Evening star., 1928-03-30
garden OF EDEN"
MENACEDB ARABS
Attack on Historic Iraq Is
Threatened by Leader of
Desert BedouinS.

Irac. the historic Garden of Eden, is
threatened with attack by desert Be
douins under command Of the Sultan
OF Nejd.
Bagdad. famed in story, and BaSra
al the junction Of the Tigris and
EuphrateS Rivers look neryously south
to the desert.
The British government, which guar
antces the existence of ras has
mohIized armored cars and airplaneS
on thc sandy shore Of Koweit, at the
head Of the Persian Gulf.
AT the beginning Of the World War
insurrectiou broke out in the peninsula
with the rallymg cry OF Arabia Tor the
ArablanS'" says a bulletin from the
National Geographic Society The
allies promoted this movement untn the
end Of the war,
"Ibn Saud has succeeded to leader
ship of the attempt TO unity Arabia
politically He has hitched his drive
10 Wahabism
Founded in 18th Century.
"The Wahabi sect was founded in the
eighteenth century by Add el Wahib.
He was a MOSl6m Puritan seeking to
turn his faith back 70 what he con-
sidercd its simple fundamentals, He
was disturbed by the growing practice
Of VorShiping Mohammed, as we'll as
Allah.
Ing in the interior Of Arabia was
crushed by combined Egyptian and
Turkish forces IN 1871 and 1918. Since
1a hapgl
ing After the World War the
WahabiS conquered nearly all rival
tribes. captured Mecca and MeccaS
seaport Jidda, through which they have
acquired military supplies.
The Arabian peninsula spreads over
an area one-thiTd as large rs the United
States. Working from within. Ibn
Saud. leader OF the Wahabis. has eX-
tended his domination to the PEN
insula's fringe, Now he proposes to
convert the Moslems of Iraq on the
northern fringe 10 the Wahabi way Of
MoSlem thinking by the sword since
peaceful persuasion has failed.
Traditional Garden Of Eden"
"Iraq IS the modern name for the /
traditional Garden OF Eden historically /;
known as Mesop0tamia. The cradle Of /
civilization in the belief Of many /
ercheologists and historians is this (
valley of the Tigris and Euphrates /
Rivers.
.Trau lies between the Arabian des- .
ert on one side and the Persian up |
lands on the other West lies the !
French mandate of Syria. north the /
Kurdish highlands Of Turkey, The /
Persian Gulf forms corridor 1000
miles long giving IraQ a waterway TO
the open Indian Ocean Dates from
the garden come 10 New York by way
oI this corridor Within Iraq live g.
600 900 people. a slim population for
soil which once supported more people
per acre than docs densely populated
Belgium.
Great Britain controls Iraq as
mandate from the League Of Nations.
The tendency 10 grant the people OF
Iran increasing independence was re-
vealed in the recent application Of the
oldest country in the world 10 become
the newest member Of the League.
Britain Creates Kingdom.
Great Britain has made her Meso-
potamian mandate the Arab kingdom
of Iraq ruled by a Mohammedan prince,
the son Of the former King Of HejaZ. /
King Feisal reigns where Babylonians,
AsSyrians ChaldeaIls. PerSians, Greeks, /
lively for six centuries.
"Of the three principal cities. MoSul.
the oil town, seems safely beyond reach
Of the Bedouins Bagdad in the center
Of the valley. comes by its position of
capital honestly. Basra. IN the far
south. is the end Of what was 10 have
been the Berlin -Bagdad Railway.
rs the Sultan Of Nejd trying to re-
peat history? Time after time city
ways have softened city conquerors
until new barbaric horde swept over
them. City Arabs have taken readily
70 civilizations ways They work In
ice and cotton cloth factories. upon
public works and engineering projects.
Waste Land Reclaimed.
Much agricultural land has been
reclaimed b. irrigation in an effort -
revive ting luxuriaut Garden Of Eden
Dates from the date palm are the chief
proQuct. Wheat. barley and rice are
also grown. Experiments looking to-
ward cotton growing have been pro-
moted Vegetables and flowers thrive
in The protecting shade Of palm frouds
The scene Of expected conflict fg-
ures prominently IN the Old Testa-
naent Abraham SET forth from Ur 70
the land q Canaan The traditional
ruins % the Tower Of Babel rise on
EabYlon's site The tomb Of the prophet
Ezra can stu be seen on the Tigris
shore"