in constantinople one does not fail to meet greeks and armenians who are bright and entertaining and obliging, or mohammedans who are noble and courteous, and thoughtful enough to make their acquaintance an acquisition. but every study of the people in mass is a revelation of arrested development, absence of initiative, and general uselessness by reason of narrow selfishness. the city, and with it the millions to whom the city is model, seems hostile to what is best in the world’s work. high-sounding phrases of lofty principle are heard in the city. custom provides for this much of concession to the sensibilities of others. but the centuries seem to have frayed off the last semblance of meaning from the words. to quote a remark of a sage official in india which applies to the whole of asia, “whilst the mouth is proclaiming its enlightenment and progress, the body is waddling backward as fast as the nature of the ground will permit.” the bane of constantinople is not solely poverty of resources; it is poverty of ideals.
—henry otis dwight, ll. d.
in “constantinople and its problems.”
[pg 93]
while the political and commercial importance of constantinople is supreme, when considered in relation to the powers of europe and the far east, this is insignificant in comparison with its religious importance in relation to the mohammedan world. so far as we can learn, this fact did not receive large consideration at the time missions in turkey were begun. the truth is that it did not then hold the commanding relations to the mohammedans of other countries that it holds to-day. the present reigning sultan, hamid ii, has done more than any of his predecessors to secure for himself recognition by all the faithful as the one supreme head, the caliph of islam. he has sent presents with messages of sympathy and encouragement to mohammedans in india, china, and africa, and these have been received as from the great living head of the moslem faith. when our government found itself in possession of a country in which a mohammedan ruler was enthroned, it found it convenient to carry on negotiations for submission through the sultan of constantinople. there are probably 230,000,000 mohammedans in turkey, europe, persia, africa, india, china and other countries, who look upon the sultan of turkey as the representative on earth of their revered prophet mohammed. as such, he does not possess or assume temporal authority, or even well-defined spiritual prerogatives, but he does command an influence that has been secretly discussed in many [pg 94] european cabinets, and which has been taken into consideration in dealing with moslem races and in administering ultimata to the head of the ottoman empire. the sultan clearly represents a temporal and a religious power. the strength of the temporal influence lies in his relations religiously, not only to his own mediate and immediate subjects, but to all followers of the prophet mohammed, whatever language they speak and in whatever land they dwell.
the official title of the sultan is padishah, father of all the sovereigns of the earth. this is the name exclusively used by the turks in official communications. he is also called imam-ul-musselmin, the supreme pontiff of all mussulmans or mohammedans; zilullah, the shadow of god; and hunkiar, the slayer of infidels. by these and other similar titles he is known as far as the mohammedan religion has gone. no one else claims such honors and to him they are conceded. destroy his religious power and he would be the most impotent of monarchs, but with it he has defied for three generations the efforts of the powers of europe to secure some degree of justice and freedom for his oppressed subjects.
the sultan holds his religious power through two important facts. the first is that the two sacred cities of islam in arabia are within his empire and under his control—mecca, the birthplace of the prophet, and medina, which contains his tomb. this sacred territory is prohibited to infidels, but is the goal for tens of thousands of moslem pilgrims each year. there is no faithful follower of mohammed who does not dream of the time when he will be so blessed as to kiss the black stone of the kaaba, drink of the well of zemzem, or have a part in the prolonged ritual which shall entitle him during the rest of his life to the honored name of haji.
the bosporus, constantinople
a mountain village in eastern turkey
[pg 95] the mohammedans believe that the black stone came down from heaven and was connected with all the patriarchs and prophets, beginning with adam. this is the great destination of all pilgrimages, as well as the earthly center of the mohammedan world. to this point all faithful moslems turn five times each day when they pray, and the lips which are permitted to kiss it are thrice blessed. around this have grown up the kaaba, the enclosing mosque, and other accessories too many even to name, all together constituting the holy temple of islam where no infidel foot is permitted to tread, and upon which no vulgar christian eye may look.
