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Jerusalem, the Holy City of Jews, Christians and Moslems, in Palestine, Syria, viewed from the mount of Olives.
Photo by Brown Bros.
�_
———
Damascus, Capital of Syria, the oldest city in the world.
The famous river Barada flanked on both sides by palatial homes.
Photo by Brown Bros.
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-
The
glory
that
Facade of the great temple of Bacchus in Baalbek.
was
once
' —-.
,
Syria's.
Photo by Brown Bros.
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�College
r
Hall,
American
University
of
Beirut.
�The
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I.
JULY, 1926.
NO. 1.
FOREWORD
of this publication was conceived in the spirit of
service to the Syrian-American generation. The somewhat anomalous position of the young Syrian in America constitutes a genuine social problem pressing for a solution, and it is both to his
own interest and to that of the country under whose flag he was
born that the correction of this condition should not be further
delayed.
The underlying cause of this problem is the fact that Syrian
emigration in its inception was not intended to be permanent.
Only men endowed with an extraordinary boldness of spirit could
at first muster sufficient courage to sever the strong ties binding
them to home and country and to seek better fortunes in a foreign
land. But the men went forth alone and with the fixed resolve of
an early return. Economic interests, however, soon demonstrated
to them the impracticability of such a course with the result that
the family reunion took place abroad instead of at home.
By degrees, the first immigrants and those who followed in
their wake came to reconcile themselves to the idea of permanency of sojourn, so that now naught remains of the one-time fixed resolution but the memory^
But this memory lingers, and it is doubtful if ever it will
be effaced from the minds of the first-comers or cease to be a
part of their lives. We can plainly discern its manifestations in
the "Old Folks' " tender reminiscences of their mother-country j
THE IDEA
�2
_
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in their genuine solicitude for its welfare ; in their eagerness to
be continually posted on its political and economic developments.
Also in the manner thus far prevailing in their homelife in America — how they instinctively cling to segregation in their settlements, show preference for their native music and food and adhere to many of the social customs obtaining in their motherland. All of which is responsible for the creation of an atmosphere that, although not objectionable in itself, still gives rise
to a sense of embarrassment and a consciousness of an anomalous
state on the part of the American-born Syrian children.
It therefore becomes patent that the conditions giving rise
to such a situation call for active and urgent methods of correction, and to strive for the attainment of this end is the immediate
objective of this publication. We are starting from the assumption
that lack of sufficient knowledge on the part of the Syrian-American generation of their racial traits and historical background
renders them somewhat unsympathetic with their parents' attitude, and inasmuch as it is our conviction that the younger generation lends itself more readily to appeals of reason as opposed
to sentiment, the problem is to be attacked from its most vulnerable side.
Thus it shall be our aim to have this publication serve as a
forum for the discussion of existing problems among Syrians in
America in an effort to arrive at their best solution, while striving, on the other hand, to give a judicious and adequate presentation of conditions of life as they exist in Syria; a comprehensive
analysis of Syrian political and economic affairs, and of Syrians'
achievements in the fields of art, science and literature; an account
of their commercial activities which are now attaining stupendous
proportions practically throughout the world and which bid fair
to gain for them that position of eminence which was once their
forefathers', the Phoenicians, in past times;and, finally,-to publish
interesting and illuminating bits of history which will give them
a broader vision of their racial heritage; and all this to the end
that our Syrian-American generation will come to better understand the country of their parents and appreciate more fully
their racial endowments which constitute a valuable contribution
to the country of their, birth.
We earnestly hope that in our pursuance of this policy we
would be furnishing not only wholesome and profitable reading
to our Syrian-American generation,but also a means fqr the Amer-
�JULY, 1926.
3
ican people at large to come to know us more intimately and appraise us at our true worth.
For be it said here most emphatically, that not only is it
farthest from our intention to alienate Syrian-Americans from
their American allegiance, but that one of our chief objects in
helping Syrian-Americans discover themselves is to breed in
them a consciousness of appreciation for their racial qualities and
inheritances so that they may comport themselves with a befitting sense of honor as citizens of this great American nation.
It is, then, in such a spirit of service that this publication was
conceived, and it is with a sense of reverence that we dedicate it
to the memory of a race whose contributions to the progress and
well-being of mankind shall ever be valued as of paramount
importance, and whose descendants should feel proud of keeping forever alive their sacred memory. With an equal sense of
devotion to a worthy cause, we now present this publication to
our rising Syrian-American generation and to our appreciative
friends among the general American public of whatever racial
extraction.
PROVERBS
Patience is the key to deliverance.
The misfortunes of some are the blessings of others.
Don't taunt the coward for he may turn brave in desperation.
If you give, give aplenty; and if you strike, strike hard.
Remonstrance is the cleanser of hearts.
Have a baker bake thy bread even though he eat half of it.
Every goat is hung by its own hoof.
�am
•
- "
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Jl
To Young Americans of
Syrian Origin
Cl
ce
T
By G. K. GIBRAN.
w
I believe in you, and I believe in your destiny.
I believe that you are contributors to this new civilization.
I believe that you have inherited from your forefathers an
ancient dream, a song, a prophecy, which you can proudly lay as
a gift of gratitude upon the laps of America.
I believe you can say to the founders of this great nation,
"Here I am, a youth, a young tree whose roots were plucked
from the hills of Lebanon, yet I am deeply rooted here, and I
would be fruitful."
And I believe that you can say to Abraham Lincoln, the
blessed, "Jesus of Nazareth touched your lips when you spoke,
and guided your hand when you wrote; and I shall uphold all
that you have said and all that you have written."
I believe that you can say to Emerson and Whitman and
James, "In my veins runs the blood of the poets and wise men
of old, and it is in my desire to come to you and receive, but I
shall not come with empty hands."
I believe that even as your fathers came to this land to produce riches, you were born here to produce riches by intelligence,
by labor.
And I believe that it is in you to be good citizens.
And what is it to be a good citizen?
It} is to acknowledge the other person's rights before asserting your own, but always to be conscious of your own.
It is to be free in thought and deed, but it is also to know
that your freedom is subject to the other person's freedom.
It is to create the useful and the beautiful with your own
hands, and to admire what others have created in love and with
faith.
It is to produce wealth by labor and only by labor, and to
spend less than you have produced that your children may not
be dependent on the state for support when you are no more.
�'5
JULY, 1926.
It is to stand before the towers of New York, Washington,
Chicago and San Francisco saying in your heart, "I am the descendant of a people that builded Damascus, and Biblus, and
Tyre and Sidon, and Antioch, and now I am here to build with
you, and with a will."
It: is to be proud of being an American, but it is also to be
proud that your fathers and mothers came from a land upon
which God laid His gracious hand and raised His messengers.
Young Americans of Syrian origin, I believe in you.
THE TOMB OF MANO.
By
HASSAN ALASADY.
Translation from Arabic by J. D.
CARLYLE.
Friends of my heart, who share my sighs!
Go seek the turf where Mano lies,
And woo the dewey clouds of spring,
To sweep it with prolific wing.
Within that cell, beneath that heap,
Friendship and Truth and Honor sleep,
Beneficence, that used to clasp
The world within her ample grasp,
There rests entomb'd—of thought bereft—
For were one conscious atom left
New bliss, new kindness to display,
'Twould burst the grave, and seek the day.
But the' in dust thy relics lie,
Thy virtues, Mano, ne'er shall die;
Tho' Nile's full stream be seen no more,
That spread his waves from shore to shore,
Still in the verdure of the plain
His vivifying smiles remain.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syria's Place in the History of
the World
BY PROF. PHILIP K. HITTI, PH.
OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY,
D.
FORMERLY OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT.
The land of Syria occupies a strategic place in the geography
of the old world. A glance at the map would suffice to show you
that it is a connecting link, a bridge, if you please, between the
three great historic continents—Europe, Asia and Africa.
Syria has had a unique history in the annals of the world.
Situated, as it is, between the early seats of civilization, it provided the ancient, as well as the medieval, world with its battlefield
in time of war and market place in time of peace.
The military history of the country has been rightly pictured
as the procesion of nearly all the world's conquerors. From the
time of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar down through
the ages to the time of Napoleon, all those who dreamed of a
world empire found themselves, sooner or later, fighting for the
possession of that neck of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Thothmose the Egyptian, Sennacherib the Assyrian, Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian, Cambyses the Persian,
Pompey the Roman, Khalid ibn-al-Walid the Arabian, Saladin
the Kurd, Tamerlane the Tartar, Selim the Ottoman, Napoleon
the Frenchman, Ibrahim Pasha the modern Egyptian, and Allenby the Englishman—these are a few of the names whose military records are linked up with the history of Syria. Nothing
perhaps could bring this picture more vividly before our mind
than the recital of those inscriptions carved on the mute rock near
the Dog River mouth in the environs of Beirut. There stands
until the present day an egyptian inscription in hieroglyphics
referring to the campaigns of Rame^es (early part of thirteenth
century B. C), a number of Assyro-BabyIonian inscriptions in
cuneiform dating back to the 6-9 centuries B. C. and immortalizing the names of Shalmaneser, Tiglath-Pileser and Nabuchadnezzar, a Latin inscription by Marcus Aurelius, an Arabic inscrip-
•^ -
�JULY, 1926.
7
cion of al-Amir Bashir, and a French one commemorating the
1860-61 expedition. Where else in the world could one find a
parallel array of military records?
Surely, more historical events have been squeezed into that
narrow strip of land on the eastern shore of the sea than into
any other country of equal size.
The people of this storm center of the Ancient East, this
debatable land between rival and clashing neighbors, could have
;*ever achieved national or political unity. How could they?
Throughout their long drawn and checkered history their country has presented the aspect of a museum of nationalities and a
Babel of tongues rather than a unified, homogeneous homeland.
But, nevertheless, those people have contributed, along their lines,
to the imperishable heritage of the race more than any other
people. In the words of Sir George Adam Smith, "Syria, chiefly
because she includes Phoenicia and Palestine, has been of greater
significance to mankind, spiritually and materially, than any other single country in the '"orld".
The ancient Syrians \\ ere the carriers and the disseminators of
t!ie products of the early Mediterranean culture. The Phoenicians may not have been the originators of the alphabet, but they
certainly were the ones who gave it to Europe and to the rest of
the civilized world. We hardly ever stop to think of the significance of the discovery that by means of 22 simple signs, called
consonants, one could express all words and consequently convey
to others all ideas that could occur to him. .The Chinese are a
great people, but the Chinese have not until the present day been
able to free themselves from a system of ideograms similar to
that of the pre-Phcenician world. Long before the Christian era,
Phoenician galleys laden with the wares of Sidon and Tyre, the
two mistresses of the ancient Mediterranean, had made their way
through the straits known today by the name Gibraltar into the /
Canaries and had sailed along the east coast of Africa.
Palestine, as we all know, is the birthplace of two monotheistic religions—Judaism and Christianity—and is closely related
to the growth and development of the third, Islam. The eye ox
the Christian, of the Jew, and of the Moslem wherever the
Christian, the Jew or Moslem may be today, is turned to some
place in that Holy Land for spiritual inspiration and guidance.
The principles of our moral philosophy, the elements of all
what we consider high and noble, go back to origins planted for
the first time on the soil of that land.
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
China has had a glorious past, and so has India. Both had a
culture of their own going back to remote antiquity. But the Far
Eastern culture seems to belong to a humanity other than ours.
The culture of the Near East, on the other hand, has been handed down to posterity, our posterity, and continues to form an integral part of the heritage of the civilized world. Our humanity
would be much poorer but for that narrow strip of the Near East
which we call Syria and which is not larger than the State of
Maine, 500 miles in length by an average of 50 miles in width.
The two outstanding facts in the history of the Syrian people
are their unparalleled contribution to the imperishable heritage
of the world, and their vitality and survival* in the face of all
the vicissitudes of time.
After the battle of Issus, near modern Alexandretta, in the
year 333 B. C, Syria, which then formed a satrapy of the Persian
Empire, became a part of the domains of Alexander, the great
Macedonian, whose successors held it until 64 B. C. In that year
Pompey wrested Hellenistic Syria from the Seleucidae hands
and incorporated it in the newly rising Roman Empire.
Though conquered in a military sense by the Greeks and the
Romans, the East was in a spiritual sense the conqueror. Eastern
religions, eastern philosophies, and eastern ideals of life penetrated into the West, and got hold of the minds of the people.
Men born in Hums and 'Arqah (Lebanon) became emperors
and installed themselves on the throne of the Caesars. No wonder the Latin satirist, Jouvenal, had this remark to make, "Behold
the Orontes has changed its course and is now pouring its water
into the Tiber bringing in Syrian customs and manners!"
After the rise of Islam, Byzantine Syria was the first country
to fall as a prey to Moslem hands. In the caliphate of 'Umar
and under the leadership of Khalid ibn-al-Walid, <Amr ibn-al'Asi and abu-'Ubaydah ibn-al-Jarrah, Arab invaders overran the
whole country (634-640). Soon after that, Damascus became
the seat of the brilliant Umayyad Dynasty (660-750), and as
such the center of the whole Moslem world. The founder of this
Dynasty was the illustrious Mu'awiyah second to none in the history of Islam but the Prophet himself. It was during this period
that the Moslem sword was carried triumphantly to the shore of
the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the confines of India and
China on the east. The Khalifah in Damascus was the master
of an empire greater than that of Rome at its zenith.
The twelfth and thirteenth centuries marked the conflict
�SYR] HE NEAR EAST
1
AFGHANISTAN
INDIAN
OCEAN
LEGEND
International
Boundaries
Southern Boundary oj Mosul Vilayet
"**"** Leaau* /Ward-Turco-lraq^ Frontier
Indeterminate Section oj
jordania.
Nejd-Trans-
Frontier
Railways — Tr*nk Lines
Supplement to '
Courtesy Foreign Policy Ass'n. New York
�SYRIA and CONTIGUOUS COUNTRIES
Supplement to "The Syrian World
Courtesy Foreign Policy Ass'n. New York
�r
i
JULY, 1926.
9
between the east and the west known as the Crusades. The
Crusaders had little to teach to the Arab Syrians but many things
to learn from them. In science, particularly medicine and mathematics j in art, industry and in many other walks of life, the
Franks were the beneficiaries. There is no modern European
language which does not owe a debt to the Arabic language of
Syria and Andalusia. Algebra, muslin, damask, azure, taurus,
lute, sugar, sherbet—these words and many others bear testimony
to this fact.
The Ottoman Turkish period in Syria was ushered in by the
victory of Sultan Selim in 1516 over the Mamluk Qansawh alGhuri at Marj Dabiq in the neighborhood of Aleppo. This dark
and unproductive era in the history of the country was happily
brought to an end as a result of the Great War. But before it was
ended the people of Syria had already started on the path of modern progress.This recent renaissance,for it was in truth nothing less
than that, started with the invasion of Napoleon in 1799. As a
result of the influence of the many American and European institutions of learning established in the nineteenth century, a
general intellectual awakening took place. Emigration and the
press have also been among the great forces working for the uplift of the country.
The twentieth century found the Syrian the teacher and literary leader of the Arabic-speaking world. Thus throughout all
the ages, and in spite of the many handicaps and disadvantages
under which they labored, the people of Syria have always contributed their share to the civilization of the world and have
shown extraordinary vitality and power of adaptation.
A MATTER OF DIMENSION.
"A certain grammarian came to Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad, the
most illustrious Arab Grammarian and systemizer of the Arabic
poetic meters, and found him sitting on a small mat. The visitor,
wishing not to embarrass Al-Khalrl, sat by his side on the floor,
but Al-Khalil, holding him by the arm, seated him on the mat
saying: "A needle's eye is not too narrow for two loving friends,
nor the whole earth spacious enough for two enemies."
Said Abu '1 Hassan Al Huzalli: "A man's education is not
complete until he knows the common proverb, the rare verse,
the Son mot and the wonderful accounts of the ancient ones."
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
THE PHOENICIANS
Ancestors of the Syrians
Ancient Phoenicia is practically what is known today as the Republic of Lebanon, one of the political divisions of Syria under French
mandate. It is the birth-place of the Alphabet and of the art of deep-sea
navigation. No better testimonial could be given of the lasting influence
the Phoenicians have exerted on our modern civilization, especially by
their discovery of the Alphabet, than that contained in the following
chapter by William A. Masson in his book "A History of the Art\ of
Writing" (The Macmillan Co., 1920.) — The Editor.
* * * Here on the shore of the Mediterranean, where the ancient world came in contact with the confines of the Western civilizations, v/e become acquainted for the first time with the true
alphabetic writing of the smallest nation of antiquity that has
left any footprints along the great highways of world culture,
or made any lasting impression upon the material agencies of
chilization.liQrc we encounter a nation of very limited geographical extent but powerful in the influence it exerted over other
nations with which it came in contact. The Phoenicians were not
a numerous people, but they possessed that high degree of intelligence, energy, skill and craftsmanship, that made the products
of their civilization desired by many other nations. For over one
thousand years, from about 1500 B. C. to 500 B. C, the Phoenicians maintained more or less undisturbed a small, compact, but
powerful monarchy whose temporal boundaries were barely more
than two hundred miles in length along the eastern shore of the
Mediterranean Sea and but thirty-five miles in greatest width
to the lofty mountains of Lebanon on the east. The present city
of Beirut is on the ancient soil of Phoenicia.
Beyond the ranges of Lebanon lived the Israelites, closely
allied by racial affinity with the Phoenicians, and in the time of
David and Solomon bound to them by national ties and the sympathies of an almost equally advanced civilization. Both nations
originally had emigrated from lower Mesopotamia early in the
third millennium B. C. Abraham, according to biblical account
(Genesis xi, 31), led the Hebrew race out of "Ur of the Chaldees" to the land of Canaan; and we have it on the authority of
�JULY, 1926.
11
Herodotus that the Phoenicians themselves record that their ancestors originally came from the Erythraean or Southern Sea,
that is the Persian Gulf. This is believed to have been about 2200
B. C. North of Phoenicia extended the mighty empire of the
Hittites from Lydia and Dardania on the west to the Euphrates
on the east, where it touched the equally puissant civilization of
the great Assyrian monarchy in Mesopotamia. Far to the south
of Phoenicia and Palestine lays the sunny land of Egypt from
which the Israelites had journeyed to the land of Canaan sometime in the fourteenth century B. C.
In comparison with the powerful monarchies of the east and
south, whose influence affected them in many ways, the civilization of the Phoenicians at their principal cities of Tyre and Sidon,
situated only twenty miles apart on the Mediterranena Sea coast,
may seem from a political standpoint insignificant indeed. Yet
these two Semitic nations, the Phoenicians and the Israelites,
have influenced more profoundly the western civilization and the
culture' and refinement of Europe than all the civilizations that
had preceded them. The one, through the incomparable literature of the Hebrew Scriptures, has established the underlying
basis of all the religions of Europe, while the other has given
the basic forms for the written languages of all the nations of
Europe and central Asia.
The Phoenicians undoubtedly were the cleverest people of
their age, and their fame, like their markets, was worldwide.
Long before the time of Homer they bore the reputation of being
the world's artificers; excelling in the weaving and dyeing of
fine textiles, as skillful carpenters and masons, and adepts in the
fabrication of articles of iron, copper and precious metals. Theirs
was the first merchant marine of history. Their ships rode every
sea and visited every coast and mart from the Euxine to the Atlantic. The shores of Cornwall, where they mined minerals, were
almost as familiar to them as the Isles of Greece and Italy, the
Delta of the Nile, or other Mediterranean ports where they distributed their wares. In I Kings v, we read that Solomon contracted with Hiram, king of Tyre, to assist him in the building of the
Temple, as "there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians." Also in II Chronicles ii, 14, we read:
"The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father
was a man ofTyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in
brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in
fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving,
�72
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy
cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David, thy
father." Considering the confidence placed in the superiority
of the handiwork of the Phoenicians by the people of Israel and
their dependence upon them in many ways, it is not surprising
that the Hebrews eventually should have adopted from the Phoenicians their alphabet, which early Hebrew coins show to be but
slightly modified from the original, though they did so far depart
from it in their later script. It is a commentary on the forceful
influence of these Orientals that the Greeks, with whom the
Phoenicians traded, and who probably were illiterate when these
clever traders first visited them, also should have adopted their
alphabet.
There are two important and rather well-defined types of the
Phoenician alphabet. The Moabite or Tyrian, the older, dates
from about the 9th century B. C. It developed at Tyre and was
used during the ascendancy of that city. It later was employed
chiefly by the inland Semitic tribes in Moab and Syria, and was
used by the Jews down to the time of the Captivity. The Greek
alphabet came from this type, early traders having introduced
it into Greece shortly after the time of the Trojan war. The other type, known as the Sidonian, dates from the 6th century B. C,
and was in use at Sidon and the principal cities in Phoenicia and
at Carthage in Africa immediately subsequent to the conquest of
Phoenicia by Nabuchadrezzar. The two varieties of alphabets
were used side by side in different sections of Phoenicia, Judea
and Syria for centuries. It would appear that the earlier Phoenician traders used the Moabite form. The Israelites and Jews both
continued to use this variety of the Phoenician alphabet, but the
Phoenicians themselves, after the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadrezzar, used the Sidonian script.
Abdullah Ibn Marzook was a companion of the Caliph AlMahdi. One day when he had gotten drunk and missed the Friday prayer at the Mosque, a slave-girl came and put a live coal
on his foot. He jumped up frightened and pained.
"If you cannot tolerate a little pain like this," remonstrated
the slave-girl, "how can you tolerate the eternal fire of hell hereafter?"
At hearing these words, the pleasure-loving companion of
the Caliph left all behind, distributed his money to the poor and
became a vegetable peddler.
I
'
�f
JULY, '1926.
13
Uncle Sam and his Syrian Cousins
By
ALBERT
W.
STAUB
American Director, Near East Colleges.
A well known American writer recently called at the office
of the Near East Colleges, and asked for information about
the American University of Beirut. Having just returned from
an extensive trip abroad, he was trying to decide how he might
make the best use of the material he had collected. He hit upon
the happy idea of a series of articles called: "Trailing Uncle
Sam Around the World."
His idea turned out to be very fortunate indeed, for he sold
it almost immediately to one of the leading weeklies and soon
the American public will be told about the activities of Americans in all parts of the world — how they chanced to settle in
particular spots — what they are doing there — and why!
After his numerous questions had been answered (he understands very well how to get the most out of an interview) I was
greatly pleased to learn that it, was his visit to Beirut last winter
which gave him the inspiration for his articles. He was more
impressed, he saidy by the American atmosphere which has been
created by the University, than by what he saw in any other
foreign port. And so he was determined to make a careful analysis of the cause of this interesting situation.
Ever since 1862 when Daniel Bliss founded the Syrian Protestant College, a long succession of Americans have maintained
a special interest in Beirut, — many of them prominent men and
women who have served as members of the Board of Trustees
established by the Board of Regents of the State of New York.
With the possible exception of the Colleges at Constantinople,
probably no other American institution in a foreign country has
had better leadership. When one recalls the names of Bliss,
Dodge, Jessup, James, Kingsley; and when one reviews the
names of hundreds of devoted teachers who passed through the
best colleges and universities in the United States and then shared
their educational training through life-long service with the
Syrian people, one realizes how rich Syria has been in American
friendships.
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It is not strange that the motive of these unusual friends was
discounted by the peoples of the Near East, especially during
the early stages of the development of the College. Not understanding American idealism, how could they help being suspicious? The war has done much to clarify the atmosphere.
Not only is the object of the University better understood, —
its work is also greatly appreciated. There are abundant evidences of this. No one now questions the prestige of the American University among the peoples of the Near East — least of
all, among the Syrians.
There are several angles to the present situation which are
exceedingly interesting, and these I should like to point out.
When 1 went to Syria seven years ago, the late Howard Bliss
told me that there was one special problem which should be
studied, namely: Syrian leadership in the University. At a time
when the theory of self-determination among the smaller nations
was being aired, Dr. Bliss realized the desirability of securing
as much participation as possible on the part of the local people.
His father as the pioneer had laid solid foundations for a permanent institution that was destined to influence that whole part
of the world. Howard Bliss as his successor had the genius for
securing new buildings and additional equipment, so that the
College under his direction expanded rapidly into a full fledged
University.
Both presidents realized that the ultimate goal was a cosmopolitan institution adapted to the needs of the country, that would
become indigenous and self-supporting, rather than remain forever a foreign enterprise for the purpose of exploiting Americanism abroad.
The principle of increasing native responsibility and participation in the affairs of the University and at the same time gradually withdrawing American leadership was thouroughly recognized by Dr. Bliss and is being carried out under the regime of
President Dodge. The idea of working with the Syrians and not
for them has revolutionized the spirit of the University.
It is this feature of the work that should be easily understood
by the Syrians living in America, because they have ample opportunity of sizing up the situation from this end. They know
America and ought to be able to diagnose the motive of the
Trustees, the Americans who go out to serve on the Faculty,
and the thousands of people scattered throughout the United
States who contribute voluntarily to the annual operating budget.
�JULY, 1926.
15
They must realize by this time that the University is not a
money-making concern, that it is not an agent of propaganda of
any kind, and that every student is a financial liability, for even
though he should pay the fees in full, this would not cover half
the cost of his education.
The Americans living in Syria and the Syrians living in the
United States have much in common. Both groups are interested
in the welfare of Syria. By co-operating closely together in a
sympathetic and intelligent manner, much good can be accomplished.
Annual reports of the University which include an audited
financial statement are available for any one who may desire
them. Those responsible for the administration of the work
invite constructive suggestions from every source. In order to
help this particular group of Americans in their task of sharing
American ideals that will result in a natural self-expression
on the part of the peoples of the Near East, there must be complete confidence on every side. It is particularly important to get
rid of all suspicions of ulterior motives.
The work of the American University of Beirut is non-sectarian. It is non-political. It is exclusively designed for the welfare of the various national groups who live in the Near East,
and not for the benefit of America in a selfish sense. The policy
that governs the institution is frank and open. It adjusts itself
readily to changing conditions. The relationship suggested in the
title of this article is misleading. The Americans and the Syrians
concerned with this common enterprise are more than cousins.
They are brothers in the deepest sense of that term. American
citizens of Syrian parentage should be particularly conscious of
this relationship, and should realize that they are peculiarly qualified to make this bond between the two peoples even more
worth while in the years to come.
"The best of worship is humility." — Mohammed.
Said AH, "Happy is the man whose faults occupy him from
finding faults with others!"
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
WHO ARE THE DRUZES
But fifty miles southeast of the gurgling waters of Barada
and the scented orchards which gave the ancient city of Damascus the enviable reputation of "Paradise on earth", lies a barren,
rocky country of bleak, black basalt, around which the burning
sands of the Syrian desert whirl and eddy, as would angry waters
around a rugged island in a surging sea.
In vain have past civilizations tried to gain a foothold on this
island of the desert. One human wave after another alighted
there for a while, only to be swept again into the lethal desert,
to be swallowed forever into the abyss of oblivion leaving behind it, here a desolate temple and there a ruined castle, monuments of its valiant but hopeless struggle.
Such is the land which was known to the ancients by the
name of Aurentes and now called Jebel ud-Druze.
As the last of the human waves which had repeatedly assaulted this land of hardened lava, spewed from the bowels of the
earth, the Druzes are no less enigmatical and strange than the
land that has come at last to be known by their name.
Few people in history have aroused as much curiosity, few
people are known as vaguely even among their own kinsmen,
as are these people whom the present revolution in Syria has suddenly thrust into the limelight of publicity and interest.
Who are the Druzes? One hears asked on every side.
Readers of Robert Browning, that great English wizard of
the human soul whose subtle ability to penetrate into other
peoples' minds and feelings, however strange, has never been
excelled, may remember a dramatic poem of his, little read or
known, in which the Druzes are the subject of his sympathetic
and genial analysis.
In his "Return of the Druzes", Browning makes mention
of "Hakeem", the founder of the Druze sect, who is impersonated by a certain Djabal, a shrewd impostor who bids to lead in
revolt a colony of Druze exiles on the little islet of Southern
Sporades, where the poet tells us:
�JULY, 1926.
if
"In this dim islet's virgin solitude
"Tend we our faith, the spark, till happier time
"Fan it to fire; till Hakeem rise again,
"According to his word that, in the flesh
"Which faded on Mokattam ages since,
"He, at our extreme need, would interpose,
"And, reinstating all in power and bliss
"Lead us himself to Lebanon once more."
Hakeem is not a mythical character. In his correct and full
name, Abu Ali al-Mansur al-Hakim Biamrilla? (ruler by the
will of God) he comes down to us as the sixth Caliph of the
Fatimide dynasty, depicted as a cruel and eccentric despot, a
combination of the egomanic and the buffoon.
Al-Hakim conceived the idea, by no means novel in the East,
but- repulsive to Islamic instincts and traditions, of proclaiming
himself as the incarnation of the Deity.
He found a ready supporter and instigator to his claims in
a certain Mohammed Ibn Isma'il at-Tahrani, more commonly
known as Bashitkin ad-Darazi (the; Persian word for tailor).
This man who came from Teheran, Persia, in the latter part
of the 1 Oth century A.D. was a sectarian Moslem of the extremist Shiites, known as the Batinites, esatoricists, closely related to
the Isma'ilites and Nusayrites.
No sooner had ad-Darazi entered into the service of alHakim, than he won his confidence by ingratiating loyalty. He
wrote a book in which he taught that the spirit of Adam transmigrated to Ali, and from Ali to the ancestors of al-Hakim, until
it rested in him.
This book was read in al-Azhar Mosque, the oldest university in the world, and the chief center of Mohammedan lore
today, but the effect of its reading was contrary to what the Caliph and his sycophant prompter had anticipated. A riot broke
out against the new heresy, and al-Hakim was forced to send adDarazi secretly to Syria, where he became a missionary, "da'i",
of the Hakim heresy in Wadi-t-Taym, around Mt. Hermon.
Ad-Darazi's teachings fell on receptive ears. In Wadi-t-Taym
and Lebanon the Batinite heresy had already made a strong foothold. The ruling Tanuchite princes, who had recently come from
Irak, were also followers of the Batinite sect.
After the death of al-Hakim, his followers were persecuted
in Egypt and many of them fled to the Higher Mountain, al-
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLti
Jabal-ul-'Ala, in the environs of Aleppo, from whence they dispersed, some going to Hauran, some to the southern part of Lebanon, Shoof, and some to Wadi-t-Taym. Among those who migrated to Hauran were the ancestors of the Atrash family, one
of whom, is today the chief leader of the1 Syrian revolutionists
against the French mandate.
While nominally ad-Darazi was the founder, the spiritual
progenitor of this strange sect was a contemporary missionary of
al-Hakim called Hamza, who, it seems, was steeped with gnostic
Manichean and Neoplatonic doctrines.
It was Hamza who made of the Druze sect a secret order,
by "closing the door to Druze conversion". To him also is ascribed the present division of the Druze into "the knowing ones"
and "ignorant", (cf. doctrine of gnosis among Christians, Veda
among the Hindus and 'urfan among the Sufis). The former
group was again subdivided into chiefs, 'ukkal (knowing ones)
and ajaweed, the latter of whom being the only group, a very
small one, who are thoroughly acquainted with the tenets and
mysteries of the Druze religion.
Among the doctrines taught by the Druzes, according to Dr.
Frederick Bliss in his book, "The Religions of Modern Syria and
Palestine", is the Hindu doctrine of metempsychosis. Like Origen
and some Gnostics, the Druze teach that God created a definite
number of souls from the beginning. Hence, to them, the death
of one person simply means the birth of another.
The Druzes played a conspicuous part in the, history of Lebanon and the regions of Mt. Hermon, but were always in the
minority and more or less circumspect in the practice of their
religion. They often aligned themselves with the Mohammedans,
openly avowing Islam, while secretly observing their own tenets.
Partly to escape persecution and partly to enjoy a greater
measure of seclusion and isolation, many of them began to migrate to Hauran in the latter part of the 17th century.
The Hauran mountain which they settled and came to be
known by their name as Jebel-ud-Druze is a barren, mountainous
region, but around it extend fertile lands which gradually merge
into the sands of the Syrian desert. Altogether it is 7920 square
kilometers, bounded on the north by the Ghutah (Orchards) of
Damascus; on the west by the Lajah, a labyrinthian, treacherous
region, and the plains of Hauran Mutasarifiyah; on the south by
the barren "Jabbanah" plain, and the border of the trans-Jor-
�JULY, 1926.
10
dania Government j and on the east by the Hara Mountains and
the Syrian desert.
It is approximately 120 kilometers long and 60 kilometers
wide not including the "grazing grounds" attached to Jebel-udDruze, which stretch 48 kilometers south and 90 kilometers east.
According to the census of 1925, the total population of
Jebel-ud-Druze is 52,064 of which 44,344 are Druzes, 4,659
Christians and 725 Moslems.
The Christians in Jebel-ud-Druze and Hauran go back to the
days preceding the Islamic invasion, when the Mundhirite Kings
of the Ghassanide Christian Arabs ruled as liegemen of the
Persian kings. Remains of a palace of Na'man Ibn al-Mundhir
belonging, it is claimed, to the 5th century A.D. stands today in
al-Sueida, the capital of Jebel-ud-Druze attesting to their
ancient glory. Hauran is still the seat of a Greek Orthodox
Bishopric.
Long before the Christians, Hauran, including what is known
now as Jebel-ud-Druze, was colonized by the Romans. Almost
every town or hamlet in Jebel-ud-Druze contains mute mementos
of the days when Roman legions flanked the borders between the
"Barbarians" and the citizens of the Roman world. One of the
towns of Jebel-ud-Druze, Kanawat, is one of the "ten towns",
Decapolis, a colony of Greeks and Romans across the Jordan,
which Christ visited in His ministry. This town had a temple of
Bacchus, later a cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church, and a
Roman amphitheatre. It contains remains of the Sun Temple
built by Herodos Agrippa. Today, Kanawat is the seat of the
Druze supreme religious authority, vested in the Shaykhs of the
al-Hajri family.
For a period of time Hauran was overrun by nomadic Bedwins. Some of the Druzes who migrated from Egypt in the 11th
century, it is related, went to Hauran, but must have either been
assimilated with the Bedwins or have moved to other quarters.
The first effective settlement of the Druzes in Hauran was
in the year 1685, when the emir Alam-ud-Din Ibn Ma'n from
Lebanon, with 150 bold horsemen, attacked al-Jebel and occupied
it. Alam-ud-Din left his right hand man, Hamdan, in charge in
all al-Jebel and returned to Lebanon where he urged many of
his coreligionists to leave Lebanon and settle in the newly conquered territory. Among the inducements which the Druze emir
offered them was confiscating the properties of the Bedwins and
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Christian Hauranites and aportioning them among the settling
Druzes.
From that time on the Druzes held down to their Jebel with
a tenacity that has no parallel in history.
The consciousness of their separateness, of their segregation
in an isolated and almost inaccessible country, their secretiveness,
implying implicit obedience to their religious leaders, helped
make of the Druzes a warlike and heroic people. Their Jebel
was their castle which they vowed to defend with the last drop
of their blood.
In the last century, several attacks on the Druzes to bring
them within the jurisdiction of the realm only accentuated their
separateness and the impregnability of their homeland. They
also helped to spread the fame of the Druzes of Hauran, who
up to that time were little known.
The first of these wars was waged on the Druzes of Hauran
by Ibrahim Pasha, son of Isma'il Pasha, first; Khedive of Egypt
in the year 1836.
Ibrahim Pasha had conquered all Syria and driven the forces
of the Ottoman Turks beyond its borders. No sooner had the
Egyptian general established himself in Syria than he proceeded
to impose compulsory military service and levy taxes on the subjugated people. Ibrahim Pasha had far-reaching visions of
reforms. He was one of those "benevolent tyrants" for whom
Syria was longing, as it is claimed by some Western writers.
But like so many benevolent tyrants, Ibrahim Pasha went on with
his methodic reforms with no anticipation of the impredicability
of human nature, and its love of liberty above justice or order.
It is significant, in the light of recent events, that the "causus
bellum" of that war of 1836, was an affront to the dignity of
the Druzes, who had sent a delegation of. their shaykhs, headed
by Yahya Hamdan, to negotiate with Ibrahim Pasha. In front of
the assemblage, Ibrahim Pasha struck Yahya Hamdan a blowacross the face. This blow cost Ibrahim Pasha thousands of his
men in the treacherous windings of al-Lajah and brought his
dream-castle of a Syrian kingdom tumbling to the ground. In
1838, Ibrahim Pasha had to stop his war with the Druzes to
face another attack of the Turks, who had gathered up their
shattered forces and advanced on Aleppo.
The Hamdanites remained the titular heads of the Druzes
in Hauran where they ruled the peasant classes as serfs, up to
'"
"
;
'
�JULY, 1926.
21
>
the latter half of the 19th century when they were replaced by
the Atrash family.
It is said that the last of the Hamdanites, who lived in 'Urah,
was an insolent tyrant who took pleasure in humiliating his subordinate chiefs. One day a peddler selling razors passed through
Sueida, capital of the Druzes. The Hamdanite accosted him and
said, "What sellest thou?" "Razors, my lord," timidly replied
the peddler. Whereupon the Hamdanite laughed out loudly saying, "Go to Kurayyah, to the mansion of the Shaykh Isma'il
and he will buy of your wares." The peddler went to Kurayyah,
the town of the Atrash family, not aware that he was being used
as an unwitting medium for a grim, practical joke.
Like other people of the Near East, the Druzes had a special veneration for beards. An oath by one's beard was as
binding as an oath by one's honor. In fact, the beard was regarded by the Druzes5 as by other peoples of the East, as a symbol
of honor and manliness.
When the peddler reached Kurayyah and made his errand
known, Shaykh Isma'il's wrath knew no bounds. He called to
him the Shaykhs of his district and when they were all gathered
in the guest-salon, he offered each a razor.
They looked at each other in surprise and asked him what
he meant by his act. Thereupon Shaykh Isma'il related to them
the story of the peddler and the razors* adding: "Shall you allow this Hamdanite to threaten us with shaving our beards? By
Allah, we shall not rest till we sleep tonight on his bed in
"Urah"!"
"To Urah, to Urah," they cried with one accord.
In this wise did the dynasty of Hamdan fall, and the Atrash
dynasty succeed it.
It was in the days of the Atrash dynasty that the bloody conflicts between the Druzes and the Ottoman Empire fell. In one
year (1894-1895), six major battles are recorded.
More than once, the wily Turks would grant the Druzes a
truce, and when the chiefs had come to negotiate the terms of
peace, the Turkish general would arrest them and carry them
with him as war hostages to Constantinople.
The last time this was done was when Sami Pasha Al-Faruki,
in the year 1909, a year after the Constitutional Revolution in
Turkey, moved against them. After treacherously arresting the
Druze leaders, Sami Pasha executed a number of them, among
�---
22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
them Zukan Bey Atrash, father of Sultan Pasha Atrash, the leader of the present Syrian Revolution.
Of special interest is the account of a "Socialist Revolution"
which broke out in Jebel-ud-Druze, in the year 1886.
Up to that time the Druze farmers and laborers were nominally and virtually vassals of the land owners, who were also
Shaykhs and "leaders". To gain the loyal support of these vassals against the nomad tribes, Shibli Atrash went among them
preaching those disturbing and novel ideas of equal rights and
liberty. That these ideas proved disturbing, Shibli Atrash soon
found to his own rue. For no sooner had the tribesmen been
subdued, than the "common people" rose in revolt against their
own Shaykhs who fled to al-Mazra'ah. The "common people"
won the fight against their leaders, but not for long. The Druze
Shaykhs soon reasserted their authority and the feudal system
regained its grip in Jebel-ud-Druze.
In the great war, the Druzes played a magnanimous role. Not
only did they open their arms to the Syrian refugees and sell
them all the wheat they needed, but refused to sell any of
their wheat to agents of Jamal Pasha.
In their political allegiance the Druzes were divided, some
sided with the Allies, under the leadership of Sultan Pasha Atrash, fighting under the banner of Shereef of Mecca, and some
took the side of the Turks, under the leadership of Selim Pasha
Atrash, whom the French later appointed head of the semi-independent state which they had set in Jebel-ud-Druze.
Whatever might be said about the secret doctrines of the
Druzes, their ethical code must be very high. The conduct of
their 'Ukkal is indeed a model of exemplary self-control. It is
not permitted them to drink, smoke nor swear. The conduct of
the Druze women is above reproach.
Such are the strange Druzes, whom recent events in
Syria have brought so vividly and picturesquely to our attention,
only to find that they do not, after all, differ much in human
qualities from the rest of the human race, and are not so strange
as their secret doctrines would lead one to suppose.
"Beware of greed, for it is the ever present poverty." — Mohammed.
•
'
�JULY, 1926.
23
The Grumbler
-
By M. J.
i
(
NAIMY.
I sat upon the ocean shore close by a rock shaped like a cross.
And as I watched the waves and mused I heard the rock conversing thusly with itself:
"How burdensome is life! Seasons are ever crowding seasons,
and generations madly press upon each other's heels. Yet Heavens are still Heavens, and Earth is everlastingly the same. Oh,
the weariness of it! This Sun—the plaything of the space—who
never tires of rising and of setting; the Moon who, like a shuttle
cock, is tossed across the face of Night between two nothings —
Life and Death; the Stars that blink so foolishly by night and are
so blind by day; the Earth who, pregnant, lies in frosty Winter's
lap; who is delivered in Spring; who rears her young in Summer
only to take them back into her greedy bowels in the Fall, and
then to lie once more as pregnant and as listless in Winter's frosty
lap; the Sun, the Moon, thej Stars, the Earth — how I dislike
them all!"
"And weary, oh, how weary, of the Wind am I. It blows
incessantly its venom in my eyes. And when, its mischief spent,
it turns into a breeze, it sighs its silly sorrows in my ears. I'm
weary of the Mist spreading its shrouds about me; and of the
Clouds shedding their tears upon me; and of these winged creatures of land and sea. Of all the things impertinent and insolent
I think they are the most impertinent and insolent. My very head
they've made a place for rendez-vous, for battle, for love-making, for funerals and wedding feasts. My share of all that is
their filth. Are they ashamed?—Not in the least."
"And these ungainly trees, whose roots entwine about my
feet; whose trunks bow humbly to the wind and rub against my
ribs; who stand stark naked all the dreary winter long, — what
joy have they in living? Of them also I'm weary and of their
stupid joys and sorrows."
"Nay, nay! This life is but a chaos which the weak and ignorant have made still more chaotic. Let them be wedded to their
chaos. I will have none of it, O merciful Abyss, take me into thy
bosom!"
�jMBMMUOMb
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
That very moment Mother Earth shook gently in her sleep.
The Ocean slightly yawned, and the cross-shaped rock went
tumbling to the bottom. The merry waves closed in upon it and
instantly resumed their mad and endless race.
And the Evening and the Morning were the following day.
And I betook me to the sea in search of precious pearls. And from
a point near the very spot where the cross-shaped rock once stood
1 plunged into the waves. Anon I found me near a rock covered
with weeds and lichen. Its shape was like a cross. Around it and
above it swarmed droves of creatures of the sea. And in the folds
of its weedy garments pearls hung in clusters. As I approached
to pick the precious pearls I heard the rock conversing thusly
with itself:
"How burdensome is Life! Nothing but mud and weeds.
Nothing but waves and fishes. They come and they go and ever
are the same. The things I yesterday beheld, these very things
do I behold to-day and will behold to-morrow. The very din
that fills to.day my ears will fill them ever after. What can be
more monotonous and boring! Would I were blind, and deaf,
and dumb. If this be Life, let silly weeds and stupid fishes live it.
I will have none of it. O Death, deliver me from this dungeon
of the living fools!"
The breast of Mother Earth heaved gently in her sleep. The
waves retreated helter-skelter ceding to Land a goodly strip of
their immense, race-track whereon lay scattered many weeds, and
shells and rocks including one shaped like a cross. The Sun smiled
down upon those outcasts of the sea.
And the Evening and the Morning wrcre the following day.
And to the shore I went in search of restful peace. And there I
found the self-same cross-shaped rock facing the tireless waves.
Around it stately trees stood green and radiant and proud. Before
it spread' a carpet of spring flowers such as no magic hand could
ever weave, nor daring fantasy design. Upon it swarmed a host
of gulls basking, in peace and warm contentment. When I approached I heard the rock conversing thusly with itself:
"How burdensome is Life! Seasons are ever crowding seasons, and generations madly press upon each other's heels. Yet
Heavens are still Heavens, and Earth is everlastingly the same.
''
�25
JULY, 1926.
Accursed be this life. It's but a chaos which the weak and ignorant have made still more chaotic. I will have none of it. O merciful Abyss, take me into thy bosom!"
And hardly had the rock uttered its whithering curse when
out of the space a meteor came crashing swifter than a thought
of vengeance. It crushed the rock to atoms. And then, looking
about, it lifted up its voice and spake in this manner:
"Behold! A new abode and with it a new lease. Ah, blessed
be Life who tosses me with one hand only to catch me with the
other. Whichever way I fall, I find me ever in her spacious lap.
And there shall I remain till she become a nursling at my bosom."
Saved !
Abu Hanifa was a learned and righteous cadi who lived in
Kufa in the days of Haroun al-Rashid. He had a neighbor, an
humble street cleaner who, on returning from his day's work,
would bring home meat, fish, vegetables and wine, and after
supper drink until he got drunk. Then, he would start singing two
lines from an ancient Arab poet:
"They have lost me, what a man they've lost
In time of battle or in day of need."
Day after day this went on until, one day, Abu Hanifa heard
no more the singing of his neighbor. He inquired after him and
was told that the night watchman arrested him on a charge of
drunkenness and carried him to prison where he had been for
the past three days. On hearing this, Abu Hanifa mounted his
mule and proceeded to the court of the Caliph who received him
with great honor.
"What is the wish of the honorable Imam?" asked the Caliph.
Abu Hanifa made known his wish and interceded for his
neighbor, the street-cleaner.
"Let him free," commanded the Caliph, "and for his sake let
free all those who were caught on the same day with him."
Then, Abu Hanifa, followed by the street cleaner, went back
to Kufa. When they reached home, Abu Hanifa addressed the
street-clearer saying:
"Thinkest thou we lost thee, now, O good neighbor?"
The street cleaner knelt down and thanked Abu Hanifa profusely and promised him never to drink again as long as he
lived.
�. irr- —
26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Arab Lovers
* Urwa and ' Afra
'Urwa Ibn Hazzam is introduced to us by the author of
Al-Aghani, as "one of the lovers whom love destroyed."
He would have been one of the nameless many who are
thus "destroyed" had he not modulated his ardent passion in undying poetry of rare tenderness and pathos. Coming in the rise
of Islam from the tribe of 'Uzra, one is prepared to hear about
his passionate love and sad end. For this tribe distinguished itself in Arabic love and history as the tribe of true and passionate
lovers. " 'Uzrite Love" was proverbial. It was synonymous
with the highest and truest in love. An, Arab poet, most likely
a 'Uzrite himself, had adequately described this in one line,
famous in Arabic literature:
i
"If a 'Uzrite dies not of love,
He is a stranger, by Allah, above."
The woman whose name 'Urwa immortalized was 'Afra, a
cousin of his. The two had been raised from childhood together
and were, consequently, very fond of each other, a fondness
which with years grew into ardent love.
'Urwa's father had died and left him in charge of an uncle,
'Akkal, who looked favorably at the budding love of his daughter and 'Urwa, "Be of good cheer, my nephew," he would say,
"when thou growest up 'Afra will be thy bride."
One day, when the two young lovers had reached the age
of adolescence,! he going his way with the company of men and
she going with the company of women, 'Urwa came to an aunt
of his called Hind, and shyly imparted to her his heart's burden:
"O Aunt Hind, he pleaded, "I had wanted to speak to you
before, only shyness deterred me. But my heart can no more
bear my secret."
Hind understood and was not lax in conveying her nephew's
love for 'Afra to her brother 'Akkal who assured her that he
would prefer no one to 'Urwa, but he added that since 'Urwa
was still young and poor, there was no hurry about his marriage.
«c
�JULY, 1926.
27
But 'Akkal was not the only one who had a say in the matter. He had a wilful wife who had other designs for her daughter. She was a "socially ambitious" mother, as we say today —
one of those solicitious matrons who are more concerned about
their daughter's comfort, and we may add, their own, than her
happiness. In short, 'Afra's mother had set her heart on some
gallant young Bedwin who would bring her daughter a dowry
and many camels and horses.
When 'Urwa learned of this and realized that neither love
nor relationship would avail him, but only wealth which he did
not possess, he resolved to leave his tribe and seek the help of
a rich cousin of his in Rai — a district in Persia.
He made his resolve known to his uncle and secured from
him a pledge that he would not give cAfra in marriage to anyone
until he came back from Rai. Thus assured, 'Urwa took two of
his intimate friends as companions for the road and set on his
journey. On the way 'Urwa thought of nothing else but 'Afra.
When his companions conversed with him, he was silent and
answered only when a question was repeated to him two and three
times.
Would they keep their promise to him? Would 'Afra remain true and loyal, or would she yield to her parents' importunities and pressure? He never doubted her love, but he was
not quite sure of her ability to resist very long. Somehow, he
never liked his uncle's wife. His uncle was a good fellow but
he was a henpecked husband. Indeed, he was the talk of the
tribe of 'Uzra, for a henpecked husband was a rarity even in
the tribe of the chicken-hearted 'Uzrites. What if 'Afra had
inherited her father's meekness and a little of her mother's grasping ambition? No! no! that can not be! He waved the wicked
thought aside. For had he not heard it said in the Koran that
"some suspicion is sin," how much more the suspicion of one's
beloved?
Then his thoughts turned to his cousin in Rai. He had
heard much about his great wealth and generosity. But suppose
his cousin mocked his love? He frowned as he thought of that
and clinched his fists.
But how soon were 'Urwa's misgivings and fears dispelled
when he reached his cousin's home in Rai! For, no sooner had
his cousin learned of Urwa's message, broached after some hesitancy and much trepidation, than he showered him with gifts of
money, clothes and a hundred camels in excellent condition. It
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was more than 'Urwa ever expected, even more than 'Afra's
parents asked for her dowry.
Merrily and full of high hopes and good spirits did 'Urwa
set on the return journey with his companions back to the camping ground of 'Uzra where in a tent dearest to him than any
spot on earth, yea, even dearer than paradise itself, he expected
'Afra would be i anning the horizon, anxiously waiting for his
return.
Alas, how far v re 'Urwa's buoyant hopes from the treacherous reality which was lurking for him! 'Urwa had not left his
uncle's tent very long when a gallant, debonair son of Isma'il
from the powerful tribe of Umayyad, in the environs of Damascus, stopped in the tents of 'Afra's father as his guest. He was
rich beyond the dreams of the 'Uzrite nomad and his shrewd
wifq who, as her eye; fell upon him, made up her mind that he
was the long-wished-for match for her darling daughter 'Afra.
The young Umayyad made a good impression, with his cityacquired clothes and manners, not only with 'Afra's parents but
with the whole tribe of 'Uzra, for he was a generous and goodnatured fellow. He slaughtered of his choice camels and invited
one and all to his sumptuous repasts.We may surmise that his generosity was not prompted by a mere motive of hospitality. He
had seen 'Afra and his heart warmed up to her. He had not stopped to think that she may refuse him. Such a thing was not conceivable to him or to any other Arab! Was he not good-looking,
brave and rich 5 what else would any girl in her right mind wish
for? Straightforward he went to her father and asked him for
her hand, but 'Akkal turned him down saying that he had promised her to his nephew and would not break his promise to him.
But while 'Urwa was still nearby, 'Akkal was half inclined
to be swayed by his wife's persuasions, how much more when he
was far away in distant Rai?
'Akkal's wife, from whom the Umayyad found a more sympathetic response, did her reputation justice in this instance in
pressing her viewpoint. Day and night she kept dinning in her
husband's ears, saying: "What good can we expect from 'Urwa
that you should bind my daughter to him, when, behold, this
rich young man has come to knock at her door?By Allah,you know
not even now whether 'Urwa is dead or alive, or whether he
would come back with the dowry or come empty-handed."
'Akkal did no withstand his wife's assaults very long, and
his consent was given to 'Afra's marriage to the rich Umayyad.
�JULY, 1926.
29
It was a happy and joyous wedding to all but 'Afra, whose love
for 'Urwa was still as ardent as ever, but who was powerless to
resist. Before she was put in her howdaj on the back of a graceful dromedary, to be carried to her husband's home near Damascus, she wept copiously as she sang: "O, 'Urwa, the tribe has dealt
treacherously and abjured their oath to Allah."
As soon as 'Afra had gone away, her father sought an old
tomb and after renovating it, gathered his tribesmen together
and pledged their secrecy to the perforced marriage.
Upon 'Urwa's return, he was accosted by his uncle, who,
leading him to the renovated tomb told him that 'Afra had died
in his absence. 'Urwa's sorrow was great beyond compare. For
days he would sit long hours by the tomb and mourn his beloved
'Afra, until one day a servant of the tribe came and secretly
whispered to him the true story of his uncle's treachery. 'Urwa
would stay no more after this with his people.. Taking with him
a few camels and carrying a supply for a long journey, he set
his face towards the Syrian Desert. When he reached 'Afra's
dwelling, he went to her husband and introduced himself as a
man from 'Adnan. 'Afra's husband showed him every consideration and hospitality due to a guest. After a few days, during
which 'Urwa had not had even a glimpse of his cousin 'Afra, he
approached a maid in her service and said to her:
"Would you lend a stranger a helping handr"
"With pleasure," she replied.
Taking a ring from his hand which 'Afra had given him,
he asked her to drop it in Afra's bowl of laban. The maid frowned at him and scolded him saying: "Fie on thee to ask me to do
such a dishonorable act and betray my master!"
'Urwa replied: "Take no offense, my good lady, 'Afra is
my cousin. Do as I tell you and throw this ring in her bowl, and
if she protests, tell her your guest took his breakfast before you
arose and this ring must have dropped from his hand." He pleaded with her in a piteous voice.
The maid took compassion on him and did as he requested
of her. The next morning, when 'Afra drank her laban, she
found the ring in the bottom of the bowl, and recognizing it to
be the ring that she had given 'Urwa, she uttered a loud cry,
and said to her maid: "Tell me the truth about this ring." The
maid then told her all that had taken place.
At evening, when 'Afra's husband came back she came up
to him and said: "Know you who our guest is?" "Yes," replied
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
her husband, "he is a man from the tribe of 'Adnan." "Nay," retorted 'Afra, "he is none other than 'Urwa, my cousin, who had
kept his identity secret in shame of you."
The story goes on to say that 'Afra's husband not only did
not go off in a rage against 'Urwa, but treated him kindly and
allowed him to meet and speak to 'Afra as often as he desired.
Then, leaving them alone, Afra's husband set a servant to spy
on them and report to him what he would see and hear.
There the two sat, 'Urwa crying like a little child and 'Afra
comforting him with words of solace. Then, bringing him some
wine she asked him to drink. "By Allah," he swore, as he looked up to her, "nothing unlawful has ever entered my lips. You
had been my share in this world, and you have passed from my
hands. Your husband has been generous to me, but I cannot remain, even if my going away would mean my death."
When 'Afra's husband heard what had taken place between
his wife and 'Urwa, he went to him and urged him to stay, but
'Urwa would not listen to it.
Early next morning, well supplied with provisions for the
road, 'Urwa bid 'Afra und her husband farewell and left them
never to return.
For 'Urwa, as the author of Al-Aghani intimated to us,
did not live long after this. His heart was too heavy with sorrow
and disappointment.
la his wanderings, it is said, he met a certain wizard medicineman, of Yamama who stopped him and asked him what ailed
him. 'Urwa replied:
"I said to the wizard of Yamama, treatest thou me?
If thou healest my ill, then art thou a healer indeed.
For my heart to tatters has been reduced
Should thou touch it at any spot, it would bleed."
More touching than 'Urwa's death is that of 'Urfa's who,
it is related, when informed of his sad end, sought permission of
her husband to visit his grave. Her husband consented, and the
story goes on to say that she kept up her lamentation until she
died, and was buried at his side.
Thus, at last, were the two lovers joined, never again to be
disturbed by cruel fate and unsympathetic man.
�)ULYt 1926.
j/
Westward Ho! Eastward Ho!
By
HAEIB IBRAHIM KATIBAH.
He would be a blind man indeed who, below the surface of
the tumultuous disturbances that are raging now between West
and East, breaking into threatening waves of unbridled lust and
ungoverned passion, does not see forces far more stupendous,
substantial and imperious in their persistency which are inevitably
drawing the two together.
One hardly opens a newspaper but finds evidences of this spirit of reconciliation, "at-one-ment", between two halves of a
far-from-perfect universe, which after ages of blind blundering,
and groping in the darkness of ignorance, prejudice and fanatical
self-content, have found each other, much like the two halves of
the spheroid souls about which Diotema discoursed to Socrates
in that inimitable gem of ancient literature—the Symposium of
Plato.
Only the other day the writer listened to a group of young
Demostheneses orate om the profound problems which confront
this much troubled world of ours, perhaps because much doctored, and was amazed at the selection of subjects. Two spoke, on
China, and one on Ghandi. The fact that the range of subjects
was limited to the relations between the "Christian" West and
the "heathen" East, does not lessen the significance of the choice
but rather heightens it. And what a difference there was between
the attitude of these red-cheeked, bright-eyed youngsters and
that of their elders! One would suspect, listening to them, that
they do not draw the water of their wisdom and inspiration from
the ever bubbling well of editorials of a certain brand of newspapers which speak so knowingly and prophetically of the "Yellow peril" and the "inevitable clash between East and West",
nor evidently listen with any respect to the profound wisdom
of some of their Solons in Washington.
For these young boys and girls, all in their teens, spoke of
China as though it were populated with fellow human beings who
have the same emotions, sensibilities and potential worth as any
white-skinned, blue-eyed descendant of the proud Vikings of
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the North. A young man who spoke on Ghandi actually had the
audacity of comparing him to Christ! But the future world belongs to these youngsters, and they are taking no orders from
their elder superiors as to how it should be fashioned.
One wishes to know, however, in passing, if the World War
had a share in this sad disregard of the youth of today of their
elders' wisdom and authority. Men whom our fathers used to
consider "clever" diplomats are today looked upon as contemptible tricksters and poor, deluded fools by a second and much wiser generation.
Equally in the East one could point to decided movements
of reconciliation with the West to which many a wise elder there
shakes his head in consternation and dismay. A notable example
is the Chinese Students Movement in which thousands upon
thousands of the earnest youth of China, who had a foretaste
of Western culture and education, are mercilessly hammering
down the massive wall of ancient traditions which had isolated
China from the world and made it an easy prey to the gluttonous pirates of Western commercialism.
We need hardly point also to the Kemalist movement which
has left the world agape with the swiftness and completeness
of its sensational and cataclysmic changes -y with its basic reforms
by which the Young Turks have reached way down and uprooted
some of the most age-honored, albeit, to our minds, adventitious
traditions of Islam.
But it is a mistake to think that this spirit of reconciliation is
confined to the youth of our world. Rather is it the accumulating
and gathering up of thousands of little streamlets of ideas and
emotions that extend at least two hundred years back. Today it
numbers among its great leaders such illustrious names as that
of the Hindu poet, Tagore, the German philosopher Keyserling
and the American educator, Charles Eliot — all old in years,
young in spirit.
In the past, beginning with what is popularly known as the
age of enlightenment in the latter part of the 18th century, when
this movement began to take form, the list would include some
of the greatest names in literature, philosophy and scholarship.
We now begin to surmise where our high school orators and
bespectacled Chinese students, with their book bags slung over
their shoulders, got hold of their disturbing wisdom.
Just how this movement came about, and what are some of
its antecedents is one of the most fascinating chapters in the spi-
:~»
�JULY, 1926.
Ml
33
ritual history of mankind. It is a cosmic romance of such thrilling
charm that one in reading it is willing to forget the bitter tragedies and heartrending miseries which went hand in hand with it.
Perhaps it would not be amiss to take a sweeping view of
history which wrould furnish us with a mental stage, a background,
against which this greatest of all human dramas was enacted.
Long, long ago, as story tellers would say, when the ancestors
of the civilized Western nations roamed the dark primeval
forests, skin-clad, hunted the mastadons, and slept in dark,
rough-hewn caves, there flourished under a more clement weather and the caresses of a more gentle mother-nature, a group of
nations which, from days immemorial, have come down to us as
the founders of our modern civilization.
So small and circumspect was the world then, that the narrow
strait of Gibraltar, then known as the Pillars of Hercules, marked the farthest limit of the navigable seas, beyond which none
but the most daring sailors ever ventured to sail. The sea, but
a little lake compared with the great oceans later discovered,
around which these nations settled and built their cities, was
known as the Mediterranean Sea, i. e., the sea at the middle of
the world! This sea, which a mail steamer of today could cross
between its farthest two points in about a week's time, Homer
makes the hero of his Odyssey cross in ten long, treacherous years.
Around this sea ranged the ancient civilizations of Egypt,
Phoenicia, Greece, Palestine and Rome. What a colorful and
glorious panorama to conjure from the dreamy, distant past!
What a roll of achievements to unfurl before the eye of imagination! What an endless drama of human love and suffering, of
victory, anguish and folly — tears of sorrow mixed with tears of
rejoicing!
For while these ancient nations lived, figuratively speaking,
at a stone's throw from one another, they were always at daggers'
points and were ready at a moment's notice, or no notice at
all, to pounce at each other's throats.
That was the age, long, long past that we can but vaguely recall it, of local patriotism and petty narrow nationalism. So narrow, indeed, that within the small confines of Greece, about halfa-dozen separate and independent states flourished, and two great
cities, Athens and Sparta, fought to exhaustion for supremacy.
Similarly we read in the Bible of "nations" such as the Ammonites, Moabites, Jebusites, Amalakites, etc., who all lived and
fought bitterly with one another in a country that is hardly con-
�M
THE SYRIAN WORLD
sidered now-a-days large enough to form one nation. This narrow
provincialism is no better illustrated than in the fact that these
"kingdoms" often consisted of walled cities, with a few dependent and tributary villages in their environs. Hence the names of
Athens, Rome, and Carthage stood not only for cities but
for whole kingdoms and civilizations which sprang from them
and with which they were identified.
It was the age of mutual exclusiveness and suspicion. The
Greeks called all those who lived beyond the Agean Sea "barbaro?\ the Egyptians disdained the Greeks and all others besides,
and the Hebrews, in the consciousness of their being the specially
chosen people of Jehova, called all other nations "the gentiles>\
It was not until the Roman Empire came into its own that
something of a "world community" and world citizenship began
to assert themselves. All national boundaries were demolished
and obliterated before the victorious march of the Roman legionaries. Something of a world peace, "the Pax Romana", gleamed
from beyond the horizon of a war-ridden world. Something also
of a cosmopolitan culture began to evolve, as all roads of commerce and all currents of thought lead to Rome, while in the
Pantheon of the proud mistress of the world the gods and
goddesses of all nations were held as hostages of goodwill and
propitiation.
Two worlds, one of the extreme East and one of the extreme West, remained until then relatively unknown.
For a brief period only was India discovered and invaded by
the Greeks under Alexander, while the interior of Gaul and
Petionia and the shores of Cornwall were later penetrated by the
brave Roman warriors.
Of the former invasion the German scholar, Oldenberg, in his
Life of Buddha rightly remarked that it was "too late". For
India had long ago evolved its pessimistic philosophy, the reflection of its sombre and merciless environment.
Before Alexander's time, a faint and hazy trace of this philosophy rambling its way through Persia and Syria found its way
into Greece, and echoed itself in the fantastic teachings of the
Greek philosopher, Pythagoras. Its influence, however, was practically negligible, and India as well as China and the Far East
in general remained a closed book to the world till the time of
the Arab invasions and expansions, beginning with the 8th century A. D.
It was the Arabs who discovered the Far East, long before
.
�-
JULY, 1926.
35
Marco Polo and Vasco Da Gama, and in a more thorough and
practical way. Not only did Mohammedan travelers and Mohammedan geographers write lengthy books describing the wonders
of the East, but Mohammedan merchants founded colonies on
the shores of the Indian and Chinese Seas. Later, in the 1 Oth century Mahmoud al-Ghazni conquered India for Islam, and the
horizon of our knowledge of the Far East was extended a little
further.
Hindu philosophy had a far greater influence on the Arabs
and Mohammedans than it ever had on the people of Greece and
Rome. Mohammedan mysticism known as Sufism, bears many
marks of this influence. Arabic literature also is indebted to the
land of the "Budd". One of the most popular Arabic books,
"Kalila Wa Dimna", translated in the 9th century into Arabic
through the Persian by Ibn ul-Mukaffa£, is none other than the
Hindu Panchatantra. The rosary, an inseparable part of the
rubrics of Mohammedan pietism, is believed to have come originally from India. Not till the age of modern scholarship do
we come across a more informing and accurate description of
India, its social and religious institutions than the "Indica" of
al-Beiruni.
Coming Westward down through the "Dark Ages" and the
period of the Crusades, which in their way, though roughly and
rudely, brought East and West together; down through the Reformation, down through the Age of Discoveries and Colonization,
we come at last to the age in which, we may rightly say, the world,
especially the Western world, attained its spiritual adolescence.
In the latter part of the 18th century a new spirit, an awakened
and vigorous self-consciousness swept over the common people
like an electric current, or like a refreshing breeze of life and
energy from another world.
It was the age in which experimental science began to assert
itself; it was the age of agitation for equal rights, the age in
which Rousseau wrote his "Social Contract", and the American
Revolution was given birth; it was the age of bouyant, quickened
feeling and critical thinking; the age of great poets and great
thinkers. Such names as Goethe, Kant, Hegel, and later, in
England, Coleridge, Browning, Tennyson, Wadsworth, Matthew
Arnold and Carlyle adorn this period.
One distinctive feature of this age or period was a keener sense
of, and joy in life, a sort of natural mysticism, so beautifully reflected in Wadsworth's poetry and Emerson's prose. Another was
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
a deeper and more genuine sympathy with one's fellow-man, near
and far. This also had. its prophets in such names as Robert
Browning, Victor Hugo, and in the great English and French
novelists.
It was in the midst of this period, and extending to the present day that the Orient began to be rediscovered, or rather discovered truly and spiritually. Max Mueller came with his translations of the Sacred Books of the East, Legge with his translation
of the Chinese Classics. Hammer Purgestal, Welhausen, Renan,
Lane, Burton and many, many others, who faithfully, passionately
and sympathetically studied the East — each and all helped in
this great discovery.
It is an amazing but nevertheless true fact that while this
penetrating study of the East was being pursued, and great books
of our ancestors were being studied, by recluse professors in Universities, or robust excavators and travelers, trudging the deserts
in Oriental disguise, the people of the East were oblivious to their
own history and literature.
Side by side also with this "spiritual conquest" by Western
writers and scholars another conquest, ruthless and bitter, was
going on. Proud and ancient rulers of the East bent the knees and
salamed to foreign conquerors whom they had always considered,
in the pride of their hearts, their inferiors.
The modern colonial conquest of the East had two unexpected
results which brought East and West still closer together. In the
East it aroused, through emulation and a sense of wronged dignity,
a keener interest among the youth for modern education. The
East began to send thousands of its most brilliant and promising
sons to Western Universities.
These young aspirants to knowledge and intellectual freedom
came in contact with learned professors who knew and loved the
East. They began to discover friends among writers, preachers,
and liberals of all kinds, and their bitter chagrin and sweeping
denunciation of all things Western toned down. They came to receive power with which to fight their enemies and oppressors at
home, and went away endowed with charity, insight and sympathy. Those of them who caught the true spirit of Western
civilization, went home preaching, not a gospel of hatred and
retaliation, but one of co-operation and amity.
The World War has given us many valuable lessons, but none
more valuable than a feeling of genuine humility and shame.
�JULY, 1926.
37
It has chastised West and East alike and shown humanity in its
stark nakedness and utter helplessness.
And it is this spirit of humility, this sense of our smallness
and incompleteness which is driving East and West together.
The brilliant American editor of Kansas City, William Allen
White, brought out this helplessness and loneliness of man very
beautifully in an editorial of last Christmas. We find it expressed with a tinge of pessimism in a learned study by the German
philosopher, Oswald Spengler. We find it in the writings of the
English liberal and thinker, Bertrand Russell, of H. G. Wells
and many others on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
"Wise men of the East" are beginning to look to the West
for knowledge that makes men free, and "wise men of the West"
are looking to the East for wisdom that makes men kind and
magnanimous.
Westward Ho! Eastward Ho! The East and West move to.
meet again now in a spiritual sense, and on a higher level,
around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
But, miracle of miracles! as they move this time, there is
no more a Mediterranean Sea, no boundries of land or water.
The mind of man has conquered Space and Time, and brushed
aside all physical obstacles in its way. We doubt not, that with
the reconciliation of Heart and Mind, of East and West, a far
greater conquest awaits man on Earth, a spiritual conquest, whose
fruits are only peace and joy and happiness. Then indeed we
could say with the ancient Seer:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were -passed away"!
WHEN ALL FAILS.
Buzurjumhar, he wise vizier, of Anushurwan, a famous
Persian Shah, was asked: "What things are best for a man?" He
replied: "A mind wherewith he makes his living." — He was
further asked: "What if he had not that?" "Then," he replied,
"Brethren to cover his defects." Again he was asked: "What if
he had not these?" "Then," he replied: "Wealth wherewith he
could win the favor of men." And if not that?" He was pressed.
"Then good behavior wherewith he enhances his station," he replied. "And if not that?" "Then," said the vizier, "Silence to
save himself." "And if not that?" "Then," replied Buzurjumhar, " death to relieve him and rid creation of him."
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Treasure of Hassan Taj
A New Arabian Nights Story
Once upon a time there lived in the city of Cairo a merchant
of great wealth by the name of Hassan Taj. But Hassan Taj
was as miserly as he was wealthy, and had grown to love his
riches so greatly that there was room for no other love in his
heart.
In order to save as much as he could on his food it was Hassan Taj's custom to buy all the provisions for his house in the
market himself. One evening, after coming home from his shop
in the bazaar he felt a great longing to eat fish for supper. So he
took; up his basket and went to the, street of the fishmongers to
see what they had to offer. But alas for his hopes, when he got
there he found that they had disposed of all their wares! With
a sigh Hassan Taj already had turned to go back to his home
when he caught sight of a fisherman holding up in front of a
woodcutter a big fish which the latter was about to buy. "Stop,
stop!" cried Hassan Taj, hurrying over to them, "How much did
the woodcutter offer you for your fish?" he asked the fisherman.
"Three dinars", was the latter's reply.
"Three dinars!" cried the wealthy merchant, in amazement,
"three dinars!" He turned to the woodcutter and said: "My poor
deluded brother, know you not that spendthrifts are children of
the devil?; Look at me! I am a merchant of great wealth. I own
a handsome palace and many slaves. I am the master of caravans
that cross the deserts and ships that ply the seas, yet never, never,
would I pay so outrageous a price for a fish, not if it were the
only fish to be had in all Cairo!"
The woodcutter answered very meekly: "Indeed, most illustrious of merchants, your words are wisdom itself. But I have
six children and the youngest is a daughter who is very dear to
me. This morning before I started out to work she begged me
�JULY, 1926.
39
to bring her a fish for supper, and I said to her: 'Pray to Allah,
daughter, that I may have a good day, and then I shall bring
you back your fish!' And, as you see, Allah heard her prayer,
and such being the case I cannot break the promise I made her!"
But Hassan Taj's heart was set on having the fish and in
order to get it away from the woodcutter he offered the fisherman
three dinars and a half for it with many a sigh. But the fisherman
looked at him with scorn and cried: "What, this poor woodcutter
offers me three dinars and you, a rich merchant with your palace
and slaves, your caravans and great ships at sea, only offer fifty
chitterlings more! By the beard of the Prophet, rather than
haggle with you I will sell it to the woodcutter for three dinars!"
When he heard this and saw that he would have to pay a good
price for the fish, Hassan Taj had a bright idea. He stepped over
to the woodcutter and said: "My good fellow, do you buy the
fish! I shall not rob you of it, but if it please you I will be your
guest at supper this evening!"
The woodcutter, happy to think that he need not disappoint
his little daughter, told Hassan Taj he would be welcome to
come to supper. When the woodcutter went home, his little
daughter beamed with joy, as she saw the big fish dangling from
her father's hand. The woodcutter told his wife to prepare it
as tastily as possible since Hassan Taj, the rich merchant, was to
be their guest that night. And his wife bustled about and prepared a supper worthy of so distinguished a guest. At the appointed
time Hassan Taj appeared in the woodcutter's home, and all sat
down to table and ate heartily of the delicious fish. When it came
time for the merchant to leave he thanked the woodcutter for
his hospitality and said to him: "This night you were my host,
but to-morrow night I shall be your host!"
So the next night Hassan Taj sent a slave to ask the woodcutter to come to his house, and when his guest arrived, ordered
supper to be set on the table. But it was no such supper as he had
enjoyed in the woodcutter's cabin. A black slave appeared and
set before him a large bowl of fattah, crumbs and crusts of bread
soaked in gravy, with bits of meats and various relishes, and that
was all there was to eat; though the woodcutter at first hesitated
about eating much, thinking this was only the first course and
there would be more to come. But when they had finished the
fattah, coffee was served, and the woodcutter knew that supper
was at an end. After they had sipped their coffee, Hassan Taj
took the woodcutter by one hand and a candle in the other, and
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
t0
m WM< he kept his treasure There
wetk!?'
J^°°
1 £"count the chests on your
' " right,»then
W
weal h said the merchant,
count the ones on your left!" The woodcutter did so and found
kL ofXr6
g at CC
r Chests in d1 fifteen
'T^ S
t
'
°» each
of thi!» T Jhe\Hassan T*J ^id to him: "Open any one
of them!" and when the woodcutter obeyed and lifted the lid
he
t0 th b
"Tr
°theh?wenty-nine
f ^ i0Uchests
f '* fiHed
" like
with"oins
The oother
are all exactly
the one vou
have opened", said Hassan Taj, as he led the woodcutter out
of the room again. When the poor woodcutter left the rich merchant's house he was dejected and downcast, for he could iSt
help bu. Wonder why Allah should allow such a miser as Hassan
hSJS. CUm"hte/° Vf* a treasure whose possession did not
benefit himself and which he did not use to benefit others.
In fact, the woodcutter took to brooding over the great treasure of which he had had a glimpse until the temptatioHme to
him to steal some of Hassan Taj's store of gold. First of all
he argued to himself Hassan Taj never will miss it and t would
ertv Thap £ST,t0 himSdf Th his kr^e &nily »d his pov
P
retUr ed ag
a ain and fina
Sdded
u- mindrto and
§ evil deed. So
% one
^
yielded to
to T
it andr",
made up his
do the
^St' P1Ckxe,m ha!ld' the woodcu«er stole from home,
entered Hassan Taj's garden and when he came to the wall behind which he knew the miser's chests of gold were kept hTslowfrucl ^ " ]J b,£gan f°/Ut his Wa^ throuSh * At b* his ale
struck the wood of one of the chests, and he already had thrust
his hand through the opening to catch the gold which wasfailing down, when it suddenly was clutched in a great hair^ paw
In another instant a huge black marid, a jinni, appeared before"
the terrified woodcutter and said: "I am the Lrid who stands
guard over this treasure! And who are you that come in the dark
and silent night to steal it away?" The woodcutter murmured
I his is the treasure of the rich merchant-Hassan Taj'" «Ha'
ha , chuckled the mvrid and shook his head, "this treasure no
more belongs to Hassan Taj than it does to you. For Hassan Tai
also is no more than a watchman set to guard it, though he is
not aware of the fact. Know that the true^of£t^
is a certain poor cobbler of Damascus named Ali Bagdadi If you
Wish to obtain any of this gold you must go to him^nd get hTm
to give you a written order signed with his name. If you do £
I will let you have any amount which has been set down on the
paper. But without a written order such as I have described you
t
'
�^
JULY, 1926.
41
shall not have a single gold coin!" Thus saying the marid disappeared and the woodcutter, half-dazed and still trembling, hurried out of Hassan Taj's garden.
When he got home again he told his wife the whole tale and
in the morning said farewell to her and to his children, and set
out on the long journey from Cairo to Damascus. When he at
length reached Damascus the woodcutter inquired after Ali Bagdadi and was told to seek him in the street of the cobblers. And
there he found him, a handsome youth, sitting in a small shop
and, singing merrily over his last as he worked. The woodcutter
told Ali that he was a stranger from Cairo and knew not a soul
in the town of Damascus, and before he could say more Ali cried:
"You are welcome to my house, O brother!" Then for three
days and nights the woodcutter was the guest of Ali Bagdadi, and
at the end of that time the Cairoeen thanked him for his hospitality and said: "My friend, you took me in without asking why
or wherefore, and now I am ready to return to my own town.
One boon I shall ask of you before I go. Let me have a written
paper signed with your name, in which you say that you willingly bestow on me fifty thousand pieces of gold!"
Ali smiled as he replied: "May Allah preserve your sanity, O
brother of mine! During the three days you have spent with me
I had not noticed that there was aught amiss with you. Now I begin to fear you are mentally unbalanced. Where would a poor cobbler like myself find fifty thousand gold pieces to give you? And
of what use would my order be to you when I myself can hardly
make a living cobbling shoes?"
But the woodcutter insisted and at last, to humor him, Ali
Bagdadi, the poor cobbler, granted his request, seeing that no possible harm could result from his so doing. Armed with his written order, which he concealed in his breast, the woodcutter thanked his host and made his way back to Cairo again. When he
reached his native town he at once hurried home, told his wife
the glad news, and assured her that in a short time they would be
rich.
The woodcutter could hardly wait for night to come so that
he could tak0 his pickaxe and steal away again to Hassan Taj's
garden. At last, when the city lay shrouded in darkness, he went
to the very spot where he already had pierced the wall of the
treasure-chamber, which the marid had restored to its original
shape, and there he once more went to work, cutting his way slowly and carefully until he had removed the stone which separated
�/
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
him from the chest of gold he coveted. And sure enough, the
maridys great hairy paw again grasped his hand when he thrust
it into the opening. But this time the woodcutter did not tremble.
He drew his signed order from his chest and handed it to the
jmniy and once the marid had read it and seen Ali Bagdadi's signature he kissed the latter, and at once counted out fifty thousand
gold pieces into a heavy bag which the woodcutter had brought
with him to hold them. Then the woodcutter bought merchandise
of various sorts with his newly gained wealth, and since he was
industrious and honest, before long he had become one of the
richest of Cairoeen merchants.
One day, as he was sitting cross-legged in his shop, who should
he see pass the bazaar but Ali Bagdadi, ragged, worn and walking wearily. At once the ex-woodcutter sent one of his clerks out
to invite him in, saying, "My master desires to see you!" And
when Ali Bagdadi entered the shop the former woodcutter —
much to his surprise, for he did not recognize him — fell on his
neck, kissed him and said: "Welcome, dear friend! You shall be
my guest and my home shall be your home for as long as you may
stay in Cairo!" Then whispering to one of his slaves, he bade him
take Ali to a public bath and buy him fine clothes, worthy of a
well-to-do merchant, before he brought him home. In the meantime he closed his shop, hurried to his house and told his wife
that their benefactor,A.ti Bagdadi of Damascus,had come to Cairo,
and would be their guest in a few hours' time. At once the slaves
were ordered to prepare the house for the reception of this guest
whom their master delighted to honor, and a splendid feast was
made ready for him. In addition, rooms were set aside for his
exclusive use and slaves ordered to do his bidding. When Ali
finally reached the former woodcutter's home he was welcomed
in princely fashion and led to the quarters sumptuously prepared
for him. The poor cobbler could make neither head nor tail of
it and did not know whether he was awake or dreaming!
Now the very day that Ali Bagdadi had reached Cairo, hoping to find work there, for times had grown so hard in Damascus
that he could not find enough soles to stitch to keep his own soul
and body together, a strange thing had happened to the miser
Hassan Taj. That day, as was his custom, the rich merchant had
gone to visit his treasure. But when he opened the first chest to
delight his sight with the gold which filled it — lo and behold,
the gold pieces it held all had turned into dust! He opened another, and another chest} he opened all the chests and all were the
�43
JULY, 1926.
same. Instead of shining yellow gold they were filled with dust.
Then, since his gold was the only thing that Hassan Taj loved on
earth, he was stricken with such a mighty sorrow that he lay down
on his counch, and, refusing to be comforted, died of grief. The
news of Hassan Taj's death and its cause became known throughout Cairo and the next day the ex-woodcutter bought in the house
cheaply from Hassan Taj's heirs, who were glad enough to sell
it for what it would bring.
Then when Hassan Taj's house was duly and legally his,
the ex-woodcutter one day led Ali Bagdadi to it and when they
entered the gate, he said to him: "Behold this is your own house,
bought with your own money!" And then he told him the whole
story of the bewitched treasure which a marid guarded in his,
Ali's name. And he told him how he had travelled to Damascus
to ask him for the signed order, and how his own wealth and
prosperity were founded on the fifty thousand gold pieces Ali's
signature had caused to be paid out to him. And when they entered the treasure-chamber of Hassan Taj and Ali Bagdadi opened
one of the treasure chests and touched the dust in it, the dust
straightway turned into gold again. So Ali Bagdadi entered into
possession of all the vast treasure of the miserly Hassan Taj
and the ex-woodcuttcr gave him his daughter — the little girl
who had once begged her father to bring home a fish for supper,
and who had by now grown up into a maiden as lovely as one
of the houris of Allah's paradise — in marriage, and they all
lived happily together for many, many years.
Long after, Ali Bagdadi once said to his father-in-law, as
they sat together in the cool of the evening in the gardens of
the house that once had been Hassan Taj's: "Now it all comes
back to me as in a dream. I remember that when I was a very
little lad my father, who was a rich merchant, suddenly became
bankrupt one day and soon after died of a broken heart because
of his loss and the poverty into which his family had been plunged. And I recall that people said my father had been in partnership with a Cairoeen merchant named Hassan, in whom he had
put all his trust. And they also said that this same Hassan had
deceived my father and brought about his ruin. I firmly believe
that Hassan Taj was the man who once was my father's partner
and betrayed him* How strange it all is! Truly nothing is lost
with Allah who moved in a mysterious way to punish the deceitful, and to restore to the orphan the- heritage of which he had
unjustly been despoiled!"
I-IIIIWHIWI*
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The War in Syria
By SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL.
The present insurrection in Syria has so many contributing
causes that it would be quite impossible to deal with them here
in detail. These causes spring from European intrigues and rivalries in the scramble of the powers for political ascendancy in
the East, both of past and of recent origin, as well as from the
conflicting and almost irreconcilable views of the natives themselves, and the ambitions and caprices of their leaders. All these
different phases of the Syrian question will be dealt with later
in a more detailed and comprehensive manner, as it is the purpose in this article to give only a general outline of the main
facts of the present Syrian insurrection.
EARLY MANIFESTATIONS.
Early in the spring of 1925, the French authorities in Syria
became aware of secret preparations for an armed uprising on
the part of the Druzes of the Hauran mountain and took steps
to localize it and prevent reinforcements reaching the rebels.
As a means to this end, they first strove to discourage the return
of Syrian emigrants to their country in an effort to limit the
sources of the insurgents in man-power, but they did this in such
an awkward manner as to arouse a chorus of bitter criticism in
the Syrian press in America of what appeared to them a rash
and misguided policy. This took the form of a general order
promulgated through French Consular officials abroad to the
effect that no Syrian emigrant returning to his country would be
permitted to land unless he had first secured a permit of entry
from the French High Commissioner in Syria before sailing.
The order came at a time when the tide of Syrian emigrants'
bookings for home was at its height, and created consternation
among those who had either sold their property, closed out their
business or terminated their employment in the enthusiastic hope
of going back to help rebuild the motherland. It was only later
that the true significance of this move on the part of the French
authorities in Syria became understood, when it was discovered
�'„'\
JULY, 1926.
45
that these orders were promulgated in South American countries
fully two months before the date of their publication in the
United States, simply because of the fact that the proportion of
Mohammedans and Druzes among the Syrian emigrants is larger
in the former countries than in the latter.
It was on July 7th, 1925, that these orders were published
and, incidentally, immediately enforced in the United States,
and with the following mail from Syria came reports of there
being a strong undercurrent of discontent rv.ining in the Druze
country of the Hauran mountain. It was in the latter part of
that same month that the Druzes appealed to arms and opened
hostilities.
What is apparently the outstanding reason for this revolt is
the obdurate, uncompromising policy of the then French High
Commissioner in Syria, General Sarrail. He had been petitioned
by the discontented element among the Druzes of Hauran to remove Capt. Carbillet, the French Governor of their state, but
refused. He aggravated matters by subsequently refusing to receive a delegation composed of the highest Druze dignitaries in
an endeavor to lay finally before him their grievance. Observers of events in the World-War recall this characteristic of General Sarrail both in his action on the Western front as well as
in the Allies' military operations in the Balkans, and although
Capt., Carbillet was not his appointee to the governorship of the
Hauran, he refused to remove'him on principle.
But the personality of Capt. Carbillet was but a cloak, the
outward excuse for the real motives actuating the Druzes to revolt. It is undeniable that this French governor was arrogant,
domineering and severe in his visitations oi punishment j but it
is equally true that he was honest and just, and an indefatiguable
worker in the interest of his stewardship, and to his initiative
may be traced most of the judicial, educationl and civil reforms
inaugurated in that section of Syria.
Tq even the casual observer of events in Syria, especially in
the immediate period following the World-War, the true causes
of revolt lay far deeper than the disappearance of the pet cat of
Capt. Carbillet, the sentencing of a Druze notable to hard labor
as a common criminal and such other puerile and fantastic reasons
of like nature, notwithstanding the assertion of some American
tourists who visit the country for a day or a week and take their
observations with an eye to the romantic and bizarre. If the origin
of the revolt were to be traced to its proper source, it would lead
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
us directly to the ambitious designs of the Arabs to create out of
the wreck of the old Turkish Empire a federation of Arab States,
with Syria as the leading constituent part, and the reestablishment of the Caliphate in Arabia. The assumption of King Hussein of the title of Caliph and his attempt at coercing other independent rulers of Arabia into acknowledging him as such; the
procJaiming of Syria as a kingdom in 1920 with Faisul, one of
the sons of Hussein, as king; and later the installation of Amir
Abdullah, another of Hussein's sons, as the ruling prince of
Transjordania, all have but one significance long and loudly proclaimed by proponents of the Pan-Islamic movement, and the
Syrian revolt is but one phase of this general scheme.
OUTSTANDING EVENTS OF THE WAR
At the outbreak of hostilities, France had altogether scarcely
10,000 effectives in the whole of Syria. The French forces of
occupation under General Gouraud in 1920 h.ad been at one
time no less than 70,000, but after the defeat of the forces of
King5 Faisul in the decisive battle of Maisaloon in July of that
year, in, which Joseph Bey Eladmi, Syrian minister of war, was
killed, and the French forces marched triumphant on Damascus,
occupying by degrees the whole interior of Syria, France began
reducing the numerical strength of its Army until by 1925 it
had but a mere skeleton of a military organization hardly able to
cope with an armed insurrection of any magnitude.
It was at such a time that the admitted blunders of General
Sarrail fanned the smouldering spirit of rebellion among the
Druzes into flame, and their first trials of arms with the French
were attended with so much success that they were not only steeled in their resolve to carry the war through, but emboldened to
enlarge their field of operations. They had taken possession of
Sueida, the mountain capital of their country outright and besieged the French garrison of some five hundred men in the citadel, formerly the old Turkish military barracks. A relief column
of about 3,000 men hastily organized under Colonel Michaud
was surprised by the Druzes and about completely annihilated.
The besieged French garrison was subsequently relieved, but
the French forces of occupation found their position so precarious
that they evacuated the country completely and fell back on
Damascus. It was at this juncture that the Druzes, in an attempt
to follow up their success, made common cause with the Mohammedan Nationalists in Damascus and stormed the city. The
r
�JULY, 1926.
47
French garrison at the time consisted of but 1,000 men of all
arms, it having been depleted to swell the numbers of the relief
column launched against Sueida. It could not quell the disturbances within the city and repel the attacks from without. Consequently, acting on orders from General Sarrail, it retired to
the fortress and began the famous two-day bombardment of
October 18-20, the first reports of which shocked the civilized
world.
Looking back now at those events after the lapse of nearly
a year, and analyzing the earlier and the later reports in the
light of cool reason unaffected by the heat of passion, it would
appear that the first reports of the bombardment were grossly
exaggerated, both as to the extent of material damages and
to loss of life. It is even the French claim that this energetic act
of General Sarrail, contrary to his former vacillating policy, not
only saved the prestige of the mandatory power, but spared the
country an appaling catastrophe such as would have befallen it
had the mob succeeded in overpowering the small garrison and
were left to follow the impulses of its seething passion in wreaking vengeance on the Christians who were accused of favoring
French occupation.
But if the French succeeded in subduing the outbreak in Damascus, they appeared powerless in pacifying the rest of the country,
even after the French Government had recalled General Sarrail
and sent as High Commissioner to Syria, Senator Henri de Jouvenel, the first civilian appointee to the office. De Jouvenel exhausted every means in his efforts to placate the insurgents: he
invited Syrian nationalist leaders to meet him, both in Egypt and
in Syria itself, in the hope of bringing the war to an end, but
in all these attempts at conciliation he failed. What, however,
amounted to an open challenge to France in the security of her
position, not only in the interior of Syria, but in the avowedly
pro-French coastal regions as well, was an attack by the Druzes,
coming on the heel of the apointment of De Jouvenel as High
Commissioner, on the territory of the independent State of
Lebanon, which they had hitherto held inviolable. They burned,
pillaged and murdered ruthlessly. It was then that the Christians of Lebanon, who had so far adhered to strict neutrality,
clamored to volunteer for the defense of their frontiers. They
succeeded in holding the Druzes in check until spring, when it
became possible for the heavy reinforcements dispatched byFrance to launch on the operations which culminated in the
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
crushing defeat of the Druzes in their stronghold of Mejdel
Shams and the victorious march of General Andrea on Sueida
in April.
SOLUTION OF THE SYRIAN PROBLEM
Among all the mandated territories, competent authorities
are in agreement that Syria is the most advanced and the one
coming nearest to the achievement of the national aim of political independence. The term Syrian being here used in the all-inclusive geographical sense which would embrace Palestine,
Transjordania and Mt. Lebanon. But these same authorities also
agree that for Syria to embark on the hazardous undertaking
of full independence under existing conditions would only mean
exposing itself to the certain danger of losing the little that it
now possesses and retarding its progress along these lines for an
indefinite time. For Syria is beset with grave dangers both from
within and from without. It is still the unhappy prey of the fiercest internal dissensions arising from both political differences and
religious cleavages, and the chasm between the inhabitants of its
different sections in social conventions, education and political
viewpoint is so deep and vast as to preclude any possibility of
unanimity on any one issue. Principally, the greatest ground for
difference is the advanced condition of Mt. Lebanon, which had
enjoyed a certain form of autonomy for seventy years preceding the World-War, and was, consequently, in a more favorable
situation for cultural development, as compared with the condition of the masses of the interior of Syria who had been held in
an abject state of subjugation by the old Turkish regime. Such
differences, as long as they exist, will bar any possibility of complete unity in the country.
On the other hand, it can never be hoped that Syria will be
capable, unaided, to withstand an attack by a foreign enemy.
Syrians were never a militaristic people, and their numerical inferiority as compared with their covetous neighbors' would hold
their country open for invasion at any time. The Turks on the
north have not fully reconciled themselves to the loss of Syria,
and the Arabs on the south hold that, they have a valid claim on
the country which in the early rise of Islam was the pivot of
the Islamic Empire at the period of its greatest splendor in the
reign of the Omayyad dynasty. And what chance would Syria,
independent, alone, relying on its own resources, have in defend-
J
�Beirut, Capital of the Republic of Lebanon,
and the
"City
of
Universities" of the Near East,
View from the Campus of the American University, showing the range of the Lebanon Mountains, with snow-capped
Sannin in the background.
�The "Rock of Ages" at the mouth of the Dog River in Lebanon.
Les ports du ffeuve du Oiesi
The Bridges over the dog-river
This was the point of passage of all great military movements between East and West. On the upper
right hand corner is the Roman Uridge
Assyrian inscription on the Rock at the mouth of the Dog River, commemorating the victory of Nabiichadenczzar.
�Assyrian inscription on the Hock at the mouth of the Dog River, commemorating the victory of Nabuchadenezzar.
Photo by Brown Bros.
�A c!ose-up view of the mouth of the Dog River in Lebanon.
Photo by Brown Bios.
�—
JULY, 1926.
49
mg itself against an invading Arab army under such a leader as
Sultan Ibn-Saoud, who humbled even King Hussein with all
what he had in material resources and the prestige of the Sheriflan house, or against Mustapha Kemal Pasha?
Realizing this situation, it would seem that the salvation of
Syria lies in its complete trust in the League of Nations which,
realizing its capabilities, and at the same time its limitations'
placed it in class A mandates. As to France being the holder of
the mandate is a subject which appears now to be past the range
of discussion. France is there by a mandate from the League under
the same conditions, and undeniably with the same right, as that
of England in Palestine and Iraq. To attempt to eject France
from Syria by force of arms is not only a futile, but a disastrous
undertaking for the Syrians. Spokesmen of the Syrian nationalist movement themselves admit that the security of their country
lies in a defensive treaty with France and imply thereby that
complete independence for Syria is beyond the range of possibility, at least under present conditions. Besides, we have the defacto situation of France already being in occupation of Syria
and having undergone so much military and other expenditures
as to constitute a certain claim on the country. Moreover, it has
its investments of long standing representing railroads, docks,
port improvements, educational establishments, etc., which, seemingly, the League of Nations has taken into consideration in
granting it the mandate. What is more, France, according to its
own spokesmen and to the statements of European diplomats of
other nationalities, cannot afford to have its military prestige
suffer by evacuating the country under duress. All of which indicates that a policy of conciliation attended by gradual education in the art of self-government under the tutelage of the
mandatory power, would prove to be the sanest and safest course
and the one most fruitful of salutary results for Syria in its
present stage of national development.
"Contentment is an Inexhaustible treasure." — Tradition of
Mohammed.
!
\
�50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Adaptation of the Linotype to the
Arabic Language
A few months ago there appeared in the "Brooklyn Daily
Eagle", an article by a Syrian reporter which revealed for the
first time a movement of the first magnitude to win the Moslem
world to Bolshevism by a concentrated propaganda. Incidentally,
it proved the potential value of the Linotype as it is now adapted
to the Arabic language.
The Soviet authorities had planned to distribute among the
Moslem natives of the Near and Far Easts literature printed in
their own language to propagate communistic ideas and make
common cause with Asiatics in their gigantic struggle with the
"Capitalistic" nations of Western Europe.
It was realized that to make it effective, this propaganda
must be centralized and controlled from Moscow, the capital of
the United Soviet Republics of Russia. This meant a publishing
house, well equipped with modern machinery to cope with the
huge scale on which the plan of the propaganda was conceived.
The field of their proposed activity was so immense that it would
stagger the imagination.
There are no less than 220 million Moslems in the world
scattered over countries several times larger than the United
States. In China there are thirty millions and in India there are
almost seventy-five million Moslems; then moving westward,
we have Afghanistan, Beluchistan, Turkistan, Persia, Turkey,
Syria, and the countries in the north of Africa—Egypt, Tunis,
Algiers and Morocco.
And now comes the amazingly audacious feature of the
Soviet's plan. Not only all these countries with their conflicting
races and heterogeneous languages were to be reached from one
center of distribution, but it was thought sufficient to have practically one man who would serve as the medium of distribution.
One Linotype with one operator constantly under their patronizing eyes was the distinctive feature of this daring plan.
It did not take the clever Russians long to discover that
while the Moslems of the world spoke about half a dozen major
languages—Turkish, Persian, Urdu (The language of the Mos-
�—
4"
JULY, 1926.
51
Jem Hindus ), etc., they all used one alphabet—the Arabic Alphabet One font, therefore, would serve these languages, which,
while differing sometimes radically in grammar and syntax from
one another, have much in common and have all borrowed freely
from the Arabic, the language of the holy Koran.
One would naturally expect the Russians to look for help to
Cairo, Egypt, the centre of Arabic culture, which for ages had
been famous for its Arabic publishing houses, and which today
boasts of no less than four enterprising daily papers; or to Constantinople, which vies successfully with Cairo in its bustling
publishing business; or to Beirut, the city of colleges and presses!
But strange as it may appear, it was to New York that the
Soviets cast their longing eyes.
A slender spectacled youth, a Syrian writer and Linotype
operator who lives in Brooklyn, was their choice.
Unfortunately for the Russians, this young man rejected
their offer, whimiscally explaining his rejection to his friend the
Eagle reporter, that he asked the Russians to insure his neck,
and as they were not inclined to do so, he, not having an extra
neck in case the Bolsheviks took a fancy to deprive him of the
only one^he had, flatly refused to proceed to Moscow.
The incident is a little amusing, but highly instructive.
It was about fifteen years ago that (through the efforts of
Salloum A. Mokarzel, the editor of this magazine) the Arabic
Alphabet was adapted to the I.
which, with successive improvements, has become an indispensable equipment in the establishments of th
nail but efficient daily Syrian publications, all
situated in the City of New York, the City of all nations.
Yet in all this period of time the slow East, even Cairo, the
most modern city of the Arabic-speaking world, has gone its tedious way, setting j:ype by hand, with some printing plants employing as many as fifty composers to produce a daily paper of eight
pages and one monthly magazine.
One stands astounded and speechless before such glaring evidence of the tardiness of the East, even in a profession which
is supposed to be in the lead of every intellectual and social reform.
There is here food for thought and cause for wonderment
for reflecting minds. How comes it that half-a-dozen Syrian papers published in New York with a combined circulation less than
that of a leading Cairo daily, have blazed the way in this cultured
profession for a country like Egypt, which had been in close
�ss
I
52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
contact with Western civilization for well nigh half a century?
Undoubtedly one answer is that, living in a country which
has lead the world in business efficiency and mechanical progress,
the Syrian publishers could not but recognize the advantage of
the Linotype over the old hand composition. The adoption of
the Linotype by Syrian publishers as well as other foreign newspaper publishers in America, was an inevitable step.
But aside from this economic consideration which the Syrian
publishers of New York could not have escaped, there was a
higher, spiritual factor. The Syrian business men, including publishers in America, have caught something of that American
pioneering spirit, that daring vision and stalwart faith which in
the latter forties had sent brave men and women in covered wagons across dreary deserts and despite insurmountable hardships
to settle the virgin soil of the Western States.
It is this spirit of healthy, vigorous Americanism which Syrians in America are preaching through their papers, through
their flourshing business enterprises, through success in their professional careers, to the Arabic speaking world. The eyes of the
East have been opened as never before to America, and its ears
have become attentive to every shift that moves across the wide
stage, of the American Continent. Even Cairo publishers are
beginning to take the hint, and today many innovations in Cairo
newspapers and pictorial magazines attest to the influence of the
American and Syrian-American press.
KISMET!
On entering a Mosque, Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet
Mohammed, gave his horse to a man standing by to hold it for
him. The man, no sooner Ali turned his back, took the bridle
and left the horse behind. Ali came out with two dirhams in hand
to reward the man who held his horse, but on finding he had gone
with the bridle, Ali gave the money to his slave-boy and told
him to go out and buy another bridle. The boy went and, by
chance, bought the same bridle from the man who stole it, for
two dirhams.
"Praised be Allah," said Ali when he saw the bridle, "how
man denies himself an honest livelihood to run after a dishonest one for lack of patience, whereas he only receives what Allah
allots him."
�JULY, 1926.
53
Editor s Comment
AS TO POLICY
Every Syrian publication stands on a volcano. The bowels of
the earth — the Syrian earth — still seeth with fierce and conflicting passions, and it would be unnatural not to expect an eruption. But what may come cannot be worse than what has gone,
and it is our intention to make this publication shock and fireproof. Further, it is our confident hope that we will succeed.
Everyone who knows Syria must be conscious of the deeprooted, centuries-old feuds that rend the people of that unhappy
land into a thousand and one factions. Perhaps it is the geographical situation of Syria that first caused it to be fertile ground for
seeds of dissension and discord. Ever since the dawn of history
it has been the battlefield of nations, one overrunning it after
the other, and depositing in it a germ of bitterness ere it left.
This precluded any hope of national unity. If the cause of friction and strife was not racial, as it had been in olden times, then
it was religious, as it came to be in medieval and modern times.
But regardless of the variety of causes and their perpetrators,
the effect has always been the same, and the unfortunate victim
of it all has always been Syria.
Our present day is no exception to the ages past. Rather,
there seems to have come to be a multiplicity of causes unknown
to times gone by. We now have the unwelcome distinction of
being not only the most religiously divided people on earth,
but the one most politically divided as well.
In view of these conditions, a publication for the Syrians
cannot but tread on most delicate ground. What would, under
ordinary circumstances, be considered the most harmless comment, the most simple and straightforward statement of fact,
immediately finds objectors — and often of the unconscientious
type.
We regretfully feel bound to admit that even a publication
of the nature of "The Syrian World" may not be granted immunity. Natures bred in the soil of the old country hardly undergo a complete transformation when transplanted.
But with all due respect for the feelings of the older generation, we must make trie frank and unequivocal statement that
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
this publication is not intended for them. Rather, it is undertaken for the benefit of their off-springs born and bred on American soil and under the influence of the ideals represented by
the Stars and Stripes, and it is under that guiding princple that
it shall be carried on.
Be it therefore clearly stated at the outset that "The Syrian
World" will not be subordinated to any faction or party, whether
religious or political; that it will not lend itself to the dissemination or promulgation of principles, views, or other materials of
partisan propaganda in the interest of any one faction or party
and to the detriment of the whole; that it has no religiousbelief,
or political creed, or social tenet; that it strives to publish the
truth for its own sake without prejudice or malice; and all this
to the end that this publication shall not be the means of perpetuating in this new country the factional strife that has been
for ever so long the curse of the old country, and poisoning the
minds of our youth in America with the virulent potions of oldworld drugs.
The policy must conform to the principle, and inasmuch
as our principle is disinterested public service, so must our policy
be unbiased and fearless, and we trust that our American-born,
liberty-bred Syrian generation will appreciate our efforts as well
as our motives and place in us the confidence that is due all
honest public service.
APPRECIATION.
The generous and spontaneous response to our call tor subscriptions to THE SYRIAN WORLD, coming from all parts of the Unit' ed States and Canada, was most encouraging and gratifying, and
we would feel amiss in the performance of a pleasant duty if
we failed to register in this first issue of the publication a word
of thanks and appreciation to our multitude of friends who have
made their wishes of god-speed so effectively heartening at the
commencement of our arduous task.
We are taking the liberty of publishing some excerpts from
letters received from appreciative subscribers who realize the
immense benefits accruing to our race in America from the publication of a magazine of the nature of THE SYRIAN WORLD, and
it: is with a genuine feeling of satisfaction that we admit that
some of our correspondents have discovered many more advantages resulting from such a publication than have come within
our scope of reasoning.
�JULY, 1926.
55
Especially do we feel indebted to our two leading Arabic
papers, the daily Al-Hoda and the semi-weekly Al-Sayeh, for
the generous attitude of approval they have displayed towards
THE SYRIAN WORLD. Al-Hoda, in particular, not only has given
us librally of editorial comment but has devoted many a column
to the publication of articles and commentaries on the necessity
of a magazine in English for the Syrians in America.
As to our remaining papers, we believe they have witheld
their comment until the magazine had made its appearance, and
we have a strong premonition that they, too, will agree that this
English publication is as necessary in its mission of service to the
younger Syrian generation as their Arabic publications continue
to be a necessity in catering to the older generation.
WILL YOU HELP?
Now that the Syrian World is an actuality, may we not count
on the active support of our subscribers in the way of promoting
its circulation among their friends so that it may come nearer
to fulfilling its mission in proportion to the extent its voice carries:
The enthusiastic reception with which the announcement of
our intention to publish a magazine of this nature was received
prompts us to conclude that our thousands of friends feel the
urgency of this medium as keenly as we do. It is obvious that
not only do we need to acquaint ourselves more intimately with
our past history which, to say the least, is as replete with causes
of pride as that of any other race, but that only through a publication in English is it possible for us to enlighten the general
American public as to our racial qualities.
For us to hope, in the present initial stage, for anything in
the nature of a general circulation among the American public
is too daring. What we strongly believe possible, however, is
that THE SYRIAN WORLD will find its way to every Syrian home
in America, and it is for the materialization of this belief that we
solicit the active co-operation of all friends of the cause.
Then it shall be that when the Syrians are acquainted with
themselves they would be able to enlighten those of the Americans with whom they come in contact out of their accumulated
wealth of knowledge.
It is incumbent upon us to know more about our countrv
of origin than strangers, and inasmuch as THE SYRIAN WORLD is
the only publication extant that supplies the Syrian-American
�r
56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
generation with the necessary information, should we not co-operate in seeing that it reaches every Syrian-American so that each
and everyone of them will feel proud of himself and become a
credit to his race?
Towards the accomplishment of this object we would ask
each of our subscribers to send us a list of those of his friends
who have not subscribed so that we may attempt to arouse their
interest. We believe every Syrian-American is a potential subscriber, considering the worthiness of the cause, but that Syrian
who is not a subscriber must be reached, and that can only be
achieved through the co-operation of those who have already
subscribed.
May we then hope that everyone of our friends will act
on the suggestion and constitute himself at champion of the cause
which should be close to the heart of every Syrian-American?
OUR CONTRIBUTORS.
GIBRAN K. GIBRAN is in the van of our thinkers and
authors in America. For inspirational writings it is difficult to
find his peer. The subtlety of thought and charm and lucidity
of expression pervading all his works are his racial heritage
from the East accentuated by his thorough accomplishment in
the finer arts of the West. Not only is he an author, but also an
artist. W"e lack the proper qualifications as art critics to make the
bold statement that his art bears the stamp of genius as showing
originality of the first order, but! such a statement was made by
no less an authority than Rodin. And he is a no mean linguist.
His Arabic works show that same perfect mastery of language
as do his works in English, and one can find some of his original
compositions in beautiful French. But what may be cause for
greater gratification, and may we say pride, is the fact that his
latest book, "The Prophet", has already been translated into
fifteen languages, while of his former works, "The Madman"
was translated into nearly every language and "The Forerunner"
into no less than eight. His original contribution to "The Syrian
World" gives a portrayal of his interest and faith in our rising
generation in America,
�JULY, 1926.
57
PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D., is our foremost educator in the
United States. At present he is connected with Princeton University, having been formerly a lecturer at Columbia previous
to his departure for Syria in 1921, where he occupied for four
years the chair of Professor of Oriental history in the American
University of Beirut. He is the author of "The Syrians in America", in English, and of a large number of Arabic books published
both in the United States and in Egypt. Not only does he enjoy
recognition as a historian among his own countrymen, but among
Americans and Europeans as well. He is a member of the Arab
Academy of Science in Damascus and of the American Oriental
Society and many other scientific bodies. To his initiative may be
traced many beneficial educational movements, principal among
which is his founding of the Syrian Educational Society of New
I ork. His outstanding distinction is that of a historian, and we
are sure our readers will share with us the keen satisfaction of
having him prepare the remarkably concise article on the historical background of Syria which appears in this issue of "The Syrian World".
ALBERT W. STAUB is the American director of the Near
East Colleges of which the American University of Beirut is
one of the principal units. No other person in America could
speak on the purpose and the policy of the great educational
institution which has been reared by American philanthropy on
the famous promontory known as "Ras Beirut" with as great
authority as. can Dr.. Staub. We are sure our readers will fully
appreciate the sympathetic spirit with which his message to Syrian-Americans is written, and when we learn that the American
University of Beirut was formerly known as the American Protestant College we can readily understand the full meaning of
Dr. Staub's reference to the fact that the University is now nonsectarian. For the same reason we can appreciate the high ideals
actuating the American founders in inviting the Syrians to assume a greater degree of leadership in the affairs of the University.
M. J. NAIMY is one of those happy and rare combinations
of brain and soul. In his original writings he is capable of imparting the most soulful feelings, and then as an analysist and critic,
he is able to perform the operation of dissection in such a matterof-fact fashion as to give one the impression that he is all fact
.
:
:,
—
'
�58
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and no; fancy. One would find difficulty in rendering judgment
as to when he .is at, his best, whether in writing in Arabic or in
English, and he is a poet of worth in both languages. Perhaps
he owes his analytic power to his legal training, but one can
discern in his writings a tendency to imaginative creations rather
than pursuance of defined and trodden paths. He is a member
and one of the moving spirits of Ar-Rabitat-ul-Kalamiat, an exclusive Arabic literary circle in New York of which Gibran K.
Gibran is the 'Amid, or, in more understandable language, the
Grand Chief, and which has contributed much towards gaining
for America the, appellation of being the modern Andalusia in
the Arabic literary world.
HABIB I. KATIBAH is one of our promising young writers who has a wealth of material to draw on. He is a graduate
of Harvard and is well versed in Arabic literature. At present
he is a writer on the "Brooklyn Daily Eagle" and an occasional
contributor to the "Detroit News" and withal he finds time to
indulge in the unprofitable pastime of contributing to Syrian
newspapers and periodicals. It gives us pleasure to announce
that he has accepted a position on the regular staff of "The Syrian World", and to the extent that we value his assistance we
feel certain that our readers will profit thereby.
WHAT YOU SHALL READ
And now, dear reader, we ask you to pause for a moment
and consider the general make-up of this number of "The Syrian World". We are sure, or so we hope, that your conclusions
will be favorable. Our contributors are legion and their subjects
are most interesting and varied. But we want to promise you
more. We shall give you more of entertaining history and timely discussions. Further, we shall enlarge greatly on the news
section as the space in this number proved to be totally inadequate.
We shall give you all that is of interest not only of the news of
Syria, but of Syrians in all parts of the world. Still further, we
shall continue the series of the New Arabian Nights and the
Famous Arab Lovers as permanent features. And we shall have
bits of Wit, Wisdom and Humor of the East, but no dress
patterns.
�am
! ]
"m
.m.
JULY, 1926.
59
Commentaries
WHAT THEY THINK OF "THE SYRIAN WORLD"
AL-HQDA, (Arabic daily, New
York City), in its issue of April 16,
^26, published an editorial on the
subject of "The Syrian World" of
which we cite the following:
" * * * * Salloum Mokarzel realizes
the needs of the Syrian-American
.generation and strives to serve
them in meeting those needs. He is
convinced of the fact that the Arabic language has but a short lease of
life in America in view of the present immigration restrictions, hence
his attempt to create a medium in
English which will hold the younger
generation together in racial rather
than linguistic bounds... We believe the project to be most vital
and trust that the publication will
not confine itself to literary topics
but will invade the realm of politics
so that the Americans will come to
understand the actual conditions
that govern our political situation.
... Most Americans between th«
North and the South Poles know
hardly anything about us, and "The
Syrian World" is bound to prove a
potent medium for creating a better understanding of us on the part
of Americans, and it is our sincere
hope that some similarly able Syrians in Latin America will emulate
the action of the publisher of "The
Syrian World" and gain the moral
reward that such public service entails."
AS-SAYEH, (Arabic semi-weekly,
New York), in its issue of April
20th, 1926, made the following editorial comment:
****** The step which Salloum
•
A. Mokarzel is about to take is not
premature, even though it is not yet
time' to sound the death-knell of
papers1 published in the Arabic language in this country.... Americanborn Syrians are much more numerous than Syrian-born immigrants
and, inasmuch as the former do not
read Arabic, a magazine in English
dealing with Syrian topics is as neccessary to them as home and school.
Unquestionably American-born children of Syrian immigrants are anxious to study thg conditions of
their country of origin and to be
posted on the evolutionary changes
of their race. This is made available
to them only through the medium
of a publication in English.. . We
presage for the English magazine,
"The Syrian World", a roseate future and wish to congratulate its
publisher on being the first amongst
us to undertake this laudable step
in this country."
THE REVEREND PETER ASIIKAR, pastor of the Maronite Congregation in New Bedford, Mass.,
published a lengthy article in the
daily Al-Hoda of May 14, 1926, in
which he discussed interestingly the
necessity of publishing a magazine
in English for the Syrian-American
generation. He wrote of his personal experience in Chicago, 111.; Detroit, Mich.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Cleveland, Columbus and Cambridge,
Ohio; Zanesville and Wheeling, W.
Va.; as well as in New Bedford,
Mass., and the surrounding cities
where he found the American-born
Syrians helplessly deficient in the
�J
60
knowledge of both their mother language and the' history of their country of origin. He states that he has
often urged the necessity of issuing
a publication in English to deal
with Syrian topics so that every
American-born Syrian may learn
therefrom the worthiness of his racial stock and be' enabled to speak
with that consciousness of pardonable pride of his contributions to
America.
Continuing along this line of reasoning, he said that history is but a
record of the achievements of a
race, and the Syrians have such a
glorious record as to make them
hold their heads high among other
races and nationalities, and they
should be fully acquainted with it.
Finally, he exhorted the clergy, asso-iations and individuals to promote the circulation of "The Syrian World" so that it may achieve
its worthy object in full.
S. G. KADAIR of Pittsburgh, Pa.,
has shown such enthusiasm over the
idea of a publication for the Syrians in the English language that he
has proposed that Syrian organizations throughout the country make
special appropriations for presenting public officials in their cities
with complimentary copies of the
magazine. The suggestion is most
opportune and we believe it should
be given due consideration by organizations and individuals. Mr. Kadair,
moreover, has beenl helpful not only
with his suggestions, but with the
spirited manner in which he has
helped circulate the magazine in
Pittsburgh and its vicinity. So far
he has been instrumental in procuring thirty-six subscriptions.
JOSEPH SAKER of Warren,
Ohio, writes in the following encouraging terms: "...We are all
THE SYRIAN WORLD
awaiting wth great expectations the
appearance of your magazine which
we confidently feel is to fill a longfelt want for Syrian-Americans. We
want to assure you, Mr. Mokarzel,
of our undivided support for this
unselfish and patriotic service you
are rendering the race. Herewith
you will find ten subscriptions for
myself and friends."
JOSEPH E. ISAAC, Captain in
Command Q. M. C. Ky. National
Guard, at Cumberland, Ky., a Syrian from Zahle, Mt. Lebanon, sends
us such an enthusiastic letter of
approval and commendation that it
is with a good deal of effort that
we are able to resist the temptation
of publishing it in full. Captain
Isaac puts in his letter the characteristic military punch which spells
action, and in action he was not
found wanting. Not only did he
subscribe himself, but he sent in a
list of fwenty-seven of his friends
whom he asked us to send circulars
to, with the injunction that " a copy
of "The Syrian World" be sent to
those who do not subscribe before
publication date and billed to me",
because "I think you are filling a
long-felfi want, and I hasten to offer my sincere wishes for your success in such a worthy and noble
endeavor."
MRS. GEORGE AZIZ of St.
Thomas* Ont., Canada, writes that
the idea of "The Syrian World" is
"admirable, and being myself born
in America, and having a son and
a daughter attending college, both
they and I will heartily welcome
your magazine because it will bring
us in closer touch with our original
country, Syria."
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JULY, 1926.
61
About Syria and Syrians
MT. LEBANON A REPUBLIC
One after another of the peoples
of the Near East is adopting the
republican form of government.
Armenia found in the republic a
panacea' for its governmental ills
after its secession from Turkey following "the defeat of the central
powers in the World-War. Then
Turkey took the radical step of
abolishing the Caliphate and establishing a, republic, with the national
hero, Mustap'ha Kemal Pasha, as its
first president. And now comes Mt.
Lebanon, a subdivision of Syria under French mandate, to swell the
ranks of republican governments
in the Near East.
Arabic newspapers published in
Beirut, Capital of Mt. Lebanon, and
reaching the United States with the
mid-June mail, describe with great
detail tne deliberations of the council of representatives of the country
as a result of which it was decided
to adopt the republican form of government along the lines of the
French Republic.
The French High Commissioner
for Syria, Senator Henri de Jouvenel, approved of the decision of
the Lebanon Council and made formal declaration of the Republic before safTng for France on May 24th.
The independence of the new Republic is, however, subject to limitations embodied by the mandatory
power in four cardinal clauses or
reservations which the new Republic
accepted in toto and which read as
follows:
1.—The foreign relations of the
Lebanon Government, and the approval of consular representatives
of foreign governments are, in accordance with the mandate- convention, the sole concern of the government of the French Republic.
Lebanon subjects outside the
boundaries of their country who
come under the articles of this constitution are referred for their political and consular protection to the
French Republic. But in French
lands, they come under the jurisdiction of the ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
2.—The Government of the French
Republic has the right to intervene
for the safety and execution of the
mandate, the respect of this constitution, the integrity of the country,
and the establishment or restoration of the legal authorities in case
they are put down by revolution.
For this reason the French Govsrnment retains its immediate authority over the police and gendarmerie of Lebanon, and shall have permanent supervision over them and
full authority in guaranteeing the
safety of the military forces left,
in accordance with the mandate1, in
the country.
3.—The High Commissioner has
the right to annul any measure emanating either from the government,
or the upper and lower houses, if he
finds it contrary to the interests of
the mandate, the safety of the
country or international conventions.
�62
The House of Representatives may
not be dissolved, nor the president
deposed without the approval of the
High Commissioner.
4.—The High Commissioner shall
be represented by a delegate to the
government.
The High Commissioner assigns
the officers and departments in
which there must be French advisers.
The actual declaration of the Lebanon Republic took place amid manifestations of much joy and oriental
grandeur on the followng afternoon,
Sunday, at 4 P.M. Flags waved and
guns boomed as the French High
Commissioner, in reply to a speech
by the president of the Lebanon
Council of Representatives, declared
that "you have placed before your
country a ladder which will lead it
to the level of constitutional governments."
Following the declaration of the
Lebanon Republic, M. De Jouvenel
announced the names of the members of the Senate who are appointed
for life. They are:
For the Maronites: Joseph Istphan,
Emil Edy, Albert Kashou', Joseph
Namour, Habib al-Sa'd.
For the Mohammedan Sunnites:
Mohammed al-Jisr, Mohammed alKasti, Abdullah Bayhum.
For the Mohammedan Shiite's:
Hussein al-Zain, Fadl al-Fadl, Ibrahim Hayder.
For the Greek Orthodox: Nakhli
Twaini, Jibran Na'hhas.
For the Greek Catholics: Salim
al-Najjar.
For tne Druzes: Sami Arislan.
For the minorities, (Protestants,
Jews, etc.): Dr. Ayyoub Thabit.
Mohammed al-Jisr is President;
Habib Pasha al Sa'd, Vice-president;
and Fadl al-Fadl Bey and Jibran
Nahhas, Secretaries.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
LEBANON STREET
In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the
Capital of Brazil, is a street which
was recently named "Lebanon", in
commemoration of the splendid reception which was accorded a Brazilian Commission setit last year to
Lebanon (Syria) to study the conditions of that country and strengthen
the bonds of friendship between the
two countries.
There are thousands of Syrians,
mostly from Lebanon, in Brazil,
many of whom have attained a high
degree of success and proved useful
and loyal citizens to the land of
their adoption.
A PHOENICIAN QUEEN OF
BEAUTY
In a recent carnival, "Battle of
Flowers", held in the City of St.
Louis, Cuba, the first prize for the
best float went to a Syrian girl from
Lebanon, Senorita Victoria Ganem,
who was represented as a Phoenician Queen surrounded by ten maids,
five of whom were of her own nationality.
•A JUNIOR NOAH WEBSTER"
In a special dispatch to the "New
York Times" from Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, a Syrian boy, Joseph Abraham, nine years of age, is described
as a "wonder speller", who is not
only the champion speller of his
school, but "spells better than the
average adult with higher education."
The dispatch further states that
"Joseph Abraham has spelled every
word in the Ayres Scale Test of 1000
words, the test of the Russell Sage
Foundation, the Packer, Horn and
Thomdike lists prepared by the University of Iowa, and the' hardest
words in the dictionary."
�JULY, 1926.
A SYRIAN CONSUL
The Argentine Government announced the appointment of Dr. G.
S. Sawaya, a Syrian resident of
Buenos Aires, and formerly of the
United States, to the post of Argentine Honorary Consul of Beirut.
No sooner was Dr. Sawaya advised of the appointment than he' hastened to tender his resignation for
fear that he would be persona non
grata with the French authorities by
reason of his having been active in
opposing the' French mandate in
Syria.
A SYRIAN BOY MAKES RECORD
The "Birmingham News" of Birmingham, Ala., in its issue of May
29, 192G, published the following on
the signal scholastic honors achieved
by a young Syrian, Leo Alexander
Elkhourie, son of Dr. H. A. Elkhourie, who on several occasions played
a prominent part in national Syrian
affairs :
"Leo Alexander Elkhourie, who
has just graduated at the University
of Alabama as B. S. in medicine,
and who is commonly known among
his friends and fraternity members
as Leo, the scholar, rather than the
student, is now home for the Summer season. He will return to the
University of Alabama next year
to do some research work and receive a M. S. degree.
"Perhaps on account of the fact
that Leo's middle nama. starts with
an A he wanted to vindicate his
middle name and therefore in his
studies last year he had seven subjects and he made' seven "A's,"
"that's all." He heads the list of the
honor roll, having made the fellowship in the Gorgas Medical Society.
Socially he was equally prominent,
being a member of the' Forensic
63
Council and* chief officer in the Phi
Beta Pi Fraternity.
"He also received the lifesaver's
medal from the Red Cross because
of his thorough knowledge of lifesaving as a swimmer. He also received a lieutenant's commission in
the Reserve Corps of the U. S.
Army.
"Young Elkhourie' is an unassuming serious scholar who dislikes publicity."
DR. BISHARA A DELEGATE TO
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Rev. K. A. Bishara, Ph. D., pastor
of the Syrian Presbyterian Church,
and member of the Brooklyn-Nassau
Presbytery, attended the General
Assembly that met in Baltimore,
Md., May 25-June 2, in the capacity
of Commissioned Delegate representing his Presbytery. Apropos of the
contention between Fundamentalism
and Modernism, Dr. Bishara delivered a very strong address denouncing
both parties, affirmnig "that the
Bible is all Fundamental, and the
Gospel ever-modern in its principled."
Dr. Bishara declared that "the spirit
of Modernism is the same" spirit of
rebellious intellectualism that goes
back to Adam, and before him to
Lucifer, seeking independence of
God and all Authority." And when
he told the Assembly that "Intellectuals as a rule have very little intelligence," the applause lasted five
minutes. Dr. Bishara closed his
speech pleading for real peace, but
on the ground of loyalty to the
Apostolic Faith which is the only
lasting foundation of human life.
Dr. Bishara has distinguished himself as an orator on many other occasions.
�—_
r**
THE SYRIAN WORLD
64
THE PUGILISTIC CHAMPION
OF SYRIA
Here is a news item that will delight the' hearts of our Syrian-American pugilistic fans. It was published in an Arabic paper of Beirut, AlBalagh, under date of March 15th,
1926, and disclosed a strong tendency on the part of the rising East to
follow in the footsteps of the advancing West, not only in matters
of education and intellectual endeavor in general, but in body-building
athletics and sport activities as well.
The Beirut paper reports that on
that date there took place in an
open air arena in the suburbs of the
city a cosmopolitan prize fight which
was followed with great interest by
the diplomatic representatives of the
Turkish republic and the Egyptian
kingdom. The Syrian participant
was a certain Adib Bey who downed
all his adversaries and thereby proved his claim to the championship of
Syria. It is a matter of regret that
the paper's account gives only the
barest details, omitting even mention of the contestants' nationalities
' whom it simply calls foreign. A
point of interest, however, is the announcement by the paper that the
Syrian champion has organized a
troup cf pugilists to descend on
Egypt and try it out with its prizefighters.
Rihani from the United States, that
"Asia Magazine" has offered him
$300.00 for every article based on
his book, "The Kings of Arabia"
(Arabic) appearing in that magazine, with a provision for raising
the rate after the first four articles
in the series had appeared."
SYRIAN WRITES FOR
AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Under the heading "Three Hundred Dollars an Article", a Syrian
paper published in Zahleh, Syria,
quoting another Syrian paper, "AlAhrar" (The Liberals), published in
Beirut says: "We learn from a dispatch received by the author Ameen
FROM CAIRO TO BEIRUT
BY RAIL
A project the economic value of
which was long felt but the realization of Which had been always delayed
by political considerations, seems at
last to have come near fulfillment, according to an article appearing in
"Al-Ahram" (Cairo), which announces the formal agreement between the British and French Governments over the laying of a railroad from Cairo to Beirut (Syria).
At present, one riding in Cairo at
6 P. M. and changing trains at Kunaitera—on the borders of Egypt and
Palestine—would reach Haifa between 9 and 10 A. M.
The proposed extension between
Haifa and Beirut would make the
same traveler, without change of
train, reach the latter city about
noontime... The same distance by
Caravan would consume two weeks!
AMERICAN VINES FOR SYRIA
An announcement from the Lebanon ministry of Agriculture states
that 50,000 vine slips were received
from America to be transplanted in
the
Government's
Experimental
Station in Tyre. It is claimed that
the American vine is immune from
the phylloxera pest which has beSet
the Syrian variety.
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THE MOSQUE OF OMAR. JERUSALEM.
Brown Bros.
Said to be built on the spot where once stood the Temple of Solomon, and held in especial reverence by Mohammedans.
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JAFFA. THE SEAPORT OF JERUSALEM.
Brown Bros.
One of the beautiful Hties dotting the Syrian shore on the Mediterranean
THE TERMINUS OF THE HEDJAZ RAILWAY IN DAMASCUS
�THE TERMINUS OF THE HEDJAZ RAILWAY IN DAMASCUS
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One of the beautiful new landmarks of the oldest city in the world, built by Sultan Abdul Hamid.
Courtesy F. Askar.
�MOHAMMED, PROPHET OF ISLAM.
A conception by G. K. Gibran.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
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Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
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New York Public Library
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
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1926-1935
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<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
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English
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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TSW1926_07reducedWM
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 01
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1926 July
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Volume 1 Issue 01 of The Syrian World, published July 1926. This first issue begins with a foreword by Salloum Mokarzel and a poem by Kahlil Gibran stating the purpose of the journal to educate both Syrian-Americans and a broader American public about Syrian history, literature, and current events
it closes with an editorial policy of political and religious neutrality. The issue focuses on history. In addition to Syrian history, it has articles about the Druze and the relationship between East and West which give context to its reporting on current events, especially the Great Syrian Revolt and the French Mandate. It also includes excerpts from classic Arab literature and proverbs. It closes with calls for subscriptions, translated excerpts from the Arabic-language press, and letters from readers. The issue is illustrated by various places in historical Syria (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Israel).
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Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
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English
Creator
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
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New York Public Library
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Druze
Great Syrian Revolt
Kahlil Gibran
New York
Poetry-English
Religion
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/23fd5cd8ee29e02a44eb347cf875910e.pdf
40c011c17a43fdaf01dfaf8103eb17e4
PDF Text
Text
��SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I.
AUGUST, 1926.
NO. 2.
Opportunities for Education
in Syria
By DR. BAYARD DODGE,
President, American University of Beirut.
It is a pleasure to be able to congratulate the Syrian people
in America on account of their new monthly, "The Syrian
World", which ought to fill a much needed place in keeping them
in touch with what is going on in the Nean East. I am glad to
be able to accept a very kind invitation to express a few ideas in
one of the early numbers of the new publication. As my interests
are entirely in connection with education, it is natural that what
I have to say should be in connection with that subject.
For many years there was no well worked out scheme of education in Syria. Before the war the government schools were too
few to render a very great service in the country. Missionary
schools were able to make an impression on the people of the
large cities, as well as upon the inhabitants of certain favoured
districts such as the immediate surroundings of Beirut and the
Kesrawan. But there were very few private or native schools.
As a result, there was no well formed system of instruction and
the country was divided rather than united by such schools as
existed. There was practically no serious trade work or agricultural instruction given and there was no organized attempt to
plan for the development of the youth of the land as a whole.
During the war things became very much disorganized. The
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
French, British, and Italian schools were closed. The few native
schools had a hard time to exist, and the older students in the
Turkish schools were called for military service. The one bright
feature of the war period, was the short-lived interest in woman's education, which blossomed forth at Beirut under the guidance of Halida Hanum. It is also true that the Faculty of
Medicine was conceived of, which has finally become situated at
Damascus.
When the war came to an end, Syria was destined to pass
through a number of years of reorganization. During this period it was out of the question for any well matured movement
in education to' take place, but the High Commissariat was able
to subsidise a good many schools, so as to encourage them. This
period was marked by the reopening of the French schools, which
had been closed during the war, and the organization of a number of promising native schools under private management. An
almost incredible interest developed in education, which gave
new zest to school work.
As the French mandate became more definitely organized,
a number of states developed in the land. It soon appeared that
education was to be controlled by each state as a unit, rather than
by a national ministry. An Arab university, with faculties of law
and medicine, a dental school and a secondary school grew up at
Damascus, under the state of La Syrie. This same state developed a small school of agriculture near Horns; and a number of
elementary and secondary schools in large cities like Aleppo and
Hama.
The State of the Alaouites developed a School of Agriculture
near Latakia, and a system of elemetary education. The Grand
Liban started with a system of elementary schools especially designed for certain elements of the population that could not well
profit by the mission schools.
A small school of agriculture was started near Ma'alaka
Zahleh, and three excellent enterprises were begun in conjunction with the Alaouite State. One of these is a training school for
elementary teachers, situated at Beirut. The other two are housed in the ancient trade school buildings on the sands by Ras
Beirut, where Mr. Wadi' Sabra is starting a government conservatory of music and where a splendid little trade school is
springing up. There is also a training school for women' teachers,
which has associated with it a kindergarten of great excellence.
The type of education which is most needed in Syria as a
�AUGUST',1926
(
whole is work of a practical nature. Accordingly, the governments of the different states ought to be congratulated because
of their embryonic schools of agriculture and trade. Let us hope
that this work can be augmented and perfected, as the future of
the country so truly depends on it.
The High Commissariat has been able to accomplish a certain amount of work in conjunction with certain French societies.
A magnificent school has been built on the Damascus Road in
Beirut. This is the Lycee of the Mission Laique, which is housed
in a very fine building of the most modern type, with a capacity
for some five hundred boarding scholars and another five hundred
day scholars. Small schools are also being built up by the Mission Laique at Aleppo and Damascus. The Alliance Israelite has
organised a useful institution opposite to the old Prussian School
building, and this effort is accomplishing much to give education to the Jews. The Faculty of Medicine of the Universite
Saint-Joseph has been reorganised and its beautiful plant renovated after the war. A law faculty and a school of engineering
have also been subsidised and housed in the buildings, which
many years ago accommodated the medical work of the Universite. The school of engineering is an especially timely effort
and is being conducted on such a practical principle that it promises
to be of the greatest value to Syria. One only regrets that there
are not other schools of a similar nature in Aleppo and other
cities. The Near East relief has been able to give instruction
to thousands of orphan children in Syria. As the orphans have
been trained as artisans this contribution has been of the greatest
value.
Monsieur Henry de Jouvenel was twice Minister of Public
Instruction in France, before he became High Commissioner of
Syria. Accordingly, he has been especially interested in educational matters. He persuaded M. Cavalier, Recteur of the University of Lyons and one of the ablest educators of France, to
accept the position of Director General of Public Instruction in
Syria, with a general oversight over the educational affairs of
the High Commissariat. He has also established a Council of
Higher Instruction, with representatives on it from the three
universities and certain secondary school systems of the country.
This Council has not yet begun to function, but it is hoped that
it may be able to work out some uniform system of certificates
for the different states.
During the past years the American schools have been more
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
crowded than ever before. At the American University of Beirut,
a French section is being started in the Preparatory School.
Every effort is being made to keep the American schools from
forming a cause of division in the country, as it is most important
that the educational work in Syria should be a means of binding
the people together, rather than of dividing them still further
than they are now divided. The American schools are improving
their teaching of French a great deal, but they are also augmenting the work in Arabic. The schools of the native states will certainly emphasise Arabic very much from now on, as the new
autonomy granted to them will make such an effort popular.
The splendid Maronite school at Beirut has become famous for
its interest in Arabic and is making itself known in the city by a
series of plays, excellently organised and acted in the Arabic
language.
The present situation offers a real challenge to all who are
interested in training the youth of Syria. The war is over, leaving the country financially poor and disorganised. The mandatory
power has granted large sums of money and made a distinct effort to forward certain forms of educational work. The Arab
University at Damascus has weathered a number of storms and
at least its medical branch is stronger than it was a year ago.
The new private schools are full and enormously popular, so
that these native efforts are encouraging. The several states with
their new autonomy have golden opportunities to make their departments of education serious and constructive and to spend their
public funds for the training of rising generations. The foreign
schools at Beirut, such as the Universite Saint-Joseph, the Freres'
school, the Mission Laique and the American University, are
limiting their enrollment and strengthening their courses. Education has never been so popular before.
On the other hand certain matters must be safe-guarded. In
the first place whatever is done should be done step by step and
very thoroughly. In the second place, Syria should not be content with any standards of education that are lower than those
of Europe and America. A baccalaureate or doctorate in Syria
should mean just as much as it! does in the West. In the third
place the schools of Syria should strive to keep clear of propaganda and to work together in a concerted way to reconstruct the
country. In the fourth place, only a limited number of boys and
girls should be permitted to enjoy the privileges of academic
training, and higher education. The others should be encouraged
�AUGUST, 1926
5
or even compelled to' devote themselves to commerce, industry,
and agriculture, which are the great needs of the land. Two
years ago Bulgaria closed a number of secondary schools, in order
that funds could be procured to open up agricultural schools.
Syria might well copy this example.
The Universities in Syria are not only for the men and women of the country itself, but also for students from other lands.
About two thirds of the students of the American University
are foreigners. The Universities are doing well to raise their
standards and limit their classes. Their work is valuable, but it
is more urgent, for the moment at least, that government schools
should develop the more practical lines of training. If the land
is to be prosperous, the children must be taught how to do useful work.
With the coming of foreign armies and western influences,
it is bewildering for children to see so many old traditions and
customs of their fathers giving way to innovations from Europe
and America, as it is the case in Syria today. It is for the schools
to guide children to what is wholesome, that the land of Syria,
which has suffered so much during the war, may rise up to happier and better things in the days to come.
Syrians in America may well be interested in this problem of
their homeland, that evil influences may be removed from the
country and that the boys and girls may grow up with an understanding of what is best in the culture of both the East and the
West.
The future of a' country depends upon education more than
anything else. If the Syrian people are going to be united in an
effort to build up their commerce, improve their industry, reform
their social conditions, attain good health in their cities, and to
live in peace and understanding together, it is for the schools to
bring these things to pass.
Said Muslim Ibn Kutaibah, the great Arab General: "Ask
not a favor of a fool, for in what he seeks to benefit you he
harms you. Verily his silence is more precious than his speech;
his absence more desirable than his presence, and his death is
preferable to his life."
<
�««>i. amumw
IIIIIWWIWIIWM
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ISLAM
i
Because approximately 225 millions of the human family
profess Islam, the religion of "submission" to God, and owe allegiance to its founder Mohammed; because Mohammed was
an Arab, as are many Syrians in the interior of Syria;
because the holy book of Islam, the Koran, is written in
the same language spoken in Syria and many other neighboring
countries, our readers should be especially interested in this religion which played a tremendous role in history, and which ranks
as one of the three great monotheistic religions of the world.
Syria, after Arabia, was the first country to come in touch with
and under the influence of Islam. Today the original language
of the Syrian Christians, the Syriac language, which was supplanted by the Arabic, exists only in the liturgies of some Eastern
Churches, such as the Maronite Church in Lebanon and the Syriac
Church in Syria, and in some isolated localities, as in the towns
of Ma'loula and Saydnaya in the Antilebanon. So great was the
influence, so thorough was the dominance of Islam in Syria.
Islam stands not only for a religion promulgated by a local
Arab prophet in the 7th century, but, in a deeper and truer sense,
for a spiritual movement, a gigantic social, national, religious reform, based on pressing economic motives. It had no sooner gained headway and unified Arabia under its victorious banner than
it extended the horizon of its vision and ambition far beyond the
boundaries of the arid desert and addressed itself to the world
as an aggressive, missionary, universal religion.
As such, Islam represented one of those periodic overboilings
of that mysterious Arabian Peninsula, which had at different times
in the past perturbed the course of history and marked new eras
in the annals of mankind. Two of those centrifugal movements
from the heart of Arabia are famous: the one which superimposed
the Semitic civilization over that of Summar and Akkad in Mesopotamia and gave the world the Babylonian civilization with its
code of Hamurabi, the first code of ethics and law in history; the
other was the one which planted itself in Egypt and Palestine,
and was known in the former as the Hyksos Dynasty. Of these
movements, however, Islam was the greatest and most far reaching.
�AUGUST', 1926
I
:
i
7
To understand Islam fully, one must take cognizance of two
major factors — the Arabs and their environment. For despite
the later claims of its founder that it was a world religion, Islam
was primarily and basically an Arab national movement, affected
to a great extent by local conditions and historic considerations.
In this respect Islam resembles Judaism, and differs somewhat
from Christianity.
Arabia, "an irregular rhomboid" on the extreme southwestern
corner of Asia, comprising more than one million square miles, is
practically isolated from the rest of the world by the burning deserts which separate it from Syria and Mesopotamia on the north
and northeast, and by the seas which surround it on the other directions of the compass.
This vast peninsula, however, is mostly sterile sands, with
its interior practically inaccessible to man. Except for little oases
here and there, the only centres of settled life are on the edges—
Hijaz, Yemen, Hadramut, Oman, Hasa—where the kindly seabreeze brings with it rain and refreshment to an otherwise parched, intolerable tropical clime.
In one of the towns of Hijaz, Mecca, lying directly in the line
of the caravan trade between Syria and Ethiopia, and hence a
centre of wealth * aristocracy and influence, Mohammed, the son
of 'Abdullah, the son of 'Abdul-Muttalab, was born of the
powerful tribe of Koreish in the year 570 A. D.
Early in life he became an orphan and was adopted by his
paternal uncle, Abu Talib. When still a youth his uncle
put him to work as a caravan driver in his own employ, traveling
to Syria and Yemen. It was in this capacity that a certain motherly, kind and energetic woman, Khadijah, a woman of business
acumen and of standing in the community, employed Mohammed
and gave him charge of her caravan business. Although considerably his senior in years, she proposed to him and married him
when he was 25 years of age. He had six children by her, and his
respect for her was such that during her lifetime he took no other
* wife.
At the age of 40, while still married to Khadijah, Mohammed declared his message as a prophet to his fellow citizens of
Arabia.
At first, his activities were confined to Mecca, but spurned and
ridiculed by his people, and persecuted by his kinsmen who were
fearful that Mohammed's new-fangled teachings about the One
God, Allah, might destroy much of their trade and prestige, based
�««
'8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
on the institution of the pilgrimage to Mecca, Mohammed availed
himself of an invitation to carry his work into another quarter.
The year 622 A.D. marks a significant date in the history of
Islam and the world in general. After a period of ten years of
futile preaching and exhortation to the stiff-necked, matter-offact Meccans, Mohammed decided to migrate with his small band
of followers to the town of Yathrib> a small agricultural settlement about 300 miles to the northeast of Mecca. So significant
indeed is the date of this "migration", hijray in the history of
Islam, that the Mohammedan era begins with it rather than with
the birthday of Mohammed or his first year of prophetship when,
ten years before, on the mount of Hira, he first heard, it is claimed, the words of the archangel Gabriel cry out to him:
"Recite, 'In the name of thy Lord,
Who created man of a clot of blood.'
Recite, 'Thy Lord is most gracious,
WLo taught by means of the pen,
Taught man what he knew not.'"
The above lines (sura 96, 1-5) which are supposed on good
authority to be the earliest religious utterance of Mohammed, give
one also a fair indication of his early message.
This period of ten years before his migration, known as the
Meccan period, is characterized by a strong religious, oracular appeal} a rhapsodic exhortation against polytheism, and an earnest
warning against a terrible doom which awaits the sinner in the
hereafter, the fire of hell, "whose fuel is of men and stones". In
this respect, Mohammed was something of an Elijah or a St.
John the Baptist, literally a voice crying in the wilderness for the
clannish, callous, proud Arabs to repent.
,
Arabia was not a stranger to such a voice. Mohammed himself
mentions two other Arab prophets before him, Hud and Saleh,
while the rhymed prose, saj'y in which the Koran was supposed
to havq been brought down from Heaven, does not differ from
that of Arab soothsayers, " 'urraf", and priests, "kahens". In the
second volume of his "History of Religions", Prof. G. F. Moore
gives us a delightful imitation ol the original in a translation of
one of the early or Meccan suras, sura 93, which we reproduce
here in full:
"By the bright day
And the night without ray,
i»:':
Thy Lord forsakes not nor casts thee away.
�M
AUGUST, 1926
9
The hereafter the present will more than repay j
Thy Lord will give, nor say thee nay.
Found He thee not an orphan and became thy stay,
Found thee wandering and set thee on thy way,
Found thee poor and did thy wants allay?
Therefore the orphan do thou not gainsay,
Nor the beggar drive away;
But the goodness of thy Lord display".
In Yathrib, which was later called al-Medina, i.e. "the City"
of the Prophet or the city which opened its arms to him and gave
him protection, Mohammed and his followers, including his servant Zaid and the elderly Abu-Bakr, who became later his fatherin-law, fared very well indeed. His converts began to multiply
as his prestige increased proportionately.
Yathrib was a little town of date growers j its people were
despised by the haughty, rich Meccans, and the Medinites returned the compliment with interest. This may partly explain the
readiness with which the Medinites opened their arms to receive
a poor, persecuted reformer of the powerful Hashimite family
of Koreish. Butj there was another consideration, perhaps more
pertinent.
In Medina, there lived a large colony of Jews. From them
the non-Jewish Arabs must have learned a great deal about the
One God and about other religious and ethical teachings. But
owing to the national exclusiveness of Judaism the Arabs, who
came to admire the monotheistic religion of the Jews, were deterred from embracing it by the realization that they were to be
considered as "worshipers in the outer court of the Temple", and
hence inferior to the "sons of Israel". This same exclusiveness
and "amixia" of the Jews had done much to prejudice the GreekoRoman world against them, and bring some of the persecutions
on the early Christians, who to the Gentiles were only Jewish sectarians.
Consequently, when the group of pilgrims from Medina first
heard Mohammed they immediately recognized the similarity of
his message to that of their Jewish neighbors, but, what is more,
they hailed the new prophet as one of their race.
Besides, the Arabs of Medina were divided into two chief
tribes, Aus and Khazraj, who were continuously waging wars one
against the other and involved in endless feuds.
Mohammed appeared among them as a peacemaker, a God-
limMm --
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
send who spoke to them in the name of Allah. They listened to
his words and found in his mediation a welcome pretext to put a
stop to their long-drawn enmities. Islam became a haven to peaceloving Medinites, many of whom embraced it from insincere and
expedient motives. It was to them thai the Prophet, it is said,
refers in the Koran by "the hypocrites".
The community of "the believers" in Medina grew in leaps
and bounds, and was soon organized into something of a military
camp in which the call to prayer at regular intervals between each
dawn and sunset served as bugle calls, and the formation into
rows and the genuflections in the improvised mosque as army
drills.
Quite different now was Mohammed's outlook on his own
calling and mission. The pietistic, cataclysmic, eschatological view
of Islam began to give way to a religion of a social order replete
with intricate problems and demands. Mohammed became a legislator, and Gabriel was busy handing him holy writs that had immediate and direct references to questions of social usages, marriage, divorce and inheritance, that rose day by day.
In this light only can we understand and appreciate the long
suras of the Koran which belong to this period. They are quite
distinct from the shorter, Meccan ones, samples of which we have
already quoted. It is only fair to say here, in passing, that Mohammed, far from being the author of polygamy in Islam, used
his influence to curtail it, and to the making of marriage and divorce customs more decent and humane. Judging from the injunctions and prohibitions in one of these suras against
sexual immoralities and marriage irregularities current in those
days among the Arabs, Mohammed must be regarded in the light
of a reformer rather than of a compromising opportunist. Among
the many barbaric customs of the "Jahiliyya" i. e. "ignorance" of
pre-Islamic times, Mohammed put a stop to the cruel one of
burying alive "supernumerary girls".
Mohammed did not stop with the roles of a judge, an organizer and a law-giver. To these he added that of a conqueror.
He now began to dream of unifying all Arabia under the banner
of Islam. But to do that meant inevitably to control Mecca, and
to control Mecca meant to fight the entrenched power of the Koreishites, his kinsmen and veteran enemies. This he proceeded
to do by intercepting a caravan of pilgrims to Mecca at a place
not far from Medina called Badr. A battle ensued which at first
proved almost disastrous to Mohammed and his valiant band,
�AUGUST, W26
11
but in which victory at last favored "the believers". Success
brings success. The following year Mohammed's army was larger
and his victory over the "infidel" Meccans surer. But he
did not stop till in the 8th year A. H. Mecca itself fell into his
hands after the decisive battle of al-Hawazin.
Here Mohammed did a thing which, in the light of an impartial, critical study of history, must be considered rather unwise.
In the division of the battle spoils, which were quite
considerable, in the shaded valley of Ji'rana, Mohammed showed
decided favoritism to his own kinsmen of Mecca, who had submitted to him only after they had realized that to offer further
opposition was hopeless, and when some of them fought him up
to the battle of Hawazin. This, as we would naturally expect,
was resented by those long-standing companions who first espoused his cause, "the emigrants", and those of Medina who first opened their arms to receive him, "the supporters". It is perhaps not
an exaggeration to say that all the future dissensions and political
strifes of Islam go back to this seemingly insignificant incident
of Wadi Ji'rana.
It is related that when Mohammed essayed to comfort his
disappointed and dejected friends in words not unlike those which
the father in the proverb of the Prodigal Son used in comforting
his elder son, those stalwart warriors "wept till their beards were
wet with tears", crying: "Allah and thou, O Messenger of God,
are our sufficiency".
TRUE GRATITUDE
Said Ibrahim Ibn Adham to Shakik al-Balachi, both Mohammedan mystics, "tell me how you fare."
Said Shakik: "If God sends me my livelihood, I eat; if He
denies it to me, I wait patiently."
To which Ibrahim Ibn Adham retorted: "Aye, but so do the
dogs of Balach."
"What, then, do you do?" requested Shakik.
"When God grants me," responded Ibn Adham, "I give
others, and when He denies me, I give thanks."
"I use not my sword when my tongue suffices me."
Mu'Awyah Ibn Ab't Safyan.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Economic Development of Syria
VICE CONSUL PAUL
H.
ALLING, BEIRUT, SYRIA.
Appearing in "Commerce Reports" of June 7, 1926.
Syria is essentially an agricultural country, and under the
mandatory government efforts have been made to encourage the
adoption of improved agricultural methods.
Although the cultivable area of the country is estimated at
about 12,500,000 acres only about one-fifth of that total is now
actually under cultivation. The increase of this acreage to an
approximate maximum use cannot be accomplished except by the
introduction of modern implements and the extension of irrigation. A small number of tractors have been introduced in the
northern section of the country, but a great amount of improvement is still necessary. Nevertheless, the agricultural production of the country showed steady and marked progress during
the period 1920 to 1924.
The 1925 season, however, was somewhat below normal in
agricultural output; but as official figures for the year are not
yet available, it is impossible to say to what extent, if any, the
totals of various crops may have fallen below the 1924 figures.
Cereals, vegetables and fruits are the leading crops, and some
tobacco, cotton, and hemp are produced. No definite statistics
are available for cereal production; but the wheat crop in 1925
was estimated at its average size of approximately a million tons,
and the barley and durra (Indian millet) crops at about one-third
or one-fourth the size of the wheat crop. In spite of the relatively large acreage planted, the total cereal yield is still generally insufficient for the needs of the country.
Considerable acreage is devoted to vineyards. The greater
part of the crop is used for wine or alcohol, but additional
quantities of alcohol are imported from Europe.
Lemons, bananas and oranges ordinarily constitute very profiitable crops in Syria, but during the past two years the fruit
trees have been attacked by pests and many of the groves have
been damaged. Up to the present time little has been done to
arrest the spread of the disease, and many of the trees have been
destroyed and the quality of the fruit has deteriorated in certain
districts.
The region around Latakia is well known for its tobacco,
\
�'AUGUST, 1926
\
13
some quantities of which are exported, but because of the monopoly enjoyed by Societe/ de Regie Co-Interessee des Tabacs the
cultivation of the plant for local use is prohibited in all parts of
Syria except the Lebanon. Production increased steadily from
a total of only 360,000 pounds in 1919 to 2,602,800 pounds in
1924.
The mandatory government has instituted a system of experimental cotton plantings to show the farmers the value of
this cropj as a result, cotton production has increased rapidly,
reaching a total of 45,000 bales in 1924 as compared with 2,000
bales in 1921. It is estimated that by irrigation the present total
of 50,000 acres planted to cotton may profitably be increased to
2,000,000 acres.
For many years silk culture has been very important in Syria,
particularly in the Lebanon, where the majority of the mulberry
trees are located. The yield of cocoons during 1924, the last
year for which statistics are available, is estimated at 6,118,000
pounds, of which approximately 3,300,000 pounds were from
Greater Lebanon, 600,000 from the Alaouite (territory comprising Sand jacks of Latakia and Tartous), and 1,300,000
pounds from the Alexandretta district.
This yield has
shown a remarkable increase in production since 1920, when
the total was estimated at only 1,770,000 pounds. Judging by
export figures for silk cocoons, the mulberry trees may have
been slightly affected during 1925, but apparently no serious
decrease in production resulted.
Sheep raising is widespread throughout the country, and,
judging by the important increase in raw-wool exports in 1925,
pasturage was not much affected by the/ relatively poor agricultural year.
In connection with sheep raising for wool production there
is a certain amount of tanning carried, on, particularly in Damascus and Aleppo. Imports of shoes are negligible, as nearly every
large town has a shoe factory producing goods of excellent quality at low prices.
The industries of Syria are, on the whole, however, very little developed, The largest is silk manufacture, which is carried
on chiefly in the cities of Beirut, Aleppo, Tripoli and Latakia.
No statistics are available as to progress accomplished in 1925,
but in 1924 there were 81 spinning factories in operation as compared with only 34 in 1922. Other textile industries are almost
negligible, the rugs appearing in Syrian trade figures being chief-
�»
14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ly reexports. The lace and embroidery made by Armenian refugees near Ghazi Aintab is of growing importance.
Another development in 1925 was the introduction of a few
modern steam flour mills, recently erected. Numerous small
mills using water power are found throughout the country. A
few other small industries, such as olive-oil and soap production,
furniture making, cigarette making, and the production of pottery,
musical instruments and perfumes, are also widely distributed
throughout the country; their output in 1925 was probably about
normal. The production of the famous brass work of Damascus,
as well as the industry of pressing and drying licorice root, were
probably both somewhat affected by the disturbed conditions
during the year.
The country has never been thoroughly prospected for mineral deposits, but 25 permits have been granted to prospect for
copper, lead, manganese, iron, zinc, asphalt, petroleum, and coal.
Five concessions have already been granted for the mining of
bitumer. So far as known, no paying mineral deposits have been
discovered; of the five mining concessions only one is now in
operation, a bitumen mine with an output that is at present negligible. Marble and building stone are abundant in the country.
The recent political disturbances in the Damascus region of
southern Syria had a rather serious effect on local financial operations, as merchants were unable to liquidate their credits in the
interior and; this, in turn, necessitated extensions on the part of
the wholesalers in Beirut. In the fall banks began refusing to
discount bills, except for houses of unquestioned standing, and
the discount rate rose from 8 to 12 or 15 per cent. Bankruptcies
became more frequent and the general economic situation of the
southern part of the country was threatened. Trade fell to a low
ebb( in Beirut, and the situation was aggravated by the lowered
agricultural production.
The outlook for any general improvement depends on the
outcome of the investigation into the Syrian situation by the
Permanent Mandate Commission of the League of Nations, the
success that the mandatory government may have in adjusting
political disturbances, and the recuperative powers of the local
ousiness and agricultural communities. The fact that commercially the year 1925 had been such a profitable one, and resulting conditions in the Beirut market had up to the time of the
disturbances been so good, will undoubtedly have a favorable
influence in the stabilization of the present situation.
�AUGUST, 1926
15
Pagodas and Skyscrapers
By HABIB IBRAHIM KATIBAH
The spirit of a people often is revealed in their architecture.
The Parthenon of Athens with its simple, straight lines and
elegant pillars ; the rugged massiveness and majesty of the
Temple of Karnak, or the pyramids of Giza with their suggestion of boundlessness and infinity} the deep, mysterious, aweinspiring pagodas of Banares, with their tier upon tier of strangelooking, and often, to our taste, revolting idols, ascending and
melding with the clear blue of the sky} the daring, forest-like
"symphonies" in stone and stained glass, known as the Gothic
cathedrals—all these and others are so many manifestations of
the collective spirit of man struggling to express in finite and
concrete forms his conception of the infinite and invisible world
of the Spirit, "that is not made with hands".
In this progressive list of manifestations at last comes the
skyscraper. For the skyscraper, despite all that has been said
in its ridicule and contempt, is as surely a physical manifestation of a spiritual idea as any of the ones hitherto mentioned}
it is; a symbol, defiant and bold, of an age of intense progress,
keen competition and utility. Yet it has a beauty of its own,
strange and compelling, that fails not to thrill the heart and fill
the eye with serene wonder. Like a certain type of beauty in
women, however, the beauty of the skyscraper grows on one,
and does not come with the first glance.
The versatile writer and popular philosopher, Don Marquis,
has a beautiful little poem in which he has embodied almost a
mystical admiration of the skyscraper. One cannot read these
lines in which he describes the skyline of New York, suffused
with the iridescent colors of the setting of the sun,
"The strong hands of Manhattan
Mightily lifted up
And grasping the gold of the sunset
For a crown for her head!"
and still look at those monster buildings that clutter the lower
end of Broadway the same as before. Or as one views these
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16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
same hard-looking, matter-of-fact, giants of the "jungle of civilization" when night spreads its enchanting mantle and covers
up all the ugly realisms of the day-time, who will not recall
the magic cities of the Arabian Nights which sprang from nothing at the rubbing of a magic ring?
I must confess to the reader a weakness for these homely
skyscrapers, a sort of skyscraper mania. For often do I walk
the streets of Manhattan, lazily and aimlessly, with no other
object in mind but to strain my neck at' skyscrapers in the making, wondering how many stories high they will be, and how
they will affect the contour of the sky-line. Sometimes I think
I take more interest in these buildings than those who invested
their "hard-earned cash" in them. Certainly, I take as much joy
in looking at them as though I had possessed them.
I shall never forget the first time I "discovered" the matchless beauty of the Wurlitzer Building and the black and gold
towering one of the American Radiator Company. I must
have crossed 42nd St. at Fifth Ave., looking towards 6th Ave., a hundred times at least. But never had I been so struck with
the beauty of these buildings, as when on a certain night I stood
at the northeastern corner of Fifth Ave. and 42nd St., waiting for
the formidable traffic1 cop to raise his arm and bring the stream
of the whizzing automobiles to a sudden halt. In a moment,
as I stood there, all the mysterious and exquisite charms of these
buildings broke on me at once. I knew not whether I was in a
dream or in wakefulness.
"Could it be possible", I said to myself, "that these buildings
are symbols of a 'material civilization' as some claim? Is there
not in the subdued beauty of those towers, bathed in the soft
light of electricity, something of the religious, of the spiritual,
yea, even of the mystical that characterizes the pagodas of India
or the Cathedrals of France and Italy?"
Yes, the skyscraper has its spiritual phase quite as truly as
the pagoda has its gross, material, even fetishistic one. It is
with a fitting sense of justice and deep significance that the Woolworth Building has been called "the Cathedral of Commerce".
For commerce has its cathedrals where humanity lifts its hands
in praise of the self-sacrificing scientists, inventors and great
captains of industries, for making life more tolerable, sweeter,
and more worthwhile. The trouble with many of us is that
we take these great, modern, mechanical, electrical and chemical discoveries so much for granted, that we never stop to think
1
ii
�'AUGUST,1926
17.
what the world would be if we were suddenly deprived of them.
We often think of the material and ugly aspects of these
discoveries and forget the spiritual ones implied in, them. The
subway is noisy and monstrous, but it carries us quickly to our
places of work, and as quickly carries us back home, where, perhaps, anxious wife and children await us, or a comfortable
chair and a favorite book, to while away the loneliness of the
night. The apartment is not a "home", to be sure, but to how
many millions upon millions does it afford those home-comforts
and luxuries which a few generations ago could be enjoyed only
by the very rich ? We speak of the chivalry and romance of the
Middle Ages, and forget the misery and squalor of the huge
majority of the people of those days who drudged their prosaic
lives away in perpetual slavery. We glow with pride at the mention of; the court of Harun al-Rashid and its magnificence,
and often forget that even Harun al-Rashid in all his glory did
not possess one of the least of the luxuries we indulge in. With
all his gorgeous splendor and pomp, Harun al-Rashid had to
eat with his hands in a most unsanitary manner, by the flickering
light of oil-lamps. An appendicitis would have sent him to an
early grave, even if the best physicians of his realm had gathered for a consultation at his sick-bed. What cumbersome things
his gilded chariots must have been in comparison even with a
Ford, which could have been enjoyed by the poorest of his palace
servants, had he been living today. One, could go on and enumerate hundreds of these advantages which would make us stop
with hesitation before we speak of "the good old days"?
One is prepared here to listen to the oft-repeated objection
that these luxuries and conveniences are not in themselves spiritual, or necessarily conducive to the spiritual, esthetiq life. Very
true, but they certainly give us the leisure and the facilities for
the pursuance of the spiritual life. If jazz predominates on
the phonographs and radios it is not the fault of these inventions. One could as easily summon through them the distant
melodies of the greatest music-masters, or the most gifted singers. The stigma of materialism attaches not to the inventions
themselves but to the modern generation that has not advanced
spiritually to the same plane of high achievement and spiritual
elevation represented in these inventions.
The world has worshiped these thousands of years in temples,
mosques and cathedrals, but how often has this worship degenerated into empty mockery, or depressing pessimism because the
�1
18
Al
THE SYRIAN, WORLD.
body was completely neglected as the soul struggled alone on
its dizzy and perilous path to the Mercy Throne? Whenas
this throne lay but a few steps away from the door of the worshiper.
Especially we people of Eastern extraction have consoled
ourselves with the thought that our civilization is a spiritual one,
while that of the West is a material and hence empty one. There
is some truth, undoubtedly, in this generalization, if it is implied
that Easterners or Orientals in general are more spiritually inclined. But it is a dangerous and misleading one, as every partly true generalization is bound to be.
It is dangerous because it is conducive to a false sense of
security and pride j it is misleading because it assumes a dissociation between spirit and matter, between soul and body, that in
fact, and even in theory, does not exist.
In this view, a pious beggar squatting in the court of some
mosque in Damascus, or a dervish begging in some busy street
in Calcutta or Samarkand is more spiritual than a prosperous,
law-abiding merchant on Wall St. who, seldom, perhaps, goes
to church, but who, nevertheless, brings up a decent family, contributes to the support of some worthy cause or humanitarian
institution and creates a labor market for hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of men and women who otherwise would have lead
an idle, miserable life. Who of the two do you think is more
God-fearing, and who of the two goes home more justified and
blessed with the thought that he has done his duty to God and
man?
We often ascribe materialism to Western civilization. This,
at best, is loose thinking and wrong use of terminology. Western civilization, all civilization, is based on idealism.- No civilization could be possible without idealism j for civilization is nothing
more than the venture on the workability or truth of certain
social ideas. These ideas are acquired, borrowed, by society in
a gradual process, or thought out and promulgated by certain individuals. They differ from social instincts in that the latter
are inherited and universal to all mankind. No civilization is
perfect, because our ideas about truth and happiness differ.
Each civilization is like an incomplete edition of a book in constant revision. In general, however, the East has kept more to
the side of intuitions that spring from the unfathomable depths
of life, the West, trusting in ideas, often erred from the beaten
paths of life, but instead gained a freedom and mastery over
env
:
ten:
ous
in t
imp
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But
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the
�L
AUGUST, 1926
)
'10
environment that the East never dreamed of.
There is something thrilling in the sight of a pagoda or a
temple, in which grandeur, beauty and grace are lavished generously for the glory of God. But there is also something pathetic
in the thought that God requires this sacrifice of us which
implies utter negation of ourselves. In the skyscraper, God is
worshipped through service to man. From the negation of the
worth of man, the skyscraper, and the civilization that it represents, carry us to a higher plane of "the dignity of man" and his
eternal value before God.
Like Israel of old, the skyscraper rises up to challenge Jehova, saying: "I shall not leave Thee till thou blessest me".
Perhaps the skyscraper lacks something of the humility of the
pagoda, perhaps it tends to be a little vulgar in its self-assertion.
But the pagoda is also too timid, too self-humbling before God,
too lavish in its sacrifice, of too little utility or application to
the life of man.
To Laila
Translated from Arabic by J. D.
CARLYLE.
Laila, with too successful art,
Has spread for me love's cruel snare;
And now, when she has caught my heart,
She laughs and leaves it to despair.
Thus the poor sparrow pants for breath,
Held captive by a playful boy,
And while it drinks the draught of death,
The thoughtless child looks on with joy.
Ah! were its flutt'ring pinions free,
Soon would it bid its chains adieu,
Or did the child its sufPrings see,
He'd pity and relieve them, too.
�f
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20
The Widowhood of Shahrazad
By HENRI DE REGNIER
of the French Academy
\A review by WILLIAM CATZEFLIS
It has been left to a Frenchman to put the finishing touch
to one of the best known and most beautiful monuments of the
Orient. Readers, young and old, who have been captivated and
thrilled by the inimitable tales of the Arabian Nights, must have
asked themselves what had become of Shahrazad after she had
told her last story to the Sultan Shahryar, and had become his
beloved and favorite wife.
The Arabic chroniclers had stopped at the end of the Thousandth and One Night, not wishing, perhaps, to further invade
the privacy of that exquisite and strange girl, leaving the reader
to draw upon his or her imagination, and to remain intrigued,
with a yearning for more information.
But M. Henri de Regnier, the famous French writer, and
one of the forty "Immortals", has been more considerate of the
reader's curiosity than the Arabian writers. Perhaps, also, in
this age of positivism, which is no respecter of private sanctity
and hallowed mystery, when, every day, the rest and peace of
some great king of Antiquity are being disturbed by seekers after
scientific sensation, he did not feel any scruple in lifting the veil
from the life of lovely Shahrazad.
For one thing, he did it with a delicate and masterly touch,
lifting us on his winged words far, far away from this prosaic
age, and into the enchanted period of the Shahryars and the
Shahrazads.
.
We cannot give a better idea of M. Regmer's style, and his
manner of treating his subject, than by rendering into English
parts of his wonderful tale.
For the original French text we are indebted to "L Illustration" of Paris.
*
*
*
"Shahrazad had not slept well that night. The day had
been made heavy by an ardent sun, which so permeated the air
that one felt, respiring it, a sort of a burn, the discomfort of
i
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oi
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AUGUST, 1926
21
which nothing could temper. The lightness of the* most transparent silks seemed an unbearable weight, and the winged caress
of the fans was powerless in cooling the overheated darkness.
In vain had Shahrazad rid herself, one after one, of garments
not strictly required by decency. In vain had she delivered herself of the weight of necklaces and bracelets. Vainly had she
let fall, into silver trays, with a tinkling of gold and gems, her
most precious rings, not excepting that magic ring which Shahryar
had placed on her finger, the evening of the Thousandth and
One Night, as a token of love and a gage of security} that ever
so precious ring the sacred talisman of which had rendered her
inviolable, and had put away from her, for ever, the menace of
the sharp sword and the noose of the silk cord.
"Retired in the most secret and airiest pavillion of her gardens, the one made all of crystal, at the top of which played,
crossing each other, the jets of three fountains, forming a sparkling and fluid crown, Shahrazad had seen the hours of that torrid
day pass heavily, amidst the regular tears of drooping water, and
the grains of sand in the dial, without the least relief to her
heavy languor and her impatient lassitude.
"That evening had been as unbearable as the day, and before
striving to snatch a little sleep, Shahrazad reviewed in her mind,
without pleasure, the unpleasant circumstances which had attended it, not the least of which had been the indiiferent and absentminded manner in which the Sultan had listened to her daily
story.
"Hardly had she begun to speak than Shahryar's attention
was distracted from her narrative only to be concentrated
on his own thoughts. Judging by the way he stroked his black
beard, already streaked with silver threads, these thoughts had
nothing pleasant to offer to his mind. Shahrazad had seen his
dark eyebrows frown ominously. Several times his hand had
sought the ruby-studded hilt of his sword, or teased the agate
pommel of his dagger.
"This attitude of Shahryar had hurt Shahrazad in her vanity.
She was proud of her skill as a "raconteuse", and of the art she
displayed in her stories, the fame of which, passing the frontiers
of the kingdom of Bagdad, had spread all over the world
The Sultan had slighted her, and like all authors, Shahrazad was
irritable and vindictive.
I
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
"The silence of the Sultan had lasted until the appearance,
on the terrace, of the Grand Vizier, Kerendar. This Kerendar
was a person whom Shahrazad did not like. Highly esteemed
by the Sultan, he had opposed, on more than one occasion, the
costly whims of Shahrazad. He had, for instance, disapproved
of the construction of the famous crystal pavillion, with the water jets, and of various other amusements. His opposition and
his criticisms, Kerendar explained, were for; reasons of State
"Kerendar maintained a thorough and efficient spy system,
by means of which he was kept posted on all that was happening
in the country, in the capital and in the Palace. The doings of
Shahrazad herself did not escape his scrutiny. This surveillance
satisfied the jealousy of Shahryar, but bothered and horrified
Shahrazad. Not that she had any definite intention of being
unfaithful, but it would not have displeased her to read the
admiration of her pretty face, written upon the features of some
other handsome face. Besides, she was becoming fed up on
Shahryar.
"As Kerendar spoke in whispers to the Sultan, the face of
the latter had become all the more sombre. The news brought
by the Grand Vizier was not, indeed, of the most pleasant. Emissaries sent throughout the kingdom had reported unrest in many
sections. Collectors and tax agents had been attacked by the
populace
A formidable plot was being hatched in Bagdad
itself, engineered by fanatical leaders, having in view to attack
the Palace, and, by the torch and the sword, to put an end to
Shahryar. However, all such plots will be frustrated by him,
Kerendar, the ever watchful. But to succeed in doing that, it
was necessary to have, funds, and that not one dinar should be
diverted for any other purpose.
"Her thoughts carried her back to the past. She remembered the magpie in the poor shop of the cobbler, her father. How
she babbled, that magpie
It was in that shop that she had
grown, covered with rags, which, nevertheless, she could arrange
with taste. There, she had listened to her father and his clients
talk about various subjects
She, sometimes, took part in the
conversation, and by her wit and the vividity of her childish imagination, had pleased and amused her audience. It was there that
she had attracted the attention of old Ibrahim, the rug merchant,
to whom her father had sold her
She had other masters after
him
And thus she reviewed her life, up to the day she had
"\
j
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'AUGUST, 1926
^
25
heard of the strange test to which the Sultan was putting the
story tellers, who were striving to amuse his nights, haunted byJ
insomnia
"Little by little, sleep, which had been long rebellious, had
at last come to her
But Shahrazad was not destined to sleep
that night. Hardly had she closed her eyes than she thought
she heard strange noises. The Palace was full of them. Steps
were heard in the gardens and in the halls of the Palace itself
boon, loud cries and shoutings were heard. What was happening? A fire? Or had the people of Bagdad risen in revolt?
Perhaps the enemy had invaded the capital! Or was she dreaming, the victim of some nightmare? It was, perhaps, some of
her fanciful tales being continued during her sleep! But, no'
1 hat man standing by her bed, his turban unfastened, his arms
raised, was neither a ghost nor a spirit. She recognized that yellow complexion, that long nose and those oblique eyes. It waf
the Grand Vizier, Kerendar, who was before her, haggard, stammering, gesticulating, and from whose bloody hands fell, on the
white marble, large, red, bloody drops.
(To be continued in the next issue.)
THE ESSENCE OF WISDOM
_
Said a wise Arab: "I sought rest for myself and found it
in nothing better than in letting alone what does not concern me.
And I sought solitude in the wilderness and found nothing more
solitary than the evil companion. I witnessed battles and campaigns and challenged my equals in strength and found nothing
more defeating to man than the bad wife. And I took cognizance
of everything that humiliates the mighty one and found nothing
does that more effectively than poverty."
"The pen is a tree, the fruits of which are thoughts: knowledge is a sea, the fruits of which are the pearls of wisdom."
Yahya al-Barmaki.
H
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
24
Famous Arab Lovers
II
The Mad Lover of Laila
Running throughout ancient Arabic and Persian literatures
like a golden thread of matchless beauty, are the legends and
traditions that cluster around the name of Majnun Laila, the
most consummate, most passionate and most unfortunate of the
famous Arab poet lovers.
It is almost impossible to sift the genuine from the spurious
in those legends and traditions. But they are all of the same
warp and woof, so that while one may not be sure which of them
is historical, one, nevertheless, gains quite a vivid and accurate
impression of this paragon of mad lovers, who became in the mystical writings of the Mohammedan Sufis a symbol of the divine
love, the yearning search of the anxious soul after the ineffable
beauty of the all-embracing One.
Many an obscure voice of some unfortunate lover rings the
echo of its delectable and mournful melody through the instrumentality of Majnun's name, as if a disconsolate Pan had gathered into his reed pipe the quintessence of all the tender love and
pathos of wretched lovers and uttered it in an immortal song for
all ages to come. Other lovers as famous in their own rights as
Majnun had their poetry attributed mistakingly or intentionally
to him.
Such is Majnun Laila of poetry, or as he is known to Arab
chroniclers, Kais Ibn al-Mulawwah Ibn Muzahim, of the tribe of
'Amir, who lived in the early part of the Umayyad dynasty, which
would correspond to our eighth century.
His very name tells the story of his tragic love. For Majnun
means: "the mad one", and coupled with the name of "Laila", it
signifies: "the one who is mad for, or because of the love of,
Laila."
Majnun and Laila were cousins of the same tribe. They grew
up together; walked the same verdant fields and herded the sheep
and camels in the same pastures.
tm
�'AUGUST, 1926
25
A reminiscence of this idyllic child-love is found in one of
Majnun's poems. Said he:
"I loved her as a little child,
Her locks in tresses flowing;
Nor heaved her breasts, full curved and round
When childhood mates called playing.
Two tender ones were we,
Amid the flocks we herded.
Ah! would that life had left us young,
And young the beasts we tended."
A beautiful story is told of the youthful infatuation of Majnun and Laila.
One night, unexpected guests came to Majnun's father and
as they were short of samn, (the granulated butter which enters
into every variety of the desert menu) he sent his son to borrow
some from Laila's folks.
Majnun went and called out for Laila's father who came out
and asked him what he wanted. Majnun told him that unexpected guests had arrived and that he was sent by his father to borrow
some samn. Laila's father shouted to his daughter, who was in
the female quarter, to come out and give Majnun what he wanted,
pointing to a big skin bottle in the corner of the tent. Laila obeyed
with alacrity.
The two lovers stood face to face under the twinkling stars
of the clear desert sky, she pouring out the samn from the skin
bottle and he holding out a little vessel in his hands. Wrapt in
each other's company, they forgot themselves and the object of
their immediate occupation. As they stood there cooning and
courting, they were unaware of the samn flowing in a pool around
their feet.
It is strange, but not unexpected, that this most famous of
Arab lovers should come from a tribe which is described by one
of its members as "thick-hearted". Undoubtedly, Majnun's misery and wretchedness were heightened by the indifference and insensibility with which his love was met by all those around him.
His father, Mulawwah, could never understand why a sensible
Arab of a staid and respectable house should disgrace himself by
his effeminate wailing over a mere maiden. His relatives were
scandalized to learn of his love, and Laila's father would have
none of it, and, true to Arab traditions, considered it a re-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
H
flection on his honor and the honor of his daughter that Majnun's
love for her and her love for him had become common knowledge in the tribe.
Hastily and in spite of the heart-rending pleadings of the
two lovers, Laila was given in marriage to a stranger, an Arab of
a distant tribe.
From that day on Kais Ibn-al-Mulawwah became "Majnun
Laila". He was "mad", not only in a figurative sense, as lovers
not unusually are, but also, in a literal sense.
We are told that when the first symptoms of his madness
began to appear, he was bound and confined to a cell. He became
violent and would break the chains or bite his lips until they bled.
Upon being let loose, he began to roam the wide spaces, over
hills, dales and ravines;, barefooted and bareheaded, with only a
torn shirt on his body to protect him from the hot days and the
cold nights of the treacherous desert. He let the hair of his head
and beard grow. He ran after the gazelles and wild beasts, among
which he found consolation from the unsympathetic companionship of man.
In this state of savagery and mental distraction, some of the
most lyrical and exquisite poetry is ascribed to him. Every little
hill and dale, every wild flower and aromatic shrub, every lonely
shade tree of the desert, seems to, be reflected vividly in the rich
and mellow poetry of Majnun.
This poetry has come down to us, it is claimed, through a
bosom friend of Majnun, the one human being who linked him
to the world he had abjured. This young man would come from
time to time and commit to memory Maj nun's love-lays.
Arabic poetry is full of references to the gazelle, the graceful deer of the desert, but none more touching and tender than
that found in a little poem attributed to Majnun in a story which
has come down to us.
One day, while he was wandering about in the desert, tending
a flock of sheep belonging to the tribe, he met two men dragging
behind them a gazelle which they had captured. Taking pity on
the animal and remembering his beloved Laila who was a virtual
prisoner in the tent of the man she had married against her will,
he pleaded with the two hunters to set the animal free, but they
refused until they were offered a lamb from his flock in exchange.
As the gazelle went bounding away with fright, Majnun followed it with his eyes, and thus he sang:
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�AUGUST, 1926
27
"Thou who art like Laila,
Why runnest thou away?
O, wild and tim'rous one,
Thou art my friend today.
Only for Laila's sake have I set thee free,
So stay thou a while and keep me company."
1
•
At first Majnun's depression, it is related, took a violent turn.
He would make sallies on the tents of Laila's folks and demolish
what he could, then depart.
Armed with an edict from the Caliph to kill Maj nun on sight,
Laila's father threatened to take the law into his hand, but Majnun
continued his attacks in spite of a warning sent him through some
of his friends, to whom he answered unconcernedly: "Let them
kill me, this is more to be desired than my life of misery."
When, to avoid trouble, Laila's folks moved away, Majnun
would go and roll himself on the traces where Lila's tent stood.
Maj nun's wanderings took him far and away. He would
walk distractedly for days and nights together, until, as he came
back to himself, he would ask of people he met, "Where is Mt.
Toubad of 'Amir's tribe?" They would answer:
"Why ask you about Toubad and the land of 'Amir, you are
far away in the land of Syria? Follow such and such a star."
Then walking in the opposite direction, he would reach the
land of Yemen and repeat the same question, and the people
there also would reply: "Why ask you about Toubad, it is so far.
Follow such and such a star!"
One day Majnun was found dead between two stones. All
around him on the smooth surface of the desert sand he had
traced with his finger verses testifying to his undying love for
Laila.
Said Shareeh: "He who seeks a favor of another exposes himself to slaveryj if the favor is granted, he who asks it becomes
the slave of him who granted it; if it is not granted, both go
away in disgrace, one for his being refused, the other for being
a miser."
"Cut not your brother on mere suspicion, nor turn away from
him without an explanation,"
Alu
�-
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Cedars of Lebanon
By
MICHAEL ABOUSSLEMAN
Nestling in a sheltered declivity of one of the precipitous
ridges of northern Lebanon, bearing up under their age with the
proverbial hardihood and beauty ascribed to them with unanimous
consent as to no other trees anywhere in the world, there stands
today, majestic and proud, a grove of the original Lebanon Cedars, remnants of the vast forests that once covered the whole
country ruled over by king Hiram of Tyre, who furnished the
timber used in building the Temple of Solomon.
This little Cedar grove is the crowning beauty of historic
Mount Lebanon. It is held in such high esteem and veneration
by the Lebanese that they have chosen the Cedar as their national
emblem. Today the Lebanon flag is the French tricolor with an
outline of a green Cedar tree adorning the white center. The
American University of Beirut also has adopted the Cedar tree
as its emblem; and in commemoration of the visit of the Prince
of Wales, later King Edward VII, to the Cedars of Lebanon,
Queen Victoria of England had a stone wall built around the
grove to protect it from marauders and vandals. An armed guard
is now stationed at the precious grove day and night, throughout
all seasons.
The name of many a world celebrity may be seen carved on
some of the venerable Cedars, and some of those who have visited and admired the majestic grove which has withstood for centuries the ravages of the elements gave expression to their feelings in immortal words.
"The Cedars of Lebanon", in the words of Lamartine, the
celebrated French poet, "are the relics of the centuries of nature
the most celebrated natural monuments of the world
the old witnesses of past ages
They know the history of the
earth even better than history itself. They would, if they could
speak, relate to us the stories of many empires, religions and
human races now vanished."
To follow the Cedars of Lebanon in their long, hoary history is to recount all we know of past civilizations. A brief mention of the role they have played, and the eloquent songs of ad-
-
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�AUGUST,1926
29
miration they have inspired, cannot fail, however, of eliciting
interest.
The Cedars of Lebanon were a source of wealth to the Phoenicians. They helped them build their formidable marine, explore unknown countries, extend their commerce, develop and
perfect their industries and bring their civilization to near and
distant countries.
All antiquity sought this timber for its palaces, its temples,
its statues, its ships and its caskets.
Phoenicia was always a battlefield disputed without intermission by powerful nations who fought for its entire possession,
snatching it piece by piece from one another. The Egyptians,
Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, all these nations at one time
or another occupied ancient Phoenicia, and enjoyed the possession
of the Cedars of Lebanon, which were always the object of their
cupidity and, often, the principal and ultimate objective of their
invasions. All these nations have since vanished, save in history;
while the Cedar is still there, old, venerable, proud and a silent
witness of the fall of its conquerors and of their proud empires.
One would be tempted to interrogate this authorized witness—
since it has seen and heard—but as it cannot possibly answer,
we must have recourse to other sources which, although poor and
meagre, will testify sufficiently to the considerable role the Cedar
has played in past civilizations, and the immense services it has
rendered to arts, navigation and commerce.
THE CEDAR IN ART AND MEDICINE
The Cedar was to Lebanon what Lebanon was to Phoenicia j
and Lebanon, says a well known orientalist, is the nucleus of
Phoenicia. Phoenicia and Lebanon are two names for the same
country. Phoenicia is the Lebanese sea coast and Lebanon is the
Phoenician mountain.
The wealth of the Lebanon of old was in its great forests,
and of the trees that composed those forests the Cedar was the
most renowned and prized. "The Cedar," says the Holy Scriptures, "is the glory of Lebanon."
This wonderful tree is propagated by natural means. It begins reproducing grains when about forty years old. It is endowed
with a very great longevity; it may live thousands of years. Its
timber is hard, smooth, reddish or reddish white, aromatic, with
a specific weight much greater than any other timber of its kind.
�3d
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It has a bitter taste repugnant to worms, which, perhaps, accounts
for its incorruptibility.
It was owing to this that the ancients made of it
statues for their gods and their kings. When Sargonte was
taken there was found in the temple of Diana, which was outside the walls, and had escaped the fire, a statue of that goddess
made of Cedar wood and brought there by the founder of the
city, two hundred years before the destruction of Troy. It was
then more than eleven hundred years old.
To prove the long durability of the Cedar, Pliny relates that
the ceiling of the temple of Diana at Ephesus, which was destroyed four hundred years from the date of its construction, was
of Cedar. Another and more convincing proof is given by Layard, the celebrated English Assyriologist: In the excavation he
made at Nimrud in the palace of Assyrnazirbal, he found beams
of Cedar which were, in his estimation, twenty-seven hundred
years old, and well preserved pieces of those beams may yet be
seen in the British Museum.
From the Cedar tree and its cones are extracted a gum called
"Cedria" and a liquid having the consistency of oil called "Cedrium".
The gum, or Cedria, was very much in demand as a preservative against corruption. The varnish with which were covered
thq wooden caskets to preserve them from corruption was made
of Cedria and naphtha. It is said that papyrus, when soaked in
Cedar oil, became immune to worms. According to Pliny, the
books of Numa, which were found in that prince's tomb five
hundred years after his death, had been dipped in Cedar oil.
The Egyptians called this oil, "the life of the dead".
Cedar saw-dust was used in mummification. Some of this
dust was found in the tombs of the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Cedar wood gives, when burning, a pleasant, sweet odor.
The ancients used it in their purifications, their sacrifices and
their funerals. A few pieces of this wood were found by Layard
in excavated Assyrian temples, where they had been for seven
centuries, and when they were thrown in the fire, they still gave
that odor so often mentioned in the classics of antiquity.
Besides these qualities, the Cedar has some valuable medicinal
properties. Pliny and Dioscorides recommend Cedar oil and
Cedar gum as a remedy for tooth diseases. Moses ordered the
Priests to use Cedar wood, probably on account of its antiseptic
�2UGUST,1926
W
properties, in the fumigation of houses and persons contaminated or striken with leprosy.
No wonder, then, that the Holy Scriptures considers the
Cedar, that tree so beautiful, so useful and possessed of so many
beneficial properties, as the king of all vegetations. It is, in truth,
the ornament and crown of the forests.
THE CEDAR IN SHIPBUILDING
It has been said, and often repeated, that the first ship that
sailed from the ports of Phoenicia to trade with foreign lands,
carried in its holds and under! the folds of its flag the progress
of civilization,
That ship, it must not be forgotten, was built
of Cedar wood. Subsequently, Phoenicia became the mistress of
the seas. All the riches of the world were at her feet. What
was the secret? What was the cause of this wealth? The answer
is: Its Marine.
Egypt was the first to undertsand this. At the summit of
her civilization and power, she was determined not to be deprived of such a means of prosperity. She must have her merchant
marine and her war fleet. This was not so difficult for her. Her
influence over Phoenicia was uncontested, and that country was
to furnish her with shipbuilders and supply her with sailors. As
to materials, well, there were the Cedars of Lebanon!
The forests of this mountain have played a great role in the
histories of civilized nations of olden times.
The Egyptians and the Assyrians, who lived in the plains,
naturally lacked wood, especially precious wood, which could be
used in their magnificient temples and sumptuous edifices. They
purchased this commodity from the Phoenicians.
But there was a simpler, a more advantageous way, and that
was to seize and control Phoenicia and its mountains.
Egypt was the first to undertake this expedient. She invaded
Phoenicia and placed her under her suzerainty. She then took all
the timber she required for her temples and palaces and asked
more for her ships. She ordered from the Phoenicians ships made
of Cedar wood, manned by Phoenician sailors and commanded by
Phoenician captains.
Among the documents of Tel-Amarna is the correspondence
of the kings of Phoenicia and the Pharaohs Amenothes III and
Amenothes IV, in which are mentioned ships built for Egypt by
the inhabitants of Byblos (Jubail), Berythe (Beirut), Tyre
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
(Sour), and Sidon (Saida). The Emperors of the XVIII and
XIX dynasties, such as Thothmes III and Ramses II, possessed
very large fleets built and manned by Phoenicians
Then Assyria, having become a great power, was looking for
aggrandizement. She undertook to conquer Elam and Syria. For
this enterprise, a Navy was necessary and the Phoenicians were
the only people capable of building one for her.
When the star of Assyria disappeared, that of Persia appeared on the horizon. The Persians, too, had their period of domination. Ships having become indispensable, they ordered some from
the Phoenicians. The order was promptly executed and the Phoenicians themselves commanded and manned the Persian Navy.
Artaxerxes had in his service a fleet of several hundred ships
built by the Phoenicians. For tie Greek war he assembled about
twelve hundred ships from the yards of all the Mediterranean
coast cities, and before taking the offensive, ordered a manoeuver
to test the efficiency of his sailors. The men of Sidon made the
best showing. Since then, he travelled only on Sidonian Ships.
The Israelites, also, when they had sufficiently advanced to
organize a kingdom, sought the benefits of navigation. Their
aim was to follow in the footsteps of their neighbors, the Phoenicians. They were, however, far from efficient in the art of shipbuilding. Solomon made a deal with Hiram whereby he was to
have some ships built with Cedar wood and some sailors to
train his subjects for service at sea.
Ptolemys Philopater, Antigone, Demetrius, Pompey—all
had their fleets manned and built by the Phoenicians from the
Cedars of Lebanon.
Due to its forests, Lebanon was one of the most valuable
Roman possessions. Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, prohibited
the cutting of four species of the trees from the forests of Lebanon, particularly the Cedar; he reserved this timber for his
palaces and his ships.
After the Romans came the Arabs. They, too, had a fleet
built of Lebanon timber. Mu'Awia, first Caliph of Damascus,
established at Tripoli, Acre, and Tyre shipyards which delivered
to him seventeen hundred ships and had this fleet replaced from
time to time. His successors, although with less zeal, followed
his example.
Such pitiless cutting of the Cedar explains how Lebanon
finally has become naked and almost deforested as we see it
today. In the second century of our era, Mt. Lebanon appeared
�A typical scene on the desert border of Syria, showins an encampment of Arab nomads.
Brown Bros.
�THE QUEEN OF THE FOREST.
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The "Old Glory" of the famous original Cedar Grove in Lebanon, said to
be 6,000 years old.
Brown Bros.
�THE CEDARS OF LEBANON
This little grove is all that remains'of the vast forests that once covered the domains of Hiram, King of Tyre.
tourists from all over the world.
It is visited by
Brown Bros.
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INNER COURT OF THE GREAT UMAYYAD MOSQUE IN DAMASCUS.
Brown Bros.
Formerly a Christian church, transformed by the Umayyads into a mosque subsequent to the Arab invasion of Syria.
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�MGUST,1926
33
to Roman historians as very wooded, yet in the sixth century,
the Roman Emperor, Justinian, had to search a long time before he could find Cedars long enough for the roof of St. Mary
of Jerusalem.
The great mistake of the governments who succeeded each
other in Phoenicia was their neglect of reforesting the Lebanon or
putting a stop to its pitiless deforesting.
