no. 3 (May
2010): 312–31. doi:10.1051/apido/2010018.
16. Andrea Tapparo et al., “Assessment of the
Environmental Exposure of Honeybees to
Particulate Matter Containing Neonicotinoid
Insecticides Coming from Corn Coated Seeds,”
Your feedback is
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Write to us with comments,
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The
Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
( g u i d e d o n e )
founder of
the review of religions
Among the wonders of this kind of fasting that I expe-
rienced are the fine visions which were bestowed upon
me during that time. I met some past Prophetssa
and
some of the exalted Muslim Auliya’.[1]
Once—in a state
of complete wakefulness—I met the Holy Prophetsa
along with Hassanra
,Hussainra
,‘Alira
and Fatimahra
.This
was not a dream, but something that I experienced in
a state of wakefulness. I met many holy people in this
manner, but it would take long to describe all those
meetings. Moreover, I was granted views of spiritual
lights that were represented in columns of red and green,
the beauty of which cannot possibly be described in
words. These columns of light, some of them shining
white and others green and red, rose straight towards
heaven and their sight filled my heart with delight.
Nothing can be compared to the joy that my heart and
soul experienced in beholding these columns.I believe
that these columns were a representation of the love
between God and man. It was a light that proceeded
from the heart upwards and there was another light
that descended from above and the two together took
on the shape of a column. These are spiritual matters
which are beyond the ken of the world.The world can-
not recognise them as they are far removed from its eyes,
but there are some in the world who are made aware of
them. In short, due to this prolonged fasting, wonders
were revealed to me in the form of visions of various
kinds and forms.[2]
Wonders Experienced
Through Fasting

Both fasting and Salat [prayer] are forms of worship. The fast affects
powerfully the body and Salat affects powerfully the soul.Salat gener-
ates a condition of burning and melting of the heart,and is,therefore,
a higher form of worship than fasting.The latter fosters the capacity
for visions.[3]
It should be remembered that the fast does not mean merely that a per-
son should abstain from food and drink over a certain period.During
the fast one should be occupied greatly with the remembrance of God.
The Holy Prophetsa
occupied himself greatly with worship during the
month of Ramadan. During that month one should discard one’s
preoccupation with eating and drinking; and cutting asunder from
these needs,should address oneself wholly towards God.Unfortunate
is the person who is bestowed material bread and pays no attention
to spiritual bread. Material bread strengthens the body, and spiritual
bread sustains the soul and sharpens the spiritual faculties. Seek the
grace of God, as all doors are opened by His grace.[4]
It may be asked what is the attitude of the Holy Qur’an towards the
natural state of man, what guidance does it furnish concerning it and
how does it seek to control it? The answer is that according to the Holy
Qur’an the natural state of man has a very strong relationship with
his moral and spiritual states, so much so that even a person’s man-
ner of eating and drinking affects his moral and spiritual states.If the
natural state of a person is subjected to the control of the directions of
divine law it becomes his moral state and deeply affects his spiritual-
ity, as is said that whatever falls into a salt mine is converted into salt.
That is why the Holy Qur’an has laid stress on physical cleanliness
and postures, and their regulation in relation to all worship and inner
purity and spiritual humility.Reflection confirms that physical condi-
tions deeply affect the soul.For instance,when our eyes are filled with
tears,even if the tears are artificially induced,the heart is immediately
affected and becomes sorrowful. In the same way, when we begin to
laugh, even if the laughter is artificially induced, the heart begins
to feel cheerful. It has also been observed that physical prostration
in prayer induces humility in the soul. As a contrast when we draw
ourselves up physically and strut about with our neck raised and our
breast pushed forward,this attitude induces a mood of arrogance and
vain glory. These instances establish clearly that physical conditions
certainly affect spiritual conditions.[5]
endnotes
1. Men of God or Saints.
2. Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 13, pp. 180-181, footnote (English
Translation: The Essence of Islam, Vol. 4, p. 24-25).
3. Malfuzat, Vol. 7, p. 379, (English Translation: The Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 316).
4. Speeches to Jalsa Salana 1906, p.20 (English Translation: The Essence of Islam,
Vol.2, p.316).
5. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam (Tilford,
Surrey, UK: International Publications, 2010), 8-9.
It should be remembered that the fast does
not mean merely that a person should
abstain from food and drink over a certain
period. During the fast one should be occupied
greatly with the remembrance of God.

The
islamic
dilemma
ShouldWeFearthe
ReligionofPeace?
According to a recent YouGov poll, in Britain the
public associate the word ‘terrorism’ with Muslims
more than any other issue. Across Europe, including
Germany, far-right extremism has sparked animosity
in some quarters towards Muslims who blame much
of the disorder in the world to Islam. Yet Islam itself
claims to be a religion of peace and compassion. So
how do we resolve the ISLAMIC DILEMMA?

Muslims who are destroying the peace
of the world and who seek to justify
their extremist acts in the name of the
Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
. As they perpetrate terror
and violence in the most barbaric fash-
ion, they continually claim that they are
acting according to the true teachings of
Islam.
Your surprise will increase further when
you hear that the disorder and extremism
in the world caused by so-called Muslims
is actually a means of increasing my faith
in Islam, and indeed the faith of every
single Ahmadi Muslim.Perhaps you will
be confused by this and wonder why it
is that the faith of Ahmadi Muslims
increases upon seeing the extremist
acts of certain other Muslims. You may
even come to think or fear that Ahmadi
Muslims are similar to those Muslims
who support extremism. However, this
would be an entirely wrong assumption
or belief.
Thus,let me first of all make it clear that
Ahmadi Muslims are entirely sincere
in their efforts to promote peace in the
world and always endeavour to practice
what they preach.We are the same from
the inside as the outside and live our
lives according to what we believe in our
hearts to be the true teachings of Islam.
I would also like to make it clear that
when Ahmadi Muslims spread teachings
of peace, security and love for all, they
are not presenting anything new but are
manifesting only the true teachings of
Islam. In every respect, Islam is a reli-
gion of peace, harmony, tolerance and
compassion.
After reciting Tashhahud, Ta’awwuz
and Bismillah, Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, Khalifatul Masih V, said:
“All the guests, Assalamo Alaikum
Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu
– peace and blessings of Allah be upon you
all. First of all, I would like to express
my sincere gratitude to all of our non-
Ahmadi guests who are attending our
Annual Convention despite not being
members of our Community.
Today, during my address, I will briefly
speak about the Founder of Islam, the
Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
and his
incomparable efforts towards establish-
ing peace in the world.You may be quite
surprised or even astonished to hear this,
given that today we see many so-called
The Islamic Dilemma
Should We Fear the
Religion of Peace?

