IN THE LAND OF THE TURK.
I was unable to crowd into the last article all of our experiences
in the land of the Turk, so I devoted it to Constantinople, leaving
to this paper the discussion of the sultan, his religion and his
government. Abdul Hamud Kahn II., is the present sultan of Turkey.
He is sixty-three years old and has occupied the throne for nearly
thirty years. His family has been supreme in Constantinople for
twenty-four generations--ever since the taking of the city by the
Mohammedans. He is not only an absolute monarch throughout the
domain of Turkey, but he is the spiritual head of the Moslem Church.
His power is really due more to his religious position than to
his sovereignty. He is credited with doing more for the spread of
education than his predecessors, but he can hardly be called an
enthusiastic patron of learning. He endeavors to maintain cordial
relations with European powers and is on especially good terms
with Emperor William. When he wants to show himself friendly to a
nation he appoints some representative of that nation to a place in
the army, navy or other department of the public service at a high
salary, and he gives decorations to such foreigners as he desires to
honor.
Every Friday about midday he goes to the mosque near the palace to
pray and the occasion is one of great interest to those who are
fortunate enough to obtain admission to the grounds, as his journey
from the palace to the church is a brilliant pageant. Tickets of
admission must be secured through the diplomatic representatives,
and we are under obligations to the American legation for an
opportunity to be present.
As early as eleven o'clock, bands, companies of infantry, troops
of cavalry and bodies of police could be seen marching toward the
mosque. From the right, over a hill, came the cavalry mounted on
white horses and carrying pennants of scarlet upon their spears;
from another direction marched the custodians of the sacred banner,
a flag of black silk with texts from the Koran embroidered upon it
in silver, then others and still others came. Before time for the
sultan to appear several thousand soldiers had assembled and been
assigned to their respective stations by officers in attractive
uniforms. Drawn up several lines deep, they guarded every entrance
to the sacred precincts.
It was a gorgeous spectacle, for the Turk is a fine looking soldier.
This may account for the tenderness with which the sultan is handled
by the "powers." And there is sufficient variety in the uniforms
to lend picturesqueness to the scene. The invited guests occupied
a large front room and an adjoining garden, from which they had a
clear view of the broad street, freshly sprinkled with sand, and of
the mosque about a block away. When all things were in readiness the
castle gates swung open and the ladies of the court, closely veiled
and accompanied by the children, proceeded to the mosque in closed
carriages drawn by beautiful Arabian horses. As usual in Oriental
countries, the members of the household were attended by black
eunuchs.
At the appointed hour a black robed figure appeared upon the minaret
and an echo-like call to prayer floated down the street. This was
the signal for which the spectators had waited and all eyes turned
at once to the palace gate through which, in double line, marched
the high officials, preceded by a band and followed by the sultan's
bodyguard and the sultan himself in a carriage with his minister of
war. The officers saluted, the soldiers cheered, the visitors raised
their hats, and the sultan bowed and smiled.
Hamud II. is mild in appearance and his black beard is but slightly
streaked with grey. He does not look strong and his figure seems
diminutive when contrasted with that of his minister of war. His
imperial majesty, as he is styled, remained in the mosque for nearly
half an hour. When he at last came out he entered a phaeton with his
eldest son and, taking the lines himself, drove back to the palace
behind one of the handsomest teams in Europe. The horses are a very
dark, almost black, dappled chestnut sorrel, with silver mane and
tail. They are perfectly matched, weigh thirteen or fourteen hundred
pounds and the shining coats give evidence of constant care.
We obtained permission to visit the sultan's stables and saw a few,
not all, of his more than a thousand horses. The finest, of course,
are the Arabian stallions, of which he has quite a number, the best
of the breed. In one room we saw a hundred or more saddles and
bridles, many of them richly ornamented. In the collection are two
Texas saddles presented by Minister Terrell when he represented our
government in Constantinople.
Before passing from the Selamlik, as the procession is called, it
may not be out of place to remind the reader that the ceremonies
were interrupted less than a year ago by the explosion of a bomb
close to the line of march. Near the mosque is a large gate which
the procession passes. Outside of this gate a guard is stationed,
but carriages are allowed to line up back of the guard. On that
occasion a new carriage made its appearance and secured a place as
near the gate as was permitted. This carriage, having been expressly
built for the purpose, had a large bomb concealed under the driver's
seat. The man in charge of the enterprise represented to the driver
that he wanted to take a photograph of the procession just as the
sultan passed, and instructed him to press the button at the proper
time. He did so and a number of those near the sultan were killed,
but the sultan himself escaped without injury. Greater precaution is
taken now than before, but the head of the church still makes his
weekly pilgrimage to the mosque, thus maintaining unbroken a record
covering nearly three decades.
[Illustration: SONS OF THE SULTAN.]
I hope I shall be pardoned for giving so much space to so military
and spectacular a performance, but it is a scene that can be
witnessed nowhere else and is the last reminder of the pomp and show
that formerly characterized all the empires of the east. It may
seem a little incongruous that so many swords and muskets should be
brought into requisition at a religious function, but it must be
remembered that Mohammedanism recognizes the sword as a legitimate
agency in the spread of its creed.
