Norwich bulletin., 1915-11-08
EIementn of Barbarisrrf.

Islam advocates the spread of the
 faith by means of the sword, ana oTner
 elements of barbarism lie close 10 the
 surface. When aroused by reHgious
 fanaticism the Turks care little Tor
 legal restraints or for humane coneid-
 erations. They will take the lives or
 Christians in the most brutal manner without eonpunctton.
 But let us. do no injustice to these
 people The Turk, under ordinary Cir
 eurnstances, especially the peasant, IS
 a good deal Of a man.
 It Is the ruling class. together with the soldiers the rufiians and the pan- dfts. who do the massacretns ln uanes
 of racial or religious excitement. Their faults, which We are not attempting
 to cloak. arise largely from their re- Hgion.
 Government No Help to Country.
 Serious indictment may be made
 against the Turkish government m
 that 1t has done nothing to develop
 the country. It has had no construcr tive policy. Government exists Tor the benefit of the governors The western idea of government as existing for the good of the people rarely enters into the mind of a Turkish official. HIS object is to fill his own coffers. One of the greatest problems oh and overcome the advance of Moham- : mechanism in Africa. where the Pagan tribes in the Sudan are rapidly being won by missionary traders. These Mohammedan missionaries oner the Africans certain civilizational adyan- tages, while they allow them to main tain slavery and polysamy, and 10 carry on their destructive tribal wars. The greatest of all Mohammedan lands is India, where 66.00o,00o people are followers of the Arabian prophet. Christian Missionary Work.
 Missionary work for Moslems Is be- ing carried on by various boards In all these lands, but the most thorough going, systematic, effort is being made in Turkey. By such effort Mosfem op- position. is giving way. The reading l ef the Bible, the sending of the chtl-
 dren to our schools, the treatment of | their sick fin our hospitals, the furnish- 1 ing of help to the poor and, above all. | the character of our missionaries. have had a profound effect upon they Moslem consciousness. The work of the mis- sionary in Turkey may be summed up l in that beautiful saying in regard to l Christ: "He went about doing good. Turkey is undermining. The intro auction of steamboats, railroads elec- l tric cars, agricultural implements, sew 1 Ing machines, automobiles, newspapers and schools is having it's effect. The western learning. and the western in- yeutions introduced by the American missionaries have created a new at- mosphere of progress. A silent con l quest is going on in all parts of the l Turkish empire.
 | Most significant of all, many of the Turks are losing faith in their own religion and are looking about for Q better way. What they need more | than anything else is encouragement and sympathy. Let us cease to speak in wholesale condemnation of the Mos- I lem nations. Let us recognize cer- tain good points in their civilization and in their religious practices. Lei us distinguish between the innocent and the guilty, when we consider the outrages of the Turks; and, above all I let. us show Moslems in Turkey and | other lands that their supreme need ii Christ, with His love and purity and His revelation of the Fatherhood oi God {