However, upon forewarning about the
desperate state of the Muslims,the Holy
Prophetsa
also gave the glad tiding that
at such a time of disorder and discord,
Allah the Almighty would send an indi-
vidual to revive Islam and to spread its
true teachings. He would be sent as the
Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (the
Guided One) and he would re-establish
the original and peaceful teachings of
Islam throughout the world. He would
infuse mankind with Islam’s true spir-
itual light.
With the Grace of Allah, today we see
that both parts of this grand prophecy
have been fulfilled. Where on the one
hand, Islam has been corrupted and
its teaching has been distorted, on the
other hand, the Promised Messiah and
Imam Mahdi has been sent by God
Almighty in the person of Founder of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
. During his
life he shone an illuminating light upon
true Islam and presented its magnifi-
cent teachings to the world. He proved
that the Holy Prophetsa
was indeed
Certainly, it is solely because of the
teachings of Islam,that Ahmadi Muslims
exhibit sentiments of love for all people,
whether they are Muslims or non-Mus-
lims.And it is only because of Islam that
we desire true peace in the world and
make every possible effort in order to
achieve this. In terms of what I said ear-
lier,I do not wish to needlessly keep you
in a state of confusion or curiosity over
this apparent contradiction or dilemma
– whereby on the one hand Ahmadi
Muslims say they condemn the extrem-
ist acts of other Muslims, whilst on the
other they say that such acts are a means
of increasing their faith in Islam.
In order to clarify and explain this, I
would like to rewind the clock 1400 years
to the time of the Founder of Islam, the
Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. At that
time he made a grand prophecy about
the future. He said that a time of spirit-
ual darkness would overtake the Muslims
and their faith would become wholly
corrupted. At such a time the actions of
Muslims would be entirely against the
original teachings of Islam. He warned
that the so-called Muslim religious cler-
ics and leaders would interpret Islamic
teachings in completely the wrong way
and their mindset would only lead to
the spread of disorder and injustice.
Ahmadi Muslims are entirely
sincere in their efforts to
promote peace in the world
and always endeavour to
practice what they preach. We
are the same from the inside
as the outside and live our
lives according to what we
believe in our hearts to be
the true teachings of Islam.
the islamic dilemma
should we fear the religion of peace?

of the situation in one country or region
to reach another. During the interven-
ing period,the news often became out of
date and the situation had changed again.
Thus, at those times to immediately feel
the pain of others and to seek to help
people in distant areas was very difficult.
However, today the world is very differ-
ent and has become like a global village.
Nevertheless,whilst the world has joined
together and distances and communica-
tion barriers have eroded, there yet still
continues to be a denial that we are all
linked together.
For example,there are many people who
believe that the situation in the Middle
East or in Africa has no bearing on the
people of Europe or North America.
Similarly,many people living in Australia
or the Far East continue to believe that
the disorder prevalent in other parts of
the world, such as the conflict between
Ukraine and Russia,will have no impact
on their lives or their countries.Generally
speaking, there remains a belief that the
increasing disorder and restlessness
we see today is limited to the affected
regions and the impact will not spread
further afield.
However, having said this, there is one
burning issue that is causing a shift in
attitudes and understanding.The issue I
am referring to is immigration and the
wider issue of integration. In various
countries we see that there has been an
increase in the frustrations and restless-
ness among the youth from immigrant
communities.Some of these frustrations
are boiling over to the extent that certain
young immigrants have been radicalised
and have joined extremist groups. This
is causing a genuine fear, as developed
countries are realising that amongst their
own youths there are some who have
been very negatively influenced and this
is a great danger to the nation.
In response, governments and law
enforcement agencies in the developed
world are moving to place restrictions on
the lives of people of Asian origin in the
belief that this will guarantee the safety
and security of the local society and
local people. However, this is the wrong
approach and is not a proper answer to
the greatest champion and torchbearer
for peace in the history of mankind.
Therefore, it is the fulfilment of this
great prophecy, which is the reason that
the faith of Ahmadi Muslims increases
upon seeing the horrific acts of so-called
Muslims today.
Having given this introduction, I would
now like to briefly present the true teach-
ings of the Holy Prophetsa
that display
his unparalleled efforts to establish long-
lasting peace in the world. One basic
and very important point that the Holy
Prophetsa
taught us was that the mind-
set and priorities of different people in
the world varies from person to person.
Whilst it is true that most people desire
peace,it is also true that many people give
preference only to their own peace and
security.They have little or no regard for
the welfare of others. A study of human
psychology reveals that whilst each per-
son desires that he or she should live in
peace and contentment, most people do
not wish for their opponents or enemies
to live happily and peacefully.
It is also true that people value different
types of peace.For example,some people
care only about the peace and content-
ment of their own hearts and minds.
Some give priority to the peace of their
household, whilst others desire peace in
their neighbourhood.Some people prior-
itise the peace of their towns or cities and
others desire the peace of their nation.
But outside their personal scope of inter-
est,many people have no regard for what
is happening to those living in different
cities or nations. They do not feel com-
passion or love for people in other parts
of the world who are suffering or facing
trials and tribulations.
In earlier times,this insensitivity and lack
of empathy could be justified because
different societies and nations were not
interlinked as they are now. The means
of communication were far more lim-
ited and it would take an age for news
In various countries we see
that there has been an increase
in the frustrations and
restlessness among the youth
from immigrant communities.
Some of these frustrations are
boiling over to the extent that
certain young immigrants
have been radicalised and
have joined extremist groups.
the islamic dilemma

