235 



The Lords of Islam. 



WHY AN ANGLO-TURKISH ENTENTE MUST COME. 



"Great liRriAiN being the greatest Moliamiuedan Power in the world, all Mohammedan countries, and 

 in particular 'I'urkey, which is at the same time an independent. Power and the seat of the Caliphate, cannot 

 fail to attach the highest importance to British opinion and policy." — Prince Sabah-ed-din. 



Islam is the gi"eat, the growing force. North Africa, 

 Morocco, Tripoli, and Algeria — all these are avowedly 

 and clearly followers of Mohammed, and look to the 

 Caliph. But still more vital is the spread of Islam 

 amongst the negroes and other races of Central. 

 Eastern, and Western Africa. The teachings of 

 Mohammed have been spread in Africa for nearly 

 thirteen hundred year^, while Christianity has not 

 been active for a tenth part of that. Islam in Africa is 

 a permanent faith, attracting and 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 posses- 

 sions, therefore, in Africa must necessarily take a great 

 interest in the fate of the Caliph and of Turkey. For 

 the position of Turkey and of the Ottoman Empire 

 is unique among the .Mohammedan countries of the 

 world. For centuries it has stood before the world as 

 the one great temporal power of Islam, with its laws 

 and usages built upon the tenets and traditions of the 

 Prophet. Here is the residence of the Caliph, the 

 Imam-el-Muslimin, the supreme pontiff of the church- 

 state called Islam. 'I he Sultan of Turkey as the Caliph 

 of the Mohammedan world is the custodian, not only 

 of the sacred cities, but of the sacred relics of Islam. 

 In the hall of the Holy Garment on the Bosphorus 

 are kept the mantle of the Prophet Alohammed, his 

 staff, his sabre, and his standard, and although all 

 Mohammedans pray towards Mecca, the vast majority 

 of the -Mohammedan world pray for the Caliph who 

 resides at .Stambnul. 



It is recognised in Germany that the most \\tn\ 

 problem before her colftnies is the negro question. 

 .Since the bulk of the Kaiser's place in the sun lies 

 in Africa, and since Islam is the dominating common 

 denominator of the .•\fri(an 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 lose 

 far more, and to risk more serious troubles, if Islam 

 turns against her.' It i.-i not only in .Africa, but also in 

 India, that the followers of the Prophet are of vital 

 importance to us. 



U'e, ius the greatest of Mohammedan Powers, should 

 b;; as anxious lor the safety of the sacred places of 

 Islam as are the Turk^. .Meiia .ind .Medina, shrincfl 

 a-, they arc in the hc.irts of millions of British subjects. 

 ^holil^i lie defended and guardeil with all the power of 

 the iSriii^h Kn)|)ire. .\nd we imiNt tml forget ilut'. , 

 next to the sacred cijivs of l>lam all our .MolMmmeduii 

 citizensrherish the thought of the Caliph, and the lx;lief 



WHILE we read alarmist telegrams and reports 

 as to change and strife in Constantinople, or 

 rclicllion and civil war in the Turkish pro- 

 \ inces,how few of us realise how vital a ques- 

 tion it is to ourselves ! For good or for ill the destinies 

 of the British Empire are closely bound up with the rise 

 or fall of the Turkish Empire. It is no exaggeration 

 to say that we .should be .is anxious for the welfare of 

 the iSultanate as any Turk or any Mohammedan, 

 wherever he may be. The Sultan of Turkey is not 

 only a temporal ruler, good or bad as may be. but he 

 IS the Caliph of the Mohammedan world, the keystone 

 of the whole structure of Islam throughout the world. 

 .\s 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 I'aithful. 

 Of the whole known Mohammedan population of the 

 world the British Empire contams over 100,000,000. 

 We are the greatest .Mohammedan Power, and in our 

 Indian and African possessions we have given hostages 

 ii\- the million to the Caliph. For these British fol- 

 lowers of Islam form the most positive portion of the 

 inhabititnts oi 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 flag 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 

 I ontrol of Llam lies in Constantinople, not in London 

 iir Delhi. ro()uote the words of Kader Effendi-el-I)ana. 

 of Beyrout : " The millions of .Mohammedan subjects 

 ha\e borne faithful allegiance, and, indeed, a true love 

 to the British l-.mpire, because it has always stood as 

 the fricnrl of the Sultan of Turkey, whose Caliphate 

 IS acknowledged by Islams throughout the world. 

 .\nd these 100.000,000 Mohammedans arc scattered 

 tar and wide in India, Aden. Cyprus. Kgypt, and the 

 Sudan, a formiflabic and vast force to hold together. 



" It is, therefore, to be hoped th;it the wiser among 

 British statesmen will revert to their old policy of 

 iriendlines-, with the Ottoman Ciovernment. and work 

 'i.md in h.ind with the Ciliph of Isl.im, the Sultan of 

 Beni Osman." 



This Turk ilid not lay any loo much stress upon the 

 situation in .Xlrira or in India. It is not only that 

 Kgvpt h.is over 10.000.000 .Mnhammeflans .ininng-.i 

 icr population of ir, 000,000, or that in Indi.i ihc 

 Mohammedan population fornt the greatest bulwark 

 of British power; but in all parts of savage Africu 