THE CEDAR AS BUILDING MATERIAL
As Phoenicia was the shipyard of ancient nations, so it was
also their lumberyard. Chaldea, Assyria, Egypt and their successors in Phoenicia and Syria had a great appreciation of the Cedar
of Lebanon as building material. But of them all Assyria was
its deadliest enemy. Thus Sennecherib, after having invaded
Phoenicia and Palestine, leaves an inscription depicting his glorious
exploit in these terms:
"With the multitude of my chariots
"I have ascended the mountain summits
"And penetrated the deepest valleys of the Lebanon.
"I shall cut its tallest Cedars
"And its most beautiful cypresses j
"I shall climb its highest peaks
"And its forests resembling a pleasure garden."
During the three centuries preceding the Christian era the
Cedar was indispensable, whenever lumber was needed for magnificent and durable buildings.
Perhaps the temple of Jerusalem, built by king Solomon
with the help of Phoenician engineers and architects, was the building in which the Cedar was most profusely used. And when one
considers that thirty thousand of Israel's strongest and ablest men
were engaged in cutting Cedar timber from the Lebanon, one
can have an idea of how much of it was shipped to Jerusalem
for that building alone. The temple of Solomon lasted 417
years, that is, until 587 B. C, when it was destroyed by Nabuchadenezzer, king of Babylonia. And the Cedar was still there—
another proof of its durability and inestimable value as a building material.
THE CEDAR IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Many are the passages in the Bible which refer to the Cedars
of Lebanon. The Psalmist describes the righteous as one "who
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
shall flourish like the palm-tree: He shall grow likes a cedar in
Lebanon". In the beautiful book of Hebrew poetry, the Canticles, the beloved's aspect is likened to Lebanon, "excellent, as
the cedars".
The Cedar was the symbol of grace and comeliness of stature;
it was also the symbol of strength. In the book of Job the seabeast, behemoth, is said to "move his tail like a cedar". Jehovah,
speaking to the prophet Ezekiel, charges him to say to Pharaoh
and his multitude: "Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold
the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon "
One could go on citing quotation upon quotation from the
books of the Holy Bible where the Cedar was woven into the
beautiful prose and poetry of the Hebrew sacred writers, who
immortalized it in their noble words. It seems as if the Cedar
of Lebanon was part and parcel of their daily life, and not merely an image of their imagination or memory. It became to them
no more a tree, a physical object of utility and beauty, but a
spiritual symbol of very rich significance.
THE CEDARS TODAY
Chateaubriand, the celebrated French writer, in his book entitled "Voyage en Amerique", mentions forests as old as the
world, which give an idea of creation such as; it came out of the
hands of God. Thus must have been the Lebanon of Antiquity.
Yes, thus must have been the Cedars of yore. But, what are
they today? Alas! What remains of the immense forests of history is only a memory of a remote past! Four hundred witnesses
of old time glory! Some are young, some are; old. The youngest are nearly two hundred years old; others are four hundred
and seven hundred years old. These are the young ones who are
enjoying life, as it were, around their living ancestors.
A very small number only goes back to the Biblical age. Three
centuries ago they were more numerous. In 1550, Belon counted
28 of them. Six years later, Furer saw only 26. In 1575, Rauwolf found 24. Later, in 1800, only twelve were left. These
are still living. They may be three thousand years old, according
to scientists. Russeger believes their age is nearer six than three
thousand years.
Yes, this is all that remains of what was once the glory of
Lebanon.
�AUGUST, 1926
1
35
Magnanimity in Revenge
(An Authentic Story)
The overthrow of the Umayyads in Damascus was so sudden
and complete that their glory and power seemed to have vanished
away as if in a dream. Members of the reigning family were
harrowed and persecuted, and those of them who did not flee
to the distant shores of Africa and Andalusia suffered death
or kept themselves in hiding. So cruel and ruthless was the revenge of the first Abbaside Caliph, al-Mansur, that Arab historians tacked to his name the infamous sobriquet of as-Saffah,
"the Murderer". It is related by them that after the battle of
Azzab (750 A.D.), in which the Umayyad forces were routed,
he called the scattered princes of the fallen dynasty, and after
having granted them his safe-guard, treacherously murdered
them in a most gruesome manner. In the midst of a royal banquet, a signal' was given in accordance with a prearranged plan,
when suddenly, the men of as-Saffah drew their swords and slew
the defenceless Umayyad princes. Not one escaped. A white
sheet was spread over the bodies of the victims, and the ghastly
banquet continued as if nothing had happened. But Time, the
great reconciler, had healed the wounds of even this deep-set
hatred between the Umayyads and the Abbasides which goes
back to the early days of Islam, to the wars between Mu'awiyah
and Ali, and the murder of Hassan and Hussein. The following
story, referring to a later period, gives one an idea of the extent
of the misery to which the Umayyad royal household was reduced as it also illustrates the magnanimity of an Abbaside Caliph
and his wife.
It was related by Abu-Musa Mohammed Ibn al-Fadl, the
son of Ya'koub, the secretary of 'Isa Ibn Ja'far, that he heard
his father relate the following authentic tale:
I used to frequent and serve Zainab, the daughter of Suleiman Ibn 'Ali Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas. One day as I went my
way to her service as usual she said to me: "sit you down, and
let me tell you of an incident which happened yesterday, so
strange that it should be written; on the white of the eye.
"I was yesterday in the company of al-Khayzoran, and as is
my custom, I sat by. her side, while the Caliph al-Mahdi, who
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
paid us a short daily visit, would sit on the other side of the
portiers in a seat especially prepared for him. The Caliph had
not come when a maiden entered, and bowing before her mistress said: 'May Allah establish the station of my mistress, there
is a woman of rare beauty and comely countenance at the door,
but her condition is such that it could never be worse. She seeks
permission to present herself before thee, and refuses to give out
her name'.
"At this al-Khayzoran turned to me and asked, 'what wouldst
thou that I do?'
'"Let her in,' I replied, 'for if thou dost thy action would
fail not to be; of some benefit or reward before Allah'".
"The Caliph's consort did accordingly, and behold, there
presently entered one of the most beautiful of women, who
had almost nothing on to hide her nakedness. She stood by the
pillar of the door, greeted us shyly and said:
'"I am Muzna, the daughter of Murwan Ibn Mohammed,
the Umayyad'.
'"May Allah withold His greeting from thee,' retorted alKhayzoran, 'nor bring thee nearer to Him. Praised be Allah
Who removed His grace away from thee, tore the veil of thy
decency and humiliated thee. Dost thou remember, O enemy
of Allah, when the old women of my household came asking
thee for permission to bury Ibrahim Ibn Mohammed, and how
didst thou flare against them and didst sting their ears with
words the like of which in harshness and vileness never had they
heard before?'
"At this, Muzna laughed. Nor would I ever forget the
gracefulness^ of her wide-open mouth as she chuckled in laughter. Then she said:
'"O cousin, what was it in the reward of Allah for my ingratitude that pleased thee, that thou seekest to complete the measure
of His recompense? By Allah, I did with thy women what I
did, and behold, He has delivered me unto thee humbled, hungry
and naked. Yet this is the measure of thy gratitude to Him,
for His favor in delivering me to thee.' Then, bidding us farewell with the words 'peace be upon you,' she turned and hastened away. But no sooner had she departed than al-Khayzoran
shouted back to her to return. She did. Al-Khayzoran came
forward to embrace her. 'Not in this condition,' Muzna protested.
"Acting on the hint, al-Khayzoran ordered that a bath be
n
�'AUGUST,1926
37
made ready for her, and maids were told off to serve her every
want. Muzna entered the bath and asked for a hair-dresser.
When she emerged, she was showered with beautiful raiments
and sprinkled with perfume. Then she came forward, and alKhayzoran embraced and kissed her and seated her in the seat
of al-Mahdi, the Prince of Believers. Food was ordered served
and Muzna ate with relish, unashamed, for she was exceedingly
hungry. When they had all washed their hands, al-Khayzoran
asked her guest: 'Hast thou any body behind thee for whom
thou hast solicitude?' Muzna replied: 'Verily I have none
outside of this house between whom and me there is the slightest relation.'
"'If that be the case,' said al-Khayzoran, 'arise, then, and
choose for thyself a room in this palace and bring to it all thou
needest, nor shall we be separated from each other till death itself part us.'
"Muzna thereupon rose and chose the largest and airiest
room in the palace to which everything she needed was immediately brought forth.
_"As they left her alone in her room, al-Khayzoran turned
to Zainab and said:
"'This woman was in a high station, and had come down to
such dire poverty that nothing would cleanse her heart of malice
but money'. Then she ordered that 500 thousand dirhams be
carried to her, which was done.
"Presently the Caliph himself arrived, and al-Khayzoran
related to him her story with Muzna. Hardly had she begun
to tell him how she had railed and mocked the destitute Umayyad noblewoman than the Caliph rose from his seat, and with
a voice quivering with rage addressed al-Khayzoran saying:
'"Is this the amount of your gratitude to Allah, who delivered this woman to you in such a condition? By Allah! were it
not for the love I have for you in my heart, I would have never
spoken to you again.'
"But al-Khayzoran soon put the Caliph's mind to ease by
telling him the rest of the story, and how she relented towards
Muzna and treated her with utmost consideration and generosity.
"The Caliph was visibly pleased. He called to a servant who
attended him and ordered him to carry to Muzna ten purses of
gold and instructed him to convey to her his salam, saying:
"'Tell her that the Caliph was never happier in his lifetime
than he i§ today. Verily were it not for his respect to thee the
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Prince of Believers would have come in person to thy room to
attend to thee.'
"The servant went with the money and the Caliph's message
to Muzna, and she at once appeared before the Caliph, and
greeting him with the greeting of the caliphate, thanked him
profusely for his kindness and that of al-Khayzoran towards her.
Then she said: 'The Prince of Believers need not feel circumspect about entering my apartment. Behold! I am one of his
harem."'
Said the narrator, "and I left her at the palace of al-Mahdi
disposing of household and servants even like al-Khayzoran herself."
MODERN POLITICIANS TAKE NOTICE !
Ar-Rabi* Ibn Younis was a favorite of Abu Ja'far Al-Mansour, founder of the Abbaside dynasty in Baghdad, and his
standing with him was such that he could ask of him any favor.
On a certain occasion, a friend of Ibn Younis sought his
intercession with Al-Mansour, the Caliph, for a political appoint ment, and Ibn Younis, loathing to disappoint his friend, approached the Caliph with the request.
This was the reply of Al-Mansour:
"The relation of your friend to us is a personal one and this
would place his claim 'on us in the category of private favors
and not in the class of public interests. State offices are matters
in which consideration of the public weal should be paramount,
and we therefore disregard in our appointments all influences
of relationship or personal intercession. Only those whose integrity and efficiency qualify them to hold public office are deserving of trust, and those among our subjects who are thus qualified may claim appointments from us as a right. Now as regards your friend the office-seeker, we shall care for him out of
our personal funds."
Said al-Ahnaf: "Beware of the opinion of the malicious ones."
He was asked: "Who are the malicious ones?" He replied:
"They who hold that forgiveness and pardon are a disgrace."
"Humility in honor is greater than honor itself."
Ibn al-Sammak.
li
�AUGUST, 1926
39
Editor's Comment
ATAVISM
The modern Syrian presents a palpable example of the soundness of the theory of atavism in that he is playing in our times
the role that was enacted four thousand years back by his ancestors the Phoenicians. And he is proving, incidentally, that despite
the succession of invaders who continually overran his country,
he has succeeded in maintaining the purity of his stock and holding tenaciously to those fine qualities which made his race, according to the testimony of Wm. H. Mason, whom we quoted
in our last issue, "the smallest nation of antiquity that has left
any footprints along the highways of world culture, or made any
lasting impression upon the material agencies of civilization".
The outstanding distinction of the Ancient Phceenician was that
of a trader. For trade he explored the coasts of the whole
Mediterranean Sea and ventured forth through the Pillars of
Hercules into the then supposedly limitless Atlantic Ocean.
Still, by hugging the coast, he was able to discover Erin and the
British Isles and bring them in touch with the most advanced
civilization of the then known world.
It was for trade, too, that the Phoenician developed that high
skill in craftsmanship which prompted King Solomon to seek
his services for building and decorating his temple. And it was
for trade that he invented the alphabet that it may serve as a
means for rapid and comprehensive communication between distant points, and rendered him thereby the benefactor of all mankind.
Now his descendant, the modern Syrian,, is enacting the same
role played by the ancestor but on an infinitely vaster stage—the
whole world of today, not the circumscribed area of four thousand years ago, being the scene of his activities.
And of what nature are these activities?
To anyone who is acquainted with the modern Syrian the
answer is self-evident. Not only is the Syrian found today in
all parts of the world, but he is found there as a trader, manifesting those pronounced proclivities which made his ancestors
famous and displaying such aptitude in the pursuit of the art
BMMMH
�-r- 'ii i - -
40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
which is the handmaiden of peace and the purveyor to civilization as to bid fair to gain for him in our present scheme of affairs the exalted position that was his ancestors' in times gone by.
The fact may not be sufficiently known, but it is nevertheless
true that the Syrian of today is as much an agent of civilization,
through trade and commerce, as were the Phoenicians in their
day. It is scarcely two score years since the Syrian began to
emigrate, and in this short span of time we find him not only
to have penetrated the farthermost parts of the world in response
to the atavistic urge of his nature, but to have achieved signal
success in all his undertakings. And this despite the lack of technical training in any particular line.
Where, pray, in any nook or corner of the.five continents
do we not find the Syrian? And where is it that we do not find
him a trader?
He is in Paris, London, Manchester, Berlin, New York, Sao
Paolo, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Yokohama, Manila, Sydney and
every leading commercial center that you may think of. ^ And
he is there a trader, a purveyor to the needs of the public, an
agent for the cause of civilization!
But let us not stop at that. Let us delve deeper into the
interior of the five continents and we will find the Syrian there—
in the jungles of Brazil, in the wilds of Africa, in the wastes of
North America — a trader, a merchant, a practitioner of
the art of peaceful penetration, an advocate of higher standards of life through the art of trade and commerce.
The life of the modern Syrian is a romance, but such a
romance as is hewn from the stone of fact and not conjured
from the vapor of fancy. It is an exposition of truth that in
many respects challenges belief, but it can all be proved, and
we shall proceed to prove it by what we shall publish on the
activities of the modern Syrian which may well be expected to
eclipse the accomplishments of his renowned ancestors.
This is by way of announcement to our readers that not only
shall we strive to enlighten them on their past, but that we shall
devote no little attention to the present, with the object of proving that the traditional ingenuity, resourcefulness and commercial aggressiveness of the Syrian have been carried on throughout
the ages up to our present day.;
Our readers will realize, however, that following this long
trail in all its evolutionary stages is a matter requiring gradual
development. Besides, the field is so vast that it cannot be coy-
HBHHHBi HI
�'AUGUST, 1926
41
ered in one or a few issues. Consequently, there shall be something almost in every issue bearing on both the past and the
present, ancj it shall be so designed that when all the information is put together it will tend to work itself into one, grand,
comprehensive scheme.
"LITTLE SYRIA"
Every now and then we are treated to a bit of fantastic reading in the American press about the so-called "Little Syria". So
far, with the exception of one series of articles by a seriousminded writer appearing in a scientifically inclined magazine, all
that has been published in description of the Syrian quarter in
New York was in the nature of rambling tales, concocted by a
fantastic imagination, and dwelling on those shallow appearances
which are farthest from giving a true picture of Syrian life and
morals.
Only a few years ago, a certain former assistant district attorney in New York had more than one of his articles on "Little
Syria" accepted by one of the leading national weeklies. To
anyone having the slightest acquaintance with the Syrians' conditions of life and code of morals, those articles were more than
repulsive and disgusting — they bordered on the nauseating. In
one of these articles, the author strained his imagination to weave
a fantastic tale out of a childish incident whose principals were
a Syrian peddler and two scions of an old New England family
wherein the wily peddler makes a pretense of saving the life
of the trusting New Englander and clings to him thereafter like
a leach, sucking his very life-blood. Happily for the New Englander, however, and to the relief of the credulous reader, the
witty wife of the old dupe comes to the rescue in time to have the
villain hanged up by his coat-tail from the branch of a tree from
which position he is extricated safely and thereby repaid for his
pretended good deed in full measure.
In the other tale published by the same national weekly,
strange words are put in the mouths of the Syrians, and stranger
deeds are ascribed to them. Just picture a Syrian having as his
co-lodger a dromedary, a camel, a ship of the desert, in a dingy
little room on the third floor of a squalid tenement house on
mysterious little Washington Street in lower Manhattan
And,
horror of horrors! the camel had the habit of promenading his
notoriously long neck out of the window, — the third-floor win-
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
dow — without incurring the wrath of any of the city departments for his impudence!
Then, about a year or so ago, a certain student of foreign
settlements in this heterogenous little isle made a descent on
"Little Syria" and garnered some extremely valuable information. For has he not overlooked the scores of business establishments teeming with activity of the most constructive kind, and
discovered as the greatest figure in the whole quarter a certain
excentric personage, who carries a little to excess his belief in the
back-to-nature movement, and who is looked upon with a certain degree of benevolent tolerance and amusement by 999 out
of a thousand of the community?
And now in this year of our Lord MCMXXVI, we still find
the field not fully covered, and prospecting for oddities remains
the order of the day. Seekers after "News" find Washington
Street quite convenient. Why, it is only ten minutes by autolocomotion from Park Row, and our confreres and neighbors,
the circumspect editors of the metropolitan dailies, are as ignorant of actual conditions in their immediate neighborhoods as if
they were thousands of miles away; hence their acceptance for
publication of such stuff as would make a fitting complement for
a series of absurd fairy tales.
How else could we account for the publication in the magazine section of one of the leading metropolitan dailies in this
month of July just past, of such fantastic statements as "Syrian
children in Washington Street never have seen a motion picture,"
"A house to the Syrian is, after all, only a tent, a temporary
abode
for he is utterly without sentiment for the roof that
protects his slumber from the glare of the moon." And such
other ridiculous statements which prove the writer's utter ignorance of the most elementary things about Syria and Syrians.
After all, this is but the penalty we are called upon to pay
for our former indifference. We are exemplary in our industry,
law-abidingness and strict minding of our own affairs. But it is
evident that we are somewhat deficient in our sense of civic duty
and racial obligations. We have left matters drift a little too
long, neglecting to counteract the forces working for our revilement and injury; consequently, our efforts towards correcting the
conditions thus created must be doubly intensive, and it is imperative that we girdle ourselves for a hard, struggle.
In this vital undertaking, this publication is striving to do
its share by showing who we are and what we have achieved.
�AUGUST, 1926
43
We are gratified to feel that in these efforts we have the! active
and whole-hearted co-operation of our best minds in America.
We trust, however, that every public-spirited Syrian everywhere
will not) fail to sense his personal obligation in the matter to the
end that the calumnies and false impressions spread about us
may not go unchallenged.
GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Not only do we consider it ethical and proper, but we deem
it rather a duty to acknowledge the many expressions of appreciation with which The Syrian World was received. To be sure,
we are refraining from reproducing the many editorial comments,
and the ever so many more letters of commendation and approval
received from leading Syrian men and women throughout the
country who express unbounded enthusiasm over the prospective
benefits resulting from the publication of a magazine for the
Syrians in English. We are constrained from doing so by the
sheer number and unanimous tone of the comments. But there
are certain outstanding facts which we feel bound to refer to
and which constitute news material of the first order in that they
disclose a certain psychological tendency among the Syrian-Americans which had been little noticed.
The plain inference deduced from this display of enthusiasm
is that the Syrian-Americans have outgrown the obsession of having migrated only to ameliorate their financial conditions. Now
they have come to look upon America as their permanent home
and want to adjust themselves to their new environment accordingly. Hence, they are anxious to have published in the language
of their new home-country historical and ethnological sketches
showing who they are and what may be considered their racial
contributions to America. Further, the benefits accruing to their
children from being able to learn something of the literature,
history, customs and political and economiq developments of the
mother-country of their parents cannot be overestimated.
It is in this light that we are able to perceive the reason underlying the enthusiasm attending the publication of The Syrian
World. _ This, to us, is a further incentive to greater efforts in
this line of service.
We wish specifically to gratefully acknowledge the complimentary editorial notices given The Syrian World by the three
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
>
principal Arabic papers of New York: Al-Hoda, An-Nesr and
As-Sayeh.
Especially has Al-Hoda shown continued interest in promoting the circulation of The Syrian World, going to the extent of
promising a six months free donation of Al-Hoda to every Syrian-American subscriber to The Syrian World who learns to read
Arabic.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
BAYARD DODGE needs no introduction to a majority
of our readers. As president of the American University of
Beirut he is one of the outstanding figures in the domain of educational activities not only in Syria, but in all the Near East.
The illustrious Dodge family has for generations past been interested particularly in the American University of Beirut, this
interest taking at times the form of lavish generosity, the last
manifestation of which was the donation by the late Cleveland
H. Dodge, father of Mr. Bayard Dodge, of the munificent sum
of $500,000 to the fund of the American Colleges of the Near
East. Yet Mr. Bayard Dodge gave not only of his money,
but has dedicated his talent, his energy, his very life to the cause
of education in Syria by shouldering the heavy burdens of the
presidency of the American College in Beirut at the princely
salary of one dollar a year! Not only that, but it was his felicitous distinction to have his regime ushered in with the inauguration of such, a radical policy as to give the Syrians offices in the
University, a large share in its academic and financial responsibility and divest the great institution of any missionary
influence and consecrate it wholly to the cause of education.
This, indeed, is conclusive evidence of the disinterestedness
of America in its proffer of assistance to Syria, in that
it extends to it the helping hand to lead it in the direction it
obviously needs most to follow — that of real tolerance
real, constructive education, in order to help it rise in national
unity from its mire of religious dissension which has been the
curse dogging its every step and the mill stone chained to its
neck for all these long centuries. For this gospel of tolerance
Mr. Dodge has been an indefatigable apostle. His has been the
spirit of co-operation in utter disregard of petty rivalries and
u
/I
�'AUGUST, 1926
'45
jealousies. He lauds his rivals and entertains for them the
kindliest of feelings as behooves a great educator. His initial
contribution to The Syrian World is permeated throughout with
these lofty outgivings of his fine spirit, and we are sure the new
Syrian generation will ever recall with gratitude his splendid efforts towards the regeneration of Syria.
WILLIAM CATZEFLIS may well be compared to a literary beacon which flashes and disappears at regular intervals, but
seems to be unextinguishable. He is a member of the exclusive
literary Circle known as Ar-Rabitat Ul-Kalamiat; and if, perforce, his main occupation is in the mercantile line, his periods
of leisure are wholly devoted to literary pursuits. He is a graduate from St. Joseph's University, a French educational institution of the first rank in Beirut, hence his mastery of French which
enables him to do justice to such a literary gem as "The Widowhood of Shahrazad" coming from the pen of Henri de Regnier
of the French Academy. His many contributions to Arabic newspapers and periodicals indicate profound erudition, and to add
to the color of his versatile nature we may add that he is an
able speaker. We hold out to our readers the promise of enjoying some of his original writings in our future issues.
MICHAEL ABOUSSLEMAN is one of those steady, poised characters who know a good deal more than they presume.
Rather, he is innocent of any presumption. He is a voracious
reader and his memory serves him to good purpose. A graduate
of Aintoorah, a French college of the first rank in Mt. Lebanon,
English was readily accessible to him during his thirty-five years
or more stay in the United States. And he has not forgotten his
Arabic, the intricacies of which require constant devotion to practice. His present contribution to The Syrian World on the history of the Cedars of Lebanon is both entertaining and instructive, and we feel sure our readers will appreciate the wealth of
information placed at their disposal in this compact article.
MOHAMMED ALI PASHA
In the article entitled "Who are the Druzes" appearing in
Vol. I, No. 1, of The Syrian World} reference was made to Isma'il Pasha being the first Khedive of Egypt. This was caused
through an oversight, as the first Khedive of Egypt and the
founder of the Khedivial family was Mohammed 'Ali Pasha.
�mmmmmmmm
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
CLEVELAND H. DODGE
The Syrians have lost in the late Cleveland H. Dodge a true
and helpful friend whose solicitude for their welfare took the
most practical and needed form — that of promoting the facilities for their education. His generous conributions to the American University of Beirut have been many and large, and the
profound interest in the cause of education in Syria has taken
root so deeply in the Dodge family that it has been transmitted
from father to son for generations. At present, Bayard Dodge
is the president of the University of Beirut, while his father,
the late Cleveland H. Dodge, had, until his death, been actively
interested in the affairs of the University as member of the
Board of Directors and had contributed so much of his time and
resources to the cause of education in the Near East that his
life is said to have marked a new era in American philanthropy
in this field.
Syrians in New York still recall that memorable day in 1916
when the American Red Cross sent the steamer Ceaser on its
mission of mercy to alleviate the sufferings of the starving Syrians during the World War. Cleveland H. Dodge was at that
time one of the moving spirits in this humanitarian enterprise
and he was at the dock in person to bid the steamer farewell on
its memorable journey.
The heartfelt sympathy of the Syrians goes out in overflowing measure to the Dodge family in their grevious loss, and in
particular to the president of the American University of Beirut
who, through his love for the Syrians, has elected to live among
them and devote his life to their service.
PUBLIC FORUM
We invite our readers to express themselves on Syrian affairs, providing they are of a public nature, whether they pertain to Syrians in the United States or abroad. We believe such
expression will tend to create an understanding among our scattered groups and help to appreciate our different racial problems.
Communications should be as brief as possible, preferably not
exceeding 200 words.
�'AUGUST, 1926
47
Between Christians and Druzes
in Syria
In "an appeal to the1 American people" sent by Sultan Pasha Atrash,
through the Associated Press correspondent in Syria, the Druze leader of
the Syrian revolution takes especial pains in defending the revolutionists
against charges of attacking peaceful civilian Christians.
"The allegation that we' are waging war against the Christians in our
beloved Syria", pleads Sultan Pasha Atrash, "are false, and every fairminded man in the Occident should be told so."
"Our revolt", he goes on to say, "is the result of atrocities by French
colonizing agents who have violated the1 sacred rights of our country.
"One among the evils our enemies have recently perpetrated in our
country is that of distributing arms to Christian Syrians to be used to fight
us. As a result, some of our Christian brethren lost their heads and began
attacking our army, which was following the enemy.
"Our good intention has been evidenced by the fact that not one of
the peaceable citizens has been touched in the' numerous places in which
our army has already entered. We feel that we are all brethren in humanity and that Syria is for Syrians, regardless of their religion or faith.
"We are innocent of the Christian blood that has been shed, because
we did not attack the Christians, but they have been killed, figuratively
speaking, by the very arms they received from the French Government
and with which they have killed their brethren who have risen to liberate
the country in which we all live".
The message ends in an appeal for American sympathy "for our
cause, begging that we may not be excluded from the assistance of the
good men of America".
The contention of Sultan Pasha Atrash that it was the Christians in
Syria who began the attack on the Druze armies did not go unchallenged
in the Syrian press in New York, the larger section of which represents
the great majority of Christian Syrians in the United States.
"It is the complaint of the Druzes," says Al-Hoda, the leading Arabic
duly in New York, "that the French have armed the Christians. They
forget that the French had at first disarmed the Christians in the cause
of peace, and while thus defenseless, the Druzes fell upon them treacherously and slaughtered them in all cowardice, and when, later, the French
permitted the Christians to purchase arms for self-defense and not for
attack, the Druzes raised a cry of discrimination."
Al-Hoda, in a recapitulation of the atrocities committed by the Druzes
against the Christians, states that the Christians never left their towns
to attack the revolutionists, or ventured out of their own boundaries
but the Druzes violated the independence of Mt. Lebanon and began to
plunder, slaughter and burn mercilessly, not even sparing the lives
of old men, women and children who took no part in the fighting.
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Christian papers of both Syria and the United States stress the
point that the Christians of Mt. Lebanon were at first passive in their
attitude towards the revolution, rather, they were disposed to be sympathetic. But when the Druzes were emboldened by the military successes
that attended their first trials at arms with the French and conceived the
plan of driving them out of all Syria, including Mt. Lebanon, and consequently began their onslaught on peaceable Christian towns, the Christians rose in self-defense of their lives and homes. The atrocities attributed to the Druzes by the Christian press form one of the blackest and most
gruesome chapters of the history of religious wars in Syria. A certain
Faris Gantous, a Christian notable' of Rashaya which was sacked and
burned by the Druzes stated in a letter sent to the Syrian Eagle of
Brooklyn that the Druzes, after having feasted at his board, murdered
both his father and mother in cold blood.
Of quite a different nature from his first communication or "appeal",
is another "message" which the Druze leader, Sultan Pasha Atrash, sent
to Shaykh Salman Joseph Azzam, of Hannibal, Missouri, a coreligionist
of his, which appeared in Al-Bayan, a professedly nationalist paper, published in New York.
In this message, Sultan Pasha Atrash strains his imagination a bit
in describing the brilliant victories of the revolutionists over the French
armies in Syria.
According to his account, no less than 16 thousand men of "the enemies" were killed in four major battles.
".. .Paper would not hold all the atrocities which the Frenchmen committed in peace and war-time. But the justice of God has pursued them
and dealt them a fitting punishment. For they lost in the Mazra'a battle
8,000 soldiers with all their arms, horses, transportation trucks, seven
tanks, 20 big guns and more than five hundred machine-guns." The Druzes,
according to this information, lost only "a few hundreds". Similarly in
the battle of Musaifira the revolutionists killed 985 and lost 150. Again in
the battle of 'Ura we are told that the French lost 3,000, and in the battle
of Sueida 4,000 more.
A curious comment on the exaggerated influence of Syrians in America
on American foreign policies is afforded us in this same message, where
Sultan Pasha Atrash thanks his countrymen "for your efforts with the
American Government in its uncompromising attitude to the French debt.
We urge you to continue your political activities which affect the morale
of the French and to raise relief funds. For it is needless to tell you
that money is the only thing that supports and sustains national revolutions, for therewith is food purchased for the souls of the fighters and the
necessary arms and ammunitions."
One cannot help observing the obvious difference between the first
and second messages emanating from the leader of the' Druze revolutionists.
The former is intended to win the favor of a beneficent Christian Power,
the latter, primarily for "home consumption", is intended to raise the
hope's of Syrians in the United States who have so far contributed a considerable sum of money through various channels to the seat of revolution.
It is only in this light that one can understand such boasting as is con-
�AUGUST, 1926
49
tained in the latter message: "In a short time, God willing, you shall hear
what pleases you concerning the driving away of the enemy or (his slaughtering in such a manner as to make him never return to Syria as long as
he lives."
This second message also bears a statement of especial significance
in the light of what has been claimed for the revolution that it was a
spontaneous outburst against French tyranny. "The revolution," states
Sultan Pasha Atrash, "would have been delayed several years longeT had
it not been that the arrogance of the French became unbearable any further.
Development of the Syrian
Revolution
n
ft
i
The scant gleanings from American and European sources of news
about the Syrian revolution leave
one completely at a loss as to the
true situation in that unhappy land.
Rumors of "the surrender" of Druze
chieftains, followers and relatives of
Sultan Pasha Atrash, are followed
by others depicting the spread of
the revolution and the grim determination of thb revolutionists to
fight to the bitter end and tftie} dispatch by the French of heavy reinforcements to the theatre of war.
Nor does the steady stream of
nativej news, reproduced in the Syrian newspapers of New York about
20 days later than their appearance
in Syria, throw any clear light on
the situation. Nevertheless certain
saliant points stand out. Jebel-udDruze is being further occupied by
the French army which has penetrated Salkhad, Baka and other interior
Druze towns, said to have been until
lately never trodden by foreign feet.
At Damascus, the gorilla warfare
continues between the revolutionists
in the "garden suburbs"—Ghuta—
and the French.
The shadow government of Damad, i. e. the Sultan's son-in-law, a
Turk, Ahmad Nami Bey, has not
won the confidence of the natives.
On the 12th of June Ahmad Nami
issued a proclamation to dissolve the
cabinet "for differences among its
members", according to a dispatch
from Damascus.
To distract the French forces from
Jebel-ud-Druze, the revolutionists
made the' district of Kalamoon,
northeast of Damascus, the objective of an intensive attack. A dispatch to the "New York Evening
World" tells briefly of the restoration of Rankous, a small town in Kalamoon, from the revolutionists. A
few weeks later a battle between the
revolutionists and the natives of
Yabrood, the principal town of Kalamoon, ensued, and seven Christians
and one Moslem of its inhabitants
lost their lives in the encounter. The
Moselm townsmen showed a ran
magnanimity in taking upon them-
�sb
selves the defense of the Greek Catholic Church and parsonage. But
the Christian Syrian press accuses
the revolutionists of barbarous cruelty in butchering several inoffensive
Christian women for reasons they
ascribed to sheer fanaticism.
The political position of France
in Syria received a "prop" from the
League of Nations when the Permanent Mandates Commission, in
its session of June 17, approved the
report of Senator Henri de Jouvenel,
French High Commissioner in Syria.
During the meeting, Emir Chekib
Arsslan, delegate of the Druzes to
plead their cause before the League
of Nations, stood up to reply to a
charge against him by the French
High Commissioner, when detectives
present laid their hands on his
shoulders and motioned him to sit
down. When he tried to resist he
was threatened to be ejected forcibly
from the meeting. It is said that
the charge to which Emir Chekib
Arslan took exception was the allegation that he had been "a spy in
the employ of a Turkish general
in the World War".
A correspondent of the Associated
Presa who made his way to Damascus described in vivid terms the condition of the city and the surrounding garden suburbs, which, he wrote,
"had been under continuous fire for
the last eight months". Damascus
faces an economic ruin. The correspondent estimated the material
losses to property owners in Ghuta
since October, 1925, at $6,000,000.
The loss from the bombardment of
the Shaghour quarter alone, he
places at $1,500,000.
According to the same correspondent in another dispatch, the Druzes
have learned something of the tactics of war since the beginning of
the revolution and no more give
THk SYRIAN WOktn
frontal attacks to the French. In*
stead, they disperse their forces in
different directions and keep the
French busy on many war fronts.
A new attack on Jebel-ud-Druze,
supported by fresh forces from Morocco, is announced in a dispatch to
the "New York Evening World"
from Paris dated June 24. This announcement is corroborated by another dispatch from Beirut, dated
June 29, in which we are informed
that the vanguard of a large French
contingent from North Africa has
reached Syria. Three ship-loads of
soldiers were landed and hurried to
Jebel-ud-Druze.
A significant development of the
Syrian revolution, which suggests
that it has reached a new stage, is
reflected in a cable from Geneva to
the "New York World" in its Sunday
issue of July 21. The1 correspondent
of the "World" was informed by
members of the Syrian Nationalist
delegation staying there that the
Syrian revolutionists have despaired
of the League of Nations and the
Permanent Mandates Commission,
and that, confessing their possible
ultimate military defeat, have undertaken a wide movement of non-cooperation which would end in an
economic boycotting of the French.
Work has already begun, the correspondent was told, and when all arrangements are completed the movement will make its appearance in
all quarters of Syria simultaneously.
The 29th of June, 1926, marked
the first anniversary of the Syrian
revolution and "Lisan-ul-Hal" of
Beirut takes the occasion to remind
the country that it is facing certain ruin if it does not listen to
reason and compose its differences
with the Mandatory Power speedily
and amicably. It compares the situation to that of a business man
�AVQjJSt, 1926
who makes an inventory at the end
of the year and balances his books
to determine his gain or loss, and
declares that the balance' of the first
year of, the Syrian revolution shows
that the country has incurred therefrom nothing but loss. The remedy
it prescribes is a "round table" conference where animosities would be
buried in the interest of peace, that
the "two patties may live forever
together on a basis of understanding".
An unfortunate incident took place
in Beirut on the occasion of the
Mohammedan feast of Ramadan
when the President of the Lebanon
Republic, Charles Dabbas, was formally invited to attend a celebration
at the Mosque of Omar. While delivering a speech intended to placate
Mohammedan sentiment in favor of
the Lebanon Republic, one of the
audience interrupted him with the
remark that "the Mohammedans of
Lebanon will never reconcile themselves to the secession of Lebanon
from Syria; that they demand the
unity of the whole country under a
central government." Immediately
thereupon the President left the
Mosque and went into conference
with the representative of the
French High Commissioner, who called to his office the publishers of
the native papers and enjoined them
from giving publicity to the incident.
That same day, a delegation composed of the two principal Mohammedan dignitaries in Beirut, the
Mufti and the Chief Justice, called
formally upon the President and offered apologies .
As a result of the reiterated declarations of President Dabbas of
Lebanon that, true to his oath upon
taking office that he would uphold
the Constitution, he would hold the
present boundaries of the Lebanon
Republic inviolable, a commotion
was created in Syrian nationalist
circle's which resulted in the government of Damascus appealing directly to the representative of the High
Commissioner against what they
implied was a breach of faith on
the part of France. The Syrian government claimed to have been given
an explicit promise to have the city
of Tripoli, which is a part of the
Lebanon Republic, ceded to them as
a seaport, while if the pronouncements of President Dabbas hold true,
the promise of Tripoli to Syria
would be void. The French agent in
Damascus counseled patience stating
that the matter was subject to arbitration.
An ominous development in the
Syrian revolution is reported in the
recent mail. Revolutionary bands
are now infesting northern Syria
and threatening to raid the solidly
Christian section of northern Lebanon. The war-like inhabitants of
Zgharta and Besharri and their
neighborhoods consequently rose to
arms, and it is claimed that they
are able to muster at least 10,000
men. The leaders of the insurgents
sent word to the Zghartawites that
they planned no attack against them
and would like to meet their leaders
in conference, But the Zghartawites
replied that they were satisfied with
the assurance of the insurgents
which would make a meeting unnecessary. "An-Nesr", the Syrian
"Eagle" of Brooklyn, features the
petitions presented to the French
High Commissioner in Syria by the
Christian inhabitants of towns pillaged and destroyed by the Druzes.
The petitions enumerate Druze atrocities and conclude by pleading
with the authorities to use firmness
in dealing with the insurgents instead of the manifest leniency
�St
which emboldens the revolutionists
to a degree that renders life intolerable to the Christians. "If our
properties and effects cannot be
restored and our lives protected,"
state the petitioners, "we beg the
authorities to furnish us with
transportation to America where we
would live in peace, safe from the
dangers besetting us in our motherland."
The Arabic press of Beirut dwells
with great detail on the dramatic
scenes attending the siege of the
Christian town of Maloula in June
of this year. This same town had
been attacked and captured by the
rebels in the Fall of 1925, but was
subsequently relieved by French
forces and its inhabitants, reinstated
in their homes. On the 3rd of June,
1926, a strong band of rebels numbering about 1,000 men invested the
town and demanded its capitulation,
but the townspeople, mostly Christians, would not entertain such a
proposition. They gathered their
women and children and placed them
in caves for safety while they held
the passes leading to the town
against the1 attacks of the invaders.
For sixteen days the siege was
maintained until a strong French
column arrived and drove the insurgents away. The French commander bestowed on the town the
War-Cross decoration as it had
shown exceptional bravery in the
face of overwhelming odds. The little band of defenders soon ran out
of food and ammunition which were
hoisted to them, at night, from the
valley beneath. The men never left
their posts day or night and food
was brought to them by their women who continually exposed themselves to the fire of the enemy by
so doing, eight of them being killed.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
LATEST NEWS OF
SYRIAN REVOLUTION
In a dispatch to the "New York
Times" from its Paris correspondent
dated July 26, the "rumors circulated concerning the alledged bombardment of Damascus, in which 400
casualties are said to have been recorded among the civilian population," are denied.
The Associated Press correspondent in Damascus, also writing under date of July 26, sends the following dispatch:
"On the outcome of the battle between 4,000 Syrian rebels, reinforced
by Druzes, and 10,000 French troops,
who have been fighting in the gardens surrounding Damascus for the
past five days, hinges not only the
fate of the city but possibly the future of the French mandate over
Syria.
"Should the French Army, under
direct command of General Gamelin,
inflict a crushing defeat on the insurgents the backbone of the Syrian
revolution will be broken, Damascus
relieved, and law and order restored
in Syria.
"If, however, the French should
fail and the rebels continue to hold
Ghouta Gardens and besiege Damascus, French prestige, already great
ly injured by General Michaud's debacle before Sueida in August last
year and by the state of siege obtaining in Damascus for the last
eight months, would suffer and make
it more difficult for the French to
pacify the country, which remains in
a state of open revolt.
"The French communique, issued
today, says:
"'The siege of Damascus has been
raised, thanks to the brilliant operation of our troops. The rebels have
been driven from Ghouta.'"
�AUGUST',1926
'S3
About Syria and Syrians
In the United States
EDITOR OF "AL-HODA"
REFUSES HONOR
The latest mail reaching the United States from Beirut sheds a new
light on the character of Mr. N. A.
Mokarzel, editor and publisher of
the daily Al-Hoda in New York, who
has played a leading role in all national Syrian activities in the United
States for the past quarter of a
century. Through his influential
newspaper, he sponsored a subscription campaign for the relief of war
sufferers and refugees in Mt. Lebanon, principally those driven from
their homes by Druze attacks, which
resulted in a very substantial
amount, approaching $50,000 in money and clothes, being forwarded to
a special committee of members of
the Lebanon Legislative Council for
impartial distribution. These funds,
forwarded at the' rate of $1,000 a
week, were of great assistance in
the relief work and both the
government and the people of Lebanon were moved by a feeling of
gratitude towards their brother immigrants and sought to express this
gratitude by honoring the1 leader of
the relief movement.
As a result, the Lebanon Council
voted unanimously a resolution of
thanks to Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor
of Al-Hoda; Mr. Chekri Rahaim,
Chairman of the Relief Committee of the Lebanon League
of Progress of New York; and Dr.
Chas. Mussallem, Chairman of the
Zahle Relief Committee1,
Later, a movement was started to
induce the government of Lebanon
to create" a Civil Service Medal
which would be awarded those who
would render the country conspicuous service in other than military
activities, and those sponsoring the
movement openly declared it to be
their intention to have such a decoration awarded to the editor of AlHoda and to those who render the
country signal services similar to his.
Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, learning of
these intentions through the Arabic
Press of Beirut, hastened to cable
the newly formed Press Association
of that city that he would under no
consideration accept a decoration,
giving as his reason that his services
to his mother-country were conceived in pure disinterestedness.
Lisan Ul-Hal, of Beirut, gives an
account of a special meeting held by
the Press Association to consider the
action of our New York journalists,
stating that the' members were so
impressed by this development that
they passed a vote of commendation.
Raji Ar Ra'i, the well-known publicists, in, a signed article appearing
in Zahle Al-Fatat, also commends
the action of Mr. N. A. Mokarzel in
glowing terms.
THE LEBANON NATIONAL
BANK
On June 15th the Lebanon National Bank of New York held its
third annual banquet at the Hotel
Pennsylvania. The guests, of whom
there were more than three hundred,
were mostly Syrians. The event was
considered a mile-stone1 in the history of the Syrian colony in New
�991
54
York in that it signalized the sustained progress of the first financial
institution of its kind undertaken
on Syrian initiative and controlled
by Syrians. Mr. Jos. Mandour, President of the Bank, was toastmaster,
and every speaker had some good
word to say in praise of his energy,
for it was through his efforts that
the bank was organized.
The speakers were: H. A. Bishara,
of the Immigration Service; Dr. F.
I. Shatara; Edward Leon, George
Fares, George W. Ward, of the
American Banker, and S. A. Mokarzel, of "The Syrian World".
SYRIAN REPRESENTATION IN
THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
Of the native Syrian churches
only one, the Maronite Church, was
officially represented in the Eucharistic Congress held at Chicago in
June in the person of the Rt. Rev.
Bishop-Elect Elias Shedeed, Director-general of the Maronite College
in Rome. The Rt. Rev. Maximus
Sayegh, Archbishop of Tyre for the
Catholic Melchite Church, who was
the only ecclesiast of rank to whom
was extended a formal invitation by
the management of the Congress,
could not attend.
But the) clergy of the Eastern
Churches was adequately, represented at the Congress by nearly a score
of priests coming from all parts of
(the United States. The Rev. Mansour Estephan, assistant to the rector of Our Lady of Lebanon in
Brooklyn, N. Y., who went on pilgrimage to Chicago, described in a
special dispatch to Al-Hoda a solemn
high mass at which the Rt. Rev.
Shedeed officiated and in which he
was assisted by sixteen Maronite
priests. The seTvices were held in
the open court of St. Mary's Church
«_.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the Paulist Fathers and was "attended by thousands of pilgrims and
devotees who appeared to be extremely impressed with the solemn
rituals of the Maronite Church, still
celebrated in Syriac, the original
language spoken by Christ."
At the conclusion of the services,
the Rev. Michael Abraham delivered
an address in English explaining the
mystic significance of the Maronite
liturgy and distributed pamphlets
in English he had had printed bearing on the subject.
RIHANI'S ARTICLES IN
ASIA MAGAZINE
We had occasion to refer, in our
previous issue, tot a report, published by some Arabic papers of Syria,
to the effect that Asia, of New York,
had offered our well-known and able
author, Ameen Rihani, a handsome
honorarium for a series of articles
on his personal observations and experiences while traveling in Arabia.
We are glad to be able now to
confirm the news by the announcement of Asia Magazine itself, in its
July issue, of its intention to begin
publication of Mr. Rihani's series
with its August issue1. Those of our
readers who are interested in the
larger questions of the East will undoubtedly find it to their interest to
follow this series by Mr. Rihani who
is unquestionably one of our foremost Syrian authors in the English
language.
Dr. NAJLA LAF LOOFY
As the name indicates, the doctor
in question is of the fair sex. Furthermore, she is the first of her sex
among the Syrians in the State of
New York to hold a medical degree,
.
�AUGUST,1926
although not the first in the country.
Dr. Najla is the daughter of Mr.
Joseph Laf Loofy who had engaged
in journalistic work abroad before
immigrating to the United States.
Najla is his only child, and he believed in giving her a thorough education and allowing her to develop intellectually to the limit of her
desire and capability. Mrs. Laf Loofy, who also knows the value of education, having been a school teacher
in the old country, concurred. Instead of a life of ease and confinement, to which many an "only child"
is addicted, the promising girl was
thus started on a carreer of usefulness and academic achievement.
Dr. Najla fulfilled the highest expectations of her parents and justified their loving sacrifices for her
sake. She graduated from Barnard
College for girls, a part of Columbia
University, four years ago, taking
the four year course in three and
graduating, with honor receiving the
key of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity for scholastic distinction. Four
year3 later she repeated her record,
graduating, this year, from the Col'
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of
Columbia University among the
first seven honor students in a class
of more than one hundred, and
again receiving the key of the Alpha Omega Alpha, which in medical
scholastic circles corresponds to the
Phi Beta Kappa.
A SYRIAN GIRL GRADUATES
FROM COLUMBIA
Miss Alice Kandalaft received the
degree of B.S. from Columbia University, New York, specializing in
elementary education and social
science. This Syrian young lady came
from Damascus three years ago as
55
a recipient of a scholarship from
Mr. Charles Crane, a wealthy American interested in the East. She expects to go back to Syria where she
will have ample opportunity to apply her much-needed technical
training in a field comparatively
neglected.
A SYRIAN KING-PUGILIST
Here is introducing a Syrian King!
King Solomon, who is better known
among the pugilistic fraternity as
the Panama heavyweight, is no
Panaman at all. He was born in
Mt. Lebanon and when still a child
migrated with his parents to America. He grew strong on Syrian
food, so much so that he is now an
aspirant to the heavyweight championship of the world.
This is what the "New York
Times" had to say of King Solomon's bout with Johnny Grosso on
the evening of July 20th:
"King Solomon, Panama heavyweight, halted Johnny Grosso's attempted return up the pugilistic
ladder by gaining a well-earned decision in a ten-round battle last night
before' some 7,500 fans at the
Queensboro Stadium.
"The Mount Vernon heavyweight
wore down under the pressure of
Solomon's blows about the body and
head and was all but knocked out
in the final round when Solomon
floored him with a straight left to
the jaw and continued to assail him
with furious left-handers to the jaw
and stomach."
PROSCRIPTION RAISED
"The Mirror of the West", a Syrian daily of New York, announces
its receipt by cable of information
that it has again been permitted
entry into territory under French
mandate,
�"
56
mi i
nniwimimii'iiH iWHHIi'UHiMMMIMIMUIIl
THE SYRIAN WORLD
In Other Parts of the
World
JUBILEE OF AN ARABIC
MAGAZINE
In the ancient city of Cairo, where
East and West mingle and jostle in
an eternal procession in its narrow
streets, there gathered recently in
the Royal Opera a most dignified
group—princes, viziers, pashas, literary men and women, poets, learned men and men of affairs—all having come to do honor to two Syrians,
now gray-haired and old who, fifty
years ago, coming out from the newly founded American College of
Beirut, saw a vision and conceived
an idea which brought untold good
to the Near East, and placed their
own names on the honor list of the
corner-stone of the modern Arabic
Renaissance.
The two young men we're Ya'koub
Sarrouf and Faris Nimr, and their
vision was the founding of a magazine which would become a link between the West and the East.
For fifty years, the first nine of
which we're passed in Beirut, al-Muktataf, appearing ever since in Cairo,
transcribed, condensed, interpreted
and presented in a masterly fashion
to its Arabic readers article's dealing with current scientific, philosophical and literary topics from the
leading magaznes of the West, reviewed books of eminent authors,
described epoch-making inventions,
and in every conceivable way brought
the West nearer to the East and
made it more comprehensible.
The celebration of the Golden Jubilee of al-Mnktataf in the Royal
Opera of Cairo was held under the
auspices of His Majesty King Fuad
of Egypt, represented by His Excel-
lency Mohammed Tewfik Nasim Pasha and His Highness Prince 'Omar
Touson. His Excellency Mohammed
Tewfik Raf'at Pasha, minister of
Education, presided.
A present in the form of a bust
of the two founders of al-Muktataf
was sent for the occasion by the Syrians residing in Brazil, who delegated Sir Sa'id Shukair Pasha, also a
Syrian, recently knighted by the
British in recognition of his services
in Soudan. Sir Sa'id "Shukair is a
fellow alumnus of Sarrouf and
Nimr.
Several other celebrations in Syria
and Egypt followed, but the Royal
Opera celebration exceeded them all
in magnificence, and in many ways
was a unique and memorable' affair
in the ancient city of Cairo.
A SULTAN SLEEPS IN A
STRANGE GRAVE
On the 25th of June, an Italian
ship stole silently into the harbor of
Beirut, the capital of the new Lebanon Republic. It bore the earthly
remains of Sultan Wahid-ud-Din,
known more popularly under the
name of Sultan Mohammed VT. A
little group of officials and religious
dignitaries met the ship and followed the bier to the' main mosque in
the city. After the brief obsequies,
the body of the Sultan was taken to
Damascus, where it was interred
beside the body of Saladin, the famous Kurd monarch who fought the
Crusaders in Syria.
Thus ended the life of a scion of
the Ottoman Dynasty, whose navy
once upon a time' was the terror of
the high seas and whose kingdom
stretched from the walls of Vienna
to the confines of India.
"itTwill be recalled that Sultan
Wahid-ud-Din was deposed by the
�—
'AUGUST, 1926
,
Kemalists of Turkey and forced to
flee to Switzerland on a British
ship. He was followed by the Caliph Majid Effendi, after the Sultanate was abolished by the Turkish
nationalists. The body of the Sultan
was refused burial in Turkish soil,
the irony of fate made him a fugitive and guest after his death in the
Arab capital which never reconciled
itself to the irksome rule of the
Turks since Sultan Salim wrested
the Caliphate from the weak hands
of the Mamluks in the year 1516.
SYRIAN COMMERCIAL
ENTERPRISE
In its issue of June 6, 1926, Al-Ettehad Al-Lubnani, a Syrian paper
published in Buenos Aires, states in
a leading article that "nowhere can
one go in the Argentine Republic
but he feels the influence of the
Syrians' business enterprise. In
every city and town the Syrian is
becoming a powerful factor in the
commercial life of the community,
and in some particular States fully
90 per cent, of the business is controlled by Syrians."
As if fearful its statement would
be discounted as an exaggeration,
the paper pleads that "this may
sound strange and bold on the face
of it, but it is, nevertheless, the absolute fact which may be verified by
any close observer."
By way of substantiation, we cannot resist publishing a news item
appearing in the' "New York Times"
of Sept. 28, 1919, and based on an
American Consular report from Columbia. Said the "N. Y. Times":
"One of the most powerful factors
in the business done in the Cartagena
district of Columbia is a group of
Syrian merchants. By their intense
57
industry, their economy, and their
peculiar
system
of
agencies,
branches, and traders in the interior,
Trade Commissioner P. L. Bell, Medelin, reports to the Department of
Commerce, they have beeti able to
win a good half of the entire trade
of that commercial territory. They
are particularly active in the Rio
Atrato platinum District.
"There is no interior town of 250
people in the Cartagena district, Mr.
Bell says, where Syrian merchants
cannot be found. They always specialize in cotton prints, in which they
are experts. The large concerns are
also importers of the general merchandise' in demand in the country.
They have evolved a system of long
credits especially adapted to trade
with the interior, and the percentage
of loss through bad accounts does
not exceed 6.
"'Prior to' the war,' Mr. Bell goes
on, 'The Syrian element purchased
their goods principally in Europe,
making annual trips for buying the
year's stock. During the war, business was done with the' United
States, but there is a decided desire
on the part of these people to return
to European methods and markets as
soon as possible, on account of the
credit terms formerly secured. Long
credit terms are the fundamental
principle of their business methods.
They are shrewd buyers and traders and very prone to speculate and
overstock if the opportunity offers.'"
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER OF
BEIRUT UNIVERSITY
At the recent banquet of the
Alumni of the American University
of Beirut, held in connection with
the commencement exercises, the
secretary of the Alumni Association,
Shihadi Shihadi, announced the gift
�58
to the alumni fund of $5,000 from
a fellow alumnus residing "somewhere in the Orient", who wished
to keep his name secret. In announcing the gift, Mr. Shihadi called the
benefactor "an unknown soldier".
Anent this information, Lisan-ulHaL a Syrian newspaper published
in Beirut, mentions several contributors to the Alumni fund of the
American University who are not
themselves alumni of that institution, but who have come to recognize its eminent place in Syria's
educational future. Those mentioned
are Fayad Jibara, Alex. J. Hamra,
Rashid Habboush, Michael Malouf
and Andrew Nicola, who are all Syrian Americans.
SYRIAN COMMERCIAL
RECORDS 4,000 YEARS OLD
The "New York Times", under
date of June 26, 1926, published the
following Paris dispatch:
Records of the dealings of the
Chamber of Commerce of the ancient
town of Cane"sh of about 4,000 years
ago were submitted today to the
Academy of Inscriptions and BellesLettres at its weekly meeting by
Professor Arthur Hrozny of Prague,
who recently discovered the site of
this ancient city near Caesarea, in
Asia Minor.
For some time cuneiform tablets
of the Leuco-Syrians giving accounts
of commercial dealings have been
hawked by native's in the district to
archeologists, but it was only recently that the place of their origin could
be located.
The Turkish Government gave assistance in getting control of the
land at a place called Kultepe, which
in Turkish means ashheap, and it
was there that Dr. Hrozny discovered traces of the vast city of Canesh,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
capital of the Leuco-Syrians, which
was destroyed by Croesus.
About 1,200 cuneiform tablets recording commercial dealings in the
year 2100 B. C. have been found.
THE MOTHER OF THE SHAH
SPENDS THE SUMMER
IN LEBANON
The value of Lebanon as a Summer resort is becoming more and
more evident. In its natural beauty,
no country compares with it,
not even Switzerland, in the warm
months which drive the tired businessman, the plodding clerk and the
well-to-do city dwellers from office
and home. Besides the richness of
its natural beauty, Lebanon has historical associations of which no other Summer resort could boast. By
the summit of its two principal
peaks, guarded from the vandalism
of careless tourists by native soldiers
one still finds a little grove of the
original "cedars of Lebanon" mentioned in the Bible. There they stand,
huddled together in self-preservation, defying the devastating effects
of time and the elements.
The Mediterranean Sea, that historical cradle! of ancient sea-faring
nations: Phoenicia, Greece, Carthage.
Rome, dotted still with sluggishlooking sloops and sailing vessels of
all descriptions, lies open to the eye
from almost any point in Lebanon.
In the last few years, after the
World War, thousands from different countries of the Near East and
Europe have visited it and returned
happy and refreshed.
In one of the dispatches from the
Syrian press we are informed that
the mother of the ex-Shah of Persia
has made known her wish to spend
this Summer in Lebanon accompanied by her three children: Prince
Mahmoud Mirza, Prince Majid Mir-
m
i
�—11
—'.'.
..
.
wmmmm
59
AUGUST, 1926
1
za and Princess 'Asiyyah, and their
entourage.
There can be no doubt that with
increasing facilities of travel and
convenience of living, and some intensive advertising, Lebanon will
become more and more popular as
a Summer resort with the consequent result that its resources will
be materially increased, which in
turn will be reflected in its further
improvement.
BAD SILK CROP IN LEBANON
A forecast of the silk crop in
Lebanon predicts a shortage of 40
per cent, over last year's. The cause
is given as sudden changes of the
weather.
Silk is one of the principal resources of the little Republic of
Lebanon, and a bad crop means suffering, and often privation, to thousands, of the inhabitants who breed
the silk-worm or work in the filatures, where the thread is unwound
from the cocoon.
One of the original causes of migration from Lebanon was a serious
failure of the ailk-crop in Lebanon
some fifty years ago.
SYRIAN-AMERICAN
TALENT IN EGYPT
I
In a musical concert held sometime ago in Cairo, three of the most
promising adepts of music in the
Near East made their appearance, to
two of whom it was a debut in the
land of the Pharaohs.
The people of Cairo ofte"n had been
thrilled by the dexterous executions
of Sami al-Shawwa on the violin.
But they had never heard before
either the bulbul-like voice of the
operatic singer, Fedora Kurban, or
the skillful ramblings of Anis Fu-
leihan on the piano, to both of whom
Syrians of the United States have
special claim, and for whom they
entertain unqualified praise.
Fedora Kurban attained some
fame1 in America to which she emigrated from the ancient city of Acre,
and appeared lately before the Metropolitan Opera.
Similarly Anis Fuleihan emigrated to this country when very young
and studied piano to which he showed a decided proclivity since he
learned to toddle. A few years ago
he made his musical debut and received some favorable comments
from New York dailies. He has several original compositions, some of
which were published by Schirmer
Publishing Company.
There was a time when the best
musicians of the world graced the
courts of the Umayyad and Abbaside Caliphs. Among the most famous of those court singers were
Ibrahim and his son Is'hak al-Musalli, who served Harun ar-Rashid
and his son and successor al-Mamoun.
While Arabic music has not developed much since the days of Musalli
or rather deteriorated, to take1 the
words of present day singers, love
of music is still a basic and deeply
rooted passion in the breasts of
Arabs all over the world.
In Egypt a decided renaissance of
Arabic music began in the latter
part of the 19th century lead by
Shaykh Salami Hijazi and Abd-ulHamouli and others who followed
them.
A SYRIAN PAINTER
"The Syrian Magazine", published
in Cairo, features a young Syrian
painter, George Hanna Sabbagh, who
had recently come to sudden fame,
�MHHi
60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It calls him "one of the most
promising young geniuses of the
East", and refers to an appreciative
description of his works which appeared in a French magazine published in Cairo, "La Magazine Egyptienne".
Geoige Sabbagh is a Syrian born
in Cairo, son of Hanna Bey Sabbagh.
He was sent to Paris where" he studied for several years, until 'he
achieved success, and was the only
Syrian, according to "The Syrian
Magazine", who had been singled
out for such high honors as were
conferred upon him by the choice of
his paintings for exhibition by the
Grenoble and Luxemburg Museums.
A SYRIAN POLITICIAN
IN AUSTRALIA
A remarkable story is told of a
young man, an Australian by birth
and a Syrian by descent, who
achieved signal success in the' politics of Australia and reaped high
honors in his brilliant career which
is on'y at its start.
This young man, Iskandar Alam,
after finishing his primary and higher education took law, but never used
it in practice. Instead, he entered
the race as a politician, where his
legal preparation came in handy.
He is described by a correspondent
of AI-Bashir, Beirut, as an eloquent
orator "who amazed the people of
Australia with the cogency of his
arguments." We are also informed
that he was greatly instrumental
in the election of the present Labour
Government in Australia, and as
reward for his "stumping" for the
Labour Party, he was elected Honorary Judge for the states of New
South Wales and Queensland. He is
also a member of the Senate of the
former state.
In the controversy which arose
some time ago in Australia on
whether the Syrian is of the White
race, and whether consequently he
could be naturalized, Mr. Alam took
a prominent part in defending his
people, and his present successful
career is a fruition and a reward
of that defence.
AFRICAN NEGROES
ATTACK SYRIANS
A correspondent of Ar-Rakib, a
Syrian paper published in Tripoli,
Syria, reveals, in an interesting and
informative article, the precarious
position which commercial success
has brought upon the heads of the
Syrians resident in West Africa at
the hands of the natives.
The correspondent, after describing the methods which the British
Government adopted in civilizing the
natives, winning their confidence by
placing tasty foods and wines
at the edges of the' forests whither
the native negroes fled from the
sight of the whites, tells of an attack by the natives against Syrians
in Sierra Leone in 1919 and an attempted one in January of this year.
Few Syrians were killed, but their
loss in merchandise and property
was heavy.
It appears from the article of ArRakib that the motive behind the
malign purposes of the Negroes was
jealousy at the material progress of
the Syrians, and a mistaken sense
of nationalism which sought to
wreak vengeance on prosperous foreigners, who were working hard to
amass their fortunes while the easygoing black fellows were cooling off
under the shadow of some cocoa
tree.
The English governor of Sierra
Leone at both times took a firm
�AUGUST,
I
1926
stand against the natives, making
them pay reparation for the losses
of the Syrians in 1919 by increasing
their taxations and tariff. When he
learned of the attempted second attack in 1926 he took stronger measures, prohibiting the walking of
more than two together in the
streets of the towns, and threatening with imprisonment and fines
whomever was found carrying weapons or in any way violating the ordinances of the governor. Cafes and
saloons were closed, and armored
cars and tanks were sent to patrol
the streets. This seemed to have an
immediate effect on the negroes who
then, the correspondent concludes,
"quieted down".
The commercial success attained
by the Syrians in many other sections of the' world seems to have incurred for them the enmity not only
of natives, but also of foreign traders like themselves at some time or
other. The most notable occurrence
of this character was their expulsion
from Haiti by legislative action because they had almost monopolized
the mercantile activities of the" country and thereby aroused the jealousy
of French, German and Haitian merchants. Later, upon the United
States taking control in the' island,
the Syrians were again permitted
the right of domicile and trade in
Haiti.
DAMASCUS A CITY BEAUTIFUL
Aleph-Ba, an Arabic newspaper
published in Damascus, describes in
some detail a project for rebuilding
the sections of Damascus which had
been bombarded by the French.
Accordng to ths paper, the ancient
city with its narrow, winding street?
is to have before long two straight
6i,
avenues running east-west with several parks and city squares at intervals.
One of the avenues or boulevards
from Sali'hiyah to Kassa', will be
2500 meters long and 30 meters wide,
with two sidewalks, two tramways
and two rows of trees running
alongside.
It is claimed that the project will
enhance the properties along the
streets and raise their value to an
extent which will more than cover
the cost of the project estimated at
100,000 Turkish pounds.
SYRIAN STORE CHRISTENED BY
THE DAUGHTER OF THE
PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL
Syrian papers of Rio de Janeiro,
capital of Brazil, mention with some
pride the fact that the daughter of
the President of Brazil acted as
sponsor at the first opening of a
Syrian department store in the capital of that country.
Mssrs. Khair Bros, of Zahle, Mt.
Lebanon, had prospered as manufacturers and branched out into the
retail business. Their first venture
was an elaborate department store
in Sao Paolo which, it is claimed,
is a beauty mark in that beautiful
city. The Brazilians themselves
felt a kind of civic pride at the opening of such a splendid commercial
establishment in their midst. At
the opening of the store the daughter of the President of the Brazilian
Republic acted as sponsor.
�62
THE SYRIAN Wdktb
Chronology of the Syrian
Revolution
Aug. 3, 1925.—French forces under General Michaud were attacked
and cut up at Mezra'a.
Aug. 20, 1925.—Sultan Pasha Atrash refused the French offer of
"Autonomy with a Druze governor,
an elected Druze council, a small
indemnify, compensation for loss of
Christian property and surrender of
captured French arms". He demanded complete1 independence of all Syria, with a native parliament, army
and king or president. The French
were to have only an advisory capacity, as in Irak.
Aug. 24, 1925.—1500 Druzes and
Arabs marching on Damascus were
repulsed by the1 French.
Aug. 27, 1925.—Uprisings occurred in cities of Northern Syria:
Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Alexandretta.
Aug. 29, 1925. — Leading citizens
of Damascus arrested, and public
buildings surrounded by machine
guns and barbed wire'.
Oct. 1925.—General Michaud was
recalled and General Gamelin replaced him as Commander of the
French troops in Syria.
Oct. 18, 1925.—Breaking out of insurrection in Damascus lead to bombardment of Damascus and recall of
General Sarrail.
Beginning at 6 P.M., Oct. 18, 1925,
the French bombarded the city using
at first empty shells. On the 19th,
all French troops and citizens were
withdrawn from the city, and at 10
A.M., a bombardment began with
live shells.
Aeroplanes dropped
bombs and fired machine guns. The
firing ceased at noon of the 20th.
The loss was estimated all the way
from 1,000 to 25,000 lives, the lower figures being more probable.
Property was destroyed to a value
estimated from 4 to 9 million dollars. Many beautiful houses and
valuable business properties were
ruined by the bombardment or by
fire. No Europeans were killed, but
some! foreign property was destroyed.
Oct. 21, 1925.—Premier Painleve
of France announced that since
France assumed the mandate over
Syria her troops had suffered 6,626
casualities, and that the government
had expended more than 2,000,000,000 francs.
Dec. 2, 1925.—French High Commissioner to Syria, Senator Henri
de Jouvenel, diplomat and journalist, reached Syria. Before his departure from Paris he had announced: "I go to Syria to make peace
and organize the mandate and I carry to the Syrians the collaboration
of France which is not negligible,
1 will consider that a great day
when France' can turn to the League
of Nations and say:- 'I have organized liberty in Syria; at present she
can govern herself alone.' Meanwhile, it is necessary to reestablish
quiet. France cannot declare herself
incapable of fulfilling the mission
which she has received, and cannot
be defeated."
v "\,
�2 VCUST, 1926
i
f
January, 1920.—Troubles In Syria
continued. In a letter from M. de
Jouvenel to M. Pierre Alype, his
Envoy extraordinary to the State of
Syria and Jebel Druze, the French
High Commissioner gave another intimation of his attitude to the Syrian revolutionists. He said in part:
"The French Republic has never
renounced any of the tasks which
it has undertaken. All its wars
have ended by victories. Seek
peace, but if you are offered nothing but war, accept it."
Jan. 3, 1926.—The High Commissioner issued a proclamation to the
Druzes urging them to lay down
their arms. The proclamation in
substance follows:
TO THE DRUZES:
\
*
"Why are you fighting? I have
come to bring you the right to
make your own constitution, to
choose your own government and
its chiefs.
A few days ago certain Druze
notables, in despair because of
your sufferings, went to seek your
chiefs in order to show them that
fighting has no reason for existence and can lead the Druzes only to defeat, death and famine, of
which your wives and children
will be the first victims.
The French Army allowed these
notables to pass, because I did not
wish that France should bear responsibility for the evils which
threaten you.
This responsibility Sultan Atrash has taken upon himself.
France alone can give you grain,
wells, roads, schools and that national liberty which you lack. If
your wives and your children
starve, if your ruin and your defeat become irremediable, it will
not be my fault, but that of Sul-
w
tan A trash and the foreigners who
pay him.
Druzes! your only means of conquering is by laying down your
arms! The peace, the' liberty, the
bread which I bring you are worth
more than your rifles! recollect
that you can do nothing against
France and that she can do everything for you."
The Hign Commissioner of the
French Republic,
JOUVENEL.
Some weeks later, in answer to a
letter signed by Sultan Atrash proposing the nomination of delegates
to confer regarding peace, M. de
Jouvenel made reply that "The
Druzes must first cease hostilities."
He elucidated on his former proclamation declaring all that France
asks of the Druzes, Syrians, Lebanese and Alaouites is to guarantee
together a common external frontier,
and as regards the internal disputes
to avoid fighting and seek the arbitration of France."
April, 1926.—A Druze assembly
was held early in March at Duma
in which a letter was drafted and
sent to the French High Commissioner stating the demands of the
revolutionists, including complete
independence of Syria, the right to
foreign representation, admission to
the1 League of Nations, withdrawal
of all French troops and a general
amnesty.
In1 reply, M. de Jouvenel declared
that the letter rendered all negotiations impossible and that henceforth
he would accept nothing less than
uncondiional surrender.
;
May 7, 1926.—The French cleaned
the Meidan section (Damascus) of
revolutionists who had taken refuge
in it, claiming in a dispatch from
Paris that they killed 57 and captur-
�MM
64
ed 71. In a later communication
from fhe correspondent of the London Express of Damascus it was
claimed that the number of those
killed in the Meidan bombardment
was more than 700 and that 300
houses were destroyed. This report
was in turn officially denied by the
French Government in Paris.
May 15, 1926.—It was rumored
that M. Henri de Jouvenel agreed to
the program of the Syrian National
government in Damscus, which stipulated a treaty for thirty years similar to that between Great Britain
and Irak, the formation of a national army and amnesty to all
political offenders.
May 28, 1926.—M. De Jouvenel
left for Paris on board the French
ship "Sphinx".
It was also announced that Charles
Dabbas was elected president of the
Republic of Lebanon.
May 30, 1926.—In a "wireless interview" between M. De Jouvenel on
board the "Sphinx" and an Associated Press correspondent on board
the "Pierre Loti', 500 miles apart,
the French High Commissioner assured the correspondent that "peace
was near in Syria."
Nov. 14, 1925.—Town of Kawkaba, a Christian village in Lebanon, half way between Hasbaya
and Marj'youn, was attacked by revolutionary bands and about forty
villagers were killed, including two
priests. A dispatch to the "New
York Times" described the actual
beginning of hostilities, over which
much controversy has been raised,
as follows:
"A Christian priest from Hasbaya
accompanied the rebels in order to
appeal to the defenceless inhabitants of Kawkaba not to make futile* resistance and avoid useless
bloodshed, but while they were surrounding the village, the rebels in-
THE SYRIAN WORLti
dulged in some firing and shot two
villagers. This caused the inhabitants to suspect treachery."
This action marked the beginning
of the bloody warfare which characterized the defense by Lebanon
Christians of their country against
the attacks of the Druzes.
Nov. 12, 1926 — Revolutionists
forces, numbering, it was estimated,
1500, under command of Zaid al-Atrash, occupied Hasbaya.
Nov. 16, 1925.—Druze forces attacked and occupied the Christian
town of Judeidah. About 200 were
killed on both sides and 500 houses
burned.
Nov. 25, 1925.—The French garrison in Rashayah was badly harassed by the Druzes. It was relieved
at the last moment when every round
of ammunition was shot. A Syrian
woman, wife of the local priest,
braved the fires of the revolutionists,
ascended the steep hill on the top of
which stood the ancient citadel
where the garrison and a large part
of the Christian population were
held in virtual captivity, and delivered a message thrown by a French
plane which promised immediate' relief. This brave woman was decorated
with the War Cross by the High
Commissioner.
A staff correspondent of the
"New York Times"
estimated
the French losses in Rashayah at 16
killed and 70 wounded, while the
Druzes, left 300 bodies in the interior
of the citadel. The! Druzes also suffered heavy losses in street fighting. The rebel forces, the correspondent states, outnumbered the1 French,
ten to one.
Dec. 6, 1925.—As a result of an
encircling operation the French occupied Hasbayah, the stronghold of
the Druzes in South Lebanon and
tnus freed Lebanon of insurgents.
�NAHR AL-KALB
The Actual Rock of Ages
Mute Witness to Recorded
History from its
Earliest Times
�General view of Nahr Al-Kalb. (the Dog River) showing the three historic bridges at its mouth.
Promontory of Nahr Al-Kalb viewed from the North.
�w
Promontory of Nahr Al-Kalb viewed from the North.
*r*Rr
* tift
ftii.U
^J*.
*«?i^S3a5a?^
Courtesy of Wissen VerofFent des Deutsch—Turk Denkmal.
�M^IMMH
IUIWHI'WHI—wWiMm
An Assyrian Inscription and an Egyptian one by Ramses on the rock at the mouth of the Dog River.
Photo by Brown Bros.
"•»»
The Roman Aqueduct at the mouth of the Dog River near which stands the Babylonian Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar.
(MMMMMNMMMM
�The Roman Aqueduct at the mouth of the Dog River near which stands the Babylonian Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar.
Courtesy of Wissen Veroffent des Deutsch—Turk Denkmal.
�:«-«' * •
The Arabic Inscription of Nahr Al-Kalb dating from the time of Sultan Selim.
Courtesy of Wissen Veroffent des Deutsch—Turk Denkmal.
-
�French Inscription at Nahr Al-Kalb commemorating the occupation of Sy
Photo by F. Askar.
�A close-up view of the mouth of the Dog River showing the carriage road and bridge.
Photo by Brown Bros.
f
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1926_08reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 02
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926 August
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 02 of The Syrian World, published August 1926. This issue begins with an article by Dr. Bayard Dodge discussing the importance of education for uniting Syria, building up its economy, and reforming the living conditions. The next two articles also focus on new developments in Syria including its economy and architecture. There are a number of pictures by the Brown Brothers of Cedar trees, in conjunction with an article that discusses the importance of the Cedar in various aspects of Lebanese life including medicine, building, and art. The last article focuses on the overthrow of the Umayyads in Damascus. There is also a discussion of the development of the Syrian Revolution.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Education
Great Syrian Revolt
New York
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/8e6528fef93f97b04d74a6851926afad.pdf
339e3ac45dd1b860ea6bf4656184813c
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SEPTEMBER, 1926
1
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SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I.
SEPTEMBER, 1926
No. 3
NAHR AL-KALB
THE SPOT RICHEST IN HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONS
By
PROF. PHILIP K. HITTI, PH.
OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
D.
FORMERLY OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
The most important fact regarding the geography of the
land of Syria is its intermediary, central position between the
ancient seats of civilization in particular, and between the three
great historic continents in general.
The most striking fact in its history is that it provided the
ancient and mediaeval world with its battlefield in time of war
and, market-place in time of peace. This historical fact follows
as a corollary from the geographical fact; and both help to explain the role which the people of Syria have played as the carriers and the disseminators of the products of the early human
culture.
There is, perhaps, nothing that better illustrates the position
of the country as an international battlefield and more succinctly
epitomizes its military history than the limestone promontory
projecting abruptly into the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of
Nahr Al-Kalb (the Dog River). This rock bears the inscriptions and effigies of world-famed warriors and conquerors from
Ramses II and Nabuchadnezzar down through the ages into the
time of Marcus Aurelius, Sultan Selim, Napoleon III, and even
Allenby and Gouraud. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, Assyro-Ba-
�«—
2
THE SYRIAN WORLD
bylonian cuneiform signs, Greek, Latin, Arabic, French and
English characters, the mute tongue of this eternal rock has never ceased from time immemorial to declare the strategy of the
place and to proclaim the exploits of these world conquerors and
their military achievements. The names of Ptah, Ra', Amon,
Ashur, and other deities, which stood at the head of the Egyptian and Assyrian, pantheons, also are here immortalized.
Some of these inscriptions must have already been old and
hoary with years when Christ was born a couple of hundred
miles to the south. Many of them must have witnessed the
armies of Alexander the Great, the legions of Pompey, the Crusaders of Raymond, the hordes of Saladin and of al-Malik alDahir, and the warriors of Ibrahim Pasha sweep up and down
the coast in, triumphal march or in retreat. The eyes of Peter
and Mark, as Peter and Mark and other early missionaries made
their way on the maritime plain, must have been caught by the
sight of some of these records. Where else in the world can
one find a place so rich in historic associations, so replete with the
memories of the past?
*
*
*
The Dog River — The Lycos of Strabo and Pliny — is one
of the largest streams of Lebanon. It bears its name probably
from thej howling noise made by its water as it dashes through
the rocks into the sea. Its basin, formed by the union of four
wadisy begins from the slopes of Jabal Sannin, at a height of
some 9,000 feet, and extends a distance of 25 miles emptying
its water 8 miles to the north of Beirut. This water is supplied
from Nab' al-Laban, Nab' al-'Asal, Wadi al-Salib and J'itah,
the last being a cavern six miles from the Sea. J'itah is an
Aramaic word meaning "the howling" or "screaming one". It
is this water of the Dog River which the people of Beirut drink,
and the origin of which can be traced back to the thawing snows
that fall during the winter months on the heights of Lebanon.
The taste of the ice-cold and refreshing drinks which I had
three summers ago from the sources of al-Laban and al-'Asal,
when on a walking trip with President Dodge and three other
professors of the American University of Beirut, "is still under
my teeth" — as we express it in Arabic.
The mouth of the River is crossed by three bridges. The
one nearest to the sea is the lattice-girded bridge of the Lebanon
tramway line with its three spans of about 60 feet each. About
a hundred yards upstream is a masonry bridge of five arches car-
�1
;
SEPTEMBER, 1926
3
jying the Beirut-Tripoli carriage road. This bridge was first
built by Waseh Pasha, the fourth governor of autonomous Lebanon, and later rebuilt by his successor Na'um Pasha. This
is the bridge which the automobiles and carriages traveling between Beirut and Tripoli cross today. Walk a quarter of a
mile higher up and you come across a quaint old bridge, the
most picturesque and interesting of all three. This bridge is
for pack traffic only. In its present form it bears one-centuryold repairs made by the famous Amir Bashir. A small slab with
an Arabic inscription on one side of the bridge indicates that
fact.
The original bridge, which must have stood either on this
same spot or close by, was first built by the Seleucid king of Syria
Antiochus the First, in 250 B. C. The original bridge, however,
was destroyed and repaired many times. In the Mamluk period
it was repaired by Sayf al-Din ibn-al-Hajj 'Araqtay al-Mansuri
(1292 A. D.). Sultan Selim (1512-1520 A. D.), the Ottoman
conqueror of Syria and Egypt, must have also rebuilt this same
bridge as indicated by an Arabic inscription on the roadside by
the bridge.
Girding the slope of the adjacent northern hill, just across
from this bridge, are the remains of a Roman aqueduct, with
arches, near which we still have an inscription in Babylonian
cuneiform left by the Biblical Nabuchadnezzar (604-562 B. C.)
the conqueror of Tyre and Jerusalem. This Babylonian inscription is hard to reach. It is hidden with bushes and lies just behind the modern mill. It was discovered in 1883 by Julius
Loytved the Danish Consul in Beirut.
The early Egyptians and Assyrians must have crossed the
River mainly at this bridge or at an adjacent one. The Egyptians were probably the first highway makers in that part of the
world. Their road cuts the rock high up along the brow of the
summit of the promontory. In their track the Assyrians followed later. The Assyro-Egyptian road wound its course up
bold ascents and down rapid declivities. The mere physical
passage of such a pass by an army with horses and chariots was
in itself an achievement worthy of a tablet. Such a route in
winter would be well-nigh impassable.
The Phoenicians trod this same path until they tired of it.
Proclus, a young Phoenician from 'Akka and ruler in Ba'albek,
conceived the bold plan of opening a new road lower down to-
Pt
�4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
wards the sea. His workmen possessed only hammers, probably of hardened copper, and knew nothing of powder, dynamite
or other explosives. Proclus left inscriptions in Greek — which
seems strange and hard to explain. They were discovered and deciphered by Professor John Alsop Paine over fifty years ago.
The story of the discovery is told by him in the Palestine Exploration Society, Second Statement, Pp. 5-14 (Hackensack, New
Jersey, 1873.)
The Romans in their turn utilized this same Proclean or
Phoenician road. Mareus Aurelius was the one who, in all probability, repaired and widened it about 173 A. D. Hence the
name VIA ANTONINIANA. The Latin inscription of this philosopher-emperor is still legible. Like all others, it stands on a
large tablet chiseled into the face of the rock. The panels of
the different tablets vary from four to nine feet in height and
from 2 1-3 feet to Ax/2 feet in breadth. The Latin inscription
reads:—
IMP. CAES. M. AVRELIVS ANTONINVS.
PIVS: FELIX
AVGVSTVS. PART. MAX.
BRIT. MAX. GERM. MAXIMVS. PONTIFEX.
MAXIMVS.
Traces of the Roman pavement can still be seen on this
road to the present day.
It is this same Roman-Phoenician road that is still trodden
by the modern Lebanese as they make their way round the
precipitous coast.
But it was not only the geographical difficulties that intercepted the passage of the warriors at this particular point. The
mountaineers, realizing the advantage of the physical configuration of the land, would naturally make their stand right there,
behind the precipitous promontory, in order to check the advance
of a hostile army. The Dog River mouth was the Thermopylse
of Syria.
After the Egyptian conquests in Syria this promontory served as the natural boundary between the empire of the Pharaohs
and that of the Hittites. In several of the, critical battles of the
First Crusade it figured prominently. In 1100, Baldwin drew
the Moslems from a strong position at the mouth of the River
by a feigned retreat. As late as 1840, when the four European
powers — Russia, England, Austria and Prussia — resolved to
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
5
wrest Syria from the hands of the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha and
restore it to the Sultan of Turkey, they landed (September 10)
at Juniyah, under command of Sir Charles Napier, a force of
Turkish troops with English and Austrian marines, who immediately entrenched themselves just to the north of the mouth
of the River.
It is clear from the above that what gave this site its characteristic features is the fact that just before reaching the mouth
of the River the rocky precipices thrust themselves abruptly into the sea forming a natural barrier to travel. To round this
precipice, a road had to be cut in the solid limestone rock along
the face of the sea-cliff. The position of the road rendered it
of great military importance from earliest times, making it the
natural, and at times, the. political boundary between the empires
to the south and those to the north of it.
*
*
*
The first inscription that greets the eye of a modern traveler, as he makes his way in an automobile from Beirut to Juniyah
and reaches the Dog River, is the French inscription of the
expedition sent in 1860 by Napoleon III to quell the civil war
better known as the Harakl This inscription reads thus:—
1860 -1861
Napoleon III
Empereur des Frangais
Armee Francaise
General de Beaufort d'Hautpoul
Commandant en Chef
Colonel Osmont
Chef d'Etat-Major General
General Ducrot
Commandant d'Infanterie
Then follow the names and numbers of the regiments.
The pity of it is that this modern French inscription was
carved on top of an earlier Egyptian inscription, dedicated to
the God Ptah, which was thus obliterated. It is interesting to
note, in this Connection, that the 65-year-old French inscription
�MMMMMMI
6
TH£ SYRIAN WORLD
is not much clearer today than the Latin inscription of Marcus
Aurelius which has withstood the weather for seventeen centuries or so.
A few feet from the French inscription stand two worn-out
panels bearing the effigies of two Assyrian royal personages. One
of these may be the picture of Tiglath Pileser I who visited
Lebanon in quest of cedar-wood for his palaces and temples in
Assyria. On passing there, this Assyrian king must have seen
the stela of the Egyptian Ramses, which was already standing
there, and emulated the Pharaoh's example by setting his own
effigy and inscription.
After a little ascent we find another Assyrian tablet belonging to Ashur-nazir-pal (885-860 B.C.) and commemorating his
victorious march through Syria. Leaving Ashur-nazir-pal to
his glory, we come, after a short climb, to an immense boulder
on which two of the most interesting and best preserved inscriptions are recorded. The first tablet bears the effigy of an Assyrian king, probably Shalmaneser III (860-825 B.C.) who had a
successful campaign against a coalition of Syrian kings headed
by Hazael of Damascus. The second tablet, about one foot
from the former, is an Egyptian one dedicated to the sun-god
Ra'. In the upper corner are two small figures facing each other.
A round-headed Assyrian tablet nearby is thought to represent
Sennacherib's invasion of Syria and Palestine in 701 B. C.
A few steps beyond bring us to the last two tablets: one by
Ramses II and much dilapidated; the other a round-headed
Assyrian tablet with the image of Esarhaddon the son of Sennacherib (II Kings, XIX-37). The king holds in his right hand
a cone. The cuneiform writing though inscribed in or about
671 B. C. is still legible. It commemorates the successful termination of the Egyptian campaign of "Esarhaddon, the great
king, the mighty king, the king of the land of Ashur and Babylon, king of Karduniash, king of all kings,
son of Sennacherib." *
The capture of Memphis, Ascalon and Tyre is referred to
in this inscription.
Among all these inscriptions the Egyptian ones are evidently
the oldest. They mostly belong to "The great lord, the prince,
great and mighty, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, the lord
*P. H. Weissbach, "Die Denkmaeler und Inschriften an der Mundung
des Nahr e'l-Kalb." Berlin, 1922 (Wissenschaftliche Veroflfentlichungen des
Deutsch — Turkischen Denkmalschutz-Kommandos — Heft 6.)
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
7
of both lands, the son of Ra<, Ramses Miamun
». Ramses
ruled 1292-1225 B. C.
His inscription therefore must have been about a thousand
years old when Alexander the Great made his way down the
bynan coast after the battle of Issus in 333 B. C.
If we now return to the carriage road and walk a few yards
northward we see near the bridge a modern inscription in English bearing the name of Allenby and the British regiments
which, in 1918, wrested Syria from the hands of the Ottoman
lurks And as if not wishing to leave this whole glory to the
British, the French, after assuming the man^te, added another
French inscription, artistically decorated, bearing the name of
General Gouraud. I remember seeing the workmen for days
chiselling into the solid rock and carving the French characters.
*
*
*
This brief portrayal of the historic associations of the mouth
of the Dog River will not be complete without reference to two
villages overlooking the glorious gorge. On one hill to the
south stands Tarnish which owes its name probably to Artemis,
the Greek goddess. On another hill to the north stands another
Maronite village, Ballunah, perpetuating the memory of Apollo.
And then there are, just above the oldest of the roads, the
stalagmite floors of three or four caverns in which the prehistoric man made his abode. Innumerable years before the world
knew of any Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Greeks or Romans some prehistoric tribes lived their half-animal, half-human
lives in the grottoes of Nahr al-Kalb which are not quite as
large as those of Kentucky but bear a strong resemblance to them.
*
*
*
Four Egyptian inscriptions, six Assyrian, one Babylonian,
three Greek, two Latin, two Arabic, two French, and one Engglish — these constitute the visiting cards left by some of the
world's greatest conquerors on the table of the Dog River promontory. They bear witness to the strategic importance of the
place in ancient, mediaeval and modern times, and to the memorable events which led to the writing on this rock of ages with
indelible paint. The memories of the past evoked by these
unparalleled monuments, mingling with the remembrance of
Apollo and Artemis worship in the overlooking villages and
with the souvenir of the prehistoric man in the neighboring grottoes, all contribute to make the mouth of the Dog River one of
the richest spots in historic and prehistoric associations.
1 .-vj-r, -;-- fcSSSSasSSsSS^ ;-
.-;-...-.
�aa
8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Health Problems of the Syrians
in the United States
By
F. I. SHATARA, M. D., F.A.C.S.
The topic of this brief contribution is bound to arouse some
questions and perhaps some criticism. Is it conceivable that the
Syrian migrating from a country where sanitation and public
health are in their infancy, to a country where these activities
form an important part of the duty of the Government—Federal, State and Municipal—should face any health problems at
all? Are there any health problems peculiar to the Syrian? We
shall see.
The editor of The Syrian World is to be greatly commended for devoting a part of the valuable space in his magazine to
the discussion of health problems. As a rule, a community that
has recently immigrated to this country is so preoccupied with
its economic and social problems as to overlook health and sanitary questions. It is hoped that this section of the magazine
will become something of a public health forum. Questions
should be encouraged, and contributions sought from men abler
than the writer.
It will greatly clarify the subject under discussion if we divide diseases into two groups — preventable and non-preventable. Under preventable diseases I shall not include all diseases
commonly included by the Health Department, but only those
diseases whose cause is definitely known, and which can, under
strict sanitary regulations, be eliminated. Diphtheria, Typhoid
Fever, and Small-pox are instances. These three diseases can
be entirely eliminated from a community, and immunity against
them can be acquired by vaccination—notwithstanding the antivivisectionists. It may be safely stated that the index of civilization of a given community varies in inverse proportion to the
prevalence of these diseases. In Syria, especially in Beirut,
where the water is piped from one common source, and where
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
1
\\
i (
9
sewage disposal is not done under sanitary precautions, where it
is done at all, Typhoid Fever has been a scourge. The other
preventable diseases are also prevalent. It is gratifying to note
that malaria, which was endemic in Syria, is being gradually
eliminated. From this standpoint, the Syrian in the United
States, or the American of Syrian origin, to be strictly Rooseveltian, far from facing a health problem, enjoys the immunity
which science affords.
But let us turn to the other group of Non-preventable diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries etc.; these are; more prevalent,
under the stress and strain of life in a highly civilized community, than in one where life is leisurely or more or less primitive.
The Syrian, accustomed to the simple and easy life, to the open
country, bright sunshine, and out-of-door recreation, finds an
entirely different environment when he lands in the United
States, especially if he choses to settle, as he usually does, in the
big cities. Until he gets acclimatized to his new environment,
he is more apt to feel the wear and tear of life in a City like
New York, than the native-born American. Another factor is
perhaps the excitability and emotionalism of the Syrian. Like
all dark-haired people who come from a warm climate, the Syrian lacks the coolness which is one of the characteristics of the
Nordic. While in one way this is an asset, still it makes him
more subject to nerve strain, neurasthenia etc. He tolerates pain
less and recuperates less rapidly. This I have noticed in my
surgical work.
It may not be amiss to point out here the great strides
made in recent years in the realm of preventive medicine, in
trying to prevent these non-preventable diseases. The modern
physician tries to prevent disease rather than wait and attempt
a cure after the disease has taken a firm foothold. The causes
of all diseases are being carefully studied and the knowledge
thus gained is transmitted by the physician to his patients, and
efforts are made to eliminate causative factors. Furthermore,
by the detection of a disease in its early stage it is often possible
to check its progress, and by the recognition of what may be
termed the prodromal stage, or the stage before the disease has
acually begun, it is sometimes possible to prevent its inception.
Hence the value of the so-called health examinations. I wish
that every reader of this article will make it a practise, if he has
not already done so, to get in the habit of having a health exami-
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
nation at least once a year. The money thus spent will be a
good investment. It will be similar to the proverbial stitch in
time. My plea to, the reader is simply this—treat your body as
well as you treat your automobile, for while you can easily buy
a new car, medicine has not yet progressed to the point where it
can give you a new body if you wreck the one that God gave
you.
A brief mention should be made of tuberculosis and other
lung infections such as pneumonia, pleurisy, etc. While no statistics are available, I am under the impression that the Syrian
is more prone to these diseases than the native-born. The reasons for this are several. The climate in Syria is mild and
equable, while here it is severe and changeable. There is sometimes, as is commonly known, as much as forty degrees variation
in temperature within twenty-four hours. Again the change
from an out-of-door life to a life of confinement where one
rarely sees the sun, and inhales, instead of pure air, one that is
laden with smoke and dust, breaks down the resistance and renders an individual susceptible to these lung diseases. The Syrian
working girl is the one especially to suffer. She divides her life
between the tenement house, the factory and the subway, gets
very little exercise and recreation, and after living about two
years in a city like New York, loses her vitality and healthy
color, and becomes an easy prey for these diseases'.
In conclusion, I must briefly and cautiously mention veneral
diseases. It is a difficult matter to discuss these without committing a breach of propriety. On the other hand, the prevalence
of these diseases, which are often contracted because of sheer
ignorance, leads me to believe that an educational campaign along
these subjects is a greatly needed one, and one that will
save our Syrian youth many sufferings and dire consequences.
Let the family physician assume the role of teacher and guide.
Let parents realize that knowledge, properly imparted, far from
hurting the morals of their children, will dispel that morbid
curiosity which often leads youth astray.
"The best of friends is he who shows you no more friendship when you become rich, no less when you become poor."
Ahmad Ibn Kais.
-
�The Khouriat, or wife of tlle Christian priest of Rashayya, who at the risk of her life carried a message to
the Rashayya garrison premising relief. Shp
here shown being decorated by the French High Commissioner de Joir
in the public square in Beirut.
�Gruesome spectacle in the courtyard of Rashayya fortress following thedesperate attack by the Druzes. The
town may be seen on fire in the right foreground.
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
[1
The Widowhood of Shahrazad
By
.,
V
|
11
HENRI DE REGNIER
of the French Academy
e/f Review by
WILLIAM CATZEFLIS
Part II
The Sultan, Shahryar, had just been found assassinated, in
his bed. His own dagger, with the agate pommel, was found
inbedded in his chest, and his own sword had served the murderer or murderers, to sever his head. His guards were found slain
at his very door
As to the murderer, he had disappeared without leaving any trace. Kerendar, coming to see his master in the
morning, had seen the tragic spectacle, and had tried to bring
aid to the Sultan, but the latter was beyond help. Then he hastened to inform Shahrazad of what had happened
Shahrazad was very popular in Bagdad, on account of her
beauty and talent, and Kerendar offered to have her recognized
as the reigning Sultana. Nothing was easier, providing she consented to keep him as Grand Vizier, and to let him govern the
kingdom in her name. If not, the throne would go to the Atabeck
of Mosul, and she, Shahrazad, would be confined in, some secure
place for the rest of her natural days, unless these days happened
to end abruptly in some other manner. Shahrazad was not ambitious, but she liked her comfort. She liked her palace, her
gardens, her life of ease, and the death of Shahryar had rather
pleased her, as giving her more freedom. Everything was arranged promptly and with great ability by Kerendar. The funeral of Shahryar was followed by the recognition of Shahrazad, and, soon after, by the hanging of Kerendar, who was pronounced the real murderer. Not that they had found any evidence against him, but a murderer to be punished was needed,
and Shahrazad's dislike for him had increased since that morning
when he scared and frightened her badly, by awakening her suddenly and waving before her eyes his bloody hands
The beginnings of Shahrazad's reign were happy. That is
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
11
The Widowhood of Shahrazad
By
HENRI DE REGNIER
of the French Academy
eA Review by
WILLIAM CATZEFLIS
Part II
The Sultan, Shahryar, had just been found assassinated, in
his bed. His own dagger, with the agate pommel, was found
inbedded in his chest, and his own sword had served the murderer or murderers, to sever his head. His guards were found slain
at his very door
As to the murderer, he had disappeared without leaving any trace. Kerendar, coming to see his master in the
morning, had seen the tragic spectacle, and had tried to bring
aid to the Sultan, but the latter was beyond help. Then he hastened to inform Shahrazad of what had happened
Shahrazad was very popular in Bagdad, on account of her
beauty and talent, and Kerendar offered to have her recognized
as the reigning Sultana. Nothing was easier, providing she consented to keep him as Grand Vizier, and to let him govern the
kingdom in her name. If not, the throne would go to the Atabeck
of Mosul, and she, Shahrazad, would be confined in, some secure
place for the rest of her natural days, unless these days happened
to end abruptly in some other manner. Shahrazad was not ambitious, but she liked her comfort. She liked her palace, her
gardens, her life of ease, and the death of Shahryar had rather
pleased her, as giving her more freedom. Everything was arranged promptly and with great ability by Kerendar. The funeral of Shahryar was followed by the recognition of Shahrazad, and, soon after, by the hanging of Kerendar, who was pronounced the real murderer. Not that they had found any evidence against him, but a murderer- to be punished was needed,
and Shahrazad's dislike for him had increased since that morning
when he scared and frightened her badly, by awakening her suddenly and waving before her eyes his bloody hands
The beginnings of Shahrazad's reign were happy. That is
�12
THE SYRIAN WORl
to say that the people of Bagdad were suffering from the sam .
ills, paying the same taxes, bearing the same injustice and mise
ries. But these conditions, which made them loathe Shahryar,
made them worship Shahrazad. Peoples are thus made. Their
fate is uniformly pitiful and their happiness always imaginary.
Shahrazad had then inaugurated a happy reign. She was told
that so often that she was surprised that she was not sharing the
happiness of her people. That disproportion vexed her.
And then, when Shahrazad had slept all she wanted; when
she had endeared herself to the people and received their acclamations; when she had rebuilt her palace, replanted her gardens,
changed the places of pavillions, fountains and bushes, and hanged the Grand Vizier, Kerendar, she discovered that she was not
any happier than during the life of Shahryar.
When evening came, and she went up to the terraces of her
new palace, she felt that something was missing. She found herself, idle and uncertain. Shahrazad had the habit of reasoning
her impressions. Having thought deeply, she recognized that
the stories she used to tell Shahryar every night kept her mind
in a state of ingenious and salutary activity. She had to invent
the subjects, to imagine the circumstances. Once the play over,
she felt a spiritual fatigue and weariness. How could she remedy
that state? She could not very well group around her her retinue
and guards and make an audience of them
She could not
think of the easy pleasures
As to real love, it is not easier
for queens to obtain it than for daughters of cobblers. And then,
when one is at the peak of honors, one gets adulation, respect,
and inspires fear, but it is hard for one to be loved
Suddenly an idea occurred to her, and thrilled her soul. Would
it not be amusing for her, she who had told so many stories,
to have people tell them to her in turn? Why not try? Unlike
Shahryar, she would not have the boresome entertainers beheaded. She would be satisfied to have their ears cut, for failing to
charm hers. Shahrazad was not cruel; she was even a little sorry
for having had that poor Kerendar hanged. Now she was wiser,
but even wisdom has its hours of weariness. Decidedly, she would
convoke the story tellers. The news of this would be published
in Bagdad the following day.
They were published, and they produced a magic effect. The
marvelous life history of Shahrazad, the cobbler's daughter who
had become a Sultana, had made story telling fashionable. It
had become a vogue. [There was hardly a house in Bagdad where
�—•.
IPTEMBER, 1926
:
13
,-eople did not gather to hear stories. Clubs and academies had
been formed for that purpose, with championship and prizes.
In brief, a real literary furore had invaded the town, creating
queer vanities, rivalries, and animosities which often turned into
hatred. It is easy, therefore, to conceive of the effect produced
upon the people of Bagdad, and especially upon ambitious candidates by the edict of the Queen
The clause about the ears
caused a little anxiety, but the vanity of the Ba^dadian story tellers was such, that no one of them imagined he would have to
suffer that outrage
The first one who was favored by fate was Mardook. He
was a little man, ugly and conceited. He had, for himself, an
unlimited esteem; therefore, he did not doubt that, after hearing
him, Shahrazad would close the door to further competition,
and would permanently attach him to her person. His rivals
had for him nothing but contempt, yet, they were not entirely
at ease in their minds. Women have such bad taste you never
can tell what they might do. As to Mardook himself, he was
sure of his success. He had a new outfit made by the best tailor
of Bagdad; and with a large turban, surmounted by a tall feather, his hair freshly trimmed and his beard perfumed, he strode
the steps of the palace, with a great deal of pride. His colleagues
had insisted on accompanying him to the gates, and their imposing cortege remained outside, discussing the merits and the chances
of the candidate. But after a certain length of time, all conversations were hushed,as the bronze doors of the Palace were thrown
open, and they saw Mardook, his cloak in disorder, holding preciously upon a piece of cloth, his two severed ears.
His example, however, did not discourage his rivals. Each
week saw the one selected by fate going lip the stairs of the
Palace. Shahrazad listened patiently to the stories that they
told, but she could not become interested. The marvelous inventions, which had amused her when they were conceived in her
own mind, left her indifferent and bored when she heard them
from some one else's mouth. Exhausted, she had often discharged the applicants without even giving them a chance to declaim
their tales. Wounded in their vanity, these persons spread calumnies about her. Poisoning tongues were spreading strange rumors in Bagdad. They were saying that the Sultana, weakened
in mind and with a decadent intelligence, was no longer in position to appreciate the literary merits of Bagdadians. Epigrams
and songs were circulated, villifying her
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It was on one of those days that Shahrazad learned of the
arrival into Bagdad of a great caravan. From the remote country of the Garamids, through the deserts of Bogdiane, at the
price of a thousand dangers and much fatigue, it had arrived into
Bagdad, bearing gifts from the king of their country to Shahrazad. The men composing it did not resemble the people of
Bagdad, either by their dress or by their figures. One of them
was said to be a famous story teller, and wanted to run the
gauntlet of the test. He was tall, and kept his face veiled, like
a woman. He was said to be of a great race, and of a princely
house. He craved the favor to speak before the Sultana.
Hearing that request, Shahrazad shook her shoulders. What
was the use of attempting, once more, a useless experience? What
did he want with her, that presumptuous stranger? Oh, she was
not going to spare that one. To punish his audacity, she would
not content herself with having his ears cut, but will have him
beheaded. So much the worse for him, and let him be told that
she expected him the following day.
It was a hot and bright night, similar to the night when
Shahryar was murdered. Stars were twinkling, and the moon
had risen.
Shahrazad, lying on her perfumed leather
cushions, was listening to the murmur of the fountains,
while inhaling the fragrance of roses. She felt herself unduly
troubled. She would have liked to bathe her feverish body in
iced water, but she wanted to get rid of the stranger first. She
gave orders that he be ushered into her presence.
He was indeed tall, and seemed elegant and robust. A wide
cloak enveloped his body, and his face was covered by a veil.
Instead of prostrating himself at the feet of the Sultana, he was
standing, erect and silent, before her. She considered him with
curiosity. What words were going to emerge from this mysterious mouth? She was beginning to be interested. All of a sudden, it seemed to her that, the leather of her cushions were acquiring a delightful freshness, that the stars were more brilliant
and the moon more silvery. The air had a peculiar flavor. The
fountains were murmuring with greater harmony j the roses had
a sweeter fragrance. In the darkness, a nightingale sang. The
stranger was still silent} Shahrazad was silent also, but her heart
was throbbing, and she lowered her eyes.
When she raised them again, the man had lifted his veil, and
was looking at her, his face uncovered, with one finger on his
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
15
hps. He was beautiful, beautiful as happiness and as the dawn.
He was keeping silent, and yet Shahrazad heard coming from
that closed mouth the unspoken words of the most marvelous
of stories, the one that Love tells Silence, and which contains
all the beauty of Death and Life.
Silence is Golden
The bosoms of men are the chests of secrets; the lips are
their locks, and the tongues are their keys. Let each one keep
the key of his secrets.
<Amr Ibn-ul <Aas
Your secret is your slave; when you let it out you become
its slave.
^.H
Never have I blamed anyone for divulging a secret I communicated to him; for my own bosom was more at fault for not
keeping it.
Omar
Guard thou thy tongue lest in speaking thyself thou ruest,
Verily wretchedness attends one's speech.
An Arab poet
My son, when you are in the company of men speak not
with the speech of those who are above you lest they consider
you boresome, nor speak with the speech of those below you lest
they dispise you.
Abu-1-Aswad al-Dou'ali.
My silence is my own, and its benefit accrues to me alone;
my speech is for others, and its benefits accrue to others, while
its injury accrues to me.
A wise Arab
The wise one is not he who knows good from evil, but he who
knows the lesser of two evils.
Omar
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
What is Americanism ?
By
HABIB
I.
KATIBAH
The new interest which an increasingly large number of
"Americans" are taking in the "foreign" groups of this country
could not go unnoticed.
Often, this interest takes an unwholesome, pugnacious phase j
often it is a blind reaction to deep-seated and uncontrolled racial
prejudices j often it is the outcome of a defensive, repulsing attitude to what is considered an encroachment on sacred traditions
and the continuity of historic experiences. In this latter phase
the ^foreigners are considered as intruders and social climbers,
unwanted and unwelcome sojourners in a land that is not their
own. And in all these aspects, the American interest is a negative one. It is rather an awareness and a realization of the foreigner as constituting a social and biological problem.
Needless to say there is a different kind of interest among
a smaller group of thinking Americans who try to understand the
foreigners before they judge them or condemn them; who do
not allow their unreasoned passions to control their critical judgements.
It is not our purpose here to defend the foreigners or judge
their prejudiced critics. Nor do we desire to enter into any technical discussion on the biological merits of the supremacy of one
"race" over another, and whether there is such a thing as a "race".
We leave these subjects for scientists to discuss.
There are certain basic ideas which transcend these considerations and help to enlighten our minds on the fundamental principles involved in this timely discussion. On these we wish to
dwell.
Just what is this Americanism?
It seems presumptuous for a foreigner to give a satisfactory
and all-inclusive definition of a term which is so essentially American in its implications and connotations. Yet it is not so presumptuous as it seems. On the contrary, it is just as likely for
a foreigner to apprehend and appraise this gigantic psychical
and spiritual movement as for an American. Americanism denotes
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
17
a relationship, one term of which is the American, the other one,
the foreigner.
What is a true American, therefore, is a matter to be determined by the reaction of the non-American observer as much as
by the American himself.
We are of the firm belief that most of the misunderstandings
and troubles that follow the discussion of this subject arise from
the misconception of its true nature. We are of the opinion that
Americanism is often regarded as a theoretical, biological problem when in truth it should be viewed as a practical, moral one.
We are perfectly aware of the cogency of the arguments
presented by such serious students of our social maladies as A. E.
Wiggam, in his book, "The New Decalogue of Science" and others who share his views that we should not allow sentimentalism
to get the better of our judgements in the discussion of social
problems. Heartily do we recommend this rigorous scientific study however unpleasant might be its conclusions to us. But
when we have done all our scientific research and study in our
social and psychological laboratories, and compiled our statistics
and deduced our formulae therefrom, we have not thereby done
anything in. the way of Americanism. Nor is the methodic application of these scientific truths and theories Americanism. In
a sense, Americanism is a pedagogical term. It should have as
its immediate objective the conversion of untutored foreigners
into good, responsible American citizens.
This, to our mind, is the essence of the whole problem. This
is the practical religion of Americanism devoid of all its dogmas
and rituals.
It is quite possible that in the light of this interpretation,
Americanism would lose something of its American content j it
is not unlikely, and to us seems inevitable, that viewed thus,
Americanism becomes more of a problem of interpretation and
interrelation than of assimilation. In other words, to make of
foreigners good American citizens does not necessarily mean to
convert them into New England Puritans of Anglo-Saxon blood
and traditions, even if this were possible. Yet, how often is the
aversion of some blue-blooded Americans to foreigners based on
this foolish, though often unwitting, expectation which by nature could not be realized? How often do Americans of AngloSaxon descent seem to imply in Americanism this round-about
change of human nature which may take centuries to accomplish,
and which, once accomplished, may not be to the best advantage
�is
THE SYRIAN iVORLb
of the Americans, the foreigners, or the human race in general.
Two views of Americanism are distinctly here before us: one
that regards Americanism as conformity to some sacred residium
of raciality given, so to speak, a priori, and over which we have no
authority or control; the other conceives of Americanism as a forward-looking, practical arrangement whereby people of different
races could live together in peace and harmony. According to the
first view, true American ideals are those which were in existence
150 years ago; all others that came after are adventitious and
alien. These ideals, we may add, are Anglo-Saxon, or at least
Nordic. The other view regards Americanism as a composite
product of the ideals represented by the different nationalities
that have found a dwelling-place and a refuge in this vast
land, originally belonging to the red-skinned American Indians.
This latter view must be distinguished from one similar to it
in appearance, but in fact quite different—the view that is expressed in the slogan, once very popular, of "the melting-pot"...
We have chosen the word "composite" deliberately, to avoid
even the suspicion of favoring a conglomoration of "foreign"
ideals with those of "the native American" in such a way that
we will have neither the one nor the other.
We note with satisfaction the passing away of this "meltingpot" theory of Americanization, while we may not assent completely to some writers' tendency to swing from it back to the
old Yankee theory of Americanization, as evidenced by a recent
book on the subject, "The Melting-Pot Mistake", by Henry
Pratt Fairchild.
While Mr. Fairchild makes the scientific basis of his book
the distinction between "race" which is a biological, hereditary,
characteristic, and "nationality" which is acquired, he resumes
his discussion, as if with the assumption that the latter is hereditary and unchangeable, and ends with two quotations from "two
distinguished foreigners" to substantiate his contention that it
constitutes "a mystic centre" and a "soul" of the people who
adopt it.
There seems to be a discrepancy somewhere in Mr. Fairchild's argument. Either nationality is acquired and hence there
is nothing "mystical" about it, or else this mysticism comes not
from the consideration of nationality, but from another source,
raciality or what is akin to it. Indeed one's suspicion that the
author involuntarily substitutes raciality for nationality is more
than justified by a perusal of his book. He harps continuously
-
-
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
19
on the "Puritan stock" and the traditions of the immigrants of
150 years ago, forgetting or overlooking the distinction between
those traditions which are acquired and have been the inspiration
of millions of people all over the world, and those ones that
are "biological" or "racial" or what not...
It is obvious that assimilation of the foreigners on the basis
of a common understanding of acquired traditions, i. e., nationality, is quite possible, and to our way of thinking, most feasible;
while assimilation in the sense of conformity to all the idiosyncrasies and deep-set racial traditions of the Anglo-Saxon or Nordic Stock is obviously impossible, and senseless. For humanity
may be united on essential things, which are the heritage of all;
on ethical and social standards that make their appeal to reason;
but not on matters of social behavior which go back thousands
of years, and in the last analysis are based on sheer prejudice,
blind imitation or accidental contingencies.
We feel that some modern writers, Wigam, Stoddard, Robinson etc., have emphasised a little too unduly the place of instinct
in, the process of thinking and in human behavior.. The mind,
with its consciously formulated standards, is given altogether too
little a place. We would like to recall for them the consideration that while man was originally motivated by instincts, almost exclusively, he has more and more employed "conscious"
reasoning in his social behavior. Furthermore, and what is of
more consequence, civilization is nothing more than the constant
substitution of "reason" for "instinct". To some psychologists,
civilization appears to be a thin, artificial veneer on the thick
surface of instinct, but it is just this thin veneer which makes us
more of men and less of beasts.
There is something to be said for the policy of restricted
immigration, if it were carried out a little more humanely and
scientifically. This restriction we, of foreign extraction, desire
for our own sakes, to enable us to accommodate ourselves to our
new environment more satisfactorily. But may we observe here
that even if there were only five righteous foreigners among a certain type of Nordics these latter would not assimilate them or
make it easy for them to be assimilated. The obstacle here is not a
biological one but a moral one. For every race has its peculiar
vice and that of the Nordics is pride. This pride has made them
the most powerful race on earth, but it threatens also to unmake
them. The English have been in India more than 150 years,
and are today as far from understanding the mentality of the
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Hindus as when they first landed there as merchants and pirates.
It is with, a sense of extreme pleasure and gratification that
we can say from personal experience and close observation that
many Nordics are not haters of foreigners. We know too many
good-natured, generous, large-hearted Christian Nordics to condemn them in a sweeping manner. These hold to us the promise
that a new spirit and a new interpretation of Americanism are
asserting themselves.
One of these Nordics, of New England Stock, who has devoted with his wife thirty years to social work among foreign
groups in the larger cities of the United States has summed up
his experiences in a pamphlet which we wish could be placed in
the hands of every social student before reading such books as
"The Melting-Pot Mistake", by Mr. Fairchild or "The Revolt
Against Civilization", by Lothrop Stoddard.
Charles Frederick Weller, president of the League of Neighbors, has a most illuminating testimony about "foreigners" contained in a message entitled "Immigrants" which we take pleasure in quoting here, and with which we find nothing more fitting
to end this article.
"By good fortune," says Mr. Weller, "I have become acquainted with a number of apparently average folks bearing the
strange racial name. On acquaintance, invariably, they have
proven to be good average human beings—congenial like myself in all human essentials, though interestingly varied which is
the law of life.
"Thus my personal experiences have exactly followed the
labored scientific conclusions of the best scholars—who have found
it impossible to define any significant, lasting distinctions between
races. The scientists probe, measure, photograph, tabulate—and
perhaps arrive at the hopeful conclusion that the one real, fixed,
demonstrable distinction is between "Brachycephalic" or broad
heads, and "Delichocephalic" or narrow heads. Then the scientists report that the broad heads and narrow heads are everywhere
so variously mixed together that the popular race distinction—
one on which you and I and Congress base our prejudices—have
no fixed or clear relationship at all to what has been urged as the
one and only scientific racial distinction".
/
*
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
II
1
2f
Her First Meeting with the
Match-Makers
By AHMED HIKMAT
The recent social and political upheaval in Turkey had among its
foremost results the liberation of the Turkish woman and the abolishment of the! Harem institution. The following story by the Turkish
writer, Ahmed Hikmat, translated to Arabic and published in a Mohammedan newspaper of Damascus, gives one an intimate impressionistic study of the feelings of a Moslem girl of the old regime, at
the first visit of professional match-makers on the mission of choosing a bride for a bridegroom totally unknown to her. Incidentally, it
uncover« to us one of the most dynamic and fundamental motives' of
the modern Kemalist revolution.
The conditions described here still exist in many Moslem countries and in some parts of Syria, where many of the Moslem women
are still held prisoners behind their veils. — Editor.
A gorgeous carriage was coming towards the house
It
drew nearer...... What could it have stopped for!!
A few minutes passed before the door was knocked. Was it
just an ordinary visitor coming to us?
I went to the top of the stairs and peered at the comers.
I saw enter two women attended by a servant. Nothing out of
the ordinary in this, had I not noticed the commotion and hubub
which followed their entry.
Presently my governess came running up the stairs, jumping two steps at a time, as I read on her excited face signs of
astonishment and perplexity.
"A big event, a big event! my little beloved one," she panted
out in a disconnected and confused voice.
"And what may this big event be?" I asked.
"O, my lambkin, it is a great matter for which they have
come. But never mind now, run to your room and hide. Here
they come! Beware to show yourself or move about!"
Then she ran back to where my mother stood, repeating: "A
big event, a big event!" Her hurry did not prevent me from
shouting after her: "Tell me, in God's name, what is this big
�.
22
.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
event; which this carriage has brought about with it?"
I had scarcely finished my sentence when my mother appeared at the door of her bed-room. I trembled with fright as
she looked at me with a glance full of seriousness and authority,
and raising her finger to her lips, motioned me to silence, and
ordered me to go to my room without delay.
Then my governess came out and took me in hand to my
room.
A sudden feeling of insubordination arose within me, and
I stood there on tip-toe to find who those women were. But
no sooner had I glanced at them than I ran away in fear.
To say that I did not understand, that my heart did not
beat at; the coming of these women, I would not be telling the
truth. I knew that these women were m..a^t..c.Ji-m..a..k..e.jr..s!
Up 'till yesterday I was, like all girls who reach the age
of fifteen and are not betrothed, despondent of life, wishing for
death when the least annoyance crossed me. Often I would say
to my parents: "Would that death take me away and rid you of
me!"
And as if my cat sensed the situation, it followed me and
rolled on the floor by my feet.
"Depart from me," I said, "for the love that was between
us has come to an end! See you not, pussy, the match-makers?"
Then my governess came back panting and said to me: "Make
ready and come with me."
"Where?" I asked.
Instead of an answer, my governess asked me what dress
I would like to put on, and it was finally decided that I should
wear my rose dress, which I proceeded to put on as the words,
"hurry up," "make haste," etc., rang in my ears.
Bitter and painful thoughts raced through my mind at that
moment. I felt as though I were a commodity displayed before strange buyers whom I do not know and who know me not.
They look at me from behind a show-window, and I wonder
as they measure my length and width with their scrutinizing
eyes, if I, the soulless, unfeeling statue, suit the fancy of their
bride-groom! I stand before them with a drooping head like
a guilty one before a judge.
I may be a beautiful girl, free from blemishes and faults,
yet the fear of God Himself would not prevent the matchmaker from remarking haughtily: "We want a different color,"
or "a different face than this."
I\
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
25
Thus do the betrother and his folks tyrannize over the betrothed one and hers, dictating their will as though it were coming from Heaven.
That was what went on in my mind at that moment, and
I must confess that it cut my self-respect deeply, so deeply that
I cried. Yes, I cried bitterly and my tears rolled down copiously on my cheeks.
"Do not cry, my sweet one," comforted my governess, "for
I fear your eyes will turn red
for God's sake, do not cry!"
She said this as she went on making my toilet. And as she
touched my face with powder, she lectured me thus.
"Your steps must be steady and balanced, neither too fast
nor too slow. As you walk turn not backwards nor sidewards.
And beware of frowning or closing your eyes or staring. Display not the least haughtiness or vanity, nor the least sign of stupidity. And under no condition must you show your feet or
hands, nor your teeth. Ah, if they should see the cavity of that
tooth that was taken out last year
what a calamity it would
be!!!"
When my governess was through with my toilet, she was
not yet through with her lecturing. For, following me, she
kept up her instructions: "Stop, let me fix your ribbons, now
walk this way
lift your foot
now do this
now do
that "
As, I entered the guests' salon, I was face to face with two
ghosts or rather ghouls! I was exhausted and threw myself
on the sofa. But as I sat it occurred to me that my posture
might not have pleased the match-makers, and my cheeks turned red with shame, and the more I thought of the color of
my cheeks, the redder they grew.
To turn myself away from my self-consciousness, I began
to fidget with the edge of my robe.
I thought to myself: This one in the middle is the motherin-law. She is an old woman, thin and tall, yet she tries to
imitate youth in her appearance. She flirts and makes up; she
opens and closes her eyes in a coquettish manner, and frequently
looks sidewise, and cracks her fingers. When she talks she puckers her lips and slowly, drawlingly, allows the words to come out
disjointed from her awry mouth.
I felt, as I listened to her, that her glances which shot out
like sparks or poisoned arrows from her small, greenish eyes,
were piercing my bosom and pinning me tightly to my seat
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The fright which the sight of the mother-in-law inspired in
me did not prevent me from forming a mental picture of her
precious son! Rather, perhaps, it was the very thing which
drove me to it. I said to myself: "I wonder if he is like his
mother? Would he ever become as ugly as she is?" Nor need
I deny that I would often steal a glancei at my "match-maker"
as she was busy lighting or putting out her cigarettes.
No! No! I will not hesitate at all to say that I did not like
her.
But the one who was sitting next to her, who I have no
doubt is her daughter
she, too, is like the rest of sisters-inlaw, envious and insidious, as one could readily read on her
forehead! She, too, pierced me with sharp glances from her
blue eyes, as her face peered out now and then from behind the
thick veil of her mother's smoke.
"Ah!" I said to myself as the mother-in-law was taking the
last sip of her coffee, "how far are these two women from knowing my true nature and character? Is it the mission of the matchmakers merely to look, not to understand?"
What a relief when I found myself again alone in my room.
But only for a short while.
For the women folk of my home soon flocked around me
and were all talking at the same time.
Said one: "You were frowning in the presence of the matchmakers." "On the contrary," said another, "you were not serious
enough." A third one added that the glow of my cheeks enhanced my beauty while a fourth one contradicted her!
To what purpose, O, God, were the long years which I spent
learning music and drawing, and the long hours which I spent
poring over my books at school?
The two match-makers did not give me any opportunity to
talk, or discuss with them any subject! Far from that, they did
not even give me a chance to raise a glance at them
Ah, how I yearn for a man who would know my heart, and
whose heart I would know; who understands me and whom I
understand? Where will I ever chance on a man like that?
•
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
25
ISLAM
ii.
No careful reader of the Koran can fail to note the close
resemblance of Mohammedanism to Christianity and Judaism. In
the Mohammedan calendar Jesus stands next to Mohammed in
importance. He is characterized as being "from the Spirit of
God", and although his divinity or deity is vehemently denied,
his miraculous birth from the Virgin is attested to. Jewish influence on Mohammed and the Koran is not hard to discern also.
Geiger wrote a whole book on "What Mohammed Took from
Judaism". In both cases Mohammed had no first-hand acquaintance with the sacred literature of these two religions, but rather
received his information from secondary sources of traveling
monks and popular Rabbinic literature.
At first Mohammed did not have in mind introducing a new
religion. He preached what he believed to be the same religion
which Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus preached before him.
To him Christianity was a continuation and fulfillment of Judaism. As to his own mission, he believed himself to be the "Messenger" of God sent to give the Arabs a warning and to bring
them back to the only and one religion.
But later in Medina, when he was repulsed and ridiculed by
the Jews with whom he had tried to effect some agreement, he
turned his face from Jerusalem Meccaward, and thereupon began to reconsider Islam in the light of a new religion which
superseded the other two. He began to call the Jews and the
Christians who disputed with him "falsifiers" of the Torah and
the Gospels, and taught that his new revelations "annulled" —
nasakh — the previous ones.
It is not af all necessary to believe in the "Monk Buhairah"
legend to explain the origin of Christian influence on Mohammed. Christianity of the Nestorian or docetic type was quite
common in Arabia. Khadijah's cousin was said to be a Christian. The prince of Arab poets before Islam, Amru-1-Kais,
was a Christian. So also was the prince and paragon of Arab
generosity, Hatem of the tribe of Tai. In Tai'f, not far from
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Mecca, there was a thriving colony of Arabs which had come under the influence of monotheistic, probably Christian, influence.
A story told of Mohammed in Medina gives us a vivid picture of the extent of Christian influence on him.
It is related by Arab biographers of Mohammed that a man
of the tribe of Ayad visited the Prophet while he was surrounded by a group of his "followers". Mohammed asked the man
about the old itinerant monk-priest, Kis Ibn Sa'ida of Ayad.
The man informed Mohammed that Kis had died. Mohammed
shook his head in sorrow and said:
"May Allah have mercy on him. I can still recall him when,
riding on a red she-camel, he harangued the crowds in the fair of
'Okaz". Then, turning to his followers, he asked if any remembered something of the famous sermons of Kis Ibn Sa'ida. Abu
Bakr volunteered and recited a short rhapsodic sermon which
the picturesque priest was fond of delivering in oratorical flourish.
The fundamental principles of Islam may be summed up in
the following five tenets:
1—The acknowledgement of One God, and the recognition
of Mohammed as the Apostle of God.
2—The ritual of worship, five times a day.
3—Alms.
A—Fasting of the month of Ramazan.
5—The pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the fiirst four we find nothing radically different from
similar universal elements of Christianity and Judaism. But the
fifth is, a decided concession to heathen, Arab nationalism.
This dual nature of Islam, its religious nationalism and nationalistic religion, gave Islam its greatest impetus as an aggressive, dynamic world force, which seemed, magic-like, to create
a civilization out of nothing, but which in truth pressed and
moulded previous elemnets into its service, and fusing them
together with its heat of enthusiasm, created a new type of civilization, neither old nor new, but distinctly different.
Had Islam confined itself to Arabia it would have, in all
probability, died away, engulfed in the abyss of the monotonous
sands of the desert, and Mohammed, instead of becoming a
colossal figure in the history of the world, would have been another local prophet of Arabia, another Hud or Saleh, whose memory hangs on the slender thread of a mere name.
But with the vision of a statesman which characterized his
latter days, Mohammed cast his eyes beyond Arabia, to the
I
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
i
|J
27.
earthly paradise of Damascus, to the spacious plains of Mesopotamia, to the thrones of the Christian Heraclius and the Zoroastrian Yezdegird. Such was the vision with which the Koreishite
prophet fired his compact body of faithful companions and zealous followers. To the majority, we must assume, this vision
aroused nothing more exalting or spiritual than a relief from the
severe life of the inclement desert, and the dream of a life of
plenty and affluence, always seen from afar but never realized or
even realizable in Arabia itself. Early records of the Islamic
invasions of these neighboring countries are full of ejaculations
of enthusiastic warriors in praise of Allah "Who has delivered
us from the privations of the Jahiliyyah to the plenty of Islam".
Partly in the light of this pressing economic determinism,
partly in the light of a religious zeal which transcended the
bounds of this human existence, promising an immediate translation from the miseries and exigencies of a mortal life into
a state of eternal happiness, such as no Arab ever entertained
even in his fondest dreams, could we explain the unparalleled
energy and swiftness of execution with which Islam spread like a
prairie fire, north, east and west until, in less than half a century, the Moslem Empire exceeded that of the Romans at the
height of their glory, extending "from Cyrene on the west to
India on the east".
Just three years after the death of Mohammed in Medina,
Damascus fell into the hands of the Arabs in the year 635 A. D.
In the following year the battle of Yarmuk, on the eastern side
of the Jordan river, brought the whole of Syria under the banner of victorious Islam and drove the last Byzantine king within the borders of Asia Minor. In the year 637 the battle of
Kadisiyya made the fresh invaders from Arabia masters over
thej ancient kingdoms of Babylonia and Assyria. The battle of
Nahawand in 642 extended their rule further over the lands
of the Medes and the Persians, while in 640 Egypt fell.
All this came in the short reign of two of the former companions of the Prophet, Abu-Bakr and Omar, who were the first
and second Caliphs, i. e. successors, respectively, of Mohammed.
It is not possible to go into the details of the political fortunes of Islam in this short treatise. The civil wars between Ali
and Mu'awiyah; the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty in
Damascus; the rise of the Abbaside one in Baghdad; the founding of a new caliphate in North Africa and Andalusia, Spain;
form an interesting and romantic story, but are little pertinent
�I
. WM mUU
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to our present subject, which is to give a comprehensible outline
of Islam as a religion, as a spiritual movement which left its
mark on the history of mankind.
The dynasty of the Umayyads, founded by Mu'awiyah in
Damascus in the year 660 A. D., may be generally described as
a dynasty of worldly tolerance. The Umayyads came from that
branch of Koreish which offered Mohammed most opposition,
and whose members embraced Islam only when they began to
discern in it worldly advantages and political prestige. Their
interpretation of Islam was worldly, but, it may be said in
justice to them, was also sane and tolerantj they were practical
men, of affairs above everything else. Under their lenient rule
Islam attained its height of glory, and Arab nationalism was consolidated.
It was under the Umayyads, and partly due to their tolerance,
that the influence of Christian Syria was first felt in Islam. At
first, the beaurocratic and secretarial management of the vast
kingdom was left in the hands of the natives. Books of the
treasury, records of the taxes etc., were kept in Greek, Persian
and Coptic, in the respective countries of Syria, Persia and Egypt.
The grandfather of St. John of Damascus, considered "the
greatest theologian of the Greek Church", held a high position
at the Umayyad court while the Christian poet al-Akhtal was
as much of a favorite in the court of Mu'awiyah as Farazdak
and Jarir the Moslems. The mollifying influence of the Byzantine civilization had its bearing on the rough-hewn sons of
the desert, especially in the court, where the Umayyad Caliphs
exceeded the Byzantine rulers in the voluptuousness of their
luxurious tastes.
This early contact of Islam with Christian influence in Syria
rendered it accessible also to spiritual and intellectual influences
which raised it from the status of a local, Arabic reform movement to a great world, spiritual movement which left its indelible
traces on many nations far remote from Islam for several centuries. The, universalism of the Abbasides was the open sesame
which opened to Islam the treasures of Greek philosophy, Hindu
mysticism and Persian arts and civilization.
The Christians of Syria played an important role in this process of universalization. Syrian clericals and laymen educated
in the lap of the Eastern Churches, Nestorian and Byzantine, furnished the link between the Greeks and the Arabs.
Many of the works of the Greek philosophers, especially the
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
4
h
29
works of Aristotle, had already been translated into Syriac before
they were translated into Arabic. One of those translators comes
down to us under the name of Ibn-ul-Batrik, "the son of the
Patriarch".
The chief works translated from the Greek were scientific
works dealing with medicine and mathematics and works of philosophy which the Mohammedans employed in their new science
of "kalaam", i. e. the science of words, which undoubtedly
influenced Mediaeval Scholasticism.
Such names as Avicenna and Averoes attest to the extent of
this influence. For these names which we come across frequently
in books of Mediaeval school-learning ares the corruption of genuinely Arabic names, Ibn Sina, the Arab philosopher and physician of the 10th. and 11th centuries, and later, Ibn Rushd, the
most eminent Arab philosopher and commentator of Aristotle,
who taught in Cordoba, Spain, in the 12th century where a great
Arabic civilization flourished. So great was the influence of the
Arabs in medicine on the West that up to the 18th century, Avicenna's famous book on medicine, al-Kanoon, was the main textbook of medicine in all European universities. The word Aljebra attests to their contribution to mathematics, as does the word
Logarithm, which is said to be derived from Khwarizmi who
laid down its principles. Alchemy, the progenitor to our Chemistry, is also indebted to the Arabs. Its founder Jabir Ibn Hayyan, bequeathed his name to the English language through the
word jibberish, meaning obscure and mysterious, because alchemists guarded their secret of transforming base metals to gold
with obscure words and symbols.
Four are the characteristics of the fool: He becomes wrathful against one who takes no pains to appease him; he sits where
he is not invited; he pleads poverty before one who would not
enrich him; and he talks of what does not concern him.
Ali.
1
Men lose their heads more by gold than by strong wine'
Ali!
Knowledge is like a stream, wisdom like a sea.
i
-
Ali
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
30
Famous Arab Lovers
in
Jameel and Buthainah
Next to Maj nun Laila, Jameel was the most famous of the
cycle of lyric poets, known in Arabic literature as "The Arab
Lovers". Like Majnun, he, too, was designated by the name of
his beloved, so that hardly is his name mentioned without that
of Buthainah to whom he poured out the passion of his heart.
Jameel was known to his contemporaries of the latter part
of the Umayyad period as the "Imam of Lovers", and by
some of them called "the greatest of poets of Islamic and preIslamic days".
How the love-affair between Jameel and Buthainah began is
a matter of conjecture, as is the case with many of those early
Arab poets. It is said in one tradition that while Jameel was
lying on his back at noontime and some of his camels were
crouching near a spring of water in a valley called the valley
of Baghid, Buthainah, who was a young maiden in her teens,
came with some of her girl friends and drove the camels away.
Jameel awoke and an altercation between them soon followed.
It is related that Buthainah's cute cuss words fell, softly on Jameel's ears and he fell in love with her right then.
We gather from various other traditions about this pair of
lovers that Buthainah was quite an independent little flapper
for her time. For when she heard of Jameel's love for her
and that he had sung her name in his lays, she swore that she
would seclude herself with him whenever he desired to come
to her, regardless of what her parents would say. But parents
in those days had much more of a say in these matters than they
have now, and it was not without many disappointments and
hardships that the two lovers did occasionally meet.
It is perhaps with something of those hardships in mind
that Jameel sings, substituting the name of Laila for that of
con
app
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An
But
left
swe
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and
ting
�SEPTEMBER, i926
jj
his beloved Buthainah, to turn away the suspicion and mad jealousy of her people:
* I
"Ye tell me that Tayma is Laila's home
When Summer pitches his tent of rays
Lo, the Summer months have passed
What keeps, then, my Laila away?
Alas, I fear lest I suddenly die!
'Ere the burden of my heart before her I lay.
I have heard it said:
'His is a hopeless malady.'
Yea! this I verily know,
As well the secret of my remedy."
How passionate was Jameel's love, yet how resigned and
contented in/ his enforced enstrangement from his beloved one
appears in many of his songs. The following is one of the most
striking and beautiful expressions of lovers' contentment in
Arabic poetry:
"One boon of Buthainah I only desire,
A boon that e'en the envious one would not begrudge me:
A hasty glance, though a whole year pass
In which we meet not nor speak!"
Another poem of Jameel's brings out his predicament in
Buthainah's love which was neither requited nor gainsaid, but
left in that state of suspension and anxiety so painful, yet so
sweet, to true lovers:
"Woe unto me, could I but spend a night,
In the valley of Kura, how happy I would be;
Could I but again, meet Buthainah alone,
Our love to exchange, unnoticed and free.
Long years I've spent, her promise of love awaiting
My youth I renewed, the more her love to cherish.
I was not turned from her door away, nor invited;
Nor could I let her love alone, like an earthly
thing, to perish."
One day when Jameel was having a tryst with Buthainah,
her father and brother knew of it. They came rushing with
drawn swords intent on redeeming Buthainah's honor from her
persistent lover. As they approached they saw Jameel kneeling
before Buthainah with tears in his eyes, while she was stroking
his hair and comforting him.. This sight softened their hearts
and tempered the fury of their wrath. Then the father, putting back his sword in its sheath, turned to his son and said:
�it
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"Let us go back, it is no more meet for us to withhold her
from him."
One would expect from this last incident that Jameel was
finally joined to his beloved in holy wedlock, but whether because of confusion with the accounts of Majnun and other lover poets, or because of the similarity of conditions and customs
which worked disadvantageously alike against those poor, ancient lovers, we read of Buthainah also as having married a man
called Nabih whom she did not love.
This, however, did not deter the gallant Jameel from continuing his visits to Buthainah. One of those occasions was
a windy night in which nature gave vent to its fury. Rain, lightning and thunder played havoc with the flimsy, hair-spun abodes
of the desert dwellers. Under it all, drenched with rain to the
bone, stood Jameel at a distance from Buthainah's tent, waiting
for the retirement of her household. When all was quiet inside the tent and all fire and light was extinguished, he took a
pebble, and with the help of a benevolent lightning stroke,
threw it at where Buthainah usually slept. But the pebble hit
a girl friend of hers, who was sleeping by her side.
"By Allah's name," cried out the frightened maid, "none
could have thrown this pebble at me at this hour of the night
but a jinni!"
But Buthainah, who was awakened from her sleep by the
consternation of her friend, guessed the nature of the real jinni
who was the source of the mischief. She quieted her friend's
fears and sent her to sleep in another corner of the tent. Then
she went out and fetched Jameel. The two lovers whiled away
the long hours of the night with pleasant conversation and the
exchange of their grievances and misfortunes. They were not
aware; that dawn had stealthily approached to betray their privacy and drive them away from each other's embrace, when suddenly a black slave of Buthainah's husband came with a bowl
of laban for his mistress's breakfeast. For the luxury of taking one's breakfast in bed was not unknown to the patrician
ladies of the desert in those days.
The slave retraced his steps to his master without speaking
a word, but Buthainah felt in her heart that her doom was sealed unless she thought of an expedient plan to ward off the
wrath of her husband, who would surely know of her scandal
from the faithful slave. She hid Jameel under the divan, and
hurriedly called for her girl friend to come and sit beside her.
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�View of the South Gate of Baalbek. Syria.
Brown Bros.
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A view of the fertile plain of Baalbek, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, showing the new cement road to Damascus.
Photo by F. Askar.
A typical scene in Mt. Lebanon showing a village of flat-roofed houses on the brink of a deep ravine. The broad zigzag line
with the sharp bends in the right foreground is a carriage road. Note the nature of the ground patiently terraced for cultivation.
�** * M
A typical scene in Mt. Lebanon showing a village of flat-roofed houses on the brink of a deep ravine. The broad zigzag line
with the sharp bends in the right foreground is a carriage road. Note the nature of the ground patiently terraced for cultivation.
Photo by F. Askar.
�A view of the fertile plain of Baalbek, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, showing the new cement road to Damascus.
Photo by F. Askar.
' »
'
".-•' i>:
A typical scene in Mt. Lebanon showing a village of flat-roofed houses on the brink of a deep ravine. The broad zigzag line
with the sharp bends in the ri^ht foreground is a carriage road. Note the nature of the ground patiently terraced for cultivation.
'
�A typical scene in Mt. Lebanon showing a village of flat-roofed houses on the brink of a deep ravine. The broad zigzag line
with the sharp bends in the risht foreground is a carriage road. Note the nature of the ground patiently terraced for cultivation.
Photo by F. Askar.
�«r»~.
Harvesting under difficulties
a
5" 3
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How present unsettled conditions in Syria drive the farmers in some sections to post armed guards
while harvesting their crops.
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�SEPTEMBER, 1926
33
When Nabih, with a fierce look of evil determination in his eyes,
broke in on his wife, his wrath was disarmed upon finding a
maiden sitting next to Buthainah. He doubted not but that his
slave was either trying to deceivq him or was himself deceived
by a suspicious and evil conscience. Nabih turned back and
scolded the surprised slave, who was too embarrassed
to make any explanations, and too timid to defend the fidelity of his own vision.
And in this way both Buthainah and her lover were saved
from an untimely end.
(I
ON BEING HANDSOME
A learned man, who was ugly and short of stature, appeared
before Harun ar-Rashid, who, looking at him dispisingly,
said: "What an ugly face you have!"
The learned man replied: "O, Prince of Believers, pulchritude is not a means with which men approach kings. Had not
your majesty read of Joseph, peace be upon him, who was the
handsomest of men, when he requested of Pharaoh to make him
a guardian over the treasures of the world, saying: 'for I am a
faithful and knowing one', and not, 'I am the most handsome
of all men'?"
The Caliph, pleased with the reply of the learned man,
raised his station and rewarded him generously.
A handsome looking man was wont to follow Al-Ahnaf and
attend his "circle" of instruction, but never opened his mouth in
speech. This pleased Al-Ahnaf, until one day, wishing to find out
more about this young man, confronted him alone and said to
him: "Why speakest thou not, my son?" The young man, after
a little hesitation, addressed Al-Ahnaf saying: "O, master, if a
man should fall from yonder minaret of this mosque would
he be hurt?"
Al-Ahnaf was quite disappointed and replied: "Had we but
let thee alone, my son, covered by thy silence!"
!
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Most Precious Book in the
Arabic Language
All those who know of the Arabian Nights say, "Aye"! What
a deafening voice coming from every corner of the earth and in
every human tongue conceivable! If we could gather it in a megaphone and broadcast it at one time, it would defy the thundering
voice of Zeus!
Now, all those who know of "Kitab-ul-Aghani" or the book
of songs, lift their voices and say "Aye". What a contrast! It is
like the piping of a little mouse beside the bellowing of a husky
ox.
One wonders, if among the one hundred millions or more
of the inhabitants of the United States, there are more
than a hundred or so who know about the latter book, this to
include even professors and students of Arabic Literature in our
great American Universitites.
"What is the point of comparison", the reader may ask, "and
why should you expect us, as you seem to do, to be as familiar
with "Kitab-ul-Aghani" as with the Arabian Nnights y the charming companion of our youth?" To which we make reply, that
the latter book is an equally entertaining and a more significant,
a more instructive book than the Arabian Nights could ever
be. It is a bold statement to make, but easily defensible when the
true nature of "Kitab-ul-Aghani" is considered, for it is the
greatest, the most inclusive thesaurus of Arabic literature, folklore, history, tid bits and anecdotes in existence today. There is
none like; it, and none has been since it was written almost one
thousand years ago. It has a great many advantages over the
Arabian Nights, and could almost compete with it on the score
of story telling.
It is for one thing a larger book, consisting, as it does, of 21
volumes with an average of 270 pages to a volume, or over 5500
pages of closely set type.
Strange it is that this book which was the pride and the treasured heirloom of the Arabs for centuries, should be ignored
by the outside world so completely and that a book like the Arab-
M
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I
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
I
I <
1
I
35
ian Nights, which was not counted worthy to take rank among
the books of literature in the canon, of the native Arabic scholars, should assume the primacy in the estimate of the West.
The Arab classicists were undoubtedly mistaken in their rejection of the Arabian Nights, and proved by so doing their
short-sightedness and lack of literary taste.
One cannot say, however, that the Arabian Nights is a greater book than "Kitab-ul-Aghani", for the two belong to two different categories. The former is a gem of beautiful and finished
workmanship j the other, a rich mine of precious stones in all
shapes and degrees of perfection.
Many of the verses and anecdotes in the Arabian Nights
are directly traceable to "Kitab-ul-Aghani".
What the Arabs of good literary taste thought of "Kitab-ulAghani" could be no better illustrated than in an anecdote. It is
related that a certain Arab prince used, to take with him on his
journeys thirty camel-loads of books of literature for his reading,
but that when "Kitab-ul-Aghani" made its appearance
he did away with all that cumbersome load of books and would
carry with him only "Kitab-ul-Aghani".
There may? be some exaggeration in this story, but it is not
an exaggeration at all to say that "Kitab-ul-Aghani" is the quintessence of more than thirty camel loads of all conceivable books
preceding the time of its authorship.
No wonder it is mentioned by Ibn-Khalikan, the author of
the Arabs' "Who is Who", that fifty years were consumed in its
compilation.
The author of this marvelous book was a noble Arab, a descendant of the last of the Umayyad Caliphs. He was called
Abu-1-Faraj Ali Ibn al-Hussein, the Korishite, of the family clan
of the prophet Mohammed. For short he was called Abu-1-Faraj
al-Isphahani, i. e., of Isphahan, a city in Persia, which was his
birthplace.
An Arab in race and tradition, a Persian in environment and
culture, Abu-1-Faraj was one of the most cosmopolitan and
cultured men of his age. He was born in the year 284 A. H.
and died in the year 356.
It is said that he wrote many books on Arab folklore, history
and genealogy.
He is described by a contemporary quoted in Ibn-Khalikan's
book as one who memorized more poetry, songs, anecdotes, history, traditions andj genealogy than any other one he knew of;
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and that besides these cognate subjects, he knew a great deal
about medicine, veterinary science, grammar and mythology
(folklore).
The name of the book — Kitab-ul-Aghani — has reference
more to its scheme than to its contents. It is related by the author
himself that Harun-ur-Rashid had commanded his court singers to bring together the best one hundred melodies or "voices"
of the past as well as those then current.
Our author, who came about fifty years later, took the verses
sung in these classical melodies and traced the authors of the
"voices" as well as the authors of the verses, and related exhaustingly, it seems, many interesting and entertaining things
pertinent to this subject, and, sometimes, impertinent.
There is no special method of arrangement as to the subjects
or authors, Abu-1-Faraj cleverly explaining that his haphazard
plan is more conducive to sustain the interest of the reader to
the end.
It may be safely said that more than half of all that we know
about Arabic poetry, and in the case of many poets, all that we
know, has come down to us through the indefatigable labor of
Abu-1-Faraj Al-Isphahani and is recorded for endless future
generations in his matchless book "Kitab-ul-Aghani".
WHY HE DID NOT RUN AWAY
The Caliph Omar Ibn ul-Khattab, the second Caliph of Islam, came upon a group of boys playing in the street. As soon
as the boys saw Omar all ran away except Abdullah, the son
of Al-Zubair.
"Why rannest thou not away with the rest?" asked Omar.
Abdullah, looking up to the Caliph unafraid, replied:
"O Prince of Believers, I harbour no evil in my heart, therefore I had no cause to fear thee j nor is the street too narrow to
make it necessary for me to move from thy way."
"A cure there is to every ill
But folly remains incurable still."
"The soul aspires to more if given rein,
But, curbed, satisfaction finds in its domain."
i
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�SEPTEMBER, 1926
37
The Caliph and The Bedouin
The Caliph al-Mahdi, having gone on a hunting trip with a
party of his courtiers and entourage, lost his way in a thicket of
woods. Hungry and thirsty, he at last came upon a lonely tent
before which stood a Bedouin. Unknown to him, the Caliph
halted his horse and after the usual salutations said:
"O good Arab, have you aught for a weary and hunerv
6
stranger?"
'
The Bedouin did not say a word, but going into his tent he
brought out a loaf of bread, some fermented milk, (laban) and
a skin-bottle, of wine.
The Caliph ate heartily of the bread and laban, and having
had enough to still the pangs of his hunger, the Bedouin poured
him a cup of wine and handed it to him. The Caliph drank it
at one quaff, then as he returned the empty cup to his host he
looked at him and said:
"O brother Arab, know you who I am?''
^No", replied the Bedouin, "and who, pray, may you be?"
"I am the personal attendant of the Prince of Believers".
"May Allah bless you in your service", responded the Bedouin, as he poured another cup to the thirsty Caliph and handed
it to him.
As the Caliph drank the second cup, he again turned to the
Bedouin and said:
"O friend of the desert, know you who I am?"
"You have just told me that you were the personal attendant
of our Lord, the Prince of Believers," replied the Bedouin, 4
little peeved.
"Nay", said the Caliph, "but I am one of the generals of
the Prince of Believers al-Mahdi".
The Bedouin made no reply, but poured a third cup and
handed it to him.
When the Caliph had drunk that, he turned for the third
time to the Bedouin and addressed to him the same question.
"You have just claimed that you were one of the generals of
the Caliph al-Mahdi, and who may you be now, pray?"
"I am the Prince of Believers, al-Mahdi, himself!"
At this point the Bedouin had reached the limit of his pa-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
tience. Wrenching the cup from the hand of the disguised
Caliph in exasperation and disgust, he said: "Depart from me.
Verily, if I give you another cup you will claim next that you
are the very Prophet Mohammed!"
The Bedouin had scarcely finished his remark when the retinue of the Caliph filled the place, bowed and made obeisance
to the Caliph.
The Bedouin looked about in amazement and bewilderment.
His heart sank within him for fear, as he began to realize that
his guest was truly the Caliph.
But al-Mahdi, with a hearty laugh, reassured him and put
him at ease, and bestowing a royal largess on him, departed merrily with his companions.
KNOWLEDGE
The mistake of the learned one is trumpeted abroad; the
mistake of the ignorant one is hidden by his ignorance.
The worst among the learned ones are those who seek association with princes j and the best of the princes are those who
seek association with the learned ones.
The learned ones are the fountains of wisdom and the lanterns in darkness.
Said Alt: "Enough praise for learning that it is claimed by
those who have it not."
It is mentioned in a tradition of the Prophet, that when
God gives knowledge to one, He first makes him pledge that
he would not keep it from anyone.
*«**=*•- ' '"*<* *
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�SEPTEMBER, 1926
39
Mu' Awiya and the Proud Chieftain
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I
In the latter days of the Prophet Mohammed, when the
success of his religious call began to attract many of the braves
and notables of Arabia, there came to him one day, riding on a
camel, a proud chieftain by the name of Wa'il Ibn Hujr.
The Prophet received him well and called upon Mu'awiya,
then one of the Prophet's companions, to take the Arab chieftain and show him a tract of land which the Prophet had bestowed upon him.
It was noon-time as Mu'awiya, in obedience to the Prophet's
command, trudged, barefooted, on the burning sand of the desert behind the proud chieftain.
"Let me ride behind thee," pleaded Mu'awiya.
The chieftain turned in his seat and, in a tone of utter contempt, replied:
"Thou art not fit to ride behind one of the kings of Arabia!"
"Then," remonstrated Mu'awiya, "give me thine sandals
that I may protect my feet from the burning sand."
Wa'il hesitated a little, then said:
"Nor will I do this. I fear that thou mightest boast among
the Arabs that thou didst wear the sandals of Arab royalty. Albeit, thou mightest walk in the shadow of my camel!"
Years later, when Mu'awiya had become Caliph in Damascus, Wa'il came to do obeisance before him, as was incumbent
upon all chiefs and leaders of the nation to do.
Mu'awiya rose to welcome him and seated him next to
himself.
Wa'il was swallowed up with shame as he recalled to himself
the first encounter he had with Mu'awiya years before in the
desert, contrasting in his mind his own behavior then
to the generous reception which was accorded him by the new
caliph.
With confusion and shame still agitating him, Wa'il started
to apologize for his own rudeness in the past towards Mu'awiya.
But Mu'awiya waved his hand as if to indicate it was not
necessary. "You need not apologize, my good friend," interrupted the Caliph, "when Islam came it put an end to all pride and
demolished all worldly ranks before it."
�——————
40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
What Happened in Syria
By PAUL KNABENSHUE
AMERICAN CONSUL GENERAL IN BEIRUT
The following are excerpts from an official report by Mr. Paul
Knabenshue covering events in Syria up to June 1st, 1926. The
information herein contained should be especially interesting to
students of the Syrian situation particularly because of the many
conflicting reports emanating from the different factions in the
controversy. It must be conceded that Mr. Knabenshue, writing
officially, takes the attitude of an unbiased, disinterested, detached observer. What lends more weight to his observations and
conclusions is his intimate knowledge of conditions in Syria, due
to his long service in his diplomatic capacity in Beirut. — Editor.
In order to arrive at an appreciation of the situation as existing and
in the process of developing in Syria, and of the difficulties with which the
French have1 had to contend and which are still besetting them, one must
have an understanding of the many complex elements entering into it.
First and foremost is the fact that the population is a heterogeneous
one, both in respect to races and religions, which divide the people into
some 30 contending groups. In consequence thereof there is no real national spirit. Each person gives his allegience first to his religious or
racial group. There seems to be so much ingrained distrust between the
rival groups as to make it practically impossible for them to reconcile
their respective local differences and aspirations for common action for
the general good of the country as a whole. For instance, it is only a comparatively small part of the Moslem and Druse population of the interior
that is taking an active part in the present revolution, although it must
be acknowledged that the movement is growing.
The general standard of individual education among the people, chiefly of the' coastal region, the Lebp.non and the large cities, makes them fitted for independence. But their bitter group antagonisms militate against
concerted action. It is for this reason that a mandate is necessary. It is
for this reason also that the Mandatory Authority shall e'xercise a firm
administrative control over the country during which time it should bend
every effort to inculcate a national spirit among the people.
Other important factors entering into the situation are a conflict of
Syrian interests with those in contiguous territories; and the economic
boundaries which have been set up as a result of the repartition of this
area of the Near East as a result of the World War. There is Turkey on
the North and Palestine, Transjordania and Irak on the South and East
under British Mandate. The French claim to have 35,000 troops in the
country.
Peace by diplomacy now seems to be out of the question. It is the
fl
\
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
1
i\
41
geneTal belief that to suppress the revolt and to restore public security,
the French require at least 25,000 more troops—perhaps even as much as
50,000. The French military authorities appreciate that their task is not
an easy one. The rebels split up their forces into small bands, each of
which can engage the attention of a considerably larger number of regular troops. These bands, having no impediments, move about freely and
quickly, while a French column operating against them is encumbered
with commissariat. They cannot live on the country as do the rebels.
It may be said that the situation is now (June 1) reaching a climax
whidh will determine whether peace will soon be reestablished or whether
the disturbances will be prolonged.
The French army proceeded with its preparations for its spring campaign. As a preliminary to the main objective, subjugation of the Djebel
Druse, they first sent an expedition to clear the rebels from the region
north of Damascus. Meeting with little or no resistance' they occupied
Nebk and several other villages. An expedition was then sent against the
Druses operating in the region east of Mount Hermon and after meeting
with stout resistance finally drove the rebels therefrom and occupied Mejdel Shams and other villages.
On April 22, the final preparation being completed, the invasion of
the Djebel Druse was commenced with Ezraa and Bosra as bases of operation. Sueida, the capital, was the chief objective of two converging columns
of 5,000 and 6,000 troops respectively. After a somewhat formidable
battle the French entered Sueida on April 25. The Druses retired, with
heavy losses, to their mountain fastnesses.
With Sueida as a base, the French army, by the use of artillery, aeroplane bombing, and columns of troops, commenced the pacification of the
surrounding country and brought about the submission of numeTous villages. The fighting men of the villages, however, remained with or joined
the Druse forces in hiding, presumably in the region known as the Ledja.
Since then, it is reported, another battle has taken place.
In the political field, M. de Jouvenel on April 26, appointed Ahmed
Nemy Bey, a son-in-law of the late Sultan Abdul Hamid, and a Moslem
resident of Beirut, as President of the State of Syria, authorizing him to
form a cabinet and take over the responsibility of the provisional govern,
ment and if possible bring about peace with the rebels.
On May 15, the Syrian Government, so set up at Damascus, presented
to the High Commissioner the conditions under which it would be willing
to act. These conditions embodied, in effect, the terms demanded by the
rebels several months ago. M. de Jouvenel accepted them in principle.
Next came the' launching of the Lebanese Republic. In accordance
with article I of the Mandate, "The Mandatory shall frame, within a period of three years from the coming into force of this mandate, an organic
law for Syria and the Lebanon*** This organic law shall be framed in
agreement with thei native authorities***."
The mandate having gone into force on November 1, 1923, it was incumbent upon the mandatory to cause the organic law to be drafted and
put into force by November 1, 1926.
Shortly after his arrival in Beirut in December, 1925, M. de Jouvenel
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
gave to the existing Lebanese Assembly the privilege of drawing up a
constitution for the Lebanon and its adoption was voted on May 23. The
Lebanese Republic was proclaimed on May 24. The constitution provides
for a legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Deputies, the members of both bodies to be elected by the people. The High Commissioner
exercised his authority in this first instance and appointed the members
of the Senate and formed the House of Deputies from the existing members of the assembly.
The Senators were appointed on May 25, and both bodies, acting jointly, elected Mr. Charles Debbas as President of the Republic on May 26.
Mr. Debbas is a Lebanese and was Director of Justice in the former Lebanese Government.
However, in accepting the terms of the government which he had
created in Damascus M. de Jouvenel had more or less endorsed their demands for Syrian Unity. This implied a rectification of the frontiers of
the Lebanon in favor of the Syrian State and the granting to the latter
of one of the' Lebanese seaports. Tripoli, for the most part a Moslem city,
is the port which it was expected would be ceded. Tyre is also mentioned
in this connection.
On the other hand Article I of the Constitution provides as follows:
"The Greater Lebanon is a single independent State. Its frontiers are
those which have been officially recognized by the French Mandatory Government, on behalf of the League of Nations, and which form its actual
present limits."
The Republic of Lebanon has a population of less than 600,000. The
machinery of government set up provides for a president, a legislature
composed of 16 senators and 32 deputies, and a cabinet composed of a
premier and seven ministers.
Of the beginnings of the Syrian revolution and its developments Mr. Knabenshue writes as follows:
The dispute between the Druses and General Sarrail occurred early
last summer, but very little was known of it by the general public. In
fact it was not until the practically entire annihilation of a French column
operating in the Djebel Druse on or about July 20, 1925, that the public
was aware of any trouble. Even then much attention was not given to
the matter, and it was not until General Michaud's column of approximately 4,000 troops suffered a disastrous defeat on August 3 that the situation was viewed seriously. This incident caused a panic in Damascus,
which, being undefended, was liable to capture by the Druses.
The situation resulting from the Michaud defeat left only the remnants
of a small army of occupation and made it possible for the Nationalist
element to seize the' opportunity to revolt against the French.
It was realized that the country was full of potential bandits who
would become active when unrestrained. With public security shattered,
the cities and towns bordering the desert would become subject to raids'
of looting Bedouins, while the border villages on the Northern frontier
would suffer in the same respect from the Chettie bands from Turkey.
Visualizing these possibilities, it was logical to suppose that unless
considerable reinforcements should arrive, the disorder would spread to
I
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wmmmmmmmm
SEPTEMBER, 1926
43
other sections of the country.
The French concentrated most of their troops for an immediate attack upon the Djebel Druse. While they were operating against the Druses,
brigandage became widespread, chiefly in the Damascus area. Hama was
raided by Bedouins and the public buildings burned with the assistance of
the nationalist element there. The city was then bombarded by French aeroplanes. A few days later Aleppo was threatened by an attack from outside by Bedouins and simultaneously by the Nationalists from within. It
was only lack of coordination of their plans and timely action on the
part of the small French garrison that defeated the movement.
Following shortly after this came the Damascus affair, the full account of which has already been reported. This indent proved to be the
most serious of all. The French army operating ag;.inst the Druses succeeded in relieving the beseiged garrison at Sueida and returned soon
thereafter to protect Damascus and the other threatened centers.
Feeling ran high in Moslem circles of Beirut, and the daily arrival
of refugees from Damascus added fuel to the smoldering flame. It afterwards transpired that there had actually been two separate plots on the
part of the Moslems of Beirut to bring about an uprising.
Early in November, a force of several hundred Druses entered the
Lebanon coming through the corridor of the south of Mount Hermon, the
usual line of communication between the Druses of the Lebanon and of
the Hauran and Djebel Druse. This force was joined by about two thousand Druses of the Hasbaya region.
It was feared that the Druses of the Lebanon, the census numbering
them at 40,000, would seize the opportunity of entering the conflict. Another potential danger was the entry into the conflict of the Metwalis inhabitants of the southern Lebanon who numbered about 80,000. There
was still another danger lurking in the background. The Alouites who inhabit the country in the region of Latakia are a primitive but war-like
race, numbering about 350,000. They revolted against the French in 192021, and it was feared that if the revolution should get a firm footing along
the line between Rayak and Aleppo, the Alouites would be encouraged
to join) the movement.
There is one more factor entering into the situation which might be
mentioned, but whch exercises only an indirect influence. General Sarrail
is reported to have asserted upon his return to Paris that the revolt in
Syria was part of a general pan-Islamic movement. Reference to such
a movemnt is noted from time to time in the press.
I venture to offer the opinion that the present movement has not the
character of a pan-Islamic movement of former days. It is my belief that
it arises out of the fact that the various Moslem countries, chiefly in North
Africa and the Near East, have developed a political conscience which
has awakened a strong desire for political independence. It is not so much
a religious movetaent as a political one. It would seem, however, that they
are making an effort to use their common religion as a bond of sympathy
between them in order that these Moslem States may give to each other
their respective moral support in their struggle for political independence.
It is my opinion that the Syrian revolt is not the result of the alleged
pan-Islamic movement. The causes of the revolt, as I have endeavored to
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
show in this report, were inherent in the situation actually existing in
Syria itself—the causes were local not general. The Druse revolt was
purely the result of a local matter while the more general Syrian revolt
was simply taking an advantage offered by the resulting situation.
Upon the recall of General Sarrail, Monsieur de Jouvenel was sent
to Syria as High Commissioner. There is every reason to believe that his
mission was to bring about peace without further resort to force.
De Jouvenel's first active contact with the situation took place in
Egypt where he stopped a few days en route to Syria. He received a delegation of the Syria-Palestine Committee, a powerful group of Syrians
resident chiefly in Egypt, who now represent the Syrian revolutionists.
They offered to bring about peace under certain conditions, but de Jouvenel, incensed at the impudence of the demands, categorically refused them
in a letter written on the eve of his departure from Cairo.
Upon; his arrival in Beirut, M. de Jouvenel's first important declaration was "Peace to those who wish peace and war to those who wish war."
His next declaration was an offer to permit the Lebanese and the
Alouites to draft their own constitutions. This was followed very shortly
by a proclamation to the Syrians and Druses calling upon them to cease
hostilities in order that they might benefit by the same privilege he had
just accorded to the Lebanese. His declaration was at first well received
in the Lebanon, but the revolutionary spirit having become more widespread as a result of irreconcilable counter peace terms, the Moslem members of the Lebanon Legislative Council finally refused to participate in
the formulation of a constitution which would be applicable to a Greater
Lebanon. They demanded that the Lebanon be reduced to its prewar
boundaries.
M. de Jouvenel then issued an ordinance offering amnesty to all rebels
who would lay down their arms before January 8, 1926, with the exception
of the' leaders to whom he promised only their lives, and who would be
judged according to their acts. Peace negotiations were then commenced.
A delegation came to Beirut from Damascus while a delegation of Lebanese
Druses went to the Djebel Druse. However, the negotiations failed and
the rebellion has continued.
Before the expiration of the date fixed for submission, January 8, M.
de Jouvenel caused a proclamation to be scattered among the Druses, by
aeroplanes, calling upon them to forsake their leaders.
M. de Jouvenel then issued ordinances calling for new elections throughout Syria for representatives of the people for the purpose of determining
the future subdivisions of the country and to draft constitutions therefore.
The Moslelms boycotted the elections at Aleppo, Horns and Hama. The
leaders of the boycott at Aleppo were arrested. A mob of several thousand demonstrated and attacked the mail in an attempt to relieve the
prisoners. The mob was repulsed with casualties by troops. Some of the
leaders escaped arrest and are now organizing revolutionary forces to attack Aleppo. Thus, the Aleppo area which up to this time was comparatively quiet, has now been drawn into the revolution. The demands of the
Moslems of Aleppo, Hama and Horns was that the elections should be
postponed until peace should be reestablished throughout the country.
�__^_
SEPTEMBER, T926
45
The Bedouin's Riddle
I
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It so happened that I found myself one time an unwilling
member of a board of arbitration in a dispute that had been
dragging on for years. This was supposed to be the last effort
to settle the matter amicably, but the other members of the board
and I, be it said here, even to our discredit, found the two disputants had assumed the roles of the irresistible force and the
immovable body.
We figuratively threw up the sponge and reconciled ourselves definitely to the fact that the difference had to be settled
in court.
It was the exact day preceding the trial when steps into my
office an acquaintance whom I had not seen for a number of
years. He came to plead the cause of peace because he was an
intimate friend of one of the litigants and had held; himself in
reserve to the last moment. His conferring upon me the honor
of a visit was merely because I was one of the members of the
arbitration committee whom he thought he could induce to make
still a further effort.
"Salaam Ya Effendi" was his opening greeting, "I come to
inquire if there is left no more resource to settle the difference
between our friends."
"We have reached the limit of our resources," I replied.
"But can't one be found who could contain the other?" he
insisted, alluding to the well-known Arabic proverb that "the
larger vessel will hold the smaller one".
"We have exhausted our utmost ability,'' I repeated.
"But," he persisted, regardless of the imputation of incapacity cast upon me and the other members of the conciliation
board, "ingenuity and resourcefulness will overcome any obstacle.
Haven't you heard the story of the Bedouin who was bent on
divorcing his wife, and how his resourceful son disarmed his anger by undoing his riddles?"
By this time I had resigned myself to the ordeal of listening
to a long story, and complacently told the man that I did not
know it and that he could proceed to tell it. It proved to be a
good story and, plagiarism or not, I must repeat it.
-J
�I^VBMIHWm
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A certain Bedouin of the desert had married a woman of the
city who proved to be a very dull creature. For a decade or
more he tolerated her stupidity until, one day, he concluded he
had shot the "last arrow in his quiver of patience" and ordered
the poor wife to pack up and go home. Her most pitiful pleading could not soften his heart nor make him change his decision.
But he relented to the extent of making her return to his tent
conditional upon her father guessing a riddle which he told her
to convey to him. If the guess proved right he would welcome
her back as his wife, otherwise she would only return under pain
of death.
The riddle was: "What is light that is heavy and heavy that
is light?"
The woman, dejected, returned to her father, but the good
urbanite made light of the riddle and forthwith proceeded to
unravel its mystery. "The heavy that is light", he said, "is
mercury, because it is heavy in substance and light and quick in
movement j hence the name quicksilver. The light that is heavy,
on the other hand, is the feather, because it will move with the
slightest breeze, yet is heavier than air."
"Now, my child," he continued, "rest yourself from the fatigue of your journey for a few days before returning to your
husband, now that you know you can appease his wrath."
So for a week the woman remained, happy in the assurance
that she had at last found a formula for a modus-vivendi with
her husband, and when her father finally permitted her to depart shq set her face towards, the desert all jubilant and elated.
Towards evening she spied the tents of the tribe and would
have courted certain death had she not met her young son who
was just returning from watering the camels. She told him her
father's solution of the riddle and was about to hasten away to
enter the camp when the youth begged her not to tell his father that particular solution because he would certainly kill her.
"But what shall I tell him?" she asked.
"Under no provocation," he replied, "must you admit to my
father that you have met me now. If you so promise I will
tell you the right solution, which is other than the one you bring.
It is as follows: The heavy in the breast of the brave is light,
and the light in the breast of the knave is heavy. My father
meant the riddle in the spiritual and not in the material sense."
So doubly happy, the woman resumed her way to the tents
and there told her husband the solution — the youth's solution.
�'
SEPTEMBER, 1926
mm
'47
But she was so simple that he easily extracted from her a
confession that she had met her son and that it was he who
solved the riddle. Then the father, in a fit of rage, swore a
solemn oath by the beard of the Prophet that he would go out
forthwith and kill the boy. And, true to his word, he immediately leaped on his fleetest horse and sallied out in search of the
lad. The boy saw his father coming and divined that this sudden sally did not augur well for him. Quickly he mounted a
camel and rode away with the utmost speed. But the father,
on his swift horse, was rapidly gaining on him and when finally
he overtook him he told him that inasmuch as he was such an
adept riddle-solver he would give him a chance to retrieve his
sin by answering three questions which, if not properly answered,
he would mete on him the fate that was awaiting his mother.
1—"If you were a judge," said the father, "and two generous men came to you to decide in a difference, what would be
your decision?"
"Two men of equally generous dispositions,'' replied the
boy, "would never reach court with their difference."
2
—"And if a generous man and a miser were to come to
you, what would be your decision?" asked again the man.
"Neither would such disputants ever reach court," replied the
boy, "because, on maturer reflection, the generous one would
forbear the miser and the difference would be settled half-way."
3—"And if two misers were to come to you, what would be
your decision?" asked the man finally.
"Before answering this question," said the boy, "I must beg
leave to ask a counter-question."
"Granted,'' said the father.
"How came the two disputants to be misers?"
"By nature."
"And who is responsible for their nature?"
"Allah".
"Then Allah alone can change nature and settle such a
difference."
Needless to say that the boy was forgiven and the mother
taken back. But the story was told in a city of the U. S. A., and,
for some reason or other, it did not change the course of the litigation.
�..^
49
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Wit, Wisdom and Humor
(CULLED FROM BOOKS OF ARABIC LITERATURE)
GOOD JUDGMENT OF A JUDGE
A widow who had a little orchard of fig trees found that
whenever she went to pick her ripe figs a thief would have gone
before her and picked them. She went to the Cadi (judge) of
her town and with tears in her eyes kissed the hem of his robe
and laid her complaint before him.
"I am a poor woman," she pleaded, "and my fig orchard is
my only means of livelihood for myself and my helpless children." The Cadi listened to her story attentively and ascertaining from her where her orchard was, gave her a little sum of
money and dismissed her kindly, saying: "Fear not, my good
woman. Come to me the day after tomorrow and I will bring
the culprit before you." When the woman went away, blessing
the kind-hearted Cadi with tears of joy, the Cadi called for his
servant and gave him the following instructions:
"Go to such and such a vineyard, (naming the very one the
widow had told him about) and take with you a handful of
barley, and choose the figs that are about to ripen and insert a
barley in the orifice of each one." On the next day, early in the
morning, the Cadi called his servant again to him and said:
"Take a large basket with you and go to the open market, where
fruit dealers sell their wares and buy from every fruit dealer
a handful of figs. Then write the name of each dealer on a slip
of paper and wrap the figs with the names separately and bring
them to me." This the servant did.
Then the Cadi, opening each package, began to open up all
the figs until he came to the package in which he found the
barley seeds. He thereupon went to the dealer from whom
those figs were bought and arrested him. The dealer protested
his innocence loudly as people gathered around to find out what
the trouble was.
"If these are your figs," declared the Cadi triumphantly, as
he picked a few in his hands, "you may explain to me and these
people present how the barley came into them." Saying which
�HHHBVHMM
SEPTEMBER, 1926
49
he opened the figs and showed the barley to the astonished spectators.
The' roguish dealer was confounded and was obliged to confess his guilt.
Then taking him to prison, he brought the widow before
him on the next day and ordered the thief to pay seven times
for all the figs he had stolen, before he would let him out of
prison.
The widow thanked the Cadi profusely, and went home with
tears of joy in her eyes.
MORE MERITORIOUS THAN A PILGRIMAGE
m
i
Ibrahim Ibn Maymoun related the following story:
One year while on pilgrimage to Mecca, behold I saw, standing before the sacred Kaaba, a black but beautiful woman! She
was perturbed, as I noticed on her face, and in an agitated, trembling voice she was bemoaning and lamenting in the following
manner:
"O Omar, why didst thou avoid me,
Thou stolest my heart and tortured me.
Hadst thou, O Omar, beforehand warned me,
I would not have let thee deceive me".
I approached her gently and asked: "And who is this Omar,
my good woman?"
"He is my husband," she replied, sighing, "he lead me to
believe that he loved me, until he married me. Then he left
me and went to Jedda."
"What would you say if I bring you together?" I asked,
taking pity on her plight.
She shook her head and replied: "Alas! could that be?"
Then she described to me her husband, saying: "He is the most
handsome among men".
Straightway I went to Jedda, and standing by the sea shore,
I began to shout, "Omar! Omar!"
Presently a sturdy black fellow, the most handsome I have
ever seen, came tripping down the plank of a ship. I knew that
he was the man intended by the black woman, and recited to
him her lines. When he heard them he stopped and asked:
"Have you seen her?"
�50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I replied: "I have seen her, but tell me, my man, what prevents you from going to her?"
"By Allah," he said, "I love her many times more than she
loves me. But necessity has driven me to seek employment here."
"And how much do you spend a year?" I asked.
"Three hundred dirhams," he replied.
"Here are three thousand dirhams for ten years", therewith
handing him the money, "and when the ten-year period is about
to end come to me and I will give you some more."
The man was overjoyed and thanked me profusely, then he
went to Mecca to live with his wife.
As for me, I went away from Mecca feeling in my heart
that this act of mine was more meritorious than my pilgrimage
*- i
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itself.
MORE VALUABLE THAN WEALTH
Omar Ibn Abdul-Aziz, the pious Umayyad caliph, was said
to have left his eleven sons when he died three quarters of a
dinar each, while Hisham Ibn Abdul-Malek, another Umayyad
caliph who also had eleven sons, left each a million dinars. But
Omar's sons all became rich, one of them being able of his own
wealth to equip for war one thousand horsemen to fight "in the
way of God". As for Abdul-Malek's sons, they all became poor,
and one of them was even reduced to the occupation of stoker
in a public furnace.
: t*
A WISE SLAVE-GIRL
A party of horsemen bent on adventure and plunder met
a man in the wilderness with; a slave-girl, comelier than whom
their eyes had never beheld. They shouted to him to give up
the slave-girl, but the man, taking his bow and arrows, bravely
defended himself and his beauty against her would-be abductors. As he was shooting his arrows at them,, the string of his
bow snapped, and the horsemen rushed and seized the maiden
while the man fled in fear for his life. Then one of the horsemen approached the maiden and espying a ring in her ear with
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
51
a large pearl made a move to snatch it from her. Coolly the
maiden said: "What is this pearl to compare with the huge and
precious one under the cap of my master? Go after him".
Now the slave's master had hidden under his cap an extra
string for his bow, and had forgotten allj about it in his excitement. When the horsemen shouted to him to throw down his
cap, he at once remembered the new string. Adjusting it hastily
to his bow, he renewed his attack on them and drove them away
to seek cover from his deadly shots.
"MORE FOOLISH THAN HABANNAKAH"
\m\
The Arabs, too, had their stupid men, some of whom were
notorious. — It is related that a certain Yazid, nicknamed Habannakah, always wore a string of bones and beads around his
neck to identify himself in case he was lost. One day his mother! took away his string while he was sleeping and put it around
his brother's neck. When Habannakah awoke and saw the string
around his brother's neck he exclaimed: "Yen are I, then who
am I?" On another occasion he lost a camel. He went about
crying: "He who finds my camel may keep it". Those who
heard him laughed at him and said: "Why cry out for it then?"
He answered: "For the satisfaction of finding it".
A BRILLIANT ANSWER
The great Arab literary traditionist, Al-Asma'i, met a brilliant Arab boy whom he found to be quite conversant with Arab
history and literature.
"Tell me, my boy," said Al-Asma'i, "would you rather have
a hundred thousand dirhams and be a fool withal?"
The boy answered without hesitation, "no."
"And why not?" asked Al-Asma'i.
"I fear", replied the boy, "that my folly would bring on me
a calamity which would carry the hundred thousand dirhams
away and leave me only my folly behind."
�'52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
EDITOR'S COMMENT
I
THE MULTIPLE ROLE OF
"THE SYRIAN WORLD"
It will be readily conceded that The Syrian World is a pioneer in its field. It is the only publication of its nature among
the Syrians and was undertaken, for reasons wholly unprecedented. Consequently, it cannot be governed by any set rule or
set of rules as they may apply to other publications. It is opening a, way for itself in a wholly unexplored field, sailing an uncharted sea, and establishing a standard all its own. All of
which facts are due to the novelty of the idea and the unprecedentedness of the experiment.
Of magazines in English there are, as everyone knows, any
desired number. The field is immense and permits of standardization and specialization to any degree required by the most
exacting critics. And out of this situation has grown a certain
standard of ethics, and methods of practice that one can hardly
ignore to live up to, except at the risk of his own chagrin or loss.
But this, it must be remembered, applies only to those publications which cater to a certain, class of readers, educated in a
certain train of thought, and brought up in a certain definite
and stable environment. Let us hope that the very special conditions under which The Syrian World exists will carry with them
sufficient weight, and be conceded the peculiarity of their intrinsic
considerations, that they will afford this publication exemption
from the general rule.
To appreciate the potency of these considerations one has
only to ponder the multiplicity and diversity of the role The
Syrian World is called upon to enact. Of prime importance is
the necessity of enlightening our Syrian-American generation on
their ancestry; this makes The Syrian World of necessity an
historical publication. Then it is incumbent upon us to satisfy
the natural interest of our readers in their mother-country by
keeping them posted on its developments, socially, politically,
educationally and economically, which fact multiplies the role
of the publication by so many more numbers. Still further, it
; i
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SEPTEMBER, 1926
53
is imperative that we give an account of the activities of the Syrians in the singular role they are now playing as merchants and
traders all over the world, and this in turn renders The Syrian
World of such a cosmic nature as to really make it difficult to
bring it under any given classification. And well may we mention the literary role wherein the magazine is called upon to
give that delightful perception not only of Syrian achievements
in thisf field but of the whole vista of ancient Arabic literature.
This alone is a sufficiently vast province to require an independent publication if conditions permitted specialization.
In view of this singularly peculiar situation it would be unfair to judge The Syrian World by any given or set standard.
It is indispensable that we make the publication cover the entire
field of Syrian activities and consequently we have to make it
all-embracing and inclusive. An article on the most abstract
subject may be published in the same issue with a news item
that would deal with the most mundane and material thing.
But, be it remembered, they both go to make up the general
scheme which gives The Syrian World its raison d'etre. It
must be informative of Syrian activities not only in every field
of endeavor but also from every aspect j and this character it
must retain until such time as the changed conditions permit of
restriction and specialization, when the pioneering effort would
have gained its end and paved the way for the settling hosts to
follow.
Until such time, we hope the present scheme of The Syrian
World will not only be tolerated but approved and commended
because it is the only practical method which will make it possible for it to fulfill its mission.
<
t
FACTS ON THE RUN
|
Again the perennial question of misinforming information
about Syria—misinformation in every shape, manner and form;
some imported and others of the genuine home product, and
enough of it to satisfy the demand of the most morbidly curious.
Of political misinformation, to be sure, we shall continue to
have aplenty. The reason can be plainly traced to propaganda
and counter-propaganda. This evil is hard to eradicate for the
simple reason that it is committed intentionally, deliberately and
�'54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
with the express purpose of deceiving and beclouding the real
issue or hiding the actual fact. Consequently, it is futile to
berate the American Press on what it takes a fancy, or interest,
to publish along this line. Furthermore, political questions are
highly debatable and easily lend themselves to controversial
angles according to the different points of view or objects aimed
at.
But the kind of misinformation that is intolerable is that
which is traceable to shallowness and ignorance even on the most
elementary, and, what appears to any Syrian of average education, the most simple questions. Why should a metropolitan
daily, for instance, fall into the mistake of publishing a long
article based on a mere name which has in it a touch of romance
when translated into English, but the translation proves to be
wrong? Even the fact that the article is written by a staff correspondent on the spot does not mitigate the offense. The correspondent endeavors to lend color to his story by recording
myths and legends plucked from the lips of a common, unlettered guide who may happen to know by intuition the weakness
of Westerners for these colorful products of the Oriental imagination. The grievance is that they are passed on to American
readers not as such, but as authentic historical facts, and we may
be sure that the effect is not always wholesome and salutary to
Syrian prestige.
This is even less pardonable than the casual stories written
about the Syrian quarter with the least effort at authenticity. A
staff correspondent ordered to a scene of action considered sufficiently important to warrant such a move should at least make
an honest attempt to reach some information of intrinsic worth,
and it is hardly possible that he should get that from an ordinary
guide or an illiterate man of the bazaar.
What redress can we hope to have in such a situation? Hardly any. The offending papers may or may not publish a correction on a specific point, but when the whole fabric is made up
of a tissue of misstatements or misconceptions, and when these
occur not once but ever so frequently, neither would there be
found anyone to volunteer making the correction, nor the paper
be willing to publish it.
What we deem advisable, nay, even necessary, to frustrate
future incidents of this nature, is for us to develop a sufficient
amount of national pride, of a sense of personal obligation, so
as to at least refer inquirers to those of us who can give correct
f!l
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SEPTEMBER, 1926
55
information on these vital subjects, instead of treating them
hghtly and hazarding any kind of information whether correct
or not, which in the end works to our own detriment.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. F. I. SHATARA, although a surgeon of renown and
extremely busy at his profession, finds time, nevertheless, to indulge in his favorite hobby of wielding the pen instead of the
lancet. He is a frequent contributor to medical journals and enjoys a position of distinction in his profession, being an instructor in the Department of Anatomy and Surgery, of the School
of Medicine of the Long Island College Hospital; a visiting
surgeon of the Cumberland Hospital j a fellow, of the American
College of Surgeons, and a member of many other medical societies. He finds his principal diversion from his arduous duties,
however, in courting the muses, and at times he heeds a call
from the lecture platform. He could also have had the opportunity of displaying his talents as a diplomat, having been offered the post of Arab minister at Washington to represent king
Hussein of Hejaz, but he declined the honor. We are glad
to present him to our readers, and, inasmuch as he is the author
of the suggestion to encourage questions of a medical nature, he
no doubt could not refuse himself the satisfaction of answering
them.
Dr. PHILIP K. HITTI needs no further introduction to
our readers, but we are sure it will please them to learn that
he has consented to contribute regularly to THE SYRIAN WORLD,
principally articles on historical subjects. We are also sonfident
of his willingness to answer any question on the history of Syria
and Mt. Lebanon submitted to him by any of our readers, and
we therefore take pleasure in inviting them to do so.
HABIB I. KATIBAH is one to whom we are pleased to
refer again not only as a regular contributor but as a staff writer on THE SYRIAN WORLD. We feel confident that his many
contributions both signed and anonymous are duly appreciated
by our discerning readers.
�—
56
•—- ..
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Readers' Forum
PLEADS EDUCATING
i SYRIAN GIRLS
Editor, SYRIAN WORLD,
Your surprise at receiving this
letter, I, suppose, would be better
pictured than described. But my
hopes are that, af te^ reading my letter through and understanding my
purpose, the surprise would be a
pleasant one, and my letter would
meet with your approval.
I would request Jyou to write in
your valuable magazine1 an article
on "Woman Education", as I am
sure you are well aware of the fact
that la large number of the Syrians fin the United States neglect, to
a Jvery great extent, the1 proper education of their daughters, although
many of these put forth a great deal
of effort tb educate their boyst to
the full extent. They do not seem
to realize the importance of giving
their daughters a thorough education if America shall become their
and their children's home. Syrian
girls must have a high education to
be able to compete with their American sisters, and there seems to be
no reason why they should not get
it, with the doors of opportunities
flung open to them in this great
country. In my opinion, Syrian girls
would have availed (themselves of
these opportunities long ago had
they not been handicapped by their
narrow-minded parents who, instead
of (helping their daughters to continue their studies and elevate themselves, stands as an obstacle in the
way of their happiness and success.
They harp back on their antiquated
notions, saying: She is not going to
be a lawyer nor a doctor, what then
is the use of educating her?"
Oh, if we only could make such
parents see their mistake. An article in your magazine, I feel sure,
would enlighten such parents and
help make them realize what an
education really means to their
daughters in this modern age.
As soon as the average Syrian girl
reaches the age of fourteen or fifteen, she jis taken out of school and
taught housekeeping. In the next
scene we see her placed in the marriage market. Here is where I feel
a great deal of stress should be
placed.
Do our sons, on whom we have
placed so much effort in educating,
making of them doctors, lawyers or
holders of B. A. degrees, ever marry
our uneducated daughters, who
know practically nothing but how
to make good kibe, keeping a spotless house, and nursing a nickel to
death?
Just picture this wonderful, thrifty housekeeper with our educated
sons! Is she capable of holding her
part as a wife? Emphatically no!
The subjects that the educated man
loves to dwell upon, and the language he uses will naturally fly over
her head. Of course his choice of
friends would be from among those
who understand and speak his language. Oh, how humiliating it would
be for him to present to them his
wife, who murders the English language when she speaks, or else sits
dumbly, as deep subjects are being
debated. How tortured and miserable she would be, as she realizes
her lack of education, and how she
would then reproach her parents for
denying it to her.
t
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
I
i
i
Tell me!, I pray you, would you
or anyone with common sense condemn our sons for marrying their
college or high-school mates, some
American girls who answer their
ideals of education and culture?
Syrian fathers and mothers, we
implore" you to put the same effort
in educating your daughters as you
do your sons. Thus only will you
help to improve the race, and make
Syrian young men proud of marrying Syrian girls.
I speak from a bitter and sad experience, for it was just this lack
of a higher education and the grievances which it has often caused me
that prompted me to write this letter.
SOJ dear editor, I beseach you to
give a place in your magazine to
my plea, and sometime at your convenience write us some article on
this timely and vital subject of
"Woman Education".
Yours very truly,
"Mary Ferguson".
McComb, Miss.
A CHEMIST'S WARNING
Editor, SYRIAN WORLD,
I take this opportunity to forward
a message through the Readers' Forum to the Syrian people-—particularly those residing in the United
States. This message deals with the
consumption of highly intoxicating
alcoholic liquors. During the past
six months, I analyzed more than
150 samples of faked whiskey and
alcohol. Out of this number only
one sample was free from denaturants; the rest being unfit to drink.
Of those denatured about 25 samples
would have killed the consumer
within 24 hours, the others acting
gradually. The most common denaturant used is pyridine. This is
a mild poison, if the liquid is sub-
57
jected to distillation. But in the
hands of the bootlegger who knows
nothing of the process of distillation, hardly any of it is removed.
This poison is very treacherous,
Being of organic nature, it works
slowly, attacking the cordaie muscle which connects the stomach with
the heart and gradually finding its
way to the heart. Its injurious effects are proportional to the amount
consumed and to the physique of
the consumer. A regular moderate
use of this poison should have fatal
consequences within two or three
years. One of our compatriots who
scoffed at the warning I gave him
is already in his grave. The' old
country folks refuse to see harm in
the use of such liquor. It was only
through pleading and pressure that
I twas able to stop a man from selling this kind of liquor. That it could
be purified by "a special process" is
nonsense.
Alcohol for perfume
purposes sometimes finds its way
out. This is commonly denatured
with brusine, a deadly poison. Brusine has replaced strychinine in this
form of alcohol, the latter being the
most deadly poison known. It belongs to the' same family as brusine.
Jamile J. Kanfoush.
Utica, N. Y.
ANOTHER SYRIAN PUGILIST
Editor, SYRIAN WORLD,
It is gratifying to note the revived interest of Syrians in athletics and sports both here and
abroad. I am glad to advise you
that we have here a Syrian pugilist
of great promise, Dixie Lahood, who
has met and defeated some of the
leading bantamweight boxers of the
world such as Abe Goldstein, California, Joe Lynch, who recently defeated the champion, and others.
Butte, Mont.
M. P. Rask.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
/
About Syria and Syrians
A FRIEND OF SYRIA
The benefactions of the late Cleveland H. Dodge to the Near East
did, not stop with his death. True
to the traditions of a family which,
throughout four generations, has
sought to serve humanitarian and
religious causes with a liberality
proportionate
to
its
extensive
wealth, the late father of our Dr.
Bayard Dodge, President of the
American University of Beirut, provided in his will filed recently at
the Surrogate Court of the Bronx
that all contributions promised in
his name in his lifetime be paid as
usual. He made no special provisions for charities otherwise'. The
reason for this omission is as interesting as it is characteristic of
this philanthropist, whose word in
Wall ,Street was as good as a bond.
It is contained in a paragraph of the
will which reads:
"Following the example of my
dear father, land believing it wiser
to give liberally during my life to
religious and charitable objects, I
make no bequests of that character,
knowing the hearty sympathy of my
dear wife and children in such objects, and feeling sure that they will
use the property entrusted to them
for humane and benevolent objects".
East, was said to
$20,000,000.
have-
»
exceeded
Newspapers from Beirut state
that the report of the death of Cleveland Dodge caused deep sorrow
among the Syrians who learned to
love him for his benefactions and
his lofty humanitarianism. We learn
from Lisan-ul-Hal that no sooner
was his death announced than a
movement was set on foot by the
leading men of Beirut to hold a
memorial meeting in 'his honor
which would be' a fitting tribute of
the high esteem in which they hold
him. The date of the meeting was
not announced, it being the intention to defer it until late in the fall
when many persons, who wish to
take part in the ceremonies, would
have returned from their summer
resorts.
CHAMPION TYPIST
IS SYRIAN GIRL
It is a pleasure to be able to
announce the success of Syrians in
so many fields. One could hardly expect more of a small group of immigrants whose coming into the
United States does not go beyond the
second generation . Now that they
are given the opportunity to develop
their latent talents, one can hardly
predict the' extent of their possible
achievements.
Cleveland H. Dodge is survived by
his widow, Grace Parish Dodge, and
four children, Cleveland Earl Dodge,
Bayard Dodge, Mrs. Elizabeth D.
A Syrian young lady who has
Huntington, of Constantinople and
reached the zenith of national disMrs. Julia D. Rea, of Pittsburgh.
The entire estate left by the ^ate tinction in her chosen profession is
benefactor of Syria and the Near Miss Olga Elkouri of Detroit, Mich.
I
V
/
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
<1
1
i
i
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In a national competition for typewriter accuracy and speed held in
Chicago in 1923 she emerged the
winner with flying colors. Previously, in a demonstration held under the
auspices of the Detroit Commercial
College, Miss Elkouri, according to
the Detroit Free Press, "typed at
the rate of 133 words a minute for
ordinary copy, and at the rate of
201 words a minute when reproducing a stock or practice sentence."
Another Detroit paper, the Detroit News, in one of its issues of
November, 1923, made an announcement of the success of our champion
Syrian typist which we take pleasure to reproduce. It follows:
"Miss Olga Elkouri, 16 years old,
1710 Fifth avenue, has been heralded as the winner of the world's record both in typewriting and taking
stenographic dictation. In a telegram received by her from Chicago,
Friday, she was informed that she
had made the highest individual record in the first annual world contest
for competent typists held under the
direction of a Chicago commercial
school. There were 815 contestants.
Miss Elkouri is a daughter of Syrian parents.
"Miss Elkouri came to this city
from California several years ago
and entered Central High School at
the age of 14. She began to study
music and loved so well to run her
fingers lightly over the keys that
she decided to take up typewriting
while she was in school away from
her beloved piano.
"The touch system came easily
and it was only a few days before
she had passed the record of 40
words, which is an average for competent operators. Week by week she
increased her speed.
"Miss Elkouri established a record of 94.4 words per minute with-
59
out a mistake, written continuously
for 10 minutes. Since that itme,
in an unofficial test, her record
reached 105 words a minute.
