Does loyalty to our country mean that we must support Western countries in everything?

The support that the Promised Messiah ^as gave to the British should not be mistaken as a complete endorsement of Western powers. Rather, the Promised Messiah ^as supported the British primarily in opposing rebellion against one’s country of residence, in promoting loyalty, and in appreciating the human rights and religious freedoms they extended to their citizens (Pocket Book, p. 577).

However, this support did not go contrary to his love for Islam.

Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih V ^aba said about the Promised Messiah ^as:

That heart, which was full of patriotic fervor, held Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu in great respect simply because, instead of bowing his neck in front of the British, he bravely sacrificed his life. How can one even imagine that a person with such self-respect could ever be an agent for a foreign nation. 

(Friday Sermon, October 24, 2014, p. 4).

Standing against the negative influence of both European countries and Western philosophers was one of the basic purposes of the coming of the Promised Messiah ^as as the second coming of Dhul-Qarnain, and was defined in the Holy Quran (18:94-100) and ahadith. Gog and Magog, who are the groups prophesied in the Holy Quran as being the cause of great disorder in the latter days, were defined by the Promised Messiah^as as the “countries of Europe” and “European powers”(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 23, p. 87–88). Describing Gog and Magog, he wrote:

Describing Gog and Magog, he wrote:

These are the nations of Europe, as they are unique in their expertise in the use of fire.

(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 14, p. 424).

Gog and Magog are defined as the political powers of the West. Also, concerning the Dajjal the Promised Messiah ^as wrote:

Dajjal in fact is none other than the people known as Christian
missionaries or European philosophers.” 

(Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 14, p. 252)

To oppose the Dajjal, and Gog and Magog, is the responsibility of every Muslim. Loyalty to our country means that we will never rebel and will remain loyal citizens of the country of our residence. However, this does not mean that we ideologically support the injustices of Western powers. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra wrote:

Let my honorable friend remain assured that we also are opposed to the American, British or French Imperialism, as is evident from my three pamphlets entitled Communism and Democracy. In these pamphlets, I have tried to bring home to these Powers that either they must effect a complete change in their attitude towards Eastern peoples or they must come to great grief. 

(Communism and Democracy, p. 36).

The Holy Prophet ^sas prophesied that the great disorder of the latter days would be brought about by people who make use of great deception (Dajjal) and the power of fire (Gog and Magog). We repeatedly observe that when modern imperialism is imposed on weak countries, it is justified with the deception of a noble humanitarian effort, and it is implemented with fire-power. These humanitarian efforts are in reality a fire that is made to appear as a paradise. The Holy Prophet ^sas described this, saying:

Let me tell you something about Dajjal which no Prophet had told his people. He is blind (in one eye) and will bring with him something like Paradise and Hell; but what he calls Paradise will be in fact Hell.

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

As Muslims, we must learn the insight necessary to see through this 
deception and distinguish this hell from paradise. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra said:

No sensible person can be so foolish as to assert that these nations invest capital in other countries out of compassionate motives. If there lives such a person he is either a fool or a liar. These Western nations are first and foremost traders and businessmen and no sane person could think of a businessman investing money where there are no dividends. When we do business with a person we admit by that very act that he expects to earn profit by this transaction. There is no sense in asking a businessman to forego his profit.

(Communism and Democracy, p. 36).

Certainly I should not be understood to mean that Western countries treat us like brothers. Most assuredly they are exploiting Muslim countries. He who dares say that their interference in the political affairs and trade interests of these countries is out of sympathetic motives is either a fool or a knave. In spite of their friendly professions we shall continue to fight them till Muslim countries throw off their yoke and gain full liberty.

(Communism and Democracy, p. 42).

Under the disguise of humanitarian motives, imperialism is imposed on weak countries so discreetly that it becomes difficult to distinguish a free country from an enslaved country. When Western powers become involved with weaker countries, they do so with the justification that they seek to help them. Countries fail to recognize the hidden motives behind the deceit of these noble intentions, and they mistake the fire of the Dajjal as a paradise that is being offered to them. When this happens, countries become vassals of Western powers without having realized what happened, and they find that they have no room to exercise their sovereignty. Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV ^rta said:

On the surface, the world does not observe any desire on the part of the developed nations to exercise any influence on the developing countries but in reality they have a strong urge to dictate the fundamental and major foreign policies to the smaller nations. This is the time when smaller nations realize that their foreign policies are not independent. What happens in practice is that, the stronger nations formulate the foreign policy of the smaller nations in such a way that they draw certain lines for the smaller nations. If these smaller nations develop contact with other nations or make changes in their policy while remaining within those “boundaries,” then there is no objection but as soon as they venture to cross those lines, these developed nations find some pretext to interfere in their policies. Thus, they are not allowed to follow any independent policy. 