I have been tempted to refer to the tenets of Mohammedanism before,
for we began to meet the followers of the prophet as soon as we
entered Asia, but it seemed more appropriate to consider the subject
in connection with the high personage who combines the authority of
a temporal ruler with the dignity of Caliph.
The Koran is the book of the law and the Moslem is not permitted to
doubt its plenary inspiration. After Mahomet announced that he had
been selected as a messenger of the Lord and commissioned to preach
he began giving out what he declared to be revelations. They read
as commands to him to "speak" and to "say." His central idea was
the unity of God and his special mission the overthrow of idolatry.
He emphasized the resurrection of the body and the Koran is full of
promises to the faithful and as full of threats against the infidel.
In the Koran God is quoted as promising: "For those who are devout
are prepared with their Lord gardens through which rivers flow;
therein shall they continue forever; and they shall enjoy wives free
from impurity and the favor of God." For the infidel, which includes
all who do not accept the prophet, the following punishment is
threatened: "Verily, those who disbelieve our signs, we will surely
cast to be broiled in hell fire; so often as their skin shall be
well burned, we will give them other skins in exchange, that they
may taste the sharper punishment; for God is mighty and wise."
Through the Koran he not only credited God with the creation and
with a care for all the wants of man, but he also declared that
God deceived and misled some while He guided others aright. In
one revelation he makes God say: "They who accuse our signs of
falsehood, are deaf and dumb, walking in darkness; God will lead
into error whom He pleaseth, and whom He pleaseth He will put in the
right way."
He accepted the Old Testament and counted Christ among the prophets.
In one of the revelations, he declares that he is commanded to say:
"We believe in God and that which hath been sent down unto us, and
that which hath been sent down unto Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac,
and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto Moses,
and Jesus, and that which was delivered unto the prophets from their
Lord; we make no distinction between any of them and to God we are
resigned." In the beginning of his ministry, his revelations were
friendly to the Jews, whom he at first attempted to conciliate,
but when they rejected him, he gave out other revelations which
treated the Jews with great severity. He started out to rely upon
reason and an appeal to conscience, and by persuasion he formed
the nucleus of his church, but as he grew stronger his revelations
became more warlike in tone and at last he committed the Almighty to
relentless warfare against the infidel. Here is the language which
he imputes to God: "O Prophet, wage war against the unbelievers and
the hypocrites, and be severe unto them, for their dwelling shall be
hell; an unhappy journey shall it be thither!" At another time, he
told his followers that they would be asked whether it was proper
to war in the sacred month and he instructed them to answer: "The
temptation to idolatry is more grievous than to kill in the sacred
months."
On many questions the advice which he gave through the Koran was
all that could be desired. He urged justice in dealings between
man and man and strict administration of trusts, care for the
orphan and widow and charity toward the poor. He condemned the use
of intoxicating liquor and gambling, saying: "They will ask thee
concerning wine and lots; answer, in both there is great sin, and
also some things of use unto men; but their sinfulness is greater
than their use." As to alms-giving the measure was to be, "what ye
have to spare."
While plurality of wives was allowed--and Mahomet exercised the
privilege to the limit, furnishing a new revelation when necessary
to justify a new marriage--the virtue of the women is scrupulously
guarded by the Moslem code. The women are not allowed to mingle
with men, and this is one of the weaknesses of Mohammedanism. In
Mohammedan society the influence of women counts for little and
as a result the followers of Islam are sluggards in intellectual
pursuits. In the Philippines the Mohammedans form the lowest stratum
of the population; in Java they are just awakening to the necessity
for education; in India they are behind the Hindu and still farther
behind the Parsee; in Egypt they bring up the rear as they do also
in Syria and Palestine. Only where they have come into contact with
Christian civilization have they been stimulated to the discussion
of schools and questions of government.
It must be admitted, however, that some of the customs of Europe and
America have tended to prejudice the followers of Mahomet against
western civilization. One who was in attendance at a banquet given
during the recent Morocco conference told me of the astonishment of
some of the Mohammedan representatives at what they saw. When the
ladies appeared in evening dress they, remembering the veiled ladies
of their own land, asked: "Do your women always dress this way?"
When wine was brought on, they asked: "Do all of your people drink
wine?" And when, after dinner, dancing began, they asked: "Do the
women dance with their own husbands only?" The answers to some of
these inquiries seemed to astonish them.
[Illustration: TURKISH OFFICIALS]
While Mohammedanism, as established by its founder, still holds the
allegiance of many scores of millions, influencing them for good in
many respects and for evil in some; while these orthodox followers
of the prophet kneel at stated hours each day and pray toward Mecca,
all of them, who have not done so, hoping to make the pilgrimage
commanded of them--while these are keeping the letter of the Koran
there is a reform at work which may yet leaven the whole lump.