"The world's shorthand record,
which was supervised by a New
York office, was won by Miss Elkouri several months ago. when she
took down dictation in . shorthand
110 words a minute."
KNOTTY PROBLEM OF
SYRIAN CITIZENSHIP
The time limit set by the treaty
of Lausanne for the registration of
those who would not automatically
revert to Turkish citizenship for
failure to make their choice before
that date expired on August 6, 1926.
Previous to that date, Syrian papers
in North and South America had
carried notices from the French consulates warning Syrian and Lebanese
immigrants of the jeopardy of their
situation if they failed to register,
it being evident that the only alternative left them by the treaty of
Lausanne was} Turkish allegiance.
French authorities would, in that
case, withhold all protection or assistance from unregistered Syrians
and Lebanese, and Turkey would not
reccgnize them as subject because
they are no longer under Turkish
rule. Practically, every Syrian and
Lebanese failing to register would
become a man without a country.
Undoubtedly some Syrians and
Lebanese who still retain some' interest in their mother-country hastened to register, but judging from
the comments of the Arabic-language
press in America, both pro and antiFrench, the total registration must
have been exceedingly meager, principally by reason of the physical
�60
difficulties imposed on the would-be
registrants, it being required that
each registrant appear in person at
a French consulate accompanied by
two witnesses to prove his identity.
Now, French consulates being located only in the larger cities, and the
Syrians being scattered all over the
vast expanse of each country, sometimes in towns more than a thousand
miles away from the nearest registration post, those who actually registered proved to be only a few
from the larger cities. Hence the
outcry in the Syrian press against
the injustice of the regulations.
The problem seems not to be' confined to the Syrians and Lebanese of
America, but to have been more
acutely felt in Egypt, where the
Syrians had been having their
troubles for some time with the
Egyptian authorities who, prompted
by a radical conception of a national
spirit, denied the Syrians, even
though born in Egypt, the right of
citizenship. And as a final blow came
this provision of the treaty of Lausanne to aggravate the situation.
The Lebanese of America, however, were given an extension of
tjme up to August 30th to legalize
their citizenship status by making
the necessary registration. Dr. Najib Barbour of 154 Clinton Street,
Brooklyn, announces in the Arabic
papers of New York his receipt
through the' French Consulate of a
dispatch to that effect from the
President of the Lebanon Republic,
Mr. Charles Dabbas. Dr. Barbour
offers to make registration easier by
volunteering his assistance in completing the formalities to anyone who
sends him his application properly
filled and sworn to before a notary
public.
Similar notices have been sent to
Mexico and other countries.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Dr. HITTI ON A LECTURE TOUR
Dr. Phillip K. Hitti was extended
an invitation by the Pacific Palisades
Association to deliver a series of lectures on current events in the Near
East at its convention in Los Angeles, Cal. Dr. Hitti left New York
the latter part of July and will return the early part of Septetonber in
time to take up his regular duties at
Princeton University. Dr. Hitti has
been in great demand on the lecture'
platform ever since his return from
Syria in 1924 and his impartial exposition of conditions in Syria seems
to have had a tempering and enlightening effect on his American
audiences.
Dr. Hitti's topics on his present
lecture tour include: Modernization
of the Islamic world; Mystic sects of
Syria including the Druzes; American influence in the Near East;
Unifying Arabia, and others.
"THE HAND OF GOD —
(Wftw** > LA MAIN D'ALLAH"
A Syrian authoress, Mme. Evelyn
Bustrus, of Beirut, makes her debut
in French letters in a historical novel jwhich a Cairo magazine, al-Muktataf, reviews quite favorably in its
latest issue. Apropos of this new
literary achievement by a Syrian
woman, al-Muktataf summarizes in
the introduction to its review similar achievements by other Syrians
in different fields and different parts
of |the world. We hereby reproduce
the introduction:
"Every day brings us a, new proof
that the people of the East ase hot
behind those of the West when given the same facilities enjoyed by
Westerners in the last two centuries,
and that many a leader in the various arts and professions has ap-
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
peared recently from among them.
Behold Gdbran K. Gibran, the Lebanese! poet and artist, whose books
and symbolic paintings have been
in as much demand by Americans as
those of the foremost authors and
painters. His book, "The Prophet",
has been translated into. French and
many European languages. Behold
also Dr. Saleeby of the Philippines
whose opinion is sought by the government in many problems of the
natives of that country. Then we
have Dr. Caleb Williams Saleeby,
who has attained an eminent position among the physicians of England; M. Sabbagh of whose paintings the' French Government bought
two for its Luxembourg Museum;
Miss Florence Fawwaz, the soprano
operatic singer, and many others of
the sons of the East who have attained prominence in the various
arts, professions and industries in
all parts of the habitable world. All
these are instances of what we are
trying to demonstrate.
"And what gives us confidence
that this movement is a living and
sound one is the co-operation of
women in it. In the United States,
Brazil and other; countries to which
people of the East have emigrated,
women have competed successfully
with men in writing, painting,
music, and other modern activities.
"Most recent among these is Mme.
Evelyn Bustrus, daughter of the
late George Twainy, and wife of
Gabriel Bustrus, two of the foremost
families of Beirut, who has come
forward (with an Oriental, historical
novel in the French language. The
interest of Mme. Bustrus in writing, from which she stands in one
need of financial, remuneration, is
an eloquent example to many of our
rich ladies".
61
A SYRIAN NAVIGATION
COMPANY IN BRAZIL
Syrians in Brazil are coming into
their own. Evidences of this have
been brought out before in the previous issues of this magazine. But
we are pleased to learn from AlAfkar, a Syrian paper published in
Brazil, that a certain Syrian Company in Para, Brazil, Beetar Bros.,
has five vessels of an average displacement of 1500 tons each, navigating between Rio de Janeiro and
Manaos. On the occasion of the recent centenary of Emperor Peter
II, this Syrian navigation company
rechristened one of its ships Peter
II. The Brazilian Government, upon learning of this, sent Beetar
Bros, a letter of thanks.
In the same district of Brazil, another Syrian company revives ancient memories of its mother-country by manufacturing "perfumes
and scented ointments". A third
company, with eyes to more immediate needs and demands, is said
to possess, the best equipped rubber
manufacturing plant in the country.
SYRIANS OF BRAZIL
ENTERTAIN EGYPTIAN
PRINCE
At a reception in his honor given
under the auspices of the Phoenician Club in Rio de Janeiro, in reply to the toast by the president of
tht club, the Egyptian prince, Mohammed Ali, brother of ex-Khedive
Abbas Helmi, expressed his deep
gratification at the manner in which
he was received by his Syrian cousins who spoke his tongue.
"Wherever I went in South America," he declared, "even in the little
villages and towns, I have come
across many Arabic-speaking fellow men and women who were of
�**
T"
f !
THE SYRIAN WORLD
62
consolation and service to me in a
country whose language I could not
speak. And how great was my joy
when, passing through Sao Paolo,
I observed tha prosperous condition
of the Syrians and Lebane'se, evidence of their industry and diligence
through which they have gained a
status worthy of respect and admiration."
About fifteen years ago Prince
Mohammed Ali made a similar visit
to the' United States, where also he
was royally entertained by the Syrians of New York and other large
cities.
The friendship between Syria and
Egypt goes way back into history,
to the days of Amen'hotep III and IV,
when the Tel-Amarna letters of the
14th century B. C. reveal a close association between the two countries.
Ever since, the two countries have
been like sister countries, sometimes
quarreling and sometimes at peace,
but always dependent one on the'
other. Today there are tens of
thousands of Syrians in Egypt, who,
under the protection of the friendly
government, are displaying their
talents in all manner of activities
and are credited with the modern
renaissance of the Arabic language.
Club of Sao Paolo, which had successfully competed with the best
teams of the city in various athletic events such as foot-ball, rowing,
swimming, etc. The Syrian aviator,
who had previously enlisted as a
pilot in the French army in Lebanon, was given a silver loving cup
donated by Mr. Basila Yaf eth
through the Athletic Club.
A STATUE OF APHRODITE IS
FOUND IN SIDON
One' of the most significant "finds"
of recent archeological excavations
in Syria is a small clay statue of
the ancient goddess Aphrodite, as
known to the Greeks, or Astarte, as
known to the Phoenicians from whom
the Greeks borrowed heY worship
and enhanced it. The statue is described in the Syrian press as being
C5 centimeters in height and made
of "soft, white' paste". It represents
tl>e goddess of beauty and love naked and raising her right arm to the
level of her forehead, her legs bent
a little in a slightly stooping position. It was found broken into 50
fragments and took quite a time to
be restored.
The valuable statue will remain,
we are told, in the National Lebanese1 Museum in Beirut.
A SYRIAN AVIATOR
Joseph Akar, a Lebanese by birth
and a Brazilian by adoption and
residence, is described in a Syrian
newspaper apparing in Sao Paolo
as the first Syrian aviator. Before
a large crowd of spectators he ascended a considerable height and
looped the loop. He was applauded
by thousands of his countrymen who
warmly expressed their pride of his
daring exploits.
The performance was held under
the' auspices of the Syrian Athletic
AMERICAN RUG FACTORY
IN SYRIA
An example of American enterprise in Syria is quoted by Vice
Consul M. W. Altaffer in a report
describing the establishment of a
rug factory in Aleppo. The afctory
is active, has a capacity of 100 hand
looms, and, if successful, will be the
first of a chain of similar factories
to be established in Syria by the
same management.
(Commerce Reports)
I
�SEPTEMBER, 1926
63
The Syrian Revolution
v
v
!
I
What the French apparently intended to be the decisive battle of
the Syrian revolution took place in
the famous Ghuta of Damascus in
the week of July 21. Reports state
that the French gathered for the attack a force of 5000 men and opened
the action by a preliminary bombardment of the rebels' positions
lasting throughout the 19th, 20th
and 21st of July, after which the attack was launched from three directions.
In a special dispatch to the "New
York Times" from Haifa, Palestine,
under date of August 11th, the correspondent states that in this engagement the French "overran the
insurgent headquarters and their
chief stronghold with their system
of trenches and telephones and the
position of the insurgents, thus deprived of their resources, has been
considered weakened." The dispatch
further states that in one of the
engagements "the insurgents suffered a severe' reverse owing to their
lack of ammunition, in consequence
of which Nesib Bey El Bakry and
two other insurgent leaders, who
were considered responsible, we're
sent to Jebel Druze for trial by
court-martial. The timely arrival of
Druze reinforcements under Monther
Bey el-Atrash retrieved the position."
The same correspondent declares
that the "French military authorities
had long respected the peculiar position of Ghuta of which, they claimed, the insurgents had taken an unfair advantage, until they were finally compelled to undertake drastic
punitive operations."
To all appearances, this battle of
Ghuta did not prove decisive, it being
claimed by the insurgents that they
repelled the concentrated attack and
inflicted on one French column a loss
of 1800 killed. "The air of Ghuta,"
states a refugee from Damascus, "is
heavy with the odor of decaying
corpses, while before it had been
laden with the fragrance of apple,
apricot and orange blossoms."
That the action was not decisive
se'ems to be borne out by reports in
the Syrian press that following the
engagement the notables and leaders of Damascus called a meeting to
discuss peace and appointed a committee to confer with the insurgent
leaders in an effort to induce them to
cease hostilities.
In proof of the continued determination of the insurgents to prosecute
the war, it is stated that they cut
off the drinking water supply of the
city of Damascus in retaliation
against the French for having diverted the tributaries of Barada
River from the Ghuta Oasis.
The paucity of news from the
Jebel Druze area could be taken to
indicate that this section of the country is mostly, if not wholly, pacified.
It is claimed for the Druzes, however, that they are only feigning submission to take time for garnering
their harvest, after which they are
expected to join the ranks of the
combatants.
In the political field, official announcement has been made of the
intention of M. Henry de Jouvenel
to return to his post as High Commissioner in Syria for the remainder of his second term of six months
�:,>.
64
ending Nov. 15. Previous reports
were to the effect that he had definitely decided not to return. Upon
M. Poincare forming his new ministry, however, M. de Jouvenel was
prevailed upon to reconsider his
decision.
The Syrian press is full of conjectures as to the real causes for
King Faisal's sudden discovery of a
serious illness requiring the ministration of European specialists and
the beneficial treatment at Vichy.
One of the reports is to the effect
that he made a secret visit to Paris
where he1 was joined by Prince Michel Lutfalla, coming from Geneva,
and by members of the Syrian Mohammedan delegation attending the
dedication of the recently erected
mosque in Paris. What was stated
with a pretense at great reserve was
that M. de Jouvenel was constantly
advised of the' progress of the secret
negotiations between the King of
Iraq and the other parties to the
conference. One of the floating rumors is that a solution to the Syrian
problem will be found in constituting
Syria a kingdom and placing former
King Ali of Hejaz who is a brother
of King Faisal and a son of ex-King
Hussain, on the throne. This rumor,
however, may be readily dismissed
as too far-fetched by reason of
France's desire to remain on terms
of amity with the powerful Ibn
Saud who is the irreconcilable enemy
of Hussein and his sons. Another
seemingly baseless rumor is that
King Faisal aims at creating a kingdom out} of Palestine and Transjordania with his brother Abdullah as
King.
Syrian papers comment on the
present diplomatic relations between
England and France in their relation to Syria as being very friendly.
England has brought pressure to
*-,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
bear on [the government of Transjordania to refuse asylum to the
Druzes and other Syrian political
refugees within its borders. Even
Ridha Pasha Rikabi, the once powerful prime minister of Transjordania, was deposed and banished
from the country, it is claimed, at
the express representations of the
British government because he had
been openly active in aiding the
Syrian revolutionists.
In support of this contention,
Syrian papers published long interviews with Hamzeh El-Darwish, one
of the Druze leaders who have surrendered to the French, in which he
is quoted as saying that the Druzes
formerly received their arms and ammunitions through different points in
the desert, bi«t principally from Alfedein, an aeroplane station in
Trans jordania.
What, for a time, caused no little
amount of excitement was a rumor
that Dr. Shahbandar, considered the
prime Syrian agitator and one of the
powerful leaders of the revolution,
had sought refuge in Egypt after
a violent quarrel with Sultan Atrash.
The rumor was credited to the extent that the French minister in
Egypt made a formal demand to the
Egyptian government for his extradition. The whole thing, however,
proved to be a hoax, Dr. Shahbandar himself issuing a formal statement from the revolutionary headquarters in Jebel Druze denying that
he had eveY left the theatre of war
or was ever far from the firing line,
"and perhaps I shall remain close to
the likes of Zaher Contar to whom
Colonel Costiller paid five thousand
From Mt. Lebanon comes a report that the Maronite clergy is dissatisfied with present conditions and
that a delegation of five bishops will
visit Paris to make representations.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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TSW1926_09reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 03
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926 September
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 03 of The Syrian World, published September 1926. The issue opens with an article by Prof. Philip K. Hitti of Princeton detailing the historic significance of Nahr Al-Kalb (Dog River), a river in Lebanon. This issue includes several articles about the challenges of immigrating to the United States, including the issue of health and question of assimilation. This issue also features a continuation of serialized work from the previous issue(s) (Islam, Famous Arab Lovers, and The Widowhood of Shahrazad). The issue closes with translated excerpts from the Arab-language press and letters from its readers.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
1926
New York
Philip Khuri Hitti
Rivers
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https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/a468355ce21ab07a2e10397c31645cf4.pdf
2353e1270bdae4134c9481e3847bd941
PDF Text
Text
�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
l
VOL. I. No. 4.
OCTOBER, 1926.
Near East Relief in Syria
By
i ! I
CHARLES
V.
VICKREY
The value of the humanitarian work being carried on by
the Near East Relief in Syria has just been accorded unique recognition by the French government. It is the first time in history that Paris has stamped a foreign charitable organization
with its official approval.
This signal favor takes the form of a governmental order
that the Near East Relief shall be permitted "to import, duty
free and without limitation, everything necessary to the maintenance and administration of its orphanages, training schools
and relief work in Syria, where it maintains fifteen humanitarian institutions, including hospitals, trade schools and orphanages."
Since nearly a million dollars are spent each year for the
care and instruction of orphans in Syria, the French action will
result in a large saving which can be used in expanding the work
in the Beirut and Damascus areas, where warfare carried on by
Druse tribesmen has aggravated complications which grew out
of the World War. Several thousands of orphans and refugees
are under American care in these districts.
The Near East Relief activities in Syria, under the direction of CharlesW.Fowle of Bethlehem, Pa., now embrace, among
other institutions, three large orphanages at points on the Mediterranean coast all within a few miles of Beirut.
At Antilyas, north of Beirut, an old silk mill, put out of
business by the World War, was converted into a home for larger
boys and girls under the care of the Near East Relief. Here a
number of trades are taught by competent instructors, both na-
�2
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tive and American. The boys of the orphanage are being developed into first; class shoemakers, tailors and cabinet makers, and
a ready market is found in nearby Beirut for the products of
their growing skill.
In the beginning the old mill was crowded and crudely furnished, affording little more than mere shelter from the weather. Comfort was but a dream of the future. Hungry orphans
made up their beds in whatever odd corners they could select
upon a littered floor, with bedding of sack material which had
come wrapped about the food-stuffs shipped from America.
Guided by their American guardians and teachers, however, the boys soon learned to use their hands and the tools
which had been placed at their disposal by charitable-minded
persons. They were taught how to make tables, chairs and
beds. Eventually they were sleeping in the beds, and comfortably
eating from the tables while sitting upon the chairs fashioned by their own eager hands. The crowded condition was alleviated by the construction of a large building, an object of much
pride, for it was built by the boys themselves.
Located close by the shore of the sea, Antilyas Orphanage
includes in its grounds an excellent beach, which affords bathing
and water athletics to help conserve the health of the youngsters
living, learning and working there.
South of Beirut, high on a wooded hill where the breezes
play, is located the Bird's Nest Orphanage, one of the most enchanting places in all the Near East. But if enchanting, it is
also pathetic, for Bird's Nest is in actuality a large nursery, filled
with babies who have never known a mother other than Miss
Maria Jacobsen, under whose tender care they are becoming
robust youngsters with- hardy foundations for the struggle which
will confront them later on in their lives. Some of the youngest children confined] in any orphanage are here in Miss Jacobsen's care.
A little distance back from the Mediterranean, on a hill
which shadows the biblical town of Sidon, stands the Hilltop
Orphanage, in which older girls are learning to work with materials close to hand. As Sidon is the center of an orchard region, the girls in the Hilltop are being taught to convert the
perishable raw fruits into marketable foods.
Tons of marmalade and jams are produced here each year,
with a proficiency that is known and respected at distances. Pre-
�L?
OCTOBER, 1926
3
serves and conserves of many kinds go out from Sidon Hilltop
to the cities north and south, where they find a large and eager
market in the hotels' and steamship lines identified with the region.
Until a year ago the Near East Relief maintained five orphanages in Syria. At Jubeil, where activities were suspended
in the summer of 1925, boys were taught the intriguing mysteries
of metal work. Brass and bronze were their raw materials, and
even silver. In a setting where metal work has long been a native art, some of the most beautiful silver filigree work ever
produced has taken shape under the deft fingers of the boys of
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Jubeil.
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Orphans from this station not yet old enough to go out into
the world and make their own way, have been transferred to
other orphanages; some to Antilyas, others to stations in Palestine. The very young children have been received by Miss
Jacobsen at Bird's Nest.
Ghazir Orphanage, closed only within the past summer,
was the rug-weaving center of the Near East Relief Educational system. In teaching this peculiarly Near Eastern craft, rather depressing handicaps had to be overcome. At first the only
raw material that could be found was in the form of burlap
strips, torn from the sacks in which American foods had been
shipped into the country. A few other rags were gathered and
shredded, and the rag carpets of New England were introduced
to the land where the weaving of rugs had for centuries been
one of; the world's finest arts.
As time passed materials of an order more suitable to beautiful rug work were secured, and the training continued on a
higher plane. Before Ghazir was closed the children there had
learned to make, and were! making, some of the most beautiful
oriental rugs ever fashioned by modern hands.
The young rug weavers are carrying on their work in other
orphanages, some of them as teachers of those just beginning.
A number have "graduated" from their Near East Relief school,
and ,are making their own way at the ancient profession taught
them by modern teachers*
Two young Armenian girls who learned their artistic craft
in Syrian Near East Relief schools recently were engaged to
weave rugs in the Palace of Education at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition. Although only twelve years old, these
�4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
two children from Beirut directed the weaving of the oriental
rug which now has a place of honor on the floor of the east room
in the White House. It was presented to President Coolidge
last year m token of the gratitude of the children of the Near
East for American help.
The life stories of these little girls are tragic. Vartouhi
Hovsepian, who is slightly the *lder, was deprived of her father when she was six years old by the thrust of a Turkish sword,
and soon afterward she witnessed the slaying of her two young
brothers by native troops in Asia Minor. Vartouhi was carried
to Dr. Henry Riggs of Boston, director of the Near East Relief
Orphanage at Harpoot, and following the Smyrna disaster, she
was one of the 20,000 children removed to Syria and other
countries.
Her companion, little Gulenia Kehyayan, was five years
old when her father, who had been forced into the Turkish
army, was killed. When her mother's death followed soon afterward, Gulenia was taken to Marsine by an aunt, who was
forced by poverty to place her with the Near East Relief in
Ghazir.
Both of these girls have been fed, clothed and housed by
the Near East Relief for six yearsj they have received an elementary school education} and they have been trained as experts
in one of the oldest and finest crafts in the world — rug weaving — traditionally an art of their people for centuries, whose
extinction had been threatened during the terrible days of massacre and deportation.
At Philadelphia their setting is like a bit of their adopted
Syria transplanted, for the architecture of the booth is in Syrian
style, yellow stucco stencilled in blue and gold, with oriental
archways decorated with stripes of brick red.
When their work is done at the Exposition, Vartouhi and
Gulenia will return to Syria to help in the teaching of young
folks the ancient calling which they have mastered so early.
The social life of the Near East orphans is not neglected.
Through the Near East League the children are learning quickly the lessons of fellowship and co-operation. The league's
membership is open to all children who ever have been admitted to a Near East orphanage, and chapters are located not only
in the orphanages, but in some of the Syrian cities, including
Ueirut and Damascus, and even in distant countries to which
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�OCTOBER, 1926
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"graduates" have migrated. The influence of the league is
growing rapidly, and children outside the orphanages are seeking to gain admittance to the organization.
The league in Syria publishes and circulates a monthly magazine, "The Star of the Orphan World", which is read by
young people in and out the Near East Relief. This publication enhances the influence of the league to a marked degree
by carrying its ideals to children who are not members.
The development of literature, music and the arts is earnestly sponsored by the league and its magazine} the scope of
the organization is such that it has been called "the one bright
spot in a sordid life".
Musical studies are carried on in all the orphanages of the
Near East Relief. Even in Bird's Nest, the babies raise their
shrill little voices in simple folk songs and the music of kindergarten. Visitors have declared that the brightest period of the
day at Bird's Nest is the singing hour, when the babies sing their
little songs so joyfully and so earnestly.
At Antilyas is a boys' band which has been pronounced one
of the most remarkable musical organizations in the world.
Led by an Armenian graduate of Geneva Conservatory, the
lads have learned music, and their instruments, although in the
beginning none of them knew a note of music.
The boys' band has many opportunities to rehearse under
practical conditions, for field meets and scout stunts on the beach
are numerous, and at all of these the musicians play. The effect
is startling, and aboard steamers anchored off Beirut, the passengers hang over the railings, drinking in the sweet strains from
Antilyas's shore.
The work of the Near East Relief in Syria, as in all its
sphere of action, is a building for the future. Training in the
trades and crafts insures an economic independence} schooling
in the arts presages an upward step in culture. A care entirely
parental in selecting husbands for the orphaned girls promises
a rebuilding of a once hardy race, and a rigid attention to health
and sanitation is designed to keep it hardy.
Girls are being trained as nurses — a radical step in the
Near East — and they will take their American knowledge
into the hospitals and classes of the coming day.
Health experts from the western world are engaged in a
bitter fight against existing diseases, among which tuberculosis
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
long has been a serious problem. Marked success has recently
been attained in the treatment of this disease by three American
nurses, Miss Lillian Sewny of Tenafly, N. J., Miss Agnes Evon
of Pittsfield, Mass., and Miss Doris Stevens of New York City.
Dr. Albert Dewey of Denver, overseas medical director
of the, Near East Relief, wrote enthusiastically of their work:
"It is no mean achievement that the ferocious Syrian sun
has at last been put to work for tubercular, war orphans in the
American hospitals here. For a long time we have been following every development of heliotherapy, especially in Switzerland, and experimenting carefully on suitable application of this
technique to conditions in the Near East.
"Our experiments with sun treatment began at Brummana,
a town 3000 feet above the humidity and heat of Beirut. Miss
Stevens, the nurse in charge, began the sun baths with a group
of children suffering from tuberculosis of glands, bones and
joints. Their response inspired a decision to apply similar treatment to all-pulmonary tuberculous children in our orphanages.
"Our treatment in each case is to begin gradually and vary
according to the reaction of the patient. The plan usually followed is to expose the feet on the first day and for five minutes
only; the second day the exposure is five minutes for the feet
and from the knees down another five, making ten minutes; the
third day the feet five minutes, five more from the knees, and
five more from the hips; and so on until the sixth day, when the
full exposure is thirty minutes. The length of exposure is carried through the fifteenth day, when the patient is ready for
the full two and a half to three hours' treatment.
"It is the hope of the medical staff that some good friend
will give us a special gift of enough money to put up a sun
treatment pavilion at Hamana, which is 4000 feet above sea
level and an ideal spot for our most serious cases. The cost of
such a solarium for fifty child patients will be only about $3000.
"Treatment for tuberculosis is undertaken with the full
knowledge that it must be carried on for months, usually one
and a half to two years, and in tuberculosis of the spine even
longer. Neither can 100 per cent, results be expected, for some
cases are beyond cure. Yet the experiences of the past few months
among, these orphaned wards of America have proved the great
value of this form of treatment and have convinced the American nurses who have gone into the work with such earnestness
that a permanent solarium should be established."
II
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OCTOBER, 1926
i
The Modernization of The Arabic
Speaking World
By PROF. PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
FORMERLY OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
The hands of the clock are moving fast. They are covering
in years what it took our Semitic ancestors centuries to achieve.
In Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Mesopotamia people are resolutely striding ahead in their attempt to overtake western civilization.
Islam, which for the last few centuries has been only marking
time, has now folded its tent and begun its forward march. The
movement is fraught with danger, as well as good possibilities.
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Like a tidal wave the impact of the West upon the East has
been, such as very few could withstand. Every household bears
the mark of the conflict between the old and the new. Hardly a
person has escaped the touch of its influence.
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Among the agencies operating to produce the remarkable
transformation that is going on in the Arab lands, first mention
should be made of the increased means of communication and the
added facilities of transportation. According to recent dispatches
a mail air service between Beirut and Marseilles has just been inaugurated. Other dispatches announce an air passenger service
between Cairo in Egypt, Ramlah in Palestine, Amman in Transjordania, Basra in Iraq and Karachi in India.
In a Detroit made automobile one can now go from Beirut
through Damascus and Palmyra to Baghdad in 24-30 hours.
Teheran, the capital of Persia, can be reached in four days. The
writer once took an express train starting from Cairo at 6 P.M.
and made Haifa the second day at noon feeling just as comfortable in the pullman as in any American pullman. Beirut was made
by auto in five hours from Haifa. Thus the "milk and honey"
railroad crosses the Sinaitic wilderness in less hours than it took
the ancient Hebrews years to cross.
Surely Ford, Marconi and the Wright Brothers are doing
more for the modernization of the Arabic-speaking world than
hosts of spell-binders, article writers and sermon makers.
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Another great factor is the emigrants, mostly of the Christian Syrian type. For the last half century or so these modern
Phoenicians have domiciled themselves in practically every goodsized city in Western Europe, North America and South America.
Their istory is too well known to be dwelt upon here. Through
their return visits, personal correspondence, and literary and journalistic output they have excercised an abiding influence over the
"old folks at home". They are good conductors for transmitting
modern ideas and ideals.
Another potent agency for promoting westernism has been
the educational institutions — French, English and American —
which for a century or so have made it their business to acquaint
the Moslem world with European languages and philosophy of
life and to familiarize it with the products of modern industry,
science and art. The literary renaissance thus produced resulted
in establishing printing presses, societies, native schools and other
agencies which have carried on the great process going on. Everywhere in the Moslem world today, young men and women, whose
fathers and mothers could neither read nor write, are studying
Rousseau and Renan, Darwin and Huxley.
And then came the Great War! The War introduced new
elements into the situation, and, what is more important, it accelerated the processes already in operation. It tied up the destinies of the Arabic world more closely with British and French
interests and made the East turn its face more to the West than
it ever did before.
No phase of modern oriental life has escaped the traces of
these westernizing influences. In the political, religious and social realms the changes have been dramatic and sudden.
When Egypt in February, 1922, was declared a free and
independent State, with King Fuad as its sovereign, she was given
a political status which she had not enjoyed since the Mamluk
forces were crushed in 1516-1517 by the Ottoman Sultan Selim.
When Ibn-al-Su'ud, the ruler of Nejd, succeeded in seizing alMedinah in December, 1925, after having crushed Ibn-al-Rashid
and signed friendly treaties with other Arab chieftains, he became
the master of a united Arabia that had never reached those proportions since the days of the Prophet and the early orthodox
caliphs. Ibn-al-Su'ud may do for the Arabian peninsula what
Victor Emmanuel and Cavour did for Italy, and what William I
and Bismark did for Germany. He may unify it all and bring it
under his one mighty rule. Iraq, the valley of the two rivers,
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^ S^NKIN AN* \.«EK1CAN NEAR* EAiST RELIEF'WORKSHOP IN* SY*tIA
Here the children, principally Armenian orphans, are taught useful trades which fit them for self-support. In this
photograph two boys are shown engaged in the weaving of a beautiful Oriental Rug in the Orphanage of Antilyas.
�MOM|L
A SCENE IN THE ARMENIAN REFUGEE CAMP NEAR BEIRUT
The Armenians here live under the most unsanitary conditions and constitute a grave menace
to the country. The American Near East Relief is doing much helpful work in alleviating
distress in this and similar camps.
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OCTOBER, 1926
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has also installed its own King, Feisal, and signed its treaties with
the British. Palestine is seething with anti-Zionistic nationalism.
Syria is m a state of open revolt. Lebanon, a couple of months
ago, by declaring itself a republic under the French mandate, became the first Arabic-speaking republic in the history of the world.
Who after this brief sketch of the post-war political situation in the Arabic-speaking lands could rightly claim that the
"East does not change"?
No discussion of the political and other changes in the Near
East could be complete without some reference to the phenomenal
and epoch-marking changes that are taking place in the non-Arabic
speaking part of it, particularly in Persia and Turkey. There, also,
time-honored usages and long established traditions are being
torn to shreds and scattered to the four winds. In Persia, last
April, a man from the ranks, in the person of Rida Shah al-Pehlevi, succeeded in destroying a long dynasty and establishing himself on the peacock throne.
But perhaps in Turkey, more than in any other Moslem land,
the forces of disintegration are working at their best and to their
utmost. Here Mustafa Kemal has introduced changes unparalleled in the history of the world except perhaps by those introduced
by Peter the Great into mediaeval Russia. The reaction of his
reforms is felt outside of Turkey and all over the Moslem world.
Kemalist Turkey has set up the first secular government in the
history of Islam, a government in which state and religion are
divorced. It has established a lay system of education. Only those
can appreciate the novel and heretical nature of these innovations
who remember that to the Moslem mind, religion, law and science
are different aspects of one and the same thing. Modern Turkey
has discarded the shari'ah and adopted the civil, European code.
' In March, 1924, it took the boldest step ever taken by a Moslem
nation — it destroyed the caliphate, the oldest and most revered
institution in Islam. New Turkey has abolished poligamy, emancipated womanhood, disbanded the Derwish orders, translated the
Koran — the Arabic word of Allah — into Turkish, doffed the
fez and donned the "headgear of civilization". A friend of mine
recently returned from Asia Minor described a ball held last winter in Angora under the auspices of Kemal and into which no man
was admitted who was not accompanied by a woman companion.
Surely no more staggering blows have been dealt Islam since the
crusading days.
The religious transformation in Islam has been no less as-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
founding and phenomenal than the political one. Reference has
already been made to the abolition of the caliphate. If no other
change but this has been made it would be enough to mark the
present generation of Moslems as the most progressive generation
in history. The failure of the Cairo pan-Islamic conference last
July to appoint a caliph is indicative of the temper of New Islam.
The Mecca conference, though held under the auspices of the
most conservative and reactionary Moslem sect, the Wahhabi
movement headed by Ibn-al-Su'ud, resulted also in a dismal failure. The Wahhabi is the only cloud in the horizon of progressive, modern Islam.
Egypt for many years past has been treating us to new pieces
of literature representative of its young spirit and breathing the
same critical atmosphere as that of Western Europe. Consider,
for instance, the writings of Tah Hussein and others who bear
doctorate degrees from German, French, or English universities.
Only last year Egypt surprised the world by presenting on the
stage of modernism a turbaned sheikh from al-Azhar, in the person of Abd-ul-Razik the author of al-Khilafah wa-Usul al-Hukm
"the Caliphate and the Principles of Government". When the
Azhar ulema take up modernity one should stop and take note.
On a hot summer day in 1922, when I was "holding office
hours" on the open porch of the Continental Hotel in Cairo, a
Moslem lady who wanted to see me regarding the admission of
her little boy into the University of Beirut asked me to hold the
interview with her in the sitting room of the hotel where she
could remove her warm veil without flaunting public opinion.
Today the sight of unveiled Moslem women in the streets of
Cairo is something familiar. Early in September dispatches based
on a consular report from Port Said indicate that the Egyptian
men have followed the example of the Turks in giving up the
picturesque tarboosh in favor of the hat. What is coming next,
no one can foretell.
Of all Arab lands outside of Arabia proper, Syria is, in many
ways, the most Arabist. The Arabic-speaking peoples of northern
Africa have never figured in Arab affairs. Their Arab culture is
diluted with Berber semi-barbarism. For the last century Arabic
Egypt has been under the sway of a Turkish and Albanian aristocracy. The Arabian peninsula is still where Mohammed left it
in 632 A. D. Iraq, ever since the Abbaside period, has been more
or less under Persian influence. The Moslem Syrians have, on
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�OCTOBER, 1926
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the other hand, maintained the strongest pro-Arab sentiments.
The leaders of the pan-Arab movement, as well as the
movement for the decentralization of the once all-powerful Ottoman Empire of the Committee of Union and Progress, were
men of Syrian origin.
t
Nevertheless, conservative Arab Syria is today one of the
most modern lands in Islam. In Beirut I have intimately known
at least a score of young Moslems who neither pray five times
a day nor fast Ramadan. A Christian of the Unitarian type of
theology, would feel very much at home with them. To the
young generation, Islam is becoming more and more a racial
rather than a religious, bond of union.
A couple of years ago I called with some friends on the
highest religious Moslem authority in Beirut and heard him deplore in unequivocal terms the modern tendencies in Islam. He
was especially strong in his condemnation of the proposal to erect
in one of the public squares of the city a statue. It was the statue
of sheikh Ibrahim al-Yaziji. The Moslem shari'ah, of which
that man was the official guardian, is dead against all statues and
images. The day was the feast of Ramadan, and a few hours
later found us in the home of the highest civil authority, himself
a Moslem married to a brilliant Christian lady. The conversation
turned to the much debated question of raising statues, and the
Moslem civil head referred to the repeated religious protests
which his office! was constantly receiving and "putting under the
sofa mattress"—as we express it in Arabic. The statue of sheikh
Ibrahim today greets the eye of any visitor to Beirut.
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The battlefield between the old and the new, between conservatism and modernism, has been extended to all phases of Syrian life not excluding the linguistic realm. Here the champions
of puntanism and Koranism decree against the introduction of
loan-words from English and French—which naturally creep in
with the modern inventions and scientific discoveries—and insist
on the use of newly coined Arabic words. But the man in the
street heeds no more their protests than the man in the moon
does. To him the "automobile" is a "trumbeel" and not a "sayyarah", and the "telephone" is a «talfoon» and nothing else.
You can no more stand against modernism in language than you
can in politics or religion.
But perhaps the most significant and most important of all social changes are those relating to the position of Moslem women.
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Both Turkey and Egypt have taken longer strides along
this line than conservative Syria, yet in Syria the ferment is working. I have known at least one Moslem young lady, a graduate
nurse, who was not afraid to lift her thin veil on the street and
greet me, especially when I was accompanied by my wife.
Of course the problem is much more complicated than it
looks on the face of it and when viewed with Western eyes. A
Moslem neighbor of mine, who occupied the office of chief of
police in Beirut, met me one day on the train and began to recite
in my ear a poem which he had composed entitled tahrir ulmar*ah. Before the poem came to an end my patience came to an
end, too, and I, was bold enough to tell the poet official what I
thought of his conduct and his poetry. (The week before I had
visited the man in his home on a formal occasion and was received
by him alone, his harem being invisible. Whereas whenever he
called he was received by all members of my family). His reply
was illuminating. "My wife", said he, "has lived all her life in
seclusion. It is the only kind of life she would want to live, and
to force her out into the light will be the unkindest act against
her. But wait until my little daughter is older! She is going to
America to study, believe me, and is coming back with a hat."
This summer a Beirut Moslem girl arrived in New York
to, study medicine. She is the first of her kind, but certainly not
the last, The daughter of the police official may be the second.
It should be remembered that we are treating in this discussion the Arabic world which is, in the main, a Moslem world.
The Christian element of the Arabic world, as to be expected, has
been the leader along the path of progress and modernism. All
the popular magazines in Syria are owned and edited by Christian women with the exception of two, one of which belongs to
an enterprising, bright Druze girl. The American University of
Beirut, which in 1923 opened its academic doors to the members
of the fair sex, has this last June bestowed its first co-educational
degree of B. A. on two women students and of D. D. S. on one
woman graduate in dentistry.
It is no exaggeration to say that almost all the charity work
in Beirut is carried on by women. Special mention should be made
of the "Ladies' Aid Society for the. Blind", the first and only
organization of its kind in Syria.
One of the most progressive schools in Beirut was founded
and is still run by a young Syrian lady. Her school competes suc-
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cessfullywith long established English and American schools
for girls in that city of schools—Beirut.
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Surely the hour has struck in the Arabic speaking world A
new era is dawning. As in the European renaissance so in "this
case, the march is from the medievalism of tradition and authority
into an age of discovery and progress. Secularization and modernization are the great ideals. Into the old bottles of Islam a new
wine is being poured a mixture of rationalism and nationalism—
the most dangerous liquors of the age.
Will the young East prove wise enough to preserve of its
past_ heritage those things that are worth-while? Will it be dis
cerning enough to absorb of the Western culture only those
things that will help it in its forward march? Modernization is
by no means an unqualified blessing, and westernization is not
necessarily a boon. And haying made all the progress possible,
will Christian Europe and Islamic Asia find enough ground to
stand together on an equal basis of mutual co-operation and fellowship or will they, through jealousy and rivalry, try to undo
each other?
All these are searching questions that cannot be answered
now or by any one man, but upon their final answer a great deal
of the future peace and prosperity of the world will undoubtedly
"Were I joined to people but by a hair it will not be broken.
*or if they pull I will let go, and if they let go I will pull."
Mu'awiyah.
"He who has a whole brother is fortunate."
Abu-1-Darda.
i
Said al-Ahnaf: "One must forebear from his friend three
things—the injustice of wrath, the injustice of familiarity and the
injustice of inadvertency."
"When worldly success the magnanimous ones achieve,
They forget not the lowly ones whom behind they leave."
Abou Tammana.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
THE OBSTINATE LOVER
[A free translation of a modern Arabic poem by Tanious Abdou\
Under the dark wings of night, I paid a visit to my beloved.
With tears in my eyes, I forced myself into her chamber but
naught could melt her heart nor win forgiveness of my
audacity.
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Yet she consented to argue the situation — taking pity on my
ardent love.
,
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Said she: "If you do not desist in your temerity, I will throw myself despairingly into the sea.
"What then will you do?"
Said I: "I will dive after my pearl."
Said she: "But I will transform myself into a fish and slip from
between your hands!"
.
Said I: "Then I will catch you as fish are caught, with no more
hope of release."
Said she: "To escape you, I will mount to the firmament. How
then will you reach me among the stars?"
Said I: "Then I will become a dense cloud and envelop you so
that no eye but mine will gaze upon you.
"I will cover your face like a veil and through this proximity
win from you embraces and caresses."
Said she- "Then I will fly back to my garden and there transform
myself into a living flower, where I will water my roots
with my tears."
Said I- "Not with your tears, but with the blood 01 my heart.
"For I in turn will be transformed into the morning dew; gently
falling on my beautiful flower."
Said she: "I will then take refuge in a lonely convent and there
beg God's forgiveness for my sins."
\
Said I: "Then will I become a monk in that convent hearing the
confessions of my repentant nun."
Said she: "If this then be the case, no other recourse is left me
but to die and rid myself of the vicissitudes of life."
Said I: "Not even death will save you from me for I will be
transformed into earth!
"Where my ribs will enfold your beloved body and there I will
be forever happy in possessing you."
When finally she saw that from me there was no escape and that
persistency was one of my cardinal virtues,
She took compassion on my broken heart and gently bending over
me, dried my tears with her sweet kisses.
f.
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OCTOBER, 1026
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The Mosque of Paris
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Among the myriad church steeples of Paris, rising in pairs
and in singles high above the uniform horizon of the beautiful
French capital,, as if they were symbolic hands outstretched towards heaven in token of the tenacity of the French to their
Christian faith, there rises today a different sort of steeple — a
minaret — different in architecture and purpose and patently incongruous with the rest of the skyward projecting turrets surrounding it on all sides.
It is a long time since Charles Martel crushed the invading
armies of the Saracens in the battle of Tours and forever rid
Christian Europe of the danger of Mohammedan domination.
Had the tide of that memorable battle turned otherwise, we are
assured by many historians that in lieu of church steeples we
would be witnessing all over Europe only mosque minarets. It
is for that reason that Christian historians hail the Tours melee
as one of the outstanding decisive battles of all times, in that <t
rid Europe of the Saracen host completely and forever.
That view, however, was inspired by the peculiar condition
or those remote ages. People were then fired by the most intense
religious zeal, a sort of uncontrollable religious mania which placed them outside of the pale of our modern reasoning. To them
religion was much more than a form of worship or a method of
belief} it was suppressing all other forms of worship to establish
their own, and we all know that feeling among followers of contending religions ran very high in those days.
But now, what a contrast? The very people who hailed their
repelling of invading Mohammedanism as the salvation of
Christianity are the ones who not only invite Mohammedanism
to come and dwell with them, but go even to the extent of actually helping to establish it. The cry of the muezzin does not
seem to modern Parisians as a discordant note among the chimes
of their church bells. Rather, some are inclined to look at it as
charmingly romantic} others view it in its true light as a move
in the political game of gaining the good will of the Mohammedan world for a colonial power.
Be the reason what it may, we are now envisaging the actuality of the existence of a Mohammedan mosque in Paris, and
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
an exceptionally beautiful one at that. It is described by one of
the Syrian delegation who attended its dedication last July as
being somewhat of the general appearance of the famous mosque
of Omar in Jerusalem, but the interior decorations follow principally the Moorish style, Moorish artisans skilled in the execution of delicate works of mosaic having been engaged to finish it.
Of the remote history of events leading to the erection of
this mosque in Paris, we are told that they date back to the time
of Louis XV when, in 1767, a treaty was concluded between the
French king and Mohammed Ibn Abdullah, sultan of Morocco,
giving the subjects of each sovereign the right to establish in the
domains of the other places of worship according to their own
faiths. The French, we are assured, have for long been taking
advantage of this privilege, but the Moslems availed themselves
of the privilege only now.
ON FRIENDSHIP
Said a caliph to his sons: "My sons, befriend men so that
when you are absent they will long for you, and if you die they
will mourn you."
"A true friend is like a spicer, if he gives you not of his spice,
you will receive something of his scent."
Anonymous.
"A thousand friends are none too many,
One enemy much, if you can avoid any."
Ali.
Said the Umayyad caliph, Suleiman Ibn Abdul-Malek:
"There is nothing more precious to me than a friend with whom
I may throw aside the provision of formality."
"Beware of the magnanimous if you insult him, the base if
you honor him, the intelligent if you exasperate him, the fool if
you make fun of him and the vile if you become intimate with
him."
(Arab saying).
He who raises himself as an Imam over others must first
begin by preaching to himself.
Ali.
�t
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I
K
1
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1
i«
�THE PARIS MOSQUE IN THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION
'MAi
1
�THE MEETING OF KING AND WRITER IN THE DESERT
In the Shadow of an Aeroplane, His Majesty Ibn Saoud and his Retinue faced the Camera to oblige their Guest
Ameen Rihani. The King is the tall central Figure, while Rihani is the third from the left.
�__—__——
COMING DOWN FROM LEBANON
The Winding Road amid the Pines in the enchanted Hills of Lebanon Near Brummana Leading to Beirut.
r»HH
1
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ft ft ft S' H» K* H tt&'c
�OCTOBER, 1926
17
Meeting an Arab King
in The Desert
By AMEEN RIHANI
It is the privilege of but a few to be able to travel in safety in the
heart of Arabia; to be on intimate relations of friendship with the
highest potentate of the region and the now commanding figure in
the Arabic world; and to come out safely to tell of the experience,
and to do so extremely well. Of those favored few has been our wellknown and able author Ameen Rihani whose informative and delightfully refreshing account of his experience is being published serially
in Asia. It gives us great pleasure to publish the masterly account
of Mr. Rihani's meeting with Sultan Ibn Saoud in the Arabian desert, together with the accompanying photograph, through the courtesy
of Asia magazine. — Editor.
r
My letter to Ibn Saud had been carried by«; najjab (a courier
on a fast zeluly or she-camel, broken exclusively for riding), who
started in the early dawn and came back the following morning
with a most gracious reply. The Sultan left the matter to my own
convenience and at the same time informed me that he would leave
al-Hasa on Thursday and would be at Ojair on Saturday morning.
I had been thinking of riding out to meet him ; and in his letter
to Seyyid Hashem there was a suggestion that decided me at once.
"It seems to me," said the Seyyid, trying to be subtle, "that His
Highness, the Sultan, would imply in his leisurely march a desire
to see you before he sees the High Commissioner."
"To the desert, therefore," said I, girding my loins.
And on the morning of Thursday, when the Sultan marched
out of Al-Hasa, we left Ojair> Seyyid Hashem and I, accompanied by five servants, one of whom had a donkey carrying our provisions and some firewood. My zelul, considering alone the
spangled breast-cloth, the saddlebag and the black sheepskin that
covered the rug in the, saddle, was the mount of honor. She was
also the best in point of merit \ for she tolerated no one ahead of
her, except the donkey, whose time-honored privilege it is to
lead the caravan. But that she was the best did not help me. I
was being rocked and shaken and pinched and scratched at every
step. There was something around me, I felt, and under me and
�M
J*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
before me and behind me that should not be there. And those
saddle-trees, wooden pegs a foot long, standing upright, knocked
me in the breast and in the back every time I swayed to and fro
in the saddle. I was held, as it were, by a pair of tongs. And
the saddle-frame itself did not seem to be adjusted rightly. It's
tipping to the side. It's slipping from the hump. It's pinching.
Why, even the girth is loose! "Seyyid Hashem," I cried, O
Seyyid Hashem!" "lbsher, ibsher, ya Ustaz" he answered: "at
your service, O professor, at your service." Alas! Every Mohammed, Mahmoud and Ahmed who knows anything is called "ustaz"
in Syria and Iraq as well as Egypt, and the questionable title here
bestowed by Seyyid Hashem stuck to me throughout Arabia.
Soon after ambling out of Ojair, we came to a nefud or a
sand desert, where the camels must walk very slowly, making
deep footprints in the shape of hearts with daggers in them;
for with their hoofs, as they drag them out of the sand, they
draw a long, straight line, which is the dagger. The dunes, in
their formation and their light and color — their undulating
lines, their slopes, smooth as rose-leaves and as soft, their summits so firmly etched against a shimmering sky, their shades of
gold and purple melting away on one side only to form on another — are bewitching. They shift and change — to all appearance, melt away. But they only move, carried higher and
yon by the winds. We meandered through them, passing a few
places that seemed to exist only in name. Jasrah, for instance,
is a spot distinguished by bare rocks, which are like little barren
islands in that sea of sand. And the bleached camel-bones that
I had frequently seen along our path brought us in the end to
the very thing they had suggested — to the tragedy of loneliness
and death! For there was a camel which had crouched but recently and for the last time — a ghastly sight. It had twisted
its neck in agony and stuck its head, dying, in the sand.
When we descended at a place about three hundred feet
above sea-level and half-way between Ojair and Hofuf, I for
one, praised Allah aloud. And Seyyid Hashem, hearing me,
thought that a six hours' ride for the first day was quite sufficient.
I even heard him say, "The zelul has killed him" — meaning
me. Had it not been for the flies, which had come with us from
Ojair, I might have dozed away my exhaustion. As it was, rest
came when the desert heat abated, between sundown and dusk.
At that hour, as the first star pierces the darkness and the arrows
of light follow one another, the desert begins to weave its spell,
m
�OCTOBER, 1926
19
and gradually the inward, exultation is exteriorized in a sensuous
joy. Charms crowd themselves upon sense and vision. The atmosphere, the vastness and the silence are scented messengers of
the infinitej and the world within reach of hand and heart is all
beautiful — beautiful to see, beautiful to touch, beautiful to
breathe.
After supper the servants all sat down to the usual evening
occupation of sipping coffee and telling tales. While they were
still around the fire, I went into the tent and threw myself on
the cot in softly enveloping joy. For have not the days
brought about the fulfilment of my heart's desire? Here is the
desert} here are the camelsj here are my slaves. And am I not
the guest of one of the great amirs of Arabia? I felt that I
could now fold my hands and let the golden dream close my
eyes. But, as I lay, still half-awake, I heard a voice challenge
someone who was passing. And then Seyyid Hashem came hurrying into the tent and said: "Get up, ya Ustaz, get up. The Sultan is coming!"
"True?" That is all I could say. And I got up instantly
to dress j that is to cover my night garment with an aba and my
head with a kerchief and an ighal to bind it — the convenience
of Arab clothes! Then slipping my feet into a pair of sandals,
I could walk out and say: "Allah greet the comer — welcome
the guest."
The servants hurried in different directions to gather wood
for the fire, and I helped Seyyid Hashem put our "house" in
order. We spread the rug inside, placed the camel-saddle in
the center, as a leaning pillow, and a sheepskin to the right of
it for the royal guest — all that is required for the reception of
a king in Arabia.
It was a dazzling night, vested with a transparency of atmosphere that revealed the naked, hard-blue sky and the outlines of a crescent moon — a night that gave wings as well as
musical charm to the human voice. And what an unearthly charm
had the cry I heard at that moment, coming from behind the
dunes, in waves of assurance and awe across the meadows of
night! "Ya s'aaiyed, ya.faaaiyeeeed!" — "O thou little happy
one!" The criers who precede the royal cavalcade, announced
the coming of the Sultan or his passing by, so that, if anyone
has a claim or a grievance or likes to join in the march, he may
follow the voice and be a happy one — a little happy one, a
su'aiyed— There is a humility in the diminutive of Ibn Saud's
�!
20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
su'aiyed, which implies that greater happiness can come from Allah alone.
Ya s'aaaiyeeeed! And soon the heights on which we were
encamped reverberated with the cavalcade of the Sultan More
than two hundred camels gurgled and growled as they were
crouching, while the ikh, ikh of the riders and the sound of their
bamboos on the necks of their mounts were like the patter of
rain in a grove of palms. Soon after, the tents were pitched,
the fires were lighted and the tintinnabulations of the pestels in
the coffee-mortars were heard.
We hastened forth to meet the guest, but he was quicker in
coming toward us, followed by two of his suite. A tall majestic
figure in white and brown, overshadowing, overwhelming that
was my first impression. Indeed, I was standing near a giant —
he is more than six feet high, but muscular, sinewy and admirably proportioned — who took, my hand and held it in his own
as we walked into our little tent.
> The pomp of power, the ostentation of sultans, the magmhcicence of the Orient — they are not to be seen in Nejd. The
Sultan wore the usual brown aba over a white robe and had his
head covered with the usual red checkered kerchief and his feet
shod with sandals. The only thing that distinguished him from
his subjects was the gold-thread ighal, which is worn also by some
of the members of the royal family. He has the Arab's complexion but not the physiognomy — a swarthy face, without the
high cheek-bones and with a straight, but slightly upturned
nose. He is quite modern in his beard and mustache, which he
trims Wahabi-fashion. His age, from the point of view of the
calender, is, at the time I write, forty-nine. He perfumes himself profusely and carries an unstained staff, which he uses as
an aid to expression — to underline a word, as it were, or emphasize an idea. He has another aid in his well modeled hands
which are particularly elegant and eloquent in gesture.
He sat on the sheepskin leaning his right arm against the
saddle, and the fire outside of our open tent lighted up his rugged countenance, with its soft brown eyes, mobile mouth, full
but not heavy, and magnetic smile. "They told us," he said, "that
you were an American missionary coming to preach Christianity
in Arabia; and they told us that you represented certain companies
who desire concessions in Arabia; and they told us that you were
a supporter of the cause of the Sherif (King Hussein). But we
said: If there is evil in the man, we know how to avoid it. And
f
�' T-l
OCTOBER, 1926
21
if there is good, we know as well how to benefit by it. Aye, billahl we are better informed, ya Ustaz, about your mission. Allah keep thee and bless thee."
I asked permission to state the purposes that led me to
travel in Arabia and said: "The first has been fulfilled in seeing
you; the second will be fulfilled, inshallah, when I write of what
I have seen; and the third can only be accomplished by your assistance. I am certain that Arab unity can only be realized by a
meeting of all the ruling amirs for acquaintance first and a common understanding." Thus suddenly I found myself arguing,
pleading for a cause.
NUGGETS
'Amr, the son of Sa'id, was a young lad when his father died.
One day when the young man entered upon the Caliph Mu'awiah,
the latter asked him:
"To whom did your father trust you when he died?"
'Amr replied:
"My father did not trust me to anybody, but trusted others
to me."
"And what were his last words to you?" inquired Mu'awiyah.
"He made me solemnly pledge him that his friends should
lack nothing after his death but his person."
i
It is related that Ar-Rashid sent after a certain man to make
him a cadi.
The man bowed before the mighty caliph and said:
"I am not an adept in law, nor have I studied jurisprudence."
"Mind not that," said Ar-Rashid, "you have three traits which
entitle you to this high station: You are a noble man, and nobility
prevents its possessor from committing mean acts; you have magnanimity, and magnanimity prevents you from haste; and you are
a man who seeks advice, and he who seeks advice commits few
mistakes. As for jurisprudence, you can easily find those who
know it and include them in your companionship and benefit yourself by their knowledge."
The man accepted the call and it is said that he proved a successful cadi.
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Oriental Prophets, Old and New
y
Coming at a time when the death of a famous screen star
and the record achievement of an American young woman in
swimming the English Channel almost monopolized newspaper
publicity, a dark, gentle-faced, languishing-eyed young man who
hails from India with pretentious claims and much heralding,
found that the ears of the city of skyscrapers were too occupied
with other voices and noises to pay much attention to his "message".
Our brother Oriental, Jiddu Krishnamurti, sponsored by an
interesting English old woman Mrs. Annie Besant, whose agitations for Indian home rule and whose intellectual and religious
gymnastic contortions filled more newspaper space than their intrinsic merit would justify, brings nothing new to New York,
and to us of Syrian origin he is another importer of coal to Newcastle.
. Prophets, demigods and demigoddesses, and incarnations of
divinities of all sorts and hues fill the pages of Oriental histories.
Their voices, speaking with the finality of infallibility come down
to us in a confusion of authorities and claims, each crying that his
brand of teaching or divine inspiration is the only and sole way
of salvation. Like the builders of the Tower of Babel of old,
these vendors of spiritual wisdom were trying to storm the heavens, when down below their followers, half-starved and miserable, were plodding their earthly existence the best their instincts
.^ould guide them.
From Roaster and Buddha to Baha'ul-llah and Krishnamurti is a long, long way in years, but thd messages of the modern prophets and incarnates sound so familiar to the dwellers of
the graves, and to students of history. There is something essentially true, compelling, spiritually sound in what they say,
and much that is trivial, jejune, cumbersome and crass; ruks
regulating food and dress, manners of behavior and etiquette,
fit undoubtedly the time and the place where they originated,
but because they claim the same divine and inspirational authority, they have fashioned themselves into fetters around the feet
of the slow going East.
Of the legitimate prophets and great religious teachers one
f
�OCTOBER, 1926
iv
!
23
can have but the greatest homage and gratitude. The world
today is spiritually better off that Zroaster, Confucious, Buddha,
Isiah and Mohammed came and uttered their words of deep wisdom and sane morality, not to mention the great spiritual upheaval
caused by the teachings of Christ. There was something big about
their personality, something heroic and superhuman, which more
than atoned for their human limitations and mistakes. Their
claim, to authority sprang from an overflow of genuine spiritual
experience, and they talked to the hearts of men from the depths
of their limitless hearts; they WERE divine in a sense which
we now can well understand without necessarily ascribing to them
deification or a supernatural origin.
But how many little prophets and Gods in high places had
we who do not merit one fraction of the devotion and worship
that is accorded them?
Within the borders of Syria itself hundreds of such prophets
and claimants of divine incarnation have appeared in the last millenium. Every age had its share of them, and down to the present time, the fertile soil of that land of prophets has produced
more than its quota. Some of those have had weird and fantastic careers; their teachings, a conglomoration of good, bad and
indifferent elements, are left in the annals of some of the strangest sects that the world has ever seen.
A thousand years ago a dissident, Shi(istic leader, Hamdan
al-Carmati, created such an agitation that took many years to
suppress, and came near wrecking the whole fabric of Islamic
civilization. His teachings were as queer as his life. He believed that he was divine. He was a thorough and consistent communist, believing in free love, as well as the equal distribution
of wealth. His followers were fanatic malcontents in the interior of Iraq, mostly of Persian origin and hence little attached to
Islam. Hamdan al-Carmati was a convert to Isma'ilism through
a certain Persian Ahmad, son of Abdullah Ibn Maimun, who in
the latter part of the 9th century founded a secret society, the
object of which was to demolish Islam and the existing caliphate.
The initiates to this society were at first lead to believe that the
Koranic teachings had a spiritual, allegorical meaning. Then
gradually, through a process of toleration to other religions and
philosophies, one by one the fundamental tenets of Islam were
discarded. Ibn Maimun taught that from the creation of man
there always has been an Imam, sometimes hidden and sometimes known. When hidden his doctrines were propagated by
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
missionaries, "dais". Al-Carmati was considered at that time
the last of the dais. The Carmathians at one time occupied Mecca and carried away the ''black stone", to the consternation and
shock of the pious Moslems all over the world, who thought that
the wrath of God will surely descend on the sacrilegious infidel.
But nothing of the matter happened and the stone was restored
after many years. The movement of the Carmathians persisted
till the middle of the 11th century when, in Persia and Syria,
their work was taken up by the Assassins, with whom we shall
deal in a separate article for this magazine.
At about the same time, 30 years after the appearance of
al-Carmati, a Moslem Sufi, also of Persian origin, Mansur alHallaj, "wool-carder", preached a strange system of pantheism
and incarnation, hulul. In his "Mystics of Islam", Prof. R. A.
Nicholson said of Hallaj that "he had uttered two words which
Islam on the whole has forgiven but never forgotten: 'Anna '1
Haqq' — I am God' ". A contemporary Sufi, Abu Yazid alBustami, is said to have uttered an equally bold blasphemy, saying: "There is none in this jubbah (cloak), save Allah", referring
to the one he was wearing. But while Abu Yazid was honored
above all measures in his lifetime and after his death, poor alHallaj paid for his boldness with a cruel death. After his extremities were cut off, he was beheaded. His head was raised on one
of the walls in Baghdad, and his body burned and his ashes strewn
in the Tigris River.
The Mahdi doctrine among the Shi'ites is another form of
the deificaton or incarnation doctrine of which our friend Krishnamurti reminds us, poor mortals, and which ultimately goes
back to India as a source. Strictly, it is akin to the Christian
doctrine of "the second coming of Christ", and the Persian doctrine of Saoshyant, whose advent was supposed to precede the
final conflict between Ormuzd and Ahriman, the gods of good
and evil respectively. Similarly, the Mahdis were the successive
incarnations of Ali. Their advent, too, heralded the last days
of this world, and the final establishment of justice and righteousness on the earth. It will be readily seen how such a doctrine
could be easily employed by scheming political agitators in
their ambitions to overthrow existing regimes and establishing
their own.
The first Fatimide caliph in Egypt, 'Ubaidullah al-Mahdi,
(909-933) was one of these. The Fatimide Dynasty itself owed
f
r
�OCTOBER, 1926
25
its existence and success to the insidious propaganda of the Ismallites.
In the middle of the 12th century another dynasty, that of
Almohades, a corruption of Muwahhideen i. e. Unitarians, owed
its origin to a Mahdi claimant, Abdullah Ibn Tumart. He was
the son of a lamn lighter in a mosque in Algiers, of the Masmuda
«erber tribe. A small, ugly, misshapen youth, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca in his early youth and was expelled from the
holy city for his over-zeal in criticising his fellow religionists.
tie visited many cities in Syria and Mesopotamia and became for
a time a pupil of the celebrated Islamic theologians al-Ghazali
and al-Ash'an the latter of whom was the founder of Moslem
Orthodox scholasticism. On his return to Algiers he won over
to his claims Abdul-Mumin al-Kumi, a Berber chieftain who extended his rule by conquest over North Africa and Andalusia,
lhe rule of Almohades lasted to the middle of the 13th century (1269,) and some of their rulers distinguished themselves
for bravery and liberalism. The famous Arab philosopher of
Andalusia, Averoes, was a protege of one of Almohades rulers,
al-Mansur who in 1195 conquered King Alfonso VIII in the
battle of Alarcas.
Coming down to our own times, still another Mahdi bids
claim to our attention for the furore and hubub he created, and
the consequent publicity which he stirred. Mohammed Ahmed
Ibn Sayyed Abdullah, a Dongolese, proclaimed himself al-Mahdi in Eastern Sudan, and for a time successfully coped with the
British forces. He was finally defeated in 1881 by an AngloEgyptian force under the late Lord Kitchener in the battle of
Omdurman.
^ Only recently a self-proclaimed prophet near Horns, Syria,
with a small band of illusioned followers, descended on his own
town and massacred the peaceful citizens at night because they
refused to follow him and because they ridiculed his religious pretentions. A few months ago, another one of those whose egomania take the form of prophetship, proclaimed that he had a
divine mission to stop the Syrian revolution. His petition to the
French High Commissioner to allow him to proceed to Jebel-alDruze to perform his mission was met with cold indifference.
The type of incarnates which Teddu Krishnamurti represents,
to be sure, is a novel one. He differs at once from the ascetic
Avatars and Krishna and Vishnu incarnations of his own country
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and the ferocious Mahdis of ours. As far as we know he is the
first "voice of the World Teacher", who comes to us with a tennis
raquet instead of a sword, and an open soft shirt instead of a
coarse woolen cloak. He lives on a quarter of an eggy we are
told, but he has it served by liveried waiters in expensive and
sumptuous hotels. And to guide his steps in the wicked cities of
America he has a grandmother to look after him. Certainly,
this is an age of flappers, and they, too, must have their Christ!
RECOLLECTION
It is related that God said to His prophet Moses, "Knowest
thou why I give the fool wealth?" Moses said, "No." And God
replied, "that the wise may know that wealth does not come to
one by cunning."
'Ubaidullah Ibn 'Abbas was one of the most generous Arabs
of his time. One day as he was sitting in the court of his house,
a stranger came to him and said:
"O* son of Abbas, I did thee a favor once, and now I am in
need of thee."
'Ubaidullah looked him up and down and said: "I know thee
not, what favor didst thou do me?"
"One day," said the stranger, "when thou didst go to the pilgrimage, I saw thee standing by the well of Zamzam, as thy slave
was drawing water. The sun was high and the shafts of its rays
shot piercingly at thee. I took hold of the edge of my gown and
held it over thy head."
"Now I know thee," said Ibn 'Abbas. Then, turning to his
slave, he commanded him to give the stranger all that was in the
treasury, 200 dinars and 10,000 dirhams.
Said a man to al-Hassan, Son of Ali:
"I open my Koran and read therein all the day long."
Al-Hasan replied:
"Read your Koran in the early morning and the late evening
and work your day long in your trade, and tend to the unavoidable
tasks of life."
The learned man is as superior to the worshiper as I am supripr to the least of you.
Mohammed
i
|
i
�OCTOBER, 1926
yj
As I Came Down from Lebanon
(One of the fifty best poems of America.)
By
CLINTON SCOLLARD
As I came down from Lebanon,
Came winding, wondering slowly down
Through mountain passes bleak and brown,
The cloudless day was well nigh done.
The city like an opal set
In emerald, showed each minaret
Afire with radiant beams of sun,
And glistened orange, fig and lime,
Where song-birds made melodious chime,
As I came down from Lebanon.
As I came down from Lebanon.
Like lava in the dying glow,
Through olive orchards far below
I saw the murmuring river run;
And 'neath the wall upon the sand
Sweet sheiks from distant Samarcand,
With precious spices they had won,
Lay long and, languidly in wait
Till they might pass the guarded gate,
As I came down from Lebanon.
As I came down from Lebanon,
I saw strange men from lands afar,
In Mosque and square and gay bazar,
The Magi that the Moslem shun,
And grave Effendi from Stamboul,
Who sherbet sipped in corners cool;
And from the balconies o'errun
With roses gleamed the eyes of those
Who dwell in still seraglios,
As I came down from Lebanon,
�I [
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
As I came down from Lebanon.
The flaming flower of daytime died,
And Night, arrayed as is a bride
Of some great king, in garments spun
Of purple and the finest gold,
Outbloom in glories manifold,
Until the moon, above the dun
And darkening desert, void of shade,
Shone like a keen Damascus blade
As I came down from Lebanon.
PROVERBS
The tyranny of cats, rather than the justice of mice.
Before the antitoxin comes from Irak, the bitten one would
have passed away.
The borrowed coat affords no warmth.
God grants nuts to those who have no teeth.
wife.
He boards the ship free, yet makes love to the captain's
Your neighbor is your mirror, if he sees not your face he
sees your back.
Be patient with your beloved, or you will lose him.
If your neighbor conceives a hatred for you, change the
direction of your gate, that you may avoid seeing him.
If your love is honey, do not gobble him all up!
The tardy and the fast must at the ferry meet.
If you know not his ancestry, look for his deeds.
Wherever the sad one goes, across a funeral he comes.
�OCTOBER, 1926
29
The Millenial Visit of Al-Khidr
By HABIB I. KATIBAH
•n
r
P
/
Among the colorful legends of the Arabs is one in which
al-Khidr, the "ever-verdant", ever-living, ever-youthful wali
(saint), in his journeying through the length and breadth of
the universe, stops at a certain place on this earth of ours once
every one thousand years. The first time he stopped at this
place, it was a thick and gloomy forest. A wayward hunter with
his bow rnd arrows was stalking between the giant trees. A thousand years passed, and the place has changed to a little lake,
around which some lowly fishermen were casting their nets. AlKhidr stops and asks them: "How long has this place been like
this?" The fishermen rest their net, and turning to the strange
visitor in surprise answer; "It has ever been thus!" A thousand
years more pass, and in the place of the lake, a thriving town has
arisen. People; are going about their affairs in the streets. AlKhidr stops at a busy corner and repeats the same question: "How
long has this place been like this?" A few idlers, standing by,
turn to al-Khidr in derision and reply: "It has ever been thus!"
And so it was that whenever al-Khidr stopped at that same
place, whatever the change it had undergone, he was met with
the same reply.
Should al-Khidr stop, however, to-day, at that place, which,
we may indulge our fancy in assuming it to be the city of Damascus in Syria, he would for the first time be met with a different
reply. For the first time people everywhere would shake their
heads knowingly at his query and say: "It has never been like
this before!" This time it would be his turn to be surprised as
he sees and feels around him signs of a throbbing energy he had
never noticed in the East before. It is evident that some great
change has come upon the people since his last visit. Everywhere
he goes he is confronted with the activities and aspirations of the
youth, who in his previous visits had always moved in the background of the arena of life, taking a secondary role. To-day
they are the chief actors. He learns that a new people from
across the Mediterranean Sea have invaded the land; a new civilization, conquering and aggressive threatens to sweep the East
before it, as the younger generation, spurred on by patriotic zeal
and a secret admiration, rises up to meet it. The youth of the
�_—__—- -
30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
East have simply taken things into their hands, as the older
folks, stunned by dismay and overwhelmed by a tide of new
problems and new ideas for which they are completely unprepared, stand helpless and submissive.
Vaguely does al-Khidr recall the names of those new conquerors who lived on the outskirts of civilization at the time of
his last visit, but who to-day, with haughty mien and firm step,
strut the streets of Damascus and almost push him off where he
happens to be standing. Yes, he had foretold some such calamity
for the East. A wise traveler sees much and stores much at
heart.
A thousand years ago, at this very same place, al-Khidr had
witnessed the convulsions of a great civilization, a great spiritual
movement, which had started, waxed and was on the wane
ere a thousand years had passed j and now as he stands again at
the "ancient" city, the same movement is facing another crisis,
this time more menacing because more aggressive and more seductive in its manifold appeals. A thousand years ago, the Carmathians, a wild and fanatic hetrodox sect of Islam, having gained ground in Irak and the Syrian desert, were undermining the
very foundations of Islam, and challenging the authority of the
tottering caliphate of al-Muktadir in Baghdad, an abject symbol
of impotency, held virtually a prisoner by a group of mercenary
hirelings of Saljuk Turks.
To-day the movement that menaces Islam springs from its
very heart, and addresses itself to the most fundamental principles that witnessed its birth. The very shadow of the caliphate
for which so much blood was spilled in the wars of the Carmathians has passed away, seemingly without the least concern or interest, while precious blood is being shed for such new ideas as
"democracy", "self-government" and "economic security", words
which were not even known in the dictionary of the Carmathians
and the Moslem world of al-Muktadir's time. Sensational and
paradoxical changes are going on everywhere in the East. AlKhidr hears of a new nation to the north of Syria, a nation risen
anew from the ashes of its old ruins and musty traditions. The
new Turks have not only abolished the caliphate and sultanate,
two deeply-rooted institutions of Islam, but have brushed aside
many of the time-honored traditions, which had always been considered essential features of that religion, as so much impediments
and cowbeb. Turkish women go unveiled now, work in business
offices and lecture before mixed audiences in the open. Polygamy
^""""QMMMMi
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OCTOBER, 1926
/
3f
is abolished, and the divorce laws are so modified that they have
lost their old-time serviceability. These same Turks, he learns,
who only a few years ago waged a desperate war to rid themselves of the dominance of the West, are accused to-day by the
conservative, timid Moslems of the older generation of being
"over Westernized". In its very hour of victory, the new Turkey
makes a gesture of obeisance to its defeated foe. This change,
al-Khidr learns, is essentially true, not only in Turkey, but in
Syria, Egypt, India and every other country of the East. Those
who are chafing under the yoke of the material dominance of
the West anxiously seek its spiritual tutelage.
Al-Khidr looks around him. In many ways Damascus has
not changed since he visited it last. The same narrow streets,
with the Jeisurely-going huksters entoning the virtues of their
wares in their peculiar, charming melodies; the same dainty,
sweet-smelling, tempting shops in the bazars of Attareen (spacers) and Buzuriah (seed dealers), where the shop-keepers, seated cross-legged on an elevated mustabah, sway back and forth,
mumbling the sacred words of the Koran, or counting the beads
of their rosaries; the same pleasure-seeking groups in the dingy
cafes on the banks of Barada, violating the same tenets of the
Koran by their clandestine drinking and merry-making.
But the changes are more striking and arresting, that they
overshadow the whole panorama of the past before them.
Along with the swinging camel caravans, with their jingling
bells, sauntering through Bab-Touma, al-Khidr beholds strange
contraptions, which look somewhat like chariots, but which seem
to him to be driven by restless jinn, grunting furiously, and spitting forth evil-smelling smoke, as if entombed therein against
their wills by king Solomon. Should he happen to raise his head
at the same time an aeroplane is gracefully sailing low above his
head, he would think that the roc, extinct thousands of years
before, has come back to life once more to terrify the people
of the earth. At night, in the twinkling of an eye, the city is
lit before him as by a magic spell.
But what would our wali have said, had he been present at
a time Damascus was being shelled? What would he have said,
when he beheld buildings, and houses tumble like a dilapidated
wall before a roaring, unseen terror? What would have been
his feelings when the same giants of the air he had seen a moment before, suddenly changed to hideous, satanic implements,
raining death and carnage on the peaceful citizens below? Per-
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
haps his feelings then would not be wholly of wonder and admiration. This, too, was not a thousand years ago!
Al-Khidr begins to understand something of the magnitude
of the struggles going on in the East, some of the conflicting tendencies and paradoxes that whirl around him like a mighty typhoon. Alice in Wonderland was not half as perplexed as alKhidr would be in Damascus to-day! The more he studies
the situation the more complex and involved it appears to him.
If it is so evident that the people of the East are rushing
in their haste to adopt the Western civilization, what then is
the justification of that venomous hatred between the two people?
If the West, as it claims, has come to teach the people of the
East how to govern themselves why then that domineering insolence whereby it seeks to enslave their souls? A little insight
will cinvince al-Khidr that this is a different struggle from most
ones he had witnessed before. He could understand why conquerors a thousand years ago sacked cities and massacred their
inhabitants when their main object was to enslave the people
and carry their wealth away. But to-day these modern invaders
ruin the cities which they claim they have come to improve; they
impoverish themselves in order, as they proclaim, to trade with
these people of distant lands. How foolish it must seem to him
when the upkeep of their conquests far exceeds the profits they
hope to make from their transactions with the native peoples, and
when even far better results could be secured by amicable understandings with them! In the ancient days war was war, and
trade was trade, but what is this new-fangled thing which is neither one nor the other. Is it a new fanatic religion, like that of
the Carmathians, which the West is seeking to impose on the
East?
He hears of a war in which millions had offered up their
lives in the defense of "Democracy". This, al-Khidr says to
himself, must certainly be the new religion, the new Jihad which
the West is waging on the East. Imagine his surprise, when he
finds out that one of the first principles of this supposedly new
religion is peace; that the terrible war he had heard about was
admittedly " a war to end war"! Imagine his bewilderment when
he finds the people of the invaded country more zealous followers of the new religion than those who are supposed to promulgate
it among them! He rarely hears the name of the new prophet
on the lips of the invaders, but the invaded people invoke the
help of the believers in other lands in his name, citing his four-
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�NEWEST INSTRUMENTS OF DESTRUCTION IN THE OLDEST CITY IN THE WORLD
French Whippets, or baby tanks, lined in the principal square of Damascus ready for use against the revolutionists.
�BIBBBHpK
THE CITY OF ZAHLE, GATEWAY TO THE LEBANON FROM THE PLAIN
Previous to the Present Political Division of Syria. Zahle was the Principal City of Lebanon Numerically, Commercially and Strategically. It is Situated in a Mountain Pass along Both Banks of the River Bardouni and has
been from Time Immemorial the Principal Defensive Outpost of Lebanon against Attacks from the Plain of Baalbek.
Photo by F. Askar.
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teen oracles and other holy text in their own defence. He hears
of Ghandi in India, who is teaching and exemplifying the gospel
of the Nazarene Prophet whom the Western nations claim to
worship as a god.
Many a foolish thing had al-Khidr seen and heard before,
but this is the most foolish of them all! A war of exploitation that
exploits the victors, a holy war in whici believers cut the throats
of brother believers! This is too much for him. He smiles £
sarcastic, pitying smile, and wraps his cloak around him ready to
disappear into space again.
Suddenly he hears the muezzen's voice from the white
minaret in Bab-Sharki, the same one on which, he was told a
thousand years before, the prophet Jesus would descend on
earth to usher the millenium. "Allah-u-akbar!" shouts the muazzen in his clear, unfaltering, dulcet voice. It sounded to alKhidr as though it was a voice he had heard a thousand years
ago. Perhaps it was the same voice, valiantly, pleadingly, almost
discouragedly, calling the errant human race back to the great
realization that only God is great, and only things pertaining to
the Spirit are worth-while. How insignificant now seems everything else around him in contrast j how noisy and vulgar are
those magniloquent insignia of pomp and power; how impotent
before this clear declaration of the triumph of the Spirit over
matter.
"The muezzen is in his minaret, all is well with the East!"
muses al-Khidr to himself, as his sarcastic smile melts away, and
the expression of his face broadens to one of hope and confidence.
If that voice is understood in all its grandeur and simplicity,
what a change there would be on this earth! The East is slow,
perhaps, but more likely is it that the West has developed too
fast, and none too gracefully. May not the two come together
peacefully and work out their common salvation? Those great
inventions he had seen, how beautiful they would be if they
were dedicated to the service of the Spirit: yes to the service of
God the All-Great. Then indeed this beleaguered earth, for which
al-Khidr had been so solicitous all this long time, may after all
settle down to enjoy a real peace, the peace that passes all understanding, the peace of the Spirit.
With these reassuring thoughts, now his face, radiant with
the light of a mysterious vision, al-Khidr disappears into space,
leaving us to wonder how this earth will be a thousand years from
now!
::
..
�!
34
i
• ..•
THE SYRIAN WORlt
The Generosity of Hatem
"As generous as Hatem," is a proverbial expression in
Arabic. For the Arabs who are generous by reputation conceded
that no man born of woman is more generous than Hatem."
He was a chieftain of pre-Islamic times, and the pride of the
tribe of Tax, which he made famous, for he was known to all
Arabs of his time and thereafter as "Hatem of Tai."
Many are the stories related of Hatem's generosity among
them the following which gives us a true picture of the tent life
which the Arabs lived in those days, and which many of their
kinsmen of the desert still live today. The story comes to us
from the nephew of Mawia, Hatem's wife, which adds to its
authenticity.
"One day," said Mawia's nephew, "I asked my aunt to tell
me a story of Hatem's generosity, whereupon she replied:
May Allah's mercy rest softly on Hatem's grave. The
most wonderful example of his generosity stands vividly before
my eyes as if it took place yesterday.
It was a year of famine, and the drought had dried every
blade of grass in the field and every drop of milk in the shecamels' udders. We were both hungry and our two children,
Safna and Adee, were crying because of hunger. I carried one
and he carried the other as we sang them to sleep. Then Hatem
sat beside me and tried to beguile away my hunger with his conversation. I took pity on him and feigned sleep. He
called me, but I made no reply. Then he tiptoed to the front
of the tent, and as he lifted the edge of the door, behold! a woman was coming towards him, who upon drawing close to him
spoke in a plaintive voice saying:
"O father of Adee, I have come to thee from children barking like dogs for sheer hunger."
"Go and bring your children," said Hatem.
When the woman had departed, continued Mawia, I
rose from my pretended sleep and angrily rebuked Hatem saying: Your own children could not go to sleep but with much effort because of hunger, how then can you feed another woman's
children?
(&S
�I
OCTOBER, 1926
35
"By Allah," retorted Hatem, "I shall feed your children
and hers, too."
Then he went out and brought one of his spirited mares
and slaughtered it, and built a big fire. By this time the woman
had returned with her hungry children, and Mawia, waking her
own two children, brought them out also.
Then, said Mawia, Hatem took a knife in hand and began to cut of the choice meat and hand everyone around. Suddenly he stopped, and his countenance changed as if he had omitted a grave matter, saying: "This indeed is the essence of meanness, that we eat while the rest of our tribe go hungry."
Thus saying, he went from tent to tent waking the inmates
and crying: "Come out to the fire, come out to the fire!"
Then all the people of Tai, men, women and children,
came out to eat of the meat of Hatem's mare.
But by Allah, I swear, O my nephew, concluded Mawia,
that Hatem did not eat even a morsel of it although he was
just as hungry as the rest of us. Wrapped in his Aba, (Cloak)
he sat contentedly aside looking at us till nothing remained of his
mare but the hoofs, bones and skin.
"With his father in generosity did Adee contend,
"And he who his father emulates no wrong could intend."
(Arabic verse)
"Generosity covers a multitude of sins."
(Arabic proverb)
I
A wise man of the Umayyads, after the fall of their dynasty,
was asked: "What brought about the dissolution of your rule?"
The Umayyad replied: "Since you have asked, then attend to
what I say, and hearing, reflect in your heart: Our preoccupation
with pleasure precluded our solicitude for things about which
we should have been solicitous. We trusted in ministers who
preferred their stations to their duties; we oppressed the people
whose hearts grew cold toward us. As a consequence, our income
decreased, our treasuries were depleted, and our subjects' awe of
us vanished. When the enemy came he found no difficulty in
winning them from us. And the chief cause of all this was the
hiding from us of the true state of affairs."
II
— M
�36
THE SYRIAN tVOktD
Famous Arab Lovers
IV
' Umar the Lady-Killer
subtle^erSnTof116 ^ ff* P°etS d°
We find a
~
had alighted. It is toX^^tS^
was h e
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me word, tor he had an extensive
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to the body. Therefore
with heanfv JiJ n- J
with women from a distance of vantage
a
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tererA?n/T W°mCn fcU f°r him! For he was a great flatd
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1° grCat WaS his fame as a cha <* of women and
8
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lu l t S°etry Praised ^ the be^s and coquettes of
his days that high dames in the sanctuaries of the caliph? harems
for It T °f nfu°nety- a"d the Wrath of tWr royal husband
for the chance of being included in the beauty re Jter of tnot
m whose praises 'Umar sang his delectable verses
�OCTOBER, 1926
;
i
37
In those days there were many Arab puritans who frowned
upon 'Umar's poetry as a taboo and a shameless concoction of the
very Iblis himself. It is related that a certain pious Koreishite
shaykh decreed against 'Umar's poetry with the injunction: "Do
not recite it before the housewives of Koreish, lest it lead them
to adultery".
•
"!*&%£&
For this reason, it may be presumed, a brother of 'Umar,
al-Harth by name, who was the governor of Basra, called 'Umar
to him early in the career of the latter, and handing him a purse
of one thousand dinars, enjoined him to indulge no more in making poetry. 'Umar took the money and went to a maternal uncle
of his in Yemen.
But he was not there very long before he began to yearn
for Mecca and the women he left behind him. His jinni rebelled within him and broke out in a sweet, reminiscent song, as
would a gurgling stream that had been stopped by a make-shift
dam. He forgot his promise to his brother, and remembering
only his sad exile and loneliness in Yemen, recited:
"Sweet mem'ries of Khayf, I can see her today,
Sadly waiting, while I in my solitude languish.
She turns to Thurayyah, her companion, and says,
'Tell him yea gently, why stayest thou in Yemen so long?
Hast thou chosen the world and art thereby content,
Hast thou taken a bribe for thy love and thy song?' "
No sooner were these lines made public than they became
as popular as a new jazz tune in our days. They were put to
music and sung by caravan travelers far and wide. They spread
like wild fire, and soon enough reached the ears of Governor
Harth, 'Umar's brother in Basra.
"By Allah", he exclaimed, "it is 'Umar's poetry! The rascal
has betrayed me and broken his promise".
No ingenuity of translation could ever give justice to the
lyricity and subtle simplicity of 'Umar's poetry. The ancient
Arab critics themselves were aware of this, for, as we are told
by the author of al-Aghani, one of the foremost Arab contemporary poets is made to exclaim, when he heard 'Umar's poetry:
"This is the thing which poets have vainly sought all this long
time and have not found!"
'Umar was one of the earliest Arab poets, and one of the
fewest at any time, who discovered the secret of the epic and
�... .
18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
dramatic appeals in poetry. He deviated quite markedly from
the classicists of his day in conceiving of poetry- as not primarily
eloquence the most highly praised poetic attribute among
Arab bards of that time, especially eloquence in praise or censure;
but rather in a remarkably prophetic insight which anticipated
modern standards and modern tastes, and without any evidence
of acquaintance with Greek poetry, he sensed with the intuition
of genius that the first office of poetry is entertainment, and its
main appeal should be to the imagination, in such a way as to
evoke a concrete image or a series of concrete images linked by
narration of successive actions. In 'Urnar, as; in none of his contemporaries, we find this technique of poetry highly developed.
In most of his poems the reader can almost reconstruct the story
and repaint the scenes, following the guidance of his gentle
to
genius.
In the free translation of the following sample of 'Umar's
poetry, we make no special claim to accuracy or excellence of rendition into English, but simply offer what, to the best of our
abilities, we believe is as near to the spirit of the original and its
"local colors" as possible:
'
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^'She said, as she pulled down the side of the tent,
'Speak thou, nor fear aught for these are my friends'
I answered, Verily I am oblivious to thein watching,
For my love-secret none of my station can hide'.
When they heard us converse, wise doctors of love were they
They moved towards the door and were about* to leave
'
When they turned, and with an engaging smile announced,
We will walk for an hour in the cool of the eve'.
Like gazelles of the plain, they softly departed
Leaving their companion all alone with me.
Without words, their eyes seemed roguishly to say,
We have done this, thou gallant one, on purpose for thee.' "
More dramatic in construction, and more roguish in its
manipulation of the love theme, is the following:
"I sent her my neighbor confiding: 'take heed,
And gently speak to Zainab and say,
Have compassion on thy devoted one 'Umar'.
Verily, if thou shouldst do that,
And heal a lover's wound, I will reward thee'.
But my neighbor shook her head, and coquettishly
made reply:
1
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�OCTOBER, 1926
$9
'Who told thee so?
Is this the way thou bewitchest women?
Yea, they have told me about thee, saying,
'Beware of him,
For no sooner he obtains his heart's desire,
Than he will surely desert thee!'"
11
\
y«
'Umar lived most of his life in Mecca, not, we may be sure,
from any motive of overzeal in piety, so much as to snare the
beauties of his time into the charmed circle of his irresistible
graces. Many stories of his encounters with women famous all
over the Moslem world for their beauty and wit are related.
Among those women who had come to engage the poet with a
repartee of wit and listen to his flattering praise, and perhaps, incidentally, make the pilgrimage, were women folks of the caliphs.
One day, said the narrator, as 'Umar Ibn Rabi'a had pitched
his tent in Muna, one of the pilgrimage stations in the environs
of Mecca, with his slaves gathered around him, an old woman
approached him and said:
"What say you, O 'Umar, if I take you to one, most beautiful of face, most cultured of manners and most honored of
lineage of all the women in the world?"
Without a moment's hesitation 'Umar replied:
"There is nothing I would desire more than this!"
"Then", added the old woman, "I will lay on you one condition, and that you will let me blindfold you and lead you to
her tent; and when your rendezvous with her is over, you will
submit to come with me in the same way as you went".
'Umar consented, and presently he was lead by the woman
and brought face to face with a damsel of rare comeliness and
high bearing which distinguished her as a woman of high breeding. She sat on a cushion dais, and her face was uncovered.
He was completely bewitched by her beauty, and as conversation
proceeded, he was even more impressed with her ready wit, her
keen mind and her cultivated taste in poetry. They spoke of many
things, of the ancient, famous bards of Arabia, of current history and contemporary poets and their respective merits. Then
as the conversation drew to a close, the damsel stood up, and
going into an inner room of the tent, called for the old woman,
who blindfolded 'Umar and lead him back to his tent, as their
agreement had called for.
This was repeated three times, and every time 'Umar was
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
burning with curiosity to discover the identity of this most charming woman of all those whom he had ever met. On the third
visit, 'Umar noticed a jar of scented paste on the floor. Suddenly an idea dawned upon him. He inserted his hand into the jar
and smearing it all over with the sticky paste, he hid it in the
folds of his dress. Then, as the old woman was leading him out,
he struck the side of the tent from the outside with his hand.
On the next day 'Umar called his slaves together and said
to them: "Go out among the tents of the pilgrims, and he of you
who finds a tent soiled with scented paste I will free him and
give him 500 dinars besides".
What was the surprise of 'Umar when he discovered that
the,tent to which he had been repeatedly invited was none other
than that of Fatima, the daughter of Abdulmalek Ibn Marwan,
the Caliph of all the Moslems.
But his infatuation with his royal entertainer had gone so
far that when, soon after, she made ready to depart with her
retinue, he followed her at a distance in spite of her impetuous
remonstrances and threats, until she neared Damascus.
This was 'Umar, the light-hearted lover-poet who brought
so much joy and cheer to the hearts of untold thousands in his
life-time and many more thousands after his death.
It is said that even in the autumn of his life the ardour of
his love had not died, nor his playful nature betrayed him, but
like burning embers, they lay hidden under the thin ashes of a
self-imposed penitence. He had sworn off love poetry, when
one day, it is related, a scene of two lovers absorbed in each other's presence, under the very shadow of the holy Kaaba, brought
to him sweet memories of his own exploits in that same sacred
spot. He went home depressed and pensive. An old slave-woman who met him at the door divined his mood.
"What ails thee, 'Umar?" she asked. But in vain, she tried
to elicit any information from him. At last, fixing upon him her
keen gaze, she shook her head, smiling, and said: "I perceive
that thy muse had inspired thee with some rare verses, and thou
canst not contain thyself, nor wouldst thou break thy vow".
"Yes!" he confessed, and thereupon recited nine lines embodying what he had seen at the Kaaba. Then to atone for the
violation of his vow, he called for nine slaves of his household
and set them free.
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�I
OCTOBER, 1926
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The spiritual, moral, economic movement which issued from
the heart of Arabia like a gushing, life-giving spring, no sooner
had lost sight of its immediate source than it was channelized
into several sects and schools of thought. Islam was repeating
the same process through which other religions in other times of
history and under other climes had done. This was only natural,
for a founder of a religion is moved and propelled by large'
sweeping principles of moral action and religious insight which^
in their imperious persistency and inherent rationality defy all
laws of logic and transcend all rules of dialectics. They are born
of intuition, not of reason. Apparent contradictions and incompatibilities are reconciled by a personality, so dominating and impressive that it holds them together and gives them a certain authority and plausibility which, in themselves, they may not possess.
But after the death of Mohammed, unsettled questions, or
ones for which no provisions were made, asserted themselves with
renewed insistance; suppressed resentments and grievances broke
out and refused to be put down by threatening words of defiance
or soft counsel of compromise.
Almost the very day that the Prophet of Arabia had passed
away from this world, in a little, palm-hatched cottage in Medina
in the year 632 A.D., the ugly monster of dissension began to show
its horns. Mohammed had made no provisions for a successor
to carry on, his work. As the "last of prophets", it was natural
that he' had no successor. But besides being a prophet, Mohammed had worked out his religious reform into a social, political
organization of large proportions and almost limitless potentialities. Dissident movements had already shown themselves in
Arabia which needed to be attended to immediately. An expedition had been arranged even before the Prophet's death. An army of anxious fighters, their imagination inflamed with visions of
plenty and promises of glorious rewards in Paradise hereafter,
was chafing for war, like a leashed, hungry blood-hound who had
smelled the scent of a fox. These matters, and many others that
were not so pressing, demanded a successor to the Prophet Mo-
�'42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
hammed who would carry on the work of organization and administration where he left it.
The first dissension of Islam was over the Caliphate, which
in Arabic simply means "succession", i. e. succession to the Prophet's role as an administrator and ruler. The Medinites wanted
to choose one from among them, and when thwarted, tried to
compromise by splitting authority, choosing one head from the
Medinites and another from the Meccans. But good counsel
prevailed and the elderly, honest Abu-Bakr was finally chosen.
Neither in his case nor in that of his successor, Omar, were
there any serious objections. They were men of strong character
and inborn leadership. But the bounds of patience were reached,
when by much wire-pulling and intrigue the pious weakling Uthman, of the family of Umayyah which had distinguished itself
by its opposition to the Prophet, was chosen. The logical successor would have been Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet, the most gallant. God-fearing and wisest of his followers,
who embraced Islam from its very inception. To thousands of
the "believers" he embodied the noblest and most spiritual aspects of Islam. His defeat was regarded as the defeat of idealism, before opportunism j it presaged the falling down of Islam
from its original glory and spirituality. Thus the political issue
of the Caliphate, in the person of Ali, joined hands with the
more significant religious one.
The champions of Ali and his cause were, and are still called the Shi'ites, i. e. Schismatics, having forsaken the lawfully
chosen caliph according to the orthodox practice, and sided with
Ali. This schism was the first serious one in Islam, and is today
the most wide-spread and strongest in point of numbers. The
whole country of Persia is Shi'itic, and the larger part of Mesopotamia, some parts of Arabia, Syria, India and North Africa
fall under the same category.
A tradition of the Prophet makes the sects of Islam 73,
one more than Christianity was supposed to have, and two more
than those of Judaism. A review of those sects gives one the
impression that there were as many subdivisions of Shi'itism as
there were possibilities of succession. There were those who held
to the validity of the succession of Hassan, those who held to that
of Hussein, and still others who held to the succession of a third
son, Mohammed, from another mother, al Hanafite. Some held
that thjs Mohammed did not die, but simply disappeared, and
/
�OCTOBER, 1926
'43
that he will return from his hiding place in Mt. Radwa, near
Mecca, "to fill the earth with justice". At every stage, these
Shi'ites were wrangling among themselves as to who was the
rightful successor, whether he died or whether he will come
again. Undoubtedly some of their notions about the "returning
Imam", were taken from Messianic and millenial teachings current among some Christian sects in Syria. Some extreme
Shi'ites taught the divinity, or rather the incarnation, of God in
Ali and his successors.
Even Ali himself was not immune from the disputations of
his followers. When he assented to arbitration after the battle
of Siffin, 657 A. D., when the hard pressed followers of Mu'awiyah raised leaves of the Koran on the points of their spears and
averted a probable defeat, some of the followers of Ali resented
this compromise to such an extent that they turned away from
him and became the Kharijites, i. e. the Seceders of Islam. This
sect, of iwhom the Ibadites, in the Tripolitan district of Jebel
Nefusa, in North Africa, in 'Oman of Arabia and Zanzibar in
East Africa, are the modern representatives, is a most interesting
one, to students of religious thought. For their bitter struggles
and their repeated defeats illustrate in a vivid fashion the impracticability of unalloyed idealism which refuses all compromise,
as it also illustrates the narrowness and bigotry which invariably
are allied with it. The Kharijites were, properly speaking, the
Puritans of Islam. They were theocratists in their conception
of, the caliphate, holding that only those designated by God, as
revealed in their fitness and character, are proper successors of
the Prophet j all others are usurpers and impostors. They did not
restrict the caliphate to any one family or tribe. Even "an
Ethiopian slave", if possessed of the necessary qualifications, was
considered a proper and legitimate candidate for the caliphate.
But while they showed tolerance in the matter of race and social
castes, they were fanatical in their adherence to the tenets of Islam as they understood them. They ordained that those who
differed from them were "infidels", whom it was incumbent on
every true believers to fight. They were eternally at odds with
the reigning dynasties, first the Umayyads, and then the 'Abbasides. Their conception of religion, however, was lofty and
noble, as the following passage quoted by Goldziher, in his book
"Mohammed and Islam", shows:
"In like manner the state of purification (ablutions) is cancelled by whatever issues from the mouth, of lying evil report
i
�-mm
44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
\
through which a fellow-being may come to grief, or whatever
one would be ashamed to mention in his presence, furthermore
by tale-bearing which stirs up hatred and enmity among mankind, furthermore, if anyone has scorned or uttered curses or ugly
words against man or beast without their deserving it, then he
has departed from the state of purification and must complete
the ritualistic cleansing before he can perform the prayer".
It is not our purpose to trace here, even in outline, the fate
of the different Shi'itic and Kharijite sects, as we shall deal with
some of them separately in succeeding numbers. We must therefore turn to another phase of Islamic developments which, while
they may have had some practical motive at their start, may be
considered as theological and scholastic in their content and import.
It is significant that among the earliest exponents of theological disputations was one Abu-Ghilan, a Damascene. It is not
inconceivable that the Arab Moslems learned this art of theological reasoning from the Greek Church, which in the person of
John of Damascus, about that time, had reached its apex.
One of the first issues of disputations among early Islamic
theologians was that of "free-will" and "determinism" or "predestination". The supporters of free-will were called the
"Murji'ites", i. e., "the Postponers", because they held that the
condemnation of an evil-doer was a matter to be "postponed"
till after his death when God Himself will judge him. The
Murji'ites were also Kadarites, i. e., those who believed that
the Kharijites. It was then only expected that the Umayyads
of Damascus would take their side and encourage them. Most
Murji'ites were also Kadarites, i. e., those who believed that
man's deeds were volitional, and his responsibility for them before the Judgment Seat was a real one. Their oponents, with a
stricter, more orthodox interpretation of Islam, were called Jabarites, i. e., "people of compulsion". The Jabarites held that
while man was responsible for his deeds, these deeds themselves
were preordained and predetermined by God, Who, nevertheless,
in no way was responsible for them. Their view is eloquently
illustrated in a tradition which, they claim, came down from Mohammed himself. It is said that when God created Adam he
stroked down the right side of his back, and brought forth a handful of white particles, representing future generations of the first
man, and said: "These are for Paradise, nor care I". Then,
stroking down with his hand the left side of Adam's back, he
;
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:
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�OCTOBER, 1926
\
v
4i
brought forth a handful of black particles and holding them
forth he said: "And these are for Hell, nor care I".
The liberal, or what we call now the Modernistic tendencies
in Islam, developed in the early part of the Abbaside Dynasty,
into the Mu'tazalite movement.
This movement, founded by Wasil Ibn Ata, 750 A. D., a
disciple of the ascetic Hasan al-Basri, exercised a great influence
on the culture and civilization of the Moslem world, and even
today its echo reverberates in the breasts of Islamic youths
who find in this movement a convincing proof of the inherent
liberalism of their religion, and who glory in its achievements
of reconciling philosophy with religion. For the Mu'tazalites
were the ones who introduced the logic of Aristotle to Islam, and
had it not been for them, Greek philosophy would have had little
effect on the Arabs and Arabic culture. And when we remember
that it was the Arabs who introduced this philosophy to the West,
we can then truly estimate the great service which Mu'tazalitism
accomplished, not only to Islam, but to the world in general.
Chief among the doctrines of the Mu'tazalites was the one which
taught that faith must be reconciled with reason, otherwise it is
not true faith but mere credulity. In opposition to the Jabantes and the Fundamentalists of Islam, they taught that God is
bound by justice, that He cannot condemn to punishment innocent offenders, e. g., infants of infidels. For these two principal
tenets they were known, or rather they called themselves, "the
people of reason and justice".
So great was the influence of this school of thought in the
Abbaside Dynasty that al-Mamoun, the great Abbaside patron
of science and philosophy, embraced their doctrines and, it is
said, tried to enforce them on the nation. When the founder of
the most orthodox school of jurisprudence, Ahmed Ibn Hanbal,
refused to comply with the request of the Caliph and declared
openly that the Koran "was created", as the Mu'tazalites taught,
he was brought to the court and flogged in sight of the Caliph.
The tables were turned on the Mu'tazalites, however, when the
successor of al-Mamoun, al-Mutawakkil, a thorough Fudamentalist, ascended the throne and began to persecute the liberals in
turn.
Later tendencies in Islamic theology and jurisprudence were
practically the repetition of earlier ones. The Carmathian movement which rocked the Moslem empire exactly one thousand
years ago was an extreme form of the Kharijite one; while the
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
secret sect of the Assassins and Batinites, i. e., Esotonasts, was an
extreme development of Shi'itism. With the deterioration of
Moslem culture and learning, liberalism in Islam also suffered.
The most popular theologian after the founders of the four orthodox schools of Jurisprudence, the exegesis of the Koran and
the Traditions of the Prophet, was Abu-Hamid al-Ghazali, d.
1111 A. D., who was admittedly a compromiser.
However, al-Ghazali injected into Islamic theology a depth
of spiritual experience and mysticism which was rather lacking
before. Theology became more than mere slavish attachment
to the letter of the Koran or the Traditions, and more than dry,
intellectual disputations. It is with justice that he calls his great
book, one of the most remarkable books on religion in history,
"the Revocation of the Sciences of Religion". Al-Ghazali, before he became a theologian after the school of al-Ash'ari, was a
Sufi, and it was from the rich experiences of the Sufis and their
illuminating religious intuition that he had imbibed freely.
Sufism is undoubtedly the most interesting, the most original and the most lasting movement in Islam; it afforded Islam an
inner temple of worship for sensitive and spiritual natures which
were not satisfied with the crude manifestations of formal religion. In its influence on Persian literature and Persian art, it
gave the world a unique spiritual culture, as rare as it is subtle
and delicate. We shall devote a separate article to Sufism later.
Today Islam faces a grave crisis, and the forces of reactionism and liberalism range for battle. With Wahhabism on one
side, with its cry to return to the good old days of Mohammed
and'the companions, and the Kemalist movement with its avowed
intent to go forward and westward on the other, the stage is set
for a most far-reaching contest. To all appearances, the tendency
of Islam is towards liberalism, and gradually, though slowly, it
is adapting itself to the tolerant and liberal interpretation of
things to conform to the spirit of the times.
"He who would carry a sword, must a following have, and
he who would guests entertain, must first a wealth possess."
(Arabic proverb)
\
A greedy man said to another: "Let us plant a plant together; whatever grows thereon the half is mine, the fourth is mine,
the eighth is mine, and the other eighth I will divide with you."
�OCTOBER, 1926
ft
The Reward of Intrusion
zAn Authentic Story.
\
In the days of the caliph al-Mamoun there were carried
from Basra ten men accused of blasphemy. While they were
being taken to the ship, an intruder, standing by, thought to himself that such a crowd could not have come together but for a
good thing, perhaps a banquet, so he thrust himself amongst
them and was carried away to the court of the caliph.
To his consternation, the intruder found upon arrival at alMamoun's court, that instead of a banquet an executioner stood
by with a drawn sword and started cutting off the heads of the
infidels. When the ten had been executed, their identity being
known; to the caliph, he turned to the eleventh and asked:
Whence came this fellow?" The men in charge said they did
not know. Then the intruder, falling on his knees before the
caliph, told his story of how he had thrust himself among the
ten in the hope that he would fall upon good luck and share
with them the enjoyment of a banquet which he doubted not
they were headed for.
The caliph was angry at this strange instance of intrusion,
and to give the man a lesson he would not forget, commanded
that the intruder be taken out and flogged publicly.
Thereupon Ibn al-Mahdi, a singer in the court of al-Mamoun, intervened saying: "Grant him immunity and pardon for
my sake, and I will relate to you a story on the reward of intrusion that is even more surprising than this." The caliph consented and asked Ibn al-Mahdi to proceed with his tale.
"O Prince of Believers," began the court singer, "one day
as I was riding through a street I scented a delicious odor of
food and salted seeds, an odor the like of which my nostrils had
never inhaled before. Then looking upward from where the odor
seemed to blow, I saw a hand extending from the window of an
upper house, so demure, so white and so beautifully shaped that
I forsooth fell in love with it. 'Verily,' I asked myself, 'how
beautiful must be the face that goes with a hand like this?'
"Then I went to a tailor nearby and asked him about the
name and occupation of the owner of that house, and he told me
his name and that he was a merchant. Then he added that he
is a companionable man who loves a good time, and that that
.
:-'..«!:-:.:•'
. .-...-
:
:
�46
tHE SYRIAN WOktt)
evening he had invited some of his friends for a jolly repast.
"I waited for an hour until the guests began to show up.
The tailor, pointing them to me, said, 'here they come'. I rode
in their direction, and when I came near them said: 'Make haste,
for so and so,' naming the merchant, 'is waiting for you'. And
upon entering the house the merchant did not stop me, thinking
that I was a friend of one of his guests, and not wishing to offend any of his guests, he did not ask about my name.
"A sumptuous banquet was spread, at the conclusion of which
I said to myself: 'Now that I have had enough of the food, nothing remains but to see that beautiful hand'. Upon the food being
removed, another table laden with wines was brought in its place,
and a slave-girl with 'oud in hand sat on a dais propped with soft
cushions, and struck an enchanting tune, singing withal:
"I pointed to her, as if to say, knowest thou of my love,
"And she answered with a wink: 'I know and am true, by Allah
above'".
"We were all moved by her beautiful voice and swayed with
joy, raising our voices in sheer delight.
"Then she sang:
"Is it not strange that a house confine us together,
"Nor find we a chance to speak".
"This again had an effect on us more intoxicating than wine,
and we swayed and threw our turbans in the air, unable to control ourselves.
"Then professional jealousy got the best of me, and I said
in a voice loud, enough to be heard: 'Excellent, by Allah, yet it
lacks a little to make it perfect'.
"At hearing this, the slave-girl threw the 'oud angrily to
the floor and said: 'I had not known that you would bring among
you a senseless intruder to becloud our pleasure.'
"Undaunted and with the coolness that befits a nadim of
thy majesty, I requested the owner of the house to give me the
'oud, which he obligingly did, although not hiding altogether
his surprise at my intrusion, and my serious breach of the etiquette
of entertainment and hospitality.
"Coolly I took the 'oud, and tuning it to my fastidious taste,
I played as I sang:
'What has befallen the homes of the beloved ones, that they reply not;
'Have they become deaf, or have they succombed to the calamity
of their departure?'
:
he broi
and he:
\\
�OCTOBER, 1926
49
"I had scarcely finished the first couplet of this song, when
the siave-girl amidst the utter astonishment of the confounded
host and his guests, came forward to me and kissed my hand,
saying: 'I beseach thee to forgive my rudeness, I had not suspected that thou art such a consummate master of this art\
"Then I sang them more, and still more until they all fell
intoxicated to the floor, except the host who was a gracious and
temperate drinker. At a late hour of the night the host arranged
for each of his guests to be carried home.
" 'Tell me now thy story, my friend,' said the host, 'and ask
with what I may reward thee.'
"I told him my story, and how I had been attracted to his
home by the fine odor of the food, and the beautiful hand at
the window.
"Thereupon he ordered his household and servants to pass
before me, but I found not one of them whose hand resembled
\ the one I saw.
" 'There remain none,' said my host, 'but my sister and my
mother'.
" 'Let us start with thy sister', I requested. And behold, as
he brought his sister to me, hers was the very hand I had seen,
and her face more than justified my high expectations.
" 'She is the one,' I cried with uncontrolled joy.
"'Allah be my witness', responded my host, 'she is from
this minute thy wife'. Nor did I leave his house till he brought
witnesses and solemnized my marriage to his sister. And behold,
O Prince of the Believers, this very boy standing beside me is
her son".
"The eye of love to every fault is blind,
The eye of hate finds faults of every kind."
:
"It naught avails wise things to say,
When deeds to folly point the way."
ANATOMY OF ARAB WISDOM
The eye of the man speaks for his tongue.
An eye that knows weeps.
If the eye sees not, the heart grieves not.
A deceitful heart is betrayed by a slip of the tongue or a
grimace of the face.
Feed the mouth, and the eye will be shamed.
�M
THE SltRiAN WORLD
EDITOR'S COMMENT
THE ARMENIAN PROBLEM IN SYRIA
The latest mail reaching the United States from Syria indicates that the Armenian problem in that country has reached an
acute stage. The Armenian refugees in Syria are estimated at
between sixty arid seventy-five thousands, of whom there are no
less than thirty-five thousands in Beirut. Their presence in their
country of refuge has been attended with as much complications
as when they were in their country of origin, and it appears that
not only are they giving rise to grave concern to the government
of Syria, but promise to engage again the attention of the outside world when their plight is laid before the League of Nations. An account of the present stage of this new problem appears in another section of this issue.
It is not our intention to go into the merits of the Armenian case in its earlier stages, when the plight of this
unfortunate people made such a strong appeal to the sympathy
of Christian Europe and America} but of its later developments
it is patent that the Armenian problem has resolved itself into
a genuine Syrian problem, with the added complication of an
economic element injected into the situation. The Armenians
were thrust on a country which could ill afford to support them,
and they have made themselves doubly unwelcome by many wilful acts on their part. They incurred the hatred of the enemies
of occupation by volunteering with the French forces; they
aroused the antipathy of the friends of occupation by lowering
the standard of wages and engaging in unfair competition with
the natives in whatever little employment there was to be had;
they brought about a menace to public health by the unsanitary conditions under which they live; and, although the
crying need of the country is for farm labor, the Armenians have
abstained from agricultural work and segregated themselves in
the large cities where they became a charge on a country already
reduced to the last extremities.
In many respects, the presence of Armenians in Syria is not
unsimilar to the presence of a certain class of unproductive im-
SS9
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/
'
"
�OCTOBER, 1926
51]
migrants in America against whom the existing restrictions in the
immigration laws have been principally enacted. The main point
of difference, however, is that America is rich, Syria poor j America capable of absorbing the new comers, while Syria is not;
America master of its own destiny to shape it in whatever manner it sees fit, while Syria is helpless in such matters and has to
bear its own ills and those of others.
It is inconceivable that the Syrians should wish ill the unfortunate Armenians with whom they bore in common at one
time the oppression of the Turks, but the Syrians feel that they
should not be called upon to bear the burdens of others added
to their already unbearable own.
In consideration of which fact it is but natural for the
Syrians to feel that in all equity and justice the Armenians should
become the charge of the whole civilized world as represented
by the League of Nations. The League should see to it that the
Armenians, if not provided with a "national home", should at
least be found adequate accommodation in a country where they
could be more welcome, or at least more tolerated, than in the
one to which their refugee stream has been diverted.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
CHAS.V.VICKREY, General Director of American Near East
Relief, is the man of all men who can speak with authority on
American philanthropic activities in that part of the world. We
are sure our readers will appreciate his contribution to THE SYRIAN WORLD on the work, of this great American organization in
Syria which has of late assumed large proportions since the Armenians began swarming into the country in such large numbers and in such pitiable condition. No statistics are given in this
article of the nationality of the orphans cared for by the American organization, but it is the general belief that they are mostly
Armenians. The Syrians, however, should be no less grateful
to the American Near East Relief because of this, as it helps relieve the country of a serious problem which it could not possibly
cope with unaided.
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Spirit of the Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
AS IN SYRIA SO IN
THE PHILIPPINES
"Col. Carmi Thompson is representing President Coolidge in the
Philippines. He is there to study
the conditions of those islands and
the people, and determine their fitness
(for home rule). It appears that
the man has felt the pulse and heard
the complaint of the sick man, and
is ready to make his report silently
and coolly...
"He has heard from the Christians and Moslems who compose the
population of those islands reports
of prejudices and dissensions not
unlike what every native of Syria
and Lebanon has heard repeatedly.
The Christians in the Philippines accuse the Americans of kindling the
fires of dissension, and declare that
the danger of conflict between them
and the Moslems is a result of the
efforts of the Americans. It is an
accusation similar to that brought
against the French in Syria. The only difference is in the costituencies
of the two countries. In the Philippines it is the Moslems who, because they are the minority, request
America to remain as the supreme
authority in their country, and the
Christians, because they are the
majority, ask for independence
In Lebanon it is the Christians who
refuse the unity of Syria, and ask
for the continuance of the French
mandate in protection to their historic traditions, lest they be lost in
a non-Christian majority. As for
the Moslems in Syria, they ask what
is contrary to what their coreligionists in the Philippines ask; they
ask for independence with the addition of Syrian unity, in order that
they may swallow the Lebanon people in the belley of their many prejudices."
Al-Hoda,
(New York, Aug. 29, 1926.)
YESTERDAY THE MOSQUE
TODAY THE CHURCH!
"In the old country, the source of
our misfortune was and has been
from the mosque and the church.
We do not mean that the mosque in
itself is a calamity, or the church in
itself a misfortune. Both are for
worship, and worship is good, not
evil.
"The misfortune, however, springs
from the fact that ours is a govern-
,1
�OCTOBER, 1926
!l!
I
ment which receives its power x^om
the mosque or from the church. The
will of the people is crushed between
the two forces as a nut between two
stones; and the interest, if the country is lost, as a drowned man between two waves.
"Sometime ago the President of
the Lebanon Republic paid a visit
to the mosque of Beirut, where a
man from the audience rose and interrupted him, saying that the Moslems do not recognize the Lebanon
Republic.
"It is well for one to declare his
opinion, but it is better for him to
do so everywhere and not in a particular place only.
"If the case is what the objector
represents it, and the mosque, as he
declared, is not a place for a political
speech, neither is it a place for political objections and argumentations.
"If the Moslems do not recognize
the Lebanon Republic, why do they
not withdraw their officials from the
government of that republic? Why
do they not appeal officially and directly to the French High Commission, instead of one of them rising
up within the walls of the mosque
to raise his voice in objection?
"That incident, however, is past
and gone. The sane Moslem leaders
apologized for it, and the screen has
been lowered on its stage.
"But today we are faced with another incident more significant than
the first. It is the one in which the
President of the Lebanon Republic
withdrew from the church of the
Capuchian Fathers, after they had
invited him to attend mass. When
he entered the church he found that
they placed his chair at a distance
from that of the Acting High Commissioner. As he considered that
act an infringement on the old traditions followed in such matters,
53
and an insult to his dignity, he withdrew from the church."
Mirat-ul-Gharb,
(New York, Aug. 23, 1926.)
THE DONKEYS OF
COLONIZATION
"There are today in Syria, Morocco, Irak, Ethiopia, China and every
corner of the East thousands of soldiers and officers who witnessed the
World War, who have learned by
bitter experience the evil of the
policy the European governments
have hitherto followed, and the goal
which their masters have aimed
at to fill their own pockets with the
sparkling gold. But those thousands
have not benefited by their experience; they have returned and bowed the neck under the spiked yoke
once more. They either fear the
consequence of mutiny and are
therefore cowards, or else have not
a speck of intelligence in their minds
and are, therefore, donkeys.
"We are at a loss, as every thinking man must be, what to think of
these poor, deluded people of Europe, those who pay the tribute
cringing; who go to the battlefields
of war as sheep that are led to
slaughter.
"Wonder, what are the factors
which have dominated the minds
and imaginations of those human
donkeys, that they have come out
all in one uniform shape, imitating
one another, and racing in their
eagerness to fulfill the commands of
their masters, as the hungry ones
race to a basket of bread?
"We know not, but we suspect
that in the religious education of
the large majority of them lies the
chtaf factor of their submissiveness."
Al-Bayan,
(New York, Aug. 28, 1926.)
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
1.
Readers' Forum
A PLEA FOR SYRIAN YOUTH
Editor, SYRIAN WORLD,
We are filled with great satisfaction for having lived to see" in public record a Credo, expressed essentially in favor of Syrian youth. Mr.
G. K. Gibran has our lasting gratitude for his confidence in us. We
recognize the vision, with which he,
as an artist, has been endowed, and
by which he has analyzed the character of Syrian youth, and found it
worthy of trust. That this Credo
should appear on the very first page
of "The Syrian World" is gratifying, and augurs a sympathetic and
lasting bond between the "World"
and Syrian youth.
There is nothing more inspiring
than to have confidence placed in
one's destiny. This serves as a
pleasant reaction to us, who have
beien decried and denounced so often
for our seemingly indifferent regard
for the ethics and traditions, zealously cherished by our forebears.
That so-called indifference may be
attributed to several facts, most important of which is the constant
changing of standards. Just as civilization is incessantly evolving into a higher state, so do standards
(and customs. This fact is too obviously proven to need further explanation.
It is generally conceded that
standards do change with the passing of time. But, it is not so readily granted by parents that their
ch-'idren should live according to the
modern standards. Age clings tenaciously to the old; youth grasps
eagerly for the untried new. The
parental group would have all believe that the standards of its youth
were irreproachable. Its common
regret is that the youth of today has
deviated from the course prescribed
heretofore. Is not human nature
fundamentally the same for all ages ?
We believe that ethical standards are
the same today as they were in the
past. The difference lies solely in
the interpretation of them. Our
youth is but a counterpart of our
parents', and the friction between us
is lost in oblivion for parents and
children learn to accept the modern
standards.
The vast difference between its
ancestry and birth—between Syria
and the United States—explains fully the great struggle made by Syrian youth to know itself. It is not
an easy task to assimilate in due
measure the1 wealth which is our
birthright and heritage. The value
of the ideals of our parents is not
ignored. On the other hand, we are
not so inert as to reject the more
liberal modern ideals. It is our
greatest aim to effect ultimately a
perfect blending of our traits that
will permit no form of hyphenation.
To accomplish this end descrimination and introspection will continue
to replace a submissive acceptance
of dictates for politeness's sake.
Age dims the perceptive powers.
For this reason most people often
lose sight of youthful struggles in
the glory of later success. Rather
than deploring youth's so-called
faults, parents should see the loftiness of their children's motives. The
wonderous heritage, of which all
Syrians may be justly proud, cannot
\
im
�OCTOBER, 1926
55
to talk about it. But now they have
no chance. There is your cousin so
and so, he ought to make a fine husband for you. He is rich and has a
good reputation, and you will be able
to live with him like a princess. You
cannot get a better one, and any
girl will be glad to have him. His
father was here the other day and
spoke to me and your mothe* about
you. They are anxious to have you
in their family, and I know that his
mother will treat you as she would
her own daughter."
Daughter—"But, father, I have
never had a chance to know him,
and do not feel that I like him enought to marry him."
Father—"Listen to me, my daughter, for I know what is best for you.
Besides, you will have a chance to
see him to-morrow, and I am sure
you will like him. His parents are
coming to talk matters over and
have everything settled."
Bridgeport, Conn.
I do not believe that I have exaggerated this typical picture of our
Syrian custom of betrothal. , Of
EARLY MARRIAGE
course there are exceptions among
OF CONVENIENCE some Syrian families, but in this
case the' exception does not prove
Editor, SYRIAN WORLD,
the rule.
Dear Sir:
Do you think that it is fair to
Allow me to take advantage of have boys and girls marry so young
the Public Forum which you have and take away from them ,the best
been so kind in opening to your read- years of their single happiness? Do
ers.
you think that boys and girls marTo my mind their is nothing more ried against their wishes to each othtragic in our Syrian social life than ers to please their parents can ever
the drama that is being enacted dai- be happy? Love is one thing m
ly in our Syrian homes, and which life that cannot be given, and once
centers on the subject of early mar- taken away cannot be replaced.
riage. This drama may be visualizI do not speak from my own pered from the following typical consonal experiences, but from those of
versation:
many I have known and witnessed.
Father—"Now, daughter, you are
John Simon.
seventeen years old, and it is time
that you thought of marriage. If
you wait too long people will begin Kenmore, Ohio.
be obliterated for one moment. We
have not lived long enough in our
country to have acquired all our best
traits from it. To our ancestry we
owe much of the best in us. We are
happy to be the children of a people
whose culture is inherent, not merely acquired.
After all, youth is but a chrysalis.
It is worthy of all trust, even while
the divine essence within is not revealed to all eyes. Syrian youth has
the ability and wisdom to give in
fullest measure the respect which it
owes to God, country and its parents.
There is no doubt but that youth
has its head in the highest cloud.
But life is too complex, and responsibilities too many to permit us to
remain in that delightful elevation.
When we may appear to err, do not
lose faith in us. Believe in our destiny.
E. K. S.
�56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
About Syria and Syrians
THE FLORIDA DISASTER
The Syrian papers of New York
published telegrams from several
sections of Florida affected by the
hurricane announcing that there was
no loss of life among the Syrian residents, although some Syrians suffered loss of property.
Al-Hoda, the leading Syrian daily,
has opened a subscription for the
relief of Florida sufferers with a
contribution of $500.00 by the Lebanon League of Progress of New
York. The appeal of Al-Hoda for
contributions is couched in forceful
language with special emphasis on
the point that our show of sympathy
for America in this national calamity would prove our gratitude to the
land of our adoption by something
more tangible than words.
QUOTING GIBRAN
More and more Oriental writers
are coming into print in the English
language. The wisdom treasures of
the East are' being tapped by Westerners who have discovered that the
East has something besides petrolium oil and sources of material
wealth to be exploited.
It gives us pleasure to acknowledge such interest in our Western
friends. But when that interest is
shown one of our honored Syrian
poets and writers, a contributor to
The Syrian World, our pleasure
changes into pardonable pride.
Some time ago Elsie Robinson,
a versatile columnist on the New
York Evening Journal, quoted at
length a selection from the "Prophet", the latest book of our friend,
K'halil Gibran, making it the basis
of an editorial on the proper attitude of parents towards their children. The article was translated
completely by Rev. Anthony Basheer, and published in al-Hoda. It
will not be amiss to reproduce this
selection to the1 readers of our magazine. It follows:
"Your children are not your children,
They are the sons and daughters of
life's longing for itself.
They come through you, not from
you,
And though they are with you, yet
they belong not to you.
You may give them your love, but
not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies, but not
their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house
of tomorrow, which you cannot
visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but
seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your
children as living arrows are sent
forth.
The Archer sees the mark upon the
path of the infinite, and He bends
you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's
hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that
flies,
So He also loves that bow that is
stable."
�-
OCTOBER, 1926
SYRIAN EDITOR ON
THE BROOKLYN EAGLE
Joseph Abbott, a reporter on the
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle, has been appointed School Editor. To the readers of our magazine this announcement is of special interest as Joseph
Abbott happens to be a Syrian, the
family name being 'Abboud in the
original.
Our new Syrian editor is a graduate of the Brooklyn Grammar
School, and studied three years in
the New York University where he
became a member of the Delta Phi
Epsilon, specializing in international
subjects, with a view to a diplomatic
career, but the journalistic bug got
him. He is the son of Elias and
Elizabeth Abbott (Abboud), born in
North Adams, Mass., Feb. 1, 1900.
He joined the Eagle night staff
Dec, 1924, and was appointed to his
new position July 15, 1926.
57
from the United States for special
education.
Up to the present yeav, the school
had only rented quarters which, it
developed later, were in danger of
being sold to a Hebrew organization. In order to prevent this danger, Miss Kassab formed a corporation to purchase and hold the property. The Syrian Educational Society of New York, realizing the
benefits to Syria accruing from
such a splendid native undertaking,
came to its assistance with a subscription of five hundred dollars.
This is but one instance of the
nature of the work the Syrian Educational Society is performing. To
its credit itj may be said that it has
helped many deserving young Syrians with scholarships and rendered
otherwise valuable assistance to
worthy educational institutions.
A SYRIAN HOSPITAL IN BRAZIL
EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY
HELPS NATIVE SCHOOL
An educational institution that is
looked upon as a signal achievement
in its field undertaken wholly on
Syrian initiative and conducted under purely Syrian management is
the native school for girls founded
in Beirut by Miss Marie Kassab.
During the few years that the school
has been in existence it has proven
the necessity of its continuation and
gained more and more support for
its maintenance. Its popularity is
attested to by the fact that its attendance has been on the increase
continually, year after year, and its
fame has crossed the seas to the
distant lands to which Syrians migrated, so much so that last year
it counted among its boarders several girls who were sent to Syria
The civic spirit of our Syrian
brethren in the republics of South
America has manifested itself more
than once. Their increasing prosperity has brought with it an increasing interest in the! social and intellectual betterment of themselves
and the countries which opened
their arms to them and gave them
unlimited opportunities for development and self-expression.
The latest instance of this response among the Syrians of Latin
America comes to us in an article
in "Fatat Libnan", a Syrian paper
published in Arabic in Sao Paolo,
Brazil, announcing the completion of
plans for a Syrian hospital in that
capital.
Foremost in the movement to
materialize this project, according
to thjs article, were Syrian ladies,
whoq§ activities fired the enthusiasm
�58
of the Syrian merchants and rich
residents, with the result that a committee1 has actually been formed,
several thousands of dollars collected, and the site of the hospital acquired. We gather, furthermore,
that the hospital, when completed,
will be an imposing building with
gardens and promenades, and that it
will be equipped with the latest
medical facilities and inventions. The
proposed hospital will receive paid
and charity patients alike.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
American automobiles are the modern ships of the desert. The natives
themselves, at least those who can
afford camels, prefer to ride in automobiles.
"Two American companies and
one English firm dispatch convoys
practically every day to Baghdad,
Mosul and Teheran."
SYRIANS OF BOLIVIA
SHOW GRATITUDE
The Lebanon and Syrian residents
of Bolivia have decided to perpetuate
PATRIOTISM OF
their gratitude to that Republic in a
ARGENTINE SYRIANS
fitting and touching manner by preA movement is on foot in Argen- senting in the near future a fulltine to buy from the' French Gov- sized statue of General Bolivar, the
ernment the house in which Gen. father of Bolivian liberty, as their
San Martin, the liberator of Ar- share of the centennial celebration
gentine, died. An appeal was made of the independence of Bolivia from
for contributions from the school Spanish rule on August 6, 1825.
The statue was executed in Genoa,
children and foreign groups. The
Syrians have responded generously Italy, and has been shipped to Boliand are determined not to be ex- via where, upon its arrival, elaborate
ceeded in zeal by any other foreign ceremonies by the Bolivian Syrians
.are planned.
colony.
The Syrian-Lebanon Bank of Buenos Aires has been appointed custodian for the Syrian contributions, ARGENTINE SYRIANS (RESENT
and a large fund has already been
MISREPRESENTATION
collected
Under the caption "Lebanon and
Syria in the Silver Republic", alBashir, Beirut, reports the formaAUTO NEW SHIP OF DESERT
tion in Argentine of a Syrian MovAn Associated Press dispatch ing Picture company, whose repfrom Beirut dated Sept. 17, gives an resentative, a young man by the
intimation of the role the automobile name of Joseph Habees, recently aris playing in the1 economic life of rived in Syria, to take views of the
coutnry.
New Syria.
More interesting than the news of
"Mud garages and salesrooms,"
the
formation of this company are
says the correspondent, "shelter the
the
motives which brought it to
American motor cars which have reexistence.
The paper informs us that
placed the camel caravans on the
an
Argentinian
film company had
road from Beirut to Baghdad. Along
1
sent
someone
to
the
Near East who
the routes and desert trails from the
took
views
of
Syria
and Lebanon
Mediterranean to tihe Persian Gulf
�OCTOBER, 1926
.
calculated, evidently, to show in accentuation the backward and ungainly aspects of these countries, such
as the cottages of the peasants, the
beggars in the streets of the cities
and the nomad gypsy tribes. This
incensed the Syrians to such an extent that they got together and formed the new company, under the
name of Shamoun, Diab and Co.,
with the intent purpose of vindicating their people and country before
the Argentinian public.
ARMENIANS IN SYRIA
CREATE A PROBLEM
While thousands of the people of
Lebanon and Syria are emigrating
monthly, according to reliable information, because of want and the
general economic depression which
followed the war; and while thousands more pour to the large cities
of Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo and
Zahleh fleeing before the havoc and
banditry which came in the wake of
the revolution, Syria is called upon
to open its hospitable arms to foreign, persecuted people who were
wished on it from the northern borders.
The Armenians in Syria, numbering more than one hundred thousand at the least estimate, constitute
a genuine and burning problem to
the inhabitants and the governments
of that country.
This problem was attacked more
than once with a view to reach a
satisfactory solution, but until now
it has remained insoluble.
The' Armenian colony or compound,
in Beirut, the largest single group
of Armenian refugees in Syria, is a
putrid sore which threatens to in-
59
fest the whole city with its indescribable filth and squalor. It sprang
up, mushroom-like, overnight without any sanitary precaution, sewage
or other conveniences. Its dirty,
ramshakle, make-shift huts are huddled together, suggesting a temporary abode of a gypsy camp than a
quarter for permanent residence.
At a recent meeting of the Lebanon Parliament, the question of
providing more suitable quarters for
those Armenian refugees was broached by the representatives of the High
Commissioner, who sponsored the
plan of setting aside from the main
budget of the government 150,000
Syrian pounds for the' purpose. This
proposal, no sooner propounded,
drew fire from the Lebanon representatives and members of the upper house, who argued that the refugees of the revolution have precedence on the charity and generosity of the Lebanon Government, in
case there is any surplus in the
treasury of the state'. The French
authorities, on the other hand, pointed to the danger in the present condition of the Armenian colony to the
health and the well-being of the
city, and explained that the money
granted would be of the nature of a
loan to be repaid by the Armenians
in the form of special taxation. The
bill, nevertheless, was defeated.
In an editorial following this debate, Lisan-ul-Hal, Beirut, suggests
that the mandatory Government follow the example of the Greek Government in settling its refugees'
problem, by applying to the League
of Nations for a loan, instead of the
Lebanon people, such a loan to be
guaranteed by the Lebanon Government and collected from the Armenian refugees as special taxes.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
'60
Developments of the Syrian
Revolution
SYRIANS OPPOSE CREATION
OF KINGDOM
A lull in the Syrian revolution,
coinciding with a visit to Paris of
King Faysal and a delegation of
Syrian nationalist leaders, headed by
Emir Michael Lutfallah and Emir
ChekibErslan, has set in motion wild
rumors which seem to emanate from
nowhere in particular, but have all
the pertinency and persistency of accredited statements. These rumors
are to the effect that the French
Government has come to an agreement with the Syrian Nationalists
to create a Syrian kingdom with exKing Ali, eldest son of ex-King Hussein, and brother of King Faysal
of Iraq and Emir Abdullah of Transjordania, at its head.
These rumors, spreading in Syria
like wildfire, have set the Syrian
press agog with lengthy articles
scouting the idea and exposing its
inherent dangers to Syria, and its
pernicious effects on the general
political situation in the Near East.
Chief among these dangers is the
old and bitter feud between the
overthrown Hashimite dynasty of
Hijaz and the powerful Arab chieftain Sultan Ibn Saoud.
In a leading article on the front
page of a recent issue of Lisan-ulHal, Beirut, "reports" reaching Damascus from Cairo and Paris and reflected in the Damascus press concerning the activities of King Faysal and Emir Michael Lutfallah to
further the ambitions of Emir Ali
in Syria, are discussed very seriously. The paper comments editorially
that France inclines to grant Syria
certain vital reforms, but French
statesmen, it remarks, who made a
special study of Syrian affairs are
not of the opinion that the appointment of ex-King Ali is one of them,
and that if it is accomplished it
would work to the hurt of French interests in the East. France has not
yet forgotten its duel with King
Faysal and the battle of Maisaloun
which marked the downfall of the
short-lived Arab kingdom in Damascus. It is not conceivable, therefore, that they will reverse" their
policy now and appoint his brother in his place. Such a step, says
Lisan-ul-Hal, would be considered a
victory for the Syrian revolutionists
over France
Similarly al-Balagh, a Mohammedan paper published also in Beirut, frowns on the' rumor of Ali's
proposed kingship over Syria. It
considers the whole question "irrelevant" and "foreign" to the demands of the Syrian revolutionists,
one that will hamper the progress
of the negotiations and introduce untold obstacles in the final settlement of the matter
Addressing itself to King Faysal,
al-Balagh partly declares: "We accord King Faysal utmost respect for
his kindly interest, his political acumen and his noble' character; we appreciate also his feelings towards
his brother. But to think that the.
i
�OCTOBER, 1926
Syrian question will be settled merely by putting one of the sons of exKing Hussein on the Syrian throne
is a mistake that no sensible one
should make. The Syrians are not
worshipers of personalities, nor do
they sanctify any but one who serves
their cause and their country with
singleness of purpose and unsullied
sincerity, be he of the sons of Hussein or any body else".
The paper then proceeds to point
out the difficulties confronting this
proposed "settlement" from the administrative, social and political
points, of view.
m
Ex-King Ali, it avers, has not
proven his ability and efficiency
while king of Hijaz. His chain of
mistakes from the time he vacated
Taif to the time' he was forced to
leave Jada are well known to the
public. Syria is in need of a strong,
modern administrator, who is acquainted with the modern demands
and duties of governments. For
Syria, continues the paper, is, socially, the most advanced Arabicspeaking country. It is the "heart
and brains of the Arabic world",
and as such would look for enhancement and progress. It is following
in the wake of Europe "step by
step", and it is not conceivable' that
what fits Hijaz would fit Syria,
even with great modifications.
These considerations, important as
they are, are overshadowed by the
political one which faces Syria
under King Ali in a gloomy light.
For the coronation of Ali as Syrian
king is nothing short, in the opinion
of this paper, than a declaration
of enmity to the present powerful
ruler of Hijaz and Nejd, Sultan Ibn
Saoud, who would suspect the Syrians, and rightly so, of siding with
his former enemy against him.
61
To this complication is added another. The Turks on the' north also
consider the Sheriffians of Mecca as
their veterate enemies, and have not
forgotten their alignment against
them in the World War. The kingship of Ali would hardly be calculated to please them, and Syria would
find itself between two strong enemies all to please a son of ex-King
Hussein who, failing to make good
as king of H;jaz, is being compensated for his failure with the Syrian crown.
The Christian and the Mohammedan papers agree in expressing
fear of the poltical entaglements
that would follow the appointment
of Ali to the Syrian throne, the
former devoting an equally long
space to the danger of Ibn Saoud's
resentment to such an arrangement.
It further adds that the French High
Commissioner De Jcuvenel has bent
all his efforts to win the friendship
of Ibn Saoud, with whom he concluded a commercial treaty. Would
France then turn now and alienate
him by putting on the throne of a
neighboring country his former enemy? Not likely.
These lengthy d:scus.-;o:is are published at the same time that an official denial of settlements with the
Syrian nationalist leaders in Paris
appears in al-Bashir, and presumably
other papers.
The official communique, issued by the French authorities in Damascus, follows:
"There have been rumors in the
press pertaining to negotiations in
Paris relative to the present situation in Syria. Be it known to every
one that no action or negotiation for
the restoration of internal peace in
Syria is possible before the termination of the revolution and the submission of the revolutionists."
�'60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Developments of the Syrian
Revolution
SYRIANS OPPOSE CREATION
OF KINGDOM
A lull in the Syrian revolution,
coinciding with a visit to Paris of
King Faysal and a delegation of
Syrian nationalist leaders, headed by
Emir Michael Lutfallah and Emir
ChekibErslan, has set in motion wild
rumors which seem to emanate from
nowhere in particular, but have all
the pertinency and persistency of accredited statements. These rumors
are to the effect that the French
Government has come to an agreement with the Syrian Nationalists
to create a Syrian kingdom with exKing Ali, eldest son of ex-King Hussein, and brother of King Faysal
of Iraq and Emir Abdullah of Transjordania, at its head.
These rumors, spreading in Syria
like wildfire, have set the Syrian
press agog with lengthy articles
scouting the idea and exposing its
inherent dangers to Syria, and its
pernicious effects on the general
political situation in the Near East.
Chief among these dangers is the
old and bitter feud between the
overthrown Hashimite dynasty of
Hijaz and the powerful Arab chieftain Sultan Ibn Saoud.
In a leading article on the front
page of a recent issue of Lisan-ulHal, Beirut, "reports" reaching Damascus from Cairo and Paris and reflected in the Damascus press concerning the activities of King Faysal and Emir Michael Lutfallah to
further the ambitions of Emir Ali
li
in Syria, are discussed very seriously. The paper comments editorially
that France inclines to grant Syria
certain vital reforms, but French
statesmen, it remarks, who made a
special study of Syrian affairs are
not of the opinion that the appointment of ex-King Ali is one of them,
and that if it is accomplished it
would work to the hurt of French interests in the East. France has not
yet forgotten its duel with King
Faysal and the battle of Maisaloun
which marked the downfall of the
short-lived Arab kingdom in Damascus. It is not conceivable, therefore, that they will reverse' their
policy now and appoint his brother in his place. Such a step, says
Lisan-ul-Hal, would be considered a
victory for the Syrian revolutionists
over France
Similarly al-Balagh, a Mohammedan paper published also in Beirut, frowns on the' rumor of Ali's
proposed kingship over Syria. It
considers the whole question "irrelevant" and "foreign" to the demands of the Syrian revolutionists,
one that will hamper the progress
of the negotiations and introduce untold obstacles in the final settlement of the matter
Addressing itself to King Faysal,
al-Balagh partly declares: "We accord King Faysal utmost respect for
his kindly interest, his political acumen and his noble' character; we appreciate also his feelings towards
his brother. But to think that the
in— ilia i „i
i:
•
�OCTOBER, 1926
Syrian question will be settled merely by putting one of the sons of exKing Hussein on the Syrian throne
is a mistake that no sensible one
should make. The Syrians are not
worshipers of personalities, nor do
they sanctify any but one who serves
their cause and their country with
singleness of purpose and unsullied
sincerity, be he of the sons of Hussein or any body else".
The paper then proceeds to point
out the' difficulties confronting this
proposed "settlement" from the administrative, social and political
points of view.
i
Ex-King Ali, it avers, has not
proven his ability and efficiency
while king of Hijaz. His chain of
mistakes from the time he vacated
Taif to the time' he was forced to
leave Jada are well known to the
public. Syria is in need of a strong,
modern administrator, who is acquainted with the modern demands
and duties of governments. For
Syria, continues the pape'r, is, socially, the most advanced Arabicspeaking country. It is the "heart
and brains of the Arabic world",
and as such would look for enhancement and progress. It is following
in the wake of Europe "step by
step", and it is not conceivable that
what fits Hijaz would fit Syria,
even with great modifications.
These considerations, important as
they are, are overshadowed by the
political one which faces Syria
under King Ali in a gloomy light.
For the coronation of Ali as Syrian
king is nothing short, in the opinion
of this paper, than a declaration
of enmity to the present powerful
ruler of Hijaz and Nejd, Sultan Ibn
Saoud, who would suspect the Syrians, and rightly so, of siding with
his former enemy against him.
61
To this complication is added another. The Turks on the' north also
consider the Sheriffians of Mecca as
their veterate enemies, and have not
forgotten their alignment against
them in the World War. The kingship of Ali would hardly be calculated to please them, and Syria would
find itself between two strong enemies all to please a son of ex-King
Hussein who, failing to make good
as king of Hijaz, is being compensated for his failure with the Syrian crown.
The Christian and the Mohammedan papers agree in expressing
fear of the poltical entaglements
that would follow the appointment
of Ali to the Syrian throne, the
former devoting an equally long
space to the danger of Ibn Saoud's
resentment to such an arrangement.
It further adds that the French High
Commissioner De Jouvenel has bent
all his efforts to win the friendship
of Ibn Saoud, with whom he concluded a commercial treaty. Would
France then turn now and alienate
him by putting on the throne of a
neighboring country his former enemy? Not likely.
These lengthy discussions are published at the same time that an official denial of settlements with the
Syrian nationalist leaders in Paris
appears in al-Bashir, and presumably
other papers.
The official communique, issued by the' French authorities in Damascus, follows:
"There have been rumors in the
press pertaining to negotiations in
Paris relative to the present situation in Syria. Be it known to every
one that no action or negotiation for
the restoration of internal peace in
Syria is possible before the termination of the revolution and the submission of the revolutionists."
�61
HENRI PONSOt NEW
HIGH COMMISSIONER
It is officially announced that M.
Henri Ponsot has been appointed
French High Commissioner in Syria
to succeed M. Henry de Jouvenel.
The announcement came within
twenty - four
hours
after
the
French government was supposed to
have finally succeeded in inducing
M. de Jouvenel to take up again his
unfinished work in Syria. This action, on the' face of it, would indicate that French policy in Syria is
still vacillating and undecided, but
judging by the comment of the
French press on the new appointment, it would seem that the choice
of M. Ponsot was made with the
very object of creating some form of
stability in the office and eliminating
what appears to have been the scandalous irresolution resulting in the
appointment of five High Commissioners within six years.
Although little known to the public, the new successor to the ever
vacant office enjoys the high confidence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and its choice fell upon him
not only because of his intimate
knowledge of conditions in the East
and of Mohammedan countries in
general, but also because he was enjoined to take up the delicate duties
of governing Syria only if he could
promise to remain at his post for
an indefinite period. His appointment, in other words, implies severance of all political affiliations and
aspirations at home and centering
all his energy and ambition on making a success of his mission in
Syria.
Of his qualifications, it is said
that his has been a diplomatic and
an administrative' career in which he
distinguished himself on many occasions. Although quite young, be-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ing only fifty years old, he was for
six years in the French diplomatic
service in the Far East. In 1913 he
was appointed secretary to the Financial Commission of the Balkans.
During the war he was chief of the
Press Service. In 1918 he was appointed Consul General at Montreal,
Canada, and later was director of
the interior in the Residency at
Tunis, which position he held until
1924, when he' was called to the
Foreign Office in Paris to be appointed assistant director of the Department of African and Near-Eastern affairs.
While the comment of the French
Press on the appointment of M. Ponsot has been highly favorable, it remains to be seen what reaction it
will have on the Arabic press in
Syria. The Syrian press in America knows little about the new High
Commissioner and it has so far withheld comment, but it is the opinion
of some Syrian-Americans who know
of M. Ponsot and his work that his
appointment will be welcomed more
by the Mohammedan than by the
Christian element of the country, inasmuch as he is known to entertain
pronounced friendly feelings towards
everything Mohammedan.
11
MILITARY ACTIVITIES
The fires of the Syrian revolution
do not seem to have been put out
altogether, despite the silence of the
news dispatches on field activities
of the' revolutionists during the
whole month of September. The natural inference from this silence
would be that the back of the revolution has been broken and that
what forces remain active in the
field only represent small bands of
dissident tribesmen who strive to
harass the French forces for the
purpose of gaining time for peace
>
�OCTOB&R, 1926
I!
i
negotiations. Not so, however, is
the situation as represented by the
Arabic press supporting the revolution. From Egypt, for instance,
comes the explanation that the present lull in the fighting is due to the
occupation of the Druze revolutionists in gatherng their harvests described as exceedingly abundant this
season, and their desire to move
their families to places of safety on
the borders of Palestine and Transjordania preparatory to their resumption of the fighting on a larger
scale and with redoubled intensity.
Al-Mokattam, a nationalist paper
published in Cairo and claiming the
advantage of receiving direct news
from the headquarters of the revolution, states that a Central Committee has been created out of a general assembly participated in by the
leading Druze chieftains, which has
been empowered to direct the1 coordination of all the rebel forces in
Jebel Druze and in all Syria to the
end that the most effective results
might be obtained with the minimum of sacrifice. This same authority states that at this meeting of the
general assembly of the revolutionists it was decided to prosecute the
war to the bitter end until the "just
demands of Syria are granted".
More news, however, is to be had
from the French communiques reporting the progress of military activities against the Druzes. In one
of these communiques the inauguration of a new railroad extension to
Sueida, capital of Jebel Druze, is
described as having taken place in
the presence of the commander in
chief and the notables and religious
heads of the country. This is given
to indicate that the country has beCn
pacified and that the French have
now at their command rapid means
of communication to insure their
security of footing in the country.
63
In another communique a lengthy
description is given of the French
occupation of Lajah, a mountainous,
almost inaccessible, region of Jebel
Druze which has never before been
penetrated by a foreign invader.
The invading column was under the
direct command of General Andrea,
Commander in chief, and although
encountering at times stubborn resistence, it succeeded in capturing
Kurea, the home-town of Sultan
Pasha Atrash, Commander in chief
of the revolutionists, and later 'Ahira, the capital of the district. The
French state that inestimable assistance was given them by their
loyal Druze adherents who formed
the vanguard of the expedition and
greatly facilitated its task by their
knowledge of the topography of the
country.
This expedition into the heart of
the Druze country was timed to coincide with the fateful engagement
of August 3, 1925, in which the
column of 3,000 men commanded by
Col. Michaud was embushed and exterminated by the' Druzes. The
French communique even declares
cynically that the Druzes were given a chance to repeat their previous
performance, in that the expedition
of this year followed the same route
as that of last year, but the fact
that Fre'nch forces negotiated the
treacherous mountain passes safely
indicates that the back of the revolution has been broken.
Of this same action, however, information coming from the representatives of the revolutionists in
Cairo indicates that the French did
travel the route of Col. Michaud's
column, but were, as in the former
instance, fallen upon and engaged
in such desperate fighting that they
were repulsed with heavy losses and
forced to change their course. The
revolutionists further declare that
�64
THE SYRIAN WORjLD
those whom the French claim to be
their supporters and adherents
among the Druzes are not Druzes
but Circassians and Kurds who had
previously joined the revolutionists'
ranks to be out of the reach of the
law, but when they were promised
amnesty deserted and joined the
French.
The Syrian press reports that Sultan Pasha Atrash was wounded in
a recent engagement but very soon
recovered.
In an appeal to the' civilized world
against French atrocities in Syria,
the High Couniil of the Syrian revolution accuses the French military
forces of deliberately firing on open
towns and killing women and children; of burning the harvests on the
threshing fields to starve peaceful
farmers and of wilfully destroying
places of worship and committing
atrocities such as no civilized power would commit for the sole purpose of enslaving a free people.
•lluriMiillilimtliititll.il mi tun ttlllilllimt mi urn j :iniin.
(The Syrians in America;
j
By Philip K. Hitti, Ph. D.
!
A book that is encyclopedic in =
| its information about the Syrians |
j —their origin, history, progress, |
{faiths, racial peculiarities and|
[ particularly, their present status f
| in America.
/
.1
Dr. Hitti is an authority on this |
I subject. His book should be read |
iby all Americans of Syrian des-|
: cent and all Americans interest-1
led in Syria and Syrians.
Price, $1.25 postpaid.
On sale at the office of
"The Syrian World"
'TiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitimiiiMifiiMiittiiimHtitmtaiimiiMiitii«£
ZAHLE
A panoramic view of this beautiful city of Lebanon, 8x50" clear
to the smallest detail, taken with a special camera by the SyrianAmerican photographer, F. Askar, can now be had by lovers of the
beautiful scenic views of the Old Country. This is an historic picture
that should have a place in the home of every emigrant from Zahle.
Other beautiful photographs taken by Mr. Askar include a panoramic view of the Ruins of Baalbeck, the Heights of Shweir, and
the Peninsula of Jubeil, the historic City of Byblos.
Samples of these wonderful, original photographs are on display
at the office of The Syrian World.
Orders filled only if paid for in advance.
_
$5. 00
EACH
POSTPAID
3 Pictures or over in one Order, 10 p. c. Discount.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
104 Greenwich St.
Art Dept.
New York
(\
�A PANORAMIC VIEW OF BAALBEK
/
There is little to compare between the modern town of Baalbek, shown
in the foreground, and the majestic riiins of the old city, which appear in
the left background.
-
�THE CITADAL BY THE SEA
The old crasaders' fortress boilt by the sea in Sidon on the rains of the
former Phoenieian quays.
��
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
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<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
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English
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
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Identifier
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TSW1926_10reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 04
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926 October
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 04 of The Syrian World, published October 1926. The issue opens with an article about "Near East Relief in Syria" by Charles V. Vickrey. Many of the articles in this issue focus on how the West (specifically France and the United States) has contributed to different aspects of life for Syrians and other immigrants. The topic of "Oriental" prophets and saintly figures from the past is frequently mentioned throughout this issue. There is also an article that discusses the importance of the Arabic proverb, "as generous as Hatem." There is an overall discussion of morals within this issue. The issue ends with excerpts from the Arab press, the reader’s forum, and more discussion of developments in Syria's situation.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
France
New York
Religion
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/22927b4aa2adb89c75523c3ed3783dcd.pdf
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�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I. No. ,5.
NOVEMBER, 1926.
The Syrian as a Trade Blazer
BY RICHARD SPILLANE
A friend from far off New Zealand told me a dramatic
story of a happening in his country a short time ago, the central
figure and chief character being a Syrian who traveled far into
the interior with pack horse laden with goods for sale to the
Maoris.
A friend from Columbia, one of the Republics of South
America^ tells me the retail trade of the town in which he lives is
controlled by Syrian merchants.
I hear of Syrians who are sellers of goods in the far interior
sections of Brazil—regions so remote as to rarely have touch
with the world outside.
In Texas, California, the middle West of the United States,
in the South, the North, the East, I have encountered here and
there the Syrian tradesman, always, so far as my observation extended, earnest as to business, peaceful, law-abiding, shrewd in
bargaining and seemingly tireless in the pursuits of trade.
Here in New York we have a Syrian quarter with shops by
the scores if not hundreds, modest in appearance but prosperous
it would seem, for each year adds to the number and the variety
of these mercantile establishments. On Fifth Avenue, the most
splendid thoroughfare of the world, as Alfred Noyes, the British
poet, described it, we also find scores of wholesale and retail
houses owned and presided over by Syrians.
To me it has been a matter of wonder that, out of a country
comparatively so small as Syria, and with a very modest popult-
�2
THE SYRI'AN WORLD
tion—only about half that of New York City—there should be
such a wide distribution of its peoples over the earth. And it has
been of greater wonder to me that in a pastoral land like Syria,
where for centuries the main industry has been of the field and
the farm, there should flower so mysteriously such a merchant
crop.
A whole race of people does not change in character, or
seemingly change, within one generation without some potent
reason. Sometimes it is almost impossible to discover the cause.
What is, or can be, the answer to this seeming riddle of the
Syrians?
Look back to the days when the world was young, or comparatively young, and you may get the answer. From what a
Syrian friend tells me, the Syrians are direct descendants of the
Phoenicians who, long before the dawn of Christianity, were the
great traders of the Mediterranean littoral and who, in fact,
adventured far beyond its shores.
With the decline of Phoenicia, the remnant of the race,
through sheer necessity, was forced to turn to cultivation of the
land in order to live. A succession of mighty invaders held them
down from regaining their former prestige. In this manner the
greatest people of its time in the field of trade, was submerged.
Odd indeed have been some of the happenings of the world,
happenings of which we take little note. The Jews once in the
long ago were devoted almost wholly to agriculture. Through
decrees of kings and potentates they were deprived in various
countries of the privilege of owning or cultivating land. Necessity drove them into trade, and they have become the greatest
tradesmen of the world, and, in various countries, are the financial mastermen. But the transition of the Syrian from agrarianism
to merchandising has been, comparatively, sharp, sudden, almost,
if not actually, without parallel.
The Syrian has turned to trade so easily, so rapidly, and, we
might say, so successfully as to amaze the student of racial habits,
customs and peculiarities. If the theory that the Syrian of today
is the Phoenician of the long ago is true, then the return of the
Syrian to trade is perhaps the most remarkable reversion to type
in the history of the peoples of the earth.
Incidentally, if the Syrian, within one or two generations,
can make such headway as he has made in these days and against
the tremendous benefit of tradition, training, financial strength
and prastige enjoyed by the other nationals, what may we expect
�OtQVEMBER, 1926
3
of him in the future? His start has been modest, but he has gone
further than he knows. He has only been through a training
school after centuries of absence. Soon he should be about ready
to graduate. Soon, in relation to stages of progress of racial
groups, may mean decades or generations.
Syrians have every reason to be proud of their people as
trade blazers. The progress of the world is measured by its trade.
We have had no greater civilizing influence than trade. The
Singer Sewing Machine Company has sold sewing machines in
the most remote parts of the world for the last half or threequarters of a century. Its agents have gone where white men
have never gone before.
The lamp which the Standard Oil Company devised and
gave to the inhabitants of the most remote sections of China in
order to get them to use kerosene has come to be known as The
Light of Asia. The can in which the oil was encased has come
to be the liquid measurement gauge of millions of people.
Trade blazes the way for the teacher, the preacher, the man
of science, the schoolmaster. Civilization depends upon the interchange of goods, the products of the fields for the products
of the mills, the factory, the loom. Without trade, civilization
would stagnate, wither, die.
If, as it seems, the Syrian, after many centuries, has reverted
to type, it is for him, if he is worthy of the great men of
Phoenicia, to play well his part. It is a small one now but he
has only started on what may be a great one later. He, and he
alone, can make it great.
THE MEASURE OF FRIENDSHIP
Said one to al-Mubarrad, the famous Arab grammarian:
"A certain man vilified me and I bore him, and he vilified you
in my presence and I bore him also."
Al-Mubarrad replied: "Your silence about yourself was
magnanimity, but your silence about me was a betrayal of friendship"
�THE SYRIAN WORtt)
4
"Syria" in the 1926 Edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica
By
PROF. PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
FORMERLY OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
The "Encyclopaedia Britannica" has become a world institution. With 150 years of revision, addition and growth behind
it, it now forms the foundation of a cultured man's library—a
veritable storehouse of facts regarding man and his achievements
from prehistoric to modern times. The place it has carved for
itself in our intellectual life is, indeed, second to none in its authority and appeal except the Bible in Christian, and the Koran
in Moslem lands.
With that in mind, and having received a request from a
Beirut friend of mine to recommend a few books which would
serve as a nucleus for his home library, I made my way, a few
days ago, into the New York office of the "Encyclopaedia
Britannica."
The first volume we examined was that including the article
on Syria. The article proved to be a comparatively short one,
covering about two pages, and bearing the initials of the author,
"L. St." The material was intended to supplement that of the
Eleventh Edition and to tell the story of Syria particularly in the
War and post War periods.
The bibliography listed after the author's initials and evidently added by the editor—as the New York editor later explained to us—was the first thing to claim our attention. Here
was "B. H. Springett, Secret Sects of Syria and the Lebanon
(1922)." How could such an uncritical, unscholarly and highly
fantastic work find a place in a list of that kind? Is it possible
that the writer never consulted nor used this work, and could he
have preferred it to "Frederick Bliss, The Religions of Modern
Syria and Palestine?" Springett's book is, in the main, a collection
of quotations from some of the most unreliable sources all accepted by the author and marshalled to show the connection of
the Syrian sects with, and "their influence upon, Modern Free-
�NOVEMBER, 1926
S
masonry"—as Springett tells us on the title page. Here are, for
illustration, two propositions quoted and approved by Mr.
Springett.
.
"1. That the Druses are no other than the original subjects of Hiram, King of Tyre, and that their ancestors were the
builders of King Solomon's Temple.
2. That, to this very day, the Druses retain many evident
tokens of their close and intimate connection with the Ancient
Craft of Freemasonry"—p. 248. Is there anybody with the
least developed historical sense who would accept such stuff?
Behold another nugget from this same treasure house:
"The name given by these people [Druses and Nusairis] to
themselves is Sur [! ] The race is the Surian, the Zurori of the
Greek and Syrian modern tongues. The mountain is Gebel Suria.
Lebanon is a foreign and descriptive term from the Hebrew implying "white." As it is the name they both use and cling to
today, repudiating for their mountain the name of Lebanon, and
for themselves that of Arab, so it was the name it bore in the
time of Moses"—p. 34. What a mess!
Another authority listed in the bibliography is "J. F. Scheltema, The Lebanon in Turmoil, 1921." As to the accuracy of
this work, we refer the reader to a review published by the writer
of this article in the Journal of the American Oriental Society,
October, 1923. But that is not the point we want to make. It
is true that Scheltema's book appeared in 1921, but it is a translation of an Arabic manuscript by Abcarius regarding the Civil
War of 1860 in Lebanon. How could it then be cited as a source
for the events in Syria since 1908 which the "Encyclopaedia's"
article is meant to cover? It looks very much as if in preparing
the bibliography, the editor simply consulted the card catalogue
of some library and copied a few which happened to have been
published within the last few years without any regard to their
contents.
.
The initials of the author of the article, as indicated in the
front part of the volume, stand for "Leonard Stein, of the
Zionist Organization, London." In the New York Public Library the only two books catalogued under that name turned out
to be Zionist propaganda of the anti-Arab kind. This rather
seemed strange, especially in view of the fact that England is
pretty rich in scholars who have made the study of Syria and
Syrian affairs their specialty, such as Toynbee and Hogarth, not
to mention such venerable professors as Margoliouth and Nich-
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
olson. Of course, it would be too much to expect of a British
organization to look for authorities outside of the British Isles
and to seek someone from the Jesuit or American Universities
of Beirut, or from the Arab Academy in Damascus, although
those quarters would be the logical places to hunt for the proper
man. The Cambridge History provides another illustration of
this same fact.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that, on the whole, Mr.
Stem has acquitted himself creditably and done justice to the
subject allotted in the space accorded to him. That his statement
is up-to-the-minute is indicated by a reference to the Druses being
mastered by the French "June, 1926."
Djebel al-Nusairiyeh (or an-Nusairyeh) he makes "Djebel
Ansariyeh."
Al-Sheikh Taj-ed-Din al-Hasani, to whom
de Jouvenel offered last year the presidency of the State of Syria,
he renames "Taher ed-Din." But the strangest thing of all is
how Mr. Stein could devote a whole paragraph to war conditions in Syria without even mentioning the war lord of Syria and
the Syrians, Djemal Pasha (of unspeakable memory!) or making
the least reference to the suffering, misery and decimation of the
people, one-third of whom fell victim to disease, famine and
persecution! This fact of suffering is the_ outstanding fact in the
history of Syria during the War, and the personality of Djemal
Pasha is the overshadowing personality.
The article, therefore, is the kind of an article which one
would write who draws his data wholly from books and not from
the first-hand sources—contacts with the actualities of life.
Let us hope that poor Syria would hereafter receive a better
treatment at least from the hands of a scientific publication—and
that in its next edition.
WHY HE STOPPED DRINKING
Al Abbas Ibn Mirdas, who was fond of drinking, suddenly
stopped. His friends remonstrated with him saying: "Why
did you stop drinking, it enhanced your generosity?"
He replied: "I hate to be one day the lord of my people
and another day their villain."
�NOVEMBER, 1926
Isma'ilites
The Order of the Assassins, a Cruel Religious Sect, Remntnts
of Which Are Still in Syria to the Present Day.
To the west of Hama, the ancient Amasia, and the more
ancient, Biblical Hamath, scattered over the fertile plain of the
winding Orontes, "the Contrary river", al-Aasi, as it is called
today, are a handful of villages humming lazily with the contented voices of their industrious peasantry who go about the routine
of their daily task in the outlying fields each sunrise and trudge
home with their crude tools each sunset with seemingly no concern for anything other than their immediate needs.
Little would a traveler in that quiet, sequestered part of the
world, suspect that at one time, in the distant ages of history, these
same peaceful towns were the scene of a grim, treacherous drama,
a nightmare that drove away sleep from millions of people, and
made many a brave knight and powerful emir quake with fear in
his steel armor.
For in these very towns and villages, lorded over by fortified castles that commanded the passes into the sea through the
narrow ravines to the west, there thrived a religious order which
considered ;assassination of its enemies a sacred mission sanctioned
by the highest dictates of its religious teachings. The Isma'ilites
of northern Syria, altogether about 9000, are the direct descendants of a religious order which reminds one of the Mafia or
Black Hand society of southern Italy, or the Thugs of India.
This religious order, a secret society within the larger body
of the Isma'ilites, was commonly known as Hashishiun, from
the word hashish or cannabis Indica, a deadly narcotic plant
which, it is said, they used in some of their ceremonies, and by
corruption we have our English words "assassin" and "assassinate". The Assassins flourished in the days of the Crusades, and
many are the blood-curdling tales that are told of the machinations of their leaders which extended from the Ganges to the
Rhine.
The Isma'ilites themselves are in turn a small sect within
the larger heterodox group of Islam known as Shi'ites. In contrast with them the other faction of Islam, tht orthodox group,
�=^
'V . '
8
:-,
- .
-,
, - .,
'
.- -
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was called Sunnites, i. e., those who follow the "sunna" or traditions of the Prophet and the forefathers.
The distinctions between the Shi'ites and Sunnites are many
and varied} some of them are rather superficial, concerning manners of worship and minor details of practice or jurisprudence,
what is called in Arabic "fikh". The Shi'ites do not accept the
traditions collected and edited by Buchari and other early traditionists, holding them to be corrupt through thq influence of Sunnite dynasties, nor follow the exegesis of the four doctors of
Islamic jurisprudence, whose rulings and interpretations are the
basis of the ecclesiastical law of Islam in all the Sunnite countries of the Islamic world today. But aside from',these minor differences are fundamental ones which go to the very root of Islam. Chief among them is the place accorded Ali in Islamic
hegiography. To the Sunnites, Ali is one of the four orthodox
caliphs who succeeded Mohammed; he is rendered no higher
homage on account of his kinship to the Prophet,as his cousin
and son-in law, although his exemplary character and piety are
conceded as much by them as by his followers. The Shi'ites, on
the other hand, consider Ali as the only legitimate caliph, the
other three preceding him being repudiated as false claimants.
They do not stop there, but hold further that the Caliphate
should have passed down in succession to the descendants of Ali
as an hereditary office.
This view of Ali's distinct place among the followers of the
Prophet follows as a corollary from another one which the Shi'ites held, and which distinguished them from the Sunnites. The
Shi'ites regarded the Caliphate more as a religious hierarchy than
a temporal, political one. The caliph was primarily an "imam",
a religious guide, whose word was the final and infallible authority in religious and moral issues. To the imam, a vicegerent of
Mohammed on earth, they went in all their differences, rather
than to the consensus of the interpreters of the Koran and traditions. There: was something holy and sacrosanct about the office
of the Imamite among the Shi'ites which we do not find in Sunnite teachings or traditions.
To these distinctions we may add that the Shi'ites were very
prone to foreign influences, political and religious. They were
the dissenters of Islam, and around their banners rallied the malcontents and dissatisfied, especially those of non-Arab stocks,
who were quite peeved at the haughty attitude of the militant
Arabs towards the races which they subjugated.
�K
NOVEMBER, 1926
•
9
Early enough, therefore, the Shi'ites began to harbor secret
propaganda against the orthodox, reigning dynasties, and it may
be safely said that most of the civil wars which troubled the Islamic world and finally brought down the rule of the Arabs,
were brewed by the Shi'ites or with their connivance. The Fatimide dynasty in Egypt was one of the results of their secret
propaganda and it is credited in particular to the Isma'ilites. The
Druze sect, treated in a former issue of this magazine, was a
branch-off, so to speak, of the Isma'ilites. So also were the Assassins.
The main distinction between the Isma'ilites and other Shi'ite, sects rests on the choice of an Imam. The majority of Shi'ites are called "twelvers", because they hold to a succession of
imams, through Ali, down to Mohammed al-Mahdi, (b. 872 A.
D.) who mysteriously disappeared when he was scarcely eight
years old and whose return, even to the present day, is expected
by his followers. The Isma'ilites do not go down as far as that
but stop with Isma'il, hence the name, the grand son of the sixth
imam, Ja'far al-Siddik, (d. 762 A. D.) the Righteous One, who
is the author of the jurisprudence system of the Shi'ites. Isma'il
also is supposed to have disappeared in a cave, and his return is
awaited by his followers to the present day.
Among all the Shi'ite sects there is a tendency to adopt
foreign teachings, to synchronise'influences ^nd ideas prevalent in
the land since ages immemorial before the advent of Islam.
Hence we find among the Isma'ilites, Druzes and Nusayriahs of
today many elements of nature worship which remind us of the
days when Astarte and Adonis were worshiped in the groves and
on the hilltops of Syria and Lebanon. We also find traces of
Neoplatonic and Gnostic teachings and doctrines, which filtered
to them from the Greeks and Christians of the heretic sects.
Of this nature is the Isma'ilite doctrine of "ta'weel" or allegorical interpretation of which the Gnostics were fond to speak. Behind the apparent meaning of the Koran these Isma'ilites
teach, are hidden and spiritual meanings which only the initiates
can comprehend. One could easily understand how such a doctrine would become a reprehensible weapon in the hands of irresponsible leaders.
The history of the Assassins which began in the latter part
of the 11th century was one illustration of this truth.
The founder of the Assassin order was a certain Hasan Ibn
Sabbah, who as a fellow pupil of Omar Khayyam and Nazamul-
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
^
S^11* ?ntUry' studied undcr *« ^e illustrious
and learned doctor of Islam, Muaffak of Nishabur. It is related
that the three pupils made an agreement among themselves and
sealed it with a yow that whoever rises first in the affairs of the
world shall not forget the other two. Nizamulmulk in time became a grand vizier, and true to his promise, remembered his
other two companions. Omar Khayyam declined all honors, we
are told, but wished instead to be given facilities to pursue his
studies in astronomy, which were granted him. But Hasan Sabbah, who was more ambitious, was introduced to the court of the
Saljuk Sultan Melkishah. No sooner,, however, did he gain a
firm footing in the court than he began to intrigue against his
benefactor Suspected of perfidy and .treason, he fled to Rai, in
Persia, and from thence to Egypt, in 1078 A. D., where he found
favor with the Fatimide Caliph, al-Mostansir.
Twenty years later we find him in possession of a strong
fortress in Persia called Alamut, "the Falcon's Nest", in the dis
t Ct 0f
2, wn
n
- There he had established his secret order with
J?f l!
all its diabolical schemes and paraphernalia, and was sending out
emissaries—"dais"—into different parts of Persia
One of these dais, Abu Tahir as-Saigh, i. e., the Goldsmith,
came to Syria where he became jthe protege of Ridwan, the Saljuk ruler of Aleppo, who used him and his new converts to
execute his own designs.
The Assassins in Syria thrived in spite of persecution which
fell on them heavily after the death of Ridwan. They occupied
the fortresses northeast of Lebanon, chief of which was one called Masyad or Masyaf, in which dwelt the chief of the Assassins
of Syria, wrongly called by the Crusaders and European narrators, among them Marco Polo, "the Old Man of the Mountains , le Vieux de la Montagne, a translation of the Arabic term
Shaykh-ul-Jabal. The real Shaykh-ul-Jabal was the chief of
all the Assassins in the fortress of Alamut. From these fortresses the Assassins, in strict and blind obediance to their chief
would bounce on unwary Crusaders or native princes. Reflections of the terroristic regime of the Assassins have come down
to us from the pens of several writers and novelists. Sir Rider
Haggard's novel, "The Brethren", deals with the Assassins, and
in Sir Walter Scott's famous novel, "The Talisman", we have a
scene which describes an attack on King Richard by a group of
Assassins. Not only Crusaders fell under the dagger of the
White-robed Assassin zealots, but Mohammedan prince* ac well.
•
'jiaw|p'.'»:.^vw.p«^ift I
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
U
For the Assassins stood aloof from the terrible wars that were
waged in the Holy Lands, driving bargains and concluding treaties with this or with that side, to the best of their own advantages.
It was to combat these same Assassins, we are told by Hamer
Purgestall, in his "History of the Assassins", that the Templar
Order was organized, and from them they borrowed much of
their rules and customs.
Nobody was secure from the frightful shadow of the Assassins' dagger. Wherever he went, even beyond the seven seas,
the Assassins' victim was marked. His pursuers assumed different roles and disguised themselves in various guises, sometimes as merchants, sometimes as travelers or dervishes, until
such a moment when they caught their victim unawares when
they would fall upon him with a recklessness of a martyr. Among
the first victims of Hasan Sabbah himself were his benefactors,
Nizamulmulk and Sultan Melkishah. History even records the
horrible and unbelievable fact that Hasan Sabbah killed his own
two sons.
After almost two centuries of terror and bloodshed the Assassins Order was destroyed, and their chief fortress in Alamut
was razed by the Saljuk Sultan Hulagu. It was a terrible revenge in which the pent-up fear and hatred of ages wreaked
themselves in an orgy of cruelty and barbarism. Twelve thousand of them were killed at one time. Long ditches were dug
out, heated with fire, and the Assassins were thrown into them
alive. The Syrian Assassins lingered on till the time of Bibars,
the Mamluke ruler of Syria who gave them the effective death
blow in 1272 A. D. From that date on they ceased to be an organized order, but individual Assassins still carried on their nefarious traffic, lending their services to unscrupulous rulers. Thus
we read of them in the "Travels of Ibn Batutah", written in the
14th century, in his description of the fortresses of the Isma'iliyah country, that, "these fortresses belong to the Isma'ilites,
who are the weapon of the King al-Nasir, which he uses against
his enemies in Irak and other places." Then he goes on to relate
how those Isma'ilites received from the king regular fees, and
that whenever he sent one of them against an enemy whose removal he desired he gave him the ransom of the intended victim.
If the Asassin succeeded, the money was his, and if he failed
and was murdered himself, the money went to his heirs.
Today nothing remains of this fearful spectre but a vague
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
12
memory. In 1912 the famous German travel guidebook, Baedeker, thus describes the Isma'ilites: "Their religion consists of
an extraordinary mixture of ancient heathen superstition, misapprehended Greek philosophy, early Persian dualism, the theory
of the transmigration of the soul, and even materialism. Nothing now remains of it except mere mystic mummery without any
solid foundation of principle."
As if symbolic of the change of times, and the peace that
has returned to the land of the Isma'ilites there stands today in
their chief town of Sulmaniyya an agricultural station established
there recently by the French mandate for the encouragement of
cotton raising and the introduction of modern agricultural methods. In the mountain heights to the west, in the "Alawite
Mountains", live another Shi'ite people, the Nusayriyyahs, among
whom and the Isma'ilites still linger the feuds inherited from
olden times.
But even this enmity is fast dying away in the whirl of a
modern age with its new spirit of nationalism, with its keen
desire for modern education and its changing emphasis on the
practical philosophy of life which makes for prosperity and happiness in this life rather than vague theories pertaining to beforelife and after-life with which the East has been obsessed for
centuries.
HIS JUSTICE WAS UNBEARABLE
The people of the city of Kufa accused their governor to
the Caliph al-Mamoun, and requested his deposition.
Al-Mamoun was surprised at the accusation, and replied:
"Verily I know none of my governors more just and lenient,
nor any more solicitous of the welfare of his subjects."
To which, one of the Kufite who went to petition the Caliph
said:
"O Prince of the Believers, we know none more worthy of
this quality of justice than thee. If this governor is, as thou
sayest, just and considerate, make him governor of all your cities
one by one. In this way we will only have to bear of his justice
three years."
The caliph laughed, and good-naturedly consented to their
request, relieving them of the "just" governor.
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
13
Real Greatness
By SUMAYEH ATTIYEH
1
Abdullah Agha Al-Omar was a prince among his people —
the Emir or Chief of his large and powerful tribe. My father
loved him dearly and for years they were close friends until
death separated them. The Emir was a tall and handsome middle aged man and wore a white turban and an elegant silk robe.
He weighed every word before he uttered it, and dealt with
dignity and grace, but with charity towards all. Though he had
a very simple education, just enough to enable him to read and
write, he possessed genuine culture, a refined mind and a big
heart.
My father was a Syrian official in the Turkish government,
and was stationed in a famous old castle called Al-Hussun near
the town where the Emir lived.
Abdullah Al-Omar was a very wealthy man and extremely
generous. His Manzoul was open to passers-by, rich and poor
alikej friends and strangers. He housed and fed them, took
care of their horses, and after a few days presented his guests
with a souvenir and blessed them when he bade them good-bye.
The Manzoul is a guest-house of five rooms or more, depending on the financial ability of its owner, in which travelers,
passers-by, and friends, are welcome to take nourishment and rest
without any charge. ;If money were ever suggested to the host
it would mean a great insult and lack of appreciation for his hos
pitality.
Abdullah Agha Al-Omar had one of jhe most noted Manzouls in Syria as he himself was the most generous of hosts.
Christians and Mohammedans of our old country practised this
custom and foreigners marvelled at their generosity and nobleness.
The Emir had one beloved son named Kamil, a worthy and
handsome young gentleman whom everyone loved. The father
loved his son dearly and was very proud of him, and not having
any other children Kamil was engaged to marry soon to please
his venerable father who was anxious to see his grandchildren
before his death. Kamil would ride his beautiful black Arabian
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THE SYRIAN WORIX
steed, Thunder Storm, daily and would go around to the house
of his beloved fiancee three or four rounds at a certain hour.
She would drop him a rose, a handkerchief or a note from the
high window of her room, peek at him, or wave at him and then
disappear, but they never saw each other at close range nor exchanged any words—a Mohammedan custom which is strictly
observed.
The wedding day was drawing near, and the whole town
was preparing for a very elaborate celebration. One day Kamil
went hunting and never returned. It was discovered later that
his slave who accompanied him killed him during a hot quarrel.
The slave disappeared, but the tribe of Kamil got together and
swore to avenge his blood. Five hundred men rode their Arabian horses with full armor and began to hunt for the slave, taking an oath that when they found him they would cut him up
into a hundred pieces. A month passed without any result. The
old Emir could not be consoled and his sorrow brought him twenty years quicker to his grave. His whole life seemed to have been
blighted by the weight of this great misfortune.
The Emir had a habit of walking early in the morning in
his garden before breakfast, and one day as he was thus engaged
the same slave who had murdered his son jumped over the fence
unnoticed, knelt down before him, confessed his crime and begged
for forgiveness. The Emir, startled, looked down at him, and
with tears trickling down his face, said: &Ahmed, it is hard for
me to forgive the murderer of my only son, but the good book
said, (meaning the Koran) 'Mercy is greater than justice and
forgiveness is nobler than vengeance.' Therefore I forgive you
—rise and go in peace lest anyone else see you and you would be
killed instantly." To this the slave answered: "Master, I have
no money, otherwise I would: have escaped to a far-off country long before this." Upon hearing this, the Emir searched his
pockets, found twenty-five gold pounds and gave them to the
slave who, as soon as he got the money, flew away in haste, while
Abdullah Al-Omar raised his eyes upward and said: "Allah, be
merciful unto me as I have been merciful unto my slave."
Later on we learned (that the slave went to a far-off country, established himself in business, succeeded, married a nice
girl, had three lovely children and lived to enjoy himself in
peace and prosperity, while Abdullah Al-Omar died a year after
his son was murdered, a broken-hearted and a sad old man, but
�10VEMBER, 19$S
15
one who was big enough and great enough to forgive with charity the murderer of his only son and give him the chance to live,
to work, and to enjoy life.
THE SONG OF! MAISUNA*
Translation from the Arabic by J. D. CARLYLE.
The russet suit of camel's hair,
With spirits light and eye serene,
Is dearer to my bosom far
Than all the trappings of a queen.
The humble tent and murmuring breeze
That whistles thro' its fluttering wall
My unaspiring fancy please
Better than towers and splendid halls.
Th' attendant colts that bounding fly
And frolic by the litter's side,
Are dearer in Maisuna's eye
Than gorgeous mules in all their pride.
The watch-dog's voice that bays whene'er
A stranger seeks his master's cot,
Sounds sweeter in Maisuna's ear
Than yonder trumpet's long-drawn note.
The rustic youth unspoilt by art,
Son of my kindred, poor but free,
Will ever to Maisuna's heart
Be dearer, pamper'd fool, than thee.
* Maisuna was a daughter of the tribe of Calab; a tribe according to
Abulfeda, remarkable both for the purity of dialect spoken in it, and for
the number of poets it had produced. She was married whilst very young,
to the Caliph Mu'awiah. But this exalted situation by no means suited the
disposition of Maisuna, and amidst all the pomp and splendor of Damascus,
she languished for th« simple pleasures of her native desert.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
The Golden City of Iram
An adaptation of a famous Arabic legend.
By HABIB I. KATIBAH
Edited by FREDERICK H. MARTENS
In the heart of the great Arabian desert, amid the endless
waves of the sea of sand, hidden from the eyes of men by magic
spells, stands the wonder city of Iram, all built of gold, silver
and precious stones.
Once upon a time, long, long before the coming of the
prophet Mohammed, a mighty king by the name of Aad ruled
all Arabia with an iron hand. King Aad had two sons. Shadid
and Shaddad, and when he passed from earth he left his kingdom to them and they ruled it together until Shadid died and
Shaddad was left to rule it alone.
King Shaddad was a proud and haughty tyrant who reigned
according to his whims and caprices, with no thought for the good
of his subjects. Like all tyrants, he was intensely selfish and considered the great kingdom in which his will was law as his personal property, and its people as his slaves. A mighty conqueror,
King Shaddad waged war against the neighboring kings of Syria
and Persia, subdued their countries with vast armies, and in course
of time reigned over a kingdom which stretched from the borders
of India to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Mountain of
Kaf to the Indian Ocean. The kingdoms which lay beyond his
dominions feared him, and their kings paid him tribute, and thus
he became not only the mightiest but the wealthiest king on earth.
Then of the pride of King Shaddad's heart there was born
an impious and godless idea. In the holy books of ancient times
he had read of the joys of Paradise, with its golden streets, its
gates of lustrous pearl, its crystal rivers, its evergreen trees, the
like of whose fruits men never tasted on earth. "Let Allah have
His Paradise in Heaven," thought King Shaddad to himself, "I
shall make me a Paradise as good as His here on earth!"
And so he sent for his viziers and the great lords of his
kingdom, and when they were assembled, they bowed before him
in the dust. Addressing them, he said:
"In the sacred books of olden times I have read descrip-
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
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n
tions of Paradise, Allah's golden Gty of the clouds, through
which run crystal rivers, which sing as they flow. I have made
up my mind that such a city shall be mine to have and enjoy here
on earth and during my mortal life. For though Allah be mighty in heaven, I, King Shaddad, am mighty on earth, and who has
a better right to know the joys of Paradise on earth than I?
A chill of awe and terror ran over the great assembly ot
King Shaddad's courtiers when they heard him utter these blasphemies. They glanced at one another with fear and amazement,
half expecting to see Allah strike the impious monarch dead upon his throne. But they dared not murmur nor protest and
listened in silence as King Shaddad spoke again:
"It is my will, therefore, that scouts be sent out to every
part of my kingdom to select the spot best fitted to be the site
of my Paradise. And when the site has been found, the laborers and skilled artisans of every kind must at once be sent there
to build a city the like of which ho human eye has seen. It must
be a city raised on marble pillars and surrounded by a
mighty wall. Its palaces and streets must be paved with gold
and silver, and studded with precious stones."
Then the viziers and great lords went forth from King
Shaddad's palace and at once began to busy themselves carrying
out his commands. Scouts were sent out in every direction to
find a site worthy of the golden city and when they returned,
they reported that the ideal spot was in the very heart ot the
Arabian desert. It was a fertile plain where clear rivers flowed
and where every variety of fruit and shade tree flourished; a
green oasis hedged off and isolated from the rest of the world
by vast seas of sand which surrounded it on every side King
Shaddad listened to their report and was pleased with their
choice, and at once messengers rode to every part of his kingdom
to collect the materials needed to build the golden city which
was to be called "Iram, the City of Pillars."
For full ten years materials were collected through King
Shaddad's realm and for ten years great caravans of camels toiled endlessly through the burning sands bringing them to the
laborers and artisans who worked without ceasing to build the
eolden city. With tinkling bells the caravans brought loads
of precious freight to the oasis where the city was taking shape:
gold, silver, marble, sandalwood, aloes, pine and gems of every
size and color. Every land that made up Shaddad's great kingdom yielded up its choicest treasures. Yellow gold came from
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
the mines of Ophir and green gold from the Indian rivers. On
Mount Lebanon, the woodman's axe laid low the giant cedars,
and along the coast of Malabar, armed horsemen fought the
huge termite ants to collect the fragrant sandalwood. Indian
rajahs and Persian shahs emptied their! jewel-caskets at King
Shaddad's command, and in the Persian Gulf his slaves dared
the tentacles of the huge squids that hid in the shadows of the
undersea banks to dive for pearls white and pink.
And as the materials were collected and sent to the oasis,
King Shaddad's engineers and artisans labored at the building of
Iram, the City of Pillars, and they labored for thirty years with
never a stop until the golden city at last rose in its perfected
beauty. Never was there a city on earth to equal it. Its streets
were paved with stones covered with silver, and the branches
of fruit and shade trees overhung the singing waters as they flowed.
The palaces of the golden city were raised on pillars of
rosy granite and snowy marble, and themselves were built of
semi-precious stones held together with gold and silver bands
and inlaid with pearls and jewels. And every palace was joyous
with the soul of living waters, which ran, sang and murmured
in open conduits and in pipes and basins of silver and marble,
and were borne along from one chamber to another to break out
suddenly in crystalline, dancing jets in sunlit courts or roofed
basins. And all about the city rose a huge wall whose towering
ramparts were broken every three hundred cubits by great castle
towers. And in all this huge wall there was but a single entrance gate, wrought of massive iron covered with plates of gold.
Skilled artisans had inlaid the golden surface of the great gate
with scenes picturing the great deeds of King Shaddad and his
father, King Aad, in a mosaic of quartz crystals, rubies, emeralds
and tourmalines. Beneath these figures was a legend in Arabic
letters, all formed of large pearls, which said: "King Shaddad,
the mighty, the glorious, the King of Kings, whose rule is supreme on earth, has built the Golden (City of Iram, the Earthly
Paradise, so that he may enjoy on earth the Bliss that Allah enjoys in Heaven!"
And when the golden city was completely finished, when
every last stone was in place and every last jewel had been inlaid
in its palace walls, King Shaddad set out with his viziers, his '
great lords and bodyguard of picked men to make his solemn
Mitramee imto it. For days the huge caravan toiled across the
�$CPVEMBERt'l926
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burning yellow sands, and while the silver camel bells tinkled,
King Shaddad in his cushioned litter dreamed proud dreams of
happiness. He was going to take possession of Iram, the City
of Pillars, the Golden City, the Earthly Paradise whose creation
had almost made him equal to Allah Himself!
And as that splendid caravan moved over the arid sand, a
glorious glittering spectacle, not a soul among those who composed it, from King Shaddad himself down to the least of his
half-naked camel-drivers, gave a thought to the wrath of Allah
—blessed be His name and happy are those who bend the knee
of humility before Him!
At last the great caravan drew near the Golden City, and
the horses tossed their heads and the camels stretched their necks
as they scented the sweet waters of the oasis and realized that at
last they were at their journey's end. And then, at the very
moment when the travelers saw the glorious walls and towers,
the shady groves and sparkling fountains rise before them, the
skies began to frown and enormous black clouds cast their threatening shadows across the sands. Without a moment's warning,
with the Golden City still sparkling before their eyes, the heavens
suddenly opened, and with a crash as though the world were
coming to an end a tremendous shower of stones and fire fell
from the skies and buried the great caravan in the twinkling of
an eye. Not one soul of all King Shaddad's great following,
including the impious king himself, lived to enter the Golden
City or to tell the tale of the terrible disaster which had overwhelmed them. And from that day on, Allah hid away Iram,
the Golden City, from the sight of man. Once only during all
the centuries that have passed has the foot of a mortal trodden
its silver streets. For Allah had decreed that the Golden City
of Iram shall be visible only to one in whose heart dwelt no guile
nor selfishness!
The tale of the one man whose mortal eye had seen the
Golden City—though many have spent a lifetime searching for
it in vain—has been preserved. His name was Aus al-Karni.
He was an ascetic and a former companion of the Prophet—May
all blessings rest upon him!—who lived in the days of Mu'awiya,
the first Umayyad Caliph. Aus al Kami was altogether given
up to good works. He spared no thought for himself but lived
only for the greater glory of Allah on Whom he placed his sole
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
20
reliance! One day when Aus al-Karni was wandering through
the desert, lost in pious contemplation, he happened to raise his
eyes and, lo and behold! there, before him, stood the Golden
City of Iram, risen in all its radiant beauty out of the glowing
yellow sands. Aus al-Karni recognized it at once, for he had
read about it in the Koran, and often wondered where Allah
might have hidden it away. Always Aus al-Karni had yearned
to see the Golden City of Iram. It was the great secret wish
of his heart, and now Allah has rewarded His faithful servant
and granted him his wish. No longer would it be necessary for
Aus al-Karni to murmur to himself with a sigh: "If I could but
once see Iram, the Golden City, before I am called away from
earth! What would I not give to gladden my eyes for one brief
moment with the earthly picture of the heavenly Paradise which
awaits the true believers!"
For Iram, the Golden City, rose now before him, its towering palaces gleaming and glittering in the sun, and Aus al Karni
flung himself on the sands and before he entered the silent city,
he praised Allah for this rare and singular favor He had granted him. As he passed through the jeweled gate his eyes were
dazzled by the beauty surrounding him on every side. Never
in his most fantastic dreams had he imagined that earth held such
a vision of splendor and riches. Everywhere the stone pavements
he trod were adorned and inset with gold and silver, and pearls
as large as pigeon's eggs were strewn about the streets like pebbles. Aus al-Karni looked about him in awe-struck amazement.
And blinded by all the wealth that surrounded him, an evil
thought entered his heart and he spoke it aloud: "Surely there
would be no harm in picking up some of the pearls and jewels
which lay carelessly scattered about on every side, and keeping
them for myself? Allah would certainly not begrudge them to
me and would not be offended if I took them. For I would not
gather a quantity in order to become rich, but just a few, to keep
as a remembrance of the hidden wonder-city of the sands which
mine has been the first eye to gaze upon since King Shaddad carried its vision with him to death!"
And as he spoke, Aus al-Karni bent down and picked up a
lustrous cream-colored pearl which lay at his feet.
Alas! as his hand closed on the pearl, Iram, the Golden
City, disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared to him! The
moment before Aus al Karni had been standing on the silver
pavement under the grateful shade of a giant sycamore that rose
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NOVEMBER, 1926
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21
on the bank of a singing crystal stream. Now the hot desert
sand burned beneath his sandaled feet and about him stretched
the endless desert wastes. Aus al-Karni looked at the pearl he
still held in his hand and saw it had turned into a common ordinary pebble.
Since that day, though many have sought it, no man has ever
seen the Golden City of Iram. Somewhere amid the yellow
desert sands it stands as it has stood through the ages, waiting for
the only seeker who will be able to see it — the man in whose
heart no guile nor selfishness dwells!
The Unrecognized Singer
Dahman, a famous Arab singer of the early Umayyad
period, was a camel driver but one who distinguished himself
for his gallantry and his magnanimity.
One day, while on one of his journeys, he heard a sad and
pitiful sigh of a woman. Presently a beautiful maiden appeared
weeping.
"Are you a bondswoman?" asked Dahman. The maiden
said she was, and thereupon Dahman, out of pity, bought her
from her mistress for 200 dinars. He took her with him on all
his trips until she learned from him the art of singing almost
to perfection.
On a certain journey, as they were approaching Damascus,
he pitched his tent in a secluded spot and the maid began to sing
in the stillness of the night, when, behold! a traveller on horseback, having been attracted by the voice of the maiden, drew
near and, saluting Dahman and the maid, said:
"Would you permit me to take shelter under your tent
this Jhour of the night?" They answered, "yes," and thereupon
he alighted from his horse and did eat and drink with them.
Then he requested that the maiden repeat the song he had heard,
and the maiden, with the permission of her master, repeated it
several times, and the guest was moved with supreme joy and
admiration. Then addressing the maiden, he said: "The songs
of Dahman do please me exceedingly. Know you any of them?"
She replied, "yes," and sang him some. As she finished her first
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
song, Dahman winked at her as if to say, "do not tell him that I
am Dahman."
And so till a late hour of the night the maiden and her
master Dahman sang to their guest alternately, as he drank and
was intoxicated with wine and song.
At last the guest said: "O stranger, will you sell me your
maid?"
