Class _TDSL^M. Book_ lS i^__ Copyright }1^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSre ABSALOM D. SHABAZ. LAND OF THE LION AND THE SUN Personal Experiences, the Nations of Persia— Their M/tnners, Customs, and Their Belief BY Absalom D. Shabaz Author of "'Vloh''.mmed the Last Proph^.t" ILLUSTRATED MADISON, WIS. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 1901 THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Reccived JUN. 22 1901 Copyright entry CLASS CLxXa No. COPY3. Copyrighted 1901 By Absalom D. Shabaz Tracy, Gibbs & Co., Printers, Madison, Wis. PREFACE, The purpose of this book is not merely to set forth the condi- tions of Persia, though it includes the social characteristics of the people, the religious beliefs of the Eastern churches which to many of you are perhaps but little known, the ecclesiastical customs, and the nations of Persia in general. But its object is to encourage the missionary spirit ; ^to quicken and kindle anew the fires of divine love in the hearts of all to whom this book may come ; to spread the blessed Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; to hasten the day when millions that now sit in darkness and the shadow of death may turn their faces toward the light. I hope no Christian will fail to give serious and sympathetic atten- tion to my efforts in spreading the Gospel among my countrymen the Mohammedans. The profits of this book and all funds sent to the author will be used for the purpose of erecting a school building, purchasing a printing press, an organ, and other useful things suitable for a Christian mission, and for the spreading of the Gospel in Persia. ABSALOM D. SHABAZ. REV, HASERODT'S LETTER, This book, entitled: "Land of the Lion and the Sun," written by Absalom D. Shabaz, will prove, we judge, both highly inter- esting and instructive to the reader. The author's description of hardships and sufferings endured by him after announcing to his parents, relatives and friends, his intention of devoting the re- mainder of his life to the spreading of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ among his countrymen, is extremely fascinating, and might well serve to encourage particularly those among us whose faith in the Saviour is being put to test by divers persecu- tions and sufferings. Instructive the book will be found to be in as much as it points out customs peculiar to the Oriental peo- ple, and sets forth the essential teachings of the various false re - ligions spread throughout the extensive Persian Empire. One cannot fail to realize what a blessing the Gospel in its purity would be to those millions over there, who for ages have groped about in spiritual darkness, which must lead them to everlasting night and death. All prayers and efforts, and aid rendered by us in behalf of the spreading of the Gospel in Persia is most assuredly in accordance with the will and desire of our Savior of whom we read, Matth. 9, 36-38 : "But when Jesus saw the mul- titudes. He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Tlien saith He unto His disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few ; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the har- vest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." H. Haserodt, Pastor Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, St. Paul, Minn. PROF, BRANDT'S LETTER, To the average American Lutheran, Persia is in one sense no more an unknown country. The main facts concerning its geog- raphy and political liistory are taught in our schools. But the number of those who are acquainted with the social and religious conditions of its people is comparatively small. In the present book Mr. A.- D. Shabaz, himself a native of Persia, gives consid- erable information on this subject. Time and opportunity for verifying all his statements particularly concerning the religious past of Persia have been lacking ; but he undeniably succeeds in making the reader realize the present religious needs of his countrymen. This Is the chief merit of the book, and the main reason for wishing it a ready sale. It is Mr. Shabaz's declared intention to use the proceeds for the purpose of studying theology at our Lutheran institutions and of eventually beginning a Lutheran mission in Persia. O. E. Brandt, Luther Seminary, Hamline, Minn. INTRODUCTION, While doing missionary work among my countrymen I felt the need of fitting myself more. thoroughly for the advancement of the kingdom of our Lord. Therefore I came to America for the purpose of preparing myself for the service and seeking to obtain a fuller knowledge of the Scriptures, and to identify my- self with an organized church body. In this country I have come in contact with many ministers and have spoken in their churches on behalf of my people and my work among various nations throughout Persia. Up to the fall of 1900 I had labored without discrimination in different congregations, and had interested individuals in my work, espe- cially in the erection of a building for a Christian school ; I had not yet become aflS.liated with any particular denomination. The thought of joining with some church body had long stirred my heart ; I longed for the sympathy and prayer of tliose whom I knew to be my brethren and sisters in faith. But not having found the church which taught and practiced the truth as I had so far learned to know it from the Scriptures, I was waiting and hoping, by the gracious guidance of God, to meet with such a church denomination which proclaimed the full truth of the Gospel in its purity. During a visit to Madison, Wjis., August, 1900, I became acquainted with Rev. M. C. Waller, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and to this fortunate meeting I am greatly indebted. Mr. Waller took an interest in me and my work, and has proven a sincere friend. In conversations with Mr. Waller in regard to the tenets of the Lutheran church, I found this church to be the only church that teaches in its purity the evan- gehcal doctrine which I had learned from the ancient manu- scripts explaining the teachings of the Bible, while in Persia. These precious doctrines I longed to know and understand more fully, and to proclaim them in my schools at home, because I knew this to be my Christian duty. Upon my friend's advice I secured entrance to Luther Seminary, at Hamline, Minn., iden- tifying myself with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. My desire and intention is, to become well grounded in the Lutheran doctrine, then, God willing, to go back to Persia, preach and teach the truth which I have learned by the help of this grand church. I hope to be able to build upj^ mission and a school among the Mohammedans for the Chri Jian education of both sexes, and it will.be under the auspices ofl^he Norwegian Luthei'an Synod. God grant that it may be i^ossible to send some of our young converts to Luther college and the Seminary, where they might receive a full understanding of the Holy Scriptures, and become mighty workers among their own people. I make an appeal to all my fellow Christians, to assist in carrying the pure Gospel to the benighted multitudes of a false religion. The Author. Luther Seminary, Hamline, St. Paul, Minn. CONTENTS, PAGE. Personal History 1 School and Printing 34 Modern Persia 43 Mohammed and Mohammedanism 48 Fire Worshipers 108 Yezidis, or Devil Worshipers 115 The Kurds 120 The Armenians '. 137 The Nestorians — Assyrians 163 Mohammedans and Christianity Compared. Questions Concerning the Creator and the Faith 176 ILLUSTRATIONS, PAGE. Frontispiece. David Bar Joseph in Mohammedan Priest Costume 15 Mar Gabriel, Bishop of the Nestorians at Oroomiah City and his Nephew, who were Massacred by the Kurds. 25 Absalom D. Shabaz in Persian High Class Costume 39 Agha-Mohammed-Khan, the Founder of the Present Dyn- asty, and Feth-AUe-Shah, one of the Persian Kings 42 Abbas Effendi 51 Mohammedan Villagers 54 Mohammedan Lady in Out-door Costume 57 Five Gentlemen on a Hunting Trip 66 Zoroaster, the Founder of the Fire Worshiper's Religion. 109 A Devil Worshiper's Priest 116 A Kurdish Highwayman 121 An Armenian Christian Lady 150 Three Nestorians from Kurdistan Mountains 168 A Nestorian Christian Lady 173 A Syrian Christian Lady 138 CHAPTER I. PERSONAL HISTORY, I was born in the district of Aderbajan, north- western part of Persia, on the fifteenth day of July, 1874, in the little village Geogtapha, four miles from Oroomiah City. Both city and village are famous in tht ancient and modern history of Persia as the home of distinguished and learned scholars; and to-day men are found there who are well fitted for the ad- vancement of the kingdom of our Lord. The village Geogtapha derives its name from "Geogtapha, " the blue hill, one of the hills remaining from the time of the fire-worshipers. It contains about 300 families, mainly Nestorians and Assyrians. Here is found "Asleys Spring," which attracts visi- tors from many parts of the country, who leave in sadness and ofttimes with tears in their eyes. Here is found the image which the Babylonians worshiped, dated centuries before Christ; also relics of the Pharsess, or fire-worshipers, which are a proof of their worship of hand-made images. And here are found the tombs of men who were firm in confessing the Christian faith, and became martyrs to their trusting faith in the Saviour. The territory of Oroomiah, enclosed by the moun- tains and the lake of the same name, and comprising an area of five hundred square miles, has no less than three hundred hamlets and villages. The city near the center of the plain is built on ground rising 400 feet above the lake. The lake, ninety miles in length by thirty in width, is 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and its waters are so salt that fish cannot live in them. The plain has fruitful fields, gardens and vineyards, and is irrigated by considerable streams of pure water. The landscape is one of the loveliest in the East. Such is the place where my home is located. At an early period of my life Mohammedanism had gained considerable power over the Christians and the Jews, but still Christ, the morning star, shone brightly over the little band of helpless Christians. Enemies had tried to exterminate all the followers of Christ, the light of the world, but the hand of the Almighty protected the lovers of His name, and did mercifully rest them on His everlasting promises even in the time of trouble. As a rule, all the Christians who dwell in Persia, or all who are descendants of Christians, baptize their children at a very early age. My parents, therefore, had me baptized while an infant, in Mar-Zaya, one of the Nestorian churches, and the only church in the village of Geogtapha at the time. In later years they were interested in the educational work in the village, which was conducted by native Christian teachers. When I was five or six years of age they sent me to school. i\t first I was treated with kindness, but was soon beaten with a switch on my hands and feet till I bled profusely, and was unable to walk or use my fingers for a long period of time. Frequently I was forced to hold one of the little fellows on my back while he was being beaten by the teacher. It was a very common occurrence that the teacher would threaten the boy, if he dared cry or move while on my back, with double the punishment. Newcomers were at first treated kindly, but later on punished unmercifully. Our teacher was wont to say: • 'The switch has come from Paradise for little children, therefore you must not complain." Naturally we complained to our parents, but they said: "The teacher knows better than you, and he will make strong men of you," so we dared not resist, but had to bear the punishment. The following year we had a new teacher who did not apply the'switch, but used other modes of pun- ishment. The punishments of winter were: To stand bare-footed in the snow for about fifteen or twenty minutes, or hold a piece of ice in the hand for the same length of time. The punishments of summer were: To stand on the right foot and hold up a weight of three or four pounds in the right hand for a certain length of time; or we were stood against the wall to be spat at by the boys, and were called "Jew, Jew." These were the punishments for being absent from school, or if we did not give satisfaction in our lessons, or disobeyed any of the following rules of the teacher: 1. Every boy must wash his hands and face every morning, and salute his parents before leaving the house. 2. Every boy must wash his feet and legs up to his knees at least once a week. 3. Every boy must leave his shoes in the hall and place them properly before entering the schoolroom. 4. No one must speak during the school hours, nor call others nick-names. 5. No one is allowed to drink water by the big pitcher. 6. No one must bake nuts or raisins on the stove, or touch it with the hand. 7. Every boy must salute old people, in the street or elsewhere, whether he knows them or not. 8. Every one obeying these rules, will receive a reward at the close of the school term. In the village schools I learned to read and write; studied geography, arithmetic, Turkish, modern and ancient Syriac, committed to memory the Lord's Prayer, Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and a few portions of the New and Old Testaments. At the age of twelve, in the year 1886, I entered the preparatory school of the Presbyterians at Oroo- miah City, and remained there' for three years. My reader will readily understand, in this school I took higher branches and had more religious instruction than in the country schools. In the year 1889, I entered the Oroomiah College, the only higher educational institution in that district at the time. It was conducted by the Presbyterian mission board. Any young man seeking an educa- tion might attend this college. Many young men had come from different parts of the country to obtain 5 an education, preparing themselves for some work of their choice. Here I had a splendid opportunity to learn the native languages, and to study the Scrip- tures, which was my heart's desire; I also took all other classes according to the rules of the institution. I attended here three successive springs, and taught school in the country during my winter vacations. I must admit that I at first punished the boys in my school in the same manner in which I had been punished. I taught four different languages, namely: Syriac, Persian,- Turkish, and Chaldean, also arith- metic and geography. But the object of the school was not merely to teach the languages. My purpose was a higher and nobler one, to lead my pupils to Christ, the friend of little children. This end, I soon perceived, could not be accomplished by indiscrim- inate use of the switch, but rather through simple instruction in the Word of God, and in this work I needed to be prompted by the love of Jesus. Instead of inventing modes of punishment, I re- garded it my duty to instruct the boys from out the Bible, and taught them the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed. I now for the first time took the Bible and visited the parents of the boys, reading to them from the Gospel. I could not preach as yet, but only read. Sometimes I would read from six to ten chapters, and they wanted me to come again. They said: "We never tire of hearing the Word of God." Their encouraging words filled me with an earnest desire daily to read the Word of God to hungry souls. This experience gave me knowledge of the spiritual needs of the peo- ple round about me. Satan assailed me at times, but the clear passages of Scripture guided me to the place of refuge, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord." I cried unto my Saviour, who always, and even now, for the sake of His suffer- ing and death brought peace and comfort to my troubled heart, and the blessed hope of eternal salva- tion. I besought Him to have mercy upon me and protect me against sin and Satan, those powerful ene- mies of my soul. The Saviour graciously heard my prayers and kept me from falling a prey to the temp- tations of the evil one. After having thus experienced the saving grace of Jesus, how could I but prove my faith in Him and show my love toward Him.-* The love of Jesus urged me to testify of Him to such as knew Him not. I now gave a more serious attention to the Koran and other religious books of the Mohammedans, in order to be able to point out the falsehoods and errors of their false prophet, and bring unto my people the blessed Gospel of Christ, which alone satisfies the needs of the human heart; also the manuscripts which I had purchased for the purpose of obtaining a better understanding of the Holy Scriptures, formed a part of my study. I knew the language, the country and the natives, and it was my earnest desire to bring Mohammedans unto the light of the Gospel. I was certain many would leave their idle hopes and accept Christ if they only had the privilege of hearing the Word of Life. I did not doubt that many were anxious to receive Christ as their Saviour, and I believed many souls could be saved if they but had a preacher. I was cer- tain, too, that a great many would prejudicate and persecute me; but I said, only death shall keep me from my mission. In speaking so freely, I incurred the enmity of my own people, who were not pleased with this step; but by the grace of God and through the financial assist- ance of my father, I was enabled to enter the service. Many openly opposed me; many of them attempted to turn my heart, but in vain. There were few to sympathize with me in my dangerous undertaking, and no one to comfort me; only the words of my Heavenly Father, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, even unto the end," gave me sufficient strength and courage. I tried my utmost to comfort my parents during the last few days of my stay at home. Finally the hour of parting came; I must take leave of them; we might never meet again! I do not wish to bring back to my memory their cries and calls, but can never forget my silvery-haired grandmother^ as she knelt on the ground, with her arms toward heaven, beseech- ing me that I must not leave her. I closed my eyes so as not to see my beloved friends in the hour of lamentation, and departed for the journey, thinking of the words which Christ spoke, "Whosoever doeth ^ When one leaves his home for a distant journey, according to the custom of the country Ms near relatives cast dust upon their heads, cry and mourn for him several days. 8 the will of my Father, he is my mother, brother and sister." I would have stayed and labored among my people at home, but the district of Oroomiah is mostly inhab- ited by the Nestorians, and as there were many Pres- byterian, Catholic, and Episcopal missionaries seek- ing to counteract the influence of each other, and as I did not wish to unite with them, nor to mingle with the people among whom they had settled, I left this place to proclaim the Gospel unto such as had not heard of sects, and were ignorant as well of divine revelation. At first I had been in sympathy with whatever the above mentioned representatives of Christian sects taught, but as soon as I obtained a fuller knowledge of the Scriptures by reading a few ancient Syriac manuscripts^ which correctly interpret the Bible, I became convinced that these missionaries did not teach the Gospel in its purity and simplicity, and I could therefore not agree with them. I found it also necessary to go to the capital to settle a few business matters for my father. The prospect of taking this journey delighted me greatly, for I had long wished for it. Having the capital in view, I left Oroomiah to do missionary work and to attend to my father's business. Reaching a caravan that I was to join, I found all the travelers except myself to be Mohammedans. They were about fifty in number. Some had horses, others mules or camels. The music, the singing, the 1 For contents of these manuscripts see Chapter IX, shouting, and the sound of the bells that hung on the necks of our animals could be heard a mile away. In the evening, every man smoked his opium and be- haved as he was accustomed to do; women also smoked. I had to entertain myself, and I thought of my duties toward such a people. I knew it was not an easy matter to converse with them about the Christian religion; on the other hand, to bring these poor, lost souls under the Christian banner was the sole purpose of my leaving home. I prayed — Lord! Thou knowest that these people do not believe in Thee, for they know Thee not. Thou knowest, they have not heard of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. And Thou knowest, I have devoted my life, by Thy grace, to proclaim unto them Thy Word and Thy Truth. Father, give me Thy Spirit and power, that I may not fear those that kill the body! Within a few days I had spoken to several of them. They did not agree with me, but showed no sign of wanting to ill-treat me. Within a short time all knew what I intended to do. Occasionally they ap- proached me and asked questions about the Christian religion. I spoke to them the Truth which I had learned from the Scriptures. At times, when some did not like my speech, they rushed at me with their knives to take my life. I spoke fearlessly and gently; and nearly always some one from among their com- pany would defend me, telling them I was not de- serving of such treatment. (This was the beginning of my work among the Mohammedans, which took place about the year 1893; while at home I had labored among the Nestorians and Assyrians. ) lO I told them I did not fear death, as I knew I would be saved, but that they must answer for it if they took my life. Some of them appeared to be friendly, yet I knew my life was not safe while among them. I scattered the seed of divine truth among them, but many of my companions seemed to become hardened at hearing me. Whenever we passed a rocky place, they attempted to throw me down; often while cross- ing rivers they tried to push me into the water, but the Lord saved me. from their hands. The people in the interior are ignorant, but at the same time cruel. They have no education of any kind to speak of. They