who follow extremist ideologies are
completely wrong when they claim that
Allah the Almighty desires for Muslims
to engage in a Jihad of the sword or in
bloodshed.
The wars fought during the time of the
Holy Prophetsa
must be placed in their
correct context.It is beyond dispute that
during the first few years of Islam, the
Holy Prophetsa
and his followers were
subjected to the most brutal persecution
and merciless opposition. After years of
restraint, the Holy Prophetsa
was given
permission by Allah the Almighty to
engage in a defensive war against the
non-Muslim aggressors.This permission
was given in chapter 22, verse 40 of the
Holy Qur’an where Allah said that He
was granting permission because war had
been forced upon the Muslims, and so
they had been left with no choice but to
respond and to defend themselves.
As for why a response was necessary,
Allah the Almighty clarified it in the
very next verse – verse 41. There Allah
said that the Muslims had been driven
out of their homes by the cruel aggressors
and if He did not permit them to stop
the oppressors from their persecution
and force, then no person would be able
to live in peace. If the Muslims did not
defend themselves then neither religious
people nor anyone else would be able to
live in security thereafter.
In the same verse Allah has said that
if the Muslims did not defend them-
selves then no churches would remain
safe, nor synagogues, nor temples and
nor would mosques – even though these
were places of worship in which people
joined together to proclaim the name
of God, to spread peace and to remove
all forms of evil from their hearts and
minds.Therefore,permission to stop the
oppressive hand of those who waged war
was granted by Allah because otherwise
all places of worship and the peace of
the world itself would be completely
destroyed.
Thus,Allah allowed the Holy Prophetsa
to
wage a defensive war only for the sake of
ending cruelty and injustice. Permission
was granted to stop those who wished
to seize the basic rights and liberties of
all people. Permission was granted to
stop those who sought to destroy the
very foundation of religious freedom.
And permission was granted to not only
defend Islam but to defend all religions
and all forms of belief.
We also learn from this verse that the
these serious problems. Rather, what is
needed is a real and comprehensive solu-
tion. I should therefore tell you that the
Holy Prophet of Islamsa
has given us the
solution and answer to these problems.
Through his enlightened teachings he
has handed us the golden keys to peace.
He has explained that world peace can
never be achieved with only a worldly
approach or by only focusing on mate-
rialistic desires alone. He taught us that
there is only one means for all people,
whether Muslims or non-Muslims,to be
free from disorder and to be safeguarded
from the burning flames of hatred and
despair.
He said that for true peace to be estab-
lished mankind had to recognise its
Creator and submit before Him. The
Holy Prophetsa
forewarned that a time
would come when the Muslims them-
selves would forget the true teachings of
their religion and would not pay due heed
to the Supreme Being and would only
pay lip service to their belief. Similarly,
the people of other religions would also
fail to truly recognise the Supreme Being,
whilst those who did not believe in reli-
gion would fail to even acknowledge the
existence of a Supreme Being.
And the Supreme Being that the Holy
Prophetsa
spoke about was the God Who
is the Creator of the entire Universe. It
is that God, Who amongst His many
Attributes,is ‘Salaam’– that is the ‘Source
of Peace’.Thus,in chapter 59, verse 24 of
the Holy Qur’an, Allah has instructed
the Holy Prophetsa
to inform the world
that they should devote themselves to
that God who is the Sovereign,the Holy
One and the Source of Peace.The mean-
ing of ‘Salaam’is He who provides peace
to the world and is the light from which
all peace emanates.
Thus,as the true source of all peace,God
desires an existence of peace and harmony
for all of mankind.Just as parents do not
like for their children to fight or argue
with each other and to cause disturbance
in the home, in the same way Allah the
Almighty does not like disorder or con-
flict among His Creation.Parents always
love those of their children more who are
good-natured and peaceful and similarly,
the law of the land favours those who are
peace-loving.
Likewise, according to our faith, Allah
the Almighty loves those who are able to
control their emotions and are peaceful.
If we reflect on this point then it becomes
crystal clear that those so-called Muslims
the islamic dilemma

Therefore,those who believe that Islam’s
teachings promote extremism or hatred
should remove such fears or misconcep-
tions from their hearts and minds once
and for all. The blame for the mindless
bloodshed and violence that we see today
does not lie with Islam or its teachings;
but rather it is the result of the acts of
certain so-called Muslims who are filled
with hatred and selfishness and who have
corrupted the true essence of Islam to
serve only their vested interests.
Today,according to the promises of God
Almighty, it is the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community alone that is enlightening
the world with the true teachings of
Islam. This is the reason why each year
hundreds of thousands of peaceful people
– both from amongst Muslims and non-
Muslims - are joining the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community.They are becoming
Ahmadi Muslims only with the desire to
gain the love of Allah and for the sake
of attaining true peace and contentment.
They are not like those frustrated people,
who are unable to control their emotions
or reactions and so are joining extremist
groups that are unjustly destroying the
pure name of Islam in the world.Whilst
today Islam continues to be portrayed
in entirely the wrong way, we Ahmadi
Muslims do not become hopeless or dis-
heartened. We firmly believe we will be
successful and so one day Islam’s reality
will dawn upon the world and its beauti-
ful teachings will be understood by the
people of all nations.
With these words,I would like to end by
once again expressing my sincere grati-
tude to all of you for taking the time to
join us today and listening to what I have
had to say.May Allah bless you all.Thank
you very much.”
Address by Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, Worldwide Head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to
German guests on the 2nd
Day of the Jalsa
Salana (Annual Convention) Germany
6th
June 2015
mosques and places of worship of other
religions are built as beacons of peace to
spread teachings of love and compas-
sion and never to promote extremism
or hatred of any form. Furthermore, in
chapter 8, verse 62 of the Holy Qur’an,
Allah the Almighty has bestowed upon
the Holy Prophetsa
a truly beautiful
teaching that enlightens Muslims about
how to establish peace and security even
during a state of war or conflict.
In the verse,Allah says that if your enemy
reaches out and extends his hand towards
peace or reconciliation then you must
accept it without delay and put your trust
in Allah thereafter. Thus, Muslims have
been told to trust Allah, rather than to
assume that the enemy is deceiving them
or is not sincere in their desire for recon-
ciliation. Allah has taught that Muslims
should always seek to build bridges with
others wherever possible and to develop
peace even with those who are not reli-
gious,who disbelieve in God or who bear
enmity in their hearts against Islam.
In reality,Allah has very firmly instructed
Muslims to grasp with both hands any
opportunity to salvage peace for the sake
of harmony of the world. Furthermore,
the Holy Prophetsa
also conveyed the
commandment of God given in chap-
ter 41, verse 35 of the Holy Qur’an in
which Allah the Almighty has said that,
for the sake of peace you should respond
to evil only with goodness and piety.The
underlying wisdom behind this is that
if you respond to hatred with love then
there is a chance that from the depths of
enmity and division, sincere friendship
and unity can emerge.
What a beautiful teaching this is! Most
certainly, there are countless exam-
ples that prove that the Holy Prophetsa
brought teachings of peace,reconciliation,
security and love,and I have narrated just
a few.They prove that the God of Islam
– that is Allah the Almighty – is He who
desires peace, compassion and love for
His creation.
Thus, Allah allowed the
Holy Prophetsa
to wage a
defensive war only for the
sake of ending cruelty and
injustice. Permission was
granted to stop those who
wished to seize the basic rights
and liberties of all people.
the islamic dilemma

