THE MIND OF THE MOSLEM

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 22 December 1913, Page 2

THE MIND OF THE MOSLEM

A glimpse into the Moslem mind, the mina ot millions unattected by Inat v>tsitern.culture whicn has touched a IVlomammeaan Here and there in the 'l Hiast, is given us by an American missionary wno writes m a Js'ew ¥ork Mis-! sionary Keyiew on the absence of scien-! tihe curiosity among Turks. it is! considered irreverent even to seek to know the facte of the universe. "Allah knows; why should I seek ix> understand ?'—a typical answer to questions in Turkey—=conveys the attitude of the TurK towards questions which keep the West ever climbing in pursuit of knowledge. Even such a matter as the span of the c&mel's life, which one would think would be of practical interest to the man of the desert, may be included among the things about which it is i improper to enquire. "How should I knowj"' replied a camel-driver to an American who sought information. "Allah knows* When Allah wills to take a camel he takes him. Who am I that 1 should enquire?" To a Frenchman who asked for statistics regarding the imports, the water supply, the birth-rate and' the death rate of Aleppo the Vali of the town replied: "It is impossible for anyone to know the number of camels that kneel in the markets of Aleppo. The water supply is sufficient... No one ever died of thirst in Aleppo. The mind of Allah alone knows how many children shall be born in; this vast city in any given time. As co the death rate, who would venture to ascertain this, for it is .revealed only to the angels of d«ath who shall he taken and who shall be left. D son of the West, cease your idle presumptuous questionings, and know that these things are not revealed to t^e children of men." Probably a Wetern investigator would find it impossible to get accurate figures relating to the Turkish losses in the w. ar-~how m an y were killed, how many died of cholera, how many were wounded. It is enough for the Moslem that men were and now they are not; of what importance is it to know whether they died from bullets or disease? Ihere must be thousands of widows and children who do not know, and never1 will know how their husbands and fathers died. . They went away and never came back—that is enough for the authorities. 'l