The New York herald., 1922-03-15
The Unity Of Islam.

The demand from India for a re-
vision Of the Treaty of Sevres which
would bring more advantageous
terms to Turkey and sense of Sc
curity to the Sultanate of the Otto
man Empire and the Caliphate of
Islam, startling and interesting as
it Is to the Western world, is in
reality but one of the manifesto
tions OF the unrest throughout Islam.
The Spaniards have been compelled
to send large bodies of troops to
Morocco in final effort to put down
a long drawn out revolt of native
tribes; the Italians have met an
armed Arab resistance in their occu-
patton of Misurata in Tripoli; the
French have only recently compro-
missed their difficulties with the Mo.
hammedans of Syria, and the British
with the Egyptians. while the Greeks
have found a defiant enemy in the
Moslem forces under MUsTApHA
KEMAL Pasha in Anatolia.
All this does not mean that Islam
has risen against Europe. Neither
does il indicate that new jehad,
or holy war. has begun. The iehad
lost it's force as a threat half cen
tury ago, and the signal failure of
MoHAMMED V. in the world war to
arouse the Mohammedans of Asia
and Africa to- the defense of Turkey
was a striking instance of its lack
OF appeal in the present times. But
to those persons who have made
the present conditions study il
means that there is a renaissance Of
Islam and that the Orient is in a
state OF transition and ferment.
THE world OF Islam, mentally and
spiritually quiescent for almost 4
thousand years" says LoTHRoP
SroDDARD in his recent work on the
new Moslem world, lis once more
astir, once more on the march"
Europe is in large measure her
self responsible for this situation.
In the nineteenth century. when the
Moslem world sank into decrepitude,
she partitioned the Islamic world
to suit herself. BY her own aggres.
sion she awakened the conscience of
that world and she stimulated by
her own development and improve
ment entirely new and compelling
ideals. The Mohammedans have in
reality taken advantage of European
domination to build up their coun-
tries. The facilities for communica-
tion afforded by the mails, the tele-
graph and the telephone have been
employed to create a better feeling
among the followers Of the Prophet
and TO bring them into closer
union. The railroads which the Eu.
ropeans built have made distant
tribes neighbors and cemented friend
ships. The newspapers which have
sprung up in imitation OF the Euro.
pean press have carried into the re.
mote corners of Islam the preach
II lUBS anu lEdtulHEh VI ltdu6ES DIT 1OH-
stantinople, Angora and Cairo.
In the meantime the doctrines an
nounced in that wonderful Wahabe
revival in the heart OF Arabia have
been slowly and surely spreading
from China to Morocco, from Tur-
kestan to central Africa. The East
has realized that IT must protect itself
or be destroyed by the West. The
revivalists' cry was ever: AS the
desert Arabs have been welded into
politico.religious unity such as the
Prophet sought. let all Moslem poo.
pie follow their example and find
strength In union" The effect Of
this teaching has been to reconcile
the fierce enmities of different
branches OF Islam and to lead them
to face more confidently common
foe.
Europe is awakening to the situa.
tion; she understands II perhaps bet.