The Real Dialogue
Atheism or Belief -
Which is
Evidence Based?
Atheism or Belief:
Which is Evidence Based?
‘Can we prove that God exists?’is a
question often heard in our schools,
universities, places of worship and beyond.
The answer has bearing not only on the
individual but on our social, political
and scientific culture at large. Is belief in
God something confined to the realm
of speculation and faith, or can it at all
be objectively evidence-based? These
questions and many more were brought to
light in the engaging and stimulating ‘The
Real Dialogue’event of the 1st April, 2015,
with Dr. Arif Ahmed, Senior Philosophy
Lecturer at Cambridge University and
Ayyaz Mahmood Khan,Theologian and
Scholar of Comparative Religions, on
the topic of ‘Atheism or Belief: Which is
Evidence-Based?’
The event was chaired by Catrin Nye, BBC
news reporter and documentary maker.
© navbadel.co.uk
Dr. Arif Ahmed, UK – Atheism p44
Ayyaz Mahmood Khan - Belief p54
@therealdialogue
www.therealdialogue.org
Info@therealdialogue.org

mean something metaphorical. In other
words,I am not referring to metaphorical
interpretations of religious claims which
are drained of any supernatural content
and have merely become metaphors for
something else.Just about any false claim
can be taken as a metaphorical expres-
sion of the truth of one sort or another,
but some of the most important things
about religion are lost if we interpret it in
purely metaphorical terms.For instance,
if you think that religion is one of the
sources of comfort in the face of death-be
it one’s own death or the death of people
that you love-it’s not possible to be com-
forted by a metaphor-at the very least, it
is not easy to be comforted by metaphors.
What makes the difference is the genuine
belief in, for instance, an afterlife.
Similarly, if you think that religion is
something that motivates people to
behave well towards one another,or that
it makes us good in other ways,you might
think it’s more plausible to suppose that
people do good because they genuinely
believe that they’re following their duty
as God has laid down, rather than that
they are simply acting in accordance with
a metaphor. So I will not be concerned
with the metaphorical interpretation of
religion but rather with the literal truth
of religious claims, to which Ayyaz and
many other religious adherents, Islamic
and otherwise, would subscribe.
Now,the question as to what the content
of religious claims are, is itself one that
has as many answers as there are reli-
gions.There are maybe 4000 religions in
the world.Everyone here agrees,presum-
ably, that at least 3999 of those religions
are not supported by the evidence, and
that they are indeed false-and in some
cases misleading and wicked. But some
of us believe that all 4000 are not sup-
ported by the evidence.I have mentioned
the multiplicity of religions to highlight
the difficulty of isolating what specific
religious claims are supposed to be.
But for the purposes of this discussion,
I’m going to identify these claims with
what I take to be the common belief
of all Muslims and most monotheists
(Muslims, Christians and Jews): that
there is an intelligent, benevolent and
powerful entity that created the universe.
This entity is the sole bearer of moral
authority and the source of all political
legitimacy and this entity will judge all
of us at the end of the world-all of us
who are alive now, all of us who are now
dead, and indeed all people who are yet
to be born-and will mete out rewards
or punishments in accordance with His
Atheism or Belief:
(Speech delivered by Dr. Arif Ahmed, UK)
The topic we’re discussing tonight is
whether the evidence supports religion
or atheism. I think I should start by say-
ing that we are not discussing various
other topics with which this question
might be confused. For one thing, we’re
not discussing the question of whether
religion answers a deep need inside the
human soul or whether religion makes us
better people if we believe it.We are also
not discussing whether religion is good
even for disbelievers if they are around
people who believe in religion.These are
all interesting and worthwhile questions
on which there is a good deal to say, but
these are not the questions which are up
for discussion. The question is whether
belief in religion is supported by the
evidence.
The other thing that I would note is
that when I talk about religion, I do not
There are maybe 4000
religions in the world.
Everyone here agrees,
presumably, that at least
3999 of those religions are
not supported by the evidence,
and that they are indeed
false-and in some cases
misleading and wicked.
© navbadel.co.uk

