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94

THE MOHAMMEDAN CONTROVERSY

The Maulvi's remarks on the advantages of conquest, and its legality, as a means of spreading Islam, are very curious, especially as he makes many references to occidental history, to the spread of Christianity in Britain under Edgar, and to its present favourable prospects under the prestige of British victory in India.

In concluding his answer to the Mîzân-ul-Haqq, our Author explains why he has not quoted his adversary at length, and answered him word for word. "If these unprofitable disquisitions," he says, "were confined by the Padres to two or three treatises, and they were themselves such sort of people that when the groundlessness of their assertions had once been proved, other Padres would hide their heads, and English gentlemen would keep them back from advancing such absurdities in future,—then, indeed, there were some object in replying to their arguments word by word. But such is far from being the case: nay, thousands of Padres earn their bread by this very trade, and their livelihood consists in attacking the religions of other people,—quite apart from the consideration of whether those religions are supported by reason or not. They are constantly writing and printing new treatises, without any sort of rational ground; but simply in order to support their families, they labour night and day at this work. Besides, if you prove never so well the unreasonableness of a Padre's statements, it seems to have no effect whatever upon others, for we find no one endeavouring to persuade such a writer to give up these irrational arguments. Seeing therefore that it does not constitute our livelihood to spread abroad religion, and that English gentlemen, though they be lovers of fair argument, yet maintain only their own Padres in such service, and give nothing to the professors of other religions for the same purpose;— Say, how can it be expected of us to reply word for word to the arguments of these Padres? Indeed, we ought to regard ourselves as fortunate in not being hindered by the Officers of the Sirkar Company, from replying to our adversaries' objections; and such of these Officers as are of a philosophical turn of mind, can themselves appreciate a well-framed refutation. The real objections, too, are confined to

           

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