The Detroit times., 1916-02-05
NEWS OF THE CHURCHES

shortcomings, or VIII IL take this
occasion 10 establish reformed Is
iamgr More concretely. that Is
10 say, "Will the Senussi and Wa
habis choose their own special ten
cts, or sect. above the general body
OF the faith? Are they better sec
tarians than they are Moslems7" ?"
Apparently, II the dispatches are
true. the reformed element in Is
lam have chosen To follow the Cal
iph's call 10 a holy" war They
have set aside. for the present.
their own special plea. Translated
into terms OF American Christian
ity. they have preferred church
unity TO denominationslism. Col.
oquially expressed. that means that
the cat has Jumped the wrong way
from the standpoint OF Britain.
The effect OF all this is more
than important. II indicates that
perhaps the Shah Moslems OF In
dia and Persia may cast their lot
in with pan-Islamism. even though
they despise and dislike the Turk.
IL this should be true, then trouble
is ahead for Great Britain in North
India.
Just as II Is hard for an Oriental
TO understand Am lrican Christian
SO X is difficult for
a Christian to realize that Islam Is
broken up not only into the four
great divisions. and into the two
major groups of Shiahs, or Sunnis.
but also into a bewildering subdi-
vision OF sects. The most powerful
OF these that has arisen If late
years are the wahabis OF Central
Arabia, who were welded into po-
tent body in the middle OF the 18th
century by Ibn' Add ul.Wahab.
After his pilgrimage to Mecca.
md his period OF study OF the holy
aw at Medina. where the prophet is
buried, he became aroused to preach
-eform against the laxity from the
Did Moslem Law. He opposed the
luxury OF dress and habits of Mos
ems and the superstitious pilgrim
lges to shrines. and the worship
given to saints together with the
ise OF omens.
His own community rejected him.
rhe reformer wandered from the
Sejd with his family until he finai-
" converted great notable. to
xhom he gave his daughter In mar
.fage. and so was established the
wahabite dynasty.
Puritanical. ascetic and mythical.
he wahabis tabooed wine and cof-
lee and tobacco and the use OF
silk clothes. They likewise are op-
posed TO the tolerance of all non
while AT the same time |
hey preach against the treachery Of
the modernized Moslems. They be-
long to the SUN. or mystical school
of Islam
After wahab had united with a
powerful tribe. he began to follow
the example of Mohammed, and ex-
tend his religious teacain~ by force
until nearly all Arabia was con-
quered by him. Later, this power
was broken by Nemehet Ali.
To this day the wahabis are
stern. intolerant and insistent upon
The letter OF the Koran. They are
fierce and fearless warriors. and IL
Is they who have attacked Alden
from the rear.
The most conspicuous convert OF
The Wahabi teachings was the
Sheikh Of the Senussi, who. q hun
dred years ago. came under the
spell OF Moslem puritanism during a
sojourn in Arabia. After a time he
returned 10 his home In Tripoli and
Preached his reformed doctrines un-
II he had built up an order which
5 now the most powerful agency
n Islam.
The Senussi long had their head
quarters at Jersbub In Tripoii. The
original Sheikh Ell Senussl and his
son, who lived until 1895, and his
nephew. Ahmed ell Sheriff, have all
been men OF great gifts for lead
ership. For reasons OF strategy
they moved their headquarters to
the oasis Of Kufra In the Libyan
desert. and In that inaccessible spot
they have stored great quantities
OF modern munitions.
Meanwhile their lines OF influence
have extended throughou: the while
Moslem world. Great Britain made
every effort TO win their favor. Now
that they have taken arms against
Britain in the west OF Egypt. there
IN sure TO be long and bitter war,
that will make more dangerous than
ever the Moslem population OF the
British empire.
So this old world. which thought
IL had outgrown religion. Is finding
that in its latest and greatest war
the religious influence Is still a DOW.
erfuI factor.
DAN POLLING To