first quantity exceeds the second quan-
tity. So, if you have some evidence that’s
very likely to have occurred if a certain
hypothesis is true but very unlikely to
have occurred if that hypothesis is false,
then that evidence gives you strong rea-
sons for accepting the hypothesis.That is
what I mean when I say that the evidence
supports something.
Let me give you an example. Suppose
that you’re testing a drug and you want
to know whether the drug is efficacious
or not in killing an infection or cur-
ing a certain disease. [So let us suppose
that] we do tests,and we find out that in
double-blind control trials, a very large
proportion-say, 95%-of people who are
treated with the drug recover, and only
10% or perhaps 1% of people who are
not treated with the drug recover. We
can ask ourselves: How likely is that to
have happened just by chance if the drug
wasn’t efficacious, and how likely is it to
have arisen if the drug was efficacious,
and the answer is that those observations
would have been ones we would expect to
have made if the drug had worked. But
they’re not observations we would have
expected and would be very unlikely if
the drug had not worked. So that’s an
illustration of the method that I have in
mind. You ask the two questions, ‘How
likely is it that we would’ve had this evi-
dence if the hypothesis (in this case, that the
drug works) is true?’, and ‘How likely is it
that we would’ve had this evidence if that
hypothesis had been false?’ And in this
example, with the numbers that I gave
you the first quantity exceeds the sec-
ond by a great deal,so it seems as though
we’ve got the evidence which does indeed
bear very positively on that supposition.
[As it happens,] I didn’t choose the
example of the drug completely at ran-
dom.I mentioned it because with drugs,
just as with many other things on which
our lives depend, we do indeed pay very
close attention to what the evidence is,
[as in the example above]. We don’t just
buy drugs on blind faith, or because it
makes us feel good, or because we think
it’ll make us nice people, or because it
answers to a deep need in the human
soul,or something like that.We don’t buy
drugs for those reasons. We buy them
because the evidence tells us that they
work in the manner that I’ve described.
And if you’re religious (perhaps even
if you’re not), you might think that the
question as to whether or not to believe
religious claims and to centre your life
around them is even more important-
vastly more important-than the question
Judgement. Obviously, there’s a good
deal more to Islam and to other religions
than that, but at the very least we could
take the literal truth of that claim to be
something we could fairly identify with
religion.
If we were to answer the question,‘How
does the evidence bear on the truth or fal-
sity of this claim?’we need to have a clear
conception of what it means for evidence
to speak ‘in favour of ’ or ‘against’ some-
thing-and we do have a relatively clear
conception of how evidence bears on any
particular claim, which is as follows: If
you want to know if you’ve got any par-
ticular bit of evidence, and whether the
evidence is in favour of some hypoth-
esis or against a hypothesis, you have
to ask two questions. The first question
is: how likely is it that we would have
observed this evidence if the hypothesis
was true? And the second question is:
how likely is it that we would’ve observed
this evidence if the hypothesis is false?
The evidence is then grounds for believ-
ing the hypothesis to the extent that the
We don’t just buy drugs
on blind faith, or because
it makes us feel good, or
because we think it’ll make
us nice people, or because it
answers to a deep need in
the human soul… We buy
them because the evidence
tells us that they work in the
manner that I’ve described.
© navbadel.co.uk

religion of Islam, is the existence of
scripture itself-the existence of Qur’anic
scripture.We do indeed have the Qur’an
as it has come down to us since the 7th
century and it does indeed make claims
about its own divine source and the
nature of the divinity, including [the
central claim of many religions, which I
described earlier.] What we have to ask
about that evidence is this: [do the exist-
ence and claims of these texts] constitute
strong positive evidence in favour of their
truth? Well,the questions we have to ask
then are: how likely is it that we would
observe this if Islam had been true, and
how likely is it that we would’ve observed
it if Islam had been false?
Of course, if the central claims of Islam
are true, then it’s very likely that we
would’ve observed something like the
Qur’an-after all, the central claim of the
Qur’an is that you know that there’s only
one God and He revealed His message
to Muhammad[sa]
through an angel, and
that message was then supposed to be
propagated around the world and indeed
that is what happened.So this is what we
would expect to happen if the Islamic
doctrine were correct,but it seems to me
that it’s also something that we would
expect to happen if Islam were false.
If there were no God, if there were no
divine revelation to Muhammad[sa]
,if the
whole thing was some sort of delusion or
some kind of fraud,then we would expect
to observe just the sort of things we do
in fact observe.
My reason for thinking this is that we
have a very large number of supposed
divine revelations to individuals, which
everyone agrees are false. We all agree,
for instance, that when Joan of Arc was
hearing voices, she didn’t actually have a
hotline to God. Or the priestess of the
Temple of Diana (in antiquity), or the
person in Bristol who smothered his own
grandmother recently because he heard
voices from God-these are all instances
of people who claim divine revelation,
who claim to have heard a message from
God and who acted on it, presumably in
all sincerity. But we all agree that they
weren’t hearing anything of the sort and
that the claims that they made were false.
So the mere existence of scripture that
makes these claims is something that we
shouldn’t be very surprised to see,whether
or not the claims are true. So [this is not
something that is] especially unlikely or
difficult to explain,[assuming] the falsity
of the religious hypothesis.That was the
first bit of evidence I wanted to consider.
The second bit of evidence is related,
of whether you should take [a certain]
drug or whether you should get on a
plane,etc.After all,if you do believe these
religious claims then you must think that
they’re the most important claims in the
world; that not only your present life
but also your future life in eternity will
depend upon them,and not only that,but
also that the salvation of the human race
and the meaning of all our lives depends
upon these claims.So this is perhaps the
most important question that anybody
could ever ask themselves,and therefore,
we ought to be especially stringent in our
application to it of the methods of evi-
dence that I just described,just as we are
in other life-or-death questions, such as
whether to take a drug.
If we ask those two questions, we can
consider, for particular bits of evidence,
exactly what their bearing is on the claims
of religion.I’m going to concentrate now
on three particular kinds of evidence that
seem to have a positive or negative bear-
ing on the claims of religion and give an
assessment of what that bearing is.
The first sort of evidence, which is one
that one hears most frequently cited
in discussions with proponents of the
My reason for thinking
this is that we have a
very large number of
supposed divine revelations
to individuals, which
everyone agrees are false.
© navbadel.co.uk

