by the reactionary party. The Moslem authorities of Egypt have forbidden Ahmadiya missionaries from India to carry on their work in the country, and have also forbidden the circulation of their English translation of the Koran. The followers of the Ahmadiya sect are also persecuted by the other Moslems of India, where they often have been denied the use of regular mosques for worship, and have had in many cases to build mosques of their own. Within the past two years the Nizam of Hyderabad, the head of the largest Moslem state in India, has been compelled to issue a public statement professing his orthodoxy in order to set at rest rumors among the faithful that His Exalted Highness held religious views which were contrary to Islam. The religion of Islam is first and always a religion of orthodoxy. One must conform or suffer the consequences.
If the faithful are thus kept in line by the strictest watch on their movements and beliefs through fear of consequences, it is not difficult to imagine the result for those who become apostates, that is, who forsake Islam entirely and adopt another religion. The front door of entrance to Islam stands wide open, but the door that leads out is forever closed. Apostasy by male adult Moslems who are sane is, when uncompelled, punishable with death. Genuine freedom of conscience is impossible. Moslems who have changed their religion have been regarded by their friends and relatives as despicable in the extreme. Even in lands like Egypt, Iraq and India, where more enlightened
POLITICS