live among the rocky moun- tains of Persia. Their houses are under the ground. People and cattle live in the same dug-out. They eat and sleep under the same roof, without any comfort or peace, and everywhere sin and misery abound. Human beings seem like wild beasts, ready to kill for a trifle. We spent nights in their homes, — sheep, oxen, horses and men sleeping in one circle. I visited families and groups of people, trying to bring them the Gospel. There was opportunity to work among them without much danger, as these people have scarcely any religion. My words seemed strange to them at first, but they soon understood my mission, and I taught them Christian truths. Many were pleased to hear me speak of God. Many promised not to steal nor disobey what I had spoken to them, but try to be honest and true to God. They were sorry when I left; asking me to return to them again, and in the meantime to pray for them. I felt happy and II satisfied with the results of my brief visit to these people, and departed rejoicing- in my soul, with a more hopeful spirit to continue my work. When approaching large towns, my companions seemed gentle and social; when out in the country they were rough and cruel, knowing there would be only a few to protect me; and whenever we stopped on our journey they spread the rumor that I was an infidel. At Salmas, Tabrez, Zangon, and Caspian, principal cities of the district, I met with a few missionaries who did the same work as I. In these cities one had the opportunity to work among Armenians and Syrians. The leaders of the Moham- medans are strongly opposed to Christian workers, and will not allow any one to preach the Gospel in public or even in private if it becomes known to them. At length we came to Teheran, the capital of Persia^ where I parted from my company, and secured a place to begin my work in that great city. I re- mained there nearly two years, and met with fair success, though I suffered persecutions and attacks while teaching in my day school, also in our meet- ings. One evening I was called to visit a family. Some enemies of the Gospel had watched me closely. As I opened the door to leave, a gun was fired, aimed, as it seemed, at my face. I fell to the ground. The bullet missed me, but the powder nearly blinded my eyes and affected my head to such an extent that I suffered from it for a long time. Another time I was going home from a meeting held at the home of a new convert, about QtSO in the evening. That is 12 considered a very late hour in the city. I carried no lantern on this occasion, for fear I might be seen and attacked. I crossed a vacant lot near the settlement of the English consul, then turned to the right oil my way to the American settlement. ^ Suddenly some one came running and took and dragged me aside, threatening to stab me if I dared utter a sound. Aware of the danger, I braced myself for victory or death; I had nothing with which to defend myself. The stranger asked me to go back with him through the vacant lot, but I refused, anticipating his evil in- tentions. He, however, compelled me by force to walk with him a few yards. I knew that a little fur- ther on I would have the point of the cold steel thrust into my heart. While we were walking on I pushed him into the ditch and ran back. As I turned to see if he was following me, he fired his pistol at me, wounding me in the left leg. Even to-day the bullet wound brings back to me the recollection of that awful night. Again and again they secretly at- tempted to kill me, and that too, in the very heart of the great capital. My Heavenly Father, however, kept me safe. He scattered the enemies even as chaff before the wind. He made them tremble to ap- pear before the magistrates for persecuting His ser- vant without cause. He turned their courage into cowardice. He destroyed their hidden plans, and made them stumble in the night; and graciously did ^ I was, let me add, the guest of the clerk, Merza-Kahraman, my friend, to whom I frequently allude in this book. 13 He guard His servant against all harm and danger. He watched over me by night, and gave me courage by day to preach His word without fearing the perse- cutions. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me." Here at Teheran I met Fakr-Il-leslam "the crown of Mohammedanism," whom they call second Mo- hammed, and who is one of Christianity's fiercest foes. I saw the book which he has written against the Bible. He is endeavoring to stop all the Bible- workers from laboring among his people. He is my uncle. He, however, accepted Mohammedanism when he was a child, and since then has labored in the interests of that religion. We often spoke to- gether, and I told him that he was sinning against God and his own better knowledge. One time he asked me, would Christ forgive him if he turned to be a believer in his last days.-* I said, it might be too late — why not now.-* His self-righteousness would not permit him to sink down in repentance before Jesus. Yet I hope God will some day break the carnal will of this man and make him a true believer. Should he become a Christian, he would undoubtedly prove a great help to the cause of Christ. Through his influence I gained the acquaintance of many priests and high officers. He thought, per- haps, I would change my faith and come to believe in Mohammed by associating with the nobility of the capital. Contrary to his opinion, I tried, wherever I went, to interest my acquaintances in the Christian work, and spoke the Word of God to them. I also gave them copies of the New Testament, hoping that by reading them they might find the way to Christ. My uncle, obtaining knowledge of nay work, became enraged. He invited me to his house, chained me hand and foot, and tied me by the neck to a nail in the wall, and ordered his servants to take off my clothes; he then brought some sticks or willow wands, which he had kept in water to prevent them from breaking easily. The servants, and he also, sur- rounded me, each armed with a stick, with which they whipped my feet and body, until the sticks were broken. The blood had spotted the stones all around me; even his white garments were stained by drops of blood. He wanted to force me to promise him that I would immediately give up all missionary work in the city. I, however, did not promise, and was left in the same condition until the next morning; then new sticks were brought and the savage perform- ance of the day before was repeated for an hour or more. Merza Kahraman, however, came to my res- sue and relieved me from further torture. I am much indebted to this gentleman for his kindness and good service. Shortly before this incident took place several mol- lahs or priests and I were in the same carriage going to Shah-abdel-azem, ^ to see the procession at the an- ^ Shah-abdel-azem is a httle town about fifteen miles south of Teheran. The tombs of the Persian kings are found here. It is also a place of refuge for the Mohammedans. DAVID BAR JOSEPH. IN MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST COSTUME. i6 niversary of the Shah's accession to the throne. At the end of the journey^ the moUah nearest to me showed signs of anger and was very unpleasant. I asked him what the cause was. In reply he said, be- cause my clothes touched his, and I being a Christian, this would prevent an answer to his prayers. Never- theless, they had taken me out that day for the sake of compelling me to become a Mohammedan; of this I became aware afterwards. But on the same day the Shah was shot, and they were unable to carry out their plan. Fearing further persecutions, I left Teheran for a visit to Koasestan. The weather was exceedingly hot and we rested in the open fields, beside springs of water and amid green pastures. This gave pleas- ure to the stranger, and here was food and drink for the cattle, and here life to the natives. My thoughts were lifted to Him who is the creator and preserver of all. But also amid these beautiful surroundings my troubles continued. In the day-time weariness and cruel companions; at night, fear of robbery and murder. But I entrusted my life into the care of my Saviour, Jesus, and praised His name. The Lord my God I praise and bless, For He has heard my soul's distress ; And has inclined His ear to me, If then. He now the same will be. The Lord protected me and I went about my work as before. Wherever I met natives, I spoke to them the cheerful words of the Gospel; if I met a man who could read I gave him a copy of the New Testament. 17 During six months of my stay in that district, I worked happily and cheerfully in each town and vil- lage through which we passed. On this journey I learned to know more fully the spiritual needs of the natives, and with a happy heart, I preached the Word of God to my countrymen, the Mohammedans. After visiting a few other districts, I departed for Ader- bajan, to visit my new converts and my parents. Winter had entered the land, clothing mountains and plains in its spotless robe of purity. The stately trees were robbed of their foliage. All the beauties and pleasures of the summer days had passed away. Instead of the calm, mild sunshine of summer there was the wind and cold of winter. Traveling over the rocky mountains at this time of the year was a danger- ous undertaking, and we also feared it. Far as we could see, our eyes beheld in the distance groups of natives passing by in noisy caravans. At this time our party was composed of six men with their horses to carry us through the snow. Two of the men and I stopped at a small hotel to buy some refreshments; the rest took care of our horses and moved on slowly. About half an hour later we started after our companions, who had passed around the hill and were out of view. We should never see them again! Alas! in a few minutes a snow storm swept across the road. The snow fell thick and fast. We kept close to each other, but soon strayed from the road. We lost the right direction, but plodded on over hills and through valleys with no one to guide us. We struggled in this way for several i8 hours until I became exhausted. I told my comrades to continue until they found a village or an inn, then to send some one to my rescue, lest I should perish here in the snow. I tried to banish all thought of the danger and the icy cold, but it was impossible. Death stared me in the face! Thus I suffered for several hours, and there was no hope of human assistance. In my distress I turned to God in prayer: Lord! be merciful to me a sinner, save my life that I may labor in Thy field; not that I wish to live for myself, but that I may bring lost Mohammedans unto Thy truth. "Father, Thy will be done, not mine." At last I heard foot-steps and men talking, but was unable to call to them. They came near and found me alive in my icy grave; they pulled me out, tied me on a horse, and brought me to their home. They fre- quently offered me opium to smoke, but I refused, as I had not smoked it for three years. They recom- mended it as a certain cure for my sickness, and said if I did not smoke I must die. I said I knew what opium is, and had smoked it before, and would never touch it again, even though I die. There were no doctors to attend to me, but God restored my life once'more. In a few weeks, I could eat, drink and go about perfectly well. We had not heard from our missing friends, our horses and the goods, and did not know whether they were dead or alive. We could not hire any horses from the village, and had to walk to a larger town to look for our friends. The next day we traveled afoot from morning till night. I nearly lost all my strength. 19 and my feet became very sore. On the following day we sent one of our company to secure horses for us, but he never returned, although we waited for several days. We were therefore compelled to walk until we could find a place where we might hire some horses. We were not acquainted in those hilly parts of the country. We took a path which had been used be- fore. Further on the snow had covered up all foot- prints, and we ploughed our way through the snow. We increased our speed in order to find a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately we had missed the right direction to the village and were wandering about between the rocks and valleys. My friend became so weary that he sat down and begged me not to leave him. Soon he could not speak at all, but I could see tears in his eyes. Then his hands fell life- less by his side; with a heavy sigh he closed his eyes and breathed his last. I looked with sadness at the man who had died before my eyes, for he had passed into eternity without the knowledge of a Saviour. I left the lifeless body, if possible, to save my own life. I seemed to have no feeling in my feet, and my eyelashes were covered with ice. I hurried up and down the hills, and commenced to feel warmer; but I did not know where I was going. At a turn in the roadway, between two steep cliffs, I suddenly espied two wolves, one on each side of the road. The sight of them made me tremble. It got dark before my eyes; my hair almost stood on end; I shouted and screamed, but they cast a greedy look at me. Must I fall a prey to wild beasts in this wintry night.^* for I 20 saw no way to escape from them. I turned again in prayer to my Heavenly Father, imploring^ His help. The animals stood still and stared grimly at me, as though they would say: It is in vain that you cry; we'll do what we please. Suddenly one of them sprang to the other side. I at once crossed the road and made for the hili. They chased me, and, as wolves are wont to do, threw snow into my face to blind me. At times they were in front of me, then again they would fall behind, only to begin the chase anew. I almost lost my life, but the Lord who saved Daniel from the lions, saved me from the wolves. Through His mercy they did not touch me, though they were close upon me. At such a moment and in a place like this, one realizes the sweetness of God's promise: <'The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Ps. 34, 7. Having again been saved from danger, I hurried away from this place, and ran till I saw a light from a window a short distance ahead of me, but it seemed so far in the dark night of fear. When I reached the house, a man opened the door. I entered with a mingled feeling of joy and fear. I fell in a dead faint, remaining unconscious until the next morning. When I had regained my consciousness, they asked me about my friend, for I had spoken a great deal of him during the night, they said. A little later in the day a traveler brought my friend, who was -dead. He was buried according to Mohammedan rites. Now came days of intense pain and suffering. My heavy traveling boots had caused my feet to swell. 21 The skin on my face and hands was pealing off, for they had used the oven-method to thaw me out. After three days I was carried to the village inn. I still had another three days' journey to the large town. The inn-keeper secured a man for me, who was to render all needed assistance and accompany me to the town; he also furnished a horse for my con- venience. I could not ride, however, the cold being too severe for my tender body, and I was compelled to walk all the way on snow that weakened my eyes till I could see no more. I suffered much for many days, and the only remedy was nicotine, which they took from their pipes and applied to my eyes. But all these things, and especially God's care for me, even in times of greatest peril, had done much to strengthen my faith and arm me against whatever dangers might still beset me. When I reached Tabrez I enjoyed the hospitality of my Syrian friends, who procured for me the care and treatment of a skillful physician. As soon as I was able to proceed on my journey I left for my home at Oroomiah. According to Persian custom, I sent a messenger to my parents, while yet a day's journey from home, that he might announce my return. My parents came to meet me and wept tears of joy, for they had heard long ago that I was dead. They hardly knew me, as the hardships that I had endured during my absence had wonderfully changed my ap- pearance. The love of dear ones and the comforts of home enabled me soon to regain my former health and vigor, and I well nigh forgot the troubles of by- 22 gone days. From among the cold highlands of Ader- bajan, and through the wild mountains of Persia, I had been brought in safety to my home at Oroomiah, and the bright prospects of usefulness had opened before me. In all the perils through which I had passed, the angel of the Lord had encamped round about me for my deliverance. My relatives and friends came to me, saying that, had I obeyed them, I should not have seen all the troubles which I had seen during my absence. I told them I would take the same step again; that to obey God is better than to please men, and wherever I might fare — at home, among savages, or abroad — I would do what my Master wanted me to do, through- out my entire life; and for His sake I am willing to lay down my life. With Paul I can say, ''that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor pow- ers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sep- arate"me ' 'from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I cannot serve the world and God, but must be on one side. I walked the broad way of sin and found it led to destruction and eternal ruin. Now I will tread the narrow path, though I may have steep hills to cross. I will also remember that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven; and if any one loves the heavenly kingdom more that this earth, he must deny all, and confess Christ to his fel- low-men. I told them I would follow the right way, and invited them all to accompany me. If they would not do so, I would close my ears and not hear their 23 request to me to return to the world, I knew I was doing what was right. My message to the world is: Believe in Jesus and follow in His footsteps. I am in the world to do good, I said, otherwise I would be a fruitless tree that ought to be cut down and not waste the ground. A useful tree ought then to take my place. Whenever I hear that my fellow-men are in need or trouble, I must show my Christian love to them; if I do not, my love is dead, my heart cold, my ears heavy, and my whole person of no worth — above all, my soul is lost. Sad news came from Armenia and Turkey. About 60,000 Armenians killed by the Turks — men, women and children, all mercilessly slaughtered. Brave- hearted men had tried to protect their lives and fam- ilies, but the ungodly Turks were armed with guns, while the Armenians had nothing with which to de- fend themselves. When the leaders of the Moham- medan church heard that there was no punishment for the Turks, they influenced a low and ignorant class of people to kill some of the Christians at Oroo- miah. One day a band of armed men in the city of Oroomiah approached a young Syrian merchant, pulled him from his house, tied a rope around his foot, and dragged him from street to street, his head striking upon the stones on the pavement, while he was bleeding and uttering such cries as should have enlisted the sympathy even of the most cruel. Still the hard-hearted men pulled the rope till the man was killed in the street. The dead body was thrown outside the city, where it lay for many days in the 24 dirt and water. At last the broken-hearted widow and mother buried the body of him whom they loved so dearly. Akajan-kan was slain because he con- fessed the name of Jesus before his fellow-men the Mohammedans. The brave soldier had waited for a welcome to rest with his Saviour forever, where there are neither tears, nor sorrow, nor pain; but where he would receive a golden crown as- his reward, and sing unto the Lamb the sweet songs of the inhabitants of New Jerusalem. Dear reader, if you are not a witness for Jesus, why not become one.? Remember Solomon's words: "Life is like the span." You live to-day, but may be dead to-morrow. You and I must hear the voice of the Almighty in the day of judgment. Alas! if we are placed on the left hand; then shall we cry for the mountains to fall on us, and the earth to open herself to swallow us up, that we may not see the face of Him who sits upon the throne of glory to judge every man according to his acts in the world. There will be no hope then, but we shall be thrown into the lake of fire and be punished for our wickedness. Why not leave our carnal desires and deny ourselves while on earth.? We need also to remember that we are strangers on earth, and that heaven is our home, where we shall see our Lord face to face in His ever- lasting kingdom. The sudden death of a nobleman gave fear to all Christian citizens. Because the priesthood protected the murderers, the Mohammedans sought to persecute the Christians. Shortly another band of armed men Mar-gabriel and his nephew. 