to that believed to have commenced following the death of Muhammad, under whose authority the council was to operate. Accordingly, he favoured centralised, singular authority through the system of caliphate which, in his view, was religiously indispensable and to which the Community's allegiance was necessary. Ghulam Ahmad's successors, according to him, continued to be divinely ordained and commanded obedience from the Community. This, he contended, was clearly indicated in The Will as well as Ghulam Ahmad's other works and was an arrangement which, according to him, had existed throughout the period of Nur-ud-Din's leadership who not only spoke of himself as the khalīfat al-masīh (caliph; lit. successor of the Messiah) but declared that he had attained this office by divine appointment rather than community choice. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, accordingly, vests its religious and organisational authority in the caliph as Ghulam Ahmad's divinely chosen successor. The non-cooperation movement Mahmood Ahmad became an important political figure in pre-independence India, and had close contacts with the leadership of All-India Muslim League. In 1919 following the defeat of Turkey during the first world war, which had a profound effect on the Muslims of India, the All India Muslim Conference was held in Lucknow to discuss Turkey's future existence. Mahmood was invited to attend, but could not attend in person. However, he wrote a booklet, on the subject of The future of Turkey and the duty of Muslims which was read out at the conference. Mahmood was usually at variance with the activities of the Khilafat movement which strove to defend the Ottoman Caliphate, sought to pressure the British Government and to protect the Ottoman Empire. The Movement became a major part of the struggle of the Non-cooperation movement Mahmood maintained that the activities of the movement were against the teachings of Islam and would ultimately prove detrimental for the Muslims. He emphasised the absence of the conditions in which Islam allows non-cooperation and instead advocated a positive engagement with the British so as to allay any prejudices towards Islam. He also criticised Mohandas Gandhi's election as leader of the movement, lamenting the Muslim leaders for turning to a non-Muslim for their cause. Inter-faith understanding In 1919, Mahmood Ahmad also appointed a number of young talented Ahmadis to research into the world's major religions. He also delivered a number of public lectures on The need for religion and The dependence of peace upon Islam