REV. G. E. WHITE, ON THE SHIA TURKS. 229 
say, “ We know that the followers of Ali are not true believers ; 
if they confessed what they are, what we know them to be, we 
could not fellowship them ; but since they deny to us their 
real beliefs and claim to be one with us, we do fellowship them.” 
And that is good Mohammedan doctrine, the aim of which is 
not to be but to seem, to recognize not that which is but that 
which is 'professed. 
More specifically, in their theology Shia Turks suppose that 
they believe in one God, eternal, immortal, invisible, the 
Creator, Lord and Judge of all men, but practically they pin 
their faith much more firmly to numberless intermediary and 
intercessory beings. God is thought of as a being very far 
away. The idea of the Ruler of the universe and that of the 
ideal earthly monarch must influence each other, and the 
Oriental conception of the ideal sovereign pictures a person of 
absolute power, above all law, seated on a lofty throne, from 
which he dispenses favours with a lavish hand, or stalking 
through his domain, scattering blessings here and there without 
regard to merit. Such a ruler is expected to be capricious in 
his administration. He cannot be much influenced by ordinary 
processes of law, but he is expected to pay quick attention to 
the requests of his personal favourites made in behalf of some 
third party. Near the person of the monarch there will 
undoubtedly be courtiers so influential that their requests 
cannot be rejected. If, then, a humble citizen of the kingdom 
can gain the intercession of an influential courtier, he will 
probably escape all penalty and secure all available good 
fortune without regard to the merits of his case. Shia worship, 
therefore, is in reality offered their patron saints, of which 
more after a few moments. Mohammedans never approach 
the Divine Being as a father, or endow him with the attribiite 
of love. John sums up their sad condition in the words (First 
Epistle, ii, 23) : “ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath 
not the Father.” Mohammedans worship God from motives 
of fear, or duty, or self-interest. The great Christian main- 
spring of action, love for a personal Master and Saviour, love 
for the Father as revealed in the Son, is lacking in their 
darkened lives. 
Eastern people usually emphasize the sovereignty of God to 
such a degree as to become fatalists denying human free will, 
though this doctrine involves them in many practical difficulties, 
they cannot escape the entanglement. But if a man’s conduct 
is all written in the stars before his birth, there is no adequate 
ground left for moral rewards, if he does well the merit is not 
