To the Moslem the Koran is infallible — miraculous in eloquence, and without error. It is further more claimed that the teaching of this book covers with its particular injunctions every detail and phase of human life. It is this last named characteristic of the Koran which marks its present-day weakness. It is a book of the seventh century, claiming for itself dogmatic and literal obedience in the twentieth century. I visited the famous Moslem university, El Azhar, and found that practically the same medieval text-books and methods of study are used as when the university was founded a thousand years ago. The Koranic injunctions concerning slavery, usury, polygamous marriage, inheritance, and many other matters, are utterly ancient, and at variance with the views of modern civilization such as to-day is sweeping down into the Nile country from Europe. The Moslem youth in the “reformed” schools are beginning to study science and literature, finding very soon the disagreement of their religion with the commanding views of the progressive world outside the seclusion of the mosque. They see that Islam is a stationary faith, fixed by the changeless literature of a code of rules which, however suitable they may have been to the pagan time in which they were written, are quite out of harmony with an age which has led men out to a larger conception and to an advanced morality. The influence of this discovery upon the young Egyptian is striking; it is sometimes tragic. The Europeanized Egyptian, seeing the inadequacy of the Koran to fit modern times, and not daring to cut himself free from his traditional religion, becomes agnostic. The new wine of civilization is slowly but certainly bursting the old wine-skins of rigid Islam. As Lord Cromer has summed up the situation: “Altho there are many highly cultured gentlemen who profess the Moslem religion, it has yet to be proved that Islam can assimilate civilization without succumbing in the process.”—Christian Herald.