mr. g. b. ravndal, until recently united states consul at beirut, syria, is an intelligent and sympathetic witness of the progress of events in that part of the turkish empire. he writes, with special reference to the commercial aspects of missionary advance, that “the syria of to-day cannot be compared with the syria of twenty-five years ago. education is working wonders, raising the standard of living, multiplying and diversifying the requirements of the people, developing the natural resources of the country, and increasing the purchasing capacity of the individual. illiteracy is on the wane, independent thought is in the ascendant. we have printing-presses, railroads, carriage-roads, bridges, postal and telegraph routes. trade is increasing in volume and variety, and the united states is getting a larger and larger share of it. our country, owing primarily to the efforts of our missionaries, is near and dear to a large portion of the population, not only of this country, but of the entire levant—nay, even of persia and the sudan. through our college (at beirut), with its school of commerce and museums, through the mission press, the industrial academy, and the experimental farm, missionaries have become ambassadors of american trade, and as the foreign commerce of the levant swells into larger proportions—it is yet in its infancy—the united states is getting a surer foothold in the near east.” he also speaks of his gratification in witnessing the increasing introduction of american machinery into syria, such as reaping, threshing, and milling machines, and expresses his confidence that “western asia will before long become a market for our agricultural, irrigation, and other machinery, which no manufacturer at home will despise or ignore.” he refers to the school of commerce recently established in connection with the american college at beirut, with its students drawn from a widely extended region, reaching from trebizond on the north to khartum on the south, and from albania in the west to teheran in the east, as an enterprise which is destined to “play a leading part in the economics of the levant.” there is a business ring to testimonies like these just quoted from men of official position in the east, which surely cannot be credited to missionary partiality or misjudgment, and as such we are glad to have the privilege of presenting them.
—james s. dennis,
in “christian missions and social progress.”
[pg 261]
the albanians in macedonia have been for more than a generation a source of terror and a tower of strength to the turkish government. they number perhaps two million in the country and occupy a region remote from the capital, and difficult to control. they have never been fully loyal to the sultan or any other ruler, and, occupying as they do the fastnesses of the mountains along the western borders of macedonia, they have enjoyed unusual liberty. they have been referred to as the least civilized of the european races. they are warlike by inheritance and profession, and cling with an intense devotion to their albanian tongue.
they claim that they are direct descendants from the ancient pelasgi and are proud of their lineage. an albanian prince told the writer not long since that he was of the same race that gave alexander the great to the world. they call themselves skipeter or “the eagle people.” the majority of the race have outwardly accepted mohammedanism but in most cases this is largely in form only. as the koran is permitted to circulate in turkey only in the arabic tongue, and as few albanians are acquainted with that language, they have little knowledge of islam, and perhaps less love for it. many of them are nominal members of the greek church.
on the other hand, the turkish government, through the love of the albanians for war, has brought many of them into direct service to the state. some of the best and bravest officers in the turkish army are [pg 262] albanians. mohammed ali pasha, who reformed egypt and founded the present khedival house, was an albanian. they have risen to the highest positions of influence and power in the empire, not a few of them serving in the sultan’s cabinet. this reveals the native strength of this people, and the reason why the sultan jealously guards the race in his attempt to hold them true to mohammedanism and loyal to himself. their very strength of character makes them bold and fearless in the fastnesses of their remote mountain home, and hard to subdue; but when they declare allegiance to a cause or a person they cannot be diverted by fear or favor.
this sturdy people with high codes of honor in their dealings with each other and with strangers number about one-tenth of the mohammedan population of the turkish empire. until within a few years they have been regarded as inaccessible to the missionary and to the christian worker. recently mission work in macedonia has come into contact with them and a few have embraced christianity. nearly twenty years ago a school for girls was started in kortcha, one of their chief cities, conducted by albanian christians, and in the albanian language. some of the chief men gladly put their daughters in the school, but were later compelled by the sultan to withdraw them.
the albanians constitute one of the vital race problems of macedonia. they are eager for modern education and are restless under the restrictive and oppressive rule of the porte. if they become, as a race, members of the greek church, as many have already become, their influence will be cast against the rule of the sultan and in favor of outside protection. if the turks can hold them to a servile mohammedanism, they will greatly strengthen the power of the throne at [pg 263] constantinople. upon the other hand, if they insist upon a modern education for their children, and enter upon an impartial investigation of the merits of protestant christianity, there is no standard for measuring their influences on the other races of macedonia. albanians in large numbers are coming to the united states, and here they seek education for themselves and plead eagerly for assistance that they may be able to give greater educational and religious privileges to their children at home.
this race is but a part of the macedonian question which has been agitating turkey and europe for the past few years. if the demands of the european powers are acceded to, the hold of the sultan upon macedonia will be weakened, although not broken. it has been well known for the last twenty years that, with every weakening of the sultan’s power, strength has never returned to it. should there be a withdrawal of turkish rule from macedonia, including albania, it would remove all restraint from the albanians and give them full freedom to educate their children and to worship god according to the dictates of their consciences. under these circumstances few would probably remain mohammedans for any length of time. to turkey these conditions contain mighty possibilities, nor are they without deep significance to the entire moslem world. it may be that we are to-day witnessing a break in the moslem ranks that have hitherto presented a solid wall of opposition to every christian approach. there is no phase of the present turkish question which is more important or significant.
besides the albanians, macedonia has three most discordant national elements consisting of turks, bulgarians, and greeks. the bulgarians are eager for the extension of the bulgarian principality south to the [pg 264] sea, while the greeks desire the extension of the kingdom of greece eastward to include that part of macedonia in which a large number of greeks dwell. the turks represent the government and are strenuously opposed to both these tendencies, and they express their opposition in every kind of repressive measure known to the porte. to this is added the rivalry and hostile jealousies existing between the greek and bulgarian churches in the country, and the resultant condition of affairs is about as bad as well can be.
marauding parties, formed and armed in many instances upon the bulgarian side of the border, have penetrated into macedonia, terrorizing all classes and clashing with the turkish troops. these have operated for several years. the object of these expeditions apparently was to arouse the attention of the world to the misgovernment of the country and so secure outside intervention, and consequent reform. their purpose has been offset by the lawlessness of the turkish soldiers, and between the two the innocent citizen and peasant are ground almost to powder. there are also greek bands of marauders who strike terror to the regions in which they operate.
it is to restore some degree of order and to prevent the country from running into absolute lawlessness, that the european powers have endeavored to unite and secure for macedonia a systematic and safe administration. if the powers succeed in this effort, we may reasonably hope that the hold of turkey upon macedonia will soon begin to break and that ultimately all that section of europe will be free of turkish rule. the sultan will not yield those rich and fertile provinces of his empire willingly, but he is powerless to resist the demands of the combined powers of europe.