26 marched to take a young man who had turned from Mohammedanism to Christianity. We tried to save him, but all in vain. On the last day of his life, he stood in a crowd and said: ''I do not believe in Mo- hammed, but in Christ Jesus. He is my Saviour, therefore I am not afraid of death, nor of all who are against me. I shall suffer a few minutes at your hands, but shall live with God forever." He was taken out and beheaded. On a bright summer day twelve ministers and bishops of the Nestorian church were returning from their visit to Mar-Shamoon, (the spiritual head of that church) between the Persian and Turkish fron- tiers. Kurds fell upon them and butchered them all, and the bodies were left in the mountains for several days, no one knowing of the deed. At length, some passengers brought word to Oroomiah City, and we went to bring them down. It was a dreadful sight which we beheld; mothers and wives were unable to recognize their sons and husbands. When persecu- tions grew fierce and bold, the government put soldiers on guard to protect the Christians, as it has always done, and put an end to it. Severe persecutions against the Christians in Persia began as early as the time when the Sassarites dynasty ruled over Assyria, A. D. 328. When St. Thumon (or St. Thomas, a descendant of St. Thomas the apostle), and his few Christian fellow-men were brought before the king of the fire-worshipers, be- cause they refused to worship the sun and the moon, and because they confessed, that God had become in- 27 carnate and come to earth. The king was de- termined that they should worship the sun, and issued an edict, that those who would not worship the sun and the moon should be put to death by terrible tor- ture. The Christians said: "God is the creator of the sun; we cannot substitute the created for the creator; and if we refuse to worship the king, how can you expect us to worship the sun, a creature with- out life. We have one God and Jesus Christ our only Saviour as the object of our worship. Our Lord teaches us to be faithful to kings and pray for them, but we are forbidden to worship any creature." The king hearing this, commanded: '* All must be beheaded in the morning." They spent the night in a dungeon, reminding each other of the apostles who also had spent many nights in prison. They said: "Prison is heaven, because the presence of our Lord is with us." They all partook of the body and blood of their Saviour, in holy communion, and said: "To-morrow we shall be crowned." The next morning they were beheaded. These Christians, or the Assyrians, who formed as a church already in the time of the apostles, have been praised among all the Eastern nations for their zeal in spreading the Gospel, ^ but at no time have they been free from persecutions. They, like the burning bush of old, have been persecuted but not ^ Their faith as described in the ancient manuscripts is pure and evangelical. They believed in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. But their doctrine has been corrupted by Nestorians. See the chapter on Nestorians. 28 consumed. They have passed through the agony of death, but with a spirit of submission, they have been loyal to Christ. The spirit of martyrdom still lives among those people at the present day, and they are winning the Mohammedans by their Christian love. Amid dreadful fears, I left my home for Europe, to prepare myself for my work, which I had promised to carry on the rest of my life. On my way through Kurdistan and Armenia, I met groups of Armenians who had left their homes and families in order to save their own lives; they told me of the barbarous treat- ment which they had suffered from the Turks and Kurds, and spoke of the butchery of human beings which they had witnessed in various districts of the country. I also saw hungry and naked Nestorians leaving their homes for refuge in other countries. The following letter was sent to me by a friend during the first year of my absence from home: '•Within six months from 5,000 to 10,000 Chris- tian subjects of Turkey have crossed the border into Persia, in the district of Oroomiah, of every age and sex. They are naked, penniless and hungry. Each day bands of 50, 100, and 300 cross the borders, and each band tells of others who will follow. Each day brings the winter's cold nearer, and reduces the stock of provisions in the hands of their fellow Christians here. The suffering is daily becoming more acute. The sights that meet our eyes are pitiful in the ex- treme. Our doors are thronged with hungry, ragged, starving people, whose condition defies description. Little children almost naked in the cold wintry air, 29 appeal irresistibly to our sympathies. The Christian villages are crowded with these refugees begging bread. They come from the settlements of the Mar- bishu Valley, Gawar, Ishtazin, Jilu Diz, and from the regions of the upper Zab. The majority are Arme- nians and Nestorians. The total Christian population of this region is not less than 20,000, two-thirds of whom are practically homeless, and the remainder in imminent danger of being driven from their villages. Another year like the last must entirely depopulate the whole of these Christians. Kurdish robbery has been allowed a free hand, and on the scattered communities there have been constant raids, and oppressive taxation, without protection, which has ruined the country. Village after village has been depopulated. Twenty years ago the Chris- tians were famed for their wealth in fields and cattle. To-day their head men are beggars. Not a single word or act of rebellion, not even an over-zealous revolutionary spirit can be urged as an excuse for this fearful oppression. Cold and famine are now forcing the Christians to leave their homes. Many have fled by night, over unfrequented roads, to avoid the frontier guards sta- tioned there to force them back to certain death by starvation. Even their flight has become a source of profit to the Turks, who, for a consideration, engage to conduct them across the border, and then, on part- ing, rob them of everything worth taking, sending them on their way naked, cold and hungry. Yet, 30 with all this, thousands are escaping, in spite of the wild mountain tracks, covered with snow, difficult to find and difficult to keep. In spite of the cruelty they are subjected to, and the winter cold, with scanty food, sleeping; in the sheep-holds or in the open, they reach us with, nothing but the few rags that are left to them. The people have escaped from Turkish rule with their lives. The Christians here will share with them their own scanty stores of food. They will shelter them till sheds and stables will hold no more. The Persian government received them without prejudice, butdonot aid them. Theycannot be clothed or warmed without outside aid. Many must suffer from lack of food and shelter. If the number of refugees continues to increase — only the setting in of still severer weather closing all the roads can prevent this — it is hard to see how they can live at all. Some of our villages on the plains of Oroomiah have already a refugee pop- ulation equal to half or two-thirds of their own num- ber. We must have an organized plan of help, and cannot afford to wait." I saw hundreds of Assyrians coming from Russia to their native land Persia. Some had been robbed and killed and left in the rocky mountains; others were running toward home, having been robbed of their belongings, the bread of the anxious wives had been taken from their hands, and they were left penniless and hungry. All these cruel deeds were done by sel- fish Mohammedans, who were unwilling to work, but eager to rob widows and orphans of the very bread that was given to them by kind friends. 31 Wherever it was difficult for us to traverse the hilly country, we paid soldiers to guide us over the rough parts. At last we found ourselves under the Russian government. Then we felt safer. Our dangers had passed, although in some parts of Russia we had rea- son to fear. Then I left my companions and traveled alone. The cities near Persia and Turkey are inhab- ited by different nations, and the Mohammedans have not the liberty to act as they please, but are punished for whatever they do not in keeping with the law. As I drew near the central part of Russia, I came to the large towns of Kiev, Moscow, etc., where the inhabitants are mainly Russians, The men are of a light complexion and strong; although in some parts of the country the climate seems not to agree with them. The women are stronger, consequently they have the hard work to do. The law requires that strangers shall have a passport, and with this they can go through the country. The passport gives a description of the man, who he is, what his business is, etc., and if he does not possess one, he is liable to be cast into prison as soon as detected. I visited many places in that country and learned a little of the people. I did not associate very much with the natives, as I could not speak their language sufficiently well. Before leaving the country I was robbed of nearly all my money and my clothes. I paid my friends at Hamburg a short visit. Dur- ing my brief stay in Germany I learned a little of the language and became somewhat acquainted with the customs of the people; I then departed for London. 32 The English language seemed to me as Arabic would to an Englishman, but my Heavenly Father, who took me from Persia to England, aided me in learning the language. I remained in England for about three years, and had the pleasure of seeing the sights of Great Britain, and formed the acquaintance of a great many English gentlemen. In all my lonely life, the object of my travels has been to grow in the knowledge of the Scriptures. I have pressed my Bible to my breast, praying to God to give me His aid and strength to carry the glad tidings of His salvation to those millions over there. THOSE MILLIONS OVER THERE. They wait, those millions over there ; Our hope in Christ they do not share ; They wait for us to come. Their time of waiting seems so long For those who wait without a song To bless their cheerless home. They weep, those millions over there ; Our joy in Christ they do not share; They weep in nameless grief. Shall we not wipe their tears away? Shall we not turn their night to day? Shall we not bring relief? They die, those millions over there ; Our life in Christ they do not share; They die in sin and shame. While Christ hath died to save them all, And yearns to save whoe'er may call On His sweet, blessed name. ' 33 Those dear millions over there Heav'n's richest gifts might fully share ; Glad trophies they might win, Could they but see the Saviour's face ; Could they but share our Saviour's grace, They'd triumph over sin. But those sad millions over there Our hope in Christ they do not sh^re ; But be forever lost. Should we withhold the precious word — Of Him whose message glad we've heard, Who saves at priceless cost? Then help those millions over there The bread of heaven, sweet, to share ; God's sweetest message give — That sin's sad end is not the grave ; That Jesus died our souls to save ; He died that we might live. CHAPTER II. SCHOOL AND PRINTING, The most successful way to spread the Gospel among the Mohammedans is to open schools and educate their children. It requires diligent and faith- ful labor to bring unto the knowledge of Christ those who have grown old in the faith of Mohammedanism, but missionary work among the young carries in it far more of the hope of a prosperous future. The boys and girls who attend our school are quite anxious to become acquainted with the script on Christian doctrine. We give them small books or manuscripts on the life of Jesus and of the apostles, or we read and explain to them from the Gospel. In general this aids them materially in acquiring a knowledge of Christ and His oflfice, and while we as a rule are not in possession of books suited to the limited understanding of these children^ we do our utmost to give them correct explanations of the Scriptures themselves, mainly on the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His love to sinners. We tell them of His love to the little children, and teach them to believe in and love Him in order to be blessed and saved. At such times I experienced the power of the Gospel of Christ's love, in winning the hearts of the Httleones. With earnestness they promised: "Wewill [34] 35 love our Saviour above all, and give Him our hearts to enter at any time." In my Christian experience there has not been any- thing more touching to my heart than the prayers of little ones, especially when I heard a little fellow say: "I have no father or mother; but Jesus is my all." Oh! dear reader, ponder these words of an orphan and train your little ones while you are with them, lest the time come when it is too late, and the sorrow of your heart be great. My work among the young people tends not only to give them the eternal joy and a pure life; it also brings me nearer to God, and gives me the privilege to dwell on His Word in my daily life. Therefore, I have vowed to spend all my life in showing the way of God's salvation unto young Mohammedans from the Scriptures. Mohammedans have schools for boys only. They receive scarcely any education beyond the reading of the Koran and the stories of Imams, or the leaders of their nation. During their study all will read in a singing way, going to and fro. They believe that by hearing themselves read they will understand it more readily and be able to memorize more rapidly. As a rule the people possess very little education, and most of them cannot read or write. Those who wish to become priests and judges must be well edu- cated, at least in the details of their own religion. The educational world has four degrees among the Moslems, partly of education, partly of claims. The first and highest degree is that of Shiites, or the de- 36 scendants of the Prophet. They keep their record from one generation to the next, which is handed from father to son, and this record must be at least one hundred years old, otherwise the claim is lost. I knew of one Shiite at Oroomiah, who had lost his family record; he went and drowned himself in despair. The chief of this tribe is the representative of Mohammed. His position among the Mohammedans is like unto that of the pope in the Roman Catholic church. He resides at the holy city of Karbala, in the most holy mosque that was built on the the tombs of Hassan and Hossen, the sons of Ali, the martyrs of Islam, who were killed by Sunnites during the war of Karbala. It is said, he lives a simple life, but taxes people heavily for his cause, and for the students which he has under his control, preparing for the priesthood of Islam. The second degree is that of Mushtaids, or Na- hoomds. These are higher than common priests or the third degree. The fourth is that of Dermeshes. The first two classes are executors of civil and re- ligious law; their chiefs live from the tithes of the poor and the presents of the rich. They increase their riches from the savings of the poor; and the poor sink into utter poverty. Vast sums of money are entrusted to their care. Large fees are made by writing legal documents in the transfer of land or other valuable property; and yet the people consider it a privilege to give them as presents, their money, and 37 their sick daughters, in order that these may be re- stored to health by marrying one of the "holy" Shiites. The moUahs are considered a humble class of peo- ple, yet they are insincere, treacherous and cruel. They visit the sick, teach the prayers and conduct funerals. Some of them instruct boys during the day. When a mother takes her boy to school, she says to the mollah: *'His flesh is yours, the bones are mine;" it means, 'do with him as you like, and punish him as often as you wish.' The cruel mollah will not be satisfied with the switch only, but will pour the poison of his swearing tongue on the poor boys; naturally, the boys use the same language toward one another. The mollah punishes the boys for trifling matters, but not for cursing; naturally, his pupils be- come as a horse without a bridle, and remain grossly ignorant. When these poor little children hear that in our Christian schools the rod is not used, nor the pupils treated otherwise than kindly, they pick up courage and come to the Christian schools. We instruct them in the Word of God, teach them the story of the Cross, and read to them the Bible, the blessed book which brings us into the fellowship with God and His only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ; and we point out to them the blessed truth that Jesus wanted also little children to come unto Him: "Suffer the little children tocomeunto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." We teach them to love one another, even as Jesus manifested His love to little children by taking 38 them into His arms and blessing them. We teach them to love the Master and keep His command- ments. Among the Moslems the female sex is strictly pre- vented from receiving any education or attending any schools. Very seldom prominent men will procure special tutors for their daughters. The teacher gen- erally is a mollah and very old, or perhaps nearly blind. He is admitted to the ladies' department and takes a seat at one end of the double parlor, while his pupil sits at the other end behind a curtain; an elderly woman also will be present while the teacher reads and explains parts of the Koran to the little 'girl. I teach both sexes; male and female must attend school indiscriminately. At first even Christians re- fused to do so, saying: *'Our daughters will not be ministers and teachers, of what benefit, therefore, is an education to them.-*" At the same time they ask: "How much money will we receive from you for send- ing our girls to school.?" I am glad to say the Gospel has opened their eyes; and now they come, not for the sake of bread and fish, but to learn about the Savior and His love for sinners. The results of my mission school have awakened the hearts of many; like Hannah, many mothers have said: "Take this child of mine for the Lord." — Be- loved in the Lord, will you not take part in this blessed work of bringing these little children into the church of God.? It costs but fifteen dollars a year to educate and Christianize one of these poor boys. The result will be, every one of them will be a minister of the ABSALOM D. SHABAZ. IN PERSIAN HIGH CLASS COSTUME. 40 Gospel among his Mohammedan countrymen. On various occasions I have heard Christians say: **I wish I could go and preach the Gospel in the heathen lands." By enabling one of these boys to attend a Christian school, you will fulfill the very wish, and the commandment of Christ: "Go ye and preach the Gospel to all nations." A supply of Christian literature in the Persian lan- guage is a great need. Nearly all our books are man- uscripts, and are written in the ancient dialect; it becomes next to impossible for us to teach new begin- ners with such difficult books; therefore, a printing press will be of great value to us in our work. It will enable me to translate and print our own books in the modern language. I have learned the printing trade in this country in order to be well fitted for my work. An organ will be wonderfully helpful in drawing them nearer us. Their attention will be attracted by our "noisy box," as they call it; and the Gospel will be preached unto them. I try my utmost to bring them to me to hear the Word of God, and ask Him to touch their hearts with the power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, Persia is open for the Gospel of peace; the kingdom of our Lord has come; we must not sleep at the time of harvest, but work. Our greatest need is a building for the school and for our worship. Such a building will be a place of refuge in time of persecutions, ^ and can also be used ^I must state to the reader that we are not persecuted by the government, but by the priests. Whenever the government becomes aware of such action, soldiers are sent for protection ; but for the time being we need a place of refuge. These attacks do not occur often. 41 for the purpose of a school and for printing. The buildings in which I had established my schools in different parts of the country were very inconvenient for sixty or more boys and sfirls. I trust that kind parents and earnest young people will think of Persia's boys and girls, who sadly are in need of Christian training. Remember the words found in St. Luke 6: 38: "Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Gifts for the erection of the building, or towards purchasing an organ, a printing press, or for the ben- efit of the mission work among the Mohammedans, may be sent to any of the professors at Luther Sem- inary, Hamline, St. Paul, Minn., or if it please the giver, directly to Absalom D. Shabaz, same address as above. -tf*^ AGHA-MOHAMMED-KHAN, THE FOUNDER OF THE PRESENT DYNASTY. FETH-ALLE-SHAH, ONE OF THE PERSIAN KINGS. CHAPTER III. MODERN PERSIA, According to the learned Persian scholars the his- tory of Persia began some thousand years before the Christian era, and some of them hold that as early as the time of Abraham there was an organized govern- ment. The first king and the founder of the Persian nation was Kaiomurs; he also bore the title of Gil- shah, or king of the world. From that time to the present, dynasty has succeeded dynasty. The founder of the present dynasty was Agha-Mohammed-Khan "Kajar," who attacked Lutf-Ali and defeated him in 1795. He then established his throne in the southern part of the Mazandaran. The list of kings who have reigned over Persia as regular kings, gives a total of 256. We learn both from the Old Testament and from history, that no country has a more interesting history than Persia; and to judge from these we can not avoid the conclusion that no nation now existing has such a continuous vitality as the old land of Cyrus and Xerxes. Persia was like unto a beautiful garden, in- toxicating people with the odors of its roses, noted for its beautiful streams; it has brought forth mighty kings and learned men; but to-day its glory has flown away, its splendor has faded, it has lost its mighty [43] 44 and noble ones, it has fallen under the influence of the Arabian Anti-Christ. The national emblem of the empire is the lion and the sun, which accounts for the fact that it is occa- sionally called the land of the lion and the sun. Persia is divided into thirteen states, they are: Ghilon, Ma- zandaran, Ostorobad, Aderbajan, Kurdistan, Luris- tan, Irakestan, Faristan, Loristan, Khuzistan, Ker- man, Mogistom, Khorason. It extends nine hundred miles east and west, seven hundred miles north and south, has an area of 648,000 square miles. Its pres- ent boundaries are: Afghanistan on the east; Turkish Empire on the west; the Caspian sea on the north; the Persian gulf on the south. The population of Persia is about 12,000,000, composed of representa- tives of various nations. Each speaks its own lan- guage and wears its own national costume, but all learned and commercial men of these nations must speak the Persian language, it being the universal language of the country. There are about 700,000 Kurds, 25,000 devil-worshipers, 15,000 fire-worship- ers, 75,000 Nestorians, 30,000 Jews, 75,000 Arme- nians, and the remainder are Mohammedans. The largest and most important commercial city is Tabrez, which has about 200,000 inhabitants. Teheran is the capital of Persia; it was made the seat of government by Shah Mohammed-Khan, the founder of the present dynasty of the "Kajars." It is called ''City of the shadow of God, the footstool of the 'King of Kings.' " Teheran bears resemblance to a European city more than any other Persian cities, and is more influenced by western ideas. 