The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-07-02
LIGHT UPON ISLAM.
A BOLD DEFENSE OF THE DOCTRINES
OF THE KORAN.

Lucid Comparison of the Essential
Points OF the Religions That Have for
Their Foundations the Bible and the
Koran-Islam Democracy.
ID. Mismer could not know the east
any better than he does if he had been
born there, and we copy from his new
volume, Souvenirs du Monde Mussul-'
man" few novel views and considera-
tons addressed especially to statesmen
and thinkers:
The greater portion Of the precepts Of
the Koran have meaning which es-
capes Us, because that meaning is at
variance with our ideas and our man
ners. and this Is what gives rise to po-
hhcal errors of an incalculable reach.
The Mussulmans do not fail to return
the attacks that are made upon them
Conceding to us the advantage in ma
terial and scientific point Of view, they
hold that the riches and learning of the
few do not make the happiness of the
many, and they claim superiority for
their moral and social constitution.
Essentially democratic in its origin,
Islam has q sumptuary law which puts
. tax OF 21S per cent. upon the jewels Of
women and upon all objects of luxury.
This money has served for centuries to
assist poor tradesmen and to buy them
tools. Thanks to the prohibition of
wine and spirits, the social problem is
solved for them. On seeing the dangers
that hover over our civilization, the
Mussulmans compare it to the smoking
remains Of a burned tent. They think
that if it should disappear in the flames
OF anarchy for want of an organic prin-
ciple it would be incapable Of rising
again from its ashes, while their faith
maintains order in everything, the con-
dition sine qua non Of progress.
You accuse u.s." they say, "of being
depraved. Are you less 80, you who
keep up perpetual orgies in your great
cities, expose your half clad wives and
daughters at balls and feasts, and allow
them to be whirled around in the arms
Of anybody and everybody? You re-
proach Us for our ignorance. In order
to pass through life with honor your In
struction Is not so good as ours. Thanks
to the proverbs and the rules Of wisdom
that are taught to our chifdren, they
conduct themselves like little mens
With you the men, and even the
learned. conduct themselves like
little children. You charge our
functionaries with venality. Who
contributes to its establishment If it is
not the vulgar herd of traders of every
al hat hnO nn
the east? Yon cry down our judiciary.
We too have right to accuse yours. You
charge us with fatalism. Fatalists we
are, Just like your learned men and your
| philosophers. who base their calculations
upon the immutability of natural laws.
Resigned in the face Of plaques, cata-
clysms and death, we say 1t was writ
ten For the rest we follow the words
Of the prophet. -:
"One day the prophet asked an Arab
visitor what he had done with his camel.
The Arab replied, i have left him at
thy gate Hast thou tied him? inquired
the prophet. No, have left him to the
care Of God Thou hast done wrong
said Mohammed. Thou shouldst first
have tied him, and then have recon-
mended him to God .
THE Christian doctrines of predesti-
nation and Of grace are more depressing
than our fatalism. Your ignorance of
islam makes you confound Mussulman
slavery with ancient slavery and that
| which existed until recently in Russia
and in Brazil. With the Mussulmans
there are no slaves. All are brothers,
not in the Platonic sense Of the Bible.
but actually, having the same laws and
the same positive duties according to
the terms Of the Koran. Unlike Chris
tianity, Islam has never treated as sal
able things, transmissible with the land,
troops of men who professed the COM
mon faith, as was done with the serfs
of the Middle Ages, the moujiks Of
Russia. and the negroes Of your colonies.
Prisoners Of war are the only slaves that
it recognizes, but their children are born
free. and they themselves can become
30 by embracing Islam.
Sits the custom from time immemo-,
rial in certain countries for parents to
parf with their children for money, in
order to ward of poverty and open up
to themselves a career Of fortune. By
virtue Of Mussulman equality this ca
reer is limitless In the east How many
slaves have become pashas, generals
and ministersi Almost all the sultans
have been the sons of slaves. The black
slaves taken from central Africa find In
Egypt and In Turkey fate incompar-
ably superior to that Of the slaves Of
your colonies. Slavery is for savages
the Arst step toward civilization. II
their recruiting and their transportation
give rise to well founded protests, the
fault Is not with Islam. Neither the
Bible nor the Koran Is responsible for
abuses.
The Mussulmans proclaim the supe-
riority Of their Allah; but they acknowl-
edge Moses as q prophet and Jesus as
Rouh Allah, the soul Of God. Their,