The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-07-11
THE RELIGION OF ISLAM
How Its Meaning Has Been Rervert-
ed--Lack OF Women's Aid.

fIOW il0 tVCdHttA fIno bCGH TtTNGTt-
ed--Lack Of Women's Aid.
Abdul Hamid, late ruler of the OF
toman Empire, had very well-defined
conceptions as to the way in which
the infusion of Western ideas would
end in completely running the spirit
/ and traditions of Islam In recently
published portions Of his diary he
has the following to say on 81 this
1 point:
Religious liberty Ia more respect
| cd by Moslems than BY any other
| race. Hospitality is also better
preached by Us. who received the
| Spanish Jews without country, and
the Poles, even at the risk of war
with Russia. All our misfortunes
arise from our empire not being
homogeneous with q single religi
Gus element. and from having so
many Christians among us. This
lunavoidably creates disunion. A
diversity of religious beliefs in the
same country is an evil. If we
should find our old selves, recover
| our ancient power and resuscitate
our former splendor, we must re-
member the source of our strength.
1t is not by mimicking the so-calleG
European culture-danger plague
| spots-that we shall be saved; we
must revert to the holy lay of Ko-
ran"
The ex-sultan's remarks on fatal
| ism show an intelligent comprehen-
| sion very different from the usually
| or 1T
"Kismet--Kismet- a fatal
word! What disasters has is already
brought ON our heads! / cannot find
fatalism taught in single page of
! the Koran, and only in the course of
the last century have idleness and
stupidity gradually developed it to
| its present noxious form. Our In
shallah (if God WHY is very con-
venient for cloaking Incidence. Ma
| homet ordered submission to God,
but not in the sense of foolish fata-
| lism. Great is the goodness of God,
but he cannot look after the indivi-
dual needs of everybody in the world
and every man should think and
work, and every man should think
and work for himself. Who does
not SOW shall not reap, nor shall he
who does not work have bread to
| eat, but unfortunately we Turks
have not been able to grasp this
truth. The Syrian and the Arab do
not let everything slide in the same
way, and the Christians have a bet
ter conception. The Bible also says
Take no thought for the morrow,
for the Lord shall provide, as for the
birds of the air and the beasts of
the field yet the Christians work
and progress, while we remain be-
hind"
1t would be interesting to know
the dates when these notes were
written-for instance, when the ex-
sultan reflected: Whatever hap
pens is always criticised, especially
by young effendis. All our govern
ing classes, civil and military, are
afflicted with incurable pessimism,
and by recriminating and finding
fault with everything they arrest
and hinder the onward march-they
are our greatest evil. The young
blame the old, and vice versa; no
body allows the other his place and
rank Urged by infantile vanity and
jealousy. the effendis reciprocally
weave the most abominable intrigu-
les. Effendis "a la franka' are the
worst of all. God be praised our
people do not share this pessimism,
for every good Moslem is an OPP
timist."
! Abdue Mamid proceeds to point out
that the root of all mischief, is that
no Osmanli will work, but prefers
TO play the lord and master, leaving
Others to sweat and toll. In vain
schoolboys are taught that work is
agreeable to Allah The rising gen.
Grafton only dream of becoming OF,
ficers and funetionaries. why can
not the Turk become a merchants a
skilled technical expert. or a work
MANI" he asked. Il myself have
shown a good example by carpenter
ing. How difficult it is TO dissipate
such prejudices, and how pitiful that
ii should be sol"
In another passage the ex-sultan
says: Il have no great confidence
in the Red Crescent, in which form
|