648 



The Review of Reviews. 



THE MOSLEM PERIL: 



What Italy's Action May Bring Upon the World. 



Ameen Rihani, a native of Syria, but American by 

 education, writes in the Forum for May on the crisis 

 of Islam. He speaks of the Moslem world as "a 

 nation " of 250 million souls, more than one-half of 

 which is under Christian rule, but is struggling to 

 shake off its fetters. He declares that : — 



The nation of Islam can put in the field one 'and a half 

 million drilled soldiers in addition to two or three million 

 fighting men from the rising tribes. And these Muslems are 

 drilled and trained and kept in active service by Europe — by 

 Fr.rnce, England, Germany and Russia — to maintain peace in 

 their Mohammedan possessions. But the day is soon coming 

 when the European officers of these Mohammedan regiments 

 will not be obeyed ; when in Algeria, in Morocco, in Tunis, in 

 Egypt, in India, in East .Vfrica, in Central Asia, the Muslem 

 legiments will follow the green flag of the Prophet, the flag of 

 they'/7/rt(/, heeding no commandment but the commandment of 

 Allah as set down in the Holy Book. Indeed, a word from 

 Sheikh'ul-Islam in Constantinople, or even from the Mufti of 

 Egypt, can light the sedges of revolt in every Europo-Muslem 

 army in Africa and Asia. Consider that in Egypt alone there 

 are twenty thousand British-drilled Muslem soldiers. 



THE TURKS NO LONGER LEADING ISLAM. 



He says European aggression has always helped the 

 spread of Islam, and now it is " goading it to a jihad 

 the like of which the world may not have seen since 

 the Crusades." The present war has given proof of 

 the rise of the Arabs, of the awakening of the black 

 races of Africa, and of the fighting strength of both. 

 The writer is no lover of the Turks. He says they are 

 rapidly becoming a negligible quantity in the struggle. 

 They are themselves apprehensive of pan-Islamism. 

 The one great Turk that could initiate the movement 

 is the e.\-Sultan. They lack the stamina and the 

 (Ivnamic moral force which is the supreme factor. 

 Their leaders are to a great extent sceptics and 

 atheists. 



RENAISSANXE OR JIHAD ? 



Tint the free-thinking Mohammedans of Syria and 

 Egypt have realised that a political revolution not 

 preceded by a spiritual one inust necessarily miscarry. 

 It depends partly on Europe whether Islain shall 

 become again one of the civilising forces of the world, 

 or whether all religious and moral reforms shall be 

 frustrated and a holy war proclaimed : — 



For the Mohammedan world to-day is in the clutches of that 

 passion which excludes all others — that p.ission of fanaticism 

 which Europe, by its criminal acquisitiveness and broken pledges, 

 is fanning to a conflagration, and on which the Turks must look 

 with the cowardly heart of 0:1c who would ingratiate himself 

 with both parties. 



What Islam is losing on the borders of Europe it is 

 gaining in Africa and Central Asia. " Who knows 

 what might arise? — a new Empire of Islam, or perhaps 

 a .Mohammedan Republic." The transfer of the 

 Khalifale, which would work the ruin of the Turks, 

 might be ei'fected. " 'I'he Khalif in Mecca, say, like 

 the I'ope in Rome, and the greatest reform in Islam 



will have been accomplished." The two opposing 

 voices of two re-awakenings now heard in Islam are 

 the voice of a renaissance and the voice of a jihad. 

 " The voice of the renaissance is now being drowned 

 in the cries of the monster of fanaticism which the 

 criminal acquisitiveness of Europe is provoking, 

 goading to criminal violence, and on Europe shall be 

 the guilt which centuries of righteousness cannot wash 

 awav." 



THE KING'S DEPUTY AT DELHI. 



Mr. Saint Nihal Singh describes in Nash's for 

 June the picturesque personality whom he calls 

 " Britain's pet Indian protege," Hayat Khan. Ten 

 years ago he was unknown, just a gay young fellow 

 and a large landowner possessing about 50,000 acres 

 in his own right. He held an honorary commission in 

 the King's Own Tiwana Lancers. He is devoted to the 

 British Doininion, and has fought for the L^nion Jack 

 valiantly in the deserts of Somaliland. He always 

 defends the British policy in the Viceroy's Council. 

 He has now all eves in India riveted upon him. The 

 position at the Delhi Durbar coveted by the natives 

 was that of the King's Deputy-Herald, whose duty it 

 was to read the Imperial proclamation in Urdu. Hayat 

 Khan got the post without asking. His language is as 

 picturesque as his costume. He speaks English fluently, 

 but it is an English of his own. Pie is regarded ijy 

 educated Indians as a heretic, but the great mass of 

 the people pay great attention to his views. 



CANADA'S NOMINATED SENATE. 



The Round Table for June describes the consti- 

 tutional conflict going on in Canada between the Upper 

 and Lower Houses. The experiment of a nominated 

 Senate is interesting, in view of the proposal to adopt 

 it for Ireland. It appears that during the whole history 

 of the Canadian Confederation only one Senator has 

 been chosfen who was not in actual political sympathy 

 with the appointing Government. Only Liberals were 

 nominated by the Liberal Go\-ernment in office from 

 1873 to 1878 ; only Conservatives, with the exception 

 mentioned, by the Conservative administration, 1878 

 to 1896 ; only Liberals during liie sixteen years of the 

 Laurier Government. With the vacancies filled in by 

 Conservatives, there will still lie a Liberal majority of 

 sixteen in the Senate. Practically there has been 

 single-chamber government ever since Confederation, 

 save for a few years of petty warfare between the two 

 Houses. The Liberal majority in the Senate mav 

 vitally embarrass the Conservative majority in the 

 Lower House. The writer refers to- — 



the element of comedy present in the immediate situation, as 

 the whole Liberal press of Canada and the mass of the Liberal 

 politicians gave a very energetic support to the movement to 

 destroy the veto of the House of Lords in Circ.it Britain, and 

 now find themselves as cnergetiu.illy defending the exercise ot 

 the veto by a nominated Senate ni Canada, 