Abbas Effendi, now a political prisoner at Akka, in Palestine,
is the head of the reform movement. He was born in Persia and is
carrying on the work to which his father and grandfather devoted
their lives. He discards force as a means of propagating truth, and
while he does not command monogamy, has set the example by having
but one wife. While Abbas Effendi's father preached moral suasion
his followers were charged with revolutionary designs and the family
was exiled. After remaining a time at Constantinople under the
surveillance of the sultan, the reform leaders were removed to Akka,
a seaport not far from Haifa. Here, surrounded by few followers,
the son holds such communication as he can with the rest of the
church in Persia, his doctrines having as yet taken but little root
among the Turks and Arabs. It is believed in Akka that he receives
financial aid from a number of wealthy Americans who have become
interested in his work.
We called upon Abbas Effendi as we were leaving Palestine and found
him an earnest old man with a careworn but kindly face. His hair
and beard are grey and he speaks with animation when his favorite
topic is under discussion. His doctrines are something like those of
Tolstoy, but he does not carry the doctrine of non-resistance so far
as does the Russian philosopher. How much he may be able to do in
the way of eliminating the objectionable features of Mohammedanism
no one can say, but it is a hopeful sign that there is among the
followers of Mahomet an organized effort to raise the plane of
discussion from brute force to an appeal to intelligence.
The government of the sultan is the worst on earth. It is more
despotic than the Russian government ever was and adds corruption
to despotism. The czar has convoked a duma, the dowager empress of
China has sent her commissioners abroad with a view to establishing
a constitution, and even the khedive of Egypt has a council, but the
sultan still rules by his arbitrary will, taking life or granting
favor according to his pleasure. He lives in constant fear of
assassination and yet he does not seem to have learned that his
own happiness, as well as justice to the people, demands that the
government shall rest upon the will of the governed.
While in the sultan's realm, we learned something of the cruelty
practiced by his officials--let us hope without his knowledge--for
while he is responsible for the conduct of his appointees he may not
know all the evil done in his name. Not long ago a young student was
arrested and imprisoned because a paper was found in his house which
contained Gladstone's statement that the sultan was an assassin.
It was only a scrap of paper and had been given him because the
other side contained an advertisement for a hair restorer and he,
in taking the paper to his house, did not know of the offensive
quotation. Another young man was kept in prison until he died
because a book was found in his possession containing a picture of
the sultan under which some one, unknown to him, had written the
word dog. A third man was arrested because in ordering an engine
he sent a telegram containing the words: "Seventy revolutions." In
his original order he neglected to state the number of revolutions
and sent the telegram in answer to an inquiry. A fourth man was
imprisoned because he received a telegram inquiring about a
burglary, the authorities mistaking the word "burglary" for the word
"Bulgaria," where the authorities were expecting an uprising. These
instances--and we heard of many more--are given simply to show that
the citizen of Turkey is in constant danger of imprisonment, however
innocent he may be of any intention to violate the law.
But it is in the realm of the censor that the most amusing cases
have occurred. The officials are destroying a great many books just
now in Turkey and are very careful about the introduction of new
ones. Recently the wife of a justice of the peace, frightened by the
confiscation of books in the houses of her neighbors, thought to
avoid all possible danger by burning her husband's library, but her
hope was vain for her husband was arrested as a dangerous character
on the ground that he must have had a library. As he was holding
a judicial position the fact that he no longer had books was a
sufficient ground for suspicion.
Religious publications are subjected to very strict censorship.
Sunday school lessons have been cut out because they quoted from
the Old Testament in regard to the killing of kings and the word
"Christian" is often added before sinners in order to make the
text exclude Mohammedans. A Sunday school lesson about Joash, the
Boy King, was objected to because the authorities did not think it
proper to suggest that a boy could be king. The above are actual
cases, but they have given rise to jokes that go a little farther.
For instance, they say that dynamos are not allowed in Turkey
because the name sounds like dynamite and that chemistries have been
excluded because the formula for water, "H{2}O," is suspected of
meaning, "Hamud II is a cypher."
I have had a little experience with a censor myself. At Beyrout, one
of the Turkish ports, a copy of the Koran and a copy of the Life of
Abbas Effendi were taken from me by the censor. I had no objection
to his holding them during my stay in the country, but when he
informed me that they would have to be sent to Constantinople I
demurred, and with the aid of our representative, Consul General
Bergholz, not only secured the books, but secured a promise that the
right of American citizens to carry books would not in the future be
interfered with at that port.
In conclusion, I desire to add that we ought to have an ambassador
instead of a minister at Constantinople. According to the custom
prevailing in the sultan's realm, a minister is not on equal footing
with ambassadors, and as other nations have ambassadors there
American interests suffer. We have eighteen cases now awaiting
adjustment. According to our law our appointment of an ambassador
to any country depends upon that country's willingness to send an
ambassador to us. This is a false basis. Our action should not
depend upon what other nations do, but upon our diplomatic needs,
and we need an ambassador at Constantinople whether Turkey needs
one at Washington or not. I understand that the question is already
being considered in congress, and from observation I am satisfied
that the time has come for the raising of our legation to the
dignity of an embassy, that American interests and the rights of
American citizens may have proper protection in Turkey, for nowhere
is there greater need for the introduction of American ideas.[8]
[8] Since the writing of this article an embassy has been
established at Constantinople.