45 The royal palace in Teheran is surrounded by a high stone wall. The grounds are entered through four beautiful gates. The king's own gate is called the gate of diamonds (in Persian, Dar Almas). The sides of the walls and the gates are adorned with the likenesses of former kings and brave generals, and decorative carvings of lions, the standard of Persia, and of birds. The grounds are beautifully laid out. All the roads lead to the king's palace in the center, and are ornamented with trees and hedges of roses of various hues. Numerous officers of superior rank guard the entrances to the gates and the roadways that lead to the palace doors; those nearest the palace stand with drawn swords. Whenever the king sits in judgment he uses the peacock's throne, and is sur- rounded by his six cabinet officers, who are advisers, but he may overrule the advice of the cabinet at any time. When the Shah tires of the routine of govern- ment duties, his secretary reads to him from a poeti- cal history of the Persian kings; when the king retires to his private apartment, the entrance to the room is guarded by two most trusted officers with drawn swords — one on each side of the door. During my stay in Teheran I became well acquainted with one of these officers, who was a colored slave. The former Shah of Persia visited Europe several times, and is the founder of a good postal-telegraph system. Above all, he founded a beautiful college in Teheran, which is called the "Place of Science," and is the first one of its kind. He also tried to introduce the railroad system, but the state priesthood refused, saying, 46 . our country is weak; if Christians shall carry on such work in our land, the next step will be to take our country out of our hands. They also said, if there is a railroad in our country, we cannot beat our wives; if we did, they would take the train and go to Europe, while they cannot do it how. Persia may be said to possess three climates: that of southern Dashtiston; of the elevated plateau; and of the Caspian provinces. Cyrus said of it: "The peo- ple perish with the cold in one extremity, while they are suffocated by the heat in the other." Heavy rains are frequent and many of the districts are marshy and unhealthy. With the exception of the Caspian and northwest provinces the atmosphere of Persia is remarkable for its dryness and purity. The cultivated portions of Persia abound in the rarest and most beautiful vegetable and fruit produc- tions. Wheat of the very best quality is raised in abundance, also other products, such as barley, cot- ton, sugar, opium, tea, coffee, tobacco, etc., etc. The vine flourishes in many of the provinces; the vines of Sheraz are celebrated. The mulberry tree is largely cultivated, silk being one of the most im- portant staples of the country. The chief manufac- turing is that of silk stuffs of the richest kind, and the finest perfumes are made from the countless varie- ties of roses with which the land is carpeted. The greater part of the population of Persia belongs to the Shiites tribe, which is scattered throughout the land. Because there are not very many who are able to work among these people, I 47 have promised my life in behalf of that race. My heart is drawn to that nation. Not to their beautiful country and the cheerful breezes of the perfumed winds, not to the flowery hills and fruitful mountains, which give the most beauty to nature and health to the sick, not to the gait lakes and rocky districts which remind weak humanity of the Creator, nor even to their bright summers with the blue sky illumined by milliards of twinkling stars at night, offering the finest opportunity for astronomical observations; nor to their ancient towers and palaces that recall the his- tory of centuries during which great battles have been fought and nations divided. My heart sympa- thizes with these people, because they are ignorant of the Gospel and of the only Saviour. And I know the way of salvation, therefore I am in duty bound to guide them to a place where they may hear the invi- tation of the Spirit, and the bride saying, ''Come! and let him that heareth say, come, and let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." We read: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches; I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star." "I am the way, the Truth and the Life;" Yes, indeed, He is the door, the shepherd, and the only Redeemer: "The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." If we hear His message in private, we must proclaim it on the tops of the houses, and in the whole world. CHAPTER IV. MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM, Abdulah and Halima were the parents of the great prophet of the East, who conquered the wild Arabs. He was born about the year A. D. 750, at Mecca, in Arabia. The Mohammedan doctrine, con- cerning God, coincides with the Christian, in so far as He is by both taught to be the Creator of all things in Heaven and earth, who rules and preserves all things, — without beginning, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and full of mercy. Yet, according to the Mohammedan belief, there is no Son of God, nor is Jesus regarded as anything else than a prophet and apostle, although His birth is held to have been due to a miracle; and, as the Koran superceded the Gospel, so Mohammed superceded Christ. Mohammedans believe that the Bible was given by inspiration, but that it has suffered so many corrup- tions, that the copies in the hands of Jews and Chris- tians are of very little credit, and that the Koran is the only safe guide. They believe that the original copy of it has been from eternity inscribed on a vast tablet in God's throne, and that Gabriel was sent to the low- est heaven with a copy of it on paper, which was transferred to Mohammed, and by him given to the faithful. [48] 49 Mohammedanism in Persia has existed under two forms, viz.: the Sunna, or orthodox system, and, since 1492, the Shia, or heterodox system. According to the former, Abu Bekr, Omar and Othman are regarded the legitimate vicars of the prophet; while those who hold the latter, claim for Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Mohammed, the right to be honored as' his heir and successor. The first named sect, moreover, regard a large collection of traditions as of equal authority with the Koran; while the other reject such traditions and accept the Koran as their sole guide. The result is, that much animosity is cherished between both Turks and Persians, and that the Persians are more accessible to the Christians than their rival co-religion- ists. It is almost an unheard-of thing for an Arab or a Turk to discuss his religion with a Chris- tian; but the Persians invite it, and enjoy it, and will listen patiently to all we can allege with reason against their religion, or on behalf of our own, when- ever they feel themselves safe. The fact, that Mo- hammedanism in Persia was received under compul- sion, and that the people have never taken kindly to it, has given rise to new sects. The most important one during the last thirty years is the Baab, which has been joined by immense numbers, who profess a mystical faith, which antedates the introduction of Islamism. The Baabys believe in the incarnation and divinity of Christ, and do not allow "polygamy." They are, however, strongly imbued with pantheistic ideas. Mirza Mohammed Ali was the founder of this new religion in Persia. He first came to public notice 50 in the year 1843, and began the plans of his new re- ligion at the age of 18, but did not reveal it until eight years later. When he had made several pil- grimages to Karbala, Mecca, and Medina, he returned to his native town Shiraz. At first he began to teach his doctrine to his confidential friends, until it was im- pressed upon their minds and hearts, then he preached to the public of his being the "Mahdi," the unseen *'Imam," or the prophet to whom the Mohammedans look forward to appear in the last days. Mirza Mo- hammed Ali, or, inother words, ''Mehdeialzaman,"the director of the times, claimed that both Christ and Mohammed had prophecied the coming of the last Imam, "Mahdi" (the director), that he would be the ruler of the Mohammedans, and that Islam would be the universal religion. Mirza Mohammed Ali said he was the expected prophet, and that he was inspired and had frequent communications with God in which he was told how to direct his people. He said his divine revelation was the latest, but not the last manifestation of the deity in human form. He, how- ever, was examined and killed by the Persians as a falsifier. The latest manifestation of the deity in human form, according to their belief, is Abbas- Effendi at Acca in Turkey, not very far from Persia, who is recognized as the Son of God. He claims to have 50,000,000 followers, 10,000 of whom are in the United States, converts from the American churches. Mohammedanism is primarily a historical religion, based upon the fundamental idea of the absolute unity of God and the recognition by God of Mohammed ABBAS EFFENDI. 52 as his latest and most approved prophet. Without entering- into the question of the sanity or insanity of Mohammed himself, it is sufficient to say that this Arab imbibed, with his earliest teachings, the doc- trine which was held by the Jews and a few in Arabia, of the power of the deity. Apparently the teachings of the Hebrews had left their trace upon him, and his mind; dwelling upon the precepts of Moses and com- paring them with what he saw of the Christians, de- veloped within him a hostility to any form of, what seemed to him, idolatry, such as he found existent everywhere. Among the pagan tribes there was said to have been 365 images of the gods, who were looked upon as the children of Allah, the creator of all, whose wife was Al-hat, and the Meccans looked upon their local deities as the daughters of this idol. Idols were found in every house, and formed an important arti- cle of manufacture. Religion was a sort of barter, and festivals and pilgrimages made up a large part of the religious life and worship. "At the same time the form of Christianity was of the most inferior type. The doctrine of the trinity was practically a sort of tritheism, in which the three persons were God the Father, God the Son, and the virgin Mary. To Mohammed there seemed little difference between the two, and both appeared to him the very lowest forms of religious faith, and he was stirred with a de- sire to know more. This, according to the idea of the time, he thought to accomplish by a hermit life, and would spend days in a lonely cave." While here, 53 it is probable that epileptic fits would come upon him, which he considered to be revelations from God, and the Arabs reverenced him for what he taught. Mohammedans believe in the resurrection of the dead, both soul and body, and that at the judgment mankind will be divided into three classes: First, those who creep, groveling with their faces to the ground; second, those who walk; third, those whc ride, for whom white-winged camels will be in readi- ness. God has promised to true believers, men and women, gardens through which rivers flow, to dwell therein forever, and goodly places in the garden of Eden, into which they shall enter with the righteous, amongst their fathers and their wives and their seed. Every Mohammedan is required to utter five prayers a day, first washing and turning his face toward Mecca. They believe prayer will carry them half way to heaven, fasting to the gates of heaven, and alms will permit them to enter. In Persia one will see the devotees of this religion uttering their prayers while upon their knees, their faces toward Kaba, and at short intervals, they bend their faces to the earth. As the Pharisees of old they are seen in all directions, on the street, in the field, and in all conspicuous places, uttering their daily prayers. The fasting is held to be of the utmost importance. During one whole month — the month in which they believe the Koran was sent from heaven, they are required to fast from sunrise to sunset, and eat during the night. MOHAMMEDAN VILLAGERS. 55 . The Ramazan (fasting month) begins with the new moon, and the era of Mohammedanism began at the time of the fleeing of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina which is called Hegira, 622 A. D. Whenever the moon is obscured by clouds, men are appointed throughout the empire to watch for it carefully, some- times from the peaks of the mountains. The fasting must be kept by all the Mohammedans, except the rich, children under seven years of age, and the travel- ers on a journey, of more than three days' duration. The pilgrimage to Mecca Mohammed declared to be of such consequence, that he who fails to perform it may as well die a Jew or a Christian. Mohammedans have another belief, namely, that Mohammed will sit astride on the eastern slope of Mount Moria near the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the last great day. A line finer than a hair and sharper than a razor, will reach from it to the tower on the Mount of Olives, stretch- ing over this dreadful valley of the dead. ^ In that day all who have ever lived and have risen to judg- ment, must walk this razor-line bridge. The faithful (Moslems) will cross in safety, the unfaithful will fall 1 The Mohammedans say of this bridge that it is composed of seven bridges. One-third of it is an ascent, one-third is even, and one -third is a descent. He alone who passes all these bridges with success can be admitted into Paradise. The unbelievers fall into hell from the first bridge ; the prayer less, from the second ; the uncharitable from the third; whoever has eaten during Ramazan (the fasting), from the fourth; whoever has neglected the pilgrimage, from the fifth ; whoever has not commended the good, from the sixth ; and wlioever has not prevented evil, from the seventh. 56 into hell; that is into * 'Gehenna," the accursed gulf below, "thickly sown with departed Jews." It is with this perilous passage in view, that the Moslem every day^ during the ablution of his feet, prays, 'Oh make my feet not to slip on that day when feet shall slip. The Mohammedans have no preaching services to teach man's duty to God, or to his fellow-men, or to strengthen his character and make him a purer and nobler man. The only teaching is the tragic tales of their martyrs, the only inspiration is the hatred of enemies. A mollah will ascend to the roof of a mosque and call: Allah, hu Akbar La illah illali Allah Sidnah Mohammed Rasoul Allah Hayah Allah II Fallah Hyah Alia Salah meaning : God is great There is but one God Our Lord Mohammed is His apostle (or prophet) Come to the prayer Come to the prayer. On hearing this call, every one o£ them will rush to the mosque and utter his prayer. Every Friday noon (Friday being their Sabbath) a mollah (or priest) will preach on "giving alms." Once a mollah was preaching: "O true believers, open your purses and your doors, every one of you, feed the hungry, and give liberally to the poor and needy — refuse not your alms to the Moslems. O Muselman people, each of you who possesses two garments ought, for the love of Allah, to give one of them to 57 the poor; each of you who has two loaves ought, if he would walk in the path of God, to give one to the poor." The wife of the mollah happened to be passing the mosque at the same moment, and hearing the words of her husband, she turned back and went home. The mollah had two changes of garments, the one which was in the wash, and the other which he wore. His wife gave to the poor the one in re- serve, and at the same time distributed to them half the provision of bread. When the mollah came home in the evening, he said to his wife: "My clothes are soiled, bring me the others, that I may change." "But I gave away to- day your spare suit," replied his wife, "and distributed to the poor half the bread we had in the house." Then the mollah was very angry, and said to his wife: "Why did you give away my clothes and my bread.'*" MOHAMMEDAN LADY. OUTDOOR COSTUME. 58 ''Because to-day, when you were preaching in the mosque, you exhorted all to divide their superfluous goods with the poor in order to walk in the path of God, so what we were not using I gave to the beg- gars. " At these words the mollah waxed very wroth and exclaimed: "Woman, my exhortations were for the congregation and not for myself. If I preach thus to the people, it is that they may give me the surplus of their clothes and their bread. You should not think of giving away my spare clothes and my children's bread. I preach to men in my own interest, and you — you carry out, at my expense, the counsel! give them." It is said that the same mollah and two uneducated persons were traveling together, when they came to a river. All undressed to swim across, the mollah going first. Soon as they were in the water, the mol- lah perceived four small jars, filled with butter, float- ing at a little distance. He reached the first and held it with his teeth, stretched out his right hand, seized another, and caught the third in his left. There re- mained but one, which was taken by his companions. But not content with three-fourths of the spoil, he called out to the others: ''I swear by Allah that I will have my share in that jar too." Sin is merely transgression of statute; falsehood, deception, robbery, murder, have no immoral qual- ity whatever. They are entirely legitimate when used for the furtherance of the Moslem state and even for the individual advantage. 59 Those who have studied the character of Moham- med, know that there can be no doubt of his sincerity and conduct, at the start. He believed himself to be divinely appointed a messenger for the overthrowing of idolatry, and for some time he endured the hostil- ity and taunts of his people apparently with no further motive than their reformation. But later, cruelty, and all kinds of sin were not merely allowed but en- couraged by him against all who did not believe in his doctrines. Their belief in the unity of God has degenerated into pure and simple fanaticism; predestination to good has disappeared, and in place of it comes pre- destination to evil. The better characteristics of the Moslem influence have disappeared, and it is only the worst elements that come to the surface to-day, and during all these thirteen hundred years, Mohammed- anism in Persia has brought nothing to the people, except curse. The Koran is a volume divided into 114 chapters or Suras, made up in a volume not quite so large as our New Testament. It consists of the revelation proclaimed by Mohammed as received during the lat- ter part of his life, at Mecca. It was originally writ- ten on all sorts of material, and was gathered together after his death in the caliphate of Othman. It is written in the Meccan dialect and held to be the standard of the Arabic language. The fundamental teachings are the unity of God, the final judgment and absolute submission to his will [Islam]. The confession of faith is simply: "There is no God but 6o God, and Mohammed is his prophet." The general belief includes belief in God, angels, the resurrection, day of judgment, and God's absolute decree and pre- destination to both good and evil. In practice it re- quires prayers, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. The weakness of Mohammedanism in Persia gives good opportunities for a Christian minister to preach the Word of God to the distressed souls within the limits of that country. I beg all the lovers of our only Saviour, Jesus Christ, to unite in Christian love and send the Gospel to 203, 652,422 souls which are mislead by the enemy of the cross, Mohammed, 12^000,000 of whom are in my native land, Persia. Watch and pray for the lost sheep. Two great divisions of the Moslem world are, Sun- nites and Shiites. The former follow the first three caliphs after Mohammed, Abu Bekr, Omar, and Othman, as representatives of the orthodox system. Shiites represent the heterodox system. Mohammed said the children of Israel were divided into 72 sects, but that his people would be divided into 73. The Mohammedans, however, say that they have 150 sects in Islam. The great difference between these two divisions as already stated, is, that Sunnites regard a large col- lection of traditions as of equal authority with the Koran! but the Shiites reject all the traditions and accept the Koran as their sole guide; therefore, from the time of Omar until to-day, much animosity is cherished among both Turks and Persians. From 6i the olden time to the present, relip^ious wars have been the chief cause of bloodshed on both sides. Shiites of Persia mourn every year an entire month for the chiefs that were slain at the hands of Omar, and this month of mourning is called the "Katl" or the killed ones. When Mohammed was dying, he announced, against his will, that Abu Bekr would be his right- ful successor after his death, because he possessed a stronger army "than other Imams, and thus Mo- hammed thought that his teachings would be carried on more forcibly in the hands of Abu Bekr. But his real desire was, that Ali should be his successor. Nevertheless, after the death of the prophet, large bodies'of Moslems followed both successors. The Katl is not based on the death of Imams only, but is originally based on the promises of Mohammed to the true believers in the world to come — with its beautiful gardens, vineyards, green pastures, fresh fountains, the river of living water, many bathing pools of glass, a palace of marble and glass, orna- mented with pearls and diamonds. The trees bear fruit continually, some in blossom others laden with fruit. Choice fruits grow in abundance and on low trees — so that a man can stand on the ground and eat of the fruit. Each vine bears 7,000 clusters of grapes, and every grape contains 7,000 gallons of juice. Believers will spend eternity in the joys of a luxurious life in Paradise, amidst blooming gardens and beautiful virgins. An ordinary believer will have 72 ''houries," fair, with rosy cheeks, black eyes, 62 in blooming youth. Such beauty the men have not seen on earth. Martyrs will have more than 72 houries, sitting under the fragrant tree in a golden chair, while birds are singing wonderfully sweet. His fairies will be around him with the unfermented wine in a golden cup, etc. But all non-believers will be cast into the great lake of fire for everlasting punishment. Only those who know the creed of Islam will be saved. Fatima the daughter of the prophet is standing at the gates of heaven to blow with her breath all the Christians and Jews — from the razor bridge into hell. ^ Shiites and Sunnites look forward to the blessings mentioned above, which they believe they will in- herit, and differ in their belief, therefore they fight, mourn, and wear black for their Imams that were killed at the hands of their enemies"; and yet, they both are considered Mohammedans. ^ According to the Mohamniedan belief hell consists of seven floors, one below the other. The uppermost is for hypocrites, the second for Jews, the third for Christians, the fourth for the Magi, the fifth for those who call the prophets liars, the sixth for idolaters, and the seventh for sinners from the people of the prophet Mohammed. The outer part of hell is of copper, and the inner part of lead. Its floor is punishment, and the wrath of the Almighty its ceiling. The walls are of fire, not clear and luminous, but black fire, and diffusing a close, disgusting stench, being fed with men and idols. There is every variety of scor- pions and other venomous reptiles, and vast flames of fire, mon- strous caldrons of boifing water, trees with prickly fruits, rivers of blood and putrefaction, red hot chains, garments of pitch, and many other objects prepared for the torture of the sinners. The hell is guarded by Malik (the angel of death.) 