| Show TO PREACH ISLAM A dispatch last night announced that alexander russell bussell webb who a short time ago resigned his position as aa united states consul in order to be at liberty to devote himself tj 0 the gation galion of islam in america meets with great success in soliciting subscriptions script ions in india for this pur pose pole he has already obtained thousands thousand of dollars and will so the dispatch says gays spend it on and a translation of the koran how much is in to be devoted to other more personal ob objects beote the report wisely omits to record but it to Is probably sate to presume that the he gen clemans tl emans le enthusiasm for the orl oriental T i i prophet la Is not altogether free from calculations as to the possibilities ot of turning religion to a good account there la Is nothing startling bartling tart ling in the idea of mohammedanism Mohammedan iBm attempting to gain oon converts verts the followers llowen fo of the arabian prophet amount to about two hundred millions in asia africa and europe elrode and on the first mentioned continents co converts Lverts are made beatly me lem is far from being a petrified system it is a living brgan ism seemingly well suited putted to grow in the soil abil lu which it was wa first planted but it seems eeme haid baid to believe that any ADY uan who has even a faint idea 01 01 the doctrines taught by jesus ot of nazareth can from honest conviction become a convert to islam no person ncr normally mally constituted would preter prefer the flickering flame of a tallow candle tu to the bright light of an electric lamp att the experiment to convert chris tiana to islam by means of siou has never be beon been on made lor for the conver stol loi a 6 by fire ai d sword fleeten fleeted by the early cannot be clayed as ae euch our own country seems to be selector tou for the honor of being the brat where the experiment la is to be tried and it will be interesting enough to see eee what will be the result islam to is a monotheistic religion and like judaism and christianity calesi 10 oe on lue teachings of the system are u n doubt traceable to the tradition eta as this had bad been preserved for centuries oen lunes among the tb descendants of ishmael this tradition the founder of islam purified to some extent a and aad ad augment augmenter eu with a few doctrines apparently burrowed from jews and christians the essential dogmas dogma of islam are therefore the unity ot of god hie selection of Moba mohammed mined as a his special messenger and a final finai judgment by which every human beling being will be assigned a place iu paradise ur or bell as the case may be A slight alight coloring of m seems to be perceptible in the doctrine 01 medial rs ra between god and man when it is asserted that revelations come 0 only i ly through angels or exalted human beings prophets As the chief of the angels Ga gabriel is recognized and thammer Tham mohammed med of course holds the same place among the prophets As lees important det rinee is taught the tree free will of mau mat which by the way is flatly contradicted by the doctrine of kismet accord arg it g to which nothing ORD can avert the unavoidable fate p the moral system of islam consists exclusively of a very limited table ol 01 vitea tube tu be avoided and virtues to be practiced it knows no broad principles as the foundation of right and wrong it recognizes Jr injustice Justice revenge pride lying blasphemy avarice etc as vices and bonefo benevolence justice honesty reverence gratitude mercy kindness to slaves patience and resignation to the will ol of god as virtues it must be remembered however that what would be wrong to do to a mohammedan is i often considered lawful in dealings dea linge with outsiders to lie to a heathen and to cheat him iu in every way is id rather consi considered Jered a virtue than otherwise the tb of islam prescribe areat many duties 1 and is of more consequence in we the system than the moral law most moat important among these theme Is 18 the commandment to pray five times a day at regular hours with the prayers are certain ablutions corn com bided the total abstinence from certain kinds of food and from strong drink to Is a special feature of the law which whlor however can be canceled by the ecclesiastical authorities if con 1 steered necessary A fast lasting one month Is prescribed once a year that is to say no food and no drink can be taken during the daytime in this month but at night feasting even to excess to is allowed once in a lifetime at least every faithful believer is expected to make a pilgrimage to mecca and perform certain ceremonies in the sacred places place these are a few of the principal features of islam the doctrines with wiloh mr webb to favor the people of the united states |