Dahman, in a mood of humor, asked for her a price that was
exorbitant. "Yes," he said, "I will sell her to you for ten thousand dinars."
Great was his surprise when the guest, without hesitation,
said, "I have bought. Bring me paper and ink." Then taking
pen in hand he wrote: "Pay to the order of bearer the sum of
ten thousand dinars," addressing the paper to a man in Najran,
a place near Damascus.
The guest departed with his purchased maiden, while Dahman hurried to Najran after the money. When he reached
Najran he straightforward went to the home of the man to whom
the paper, sealed and folded, was addressed. Soon he found
himself before an imposing palace worthy of a king. He went
up to the gate and delivered the paper to the owner, who, as he
read the signature, kissed the paper and, placing it reverently on
his forehead, paid the bearer the sum mentioned therein, saying:
"This letter is from the Prince of All the Believers,
al-Walid."
Dahman, who till then had not known the identity of his
guest, was astounded with surprise, as he carried the money and
went his way.
As for the maiden, she had not been long with the Caliph
when he asked her to sing him more of Dahman's songs.
"Hadst thou not heard Dahman in person, most exalted Caliph?" asked the maiden. The Caliph replied: "No."
"Verily thou hadst," came the answer of the maiden, "for
the man from whom thou didst buy me was none other than
Dahman himself, and he had winked at me not to tell thee."
Al-Walid was surprised to learn that his entertainer was
the very singer he had long desired to hear. He immediately
wrote his agent in Medina to send Dahman to him, and when the
singer reached the court of the Caliph he was received with utmost
consideration and rewarded royally.
�NOVEMBER, 1926
CD
Shann Finds His Mate
An Arab Tale of Brilliant Wit.
Shann was an Arab famed for his intelligence and ready
wit. He decided not to marry but one who was his equal and
who would find no difficulty in understanding him. For this
purpose he traveled from tribe to tribe and from town to town
looking for his equal half. One day, on the road, he met an old
man riding a donkey, going in the same direction. The two
journeyed! together with (little conversation, until they came to a
steep road, when Shann, turning to the old man said: "Will you
bear me or shall I bear you?"
The old man, surprised and not a little chagrined, replied:
"We are both mounted, why should I bear you or you me?
It is with great difficulty that my donkey bears me, let alone
bearing you also."
Shann made no reply, till passing by a wheat field, turning
white with ripeness and ready for the scythes of the harvesters,
he spoke: "Has this wheat been consumed or not as yet?"
The old man turned to him and snapped out: "Are you
blind, don't you see the wheat still standing? Why ask if it
has been consumed or not?"
Shann resumed his silence, till the two neared the town to
which they were destined, when they saw coming out of the village a funeral procession. Shann broke the silence: "Uncle, is
this one who is being carried out to be buried, dead or alive?"
The old man, who had by this time reached the limit of
his patience, cried out in exasperation: "What ails you that you
ask such silly questions? Do you suppose that they would take
out a live man and bury him?"
When the two were in the middle of the village square,
the old man invited Shann to spend the night with him and
Shann gratefully accepted his companion's hospitality.
Now, the old man had a daughter, Tabaka, who also was
reputed for her wit, and to her the old man related all that had
passed between him and Shann, not failing to remark what a
dunce they were quartering with them for the night.
But Tabaka was of another opinion, and explained to her
father what their guest meant by his questions.
"When he asked you," she explained, "will you bear me
.
^^MH
i ii^laiiiiMwfe^w
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
24
or shall I bear you, he meant, will you entertain me with your
conversation or shall I entertain you; and when he asked, had
the wheat been consumed or not yet, he meant to inquire if the
owners of the wheat were burdened by debt, for which they
would have to sell the wheat and pay the debtors, or were they
free of debt; and when he asked you concerning the dead man
who was being carried out to be buried, if he were dead or alive,
he meant to ask if the man had a male child to perpetuate his
name or not."
The old man, much pleased with the brilliant explanations
of his daughter, went out and recited them to Shann, making
believe that he had discovered them himself. But Shann refused to believe that the answers were the old man's and insisted on knowing who jfound out the true meanings of his conundrums.
Then the old man confessed that it was his daughter who
supplied the answers, and Shann, thereupon, betrothed her of
her father, and after the marriage went happily with her to
his own people.
THE BIG THREES
"Three change friendship to enmity: to speak evil against
one, to!boast over one and to indulge in joking."
"Three bring one to his rue: envy, back-biting and folly."
"Three make one more foolish than :a mad man:
jealousy and drunkenness."
anger,
"From three there is no satiety: life, health and wealth."
"Sit with the magnanimous ones, converse with the wise ones
and ask the learned ones.
"Three are) the signs of simple-mindedness: to turn around
when nobody calls j to hasten in answering when somebody else
is addressed with the question; and to laugh for no cause."
"Three indicate the mind of their owner: a messenger, a
letter and a present."
»
"
�NOVEMBER, 1926
25
The Ten Commandments
of Success
ADDRESSED TO THE SYRIAN YOUTH IN AMERICA
By REV. W. A. MANSUR
PRES., SANTEE NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL, SANTEE, NEB.
The ambitious like the stories of successful men because of
the inherent desire in the human heart to succeed. We want to
know of those who made good, how they did it, how they overcame difficulty, how they got along with others, how they turned
failure to success. The story of success thrills; it is romantic. The
business man reads the story of the successful business manj the
ambitious lawyer reads the story of the successful lawyer} the
scientist reads the story of the successful scientist, and so on all
along the line of human effort.
There are four classes of people with regard to success. First,
the I CANTS, who are the cowards, the weaklings. Second, the
I WON'TS, the rebels against the better-self and the call to high
endeavor. Third, the I DON'TS, who are the selfish and the
lazy, who are occupied with the lower desires and ideals. In these
three classes the better-self is drowned out by the lower ideals,
the call to higher success is unheeded because ambition and courage are lacking.
The fourth class are the I CANS, they are the kings who
conquer. These have not only the knowledge but the faith, ambition and courage. They launch out into life with a winning
spirit. They seek constant inspiration and renewed vision to keep
on the trail of successful endeavor. It is mainly to this class I
write.
Sound character is the foundation upon which to build the
successful life. Without it you may be as "rich as Croesus" but
your life will turn out to be a glittering husk. Without it life
can never be worth living. For character is all a man will take
with him to eternity. Chas. M. Schwab says there must be "unimpeachable integrity". Admiral Farragut said character is the
first element of success. Marshall Field says character is important in business. Character is the man. He should strive to be:
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
true to the highest manhood, honest in his dealings with others,
and remember that the highest praise is not the eulogy of his
fellows but the approval of his conscience and God.
What is the greatest need of our men and women, boys and
girls? Inspiration to successful endeavor is the greatest need of
the younger generation of our race. Health radiates health. Good
character inspires good character. Successful men influence
others to success. The optimist awakens hope, brightens
the day, and brings cheer. I want to tell our young people that
we believe in them, that in them is the hope of our race. The
Gospel of Success may be summed in ten commandments.
7—Thou shalt have an overmastering purpose.
The one who wishes to succeed must have an overmastering purpose.
Desire for success is not enough. Like Daniel he must "purpose in his
heart", the purpose must rule the thought of the mind, and the craving of
the heart It must become' the will of his life.
A writer in the Atlantic Monthly tells the secret of his success. He
was thinking of going to college. He rested his team one September day
to answer the question, "Why don't you go to college?" There were obstacles in the way. First, he1 had only a country school education; second,
he was busy on his step-father's farm; third, there were requirements for
entrance some of which he neve* heard. But the idea of going to college
stuck, he determined to go. In eleven months he prepared and was admitted to college'. He says, "If you really want to go to college, you can."
And where there's a will, there's a way.
I wrote a near-by college and enlisted aid for a young lad. He was
to fill out a card and return it. Help was assured him. When I asked,
"John, are you going to college?" he replied, "I don't know whether I
want to go to college or not, I am undecided." He was making hay that
day, and he may keep on making hay the rest of his life.
An overmastering purpose, whether high or low, costs. A man was
riding through a new sub-division. In the center of each lot a stake had
been driven, and on each stake a red card. The card gave the number
of the lot and the price, and instruction to tear off the card, and take it
to the real estate company's office. Beneath the card was painted on the
stake the word "sold". Some lots were more expensive than others, for
some were by the boulevard, some by the railroad track.
So as you drive along life's sub-division you may select the lot you
wish. Each has its price. Some are costly, some are cheap. Whatever
that purpose may be, to win, it must become the master of your soul.
//—Thou shah do the best thou canst where thou art.
Men who do things are not given to much talk. It's not so much
"gab" that one needs as "git". The Apostle of doing things says, "Be y«
�T
NOVEMBER, 1926
27
doers and not hearers only". Most men would succeed at the very job
they are at if they paid more attention to it. I asked a missionary who
taught printing to Indians, "After thirty-eight years experience, what essential is necessary to success?" He replied, "Attention to work."
Two colored men came to the outskirts of a crowd where a politician
was making a speech. After listening a while, one said to the other, "Who
am dat man, Sam?" "Ah doan know what his name am," replied Sam,
"but he sartinly do recommen' hisself most highly." It is not by their
"roots", their talk, dreams, and self recommendation, but by their "fruits",
their deeds, that ye shall know them.
Keep on doing the best you can where you are. Jump only when you
know where you are going to land. Grow into something better. The
way of success is the way of growth. You must be worthy of something
better to get promoted. Maltbie Babcock's acoustic is a good recipe for
success:
"Go
Right
On
Working
G-R-O-W."
The short-cut idea to success is a myth and a mirage. It sidetracks
a man off the main highway. The NeW York Herald-Tribune tells the
story of a sixteen-year old boy who was discovered one morning climbing
the Palisades at one of the most dangerous points, in order to get into
the amusement park. For three years the boy had made it a practice almost daily to climb the Palisades at that particular point "beating his way
into the park".
"Don't you know," asked the superintendent, "that we charge no admission in the morning?"
"My gosh, no," replied the boy.
Now there are well-known, tried and true paths to success. To stray
from them is like climbing the Palisades when the front gate to the park
stands open. Do your level best where you are. Develop your capacity
for better things. Dig in where you are. Improve your work. Apply
every ounce' of energy and thought. Create opportunity for yourself.
And all the while plan, plan, plan how you can take the next step upward
on the ladder of success.
///—Thou shah build the successful life with God.
I am convinced that there is more to life than eating, drinking, working, playing, singing, suffering, conquering, failing, and at last dying.
Things do not satisfy. Materialism kills, it leads to darkness and despair.
I believe God has set the things of eternity in the heart. I believe God
is the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Divine Architect, the Supreme
Intelligence, and the Father of our spirits. I say with St. Augustine: "Our
hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee."
Let us remember, notwithstanding the materialism of the day, tihat
still "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Life is a trust, we
are stewards, and God is the only perpetual owner of all things. A most
important human thought, to use Daniel Webster's words, is man's ac-
�-
\
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
countability to God. H. G. Wells says in Mr. Brittling Sees It Through,
"Religion is the first thing and the last thing, until a man has found God
and been found by God, he begins at no beginning, he works to no end.
He may have his friendships, his partial loyalties, his scraps of honor, but
all these fall into place and life falls into place only with God."
Put God into the plan of your life. As they were about to build the
nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York the workmen
themselves requested Bishop Manning that he himself hold a service of
prayer on the site where the foundation had been laid for the walls. He
asked them to join in the dedicatory prayer: "God will be with us in this
work to erect here a building which shall lift man's thoughts to the glory
and greatness of God and shall be a blessing to our city and to our whole
land." Faith in God makes this world God's world, and in the words of
Carlyle's Sartor Resartus, "the Father House" and not a "charnel house".
"What are you doing?" a workman was asked. "Cutting stone," he
replied. "And what are you doing " a second workman was asked and he
said, "Working for six dollars a day." But a third said, "I am building
a Cathedral". Now, material things perish; spiritual things are eternal
and they are they that give lasting value, meaning, and real success to
life's endeavors.
IV—Thou shah choose thy life-work early.
It is to your advantage to choose your life-work early. You gather
about you the thought, the people, the books and the spirit of that work.
Lincoln said in his youth, "I will study and get ready. Some day my
chance will come." He was not looking for special favors. What a man
needs is not "luck" but "pluck".
Orison Swett Marden tells how Horace Maynard put up a V over his
door at college. When he was chosen valedictorian he gave the secret
meaning of that letter. The V of valedictorian was the inspiration of his
college life.
Daniel Webster started when a youth to study law. From a New
England farm, as near to the soil as any man, he became to many the
world's third orator, the others being Demosthenes and Cicero. He influenced Lincoln perhaps more than any other man of his time.
"If you are going to do anything permanent for the average man,"
said Roosevelt, "you have got to begin before he is a man. The chance
of success lies in working with the boy and not with the man."
By starting early you get a "good ready." An early start is a kind
of spring-board to success. It's a sort of working capital. One learns to
put himself in the way of opportunity. It trains one in the art of decision.
One learns from youth up that honesty, self-control, initiative, tact, selfreliance, imagination, industry and courage are traits worth developing.
V—Thou shah stick to thy ambition to the end.
Any one can start on the way to success but
the end will get there. Perseverence counts. Men
things for granted as they near the goal. Many
but only for a while. Some fail because they don't
only he who sticks to
fail because they take
start and make good
find their place in the
�NOVEMBER, 1926
29
world, or because they have no capacity for hard work, or dare not tackle
the difficulties in their way. Others fail because they are not trustworthy,
or are unwilling to stand alone, or because they have ceased to grow.
Success is the answer to everlastingly trying to succeed. He wins who
has faith, courage, vision and endurance to the end. Success calls for every
bit of brains, every ounce of energy, and all a man's ambition day and
night. You can't keep a determined man down. You may hinder him.
You may swerve him from the right path. Yau may discourage him,
Yet he will rise to the occasion doubly strengthened ijr the goal.
Bernard Palissy was the "craziest of all 'crazy fools'". He had an
idea which demanded a heavy fire test to bring it to success. The plans
were carried out and his money was spent. Should he let the fire go out?
"No, no", said Palissy. Amid the tears and pleadings of wife and children he swung an ax and began to cut his furniture and house to get wood
to keep the fire going. His wife and children began to feel the effects of
hunger. Nothing would keep him from keeping at his experiment. At
last, > like magic, the old potter saw the dreams of his life succeed. "I've
got it! I've got it " when he drew out of the furnace five hundred cups
and saucers, bowls and pitchers and vases beautiful and shinning. He had
discovered the enameling process.
James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier poet, said, "For twenty years I
tried to get into one magazine. Back came my manuscript. I kept on.
In the twentieth year the magazine accepted one of my articles." Cecil
Rhodes, empire builder of South Africa, said, "It took me fifteen years
to get a mine, but I got it." Marshall Joffre, famous French general, wired, "My right has been rolled up, my left has been driven back, my center
has been mashed. I have ordered an advance from all directions."
Perseverence wins! Ambitious youth of my worthy race, persevere,
stick to your ambition to the end. Life is like a tug-of-war, so hold on,
be patient, keep at it, dig in and prepare for the next struggle.
"Diamonds are only chunks of coal,
That stuck to their jobs, you see.
If they'd petered out like most of us,
Where would the diamonds be?
It isn't the fact of making a start,
It's the sticking that counts, I'll say,
It's the fellow who knows not the meaning of fail,
But hammers and hammers away."
VI—Thou shalt do more than is expected of thee.
It's hard to do more than is expected of one especially when it is undeserved. But if one has ambition to get to the top he must be willing
to do more work, put forth extra effort, and extra thought.
Chas. H. Taylor, editor of the Boston Globe, once wrote, "The only
rule for success in a news-paper office is for a boy to do a little more
than is expected of him every week, every month, and every year. If it
is in him he will go to the top of the class." Dr. Frank Crane says, The
world abounds with people whose failure to forge ahead is chiefly, or large-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
30
ly, due to their consistent refusal to do a little more than tlheir employers
expect of them."
This leads me to say that people may be divided into three classes:
The self-starters; the hand-crankers; and the trailers. They are, in other
words, the oar-boat people, the sail-boat people, and the steam-boat people.
Some are driven by muscle and material things; some by the whims of the
day; and some by intelligent thought upon the things worth while. The
study of successful men shows that they are the ones who gave more industry, energy, thought and sacrifice to their undertakings, than the common run of people.
John Miller Wyatt said, "I once advertised for a stenographer. Six
answered the ad. Two asked, 'What are the hours of work?' Two, 'What
make of typewriter do you use?' One asked, 'How long a vacation do I
get?' And the other wanted a job, and she got it."
The man who is not afraid to do a little more than is expected of him
is like Sydney Smith's Chinaman, Chin Chow. He was made to say, "It
is written: a hen scratches the ground with both feet knowing if it does
not find anything with one foot it may with the other."
Whether you think of Columbus, Magellan, Galileo, Newton, Franklin,
Pasteur, Edison and many others, you will find much of their success depended upon the extra time and effort they put on their work.
VII—Thou shall use thy spare moments to improve thyself.
The soul of success is the success of the soul. Upon this fact hinges
the success of many a life. The use of spare moments has raised many a
man from obscurity to fame. Think of the spare time after work, the
holidays, of the many hours and half-hours. The late Ohas. W. Eliot of
Harvard thought the use of fifteen minutes intelligent reading the right
kind of literature would give a man a liberal education.
Thomas A. Edison used his spare moments and forged ahead. As a
boy he sold papers on a railroad train between Grand Rapids and Port
Huron, Mich. During odd times he experimented with electricity. It was
but a start but he kept it up, and the result has been a life full of wonderful achievement. Witness the telegraph, the motion picture, the talking
machine, and hundreds of other inventions.
Every hour you spend in improving yourself you are one hour ahead
of the other fellow. You develop your powers, you increase your capacity,
you become skillful while the other fellow idles away his time.
Sir Walter Scott said, "The best of every man's education is tkat
which he gives to himself." The historian Gibbon said, "Every person has
two educations, one which he receives from others, and one, more important,
which he gives to himself." Knowledge through our labour becomes our real
possession and lasts. We appreciate that which we labour to get. "The
reward of one duty done," said George Eliot, "is the power to do another."
One victory helps some other to win. After all our initiative, struggles,
achievements, are real essentials to success.
I believe with a Detroit Rabbi that, "Largely our difficulty lies in the
fact that we have lost the art — perhaps it is the highest art — of employing our leisure advantageously."
MHMMMK
�—
NOVEMBER, 1926
31
Stop and get to know yourself how you may improve your powers;
look about you for opportunity; and listen to the wisdom and experience
of the past.
VIII—Thou shalt keep on trying to make good.
Success 'has its ups and downs, it has no royal road. Many a man with
a physical handicap climbed to success over it. Poverty has been only a
challenge to many others. Repeated failure has spurred many a man with
renewed vigor. "Circumstances", do I hear you say; well, get around
them. Whatever you do, "keep plugging along". Success will come if
you faithfully, industriously, intelligently, and honestly keep on.
"Success is never easy," said the late David Graham Philipps at a
Princeton Club dinner in New York. "If I told you how many magazine
stories of mine were rejected before my first novel made a hit you'd never
believe it."
"Success is like skating," said Mr. Philipps. "When I was a little boy
in Madison, another little boy said to me enviously one winter day, 'How
did you learn to skate so well?' 'Oh, just by getting up every time I fell
down', said I."
Learn to do better from your mistakes. The fellow who never made
mistakes never got anywhere, if he ever lived at all. Mistakes are only
mis-takes, misses, that's all. One time I saw a double play at a base-ball
game because a player missed the ball. Sometimes our misses only tend
to double our determination to make good the next time.
One day forty years ago a young life insurance salesman nearly closed the sale of a large policy. In his excitement the old fashioned pen
caught, and a great blot spread over the half written signature, obliterating it. The salesman lost his policy but gained a great idea and the result
was the fountain pen. The salesman was L. E. Waterman. He made the
blot the inspiration which led to a great invention and a fortune.
Abraham Lincoln failed again and again, lost the senatorship to Senator Douglas, but won the Presidency and immortal fame.
IX—Thou shalt associate with successful -people.
Make friends of successful people. Show me the people you associate
with, how you use your spare moments, and what books you read, and I
will tell you the road you are travelling, the kind of a man you are going
to become, and the success you are going to achieve.
Nothing succeeds like success because it radiates a winning spirit.
It carries one along with it. Ella Wheeler Wilcox said, "Laugh and the
worlds laugh with you, weep and you weep alone." Optimism, faith, cheer,
happiness, success, draw men to them; but pessimism, fear, gloom, unhappiness, and failure, drive men away. Go with those who are making good,
and you will breathe the spirit of success. You get the inspiration of tlheir
ambition, the method of conquering difficulty, and the secret of their enthusiasm.
"What's happened with Schiller?" asked the friends of the young
German writer. As a student Schiller was sensitive, retiring, and did not
show his bast self. Whan tw»nty-nine years old he met Goethe, one of
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the greatest writers of Germany, and ten years older than Schiller. Goethe's friendship made an immediate change in Schiller's life. It became
the inspiration and guide of all his later work. If you wish to succeed
there's nothing like the friendship of the successful.
Read the lives of the great and successful men. It will leave an indelible mark upon your thinking, a determination to make the best use of your
talents, an encouragement to overcome difficulties, and a faith that no honest work goes unrewarded. Let it be remembered that our associates, living or dead, tend to influence us for good or ill, and as Lord Collingwood
said, "the worth of a man will always be ruled by that of his company."
Napoleon once commanded a certain marshall to take a certain hill.
It seemed impossible and the marshall turned white. Summoning all his
reserve, he said to Napoleon, "Give me one grip of your conquering hand
and I will go." The hill was taken and with honor to the marshall. What
ambitious youth need sometimes is only the grip of the spirit of some successful man.
SB
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X—Thou shah have faith in thyself.
If you are looking for success and you lack faith in your ability to
find it, you arey already on the rode to failure. A man travels in the
direction of his faith. This statement weighs a ton. You must have selfconfidence to inspire the confidence of others in you. Not the haughty kind
of self-confidence, not the bluster and the bluff. True self-confidence it
founded on preparation, thoroughness, hard work, and a willingness to
serve.
Believe in yourself, make good, and this will lead others to believe in
you. There is power in the conviction that you can do things.
Remember that Julius Caesar was an epileptic. If he had been looking for alibis, he had a dandy. Beethoven, the great composer, was deaf.
Pope was a hunchback; Carlyle had chronic indigestion; Stevenson was a
consumptive; Booker T. Washington was a negro; Helen Keller is blind.
The greatest need of the younger generation is inspiration to have
faith in themselves for all successful endeavors.
Socrates was asked by a young man, "Sir, I come to you in search
of knowledge. Will you not tell me how I can gain knowledge?" ^'Fellow
me," Socrates answered and took him to the river. Socrates went into the
water to the waist, and the young man followed him. He thrust the young
man's head under the water and held him there until the youth would surely perish. Socrates dragged the youth to the shore and waited for him
to catch his breath and said, "My boy, what did you most desire when
I held your head under the water?" "Air," replied the youth. Socrates
said, "Go your way and remember that when you want knowledge as much
as you wanted air when you were under the water, you will get it."
And so I say that the measure of your success will be measured by
your faith in yourself and the intensity of your desire to succeed. Have
you a one talent faith? Then you shall have a one talent success. Have
you a two talent faith? Then you shall have a two talent success. "According to your faith be it unto you."
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DE JOUVENEL MEETS LORD Pl«UMER IN HISTORICAL SETTING
When Henry De Jouvenel was still French High Commissioner in Syria, he paid a friendly visit to Lord Plumer, the English High Commissioner of Palestine. They are both photographed here at the entrance to the
National Museum in Jerusalem. Notice the sign bearing inscriptions in the three official languages of Palestine: Arabic, English and Hebrew,.
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�TANKS IN THE DESERT
But tanks that carry not water for the thirsty traveler-They are French engines of war used against the
warring Druze tribesmen.
A CARAVAN AT REST
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A typical scene in the Syrian desert. The military formation of camels indicates the nature of their mission—that of transporting ammunition to the Syrian rebels.
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A HANGING SCENE IN DAMASCUS
A gibbet is erected in the public square and the morbid collect to watch the hanging.
taken recently showing the execution of three outlaws.
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
3i
Famous Arab Lovers
v
Waddah of Yemen
THE MYSTERY THAT WAS BURIED WITH
THE TRUNK
Like a butterfly that hovers around the dazzling light of a
candle, anxiously, fearingly, heedlessly, impelled by a mysterious
urge that defies explanation, fluttering its wings for a brief moment over the scorching flame that consumes it, rises from the
checkered past of the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus the figure
of the dashing poet of Yemen who dared to defy the prohibitions of the Caliph j who loved where others ventured not to
cast a glance} who literally sold his life for a song.
Waddah of Yemen, "the refulgent one", so called because
of his extreme comeliness, was claimed by two races, Arabs and
Persians, when he was too young to decide for himself. If ever
there was a "Sheik" of the desert in the common sense of the
word, dear to the hearts of thousands of movie fans and admirers of the late Rudolph Valentino, may Allah's mercy fall softly on his grave in Hollywood, that sheik without doubt was
Waddah of Yemen.
His real name was Abdul-Rahman Ibn Isma'il the son of
Kallal of Yemen. Some claim that his ancestors were Persians
having come with the Persian expedition which helped Sayf Thu
Yazan against his Abyssinian invaders. But those who would establish his Arabic origin have the choice to hold to another tradition which makes both his parents of Arabic, Yemenite blood
of the tribe of Himyar and which relates that his mother married
a man of Persian origin after the death of her husband. Waddah
was then a very small child. When he grew to maturity, his uncle
and his paternal grandmother came to claim him. His foster
father refused to give him up, saying that he was his own son,
and as usual in such matters, the case was brought to court. The
Cadi of Yemen, before whom the disputants appeared, heard the
arguments of each side; then, looking at the boy before him, he
stroked his head saying: "Thou art the Refulgent one of Yemen,
not the Refulgent one of those who followed the standards of
Thu Yazan."
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
If when still a boy Waddah had attracted attention by his
handsomeness, we can imagine what a boon to a maiden's eye he
must have been when he grew to manhood. The author of alAghani tells us that at the season of the pilgrimage he used to
go about, along with two others of his time, veiled for fear of
the evil eye.
By profession, Waddah was a poet. Had he been living today, we feel sure that he would have qualified as a male
model, making a comfortable living by posing for painters and
sculptors, or perhaps would have gone on the stage or in the
movies, but he lived at a time when such things could not be
even foreseen by flight of imagination. Instead, therefore, he
spent his leisure hours in rambling among the tents of the pilgrims making love to flirtatious women, or chanting praise to
whomever he took fancy.
Now, under ordinary circumstances, such behavior, while
frowned upon by the prim moralists of the day, was favorably
tolerated and winked at by the great majority of the ordinary
men and women who may or may not respect their teachers, but
always have a tender spot in their hearts for those who afford
them amusement and lighten the burden of their existence.
Such was the case with Waddah until one fateful day a
lady of high rank and buoyant spirit, a woman famous for her
beauty and her coquetry, decided to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, incumbent on every true believer, and often taken advantage
of by women who wished to take an extended leave from their
jealous husbands.
The lady in question was none other than Um-1-Baneen,
"the Mother of Sons", the daughter of Abdul-Aziz Ibn Mirwan,
the Umayyad Caliph, and wife of his successor al-Walid Ibn
Abdul-Malek. Her husband loved her exceedingly for she was
"a matchless pearl" in beauty. But, a wise man of the world as
he was, he knew that all the king's guards and all the king's eunuchs were not sufficient to keep watch over a woman who resolved to do something. Um-1 Baneen's foremost object in the
pilgrimage was not to visit the holy Ka'aba, but to be praised by
the famous poets of Hijaz, and have her charms sung by caravan
drivers in all the parts of the far flung empire of her royal husband. She was a woman first, and a Caliph's wife only in a secondary and subordinate degree.
But if the Caliph of Islam had no power over his wife, he
knew that he had power over his subjects, whose very souls
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NOVEMBER, 1926
25
were, so to speak, in the hollow of his hands. He wrote a letter,
a royal edict, threatening the poets of Hijaz that whosoever composes as much as a single line in praise of Um-1-Baneen shall
pay for it with his own life.
When the royal consort arrived at Mecca, she let no grass
grow under her feet. With her large retinue of slave-girls,
guards and eunuchs she took the hearts of the Meccans by storm.
She made public appearances on several occasions, to the envy of
the good housewives of the Holy City and the delight of its not
overholy men. She became the main subject of gossip and conversation, and poets who dared not to praise her openly pined
secretly ater her captivating manners and charms. Among the
poets who went to see her was Waddah, and we are now ready
to receive the shock that no sooner the eyes of Um-lBaneen fell
upon Waddah than she fell in desperate love with him. In another tradition we are told that she herself sent after Kuthair,
a famous poet and lover, together with Waddah and despite
the edict of her husband, of which no doubt she had foreknowledge, requested them to recite their poetry in her praise. She
was flirting with death but not her own! Kuthair, more cautious
than romantic, refused, but Waddah complied.
The pilgrimage over, Urn 1-Baneen returned to Damascus,
leaving her heart behind with Waddah. The news of her carryings on had already preceded her to the gay capital of the Umayyads, and the Caliph, who showed no change of attitude towards
his wife, harbored revenge against the flagrant poet.
Not long after, Waddah went to Damascus. He could not
resist the temptation of looking again upon the face of her who
captivated his heart at the first sight. He was aware of the danger that lurked for him, and he thought to himself that the
Caliph must have forgotten the incident. But the Caliph did
not forget. He was abiding his time, not wishing to cause undue
scandal by punishing Waddah openly.
Um-1 Baneen, through the good offices of her faithful chamber maids, knew of the presence of her poet lover in Damascus
and contrived to bring him to her private chamber in the Caliph's
palace.
There the two were exchanging sighs and endearments, as
lovers on such occasions do, when suddenly a black eunuch surprised them. He had been sent by the Caliph with a pearl
necklace which he had just bought for her at a fabulous price
from a passing merchant. The eunuch had scarcely crossed the
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
threshold of his mistress's chamber when he retraced his steps
to his royal master. Um-1-Baneen, however, saw him, and turning around quickly, ordered her lover to hide in a large trunk,
in a corner of the room.
Presently the Caliph came. He found Um 1-Baneen alone.
He smiled as he greeted her. His features were not a bit troubled nor changed. It was the same smile which he was fond of
bestowing on her since she came to grace his palace, the same ingratiating, soft voice j the same poise of manner that befit a Prince
of All the Believers. He cast his eyes about in the room, and
as they fell on the fateful trunk, he could not help noticing a
flutter, an unconscious heave of the bosom from his wife. Otherwise she, too, showed not the least change in her conversation or
manner to her spouse. It was an oppressive, ominous silence
that seemed to last a century.
Then the Caliph spoke.
"Wouldst thou, my most charming and virtuous lady, grant
the Prince of Believers a boon, an object from thy room?" he
asked in a graceful and condescending manner.
"My lord, I am but thy handmaid. I and all that I possess are between thy hands," the queen replied.
"I would ask for nothing more than thither trunk," he gently demanded, pointing to the trunk in which the unfortunate poet
lay crouching. Um 1-Baneen pleaded saying that she had sore
need of the trunk, and that it contained objects and trinklets dear
to her, beseaching him to choose some other object. But her
pleading was of no avail. The Caliph insisted that he had no
desire for anything else. The queen had to consent, but betrayed nut her true feelings.
Then the Caliph, having beheaded the black eunuch, the
only soul who had any knowledge of the queen's misbehaviour,
ordered that a grave be dug in the court of the palace, and that
the trunk be placed therein, without opening it.
"We have heard augh about thee," the Caliph soliloquized,
as he caused the last shovelful of earth to cover up the grave,
"if what we have heard be true, then verily we have rightly buried
thee, and cut thy report from the face of the earth; and if it be
untrue, then have we buried but wood, and how easy is that for
us!"
The narrators add that Um-1-Baneen did not notice any
difference in the demeanor of al-Walid, till death parted them.
�NOVEMBER, 1926
37
EDITOR'S COMMENT
REPORT ON CONDITION
To our many friends and well-wishers who proved so solicitous for the progress of THE SYRIAN WORLD, we are
glad to report that the publication is making steady progress.
The circulation, to be sure, is not growing in leaps and bounds,
but it is to all indications a healthy, steady, natural growth that
holds great promise.
We wish to confess that we never did anticipate a phenomenal circulation from the very beginning. Rather, we were conscious of the difficulties with which a publication of the nature
of THE SYRIAN WORLD would have to contend and made
for them proper allowances. The field, for instance, was altogether virgin, and the experiment novel. The magazine had to
be planned and conducted in such a decorous form as would
properly reflect the high cultural standard of the Syrians and
serve as a worthy medium for the self-expression of our best intellects. Yet it had to be of such a versatile nature as would have
an appeal to the varied strata of our young generation. Further,
it was necessary to have it cover a multitude of subjects which,
under ordinary circumstances, would be considered foreign to the
field of a monthly publication. Yet in this case they had to be
touched upon to make up for the deficiency of other mediums to
supply the information. Hence the introduction of the news
section reporting the activities of the Syrians in every field of endeavor and in every part of the globe. It was for such reasons
that we felt the necessity of stating in a previous issue that THE
SYRIAN WORLD, in all justice, should be judged in the light
of a pioneer carving out a way of its own and should not be
measured by the usually accepted standards.
What we are now pleased to announce is that THE SYRIAN
WORLD, both in its form and its policy, is meeting with hearty
commendation and approval. This is now the fifth number and
the skeptical ones have had ample time to convince themselves
that the same high standard with which the publication was inaugurated will be maintained. We are, therefore, little surprised at receiving commendations in increasing number from
altogether unexpected quarters. Our public, although far from
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
being lethargic, is still slow in accepting the new and the untried;
and the steadily increasing stream of commendations now flowing
into the publication office is to us an indication of the wider awakening to the urgent necessity of THE SYRIAN WORLD and the
fuller appreciation of the efforts put in its publication.
THE SYRIAN WORLD is, to our knowledge, one of the
very few publications in America which are carried on wholly by
the income derived from subscriptions. It enjoys no subsidy and
seeks none. It solicits advertising only on the merits of its circulation, and it is dependent on the soundness of the principles upon
which it was founded to carry it on to its deserving measure of
success.
IS "THE SYRIAN WORLD" SERVING ITS PURPOSE?
Many are the letters we have so far received expressing satisfaction with the service THE SYRIAN WORLD is rendering
our Syrian-American generation. "We have learned more about
Syria," write some, "from the few issues so far published than
all we could learn in years from other sources!" Others write
to say that they now feel proud of being of Syrian stock and
hesitate not at telling everybody so. Expressions of approval
along other lines are now becoming a matter of common occurrence. But where THE SYRIAN WORLD is being utilized
to serve another and an equally important purpose is in having it
broadcast its information about Syria and the Syrians, in past
history as well as in contemporary times, outside the circumscribed field of Syrian communities. THE SYRIAN WORLD was
meant to be utilized in this capacity also, and we take pleasure
in noting an awakening among our people as to its potential benefits along this line. For illustrations in point may be cited the
following:
The Rev. S. El Douaihy presented a year's subscription to
the Catholic Bishop of his diocese, the Right Rev. Bishop Hoban
of Scranton, and to several other American friends.
The "Asociacion Libanes" of San Juan, P. R., presented a
year's subscription each to the Commissioner of Education of the
Island and to the dailv paper of San Juan, El Mundo.
Chas. Karam of Blythe, California, presented it for a year
to the Editor of the Blythe Herald.
Michael Abbis of Edmundson, N. B., Canada, writes to ask
�esaaBsa^
NOVEMBER, 1926
39
permission for the local paper of tht town to copy from THE
SYRIAN WORLD, which was readily granted.
Others who have shown enthusiasm to the extent of helping circulate the magazine by presenting it to friends, principally
Americans, include:
John Trabulsi, New York City, twenty subscriptions.
Amin Bardwil, New York City, twenty subscriptions.
S. M. Rashid, Chautauqua, N. Y., ten subscriptions.
Alex. J. Hamrah, New York City, five subscriptions.
Ayub Rizk, Washington, D. C, five subscriptions.
Those making donations of from one to five subscriptions are
in too large a number to be listed here.
We are particularly pleased that without exception the American recipients of the copies of THE SYRIAN WORLD express delight with its wealth of information both to us and to the Syrian
donors.
• «n
It is gratifying to feel that the magazine can claim this much
progress in serving its dual purpose.
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SYRIANS
Al-Hoda of New York quotes from the "Star and Herald"
of Panama that "the Panama Republic has passed a law against
the immigration of Asiatics, comprising Japanese, Chinese, East
Indians, Negroes, Syrians and Lebanese." In other words, says
Al-Hoda, the Republic of Panama considers all immigrants from
any part of Asia undesirable, without respect to race or color.
This action on the part of the little Isthmian Republic recalls similar discriminatory laws enacted against Syrians in other
parts of the world. The outstanding case of this nature was the
expulsion by Haiti of all Syrians, irrespective of their nationality,
even though a large number among them were naturalized American citizens. The law was abrogated and the Syrians again permitted to enter and conduct business in Haiti following the American occupation.
Professional jealousy appears to be the main reason for this
persecution of Syrians in many countries of America and Africa,
prompted by the success of the Syrians in their mercantile undertakings. But in many cases the Syrians were subject to discriminatory legislative action merely through a misconception of their
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
true ethnology—being taken for Asiatics or to belong to other
than the white race because they come from a part of Asia. The
predicament of the Syrians in Australia arose from such a misunderstanding of facts, and even in the United States they had at
one time to put up a valiant defense and carry their case to the
Supreme Court, when a federal judge denied them the right of
citizenship on the ground that they were Asiatics.
The foregoing is but a brief allusion to what has been a
dramatic chapter in the history of Syrian immigration in many
lands. The recent action of the Republic of Panama indicates that
the final scene in this drama has not yet been enacted. This should
certainly be a matter of concern not only to those who are directly affected, but to all Syrians in every part of the world.
Some form of concerted action seems to be imperative in view of
the ever propping antipathy against the Syrians, now in one
country, then in another. If the trouble is inherent with us we
must take efficient and immediate remedial measures. But if we
are certain that we make desirable material in nation-building;
that we are entitled to a certain degree of consideration, then it
devolves upon us to defend our qualities and develop some sense
of mass action for self-protection.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
RICHARD SPILLANE needs no introduction to many of
our readers. In the American literary and journalistic fields, he
is a national figure of prominence. His powers of analysis and
his lucidity of expression are inimitable. Undoubtedly many of
our readers have often been edified and thrilled by his numerous
contributions to national magazines and to such metropolitan
dailies of high standing as the Philadelphia Public Ledger, The
New York American and the former New York Press. Of the
latter publication he was Sunday Editor for a number of years
before its amalgamation with the New York Sun, and it was in
that capacity that the editor of this magazine came to know, and
ever since to appreciate, his ability and friendship, some fifteen
years ago. We are happy to count him among our most encouraging and helpful friends, and it is both a distinction and a pleasure to publish now his first contribution to THE SYRIAN WORLD.
�MMM
NOVEMBER, 1926
41
SUMAYEH ATTIYEH—A girl of the East who is bring
ing light and delight in no mean degree to the West. In her exposition of intimate conditions of life in Syria from the lecture platform and through the printed page she is rendering a distinct service to her, race and country. Her American friends, and they are
legion, point her out as a model of personal success in the face
of adversity and handicaps. Mr. Ralph Parlette, Editor of the
Lyceum Magazine of Chicago, says of her early career that:
"She landed in Chicago with enough money to last her for a
month. She got a job as clerk in Marshall Field's. She studied
books every odd moment. She was famished for education.
* * * Four years later she is lecturing in eloquent English.
* * * She had to leave (her employment) and lecture over
the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia." And
such eminent Americans as Theodore Roosevelt, Wm. J. Bryan
and Judge Kenesaw Landis who knew her and heard her speak
put themselves on record as having discovered in her extraordinary talent. She is in great demand on the lecture platform and
we may be sure that what she has to say is of a nature to paint
a picture of her native land that evokes respect and admiration.
The name, "Sumayeh Attiyeh" literally translated from the
Arabic means a 'Sublime Gift," and we are sure Miss Attiyeh is
truly what her name signifies.
REV. W. A. MANSUR is one of those dynamic characters
whose impetus carries them to success against all obstacles. This
impression of him may well be gained from perusing his contribution to the present issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD. He is anxious to
address Syrian youth on the rudimentary causes of success and does
so forcibly and with many illustrations and quotations. We can
well say for the Rev. Mansur that he practices what he preaches
because his early life has been one of struggle from which he
emerged victorious in spite of many handicaps. Having had a
foretaste of education in missionary schools in Syria, he came to
America and entered McCormick Seminary in Chicago from
which he graduated with honors, and was ordained minister in
the Presbyterian church. His zeal and his forceful preaching
are attracting wide attention in the Western States at present, and
we feel sure that our readers will take as much pleasure as we
do in having him added to the swelling ranks of our able contributors.
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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A Woman's Revenge
An Authentic Arab Story
"1
Hind, the daughter of Al-Na'man, the Christian king of Hira
in the early days of Islam, was one of the most beautiful women
of her age. The fame of her beauty reached al-Hajjaj, the notorious tyrant of Irak under the Umayyad Caliph Abdulmalek,
and he married her for a dowry of 200,000 dirhams. Hind was
very proud of her ancestry and considered her own marriage to
the plebian Hajjaj as a marriage of convenience.
One day as al-Hajjaj entered, unnoticed, on his wife, he
heard her say, as she was admiring herself in a mirror:
"Verily, Hind is a thoroughbred mare.
A descendant of Arab breeds married to a mule.
If she gives birth to a thoroughbred, hers is the credit,
If she gives birth to a mule, then a mule begat a mule."
Al-Hajjaj turned back without disturbing his wife and a
few days later sent his representative Abdullah Ibn Tahir to her
with 200,000 dirhams with the instruction to divorce her with one
short sentence.
Abdullah obeyed and, announcing himself to Hind, said:
"Ibn Muhammed Al-Hajjaj tells you; you were once, but
are no more
and here is the dowry that is due you from him."
She turned to him, and haughtily replied:
"O Ibn Tahir, by Allah, we were and thanked not, and are
no more and do not regret it. As for the 200,000 Dirhams, they
are your reward for the good tidings you bring me of being rid
of that dog of the tribe of Thakif (the tribe of Hajjaj)."
The story of Hajjaj and Hind reached the Caliph Abdulmalek, who sent afterwards to ask her hand in marriage.
She wrote him after the usual salutation, saying:
"O Prince of the Believers, a dog has lapped in the vessel
which thou covetest."
The Caliph laughed and wrote back, quoting a tradition of
the Prophet:
"If a dog laps in one of your vessels, wash it seven times,
one of which must be with earth, and it will be clean."
Hind, finding no way of refusing the caliph, consented to
the marriage on condition that Al-Hajjaj, barefooted and in his
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
43
original garb, lead her camel from Ma'ora (her father's home
town), to the city of Damascus.
The Caliph commanded Al-Hajjaj to execute Hind's order.
On the way, as Al-Hajjaj trudged the burning sands, and
was silent with chagrin, Hind exhausted every means of ridiculing and humiliating him. Calling to one of her attendants
to lift the curtain of her houdaj, she dropped a dirham (small
coin) on the ground.
Then she called to Al-Hajjaj: "O Muleteer, we have just
dropped a dinar (a gold coin)."
Al-Hajjaj stopped and looked for the lost coin, and upon
finding it, he said:
"I found only a dirham."
"But it was a dinar," insisted Hind.
"Nay, it is only a dirham."
"Thank Allah," replied Hind, "Who gave us back a dinar
for a dirham," and laughed roguishly.
Al-Hajjaj was much humiliated by this reply but said not
a word until he brought her safely to the Caliph Abdulmalek.
WISE SAYINGS
"He who visits us not when we are sick, we will not walk
behind his funeral when he dies."
"To test one who claims that he is magnanimous arouse him
to anger, for a man's magnanimity is not known except in time of
anger."
"He who grazes in the meadows of wishes remains lean."
"He who is not chastised by his parents, the succession of
days and nights will chastise him."
"He who wishes to be humiliated in his own lifetime, let
him transmit his secrets to others."
"When Time betrays one, there is no reliance but on patience."
"He who says, 'no' to a request does no wrong, but he does
wrong who says 'no* after his 'yes.'"
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Reward of Perfidy
A merchant in the reign of 'Adud-ul-Dawlah came to Bagdad with a collar of precious stones. Not finding a purchaser and
wishing to go on a pilgrimage, he left the collar in trust with a
jeweler reputed for his piety and honesty.
The pilgrimage over, the merchant returned to Bagdad to
claim his collar, but to his surprise, the merchant denied that he
had ever received such an article from him. The merchant was
at a loss what to do, when somebody suggesteed that he lay his
grievance before the Caliph. This the merchant did, and when
the Caliph heard bis story he quieted his fears and told him to
go and sit at the door of the jeweler for three days. "On the
fourth day," the Caliph instructed, "I will pass by with my retinue and guards, and greet you before you greet me, but rise you
not for me."
The merchant threw himself before the Caliph and thanked
him profusely. Then straightforward he went and did as he
was instructed.
Just as he had promised, the Caliph appeared on the fourth
day in all his pomp and glory, surrounded by his viziers and
courtiers, while the people of the street prostrated themselves
before him. Upon reaching the jeweler's shop, he recognized
the merchant and greeted him, saying:
"Peace be upon you my good pilgrim."
The merchant replied:
"And on thee be peace," but rose not from his seat.
The jeweler, who was confounded with the seeemingly insolent and slighting conduct of the merchant, thought he must be
a man of great prominence and held in high favor by the Caliph,
and no sooner the retinue of the Caliph passed, than he hastened
to the merchant, apologizing:
"My son, excuse my weak memory. Now I remember
that you are the owner of the trust which you gave me to keep
for you before you went on the pilgrimage." Then reaching for
the package in which the merchant's collar was wrapped, he
handed it to him.
When the Caliph learned of the success of his ruse, he sent
after the jeweler, put the collar around his neck and crucified
him on the door of his shop and had it proclaimed in the city:
"This is the reward of him who is trusted and who violates
his trust,"
i.
i
�———— .
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*
NOVEMBER, 1926
45
The Spiritual Pilgrimage
A certain man came to al-Junayd, a famous Sufi shaykh,
who lived in the middle of the 3rd century of the Hegira era. AlJunayd, looking up to his visitor and noticing on him the signs
of a long journey, asked him: "Whence did you come?" The
man replied: "I have come from the pilgrimage."
Al-Junayd asked: "From the time when you first journeyed
from your home have you also journeyed away from your sins?"
The man said: "No!"
"Then," said al-Junayd, "you have not made the journey.
Now, at every stage where you halted for the night did you traverse a station on the way to God?"
"No."
"Then," said al-Junayd, "you did not trod the road stage
by stage. Now, when you put on the pilgrim's garb did you discard the attributes of humanity as you cast off your ordinary
clothes?"
"No."
"Then you did not put on the pilgrim's garb. Now, when
you stood on the mount of 'Arafat did you stand one instant in
the contemplation of God."
"No."
"Then you did not stand on 'Arafat. Now, when you went
to Muzdalifa and achieved your desire did you renounce all sensual desire?"
"No."
"Then you did uot go to Muzdalifa. Now, when you circumambulated the temple did you behold the immaterial beauty
of God in the abode of purification?"
"No."
"Then you did not circumambulate the temple. Now, when
you ran between Safa and Murwa did you attain the rank of purity (safa) and virtue (muruwwah)?"
"No."
"Then you did not run. Now, when you came to Mina
did you put an end to all your worldly wishes (munah) ?"
"No."
"Then you did not visit Mina. Now, when you reached
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
the slaughter-place and offered sacrifice did you sacrifice the object of your sensual desire?"
"No."
"Then you did not sacrifice. Now, when you threw the pebbles did you throw away whatever sensual thoughts were in your
mind?"
"No."
"Then you did not throw the stones, and you have not performed the true pilgrimage!"
ARAB PROVERBS
He who sees the lion most comes to fear him least.
Even a snake-charmer cannot be safe from snakes at all times.
Necessity gives birth to contrivance.
last.
The wheat seed wanders far, but to the mill it will come at
The slaughtered sheep suffers no pain from flaying.
A bird is hunted by another bird.
Submission under compulsion is manliness.
Marriage deteriorates love.
Be visitors, not neighbors.
He intrudes, yet makes propositions.
A despotic monarch is betteer than a protracted revolution.
The attention of the judge is better than the testimony of
two eyewitnesses.
A deceitful heart is revealed in the slips of the tongue.
A tongue that praises God, and a heart that harbors slaughter.
Like the needle which clothes others and is itself naked.
The tongue of the fool is the key to his fate.
He who makes his reliance on the honor of his parents has
dishonored them.
�,
-
.
NOVEMBER, 1926
47
Self-Respect
Suleiman Ibn Wanisus, a cultured and respectable Berber
Chieftain, was a vizier in the court of the Umayyad Prince Abdullah of Andalusia (in Spain), and he had a huge beard. One
day, wishing to make fun of his beard, Prince Adbullah, as he saw
the vizier coming into court, recited some slanderous poetry about
beards.
> The vizier was consumed with rage as he addressed the prince
saying:
"O prince, people seek this station (referring to his own) to
repel humiliation away from themselves. When it becomes a
source thereof we have spacious homes to hold us and make us
dispense with you. And should you stand between us and our
homes, then there are tombs large enough to hold us, between us
and which you cannot intervene."
Then he turned and went away to his home without saying
adieu, at which the prince was angry and removed him from his
vizirate.
After a time, the prince repented his behaviour to the vizier,
who was a man of high integrity, loyal and of sound opinions.
He told the viziers who were gathered around him: "I am sad
at the loss of Suleiman, but should we decide to recall him, and
he turn us down, it would be a blow to our dignity. I wish that
some one of you would open this subject to him, and persuade
him to seek our favor."
The vizier Abu-Mohammed Ibn al-Walid volunteered to
carry out the suggestion of the prince, and straightforward went
to the home of Ibn Wanisus. Upon his arrival, he sought permission to enter but was not admitted until he had waited quite
a while at the door. When he entered, the deposed vizier
remained seated, and would not rise, as custom required among
equals.
"What pride is this," said the offended Abu-Mohammed,
who did not hide his surprise at the churlishness of his colleague.
"I had always known you to rise for me even if you were in your
seat at the court. Why then do you do the contrary when
you are far removed from your station and under the displeasure
of the prince?"
�ja/m
48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"That was because I was a slave like you," retorted Ibn Wanisus, "but today I am a free man."
Abu-Mohammed, despairing of winning over the offended
vizier, returned to court and reported to the prince what had
passed, whereupon the prince sent after Ibn Wanisus and restored
him to his former station of honor and trust.
WHAT A PRISON IS FOR
Al-Sh'abi related: One day I visited Ibn Hubairah, when
behold, they brought before him captives, and he commanded
that their heads be cut off. One of the captives made bold and,
addressing Ibn Hubairah, said:
"O prince! he who invented the prison was a wise one, for
he made it a check to haste, a door to verification and a change
for long-suffering. Beware, O prince, of haste, for thou canst
kill us any time, but thou canst not recall our lives."
The prince, convinced of the prisoner's wisdom, confined
them to prison, and later set them free.
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THE SUFIS ON POVERTY
A certain Sufi used to say: It is a shame that certain people
call the Sufis poor; they are the.richest of God's creatures."
Said Ibrahim Ibn Khawwas: "Poverty is a robe of honor."
"The most beneficial poverty is that which you regard as
honorable, and with which you are well pleased."
A certain man saw in his dream that the Resurrection Day
had come and a voice cried: "Bring in Malik Ibn Dinar and
Mahmud Ibn Wasi. And the man was anxious to see who would
precede the other in entering Paradise; and behold Ibn Wasi entered first. On asking why Ibn Wasi was given preference over
Malik Ibn Dinar, he was told that the latter had two shirts in life,
while Ibn Wasi had only one shirt.
Ibn al-Jalla was asked concerning poverty. He did not reply, but went out for a short time and on returning, he said:
"I had four daniks (farthings), and I was ashamed of God to
discourse on poverty when I possessed something, so I went and
disposed of them." Then he sat and discoursed on poverty.
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A SCENE OF WONDROUS BEAUTY IN MT. LEBANON
This photograph was taken from a
high point in Beirut Forest, facing Jounieh Bay and the undulating
hills of Lebanon—Snow-clad Sannin appears in the distance.
:
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�AS FAR AS THE FLIVVER COULD GO.
There are limitations even to the possibilities of a Ford. In this photograph, taken by F. Askar during his
recent trip to Syria and Mt. Lebanon, a returning family of Lebanese emigrants is shown at a point in their
ascent of the mountain where the Ford had to give up and the old reliable donkey came to the assistance. A
flock of native goats is grazing on the hillside.
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�NOVEMBER, 1926
49
The Bishop of Najran
The Outstanding Christian Figure Among the Arabs in p-e—
Islamic Times
There was no Christian Arab of pre-Islamic days, with the
possible exception of Hatem the generous, of the tribe of Tai,
who held such sway on the romantic imaginations of succeeding
generations of Moslem and non-Moslem Arabs alike, than the
rugged figure of the itinerant priest Kass Ibn Sa'ida of the tribe of
Iyad, who is known as the Bishop of Najran. He was at the
height of his influence when Mohammed was a little lad. He is
described as "the orator of the Arabs, their wise one and their
mentor." It is claimed that he was the first Arab "to ascend
the platform," and the first to lean on a stick or a sword in delivering a speech.
Only little of the sermons and moral discourses ascribed to
him has come down to us in disconnected and incoherent fragments. It is related that he usually delivered his sermons in the
Fair of Okaz, held annually in an oasis to the north of Mecca,
where Arab wits and poets from all parts of Arabia came to
display and barter their wares. Riding on a red she-camel, this
Christian Nestor of Arabia in the days of its ignorance, exhorting
and sermonizing to the motley crowd, must have been an impressive and picturesque figure.
There is a note of gloomy pessimism and ascetic morality
running through the sermons of Kass, of which the following,
in rhapsodic meter, is a fair sample:
"In those who preceded us, in ages past, a vision we
behold.
When I saw that death many inlets had, but outlets
none,
And saw my people thither go, the young and the
old,
I doubted not that where the people go I too will
follow".
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
THE FRENCH IN SYRIA
This newspaper has always insisted that the Christians in Lebanon are faced by either one of
two alternatives: servitude to the
Moslems or emigration, and that
emigration is for them the better
Choice, for they hate servitude and
refuse to be renegades to a religion
to which they have been loyal these
long centuries.
In Lebanon today are many evils,
all grave and threatening, but the
blame is not exclusively that of the
French.
/
Had not the "stay-home" Lebanon
people been slaves pf offices, bribes,
intrigues and spites, the "runts" of
the Frenchmen would not have been
able to domineer over them and oppress them. But corruption is in
the very marrow of most of the stayhomes, in the heads of most of their
leaders, and in the eyes of most of
their prominent ones. The French
found themselves mixed up with a
people in perpetual dispute, soiled,
and they were soiled in consequence.
In what we condemn the leaders,
however, we exempt the majority
of the people, whose main offense
is in following such leadership.
Be that what it may Lebanon is
wretched—very wretched, because its
would-be saviours, with the exception of very few, are selfish, despicable thieves.
Neither the leaders nor the French
desire the return of the emigrants,
unless it be to squeeze them; and
the emigrants will not return until
freedom, equality and independence
begin to mean something in Lebanon.
We did not choose France of all
the nations of the earth to enslave
us for the sake of its interests and
the interests of the traitors of Lebanon. For justice does not make
distinction between a minority and
a majority, nor between one religion and another. We shall demand
our rights from France before the
civilized world, reserving her mandate over us; we shall oblige those
of her sons who deal corruptly in
Lebanon to respect "the free and
freeing France"; we shall remain
under her protection until we despair
of her when we will move from a
country of oppression to a country
of plenty, freedom and equality.
Al-Hoda,
(New York, Oet 4, 109C)
�NOVEMBER, 1926
SYRIA'S KEEPER
More than a year has passed, and
France remains standing before the
revolution as an onlooker. The time
of waiting has stretched until the
very shadow of peace has flown from
the imagination of those who yearn
to see Syria free from tribulations
and wretchedness.
"France! France! Where is Syria?"
Such is the cry which comes from
the heart of every one who wishes
to see Syria canopied with the cloud
of peace.
We wish to have heard from
France, after a year's time, and that
her answer would not be "Am I the
keeper of Syria?"
As-Sayeh,
51,
The mandatory government is a
Christian one, but first consideration
is always given to the wishes of the
Moslems as against the Christians.
From among the Moslems sprang
strong leaders who strenuously opposed the mandatory government,
and it was the Druzes who waged
a war against it, the sparks of which
have not yet died out. Yet the
Moslems and Druzes are the ones
who receive the respect and consideration of the mandatory government while the Christians suffer
heavily from the treachery of their
neighbors and the indifference of the
protecting power to their affairs.
The Syrian Eagle,
(Brooklyn, Oct. 14, 1926.)
(New York, Sept. 16, 1926.)
CHRISTIANS AND DRUZES
OPPRESSED CHRISTIANITY
IN THE EAST
Several centuries have passed during which the Christians of Syria
I have often bent their necks under
• the yoke of oppression and persecution to others of their fellow
countrymen, and often met from
their neighbors unbearable despotism.
Under the regime of the Turks
they submitted meekly to the Turkish, Islamic rule, and today, under
a Christian, European mandate, they
are still under the same despotism.
For a brief period, when the
French and British armies entered
their country, they breathed a sigh
of relief, imagining that they have
now become free, with no advantai ges for their Moslem neighbors over
them in any national matter. But it
was not long before these hopes vanished, and conditions returned as
they were before.
We are in the forefront of those
who believe that it is not possible for
a Christian to live along with his
fellow Draze countryman in the
same town anywhere in Syria or Lebanon. For the late events have
proven that fanaticism and ignorance predominate in the minds of the
Druzes in those countries.
We are positive that a Christian
in Syria cannot live in safety without some European or American
mandate. Past times, since the days
of Turkey, have proven that oppression falls on the Christians from
their neighbors more than from their
rulers.
We declare these truths which no
fair minded one may gainsay. Why
then the lethargy of the Lebanon
press, and why the passivity of the
people in that impregnable mountain?
The Syrian Eagle,
(Brooklyn, Oct. 9, 1926.)
�f
—
52
A LEAGUE OF THIEVES,
NOT A LEAGUE OF NATIONS
We will not be exaggerating if
we say that had the lamented President Wilson been living today to see
the result of his idea—the idea of
creating a League of Nations to fight
war, put a stop to the policy of
slaughter and destruction and protect the weak nations from the attack of the strong—he would have
cursed the hour in which he gave
pronouncement to that idea.
They said that they organized a
League of Nations to grant each
nation its right, to co-operate
against the strong and help the
weak nations. The weak nations,
believing this, heaved a sigh of relief, forgetting some of their calamities in their entertained hopes in
this League.
How soon were their hopes dispelled! The War had scarcely been
put dowh before this League came
out in its true appearance; and the
weak nations began to realize that
relying on it was like relying on Satan for admission to Paradise, and
that appealing to it was like appealing to fire from the heat of noonday.
It appears to us that the League
of Nations, more truly the League
of Thieves, was organized purposely
for plunder and theft, and the division of the spoils among the thieves;
to co-operate against those who dare
to raise their heads in demanding
their rights; to kill those who insist
on their own sovereignty and destroy the countries of those who defend their own homes. What a
League! created by itself for itself,
for the corruption of the good. How
like a League of wolves it is made a
shepherd over sheep!
What is still more exasperating is
that this League of Nations, differ-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ing so widely among its members is
united on the weak whose flesh it
contrives to devour.
For while
Great Britain begrudges France its
land armaments, accuses her of militarism, and secretly harbors malice
towards her, more than we can imagine, we see her at the same time
supporting the greedy ambitions of
France, before this blessed League.
Al Bayan,
(New, York, Sept. 29, 1926.)
THE AWAKENING OF THE EAST
The time has not long passed
when a Western power, finding itself
in a situation like that of England
in China today, would land its soldiers and hold it with that right of
conquest till doomsday.
But the red Chinese army, trained
at the hands of military professors of
the red Russian army, has stood
its guard against any possible attack
by England or any other greedy
European power. Today it is moving along the Yangtze River with
Shanghai as its objective, which it
is trying to wrest gradually from
English authority. And England has
learned from this incident (referring to the incident of Wahnsein in
which two English merchantmen
were attacked and captured by Chinese on the Yangtze River) that the
time when the whole of China would
tremble because of the firing of one
shot from a gunboat has passed
away.
The other European powers will
also know with time that the whole
East has awakened to defend itself,
and to repel the greed of the West
not only in China, but in Morocco,
Syria, Egypt, India and other countries. And although the East today
may not accomplish this, owing to
the scarcity of its ammunition and
�' /{•'
NOVEMBER, 1926
the fewness of its trained officers
and soldiers, the time will not be
long when it will cope successfully
with the West in these matters as
it has done in the matter of population.
Al-Bayan,
(New York, Oct. 8,1926.)
BANDITRY IN AMERICA
AND IN SYRIA
An event of serious import happened yesterday in Elizabeth, N. J.,
in which robbers killed an employe
of the Post Office, wounded his companion, robbed the mail car of $300,000 and ran away.
What makes this event of still
greater significance is that it took
place in the daytime and in one of
the thoroughfares of the city. The
seven robbers used machine guns in
their attack, showering bullets like
heavy rain, until they succeeded in
their objective.
A large force of
soldiers and volunteers pursued them
and until now they have not been
able to apprehend them.
This is a brief summary of a
strange happening, similar to many
like it which take place not only in
the outlying places and distant towns
but even in the large cities, in the
midst of the principal streets, before
the eyes of all and at a short distance from the corners where policemen stand at their posts.
Should a thing like this happen in
one of the little towns of Syria and
Lebanon, the voice of the opposition
press would have risen high, accusing the government of negligence
in not taking the necessary precautions against lawlessness and for
security. But when it happens in
America we say that those criminals
are men who make robbery, plunder
53
and killing a profession.
We do not say that the American
Government is not taking the precautionary steps to establish order
and security, but we do say that
bandits and highwaymen are found
everywhere and at all times; they
are not found in one country to the
exclusion of another.
Ash-Shaab,
(New York, Oct. 16, 1926.)
THE PROBLEM OF ARMENIAN
ASSIMILATION
The weekly "Al-Ahrar", Beirut,
devotes a long and vehement editorial to what it considers an imminent danger from the segregation
of Armenian refugees in Lebanon.
It bitterly assails the policy of the
French High Commission in keeping
the Armenians segregated as "a nation within a nation" to be used when
the French Government in Lebanon
desires as a political weapon. For
the Armenians have the same right
of franchise as the natives.
"Lebanon is in sore need of working hands," bewails Al-Ahrar, "for
emigration has carried with it the
able-bodied sons of th's Republic,
while a spurious education has fil'ed
our cafes with young men who think
it a shame to work in the fields. This
has created a deficiency which we
all feel. Why then do we not employ
the Armenians to fill this deficiency"
The paper advocates the distribution of the Armenians in the agrarian districts of Lebanon, thus
alleviating the keen competition
which they have created in the commercial fields and the markets of
labor and accelerating the process
of their assimilation with the native
population.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
About Syria and Syrians
and Mr. George Fuleihan secretary.
Speeches in praise of the cause were
delivered
by many speakers includGibran Kahlil Gibran, Syrian poet,
ing
Miss
Sumayeh Attiyeh, Mr. A.
artist and mystic, comes back from
Rustum,
Dr.
Himadi and others. Dr.
Boston just in time to attend the
Hitti
delivered
what was considered
"delivery" of his new book and its
introduction to the literary world. his valedictory as regards his official
Mr. Gibran's book "The Prophet," connection with the active managepublished two years ago, was not ment of the campaign for the fund,
the last of the prophets. A new one and his praise of the work of his
has just succeeded it, "Sand And Alma Mater was sung in eloquent
Foam," which makes Gibran's works words that moved his audience
in English so far four—a nice little deeply.
Active campaigning for raising
brood for an old bachelor.
the
balance of the Syrian quota was
The latest book of Gibran was inconducted
by Mr. M. Rashid of Chautroduced with nourish and pomp, we
tauqua
and
Mr. F. M. Jabara of New
understand from an editorial of AsYork
who
were themselves liberal
Sayeh published recently, which deOther contributors
scribes a public reading held on the contributors.
5th of October, at the Brevoort Hotel, included Mrs. Marie El Koury, Dr.
in which Barbara Young of the New D. A. Himadi, Nasib Trabulsi, Assad
York Times, a well-known reader, Aboud, Abdallah Slyman and Joseph
read several selections from "Sand Macksoud
and Foam" before a distinguished
gathering of Gibran admirers. Some
of the latest paintings of Gibran A NEW SOLUTION FOR AN OLD
PROBLEM
were also shown.
A NEW BOOK BY GIBRAN
A. U. B. FUND GOES OVER TOP
At a reception and dinner given
by Dr. and Mrs- D. A. Himadi at
their home in Ridgewood, N. J. on
Oct. 17, in honor of Dr. and Mrs.
Philip K. Hitti, and attended by
about seventy alumni of the American University of Beirut and their
friends, a spontaneous appeal was
made for pledges to complete the
Syrian quota of $150,000.00 of which
only $20,000.00 remained unpledged.
The reception finally resolved itself
into a spirited meeting of which Mr.
Albert Staub was appointed chairman
From Pittsburgh, Pa., there rises
a voice to propound a new and radical solution to a problem that has
been gnawing at the vitals of Mt.
Lebanon for centuries. It is a sympathetic voice professing the deepest
concern and solicitude for the welfare of the country, but proposing a
scheme of action for the clergy of
Mt. Lebanon that appears all the
more radical because the proponent
is himself a clergyman.
In a lengthy article published in
As-Shaab, New York, under date of
Sept. 28th, the Rev. Simon Ackle reviews the alarming inroads the new
emigration movement in Mt. Lebanon
.
.-
-
�NOVEMBER, 1926
ia making in the population of the
country.
"In a single year," he says, "emigration from Aft. Lebanon amounted
to about 20,000, and if it should continue at this rate for another fifteen
years, the population of the country
would be reduced to 300,000." He
further opines that this exodus will
continue unless some radical means
is resorted to to thwart this serious
danger.
The remedy suggested by Rev.
Ackle is that the Monastic Orders
who own such vast areas of the tillable land of the country dispose of
a part of it by sale to the tenant
farmers, thereby restraining a large
number of this productive element
from emigrating.
Then, with the
funds at hand from the sale of the
land, the Monastic Orders would
form a corporation whose stock
would be offered to Lebanese immigrants in all parts of the world,
thereby insuring the availability of
working capital coming into the
country from foreign sources. With
this ready capital it is proposed to
create home industries which would
afford means of employment to those
inhabitants who are now emigrating
to seek employment and a means of
livelihood in foreign lands.
The author of this scheme appreciates the radical nature of his proposition and that it is bound to meet
with strenuous opposition from the
staid and conservative church hierarchy. "But," he proceeds, "if such
a scheme by which the chureh would
engage in the promotion of industrial enterprises has not been heard
of before, it must be borne in mind
also that the conditions under which
the country now finds itself are also
unparalleled. For where among the
countries of the world do we find a
single country besides Lebanon where
55
the clergy and monastic orders own
practically half of the land, and
whose economic conditions are such
that one-third of its population has
emigrated and the other two-thirds
are rapidly following in the wake of
their predecessors."
The Rev. Ackle was himself once
the Superior of a rich monastery in
Northern Lebanon, and he cites figures and instances to prove his contention that the religious orders can
raise the necessary funds to carry
out his scheme if they so wish.
He concludes with an appeal to his
beatitude the Maronite Patriarch, to
give his proposition due consideration, hoping once the Maronite
Clergy decides on such a course, the
clergy of the other religious denominations in the country will be quick
to follow.
PERPETUATING MEMORY
OF THE FOUNDERS
The Rev. Father Nematallah Chemaly has just published a good sized
pamphlet in English giving the history of St. Joseph's Syrian Maronite
Church in Olean, N. Y. In the words
of the Rev. Father Rengel in the introduction :
"This history in years to come will
prove a valuable addition to the history of the diocese of Buffalo and
those whose names appear in it will
be remembered long after they themselves have forgotten their generous
support in building the church."
We believe this history to be the
first ever issued of any Syrian
Church in the United States and it
would be well for all churches of
any denomination to emulate this
good example for the perpetuation of
the memory and the struggles of the
Syrian pioneers in America.
�56
STRIA THE SCENE
OF A NOVEL INDUSTRY
The following is a copyrighted diipatch to the New York Times from
Paris! under date of Oct. 21, 1926:
"Many inventors in the past have
dreamed of harnessing the dynamic
energy of solar rays to drive industrial machinery, but it has remained
for two Frenchmen to claim to do
BO. They are an engineer, M. Grandillon, and M. Imbeaux, a professor
in the National School of Civil Engineers.
"It was learned tonight that the
French Government is giving support to experiments on a vast scale.
These wiil be carried out in Syria
and South Tunisia, in both of which
countries the tun's rays attain great
power.
"According to Professor Imbeaux,
the district of 'Chotts,' or the dried
salt lakes region of Tunisia, is alone
capable of producing 400,000 horsepower."
SYRIANS HOLD MEMORIAL
SERVICE FOR C. H. DODGE
A memorial service for the late
Cleveland H. Dodge was recently
held in Beirut as "an expression of
gratitude on the part of the people
of the Lebanon and Syria for the
many educational and philanthropic
services which Mr. Dodge had rendered to their land during his lifetime." Bayard Dodge, who is president of the American University of
Beirut, was the guest of honor at
this service.
Umar Bey Daouk, a distinguished
citizen of Beirut and a member of
the Parliament of the Lebanon,
opened the Memorial meeting by saying: "According to a noble tradition the Prophet Mohammed once
THE SYRIAN WORLD
said: 'He is not dead in whom one
of the three conditions are fulfilled:
endowing philanthropic institutions,
leaving a legacy of learning and having a worthy son to succeed him.'
All three conditions are fulfilled in
the case of the man whose memory
we have just met to cherish and
honor."
BEATIFICATION OF
SYRIAN MARTYRS
In a pastoral letter issued by the
Rt. Rev. Beshara Shemalie, Maronite
Bishop of Damascus, announcement
is made that his Holiness the Pope
has ordered, after proper investigation into the merits of the case, the
beatification of two Syrian Martyri
of the Maronite denomination who
lost their lives in the massacre of
Christians in Damascus during the
uprising of 1860. The two martyrs
are the Brothers Francis and Mo'ty
Massabky. A special commission of
inquiry was sent by Rome to Syria
in September of the present year to
make the necessary investigation and
upon its report being found favorable, the beatification ceremony was
set for Oct. 10th. Eight Monks of
the Franciscan order who met their
martyrdom at the same time will also
be beatified.
REFORESTING LEBANON
The Ministry of Forests of the Lebanon Republic has entered into negotiations, according to an announcement in the native press, with forestry experts to supply it witih elipe,
native and foreign, that it may distribute them to the people of Lebanon. The ministry will give preference to the inhabitant! of eummer
resorts.
ji
�'
NOVEMBER, 1926
57
DEPOPULATION OF SYRIA
The continuous stream of emigration from Syria is alarming the
thinkers and leaders in that country,
who have begun to offer various explanations to what some Syrian
newspapers call 'the greatest Syrian
calamity."
Just how serious this "calamity-'
is, may be surmised from the following table, based on government statistics for the last four years.
Returning
Emigrants
Emigrants
1922
8664
5299
1923
13124
9230
1924
10825
7315
1925
11845
9791
6428
1926 (first 6 months)
2633
In commenting on these figures,
Lisan-ul-Hal, Beirut, holds that the
chief cause of this constantly rising
stream, which is robbing Syria and
Lebanon of its wealth-producing
vital element, is the lack of confidence among the Syrian people in
being able to achieve economic independence in their own country. It
urges upon the government the necessity of encouraging native enterprises, and of curtailing the unnecessary expenses .of supernumerary
offices.
EMIGRATION FROM LEBANON
CONTINUES
According to government statistics, the number of those who emigrated from Lebanon alone to the
Americas (mostly South Amrica)
from the beginnning of the year to
the end of July has reached 7,500.
SYRIANS OF BRAZIL IN THROES
OF CRISIS
The financial crisis of Brazil seems
to have borne down heavily on the
Syrian business community of that
country. The Arabic papers published in San Paulo and in Rio de
Janeiro carry detailed accounts of
the severe losses so far sustained
and express fear that the end has
not yet been reached. One good result, however, has come out of the
situation when the leading Syrian
merchants of San Paulo laid aside
petty differences and jealousies and
joined hands in forming a chamber
of commerce to "prevent the fabric
of Syrian business from crumbling,
and to take adequate measures to
protect the good standing of the
Syrian name." Mr. Basila Jafet, the
leading Syrian figure in the country,
was elected president.
PALESTINIAN HONORED
BY REPUBLIC OF COLUMBIA
A Palestinian, Bishara Zaghbi, received a signal honor from the Republic of Columbia when the Governor of the State of Baranquilla
pinned on him a gold medal for his
part in a celebration arranged by the
Syrian and Palestinian residents and
citizens of Columbia on the 20th of
July last, the national independence
day of that Republic.
In a public gathering attended by
government officials, foreign representatives and clerical dignitaries, a
Syrian Palestinian delegation headed
by Archmandrite Michael Assaf, presented to the government of the Re
public of Columbia an artistic shield
inlaid with mother-of-pearl, of the
workmanship made famous by the
skilled artisans of Bethlehem. The
shield was the work of Bishara
Zaghbi.
�"
58
CHURCH DEDICATED
IN NIAGARA FALLS
What Al-Hoda describes as the
most beautiful church built, not acquired, by the Syrians in America,
was dedicated on Sunday, Oct. 24th,
in Niagara Falls, N. Y. The officiating prelate was the Right Rev.
Bishop Turner of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, who was attended by
many Catholic dignitaries and Maronite priests coming from different
parts of the country. A banquet in
the Hotel Niagara followed the religious ceremony, and Mr. N. A. Mokarzel of New York City, acted as
toastmaster.
The church building is of stone
foundation and yellow brick upper
structure and is beautifully decorated. It is dedicated to "Our Lady
of Lebanon" and is of the Maronite
Catholic denomination. The pastor
is Rev. S. Jowdy who has acquired
a reputation as a church builder,
having previously built another beautiful church in Olean, N. Y.
GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION
BUREAU IN LEBANON
A "right-about-turn" has been
made by the Government of the Lebanon Republic, we are advised in
recent issues of Syrian newspapers
in connection with the' much agitated question of the citizenship of Lebanese emigrants resident abroad.
Instead of holding to the literal
interpretation of the Lausanne
Treaty clause pertaining to the status of former Turkish subjects in
the mandate areas, the Lebanon Government now announces the creation
of an "Emigration Bureau" to take
care of the interests of Lebanon citizens wherever the French Government has diplomatic representation,
following the example of other powers.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The new bureau is to be placed
under the supervision of Dr. Alphonso Ayyoub, director of the
Economic Bureau of the Lebanon
Republic, and will immediately undertake a census of the Lebanese
citizens abroad, with a view to determine their number and their economic status. It is also provided
that emigrants who wish to return
to Lebanon but find that they cannot
afford to do so because of poverty,
will be given free passage at the expense of the government.
Syrian papers in North and South
Americas have more than once expressed their disapproval of the old
arrangement, in accordance with
which Lebanon citizens who do not
register at a French consulate by a
certain time would be regarded as
Turkish subjects. The new arrangement was influenced undoubtedly by
the meager results of this proposed
registration.
LEBANON COLONY HONORS
AVIATORS
When the Argentine aviators, Dugan and Oliviera made their famous
skip from New York to Buenos
Aires, they did not anticipate that
among the honors showered upon
them by their own people and government would be a warm reception
by an enthusiastic, little group of
public spirited Syrians.
A Syrian paper published in Buenos Aires, Az-Zaman, gives quite a
little display to the reception accorded the Argentine aviators by the
Lebanon Mission in the Argentinian
capital, attended by prominent Syrian and Lebanese residents
Three gold medals embossed with
the cedar of Lebanon were awarded
the aviators by the Lebanon Mission
in the name of Lebanon residents of
Argentine.
•
�m —|I*IPII»I,II»^M
NOVEMBER, 1926
59
Developments of The Syrian
Revolution
Dispatches about developments in
Syria, both in relation to politics and
to military operations, were very
meager during the past month. About
the only report of any consequence
was that conveyed to the New York
Times in a dispatch from Geneva under date of Oct. 21, intimating the
possibility of the transference of the
Syrian mandate from France to Italy
and the readiness of Germany to
claim it as "a recompense for the
loss of her African Colonies." The
full text of the dispatch follows:
"The Journal de Geneves, which
generally is well informed concerning
the League of Nations' affairs, stated
this morning that at the coming interview between Foreign Minister
Briand and Premier Mussolini the
principal question will be the transfer of the French mandate over
Syria, which will be discussed and
arranged.
"The Journal adds that France is
ready and willing to transfer the
mandate to Italy on condition that
the Rome Government renounces all
territorial claims upon Morocco and
Tunis. Emir Chekib Arslen, during
the recent interviews with the Italian
Foreign Minister, accepted this
change.
"According to the present political
program, Italy will take over the
Syrian mandate for a period of six
years, but at the end of three years
will ask the League of Nations for
a protectorate over Syria. This arrangement, however, has been complicated by the German demand for
a Syrian mandate as a recompense
for the loss of Germany's African
colonies."
The Syrian newspapers published
in the United States refrained from
making any comment on the possibility of this new development, excepting one, As-Shaab, which made
no attempt at concealing its pleasure
over having the transfer made to a
Christian power which is both eager
and able to establish order in a country that lends itself to profitable
colonization.
"Italy," states this
paper, "immediately upon receiving
this mandate, will proceed to pacify
the country by the employment of
most effective measures. Then she
will undertake to colonize it by the
transference to it of its surplus population for whom she is now at a
loss to find a convenient outlet. The
Italians are industrious and will populate Syria in a comparatively short
time and thereby give the Christian
element such numerical preponderence as to eliminate in the future the
existing causes of friction due primarily to the domineering attitude of
the Mohammedan majority."
To what extent the Christian papers of Syria will share in this view
remains to be seen. It would seem
reasonable, however, judging by past
occurrences, that even the Christians
would not welcome a change in mandate if the choice in the matter were
left to them. France to them is the
logical European power to be in occupation in Syria and it is hard for
them to have all their hopes in her
blasted after they had clung to them
for centuries.
What they expect,
�wm
60
judging from the comments of the
Christian papers in Syria that are
now assuming a certain degree of
boldness, even aggressiveness, in
their criticism, is a change in policy
where France would send to Syria
honest and sympathetic officials who
would make an effort to understand
the psychology of the country and
develop some respect for its customs
and traditions.
That such an undercurrent of feeling against French policy is becoming more and more pronounced, even
among those elements who were understood to be the staunchest supporters of the French mandate, may
be plainly inferred from the recent
remarks of the Maronite Patriarch
whose leadership of the Christians in
Syria is conceded by all denominations.
As reported by the Arabic Press
of Syria and Egypt, the gist of the
remarks of the Patriarch, made to
the President of the Lebanon Republic and to the acting French High
Commissioner who paid the Patriarch
a visit in his summer residence the
latter part of September, was as follows:
"We are in no need of giving added
proof of our loyalty to France and
our preference for it as mandatory;
but if she, for some reason or other,
wishes to forsake us, as may be surmised from the policy she is pursuing lately, then all we ask of her is
to notify us of her intentions because
there are others who are courting
our friendship, although we seek for
France no substitute. Let me say
that Lebanon was not responsible for
the present difficulties so that we
should be called upon to pay the price
of a settlement. The city of Tripoli
is an integral part of Lebanon and
it should not be ceded to Syria. M.
Poincare, at the time he was Presi-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
dent, and M. Briand, when he was
Prime Minister, both assured me that
the integrity of Lebanon in its present boundaries would be maintained
at all costs because France would
never forfeit its pledges. As for
Lebanon, it is well able to create
disturbances and cause the government apprehension, but it refrains
from so doing because it loves peace
and order and wishes to abide by
its traditional friendship and good
will to its beloved France."
It is manifest that this crisis in
the position of France in Syria
springs from the conflicting status
of the several subdivisions of the
country created under the regime of
Gen. Gouraud and given autonomous
governments. At that time this action was considered the only solution
possible for the terribly divided condition of the country.
Damascus
and Aleppo would not concede precedence one to the other, and the
Druzes in their mountain were bent
on asserting and emphasizing their
separateness, while the Alawites and
the Lebanonians were eager to be
independent of their neighbors for
religious and economic reasons. Now
France seems willing to establish
some form of homogeneity in Syria
and thereby concede to the revolutionists one of their principal demands in an effort to bring to an
end the present chaotic condition of
the countryBut the smaller states, princpially
Lebanon, object to such a settlement.
Lebanon has now been created a Republic and is particularly jealous of
its new territorial boundaries. Any
attempt on the part of the mandatory government to readjust the
boundaries in favor of the interior
State of Damascus or Syria is bound
to meet with strenuous objection.
Mr. Ponsot, the new French High
,
�NOVEMBER, 1926
61.
Mountain, but in the immediate
Commissioner, had not been reneighborhood of the Syrian capital. It
ported by the Syrian press as having
would seem to bear out the reports
reached Syria at the time of writing.
coming from insurgent sources in
There had been rumors that he was
Egypt that the rebels have decided to
to sail from Marseilles on the same
carry on the War to the bitter end.
steamer with King Faisal of Iraq,
Previous reports were to the effect
but these were subsequently denied.
that Sultan Pasha Atrash and his
It was the assumption that the King
principal asso iatees and lieutenants
was active in attempting to bring
held a grand council of war to discuss
about an understanding between the
the future course of the revolution,
French and the Druzes and his takand they decided to continue the
ing passage with the High Commiswar. The Press Bureau of the insurgsioner would indicate success along
ents, with headquarters in Cairo,
this line. All rumors of reported
states that the farmers of the Druze
deals involving Syria and TransjorMountain, now that they have gathdania seem now to have been laid at
ered their plentiful harvest and
rest.
stored it in places of safety, have
The last authentic report about M. become free to join the fighting
Ponsot was that he had received in units and they are rallying to the
Paris a delegation of Syrians who standards in large numbers. From
wished to acquaint him with their these same sources comes a report
point of view. In his reply he was of a bloody action fought on the 11th
non-committal, confining himself to of September in the valley of Rashithe assertion that he goes to Syria dah in which the Druzes claim having
as would a native Syrian in his un- inflicted heavy losses on the French
derstanding of the problems of the column which had made a sally from
country. He ascribes this knowledge Sueida under direct command of Gen.
to the fact that he 'had been for a Andrea. The killed are placed at 450
long time giving earnest attention and the wounded at 350 while two
to the study of the Syrian situation military planes were brought down
while an official of the Ministry of and destroyed. The French force,
Foreign affairs.
according to these souwes, consisted
of 4,500 men with 1,200 camels carrying water and ammunition, 50
armored cars, 8 aeroplanes and
MILITARY OPERATIONS
tanks. The action was fought mainA special dispatch to the New ly with cold steel in the use of
York Times from Beirut dated Oct. which the Druzes are especially
26, states that: "French mobile col- adepts.
On the other hand, an official
umns operating in the Damascus
area on Oct. 23 engaged a force of French communique expresses surinsurgents in the Ghuta and killed prise that some foreign papers should
sixty-one of them. The insurgents persist in the attitude of recognizing
were pursued and overtaken near the existence of a revolutionary govKiswe, where they lost another twen- ernment.
ty-nine men."
"There is not a single town or vilThis, on the face of it, would indi- lage in Syria at the present time,"
cate that large bands of insurgents it states, "where the Syrian constiare still active not only In the Druze tuted government is not functioning
�62
THE SYRIAN WORLD
under normal conditions.
French
punitive forces are pursuing the
remnants of rebel bands who have
degenerated into common bandits of
15 to 20 men each, raiding the outskirts of outlying towns to steal
cattle."
Reports in the Syrian press continue to indicate the existence of
marauding bands not only in the outlying parts of Syria but within the
boundaries of the Lebanon Republic.
Even in Zahle the President of the
House of Representatives was fired
upon at night while returning from
a banquet. In the county of Baalbek
some powerful bands are terrorizing
the section and causing the villagers
to continually petition the Government for protection. The outlying
Lebanon towns which were once
burned and pillaged by the Druzes
are again fearful of a repetition of
last year's attacks and outrages. The
Government had granted pardon to
a formerly prominent Druze rebel
leader, Hamze Darwish and appointed him a governor of Salkhad,
a section within the area of disturbance. Later an engagement was reported to have taken place between
the forces of Darwish and Zaid Atrash in which the latter was captured but his men made a desperate
charge and liberated him.
A Syrian paper publishes a Paris
report to the effect that an accredited representative of Sultan Atrash
met M. Ponsot, the new French High
Commissioner in Paris, and discussed
conditions of peace. M. Ponsot is reported to have insisted that he would
grant a general amnesty only when
Sultan Atrash lays down arms.
POST-WAR PROBLEMS
What Lisan-ut-Hal, of Beirut,
calls the most {pressing post-war
problem of Lebanon is the necessity
of reconstruction in the devastated
regions overrun last Fall by the
Druzes in their march on Lebanon
territory. Many petitions have been
offered the Lebanon Government for
relief, but the most she claims she
is able to do is to appropriate a sum
of 400,000 Syrian pounds (equivalent to about $400,000) from this
year's budget, and to open a lottery,
the proceeds of which she expects to
reach 200,000 Syrian pounds. Out
of this total a village is to be built
in the outskirts of Beirut for housing
Armenian refugees. But the natives
claim to have a prior right to the
munificence of the government insomuch as they sustained their losses
in the cause of the country's defence.
The problem threatens to become
acute and to increase the ill-feeling
of the Lebanese against the Armenians.
FRENCH HYDROPLANES
»
APPEAR IN BEIRUT
On the afternoon of Sept 7, a large
crowd in Beirut went out to view the
three French hydroplanes whose appearance was heralded beforehand by
the French High Commission. The
hydroplanes, coming from Alexandria, flew over tihe city from east to
west and alighted in the protected
confines of the port.
According to the announcement of
the French High Commission, these
hydroplanes are acting as scouts for
a new commercial aerial company
between Paris and Beirut.
CONTRIBUTION FROM
SYRIANS IN JAPAN
Beirut papers report that the
Syrian colony in Yokohama, Japan,
has contributed $7,500 to the relief
of Syrian war sufferers. The size
of the contribution is an indication
of the size and wealth of the
Syrian colony in Japan.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1926_11reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 05
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926 November
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 05 of The Syrian World published November 1926. The issue opens with a story discussing Syrians and how they have established themselves as successful traders and merchants. In further discussion of Syrian history, there is an article discussing religion, including Islam. There is also an article by Rev. W. A. Mansur addressed to the Syrian Youth in America with advice on how to succeed in American society. There is another continuation of "Famous Arab Lovers." The issue closes with a few classic Arab stories and images of life in Mt. Lebanon. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and more discussion on the Syrian Revolution.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Great Syrian Revolt
New York
Reverend W.A. Mansur
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/8542da5730dbc3894caa2513462bc421.pdf
f563bd3badf04e8b19851128b58f46f1
PDF Text
Text
^
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
CHRISTMAS NUMBER
1926
�s
VOL. I.
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�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I. No. 6.
DECEMBER, 1926-
The Spirit of Christmas
To our readers Christmas should bear a special significance
As Syrians, although now scattered in every part of the
world, they are descendants of the people of the land which
Christ chose as His birthplace.
Whatever their creed, — Christians, Jews or Mohammedans, — they should celebrate the birth of Christ as the outstanding event in human history which made for such spiritual uplift,
such a regeneration of mankind, such a noble conception of a
charitable God, that it revolutionized the former order of things
and supplied the basis for our present civilization, be it of the
East or West; North or South. And this colossal, momentous
event in history took place in their own land.
It is in no1- spirit of vanity, nor boastfulness, nor idle figure
of speech, that we say to every Syrian that he should consider
living within him the spirit of divinity. For has not Christ Himself said that we were all the sons of God? And are not the Syrians the brothers of Christ not alone in the broad sense of human
relationship, but rather in the kinship of race and the close ties
of the immediate family?
It behooves them, therefore, to be conscious of this high
privilege not for the purpose of indulging in empty, vainglorious,
boasting, but with the object of carrying on the torch handed
down to them by their ancestors, and propagating the message
�"
2
'
THE SYRIAN WORLD
entrusted to them by their high cultural and spiritual heritage.
Let us all awaken to the exalted duty that we have a special
mission to perform, and that only to the extent that we properly
fulfill this message we would have the right of claim to our distinction of leadership in the spiritual and moral guidance of the
world.
Christmas, therefore, should be to every Syrian an occasion
for thankfulness and joy from more than the religious standpoint. It should supply an incentive to a moral duty, an appeal
to the high ideals and traditions of race and country as well.
May this Christmas day be to all our readers a model day
on which would be shaped lives full of the joy of achievement,
the satisfaction of service undertaken with the true spirit of sacrifice and love for all men.
THE EDITOR
w
a
THE BETTER PART
H
X
H
By MATTHEW ARNOLD
Long fed on boundless hopes, O race of man,
How angrily thou spurn'st all simpler fare!
"Christ" some one says, "was human as we are:
No judge eyes us from Heaven, our sin to scan;
We live no more when we have done our span." —
"Well, then, for Christ," thou answerest, "who can care?
From sin, which Heaven records not, why forbear?
Live we like brutes our life without a plan!"
So answerest thou; but why not rather say,
"Hath man no second life? — Pitch this one high!
Sits there no judge in Heaven our sin to see? —
More strictly, then, the inward judge obey!
Was Christ a man like us? — Ah! let us try
If we then, too, can be such men as He!"
=
�THE
THREE
WISE
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�KAHLIL GIBRAN
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�'DECEMBER, 1926
Youth and Age
By KAHLIL GIBRAN
In my youth the heart of dawn was in my heart, and the
songs of April were in my ears.
But my soul was sad unto death, and I knew not why. Even
unto this day I know not why I was sad.
But now, though I am with eventide, my heart is still veiling dawn,
And though I am with autumn, my ears still echo the songs
of spring.
But my sadness has turned into awe, and I stand in the
presence of life and life's daily miracles.
The difference between my youth which was my spring, and
these forty years, and they are my autumn, is the very difference
that exists between flower and fruit.
A flower is forever swayed with the wind and knows not
why and wherefore.
But the fruit overladen with the honey of summer, knows
that it is one of life's home-comings, as a poet when his song is
sung knows sweet content,
Though life has been bitter upon his lips.
In my youth I longed for the unknown, and for the unknown I am still longing.
But in the days of my youth longing embraced necessity
that knows naught of patience.
Today I long not less, but my longing is friendly with patience, and even waiting.
And I know that all this desire that moves within me is
one of those laws that turns universes around one another in quiet
�4.
THE SYRIAN WORLD.
ecstasy, in swift passion which your eyes deem stillness, and your
mind a mystery.
T>1
And in my youth I loved beauty and abhorred ugliness, for
beauty was to me a world separated from all other worlds.
thr
But now that the gracious years have lifted the veil of
picking-and-choosing from over my eyes,, I know that all I have
deemed ugly in what I see and hear, is but a blinder upon my
eyes, and wool in my ears;
for
the
And that our senses, like our neighbors, hate what they do
not understand.
sla]
And in my youth I loved the fragrance of flowers and their
color.
lip;
Now I know that their thorns are their innocent protection,
and if it were not for that innocence they would disappear forevermore.
stri
And in my youth, of all seasons I hated winter, for I said
in my aloneness, "Winter is a thief who robs the earth of her
sun-woven garment, and suffers her to stand naked in the wind."
anc
my
But now I know that in winter there is re-birth and renewal,
and that the wind tears the old raiment to cloak her with a new
raiment woven by the spring.
And in my youth I would gaze upon the sun of the day and
the stars of the night, saying in my secret, "How small am I,
and how small a circle my dream makes."
But today when I stand before the sun or the stars I cry,
"The sun is close to me, and the stars are upon me;" for all the
distances of my youth have turned into the nearness of agej
pol
And the great aloneness which knows not what is far and
what is near, nor what is small nor great, has turned into a vision
that weighs not nor does it measure.
the
In my youth I was but the slave of the high tide and the
ebb tide of the sea, and the prisoner of half moons and full
moons.
the
Today I stand at this shore and I rise not nor do I go down.
ma
Even my roots once every twenty-eight days would seek
the heart of the earth.
pat
�DECEMBER, 1926
5
And on the twenty-ninth day they would rise toward the
throne of the sky.
And on that very day the rivers in my veins would stop
for a moment , and then would run again to the sea.
Yes, in my youth I was a thing, sad and yielding, and all
the seasons played with me and laughed in their hearts.
And life took a fancy to me and kissed my young lips, and
slapped my cheeks.
V
I
Today I play with the seasons. And I steal a kiss from life's
lips ere she kisses my lips.
And I even hold her hands playfully that she may not
strike my cheek.
In my youth I was sad indeed, and all things seemed dark
and distant.
Today, all is radiant and near, and for this I would live
my youth and the pain of my youth, again and yet again.
TRADITIONS OF THE PROPHET MOHAMMED
Wisdom enhances the nobility of the noble.
Hearts have a rust like that of iron, and forgiveness is the
polish thereof.
They who are most thankful to God are most thankful to
their fellow-man.
One of the conditions of forgiveness is to bring gladness to
the heart of your brother believer.
Some men speak to please their hearers, though their speech
may lead them to Hell.
God never showered a man with a greater beneficence than
patience.
>4MHBHmHHBP'-'
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Wise Men of Today
A CHRISTMAS PARABLE
By REV. JOHN HOWLAND LATHROP, D.D.
With what mystery those three figures walk across the pages
of the Christmas story! "Out of the East" — and that is a vast
unknown land, wrapped in mystery. "And they departed into
their own country" and the imagination knows no limit to its
surmises. "Wise men" — that is the first definite statement in
the story which has meaning for us. We know what the ancient
wise man was — a repository of all the religious lore of the ages,
a soothsayer, an astrologer, for astronomy was the wisdom of the
oriental world save for the practical rules of conduct contained
in Proverbs. Wise men as the characters, make the story concrete. And they came and saw the cradle of their hopes, which
again is definite, for all the prophecy with which the world was
full lets us understand what were the great expectations of our
fellow creatures in those days.
Let me picture a pageant for you which will translate the
spirit of the Christmas story into the realities of present life.
Wise men must be the characters and the cradle of their hopes,
their destination. Who are these wise men, where do they come
from, and where are they bound? I will, begin with their destination that you may undertsand the progress of the pageant.
Their holy of holies has inscribed on it the word "Immanuel" —
God With Us, and in that chancel reverberates a song, the words
of which are "Peace on earth, good will among men". Tradition
has it that the wise men of old were three in number but Matthew's story says nothing of the number. Certain it is that the
number of wise men in our pageant must be many more than
three, for I see:—
First, a multitude who come out of many nations chiefly the
nations of the West. They are heavily laden with gifts — gifts
of gold above other gifts, perhaps. They are men of sagaaty
and worldly wisdom. They know men and nations and the various fruits of the earth and of men's hands. They have great
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�THE TOMB OF ST. JOHN THE DAMASCENE
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Still standing in the great Mosque of the Umayyads in Damascus is the tomb of St. John the Damascene,
"the last eminent theologian of the Eastern Church". This mosque had been before the Arab conquest
a Christian cathedral.
�PHILIP K. HITTI, Ph. D.
�_-.
T>ECEM^Ek)l926
MM
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1
enterprise and energy. They are the captains of industry, commerce and banking, and, strange as it may sound, they seek the
cradle of their hopes in the chancel where the song resounds.
They did not always seek it there j they were not always as wise
as they are today. They used to think, "Blessed are the cutthroats, for they shall inherit the earth". And they used to believe that in fiercest competition was to be found the way to their
desires. Blood and tragedy, ruination and starvation, idleness
and want have all taught them wisdom. Now they cry, "Where
is he who is born Prince of Peace, for we would come and worship him?" They used to think that by rivalry, jealousy, hatred
and enmity would they get the good things they were after. They
now know that Good Will is their greatest asset, and only where
there is good will among men can they flourish. Two thousand
years have rolled away and the first in the company of wise men
who seek the spirit of "God With Us" are proud men made lowly
wise.
And then, I see coming in stately form, the modern successors to the kings of the earth, not from some nations and chiefly
the West, but from all the nations. They are dusky and pale
faced and picturesque beyond description in the garb of every
race. Statesmen we must call them, though that name is sometimes defiled —i the new statesmen of the new day. Formerly
they would not have been found in any pageant of wise men
seeking the cradle that unites Jew and Samaritan, Christian and
Barbarian. They thought that theirs was a cunning game of outwitting simple people in order to lord it over them, or of conniving with others like themselves to get the better of still others
like themselves. But the old race of statesmen is dying out and
new blood is bringing new wisdom. In the veins of the new statesmen is, the sanity of a Root, the sympathetic understanding of a
Benes, the idealism of a Wilson, the liberal practicality of a
Smuts and the patience of a Ramsey MacDonald. These wise
men lift their eyes to the hills of a city in a little European republic which has become the symbol of all they hope, and from
that city some of them journeyed until they heard an echo of the
angels' song by an Italian lake. They are beginning to remember
the words, "Be ye wise as serpents and gentle as doves" and they
dare to ask at last, "Where is he who will beat the spears into
plowshares for the government shall be upon his shoulders".
As these wise men join the pageant their ranks are not all closed,
but they are filling up, even though some do not become labor-
�8
<tH£ SYRIAN WORLD;
ers among them until the eleventh hour.
Succeeding these, I see a different looking company coming from Everyman's Land. They know nothing of nations nor
races. They speak all languages and talk with each other as
comrades about all history. They plunge into the depth of the
atom and into the abysses of space. They would "comprehend
the dust in a measure and mete out the heavens with a span .
These are the scientists, the wise men supreme of our new day,
the direct descendants of the astrologers of old who cast a horoscope and beheld His star in the east. What floods of wisdom
have they poured into the world, in a brief time — too much for
anyone to assimilate, too much for any of us to comprehend clearly whither it leads. Yet there are signs and the signs seem to
point to that same spot where is the mystic word, "Immanuel ,
for great words fall upon our ears from their lips which can have
for their concluding verse no other lines than those concerning
"good will" and "peace". These wise men are in our pageant
whispering "order", "law", "system", "growth", "progress", the
implications of which, we scarcely see. As we listen to them we
begin to ask "If these things are the vast universe, how can we
humans escape, must not we too know order, law, system, growth,
progress, which in human terms spell 'Peace on earth, good will
among men'?" If from the atoms to the starry heavens above,
why not from the human heart to the life of life within? And
some of the company of scientists answer our question by developing the science of the mind,, the science of society, the science of
economy and all the other sciences that deal with us ourselves.
Yes, they seek the one who is to teach us to pray, "Thy will be
done among men as it is done in the heavens above", and they
bring great gifts.
Then, I see a company of the fair and dreamy eyed. Ihere s
color and verse and music and dancing in their midst. They have
a wisdom that is by intuition, a gift of grace, rather than of labor.
Age has little to do with their wisdom — they are wise from their
youth. Artists, we call them and whether they write or paint
or sing, there is a magic harmony, in it all. Imagination is their
gift. By it, some burst into verse and as you listen you say, "Isaiah uttered such things, Christ saw their kingdom, John on Patmos beheld their holy city, and just a little while ago Tennyson,
Browning and Whitman beheld what they behold." The poets
of the world voice the heart's deepest longing and it is forever
for those things which eye hath not seen and which belong to
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DECEMBER, '192'6
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peace when we have remolded "this sorry scheme of things near, er to the heart's desire". By the imagination, some burst forth
into music and music is the tongue all men can understand, making brothers of the swarthy singer of Spirituals and the pale faced
composer of symphonies. Whittier wrote, "All the jarring notes
ot life slow rounding into calm", but whether it be calm or exhilaration, it is always harmony. Are we hostile races when Nordics sing Semitic psalms to the tunes of Palestrina as their offering to God, or are we children of one father with the same heart
beating m, every human breast? Time would fail me to speak of
all the others in the company of artists — wise men, seers, visionaries, dreamers of dreams. Whither are they bound if not where
beauty, harmony, which are artist words, for good will, dwell?
And next, I see a company whose very brows bespeak them
wise men, — furrows between their eyes, bespectacled, perhaps,
men again who come from every quarter. They show that without instruments or other aids they have dwelt long in bloody
sweat with their own thoughts. The philosophers join our pageant, for aristocrats though they be, their journeys have taught
them that the simple things are not to be despised and that the
sumum bonum they sought so far away is, perhaps by their very
door -— God With Us, in us, through us. This pantheism, if
you will, is the final result of the ages' search and none can do
better than the psalmist when he sang, "If I ascend up into
heaven, Thou art there; if I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand
lead me." Nor can any do better in his search for the ethical
implications of philosophy than to say, "As ye would that men
should do unto you, do ye even so to them." Yes, gladly philosophers tramp with us the common dusty road that leads to the
.great resting place where still the angels sing. More and more
bur philosophers are concerned not so much with the ultimate,
nature of reality as with the nature of persons and their meaning.
HThe values that philosophers give to persons lead directly to the
|ife which only the spirit of good will can achieve.
Lastly, among the wise men of today are those who through
long ages of pomp, power, authority, disputes, quarrelings and
|mathemas have denied the spirit in which they were born, but
Ire now coming to themselves certain of the Master's pardon.
|The religious leaders recognize today one common essential gosJ )el beneath all their varying definitions and formulations. They
lave learned to appreciate what Jesus meant when He said, "Not
�T>ECE2
fHE SYRIAN WORZU
id
everyone that sayeth unto me Lord, Lord, but he who doeth the
will". Hence, the angels' song becomes the one universal religious
hymn, uniting the followers of every faith.
When the wise men of old sought the cradle of their hopes
a new era in human history began. That thq wise men of today
seek one common cradle of their hopes suggests again a new era
in human history. This is the reason that Christmas grows apace
and has become in our time the supreme human festival.
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SYRIAN PROVERBS
The peacemaker receives two-thirds of the beating.
The hand that is empty is soiled.
Were there any good in the owl, she wouldn't escape the
hunter.
They said to the mother-in-law: weren't you a daughter-inlaw once and she replied: I was but I forgot.
Pass by your enemy when you are hungry but not when you
are naked.
Sit crooked and talk straight.
Of all the children in the street the negress found none
prettier than her own child.
He has no benefit, yet his smoke blinds.
A small pebble props up a large jar.
The crooked furrow is through the fault of the biggest ox.
All the roads lead to the flour mill.
A pebble in its place weighs a ton.
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�"DECEMBER, '1926
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The Spiritual Contribution of the
People of Syria
By PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
At this time of the year, Christmas time, our minds turn
naturally to that distant land which saw the first Christmas —
the land of Syria and Palestine. We think of it as the birthplace of our Christianity and we associate its name with all that
is holy, sacred and noble in our past spiritual heritage which has
become the heritage of the civilized world. The Jews also revere in it the place which served as the cradle of their religion,
the earliest monotheistic religion; and the Moslems look upon
Jerusalem and Damascus as second to none, in holiness and esteem, than Mecca and al-Medinah themselves. As the birthplace of two of the monotheistic religions, and the neighbor of
the third _— Islam —, Syria has carved for itself a place that is
supreme in the spiritual consciousness of mankind. It is from
that point of view a unique spot in the geography of the world.
Certain parts of the world developed cultures and civilizations which were glorious in themselves but which did not flow
into the stream of human progress. Their achievements do not
form a part of the heritage of the modern man. India and China
are such lands. Both India and China had moral teachers, spiritual leaders, and religious philosophers hundreds of years before Christ. They developed the mystic and ethical side of man
to a high degree. But their intellectual attainments and spiritual achievements are not a part of our mental equipment today.
They belong to another humanity, as it were. But the fruits
of the seeds planted thousands of years ago in the soil of the
Near East we still relish and enjoy.
Other parts of the world can rightly claim a niche in the
hall of immortality on the ground that they are the benefactors
of the whole human family. There is no man nor woman who is
�12
THE SYRIAN WORZD
not their beneficiary. Athens is such a place. Rome is another.
Such cities seem to belong to the whole world. They are international. Athens bequeathed to us its philosophy, its arts, and
its democracy, which still influence our lives. Rome bequeathed
its unexcelled system of laws. But the philosophy of the Greeks,
and the laws of the Romans dwindle into nothingness when compared with the spiritual contribution of Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
and Nazareth. The beginnings of the moral and ethical codes
that still control the world, the rudiments of the principles of
justice and mercy, the roots of altruism and idealism — all go
back to origins which were proclaimed for the first time on the
eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
It is this fact which made Sir George Adam Smith declare:
"Syria, chiefly because she includes Phoenicia and Palestine, has
been of greater significance to mankind spiritually and materially than any other country in the world." It is this same fact
which made Pere Lammens write: "Tout homme a deux patries:
la sienne, puis la Syrie." — "Every man has two countries: his
own and Syria."
In some other fields of human endeavor the ancient people
of Syria were imitators and disseminators. They copied from
the people of the valley of one river, Egypt, on one hand, and
from the people of the valley of two rivers, Mesopotamia, on
the other. They exchanged the industrial products and commercial commodities of those lands. But in one realm they were
no imitators. They were originators. And that was the realm
of spirit. In this field the Syrians were teachers. Just as the
land of Syria served as the medium of communication between
the early seats of civilization, so the people of Syria served as
the medium of communication between God and man.
With all that we are more or less familiar. We all associate the birth of Christianity with the land of Syria. But few
of us probably realize how instrumental those people were in
propagating the Christian faith, defending it, and making it a
world power. It is not the immediate apostles and disciples of
Christ that I have in mind. It is later generations of Christian
Fathers, historians, and martyrs, whose names may be Greek or
Syriac, but who were born and lived in Syria and whose work
made possible the spread and conquests of the religion of Nazareth.
I
�'DECEMBER, 1926
13
Let us mention two only to illustrate the contribution of
Syrian Palestine.
One of the earliest and ablest of Christian apologists was
Justin Martyr, born in ancient Shekem (modern Nablus) from
pagan parents. After his conversion, Justin retained his philosopher's cloak, the distinctive badge of the wandering teacher of
philosophy, and went about from city to city for the purpose of
bringing educated pagans through philosophy to Christ. In Rome,
the then capital and mistress of the world, he made a long stay
delivering lectures in a class-room of his own. Finally, between
163 and 167 A. D., he offered the supreme sacrifice of his life
as a martyr for the sake of his belief. His name heads the list
of Christian martyrdom.
Another Palestinian of Greek origin was Eusebius who died
as bishop of Caesarea in 339 or 340 A. D. Eusebius was undoubtedly the most learned man of his age. He stood in favor
with the emperor Constantine and, at the council of Nicasa, he
occupied a seat at the emperor's right hand. But it is as a historian that Eusebius is best known, and to his "History of the
Christian Church" he owes his fame and his well-deserved title
"The Father of Church History".
It was in a city in northern Syria, Antioch, that the little
community which grouped itself around the personality and
memory of the great Nazarene was for the first time called
"Christian". That same city is hollowed by the memory of many
other events and personages. In it was born and is buried one
of the greatest luminaries of the early Christian Church, St. John
Chrysostom, "the Gold-Mouthed". The little candle-light kept
burning on his tomb, on the slope of the hill overlooking the
modern Antioch, can still be seen by any visitor. I shall never
forget the thrill and the inspiration which that dim light gave
me as, one evening in the Spring of 1923, I made my way down
the hill from the citadel crowning its summit. Born at this ancient capital of Syria, about 345 A. D., from a noble family,
young John chose first an escetic life of self-denial in the adjoining desert. But he was later drafted into the world service
and soon promoted to the archbishopric of Constantinople where
his fame as a preacher and teacher spread far and wide. His
festival is kept by the Greek Orthodox Church on the 13th of
November and by the Roman Catholic Church on the 27th of
January of every year.
It is hard to think of John Chrysostom (Fatn-ul-Dhahab)
�14
tHE SYRIAN WORLD
without thinking of his namesake and peer, St. John of Damascus, the last eminent theologian of the Eastern Church. John
Damascenus was born about 752 A. D. His Arabic name was
Mansur Ibn-Sarjun and he received the epithet Chrysorrhoas
(gold-pouring) on account of his unexcelled eloquence. When
a young man, John was befriended by the illustrious Arab Mu'awiyah, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus, and
acted as boon companion (nadim) to Mu'awiyah's son and successor, Yazid. Like John of Antioch, John the Damascene was
also canonized by both the Oriental and Occidental branches of
the Christian Church. According to the Greek calendar, his festival is observed on the 29th of November and the 4th of December, and according to the Latin calendar, on the 6th of May.
Justin the martyr, Eusebius the historian, John! Chrysostom
the orator, and John Damascenus the theologian — how much
poorer the Christian world would have been without them!
*****
These few names do not, of course, exhaust the list, but
will serve to illustrate the debt which the world owes to the spiritually minded early Syrian Christians. And when we speak of
the Syrian Christians, we cannot but think of those of them who
flourished outside of the limits now set around present-day Syria.
The Syrian Church of Mesopotamia can well take pride in the
lives of many men preeminent among whom stands St. Ephraim,
the most famous and influential Syrian Father and author. Ephraim Syrus (the Syrian) was born in Nisibin in the early part
of the fourth century, and died in Edessa (modern Urfa). As
a sacred poet, commentator, preacher and defender of orthodoxy,
he stands supreme in the annals of the Syriac-speaking Church.
His fame is equalled by only that of Chrysostom and Damascene.
A couple of centuries ago, the world was astounded at the
discovery of a tablet, in Chinese and Syriac, that has been standing since the eighth century at Sianfu, China, and bearing the
oldest Christian inscription yet found in eastern Asia. On this
tablet the names and labors of 67 Nestorian missionaries are commemorated. The date it bears is the second year of the reign
of Kien-Chung of the Tan dynasty, which corresponds to the
year 781 A. D. Such is the testimony of this silent witness of
the early Syrian faith.
The Syrian church of Mesopotamia, in those early days,
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�A TYPICAL PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN SYRIA
Many are the churches in Syria that present the appearance of the one shown in this photograph, especially in the mountain villages where the churches are built not only for the purpose of worship, but as havens of refuge in case of attack. The church illustrated is in the Howran Mountain, more popularly known
as Jebel-ad-Druze.
�A VILLAGE IN LEBANON
Quite pretentious is the modern Lebanon village with its red-tiled roofs loudly proclaiming the wealth of
the emigrant sons of the Mountain in America. But the old type of village, with its flat-roofed houses
huddled together in a friendly, informal manner, has its charms. Here is a section of the old type Lebanon
village, almost at the highest point of elevation in the mountain.
11
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�DECEMBER, 1926
15
carried its missionary activity not only into China but India, too,
where it is still represented at the present day by a small community of believers in the sov thern part of the peninsula. This
is the St. Thomas Church of India.
But it is not our present purpose to dwell on the spiritual
contribution of Syrian Mesopotamians, nor to follow the story
through medieval times. It may suffice to state in this connection that between the years 60S and 741 A. D., not less than
five popes of Syrian origin, ranging from John I to Gregory III,
presided over the destinies of the Catholic Church.
*****
To no one, therefore, should Christmas mean more than to
him who comes from, or traces his descent to, that land where
the first Christmas was enacted. The spirit and memory of Christmas should urge such a man or woman to greater efforts and
higher achievements, so that he or she may be worthy of the
superb heritage that lies behind them. Unless we try and live
up to those old and sacred memories, what good are they for?
THE GUEST
By AMEEN RIHANI *
Why art thou so hushed and sad,
So thin and wan?
Who robbed thee of thy flesh and song,
Was it Ramadhan?
Nay, Ramadhan is not to blame,
For I have ceased to fast and pray;
But to my vacant Dwelling came
An unknown Guest — he came to stay.
And in my heart he eats and drinks j
He drinks my blood, of wines the best,
And eats my burning flesh — ah, yes,
My love for Zahra is that guest.
Translation from the Arabic in "A Chant of Mystics and other
Poems,"
�, ...
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16
._-_,_-.
;. -
THE SYRIAN WOULD
Christmas in a Lebanon Village
By IBN EL-KHOURY
The village in Lebanon from which I came is situated midway between the summit and the base of the mountain. It is
near enough to the city of Beirut to be in partial touch with modernizing influences, and far enough to retain traces of the old
color of the patriarchal, simple life of the hardy mountaineers.
The church, for instance, had benches for seating worshippers,
a privilege and a luxury enjoyed by only a few of the churches
of the more pretentious mountain villages. Yet the latticed partition separating the men's from the women's quarters remained,
as also all the rituals as practised for centuries in the old Syriac
language in the full grandeur of their simplicity.
Next to Easter, which by virtue of the fact that it falls in
the full, bloom of Spring and following a long period of penitence which, during Lent, is practised even now in those sequestered Lebanon villages as it was in the earliest periods of Christianity,— next to Easter, Christmas is the festal day observed with
the greatest display of ostentation and exhileration. It is for the
Lebanese Christians, not a day of exchange of presents, because,
for some reason or other, presents to children are given on New
Year's day, but an occasion for real spiritual joy and elation to
which the mountain folks deliver themselves with all the purity
of their unsophisticated minds. The atmosphere along about this
season seems to, be impregnated with the fragrance of the lofty
virtues symbolized by the birth of Christ, and the villagers in
their transports of ecstasy seem all to be living in a charmed world
of their own.
Preparations for Christmas festivities are conducted on quite
an elaborate scale. Every household in the village, from that
of the Sheik or magistrate, down to that of the humblest farmer
or goat-herder, as the day approaches, vibrates more and more
with the spirit of activity. Baklawa, burma, mulabbas and other
sweets are ordered from the city to be served to visitors; while
the native products such as dried figs, raisins and pickles are always within easy reach. Most important of all is the testing ancj
�DECEMBER, '1926
17.
sampling of wine. Wine, the genuine fermented juice of the
grape, the national drink of Lebanon, the fluid which inspires the
village bards and is from time immemorial the first and foremost
token of proffered hospitality, must of necessity lead the list of
festal preparations. The vintage of the preceding crop is therefore sampled as safely as possible before Christmas, and when
anyone finds that his wine has not sufficiently aged to suit the
fastidious taste of a connoisseur, — and they are all connoisseurs
of wine in Mt. Lebanon — he borrows a jar of older wine from
his neighbor, for only the best must be served on Christmas.
Of a more complex nature are the activities to be observed
in the rectory of the priest. His family, to be sure, looks forward to the advent of Christmas with as much anticipation of joy
as any household in the village. For the priests of the Eastern
Churches, especially parish priests, are married. This privilege
is enjoyed not only by adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church,
which is independent of Rome, but by priests of the Greek Melchite and Maronite Churches, which are both integral branches
of the Church of Rome, as well. And in some instances the priest
can boast of larger families than any of the most ambitious laymen, among the villagers.
But the Khouriaty or the priest's wife, has more to look
after than the ordinary matron, and the children of the Khoury
are called upon to do more than prepare their holiday costumes
and make necessary arrangements for the reception and entertainment of guests and callers. I happen to be the son of a priest
and I know. My recollection of these circumstances, although
dating back to more than a quarter-century, is still as vivid and
clear as if I had witnessed this procession of incidents only yesterday. Rather, it is perhaps now that I begin to appreciate the
exquisite romance that is so closely interwoven with the life of
a Lebanon villager, now that I have come to experience the dull
routine, the driving urge, the mad rush of life in an American
city.
As the son of a priest, more fell upon me to do than upon
an ordinary boy of the peaceful village. But I now have occasion to thank my stars for so being, because I find myself for
this fact so much the richer in experience and. in intimate knowledge of many of the commonly unobserved details of the preparations for Christmas, albeit these preparations are by no means
out of conformity with the simple life of the country.
Upon the priest's household falls the duty of dressing up
�Jr
THE SYRIAN WORZD
18
the church for Christmas. For days ahead we would be occupied
in cleaning, polishing and laundering. The altar linen, all fringed with fine hand-made laces worked by the deft fingers of the
maids and matrons of the village, and presented to the church
either in fulfillment of a vow or out of a purely pious impulse,
must all be immaculately clean for the holiday. All brass ware of
the church must be as shiny as on the day it was bought, from the
incensor to the candlesticks. For want of polish, we used at first
sand, then lemon juice. At times we received some assistance
in our task from volunteers, — young men and maidens who,
perhaps, were kept longer at the task more through love for
each other than love for the work itself, but the intensity of their
-feeling only manifested itself in furtive glances and in the energy they put in their labor.
Then it was that we had to bake the sacramental wafers,
which by itself was not an unwelcome task, inasmuch as the assistants were privileged to eat all broken wafers; consequently,
when the priest's back was turned, broken wafers were almost
the rule. This usually was done on a sunny day in the open, on
a wood-fire.
Christmas eve is spent either in silent meditation or in open
prayer almost in every house, members of the family crowding
around the open fire awaiting the coming of midnight to answer
the call of the church bell beckoning them come to mass. No
food in any form is taken from the hour of sunset because almost
everyone receives communion. But all the good things to eat
and to drink are already prepared and placed within convenient
reach for the festivities that are to follow.
At the stroke of midnight the church bell begins to peel
out its cheerful tidings of the day commemorating the birth of
the Lord. Long and methodical are these silvery sounds that
fill the air with their message of joy and are echoed throughout
the sleeping valleys of the mountain. At times a weird, soulstirring effect is produced by the conflict of sound coming from
the varied rings of the different-sized bells of several churches
in the same village, or of neighboring villages within hearing
distance. This prelude to the Christmas festivities is one of their
outstanding features, because it is for the young men of each village a test of strength and endurance, also calling for no little
amount of skill in producing the different combinations of bellplay. In most churches, the bellfry is raised about midway in the
length of the building over the side-wall close to one of the cen-
31HHiHBMHHMHBBHBH>
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SKSRSHSIHI
i
�M
'DECEMBER, 1926
ter doors. There the pretentious voting men gather around the
dangling rope, in full view of the worshippers, to take turns at
performing the feat. We may be sure that while this is proceeding, many pairs of admiring eyes are peering through the latticed partition focussing on the knot of competing young men gathered around the bell-rope. This is kept up until the whole congregation is in church and the services actually begin.
At the first call of the church bell, one standing on an eminence witnesses a sight whose impression resists any action of time
anc} adheres tenaciously to the memory. In the heavy darkness
of the night, accentuated in spots by thick clumps of woods or
by the depression of the valleys, one sees moving hither and
thither in every direction mysterious lights being raised or lowered or swayed to this side or the other, but all slowly, yet steadily, making their way towards one focal point in the direction of
the church. These are the lanterns carried by the villagers to
guide their footsteps in the winding, treacherous paths leading
to the open square around the church.
The midnight mass is a sacred institution in the Christian
villages of Lebanon. Rain or snow or dry weather, attendance
is compulsory. There seems to be associated with these midnight
services in the minds of these sincere, devout Christians special
graces hallowed by centuries of observance. To miss being in
church with the birth of the new day heralding anew the birth
of Christ is a calamity.
Inside the church there glows the soft, flickering light of a
hundred candles. The big crystal luster hanging in the center
of the church, a gift of one of the prosperous emigrants of
the village in America, is all radiant with the light of its twoscore candles such as it is on but a few occasions during the year.
The priest dresses on the altar with all the ceremony of a bishop
on a festive occasion. The acolytes are furiously adding incense
on the burning charcoal and rapidly filling the place with a cloud
of fragrant smoke. A half-score men priding themselves in their
melodious voices are grouped in a farther corner of the altar
taking turns at chanting the mystic services in the old Syriac
tongue. One man stands at the immediate steps of the altar with
cymbals in hand ready to pound at the first motion from the
priest. Standing on either side of the altar are two brass discs
hung with small, loose rattles mounted on a long pole ready for
use in a quivering, oscillating movement around the host at the
time of its elevation.
�20
?H£ SYRIAN WOKm
The service progresses very slowly, and as the reading of
the Gospel approaches a man is seen to rise and walk to the rear
of the church where, at the door of the latticed partition, he takes
from the arms of a woman an infant apparently but a few months
old. He; carries it gently to the altar landing and, as the priest
faces the worshippers, he beckons the man to approach. The priest
rests the holy book on the head of the child and reads the Gospel
from that position. This reverential action is supposed to carry
with it a special blessing.
Towards the end of the mass the men begin to line along the
altar railing to receive communion, but the women form in line
within their own partition and the priest descends the steps of the
altar and walks slowly down the center aisle, preceded by acolytes
bearing lighted candles and all the while burning incense, to
meet them at that location.
Christmas is the feast of peace on earth and good will towards men, and in these primitive Christian churches in Lebanon
villages a physical interpretation is given to these symbolic words.
At the time the officiating priest pronounces the words of the angels, towards the conclusion of the mass, he touches the outstretched hand of the acolyte to his right, and the latter immediately rises and passes the "salaam", or peace token, by the touch
of hand, to the first man next to the altar. The salaam is then
passed in like manner from the one to the other until it goes the
full round of the church. By now the hour has well advanced
towards dawn and the church begins to pour out its stream of
humanity from the different exits only to eddy and form in little
groups in the open court of the church to exchange greetings.
Presently small bands of joyful men and women form and are
seen travelling in different directions. Neighbors and relatives
congregate at the house of the leading man of the section or the
clan and deliver themselves up to merry-making around a bounteous festive board. The fire in the open hearth now glows more
brightly and the insidious Lebanon wine flows freely and reflects
its warmth in the ruddy faces of the mountaineers. The infant
Christ has come again to announce peace and good-will and now
the happy, leisurely villagers invoke all means at their command
to accentuate and radiate the good feeling.
A man whose neighbor cannot trust him cannot enter paradise.
Mohammed.
^
•
�t
DECEMBER, 1926
as
Who is Santa Glaus
By HABIB I. KATIBAH
How many Syrian boys and girls are there to whom Santa
Claus is more than the central figure in a legend which is rather
remote from their own traditions and folklore? Santa Claus,
the benevolent benefactor of Yuletide, with his reindeer and his
sleigh, certainly could not have even the farthest connection
with sunny Syria and its benign azure sky. What is Santa Claus
without snow, red fur cap and white beard, draped with snow
flakes, and flying with his chariot and reindeers in the sky?
Such a legend rings to the echo of the Sagas, to the myths
of Oden and Knecht Ruprecht; it fits into the atmosphere of the
smoking chimnies, of the hearth, and the Yule log. It seems preposterous to suggest that the; jolly, red-faced, portly gentleman,
dear to the hearts of thousands of young folks the world over,
is any but a hero arising from the cold mists of the old Teutonic
myths and traditions.
Well, if my readers think so, they are due for a shocking
disillusion, or perhaps a pleasing one, when I tell them that Santa
Claus, instead of coming from the blizzards of the dreary north
and spreading the sunshine of his broad smile southward, until
his reign has included the distant lands of Nippon and Cathay,
and all children of the world, at least for a period of a month
or thereabout, seek diligently to obey his behests and commands,
had in reality come from the East, from a little town not distant
from northern Syria, from whence he went out to conquer the rest
of the world with his charming kindness and benevolence.
Of course Santa Claus is real. His real name is Saint Nicholas. We know very little about him, but enough to assure us
of his reality, and that he did live and move about in this world
of ours. He lived very long ago, just how long may be surmised from the fact that the Christian emperor Justinian built a
church in his memory in Constantinople in the year 430. He
must have lived at least fifty years before that, perhaps a hundred. One tradition makes him to have participated yi the Nicean Council, 325 A. D. His birthplace was the little town of
MB
�J1
———_____
2t
¥HE SYRIAN WORLD.
Patras, in Asia Minor, and later he became the bishop of Myra,
in Greece.
When Chaucer wrote his famous Canterbury Tales, Saint
Nicholas had become acclimatised to the Western world and incorporated in its calendar of saints. His birthday had been already fixed by the Church on the 6th of December, and some of
the traditions and legends about him, had spread abroad and attained a wide popularity. One of these traditions makes him a
lad of exemplary conduct, who devoted himself to worship in
his early youth. Thus Chaucer sings of him:
"But ay, when I remembere on this matere,
Saint Nicholas stant ever in my presence,
For he so yong to Christ did reverence."
Not always was the festival of Saint Nicholas, who by corruption had become Santa Claus, identified with Christmas. There
was a time, and it is still in Holland and Belgium, when his birthday was celebrated independently as a festival for children. Mr.
George McKnight, in his book, "Saint Nicholas: His Legends
and His Role in the Christmas Celebration," relates how a little
Belgian girl in the days of the World War, when German soldiers had driven many families of Belgium away from their
own country, describes in a letter to her American "god-mother"
the visit of Saint Nicholas to the orphanage of Varengeville-surMer:
"We have just had a grand visit from St. Nicholas," writes
this little Belgian girl. "He came in person to bring us some nice
things as he used tc do when we were at home. We were playing
when, all at once, we heard singing at one side and saw a bishop
ringing a bell. What joy! it is St. Nicholas! We kneeled down
to receive his blessing, and then sang a song and went into the
house. St. Nicholas talked to us and, best of all, gave us some
presents. He gave us an orange, a barley sweet, a cake, and some
games. My, how happy we were!"
At one time the festival of Saint Nicholas extended over the
greater part of Western Europe. With the advent of Protestantism, and its aversion to "saint-worship", the traditions of St. Nicholas, his patronage and generosity to children, were transposed
to Christmas.
Not vecy far back, however, St. Nicholas made the rounds
of his visit to the homes in the different countries of Western and
33g£_2&W_fl_&gBfnK__<
--____»
�DECEMBER, 1926
23
Middle Europe, with his bishop's red mitre, exactly as he does
today in Belgium and Holland. Mr. McKnight mentions in his
book that in these countries, particularly in Austria, Switzerland
and Southern Germany, the old St. Nicholas customs "still maintain a vigorous existence." He tells that in Ehingen on the
Danube, it is customary for children to keep tally on a stick the
numbers of times they said their prayers. The child showing
many tallies is favored by Santa Claus. Before going to bed these
children place bowls under their beds for St. Nicholas to fill them
with presents, muttering this prayer before they go to sleep:
"St. Nikolaus, leg mir ein,
Was dein guter will mag sein,
Aepfel, Birnen, Nuss und Kern
Essen die kleinen Kinder gern."
(St. Nicholas, put in for me
What thy good will may be,
Apple, pear, and good sweetmeat,
Little children love to eat.)"
!
«
V
How St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children,
and how his festival was connected with the customs of gifts and
presents, is one of the most interesting chapters in the fanciful
romance of history.
The most ancient and most persistent legends of Saint
Nicholas is one which represents him as the son of a wealthy man.
When his father died, St. Nicholas, who had been brought up as
a pious youth, was wondering how to spend his wealth in the
service of God to the best advantage. He heard, one day, that
a nobleman from his own hometown, who had become impoverished, was constrained to abandon his three virgin daughters to
"lechery" so that the family could be sustained by "the gain and
winning of their infamy." St. Nicholas was moved by this tale,
and going secretly by night to the house of the nobleman, he
threw in a mass of gold wrapped in a cloth. The nobleman rose
up in the morning, and finding the gold on the floor, praised God
and married his eldest daughter with the dowry thus mysteriously afforded. The act was repeated a second time for the second
daughter. When the turn of the third daughter came, the nobleman had laid in wait to find out who was his unknown benefactor,
in order to thank him. St. Nicholas came and threw the bundle
of gold as he had done before, and fled. The man, who had been
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
awakened by the sound of the gold, followed St. Nicholas saying: "Sir, flee not away so but that I may see and know thee."
There is an allusion to this story in Dante's Purgatorio.
This story connects the name of St. Nicholas with the custom of gifts and generosity. Similar ones made him in time the
patron saint of children, of old maids, of mariners and of pawnkeepers. In all these St. Nicholas is made the protector of the
weak and helpless ones.
One of these stories makes him the restorer of a child, in a
miraculous manner, to his mother, and in another he brings three
boys to life after they had been murdered, and their bodies put
in a barrel.
From the dignified Christian bishop to the "elfin-like" figure
of Santa Claus, jumping from chimney to chimney in his reindeer drawn chariot, is a long way. But it is not at all difficult
to see the connection.
The Anglo-Saxon races who were converted to Christianity
retained many of the heathen customs and festivities which the
Church was powerless to eradicate. Among these festivities were
the ones of Yuletide, corresponding to the Saturnalia festivities
of the Romans, and occurring in the latter part of the Fall.
These festivities were thanksgiving festivities to the gods, commemorating the ingathering of the crops. The Jews had a similar festivity called the feast of Tabernacles, and in Syria today
we have remnants of the heathen Saturnalia in what became
known as the feast of the Cross — 'Eed-ul-Saleeb — falling
after the ingathering of the grapes. To these festivities the Church
wisely tacked the names of Sts. Martin, Andrew and Nicholas,
whose calendar days fall in this period. Especially the day of
Saint Nicholas became distinguished for merriment and exchange
of gifts as we have seen.
Up to the 14th century, Christmas remained a solemn festival — a high Mass, in spite of the urging of the Church to make
it an occasion of merriment and joy. But no sooner were the
festivities of St. Nicholas transferred to Christmas than Christmas began to be regaled with something of the gaity pertaining
to the bishop saint of Myra.
With the Protestant reformation, with its antipathy to
saint-worship, an effort was made to supplant the St. Nicholas
legend with another one making the author of the gifts the child
Jesus Himself, hence the Kris-Kringle traditions. So entrenched
was St. Nicholas, however, in the hearts of the little children,
�DECEMBER, r192'6
25
that the Kris-Kringle' tradition could not supplant him, except in
a few Northern localities, as in Schloswig-Holstein, where little
children, even today, put their little bowls under their beds for
the Kris-Kringle to fill with toys, sweet-meat and cakes.
The sleigh and reindeer of St. Nicholas are of Teutonic
origin. They are latter adaptations of the Knecht Ruprecht
legend, which in turn is said to be a reflection of the Odin myth,
the god of wind, who used to ride his aerial chariot in the length
and breadth of the land at the time of Yule. At one stage of the
legend Knecht Ruprecht, on his horse, accompanied the impersonator of the kindly bishop St. Nicholas to punish the bad children
whose conduct does not merit the gifts of St. Nicholas. In time
Knecht Ruprecht dropped out of sight, and St. Nicholas took his
place.
SUFI SAYINGS ON REPENTANCE
Duh-1-Nun, the Egyptian, a Sufi contemporary of al-Junayd, was asked: "Who are the unfortunate ones?" He answered:
"They who know not the way to God and would not know."
Of repentance he said: "The repentance of the common is
of sin, the repentance of the elect is of negligence."
Someone came to Rabi'a al-Adawiyah, a bedouin woman
who was one of the earliest Moslems who "trod the path of Sufism", and asked her: "I have committed many sinsj should I
turn in penitence towards God, would He turn in mercy towards
me?" She replied:
"Nay, but if He should turn in mercy towards thee, thou
wouldst turn in penitence towards Him."
A certain Sufi, who had attended the lectures of Abu Uthman al-Makki and was converted by him, retrogressed after a
few days. Consequently he was ashamed of Abu Uthman and
avoided him whenever possible. One day Abu Uthman cornered him and said:
"My son, it is for such a time and at such a state that Abu
Uthman can benefit you." The man was won over by the kindness of Abu Uthman and his conversion was established.
I
�n
26
THE SYRIAN WORT.U
New Year's Eve
By M. J. NAIMY
Why seethe you, friends, and foam, and run?
Has your tiny sphere begun
Another swing around the sun,
And hence the rush and strife?
But what's your earth or sun to me,
Who was, who am, who e'er shall be
A heaving passion in the sea
Of timeless, boundless life?
Your hopes are born and die with years j
Your joys are bathed in blood and tears j
Your loves are swathed in hates and fears
E'er old, yet ever new.
But I, whose hopes are never born;
Whose joys of tears and smiles are shorn j
Whose love is naked like the morn, —
How can I feast with you?
What need have I of your light
When I walk not, like you, by night
The tortuous paths of Wrong and Right
That lead to where they start?
What need haves I of your wine
When I drink deep of founts divine?
Aye, drown your hearts! I'll not drown mine
Intoxicated heart.
What need have I of song and play?
My deeper silence throbs alway
With melodies of spheres away,
Away beyond your sphere.
Could you but pause in your mirth
And hear the groans of your earth,
Mayhap you'd long for a new birth
And not for a new year.
�DECEMBER, '1926
27,
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
PHYSICIAN, PHILOSOPHER, P0E7]
By F. I. SHATARA, M. D., F.A.C.S.
Of all the stars scintillating in the firmament of Arab civilization, the name of Ibn Sina, known to the Occidentals as Avicenna, shines most brilliantly.
Physician, philosopher, and poet, he is best described by the
two titles commonly applied to him, namely: Ash-Shaykhur-Rais,
(the chief master), and al-Mu'allimuth-Thani, (the second teacher,) — Aristotle being the first.
It is not here possible to enter, into a discussion of the Arab
contribution to civilization} suffice it to say that during the dark
ages, between the decline of Greek civilization, and the Renaissance, it was the Arabs who kept the torch of knowledge burning,
enriched it by their contributions, and finally handed it on to the
rest of the world. Whether the Renaissance would have been
possible without a background of Arab civilization is a debatable
question. Ibn Sina was one of the pillars of Arab civilization.
He was an Arab culturally, if not racially, for during the golden
age of Arab civilization and conquest, Arabic language and culture ruled supreme and many a non-Arab studied in Arab schools,
and used Arabic as a medium for expression.
Abu 'Ali, Hussayn Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn Sina was born at Bukhara in the year 980 A. D. His father had responded to the
Egyptian call by joining the Isma'ilite sect from whom came the
Assassins, and his mother came from a village near Bukhara.
Much of our information about him is derived from an autobiography in which he chronicled his life story up to the age of
twenty-one. Thereafter, our knowledge is derived from the records of his pupil and friend Abu 'Ubayd of Juzjan. Ibn ul
Qufti, Ibn Abi Usayb'iah and other historians draw on these
sources.
At the age of ten he mastered the Koran and the Arabic
classics. His father and two brothers always discussed philoso-
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
phy in his presence. His teacher in his youth was one Abu Abdullah An-Nakly, who came to Bukhara as a guest of Ibn Sina's
father, but in no time the pupil out-learned his tutor, and would
put up to him many baffling questions in logic which the teacher
could not answer, but which he would explain to his teacher.
(Nicholson).
During the six succeeding years he devoted himself to Moslem Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and Natural Science, and studied
Logic, Euclid, and the Almagest (E. M. Browne). He was without a teacher but he studied diligently and read omnivorously
"and the doors of learning opened up to me. Then I turned my
attention to the study of medicine, and as medicine is not a very
difficult science, no wonder that I mastered it in a short time,
and soon the leading physicians began to respect my opinion and
seek my advice. Then I added to my knowledge practical experience, which no book can give." (Ibn ul-Qufti).
He was, however, troubled by metaphysical problems. He
read Aristotle's Metaphysics forty times, until, as he puts it, "I
memorized but did not understand it, and despaired of ever being
able to understand it, until by chance, one afternoon, I purchased
from an auctioneer a manuel of metaphysics by the celebrated
philosopher Al-Farabi. This manual I purchased for the small
sum of three dirhams. I hurried to read it, and lo! my eyes
were opened, and my problems solved. On the following day,
in gratitude, I gave alms to the poor, and thanked the Almighty
Allah."
When he was not much more than eighteen years old, his
reputation as a physician was such that he was summoned to Bukhara to attend King Nuh Ibn Mansur, who, in gratitude for
his services, allowed him to make use of the royal library, which
contained many rare and unique books. (E. M. Browne). "I
found there," he says, "many rooms filled with books which were
arranged in cases, row upon row. One room was allotted to
works on Arabic philology and poetry; another to jurisprudence,
and so; forth, the books on each particular science having a room
to themselves. I inspected the catalogue of ancient Greek authors, and looked for the books which I required. I saw in this
collection books of which few people have heard even the names,
and which I myself have never seen either before or since."
(Ibn Abi Usaybia, Tabaqatu'l-Attiba).
This library was subsequently destroyed by fire, and Avicenna's detractors did not scruple to assert that he himself had pur-
^
MMiMMHMHHMM
�"DECEMBER, 1926
29
posely burned it so as to enjoy a monopoly of the learning he had
derived from it.
At the age of twenty-one, he lost his father and about the
same time composed his first book. He traveled from court to
court in quest of adventure and pleasure, now in favor, now in
disgrace, and always writing indefatigably. He entered the service of Ali Ibn Ma'mun, the ruler of Khawarazm or Khiva, for
a while, but ultimately fled thence to avoid the attempt of Sultan
of Ghazna to kidnap him. After many wanderings, he came to
Jurjan, attracted by the fame of its ruler Jabus as a patron of
learning, but the deposition and murder of that prince almost
coincided with his arrival, and he bitterly exclaimed in a poem
which he composed on this occasion:—
"When I became great no country had any room for me,
When my price went up I lacked a purchaser."
Such a purchaser, however, he ultimately found in the Amir
Shamsud-Dawla, of Hamadan, whom he cured of the colic, and
who made him Prime Minister. A mutiny of the soldiers against
him caused his dismissal and imprisonment, but subsequently the
Amir, being again attacked by the colic, summoned him back, apologized to him, and reinstated him. His life at this time was extraordinarily strenuous} all day he was busy with the Amir's
service, while a great part of the night was passed in lecturing
and dictating notes for his books, with intervals of wine-drinking and minstrelsy. After many vicissitudes, Avicenna, worn out
by hard work and hard living, died in 1036-7 A. D. (428H.) at
the comparatively early age of 58. In his last illness he treated
himself unsuccessfully, so that it was said by the detractors that
neither could his physic save his body nor his metaphysics his
soul. (Browne).
The writings of Ibn Sina were diversified, numerous and
voluminous. In this age of specialization one marvels at the fact
that his mind could master subjects so unrelated, and which today would be life studies for several individuals. He was indeed
a living encyclopaedia of human knowledge of his day.
Al-Qufti gives the number of his works as 21 major and 24
minor works on philosophy, medicine, theology, geometry,. astronomy, philology and the like. Many of his major writings
comprise as many as twenty volumes. Broeklmann gives.a more
extensive list comprising 68 books- on theology and metaphysics,
11 on astronomy and natural history, 16 on medicine, and -4 in
verse, 99 books in all.
�30
TFZE SYRIAN WORLD
His most celebrated Arabic poem is that describing the descent of the Soul (An-Nafs) from the Higher Sphere. This poem
is one of the classics to be memorized by every student of Arabic
literature.
Space does not permit more than a brief reference to the
greatest and most famous of Ibn Sina's works, namely the Qanun,
which up to the seventeenth century of our era was used as a text
in every Medical School in the civilized world. The writer is in
possession of a copy of this celebrated work in three volumes
printed in Egypt in the year 1902. It comprises over 1500 pages.
The material is elaborately divided and subdivided. The description is terse and brief, and the range of the subjects covered
is tremendous. The work may be considered as an encyclopaedia
of medical knowledge of those days. E. M. Browne, in his book,
"Arabian Medicine", describes the Qanun as follows: — "Its
encyclopaedic character, its systematic arrangement, its philosophic
plan, perhaps even its dogmatism, combined with the immense
reputation of its author in other fields besides medicine, raised it
to a unique position in the medical literature of the Moslem
world, so that the earlier works of ar-Razi and al-Majusi, in spite
of their undoubted merits, were practically abrogated by it, and
it is still regarded in the East by the followers of old Greek
Medicine, as the last appeal on all matters connected with the
healing art." Nizami-i-'Arudi of Samarqand, after enumerating a number of books which should be diligently studied by him
who aspires to eminence in medicine, says that if he desires to be
independent of all other works he may rest satisfied with the
Qanun, and thus he continues: — "From him who hath mastered
the first volume thereof nothing will be hidden concerning the
general theory and principles of Medicine, so that could Hippocrates and Galen return to life, it would be proper that they
should do reverence to this book. Yet have I heard a wonderful
thing, to wit, that one hath taken exception to Abu 'Ali (Avicenna) in respect to this work. For four thousand years the physicians of antiquity travailed in spirit and spent their very souls
in order to reduce the science of Philosophy to some fixed order,
yet could they not affect this; until after the lapse of this period
that pure philosopher and most great thinker, Aristotle, weighed
out this coin in the balance of Logic, assayed it with the touchstone of Definitions, and measured it with the measure of Analogy, so that all doubt and uncertainty departed from it, and it
was established on a sure and critical basis. And during these
"~
�F. I. SHATARA, M. D.
�H. I. KATIBAH
�DECEMBER, 1926
31
fifteen centuries which have elapsed since his time, no philosopher
has won to the inmost essence of his doctrine, nor travelled the
high road of his preeminence save that most excellent of the
moderns, the Philosopher of the East, the Proof of God to mankind, Abu <Ali Hussein Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn Sina. Whosoever,
therefore, finds fault with these two great men will have cast
himself out from the fellowship of the wise, ranked himself with
madmen, and revealed himself as fit company only for fools.
May God by His Grace and Favor keep us from such stumblings
and vain imaginings!"
Ibn Sina lived in an age when laboratory examinations, X
Rays and the other modern agencies that the physician of the
twentieth century summons to his aid in diagnosis were unknown.
He had to call to his aid native ability, ingenuity, common
sense, and his power of observation, factors which, it is regrettable
to state, are at times found lacking or neglected by the modern
physician. The following anecdote illustrates his ingenuity. In
his flight from Mahmud of Ghazna, he came incognito to Jurjan
by the Caspian Sea, where a relative of the ruler of that province
lay sick of a malady which bafHed all the local doctors. Avicenna
was requested to examine the patient. He did. Then he requested
the collaboration of someone who knew all the towns of that
province, and who repeated their names while Avicenna felt
the patient's pulse. At the mention of a certain town he felt a
flutter in the pulse. Then he summoned someone who enumerated the streets, then the houses in that town. At the mention of
a particular house in a, particular street the patient's pulse again
fluttered. Avicenna then announced that the patient was in love
with such and such a girl who lives at such and such an address,
and prescribed the remedy. The marriage was solemnized
and the patient cured.
That medicine was regarded with reverence in those clays;
that the qualifications and attainments pre-requisite for a practitioner of the healing art were high, can be gleaned from the following quotations from the Fourth Discourse: — "The physician should be of tender disposition, of wise and gentle nature,
and more especially an acute observer, capable of benefiting everyone by accurate diagnosis, that is to say, by rapid deduction of the
unknown from the known. And no physician can be of tender
disposition if he fails to recognize the nobility of man; nor of
philosophical nature unless he be acquainted with Logic; nor an
acute observer unless he be strengthened by God's guidance-
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and he who is not an accurate observer will not arrive at a correct understanding of the cause of any ailment."
Finally, the following quotation from Whitington's Medical
History, will give the reader a brief estimate of Arabian Medicine of which Ibn Sina was one of the foremost exponents: —
"This display of physical vigor," he says, after describing the
wonderful conquests of the Arabs in the seventh century, "was
followed by an intellectual activity hardly less wonderful. A
Byzantine emperor was astonished to find that the right of collecting and purchasing Greek manuscripts was among the terms
dictated by a victorious barbarian, and that an illustrated copy
of Discorides was the most acceptable present he could offer to
a friendly chieftain. The philosophers of Constantinople were
amazed by the appearance of Moslem writers whom they styled
with reluctant admiration 'learned savages', while the less cultured Christians soon came to look upon the wisdom of the Saracens as something more than human. It was this people who
now took from the hands of unworthy successors of Galen and
Hippocrates the flickering torch of Greek medicine. They failed
to restore its ancient splendor, but they at least prevented its extinction, and they handed it back after five centuries burning
more brightly than before."
FORBEARANCE
Abdullah Ibn Tahir, a general under al-Mamoun, related
that one day he was in the presence of the famous Abbaside Caliph when he called for his slave-boy.
"He called the first time; and he called the second time,"
recounted Abdullah Ibn Tahir, "but there was no answer. Then
the slave-boy burst in shouting angrily: 'Must not a slave-boy
eat or drink? Every time we go out of your sight you start
calling out, 'O, slave-boy, O, slave-boy!' How long will you
call out, 'O, slave-boy'?
"The Caliph made no reply, as he bent his head in contemplation."
"As for me," continued Ibn Tahir, "I thought surely the
Caliph would give command to have the slave-boy beheaded,
but instead, he raised his hand and, addressing me, said:
'O, Abdullah, when a man is good-natured, he spoils the
temper of his servants, but when he is evil-tempered and harsh,
his servants fear him and mend their ways. It is not meet that
we spoil our own temper to improve that of our servants."
�DECEMBER, 1926
33
Bless Their Hearts
By
WILLIAM CATZEFLIS
Vivian had French blood in her veins. One could guess it without being told. She was vivacious,sparkling,and had that something
intangible and yet evident, for which the French have the word
"espiegle" which hardly could be translated "naughty". The
word "mischievous" would be nearer the meaning and still a
poor translation.
At her age, Vivian was only nineteen, it was becoming
andj even charming. Strange, how the same characteristics look
differently at different periods of life! What is lovely and attractive in a girl of nineteen would appear unbecoming and even
ridiculous in a woman of thirty, and vice versa.
By her many friends, Vivian was considered to be the ideal
companion. One never became bored nor dull when she was
around. Her mind was a veritable dynamo, with that difference,
however, that it was variegated, oh so much so! Yet, despite her
apparent lightness, she often surprised her chums, and especially
her elders, by remarks denoting a depth of thought, and breadth
of views far beyond her limited experience in life.
Every one knew that Vivian Colbert and Eddy Raymonds
had an "affair". She made light of it, bantering and bluffing j
pretending that he was to her a little more than the "mob", perhaps, but not enough to raise any fear, or to evoke visions of a
church aisle, two rows of bridesmaids and a trailing veil. She
laughed off the suggestion, as she alone could laugh off the most
trivial as well as the most serious things. But any one with the
least perspicacity could easily see that matters were not as shallow
as she pretended. A few unguarded flashes from her sparkling
eyes, a mark of uneasiness when he was a little too attentive to
other girls, some show of temper uncalled for at times, all these
signs showed more than she cared to reveal, and told their little
tale.
She had known him at College, some few years before, when
she was a "fresh" and he was a senior. He was a star on the
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
football team, popular like sin, and handsome like a Greek statue. She had admired him, as everybody did, impersonally and
from a distance, until that day when, coming back from a function, he had given her a ride in his car. They had talked, almost
intimately, as if they had known each other for years, and she
had discovered that he was not all lines and muscles, but that he
was also unusually clever and an excellent conversationalist.
That, he was, to an astonishing degree. But he also was the
most indifferent, easy going, cynical and unscrupulous "stepper"
in fourteen states, and this she did not know. Eddy Raymonds
was one of those who believed that the world owes them a whole
lot, and they set about taking it anyhow. It is possible that he
never stopped to analyze his actions j it is possible that he was not
inherently bad, but he would as easily break a friend's valued
memento as he would a girl's heart, without hesitation or remorse.
His attitude about girls could be seen from the following motto
which he often repeated: "Oh! what difference does it make if you
lie to them? That makes them happy. Isn't that enough?" It
may be bad, unscrupulous, but he did not look at it in this light.
In everything, he was collecting from life what he imagined life
owed him.
To him, Vivian was a plaything from whom to obtain amusement or relaxation as he would from his cigarette or his speedy
roadster. To her, deep down in her heart, unconfessed and unspoken, he was her god.
His companions and friends doubted whether Eddy Raymonds had a true affection for anyone in the world, so unconsciously egotistical was he. However, they made a mental reservation in favor of Alfred G. Prenlan. The G standing for goodness knows what, but in college it stood simply for "Gosh", and
he was thereafter known as Alfred Gosh Prenlan. Alfred was
his shadow, the only person for whom Eddy seemed to have a
sincere attachment and from whom he had no secrets. And the
funny part of it all is that Alfred, unknown to the world, was
head over heels in love with Vivian.
They had just dropped in for a final smoke, the two of
them, Alfrecl and Eddy, in the latter's appartment, after taking
the girls home. Alfred was pensive, Eddy his usual boisterous,
ebullient self.
Alfred had long wanted to say something to* his friend but
�,-d*
'DECEMBER, r1926
35
it was of such a nature that he could never find the courage to
do it. To-night he was desperate} he meant to have it out with
him, and from an apparently clear sky, he shot that question at
himj
—"Eddy, do you really love Vivian?"
—"Don't be a silly fool," laughed Eddy, "why should I love
her?"
—"But you have told her so, and she believes it. Do you
mean to tell me that you were "
—"Lying, why do you hesitate to say the word? Afraid to
hurt my feelings? Why, you simpleton, it makes all girls happy
when you tell them you love them, and Vivian is a good sport,
why then should I disappoint her?"
—"But Vivian might be in love with you. I
I believe
she is. Have you the heart to keep up the deception?"
—"Well, if worse comes to worse, I could appease
her by marrying her and making her the head of my harem. You
know I could do much worse. She is pretty, comes from an excellent family, and is wealthy besides, a consideration which cannot escape my disinterested mind, and "
But Alfred did not let him finish. His usual calm, his meekness, were gone. The man standing near the mantle, his features
distorted by repressed anger, his eyes blazing, his lips trembling,
was a revelation, even to his old chum. He spoke in a low, subdued tone, but emphasizing each one of his syllables, driving
them, so to speak, as so many hot rivets, into the very soul of
his friend:
—"Eddy," said he, "some people may call you cynical, but
I call you a downright,! dastardly coward!"
Surprised at this tone and language, and yet half amused by
his friend's vehemence, Eddy cried out:
—"What is eating you, Al? Why the Billy Sunday outburst?"
—"Because," replied Alfred, "this is exactly what I think
of you! Because a man who wilfully deceives a girl who trusts
and worships him, and lies to her, and makes her forfeit her
chances in this life and her happiness, for the mere selfish satisfaction of amusing himself for a while, is lower than a dog. A
dog would not do anything so base."
—"Al, I am not going to be angry, no matter what you say,"
said Eddy, "but for the love of mud, can you explain to me why
�iaaaHHHHaiaHMMaMHMiBBMHMi
/ft
34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
football team, popular like sin, and handsome like a Greek statue. She had admired him, as everybody did, impersonally and
from a distance, until that day when, coming back from a function, he had given her a ride in his car. They had talked, almost
intimately, as if they had known each other for years, and she
had discovered that he was not all lines and muscles, but that he
was also unusually clever and an excellent conversationalist.
That, he was, to an astonishing degree. But he also was the
most indifferent, easy going, cynical and unscrupulous "stepper"
in fourteen states, and this she did not know. Eddy Raymonds
was one of those who believed that the world owes them a whole
lot, and they set about taking it anyhow. It is possible that he
never stopped to analyze his actions j it is possible that he was not
inherently bad, but he would as easily break a friend's valued
memento as he would a girl's heart, without hesitation or remorse.
His attitude about girls could be seen from the following motto
which he often repeated: "Oh! what difference does it make if you
lie to them? That makes them happy. Isn't that enough?" It
may be bad, unscrupulous, but he did not look at it in this light.
In everything, he was collecting from life what he imagined life
owed him.
To him, Vivian was a plaything from whom to obtain amusement or relaxation as he would from his cigarette or his speedy
roadster. To her, deep down in her heart, unconfessed and unspoken, he was her god.
His companions and friends doubted whether Eddy Raymonds had a true affection for anyone in the world, so unconsciously egotistical was he. However, they made a mental reservation in favor of Alfred G. Prenlan. The G standing for goodness knows what, but in college it stood simply for "Gosh", and
he was thereafter known as Alfred Gosh Prenlan. Alfred was
his shadow, the only person for whom Eddy seemed to have a
sincere attachment and from whom he had no secrets. And the
funny part of it all is that Alfred, unknown to the world, was
head over heels in love with Vivian.
They had just dropped in for a final smoke, the two of
them, Alfreci and Eddy, in the latter's appartment, after taking
the girls home. Alfred was pensive, Eddy his usual boisterous,
ebullient self.
Alfred had long wanted to say something tof his friend but
�=^£
DECEMBER, '1926
*
'
""
35
it was of such a nature that he could never find the courage to
do it. To-night he was desperate; he meant to have it out with
him, and from an apparently clear sky, he shot that question at
himj
—"Eddy, do you really love Vivian?"
—"Don't be a silly fool," laughed Eddy, "why should I love
her?"
—"But you have told her so, and she believes it. Do you
mean to tell me that you were "
—"Lying, why do you hesitate to say the word? Afraid to
hurt my feelings? Why, you simpleton, it makes all girls happy
when you tell them you love them, and Vivian is a good sport,
why then should I disappoint her?"
—"But Vivian might be in love with you. I I believe
she is. Have you the heart to keep up the deception?"
—"Well, if worse comes to worse, I could appease
her by marrying her and making her the head of my harem. You
know I could do much worse. She is pretty, comes from an excellent family, and is wealthy besides, a consideration which cannot escape my disinterested mind, and "
But Alfred did not let him finish. His usual calm, his meekness, were gone. The man standing near the mantle, his features
distorted by repressed anger, his eyes blazing, his lips trembling,
was a revelation, even to his old chum. He spoke in a low, subdued tone, but emphasizing each one of his syllables, driving
them, so to speak, as so many hot rivets, into the very soul of
his friend:
—"Eddy," said he, "some people may call you cynical, but
I call you a downright, dastardly coward!"
Surprised at this tone and language, and yet half amused by
his friend's vehemence, Eddy cried out:
—"What is eating you, Al? Why the Billy Sunday outburst?"
—"Because," replied Alfred, "this is exactly what I think
of you! Because a man who wilfully deceives a girl who trusts
and worships him, and lies to her, and makes her forfeit her
chances in this life and her happiness, for the mere selfish satisfaction of amusing himself for a while, is lower than a dog. A
dog would not do anything so base."
—"Al, I am not going to be angry, no matter what you say,"
said Eddy, "but for the love of mud, can you explain to me why
�?HE SYRIAN WORLD
you are taking it so much to heart?
Surely, your vituperation cannot be wholly inspired by, your moral rectitude
"
.—"Stop your foolish levity, Ed, it is sacrilegious in a matter like this. You ask me why? If you were not blinded by your
selfishness} if you had a spark of human feeling in your makeup,
you could have seen, long before now, that I love Vivian. I would
give the last drop of my blood to make her happy, and my love
is not selfish. I don't care if she marries me or not, but I cannot
stand by and see you making a floor mop of her feelings and of
the most sacred thing in pure womanhood. And to think that
you 'were a star of the gridirion!' a popular hero!
If you
can be called a hero then Galigula was a martyr. Why you are
not even a man "
Prenlan stopped, somewhat relieved, but still trembling
and they both kept silent for some time. Eddy had become serious, pensive. He kept his look averted from his friend, but all
his levity had disappeared. Finally he said, more to himself than
to his friend:
—"God, how he loves her! This is the kind of love that I do
not know. The kind that brings man nearer to God."
And after a while, turning to his friend:
—"Al," said he, "what must I do to prove to you that there
is some manhood left in me?"
—"There is but one thing to do, Ed, and that is to go to
her and make a clean breast of the whole accursed thing."
—"Very well," replied Eddy, "we shall call on her together to-morrow at eleven o'clock."
The following day, which was a Sunday, they made their
way silently to Vivian's house. They hardly exchanged a word
on the way, so tense were their respective feelings, and so absorbed were they, each in his own reflections and thoughts.
Vivian, who had just returned from church, was far from
expecting company at that hour. She was, therefore, not a little
surprised at seeing them, and what added to her perplexity was
the grave mien of Eddy, quite an unusual thing with him. She
greeted them cheerfully, nevertheless, and said jokingly:
—"My brave knights, I did not expect to see you this morning. What good wind brings you? But no, your faces are sad
and elongated like those of well-trained undertakers. Don't tell
me that you are bringing sad tidings! Has my army been defeated? Was my armada captured or sunk?"
I
t .
m
mm
�DECEMBER, 1926
37
—"Vivian," said Eddy, "it is a serious matter, and we wish
to have a talk with you."
—"Oh, well, in that case, I will grant you a private audience
They were, all three of them, uneasy, embarrassed. Vivian
felt, instinctively, that there was something grave, and which
could not be pleasant. Finally, after what seemed to be a long
time, Eddy broke the silence:
—-"I will tell you what it is all about," said he, "but please
be patient and do not interrupt me until I am through. Vivian,
you are in love with me. Never mind the conventional denial and
all that sort of stuff! I know it and you know it! I have told
you that I loved you many, many times, and you believed me.
But I was lying, Vivian, lying like the cad that I am. You were
nothing more to me than one additional girl to flirt with, to play
with, and to discard when she becomes dull and burdensome.
You don't know me, Vivian. You thought all the time that I
was a clean, straight, sincere chap. But I have deceived you. I
am nothing but a profligate, without heart, without an iota of
sincerity in me. All girls are the same to my type of a man."
While he was talking, Vivian did not interrupt him, but
she could not refrain from emitting little exclamations, and there
was more poignancy in her pitiful, broken "oh", than in a whole
volume of recriminations. Tears that she could not keep back
were trickling down her ashen cheeks. When he stopped, she
managed to say the single word: "Well?"
—"Well," replied Eddy, "I was all that and I did not know
it. But last night someone opened my eyes; someone who is all
that I am not, who possesses all the qualities that I lack, and who
loves you deeply, earnestly, sincerely. Yes, last night I made
this double discovery, when Alfred made me see the light."
At these words, Vivian made a movement as if startled by
the revelation, and Alfred, who was standing near a window,
with his back almost turned to his friend, became very pale.
Eddy resumed:
—"You see, Vivian, he deserves you, and I do not. If you
marry him he will make you happy, and I am now asking you
that on his behalf. But I am also asking you to marry me, even
after all I told you. I want you to make a choice between the
two of us, and there will be no hard feelings, I assure you, no
matter what your decision. That's all I have to say."
For a long time she did not answer, and none of them broke
�1
I
II.'"
38
THE SYRIAN WORZD.
the heavy silence. Vivian was no longer crying, but she had become dreamy, with a far-away look. Gradually, her features had
resumed their normal looks, and there was even the outline of a
smile on her pretty lips. Finally she turned to Eddy and said
in a calm voice:
—"Eddy, I understand perfectly what you have just said,
and I; thank you for your frankness. When you were speaking,
my decision was shaping itself. When you finished, it was already made."
—"And that decision is?" asked Eddy, with a tremor in his
voice.
—"With all due consideration to what you have said, Eddy
dear, I want only you."
If a bomb-shell had exploded then and there, its effect
would have been milder than her words. Not the least surprised
was Eddy himself. As to Alfred, he stood up, raised his arms,
opened his mouth as if to speak, but said nothing at first. Then
he walked up and down the room, and as if thinking aloud, he
exclaimed:
—"Who could fathom the heart of ai woman? Who could
understand the working of her mind?"
Then, turning to her, he said:
—"Vivian, I have no hard feelings, and I am satisfied if it
makes you happy. Good luck to both of you."
At this, Eddy got up, threw his arm around his friend and
said:
—"It is alright, old top, don't worry, I have found myself,"
and turning his head in her direction, he added: "she made me
find myself."
But Vivian was laughing:
—"Of course you have found yourself, silly," said she. "Do
you think that you would have spoken the way you did if you
had not? Do you think I am so dense as not to have seen clear
through you?"
Then, walking towards them, she threw her arms around
Alfred, and before he knew it, gave him a smacking kiss, saying:
—"It is your reward for helping him find himself."
There isn't a tree that wasn't shaken by the wind.
�- -
MISS SUMEYEH ATTIYEH
�•"
WILLIAM CATZEFLIS
�DECEMBER, 1926
39.
Snapshots of East and West
By SUMAYEH ATTIYEH
The Near East proudly claims the original Promised Land
while America has been called the modern land of promise j but
many a vamp, a gold digger and an adventurer seem to have
mistaken it for the land of breach of promise.
The Orientals work to live, the Occidentals seem to live
to work.
Orientals believe that a man who knows he is a fool is
really not such a great fool.
A dog is not considered a good dog just because he is a
good barker.
A man is not considered a good man just because he is a
good talker.
Some fellows have the gift of gab, but only few people
have sense enough to be as wise as a clam who shuts up occasionally.
I agree with the Turks in not admiring skinny women. The
Americans like flats and sharps, while Orientals admire curves
and rounds. It is much more pleasant when escorting a lady up
or down to feel a soft, velvety arm of flesh, than a stick of bone
covered with skin.
If ex-Sultan Abdul-Hamid remained on the throne during
the World War, Turkey would have remained absolutely neutral.
Surely he was a wise man, and how could he help it when he
was the husband of 300 wives — a modern Solomon in more
than one way.
I love my adopted country and like its people because on the
whole they are one of the very nicest people on earth. They belive in Santa Claus, and when they have nothing to do, they
talk about the weather. They have a sense of humor, make many
laws and don't enforce some foolish ones. They are the finest
business people in the world, and their country has more religious denominations than any other on earth, not excluding Syria.
Since Mustapha Kemal, the president of Turkey, enforced
�-"
•
40
¥HE SYRIAN WORLD
the law of monogamy, Turkish men are complaining of domestic
troubles. In the past when a man had three or six wives he was
the master of the home. Each wife tried to win his affection,
each one rushed to do his bidding, to please him the most and
to become his favorite. But now the wife knows,that her husband
can't marry another, so she becomes independent and demanding.
She wants his attention and acts indifferently at times. One
man in Constantinople failed to obey his wife one day, so she
hit him with a flatiron, a shock from which Constantinople has
not yet recovered.
An Oriental says to his friend or,guest: "I am highly honored by your presence, the light of your face has brightened the
room. My house is yours; do as you like with itj burn it if you
wish. You are our master, etc." This is said with dignity and
a bow.
The Occidental may, shake the hand of his friend or guest
in a hearty manner or slap him on the back in a friendly way,
with a grin of pleasure or a ripple of laughter. He would say
he is wild to see him and that the rest of the family are crazy
about him, etc., etc.
Two entirely different kinds of speeches, but underneath
the surface they practically mean the same thing and aim to express; the love and friendship and welcome to the friend or the
visitor.
In Turkey men were allowed to marry several wives while
in the Fijji Islands it was customary in the past for a woman to
marry several husbands at a time, but no man was allowed to
marry more than one wife, a most democratic country for women, indeed. How would you like, my lady reader, to have six
or eight husbands, one for a cook, one for fishing and hunting,
one for general housework, another to attend to outside errands
and the rest working and earning a good living while you are the
queen of the household and they are your worshippers awaiting
your pleasure?
And now that I am coming to the end of my snapshots and
before I bid you good-bye, gentle readers, I wish to confess to
you that I am still green. Some folks would be insulted if you
called them green, but to my understanding it is a compliment.
As long as one is green, he is growing, he has life and future
before him. He has time to improve. Yes, I am green, but not
a green-horn. I want to remain green for a long time, no matter how many years I may live. For some people are so ripe
�'
'DECEMBER, 1926
i
$
that they are rotting and are ready to drop down from decay.
They know it all, and there is no room for expansion, learning
or growth. Yes! I am still green, and have many things to learn,
and have a great, big room for improvement, but I am on the
way, looking upward, struggling hard to improve and grow better spiritually, mentally and materially.
There is one thing in my life that gives me great satisfaction,
comfort and happiness, that is my work which I love and enjoy.
It enables me to do my duty towards the mother country,
and serve my countrymen by trying to bring an understanding
between the East and the West over the radio and on the Lyceum
and Chautauqua lecture platforms in my small and simple way;
to have the Americans know us and see us as we really are; to
get them acquainted with the finest and the best that is in us. The
Syrians and the people of the Near East regard honor as sacred,
the love and affection and devotion that exist in our family life
have no equal any place in the world. We are a clean, moral people. -Friendship is a beautiful thing among eastern people. They
know the value of it and the bonds of friendship are not broken
by distance, poverty nor misfortune.
Our children are born and raised with a genuine love and
respect for their elders and parents. Hospitality is a law among
us, and there is no place for a stingy man. We respect and protect womanhood, and are sincere worshippers of God.
We have made good American citizens. The divorce courts
are very rarely troubled with us. Bootlegging and dope-peddling are foreign to us. We are keen merchants, clever salesmen,
and home-loving husbands and wives.
I look upon the service of my worthy people as a privilege
and a sacred duty. No credit should be given the worker because it is a pleasure and an honor to serve the Arabic-speaking
peoples of the world and show the West their nobility of character and honorable principles.
After all, human nature is the same East and West and the
universal language of the earth which can be understood in any
country and among any race is the language of genuine kindness,
and as I say the word I remember what John O'Reilly once
wrote:
"What is the real good?"
I asked in musing mood.
"Order", said the law court,
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD,
"Knowledge", said the school.
"Love", said the maiden,
"Beauty", said the page.
"Freedom", said the dreamer,
"Home", said the sage.
"Fame", said the soldier,
"Equity", the seer.
Spake my heart sadly:
"The Answer is not here".
Then within my bosom,
Softly this I heard,
"Each heart holds the secret,
"Kindness" — is the word".
ARAB WISDOM
Look not to those who are above you, but look to those
who are below you, for this is more conducive to the contemplation of the graces of God to you.
A wise man mourns not what passes out of his hand, but
keeps what remains.
If you fear God, He will make everything else fear you;
if you fear Him not, He will make you fear everything.
He who takes his time, hits his mark or comes near it; he
who hurries, misses his mark or comes near missing.
When a door for good works is open, enter therein, for
you do not know when it may close.
Of three things God asks not on the day of Judgment: Of
what one spent in his sickness; of what he spent in breaking his
fast; and of what he spent in entertaining his guests.
Three persons are worthy of pity: A man of high station
who had become low; a rich man who had lost his riches; and a
pious man who had lost his religion.
"T
�win Mum Ml
mm
m
'DECEMBER, 1926
Ponsot, Executive and Diplomat
By SIMONE FRANCE
It was by a stroke of good fortune that I was able to interview M. Henri Ponsot, the new French High Commissioner
in Syria, before leaving Paris this summer. His appointment
came almost suddenly and he was very much besieged by callers,
while I had but a day left before embarking for America. Realizing the limitation of time, the new High Commissioner graciously granted me the interview and was quite frank in answering
some questions, while on the whole he was non-committal as to
his declarations of policy.
I explained first to the High Commissioner that there was
cause for genuine apprehension for Frenchmen not only over the
situation in Syria but also over the interpretation that had prevailed in America of the events of the past year. After an investigation into the facts from many sources, I ventured, I had come
to realize that people in America had not been properly informed
as to the real facts about Syria, and I asked him what his
policy would be to collaborate with the press in presenting facts
about Syria in the light of truth. He raised up his eyes and looked at me as with heavy thoughts on his mind. "Do you know,"
he said, "that your demarche interests me very much, for if I
have always been extremely interested in Syria, I am also very
much interested in that immense continent, America, and for
these two reasons I cannot fail to have due regard for the Syrians living in America. I realize that it is very important for
the American public at large to know the truth about events in
Syria as also for the Syrians living in America who are naturally
concerned about the people at home and genuinely interested in
the welfare of their country.
"But there is one word that I dislike above all, and that is
"propaganda". Facts should speak for themselves and truth,
even if bare and sad, is always better in the end than a flowery
lie. It is my intention in the future to issue regular bulletins
available to all and in which events in Syria will be recorded as
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
historical facts, as much as possible, without being colored by appreciation or interpretation. With that, my duty would be done.
There will always be people who will distort facts in a manner to
cast shadows upon truth; but truth will always triumph in the
end."
I then called M. Ponsot's attention to the fact that some
reproach had been directed at his predecessor, M. de Jouvenel,
for having been too lenient and asked him if he would follow
the same policy or have recourse to force in dealing with the
problems of Syria. This seemed to evoke in him memories which
he was pleased to recall, and he related how in the course of his
career he was on his way to Syria when the war broke out and
he met Djemal Pasha on the way. He then was sent to Montreal,
and later to Washington, D. C, and now his dream of seeing Syria had come true. His voice was growing more intense
as if he were keenly aware of all the responsibilities resting upon
him. After a while, when I left the visions of the past that he
had summoned with such emotion, I quietly repeated my question. Then M. Ponsot frankly smiled and answered immediately. "This is, of course, a question that is almost impossible for
me to answer," he said. "I must first go to Syria, get in touch
with the Syrians, breathe Syrian air, and then, as developments
occur, I will have to treat them to the best of my ability. To
say now what I will do would be anticipating matters."
Then after a pause he continued: "There is not such a thing
as an unsoluble problem. At least there is always a way, it seems
to me, to improve the situation. No one is ever absolutely right,
nor is one absolutely wrong, so if one has the willingness to see
what the other side has to contribute to the common problem and
then one has firmness to see that the solution arrived at is properly carried out, there will be progress in the sense of improvement. A problem such as Syria cannot be settled in the course
of a few years. But I bring with me to Syria the will to understand those whose customs, whose modes of living, whose aspirations, are different from those to which I have been used so far.
I come to Syria with a willingness to give and to receive; to appreciate and to co-operate; to commune with the Syrians and let
them commune with me so that they may feel that I have their
well-being at heart to the same extent that I have the cause of
justice and loyalty."
The attitude of M. Ponsot was so frank that I was encouraged to put to him another direct question: "You are probably
aware,
�JiffliS8SBig«8aB8ME»IBa««Mmn»»a«*q<^^
!
"DECEMBER, 1926
f!
•
45
aware," I said, "of the criticism made against France that in less
than six years she has appointed five High Commissioners in
Syria. The Syrians and the world at large wonder if there is
going to be at last some kind of a stable policy in Syria and if
the French Government is willing to give full support to the
man who is going to give the best of his intelligence to disentangle the net of political manoeuvres in that country." To which
he replied: "The French Government is so well aware of the
necessity of a continued policy in Syria that my superiors, on
announcing my appointment, said to me: 'Now that you are
going we do not want to see you before at least ten years." And
he added: "Unless you visit Syria, the next time you see me I
will be an old man
" It must be remembered that by no means
is M. Ponsot an old man now. He is not yet fifty and he seems
to have all the qualities that make for strength, intelligence and
energy. He has an understanding of human nature and human
aspirations that is unusually broad, and as he said himself when
I took leave, he feels there is work for him to do in Syria and he
considers it his duty to answer the call. One of the things that
struck me particularly about Monsieur Ponsot is his extreme
modesty and his highly developed sense of duty that augurs well
for the future peace and prosperity of Syria.
SOME SUFI SAYINGS
Said Harith al-Muhasibi: "I never said, 'Oh, God, grant me
repentance,' but I do say, 'Grant me the desire for repentance.'"
Said Sahl Ibn Abdullah at-Tustari: "Repentance is not to
forget one's sins."
Said. Rwaym: "Repentance is to repent of repentance."
Benevolence does not take away from one's wealth.
No poverty is greater than ignorance.
Despise not any kindness.
�'46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Image of God
By THE EDITOR
"Truly," she said, her eyes shining with the light of a
strong conviction, "for spiritual inspiration we must still turn
to the East. It is the source of light symbolized by the rising
of the sun. Men there are swayed by such strong spiritual beliefs that they deem it of little concern to subordinate to them
their temporal well-being and their carnal desires. Environment,
heritage, climate, all go to make up the ensemble which gives
the people of the East their spiritual finess."
She quoted the famous lines of Lamartine:
"Ami, vers l'Orient tournez votre paupiere,
"La verite nous vient d'ou nous vient la lumiere."
and for my benefit proceeded to render them into English:
Friend, toward the East direct thy longing eyes,
Truth to us comes only from whence the sun doth rise.
Then she surrendered to a reverie which I was loathe to
interrupt because I, too, was set athinking by her remarks and by
the nature of the surroundings. Here I was in the house of a
Syrian woman who had fought her life-battle and won, and but
for the advantage of gratifying her aesthetic tastes, she looks upon her material wealth as a mere incident, a transitory matter
unworthy of being considered an object in life, and recalls with
longing that supreme manifestation of the simple life still practised in those parts of the East as yet little touched by the material civilization of the West.
I had made up my mind not to interrupt the silence of my
hostess. There are, at times, moments of silence that impart
to the soul more joy, more true felicity, than the most eloquent
of words.
I do not recall how long this condition lasted, but when
finally my hostess chose to speak I observed that she did so with
the feeling of one who is awaking from a pleasant dream. Her
eyes lighted with an uncanny fire j a charming smile played
around her delicately moulded lips, and her voice, bearing the
sweetness of the thought that had been engaging her mind, sound-
�DECEMBER, 1926
41
ed like the angelic notes of the song-birds heralding the coming
of the dawn in the enchanted hills of Lebanon.
"I have been on a long journey," she began, "to the land
which I shall ever cherish and love and look to in my spiritual
hunger for my sustaining and satisfying manna. Although I
left that fair land when quite young, still I retain of it the sweetest memories that shall accompany me throughout life. Rather
is it now, looking in retrospect, that I begin to appreciate all the
more the true spirit of the East as reconstructed in my imagination from the incidents which I observed in my childhood. It
is now that I can perceive the true significance of the deep spiritual motives that influence and guide the people of the East in
their daily lives. I could relate scores of such incidents from
which I now draw valuable lessons, but the one deepest in my
consciousness is that of the old man of the mountain who, to my
youthful imagination and impressionable disposition, appeared
to me as the living likeness of God."
I showed by my attitude that I was anxious to hear the story.
Expectation must have been written all over my countenance as
I leaned forward with the impulse of one who would not miss
a word.
She proceeded:
"When I was but a child of ten, my father was called upon
once to make a sudden trip to one of the interior towns of Mt.
Lebanon situated quite some distance from our summer home.
It was a torrid day in July and despite the pleadings of my anxious mother, father insisted on departing before sunset so as
to reach his destination in the early evening. Being much devoted to my father, I begged him to take me along, and he, not
wanting to delay his departure nor to leave me in my tearful
and pitiable condition, consented to take me with him. Mindful,
however, of the heat of the day and the length of the journey,
he asked me if I were hungry or thirsty, but I, elated at the prospect of the horseback ride, could not think of a moment's delay
to eat or drink. Quite natural for a child, you know.
"The first stage of the journey was ideal. Travelling on
the rough road at some pace the horse plunged and swayed and
I found in that a great delight, all the time holding fast to the
waist of my father so as not to roll off the saddle. But the novelty of the thing soon wore off and I began to feel the pangs
of hunger and thirst, mostly the latter. I would not, however,
complain at first for fear of a scolding, and even when my mouth
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was parched to an unbearable degree, I would not utter an open
complaint, but I groaned and cried to call attention to my condition. Intuitively, my father discovered my misery and made
every effort to buoy up my spirits: 'In a few minutes,' he would
say, 'we shall come to some habitation where I can get you a
drink;' or, 'the sun is now setting and you will not feel the heat
and the thirst as much,' and like sayings which only aggravated
my plight and made me cry piteously.
"There is no suffering, my friend, to equal that of extreme
thirst when, while you are in the full possession of your senses,
yet you feel life ebbing out of your body by the slowest and
most tormenting process; when you pant for a drop of water
as a drowning man pants for a breath of air; when the very air
you breathe becomes like scorching flames; when you impulsively clutch at your throat as if to stop the wasting life that is
actually flying with ever exhaltation. It is a terrible feeling
that only those who have gone through such an experience as
mine can possibly realize.
"Such was my condition before the end of that memorable
trip. I had stopped groaning and felt myself on the verge of
collapse when my father, holding the reins with one hand, supported me with the other. It was now dusk and no habitation
was in sight. My father kept up his encouragements.
"All of a sudden, father stiffened in the saddle and uttered
an exclamation of delight. He could see a dim light in the distance and he pointed it out to me joyfully. He sunk his spurs in
the flanks of the horse and it flew as if it had taken wings. My
spirits rose in proportion as the light drew nearer.
"At last we arrived, and behold! a sight greeted our eyes
that for the time being made me forget all my suffering and
misery. Squatted on the ground before the low door of a small
hut was an old man than whom I had never seen in my whole
life any that was more venerable, more saintly in appearance
or sweeter in that divine expression of love and tenderness radiating from his countenance. On a mound he had placed a lamp,
beside which was a jar of water. The lamp was his beacon to
guide wayfarers to his abode; the jar of water was his haven
for the rescue of men's lives. As we approached he raised towards us eyes that were heavy with tenderness, moist with tears.
His whole being seemed to radiate a spirit of sanctity. He was
dressed in white and his snowy beard, reaching to his waist, made
him appear to me as the living God whose image I had seen paint-
�DECEMBER, 1926
'49
ed in like manner.
" 'Drink, my children,' he said to us, motioning to the jar,
'for you must be thirsty travelling in these arid wastes.'
"We drank and accepted the old man's invitation to rest,
and, encouraged by the kindly look in his eyes, my father, while
thanking him profusely, expressed surprise at his living in such
a wilderness with no apparent object other than to supply water
to thirsty travellers.
" 'May my unworthy deed find grace in the eyes of God,'
he said. 'My sins must have been heavy,, and to devote my life
to their expiation is all that I can offer. May no father suffer
what I have suffered.'
"At these words my father ventured a few formulas of
solace and comfort and asked the old man if he would not be
so kind as to relate to him the reason for his sorrow.
" 'Know, my son,' said the venerable man, 'that at the time
the urge of emigration began to grip men's souls in our country,
luring them by hopes of ready fortunes, my only son, then in
the prime of life, in disregard of my wishes, left home for the
land across the sea. For three years he was away, during which
time the eyes of his mother and mine never dried. With every
mail we wrote urging him to come home that he may be with us
in the closing days of our lives, but he would not return emptyhanded. Finally, God softened his heart and he ceded to our
entreaties. He landed in the country and was making his way
home where all our neighbors had gathered to welcome him.
Night fell on the appointed day for his arrival and he did not
come. Our joy gave way to anxiety, but still we waited
and hoped. That night which we spent waiting for him seemed
like ages, and anxiously did we expect the breaking of dawn to
go out and seek him. The wilderness in this section of the mountain was at that time infested with beasts of prey and we were in
fear some misfortune had befallen him. We trudged our way
with heavy hearts in this desolate land until we reached this spot,
and here we found our dear boy, the object of our love and the
inspiration of our hope, dead — dead from thirst, nearly at the
threshold of his house, after having travelled thousands of miles
to come and give himself up to our loving embrace.'"
At this juncture my hostess was moved to tears by the depth
of her emotions at recalling the sad account of the old man's suffering, but she proceeded:
"At that time I recall having wept copious tears, as did my
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
father, at the pitiful sight of this old man broken down with the
weight of his sorrow, and my father comforted him in kind
words and bid him resign to the will of God.
" 'God's will be done,' finally said the old man, resignedly,
'I shall try to keep alive the memory of my beloved son by devoting my life to an act of charity that other fathers may not
suffer as I have suffered. I have sold all my worldly belongings and built myself this hut on the spot where my son died
that I may ever be near him, and that I may give water to unfortunate travellers that they may not perish of thirst. This
mound is the grave of my son, and on his grave, as long as I
live, there shall ever be a jar of water for those who would not
perish as he has perished. God's hand has sustained my wife
and me in this work which we have now kept up for the last ten
years, she and I taking turns at fetching the water from the faroff spring and keeping vigil on the grave, night and day.'"
There was another pause by my hostess, and, as before, I
took care not to be the first in breaking silence. Finally, she resumed:
"Now, my friend, don't you think that such a devotion to
a vow, such a sublime conception of charity, such a deep feeling
for God and man is a beautiful indication of the unfathomable
spirituality of the East?"
I readily assented.
THE VISION OF ABU YAZID
When Abu Yazid, early Persian mystic, was asked, "How
didst thou gain thy rank and by what means didst thou win unto
this station?" he replied:
"One night in my boyhood I came from Bistam. The moon
was shining and everything was still. I saw a presence beside
which the eighteen thousand worlds appeared as an atom. Agitation fell upon me, and a mighty emotion overwhelmed me. I
cried,. 'O Lord! A court of this grandeur, and so empty! Works
of this sublimity, and such loneliness!' Then a voice came from
heaven saying, 'The court is empty, not because none come, but
because we do not will it; since it is not everyone with a face
unwashed that is worthy to enter this Court'"
: :, .: ; '
i
�DECEMBER, 1926
Si
The Three New Syrian Saints
By MOST REVEREND BECAHRA CHEMALI,
Maronite Archbishop of Damascus.
FROM ANJfRTICLE IN ARABIC
(On October 10,192/6 eleven martyrs who met death in the
massacres of Damascus in the turbulent year 1860 were beatified, or otherwise raised to the -position of saints by the Catholic
Church. Eight of the eleven were monks of the Franciscan
order who maintained a mission in the city, while the remaining
three were brothers from the old and well-known Maronite
family of Masabki. Added significance to the beatification is
given by the fact that these saints are the first to be recognized
by the Catholic Church from among the followers of the Eastern
Churches since the division between East and West. Due credit
for bringing the matter to the attention of Rome should be given
the author of the following account of the life and martyrdom
of the three brothers. Archbishop Chemali no sooner learned
of the intention to beatify the Franciscan monks than he petitioned for an investigation into the worthiness of the three brothers
to be raised to the same rank of honor as the other eight. The
Holy See responded by sending to Syria a special mission of investigation which promptly ratified the claim.) —Editor.
In the year 1860 the governor of Damascus was a ruthless,
cruel despot by the name of Ahmad Pasha at-Turki (the Turk),
who took pleasure in shedding the blood of his subjects and robbing them of their properties.
On the 9th of July of that year, this governor hinted to
some of his soldiers and followers to draw the sign of the cross
on the streets and public highways of Damascus and say that the
Christians did it for the purpose of aggravating the Mohammedans. But this plot did not succeed, and the leaders of the good
Moslems in the city and the consuls of the Foreign Powers were
moved against him, and they warned him not to repeat such
practices in the future. The governor then released some Christians whom he had arrested. That same afternoon some of the
ruffians of the city, with the help of the governor's men, began
�I:
52
fHE SYRIAN WORLD.
to discharge their guns in the streets, and entering the Greek Orthodox Church (in the Christian quarter), murdered the refugees
of Hasbaya and Rashaya (which towns had already been attacked by the Druzes) together with the priests they encountered
there. They then set fire to the patriarchate and the cathedral,
and started to pillage the houses until desolation prevailed in the
Christian quarter.
On the next morning the conflagration reached Bab Tuma
and devoured the monastery of the Franciscans, the Maronite
Church and the monastery of the Capuchian missionaries. For
five days the destruction through arson and pillage continued,
and had it not been for the protection of thet Emir Abdul-Kader
and his men, and a number of the big Moslem leaders, not one
Christian would have remained alive.
Amidst such scenes of havoc and horror occurred the martyrdom of the three Christian brothers, Francis, Abdul-Mu'ti and
Raphael Masabki and their families. When the fire was spreading in the Greek Orthodox quarter they were in their house adjoining the monastery of the Franciscan Fathers. The men, thinking that the Moslems would not attack the women and children,
left these behind and took refuge in the nearby monastery, where,
one hour before midnight, the abbot closed the gates securely,
and gathering all those present, said, "let us all enter the church."
They entered, and there recited the litany of all saints. Then
the abbot urged them to make confession and prepare their souls
for any catastrophe. The monks came first, then the refugees
as the abbot proclaimed with a loud voice: "Let us ask the intercession of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, on her be peace." This
was followed by a procession of the Host and holy communion.
Following which all repaired to the roof of the monastery except
Francis Masabki who remained behind kneeling before the image
of the Mater Dolorosa.
At one after midnight the Moslem mob entered the monastery from a roof and from a secret door which was pointed out
to them by a former trusted servant of the monastery, Hassan
Ghallaf, a Moslem.
The first one they encountered was the abbot, Father Manuel, who said to them: "I have a secret treasure, follow me and I
will show it to you." They followed him gladly as he went
straight to the altar, and, lighting two candles, he consumed the
Host to save it from desecration, and, turning to his pursuers,
said: "This is the treasure I told you about. I have none other."
i
�M
DECEMBER, 1926
.-
'
',
St
They fell upon him and killed him oil the altar. Then, turning
around, they saw Francis Masabki, kneeling in prayer before the
altar of the Virgin Mary. They immediately recognized him,
for he was one of the prominent men in the city, and they came
to him and addressed him saying: "Shaykh Abdullah ( a Moslem
leader) has sent us to save you and all your family, and those
who pertain to you, on condition that you renounce your religion,
and wear a different garb." To this he answered: "Shaykh Abdullah may retain my money (and he had been indebted to him
for a huge sum of money), and he may be able to take my life,
but my religion none can take from me. I am a Nazarene and a
Christian."
"Then we will kill you," they remonstrated.
"In that case," he replied, "I will be with my Master who
said in his Gospel, "Fear not those who kill the body but are
not able to kill the spirit.'" Saying this he began to pray, but
they did not leave him to finish his prayer, as they attacked him
savagely with their swords and axes.
The other two brothers met their fate with this same characteristic bravery and tenacious fidelity to their religion. When the
attackers had entered the monastery, Abdul-Mu'ti was on the
roof. He ran down to take refuge in the church beside his brother, but the Moslems met him in the church court in front of the
door. They stopped him and pressed on him to change his religion, offering him amnesty and safety if he did. But instead,
Abdul-Mu'ti began to shout at the top of his voice: "I am Christian! Kill me, for I am ready!"
The third of the martyrs, Raphael, was hiding in one of the
nooks of the monastery when the persecutors discovered him.
"Turn Moslem and you will be safe!" they urged on him. But
he, without a word, fell on his knees and began to pray. They
severed his head from his body and trampled on his corps and
went their way.
In this way the three Syrian brothers won the crown of their
beatification.
The Masabkis come from an ancient family dating back to
the 13th century, according to an old manuscript in which it is
related that a Maronite priest called Ya'koub resided in the
quarter of "the Outer Masbak" or foundry, in Damascus, near
the church of St. Ananias. This priest, who won through his
diplomacy the protection of one of the Ayoubite princes, was
called Masabki after the name of the quarter in which he resided.
:
--3~.'- g&KMBMaa
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
In the year 1293, when the persecution of the Christians in
Damascus became very severe, this priest went to Lebanon to
acquaint the Maronite Patriarch Gabriel Hajula with the sad
conditions of the Christians in Damascus, and to tell him that the
Moslems would spare the Christians if they isolate themselves
from the Franks (do not allow the Franks to interfere with
their affairs). The Patriarch consecrated him bishop and sent
him back to Damascus. But he no sooner arrived there than he
found that the persecution was at its height. He fled, taking a
ship to Cyprus, where he died broken-hearted following the news
of the murder of his son Francis in Zabadath (a town in the environs of Damascus).
In the latter part of the 15th century the Masabki family
returned to Damascus, while the brother of Francis migrated to
Ayn Dara, in the Buka', and hence his descendants were called
by the family name of Ayndari, after the name of the place.
