Evening star., 1924-07-23

The recent murder OF Maj. Imbrie,
American vice consul to Persia ana
the serious woundinE OF his Amer
ican companion as these two wero
attempting to photograph MosIem
worshipers at q holy place In
Teheran, the capital OF Persia. has
been a subject OF ofncial regret OF
that country and due apologies have
been received and accepted. Two or
three persian police were also Sc
riousIy injured by the same mob
one fatally-and that is cited as
proof that the authorities did try
to protect the foreigners when they
were attacked by the mob.
+ + + +
What had 50 infuriated the peopley
The first report was that the two
Americans had been mistaken for
members OF the religious sect called
Bahais, which sect Is prosecuted and
snathematized by all good Moslems.
but that story is denied by later re-
ports. The only explanation given
by responsible Persians in Washing
ton is that the Americans had Of
Tended by attempting to photograph
holy place in the midst OF the
worship of the faithful including
many Persian women. To picture a
woman Is an insult. TO picture a
mosque or any holy place is sac
rilege.
idea Of the feelings of tho MosIems
IL in the midst of Easter services a
barbarian were to intrude, carrying
some strange apparatus close to the
altar and diverting attention from
sacred ceremonies.
What was the religious, political
and mental atmosphere in which the
Imbrie tragedy occurred?
Mr.. II. G. Dwight. a member of our
Department OF state, has lived in
the Mohammedon Near East. In his
book, Persian Miniatures, he vivfdly
portrays scenes of Persia, similar to
conditions under which the mob at
tack of Maj. Imbrie probably took
place.
The tragedy occurred in the month
of Moharren-the month in which
Caliph Hosein. son of Ali, the Fourth
Caliph. was murdered. thirteen CEN
turtles ago. In remembrance of the
is observed with te4rs and groans,
and with PROFESSIONS Of flagellants.
wherein the devout march, stripped
to their belts so that the whipping G
they give themselves with metal
tipped whips, and the slashing of
breasts and heads with sharp swords,
shall not fan to draw blood. The
women stand beside the roads to
watch the fagellants, and they lift
their voices in wild mornings, while
real tears course down their cheeks
as the papier-mache image of the
late Caliph Hosein is borne by them
in the procession, his decapitated
head upon one bier and his body
upon another. The hagellants and
irresponsible under the intense dem
onstration Of their grief.
The Sunnites, or orthodox Moslems,
revere the first three successors of
Mohammed the Prophet. but the
Shiites never refer to these three
Caliphs without the expression:
Cursed be their names" The
Persians are Shiites (schismatics). ).
and they worship Moses, Jesus, Mo-
hammed and the Fourth Caliph with
his direct successors and descendants.
According to tradition, the Angel
Gabriel instructed Mohammed to let
his mantle fall upon Ali, who had
married Mohammed's daughter. Fat
ma, and had two sons, HasanN and
Hosein,> but Abu Bekr, Mohammed's
father -in-law, usurped the caliphate.
After Bekr came his two sons, Omar
and then Osman, or Gilman. These
three died violent deaths, and then
the real successor" according to the
Shiites). Ali, the Lion of God, came
into his rights as the fourth caliph,
but soon was treacherouSly murdered