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THE REV. S. M. ZWEMER, M.A.^ D.D., 



Pagan and animistic elements into the new faith. Abu'l Fida' 

 calls attention to a number of religious observances which were 

 thus perpetuated under the new system. 



It is not our purpose in this paper to speak of the pre-Islamic 

 beliefs of the Arabs in general, but to show that there are many 

 animistic ideas in the Moslem creed and ritual to-day, which can 

 best be understood by a comparison with similar beliefs in the 

 Pagan world. By animism we understand " that stage in 

 human development in which man believes in the parity of all 

 existences so far as their possession of sentient life is concerned." 

 Men in that stage may hold that a stone, a tree, a mountain, a 

 stream, a wild animal, a heavenly body, a wind, indeed any 

 object withiu the realm of real or fancied experience, possesses 

 just such a "soul" as he conceives himself to have, and that it 

 is animated by desires and moved by emotions parallel to those 

 he perceives in himself.* 



The subject is large, and we can only give in outline some of 

 the beliefs and practices, with the hope that further investiga- 

 tion may be made on the lines indicated. 



In the very use of the Moslem creed we have a superstitious 

 use of the names of God against demons and Jinn. Their belief 

 in angels with all its ramifications, and especially their eschato- 

 logy, shows the same animistic basis. Their belief in how the 

 spirit leaves the body ; the benefit of speedy burial ; the question- 

 ing by the two angels of the tomb ; the visiting of the graves 

 and the presentation of offerings of food and drink on the graves : — 

 all this is mixed up with Pagan practice, and can be traced to 

 its source in the collections of Tradition. 



The Koran itself has the power of a fetish in popular Islam. 

 Not only is the book eternal in its origin and used for mystic 

 purposes, but only those who are pure ritually may touch it. 

 Certain chapters are of special value against evil spirits. The 

 two chapters, i.e., of the " Elephant," and the one entitled " Have 

 we not Expanded?" are almost universally used for the early 

 prayer as a safeguard against pain. At funerals they always 

 read the chapter " Y.S." ; and when in fear of Jinn and spirits, 

 the chapter of the Jinn. One has only to read this last chapter 

 with the commentaries on it to see how large a place this 

 doctrine occupies in popular Islam. The cure for headache is 

 said to be the 13th verse of the chapter called " al-Ana am," or 

 the Cattle, which reads : " His is whatsoever dwells in the night 



Cf. Article on " Comparative ReHgion," in Schaff-Herzog Encyc, 

 vol. iii, p. 194. 



