The sun., 1897-06-13

tions, the Old Testament has been replaced ~
the moro merciful law Of Christ, but TO the No.
hammedans the Koran is still the ono guide IN
conduct. 1t Is this difference OF fundamenta,
law which makes 1t possible for n Christian GOV.
crnmcnt to deal equitably with its Mohammcd,n
subjects but which makes it impossible for .
Mohammedan government to do otherwise ihon
deal harshly with its Christian subjects Our
author can no hope that time will effect an,
change for the better; the motives for opprossion
are too deep-scatod for that. SO long as IN,
Christians submit patiently to everything tina,
may bc inflicted upon them, so long viii
they be permitted to live, but that permlssOn
may, at any time, be rghtfully withdrawn. In
the eyes OF the Mohammedans. they have Justly
forfeited their lives by their infidelity and upon
the least sign of revolt it becomes a religion,
duty to extirpste them utterly. That what tn.
Turks do is done in pursuance OF what they con.
ceivc to be a religious duty explains many uuI
zling Inconsistencies between their conduct un.
der ordinary circumstances and their conduct
when under the influence OF fanatical passion.
Mr.. Thomson admits that this may lessen the Ah
horrcnce we feel toward them, but he holds that
all the moro does 1t demonstrate the impossi.
bility OF allowing them TO exercise power over
Christian populations any longer. Humane and
excellent when under control, the osnnanll hay.
They have wthcred like n blight every country
of which they have taken possession.
We must take leave of this valuable book.
the most valuable, as regards the subIects
whereof II treats, which is now accessible To
American readers with a glance al the view OF
the Armenian massacrcs and OF English inter-
vention taken by Mohammedans. 1t .eemr
that the Turks believe that, owing to Englands
possession OF India she is bound to stand by
them. no matter what they do. Mr.. Thomson
tells us that he was talking with one of them in
Serajevo about other matters when the Turk
suddenly burst out with why are you Eng.
lish making 80 much trouble about Armenian
well" answered our author what have you
been doing therei" They began It," rcjolnei
the Turk They killed the Mohammedans in
the mosques And II Is not right that Eng.
land, which is the greatest Mohammedan
power in the world, should arouse feeling In
this way against the Sultan. II you try" no
added, Ito coercc the Sultan by forcibc means
you will find that your Mohammedan soldiers IN
India will not be very well pleased" Mr.. Thotn-
son replied: 81 do not think the Indian MohaTn-
medans look TO Constantinople so much as they
do to Mecca. and I do not believe even our open
hostility to the Sultan would affect them in
the least 81 assure you" returned the Turk
that you are quite wrong, and that every Mo
hRmmedan. wherever he is. every Friday when
he goes to the mosque prays for the Sultan az
the Caliph OF Islam" 1t is true that in Bosnia
the Mohammedans pray for the Sultan bo-
cause he is still the nominal sovereign OF tho
country. but they also pray for the Emperor,
Francis Joseph. In India the Khutbah prayer,
as IL is called, runs thus: 90 God. bless the
King and make him kind and favorable 70
the people" In Algeria, the MohAmmedans are
only allowed to pray for those OF the true
faith and the protectors thereof; the prayer
has been carefully framed by the French so az
to avoid any kind OF acknowledgment OF the
Sultan's suzerainty. The argument. however,
employed by the Turk at Serajevo has been re-
peatedly made use of by those who have wished
to draw closer the connection between Eng.
there is fallacy involved in this reasoning, and
Mobammedan faith, because he is in possession
of Mecca Should he at any time lose CONSTANT.
nople. yet retain Mecca. he would still be the
Caliph OF Islam; whereas. we're he to retain Con.
stantinople and lose Mecca, he would be so no
| longer. The claim Of the Sultan Of Constants.
nople to the caliphate is based upon the fact
that, upon the Ottoman conquest of Egypt early
! in the sixteenth century. the last Abbassid
Caliph gave up his dignity in favor Of the Sultan
| Seim. whereupon the Shereef of Mecca did
| homage TO the latter. and sent him the keys Of
| the Caaba upon the possession of which the title
| OF Caliph mainly depends. At the present mo-
ment the Shereef of Mecca is practically inde.
pendent of the Sultan and could, at any moment.
il he chose, throw of allegiance to him. In which
case the Sultan would infalibly lose his positioa
| as the spiritual head Of Islam. NJ ". H