The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1914. MOSLEM LOYALTY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2299, 5 November 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1914. MOSLEM LOYALTY

That Germany is_ dragging Turkey into the war in tho hope of stirring up trouble among the Mohammedan subjects of Britain, France, and Eussia is, of course, quite obvious. The intention is to make the Moslem world believe that those who fight against Turkey are fighting against the Mohammedan faith. 'The Sultan of Turkey, in virtue of his title' "Caliph," ie officially the head of all Moslems, and this position at one 'time conferred on him the right of mention on coins and in public prayer; but the right of coinage no longer exists outside the Ottoman .Empire, though the Sultan's name is still mentioned in public worship in some', other countries, including parts of India. The danger lies in the possibility of the Mohammedans of India and elsewhere being persuaded that Turkey has entered the fray as defender of the faith, and not merely as the result of German intrigue. The leaders of Mohammedan thought in India, however, are too intelligent to bo misled by the unscrupulous trickeries of, the Machiavellian .diplomacy which emanates from, Berlin, and the latest news goes to show that the foundations on which the loyalty of the Indian Moslems is based are too firm to be undermined, by German scheming or Turkish duplicity. Cablegrams which we publish in another column state that it has been officially announced throughout India that no- religious question is involved in Turkey's action, and that the Bengal branch of the Moslem League is organising a movement to place the true position before the illiterate section of the people. The Moslem League is a powerful organisation representing the political aspirations of the Mohammedan section of the Indian population', and its unhesitating support of Britain in the present crisis must be another bitter disappointment to Britain's enemies. According to an 'estimate made in 1906, the number of Moslems under Christian rule or protection was about 161,000.000. Of this total 81j500,000 are subject to Great Britain, about 29,250,000 to France, and something like 16,000,000 to Russia, Germany having about 2,500,000 Mohammedan subjects in , Africa. The mere montioh' of thesefigures is sufficient to show the importance of ! taking, effective steps to counteract the efforts of Germany to persuade the Moslem-"world that she is fighting side by s'ide with Turkey in defence of the Mohammedan religion. Fortunately the Indian princes and the great majority of those who are in a position to influence Mohammedan opinion know'quite well that no religious question is involved. They are perfectly well aware that Germany is simply making use of Turkey for the purpose of embarrassing the Entente Powers, and they also know that the Moslems have much to lose and _ nothing , to' gain from German domination. It is stated that leading Mohammedans in Calcutta deplore the Sultan's action, and believe that ho has been forced into the ' conflict by : Enver Pasha and Germany. These- facts are being explained to the mass of their co-religioriists by the Aga Khan, the Moslem League, and others. The magnificent oners of tho princes and people of India to support Britain with men and money, and the strong expressions of disapproval which the action of Turkey has evoked, show that the King's Mohammedan subjects are not likely to be deceived by Germany's professions of friendship. The British Moslems Association recently issued a manifesto expressing indignationat the threats of the German Press to incite the Islamic population of the British Empire to revolt. The manifesto also points out that Turkey has suffered severely in the past through belief in Germany's ..false assurances, and declares that the Moslems of the world "now know Germany to be like Shditan (the Devil), and, in the words of our Holy Al-Koran, 'the evil whisperer who whispereth evil-suggestions into the breasts of men.' ".. The manifesto goes on to repudiate with scorn the idea that British Islamic subjects, would be cowardly enough "to take a mean and contemptible advantage of the country to whom they owe allegiance, and which has accorded them civil and religious liberty and protection." These people know that they would get very little liberty under German rule. "You must thrash them, and thrash them, and thrash them" was the opinion expressed by a German Imperial Commissioner in Africa regarding the treatment of subject races, and in commenting upon this remark a writer in the London Spectator states that the Indian peoples know enough about the rule of the German jack-boot as it is exhibited on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean to prevent them from falling victims to the "blundering blandishments of certain ' subsidised propagandists working from Berlin. The Ger-' mans are, no doubt, hoping greatthings ae the result of the embroilment of Turkey, but all the available information indicates very strongly that the> Moslem subjects of the Entente nations are not at all inclined to spend their money or shed their blood in order to help Germany out of the desperate situation in which she nowfinds herself.