Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-04-11
TRULY WISE MEN OF THE EAST.

The Judgments Of tho Real Kadis Of
tho Orient.
ITO one who knows the real Oriental
Kadi, the Judge Of the true Land Of
the Morning, it is amusing to hear an
unjust Occidental judge called kadi in
derision, and as a term to describe his
low moral standard" said the traveller
in the East.
Il do not refer to the kadi who holds
court in European Turkey, or even in
the western parts Of Asiatic Turkey,
where the, subtleties of law have be-
gun to make their way from civilized
Europe. Western culture has touched
these kadis and their education has
made them largely European, because
many Of them have studied In German,
Austrian and French colleges.
"They may be Oriental still in form
and habits, but they are not permeated
with Orientalism as are the kadis Of
the true East, where life still is much
like the life described by the story
tellers Of The Arabian Nights
Presumably, the general Occidental
idea that the kadi is a corrupt and
cruel Judge springs directly from the
stories in those same Arabian Nights
The generality Of people do not stop to
realize (although 1t is plain enough)
that the Oriental story-teller is a sa-
tirist, and that he portrayed not the
typical kadi but the exceptional one.
I'm the lands in the east Of Pales-
tine and farther east Of them, and in
Arabia, sit the kadis Of whom I have
knowledge, who typify the kadis OF the
Orient. OF course, there are corrupt
and wicked and cruel and ignorant men
among them, as there are In any class
or profession In all parts Of the world.
But, as a whole, the kadis are remark
able men with wisdom as great today
as it was in the day when there began
the tales Of the wise and deep judg-
ments of the Oriental judges.
1.-The story of the Jar Of Olives has
its duplicate today in real life in many
similar instances Of simple clear-sight-
edness and Of verdicts that are deliver
ed according to no iron formula Of
written laws, but according to the die
tates Of common sense, vitalized by
thorough knowledge Of the human
heart.
Among these kadis are men who
never have travelled from their little
villages and towns hidden away on the
edges Of deserts, and living still in the
day Of the caravan. Among them are
men who have been kadis for forty
years, and sit, ever serene and placid,
listening to interminable stories Of pet
ty village disputes with no sign Of i'm
patience or WEAKNESS.
"These judges are in love with their
profession; power and prosperity do
not weigh with them against their ar
dor in the study Of man; they are not
impatient at the pettiness Of case,
because to them no act of humanity Is
petty. 1t is the man whom they judge
and not his trivial acts.
II have seen these men sit in judg-
ment. Day after day they are as calm
and self-contained as the sands that
stretch away from their gates.
THE secret Of it is that they have no
doubts. No tangle Of previous decis-
ions, or conflicting statutes or consti-
tutionality. or policy confronts them.
Every judgment goes back to the foun-
tain head-the Koran. 1t answers all
their questions. 1t Is the compass that
guides the ship of law in the true ORR
ent.
"These kadis do not venture to sit
in Judgment If they are i'll or perplexed
by private affairs or unhappy because
of misfortune to themselves or friends.
They will not even sit in judgment If
they are hungry or thirsty. They will
not judge If they are in haste to be