the falsity of Judaism or the falsity of
Christianity is not only consistent with,
but makes it hardly surprising,that there
should exist very wide and very strongly
held beliefs in these doctrines.
The two bits of evidence that I’ve dis-
cussed so far are both bits of evidence for
religion.The third bit of evidence that I
want to think about argues against reli-
gion and it is not a new argument.This is
the argument concerning the existence of
evil. We know that there is in the world
gratuitous evil.That is,if anything is evil,
those things are evil and bad and wrong,
which are both gratuitous and natural.
They may not be committed by human
beings,they may have nothing to do with
free will, they may seem to do no good
whatever to anyone and yet nevertheless
they exist. And not only do they exist,
but they characterise the condition of
the human race for the almost entirety
of its history.To take one example,every
year half a million children die in Africa
because of malaria. On the hypothesis
that God is not only powerful enough
to create the universe but also largely
benevolent, this is not something that
we should expect to see. It’s quite the
opposite of what we should expect to see.
This is a well-known argument. This is
the argument from evil.
On the hypothesis that there is no God,
what would we expect to see? Well, we
would expect to see a world consisting
of random disasters in which people die
for apparently no reason; of meaning-
less suffering,characterising large parts of
human existence; of people being wicked
to one another with occasional islands of
civilization and kindness-that’s what we
should expect to see if we didn’t think
there was any divine plan that was order-
ing either the constitution of the universe
or the history of the world-and that is
indeed what we observe. So in this par-
ticular case it seems that the evidence is
something that would be very likely on
the hypothesis that religion is false. But
[this same evidence] seems to be not only
surprising but even impossible on the
hypothesis that religion is true. So that
third bit of evidence is, I think, evidence
that speaks strongly against religion.
Now, as I said there’s may be other
points of evidence that Ayyaz would like
to bring up and I hope he can discuss
them, but those central points of evi-
dence,it seems to me,speak very strongly
in favour of the claim that the evidence
not only does not support religion but
actually supports irreligion.
I just want to say a couple of things at the
but one that people sometimes bring
up, and this is the existence of religious
belief. Islam is indeed a widespread reli-
gion-more than a billion people believe
it, many of them very devoutly, and
the devoutness of people’s adherence
is something that you would expect to
find if the religion’s claims were true.But
again,it’s also something that you would
expect to find if the claims were false.
The distinction between the kind of evi-
dence I’m talking about now and the
first kind of evidence is that [it has to
do with the existence of religious belief
as opposed to the existence of scrip-
ture.] It may be that this is the sort of
evidence that’s cited more frequently by
a certain type of Christian than it is by
Muslim scholars. Nevertheless, it can be
regarded as a kind of indirect but fairly
weak evidence for the truth of religion.
Now again, just as in the first case, we
shouldn’t be very surprised to find peo-
ple holding false beliefs.We shouldn’t be
very surprised to find very widespread
and very devout belief in religion, even
if the claims of that religion were false.
There are spectacular examples of this.
These spectacular examples don’t just
include all the world religions (except for
[whichever is] the favoured one) which
we [already] all agree are false.Particularly
spectacular examples include for instance,
something like Jonestown-the sort of
Christian-revivalist-cum-socialist move-
ment that existed in Guyana in the late
1970s, which consisted of about a thou-
sand US citizens who moved to South
America to start up their own quasi-reli-
gious cult, where they all lived together
and then all committed mass suicide
because they thought the United States
was going to destroy them.This is a case
where people had not only false but
dangerously false beliefs.But the point I
want to make now is not so much about
the falsity of their beliefs but the devout-
ness with which they were held. That is
to say, these were beliefs that all of these
people were willing not only to risk but
actually to sacrifice their lives for,and yet
nobody thinks for a moment that these
beliefs were anything more than a tis-
sue of deception.The main point is that
it’s hardly surprising that you would find
devout belief in a variety of false things.
And so the falsity of the Islamic doctrine,
the real dialogue - atheism or belief -
which is evidence based?
The main point is that it’s
hardly surprising that you
would find devout belief in
a variety of false things.

strong evidence that actually I was wrong.”
Of course,that sequence of events should
be fairly familiar to all of you. So, I sup-
pose that’s one question that I want to
ask: what kind of evidence would change
your view? But now I look forward to
hearing whether there’s any other sort
of evidence that might settle the case in
a way that I don’t expect and I also look
forward to the discussion and Q&A, so
thanks very much.
About the Author: Dr. Arif Ahmed studied
mathematics at Oxford University and
philosophy at Sussex and Cambridge. He
has worked at Birmingham University and
the University of Sydney and is now Senior
Lecturer in Philosophy at Cambridge
University. He writes mainly on decision
theory, which is about how people do and
how they should make decisions in the face of
uncertainty. He also has an interest in religion
and has debated the subject with William Lane
Craig,Tariq Ramadan, Rowan Williams and
others. He is an atheist and a libertarian and his
philosophical outlook is most closely allied with
those of David Hume and Friedrich Hayek.
end.The first thing I want to say is that I
don’t want people to get the impression
that I myself have merely substituted one
faith, namely Islam or Christianity, for
another faith, namely ‘blind faith in sci-
ence’. One way which I can express my
opposition to that idea is to give you a
list of fairly clear and testable and precise
things that would convince me that some
form of religion was true.
Suppose, for instance, that earthquakes
had been predicted all over the world on
a specific date in the Qur’an and they did
occur and that there was no explanation
of this. That would very strongly raise
my confidence in religion.Take Hume’s
example: suppose that there was a voice
that spoke from the clouds and that each
person heard this voice in his own lan-
guage, but that the voice said the same
thing and that there was no explana-
tion for this-that would be very strong
testable evidence for religion. I could
multiply the list indefinitely but there is
a vast number of things that I’m pretty
confident we won’t observe-but that if
we did observe them,we would have evi-
dence for religion. So it’s not blind faith
in irreligion, it’s faith and belief that are
based on empirical evidence.
Indeed, I think it might be worthwhile
to turn the challenge around and ask the
religious person: well, what sort of evi-
dence would convince you that you were
wrong? How bad do things have to get
before you actually start thinking, “Yes,
this is evidence against the truth of Islam.”
If you’d asked somebody in the golden
age of Islam,somebody in the year 1015,
“what sort of evidence would convince you
that the Islamic religion was false?” He
might say,“well, if in 1000 years’ time we
still haven’t conquered Europe, and Islam
was still largely confined to North Africa,
the Middle East and certain parts of Asia,
and if the European or Christian countries
had created vast empires and advanced in
science, and if the most powerful country
in the world was founded on a secular con-
stitution.” And if he said-and this is the
kind of thing I can imagine somebody in
the year 1015 saying-“That would be really
© navbadel.co.uk
I could multiply the list
indefinitely but there is a
vast number of things that
I’m pretty confident we won’t
observe-but that if we did
observe them, we would have
evidence for religion. So it’s
not blind faith in irreligion,
it’s faith and belief that are
based on empirical evidence.
Suppose, for instance, that
earthquakes had been
predicted all over the world on
a specific date in the Qur’an
and they did occur and that
there was no explanation of
this.That would very strongly
raise my confidence in religion.

