The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-17
The Mahdi and His Men.

Letter in London Daily News.
The movement led by Mohammed Ahmed, the
Mahdi, is a curious mixture of religious, political
and social fanaticism 1t is at once a war against
the Turk, the infdel, and that common enemy
of disinherited humanity-the man of property.
Under the new dispensation there are to be no
poor and no rich. Everyone is to have a little
and no one too much. The central idea of the
movement may be described with sufficient ac
curacy as and effort to redistribute surplus prop
erty. The new formula would then run-all sur
plus property is robbery; and with this amend
ment the new champion of Islam might strike
hands with the French and German Socialists as
a man of their own hearts, only somewhat more
thorough.
Mohammed Ahmed is in person tall and
fully built, but somewhat inclined to corpulency.
His complexion is between brown and red-what
the Arabs call aeder-that is. green. The eX-
preston of his countenanee is agreeable, and
when in repoSe his face is lighted up by a con
slant placid smile. If the statements of his enc
mics may be trusted, this outer aspect of benev-
olence furnishes but a deceptive key to his
character. Against those who refuse to recog-
nize the divine nature of his mission he can be
severe to cruelty. He is credited with Jetfreys
trick of weeping over the fate of those victims
whom he orders to execution, so as TO create the
impression that he Furnishes dissent and DISC
bedience with personal regret at the command
Ol Allhl- LII 90 ~ OaO AA't4
or authority of his mission he loses no time. Ii
any man be bold enough to challenge its divine
origin or express disbelief, he is permitted to
choose between submission, open acknowledge
ment and decapitation. This method OF reason
ing has the advantage that it is brief and effect
i've. Few men are bold enough to sacrifice their
heads for their opinions, and the result is q gem
eral acquiescence in the divine authority Of Mo
manned Ahmeds mission. On the other hand,
he protects those who voluntarily accept HIM as
the true Madhi-the man sent by Allah to reform
mankind.
Beyond question Mohammed Ahmed is a man
of considerable intelligence and extraordinary
force of character. No ordinary man could
have raised himself from an humble position and
made himself master over the FESTIVE and jeal-
Gus Arab tribes as Mohammed Ahmed has sue
ceeded in doing. 1t has been customary to rep
resent him as the instrument or tool OF other
men, but if he ever occupied that position he has
ceased to do so. To day Mohammed Ahmed
is the absolute master of the life and property
of every man from Obeid to Fashoda. He
boasts some education, as it is understood in the
East-that is, he reads and writes, and IS well
versed in the Koran and the commentators. lie
speaks both the Barabari and Arabic languages.
Some Catholic priests who have met him per
sonally state that he is by no means a vulgar I'M
poster, but. on the contrary, impressed them as
a man thoroughly convinced of the divine ma
ture of his mission and wholly devoted to carry
ing out the religious reforms which he claims
he has been sent to effect. The more in
telligent part of the population do not
put any faith in his divine mission;
but among the mass of the people, who are sunk
in almost absolute ignorance, .Mohammed Ahmed
is undouhted regarded as a prophet sent by
Allah. whom it is sinful to reSis6. 'Had he de-
clared himself a king said an intelligent mer-
chant the other day, mo one would have fol
lowed him; but because he comes as a prophet
the people fear to disObey him, lest they should
expose themselves to the direst vengeance