medina, which contains a mosque supposed to cover the burial-place of mohammed, is some seventy miles away. all faithful moslems should visit mecca once during their lives, but to add a visit to medina increases their merit in the world to come. outside of these sacred precincts all may travel, but woe be to the bold investigator who seeks to penetrate to the holy of holies of islam. for the protection of these sacred cities the sultan of turkey makes provision. he guards their sanctity against infidel invasion, and provides, as occasion may demand, a holy carpet for the holiest place. his soldiers safeguard the pilgrims, and his name is constantly appealed to as the slayer of infidels and shadow of god. the pilgrims from africa, from mindanao, from china and india and ceylon, all return from these shrines of their faith indelibly impressed with the mighty power of him who rules at constantinople.
the other fact which gives the sultan power over all mohammedans is his custody of the hall of the holy garment, which is next to the kaaba, [pg 96] and perhaps upon a parity with it for sanctity. this hall is in the seraglio, upon the point of old byzantium, which projects out into the bosporus, dividing it from the sea of marmora. in it lie the mantle of the prophet mohammed, his staff, his saber, his standard, and other relics. among these, enclosed in a casket of gold, are two hairs from his beard. the sultan is supposed to make an annual visit to these sacred relics, of which he alone is keeper and guardian. the standard of mohammed is the standard of islam, consisting of a green silk flag about two feet square, embroidered with the inscription “there is no god but allah and mohammed is his prophet.” it is said to have been carried by mohammed himself and has since been regarded as the sacred standard of the entire moslem world. if publicly borne by the sultan in the great mosques of constantinople it would, it is said, be the signal for a general religious war. it is thought by many that should the sultan choose to use the power he possesses in this standard he could with it summon to his assistance all true moslems and hurl them in fanatical zeal and fury against any infidel force. it is known everywhere that this standard and these relics are in the possession of the ruler of the ottoman empire, and thus the sultan stands almost in the place of the prophet himself.
when moslems pray they pray towards arabia under the rule of the sultan, and when they think of their holy prophet their minds turn to the relics at constantinople. in the face of these facts, it requires no demonstration to show that constantinople and the turkish empire constitute the political and religious center of islam. other countries may be important, this is supreme. mecca and medina cannot yet be entered, but constantinople and all the rest of the turkish empire is, [pg 97] by treaty, accessible for residence to the christian of every race and name. to begin mission work here was to start at the fountainhead.
the fact that christian preachers and teachers are permitted to reside at constantinople and freely preach their faith, cannot but have favorable influence over intolerant moslems in remote parts. they all have faith in the power of the sultan as well as in his supreme wisdom. if he permits this, why should they object? in several instances in india, when the writer was conversing with mohammedans, it was almost amusing to see the keen interest they manifested in the progress of christianity in turkey. they were ignorant but were ready to listen, and undoubtedly went away to ponder upon what they had heard. evidently one thing that impressed them was that while the sultan of turkey is a mighty ruler he does not prohibit the teaching of christianity, even within the throne city. if he does not prohibit it, perhaps it is not so bad a religion after all.
it is also of no little value to print and send out from constantinople large quantities of turkish literature, and from beirut, arabic literature, the two languages which are most widely read by the mohammedans. every volume thus printed bears the stamp of approval by the government of his imperial majesty the sultan, assuring all who read that the book was issued with his sanction and authority. under these circumstances a publishing house at constantinople is calculated, by its very location, to reach millions who might otherwise refuse to read what is printed. in arabia an arabic bible, at first rejected because it is an infidel book, is later accepted because it bears upon its title page the authoritative permission of his imperial majesty. as [pg 98] a strategic center for christian work, calculated directly and indirectly to reach the two hundred and thirty million who bear the name of the prophet of arabia, there is no place that can compare with constantinople, resting upon two continents and swaying the most mighty religious empire on earth.
