The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-07-04
THE BANNER OF THE CALIPHATE.
The "Henvenly Stnudnrd''-Why the Saltnn
Brought il Before the Army-A Banner
Which is Highly Observation-Disclosures
Enjoincd to Wage War.

Tic "HenvenIy Stuudnrd"-Why the Saltan
Brought il Before the Army-A Banner
Which is Highly Observation-Disclosures
Enjoiucd TO Wage War.
An Oriental correspondent of the Lon
don Telegraph writes con April 25,
the Sultan Abdul Hamid, addressing the
Turkish army, said: The fatherland is
in danger. 1t is my duty to take i'll my
hand the banner of the Caliphate and 60
into the midst Of my soldiers-to sacri-
flee, if necessary, my life for the indie
pendence of the empire and the honor
and life OF our women and Children
Many of the readers of the Daily Ielc-
graph would like, perhaps, to know
some details of this banner, and of its
wonderful influence upon the mind of
those who believe in Mohammed and his
Koran 1t might interest them, there
fore, if I give here some observations on
the subject.
The banner of the Caliplate, to which
the sultan alludes in his speech, is that
which the Turks call the Heavenly Stand
ard, 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 indubitable token of vic
tory over their enemies. This standard
was formerly 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 corna-
ton grid on the sabcr of the Caliphate.
In case Of any serious struggle, a re-
ligious duty compels the sultan to give
orders to the 'Mullas,' or Mohammedan
clergy, to display the prophets standard
before the people and army, and pro-
claim sAl-Jehad,' or the holy war, by
ezhorting the Moslems to be faithful to
their religion and defend their kingdom.
This is the prophets banner the
sheikh-al-islam exclaims :; this is the
standard of the Caliphate; it is set up
before you and displayed over your
heads, oh, true believers, to
to YOU that your religion is threatened,
ycur Caliphate in danger, and your life,
wives, children and property exposed to
be the prey Of your cruel enemies! Any
Moslem, therefore, who refuses to take
his arms and follow this holy Bairack is
al infdel, and must, therefore, suffer
condemnation Such an %expedient has
always produced wonderful effects among
those who profess the Mohammedan re-
ligion. All good Moslems are con-
sidered as being divorced from their
wives, ipso .facto, if they refuse to make
haste, take up their arms, follow the
banner of the C%aliphate, and fight
against the enemy Of their religion and
kingdom. 1t is confirmed by trust
worthy historians hat the standard
of the Caliphate has been always kept
with extraordinary care and reverence
that ever the Janissaries, who wcre,often
disrespectful to the s%ultans, trembled at
the sight of this holy ensign. Only one
instance Of disrespect to the heavenly
standard is related in the Turkish annals.
This happened in 1868, when Hassan
PasAa, at the head of q seditious faction,
waged war with his legitimate sovereign.
The sultan gave orders, as usual, to dis
play the banner Of the Caliphate, with a
view to induce aassan 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 exhortlng
Mullas, and gave orders to his soldiers
to fight iercely and carry on the wal to
the end.