63 Abu Bekr was a man of battle; his wild appearance and "red eyes" were sufficient to give fear to the young soldiers of Shia, who believed Ali possessed divine power; and some hold him to be even greater than Mohammed, and they say that the last Imam is still alive and will appear as the Mahdi (director), after which the judgment day will follow. Abu Bekr eagerly watched to shed the blood of these chiefs, only to show his strength; otherwise he disregarded religion, and he knew Shiites were few. Omar, the second caliph of the Sunnites, was born A. D. 581. He was an ardent persecutor of Mohammed and his followers. Originally an enemy of the prophet, he set out for Medina to murder him, but, chancing to read what is now the twentieth chapter of the Koran, he became a zealous supporter of the Moslem faith. When Mohammed died A. D. 632, Omar re- signed his claim to the supreme rule in behalf of an- other, but in the year 634 he came to the head as caliph. In the year 644 he was assassinated in the mosque of Medina by a Persian slaye from motives of revenge. His mosque in Jerusalem is considered by the Sunnites as the most holy of their churches, ex- cept the one at Mecca. The tribes of Shia were living under their tents, in the fields of Karbala, to avenge the marriage of Kasem to Sacna. Both parties were from the noble families of the prophet, and letters of invitation were sent to all members of their tribe. At the beginning of the wedding the streams of water were tu rned in 64 opposite directions from the hilly parts of the coun- try, where the tribe of Sunna had settled for the sum- mer. These tribes were such enemies that they would not even look at one another if they met while crossing a river, or in passing a narrow turn in the mountains. A band of armed men marched for water, and they met their enemy face to face between two hills, and that meant battle. According to the tradition, the blood of men raised to cover the horses' hoofs. Dis- tressed, a few of the Shiites returned, in agony of death. Their women and children were to be the victims of the enemy, and such was the beginning of the Katl. At that time nearly all the district of Karbala was under the supervision of Sunnites. Shiites had but few armed men, unable to protect their lives and fam- ilies, even if they fled to the heart of the mountain. The following are the names of a few who suffered and died from among the number of the Shiites: Hossen, the oldest chief, called Abraham Kalel Alia, the friend of God, "holy and perfect" and the fourth Imam or chief after the prophet. Both Hossen and Hassan were the sons of Ali, the martyrs of Islam. Tradition says that they were fleeing from the Sunnites after the battle of Karbala, when they came to an old poplar, hollow with age. "May Allah be praised," said the sons of Ali, and hiding in the hol- low, they waited till their enemies should have gone away. Hassan and Hossen were giving thanks to the Almighty for deliverance from the unbelievers, when 65 they repassed the place where the fugitives were hid- den. Close by, a partridge called, according to its wont: "Kac-kabac, kac-kovac." Kabac signifies, in Turkish and Arabic, poplar; and kovac, the hollow of a tree. So that the pursu- ers understood it to say, "the poplar, the hollow tree." "What can this mean.^" asked the* Sunnites from each other. Doubtless some one is hidden in the hollow of that old poplar, perhaps Hassan and Hossen — whom may Allah confound at the last day." Run- ning to the tree they found the enemy, and both brothers were massacred on the spot and left there. When they were gone, the partridge approached the spot where the sons of Ali had been massacred. It dipped its claws and its beak into the blood of the servants of Allah. Since that day the partridge is ac- cursed, and to its eternal shame its beak and claws remain reddened with the blood of Hassan and Hos- sen. It is forbidden men to nourish in their houses the bird stained with the blood of the martyrs, and it is a meritorious act before Allah and men to kill the red-legged partridge. On the other hand, it is a crime to hurt the grey- legged partridge. For this charming bird, after the massacre of Hassan and Hossen, abused the Sunnites with its cry of "Tchefut, Tchefut," which signifies, in Turkish and Arabic, ''Jew, Jew," and the name of Jew is the grossest insult which can be given to a creature of Allah. Even to the present day, the KBhHBjI^ v» 1 1 9^^^^^^^^^^^^^|P^ P FIVE G] ON A HUNTING TRIP. (>7 descendants of the prophet wear a grey turban and ride horses of the same color. Akpar, the son of Ressa, was the youngest Imam. Thus the cord of his h'fe was broken so that he did not enter the service to which he was called. Abbas, the cousin of Abi, was the bravest and strongest Imam among his people. Ressa was the third Imam after Hassan, a faithful believer in all the teachings of the prophet. They say he had spiritual knowledge of coming events, and had the power of death in his hands; and yet he was consumed as the rest. The soldiers were eager to pour their yazedish poison upon the old man; they wanted to prove their Turkish nature by slaughtering his children beforehand, — thus they thought they would awaken his anger, and cause him to die, as a sinner. They approached and tied his youngest daughter, and threw her into the fire. The broken- hearted father fixed his eyes upon his dying daughter, saying: "Do not be afraid, my dear, hereafter thou shalt fly into the most beautiful Paradise, resting on the arms of thy uncle. Remember, thy hope is above, in the happy home of thy uncle; take courage and suffer at the hands of the infidels, then thou shalt open thine eyes in a happy home, where thy uncle will wipe all thy tears away." The angry men gnashed their teeth when these words were spoken by the trembling man, and they pushed him into the fire and burned him to ashes, and the ashes were scattered in all directions. But, to their surprise, a hand appeared in the embers still un- 68 harmed. They tried three times to burn it, but to no avail. Then, according to their belief, it was taken to heaven for its everlasting rest. The Mohammedans say that was the hand that wrote "Mene, mene, Tekel upharsin" on the wall of Belshazzar, the king of Persia, and has proved to have done greater works than that. Kasem, the bridegroom, was unable to welcome the queen of his heart; with folded arms he bowed his head under the sharp knife of the enemy, while the partner of his life was left at the hands of his executors. After the battle some had fled, others knew not their fate; if they remained, death was certain; if they waited, there seemed very little hope for deliver- ance. Some were found in various places and killed, others suffered and died from starvation, the rest were taken captive and met with the same fate, very few escaped with their lives. Every morning and evening a priest will call from a mosque, ''Come to the prayer and hear of the Imams." At the same time a band of men and boys will march hand in hand, from street to street, shout- ing, ya Ali ! ya Ali ! ready to meet the next band for battle. Each band is divided into two parts, which sing in turn and cry. Some will be seen striking their chests violently, till their flesh has turned black and blue, others will strike their backs with chains un- til their bodies are covered with blood. In the mean- while priests will read the stories of the Imams; men, women and children will cry bitterly. Others 69 take a decorated flag and go about the streets, stop- ping at each mosque and still continuing their lamen- tation. In the large cities they are divided into six factions: 1, The band of music. 2. The flag and a hand of silver or zinc carried at the same time. This reminds them of the hand in the fire. 3. A band of reading men. 4. Children on black horses, all dressed in black. 5. A band of men with chains. 6. Men dressed in white, holding swords in their hands with which they are cutting their heads, but not seriously. If one of them dies during the katl, it is believed that he will get his 72 fairies, and will drink unfer- mented wine from the golden cup forevermore. Beloved reader, how thankful you and I should be that Jesus Christ bought us with His blood. Let us not seek to work out our own salvation by good deeds and merits, but look to Him who died on the cross to give salvation to the world. "Whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." O Jesus, blessed Jesus, Reveal Thyself to all ; And give Thy Spirit to us Now and forevermore. MOHAMMEDANS AND CHRISTIANS. Every Mohammedan may imagine that he has his prophet from God, he may think that he is in fellow- ship with those who have spiritual knowledge. He may say, I serve a prophet greater than the angels, and according to his belief he may add: All the angels were forbidden to be in the presence of God, 70 but Mohammed received an invitation to sup with the Almighty, and flew millions of miles to the sev- enth heaven, where the angels and heavenly powers were not permitted to be seen. Furthermore, he may boast and say, our Imams' perfect lives and our leader's righteous works have set us free, and we may fly aloft, eat and drink joyfully in the heavenly man- sions. Our worship, home, and social life, our law and national duties, all are taken from the book of our apostle, kept and taught faithfully. Therefore we say, we are the only people who are to enter heaven. This and more they may have to say, but it all appears to me to be but as the imaginations of an opium smoker. All Christian nations are considered animals by the Mohammedans. No honor or compliment is given to any one outside their own circle. When they meet each other, they say, "Peace unto you." But on meeting a Christian or Jew, they use a differ- ent greeting, to show that he is not one of them. They always try to turn people to their own faith; if any one asks: "How can I believe in your religion, when you do not let me touch your Koran or allow me to learn your rules of worship.'*" they say, it is our duty to keep away from you as long as you are a Christian, because you are not clean enough to take our holy book into your hands. Confess in the name of Mohammed and be circumcised, and you can come near us and know of our doings. Some Mohammedans will not sit in the same room with Christians or Jews and breathe the same air, be- 71 cause the breath of ''infidels" will defile the air of the room, they will not converse with them, nor do they dwell in communities where Christians live. They will not eat and drink with any but their own people; if a Christian should happen to eat off their dishes, they must be broken or washed several times in order to be purified. No Christian is permitted to sell liquids, such as milk, oil, or even fruits. The Mo- hammedans are prohibited from buying such things from the Christians. The Christians must not touch any such articles in possession of a Mohammedan merchant; if they do, they must buy them, for they are thereby become unclean and he can not sell them to a Mohammedan. It is not considered a sin to over- charge, cheat, or rob Christians. A hungry Moham- medan may ask a Christian for food, but after eating it, he will wash his mouth, so as not to carry the odor of it into his own dwelling. I knew a young Moham- medan who became a Christian and because of it was not permitted to live with his father. Being a fol- lower of Christ, he was regarded as an outcast. He, nevertheless, continued to visit his father, and did all he could to reconcile, him and win him for his faith. Once the father rose up to kiss his son, but instantly he drew back, saying, you are unclean, how can I.-* A second time he rose up, and again sat down. But at last his parental affection overcame the prejudices of his religion; he rose up and kissed his son, but did not omit to wash his mouth afterwards. All religious prejudice and all the persecutions which Christians have suffered in Persia have come 72 either from the priests themselves or from a low and ignorant class of people influenced by the priests; and now the priesthood of the Mohammedan church tries to drive all Christians out of Persia, but the govern- ment has stood loyally by the Christians, and looks upon them as good citizens, and as intelligent and trustworthy people. The priests try to hold the na- tion under their rule; they say no institution of learn- ing must be maintained which is outside of their con- trol, and all the laws of the country must be subject to the dictation of their high priest. But the govern- ment says, No, and encourages Christians to build schools and educate all who are Willing to come in contact with them. Some twenty years ago, the priesthood had more influence than the government, therefore people were afraid to converse with Chris- tians about religion; but ever since Mohammedanism gave rise to new sects, people have had more free- dom; they are their own masters in all respects, and they are not afraid of priests any more. It must be stated that not all Mohammedans look upon the Christians as animals. All noblemen, counts, lords, and all who constitute the better class of Persian society, are social and friendly. They re- spect an educated Christian more than they do their own people, and do not show any religious prejudices; they try to learn the languages spoken by Christians, and send their children to their schools, and some- times they even send them to Europe. Educated Christians have better opportunity to see his majesty, the Shah, than do most of the Mohammedans. In 73 Teheran I met one of the Kurdish lords^ who had come all the way from Aderbajan to lay his case before the king, and after spending a fortune he was permit- ted to be present at the king's judgment; but fearing that he would be beheaded, he simply bowed and repeated, ''Your honor, your honor," while Merza Kahraman (the young man who saved me when in the hands of my uncle) visited his majesty quite fre- quently, and was greatly honored by all Moslem offi- cers. In short, the weakness of Mohammedanism in Persia gives Christian workers good opportunity to spread the Truth; Persia is open for the Gospel, we must not sleep at the time of harvest, but work! THE HOME. The Persian, that is, the Mohammedan language knows no such words as home and wife, but only house and woman. Polygamy, too, with its attend- ant evils and cruelties, is one of the ulcers of Persian society. A Mohammedan will not be seen on the street with his wife; if it happens that he is out with her she must not walk beside him, but follow him; if a man kills his wife, he will be fined a sum of money. According to their law, women have not the same rights as men. Marriage, according to the law of Islam, is not a religious but a civil act. The priest is invited merely as a matter of courtesy, the validity of the contract consists in its being attested by two witnesses. 1 This gentleman has about 40,000 Kurds under his control, of whom very few could even read. He asked me to open a school in his district, and promised me protection. 74 If a young Mohammedan wants to be married, he will ask some old woman; she may be his aunt, or, perhaps, his cousin, or, maybe it is one of his ac- quaintances, if she knows of any young lady that would be suitable for him. Of course she knows of many. These old women are always on the look-out, for they receive many presents in that way. Then she will call on a certain family, where she knows there is a daughter, and will begin in this way: "I have nothing of importance to say, but was passing by and thought I would call. After she has smoked awhile and drunk some coffee together with the mother of the young lady, she will say: **Will you send your daughter out of the room.'' I wish to speak to you pri- vately." She will then say many good things about the young man on whose errand she goes, and that he wishes to receive the hand of her daughter in marriage. If the father has no objections, the bargaining be- gins; if she is handsome, he may ask as much as two or three hundred dollars; if she is not at all handsome, it may be he will get forty or fifty; if he is poor, or if he is greedy, he will say: "You see it is this way, I have brought up my daughter and have had expense and trouble all these years, and she has not earned me a penny. Her husband must pay me something for all this." Among the better class of Moslems, however, the price paid is in jewelry and clothes, which will belong to the bride. They go to a lawyer, and he puts it down on paper that this man — mentioning his name — desires to re- ceive in marriage the daughter of such and such a 75 man, and promises to give on such a day sueh and such a price, whatever that may be. To this he signs his name, and the witnesses write theirs, and the paper g^oes to the girl's . father. This is the ceremony. There is no religious service, and there are no ques- tions, no answers, no promises, no vows. As soon as the bridegroom has paid what he has promised he can claim his wife. If anyone of the relatives is not sat- isfied with the present, he will say to the bridegroom: "Until you buy me a coat or maybe trousers, you can- not have your wife." But if all are satisfied, they will march to bring the bride. She may never have seen the man to whom she is to be married, or she may not know of her wedding day until a few hours before- hand; or she may refuse to be married. In the last case she will get a good slapping from her father. But if she has been informed a few days before and is willing, then, before the men arrive, the bride is locked into a chamber," is seated up high in a chair which is set upon a sofa at the back of the room, and is dressed in her pink bridal garment. She paints her fingers, toes, and eyebrows, and then she is veiled with a double pink veil. After some superstitious ceremonies have been per- formed, sugar is transferred from the mouth of the one to the other in order to remind them of the sweetness of their future relations to one another. The bride is then placed on the back of a horse, and departs for the home of her husband. In the meanwhile a band plays merry tunes at the head of the procession, and on their way they sing: — 76. Our fair bride is on the way, Like a pink, so fresh and gay. At the door our bridling fair. Like the pink's her perfume rare. In the courtyard is the bride. She's a rose that's open'd wide. On the stair the bride see now. White as jasmine is her brow. Now she conies within the room, Her neck is like the lily's bloom. As soon as the bride's relatives have left, the women raise her veil with the silver handle of a dagger, and whether she comes up to their expectations or not they are in duty bound to sing: How beautiful she is, the bride, Her brow is high and white and wide. May God preserve her. Her eyebrows have the rainbow's curve, Her eyes for coffee cups may serve, May God preserve her. Her cheeks the rose's inmost fold, Her mouth a little box of gold, May God preserve her. Her lips as red as cherries are. Her teeth than pearls are whiter far, May God preserve her. Like milk her skin is fair and white, Like cypress is she tall and slight, May God preserve her. The women believe that every one of them must be married, whether young or old, otherwise, if they die, they will be lost; but marriage will save their souls. Accordingly, a man will have all kinds of wives, some eighteen or twenty years of age, others nearly as old as his grandmother. He may have children with several of these and then troubles arise. The 77 older one will try to poison the children of the younger, and even the husband is afraid of his life. If life becomes too bitter, some of them will be sent away. In Persia woman is degraded. Even under its most favorable aspect her life is one of idleness, and, where circumstances allow, of luxurious idleness. But among the great mass of the poorer class women are the drudges, doing the hardest work, and are for the most part placed on level with the beasts of burden. Among the better class of Moslems, however, women receive kinder treatment. They do not allow them to work for their living; and do not want them to have liberty and speak to strangers. A woman is not permitted to see any of the male friends of her hus- band, except her own nearest relatives. In most cases, man and woman are not like husband and wife, but as master and slave. A Mohammedan can divorce his wife at any time. If she does not have his supper ready in time; if she does not show him due respect; if she does not come quickly when called, or for other paltry reasons, he can say, "Go, I am divorced from you," and she is no more his wife. He may have spoken this in a fit of anger, and said more than he meant to say, and may regret it at once, and try to speak to her again. ' 'No," she will say, keeping her face hidden from him. "You are not my husband, I do not know you." There are three chief kinds of divorce, — the di- -vorce by virtue of which the husband cannot take back his wife; the divorce with this right in reserve; and the temporary divorce. 