Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-06-23

western civilization, and even with
western ideas Of progress to deserve
orthodox Mohammedans. who realized
that their objects were purely po-
litical AS it has turned out, it was
not western civilization but Hun bar
barism that they were imbued with.
and this put them in better standing
with large sections of the Moham-
medans who saw in the Hun barbar-
ism the means Of waging war for tho
extermnation Of non-Moslems.
% X
Very little Is known in this country
about any definite Pan-Turanian
movement, or even about the geo
graphical sections which are supposed
e be involved in it. Briefly. it may
be explained that the term now Is
taken to mean virtually all Of CEN
trail Asia or Turkestan that once was
Russian, and also the region across
the Caucasus mountains and beyond
the Black sea stretching through
sian gulf. 1t also includes Persia.
The hope of the Turco-German
schemers rests in the first place on
the control of Turkestan. which Is
government of Russia had many sims
to atone for. but its conquest OF
Turkestan, although cruel and bloody.
does not come within that category.
gion. peopled by fanatical and prsda-
tory tribes. under military discipline,
so that some real progress was pos
sible. In doing this its diplomacy
was double-faced. but that was true
of all the diplomacy of the near east
Russia first brought the Turcomans
along the Caspian under subsection.
Then it subdued Bokhara, the Khiva,
and later other semi-independent dis
.tricts. In extending military rule
over these regions, it usually protest.
ed that annexation was not its pur-
pose. but in the end they were an
nexed and thus Khiva, Bokara. Sa-
MARYLAND and Tashkent became Rus
sian territory, and their Moslem rul-
ers, after being allowed nominal
sovereignty under Russian overload
hip. were gradually displaced.
These Moslem rulers ordinarily were
savage despots of the oriental type.
The Khan of Bokhara in particular
had contrived to make that center Of
Moslem fanacticisni especially notable
for ferocity. The, Khan of Khiva
also made reputation for cruelty
that put him in the front ranks Of the
oriental despots.
The cruelty to those Of the Moslem
faith who comprised the vast majority
of the Inhabitants was taken as
matter of course. When 1t came to
those Of other faiths. and particularly
to those who were subject to Russia
and entitled to its protection, there
was less disposition to tolerate the
-Moslem rule.
X
After bringing these sections under
political and military control. Russia,
however, was very careful not to in
terfere with Mohammedanism in any
of its forms. Her Mohammedan sub
jects were declared to be. and thought
to be. fully as loyal as were the Mo-
hammedans under British rule. Nor
during the first three years Of the war
was there any evidence of disaf-
lection. The Mohammedan troops
fought with the other Russian troops,
aud showed no tendency to acknowl-
edge kinship with the Turks merely
because of the Turks being Moslems.
But the bolsheviki. in their syste-
matte disintegration of Russia, ap-
parently changed this status. They
which the Russian Mohammedans
could respond. Left to themselves,
latent fanaticism began to assert IT.
aelf. and there were occasional re-
ports about the revival of a Pan-Is-
Jamie movement. and great Moslem
Kingdom with Bokhara as the capital
1t Is significant that this movement
was not claimed to be a rapproche-
ment with the Turkish Mohammed ans
SO much as Pan-Turanian move
ment And the evidences were every
where plain that Germany rather than
Turkey was directing 1t. Neverthe-
lesS u Is understood that some sort of
49, .-z= r-=. proposed SO that
Turkey may regard a large section of
central Asia as a part Of the Pan
Islam movement. When more partic-
nlars are known doubtless more also
will be known about the difficulties
that have arisen, for previous to the
Russian overlordship the various Mos
lem rulers were fiercely antagonistic
10 one another, notwithstanding their
common faith. But for the present 1t
Is taken for granted that under the
= German tuteIage. and as a conse-.
quence of the bolshevik policy, Tur-
kestan is under Turco-German con-
troll. and this, of course, means that
1t is a link in the kaiser's scheme of
world conquest through Mohamme-
danism
For the working out of the broad
scheme the complete extension of
Turco-German influence from both
the Caspian and the Black sea is
necessary, and in this sense the con-
quest of the Caucasus is very inn
portant. With Turkestan as a Mo-
hammedan vassal there is more op-
portunity for the extension of the
Turkish rule from southern Russia
into Persia and Asiatic Turkey. 1t
T. to he regretted that the Turco-