(The Gulf Crisis and the New World Order, p. 109).

This deception is primarily propagated through the media. Propaganda campaigns are used to maintain a hold on the perception of Western powers in the eyes of the world’s population. The imperial efforts the Dajjal, and Gog and Magog, are repeatedly depicted before us as great humanitarian efforts. However, imperialism is the underlying motive.
Describing one instance of the way in which the media is used to propagate this deception, Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV ^rta said:

During the course of the [Gulf ] war, an American General proudly admitted and boasted that they had successfully hit the oil wells and oil had started seeping out. The very next day, the whole story was retracted and Iraq was accused of not even sparing the birds in this war. Birds of the kind of coots, cormorant and other wild ducks were repeatedly shown on the TV, dripping in oil slick. And this was supposed to project the tyranny of Saddam Hussein who was insensitive even of the plight of innocent birds. Repeated mention of the loss of marine life has been used by the West to indicate the great compassion they have for human, marine or other forms of life. But I would expose before you their “compassion” towards human suffering to uncover their duplicity. The Holy Prophet Muhammad ^sas used one word Dajjal (The great deceptionist) to encapsulate the entire history of this current historical epoch. This duplicity is so horrifying that you would be surprised to learn that the African continent is suffering from hunger for many years and millions of infants, women, men young and old have been reduced to mere skeletons and they are passing through their painful death in this manner but no attention has been given to them. Now you have heard the estimate of war expenses-five hundred fifty billion dollars would be needed to rebuild after the war and approximately one hundred billion dollars of miscellaneous expenses and two hundred billion dollars worth of losses sustained by the Third world countries, The grand total of all this comes to approximately one thousand billion dollars. As opposed to that, today, twenty five million African people are on the brink of death, as a result of hunger. And this is an estimate made by the United Nations. If it costs two dollars per day to provide food for one African person to keep him or her alive then only 1.5 billion dollars are needed to keep 25 million Africans alive for one whole year. Now you imagine that those who have no mercy for 25 million people-those who are raining down death and destruction on 16 million Iraqis by spending tons of money are raising hue and cry at the death of a few birds! This is nothing but mere deception and mischief.

(The Gulf Crisis and the New World Order, p. 244–245).

This was not an isolated incident, but it was part of a pattern of behavior in Western imperialism that has consistently been observed for decades. The Holy Prophet ^sas described these powers as great deceivers who impose their will through deception and the power of fire. These characteristics have repeatedly become apparent in the behavior of Western powers, and they continue to become apparent. Today, the use of deception and fire-power by the Dajjal, and Gog and Magog, has only increased. These attributes have become painfully apparent in Western involvement in Syria. Concerning the Syrian crisis, Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih V ^aba said:

What interest do other powers have in regions thousands of miles away? They are either interested in the wealth of that country, or in order to prove their superiority to opposing powers, they are simply subjugating lesser countries. In any case, it is due to the weakness of the Muslim countries and their abandonment of their teaching that the others have the impudence to state, as one country did, that even if the UN did not allow, they would use force against Syria because it was their right. The reasoning given for this “right” was most childish, in that UN cannot dictate their foreign policy. Where does the question of foreign policy enter the equation here? When enmity is so intense people are blinded and apparently educated people say ignorant things. And we look up to them for their wisdom, but they say ignorant things. Sitting thousands of miles away, what business do they have in this matter? If it is anyone’s business, it is the UN’s because the country in question is included in its charter. No individual country has either any pact or any [relevant] dealing or is in any direct danger from the country in chaos. Where is the relevance of foreign policy here? 

(Friday Sermon, Sept 13, 2013)

Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih V ^aba said he has not quite understood this logic.

It is mere obstinacy and an effort to prove their superiority. World peace is not established in these ways. For world peace justice has to be done for which the beautiful teaching of Islam states: “…And let not a people’s enmity incite you to act other- wise than with justice…” 

(Friday Sermon, Sept 13, 2013)

Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih V ^aba has repeatedly drawn the attention of world leaders with reference to this verse:

If the UN was to work on this principle, justice could be established. Here it is not a question of the foreign policy of any one country. Another country has said that they will not send any ground troops to Syria to bring peace but they will use their air power. That is, they will turn the city and the country into ruins as they did before, killing innocent women and children, just like in Iraq and Libya. What was gained there that could be gained here? Cities were turned into ruins and there is still no peace there. God has made their matches from among them. The Russian president wrote yesterday [in the New York Times] that it is not right to bypass the United Nations in such decisions. He clearly wrote that no one wants the United Nations to have the fate of the League of Nations which collapsed. Certainly, he is right.

