The Mohammedans of India and the War
By George F. Enoch
They Are Not United—A Powerful Sect and a Great Leader Opposed to the Sultan—Not in Harmony with Him in This War THERE is a general misunderstanding as to the position of Mohammedans in India, and their attitude toward Britain, since the advent of Turkey as an ally of Germany in the present war. In the first place, many people do not understand that the Mohammedan religion, like the Christian religion, is divided into two great camps, besides numerous smaller sects. The Sunnis are what we usually know as orthodox Mohammedans, and acknowledge the sultan of Turkey as head of the church. The Shiahs, however, are a very numerous and influential body, who do not acknowledge the sultan as the true head of the Mohammedan religion. They claim that the caliphs were usurpers, and that the real succession ended with Husain and Hoosein, who were slain several centuries ago. In Persia the majority of the Mohammedans are Shiahs. In India the majority of the Mohammedans are Sunnis; but many of these are the poorer and more ignorant, while many of the best educated and wealthy and influential are Shiahs. Therefore the entrance of the sultan of Turkey into the war as an ally of Germany would not have the effect that some might think. DESCENDED FROM MOHAMMED AND INFLUENTIAL
In this article, I wish to give the substance of an appeal of his highness the Aga Khan, the head of a very influential Mohammedan sect, with followers in many parts of India, Afghanistan, Khorassan, Persia, Arabia, Central Asia, and Morocco. He is a young man who has not only been educated as is the custom of the head of a great Oriental sect, but also in the most approved modern manner, having attended the universities of Europe. He is a descendant of Ali, who married Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, and is revered very highly by millions. In Bombay I have seen multitudes regard his coming and going in the most reverential manner. But withal he is a very modern young man. His grandfather found a home under the protection of the British government, and settled in Bombay. In the first Afghan war, they rendered notable service, as in many other crises in British rule in India when serious questions arose vitally affecting the Mohammedan communities. The present Aga Khan is thirty-seven years of age. His mother is the daughter of the ruling house of Persia, and he has received high decorations from the king of England and the sultan of Turkey, and even the German kaiser. He is perhaps the most influential Indian living, and more people in India look to him for counsel than to any other one public man among the leaders of Indian thought. INDIA UNITED WITH ENGLAND
In a notable speech recently made in London, he emphasized the remarkable way in which all classes and creeds had buried all differences at the outbreak of the present war, and how general has been the response of India with both men and means in this hour of the empire's peril. He believed that the Indian blood now being shed on the soil of Europe in defense of the empire along with that of the white man would do more to cement India to the empire than anything that has ever happened. He clearly affirmed that Germany, in posing as the protector of Islam, had personal interests, and was seeking to serve her own ends rather than to help Mohammedans. This remarkable speech from one in so high authority comes as strong proof of the unanimity and loyalty of India to the British Empire, even when one of the foes is the greatest Mohammedan power in the world. These words of explanation will help us to appreciate the value of the following excerpt from a message addressed by his highness the Aga Khan to Moslems in India and other British dominions: HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN'S APPEAL
"With deep sorrow I find that the Turkish government has joined hands with Germany, acting under German orders, and is madly attempting to wage a most unprovoked war against the king-emperor. This is not the true and free will of the sultan, but of German officers and other non-Moslems who have forced him to do their bidding. Germany and Austria have been no disinterested friends of Islam; and while one took Bosnia, the other has long been plotting to become the suzerain of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, including Kerbela, Nejef, and Bagdad. "If Germany succeeds, which Heaven forbid, Turkey will become only a vassal of Germany, and the kaiser's resident will be the real ruler of Turkey, and will control the holy cities. No Islamic interest was threatened in this war, and our religion was not in peril. Nor was Turkey in peril, for Britain, Russia, and France had offered to solemnly guarantee Turkey all her territories and independence had she remained at peace. Turkey was the trustee of Islam, and the whole world was content to let her hold our holy cities in her keeping. "Now that Turkey has so disastrously shown herself a tool in German hands, she has not only ruined herself, but has lost her position as the trustee of Islam, and evil will overtake her. Turkey has been persuaded to draw the sword in an unholy cause, for which she could not but be ruined, whatever else happened, and will lose her position as a great nation. "Thousands of Moslems are fighting for their sovereign [King George] already; and all men must see that Turkey has not gone to war for the cause of Islam, or for the defense of her independence. Thus our only duty as Moslems now is to remain loyal, faithful, and obedient to our temporal and secular allegiance."