THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1912. MAHOMEDANS AND CHRISTIANS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10710, 14 October 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1912. MAHOMEDANS AND CHRISTIANS

The reulotance with which Britain has joined the other great Powers in making representations to Turkey is exr plained, not so much by the relations that have existed in the past between Britain and Turkey, as by the immense interests involved in India, where there is a -strong suspicion that a conspiracy exists between the Christian Powers to destroy the Mahomedan States. An Indian correspondent of the London Time* says it has been the fashion in the past to scoff at the dangers of. the Pan-Is-lamio propaganda. Doubtless there has been at times a tendency to exaggerate the importance of the movement. The dismal prophecies of pessimistic -writers on tho subject have never yet fully materialised. Tho movement has, nevertheless, steadily progressed, until now, under the influence of recent events, it has undoubtedly attained to a power, an importance, and a cohesion such as has never previously been the case. Since the deposition of the Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey and of the Shah Mahomed Ali, the Amir of Afghanistan has come to regard himwlf as the champion of the Muslim world. In some respects, indeed, he has good reasons for his claim. Tho Monarch who reigns in Constantinople, like the child in Teheran, is known to be little but a puppet in the hands of a party, whilst the Sultan of Morocco is in the. hands of the French, even as the Khedive of Egypt is in those of the British. These facts are 'widely proclaimed in Kabul, and the Amir is encouraged, by his .brother NasTulla and by all the mullah faction, to regard himself as the sole remaining hope of Islam. The extensive employment of Turks in Afghanistan, principally as military instructors, which has been such a feature of recent years, has brought -about close and frequent relations between Kabul and Constantinople. The Amir also maintains permanent representa-

; tives at the holy places of Mecca and i i Medina, at Baghdad, which in some-■ ways may be regarded as the metropolis of the Middle East, and, through subjects of that faith, is j kept in close touch with Kerbola and j Nejof, the centres of the Shiab world, j The result of all this scheming, coupled with the wire-pulling from Eii- ; rope, has been a .remarkable rcerud- : escence of Pan-Islamic feeling. Morocco, Tripoli, Persia, are all taken : as evidence, which is really believed by otherwise perfectly loyal and welldisposed Indian Mahomedan subjects, of a conspiracy on the part of tho Christian Powers of Europe to destroy the few remaining Mahomedan j . States and annex their territories, j j It iriust be remembered that nowa- j days the Mahomcdans of India and ) neighbouring countries follow the j course of events in the distant coun- ' tries of their faith with sedulous care. . The news may take weeks to reach '.them, and its digestion may take . time, but it is assimilated in due course. Affairs in Morocco aroused an interest which was extraordinary j considering how remote from India that country is. But the Tripoli business has occasioned something like a ferment. Not only has it involved I war with the Khalifate—a thing ( which invariably causes the greatest * excitement throughout the Mahom- . ledan world, as we experienced in , j 1897, the rising of which year were i to some extent the reflex action of .the Greco-Turkish war—kit it intro- <; duces the Senussi element, which, • whatever may be its real importance, 7 undoubtedly exercises an extraordin- „ ary influence amongst the Mahomed- '. ans of every country. Many pious 1 • believers are convinced that it is from out of the heart of Africa, that the Mahdi, who is to reconquer the world r on behalf of the faith, is to arise, and that possibly even now he is r i amongst the mysterious Senussi, who " ! have their agents everywhere.

Then there is Persia. Tho British in India can appreciate to £ome extant the -difficulties of Sir Edward j Grey in this matter. It is realised that in view.of the situation.in Eu-' ro'pe it is most desirable to maintain intact the entente with.Russia, but it is doubtful whether it was really necessary to go to such lengths of complaisance as Sir Edward Grey ha« gone in this matter. The people of India, on the'other hand, at first bewildered by the extraordinary manner in which we obeyed every demand of Russia, and with minds since poisoned by the whisperings of Pan-Islamic, newspaper® and preachers, are now inclined altogether to doubt our good faith. The most intelligent of them will tell you that they decline to 'believe that the great British Empire would consent to be made a catspaw of by Russia, whilst the latter consummated hof Ambitions in Persia, tinleas there, was something more in it than has yet been announced. Here again the story of the conspiracy amongst the Christian Powers to suppress the Mahomedan States i-s widely believed, and is, indeed, given colouring by our actions. It is no exaggeration to say that our subservience to Russia in Persia ham created the worst possible impression amongst even +,he loyal Mohamedans of India, and the fact that Ave have so palpably been playing second fiddle hais been most harmful to our prestige. Feelings were much embittered by the action of Russia in Meshed and itsneighbourhood, particulars of which have only recently begun to trickle through to India by means of returning pilgrims. The bombardment of tho shrine, which is held in peculiar veneration, is universally execrated. The 1 unfortunate part of it is that in this, as in all the other actions of Russia in Persia, the common belief is. that the British wore involved.

The result of all this has been to give to Pfln-Tslamism in India and neighbouring countries an extraordinary impetus—one, indeed, which may well become dangerous. Tt is difficult to take up any Indian Mahomedan paper without seeing that the wrongs of Mahomcdaus in other countries, the conspiracy of the Christian Powers against Mahomedan States, the necessity of subscribing largely to .the Turkish war .funds, and the obligation lying on all Mahomedan s to be ready to act together in defence of the faith form practically the sole topics for discussion.