The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-09-25
TURK AND ARAB.

] IN the NlttpnlNn ItlllNe ~ wv" " AA' hA'"N
psrple1ing United by the bonds 81 re-
liRion, Turk and Arab are separated by the
liens Of race. An antagonism dating back
a thousand years has ended IN tho more
or les continued supremacy 81 the Turk.
F, Prom the position of slaves or NJ hired mer-
cenaries Turks have worked their way TO
the highest positions OF state and tn regal
power In the Osmanhs they reached
supreme dominion. The conquered Arab
has never supported with equanimity the
domination Of his conqueror, and no con
tinues To chafs under IL Tho Arab can
not forget that II - he who has given re-
liRion and culture 10 tho Turk and he ~
siill apt TO dream 81 time tn come when the
roles will be changed anu he shall become
again the exponent and the representative
Of Islam. II "a. then. a pertinent question
l. such an event possible. and II -, Is IL
probable
Tho Arabs aver. and with reason. that
according to Mohammedan tradition the
Turks have no right to claim for their ruler
tho title Of Caliph OF head OF the lzlamic
confederation. That tradition holds That
the Caliph must be- OF Arab blood aud of the
family OF Mohdmmed. They grant readily
to the ruler of Consiantinople the title of
sultan. "A purely worldly title which has
been borne in the past and ~ borne to-day
by princes Who do not claim to represent
minion but the ofiioe Of Csliph - sacro-
slnct. It is an afTair Of blood and OF race.
Legal casuisiry can. II IL true. accommodate
itself to many twists and turns but u can
not 20 to tho length 81 making semitic
ont Of Turk Abdul Ilamid Was quite
aware NJ this difficulty In his position. and
he took heroic measures TO get over IL. In
the edition which hs had published in Con
siantinople OF tho most popular collection
LIB.
awkward passage omltted' Such course
was hardly necessary. quite apart from the
folly of tho undertaking. The -,'ienCe Of
MOhammeclGu -tlte"raft has always ac-
knovlesige'l IN" power II fact and Of actual
dominion ~ super sedinR theory Tor q time,
but nj the same time the non Arab character
81 he head Of the Mohammedan world lends
color and a hand 10 the preiensious ui lead
ers whose ambition outruns their real I'M.
portsnce Eveu the holy cities Mecca and
Medina. have he-n held bv non Arab
Moh'mmeians before tho coming ~ tho
Osmanlis but any Arab imam or mahdi
has had II m his power to 'oWcnt trouble
and insurrertIon 10y preaching an Arab
uprising
Tho portions ~ the Mohurn n1edan world
IN which the Nrlh race il To- be- found to-day
are a=,ly pikcd out On the cthnic chart 81
the world they are Arabia. part Of Meso-
f'''''""s - ~ iA1INs htNl llf I'aF'N NITt-
can httorsl-Trippli. Tunis Algeria and
Morocco Are there in any ~ these lands
Arab forces that can menace the position
Of the Turks In tho Nohammedan world9
The arabian peninsula j. usually con
sidered To he the nursery and the home Of
Islam. hut the educated man probably
knows less about u than D.. does about
the widest centres 81 inner Africa. and
hts idea nf Arabia IN a. nebulous as IL
IL II - NN Fhsa h. IL -.
the peninsula contains nearly million
and quarter square miles. but good
deal more II We include, ss We should, the
great Syrian desert that pok~- is nose
M into MeSnpo'amia and northern syria
The nacc~-sibiltv Of the Interior highlands
ana the Nenophohe attitude ~ the inhabi-
tants have clothed II with the sort Of super-
siitiouz generation With which We are apt
TO regard the unknown The compare
lively few European- Who have penetrated
INTO portions of the interior have brought
back reports vhtch show that the greater
part % that interior - useless for r'lr-
poses 80 modern economic dsNelopmant
sand wastes and foraless eypnn-es are
not enticing for men Of to-day unless they
are intrepid explorers for whom tho call
of the unknown exercises an irresstibls
attraction The only fertile regions are
the coastal plains Asir and Yemen on the
west. Hadramaut on the south and Oman
on the east. To these may be added some
Of tho GASES in the north. in the Nefud
and In NeJd The great syrian desert IL
a. present also a waste land. but certain
portions of N. especially those cont guoua
TO the two rivers can be made once more
productive Of food II the plans Of SIR Will
tam WILCOX are carried out and the water
way system Of the ancient Babylonians -
reCrea'ed.
Except IN isolated cases tho Turks. since
their conquest ~ the country have dis
Interested themselves strangely in IT. lot
They have tred % hold the Hi'ls. even Il
only In nominal -rIbicC'Ion, because 70 con
tains The two holy cities This - a card OF
the highest value. a. u enables the holder
To regulate IN. pilgrimage. to come N con
tact With Mohdmmcdlns from all parts
| "f the globe and 20 Impress them With the
power and The importance % the ruler
~ ConstAntinopie but b. IL the province
of tho Yemen, together with neiRhhoring
| A~,r, that has doomed largest m the eyes
! II tho OrmauIIz Turkish rule was cstab-
lshed there In 1894 but after ~ Years
I % quasi rule the Turk was completely
ousted. and remained ~ untu almost
twice that number 81 Years had passed
when Abdul Meiid In $50 took upon him
I self the reconque-t Of the country Though
the emen was then converted into a Turk
! ish NilAyet, u can hardly be said 20 have
become an integral part of the empire until
ts7?, when. after two full years Il rontinu.
Gus nghting under Mukhtar Iasha end
! In fear for the " hole of Arabia because Of
the construction Of the Sucz canal. the
| Turks we're able to make their authority
respected In tho greater pau of the prov
tnce. but even since the TeConqur-' the
land has been secthing with rebellion and
II has been held only az a terrible expense
! of human life and Of money 4 strong and
equitable policy there might have work ed
wonders. and would have enabled the o.
manlis to extend their rule gradually over
| the whole OF tho southern coast, but 50
| desperate the situation In the
early days of tho constitutional regime
! that the plan was moo'ed az Cou-tantinople
/ Of considering tho .Inrn SIMPLY ~ colaay
and of dividing u up under the hsadshtp
| Of the paramount chiefs Happtly the
| scheme was not pat through. and the task
! ~ bringing order and good government INTO
| the province rests with the Young Turks
only in one other portion Of the peninsula
in the northeast. has the attempt been
made togain Arabia for Con-t ant inopIe In
/ 1871 Midhat Pasha. at tho time Wall of
| RaRdAd. accepted the Invitation Of a dIs-