The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-06-28
The Banner of the Caliphate.


London Telegraph writes: On April
20, the Sultan Abdul Hamid, address
ing the Turkish army, said, "The
fatherland is in danger. 1t is my duty
to take In my hand the banner of the
Caliphate and go into the midst of my
soldiers-to sacrifice, if necessary, my
life for the independence of the empire
and the honor and life of our women and
children" Many of the readers of the
Daily Telegraph would like, perhaps,
to know some details of this banner, and
of its wonderful influence upon the
mind of those who believe in Moham-
med and his Koran 1t might in
terest them, therefore, if give here
some observations on the subject.
The banner of the Caliphate, to which
the Sultan alludes in his speech, is that
which the Turks call ''the heavenly
Standard" and, in their language,
"Bairack. Its color is green, and
they believe it to have been the banner
of the prophet Mohammed, delivered
to him by the angel Gabriel, through
the medium of Ayesha, as an indubita-
BILE token of victory over their
enemies. This standard was for
merly laid up in the treasury of the
Sultan of Constantinople, but it is now
kept in the mosque at Eyoob, where
the new Sultans on the day Of their cor
onation grid on the sabre of the Cali
phate. In case of any serious struggle,
q religious duty compels the Sultan to
give orders to the "AIullas.'' or Moham-
medan clergy, to display the Prophets
standard before the people and army,
and proclaim "Al-Jehad," or the holy
war, by exhorting the Moslems to be
faithful to their religion and defend
their kingdom. "This is the prophets
banner" the Sheikh-ul-Is exclaims;
this is the standard of the Caliphate;
it is set up before you and displayed
over your heads, o true believers, to
announce to you that your religion is
threatened, your Caliphate i'll danger,
and your life, wives, children and prop
erty exposed to be the prey of your
cruel enemies! Any Moslem, therefore,
who refuses to take his arms and follow
his holy Bairack is an infidel, and must
therefore, suffer condemnation" Such
an eXpedient has always produced wons
derful effects among those who profess
the Mohammedan religion. All good
Moslems are considered as being divor-
ced from their wives ipso .facto, if they
refuse to make haste, take up their
arms, follow the banner of the Cali
phate, and fight against the enemy of
their religion and kingdom. 1t is con-
firmed by trustworthy historians that
the standard of the Caliphate has been
always kept with extraordinary care
and reverence-that even the JanisSar-
les, who were often disrespectful to the
Sultans, trembled at the sight of this
holy ensign. Only one instance of dis
respect to the heavenly standard is re-
lated in the Turkish annals. This hap
pened in 1868, when Hassan Pasha, at
the head of a seditious faction, waged
war with his legitimate sovereign. The
Sultan gave orders, as usual, to display
the banner of the Caliphate, with a
view to induce Hassan Pasha and his
parties to obey and respect the head Of
Islam. Hassan Pasha seems to have
been of little faith, inasmuch as when
he saw the sacred banner displayed he
turned his back to it and to the exhort-
ing mullas, and gave orders to his SOL
diers to fight fiercely and carry on the
war to the end.
Notwithstanding all historical facts
with regard to the non-genuiness Of
the green" banner; the Moslems have
always believed, and still believe, that
the green banner which they possess is
the true "Lews," or standard, deliver
ed to Mohammed by Divine ordinance
as an ''indubitable token of victory"
This strong faith compels them in con-
science to carry their arms and follow
it whenever they see it displayed; nay,
the Sultans themselves are bound, rs
good Moslems and successors Of Mo-
hammed, to accompany the banner OF
the Caliphate, and go into the midst OF
their troops to fight against their enc
mics. War is, indeed, not only poll
tical expedient to the Moslems, as it is
to the Christians, but it Is religious
duty enjoined upon them by the pre-
cepts Of the Koran. 1 beg to quote
| boro oy,1u a -Four fayfa from the hook of