MOSLEM LEADER.
PROCLAIMED NEW MESSIAH. AGA KHAN AND FOLLOWERS. Sun. LONDON. March 28 According to a report from Delhi certain followers of the Aga Khan, one of the most romantic figures on the English turf, as well as the greatest religious and political force east of Suez, have proclaimed him as the new Messiah. The newspapers point out that the enormous spiritual power of this great Moslem, who is a direct descendant of Mahommed and the acknowledged leader of 70,000,000 Mahommedans, would have an incalculable effect in India if the vast millions of low-cast© Hindus could be induced to accept him as the incarnation of Vishnu, one of the supreme Oriental deities. » Aga Sultan Mahomet Shah, known as His Highness the Aga Khan, is the spiritual head of the Khojah sect and the recognised leader of the Indian Mahommedans. Always considered to be almost a god by his own people, he is well known and popular in London society, and was a personal friend of the late King Edward, who bestowed upoii him all the principal Indian decorations. He attended the coronation of King George as the guest of the nation. After the outbreak of the Great War he gave unmistakable proof of his loyalty to the British nation. He issued a statement impressing upon all Mahommedans in India the necessity of adhering firmly to their old and tried loyalty to the British Government. On this account he was the subject of favourable mention by Lord Hardinge to the Secretary of State for India. In April, 1913, the King conferred the rank and status of a first-class chief of the Bombay Presidency for life on Aga Khan. The Aga Khan claims descent in a direct line from AH by his wife Fatima, daughter of the Prophet. In a country like India, where pride of birth, ' enshrined in the sacred institution of caste, is the basic foundation of the social community, the Aga Khan is personally regarded as being a sacred individual. In India the very water in which he performs his ablutions is preserved and distributed among his followers; those who seek admittance to his presence approach bare-footed; his residence in Bombay is no whit less holy ground than is the Vatican. Yet in England he is known only as a polished English gentleman. The Aga Khan has travelled widely, and no other Indian possesses a tithe of his knowledge of foreign affairs. The responsibilities and privileges attaching to his position are immense. He exercises a vast and absolutely unquestioned influence over his followers not only in India itself, but in East Africa, Central Asia, Egypt, and Morocco as welL Great as his influence is, ft" has never been abused by him. He has wielded his power well, and has rallied to his side the best elements among ica- <acM«&gkizii!sta.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19289, 30 March 1926, Page 11
Word Count
470MOSLEM LEADER. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19289, 30 March 1926, Page 11
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