The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12
JUSTICE IN THE ORIENT
sOaIEs OF THE JUDGMENTS OF THE
REAL KADIs OF THE FAR EAST.
sngaeity shown i'm Their Decisions
Koran and Knowledge OF Human
Nature Their Only Guides.
New York Sun.

To one who knows the real oriental
kadi, the judge of the true land of the
morning. il is amusing to hear an unjust
Occidental Judge called kadi in derision and
as term to describe his low moral stand
ard" said a traveller in the East.
'I 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 begun to make their
way from civilized Europe. Western Gull
ture has touched these kadis and their
| education has made them largely Euro
pean, 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 1.-THE Ara
bian 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 enongh) that the Oriental story teller
! is satirist, and that he portrayed not the
| typical kadi, but the exceptional one.
"In the lands in the east of Palestine and
! farther east of them, and in Arabia sit the
| kadis of whom / have knowledge, VINO
| typify the kadi 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 or the
! world. But, as a whole. the kadis are re-
markable men with wisdom as great to-
! day as it was in the days when there began
/ the tales of the wise and deep judgments
| of the Oriental judges.
"The story of the jar OF olives has It's
4 IN, ffa in m
| instances of simple clear-sightedness and
| Of verdicts that are delivered according 10
no iron formula /, Of written laws, but n &C
vitalized by thorough knowledge OF the hu-
man heart.
/ 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 kadls
| for forty years, and sit, ever serene ana
placid, listening to interminable stories OF
| petty village disputes with no sign of i'm
| patience or WEAKNESS.
| "These judges are in love with their pro-
| fession; power and prosperity do not weigh
| with them against their ardor in the study
| of man; they are not impatient at the petit
| ness of a case, because to them act of
| humanity is petty. 1t is the man whom
| they judge and not his trivial acts.
| THEY HAVE NO DOUBTS.
| 'I have seen these men sit in judgment.
| 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 decisions,
| or conflicting statutes, or constitutionality,
| or policy confronts them. Every judgment
| goes back to the fountain head-the Koran.
| 1t answers all their questions. 1t is the
compass that guides the ship of law in the
l true Orient
| These kadis do not venture to sit in
judgment if they are Ill or perplexed by
| private affairs or unhappy because Of mis-
| fortune of 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 gone.
| mot long ago 1 saw a witty article. writ
| ten by a really experienced and keen trav-
| eler, in which he told about the calmness
with which an Oriental kadf adjourned his
| court because he wished to take some re-
freShmentS and smoke a pipe. 1 suppose
that this story, which was entirely cor
| it with the autocracy and barbaric simplic-
ity OF justice in Arabia, where the traveller
| witnessed the scene.
was typical proof of the conscientiousness
of the Oriental kadi. For what says the
| Koran for his direct guidance?
| Thou shalt not judge, Oh judge, hast
| thou pain within thy body, dost thou feel
| thy spirit troubled for thy son. dost thou
sorrow for thy friend! Thou shalt not
dost thou thirst until thou hast. reached
a spring to refresh thee! Thou shalt not
Judge, oh, judge, feelest thou in thy soul
that God hath not willed IL to let thee
| judged"
WHAT said an old kadi to me when 1
| praised a certain German judge, and, in
| proof of it, told how he had sat awake all
night studying case and then had sat for
| twelve hours to. hear 1t in court. What!
| Do you mean to tell me, o Giaour, that he
| dared to sit in Judgment when he was
| weary and fatigued so that his soul and
| mind were not at peace? Unhappy judges
OF the Evening Lands. to whom the sweet
est duty of man means wretchedness! For
! surely no man can do justice unless he is
happy and at rest with himself and the
worldi
land are you never unhappy asked.
when you face complex case that puz-
zles you?
when we judge. If we be unhappy, do
not Judge.
land so they sit, white bearded, undis-
turbed, patient, while fifty witnesses swear
before them concerning a missing camel
bride or the right to get water at well.
And when all the evidence is in they judge
as carefully and conscientiously as If the
fate of the Moslem world depended on their
verdict.
"These men are truly at rest. They have
made the good fight, for they can become
kadis only after they have made il. They
have no ambitions save TO fulfill the words
of TIE Koran They smile at the strife
that plays before them and maintain their
own souls in quietness.
WISE MAN OF THE DISTRICT.
Therefore the kadi is not merely a judge
in cases of law. He is the wise man of the