(Friday Sermon, Sept 13, 2013).

Loyalty to country is no justification for supporting and participating in deception and oppression. Rather, it is the responsibility of every Ahmadi Muslim to strive to remove injustice. One way of fulfilling this responsibility is to always stand for justice and never fear in speaking the truth. The Holy Prophet ^sas said:

The best Jihad is a word of justice to an oppressive ruler. 

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 38, Hadith 4,330).

Another way of fulfilling this responsibility is to remove ourselves from any involvement in oppression and injustice. Hudur ^aba addressed the possibility of a Muslim being a conscientious objector to participating in an unjust war and said:

If, however, a military makes a decision to attack another nation unjustly, and thus becomes the oppressor, then a Muslim has the option to leave the army, because then he would be assisting cruelty. By taking this decision it would not mean that he is being disloyal to his country. In fact, in such circumstances, loyalty to his country would demand that he should take such a step and counsel his own government that they should not allow themselves to fall to the same depths as those unjust governments and nations that act in a cruel way. If however, joining the army is compulsory and there is no way to leave, but his conscience is not clear, then the Muslim should leave the country, but cannot raise a voice against the law of the land. He should leave because a Muslim is not permitted to live in a country as a citizen, whilst at the same time, acting against the nation or siding with the opposition.

(World Crisis and Pathway to Peace, p. 36).

The most important responsibility of every Muslim is to pray that a change comes about in our countries. The Holy Prophet ^sas prophesied that the Promised Messiah ^as and his community would overcome the Dajjal, and Gog and Magog. We must place our trust in Allah Almighty and turn to Him in prayer. It is part of loyalty to our country that we strive to establish justice and to pray for our country. Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV ^rta said:

We do not claim that the Third world nations are free of vice, neither do we advocate that the East is honourable while labeling the West as wholly corrupt. What we do say is that the inherent potential of the West in propagating vice is such that the like of it has never been given to any nation in the past. In fact, the development of such a frightful situation was predicted by the Holy Prophet Muhammad ^sas when he said that towards the end of days, the emergence of the Dajjal [anti Christ] would cause so much evil and iniquity in the world that it would have no parallel in history. Since the creation of the world all Prophets were warned of the evil consequences at the appearance of the Dajjal and the subsequent emergence of a powerful nation which would spread iniquity. Therefore, your prayers must not be motivated by any latent prejudice, national or ethnic divisions, but should rather be sincerely prompted by the message contained in these prophecies.

 (The Gulf Crisis and the New World Order, p. 346).

The forces of Dajjal, and Gog and Magog, will one day be spiritually subjugated to Islam through the efforts and prayers of the Promised Messiah ^as and his Community, and the shari‘ah of Islam will be established in the West. However, this great victory will not come about on its own. It is our responsibility to strive to bring that day through our efforts in standing against injustice and through prayer. We can be among those who bring this day by truly being members of the community of the Promised Messiah ^as of the latter days. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra wrote:

I know it for certain that Islam shall win in the long run and I know also that anti-lslamic countries have already ruled over and kept us in chains for too long. God’s jealousy has become excited and the dominion of the greatest and noblest of all the Prophets of God, Muhammad ^sas, shall now be established in the world. The enemies of God shall be destroyed and extirpated, no matter how many nations offer to help and support them. We shall not give up God and no worldly considerations shall make us come to terms with His enemies. Our God is our greatest wealth and we shall never part with this Wealth. We shall break the chains that hold our country in slavery and shall accept no bondage but that of God. We shall not cut our own nose to spite the face of our enemy. We are convinced that in this way we shall win complete freedom for our countries and shall also keep our nose intact.

For all their military might and material wealth, England and America shall one day be compelled to submit to the spiritual power of Islam. This is God’s decree. The day is sure to come when, putting aside their spirit of bargaining, the Americans will extend to us their hand of love and peace, nay the hand of belief and brotherliness. That indeed will be a blessed day for mankind and an auspicious hour. Our God will again take His seat on the Throne of His Glory and Majesty and again the flag of our Noble Prophet ^sas will fly high in the air. The Message of Peace and Goodwill that the Holy Prophet ^sas gave to the world shall spread again to the ends of the earth and find place in the hearts of men. The accusing tongues of his enemies shall be silenced. They shall confess to their mortification that they had made futile efforts to throw mud at God’s exalted Messenger ^sas and His Elect and shall repent of their evil deeds. 

(Communism and Democracy, p. 43).