The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-10-09
THE TUNIsIANs.


Religion and Religious Observaness I'm
| Tunis. DC.
or the two millions or souls comprising the population
Of Tuns the great majority, probably nneteen-twen-
teths, belong to tho Mohammedaa religion There are
about nfty thousand Jews, principally Arabian I'D
scarcely more than ak seven thousand Christians
together Edgar Allen Poe wrote story styled Thraa
Sundays In One Week." which, to persons who admire
nus STYLE Is no doubt amusing In Tunis this title would
a'm''aoiy as there three days observed by df
fcre Nse'g'ons as sabbaths The Mohammedans keep
Friday ~fed while the Jews observe Saturday and the
Christians sunday The mosques in Tunis are OF the
descr uon as those throughout Turkey The Jews
In Tuns are very strict in the observance OF
their ancient rites refanng from handling money or
nre on their Sabbath They principally nomadlc or
wandering and those WHO reside in one place generally
follow their ancient occupation OF shepherds, which
made them formerly determination to the Egyptians"
The Christians In Tuns almost all belong TO the Roman
Catholic persuasion, there being scarcely two hundred
Proestans In the whole country All religions are toll
Grated and respected by the main body Of the people
As many Of our readers are perhaps unaware OF the
origin and tenets Of Mohammedanism We win devote a
small space to these subjects. -
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES TENETs.
Recommendation, as the term indicates was founded
by q s'rtain Aahomet. He was born at Mecca in $40
am
his family ben poor His parents died when he was
vet a child and he taken charge of by an |
nnce Having attained his twenty-nrth year
he made the acquaintance of a young man {
who had maiden aunt Of probably forty summers
at least SO she said herself She had money, he had
none; they married, aud the newly made hus
ana snaye t ~ @ ON hs
come Not having anything else TO do he thought no |
might after the mana,r OF the modern spirtualists,
,lpaftas frnyt
He taken with commissions, in tho course
of which the Ante Gabriel appeared to him and rected
the celebrated Koran. inis book Is TO the Moham-
medans what the Bible is 10 the Christian AT first he
could only get his wife TO believe hu, but after some
time several Of his relatives became converts to
hin. While preaching his doctrines ne net with
considerable persecution Several times he had 10 lee
for his fe but the the opposed
much the more were they believed in In 622 a plot
having been made to assassnae him, he fed, and from
the commencement OF his flight the hegira dates. Dur
ing the FIRST years o. the hega the number OF converts
Mahomet received large. Ho built several |
mosques and finally had many followers that he pro-
claimed war against his enemies. In almost all MS bat
ties he successful, that he began to be feared
and in the ninth Of the heglra he conquered Mecca
This established the religion in Arabia, whence II
spread far and wide. In the following year he died.
The followers of the Mohammedan creed do not call
themselves by that They call their creed Islam,
which means "fuI submission TO Cod and choose
for themssycs the name Mosem or 'the people OF the
Islam" This torn has since perverted into Mussul
The religion is a strange admixture OF Chris |
tianity and heathensm BY heathenism 1t must not be
inferred We mean idoatry. God is worshipped by the
Moslems, but in different way from that in which we
as Christians acknowledge Him. The Molaminedans do
not lay claim TO any regular confession OF faith, except
tho one There is no God but God and Mohammcd Is
His prophet" He is spiritual eternal-thc attr
butcs Of wisdom, omnipotencc and mercy. The
Koran is His word The account in the Koran Of the
creation greatly resembles that in the Old Testament
or tho prophets Adam, they say was the iirst
and Mohamned the last The dead subjected by the
angels Munke and Make TO examination, which Is
followed by an examination by God himself They hold
there is heaven and hell aud that bridge as thin as
lair over the latter has 70 be crossed before entering
the former The dcyil they style Ebis He, they say,
condemned to DEATH but hs sentence deferred for
execution I'LL the Anal resurrection.
MANNER OF WORSHIP.
Every Moscm Is bound TO sGer up prayer. or rather
repeat passages from the Koran five times dayat day
break in the afternoon, at sunset, and aud
quarter hour after it. In every town the faithful, IA
the public crer, or muezzin. whose calls con-
tain short passages or the Koran, Sc. In the
morning he adds to his general cry the wholesome exor
fation, "praycr Is better than Sleep Friday, has
bcen stated is the Mohammcdan Sabbath. The eating
pork is forbidden, with the Jews the Is the
with the drinking OF wine. Tho Mussulman may
perform his prayers in house every day but Friday,
when he must 30 to the mosque.
These lew OF the principal laws relating TO the
pccuartes, and in Tuns the practice Of the religion
Is not quite 80 strict MS elsewhere. ~
THE TuNIsIANs YESTERDAY.
IN Difference 10 American customs which they are
always ready TO bow 10, the Tunisans did not leave
their hotel yesterday. Sitting IA the window, they
amused themselves by watching the by, seeming
TO be tired Of the During the day there
an alarm Of fire. and number OF engines, with New
YORK accompanimenis, passed the Aston House This
amused them considerably Fires are almost unknown
In Tuns, and volunteer or even pad fire depart
men. IL thing unheard Of. No red-shirted b'hoys
rush through the streets there to the infinite peril OF
life and limb OF pedestrians In fact Tunis is behind the
times.
Tho embassy to-day visits the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
through the kind invitation Of Admiral Bell
Jersey City News.
LECTURE v. IyrAILI- |