The three Masabki brothers were direct descendants of this
family in Damascus.
Francis, son of Ni'mi Masabki, was a tall, full-bodied,
bright-faced man. He was of good character, gentle and genial in
his, dealings and conversations. He was seventy years old when
the massacres of Damascus fell in 1860.
He was a man of extreme piety and generosity. His home
was a hostelry to all foreigners, especially the people of Lebanon, for there were no hotels in those days in Damascus. He
amassed a great fortune through his thrift and diligence, and attained a high social station. His name was synonymous with honesty and business integrity. He became the representative of the
Maronite Patriarchate in Damascus as well as the agent for the
Lebanese silk merchants. It is perhaps through this source that
he amassed his fortune, and became one of the "prince merchants"
of Damascus.
Neither of the two other brothers shared Francis's acumen
in business. Abdul-Mu'ti, a tall, slim, pale man, was ascetically
inclined, loving solitude and abstaining from the company of
women. He taught in the school of the Franciscan Fathers,
where he spent the whole day long in instructing the youth with
the principles and creeds of Christianity. For a time, when he
became tired of teaching, his brother opened a shop for him, but
he did not succeed. One of his daughters, who died in 1911, became a nun in the Order of Charity.
The third brother, Raphael, was a short, thin, swarthy man
The Ca
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of th
used
�<-
A MODERN CHURCH IN SYRIA
,
i
The Cathedral of St. Peter in Al-Jedaidat, in the plain of Marj'ioun,
erected by the late Patriarch Geraigiry. All churches in Syria are
of the same substantial construction. This particular church was
used by the Druze rebels as barracks when they seized Al-Jedaidat in the fall of 1925.
�MMWMMMMMM
THE
a*
TIVITY IN BETHLEHEM
I'
This massive basilica was erected near the grotto in which Christ was born, in the city of Bethlehem, by
Emperor Constantine, and later greatly enlarged and decorated.
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�DECEMBER, 1926
'55
with black eyes. He is described as "adorned with simplicity in all
matters, and not owning a thing of the possessions of this world".
He devoted himself to the worship of the Virgin Mary, and was
50 years old when he met his martyrdom.
A fourth brother of the Masabkis, Abdullah, was a priest,
a graduate of the Maronite school in Rome. There were two
sisters besides, one married to a man from the Shabtini family,
and another married to Joseph Sheeha.
MORE COMPASSION THAN KNOWLEDGE
\
Al-Junayd, the foremost of the early Mohammedan mystics, wrote to a friend of his who had complained to him that
people did not understand his writings and were always misconstruing them:
" Men are in need of compassion, so try to be compassionate to others, though God may have made thee wretched unto
thyself. Come out of thy state and address people from thy
heart according to their different stations, for that is more to the
point for thee and them."
I
/
The following story illustrates the esteem in which al-Junayd was held by his contemporaries. On a certain night al-Junayd could not go to sleep, so he got up to repeat his prayers.
He did not find the emotion usually attending him when he said
his prayers, so he went back to sleep, but did not succeed. At
last he opened the door and went, outside, and there he saw, lying
on the road, a man wrapped up in his 'aba, who, when he noticed
al-Junayd, raised his head and exclaimed: "Now!" Al-Junayd
was surprised and asked the man what he wanted, and the man
put the following question to him: "When does the malady of
the soul become its medicine?" Al-Junayd answered: "When
the soul disobeys its own desire, then does its malady become its
medicine." The man then addressed his inner self saying: "I
have repeated to you the same answer seven times, but you refused, until you heard it from al-Junayd."
�$6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Bethlehem and Nazareth
In History
Christmas day with its joyous festivities, its log fire, its holly
and candles, its cheer-bringing gifts, its Santa Claus with his
jingling bells and panting reindeers, would be an empty farce
but for certain events which took place more than one thousand
nine hundred year* ago in two little, insignificant towns in Palestine.
Bethlehem and Nazareth! What sacred memories they recall to the millions upon millions of human beings living on the
surface of this little planet of ours? In Europe, in China, in
America, in the heart of Africa, in Australia, in the islands of
the Pacific, in every habitable part of the earth, songs of praise
and joy are raised in which the memory of these towns is glorified.
The town in which the Child Jesus was born, and the other
town in which He was raised, and where "He grew in stature and
wisdom before God and man", are too well-known in tradition.
They are part and parcel of the "old, old story" repeated and enacted every year, yet ever new and refreshing. But, strange to
say, these two towns, to most Christians, are mere names on which
the Christmas story conveniently hangs, as on a Christmas tree.
They were inconspicuous towns when Christ was born, they
are still so now, although ever since, they have been, from time
to time, instrumental in much of what passes for history in the
annals of mankind.
Bethlehem, the modern Beit-Lehm, which in Hebrew means
"the house of bread", is situated on a limestone ridge 2500 feet
above sea level, five miles south of Jerusalem. All around it
stretch fertile fields in which are grown wheat, barley, olive, almond and vine. The wine of Bethlehem is famous and is considered among the best in all Syria.
There is little mention of Bethlehem in the Old Testament.
Sometimes the compound name of Bethlehem-Judah, or Bethlehem-Ephrat, or Ephrata is used. The first is to distinguish it
from a town still smaller and less conspicuous by the same name
in Galilee. This latter town was known as Bethlehem Zebulun.
The other compound name is believed by Biblical scholars to
�'DECEMBER, 1926
57
preserve the more ancient name of Bethlehem. In George Adam
Smith's excellent Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy
Land the name Bethlehem does not appear till the coming of
Israel into Palestine in the period 1500-1250 B. C. Before that
it was simply known as Ephrat, or Ephrata. In the story of the
return of Jacob from his uncle Laban and the death of Rachel
on the way, the writer, (Gen. 35-19), implies that the name was
no more current in the days of the people to whom the story was
written, although quite common when the events of the story
occurred. For he says, "and Rachel died, and was buried in the
way to Ephrat, which is Bethlehem."
The beautiful story of Ruth, which every Syrian boy or
girl should know, for it is one of the most beautiful gems of
literature, falls in Bethlehem. The name occurs in Judges, where
the obscure Ibzan of Bethlehem is said to have judged Israel
after the death of Jephtha, the Gileadite.
Coming down to the time of David, the name of Bethlehem
is mentioned, once in connection with a story that stands out in a
vivid and dramatic manner.
The story is brought forth by the writer by way of exalting
the bravery and loyalty of the three "mighty men of David".
David, with his small band of valiant heroes headed by the three
heroes, was in the cave of Adullam, while the Philistines, his
enemies, perched in the valley of Rephaim, with their garrison
in Bethlehem. David became very thirsty and cried out: "Oh,
that one would give me a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!" Then, to continue in the words of
the Biblical narrative, "the three mighty men broke through the
host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David:
nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto
the Lord. And he said: 'Be it far from me, O Lord, that I
should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in
jeopardy of their lives?' Therefore he would not drink it."
"Biar Daud", three wells, still stand in front of the. great Basilica
of Bethlehem.
The most memorable mention of Bethlehem, however, in
the Old Testament is the one in the Prophet Micah, and which is
the basis for the tradition that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. The prophet had been prophesying about Zion, "the
daughter of troops", and the return of its glory. Then he turns
to Bethlehem and says: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though
�58
THE SYRIAN WORLD.
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
He come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel j whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." The prophet must have had in mind, when he made this prophecy, the
fact that David, the ideal king of Israel, came from Bethlehem.
For his father was known as "Jesse the Bethlehemite".
After the time of Christ, Bethlehem remained a "little
town", leading a peaceful life, though at more than one time,
because of its sacred associations, causing bloodshed and war between Christians and non-Christians, and among Christian nations of different denominations.
In the second century, Emperor Hadrian destroyed Bethlehem and planted in its place a grove "sacred to Adonis". Probably in doing that the heathen emperor bears testimony that
Bethlehem had already become a sacred shrine to the followers
of the new and thriving religion of the "Nazarene."
In the year 315 A. D., the site of Bethlehem was still "a
wild wood." Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor,
cleared it, and built in it a basilica. Soon after, in Saint Jerome's
time, a cave in the rock, near the basilica, was venerated as the
stable in which Mary and Joseph sought shelter that holy night
of old when Christ was born. In a neighboring grotto, Jerome
himself prepared the first translation of the Bible into Latin.
The basilica, to which Emperor Justinian added but which he
did not rebuild, is the oldest in Palestine, and one of the oldest in
the world. Some of the ornaments, the mosaics, however, are
as late as the 12th century, and come from the court of the
Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus, while the rafters were
contributed by Philip of Burgundy in the 15th century.
In the year 1850 a squabble between monks of the Latin
and the Greek Orthodox Churches, instigated by France and Russia, it is presumed, over the possession of the key of the chie£
door of the basilica, and the right to place a silver star in the
Grotto of the Nativity, was one of the direct causes of the Crimean war, and, indirectly, one of the causes of the sad events of
1860 in Syria.
The town of Nazareth was never of any consequence before
the time of Christ. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
was not an expression of condemnation as much as one of contempt.
Strange to say, the name of Nazareth does not occur in the
�DECEMBER, '1926
59.
Old Testament, the Talmud or Josephus. This lead one Biblical scholar, T. K. Cheyene, to identify Nazareth with Bethlehem
of Zebulun, which in the Talmud is sometimes called Bethlehem
Naseriyyah. However, we must assume that it was known simply as Nazareth in the days of Christ, or Nazareth of Galilee.
Like Bethlehem, Nazareth is on a high plateau, 1602 feet
above sea, level. It is in a hollow formed by hills surrounding
it. It has today a population of 10,000 and is quite a thriving
town like its sister Bethlehem, which latter town shows visible
signs of the prosperity which has come to it through the emigration of many of its sons to North and South America.
A beautiful industry of mother-of-pearl inlaying and olivewood carving thrives today in Bethlehem. Most of the objects
sold are mementoes of the Holy Land.
Some scholars identify the mountain on which Christ ascended and was tried by the Evil One, with the modern JebelSih. From the top of this mountain one can view the larger
part of Palestine. Mount Tabor, the "great plain" of Esdraelon,
Mt. Carmel and the Bay of Acre, are all visible from that height.
One can only visualize with the eye of imagination what the quiet
and peaceful environment of the town in the hollow of the hills
had on the little boy Jesus, and still more what a thrill of spiritual energy and ambition must His frequent visits to the top of
that mountain have sent through His soul.
The history of Nazareth after the time of Christ is almost
as scant as that of Bethlehem.
Epiphanius, a Church Father, contemporary of Jerome,
mentions that until the time of Constantine, Nazareth was populated only by Jews. In the 5th century a church stood overthe
supposed site of the house of Mary and in the 6th a large basilica
was added.
In the days of the Crusades, Nazareth came into eminence,
and it was again reduced to comparative insignificance when retaken by the Mohammedans.
There is only one spring in the town, known simultaneously as
"Mary's Spring", Jesus' Spring", and "Gabriel's Spring". Undoubtedly it is the same spring from which Jesus often drank,
and to which, as a little boy, He must have accompanied His
mother, as little children still do in Syria and Palestine, when
their mothers "go to the spring" to fill their jars, and bring them
home gracefully balanced upon their heads.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Arab Lovers
VI
Kais and Lubnah
An evil jinni must have pursued those "famous Arab lovers", for even those of them who were married, and lived happily with their spouses, had something overtake them to destroy their happiness and shatter the dream of their bliss. Perhaps
that is why they were "famous". For had they lived like other
ordinary couples, happy and contented with the world, we would
never have heard of them. It is this element of contrariness
and suffering, of privation and denial, which has brought to the
surface the chivalry, sacrifice and undying faith latent in the
hearts of the lovers. All famous lovers of the operas, and most
famous lovers of history, were unfortunate lovers.
The particular type of misfortune and misery which beset
our present hero differs radically from that of the previous ones.
He had little difficulty in winning his lady, but he had a hard
time in retaining her. When he lost her, his remorse was so
great that he could never overcome it. His remarriage only added fire to his passion for his first wife, and reminded him of
the paradise from which his folly had driven him.
Kais was a victim of his filial devotion. His love for his
parents cost him his happiness with his wife, and brought about
a separation which was in truth the breaking of his heart in two
halves. Ever after, the one half he retained looked in vain for
the other half, and although at one time it seemed very near,
in the end it completely eluded him. He died of a broken heart.
The story of how Kais fell in love with Lubnah is reminiscent
of Jameel and Buthainah's first love, only Kais came much earlier, for Kais, who, we are told, lived in "the wilderness of
Medina", wooed, won and lost in the reign of Mu'awiyah, first
Umayyad caliph, who ruled in Damascus in the middle of the
seventh century A. D.
One day, so the story goes, as Kais went about his affairs
in the heat of the day, he chanced upon the tent of Lubnah, the
�DECEMBER, 1926
61
daughter of Hubab. He stopped and asked for a drink of water,
and behold, there emerged from the tent a tall and beautiful
maiden who handed him water in a vessel, and when he had
quenched his thirst, she boldly looked up to him and said:
"Would you deign to come in and cool yourself inside the tent?"
Kais was not loathe to do so, and waited not for another invitation. He went in, and Lubnah smoothed a place for him to
rest, and busied herself in entertaining him. After a while her
father returned, and in accordance with Arab customs of hospitality, slaughtered a camel for his guest. Kais remained the rest
of the day, and as it began to turn cool, he turned his face homeward, but he had already left his heart behind in Lubnah's tent.
Kais kept Lubnah's love a secret for a time, until when he
could bear it no longer, he bared his heart to Lubnah and found
that she reciprocated his love "tenfold". He went away elated
with joy and laid the matter before his father, a rich cattleman,
who tried to persuade him against the match, as he had already
arranged for his son to marry one of his brother's daughters,
presumably to keep the wealth in the family, as some do these
days. Disappointed and disheartened, Kais went to his mother
only to receive the same kind of an answer.
Then Kais remembered that he had a powerful friend, alHussein the son of Ali, who, as a baby, was nursed along with
him on the breast of his own mother. To al-Hussein did Kais
go and lay before him, his plight. Without hesitation al-Hussein
went to the tent of Lubnah's father and requested him to give
his daughter in marriage to Kais. Lubnah's father could not turn
down such a distinguished mediator, the son of the cousin and
the son-in-law of the Prophet. He bowed to al-Hussein in obediance saying:
.
"Had you but sent a word it would have been sufficient,
but you know that the custom of the Arabs prescribes that the
father of the suitor should come in person and ask for the hand
of his son's bride. This would be the more proper way."
Al-Hussein then went to Kais's father and prevailed upon
him to proceed to Lubnah's folks and betrothe her for his
son. This the father did in compliance with al-Hussein's wish.
Kais and Lubnah lived happily together for ten years during all of which time Lubnah proved to be barren. Barrenness
in a wife was in those days considered a calamity which often
lead to divorce or the despise of the wife, but Kais was so fond
of Lubnah that his love for her did not diminish on this account.
�62
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Still there was more than the wife to consider. Kais was a dutiful son, and his parents urged him incessantly to divorce Lubnah
and marry another, so as to perpetuate the family name. At
first Kais resisted his parents, and would not listen to their entreaties and solicitations, until the father swore by a solemn oath
that the same roof shall not shelter him and his son together
unless the latter^ divorce Lubnah. Torn between his devotion
to his wife and his filial duty to his parents, he at last surrendered to the wishes of his parents and divorced his wife.
It was then that Kais discovered how much he loved his
wife. Her parents came and took her away, marrying her to
another man, with whom she was not happy, while Kais consoled
himself by reciting doleful lays giving expression to his deep
remorse. Some of this poetry preserved in al-Aghani is extremely pathetic and touching, springing from a heartfelt experience
that cannot but be genuine.
Where else do we ever come upon such despondent loneliness, such depressing sadness, so eloquent and tender in the original Arabic, as in these freely translated lines:
"An evil seduction is Lubnah," they told me;
"Divorce her, nor be thou dismayed."
Alas! how foolish I was to listen to their words,
And by their evil counsel be swayed!
All loved ones beside thee, sweet Lubnah, seem now,
As the juice of the wormwood to me;
My ears, now I miss thy voice, no other voice find sweet,
My eyes no pleasure in all that I see."n
Kais was married again. But Arab traditionists inform us
that "he never lived with his wife, smiled to her, nor spoke to
her."
After his divorce, such union was vouchsafed him
only in the sweet memories of the past over which he dwelt, as
on some enchanting, idyllic paradise from which he was driven
by his own folly. There, in that paradise, with imaginary flowers that never fade, a sun that never is dimmed by clouds; where
nature is ever radiant and beautiful, and only man is treacherous
and cruel, Kais took refuge from the bitter reality of his sorrow
by living over again the scenes of his love with his belpved Lubnah. He sang:
�*,
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DECEMBER, 1926
63
"If between Lubnah and me a thick wall were built,
And obstacles, unsurmountable, high.
To the same setting horns of the sun do we turn,
'Neath the high dome of the same azure sky."
Not long after, death separated, or, more correctly, united
the two lovers for ever and aye. Some say she died first and
he followed, while others contend that he died first and she afterwards.
FROM THE ARABIC
He who believes in God and the Judgment Day, let him
speak benevolently or otherwise keep silent.
He who shields his brother in this world, God would shield
him in this and the next world.
He who has not one of three things his works avail him not:
Righteousness to deter him from sin; forbearance to help him
from vile; and wisdom with which he could live among his fellow-men.
He who honors his brother believer, honors God.
He lies not who, to reconcile between two persons, says
only good things and reports good things.
Accept the apology of your brother believer unless you
know he is lying.
He who deceives a brother believer or harms him is not of us.
How often does one carry wisdom to him who is wiser than
himself?
A man who feeds others and gives thanks to God is often
more righteous than one who fasts and prays.
Two drops are above all most valuable, a drop of blood in
the way of God and a drop of tears in fear of God.
�_i——
64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"Hands That Touch But Never Hold"
(GIBRAN)
(To the Gibran drawing of THE GREAT MOTHER.)
By BARBARA YOUNG
And
And
The
Was
Mary Mother looked upon the Child,
saw Him fair.
love and loveliness of all the world
cradled there.
She sang to Him, and called Him tender names,
As mothers will.
My dove! My lamb! She watched Him as He slept,
So wee and still.
She carried Him upon her gentle heart.
My boy! My Son!
My bird! My flower of life! Her loving words
Were never done.
Then, pondering His beauty, she was blest
And came aware;
And knew Him for the very Son of Man,
That Baby fair.
She came
My boy!
But only,
Thy way
aware, and knew, and said no more
My Son!
God, who watcheth Him with me,
be done.
She came aware, and knew that love is wise,
That life is sweet;
And stood above the wavering first steps
Of those small feet.
She reached her hand and touched the Baby hair
On His bright head.
Yes, so. Go on! Another step alone,
Alone, she said.
Oh Mary Mother, wise beyond the hour,
Beyond the day!
O hands that touch but never, never hold.
It is life's way.
�!
'DECEMBER, 1926
65
With Our Contributors
One almost longs to shake off ers that this is an exclusive conthe fetters of instinct and tribution by GIBRAN to THE
prompt age so as to the sooner SYRIAN WORLD.
partake of those exquisite pleasures which KAHLIL GIBRAN SO
The pageant which DR. JOHN
eloquently describes in his peer- HOWLAND LATHROP conjures
less style. ,But one must needs for the edification and enlightbe a disciple of GIBRAN to feel enment of our readers denotes
with his feeling and see with his master ability to "translate
his vision. In him it is the soul the spirit of the Christmas story
of the true artist which sees into the realities of present
through the veil of matter and life". Wisdom should not be
is transported to the vast realm confined to those: who deal with
of the unknown. Of him it can the abstract. Men of practical
be truly said that his feet rest usefulness have the applied
on the ground but his head rises wisdom and well may they dehigh above the clouds.
serve credit. Here they are arEvery Lebanese and Syrian rayed as "the wise men of tomay well be proud of GIBRAN day" in such an imposing paand his work. He is the recog- geant as only a man of the
nized leader in his school of learning of DR. LATHROP could
thought. He is ever referred form for review. DR. LATHto as the author of the "Pro- ROP is a friend of the Syrians
phet", that masterpiece of con- and in his capacity as minister
ception and expression which of the Church of the Saviour in
has been translated, in the Brooklyn, N. Y., he contributes
course of two years, into seven- much towards bringing about a
teen languages and has wafted better understanding between
the magic spell of GIBRAN'S old and new comers to America.
mysticism to every corner of the Welcome, DR. LATHROP, to
earth. In "Youth and Age", the ranks of our contributors.
GIBRAN gives us a word picture
of one of his trance-like moods
As a champion of Syrian culthat is captivating by its subtle
ture,
a defender of Syria's claim
charm, and it is indeed with an
unreserved feeling of pleasure to its plac© in the sun of world
that we announce to our read- history, DR, PH. HITTI takes
�'66
his place in the first rank of our
publicists not only in the United
States, but throughout the
world. His contributions in his
chosen line, history, are several
illuminating books in Arabic and
one in English, and he has by
no means reached the point of
satiation. His article in this issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD is
an eulogy and an exhortation.
His arrayal of historical facts;
his quotations of recognized authorities, together with his own
deductions (and conclusions,
should not only make us stop
to think, but prompt us to act.
We feel happy in our ability
to assure our readers that DR.
HITTI is one of our regular
contributors.
'THE SYRIAN WORLD
cal color, he will become a favorite with our readers, and to
that end we have asked him to
cultivate a disposition towards
liberality in (his contributions.
Bless the heart of the author
of "Bless Their Hearts", for he
seems to be such an expert at
hearts' troubles and hearts,
ways, and can create characters
that are so lovably human. At
the time we introduced WILLIAM CATZEFLIS to our readers
as the |able translator of Shahrazad, we promised them some
original contributions from his
versatile pen, and we are happy
in the thought that the promise
was not long materializing. We
may venture another prophecy
in promising more erudite, entertaining and effervescent conBe it real or fictitious, the tributions from our friend
name IBN EL-KHOURY is well CATZEFLIS.
chosen for the subject the writer treats in this issue of THE
SYRIAN WORLD. We hope this
As usual, our able collaboraintimate sketch of life in Leb- tor, HABIB I. KATIBAH, proves
anon will find favor with our his fondness for research by
readers, especially that it seems giving us a new interpretation
to be so trud as to details and so of an old tradition. It would
appreciative of the simplicity of seem somewhat improper for
life and manners of the good Syria and the East to monopolmountain folk who supply the ize everything; but here are the
majority bf Syrian immigrants facts bearing on the tradition of
to America. We feel certain Santa Claus, based on competent
that if in his future contribu- authority, that carry back the
tions along this line he is able origin 6f this delightful legend
to maintain the standard he set to somewhere near Syria if not
for himself in his present article * to. Syria itself.Nevertheless, it is
by his prodigious wealth of lo- traced directly to the Near East,
I
�I
1 •
'DECEMBER, '1926
and KATIBAH'S article holds out
the light that enables us to see
more clearly into the dark recesses of ancient history. Of
course it behooves us to be somewhat modest, but what can we
do?
The ever ready camera of
Miss SUMAYEH ATTIYEH seems
to have caught many an interesting snapshot of both East
and West which she displays in
quite a humorous vein to readers of THE SYRIAN WORLD in
her contribution of this issue.
As a lecturer, traveller and
earnest student, Miss ATTIYEH
knows both how to instruct and
entertain. We may add that she
is quite modest, for though she
may not be as "green" as she
claims, she is that from the
point of view of age at least.
It may be considered indeed
a stroke of good fortune for
Miss SIMONE FRANCE to have
interviewed M. Henri Ponsot,
the new French High Commissioner in Syria for THE SYRIAN
WORLD. We are naturally interested in the fortunes of Syria,
and it is well for us to have a
glimpse at how these fortunes
are to be shaped. Syria has had
a plethora of High Commissioners during France's short
incumbency of the mandate,
and it is refreshing to learn
from Miss FRANCE'S account
r
67
that at last France has sent there
a High Commissioner who
would, and could, stay to develop some form of a stable policy.
Miss FRANCE, as may be readily
inferred, is French, but we
know enough of her to convince
us that, even though she is inclined to be sympathetic, she
can be absolutely unbiased. She
is a graduate of L'Universite
de Paris of Paris, and of
Columbia University of New
York and specializes in psychology and in the study of international affairs, and we feel
sure that her training has served
her to good purpose in appraising M. Ponsot as executive and
diplomat.
Out of the distant past D(R.
F. I. SHATARA conjures for our
readers a figure who was a prodigy of learning and whose influence in the medical world
made itself felt not only in
Arabic-speaking countries, but
in Europe as well. Ibn Sina is
one of the great luminaries of
the East, and DR. SHATARA naturally feels proud that one of
his own profession and his own
race should have made such an
indelible impression on the face
of time. Mayhap, with the example of Ibn Sina to emulate,
someone of our contemporaries
will strive to render such signal
services _ to his race and to the
world at large. At least this is
�'63
?HE SYRIAN WORLD
what we surmise DR. SHATARA'S
What a beautiful poem GIBpurpose to be by holding out RAN'S drawing inspired Miss
the achievements of Ibn Sina to BARBARA YOUNG to compose?
the light.
It is both a tribute to GIBRAN
as an artist and to Miss YOUNG
We wish we could refrain as a poet. We are glad to anfrom complaining of M. J. nounce to readers of THE SYRNAIMY. He has the gift for IAN WORLD that, from time to
creating jewels in both poetry time, they shall enjoy the lyric
and prose but he deals out his productions of this gifted auproductions to his many admir- thor, poet and elocutionist who
ers at starvation rations. Why ranks high in the literary world
not let us have more glimpses of America.
at those "spheres that are far
away" and share in the thrill of
EDITOR.
their melodies, friend NAIMY?
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
PAPER URGES SYRIANS
TO VOTE
"Syrian-Americans ought to go to
the polls as a matter of patriotic
duty. If they so do, they will have
a political status, and local politicians will take cognizance of them,
as they do of other Americanized
immigrants, among whom we find
many whose worth has raised them
to positions of responsibility. But
even if we seek no political offices,
we should try to raise the political
status of the Syrian immigrants.
This will only come when the Syrian vote is a solid block, not dispersed here and there, or totally lost."
(As-Sayeh, New York, Nov. 4,1926.)
HINTS TO PONSOT
They say that Ponsot is a freemason. Let him then know that our
first need is for some good cement
wherewith wet may reinforce the
I
�"DECEMBER, 1926
crumbling structure of our homeland.
The courtship of Italy to Syria
reminds us of the proverbial courtship of that bridegroom who chose
a bride and his family were quite
pleased with her, only, she and her
family were not!
Ponsot remains silent. Evidently
he had a reaction after he(had heard
the lengthy speeches of welcome
with which he was addressed in Beirut and Damascus.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Nov. 18, 1926.)
,
ITALY OR TURKEY?
The Powers will do well to restore Syria to Turkey for the majority of the Syrians prefer the
Turks with their barbarity to the
principles of the French Revolution.
The restoration of Syria to the
Turks will be the best solution, for,
to quote a common Arabic proverb,
"this dilapidated church deserves
this one-eyed priest".
There may be truth in the rumor
that the mandate for Syria may be
given over to Italy, or there may not
be. But we believe that France will
gain much in this transfer. It will
thereby win the friendship of a
Power which desires its friendship
and wishes to be its ally, and it
will also help Mussolini find an outlet for the hundreds of thousands of
Italians who increase at the rate of
half-a-million a year. Furthermore,
it will facilitate Mussolini's project
to attack Turkey in the future, and
thus cut its sinews and relieve the
world of its evil.
The methods of the French administration are certainly better
than those of the Italian one, but
if the Syrians do not want France,
let Italy go to them and show them
what is what.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1926/
69
ADMONITIONS TO CITIZENS
The American citizenship, whose
certificate some of the Syrians and
Palestinians carry, does not allow
its bearer to absent himself from
this country except for a period of
two years. At the end of that period the absentee must apply to the
State Department for an extension
of time, for a legal reason. Should
he fail to do that, his new citizenship will drop off, and the State Department will not consider him from
henceforth as an American.
The case, however, with those who
go to their own country is different.
They also say that a merchant who
goes back to the country of his
birth but is connected with American firms may stay as long as he
pleases, since he is serving his new,
adopted country and selling its products.
Many of the Syrians who carry
American citizenship papers go to
the country of their birth and are
engaged in work that has no bearing on their new country, to which
they finally return for permanent
residence. These go back and forth
to the American consulate and pester
the officials with a new request or
demand every day; and after two
years lose their new citizenship and
return to their old one.
Bearers of American citizenship
should observe the laws of their new
country, and not limp between the
two sides. They should not forget
their obligation to the country which
was good to them; which treated
them as she did its own children,
not distinguishing between them and
her original ones. Let us be one
hundred per cent. Americans, and
take pride in that we are a part
of this free and just nation.
(Mirat-ul-Gharb, N. Y., Nov.8,1926.)
�THE SYRIAN WOKLD
70
About Syria and Syrians
PRES. BAYARD DODGE
MADE AN LL. D.
On October 11th, in the Faculty
Room at Marquand House on the
campus of the American University
of Beirut, the degree of Doctor of
Laws was conferred on President
Bayard Dodge by a representative
of Occidental College of Los Angeles, California. In conferring the
degree, Dr. John Carruthers said in
part:
"Bayard Dodge, descendant of a
distinguished American family; son
of the late Cleveland Hoadley Dodge,
benefactor of the peoples of the Near
East; schooled in the Princeton University tradition of "World Service";
trained to seek "the truth that
makes men free" by men of mind
and soul at Union Theological Seminary; guide to the youth of this
University by life and precept, delivering many from student perplexities into lives of poise and purpose
and clean manhood; drafted by his
own talents, forced by conscience
and prompted by love to serve, suffer and share in the human and
institutional chaos wrought by the
war, serving modestly, quietly, efficiently and tactfully in the strategic
spirit of great service the needs of
this University so renowned and
deeply beloved.
"The President of Occidental College would have me say, on behalf
of the Trustees and Faculty of that
California Institution, that the Far
West and Near East by virtue of
this ceremony thus symbolize a kind
of Academic Entente of Educational
Effort."
• ; j&i
The report of this ceremony as
published by the Arabic press of
Beirut was made the occasion for
giving renewed testimony of the
genuine love which Syrians in general bear for the President of the
American University.
DR. HITTI LECTURES
ON SYRIAN CONTRIBUTION
On the evening of November 17
the International Institute for Young
Women of the Y.W.C.A. of Brooklyn gave a special entertainment
that was attended by nearly two*
score ministers of the Brooklyn
Heights and their wives and at
which the principal speaker was.
our Dr. Philip K. Hitti.
The young ladies of the Institute,
of various nationalities, formed native tableaux and sang folk songs
and gave recitations in English which
proved that they were being helped
greatly by the organization.
Dr. Hitti spoke on the contribution of Syria to world civilization
and deprecated the myth of Nordic
superiority. He said he stated these
facts in all humility and for the
avowed reason, of inviting a fairminded appreciation of his race. His
remarks were well received by the
learned and sympathetic audience.
PROMINENT SPEAKERS
AT SYRIAN DINNER
"The Daughters of Syria" held a
dinner and entertainment at the Hotel St. George, Brooklyn, on November 17th, for the purpose of raising
funds to build a Syrian Protestant
:
;'
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DECEMBER, 1926
'
Church in Brooklyn. From the point
of view of attendance, the affair was
a signal success, the large dining
hall of the hotel being filled to capacity.
One of the gratifying features
was the presence at the dinner of a
number of nationally known speakers including Mr. H. L. Redfield,
a prominent churchman of Brooklyn;
Syud Hussein, an eminent East Indian lecturer and the editor of THE
NEW ORIENT; and Miss Sumayeh
Attiyeh, the gifted Syrian orator
who is widely known as a Ohautauqua speaker. Rev. K. A. Bishara,
Minister of the Syrian Protestant
Church, presided. Prof. Alex. Maloof was at the piano while Midhat
Sirbagy gave several operatic selec*
tions in Arabic and English.
EL TOWER APARTMENTS
OPENED IN PITTSBURGH
November 10th was a day of
pride for Pittsburgh Syrians, and,
in a sense, for all Syrians everywhere in the United States.
The occasion was a singular one.
Mr. Latouf Naffah, a Syrian from
Mt. Lebanon, had set that date for
the opening of his new apartment
hotel, El Tower, and invited to it
a hundred or more guests from
among men and women prominent
in the political, social and literary
life of the city.
Prominent Syrians from Pittsburgh and neighboring cities were
there also in force, and they had the
satisfaction of hearing some of the
most eulogistic comments on the enterprise and honesty of their race as
exemplified by Mr. Naffah.
The El Tower was described as a
dream realized, a crown adorning
the crest of the highest hill of Pitts-
71
burgh, an epic in the history of
the city, a monument to Syrian
enterprise in America and a
pattern
from
which
«ther
cities could copy as a creation of
grace and beauty. Mr. Naffah proved to be a man of vision and undaunted courage. A wild wooded
hill was transformed by him into a
garden spot of enchanting beauty.
It is for that reason that prominent
men of Pittsburgh hailed in him a
sort of benefactor to the city by his
contribution to it of this artistic
erection in stone and morcar.
The Pittsburgh Post's account of
the inaugural banquet states that
Harry Diamond, assistant city Solicitor, acted as toastmaster. Speakers included Charles Andrews, prominent Pittsburgh Syrian, Edward
M. Kenna, road commissioner of Allegheny County, and Salloum A. Mokarzel, of New York, and others.
SYRIAN WOMAN
LEADER IN MUSIC
The leading figure in the musical
world of Shreveport, La., is a talented Syrian young woman, Miss Louise
Yazbeck, who is acquitting herself
honorably in many civic activities
of the city both to her own credit
and to that of her race. It is a
pleasure to learn that during the
celebration of the National Music
Week of this year, she was elected
chairman of the local Committee of
the city and the success which attended her efforts elicited high praise
from national headquarters. She
broadcasts regularly from station
KWKH, Shreveport, and the Orient.
al programs she is introducing hare
brought her many expressions «f
commendation and delight from radio fans. She now conducts a wellattended music studio of her own.
�72
SYRIAN JEWS DEMAND RIGHTS
Among the many delegations
whom the new French High Commissioner received on hia arrival to
Syria was a delgation representing
the Jewish community in Beirut and
Syria.
In connection with this visit, the
"Jewish World", a newspapr published in Beirut, devotes a lengthy
article to the discussion of what it
terms, "the neglected rights" of the
Jews in the regime of the previous
High Commissioners.
Aware of the rising cry among
nationalists and many others for the
elmination of the sectarian issue
from politics, the "Jewish World"
defends its request for special consideration of the Jews as a separate
entity by saying that it demands for
the Jews their share of offices in the
government, "not for the sake of the
offices in themselves, but to preserve
those rights and traditions which are
only appreciated by the people of
each sect, especially in this land in
which each race has its traditions
and customs not shared by others."
THE POLITICAL SITUATION
IN SYRIA
M, Henri Ponsot, the new French
High Commissioner in Syria, arrived at Beirut Oct. 13. His reception
was as pompous as that given all
previous High Commissioners. He
attended the traditional mass at the
Latin church; was visited by government officials and tihe clergy and
returned their visits; made a tour of
inspection throughout all sections of
the mandated territory and was acclaimed with great manifestations
of welcome; but never did he on any
occasion make a direct political sta-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tement or declaration of policy.
While in the Druze Mountain, the
center of the present revolution, he
announced that he held for Syria
the best of intentions and would do
everything possible for its future
welfare, but under no consideration
would he commit himself to a specific policy.
Some Syrian papers declare that
M. Ponsot is simply confining himself to a thorough study of the situation and that about the middle of
December he will return to Paris
with a detailed exhaustive report,
and there decide with the Cabinet
on a policy that would be carried
out energetically and decisively.
>4
i.
An Egyptian paper of Cairo published a report that M. Ponsot was
fired upon while in Damascus, but
the attempt on his life failed. The
report was later denied.
News of revolutionary activities
are becoming very meager, although
Egyptian papers friendly to the
cause of the revolution report the
continuance of fighting. Some powerful leaders of the Atrash clan have
surrendered to the French and are
now, according to reports, negotiating for the surrender of the other
chieftains, but Gen. Andrea would
countenance no surrender except it
be unconditional.
No new developments of consequence have taken place in the matter of the transfer of the French
mandate over Syria to Italy. Mussolini is reported to have thundered
dire threats ii the mandate were not
given him, but France seems not to
have taken the least cognizance of
the rumors. It would seem plausible that France is awaiting the report of M. Ponsot before declaring
herself definitely on the subject.
:,
4MHHHBHMBI
;
�I
v
STATEMENT OP THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION,
ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24.1912.
Of The Syrian World published monthly at New York, N.Y., for Oct. 1,192«.
STATE OF NEW YORK.
COUNTY OF NEW YORK,
Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the state and county aforesaid,
personally appeared Salloum A. Mokarzel, who, having been duly sworn
according to law, deposes and says that he is the publisher of the The
Syrian World, and that the following is, to the best of bis knowledge and
belief, a true statement of the ownership, management) (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown
in tfhe above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1921, embodied in
section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this
form, to wit:
1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing
editor, and business managers are:
Name of—
Post office address—
Publisher, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Managing Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Business Managers, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
2. That the owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its name and address
must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses
of stockholders owning or holding one per cent or more of total amount of
stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a firm, company, or other
unincorporated concern, its name and address, as well as those of each
individual member, must be given.)
Syrian-American Press, Salloum A. Mokarzel, proprietor, 104 Greenwich St.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders
owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages,
or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.) None.
4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of
stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the
company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears
upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation,
en; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's
the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is givfull knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under
which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books
of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other
than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe
that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direet
or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated
by him.
5. That the average number of copies of each issue of this publication
sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers during the six months preceding the date shown above is.
(This information is required from daily publications only.)
S. A. Mokarzel.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this first day of October, 1926.
[SEAL.]
Salem J. Lutfy.
(My commission expires March 30, 1927.)
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1926_12reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 06
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926 December
Description
An account of the resource
Vol . 1 Issue 06 of The Syrian World published December 1926. The issue is focused around Christmas. It opens with an article discussing "The Spirit of Christmas" and is followed by a poem by Kahlil Gibran. Overall, this issue focuses on what Christmas is like for the Syrian and Lebanese people. It also includes a historical discussion of Bethlehem and Nazareth and their importance to Christmas. The issue closes with excerpts from the Arab press.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Christmas
Kahlil Gibran
New York
Poetry-English
Religion
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/f234231e33fa44be357a1118b89b722c.pdf
bd1a4afca91c7cf76a6a2a334c6c40ca
PDF Text
Text
I
N., P. & J. TRABULSI
MANUFACTURERS OF
Ladies' PRINTED & Fancy
SCARFS
MEN'S
&
BOYS'
SWEATERS
MEN'S MUFFLERS
HOLIDAY NOVELTIES
'. I
FOR THE JOBBING TRADE ONLY
JVEW YORK
599 BROADWAY.
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1
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
N. Y.
By subscription $5.^0 a year.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. I. No. 77"
JANUARY, 1927
Contents
PAGE
From My Note-Book of Travel
By AMEEN RIHANI
3
The Consular Mass in the Near East
By THE EDITOR
7
Selections from the Arabic
15
The Contribution of the Syrian Immigrant to America
By REV. K. A. BISHARA, PH. D.
16
Wisdom Sans Humor
19
By H. I.
KATIBAH
Sects of Islam
:
23
What Really Counts
27
Famous Arab Lovers — VII — 'Antar and 'Abla
28
Progressive Medicine
By
34
DR.
H. A.
ELKOURIE
J
- , ,,„:,; .,.,, -
�r
CONTENTS (Continued)
.
PAGE
The Value of Knowledge
S6
Fatima (a short story)
37
By
The Syrians in Australia
By
HASSAN SUBHI
42
HON.
A. A.
ALAM
To Adversity
45
Please, Santa!
4^
By
MARIE EL-KHOURIE
Editor's Comment — The Dawn of a New Era?
47
With Our Contributors
50
Spirit of the Syrian Press
53
Readers' Forum
55
About Syria and Syrians
5^
Political Developments in Syria
5#
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
The Church of the Capuchins in Beirut
The Holy City of Jerusalem
Emissaries of Charlemagne with Haroun al-Rashid
Crusaders Carrying the Original Cross in Triumph
Mashrak El-Azkar — Proposed Bahai Temple in Chicago
A Detail of one of the Windows of the Bahai Temple
Ibn Saoud, King of Nejd and the Hejaz
A Scene in a Residential Street in Jerusalem
���SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I. No. 7.
JANUARY, 1927
From My Note-Book of Travel
By AMEEN RIHANI
THE SACRED COW
I first met her in, Bombay, strolling down the street, taking
the air, even like her biped contemporaries. Two or three cows
sometimes walked together, without a chaperon, without anyone
to say, Ho! and no ^one seemed to mind. The traffic, the police,
the pedestrians moved along nonchalantly, somnolently. The
taxis stopped to let her holiness pass; and now and then a man
or a woman would approach her, touch her reverentially, for a
blessing.
Noble-looking animals are the temple cows, and they would
take the prize at any cattle show in America or Europe. Expansive, shapely, graceful of line 5 — the best rounded figures
in the world — quite Oriental. And such complexion! Whether red or black or a shade between, the skin has an impeccable
gloss j it bespeaks the harmony and peace within. For they do
not live in eternal fear, these sacred cows; — the obsession of
the shambles is not upon them.
On the contrary, they live in eternal bliss, which is ignorance
and the daily feed. Moreover, they have the freedom of the
city, and everywhere they find servants and friends. One of
them I saw stop and shake her head in an irritated manner.
Two or three Hindus came instantly to her assistance, and gently
she turned her head as one of them pulled a big fly out of her
fB/Blgam&ts&sm*
�ll
4
U1HE SYRIAN WORLD,
ear! She then proceeded on her promenadej and the pious rescuer of the cow and the fly — a double mercy — went home in
the caressing folds of a double reward.
.
AT THE RACES
The lower classes of the East are less offensive in a crowd
than their brothers of New York or London. The Oriental
crowd, except at a political meeting nowadays, is quiet, orderly,
gentle. It may wear loud colors, but it is not loud-lunged. It
moves like a sluggish stream in a body without a ripple. It has
no angularities, no spinosities: neither a temper, nor a heel. One
is safe in an Oriental crowd, even comfortable.
As for the upper classes, I have also met them at the races.
The men, whether in native or European clothes, and the women, whether in shoes or in sandals, in silk or cotton saris, are
utterly devoid of the affectations that mark the Europeans. The
English are gentlemen in office and out of office; but the pose
of the English official at a public function is ridiculous. The
Oriental is beginning to see it, to see through it; which fact the
Honourable gentleman will soon or late realize. He can, at
least, leave his flunkeys at home; for when they accompany him,
he cannot but be conscious of the glory they lend to his 'state',
and he has to study how to behave for them, as well as before
the public. Hence, the uppishness which no politeness can assuage.
Indian nobility, too, was at the races; but it moved about
sans flunkeys and sans pomp — almost meekly. The men carried binoculars, to be sure; but they did not hold them up to
their eyes like the Honourable Sir Charles Fudge, C.S.I., C.I.E.,
etc., with straight rigid fingers and thumb to cheek. Nor did the
begums, in gowns or ample folds, sit down in the garden to smoke
cigarettes and cross their legs to exhibit to the full a hose of silk.
Neither pudency nor pruriency is here concerned. But the
contrast, no matter ,how unprejudiced one may be, persists. You
have, on the one hand, a pose, an affectation, a studied gesture,
no matter how esthetic; while on the other are the calm and
comeliness, the simplicity and the natural grace of the better
class Orientals, men and women. I am certain that even a fairminded Englishman, Mr. Wells or Mr. Chesterton, for instance,
will turn away at such a gathering from his compatriots to pay
f
�JANUARY, 1927
5
his homage to the simple grace and unconscious charm of India.
One thing, however, is deplorable — the utter European manner of some of the younger set, who speak, English even among
themselves, and lisp and put on airs like Arthur-Smith and MaryJane.
A NOMADIC GOVERNMENT*
Four months at Poona, which is 2,000 feet above the sea;
two months, October and November, at Mahablashwarj and
about December we go down to the lowlands, we return to Bombay for the winter season. We must avoid the heat, as well as
the cold: we must be comfortable in order to be able to govern
India. Indeed, we must keep cool, and we must keep fit, for
thy sake, O India. That is why in April we pack up and, with
our 'cloaks' and flunkeys, go up to the hills again; — back to
Mahablashwar; for neither Bombay nor Poona are just right
for our comfort and consequently for the good of government
and country. About the end of May, or the beginning of June,
however, Poona invites us to its spring and its soft, cool breezes,
and for thy sake, for thy good, O India, we come.
This is the happy cycle of the three-capitaled Government
of Bombay, which, moves with the seasons, regardless of time or
money. Thus, too, I am told, all over India. If a Resident or
a Governor, with his staff and council, his military and civil
departments, his flunkeys and A. D. Cs. and servants, lives in
such extravagance on the revenues of India, what may be the
higher state of His Excellency the Viceroy and Their Highnesses
the Maharajahs?
MAHATMA SASSOUN
Through the native quarter to the Museum. Not a trace
of civilization, European or Oriental, modern or ancient, considered from the point of view of soap and social order. As if
the English had not been in the country three hundred years j —
as if 'the naked sages of India* had not been preaching cleanliness and manliness for many centuries before the coming of
Clive. The houses are tumble-down; the streets are noisome,
and the hand of decay is upon everything. Yet, here are human
�V
THE SYRIAN WORLD
beings reconciled to the filthiest and most depressing condition
of life. I despair of humanity and all the efforts of its sages
and prophets, aye, and all the achievements of its men of science
and invention, when I see this side of the Orient.
The milkman brings the milk in beautiful brass utensils,
swinging in ropes from the end of a long pliant pole, which he
carries on his shoulder. The utensils are not covered, and they
hang so low that they almost touch the ground. The air, the
dust, the germs, the mud, they do not exist in the world of the
milkman, nor in that of his customers.
A(flock of cooli-women pass, almost in native buff, carrying
big trays upon their heads. Naked from the feet up as far as
possible, naked from the shoulders down as far as possible} and
the waist-cloth which they wind tightly like a sash, is of brilliant
colors —| yellow, green, red, orange, or blue. Beautiful figures,
undressed and undraped, rare on the vaudeville stage or in the
'celluloid' world j they are what the pious Moslem calls a fascination and a snare to humankind. But they walk the streets of
Bombay with a mincing step and a swing of the arm, and no one
is ensnared, not even interested.
Some of these cooli-women I saw at the Museum. It was
a day for the people, I think, and they were all there in family
groups. Men carried their children and women lugged their
babes. The young men were interested in the ethnological exhibit, the women gaped at the stuffed tigers, and they all crowded around the cases containing the deities of India. The cooliwomen were absorbed as every one else, and no one seemed to
notice their nudity. Aye, the very people I had seen in the
moldering squalor of the town had become students of history
and anthropology^ and they filled the Museum with the odors
that suggest neither musk nor ambergris. The stench of the
people in the temple of knowledge!
But every attachment, every ideal must take with these people a religious form, or they are not content. Statues, for instance, can only represent the divine. I stood on the stairs watching the women as they passed before a bust of David Sassoun.
They stopped before it, gazed at it in silence, touched it reverentially with their fingers, which they applied to their foreheads. But David Sassoun is more worthy, perhaps, of their
adoration than the god with the elephant-trunk,
***i*l*iiwiimt**»<&
i
�JANUARY, 1927
~
The Consular Mass in the
Near East
By THE EDITOR
I
The report of the signing of a treaty between France and the
Vatican on December 6, 1926, in Paris, "regulating the honors
to French representatives in the Near East", would seem to consolidate anew the position of France as protector of the Christians in that part of the world.
According to the Paris dispatches reporting the signing of
the treaty, this is the first important diplomatic move of the
Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Gaglione, since assuming his post.
The treaty, we are further informed, is designed to remove
causes of friction in the French protectorates and countries where
France is regarded as "protector of the Christians". By the
former is meant Syria in particular, and by the latter all Mohammedan countries of the East. The immediate cause for the new
treaty is the hesitation lately displayed by the Italian prelates
in these countries to render the traditional honors to representatives of a republic which sponsors no state church, and it may well
be surmised that behind this attitude of Italian prelates there is
a political motive.
The treaty provides that representatives of France where
she is either the mandatory power, as in Syria, or occupies the
position of guardian of Christianity, as she will be considered in
Egypt and elsewhere, will receive "Consular Masses". At these,
on the occasions of Christmas, Easter, the Pentecost and the Fourteenth of July, they will be seated on thrones near the high altar,
being received by the clergy with all ritualistic honors.
The treaty further implies that attendance at these Masses
by non-Catholic French representatives will not be a tribute by
them to the power of Catholicism, but homage offered by the
Church dignitaries to France whose role from the time of the
Crusades has been that of protector of the faithful.
What transpired during the conversations leading to the
signing of the treaty may never be made public. Undoubtedly,
the Vatican is anxious to mend the broken threads of its relations
�'8
WHE SYRIAN WORLD
with France, hence its readiness to acquiesce in the demand of
France that the presence of non-Catholic representatives at solemn religious services of the Church should not be misconstrued
as tributes by them to the power of Catholicism. France has now
effectively and definitely severed all connections between church
and state. It is electing a president of the Republic who is Protestant and effacing as rapidly as practicable all memories of past
religious rivalries and feuds such as gave occasion to the massacre
of St. Bartholomew. French representatives abroad are also appointed more for their party fealty than their religious affiliations. Two recent illustrations are to be found in the resignation,
on the one hand, of Ambassador Jusserand from his post at Washington, by which France lost the prestige of its ambassador being
the dean of the diplomatic corps; and, on the other hand, in the
appointment of Gen. Sarrail to the post of High Commissioner
in Syria, where he set himself frantically at breaking traditions
as would the proverbial bull in a china shop.
But aside from all these considerations, France seems to
have been amply able to prove to the satisfaction of the Vatican
her right to continue in the role she has been acting ever since
the Crusades as protector of the Christians in the East. Not only
does she evince hesitation at breaking traditions in foreign
lands, but rather seeks to renew her right to enforce their observance. Hence it is not now a question of one of her representatives, such as Gen. Sarrail, taking it upon himself to refuse attendance at the diplomatic Mass, but rather a part of his official
duties to do so. France, to be sure, is determined on maintaining
her prestige in the East, and although she looks upon the religious
question in one light as regards her internal policy, she looks
upon it in altogether a different light in matters of foreign relations.
It is quite likely that the action of Gen. Sarrail, at
the time he was High Commissioner in Syria, in refusing to attend the traditional political Mass, precipitated the discussions
which culminated in the conclusion of the treaty between France
and the Vatican which was signed in Paris on the sixth of December. Gen. Sarrail's appointment had no justification except
in the fact that the spoils belonged to the victor, and as he had
been a staunch "regular" in the radical party which came into
power and swept M. Herriot into office, he was sent to Syria as
occupant of the only high diplomatic post available at the time.
/
�CRUSADERS CARRYING THE ORIGINAL CROSS IN TRIUMPH
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�It was for the purpose of wresting this city of Palestine, Syria, from the hands of the Moslems that the
Crusades were waged for two centuries.
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EMISSARIES OF CHARLEMAGNE BEING RECEIVED BY HAROUN AL-RASHID
From a painting by J. Kockert.
**
�THE HOLY CITY OF JERUSALEM
It was for the purpose of wresting this city of Palestine, Syria, from the hands of the Moslems that the
Crusades were waged for two centuries.
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WHERE THE DIPLOMATIC MASS IS HELD IN BEIRUT
The Church of the Capuchins, or the Latin Church, where the tradition of the Diplomatic, or Consular Mass
is observed
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JANUARY, 1927
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9
Once there he proceeded forthwith to prove himself a thorough
radical. One of his first official acts was to refuse attendance at
the diplomatic Mass, because such action would be interpreted
as favoring one religious faction in the country as against another.
And Sarrail wanted to introduce an altogether new order of
things. Of what significance is it to him to observe a tradition
that has been handed down from one generation to another for
almost eight centuries and which, particularly in Syria, where
religious prestige is so jealously guarded andx upheld, is considered in the light of an act of faith? Are we not in the day of a
new era? And is not he, Sarrail, of World-War fame, coming
to Syria to enlighten it and give it the benefit of his advanced
political creed rather than maintain those antiquated traditions
which have rotted with extreme age?
Sarrail may have been very honest of purpose, but he certainly had not the adroitness of a diplomat to carry his policies
out. The great mistake which he committed was in reversing
himself and showing preference for Mohammedans by subsequently attending a celebration at a mosque after having refused
to take part in the traditional services at the church. The effect
was to fan into flame all the hatreds and religious animosities
that had been simmering for centuries.
Added to this action of her High Commissioner in Syria,
France found herself confronted with many other problems
threatening her standing as the protector of Christians in the
East. Now Italy is casting covetous glances at Syria and England pursues relentlessly her policy of strengthening her prestige by knocking down the props from under her rivals. It is
of special significance that the dispatches reporting the signing
of the new treaty between France and the Vatican refer to the
reluctance of the Italian prelates in the East to accord religious
honors to representatives of a republic which sponsors no state
church. Why Italian prelates?
The problem, therefore, is not local nor restricted to one
incident. It is general in the whole East and threatens the de
cheance of French prestige if not remedied promptly and effectively. The Papal Nuncio in Syria had faithfully reported
to the Vatican the Sarrail incident and conversations on the subject with the French government followed. Immediately the
book of traditions is opened and France forcefully pleads her
case in defense of her traditional right as protector of Christians
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in the East. The case is apparently proven to the satisfaction
of the Vatican and the new treaty which defines the rights of
France in her capacity as protector of the faithful is signed, notwithstanding the unfriendly attitude of Italian prelates.
Now what are the grounds on which France was able to
establish her case, and of what nature are those traditions of
which she appears to be so jealous and which she wishes to maintain and strengthen in spite of the fact that she is thereby put
in the position of a Catholic power, while in her home policy
she disclaims all connection between church and state?
The answer to this question must lead us all the way through
eleven centuries, back to the time of Charlemagne and Haroun
al-Rashid. The great emperor of the West and the equally
great caliph of the East had heard of each other and cultivated
a sort of mutual admiration. Times were peaceful and everybody was under the influence of a friendly disposition. The
Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land were well treated and the
Christian emperor felt himself owing a debt of gratitude to the
magnanimity of'the Mohammedan caliph, and, prompted by
this generous feeling, he sent to Bagdad a mission composed of
high dignitaries with appropriate presents. The envoys of Charlemagne were detained nearly eight months enjoying the hospitality of Haroun al-Rashid, and when finally they were permitted
to leave, they were loaded with such dazzling gifts as showed not
only the generosity of the great caliph, but the wealth of the
East as well.
Included in the gifts was an ingenious and magnificent
device for recording time, the first timepiece known to Europe,
and, what is of vastly more significance, the keys of the Church
of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This in itself was a carte blanche
permit to Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy places under the
protection of the emperor of the Franks.
These relations of amity and good-will were continued by
the successors of these two monarchs for several decades which
meant in those days a long time, during which pilgrimage from
Europe to the Holy Land flourished. To undertake the pilgrimage, the Christians of Europe naturally had to rely on some sort
of protection guaranteeing security, and this they enjoyed by
virtue of the friendship which existed between the emperor of
the Franks and the caliph of Islam. They then began to flock
to the Holy Lane! in ever increasing numbers. Some of the no^
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JANUARY, 1927
i
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bility lead armies numbering eight thousands of both men and
women. In time, Jerusalem was transformed into a regular
market place for the exchange of goods, and a special quarter
was built for the accommodation of Christian European merchants and pilgrims.
This condition, however, was not destined to last long. The
East was seething with plots and insurrections. The Abbasides
in Bagdad, heirs to the throne of Haroun al-Rashid, were tottering under the successive blows of the Turks who had filtered
into the Arab capital and were scheming to usurp power from
the hands of their masters. The great Arab empire became the
prey of ary number of provincial Emirs and contenders for the
caliphate. The Holy Land was not immune from the ravages
of these internal wars and the holy places of Christianity did
not escape desecration and pillage. Christian pilgrims were prohibited from entering the Holy City or bathing in the waters of
the Jordan and those of them who escaped death by massacre or
pestilence returned to Europe with harrowing tales of atrocities
and indignities. The cry was soon raised that Christianity should
deliver the holy places from the hands of the infidels and this
movement culminated in the great congress of Clermont in France
where Pope Urban II delivered his celebrated speech exhorting
the Christians to undertake the Crusades. The multitude responded with a great cry of "It is the will of God", and the
crusading movement was launched.
Why the Pope chose French territory for the issuance of
this appeal to Christian Europe to engage in wars which were
destined to rock the world and continue for two hundred years
causing inestimable losses in lives and property was explained by
the Pope himself when he declared in his speech that "I came
to French soil to make declaration of a holy war against the
desecrators of our sacred places because France has ever been
steadfast in her faith and ready to defend her title as the firstborn of the Holy Church. Once France rises to this holy war,
the rest of Europe will soon follow."
The account of what followed forms one of the bloodiest
chapters of the world's history, but in the end all Europe's efforts and all Christianity's armies failed and the Holy Places and
the Holy Land remained in the hands of the Mohammedans.
In the course of these long wars, however, many Christian
kingdoms were established in, Syria and not a few of the crusacl-
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLT>
ers intermarried with the Christian population of the country.
These latter chose to remain in the fair land of the East when
the last vestige of organized European military power was effaced and the last ship bearing the remnants of the great armies of
the crusaders had departed from Eastern shores. And then it
became not a question of contending for the possession of the
Holy Places by the sword, but by guaranteeing Christians the enjoyment of life and the right of free worship by diplomacy.
Europe had utterly failed in gaining a permanent foothold in the
East when even the king of France, St. Louis, had made a last
desperate effort to rally Europe to the cause of the Crusades,
going himself to the East at the head of a great fleet and a
great army, and fell captive in the hands of his enemies.
But the outstanding fact in this tragedy is that France was,
from the beginning to the end, the leader and the mainstay of
the movement, and now that it had failed she felt all the more
keenly her responsibility towards the protection of the Christians of the East and those of the crusaders who had chosen to
remain. The Christians of the East, particularly the Maronites
of Mt. Lebanon, had fought the common enemy side by side
with her men, and on numerous occasions offered, refuge to the
defeated crusaders in the fastness of their mountain. This partnership in arms, the equal sharing of a common peril, and the
exposing by Christian Europe of the Christians of the East to
the graver dangers resulting from the Crusades, bound Europe
with the strongest kind of moral obligation to protect the Christians of the East, and this duty fell more heavily on France by
reason of her position of leadership in these wars and in all
Christian activities.
The years that followed were replete with trials for the
Christians who wanted to make the pilgrimage, until, in 1313,
when Robert, King of Sicily, and his wife Sancie, went to Jerusalem and found that the Mussulmans had transformed the
church of the Holy Sepulchre into a mosque and had seized all
other places sacred to Christianity, they negotiated with the Mohammedans for the purchase of the Holy Places comprising the
Churches of the Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Nativity in
Bethlehem, for a consideration of 80,000 gold pounds. Now
this king of Sicily was of the French royal family, and on the
basis of this purchase, King Louis XIV of France entered into
negotiations with the Ottoman Sultan in 1685 for the return of
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JANUARY, 1927
1
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the Holy Places to the custody of the Christians after they had
again been seized by the Mohammedans.
In later years, when the Ottomans had made secure their
ascendancy in the Islamic world and gained the caliphate by conquering Egypt in 1515 under Sultan Selim, France began to negotiate with Constantinople for the protection of the Christians
and for other commercial and political advantages. The agreements later entered into are what became known as capitulations,
in most of which were inserted clauses bearing on the position
of the Christians, both native and foreign.
Of the sustained interest of France in the Christians of Syria
and the East in general, the most recent illustration was her sending of a military expedition in 1860 to Syria under Gen. Beaufort to protect the Christians on the occasion of the religious disturbances characterizing that year and which culminated in the
massacre of the Maronites by the Druzes in Mt. Lebanon. The
Maronites are the special friends of France in the East and it
was principally through them that she established herself in Syria
following the World War.
Uninterruptedly, therefore, for almost eleven centuries,
France has been the protector and guardian of the Christians in
the East. During the early stages of this protectorate, the right
of France to act in this capacity was based simply on the initiative
she had taken in this field as the leading Catholic country of
Europe. Following the Crusades, however, this protectorate
began to take more definite forms and it was officially announced
and approved by encyclicals from Rome. The latest official pronouncement from Rome on the subject was when Pope Leo XIII
issued a famous encyclical on May 22, 1888 affirming anew the
position of France in the role of protector of Christians in the
East and forbidding Catholic missionaries, be they of Italian or
other nationalities, to have recourse in their grievances to any
other than French representatives.
This position which France enjoys as protector of the faithful in the East carries with it not only an obligation but a certain
amount of defined privileges, among which is that she alone, to
the exclusion of all other Catholic powers, should bear this title
and that her representatives in Eastern countries should be accorded special honors by the Catholic clergy in countries where
these privileges are in force. Hence the Consular Mass. This
combination of a politico-religious institution has been in force
�T4
W&E 'SYRTAN WORLU
since 1742 and the first agreement between France and the Holy
See regulating the honors accorded French representatives in
the East has undergone many revisions on different dates, principally in 1804, 1817 and 1848. The latest revision is the one
now made with the signing of the new treaty in Paris on Dec. 6,
1926.
In the light of recent events, it would seem that a new
treaty embodying anew the definition of honors is inescapable,
and the Vatican appears to have made to France the concessions
which the change in France's new national policy necessitates.
Hence the reservation in the new treaty referring to French nonCatholic representatives. According to former versions, the rendering by the Catholic Church of special honors to French representatives, particularly where they appear in the role of protectors of Catholics, implied that they themselves should be of
the Catholic faith.
Here, for instance, are some of the honors which former
agreements between France and the Vatican stipulate:
Upon the appointment of a French Consul to a position in
the East, the priest of the Latin church in the city must offer a
Te Deum and reserve a special place of honor in the church for
the Consul. Then on all occasions when the Consul is to attend
the Mass, the head of the Latin mission (be it French, Italian,
or any other nationality) must send a special messenger to inform the Consul of the time Mass is to be celebrated, and upon
the Consul's arrival at the church, the head of the Mission must
receive him and offer him the holy water in person. During the
progress of the Mass the Consul is to be seated on the altar
in a special place of honor. Following the reading of the Gospel
the officiating priest advances and offers the Holy Book to the
Consul to kiss, and upon the offering of incense, the priest must
turn first to the Consul before facing the congregation. Finally,
upon the Consul leaving the church, the head of the Mission
again offers him personally the holy water.
On subsequent revisions, these honors were made to include
the following: Wherever there are Catholic educational institutions the French Consul is to preside at the final examinations
and commencement exercises. Upon the appointment of a new
Papal Nuncio it is the privilege of a French Consul to arrange
with the local authorities the ceremonies attending his reception,
and upon his arrival the Consul accompanies him in official cos-
�JANUARY^ 1927
rs
tume to the church and undertakes to announce his coming to
religious bodies, foreign representatives and the local authorities.
Immediately following the church ceremonies the Nuncio is to
pay a visit to the (French Consul as his first official act.
The observance of all these honors has been embodied in the
new treaty, with the further reservation referring to non-Catholic representatives. The position of France is now again definitely strengthened and her title reassured. 'It may be readily seen
that the French government of today is not actuated by the same
motives as prompted former governments to seek the title of
protector of the faithful, but France is still jealous of her special
privileges and has again succeeded in inducing the Holy See to
confirm her in her traditional role as the first-born of the Church.
SELECTIONS FROM THE ARABIC
The learned man is like a ship, if he makes a mistake he
perishes and many others perish with him.
In a tradition transmitted by Abdullah, the son of Omar, it
is related that the Prophet entered the mosque of Medina, where
he saw two groups, one occupied in devotional exercises, the other
in study.
"Both groups are commendable," said the Prophet." The
worshippers petition God. and mention His name. Should He
wish He may reward them5 should He not He would not; but
those in the other group study jurisprudence, and teach the ignorant. Verilv, I was sent as a teacher." Saying this, the Prophet
went and sat with the studious group.
"For thirty years," said Sari as-Sakati, (an early Mohammedan mystic) "I have been seeking forgiveness for once saying
'thank God'." When asked, "how so?" he explained:
"Once a conflagration broke in Baghdad, and a man meeting me, said, 'Your shop is safe.' I cried out in joy, 'thank
God!' Since then, I have repented for what I said, in that I
desired for myself a better lot than befell other Moslems."
�~"
THE SYRIAN WORLD,
16
The Contribution of the Syrian
Immigrant to America
By REV. K. A. BISHARA, PH. D.
When I was asked by a prominent American Society to
speak on the theme of "What can Americans learn from the
Syrian immigrant", I took it as a racial challenge and coined it
in this form: What is the use of the Syrian in America? To give
a brief, yet adequate answer to this question, I can do nothing
better than reveal what the Syrian is inherently, owing to his
great and unique heritage of the ages that makes it imperative
that he should, at least, endeavor to make the very best contribution to the general life of the great land of his adoption where
he has the fairest opportunities to develop his personality to the
highest pitch of efficiency by combining what is best in him with
the best of what he should be capable of acquiring in the glorious sphere of progressive human activity.
1 — At the very outset I feel fully justified in claiming
for the Syrian the most genuine type of up-to-date cosmopolitanism acquired through a long process of compulsory experimentation, he having come, in his own fatherland, in contact
with practically all the world powers of history, in consequence
of which he is able to feel at home wherever he happens to pitch
his tent on the face of this earth. It appears as though he were
pursuing his "Holy Scriptures" which are rapidly making of
the civilized world a "Greater Syria".
2 — In the next place, being for the most part of Semitic
descent, chiefly of Arab stock, uncontrovertially the soundest in
body and mind, the Syrian, in my estimation, is the most genuine
specimen of the German Superman — a splendid example for
the over-ambitious "Nordic" element in America to copy by way
of exemplification.
3 — Another contributory characteristic of the Syrian immigrant in America is the fact that he is naturally mystical, and,
at the same time, intensely practical. In this respect, the Syrian
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�JANUARY, im
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is supremely unlike his compeer oi any other nationality whatsoever.
.
4 — Another similarly anomalous characteristic of his is
that he is endowed with a progressively intensive mind wondrously tempered by a high degree of conservatism — something very
rare among the children of men, especially in this nervous age
of unaccountable changeability.
5 — The most remarkable trait of the Syrian is undoubtedly
the fact that he has been from time immemorial the world's
leader and the most vehement promoter and defender of religion
and ethics. As Phoenician, he flooded the markets of the world
not only with his "goods", but with his "gods" as well. As Arab,
he is still imbued with the idea of enthusiastically manipulating
the sword in the way of forcefully driving the entire world
within the pale of his Monotheistic Empire. As Christian and
Hebrew, he has given, the civilized world its Law, Religion and
purest Ethics, morally shaking the earth with the quake of his
volcanic aggressiveness, in such a manner that the "Missionary
Spirit" is still the mightiest factor in human progress.
The genuine son of Syria considers all material wealth as
being a contemptible thing per se, so much so that the "big
guns" of Wall Street are in his estimation mere children playing
with marbles — an extremely strange anomaly for a modern citizen of Ancient Tyre that taught the world how to make money.
6
From what has been stated, we naturally infer that
the character of a modern Syrian is a remarkable compound of
three prominent ingredients — namely, the prophetic, the intellectual, and the sentimental.
7
A most telling contribution of the Syrian in America
is his "life iat home", fortified by very strong filial-parental ties,
buttressed by extremely intense affections — a thing that fair
America urgently needs.
8
In like manner, this adopted son of Old Glory is a
proverbially God-fearing, law-abiding, court-hating citizen — a
total stranger almost to. all jail-rolls throughout the countryj
so much so that Syrian prison inmates are considered, as a rule,
racial intruders.
9
As to womanly honor and chastity, the Syrian stands
preeminently incomparable. Modesty is still with him the index
of feminine beauty and personal attractiveness.
10 — As a "spiritual force" in the world, the genuine Syr-
�IS
WHE SYRIAN WORLD
ian has always been highly poetical, deeply musical, and affectionately emotional. Add to all this his uniquely brilliant intellect, and you have a relatively fair picture of the practical superman.
11 — The hospitality of the Syrian is matched only in the
tents of the Arabian Peninsula where this popular ideal is expressed as a motto in this simple Arabic strophe:
"Our visiting guest
is really our host."
12 — The last but not least contribution of the naturalized
Syrian in this great "Republic of the West" is his "Common
Sense" which is the product of the harmonious balancement of
the intellectual and emotional faculties in his wonderful personality — a fact that should make him highly "desirable" in "the
Land of the Free" and "the Home of the Brave" wherein the
torch of righteous and peaceful civilization is uplifted before the
eyes of all the nations of the world to the Glory of God and the
elevation of mankind.
AN ARAB'S DESCRIPTION OF THE USE OF A STICK
Al-Hajjaj, the notorious governor of Iraq, met a Bedouin
who was carrying a stick. He stopped him, and, wanting to jest
with him, said: "What is this that you are carrying in your
hand?" quoting thereby a passage from the Koran in which God
asks Moses the same question. The Bedouin, quick to recognize
what al-Hajjaj had in mind, replied:
"This is my stick with which I drive away beasts. I employ
it in my travels, recline on it in my walks, and volt with its help
across rivers. It saves me from stumbling, and protects me from
the heat of the noontime, when I throw over it my cape. With
its help I carry my knapsack, knock on doors, and drive away
dogs. It is my spear and buckler when battle waxes hot and
heroes meet heroes on the battlefield. And I shake it at my
sheep, and have for it other purposes."
Al-Hajjaj was quite pleased with this reply, in which the
Bedouin quoted in the last sentence the answer of Moses to God,
and rewarded him handsomely.
UMHMi
�n
TANU'ARY, '1927
Wisdom Sans Humor
By HABIB I. KATIBAH
I had gone to the Metropolitan Museum to consult a copy
of a technical magazine which I was told would be found only
there, and which I needed, before I could begin on a certain article. The true reason I went there was to play truant from the
drudgery of my routine duties. It was one of those periodical,
mild revolts which doubtless every one of us feels from time to
time, against the ennui of white-collar slavery. The magazine
was the excuse. I was rather relieved when the librarian, after
a little search, told,me that the magazine was discontinued and
the particular number I asked for was not there. With a tree
conscience, like a child who,had been informed that his teacher
was sick, and there was no school for the day, I went about my
real mission — a spree of civilized vagabondage.
It was about three in the afternoon, and realizing that the
time at my disposal was very short, I narrowed the field of my
rambling curiosity to the Oriental section where Turkish rugs,
Persian minatures and Chinese statues are ranged in haphazard
groups, silent witnesses of slumbering civilizations.
Presently I found myself before a jade statue of a Chinese
sage which arrested my attention. I must have passed that statue
several times on previous trips, but it was not until then that
it made a strong appeal to my fancy. Perhaps it was due to the
predominance in my mind of the Cantonese revolution in China,
and my reflections over its stupendous potentialities for the history of mankind. Perhaps, subconsiously. More likely it was
something about the statue itself that I had not noticed before}
something peculiarly different and strange.
It is extremely difficult for me to describe the conflicting
thoughts and emotions which struggled within me, the contrasts
that flitted in my imagination as I viewed in wrapt silence that
little Jade statue.
.
With his legs folded in Oriental fashion, the Chinese sage
was squatted pensively, striking his long beard. Not much different
from other Oriental sages and saints, that one could conjure from
the pages of Oriental history and travel books. Not different
�20
mE SYRfAN WORLD,
even from some Syrian sages I had encountered in life, except
in one particular instance which was strongly accentuated in this
dream in jade of an Oriental artist.
The corners of the mouth drooped strangely in an expression of perfect cynicism, and there was not on his face even the
flicker of a smile to relieve the depressing expression. If ever
an Oriental sage said "vanity of vanitites" to the procession of
life that passed before his omniscient eyes, that Chinese sage was
the one. There wasn't an ounce of humor nor whimsicality in
him. He was all seriousness, almost to absurdity. Could it be
possible, I wondered, for one to be so serious, and yet be a sage,
or even a saint? There was something weird, even pathetic in
this pensive figure from the distant past. One could not help
ask one's self if ever in his lifetime such a one ever cracked a
joke or laughed heartily; if he ever fell in love, or if he ever
did anything foolish. He must have, for where could he have
learned wisdom? Not from textbooks, to be sure. No wise man
ever learns it there.
Yet there was no harshness about him. His features relaxed in graceful folds and furrows. His was the wisdom of passive resignation j of a tolerant pessimism, that recognizes the inherent folly and weakness of man. He was sad, not angry j
charitable, not militant; disappointed, not chagrined.
And there I stood before him in reverent reflection, but not
quite reconciled to his attitude to life. I was tempted to draw
out my notebook to interview him. Wonder what a Chinese
jade sage in the Metropolitan Museum thinks about, said I to
myself in the fashion of a well-known cartoonist! What would
be his opinion of the gum-chewing flapper that plants herself
before him and exclaims: "Ain't he cute?" Wonder what he
thinks of jazz, if he had ever heard it, or of the swiftly changing styles of women which he might have observed from his
niche. Or if; he waves these questions aside as being too trivial,
what then would he think of the Great War, of the League of
Nations or of the revolution going on in his own country. Such
"wonders", of course, must remain as silent as my mute interlocutor. But one could imagine/that his answer would not differ
much from that of many an Oriental sage—paradoxical, deep, but
suggesting no avenue of expression. At any rate it would be
serious, or satirical, but never practical.
The trouble with Oriental sages, and even saints, is that
'
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1
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JANUARY, 1927
\
'2D
they lack a great deal in the sense of humor. As long ago as
the days of Herodotus this was noticed about them. For Herodotus tells us in his History that the Egyptian priests regarded
the Greeks as little children. He himself thought them much
"wiser" than his own countrymen, and as many Western devotees
of Oriental wisdom do today, he was initiated into the Egyptian
mystery of Osiris. But the wisdom of Egypt has turned to dust,
and the foolishness of the Greeks still brings us ever_ fresh joy
and delight. It is as refreshing now as it was when Phidias played with marbles, and Socrates jested with the Greek youths in
the agora of Athens. The Greeks learned the mysteries of life
by play and childish curiosity. Instinctively, because naturally
and in the simplicity of their souls, they sought "beauty" first,
and behold! they also discovered "truth" and "goodness".
The East has produced wisdom, but little art. Its literature
is inspirational, but somewhat oppressive, and little amusing.
The East "knows" or "believes", but seldom "makes-believe".
To be sure, this is dangerous generalization. One could
point here and there to Oriental gems of dramatic and epic literatures. In Arabic, we have the Arabian Nights or the Romance
of 'Antar. Similar works exist in Persian, Chinese and Sanskrit.
Certainly, the Hindu play Sakuntala is as genuinely beautiful
and exquisite as any Shakespeare ever wrote, and the Persian
Shahnama is very entertaining and dramatic. But is not the
scarcity of such literature in the East a proof convincing of our
contention? The whole Bible contains one near-drama, while
at about the same time that the prophetic literature of the Hebrews was at its height, three of the greatest dramatists vied
with each other in winning the plaudits and praise of the pleasure-loving, enthusiastic, child-like Greek theatre-goers j and almost every Greek was one.
"All work and no play," said the English proverb, "makes
Jack a dull boy." This is true not only of Jack, but of whole
nations. India is one example of martyrdom to seriousness. For
there is no doubt that if we think too seriously of the problems
of life, we must of necessity be lead into a pessimistic Schopenhaurian view of life and reality. Our recourse from such a gloomy
fate lies either in a vicarious contemplation of the Heavenly
joys, or the entry into a happy world of make-believe within our
souls, built up with the figments of our imagination.
But, miracle of miracles! this world of make-believe, if
�r
22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
only persisted in long enough, becomes real. We are lifted to
the plane of our wishes and lofty imaginings, as James Branch
Cabell expounds to us in his little, but very significant volume,
"Beyond Life". For, as the author tells us, and very wisely
and truly so, all romance, literature, and even religion are watered from this same eternal spring of make-believe. It is the
"condition without which" civilization is impossible, and life utterly unbearable. But it is not an "illusion", as the author here
wrongly avers. On the contrary, it is the very guarantee of the
eternal goodness of the Universe, of our unshakable faith in the
Tightness of the final outcome. The pessimistic view of life indicates defeatism on insufficient grounds. It sounds deep, but
in truth it is both shallow and hollow.
The famous scintillating Arab poet and cynic Abu-1-Ala alMu'arri once said something that is strikingly uncanny in its
subtlety and simplicity, confirming our suspicion that the Arabs
had a larger share of humor than their brother Orientals, the
Hindus or Chinese. Addressing a hypothetical physician and
astrologer, the custodians of agnostic wisdom in his days, he said
in one of his well-known couplets:
"Said the astrologer and the physician both,
'There is no resurrection'. Said I, 'that is up to you,
'If your opinion be true, I shall not regret it;
But should it false be proven to be, yourselves you will
rue. > j>
Changing the Arab poet's wisdom a little to suit our purpose, we may say with an equal air of nonchalance and bonhomie:
If the view which holds that life is a mistake, happiness an illusion and our esthetic aspirations a mockery be true, well may we
enjoy this illusion while it lasts. But should these things prove of
eternal as well as of temporal significance, what a tragedy must
be our lugubrious sacrifices to a cruel idol. How vain must be
our sadness, and what a calamity our wisdom!
"Trust in God," said the Prophet Mohammed, "but tie thy
camel's leg," (i. e., lest it run away).
�JANUARY, 1927
23
Sects of Islam
Fourth and concluding article of the series dealing with Islam,
the -predominating religion of Syria.
Tourists and casual observers who visit Syria show a neverfailing surprise at the multiplicity of its sects and religions. Newspaper correspondents have more than once made this serve them
for a feature story when there was nothing exciting, and other
sensational subjects were exhausted.
There is some justification for this curiosity, even though
it may be exaggerated. Perhaps there are no more religions and
sects in Syria than there are in the United States itself. But this
country is so vast, and the customs and behaviors of its people
are so much uniform that we do not notice them.
Where in this country could one sit in a cafe or public
garden as he would, say, in Damascus, and review a motley procession of every color and every variety of garb extant in this
age of conformity and standardization? There in an hour's time
one could see dark brown Senusis from Tripoli in Africa, with
flowing, white robes and turbans; slim, sinewy Wahabis on their
hajeens from the heart of the Nejd desert; proud, muscular
Sikhs from India, or in quiet mien and slow pace, some Sufi
shaykh counting the beads of his rosary. Jewish rabbis, in their
ceremonial caps and long beards, may follow on the heels of
a patriarch of some ancient Eastern church with his retinue of
bishops and priests.
Similar processions one could see in Cairo, or, not long ago,
in Constantinople. But in no other little country of its size,
perhaps, could one find as many strange sects, and as many colorful habiliments and paraphernalia distinguishing these sects one
from another, as in Syria.
More particularly is this true of Islam which, owing to the
fact that it has no definite, dogmatic theology or central authority,
has shown a decided tendency to split into sects and schisms embodying the differences of opinion of its thinkers and "diligent"
theologians, as well as its innovators and trouble-makers, ever
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLL
/
v
since its early contact, first through Syria, with the ancient and
contemporary worlds of thought.
In a well-known Arabic authority on the history of Islamic
sects written in the 11th century, one could count no less than
one hundred divergent sects, orthodox, heterodox, esoteric or adventitious ones. Naturally many of these sects or schisms differed very little, and many more were subdivisions of major sects.
But the truth remains that they had 'registered enough influence
on the minds of a sufficient number of people to merit classification as separate schools of thought. In the majority of cases the
schools are called after their founders, who were not always
actuated by the sincere desire to seek the truth, but often by
political motives or personal aggrandizement or even egoistic idiosyncrasies. Most of these schools and sects have passed away,
leaving behind them only a list of complicated names, a nightmare to any conscientious student of Islamic religion.
According to the Statesman's Year-Book, there are 1,500,000
Sunnites in Syria, 113,804 Shi'ites and 110,000 Druzes. To these
we may add the Moslems of Palestine, given by the same authority as 590,890, the overwhelming majority of whom are
Sunnites. There are 7,028 Druzes in Palestine, and 265 Bahais.
From these figures it may be readily seen that although there
are various religions and various sects, the large majority of the
Moslems, who are the majority in Syria and Palestine, are of
one sect — Sunnites. These Sunnites, however, are further divided into slightly different schools of jurisprudence, i. e., interpretation of the religious law and the traditions of the Prophet,
namely, Malikites, Hanafites, Shafi'ites and Hanbalites. Of
these four scho6ls the strictest and most orthodox is the Hanbalite, after Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, a contemporary of the caliph
al-Mamoun, and the most lenient is the Hanafite, after Abu Hanifa, a contemporary of Haroun al-Rashid.
Still, Dr. Frederick Bliss, in his book "Religions of Modern
Syria and Palestine", informs us that there are 98 religious or
dervish orders in Islam today, of which at least 9 have representation in Syria and Palestine.
These "religious orders" are quite distinct from the sects
referred to above, and represent ramifications of what was originally in Islam one movement, Sufism, by far the most significant
and interesting
Of this movement which once produced great religious
�„
Courtesy The New Orient.
MASHRAK EL-AZKAR
The Proposed Bahai Temple in Chicago, designed by Louis J- Bourgeois.
�) '
Stete
*
/
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A detail of one of the win dows of the Bahai Temple
.
�\ :[
JANUARY, 1927
25
teachers, analysts and physicians of the soul with its complicated
emotions and complexes, there remains today but the empty husks
of meaningless ceremonies and bodily movements intended to
induce ecstasy in its votaries.
A modern concoction of Sufism and Shi'ism with a dash of
universalism has found expression in a sect which, originating in
Persia in the middle of the 19th century, found a temporary
asylum in Syria. This sect, known under the name of Bahaism,
has quite a number of followers in the United States.
Originally the Bahai movement did not differ from other
Mahdi movements which, from time to time, made their appearance in Islam. Its founder, Mohammed Ali Mirza of Shiraz, came to think of himself as the new Mahdi, the Bab, i. e.,
the Door, "by which the infallible will of the hidden Imam, as
the highest source of all truth, reveals itself to all the world."
He considered himself "the manifestation of the Spirit of the
world; the reappearance of Moses and Jesus; the embodiment
of all the prophets" (Bliss). He was also a reformer, teaching
the equality of the sexes and the rejection of the veil. His new
ideas aroused the wrath and opposition of the orthodox "mullah", or religious teachers, who brought about his execution in
1850, while still in his thirties.
/
The followers of Mohammed Ali Mirza were persecuted,
and those who escaped found asylum in Turkish soil. But soon
after the death of the founder, the Babists split, some following
Subhi-Azal, the Dawn of Eternity, the pupil designated by the
Bab to be his successor, with their headquarters in Cyprus, and
others followed Baha-Ullah, "the Splendor of God", Baha for
short. This latter taught that he was greater than the Bab.
He compared himself to Jesus, and the Bab to St. John the
Baptist. A quarrel between his followers and those of the more
conservatice Babists, the followers of Subhi-Azal, in Adrianople,
caused the Turkish authorities to exile the Baha to cAkka (Acre),
in Palestine, which became the Mecca of the Bahaists in his days
and the days of his successor and son, 'Abbas Effendi, called
'Abdul-Baha or Ghussni-'Azzam, "the Greater Branch", who assumed the leadership of the Bahais in 1892. 'Abbas Effendi
came to the United States before the World War, and many of
our Syrian countrymen had the occasion to meet him and converse with him in the Arabic language. Today the Bahai movement has grown strong enough in this country to enable it to
�a&wagaswwft I I'Ni'fliililiiaMa
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26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
produce a magazine, and its followers are contemplating building a temple in Chicago which, it is said^'will be one of the wonders of the world in grandeur and beauty.
Another modern movement in Islam whirh had its origin
in Syria and attained its greatest influence abroad, is that of Wahhabism.
The antecedent of Wahhabism is a puritancial reform started by a Mohammedan, thinker of the 14th century by the name
of Taki-ud-Din Ibn Taymiyya who taught in the mosques of
Damascus. He opposed all innovations in Islam, such as the
belief in the intercession of the saints, walis, the honor paid their
tombs or shrines and other concessions to popular faith. He rejected Sufism and Islamic scholasticism, accepted by Mohammedan theologians and known as the science of disputation, kalam.
He also rejected the principle of Ijma', consensus of religious
doctors, which is one of the most democratic features of Islamic
theology. He was a Hanbalite.
Ibn Taymiyya was a strict adherent of primitive Islam, as
known in the days of Mohammed and the Orthodox Caliphs.
To him the Koran was the only and final authority in religious
matters. The elastic traditions, Hadith, which served subsequent
Moslems as an alibi to introduce many a social and political measure befitting the spirit of the time, he banned equally with other
and less significant innovations.
Ibn Taymiyya died in prison in the year 1328. He wrote
many books on theology and jurisprudence, but despite that his
movement seemed to have slumbered until, one day, almost three
centuries later, it was resurrected by Mohammed Ibn AbdulWahhab who studied under a follower of Ibn Taymiyya. Abdul- Wahhab proved to be an apt student, for he found in Ibn
Taymiyya's books an eloquent expression of what he had often
felt himself. Coming out of the heart of the Arabian Desert,
the son of a local chief of the oasis of 'Awniyyah, Nejd, and suddenly brought in contact with the civilized life of a city like Damascus, the young lad could not but notice the demoralizing and
degenerating influences of a city-made civilization on Islam. Ibn
Abdul-Wahhab had come to know Islam from the Koran, and
had instinctively appreciated its austere, ascetic spirit* being himself a stern son of the same desert which produced the Prophet.
Abdul-Wahhab went to Arabia to preach the new reforms
of Ibn, Taymiyya, but made little headway until he succeeded in
�JANUARY, 1927
/
27
converting a powerful Arab chieftain by the name of Mohammed Ibn Sa'oud, around whom rallied the powerful tribes of alUtoub and 'Niza. From that time on, Wahhabism became not
only a religious reform, but a political movement with stupendous possibilities. Today it is one of the problems which beset
Syria and the Arab world generally.
One cannot close this brief series on the history and development of Islam without taking cognizance of the transformation which it is undergoing now, a transformation before which
all, the past sectarian divisions and dissensions pale into insignificance. We mean the new spirit of reform and modernism, vividly objectified in the Kemalist movement. The fundamental
division in Islam today is one of fundamentalism and modernism,
the former tending to conserve the old traditions and institutions,
symbolized by the caliphate, while the latter borrows its terminology and symbols from the modern world of Western ideas
and nationalism. It is the direct offspring of the European universities and the missionary establishments in the East which,
paradoxical as this may seem, are mostly of fundamentalist leanings. Recently, the Arabic press echoed the sensational news of
a Mohammedan professor's trial in Cairo. This professor, a wellknown liberal, is a graduate of al-Azhar University, the oldest,
and perhaps the most conservative school of religion in the
world, and a professor of literature in the modern national University of Cairo. A year before that another professor, a shaykh
of Azhar itself, was tried by his colleagues and expelled from his
post because he taught that the caliphate is not art essential institution in Islam. These two incidents, along with what is going
on in Turkey, Persia, Syria and other Moslem countries, indicate
that the modernistic tendencies in Islam are growing in extent
and strength every day.
WHAT REALLY COUNTS
The relative merits of poverty and wealth were being discussed in the presence of Yahya Ibn Mu'adh ar-Razi, an early
Mohammedan mystic, and he remarked: "On the Last Day it is
not poverty and wealth that are weighed, but patience and gratitude."
�mmmmmm
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
28
\
Famous Arab Lovers
VII
Antar and 'Abla
In the precincts of al-Kaaba, the sacred shrine of the Arabs
in Mecca, there were supposed to be hung from the walls seven
of the greatest Arabic poems, kasidas, of pre-Islamic days. From
that tradition comes their name, al-Mu'alakat, the "Posted Ones".
Arabs were very fond of poetry, and we must imagine the seven
poets who left us their works on the walls of al-Kaaba as the
immortals of the Arabs before Islam. Their poems were chosen
by acclamation at the celebrated fair of 'Okaz, held annually at
a little oasis north of Mecca.
One of these famous "Posted Poems" was a monument not
only to the poetic genius of its author, but to his superhuman
valor, his noble chivalry and his indomitable love. It was, incidentally, a monument to the tolerance of the Arabs and their
spirit of fairness, which knew no color lines nor racial distinctions.
The poem referred to was that of 'Antarat-ul-'Absi, —
'Antarat of the tribe of 'Abs, — more commonly known as 'Antar. He was a black slave, and the son of an Ethiopian mother,
also a black slave, by the name of Zebiba. He was, furthermore,
the lover of 'Abla, the black-haired, black-eyed Arab princess,
and daughter of Malik, of the tribe of 'Abs.
The romance of 'Antar and 'Abla is a record of tribulations,
persecutions and the final triumph of personal worth and superior courage over adverse circumstances, wealth and rank; it is
another illustration of the common, yet very wise adage, that
nothing stands in the way of true love
At the time 'Antar lived, in the last decade of the sixth century, two generations before the advent of Islam, physical
strength and bravery were the two foremost qualities. He who
possessed them to a greater extent than the rest was the most
valuable man in the tribe; for it was a time of constant wars
and raids, sudden attacks and sudden retreats. If, added to these,
pne could recite poetry, he becomes the model hero, the cynosure
I
�JANUARY, 1927
29t
of all the damsels and the envy of all the men in the tribe and
the terror of all enemies. This was 'Antar, every inch of his
huge black body.
Hardly could £Antar be called a handsome fellow. He was
nicknamed, " 'Antar the split lipped one", referring to his large
negroid lips. Far removed was he from wailing lovers like Majnun or dallying, venturing ones like Waddah, or versatile conversationalists and consummate artists of love like 'Umar Ibn Abi
Rabi'a. He was a he-man — a cave-man — and we are told confidentially by men who are authorities on the subject that some
young and handsome dames do fall for cavemen and their rugged qualities. Consider Othello and Desdemona. 'Antar was
a typical Othello, and 'Abja was his Desdemona. Only 'Abla
was a little more tantalizing, a little more exasperating than Desdemona. Certainly, her folks were much more stubborn and resisting to the advances of 'Antar than were Desdemona's folks.
'Antar did not win her by mere recitations of his exploits. His
prodigious adventures, which he undertook solely for the sake
of her black eyes, before he won her, remind one of the twelve
labors of Hercules.
At one time, the tribe of 'Abs was the most powerful tribe
in Arabia, and all other tribes paid tribute to its king. But time
and constant wars told on the 'Absians, so much so that in the
days of King Zohair, the uncle of Shaddad, the fortunes of the
tribe of 'Abs were very much run down.
It was for this reason, as perhaps also for the oppression
of the king, that ten men of valor of that tribe went out to seek
their fortunes by the edge of their swords, foraging peaceful
people of other tribes and seizing their cattle.
They arrived at the dwelling place of the tribe of Jezila
of Beni Kahtan, and finding the number of the men too great for
them, attacked the outskirts of the grazing grounds, where a
handsome, buxsom, full-breasted Ethiopian slave woman was
tending the flocks of camels belonging to the tribe. With her
were two little boys, her own, helping her hedge the animals
together. Shaddad and his men drove away the flock of camels
with the woman and her two sons. No sooner had the eyes of
Shaddad fallen, on the slave-woman, who gave her name as Zabiba, than he was enamoured of her. He turned to his men and
said: "I will give you my share of the booty if you leave me this
black slave-woman." This they did, and Shaddad took Zabiba
�30
WtfE SYRIAN WORLD.
to his own pasture, where, with her two sons, she tended his cattle
for him. In course of time she bore him a son. He was a tawny,
large-proportioned baby. He had a large head with bleary eyes
that stared out and flashed from his thick-haired head. His features were hard, and his nose and lips of negroid shape and size.
The bones of his legs were long and hardy.
Shaddad was transported with delight at the sight of his
son, and he named him 'Antar.
In those days a slave's son was not considered "legitimate"
until his father "recognized" him or "legitimatized" him. To
merit this the son must distinguish himself by some feat of valor
or remarkable achievement.
'Antar grew to be a strong lad, but he was relegated along
with his mother and two brothers to the menial occupation of
herding the cattle of the Shaddad family. It was his duty among
other things to take the cattle at noontime to the watering place
of the tribe, a solitary well, with troughs for the animals to drink
from.
One day 'Antar went there as usual, and while the watering
place was crowded with cattle herders and their cattle, a sturdy
slave barred access to the well. There were murmurs everywhere
but none dared to interfere, not only because the slave was known
to be fierce and strong, but because he was the slave of the powerful chieftain, Shas, the brother of Shaddad. At last a poor,
old woman raised her voice in complaint, and said something
about the rights of people other than the princes to the water of
the well. This did not please the slave and he struck her and
pushed her on her back, making her the laughing stock of all
those present. 'Antar's rage was roused. He attacked the slave,
and raising him high with his two powerful arms, he flung
him to the ground and killed him.
The news of 'Antar's chivalry spread in the tribe, and the
women folk, the young damsels and their mothers, hung around
him to learn from his lips the details of his chivalrous exploit.
Among these was 'Abla, the beautiful and proud daughter of
Malek, younger brother of Shaddad, who was fond of taunting
and bantering 'Antar. "How dared you," she said, shaking her
haughty head at him, "to kill the slave of a prince?" 'Antar
meekly answered that he struck the slave because he insulted a
woman. "Of course," replied 'Abla with a smile, "we knew all
the time that you were right, and we are proud of you!"
In spite of the protestations of Shas, 'Antar gained the favor
!
>
�JANUARY, 1927
\
i
n
of King Zohair as well as of his own master who henceforth assigned him to the light duty of "cooling the milk of the shecamels" in the wind for the high ladies of the tribe to drink.
'Antar had secretly nursed a love for 'Abla, and now that
he was coming to see her every morning to offer; milk, and after
his estimation had risen in the tribe, he became bolder in his
love, especially as he found that his love was encouraged by
'Abla herself.
On one occasion, 'Antar entered as usual to offer the cooled
milk to 'Abla and her mother, when the latter was combing
'Abla's hair which fell in thick, black tresses, over her shoulders.
He was struck with surprise, and did not move. But 'Abla, as
soon as she knew that she had been noticed, fled away and left
him gazing distractedly into space after her.
'Antar's love for 'Abla became known. He sang poetry in
her praise when he could hide his love no longer. This brought
upon him the displeasure not only of Malek, 'Abla's father, who
had hitherto defended and admired 'Antar, but also of Shaddad,
his natural father, and the envy of the princes and noblemen of
Beni 'Abs. For a black slave to raise his eyes to his mistress,
who at the same time was the belle of the tribe, was something
unheard of in the annals of the Arabs, a preposterous insolence
not to be condoned or tolerated. Among those who raised their
voices highest in condemnation of this aspiring slave, was (Ammara, a cousin of 'Abla who cast longing eyes on her, and was
considered the most proper and logical aspirant to her charms.
Back to the tending of cattle for 'Antar, and there he would
have remained but for another incident which brought out his
mettle, and proved to the proud Arabs of the desert what a
poet of another clime long after proclaimed, "that a man's a
man for a' that."
This occasion was a raid on Beni 'Abs in which they were
taken by surprise. The battle raged fiercely and the mighty
warriors of Beni 'Abs, the noble sons and cousins of King Zohair were routed and the women and booty were carried before
the enemy. Then somebody mentioned 'Antar, and Shaddad and
Malek hastened to fetch 'Antar, who was watching the progress
of the battle from afar as he tended the cattle. "Why tarry you
here, O 'Antar," cried Shaddad, "see you not our plight? Veril,
the women folk have been carried away, and among them is
<Abla."
�32
WME. SYRIAN. WORLD,
'
But 'Antar did not allow his passion to run away with him.
He answered coolly:
"When was a slave, a tender of cattle, supposed to be a warrior? Verily, I know how to milk the she-camels and lead the
cattle to pasture, but I know not the art of war."
—"This is not a time for jesting," pleaded Shaddad. "We
know your prodigious strength and courage, and you are the
man for it."
—"So be it," replied 'Antar, "I will come to your help if
you promise to recognize me after the battle." Shaddad accepted hastily. "Attack and you shall be a free man," he pledged.
—"One thing more," added 'Antar, "if I bring back 'Abla
and the rest of the women folk, she is mine."
Malek consented and bound himself by an oath to do so.
Fortified by the promises of his father, Shaddad, and inspired by the hope of winning 'Abla, 'Antar, riding his black
charger, with his favorite sword in hand, rode into the ranks of
the enemy like a whirlwind. He fell upon them like a lion
seeking his prey, as he sang in the martial, spirited Arabic meter
known as rajz:
)
"I am the black slave 'Antarat,
Every man protects his own women folk,
Be they white or be they dark."
The battle was won. 'Antar came back with the women
folk and the booty; but it was a long time before he finally won
his beloved 'Abla, whose love for him now had become quite
entrenched. Shaddad recognized his son 'Antar, but Malek balked at the fulfillment of his promise. In this he had the support
of all the "Absian chieftains, including Shaddad himself, who
was rather jealous of his black son. They intrigued against him,
and employed every means to prevent the promised marriage.
At last they determined to demand of 'Antar a dowry which they
thought would be impossible, and would lead to his certain death.
They laid down as their condition that 'Antar bring a thousand
camels, of a brand only found in Persia, then a powerful kingdom. 'Antar did not even hesitate. He buckled on his sword,
rode his trusted charger and set on his way to bring back the booty.
Before he went he had been assured by his mother Zebiba, that
'Abla still loved him, and would marry nobody else. "Comfort
the heart of 'Antar," 'Abla communicated to Zebiba, "and tell
!:;
�JANUARY, 1927,
S3
him from me, that even should my father torture me to death
in trying to change my mind, I would not desire nor ask for
other than 'Antar as husband."
Having reached the Persian border, 'Antar was attacked
and taken prisoner. Bound on horseback, he was led before the
king. He was on the point of being executed, when came news
that a fierce lion of extraordinary size and strength was ravaging the country. It was related to the king that even armed
warriors fled before this lion. 'Antar offered to rid them of the
lion if they would set him free and grant him his life. The king
granted his plea, and 'Antar eagerly went out to meet the
lion. He rushed on the savage creature and transfixed it with
his lance with a single thrust.
The Persian king was so pleased with 'Antar that he gave
him not only one thousand camels of the kind he required, but
much wealth and precious gifts besides.
'Antar was finally married to {Abla but not until other exploits and ventures and many raids and battles had been undertaken.
In all these adventures, 'Abla and the thought of her sustained the hope and valor of 'Antar. E. H. Palmer has a beautiful translation of some of 'Antar's famous poems, in which he
pictures himself in the midst of battle, and thus speaks of his
beloved 'Abla:
"My 'Abla sitteth night and day at ease,
On downy cushions, while my nightly seat
Is on the hard back of my bridled steed.
My cushion is the saddle deftly set
Across the withers of a noble horse
With sturdy legs, plump-shoulders, broad of girth."
The romance of 'Antar in time became one of the most
popular prose epics in Arabic literature. It is even today one
of the best Arabic sellers, and many who hardly have read anything else of Arabic literature recite you page after page of the
'Antar romance, with its prancing saj' and spirited martial poetry.
Translations and adaptations of the 'Antar romance are found in
English and French. Lately a Syrian poet, Shukri Ganim, residing in Paris, made a dramatic version of 'Antar, which was well
received by critics during its short run on the French stage.
v
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Progressive Medicine
"l
By DR. H. A. ELKOURIE
. Progressive Medicine or, rather, preventive Medicine, is a
subject teeming with untold benefits. Unfortunately, the laity
has not availed itself of the countless good results preventive
Medicine can accomplish. A man's age depends on his stomach. He can be robust, healthy, active, and live four-score and
more years carrying his virility to the last j or he may be indolent,
irritable, lazy and die early in life. His stomach and how he
treats it is the determining factor. He may choose the former
or better route, or he may follow the latter way to his sorrow and
destruction.
The Syrians being very susceptible to fall slaves to their
stomachs and a majority of them being by the very nature of
their mode of living unable to properly exercise the care, and
caution, necessary to the promotion of good health, furnish an
especial field of service for the Medical man, hence the usefulness, almost the necessity, of this article.
The writer does not attempt to prescribe a panacea for all
ills with the limited advices contained in this article, but he is
sincerely hopeful that the simple admonitions herein detailed
will greatly benefit a large number of the readers of THE SYRIAN T^ORLD and add many years to their lives of comfort.
Had I the authority I would absolutely forbid the elaborate
evening dinner and the after-theatre lunch. These two traditional habits, one engulfing the Syrians, and the other the native
Americans, are the direct cause of many serious and injurious
stomach and intestinal disorders, producing constipation, poisonous absorption known as toxemies, and indirectly predisposing
serious and various defects and diseases in the vital organs and
especially the heart and liver.
It has been proven time and again, beyond the peradventure
of a doubt that wherever peoples live on a simple diet answering
the calls of nature promptly, stomach trouble and intestinal pathalogy are practically unknown. Notable among these are the inhabitants of many parts of India. Rich foods such as fats and
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sweets, are the most difficult to digest, and they are the very
class usually indulged in late evenings.
It is not possible to outline a food formula which will fit
every case, but a few simple rules will add much to anyone's
health and comfort.
Two outstanding conditions prevalent among people of today need to be corrected: The first is Obesity; the second is improper food and more food than one should consume. The first
condition, of course, is a secondary one and dependent upon the
second plus insufficient excercise and, consequently, deficient elimination.
The question is, how should one live in order to maintain
an equilibrium, and a co-ordination between the different organs
to insure a normal health?
The following suggestions are based on an experience of
twenty-five years, together with the affirmation obtained from
other experiences which make the suggestions I am about to outline almost infallible.
Every person not engaged in work sufficiently laborious to
exercise his muscles should take some exercise early in the morning before breakfast. These exercises should be proportioned in
ratio to the amount of resistance an individual may have, and
gradually increased until the maximum stage is reached, and always before breakfast. After a period of rest breakfast should
be made up of whole wheat bran with sweet milk, eggs, fruits
and bread.
The whole wheat bread is the only bread worth considering
at all. It has been found that the vitamins in the wheat are
mainly in the hull; therefore whole wheat bread should be the
routine in every home.
The noon meal should be the heavy meal, contrary to the
general practice.
It is better to avoid the evening meal altogether if possible.
This rule should be imperative with the obese.
Where an evening meal is needed is should be limited to
milk, bread and fruit.
The noon meal, of whatever nature it may be, should have
at least two varieties of raw vegetables.
Any family can, in a short time, adjust itself so that
breakfast and the late noon meal, say about two o'clock, will become a cherished and a likable rule, not to mention the health
and longevity this rule of life induces.
�36
WJiB SYRIAN. WORLD.
The most injurious habit prevalent among our people is
the alcoholic stimulation imbibed just before meals, producing a
capricious appetite and an overloading of the stomach, only to
be followed by dilatation and stasis, or inability to properly contract and propel.
This pernicious habit should be stopped and instead a slight
amount of light wine or beer taken at least an hour before meals
with a slight amount of salads (or maza) after every drink.
Water is the greatest natural eliminant at our command — and
the Creator provided us with an abundance of it.
The people who go to springs receive benefits not because
of any special merit in the water itself, but rather because they
go to drink water and they drink more water than they are accustomed to drink at home. A glass of water every two hours
is the minimum that an average adult should drink and much
more is better.
In summing, let me emphasize the principal points of advice which are so simple to follow and so wholesome in effect.
First: Exercise frequently to, a point of profuse perspiration,
avoiding extreme fatigue.
Second: Avoid heavy evening dinners and particularly sweets
and fats after 6 P. M.
Third: Use whole wheat bread exclusively, and drink large
quantities of water.
If these simple rules are religiously observed, the need for
purgatives will disappear, physical efficiency will reach its maximum, and life will be filled with vigor and comfort.
THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE
Be one of four: a learned man, a learner, a hearer of learning, or a lover thereof} but be not the fifth one (one who hates
learning,) lest thou perishest. •
Ali.
"My sons," counseled a wise man, "seek after knowledge,
for it is much better that your generation be condemned for not
giving you an opportunity, than it be condemned for your having
lived in it."
Two hungers are insatiable: the hunger for knowledge and
the hunger for wealth.
The more the conditions of the ignorant one are enhanced,
the more abominable he becomes.
i
�JANUARY, 1927
37.
Fatima
The prize winning story in the contest inaugurated by "Al-Muktataf" of Cairo, for original short stories by Arabic authors, appearing in the Jan., 1926 issue of that publication.
By HASSAN SUBHI
In one of the largest and most-thickly populated quarters
of Cairo there stands a lonely, deserted house, long uninhabited
and known as "The Ruins". The old men and women of the
neighborhood were in accord that it was the meeting-place of
the evil spirits, and many harrowing stories were circulated about
it. Superstition enveloped it with a mantle of darkness in the
midst of that bright section. Surrounding the house were spacious grounds which echoed the dreary screeching of the bats,
and the nocturnal noises, reaching the neighboring houses, served
to further entrench superstitious fear in the hearts of their inhabitants.
On a certain day the, neighborhood was startled with astonishment and surprise, and every body was talking excitedly, because an unknown, mystericus man had occupied the deserted
house. Those who saw him des<- bed him as a middle-aged
man, with a bent back and a huge, hooked nose. He had an
ugly face, and his sight was poor. He entered the house about
the time of sunset, walking with the help of a stick in one
hand, while with the other he was being lead by a horrid-looking,
black slave. The neighbors' superstition was doubled, for they
concluded that the stranger was surely a sorcerer and a trainer
of devils.
The strange occupant was never seen to leave the house
except on Friday, to attend the mosque prayers, then return to
his home. Whenever he left the gate of his house or returned,
he was followed by the glances of the neighbors, who spoke in
suppressed whispers.
Next to that house stood a magnificent mansion in which
lived a great nobleman, Latif Pasha by name, with his wife
Nadir and his daughter Fatima, a beautiful girl of nineteen who
lost her mother from childhood.
This Latif Pasha was in the fifth decade of a life spent in
riotous and licentious living, taking to himself two and three
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
/
wives at a time, until, as he reached the decline which leads to
old age, his shoulders were already stooped with a burden of an
ill-spent youth. His wife was an overbearing, extravagant, spoil
ed woman — a virago who had not the least concern towards her
husband, except as to mulct him of money to regale herself with
gorgeous gowns, jewelry and precious perfumes. So obsessed was
he with her beauty that he overlooked her follies and was ready
to fulfill her every desire.
But as to Fatima, the black-eyed girl, with the long, jetblack hair hanging gracefully over her shoulders, she was of a
different type. The loss of her mother covered her comely youth
with a thin veil of an untimely serenity. Then came her
step-mother with her petty persecutions which despoiled her of
what gayety she had left. She made up her mind to accept her
own fate resignedly and bear the bitterness of her lot.
Latif Pasha was sinking deeper and deeper in debt, and his
wealth was dwindling fast. It was not long before he was faced
with the inevitable result, and suddenly, one day, bankruptcy
stared him in the face. His mansion with all his valuable possessions were to go under the gavel of the auctioneer. It was
only then that the scales of folly fell off his eyes, as before him
gaped the deep pit of utter poverty. That night he was making
plans to leave the house in which he was brought up in the lap
of luxury.
On the next morning, as the household were making ready
to leave, their eyes overflowing with tears, while the Pasha was
sullenly walking to and fro, stopping to heave a sigh from time
to time, there appeared on the scene the black servant of the
strange neighbor next-door. He asked for an interview with the
Pasha.
When the two were alone, the servant said:
"My master has sent me to you on a very serious errand."
"And pray, who may your master be?" growled the Pasha.
"Know you not who I am?" ventured the servant. "I am
Said, the servant of your new neighbor, Mukhtar Effendi."
"And what could that mean to me," interrupted Latif Pasha, "seeing that he had secluded himself from all men, while
in an hour or more I shall leave this house, and your master
will cease to be my neighbor? But granting that I do remain,
my soul does not incline to sorcerers of his ilk."
—"Be not so hasty, my lord, in your condemnation. For
'
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�JANUARY, 1927
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I have been sent to speak to you expressly about this house."
—"I am no longer the proprietor of this house."
—"I am well aware of this, for it is my master who bid the
highest for it, and it is now his."
—"Have you come, then, to hasten our departure from it?"
—"Nay, but he has sent me to ask you to remain in it."
At hearing this the Pasha opened his mouth and eyes wide
with surprise, scarcely believing his ears.
—"I do not understand what you mean," he finally told
the servant.
—"What I said is clear and comprehensible," he responded.
"My master desires that you remain in this house, and, besides,
wishes to give you five thousand pounds."
—"Are you mocking me?"
—"I beg of your lordship the patience to listen to the rest
of my tale. My master does not give away his money. He
asks you in compensation to give him your daughter Fatima for
wife."
At this the Pasha laughed a sardonic laugh, saying:
—"Your master must be mad to think that I will give my
daughter in marriage to an ugly old sorcerer. Poverty is much
more preferable to what you are proposing to me."
When the servant asked the Pasha to reconsider the matter, he shouted in his face: "Depart from me, you black accursed
slave!" But Said remained stationed in his place.
At this time, Nadir, the Pasha's wife, and Fatima, his daughter, who had heard the angry shouting, came to see what the
matter was. He related to them what had happened as he cooled
down a little. And much as Nadir approved of the proposition
which the black servant made, as it would have, without any effort, restored her to her former career of luxury and squandering, she did not dare to open her lips. But Fatima cut short the
silence as she spoke:
—"O father, I accept the man as my husband; do not turn
away this hand of assistance which Providence has extended us.
Willingly do I accept to offer myself a sacrifice to save my family
from this humiliating disgrace. Please do not hesitate to consent."
Nadir was not slow to add her approval, and the Pasha,
faced with the acceptance of his daughter and the approval of
his wife, gave in.
\
MHIBBBBBBMBMBfe
�'40
'THE SYRIAN WORLD
/
And thus it came about that the marriage was consummated.
Fatima entered her husband's house with a trembling heart,
preparing herself for the ordeal as the echo of what she had
heard about the house sounded in her ears, and its dark, forboding phantoms flitted before her eyes as she sat waiting in her
room for her bridegroom.
Mukhtar Effendi entered, and taking Fatima in hand, showed her the different rooms in the house. To her surprise they
were well-furnished with expensive and gorgeous furniture;
chairs and tables inlaid with mother-of-pearls, velvet and silk
sofas, and balconies shaded with jasmine trees, while the delicate
scent of musk filled the air, and sparkling chandeliers cast their
soft shadows on the walls and the floor.
At last they came to a vast room with a fountain in the
midst of it from which the water spouted and fell like strewn
pearls. As she gazed in a daze of amazement, Mukhtar Effendi
took hold of her hand, and she felt a cold shock pass through
her veins. Her husband seemed to surmise her state of mind,
for he smiled and said:
—"I pray that you will find in the new house enough to
make you forget your loneliness."
His voice was kind and gentle, and his words as sweet as
if they fell from the lips of a youth; they restored to Fatima
the warmth which she had missed, and raising her head as if
from a distant dream, she looked up again only to be reminded
by his white beard and his ugly, hooked nose that she was before
the old husband of her sad reality. Quickly she bent her head
in silence, and resumed her pensive mood.
But he continued with his strangely sweet voice and his
gratiating smile:
—"Fear not. For you have passed from your parents' house
to 6ne pervaded with gentleness and consideration; to a house
in which you shall be the sole ruler, and your will supreme.
Whatever you ask of luxury or happiness shall be yours, and
nothing will be done except with your own compliance and desire. Does this satisfy you?"
As he spoke, Fatima could not but wonder how such a sweet,
youthful voice could come from a mouth covered with such a
white, long beard, superimposed by that large, homely nose. She
looked up again, and her eyes met his eyes. Strangely enough,
they, too, brimmed over with a light of youth and vigor. As if
v
�JANUARY, 1927
W
fearing that her husband was noticing her scrutinizing glances
she bowed her head once more, as her face was suffused with a
rosy color of shame.
Midnight came, and Mukhtar Effendi kissed his wife and
went to his room.
Fatima could not sleep that night. She lay awake as she
recalled first the vision of an old man with a white beard, which
made her shrink in fright, then' the vision of a man with a white
forehead and captivating eyes which brought her cheer and relaxed her features with a flutter of joy.
It was dawn when Fatima woke to the music of singing
birds which seemed to come from every quarter of the room.
They were all singing together from their golden cages. She
arose refreshed and happy, but had no sooner rubbed the sleep
from her eyes than her husband entered the room, and approaching gently, told her that urgent business had called him out
of town. She was a little despondent to think that she was being
left alone on the very first day of her wedding. Then, enfolding her kindly in his arms, her husband kissed her, saying:
"Be not despondent, for my absence will not last more
than two months, during which time I have arranged that nothing of the means of pleasure and happiness shall be lacking you
in this1 elegant house, which, thanks to my faithful servant Said,
is what you see now. For it was he who repaired it, improved
its appearance and decked it with all kinds of ornaments, until
it has become a beautiful sight. He will be a good companion
to you, and will relate to you many a story."
For the first time Fatima felt a strange attachment to her
husband, as she replied:
—"Do you think that all this will take your place with me?"
—"Furthermore," continued the husband, "I have sent for
my nephew Shakib, who will soon be here and take over my
affairs in my absence. My home will be open to him, and you
may receive him without the formality of a veil, for he is very
dear to me. I am sure you will treat him with hospitality, and
will make him feel at home, for he is a young man of noble character and considerable refinement and education. He is a trusted physician, and I do not hesitate to leave you with him." Saying this, he kissed her and bid her farewell.
(To be continued in the February issue.)
�'"——
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
f
The Syrians in Australia
By HON. A. A. ALAM, M.L.C.
Australia, the land of untold possibilities, of unlimited opportunities and vast stretches of undeveloped land, is a veritable
paradise for the Syrians, who by nature and by experience, running back into long centuries of history, are a race of pioneers
and adventurers.
There is perhaps no country in the world today in which the
ratio of individual and collective prosperity runs so high as in
Australia. With an area of 2,974,581 square miles, a little smaller than that of the United States, and a population not quite
six millions, the estimated value of Australia's chief production
totals 346,662,000 English pounds, per annum, or approximately one billion and five hundred million American dollars. Compared with the vast wealth of the United States this is a very
small showing, but in Australia, the distribution of wealth
is more proportionate, and the average worker or family man is
comparatively more prosperous. There is no pauperism in Australia, and very few could be called poor or needy.
The Syrians in Australia have shared in this general prosperity of the country. Unlike the Syrians of the United States, they
came to a country still very far from being developed, and among
peoples who had not been long settled. They were pioneers
among pioneers, and now all alike share in the reward of their
early struggles and labor.
As a class, the Syrians are well-to-do. There are many
men of wealth among them and almost all are in the employers'
class. The majority of them go into business, as most Syrians
do, I suppose, everywhere. In Australia, they are in the control
of many department stores. Through their long credit system
and friendly trust of the thousands of farmers and cattle raisers
all over the country with whom they have come in contact every
day, these Syrian merchants have done a great service to their
country of adoption. They carried with them to Australia a
system that was long in use in their motherland. For it was a
customary thing for Syrian farmers to wait for the "crop" be\i
�JANUARY, 1927
43
fore they could pay the merchants and shop-keepers of the nearby towns for goods bought at various intervals of the year. It
was not at all difficult for the Syrians to do the same thing in
Australia and to bring with them their age-old common sense,
tact, and sympathy, which are often present in this class of society,
but not as often recognized and remembered, as the less complimentary attributes of shrewdness and business acumen.
There are many Justices of the Peace and Magistrates among
the Syrians in Australia.
While most of the Syrians have taken to business, there
are many among them who are farmers and producers. There
are also quite a few manufacturers and wholesale merchants.
But far more important than the material success of the
Syrians in Australia is their social and intellectual one, which, I
am happy to say, is comparatively high. The older generation
of Syrians who have never had the chance to go to schools, see
to it that their children have a good education. Sometimes the
parents go to the extent of denying themselves a life of ease and
affluence to be able to send their children to some boarding schooi
or college. Now many of the second generation of Syrians, and
even some of those who came from Syria, are making good in
various professions.
Not long ago the Australian newspapers featured the brilliant case of a Syrian Australian, Fred Callil, who was acclaimed
a prodigy. For at the age of seventeen, he took his B. A. degree
and two years later his M. A. from the University of Melbourne.
At the age of twenty-four he was appointed professor of ancient
history and languages. He won more scholarships, called in Australia bursaries, than any other student of Australia. He is also
the youngest professor in Australia. The father of this young
Syrian prodigy is Khalil Fakhr, a wholesale merchant, originally
of Bsharie, Lebanon.
Dr. Frank Gaha, son of Ibrahim Gaha of Zahle, is another
example of the highly educated Syrian of the second generation.
Up to thirteen, Frank received no education whatsoever, but so
outstanding was his natural intelligence that when his father, a
successful grazier, sent him to St. Joseph's College, in Hunter's
Hill, Sydney, he graduated at the top of his class in nineteen
months. He took his degree at the Sydney University, went to
Europe and returned with more degrees than any other doctor
in Australia.
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Still another case is that of Rashid Arida of Charters Towers, Queensland, who migrated to Australia at the age of thirteen. At fifteen he was an employer of labour. Just prior to
the War, he was offered a seat in the Upper House or Legislative Council of Queensland. He refused for business reasons,
but accepted the Queensland Government's offer as government
representative on the Townsville Harbour board. Mr. Arida
has a masterly command of English and is recognized as an eloquent and forcible orator, being most prominent in the public
life of Queensland.
It is misleading to single out prominent cases like these. The
first two are typical of the brilliant intellectual development of Syrians in Australia. Within the next decade the Syrians will have a big proportion of University graduates. I made
it my custom to ask about Syrian students in the different schools
of the land which I used to visit in my travels. Invariably the
answer has been either that the Syrian students are at the top
or very near it.
These future citizens of Australia have attained as high a
standard of living and personal conduct as any prevailing in Australia. In education, culture, music, painting, conversation, etiquette and dress, the Syrian children would not suffer from comparison with the children of any group. They speak English
excellently and without accent.
Syrians, on the whole, assimilate with the English race more
easily and naturally than some other races do. They avoid "colonization" as much as possible and whenever they have a chance.
Some of the most fashionable and luxurient homes in the exclusive residential section of Sydney belong to Syrians.
I must not conclude my article without saying a word about
THE SYRIAN WORLD, and what it means to the generation of young Syrians, not only in the United States or in Australia, but wherever the English language is spoken or read, It is
only a matter of time when Syrian papers in these countries
which are printed in Arabic will pass away. THE SYRIAN WORLD
has come to supply a long-felt need in the nick of time. It has
come to stay and I will not be exaggerating when I say that
it has a most brilliant future before it. I will not be surprised if
the results, in the non-distant-future, will stagger the imagination of its originators.
Nor is there any doubt in my mind that it is a needed and
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JANUARY, 1927.
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useful project. It will make of our sons and daughters better
citizens of their adopted countries, if they come to know something about the history, culture and achievements of their ancestors. Syria has always been a small nation, often under subjugation by more powerful neighbors or invadors, but despite
that, or perhaps because of that, it has meant spiritually a great
deal to the rest of the world. Better still it served the cause of
civilization by preserving the culture of the ancients and transmitting it first to the Arabs, and then to the people of Europe.
In my defense of the Syrian race against the Asiatic Exclusion Act of Australia, I stressed this point at every opportunity
I had. I was surprised to find out how little people knew about
Syria and the Syrians, although they must have studied about the
Holy Land in their Sunday Schools more than they have about
their own. But seldom do people remember that the Holy Land
is a part of Syria, and that its people belonged originally to the
same race that produced Christ and the prophets of the Old Testament.
Ignorance is the principal cause of misunderstanding among
races and nations, and any agency that seeks to throw light on a
people and its culture, and make them known to each other, is
welcome. THE ,SYRIAN WORLD, I repeat, is fulfilling a long-felt
need. It is a boon to the Syrians in the English-speaking countries.
TO ADVERSITY
Translated from the Arabic by J. D. CARLYLE.
Hail, chastening friend Adversity! 'Tis thine
The mental ore to temper and refine,
To cast in virtue's mould the yielding heart,
And honor's polish to the mind impart.
Without thy awakening touch, thy plastic aid,
I'cJ. lain the shapeless mass that nature made;
But formed, great artist, by thy magic hand,
I gleam a sword to conquer and command.
Abou Menbaa Car a wash.
�&HE SYRIAN WORLD
46
\
Please, Santa!
Bring me:
A wee doll, symbol of the child I want ever young
in my mother-heart and in my arms.
A -pop-gun with which to protect my illusions.
A bow and arrow with which I may reach the
furthest points of knowledge and wisdom.
A sled to descend swiftly the steep hills of human
arrogance and worldly ambition.
A choo-choo car in which I could give a comrade
a lift across the torrid sands of human endeavors.
A bugle on which I may learn to ,put rythm into
my song of triumph and melody into my sigh
of defeat.
MARIE EL-KHOURIE.
^sasBSjtrassKJ.
ammmmmmm
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�JANUARY, 1927
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EDITOR'S COMMENT
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA?
Even a cursory gleaning of the Arabic press of the East
these days would disclose the existence of a titanic struggle taking place between the old and the new; the fundamentalists and
the reformers; the orthodox and the liberals. It is a painful
travail into which the East has been suddenly thrust as a result
of the World War and the letting down of the bars in the face
of Western influences. Undoubtedly, a predisposition to such a
condition existed long before the war and was brought about by
the gradual infiltration of foreign influences, principally through
Western educational institutions; but the bursting into bloom of
the seeds so long and so carefully nursed came about only within
the last decade. What radical change the near future will bring
is beyond the range of reasonable reckoning. We can only witness the kaleidoscopic procession as it passes by and wait for what
the morrow may bring.
Of what has already occurred, however, one can pose for
a moment and make an effort at an analysis. One will readily
find that conditions have by no means entered the stage of stabilization. Chaos still seems to pervade every field of thought and
every line of activity. The actors in this vast drama are all in
great turmoil, and when they settle down to their parts no one
knows what the presentation will be.
And even of what has already occurred one cannot make a
thorough reckoning. The East — and only the Near East is
here implied — is so vast, its problems so complex, its nationalities so numerous, and the changes taking place in it so general
in their nature, that of necessity our remarks must be confined
to that section of it whose destinies and conditions interest us
most; namely, Syria and Lebanon.
In these two small countries whose combined population
does not exceed half that of the city of New York, there
seems to be raging a veritable storm of fury against old traditions. Of course not all the new divergences and innovations
are, to become accepted institutions, but undoubtedly some traces
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
of them will remain when a stable standard of procedure is born
out of the present chaos.
For now in Syria we can witness growing side by side, the
sublime and the ridiculous} the genuine reform growing out of
real conviction and the silly fad born of no other impulse than
that of mere imitation. The spirit of emulation is espcially
strong in Syria which, by reason of its proximity to Europe, is
prone more readily to fall under its influence, but it seems that
the good is taken together with the bad without the process of
sifting and sorting to determine the desirability of the commodity, and the result is not always wholesome.
Where these changes are most noticeable is in the religious
and social spheres. While previously Moslem women never
appeared in public unveiled, and respectable women of all religious creeds adhered to the strictest conventions, we now find
them patronizing freely games of chance of mixed attendance
and even maintaining such places of their own. Parisian styles
reach Beirut and Damascus even as quickly as they reach New
York, and social functions characterized by orgies of extravagance
are being indulged in by people of only slender incomes. The
jallah is satisfied with nothing short of the comforts of the prince.
Consequently, the whole social order is being demoralized and
emigration is causing severe depletion in the ranks of the population.
It is a veritable orgy of extravagance by the people, superimposed by a similar orgy of empty pomp and pretense by the
government, and the end does not seem to be in sight, nor the
result clear.
In the religious domain a similar, but somewhat more promising condition, seems to obtain. Heads of all religious denominations are struggling as desperately as ever to buttress their
prestige, but a separate, detached, civic consciousness appears to
be taking form. It is to be expected that in the process of transformation some eccentricities and wild vagaries should occur, but
time will temper the heat of the over-zealous. Such an instance
is where recently a Maronite poet named his son Mohammed
Maroun, a combination previously unheard of, and which was
heartily commended by som« and as heartily condemned by others. But this may stand out in history as a solitary, isolated instance. Similar exuberant manifestations of tolerance occurred
on the occasion of the declaration of the Constitution of the Turk-
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IBN SAOUD, KING OK NEJD AND THE HEJAZ
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The leader of the militant order of Wahhabites, known as Al-lkhwan, or
Brothers.
Courtesv The New Orient.
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ish Er
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A PHASE OF LIFE THAT IS FAST PASSING AWAY IN THE EAST
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A scene in a residential street in J erusalem, showing Moslem women
going about fully veiled.
\
�JANUARY','1927.
/s
i
*
ish Empire in 1908, when Imam and Priest embraced publicly
in expression of a new era of tolerance, but the thing proved futile
because the masses were not ready to accept the change and the
leaders lacked sincerity.
,
But what is bound to prove of genuine value and lasting eifect is the spirit of conciliation lately displayed by the leaders of
the formerly antagonistic foreign educational and missionary activities, as well as by the clergy of the country themselves. Instances of such rapprochement have been of frequent occurrence
of late, and they indeed may be taken as unmistakable signs ot a
new era that augurs well for the country.
Such instances may well be considered landmarks on the road
of religious tolerance in Syria. The movement no sooner started
gained%idly in momentum. Now it is the Maronite
Bishop of Beirut attending a function in the American University,
or the president of the American University taking part in the
commencement exercises of the Maronite CoUege de h. Sagesse
\ \\ Only recently THE SYRIAN WORLD pub ished a contrition by
I Dr Bavard Dodge on "Educational Facilities in Syria" in which
Tesuit and other educational institutions. Then Dr. Dodge iollows by an eulogistic article published in Al-Kulliyah the organ
of^American*University, on the life and work of St. Francis
< of Assisi Al-Bashir, Arabic organ of the Jesuits, returns the
cLoliment by lauding the work of the American University,
andquXg from the Weekly Bulletin, organ of the Protestant
Missions. And many instances of like nature.
This is truly a manifestation of a new spirit diametrically
opposed to what had been prevailing up to only a short time.
It is an eloquent admission by foreign educational missionary
leaders that the country is in no need of stressing religious divisions and that the best service the country could expect at their
hS* their blazing before it the path of religious tolerance
andTheir preaching the Gospel of love and good-will put to prac-
i
j
*"* This indeed, is what would be considered for Syria the
dawn of a new era, an era that would bring with it a change of
heart and not be confined to a mere change of name.
i
>
�JANU
A PHASE OF LIFE THAT IS FAST PASSING AWAY IN THE EAST
dawi
hear
A scene in a residential street in J erusalem, showing Moslem women
going about fully veiled.
II
�rpirrviT'T limanlMIII II..IWIIInll!>lli»ll
JANUARY, '1927,
Mm"
»" I l I'1" """TT^l
"
'*9-
ish Empire in 1908, when Imam and Priest embraced publicly
in expression of a new era of tolerance, but the thing proved futile
because the masses were not ready to accept the change and the
leaders lacked sincerity.
,
<
But what is bound to prove of genuine value and lasting effect is the spirit of conciliation lately displayed by the leaders of
the formerly antagonistic foreign educational and missionary activities, as well as by the clergy of the country themselves. Instances of such rapprochement have been of frequent occurrence
of late, and they indeed may be taken as unmistakable signs ot a
new era that augurs well for the country.
Such instances may well be considered landmarks on the road
of religious tolerance in Syria. The movement no sooner started
gained rapidly in momentum. Now it is the Maronite
Bishop of Beirut attending a function in the American University,
or the president of the American University taking part in the
commencement exercises of the Maronite College de la Sagesse.
\
Only recently THE SYRIAN WORLD published a contribution by
I
Dr Bayard Dodge on "Educational Facilities in Syria" in which
he mentioned appreciating^ the work done by the Maronite,
Tesuit, and other educational institutions. Then Dr. Dodge tollows by an eulogistic article published in Al-Kulhyah the organ
\ of the American University, on the life and work of St. Franas
> of Assisi. Al-Bashir, Arabic organ of the Jesuits, returns the
:
compliment by lauding the work of the American University
and quoting from the Weekly Bulletin, organ of the Protestant
Missions. And many instances of like nature.
This is truly a manifestation of a new spirit diametrically
opposed to what had been prevailing up to only a short time.
It is an eloquent admission by foreign educational missionary
leaders that the country is in no need of stressing religious divisions and that the best service the country could expect at their
hands is their blazing before it the path of religious tolerance
and their preaching the Gospel of love and good-will put to practice.
This indeed, is what would be considered for Syria the
dawn of a new era, an era that would bring with it a change ot
heart and not be confined to a mere change of name.
�-
50
FHE SYRIAN WORLD
With Our Contributors
AMEEN RIHANI, author, delighted an admiring world.
poet, traveler, statesman, is one Among Rihani's works in Engof the products of early Syrian lish are the Book of Khalid, a
immigration to America of volume $parkling with literary
whom all Syrians, whether in jewels j the Quatrains of Abultheir native land or abroad, may *Ala, rivaling Fitzgerald's Ruwell be proud. His mastery of baiyat of Omar Khayyam j a
English is the envy of many an Song of Mystics and Other
aspiring writer, and in Arabic Poems j and the Descent of
Of his many
he has introduced a style of Bolshevism.
Arabic
works,
his "Kings of
writing with which he is identified wherever Arabic is spoken Arabia", based on personal
at the four points of the com- study and observation during
pass. In one of his articles his extensive travels in the
recently published in ASIA, he Arabian Peninsula stands prerefers to his having been given eminent. He is . a personal
the title of Ustaz, or professor, friend of Sultan Ibn Saoud,
and calls the appellation a ques- who has played the most protionable one. But not even his minent role in Arabia's, contemmost unfriendly critics would porary history, and it was the
agree with him on this point. ambition of Mr. Rihani to bring
Well merited, also, is the other about a confederacy of Arab
title conferred upon him by chieftains which would revive
competent authorities and uni- Arabia's glory of old. It was
versally subscribed to as the while on this ambitious mission
"Philosopher of Freike". By that the lure of travel took him
way of explanation we should to India and he there wrote the
mention that Freike is the little "Notes" which he contributes
town in Lebanon where he was to THE SYRIAN WORLD and are
born and which he now makes now published for the first
his home. It has now become time. It is indeed a privilege
the mecca of the intelligentia to accompany our gifted author
of the Arabic-speaking world, on his unique travels and enjoy
and its enchanting wadi, the advantage of observing life
through which courses the his- in the East with his singular
toric Dog River, is the scene of insight and consummate taste.
many of Rihani's literary crea- It is also a pleasure to record
tions which have thrilled and his heartily expressed approval
i,
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..
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- :.•
-
�tflHMHEMlm
I
ft
JANUARY, 1927
of THE SYRIAN WORLD and his
promise to contribute to it liberally in the future.
il
I
I
MARIE EL-KHOURIE is
accustomed to giving and not
to asking. However, on the
single occasoin she chooses to
ask, she also chooses as a medium for her request the pages of
THE SYRIAN WORLD. And to
think; of the many nice things
she wants Santa Claus to bring
her! We are inclined to believe that hadn't she possessed
all these gifts she wouldn't have
been able to conceive of them.
Consequently, if dear Santa
should answer her plea and
bring her an over-supply, we
would ask her to "please pass
some around." Mrs. El-Khourie is ripe in experience and
knowledge and can share a good
deal With her countrymen, and
now that the pages of THE
SYRIAN WORLD are available as
a means of public expression
and exchange pf thought, we
are hopeful our native talent
will want to express itself
through them. Of jewels, Mrs.
El-Khourie is a connoisseur.
She not only deals in them, but
enjoys the distinction of producing artistic creations in them.
She also has the gift of creating
literary jewels, and it is in
these we ask her to play the
role of Santa Claus to our readers.
m
Rev. K. A, BISHARA is no
mincer of words and it may
well be seen that he is sure of
his grounds. Being the author
of a bi-lingual book in English
and Arabic on the "Origin of
the Modern Syrian", he has
gone fully into the history of
the Syrian race and can reinforce every one of his statements with historical facts. Rev.
Bishara is one of the highest
types of the products of the
missionary schools in Syria,
being ?. recognized scholar in
both English and Arabic. His
oratory is dynamic and we have
had occasion in a previous issue
of THE SYRIAN WORLD to make
reference to the telling effect his
eloquence created in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church held in Baltimore
May 25-June 2. He is a constructive moral force in the
community not only as the
minister of the Syrian Protestant Church in Brooklyn, but
also through his many contributions of an educational and inspirational character to the
Arabic papers, chiefly Al-Hoda
of New York.
Dr. H. A. ELKOURIE is
a prominent example of the ambitious Syrian who by dint of
constant hard work reaches the
heights of his ambition. Soon
after having landed in America
he was seized with the desire of
�52
studying medicine, and forthwith he applied himself to his
self-imposed task until he graduated with high honors in the
face of, many handicaps. Now
he isi one of the prominent surgeons of Birmingham, Ala.;
and notwithstanding his large
practice he finds time to serve
his countrymen in many ways.
At one time he toured the country in the interest of promoting
the establishment of a SyrianAmerican College, and through
his interest in politics he was on
several occasions asked to run
for a number of high elective
offices, including that of a Representative in Congress. He is
considered one of the most gifted orators of the South, and in
the thick of political campaigns
is looked upon as a mainstay of
his party. For his first contribution to THE SYRIAN WORLD
he has chosen to give some valuable advice to his countrymen
in America within his professional capacity, but we hope
that in future contributions he
will have them share in the
benefits of his knowledge in
many other lines in which he is
equally as capable.
A. A. ALAM is a member of
the Legislative Council of New
South Wales, a state of Australia. He is Australian by birth
but Syrian by descent. While
still in the early thirties, he has
%HE SYRIAN WORLD
been able to rise to membership
in a council which comprises
some jof the best intellects of
the commonwealth, and this despite the fact that he is of foreign descent and in a country
where prejudice against Asiatics
rose to the white-point heat of
passion. Rather, it was largely
due to his courageous stand on
this issue that the Australian
electors returned him to the upper house of the State by an
overwhelming majority in recognition of his ability and fearlessness. During the heated
campaign of 1920, when the
main issue was the revision of
the Asiatics' Exclusion Act, it
was the purpose to include the
Syrians under the general classification of Asiatics as not belonging to the white race. Mr.
Alam championed ithe cause of
his kinsmen and waged such a
splendid fight that not only was
he elected but caused the
amendment of the Act in favor
of the Syrians. For this signal
service he is deserving the gratitude of his countrymen, not
alone for having championed
their cause so courageously as
for having set a standard for
service to race and devotion to
ideal that challenges surpassing
among Syrian immigrants. We
feel happy in our ability to say
this much, and by no means is
this all, about our Mr. Alam,
because through modesty he
;
\
�"c
55
JANUARY, '1927,
omitted reference to himself in
his contribution appearing in
this issue of THE SYRIAN
WORLD about the Syrians in
Australia. And particularly are
we happy to have an authority
such as Mr. Alam give our
readers the lucid and informative account of their fellowcountrymen in Australia contained in his contribution.
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of tine public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
THE MISSION OF
"THE SYRIAN WORLD"
Syria, which has been unfortunate
in her geographic position which
made her a corridor for conquerors
and a battlefield for their armies,
has also been unfortunate in the publicity given her in most books, magazines and newspapers. Even some
of her own sons have abused and
contained her; and some of the missionaries who go there to trade with
their religion, also degrade Syria
and ridicule her, all for the sake of
money.
In many books there are unwarranted attacks on the Lebanese and
Syrians, and these books are written
by missionaries, who know well how
to collect money, as they know how
to tear down the aspirations of the
people, at one and the same time.
Their pupils are dispersed in dif-
ferent countries with strange garbs
and stranger ideas which have no
rhyme nor reason.
And in many of the American
papers and magazines we come
across articles belittling the Syrians
and Lebanese, who never had a publication to defend them against unjust attacks until "The Syrian
World" appeared.
It seems that might has authority
even on facts, and the weak has no
other recourse but to reason and
argument, in the hope that by this
means he may win supporters to his
sidei in this land of freedom, equality and opportunity.
(Al-Hoda, N.Y., Dec. 2, 1926.)
WHO ARE WE?
Is this an impertinent question?
We know no answer to it, otherwise
we would not have asked it.
Who are we in our homeland, and
�.
. Ill
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54
who are we abroad?
The Lebanese is called in the land
of his immigration a Syrian. Is he
then a Syrian? If so what is tihe
sense of mentioning Lebanon? And
why do they not destroy the Bible
which distinctly declares the independence of Lebanon as well as its
beauty?
But even in Lebanon itself the
Lebanese is called Syrian, whereas
Lebanon is a high-sounding and
elaborate republic with many offices,
albeit few pupils and few soldiers—
it is, in other words, a republic by
name, and a remnant of feudalism
in fact.
We may not even send a letter
addressed to Lebanon, because Lebanon is not known by name, thanks
to those of its agents who squander
its wealth, secured by heavy taxation. Nor does any government recognize Lebanon, unless the Lebanon
press abroad agitate for this. As
for the Lebanon press in the capital
of Lebanon, Beirut, we know well
the reason for their silence. Similarly do we know the reason for
the silence of the Representative
Council and the Ministry!
Who, then, are we?
We are not Syrians, and we are
not Lebanese. Yet we seem to be
everything, and when one is everything he is nothing.
They speak of freedom and their
acts proceed from despotism.
As long as the majority (in Lebanon) is Christian there is no danger from it. The Mohammedan
majority around Lebanon, recognizing this, sought to crush the spirit
by oppressing the body, and for that
purpose asked Lebanon to forego the
privileges which it enjoyed centuries
before the coming of the French
mandate,
i
l nil V 'ii
.
'
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li'ii ' "i
T'f"-~i
THE SYRIAN WORLD
As if France comes to us with
religious fanaticism hidden in its
pocket, while in truth it is farther
removed from it than any other
power on earth. Appearances, however, sometimes deceive.
(Al-Hoda, N.Y.. Dec. 4, 1926.)
PRACTICAL PATRIOTISM
Those eloquent pens, gliding over
paper as a train glides through »
plain, now call the Syrian emigrants
back to their mother-country.
Well may they call. For in our
hearts still burns that fire of patriotism, and in our breasts still
lingers that yearning for that enchanting blue sky, for those undulating green plains, for that Land
of Promise, the land in which the
first man made his appearance — the
land of the vine, the figtree, the
olive and the pine.
But, Oh free pens in the land of
slavery, are you not aware that in
our assimilation with a powerful nation we benefit for ourselves far
more than we can possibly do from
that weak country; and that in our
rallying under a foreign, powerful
flag, we may be able to live in peace
and tranquillity? The American flag,
however, is not a foreign flag, but
the flag of foreigners, united all in
the community of Americanism. For
tihe millions who are sheltered beneath this flag are all foreigners.
The only native Americans are the
Indians, and these no more own the
country; it is a community of foreigners mixed together as wine is
mixed with water, resulting in a
nation which treats all its children
alike, the native-born and the naturalized. The American flag does not
distinguish between the poor and the
rich, the employer and the employe;
* %
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'55
JANUARY, 1927
between the noble and the common;
it is the flag: of equality. Long: may
it wave over our heads. It was the
flag: for which our brave sons fought
in the World War, the proud flag;
that ever returned victorious from
the battlefield.
(Mirat-ul-Gharb, N.Y., Dec. 6,1926.)
REVERSAL OF OPINION
Captain Carbillet, the former
governor of Jebel-ad Druze, wanted
to play in that country the role
which Lord Cromer played in the
Valley of the Nile. He wanted to
improve the conditions of the peasants, who are the large majority
of the population, and to free them
/
from the oppression of their leaders. But Sultan Pasha al-Atrash
and his followers revolted against
him, and thus started the Druze revolution.
Yes, we did before blame Captain
Carbillet and General Sarrail who
refused to recall him; we did believe
that that was the immediate cause
of the revolution. But now we have
changed our opinion; we believe,
now, that what Carbillet intended to
accomplish in Jebel-ad-Druze was
democratic and just, but it did not
suit the members of the Atrash family who perceived in it a danger
to their ancient prestige and feudal
authority.
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., Nov. 17, 1926.)
Readers' Forum
APPRECIATION OF HERITAGE
Editor, SyrianWorld:
As a second-generation Syrian, allow me to extend a personal message
to my fellow Syrians of the second
generation. It is a message of the
realization that has come into and
altered the course of my life. Important, not because of its consequence to me personally, nor for the
reason that I consider myself exemplary, but because I consider myself an average American-born Syrian, thoroughly Americanized, but,
withal, of Syrian blood.
What is this vast, important thing
that has imbued my spirit with fervent ardor and cool satisfaction, imbedding itself in the very structure
\
of my being? It is the realization
of my noble heritage, "a binding tie
of blood".
For this I give thanks to "The
Syrian World" which has presented
the facts and traditions of my ancestors and yours in a different light
than that in which I had hitherto
been accustomed to look at.
Now, owing to this realization, I
can look any man straight in the
eye and say, "Yes, I am a Syrian,
and mighty proud of it." By this I
do not mean in any sense that we
should detract one iota from the affection, esteem and allegiance that
we owe this glorious land of opportunity and liberty.
Anton Michael Jabaly.
Daytona, Fla,
�UlHE SYRIAN WORLD
56
About Syria and Syrians
SYRIANS IN BRAZIL
HONOR NEW PRESIDENT
Representing the Syrian community in Brazil, a committee of thirteen Syrian merchants in Sao Paolo
decided to present to the new President, Dr. Washington Luis, a memento of their devotion to the country of their adoption, and of their
admiration to the personality of the
new president.
The committee finally agreed upon a golden tray in the four corners
of which are reproduced in precious
stones four Brazilian flags, while in
the center is a map of Brazil in
diamond chips. A message embodying the loyalty of the Syrians to the
ideals of the Brazilian Republic
founded on the "brotherhood" of its
component elements, without regard
to race or color, is engraved on the
tray.
RECOGNIZING THE ABILITY
OF MISS ATTIYEH
In the December issue of the Lyceum Magazine of Chicago our Miss
Sumayeh Attiyeh is featured in the
most complimentary manner, two
beautiful photographs of her being
published on the cover together with
testimonials on her ability from such
eminent Americans as Ex-President
Theodore Roosevelt, Judge K. M.
Landis, Judge Henry Neil and others. Syud Hussein of the New
Orient also contributes his appreciation, and Edward Owings Towne,
President of the Four Arts Club of
America, expresses his admiration
in a poem from which we quote the
following:
In a far off city both famous and old,
Beneath stars of Eastern skies,
A child was born of a face so fair,
She was called, "Little Paradise".
The fairest flower of a noble race,
That was old when the world was
young,
From a line of Princes of Araby
This dark eyed maiden sprung.
Sumayeh Attiyeh, bright star of the
East,
We honor the hour of your birth,
Your tongue is of silver, your heart
is of gold,
No praise can equal your worth.
ACTIVE MISSIONARY
AND PROLIFIC WRITER
One of, the most active priests we
know of is Rev. Anthony Bashir,
archimandrite, and general missionary to the unchurched Syrian communities in this country of the
Greek Orthodox faith.
The Danbury Evening News, of
Danbury, Conn., devoted recently
quite a lengthy article to our friend
and countryman Rev. Bashir, in
which it cited some of his activities
for his church and his prolific contribution to the Arabic press and
literature.
Rev. Bashir has translated several books to the Arabic language,
including Papini's "Life of Christ".
Wagner's "The Simple Life", and
"Why I am a Christian", by Frank
Crane. He has also translated more
than 130 articles of Frank Crane,
appearing in various Arabic papers
here and abroad. He is an admirer
of Eahlil Gibran, the Syrian poet,
and has translated his "Prophet",
'.
�57
JANUARY, 1927
and is now busy on translating "Sand
and Foam", the latest work of Gibran.
In his extensive travels Rev. Bashir has been a valuable friend and
asset to "The Syrian World", whose
cause he has espoused enthusiastically ever since its appearance.
LEBANESE EMIGRANTS*
REGISTRATION
DISAPPOINTING
A report to the Senate of the Lebanese Republic on the registration
of Lebanese nationals abroad showed the prevalence of extreme apathy
to conform with the nationality
clause of the Lauzanne treaty. The
Government spokesman in the Senate enumerated the different steps
taken by the President of the Republic to facilitate the work of registration, principal among which
was his issuing of a personal appeal
to Lebanese emigrants; the appointment of Lebanese representatives at
the principal French consulates
abroad; and the extension of the
legal time for registration. All efforts, however, proved disappointing
considering the meagerness of the
returns.
According to official figures, Lebanese emigrants all over the world
total 158,240, of whom only 2,281
registered at French consulates in
compliance with the treaty of Lauzanne, or at the rate of 1 to 72. Complete registration returns up to Oct.
12 as given out officially by the Lebanese Senate are as follows:
Country
I
France
England
Italy
Spain-
Roumania
Greece
Germany
Belgium
Turkey
Cyprus
Egypt
Aden
Abyssinia
Transvaal
Nigeria
Bathurst
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Uruguay
Guatemala
Natal
French Guiena
Morocco
Mozambique
United States
Bolivia
Brazil
Argentine
Mexico
Haiti
Columbia
Chili
Ecuador
Holland
Portuguese Africa
Guadaloupe
4
1
1
2
1
2
118
1
14
33
53
7
21
7
7
13
5
131
31
6
29
36
757
127
329
14
12
7
315
1
6
1
SYRIAN BOY SCOUT CHAPTER
Miss Rose Knieser, of Olean, N.
Y., sends a clipping of a local newspaper! in which it is announced that
a new Boy Scout chapter composed
wholly of Syrians was organized by
St. Joseph's Church in that city.
Approximately 100, including parents of the boys, were present at
Number of the ceremony. The call to the color
Registrants was played by the Scout bugler,
&) with Miss Madeline Simon as ac23
companist on the piano.
40
Elias Eade, chairman of the troop
committee,
addressed the audience in
39
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
Arabic, repeating his remarks in
English. Then Scout John Knieser,
a member of the troop, appeared on
the platform, and using a signal flag,
wigwaged to F. B. Monson, Scout
executive, who presented the official
charter to the troop committee on
behalf of tfhe national committee.
Then Mr. Eade presented the official certificates to Scoutmaster Sol
Harris, and to the assistant Scoutmasters Joseph Knieser, Phillip Farris and Halum Mansour.
The Rev. N. A. Chemaley, pastor
of St. Joseph's Church, gave the invocation.
Political Developments in Syria
Mr. Ponsot, the French High Commissioner in Syria, should now be
on his way to Paris to submit his
report on conditions to the Cabinet.
During all the time he spent in
Syria he gave out no public statements of policy, confining himself
to the utterance of non-committal
platitudes. According to previous
reports, Mr. Ponsot will spend a
fortnight in Paris formulating with
the Cabinet what will be France's
definite and decisive policy in Syria.
The trend of opinion seems to favor
the granting by France to Syria of
a wider latitude of self-government,
and an agreement upon a treaty similar to that of Great Britain and
Iraq.
What may prove the hardest problem to solve is the reconciling of
the serious differences between the
State of Syria and the Republic of
Mt, Lebanon arising from the delimitation of the frontiers. The Syrians are insistant upon regaining
Beirut, the plain of Beka' and other
territories ceded to the Lebanese under the 1920 adjustment. The Lebanon Republic is beset with many
more grave problems resulting from
her limited resources and apparently
unlimited expenditures. There is a
veritable storm of protest being
raised against increased taxation.
The government has decreed the return to the gold basis and planned
its budget for 1927 accordingly, but
the population complains that the
high level of prices obtains in the
commodity markets as before the
going into force of the gold standard. In short, dissatisfaction is
rampant in all parts of Syria with
everything and everybody.
Dissension in the Ministry of Damad Ahmed Nami Bey, President of
the State of Syria, resulted in its
dissolution and the formation of a
new Ministry which was approved
by the High Commissioner. The principal reason for the disaffection was
the positive stand taken by some
ministers of the Nationalist Party
against the policy of the President
who favors a conciliatory attitude
towards France. The past month
witnessed a renewal of the agitation for the establishment of a monarchy in Syria, but most petitions
received by the High Commissioner
in his tour of the country to ascertain the popular feeling favored a
democratic form of reprensentive
government and stressed the necessity of a united Syria and the granting of almost all the demands of the
revolutionists.
The people of Rashaya, whose
town was pillaged and destroyed dux-
||
�JANUARY, 1927
ing the campaign of 1925 when the
Druzes invaded the territory of
Greater Lebanon, have petitioned the
authorities to grant them land nearer the original Lebanon boundary
where they could settle with a greater feeling of security. They reiterate
their threat that unless adequate redress and proper safeguards are given them there would be left to them
no other recourse than to migrate
and bring their grievance to the attention of the League of Nations.
Sir Henry Dobs, English High Commissioner for Palestine, stopped at
Beirut on his way back to Jerusalem
from Geneva. A banquet and ball
were given in his honor by the
French High Commissioner. He traveled by aeroplane.
Military operations seem to have
taken a secondary role. According
to French reports, the revolt in the
Druze Mountain has been quelled
and a civil government formed supported by a volunteer native army
of about 650 men. Positions in the
new government have been filled
mostly with members of the Atrash
clan who either remained loyal to
the French or later surrendered to
them. Not so, however, is the claim
of the revolutionists who insist that
their forces are being swelled by
new recruits now that the harvesting period is over. Sultan Pasha
Atrash is still holding out in Laja
from which fastness he makes numerous sallies against the French
and uniformly meets with success,
according to reports emanating from
the revolutionary information bureau
in Egypt.
What is of especial significance
is the focusing of the Syrian revolutionists' interest on the United
States for enlisting political support
and procuring financial assistance.
A general convention of the New
Syria party, representing the Syr-
59
ian revolutionistic movement in
America, has been called to meet in
Detroit, Mich., during the month of
January, and prominent nationalist
leaders have been invited to attend
from abroad. Among those whose
acceptance has been announced are
Emir Shekib Arslan, Ihsan Bey Jabery, Nasim Bey Sabaiha, and Toufik Yazegi. The Syrian press had
previously published rumors that Dr.
Abdul-Rahman Shahbandar had left
the theatre of war for Europe on his
way to America, but later report*
proved the early rumors unfounded.
What active part Mr. Charles
Crane of Chicago is taking in the
Syrian revolution cannot be definitely stated. The latest reports on his
movements declare him to be in
Egypt preparing for an extensive
trip in Arabia and the East in the
interest of promoting Arab unity.
There had also been reports that he
was active in mediating between
France and the Syrian revolutionists.
Some of the native Christian papers
openly accuse Mr. Crane of aiding
and abetting the revolution.
Badie Zabian, Secretary of the
Syrian Wounded Relief Committee
of Detroit, addressed an appeal to
the National Red Cross Headquarters at Washington for assistance,
but was refused on the grounds
stated in the following paragraph
in the reply of Ernest J. Swift, Director of Insular and Foreign Operations of the American Red Cross:
"We have given your request most
sympathetic consideration, for the
situation which you call to our attention is one which we have reviewed on several occasions. Unfortunately, however, this condition
of continuing poverty is of such a
nature that it does not come within
the scope of the work which the
American Red Cross is now carrying
on in foreign countries"
�I
'-.
N., P. & J. TRABULSI
MANUFACTURERS OF
Ladies' PRINTED & Fancy
SCARFS
t
MEN'S
&
BOYS'
SWEATERS
MEN'S MUFFLERS
HOLIDAY NOVELTIES
FOR THE JOBBING TRADE ONLY
599 SROADWAY.
-NEW YORK
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
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English
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
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Identifier
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TSW1927_01reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 07
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 January
Description
An account of the resource
Vol . 1 Issue 07 of The Syrian World published January 1927. The issue opens with a travel journal entry by Ameen Rihani. This is followed by an article by the editor that discusses Christianity in the near east (Syria), and a treaty that was signed on December 6, 1926 between the Vatican and France. The story "Fatima" is also included (part I). This issue also contains articles that discuss the lives of Syrian immigrants in the United States and Australia. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and information about political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
France
New York
Religion
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/4298725e262bb73163ae7c8ad2848218.pdf
fc725b451198aaacdd456d39b3993ae8
PDF Text
Text
�THE
X
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y„ under the act of March 3, 1879.
FEBRUARY, 1927
VOL. I. No. 8.
Contents
PAGE
The Rediscovery of an Ancient Empire — The Hittites
By PH. K. HITTI, PH. D.
3
From My Note-Book of Travel — 77
By AMEEN RIHANI
10
Punishment to Fit the Crime
13
The Story of a Story
14
By H. I.
KATIBAH
Passion
20
Syria For The Syrians
21
By
DR.
M.
SHADID
The Hunter's Pity
Echoes of The Syrian Revolution in America
Syrian Proverbs
Fatima — 77
By HASSAN SUB HI
24
25
29
30
�'
"" "',1111
'
'
""
1
'-
CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Social Reform by Force
Gratitude
Famous Arab Lovers — VIII — Ibn Zuraik
Revenge Among Poets
Enemies as Benefactors
Love Woke One Morning (a poem)
By BARBARA YOUNG
35
36
37
41
42
43
Arab Sayings
The Justice of Omar
The Spirit of Antar (a poem)
By DR. N. A.
43
44
45
KATIBAH
Results
45
Editor's Comment ("Syria for the Syrians"
46
Spirit of The Syrian Press
49
Readers' Forum
52
Political Developments in Syria
55
About Syria and Syrians
57
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Druze Prisoners of War
A Scene of Peace in Syria
A Scene of War in Syria
Druze Revolutionary Headquarters
A Scene of Contrasts
Patriotism Above Religion
A Gate of Old Jebail
Organizing for Peace
�THE
*
i
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. L No. 8.
FEBRUARY, 1927
The Rediscovery of an Ancient
Empire — The Hittites
By PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
"An archaeological expedition along the Euphrates and Tigris to Bagdad, to excavate ancient city mounds whose pottery and other relics may
throw light on early Hittite civilization departed for London. Prof. Wm. F.
Bade, Dean of the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, Cal., and Major W.
C. Gotshall, New York engineer and explorer, head the party. The expedition will take eight months. Outfitting at Constantinople, the party will
cross Turkey in Asia Minor ot Tarsus, Antioch and Aleppo in Syria. Dr.
Bade said he hoped that in excavating the key to the ancient Hittite writings may be found. The Hittite civilization he said, goes back 1,500 B. C,
and although tablets with Hittite inscriptions have been found, there is no
way to decipher them as the key to the writings has not been discovered.
(News Item.)
Our immediate fathers, born and buried in the same land
which some fifteen hundred years before Christ formed a part
of a great Empire — the Empire of the Hittites —, hardly ever
heard that name or knew anything about it. The only occasion
for them to have become acquainted with it would have been
while reading the Old Testament where the word "Hittite" occurs about twenty times. Esau married Hittite wives and so did
David and Solomon. Hittite tribes lived in Palestine and Lebanon. That is practically all that the Hebrew records have preserved for us.
The fact is that our fathers — and for that matter the whole
world in their time — knew very little indeed about the history
of the lands in which they lived, and the glories and achievement*
�=:
4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the early Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Phoenician civilizations. They had no conception whatsoever of the great heights
attained by the cultures developed by those ancient Oriental peoples and of the debt which the modern world owes to the civilizations which once flourished along the banks of the Nile and the
Euphrates and on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
The rediscovery of the ancient Oriental world with all its intellectual as well as material accomplishments is a comparatively
modern event. It began with the advent of Napoleon into Egypt
in 1798 and has been a most fascinating story. In the annals of
modern scholarship and the progress of human knowledge there
is perhaps no story more romantic, more enchanting and more
fruitful than that of the resuscitating of a whole forgotten world.
Not only our fathers but the mediaeval people knew practically nothing about the Hittites. The interest of the people in
the middle ages, especially because of the influence of the Church,
centered around a little nook in Southern Syria — Palestine. Even
the Romans and the Greeks, who were nearer from the standpoint
of time to the earlier Hittites, have hardly a word to say in their
vast classical literature about the Hittites. Homer has just one
reference to them. Herodotus, "the father of history", ascribes
the statues at Karabel near Smyrna, which we now know to be
Hittite, to an Egyptian Pharaoh.
To the whole world, classical, mediaeval and Oriental, the
Hittites were a forgotten people, a lost race. To the few who
remembered the name from their reading of Old Testament literature they were asscoiated with the Hivites and Canaanites and
Jebusites as an insignificant, small tribe living in Syria and Palestine.
Today we know for a fact that the Hittite Empire was the
third largest after the Egyptian and the Assyrian Empires and
that in the middle of the second millennium B. C, it was the
strongest power in all Western Asia.
From our conception of the Hittites some forty years ago
as an unimportant tribe intermarrying with the Jews in Palestine
to that which we hold today of them as one of the leading
nations of Western Asia, there is a big step. How was
that gap filled? In other words, what were the little steps in the
process of the reconstruction of a wholly ruined civilization? How
did the archaeologist, the traveller, the historian and the philologist collaborate within the last forty or fifty years to raise before
our eyes an edifice shattered to pieces thousands of years ago, and
i
�I
I
FEBRUARY, 1927
5
how did they gather together the shreds of evidence, the little
pieces of information, and weave them together into the little
whole/which we now know about the Hittites? We said "little"
because we are certain that the story is not yet half told, and what
remains to be discovered is enormously more than what is already
discovered. In fact the Hittites have not yet begun to tell us
their own story in their own words. We cannot as yet read their
hieroglyphic inscriptions, and the little we know about these people comes mainly from Egyptian and Babylonian sources and
from the Hittite monuments and Hittite cuneiform inscriptions.
*
\
*
*
In 1812, the Swiss traveller Burckhardt arrived in Hamah.
As he was passing into the Bazaar of that ancient Syrian town he
noticed inscribed on a stone in the wall of a house some curious
characters, very much like those used by the early Egyptians.
Burckhardt reported his find in his "Travels".
In 1868, Murray's Guide Book for Syria was published,
and Porter, who wrote it, claimed that Hamah had no antiquities.
In 1870, our well-known friend, Samuel Jessup, visited Hamah in the company of Mr. Johnson, American Consul in Beirut,
and made copies of the inscription on the stone which they sent to
Dr. Ward, the editor of the "Independent" in New York. Dr.
Ward was not an Orientalist but a very keen scholar. He noticed
that the writing was boustrophedon, i. <?., one line goes from right
to left, and the second from left to right in the same way as lines
go drawn by,oxen ploughing a field. This was Dr. Ward's contribution to the solution of the puzzle.
The inscription attracted the attention of the authorities of
the British Museum. The writing was clearly in hieroglyphs
similar to those used in Egypt but it was also clear that the language was not Egyptian. Scholars at that time could read Egyptian. In 1872, the British Museum sent an Irish scholar, William
Wright, who made casts of the unintelligible Hamah inscription
and sent them to London. He soon discovered other stones with
similar writings, built into a bridge over the Orontes (al-'Asi)
near Hamah. Dr. Wright made a guess which proved to be a
good one. He declared the inscription "Hittite". Subhi Pasha,
representing the Imperial Museum in Constantinople, was with
Dr. Wright and the stones were bought for transferrence and
safe keeping in the Museum at Constantinople.
By some strange coincidence, that same night in which the
stones were packed up on camel back and carried away, a large
\
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
number of meteorites happened to make their appearance in the
sky, and the people of Hamah, interpreting the event as a bad
omen indicating celestial anger for having allowed themselves
to part with their sacred relics, hastened and dispatched a delegation to bring back the stones with the charm inscription. The
delegation overtook Subhi Pasha the second morning and made
an earnest plea for the return of the objects of veneration. The
shrewd Turkish archaeologist did not know at first what to say.
He ordered his servants to pass one round of coffee after another
while the old sheikhs were elaborating their case. Finally the
happy idea; dawned upon his mind. "I have another interpretation of this heavenly phenomenon," interrupted the wise Turk
with all the earnestness he could command. "This was no sign
of-disfavor as you took it to be, but rather a sign of great favor
on the part of Allah. The meteorites were nothing else but fireworks celebrating your bestowal of such a gift upon His viceRegent, the Sultan Caliph and successor of Mohammed!
'' The stones adorn today the Museum at Constantinople.
They constitute the first landmark in the rediscovery of the Hittite civilization.
.....
Soon after that another stone with a strikingly similar inscription was found in a mosque-wall in Aleppo. The people used it
as a charm for curing diseases of the eye by rubbing the affected
organ of sight against it, — an ideal way, of course, for spreading and perpetuating eye diseases! Before long other inscriptions
and monuments were reported in Marash and the Taurus region,
in Seniirli, all over Asia Minor as far North as modern BoghazKoi, (seventy miles East of Angora, the capital of Mustafa
Kemal). The statues reported by Herodotus some 450 years
before Christ at Karabel, near Smyrna, and supposed by him to
have been Egyptian, were compared with those of Ivnz reported
by a Swede in 1737 and with others in different parts of Asia
Minor It was soon found that these monuments had the same
massiveness of design, the figures had the same head-dress, the
same toe-tilted shoes (exactly'like the red shoe which a modern
fellah in Lebanon wears with its turned up front), and the same
tunics All these monuments were declared the handiword ot
the Hittites. Sayce who in 1878 visited the Karabel statues and
pronounced them Hittite was the first to decipher, by guess-work,
comparison and cross-comparison, a few characters of the Hamah
inscription. The same scholar in 1884 succeeded in deciphering
a Vannic inscription (from Van, near the Turco-Persian frontier)
- .
�FEBRUARY, 1927
n
ft
T
in which the name of the Hittites occurred.
Hittite monuments and inscriptions scattered from Persia
in the East to the Agean Sea in the West, and from the Black
Sea in the North to the Orontes in the South! Surely this does
not betray the influence of a tribe, but a nation, an empire-nation. — At different times, the Hittite power, therefore, must
have been felt all over Western Asia.
But that is not all. A recently deciphered Babylonian inscription informs us that in 1925 B. C, the Hittites were strong
enough to destroy the first dynasty in Babylon. Babylon at that
time was a mighty city. It was the capital of the whole Babylonian kingdom. This descent from Khatti (modern Boghaz-Koi),
upon the rich valley of the Tigris and the Euphrates must have
been the culmination of a series of protracted raids, or ghazwahs,
going back to still earlier times.
In the eighteenth century before Christ, the Hittites under
the name "Kheta" began to figure in the Egyptian records. In
the fifteenth century, we find them contesting the power of great
Egypt over Syria and fighting Thuthmose, the Napoleon of the
ancient Egyptians, at Megiddo, near Haifa. In the early part
of the thirteenth century, they almost captured Ramses II at their
fortified city, Kadesh, near the lake of Hums. And although
the proud Ramses in his record of the? story of the battle on the
walls of Karnak depicts himself as holding the heads of three
Hittites as if to smash them together, we know from the
treaty of peace and alliance which he signed with the Hittite
king that his adversary was treated as his peer and equal. It
was a recognition on the part of the greatest empire of that time
that it had found in the Hittites a worthy rival.
Aside from Khatti (Modern Boghaz-Koi) in the North
and Kadesh in the South, the Hittites had a third capital, Karchemish, modern Jerablus, on the Euphrates in Northern Syria.
This city proved a thorn in the side of the Assyrians and was
finally destroyed by Sargon in 717 B. C. It is today an important railway station on the Constantinople-Baghdad line, and its
Hittite ruins were being dug up by Colonel Lawrence and his
British associates, Wooley and Hogarth, when the Great War
broke out. It was then that Lawrence gave up the spade of the
archaeologist and started on his dramatic and colorful military
career in connection with Feisal and the Arab forces.
A few years previous to that, a German scholar, Hugo
Winckler, had excavated Boghaz-Koi and. unearthed some 20,000
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
8
Hittite tablets written in cuneiform — the same script used by
the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Winckler, however, died before he had chance to work on the decipherment of these unique
tablets, and his work has, since the conclusion of the war, been
taken up mainly by an Austrian scholar, Hrozny. Hrozny has
succeeded in deciphering many of these Hittite inscriptions, and
his conclusions seem to affiliate the Hittite language with the
Indo-European group (Greek and Latin) rather than with the
Semitic.
But the Hittites did not write all their records in cuneiform.
They also used the hieroglyphic script of Egypt. The Hittite
hieroglyphs have not yet been deciphered. They conceal rather
than reveal to us what the Hittites have to say about themselves.
Most of our knowledge about them has thus far come to us
through second-hand sources — through Hebrew, Babylonian and
Egyptian channels
*
*
*
A more important question than the wars and conquests of
the Hittites is the one relative to their cultural achievements and
contributions to the imperishable heritage of the race. How much
did the Hittites further the cause of human progress, and how
much did they bequeath to later generations?
The Hittites undoubtedly borrowed many things from the
two great centers of early civilization, the Land of One River —
Egypt, and the Land of Two Rivers — Babylonia. The characters with which they wrote their language were taken from those
two sources, as we have noticed before. But in other respects, the
Hittites were benefactors and not beneficiaries.
Along the Southern coast of the Black Sea, in the homeland
of the Hittites, lies a rich deposit of iron. The Hittites were the
earliest people in history, so far as we know, to use iron for themselves and to distribute it over Western Asia. The people of Phoenicia, Palestine and Egypt were still using bronze or copper implements and weapons. The Hittites were thus responsible for
the transition of Western Asia from a lower metal age to that of
a higher one—iron. This marks a long step forward. Iron weights
were first used as coinage, and the Hittite influence over the
Greeks shows itself in metal coinage.
The Hittite monuments indicate that they had the tame
horse earlier than the Babylonians and Egyptians. The Hittites
probably got it from Eastern Indo-Iranian sources.
In architecture the Assyrians borrowed from their Hittite
�FEBRUARY, 1927
-•
i
*
neighbors to the North the porch and the two lions at the door.
These lions stand guard at almost every Assyrian palace. The
porch and the lions have become a familiar sight to us all over
the world.
The double-headed eagle, which figured on Hittite coatof-arms, was later adopted by the Byzantines and Seljuk Turks
and handed down to modern times as the emblem of imperial
Austria, Russia and Germany. It finally found its way into the
United States of America. This eagle must have originated, according to Dr. Hall of the British Museum, in the head of some
Hittite priest j but Breasted, the noted American Egyptologist,
thinks that the Hittites borrowed it from Babylonian origins.
According to Breasted, the so-called Jewish nose is originally the Hittite nose bequeathed to the early Jews through intermarriage with the early Hittites. Dr. von Lauschan, the famous Berlin anthropologist, goes so far as to say that the Maronites and the Druzes of Lebanon, the Nusayriyyah of Syria,
and the Yezidis and Bektashes of Asia Minor are all remnants
of Hittites. His arguments are based on skull measurements and
comparisons with Hittite figures on monuments. His measurements of Druze skulls in Lebanon show no co-relation with those
of real Arabs and Badawys.
In brief it might be said that the Hittites and their land,
Asia Minor, and Northern Syria, formed one of the chief links
between the early civilizations of Western Asia on one hand,
and the later Aegean and Greek civilizations on the other. The
Hittites were the medium through which the earliest people of
Europe received Oriental cultural influences which were later
passed on to modern Europe. The Phoenicians formed the second and Southern link in the process of transmitting Oriental
culture to Western recipients. The influence carried on by the
Phoenicians, was mainly Egyptian and it was passed over into
Crete and Mycenea. The Greek civilization of history was built
on Aegean, Cretan and Mycenean foundations, and became in
turn the basis for the Roman civilization. Thus the products of
early Oriental achievements became the heritage of the modern
man.
The flame of impatience is easier to bear than the tedium
of waiting.
Ah.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
10
From My Note-Book of Travel
By
AMEEN RIHANI
II
AT THE PARSI CLUB
Before I left Bombay I had lunch with a Parsi friend at
his club, and we talked of Ghandi, Pan-Iranism, and Zoroaster.
Dr. Nariman, a linguist and scholar, had invited a few others,
among them Mr. Irani, a solicitor at law. The contact of mind
seemed familiar — very little of the Oriental in a Bombay
Parsi — and the atmosphere of the Club is quite European. A
hat-rack for your helmet, and a couch for your mind. Here too
are pool tables and Parsis in shirt-sleeves, cue in hand;—and the
same lingo and gesture of those Patagonians of the N. Y. Press
Club. Don Marquis and Abe Bearman and Charlie Somerville
might be, for all I know, of Parsi descent. They will certainly
find themselves at home in the Parsi Club of Bombay — and all
the drink, O ye noble Soaks, ye can hold. But how would you
like to have the birds feast upon you in the Tower of Silence?
They are lusty and noisy and cantankerous, the ravens and
vultures of Bombay, — unlike the Parsis upon whom they feed.
I cannot help feeling that there is a sort of British-Indian-Iranian
complex in a Parsi. He sings hymns to the sun, and he keeps an
eye on the main chance; he takes his bath regularly and keeps
cool; he is quiet in his well-being, unostentatious in his prosperity;
— very complacent, very reticent; — he smiles, he represses,
and he forges ahead; and often, in the present struggle between
Britania and Swaraj, he finds himself in both camps.
This complex, at the end of its sublunar struggle, is carried
in a shroud to the Tower of Silence, where the vultures are always waiting. Do complexes come back to life in simplified,
elemental forms? Is the vulture the Parsi's complex, jubilant
and free? I wonder.
One thing in these good people I do not like. They are
too proud as a race and too exclusive as a sect. They will not
take an outsider into their religion, for they will then have to
take him or her into their homes in marriage; and that, they maintain, will corrupt their Wood. They are certainly pure as a
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race, but not too pure — forgive me Dr. Nariman — to take in
Don Marquis, for instance, or Ben De Casseres, if he chose to
ride the Sacred Flame behind Zarathustra.
*
*
THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA
JM
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Mr. D. J. Irani has done into English a few of the songs
of Zoroaster and he has them published in Bombay in a handsome limp leather-binding. He came on the last day to say
good-bye and brought me a copy with him. The Message, it
is called, and in it is a declaration in song of the Divine Truth.
No matter how orthodox you may be, you cannot in conscience
reject this message.
Zarathustra was a monotheist, and his God Ahura Mazda
is the Universal Soul. So is the God of Christ, for that matter,
and so is the God of Mohammed. But Ahura Mazda has not
so many attributes as Allah, and he is less, much less anthropomorphic. He is first the Spirit of the Good Mind — good deeds
from good thoughts spring: he is the Fountain of the Good
Mind. He is also the Spirit of Truth and Right — from the
principle of truth and right proceed the harmony of universal
law and order. But here is the rock around which clash the
religions of the world. The Prophets can see through it, have
seen through it; — have even stood together upon it: but their
followers, or those who would guide them, prefer to the principle of truth and right that of fact and pelf. Hence the spiritual atrophy of the present state of the world.
Ahura Mazda is also the Spirit of Holy Sovereignty (Khashtra) and this refers both to the Spiritual Sovereignty as well as
the Dominion of Heaven. Which is, indeed, a serious matter!
for his claim conflicts with that of Allah and Jehovah; and their
poor blind followers on this earth keep up the conflict. Who is
the Ruler Supreme? Who can reconcile the wofds of Mohammed, for instance, with those of Zarathustra?
The fifth attribute of Ahura is Healthful Weil-Being, or
Perfection (Haurvatat). Hence, I think, the smug and selfsufficient attitude of the successful Parsi. He is successful, because he has attained the Ahura state. Follows the Spirit of
Immortality (Ameratat), which is the companion of the fifth attribute. These twin blessings, healthful well-being and immortality, are bestowed upon men and women who are inspired with
the Goocl Mind and whose actions are guided by the Truth.
SS5SB55S
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/'l
There is too the Spirit of Benevolent Piety, which is described
as the active and zealous mind. The Salvation Army could turn
with as much assurance to Zarathustra as it does to Jesus. A Salvationist is in this last sense a model Parsi. I quote from the
Message:
With my songs of praise, with my self-humbling worship,
I wish to serve my Lord;
For now, indeed, I see Him with my own eyes, the Lord of the
Good Spirit, the Lord of the Good Word and Deed.
I know Him through Truth, Him who is Ahura Mazda.
Verily, I shall render Him my homage in the House of Song.
When are the men of wisdom coming, O Mazda?
Such benevolent men, O Mazda, I shall verily take to the House
of Song.
A beautiful name, the House of Song, for church, synagogue, mosque and temple. But the men of wisdom of this age,
like the children of ignorance and folly, cannot agree, it seems,
on a change of names. The name is the thing: the named is
nothing. Allah is our God; Jehovah is their God; Ahura is
your God. Would you have us call Allah Ahura, or Ahura
Jehovah? Blasphemy!
But I have shown you how good is Ahura. I have named
his attributes, which are few but choice; and I will call him, for
the sake of peace, the Universal Spirit, or the Fountain of the
Good Mind. To the Universal Spirit, then, to the Supreme
Principle of Life, I sing the song of Zarathustra. Neither Allah
nor Jesus, nor Jehovah, nor Brahma, nor Buddha, nor Ahura
would I call him. The moment I do so, I cut myself from my
fellowmen, nay, I set myself against them.
You worship Allah, I worship Buddha, he worships Ahura;
and in our zeal for the attainment of their divine attributes, we
take up clubs against each other. Why not, therefore, call them
all the Fountain of the Good Mind and thus make up and be
brothers? — brothers of the same Faith, followers of the same
God, seekers of the same Truth. I believe that the only way
of salvaging religion and saving the world is by scrapping our
gods and prophets and pooling our creeds.
Mankind has suffered too much from the selfish, the criminal zeal of those who make of God a tribal chief and monopolize
all his gifts and blessings. Anthropomorphism is not an impro-
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vement upon fetishism j the concept of divinity is in both false.
Yet, conflict is perpetuated by conceit. "Our God is better than
yours", is at the root of much of the suffering and woe and misery
of the world.
The truth is not an exclusive possession of any people: the
truth is not to be found whole and undivided anywhere: the
truth is scattered among mankind, and every nation, even the
Papuans, has a little of it. Let us collect it, collect the vital
parts of it, put them together into a universal religious formula,
and call it, say, Humanism. Aye, let us pool our creeds and
call God by his right name, the Universal Spirit of Good, or
the Fountain of the Good Mind. The Brahmin and the Parsi
and the Christian and the Moslem will then become real brothers, and the world will be a little better.
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PUNISHMENT TO FIT THE CRIME
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A Persian king held a banquet for the dignitaries of the
State. When the table was set, and the guests had ranged themselves in their proper places around it, a slave who was bringnig
food in a plate was taken aback by the dignity and solemnity of
the occasion, and as he approached the king a little of the sauce
from the plate spilled on the edge of the king's robe. The king
was much angered at the clumsiness of the servant and gave orders that he be beheaded.
When the servant realized the determination of the king he
poured the whole contents of the plate over the king's head.
"Woe to thee," cried the king in rage, "why hast thou done
this?"
The servant, in a tone of perfect nonchalance, replied:
"Your majesty, I did this to save thy face and dignity. For it
would be a, disgraceful thing indeed for people to say that thou
didst cause, my death for a small offense; therefore have I committed this grave one that thy punishment may be commensurate
with the crime."
Hearing, this, the king bowed his head in pensive thought,
then, looking up, he said:
"We have forgiven thee in consideration of the ingenuity
of thy excuse. Go, thou art free for the face of God."
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The Story of a Story
By H. I. KATIBAH
"And remember when Moses said unto his servant, I will not cease
until I come to the place where the two seas meet; or I will travel for a
long space of time. But when they arrived at the meeting of the two seas,
they forgot their fish, and the fish took its way freely in the sea. And when
they had passed beyond that place, Moses said unto his servant, Bring us
our dinner; for now are we fatigued with this journey. His servant answered, Dost thou know what has befallen me ? When we took our lodging
at the rock verily I forgot the fish; and none made me forget it, except
Satan, that I should not remind thee of it. And the fish took its way into
the sea in a wonderful manner. Moses said, This is what we sough after.
And they both went back, returning by the way they came. And coming
to the rock they found one of our servants unto whom we had granted
mercy from us, and whom we had taught wisdom from before us."
Koran — The Sura of the Cave.
(Sale's Translation)
Some words, like some men, have the wanderlust. They
are never happy except when they are "on the go". These words
change their identity as they migrate from clime to clime and
pass from one tongue to another, to an extent which makes them
almost impossible to recognize. They are not unlike certain "women with dark pasts", about whom we read in the daily papers
or detective novels. Historians and philologists take as much
pleasure in "running down" these words as conscientious detectives do in pursuing notorious international crooks with a long
record of law-evasions and sensational escapes.
Of these words there is one that we still come across in
current Syrian folk-lore, but its lineage is so long and tortuous
that it carries us into the old, misty myths of ancient Greece, and
the labyrinthian byways of Rabbinic traditions. One can hardly
conceive of a word with more "past", nor one that had traveled
so far. A book could be written on that one single word; a book
has been written, and many monographs besides, all full of learning and erudition, and if they were only popular enough they
could be as amusing and entertaining as a "dime novel".
That word is "al-Khidr", the mysterious wali or saint, some-
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times identified as Elijah, sometimes as the companion of Alexander the Great in his adventurous journey to "the Land of
Darkness". His functions and attributes are as Protean as his
identity. He is the one who discovered the Fountain of Youth,
the messenger between God and His holy servants on earth, the
instructor of saints, the ever-present helper of those who are in
need, and the precursor of the "last day".
How did he come to have so many names and roles? One
is led to suspect some trickery or crookedness, if one is not suddenly reminded that saints are incapable of such things. But
perhaps historians, or pseudo-historians and story-tellers are, and
that is more like it.
The most famous story about al-Khidr, the one around
which so much imaginative and beautiful yarn was spun, and so
much romantic adventure, is the one in which he discovers the
"Fountain of Youth".
The origin of this story is not known. But the first allusion
to it in the Arabic language appears in the Koran, whence it was
taken over by the Mohammedan traditionists, commentators and
historians, who seemed to emulate each other in embellishing it
and adding to its frills and ornaments.
, Among those who accompanied Alexander the Great on his
expedition to Asia was one, Callisthenes, a cousin of the Greek
philosopher Aristotle, who was the instructor of Alexander. This
Callisthenes wrote a history of Alexander's expedition which is
referred to by Plutarch, Strabo and others, and which was lost
and forgotten.
But in time, stories about Alexander the Great pertaining to
be written by Callisthenes, began to crop up. On the face of
them they were pure fabrications, but to lend them some plausibility and selling merit, the name of Callisthenes was attached to
them. This kind of "literary dishonesty" was very common in
the "good old days", even among people whose honesty otherwise was unimpeachable.
These writings were brought together about 200 A. D., and
were known as "Pseudo-Callisthenes". It is in this version of
the "Alexander Romance" that we come for the first time across
the story of Alexander's search for the "Fountain of Youth.
It is said that when Alexander had conquered all the world,
he looked for more land to conquer, and he was told that none
was left but the Land of Darkness, in the extreme North of the
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world, inhabited by strange and queer-looking people. In his
commentary on the Alexander story in the Koran, al-Tabari, one
of the earliest Moslem commentators, relates, with enviable
gullibility, what he must haye read in non-Arabic sources current
in "his day, that some of the people in the: Land of Darkness had
huge ears, covered inside with down and outside with hair. "One
ear," he seriously narrates, "they spread under them when they
sleep, while with the other they cover themselves." Some people
they met had long hair covering their "stunted, beast-like bodies,
with finger-nails like scythes."
Alexander went on until he came to the edge of the inhabited world beyond which, he was told, lies the "Fountain of
Youth". A drink from that fountain will make one young forever. Upon this fountain Alexander now fixed his eyes. He chose
of his army ten thousand loyal and tried warriors, and at their
head he placed his nephew al-Khidr. In the version of the Arab
geographer 'Ammara (taken here from the appendix to Israel
Fi iedlaender's book "Die Khaderlegende und Der Alexanderroman"), we are told that they first came to "the valley of sand,
beyond which was the Land of Darkness". This valley or wady
''moves with its black sand, like chunks of the dark night, with
the swiftness of wind. The mountains thereof were black, with
its birds, animals, wild beasts and insects all black."
When they had gone for a while, they reached a rough,
stony land, whose pebbles were "of green precious stones". There
Alexander parted with his ten thousand, taking with him only
his nephew al-Khidr, to whom he confided that his real object
was the search for the Fountain of Youth. They agreed to go
each in one way, and whoever finds the Fountain of Youth would
call out for the other. Then they embraced and parted, Alexander taking to the right, and al-Khidr to the left.
It was al-Khidr who discovered the Fountain of Youth, or
rather stumbled on it. He walked and walked until he came to
a land the fragrance of which was like that "of excellent musk".
In the midst of that land was "a tree of ruby, with leaves like
embroidered gowns, and fruits as large as jars, and sweeter than
honey". Under that tree was a fountain of snow-white, fragrant
water. Then al-Khidr heard a voice calling out: "Be of good
cheer, O servant of Allah, for you have reached the Fountain
of Youth!"
A little variant account, and to our purpose much more interesting, is the one in which al-Khidr does not recognize the
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Fountain of Youth, till after he leaves it and returns to Alexander. He comes to the Fountain, tired and thirsty, and sitting
down under that tree, he washes his face, drinks, and then takes
out a dried, salted fish to eat. He places the fish in the water,
and behold! it regains life and runs away.
The story in the Koran bears all the earmarks of being taken
from the Pseudo-Callisthenes legend. The work had already
been translated into Syriac, and must have been popularly known
in Arabia For while in the Koran story Moses takes the place
of Alexander, and al-Khidr is alluded to as "one of our servants",
the incident of the dried fish is identical. The Arab commentators found no difficulty in identifying the servant of Allah with
al-Khidr.
The Arabic word "al-Khidr" simply means "the green one".
How did it come into the story of Alexander, and why? The
Arabs took the word from the Syriac translation of the PseudoCallisthenes. The name in the Greek original is Andreas.
Some Syriac scribe in his translation of the Pseudo-Callisthenes, recognizing the resemblance of the incident of the Fountain of Youth to a well-known Greek myth, substituted the name
in the Pseudo-Callisthenes to that in the myth. The myth is
that of Glaucus, which in Greek means "Green", and his eating
of a herb which made him immortal. There are several versions
of this myth. In one of them he is represented as a fisherman
of Anthedon in Baeotia, who had the good fortune of eating a
part of the divine herb which Cronos had sown, and which made
Glaucus immortal. He was said to have built the ship
Argo and to have accompanied Jason and his companions in their
search for the Golden Fleece, as their steersman. He became a
maritime god, and dwelt in the seas. His lower half was changed
to a fish.
According to Sir Ernest Budge, the Pseudo-Callisthenes
cycle had its origin in Egypt in the reign of the.Ptolomies. The
Egyptians welcomed the advent of Alexander as that of a saviour who rid them of the dominance of the Persians. He in turn
showed them consideration and respect to their religion and traditions. Egypt was a fertile field for all kinds of favorable
legends about Alexander to grow and propagate, believes Sir
Ernest Budge, especially since the Greek conqueror assumed divinity as the son of Amon-Ra. The Arabic sobriquet of Alexander,
"Dhu-1-Karnain", "The Two-Horned One", goes, according to
Sir Ernest Budge, to the Egyptian "sept abui", literally "provid-
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ed with two horns", which was one of the titles of Amon-Ra.
This, Sir Ernest Budge holds, rather than the explanation given i It \
by some Arab historians that he was so called because he had two
little protrusions in his head, resembling horns, or because his
rule extended over the East and West, symbolized by two horns,
is the right one.
The Pseudo-Callisthenes romance had a wide circulation;
it was a best-seller in ancient literature not only in Egypt, but,
soon after, in neighboring countries from where it traveled far
and wide.
j
A Latin translation from the original Greek was made in
the 3rd or 4th century by Julerius Valerius. Another Latin
translation made its appearance in the 11th century. A Syriac
version made, it is said, through the Persian, appeared in the 7th
century, then through the Arabic into the Ethiopic, in a circuitous
manner, back to, Egypt where it had started.
It was also claimed that a Siamese version and a Malay one
were made from the Arabic and the Persian.
Through the Latin translation or the Arabic romantic stories
of the Arabian Nights type about the search for "the Fountain
1
of Youth", Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer and conqueror
of the 15th and 16th centuries, was so convinced of the existence
of that fountain that he went in search for it in the New World.
He failed to discover it, but discovered Florida instead, which
was not a bad substitute after all!
So far for the external ramblings of the "Alexander Romance". There is, however, another side to the story, an intrinsic
and spiritual one, that is almost as interesting, and to the students
of the religious and spiritual history of the world, more signifii
cant.
If we go back to the story of Alexander in the Koran, we
will find that the latter part is derived from a source which is
taken neither from the Pseudo-Callisthenes nor from any other
Greek source.
In fact, it is a Jewish legend about Moses (See Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, Vol. IV, P. 223) who boasted that
there was none wiser than he, and God, to teach him humility,
showed him one who was wiser. This second, mysterious person,
the Arabs designated as al-Khidr, and identified him, with St.
Elijah. What helped the identification of al-Khidr with St.
Elijah more than anything else was the fact that the traditions
of both centre about immortality.
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The mystical and esoteric attributes of St. Elijah had been
established among the Jews before the Arabs adopted them in
connection with this story. And as the same story contains unmistakable evidences of the Alexander Romance, Arab commentators sometimes identified al-Khidr with St. Elijah. When
they were treated separately, the one was merely the shadow of
the other, or the two went in companionship, or met at long intervals} one going eastward, the other westward.
As among the Jews, Elijah became the messenger of heaven
to the holy ones who meditated over the Torah day and night,
transmitting to them divine wisdom and teaching them spiritual
secrets unknown to the dwellers of the earth, so among the Arabs
al-Khidr became the messenger and companion of the chosen
Sufis,, who claimed esoteric wisdom not shared with the common
believers. There is an evident resemblance between what Elijah
places in the mouths of pious rabbis, and what al-Khidr
teaches the Sufis. Especially is this true of the mystery of "the
Great Name", which al-Khidr is said to have taught some Sufis.
This tradition is specifically and peculiarly Jewish. For the Jews
refrained from mentioning the name of God, lest in so doing
they may unwittingly break the third commandment which forbade them to take the name of the Lord in vain. Even today
when the Jews come across, the Hebrew word for God—Jehovah
—they substitute for it, in reading, the word Edonai, and the Jewish scholars who in the Middle Ages put the vowel signs to the
Bible transfixed the vowel signs of the word Edonai to the consonents of Jehovah, and hence we have Jehovah.
Some< Jews, as would be naturally expected, took advantage
of that mystery and claimed the secret knowledge of the Great
Name, which they used for magic. The Arabs followed them
in that.
Among the Jewish legends is one in which Elijah becomes
a pupil of Jehuda-ha-Nasi (Ginsberg, Vol. IV, P. 219). Similarly among the Sufis we learn that a certain Abu Bakr al-Warraq wrote a book which was so deep in spiritual wisdom that alKhidr begged him to give him the book, but Abu Bakr refused,
commanding his pupil to, take it and throw it in the Oxus River.