78 If a man desires to take back one of his divorced wives, he cannot go and ask her to follow him, but^ he will send word that she must be married to another man, and then be divorced the next day to marry her first husband. According to Mohammedan law, if there is no one to marry her temporarily, her first husband must pay some one to marry her, only to be divorced on the following morning, and then he can have her back. The ordinary laws regarding marriage given by Mohammed niimber no less than one thousand four hundred and twelve. Whenever the announcement of the birth of a girl is made, a dead silence will follow. The groans of the nearest lady relatives and the sobs of the poor mother will be the next, and no one dare break the news to the unfortunate father — men and women will depart in an ungraceful manner. Often the husband approaches the unhappy woman and scolds her. I knew of a woman, who, having given birth to a fourth daughter, had beaten her head and breast with her fists in a frenzied attempt to commit suicide. Had the child been a boy, a turmoil of congratu- lations would have followed upon the proclamation, and gifts been given to the first one who informed the father. He would have been embraced with tears of joy by his comrades, because a son had been born to him. Drums would have been beaten and trumpets sounded, and gifts been sent to the mother. The child is first taken and rubbed well with salt; one of the women then throws a bunch of keys into 79 the basin, mutters a spell of a religious character, and blows three times into the water. This is, how- ever, done for the "evil eye." The body of the mother is then plastered over with a mixture, composed of honey and various aromatic condiments, which is believed to possess strengthen- ing and recuperating properties, and which is left on for about an hour. All these arrangements completed, the happy father enters to congratulate his wife and give the child the name by which it is henceforth to be distinguished. For no formality equivalent to registration or baptism is customary among the Moslems, and Persian biog- raphers fix the date of famous men by their death in- stead of their birth. The infant is carried by the father outside the door, and then bespeaks three times into the child's ear the name chosen for it. If the father is unacquainted with the form of prayer to be used, a priest is called to assist in the fulfillment of this duty. The circum- cision is performed on the following Friday. When a child is afflicted with the so-called evil eye, ^ the mother will go to a saintly moUah in order to re- move the spell. This holy man, whose breath, sanc- tified by the constant repetition of the name of the deity, has acquired a supernatural healing power, proceeds to make a series of mysterious breathings on the face of the child, accompanied by the imposition 1 It would be a long list to give the cures for "evil eye." For some, see the chapter on Armenians. 8o of his hands. These concluded, he produces a tiny scroll of paper inscribed with some holy words or with a passage from the Koran, and orders it either to be soaked in water and the liquid to be drunk, or to be tied on the right arm of the child; another to be placed under his pillow during the night, and prom- ises a sure cure. The Mohammedans are much more superstitious than any other oriental people. To note all their be- liefs would require pages. The following may serve as specimens. If wolves howl in packs, it betokens a death, or it may mean frost. Sparrows flying in large flocks are held as a sign of severe cold. The croak of a raven announces to the mother that she will give birth to a girl. To meet a snake before sunrise, or about sunset, augurs the death of a relative. If the turtle-dove sits on a roof and coos, it announces to the inmates the return of a friend from a foreign coun- try. When a cuckoo sits on a house and sings, it be- tokens a death in the house. When the dying person has breathed his last, the wailing of the women begins. Those most affected by the sad event, often beat their breasts and tear their hair in a passionate outburst of grief. When the eyes of the dead have been closed and the chin bandaged, and a piece of wood is placed under each arm, they whisper in his ear, "You must not be afraid of all that comes in your way, but fight." The ceremony when fully performed, consists in washing the hands and then conveying water in them three times to the nose and the lips, and from the crown of the head to the temples; three times from 8i behind the ears to the neck, from the pahn of the hand to the elbow, and then to the feet, commencing with the right. When this formality has been twice repeated, the coffin, or rather shell, is brought in, and three long strips of strong material are laid across it, and on them are placed three strips of calico; then men will carry the corpse to the mosque, followed by a long procession of male mourners. It is considered a meritorious act to carry a dead body even for a short distance, and the bearers at the Moslem funeral are consequently continually relieved by others who wish to obtain the benefits which the performance of this religious duty is believed to confer. At the mosque the first part of the burial service is read by the priest, as follows: *' O Allah, pardon Thou our living and our dead, those of us looking on, and those of us absent, our little ones and our adults, our men and our women. "Cause Thou this departed one to possess Thy mercy and Thy grace. "O God, if he (or she) has been a worker of good works, then do Thou add unto him good works, and if he has been an evil-doer, do Thou pass it over. And may security and glad tidings surround him with honor and privilege. And free Thou him from the torment of the grave and of hell-fires, causing him to dwell in the abodes of the Paradises with his relatives. O Allah, make Thou his tomb a garden of the gardens of heaven; and let not his grave be a pit of the pits of perdition, for Thy mercy's sake, O Thou most com- passionate of the merciful. O God, unto whomsoever 82 'Thou grantest life, cause Thou him to live resigned to Thy will (i. e. a Moslem); and whomsoever Thou callest, let him die in the faith of Islam." On the arrival of the procession at the cemetery the coffin is placed by the side of the excavation, the lid is removed, and the body lifted by six persons, and lowered into the earth. When the remainder of the prayers for the dead has been recited, the grave is filled up, and the mourners return home. The priest remains a short time longer, to prompt the de- ceased in his replies to the questions. Two angels, Mounkir and Nekir, according to the Moslem belief, enter the grave with the dead in order to interrogate them concerning their faith. If the dead one has been a devout Moslem, his reply will be: *'MyGod is Allah, my prophet, Mohammed, and my religion, Islam, and my Kibla, the Kaaba."(Kibla is the direc- tion in which Moslems turn when performing their devotions.) If, however, he had been but an indiffer- ent follower of the prophet, he will not be able to re- member his creed. In the former case the angels give the dead a taste of all kinds of delights, and in the latter they afflict him with various torments. THE SHAHR AND THE URF, THE LAWS OF PERSIA. Persian law is divided into two parts, the Shahr and the Urf. The former is administered by the mollahs, or priests, and is based upon the Koran. The latter is the oral law administered by secular judges; who decide cases according to common sense and traditions, or precedents, orally handed down. 83 As a rule the Urf takes cognizance of criminal cases, and the Shahr of civil cases. The criminal is tried before the governor of a town or village; in the award of penalties, however, he follows the rules pre- scribed by the Shahr, so far as they have not passed into desuetude. Sometimes a criminal case is appealed to the governor, or to the Shah himself. The expounders and administrators of the Shahr are called moUahs and mushtaheds. The highest mushtahed of all, the present chief justice, dwells at the tomb of Ali. In ordinary cases a decision by the inferior mollahs with their seal attached is sufficient, but cases of importance must be referred to the chief mushtahed. The code of Persia consists of four parts, with nu- merous subdivisions or chapters. The first treats of religious rites and duties; the second, of contracts and obligations; the third, of matters relating to the person; and the fourth part, of laws relating to the class, meats and drinks, legal procedure, and the specifications of penalties both from a religious and a civil point of view. There are five hundred and forty-nine laws respect- ing religious worship. The regulations concerning fasting and pilgrimages number no less than one thousand and twelve. Good works 'and rules con- cerning the poor, also take up a large part of the first division of the Shahr. The law of sales includes six hundred and twenty-five titles in the second division. In the part prescribing religious ordinances we read that: 84 "It is forbidden any man to say his prayers in the presence of any woman who, either at his side or be- fore him, is also praying, whether praying together with him or alone; and without regard to the charac- ter of the woman, whether she be wife or within for- bidden decree of kinship, or a stranger. She must be far from him, at least twelve feet, or behind a cur- tain so as not to be seen. *'One should avoid praying before an open fire, or in the stable of horses, asses, or mules; but it is per- mitted in a sheephold. "He who is dumb must wag his tongue while men- tally repeating his prayers. "Whoever has offered prayer without positively remembering that he has fulfilled every regulation, is obliged to repeat the prayer. "He who cannot properly pronounce the vowels shall not lead the prayers." In the second division of the Urf, the law of sales, which includes six hundred and twenty-five, we read that: "It is not permissible to sell a piece of cloth or of land by a general exhibition of them to the purchaser, without ot)liging him to make a minute inspection. Nevertheless, it is more prudent to examine and touch the object sold, because of the various uses to which it may be put, and of the difficulty of obtaining an exact notion of the object without touching, measur- ing, or inspecting it. "The specifications of a thing sold should be made in a manner to leave no doubt in the mind of the par- 85 ties; it should further be stated in usual terms, in or- der that, in case it be contested, the dispute can be settled by reference to the dictionary. "It is not permitted to sell fruits on the tree before they are shaped, that is, before the kernel is formed, but when they have reached that state they may be sold. ♦•'The purchaser of a slave may change his name at any time, but should avoid counting the price of one in the presence of another slave. ''It is forbidden any one not sound in mind, to be a judge or governor at any court." Shah is the absolute monarch. He appoints gov- ernors for each state, and the governors appoint minor governors for the cities. The Shah gives each gov- ernor a knife, and will give him power to use it for manslaughter. The modes of punishment used by these appointed governors are barbarous in the ex- treme. The convicts are put to death either by be- ing beheaded in a public square or by being nailed to a wall, or in other ways. One of these governors was once called to Oroom- iah City as a ruler. He said: 'T am surprised: every man has two ears, hands and feet. I wonder what kind of a ruler has been in this city, that people have not been punished." They, however, think that Christians are not deemed sufficiently worthy of such privileges as these punishments are considered to be. The ground belongs to the lords and counts; they give it to the farmers to till, half of everything being returned to the owners. Hard labor and taxes are 86 for the natives, the profits are given to the chiefs. The natives have to pay taxes for each member of their family, whether at home or abroad; as long as he is not dead, parents must pay his taxes. Natives are largely employed in agriculture and carpet making. Oxen, buffaloes, and cows are used for ploughing the fields and threshing; and all the farm work is carried on by such animals, even all their grain is carried by donkeys and camels. In the large towns people live more peacefully; there is not a single policeman in the streets during the day, till nine o'clock at night. Thereafter no one is allowed to be out. If it is necessary to be out the party must have a lantern in hand and a soldier as a guide. The party must also know the name of the night, as a name is given for each night and kept in secret from the public, being known only to the po- lice and government officers. If any one is out, and does not know the name of the night, officers will cast him into prison until he is proved to be a law- abiding citizen. All the Moslems are in duty bound to make a pil- grimage, at least to one of the four national mosques. If any one fails to perform it during his life, his bones must be carried to Karbala, after his death. Dead ones are transported every year to Karbala, and are buried near the grave of the prophet, to be saved. All the bones must be carefully packed in boxes and tied on horses. Crowds of men every year take dry bones of their relatives, and march towards that place. If any one is unable to fulfill the will of his 8; parents by sending their bones to the holy place, he will gather all the bones that he can carry on his back, and walk all the way to that place. Sometimes all the bones are crushed, but they do not mind that, if only they can bury the rest, and save their friends from punishment to everlasting life. When father Pilgrim returns, women and children look anxiously to see what he bears in his beak. If it happens to be a bit of glass, it is a sign that the year will be free from war, plague, famine, and that every one will be happy; if a rag, that it will be a year of sickness; if an ear of corn, that cereals will be abundant. If the stork arrives with his beak raised to the sky, it is a bad sign, for the father pilgrim is dissatisfied with men and will not deign to look at them; if, on the contrary, his beak is pointed earth- ward, and toward the town, he murmurs, Peace be with you, and the pious Moslems reply. On thee be peace. Welcome, father Pilgrim, welcome, and they will wish to see what he has seen. Often I met groups of men going toward those places of visit. They were tired and weary, but joy- ous smiles were on their faces. Their greatest happi- ness was to end the long journey, and kneel at the graves of the Imams; and to possess an image of clay, or a wooden comb, to be used at their worship. Every Mohammedan must either have one of these images, or both, in his pocket, to pray to and worship. Be- fore prayer, every one of them must wash his hands and face, and wet his toes and his head. The image is then laid before him on a colored piece of silk. The worshiper kneels and rises six times during each prayer, lifting his hands towards his ears, saying: "I am witnessing for Mohammed the prophet of God," etc. Five times a day prayers are uttered; the same thing is repeated every day and during the entire year. If there are pictures or other articles on the wall at the time of worship, prayer will not be answered; the room must be empty. If a sword, or any sharp article is on their body, it must be laid aside; otherwise, answer to their prayer will not come. When trav^eling, if there is no water in which to wash, dry dust will serve the purpose. They do their praying on the streets, or in public squares in order to be seen; especially during Rama- zan, the month of fasting. They are sad-faced and down-cast in their appearance, to show that they are religious men; at such times it is not safe to speak to them twice. Darwishes are another holy order of Moslems, and are looked upon as a humble and long-suffering peo- ple. Women without children make a vow to Allah, if given to them a son, they will consecrate him to God to be a Darwish. There are Darwishes from every class of people, from the royal family to the lowest mill-keeper. Some of them live a lonely life, and dwell in dry wells, and even live on opium and nuts. After a time they will go from place to place with sheep- skin on their shoulders, telling stories and singing, followed by crowds who desire to hear their singing. 89 When they have used opium, they speak most cheer- fully. It is a power, they claim, given to them by Allah. Others will go from town to town dressed in white, with an axe on their shoulders, singing in a low voice, to make it known that they are coming. Once I asked one of them: What does all this mean.? He said: *'We have renounced the world, and are living as John the Baptist, in order to possess heaven." Compare this religion with that of our blessed Sav- ior, Jesus Christ, the God-man, who gave His life for all nations, even His enemies. All His faithful be- lievers are, spiritually, as the sun shining in its ful- ness, while the unbelievers are as the darkness of midnight. Oh that the day might soon be at hand when the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed in all Persia! THE KORAN or the holy book of the Mohammedans, is a volume divided into Hi chapters. It constitutes the revela- tion proclaimed by Mohammed as received during the latter part of his life at Mecca. Each chapter begins with the words: "In the name of the most merciful God." In the first chapter we read: "Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures; the most merciful, the king of the day of judgment. Thee do we wor- ship, and of Thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right, in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom Thou art incensed, nor those who go astray." 90 THE CREATION OF ADAM. The following story of the creation of Adam is con- tained in the Koran, and it gives the minutest particu- lars; some portions of it I have taken from traditions which are derived from Mohammed himself; and their essential features are found in the Koran, but are carried out and completed by oral traditions, and are considered the Mohammedan's theology and morals. When the Lord said unto the angels, I am going to create a man on earth, they said, wilt Thou place there one who will do evil therein, and shed blood.-* God answered: Verily I know which ye know not; and He taught Adam the names of all thtngs, and then asked these names of the angels. They an- swered, Praise be unto Thee, we have no knowledge but what Thou teachest us, for Thou art knowing and wise. God said: O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and know that which ye discover, and that which ye conceal.-* The four most exalted angels were commanded to bring from the four corners of the earth the dust out of which Allah formed the body of Adam, all save the head and heart. For these He employed exclusively the sacred earth of Mecca and and Medina, from the very spots on whicli, in later times, the holy Kaaba^ and the sepulchre of Moham- medans were erected. 1 Kaaba was an ancient temple in the early days of Moliani- med, and was held in great veneration ; and now, Mohammedans turn their faces towards Mecca and the Kaaba when saying their prayers. 91 When all the inhabitants of heaven, save Iblis, had gazed on Adam in long and silent wonder, they burst out in praises to Allah, the Creator of the first man, who was so tall and beautiful. Allah then directed the angels to bathe the soul of Adam, which he had created a thousand years before his body, in the sea of glory which proceedeth from Himself, and commanded it to animate his yet lifeless form. The soul hesitated, for it was unwilling to ex- change the boundless heavens for this narrow home; but Allah said: "Thou must animate Adam even against thy will, and as the punishment of thy dis- obedience, thou shalt one day be separated from him also against thy will." Allah then breathed upon it with such violence that it rushed through the nostrils of Adam into his head. On reaching his eyes, they were opened, and he saw the throne of Allah with the inscription, "There is but one God, and Mohammed is his messenger, " The soul then penetrated to his ears, and he heard the angels praising Allah; there- upon his own tongue was loosed, and he cried, "Blessed be Thou, my Creator, the only one and eternal." The soul at last pervaded all the limbs of Adam, and when it had reached his feet, it gave him the power to rise; but, on rising, he was obliged to shut his eyes, for a light shone on him from the throne of the Lord which he was unable to endure; and pointing with one hand toward it, while he shaded his eyes with the other, he inquired, "O Allah! what flames are those.