“THE NEW KORAN.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 July 1925, Page 3

“THE NEW KORAN.”

BAFFLING LITERARY MYSTERY

Ajj .amazing book, written like the Bible and tailed "The New Koran,” published in London in 18(51, in which a mysterious society called the Pacific- ' an Friendhood, set out a theory for averting the Great War, is baffling the experts at the School of Oriental Studie s in Finsbury Circus, who, in spite of the wide advertising, have been unable to trace another existing copy anywhere (states the London Morning Post). The Director of tho School will shortly consult the beads 4 of the British Museum with a view to finding out whether anything is known there about the extraordinary volume. The full title of the work is: “The New Koran of the Pacifican Friendhood, or tlie Text Boole of Turkish Reformers, in the Teaching and Kxample of their Esteemed Master Jaido Morata.'”

Opposite the frontispiece is published a coloured may called ‘‘Confederated Europe, vide Counsels XLUI-39.” The whole of Europe is divided into three clear-cut States. The first, painted in yellow, includes Russia, Sweden, and Norway, together with the smaller States, which now include Poland, Lithuania, etc.: the second runs from the North of Scotland to the base of Greece, and is painted in red; the third, painted in blue, incluclo s Prance, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain. The first' State is called the Russian Confederation; the second, the English Confederation; and the third, the French Confederation. THE BOOK OP LABOURS.

The volume is divided like the Bible into separate books, and begins with the Book of Labours and ends with the Epistle to the Duties. Each Book is divided jnto chapters, and each chapter into verses. “The esteemed master.” Jaido Morata. begins the Book of Labour with this verse: “A voice from the .sunnsing to children and men! Ye who are pure hearted and diligent seeking for light, hear now the word of the Gospel of Nations arid hearken to tke parable of God. and goes on to say that men are not appointed for war' and destruction as beasts of the desert, and tor this reason should put away old contentions and lx: reconciled everv may with his own brother, so that all may enter the Paradise. Jaido Morata then gives a short account of his life, saying that he was born at sea and lived later at Damascus. His father was an Israelite who had. “heforetime dwelt in the land of

America,” although liis mother was a "Christian of the Franks.’ VALUE OF THE BOOK. Sir E. Denison Ross, the Director of the School of Oriental Studies, who is making a special study of this book, told a Morning Post representative that lie very much doubted if anybody had ever read the whole book through, but that- in spit© of its rather pompous language he considered it was of the greatest value to students of Mohammedan questions. "I advertised everywhere in order to try and trace a second copy of it,” lie said. "But- as yet I have had no success.” The greatest value of the book to students of political economy is, 1 of course, the fact that the so-called .Pacifican Friendhood were able as far back as in 1861 to predict the Great War of 1914, and put forward a plausible way out of it. The suggestion of uniting all the small States of Europe under the three figureheads of Russia, England, and France, is rather on the same principle of the United States of America, which, it is contended, gave the New World such tremendous power, both from political and commercial aspects. Tlic prophet Jaido Morata obviously got out of his depth to a certain extent before he finished the book, for he adds on the last page as a. footnote this little notice : “A Key to the New Koran. Now preparing for the Press, is intended to give a full explanation of this book with respect to its origin and names.”

Whether any descendant of 1 lie Pacifica n Friendhood exists at the moment or not is unknown by Sir Dennison Ross, fait research to find the key to tlii ß mystery look has up till now completely failed.