The Lords of Islam.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 21, 20 November 1912, Page 4

The Lords of Islam.

Why an Anglo-Turkish Entente Must Come.

HILE «e read alarmist tele- / / I grains and reports as to I 1 I change and strife in Constantinople, or rebellion and civil nar in the Turkish provinces, how few of us realise how vital a question it is io ourselves! For good or ill the destinies of the British Empire are closely bound up with the rise or fall of the Turkish Empire, says the “Review of Reviews,” writing before war was declared. It is no exaggeration to say that we should be as anxious for the welfare qf the Sultanate as any Turk or liny Mohammedan, whatever he may be. The Sultan of Turkey is not only a temporal ruler, good or bad as may be, but lie is the Caliph of the Mohammedan world, the keystone of the whole structure of Islam throughout the world. As temporal monarch we could pretend to ignore his well-being, we might even aid in his destruction, but it is in no way possible for us to differentiate between the Sultan of Turkey and the Caliph of the Faithful. Of the whole known Mohammedan population of the world the British Empire contains over 100,000,000. We are the greatest Mohammedan Power, and in our Indian and African possessions we have given hostages by the million to the Caliph. For these British followers of Islam form the most positive portion of the inhabitants of the. various territories of the Empire. Islam is a religion which breeds positive followers, and therefore we may assume that the hundred millions of Mohammedans under the British Hag represent a real force, and one which must be reckoned with. At present, however, the common denominator of these millions of British .subjects is Islam, and the key and control of Islam lies in Constantinople, not in London or Delhi. To quote the words < f Kader Effendi-cl-Dana, of Beyrout:—■ ‘The millions of Mohammedan subjects have borne faithful allegiance, and, indeed, a true love to the British Empire, because it has always stood, as the friend < f the Sultan of Turkey, wJ'OSO Caliphate is acknowledged by Islams throughout the world. And these 100.000,000 doh a mined a n.s are scattered far and wide in India. Aden. Cyprus, Egypt, and the Sudan, a formidable and vast force tc hold together. "It is. therefore, to be hoped that the wiser among British statesmen will revert to their old policy of friendliness with the Ottoman Government. and work hand in hand with the Caliph of Islam, the Sultan of Beni Osman.’’ I lii.s lurk did not lay any too much stress upon the situation imAfrica or in India. It is not only that Egypt has over 10,000,000 Mohammedans amongst her population of 11,000,000, or that in India, the Mohammedan population form the greatest bulwark of British power; but in all parts of Ravage Africa Islam is the great, the growing force. North Africa. Morocco. Tripoli, and Algeria—nil the-o are avowedly and clearly followers of Mohammed, and look to the Caliph. But still more vital is the spread of Islam among the negroes and other races of Central, Eastern, and \\ estern Africa. The teachings of Mohammed have been spread in Africa, for nearly thirteen hundred years, wh Ic < hristianity has not been active for a tenth part of that. Liam in Africa is a permanent faith, attracting ami elevating the negro. There is no question that as Europeans conquer new territories in savage Africa. Mohammedanism spreads more and more rapidly. All those who have pnssi.ssioifu, therefore, in Africa must necessarily take a great interest in the fate <>f the Caliph ami of Turkey, lor tho position of Turkey and of the Ottoman Empire is unique among the Mohammedan countries of the world, l or cimtiirii.s it has stood before the world as the one great temporal power of L-lam, with its laws and usages built upon the tenets and traditions of the .I'rophet. Here is the residence of the Caliph, the I rmtin-el-Muslimiil, the supreme pout ill' of the church-state called Islam. rhe Sultan of Turkey as the Caliph of the Mohammedan world is the custodian, not only of the sacred cities, hut of the sacred reHee of Liam. In the hall of the Holy Garment on tho Bosphorus are kept the mantle of the Prophet Mwhom med, his staff, his sabre, and Bis standard, ami although all Mohammedans pray towards Mecca, the taet

majority of the Mohammedan would pray for the Caliph who re-ides at Stainboul. It is recognised in Germany that the most vital problem liefore her colonies is the negro question. Since the bulk of the Kaiser’s place in the sun lies in Africa, and since L-lam is the dominating common denominator of the African population. the control of the Caliph must mean much to Berlin; and if Berlin takes the Caliphate .seriously, why should not we do so in London, since the British Empire stands to lc.se far more, and to risk more serious troubles, if Islam turns against her? It is not only in Africa,