-^" "It is the light of a prophet who shall descend from thee and appear on 92 earth in later times. By my glory, only for his sake have I created thee and the whole world. In heaven his name is Ahmed, ^ but he §hall be called Mohammed on earth, and he shall restore mankind from vice and falsehood to the path of virtue and truth. " Allah commanded the angels to bow down to Adam, as the most free and perfect of all His crea- tures, and as the only one that was animated by His breath. Israfil was the first one to obey, hence Allah confided to him the book of fate. The other angels followed his example. Iblis alone was disobedient, saying, with disdain, "Shall I, who am created of fire, worship a being formed of the dust.-*" He was therefore expelled from heaven, and the entrance in- to Paradise was forbidden him. Adam on this occasion manifested to the angels that he far surpassed them in wisdom, and more espe- cially in the knowledge of languages, for he knew the name of every created thing in seventy different tongues. After this discourse, Allah presented him, through Gabriel, with a bunch of grapes from Paradise, and when he had eaten them he fell into a deep sleep. The Lord then took a rib from Adam's side, and formed a woman of it, whom he called Hava (Eve) for he said, I have taken her from "hia" the living. She bore a perfect resemblance to Adam; but her fea- tures were more delicate than his, and her eyes shone with a sweeter luster, her hair was longer, and divided ^The most praised one. 93 into seven hundred braids; her form was lighter, and her voice more soft and pure. Allah himself then said to them, "I have appointed this garden for your abode; it will shelter you from cold and heat, from hunger and thirst. Take at your discretion, of every thing that it contains; only one of its fruits shall be denied you. Beware that you transgress not this one command, and watch against the wily rancor of Iblis! He is your enemy, because he was overthrown on your account; his cunning is infinite and he aims at your destruction." The new created pair heeded Allah's words, and lived a long time, some say five hundred years, in Paradise without approaching the forbidden tree. But Iblis also had listened to Allah, and resolving to lead man into sin, wandered constantly in the out- skirts of heaven, seeking to glide unobserved into Paradise. But its gates were shut, and guarded by the angel Ridwhan. One day the peacock came out of the garden. He was then the finest of the birds of Paradise, for his plumage shone like pearl and emerald, and his voice was so melodious that he was appointed to sing the praises of Allah daily in the main streets of heaven. Iblis, on seeing him, said to himself, "Doubtless this beautiful bird is very vain; perhaps I may be able to induce him by flattery to bring me secretly into the garden." When the peacock had gone so far from the gates that he could no longer be overheard by Rid- whan, Iblis said to him: 94 "Most wonderful and beautiful bird! art thou of the birds of Paradise?" "I am; but who art thou, who seemest frig^htened as if some one did pursue thee?" "I'm one of those cherubim who are appointed to sing without ceasing the praises of Allah, but have glided, away for an instant to visit the paradise which he has prepared for the faithful. Wilt thou conceal me under thy beautiful wings?" ''Why should I do an act which must bring the displeasure of Allah upon me?" "Take me- with thee, charming bird, and I will teach thee three mysterious words, which shall keep thee from sickness, age, and death." "Must then, the inhabitants of Paradise die?" "All, without exception, who know not the three words which I possess." "Speakest thou the truth?" "By Allah the almighty." The peacock believed him, for he did not even dream that any creature would swear falsely by its maker; yet, fearing lest Ridwhan might search him too closely on his return, he steadily refused to take Iblis along with him, but promised to send out the serpent, who might more easily discover the means of introducing him unobserved into the garden. Now the serpent was at first the queen of all beasts. Her head was like rubies, and her eyes like emerald. Her skin shone like a mirror of various hues. Her hair was soft like that of a noble virgin; and her form 95 resemble'd the stately camel; her breath was sweet like, musk and amber, and all her words were songs of praise. She fed on saffron, and her resting-places were on the blooming borders of the beautiful Can- tharus (a river in Paradise). She was created a thousand years before Adam, and destined to be the playmate of Eve. No sooner had the peacock in- formed the serpent of his adventure than she ex- claimed, I will hasten to the cherub, and will lead him into Paradise, that he may teach me the three mysterious words. The serpent ran forthwith out of the gate, andlblis repeated to her what he had said to the peacock, con- firming his words by an oath. The serpent then opened her mouth; Iblis flew into it, and, seating himself in the hollow part of her front teeth, poisoned them to all eternity. When they passed Ridwhan, who was not able to utter a sound, the serpent opened her mouth again, expecting that the cherub would re- sume his natural shape, but Iblis preferred to remain where he was, and to speak to Adam from the ser- pent's mouth, and in her name. Arriving at Eve's tent, Iblis heaved a deep sigh, the first which envy had forced from any living breast. ''Why art thou so cast down today, my beloved serpent.!'" inquired Eve, who had heard the sigh. "I am anxious for the future destiny of thee and of thy husband," replied Iblis, imitating the voice of the serpent. "How! Do we not possess in these gardens of Eden all that we can desire.'*" 96 "True; and yet the best of the fruits of this gar- den, and the only one which can procure you perfect felicity, is denied you." "Thou hast never spoken of these things until now, beloved serpent; whence derivest thou this knowl- edge?" "An angel informed me of it, whom I met under the forbidden tree." Eve answered, "I will go and speak with him," and leaving her tent, she hurried toward the tree. Immediately Iblis, who knew Eve's curiosity, sprang out of the serpent's mouth, and was standing under the forbidden tree, in the shape of an angel, with a human face, before Eve had reached it. "Who art thou, singular being, whose like I have never seen.-*" ''I was man, but have become an angel." "By what means.?" "By eating of this blessed fruit, which an envious God had forbidden me to taste on pain of death. I long submitted to his command, until I became old and frail; my eyes lost their luster and grew dim, my ears no longer heard, my teeth decayed, and I could neither eat without pain, nor speak with distinctness. My hands trembled, my feet shook^ my head hung down upon my breast, my back was bent, and my whole appearance at last became more frightful than all the inhabitants of Paradise. I then longed for death, and expecting to meet it by eating of this fruit, I stretched my hands and took of it; but lo! it had scarcely touched my lips, when I became strong 97 and beautiful as at first; and though many thousand years have since elapsed, I am not sensible of the slightest change either in my appearance or in my energies." "Speakest thou the truth?" "By Allah, who created me, I do." Eve trusted to his oath, and plucked an ear of the wheat-tree. Before Adam's sin, wheat grew upon the finest tree in Paradise. Its trunk was of gold, its branches were of silver, and its leaves of emerald. From every branch there sprung seven ears of ruby, each ear contained five grains, and every grain was white as snow, sweet as honey, fragrant as musk, and as large as an ostrich's e^g. Eve ate one of these grains, and finding it more pleasant than all she had hitherto tasted, she took a second one and presented it to her husband. Adam resisted long, but when he observed that Eve remained fair and happy as before, he obeyed her at last, and ate the second grain of wheat, which she had carried about with her. Hereupon they were sent out from Paradise with such force that Adam and Eve could scarcely snatch a leaf from one of the trees wherewith to cover them- selves. Adam was flung out through the gate of repentance, which taught him that he might return through contrition; Eve through the gate of mercy; the peacock and the serpent through the gate of wrath, but Iblis through that of the curse. 98 Adam's distress in his solitude was so great that his beard began to grow, though his face had hither- to been smooth; and this new appearance increased his grief until he heard a voice which said to him, "The beard is the ornament of man upon the earth and distinguishes him from the woman." Adam shed such an abundance of tears that all beasts and birds satisfied their thirst therewith; but some of the tears sank into the earth, and, as they still contained some of the juice of the food in Para- dise, produced the most fragrant trees and spices. Eve also was desolate, for she did not see Adam, although he was so tall that his head touched the low- est heaven and the songs of the angels were dis- tinctly audible to him. She wept bitterly, and her tears, which flowed into the ocean, were changed in- to costly pearls, while those which fell on the earth brought forth beautiful flowers. Adam and Eve lamented so loudly that the east wind carried Eve's voice to Adam, while the west wind bore his to her. She wrung her hands over her head, which women in despair are still in the habit of doing; while Adam lay quiet, which is done by men in sorrow unto this day. The tears flowed at last in such torrents from Adam's eyes, that those of his right eye started the Euphrates, while those of his left set the Tigris in motion. ^ 1 Mohammedans say; if Allah created Adam from nothing, he could make rivers flow from his tears. 99 When at last the whole universe grew loud with lamentation, and all created beings, from the small- est insect up to the angels who hold whole worlds in one hand, were weeping with Adam, Allah sent Gabriel to him with the words which were destined to save also the prophet Jonah in the whale's belly: "I have sinned, forgive me through Mohammed, Thy last and greatest prophet, whose name is engraved upon Thy holy throne." As soon as Adam had pro- nounced these words with penitent heart, the portals of heaven were opened to him again, and Gabriel cried, ''Allah has accepted thy repentance. Pray to him, and he will grant all thy requests, and even restore thee to Paradise at the appointed time." Adam prayed: "Defend me against the future artifices of Iblis my foe." Allah replied: "Say continually there is no God biit one, and thou shalt wound him as with a poisoned arrow. Build mosques for thine abode, then Iblis shall have no power over thee." "But if he pursue me with evil thoughts and dreams in the night.-^" "Then rise from thy couch and pray." "O Allah; how shall I always distinguish between good and evil.-*" "I will grant thee my guidance; two angels shall dwell within thy heart, one to warn thee against sin, the other to lead thee to the practice of good, etc." Allah then made a covenant with the descendants LofC. lOO of Adam. He touched Adam's back, and lo! the whole human family which shall be born to the end of time issued forth from it, as small as ants, and ar- rang-ed themselves right and left. At the head of those on the right stood Moham- med, with the prophets and the rest of the faithful (Islam), whose radiant whiteness distinguished them from the sinners, who were standing on Adam's left, headed by Kabil [Cain], the murderer of his brother. Allah then acquainted the progenitor of man with the names and destinies of each individual; and when the turn came to King David the prophet to whom was originally assigned a life time of only thirty years, Adam inquired: ''How many years are appointed to me." "One thousand," was the answer. ' "I will sacrifice seventy if Thou wilt add them to the life-time of David." Allah consented, but, aware of Adam's forgetful- ness, directed this grant to be recorded on a parch- ment, which Gabriel and Michael signed as witnesses. And now when Allah was about to withdraw his presence for the whole of his life from Adam, the latter uttered so loud a cry, that the whole earth shook to its foundations; the AUmerciful thereupon extended his clemency, and said: "Follow yonder cloud; it shall lead thee to the place which lies directly opposite my heavenly throne; build me a temple there, and when thou walkest around it, I shall be as near to thee as to the angels which encompass my throne." lOI Adam, ^ who still retained his original stature, in a few hours made the journey from India to Mecca, where the cloud which had conducted him stood still. On Mount Arafa, near Mecca, he found, to his great joy. Eve his wife, whence also this mountain derives its name. They immediately began to build a temple with four gates, and they called the first the gate of Adam; the second the gate of Abraham; the third the gate of Ismael; and the fourth the gate of Mo- hammed. Gabriel then instructed Adam in all the ceremonies of pilgrimage, precisely as they were instituted by Mohammed at a later period; nor was he permitted to behold Eve his wife until the evening of Thursday, when the holy days were ended. On the following morning Adam returned with his wife to India, and abode there during the remainder of his life. But he went everv year on a pilgrimage to Mecca, until he at last lost his original size, retaining a height of only sixty yards. At the time of the first harvest, Gabriel came again and instructed Eve in making bread. Adam then built an oven, and Gabriel brought fire from hell, but washed it seventy times in the sea, otherwise it would have consumed the earth with all that it contained. When the bread was baked he said to Adam: **This shall be thine and thy children's chief nourishment." At last the 930th year of Adam's life came to its close, and the angel of death appeared to him in the ^ Nine hundred and thirty years was the life-time of Adam, ac- cording to Gen. v., 3. 102 shape of an unsightly he-goat, and demanded his soul, while the earth opened under his feet and de- manded his body. Adam trembled with fear, and said to the angel of death: ''Allah has promised me a life- time of a thousand years; thou hast come too soon." ''Hast thou not granted seventy years of thy life to David.'*" replied the angel. Adam denied it, for he had indeed forgotten the circumstance; but the angel of death drew forth from his beard the parchment in which the grant was written and signed by the angels, and spread it out before Adam, who, on seeing it, willingly gave up his soul. The same was done with Eve, who died in the following year. THE SECOND CREATION. When God had created Adam, Satan, after in- specting him, did not think highly of God's handiwork, and believed himself capable of producing something better. The Lord took Satan's remarks in good part, and gave him leave to try his hands at creation. Satan then kneaded some dough, as he had seen the Lord do, and fashioned it into the shape of a wolf, which he asserted to be equal to God's handiwork. "Thou must give thy creature life," said the Lord to him, "as I have given to mine." So Satan set about doing this and blew into the wolf till his black head became red, but to no purpose, for it still remained lifeless. The Lord, finally becoming weary of his vain attempts, struck the wolf on the side with a staff and gave him life. Hence it is that the wolf has a hollow beneath his ribs. r^God then said to the wolf: "Creature, de- vour thy creator." I03 THE VIRGIN MARY AND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. Mohammed quite frequently uses Biblical narra- tives but not in the Biblical sense, for instance, in the 19th chapter of the Koran. At first he speaks of John and then of Christ. Concerning the birth of Christ, and the virgin Mary, the Koran relates the followint^: When she retired from her family to a place toward the east, and took a veil to conceal her- self from them, God sent Gabriel unto her, who ap- peared before her in the shape of a perfect man. She said I flee for refuge unto the merciful God, that He may defend me against thee. If thou fearest Him thou wilt not approach me. He answered, verily 1 am the messenger of thy Lord, and am sent to give thee a holy son. She said, how shall I have a son, seeing a man hath not touched me, and I am no har- lot' Gabriel replied, so shall it be: thy Lord sa.th, this is easy with me;-and we will perform it, that we may ordain him for a sign unto men, and a mercy from us, for it is a thing which is decreed. Where- fore she conceived him, and she retired aside with him in her womb to a distant place, and the pains of childbirth came upon her near the trunk of a palm tree She said, would to God I had died before this, and had become a thing forgotten, and lost in oblivion. And he who was beneath her called to her, saying: Be not grieved; now hath God provided a rivulet un- der thee; and do thou shake the body of the palm ^ree and it shall let fall ripe dates upon thee, already .fathered; and eat, and drink, and calm thy mind. Moreover, if thou seest any man, and he question thee. 104 say, Verily, I have vowed a fast unto the Merciful; wherefore I will by no means speak to a man this day. So she brought the child to her people, carry- ing him in her arms. And they said unto her, O Mary, now hast thou done a strange thing, O sister of Aaron; thy father was not a bad man, neither was thy mother a harlot. But she made signs unto the child to answer them; and they said, How shall we speak to him, who is an infant in the cradle.^ Where- upon the child said. Verily I am the servant of God, he hath given me the book of the Gospel, and hath appointed me a prophet. He hath made me blessed, where-so-ever I shall be; and hath commanded me to observe prayer, and to give alms, so long as I shall live; and he hath made me dutiful toward my mother, and hath not made me proud or unhappy. And peace be on me the day on which I was born, and the day on which I shall die, and the day on which I shall be raised to life. This was Jesus, the son of Mary; the word of truth, concerning whom they doubt. It is not meet for God that he should have a son; God forbid: When he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it. Be, and it is. And verily God is my Lord, and your Lord, wherefore serve him; this is the right way. Yet the sectarians differ among themselves concerning Jesus; but woe be unto those who are unbelievers, because of their appearance at the great day. Mohammed adds: They are infidels, who say, verily God is Christ the Son of Mary. The Jews and the Christians say, we are the children of God, and I05 His beloved. Answer, why therefore doth He punish you for your sins? Nay, but ye are men, of those whom He hath created. God forbid, He is neither born nor begets. O true believers, give alms of that which we have bestowed on you before the daycometh wherein shall be no merchandizing, nor friendship, nor intercession. The infidels are unjust doers. God, there is no God but He; the living, the self-subsisting. O true believers, take not the Jews or Christians for your friends; they are friends the one to the other; but those among you who taketh them for his friends, he is surely one of them. And when God shall say unto Jesus, at the last day, Jesus son of Mary, hast thou said unto men: Take me and my mother for two gods beside God.? He shall answer. Praise be unto Thee; it is not for me to say that which I ought not, if I had said so, Thou wouldst surely have known it; Thou knowest what is in me, but 1 know not what is in Thee, for Thou art the knower of secrets. I have not spoken to them any other than what Thou didst command me, namely; worship God, my Lord and your Lord; and I was a witness of their actions while I stayed among them; but since Thou hast taken me to Thyself, Thou hast been the watcher over them; for Thou witnessest all things. If Thou punishest them, they are surely Thy servants, and if Thou forgivest them. Thou are mighty and wise. God will say. This day shall their veracity be of advantage unto those who speak truth; they shall have gardens wherein rivers flow, they shall remain therein forever; God hath been well pleased in them, and they have been io6 well pleased in Him. This shall be great felicity. Unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and of earth, and whatever is therein, and He is the Almighty. O true believers, take not my enemy and your enemy for your friends, showing kindness toward them; since they believe not in the truth and revela- tion which have been sent down unto Mohammed your apostle. If ye go forth to fight in defence of my religion, and out of a desire to please me, and privately show friendship unto them; verily I will know that which ye conceal, and which ye discover; and whosoever of you doeth this, hath already erred from the straight path. Verily God commandeth you to fight His battle, and those who fight in de- fence of God's religion, God will not suffer their works to perish; but will lead them unto Paradise. O true believers, if ye assist God, by fighting for His religion. He will assist you against your ene- mies; and will set your feet fast; but as for the in- fidels, )et them perish; and their works shall God ren- der vain. Mohammed knew the Scriptures as well as the devil himself, and the greater part of his book is taken from the passages of the Old and the New Testaments; but he did not direct his people in the right fellowship with God, in the way of prayer and of worship. He never taught, God is the Heavenly Father. He knew well that if he did, his people would say, Christ must be the Son of God. He de- clared himself, that Jesus was the Word of truth; and a blessing to the world, and the Word of God. 10/ But he refused to call Him the Son of God, and to call God the Father. He said, Almighty God is the Creator by the Word, but is not the Father; there- fore all the people must tremble before Him as slaves. If in any way, he had called God the Father, his own words would give the assurance to his people that Christ is the Son of God, because He had no other. Mohammed knew that if he called God the Father the result would be, that many of his people would become believers in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he worked against all who called God the Father, and even