and give their religious allegiance to him, that from all these Mohammedan countries devotees flock every year in the holy pilgrimage to Mecca, and all use the sacred water of Zemzem, makes an external bond of union that gives real force to the idea of pan-Islamism and makes it a subject worthy of study by Christian missionaries and by the statesmen and rulers of Europe and Asia.

The situation in Turkey differs from that in other lands for a double reason. Mecca, the sacred city of Islam, is in Turkish territory, and the Turkish Sultan claims to hold the caliphate as a legal heritage and political right.

On the other hand, the internal situation in Turkey is by no means a simple one. The loyalty accorded to the Sultan as ruler of the empire is by no means hearty or united. This is not only true because the various Christian sects dislike to yield allegiance to a Moslem ruler, but among Moslems themselves there is a very general distrust, and especially among the Arabic speaking peoples there is a decided unwillingness to remain under the domination of the Turk, who is regarded justly as an interloper. Add to this the distinctly religious hostility of a very large part of the Mohammedan subjects of the Turk, who hold that the true Caliph can only be an Arab of the Koreish, and it is clear that internal unity in Turkey needs every possible support from the outside. How can a foreigner, a Turk, who has gained his position by military conquest, claim to hold the sacred office of Caliph, as a successor to Mohammed? At any time that the Arabs had the strength in themselves or the assurance of foreign support, this unwelcome Turkish yoke would be thrown off and the Sherif of Mecca would be proclaimed as the true Caliph. It is because the Turks are aware of this that every effort is made to honour the annual pilgrimage and keep the Arabs in good humour and not to press them too hard in matters of political

allegiance and taxes. The extension of the railroad to the "holy territory" was a shrewd move on the part of the Turk to strengthen the bonds which unite the two extremes of the empire both politically and religiously. This, however, is a mechanical, artificial method and will not permanently unite the dissimilar elements involved.

It has been recognized for many years that the stability of Turkey depended on the skillfully fomented disagreements among the Christian powers of Europe whose united effort would destroy Turkey. The consummate skill of the former Sultan Abd ul Hamid was displayed, for a generation, in setting one power off against another in such a way as to prevent an effective union among them. The same policy has been followed in the internal administration of the empire. Every effort has been made systematically to foment jealousy and hatred among the Christian elements of the population. Never were they treated as independent, individual Ottoman subjects but always through the heads of their several religious communities, so that the citizen was never the unit, but the religious sect to which he belonged. Every effort was made to exaggerate the distinction between these sects, and one was played off against the other just as England was played against Russia, and France against Germany, in foreign relations. To this end, it was never difficult for a member of one Christian sect to be transferred to another, for that would help to intensify jealousy and hostility among them. It was also no difficulty for a Christian to secure recognition, welcome and a stipend if he embraced Islam,-but woe to the man who thought of leaving Islam for Christianity. That would affect the solidarity and prestige of Islam and could never be permitted. Islam has been like a trap whose door is easily opened for admission but never for exit.

In the mountains of North Syria are the interesting

Nusairiye people. They are treated by the Turks as Mohammedans and, in many cases, have adopted the outward forms of conformity, though only in appearance. On one occasion I was in camp in this region, when an intelligent appearing man came to the tent door. He wore the turban of a Moslem scholar and had the appear. ance and bearing of a Mohammedan. His talk, however, led me to doubt my eyes, for he asked most insistently for an American school for his village. At length I turned to him and said, in a tone of surprise, Are you not a Moslem?" After a hasty glance around, to see who was near, and in a low tone of voice, he said, "Yes, I am a Moslem, now," with an emphasis on the last word that showed plainly that his conformity was only outward and based on fear, not conviction.

The greatest promoter of the idea of pan-Islamism was the former Sultan of Turkey, Abd ul Hamid. He had the acuteness to see the unspeakable value of welding Islam into one, and posing as the head of that force in facing the Christian powers of Europe. Nor was he slow to make use of this weapon in seeking to circumvent the powers in their plans for the reformation or protection of certain portions of his empire. When pressed to introduce certain reforms in Macedonia, he held this up as a threat that he could not answer for the result of the irritation at the insult placed upon him as the Caliph. In the hands of Abd ul Hamid everything was made to play a part in his game of self-aggrandizement, and it would be hard to prove that his zeal for Islam had any real devotion to religious principle or belief. It was merely one of the cards he handled so skillfully during the long years of his baleful reign. It is highly probable also that in all these matters he was inspired and guided by that strange character Abd ul Huda who exerted 'such a marvellous influence through his entire reign. With the deposition

of Abd ul Hamid, the importance of pan-Islamism as a present issue in Turkey has become far less.

The one other centre of this idea was and is in North Africa. The Sheikh of Senusi went farther towards organizing Islam as an independent religious and political power than any other leader who has ever lived. Combining religious leadership and political control, he established monastic institutions in many places and enrolled a large number of followers under his banner of reform and return to the simplicity of the original teaching of Mohammed. After his death the order has continued in much power and influence, and it is not improbable that a strong leader arising among them might gather a vindictive force that would make much trouble in Arabia, Egypt, and North Africa, but such a conflict would be quite as likely to involve the supremacy of Turkey, a Moslem power, as to disturb the authority of England, Italy or France in North Africa. While it

seems to me that the possibility of anything like the realization of the pan-Islamic idea is so very remote as to be negligible, it is certainly true that the idea has influenced and will influence all Mohammedan powers in a very real degree. In Turkey, we cannot fail to compare the state of things before and after the Constitution. As yet, there is no marked improvement in affairs among the people, but there is a great difference in many matters affecting evangelical work and in the attitude of mind and government towards all mission work.

In regard to education, the old régime did all in its power to restrain and prevent the organization or extension of school work. The Young Turkey Party cannot consistently take the same course, nor do they wish to do so. Many of them have lived abroad, in Paris or in London and are keen enough to recognize the power and influence of general education.