And so, throughout the Arabic traditions and tales of alKhidr, we see this dual personality of al-Khidr disporting itself.
In his Greek disguise he is more or less of a wordly figure, romantic and fantastic, as would fit a companion of Alexander in
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his expedition to the Land of Darkness. Not so is al-Khidr of
Jewish lineage, who is mystical and esoteric, a companion and
counselor of saints.
All this came about because Mohammed innocently and unknowingly brought together in one story two threads of tradition,
different, yet similar enough to explain the confusion.
This is the story of the story of al-Khidr.
Passion
FROM THE ARABIC
God created the angels wholly of mind, the beasts wholly of
passion, and man of mind and passion. He, therefore, who
overcomes his passion is superior to the angels j and he who
is overcome by passion is lower than the beasts.
Hasan al-Busri used to say, "The most meritorious of wars is
that which is waged against passion."
Another wise man said, "The most noble of nobility is the disobedience of passion."
He who kills his passion revives his magnanimity.
Passion is blindness.
Passion is stronger, but mind is more useful.
Mind is a good vizier, passion is an evil one.
Said al-'Abbas, the son of Abdul-Mutalab, "If you are confronted with two choices, turn from that which seems more pleasant to the one which seems more onerous."
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Syria For The Syrians
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An account of the personal experiences of a Syrian physician who
analyzes a condition and prescribes a remedy.
By DR. M. SHADID
of Elk City, Oklahoma.
I am a physician and surgeon. Was graduated 20 years
ago and have been in the active practice of medicine and surgery
ever since. Am married and have six children. I came to this
• country in 1898 when a mere lad of sixteen years. As a physician and surgeon, I have achieved a fair degree of success and
happen to be forty-five years of age. Ever since my arrival in
this country I have mingled with native Americans exclusively
and can fairly say that I know America and the American mind.
Pardon the foregoing personal references, which I merely
state as a preliminary to give weight to my conclusion which is
succinctly stated in the caption of this communication, "Syria for
, \ the Syrians". By this I imply that of all countries Syria is the
country of choice for Syrians to live in.
This conclusion has been borne upon me after a residence in
the United States of America' of 28 years. The reasons for this
conclusion are cultural, social and economic.
The economic factor takes first rank with the average Syrian
and for the very good reason that he left his native abode for
economic reasons. The question therefore resolves itself into
whether or not the Syrian in Syria can do as well economically
as he can in the United States. I am of course speaking for the
average Syrian and believe it holds true for the vast majority of
the Syrians. The majority of the Syrian people in the United
States will be better off economically in their native country.
The neecb of Syria are agricultural and Syrian agricultural possibilities have not been touched. Successful agriculture
depends on available cheap land and cheap labor, and Syria has
both of them.
Farming in Syria is still where it was in the middle ages.
The land is plowed with a crooked stick, called a plow, drawn by
a pair of oxen. The crops are harvested with the hand scythe
and threshed with the same old primitive fashion. In spite of
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all these primitive methods the people are still able to subsist.
The land is fertile and productive and what can one not do with
modern methods of farming? I am not a farmer and do not
pretend to know very much about the needs of farming. But I
live twenty miles from a prosperous Syrian colony where all
are engaged in farming. These Syrians raise cotton, corn, wheat,
poultry, and they all tell me that there is no reason in the world
why they cannot go back home and engage successfully in agricultural pursuits . They seem to be awaiting the pacification of
the country before returning home for that purpose.
Cotton in Syria should be a very profitable crop, indeed
more so than in this country owing to the climatic conditions and
to the availability of cheap land and cheap labor. And cotton is
a world staple with a ready market. Egypt prospers with cotton
raising, why not Syria? Corn and wheat may be produced
in great abundance in Syria and I verily believe that the only
way to stop emigration of our people to foreign lands lays in the
educating of our people to the very great possibilities of farming.
Personally I would be happy to join any group of profit-seeking
and public-spirited Syrians who would band together and combine their fortunes in an effort to introduce modern methods of
farming with a view to the salvation of Syria from economic ruin.
But farming, though the chief opportunity, is not the only
one in Syria for the Syrians. Once agriculture is put on its feet,
the country will become ready for other commercial and industrial enterprises. In this country all depend on agriculture j when
farmers succeed all others succeed in proportion.
When
farmers fail, others fail also. The same will apply to Syrian agriculture. A Syria of prosperous farmers will mean a Syria
of prosperous merchants, doctors and other technical workers.
Once farming is established the needs of the country will call for
telephones, railroads, manufactures of every description, mining
and so forth.
From a social standpoint Syrians are subject to being
ostracised not alone by native Americans put by all
those peoples belonging to the Nordic branch of the White race.
While native Americans are the worst offenders in this respect,
it cannot be said that other Nordics are free from this offense.
Indeed it may be said that among native born Americans there
is more prejudice against foreigners in general and Syrians in
particular than in any other country of the wide world, it seems.
Nor is this prejudice and social ostracism limited to any
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social stratum in American society. It permeates the mass of
Americans without regard to class or station in life. The bulk of
Americans is made up of the so-called middle class and this class
is more emphatic in its prejudices than any other. Witness
the organization of the Ku Klux Klan. It grew like a mushroom
almost over night and its venom was spent more upon "foreigners" than Catholics, Negroes or Jews.
I live on Broadway, the main residential street in this provincial town of five thousand souls — all Americans — and across
the street of me live two doctors, two "brother" physicians, both
Klansmen. They recognize me professionally but ostracise me
socially. Next door to me to the east lives an American whose
father was an immigrant to this country, a Swede, who, too, is
a Klansman. Next door to the west of me lives a banker, also
a member of the "Invisible Empire". Needless to say these "one
hundred-per-cent Americans" will have no social intercourse with
men of foreign birth.
Just how an educated American, as all these men are supposed to be, can be descendants of the fathers of the American
Revolution and still owe fealty to an "Invisible Empire" passes
all comprehension.
I would not mind if this social ostracism affected me,
and in no way affected my family, my wife and six children. Personally I do not care for society very much, my time being taken
up with my daily professional duties and occasional readings and
literary ramblings. But I do object to having my children feel
that they are being discriminated against, they being native born,
on my account. I object very strongly to my children being looked down upon or considered inferior by snobbish American children.
I have been a member of the Masonic fraternity for 24 years
or thereabout, and when a year ago, after residing in this town
for three years, I decided to become a member of the local lodge
by sending in my demit from my home lodge, a member of the
K. K. K. and an officer of the local Masonic lodge saw fit to blackball me. I happen to know his reasons for it. I am a foreigner
and therefore 'an anti-klansman and he thinks and believes it to
be to the best interest of the Masonic fraternity to keep such
out of the lodge.
A Syrian merchant who lived in Greer County, Oklahoma,
for 15 years moved from one town to another in the same county
and engaged in business. Soon after renting a store, he received
�.ilzr:
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
a communication on the official stationery of the hooded order
warning him to keep away from the town at the risk of economic
boycot and his own life. Another Syrian merchant's dry goods
store was burned down soon after he received a threat by mail
ordering him to move away from the town.
In this communication I am not finding fault with Americans. I am not saying that Americans are a bad people. I believe in the American people. I believe the American people are
good people. I believe there is more good in the hearts of the
American people than evil. I believe they compare favorably
in general with other peoples. But, nevertheless, the subject of
my thesis is that Syria is the proper place, the best country in the
world, for the Syrian people.
I would rather live on equality with any people than to live
on a basis of inequality anywhere in the wide world. I want to
live in a country where I can look any man in the face as a sovereign citizen j where I would not need to be ashamed of my
nativity, my ancestry, my racial traditions, etc. Where else in
the world can a Syrian so live, except in Syria?
THE HUNTER'S PITY
Ibn Moussa Sheibany, one of the Arab sages, once gave the
following parable on the true sense of pity:
A bird hunter went out once to spread his net on a windy
day. The birds, both from being harassed by the winds and
through the attraction of the grain, flocked to the net in large
numbers. The hunter made a great haul and in order to hasten
his work resorted to the simple method of breaking the birds'
wings and throwing them alive in his bag, stopping at times to
wipe the tears flowing from his eyes through the action of the
wind and the dust.
Noticing this, one bird, who was glad for having his life
spared, turned to one of his companions and said:
"How kind-hearted and compassionate this hunter is; see
you not his flowing tears?"
To which the companion replied:
"Look you not upon the tears of his eyes, but rather upon the
work of his hands!"
fn
/
,
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�DRUZE PRISONERS OF WAR
Typical Druze warriors engaged in revolution against the French in Syria
. —-
�:
' S.: '
A SCENE OF PEACE IN SYRIA
Grazing grounds along the banks of the Hasba ny River in the vicinity of Hasbaya and Kowkaba,
where the Syrian revolutionists first attacked the Lebanon.
Photo by F. Askar.
�A SCENE OF W AR IN SYRIA
Where the battle waxed hottest.
The dead of a revolutionary band abandoned on the battlefield.
—
�DKUZE REVOLUTIONARY HEADQUARTERS
A scene in Hauran at the start of the revolution. The Druzes rallying to the call of their leaders to
engage in war against the French.
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�FEBRUARY, 1927
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Echoes of The Syrian Revolution
In America
.1
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A fierce conflict is now raging among the Syrians in the
United States which is the direct outgrowth of the war in Syria.
Each party to the conflict is bombarding the other with the most
virulent forms of accusations and invectives. So far, the batteries in action have been spouting only fire of a verbal nature,
but there are hints of a fear of actual bloodshed. This possibility,
although remote from present indications, may yet lead to some
regrettable incidents of physical encounter if passions that are
now being fanned are allowed to run out of control. Lines of
division among Syrian immigrants are being drawn sharper as
actual hostilities in their mother-land show signs of abatement.
And among Syrian immigrants who take part in home conflicts
only from a distance and are not governed by feelings of an actual loss or a sense of genuine relief at the passing of a crisis,
the effect of the controversy is more lasting, enmities are more
enduring and the harmful results of dissensions are far more
reaching.
What has given rise to this new outburst of feeling is the
arrival in the United States of a delegation of the Syrian Nationalist party, headed by Emir Shekib Arslan, to attend the convention of the New Syria Party of America scheduled to open in
Detroit, Michigan, on January 15th. Emir Shekib Arslan is a
Druze and the personal representative in Europe of Sultan Pasha
Atrash, leader of the Druze revolution in Syria. To counteract
the possible accusation that the delegation, and consequently the
cause that it represents, is partisan or religious, one Sunnite Mohammedan, Ihsan Bey Jabery, and two Christians, Nasim Bey
Saybaha and Toufik Yazegi, were included in the personnel. Up
to the time appointed for the opening of the convention only two
members had arrived, namely: Emir Shekib Arslan and Nasim
Bey Saybaha. No reason for the delay of the two others was
given.
Even before the arrival of any member of the delegation
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
a strong attack on the purpose and policy of the revolutionary
emissaries was launched by papers of the opposing camp lead by
Al-Hoda, admittedly the most influential Syrian publication in
America. Another daily and influential paper, Meraat-UlGharb, although of revolutionary proclivities, deprecated the mission of the delegation if it is for the purpose of "raising funds
from among. Syrian immigrants" for the cause of the revolution.
Practically all other Syrian papers with the exception of Al-Bayan,
the organ of the revolution and its sympathizers in America, received the visiting delegation with scathing denunciation.
In the attacks by the opposition papers, the personality and
the past record of Emir Shekib Arslan is particularly the subject
for severe criticism. Al-Hoda accuses him directly of having been
the instigator of the death of one hundred and sixty-five thousand
Christians during the War while serving the Turks under Djemal
Pasha, called the "executioner of the Syrians". Al-Hoda went
to the extent of publishing a draft of a telegram in English which
it calls upon its readers to copy and send to members of Congress
to take proper action "against the nefarious activities and harmful influences of this enemy of Christianity and allied principles."
It explains:
# §
"If every accomplice in a crime is a criminal, then Emir
Shekib Arslan, who was the right-hand man of Djemal Pasha
during the War, is one of the greatest criminals because it was
through his instigation that the liberals in Syria were executed
by hanging, and one hundred and sixty-five thousand Lebanese
men and women, old and young, met death by deliberate and
systematic persecution and starvation. *** For that reason he is
one of the greatest criminals and those who honor the murderer
of their fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters and children and loved ones are scoundrels and cowards who hold human
blood cheaply."
Of the political record of Emir Shekib Arslan, Ash-Shaab
gives the' following account:
"He had been at one time a provincial governor in Mt. Lebanon where he followed in the footsteps o£ his uncle in fomenting discord between Christians and Druzes. Upon the decline
of his family and his finding the tenure of office unstable in Mt.
Lebanon, he turned Turcophile and was elected deputy to the
Turkish parliament from Hauran.
"During the War he was a pronounced enemy of the Arab
cause and acted as the right hand man of Djemal Pasha causing
'
\
�FEBRUARY, 1927
I
27
the execution or exile of Syrian and Lebanese Liberals both
Christians and Mohammedans alike. He fled the country with
his Turkish masters when its liberation came at the hands of the
Allies, and now this traitor claims that he has served the cause
of the Arabs and declares his innocence of the crimes attributed
to him, but who will believe him?"
The religious factor, although given consideration by most
of the opposition papers, is particularly dwelt upon by the Syrian
Eagle which addresses the visiting delegation in the following
terms:
"They have come to a Christian country while in their every
action they are fighting the Christians of the world in general
and of the East in particular j and under the sky of the greatest
among Christian countries they hold a convention the purpose
of which is to strengthen the Druze revolution which has brought
destruction on our homes, slaughter to our old and young and
rape to our women. Do you not see how Christianity displays a
tolerant spirit towards its enemies; how Christian countries in
Europe and America afford them the opportunity of enjoying
its bounties while they are bent on the destruction of Christianity
and its adherents in Syria? Haven't you been satisfied with the
cruelties visited by your compatriots on their Christian neighbors
in Syria so that you now come to us in our land of migration in
an endeavor to disseminate enmity and discord? Weren't you
conscience-stricken when you learned that your partisans in Syria
were in the habit of making a physical examination of their captives and upon discovering them Christians tortured and killed
them mercilessly, while if found to be non-Christians they were
set free and treated like beloved brothers? Go, then, and hold
your conventions among your own people or in the countries of
your partisans such as Transjordania and Turkey and spare us
your nefarious activities so that we may live in peace and security
in this Christian country which loathes fanaticism and disorder."
The wisdom and propriety of holding the revolutionary
convention at all is questioned by As-Sayeh which states that it
has received an invitation to attend the reception to one of the
delegates upon his arrival but was not taken into the confidence
of the party holding the convention by being informed of its
programme and topics of discussion, "such information being reserved for loyal papers and a veil of secrecy, therefore, thrown
over the real objects of the convention." As-Sayeh further states
that:
�M
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"We fail to see the reason for holding this convention now
that the revolution has come to an end and all its leaders have
surrendered with the exception of those few who only await assurance of safety. If the object of the convention is to produce
fatuitous noise its promoters may well consider that they have
achieved their purpose} but if they propose to kindle anew the
fire of revolution, then they are doing so to their own hurt and
it is well for them to take warning we have as much patriotism
as the best amongst them, but ours is a patriotism of the true
and pure nature which is not prompted by the desire for material
gain or is tainted with fanaticism. We would advise them, therefore, to convert this convention into an obituary meeting wherein
the flower of our youth as well as our lost hopes would be mourned. While if they possess sufficient moral courage, they should
(determinedly put an end to those leaders who incite to revolution only from a distance and kindle the fire of war without going
through it, while they fully realize that they preach revolution
to a people that is unprepared for it and that they are championing a cause predestined to failure. These leaders are seeking only
selfish ends. They are the enemies of the nation and their hands
are dyed with the blood of its children."
Not in these colors, however, are these leaders painted by
Al-Buyatiy the Druze organ of the revolutionary party. Emir
Shekib Arslan is considered by it the saviour of his country and
the standard-bearer of true patriotism. His arrival in America
is hailed with great joy and much space is given to the description of his reception by the Mayor of New York City and his
processional ride through the streets of the Metropolis. The members of the delegation this paper introduces as: "some of the
greatest of our men who are versed in matters of diplomacy and
are noted for their foresight, wisdom and tolerance. We expect
our Syrian brethren, especially those who have not as yet extended
any help to their country, to heed the call of these messengers
of true patriotism, positive tolerance and undoubted honesty. It
is high time for our people to realize that "religion belongs to
God and the country to all its people." Our country is dear to
the heart of everyone of us and it behooves us to work for its
uplift in unity and co-operation."
Al-Bayan also throws light on the purpose of the convention by declaring that: "A year has now passed since the holding
of the first convention in Detroit and it proved to be the precursor of great benefits to the national cause. Since then the dele-
hi
f.
*
i
�PEBRVARt, 1921
29
gates have been successful in organizing the New Syria Party
and co-ordinating the contributions to the sufferers and the wounded, and have, .furthermore, established more than forty branches
fully co-operating with the central committee of the party***
We expect the delegates representing the branches at the Detroit
convention to devise proper means for the advance of the national cause and to realize that they are an active body in the national movement, and that, especially in this convention, their
deliberations on the welfare of the country and the future of its
children are anxiously awaited by friend and foe alike."
Syrian Proverbs
By repetition even an ass will learn.
i
Only the more bitter will eradicate the merely bitter.
To invite enmity, promise and don't fulfill.
The foot will unconsciously trod the path that one loves.
Don't sleep in the cemetery if you would evade seeing nightmares.
M
If ycu enter the city of the blind, cover your eye with your
hand.
She is like the snake in the hay — bites and hides her headPure gold has no fear of the touchstone.
The priest carries his beard and the sexton is tired therewith.
Only bare bones make noise in the pot.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
30
Fatima
ii
By HASSAN SUBHI
Said, the black slave, fulfilled the trust his master placed
in him and outdid himself in entertaining his mistress Fatima.
He beguilded away her lonesomeness with his witty anecdotes
and stories of adventure and love, until time seemed to fly fast.
Three days were thus spent in which Fatima's countenance brightened up, and she became more communicative as Said won her
confidence with his conversation.
On the fourth day Said announced the arrival of Shakib,
his master's nephew, asking Fatima if there was any service she
wished him to do for her. She answered there was none, but
requested that her guest be shown every hospitality and made to
feel at home. It may be mentioned here for the sake of our
modern readers that in Mohammedan countries until very recently, and in some places till now, a woman is not supposed to appear before strangers unveiled.
As Said went to convey his mistress's message to their guest,
Fatima was seized with a compelling curiosity to look from behind
the blinds of the window to see how this young man looked, about
whom her husband had told her so much. She discovered a
handsome young man strolling leisurely in the yard. There
was little resemblance between him and his uncle, except
that his eyes and forehead were so strikingly like those of her
husband. She turned away depressed, as she could not help contrasting this galant-looking young man with the bent-up figure
of her husband, with his long, white beard, and his ugly nose.
She consoled herself for a moment with the thought that
she would have many an opportunity to observe her youthful
guest who, as it had been arranged by Said, was to occupy a wing
of the house adjacent to her room, but when she remembered her
marital duty to her husband, she resigned herself to her fate.
The faithful wife in her had the ascendancy over her natural
yearning for youth and companionship, so she called for Said and
ordered him to cover up the window between her and the guest's
quarters.
'
�*
n
M (
*
FEBRUARY., SM
Y, 1927
31
"Oh my
away, for h^° weeks Shakib was at his uncle's home without enHurri6 Fatima, while, at the same time, she tried to forget
drew leaar"d as sne could. But youth, irresistible and impetuous,
pleachV ^nd a way. The closed window which barred the vision
u.ro. ihakib could not stop the waves of his sweet, lusty voice as
he sang in the stillness of the night. Strange! How similar
was Shakib's voice to that of her husband. Perhaps the only
difference was that Shakib's was bouyant and gay, while that of
her husband was tender and serene.
Then for three days Fatima did not hear Shakib's voice.
She felt a vacancy and a depression in her heart the like of which
she had never experienced before. At first she thought of inquiring from Said about the cause of Shakib's sudden silence, but
as he had avoided all mention of Shakib in her presence she
thought it improper to do so. At last she could not resist the
agony of her anxiety, and did inquire of Said about her guest,
and how he was faring. She was told that Shakib had not been
feeling well for the last three days, and that his condition was
not improving.
"And why did you not tell me of that on the first day of
his sickness?" demanded Fatima, with a flutter of excitement
which she could not hide.
"What has prevented me," replied Said, "was your complete inattention and indifference to him, although my master
specifically requested you to accord him utmost consideration
and hospitality."
To this reply Fatima found no rejoinder. "However," continued Said, "it is not too late to mend matters. If you will follow
me to my master Shakib's room he will appreciate a kind word
from you."
Fatima needed no second invitation; she put on her veil
and followed Said, and was presently before the bed of Shakib.
She no sooner laid her eyes upon him than she felt as if her heart
would burst out through her ribs. As she drew near, he straightened up in his bed and motioned to Fatima to sit on a chair nearby. He thanked her for her visit and asked after her health as
if she was the sick one and he was paying her a visit. Then both
resumed their •silence, which was at last interrupted by Said's remark that his mistress's delay in visiting his master Shakib was
his own fault, as he had not informed her of his condition
till that day, lest he upset her. Saying which he bowed and
left the two alone.
MHHHMMHM
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
No sooner had Said gone than Shakib resumed h
tion:
"I have found healing in your presence," he exclaiu
illness has verily left this room since you entered it."
His words seemed to have loosened her tongue, and she
plied:
—"You need not worry; but what is it that ails you?"
—"I do not know."
—"Strange, you are a physician and do not know what ails
you?"
—"What ails me is something about which physicians know
very little."
—"But you at least know the cause."
—"Since I entered this house I felt a strange flutter in my
heart and a certain convulsion of my body."
—"I felt the same way myself, but I reasoned that there
was nothing strange in a wife feeling that way when she first
enters her husband's home. But you "
—"As for me, I entered as usual not knowing what fate had
hidden for me." He was silent as he looked longingly at the
window from which Fatima had first seen him, and his eyes
glistened with tears. Then with a sigh he continued: "Alas! I
wish I had never looked towards that window, for it is the cause
of my malady, and from it came forth the arrow which has
smitten my heart."
He hid his beautiful face in his hands and cried.
Fatima turned crimson with blushing as she surmised the
innermost secret of Shakib's illness. For what bow was there at
the window but her own eyebrows, and what arrows but her
glances? There was no necessity for more explanation; the outburst of the whirlwind of love which she feared was on, and there
was nothing for her but to flee before its fury. And this she did,
as she gathered the trails of her gown, and with downcast eyes
left Shakib's room.
And night came. What a night it was for a young woman
torn between two great forces, that of mind which called her
for loyalty to her old husband, and that of emotion which seemed
to drive her to the arms of that young man. She was caught in the
vortex of two opposite winds.
Fatima passed a most harrowing night. Early the next morning, Said came running excitedly. In broken, sentences he managed to say, as he rubbed his hands together:
�FEBRUARY, 1927
\\
i
33
"Oh my mistress, do hurry and see Shakib before he passes
away, for he is delirious and talks of nobody else but you."
Hurriedly Fatima went to Shakib's room, and,as Said withdrew, leaving them alone, Shakib looked to her and with a
pleading and faint voice he cried, stretching out his arms to embrace her:
"O Fatima, I cannot bear your shunning me in this manner.
Draw near to me and let me quench my burning soul with a kiss
from your lipsj let me embrace you to my bosom, and with that
I will die content."
As she heard this, her first impulse was that of fright. She
jumped away, not to be within his reach, and with all gentleness
in her voice she replied:
"Remember that I am a wife, and that I am the wife of
your uncle who trusted you, and spoke very highly of you to me,
even before I met you, and asked me to treat you as a brother,
not as a clandestine lover."
"I have considered all this," he replied, "but I realize also
that you are a broken-hearted wife, whose youth has been shattered. My uncle is the guilty one who enticed you with his
money, sacrificing you to his passion, for there is neither pleasure
nor hope in his companionship. Love knows no relations, nor
care I whether I sever my relations with my uncle and the rest of
men or not."
"Your uncle is innocent of what you charge him," said Fatima. "He held out his hand to my family when we were in
need, and thus saved us from the pit of misery and wretchedness.
He asked for no compensation save that I be his wife. If I sacrificed anything it was not for him but for my family. As for
my youth which you lament, I have already become adamant to
the loss. Furthermore, I am indebted for my life to my husband
who has not bought me with his money, as you imagine, but with
his kindness and consideration. I am not insensible to the appeal
of youth and love, but I refuse to accept a pleasure soiled with
treachery and dishonesty. I will be a sister to you or else none."
—"I am a physician," pleaded Shakib, " and I know that
your husband is afflicted with diabetes and he will not Jive long."
—"The more reason," said Fatima, "that I must remain
by him and care for him in his affliction."
—"Then promise me that you will be mine after he dies,"
he said.
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
—"Nor will I promise you that," she said, "for that would
sound as if I were hastening his departure, and thus I would betray him unwittingly."
—"Then I shall die broken-hearted," he said, "and my
blood will fall on your head."
—"If you die," she firmly said, "I will grieve for your
youth, as I have grieved for mine, and I will carry the guilt of
your death, if that is the way you view it, for it is lighter than
the guilt of unfaithfulness."
Shakib realized the futility of his pleadings and in a last
effort to win her sympathy he announced that he was leaving on
the morrow, gathering strength for the ordeal from grim determination, and that she will never look at his face again. To which
Fatima answered sadly: "May God guard and keep you wherever you go."
On the morrow Shakib departed, as he had warned. The
days passed, and the time was drawing near when his uncle would
come back.
Then one evening, as the city of Cairo was roused by the news
of the Turkish revolution which the men of the Committee of
Union and Progress succeeded in accomplishing, Said was shouting and cheering in the yard of the house, and Fatima, who listened to him amusedly, could not understand the cause of his
excitement. She had no sooner asked him the reason for his
conduct when her husband entered, also excited, and the two
embraced each other in extreme joy.
Then her husband rushed to the stairs running to meet his
wife, but Said stood in his way, and stretching his arms to stop
him, shouted out:
—"Not with this evil beard and this hooked nose, by Allah! It is time now that you throw them in the fire, as the
leaders of liberty threw the spies of Constantinople who have
tracked you everywhere."
Then Said plucked the artificial beard off his master's face,
and the rubber nose with which he had disguised his features all
this time.
And as Fatima watched, not knowing what to make of the
whole affair, behold! her husband was none other now than Shakib standing before her.
V.
�FEBRUARY, 1927
35
Social Reform by Force
An account illustrating the methods employed by Al-Ghazi
Kemal Pasha in forcing his reforms in New Turkey.
Translated from a Turkish -paper.
The scene was in Angora, the new capital of Turkey j the
occasion was a grand ball, attended by the dignitaries of the state
and the high officers of the army.
At ten p. M., Ismat Pasha, the Premier of Turkey, accompanied by members of the Cabinet, entered the spacious ball
room. Following them came Kazim Pasha, Fauzi Pasha, the
commanders of divisions and other high military men. While
in their respective seats of honor sat the ambassadors with their
families.
Presently an attending officer entered the salon and announced that Al-Ghazi Mustapha Kemal Pasha had arrived. At once
the jazz band came to a stop, and a great commotion swept the
room as men and women rushed to the door to greet the President. They stood in two lines between which Mustapha Kemal
Pasha made his entrance. The jazz band struck the presidential
march, which was almost drowned by the cheering of the crowd.
No sooner had Mustapha Kemal Pasha made a few steps
than he raised his hand, and all was silent again.
"Please resume your pleasure, and don't give yourselves too
much ado for my sake," he spoke.
He was a gallant figure in his frock coat as he walked about
in the spacious hall, shaking hands with everybody and greeting
each one in turn. Then he commanded the jazz band to resume
its music, and hundreds rose and took to the polished floor. The
President himself, selecting a young Turkish lady for his partner, participated in the dance. Between dances, champagne flowed
freely.
i
Then as the President sat on a bench to rest, and survey
the dance, he noticed many "wall flowers", in military uniforms.
They looked pensive and meek, and not a little, sad. The President approached them and addressed them saying:
"Know you not that this is the anniversary of the Turkish
b
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Republic? Why stand you aside, and partake not of the merriment?"
A lieutenant replied:
"Please, Your Excellency, Pasha, we did ask some of the
young ladies to dance with us, but they refused."
Upon hearing this, the countenance of the President suddenly changed, and fire shot from his angry eyes:
"Comrades," he snapped back, "I cannot imagine any woman in the world refusing a Turkish officer. This ball would be
meaningless without you; nay, all festivities. The Turkish Empire itself depends on you. It is beyond me that the wife of any
Turkish citizen would refuse to dance with an officer wearing
the Turkish uniform."
Saying this, his features relaxed a little with a genial smile
as he resumed:
"And now I command you to disperse in the ballroom and
dance. Arch! (the Turkish military command to fall in line).
Fifty officers then advanced to the centre of the floor, but
this time no Turkish woman or maiden dared turn them down!
1
\
GRATITUDE
Gratitude has three stations: that of intent in the heartj that
of declaration in the tongue j and that of reward through the
hand.
If your hand is delinquent in reward, let your tongue be
diligent in praise.
If one gives you some of his solicitude, give him all your
gratitude.
Gratitude is greater than reward, for the former lives after
the latter perishes.
A wise man was asked what are the most futile of things.
He replied: A heavy rain in a swamp; a candle lit in the sun,
and a good deed to one who lacks gratitude
I
�FEBRUARY, 1927
37
Famous Arab Lovers
VIII
11V
Ibn Zuraik
The Poet who died of hove and Disappointment.
"He who would wear an amethyst ring, study the theology
of Shafi'i and memorize the poem of Ibn Zuraik al-Baghdadi
would lack none of the prerequisites of elegance."
Thus runs a well-known Arab saying of olden times. Ever
since that poem was written, some thousand years ago, it has held
its place in the foremost rank of select Arabic prosody. In any
Arabic anthology after its date, one comes across the kasida of
Ibn Zuraik, like a rare and beautiful amethyst jewel itself, sparkling with subdued and gentle light from every facet of its approximately eighty lines of verse.
Only very little is known about the author of this kasida,
Abu-1-Hasan Ali Ibn Zuraik al-Baghdadi, — very little, that is
from external sources. For the poem tells its own story in simple
and moving words, and as one reads it, gradually a picture begins
to emerge from the magic of its words, a picture full of grace,
sweetness and pathos.
The kasida of Ibn Zuraik is a good refutation of the claim
of some superficial observers of Arab life and history who aver
that women have no place in Arab society, and that home-life
and devotion is not known to the Arabs. Marital devotion and
love does not know of a higher plane than that reached by this
unfortunate Arab poet.
The story of Ibn Zuraik al-Baghdadi, known to posterity
from his poem and the tradition recounting the circumstances of
its composition, is a pathetic and sad one; but its pathos is relieved
by a soft murmur of noble resignation, and its sadness is sublimated into a mystic contemplation of the universal misery which is
the fate of all those who seek the ideal in the harsh and unsympathetic reality pi this world of ours.
�pwia.a.—
38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
He was an impecunious poet, at a time when the golden age of
Arabic poetry had waned in the-East; when the names of Harun
al-Rashid and al-Mamoun were but distant memories. The glory
that was Baghdad's had passed away, and the splendor of the
Arab caliphs who loved poetry and patronized the poets gave
place to the tyranny of half-savage Turkish chieftains. "The
market of literature was stagnant", and poets, who in a former
age reaped fortunes for the products of their wit and genius,
went now abegging.
But in the distant land of Andalusia, the "West" of the
ancient Arabs, the dawn of another golden age was breaking.
Arab sciences and Arab arts found their patron in the magnificent
person of Abdul-Rahman III, "the Defender of the Faith".
Cordova, the capital of this Arab descendant of the Umayyad caliphs of Damascus, became the literary capital of the world.
Europeans and Arabs alike flocked to its public libraries and its
porticoed mosques and schools. Magnificent public buildings with
domes, pillars and marble fountains, adorned the city. Of mosques
alone, we are told, it had the inconceivable number of 3000.
There was an equal number of public baths, and numerous superb
palaces.
To Cordova, the Mecca of all ambitious poets, the new
"bazaar of <Okaz", in which wit challenged wit, and poet vied
with poet in praise of the munificent Abdul-Rahman, our poor
poet, Ibn Zuraik al-Baghdadi, turned his steps.
Three thousand miles or more gaped between his "love nest"
in Karkh, a suburb of Baghdad, and the paradise of his dream
in Cordova; three thousand treacherous miles, a journey of
months, with its privations and hardships, its dangers on lands
and its hazards of the; seas. But happiness for him and his beloved wife was in the balance. At least, he had that listless
something which goads us into ever-new adventures, and makes
us risk even life itself in the pursuance of the butterfly of an
ideal! That is what Ibn Zuraik himself did.
Once in Cordova, the Baghdadite poet put his belongings
in one of the many inns of the city, and, having groomed himself
to be worthy of appearing before an Arab monarch of the proud
lineage of Koreish, hastened to the court of Abdul-Rahman. He
must have been a poet of merit, for hundreds of poets before
him had made their appearance before the court of Cordova,
and while it is not likely that the generous Arab prince turned
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any of them empty-handed, only the exceptionally meritorious
ones could have gone away with a large gift. Ibn Zuraik would
not have taken that long journey had he not been convinced that
he was head and shoulders above all his competitors. Nor did
he need any letter of introduction to the august presence of Abdul-Rahman. Poets of those days, like newspaper reporters and
correspondents of our day, were individuals to be reckoned with.
Their praise was as much to be coveted as their censor was to be
feared.
What the poem was with which Ibn Zuraik praised the Andalusian prince we do not know. But we know that Abdul-Rahman was pleased with it and intended to give him a regal reward
worthy of a gifted poet and of a magnificent patron of letters.
However, he did not give him what he anticipated. Instead he
gave him a paltry one, to try him, it was claimed. Dejected and
sad, alone;and with no money, perhaps not enough to defray his
expenses, Ibn Zuraik returned to his inn.
A few days later, Abdul-Rahman inquired about him saying:
"Where is the poet from Baghdad who sang a poem in our
praise?" Nobody knew anything about him. In the flurry and
pomp of the court he had been forgotten. Had not the prince
himself asked about him, it is hardly probable that anyone else
would have thought of him. But Abdul-Rahman III was one
of those great monarchs whose attention and interest encompassed
every little detail; he had a magnanimous heart and a prodigeous
memory. And he was a man of high literary tastes, so how could
he forget a poet like Ibn Zuraik?
They looked for him all over the city, and at last found the
inn at which he had stopped. But even there the innkeeper had
taken little notice of him, and could not tell them where he was.
There was no registration in those ancient days. People came and
went unnoticed. A caravansary became proverbial as a transient
abode. They later went to his room, and there found him lying
in his bed — motionless — lifeless. Under his pillow they found
the poem in which he told the sad story of his fruitless journey,
addressing his wife, and referring to himself in the third person.
It is this poem which insures for Ibn Zuraik his fame as long as
the Arabic language lives. In it he describes the scene of his
farewell to his wife, his arduous journey, "as if he was ordained
to measure God's space with a cubit", his lonesomeness, his longing for his wife, "shall time again bring back our lost happiness?"
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
What agony, what heart-rending pleadings and counterpleadings passed between husband and wife on the eve of that
fatefull farewell, we may gather from some lines o£ that poem:
"I bade her farewell, and at heart; I had wished
That happiness itself had bidden me farewell instead."
"How she clung to me on the dawn of that day,
As we stood, my tears mingling with hers."
He blamed only himself for his misfortune. "I was given
a kingdom, but did not know how to manage it," he grieves.
"My side has known no rest as on strange beds I lay,
And likewise was she restless in her bed."
The poem leaves no doubt that the loving wife of the Baghdadite poet was not in the least responsible for his adventure.
She did not urge him to make more money that she may buy
newer and more expensive clothes. Far from that, she was content to live with him in poverty. She loved him too much to
see him part from her; and he loved her so passionately that he
wanted to give her all the comfort and luxury that he could.
In the very first line of his poem he pleads with her "not to blame
him too severely." He knew she was right, "but he would not
listen to her."
Ibn Zuraik did not commit suicide. He died of excessive
grief, a peaceful and painless death. As he rested his head on the
pillow in the inn at Cordova, he still dreamed of the chance of
seeing again the face of his beloved wife. In the last few lines
of the poem he tucked under the pillow, he wrote:
"Perhaps the night that wore my body out with our parting
Will once again bring me and her together."
But should death apprehend the one, the other would surely
follow.
"And should this parting forever be,
What could we with the Fate of Allah do?"
V
�FEBRUARY, 1927
41.
Revenge Among Poets
An authentic Arabian story of the times following
the death of Haroun Ar-Rachid.
In the civil war that broke out between al-Mamoun and
al-Ameen, sons of Haroun ar-Rachid, Tahir, a brave Arab general, took the side of al-Mamoun. Abdullah, the son of Tahir,
followed his father, the chief-general of al-Mamoun. Abdullah
was also a poet, and on one occasion wrote a poem in which he
recited the achievements of his father.
Upon reading the poem, another poet, Mohammed Ibn
Yazid, a partisan of al-Ameen, who lived in Damascus, wrote a
counter-poem, denouncing Abdullah in scathing terms.
Time passed, and then came a day when Abdullah Ibn Tahir
was appointed governor of Syria and Egypt. When Mohammed
Ibn Yazid heard of this he was overtaken by fear, for he realized
that there was no escape for him from the revenge of Abdullah.
Wherever he could have fled, he would have been within the
reach of his offended enemy. He, therefore, decided to stay in
his place, and sending only his family to a place of safety, he
left the gate of his house wide open, and sat awaiting resignedly
the descent of fate.
Said the narrator, Mohammed Ibn al-Fadl, who accompanied Abdullah Ibn Tahir from Baghdad:
We went from Baghdad in the direction of Damascus, expecting all the time that Abdullah would avenge himself on the
poet Mohammed Ibn Yazid as soon as he reached Damascus.
When we approached the capital of Syria I was called to the tent
of Abdull Ibn Tahir, who said to me: 'Stay with me tonight, O,
Ibn al-Fadl, and keep your horse saddled ready to mount.' As
dawn broke out, Abdullah commanded his knights and servants
not to decamp before sunrise. In the company of only five
followers, he rode away, and I rode with him until we came to
the house of Ibn Yazid. To his surprise he found the gate wide
open, and when he entered found Ibn Yazid sitting in the center
of his divan in a contemplative mood. He saluted Ibn Yazid,
but the latter did not recognize him, for he had never met him
before.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Then Ibn Tahir spoke:
'What makes you sit here in this manner, with your gate
wide open? Know you not that Abdullah Ibn Tahir nurses a
grudge against you and seeks to do you harm?'
To this Mohammed Ibn Yazid replied:
'Well do I know my danger, and well do I realize the gravity of my offense against Abdullah Ibn Tahir. It was an offense
for which the foolhardiness and haste of youth were responsible,
and I know that I could not escape from him, wherever I should
turn my face. Therefore have I put away my harem and daughters in a place of safety, trusting that Abdullah would not molest
them, for his grudge is against my person, and once he kills me,
his revenge would be spent.'
"By Allah," said the narrator, Mohammed Ibn al-Fadl,
"not a word did Abdullah speak in reply, as tears came trickling
down his beard."
"Then, addressing Ibn Yazid, he said: 'Know you not me?'
Ibn Yazid replied that he did not.
'I am Abdullah Ibn Tahir,' announced the new governor of
Syria and Egypt, 'and behold, I have forgiven you.' Then Ibn
Yazid arose and, embracing Abdullah Ibn Tahir, kissed his head,
and Abdullah embraced him in turn, and from that time on the
two became inseparable friends."
' c
ENEMIES AS BENEFACTORS
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To my enemies I owe a debt of recognition and gratitude;
May the Compassionate God never keep them away from me.
They have searched for my faults and I endeavored to evade
them;
And they pressed me hard in competition and made me seek and
attain greatness.
h
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FEBRUARY, 1927
43
Love Woke One Morning
I
By
BARBARA YOUNG
Love woke one morning from a deep and tranquil slumber.
And his young eyes were misty with a sweetness
That was infinite and tender.
And he rose straightway and looked out across the hills
Where the new Day came stepping to his side.
She, too, was rosy from her sleep,
And misty-eyed.
And they took hands and trod the hours together.
And in the busy towns the people said,
"See, what a golden day!
How bright the sun!
And how the sky is blue!
What white, white clouds!"
And it was but the shining of Love's hair,
And his blue eyes,
And white wayfaring feet.
ARAB SAYINGS
Those who remember their praise of God are more heedless
than those who forget it.
Abu Bakr al-Wasiti (Sufi).
Said Abu Ali ad-Dakkak: "Wear what people wear, and eat
what they eat, but keep apart from them in your heart."
Every love in which there is no fear is deficient, and every
fear in which there is no hope is deficient. So also is every hope
in which there is no fear.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
FE
.
The Justice of Omar
It is related in the traditions about Omar, the second Caliph
of Islam, that as he was sitting one day in his court in Medina,
an Egyptian, exhausted and dust-covered from a long march on
foot, knelt before him and, in a plaintive voice, said:
"I seek refuge in the Prophet and thee."
"Thou hast found refuge in a ready defender," said Omar,
"what is thy plea?"
The Egyptian, on being assured by the words of the Caliph,
prostrated himself again and related:
"As I was racing with one of the sons of <Amr Ibn al-'Aas,
thy governor of Egypt, he came up behind me and began to beat
me saying: 'I am the son of the noble, ones.' And when his father Amr heard this he put me in prison for fear I might by some
way bring my accusation before thee. But I broke out of prison,
and here I lie before thee seeking justice at thy hands."
"Fear not," said Omar, "stay here in Medina till I call thee."
Then he wrote to Amr the governor of Egypt saying:
"At the coming pilgrimage season present thyself and thy
son before me", naming the very son who had beaten the Egyptian.
When the pilgrimage season had come, there appeared Amr
and his son among the faithful who had come to pay their homage to the tomb of the Prophet, and to the Caliph of all the
Moslems.
On the morrow, Amr went to the court of the Caliph to
pay his respects. There in court were lined the dignitaries and
nobles of Islam; and by the Caliph's side, sat the Egyptian.
When 'Amr and his son entered, the caliph Omar turned
to the Egyptian, and, pointing to him the son of 'Amr, said:
"Is this thy enemy?"
"Verily, he is the very one," replied the Egyptian.
"Then get up and beat him before our eyes," said Omar.
The Egyptian obeyed and whipped the son of Amr till he
cried with pain. All this time the Caliph was saying: "Beat the
son of the noble ones." Then, turning to his governor 'Amr, he
remonstrated: "O Amr, since when have you enslaved people
whose mothers bore them free men?"
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The Spirit of Antar
Translated from the Arabic by
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
In the thick of the fray, when the woes of the day
At the humor of fate were awaited;
When the spear of each foe with the gore that did flow
From my breast was besmeared, if not sated;
When the swords (how they flashed!) entwisted and clashed
All adrip with the blood of my heart —
I bethought me the while that each, gleam was a smile,
— Like the smile of thy lips when apart.
Now I hurled me along midst the clamoring throng
And asunder I cleft rank and file:
How I wished on that day but to kiss the bright ray
Of the sword that resembled thy smile!
RESULTS *
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Syrian =Two languages.
Syrians = A colony.
Syrians = A religion.
Syrians = Four sects.
Syrians = A newspaper.
Syrians = A government.
Syrians = A conference.
Syrians = Eight factions.
Syrians = A revolution.
Syrians = A foreign protectorate.
Syrians = Protests.
Syrians = Labyrinths
Syrians = Interment of nationalism.
ZAINAB
* Miss Zainab is a patriotic young Syrian whose enthusiasm cannot be
reckoned by figures, but we believe that she and the Literary Agent through
whom we received her contribution, also a Syrian, would equal an army
torps. — Editor.
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
EDITOR'S COMMENT
ii
"SYRIA FOR THE SYRIANS"
In his account of his personal experiences published in this
issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD, Dr. M. Shadid raises several interesting questions. It is regrettable that he should have settled
in a town to which, apparently, he has rendered splendid professional services as proven by his financial success, and whose narrow-minded citizens refuse to associate with him socially, merely
on account of his racial extraction. We admire the moral courage
of Dr. Shadid for having made this public admission to prove a
point which, undoubtedly, he advances in all sincerity. Such
social ostracism, especially when applied to American-born children, only reflects the un-American spirit of his neighbors among
whom it has been his misfortune to settle. This attitude on the
part of a certain class of Americans is the ill-begotten child of
bigotry in its worst form. The arguments that could be marshalled against such practises are many and strong, but we doubt
if they would have any effect with such a class of Americans who
are only Americans in name and lack all understanding of the
fundamental and elementary principles upon which the American
nation was built. This is the class that is provincial, narrow,
short-sighted and destructive of the true American spirit in the
strongest meaning of such terms. It is the class that provokes
by such a malignant attitude the worst forms of class divisions
and racial hatreds. The Ku Klux Klan is but a product of such
corrupt and perverted minds and the harm these bigots bring on
the country is beyond calculation. They forget that even at the
present time almost 40% of the population of the country are
immigrants and of immigrant descent who by their intense industry and law-abidingness, as well as by their readiness to share
in any sacrifice called for by a national crisis, they have proven
their love and loyalty beyond any peradventure of doubt.
But the redeeming feature of the situation is that among
true Americans, that thinking class that has the welfare of its
country at heart, immigrants are not only appreciated but welcomed. They realize that it is the height of folly to breed enemies within their own house j to goad an otherwise peaceable
neighbor onto desperation} to help tear down the national struc-
�FEBRUARY, 1027
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ture by provoking dissension and strife, or by sowing the seeds
of hatred and class prejudice, when the national welfare, especially now that the American nation is still in the formative stage,
cries out loud for good-will among its component elements to
achieve national unity.
We in America are drawn from every race on earth. We
are the actors in the greatest experiment in history where such a
conglomeration of heterogenous races are drawn together by one
common interest to be molded together into one cohesive mass
for the benefit of all. Not one ingredient in this compound is
indigenous or native. The only distinction is that some preceded
the others, but all helped to build. Merit, therefore, should rest
only on the willingness and readiness to serve. The so-called
Americans who claim the sole right to the country deliberately
embark on a policy of destruction and by that policy prove themselves un-American. The new-comer who contributes to the wellbeing of the country is on the constructive side and for that reason more American than they.
Viewed in this perspective, we fail to see the wisdom in
advocating the return of the Syrian immigrants to Syria. Not
only do we deem it unadvisable, but it may readily be seen that
such a course is utterly impractical. The Syrians are mainly of
the mercantile and industrial class j those of them who are engaged in agriculture are few in number, and wherever isolated
incidents of social ostracism or other forms of boycot occur it is
not difficult for them to move into a more hospitable locality.
Especially should this be easy and practicable now that they are
still in the settling stage considering the lateness of their immigration. Particularly is this true of those who are in the Western
and Southern States, and these are the sections where such conditions are most-prevalent.
...
...
Furthermore, the factors giving rise to the immigration
movement in Syria have not been eradicated. Not only in the
pre-war period, but even now in post-war times we find the flow
of Syrian emigration constantly on the increase. For this steady
movement there must be an inherent reason. Rather, Syrian
emigration has now taken a different form than the one under
which it started; for while in its earlier stages it was considered
of a temporary character, we find it now to have assumed a definite shape of a permanent nature. If conditions in their land of
migration were not found to be better than those prevalent in
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
their land of birth, Syrian immigrants would not call on those
whom they left behind to follow. Syrian immigrants are now
in the stage where they are beginning to see the fruition of their
early, hard efforts, and they will not forsake positive results to
risk a doubtful experiment. And in their country of adoption
they had children born to them whose conceptions and ideals will
be at variance with everything that is not American. They will
never feel at home in the native country of their parents which,
in fact, is foreign to them. This is a matter of prime consideration and should be the greatest deterrent in contemplating such
a move.
With this we may well dismiss any idea of the possibility
of the return home of the Syrians who are now abroad. We may
assume that the economic factor which first caused them to migrate still governs their course of action, and by no stretch of the
imagination can we picture Syria becoming as equally attractive
as America in this respect in a reasonably short time. Added to
this are family considerations whose influence could not be minimized or ignored.
But what the Syrian immigrants may give thought to in all
earnestness is the discovery of a means by which they could improve their standing as a racial unit in their land of choice. Such
means should take the form of concerted action to show the good
qualities of the race and prove that it is contributing a valuable
addition to the make-up of the American nation. Other races
have adopted an aggressive policy along this line and are claiming for themselves everything that is to be claimed to the exclusion of all others. The Nordics are by no means modest in their
pretensions, and well may they enjoy what rightfully belongs to
them. But we, too, have some virtues. We, too, are adding
our contribution which is by no means trivial and we should exercise our right of claim to it that we may receive our due share
of the credit in helping build and strengthen and improve the
nation. It is a spirit that we should develop because it enhances
our standing as a worthy addition to this great nation, and the
more and harder we work towards this end the prouder we will
be of ourselves and the nation of us, as we would be helping
create a better understanding of the various elements entering in
the composition of the nation of which we have chosen to be a
part.
We invite our readers to express themselves on this subject.
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A SCENE OF CONTRASTS
The ruins in the foreground are those of a Christian church built by the Crusaders. In the distance may
be seen the domes and the minaret of a Mohammedan mosque.
*
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PATRIOTISM ABOVE RELIGION
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During the War the Turks executed many Syrians of liberal
tendencies both Christians and Mos'ems. Their pictures are here
displayed flanked by a guard of honor and showing Cross and
Ci-escent joined by the Cedar, symbol of patriotism.
�A GATE OF OLD JEBAIL
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.
Jebail, or old Byblos, in Lebanon, still preserves many of its
historic landmarks of which the one illustrated
is the entrance to the main street.
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ORGANIZING FOR PEACE
A troupe of junior Boy Scouts in Lebanon where the Boy Scout movement is spreading rapidly.
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49
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
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THE REASON FOR OPPOSITION
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There is a disagreement between
us and the delegates who have come
to the United States on the most
fundamental things for which men
live: life, happiness and liberty.
The delegates are "sent" to preach
the religion of murder, wretchedness
and slavery. And because of this
preaching we will oppose them.
We will oppose them by all the
legal means at our disposal, with all
the help that a high civilization
grants us, and true magnanimity
imposes on us — that we may teach
our enemies what true virtue is.
If we were in a Druze country,
pursuing what the Druze delegation
is pursuing in our country (America) our blood would have flown freely on the edge of the sword. For the
only logic to them (Druzes), excepting only a few individuals, is murder, plunder and treachery.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Jan. 12, 1927.)
HAIL! PEACE
An agreement has been reached
between the Nationalists and the
French Government on the many demands which the former have put
forth, with little modification, in ac-
cordance with the present situation
of the country.
It is likely that France will not
grant all the demands of the Nationalists, but she has already agreed
to some, and may agree to most of
them. For it is not conceivable that
France will agree to all without revision, addition or modification.
It is not within the power of the
Syrians to compel France to concede to them all that they request of
her: they have not vanquished her in
the battlefield, nor have they dispersed her soldiers. The victory has
not been theirs, and the fire of the
revolution has almost died out.
France calculates for the future.
If she grants the Syrians some of
their demands, she does so with the
realization that hers is the gain in
the transaction. In so doing she
rids herself of the revolution, pacifies the country over which she
holds a mandate, and saves her
treasury a tremendous sum of
money, besides the blood that flows
from both sides. She may also regain some of her former prestige, if
not all.
For this reason, the Syrians in the
United States welcome this news
with a sense of gratification. What
is nobler than that the country live
�so
TME SYklAtt WORLu
in peace, and those whom we left
behind in contentment, after a revolution which has devoured the.dry
and the green alike. That revolution could have been easily avoided
had it not been for the stubborness
ox some of the mandatory officers,
and that High Commissioner who
was its immediate cause.
(Miraat-ul-Gharb, N.Y., Jan. 6,1927.)
IN DEFENSE OF HONOR
The thrust of a spear is not half
as painful as the words which that
despicable fellow Janvier uttered in
a restaurant in Beirut, saying, "You,
people of Lebanon, should be ruled
by being beaten with shoes!"
No sooner had these words come
out of the dirty mouth of that fellow than up stood the gallant Lebanese young man, Shikri Gargour,
and gave him a sound beating. And
when a friend of the Frenchman,
called Brown, came to assist him,
another Lebanese, Mukhtar Bey Mukhaish, took him up and flung him
to the floor.
There is a law in the Mexican
constitution which decrees that the
President of the Mexican Republic
has the right to expel any foreigner
whose presence is inimical to the
welfare of the country. It is well
for the Lebanon Republic to include
such a law in its own constitution,
so that it would become impossible
for a foreigner to insult us withiH
the precincts of our own homeland.
We know that such ignoble
Frenchmen represent neither the
French people nor the French Government. But for the French authorities to let them loose among
us, to do whatever they wish, is a
matter which will do harm to the
French policy which resta among u»
not on the power of the sword, but
on the appeal to the heart.
(Al-Rafic, Mexico, Jan. 15, 1927.)
GO THY WAY, 0 FREE ARAB
Let the enemies of patriotism, and
those who have axes of their own to
grind, empty the vial of their vile
words against people of high station,
for vile words are but the mirror
of their owner's character.
Let the enemies of our homeland
vent their spleen against the leaders
of the nationalist movement, for in
spite of their cursings and bewailings they remain among the thinking class of Syrians the same low
fellows who serve the interest of the
foreigners for their own benefit, and
play the traitors against their country in obediance to their evil promptings.
We are today facing a grave nationalistic task which demands our
earnest diligence; it demands sacrifice, sincerity and sound deeds. Let
us, therefore, walk our own way,
leaving the word mongers alone.
Proceed, O patriot, O true Arab
Syrian, and vanquish your enemy by
performing your duty towards your
country; by demanding, in every conceivable manner, the restoration of
its despoiled rights.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y.( Jan. 22, 1927.)
SUGGESTING A REMEDY
Let it be known that Al-Hoda is
on the side of true religion, which
implies that those who bear its message should not preach dissension,
partisanship and prejudice. And most
of the religious men in the East are
of this description.
The calamity of the Lebanon peo-
;
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�KEMUARY,
mi
pie is due to themselves, and not to
the Frenchmen who hold a mandate
over them, nor to the refugees and
foreigners.
Had not the Lebanon people been
sycophants and flatterers, France
would not have given them a regime
which suits them, for birds of a
feather flock together.
Not ten persons in Lebanon are of
one opinion, not even three unless
they are united in conspiracy or submission.
It is a great pity that these contending brethren should submit without contention to the "leaders", the
stingy men of wealth and the fanatic
rabble, and then claim that the world
denies them justice.
However, a way may be found out
on the following principles:
That religious leadership be restricted to religion.
That political leadership be sincere
and free.
That leaders neither bribe nor be
bribed.
That education be compulsary and
free for males and females.
That military service be obligatory.
That the parasites who suck the
blood of the nation like a leach be
forced to work, and that bachelors
be taxed.
That the government be for the
people under tiha supervision of
France, or under only the United
States, should the latter wish so.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Jan. 5. 1927.)
CHRISTIANS AND
MOHAMMEDANS
The Mohammedans, according to
the testimony of the big leader, Faris
Bey Khoury, are prejudiced against
the Christians. Had it not been for
51
the negligence of the government on
one side, and the fanaticism of th«
Druzes and the intrigues of the Mohammedans on the other, the Christians of Syria and Lebanon would not
have suffered what they suffered
from the atrocities of the barbarous
Druzes.
To whom shall the Christians then
go, and who shall be tfheir refuge,
as long as ignorance and fanaticism
are what they are there?
Can one blame them for opposing
the Moslem move for independence,
lest it mean their own evil fate ?
Can they be blamed for calling out
for a Christian mandate, be it European or American, when they
realize that their wretchedness at
the time of the Ottoman Empire wai
not brought about by the Turks, but
by their Moslem and Druze neighbors?
And if the policy of the mandate
has not been always right, it doe*
not follow that we would prefer
to it the fanaticism of the Mohammedan majority. We must, instead,
demand the reformation of whatever
we find wrong, raising our voices in
unison, without dissension or faltering.
At any rate the mandate has benefited us more than we could have
received at the hands of the Turks.
Nor was the benefit ours only, for
our other brethren (Mohammedans)
also were benefited.
Do not be deceived by th© appearance of those who stand before
you declaring that the Druze revolution is a patriotic one. Beware, lest
you consider this revolution as anything else but barbarous, and those
who manage it or fight in it except
as barbarians and wild beasts making ready to pounce on their prey
and commit atrocities.
(The Syrian Eagle, N.Y.Jan. 14,1927)
�>1
a
THE SYRIAtt WORLD
5
Readers Forum
MIXED MARRIAGES
Editor, Syrian World,
The key to existence is unity.
Without unity our thoughts and actions will seethe in a sea of confusion. Were we to look into the
physiological side of a plant we
would see that it is made up of minute parts called cells, and each cell
(or series of cells) differs from the
cells adjoining it to conform to a
specific function. Furthermore, we
would see a heavy body, called the
nucleus, in each cell. The nucleus
is the mainstay of the cell around
which everything is built and without it the cell will die and cease to
function. Each cell plays a particular part in the drama of the plant
life. Their actions are governed in
such a way that no cell will function
to the detriment of the other cells,
and the whole work in perfect harmony. Thus we see that in this united action there is life in the plant —
a perfect model for any nation.
Social unity may be divided into
three great divisions: National unity, spiritual unity, matrimonial unity. Any nation, clan or family
lacking two of the three named unities will cease to exist as such.
National unity embodies those
traits that make possible an undivided whole. Such an undivided
whole is secured and preserved
through universal education, equality in justice and non-discrimination.
If this division of unity fails, then
obviously, the entire social structure
supporting the community falls. But
this does not necessarily mean that
the race will become extinct. If the
J
other two unities exist, the race will
also exist.
Spiritual unity tends to create an
immovable bond among its adherents. This type of unity is a force
of tremendous magnitude in preserving a race, especially if the conditions are warranted as is the case
in Lebanon where the neighboring
land is dominantly Islamic. But just
as it is a powerful factor in preserving a race, it is an equally powerful
factor in dissolving it. Through this
alternative a race finds the easiest
outlet to extinguish itself, for it soon
amalgamates with different races of
the same creed and is forever lost.
The third kind of unity, the one
most important, is matrimonial unity. It is not only the most important, but it is the only race preservative conceivable. If the other two
unities fail, matrimonial unity has
the power of attracting one of them
and reasserting the race. It is due
to this invaluable property that this
unity should be preserved above all
others.
In our humble opinion mixed marriages should be avoided. Not only
do they weaken the race, but they
exert an injurious influence on the
progeny. The minds of the parents
are not fully reconciled to the methods of bringing up the child and
they invariably adopt imitative methods of culture which are neither
genuine nor cordially endorsed to
make a lasting impression on the
child. As a consequence the child
does not lean very strongly towards
either of his parents. Should the
parents be of different creeds this
I
�J
FEBRUARY, 1927
infection is further augmented —
the child, as a rule, grows without a
definite creed and becomes a very
fertile field for atheism.
According to Mendel's Laws of
Variation and Heredity, let us implant in our children the good that
is in us and at the same time render
a signal service to the race that bore
us; for a race is never dead that bequeaths its heritage to its children.
The Syrian race will never become
extinct as long as any two of the
mentioned unities exist.
Jamile J. Kanfoush.
Syracuse, N. Y.
BENEFITS OF BOXING
Editor, Syrian World,
It
Seeing that your excellent magazine is concerned with all things of
interest to Syrians, I wish to say a
word concerning the Art of Boxing,
erstwhile unknown in Syria, but now
rapidly gaining grounds, having been
introduced since the World War.
When I speak of the benefits of boxing, I speak as one who knows by
personal experience. Having been
a delicate weakling in my boyhood,
I became, by physical culture—chiefly boxing — very robust and confident, able to defend myself in any
emergency.
It has been argued by some, by
way of objection to all pugilism, that
it makes a man pugnacious and more
ready to seek than evade a quarrel
in order to display his superiority.
To this the writer does not agree
for he has invariably discovered that
the consciousness of power inclines
men to be less prone to seek a quarrel and more forebearing toward an
opponent, it being inherent in this
health-giving art to bestow upon its
graduates a control of temper and a
53
steadiness of nerve otherwise unattainable.
Outside the pale of professional
pugilism, boxing is essentially a good
thing to know. I don't mean that
every lad growing should learn to
box with the idea of becoming a
fighter. On the contrary, I should advise most boys to keep out of the
game unless they feel an inborn conviction that nature had intended
them for such a strenuous vocation,
and even then to enter the field as
a means to an end.
But in following the principal duties of life, a man never has any use
for a practical knowledge of the
science of the "manly art" as it is
called. The cultivation of it will be
beneficial in enabling him to attain
the full enjoyment of perfect manhood.
Edward K. Bishara
Brooklyn, N. Y.
OUR CUSTOMS IN COURTSHIP
Editor, Syrian World,
Not so long ago, I heard a Syrian
boy say he would prefer going out
with any girl but a Syrian girl. I
am a Syrian, American born, but I
love my people's ways of bringing
up children.
However, I believe that when the
girl is of age, she should have her
company at home, instead of meeting him on the street, as lots of
girls I know have done, and hear of
doing. The young man I have reference to is also American born.
After I heard what he said, I asked
him why he made such a statement,
and his reply was, "Well, if a boy
wants to take a Syrian girl out the
whole town will talk about it. You
know, when a chap takes a girl out,
that does not signify he is going to
�54
marry her, or should marry her."
The Syrian parents should come
half way with their modern children,
so that the outsiders will regard us
broad-minded. Syrian boys and girls
of today should come together more
often and know one another better.
We all know the result of an intermarriage, and we also know that our
mothers, fathers and fore-bears lived together as the Bible would read,
"until death do us part."
But Syrian parents should not
place undue obstacles in the way of
their children's happiness. Our modern life is not that of our parents,
and custom should change with time
and place. A girl friend told me of
a little talk her father had with her.
This was about four years ago. It
was around Christmas, and her aunt
had asked her what she would like
to have for her gift. The girl at
that time was 14 years of age, and
replied that she would like a wrist
watch. After the aunt had gone,
the father said to her: "My daughter, why do you ask your aunt for
a wrist watch, when there is Saba,
a nice boy, who will gladly have you
in marriage? He would buy you
your watch and many other things."
The daughter, on the verge of tears,
said, "Father, I am too young to
marry, and I want to finish school"
I believe the child was right, and
I think most of you will agree with
me.
Catherine Yesbek.
Washington, D. C.
A PROMISING YOUNG POETESS
Omaha, Neb. — The Syrians of
this city are proud of a girl not yet
fifteen who promises to be a poetess
of note, having had many of her
poems published by local American
papers and whose gift for poetry
THE SYRIAN WORLD
revealed itself when she was not
yet ten. This girl is Miss Louise M.
Koory, and I take pleasure in sending you her latest poem.
A Reader.
,+
MOTHER
By Louise M. Koory
O mother in my heart you are
Like a beautiful, heavenly, evening
star,
And I see in your face like" the
sunshine glow,
The wonderful patience you always
show.
That wonderful smile you always
wear,
How do you manage to keep It
there1?
You are far more precious than
dollars to me,
And all through my life you shall
always be.
O mother of mine through all these
years
You have hidden from me life's
toils and fairs.
How to repay you I think I know—
My love for you shall grow and
grow;
And when I am older I shall try to
be
Just the very best you could wish
of me.
And I hope that when you are
old and gray,
You can look back o'er life's
pathway
With that wonderful face all free
from care,
And a look of peace and contentment there.
f
�"
«—
.1
FEBRUARY, 1927
.,11
35
Political Developments in Syria
i
»
According to dispatches received from both Syria and
Egypt, the Syrian revolution is
now at an end. As early as
January 4, the Herald-Tribune
correspondent in Cairo reported
that martial law and the censorship were about to be abolished
in Syria because of the reestablishment of normal conditions,
The whole country, and more
particularly Damascus, according to, the same correspondent,
is assuming a normal aspect,
Fugitives from Damascus and
the surrounding agricultural
districts are returning to their
homes and fields, and the work
of rebuilding the devastated
regions is proceeding satisfactorily.
Another dispatch received
in January, however, reports
some skirmishes to have taken
place between rebel bands and
French patrols. In one of these
engagements
Zaid
vAtrash,
brother of Sultan Pasha Atrash, head of' the revolutionary
movement, is reported to have
succeeded in making his escape
only through the superior speed
of his horse. Zaid Atrash, according to the nationalist press,
is now in active command of the
revolutionary forces in the field
due to the fact that Sultan Pa-
sha has retired to Al-Azrak, on
the Trans Jordanian border.
The Druzes of Lebanon are
now giving the authorities
cause for apprehension. A few
roving bands are terrorizing
certain Christian -sections and
prevailing upon their peaceably
inclined correligionists to join
them by threatening the use of
force. It is announced that these
bands operate independently
and comprise only a small number of men, but the topography
of the country makes it possible
for them to elude the military,
With the abatement; of military activities, diplomatic moves
and manoeuvres have taken added importance and through
the continued silence of the
French High Commissioner,
M. Henri Ponsot, all sorts of
rumors and interpretations are
being set afoot. Lebanon is still
grappling with its internal problems due chiefly to high administrative expenditures and the
depleted condition of the treasury. Now, also, a new element
of serious import has injected
itself in the situation caused by
the fear of the Christian Lebanese to be incorporated into
the body politic of Syria. There
is, to be sure, a strong opinion
among a section of the Lebanese
-
�.., . "J_ii'»m w fm
mik\m mm.-
56
favoring some sort of agreement, bound by a treaty for a
limited time, to enter into an
economic understanding with
the State of Syria, but the preponderance of opinion seems to
be against political unity. There
still appears to be dominant
that inherent fear of religious
reprisals so deeply rooted
among Christians and Mohammedans alike in Syria. Witness
the efforts of the Mohammedans in the Lebanon Republic to
bring about a unification of
Syria which is obviously meant
to produce a Mohammedan
majority, while the Christians
insist on maintaining their independence just to escape such
a result. Certain lamentable
occurrences in the recent revolution helped to entrench this
fear in the hearts of the Lebanese Christians, when several
Christian towns were burned
and pillaged and other personal
atrocities committed manifestly
through religious vindictiveness.
M. Ponsot still maintains his
Sphinx-like silence. He is moving about in Syria with apparent
determination to find things out
for himself at first-hand.His visits to Damascus have been frequent, as also were his trips to
the northern section of Syria.
But so far he has not made a
single declaration of policy. It
is apparent that after M. Ponsot makes his report the policy
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of France in Syria will be set
definitely and immutably. Syrian papers report that he secluded himself for three consecutive
days in his residence in Beirut
presumably to draft his final report, but so far no definite date
has been given for his return to
Paris, and the end of January
finds him still in Syria, while it
had been surmised, at first that
his departure for France was
scheduled for the middle of
December.
In view of this protracted
silence, strange rumors are being
circulated and appear to be finding credence with some circles.
The latest in this line is the one
published by Al-Mukattam of
Cairo, a supporter of the Syrian revolutionistic movement,
to the effect that secret negotiations are being conducted for
the return of Syria to Turkey.
The paper explains that France
is anxious to rid herself of
Syria to avoid draining her
treasury for military expenditures. She would not, however,
cede the mandate to England
for fear of helping make the
Mediterranean Sea an English
lake. Germany bargained for
Syria following the agreement
of Locarno but England objected. The presence of a strong
military power close to Suez and
able to threaten the route to
India is not pleasing to England.
Surveying the field,
France found Italy willing to
�FEBRUARY, 1927
\t
take Syria in exchange for some
of her African possessions, but
Mussolini wanted absolute control and French interests insisted on maintaining their concessions. Consequently, in desperation, France enters into negotiations with Turkey for the return of Syria to her, and the
Arabic paper putting forth this
57
rumor considers it only logical
for France to take this step.
This, incidentally, is the reason given for the continued
silence of M. Ponsot who, it is
claimed, is aware of these negotiations and awaits their result
before committing himself by
any declaration of policy.
About Syria and Syrians
THE SYRIAN NATIONALIST CONVENTION
IN DETROIT
Only two Arabic papers in
New York published reports'of
the proceedings of the Syrian
Nationalist convention which
opened in Detroit, Mich., Jan.
15th. These two were Al-Bayan,
the Nationalist's organ in America, and Meraat-Ul-Gharby the
only Christian paper supporting
the Nationalist movement.
Their reports on the proceedings, however, were confined to
the description, of the enthuastic reception accorded the delegates from abroad, principally
Emir Shekib Arslan, who was
the central figure of the convention.
In his speech in the opening
session of the convention, Emir
Arslan described at length the
negotiations he entered into
with the .French with a view of
putting an end to the revolution. He stated that he consented to • the military occupation of Syria by the French for
five years, and even for a longer time if the National Congress
consented; /but the French were
bent on gaining a permanent
foothold "like all colonizing
powers". French negotiators,
he said, lshowed inclination to
peace when conscious of their
weakness, but stiffened in their
demands upon the revolutionists suffering the slightest reverse. He blames the interruption of negotiations on the new
French Government controlled
by Poincare.
The Emir elaborated on the
purpose of the Pan-Arab movement, and while admitting that
Syria enjoyed a higher standard
�...Jl. I.
._..
... -I
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of civilization than its neighbors, still he sees the necessity
of its joining a federation of
Arab States comprising Transjordania, Palestine, Nejd, Hijaz, Iraq, Yemen Hadramout
and Amman, for the purpose of
self-defense against foreign
agression. These Arab States
he would combine together as
were Austria and Hungary before the War, and together they
would number a population of
twenty millions.
The Emir declared the mission of the delegation to be both
political and humanitarian.
While he undertook the elaboration of the political issues, his
colleague, Nasim Bey Saybaha,
spoke for the war sufferers
whose number in Syria he placed at 100,000.
Subscriptions for the war sufferers were taken up at the convention and partly announced
in loyal papers. No detailed account, however, was given of
the proceedings or the decisions
arrived at. Delegates of fortyfive branches of thq New Syria
Party in the United States attended the convention.
Besides Emir Arslan and Saybaha Bey, a third delegate from
abroad, Mr. Toufik Yazegi, attended the convention, but did
not arrive for the opening. The
fourth delegate, Ihsan Bey Jabery, cancelled his visit altogether on account of illness.
It had been expected that Dr.
Abdul-Rahman
Shahbandar,
the nationalistic leader in Syria,
would take part in this convention, but, according to the latest
advices, he is still in Iraq
preaching Pan-Arabism. Reports persist, nevertheless, that
he is traveling to the United
States by way of the Pacific.
SULTAN ATRASH UNDER
DEATH SENTENCE
In November, 1922, Sultan
Pasha Atrash, the leader of the
present Druze revolution in
Syria, was sentenced to death by
a French court martial for having been engaged in an armed
insurrection against the French
and killing a number of French
soldiers. French military authorities, however, made no attempt to execute the sentence
and it was the general understanding that the foremost
Druze leader was granted pardon. Now, Al-Yarmooky a Syrian nationalist paper, reports in
its issue of January 7 that the
French military authorities have
ordered that the five-year old
sentence be enforced. The paper ridicules the action of the
French in that they have miserably failed in their efforts to
capture the leader of the Syrian
revolution.
�FEBRUARY, 1927
i
HITTI READS PAPER FOR
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The Associated Press dispatches
of Dec. 30, 1926, reporting the proceedings of the American Historical
Association's annual Convention in
Rochester, N. Y., referred to our Dr.
Ph. K. Hitti as having made some
pertinent remarks on the derivation
and proper pronunciation of the word
"sheik". In fact, Dr. Hitti had read
an erudite paper embodying original
research work on the "Origin and
History of the Druzes". Dr. Hitti is
the only Syrian member of this association composed wholly of Professors of History in American Universities, and we hope to be able to
publish his paper referred to in a
future issue of The Syrian World.
SYRIA IS AGAIN
OPEN TO TOURISTS
In a report from the general secretariat of the French High Commissioner in Syria, addressed to the
French General Consul in New York
and transmitted to Abrahim K. Hitti
and Co., of New York, shipping
agents, it is officially announced on
behalf of the Tourist Bureau that it
has again become safe for tourists
to visit and travel throughout Syria
and Lebanon.
The report points out some convenient routes of travel, where modern roads, suitable for motoring,
have replaced the old ones.
One of these routes mentioned is
from Nazareth and Tiberias via
al-Kunaiter% to Damascus. From
there the tourist may take the motor
road to Palmyra, and from there return to Beirut through Homs and
Tripoli, passing on the way by the
Kark fortress, famous in.the feudal
days of ancient Lebanon.
Another route carries one by train
to Baalbeck in less than two hours
time, either from Damascus or
59
Beirut. From there one may proceed northward to Homs, Aleppo,
Alexandretta and Antioch.
Routes to reach the Cedars of
Lebanon, the valley of Kadesha and
other historic places are also mentioned.
The Secretariat requests the
French Consulate in New York to
give the report due publicity, that
tourists and others who wish to
visit these countries, famous for
their historic places and their delightful climate and beautiful sceneries, may be reassured of the return
of security and peace,
NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL
FINDS IN SYRIA
Among the recent discoveries at
Jebeil, the ancient Byblus, as announced in a dispatch to the French
Academy in Paris from the French
Exploration Committee in Syria,
were little bronze statuettes representing Egyptian soldiers of the 12th
Dynasty. These soldiers are armed
with spears bearing hieroglyphic
writings. The name of Cheops, the
Pharaoh who built the Giza pyramid, occurs in some of these writings.
The French expedition also found
in Tyre and Sidon hundreds of little
vessels, and a spear on which was a
writing considered by some archaeologists as the oldest specimen of alphabetical writing extant. In one of
the tombs in Sidon they found a
statuette of Venus, 65 centimeters
in height.
Other valuable discoveries include
altars of the Roman period, decorated with the pictures of the eagle,
the thunderbolt and the bull; two
thousand flint instruments, and a
coin inscribed with an ancient Syriac script, which, it is said, will be
invaluable for the deciphering of
some of the ancient writings,
�:
N., P. & J. TRABULSI
MANUFACTURERS OF
Ladies PRINTED & Fancy
SCARFS
MEN'S
&
BOYS'
SWEATERS
MEN'S MUFFLERS
HOLIDAY NOVELTIES
FOR THE JOBBING TRADE ONLY
599 BROADWAY.
.MEW YORK
l
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1927_02reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 08
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 February
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 08 of The Syrian World published February 1927. This issue opens with an article discussing the archaeological finds of the Hittite Empire by Dr. Philip K. Hitti. That article is followed by a travel journal entry by Ameen Rihani. There are various stories throughout the issue including ones about a Syrian physician, the death of Haroun Ar-Rachid, and the justice of Omar. The political articles included in this issue focus on the effects of the Syrian Revolution in the United States. Contains an article titled "Social Reform in New Turkey" written by Al-Ghazi Kemal Pasha. The issue closes with excerpts from the Arab press and the reader’s forum, as well as information about political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
Great Syrian Revolt
Medical
New York
Philip Khuri Hitti
Travel
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THE
SYRIAN WORLD
A. MOKARZEL, Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
SALLOUM
104 GREENWICH
By subscription $5.00 a year.
STREET, NEW YORK,
N. Y.
Single copies 60c,
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
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MARCH, 1927
VOL. I. No. 9.
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Contents
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The Beyrouth Museum
By COUNT
PAGE
3
PHILIP DE TERRAZI
Syrian Proverbs
5
Good News!
6
Celebrating Carnival in Lebanon
By IBN EL-KHOURY
7
Syrian Folk Songs — O Mother Mine (Moulaya)
Translation by KAHLIL GIBRAN
13
The Stranger — A Drama in One Act
By DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
14
Present Economic Conditions in Syria
By IRVING SITT
24
Slander
30
The Sword of Emir Bashir
31
�RHauaBHm^BHranBnasBUBanni^nas:
CONTENTS (Continued).
The Sphinx (a poem)
By ALFRED G. MUSSAWIR
35
Whence Our Fables Come
By H. I. KATIBAH
36
Some Eloquence is Ruinous
41
Famous Cities, of Syria — Damascus
42
Editor's Comment
We Adhere to Our Policy
A Serious Question
Gifts of Value
We Invite Suggestions
Produce Proof
With Our Contributors
47
48
48
49
50
50
Sprit of the Syrian Press
52
Readers' Forum
54
About Syria and Syrians
58
Political Developments in Syria
60
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Courtyard of the National Museum of Beyrouth.
The Vase with the Pork's Head.
Decapitated Statue of Jupiter.
Where Oriental Art is Supreme.
A Panoramic View of Damascus.
Court of the Great Mosque of the Umayyads in Damascus.
Emir Bashir Shehab.
The Palace of Emir Bashir.
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THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I. No. 9.
MARCH, 1927
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The Beyrouth Museum
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COUNT PHILIP DE TERRAZI
Directory National Library and Museum of
the Lebanon Re-public
The excavations for antiquities that have been actively pursued ever since the conclusion of the War in the rich field which
is open to archaeologists in our historic country have greatly enriched our Museum so that from time to time we find ourselves
compelled to make substantial additions and extensions. In the
latest rearrangement, an attempt was made to group objects according to sources of origin until such time as we would be permitted to make a scientific classification.
Upon entering the Museum, the visitor finds himself in a
square hall in which are displayed Greek and Latin inscriptions
together with fragments of statues originating mainly from Beyrouth itself. Hence we find in the center a colossal statue of
Jupiter which had been deliberately decapitated by the conquerors. (*) The breast appears fully exposed, while the shoulders
and the back are partly covered and the mantle is then dropped
loose and wound around the knees. The -execution is done beautifully in pantelic marble. The statue was discovered in the
ruins of the old Forum of Beyrouth.
*Who these conquerors are the writer leaves us in doubt. The logical deduction would point to the Arabs who have a special aversion
to statues in any form and for whatever purpose. — Editor.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Behind this statue, ranged along the wall of the hall, may
be seen: the lower section of a statue in marble of a Roman
general; a large and beautiful dedicatory inscription to Jupiter
of Heliopolis; Two direct lines similar to the name of M.
Sentius Proculus who filled several high posts in Asia and Africa
and wound up his career by being patron of Syria, then a Roman
colony, in the third century. These latter inscriptions are engraved on pedestals of statues which must have formed in some
manner or other, a part of a monumental staircase. Further, there
are in this room: an honorary inscription in the name of Primus
Sevirus, a commander of archers, engraved by order of the decurions; fragments of Latin and Greek inscriptions in the name of
Vespasian and of Martinios, a Greek general; and other inscriptions of similar import.
In the center of the first room to the right is a large glass
case containing precious objects, and another case is set along the
wall. Four statues of children in beautiful Carrara marble in
which some archaeologists see the influence of the Scopos school
of sculpture occupy the four corners of the room. These statues
of children, nude, in a sitting posture, and in some instances
holding a dove, were offerings made to the temple of Eshmoun,
the god healer, which was located on the .first foothills overlooking the river Bostris, known today as Nahr-el-Awali, near Sidon.
The large center glass case is divided into two sections: in
the one are ranged beautiful glassware of various hues and
makes and of pleasingly harmonious shapes. Some are bellshaped with elongated necks; others are pear-shaped and having
much fuller necks. The sparkling of their multiple colors suggesting those of the rainbow are a joy to visitors. The other section contains a basin, a wine-jar and other Greek vases of reddish
clay, fine and lustrous, whose beautiful shape is typically Greek.
Alongside are ranged potteries of Cheik Zenad, situated near the
city of Tripoli, comprising bowls and vases of a black, lustrous
glaze going back to the latter part of the fifth, or the earlier
part of the sixth centuries. Among these is a beautiful vase surmounted on a pork's head, on the red rim of which are figures
portraying Ephebian games.
In the smaller cases surrounding the central large case may
be found many other objects of interest and value, such as a dozen
archaic heads of the 7th century when Greek art was still in its
infancy; a bust bearing a talisman and a bilingual inscription
�COURTYAKl) OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF I5EYKOUTH
Here are on display art objects which would gladden any archaeologist's heart as
mute records of civilization from the time of the Phoenicians down.
they
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THE VASE WITH THE PORK'S HEAD
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This is one of the valuable objects of art in the possession of the National Museum in Beirut and referred to in Count de Terrazi's article.
�DECAPITATED STATUE OF JUPITER
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The beautiful marble statue in the Beyrouth Museum which was unearthed in the vicinity of Beyrouth itself.
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WHERE ORIENTAL ART IS SUPREME
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Interior of one of the great palaces of Damascus, showing Oriental art
and conception of luxury at their height.
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which has not yet been deciphered and which some contend is a
magical formula while others think it to be a forgery. Another
case contains about fifty scarabs bearing hieroglyphics, together
with a number of gold buckles in the shape of a flat crescent
or a lion's head in bronze, bearing a ring in the mouth and
having been used as ornaments for wooden coffins, are grouped
around a Roman weight in lead, covered with figures of a priest
driving a pair of oxen making an outline of the frontiers of the
colony. Finally, several pieces of black ivory portraying in relief
Christian historical scenes in period and free designs. Included
among these is the resurrection of Christ; St. George slaying the
dragon; two kings at the foot of the Cross, etc., etc. These are
in truth little masterpieces, ut the objects in this hall that are
of most antiquarian value are the straight double-edged daggers
studded with rivets; the curved daggers, the sickles and the
razors all belonging to the age of bronze and discovered at Kaferedj-Djarra, a historic site on the outlying foothills of Mt. Lebanon ta the south of Sidon.
The second large glass case contains hundreds of Roman
grooved vases either olive-shaped or in expanded centers with
elongated necks and bases of the kinds that were common in the
first centuries of the Christian era. There are also several vases
and bowls of bronze some with and some without handles. In
the case of the latter, the handles at times protrude sharply and
are made in the shape of the body of a serpent topped by a human
head of the Grasco-Roman period.
SYRIAN PROVERBS
V
He commits murder and walks in the funeral of his victim
(brazen-faced).
If the camel were to see his hump, he would fall and break
his neck. (Blindness to one's shortcomings).
The tears of /designing women are ever responsive.
Rather a thousand turns than a pit-fall.
Don't push the drunken man, he will stumble of himself.
Whoever is in need of fire will snatch it with his bare
hands.
Rather a free dog than a captive lion.
The trip which nets you only experience is not a total loss.
An ass is an ass though he may have gold trappings.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Good News!
The Editor is pleased to give publicity to the following letter
from IBN EL-KHOURY which is self-explanatory.
My dear Mr. Mokarzel,
You laid me under contribution for a series of articles depicting* various aspects of the simple home-life
of the people of Lebanon. I wish to assure you that
while I exceedingly appreciate the compliment implied
by your offer, I do not feel so certain of my ability
to do the subject justice. You will realize the difficulty
of invoking a mental picture of incidents and scenes
which date back to over a quarter of a century, as there
is always the danger of losing sight of some interesting
little detail which it is possible to observe only when
one is on the spot. However, encouraged by your indulgence and by the appreciative reaction of the readers
of THE SYRIAN WORLD to my first contribution, I
promise to make as brave an attempt as possible to fulfill the commission. I fully agree with you that the
changes now taking place in our East are of such a
kalsedoscopic and revolutionary nature that life in Lebanon as we knew it is rapidly losing its character, and I
deem it indeed a privilege to contribute my feeble share
in an effort to keep it alive at least in memory.
I wish to reiterate to you my thanks and my hearty
appreciation and trust your readers will treat me with
the indulgence which an amateurish effort deserves.
Yours very truly,
IBN EL-KHOURY.
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Celebrating Carnival In
Lebanon
By IBN EL-KHOURY
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The people of Lebanon are extremely frugal. They are
mostly farmers and at best they can eke out of the soil a mere
subsistence by the expenditure of the greatest efforts. Tillable
land is very restricted so that, perhaps, nowhere else in the world
do we find the inhabitants wrestling so hard with nature by resorting to the extreme means of terracing the slopes of the mountains to prevent the soil from being washed away by the torrential
rains as they do in Lebanon. Grazing grounds there are none,
consequently, the only husbandry that is practicable is the raising of limited flocks of goats which subsist on the wld growth
of shrubbery in the wooded sections of inaccessible localities. But
the good Lebanon people are blessed with contentment. They
have an adage to the effect that: "Happy is he who has a goat s
resting-place in Lebanon", and they believe in it literally. They
have the added satisfaction of owning each his own home, humble
as it may be, and so long as they have a roof for shelter they lull
themselves into the belief that they are immune against the fiercest
tempests of adversity. There are families who have been in unbroken possession of the same homestead for centuries and where
the family grows, the same land must be made to support the
whole by means of more intensive cultivation. The Lebanese are
truly a country-loving, home-devoted people.
But there is one season in the year when the Lebanon villagers think of toil least and of joy most. It is the week preceding Lent — Carnival Week, the week when they revel in feasting on meat and drown their petty worries and cares in a deluge
of wine. To them Al-Marfa' is the season of joy unbounded; ot
revelry supreme; of the enjoyment of the great bounties of nature as they understand them best. Al-Marfa', or Carnival, is
their real Thanksgiving, only it is,a week instead of a day, and
they prepare for it months in advance, and when it comes they
enjoy it to the full, as it marks both the culmination of their
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
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fruitful efforts at arduous labor and their abstinence from indulging in pleasure of any form during the trying days of Lent.
To appreciate why meat is the principal ingredient in Carnival Week in Lebanon one must needs have an intimate sketch
of the routine life of the Lebanon farmer. In spring he is occupied in plowing and sowing, and during a part of spring and
summer he does the most intensive labor of the year. It is the
time when, aside from his regular field work, he has to raise his
:ocoon crop, which is a task requiring, at a certain period in the
life of the silk-worm, the concerted efforts of the whole family
night and day. The worm grows more omnivorous as it advances in age, and the operation of gathering the mulberry leaves
and chopping them fine when the worm is young, and later serving the leaves whole but in greater frequency and quantity as
the worm grows, is a labor that taxes the time and strength of
the farmer to capacity. Later comes the harvesting of the wheat
and the gathering of the grape, fig and olive crops which keep
the farmer intensively occupied, until the advent of the rainy
season and the long, bleak, wintery nights, when he rests from
his labors and with his granaries full and his cellar overflowing
with wine, settles down to the enjoyment of the bounties of nature gathered through his tireless efforts. Throughout this all
he and his partake very little of meat. It is only in the larger
villages that a sheep or a calf is killed once, or perhaps twice,
each week. In this respect the Lebanese are vegetarians by force,
but they thrive well on their fare of whole-wheat bread and
cereals.
But during all this period of intense labor there is one little
detail in the life of the Lebanon farmer that is never lost sight
of. It has both its sentimental and practical values. It is a custom that has been tenaciously adhered to for centuries and to
miss practicing it during any year would be construed as a calamity. The children would consider themselves deprived of a
privilege, the mother of a pleasant and useful pastime, and the
father of the most personal and palpable reward for his yearly
labors. It, is the custom of raising the family lamb for Carnival
Week.
So a lamb is bought in the spring and is allowed at first to
gambol with the young children while the elders of the family are
engaged at more serious tasks. But then a time comes in the
autumn when the mulberry trees give their second crop of leaves
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which are at this late time in the season used for fodder. Now
the lamb comes into his own as the real pet and center of attention. The elders vie with the children in feeding him. He is
allowed at first to feed all he can and then fed some more. It is
a process they call "forceful feeding". They resort to the expedient of opening the animal's mouth by force and stuffing the
tenderest and choicest mulberry leaves and other appetizing vegetation into it. In doing so they would all be looking forward
to the time when they would enjoy his tender, savory meat. They
fancy him dressed up in the most appetizing form during their
greatest period of festivity and thanksgiving and they do not
want to reproach themselves for having been wanting in their
care
°^ ^im. Hence their sustained interest and energy.
When preparations for Carnival Week begin to take shape
so long ahead, it may be readily appreciated in what great delight
Carnival festivities are anticipated and in what high favor they
are held. And when the week does come, all the relaxation
expected after the hard work of the previous season, and all
the ease and tranquillity anticipated during the months of the
winter vacation,;find expression in the boundless joy and hilarity
which are indulged in during the grand celebration.
It is called Carnival Week and a whole week of festivities
it is in the fullest measure. Calls ars made on neighbors and
friends beginning with £unday and parties are held amid a great
deal of merriment. But the day of all days is Thursday. It
has been given the sobriquet of Drunkards' Thursday although
hardly anyone is drunk with the good, unadulterated, rejuvenating and revivifying Lebanon wine. Some men would feign
being drunk to give a touch of reality to the day, but when the
party breaks up in the early hours of the morning, while not
even a star casts a friendly ray to guide their steps in the treacherous mountain paths, these seeming drunkards on Drunkards'
Thursday show scarcely a sign of being intoxicated and guide their
women folks home without a stumble. And for a fitting climax,
and a proper night-cap, most of them gulp down a glassful of
their own wine at home before retiring.
Thursday of Carnival Week is ushered in auspiciously and
with all due ceremony. The sheep is led out for slaughter and
many a tear may be seen to trickle down the cheeks of the children at the hour of parting with the pet which they had come
to love so dearly. In a short while he is brought back lifeless
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
astride the shoulders of the sturdy father and the skinning operation begun in the welcome warmth of the house. The skin is
salted and rolled up for future curing when it will serve as a
useful addition to the furniture. Many are the silky skins of
sheep that are spread around the open hearth of every Lebanese
house whose soft and warm touch are most inviting in the cold,
wintery nights of the mountain.
The initial operations over, the carcass is turned over to
the women of the house who apply themselves with zest and
pleasure to prepare it for the table. In the first place, some
choice morsels of lean must be reserved for the hors-d'oeuvre, or
maza, and for broiling on skewers. This latter operation the
men attend to between their rounds of drink. The women would
be the while engaged in pounding and mixing the Kibbe... Strong
arms and beautiful are those of the Lebanese women when they
are seen circling the massive stone mortar taking turns at wielding the heavy wooden mallet. The meat must be pounded into
the finest pulp before it is mixed with the.borgul, or broken
wheat, and their cheerfulness in the task they loudly proclaim by
chanting sweet and joyous folk songs. Now they have reached
the point where they are mixing the ingredients, and the mother
takes, a handful of the pudding-like mixture to the father who is
squatting by the fire for sampling as to spices.
"Sallam Allah Hal-Day at" (May God save those hands,)
is his cheerful greeting to her, and he counters by forcing on her
a goblet of wine. The brothers and sisters come in for a share
of the wine, too, from the father, and the mother supplements
that with a handful of kibbe to each. These exchanges of courtesies are kept up all the time the meal is under preparation.
They are the necessary preliminaries to the grand feast.
Finally dinner is served. A boy is ordered to build a great
fire that would last the whole evening without further attendance.
Several logs of pine-wood are piled on the fire and presently
they burst into flame with a cracking that sounds like music. Who
cares about smoke? Pine-wood has the aroma of musk to him
of the Lebanon. Tradition has it that its smoke is good for the
eyes, and when your eyes water from smoke, that is equal to a
collyrium or eyewash for your weak optics—providing the smoke
be that of pine-wood.
The service must be ceremonious in order that it be befitting
the occasion. The father seats himself in the center of the
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room and all others follow except those who are actually needed
for service. The tablia, a large, round table rising about a foot
from the ground, is placed before them. Two children bring
a large brass tray heaped with steaming dishes and place it on
the table. The wine-jar is by the side of the father, and the pile
of marquouq, the thin, large bread of Syria and Lebanon, is by
the side of the mother. No sooner does the father begin than
everybody falls to. Spoons and forks may be considered superfluous on such an occasion, but every Lebanese, old or young, can
shape his pliable, thin bread to serve the purpose of either without trespass on the dictates of hygiene. Steaming rice with lamb
stew is followed by kibbe both raw and baked. Preserved squash
and grape leaves stuffed with rice and lamb meat follow. Lamb
meat raw, lamb meat broiled, lamb meat cooked, are to be seen
in plenty and are heartily relished. And all the while each and
all would be claiming the credit for having fed the lamb so that
its meat became so delicious!
When the children begin to show signs of satiation the father reaches for the wine. And one needs have no doubt of the
wonderful digestive properties of Lebanon wine. Furthermore,
the people of Lebanon entertain no scruples about giving wine to
children. To behold children of the tenderest age being given
wine to drink one would be inclined to suspect that they were
baptized with it
Finally comes the dessert. This consists principally of native products such as figs stewed in molasses and pine seeds,
dried figs and raisins. For a pastime during the evening, acorns
would be baked in the hot ashes and although they are at first
bitter, they give a most wholesome and sweet taste when followed by a draft of water.
Now the feast is over and a brass basin and ewer are brought
by one of the children to the father for his ablutions. Everyone then scurries away with some thing or other but the jug of
wine remains. For is this not Drunkards' Thursday?
This particular house happens to be that of the leading
man of the section, and now that night has fallen, neighbors
begin to flock to it for a social party. Each new-comer is hailed
with a shout of joy, and after shedding their muddy boots and
slippers by the door, they enter and squat on the sheepskins
by the walls. The center of the room is kept clear for a
good purpose. A few rounds of wine are passed and then some-
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one suggests a dance. A tambourine is produced and a dapper
young man begins to play on 'it with deft fingers — but no one
warms up for a dance. Then someone discloses a reed pipe and
soon the room is filled with the soft and touching melodies which
are so often heard as magic notes echoing in the stillness of the
night through the slumbering valleys of Lebanon. A young man
jumps to his feet and, with a twisted handkerchief in hand which
he waves in a circling motion above his head, he takes the floor
and executes a graceful dance. He would be all the time circling
and bowing in all directions, but at one end of the room he comes
to a sudden stop, takes a pretty maiden by the hand and raises
her to her feet. The blushes that cover her face only add to her
radiant comeliness, but her modesty is overcome by the clapping
and the encouraging shouts of the company.
Folk-dances in Lebanon are still the graceful, modest dances
of old. The nearest the dancers come together is when they
touch hands at the point of making a reel. Improper, suggestive
contortions are not to be countenanced by reason of the fact that
they are unknown. Love in Lebanon, like all life in Lebanon,
is as pure and virile as Lebanon air.
The dancing couple are spurred to greater action by the
growing intensity of the piper, to which is added the rhythmic
hand-clapping of the whole company, but when they begin to
show signs of exhaustion they would not desert and leave an
empty floor; another couple is impressed into taking their place
and consequently the performance is made continuous.
But between acts the parched throats of the strenuous dancers
must be moistened with a draught of wine, and for their sake the
throats of the whole company.
In this manner every day of Carnival Week is celebrated in
Lebanon, more particularly Drunkards' Thursday. But at the
stroke of midnight on Sunday all mirth and hilarity suddenly
stops j everyone retires with a prayer on his lips and Monday
finds every inhabitant of the village in church being branded with
a large ashen cross on his forehead as a mark of penitence.
"Be thou not impatient, nor let depression o'ertake theej
For success perishes between impatience and depression."
"Procrastination is the key to misery."
Ali.
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Syrian Folk Songs
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Some, years ago the National Board of the Y.W.C.A. published a volume giving the original and an English translation of
the folk songs of many peoples. Those of Syria were translated by
two of our noted authors, Kahlil Gibran and Ameen Rihani. We
are taking the liberty of reproducing to our readers those sweet
songs of their native land in both the original and the translation.
Editor.
O MOTHER MINE (Moulaya)
Translation by KAHLIL GIBRAN
O mother mine, spread me the silken sheet,
And let me lie down, and cover me with' rose leaves.
For love-sick am I, and flames of love consume me.
And if I die tomorrow, Mother, I beseech you
Call round me my comrades, the daughters of love,
And over my bier let them sing me my dirge.
O ^mother mine, yesterday our secret was our own;
Today who does not know it?
My love has gone afar,
And now I would write to him.
If you deny me paper, I'll write on wings of birds;
And if ink you deny me, I'll write with my heart's blood!
O you, who are climbing the mountain,
A drink will you not give me from the hollow of your hand?
In truth, I am not thirsty,
But I would have a word with you;
And it may be the wind will lift your scarf
And let me look full at your face!
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M
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The Stranger
A DRAMA IN ONE ACT
By DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
SCENE — The interior of a mountaineer's hut.
TIME — The first watch of a winter night.
Discovered, a small square room with white-washed walls
and a floor of beaten earth. The rafters, which are merely poplars roughly dressed and were once upon a time white, are,
through the action of the smoke, as black and shiny as polished
ebony.
High in each wall there is a small square hole meant to allow the smoke to escape.
In the walls, right and left, are two small windows with
shutters made of rough boards.
In the rear center is the door, which is of the same construction as the windows, and in front of which there is a depression
in the floor wide enough to allow the door to swing freely inwards. Near the door there is a water jar resting in a sort of
frame of rocks, round and elevated, and lined with bushes which
act as a buffer between jar and rocks. An earthern-ware pitcher
with a spout in the side, and a copper cooking-pot are in a row
near the jar. In the corner, right, stands a barrel of dried clay
about five feet in height, near the lower end of which there is a
hole through which grain or flour, as the case may be, may be
drawn. In the corner, left, there is a pile of bedding, poor and
cold in appearance.
In the center and nearer the front is the fire-place. It is a
primitive affair — a horse-shoe of dried clay about fifteen inches
in height, with a groove in the upper inside rim for the pot to
set in more firmly.
The floor around the fire-place is covered with a rush mat,
over which and immediately in front of the fire is spread a sheepskin; otherwise the floor is bare.
Squatted on the said skin are mother and daughter. Their
faces are lit by the low blaze before them, whose rays but dimly
relieve the obscurity of the room. The mother is over thirty:
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her face, once radiantly beautiful, is now, despite the suffering
and privation indicated by her surroundings, gravely sweet and
gentle. The girl is not more than eight. In the garments of both
mother and daughter desperate efforts at mending are visible.
Frequent gusts of wind are heard, and in the intervals the
distant roar of the sea.
As the curtain rises, the mother is seen to drop two pieces
of dry bread into a bowl of water and then busy herself in picking some winter herbs which lay in a heap near the bowl. Presently, a step is heard. Mother and daughter rise to their feet and
turn to the door. The girl shivers visibly.
ENTER a boy of twelve, bare-footed and scantily dressed.
A rough cloak, secured around the waist by a rope, comes down
to the knee. He carries on his back a fagot.
MOTHER
(Lifting the fagot from the boyys back).
What makes thee late, my boy?
BOY
The wind blows hard
And I would fight it step by step: and once
Among the houses, boys I met who told
How in their houses, their mothers were preparing
Wheat and nuts and other things. — Mother,
To-night is wheat-boiling night
MOTHER
Come, thou'rt cold.
BOY
No, no, I'm not!
MOTHER
(to the girl).
More sticks upon the fire.
(BOY and GIRL squat on either side of the fire; the mother resumes her place and occupation.)
\
GIRL
(Bursting into tears.)
Fm cold! O, mother, mother! I'm cold!
MOTHER
Come, come, dear heart: nearer — nearer the fire.
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
(She tries to gather the girl's skirt around the shivering
limbs.)
GIRL
(Curling nearer to the fire).
And, O! my back as if to naked thorns
Is bared
(Mother picks the sheepskin and wraps it around the girVs
body.)
MOTHER
(To boy).
Art cold, my dear?
BOY
Not I, mother.
I am a boy!
"My man" thou callest me!
I merely hunger.
MOTHER
(Picking more herbs and trying the bread with her finger).
Patience, O my boy.
The bread will soon be soaked.
(Pause) .
List to the wind!
The portals of the North are open wide,
And from the cheerless depth there issue forth,
Bristling with arrows sharp, the chilling gusts,
Leaping from hoary peak to icy crag.
Upon the face they smite the frowning cliff,
Then raging sweep the vale.
(Pause) .
They're piercing like
A leopard's naked fang, and like a steel,
They're keen
(Musingly.)
And wretched rags to meet their sting!
And now, dear hearts, we'll eat.
(She extracts a piece of bread from the bowl and ofers to
the boy, together with some of the herbs; then she offers to the
girl.
BOY and GIRL cross themselves and begin to eat.)
MOTHER
Beneath this roof,
�17
MARCH, 1927
Within these walls, however bare and cold,
More warmth and comfort we enjoy than scores
Of weary travelers, blinded, benumbed,
That push their weary way towards no home;
No shelter with its friendly warmth and cheer
To greet their shaking limbs. Upon the sea —
You hear its distant roar —'many a man
Hangs to a rope or mast, while through the dark,
Bleak night he sees nor shore nor beacon light
GIRL
Thou eatest not, mother.
BOY
(Peering into the bowl).
There's nought to eat!
GIRL
Thou'lt share my bread.
I am a man
BOY
No, no! Take mine, mother.
Little sister, keep thy share.
MOTHER
(Gathering her children to her breast, while tears roll
down her fale cheeks).
O, cheer and comfort' of my sorrowing heart,
O, treasure of my poverty! Kind God,
Thy name be praised! Nay, nay, I hunger not.
My darling boy, thou art our man, to thee
We look and hope thy sire's place to fill.
Our man thou art though young.
BOY
But I will grow —
Grow big and strong, and toil from morn till night,
And you and sister shall have meat,
And warmth like our neighbors, and
That's all
The wood my back would stand, but when I grow,
My load will grow likewise.
MOTHER
(Kissing the boy).
Thy sire's heart!
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
18
GIRL
(Hanging to her mothr's neck).
And I will also work!
MOTHER
I thank Thee, Lord!
Let them who roll in hoarded riches boast
Of such 'a treasure and they can — then rich
Indeed! Dare they the widow, taunt, degrade?
I've sown respect, and love, and tenderness,
Noble) impulse, and I behold the bloom
Burst forth — the fruit anon. The widow's boast,
The widow's pride! Let want his fell teeth gnash,
Let winter creap amain: — is there not food
In this, is there not warmth?
(Pause) .
Let's to our bed,
And let me fold unto my breast, and press
Against my heart my darling brood.
BOY
But, nay!
Forgettest thou the wheat, mother?
M
th
so
ft
ch
hi
MOTHER
Tis late.
BOY
No, no!
And all the boys were telling how
The wheat was being washed, and how the nuts
Were being shelled; the juicy pomegranate
Will swing no more from wall or rafter.
MOTHER
The night is far advanced.
BOY & GIRL
We are not sleepy,
And we will wait.
MOTHER
Well,
well,
(She rises to her feet, hesitates, then moves in the direction
of the door. As she goes out, she pulls off the kerchief from her
head. Presently she reappears with one hand behind her back.
She reaches for the pot, goes to the barrel and, with her back to
m
�MARCH, 1927
19
the children, she pours into the fot something which makes a
sound as of seeds coming into contact with the metal. She then
fills the fot with water and adjusts it upon the fire-flace. The
children's faces brighten, and the boy files more wood on the
fire and blows the flame to make it leaf higher.)
BOY & GIRL
We'll wait, we'll wait!
(The mother resumes her seat and covers her face with her
hands.)
j. j gggg .4
BOY
Mother, didst thou add Anise-seeds?
MOTHER
I did.
GIRL
I smell it not.
BOY
Nor I.
MOTHER
Not till they boil.
BOY
Ay, ay, then on the curling steam we'll smell
The fragrance.
GIRL
But we have no sugar.
BOY
We'll eat it plain.
GIRL
Yes, yes, we'll eat it plain.
(The girl turns suddenly and throws her arms around her
mother's neck.)
What makes thee weep?
(She, also, begins to sob.)
MOTHER
'Tis nothing, child. Now,
now
Hark!
1
(The faint crow of a cock is heard.)
Hark, he crows again.... once more,.... three times!
(Musing.)
�20
'
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A stranger in the place. On such a night —
Who can the stranger be!
Pray, children, pray
That God may speed the stranger home: that, sore
Of foot, mayhap, of heavy heart, forlorn,
May shelter find.
(Pause.)
One night — in years gone by —
While snow lay deep upon the village lanes
And choked the mountain pass, while icy winds
Made dumb the angry parley twixt the wolf
And dog, while every villager pressed nigh
His hearth, a traveller appeared, whence none
Could tell. 'Tis said: his rags could hardly hide
The efforts, hard and desperate, of chest to keep
His soul that hovered o'er his lips from flight.
An ancient man with beard that stole the hue
From the bank he trod. But rich and poor
Made answer to his knock: "No room". "No bed."
"Try yonder door." "Away or else ! Away
He went with tears and sobs.
Rejected for
Her poverty, denied the countenance
Of fortune's first-born, far from other huts
A widow lived — the stranger's final hope.
She welcomed him, he shared her children's bed.
But on the morn, her humble guest stirred not,
Nor sign nor sound of life made he.
Alas,
Suspicion often finds an ample space
To make its home behind the patched robe
Of poverty, while from the polished cloak
And smooth, she rolls into the dust.
Afeared
She lifts the cover, and beneath she finds
A heap of gold Hark!
(The door is pushed open.
Enter STRANGER.)
STRANGER
Unto you be peace!
.
�MARCH, 1927
21
MOTHER
(Who is already on her feet).
And unto thee be peace! Poor our home, poorer
Our cheer j yet, — Yet — Approach the fire and warm
Thy limbs.
STRANGER
(Approaching the fire).
Fret not, good sister, 'bout my food,
For bread I do not crave. Besides, 'tis said
'Mong you that, Late arrivals miss their meal.
(He smiles.)
MOTHER
'Tis early yet.
STRANGER
Ay, ay, not late at least!
Let us sit down.
(They gather around the fire. The stranger throws
some sticks on the fire and gazes-on the pot.)
STRANGER
Ah, 'tis wheat-boiling night.
GIRL
(Pressing nearer to the Stranger).
Yea, and mother is boiling some, and thou
Shalt have a share.
MOTHER
(To STRANGER).
Thy way was long and wild?
(STRANGER acts as if he did not hear her remark.)
BOY
Simply boiled wheat, stranger. No nuts,
Nor all the other things the boys told of.
But I will grow, and, once a man, and thou
Our guest
MOTHER
(To STRANGER).
Thy quest, to brave,a night like this,
Or vital or most urgent
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
GIRL
(To STRANGER.)
YOU love wheat?
MOTHER
My dear, you tire our guest.
STRANGER
Nay, sister, let
The children speak; their hearts are on their tongues.
MOTHER
And thus more visible, not hard to reach,
To harm accessible. Sore trials have
Their counsel wise not giv'n, nor precedent
Its aid to harden. Ah, to him who fought
And bled, who as a garment wears hig scars
A single thrust is nought — his days, indeed,
Without a wound are void, are incomplete
And lack much needed zest. But such as they ,
Alas!
Well, suffering might wisdom teach,
Still may our God be gracious unto him
Who, ere his time, becometh wise!.... Wheat!.... wheat!
Look round. Does this spell wheat?.... Dost understand?
Wouldst pity have, beguile the night, tempt sleep.
Ah, A sun may rise upon the morrow!
Some tale relate, or legend old and quaint,
Adventure strange; tell of thyself, thy land,
The wonders of the, road, thy kin, thy home —
No pauper thou,.... methinks I know thy face —
Whence comest thou, and whither goest hence?
STRANGER
(Rising to his feet).
(As he talks, the water in the pot begins to boil, and a thin
column of steam mounts to the rafters. This, however, will not
be noticed by the mother and her children, so engrossed are they
m the STRANGER and his aspect.)
So be it then!
I
�MARCH, 1927
I
23
I cross the land from east
To west, from north to south. The sun may pour
His flaming flood, the lusty winds may rage;
The torrent wild from crag to crag may leap,
And cataracts may boom and thunder loud,
The foaming deep may dash against its bars
Immovable, yet naught will stay my steps.
Nor1 mount nor vale, nor sea nor sand I dread,
But on and always on.
The world my home,
My kin, whose door resisteth not my touch;
Who on Love's altar casteth all to rise
To heav'n a cloud of, fragrant offering.
When storm and tempest rage, and want's steel claws
Clutch tightly round the heart, and suffering
Takes shape or of complaint or fortitude j
When plenty harbors pride and selfishness,
Or gratitude and charity I go abroad to see.
When darts, blindfolded, leave
Th' eternal bow, some barbed with treasure rare,
Some winged with hardship sore I issue forth.
Some fall with golden wounds, and others rise
And thank j some drawn in blood and tears, and some
Wipe gore and briny drops with hope's soft hand
Thy pot hath boiled — behold, thy stones are wheat!
4
(A cloud of steam rises from the fot loaded with the aroma
of boiling anise-seeds. Mother and children turn from the pot,
but the stranger has disappeared.)
BOY & GIRL
(Rushing to the open arms of their mother).
The wheat is boiling!
MOTHER
Yea, and we shall eat.
Slow curtain. —
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
-«
Present Economic Conditions
In Syria
\
By IRVING SITT
L
To us of the younger generation, Syria must be of interest
chiefly for the reason that we are so intimately related with people
who were one time citizens of that Eastern land. All of us
know, too, in a general way of the life and customs of the people
of Syria during our fathers' younger days. Having these two
factors as a background, we wonder how the mark of progress
has left its trace on Syria, the commercial threshold between the
nations of the West and those of the East.
In,many ways Syria has not changed from its order of long
ago, but in some ways she has shown great advancement in the
understanding of international relationships as well as in politics.
That is, the tenor of the life of the average Syrian who, lives in
the farming districts has changed but little. The manners of
dress, occupation, social customs, and the primitive ways of agriculture and manufacture still remain. On the other hand, the
people of the cities and the government officials, especially, have
become concerned with ultra-modern problems such as the ballancing of the national budget, the balance of foreign trade payments, the need of a stabilized currency and of conditions of banking and credit, as well as of political contact with the League of
:
Nations.
-^ i^Pf
The presentLboundaries of Syria are different from those of
our fathers' boyhood. Under the present French Mandate, Syria
is a state of 60,000 square miles which, for comparative purposes,
is but slightly smaller than our New England States and is almost
twice as large as present-day Austria. Turkey lies to the north
with Iraq (Mesopotamia) and the Syrian Desert to the east,
while Palestine lies to the south.
At no place is the country more than 300 miles wide while
its seacost is some 250 miles in length on the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean.
The population numbers about 3,000,Q00 but is a most
heterogeneous one. For although the natives of Syria are known
\
ft
4
�MARCH, 1927
25
as Syrians they are composed really of eight distinct ethnic races
and their mixtures. The larger part of the population, however,
is Arabian in origin and Mohammedan in religion. Nevertheless,
religious sects are almost as numerous as races. The Moslems
do predominate heavily but the Christians constitute a strong
minority, the two principal churches being the Roman Catholic
and,, the Greek Orthodox. The Druzes compose the third principal religious group.
AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES
The basis of the economic life of Syria lies in her agriculture.
Her wealth is almost wholly derived from the soil. Because
Syria has such a great diversity of climate, ranging from tropical
heat in the Jordan Valley to a temperature compatible with perennial snow, she is able to grow a great variety of vegetable products, cereals and fruits.
Wheat is by far the most important of all her crops, but
vegetables and fruits of all kinds compose a large part of her
food supply. Cotton, tobacco, silk growing and live stock raising are other agricultural activities that are increasing in value
and importance each year.
The growth of cotton, for example, has been almost phenomenal} a total of 45,000 bales being raised in 1924 from 2,000
bales in 1921. Because the possibilities of cotton production are
recognized by the French a system of experimental plantings
have been devised which has resulted in this great increase in so
short a time, and which promises, to increase the acreage planted
from 50,000 to 2,000,000. The production of tobacco has also
received official attention and some 3,0j00,000 pounds annually
have been achieved.
Progress may be well recorded in certain branches of agriculture but we must always bear in mind that the methods of
agriculture used by the peasants are most primitive in every respect. Farming is carried on by whole families on small farms
of 25 to 60 acres each. Irrigation, fertilizing and rotation of
crops are unscientifically done with the result that there is a' continued and progressive improvement of the soil.
Because Syria is essentially an agricultural country and possesses an agricultural system of pronounced primitiveness, the
industries arising from her agriculture assume in the same manner
both primitiveness and undevelopment.
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syrian industries are home industries and their chief function is to supply the domestic requirements with as many finished
products as can profitably be manufactured. The chief industries
are silk spinning, brass work, weaving of cheap silk and cotton,
knitting of hosiery, lace making, oil and soap, wine and spirit
making, dyeing, rope and string, baskets and pottery.
The most important industries that have shown noticeable
improvement in development during the past few years are the
silk industry, cotton ginning, milling, cigarette manufacturing
and tanning of leather.
In the silk industry great strides have occurred from the
growing of the cocoons to the spinning of the thread. The year
1920 produced 1,800,000 pounds of cocoons which increased
yearly until 1924 saw 6,100,000 pounds produced} an increase
ol; some 300% within four years. During that period the construction of spinning factories increased 116% from 34% in 1922
to 81 % in 1924. Although the spinning is done almost entirely
by j Christian women and girls in the Lebanon district, the output
has been greatly enlarged.
In Northern Syria the French have erected the first power
cotton ginning plant, which will in all probability be the beginning of a respectable cotton growing and ginning development.
During 1925, a few modern steam flour mills were also introduced to improve the quality and increase the output of native flour.
As for cigarettes, the possibility of manufacturing them at
the source of production was seen directly following the War.
Machines were introduced and most satisfactory results followed.
1913 showed 360,000 pounds produced} by 1921, 2,400,000
pounds were turned out and 2,600,000 pounds in 1924.
The tanning industry was also greatly developed as a result of the War, which cut Syria off from her usual sources of
supply. Since then it has been estimated that 1,000,000 sheep
and goat skins and 200,00:0 cow and horse hides are tanned and
finished yearly. A modern tanning factory with French and
German machines has already been set up to further develop
the industry. As a result the manufacture of shoes has almost
been sufficient to shod the nation.
The manufacture of brasswork and inlaid woodwork of
Damascus are well-known and are also showing signs of advancement. The export value of these articles for 1924 was over
$1,000,000, an increase of some 25% over the preceding year.
*
�^JMBBBSHMHHRMMHMVHHNBMHNMI
MARCH, 1927.
27
What was feaid of agriculture must be emphasized regarding
industries. They are small, primitive and relatively undeveloped. The outlook for both these fields is promising, however.
In agriculture, for example, an area of 12,500,000 acres might
effectively and profitably be cultivated which is four times the
present area under development. This fact alone is the true
basis of Syria's future. With the advent of machinery and large
scale production and proper irrigation much should be accomplished.
In the industries, machinery, scientific knowledge and technique should result in greater cotton ginningsj better leather,
now impossible because of the lack of them; silk that might equal
that grown and spun anywhere except in special localities of Europe} excellent, flour and olive oil and perfumes and soaps and
so on. The French, Germans and Belgians are investing their
money in the future of Syria as are the English, Italians and
lastly the Americans. We may soon see astonishing results.
p 5
4
I
I
FOREIGN TRADE
With all the antiquated methods of Syrian farming, herding and industries, her foreign trade during the last several years
has shown marvelous improvement. It is still true that Syria
continues to show a large unfavorable balance of trade, which
seems to be a natural phenomenon of her economic life, but the
spread between the! value of her imports and exports has greatly
narrowed.
In 1922 exports amounted to $9,000,000 while in 1925 they
totaled $23,000,000 or an increase of 150%. Imports, however,
during that same period increased from $41,000,000 to $46,0*00,000 or only 11%, truly an excellent showing.
Syria's import trade consists almost entirely of finished manufactured products and during years of poor harvests, of large
quantities of foodstuffs, cotton and cotton goods, cereals and produce, building materials, fuel (coal, kerosene and petroleum),
autos, chemical, paper, etc., etc. Her best source of supply is
the United Kingdom, which supplies almost one-fifth of her total
imports, with France, Italy, Turkey, the United States (who supplied 12% of her total in 1925) and Egypt following in order.
Syria's import trade is relatively stable. Her needs are well
known and, therefore, it is to her export trade that we must
look for more important developments.
�—— '
I l|MPWM
—
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Even to this day we find that Syria's chief importance in international commerce is as an entrepot (a port of entry for goods
in transit) for the trade of the more eastern countries of Asia
Minor, Iraq, Turkey, Transjordania and Persia. Hence we find
that Syria's best customers are the eastern countries of Palestine,
Turkey and the other Levant States that account for some 40%
of her export trade. France and the United States follow these
countries in order, the United States taking 11 % of her total
export trade in 1925, an increase of 21 % over the preceding year.
Syria's export trade increased one and a half times within
four years. Starting with 1922 and $9,000,000 as mentioned
above, 1923 recorded $14,500,000, 1923, $17,750,000 and 1825,
$22,900i,000. From these figures it is evident that as Syria becomes more and more able to find herself in relation to her agricultural production and industrial development her prospects for
a continued rise in exports will be most assured.
Much of Syria's export trade is of a reexport character which
has been estimated to be equal to 30% of her total export trade
in 1924. This transit trade passing through Beirut, Aleppo and
Damascus is a most lucrative trade for the country and fitted to
the genius of the middlemen of those cities. It is not so much a
transit trade as it is a matter of achieving a purchase at a profit
and a sale at a greater. This transit trade has led to conventions
signed with Palestine, Turkey and Transjordania permitting
goods to pass through each other's territory with a mutual refund
of duties and a treaty with Iraq pertaining to goods bound for
and coming from Persia
Although definite signs of growth of this reexport trade
are not yet prevalent, the 1924 trade showed an increase of 20%
over that of 1923. The next few years will show whether it
will be possible for Syria, under her new political conditions,
to become the sole middleman for Palestine and Asia Minor
and whether geographical conditions wilLallow such an expansion
of commerce with Baghdad as is hoped for.
CURRENCY — MOTOR ROUTES
Syria's currency during the last few years has been another
barrier to her economic and especially to her political peace of
mind.
With the coming of the French, Syria's currency was linked
up with that of the franc and 20 piastres became equal to 1 franc
�MARCH, 1927
29
and 20 francs equaled one Syrian pound. Consequently, with
each fall of the franc in world markets, the Syrian currency fell
five-fold. During the last seven years the franc lost, by a steady
downward movement, some 75% of its value. With each drop
in purchasing power there was an attendant decline in confidence
in the currency and in the issuing government. Hence all business was soon transacted by commercial bills of exchange or promissory notes drawn on a foreign currency such as the dollar or
pound Sterling. Without question western influence shows itself
clearly in this matter of currency and in no favorable light. For
as a result of the currency debacle, trade during that period was
hectic and unorganized and remained very poor right through
the last half of 1925 and the early part of 1926.
While the above episode was in progress the government
succeeded in achieving two vital financial results which, had
they not been properly solved, would have resulted in the worst
of economic and financial chaos. The balancing of the national
budget and the reduction of the amount of notes in circulation
helped the people to weather the storm of their depreciating
currency. With a poor currency and extravagant government
expenditures that are common and even necessary, when the
values of everything seem to be dwindling, the government would
have been forced to print money to make up the deficit incurred.
Such printing would have further depreciated the value of the
money, assuming proper reserves were not set up against it, and
the vicious cycle would have been started which in the end would
have resulted in economic disintegration, hoarding and barter.
A most vital development within Syria now progressing is
the establishing of motor routes to facilitate travel and trade
within the country itself but more especially with her immediate
neighbors. In the North, motor transport, it is reported, has increased to such an extent that the camel caravan trade has been
practically ended. The route from Beirut to Damascus to Baghdad to Teheran has attained great popularity despite the fact
that the roads are not of the best. But distances throughout the
country have been greatly reduced by time. The run from Beirut
to Teheran, for example, a distance of 614 miles was done in
16^2 hours by a high grade American car.
These routes are opening up overland travel to Iraq and
Persia that must in ithe end stimulate Syrian commerce with all
the surrounding countries.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
30
The railroads, of which there are but slightly less than 500
miles in the country, have been competing with these motor
routes by reducing rates. But Syria is still at the stage where
she can use both railroads and motor routes to excellent advantage.
LOOKING FORWARD
The future economic development of Syria rests on two
major movements. The first, and perhaps the more important,
is that the investigation now in progress, by the Permanent Mandate Committee of the League of Nations, concerning the political question of the state, be successfully concluded.
Second, Syria's attention must be seriously turned to her
development of agriculture for she can never hope to excel in
industry, a most pertinent reason being that she lacks minerals
and coal or petroleum. The absence of these elements has always been a hindrance to industrial development in any area to
which they could not be transported easily and cheaply.
Modern methods of agriculture must be introduced along
with machinery and proper systems of irrigation. By so doing
her agricultural output could easily be increased two or three-fold,
which in turn would increase the importance of almost all her
industries which are dependent on agricuture. A wise policy of
government aid to agriculture will do much to improve the whole
tenor of life and to; raise the standards of the greater proportion
of the people.
In a general way the country has settled down to its new
size and her commerce, though restricted, is on sounder lines
than in the earlier days of occupation. Her future, if not
brilliant, may prove to be very comfortable.
m
SLANDER
Said al-Mamoun to one of his sons: "Beware, my son, of
listening to backbiters. Never has a backbiter come to me with
a slander, but his station fell in my estimation never to rise again."
"Slander is the pastime of the ungodly, and the revenge of
the mob."
Anonymous.
If they know of a good report they hide it, an evil one they
proclaim} and when they do not know they lie.
�MARCH, 1927
31
The Sword of Emir Bashir
{£!/ie last feudal Prince of Lebanon who was an ally to the
Great Napoleon and received from him this
sword as a personal gift.
An interesting relic, the sword of Emir Bashir Shehab, a
personal gift to this Lebanon prince by the great Napoleon,
comes into the news to reopen a page of interesting Syrian history. The Congress of the Lebanon Republic having appropriated the sum of £50 to purchase this historic sword from its present owner, a member of the Shehab family, another member of
the family steps forward and outbids the government for the
possession of this valuable heirloom by paying the owner the sum
of £100, or what would be equivalent to, $485.00. But the Syrian, press is immediately thrown into an uproar by the developments. "Is it not within the power of the nation," they ask,
"to pay an adequate price for such an historic sword that should
by right be on display in the National Museum while the people's money is being squandered on sinecures and futile ejq^eriments?" There is even a hint that the sword may be lost to the
nation altogether as already some interested Americans are negotiating for its purchase and have made an offer of several thousand dollars for it.
What enhances the value of the sword is the fact that not
only was it that of the last and one of the greatest feudal princes
of Lebanon, but that it had been at one time the favorite sword
of Napoleon Bonaparte, presented to the Lebanon prince as a
token of friendship and a bond of alliance at the time Napoleon
invaded Syria.
Emir Bashir had many swords, but this particular one he
prized most both for sentimental reasons and historic associations.
It is the same sword which he drew in the face of the Turkish
Wali of Damascus in the battle of Al-Mezzat which was followed by the victorious entry of Emir Bashir into Damascus itself
as the ally of Ibrahim Pasha the Egyptian.
The sword itself is of Slavic origin and has, inlaid on its
blade in gold, a picture of the Virgin Mary and some prayers
in the old Russian language. Originally it was the property of
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
an Austrian general who had married into a noble Russian family
and on the occasion of his wedding, his father-in-law made him
this sword a wedding present. This same general gave battle to
the French in the war of 1797 and upon his defeat surrendered
his sword to Napoleon who carried it ever after until he made
a gift of it to Emir Bashir.
Emir Bashir was a most romantic figure. Through sheer
personal force he placed himself at the head of the Shehab
family and came to be known as one of the greatest rulers of
Lebanon.
.
The Shehabs are Arabs of the purest stock, of the very
stock from which the Prophet Mohammed is descended, the Koreish tribe. The original name is Malek; it was changed to
Shehab in the days of Omar Ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph
of Islam, who granted Malek Ibn al-Harth, Ibn Hisham, the
town of Shahba in Hauran as a fief. His father, al-Harth Ibn
Malek, was an early convert to Islam, and had fought in the
battles of Badr and Hunein against the Arab heathens.
When Timurlane invaded Syria, the Shehabs moved to Lebanon, and lived in the district of Shoof.
In the year 1696 Emir Ahmad al-Ma'ni, the titular prince
of Lebanon, died in Deir-ul-Kamar, leaving no issue. The choice
o£ the leaders of the country fell on Emir Bashir Shehab I, the
grand-father of our hero, known as al-Malti.
Only 21 years old when the reins of rulership over Lebanon
were handed to him, Emir Bashir II came on a stage of intrigue,
treachery and bloodshed.
His chief opponent was a Shehab, Emir Yusuf, and many
skermishes were fought between them, as both vied and bargained for the favor of Ahmad al-Jazzar Pasha, the despot of Akka.
A battle was fought in Wadi-1-Mayman, in which Emir Yusut
was completely vanquished, and he fled to Zabadam, then to Hauran. From there he sought the pardon of Ahmad al-Jazzar, and
receiving it, he appeared in person in 1789, wearing a handkerchief around his neck, a sign of absolute surrender. Al-Jazzar
reinstated Emir Yusuf over Emir Bashir, for the consideration
of the huge sum of 600,000 girshes, a large sum in those days,
but equivalent to about $30,000 in American coin.
But Emir Bashir, not to be daunted, went in his turn^to
Governor al-Jazzar and promised him what Emir Yusuf had
promised, and went back to Lebanon to supplant his veteran
i
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»
«
EMIR BASHIR SHEHAB
One of the great ruling princes of Mt. Lebanon who was a contemporary
with Napoleon the Great and received from him as a gift his persona!
and favorite sword.
'
�nil imiMuil Mug—I——
THE PALACE OF EMIR BASHIR
* » » \.
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MMM
Oft) ? I MMMKi
1 HS^ <
a i
At the time he was at the zenith of his power, Emir Bashir Shehab built himself this
Bteddin which is one of the show places of Lebanon.
£ n n P n o gr
o3 t/>s.» e.
t- aa oo 5 £<*?
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beautiful
palace in
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\ II
i
MARCH, 1927
33
enemy. More wars followed before Emir Bashir established
his rule over the intractable people of Lebanon. For they hated
him at first, and many of the leaders never liked him even when
his rule became famous all over Syria for justice and fair-dealing. It is quite possible that they hated him particularly for
this. The people themselves complained of his onerous taxes
and his many wars, but admitted at least that there was method
in his despotism! He introduced many beneficial innovations,
one of which was isolating cases of epidemics,. which saved as
many lives as he had killed, perhaps, in battle. Another one of
his innovations was introduced when locusts swormed Lebanon
one year. He commanded the people to go out and gather the
eggs of the locusts, which had bored their nests in the soil and
laid their eggs. A huge quantity of "locust seeds" was thus gathered, and the crops of Lebanon were saved. Emir Haydar Shehab,
in his History of Syria, declares that Emir Bashir was the first
one to employ this method of exterminating the locusts which
from immemorial times have infested Syria. Since his time it
has been in use in Lebanon and Syria, along with other more
modern ones.
In the year 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Syria with
his victorious armies which had conquered Egypt. He took Jaffa
and proceeded to Acre, to which he laid siege. Emir Bashir was
a great aid to Napoleon. He sent him provisions and was sympathetic to his cause, as were the rest of the Christians of Lebanon. But the Druzes were dismayed, as the author of the article on the Shehabs in the Bistani Encyclopaedia informs us. His
aid did not last long, for the English admiral, Sir Sydney Smith,
sent to Emir Bashir saying: "Those Frenchmen entered Egypt
claiming that they are Moslems, and had destroyed the crucifixes
in Rome." This had its effect on Emir Bashir, for he stopped
his assistance to Napoleon, and it is said that this was one of the
contributing causes to his repulse from Acre.
By this time opposition and intrigue at home was seething.
The sons of Emir Yusuf, with the help of a powerful politician,
George Baz, and a few of the malcontent leaders, succeeded in
ejecting Emir Bashir from his governorship. He fled to Cyprus
on board an English ship of Sir Sydney's fleet, from whence he
went to Alexandria. In 1804 al-Jazzar Pasha died and was succeeded by Ibrahim Pasha who did not last long, then came Suleiman Pasha, one of the Mamluks of al-Jazzar. Suleiman and
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Emir Bashir were friends, and it was not till Suleiman's time
that "the foot of Emir Bashir was established in his principality."
Two of the events in Emir Bashir's time stand out prominently. In 1826 he helped the Turkish Government in repulsing the Greeks who had sent ships to Beirut. Five years later,
Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mohammed Ali Pasha, first Khedive of
Egypt, started his famous invasion of Syria with Constantinople
as his ultimate goal. Emir Bashir was one of his strongest allies. While in Egypt, Emir Bashir was won over to the ambitious cause of Mohammed Ali Pasha and his energetic son. At
first Emir Bashir hesitated between his loyalty to Governor 'Abdullah Pasha, successor of Suleiman Pasha, and his promise of
help to Ibrahim Pasha. But he finally decided in favor of the
Egyptian invader.
In the year 1840 the European Powers intervened and put
a stop to the victorious advance of Ibrahim Pasha against the
Turks, after he had reached the northern borders of Syria. The
Egyptian forces were withdrawn from Syria, and Emir Bashir
was left alone to bear the 'brunt of the revenge of the Ottoman
Government. From that year dates his decline.
He was exiled to Malta, hence his surname of "Maltese",
but later, through the efforts of friends, he was allowed to take
up his residence in Constantinople where he died in 1850 and
was buried in the Armenian Catholic Cathedral.
Popular traditions about Emir Bashir soon sprang up after
his death. He was one of those romantic figures about whose
personality cluster many tales of popular fancy, to which distance lends charm and plausibility. His lion-like features helped these tales and traditions to persist in. the minds of coming
generations. He was a tall, square-shouldered man, vheavilybuilt, with broad, bushy eyebrows. His voice was deep and
heavy, and his angry looks made offenders who were brought
before him tremble with fear. Among the, stories about his impressive augustness is one in which it is related that when he
was an exile in Constantinople the grand vizier called him to his
house. When he appeared the grand vizier arose and with him
stood all the Ottoman dignitaries present. But, upon Emir Bashir's departure, the friends of the grand vizier remonstrated
with him for showing the Emir undue respect. He promised
that the next time he came he would receive him seated.
So he invited him another time, but as the Emir appeared, the
�MARCH, 1927
35
grand vizier again arose, remarking afterwards that something
irresistible in the appearance of Emir Bashir made him jump
to his feet.
But of all the traditions told of Emir Bashir, none is more
interesting, nor throws so much light on his integrity and the
iron hand with which he established peace and order in Lebanon
than the one about the lonely woman going to her home at night.
It is related that a man came to Emir Bashir and said to him:
"O prince, last night I saw in the Wadi of al-'Ullaik a young
woman walking alone, under the wing; of darkness. I approached her and said, 'Fear you not to walk alone at night?' and she
replied, 'I walk not alone, for Abu Sa'da (referring to Emir
Bashir) walks to my side.' "
The Emir patiently listened until the end, then snapped
back at his informer: "The young woman was right. But how
dared you speak to her. What business had you to approach a
woman alone in the dark of the night?" The story adds that
the Emir punished the man severely for that seemingly slight
offense.
The Shehab family is one of the leading Maronite families
of Syria and is well-represented among the Syrian immigrants
in the United States and elsewhere.
THE SPHINX
By ALFRED G. MUSSAWIR
Mute, as the rock from which the hand of man
Has carved his ponderous face,
Colossus of the desert sands,
Magnificently there he stands,
Upon that naked waste.
Passive, massive, stone,
Alone
\
Upon a silent sea of hell-hot sand,
And looking down upon that sterile wilderness,
Where, clinging to the desert's palsied empty breast,
There grows
A. desert rose
The Sphinx, unseeing, unimpassioned, gazes on,
But the rose, still clinging,
Grows!
�1
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36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Whence Our Fables Come
By HABIB I. KATIBAH
Of all the books of ponderous speculation and mystical
philosophy that emanated from India — that land of ascetic
Yogis, of lazy cobras, ferocious beasts and impenetrable jungles—
none has attained the popularity and wide-spread influence
throughout the world as did the book of simple, practical wisdom "by the tongues of animals", known as the PANCHATANTRA — literally, "The Five Books".
Few Syrians there are who would recognize this polysyllabic
name, but who of the older folks, whose early school-days were
spent in Syria does not know of Kalila wa Dimna? Who of them
does not recall the sweet memories of the school-room, by the
church, or "under the oak tree", when the thunderous voice of
the despot with the pomegranate twig prompted the timorous
pupil1 as he stumbled in his reading of these fables which invariably began with, "Said Dabshalim the king to Baidaba the philosopher, give us a fable, etc."?
The reading and rereading of those delectable "fables within fables" of "Kalila wa Dimna" is one of the few joys which,
I am afraid, the younger Syrian generation are missing from their
elders.
Kalila wa Dimna is simply the Arabic translation through
the Pahlavi, i. <?., Persian, of the original Sanskrit — the Panchatantra.
The name of the Arabic book is taken from the two chief
characters — two foxes — one of them the villain, in an -animal
drama which has its king, queen, viziers, intrigues, ambitious and
tragic mistakes. It is a drama in which the wisdom and folly of
men are mirrored in the action of animals, who are supposed to
talk and feel like human beings. The names from which the
Arabic ones are corrupted appear in the original as Karataka and
Damanaka. But one need not hastily suspect that the Arabic
translation of the book does not give justice to the Sanskrit.
Those who are competent to judge, have been rather surprised,
despite the many alterations and free changes, at the -fidelity with
if
storie
woul
�MARCtty 1927
ST
which the Arabic approaches the Sanskrit, although, as we have
said, the Arabic itself is a, (translation of a translation.
Perhaps the Panchatantra would have been introduced to
our readers more properly by calling it the chief source of a
great many fables known to the literature of the most civilized
countries, and the model and inspiration to as many more. It
forms one of the' sources of La Fontaine, and,> as far back as the
6th century B. C, the famous Aesop drew freely, it is claimed,
from, the floating sources which later chrystallized into the Panchatantra. The fables of the Panchatantra were popular in the
Middle Ages, and the little collection of romances belonging to
that period of history, "Aucussin and Nicolette", contains one
such fable, while in the 15th century a German translation of
the Kalila wa Dimna, through the Latin, "attained a great popularity for a number of centuries."
Arthur W. Ryder, in the introduction of his beautiful, modern translation of the Panchatantra calls it a book which "for
more than 20 centuries has brought delight to hundreds of millions."
«,
"The Panchatantra," he enthusiastically comments, "contains the most widely known stories in the world. If it were
further declared that the Panchatantra is the best collection of
stories in the world, the assertion could hardly be disproved, and
would probably command the assent of those possessing the
knowledge for a judgment."
Actual composition of the Panchatantra is assigned by
Johannes Hertel, the German scholar who is considered the
greatest living authority on the subject, to the 3rd or 4th century
A. D. But it must have existed in its oral form centuries long
before, while the individual legends from which the book drew
its material go back perhaps to immemorial times, and must have
certainly preceded Aesop. Thus India, in ancient and in recent
times, and mainly, through the Panchatantra, establishes its claim
as the cradle of the fable, and the mother teacher of wisdom
"by the tongues of animals".
The scheme of the Panchatantra is so simple that, like so
many great books of history, it appears to one almost inevitable.
A Hindu king who had three dull sons became worried
about them as he approached old age, fearing to leave the destinies of his kingdom in their charge. Every effort to educate them
through the regular channels having failed, the king gave out a
�msmem
_____
38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
great prize to the, one who would succeed in inculcating wisdom
through their thick skulls. At last came a wise Brahmin, his
beard white with old age, and his venerable, wrinkled features
commanding the respect even of kings. He bowed before the
king saying that he would teach his three sons within six months,
declining any reward for his service. The result was the Panchatantra, through whose engaging fables the wise Brahmin
sought to teach the three dull sons of the Hindu king the practical wisdom of life, and the intricacies of court morals, subtleties
and manners.
These fables are grouped around one main story, itself a
fable, or rather branching out of it, and rebranching, until one
is. sometimes lost in the maze of complicated discourses and illustrations, carrying along with them fables within fables.
Naturally enough, the hero of the main fable is the Lion,
the king of beasts, who ruled supreme in a secluded jungle. One
day a stray Bull was heard bellowing on the border of the jungle,
and the Lion, who had never seen a bull before, concluded from
his lusty bellowing that he must be a formidable animal whom it
would be hazardous to encounter. The Lion, therefore, kept
to his den, while his subjects brought him his meals at the proper
times. A scheming fox, Dimna, who had noticed the anxiety
and timorousness of the Lion, wished to make capital of it for
his, own advancement in the royal court. To this, his brother,
Kalila, remonstrated by advising him to keep to his lowly, contented station, and not aspire to the precarious companionship of
kings. But Dimna, of a more ambitious and adventurous mettle,
would not listen to him.
Dimna went and humbly presented himself before the
Lion, obsequiously ingratiating himself to him, with the slyness
and skill characteristic of his tribe. After winning the confidence
of the Lion and playing on his fear of the Bull, Dimna promised
to bring the Bull submissively before him. This the ambitious
Fox did, and was duly rewarded by the Lion for his friendly
service. But not much time passed'before the Lion and the Bull
became sush friends that the Fox was neglected, and soon forgotten. Dimna, not to be daunted, planned day and night to
resume his former grace and popularity at the Lion's court.
One day, after a long absence, he appeared before the Lion,
gloomy and melancholic. The Lion asked him the reason for his
absence and for'his changed features. Dimna at first hesitated,
1
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�MARCH, 1927
39
but when pressed for an explanation unrolled a tale of despicable
lies and calumnies about the Bull, saying that he was belittling
the Lion before his courtiers, and inciting the soldiers of the
King to mutiny. Then he went to the Bull and told a similar
story about the Lion, saying that he was contemplating to devour
him and feed his friends of his meat, declaring that the Bull
was a stranger in the jungle, belonging to the herbivorous family,
fit only as prey to the superior beasts.
Thus inciting one against the other and supplanting their
friendship with suspicion, Dimna succeeded, by his treachery, in
removing the Bull.
But Dimna was no less secure, now that his rival had been
eliminated, than he was before. He had many enemies in the
court of the king who envied his station, and despised him at
heart, as one who was unworthy of it. The Lion grew morose
at the death of the Bull, and regretted his haste in killing him.
One time late at night, as the Tiger was returning from the
court of the; king, he overheard Kalila rebuking Dimna for his
treachery against the Lion and the Bull. The Tiger told the
Lion's mother, who hated Dimna most, exacting from her a
promise not to tell the Lion. But the Lion's mother did not rest
till she brought about the indictment of Dimna, who was sent
to prison. There a companion prisoner, in a dark, inner cell, overheard at midnight a conversation between Kalila and Dimna
which corroborated the testimony of the Tiger and brought about
the conviction of the guilty Fox. Dimna was paraded in the jungle,
a warning to other beasts, and hanged to a tree.
This, briefly, is an outline of the most famous, and perhaps
the greatest fable in the history of literature. It would be fatuitous to add that it does not begin to give justice to the artless
beauty of the simple narrative, the flourish of Oriental imagery
and subtle philosophizing, or the classical purity and eloquence
of the Arabic translation of the Panchatantra.
Little is known of the translator, Abdullah Ibn al-Mukaffa'.
The name, which means "the Son of the Cripple One", tells a
sad story about his father, a Persian, who was employed as a
tax-collector in the court of al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf, the notorious
despot of Mesopotamia under the Umayyads. He was accused
of extortion and put to torture.
Abdullah, the son, entered the service of 'Isa Ibn 'Ali, the
paternal uncle of the first Abbaside Caliph, Abu-1-'Abbas as-Saf-
�_
_
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
fah. He abjured his Persian religion, Mazdeism, and became a
convert to Islam. But his conversion was always held in suspicion, being accused of practicing Mazdeism in secret. On a
trivial pretense, he was executed by the Caliph al-Mansur in
757 A. D.
One feels pardonably sorry, even at this long interval, for
the fate of this otherwise obscure Persian convert who gave so
much joy and instruction to countless future generations through
his translation of the Panchatantra. For it was through the
Arabic translation that this most delightful of books came to be
widely known to the world.
Ibn al-Mukaffa' made his translation from the Persian version of Burzueyh, a scholarly physician in the court of Chosrau
Anosharwan (531-579 A. D.), who tells us in his introduction,
also translated by Ibn, al-Mukaffa', of the adventures he courted
in copying and smuggling the book from India.
j
A Syriac translation, from the Persian, was made in 570
A. D. But the Syriac version, except for scholarly purposes, is
comparatively of little historic importance. It was the Arabic
Kalila wa Dimna which became the progenitor of the European
and other versions till very recently, when scholars began to go
further back into the original Sanskrit.
Kalila wa Dimna was translated into Old Spanish c. 1251.
An earlier translation into Hebrew was made by Rabbi Joel in
the 12th century. Joel's translation was done into Latin by John
of Capua, a Jew convert to Christianity, between 1263 and 1278.
From this Pforr's popular German translation was made. Another translation into Spanish from Capua's Latin appeared in
1493, while an Italian named Doni turned the Latin translation
into Italian, and from the Italian translation we have the English of Sir Thomas North, "The Moral Philosophic of Doni",
in 1570, the first English text of the Panchatantra fables. It was
reprinted in 1601 and later in 1888.
Another English translation, that of Knatchbull, 1819, was
turned from a French edition by Sylvestre de Sacy. This translation was reprinted in Cairo as late as 1905.
This does not exhaust the descendants of Ibn al-Mukaffa°s
translation. There was a Greek one made in the 11th century,
a Syriac made in the 10th century, and, strange as it may appear,
a Persian, by Nasrallah, in the 12th century. For the translation
of Burzueyh had been lost, and the translation current today
i
!
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�MARCH, 1927
41
in Persian, under the name of "Anwari Suhaili", is in fact a later
translation of the Arabic by Husein Ibn Ali al-Waciz. This latter
Persian translation in turn invaded the West and found its way
to most European languages.
Due perhaps to its unprepossessing name, whether as the
Panchatantra or as Kalila wa Dimna, this most popular of books
in the East, and at former times in the West, is little known to
most modern readers of the English language. A popular edition put up by E. P. Dutton, under the title "Fables within Fables", did not have any too large a circulation, I am informed,
and has since been discontinued from the "Everyman's Library"
series. Yet the Panchatantra is one of the very few Oriental
books which do not depend for their appreciation and enjoyment
on any thorough knowledge of the East, or the Hindu philosophy
in particular. Its sound, practical wisdom is not necessarily Hindu. Rather is it a little un-Hindu-like in its emphasis on smug
security and worldly happiness. It has been even characterized
as Machiavellian in its tenor, and in the shrewdness of its courtly
advices.
There is no good reason why the Panchatantra should not
become more popular, and our sincere hope is that Ryder's translation would help to make it so, in spite of its formidable name.
SOME ELOQUENCE IS RUINOUS
It is related that when Shirawaih, a Persian king before
Islam, defeated his father Kisra Abriwiz in battle, and wrested
the kingdom from his hands, one of the common subjects met
him on his way back from battle and congratulated him saying:
"Praised be Allah who caused the death of Abriwiz at thy
hands, and made thee reign in his place, and rid the Sassanids
of his cruel and unjust rule!"
The victorious king, hearing this, asked £he man:
"How didst thou fare in the days of Abriwiz?" The man
replied that he fared well.
The king then asked: "What made thee censure him to me,
when he neither took away thy livelihood nor wronged thee; and
what business have the subjects with the affairs of kings?"
Then, turning around, he commanded that the man's tongue
be torn out, as he remarked: "Verily some dumbness is better
than some eloquence!"
U
�*«
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Cities of Syria
Damascus
To the weary traveler in the Syrian Desert who suddenly
emerges from the serpentine windings of al-Taniyyah ravines
into the vast expanse of arid, sterile sand that stretches endlessly
before him, broken here and there by the mirage-like verdure
of a lonely village, Damascus gradually rises and expands before
him like a magic city majestically risng from its subterranean
chamber.
It is quite impossible to describe the sensation of that first
vision or communicate it to one who had not experienced it personally. Sensuous dreams of fragrant, fruit-laden orchards are
heightened by the insatiable thirst, slackened occasionally by the
brackish water from mildewy rain-water reservoirs on the road.
Sparkling fountains in Moorish squares, on whose spotless marbles clatter the wooden kubkabs of dainty, houri-like ladies in
seducing negligees, break upon the inner eyes of the dusty traveler, as his nostrils pick the stray scents of jasmine and rose wafted
on the wings of the cooling noontide zephyr coming from the
near, yet distant city.
Some such vision, some such transport of delight must have
been back of the Arabic tradition that when Mohammed first
cast his eyes upon the city of Damascus, he hesitated to enter it,
saying that Allah vouchsafed every man one paradise, and since
Damascus was the earthly Paradise, he did not want to wager his
chance of entering the Heavenly one.
Long after, when the power of Islam cast its shadow on the
choicest lands of the East and West from the borders of Cathay
to the Pyrenees, and from the outskirts of Constantinople to the
wilds of Sudan, another tradition still gave Damascus the preeminence among all the "beauty spots" on the face of the earth.
That Damascus should have become inevitably a great city
of commerce and industry from immemorial times seems to
have been preordained by its geographic position. It is literally
an oasis in the midst of a literal desert. Only ten miles from
the outer walls of the city bring one into the Syrian Desert on
�MARCH, 1927
43
the east or south, while on the west it is hedged off by Mt. Hermon> and on the north by a barren spur of the Antilibanus.
Damascus is the natural emporium of the Syrian Desert
and the hinterland of Syriaj it is also the natural market for
Beirut, Jerusalem and the harbors of the Mediterranean cities
on the Syrian shore. Northward, the roads of Damascus lead
to Palmyra and Baghdad, and southward to the Persian Gulf
and Arabia. In ancient times it was a central link between great
empires: Babylonia, Egypt, Persia. jOnly for a brief period of
time was its supremacy as the "bride" of Syria ever challenged.
Caravans laden with spices and ivory from the land of Sind
and Hind stopped to rest in the spacious khans of Damascus before speeding on to the boats awaiting them on the shores of
Phoenicia. Most likely the Queen of Sheba stopped there on
her way to visit' the king-sheik — Solomon.
In time Damascus became famous for its industries especially weaving and iron works. The English word Damask is a reminder of ancient skill in fine silk weaving, and Damascene blades
were famous all over the world from very remote times.
Any bit of green in that particular spot would have sprouted out into a city of some importance. But nature seemed to
have taken pleasure in lavishing its tender caresses and munificence on that privileged city. It gave its earth abundant fecundity, and poured through its plains and valleys the liberal libations
of living waters. From this conjugation of nature sprang forth
al-Ghouta, the famous orchards of Damascus, about 30 miles by
8, and 2300 feet above the sea-level. On the north, the Ghouta
is traversed by the seven streams of Barada, on the south by
Barbar and A'waj (the Abana and Pharphar of the Bible). In
this comparatively narrow and restricted valley grow all conceivable kinds of fruit and shade trees. Groves of poplar, willow
and walnuts intermix with orchards of apricots, apples, pomegranates, pistachios, almonds and peaches. The grape-vines< of alGhouta are unexcelled anywhere in the world, perhaps. No wonder the people of Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, claim that the
seeds of their grapes were cast down from the orchards of Paradise above!
The city itself is about a mile long from east to west and
half a mile from north to south, with an extension almost a mile
long southward known as al-Midan. The city is thus, as it has
been pointed out, mallet-shaped, with the mallet head lying
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
northward, where another extension, separated by Barada, rises
on the hills of Salihiyyah. Its population is about 300,000.
How old is the city of Damascus? One passage in the Bible
(Gen. 14-15 and 15-2) connects the name of the city with the
story of the patriarch Abraham. The chief servant of Abraham
was a certain Eliezer of Damascus. Even earlier than that the
name occurs in a list of cities annexed by Thotmes III in the 16th
century B. C. A century later the name again appears in the
Tel-Amarna tablets, consisting mostly of diplomatic letters between the local governors of Syria and their lords, the Egyptian
Pharaohs.
In the Biblical period Damascus came under the influence
of the Arameans, and was called the City of Aram or Aram of
Demeshek. Sometimes the Hebrew gives, a variant spelling with
an "r", Darmeshek. The Arabic name to the present day preserves the Aramic original, Dimashk. The relations between the
ancient Hebrews and the Arameans were sometimes friendly,
as in the days of David, and sometimes otherwise, as in the days
of Ahab (9th century B. C). At one time the Jews established
quarters in Damascus, — concessions — at another the Arameans
established quarters in Samaria. While these two little States
were occupied thus in bickering disputes, the formidable shadow
of Assyria in the north and east was growing and drawing near.
In 854 B. C, the combined forces of Aram, Samaria and other
Syrian States went down in defeat before those of Shalmaneser II
in the battle of Karkar. In 733 B.C., Tiglath-pileser annexed
Damascus along with other Syrian cities and northern Israel. He
executed its king Rezin and carried its people away to captivity.
From that time dates an eclipse of Damascus which lasted
for several centuries. It came into relative prominence under
the Persians as a seat of authority and prosperity. Cambyses,
a great Persian king who had successfully invaded Egypt in the
6th century B. C, died in Damascus on his way back to Persia.
Under the Greeks, following the death of Alexander the
Great and the partition of the Greek Empire, Damascus became
part of Selucidas, whose capital now became Antioch, owing to
its advantageous position in the western section of the new kingdom, and its nearness to the Mediterranean Sea. For some
time Damascus played a secondary role to that of Antioch. In
the Roman period Damascus attained a sort of independence under the rule of the Arabs, Nabataeans. When St. Paul went to
uas
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A PANORAMIC VIEW OF DAMASCUS
This historic city of Syria is reputed to be the oldest city in the world, but its heart still pulsates with the
blood of youth. The great Umayyad Mosque appears in the upper right hand corner.
-
�COURT OF THE GREAT MOSQUE OF THE UMAYYADS IN DAMASCUS
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�MARCH, 1927
I
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45
Damascus to persecute the new sect of the Nazarenes, it was an
ethnarch under king Aretas (the Arabic Harith) who held the
city. It came under the rule of the Romans in 63, A. D., or the
9th year of Nero.
Visitors to Damascus, today, are still shown the supposed
opening in the old wall from which St. Paul was let down in a
basket, to flee from the wrath of king Aretas.
Damascus again came to its own with the rise of an Eastern
empire — Islam. For about 100 years it was the capital of the
Umayyad Caliphate — the most powerful dynasty of those times
in the world, surpassing in military power and extent of occupation the Roman empire at its height.
When we think of Damascus, it is the Damascus of the
Umayyads that first comes to our mind; it is the Damascus of
scented bazaars, of pompous courts, of singing slave-girls, of transient caravans, the meeting center of the many strange races of
the East that mingled freely and loosely within the amorphous
body of the Islamic empire.
It was in the year 634 A. D. that the city of Damascus fell
into the hands of the Arab warriors under the leadership of Khalid Ibn al-Walid and Abu 'Ubaida al-Jarrah. The demoralized
forces of the Byzantines fled before the zealous Arab hordes,
fresh from the deserts of Yemen, Najd and Hijaz.
Tradition has it that part of Damascus was vanquished by
Khalid Ibn al-Walid who entered the city from the eastern Gate,
Bab Tuma, while the other part surrendered to Abu 'Ubaida alJarrah. The two met in the center at the Cathedral of St. John.
After asking the advice of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam,
in Medina, it was decided to treat the city as one which had surrendered, and not as one which had been vanquished. On the
site of St. John's Cathedral, which in turn had been a heathen
temple, it is said that al-Walid Ibn Abdulmalik, the Umayyad
Caliph, built the Umayyad Mosque in the year 710 A. D. It is
said that he put 10,000 men for 9 years to work on this great
edifice.
After the caliphate passed from the hands of the Umayyads
into those of the Abbasides in the year 750 A. D., and Baghdad
becamei the capital of the Moslem world, Damascus remained a
city of the first magnitude. At the time of the Crusades, it was
the capital of Saladin and his successors. It was never taken by
the Crusaders, who centered their energies on Antioch. In the
�u-^
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
14th century Timurlane invaded Damascus and killed several
thousands of its inhabitants. He carried most of its craftsmen
with him to Samarkand, and from that time the beautiful art
of making.Damascene blades was lost. In 1860 trouble between
the Mohammedan and the Christian populations, in which political intrigues and religious fanaticism played the chief roles, led
to a massacre of the Christian inhabitants. Coming to our times,
Damascus became the capital of the short-lived Arabic kingdom
under Faysal in 1919. More recently it has attracted the attention of the world, and figured prominently in the news of
the day when it became actively involved in the Syrian revolution and was bombarded by the French.
According to recent dispatches, a project is on foot to renovate the ancient city by building up the destroyed sections on
modern lines. Two long avenues with traffic roads and sidewalks shaded with evergreen trees- are planned to run through
the city. The plans also call for several squares and parks.
When this project; is carried through, Damascus, like Cairo
today, will become a city of contrasts in which the ancient and
modern contend. Even now, and regardless of the planned improvements, the ancient Damascus is giving way slowly before
a newer and more modern one. The Hijaz'railway station, the
Scottish Mission and French Hospitals in Kasa; some of the hostelries and private homes especially those of Salihiyyah, emerge
with their red-tiled roofs side by side with such gems of ancient
Arabesque art as the Sinaniyyah Mosque, the palace of al-Azm,
and the canopied bazaars of al-Hamidiyyah, where pious, whiteturbaned merchants chant the Koran, squatting on the raised mastabas in front of their little doll-like shops waiting patiently for
customers to buy their quaint mother-of-pearl inlaid articles or
their dainty, fragrant sweetmeats.
The unrighteous ones pursue the faults of men and avoid
their virtues, as flies which flock around the diseased parts of the
body and leave alone the healthy parts.
Ali.
If you find a slanderer try that he does not make your acquaintance, for the most miserable friends are those of the slanderers.
I
�MARCH, 1927
47
EDITOR'S COMMENT
WE ADHERE TO OUR POLICY
Those of our readers who have followed THE SYRIAN
since its foundation will bear testimony to the fact that
its editorial policy has been conducted without the least trace of
prejudice or bias. It has striven to give the truth always, and
nothing but the truth. It has realized that the Syrian house is
very much divided on itself, and from the beginning refused
to be a party to increase the strife or accentuate the division. Its
aim has been that of serving the truth, stating the facts, and
striving to fulfill this duty disinterestedly, fearlessly, and with
the single object of catering to the highest interest of the SyrianAmerican community. It stands on its record of achievement
in the line of unbiased public service and challenges anyone to
prove the contrary.
In the present situation of the heated controversy among
the different Syrian factions, this publication can truly claim for
itself the distinction of reflecting the opinion of all parties concerned in all faithfulness and honesty. The Syrian of American
birth who is unaware of the bitter feuds which rend the ranks
of the old generation of Syrians because of his inability to read
the Syrian papers can perceive in THE SYRIAN WORLD a panoramic view of the whole situation in all its true and divergent
details. Our American readers will find also therein a symposium which presents the case from all its aspects, a condition
most essential to form an adequate idea of the forces which are
now agitating the body politic and social of the Syrians both
at home and abroad.
In view of present troubled conditions in the fatherland,
we find it necessary to reiterate that THE SYRIAN WORLD will
adhere hereafter, as it has heretofore, to its policy of unbiased,
unprejudiced publio service. In all its departments it shall continue to state facts whole and unaltered because it believes, in the
first place, that the intelligence of its readers so requires, and,
in the second place, that conscienciousness to public service will
not permit of any, other course. It is at this time just as staunch
in its adherence to its professed editorial policy as when it first
WORLD
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48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
made its appearance. And we deem it fitting at this juncture to
restate a paragraph succinctly defining this policy and published
in our first issue. It reads:
"Be it therefore clearly stated that THE SYRIAN WORLD
will not be subordinated to any faction or party, whether religious or political; that it will not lend itself to the promulgation
or dissemination of principles, views, or other materials of partisan propaganda in the interest of any one faction or party and
to the detriment of the whole; that it has no religious belief,
or political creed, or social tenet; that it strives to publish the
truth for its own sake without prejudice or malice; and all this
to the end that this publication shall not be the means of perpetuating in this new country the factional strife that has been for
ever so long the curse of the old country, and poisoning the
minds of our youth in America with the virulent potions of oldworld drugs."
i;
A SERIOUS QUESTION
The case of Dr. M. Shadid of Elk City, Okla., has attracted
widespread attention. We welcome the opinions of our readers
on the subject and are glad to give them publicity. If there are
merits to Dr. Shadid's arguments they should be given through
appreciation and recognition; otherwise it is well to dispose of
our old idea of restlessness once for all. It has been the contention of some careful observers that the factor which retarded the
progress of the Syrians in America most was the notion under
which they labored in the earlier stages of their immigration,
namely that of coming only for a temporary stay. It is interesting to learn how many still harbor such a notion. But if this
idea' is proven to have ceased to be a factor in the lives of the
Syrians in America; and if, at the same time, there are grounds
for dissatisfaction prompted by an intolerable display of racial
prejudice, then it behooves us to ponder the causes seriously
with a view to remedying them by some form of concerted, energetic action.
*
GIFTS OF VALUE
It would not be altogether compatible with a decorous sense
of modesty for us to claim that THE SYRIAN WORLD is a gift
of real value, but many of our friends seem to believe it so, and
V>
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MARCH, 1927
49
it is but proper and fitting to register our thanks to them publicly.
It is particularly gratifying that the magazine is being helped
by these friends to serve one of its chief purposes in getting
Americans better acquainted with us, and in this respect it gives
us pleasure to mention the additional patrons who have made
gifts of the magazine to some personages of high station or to
educational institutions.
Mr. Abdallah Sleyman of New York, who made gifts of
ten subscriptions principally to Public Libraries of cities in which
he had once resided.
Mr. Najeeb Samra of Flint, Mich., who presentd the magazine to the Governor of the State of Michigan, to a member of
Congress from Michigan, and others.
Miss Louise Yazbeck of Shreeveport, La., who presented it
to the history department of the High School of that city.
Mr. Faris Antoon of Uniontown, Pa., who presented it
the Mayor of the city.
I
t
WE INVITE SUGGESTIONS
An intellectual leader among the Syrians declared to us on
a certain occasion: "I buy an American magazine for some single
article published in it, and don't expect every bit of reading matter in the magazine to be in exact conformity with my taste. As
for THE SYRIAN WORLD, there are more articles of general appeal in each of its issues than could be found in any other single
publication, especially where the intelligent class of Syrian readers is concerned."
We may be permitted to state in this connection that we are
sparing no pains at making the educational and entertainment
value of THE SYRIAN WORLD complete from every angle. History, politics, literature and items of general interest may be
found in every issue. The Syrian world has expanded immensely in our times, the Syrian race being well represented in almost
every country of the globe, and it should be of vital interest to
us to be posted on our different conditions and activities. Of
literary talent in particular, we can boast of a goodly number,
and to them we owe a special measure of thanks for their wholehearted co-operation in making this publication what it is. This,
further, is getting us better "acquainted with ourselves" and the
sentiment thus created should prove of inestimable value.
Still, if our readers entertain any suggestions for improvement, we should be glad to have them communicate them to us.
�so
THE SYRIAN WORLD
PRODUCE PROOF
Mr. Jamile J. Kanfoush of Syracuse, N. Y., is a graduate
of an American College and sends an interesting letter which is
published in the Readers' Forum of this issue. He mentions,
among other things, that Syrians are insulted in College text
books. This is a serious statement to make and we would like
to have it substantiated. It is one thing to have aspersions cast
on'the Syrians in the daily press, which is subject to many misstatements and distortions of facts, and quite another to have
derogatory remarks occur in College text books which are supposed to give only the incontestable facts. Such references to
contorations of historical facts have been made before and seem
to find credence merely on the strength of the maker's word.
But we believe concrete data should be given as to the objectionable passages and an open mention made of the colleges in which
such text books are used. It is incumbent upon every Syrian
having knowledge bearing on this subject to make such knowledge public, and towards the promotion of this necessary service
THE SYRIAN WORLD will lay its pages open to communications.
It should be our resolve to have this condition proven either an
actuality or a myth, and in the case of the former, no means
should be spared in correcting it.
With Our Contributors
COUNT PHILIP DE TERRAZI is one of the picturesque
figures of Syria whose all-absorbing thought has been for
all his life the disinterested
service of his country in some
useful public manner. A native
of Beyrouth and a scion of one
of its leading families with independent means, he has shunned a life of ease and contentment and voluntarily courted
public service of the least remunerative nature financially,
but of the most beneficial results educationally, and cultur-
ally. To his efforts may be
traced many notable public
services among which was his
compilatoin of the history of
Arabic journalism. But his outstanding work is in sponsoring
and promoting the National
Library and Museum in Beyrouth. He has been indefatigable in his efforts to build, enlarge, and enrich this most
worthy of national institutions,
and it is most gratifying to record that his endeavors are
meeting with a well-deserved
success. It is the ambition of
l'
�MARCH, 1927
or to Arabic newspapers, his
ability as author in English was
known only to comparatively a
few.
One of his literary
achievements was a masterly
translation of Ivanhoe into
Arabic under the title of "The
Return of Richard Cceur de
Lion". We are happy to have
him join our family of contributors, and it is no idle promise
to announce to our readers that
"The Stranger", Dr. Alkazin's
first contribution appearing in
this issue of THE SYRIAN
WORLD, is but a forerunner to
many other delightful contributions by him in both poetry
Dr. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN and prose.
will prove a delightful revelaIRVING SITT is one of the
tion to our readers. His is a
masterful conception expressed promising economists of the
generation.
with consummate art. A Leb- Syrian-American
Being
a
son
of
one
of
the pionanese by birth, he has as a racial inheritance that subtle eer Syrian immigrants in Amerthought, that appreciation of ica, and having added to his
beauty, that artfulness of ex- racial aptitude the advantage of
pression which is born of the a thorough technical education,
nature of the grace and charm he brings to the treatment of
and serenity of beautiful sun- his subject both personal interrises, the singing brooks and est and ability. At present he
the clarity of atmosphere of is connected with the departhistoric Lebanon. His early ment of economics of one of
education was in the American the largest banking institutions
University of Beyrouth, and in New York where his opporwhen he came to America he tunities for studying the econentered Harvard and graduat- omic conditions of Syria are of,
ed from its School of Dentist- the highest, and we feel sure
ry. He is now a successful that the results of his studies
practitioner in Brooklyn, New which he gives our readers in
York, and although at one time his present contribution will
he had been a liberal contribut- meet with full appreciation.
Count de Terrazi to make the
Beyrouth Museum one of the
richest in the East, and that is
by no means impossible, at least
from the point of view of Phoenician civilization in all its ramification which had its locus on
the Syrian littoral. It is, then,
with gratification that we announce to our readers a series
of articles by Count de Terrazi
on the archaeological treasures
of the Beyrouth Museum of
which ^the one published in this
issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD
is the first instalment.
h
51
�Ill,,
I.WU.W
IIUVII
mmmmmm
THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a mlcrocotmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
them not about the report, and behold they are now ready to depart.
Our new homeland stands in no
They will return, after they had
need of our old one, and places no seen and heard much, yet with all
obligation on us save that of inte- that they heard, they heard naught
grity and loyalty to it.
but the empty noise of a drum; they
But our old homeland stands in heard much noise, but saw little
need of everything that the new one grinding, as the proverb says.
can give, especially energy, co-operWhereas in America, the hope of
ation and persistent labor.
the liberals, there have been true
Our first homeland is one of the patriots serving the cause of true
most ancient; our second homeland patriotism without tumult or fanais one of the newest. Withal, the ticism. These the members of the
new one finds nothing to benefit delegation could not see, for they
from the old one except traditions, were in one valley, and the delegaantiquities and respect for past tion in another.
glory. For the old is slumbering,
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Feb. 21, 1927.)
and the new is awakening.
It is our duty to transfuse into
the veins of the old the blood of
STATUS OF SYRIA AND
vigor and energy which animates
LEBANON
the new, and this we shall do.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Feb. 23, 1927.)
If Syria is granted much of her
demands, she has also sacrificed
much and suffered much. Nor would
EMPTY NOISE
she be granted anything that is not
They (the Syrian Nationalist del- hers by right. Neither to France nor
egation) came to us from across the to anybody has Syria any debt of
sea, carried by aspirations and gratitude. The only gratitude she
hopes; they came to attend a con- owes is to herself, for she struggled
ference supposed to be patriotic and in the way of her liberty.
As for Lebanon, there will be no
open to all the liberals in the land
of liberty, representing all sects and need for substantial sacrifices in the
religions; they attended the confer- realization of its nationalistic aspiraence and saw what they saw, but ask tions and its usurped rights. But it
THE OLD AND THE NEW
^
OHBWBBWSBWBBBBHBBPBBWBBBBBBBBP
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MARCH, 1927
must not indulge in idle dreams nor
empty promises, nor be satisfied in
mere wishing, as does the Representative Council of the farcical Republic. Independence is never achieved
by prayer. It is necessary for Lebanon also to beware of the intriguing
and plotting militarists who have not
ceased contriving plots against it
since they stepped on its soil, using
it for their own ends and desires,
then mocking and ridiculing it. How
often have they deluded it into believing that in the unity of Syria
lies the danger of Lebanon's destruction, whereas Lebanon's life is not
complete without that unity; and how
often have they made it appear that
Lebanon's interests will not be
secure except in its enmity to its
neighbors; whereas its interests are
bound up with its neighbors'.
The colonizers were never sincere
either to Syria or to Lebanon; but
had entered as a wedge between
them to destroy both of them, to
enslave them. Their plan has succeeded all this time long, but we
doubt that they will succeed from
henceforth.
(Mirat-ul-Gharb, N.Y.,Feb. 19,1927.)
AS IN CHINA. SO IN SYRIA
The Chinese leaders are not unlike the Syrian leaders at the present time; some of them, the Nationalists, struggle for the independence
of their country from foreign oppression, imitating other countries,
much smaller in size, especially the
Balkan States.
The other faction or leaders oppose the Nationalist leaders in pursuance of their selfish ends. As the
leaders of the old Chinese government, they are subservient to the
foreigner, fighting in his behalf
against their own countrymen, of-
53
fering themselves on the altar of
foreign interests. All this they do
in consideration for an office from
the hand of a foreigner, whereas, if
they only realize, they are more entitled to grant than to receive from
the foreigners.
The division of the Chinese people,
who are Oriental like us, resembles
in some of its phases the division of
the Syrians. But the hope of the
Chinese in unity and co-operation is
much stronger than that of the Syrians. For Russia is behind the
Chinese, and shall rub the noses of
those who oppose the voice crying
aloud. "China for the Chinese."
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Feb. 14, 1927.)
FRANCE TOO LENIENT
Come ye Syrian and Lebanese immigrants and act singly and collectively in demanding the rights of
your suffering brethren. For today
is the day of great defense. Today
M. Ponsot is conferring with his government concerning the fate of the
sufferers, and those who committed
atrocities against them. Rain him
and his government with protests
against the leniency of the mandatory in its dealings with the aggressors; insist on demanding the punishment of those treacherous ones who
inflicted their atrocities without
mercy or compassion, and on removing them away from your suffering
brethren.
Say to the ministry of France,
and to M. Ponsot, that non-committal, "stupid" High Commissioner,
that you do not care to know Rashayyah as your town until justice
takes its course against the agressors and those who committed atrocities, that Rashayyah may be retained to its civilized, peace-loving
Christians.
(Syrian Eagle, Feb. 17, 1927.)
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54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Readers' Forum
SYRIANS HAVE
FAITH IN AMERICA
Editor Syrian World.
In the case of Dr. M. Shadid the
diagnosis is "Elkcitytis", that depressing affliction which overcomes
so many folks, including Americans.
For further information consult
Sinclair Lewis' "Main Street".
Somehow, we can't forgive Dr.
Shadid for his surrender and advice.
We credit to him a greater degree
of wisdom and culture than usually
is possessed by the average man.
His professional ability combined
with his inherent culture should
make him impregnable in the situations described in his letter. He
claims twenty eight years spent exclusively with Amtricans, and those
should have meant a more' than fair
chance to attain that place in their
society which apparently he craves.
That he isn't the master of the
situation may be due to the limited
social advancement possible in a
small town, half of which may be
composed of cousins to the twentyfifth degree, and feels sufficient in
itself.
Despite all one's efforts to find
for one's self a niche in the American community, which is American
in every aspect, there is always that
door through which one may not enter. The password is fourth generation Americanism. There are many
who constantly feel obliged to express the opinion that to be truly
American one must be able to claim
a great grandfather born in the
country. To a certain class this is
the most vital qualification because
it cannot claim any other distinction;
whereas, the glory rightfully reverts
to the pioneers who paved the way.
We remember that during our
childhood, when we sang "America",
we tried so hard to justify the fervor which we sang into the phrase
"land where my fathers died". And,
we also remember that we finally
solved the problem satisfactorily to
us. The child in us concluded that
George Washington, the father of
our country, must be our father because this is our country. We loved
every word and phrase of "America", and no one can ever persuade
us that our childish conclusion was
wrong, and that we did not have as
much right to sing the anthem as
anyone else here.
For the foreigner who comes to
these shores, imbued with the desire to be truly patriotic, there is the
seemingly inevitable danger of losing
his identity. Impulsively we reach
out for the new things, and tend to
lose sight of our own goodness.
That transcendant process is naturally more difficult for Syrians. Unlike
the Nordics and other Europeans,
our people were not early settlers,
and have yet to make their impression on the community.
There is nothing for us to conceal;
on the contrary, we have much to
reveal to our American brethren.
Syria once led the world both in cultural and commercial pursuits, and
we cannot be entirely devoid of the
progressive qualities which made the
name of Lebanon world-famed. We
must always remember that the need
for acquiring new ideals does not
necessarily mean discarding the old.
By dealing exclusively with Americans and excluding Syrian companionship, we will surely find ourselves betwixt and between, not a
part of either group. We should be
i
�MARCH, 1927
proud of being our own true selves,
and we know from experience that
our American friends admire us for
what we are. It is difficult enough
for an American housewife to convince her husband that her pies are
as good as those his mother made!
Why should we try to convince the
husband when his own compatriot
fails? "Why bake pies if we can
excel in kibbe? "Know thyself" is
as true today as when the Greek
philosopher uttered it. Before trying to be like someone else, we must
know our limitations, as well as our
possibilities.
It is surprising that Dr. Shadid
is not grateful for having his children ignored by snobbish people.
Why should anyone object to "being
looked down upon or considered inferior" by snobbish Americans? To
be considered inferior by an intelligent American... that is a question
worthy of consideration. From Dr.
Shadid's letter, we infer that he
studied medicine in this country and
was awarded his (degree here; therefore, he certainly ought not to complain about being considered inferior.
As for the Ku Klux Elan, whose
growth Dr. Shadid likens to a mushroom's, whereas it has existed for
nearly one hundred years, we shall
disregard its activities while we
have a group of true Americans who
have manifested their friendship for
us by giving unstintingly to our
Syrian schools and colleges. In a
town the size of Elk City we suppose entertainment must be provided
to break the ennui. The Klan provides it. In our opinion the Klan
personifies that type of humans
whose righteousness is perverted so
as to magnify the faults of others
and diminish its own.
We may be partly to blame for
!
55
not not having the proper entree into the American community. Dr.
Shadid partly solved the reason why
Syrians have been somewhat isolated, when he mentions the "Syrian
colony... awaiting pacification before returning". Until we assume
our share of all the community's responsibilities, we have no right to
expect consideration and friendship.
Who lives for himself must live by
himself. As long as we have among
U3 a group that assumes a "fly by
night" attitude, we will be unable to
take our position in any American
community. The effect of a colony
cannot be undone by one person,
even though ho be a professional
man.
The ideas of rehabilitating Syria
are splendid, and worthy of praise.
From information gleaned for the
past ten years, we are under the
impression that there is a great
number of unemployed in Syria.
This number would, undoubtedly, be
sufficient for undertaking the projects described by the doctor. Our
presence in Syria is not as necessary as our financial assistance and
the leadership of those who are qualified to be leaders.
The world as a whole does not
consider a man's religion, his nationality, nor political belief with the
stress that it did in former days.
And the truth of this statement is
unfortunately apparent only in times
of disasters. Then, do nations arise
to the need of their suffering brethren, just as America did at the
time of the Japanese earthquake.
Whether our neighbor thinks in
terms as magnanimous as does the
world at large is immaterial to us,
for he has a right to his opinion,
even though it may be bigoted.
Hasty conclusions are detrimental
to our welfare. Last summer we
�,
'
1
56
read daily of the difficulties experienced between the American tourists and Frenchmen. Where the fault
lay does not interest us as much as
the fact that war was not declared.
The sailing lists of Americans bound
for France are as long as money will
provide.
America has been too benevolent
for us to permit one or one hundred
bigoted so-called Americans to cause
us to lose faith with our adopted
country. A hegira of all Syrians to
Syria may hardly be termed a remedy, and should not be considered
even lightly. Dr. Shadid is a pioneer in Elk City. All the more honor
to 'him when he reaches his goal.
E. K. S.
ANOTHER VOICE FROM THE
MIDDLEWEST
Editor Syrian World.
I read Dr. Shadid's article in your
February issue with great interest,
also your editorial comment on same.
I live in a small town of about
2500, all Americans, with the exception of three Syrian families.
This section, unfortunately, was
at one time the hot-bed of the socalled Ku Klux Klan. However, we
have not been molested in any manner, and we believe we are respected
as much as any of the so-called 100
per cent. Americans.
It is ridiculous to think or state
that the Southwest is so infested
with this propaganda that a foreigner cannot live here. There are hundreds, and safe to say, thousands, of
foreign-born Syrians living in this
country who are enjoying the sunshine and liberty and friendship in
equal degree as the American citizen.
I have lived in the Southwest for
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
27 years, mingled with the Southwestern inhabitants of the United
States, and I want to say that there
is no better locality for a man who
attends to his own business and
obeys the laws of the country, to
live in.
I note
Dr. Shadid's
article
wherein he advocates emigrating
back to the land of his birth, where
his children may enjoy the same
privileges as other children, and he
will be respected among men.
I desire to say that my experience
is that any Syrian conducting himself properly will be respected anywhere he goes.
My children attend the public
schools of this country. They are
on a par with any American-born
children. They receive the same attention and courtesy as is shown any
American pupil, and their scholastic
and social standing is equal to that
of any so called 100 per cent. American child.
If more of Dr. Shadid's type of
men would emigrate back to Syria,
carrying with them the ideas and
civilization of America, it would be
of great advantage to our mothercountry, and every Syrian citizen of
the North American continent would
be glad to see him go back there and
sow the seeds of liberty and advanced civilization which we have experienced in the United States.
The greatest trouble with the Syrians of the old country is lack of
unity. If they would only unite in
a common cause, they could do great
things. If religious hatred and
prejudices which now exist among
the four factions of the mother-country could be blotted out, it would be
a great godsend to the nation.
A. N. Adwon.
Wilson, Okla.
�57
MARCH, 1927
ARE SYRIANS INSULTED IN
\ i i
TEXT BOOKS?
books of the U. S. A.
J. J. Kanfoush.
Syracuse, N. Y.
Editor Syrian World:
/
Editor, Syrian, World.
As an interested reader of "The
I cannot resist a brief comment on
Syrian World" since it was first
the article contributed by Dr. Shadid
published I would like to make a
of Elk City, Okla., on "Syria for the
few comments on some of the feaSyrians", and on your views as set
forward in your Editorial Comment. tures which it contains.
I looked forward to the time when
Personally, I believe Dr. Shadid is
I would receive the first issue of
right because I have experienced a
similar fate. The occasion I have "The Syrian World" and finally
when it did come, I can truthfully
reference to occurred several years
say that it exceeded my highest exback when I applied to a local steel
chief chemist for work. Everything pectations. It seemed that nothing
was alright and I was assured of was left undone to make it the best
a job until I had to fill an applica- possible.
Its dimensions are such that it is
tion blank. Among the several quesvery
easy to handle and when one
tions asked were the questions peris
through
with it, it can be put
taining to nationality and place of
away
in
the
bookcase with other
birth. Having glanced over the apbooks,
which
quality makes it easy
plication sheet, I noticed a change
to
refer
to
any
volume of the magain his countenance, and he politely
zine
at
any
time
without trouble or
told me that the jobs were all filled
delay.
and that he would notify me as soon
The two sections which attract
as a vacancy occurred. As for the
and
hold my attention most, hownotification, it never materializever,
are, "Readers' Forum" and
ed. A similar incident also traversed
"About
Syria and Syrians". These
my path not very long ago. You in
sections
I believe are two of the main
New York, perhaps, do not come
features
of "The Syrian World" be1
across such discrimination owing to
cause
they
serve to establish a link
the fact that New York is strongly
between
the
Syrians who are scatcosmopolitan; but outside of New
tered
in
all
sections
of the world.
York, things are mighty different.
They
serve
as
a
place
for Syrians
You say that it is practically imto
express
their
ideas
and
also as a
possible for Syrians to return to
place
to
make
note
of
achievements
Syria and try a "doubtful experiment" in agriculture. There is noth- of Syrians, so that the rest of us
ing doubtful about the experiment may know about it, and share in the
except the willingness to work. If joy and pride which it brings to
know the place that Syrians are
Syrians would work just half as
taking wherever they chance to be.
hard in Syria as they do here and
elsewhere, things would be altogether For one I would like to see more
opinions voiced about different subdifferent and Syrians would not need
to emigrate. Syrians are not only jects, and I would like to see both
discriminated against in the profes- of these sections grow larger.
Edmund P. Karam.
sional lines, but they are ridiculed
and insulted even in the college text
Oswego, N. Y
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
$8
About Syria and Syrians
PLAYS BY GIBRAN
The Book Review section of the
"New York Times" of a recent date
carried this announcement.
"Kahlil Gibran, author of "The
Prophet" and "Sand and Foam,"
is working on a volume of seven
one-act plays for publication in the
near future. The titles of the plays
are "Lazarus and His Beloved," "The
Blind," "Behind the Veil," "Homecoming," "Muraina," "The Hidden
City" and "The Musician."
LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
ACQUIRES NEW BUILDING
The Lebanon National Bank of
New York has bought from the
Knickerbocker Club the building located at the northeastern corner of
32nd St. and Fifth Ave. for use as
uptown headquarters. The banking
facilities of this building are ideal,
as it had been until recently occupied by the American ExchangeIrving Trust Company, and the Lebanon National Bank has come into
possession of all the fixtures, vaults,
and other conveniences. It is a great
step forward for "our bank" and this
move will help it enlarge its field of
service and cater more adequately
to the needs of its many customers
in the uptown district. Its present
location at 59 Washington St. will
be maintained as a branch office.
The Lebanon National Bank was organized about five years ago chiefly
through the' initiative of Mr. Joseph
Mandour, its president. It is controlled by Syrians and its management has been so efficient that it has
been able to double its capital during
this comparatively short time. Besides Mr. Mandour the officers include Jeremiah F. Connor, Vice
President, formerly secretary to
Governor Alfred E. Smith; and Joseph W. Griffith, Cashier, formerly of
the Guaranty Trust Company of
New York.
LEBANESE GIRLS IN
UTICA FORM CLUB
"The Observer-Dispatch" of Utica,
N. Y., publishes an interesting letter
by Miss Mamie Salamey on the occasion of the visit of Mr. Shaiban
G. Kadair, traveling representative
of The Syrian World, to that city.
Miss Salamey tells of a meeting at
the home of Miss Josephine Peters
at which Mr. Kadair was guest of
honor and which was largely attended by American-born young women of Lebanese and Syrian parentage. The result of the meeting was
the formation of a club under the
name of "The Lebanese Daughters
of America" for the purpose of promoting a proper spirit of Americanism, with due attention to the diffusion of knowledge on tihe good qualities of the Syrian race, carrying on
the idea set in motion by The Syrian World.
SYRIAN MUSIC
TEACHER HONORED
In a recent issue of the Shreveport, La., Journal, an account is given of a meeting held by musical
adepts of that city over which Miss
-Louise Yazbeck, a Syrian teacher in
�MARCtI, 1927
music, presided. The paper reports
that "congratulations were showered
on Miss Yazbeck for her recent article appearing in the current issue
of "The Etude," the world's leading
musical magazine, which is an article
of vital interest to all music instructors. This was a signal honor for
Miss Yazbeck, who is a valued member of the Progressive Music Club,
as all articles for "The Etude" must
be passed upon by a board of music
critics before they are accepted."
ALL-SYRIAN TEAM
WINS AT BASKET BALL
A correspondent in Canton, Ohio,
sends in a clipping of a local paper
reporting a game of an all-Syrian
basket ball team which, defeated an
opposing team from Canton, Ohio,
47 to 17. Both teams belong to the
St. George Syrian church of each
city. The Akron team is composed
of A. Haddad, A. Sawan, H. Haddad,
Ghiz, Abraham, F. Haddad; and the
Canton team of K. Shaheen, M.
George, Nicola, G. Esber, A. Esber,
W. George.
59
ar who who applied the principles of
modem, literary criticism to Arabic
literature. His books on "Rhetoric" and "The Philosophy of Style"
are standard works, and the latter
is unique in the history of Arabic
literary criticism.
The Syrian World sincerely wishes
the best of success to the committee
in charge of the Golden Jubilee, and
doubts not that with the enthusiasm
and energy of its chairman, Prof.
Anis Khoury al-Mukdisi, the jubilee
will be a great success.
A SCHOOL IN FRANCE
TO TEACH ARABIC
A dispatch from Paris published
by the Syrian press announces the
intention of the French Government
to found a graduate school for teaching Arabic to prospective French
officials in Syria and North Africa.
A large sum of money, it is said,
has been appropriated for this purpose.
Most of the Syrian papers commented favorably on this project
and took occasion to discuss the difficulties the Syrians and Lebanese
had with the French judges sent to
Syria who were ignoral of Arabic.
Mention is made of the fact that
the English saw the necessity of
following such a course long ago
and it proved the means of creating
better understanding between them
and the natives.
FIFTY YEARS IN TEACHING
Friends of Prof. Jabr Dumit, Prorofessor Emeritus of Arabic in the
American University of Beirut, are
planning a golden jubilee in his honor on the first of the coming month
of May.
For fifty years, Prof. Dumit taught
in various schools, and for the greater part of that time in the American LEBANON MINISTRY IN PARIS
University of Beirut, formerly the
The Lebanese House of RepresenSyrian Protestant College, as incum- tatives has approved a bill authorizbent of the chair of Arabic litera- ing the establishment in Paris of an
independent Lebanese ministry whose
ture.
Prof. Dumit is one of the foremost functions would be confined to the
authorities in the Arabic-speaking encouragement of tourism, promotworld, hence in the world, on Arabic ing the financial and economic interliterature and rhetoric. He is per- ests of the Republic, and caring for
haps the first Arabic-speaking schol- Lebanese emigrants.
�.-,-.„.,, „,.ylww
i i I
60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Political Developments in Syria
To have a diversified view of
the Syrian revolution it would seem
that one has to turn, first to America. The stage appears to have
shifted from Syria to the United
States, and in lieu of actual hostilities the attention of the revolutionists seems to have turned to propaganda. Only spasmodic reports are
given of fighting in the field, and
fighting in its present form is nothing but occasional raids conducted
by bands of what was once the powerful revolutionary army from across
the borders of the Syrian Desert.
Rather, more apprehension is being
felt at the appearance of a few terrorizing bands within Lebanon than
at what is of actual fighting in the
Hauran district.
Of developments in revolutionary
activities in the United States, the
outstanding event was the holding
of the convention of the New Syria
Party in Detroit, Mich., beginning
January 15th. The convention lasted a week and the result of its deliberations as officially given out for
publication was:
1—To send cabled protests to the
League of Nations and to the leading World Powers against acts of
depredation committed by the
French in Syria.
2—To send delegations to the different countries of North and
South America with the object of
establishing branches for the New
Syria Party among the Syrians
and of collecting relief funds.
3—To publish a book detailing the
work of the Party and giving an
account of what it has accomplished in conjunction with other supporting organizations.
4—To lend every effort towards
raising contributions in the sum
of $500,000 for the relief of war
sufferers.
5—To publish a bilingual magazine
in English and Arabic in support
of the Syrian cause.
How far the Party will succeed in
carrying out its programme, especially in the matter of raising the
half million dollars, remains to be
seen. One Syrian paper announces
that collections during the convention totaled $10,000, and this amount
just covers the cost of holding it.
Mr. Nasim Sayba'ha, the delegate
representing the Central Syrio-Palestinian Committee and in charge
of collecting funds, remains in Detroit and some opposing Syrian papers hint that "his teeth have been
extracted," meaning that his activities have been curtailed, and that he
is scheduled to sail back soon. Another delegate, Mr. Toufik Yazegi,
remained in the United States but
a fortnight. A delegate designate,
Dr. Abdul-Rahman Shahbandar, who
had been in the United States before
on a political mission, could not attend the convention for the reason,
as given by "Al-Bayan", the organ
of the revolutionary party in America, that the Allies refused to vise
his passport. The last heard of his
whereabouts was that he was in
Baghdad, and the fact that Iraq is
under English control would indicate that England acted on the protest of France and refused Dr. Shahbandar a vise. "Al-Bayan" complains bitterly of this treatment.
The head of the delegation, and
the one who is the storm center of
the protests of Syrian Christians in
�MARCH, 1927
I
Arslan. No visiting Syrian ever
created such a storm of bitter feeling before. The State Department
in Washington and members of
Congress were deluged with protests
coming from all parts of the country denouncing him and asking for
his deportation. The principal instigator of this movement was Mr.
N. A. Mokarzel, editor of "Al-Hoda"
and president of the Lebanon League
of Progress of New York who, besides prompting the Christians to
make protests prepared a statement
which he sent to government officials, members of Congress, and the
American press. In this he had the
active support of many SyrianAmerican organizations throughout
the country.
The principal charges against
Emir Arslan were that he had been
instrumental in persecuting and
starving the Christians of Syria
during the War, causing the death
of 165,000; that he 'had been, and
still is, the enemy of the independence of Mt. Lebanon for no reason
other than that it is chiefly Christian; and that his presence in America is bound to engender discord and
strife among Syrian immigrants
which might lead to the danger of
bloodshed.
To these charges Emir Chakib
Arslan appears to have been extremely sensitive, so much so that
he chose to break the silence he had
steadfastly maintained ever since
his arrival in the country and began
the publication of a series of articles
in "Miraat-ul-Gharb" of New York,
recapitulating the events of the War
and defending his actions at the time
he was in Syria as an aide to Djemal Pasha, the Turkish military
governor. He lays particular stress
ing borders as a sign of protest
against tint rule of France in Syria.
61
on the exigencies of War and asserts that the Christians suffered no
more than those of other religious
denominations. He would lay the
blame for the suffering and famine
in Syria during the War more on the
Allies who blockaded the Syrian coast
than on Turkey and Germany. The
two "ships of mercy" carrying provisions to Syria from America could
not reach their destination, according to his version, because the Allies
themselves so decreed, fearing the
provisions would be seized and appropriated by the Turks. He even
relates the opposition he encountered from Mr. Elkus, the American
Ambassador in Constantinople, in
the way of releasing the ships from
Alexandria to continue on their way
to Syria, and plainly states that
Ambassador Elkus, after many dilatory tactics, refused definitely to
permit the ships to continue to Beirut "because the United States was
about to enter the War on the side
of the Allies."