now, we are looked upon as the greatest infidels, whenever they hear us say, God is our Heavenly Father. Even if this great enemy of our Lord taught that Christ is not the Son of God, still it is an easy mat- * ter for us, by the help of our Lord, to prove from their own book, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which we trust they will some day see, and behold the glory of His kingdom. CHAPTER V. FIPE^WORSHIPERS (OR ZOROASTRIANISM). In the middle of the seventh century of the Chris- tian era the prevailing religion in Persia was Zoroas- trianism. It was among the Medes that the famous sect of the fire-worshipers first took root in the Persian race. This religion is said to have originated in Atro- patene, which is now represented to be the north-west province of modern Persia, called Aderbajan, or prob- ably it may have existed far to the east, in Bactria or beyond. But there are a good many reasons for believing that it started from Aderbajan, and even from Oroomiah City. Firstly — the name of this city, as given by ancient writers, is Ormus, Ormi, Urmi, Ourmia, .Ormisda, etc. ; and it may have its deriva- tion from the god of light, Ormusd. Secondly — at a little distance to the east of this city an ancient, artificial mound rises to the height of seventy or eighty feet, and marks the site, as it is said, of the ancient shrine or temple, where Zoroaster kindled his sacred fires, and bowed in adoration to the heavenly hosts. Thirdly — there are more than twenty mounds of ashes all around the city of Oroomiah which are proofs of their ancient worship. Zoroaster, born about 600 B. C, in Atropatene, was the founder and the prophet of this religion in Persia. There is no doubt that he first made his ap- [io8] ZOROASTER. no pearance and disseminated his doctrines in Media, where the captive Israelites then resided; and it is a fact, too, that he made the city of Oroomiah his head- quarters, and from that place spread his religion in Assyria and Persia. He flourished in the reign of Hystaspes, the father of Darius; and from that time the ideas on which he built his religious system were acknowledged by the Persians to be one of the great fundamental religions of the world. Zoroaster taught that there are two gods. Ormusd, the god of good thoughts, good deeds and good ac- tions, will enable the soul to enter heaven on the fourth day after departure from the body, where evil and good deeds will be weighed in the scales of jus- tice. Ahraman, the god of darkness, has created evil thoughts, evil deeds, and evil actions, causes the destruction of man, and makes it impossible for him to pass the bridge of judgment. The fire-worshipers teach that good thoughts, good deeds, and good actions alone will be the salvation of man; nothing more is needed. They alone will save the man, as a safe pilot to the harbor of heaven, as a safe guide to the gates of Paradise. Zend-avesta, the holy book of the fire-worshipers, was originally composed in the pure Persian tongue, called the Zend, a branch of the Sanscrit. But Arta- zerxes devoted his attention to the reformation and strengthening of the national religion, and he collected the Magi, or priests of Zoroastrianism at Persepolis, to translate it into Pehlevee, the language spoken in Persia at that time. Ill The Zoroastrians believe that the holy fire was brought from heaven by Zoroaster. Only Magi can approach it, and must wear a half-mask over their faces, lest their breath should defile it; and they never touch it with their hand, but with golden instruments. They have fire burning continually on the altars erected in their temples for the purpose of public de- votions. Their private devotions are before the sacred fires in their own houses, or, when in the open air, towards the sun as the noblest of all lights, the most perfect fire, and the purest symbol of a benefi- cent God. Here they offer their prayers, three times a day: "Oh, Omniscient Lord, I repent of all my sins. I repent of all evil thoughts that I may have entertained in my mind, of all the evil words that I may have spoken, of all the evil actions that I may have done. O, Omniscient Lord, I repent of all the faults that may have originated within me, whether they pertain to thoughts, deeds, or actions, whether they pertain to my body or soul, whether they be in connection with the material world or the spiritual." It is interesting to have some knowledge about these people, because they have queer ideas such as we do not see among the western people. But we must take into consideration, that they are ignorant of divine revelation; and we, on hearing this, must advance to prepare the way for the coming of the Heavenly Prince. "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be re- I 12 vealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." And all the na- tions must hear the Gospel preached, and 15,000 fire- worshipers in Persia must know of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Zoroastrian religion, before it became cor- rupted, was preferred to any other outside of the divine revelation, and yet, according to that religion, to extinguish a candle is considered a great sin. They do not bury their dead, but leave them in an open roofed room, to be eaten by the birds. They, as the Mohammedans, believe in charms and talismans, and have 6ther superstitious beliefs. ZEND-AVESTA. The Bible of the fire worshipers is said to include two million verses written on a thousand parchments and proclaimed by Zoroaster. It is claimed to con- tain twenty-one books or * 'works." In the first "Fargard" or hymn we read of creation. Ahura-Mazda, the god of gods, the Hving creator, all-wise lord, source of light to the world, creator of all the stars by his inborn fire,- father of all purity in thought, word and action, is the one who created all good works for the good of men. Ahura -Mazda spake to the holy Zoroaster: I created, O holy Zoroaster, a place, a creation of delight, but nowhere was created a possibility of approach. For had I not, O holy Zarathuster, created a place, a creation of delight, where nowhere was created a possibility of approach, The whole corporal world would have gone after Airyana- Vaeja, i. e., this paradise. The first and best of regions and places have I created, I who am Ahura-Mazda. 113 The Aiiyana-Vaeja of the good creation. The Aiiyana-Vaeja, who is full of death, created in apposi- tion to the same. A great serpent and winter, which Daeves have created. ' The winter months are there, two summer months, and these are cold as to the winter, cold as to the earth, cold as to the trees. After this to the middle of the earth, then to the heart of the earth, comes the winter, then comes the most evil. The second and best of regions and places have I created, I who am Ahura-Mazda. To the sun and fire they pray and confess their sins in the following manner: Fire, supreme chief, rising high in the land. Hero, son of ocean, rising high. Fire, with thy pure brilliant flame, thou bringest light into the dwellings of darkness. God of the house, protector of the family. Thou decidest the fate of every thing which has a name. May the works of the man, his son, shine in purity of good thought, w-ord and deed. He who fears not his god, shall like a reed be broken. He who honors not a star, his strength shall wither. He fades as the light of a star is withdrawn ; Like waters of the night he vanishes. Who will teach me thy liigh command? Who will do the like with me? Among the gods thy brothers, thou hast no equal, Thou art great and powerful from day to day. Ilu, my maker, take hold of my arms. Guide the breath of my mouth, guide my hands ; Oh lord of light. O sun, at thy command, myosins are atoned for, My transgressions are abolished. I repent of all sins, all wicked thoughts, words and deeds, corporal, spiritual, earthly and heavenly, I repent of, in your presence, ye believers. O lord, pardon my evil thoughts, words and deeds. Of all and every kind of sin, of all sins which are upon the sins, which I have committed against Ormusd, men, and the kinds of men, I repent. 1^4 Of all and every kind of sin which I have committed against Bahman, the horned cattle, the cattle, and the kinds of cattle, I repent. Of all and every kind of sin which I have committed against the fire, and the kinds of fire, T repent. Of all and eveiy kind of sin which I have committed against the metals, and the kinds of metals, I repent. Of all and every kind of sin which I have committed against the earth, and the kinds of earth, I repent. Of all and every kind of sin which I have committed against the water, and the kinds of water, I repent. Of all and every kind of sin which I have committed against the trees, and against all the creatures of Ormusd as stars, moon, sun, and the red burning fire, the dog, the birds, and fine kinds of animals which are t)etween earth and heaven ; if I have become a sinner against any of these, I repent with thoughts, words, and deeds, corporal, spiritual, earthly as heavenly. O lord, pardon, I repent of sin, and the kinds of sin. With all good deeds I am pleased, and with all evil deeds I am displeased. May Ahriman (the god of evil) be broken, may Ormusd increase. I confess that, that which was the wish of Ormusd the creator, and I ought to have thought; that which was the wish of Ahri- man, and I ought not to have thought, I have thought. O Ahura forgive, and than I shall praise all good thoughts, deeds, and words through thought, word, and deed. I curse all evil thoughts, words, and deeds away from thought, word and deed. I lay hold on all good thoughts, words, and deeds, with thoughts, words, and deeds, i. e., I perform good actions. I dismiss all evil thoughts, words, and works, from thoughts, words, and works, i. e., I commit no sins. I remain standing fast in the statutes of the law which Ormusd gave to Zoroaster, I desire much after purity from love to my soul. As long as the life of my vital powers endures will I stand fast in good thoughts in my soul, in good words in my speech, in good deeds in my actions ; I remain standing in the good Maz- daya, Cuian law, to the last thought, word, and deed. CHAPTER VI. YEZIDIS, Yezidis are known popularly as devil-worshipers. They belong to those Arabs who refused to accept "Islam" and gathered in a loose organization under a certain sheik from the region of Damascus, in the early part of the twelfth century. Under the Moslem rule they have apparently accepted Mohammedanism, though they entertain a deep-seated hatred for Mos- lems. The members of the Yezidi sect belong to eleven different tribes, and number between seven and eight thousand families. They entertain a strong prejudice against learning, and their ignorance is proverbial among the people by whom they are surrounded, with the exception, perhaps, of the higher grades of the priestly caste. The men are consequently wholly without education, and their women are naturally in a similarly benighted condition. They are found both in the mountains to the east of the Tigris, and also in the western part of Mosel, and in the Kurdistan mountains. Those in the mountains speak the Kurdish language, but those on the plains speak Arabic and Persian. As a rule they are neater and cleaner in their dress than either the Arabs or the Kurds. In the main they are quiet and industrious, but in the northern sections of the Kurdistan moun- [115] ii6 tains they are given to highway robbery, but in the Sinjar hills, where they are in the majority, they are obedient to the government. They give sacrifices and offerings to the devil by throwing money and jewels into a certain deep pit in the mountains of Sinjar. When this district was subjugated by the Turks, the pasha compelled their priest to disclose the place, and then plundered it of its large treasure, the offerings of the centuries. I trust, as we learn more about them, sympathy, prayer, and effort will be offered for their conversion to the only true God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. They believe the devil is the prince of the world, and their future mediator and savior of the world. Their holy book is Jilweh (the revelation), written by Sheik' Adi in Arabic. The only copy in existence is guard- ed on the tomb of its author, and will be left there, as they affirm, until the devil is con- verted; then the religion of the book will be understood as the universal religion of the world. Sheik Adi thus represents, with the Yezidis, the good principle as opposed to "Shietan," the evil principle. The former, they say, is so infinitely good and benevolent that it is hardly necessary to invoke his name or worship him; A DEVIL WOESHIP- ER'S PRIEST. 117 while, on the other hand, the evil principle is so ma- levolent in his disposition that he requires to be con- stantly propitiated. So great is their dread of him, that they refrain from using any word which has a sound similar to his name, and they will not keep the Koran in their houses, because the name of Satan is found in it. They are struck with horror at hearing the name of Satan, and death will be pronounced to those who speak his name. They say: "Melek Ta- oos" is our holy god, but the wicked people gave him the name of Satan to shame our protector, there- fore, all who speak his name deserve death, and their souls shall be embodied in the image of a dog or an unclean beast. They believe in God as the supreme deity, but have nothing to do with Him in the way of worship or service. They believe in an emanation from God, who is eternal, the Melek Taoos, or King Pea- cock, who became incarnate as Lucifer, deceived Adam and Eve as Satan, and is one of the seven gods who in turn ruled the world for ten thousand years. They worship the sheik who founded their religious system. They also worship fire and the sun, and regularly adore the sun by bowing and kiss- ing the first rays as they strike on a wall or other ob- ject near them. They never spit or throw any impurity into a fire, but lave their hands and faces in the flames as if to purify them. They hold to the transmigration of souls and give a qualified reverence to the Scriptures, the Old and the New Testaments. Ii8 The rite which they call baptism appears to have been taken from the Christian religion, but it has been corrupted. They regard wine as the' symbol of the blood of Jesus, and when drinking it they always hold the cup with both hands to avoid spilling its con- tents, and should a drop fall to the ground they suck it up with their lips and swallow the dust with which it has mingled. They make the sign of the cross, take off their shoes and kiss the threshold when they enter a Christian church. Their ceremonies and fes- tivals are a proof that they have originated either from the Jews or from the Christians. Symbolic representations of Melek Taoos in the shape of brazen birds, are carried through the dis- tricts inhabited by the Yezidis. Two sheiks precede the bearer of the sacred bird, carrying censers, in the smoke of which the devotees lave their hands and faces. When this standard enters a village, the high- est bidder has the honor of entertaining it in his house. This syitibol resembles a cock with swelling breast, diminutive head, and widespread tail; the body is full, the tail flat and fluted, and under the beak is a pro- jection like a wattle. It is fixed on the top of a kind of a candle-stick, and under it, encircling this stand, are two receptacles for oil, each having seven wicks, and the whole is of brass. At the side of the image, there is a jug of water, the contents of which are used as a remedy for the sick and afflicted. Seven of these brazen cocks are carried about in the Yezidi districts during their festivals, and once every forty years a priest will visit the people and will circum- cise all who are willing. 119 Their marriage ceremony consists of a mutual pub- lic declaration in the presence of the sheik, who pro- nounces a blessing to the couple, and it concludes with the bridegroom's giving to the sheik a loaf, and receiving in return one of the consecrated loaves, which he divides with the bride. When pronouncing the marriage oath, the bridegroom stands in running water, signifying that he thus washes away the bind- ing nature of the promise, and consequently renders its breach less sinful. Their funeral rites are peculiar and interesting. When one of them is at the point of death, a shiek is called in, who pours into the mouth of the mori- bund a quantity of water. If he should expire be- fore this ceremony has been performed, it is deferred until his body is carried to the grave. In the coffin is placed a piece of bread, some coins, and a stick, for the use of the deceased when the time of ques- tioning comes. Should the Mounkir (the angel of the judgment) pronounce him unworthy to cross the bridge to Paradise, the dead man tries to bribe him to alter his decision, first with the bread, then with the silver; and if these are unavailing, he resorts to coercion, and with the stick opens his own way to heaven. I conclude by asking, shall this class of our fellow- men still be left to grope on in their dark course of superstition and error, with no one to direct their feet into the path of life, to hold out to them the lamp of salvation.'' What Christian would not deny himself many a luxury for the privilege of imparting the Gos- pel to such a people.-* CHAPTER VII, THE KURDS, Zohak, the king of Persia, was famous even for his cruelty. It is said that he had sold himself to the devil. The devil, in the guise of a favorite servant, said to him, '*0 king, live for ever, full of content and power, my heart is full of love for thee, and to behold thee is all that I desire; I have but one desire, to kiss thy shoulders, and to touch them with my eyes." This was granted! Alas the king was struck with horror as a result, for from each shoulder of the king sprouted a black serpent. Zohak searched everywhere for a remedy, and finally caused them to be cut off. But behold! they grew forth again like the branches of a tree. At last, the evil one, in the guise of a skilled physician, presented himself before the king and advised him to do no injury to the ser- pents, but feed them with the brains of men, in the hope that they must thus ultimately perish. Zohak did not realize this punishment as the wages of his sin, but he said, that his flesh was no sweeter than that of his nobility, and. that the youngerjthe flesh the better it will taste to the serpents. Every day lots were cast, and two young men of the flower of Persia's youth were slain to gratify the furious hun- ger of the serpents. The Kurds date their origin from Zohak. They have been called Gardu or Karu, the tribe of Kermanj, [I20] A KURDISH HIGHWAYMAN. 122 descended from Madai (Mede), the son of Japhet. The Kurds are divided into many tribes, each tribe under a certain sheik, and have never ceased to be a dis- tinct nationality. They are great enemies of one another, and of all. They are against every man, and every man's hand against them. They are counted the wildest people in the East, occupying a position on the border of several kingdoms. They have two general divisions, each with two sub-divisions. First — the Jaff race, divided into Ker- manj and Kuran; second — the Wend tribes and the Lurs. The Jaff race with their tribes, occupy the country from the eastern end of the Black Sea as far south as Kurkuk in Turkey and Hamadan in Persia and throughout the mountains of Asia minor. The Kermanj and their tribes, occupy the vicinity of Mosul, Afghanistan, southern Mesopotamia, through- out Kurdistan mountains, and all around Oroomiah City. The total population of Kurdish races are about 5,000,000, 700,000 of whom are subjects of our Shah. In religion they are Moslems (orthodox) in its ex- ternal appearance. Their language has never been reproduced in writing, so they have no books or schools, but a few read Arabic. They claim they are very religious and always pray before they go to rob- bery, so as to have good success and not get caught. The following dialogue, which a missionary had held with one of the nomadic Kurds and the host, may serve to illustrate the character of this sanguinary people. 123 Missionary — Where do you live? Kurd— In black tents. We are Kurds. M, — What is your occupation.? Host— You need not ask him. I will tell you. They are thieves. M. — Is that true, Kurd.? K. Yes, it is true. We steal whenever we can. M. — Do you kill people, too.? K.— When we meet a man that we wish to rob, if we prove the stronger, we kill him; if he proves the stronger, he kills us. M.— But suppose he offers no resistance when you attempt to rob him.? K.— If he has much property, we would kill him to prevent his making us trouble; if he has not much, we v^ouldlet him go. M.— Suppose you meet a poor man who has noth- ing but his clothes, what would you do.? K.— If his clothes were good, we would take them and give him poor ones in exchange. If not, we would let him pass. M.— But this is a bad business in which you are en- gaged. Why do you not follow some other occupa- tions.? K.— What shall we do.? We have no fields to plow; and robbing is our trade. M.— The Persians vyiH give you land if you will cul- tivate it. K. We do not know how to work. M. It is very easy to learn. Will you make the trial.? 124 H. — He does not wish to work. He had rather steal. K. — He speaks the truth. It would be very diffi- cult, and take a long time, to get what we want by working for it; but by robbing a A^illage, we can get a great deal of property in a single night. M. — But you are liable to be killed in these frays. K. — Suppose we are killed. We must die some- time, and what is the difference in dying now or a few days hence.-* M. — Why do you not come and rob these villages as you used to do.'* K. — We should have no other place to winter our flock; so we give the Persians some presents, and keep at peace with them. The two things that appeal most to a Kurd are plunder and finery. If he can appropriate other peo- ple's sheep and goods and dress himself in showy colors, he is happy, and then he will pray. During his prayer, if a woman touch him, he will ta1