These three evils are so closely intertwined with the Mohammedan
religion, its book, and its prophet, that they can never be wholly
abandoned without doing violence to the teaching of the Koran and the
example of Mohammed.
A Moslem who lives up to his privileges and follows the example of their
saints can have four wives and any number of slave concubines; can
divorce at his pleasure; can remarry his divorced wives by a special,
though abominable, arrangement; and in addition to all this, if he
belong to the Shiah sect he can contract marriages for fun (metaa),
which are temporary. The Koran permits a Moslem to marry four legal
wives, and to have as many concubines, or slave-girls, as he can support.
In Turkey, Moslems call a woman cow.
In Islam, marriage is a kind of slavery; for the wife becomes the slave
(rakeek) of her husband, and it is her duty absolutely to obey him in
everything he requires of her, except in what is contrary to the laws
of Islam. Wife-beating is allowed by the Koran.
The other ethic, which is much worse than all the rest, is slave-trade.
According to the Koran, slavery and the slave-trade are divine
institutions. From the Koran we learn that all male and female slaves,
either married or single, taken as plunder in war are the lawful
property of the master, his chattel. Slave-traffic is not only allowed
but legislated for by Mohammedan law and made sacred by the example of
the Prophet.
For five hundred years Islam has been supreme in Turkey, the fairest and
richest portion of the Old World, and what is the result today? The
treasury is bankrupt; progress is blocked; "instead of wealth, universal
poverty; instead of comeliness, rags; instead of commerce, beggary."
Such are the chief tenets and religious requirements of Mohammedans in
Egypt, Turkey, and in other countries where the people believe in the
Koran. Christianity exists in Turkey by a kind of sufferance. The Turks
hate, ridicule, foster pride and passion toward Christians; the ignorant
populace are taught by their learned men to regard themselves infinitely
better than any Christian. The mosques are generally the hotbeds of
fanaticism. The usual manner of speaking of the Christian was and still
is to call him, in Turkey, "Imansig Kevour" (unbeliever); in Egypt,
"Nasrani," (Nazarene), or "Ya din el kalb," (you dog). Peace, harmony,
and happiness in the homes of Mohammedans are of a very transitory
nature.
Mohammedans may be stedfast and unswerving in their faith and yet guilty
of some of the most heinous crimes. Having lived among them, I have
had many opportunities to learn of their treachery as well as of their
sterling qualities. The Mohammedans are in great need of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, which is a gospel of pardon, peace, purity, righteousness,
and true wisdom.
Notwithstanding the fact that from their earliest childhood their
ideas are perverted by their traditions and false teaching, and their
consciences defiled through their vain religion, the melting power of
the Spirit of God reaches some of their hearts when the gospel of Jesus
Christ is preached. Their lives of deception bring to them many a snare,
yet from among their ranks in the Orient have come some of the most
staunch ministers of the gospel. Gross darkness once reigned throughout
the land of Egypt, and now fervent prayers are ascending to the throne
of God for the light of the gospel to drive the spiritual darkness from
the hearts of the people.