The Washington herald., 1912-09-09

One Of the most pronounced character
istice Of Sultan Mohamet v 10 his ex'
traordinary piety. He performs reli-
giously every prayer prescribed by the
Koran. and they are many; nor does he
ever omit the ablutions. and there are
enough of them also. Five times . day,
according to the injunctions Of the
Prophet Mohamet. he turns his face to-
ward Mecca, the holy city. and. lost In
meditations, with slow whispers, he in
vokes the grace. the mercy OF Allah
The Padishah is surrounded by host
Of Moslem priests who attend to his
spiritual, needs.
When the new govepemnt determined
to clear his palace Of all the officiais and
courtiers who belonged to the Union and
Progress party. the Sultan asked that
at least the Ulemas and the Hodjahs
(priests). who knew best how to satisfy
his religious cravings. should be allowed
to remain with him. and he prayed fer
vently In gratitude for the statesmen who
complied with his request.
During the regime Of Abdul Hamid.
his brother. the present Sultan was fond
OF visiting sacred shrines and mosques
as q pilgrim to worship Allah and the
Prophet. Even to do this he had to use
circumspection. aa his every movement
was strictly watched. For whenever he
retired to Q solitary little mosque q num-
Der OF secret emissaries Of Abdul the
Red watched him with vigilance. Some
of the most atrocious. murderous con-
splracies in Ottoman history have taken
place in just such lonely. retired
mosques. where shady cypress groves
and solitude rendered concealment and
secrecy more formidable. Mohamet ",
emissaries He would smile on them and
coolly continue his pious meditations.
when he was called to the throne
Mohamet made a vow that each Friday
he would worship in a different mosque.
SO as to give the populace of every dis
trict the opportunity Of beholding the
Padishah, the Sheik-ul-Islam," which.
by orthodox Mohammedans, is considered
a sacred duty, the Sultan being taken as
the Prophets representative on earth
and the high priest Of Islam.
This vow the Sultan has kept. There
Is scarcely a quarter that he has not
visited. from Istamboul, with its great
Conquerors Mosque of Sofia, to delight
full scutari. on the Asiatic shore, with
its mysterious and secluded mosques
hidden in famous cypress woods.
But the place Of worship which the
Sultan likes most just now is the sacred
shrine Of Top-Kapou, on the so-called
Seraglio Point, in Constantinople. not far
from the famous Byzantine Temple Of
st. Sophia This is the mosque that is
called by the Moslems Hirka-I-Sherif
Jamessi. one Of the most holy places OF
all Islam. Foreigners are never admitted
there. It contains the Prophets mantle.
an object Of highest veneration among
the Moslems. To touch this mantle. to
apply lips to It. covers a multitude OF
sins and paves the way to heaven.
The shrine contains also the Prophets s
javelin and sword and the prayer carpet
of Abu-Bekir. his father-in-law. Other
objects OF interest and value are the
arms and turban OF Omar. a mace from
the shrine Of Mecca. and the "sandjak
Sheriff. or sacred standard of the
Prophet.
During Abdul Hamid's reign the shrine
of Top-Kapou used to be opened only
once a year. on the 18th OF Ramazan.
Mohamet v visits 1t far more frequently
whenever there is any accentuation OF
with Allah he retires there
to mediate and pray He does the same
whenever there is any accentuation Of
the never-ceasing troubles Of conflict and
rebellion. There, kneeling before the
mantle OF the Prophet, he loves TO invoke
Allah's help in the war with the Italians
The other day. when news was brought
to him Of serious dIssensions in the army
and OF the fierce determination OF the
Union and Progress party to fight to the
desire TO worship at Hirka-I-Sherit
Very little of what is supposed to have
been the mantle has remained; II is
merely a mass of tattered cloth. All the
more sacred is il to the Moslem.
magnificent new caique. an exquisite
piece of Oriental workmanship. with
seven pairs of rowers. carries the Sultan
from his palace TO old Istamboul and
back again across the Bosphorous. All
traffic Is interrupted. The steamers in
the harbor are stopped and crowds Of
people hail the KhaIifa. AS his caique
he casts at 1t long melan-
choly look and sighs. He is more eager
than ever to worship at the shrine con-
tanning the mantle OF the Prophet.
But. despite the Sultan's piety, the
Young Turks continue to wink at mas
sacres of Christians. The official reports
admit the killing OF ls6 Bulgarians at
Eotchana. This being the case. it is
pretty safe to double the figures IL one
desires to get at the truth. while there
is no reason to suppose that any one of