Hi
The Ahmadia Concept of Freedom is well explained in this short essay which could be accessed at :
alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_4_section_2.html
"Isalm/Quran grants every human the fundamental right to believe in whatever he may and to claim that his beliefs are true. Yet it does not, in any way, permit him to impose his personal convictions on others, nor does it grant him any right to punish others for the crime of their wrong beliefs (as he judges them). Man is only answerable to God, and it is He alone Who knows the hidden intricacies of the human mind and heart. Again it is not the failure to recognize truth which is punishable. What is punishable is the falsehood of the person who rejects truth knowing deep within that he is wrong. Evidently the detection of this hidden crime lies beyond the reach of human investigation. The decisive factor is always the criminal failure and not the failure itself. The only reliable vantage point is that of God the All-Knowing, the Omnipresent, the Unchanging, the All-Wise. That indeed is the most important factor of which the Holy Quran reminds the reader so emphatically and repeatedly. In the area of religious beliefs and modes of worship, man is specifically warned not to combine in himself the role of a judge and that of an executioner. Even the Holy Founder of Islamsa is reminded:
… you are merely an admonisher,
You are not a magistrate over them. 88:22-23
It is forbidden even to abuse the imaginary gods of idolaters which are a mere concoction of their fancy:
Do not abuse those whom they worship besides Allah, lest in retaliation they are driven to abuse Allah (the only true God). So have We made the practice of everyone to appear to be attractive in their view. Then their return will be to their Lord who will then inform them of what they had been really doing. 6:109
This, however, does not obviate the vital need for recognizing and acquiring truth before one breathes one’s last. To possess the right to believe in whatever one may is one thing, but to escape the consequences of one’s belief is quite another. The fundamental right and freedom to hold any belief is not a license to violate the sanctity of truth. It is provided only to protect the freedom of human conscience to act as it may deem fit. Had this freedom in matters of faith not been granted, anyone could have felt at liberty to forcibly change an other’s views and beliefs in the name of truth. His perverted logic would convince him that as no one is entitled to hold false beliefs, everyone with right beliefs is authorized to forcibly change them in accordance with his own. Again this freedom of belief does not, in any way, override the principle of accountability. The right of freedom can be correctly understood only when it is coupled with this principle. If a group of mountaineers are told to follow whatever trail they may choose in whatever direction they please, but are also warned that some trails could lead them to the precipice of annihilation, they would certainly watch their steps with every caution at their command. Yet such daredevils as are blind to their own interest may altogether ignore the warning and exercise their right of freedom to their own ultimate destruction. This is the meaning of freedom of faith and freedom of choice in the Quranic terms:
There is no compulsion in religion. Surely, the right way has become distinct from error; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress, and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle which knows no breaking. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. 2:257
All the same, the categoric prohibition to change another person’s faith by force does not deprive anyone of his right to change others through persuasive arguments and dialogues, so long as it is free from even a whisper of threat. Let alone permission, it is the bounden duty of every believer to invite mankind to the path of God with wisdom and goodly persuasion:
Invite to the path of thy Lord with wisdom and comely admonishment and dispute with them in the best of manners…16:126" Unquote
Thanks
