Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-14
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his thumb which has been blessed by
the priest. against the forehead OF the
bride He then mixes up chew OF Detei
nut for her and throws 1t down at hef
feet She pretends not TO notice H. pul
one of her friends picks 1t up and gives
II to her. and later on she cheWs II III
secret After this comes wedding feast
and then the family of the groom leaves
and the husband and wife start married
life. The wife has but few rights which
her husband is found 10 respect. but he
has to live with her, and il he stays away
for more than three months at time
she can demand d divorce.
The Mona mmedans of the Philippines
NUMBER about 25o,0e9 and they are just
about one-thousandth part OF the Mo
hammedan population of the world. Few
people have any idea Of the extent OF
this religion. There are about -,J,o0o-
600 followers Of the prophet Moham-
mechanism is the principal faith in a great
part of Asia and of Africa. anu it has
millions of adherents in Europe. There
are GG005e Mohammedans in Austria
Hungary and almost 4,ooD.oJo in Russia
Roumania has $4,000 and the Balkan
states, which have been creating so
much trouble late,y. have almost three
quarters of million There are S.on,Ho0
followers of the prophet in European
Turkey. and III ali Europe there are
about many Mohammedans as Jews,
or between S,000,U0o and 100000.
China is generally looked upon as
Confucian and Buddhistic country. New
erthelcss there are something like 2o,-
e0G.ooo Mohammedans in the republic
and its dependencies. and there are 10,
Co0,000 Mohammedans who live north
of the Yangtse river. Many of the people
in Mongolia are Mohammedans, and there
are 100000 Mohammedans in Peking.
During a trip which ] once made to the
great wall of China I had a mueteer
who was a Mohammedan. He got down
on his knees five times day to say
his PRAYERS He always prayed facing
the southwest. where Mecca lay, and he
bowed again and again every time the
sun rose and set. There are Mohammedan
MOSQUES in many of the Chinese cities.
The most of the Malays are Mohammed-
ans and there are millions who follow
the prophet in Java and in the other is
lands of the Dutch East Indies. AS to
India, it has more Mohammedans than
there are people in the whole German
empire 1t has far more than Turkey
and there are certain provinces in which
the Mohammedans are the controlling
class The largest and most beautlful
mosques in the world at Delhi and
Agra, in northern India. The big mosque
is at Delhi, not far from the place where
the new government buildings of the Brit
ish capital are to be erected. This mosque
covers acres. Ii took 1000 men, work
ing six years, to build it, and it has as
many steps the Capitol at W ashing-
ton. ] shall never forget my visit TO it,
and how | was there shown d relic which
was pointed cut as the most precious
object in all Hindustan | was made
to take off my shoes before / could see
the relic, and in my stocking feet | was
led through corridor after corridor until
| came to a great chest which contained
a nest of locked boxes. These were
opened one after another. and at the
last, in a little glass casket, on a green
velvet cushion, was displayed d hair
which | was assured came from Mo-
hammed's mustache. The hair was as
red as that of my own head. and the
priest told me that Mohammed had red
hair and a red beard. 1T is for this
reason that many Mohammedans dye
their hair and whiskers a bri mt red.
They want to pass their way into heaV-
en- by having boards of the same color as
Mohammed. Indeed, it seemed to me that
| was TIRE ated with respect IN the mosque
on account of the red color of my own
muStache.
x
The most beautiful mosque in the
world is the Tai Mahal, at Agra. 1t
was built by the same man who erected
the Jamma Musid, the mosque l have
just described. The Tai Mahal Is not SO
large, but it was far mere costly and
it's wonderful workmanship is still tho