MOHAMMEDANS AT LAW

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1934, Page 12

MOHAMMEDANS AT LAW

COCOA DEALS AT MOSQUE. Faizur Rasul, a 24-year-old Mohammedan, employed at Elm Bank Mansions, Barnes, was the plaintiff in Mr Justice Acton’s Court in the King’s Bench Division recently, when he claimed £lO6/10/10 which he said he lent to Abdul Majid, the Imam at the Mohammedan Mosque, Woking. Mr F. W. Benoy, for the plaintiff, said Rasul left India at the beginning of 1929, when he was 19. and came to this country to learn English and ?. trade. Being a Mohammedan, and having no means or friends, he thought it best to go to the centre of bis religion in this country, the Mosque at Woking. This was administered at the time by the defendant, Abdul Majid. It was arranged that Rasul should act as the Imam’s servant at a wage of £1 a week. He was not, in fact, paid the £1 a week, as Majid suggested that he should allow the money to accumulate. At the end of 1931. continued counsel, a black man who was apparently a. friend of Majid, went to the mosque. His name was Copper-Copper, and he was interested in some business scheme connected with cocoa. Majid said ho had a deal with CopperCopper, and proposed to pay £25 of Rasul’s money into the deal, promising to repay it with another £25. Later he proposed to pay another £75, and afterwards told Rasul that the money had been lost. The book in which the accounts were kept was produced in court, and the amount owing to the plaintiff was shown as £lO6/10/10. I Qri April 3 last Rasul was dismiss- | ed. He asked for the money owing to him, and was told by Majid that the amount vzas £3l/10/10, because the other £75 had been lost by the deal with Copper-Copr»r.

I Rasul, giving evidence, said: “Mr Majid told me my money was to come Lack if I prayed more.” (Laughter.) Giving evidence, Majid declared that ho paid' Rasul’s wages regularly. Copper-Copper, he said, started a “ business to deal in cocoa. Rasul gave ' him £25 to inuvest. and Copper- " iCopper brought back £so—a net pro--3 fit of £35. Later Copper-Copper sug-. ? gested another investment, and Rasul 3 handed over £B3. 3 Mr Justice Acton, giving judgment, said no one could deplore more than >lho did this unfortunate dispute, par- >; ticularly because, although subjects ': of the British Empire, the parties 1 i spoke a different language and pro--1 fessed a different .religion from what ’ I was common in this part of the world, tI He had to determine which side he 3 believed. The whole of the defend- ' I ant’s story sounded improbable. The > j documents which might have revealed ■ what the enterprise was with Copperl j Copper had not been produced, and ' I tho matter was left completely in the > j dark. •| There would be judgment for the 1 . plaintiff for the amount claimed, with i costs.