Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-16

The question is one of supreme interest
to Europe because of the vast number Of its
islam subjects and pro-
! American teges. The question in
- terests America because
of her present and future
commercial relations with European and
oriental. that is to say. Christian and Mos
| lem.
| A little more than a generation ago the
question of our relations with the orient
| was of small Importance to America, sepa-
| rated by ocean, but steam and electrical de-
velopment have overcome space and brought
the world in close contact, and thus the
grand idea expressed by the celebrated Ter
ence two hundred years before the Chris
tan era may be cited in illustration Of the
situation Of the human family the one to
the other, Homo sum ct humani nihil a me
alienum puto," that is to say. Lam a man
and nothing which interests man is indif-
| ferent to me.
| Besides, it is interesting to recall just
| here that when ocean was distant and the
infant nation Americas flag and commerce
were insulted and despoiled by the pirate
corsairs Of the Mediterranean under the flag
of Islam, but avenged quickly by the gal
liant deeds of Decatur. Dale. Barron and
| Preble at Algiers and by Eaton, Mann, Cor
don, Trippe and Davis at Derne-names
which still live in Arab traditions, which
from Algiers to Alexandria are extolled and
glorified as the deeds of the "Merikani ged-
dah." or mighty American. Such memories
were revived in 1869 by the American mil
| itary mission sent to Egypt by Gen. Sher-
| man to fight for Egyptian independence
| Egypt for Egyptians and against the
domination of the Turk-serv-ce which
| added honor and prestige to the American
name in Europe and in Egypt, for all OF the
| of hat mis-
| soldiers and acquired fame and distinction
in the khed.vial army. And, again. the
| name of Merikani was given addit1onal
J prestige by the part played by the American
| navy in 1882 in saving from complete de-
| struction the bombarded and burning city
| Of Alexandria, the Ives of the khedlVe ana
his family. and saving besides the khediVat,
| which had been replaced by sirdar, but LOT
| the opportune interference OF the acuns
! American consul and naval officers, among
| whom notably: Rear Admirals CasPar
| Goodrich and Hutchins. Capt. Barber. Col.
Denny and others. And yet neither tapiet
| nor monument have been ra, SEQ at AleA
| andria to mark an event Whlcn sieo Iuss :a
upon the American name. 80 mucn Is saiu
| to show Americas interest In the ques'ioi.
| of panislamism, which, like the cry OF
| Wolff" is raised to excite fears OF III
| vasion-a question which is being discusseu
| at this moment in all diplomatic circles IN
| Europe.
| 4 i
| Egypt, we are told, IS the ioSei "
hearthstone of panislamism, and because
| OF the celebrated
| Hearthstone university, which.
of Panislamism. according to re-
| cent writer, attracts
| millions and millions of young Mussulmans
| from every corner Of the globe. Who Will
| affirm, says the writer, that in quitting
| Egypt they will not have given ear to the
| suggestion of a greater Islam!
Millions" is an exaggeration. Gama-ei-
| Azhar for a fact receives many students
| who are fanatics, but time ana STUDY tenn
| per these and it Is just to say that IN
| going to their distant and Isolated homes
| they are far more conservative than When
they arrived. Ahmed Mohammed, the late
| Mahdi now Arab Pacha, nor any OF the
| unlettered marabouts in Africa or ASA.
who stir the popular mind against Chris
| tan or Moslem schisms, have been students
| for any considerable time of the university
| of Ell Azhar. Fanaticism In the university
is confined to the newly arrived and the
uninitiated.
Isiamism has had. its age Of aggression
and SO likewise has Christianism. The
| real purpose of the former was extension
| and development of commerce.
1 The organization Of the Mussulman state
was based upon the Khalifat the chief OF
| the believers being vested with the power
! Of life or death over his subjects. Under
| the Khalifat Arab commerce was carried
to every corner of the world then known.
! Their banners were borne VICTORIOUS TO
| Spain by Tarik in TO And but for Charles
Martel. who drove the Arabs from the
| plain of Poitiers in 49,, the writer, In COM
mon with all Europe, would have oeen
| Arab.
! Christianism became the church Of safe
| under Constantine Din $3.50, was separated
| by the Greek from the Latin 1859, by the
| Reformation Q51D, by religious wars Qo62-
1889. From the XIth to the XI11th centu-
ries Christian Europe undertook Wars of
| the Crusades'' against the Moslem orient
| QO96-129D.
| The moslem invasions, nor the Christian
| crusades were undertaken, commonly
| accepted. as crusade for proselytism,
| neither for Mohammed nor for Christ. The
| Moslem sought conquest and commerce, the
Christian sought to avenge the Arab inva-
| sions or was inspired by the spirit of the
age which was belligerent and chivalrc;
Jerusalem was not finally captured and
! the tomb of Christ still remains in the
| hands of the Turk. The results of these
| conflicts were not altogether sterile. On the
contrary, the contact brought about a mu-
| tual understanding and commercial inter-
course, and finally the capitulations which
| have served for centuries as a pact of
peace, a modus vivendi between Mosem
and Christian who had sworn that there
should be perpetual war between them.
X
Mustapha Pasha Kame. the Egyptian
has recently declared that There is not
single enlightened mussuman who will be-
lieve for instant that the
Pasha people of Islam be leagued
KameI against Europe"
This assurance might be ac-
copied conclusive if Mustapha Pasha had
remained faithful to the principal of Egypt
| for the Egyptians but it appears that he is
now an avowed partisan of Egypt for the
| Turks, which, in familiar parlance, is
horse of another color.
| A French journalist In Cairo recently
remarked referring to Mustaphas change
of base, that There are two very different
Egyptians In Mustapha Pasha kamel-the
| first wears a tarbouche and directs the pam
islamat journal, the Lewa the flag, the
other wears q hat and writes for the
Figaro and nothing is more dissimilar, the
one from the other. In the Lewa you may
read things not only against England. but