The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-01-07
MOHAMMED'S WRITING.
One Of the Most Venerated Relics
of Islam a Forgery.
Intense Excitement Pervading the En-
tire Mohamncdan World Over
the Discovery of the
Fraud.

The entire Mohammedan world, NOD
alone in Turkey, but also in India,
Java, central Asia and China, is al
present in state of ferment and ex-
citement, caused by the discovery that
one of the most vcncratcd relics pre-
served here at Stamboul is forgery,
says Constantinoplc letter to the New
York Times. The relic in question Is .
letter which has hitherto been regarded
as being in the handwriting Of the
prophet Mohammed himself IL was
discovered by the French orientalist,
Stephen Barthclcmy. some fifty years
ago, in Coptic monastery in Egypt.
It is a parchment covered with Cufic
writing, and which, after having been
deciphered with great difficulty, was
found to consist of a demand addressed
by the prophet Mohammed to the gov
ernor or caliph of Egypt, to the effect
that the latter, as well as the Copts,
should become converted to Islamism.
1t had been we'll known up to the time
Of the discovery of the document that q
letter of this kind had been addressed
by the prophet to the governor OF
Egypt. No one, however. dreamed
that the original was still in existence,
and all imagined that nothing had re-
manned save copies. The text of tho
latter was found by the scientists and
Mohammedan theologians to be identi-
cal with that of the document found by
M. Barthclemy, and accordingly tho
sultan, yielding to the urgent cntreaties
of the Mohammedans throughout the
world, purchased the parchment for
about 100000 and placed it in the
holy shrine at the imperial treas
ury of Zulchane, along with tho
standard and the coat of the prophet
Its lack of authenticity has now Seen
definitely proved to the satisfaction Of
the sultan, of the sheils ul Islam, and
of the leading Mohammendan divines
and clergy, by the celebrated Austrian
orientalist, DR.. Karabacel, who has
been able to show by incontrovertible
evidence in connection with the seal
and the characters of the letters that it
was merely one of the copies made
three hundred or four hundred years
ago by one of the ordinary koran copy
lists who abound at Mecca Medina, and
Cairo The result is that the document
has been removed from the golden
shrine containing the other relics OF
Mohammed and relegated to obscurity
and oblivion as spurious. The question
now arises as to whether the fact that
it has been allowed to lie on tho
prophets coat for nearly half century
has not contaminated and desecrated
the holy garment. The latter was
brought to this city by Sultan Selim I.
in 1919 along with the keys of the cities
of Mecca and Medina from Cairo, where
they had been preserved until that time
in the keeping of the caliphs. 1t is q
kind of "chkra," or robe. with flowing
sleeves like those worn in the Levant
by those whom we are accustomed to
designate as Turks of the old school. !"
It is needless to add that: its color is
green, the hue Of all others sacred
to the prophet, and the extent to which
it is venerated by all true believers may
be estimated by the fact that the prin-
cipal and most highly cherished title of
sultan is that of "Hadum ul haremeen,"
or guardian of the holy relic" | may
add in conclusion that, according to the
Mohammedan tradition, the coat in
question was presented by the prophet
to Yemen dervish of the nane of Was
el-Karani as token of gratitude for
his services in first discovering the use
and preparation of coffee.