Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-06


comes out of his palace is when he must
perform his weekly religious worship at the
mosque.
wHIRLING DERvISHEs.
There are many different sects among the
Mohammedans, but they are more liberal in
their treatment of each other than are the
Christians. In this alabaster mosque half
dozen different sects were worshiping, and
in one part of it the dancing dervishes were
whirling through their religious gymnas-
tics. These men and boys had dark yellow
faces, worn thin by fasting. They were
the waist with black belts, and on their
heads were high sugar-Ioaf hats. One of
them played the flute, another the tam
BORNE, and the others, after kissing the hem
of the robe of the chief, held out their arms
and began to whirl slowly around to the
music. AS they continued to whirl one of
them sang verses from the Koran and at in
tervals there were prayers by the chief.
After the prayers were over the whirling
became more rapid until they at last went
around at the rate of 60 revolutions min
ute. At this time their skirts stood out like
those of ballet dancer, they became red in
the face, and noticed that one of the boys
fell to the ground and was carried off in
fit. The bowling dervishes are even more
horrible, and there is great society
of these at Constantinople. 1 cannot de-
scribe their religious gymnastics, but they
work themselves into a frenzy and in the
interior of Turkey where they are awav
from the restraint of the Western civilization
they often take knives and cut themselves
and each other in their religious ecstacy.
They often go into epileptic fits and foam at
the mouth, and they are as dirty set of
long-haired heather as you will find in the
world. They are, however, the cranks of
Mohammedanism and are not fair sample
of the Mohammedan world.
The Mohammedan religion, as it is OBJ
served in the East, has more good in it than
many Christians suppose. Its followers are
by no means savages and its teachings are
such that we could in some instances follow
them with profit. The Koran prohibits the
drinking of spiritouus liquors and the Mo-
hammedans, where they have not been con-
taminated with our civilization, are total
abstainers. They not only abstain them
selves but they make their neighbors keep
from drinking.
THE FALL OF ADAM.
The Mohammedans believe in God and
the prophets. They look upon Christ as the
great prophet, and believe that Mahomet
and Christ will act together as the Judges OF
all mankind at the last day. One of the
minarets of the noted mosque at Damascus
was built in memory of Christ, and Damas-
Gus is one of the fanatical OF Mohammedan
cities. They look upon Adam as a pattern
of human perfection, and they believe that
the Garden of Eden was originally located
in heaven. When Eve seduced Adam in
eating the apple our parents were cast out
of the Garden of Eden and fell to earth.
Adam landed on a mountain in Ceylon and
Eve dropped down near Mecca. Adam for
his sins spent 200 years in looking for Eve
and at last he found her in Arabia.
and the two lived in a mountain there
together until they died. The mountain is
still known as Adams Mount. The Moham-
medans consider Abraham great prophet
He is called in the Koran the friend of
God. They call Moses the speaker of God
and they have, all told, 124, 900 prophets
The greatest OF these are Adam, Abraham.
Jesus and Mahomet. The Koran includes
charity and brotherly love. 1t prohibits
lending money at interest, and it fixes the
general laws of the Mohammedan world.
1t inculcates belief in future state, in the
heaven of which each devout believer shall
have four beautiful and ever young maidens
to wait upon him and to administer to his
wants. 1t is in many of its CHAPTERS so
much like the Bible that it is believed thar
Mahomet got large part of its teachings
from the Scriptures and from the Hebrews
with whom he was acquainted.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.