but also in India, that the followers of the Prophet are of vital importance to MT. the greatest of Mohammedan Powers. should be as anxious for the safety of the sacred places of Islam as are the Turks. Mecca and Medina, shrined as they are in the. hearts of millions of British subjects, .should be defended and guarded with all the power of the British Empire. And we must not forget that, next to the sacred, cities of Liam, all our Mohammedan citizens cherish the thought of the Caliph, and the belief that England desires to be on the friendliest terms with the Caliph -purs them on in their loyalty and work for the Emperor-King. At the present moment, however, it would seem as if the British Government. occupied with Cabinet differences and local affairs, had completely forgotten that we are a Mohammedan Empire, or that it behoves us to stand well with the centre and direct control of Islam. They remain still under the hypnotism of Mr Gladstone, who led the nation to think of the unspeakable Turk, and whose ideas have caused a generation to grow up holding as lixed tradition that the Turk s are models of iniquity. What suited Mr Gladstone in his time is, however, far from being the best policy today, and no time .should be lost in ehanging the British policy of indifference towards Turkey into a warm friendship and rapprochement. No two nations have more cause for joint action, and

it would be untrue to say that British friendship for Turkey would be only to the advantage of the latter. Lasting alliances are based upon common interests, and not upon parchments. The common interests, between the Empire possessing more Mohammedan subjects than any other, and the land where is all that is saered and revered by these Mohammedan.-, is sufficiently defined. If this country is hall-marked throughout the world of Islam as friend and defender of the Caliph, many of the sources of possible danger will have become innocuous, even if they have not been turned into forces for good. To allow any other country, especially Germany, to usurp in the world of Islam the place which is ours by right, would not only be reprehensible, it might easily be almost suicidal. Nor must it be forgotten that besides the very real advantages which are to be gained by friendly alliance with the head of Islam, there are sufficiently good reasons for friendship with the Sultan of Turkey as temporal monarch. An en-

tente with Turkey means much in the Mediterranean question, more still for the Suez Canal, while it opens up a safe land route to India.

Whoever holds Constantinople or is friendly with those who hold it dominates the Eastern Mediterranean. The Black Sea becomes a negligible question if an Anglo-Turkish entente controls the Dardanelles. The Suez Canal is saved from danger within and without and the two Mohammedan Powers command one Of the world’s great natural highways, and reach unbroken to India and beyond. What then should be done? Turkey is threatened from within and menaced from without, so that whatever is to bo done must be done quickly. Eirst and foremost, there should be an immediate change of British representation at Constantinople. The present Ambassador is not able to adequately safeguard the country’s interests, much less take an active and moulding part in Turkish affairs. To leave Sir Gerard Lowther at Constantinople, because of influential support, or for any other reason, is to betray vital Imperial interests and to risk the losing for ever of an opportunity to bring together in harmonious co-opera-tion the two great forces of Islam. But we should not rest content with merely replacing au incompetent Ambassador by one more fitted to British dignity and more able to take advantage of occasions such as the present. We should recognise boldly and openly that ’n the Sultan wc have to deal with two distinct

factors —the spiritual head of Islam and the temporal ruler of Turkey. The Vatican and the Quirinal are not more distinct —the difference at Constantinople being that the Caliph has far more direct and actual power for good or evil than has the Pope of Rome. M’hat greater recognition of this difference and of tha power of Islam and British interests in its welfare could we give than by sending a Mohammedan Ambassador to the Caliph as well as our regular Ambassador to the Sultan? Sueh an action would ring throughout the whole world of Islam and win the whole-hearted gratitude and friendship of every follower of Mohammed, down to the negro of savage Africa. And what an insight the British Government would gain into the thoughts and ideas of the world of Islam, knowledge precious to the governing of countless parts of the British Empire! We hold not only the future of Turkey and of Islam in our hands, but also the present. Prompt and decided action on our part will not only checkmate possible schemes of dismemberment by other Powers, but will be welcomed by the neighbouring small States who are now straining at the leash because of the manifest impossibility of adequate reform in the Turkish provinces. If we are with Turkey, the day of reform will soon come, and with reform will come closer friendships and alliances, with thojsa neighbouring States which have been carved from Turkey’s territory, but which would find more stable safety in common action and common policy with an Anglo-Turkish entente than with everhungry Austria or Russia. In this way the menace of Near Eastern unrest would pass for ever and Europe arrive at another stage nearer certainty of peace. Disinterested as we are towards Turkish territory, interested as we are vitally in the maintenance of the Caliphate, this country ean best come to the aid of Turkey and, recognising frankly the claims of Islam to respect, reorganise the administration of the country. British administrators trained amongst Mohammedan or mixed people are easily to bo found, and by their aid marvellous changes would be wrought. Turkey would become a serious and progressive nation living at peace within its frontiers, and no longer would Europe look towards Constantinople, awaiting the tearing asunder of the dominion of the Sultan. Let "the greatest Mohammedan Power in the world” join friendly hands with the highest Mohammedan force, and together, doubly strong and in no wise weakened, Great Britain and Turkey will become the "lords of Islam,’’ and the hundreds of millions of Mohammedans will have been transformed into a further force for universal peace.