The Washington times., 1923-04-11
ISLAM
GROW|NCOUT
Of WAR.
Turkish Comeback and Leader
ship Is RaIIying Point for
3OO,o0o,OoO MosIems.
BY HARRY l.. ROGERS.
international News Service.

L
A movement which may prove of
\ vast importance to the Christian
powers Of the world is developing
among the various Moslem countries
or the Near East, according to Of
! tlclais mere who are closely watch
ing the situation. This movement
contemplates the cooperation of the
numerous Mohammedan PEOPLES ON
a federal basis, and it is being
strongly promoted by joint opposi.
ton to the mandatory system i'm
posed by the Western powers.
Although the Turkish Nationalist
! government is retaining at present
from too active a policy of encour-
| agement, all information indicates
an unmistakable trend toward a
federation of all-Moslem entities,
with Angora as the head.
| Despite this restraint Mustapha
Renal and other Turkish Nation
alist leaders are believed fully alive
to the movements significance, as
is apparently shown in the strong
stand taken by Turkey in the re-
cent Near East crisis and at subse.
quent negotiations in Lausanne.
Cooperation Under Way.
The natural tendency toward uni.
| f1cation is being unostentatiously
assisted by diplomatic cooperation
between Nationalist Turkey on the
one hand, however, and such I'M
portant Moslem countries as Persia,
| Afghanistan and the Moslem re-
pubiics of the Caucasus on the
other. Turkey maintains ambas-
sadors and ENJOYS at Moscow, Tif.
lis, Teheran and Kabul, the At
CHAN capital; while all these coun-
tries likewise are represented at
Angora. Also, the present policy
Of the Soviet government supports
cooperation OF the Mohammedan
nations, and though this is intend
ed as a lever to force Great Britain
to recognize the Soviet regime it
has no doubt conduced materially
to further ambitions Of Turkish
| leaders for united Islam.
It is regarded as highly signifi-
cant that upon the Inauguration OF
Anan Allah Khan, new and pro-
gressive ruler Of Afghanistan, a
| military mission of Turkish of
ficers undertook reorganization Of
| the Afghan army.
Abolition Of the temporal pow
ers Of the Caliphate also Is proving
a powerful factor. While the sultan
of Turkey combined his privileges of
sovereign of the Turkish empire
/ with the purely religious and moral
standing Of the Caliphate many
Moslems in the Arabic-speaking
merely the head of the Turkish
ruling class. Now, however, his
position is neutral, and his moral
influence among the 300,OOO,0O0
IMosIems of the world Is strength.
ened. Thus these millions scattered
| throughout the East now have a
common rallying point. Indian Mo-
hammedans, for example, now are
able to look with reverence toward
| the Caliph, without seeing In him,
as well. a Turkish potentate.
SOviets Imperial Russia.
While the present course Of East
ern political development now en-
| Joys support Of Moscow many poll
ticians in the Orient believe Soviet
Russia, anxious to enbarrass Great
Britain, is pursuing a policy ul-
timately dangerous. The tradition
al interests of Russia lie in the ne
cessity Of controlling the axis of
j the Mediterranean by possession of
the Straits and in safeguarding her
borders, inhabited by vast num-
bers of Moslems. BY strengthen
ing Mohammedan countries the So
VETS are helping to create q power"
full bloc, which may prove highly
dangerous to the security OF Rus
sia.
This situation IL accumulated by
the fact that the hopes Of Lenin
and Trotzky to convert their Mos
lem allies to societism have been
4 shattered by the hostile attitude OF
1.-THE Mohammedan world toward
social, economic and religious prir:-
| ciples Numerically. opposed to the
traditional ideas Of Mohammedanism
It was an open secret last fall that
friction ensued between Moscow
and Angora after expulsion of a
number of communist agitator&
from Turkey.
Turks Oppose Reds.
The failure Of the Bolshevists to
Introduce their social and political
system into Turkey makes 1t evil
dent that their cooperation with
the nations of Islam is matter of
expediency.
There is no, doubt, however, that
the moral and physical support
given the Nationalists by Russia
during the last year has been OF
considerably practical effect in en-
aiding the Turks to emerge from
a condition of almost complete
prostration to one of considerable
power. During this transition pc
Rod the Turkish Nationalists have
drawn to them the Moslem peoples
of the world and are now looked
up to as the strong leaders Of Mo-
hammdanism who are to rejuve-
nate Islam as a power in the
world.
| WHOLE WYOMING TOWN IS