Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1908-02-13

ing character or their exhibition.
The great flood Of tourists in Cairo
makes itself felt in this respect, being
one Of the influences that, impercep-
itbly undermine the solidarity of Is.
lam
My dragoman threw n side light on
religious conditions. He assured me
that he is faithful follower of the
prophet keeps the fast Of Romadon,
and observes the early prayers-al.
though in our days together | failed
to catch him at these. We were
rocking across the desert on camels,
when in his terse fashion he gave ut
teranCe to what is the practical inf
deity of many Moslems. priests say
all Christians so to hell and all Mo-
hammedans go to heaven. / do not
believe 1t. You think good man who
has only one face and makes straight
talk and gives to the poor, will go to
hell because he is Christian? ] do
not. You think bad man, who lies,
shows two faces and does many
wrong things, go to heaven because
he is a Mohammedan? l do not.
Bad man go to hell; good man go to
heaven; do not care what priests
say"
Not only the advent Of the western
spirit, but also the immortality of its
followers is weakening Mohammedan-
ism. Cairo is probably the wickedest
city in the world, not even Port Said
surprising it.. The position Of women
is indicated by the statement on the
part of Moslem authority, that not
five per cent. OF the Mohammedan
men retain their first wife until death.
Divorce is as common as it is easy.
The men are grossly and. naturally
immoral They drink large quanti-
ties of liquor despite the prohibitions
of the prophet. Only eight per cent.
of the population can read and write,
The people are senile and ingenious
mendlcants. Their religion, which
should be intense Mohammedanism
has degenerated into all sorts of su.
perstitions.
A Fat Mans Misery.
which Is a duplicate of the Mecca
mosque, there stand two marble pill
lars. The belief Is that whoever can
squeeze between these two pillars is
free from evil and sure of paradise
But the person in whose heart evi
resides can III no wise get through
Physical form Is not taken into &C
count. Our driver was terribly con
cerned because he could not squeeze
through, even after removing various
garments. After much effort, and al
the risk Of ribs, we pulled and pushed
him through; and he was straightway
as happy as a peasant girl after her
confirmation.
No "Holy War;"
Frequently the alarm is sounded
that a ran-Islamic movement threat
ems Europe or Asia, and that the
green flag of holy war is to be un
furled. Undoubtedly the leaders Of
Islam are sohdifying their forces as
thoroughly as possible; and undoubt
eddy Northumberland is the most Sc
rious foe to- be met by the Christian
missionaries. The report, however
that Islam is growing rapidly, and car
| rying on an aggressive missionary
campaign, cannot be verified here
Leading students of Mohammedanisn
say that they can find no evidence o
such a movement. 1t is as unfoundeC
"A report as the rumors of "hol!
war" With the present admiXture o
races and governments and civiliza
tons, it seems the height of improh
ability that there should ever be
holy war" The prophet is fighting
against the. calendar.
None the less, Islam makes it warn
for all apostates. Ostracism and pei
secution-loss of home, friend, socia
lihood-follow the Mohammedan VIII
becomes Christian. 1t is frequentl
asserted that there never has been
genuine convert from Mohamme dar
ism to Christianity. The America
mission alone has detailed records c
140 such, as a result of its work sine
1854. Not very large company, it
true, but enough to prove the poss
bility of wide success.
Sapping and Mining,
Like many other oriental mission
this one of the United Presbyteria
church is working for the second an
third generation. 1t plans lon
wide and far-reaching campaign. +
many indirect methods, it is inculca
: ing more tolerant spirit in Il
: community, and removing the anciel
, prejudice. 1t is educating the bo,
and girls, on a scale almost equal
that of the reformed government
self A recent report showed /
, 900 scholars in the schools of tn
= American mission, and $4,000 in
: government schools. There are mo
e than 10000 scholars in the missi,
e schools, of whom about 1900 are NJ
l. hammedans.
; The ancient Coptic Chrsti
r church, now sadly corrupted, has p,
e sisted in Egypt despite all Moslt