Some Syrian papers hint that
Emir Chakib Arslan is being watched closely by two agents of the Department of State, and that his departure from the United States is
bound to come in the very near
future.
PONSOT IN PARIS
M. Henri Ponsot, French High
Commissioner in Syria, left Beyrouth
the latter part of January, traveling
by land in easy stages, visiting first
Palestine and then crossing to Egypt,
whence he sailed to France. During
his travel in Palestine his official reception was attended with all marks
of ceremony and courtesy, but the
Arab Nationalist press decided to
publish special editions with mournthe United States against his presence in the country is Emir Ohakib
�'62
A general strike by Moslem shopkeepers was also suggested, but no
untoward incident or other unfriendly public manifestation took place.
M. Ponsot is also reported to have
conferred with Syrian delegations in
Cairo and in Alexandria, but aside
from listening patiently, no indication emanated from him as to his
probable course of action.
The editorial effusions of the Syrian press would show that all eyes
are now turned on Paris. A state
of mind exists where the people seem
to be anxious for any form of solution, providing it is forthcoming
quickly. Business in the country is
stagnant and the unsettled condition
of the money market causes great
uneasiness and apprehension. M.
Ponsot remained non-committal during all the time he spent in Syria,
and now that the revolution and its
attendant disturbances have lasted
for over a year and a half, the country feels itself on the verge of ruin.
Everyone, therefore, has reached the
limit of patience and is anxiously
awaiting the final decision of Paris
which is hoped to settle definitely
the political status of the country.
It would be futile, in. view of M.
Ponsot's silence, to speculate on
what he is to recommend and on the
amount of truth to be credited to tha
different rumors that are being set
afloat on his probable action. The
subject most discussed, however,
is the repartition of Syria and the
granting to Syria proper of the
city of Tripoli as a seaport, it now
being deprived of an outlet, Tripoli
being a part of Lebanon. The Lebanese press asserts that no change
of this nature is contemplated, as
Prime Minister Poincare is reported
to have explicitely assured the Prime
Minister of the Lebanese Republic
while the latter was in Paris, that
the present boundaries of Lebanon
THE SYRIAN WORLD
would not be altered under any circumstances.
NEWS BREVITIES
Lebanese papers report that the
President of the Lebanese Republic
is about to sail for Paris, to be
there, perhaps, while M. Ponsot is
still conferring with the Cabinet, for
the purpose of negotiating a new
treaty to embody, among other features, a clause providing for a
treaty of amity and defense between
France and Lebanon for the term of
fifty years.
Reports emanating from revolutionary sources are to the effect that
Sultan Pasha Atrash, leader of the
Druze revolution, has reconciled himself to his present condition and is
building for himself a palace, in the
district of Al-Azrak, and homes for
the ten thousand refugees who fled
with him from Hauran. This would
indicate that he has given up any
idea of returning to his former home
and that he and his followers have
decided on settling in Al-Azrak,
which is described as an oasis situated between Transjordania, Syria and
the limits of the Arabian kingdom
of Ibn Saoud. It is reported also
that the French have lodged a protest with the English authorities
against the Druze rebels taking refuge in that district.
"Al-Bachir," a pro-French paper
of Beyrouth, publishes a report to
the effect that two Druze officers
representing revolutionary refugees,
visited the office of the Syrian-Palestinian Relief Committee of Cairo
for the purpose of examining its
books, and discovered a shortage of
£40,000 that could not be accounted
for. They wrecked the place and
were hailed to court. Revolutionary
sympathizers deny the charge.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1927_03reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 09
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 March
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 09 of The Syrian World published March 1927. The issue opens with an article about the Beyrouth Museum by Count Philip de Terrazi which features a number of photos of artifacts from the museum. Next is a letter from Ibn El-Khoury to Mr. Mokarzel on his contribution to The Syrian World. This issue discusses the lives of people in Syria and Lebanon, as well as various aspects of their culture. There are a number of folk songs included in the issue as well as an article that discusses the celebration of Carnival in Lebanon. There are articles that elaborate on the history of Syria and Lebanon including one that focuses on the city of Damascus and the Sword of Emir Bashir. One article follows the current economic conditions of Syria. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press, the reader’s forum, and more on the political developments of Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
New York
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/9f9b46c4b0b95933b6c80fde950ebda6.pdf
deef0a52c33442b2d19561989ea4ab5f
PDF Text
Text
I
V
I
I
A
»T
��THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A. MOKARZEL, Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104 GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y.
By subscription $5.00 a year.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. 1. No. 10.
APRIL, 1927.
Contents
PAGE
The Arabic Sources of Dante
By PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
3
Lent and Easter in Lebanon
By IBN EL-KHOURY
9
Syrian Folk Songs — MyDay Is Bitter (Marmar Zamani) .... 17
Translation by AMEEN RIHANI
Syrian Proverbs
18
Signs of Syria's Rebirth
By REV. W. A. MANSUR
19
Oriental Wisdom
24
An Arabian Knight and a Desert Poetess
By DR. N. A. KATIBAH
25
Arab Sayings
26
�CONTENTS (Continued).
PACE
In the Days of Christ
27
By H. I.
KATIBAH
Sayings of Jewish Fathers
35
Tales and Legends of Araby
By Miss SUMAYEH
36
ATTIYYEH
Famous Cities of Syria — Jerusalem
39
Friends and Enemies
45
NOTES AND COMMENTS — By
THE EDITOR
A Wish
Questions on Syria Answered
Attention of Correspondents
A New Contributor
46
46
47
47
Readers' Forum
48
Spirit of the Syrian Press
54
About Syria and Syrians
56
Political Developments in Syria
59
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Dante Alighieri
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalefn
The Sacred Rock in the Mosque of (Omar in Jerusalem
The Mosque of 'Omar, or the Dome of the Rock
A Panoramk View of the Holy City of Jerusalem
Three Illustrations of Dante's
INFERNO
card
as t
^1 cont
/ the
�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. 1. No. 10.
APRIL, 1927.
The Arabic Sources of Dante
By PHILIP K. HITTI, PH. D.
Dante is the greatest poet Italy produced. He is more
than that: he is Christendom's "sommo poeta". In any accredited list of the half dozen greatest poetical writers of all time
his name will undoubtedly figure as one. Homer, Dante and
Shakespeare — the great triumvirate of the world of poetry!
The work by which this greatest of mediaeval European
poets is known' to the world is the Divina Commedia. It is this
work that has made his name immortal. When the whole civilized world ('joined in 1921 in celebrating the six hundredth anniversary of the death of Dante, it was particularly on account of
this masterpiece of his that the anniversary was held. In the
card catalog of the Princeton University library, which I consulted the other day, I found no less than a hundred and fifty
cards indicating as many books dealing with the Divine Comedy
as translations, versions, commentaries and so forth. In the
same catalog, under the name Dante, there are over six hundred
cards. Perhaps no other work save the Bible has as many cards
as that. Such is the influence which the Florentine poet has
continuously exercised over the minds of educated men during
the last six centuries.
�'
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
"In the midway of this our mortal life,
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray,
Gone from the path direct; and e'en not to tell,
It was no easy task, how savage wild
That forest, how robust and rough its growth."
— Infernoy Canto I, lines 1-5.
These are the opening lines of the Commedia. The vision begins Thursday before Easter early in ,the morning in the
year 1300. The writer having lost his way in a gloomy forest,
and being hindered by certain wild beasts from ascending a nearby mountain, is met by the ancient Roman poet, Virgil, who undertakes to show him the punishmnets of Hell and Purgatory,
and finally leaves him in charge of Beatrice, Dante's erstwhile
sweetheart, who conducts him into Paradise.
Following Virgil as his guide and his escort, Dante is first
led through the two lower realms of Hell and Purgatory. Here
he finds popes, kings, emperors, poets, warriors, and Florentine
citizens of all social ranks, some of whom are personally known
to Dante and with whom he holds brief discourses. Hell is conceived as a vast conical hollow reaching to the center of the earth.
It has three major divisions: the first, composed of eight circles,
being outside of the walls of the City of Dis. The second division is reserved for unbelievers, tyrants and usurers, and lies
within the City. At the very bottom of the third is Lucifer immovably fixed in ice. The torments here are of the most terrible
character.
Purgatory which was visited next is divided into seven terraces corresponding to the seven deadly sins. It provides an
abode for those who have delayed repentance till death was
upon them. The penalties here are not degrading but are rather
a test of patience and endurance.
On the summit which the visitors then climb is the Earthly
Paradise. Here Beatrice appears and Virgil departs leaving
Dante in her charge. By her Dante is led through the nine
spheres of which heaven is composed to the Supreme Heaven,
or Empyrean, the seat of the Godhead. For one moment there
is granted him the Beatific Vision of the luminous Deity. Thus
the poet comes to a comprehension of all mysteries which are
the ultimate goal of mystical theology. Here the poem ends.
�'APRIL, 1927
5
The great problem in connection with all this is where did
Dante draw his material from? How did he get his inspiration
for writing what he did and as he did? Were there models,
prototypes, in the then current literature and in the mediseval
Christian legends which could have provided him with the necessary data and stimulus? Dante scholars assure us that there
was nothing of the kind. Dantists and Dante lovers and admirers have always dwelt with delight and pride upon the originality of his imagery, the richness of his description, and the unprecedented and unparalleled conception which the poem reveals
of the architecture of heaven and hell. "The poem is absolutely unique in literature," declares Professor Butler in the Encyclopedia Britannica (eleventh edition).
Thus Dante was enshrined on a throne by himself. This
throne he has held for the last six centuries as a unique figure
in the history of the world's literature.
I
Let us now leave this greatest of mediseval poets in his
niche of glory and follow another line of narrative. This line
will lead us into distant Arabia and into the remote Arabic-speaking countries of Islam.
In the first verse of the seventeenth surah of the Qoran the
following words occur:
"Praised be He [Allah] who made His servant [Muhammad]
travel by night from the sacred temple [of Mecca] to the far-off
temple [of Jerusalem]".
Here is evidently a reference to a night journey (isra? 'Lr"1)
which Muhammad took from Mecca to Jerusalem. The surah
"descended" in the year preceding the hijrah. The reference is
obscure. It is isolated and detached. In vain would one search
throughout the "Word of Allah" for further light on the subject.
But Allah's failure is only man's opportunity. The missing
elements of description, happening and detail have been more
than amply supplied by the traditionists, commentators, sufis,
mystics, philosophers and poets. A rich crop of stories sprang
up in course of time, to illuminate, supplement and complement
this Qoranic verselet. The Nocturnal Journey (isray) was only
a prelude to another and more important performance, the As-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
cension (mi'raj ^}^» ) . The Mi'raj was the ascension of Muhammad into heaven on a white she-ass (buraq). The feat was
executed under the guidance of Gabriel starting from the Temple
of the Rock in Jerusalem. Traces of the hoof of the ass can still
be seen on the rock to the present day. The Rock itself was
tempted to follow Muhammad on his journey heavenward, but
was ordered by him to stop; and it can still be seen hanging a
little above the earth in the Mosque at Jerusalem.
Such hold has the story of the Mi'raj had upon the popular
minds of the Moslems that its festival, which falls every year
on the 27th of Rajab, is still celebrated until the present day
from Morocco to India and from Turkey to Sudan.
The different versions of the Isra? and of the Mi'raj which
began to make their appearance as early as the eighth century
were in course of time reconciled and fused together. In the
early part of the ninth century the fusion was complete. Baydawi was not sure whether the Nocturnal Journey was effected
in body or in spirit, though he leans to the' former theory. Bukhari, Muslim, and Tabari have preserved for us the authenticated versions. Later editions made Muhammad visit the infernal
regions. Fertile oriental imagination left out no detail as to the
structure of the regions of the after-life, the personnel of their
incumbents and the varieties of tortures inflicted and rewards bestowed.
At the hand of the sufi writers adaptations of the story
were made mainly of a mystical and allegorical nature. The
most interesting adaptation is that of al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyial-Din Ibn al-'Arabi of Murica, the prince of Hispano-Arab mystics, who died 25 years before the birth of Dante. The ascension
he depicts, modelled, of course, after the pattern of that of the
Prophet, appears in a voluminous work entitled al-Futuhat alMakkiyyah. Ibn-al-'Arabi makes the ascension symbolical of
the journey of the soul towards its creator in the highest heaven.
At the hands of literary men interested in style and satire,
the principle of miraculous ascension received another kind of
a treatment. The Syrian poet and free-thinker, Abu-al-'Ala' alMa'arri (972-1057), rightly described as "the philosopher of
poets and the poet of philosophers", devotes one of his books,
Risalat al-Ghufran, to the ascension of a profane and unreligious friend of his to the astronomical heavens and his descent to
hell. The story of what this Aleppo friend of his saw and said
.
'.
)
I,
�APRIL, 1927
7
on his visits to the upper and lower realms was meant to shock
the sensibilities of the Orthodox Moslems.
Let us now return to Dante and try and draw a comparison
between his Divine Comedy and story of the Isra* and Alrraj
as they occur in the Arabic literature.
Dante, as the supposed author, is made to tell the story.
Both journeys start after the principal actor had awakened from
a profound sleep. In the Moslem story a lion and a wolf bar
the road to Hell; in Dante's poem a leopard, a lion and a shewolf. Virgil performs for Dante the same function performed
by Gabriel — that of a guide, a master, and a protector. The
fierce demon who pursues Muhammad with a burning brand at
the outset of his Nocturnal Journey has his counterpart in the
devil who pursues Dante in the fifth pit of the eighth circle,
and in both cases the visitor escapes injury by the interference
of the guide.
The general architecture of the Inferno is but a faithful
replica of the Moslem Hell. Both are in the shape of a funnel
and consist of a series of stories each one of which is the abode
of one class of sinners. The greater the depth, the greater is
the sin and the punishment inflicted. Both Hells are located beneath Jerusalem.
The) resemblance between the torments in the two descriptions is striking. In Dante's Inferno the adulterers are swept
hither and thither by a hellish storm, and so in the Moslem
story. Gluttons and thieves are seen by Dante tortured by serpents, as are the tyrants and the usurers in the Moslem Hell.
The authors of schisms, according to Dante, are knifed by demons
and brought to life again only to be re-tortured indefinitely, and
so is the fate of the Moslem murderers.
The Moslem traveler, heartened by his guide, toils up a
steep mountain j so does Dante, encouraged by Virgil, ascend the
mountain of Purgatory. Purgatory is separated from Paradise
in both stories by a river, and each traveler drinks of its water.
At the gates of Paradise the Moslem traveler is met by a beauti\ ful lady who receives him kindly, and so does Dante — his lady
being Beatrice.
The architecture of both the Christian and the Moslem
Heavens is identical. As they pass through the ninth Heaven,
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
both travelers meet the spirits of the blessed. The souls are
grouped in the Heavens according to their respective virtues.
Both visitors — Muhammad and Dante — are dazzled by a
light which grows in brilliancy at every stage. In fear of blindness, they raise their hands to their eyes; but their guides calm
their fears, and God empowers them to gaze with impunity
upon the new light. Each visitor describes the Beatific Vision
in the same terms — God is the focus of an intense light, surrounded by nine concentric circles of myriads of angelic spirits
who shed a wonderful radiance around. In ia row near the center
are I the. Cherubim. At first both visitors are so dazzled by the
brilliancy of the light that they believe they have been blinded.
Both are incapable of describing the Vision and only remember
that they fell into an ecstasy that was preceded by a wonderful
feeling of supreme delight.
This brief comparison of the Divine Comedy with the Arabic
stories of Isra' and Mi'raj betrays so many points of resemblance,
if not coincidence, in the general architecture and ethical structure of Hell and Paradise, in the description of the tortures and
the rewards, in the general line of dramatic action, in the episodes
and incidents of the journey, in the roles assigned to the protagonists and to the minor personages, and finally in the intrinsic
literary value, that no fair-minded person can deny the dependence of Dante on the preceding Arabic version. The surprising
thing is that no one has before 1919 noticed this striking dependence and called the attention of the learned world to it. This
honor has been left to a Spaniard, Miguel Asin, Professor of
Arabic at the University of Madrid. Miguel Asin is a Catholic
priest. His work has put Dante in a new* light, and, naturally,
caused a great sensation in the intellectual world.
(The results of the researches of Father Miguel Asin which
Dr. Hitti has followed in this article, will be continued in the
next issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD.)
The acme of culture is that man become ashamed of himself.
Ali,
�.
DANTE ALIGHIERI
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Only so far afliicted, that we live,
Desiring without hope.
Inferno — Canto IV., lines 38, 39.
�Unceasing was the play of wretched hands,
Now this, now that way glancing to shake off
The heat, still falling fresh.
Inferno — XIV., lines 27-30.
�V
.
,
The storm blast of hell
With restless fury drives the spirits on.
Inferno — V., lines 32, 33.
RnHHHHHMHi
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�APRIL, 1927
Lent and Easter in Lebanon
By
IBN EL-KHOURY
The weary traveler, painfully making his way through the
trackless wastes of the desert, can experience no more joy and
relief at the welcome sight of the oasis than does the Lebanon
villager in his isolated mountain abode at the approach of Easter
after having gone through the rigorous privations of Lent, during which he earnestly endeavors to emulate the fast of Christ
as much as is humanly possible, and, like Him, successfully goes
through the ordeal without bending a knee to Satan.
Lent in Lebanon is to this day observed according to the
rules first laid down by the Church, when austerity was not a
sham and when privations were practiced in the highest spirit of
conviction and humility. No animal fats are taken in any form.
Milk and eggs may be given to the young and to the sick only
by special dispensation. No food in either liquid or solid form
is permissible between midnight and midday — not even smoking
is tolerated before the noon hour; and this, to be sure, not through
any consideration of health, but out of sheer and absolute pious
motives. My own father related to me an experience in which
he observed a farmer smoking while driving his pair of oxen to
the field in the early morning of a Lenten day. The offense was
obvious and there was but one course to follow: He intercepted
the man and reprimanded him severely, taking away from him
his tobacco pouch for safekeeping until after the lunch hour.
But this case was an exceptional one, the general rule being
to practice self-denial through personal conviction and without
coercion. The good Christian people of Lebanon, by virtue of
their seclusion and consequent immunity from the demoralizing
influences of modern civilization, even to: this day seem actuated
and governed in their religious observances by the same altruistic
feelings which obtained among the early Christian Fathers.
Due to this seclusion, as well as to their tenacity to their
faith amid a surging sea of Islam which has for centuries wasted
its furies against the sides of their mountain without once completely overcoming its resistance or gaining a permanent foothold
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in it, the Christians of Lebanon have been able to retain in its
primitive simplicity many an old custom that may be traced back
to the earliest days of Christianity. To observe some of these
customs one would fancy himself witnessing an actual scene conjured to life from the pages of the Gospel. The patriarchal
form of life, still prevailing in the remote villages of the mountain as it had been exactly two thousand years or more, lends
still more color and emphasis to these customs and throws them
in sharp relief against the infiltrating influences of modern agencies. One would have to search arduously and long for any other
part of the world where early Christian popular practices still
prevail in almost their exact original form as they do in Lebanon.
And perhaps at no other season of lthe year do these customs
display themselves in all their significance and symbolical allusions as in the season immediately preceding Easter. To one who
is of the outside world to witness the enactment of the melodramatic scenes of the bringing back to life of Lazarus, of Palm
Sunday, of Passion Week, and, finally, of the great feast of
Easter, as they are observed in Lebanon in the simple and unaffected manner of the good Lebanese, it would be truly to live
and witness with the Apostles the most salient incidents in the
life of Christ, and finally His crucifixion and resurrection. All
passion plays that are now being enacted in America and Europe
fade in realistic effect when compared with the spontaneous and
mass production of the passion and other scenes from the life
of Christ as enacted by the people of Lebanon.
The outstanding public demonstration with which Lent is
ushered in is the ceremony of "Meeting the Monk". It is observed on the first Monday of Lent, and it may well be mentioned here that Lent in Lebanon, unlike the manner of the Latin
Church, begins on Monday. For the reason above stated the
first day of Lent is called "Monk's Monday". The ceremony
is primitive in its simplicity of form and purpose. Its origin is
rooted in the earliest times of Christianity in Lebanon when
the disciples of St. Maron, all monks, went? forth from their
isolated monastery and scattered in all directions, visiting the
converts in the towns to guide and advise them in the conduct
of prayers and the observance of Lent. This visit of the monks
became traditional, and although there are now in, every locality
an over-supply of priests, Monk's Monday is still observed till
our present day.
.
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�APRIL, 1927
11
The traditional method is for all the townspeople to gather and proceed in a processional march, covered with ashes and
broadcloth, to a distant point on the outskirts of the town to welcome and escort the visiting monk. Later this custom was modified so as to imply only escorting the village priest from his
residence to the church on the first Monday of Lent in ceremonial
style. But, alas! this once dignified and worthy celebration has
degenerated in some populous localities to the point where it has
lost its original character altogether. City people, for instance,
observe by common consent Monk's Monday as a legal holiday.
The whole city shuts down and everybody repairs to the open
country on a picnic, and, at times, indulges in much worse forms
of amusement. The Mohammedans join with the Christians in
observing the holiday, and if, on such occasions, it should be the
misfortune of some monk to run into a company of revelers, he
is immediately set upon and seized and carried in mock procession into the city amid the worst form of boisterous hilarity.
Not so, however, are the conditions still prevailing in the
comparatively isolated villages of the higher mountain. To the
mountaineers of these regions Lent remains that exultantly religious institution observed in all humility and mortification of
soul and body. During the first five weeks of Lent these pious
Christians would drink deeply at the fountain of religious observances because everyone is required to attend church services
morning and evening except for compelling reasons. Consequently, as Lent advances, one can observe on the drawn, serious
faces of the men and women that deep feeling of religious conviction permeating their souls which makes them fancy themselves
in actual company with Christ during those long days of trial
and self-denial. The whole atmosphere of the village would
appear impregnated with a spirit of sanctity, and a heavy silence
would fall on the small cluster of houses perched high on the
hill broken only by the dirge-like ringing of the bell calling the
inhabitants to church.
The fifth Saturday of Lent witnesses the first public enactment of incidents in the life of Christ. This would be the day
commemorating the miracle of restoring Lazarus to life and
falls on the Saturday immediately preceding Palm Sunday. The
performance is left to the care of the youth — young men and
boys who dress in loose, flowing robes as they are understood to
have been in the days of Christ, and who form themselves into
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12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
a regular touring company with defined roles to play. They
travel from house to house and are welcomed in every instance
and a suitable place cleared for them to enact their drama. The
boy playing the part of Lazarus stretches himself full-length
on the ground and feigns death while the others form themselves into a circle around him, some standing, others kneeling,
and all striking themselves on the face and breast and emitting
loud cries of lamentation. The two boys impersonating Lazarus's
sisters would moan and shriek and throw themselves recklessly
on the body of their dead brother. Towards the end, all prostrate
themselves over the body and give vent to piteous moans, while
the leader would recite in a lugubrious tune a special incantation
the origin of which is lost in the folds of the remote past, but
which is still passed down from one generation to another orally.
Then fhe boy impersonating Christ steps forward to the center
of the ring and, in the manner described in the Gospels, raises
his hands to heaven and prays, and Lazarus the dead comes back
to life. Then a great shout of joy rings through the house and
the troupe is rewarded for its labors in coin or gifts of diverse
natures. The money thus collected is in the end divided between
the actpjs, and the clothes and food given to some deserving
family in need.
Of quite a different nature is the celebration marking Palm
Sunday. This occasion is interpreted in its true meaning and
made a festival for the young. Children are attired in their
gayest dresses to "go and meet Christ". Everyone must have
a decorated candle so as to form a fitting part in the procession
that is to follow. As a substitute for palm leaves, laurel and
olive branches are used liberally.
Mass is celebrated with all the ceremony of other festal occasions, but the feature of Palm Sunday is the candle procession
inside and outside the church. This takes place at about the
conclusion of the Mass when the priest descends from the altar
carrying the Host while an acolyte, walking backwards and facing him, would be swinging the incensor. All the children with
their candles now lighted would join the procession falling in
line in the wake of the Host, and those who are too young to
walk are carried on the arms of their parents. Many a time the
god-parents contend with the natural parents for the right of
carrying the children, but then, in most cases, there are enough
children in the family to accommodate both parties.
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�SSTTTlr i^-^il—r_
APRIL, 1927
13
The procession proceeds three times around the men's, or
front section of the church, then emerges from one of the central doors to the open. For three times also the priest and the
whole company would circumambulate the church, all the while
chanting hymns and litanies in which the marching congregation
would join, after which the procession reenters and the ceremony
is soon brought to an end.
But this temporary break in the severity of Lenten observances is short-lived. For now we enter on Holy Week with all
its .'attending ceremonies. Attendance at church in the morning
becomes compulsory, and the evening services drag well into the
night. These latter consist of chanting special hymns in the Syriac, the lithurgical language, composed specially for the occasion
by St. Iphraim, and contained in exceedingly large volumes in
the boldest type which are still copied by hand. Every church
must possess at least two such books and there are to the present
day in Lebanon men who are professional church scribes who
make a comfortable living copying these ritual books. The object of writing the text in extra bold letters is to make it legible
from a distance. This necessity is better understood when we
learn that when the occasion arises for the use of these books the
"readers" are usually divided into two groups, or choirs, each
taking a position on either side of the church just outside the
altar railing. Each group would consist of ten or more all having to use the book in common. The choirmaster recites from
memory certain verses of Psalms and the two groups would alternate in chanting the written verses. For every day and every
occasion there is a different set of verses and the tunes, preserved
only by memory, are the legacy of one generation to another.
Then comes "Wash Thursday" (Khamis El-Ghosl) in which
is commemorated the washing by Christ of the Disciples' feet.
This ceremony is held in the afternoon and consumes a good
four hours. Twelve children are seated in two opposite rows in
the center of the church. The priest is robed with grand ceremony according to the ritual of the occasion. A seat is provided
for him at the head in imitation of the traditional position of
Christ at the Last Supper and he sits down to rest at intervals
while every article is being brough to him to wear with song and
ceremony. And every time he rises a shrill voice rings clear
throughout the church announcing that "Christ rose from the
supper table to wash the Disciples' feet". The dressing ceremony
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ended, the priest advances and actually washes the feet of the
children with soap and water in a native basin of hammered brass.
The day of all days is Passion Friday (Jum'at El-Aalam).
Church attendance is not obligatory in the morning on this day
because there is no Mass, Christ being dead, but the people of
the village would not be home. Out into the woods and the
fields they would go to pick flowers for the ceremony of "the
Burial of Christ" which is held in the afternoon. Far and wide
young men and maidens would travel in search of the choicest
flowers for their bouquets, and of fragrant flowers, growing
wild, perhaps a remnant from the well-kept gardens of an ancient civilization, there is a large variety in no meager quantity
in the hills and valleys of that section of Lebanon nearer the
Mediterranean shore. And this would be the time when they
would be coming into bloom. Narcissus, daffodils, lilies are to
be found aplenty, not to mention the sweet violets which cover
the fields. Some diligent searchers would bring as the reward
of their search bouquets that would be actual armfuls, all of the
perennial tube varieties, while others increase the volume of
their bouquets by the addition of the flowering branches of fruit
trees. No effort is wasted in making the flowers into wreaths.
They are just offered as gathered, — a simple, fragrant bunch of
flowers symbolical of the unaffected nature of the mountaineers.
And the human element must also be reckoned with, for
while engaged in this holy quest for flowers, the lads and lasses
of the village discover that the hospitable shade of an oak or a
carob tree is an ideal place for a tryst, and the marriage crop
following Easter is uniformally plentiful.
Presently the wanderers begin to pick their way back to the
village and after partaking of a light meal wait for the call to
church. This time it is the solemn dirge of an actual funeral.
The church is soon filled and as each enters he proceeds with
head bent in sorrow to the bier in the center. This consists of
an extremely large linen sheet spread either on some boards or
on the bare floor. A crucifix is laid in the center and each newcomer deposits his flower offering on the sheet. Soon the bouquets take the shape of a huge mound rising to a height of several
feet. The fragrance they give, blended with the aromatic scent
of the incense, is intoxicating to the senses. The services, sung
in a crescendo of mournful and plaintive tunes, amidst the sombre
setting of a realistic funeral, give flow to many a tear. Old men
l\
�APRIL, 1927
IS
and women would be in the meanwhile silently making their way
to the open space in the center, and, taking a position before the
crucifix buried in the grave of flowers, cross themselves and beat
hard on their breasts and end by prostrating themselves on their
hands and knees and kissing the ground.
It's a silent throng that files out of the church at the conclusion of these services and makes its way each to his respective
home. On this day of sorrow and mourning a heavy pall of
silence seems to hang over the village. Women going about their
urgent household duties appear as stealthily moving shadows.
Everyone seems to experience in the commemoration of the death
of the Lord a sense of personal loss.
But the village begins to take on life with the advent of
Saturday. It is called "Luminous Saturday," or "Saturday of
Light" (Sabt El-Nour). A ray of hope begins to shine through
the oppressive heaviness of the atmosphere. Preparations are
set afoot for the Great Feast of joy and happiness in celebration
of the Resurrection of Christ. Beginning with noon, everybody
is actively engaged in doing some thing or other. The church
must be dressed in the most attractive style for the day commemorating the triumph of Christ over Death. A forest would
be moved to bedeck the church with a mantle of green. The altar
ornaments would reappear from their hiding places and be given
the best cleaning of the year, willing hands of volunteers assisting the family of the priest at the task. The church must also
be given a bath to wash away what remains of the mud stains
of winter. Consequently, a long line of sturdy lasses may be
seen moving steadily between the spring and the church carrying
cheir water jars either supported by one arm on their shoulders
or else balanced and free on their heads.
The children, meanwhile, would be engaged in dyeing their
eggs. For lack of proper dyes they use what is available of
native materials. Onion skins make a pretty and soft brown
color j acorns give a lustrous black, and other wild herbs are
found by experience to give a variety of suitable hues. There
is a championship of eggs in these Lebanon villages as well as
a highly developed technique in holding the tournament.
The outstanding event is Easter Mass. Gay native costumes, in some instances of barbaric colors, flash from all directions as young and old wind their way joyfully to church. The
peels of the bell on this occasion speak a language that everyone
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
understands to be that of exuberance of supreme joy. The voices
of the choirsters now seem to dance with the fullness of happy
emotions. The priest raises his voice loud and sonorous in dealing his messages of peace and triumph. The acolytes see to it
that the clouds of incense smoke filling the church grow denser
as the service proceeds.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the priest descends to the
altar railing and seats himself holding the crucifix, now retrieved
from its tomb of flowers. The congregation files by and each
in turn kneels before the priest and kisses the crucifix. He may
then help himself to a bouquet from the heap. One may not
look for his own but takes the one first to hand and carries it
home as a souvenir and a blessing.
In similar orderly fashion the worshipers file out of the
church, but there is no haste in going home. There must be first
an exchange of greetings and good wishes, and those who precede wait for those who follow.
It is now about noon and the gentle sun of a Lebanon Spring
fills the sky and the air with a flood of light and warmth. The
earth below is resplendent in its new mantle of soft green, and
the good folks are feeling unduly proud in their new, bright costumes. They tarry until the last one emerges from the church,
then form themselves into a semi-circle by the door. Presently the priest appears and, raising his right arm in a combined motion of blessing and triumphal gesture, greets the throng with
the cry:
"Christ has risen!"
And they all respond in unison:
—"He has truly risen!"
And this would be their signal to disband and hasten to a
waiting feast of meat and other good things which ushers them
back into a new order of life only to forget too soon all the privations and hardships of Lent.
Said Khaled Ibn Safwan to his son: "My son, culture is the
splendor of kings and the ornament of the common people."
x
«
APRl
�,-^-r
APRIL, 1927
17
Syrian Folk Songs
if
MY DAY IS BITTER (MARMAR ZAMANI)
Translation by AMEEN RIHANI
4l_ij ^--^ <-JjUl
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i ^ j.>U &*u
^1U I >_JU ~_Uti c-b
jlfu!
_fc.U J^fJlj
* My day is bitter; bitter is my day,
Bitter my cwp and bitter, too, my lay,
But in my heart, O sweet calamity,
A tray of sweetmeats for thee I display.
With parasol in hand, behold her passing,
Her brow, the dawn; her cheek the rose surpassing.
O mother, if I win her not, amassing
The gifts of love, e'en Antar I'll surprise.
O thou who goest early to the garden,
Thy heart to love's appeal, O do not harden!
A word, a smile, a glance, a moment, pardon
The victim of the arrows of thine eyes.
* This stanza is repeated after each of the succeeding stanzas.
aHHMl:
:!
; , '.-v;:';1 :-K;c-.:r, :.,
�1
IB
tHt SYRIA*! WOKtt>
O take me with thee, fair one; Allah guide thee!
Thy basket I will bear and walk beside thee,
And if thy father will not let me bride thee,
I'll startle e'en the foolish and the wise.
She sought the jeweler's shop her gold to squander,
"I want a ring that will make mortals wonder."
The jeweler said, "My heart is thine to plunder
And thine the jewels, too, that I most prize."
O monk, be thou indulgent} do not blame herj
She's young and fair, and love has come to tame her
C) monk, if thou'lt not marry and proclaim her
My bride, I'll tear thy cowl and priestly guise.
Syrian Proverbs
A miller is in no position to mock a plasterer.
If you are trusted keep faith, although you may be faithless.
The do» that must be driven to the chase is not worth taking.
Rather smoke that blinds than cold that kills.
No oil vender,will call out that his oil is turbid.
The horse that is too quiet will have its tail gnawed off by
rats.
He who wants to get drunk should not count glasses.
He who has a cook why should he burn his hands?
Naught prevents me from climbing the mountain but my
barefootedness.
\»
�xa*f
———
APME, t$27
»
Signs of Syria's Rebirth
By
i
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR
The heart of every loyal Syrian beats with love for his
native land. Evidence of this fact may be seen in Syrian organizations of a patriotic, educational, and humanitarian nature being
fostered in various countries to aid the mother country. Letters,
newspapers, journals, and hundreds of other tokens carry back
to Syria the love and interest of Syrian emigrants from the four
corners of the earth.
This love for one's native land is compatible with the
principles of modern democracy and with the ideals of the American people in particular. For one I love America and I expect
to live and die in America. Nevertheless, I love my native land
with the same love I love America. In the words of a character
in The Hearts of The World, "I believe a country worth living
in is a country worth fighting for". Syrians have acquitted themselves with honor through representatives of their race who took
part in three American wars. The writer waived his exemption
as a minister of the gospel to be included in the draft. There
are other evidences in his father's family, as well as his own
showing his loyalty to America. Yet I still feel as a Syrian my
racial love for the land that gave me birth. For there I was
born, there members of my family still live, and there my mother's body lies buried on a hillside and in a valley of beautiful
Syria.
The modernization of Syria will increase the interest of Syrian emigrants for their native land. "The nineteenth century",
said Joseph Cook, "made the world into a neighborhood, the twentieth century will make it into a brotherhood." The age of the
machine has revolutionized travel, communication, transportation, science, education, religion, commerce. The telegraph, telephone, steam-engine, gasoline-engine, electricity, the aeroplane,
M X-Ray, anti-toxin, and other inventions and discoveries have revolutionized man's thought of himself, the world and the Creator. Man has learned to think in world terms, and he is beginning to think seriously in terms of world brotherhood. The de-
�11
'APR
20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
velopment of the aeroplane will bring the revolution of revolutions to human thought and relations and will completely push
man's horizon to the ends of the earth. What effect will this
have on Syria as related to the rest of the world? In the history
of the ancient world Syria is, geographically speaking, centrally
located. In the modern world Syria still holds that place. This
fact will bring to Syria a commercial development which will
bring the era of prosperity.
The World War brought forth a New Syria and promises
to be a renaissance to new vigor and glory. The Phoenicians
who were the "great traders of the Mediterranean littoral and
who, in fact, adventured far beyond its shores", are coming to
their own again in their descendants the Syrians of today. Writing of the commercial activities of the modern Syrian, the editor
of THE SYRIAN WORLD says they "are now attaining stupendous
proportions practically throughout the world which bid fair
to gain for them,that position which was once their forefathers',
the Phoenicians." The peculiar racial talents in philosophy, mathematics, commerce and religion, literature, medicine, poetry, and
navigation long dormant because of conquests by mighty invaders, are beginning to make themselves felt the world over. Fortunately, we are promised reports of such activities in the pages
of THE SYRIAN WORLD.
The greatest fact in Syria's renaissance is the rebirth of
Syria into a nation. The feeling of our racial consciousness is
bringing forth a racial solidarity. The Armistice was followed
by many crises. These, however, were the birth throes of the
new nation. In the hearts and minds of the people of our native
land and Syrians abroad there is being born a new Syrian nation
based on the principles of the social order of the modern world:
humanity, democracy, brotherhood, equality, justice.
The people of our native land are thinking over the things
which make their common interest. The Syrian mind is free
after centuries of imprisonment. In the days gone by there
was a censorship of the people's thinking, home, education, travel,
invention, discovery and religion. In a word, there was censorship from the cradle to the grave. That malignant power which
throttled the Syrian soul has been abolished. The mind and life
of the people beat again with faith, courage and endeavor that
know no fear nor death. Syrians have found themselves, their
racial talents, and their country. The greatest fact, to me, of
i
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4
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'APRIL, 1927
J
0
the Syrian renaissance is the affirmation on the part of the Syrian that "this is my own, my native land".
One day I was strolling on the outskirts of a Syrian seaport.
The path lay through a cemetery of the Mitwalites. There people sat to visit and watch the setting sun disappear beyond the
horizon. I visited with a group consisting of two Mohammedans,
a Christian and a Hebrew. Each expressed his opinion on the
needs of the city, the country, and for the application of democratic principles to the nation. One said, "How impossible this
free expression of opinion would have been in the days previous
to the World War." The people are thinking, talking and dreaming. They are talking about "our country". They are thinking
in terms of self-reliance, and the spirit of co-operation. The past
differences, whether of religion, politics, and sectionalism are
gradually being set aside in the face of the challenge of new
occasions and new duties to common interests.
The people are beginning to accept leadership no matter
what section of the country it comes from, or what religious denomination it professes so long as it truly represents the good of
all the people. They are learning to avoid the two dangerous
shoals: sectionalism and sectarianism. Geography is the basis of
one, and religion of the other. Favoring one section, or religion,
above another, should never become part of peoples' thinking.
True democracy must bear in mind the good of all for the good
of each, and the good of each for the good of all. Theodore
Roosevelt said: "It is a base outrage to oppose a man because
of his religion or birthplace, and all good citizens will hold any
such effort in abhorrence." The man most fit should be the man
for the place be he Christian, Mohammedan, Druze or Jew. A
biased mind is by nature unfit to represent and lead any people
aspiring to establish a government "of the people, by the people,
for the people."
I once heard an Egyptian Moslem on "The Democracy for
the New Syria". Christians, Mohammedans, Jews, Mitwalites
and others heard the speaker with warmth and animation. He
was applauded many times. He spoke the aspirations of the
audience. His birthplace and religion were forgotten as he spoke
in beautiful Arabic. It should be so in the Syrian nation. Ability,
trustworthiness, service, should be the basis by which the citizens
should judge any man for the high place of leadership. Lord
Brougham said that "the characters of public men formed part
•--
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the wealth of England" and the same ought to be said of the
leadership — political, religious, and educational — of our native land.
The establishment of high national ideals is in the making
in Syria. Ideals have drawing and driving powers. There must
come noble vision before there can be effort to noble attainment.
This demands rigorous thinking of the highest order. This will
come from unselfish and courageous souls. Such great souls are
in the making today. Syria is1 awaking to its potentialities. The
American Revolution brought to light a host of great and heroic
souls. Everything gave way to the heroic in them, a heroism
born through the vision of high national ideals.
One day, in company with a friend, I was passing through
the business section of a Syrian city. We met a Mohammedan
teacher, a friend of my friend. We accepted his invitation to accompany him to his home among the orange orchards. Kami I
Affendi had a modern education. We conversed on the prevailing thoughts in philosophy, education, democracy and religion.
He spoke of the application of the principles of American democracy to the new social order in Syria. Although he had never
been in America he was truly American in spirit and ideals.
Roosevelt said, "Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction
and purpose, not of creed or birth-place." To this Mohammedan humanity, democracy, good-will, equality and justice should
be among the ruling ideals of the nation. It is the thought of
the people that differences of religion, birthplace, wealth, shall
no longer divide the Syrian people. The sifting of the wheat
from the chaff is going on. The welding of the nation through
high ideals will make for the peace of the Syrian nation and its
future prosperity.
Syria's rebirth has brought to the people of our race a faith
in themselves, in their racial talents, and in their future. Selfconfidence is a pillar of true national progress. Faith makes
things possible. The people have faith that in their children
will be the beginning of the realization. The children of today
will make the nation of tomorrow. Ambition, sacrifice, energy,
daring are ingredients which make for progress and greatness.
Everywhere in Syria one feels the heart beating to new music.
The soul of Syria has awakened to the rythm of its native air.
In the tender climbing youth of Syria you will find the key to
the energy of its faith for the future, You will find the true
�M
APRIL, 1927
i
23
emancipation, the dynamic of mind, and the surging emotions
which make for future greatness. "The Day" has come for
Syria in the freedom of its youth to measure its talents with the
rest of mankind. I challenge you, Oh Syrian youth, in the
words of the soldier-poet Rupert Brook: "Now, thanks unto
God who hath matched us with this hour."
Once I addressed a group of High School boys. They were
Mohammedans, Christians and Jews. It was my cherished dream
to speak to the youth of my people to challenge them to the best
in them. I urged them on to success. 1 emphasized their virtues
as Syrians. I would say to the Syrian youth everywhere what
Lecky says in his History of European Morals of the Stoics.
"The Stoic taught that virtue alone is good, and that all other
goods are indifFerentj and from this position he inferred that
birth, rank, country, or wealth, are the mere accidents of life,
and that virtue alone makes one man superior to another." Syria
is now paying the price and laying a foundation for her future.
The craving for knowledge, the desire for opportunity, and the
willingness to pay the price are indications of the people's faith
and hope.
There is growing in the Syrian nation a purer patriotism.
The feuds of the past are giving way to the loftier ideals of
today. The prejudices of the past are not allowed to shackle
the souls of today. The renaissance of Syria centers its light
upon the possibilities of a united people. What our people need
is "Light", and "More Light". Dante said, "Give light and the
people will see their way."
Love of country will grow as men realize the glory of their
past. "A mountain's greatness lies in its possibility of achievement in the present, and nothing helps it more than the consciousness of achievement in the past," said a great American. One
of the great services that Syrian historians can perform today is
the publication of popular histories of Syria with special emphasis
upon Syrian talent and achievement.
A Syrian patriotic literature is growing in Syria. Syrians
from abroad bring back a wealth of patriotic feeling. I conversed on the way to Syria, with Druzes who were carrying back
American thoughts on Democracy. I met Syrians from Colombia, from Mexico, from Argentine, and elsewhere, and all were
conversing freely of their interest and love for their native land
In a printing house I saw Arabic translations of English aad
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
American patriotic literature. One package was labelled "Bagdad". Men and women, the youth of Syria are thinking, discussing, reading and dreaming of the new nation. The people
are American in soul. "A drop of ink makes millions think" is
a Canadian motto. The drop of patriotic ink is making the people
think with intelligent, broad-minded, and noble love for one's
country. Arabic patriotic literature is being printed and read
wherever Arabic is spoken.
Several months ago I stopped in St. Paul, Minn., for several hours while on my way to Montana. Syrian young men
told with pride of the leadership their native city gave their community. With pride they told of several hundred young men,
armed, going to the relief of a city besieged by the revolutionists.
This is to the glory of Syria. Syrians are beginning to feel the
need for such patriotism in time of peace for the upbuilding, of
the nation as in times of war. Syria needs men who feel themselves called to be the custodians of the new social order; who
shall lay a foundation for all future generations upon which to
build a glorious nation to the glory of Godrand country. The
need calls for men rich in material things whose generous hearts
and willing minds lead them to establish public schools, foundations for education, hospitals, memorials to worthy souls, to give
generously to the needy, to champion relief organizations, to aid
religious institutions, to establish homes for the aged, for the
orphan and unfortunate. Wherever your adopted country may
be, whether you are Mohammedan, Christian, Druze or Jew,
remember your mother country needs you.
API
seel
ing
ed.
rep
sur
ORIENTAL WISDOM
When Mani, the founder of the Manichean heresy of dualism, appeared and called people to his !new teachings, the courtiers and advisers of Sapor, the son of Azdisheer, Sassanide king
of Persia, counseled him to kill the heretic.
"No," wisely answered the king. "If I kill him, the common people will follow him the more, saying, 'a mighty king has
killed an ascetic.' I will first challenge him to a debate, and if
I silence him with argument, then will I kill him."
"
-" '
an'
th<
�r„
APRIL, 1927
f
25
An Arabian Knight
And
A Desert Poetess
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
An Arabian knight was on his way to a spring of water
seeking repose from a long, wearisome journey. On approaching the spot he heard a damsel singing:—
O, bid thy phantom from my sleep depart,
Mayhap in slumber rests my flaming heart}
Lovelorn I turn me on an irksome bed,
And seek in vain the comforts of the dead.
Since thou wouldst heal, relenting say thy "yea",
And quicken thou this aching lump of clay.
^0
"Whose verses art thou repeating, sweet songster?" he asked. "Mine," came the reply. "Nay, if they be truly thine,"
replied the knight, "canst thou preserve the words and the measure, but only change the rhyme?"
Thereupon the damsel sang:—
O, bid thy phantom from my sleep begone,
Mayhap in slumber drowns my every moan;
Lovelorn I turn me on my burning breast,
And seek in vain; the comforts of the blesst.
Since thou wouldst heal, but grant thy love's rebirth,
And quicken thou this aching lump of earth.
i
"Thou hast indeed done well, but canst thou yet make
another attempt?" pleaded the knight. "Willingly," replied
the desert maiden, and sang:—
l
M
O, bid thy phantom from my sleep retire,
Mayhap in slumber ebbs my raging fire;
Lovelorn I'm tossed by burning wave on wave,
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
And seek in vain the comforts of the grave.
Since thou wouldst heal, thy willing heart now trust,
And quicken thou this restless pinch of dust.
"Sweet poetess! Let me importune thee but once more.
Thou re-echoest the musings of my soul. Wouldst thou, pretty
one?" "As thou desirest," replied the maid, and again sang:—
O, bid thy phantom from my sleep recoil,
Mayhap in slumber ends my fruitless toil}
Lovelorn I turn me on my bed of gloom,
And seek in vain the comforts of the tomb.
Since thou wouldst heal, but breathe thy love divine,
And quicken thou this withered heart of mine.
Arab Sayings
The weakest of men is he who cannot keep his secret} the
strongest is he who can control his anger.
Trust in all men denotes weakness.
Who is the one whose actions were governed by his passion
and did not lose in the end?
Who is the one who was stubborn against fate and reached
his goal?
Who is the one who associated with rogues and could retain
an unblemished character?
Two men deserve censure in the fullest measure: He for
whom a seat is provided in a narrow place and tries to elbow his
neighbors out} and he to whom an honest advice is given and
feels not grateful*
�1
" l"
"
'7vHrii»
APRIL, 1927
27
In The Days Of Christ
By HABIB I. KATIBAH.
What were the settings, the perspectives and the stage
against which the greatest, most thrilling, most far-reaching and
spiritually significant drama of all ages moved? Who were the
hero and the minor actors who, believing in the simplicity of
their minds and the vanity of their hearts that they were acting
the roles of principal characters, glowed for a brief moment in
the borrowed glory of a humble Nazarene carpenter, known to
thousands of millions of his followers in generations to come
simply as "the Master" or "the Lord"?
The story of the Christ Jesus, measured only by the standards of human reason and human values is the greatest example
of the vindication of the spirit, and the eternal conquest of its
ideals over those of matter. For this reason, if for no other,
the story of Christ remains a source of perennial interest and
ever-springing inspiration.
By its mere repetition it brings new vigor and life to the
disheartened soul which, overwhelmed by the apparent victory
of materialism over things spiritual, has given up hope for world
reform and slumped back into the slough of despondency. Christ
was the greatest optimist of history, and the contemplation of
His life and teachings is the best antidote of that wave of pessimism which seems to engulf our youth in its dark and murky
waves. There must be more logic in the life of a Christ than
in all the philosophy of a Schopenhauer or a Haekel.
But to understand this life and appreciate its beauty and
strength, we must acquaint ourselves with the movements, conditions and events which eddied around this giant "Rock of Ages",
and in reference to Whom alone they have been saved from the
bottomless sea of sheer oblivion.
Who was Herod the Great; who were the Pharisees and
Sadducees; what was the relation of the Romans to the Jews in
Palestine; and under what conditions was Christ crucified and
why?
.
The Jews at the time of Christ were subjugated to a foreign
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
power much stronger than themselves. They were also divided
among themselves about the advisability of submitting to it or
fighting to the bitter and bloody end. A large class of Jews
lived then outside Palestine, like the Syrian emigrants today,
and acquired the ideas, manners and customs of the Gentiles, yet
remained fundamentally and essentially Jewish.
Politically, the Jewish people were then under the
domination of the Romansj their country was a Roman colony,
but unlike all other Roman colonies it was given unprecedented
and unparalleled freedom. It was a privileged colony, ruled by
a native ruler, Jewish in religion though not in blood.
The long succession of servitudes and oppressions by mighty
kingdoms, swaying back and forth across the plains and hills of
Syria and Palestine — Chaldean, Egyptian, Persian and Greek —
had given way to a brief period of independence and apparent
prosperity to this buffeted race of Jews under the heroic leadership of the Maccabees or Asmonaeans. In the middle of the second century before the birth of Christ Judas Maccabee, from the
tribe of Ephraim, raised the standard of revolt against the Selucides, the successors of Alexander the Great, who ruled in Syria
and part of Palestine. Many of the Jews followed him and
fought gallantly for what they considered dearer than life itself, religious freedom. For the Selucides, and especially Antiochos Epiphenese, who was then ruling, had persistently pushed the program initiated by Alexander himself, namely the Hellenization of Asia. The Jews stood adamant against this program and considered, it a blasphemy against Jehovah and an effrontery against their nationalism, which was inextricably entwined with their religion.
No sooner was the rule of Judas Maccabee and his immediate successors, his three brothers, Alexander, Jonathan and
Simon, and his son John Hircanus, established, than dissensions,
that terrible nemesis of the Jews and Syrians alike, set in. The
civil wars that followed, with one faction seeking the protection
of, and hence favoring, the Greeks, decimated the people and
sapped the vitality of the only Jewish dynasty since the fall of
Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B. C, and prepared the
way for an ambitious adventurer from a neighboring, Semitic
tribe, the Edomites, to annex Palestine to his nomadic rule.
Antipater was at first a governor, strategos, of Edom, under the rule of Alexander Jannaeus, the Jewish king. From that
\
I
in
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29
APRIL, 1927
/
position he rose through his intrigues, energy and "piety" into
the role of procurator over all Judea, by the help of the Romans,
the early friends of the Asmonxans and their subsequent masters. Herod the Great, in whose days Jesus was born, was the
son of this scheming Antipater.
Herod was a mixture of a truly great man and an ugly
ogre. He was a master politician when politics had not been
developed into a nice science, and the pious, theocratic Jews hated him as they hated politics and worldly governments. Sometimes he was kindly and generous, we are told,1 but his ruthless
ambition dominated his character, and for it he sacrificed everything, even his mother, wife and children. His father had received the Roman citizenship as a reward for his perfidy in delivering Judea to the Romans, by stirring up enmity between
Hyrcanus and his brother Aristobulus II. This led to the interference of Pompey in 63 B. C, and later to the conquest and
annexation of Judea. Herod himself was a fawning slave of
the Romans, who painstakingly studied the wishes of his masters
in Rome and always cast his lot with the winning party. This
required no mean skill when we remember that Herod was contemporaneous with those troublous days in which the Roman
Republic had been replaced by the Empire under Julius Caesar,
and was followed by civil wars and anarchy whose consequences
failed not to touch the peaceful shores of Palestine. Herod managed to "purchase" and "win" the favors of the murderers of
Caesar, Antonius their avenger, and Octavian his successful rival,
in turn. The latter restored to Herod, what Cleopatra had won
from Antonius at his expense in the south and west. When, a
few years later, 24-21 B. C, Herod's kingdom was extended still
further to the east and north, he had brought together under his
rule "nearly the whole of the Davidic Empire".
With an iron hand Herod ruled in Palestine. He was a
despot who kept the peace by cruel means and almost daiiy executions. It is said that* of the original Sanhedrim, religious tribunal of the Jews, which had voted against his rule, only one
was left alive by him. He had countless spies in the land, and
any one suspected of disloyalty lost his life without the formality
of trial. For unbridled licence and empty pomp Herod's court
rivaled those of the heathen Roman emperors at their worst.
Yet, withal, Herod's reign was not without its benefits to
Palestine'. In his love of show and splendor, as well as in his
/
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
sycophant efforts to please his Roman masters, he raised many
monuments, forts, theatres, baths, amphitheatres and even cities
which adorned the land after him. In most of these enterprises
Herod's taste ran to the Greek, and he imitated the Greeko-Roman, architecture of the period. But he restored the Temple of
Jerusalem and lavished his generosity on it without measure, until it was said that it even surpassed in beauty, if not in magnificence, the one which King Solomon built. He transformed a
little town south of Carmel into a beautiful harbor which he called Caesarea, and in honor of another Roman emperor he converted the little town of Samaria into a Roman city, SebasteAugusta. His penchant for buildings, almost a mania, extended
to countries far and near. He had monuments in Syria, Asia
Minor and Greece. Jerusalem, however, received the larger
share of his attention. He introduced Roman, gladiatorial, games
into the holy city and built a huge amphitheatre in the plain outside. A hippodrome was another innovation of Herod's in Jerusalem, while a Roman eagle, symbol of Roman dominance and
of Herod's subserviency to Rome, perched over the gate of the
temple, was a sore in the eyes of the Jews. When on his deathbed, they attacked the temple and wanted to pull down the detested symbol, but their attempt was put down with terrible disaster. It is said that the Jews were so happy at the prospect of
Herod's death that he gathered the leaders of the people in the
hippodrome and gave orders for their execution as soon as he
died that on the day of his death the Jews would be forced to
mourn and not show their exultant rejoicing at his departure!
Anarchy followed the death of Herod. Archelaus and
Antipas, sons of Herod from a Samaritan mother, quarrelled before the Roman Emperor about the succession. Finally the kingdom of Herod was divided. Archelaus was made ethnarch, ruler of a people, of Judaea, Idumaea and Samaria; the rest was
divided into tetrarchies, fourth parts, one of which, Galilee and
Paraea, was given to Antipas. Antipas ruled till a few years after
the death of Christ, but Archelaus, by a petition from the chiefs
of the people, was removed to Gaul, and in his place ruled a succession of Roman procurators under the general supervision of
the Imperial legate in Syria. Of those procurators, Pontius Pilate,
in whose reign Christ was crucified, was the fifth.
The Romans granted the Jews almost complete religious
liberty, not so much because they believed in this democratic
/:
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f
APklL, 1921
ft
course, as, because of the realization that it was impossible to do
otherwise without expenditure of heavy forces and constant revolts. The jews had their own court, the Sanhedrim, a body
of 71, composed of the high priest, ex-high priests, deposed by
the procurator, scribes, i. e.} interpreters and teachers of the Law
of Moses, and simply "elders".
Of these classes, the rise of the scribes indicates the spirit
of t'ie time and the changes which had come on the Jews since
the exile.
With the death of the prophetic spirit in Israel, the law
with its legalistic and puritanic commandments came into prominence. The thunderings of an Amos from Bethel, the gentle
pleadings of a Hosea or the majestic exhortations of an Isaiah,
faded into the background as the rigid, categorical mandates of
the "five books", were hedged by an imposing wall of interpretations and commentaries on interpretations, with their unending
additions of further commandments and restrictions.
The reaction to this barrenness of the spirit, this multiplicity
o£ laws upon laws, was varied and divergent, as one would expect.
There were in Palestine at the time of Christ two main parties — the Pharisees and Sadducees — the liberals and conservatives, or more correctly the religious nationalists and the legalistic supporters of Rome.
Of the two, if one has to choose between them, one is inclined to favor the former. Certainly they were the more progressive and energetic, and the people supported them wholeheartedly i they were the people's party, and many of them were
of exemplary characters, while some of them, like Abtalion, Hillel and Shammai, were truly saintly. Many of the sayings of
Hillel, who was contemporary with Christ, could have equally
come from the lips of the One who preached the Sermon on the
Mount. It was the Pharisees who guarded the law with utmost
zeal, and because they themselves could not bear the burden
which they imposed on others, the wrath of Jesus broke on them
with fury and He called them hypocrites, and compared them to
"whitened tombs".
The Sadducees were strict conservatives in their attitude to
the laws of Moses; they believed only what was written therein,
and considered all oral traditions and later innovations as adventitious. Because of this, we are told in the Gospels that they
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
believed not in resurrection, nor angels, nor any of these things.
The Pharisees believed. Paradoxically enough the Sadducees were
the party favorable to the Romans; they were the aristocrats of
the Jews, and the high priests were usually elected from them.
This apparent contradiction is explained by Keim, in his Jesus
of Nazara, as Mosaic archaism, which found in the new culture
a strong ally. "A rigid hierarchy," he says, "can to a certain
extent allow itself to be washed by the waves of new ideas without danger; it gains a semblance of enlightenment, while its
foundations are secured by their age and their diametrical contrast against the overflowing of the waters. A hierarchy lacks
the glow of religious conviction and is in a position to make
terms with what is foreign." Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees had their origin in the second half of the Asmonsean period.
More interesting than either of these groups, is one which,
it is believed, had a more direct influence on the rise of Christianity and bears resemblance to it. The ascetic society of the Essenes deserves special consideration if for no other reason than
that some scholars believe that John the Baptist belonged to
them. They were the pietists among the Jews at the time of
Christ, and their abstemious observation of the laws of Moses,
especially those relating to the Sabbath, exceeded that of the
Pharisees. The Essenes were almost obsessed with the idea of
purity and wore white robes and lived in the wilderness of the
Jordan river and the open country lest they be defiled by contact
with the Gentiles. They worked in communities and developed
agriculture and husbandry with skill and energy. Many of their
ideas such as facing the rising sun in their morning prayer, and
their frequent ablutions, baptisms, were borrowed from the religion of Persia, Zoroastrianism, and from Neo-Pathegorianism.
They abhorred marriage and regarded it only as a duty for the
propagation of the race.
Corresponding,to these outward signs of rigor and purity,
the Essenes held to a high and delicate sense of morality. Josephus says of them that "in choosing and rejecting they have
three things in view: the love of God, the love of virtue, the love
of man." Truthfulness was regarded by them as one of the cardinal virtues and it is said of them that "they could not lie". On
entering the order, we are told by Keim, they promised by a
formula "that they would above all serve God piously, and that
they would, in the next place, be just toward all men, would in-
I
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APRIL, 1927
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jure no one, either at the command of others or from their own
impulse j that they would hate the unjust, would make cause with
the just, would keep their word to all, especially to those in authority, since no one could obtain rule unless it was ordained of
God."
In Essenism we discern an attempt of foreign influence
at penetration into Judaism, which, despite all the efforts of the
Pharisees and their hedge around the law, proved neither impenetrable nor self-sufficient.
"Palestinian Judaism", however, succeeded in preserving
the spirit and much of the letter of the Mosaic Jaw, if not the
moral fervor and spiritual exuberance of the prophets and the
psalmists.
But it was Hellenistic Judaism which felt most the
incursions of foreign, Greek ideas and influences. Every year,
at the time of the Passover, thousands, literally hundreds of thousands of Jews living abroad, came to Jerusalem for the annual
atonement sacrifice. Many of those spoke no Hebrew or only a
smattering of it, and many more were more at home in a Hellenic
atmosphere than in a Jewish one. To the thinking Jews of those
days they formed a problem, for many tended to leave the Jewish fold and be completely assimilated with the Greek world.
To the Jews who had come to know Plato and the, Neo-Platonic
philosophy developed after him, there was something spiritually
lacking in Judaism, something mystical and metaphysical which
Judaism scarcely scanned. In loyal yet thinking Jews like Philo,
who came about 40 years before Christ, this led to a system of
thought in which Judaism and the Platonic philosophy were
shown to be one, by a process of allegorization. It was Philo
who gave prominence to the Logos philosophy, based on the Platonic one, evidences of which we find in the first chapter of the
Gospel of John.
What was Christ's reaction to this troubled, complex and
flowing atmosphere of actions and ideas? Kirsop Lake, in his
remarkable book, The Stewardship of Faith, pictures the
Greeko-Roman world at the time of Christ as a double out-going
and in-going current. It is immaterial whether the centre of this
current is Rome or Jerusalem. Christ, moving about in the neighed
borhood of the latter may be considered, from the point of view
of purely secular history, as a colossal genius in whom these influences and tendencies were gathered, by whom they were in-
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tuitively asseyed and from whom they issued forth in new, coherent and vital expressions. Christ lived His time in the true
sense of ,the word and added to it the subtle beauty of his own
interpretation. As a great spiritual chemist His sensitive spirit
chose the things of spiritual, eternal value and created from
them new forms of spiritual beauty.
Christ was a progressive without the bigotry and fanaticism
of the Pharisees, a man of tolerance without the indifference and
rigidity of the Sadducees, a man of rare piety and spirituality
without the foolish ritualism of the Essenes, a true patriot without
the consuming zeal of the Zealots.
No wonder His people, barring a handful of good-hearted
peasants, fishermen, sinners and publicans, could not understand
Him and finally crucified Him for what they considered blasphemy against their religion and their God. But those who did
listen to Him with sincere and guileless hearts ; who were attracted from the fields and marts and city squares; who left their
nets and followed Him, charmed by that divine face and still
more divine voice which "spoke with authority but not like the
Scribes and Pharisees", were transmuted by His spiritual fire and
became a power for idealism and righteousness which, in a comparatively short time, and mainly with the help of a Hellenic
Jew, Saul of Tarsus, was destined to subvert the stately structure of Greek philosophy and culture and bring to its knees the
haughty power of Rome.
The air was filled at the time of Christ with prophecies of
the near coming of the Messiah. Books like the Apocalypse of
Enoch and the Psalter of Solomon spoke in fervent hope of this
coming and dwelt with rapturous delight on His descent
from heaven on the wings of winds. But while Christ gathered
in Himself the deeper, spiritual aspirations, hopes and sufferings
of His people and thus could be the spiritual fulfillment of their
Messianic hope, outwardly, to quote the author of the article
"Messiah" in the Encyclopedia Bibltca, "the Pharisees reasoned
not amiss that the marks of the Messiah were conspicuously absent
from this Christ."
The punishment of one who blasphemingly claimed the Messiahship was death on the cross, and the Sanhedrim had the authority to pass the sentence, although, its execution was carried
under the authority of the Romans. The session of the Sanhedrim under such circumstances, as described e. g. in Emil
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APRIL, 1927
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Schuerers's work, (The History of the Jews at the Time of
Christ), was very impressive and its operations were highly technical.
But it managed, despite its technicalities and apparent equity,
or rather because of them, to condemn the most virtuous man of
His age and all ages. And the greatest teacher in Israel was
hung on a tree between two thieves.
SAYINGS OF JEWISH FATHERS
Reckon thyself among the oppressed, and not among the
oppressors.
Trust not in thyself until the day of thy death, and say not,
"When I have time I will learn"; it may be thou wilt never
have time!
Hillel.
If I do not take care for myself, who will? And if I take
care onlv for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
Hillel.
If thou hast learnt much, pride not thyself upon it, for to
that end wast thou created.
Jochanan.
Be not like those servants that serve their masters on condition that they receive wages.
Antigonus of Socho.
The man in whom three things are always found, a good
eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul, is a disciple of Abraham
our father.
From the Pirke Aboth.
When thou prayest, let not thy prayers be haughty, but
humbly implore the grace of God.
Simon the Just.
Let thine house be the meeting-place of the wisej sprinkle
thyself with the dust of their feet, and eagerly drink in their
sayings.
Joshua.
<
What is hateful to thyself do not do to thy neighbor.
Hillel.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
36
•.
Tales and Legends of Araby
Translated from the original Arabic
by Miss
SUMAYEH ATTIYYEH
A HERMIT AND AN INFIDEL
There was an old hermit who lived in the pine forest of
Mount Lebanon.
He was very devout and learned and people flocked to him
from many miles around. They regarded him as a saint.
In a neighboring town lived a rich man who was very worldly and loved his pleasures. One day he called some of his gay
friends and had an elaborate banquet for them. They ate and
drank and became merry. After a while the host suggested jokingly that they all go to the hermit, because he had three important questions he wished to put to him.
When they met the old hermit, the rich man smiled at
him and said: "Father, I have come a long way to learn something from you which has puzzled me for a long time."
The hermit felt that the man was a hypocrite, but he answered politely: "Pray, be seated and I will gladly answer your
questions and enlighten your mind."
The rich man then said, "There are three things I like you
to convince me of, first, you say that there is a God, but how
can you prove it when no one is able to show Him to me; secondly, you say that devils are angels of fire. If it is so, then
there is no danger of hell fire to burn them up; you also say
that God knows every hair in our heads, He knows what we
are going to do and He creates us and maps out a career for us.
In other words fate- places us and our destiny is mapped out for
us. Why then are we to be blamed for our actions,"
The hermit took a big, heavy lump of damp earth and hit
the rich man with it on the head. The man cried with pain, and
the hermit was brought to court. The judge asked him why
he did that and he answered, "My action was the correct answer \
for his three questions. He said he could not believe in God without seeing Him. That was the proof that he wanted. Now he
said I caused him a lot of pain. Well, let him prove it to me
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'1927
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and show me the pain. He feels it, but cannot show it to anyone.
Secondly, he said if the devils are made of fire, the fire of hell
should not hurt them. Well, I hit him with earth, and he himself is made of earth also, so he should not have been hurt. Then
again, if it is my fate to hit him, I am not to be blamed for it,
neither am I responsible for my actions."
The judge was well pleased with his wisdom and the case
was dismissed in his favor.
DISTRIBUTION OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES
One day Christ and His disciples were traveling a long
distance on a hot day. They became thirsty and hungry. They
met a very nice young lady who was pretty and pleasant and who
had a charming manner.
She was carrying a luncheon and a jar of milk to her father
and brothers who were working on the farm.
Peter said to Christ: "Master, ask this girl to give us the
lunch and then bless it and multiply it like you did with the two
loaves of bread and the two fishes and then we can all eat."
Christ smiled and asked the girl to give Him the lunch.
She bowed down to Him, not knowing who He was, and said:
"Take it, and I will go back home and get another lunch. You
are hungry and thirsty, therefore, you are welcome to it."
In a short while they saw a dirty, lazy man lying under an
apple tree snoring and Peter called out to him and said: "Why
are you sleeping this way at midnoon," And the man waked up
and said: "I am poor and hungry and I am waiting for an apple
to fall down so I can eat it."
Peter said, "Man, why don't you shake the tree or climb up
or throw a stone and help yourself? You may starve before an
apple falls down." The man said: "Truly I have not thought
of it."
Then Peter turned to Christ and said: "There is indeed a
great difference in people; that girl deserves the best husband in
the country and this good-for-nothing man deserves the worst
L| wife." Christ smiled again and said: "I shall have that girl
' marry this man, because if all the wise ones marry the wise and
| the fools marry the fools, this world will not be balanced up
right."
�-t
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i
THE SYRIAN WORLD
UNIVERSAL CRITICISM
An old man was traveling with his son, and having only one
donkey,, the father rode it, while the son walked beside him.
They met people on the way who said: "It is a shame that
the father rides and the son must walk." So the father walked
and the son rode. They met another group of people who said:
"It is indeed wicked of this boy to ride and have his father walk."
So they both rode the donkey and soon some passer-by said:
"How selfish these men are to ride together on that poor beast!"
So the father and son walked and led the donkey along
when they heard a man say to his companions: "Look at these
fools, they are walking while they have a donkey with them."
Then the father said to his boy; "Son, it is true no matter
what one does in this world he is criticised, therefore, the best
way to do is to follow your own conscience and what you believe
is right, and let the world go by to say what it pleases."
WISDOM OF THE CREATOR
Two Arabs were visiting on a farm and they sat under a
high apple tree.
One of them was commenting on the wisdom of the Creator
and the other was criticising the Almighty because he believed
that God did not create things in a just and balanced manner.
So the latter said to his friend: "Look up here, this large and
high apple tree only produces a small fruit, and over there is
a tiny watermelon seed which produces a large fruit that weighs
ten or twenty pounds. Now I should think if things are created
in a just and harmonious manner, the large tree will produce a
large fruit and the small seed or plant will produce a small fruit,
but instead it is the reverse. Things are unbalanced not only in
the human and animal family, but in the vegetable family as
well."
While he was talking thus, an apple fell from the high tree
and hit him on the nose.
He realized his mistake immediately and with eyes raised
upward he said: "I thank God that it was an apple and not a
watermelon which might have smashed my nose."
• !
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APRIL, 1927
39
Famous Cities of Syria
JERUSALEM
I
In the centre of the Mosque of Omar ia a huge rock, about
59 feet long by 51 feet wide and 4 feet high. This rock tradition assigns as the site of the holy of holies of the ancient temple
of Israel. More correctly, according to Biblical scholars who
studied the question with great accuracy, it is the site of Solomon's
altar of burnt-offerings.
This rock which millions of Moslems venerate, and around
which Arab conquerors of Syria built the second holiest shrine
in Islam, marks in unbroken chain of continuity places of
sacred memories and religious significance to the three principal
monotheistic religions of the world — Judaism ,Christianity and
Islam. In most probability it was the same stone in the threshing floor of Oman which was the scene of an angelic appearance,
according to an account of the Old Testament and which, in consequence, Solomon chose as the site of his temple.
On the site of this rock stood once a heathen temple, the
Temple of Jupiter, built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the
second century A. D. The Mosque of 'Omar itself, wrongly
so called by the early Christian Crusaders, but known by the
Palestinians and Mohammedans generally as the Dome of the
Rock, was converted for a short time into a Christian church,
"Templum Domini", by the Crusaders.
The Dome of the Rock underwent many changes and improvements in the course of successive generations. The beautiful
porcelain incrustations lining the inner walls of the octagonal
mosque, was the gift of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the
16th century, while the Dome itself was built by al-Hakim, the
Fatimide Caliph of Cairo in the 11th century. Saladin covered
the lower walls with marble, and the French erected the wrought
iron screen connecting the inner row of columns in the 12th century. The architecture of the mosque is Byzantine, and it stands
in the middle of a vast enclosure which includes many famous
shrines and temples, the most famous of which is the "Masjidul-Aksa" to the south. It was to this shrine that Mohammed
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THE SYRIAN WORLD '
40
was carried by the archangel Gabriel on a nocturnal trip from
Medina to Jerusalem! To the west of the Dome of the Rock
is a remnant of the ancient wall of the Jewish Temple, where
orthodox Jews weep to this very hour the lost glory that was
once theirs.
What memories of religious fervor and bigotry, of strife
and serene contemplation, of sacrifice, suffering and supplication, does that enclosure evoke! Could that stone beneath that
Dome speak, what an interesting and rich story of human interest could it relate! It is the rock on which millions of innocent animals wenti'up in savory smoke and fire, symbols of the
millions of human beings who gave themselves up as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of others and for the amelioration of
the conditions of this our earthly existence j it is a symbol of religion, of Jerusalem!
But for its strategic position, being situated on four hills,
surrounded by deep valleys, and its sacred associations, Jerusalem would have never attained the importance it now enjoys.
It is not an economic centre nor in the direct route of caravan
transportation. Unlike Damascus, it did not develop any indigenous art or industry, but was hospitable to all imported influences. Its architecture represents every stage and variety known
to history, except the skyscraper.
The present population of the city is estimated at 50,000,
mostly of Semitic blood, but including elements of every race.
There is hardly a more cosmopolitan city, with the possible exception of New York. The streets of Jerusalem are narrow,
and steep j its houses are of stone and mortar, with flat roofs,
but modern buildings with red tile gables abound in it more than
in any other Syrian city. Naturally Jerusalem claims a larger
number, also, o£ churches, mosques, convents and hospices, some
of them going back to the days of the Crusades, and some even
to the days of Constantine and Helena.
Around this little city, a conglomeration of ramshakle dwellings, historic edifices and modern buildings of various descriptions and pretensions, runs a wall, in the style of the cities of
the Middle Ages, which was built by Sultan Suleiman in the year
1542 A. D., as it is indicated on many inscriptions on the wall
and the gates. This wall, "of cut-stone, built on the solid rock
and loop-holed throughout", varys from 25 to 60 feet in height,
and is 2x/i miles in circuit. Breaking this enclosure are four
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walls and many of the prominent churches and mosques.
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�THE SACRED ROCK IN THE MOSQUE OF 'OMAR IN JERUSALEM
This rock is held sacred by Christians, Jews, and Moslems by reason of its
holy associations. (See article on "Jerusalem").
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THE MOSQUE OF 'OMAR. OR THE DOME OF THE ROCK
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�THE MOSQUE OF 'OMAR, OR THE DOME OF THE ROCK
This mosque was at one time the Holy of Holies of Islam. It underwent
many changes and is fully described in the article on Jerusalem.
�THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE IN JERUSALEM
This is one of the places held most sacred to Christians and is made the
scene of great festivities during the Easter Season.
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gates, facing the four cardinal points: Bab-ul-'Amud, (the Gate
of the Column), or Damascus Gate, on the north} Bab Sitti
Mariam, (St. Mary's Gate), on the east} Bab-ul-Nabi Daud,
(the Gate of the Prophet David), on the south} and Bab-ulKhalil, the Hebron or Jaffa Gate, on the west. Corresponding to
these,gates, the city itself is divided into four quarters: the Armenian Quarter at the southwest} the Jewish Quarter at the
southeast, both being on Mt. Zion} the Christian Quarter at the
northwest} and the Mohammedan Quarter, occupying the remainder of the city.
The modern, Arabic name of Jerusalem, al-Kuds, or alKuds ash-Sharif, epitomizes its sacred history. The Arabs must
have translated its Greek epithet, The Hagia Polis, (The Holy
City), or the latter part of its Rabbinic one, Yerusalem ha-Kadusha, (Jerusalem the Holy.)
But the original name, Yerushalem, did not connote any
suggestion of holiness. It is a compound name, the second part
of which means peace, but the first one scholars are in doubt
about. Perhaps the whole name means the City of Peace.
Jerusalem came to prominence as a sacred and as a secular
city in the days of David and his son Solomon. Before that, it
was a small, impregnable village of four hills in the possession
of a small tribe, the Jebusites, whence it was called Jebus City.
For a time, since its fall to the Israelites, it was called the City
of David, its conqueror. Who the Jebusites were, and when
they came to Palestine, are unsettled questions, except that in
most probability they were of the Canaanites, Semitic inhabitants of the land before the Israelites invaded it.
King David must have realized the strategic importance of
Jerusalem, for one of the first deeds after his kingship was established was to fight the Jebusites and take from them that
part) of the city known as Zion, which was a fortress. There he
built for himself a palace and brought the "Tabernacle of the
Covenant" inj great rejoicing.
Previous to the time of David, or, more strictly, the building of the Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem did not contain any
historic shrine, as the ones in Bethel, Dan or Shiloh. In truth it
was not a Jewish city, but a foreign one in the midst of Israel.
From that time on, however, it became the political capital of
Judah, and when the Assyrians carried the tribes of Israel to
captivity, in 722 B. C, Jerusalem had attained to a distinctive
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
position, and became the religious capital of the Jews. Since
then it has become the religious centre of Christianity, and, for
a time, the religious capital of the Mohammedans. For it was
the first Kibla, prayer direction, of Mohammed and his small
band in Medina, and Mecca was substituted only after a dissension between Mohammed and the Jews of Medina.
The earliest historic mention of Jerusalem occurs in the
Tel-Amarna Letters, where the local governor of "the land of
Jerusalem", a certain 'Abd-Hiba, defends himself against the
slander of his enemies as a disloyal subordinate, and pleads for
Egyptian troops to protect his land against the invasion of Habiri,
who undoubtedly are the early infiltration of the tribes known
later as the Hebrews. The word means in the Semitic tongues
"those who crossed over", i. <?., from the other side of the Jordan.
For 400 years — from the time of 'Abd-Hiba to the time
of David, — we hear little of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament
we come across two or three passages in which the name occurs j
one of these mentions that Jerusalem was not taken by the children of Israel among the cities which they occupied under Joshua.
The glory of Jerusalem under King Solomon did not last
long, and was more artificial than real. Aside from the Temple
and the Palace of Solomon, reflecting the splendor of an Oriental
monarch, Jerusalem remained a town of little significance, a strategic military fortification. But its religious significance waxed,
and its spiritual glory, symbolic and ideal, inspired the imaginations of poets and prophets. Zion became, not so much the earthly citadel from which Israel defended itself against its enemies,
as the "Mountain of the Lord of Hosts", the spiritual capital to
which the heathen will flock in the fulness of time, "when the
Lord will bring back the captivity of His people", and the name
of the Lord will spread from it to the ends of the earth, even to
the islands of the seas.
Almost immediately after the division of the Kingdom of
Israel into Judah and Israel proper, which occurred after the
death of Solomon, an Egyptian invader, Shishak, sacked the city
of Jerusalem and carried away the accumulated wealth of Solomon and stripped his palace and the temple of their immense
treasures. In the flourishing reigns of the houses of Omri and
Jehu, Israelite dynasties, Samaria superceded Jerusalem, reviving briefly under the reign of Amaziah, king of Judah. After
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APRIL, 1927
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that Jehoash attacked Jerusalem, having been incited into trial
of force by the king of Judah, and destroyed a part of the wall,
400 cubits, carrying with him the treasures and riches of the city.
In 598 B. C, Jerusalem fell before the army of Nebuchadnezzar. The Jews revolted two times in succession after that,
and two times Nebuchadnezzar subdued them. In the third
time, 586, the city was completely destroyed by fire and its walls
demolished.
Jerusalem remained in ruins almost 120 years, when Nehemiah, armed with an edict from the Persian king Artaxerxes
Mnemon, and backed with his material help, restored the city.
Two partial attempts at restoration had been made before, one
in the reign of Cyrus, 538 B. C, and one in the reign of Darius
Nothus, 418 B. C., under the leadership of Ezra.
In the Greek period, beginning with its occupation by Alexander in 320 B. C, Jerusalem enjoyed comparative affluence
and prosperity, especially under the nominal independence of
the Maccabeans or Asmonseans, from whom the Romans under
Pompey wrested it.
For a brief moment in history, under the reign of Herod
the Great, the city caught something of the resplendent glory of
the ancient capital of Solomon, and set the stage for the greatest spiritual drama of all time.
The Jerusalem in which Jesus the child was lost, and in
the temple of which he argued with the Pharisees and Sadducees;
the Jerusalem which He rarely visited, preferring the little,
quiet suburbs of Bethany and Bethphage, or the serene summit
of the Mt. of Olives, was a cosmopolitan city in which Judaism
and Judaistic culture were making a valiant struggle against Hellenistic influences. But the battle was unequal, and the spirit of
Israel had died, as truly as the messages of its great prophets
had become stifled in the empty rites of the Pharisees. Jesus,
who preached occasionally from Jerusalem, and more frequently
from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Greek and Jew
mingled freely, sounded a gospel which was not distinctly Jewish, — a cosmopolitan, humanitarian gospel, for all the world.
Jerusalem was destined to become the capital of another great
spiritual movement which came from the loins of Judaism.
Herod was fond of buildings, and many were the monuments to his indomitable energy. The Temple itself was renewed and enlarged, but on its gate stood the Roman Eagle in
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
gold, a symbol of Jewish subjugation to a heathen power, which
gave its commands from the city on the Tiber, another city which
was destined to play a preeminent part in the religious drama
centered around the gentle Galilean. Herod built two palaces for
himself, transcending the Temple in splendor, a gymnasium,
fortresses and other buildings of a public character.
Seventy years after the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus, the son of the Roman Emperor Vispucian, and
the rebellion of the Jews against the Romans was effectively
quelled. The description of that famous rebellion was left us
by a Jew himself, Josephus, considered by his countrymen a renegade, but in the light of impassive history would rather appear as a sane, peace-loving patriot, who clearly saw the futility
of the Jewish struggles against almighty Rome. One million
Jews, we are told, were killed or exiled by Titus, and thousands
perished by one of the severest and most horrifying famines in
history. Mothers ate their children after all animals and every
vestige of grass were devoured.
Jerusalem was destroyed another time in 132 A. D., when
the Jews made another defiant gesture for freedom against the
Romans. Hadrian rebuilt the city after a heathen fashion and
called it Aelia Capitolina, (the Holy Capital).
Under Christianity, Jerusalem played a rather secondary
role, being subordinate to the great cities of Rome, Alexandria
and even Antioch in Syria. But with Constantine, the first Christian emperor, it became a centre of great religious and sentimental significance. It was Constantine who built the great Church
of the Anastasias, (the Resurrection), which stands till today as
the most sacred spot in Christendom, for it was raised over the
place which was supposed to be the sepulchre of the Savior.
Justinian added to the splendor of the city by building the
Church of St. Mary, part of which still remains within the enclosure of the Mosque of Aksa.
The Persian king Chosroes took the city in 614 A.D., and the
churches and sepulchre were burned. But the exiled Patriarch
Modestus began to restore them before the Persians retired.
In 628 the Byzantine king Heraclius retook the city, and
in 637 it capitulated to the Caliph 'Omar, thus marking its entrance in the religious drama of another great religion — Islam.
It is related in the histories of the Arabs that 'Omar entered
Jerusalem astride a camel, wearing a patched 'aba, with the wa-
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ter skin-bottle dangling beside him. The pompous bishop, with
his retinue of priests, all arrayed in their rich priestly robes, did
not recognize the conqueror with whom he was to arrange the
terms of capitulation.
'Omar gave orders for the erection of a mosque on the site
of "the Remotests Shrine", to which Mohammed, according to
an account in the Koran, was transported over-night. This
mosque, the Mosque of 'Aksa, which was a wooden construction
capable of holding 3000 worshippers, was replaced by a magnificent one by the Caliph 'Abdul-Malik in 691 A. D. The date
still stands in a Cufic inscription over the Dome of the Rock,
but the name of the caliph was changed to that of al-Mamoun
who restored the buildings after a severe earthquake which, according to an Arab geographer, left nothing standing except the
wall around the mihrab, the niche indicating the direction of
Mecca.
Jerusalem was restored to Christian hands in the brief rule
of the Crusaders, lasting about a year. Baldwin, whom, the Arab
historians refer to as Bardawil, was its first Christian king.
The vicissitudes of Jerusalem from that time on need not
detain us, for they consisted mostly in additions to its architectural conglomeration of various periods and designs. Of these edifices none, perhaps, is more interesting than the Franciscan Convent built on the supposed site of the upper room where the first
Eucharist was instituted by Christ and His disciples, on the night
before His crucification. This convent, built by Sancia, Queen of
Robert of Sicily, in the 14th century, was taken back by the Moslems in 1560.
In our own days an event of historic note was the triumphal
entrance of General Allenby into Jerusalem in 1917.
FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
An Arab was present in the court of Chosrau and heard the
merry laughter of the servants. "Does not the majesty of the
king awe these servants and prevent them from laughter?" asked
the Arab in surprise. To which the Persian monarch replied:
"Only our enemies fear us."
aai a,
* *a—
�mmm
—
THE SYRIAN WOKH>
46
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
A WISH
The multiplying signs of satisfaction among the Syrians in
America with the purpose and policy of THE SYRIAN WORLD is
a source of gratification and encouragement. We again invite
criticism and suggestion to the end that we make THE SYRIAN
WORLD a cause of pride for every Syrian. We realize with a
good many of our devoted friends that in many respects the
publication will admit of substantial improvement, but it should
be realized that it was undertaken on the basis of pure personal
initiative and that only through more effective co-operation on
the part of our friends could we introduce those features which
entail such expense as can be justified only by increased circulation. It is within the reach of every one of our readers to assist
along this line by recruiting new friends to the publication. Within two months we shall enter on our second year, and if every
old subscriber can secure a new subscriber, there will be added
to the magazine such value as would amply repay him for his
interest.
II
QUESTIONS ON SYRIA ANSWERED
It is our ambition to make THE SYRIAN WORLD as complete
a source of information as possible on Syria.
It gives us pleasure now to announce that we have secured
the co-operation of the eminent historian, Dr. Ph. K. Hitti, in
conducting a new department of Questions and Answers on Syria's
history. We invite our readers to avail themselves freely of the
opportunity.
Dr. Hitti, as is well known, has made history his life study.
He is an able scholar and a gifted linguist and has access to original sources in both Eastern and European languages. He was,
following the war, professor of history in the American University of Beirut and is now associate professor of Semitic languages and history in Princeton University. We have the promise of Dr. Hitti that all questions submitted will receive prompt
attention.
Ir *
�; APRIL, 1927
47
ATTENTION OF CORRESPONDENTS
It is gratifying to note the increased interest now being displayed in the Readers' Forum. This department of the magazine is the public meeting ground of our readers and nothing
pleases us more than to have them utilize it to the fullest extent.
We are constrained, however, to call the attention of correspondents to some details the observance of which we would
much appreciate:
All material intended for publication should be typewritten,
with double spacing between the lines. The full name should
be signed to every letter and article. If, however, only the initials are wanted published, the editor could be so advised.
Only correspondence dealing with topics of a public nature
will be considered for publication. Matters of a purely local
or personal interest cannot be given space. This policy is maintained for the purpose of keeping the magazine up to the high
standard expected of it by our intellectual leaders to the end
that it will reflect credit on the race.
Correspondents will please see also that all mail is fully
prepaid, and where MMS not found available for publication
are wanted returned, postage covering return should be included.
A NEW CONTRIBUTOR
Dr. N. A. KATIBAH is much favored by the muses.
Whatever prosaic endeavor he engages in the inspiration follows
him. He has so far contributed two delightful poems to our
readers which, we are assured, were very much enjoyed, and we
trust he will contribute more. Dr. Katibah had his earlier education in the American University of Beirut, and later studied dentistry in America, doing undergraduate work in Princeton and
Williams. During the English expedition against Khartoum, he
was chief interpreter and very close to Lord Kitchener who held
him in a high position of friendship and trust. He had at one
time composed an epic of over a thousand verses in English on a
Soudanese theme which, unfortunately, was destroyed by fire.
His profound knowledge of Arabic, however, will enable him
to give us more of the gems such as the one published in this
issue.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
48
Readers' Forum
SYRIANS IN OKLAHOMA
Editor The Syrian World.
After the appearance of Dr. Shadid's article in the February issue
of The Syrian World, one might
imagine that Syrians in Oklahoma
are severely crushed upon, therefore,
my duty as a Syrian prompted me
to bring to light, and lay before the
readers of The Syrian World, demurs
to the charges made by Dr. Shadid,
in order that the Syrians throughout
the world will not worry about their
brethren who reside within the beautiful State of Oklahoma, the State
of opportunity and true fellowship.
The writer is among the pioneer
Syrians of Oklahoma, having migrated from Syria at the age of 16, in
1906, and having lived in Oklahoma
continually for nearly 21 years, I
feel as though I am well informed
of the conditions of Syrians in Oklahoma, and know their standing as
a race socially, financially, politically, etc.
As an illustration, I will quote
here the important positions occupied at various times by Syrians in
Oklahoma.
1—Mr. Ameen Karam, of Oklahoma City, is the inventor of Karam
New System of Shorthand.
2—Mr. M. K. Moussa, of Oklahoma
City, is the assistant cashier of the
Liberty National Bank, one of the
greatest financial institutions of the
Southwest.
3—Mr. B. D. Eddie, of Oklahoma
City, is serving on the Manufacturers committee of the Chamber of
Commerce, and is a past President
of the Progressive Syrian-American
Club, which is considered among the
best civic clubs of Oklahoma City.
4—Mr. Joe Adwon, of Oklahoma
City, is an attorney and present
Justice of the Peace.
5—Mr. S. T. Barkett, of Oilton,
Oklahoma, is a noted citizen and
president of the League of Americanized Syrians, which organization
is recognized as one of the most patriotic and useful ones in eastern
Oklahoma
6—Mr. A. N. Adwon, of Wilson,
Oklahoma, is past worshipful master of the Masons in Wilson, past
president of the Chamber of Commerce, and director of the First
National Bank.
7—Mr. K. Farha, of Ponca City,
Oklahoma, has served as Mayor of
the City of Shamrock, Oklahoma.
8—Mr. L. T. Barkett, of Wynona,
Oklahoma, is past worshipful master of the Masons, past noble grand
of the Odd Fellows of his local
lodges.
9—Mr. Joe Fogaley, of Bristow,
Oklahoma, is past worshipful master of the Masons, past president of
the Lions Club, past commander of
the American Legion, formerly Justice of the Peace, and the Deputy
grand-master of the Masons, in his
district, in Oklahoma.
10—Even Dr. Shadid himself who,
prior to his residence in Elk City,
had resided in Carter, Oklahoma,
was a leader among leaders, socially
and politically, not only in his town
and county, but in his entire district. He was the Farmer Labor
nominee for Congress from his district and drew many thousands of
i'J
-
�"I""—
49
APRIL, 1927
•v
votes. He was defeated by Honorable Jim McClintic, who was not
only Congressman from that district
for over 12 years, but was also the
Chairman of the National Democratic Speaking Committee, which
means that if John W. Davis, the
Democratic Presidential Nominee
was asked to speak to the citizens in
Oregon or Florida, it was necessary
that he be directed by the chairman
of the speaking bureau who was
Jim McClintic, who defeated Dr.
Shadid. Later we observed that Dr.
Shadid's name appeared on the State
ballot as Lieutenant Governor nominee by the Farmer Labor Party.
This also goes to show his popularity
and proves that the condition referred to by him, and existing in Elk
City, are wholly local and purely
personal, being brought about by
jealous and prejudiced brother physicians of Dr. Shadid's in Elk City.
As to the K. K. K.'s, I do not
think it is the place of the Syrians
anywhere to oppose them or fight
them, because the Syrians' loyalty
is never questioned, at least in Oklahoma.
Consequently, the K. K. K. is not
against the Syrians. It is said that
the fundamentals of the K. K. K.
are contrary to the Constitution of
the United States. If this is true,
they are bound to go down to defeat, and no sooner the function of
the K. K. K. anywhere in the United
States steps out of its claimed principles, there are always true and
big-brained Americans who will never hesitate to- attack them. So why
should Syrians worry about the
K. K. K.?
The writer resides within one
block from the home of the grand
dragon of the K. K. K. in Oklahoma.
His children and my children are
"pals". He is a friend and good
neighbor of mine, and he oftentimes
praises the Syrians and their loyalty.
In conclusion I must say that in
my humble opinion the Syrians in
America should not fear any prejudice as long as they maintain their
loyalty to their adopted country, attend to their own business and discharge their duties as true citizens.
They may contribute to the relief
and assistance of their native country as much as they may desire, and
certainly they should fear no danger
as it has been truly said "by their
fruits you shall know them."
Fayad H. Barkett
Oklahoma City, Okla.
A TEST OF COURAGE
Editor Syrian World.
In the February issue of "The
Syrian Wcrld", there appeared an
article entitled "Syria for the Syrians" in which Dr. M. Shadid of
Oklahoma, advocates the return of
Syrians to their native land, where,
as he believes, they can enjoy certain social privileges and national
rights which they do not enjoy in
this their land of adoption.
While I abhor the conduct of Dr.
Shadid's neighbors, I must admit
that I was not as much amazed at
the kind of treatment he received at
their hands, as I was at the spirit
of pitiful defeat manifested in his
article. Certainly, it is not characteristic of the, Syrian. We, as Syrians, pride ourselves in the fact that
our race withstood the oppression
and the persecution of practically
every tyrant in every age for hundreds and thousands of years, and
still holds out as a great formidable
race, in its characteristics, its noble
traditions and its inherent fortitude.
�50
Shall we, then, surrender to an isolated, Insignificant, bigoted band of
individuals, planted here and there
in this great land of liberty and
within this great right-loving nation ?
Even though we were to heed the
advice of Doctor Shadid, can we, as
a nation, claim that we are free
from those undesirable evils he com1 lains from? Are not the present
conditions in our fatherland indicative of the well-rooted bigotry in the
hearts not only of few but nearly of
ail our people? Why, even in this
country of enlightment and tolerance, we find that some of our own
land still wanting us to believe that
there is greater difference between
one Syrian born in one section of
the country and another in another
section, than the bigoted American
thinks there is between an intelligent
native born American and an ignorant undesirable Syrian
Furthermore, a brave soldier, a
righteous man, a courageous people
cannot and must not give ground to
cowardly tactics of this sort. So. to
say let us go back to Syria, means
that we have given up because we
could not endure the brunt of battle.
My observations and experience
along these lines have convinced me
that ignorance, and only ignorance,
is the progenitor of these unfair, unfriendly and, certainly, un-American
methods as set forth by our esteemed doctor. They have also convinced
me that even the bigoted and prejudiced, after they get more acquainted with the Syrian and learn more
about his excellent qualities, his
true friendship and loyalty, his liberality and hospitality, will become less hostile towards him if not
more friendly.
Nor have I ever seen it fail, that
when the Syrians make up their
THE SYRIAN WORLD
minds to assert themselves, to demand respect, to command respect
by acting respectfully and uniting
together for the elevation of their
social and political standing, they
invariably carry their point and
achieve their goal. The thing for
the Syrians to do is to prove their
worth, individually and collectively.
They may be slighted before they
are well known, but eventually they
will win out.
The writer happens to be in the
utmost part of the South — Florida,
and the state of mind of the American people in this State is not different from that of Oklahoma, yet
the Syrians in this State enjoy the
highest respect and esteem of the
American people. I believe that this
is due to the manner in which they
eonduct themselves as citizens and
as memebers of one community closely united for the purpose of the
elevation of their standing as foreign-born citizens.
The SyrianAmerican Club of Florida, organized in 1912, has been the greatest
factor in securing for the Syrians
every thing they could wish for as
American citizens.
Joseph K. David.
Jacksonville, Fla.
MAINTAINS SYRIANS
ARE RESPECTED
Editor Syrian World.
Apparently Dr. Shadid's article in
February's issue of "The Syrian
World" provided an outlet for the
Syrians in America to express their
opinions pro or con, as the case
might be, on the subject put forth.
The several articles commenting on
Dr. Shadid's case, published in last
month's edition of "The Syrian
World", were quite interesting and
furnished food for thought
f
�mm
APRIL, 1927
I
,1
There is very,little that I can add
to the pro cause inasmuch as E. K. S.
has very ably defended the faith the
Syrians have in America. Most
heartily I am in accord with his or
her beliefs.
I wish, however, to take issue
with Mr. J. J. Kanfoush. Undoubtedly, he feels justified in his beliefs
on account of the experience which
he states occurred to him. Is it not
possible, however, that some other
reason may have caused the chief
chemist to refuse his application. It
may be such as inexperience, youth,
etc? I say this because it is rather
difficult to believe that a learned,
professional man could be so bigoted
as to discriminate against one's nationality when, in this sophisticated
age, it is talent that is required irrespective of creed, color or race.
Such statements are bound to provoke harm — in view of the fact that
many of the young generation, and
even some of the old, who are in
this country only a few years, are
ashamed to acknowledge that they
are Syrians They refuse to learn
the Arabic language, and if they
know it they are reluctant, through
shame, to be heard speaking it. They
shun Syrian companionship and become inadvertent to Syrian ideals
and customs, thinking that by doing
so they are becoming Americanized.
How, then, can we ever aspire to
win the admiration and esteem of
our American friends if we do not
respect ourselves?
I cannot agree with the statement
that the Syrians are being insulted
and ridiculed in college text-books
of the U. S. I and others have studied and read many books for years
and we have yet to perceive any
contempt printed against the Syrians. In fact they honor us a great
deal.
When we were reading the
MM,
'51
history of Syria, the instructor, who
is, by the way, of German-Irish descent, extended that lesson for three
days in order that she could thoroughly explain how much the world
at large is indebted to Syria.
I recall that, in a periodical Which
we received in school, an article was
written enumerating the characteristics of the different races in the
U. S. The Syrians were credited
with having shrewd business acumen
and becoming refined. The author
goes on to say that "withal, they are
apt to easily wax to prevarication."
I ask if that can be taken as a gross
insult ?
S. A. Z.
Shenandoah, Pa.
PROOF FURNISHED
Editor Syrian World.
I notice that in the last edition
of "The Syrian World" you require
proof to substantiate the statement
I made regarding the indignity accorded the Syrians in a college text
book. This I will gladly furnish.
The excerpt is taken from
SOCIETY and its PROBLEMS
By Dow Grove Samuel,
Professor of Sociology in the
University of Denver.
Ninth printing: preface dated
April 5, 1922. Page 98.
The passage reads as follows:
"The Assyrians and Syrians are
much alike. They have come to this
country to escape the persecution of
the Turkish government, a persecution which has been little better
than legalized robbery. They have
furnished in recent years the majority of our pack peddlers Many of
these later settle down as small
merchants.
"The Armenian race barely escaped extermination during the war, and
�52
there are few of them left. Turkey
is now being1 broken up and greater
liberties and opportunities will be
given Syria and Assyria, so we can
expect to receive fewer of them in
the future. On the whole this will
not be regretted, for as a class these
people have not been liked by the
American people — largely because
of their swarthy appearance — although they have not presented the
problem that the Slav and the Italian have given us."
Of course, some Syrians may read
it and pass it unnoticed; but here
the inference is obvious.
This text was used at Syracuse
University in the College of Liberal
Arts. Whether it is used there now
or not I do not know.
Jamile J. Kanfoush.
Syracuse, N. Y.
SPEAKS ELOQUENTLY
FOR THE SYRIANS
Editor Syrian World.
I wish to present a year's subscription of "The Syrian World" to the
International Institute of Bridgeport.
I feel that we should be well-known
to such an organization and that
"The Syrian World" will speak eloquently for us.
Please be assured of my appreciation of your efforts in persuading
Ibn El-Khoury to share his reminiscences with us. His description
of Al-Marfa' was so realistic and
fascinating as to make us hope that
we, too, may celebrate Al-Marfa' in
Lebanon itself.
Have heard "Moulaya" sung time
and time again, and so often that
we learned to sing fragments of it
(when not within hearing distance).
Sorry to say, we never dreamed
that it is so passionate, or that our
reserved elders were capable of such
THE SYRIAN WORLD
a consuming love. After reading
the translation, we can appreciate
their attitude of concentration and
insistence on silence when Arabic
songs are in the air. In truth, we
shall listen as rapturously, when we
again hear "Moulaya", as do the
natives of Lebanon.
Realizing well that your initiative
has made possible the pleasure which
the magazine has given, I hope you
will accept my thanks.
Edna K. Saloomey.
Bridgeport, Conn.
A "Qu
the manj
SUGGESTIONS FOR
CONSIDERATION
Editor Syrian World.
Although of Syrian parentage, I
am unable, for diverse reasons, to
either converse in or write "Arabic".
I am quite interested in the cultural,
as well as social progress of Syrians in general, particularly in this
country.
Prior to the year 1926, the
publications covering Syrian affairs
were published entirely in Arabic,
and as for me and many others unacquainted with Arabic it
was, to use a popular slang expression, "All Greek".
Then some
far-seeing benefactor of the younger generation arose to our aid and
"The Syrian World" came into existence.
One can obtain more knowledge
of the mother-country in one issue
of this magazine than in concentrated study on the same subject
for several months. Who can understand Syrian ideas, customs, sentiments, better than a Syrian ? Who
can describe vividly by word their
rapid advancement in finance, literature, etc., than one of our community being in a position to obtain
first-hand information?
'
�APRIL, 1927
! i
*
53
A "Question Box" included among then we can rightly boast with sinthe many interesting features of the cerity of our being one of the
magazine where all questions relat- leading factors in the nation.
ing to Syria and Syrians may be
Lila M. Mandour.
answered intelligently by authori- New York.
ties would, I am sure, be highly appreciated.
TEACHING ARABIC
Then, why not work for Syrian Editor Syrian World.
social co-operation and concerted acThe news item published in your
tion in all our affairs. Let us not
March issue about the school for
let a difference in religion, or other Arabic conducted by the French in
minor considerations interfere with Paris for the purpose of teaching
carrying out a good purpose. We officers who are to serve in Syria
should be proud of being Syrians or
the Arabic language, prompts me to
of Syrian extraction. There are
suggest that Syrians in America
many characteristics of the Syrian could very well afford to teach their
race that others may well emulate. children this language for what may
Their business sagacity, as everyone accrue therefrom of literary possiknows, is unquestioned; respect and bilities. To encourage such a move
dignity in the home is also a noticewould be to create more interest in
able accomplishment; the majority
our history and literature and make
of them are law-abiding citizens,
it possible to give a rich contribuseldom connected in drawn-out court tion to our land of adoption.
wrangles; advocation for higher
Clara K. Bishara.
education is coming slow but sure, Brooklyn, N. Y.
especially for our boys, but the
girls ? — Very few complete a high
school education, sad, but true.
WHAT SYRIA MEANT
The only real fault, and one that
TO CIVILIZATION
can be easily remedied, is the lack Editor Syrian World.
of goodfellowship among the youngI have been immensely interested
er folks. — They'd join any other in your magazine, which has brought
club, clique or gathering, but me into closer contact with my peoone composed of Syrians. Why? A ple, and enabled me to understand
question that may probably never Syrian history and Syrian culture
be answered within the next decade. as I had never before. I am an
Perhaps because of an ancient cus- American-born, but that does not
tom which frowns upon the "get detract from my pride in my Syrian
together spirit" common to other parenthood.
America,
England,
nationalities, but hardly known to Greece and Rome, each contributed
us. The task is not difficult and all its share to our modern civilization,
we need is a little initiative and but without Syria, without the Syrperseverance, as well as to break ian Christ, the religious convictions
through the skepticism of our el- and ethical principles which sprang
ders. Let us one and all take this from that little land, this civilization
one custom from our own America would have been like a body without
to be broad enough to accept their a soul.
goodfellowship and "pep" without
Amelia Farha.
losing our inherent Syrian qualities, Quincy, 111.
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
EAST AND WEST
A short time ago it was rumored
that some American missionaries
favored revolution in the name of
enlightenment and freedom and for
opposing the Catholic missionaries
at the same time. For that reason
we say that civilization is wronged
by those who claim to champion it.
Christanity is innocent of the activities of those missionaries which
are based on spite and prejudice.
Behold the American University
of Beirut, thriving and forging ahead
under the leadership of its big, tolerant leader. Dr. Dodge and 'his worthy representative in New York, Dr.
Staub, from the latter of whom we
received recently a letter refuting
the opinions if some of those who
claim a relation with the college,
but who in fact sow corruption and
malice by tht illicit use of its name.
The American University of Beirut undoubtedly has produced soldiers of liberty and tolerance in its
whole-hearted preoccupation in education.
Undoubtedly also the Jesuit University in Beirut does the same thing.
The result would be that the Eastern youth would become soldiers of
a true and liberal civilization, free
of those sectarian collisions which
BHHHHHHI
have encompassed the East in the
past.
He is mistaken who seeks to have
in these days every country in the
East exclusively for Easterners, before it has finished its training.
Nor do we deny that most Weserners have selfish aims in our country. Nevertheless, they have blazed
the trail of education and progress
for us, and still tender to us the
assistance that we need, which if
we refuse we will prove that we
prefer retrogression to progress.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., March 26, 1927.)
WHEN SHALL WE
RISE LIKE CHINA?
We are happy at the liberation
of China from the dominance of the
foreigners over its internal affairs,
and that it has compelled the Europeans to respect the Chinese in
his country and outside of it. For
China is an Oriental country, and
its submission to the foreigners has
been a source of despair to other
small nations of the Orient, for they
used to say: "If China, that huge
country, is unable to free itself, how
much more we?"
Whereas the imperialists would
look at the Chinese dragon writhing
I
�—.
APRiLy 1927
in their iron cage and deride the
other Oriental countries which dream
of unloosening themselves from their
chains, saying to themselves: "If
this giant dragon could not free itself from our grip, can these butterflies and birds do it?"
But now China has broken its
chains and threw them in the face
of its oppressors, when shall we do
the same?
(Miraat-ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
March 25, 1927.)
CONDITIONS FOR UNITY
This newspaper firmly believes
that the "Unity of Syria" which
aims to amalgamate Lebanon with
it is an Islamic propaganda, the
purpose of wh eh is to place the
Christian minority under the mercy
of the Mohammedan majority, which
is still largely fanatic and unlettered. We never played the traitor for
money or interest that we should
endorse anything but the truth.
Let the Moslems first tear up their
religious laws, make education and
military service compulsory and eschew pernicious fanaticism, which
is the weapon of their ignorant majority, and we shall accept them as
dear brethren.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., March 12, 1927.)
DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS
In vain does Shakib Arslan seek
to co "tradict history and deceive
people by saying that the Druze
revolution is a patriotic one. It has
ever been and still remains a religious uprising, accompanied by such
horrible barbarities as has revived
the memories of the 1830 atrocities.
And had it not been for the pros-
55
ence of France in Syria not one
Christian would have remained alive,
either in Syria or Lebanon. The revolutionists would have exterminated them all, or forced the survivors
to leave the country that it may remain for the Druzes, Moslems and
those who hail after their political
views, which are to kill every one
opposed to their religion or civilization.
(Al-Shaab, N.Y., March 9, 1927.)
LEBANON AND SYRIA
Nothing seems to us more ridiculous than the threats which some
people in Lebanon hurl against the
French Government should the latter decide in favor of Syrian unity.
It is ridiculous because these threats
are empty words not backed by
deeds. It is furthermore ridiculous
because if France does favor a United Syria, it would not be for the
sake of the Syrians, nor to spite the
Lebanon people, but to rid itself of
the many problems, troubles and revolutions which follow each other in
a chain.
But even this threat is unnecessary, for the Syrians themselves
have now come to the conclusion
that it is better to make an exception of Lebanon in their provision
of a United Syria, fearing that its
presence in this unity would be a
disintegrating factor, or a source of
perennial trouble.
(Miraat-ul-Gharb, N. Y.
March 21, 1927.)
THE ECHO OF A DRUM
The Deti-oit convention was a stage
and the actors puppets manipulated
by hidden wires. The whole play was
a farce.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., March 21, 1927.)
�56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
About Syria and Syrians
LEBANON HONORS
TWO EDUCATORS
The government of the Republic
of Lebanon has conferred the order
of Special Merit to the heads of the
two leading educational institutions
of Beyrouth, Dr. Bayard Dodge,
Pres. of the American University,
and Father Catin, General Director
of the Jesuit University of St. Joseph. This is one act of the Lebanese Government which met with
general approval because of the
wholehearted gratitude of the nation to these two institutions for
their signal services in the educational field to the country.
Dr. Dodge, in accepting the decoration, said in part: "Who can live
thirteen years in Lebanon and not
love its people, its hills, valleys and
shores?" He said he looked upon
the medal not as a personal honor
to himself, but as a recognition of
what the University through its
Faculty and professors and teachers
is doing for the East.
A LIFE OF CHRIST
BY KAHLIL GIBRAN
Our well-known author Kahlil Gibran is now engaged in writing a
life of Christ which will be published under the title of "The Son of
Man". This information was given
out casually by the author himself
during a reading from his book, "The
Prophet", held under the auspices of
the Fifth Avenue Book Shops Association, on the Evening of February
27th, at the Hotel Brevoort in New
York, and conducted by the wellknown poetess, Miss Barbara Young.
Countess Sonia Ruthele Novak, herself a poetess of note, was the one
who put the question to Mr. Gibran
and he replied in effect that "a
great deal is now being written
about Christ that is not so. Some
would make him a model business
man, with a keen sense of advertising, while others would proclaim
him a myth. In fact, Christ did
exist and' was wont to refer to Himself preferably as the Son of Man.
It is in that capacity that I am
writing the Life of Christ."
Mr. Gibran added that he considered this work the ambition of his
life and that he had, been planning
it for the last ten years. He expects
to produce this work in the near
future.
SYRIAN POTTERY IN LOUVRE
At a recent meeting of the ministerial council of the Lebanon Republic, it was decided to present the
Louvre Museum in Paris with several pieces of pottery found; in Syrian excavations, and of which there
are duplicates in the Lebanon National Museum. Some of these antique pieces of pottery are of great
value.
SYRIAN GIRL'S TOUR
PROVES A SUCCESS
Miss Sumayeh Attiyyeh is acquitting herself very creditably on her
present lecture tour as can be judged
by the newspaper reports about the
cordial and enthusiastic reception
she is receiving wherever she
speaks. At the present time she is
touring the State of Ohio and her
discourses on political and social affairs of the East are a source of
enlightenment to- her audiences. Her
charm of personality and forceful-
I
M
�APRIL, 1927
ness of delivery are eliciting favorable comment everywhere and she is
held up as a model immigrant girl
who has reached the top through
sheer grit and personal effort.
i
PULLMAN SERVICE
BETWEEN PARIS
AND BEIRUT
Following pourparlers which, have
been going on in Constantinople between the representative of a certain sleeping-car company and the
managers of the Bagndad Railway,
it was decided, to extend the service
of the "Orient Express" from Constantinople to Anatolia and Syria,
beginning with the 15th of May,
1927.
On arrival at the Constantinople
depot, travelers are transported by
a special ferry across the Bosphorus
to the Haidar Pasha Depot, where
an express, with sleeping cars attached, would be awaiting them. In
this way it would become possible
to travel from Paris to Beirut in five
days.
A NEW LIGHT ON
PHOENICIAN WRITING
Among the recent discoveries in
the interior of the Sidon district,
in Lebanon, was an alum spear-head
covered with Phoenician writing
which indicates that it has come
down from the 10th century B. C,
or, possibly, three centuries previously. So far, only four remains
with Phoenician writings of such antiquity have been found, but this last
one throws light on the earliest form
of the Phoenician alphabet, and hence
is of invaluable interest.
The discovery has also shown the
importance of excavations in the
Sidon district which will undoubtedly shed much light on the history
of that country.
57
SYRIAN BOY SCOUTS
WIN FIRST HONORS
Fourteen troops took part in a
rally of Boy Scouts in Olean, N. Y.,
in March, and the Syrian troop of
the St. Joseph's church were awarded first honors, although this troop
was organized only in the late fall
of last year, while other troops participating in the rally had seen several years' service. It is a distinction that the Syrian troop of Olean,
N. Y., may well be proud of.
MOHAMMEDAN CONVERTS
IN AMERICA
What is sauce for the goose is
sauce for the gander! And if American missionaries insist on "meandering" into the distant countries of
the heathen to convert them to
Christianity, sooner or later those
heathens will get the hint and retaliate by sending their missionaries
to America to teach its people about
polygamy, easy divorce and other
virtues of heathendom unknown to
the Christian Americans!
If we believe the statement of an
Ahmadite contributor to a Mohammedan paper, the thing has actually
happened. For this man, Jalal-udDin, transmits to "Al-Balagh",
Beirut, the interesting information
based on a correspondence from an
Ahmadite missionary in New York,
that a certain Mr. Lewis, L. L. B.,
"the famous lawyer, and a man of
wealth", along with his whole family, has been converted to Islam, declaring that he will spend a great
part of his remaining years in the
study and propagation of his new
faith.
The correspondent mentions the
name of another convert, "Prof.
Smitben (?) who specialized in theology, and was planning on going to
Africa as a Christian miasinoary.
�58
While in Rochester College he had
studied Islamic lore, and his heart
"had become emptied of his Christian convictions", but, the writer tells
us, "he continued to live like a hypocrite until the hour came when
'his conscience blamed him. and he
renounced Christianity."
AN ATROCIOUS CRIME
What an American would call a
daily exercise, and often a daily nuisance, before he sits down to his
breakfast table, is regarded, in another country, e. g., Syria, "an atrocious crime", which is significant
enough to occupy large space in the
newspapers.
To shave one's beard and moustaches in the East, especially When
one is a dignitary of the church or
of the state, is to rob him of the
visible symbols of honor and manliness! How else does a virile and
respectable man differ from mere
women in that happy paradise of
the males?
Hence the following news item
which appeared in the Syrian papers:
A correspondent of Al-Jawa'ib in
Ladhikiyyah writes that unidentified
persons surprised Rev. Archmandrite
Iskander Jiha, abbot of the Monastery of al-Humeirah in the district
of Husn al-Akrad, on his way from
the monastery to Tal Kalkh.
After binding him securely, these
men shaved his beard and moustaches, beat him up and fled. It is
said that this incident is linked up
with the transference of the management of the monastery from one of
the dignitaries of the district to
Archmandrite Jiha. The former
manager is said to have waxed rich
on the embezzled funds from the
monastery, and it is suspected that
the Archmandrite was the one who
THE SYRIAN WORLD
exposed him.
This incident was brought to the
attention of the Patriarch and in
due course to the attention of the
High Commissioner.
PROPOSED FLIGHT FROM
LEBANON TO ARGENTINE
The return to his native land of
Joseph 'Akar, the Lebanese aviator, from his visit to Argentine, has
caused a great stir and aroused high
hopes and expectations in the breasts
of many about the future of aviation in the Near East. Mr. 'Akar,
about whose aviatory exploits The
Syrian World has written in a previous issue, contemplates flying from
Lebanon to Argentine. Friends of
Mr. 'Akar in Lebanon are trying to
Interest the Lebanon Government
and the Society of Aviation in Beirut to finance the project, which,
they say, if realized, would immortalize for Lebanon a memory of one
of its worthy sons.
AN OBJECTIONABLE BOOK
A certain La Maziere, a French
writer, risited Syria recently and
was received, as is the custom of
Syrians and Lebanese in treating
strangers, with great hospitality.
This man published, upon his return
to Paris, a sensational book in which
he took issue with the Syrians in
everything they held sacred or conventional. He was especially bitter
in denouncing the Maronite Patriarch ascribing to him hypocritical
motives in his support of the French
mandate over Syria. The author is
roundly attacked by the Syrian and
Lebanese press, and many are the
papers which declare that permission
by the French of such trifling with
their traditions and institutions is
not productive of good result*) for
them in the end.
I
�'—
*r
.
APRIL, 1927
I )
59
Political Developments in Syria
NEW FORM OF
GOVERNMENT FOR SYRIA
The same incommunicativeness
which characterized M. Henri Ponsot's policy while in Syria seems to
attach to his conduct in Paris. Ever
since his return from Syria he has
been besieged by delegations and
seekers of information bent on piercing the veil of secrecy concealing
his program of administrative reform in that country, but he has
steadfastly maintained his sphynxlike attitude. The nearest anyone
was able to get to his thoughts was
When he was met upon leaving the
Quai d'Orsay, after having had a
protracted conference with foreign
minister Briand, and his countenance
was discovered radiant with smiles.
The natural inference was that he
had succeeded in inducing the government to approve his program.
But as far as M. Ponsot was concerned, he maintained his policy of
silence and still refused to commit
himself to any declaration.
Now, what is this program which
M. Ponsot has devised for Syrian
reform and which he has spent
months in Syria trying to formulate
by first-hand study of conditions?
What is the solution to the burning
question of the so-called Syrian Unity, or central form of government?
What are his plans for reconciling
between the demands of the Syrians
of the hinterland and those of the
littoral regions?
It seems to be taken for granted
that M. Ponsot's program includes
a repartition of Syria along administrative lines radically differing
from those declared by Gen. Gou-
raud in 1920 in which Lebanon was
restored to what are popularly
known as its natural boundaries.
According to the old Turkish arrangement, Mt. Lebanon enjoyed a
certain form of autonomy, but was
confined to the mountain proper,
with no seaport, even the city of
Beyrouth, situated on the shores of
Mt. Lebanon, being excluded from
Lebanon territory.
Under the Gouraud regime, however, Mt. Lebanon was given not
only the city of Beyrouth, but also
Tripoli, Tyre and Sidon and the
plain of Beka'. Although this arrangement satisfied the Lebanese
Christians, the Mohammedan element was never reconciled to it and
had been clamoring ever since for
the reduction of Lebanon to its former boundaries in order that they may
escape submission to the Christian
majority.
Now it is claimed that the new arrangement suggested by M. Ponsot
includes a readjustment of Lebanon's
boundaries which would leave to it
Beyrouth and the plain of Beka', but
would cede to the interior State of
Syria Jabal Amel, Tyre, Hasbaya
and Ras'haya, Baalbek and Tripoli.
The government of Damascus is
especially anxious to gain possession
of Tripoli so that it may have a free
outlet to the sea and bring to an
end its dependence on Beyrouth.
The report of this arrangement
in M. Ponsot's program has caused
great consternation in Lebanon, and
the Premier of the Republic, now in
Paris on a financial mission, hastened to see Prime Minister Poincare
and Foreign Minister Briand to as-
�m mm *w
60
certain the truth of the rumor, but
was assured, according to report,
that the present boundaries of Lebanon would not be reduced or disturbed.
M. Ponsot's return to Syria was
tentatively set for the 28th of March.
He wat, to appear before the Mandates Commission of the League of
Nations March 15. Up to the present there has come no official declaration of any sort either from M.
Ponsot or from the French government respecting the intended reforms
in the administration of Syria, and
it is the general belief that, having
secured the approval of the government, M. Ponsot will make announcement of his plans upon his return
to his post.
A rumor representing M. Ponsot
as favoring the creation of a constitutional monarchy in Syria drew the
fire of the nationalistic press on the
ground that the country that revolts
in the quest of freedom will not tolerate bondage to a hereditary ruler.
The fact remains, however, that a
monarchy is seriously discussed in
many quarters and the merits of the
various candidates weighed and compared. The objectoin of some revolutionary elements would seem to be
directed principally against Ahmed
Nami Bey, president of the provisional government in Damascus, who
is one of the leading candidates for
the proposed throne and is accused
of favoring the French.
What may be considered as indicative of the new administrative
plan in Syria is a recent order by
the French High Commissariat sanctioning the use of the Lebanon militia in Syria for purposes of defense
in case of common danger. The conservatives in Lebanon deprecate the
move as tending to create new element! of friction and discord, but
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the French authorities explain that
they are responsible for law and
order in Syria as a whole and to
this end it is their privilege and their
duty to make such disposal of military forces as would insure general
safety.
REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES
IN SYRIA AND ABROAD
Peace and order seem to have returned to the district of Hauran, in
Syria, which was the scene of the
last Druze revolution. Revolutionary
sympathizers do not contest the facts
in the situation, but profess that the
revolution has not come to an end,
and that the lull in the fighting is
due only to the winter season, as
the revolutionists are preparing for
a spring campaign which will eclipse
in severity any so far witnessed.
Ahmed Nami Bey, psesident of the
provisional government of Syria, is
reported to have made a tour of inspection of the Hauran district, and,
aside from announcing the prevalence of law and order, made recommendations for the improvement of
the economic conditions of the district, principally in the matter of introducing modern agricultural implements.
Emir Shakib Arslan, who came
to the United States to attend the
convention of the New Syria Party
held in Detroit, Mich., remains in
New York with no public intimation
of his future plans. It was rumored
that he intended visiting Mexico in
the interest of the Nationalist cause,
and as the first lap in a proposed
trip to South America for the same
purpose. Al-Hoda, the principal opposition paper, announces that it has
taken effective steps to have him
barred from Mexico.
�'APRIL, 1927
'61
sition that it will add to the friends
of the revolutionists in Southern
Lebanon, and overbalance the forces
unfriendly to the Government. It
is, in his opinion, both a matter of
expediency and wisdom to have in
the south a preponderance of its allies over its opponents. Had this
been the case before, the revolutionists would not have overcome the
Christians of the south, massacring
a large number of them, destroying
their homes and plundering their
cattle.
The people of Rashayyah, however, listen not to such arguments,
having recently submitted to the
authorities a second petition in which
they insisted that they will not go
back to their old town, nor live with
their old neighbors, the Druzes, even
if their homes were rebuilt. To
their former arguments they add
now one relative to the clemency
act of October, 1926, and ask that
the French authorities make a distinction between the revolutionists
who revolted from a patriotic motive
and have been granted amnesty if
they had submitted before that date,
and between predatory, marauding
revolutionists who saw in the revolutoin an opportunity for revenge and
plunder.
"We have nothing against the
CHRISTIANS REFUSE TO
bona
fide revolutionists," say the
LIVE WITH DRUZES
petitioners, "nor bear we any malice
The Christian inhabitants of Ra- towards them." They put the blame
shayyah, whose homes were destroy- not on the revolutionists who came
ed, whose wealth and cattle were from Jebel-al-Druze, whom they call
carried away, and of whom many "the strangers", but on their neighwere killed by the revolutionists, re- bors and fellow townspeople of Rafuse now to go back to their town. shayyah and Hasbayyah, producing
They had before asked the French as proof of their contention, not only
authorities to build for them new the declarations of revolutionary
homes instead of their burned ones, leaders who surrendered to the Government such as Hamza al-Darwish
in the plains of Shtorah, Beka*.
A correspondent of Al-Basir of and Zaid al-Atrash, but even th«
Alexandria comments on this propo- statements of the Government.
Accounts of the activities of the
Syrian revolutionary delegation in
America reached the Syrian press
abroad in a grossly exaggerated
form. Some reports had it that the
delegation succeeded in raising for
the relief of revolutionary sufferers
a sum of $700,000, and others stated
that Emir Arslan was assigned an
official residence by the Mayor of
New York City and a guard of honor detailed to wait on him, while a
number of the most prominent and
influential Syrians in America accompanied him on his travels. Mr.
William Catzeflis, writing in AsSayeh, denies relations with the said
Emir ascribed to him and to others,
and satirically stigmatizes the reports as deliberate falsehoods.
In a detailed interview published
serially in "Miraat-ul-Gharb". Emir
Shakib Arslan takes occasion to
publish his memoirs bearing on his
relations with the Turks during the
war and reiterates his defense of his
actions claiming that he was instrumental in protecting the Maronite
Patriarch from gross indignities and
in defending the position of the
Christians of Syria and Lebanon in
general.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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TSW1927_04reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 10
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 April
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 10 of The Syrian World published April 1927. The issue opens with an article by Dr. Philip K. Hitti on famed Italian writer Dante and the Arabic sources he likely used in his Commedia
the article is followed by illustrations of the book. Since this issue was published in April there seems to be a larger focus on certain Christian traditions and figures (Lent, Easter, Jesus, Jerusalem, etc.). There are traditional Arab stories interwoven in the issue as well. The issue closes with the reader’s forum, excerpts from the Arab press, and more discussion on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Jerusalem
New York
Philip Khuri Hitti
Religion
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/6bf70178eaedaf97532321e7e0f43549.pdf
679a6e1c263d2d3f8cf71103fb1d3193
PDF Text
Text
SYRIAN WORLD
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MAY, 1927
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SYRIAN WORLD
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SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. I. No. 11.
MAY, 1927.
Contents
PAOB
The Religious Problem in the East—The Case of Rashayya
By S. A. M.
3
The Beauty of Beirut
8
My Lebanon
10
By
EDNA
K.
SALOMEY
Syrian Folk Songs (I Wandered Among the Mountains)
Translation by KAHLIL GIBRAN
//
A Stanza of Moulaya
Translation by S. A. M.
12
The Arabic Sources of Dante — 77
By PHILIP K. HITTI,
The Sympathy of the Moon
By DR. SALIM Y.
13
PH.
D.
17
ALKAZIN
�CONTENTS (Contmued).
n r
PAOI
Harun al-Rashid and the Potter
The World of the Arabian Nights
By H. I. KATIBAH
18
/0
The Lion in the Orchard (An Arabian Nights' Story)
24
Foiling a Despot — A Matter of Interpretation
26
Irrigation in Syria and Lebanon
27
Famous Cities of Syria (Antioch)
29
How Poets Stand
,.
34
Agriculture in the Near East
35
Excellent Reply — Prestige Unbounded
38
Notes and Comments
By
I
VOI
39
THE EDITOR
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Readeis* Forum
44
47
Discussing a Racial Problem
Political Developments in Syria
52
cy
About Syria and Syrians
en
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
A Syrian Joan of Arc.
In the Wake of Battle in Syria.
Four Illustrations of Dante's Divine Comedy
Antioch as it is now.
Relics of Old Glory.
}
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THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. I. No. 11.
MAY, 1927.
The Religious Problem in the East
The Case of Rashayya
When Emperor William II of Germany visited Syria in
1898, and there posed as the friend and protector of Islam, he
stood, while in Damascus, at the tomb of the great Saladin, who
crushed the power of the Crusaders in the East, and gave utterance to these ominous words:
"The Christians of the East must either embrace Islam or
leave the country to the Moslems."
In the light of recent events, one would be inclined to believe that the words of the German Emperor were prophetic.
The religious struggle in the East continues to wax as fierce now
as it ever did in the middle ages. Seemingly political, social and
economic problems may be found, upon close analysis, to spring
from purely religious differences. Syria, in particular, which has
given the world the two monotheistic religions claiming the greatest number of followers, is still the scene of a continuous drama
whose theme is the perennial and ever-recurring religious question. Religion seems to be in that country the axis upon which
revolves all human activities and with which is inalienably involved the whole social fabric, from the family, to the clan, to
the whole nation. Wars without number have been waged on
the soil of Syria prompted primarily by religious differences —
beginning with Judaism and ending with Islam. Cataclysmic
changes have been wrought at various times in history by the
titanic struggles engaged in on Syrian territory for the imposition or the defense of religious views. Everywhere and at all
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
time* it has been in Syria the eternal struggle over religion, and
this seems to have left its indelible mark through all successive
generations on the population of the country, culminating in
what we see now taking place, although on a minor scale, of the
outburst of religious hatreds which, to an outsider, would not
seem possible in this age of professed religious tolerance.
It is not the purpose in this short article to go into the
history of the whole religious question in the East, whether past
or present. The Crusades are matters of common knowledge,
and the massacres of Armenian and Syrian Christians in modern
times, especially the sad plight of the former, have been brought
dramatically and in all their gruesome details to the attention
of the civilized world. It has been proven beyond the peradventure of a doubt that the policy of the former Turkish regime
was bent on exterminating the Armenian race so as to eliminate
it as a cause of political complications. Underlying this policy
were the deeply rooted religious differences which made the two
races utterly incompatible to live together. The Greeks of Asia
Minor occupied a similar position. Witness the cruel and unheard of arrangement of the exchange of populations.
But the purpose is to bring the problem nearer home to the
Syrians and to carry the action even to our present day. This
we find in the case of Rashayya which continues even to this very
hour to be a burning issue in the politics of Syria and which
furnishes the latest and the most vivid illustration in recent
times of the centuries-old, bitter struggle between Christianity
and Islam in the East.
Rashayya had been, previous to the fateful days of the Fall
of 1925, a thriving, prosperous and populous town in the plain
which separates Lebanon proper from Mt. Hermon in the southeastern part of the Lebanon Republic. Prior to the present
political division of Syria, Rashayya came under the jurisdiction
of the Vilayat, or State, of Syria, otherwise the State of Damascus. Its award to Lebanon was in consideration of the fact that
it came within the limits of what was claimed to be Lebanon's
natural boundaries. This arrangement was brought about as recently as 1920, under the regime of Gen. Gouraud.
The population of the town, consisting of about 3,000, was
composed of Christians and Druzes in about equal numbers.
During the massacres of 1860, the Christians of Rashayya, like
their coreligionists in other sections, did not escape the vengeance
of their enemies.
K
�MAY y 1927
5
The first successes of the Druzes in their present revolution emboldened them to violate Lebanese territory and to carry
the struggle into a State other than their own in the hope of driving the French out of the country. They attacked Rashayya along
with many other border towns. The Druzes of the town joined
forces with the invaders and sacked and burned the place so that
not a house remained intact nor an article saved. The Christians
who escaped with their lives fled, destitute, to Zahle, Beirut, and
other Lebanese cities, where they have been ever since a charge
on public charity, principally on contributions from their relatives in America.
The small French garrison, however, held out against the
fierce attacks of the invaders in the old fortress where it had
been joined by about fifty volunteers from among the Christians of the town. It had been reduced to the last extremity
when relief came. Robert Poulaine, the special correspondent
of the New York Times on the scene, in a dispatch published
by the Times on Nov. 25, 1925, thus describes this action:
i
I,
<
"
On the afternoon of Monday, the Druzes, desiring to take the fortress at Rashayya, made a vigorous attack
and succeeded in penetrating the fortress itself, but the
French forces by a rally equally strong, forced back the invading forces. Relieving attachments, by a forced march
arrived just in time to prevent capture of the fortress which,
despite fearless defense, would have soon been overwhelmed by superior numbers.
"The relieving forces had not stopped for a whole day
and night and upon the morning of the second day found
themselves within sight of the besieged fortress. Despite
the fact that they had not eaten for nearly twenty-four
hours, the forces went into battle with a vigor and enthusiasm which soon compelled the Druzes to retreat. Soon
afterwards, the French Air Forces arrived and flew over the
village in advance of the victorious French forces.
"This has equalled in dramatic intensity any of the relief expeditions in fighting against the Riffians."
In another dispatch published by the Times the day following, these further details were given:
"
The garrison at Rashayya was in an extremity
when relieved yesterday, its ammunition having been shot
ii m i
'
i
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
off to the last box of cartridges. The defenders who consisted of squadrons of Spahis and detachments of the Foreign Legion, fought at a great disadvantage. Though the
walls of the fort were high they were contiguous to dwelling-houses — which permitted the attackers to approach
with ladders by means of which they attempted to scale the
walls in the true Mediaeval style
"The scene inside the fort after the relief was a gruesome one. Druze corpses, many quite young boys, were lying all over the place and down the corridors, telling the tale
of hand-to-hand fights, while the courtyard was a shambles
where horses and men lay huddled in death."
It developed later that had it not been for the rare courage
of a khouriat, or the wife of a Christian priest of the town, who
braved the fire of the revolutionists and delivered to the besieged
forces a message dropped from an airplane promising imminent
relief, the garrison, in all probability, would have been forced to
surrender. The khouriat was wounded in carrying out her brave
act and was later hailed by the Lebanese as a modern Joan of Arc
and was decorated by the French High Commissioner.
But all this only meant the saving of military prestige and
not the saving of the town. The refugee population of Rashayya
could not return to their homes because none were left and they
could not rebuild because of their destitute condition which rendered them wholly dependent on charity. And thus they have
been for almost two years hoping, but seemingly against hope,
for some favorable development.
During all this time what has the mandatory power done
for these unfortunates? Seemingly nothing. It has offered to
rebuild the town and actually made an attempt to do so, but the
Rashayyites refuse to return. They have asked what would
practically amount to an application of the principle of the exchange of populations, insisting on either the whole town being
conceded to them so that they may enjoy a certain sense of security against possible future attacks by their hereditary enemies, or
that a new town be built for them further within Lebanese territory instead of at the outlying and exposed sections along the
border. They hold that religious enmity is so deep, its recurring
outbursts so disastrous, and their safety, in consequence, so insecure that sheer love of life would prevent them from accepting
any other solution.
i
�,;
MAY, 1927
ft
J
7
And for almost two years the Rashayyites have been frantically attempting to enlist the support of all political and religious agencies with apparently no result save an expression of
abstract sympathy. They petitioned first, and repeatedly, the
French authorities, then the heads of the Christian Churches of
the East, and finally the League of Nations and the Pope, although they are not of the Catholic faith, but all this only seems
to have embittered the French authorities against them, to the
extent that a delegation appointed by them to lay their case directly before the French Government at Paris was refused permission to sail, and a pamphlet published in justification of their
demands was confiscated.
Finally, in desperation, what do these unfortunates of Rashayya decide to do?
Here is the tragic rumor lately published by the Syrian press
and loudly proclaiming the sinister turn which the Oriental mind
takes in protracted differences of this nature. It is the most
damning testimony as to the intolerable conditions still governing and influencing the lives of the people of the East:
"In order to insure security of life, the Christian people
of Rashayya have decided to embrace Mohammedanism"
This rumor, it may well be added, has not been confirmed,
but neither has it been denied. It has given rise to various comments in the Syrian press, but whatever may be the reaction of
the different factions to it, the moral is obvious, evident and unmistakable. It stares us in the face. It proclaims the prevalence,
even unto our very day, of the strong undercurrents of religious
animosity which still wages war until death, so much so that the
weaker faction does not feel life secure until it had capitulated
to the stronger element. It is, in other words, not a matter of
conviction, but a matter of expediency to avoid continuous strife.
To every thinking, rational person, this condition should not
exist. That it exists is due only to the fact that the masses in
the East are still swayed by passion and not by reason. This is
all the more reason why they should be tutored until they reach
that stage of political and social development when they would
tolerate the liberty of others in their religious beliefs and personal convictions. Emperor William's dictum need not hold true
as a finality, but its disproval will come only when national consciousness in the East will supersede religious intolerance, and
when matters of religion will be conceded to be a sacred privilege
of the individual.
S. A. M.
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Beauty of Beirut
A vivid description of the capital of Lebanon
by an American correspondent.
As beautiful as Cleopatra is this city that for a time was
Cleopatra's own. Framed by purple sea and snow-capped mountains, Beirut is in springtime a veritable Eden of glorious coloring, writes a correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor.
From sky of deepest blue the sun shines down with crystal clearness on gay red roofs and gorgeous flowering trees and shrubs.
The verdant green of the surrounding foothills is varied by dark
clumps of pines and cheerful red-roofed villages crowding each
ridge and summit. Whole slopes are colored with great sheets
of flowers.
The honey-like scent of the vines perfumes the air, and their
foliage glistens transparently in the clear light. Plantations of
bananas and oranges extend across the little plain where St.
George slew the dragon and cast him down a well. And southwards toward Sidon, a vast gray-green olive grove 'twixt sea and
mountain is carpeted with anemones and cyclamens.
One day, with her present troubles ended, this fair city of
the East will be famous as a resort. The French are fully alive
to her charm, and for some time past have been taking steps to
make her a second Cannes.
The streets and bazaars of the city are picturesque and full
of interest, save where the French have razed large areas to
make room for wide boulevards. The jostling crowds are for
the most part handsome folk, smiling and friendly in their ways.
At every street corner tempting confections are hawked on
trays mounted on tripod legs, ranging from ringshaped sesame
cakes to delicious-looking flaky trifles drenched in sirup. Letterwriters and itinerant photographers there are in plenty, but not
so many beggars as in other cities of the East. To watch the
photographer's victim being posed is as joyous an entertainment
as one could wish. A cloth is hung upon some convenient wall,
usually with a large Persian design of female-headed serpents
and lions with bristling manes. The victim — often a Bedouin
from the Syrian Desert — braces his shoulders and the back of
I
�MAY', 1927
9
his head against the wall and looks. A victim of the Inquisition
could hardly have looked more upset! Then, the moment over,
with an air of great bravado, he as often as not asks for his
portrait straight out of the camera.
Go where you will, the streets are full of life and incident.
In the wider thoroughfares camels with enormous bags of grain
from the Hauran stride by with jingling bells, threading their
way with lofty unconcern among clattering trams and swift-moving cars. Down in the harbor, merchandise is unloaded from
the steamers in brightly colored boats, amidst much shouting, by
longshoremen in baggy Turkish trousers and broad bright sashes.
Along the shore, bathing places alternate with delightful
cafes built out on piles over the sea. And those visitors who
know Beirut well always take their meals at one or other of these
cafes instead of at a hotel. For there, while you eat good French
cooked food to the strains of excellent music played by Russian
refugees, there is an interesting and cosmopolitan crowd to watch.
In the early evening well-to-do Syrians and Egyptian visitors
foregather there j with their fingers they help themselves from a
large array of tempting trifles, ranging from cucumber to pistachio nuts, olives to radishes and hard-boiled eggs.
If you lunch at one of these sea shore cafes, you can ofttimes
watch mussel-divers at their work beneath the clear water, cutting the shellfish in bunches from the rocks. Each has his basket,
which he leaves floating at the surface with a gourd attached to
its handle to keep it the right way up. Sometimes the musselseeker also has a pa raff n tin (that article of many uses!) with a
piece of glass set in the bottom, through which to survey the
sea-floor before he dives.
In Beirut, a typical city of the East though she is, American
influence is very strong. Not only have a large number of her
more educated men passed through the American University
founded there in 1866 — lawyers, dentists and government servants in all the countries of the Nearer East claim Beirut University as their Alma Mater with the keenest pride — but to visit
America has been for long a cherished ambition among the Syrians. In their independence and love of roaming, the Syrians of
the coast towns seem to preserve the hardihood and trading instincts of their seafaring ancestors, the Phoenicians. And these
emigrants, returning as they do in large numbers to their homes,
bring back with them a strong leaning toward American ideals
and customs.
g^fji.-itx:';..' : ££Mae£3Ss«SSSsEpts e'K:.>.-S'«-&~..wi'^s- -
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Of the history of Beirut volumes could be written ; it was a
city of importance in those far-off days when the Pharaohs of
Egypt held Syria to tribute. But of perhaps greater interest at
the present moment is the memory of the great Druse leader,
Fakhr ed-Din, who at the end of the sixteenth century defied the
Turks, and, with the help of the Venetians, at that time a hardy
seafaring people, set up an independent principality. An able
leader and enlightened man, Fakhr ed-Din devoted himself to
the fostering of trade. The great forests of pines to the south
of Beirut are lasting memorials of his energy and wisdom; for
they were planted by him to stay the encroachment of the sanddunes that were sweeping in from the sea.
My Lebanon
By EDNA K. SALOMEY *
I dream of Lebanon by an azure sea;
Wave-kissed shores, and rocky glades; .
Snowcaps on mountains, glistening gorgeously;
0 sweet-scented pines' serenades.
1 see a land laden with fruits of the earth;
A tropical jewel ablaze
With myriad flowers and wee children's mirth.
Rainbow sunsets prolong their days.
Purple dusk is tinted by a lustrous moon
And broidered with a million stars.
For lullabies — the sea plays a crooning tune
Of golden notes on silv'ry bars.
Blessed of Christ, O, Lebanon, my paeans
Echo the lyrics of sages.
Thy beauty is lovelier than gossamer dreams.
Thy glory shall crown all ages.
* Miss Saloomey is an America n-born Syrian girl in whom the call
of the blood is manifested in such tender lays for the country of her
parents as she gives expression to in this poem. She is at present a
resident of Bridgeport, Conn., and her many interesting letters published in former issues have elicited much favorable comment. We welcome
her to the ranks of our contributors.
viL
�11
MAY, 1927
Syrian Folk Songs
I WANDERED AMONG THE MOUNTAINS
Translation by KAHLIL GIBRAN
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<^L-i ,/4jg* V— li ^1
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i
I wandered among the mountains searching for my lark,
And I found him, but alas! in another maiden's cage.
With the tinkling of g/ld I sought to allure him into my cage;
But she sang and said, "Go your way. Your day is forever by."
They said to me, "Your love is ill and wasted, and tomorrow he
will die."
Then to a carpenter I went and ordered a coffin
Whose lock is of gold, and whose key of a ruby carved;
And tomorrow, how astonished the kingdom will be
When they behold two youths in but a single coffin!
�——
12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
My love now wears a black shirt woven of hair.
Like thorns it wounds his skin
Luckless may the weaver be;
And restless, the dyer!
Some day I shall seek the head of the monastery
And plead for my love;
Then I shall tell him that one glimpse of love
Is holier than all monasteries.
Who among you has not loved?
In what heart does God not walk?
See how close are the pomegranate seeds;
And behold the stars how near and loving!
Be quiet, my heart, and weep no more.
He has forgotten you;
Forget him, too. But should you forget him,
Then will I tear you out of my bosom!
O dark one, how often have I been blamed for your sake;
And each time I am blamed, my love grows stronger.
You are the rose, and I, the dew that refreshes you;
You are the silken garments and I, the wind that moves you;
You are the Pleiades, and I, Orion, following you;
You are the moon, and I, the stars that watch over you.
A STANZA OF MOULAYA
^ijJi J* ^^\j j-Ji ^\J g&lj
^jljJl Sj-.J j-fiH *-*>»_ <U1 \.
I'll scale the mountain summit, and scan the vale below,
And hail the gentle breezes that from my country blow.
O, may the vale be flooded, and the raging torrent grow,
For then I'd make my arms a bridge for you to cross to me!
Translation of S. A. M.
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�MAY, 1927
13
The Arabic Sources of Dante
By
PHILIP
K.
HITTI, PH.
D.
II
Six hundred years before Dante conceived his marvelous
poem, the Divine Comedy, there existed in Arabic a religious
narrative describing the Nocturnal Journey of Muhammad (alisray) from Mecca to Jerusalem followed by a flight to the nether and higher regions. The story grew around one verselet in
the Qoran, the first of surah seventeen. In the course of time
between the eighth and the thirteenth centuries of our era, Moslem traditionists, theologians, mystics, philosophers and poets
collaborated and co-operated in building up the story. Chief
among these was the Andalusian Muhyi-al-Din al-Arabi, who
made an allegorical adaptation of the story, and the Syrian poet
abu-al-'Ala al-Ma'arri who composed a literary interpretation of
it. A comparison of these versions with Dante's epic reveals
such striking resemblance that one is justified in calling it dependence. Dante drew from these preceding sources. The first
scholar to call the attention of the learned world to this fact was
Professor Asin of Madrid. This is the gist of the first installment which appeared in the last issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD.
In 1919 there appeared in Madrid a book entitled La Escatologia Musulmana en la Divina Commedia by Miguel Asin.
Asin, himself a Catholic priest, claimed Christendom's greatest
poet a sufi and linked him in a chain which defies destruction
with the grand master of Islam, ibn-al-Arabi, whose name is still
until this very hour a potent spiritual factor from Morocco to
Teheran and from Damascus to Khartoum.
Asin's thesis, as to be expected, stirred up a hornet's nest.
Dantists and Dante lovers all over Europe criticized him, some
approvingly but more disapprovingly. Recognizing it as a great
contribution to our knowledge of interrelation between Eastern
and Western thought, the Duke of Alba, at the suggestion of
Lord Balfour, has had the book translated a few months ago by
Mr. Sunderland into English. There is no exaggeration, on our
�3^=r=
14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
part, in declaring this book one of the most stimulating and interesting works published in recent years. It is this authority
which we have followed in these two articles.
In determining the literary and intellectual dependence of
one work upon another, three pertinent questions should be asked
and answered satisfactorily. The first is one of similarity. Is
the similarity so close as to preclude any other possibility but
borrowing? The second is one of priority. Was the supposed
model, or prototype, prior in time, preceding in date, to the supposed copy which followed it? Did the former exist before the
appearance of the latter? The third question is one of accessibility. Could the later author have known the original? Was it
accessible to a man in his time, place and position? And if so,
is there anything in his mentality, as revealed in his writings, to
encourage the supposition that he was sympathetic and responsive
to such appeal as that may have upon him?
The first two questions have already been dealt with. We
have seen that the similarity between the Divine Comedy and its
Aarabic models was such as to exclude the possibility of declaring them as two independent or original works. We have also
learned that both ibn -al-Arabi and al-Ma(arri lived before Dante
and that the Mi'raj story in its many versions was extremely popular and widespread all over the Moslem world.
We now come to the third and remaining question. Was
such material within the reach of Dante and could he have been
responsive to its influence?
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265. His teacher,
Brunetto Latini, acted as the ambassador of Florence to Toledo
and Seville. For political reasons Dante was exiled from his
native town and visited the University of Bologna. In 1306
he visited Padua which was another great intellectual center in
mediaeval Italy.
During the thirteenth century, the century in which Dante
lived, Moslem culture was more or less known all over Europe
and held in universal admiration by the Christians, mainly because of the Moslem victories over the Crusaders in Syria and
the Christians in Spain. Many of the returning Crusaders must
have also brought back with them stories relating to the life of
Muhammad. Between the eighth and eleventh centuries trading expeditions left the Caspian Sea regularly, ascending the
*
�MAY,
l
1927
15
Volga and reaching as far as the Gulf of Finland and then,
through the Baltic, to Denmark, Iceland and the British Isles.
This explains the recent discovery of Arabic coins scattered in
all those regions. Freed slaves, returned prisoners of wars,
Crusaders, traders, Jewish merchants — any of these agencies
might have proved instrumental in acquainting the people of
Europe with Arabic stories.
But that is not all. The culture developed in Andalusia,
southern Spain, is too well known to be dwelt upon here. The
flourishing Arab courts of Cordova, Toledo and Seville were
centers for radiating Arab culture. The works of ibn-Rushd
were translated into Latin and used as text books in philosophy,
as were the works of ibn-Sina used in the medical colleges.
Brunetto Latini, the teacher of Dante, who lived in Andalusia and whose writings contain traces of Arabic influence, may
well have been the medium through which some at least of the
Arabic features of the Divine Comedy may have been transmitted
to his disciple.
But we have not yet come to the best possible link — Sicily
and southern Italy.
Beginning with the ninth century Sicily presents the aspects
of a country permeated with Islamic ideas. The court of the
Norman king, Roger II, at Palermo was formed of Christians
and Moslems. The king himself spoke and read Arabic, kept
a harem, and dressed himself in Oriental costumes.
In the first half of the thirteenth century, during the reign
of Frederick, King of Sicily and Emperor of Germany, Palermo
resembled more a Moslem than a Christian court. The king's
harem was guarded by eunuchs and his royal robe bore Arabic
inscriptions.
It was this Frederick who in 1224 founded the University
of Naples and made it a center of Arabic culture and Arabic
philosophy. The universities of Bologna and Padua, which
Dante visited, were also under Arabic influence that reached them
from the University of Naples.
That the mentality of Dante as revealed in his own works
was not antagonistic to the acceptance of Moslem models is not
hard to prove. Though a native of Florence and by race and
language a Latin, he admits in one of his works that "there are
many other nations speaking tongues more pleasant to the ear
and more expressive than those of the Latin people". The reference is undoubtedly to the Semitic languages of which Dante,
�u
THE SYRIAN WORLD
according to some scholars, knew two — Arabic and Hebrew.
Whether he knew Arabic or not we cannot be sure, but we are
sure that in some of his minor prose works he freely quotes
from al-Farabi, ibn-Sina, al-Ghazali, and ibn-Rushd.
His general sympathy with Arabic philosophers is also indicated by the fact that he places in the limbo (the outer spheres
of hell) such men as ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and ibn-Rushd (Averroes) together with Socrates, Plato, and Ptolemy (Inferno, Canto
IV, 140-141). Muhammad is consigned by him to real hell not
as the founder of Islam but as a sower of discord and an author
of schism, (Inferno, Canto XXVIII, 58 sqq). 'Ali is shown
suffering the same torture as his cousin and his father-in-law.
Having traced back the origin of Dante's ideas into Arabic
sources, the question naturally arises as to where did the Arab
Moslems themselves get their ideas from? With this we are
not particularly concerned in this study. Judxo-Christian precedents have undoubtedly provided the raw material for many
of the Moslem versions of the narrative. The ascensions of
Moses, Enoch, Baruch, Elijah and finally of Christ himself could
not have escaped the attention of early Moslem devotees. The
Revelation of St. John the Divine provided descriptions and details. The Persian journey of Arda Viraf was undoubtedly
brought within the Moslem sphere of knowledge especially after
the conquest of Persia. The journeys of the Ka in the ancient
Egyptian Book of the dead record experiences strikingly similar
to those of later times. The Sidrat al-Muntaha, the tree standing in the highest heaven, had its prototype in the Egyptian lotus
tree.
Thus the question of origins is one of the most difficult to
determine. Ideas have no race, no nationality, and no religion.
They travel, they commune and they blend. Some of them
prove universal and aspire to a position of immortality. Such
seems to be the case with the master ideas behind Dante's Comedy
and Muhammad's Mi'raj.
My bracelet I love, but not as much as my arm.
(Syrian proverb.)
WKtKtOSSSSSSSSSmmSmSS^^mBBSBBmUnBKr
\i
��Then "Glory to the Father, to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit," rang aloud
Throughout all Paradise: that with the song
My spirit reel'd, so passing sweet the strain.
Canto XXVII., lines 1-4.
���About us thus,
Of sempiternal roses, bending, wreathed
Those garlands twain; and to the innermost
E'en thus the external answer'd.
Canto XII., lines 16-19.
�MAY, 1927
1?
The Sympathy of the Moon
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
In "The Habitation of Peace," even as the City of Baghdad
was called, there lived one of the foremost sages of Islam. He
had learned the Koran according to the seven readings
He
had learned the Hadeeth of the prophet — Allah's grace and
peace be unto him! He had reached a high position in the world
of letters and music. He had plunged deep into the philosophy
of Persia and Greece. He had excelled in mathematics and astronomy And in his household there was a beautiful and accomplished slave. And in her love he found the charm that made
the happiness of this world perfect. He loved her more than he
loved the power of sight in his eyes. She was his earthly comfort. When she moved, it was a cypress swaying in the balmy
breeze of the dawn; when she smiled, it was as if the moon had
swept aside her veil of gossamer clouds; when she spoke, it was
the music of Ma'bed accompanying the numbers of the poets of
old; when she sang, it was the voice of the bulbul courting the
silence of the moonlit night.
But when the cup is too full, it is apt to run over. The
liquid will run to the ground and mix with the earth. And when
this man's cup of happiness seemed to be full to the brim, death
came and claimed the beautiful slave. Blessed be the One the
ever-living; He that dieth not!
The lover heaped the grave of his beloved with roses and
herbs of the sweetest scent. Their bloom bespoke the charms of
her who was wedded to the grave; their scent breathed the essence of the love that cannot die. Night after night he lifted his
voice in lamentation. On the page of the sky the stars traced
the verses of the poem of grief, and in the mouth of the reeds
of the stream the breeze of the night put the moan of the bereaved. He grieved and lived the happy hours once more in recollections. But can grief and recollections bring back that which is
lost? As I said before, this man was learned in the lanes of the
sky and the movement of heavenly bodies. Now, he knew from
his observations and calculations that the moon was on the eve
of a complete eclipse, and he found therein a manifestation of
�' '
'
'"
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
18
the law of nature that nothing endures and that all that there
is on this earth is bound to undergo a change. So he found comparative consolation in the similarity of the passing of his beloved
and the eclipse of the moon. And when the hour came his voice
broke the awful silence. It rang wierdly in the dead of night,
and those who heard it shuddered. And this was what he sang:
"Thy sister in her grave is hid, O moon,
While thou in glory risest o'er the land!
Wouldst not, through sympathy, thy sable don,
And, deeply veiled with grief and sorrow stand?"
And even as he sang, a shadow crept over the moon. It
grew darker and more dark; the face of the moon was hid behind a veil of darkness. And all who saw and heard marveled
exceedingly. They said: The moon hath shown her sympathy;
but how shall man show his?
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE POTTER
It is related that Harun al-Rashid wished to observe AbuShu'aib the Potter at work, for he had heard much of his skill.
Abu-Shu'aib, thereupon, was brought to the court of the Caliph,
where they had all the implements of his craft ready for him.
In the midst of the potter's operation, Harun al-Rashid
entered to observe him. Abu-Shu'aib stopped work and rose to
his feet to do him homage. But Harun al-Rashid motioned him
to sit down, saying: "I did not call for you to have you stand up
for me, but to demonstrate your craft before me."
The potter was as quick to reply: "Nor did I come before
thee, O Prince of the Believers, to show thee the extent of my
ill-breeding."
The Caliph was much pleased with this reply and rewarded
the potter fittingly.
Said one to a wise man: "Who educated you?" He replied:
Nobody educated me; I saw that ignorance was ugly and avoided
it.
�MAY, 1927
19
The World of the Arabian Nights
By H. I.
KATIBAH
Like many works of its kind, the Arabian Nights are an
epitome of many ages and many peoples; a panoramic undertone,
so to speak, of the symphony of history of which they were sometimes a caricature and sometimes a mirror. The Arabian Nights
are the "shadows of the days" which have passed in the twilight
of history, and they appear unreal and grotesque, though in outline denning the objects which once were substantial and matterof-fact.
We may rightly speak of "the World of the Arabian
Nights", as a world, half bizarre and half normal, like that celebrated animal of Greek mythology, the Chimera, or like the
Twin Stars, the Gemini, which appear to the naked eye as one,
but under the telescope two distinct bodies, and in the light of
advanced astronomical knowledge, two huge suns separated by
millions of miles. Not a little of the charm of the Arabian Nights
comes from this duality, which is uncanny and almost magical
in its subtlety. One passes from one to the other and back again
as an idle observer in the street would when he stands before
one of those advertisements which, looked at from one angle,
gives one picture, while from another, it gives a totally different
one.
The fairies, marids, magicians and naughty 'afrites of the
Arabian Nights are so human-like in their passions, so realistic
in their acts and conversations that they may well pass for human
beings in an enchanted world, where things are made invisible,
Brobdingnagian, or Lilliputian, but behaving much like*their human prototypes. While the men and women in the streets
of Baghdad, Cairo or the distant city of Samarkand; the gallant
princes and the charming princesses; the peddlers, the wealthy
merchants and the fish mongers, yes even "the Prince of the Believers" himself, the benign and jolly Harun al-Rashid, are so
rarified and fanciful that we find no difficulty in following their
unpaged entrances to the world of magic or their unheralded
exits to the world of realty. So real is the magic world, so fanciful is the real one; and both, enterplaying on the imagination of
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the reader, reproduce to him the magic World of the Arabian
Nights, spun by the artistic and clever minds of the master story
tellers hundreds of years ago. Television and the movies have
nothing new on the art of story-telling which has made this possible.
And like most Movies, the World of the Arabian Nights is
a world of "would believe" j a wish-fulfillment world in which
things come out as "ought" and not as "is". It is a world, as
it has been pointed by many in philosophizing on this type of
writing, in which we take refuge, in imagination, from the cruel
world of realty which so often thwarts our deepest aspirations
and most fond dreams, that we often are tempted to believe that
it cannot be the real world after all; and perhaps it is not. Perhaps the fairy world in which we live vicariously is nearer after
all to reality.
The Aladdin who rubs his lamp and presto! a marid appears to do his bidding is but a symbol of the earth-bound soul
within us which in vain tries to rub the lamp of its body to do
its bidding. But. by his much-yearning, by dint of his cunning
mind and his clairvoyant imagination, man has come to realize
in fact and realty this dream of Aladdin. It lives today in our
electricity. So does the flying carpet live in our aeroplanes; and
the invisible jin and 'afrites that populate the World of the Arabian Nights were never more ready to fulfill the wishes of King
Solomon than do our own scientific jin and cafrites which an Edison or a Marconi conjured for the service of man. Had not our
ancestors dreamed dreams, we would not have realized even the
stinted reality we have. It is the future man in the child who
reads the Arabian Nights with wrapt attention, lives in their world
of fancy, and takes their strange creatures so for granted that he
never bothers to ask for their scientific credentials. Nothing is
more disheartening and pitiable than the child prodigy or the
sophisticated one, who had been brought up by his parents not
to believe in "such foolish things."
And thus from generation to generation does the World of
the Arabian Nights, with other similar worlds, pass in procession
before the mental vision of millions upon millions of readers,
who at heart have not lost their child-like curiosity. And nothing shows the essential likeness and unity of the human race as
the unanimity with which it has singled out some of its favorite
story worlds for perpetuity. The Arabian Nights is one of these
World Revues. Like the Panchatantra, of which we wrote in a
�MAY, 1927
21
former issue, the Arabian Nights is as well-known in the East
as in the West, only more so, especially in the world of little
children. For the Panchatantra, due to its didactic and gnomic
counsels, interspersed between the fables, lacks something of the
charm of the Arabian Nights, which claims not the role of the
preacher, but, like some court jesters do yet, teach while they
entertain. It is said that ah animal trainer who had wagered that
he could teach his favorite bear to read, did so by putting raisins
between the leaves of the book, so that the bear, in his search for
the raisins, would turn the pages and, to all outward appearances,
resemble one reading. The Panchatantra is the book with the
raisins, but the Arabian Nights is all raisins, and what little wisdom it contains is sugar-coated.
Perhaps, the nearest to a sermon of the popular tales of the
Arabian Nights is that of 'Abdullah of the Land and 'Abdullah
of the Sea, the story in which a fisherman is carried to the bottom
of the sea and shown around by a merman, an inhabitant of the
Ocean World. 'Abdullah of the Land saw many strange things
in his submarine visit, but the strangest of all was the way the
inhabitants of the sea rejoiced when one of them died. When
'Abdullah of the Sea found out from his guest that people of
the upper world mourn at the death of their dear ones he was
so angry that he would not suffer him to stay any longer, calling
the human race ungrateful because they tenaciously withhold
from their Creator what by right is His.
But the story is told in such a delightful manner, with such
utter simplicity of narration and freedom from affectation or
sophistry, that a child would not suspect the author to be a philosopher as well as a story-teller.
The Arabian Nights, as they came down to us from the
middle of the 15th century, are neither all original nor all Arabic.
Many of them are undoubtedly both, but the larger number are
taken from various sources, some of which carry one to the age
of the Grecian myths, and some, to the ancient fables of India.
Most of the poetic selections, which have an enhancing effect on
the prose narration, are taken from well-known Arabic classics,
particularly Kitab-ul-Aghani, which also supplies the Arabian
Nights with many anecdotes and stories about the Caliphs.
To readers of Greek mythology the elements of the Arabian
Nights which show dependence on them will be of interest. The
late Suleiman al-Bustani, in his article on the Arabian Nights in
the Bustani Encyclopaedia, points out what must have been notic-
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ed by other Orientalists also, that Queen Lab in the story of
Badr Basim resembles the myth of Circe, who used to amuse
herself by converting human beings to stones; while in the third
voyage of Sindbad we come across the famous Cyclope Polyphemus in the guise of the Black Giant. In another story of the
Arabian Nights we find a flying horse, presumably a reflection
of the Greek mythical horse Pegasus.
Some scholars hold that the Arabian Nights had their origin
in the Persian book "Hazar Afsana", or "A Thousand Stories",
mentioned in Kitab-ul-Fihrist of al-Nadim, and Muruj-ul-Dhahab of al-Mas'udi, both of the 10th century A. D., so that the
Persian origin, if this be the one, antedates the Arabic one by
some four centuries. The "Hazar Afsana" has long disappeared,
and we have no way of verifying this claim except by the similarity in the scheme which strings the stories together, the story
of Shahrizade and her sister Dinarizade and the jealous king
who married a new wife every day and killed her. In both books
Shahrizade keeps the king entertained for a thousand nights and
one by relating to him stories which she so contrived to postpone
at the height of interest for the next night. It would be very
unlikely that the author or editor of the Arabian Nights did not
avail himself of some of these stories. The author of al-Fihrist
describes the Persian book by saying that he read its stories and
they appeared to him "insipid and vulgar". This, however, is
not a conclusive evidence that our Arabian Nights is a different
or superior book. For had the Arabian Nights been written in
the days of the author of al-Fihrist he would have, in most probability, said the same thing of it also. We know that masters of
Arabic literature and literary criticism thought as lightly of the
Arabian Nights as Ibn al-Nadim thought of Hazar Afsana. It
was despised by them as many a best-seller is despised by some
literary highbrows today, or as the works of Shakespeare were
looked at askance by the contemporary clergy and narrow-minded
Puritans.
It is a mistake, however, to ascribe this contempt and lack
of appreciation to obscene passages we find, unfortunately,
in the unexpurgated edition of the Arabian Nights. For such
writings existed long before the appearance of the Arabian
Nights; they are to be found in Kitab-ul-Aghani, in the Duratal-Yatima of al-Tha'alibi, in the Fruits of Leaves of al-Hamawi
and in many otherwise respectable books.
It may be said, in passing, that many of these lascivious pas-
�I
~=
Af4F, 7927
=__«=:
.—
'
23
sages in the Arabian Nights are so evidently extrinsic, and many
of them quotations from other works, that it would not be surprising if a later editor interpolated them in the text from the
same motive which actuates some modern playwrights to insert
bed-room scenes and suggestive lines in their plays. Only the
old Arabs were more sincere about it, and did not stop at halfmeasures which, though more decent, are more injurious to morality. Nor must we forget that the more primitive people were
less prudish and more sexually frank than we are today. Even
in the Bible and the Dialogues of Plato we come across passages
which, according to our modern norms, cannot be regarded as
anything else but indecent.
The language of the Arabian Nights is neither the classical
Arabic nor the vernacular, but a happy mixture of the two, a
mixture which adds to the charm of the Arabic original. I must
confess that I cannot agree with many Arab stylists that its language, for that reason, is inferior. In its way it is just as classical
as the Mu'alakat of the famous pre-Islamic poets, and have just
as much right to be considered literature. Personally, I give them
first rank in Arabic literature, far superior to the Makamat of
al-Hariri or the panegyrics of al-Mutanabi.
It is very unfortunate that Arab literature was dominated
for a long period, and almost up to the present, by standards of
literary excellency which derived their authority from rhetoric,
not from psychological considerations. With the exception of its
lyrical love poetry, and such gems as the Arabian Nights and the
Romance of 'Antar, Arabic literature, we, must be frank to admit
it, is rather mediocre and empty. The pity of it is that it is full
of suggestive themes and dramatic and operatic inspirations to
supply more than one Shakespeare and more than one Wagner.
Will the Arabic world produce them: We do not know; but we
hope that it will; we look forward to an eclectic genius like the
author of the Arabian Nights, but on a higher and more magnificent scale.
Said the famous Persian Bazur-Jumhar to Chosrau Anushurwan, "Who of your children is most beloved by you?" The
Persian king replied: "He who is most anxious in learning, most
abhorent of shameful deeds and most aspirant to the station that
is above him."
A
�»
"—
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Lion in the Orchard
<An Arabian Nights* Story.
It is related that a certain king went up to the roof of his
palace sight-seeing, and he saw on the roof of a house adjoining
his palace a woman more beautiful than whom his eyes had
never beheld before. He turned to one of his slave-girls and
asked:
"Whose is this one?"
"She is the wife of thy servant Fayrouz," replied the slavegirl.
The king then stepped down, and calling Fayrouz to his
presence, commanded him saying:
"Take this letter and go to such a town and bring me back
an answer."
Fayrouz bowed before the king, and, taking the letter in
hand, went away to his home. He put the letter under his pillow
and slept home that night, and in the morning bade his wife
farewell and went in the way of the king's business, not knowing
what the latter had designed for him.
As for the.king, no sooner had Fayrouz left than he went
disguised to his house and knocked gently at the door.
The woman, answering the knock, inquired: "Who is at the
door?"
"It is the king, the lord of your husband."
Tremblingly she opened the door as she muttered under a
suppressed breath:
"I take refuge in Allah on account of this visit."
"Woe to thee," cried the king indignantly, "knowest thee
not that I am the king?"
"Yes," retorted the woman, "and I also realize what the
poet said:
'I leave your water untouched,
Since many have drunk therefrom.
If a fly should fall over a food,
I lift my hand from it, though hungry I may be,
So also does a lion avoid a spring
From which a dog has lapped.' n
�!
MAY, 1927
2S
Then she added:
"Wouldst thou come to drink from where thy servant has
drunk?"
The king was ashamed at this reprimand from the woman,
and went away hurriedly, forgetting his sandals behind him.
In the meantime, Fayrouz had not gone very far when he
discovered that he had forgotten the king's letter under his pillow. He went back in search of it, and as soon as he crossed the
threshold of his house he found the king's sandals there. He suspected perfidy, realizing the real reason why the king sent him
away with the letter. He did not say a word, but, taking the
king's letter in hand, resumed his mission.
' On his return, however, he approached his wife, and putting
a hundred dinars in her hand, said:
"Go to your father's home with this present from his majesty i behold, take it and spend it on your folks!"
The woman, though a little surprised, made no complaint,
but went straightforward to her father's home.
Days and months passed and Fayrouz made no inquiry
about his wife, nor visited her. Her folks were troubled, for
they suspected a reason for this cold treatment, but could not
think of any. Finally, her brother went to Fayrouz and, demanding an explanation for his behavior towards his sister, said:
"Either tell us the cause of your disaffection, or come with
us to court to settle the matter."
"Let it be the court," said Fayrouz.
Now, when the case was brought before the cadi, it happened that the latter was sitting to the side of the king's throne,
and the king was listening to what was going on but spoke
not a word.
"What is your complaint?" asked the cadi of the wife s
brother, who replied:
,
"O just cadi, we turned over to this fellow an orchard in good
condition, with a wall around it. He ate its fruits, destroyed its
wall, and left it."
.
"What say you to this?" said the cadi, turning to Payrouz.
Fayrouz replied:
,
"It is true that they turned over to me the orchard in good
condition, and 1 did not leave the orchard because of any displeasure; but one day, as I came into my orchard, I found traces
of a lion there, and fearing the might of the king of beasts, I
withdrew from the orchard unwillingly."
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Upon hearing this, the king, who was listening, as he leaned on one side, straightened himself up and said:
"Fear not, O Fayrouz, for the lion has not touched thy
orchard, not even a fruit nor a leaf thereof. By Allah, I have
never seen a more impregnable orchard than thine."
Fayrouz, now that his mind was put at ease, took his wife
home. And it is said that neither the cadi nor anybody else in
the court beside the principals knew what the true facts were.
FOILING A DESPOT
A man who was doomed to death by order of al-Hajjaj
Ibn Yusuf, the despot of Kufa under the Umayyads, approached
the latter's chamberlain and pleaded with him saying:
"Grant me the favor of interviewing al-Hajjaj before I am
executed."
The chamberlain conveyed the wish of the condemned man
to the governor, who granted him his request. When ushered
into the presence of al-Hajjaj he said:
"My only request, O Emir, is to walk with thee from one
end of the court hall to the other. I may remain handcuffed,
for I intend no harm."
Al-Hajjaj consented, and as the two reached the end of the
hall, the prisoner turned to the Emir and said:
"Now I can say that I accompanied the Emir, and none is
there who is more considerate in the fulfillment of the conditions
of companionship."
Al-Hajjaj smiled, saying:
"Set him free. By Allah, he is right!" Then he ordered
that a reward be given him besides.
A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION
A Persian, famous for his eloquence, spoke excessively one
day. Next to him sat a Bedwin. When the Persian was through,
he turned to the Bedwin and said:
"What do your people call eloquence, O Arab?"
The Bedwin replied: "Brevity of Speech."
"WThat, then, call they ineloqucnce?" inquired the Persian.
"It is what you have been demonstrating all this day,"
promptly retorted the Bedwin.
�MAY, 1927
27
Irrigation in Syria and Lebanon
f
The rejuvenation of Syria and Lebanon, and the restoration
of their lost prosperity and felicity through irrigation, are envisaged in an article which appeared in Al-Bachir, based on a
study by Edmond Bishara, a Syrian engineer, on "Irrigation in
the Near East", which he gave in a series of lectures at St. Joseph's University, Beirut.
Mr. Bishara considers it quite strange that adjoining countries like Egypt and Iraq spare no effort in increasing the acreage
of irrigated lands, while agriculturists in Syria and Lebanon, rich
in streams, sufficient to irrigate at least one million hectars, stir
not a finger in that direction.
These two countries, declares Mr. Bishara, possess one
big river, Euphrates, and four other important ones, Orontes,
Litani, Barada and Yarmuk, besides others of less importance
which debouch in the Mediterranean, between Tyre and Alexandretta
With the exception of the Syrian Desert, these rivers and streams have a total basin area of 7 million hectars, only
half of which is arable today.
It is possible, according to this engineer, to increase this
arable area by at least one million hectars, 80,000 of which are
in Lebanon, by irrigation projects which would prove in the long
run profitable investments to capitalists who would undergo the
venture, beside their incalculable economic benefits to an impoverished land incapable of supporting its population. One of the
gravest causes of emigration would thus be obviated.
In ancient times Syria knew how to utilize its abundent waters.
Whether under the Phoenicians, Chaldeans, Egyptians,
Greeks or Romans, declares this engineer, Syria knew how to
exploit the waters of the rivrs, as is evident from some names
and remains which have come to us from those remote times.
The lake of Emesia, 12 kilometers by 4, which lay at the base of
the Lebanon mountain, is an artificial one which Diocletian, the
Roman emperor, caused to be dammed for the irrigation of the
lands of Horns, the ancient Emesia. Similarly the conduits in
the environs of Horns, Hama, Damascus and Palmyra, were
laid down to conduct the infiltration of water from the surface
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
28
to arid places. The Roman aqueduct over the Beirut River was
a great engineering feat as it stood 50 meters high and 240 meters long. Remains of .other Roman aqueducts, such as the one
in Jubail, meant to carry the waters of River Ibrahim, and the
one near B'abdat, stand to the present day.
Many of the large cities of ancient Syria, which sprang on
the banks or near the springs of rivers, have vanished through
neglect of irrigation. Of Jubail, Kadis, Chalsis and Seleucia only
the ruins remain.
Especially the Phoenicians, the original inhabitants of Syria,
this authority informs us, distinguished themselves for their irrigation projects even in their African colonies. During their
times Syria flourished with rich fields of wheat and barley, and
orchards of vine, olive and other fruit trees.
In its present boundaries, Lebanon has an acreage of arable
lands which amounts to 135,000 hectars as follows:
The
The
The
The
The
Buka' Valley
Plain of 'Akkar
plain between Beirut and Sidon
plain between Beirut and Tripoli
Plateau of Amion
Total
Hectars
95,000
12,000
13,000
10,000
5,000
135,000
Of this it is possible to reclaim 80,000 hectars by improved
irrigation. Taking this as a basis, Mr. Bishara estimates the cost
of the reclamation at 1,600,000 Egyptian pounds at the rate of
4 pounds a hectar, which, extended over a term of 20 years,
would mean an increase of only 80,000 Egyptian pounds in annual taxes, not an unbearable burden for the government of
Lebanon. This would be more than overset by the gain of the
country, estimated at 400,000 Egyptian pounds annually, from
the date of the completion of the project. The ratio of cost
and gain to Syria is estimated at ten to one in comparison with
Lebanon.
The author deprecates the false economy of the present
governments of Syria and Lebanon, which has deterred them
from launching on this profitable experiment, and predicts that
unless undertaken now it will only add to the economic decadence
of these two countries.
�MAY, 1927
29
Famous Cities of Syria
Antioch
(The City of God)
I
To many the name Antioch brings to mind the story of Ben
Hur and his thrilling chariot race with Massala, while to others
it revives memories of the Sunday School days and the exasperating task of memorizing the complicated journeys of St. Paul's
missions, which almost always began and ended in Antioch.
The city of Antioch lies at the base of the mountain known
in classical days as Mt. Silpius, bounded to the north by the
Orontes River. It is a sylvan retreat at the juncture of the Syrian coast and that of Asia Minor, both bending eastward at a
little distance from the mouth of the Orontes.
Far enough from the sea to insure security and near enough
to inspire that love of sea-faring dear to the hearts of the ancient
Greeks, Antioch early became a centre of Greek settlement and
culture. It was as if a typical Greek city was transplanted magically from the serrated coast of Greece, across the Aegean and
Mediterranean seas, to the western coast of Syria.
Few remnants have been left to indicate the greatness of
this city which was once called "the Queen of the East" and "Antioch the Glorious", and which gained eternal fame as the mother-city of Christianity, and has still remained, nominally, the see
of the primate patriarchates of the Eastern churches. Chief
among these remnants is the old city-wall, portions of which are
still in a good state of preservation, which runs across valleys,
hills and dales, showing to what extent the proud old city has
shrunken. Today it is but a mocking satire of its former self,
occupying about one tenth of its area at the height of its development. Its present population does not exceed 30,000, whereas
in the 4th century A. D., it was said to number about half a million.
In contrast to its narrow and dark streets, ancient Antioch
once prided itself on its wide and colonnaded thoroughfares,throbbing with life and activity. One of these, the main one, running
�I
30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
parallel to the Orontes River, was more than 4 miles long. Many
public buildings, magnificent and graceful, lined this street and
the one running through the centre of the city at right angles to
it. Of special interest was the Nyphaeum, where public nuptial
ceremonies were held.
"At night," runs a description of the city, "the streets were
brilliantly illumined by lights rivaling the light of day. The Antiocheans turned night into day, not looking for security, but
pleasure. Night became a part of day, and the most beautiful
part. Especially were the baths and the approaches thereto illumined."
The history of Antioch was contemporaneous with that of
the Seleucid Dynasty of which it was the capital and which it
outlived. It was founded in the year 300 B. C. by Seleucus
Nicator, the founder of the dynasty, in the 12th year of his reign.
He called it after his father Antiochus, a famous Greek general
under Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great. Some,
however, hold that he named it after his son who was also called
Antiochus.
The choice of the site of Antioch was made rather arbitrarily by Seleucus, and its population was composed of Greek veterans, some tracing their ancestry to proud Athens, and of Syrian
natives and Jewish settlers who found in Greek life and culture
a refuge from the irksome yoke of the Law of Moses. About
5,000 of the inhabitants were said to have been removed from
the nearby city,of Antegonia, built by Antigonus, which Seleucus
destroyed when he conquered him.
The thing for which Antioch stands most in the minds of
students of history, especially in the Greek and Roman periods,
is the libertine and licentious life for which its famous suburb,
Daphne, was famous.
The legend which became identified with this place is an
index of its character. It is said that Daphne was a nymph which
Apollo pursued, and as he drew upon her and she was almost
within his reach she was metamorphosed into a laurel, or daphne
tree. The legend of course was invented to explain the prevalance of daphne or laurel in that spot. Daphne was dedicated
to Apollo, for whom a magnificent temple rose there. Apollo
was the protecting deity of Seleucus and his family, and his
temple was given the right of asylum. This meant that criminals, whatever the nature of their crimes, found refuge in
it, and as long as they remained there they were unmolested.
mgs,
was.
a.
�MAY, 1927
31
This, perhaps, explained the large number of objectionable characters in that city. Several descriptions have come down to us of
Daphne and its erotic life. It was often cited by Christian fathers of Antioch and others as a flagrant example of the effect
of idolatry on morals.
Sozomen, a Christian writer of the 5th century, thus describes the place, as quoted by E. S. Bouchier in his book, A Short
History of Antioch:
"Daphne, the celebrated suburb of Antioch, is adorned with
a grove thickly set with cypress and varied with other plants interspersed. Beneath the trees the earth brings forth every kind
of fragrant flower as the seasons change. A roof rather than a
shade covers the whole area, and the closeness of the branches suffers not the rays to strike the ground. The abundance and beauty
of the waters, the temperate climate, the breath of gentle breezes
lend it only too much charm. ,The sons of the Gentiles tell how
Daphne, daughter of the River Ladon, fleeing from Arcadia before her lover Apollo, changed into a plant named from her;
and how he, not even then quiet of his passion, clasped her about
though now a tree, and honored the place above any that he
favoured, by making his abode there. This suburb being such
as we have described, it was thought disgraceful for men of
sobriety to set foot therein. The site and nature of the place,
well adapted to foster luxurious ease, as well as the amatory
character of the legend, doubled the passion of youth of corrupt
mind on the least provocation. Alleging the myth as an excuse,
they were still inflamed, and could not endure to see persons of
respectability there."
An annual festival in honor of Apollo was held at Daphne,
at which gorgeous processions were held, and noisy music with
different Syrian and Greek instruments was indulged in. Gladiatorial games were introduced later under Roman influence,
but they were never popular to the soft-hearted, pleasure-loving
Antioch eans.
Antioch and Daphne boasted of many magnificent buildings, temples, baths, palaces, etc. The most celebrated of these
was, perhaps, the temple of Apollo in Daphne.
"It was amphyprostyle," says Bouchier in his description of
it, "with rows of columns on two sides, and had other rows in
the sanctuary or cella. Its walls were bright with colored marbles,
and the roof was panelled with cypress-wood. Within were statues of kings and benefactors, but the pride of the temple — in-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
deed, of all Antioch — was the colossal statue of Apollo, made
for Seleucus by the Athenian sculptor Bryaxis, and preserved till
the destructive fire during the visit of Julian, which left the
building a ruin. This statue of Apollo as Musagetes, leader of
the Muses, and playing a harp, appears on the local coinage, as
that of Antioch us Epiphanes, who enlarged or rebuilt the temple." This statue reached almost to the ceiling, and it was made
of different materials, which the sculptor mixed up together.
"The god's hair was of gold," continues the description of Bouchier, "interwined with a golden laurel wreath; his eyes were
two jacinths of great size; he wore a long tunic, held a sacrificial
bowl in one hand, and with the other touched a harp, his mouth
open as if singing."
The age of Antiochus Epiphanes, 2nd century B. C, which
was distinguished for its barbaric persecution of the Jews who
resisted the Seleucid policy of Hellenizing the East, was also
distinguished for its lavishness on the already Grecian city of Antioch. Even the Jews who lived in Antioch were more tolerant
to other religions, and more sympathetic with the Hellenic culture. Daphne had a synagogue from an early date. Antiochus
Eupator, son of Antiochus Epiphanes, restored to the Jews of
Antioch a number of sacred objects brought from Jerusalem by
his father, among these the bones of the seven Maccabees who
were put to death by Antiochus Epiphanes one by one, followed
by their mother, Asmunit, under cruel and revolting circumstances.
Jewish tolerance in Antioch was, perhaps, the principal reason for the progress there of Hellenic Christianity, preached by
Paul, in contrast to Judaistic Christianity, espoused first by Peter,
James and the other Apostles. Antioch opened its arms to Paul
because it had already learned to reason like him, and because
the same problems which faced this Jewish Apostle to the Gentiles
faced the Jews of Antioch. For many of Paul's converts in Antioch and other cities of Asia Minor were Jews. Yet so entrenched
were the Jewish traditions of Antioch in the early Christian
church that Chrysostom, who deprecated this Jewish influence,
preached a sermon on the occasion of the festival of the seven
Maccabees, which was regularly celebrated by the Christians of
Antioch. Many of the Christian women of Antioch also used
to visit the Jewish synagogues to fulfill their vows, or seek the
counsel of Jewish rabbis.
It was this Jewish influence, Bouchier believes, which made
�A view of modern Antioch from Mount Silpius. In the middle background is the Orontes River. Beyond stretch fertile plains for many miles.
�RELICS OF OLD GLORY
Ruins of the Church of St. Simeon Stylites, near Antioch.
The doorway of the Monaster y of St. Simeon Stylites.
St. Simeon was the first and most famous of a group ofhermits known as Pillar-her mits, spending their lives on
top of a pillar.
�mmm
MAY, 1927
33
Antioch susceptible to Arian and Nestorian tendencies, unlike
Alexandria, which was more thoroughly Grecian, and in which
the traditions of Greek Christianity was preserved through the
writings of the Alexandrian school of Church Fathers, a direct
heir to the decadent Platonic philosophy.
The story of the Church of Antioch goes back almost to the
rise of Christianity, certainly to the rise of the Christian Church.
Its first bishop, according to the church historian Eusebius, was
Eudius. Others hold that Ignatius, the first martyr of Antioch,
was its first bishop. Ignatius was "a hearer of St. John", and it
is said that he was raised to the office of bishop by St. Peter.
It is St. Paul, however, who was the true founder of the
Antiochean Church, the first and for a time the foremost of the
Hellenized churches which, under the leadership of St. Paul,
emancipated itself completely from Jewish traditions and influences. As a separate church, it was Antioch, not Jerusalem,
which saw the birth of Christianity. The story of how Christianity came to be independent of Judaism, as related in Acts,
Chap. 15, and Galatians, Chaps. 1 and 2, is one of the most fascinating and romantic chapters in the checkered life of St. Paul.
Of the many subsequent bishops of Antioch, none stands
out more prominently than St. Chrysostom "the golden mouthed", orator of the Church. He preached in a magnificent church
built by Constantine, closed by Julian and then restored to Christian use by Jovian. It was of octogenal plan, with a domical roof
and of great height. Its walls were richly ornamented with
mosaic and statues.
Ten Church Councils were held in Antioch between the
years 252 and 380. For several centuries, beginning with the
4th A. D., Antioch plied a thriving trade with the Far East, and
we have today many descriptions of this city by Chinese merchants
and travelers who visited it, and on whose imagination it left a
lasting impression.
A great earthquake destroyed Antioch in the reign of Justin,
526 A. D., and it was restored to its former splendor by Justinian. It was after this that Antioch received its name, Theofolis
(the City of God), which we still encounter in official Church
documents. The Arabic translation, "Madinat-Allah Antakia",
is doubtless familiar to some readers of this magazine.
The Arabs occupied Antioch, along with the rest of Syria,
in the campaign of Khaled Ibn al-Walid and Abu 'Ubaida al-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Jarrah in the year 635. Its last Greek emperor was Hcraclius,
the "Herakl" of the Arabs.
After four centuries of Mohammedan occupation it was
restored to Christian rule by Nicephorus Phocas in the 10th century, only to fall in the hands of the Seljuks in the year 1084
A. ].). Fourteen years later it was occupied by the Crusaders.
"Boemond I, the son of Robert Guiscard, became Prince of Antioch; and its history was again Christian for nearly two centuries, till the time of Boemond IV, when it fell under the power
of the Sultan of Egypt and the Mamlukes in 1268 A. D." From
that date, we are told, its decline has been steady and continuous.
in more recent times the two outstanding events of Antioch
were its conquest by Ibrahim Pasha, the Egyptian aspirer to a
Syrian kingdom, in 1832, and its occupation by the Allies in 1918.
The trade of Antioch before the Great War was considered
insignificant and must have grown more so since the secession
of Syria from Turkey, for Antioch was a trade post between Syria
and Anatolia, and Turkish is still spoken in the city equally with
Arabic and Armenian. Licorice is exported from Antioch to America, and maize to Europe. Antiochean knives are famed for their
quality.
Whatever fate holds for the economic and commercial future of Antioch, it will always retain its scenic charm and beauty.
The late Prof. William H. Hall of the American University of
Beirut, in his article on Antioch in the American Geographic
Magazine of August, 1920, was, perhaps, not far wrong when he
advanced the suggestion that St. John had this city in mind with
its wide and brilliant streets, with the river passing in the midst
thereof, when he described the glories of heaven, the New Jerusalem.
HOW POETS STAND
Al-Nabigha al-Ja'di, the poet of the tribe of Beni Ja'da,
refrained from poetry forty days, his muse not being in the
mood to inspire him. Then, one day, when Beni Ja'da won a
victory in a raid against a neighboring tribe, the poet was moved
by joy and recited a poem.
His tribesmen came to him and congratulated him saying,
"by Allah, we rejoice more that our poet has resumed reciting
poetry, than at our victory over our enemy."
�MAY, 1927
35
Agriculture in the Near East
This information was prepared by Mr. Chas. D. Martin,
of the Agricultural Implements Division of the Bureau of Domestic and Foreign Commerce, and published in "Commerce Reports" of April 11, 1927. It is based chiefly on reports of American Consular agents and commercial attaches and gives a comprehensive idea of the agricultural situation in Syria and other
countries of the Near East as indicated by the demand for agricultural implements.
EDITOR.
The countries of western Asia have not yet adopted modern
farming methods to any great extent. Certain factors have combined in nearly all the countries in this part of Asia to hinder and
obstruct the development of agriculture along modern lines.
Among them are the innate conservatism of the people; their
lack of education and money, and the general dryness and aridity
prevailing over large areas.
TURKEY.
Some progress has been shown in Turkey since the war in
the introduction of modern agricultural implements, although a
setback occurred in 1926, as unfavorable climatic conditions caused a material decrease in the agricultural production of the country last year. The economic and commercial situation was generally uncertain throughout the year, and this was aggravated by
the enactment of new measures of taxation and the creation of a
number of State monopolies. In 1925, however, there was a general improvement in the agricultural and economic situation,
which stimulated the trade in agricultural implements. However, purchase of American implements decreased considerably in
1926, amounting to only $115,670, as compared with $267,065
in 1925.
The Turkish market gives decided preference to American
power- farm and harvesting machinery. Imports of tractors from
the United States in 1926 amounted to 8, valued at $7,882, as
compared with 23, valued at $21,246, in 1925. However, a large
number of tractors have been sold in Turkey which came into
�$6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the country from various Mediterranean ports, and consequently
do not appear in the statistics of shipments to Turkey. Total imports of American tractors in 1925 amounted to over 700 machines
most of which were light wheel tractors. Many power harvesting
units are imported from France and Germany, but they are largely of American origin. Most of the tractor plows used in Turkey
are also of American make.
Horse plows and old-fashioned reaping machinery are the
most important items among the horse-drawn implements imported into Turkey. Excepting for the Smyrna, Aidin, and Magnesia districts, the horse plows used in Turkey are mostly of German and Czechoslovak makes. The preference for German plows
is largely the result of sales by the Bagdad Railway Co. of German implements of various kinds to farmers along the line of
their railroad.
In general the use of modern farm equipment is increasing
steadily but slowly in Turkey, and the Government and agricultural schools are making a strong effort toward acquainting farmers with the use and advantages of up-to-date machines. The
principal imports of implements into Turkey are plows, reapers,
binders, and threshers, imports of other classes of implements
being unimportant.
SYRIA.
Syria is of moderate importance as an agricultural country,
and modern agricultural implements and machinery are used,
but the poverty of the population and the abundance of relatively cheap labor serve to prevent the extensive use of such equipment. The demand for implements in Syria is limited, and imports of agricultural machinery from the United States in 1926
were negligible, amounting to only $7,898. However, the farm
land is well adapted to use of machinery, and, although this market does not offer much inducement at present, there are possibilities for creating a demand for modern implements.
PALESTINE.
The market for implements in Palestine lies principally
among the Jewish and German colonies, of which over 100 exist
in the country. Most types of modern implements are used in
these colonies, and a favorable factor tending to their greater use
is the rapid increase in the number of young farmers with skilled
knowledge of modern agriculture. The native Arabs still cling
�MAY, 1927
37
to the primitive methods of their ancestors, but a number of British steel plows have been sold to the Arab farmers. Germany is
the chief source of supply for the implements used in Palestine,
followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and
Czechoslovakia. Shipments of farm equipment from the United
States to Palestine decreased from $30,420 in 1925 to $5,552 in
1926. The chief factors limiting the sale of American implements are higher prices and transportation costs. Less expensive
implements are generally preferred in the simpler types, but
quality is the most important factor in the more complicated implements.
ARABIA—IRAQ.
The Arabian Peninsula consists of a large desert area with
the exception of a few fringes around the coast. There is, of
course, some agriculture in this region, but none of any importance. The agricultural methods prevailing in Iraq (Mesopotamia), which lies to the north of the Arabian Peninsula proper,
are similar to those in vogue in the same region centuries ago and,
consequently, the country does not yet rank as an important market for agricultural implements. Its annual purchases are small
and the chief promise for an increase lies in the development of
irrigated areas. The country is largely dry and arid and irrigation is essential to agricultural development. At present there is
an ample labor supply to cultivate the crops grown on existing
irrigated areas, but when the various agricultural schemes in contemplation are completed it is expected that the demand for labor
will exceed the supply, and this will naturally create a demand
for labor-saving farm equipment. A few tractors have been introduced, nearly all of one American make, and a few reapers
and binders are being used in the country. There is some demand
for pumping outfits for irrigation work but, on the whole, the
present market for agricultural machinery is negligible.