their existence from that which we can
observe.And evidence for God is no dif-
ferent - belief in God too, is verifiable
through clear and evident signs in the
world around us and I will speak about
these in just a bit.
On an individual level, perhaps 99% of
our knowledge is based on testimonial
evidence and not on our own observa-
tion or experimentation. For instance,
we spend our entire lives considering a
certain individual to be our father, all on
the basis of the testimony of our beloved
mothers. I am not aware of many who
state that ‘intellectual maturity’ requires
that fathers produce DNA reports before
their children are assured of the identities
of their fathers. Even scientists them-
selves base their entire life’s work on the
findings of others. We all take a pleth-
ora of things to be common knowledge
despite the fact that we have not tried
Atheism or Belief:
(Speech delivered by
Ayyaz Mahmood Khan, UK)
Thank you very much, Catrin. Dr. Arif,
thank you very much for your interest-
ing talk.I am very pleased to be here and
looking forward to a thoughtful discus-
sion this evening.
I do not intend to deliver a twenty-
minute sermon today and force my
convictions upon you. I am only here
to give you some food for thought and
let you make your own choices so that
hopefully,you ask yourselves whether the
type of evidence that is usually demanded
for proof of God’s existence is appropri-
ate and in line with the objective that is
being sought. Because we all know that
there are different forms of evidence,and
each can be acceptable depending on the
circumstances.So what kind of evidence
is there for the existence of God, if any?
Before I get into that, I would like to
briefly touch upon some initial points.
Firstly, I must say from the very outset,
that I feel as if the topic for today’s event
is somewhat strangely worded. What is
belief? If we define belief as being ‘the
acceptance of a thing without evidence’, i.e.
blind belief, then that is a form of belief
which has no place in my life as a the-
ist and as a Muslim particularly, because
Islam does not teach blind belief. But,
if belief means the acceptance of some-
thing as being true which has not been
observed directly,then that is something
which theists and atheists hold in com-
mon. And I will touch upon that.
Secondly, what do we classify as evi-
dence? Is a thing evidence-based only if
it can be measured by material means or
physical apparatuses? It is often suggested
that theists are irrational, essentially, for
believing in a Being which cannot be
touched, felt, or seen with the physical
eyes. However, it should be clear that all
of us, whether we believe in God or not,
hold an entire host of things to be true
which we cannot access directly with our
physical senses. Scientists speak a great
deal about dark matter and dark energy,
which is said to make up a vast majority
of the universe and yet we cannot observe
it directly.Fear,anger,pain and even love,
for example, are things which cannot be
gauged by any of the five senses. Are we
all mad for believing in these things? Of
course not,because although these things
are inaccessible to our physical senses
directly,it is absolutely rational to deduce
Fear, anger, pain and even
love, for example, are things
which cannot be gauged by
any of the five senses. Are
we all mad for believing
in these things? Of course
not, because although these
things are inaccessible to
our physical senses directly,
it is absolutely rational to
deduce their existence from
that which we can observe.
© navbadel.co.uk

widely accessible than evidence for sci-
ence,for whilst everyone cannot become
a physicist or mathematician and dis-
cover or verify for themselves scientific
evidence first-hand, even an unlettered
person can experience God if he or she
uses the correct method to seek Him.
Now,I think it is fair to say that the gen-
eral logic of many today is that “since I
have not seen evidence for God, therefore, it
is most likely that He does not exist.”This
stance appears to be evidence-based,but
it is not. Just because a person has not
witnessed the evidence for something
on a personal level, this should not war-
rant disbelief without the appropriate
investigation being carried out. Such an
attitude is not conducive to the acquisi-
tion of truth and knowledge and quite
frankly, if it had been employed in sci-
ence, we would never have progressed
past the Stone Age. It’s interesting that
we are all prepared to put in immense
effort to gain knowledge in secular fields
of study but when it comes to God,many
people want an answer immediately and
on their own terms. Of course, like with
all honest investigations,we have to base
our search on those that have gone before
us and claimed to have found evidence.
The question then, is what is the nature
of the evidence for God and is it enough
to convince us of His existence? At this
juncture, theists usually simply present
arguments of a philosophical nature and
stop there. Arguments related to causal-
ity and fine-tuning, the cosmological
argument, this, that and the other. I am
and tested even a fraction of them for
ourselves. We do this because we accept
that the testimony of so many people
who are reliable and who are experts in
their field,is also a form of evidence,and
it is enough to make it entirely rational to
believe in the plausibility of these things
and in the least it warrants a serious,
genuine search. Similarly, in the case of
God,there has always been an enormous
amount of like-testimony present in all
ages,among completely isolated societies,
that a higher Supreme Being exists. All
this testimony cannot be written off by
a single stroke.I just mentioned intellec-
tual maturity. Now, intellectual integrity
demands that a multiplicity of testimony
in every age, by those who are known
to be sane, firmly grounded in reason,
wise and honest ought to be seriously
investigated.
It is often said that scientific findings are
verifiable through repeated experimen-
tation and that is why the testimony of
experts in science is believable.However,
even though scientific results can be
reproduced through repeated tests, that
still does not change the fact that the
people who perform these repeated tests
are usually a small minority of experts.
A vast majority of the world simply
accepts the discoveries of science with-
out any real inquiry of their own. But
let us put that point aside. The fact is
that the evidence for God is verifiable
too, so long as one demands an appro-
priate form of evidence as proof of His
existence. Religious teaching has always
stated that one must search for God
using the appropriate method of inves-
tigation. Anyone who demands that the
smell of a rose ought to be heard, or the
taste of sugar ought to be seen, or that a
beautiful voice ought to be tasted,would
be dubbed as nothing but stark raving
mad. Any God that you could put in a
test tube and measure physically would
be no God at all; because God is not a
physical being. However, when it comes
to religion,evidence for God can be more
The fact is that the evidence
for God is verifiable too, so
long as one demands an
appropriate form of evidence
as proof of His existence.
Religious teaching has always
stated that one must search
for God using the appropriate
method of investigation. © navbadel.co.uk

