The Ensign. TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 1915. THE FATALIST TURK.

Mataura Ensign, 22 June 1915, Page 4

The Ensign. TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 1915. THE FATALIST TURK.

The., denial of Turkish atrocities which has. been-made by the official Australian correspondent and the statements by ‘ wounded 'Australasians in Egypt will be received with relief by those who Have. relatives' and friends engaged in’ the fighting at the Dardaneile.s .and; by those who, though not so intimately couneeted with the war, desire ;to . see it conducted up-bii hutiuimyjiues. ' Hitherto. ojiiolaa. of, pie Turk in .Christendom has-been very uncomplimentary. To the Western world, the word' Turk «uggesty : uifspoaka'ble cruelties, and fromtime immemorial it has known' Jiiin' as the killer of- Christians, These accusations- are true and the Turks cannot defend thouiiselves against them. The Western opinion of the Turk, however fwrites a student of the conn fry in the ‘New York Su n’), has hbeu based on kiiowdcdgc of him when-ho is angry. He is lighting now witli the courage of despair as he .sees iiis country slowly slipping' front his grasp. Lord Byron’ was -right' When lie wrote in “Childe Harold”: ‘‘The Ottomans with 'all their faults-arb not despicable. Jf it is hard to say what they arc-it is easy to say what they are not. - They, are not liars, cowards.

nor murderers; they are'.loyal To their Sultan, until lie-'heroines- incapable, and to their Cod, loyal without, questioning. ’’ The Turk lavish. What lie takes with one hand he squanders with the- other. In all the cities in Turkey the streets in the' Moslem quarters are narrow and gloomy, while in the 'Christian quarters, especially in the capital, in .Pera, Ga.lata and Fhanar, everything is different. 'lt must he admitted that all in till the Turk always strives for good breeding and- is proud of his Oriental nonchalance. But his dignity ns often a cloak for sluggishness. The grave and contemplative air pn every face does: not denote depth, of • •thought.-- Par from it; it usually cloaks dulness of intellect. The; whole philosophy of the Turk, his history, his nature, in ishort his whole life cun be condensed into a single .word, an expressive word which lie has coined for hi,s sole use and which depicts .the - whole- East; it is the word- “keif.” -Keif Ts the supremebeatitude of' the Turk: it implies all the charms-of life; certainly the word

cannot be rendered in English. There is only one language that possesses a phrase that can c'ompared with it, the “dnlee .far ni'ente” of flic Italian. . But keif has a larger and more perfectsense, ft means’ having-'souk- infelli-’ gome and conscience in a condition of coipplete aequioscncc. Thanks to the keif the Turk scorns to reflect on the past, is indifferent to the present and hover troubles himself about the future. If a Turk is warned *of present danger he will invariably reply “Allah kerim” ’ (Hod is-great)-; that is . to .say : .eat, dj'ijik, without troubling, and for. the rost'leav.e. it to kismet (destiny). - Trust--t-p- Allah, to-,-sot-tlo. these matter's . and meantime . do .nothing in ■hot blood; seek not trouble. War is the only thing that can rouse the Turk from his apathy. The battle'Oyer, all) bis energies are at an end. He may hear the, roar of the cannon at the ‘Southern ; end of Gallipoli, he may hear that the' dreaded “Tngliz” battle-, shijjs fiave alfehdy passed through the. may..., even. ■ see the armies "(if ihtt Allies marching towards

Stainboul; such things have the power to disturb the Turk temporarily._ Onoe ho is excited he'will light failatibally, but after the.-- struggle is ...over his fatalism will -immediately replace Ins fanaticism.' Having no thirst for ifh. pits toon for travel, tormented by ,h(L desire for wealth and luxury for .which the West strives pas--sio'nately; the Turk avoids as much as .possible all disturbing factors and tries to live in-peaceful tranquility; Except when .going oil a julgriniage to Mecca, tvayel is for him a torture, .especially iii; Christian •'toulitr-ics. The European' inspires in the ..Turk only contempt. To- him -the European appears as a frivolous, trivial being. The Turk beholds .in- civilisation; nothing, hut hostility towards Mohammedanism. To put himself on a' ■ footing with Tie Christian ■neighbors would secni to him appalling. Indolence,, ‘pi'ido, religious contempt, ail oppose it. Historians accuse the .Turks of having contributed in ho way to the: progress of civilisation.' This notion is wrong. It was m CoiiKtantinople that the first cafes ’were opchied. They wei’o at first named schools of instruction, and judging by their number .one would be tempted to regard the - Turks as a learned people. Religion is the one and only topic the Turk cares to discuss. It controls-:'"his/’cvpry act. : Nothing affects hip belief. No reasoning, ian prevail against • his; faith. - The Turk, especially.’ the ' uncivilised Turk, is very religious and fanatical; fanatical, be it understood; if his religion is ridiculed. Ho practises that scrupulouslyfive prayers a day, a . pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life if possible; such are the precepts of bis religion which he never forgets. 'After all the Turk is a- fatalist and’ is fated to remain so. He appears quite contented with his fate. As the Koran says, “Each natiofr has its turn. When the appointed time* conies bleu can neither retard nor-hasten it.”