Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-08-24

tFrnzerE Magazfne.l
In any serions question Of reform
among Mohammedans, the position
Of woman must occupy D prominent
place. We are not now speaking Of
poIygamy, but Of the seclusion Of
women, the abnegation Of their i'm
fiuence, and, az . corolary of this,
the rearing Of the entire population
in frivolity, ignorance and vice.
The Koran bids men "respect wo-
men, OF whom they are BORN" but
q few isolated precepts like these
are poweriess against its general
tenor. The Turkish women shuttle
unnoticed through the streets in
their yellow slippers, or sit for
hours in the meadows of the "sweet-
waters" their bright .ferejehs gleam-
ing like parti-colored bed Of tulips.
II their owner lie q man Of mark they
are taken for an airing In . gilded
coach, or they are huddled like
sheep by their black wardens into q
separate pen on the little steamers,
which pant busily across the Golden
Horn. The life of q Turkish woman
Ia vapid and meaningless; she Is as
ignorant as a child--yet even the
Grand Vizierat Is often at the dis
posal Of harem intrigue. And II we
would discover the canker which
lies at the root of Turkish society,
we must seek 10 In the practice
which condemns the children OF both
sexes to the vicious atmosphere OF
the harem during the most plastic
years Of life. The origin Of this
treatment Of woman we shall find
not in the dictates of Oriental jeal-
ousy, but in the teaching OF the
Koran. The divine book by no
means ignores the existence Of wo-
man. 1t lays down most careful and
minute rules for her walk In life.
But IL treats her rather as an adjunct
to man than as an independent, re-
sponsible being. Obedience Is the
corner observation-disclosures to him who
rules over her. Home 10 her proper
place, but II she goes abroad she
must veil her face and breast; nay
some say, even her hands. "Speak
unto thy wife and thy daughters and
the wives Of the true believers, y
says the Koran, "that they cast their
outer garments over them wher
they walk abroad-believing womer
must not discover their ornaments
and let them throw theil
wells over their bosoms." 1t is II
such light matters as these that We
see the difficulty OF change In the
current of Eastern thought. 1t Il
not merely the inveterate habit o.
centuries, though this is stronger
than law, but also a matter Of relig
ion. The Spanish lady may ex
change her n,antiita for Paris bon
net, with sigh perhaps at the des
potism OF fashion; but II her Turkish
sister lays aside her yashn'ak sh'
infringes solemn ordinances of he
religion and degrades herself In thu
sight OF all. II, however, as w
have seen, the Koran awards q very
modest place In the scheme OF socie
ty to women, IL does not, as man.
have supposed, absolve her from
participation in the life to come
This would be manifest, even though
no other duty had been eDjoinet
than performing the pilgrimage t.
Mecca, which is Of such paramount
i'm Importance that 1t Is declared tina
man might as we'll die Jew or
Christian as neglect IL. 1t has beer
enormously supposed that the Koran
allows woman no souls. But it ex
pressly states that the devout Mussul
man, In addition to his seventy-twt
celestial brides, shall be allowed tn
company of any of his wives in Par
grown tired on earth. The Prophet
too, finding that his interrogation OF
one occasion was not satisfied will
the declaration that there would b.
an old woman in heaven, FASTENED
to add that he only meant by this tina
all would be restored to youth
Though, to be sure, when he wa!
permitted TO take a bird's-eye view
of heaven and hell, no saw that mos'
Of the inhabitants Of the latter place
were women. The absence Of wo'
mon from mosques has probably led
hasty observers to the above conclu.
sion. But this is only due to the
desire that they should not distract
A. nT xlo v,noln xxynpoI, n.