The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-05

In India the usase b., or was. TO pray Tor
sthe ruler Of the age without naming
him; under these circumstances, each
worshipper could apply the prayer a. he
chose. We are told, however, that OF late
In India the custom has crept into rev
mosques Of praying for the Ottoman Sultan
as the Caliph. The opinion Is here ex-
pressed that as the Calcutta Government
takes but little heed Of such things. the
custom win spread. Among the temporal
rulers Of Moslems, the Ottoman Sultan IL
unquestionably the next greatest to the
Emperor Of India, and, as Moslem ruling
Moslems, he would seem to occupy an unas-
sailable position. Even In his case. however,
some difficult constitutional questions can
be raised. He has claimed. as we have
seen, the Caliphate since 1888, but our
author points out that the claim Ia a shaky
one. and brings awkward responsibilities.
Az stated at the present day, the claim Is
based upon Eve grounds. First-De facto
rights; the Ottoman Sultan won his title
by the sword and holds 1t by the sword.
Standardization; what the election by the
Ulema Of Constantinople amounts to has
been already indicated. Third-Nomination
by the last Abbasid Caliph. The first
Caliph Abu Bekr nominated Omar to sue
coed him, and precedent Is mighty In Islam.
Fourth-Possessicn and guardianship OF
the two sacred cities. Mecca and Medina.
! Fifth-Possession OF some relics OF the
Prophet, saved from the sack Of Bagdad
by the Mongols. and delivered to Sultan
selim on his conquest Of Egypt by the last
Abbasid. Against all Of these credentials
is arrayed the fact that absolutely accepted
traditions from the Prophet assert that the
Caliph must be an Arab Of the family Of
Koraish; 30 long as there are two men left
OF that tribe, one must be Caliph and the
other his helper.
Here, nevertheless, the fundamental prin-
cipal, known as Lima, OF the agreement
Of the Moslem People, must be reckoned
with. The Caliphate itself Is confessed
" based upon agreement. The Sunnite
canon lawyers hold that the appointment
Of an Imam need not be made by God, but
Is incumbent upon men, and that the basis
Of this doctrine Is obedience TO the tradition
of the agreement Of the Moslem world
from the earliest times. Moslems may have
disputed over the individual to be appointed,
but they never doubted that the mainten-
ance Of the faith In It's purity required
leader. and that 1t was therefore incumbent
upon men to appoint one. In other words.
the fundamental title to the Caliphate rests.
not on descent from Mohammed, nor on
descent from . particular Arab tribe, but
on agreement. 1t follows that the de facto
foundation for the claim Of the Ottoman
Sultan to the Caliphate is the best. The
Moslem community must have leader
the Ottoman Sultan Is the greatest Mos
lem ruling Moslems. he claims the leadership
and holds It. The ground Of election
amounts to nothing, the nomination by
the last Abassid Caliph to little more,
! except for antiqusrians. The possession
Of the relics of the Prophet appeals to a
sentiment that would have weight only
with the crowd; no canon lawyer would
seriously urge IL. Finally, the guardian
ship Of the two sacred cities is precarious
A Turkish reverse In Syria would with
draw every Turkish soldier from Arabia
and the great Shereef families Of Mecca,
all Of the blood OF the Prophet. would pro-
claim a Caliph from among themselves
As IL 1t, only the Turkish garrison holds
them In check.
A Caliph, however, whatever be the
ground Of his title. has grave responsible
ties 1t IL q fact too often lost sight Of by
Christians that 1t 10 absolutely impossible
for him to become constitutional monarch
In the European sense OF the word. He
rules under law--divine law-and the Mos
lem people can depose him II he breaks 1t;
but he cannot set up beside himself con-
stitutional assembly and give 1t rights
against himself. He Is the successor Of
Mohammed, and must rule, within umita-
lions, as an absolute monarch. Such Is
the theory Of the Calphate. but It's appli-
cation to practice is impossible In modern
times. The millions OF Chinese Moslems
look to him a. their theoretical ruler, and
40 do all the Moslems Of central Asia: the
Moslems Of India, who are not Shi'ites.
also look upon him as their rghtful head.
So, too, In Africa, exclusive OF Morocco,
and wherever In the world the people Of
Mohammed have gone. their eyes turn TO
the Caliph in Constantinople. He, on the
other hand, as things are. cannot exer-
else over them the slightest temporal
authority.
The respective positions OF the nom
Sunnite scots Of Islam are indicated In
! paragraph. OF Shi'ite rulers there are,
FIRST, the Imamites In Persia; secondly.
scattered Zaydites leo called from theft
! adherence to Zayd, a grandson OF Ah's
son, Husayn) may still be found In south
, Arabia, or fugitive In Africa; thirdly.
strange secret bodies Of Ismailians-Druses.
Nusayritee. Assassins-still hold their
own In mountain recesses, forgotten by
the world. The Shereefs Of Morocco. on
the other hand. though they are Sunnites.
hold only by the blood Of the Prophet. and
refuse to recognize the Caliphal authority
Of the Ottoman Sultan. At Zanzibar. I'm
Oman, and in southern Algeria may he
| found descendants OF the Ibadites.
OF the three modern movements by
which the Islam OF to-day is deeply AZ
facted, Mr.. Mcdonald would describe one
| a. progressive. and the other two as re-
dictionary. lie points out that the PAN
| Islamic movement strives to bring the Mos
| lem world into closer touch with the science
! and thought Of Christendom, at the same
time rallying all Moslem peoples around
| the Ottoman Sultan a. their spiritual head.
and holding fast by the kernel OF Islam.
! Our author would describe this refo rm
movement a. one whose trend In forward.
| The other two. which he proceeds to de-
, scribe, trend backward, for they look to
| the rood old days of early Islam, and aim