Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-11
Geographic News
Bulletins By the
National Geographic Society
PORTFOLIO

! it is hard for us to conceive. And
some prevalent misconceptions
about the Mohammedan faith seem
TO add confusion to many discus
| sions about Moslem problems.
"A caliph without temporal power
is a more radical departure in the
| Islam world than the Western mind
| at first can grasp" says a bulletin
| from the Washington, ID. G. head
| quarters of the National Geographic
| Society.
"The easiest way to dispel some of
| these illusions Is by pointing to sew
/ eral striking ukenesses between The
worlds two newest among the ma
| jor religions. The term 'Mohamme-
| DAM like the term Christian, Is a
| nickname. Both names were given,
| with contemptuous intent. by enc
mics of the religions.
Both Religions Nicknamed
'.rhe term Christian vas quickly
| adopted by followers Of the Naza-
| n The term 'Mohammedan'
| never has been adopted by the fol-
| lowers of the Prophet. He sought to
| avoid the employment of his own
| name by supplying one-the name of
| Islam-by which he hoped Moham-
mechanism would be known. He fur
| Their sought to make this word,
meaning resignation, imply the five
cardinal points of the new faith. The
first of these points was the brief
creed, There Is no God but Allah,
and Mohammed is his prophet The
other four enJoined prayer. giving OF
aims, the fast of Ramodan and pill
| grimage to Mecca.
Another significant parallel be-
tween Christianity and Mohamme-
danism is that both are the religions
of millions of people of races alien
to that Of their founders. Christ
was a Jew; Mohammed was an Arab
It is the Mohammedanism modified
by the Turkish temperament and
nationality that has clashed with the
Western civilization in recent CEN
turtles.
"Most misleading of all the iilu-
sions about Northumberland, how
ever, is the tacit assumption that n
Mohammedan world is a religious
unit. Seen a Ion way off the sects
and groups fade away. In reality
there are two great branches OF
Mohammedanism, the Sunnites and
the Shiites. Among both these
branches, and also outside them,
there are sharply drawn cleagages.
"Recent caliphs, who have been
the sultans of Turkey, have claimed
spiritual supremacy over h Mo-
hammedan world of some 300, 0O0,-
600 souls. But in actual fact the
Sultan of Turkey had little more
spiritual ascendancy over the Mo-
hammedans outside Turkey than the
King of England has over the Epis-
copalians in the United States. In
fact there would be no urgent Near
East problem at this moment had his
leadership been recognized on the
other side of the Bosporus in Asia
Minor.
"a very important difference be-
tween the Western mind and the
| Mohammedan viewpoint has, hither-
to, precluded a spiritual ascendancy
of the latter which would cut acros
all lines of temporal power and in
| clude even warning nations. The
Mohammedan has no priests, Islam
is the most pragmatic of all relig-
ions. Heretofore IL a caiiph did not
rule he wasn't a caliph. A spiritual
ruler up to now has bean incompre-
ilensible to the Moslem mind. Ma
turally, then, caliphs have sought
to rule by the sword.
ideas are potent factors in geog-
raphy. Not only does the Moham-
medan conceive it difficult to pray
Thy Kingdom Come" and then
| fight for a different kind of king
dom, but, in peace time, his religion
and his law go hand in hand. Ma
hommedeyas a law giyer, not only in
| the Mosaic but also in the Justinian
sense. There are as many codes or
law among Mohammedans as there
are sects; and al many kinds OF
lawyers az there are codes Among
the Sunnites, the Orthodox major
! rJ;r;riAr 90 VeIoN, thnra ara fnItr
| schools of law. A Hanadto would
as soon engage a Ma,akite lawyec
as a Presbyterian congregation
would be likely to employ a Unitar-
ian preacher.
THE very word 'caliph' has an
allurement which dates back to
childhood days when you lived
among these fantastic Arabian
knights at the court of Caliph Harun
al Rashid. ,Kashid was a bona fide
caliph, and in your later years a
reading of TIE historical facts about
the caliphate flu nisL nc fewer thrills
than the immortal tales.
The Early ''Succes5nrs''
when Mohammed died his oIn
selor, Abu Bekr, n companion OF
his fight, or Hegira became ca.ipil.
meaning, literally, successor, Abu
Bekr means father of h virgin He
was Mohammed's father-in-law. The
second caliph, or successor, was
Omar. another father-in-law of the
prophet, who started organizing
armies and began spreading Islam
over the map in a very literal sense
Omar was the first to hear OF the
title Emir al Moumenin, Prince Of
the Faithful
From the first. Ali, husband of
Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. con-
sidered himself the logical success
sor to the caliphate. Not until Abu
Bekr and Omar had ruled, and an
other caliph, Gilman, had his day
and had been murdered as vas Omar
before him, did Ali become caliph.
Certainly Accommodation can
be termed emphatically a mans re-
ligion.' Yet, at this early date. two
women were the moving spirits in
splitting it into the Sunnite and
Shiite divisions which have prevailed
ever since. Ayesha, favorite wife CT
the Prophet, always had been jeal-
! Gus of his daughter, Fatima. and the
succession of Fatima's husband et-
rected all her efforts upon an anti
Ali party. Meantime the group
which all along, had regarded Ali as
the legitimate successor, gained
strength during his rule. but were
kept busy fighting to hold the sway
Omar had established.
when Ais son and successor,
Hassan, was murdered probably by
thu hand of his wife at the behest Of
Moo wfvoh fhis Moa wtvah assumed