In every age,these Prophets of God have
always demonstrated the existence of
God through prophecy. Whether it was
Prophets such as Abrahamas
,Confuciusas
,
Buddhaas
,Krishnaas
,Lao Tzuas
,Socratesas
or Muhammadsa
, peace be upon them
all – all of whom claimed to be divinely
commissioned by God to guide mankind
towards their Creator.Although there are
countless examples throughout history
of fulfilled prophecy as proof of God’s
existence, I would like to present two
examples.The fact is, that the fulfilment
of prophecy can be objectively observed
and witnessed by all. Witnessing the
fulfilment of prophecy goes beyond just
seeing smoke and inferring a fire – it’s
like seeing the fire with your own eyes.
The first example is one from 1400 years
ago.The Prophet Muhammadsa
foretold
that in the distant future a time would
come when “camels would be abandoned
as a means of swift transport”.[1]
One may
ask then, what was to replace camels,
which had been the main mode of desert
transport since time immemorial? The
Prophetsa
described the emergence of a
donkey that would be like no other - one
that must have seemed utterly fantastical
to the people of that age, but is entirely
recognisable now.
Regarding this donkey, the Prophet
Muhammadsa
said, “People would climb
into its belly from the openings on its side.
Its belly would be well-lit from within and
wouldbeequippedwithcomfortableseating.[2]
The donkey would move at exceptionally fast
speeds covering long distances in a matter
positive that many have heard them
before. However, I am not going to pre-
sent a single one of these arguments and
have you believe that they are conclu-
sive evidence for the existence of God.
Because, quite simply, I don’t hold that
they are.I do not believe that these argu-
ments are sufficient evidence to prove the
existence of God.
Purely philosophical argumentation,
which is speculative in nature, at best
tells us that God ought to exist and gives
us reasonable cause to postulate the pos-
sible existence of God, but it does not
give us conclusive proof that God does
in fact exist. This can be likened to an
individual who sees smoke rising from
a distance. He infers that there ought to
be a fire even though he cannot see the
fire directly.
Now, what I do consider to be proof of
God’s existence is ‘revelation’ or the ful-
filment of prophecies. Because if God
is not dead, if He is a living God, then
he ought to express Himself. How can
there be any evidence of His existence
if He does not communicate with us?
I mentioned earlier that testimony for
the existence of God is present in all
ages since time immemorial and in all
the nations of the world, even in iso-
lated regions who have had no contact
with the outside world. This belief in
God, in my view, has always been estab-
lished by Prophets of God, who bring
guidance from on high and who along
with various other means, establish the
existence of God through the power of
prophecy. Because if an individual fore-
tells of an event prior to its occurrence
and it is established that the information
given is beyond the scope of his available
data, and if the prophecy is not so vague
that it is completely un-falsifiable, this
would establish the existence of a Higher
Supreme Being who is All-Knowing and
who gave that information of the future
to His Prophet, so as to establish His
own existence.
© navbadel.co.uk
Now, what I do consider to
be proof of God’s existence is
‘revelation’ or the fulfilment
of prophecies. Because if
God is not dead, if He is a
living God, then he ought
to express Himself. How
can there be any evidence
of His existence if He does
not communicate with us?

an impending global calamity, unparal-
leled in its ferocity, a conflict that would
spark a bloodbath throughout the world.
A prophecy regarding World War I.
Numerous characteristics regarding this
prophecy were foretold well in advance
and each and every one of them were
fulfilled in letter and spirit.
Firstly,the calamity was to be global in its
scope and was to bring about a revolution
in the world, changing the international
political fabric as the world knew it.
The prophecy foretold that the calam-
ity will bring: “a revolution in the world”,
warning that “the terror of it will exhaust
everyone - great and small.”[11]
Everyone
knows that World War I was the first
truly global conflict which resulted in
the collapse of four major empires – the
German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian
and Ottoman Empires – and changed the
political landscape of the world forever.
Secondly, the prophecy said: “suddenly -
a calamity which will shake them all.”[12]
It
is a well-known fact, that unlike most
wars which result by gradual escalations
in disagreement, the First World War
was sparked by the sudden assassination
of the then heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie.
Thirdly, it was also foretold that “streams
of blood will flow like the water of a rivu-
let.”[13]
This was not mere poetic hyperbole.
At Gallipoli, witnesses said that the sea
“was absolutely red with blood to fifty yards
out.”[14]
of days or hours.[3]
It would have regular
stoppages on the way and at every stop-
page the public would be invited to come
and be seated before it resumes its jour-
ney, and every departure would be loudly
announced.”[4]
Not only this,but “this don-
key would consume fire and this fire would
burn in its belly but those seated in the don-
key’s belly would remain fully insulated from
this fire.”[5]
However, the prophecy does not end
there. The Prophetsa
of Islam also said
that when this “donkey” was required to
travel by sea, it would “swell to enormous
sizes,and move from continent to continent
riding the waves of the ocean.[6]
It would
carry mountains of food on its back across
the oceans.”[7]
Yet this donkey would not
only travel by land and sea.The Prophetsa
further said: “this donkey would move in
the air at an altitude higher than that of the
clouds,[8]
and that it would roam the sky like
a cloud driven by wind.[9]
The width between
its ears would be forty metres.”[10]
I leave it to you, to decide for yourself
what modern day development is being
referred to here, and shall let you reflect,
how a man in 7th
Century nomadic
Arabia,who was unable to read or write,
could have painted such a vivid picture
of a world over a millennium away,if not
by revelation from an All-Knowing God?
The question is, does God still speak in
the present age or do theists speak of only
what is past? In this day and age,Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
,the Founder of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community also
claimed to be a Prophet of God whose
purpose, like all the past prophets, was
to prove the existence of God through
the power of Divine signs and prophecy.
One famous example from among
countless fulfilled prophecies comes
from 1905, when he publicised what he
said was Divine revelation warning of
I leave it to you, to decide
for yourself what modern
day development is being
referred to here, and shall
let you reflect, how a man
in 7th
Century nomadic
Arabia, who was unable to
read or write, could have
painted such a vivid picture
of a world over a millennium
away, if not by revelation
from an All-Knowing God?
© navbadel.co.uk

The Islamic dilemma - The Review of Religions July 2015

The Islamic dilemma - The Review of Religions July 2015

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The Islamic dilemma - The Review of Religions July 2015