The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-17
INDIAss MoHAars1EDANs.
They Number 82,OOO,OOO and Form One
Quarter of the Mohnmmedans
OF the World.
by FRANK G. CARPENTER.

Delhi, 1910
Surrounded by the mighty ruins OF
Akbar and Shah Jehan. the Mohamme-
don emperors of 1ndia's past. L write
of the Mohammedans of India's pres
emit. You all know how the MoEuls
overran this country six or seven
hundred years ago. They ravaged 1t |
from one end to the other, enslaved |
the Hindoos. and built here some of
the most gorgeous palaces and might
lest Notifications the world has ever
seen. They organized a great govern
ment, and for generations they ruled ,
supreme. AS to the wonders OF their
remains, shall write farther on. This
letter is about their descendants.
The Mohammedans of India now num-
Der one-ffth Of the whole population.
We are accustomed to look upon india
as land of the Hindoos. 1t is so; but
it has one Mohammedan for every three
Hindoos, and in muscle and in indie.
pendence of spirit he is the stronger
He forms n big element in the unrest
OF to- day, and IL a civil war should oc-
cur, or the British leave India. he will
ravage the land from one end to the
other.
Have you ever thought of the extent
of Mohammedan India? The followers
of the prophet are scattered all over
this country, and in some of the pro-
vinces they are in the majority. There
are 100000 all told. This is more
than the entire population of the Ger
man empire 1t is almost twice as
many as the Mohammedans OF Turkey
Arabia, Palestine and Syria, and about
one-fourth of all the Mohammedans
Of the world.
The Mohammcdnn World.
Two or three years ago there was
missionary conference at Cairo which
estimated the number of followers of
the prophet. 1t put it at 232,00o,o0o.
A leading German authority makes the
Mohammedans 259,000,o00; and l have
seen statistics which claim that
they number all told as much as 300.-
100000. Putting 1t at 240,000,000 to
be on the safe side. the Indian Moham-
,nedans are one-fourth of the whole.
They stand ahead of those of the
Turkish empire. who are So,000,000,
and after them come those of China,
Persia and then various parts of the
African continent. Europe has only
about 100000 Mohammedans. Russia
in Asia has 100000. and we have at
least one-third of million amoung
the Moros,, of the Philippine Islands.
found MI CHA {nmedans all over the
Dutch East Indies They are in Bor-
neo, Sumatra and the Celebes. There
are more than 25.ooo,ooo Of them in
Java alone, and one finds their mos
ques scattered throughout the settle
ments along the Straits of Malacca
and about the Gulf of Siam The
Kingdom Of Siam is supposed to be
Buddhist, but it has 100000 Moham-
medans. l met Mohammedans in Bur-
ma, and have seen them praying with
their faces toward Mecca, in different
parts of the Chinese empire Indeed.
! was surprised to find so many of
this religion in Picking. China all told
has from 20000.O00 to 100000 fol-
lowers of the prophet. 1t has one
province which contains 100000, ano-
Their which has 100000 and another
100000. Altogether one-tfth of the
whole population of Asia is Moham-
medan. and they form the ruling ele-
ment in Afghanistan, Beluchstan.
Persia. Arabia, Palestine, Syria. Asia
Minor and Chinese Turkestan.
AS to Africa. that is a Mohamme-
dan continent in that it has more Mo.
hammedans than members of any
other religion. Three or four years
ago went around the whole of Afrl-
ca and was seldom out of sight or
a Mohammedan prayer rug. Morocco
has magnificent mosques and in AL.
geria and Tunis there are fanatics
who frequently endanger the lives OF
Christians. There are mosques all
along the Niger, and especially in the
country about Timbulitu. Every oasis
of the Sahara has them, and Barbary
has some of the most intolerant OF
these believers, Egypt is almost al
together Mohammedan, and, in fact,
north OF twenty degrees, 30 per cent.
of the people say their prayers facing
Mecca. There are 100000 Mohamme-
dams in the Congo Free State, and
others south of the Zambezl. In both
Northern and Central Africa the Mo
hammedans are alive. Their religion