The New York herald., 1922-10-01
Moslems in the British Empire.

Moslems in the British Empire.
When LLOYD GEORGE recently spoke
of the S0,000,000 Mohammedans in
the British Empire he referred to one
of the potential factors in a Near
East situation with Great Britain
aligned against Turkey, the strongest
and most important independent ma
tion in Islam. This number repre-
sents one-third of the Moslems Of
the world, and 1t includes strangely
varied, complex people divided into
factions by racial or regional differ
ences, yet held together by the bonds
of a common religion, a population
which extends from the British Sudan
in Africa to central Asia and the
Oriental border Of British India.
Within these boundaries lie also the
Suez Canal, the vital link In the
chain of the empire, and India, its
Asiatic gem.
India alone has at least 66,000,000
Mohammedans. This is about one
fifth of the population of the coun-
try. The Hindus exceed the Mos
lens in numbers by about $4,000, 900.
But, as Sir HARRY H. JOHNSTON, who
knows India as we'll as man of the
Occident can, recently wrote, the
Mohammedan is the best looking,
strongest, most warlike and in many
respects the most enterprising ele-
ment in the native population. While
SO far as numbers are concerned the
eMohammedans occupy position Of
disproportionate Importance as re-
CARDS the Hindus, Sir HARRY sees in
both the Sikhs and Parsis strong ele-
ments of the Indian population. "The
100000 Sikhs," he says, count in
our purview of the future of India
fer more than, let us say, 20,000,000
Mohammedans." The Sikhs, it will be
remembered, have usually stood back
Of the Indian Government, and their
nation was one of the first to offer
itself for service in the world war.
In Egypt and the British Sudan
the Moslem population has been es-
timated to be about 100000. 1t
has been the cause of not a little
trouble to the British Empire. The
fanaticism of the Mahdists in the
latter part of the last century brought
OF warfare in the Sudan and along
the upper Nile that was repressed
only after heavy loss Of life and
great expenditure Of money. The
mad mullahs in Somaliland and the
Senussi of Tripoli have by their pc
r.odic uprisings kept alive a spirit
of militant Mohammedanism that has
been responsible for much unrest
among the Moslem tribes of the
Sudan.
The discomfort in Egypt with the
British Government before the war
was inspired largely by the course
of the ruling Khedive, ABBAs HILMI,
who was frankly Anglophobe. He
gave up his throne and threw in his
lot with the Turks. The British
we're compelled to adopt extreme
measures, for the native Egyptian
army was considered so untrust-
worthy, that it was practically in
termed during the war. The i'm
rortance of Egypt in the present sit
uation comes from the part that she
might play in the security of the
Suez Canal. The peril, though, to the
canal would perhaps be no greater
in a new war against the Turk than
IL was in the world war. The Brit
ish not only protected il then against
Turkish invasion but advanced from
Egypt northward, occupying Pales-
tine and Syria.
Besides the common bond OF fell
iowship existing throughout Islam
there is another important reason for
the sympathy OF the Moslems for
Turkey. It is the last important
Mohammedan country that is inde-
pendent, and Constantinople. its cap
ital, is the seat Of the Caliphate.
When something more than two CEN
turies ago there was line OF Mo-
hammedan Kingdoms extending from
the islands of the Pacific to the At
lnntic the destruction OF a Moslem
STATE was nof n matter OF vital im-
portance. But when these began fall
ing before the aggressive European
the Moslem placed high value upon
those that remained and sought to
perpetuate not only their existence
but their power. To Islam its own
civilization is something to be priced,
and although its glories belong to
the past--to the Moslem cities In
Spain, northern Africa, Syria and