PERSIA.
Conditions in Persia are similar to those in Iraq. Present
agriculture is still in the primitive stage in which it has been for
centuries. The ox is the work animal of the peasant and a primitive wooden implement serves as a plow. The water supply is
insufficient throughout a large part of the country, but little has
been done toward establishing modern irrigation works, although
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
some irrigation is effected by a system of shallow and open ditches
owned and administered by the large landholders. The principal
problem is one of water conservation, as the water supply is dependent upon the winter snowfall, except in the Caspian and Gulf
littorals, where precipitation is heeavy. The most encouraging
features about Persia as a market are the recent economic improvements in the country and the favorable attitude of the Government toward the introduction of modern agricultural implements.
EXCELLENT REPLY
When al-Fadl Ibn Sahi was killed in battle, the Caliph alMamoun went to his mother to console her.
"Grieve not, mother, for I shall be a son in his place to
you," said the Caliph.
"How shall I not grieve," replied the mother, "over a son
whose substitute is the Prince of the Believers?"
The Caliph was so surprised at the excellence of her reply
that he remarked to those around him: "Verily, I have never
heard a better reply, nor one that mollifies the heart more."
PRESTIGE UNBOUNDED
The Umayyad caliph Abdul-Malek Ibn Marwan asked concerning an Arab chieftain, Malek Ibn Misma', and his prestige
and extent of power. He was told:
"If Malek Ibn Misma' should be moved to war by wrath,
a hundred thousand swordsmen would rally to his call, not one
of whom would ask why he was wrathful."
"This, by Allah, is true lordship," declared the Caliph envyingly.
The child is a trust in his parents' keeping.
Al-Ghazali.
He who wishes to add to his knowledge should mix with
people other than his own
(Arabic)
�-
—
MAY, 1927
39
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
And now it is the professional promoter of sight-seeing
tours through the Syrian quarter in New York who advertises
the show in true showman's fashion, exacts what he terms only
a ''nominal charge", and seeks to show his patrons strange people
in their native habitat.
For such tours to be conducted on a frankly avowed business
basis there would be some semblance of an excuse, but to allure
patrons by high—resounding and appealing names, such as "Reconciliation Trips" and "Fellowship of Faiths", and to neither
reconcile nor create any fellowship, is a plain travesty on truth.
Nay, the trips that are being conducted in the Syrian quarter, and
quite naturally in other quarters, give us the impression that they
are designed and planned in such a manner as to appeal to the sense
of humor, to satisfy the sense of curiosity, and to give the patrons
a feeling of a sense of superiority. In this respect these trips run
adverse to their advertised purpose because they antagonize and
embitter instead of reconciling, and engender a feeling of distance
and repulsion instead of nearness and sympathy. And it is for
this reason that we resent and oppose them as at present conducted.
These trips seem to have been conducted for a long time,
but, as it seems also, in a secretive manner and unbeknown to the
general public of the sections visited. For this reason they have
gone unchallenged for a long time. But, at sometime or other,
no secret but shall be revealed, as the gentleman who conducts
these trips well knows.
The last such trip to take place was on Saturday evening,
April 9th. On that particular day Washington Street, the hub of
the Syrian quarter, was almost deserted because most Syrians had
gone home to make ready to attend a play given by the Committee of St. Nichola's Orthodox Cathedral and advertised long before. A few stragglers remained who had to have their dinner
at the restaurants. The editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD happened
to be at the Sheik Restaurant, and just about when the few patrons were preparing to leave in began to file some two-score
American young women for whom special tables had Hen rc•
I
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
served for a dinner party. A Syrian young man, who proved to
be the speaker of the evening, arrived later. The party was
chaperoned by a Mr. Clarence V. Howell who explained to his
proteges some of the secrets of the Syrian culinary art, principally that the recipes of the dishes they were eating antedated the
time of Christ. He then announced that the party was to break
up and a section would go to attend the Chinese theater while
those remaining would be entertained by a speech.
The Syrian speaker, having arrived rather late, was, of
course, unprepared, but Mr. Howell said the party would be
satisfied with the previous speech he had delivered on a former
occasion to a similar group. They wanted that speech verbatim—
with no additions or omissions. It was educational and entertaining — well designed for reconciliation purposes. Here is the
gist of it:
"Syria, geographically, was intended by nature to be one
single unit. France, as the mandatory power, has divided it up
into several small States to frustrate any attempt at unity.
"He, the speaker, as a Syrian nationalist, appeals to the
Americans present to use their influence with their government
to prevent a settlement of the war debts that would be favorable
to France, because she would use the money in equipping military expeditions against the Syrians.
"Secretary of State Kellogg is incompetent and should be
relegated to a country school-house. (We doubt that the speaker
is even an American citizen.)
"All statements to the country notwithstanding, the American University of Beirut has had an active part in the Syrian revolution, and its alumni favor and work for the success of the
liberation movement, even if the Faculty and other deluded
gentlemen here and abroad lack the backbone to admit the fact.
"The Syrian Christians are the ones responsible for France's
occupation of Syria. The Christians were traitors, never loyal
to their country or government. This is sufficient justification
for the many massacres that had befallen them. If the Moslems
and the Druzes massacred six thousand Syrian Christians in 1860,
France has more than evened the score by massacring ten thousand of them in the past two years. Islam is more tolerant than
Christianity.."
The speaker was a Christian.
And his speech was the exact one he had delivered on previous occasions!
/
�MAY, 1927
41
The editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD sat through it all. He
felt that free speech was the privilege of everybody, whether in
religious or political matters. But he resented the branding of
Syrian Christians as traitors deserving of massacre. He told Mr.
Howell so. in as forceful language as he could command. These
trips, he argued, when conducted on partisan lines and with preconceived prejudice, can have no other result than injury to the
Syrian name. Hurling accusations of treason on the Syrian Christians, under the auspices and with the knowlelge and connivance
of a Christian minister of the Gospel, such as Mr. Howell is, will
only widen the breach between Christians and Mohammedans.
Of this intolerance we have had enough in our country of birth,
and we do not intend to permit it to grow and thrive here in our
country of choice. The trips of Mr. Howell, therefore, are misnomers in that their outcome is exactly the opposite of reconciliation.
We have warned Mr. Howell in a personal letter that if
he were to persist in conducting his trips along former lines he
could not1 be welcome among the Syrians. We are only anxious
to have people understand us as we are, and in such an effort
our best elements will gladly co-operate. But we refuse to be
exploited for the benefit of anybody and to our hurt and detriment. Mr. Howell had as guests on that occasion a number of
Syrian young women. Their reaction to what was said and done
was one of shock and disgust. He need entertain no doubt that
the sentiment of the whole community will be of the same trend
once his activities become known.
And it is our intention to uncover and make known all such
activities and run them down to the ground. People who want
to exploit and misrepresent us are not welcome with us. But, we
repeat, those who come to us with an open mind and a willingness for sympathetic understanding we stand ready to welcome
at all times with open arms. There can be no compromise on this
issue, as it affects the honor of the race, and of our race we have
ample reason to feel proud. America herself would not want
us otherwise now that we have become a part of the nation and
are making honest and sincere efforts at bringing about the desired national homogeneity. Those who work to antagonize and
alienate prospective Americans by such tactics and methods are
the worst enemies of America. We propose to be good Americans by opposing such tactics.
�.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
42
THE LAST WORD
In his personal letter to the editor accompanying his contribution published in this issue, Dr. M. Shadid remarks that "all
the replies but one seemed to side with your view of the matter.
I can hardly believe that on my side of the controversy I do not
have more supporters. I feel I am entitled to the courtesy of
amplifying my position as the matter seems to be debatable and
according to the rules of debate the affirmative has the last
word."
. .
We trust that this remark of the esteemed physician does
not carry the imputation that we are applying discrimination
against him in the conduct of the debate. He may rest assured
that we are as anxious to give publicity to the views of his supporters as to those of his opponents. It is true, as he remarks,
that he has struck a sensitive chord in touching on the subject of
discrimination and the advisability of the return of Syrians to
their homeland, but it was not a sympathetically responsive chord.
The doctor should concede to others the liberty of thought and
action and think well of them besides.
And now that Dr. Shadid has said the last word, and that
others have been found who support him in whole or in part, we
feel that the case has been given a fair trial at the court of public
opinion and hope that future discussions of this subject will be
devoid of personal references and confined to the general treatment of the problem in its wider aspect without mention of individual cases. Our purpose is to protect individuals and direct
discussions towards a more general channel. The relative phases
of the economic, social and political conditions of Syrians at home
and abroad may be treated according to the various viewpoints
with the fullest liberty of expression, but references to individuals should be eliminated in the future, otherwise the editor
will freely exercise his prerogative of rejecting communications
or deleting objectionable references of this character. In the
case of Dr. Shadid, we believe now as heretofore that he has
shown exceptional moral courage in citing his own case as an illustration of his point and in support of his arguments, but neither will it be fair to him nor productive of any public benefit to
have the controversy continue to revolve around his personality.
Our readers, therefore, are invited to express themselves in
general terms on the two pivotal points of the controversy, namely:
�I II III
li mil.
MAY, 1927
43
1 — Are the Syrians discriminated against as a race, and if so,
why?
2 — Is it advisable for Syrian emigrants to return to their homeland, and if so, on what grounds?
We believe a continuation of the discussion on the above
premises cannot fail to be productive of good results in that it
will either shake loose or stabilize definitely the unsteady and
wavering elements amongst us who, by their dual allegiance, or
lack of allegiance, occupy an anomalous position and are capable
of producing no benefit either to one country or the other.
This publication stands for unequivocal, unstinted allegiance and
loyalty to the United States as our country of choice, but with
sympathetic interest in our country of origin.
AN HONEST ORGAN
It is our ambition to make this publication as representative
and as widely informative as possible. We believe that for it
to justify its name, it must record and interpret the activities of
the Syrian World in all their phases; that it should serve as a
clearing house of information about everything Syrian; that
through it may be established a point of contact among Syrians
in the different parts of the world, especially the English-speaking world, in all matters touching on the common problems of
the race; and, furthermore, that by virtue of its publication in
the English language, other races will find in it a source of authentic and accurate information about us which will admit them
to our inner councils and afford them the opportunity of properly understanding us.
It is with this object in view that we are endeavoring to
cover as wide a field as possible. History, literature, political
developments, social changes, intellectual and educational activities,— all are given space and treated in the most unbiased and
disinterested spirit. The department of "The Spirit of the Syrian Press" is a fair gage of this policy, besides being an accurate
record of the trend of Syrian public opinion as well.
Competent critics have judged THE SYRIAN WORLD the
ideal publication in its field, and, on the whole, a well-balanced
publication in every respect.
Nevertheless, we wish to assure our readers that criticisms
and suggestions for improvement are always welcome.
�mmmm
THE SYRIAN WORLD
44
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
GENUINE BENEVOLENCE
True generosity in these days is
to be found among the peoples of
the West.
True giving which accrues to the
benefit of learning, civilization and
humanity is to be found with them.
They say that France, in proportion to her population, is foremost
among the nations of the world in
charity. We think, rather are convinced, that it is the United States
which carries the standard of useful
charity in this age; and that she
gives in mil'ions of dollars where
others give in francs.
At any rate the charity by which
is meant self-advertising is not
charity.
How noble is the text: "Let not
thy left 'hand know what thy right
hand doeth."
Arab generosity was vain and
boastful, and no benefit to humanity accrued from it. The man who
used to slaughter his camels, sheep,
or even his spirited steeds for his
guests, then follow them when they
had departed to rob them, could not
be considered generous. Nor is one
considered generous whose generosity is not for some 'humanitarian
purpose. Where are the hospitals,
the orphanages and the asylums
which our rich men have built in
Syria? Nay, but where is their
magnanmity concerning the trusts
with which they have been entrusted?
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., April 13, 1927.)
FRANCE RESORTS TO
DIABOLICAL TRICKS
It is sometimes asked, what does
France with the money which she
has mulcted from her victims ? And
our answer is: that she desires to
help with it the Armenians whom
she transported to Syria; that she
is preparing the way for adding
70,000 Armenians to the army she
has now there.
France was requested by the
League of Nations to accept these
Armenian refugees in her own country. She refused them, although she
is in need of them to balance her decreasing birth-rate, but she consented to accept them in Syria. It is a
diabolical trick, worthy of Belzebub!
The Syrians are in great straits,
emigrating from their country by
the thousands in search of livelihood and security; what, then, will
be their condition when these additional thousands pour in on them?
Yet in spite of all these oppressions and heavy taxations you find
many of the oppressed themselves
�- --
mM
—
:,
/
MAY, 1927
who seek justice from the mandatory government. It was our impression that the Syrians are a brilliant people, why then do they allow
themselves to be stung by the same
snake twice; why do they circle
around the candle flame, like silly
butterflies, despite the fact that
they had been burned by the same
fire repeatedly before, and many of
them had fallen down lifeless at the
foot of the candle?
Never did it cross our minds before that deserted places are taxed
till France took charge of our affairs in Syria. Nor did we ever
dream that there was ever a government in the world which would justify to itself snatching the mouthful
of charity from hungry infants,
poor women and old people who
have no protector in the world.
(Miraat-ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
April 13, 1927.)
FRENCH SACRIFICE
CHRISTIANS
The Druzes in Syria revolted
against the Government of the
French Mandate and committed
strange and savage atrocities. Yet
in spite of what befell them; in spite
of their subsequent defeat and surrender, their victory over France
and over the peaceful Christians
was considerable. For their united
strength compelled France to resort
to various excuses to grant them
amnesty, one individual after another, and one band after another, until
hardly any of them has been touched
by harm. Whereas the unfortunate
Christians toss on a thorny bed of
sorrow and suffering, because of the
atrocities which were committed
against them, yet scarcely does the
Mandate Government deign to cast
a glance at them, because they are
weak; because they are disunited;
I
--
._ .,
OMMk.
45
because all the Christians of Syria,
and many of their number in the
countries to which they emigrated,
show no concern in defending their
oppressed Christianity and their
wrecked nationality.
(The Syrian Eagle, N. Y.,
April 2, 1927.)
HOW MOSLEMS OF NEAR EAST
VIEW CHINESE MOVEMENT
The Chinese movement still occupies a precarious position, for while
it has succeeded in stemming the
British policy to an extent which
compelled the English to recoil from
the thought of war, it has not advanced enough to be free from danger.
This in brief is the general situation in the Far East; and we as
Easterners of the Near East, forming a huge nation, the Arab nation,
parts of which are waging a war of
independence, should ask ourselves
what sympathy or bond is there
which unites us with the Chinese,
our brother Easterners, or rather in
Islam, for there are no less than 33
million Chinese Moslems in the district of Yunan?
The first bond which should unite
us with the Chinese is the Oriental
one, in its broad sense. The Chinese
are struggling to attain self-government, and to remove the foreign influence from their country. We are
fighting, therefore, a common enemy, even though our countries, geographically speaking, are far apart,
and our cultures differ. To the enemy we are all a prize to be won, a
sweet morsel to be devoured.
If then in the sight of the enemy
our countries are as one, a prey upon
which he would pounce and tear to
pieces, must not we, who are driven
by his staff to the same slaughtering
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-
46
—
THE SYRIAN WORLD
place, unite our forces and gather most fundamental principles of
our scattered energies to thwart him journalism: fidelity in relating news,
and the service of the public by givand stop him at his limit?
Secondly, the nationalist move- ing publicity to evil deed* and evil
ments in the Near East are moral doers.
If a newspaper does not bind itfuel to each other. The people of
this generation have not forgotten self by such principles, the subscripwhat effect the victory of Japan over tion paid for it is a price paid for
Czarist Russia had on the spirits of reading lies, libel and misleading
the Oriental peoples generally. Were statements, shameful things which
not the victories of the Turks over nobody should go after, let alone
the Greeks, of Abdul-Karim over paying money for.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., April 13, 1927.)
the Spanish and the French, and the
success of the Egyptian movement
in 1919, of material benefit to the
HUMANITY OF THE DRUZES
East, especially the Near East ? And
how do we know what effect the
We are grateful to the editor of
Syrian revolution will have on suc"al-Watan" for his testimony that
ceeding movements?
Thirdly, we Arabs, in that we are the Druzes are not all murderers,
considered the pillar of Islam and and must say that he has shown
the Moslems, should desire for our fairness this time. But we do not
33 million brethren in China liberty, admit that the Druzes were the ones
independence and the pursuit of suc- to start the quarrel, neither in this
revolution nor at any previous time.
cess and happiness.
Finally, it is the unchangeable The Druzes are a rough people in
law of Creation that the weak should time of war, and no one will deny
prop one another in face of the this, but they are rough in the sense
strong who aspire to subjugate of being stubborn and patient, not
them. It is for the Eastern nations in the sense that they permit license
to unite and to support one another, or commit inhuman atrocities.
The Druzes do not kill children
for this better serves themselves
and women, nor do they attack the
and defies their enemy.
An Arab in Al-Jamiat al-Arabiat. helpless or dispatch the wounded, as
do those civilized French... under
(Copied by Al-Bayan, N. Y.,
the command of military officers
April 1, 1927.)
graduated in Paris... The Druzes
did not throw bombs, on children or
BLINDNESS TO TRUTH
women, nor would they have done it
The francophile papers look at even if they had had aeroplanes.
what is taking place in Syria from Nor would the Druzes fire their
the two ends of a telescope; they guns, if they had any, on the populook at the evil deeds of France lation of a city like Damascus withthrough the small end, and at the out any warning, and kill 1500,
good deeds, if they find any, through mostly children and women, under
the large end. Worse still, these its debris. How often have the
papers ascribe the evil deeds of the Druzes caught compatriots of theirs
French to others, and fabricate good in the ranks of the enemy and set
deeds which have no existence. In them free?
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., April 8, 1927.)
so doing they go contrary to the
J-fc
�MAY, 1927
47
Readers' Forum
i I
IY
DR. SHADID REPLIES
TO HIS CRITICS
Editor The Syrian World:
In the February number of "The
Syrian World" appeared an article
by me entitled "Syria for the Syrians" which seems to have touched
a responsive chord.
Most of the replies, however, do
not meet the arguments as presented, and I will briefly recapitulate
them. I stated that of all countries
Syria is the country of choice for
Syrians to live in for the following
reasons:
1. Because the majority of the
Syrians can fare as well economically in Syria as in the U. S., as
from both an agricultural and industrial standpoint, Syria is a virgin territory.
2. Because Syrians in the U. S.
have been subjected to social ostracism, and in many cases to economic
boycott, not alone by native Americans, but by all those peoples belonging to the branch of the Nordic
race.
3. Because educational and cultural advantages are within easy reach
in Syria to those having children to
educate.
The editor gave us a dissertation
on the principles of true Americanism, the bigotry of the Ku Klux
Klan, the impracticability of a
wholesale exodus of Syrians (which,
by the way, I did not honlTin mind)
from America to their native land,
all of which is true and to tht
point. The fact remains that we
are facing a fact and not a theory.
The fact is that Syrians, like Jews,
are socially ostracised and cannot
be assimilated. "It is regrettable,"
continues the editor, "that he (Dr.
Shadid) should have settled in a
town to which, apparently, he has
rendered splendid professional services as proven by his financial success, and whose narrow-minded citizens refuse to associate with him
socially, merely on account of his
racial extraction."
An echo to this sentiment is voiced by a contributor to the March
issue, who signs himself E. K. S.,
in the following dictum: "In the
case of Dr. M. Shadid the diagnosis
is Elk City-itis". My friend F. H.
Barkett makes the same observation
in his reply in the April number.
The inference to be drawn from
this observation is that social ostracism in my case is strictly a personal and a local matter and is not
applicable in other parts of the
United States. This is erroneous. I
have lived in New York, Saint Louis,
Oklahoma City and other places and
my observation has been that a Syrian is discriminated against by reason of his swarthy color and his
racial extraction. I met the same
discrimination in my college days
in Saint Louis that I am meeting
now in Elk City, Oklahoma. The
disease is not as E. K. S. would
have us believe ELKCITYITIS but
AMERICANITIS. In my college
days I was never asked to join any
of the secret fraternities. Other Syrian students will tell you the same
thing. American snobbery is as real
and cruel as any caste in India. The
American may like you personally
and be very friendly, but because
�--
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
of his racial prejudice you are socially "Taboo". His racial prejudice
is a bar to social intercourse with
you and oftentimes takes the form
of an economic boycott.
The fact that I once was candidate for Congress and that I have
achieved professional success does
not disprove the foregoing assertion. I was candidate of the farmers and laborers, or at least the intelligent section of them and these
are totally free from any prejudice
against a man's nationality or religious affiliation — if they were not
they would still be voting the same
old reactionary party tickets.
While a candidate for Congress
I received from a physician at Granite, Oklahoma, (T. Nunnery, M.D.)
shortly after I made a speech there,
a letter which contained the following:
"Now be informed I am not in
sympathy with your so-called
farmer-labor, socialist rot. Neither do I think you are competent
to tell us Americans what we
should do. And if you are bent
on governmental change eo back
where you come from and tell
them."
Now in my speeches I never uttered unpatriotic sentiments. I spoke
as a progressive American in favor
of social change for the betterment
of the masses of the American people and these speeches were based
on the platform of Robert M. Lafollette who 'headed the ticket. And
yet I received the most insulting letter from an American who has studied in college and medical school.
The chances are 10 to 1 he is a
Kluxer, but the Ku Klux Klan is
made up of the 100 per cent. Americans, so-called, who wield social,
political and business influence at
least in the middle and far West.
No, the disease is Americanitis.
Americans possess many laudable
traits. I like them as a people. I
like their ways and customs and
mode of life. I like their outlook
on life. I like their institutions. I
am not averse to the principles of
true Americanism, but it must be
said in truth that racial prejudice is
a dominant trait in the American
make-up. I am not even finding
fault with them on that account.
Their environment, their history,
their position in the world today
promotes this feeling among them.
I have a letter from an ex-resident
of Beirut telling me that that prejudice is to be found among Americans even in Syria. He says the
wives of Missionaries are afflicted
with a "Superiority-Complex", to
use his own word for it. This is
another term for racial prejudice.
I do not wish to be misunderstood.
I appreciate the American character.
Syria and most of the world owe
a debt of gratitude to America, and
as E. K. S. says, "America has been
too benevolent for us to permit one
or one hundred bigoted so-called
Americans to cause us to lose faith
with our adopted country." I have
not lost faith with America but I,
for one, prefer to live where I do
not have to contend with racial
prejudice. I am very sensitive to
this air of superiority of my fellow
Americans with whom I have to rub
elbows in a business way. Life is
too short to live here with an inferiority-complex in my subconsciousness.
Joseph K. David, of Jacksonville,
Fla., opines in the April number that
this is a manifestation of a "spirit
of defeat" on my part. I do not
think so. On the contrary it is a
spirit of undaunted courage and resolute self-respect on my part to
confess to my honest convictions.
It is an easy matter for me to hyp-
!:
�MAY, 1927
f,
notize myself into the belief that
(as A N. Adwon does in the March
issue) I and my family are as well
thought of and as highly respected
in my community as any hundred
per center, and I would have as
much reason as Mr. Adwon and Mr.
Barkett have for doing so, but it
would be beyond the truth and will
have as much palliative effect as a
dose of a narcotic drug would have
in curing cancer.
In the matter of the economic argument, the editor, in h.'s comment
on my first article, says:
"Viewed in this perspective, we
fail to see the wisdom in advocating the return of the Syrian immigrants to Syria. Not only do
we deem it inadvisable but it may
readily be seen that such a course
is utterly impractical. The Syrians are mainly of the mercantile
and industrial class; those of them
who are engaged in agriculture are
few in number, etc.
"Furthermore, the factors giving rise to the emigration movement in Syria have not been eradicated. Not only in the pre-war
period, but even now in post-war
times we find the flow of Syrian
emigration constantly on the increase. For this steady movement
there must be an inherent cause,
etc."
Syria is a virgin territory for
agricultural and industrial enterprise. The progress that the Jews
have achieved agriculturally and industrially in the short period of time
they have occupied Palestine is
amazing and shows the numberless
opportunities for economic development in the country. The "inherent
cause" for Syrian emigration to foreign lands is the lack of Syrian
agricultural development. If Syrians would take advantage of the
agricultural opportunities in Syria,
49
the inherent cause for Syrian emigration would be removed and Syria
would become a prominent country.
Agriculture is the basic industry in
Syria and with the development of
agriculture all business will take on
a new life. The article in the March
number of "The Syrian World" by
living Sitt on the "Present Economic Conditions in Syria" ably illustrates this argument.
In conclusion, there is one side of
the question that I have not pressed
into service as an argument in favor
of SYRIA FOR THE SYRIANS
and that is the unselfish argument
having been satisfied with appealing
to self-interest alone. As a matter
of fact our country is poor and backward financially, industrially, politically, socially. Our country needs
us who have been away and imbibed
Western ideas in ail fields of human
endeavor. Our country needs us
more than we need her. Remember
that a man gets out of life the same
measure he puts into it. We are all
struggling for happiness as we have
a right to do. After I have been on
this\planet for fourty-five years and
while I am still in the prime of my
intellectual growth I affirm with all
the power at my command that
there is no real happiness in the
world except that which comes to
you without your seeking. The only
happiness there is in the world is
that happiness which comes to you
as a reward (unsought) to your efforts in making other people happy.
If you can digest this bit of wisdom
which is not original with me but
which bit I rejected myself earlier
in my career till I had had enough
of the experiences of life, you will
agree with me that the selfish motive should not be the only motive
governing our return to our dear
old country
M. Shadid, M. D.
Elk City, Okla
�a—.
5§
OUR NEEDS AS A
RACE IN AMERICA
Editor The Syrian World:
Permit me to write a word in reference to the controversy brought
about by Dr. Shadid's article.
Both the affirmative as well as
the negative have missed the vital
joint.
In a:l defects, physical, moral, or
uociological, tho cause must be revealed, dealt with and the result becomes understandable.
The chief complaint made by Dr.
Shadid and his supporters is: that
Syrians are not receiving proper recognition, and are discriminated
against.
The opponents of this idea deny
this and attempt to prove their contention by citing individual cases.
Neither side is wrong, and neither
side is right.
Syrians are not considered on the
same par as other races. This is an
undeniable
and
uncontradictable
fact; and to this extent Dr. Shadid
is correct. On the other hand Syrians are not disregarded because of
prejudice directed against them as
a race. Such a claim is wholly absurd.
The seeming ostracism is not
an organized or intentional hatred,
as some would convey, but only because the Syrians do not control
sufficient political, sociological, commercial and numerical strength, to
command the standing held by Germans, Irish or Italians. It soothes
the theoretical sense to be idealistic;
but the practical truth is that we
receive in the same proportion we
give. This would indicate that the
doctrine of "Might makes right" is,
after all, a correct one. It is. We
do not like to admit it in a land of
Democracy. Personally I am get-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ting rather dubious about the correct definition of Democracy. We
can say with a satisfying sense of
propriety, however, and soot'h OUT
sensibilities to a consoling degree
that: "Might makes influence".
When I think of oar disorganization, because of the multiplicity and
lack of definitiveness in our organizations, few of which embody the
precepts conducive to a national unity, I am pleasantly surprised that
we receive the attention that we do.
Let us busy ourselves in discovering our defeats, correct them, and
fearlessly and honestly meet the situation with unflinching purpose,
with the fixed thought to become a
part of the great country we are
living in, and as a nationality, coordinate our efforts and fully cooperate with every National American movement. If we must help
Syria let us do so as philanthropic
sons who do not forget their motherland, but who are loyal to the extreme to their adopted country, actively alive to every movement directed to her benefit and progress.
Let us forget ourselves for a time
and stop praising the ancestry we
came from, remembering the great
Arabic poet who said: It is not my
origin which makes me, but rather
what I myself am."
Our remedy can be summed up in
few words: loyalty to adopted country, unselfishness, correction of our
own defects, National organization,
assimilation, and amalgamation.
Dr. H. A. Elkourie.
Birmingham, Ala.
RACIAL PREJUDICE EXISTS
Editor The Syrian World:
Although I am a high school student I take enough interest in civic
affairs to warrant my voicing an
opinion on the controversy agitated
V
�MAY, 1927
51
daughter of President Callea of
Mexico, you made the statement that
President Calles was a Roman Catholic. In the interest of truth and to
keep the records accurate I desire
to advise you as follows:
President Calles is a native of Cajame, Sonora, Mexico. His grandfather was a Syrian peddler of wearing apparel, who rambled into that
country selling his wares. President
Calles' father was born in Sonora,
as was the President himself. He
was baptized a Protestant and has
never had any connection with the
Catholic Church. He acted as a
minister of a Protestant Church in
Sonora, and also taught in a private school. Later on he became interested in a flour and feed store
with an American named Smithers,
which he disposed of in order to join
the revolutionary forces under Carranza. In Sonora President Calles
is still called "The Turk."
PRESIDENT CALLES OF
President Calles married Natalie
MEXICO A SYRIAN
Chacon, a Protestant lady, in HerEditor The Syrian World:
mosillo. They have six children,
I am enclosing a communication three boys and three girls, none of
addressed to "Brooklyn Daily Eagle" whom have been baptized Catholics.
by one of its readers pertaining to One of his sons, Plutarco Junior,
Calles' religion.
married in Monterey, three years
It seems timely that The Syrian ago, a sister of Aaron Saenz and
World inform its readers on that Moses Saenz, the latter Secretary
subject dwelling particularly upon of Education in President Calles'
the seeming paradox of having a cabinet. The family of Saenz is also
Protestant Syrian as far back as Protestant.
_
over one hundred years ago.
Fernando Torroblanco, a Catholic,
You will probably be able to remarried a daughter of President
ceive some details from some Syrians
Calles, in Mexico City about four
living in Sonora, Mexico, about the
years ago. This wedding was solbirth-place of Calles.
emnized in the Catholic Church,
Basile G. D'Ouakil.
upon the insistence of Torroblanco.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
The extraordinary situation is now
The letter in the "Brooklyn Daily presented in Mexico of having a
Eagle" follows:
Protestant President of a country
\5 percent, of the population of
CALLES' RELIGION
which
is Catholic.
A READER.
A few evenings ago in The Eagle,
Richmond Hill, L. I., March 14, 1927.
in writing about the marriage of the
by Dr. Shadid. I do not agree that
foreigners in general and Syrians in
particular are discriminated against,
nor does Dr. Shadid claim this to
exist. He claims, and I am thoroughly in accord with him in this viewpoint, that there is a class of prejudiced Americans who are intolerant
both in matters of religion and race.
I have experienced such incidents
myself when I was a party to an
argument engaged in by my father
and a so-called 100 per cent. American on the supposed residence of
the Pope in the United States. This
American showed such intolerance
that he threatened the Pope with
murder in such an eventuality. There
are others who show just as bitter
intolerance in racial matters.
Thomas T. Shiya.
Niagara Falls, N. Y.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
Discussing a Racial Problem
The American Syrian Federation
of New York called a special meeting on April 15th to discuss the subject around which a controversy is
now being waged in The Syrian
World, on whether the Syrians in
the United States are being discriminated against. President Joseph
W. Ferris of the Association conducted the discussion and introduced as
the speaker of the evening Dr. F. I.
Shatara Who read a paper which he
said was intended for "family consumption" in which he analyzed the
various social ailments of the Syrians and, while lauding them for their
many virtues, pointed out some faults
which he said he hoped would be corrected. Dr. Shatara did not deny,
however, the existence of a certain
amount of snobbery on the part of
Americans, which he attributed to a
consciousness of national superiority.
"It is a well known fact," said
Dr. Shatara, "that a nation at the
zenith of its power and civilization
always looked down upon immigrants
into its country, especially if they
came from a weaker or a less cultured nation. As instance, the attitude of the Arabs of the Abbaside
period towards foreigners may be
cited. The Arabs then ruled supreme;
they had pushed their conquests into
three continents. . While the rest of
the world was in utter darkness, they
were the guardians of science, literature and other branches of learning. Baghdad was then what Oxford and Cambridge are today. No
man, irrespective of his race, was
considered educated unless he knew
the Arabic language. The Arabs referred to foreigners as "A'jam", the
same epithet which they applied to
dumb animals.
"Some Americans of the first generation," cont nued Dr. Shatara,
"like the nouveaux riches, are more
apt to look down upon immigrants
than are the older stock. This is
human nature. The sons of foreigners are more apt to despise foreigners than are Mayflower descendants."
Then, following a more or less intimate discussion of the subject, Dr.
Shatara concluded with these remarks:
"We have a distinct mission to
perform in our adopted country.
That mission is to contribute ourselves to our beloved America at
our best — to combine the wise men
of the East and the wise men of the
West. Let us contribute that kindly,
sympathetic and hospitable gentleman, shrewd in business but honest
and dependable — his word as good
as his bond; industrious but not permitting material pursuits to dim his
philosophy of the true significance
of life; thrifty but not materialistic,
egoistic or self-centered; religious
but not fanatic; home-loving, but not
home-domineering; peace-loving, lawabiding, yet ready to fight when occasion demands; strong individually,
but willing to be led and to abide
by majority rule — remembering
that it is better to be united under
one weak leader than divided under
several good ones."
President Ferris then declared an
open forum discussion and asked several members to give their views on
the subject. We copy from the minutes of the meeting some of the
more salient points occurring in the
remarks of the speakers.
MILHEM A. SAIDY: Of course, as
I
�i—
MAY, 1927
I
immigrants, we cannot all be like
Dr. Shatara, or Mr. Ferris, or Mr.
Mokarzel. We came here to escape
persecution and we came penniless
and had to carry the pack or go to
work in brickyards, farms, factories
and everything imaginable but honest in order to earn our living. None
of us came here with a single dollar in his pocket — and we are not
ashamed of it at all. Today among
us we have the millionaire, the successful business man, the successful
banker, the successful manufacturer,
the successful lawyer, the successful
doctor and the successful man in all
professions. This speaks well for
the Syrians. Of course, we have our
lower classes and we have our uneducated people. These people have
not caught up as yet with the times;
we have to be patient with them.
But they are getting old and soon
they will pass away. The younger
generation will come and do honor
to the memory of the fathers. * * *
There is no Syrian who should be
arhamed to face anybody in this
country for anything he has ever
done. He should be proud. He is
a good, law-abiding citizen. Gentlemen: education will do more to
save us than all the criticism in the
world. Please send your children to
school. Send them to colleges. Spend
your last dollar to educate them.
This is the only thing that will put
you to the front: Education."
DR NAJIB KATIBAH: I would
l!ke to point out that pride — not in
the bad sense but in the good sense
— self-esteem, pride, is one of the
characteristics of the human being.
There is a kind of pride that n-.> human being can afford to ignore and
that is the pride of race. The Japanese, the British, the French, the
Germans and all other races have
their pr.de. If pride is kided and
the individual loses, or the nation
53
loses, or the race loses that pride,
then they are done for. It dwindles
down to what we call in English the
inferiority complex. A man knows
that he is lower than the other fe? •
low. When he gets that idea into
his head, when he gets to be in that
condition, his ambition, his vision,
his aims in life have a cloud on
them. * * * We are in a period of
transition. Transition is the change
from one state to another, and this
is one of the hardest imaginable conditions to be in. It means sacrifice
and it means sometimes a good deal
of bravery to meet the issue. I commend the Syrians for what they have
done. And, after all, the individual
who has risen up is the one who is
respected and who will transmit that
respect to his fellow countrymen.
S. A. MOKARZEL: I have been
impressed very much by some of the
things that have been said here this
evening, and especially by the last
remarks of Dr. Katibah on pride of
race and achievement. I believe he
hit the nail on the head when he
said that every race should feel
proud of itself and that the race
which allows itself to side backwards to the extent of feeling any
vestige of an inferiority complex is
surely going to lose its identity and
be swallowed up in the valley of
oblivion. We hope we will never
come to that. * * * I maintain that
if the language should die it should
not follow that the racial characteristics should die with it. There are
characteristics among our racial
traits — those things that we should
be proud of — that we should not allow to die. These things that we
should feel proud of are up to us
now, espec:ally in this dangerous
time of transition, to take the necessary and proper steps to prevent
from dying. How can we do that?
If we are to permit ourselves to
�54
drift on aimlessly like derelicts on
the open sea, we shall certainly get
nowhere, and we will be at the
mercy of the tempest which will batter us right and left, and no matter
how strong our ship may be it will
be a prey to the waves in the end.
But if we have a good captain at
the helm; if we are sure of the
strength and staunchness of our
ship; and if we apply the intelligence, the industry that is necessary
and required to bring our ship safely to port I think that will be to
our credit—so much so that future
generations will feel proud of us
who had been able to weather the
storm at those dangerous times.***
Whether it is for good or bad that
such a controversy was started, it
is certainly within our power to extract the good that is in it and to
try to bring the question to a fruitful conclusion. It seems to me that
the only concrete suggestion I can
give-—although you can see that I
have not besn able to work out the
details—came to me just now while
I was listening to the intelligent discussion that has been going on here
this evening. There should be some
kind of concerted movement started
by this association which should be
truly representative and which
should embrace the flower of our intellect in New York—for New York,
as you all realize, is looked up to
by all the rest of the United States
as the leader in every intellectual
movement. And we should not try
to treat the negative side alone; we
should try to do something positive
and get some benefit out of all that
we have heard tonight. We can if
we only try to apply our ideas. We
have had the negative side, but that
pride of ours is a good connecting
link with the positive side. We should
encourage pride of race and not defeat our own purpose by negative,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
destructive criticism. *** Talking of
pride of race, not every German, or
Englishman, or Frenchman, or every
man of any other nationality has
done distinctive things to be proud
of so that he could consider himself
possessed of that superiority complex mentioned here. A few distinguished individuals of each race
created the good name and the good
reputation for the race. And the
Syrians have had and have now distinguished individuals. We have a
background in history that we may
be justly proud of. It is simply up
to us to try to bring this to the fore,
so that the common run of our people will know and get to feel a sense
of pride in their race. That is the
way we would be encouraging the
Syrians to attain and maintain the
position that is due them in , the
United States if it is not accorded
them now. And if it is not accorded
them it is mainly due to one cause
and that is the lack of co-operative
action. We lack the proper civic
spirit. This lackness manifests itself not only in work among ourselves, but in our failure to make
ourselves known among the American nation. That is what goes to
the root of the matter. But perhaps
now we are beginning to take a little
more interest. This is a good sign.
We should encourage it. And these
are exactly the lines that I want to
pror-ose to you gentlemen tonight.
We should become active here. We
in New York, by virtue of the fact
that we are looked up to as leaders
in intellectual movements, should do
something that would have nationwide effect; that would not be restricted merely to our own conditions here in this city, but that
would give the lead to others to follow up — so that when we and others join hands we can do something
that will really make u» feel proud
!
i
�MAY, 1927
IT /
i
that we are Syrians, and in the
eventuality that one of our race does
commit a crime, and goes to jail,
there w'il be applied to us the law
of averages and the ninety-nine per
cent, of us will not be condemned
through the action of that single one.
DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN: I would
Ike to call your attention to one
thing that probably you did noc
touch on: I have had my experience
?n New England — and it is said
that a New Englander is the
straightest back n the country - but in not one city in my experience
in New England have I found that
anyone of those people really intentionally looked down upon a foreigner. In fact, many foreigners up in
New England are reai'y admired
and respected by the people there —
provided they are known and their
work is known. What I wanted to
point out to you was this one fun<lament.il thing: the so-called White
race — in contradistinction to the
Brown and Black—and the European
races, look on the Oriental races as
foreign and strange to them; perhaps not because they are inferior
to them, but because they do not understand them. I say that when it
comes right down to it, no white man
or Occ'dental will degrade an Oriental or think that the Oriental is
bel^w him unless he misunderstands
him. I do not blame them. We, as
somebody has remarked, have our
pride in our race, and we thought,
once upon a time, that every outsider
was a prent';e and that we were
God's chosen people. You cannot
overcome that; it is in the make-up
of the race. It is the Oriental against
the Occidental "and never the twain
Shall meet", excepting when one
knows the other and understands
him and reachen such station as
Kipling referred to when he Raid
flliy will never meat unleea they
55
will consider each other men. There
is no Ea?t or West when two men
meet! Now, my point is this: they
have their prejudices and their ideas;
we 'have our prejudices and our ideas.
They have cheir culture and they put
themselves in a position to look down
upon other races. They are misguided, perhaps, and perhaps they are
not. But how are we going to overcome that condition? It exists. You
cannot deny the fact. To overcome
it we must prove to them that we
are capable individually. We have
prover. it individually in many instances, but how are we going to
prove it collectively? Now, that is
the question I would like you to ponder and think over. Indvidually, in
many instances, we have proven that
we are equal to them in many positions. How are we going to prove
to them collectively that we are equal
to them, too?
MAJOR HABEEB A. SAIDY:
There has been a great deal said
about vae'al pride, individual pride,
relifc'ioos pride and al! that. Now,
ger.ticmcn, you have got to remembrr th?.t that is one of the most imrn^tarit phases of this question. The
minute a man loses pride in those
thirds of which he should be proud,
yen might as well call him a dead
ore, because he is gone. It s for
that reason that I, for one, am always proud to say that I am a Syrinn, to say that I am of Syrian parentage, that whatever Syrian traditions are in my favor I never hesitate to claim them. * * * The previous speaker has said something
about knowing that in individual
cases the Syrian has shown that he
is equal to the task placed before
him. But you must give this race
a little chance. We are very, very
young in this country. How long
hav* we been b-re? Thirty or forty
vear*. We cams here entwVy desti-
�56
tute of finance and entirely destitute
of education. Seeing this was a wonderful country we decided to stay.
Some of us did not have the opportunty of educating themselves; some
of us had to carry the pack on their
shoulders; but as time goes on are
our children carrying the pack? So,
after all, give us the opportunity,
and I think we are all availing ourselves of that opportunity. The basis
of all this is education, end when we
would have given our children the
opportunity of education, I think
their Syrian traditions—the strength
that is in the blood, will show itself,
and they will be proud to say that
they are of the Syrian race and of
Syrian blood, and those around them
will be proud to call them their
adopted brethren.
ABRAHAM DAOUD (of Atlantic
City): My experience with the American people has been very pleasant.
Nominally they regard us as foreigners, but foreigners can be distinguished one from the other.
PRESIDENT FERRIS: There was
a reaction, however, I understand, in
Atlantic City at one time, When the
Syrians were not very well known,
but when your organization, the Syrian American Club, put the Syrians
before the public I understand that
there was a complete reversal of
feeling and a change of sentiment
towards the race as a whole.
ABRAHAM DAOUD: We have an
organization there of about eighty
members and they are well thought
of in that commmunity. We do not
feel foreign or persecuted in any
way.
AZIZ TRABULSI: A few years
ago, after I came out of the United
States Navy in which I served during the war, I took it upon myself
to go where the Indians live out
West. I was salesman for a large
concern and made about five or six
THE SYRIAN WORLD
towns a day. Whenever they asked
me my nationality I told them I was
a Syrian. A Syrian? they would ask.
"Is that Jewish?" Naturally, I had
to go to the trouble of explaining it
all. But I found no prejudice against
the race. Everyman stands on his
own individually.
DR. SHATARA: I would like to
say that if this paper has done nothing else it has at least brought out
the interesting discussion we have
had here tonight. * * * We are faced
with- a certain condition and I want
you to think of that condition. I do
not say that we should be ashamed
of being Syrians at all. I want you
to realize that this feeling of being
looked down upon does exist in many
situations. The point I tried to bring
out is: what are those characteristics of ours that are the underlying
cause of the trouble, not what are
our virtues — we have lots of them.
* * * So much has been said of the
second generation. I am afraid, gentlemen, that the second or third generation is not going to be distinguishable from the Americans at all.
They will be completely assimilated.
This will be very nice in a way, but
it is going to be a pity in another
way. Because I feel that we have
a distinct mission in this country.
If your children are going to forget
entirely that they have any Syrian
blood in them, that will be a great
pity, because they will not be able
to make those wonderful Syrian traditions which their parents brought
over a part of their contribution to
this great country.
PRESIDENT FERRIS: I want to
thank the several members who addressed the organization tonight.
This problem of assimilation, as you
all no doubt know, is a question that
confronts every nationality and every
race in this country.
1
�f
<\
M4Y, 7927
57
Political Developments in Syria
<
»
1
M. Henri Ponsot, French High
Commissioner in Syria, is still in
Paris with no authentic information
as to the time of his return. Due
to his protracted stay, there had been
rumors that he had tendered his resignation as a result of the refusal
of the Cabinet to approve his
program for administrative reform
in Syria. But this rumor proved to
be unfounded and the latest report
as to his intentions sets the early
part of April as the date of his return. But no account of the activities and intentions of M. Ponsot can
be confirmed as he still maintains
his taciturnity with seemingly no
concern for what is said about him.
The extended stay of M. Ponsot
in Paris, however, gives ample reason for the belief that he met with
considerable opposition to his reform program. That he seems ready
now to return to his post may be
taken as an indication of his success,
finally, in getting his program approved. But the contents of this
program still remain a mystery. The
nearest guess as to their nature is
what was reported to have been a
statement from a semi-official source
to the effect that M. Ponsot is now
more concerned over the economic
situation in Syria and Lebanon than
he is over the political situation.
His first attention, the report states,
upon his return to Syria, will be
directed towards improving the economic situation in an effort to stem
the tide of emigration and bring relief to the population from the intolerable conditions which have almost become chronic. Ha is reported
aa determined to give especial attention to the promotion of summer-
resort facilities in Syria and Lebanon as the most ready and logical
means of improving the general economic situation. In his opinion, so
the report states, the political situation can afford to wait and will
gradually take care of itself.
Of the many other rumors published about M. Ponsot, the one that
had met at one time with much
credence was the one reporting him
preparing to return to Syria by way
of Turkey in order to effect a new
political agreement with the Kemalist government. This, also, was subsequently denied, together with other rumors reporting him to have
broken silence, finally, and given
an interview on political and economic conditions in Syria while in
Geneva. M. Ponsot seems bent on
making for 'himself a reputation for
firmness, and if he should succeed
in carrying out his program for administrative reforms to the extent he
has succeeded in resisting all temptations to speak, then there is real
hope of something concrete and decisive taking place soon in Syria.
The most important political move
undertaken by the Syrian Nationalists during the last month was the
presentation by Ihsan Bey Jabery,
their representative in Geneva, of a
memorandum to Herr Stresemann,
in his capacity of President of the
League and the member from Germany, outlining anew the demands
of the Nationalists and appealing to
Germany, as morally responsible in
part for approving the French mandate over Syria, to place the case
of Syria before the League in the
hope of getting redress. The Memorandum states that Syria will
/
�58
never consent to the French mandate, as France has refused to follow
in Syria the policy followed by
England in Iraq. Syrian demands
in this appeal to Stresemann are
reduced to three main points:
1—Appointment of an impartial
Committee of investigation to
ascertain the demands of the
Syrians.
2—If that should be impracticable
at the present time, then the
League should take over the
direct mandate by the appointment of a mixed commission for
the administration of Syria.
3—If this also should be found impracticable, then the League is
asked to declare the absolute independence of Syria and to admit
it to full membership of the
League.
The government of Ahmad Nami
Bey in Damascus has had, according
to reports in the Syrian papers, a
sharp rebuff from the acting French
High Commissioner in Syria. It so
happened that at the time President
Nami Bey was on a tour of inspection in northern Syria, members of
the city council, together with a
large number of notables, sent a
telegraphic petition to Paris supporting the demands of the Nationalist Party. Upon the President's
return, he was infuriated at the action of his political enemies and he
peremptorily issued orders for the
dismissal of many high officials. The
acting High Commissioner, however,
stayed the execution of the orders
pending the return of M. Ponsot,
and this was hailed as a great political victory over the President by
his opponents as it is the general
belief that the orders will never be
executed. On the other hand, this
action is being interpreted as an
indication of a change of policy on
the part of France in that it is tak-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ing advantage of every opportunity
to placate the leaders of the Nationalist Party in Damascus in an effort
to bring about peace and order in the
State of Syria, now that it has almost succeeded in putting down the
revolution in the Druze Mountain.
MILITARY OPERATIONS
A recent statement by the Syrian
Information Bureau in Egypt, conducted by the supporters of the revolution, announces that a general
v.ar council was convoked lately by
the leaders of the armed forces in
Jebel Druze in which the general
military situation was discussed and
important decisions arrived at. The
leaders were agreed that the war
should be pushed with more energy
now that the spring season has set
in and the terrain become more
favorable to military operations.
Special measures were also taken
for supplying the fighting forces
with arms, ammunitions and provisions.
The statement contains the significant announcement that at this
ai council it was decided to form
a new fighting unit which is to be
known as the regiment of Abi Bakr,
in honor of the memory of the first
Moslem Caliph who dispatched military forces against the Romans in
Syria to wrest the country from
their hands.
Coinciding with the publication of
this report was the issuance of a
communique by the French High
Command in Syria detailing the latest military operations against the
remnants of the Druze revolutionists
who had entrenched themselves in
what was supposed to be the impenetrable mountainous section of Lai>h. The report state* that <m
March 30-31 and April 1, a #tronsr
Hi
�59
MAY, 1927
punitive expedition was dispatched
against that section which searched
all caves and crannies and succeeded
in driving away all remaining insurgents. A military observer writing in "Al-Mokattam" of Cairo, a
nationalist sympathizer, concludes
that for the French to have succeeded in accomplishing this, they must
have had the assistance of the local
Arab tribes who are bitter enemies
of the Druzes, and whose men must
have acted as guides to the invaders,
as the rocky nature of the district
permits a handful of sharpshooters
to resist a whole army if not properly guided.
About Syria and Syrians
Restaurant.
The New York Library Club Bulletin for May published the followFollowing the publication of Pres- ing account of the reception:
ident Coolidge's appeal for aid to the
"Syrian friends and members of
sufferers of the Mississipi flood, "Al- the Bowling Green Neighborhood
Hoda", the leading Syrian daily pa- Association gave a reception to stuper of New York, announced in its dents of the Columbia School of
issue of April 25 that the Lebanon Library Service at Bowling Green
League of Progress of New York on April 6. This included a visit to
of which Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor the settlement house and library;
of "Al-Hoda", is Supervising Presi- greeting from Mr. Alexander Cledent, has contributed $100.00 towards land representing the Association;
the relief fund and that it stands a nrngram touching on Syrian conready to donate more if necessary. tributions to American life; a visit
to outstanding places of interest in
the Syrian colony, and a special
SYRIANS IN NEW YORK
Syrian dinner.
ENTERTAIN LIBRARIANS
"Mr. Salloum Mokarzel, Editor of
"The
Syrian World", expressed the
The Bowling Green Neighborhood
hope
that
this glimpse of Syrian
Association of New York and its
life
in
New
York would lead the
Syrian friends held a reception on
Columbia
students
from various
April 6 to the School of Library
cities
of
the
United
States to seek
Service of Columbia University. The
out
Syrians
when
they
return home
visiting members of the school were
about 125 young women drawn and establish friendly library relafrom all sections of the United tions with them.
"Miss Harriot Hessler is librarian
States. The program consisted of a
visit to the house and library of the of the community library at Bowling
Association; an entertainment in the Green which serves people of 20 naauditorium; a visit to the publica- tionalities through books furnished
tion office of "Al-Hoda", to the busi- by the Extension Division of the
ness establishment of A. Cassatly & New York Public Library."
The Syrian artists who contributCo., and to St. George's and St. Josed
their talent for the entertainment
eph'! ehurches in Washington St.;
were
Miss Anna Bader, soloist; Miss
and a speeial dinner at the Sheik
LEBANESE SOCIETY AIDS
MISSISSIPI SUFFERERS
*
'
/
�60
Mary Shakty, dancer; Princess Sultana, dancer-soloist, and Mr. Toufik
Moubaid, music accompanist with
the 'oud.
Miss Anna Leonard, of the Bowling Green Neighborhood Association,
with her sympathetic understanding
of the Syrians, deserves special
credit for the arrangement of the
program.
AUTOMOBILES IN SYRIA
REPLACING CARAVANS
Slowly but surely, the commercial
relations between the countries of
the Near East which had been disrupted by the> World War are being
restored to normalcy. Not only that,
but with the appearance of the automobiles and trucks a golden age of
trade activities is prophesied by
those who keep their ears to the
ground.
Already, declares an article in "alAhwal", trade exchanges between
Syria and Persia are progressing at
a rapid pace. The old caravan routes
which carried spices from India, via
Persia and the Syrian Desert, have
become accustomed to the grinding
noise of the heavy trucks, and the
rattling of the Fords. The trading
company of Kuwatli and Tawil is
carrying on a thriving business
with Persia, which, we are informed, owing to its political complications with Russia, is thinking of
turning the bulk of its trade from
the Russian route, via the seaport
of Rasht, to that of Syria, via Teheran and the Syrian Desert.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
vocal and instrumental music in a
national contest held a few months
ago in the capital of Brazil
and sponsored by the Federal Government. The contest was open for
children of 14 years or younger, and
contestants from different parts of
the Republic took part.
Miss Blanche Shweiri received a
golden medal as part of her prize,
together with a sum of money which
she donated to charity. She was offered also free tuition in Europe for
three years, but her parents declared their ability to educate her at
their own expense.
MOTHER SEES TWO
CHILDREN DROWN
The Syrian papers of Brazil of
March 8 report a sad tragedy of a
Syrian mother who lost her two
children while attempting to save
one from drowning. Mrs. Michael
Andary was promenading along the
banks of Poso Alegri river, carrying
an infant son on her arms while besides her walked her three-year old
daughter. The latter noticed some
pret!y flowers growing in the water
and waded in to pick them. She slipped and cried for help. The mother,
with the child still in her arms, dashed in to save the little girl. She, too,
slipped in the muddy bed of the river and dropped her infant and was
rescued while on the point of death,
while her two children drowned.
ON HONORING AN ENEMY
SYRIAN YOUNGSTER
A VIRTUOSO
The Syrians of Brazil have praised to the skies and feted elaborately
a youngster of their race, Blanche
Shweiri, IS, who won first prize for
The latest mail from Syria reports
the arrival in Beirut of Azmi Bey,
the Turkish wali, or governor of the
city during the v/ar. His visit to
the acting French High Commissioner and to the President of the Leb-
I
�MAY,1927
anon Republic was returned by these
officials, and this gave rise to a
great cry of indignation from the
native press which recalled the
atrocities of this tyrant who is claimed to be responsible for the many
executions of Syrian and Lebanese
patriots during the war, together
with the then governor of Syria,
Jemal Pasha. There was one paper,
however, which lauded the administrative and disciplinary ability of
the former governor and insinuated
that, in a way, conditions under him
were more tolerable than they are
now under the French administration.
The announced visit of Azmi Bey
is for the purpose of establishing
factories in Syria for the production
of oriental rugs, due to the presence
in the country of a large number of
Armenian refugees who are skilled
at this work and who furnish ample
and cheap labor.
ARMENIAN HANDKERCHIEFS
FROM SYRIA
"Consular Reports" publishes the
following report from Mr. Harry L.
Troutman, American Consul in
Aleppo:
"Owing to a slump in demand,
declared exports of Armenian handmade handkerchiefs from Aleppo,
Syria, to the United States dropped
from a total of 29,067 dozen, valued
at $35,135, in 1925 to 9,210 tozen,
with a value of $13,485, in 1926.
The increase indicates that higher
grades of handkerchiefs were shipped, but it is partly attributable also
to more exact declared values in
1926. In addition to a decreased
demand, the industry was also somewhat adversely affected by a scarcity of workers at times during the
61
year. Linen imported for handkerchiefs is exempt from duty, but a
deposit is required at the time of importation.
The formalities and
length of time required to obtain
refunds of such deposits are said to
have discouraged some concerns
from undertaking this business."
A SYRIAN-AMERICAN CLUB
Although it is not our policy to
give space to announcements of club
and society elections, we make an
exception in the case of the newlyformed club in Tyler, Tex., whose
members aim at strengthening racial
ties among the Syrians and for that
reason invite correspondence from
other clubs. Herewith is the letter
of Mr. Jos. H. Campbell on the subject:
Editor The Syrian World:
The younger Syrian-Americans of
Tyler, Texas, have organized a social
club the purpose of which is to pro'
mote closer relations among its
members and the advancement of our
social and civic standing in the
community. The club consists of
both sexes, young men and women.
No person is barred from membership because of religious or political
affiliations.
The following officers have been
elected for the ensuing year:
George S. Saleh, President.
Joseph H. Campbell, Vice President.
Evelyn Saleh, Corresponding Secretary.
Paul A. Peters, Recording Secretary.
Fannie Saleh, Treasurer.
The club has been named "The
Good Fellows Club". It desires to
correspond with any other similar
club. Address: Evelyn Saleh, 435
E. Erwin Street, Tyler, Texas.
�62
THE SYRIAN WORLi^
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ASSURING OUR FAITH
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1927_05reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 11
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 May
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 1 Issue 11 of The Syrian World published May 1927. The issue opens with an article by Salloum Antoun Mokarzel on religious problems in the East. The next two writings focus on Lebanon. One is an article that discusses the beauty of Beirut and the other is a poem called "My Lebanon." There is a continuation of the Syrian folk songs from the last two issues with other traditional Arabic stories included throughout the issue. There is also a continuation of "Arabic Sources of Dante" by Dr. Philip K. Hitti. The editor closes out the issue with excerpts from the Arab press, the reader's forum, political developments in Syria, and new discussion on Racial Problems against Syrians in the United States.
Subject
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Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
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English
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
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New York Public Library
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
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1920s
Lebanon
Music
New York
Philip Khuri Hitti
Poetry-English
Religion
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i—m
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A. MOKARZEL, Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104 GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y.
By subscription $5.00 a year.
Single copies 50c
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
JUNE, 1927.
VOL. 1. No. 12.
Contents
PAOB
The Geology of Syria and Lebanon
By PROF. ALFRED ELY DAY
3
Contentment
7
Where East and West Meet
By AMEEN RIHANI
8
Counsel
tl
The Great Lyric of Al-Farid
By DR. N. A. KATIBAH
12
Criticism> and Advice
Benefits of Syrian Emigration to Syria's Future
By REV. W. A. MANSUR
17
18
The Wisdom of Mu(awiyah
26
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�CONTENTS (Contmm^d).
PAOB
The Reward of Magnanimity (An Arabian Nights' Story).... 27
The Chosen Three
31
By SUMAYEH ATTIYEH
Syrian Proverbs
Famous Cities of Syria — Beirut
31
32
From the "Kalila wa Dimna"
38
Spring (a poem)
39
By BENJ. T. HOFFIZ
Syrian Schools in Brazil
40 \
The Road to Bliss
41
Notes and Comments — By THE EDITOR
Casting Shadows Ahead
Syrian Philanthropy
The Syrians in Politics
42
44
46
Spirit of the Syrian Press
47
About Syria and Syrians
51
Readers' Forum
56
Political Developments in Syria
57
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
A General View of Beirut
The Placid Bay of Beirut
Relics of Old Beirut
Views of New Beirut
The Famous Pine Grove of Beirut
A Picturesque View of the Court of a Mosque in Syria
Alice Brady as the Syrian Heroine in "Anna Ascends"
A Scene from "Anna Ascends*'
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VOL. 1. No. 12.
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The Geology of Syria
and Palestine
By ALFRED ELY DAY
Professor of Natural Sciences, American University of Beirut.
The mountain ranges which run parallel to the coast of
Palestine and Syria from Hebron to Alexandretta are in the
main Cretaceous. During the Cretaceous period, the Mediterranean was vastly larger than at1 present, and spread over much
of southern Europe, northern Africa, Syria, Palestine, 'Irak,
parts of Asia Minor and Arabia, and other regions farther to
the east. Throughout the Cretaceous period, the bottom of this
sea was being filled up with sediments from ancient rivers, some
of which exist today. The Nile came from the heart of Africa,
but it did not extend nearly as far north as a* present. It poured
out from among granite hills into a great ;arm of the sea which
had its southern shore not far from Aswan. The Euphrates
came down from the northeast as at present, but, instead of turning southeast, as it now does near Aleppo, its sediment laden
waters reached the sea north of where Urfa now stands.
After the end of the Cretaceous period, in the early part
of the Tertiary period, the crust of the earth gradually rose in
a great ridge which finally culminated in the series of mountain
ranges which we now call the Highlands of Judea, Carrriel,
Jabal Rihan, Lebanon, Jabal-un-Nusayriyyah, and the Amanus
or Kurd-Dagh.
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East of these mountains was formed a great depression
which in part'is lower than the ocean. It includes, from south
to north, the Gulf of 'Akabah, Wadi-ul-'Arabah, the Dead Sea,
the River Jordan, the Sea of Tiberias, the upper Jordan and the
lake of al-Hulah, the upper valley of the Leontes or Litani,
the plain of al Bika', and the valley of the <Asi or Orontes.
East of this long valley or series of valleys lie the AntiLebanon or al-Jabal-ush-Sharki and Mount Hermon or Jabalush-Shaykh. South of Hermon there are no distinct mountains
but the land rises sharply from the Jordan, the Dead Sea and
Wadi-ul-'Arabah and then slopes off gently to the eastward forming the great plain which we call the Syrian Desert or Barriyyatush-Sham.
Not all of this land rose above the sea at once. Parts of
it did not emerge until the Tertiary period was well advanced,
and therefore bear Tertiary rocks formed from the sediments
which were deposited upon it while it was the bottom of the
Tertiary sea.
The rocks of the different periods are distinguished by the
fossils which they contain. These fossils are the remains of the
animals and plants which were then living.
While most of the surface rock of Syria and Palestine is
Cretaceous, and while some is younger, i. e.t Tertiary, as just
stated, there are in some places older rocks. In the deep valleys
of Lebanon and on some of the heights, the rock is Jurassic.
Jurassic rocks are also found in northwestern Sinai. In northern Syria, Paleozoic rocks are found in the Amanus mountains
near Alexandretta. In the south, they are found at the south
end of the Dead Sea and in the Peninsula of Sinai. Still older
rocks are found north of the Paleozoic rocks in northern Syria
and south of the Paleozoic rocks in Sinai. These older rocks are
crystalline rocks, such as granite, and are frequently intersected
with by dykes of porphyry.
It is impossible to make a precise statement of the age of
any of these ancient rocks. The Paleozoic rocks are certainly
many millions of years old. Much older are the Pre-Paleozoic
crystalline rocks. The Cretaceous rocks, which make up most of
Syria and Palestine, are several millions of years old. That is,
it was certainly several millions of years ago that the sea extended over what is now Syria and Palestine, while on the bottom of
this sea were deposited the sediments which hardened into the
rocks of which our mountains are made.
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In most parts of Syria and Palestine, the Cretaceous rocks
are the only rocks visible, but in the deep valleys of Lebanon,
and in some other situations, the Cretaceous rocks are found resting upon Jurassic rocks. If we could penetrate below the Cretaceous rocks elsewhere, we might come to Jurassic rocks which
have never been exposed, and, under the Jurassic rocks, we might
find Paleozoic and Pre-Paleozoic rocks.
Let us try to construct a geological history of Syria and
Palestine from the earliest times, many millions of years ago,
to the present day. Some parts of this history must be purely
guess work, but in the main it is in accord with observed facts.
In Pre-Paleozoic times we may suppose that most of the
area was land. In the Paleozoic, some parts of it sank below the
sea level. In the Jurassic period, larger areas sank below ocean
level, and most of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon and a part of the
Peninsula of Sinai were certainly sea. It seems likely that Palestine was also part of the Jurassic sea, but of that we cannot be
certain, because none of the valleys in Palestine have cut deep
enough to expose the base of the Cretaceous. In the Cretaceous
period there was further sinking, and the sea spread over more
territory than it had before, or has since. The wide extent of
Cretaceous rock in Syria, Palestine, parts of 'Irak, Arabia, Sinai
and Egypt is positive proof of a wide Cretaceous sea covering
all the lands where we find this rock.
Most of this area rose above the sea to form mountains and
plains in the early Tertiary. Those regions where we find Tertiary rocks remained below until the Tertiary period was partly
or wholly past. A very interesting instance of this is to be found
on the coast of Lebanon. Large deposits of Tertiary rock are
found at the mouths of the Beirut River, the Dog River and
Nahr-Abu-'Ali near Tripoli, showing that while in that part of
the Tertiary (the Miocene) most of the Lebanon had already
risen from the sea and become a mountain range, these areas at
the mouths of the rivers were still below sea level and were
receiving the sediments brought down by the rivers from the
rising Lebanon. It shows us that the principal valleys of Lebanon had already been outlined and begun to excavate their beds.
Further, it enables us to date more accurately the time of the
formation of Lebanon. We know that Lebanon did not begin
to rise from the sea until the end of the Cretaceous period, because the strata of Lebanon contain a complete series of Cretaceous rocks. These Miocene rocks at the mouths of the rivers
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show us that in the Miocene time the elevation of Lebanon was
nearly completed.
In the early part of the Tertiary, the Bikac was an arm of
the sea. Later it became a fresh water lake. The bottom of
the lake was partly filled with sediments washed down from the
surrounding mountains, and the lake finally became dry through
the Litani River cutting deeply through the rock of its valley so
that the water drained away to the sea.
In the Quarternary, when much of Europe and North
America was covered with a mantle of ice, like Greenland and
the Antarctic today, the climate of Syria was colder than at present, and on the top of the Cedar Mountain was a glacier which
descended through Famm-ul-Mizab. The famous cedar grove
known as Arz-ur-Rabb is situated on the terminal moraine of
this glacier.
The principal additions to the land during the Quarternary
are the soil in the river valleys and the sands along the sea,
sometimes extending for miles inland, as south of Beirut and
particularly in southern Palestine. The deltas of the Nile and
of the Euphrates and Tigris were formed during the Quarternary.
Man made his appearance in these lands as early as the
middle of the Quarternary, many thousands and tens of thou*sands of years ago. The principal evidences of his occupancy
are the accumulation of flint implements in caves and other situations, together with the bones of animals which these early men
hunted and fed upon. Some of the animals are extinct, such as
certain species of bear, rhinoceros and hippopotamus. Others,
like the fallow deer, the roe deer, the Persian wild goat, and the
wild pig, are no longer found in these regions.
The mineral wealth of Syria and Palestine is not great.
The greatest asset is the limestone of the mountains which is of
great value for building, and would be priceless in such a region
as the Mississipi valley. The limestone is burned to make lime,
and some of it has been found suitable for the manufacture of
hydraulic lime and cement. There are local deposits of clay
suitable for pottery. There are no precious metals or gems. The
presence of oil in paying quantities is problematical. There is
some excellent bitumen at Hasbayya. Brown coal or lignite occurs in the sandstone (shahhar) of Lebanon, but it is of poor
quality, and the thickest beds do not exceed a metre in thickness.
There is some oil bearing shale, but at present prices it does not
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�JUNE, 1927
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pay to work it. There is excellent iron ore in small quantities,
but iron and steel can be imported for less than it would take
to smelt the native ore. The remains of smelting furnaces, which
were in use up to a century ago, are found all over Lebanon.
They explain the loss of the forests, which were burned up in
smelting the iron. If the higher parts of Lebanon, which are
unsuitable for cultivation, are ever covered with forests, they
will be the greatest asset of the country.
CONTENTMENT
Said Ibn Wakkas to his son: "My son, if thou desirest
riches seek them in contentment, for it is a wealth that is never
spent j and beware of avarice, for it is the ever-present poverty."
"Seest thou a greedy man who gathers wealth,
And leaves it to his heirs after his death?
Like unto a hunter's hungry dog is he,
For others pick the prey, yet hungry still hq be."
Arabic verse.
If thou art of a contented mind,
Thou wouldst differ in no way from one who possesses the whole world.
Arabic verse.
He who seeks the higher station in life
Would forever be a prey to worry.
If happily, therefore, thou wouldst live,
Be ever content with a station below thy own.
Arabic quatrain.
The wealth of man is what satisfies his wants j
Whatever is beyond that is poverty.
Arabic verse.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Where East and West Meet
By AMEEN RIHANI
An address delivered to the staff of the American University
of Beirut and -published in the Alumni Monthly
for April, 1927.
Where East and West Meet — this implies a partial denial of the dictum of Rudyard Kipling, megaphoned to the
world in a line of verse,
"East is East and West is West, and ne'er;the twain shall
meet."
I admit, at the start, that, from a surface point of view, the
evidence is in favor of Mr. Kipling. The East prays, the West
dances; the East dreams, the West thinks; the East broods, the
West plays. What is a mark of respect in the East, is considered
an offense in the West: the Oriental, when he enters your house,
slips off his shoes at the door; the Occidental finds a hat-rack for
his hat. The Oriental enquires about the health of your wife
and children, before he "bleeds" you; the Occidental goes to it
directly, even without a remark at times about the weather: the
one is suave and insidious, the other is blunt and often crude.
The Oriental is imaginative and metaphoric, the Occidental is
literal and "matter-of-fact." The Kipling dictum is in this, at
least, wholly to the point.
Like all generalities, however, these traits are not without
exception. They are characteristic, but not exclusive. Indeed
the mass gesture everywhere is dictated i by a common need or a
common fear; and nations, like individuals, are often the victims
of a prevailing manner. Take, for instance, the fawning and
florid Oriental, extravagant with the metaphor and the puff, —
he is not a type exclusive. He is a species produced by despotism
and its pompous court. Thq aristocracy kowtows to the emperor;
the lower classes kowtow to the aristocracy and to each other; —
the wholai nation kowtows, before the broken mirror of the soul,
to herself.
When absolute monarchies were the rule in Europe, the
Europeans, on the whole, were quite Oriental in the art of fawn-
ff
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ing and adulation} while the extravagant manner, as much in
evidence in the nation as around the throne, was revealed, not
only in the speech, but also in the* dress of the period. Consider
the ruffles and feathers of mylords at court} the flounces and
trains of mylady in waiting} — consider the dedications penned
by needy scribes to their rich patrons} — and consider, moreover,
the lewdness and the ribaldry, which reached the height of fashion at the courts of Catherine of Russia, Queen Elizabeth, and
Louis the XV. As for the people, they follow, according to the
Arabic proverb, their sovereign.
Without ideals, no matter how material and how low, the
business of life, whether in the Orient or in the Occident, would
still have been a cave-and-jungle proposition} and with ideals,
no matter how material and crudely spiritual, the nations rise
to a point — to many points — of contact with each other. Now
the protagonists of ideals in life are the poets, the sages, and the
prophets} and the nation that can boast of a prophet, a nation
that has withal a pantheon, cannot possibly be aloof, cannot even
maintain for a long time an attitude of aloofness, from the world.
Its politicians may build a Chinese wall around it, but its poets
and its sages will light their torches beyond that wall and carry
them, in the name of humanity, to the end of the world.
The Prophet Muhammad, I may say, lighted in the East
a triple torch of spiritual and physical and political ideals. Aye,
even political ideals. For is there anything more devoutly to
be wished, anything more idealistic, than to have a seer, a holy
man, at the head of the state? — a man of the people, heroic and
self-denying and just} — a man whose heart ever throbs with
love and mercy} — a man whose thoughts and words and, deeds
are the fruits of the holiness within him} — a man like Abraham
Lincoln, a man like Omar, the first Khalif. When such men
lead their people, in the East and in the West, the nations, no
matter how distant from each other, must meet} and they meet
on the higher plane of mutual understanding and mutual esteem.
Let us now consider the highest ideal of the prophets and
the poets — the ideal of the soul — which includes the ethical
and the practical aspects of life, and which is neither Oriental
exclusively nor Occidental. It is supremely human. Before it
every mark of birth disappears} and customs and traditions are
held in abeyance, and the differences in nationality and language
cease to be a hindrance to understanding. The soul seeking expression, the soul reaching out for truth, is one everywhere.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
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Confucius might be American in his ideal, even as he is Chinese,
and Emerson might be Chinese, even if he is American. Cotama
Buddha made manifest in London might be mistaken for Carlyle
and Carlyle revisiting the glimpses of the moon in Japan might
be mistaken for Cotama. Jelal-ud-Din Rumi, were he born in
Assisi would have been a St. Francis j and St. Francis, were he
born in Shiraz would have been a Jelal-ud-Din.
Even Yoni Naguci, to come down to our own times, and
Rabindranath Tagore are as much at home in New York or in
London as Lafcadio Hearn was in Japan and as Kipling himself
was in India. The highest ideal of the poet, I say again, is supremely human j and the poet's love for an alien land and people,
which is reflected in his work, in spite of the harshness, now and
then, of its criticism, finds its way, whole and pure, to the hearts
of his readers. We know India and Japan better because of
Kipling and Lafcadio Hearn; and the people of Japan and India
will know America and Europe better because of Naguci and
Tagore. This is one of the essentials of the message of genius—
one of its great achievements.
And genius everywhere is one. In the Orient and in the
Occident the deep thinkers are kin, the poets are cousins, the
pioneers of the spirit are the messengers of peace and goodwill
to the world. Their works are the open highways between nations, and they themselves are the ever living guardians and
guides.
Thus, then, when we go deep enough or high enough, we
meet. Even Kipling, in his Recessional, meets Tagore. It is
only on the surface that we differ and sometimes clash. True,
we do not always find our way to the depth or to the height, or
we do not take the trouble to do so. Often, too, when there is
a will, we are hindered by a prejudice inherited or acquired. We
begin by misunderstanding; and sometimes we only think that
we misunderstand. Impatient, we turn away, when another effort — a moment even of indulgence, of tolerance, of kindly
sympathy — might have brought us together. The difference
in the traits of nations are like tones in a picture: the central
theme, the ego and the soul, is one.
Our instincts and our ideals are more or less the same,
whether we wear hats or turbans. A barrister in Bombay may
argue in Hindustani or Gujrati, but his code of conduct is that
of his colleague in London. A merchant who sits crosslegged
at the door of his shop in Benares, adopts the same code of profit
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as that of the merchant of Manchester, who sits on a revolving
chair behind a desk of quartered oak. A poet is a poet, whether
he rides in a Ford or on a donkey; a sage is a sage, whether he
plays golf in NewJersey or bathes in the Ganges, or plays in the
desert} and a fool is a fool, whether he be a maharaja or a president of a republic. The only real difference between them is in
the point of view and the point of direction.
To us all, life is a gift, liberty is a right, and the pursuit
of happiness is the object supreme. But our conduct in the pursuit differs in accordance with the measure of justice we uphold.
A common measure, irrespective of class or creed or race or colour,
is the pivot of equality we uphold} it ennobles the individual and
the nation} it is the only safeguard to peace and progress, but
common measure is only possible when we begin to understand
and learn to appreciate each other's point of view and point of
direction.
Mutual tolerance is the stepping stone to mutual respect.
A hospitable mind is the' key to a neighbouring or an alien spirit,
locked by dogma and guarded by tradition. A sympathetic approach is the open sesameto a hidden treasure. The heart yields
to spontaneity, the mind bends to understanding. But we cannot
understand each other if our sympathies: are always safely tucked
away} we cannot understand each other if our approaches are always academic or conventional} we cannot understand each other,
if we crawl back into our shells every time we see a worm across
our path} we cannot understand each other, if every time we
venture out we stick the feathers of cocksureness in our caps; no!
we can never wholly understand each) other, and rise to the level
of mutual esteem at least, if we do not invest in that fellow-feeling that triumphs over class and creed and race and colour — that
one touch of nature that makes all the world kin.
COUNSEL
Said Buzurjumhar, the famous Persian vizier, to his son:
"My son, be cautious of the generous one lest you insult him}
of the mean one lest you honor him} of the vile one lest you
befriend him} of the fool lest you joke with him. Be wary as
though you were simple} be alert as though you were unattentive,
and remember as though you had forgotten."
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Great Lyric of Al-Farid
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
'Umar Ibnu '1-Farid, the greatest Arabian mystic poet, was
born in Cairo, Egypt, in the year 1181 A. D. His father; a Syrian of the city of Hamah in the northern part of Syria, was a
man of learning and affairs, and held the post of lieutenant of
the High Court (Khalifatu H-hukmi H-aziz) in Cairo.
Ibnu '1-Farid was of medium stature, fair and comely of
face, with a visible tinge of redness, and of a truly artistic nature, sensitive, impressionable, emotional, ardent, and, moreover,
given to solitude and readily affected by music.
Symptoms of his aesthetic tastes and mystic tendencies were
determined early in life, when as a mere youth, and alone, he
resorted to Wadi '1-mustadafin on the second mount of Al-Muqattam, where he wandered days and nights at a time before
going back home. City life seemed to jar upon his delicate sensibilities. He occasionally accompanied his father to court, but
seized by an irresistible desire for communion with self, he would
spurn city and court alike, and seek inspiration in his favorite
haunts in the dry, clear atmosphere of the desert.
Gradually, though quite in early youth, his nature found
expression in verse—sweet, mellow lines, but nevertheless impassioned and highly polished. At times his emotions, whether
touched by music or by an intensity of inspiration for which he
found no adequate expression, seemed to be overcome by rapture;
his complexion deepened, his eyes sparkled, his face beamed with
animation, and perspiration streamed down his body and ran on
the ground under his feet.
Yet, notwithstanding his love for solitude, he was scrupulous in his attire, and widely sought after for his society. His
serious turn of mind, serenity of bearing and reputed erudition
and piety, lent an air of gravity to his assemblages, composed
mostly of emirs, ulema, government officials and men of eminent
rank who flocked from all quarters to visit with him.
It was, however, in Mecca and in the environs of Mecca
that Ibnu '1-Farid's mysticism deepened and his poetical gift attained its full vigor and height. Deserting men and the society
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of men, though faithfully observing his daily religious duties
at the great sanctuary of that holy city, Ibnu '1-Farid gave himself up to solitary meditation and to the subtle influences that
nature brings to bear upon a lofty soul. The cool scented zephyrs
of the north, the tender memories of a day that has been, the
gentle passions of pastoral life awakened in him reflections upon
the vanities of life, and helped to nurse his susceptible emotions
and receptive mind into deeper moods and protracted reveries.
It was among those hills and in those silent valleys that he finally succeeded in entirely purging his soul from things mundane.
The impressions he received in this retirement of fifteen
years in the vicinity of Mecca left an indelible stamp upon his
poetry and life. There is hardly a poem of his that does not
bear strong evidences of this. It was there that he conceived his
great masterpiece "Nazmu VSulook", (or, as it is commonly
known, At-Taiya '1-Kubra), and probably composed the greater
part of it. It was there, too, that he first became at times so
completely absorbed in thought that he lapsed into ecstasies.
When these trances came he "was in a state of bewilderment.
Now he would stand, now sit, now repose on his side, now lie
on his back wrapped like a dead man; and thus would he pass
ten consecutive days, more or less, neither eating nor drinking,
nor speaking, nor stirring." We are told that the greater part of
his masterpiece was composed during these trances; for "the first
words he would utter on awakening from them were verses to
be added to it."
On returning to Egypt he found that his fame and verse
had already preceded him. In Cairo his society was more earnestly sought, and his person more zealously honored. All hung
upon his lips and listened to him as they would to a great king.
But, with all that, he declined to receive Sultan Mohammad (Almalik Al-kamil), and rejected his bounty. This seems all the
more remarkable when we learn that Sultan Mohammad was a
noted patron of learning, and a great admirer of poetry and the
poets.
Ibnu '1-Farid made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1231 A. D.
On again returning to Cairo the masses received him with acclaim.
They pressed and crowded around him seeking to kiss his hands
and receive his blessing. He, however, always declined this honor, and merely put his hand in theirs. Respect and honor continued* to be shown him to the end.
Ibnu '1-Farid died in 1235 A. D., and was buried in the
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Qarafa Cemetery at the foot of Mt. Muqattam.
His poetry is noted for its beauty of diction, intensity of
glow and exceptional smoothness of rythm. The pathos that
permeates it seems to communicate itself readily to both reader
and listener and to hold them in sway.
I only hope in giving the following translation into English
verse of this poet's great LOVE LYRIC, I have not deteriorated
much of its beauty in the original. It must be borne in mind that
my attempt, at best, must be regarded as a translation. It will,
however, serve to convey to the English-speaking world some
idea of the intensity and sweetness of a poet of whom the Arabicspeaking world may well be proud.
Iv
"Wh
I.
Tis love, ;beware! Thy inner self redeem,
Nor deem love's sway a pleasant rosy dream.
An arrant fool is he who suffers pain
And grieves thereat, the ordeal seeks again.
Stay free, for love on anguish thrives and mends,
Begins with pining, in destruction ends.
And yet, to me, dissolved in love to go
Is life, for which my, loved one thanks I owe.
I speak not rashly — versed well am I,
Experience molds my words, nor pass me by.
Th' advice howe'er will prove but breath ill-spent,
For mortal man is wayward in his bent.
Since thou wilt love, seek not delusive bliss,
My counsel hear ere following that or this.
Unw
II.
Lay down thy life, for love a martyr fall,
If happiness in life thou wouldst attain j
If equal to the task obey the call,
Or else, unworthy man, from love abstain,
Nor join our band, nor follow in our train.
If thou wouldst live in love thou must implore it
To take thy life that it may love sustain}
Thou'lt suffer pain, but shouldst in truth ignore it.
Reborn, refined, enriched, thy love will soon restore it.
Nor
fc
�JUNE, 1927
15
Within the hive both pain and sweetness meet,
Who dreads the pain will never taste the sweet.
•\v
Persist in loving, love with all thy zeal,
And having seized the prize maintain thy hold;
Cast shame aside and with abandon reel}
Nor mind the hermit's ways so tamely cold,
However august he, revered and old.
Proclaim the lover who by love was killed:
"In full acquitted, be it boldly told!"
And to th' impostor say: "My tongue is stilled —
"What praise,what song,what honeyed words thy sham can gild?"
Think'st thou the eye be-pranked by penciled touch
Outcharms the one that nature made as such?
III.
Lo how th' intruders falsely claim they love,
And from my tenets proudly hold aloof j
From wish to morbid wish content they rove,
And think desire and love are warp and woof,
And in their folly spin thee proof on proof.
Avails it ought that these deluded men
In secret bear their cursed lot's reproof?
"We've waded through love's pathless seas!"—What then?
Unwetted there they stand, despite their sworn "Amen!"
With me ye pilgrims! — March by night, by day,
And let th' impostors' claims the blind inspire j
In dreams they journey, but behold they stay
Alingering in their place till they expire,
For ere they take one forward step they tire.
Imbued with envy darkness they prefer
To open guidance' blazing light and fire;
And groping round about they blindly err;
Nor ought I say could e'er th' impostors' pride deter.
IV.
Beloved of my heart! My pleader, love,
— My only intercessor — bears my plea.
But recognize the pleader; it will prove
�^=^-
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16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
JUh
Sufficient for the bond twixt me and ye;
Acknowledge it, and all is well with me:
Perchance, withal, a look with feeling fraught
Ye may bestow t' inquire of mine or me.
Vouchsafe as much — a glance — a fleeting thought:
Our messengers are all exhausted and distraught.
Beloved of my heart ye are for aye,
Though fair the world may treat me or yet ill;
Choose ye your attitude and choose your way,
Be as ye would and manage as ye will —
Whate'er ye do I'd be your lover still.
Should e'en denial meet my eager face,
But stern abandon follows not to kill,
I'd deem me favored by an act of grace,
For that denial is to me a kind embrace.
What is denial, (save it springs from hate)
But warm affection willing yet demure?
All hail denial! Welcome tests more great!
To that, to these I will myself enure,
Save absence — this I can't endure.
E'en torture at your hands is passing sweet,
Oppression, too, is justice sound and pure;
Should love so rule that these be trials meet,
I'd blithely court them all, and all as blithely greet.
Now double-natured patience sways my soul:
When fed on absence it is bitter myrrh,
And grows more galling as the moments roll;
When nursed on hope it sets my heart a-flurr,
The bitter turns to sweet with every stir.
Ye have ere now my tender heart possesst,
(No greater harm to me, if harm it were!)
What harm be there to ye, may I request,
While taking part of me to take as well the rest?
Away ye're gone, away, and none but tears
Are ever with me closer than a friend;
Save, too, the sigh that while it heaves it sears
The very inner parts it seeks to rend;
— My passion's seething sighs with fire ascend.
^
^
B
To <
..
lyrit
Ibn
ing
in (
Cal
ui-:
the
xin
lah
to
me
nei
tui
of
mi
�JUNE, 1927
17
A brooding vigil lives its watch to keep,
And night by night my open eyes attend}
My sleep is dead, and lo, my eyes must weep
To do the solemn rite and bathe my lifeless sleep.
Where'er ye stayed I thither also went,
And with my blood I drenched your late abode;
Where'er ye traveled thither I was bent,
Now tears like torrents flood the rolling road.
The continuation of this translation of Ibnu 'l-Farid's great
lyric will be -published in a coming issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD.
CRITICISM AND ADVICE
While on an outing, the Umayyad Caliph 'Abdul-Malek
Ibn Marwan became isolated from his companions and, meeting a Bedouin by the wayside, stopped to rest and pass the time
in conversation.
"Knowest thou 'Abdul-Malek Ibn Marwan?" asked the
Caliph.
"Yes, he is a brazen tyrant," replied the Bedouin.
"Woe to thee," interrupted the Caliph angrily, "I am <Abdul-Malek Ibn Marwan!"
The Bedouin did not flinch nor did he seem perturbed in
the least as he retorted:
"May Allah never greet thee, nor draw thee to His proximity. Thou hast devoured the money of charity which is Allah's and broken thy convenant with Him."
Greatly surprised at this audacity, the Caliph threatened:
"Knowest thou not that I have power to hurt and power
to benefit?"
"May Allah grant me not thy benefit, nor remove from
me thy hurt," retorted the Bedouin, not changing his cool manner and fearless demeanor.
Presently the companions of the Caliph appeared. Then,
turning to the Caliph, the Bedouin said:
"Keep that secret that is between thee and me, O Prince
of the Believers. Verily, fidelity to one's companion is of the
moral code of conversation."
The Caliph laughed heartily and rewarded his detractor.
�'! M' i'
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
IS
Benefits of Syrian Emigration
to Syria's Future
By REV. W. A. MANSUR
Thinking Syrian patriots arc seriously considering the effect
of Syrian emigration on Syria's future. Syrians have formerly
thought of Syria's relation to foreign powers, foreign education,
foreign customs; but now they are anxious about a possibly more
important subject: the decrease of Syria's population through
emigration and its effect on Syria's future.
The question of Syrian emigration will continue to cause
anxiety among those interested in the future of Syria and their
race. So long as Syrian migration was thought of as temporary
there was no occasion for anxiety. The keen-sighted editor of
THE SYRIAN WORLD, with statesman-like vision, aroused his enthusiasm to found and edit this publication to meet the need of
Syrian-Americans who have made America a permanent home.
This change of attitude on the part of Syrians in America has
created a somewhat anomalous position for the young Syrian in
America and constitutes a genuine social problem pressing for
solution. "The underlying cause of this problem," says the editor, "is the fact that Syrian emigration in its inception was not
intended to be permanent.* * * By degrees, the first immigrants
and those who followed in their wake came to reconcile themselves to the idea of permanency of sojourn." What is true of
Syrians in America is practically true of Syrians in all other lands.
The "Depopulation of Syria" (item in THE SYRIAN WORLD,
November, 1926,) says that the continuous stream of emigration
from Syria is alarming Syrian thinkers and leaders, and is called
"the greatest Syrian calamity" by a Beirut paper, and is due to lack
of confidence among the Syrian people in being able to achieve
economic independence in their own country.
Three attitudes are possible regarding the consequences of
Syrian emigration on Syria's future. The pessimist forsees disaster aheadj the optimist forsees only good; the meliorist forsees
that everything is not altogether good, nor altogether bad, but
that things slowly and surely will be made better if good and
"
�JUNE, 1927
ii 1
I
j
19
honest people work together for improvement. With regard
to this question I am a meliorist. Let us Syrians think and work
together with the good of our race and native land in mind. With
the pessimist I see the difficulties, with the optimist I see the good,
but with the meliorist I see the need for working together to
bring about our highest dreams for Syria. By these reflections I
wish to spread the melioristic spirit among fellow Syrians who
love and yearn for their race and native land.
Syrian International Thinking and Intercourse Are Taking
the Place of Syrian Isolation and Provincialism. The Great War
is still freeing Syria of its isolation and provincialism. Syrians
must think in international terms. They must develop intercourse
with other nations. Unless this is done the future Syrian mind
will be narrow and know only about "me and mine" and let the
world go by. Such a mind will be cribbed, cabined, and confined.
Already Syrians are thinking in world terms. Syria may be the
home-land, but the whole terrestrial ball must be their domain.
I am a Pan-Syrian and by this I claim a rightful place for the
Syrian nation among the nations of earth, the natural human
rights for Syrians everywnere, tne good of Syria in the service
of mankind, and the welfare of the world for Syria's good.
Syrian provincialisms must go. "The growing social evil of
America is provincialism," said Cooper in 1838. An American
writer, before the Great War, said it was one of America's besetting sins. "Our cities, our states, and our country have grown,
but we have not outgrown the village mind, our country seat
pride, or our city conceit." The Great War is breaking down this
barrier to progress and is freeing not only America but Syria and
other nations. Syrian patriots must free Syria of every vestige
of inherited provincialism.
The Syrian is cosmopolitan in nature. Provincialism was
brought on by the old regimes. The old order is gone. The
Syrian soul is free. Provincialism is a state of mind brought on
by outward circumstances and is dying hard. The provincial
mind closes its doors and windows, the air grows fetid, and suffocation ensues. Prejudice, bigotry, hatred, and a brood of diseases that love darkness begin to thrive and infest the land. The
splendour of the Syrian soul is showing its free and cosmopolitan
and international spirit wherever Syrians dwell.
"Under modern conditions," says H. G. Wells, "world wide
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
economic and educational equalization is in the long run inevitable." The modern study of history, modern science, modern education, comparative religion and international commerce are creating
the international mind. Sugar comes from Cuba, coffee from Brazil, rubber from Mexico, tea from China, silk from Japan. Greece
gave us art, eloquence, philosophy j Palestine, genius for religion j
Rome, organization and law. Universal education in Syria will
bring light and freedom. Provincialism, a child 'of ignorance,
will perish.
Therefore, let us not sectionalize the Syrian soul. Let us
not sectionalize Syria. Let us not sectionalize Syria's youth.
Following a Roosevelt ideal, let not Syria become a sectionalized
nation with a polyglot soul. There must not be a Christian Syria,
nor, a Mohammedan Syria, nor a Druze Syria, nor a Protestant,
Catholic or Jewish Syria. Let there be, above all, one nation
with one soul, one flag, one language. Syrian emigration will
help create a united Syrian nation, destroy isolation and provincialism, and develop international thinking and intercourse.
Through Syrian Emigration there Has Come to Syria a
Higher Conception of Labory Namely, the Dignity and Honor
of Labor. Syria is discarding the old theory that labor is for the
uncultured, the poor, and the slave. Consider the advancement
man has made since "the shackeled galley slave bent to his task
in the ships of Phoenicia." In slavery the capitalist owned the
laborer. In feudalism the capitalist owned the land and had a
lien on the laborer who was attached to it. In democracy the
capitalist and laborer are co-partners and owners of land and material, and sharers of profits.
"Human nature is still struggling with the fallacy," said
Secretary of Labor James J. Davis, "born in the days when all
manual labor was performed by slaves, that work with the hands
is the task of an inferior man. * * * Before us lies the task of
ending this contempt for honest work, before eliminating that
centuries-old struggle for the dignity and honor of labor which
began when the Carpenter of Nazareth wrought with adze and
saw in the house of His foster father. Today we face the necessity of establishing the dignity of labor in the minds of all mankind."
It is a fact that there is "no inferior work or toil" just as
there are no inferior races. Labor, toil, work, done by head,
i
�JUNE, 1927
'"
.
21
heart, and hand are God's plan for mankind.
"The toil of brain, of heart, or hand,
Is man's appointed lot;
He who God's call understand,
Will work and murmur not.
Toil is no thorny crown of pain,
Bound round man's brow for sin;
True souls, from it, all strength may gain,
High manliness may win."
An able Syrian thinker stated in a New York paper several
yars ago the outgoing of the old, and the incoming of the new
idea about labor into Syria. He said Syrians with the old idea
refused to do, as far as possible, all sorts of work, and that Syrians did do all sorts of work in their adopted countries. The
rising generations are struggling with the ideas about labor amidst
the passing old generation. The conflict between the new and old
ideas is now going on and may be seen in Syria today. Once I
saw a Syrian who had spent several years in Detroit, in a Syrian
sea-coast city trying to carry the old and new ideas about work.
He was dressd in an American suit, hat and shoes, and with a
"gunny-sack" full of mrchandise on his' back walking down main
street.
Syria is all astir because of the rejuvenating doctrine of the
dignity of labor. I, too, wish to preach the doctrine of the "strenuous life". I wish to preach against "the doctrine of ignoble
ease". I would proclaim from the house-tops with Roosevelt
"the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort,
of labor and strife} to preach that highest form of labor, success,
which comes to the man who does not shrink from danger, from
hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the
splendid ultimate triumph."
Enduring modern civilization will come to Syria and any
nation when people believe that labor is a blessing from Deity, a
means to human happiness, and a foundation for progress.
A great need of Syria is modern agricultural methods.
Scientific farming is essential to Syria's development, and farming is a most dignified toil, and should merit the highest attention of the Syrian nation. In the words of Daniel Webster: "Let
us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Man may be civilized in some degree
without} great progress in manufactures and with little commerce
�'
22
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m i
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
with his distant neighbors. But without the cultivation of the
earth he is, all countries, a savage. Until he gives up the chase,
and fixes himself in some place, and seeks a living from the earth,
he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
The Growth of the Syrian Population in Syria is Another
Benefit and will Follow the Present Era of Emigration. All
people are more or less migratory. Syrians who emigrate are
following their ancestors the Phoenicians who founded Carthage
and other Phoenician colonies. Ancient migrations were those
of peoples or tribes. Modern migrations are more or less of an
individual matter. Lack of food, territory, or peace were the
dominating causes of ancient migrations. In modern times the
labor market, government oppression and injustice, and religious
intolerance and persecution are the dominating causes.
The present period of rejuvenation in Syria will be followed
by a period of tremendous progress. Syria is espousing the industrial revolution of the West. There is developing a complex
social life. The cities are growing. This demands greater social
co-operation and division of labor. Syrians must master the forces
of nature. The mechanical industrial revolution in Syria will
produce more food and increase the population. For food supply
is essential to the new social order in Syria.
Under the old conditions the Syrian population increased
up to the limit of food supply. Constant warfare, tribal feuds,
famine, disease, infant mortality, and lack oi the modern control
of nature kept the population down. Modern study shows that
for the increase of a population there must be an increase of the
food supply. There must be peace, low cost of food, decrease
of infant mortality, and modern conveniences to meet the particular needs of climate and season.
To make a way for the increase of the Syrian population in
Syria there must come intensive modern scientific farming to
increase the food supply.
In this respect I am somewhat inclined to adopt the Malthusian doctrine for the increase of the Syrian population. According to Malthus: "1. Population is necessarily limited by the
means of subsistence. — 2. Population invariably increases where
the means of subsistence increase, unless prevented by some very
powerful and obvious checks. — 3. The power of population
being in every period so much superior, the increase of the human
species can only be kept down to the level of the means of sub-
nmw 'ii mm :-:
�^l_.
JUNE, 1927
23
sistence." Malthus believed in the inherent tendency in the
population to outstrip the food supply to be the main source of
human misery. In criticism we say that Malthus wrote prior
to the development of the mechanical industrial revolution and
could not have imagined modern man's mastery of nature. I
believe, for the present period, Syria's great need is the production of greater food supply to make a way for a rising tide of
a greater population. Modern agricultural methods will accelerate greater food production in the near future.
The Success of Syrian Character, Talent, and Energy Abroad
is an Inspiration and Example to Syrians in the Home-Land.
Syrians abroad have found their race and racial talents. I am
a Syrian and proud of the providential racial talents of my race,
but I am, not a racialist. Sir Thomas Overbury said: "The man
who has not anything to boast of but his illustrious ancestors is
like a potato — the only good belonging to him is underground."
The Syrian believes that any one may be as good as he, and he
may be as good as any other.
The knowledge of our racial character, talent, and energy
should become part of our thinking. It will give us a better
estimate of ourselves, will elevate the thinking of our Syrian
youth, and will call for the higher respect of other races for
our race. The Rev. K. A. Bishara's remarkable article on THE
CONTRIBUTION OF THE SYRIAN IMMIGRANT TO AMERICA charmingly sets forth what I have in mind. (See January issue of THE
SYRIAN WORLD.)
_
.
The Syrian immigrant is giving realization to the racial
endowments of his race. Already Syrians have won their spurs
in education, commerce, politics and other human endeavors.
The reaction on the home-land will more than repay for the
number lost by emigration. Competition with other races will
set the Syrian on his mettle and bring out the best in him. The
Syrian in Syria will, likewise, come to grips with other races.
This will try his soul and self-reliance will emerge m all it*
glory in the Syrian that is to be.
Syrian Emigration will Bring about Co-operation which in
Turn will Set aside Sectional and Religious Feuds. The Syrian
people of Syria must learn to live together in peace. The example, literature and history of other nations show the way.
Syrians at home must catch the vision from other nationt.
�illinium—IIW illillWIIIMH
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
24
The American Civil War teaches that civil strife may be
a greater harm and danger than an outside foe. Civil discord,
hate, prejudice, and war, are to my mind more destructive to a
nation than famine, disease and war with an outside foe. The
former are more destructive because they have the tendency to
perpetuate themselves in the hearts and minds of the rising generations.
A new era will dawn in Syria when the people learn to get
along together for peace, prosperity, happiness, and liberty. A
Czecho-Slovak educator said at a Helsingfors Conference: "We
used to say to them, 'You are made in God's image, and there
should be no difference between you'; but we have stopped saying that now. We say, 'Yes, you are Russians, Letts, Esthonians,
Poles, Czecho-Slovaks—but you all can play football together.
It's the game; it's team work, and you can all play together—
for the team.' "
Syrians in foreign lands are beginning to say to Syrians in
the home-land, "You are Druzes, Christians, Moslems, Jews,
Mitwalites. You must "play the game of life" together for the
sake of Syria."
"The welfare of the community," said Withelaw Reid, "is
always more important than the welfare of any individual or
number of individuals; and the welfare of the community is the
highest object of the study of politics."
My forbears lived in the region of Hasbayya and Jideidet
Marj'ycun. I was born in Jideidet Marj'youn and was brought
up within sight of snow-capped Jebel-esh-Sheikh. My forbears
were in the strife of 1860 and others. Syria is now emerging
out of, not a local strife, but a national crisis. I ask, and you be
judge and jury, shall I perpetuate the prejudices, religious intolerance and political ideas of 1860, or the democracy, religious
tolerance, and good-will of 1927 by indoctrinating my children
with the same?
Our ancestors lived by the light they had, it is important
to Syria's future that we live by the superior light of our day.
The Syrian spirit of today must not be shackled by the spirit of
the days before the Great War. The Syrian nation's talents and
energies must not be divided. The look must be forward, not
backward. Guidance must come from the light before, and not
from the flickering torch of dying ideals of the past. Let us
organize for the eradication of religious, sectional and historic
feuds. Let Christians, Moslems, Druzes and Jews agitate, edu-
!
*
.
�JUNE, 1927
25
cate, legislate toward the elimination of civil strife and for democratic co-operation within the nation.
That the Child is the Golden Key to the Realization of our
Hopes for Syria is, perhaps, the Greatest Benefit of Syrian Emigration. In reading William Allen White's IN THE HEART OF A
FOOL I was struck with this saying, of Mrs. Van Dorn to her father: "It's the children who carry the banner of civilization, the
hope of progress, the real sunrise." The children of today will
be the citizens of tomorrow, and they are in the making. Syria's
future will depend largely upon the rising generations. Whatever you desire for Syria's future you must put into the body,
mind, and spirit of Syria's children. Our ideas may be lofty,
but unless the rising generations are prepared to adopt them, all
our endeavors will be in vain. Roosevelt said: "If you are going
to do anything permanent for the average man you have got
to begin before he is a man. The chance of success lies in working with the boy and not with the man." To improve Syria you
must improve the children.
"We talk of our breed of cattle,
And plan for a higher strain j
We double the food of the pasture,
We heap up the measure of grain;
We draw on the wits of the nation,
To better the barn and the pen.
But what are we doing, my brothers,
To better the breed of men?"
I believe a compulsory educational system for Syria free
from religion, sect, or political party is one of the most important
steps toward Syria's progress. I believe a common and uniform
system of secular education is absolutely necessary if Syria's children are to have common training, common ideals, common citizenship, and common loyalty. I once asked in an address, "How
can Syria make progress with prejudiced loyalty, one loyalty prejudiced with Christianity, another with Judaism, another with
Mohammedanism?" I am a Christian by birth and choice and
believe in tolerance. I believe that to create a common loyalty
education must be freed from creed, sect, and political party.
Subject to the parents' preference, let religious instruction be gotten at home, church, mosque, or synagogue.
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�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Finally, I would plant in the mind and heart of Syria's
youth the goal of Syrian brotherhood. For as Edwin Markham
says:
"The crest and crowning of all good,
Life's final star, is Brotherhood."
THE WISDOM OF MU'AWIYAH
Abdullah Ibn Zubair, a bitter enemy of Mu'awiyah, the
first Umayyad Caliph, had property adjacent to that of Mu'awiyah, which was run by negro slaves. One day, Mu'awiyah's slaves
trespassed on the land of Ibn Zubair, who was enraged at this
offense, and in the heat of his anger wrote Mu'awiyah a threatening letter in which he said: "O Mu'awiyah, if you do not recall your slaves from my property, I will do and I will do "
When the letter reached Mu'awiyah he read it and gave it
to his son Yazid, and upon the latter reading it his father asked:
"What think you we should do with this son of Zubair?"
Yazid, enraged at the tone of the letter, replied: "By Allah, send him an army whose vanguard will reach him before
its rearguard leaves here, and let them dispatch his head to you."
But Mu'awiyah penned a letter to Ibn Zubair which he
read to Yazid. It ran thus:
"I received thy letter, O son of the companion of the
Prophet, and I was grieved, by Allah, for what befell thee at
the hands of my slaves. The whole world is nothing in exchange
for thy goodwill. I have granted thee the land and the slaves
thereon, and have bound myself in writing to that effect, and
had witnesses testify to the deed. Behold the land is your land,
and the slaves are your slaves."
Then, sealing the letter, he sent it to Ibn Zubair who, when
he read it and reflected on its contents, replied:
"I have perused the letter of the Prince of Believers, may
Allah extend the length of his days, and in answer thereto I
pray Allah that the such sound counsel which has enabled him
to reach this high station in Koreish (the Meccan tribe of Mu'awiyah and Zubair) may never cease. The peace of Allah be
upon thee."
When Mu'awiyah had read the letter of Ibn Zubair, he
said to Yazid: "My son, when such a disease confronts thee
treat it with such a remedy."
\\>
/
�JUNE, 1927
27
The Reward of Magnanimity
cAn Arabian Nights' Story
Translated from the Arabic Original.
')
Following the death of al-'Abbas, the Slaughterer, who effected the overthrow of the Umayyads of Damascus and established the rule of the 'Abbasides in Baghdad, and upon the ascension of his successor, Abu Ja'far al Mansur, the remnants of
the Umayyad dynasty who escaped the massacre of al-'Abbas
incited a big revolt in Damascus against the 'Abbasides. They
rose at a given moment and put to death all those whom they
could apprehend of the 'Abbasides.
Among those whom they sought to kill was a certain al'Abbas, the chief guard of the Caliph al-Mansur. He was walking in one of the streets of Damascus, buying some necessities,
when the news of the uprising reached him, and hurried to enter a spacious house with an open gate in a narrow street. In the
court of the house, seated square-legged on a mat and propped
by pillows, he saw an old man, with a long, gray beard and dignified mien, denoting his noble bearing and lineage. He did not
move, but, looking up to the frightened stranger, he said:
"Who mayest thou be?"
Al-'Abbas replied:
"A man in fear for his life who seeks refuge in thy precincts."
"Thou art welcome, and no harm shall touch thee, Allah
willing. Quick, enter this room," said the old man, pointing to
its door. Then, hurriedly bolting the gate and entering his
harem, he took out a feminine garb and threw it to al-'Abbas,
urging:
"Take off thy clothes and wear these, for I fear thou art
sorely pressed by thy enemies."
In all haste, the guard disrobed and disguised himself in a
woman's gown. Then the old man, taking him in hand, lead
him to the harem's quarters and left him among his women-folk,
appeasing his fears with reassuring remarks.
"Fear not," he said, nor stir from thy seat."
Saying which, he went away and opened the gate, just in
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
time when the Umayyad avengers had come up to seek their
vanished victim. They asked the old man about him, but he
answered that he did not see him.
"We will search your house, then," insisted the angry mob,
and brushing him aside, they entered and searched every nook
and corner of the house except the harem's quarters, which is
held inviolable according to Moslem traditions, and in which
they never suspected to look for a man.
When the Umayyads had departed, the old man brought
out al-'Abbas, comforted him with kind words and thanked Allah for his safety, keeping him within his house three days and
three nights.
At the end of this period, al-'Abbas said to his host:
"I have already stayed long here in thy house, and I know
not how to reward thee sufficiently, but I must proceed to my
master."
The old man gave his consent, bringing him provisions for
the way, a mount and five hundred dinars to boot. Then he
said:
"All the provisions for thy trip are here, but I fear if thou
goest out openly thy safety will be hazarded. Tarry thou here,
then, till the fall of the eve's shadows, when thou mayest go
unnoticed before the city's gates are bolted for the night."
Al-'Abbas did accordingly, and as the sun set in the west,
the old man accompanied his guest to the city's gate, and left
him not till he was safely out of the city, nor did he return till
al-'Abbas pleaded with him importunely to do so. Only then
did the old man bid al-'Abbas farewell, and, trusting him to
God's keeping, retraced his. steps back to the city.
All the way home, al-'Abbas kept wondering at this remarkable man and his unparalleled magnanimity till he reached Baghdad and attached himself to the service of the Caliph al-Mansur.
One day, a few years later, as al-'Abbas, in accordance with
his custom, had risen very early and proceeded to the Caliph's
palace, he met the Caliph's messenger, coming to tell him that
he was sent to fetch him with all haste for an urgent matter.
Al-'Abbas hastened his steps, and as he appeared before the Caliph, the latter looked up to him and said in a grave voice:
"O 'Abbas, take this prisoner and keep him in thy custody
till the morrow. By Allah I swear, if he escapes thee I will
not be satisfied with anything less than thy head."
Bowing low, al-'Abbas indicated his obedience to the Ca-
V
�JUNE, 1927
Hi
29
liph's command, then, turning about, he saw in a corner opposite
the Caliph an old man in stocks, his head bent in silent sadness
and resignation to Allah's fate.
A1-*Abbas then took the man with him to his house and, giving orders to his servants, he had a table set before them. But
so great was the fear of al-cAbbas, lest by some misadventure
the prisoner may escape, and he himself merit the fatal wrath
of the Caliph, he had the free end of the prisoner's handcuffs
clapped to his left wrist, removing the other shackles from the
neck and feet of the prisoner.
The two ate and drank in silence, for the situation was too
grave, and the old man was in no mood for conversation. At
last the silence became so. oppressive that al-'Abbas could not endure it longer and asked the man:
"Whence comest thou, my old man?"
"From Damascus," replied the man pensively.
"Dost thou know then so and so," continued al-<Abbas, naming the very one who had saved his life before,
"There is none who knows him better. But what seekest
thou in inquiring about him?" he asked in turn.
"By Allah," replied al-< Abbas, "I am the bond-slave of his
kindness, and am beholden to his gratitude to the end of days."
Then he related to the prisoner how the man in Damascus had
saved him in the riot of the Umayyads.
At hearing this, the old man smiled and shook his head,
uttering not a word. But as he smiled al-'Abbas looked closely,
and, behold! he found that the man before him was none other
than the one who had saved his life in Damascus. He questioned
him insistently until he admitted that he was that man indeed.
Al-(Abbas immediately rose and unlocked the shackles in spite
of the protestations of the prisoner.
Then he ordered his slaves to bring his guest a change of
clothes and told him to make ready.
"What for?" inquired the man.
"By Allah," replied al-'Abbas, "I am intent on saving thee
as thou dist save me. Make ready, for I shall take thee out of
Baghdad, and shall not leave thee till thou art miles away from
this city."
"This shall not be," protested the old man, "for I shall
not jeopardize thy life for my sake. By Allah, if thou goest
without me to the Caliph, he shall surely make thee pay with
thy life. Far be it from me to buy my safety with thy blood!"
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"And what is thy guilf before the Caliph?" asked al-'Abbas.
"I was falsely accused of sedition, and that some of the
Umayyads had hidden their treasures in my house," the man
cxDiciincci.
"Since that is thy case," persisted al-'Abbas, "by Allah, I
shall surely set thee free, nor care I a whit what becomes of me
at the Caliph's."
The prisoner, however, did not listen to the plea ot al- Abbas, saying:
...
-o *
"Think not that I will comply with thee in this matter. But
listen to me, for I have a better plan. Hide me in a room in
thy house, and go thou to the Caliph without me and present
my case before him; if he acquits me, then thou shalt come back
and set me free, otherwise I would present myself to the Caliph,
and thou shalt be free. To any other arrangement I shall not
consent."
This al-'Abbas did, not without reluctance, and on the morrow went straight to the Caliph. When the latter saw him enter
without the prisoner, his forehead puckered in excessive wrath,
and the veins of his eyes turned red, as if sparks of fire were
emitted from them. And the Caliph said:
"Hai! O 'Abbas, where is the man?"
And al-'Abbas replied:
"I crave thy indulgence, O Prince of the Believers j verily,
forgiveness is more akin to righteousness than justice." Then
he related to the Caliph what had happened between himself
and the prisoner in Damascus at the time of the not.
As al-'Abbas proceeded with the story, the Caliph s face,
which had turned ashen with rage, changed, and his features
brightened up. Then when al-'Abbas came to the conclusion
of his story, the Caliph cried to him:
"Fie on thee, O 'Abbas, does one do thee such an art ot
magnanimity and thou rewardest him thus, dismissing him without telling us about him that we may reward him fittingly?
The Caliph then wrung his hands in regret, saying:
"Shall a man to whom we are indebted with a gratitude
escape us thus?"
At hearing this, al-'Abbas was encouraged to say:
"Fear not, my Lord, for the man is still at my house, hiding in accordance with his own desire. For he refused to flee
and subject me to the wrath of thy justice."
"By Allah," exclaimed the Caliph, "this last act equals even
i
I
W&L
�I
JUNE, 1927
31
his former kindness to thee. Hasten thee and bring him to me."
Al-'Abbas went and presently returned with the old man,
who bowed and kissed the ground before the Caliph. But the
Caliph motioned him to come and sit beside him on the throne,
and showed him exceeding honor, bestowing on him rich presents. Then he offered him the governorship of Damascus, but
the man declined it and thanked the Caliph profusely, asking
merely to be granted a safe conduct home. This the Caliph did,
giving him letters to his commissioners in Damascus in which he
' j ordered them to tender him all honor and show him the respect
that is due him.
THE CHOSEN THREE
y^'""
By SUMAYEH ATTIYEH
<
God, knowing how the world had progressed in learning,
science, and business, called Gabriel, His messenger angel, and
said to him: "Go down to earth, and study it well, and after an
efficient investigation, bring back to me the three most worthy
things that are fit to enter heaven."
Gabriel came down to earth, and after a period of time, he
selected twelve good things, but out of the dozen, he chose the
three best: Mother Love, a baby smile, and a fragrant white
flower. On the way, the beautiful white flower wilted and died;
the baby's sweet and innocent smile faded and evaporated in the
air and sunshine, but the only lasting and worth-while thing
that was fit to enter heaven was Mother Love.
SYRIAN PROVERBS
Woe to him who has no nails with which to scratch his skin.
Nothing scratches your skin better than your own nail.
What can a hair-dresser do to an old hag?
Don't wish your friend opulence because you will lose him.
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Cities of Syria
Beirut
"Like a queen sitting on the mountain side, bathing her feet
in the water of the sea," was the way an ancient writer described
the city of Beirut. There it still sits today, as it has sat from
times immemorial, — from the prehistoric days when the ancient cavemen fought the huge savage animals with rudely hewn
flint arms in the Stone-Age. Yet with all its hoary age, very
little is recorded of the history of this city, much less than what
is known about its famous sister-cities to its north, south and east.
To the tourist who crosses the Mediterranean Sea to visit
the Holy Land, Beirut is probably the first Syrian city which
meets his anxious gaze. Its view is heralded by the sweet scent
of the orange flower and the rose, and long before the city comes
into full view, the stately peaks of the Lebanon Mountain, Sannin and Kanisa, almost conical, and snow-capped, peer out of
the horizon. Gradually the olive-clad slopes of Lebanon, studded with little hamlets and villages, with white-washed walls
and flat and red-tiled roofs, emerge, and finally the serene, tranquil Bay of St. George opens its arms to welcome the ship and
its cargo to the city of Beirut which ranges in a semi-circle behind it.
Should the tourist happen to come in at night when the
moon had just come out of her chamber behind the Lebanon
Mountain, casting her soft, magic rays across the bay, dancing
and fluttering to the gentle ripples of the waves, the romantic
effect would certainly be heightened.
Beirut is one of the foremost cities of Syria and the capital
of the new Republic of Lebanon, created under the French mandate a year ago. It is the principal port of Syria, and much
of the commerce of Damascus is done through Beirut, with which
it is connected by a railroad.
Not always was Beirut a prosperous city. For hundreds of
years at a stretch it lay lazily by the sea, like an idle fisherman,
who cares not whether the fish nibble at his rod or notj or like
a Rip Van Winkle who had suddenly awakened from a long
I
mmmmm
�THE PLACID BAY OF BEIRUT
The Lebanon range of mountains rises abruptly from the sea in the immediate vicinity of the city.
The snow-capped peak of Sannin is sharply
outlined against the horizon.
�VIEWS OF NEW BEIRUT
i -IPI ;;•«£. , r^'^ia
'^Jiafi v^'t^Jb id«%.^ - .v^Fi-jir
^•^sSlnfi tlW!tt<f ?jpw^» • "'^
PB^&SIJLAB §&£&
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4k
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n '
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^jj*
r.
BBYOOUTH
Petit.Seratl^^t
^Nik
"~J*I**^
MratobC -. "*"r'^
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Hfc>
!
The old serail, or administrative building, in the heart of Beirut
facing the City square.
w
1;
. ,-»
'I^^Mfc.
Le-S^P
k^^., ^
H^^^
n f
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":M
B^ t£<
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*-,* 3er»ourH
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Place ^es C<wo«s .... ,„
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A typical scene in modern Beirut, showing one of the modern hotels.
�THE FAMOUS PINE GROVE OF BEIRUT
The Pines were planted in the 17th century on what is known as the Ras,
or promontory of Beirut, to prevent the encroachment of the sand on the
citv. This "Woods" is to Beirut what the Bois de Boulogne is to Paris.
�A GENERAL VIEW OF BEIRUT
tsericatni
Showing that part of (he city lying by the sea.
�JUNE, 1927
35
slumber, to find the world so different, yet, in many ways, so
like the world of his youth.
The present prosperity of Beirut dates back to the sixth
decade of the 19th century when French capitalists, with the encouragement of their government, invested millions of francs in
its modern harbor, and in the railroad that links Beirut with Damascus. From that day, Beirut became a truly modern city, the
most modern, Westernized city in Syria. It also became the
centre of missionary and educational activities of the different
Western nationalities, which revived the old reputation of Beirut
as the city of tranquillity and learning. At; one time.Beirut was
famous all over the ancient world for its Law schools j today it
is famous throughout the Near East for its various universities,
schools and presses, supported, mostly, by contributions from
abroad. With its economic and cultural developments, Beirut
gained in population more than any other city for the same period of time.
Biblical scholars differ on the interpretation of the name
"Beirut". The two Hebrew forms, Berotha and Berothai occur
in the Bible, the latter being, perhaps, a corruption of the former. But nowhere in the Bible does the name seem to Biblical
scholars to correspond with the site of our present city. In one
place, Ezekial 47-16, the city is given as the ideal northern boundary of the restored kingdom and as falling with Hama and Sibraim, between the Damascus and Hama districts. The Jewish
scholar Ewald, however, identifies it with our city.
Whether the identification is correct or not is not very material. Beirut is old enough to have been there before any of
the books of the Bible was ever written.
Under the variations, B'irutu and B'runa, it occurs in the TelAmarna letters, while in the list of the cities conquered by
Thotmes III we come across it as Bi'arutu. Thotmes III reigned in the 16th century B. C, so that Beirut was a recognized city
important enough to be counted among the cities subjugated by
a:great conqueror, about three centuries before the exodus of the
Israelites from Egypt.
Some of the ancient writers derived the name from Barota
of the Aramaic, meaning cypress, which was a symbol of Astarte.
But more probably it is the plural form of bVr, or well. The
well-known Jesuit historian and scholar, Father Louis Cheiko,
from whose learned .articles on the history of Beirut, appearing
in the 21st and 22nd volumes of al-Machriq Magazine, most
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the subsequent facts of this article are taken, favors this view,
saying that Beirut abounds in wells, many of which have remained to the present day and are used by its people.
Beirut played a significant part in the history of Syria, but
was not quite distinguished enough to make its name stand out
in popular imagination and keep it in the minds of future generations until the days of the Roman Empire. Allusion has already
been made to its prehistoric origin. Today, one may find silent
witnesses to this distant origin in the rough and crude flint spearheads and knives in the museums of the Jesuit College, the Amer-'
ican University, of Beirut and the National Museum. Just how
old these rough implements are is uncertain, except that they belong to the Stone-Age, which is an indefinite term, as the StoneAge in some parts of the world was earlier than in others. But
since these stones are described as rough, they evidently belong
to the Paleolithic, or earlier subdivisions of the Stone-Age.
The first historic mention of Beirut is found in the monuments of Niram-Sin, the old Assyrian king of the 4th millenium
B. C, son of Sargon. ,The Amorites, as the people of Syria and
Palestine were then known, were subject to the Assyrians. But
at the end of the 3rd millenium the Amorites held sway over
the land of Babylon, and the vanquished population which fled
to the Arabian Peninsula gradually infiltrated into the lands of
the Amorites and conquered them. These conquerors of Syria
are supposed to be the ancestors of the Phoenicians. The word
Phoenicia comes from the Greek Phcenix, meaning the palm tree.
The Phoenicians broke up into many little kingdoms, one
of which was the kingdom of Jubail, of which Beirut was a colony.
These little kingdoms were caught between the nether and the
upper stones of the bloody rivalry between the two mighty kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria. Beirut, we surmise from the facts
presented by Father Louis Cheiko, was more influenced by Egyptian than Assyrian civilization, which would be quite natural owing
to the nearness of Beirut to Egypt. One of the feudal princes
of Beirut under the Egyptian Pharaoh, Aumnirra by name, mentions in one of the Tel-Amarna letters that he went out with all
his infantry, cavalry and chariots to fight the "enemy of the
king." At one time the kingdom of Beirut was 36 kilometers
by 10! Egyptian kings established temples for their gods in
Jubail, and recent discoveries establish the fact that Egyptian influence over that part of Syria was very strong.
The Egypt-Babylon rivalry ended with the rise of the Per-
�JUNE, 1927
35
sian kingdom which swept Syria and Palestine in its wake of
conquests.
It was the Persians who first recognized the strategic position of Beirut. They encouraged its commerce and built a vast
fleet with which they annexed several cities on the shores of Asia
Minor and Syria.
From earliest days the history of Beirut was linked with
that of navigation. One of the myths about Beirut, mentioned
by the Christian Greek poet Monnus, relates that Beirut was
given as a present to Poseidon and the Cabeiri. These latter
were Grecian minor deities of navigation, and the name undoubtedly is of Phoenician origin meaning great or big.
In the Seleucide period Beirut entered on a new regime.
It became a Greek city with Greek civilization predominating and
slowly supplanting the Phoenician one. This change, however,
could not have been accomplished all of a sudden. We must
assume that Beirut, with its extensive navigation, had come in
touch with Greek life and had cultivated a cosmopolitan spirit
which was sympathetic with Greek culture, as Greek culture itself was sympathetic with the Phoenician one. So strong became
the attachment of Beirut to the Seleucide dynasty that when a
certain Alexander Balas, a usurper, rose against the Seleucide
king Demetrius Nicator, the people of Beirut sided with the
Greek king. It was for this loyalty that Tryphon, a follower
of Balas, who revived the revolt by assuming the regency over
Dionysius, the infant son of Balas, remembering the treachery
of Beirut to the cause of Balas, burned it to the ground in the
year 140 B. C.
Under the Romans Beirut enjoyed what might be called
its golden age. Augustus singled it out for special favors, creating it a Roman colony and calling it after his own name and that
of his daughter Julia. The full Roman name of Beirut then
was Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus. It became the seat
of two great Roman legions, the Fifth or Macedonian Legion,
and the Eighth or Augustan Legion, and many imposing public
buildings, theatres, baths, amphitheatres rose to adorn the new
Roman colony. Roman gladiatorial shows were introduced, and
the Herods vied with their masters in Rome in honoring "the
happy Beirut". It was in Beirut that Herod the Great held the
sham trial of his two sons, Alexander and Aristobolus, who were
accused of treason against him, and executed them.
Under the patronage of the Romans a great school of juris-
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
prudence arose in Beirut, and became famous all over the world.
It produced some of the greatest celebrities of law in ancient
history. In most probability this school was established in the
3rd century A. D., in the days of Septimius Severus and the "Syrian Emperors" who followed him. Only two other schools of
its kind were considered equal to it, the school in Rome itself
and the one in Constantinople, but that of Beirut was the most
famous of them. Diocletian exempted the students of the law
school of Beirut from taxation, while Justinian used to appoint
personally its five professors corresponding to its five-year course.
Not much different was this school, we gather from a contemporary description, from our colleges of today. And perhaps the first record of "hazing" comes to us from Zacharias
Scholastikos who was a student in that school in the latter part
of the 5th century, a schoolmate of Severus Monophysita, one
of the leaders of the Jacobites of Syria. An interesting excerpt
from the biography of this Severus written by Zacharias Scholastikos is quoted in an article in "al-Machriq" dealing with the
Beirut Law School:
"When I came to Beirut to study law," wrote Zacharias, "I
was mortally afraid of the hazing which the students of the second class, known as the regulars, used to indulge in at the expense of the first year students. These hazings were not of a
harmful nature, but subjected the victims to ridicule before their
fellow students. I was especially afraid of Severus, who became
well known afterwards for his good conduct. I said to myself,
'Severus is an immature boy who will certainly follow the traditions of other students and make fun of me.' But when I entered the school of Laontius the son of Aphdixius, who taught law
and was respected for his excellency, I saw among the students
Severus, sitting at the feet of the professor and wrapt in attention as he listened to his teachings. He not only did not make
fun of me, but rather treated me kindly, and welcomed me with
a smile. And I thanked God for His abundant grace."
Besides being a centre of learning in the period of the Romans, as it is today, Beirut was also a commercial centre, especially for silk, porphyry and wine, which became famous for its
excellence as "Berytia vina". Iron and copper were produced
from the mines of Beirut, and Beirut iron was also famous for
its excellence. Beirut merchants had representatives in the port
cities of Italy and the interior of Europe. But the glory of
Beirut was literally sitting on the crater of a volcano. In a mo-
'
�JUNE, 1927
'"*
37
ment of nature's wrath it was toppled down with a vindictiveness worthy of the jealous gods of Olympos who, it was said,
could not bear the sight of continued human happiness.
Beirut was destroyed by a succession of earthquake shocks
of which the first occurred in 334 A. D., followed by others in
494, 502 and 551. The last of these was also the most severe.
It was related by contemporary observers of that historic earthquake that the waters receded a distance of 2 miles, exposing the
bottom of the sea, where sunken ships lay. Thousands of the inhabitants who rushed to rescue some of the treasures, unmindful
of the impending fate, were buried under the huge mountain
of the on-rushing waters. Thousands more on the shores were
buried in the debris of the shattered buildings. Fire broke in
the wake of the earthquake, and what was not destroyed by the
one was consumed by the other, until Beirut became, in the words
of a contemporary writer, "a heap of ashes and lime."
As if this was not enough, Beirut was visited by two other
earthquakes, one in 554 and one in 560 A. D. No wonder that
a contemporary poet thus lamented her ill-fate.
"Woe to me! I am the most unhappy of the cities of the
world, and the most unfortunate. With my own eyes I beheld
the corpses of my children buried in my court-yards, twice in
nine years. Vulcan hurled me with his burning javelins, after
Neptune had turned against me his terrible tide
O passersby, weep for my misfortune and lament the vanishing glory of
Beirut!"
Not long after, Beirut fell into the hands of the invading
Arabs.
The history of Beirut from that time on became a record
of uneventful days, except for an occasional event which rose
above its monotonous diary. The Umayyad caliph, Mu'awiya,
to fortify Beirut against the enemies of Islam, transported many
Persians to it and the adjoining cities, so that the majority of the
Shi'ites and Mitwalites of Beirut, Jubail, Sidon and environs,
are said to be Persians in origin.
In the twelfth century, Beirut was ruled by a Crusader
nobleman by the name of Foulque de Guines. In the year 1187
Beirut was captured by Saladin, only to return again to the Crusaders after the armistice of 1198, under the rule of Jean d'lbelin.
After the Crusades, Beirut had a checkered fate, but came
somewhat to its own under the rule of the semi-independent
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Ma(ni princes in the 17th century. It was one of the Ma'ni
princes who started the reforestation of Beirut, restoring to the
city some of its former splendor and beauty.
At least in one respect, Beirut has recaptured some of its
former refulgence and glory in the days of the Romans. It is
again the chief seat of learning for the countries of the Near
East. It has three principal colleges, the American University
of Beirut, the St. Joseph College of the Jesuits and the College
Laique. Besides these it has many secondary schools, printing
houses and several daily newspapers. It was the first cradle of
the Arabic Renaissance following the turbulent days of 1860.
The legend of St. George and the Dragon, after which the
St. George Bay of Beirut is called is, of course, a myth which
goes back to that of Perseus and his expedition to procure the
head of the Medusa. But many are the superstitious who still
cling to the belief that St. George actually killed the dragon in
that locality.
FROM THE "KALILA WA DIMNA"
Three things does the man of the world seek which he
cannot attain except by four: He seeks opulence in wealth, station among men, and provision for the other world. As for the
four by which he can attain to these three, they are: Procuring
wealth by the best means possible} good management of the
wealth procured} exploiting this wealth, and, finally, spending
it in improving one's livelihood and in pleasing one's relatives
and friends.
He who approaches kings does not do so for the satisfaction
of his belly, but to please one's friends and spite one's enemies.
People of no ambition are satisfied with little, like a dog
who wags his tail joyously when a dry bone is thrown to him.
He who would stand by the gate of the king must throw
aside dignity, bear humiliation, hold his wrath, be considerate
to his fellowmen and be able to keep a secret.
�-.._.-_:
JUNE, 1927
39
Spring
By
BENJ.
T.
HOFFIZ
Spring has come rejoicing
Our weary hearts with cheer,
In silent speech announcing
Its glory ev'ry year.
The fields avast are teeming
With smiling, greeting flowers,
Arrayed in robes beseeming
Enriched by welcomed show'rs.
The golden rays are streaming
Aslant the live-long day;
Life from the tomb redeeming
Our grief and pain allay.
The waves are gently rolling
Upon the silver lake.
The stream down hillsides rippling
Our slumb'ring souls awake.
The glowing stars are twinkling
A wondrous sight to view,
And evermore are sailing
Afloat the ocean blue.
The birds their songs are ringing
Upon the fragrant air.
Their joyous, daybreak singing
Dispell the gloom of care.
The whole creation's playing
Upon my heart's guitar,
Within my soul intoning
The love of God afar.
�" "*
40
»
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syrian Schools in Brazil
A random reader of the Arabic papers published in Brazil,
of which there are a dozen or more, would be surprised at a
type of advertisement which is not to be found in the Arabic papers published in the United States.
Now and then he would come across a school advertisement
announcing its opening for the reception of students, the courses
it gives, and the accommodations it affords its boarders. Sometimes one finds no less than three or four advertisements of this
sort in one issue of a paper.
The surprising feature in these advertisements is the fact
that these schools are not Brazilian schools which are bidding
for the patronage of the Syrians, — a thing interesting enough
in itself, — but Syrian schools, founded and run by Syrians. Invariably these advertisements carry the item that this or that
school gives full instruction in the Arabic language by competent
instructors. Almost all these schools are a combination of a
boarding and day schools, which indicates that they attract pupils
from distant places.
Only recently Abu-l-Haul (The Sphinx), S. Paulo, carried the news of the founding of a new Syrian "College" in Oro
Preto, a town about 200 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, by the
"Society of Syrian Youth". The announcement further adds that
"a professor from the government school", an editor of a Brazilian paper, will be on the staff of the new institution, in addition
to two Syrian doctors.
Another school, Gymnasio Syrio Brasileiro, in Araquara,
gives out in its announcement that it is recognized by the government, which sends to it its examining board and grants it certificates. The land for the building of the Gymnasio was donated
by the municipality.
In S. Paulo itself there are a few such schools and institutions, which testifies to the fact that the Syrians have not forgotten their intellectual and cultural needs in their aspiration for
wealth and material success. Chief among' these schools, we are
told, is the "Syrian-Brazilian College", "the oldest boarding
school in S. Paulo", out of which a thousand graduates have already gone out, many of whom, it is said, hold high positions in
the "commercial world".
�JUNE, 1927
41
The "Syrian-Lebanese School" in the same city has passed
its tenth year since its foundation and the second since its conversion into a boarding school. While a third school, the "Modern Syrian School", seriously declares that it cannot receive more
than 200 pupils, and urges Syrian parents who wish to send their
children to it to do so at once, before the stated number is filled.
Night instructions and commercial courses are added in some
instances to the curriculum.
Undoubtedly the primal motive behind these Syrian schools
is one of racial self-preservation j or, looked at from a different
point of view, an opposition to the forces of assimilation. A series
of articles in Abu-l-Haul divides the credit for the conservation
of racial integrity and the opposition "of the stream of assimilation" equally between the Syrian press and the Syrian schools.
Yet; one must not conclude that the Syrians are any less patriotic
and loyal to the Brazilian institutions. A conclusive proof of their
loyalty is afforded in the co-operation which the Syrians have received in building up and developing their institutions of learning from the local Brazilian governments and officials. The author of the articles in Abu-l-Haul refers to the enthusiastic praise
of "high government officials" when speaking of one of these
schools. The Syrians, in trying to preserve their language and
culture, are imitating other nationalities in Brazil, notably the
Germans in the State of S. Catrina.
Brazil is still in the pioneering stage, and its vast undeveloped States are more or less amorphous in their cultural and national constituency. They are where the United States were sixtji
years ago, or even more. It is not inconceivable that sometime
in the future the Brazilian nationality will crystallize into a definite shape, to which the Syrians would look with pride, as it
will undoubtedly represent part of their racial traditions and
culture.
THE ROAD TO BLISS
Said Abdullah Ibn Mubarak, a Mohammedan mystic:
"Hope begets desire, desire begets diligence, diligence begets
reflection over the graces of God, reflection begets gratitude,
gratitude begets knowledge of the source of grace, knowledge
begets the love of God, love of God begets self-denial, selfdenial begets obedience to God, obedience to God begets eternal
bliss."
�wmmaaa
mm
.__ __ .
mmm
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
CASTING SHADOWS AHEAD
With this issue THE SYRIAN WORLD completes its first year.
When, at this stage, we look back over the past, we see great
cause for satisfaction j and when we look forward to the future,
we see only reason for hope. We entertain not the slightest
doubt that this hope will materialize inasmuch as every indication tends to prove that it is amply justified.
When we first decided on the publication of THE SYRIAN
WORLD, it was, on our part, a firm conviction of the necessity of
the enterprise, and on the part of some of our friends, a hazardous
business undertaking. We acted on our convictions regardless of
the risks, and it must be now to our doubtful friends, as well as
it is to us, a source of gratification that the first crucial test has
been negotiated safely and that in view of the continuous gains
we are making the future holds for the publication brighter and
more substantial hopes.
In its physical appearance, THE SYRIAN WORLD has elicited
favorable comment both as to size and as to typographical arrangement. It is in the conventional, accepted book size and the
type is beautiful and clear. Master craftsmen may still be able
to detect in the general makeup and the carrying out of technical
details room for improvement, and this we shall bend every effort to overcome, notwithstanding our limited facilities.
But where we believe we have news of genuine interest to
impart to our readers is in the realm of the subject matter of the
publication—in what we are planning to continue or to introduce
of the different departments and features, and in what we are
promised by way of support and collaboration in the literary field
by our best talent both in America and abroad.
Concerning the subject matter in the past, our files contain
hundreds of unsolicited testimonials bearing on the fact that the
magazine proved to those readers of much higher quality than
they had expected. In view of this expressed satisfaction, it would
be possible for us to rest on our laurels and simply make the plain
promise of continuing the publication as formerly. But with
�JUNE, 1927
43
that we are not content. It is our plan and firm purpose to make
it in the coming year still better and to continue the improvement
to the limit of our ability and resources.'
Here are some of the concrete promises we are in a position
to make to our readers covering distinctive features for the coming year:
By special arrangement with the editors of "Al-Kulliyyah,"
the official Arabic organ of the American University of Beirut,
articles prepared by the Professors of the University for translation into Arabic and publication in "Al-Kulliyyah" will be sent
to us in their English original for publication in THE SYRIAN
WORLD. We cannot sufficiently stress to our readers the significance of this arrangement, but they may well expect a series of
articles on the most interesting literary, historical, educational,
and scientific subjects such as only the learned professors of that
great educational institution in our mother country can prepare.
For this arrangement we are grateful to our friend and countryman Mr. Shahadi Shahadi, the able manager of our sister publication, "Al-Kulliyyah".
Another big feature that we can promise our readers for
the coming year is the great play by the American author Harry
Chapman Ford called "Anna Ascends" whose scene was laid in
the Syrian quarter in New York depicting the virtue, the industry
and the great intelligence and capability of the Syrian immigrant
girl. The famous American stage and screen star, Alice Brady,
acted the role of the Syrian heroine in this play when it was
produced in New York a few years ago. The play teems with
scenes of gripping dramatic interest. The story was never before published and every Syrian young man and young woman
should know of the struggles and the achievements of the brave
Anna and of the climax of her love affair with the scion of one
of the wealthiest American New York families.
Ibn El-Khoury has promised a continuation of his series
of highly interesting folk stories on Lifd in Lebanon.
Dr. Philip K. Hitti, our eminent historian, stands pledged
to contribute as many articles this coming year as he has last
year. He will also answer all questions on the history of Syria
that our readers wish to ask, and we invite them to take advantage of this singular opportunity.
Barbara Webb Bourjaily, a well-known American magazine
and newspaper writer and wife of one of our countrymen, will
write a progressive series of articles on books and their compara-
�.
44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tive values, designed especially to help the mother in training
the minds of her children. She will also discuss and review standard classics and contemporary books and give helpful advice on
how to get the most benefit and pleasure from your reading.
The present series of The Famous Cities of Syria will be
continued, and the interrupted series on the principal Religions
of Syria will be resumed.
We shall give more of hitherto unpublished Arabian Nights'
Stories and selections from the Arabic on wit, wisdom and humor.
And what, finally, we are most happy in promising is that
all our former contributors and collaborators will be as generous
in their support in the future as they have been in the past. From
abroad we shall continue to hear from Ameen Rihani and from
Count Philip Terrazi and others, and from America we are promised frequent contributions from Gibran K. Gibran, Dr. Salim
Y. Alkazin, M. Naimy, Dr. N. A. Katibah, Dr. F. I. Shatara,
Rev. W. A. Mansur and many others.
SYRIAN PHILANTHROPY
It has been the contention of some critics that the Syrian
immigrants were too materialistic—all too absorbed in their efforts
to amass wealth as to preclude from their minds any thought of
philanthropy. This may have been true in a limited sense and
under certain conditions at a particular time. The impecunious
Syrian immigrant, at the time he was struggling to make a living
and bending every effort towards establishing himself on a financial footing, could not be expected to give much of the little he
then had towards charity. And we should remember that there
was a time when all Syrians could be classed in that category,
and that this time is not so distant.
But now that a large number of Syrians have passed the
struggling stage and that many of them have, through their intense industry and business acumen, come into comfortable fortunes, we find that their better natures are beginning to assert
themselves. We may safely claim now that we have reached
the stage where we have lost sight of our initial motives in emigrating and are beginning to respond more readily to our higher
impulses in our conception of the true aims of life.
The generous action of the brothers Abdallah and Simon
Barsa and of George Mouacad and Abdallah Khiyata in found-
�i
JUNE, 1927
45
ing two orphanages in their native city of Damascus is a good
indication of the present turn of mind of the prosperous Syrian
immigrant. This is by no means the first act of philanthropy
on record on the part of our people that it could be taken as an
indication of the inaugural of a new era. Similar acts of charity
on a large scale are known to have taken place before, although
no large benefaction can go farther back than five years.
Of orphanages, two are known to exist in America supported
and maintained by Syrians. One is in the United States and
was founded and is being maintained by the Rt. Rev. Archbishop
Aftimios of the Greek Orthodox Church and is open to Syrian
orphans of all denominations; while the other is in Brazil and
was made possible by the philanthropy of a single individual,
Bechara Meherdawi, a native of Horns and one of the prominent
Syrian merchants of that country.
Another illustration of the new turn of affairs is the fact
that the alumni association of the American University of Beirut
has succeeded, in the course of three years, to raise, in the United
States alone, a fund of $150,000 for the establishment of scholarships and the rehabilitation of the Oriental department of the
library of the University.
One could hardly cite the above illustrations without mentioning the many other acts of benevolence which the Syrian immigrants have done both individually and collectively. During
the World War the Syrians of the United States sent contributions to their suffering relatives conservatively estimated at $2,500,000. It is a well-known fact that the principal revenue of
Mt. Lebanon is from the remittances of its emigrant sons, and
Syria in general shares in the liberality of the emigrants to no
little degree. America has been the first port of call for all
seekers of financial aid from the motherland, and the emigrants
have been the supports of not only many a home, but of many
a religious and educational institution. They have responded
generously to every deserving appeal for assistance from abroad,
and their latest grand response was at the time the recent Syrian revolution laid waste many a town and left in its wake great
suffering and destitution. In the course of but a few months
an amount estimated at about a quarter of a million dollars was
sent to Syria and Lebanon, of which about $50,000 in cash and
$100,000 in clothing and other material was raised through the
campaign launched by Al-Hoda, the Syrian daily paper of New
York.
�°r IfT—Yiif-'--' ^ ^^^^i^ttMMi
,
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Considering the limited number of Syrians in the United
States, this display of generosity speaks well for their benevolent
proclivities especially when we take in consideration the fact that
only recently have they become financially independent and that
their earliest immigration hardly goes back farther than the second generation.
THE SYRIANS IN POLITICS
A correspondent writes that Americans resent the intrusion
of the foreign-born into the precincts of that sacred American
institution, "Politics". We wonder how many of our readers
agree with him in this view. The greatest privilege of the American citizen is the right to express his free opinion through the
ballot which would mean that he is conscious of his obligations
and privileges as a citizen. Consequently, those who assume a
passive attitude towards "Politics" are branded as slackers and
undesirables. How is it possible to reconcile the two viewpoints?
In a recent radio speech by Senator-elect Robert F. Wagner
of New York he is reported to have urged that Americans of
foreign birth give to their adopted land the benefit of their
background and training by entering public life. Every opportunity except the Presidency, he said, is open to them and the
environment of a new land should have the stimulating effect
to bring success.
"It is not at all necessary," Senator Wagner further said,
"for you to erase the elements of a foreign culture or a foreign
civilization that you have acquired during the years of life in
your native land. You are free to retain and develop it. All
that the American people ask of you is that you enter the American life wholeheartedly with understanding and sympathy."
"Never forget," he also said, "that the people who came on
the Mayflower were not native Americans. What those people
saw before them was a vast country, rich in a form of wealth
which was the most desirable on earth. It was rich in opportunities. Then and there this nation was dedicated to the proposition
that opportunity shall never become the private possession of
any one class or family."
Here is a direct, unmistakable invitation to enter "Politics".
It is only an interpretation of the Constitution itself. How, then,
can it be claimed that "Politics" are forbidden grounds to the
foreign-born?
�JUNE, 1927
47
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicapeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
REASON FOR OBJECTION TO
UNITY
When we sent to the League of
Nations, in our capacity of editor
of "Al-Hoda" and president of the
Lebanon League of Progress, a protest against the proposed amalgamation of Lebanon with Syria we suggested as a solution the creation of
a form of government for Lebanon
in which the governor would be elected for life, following the lines of the
Eastern Patriarchates and the Papacy. This reference was misconstrued
by some supposedly intelligent people to mean that we are demanding
a government based on an ecclesiastical system. This misinterpretation
of our plain statement is either rank
idiocy or sheer viciousness. It is
evident even to a child that what we
meant is that tenure of office should
be for life without the right of succession. But this outburst only shows
the temper of the people abroad and
how they still lack the moral courage
to admit the truth. It ia mainly for
this characteristic that we maintain
that even the Lebanese, who are admittedly the brain of the East, are
not yet fit for independence. A governor, therefore, elected for life who
would be secure in his; office on that
account, and who would rise above
the petty differences of the natives
because of his foreign origin, is
the logical solution of Lebanon's administrative problem.
Under existing conditions, and
while Syria is seething with religious venom, it is dangerous to advocate the union of Lebanon with,
Syria. Such a union will not be advisable and practicable until the
religious and political leaders are
divested of their prestige and the
advocates of union are free from
any ulterior motive in the promotion
of such a move. As things now
stand, all those clamoring for this
union do so from purely fanatical
motives and undisguised hatred. We
should/ all know that the French are
much better to the Lebanese than
any of their neighbors.
Al-Hoda, N Y., May 13, 1927.
THEY SPARE THE EGG
AND STEAL THE CAMEL
The League of Nations! An organization that is full of good and
full of evil. Whatever good it has
is all reserved for the great colonizing Powers; and whatever evil it
�—
48
has it all directed to the weak Eastern nations—rather, to all Eastern
nations, weak or strong.
It is a league of coveteousness
and hypocrisy through which the
strong grab what they are ashamed
to take openly and by force. They
use it to cloak their insidious propaganda in the name of charity, justice and peace, and other high re•ounding words.
We read today in the news dispatches a ridiculous item that the
League has refunded to Mr. Rockefeller 3 francs and 15 centimes of
the sum he had donated to it because
it exceeded its necessities... The
League is anxious to give proof of
its scrupulous honesty in handling
its accounts. The unfortunate part,
however, is that its honesty is only
confined to francs and centimes.
It spares the egg, but does not
hold any scruples, on the other hand,
in swallowing the camel, nay, the
whole caravan!
It returns to Rockefeller three
francs but looks with equanimity on
its members swallowing countries
entire—including men and beasts,
land and rivers; all what is above
and what is below.
Deliver us, 0 Lord, from the robbers who are disguised in hermits'
attire!
Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N.Y.,May 17,1927
MANDATES ARE NECESSARY
Suppose we admit, for the sake of
argument, that the French mandate
should be terminated in Syria, does
that carry the implication that the
English mandate, or occupation,
should also be terminated in Palestine, Iraq, Egypt and India; or is it
only a subterfuge on the part of
the so-called nationalists to clamor
for independence as an end in itself
THE SYRIAN WORLD
while they would be under the influence of religious fanaticism and
sectarian motives?
Mandates are not only political
but religious as well. Suppose we
drive out the Jesuits, the Americans
and the English from our universities and schools in Lebanon and the
East in general, what would we
have left of the means of education
and progress?
And if there should be anything
left, for how many years would it
last?
What would become of our printing establishments, libraries, dictionaries and works of original authorship and of translations? What
would become of our orphanages?
With what brazen-faced insolence
could we say to our benefactors:
"Leave us the best you have and
begone from our country, you Westerners!"
Suppose that the Americans who
are now in the American University
of Beirut were to return to their
country and leave the Syrians and
Lebanese in possession of that institution, and that these newcomers
should appeal for assistance in carrying out the work of the university
to their brother Easterners from
China to the Bosphorus, what would
be the resources at their command?
It is sheer ignorance combined
with the rankest kind of bigotry on
our part to deny the benefactions of
the Westerners Who have reiterated
their assurances to us in unmistakable terms that they are educating
us in matters political as they hava
brought us up in matters educational, so that as soon as we prove our
ability at independent government
without danger to ourselves and the
world, they will leave us to ourselves
and return to their own countries.
Al-Hoda, N. Y., May 20, 1927.
�1
RELICS OF OLD BEIRUT
Gateway to the confines of the Mosque of As-Sur, or the section of the
old city wall, showing the congested nature of the locality.
��JUNE, 1927
PRANCE AS PROTECTOR
OF THE CHRISTIANS
We are aware that!France did not
come to this country to give preference to one faction over the other.
Rather, we and every one else are
positive that France only came to
free the country from the bondage
of ignorance and intolerance and to
guide it in the road to progress. She
has not come, as some Christian papers assert, to protect the Christtians, because that would infer that
the Christians are persecuted, while
in truth they are not.
What is at the bottom of the
situation is the promotion of personal interests. Whenever some unforseen impediment obstructs the
smooth carrying out of a certain
policy, then they resort to the excuse of religion. It is, therefore,
necessary that we should not lose
sight of the main motive prompting
these excuses because religion in itself is not taken in consideration.
The strange thing is that it is only
in the East that religion is resorted
to as an excuse, and while the matter in itself is obvious, we wonder
that there still remains in the East
people who profess ignorance of the
true facts.
Al-Balagh, Beirut.
THE SOPHISTRY OF INERTIA
One of the most harmful conceptions prevalent amongst us is the
supposition that Syria cannot be independent simply because it had not
been independent before; and that
in so far as it cannot be independent
it becomes imperative for it to be
under mandate; and that as long as
a mandate is necessary she has no
other alternative than to submit to
the mandate under which she now is.
To submit to an existing condition
for no reason other than that it
49
exists indicates a contorted conception of philosophy on the part of
those whose souls have lost the light
of feeling and desire. It is a rank
shame that some should continue
to crawl in the dark caves of bondage and slavery which are as putrid
as tombs. Only those who are dead
abhor power, light and beauty.
Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N.Y., May 19,1927
TO ACHIEVE REFORM
Many are the corrupt leaders in
Lebanon.
In Lebanon there are leaderships
of ignorance, of assumption, of "inherited rights" and of vain conceit
—all of which is productive of evil
and not of good.
When this array of leaders was
burning incense and kowtowing to
the ground before the Turkish tyrants, the Lebanon League of Progress of New York was demanding,
even before the war, the same measure of reform that it is demanding
now, with the exception of a few
modifications in the details.
The proposition that we wish now
to put forward for bringing to an
end the present chaotic condition in
Lebanon is that the Maronite Patriarch call a convention of the titular heads of all religious sects in
the country, be they Christian or
Mohammedan, and there formulate
demands to be presented directly to
the French Government on the understanding that no other power but
France is wanted as a mandatory.
Al-Hoda, N. Y., May 16, 1927.
A REVOLUTION AGAINST
INDOLENCE
How sterile was the revolution
which shot its tongues of fire in the
Druze Mountain. Rather, how ignorant and how unpatriotic were those
who started it for having exposed
�-
50
the country to ruin without any commensurate benefit.
The revolution which should take
place in Syria and which should not
stop until it had achieved its aims
is a revolution against the germs
of laziness and indolence which has
attained such epidemic proportions
that through it, and not through the
armed revolution, the life of the
country is in danger.
It is an epidemic of the gravest
nature. Its greatest and latest symptom is in the fact that the people of
Syria have been frightened out of
their wits by the influx of Armenian
immigration. To us this should be
construed as a salutary sign in that
it carries the possibility of putting
an end to the disease of laziness in
Syria.
The Syrians leave their country
of their own free will, while the Armenians come to it under compulsion. The former loath to work in
their own country and emigrate to
lands where they submit to all kinds
of indignities and hardships, while
the latter find in that same deserted
country an ample field for productive effort comparable to what the
willing Syrians find in their lands
of immigration.
What can be the secret of this
state of affairs? Can it be other
than that laziness and indolence
have taken mortal hold on the life
of the people of Syria?
As-Sayeh, N. Y., May 16, 1927.
DELINEATING THE
REVOLUTION
It is incontestable that the Revolution is of Druze and Hauranian
origin, as it is an unquestionable
fact that Lebanon did not join in the
Revolution.
It is also beyond argument that
the outlaws have been and remain
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Druzes, joined later by some Mohammedans, and that no Christian
affiliated himself with the rebel
bands with the exception of a few
who were bought over by Druze
money in the same manner they
have bought some Christian newspapers. And it may well be remembered that these funds were collected from Christian sources.
It is therefore evident that the
revolution is purely a Druze revolution, Lebanon and the Lebanese not
having the slightest connection with
it in so far as Lebanon is not Syria
and in appreciation of the fact that
it remains independent as it haa
been for all past time.
Those who are bending their efforts to include Lebanon in Syria
are only the traitors, the ingrates
and the fanatics whose only concern
is to crush Lebanon so as to reduce
it to the state of servility that will
be compatible with their own smallness of soul. "On us and on them,
0 Lord!"
Al-Hoda, N. Y., May 19, 1927.
WHAT SYRIA NEEDS AND
FRANCE DOESN'T GIVE
The difference between the English
and the French in the business of
government is that the former give
the governed what is best suited to
their temperamental fitness and disposition. They try, for instance, to
make of the Iraqi a better Iraqi
than he is, and of the Indian a better Iidian than he is with no attempt
to transform or interfere with the
character, customs and traditions of
each. While the French are wont
to transform Syria or Lebanon or
Jebel Druze overnight into a second
Paris, embarking all the while on
new experiments which only bring
losses to themselves and to the people governed. Lisan-Ul-Hal, Beirut.
�JUNE, 1927
51
About Syria and Syrians
N. T. SYRIANS FOUND
ORPHANAGES IN SYRIA
An interesting and cheerful bit of
news is that published in "Al-Hoda"
of May 14. It is in the form of a
letter from the Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Bernardos Ghosn, pastor of the
Greek Melchite Church in Manhattan, in which he announces that the
Holy Father had conferred the order of the Great Cross on four prominent Syrian merchants of New York
in recognition of their philanthropy
for having founded two orphanages,
one for boys and the other for girls,
in their native city of Damascus.
The medals were pinned on the
breasts of the four recipients in a
fitting ceremony at the Cardinal's
residence by the Rt. Rev. Bishop
Dunn.
Archimandrite Ghosn, in bis communication, gives some interesting
details about the four Syrian benefactors and their work. He announces
their names as the brothers Abdallah and Simon Barsa who founded
the institution for the boys, and
George Mouacad and Abdallah Khiyata who founded the institution for
the girls. In both cases the donors
provided the orphanage establishments with all the equipment of a
modern school so that the immates
may receive the proper industrial
training that will enable them to
gain an independent living upon release.
Archimandrite Ghosn gives the
further information that the donors
cloaked their action in secrecy in order to evade undue publicity which
was not a part of their motives in
founding the institutions. His Beatitude the Patriarch Kyrellos X of
the Greek Melchite Church of Syria
was instrumental, 'however, in bringing their generous action to the attention of the Pope who saw fit to
recognize their munificence by the
bestowal of the decorations.
THE LEBANESE AS
TRADE PIONEERS
The pioneering spirit of the Lebanese in venturing far into unexplored territory in quest of trade
is, according to "Ar-Raqib" of Tripoli, Syria, best illustrated by some
Lebanese merchants in Africa who
were the first to venture into the
heart of wildest Africa and open a
trade route with the territory bordering on Lake Chad. The paper
makes this comment anent a dispatch
from Paris announcing the successful trip of a trade caravan which
started from Tunis to Lake Chad
and returned safely with a precious
load of ivory and pelts. The account
the paper gives of the experiences
of the early Lebanese traders who
ventured so far into the heart of
black Africa is an epic of daring
well worthy of the adventurous spirit of the descendents of the Phoenicians.
The first white men to enter the
city of Kano, in the heart of Nigeria, we are told, were the late
Azar Joseph Bichara of the town
of Mizyara, Northern Lebanon, and
Joseph Bitar of the town of Deir-elKamar, Southern Lebanon, who made
the pioneer trip merely for trade
purposes over twenty-two years ago.
The start of their journey was from
the city of Lagos and they spent en
�52
route seven weeks beset with the
gravest dangers from Africans and
wild beasts. They spent in Kano six
months during which they established the most pleasant relations of
friendship with the chiefs of the
Blacks and made a profitable exchange of their wares which consisted mainly of bead ornaments and
perfumes. Upon their return to
Lagos the British authorities learned
of their exploit and immediately sent
a military expedition to occupy the
city of Kano which is said to have
a population of over a million souls
and is fortified by a high wall of
unbaked brick. The English fired
only one gun and the city surrendered to them.
Some fifteen years ago, the paper
further informs us, a company of
Lebanese merchants composed of
Joseph Rahid, Mohsen Rahid and
Azar Joseph Bichara, all of the town
of Mizyara, equipped another expedition and started from Kano to Lake
Chad, a distance of sixty days of
hard travel in the wildest kind of
country. They had over a hundred
and fifty natives carrying their
goods while they traveled on horseback heavily armed. On the way
they had several encounters with
fierce lions but were able to reach
their destination safely and upon
their return had a valuable quantity
of ivory, ostrich feathers and leather
dyed in a most beautiful and permanent red color. They repeated the
exploit several times thereafter.
PROTECTING THE CHRISTIANS
On April 17 the Emir Said Abdelkader of Damascus paid a visit to
the Maronite Patriarch in acknowledgement of his gratitude at the action of the latter for having sent a
THE SYRIAN WORLD
delegation of Maronite bishops to
thank the Emir for the solicitude he
displayed for the safety of the
Christians in Damascus during the
riots accompanying the latest outbreak in the country. This Emir i9
a scion of the famous Algerian Abdelkader family whose grandfather
fought the French in his country for
over fifteen years and when he finally had to surrender was exiled to
Syria where, in the massacres of
1860, he opened his house as an asylum of refuge to the Christians, and
saved through his personal intercession hundreds of Christian lives.
The Christian papers of Syria and
Lebanon report this exchange of
courtesies between Emir and Patriarch as a proof of good will among
the leaders of the two religions, but
the Mohammedan papers resent the
imputation that the Christians were
ever in need of protection and brand
the Emir as a meddling outsider who
is trying to make political capital
of the situation for the promotion of
his own ambition to become a king
over Syria.
ELECTRICITY IN ZAHLE
To the many immigrant sons of
Zahle, known by the affectionate appelative of the "Bride of Lebanon,"
it must be of interest to learn that
for the first time in history their
city is now illuminated by electricity
generated from the waterfalls of
the river Bardouni. "Zahle-Al-Fatat", the town paper, reports that
the inauguration of the service took
place amid scenes of great rejoicing
as this means a great influx of tourists and summer residents, especially
that the city can boast of a large
number of first class hotels built
mostly by enterprising returning
emigrants.
i
�'53
JUNE, 1927
MOTOR ROUTES ACROSS
THE SYRIAN DESERT
By Paul Knabenshue,
American Consul, Beirut.
At the present time three companies are operating passenger routes
between Beirut and Baghdad, and one
of these, the Nairn Eastern Transport Co., also maintains a biweekly
service between Baghdad and Teheran. The Nairn Eastern Transport
Co. is controlled by British and
French capital; the other two companies, which are of less importance,
are owned and/ managed by Syrians.
In addition to these established companies there are numerous independent chauffeurs operating more or
less regular passenger service between Beirut and Baghdad.
Originally the Nairn Transport
Co. followed the route Beirut—Damascus—Rutbah—Baghdad, but the
use of this route was interrupted for
over a year by the Syrian nationalist revolution. During the greater
part of this period the Nairn Co.
followed the route Jerusalem—Amman—Rutbah—Baghdad. With the
improvement in the political situation in Syrian territory the various
transport companies commenced the
use of the road via Beirut—Tripoli—
Horns—Palmyra—Rutbah—Baghdad,
and this was followed until about the
middle of December , 1926, when
conditions became such that it was
deemed possible again to follow the
route Damascus—Rutbah—Baghdad,
which is the shortest one between
Beirut and Iraq.
About February 1, however, as a
result of the appearance of bands of
marauding Bedouins, the road between Damascus and Rutbah was
again considered unsafe. It was
planned to go from Damascus to
Palmyra and from there to Rutbah
and Baghdad; but about this time
heavy snows fell in the Lebanon
Mountains, which lie between Beirut
and Damascus, and it became necessary to take the route Beirut—Tripoli—Homs—Palmyra—R utba h—
Baghdad. Now, however, the snows
have melted considerably, and beginning with the Nairn convoy leaving Beirut on March 10, the road
Damascus—Palmyra — Rutbah —
Baghdad will be followed.
During the past two months all
transport companies have experienced considerable difficulties between
Beirut and Baghdad because of the
poor condition of the routes. The
roads between Beirut and Damascus
are good and generally quite practicable for automobiles except occasionally when there is snow in the
passes of the Lebanon Mountains.
From either Damascus or Homs,
however, there is nothing but open
desert, no proper roads of any type
being available. Naturally these
trails become almost impassable
during the rainy season, and it is
not unusual for cars to be mired for
two or three days at a time.
("Commerce Reports", May 9, 1927.)
THE LEBANON FLAG
ON THE
SEAS
The Arabic press of Beirut, capital of Mt. Lebanon, reports that
about the middle of April a number
of Lebanese chartered the steamer
Braga for a cruise in the Mediterranean for about a week, intending
to visit the island of Cyprus, Egypt
and some nearby ports. Out of courtesy to the travelers, the captain of
the steamer raised the Lebanese flag
on the main mast all during the
cruise and in that manner entered
many English ports. This pleased
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of these Druze women which, coming from a Druze, may be considered fairly authentic and indicative of
the spirit of this race. Among his
most salient points are the following:
"Among the Syrian women married to Druzes in the United States
only two divorces are recorded, one
divorcee being Druze by birth and
DRUZE WOMEN IN THE U. S. A.
the other Christian; but among the
In conformity with Mohammedan American women married to Druzes
customs, Druze women shun appear- the divorces are many for reasons
ing in public to the extent that when unknown. All that is known, howit becomes necessary for them to do ever, is that those of the American
so they invariably appear heavily women who remain living with their
veiled. This custom of seclusion has Druze husbands are happy and contaken so much hold on the social life tented and have come to learn and
of the people that it became a tradi- adopt a great many of the Druze
tional observance that women could customs.
not migrate. In the code of ethics
"There is not a single woman of
of most Orientals, especially those purely Druze descent, i. e., born of
of the Mohammedan faith, for a parents who are both Druzes, who
woman to appear in public unac- has married outside of her religion.
companied is taken as a sign of
"It is possible for us to affirm that
unwholesome manners, much more the Druze women in the United
her leaving her country and her fa- States have created a home atmother's or her husband's house. For sphere that is of the best. Not one
this reason it has been the general of these women but is faithful to
belief that Druze women in America her husband and her home duties
were extremely few in number.
and is bringing up her children in
It is learned, however, from a let- conformity with the highest racial
ter published in "Al-Bayan", a Druze standards.
publication in New York, under the
"One of the strangest things about
signature of Mr. Rashid Slim, him- these Druze women is that they are
self a Druze, that there are now in strict observers of their religious
the United States no less than 80 customs just as if they were within
Druze women of whom 63 are mar- the precincts of their places of worried and 17 unmarried. The latter ship in their home towns.
are mainly engaged in seeking an
"The Druze woman does not
education in American schools. He
further informs us that there are squander her money on useless cosfour Syrian Christian women mar- metics. On the contrary, she reried to Druzes, and that of the stricts her purchases to necessary
Druzes in the United States who are and conventional clothing as befits
married to American women there every woman of high breeding and
are no less than 125. Naturally, these genuine culture. Nor does she spend
American women are all Christians. her time at the frivolities of theaThe writer then proceeds to give tres and places of mirth. This pricecertain statistics and information as less jewel with which she is adorned
to the moral standing and home life is acquired through her religious
the Lebanese nation immensely and
the press of Beirut reflected this
jubiliation and hailed the incident as
an omen of the return to Lebanon
of the maritime glory it enjoyed
during the time of the Phoenicians.
�-—-
—
JUNE, 1927
55
teachings, good breeding and the number of the Syrians and Lebanesa
in the Argentine Republic.
solid worth of Druze principles.
According to the statement of this
"In consideration of the above menpaper,
the number of the Syrian and
tioned virtues of the Druze woman
Lebanese
colony in the city of Buewe are publishing these remarks that
nos
Aires
itself exceeds 30,000, while
they may serve as an inducement
in
the
whole
Republic it is conservato Druze young men to return to
tively
estimated
at 160,000. The paSyria and there choose mates of
their own race in an effort to pre- per proceeds to say that the Syrians
serve the integrity and conserve the are given mostly to commercial purpurity of their stock in vindication suits and recommends the diverting
of the old adage that 'the tree finds of their attention to other lines of
true sympathy only from its own endeavor and exhorts to a more collective interest in the affairs of the
bark.'"
nation.
Conceding that the above figures
are
correct, the Syrians of Buenos
A JOURNALISTIC INNOVATION
Aires would be in far greater numWith its issue of May 14, "Mera- ber than the Syrians of New York
at-Ul-Gharb", an Arabic daily of whose number is variously estimatNew York, began publishing a page ed at between twenty and twentyin English. In its editorial announce- five thousands, and they are admitment of this policy, the paper states tedly the largest single group of
that " 'Meraat-Ul-Gharb' wishes the Syrians in any city of the United
whole world to know that it is the States.
first to supply this growing demand.
We believe that the step is epochal
in the history of the Syrian community of America. ***** Where FORERUNNER OF A
NATIONAL SPIRIT
we will land it is idle for us now to
speculate, but we feel it in our
The Beirut correspondent of "Albones that we are taking a step in
Basir," an Arabic paper of Alexanthe right direction."
dria, Egypt, reports that the ChristIn its explanation of this step in
ian students in the Law School of
its Arabic section, "Meraat-UlDamascus invited forty brother stuGharb" expresses the hope that its
dents of the Mohammedan faith on
subscribers will increase by at least
the occasion of Easter and made
a thousand "so that we may be
merry with them in true brotherly
able to carry on the expense of this
spirit. During the course of the fesnewspaper."
tivities, both Mohammedans and
SYRIANS IN ARGENTINA
In a leading article on the necessity of the Syrians co-operating more
effectively with the people of the
land,
"Al-Ettehad
Al-Lubnani"
(Buenos Aires) mentions incidentally some interesting facts as to the
Christians made addresses emphasizing the necessity of effacing all
traces of past feuds in the hope that
the new generation will grow up under the influence of the principles of
true democracy and tolerance. They
hope that this spirit will spread
rapidly as its effect on the country
is of incalculable benefit.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Readers' Forum
SYRIANS IN AMERICA
Editor Syrian World:
When the founders of this great
nation flung their banner before the
world they unanimously agreed that
one of the principal tenets upon
which they would stand would be
tolerance. But today, in a land that
promised tolerance to men of any
religious creed or political belief,
we often wonder if there is such a
thing. To those of us who left the
beliefs and traditions of several
thousand years behind us; who left
the land of Lebanon, when, like the
Sword of Damocles, the Crescent
was ever a menace; and who came
to the haven of the oppressed; and
who did not find the toleration we
expected, I would like to give some
of my own observations.
I have traveled a great deal in
the South. I have been to places
where they did not know Where Syria
was, or ever saw a Syrian, and I
find the manner in which America
receives one is more or less dependent upon one's self. It is not only
the Syrians but all foreigners.
Most of the Syrians are in some
kind of business, and, naturally,
when they are interested solely in
their pocket, they cannot expect to
be looked up to in their community.
But, on the other hand, when they
try to better themselves mentally,
and take an active interest in the
welfare of their fellowmen and community, then they will achieve that
quality which marks every American
as an American. We can get no
more out of life than what we put
into it. If we attempt to maintain
the clannishness of our fathers we
cannot expect
to be tolerated as
they who enter into the spirit of
America. It is not entirely necessary
to sacrifice our ideals to achieve
Americanism. There is, I must admit,
a class who resent the intrusion of
any foreigner into the sacred portals of that American institution,
"Politics". But do not judge America as a whole by this class.
Someone has said there is a little
good in the worst of. us, and a little
bad in the best of us. In a nation
that is often called the melting pot,
the dross must, of necessity, come
out. To us Syrian-Americans who
feel that we have been maligned by
our neighbors, let me say this: First,
let us put our own house in order.
America asks only that you meet
her at the halfway point. She neither asks all, nor gives all. She will
do for us what she has done for
others. But she must have our cooperation and assistance, or neither
will be benefited. Enter into the
spirit of her traditions and institutions. Do not attempt to live for
yourself alone. In this land of
plenty there is enough for all.
Joseph Mawod.
Dallas, Texas.
THE RACE IS RESPECTED
Editor Syrian World:
It is regrettable that anyone finding himself in difficulties with his
neighbors should give expression to
his feelings in print and c,aim that
the whole race is despised or looked
down upon. To me it is a case of
personality and locality. Individual
cases cannot be taken as an indication of the prevalence of a general
�ALICE BRADY
->:•; * ^
AS THE SYRIAN HEROINE IN "ANNA ASCENDS"
�A SCENE FROM "ANNA ASCENDS"
The meeting of Howard and Anna in the Syrian Restaurant of Said Coury.
The result?
�JUNE, 1927
condition. Through experience I
know that the Syrians are highly
respected for many good qualities
and I believe that we should boost
and not knock. Pessimism and dissatisfaction never lead to any constructive results. Agitators are never popular and the optimists and
workers for law and order are always
welcome. Let us try not to breed
discord.
Syrians came to America in search
of opportunities. Let us look around
us and see if they did; not find what
'57.
they sought. We have found freedom and wealth and means for intellectual advancement. The principles upon which the American government was founded have not
changed. Lincoln said that the nation was dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal, and
equal we are, and we should not
delude ourselves into the belief that
we are not.
Samuel Peters.
Los Angeles, al.
Political Developments in Syria
Several months have now elapsed
since M. Ponsot, the French High
Commissioner for Syria, returned to
Paris for, an announced stay of only
a few weeks. There are, at present,
no authentic indications as to when
he will return. The latest report
published in the Syrian papers intimates that his stay in Paris will be
extended for another month or more.
Some had at first attributed his delay
to his intention of marrying before
his return, but it now seems that
the business of putting things in
Syria in order and providing the
country with a suitable and stable
form of government requires more
reflection and preparation than any
such formidable thing as the embarkation on the sea of matrimony.
But, withal, what was at first characterized as serene, methodical and
unhurried activity on the part of M.
Ponsot is being now interpreted as
undue delay due, perhaps, to incapacity.
All that/ can be gathered from the
Syrian papers is that M. Ponsot is
determined to return only when his
whole program for administrative
reform in Syria is approved by the
Government and he is given full
power to carry it out. What sounds
like a plausible rumor is that the
work of M. Ponsot in Paris will
take another month.
Meanwhile, the political situation
in Syria is as chaotic as ever. In
Damascus the provisional government is tottering and there are everpropping rumors that this minister
or the other intends to resign. While
in Mt. Lebanon there occured a genuine ministerial crisis which caused
the fall of the government. It came
in a test of strength when a certain
faction insisted on demanding a vote
of confidence, following an ultimatum
served on the government, setting a
specific date for a reply, on tihe carrying out of a provision of administrative reform. The original proposition was that Parliament favored
the reduction of the Ministeries from
�58
eight to four for reasons of economy.
The fall of the government was
brought about even in the absence
of the Prime Minister August Pasha
Adib, who is in Paris negotiating
the settlement of the Turkish prewar debts and the shara of Lebanon
in them.
What was construed by the Syrian press as a political occurrence
of prime importance was the address of the Maronite Patriarch to
the Admiral and officers of the
French fleet upon the occasion of
their visit to the Patriarchate see in
Bekorki. The formal speech of the
Patriarch, supplemented later with
informal remarks uttered with great
feeling, is reported to have criticized
the policy of the French administration in Syria and Lebanon and to
have expressed disappointment over
the manner in which the French
were handling the situation. The
Patriarch reminded his visitors of
his efforts to have the mandate over
Syria granted to the French and
that in case they should continue to
show their present lack of deference
to the interests of their friends the
complaint would be carried to Paris.
The principal grievance is that the
Christians of Southern Lebanon who
bore the brunt of the revolutionists'
attack and had their villages sacked
and burned while untold cruelties
and sufferings were visited on them,
and all for their loyalty to France,
are being pursued by the authorities
with all manner of persecution while
perpetrators of destruction and murder are being freed and allowed to
return to their homes or appointed
to government offices to enjoy the
booty they had stolen from the
Christians. And as if not content
with this grave injustice, the authorities are levying arms on the
unfortunate Christian sufferers of
the revolution, and where the arms
THE SYRIAN WORLD
are not collectable they are exacting
payment of their value in gold.
It is reported that some high Lebanese and French functionaries made
several attempts to interrupt the
Patriarch in his remarks but he waved them all off and insisted on
speaking his mind in full.
The unity of Syria still furnishes
the biggest theme of discussion in
the Syrian and Lebanese press. The
latest rumors are that M. Ponsot
favors some scheme of bringing
about this union in a manner that
would satisfy the aspirations of the
people of the interland without upsetting the traditions of the Lebanese in preserving some sort of isolation and independence. He is hopeful of effecting this result more
through economic pressure and the
necessity of creating one economic
unit of the whole country to facilitate exchange of trade with its different sections and make of Syria an
entrepot for the trade of the whole
Near East. Already some French
papers are stressing the necessity of
developing Syria as a trade link between Europe and Persia and other
Asiatic countries now that the overland trade route has been found
practicable and could, with proper
attention, be made a great trade
highway for the rapid exchange of
merchandise, dispensing with the
long and tedious water route. For the
promotion of this scheme, some
French papers are in favor of making the city of Damascus the seat
of the French High Commissariat ia
Syria instead of Beirut, as at present. This move, they declare, would
be a powerful bid for the goodwill
of the Moslem world and bound
to prove one of the most effective
steps for the development of commercial intercourse.
Of the political situation in Jebel
Druze, the original theatr* of th«
�-""w"
JUNE, 1927
«*-*
59
fighting attending the revolution, re- on the French lines of communicaports agree that in the populated tions in Syria and caused the French
districts conditions are rapidly ap- to complain to the English authoriproaching the normal stage. Only ties that if this condition were to
in the outlying sections is there still continue it would be interpreted as
any fighting going on, and this, ac- a hostile act and would justify recording to reports, is of a desultory prisals. The same observer also denature. A delegation of notables clares that if the Druzes are forced
from Jebel Druze coming to Beirut out of Al-Azrak they have the wide
to participate in the festivities at- stretches of the desert to fall back
tending the visit of the French fleet on where they would be free from
to Syrian waters petitioned the High any interference in the conduct of
Commissioner not for political or their raids, because it is their intenadministrative reforms, but for re- tion to prosecute the war to the
forms of a purely economic and edu- bitter end.
cational nature.
This latter view seems to be borne
out by statements from the revolutionary headquarters given much
MILITARY OPERATIONS
prominence by the nationalist press.
The most important development
The assertion is even made that the
in the military situation in Syria is
conflict is now raging as fierce as
the declaration by Emir Abdullah,
it ever was during any time of the
the ruling Prince of Transjordania,
revolution and that the punitive exof martial law in the district of Alpedition launched by the French
Azrak, the oasis in the Syrian Desert
against the hitherto impregnable
where Sultan Pasha Atrash, leader
volcanic plateau of Lijah failed in
of the Druze revolution, took refuge
attaining its objective and had to
when the French forces occupied the
take positions on the outskirts of
Druze mountain. The order issued
the section following severe losses
by Emir Abdullah states that "bein the vain attempt to drive out the
cause the district has become the
revolutionists.
scene of disquieting disturbances, it
The French military authorities,
becomes necessary to declare martial
after
their communique dealing with
law which will be enforced with all
the
operations
of March 29-30 in
severity by the military authorities."
which
they
claimed
to have won a
A military observer writing in
signal
victory
and
cleared
the dis"Al-Mokattam" of Cairo, a pro retrict
of
the
remnants
of
insurgent
volutionary Arabic paper, attaches
more political than military signifi- bands, have remained silent as to
cance to this new development in the further activities on any large scale,
situation in that it proves the ex- confining their announcements to
istence of a new agreement for co- what they describe as small bands of
operation between the English au- outlaws infesting mainly the disthorities in Palestine and the French tricts of Horns and Hama and not
authorities in Syria. All the Druzes the southern part of Syria in the
now in Al-Azrak, he declares, cannot direction of Jebel Druze.
A prominent Druze insurgent leadbe more than three thousand, but because they had been immune from er who had escaped to Palestine
French interference, they used the was arrested by the English authoriplace as a base for launching raids ties and turned over to the French.
�I
I
60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
p ?
WHAT HAPPENED TO ANNA?
ANNA is the Syrian immigrant girl who, upon landing
in America, discovered herself in lower Washington Street,
New York, but wanted to "ascend".
Read her wonderful story which is to be published serially beginning with the July issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD.
Follow this virtuous, determined and intelligent Syrian
girl in her defense of her honor and her struggle for success.
Learn what became of her when she was under the
illusion that she was a fugitive from justice for a fancied
murder, and what was the climax of her secret love for the
wealthy, educated and socially prominent young American
who had espoused her cause.
"ANNA ASCENDS", by the well-known American
author and playwrite, Harry Chapman Ford, was staged on
Broadway and had a successful run of a whole season with
the famous American stage and screen star Alice Brady appearing in the stellar role. The play was later filmed for
the screen. It was never published in book form. Your
only chance to read this gripping love story eulogizing the
Syrian girl is by following it in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
"ANNA ASCENDS" will be published in its original
form to preserve all its color and dramatic interest.
Make sure that you get your
coming July number.
SYRIAN WORLD
from the
MWMWWWWMWMWWMWUWWWyWWWMWMMWWMMMAAAAMAAAAAAAAA^
�1
V
STATEMENT OP THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION,
MTC.. REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24, 1»12.
Of The Syrian World published monthly at New York, N.Y^for Apr. 1,1927
STATE OF NEW YORK.
COUNTY OF NEW YORK,
Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the state and county aforesaid,
personally appeared Salloum A. Mokarzel, who, having been duly sworn
according to law, deposes and says that he is the publisher of the The
Syrian World, and that the following is, to the best of bis knowledge and
belief, a true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown
in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1921, embodied in
section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this
form, to wit:
1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing
editor, and business managers are:
Name of—
Post office address—
Publisher, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
104 Greenwich Street.
Managing Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
Business Managers, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
2. That the owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its name and address
must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses
of stockholders owning or holding one per cent or more of total amount of
stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a firm, company, or other
unincorporated concern, its name and address, as well as those of each
individual member, must be given.)
Salloum A. Mokarzel
104 Greenwich St.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders
owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages,
or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.) None.
4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the Mst of
stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the
company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears
upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation,
en; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's
the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is givfull knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under
which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books
of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other
than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe
that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direct
or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated
by him.
5. That the average number of copies of each issue of this publication
sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers during the six months preceding the date shown1 above is.
(This information is required from daily publications only.)
S. A. Mokarzel.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this eighth day of April, 1927.
[SEAL.]
Salem J. Lutfy.
(My commission expires March 30, 1929.)
�I I
62
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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�'63
JUNE, 1927
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
64
Vrtilll*rtiVil(itttiii«ii«»iiitiuiiitiiiiniiirt!iiiiiii*tii"iit"'»i|
The Syrians in America] •
By Philip K. Hitti, Ph. D.
Books by Gibran
Our celebrated author wl
English books have been translated into a score of Janguarees.
It is a mark of distinction to
have them in one's library.
A book that is encyclopedic in
Its information about the Syrians
—their origin, history, progress,!
faiths, racial peculiarities and!
particularly, their present status
in America.
THE MADMAN
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
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ZAHLE
A panoramic view of this beautiful city of Lebanon, 8x50" clear
to the smallest detail, taken with a special camera by the SyrianAmerican photographer, F. Askar, can now be had by lovers of the
beautiful scenic views of the Old Country. This is an historic picture
that should have a place in the home of every emigrant from Zahle.
Other beautiful photographs taken by Mr. Askar include a panoramic view of the Ruins of Baalbeck, the Heights of Shweir, ana
the Peninsula of Jubeil, the historic City of Byblos.
Samples of these wonderful, original photographs are on display
at the office of The Syrian World.
Orders filled only if paid for in advance.
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You may enter my name as a subscriber to "The Syrian World"
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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TSW1927_06reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 01, Issue 12
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 June
Description
An account of the resource
Volume1 Issue 12 of The Syrian World published May 1927. The issue opens with an article by Alfred Ely Day on "Geology of Syria and Palestine." Following that is an article by Ameen Rihani that discusses how the East (Middle East) and West (Europe anbd United States) meet. This issue focuses on emigration and integration. One of its articles discusses the benefits of Syrian emigration. The historical articles intermingled in this issue cover the city of Beirut and the life of Al-Farid, an Arabian mystic poet from 1181 A.D. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Syrian Press, the Reader’s Forum, and more on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
Beirut
Immigration
Lebanon
New York
Palestine
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/8179e24b558bc2b4703673b7e96c643d.pdf
47a9235c4b714eeb6651e2291e427289
PDF Text
Text
��THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
N. Y.
3y subscription $5.00 a year.
Single copies
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
JULY, 1927
No. 1.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Vital Industry for Syria
3
PROF. HAROLD CLOSE
\An Effective Argument
12
Syrian Folk Songs — Across the Bridge, O Come
13
AMEEN RIHANI
\The Great Lyric of Al-Farid — (Sufiism)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
On Fatalism (poem)
J. D.
14
20
CARLYLE
Everybody's Book Shelf —/— Books for Babies
21
BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
i Many-Gifted Arab
26
7
27
amous Cities of Syria — Tyra and Sidon
�CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Why I Wrote a Syrian Play
33
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Anna Ascends — Act One
'
35
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
The Tournament
44
FUAD AL-BUSTANI
The Justice of Touloun
47
Alone? No, Not Alone (poem)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
4$
NOTES AND COMMENTS— By
Our First Anniversary
What Ails Syrian Industry?
Politics Again
"Son of an Immigrant"
A Reminder
A Regular Contributor
For Your Sumtner Reading
THE EDITOR
4Q
SO
52
52
53
53
5
Spirit of the Syrian Press
5 .
About Syria anJ Syrians
5^
Political Developments in Syria
...£2
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
'Umar Ibnu H-Farid—A Conception by Gibran
The City of Sidon
The Citadel by the Sea
A Relic of Old Glory
The Beginning of her Ascent
A Garden Spot in the Upper Reaches of Lebanon
A Natural Wonder
—i
! {'
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THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 1.
JULY, 1927.
\
A Vital Industry for Syria
By
HAROLD CLOSE
Professor of Chemistry in the American University of Beirut.
*>
The most fundamental problem facing an individual is that
of providing those material necessities without which life is impossible His stomach demands his first attention and it gets it.
Those poor unfortunates who do not know where their next
meal is coming from cannot be expected to show much interest
in questions of education, social ethics or philosophy, buch a
man may even have to do without the services of the doctor
or the dentist if he sees no prospect of being able to pay the bill.
It is exactly the same with a nation. Granted a reasonable
amount of public security, economic conditions must be the nation's first concern. If a nation is to prosper it must be selfsupporting. If it is not able to support its population the situation will remedy itself in one way or another. Large numbers
of the people may die or leave the country, thus reducing the
number of mouths to feed. The standard of living may fall
until it reaches a point where the population can be supported.
Both processes may go on at the same time. The danger is that
the poor who do not run away to seek their fortune elsewhere
will become steadily poorer until they find themselves little better
than serfs in the employ of the few rich.
Emigration may relieve the situation temporarily, but it is
not solving the problem. It is evading it for those who go and
adding to it for those who stay. Likewise, reducing the stand-
.
�4
.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ard of living does not mean that the people have overcome their
difficulties. Neither process is consistent with national pride.
Both close the door to future advancement and prosperity.
The only genuine and effective way to attack the problem
is to make every effort to increase production. This can be done
by developing the mining and agricultural possibilities on the
one hand or by taking the raw materials which Nature provides
and working them until they become more valuable. This is
the object of the various industries. Syria and Palestine will
never become great industrial countries because of the lack of
fuel. But there are some industries in which the fuel problem
does not play such an important part, and the most should be
made of these, if these countries are to prosper. It is proposed
in the present article to make a brief survey of the situation confronting the soap manufacturers, with a view to pointing out
some of the problems which must be faced and estimating the
possibilities for the future development of the soap business.
Before doing this it will be necessary to outline in a few words
the process of manufacture of soap as it is practiced here and in
other countries where it has reached a somewhat higher stage of
developmnt.
Soap is made by treating a fat or an oil with some kind of
alkali. Fats are compounds composed of glycerine combined
with an acid. When the fat is treated with sodium hydroxide,
for example, the glycerine is set free and the sodium combines
with the acid to form a soap. The result then of the action of
the alkali on the fat is the formation of soap and the liberation
of glycerine.
In Syria the only oil that is used is olive oil, because
it is the cheapest and makes very good soap. The result is that
there is only one variety of soap made. In other words, soap
is soap. The only difference between soaps made by different
manufacturers is because some use a cheap grade of alkali or
adulterants. This latter point will be dealt with later. The
fact to be noted at present is that all the soap made in Syria is
olive oil soap. In contrast with this in Europe and America a
large variety of oils are used and consequently many kinds of
soap are produced. In general these may be classified into two
main groups, kudry soaps made from cheap oils, and toilet soaps
made from the more expensive oils.
Although in general no distinction is mad* ia Syria be-
Ll
�JULY, 1927
*
tween soaps for laundry purposes and soaps for toilet purposes it
is best to consider the two separately as they present somewhat
different problems. Soap which is to be used for washing one s
face must not only be a good cleansing agent} it must lather
freely without being too wasteful, and it must also not be irritating to the skin. If it is clothes that are to be washed these
requirements, do not differ except in the last instance It doesn t
matter very much if the soap is a little harsh. If the soap is to
be delicate and mild it must be made from the best ingredients
and must not contain excess of alkali, as it is the free alkali
which is chiefly responsible for the irritating action on the skin.
With laundry soaps this is of much less importance, while the
cost is relatively more important than in the case of toilet soaps
Hence the practice in Europe and America of reserving the best
ingredients for toilet soaps and of taking great care in the manufacturing processs to prevent excess of alkali. With laundry
soaps the most important points are cleansing power and cheapThe situation in Syria and Palestine may be described in
general by saying that the manufacturers use toilet soap ingredients and laundry soap methods of manufacture. Thus the
product is more expensive than foreign laundry soap and yet
not carefully enough made to compete in an open market with
foreign toilet soap.
If local soap is to compete as a laundry soap it must be
cheapened. A glance at the cost sheet of any manufacturer reveals at once that the oil is the main item of expense. Reduction in other cost items would not materially affect the price 01
the soap. This is the. reason why the soap business should logically be located in oil-producing countries. This fact should also
make it obvious that the practice of using a poor grade of alkali
or of adding adulterants does not pay. The use of lime, soda
containing large amounts of common salt and other extraneous
matter should be strongly condemned. It not only results in
a low-grade soap but it is not worth it. The controlling factor
is the price of oil. It is doubtful whether other 01 Sj can be produced here or brought in from outside which would be cheaper
than olive oil, but the question is worthy of careful study. It
the problem resolves itself into that of lowering the cost of production of olive oil it becomes an agricultural problem, lhis
point will be discussed more fully at the end of the article.
�.... I..
6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
While it is true that the main item of expense in the manufacture of soap is the oil, there is another point which should be
brought out here. One reason why foreign laundry soap is cheap
is because it is manufactured in very large quantities. In this
country the soap factories are all small and many of them are
not working to their full capacity. Machinery cheapens cost of
production but only when the output is sufficiently large to keep
the machinery working steadily. The writer knows of no soap
factory in Syria or Palestine large enough to make it profitable
to introduce machinery;-for the making of laundry soap. If several soap manufacturers could combine into one big company it
is possible that the introduction of machinery would be profitable and would result in a lowering of the cost of production.
Such a combination would in any case have the advantage of
reducing the overhead expenses.
In the preceding paragraphs we have been looking at the
question from the point of view of soap for laundry purposes
and the principal objection to the local soap as a laundry soap
is that it is too expensive. But if we consider the local soap
as a toilet soap the situation is different. Foreign toilet soap has
the advantage over local soaps in various points, which, however,
could to a large extent be overcome by local manufacturers.
SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE CAKES
I. The local soap is cut into square pieces which are very unhandy to hold. They are too large and of a most inconvenient
shape. This is because they are cut by hand. Soap presses have
not come into general use partly because of expense, but the main
reason is because no differentiation has been made between soap
for laundry purposes and soaps for toilet uses. Once this distinction is made the desirability of putting out a cake of toilet
soap of convenient size and shape would be apparent to all. The
majority of the people buying local soap have not been accustomed to making any distinction between laundry and local soap,
and the manufacturers no doubt feel that it is not worthwhile to
try to change century-old customs. But the fact of the matter
is that foreign toilet soap is in the meantime driving the local
soap from the market slowly but surely. The local industry is
losing ground and this is one of the reasons. As the people become acquainted with foreign soap they gradually acquire the
�JULY, 1927
habit of buying it, largely because it is more convenient to handle.
II. A second reason why foreign soap is gradually displacing local soap is because it is wrapped up in an attractive
form. Experience has shown that it pays to advertise. If you
want to sell an article make it look attractive. Most of us judge
very largely by appearances — we have to because we don't
konw anything about what is under the surface. The merchant
who displays his goods in an attractive way will get the business.
III. Attractive exterior appearance of an article may get
business for its manufacturer but it won't keep it unless the quality of the object is good throughout. Very good soap may be
done up in a very attractive wrapping. The most important
thing is the soap. Some kinds of local soap are better soap than
many of the foreign varieties. You can't make good soap out
of poor ingredients. Most of the local soap purports to be
made from sodium hydroxide and olive oil. These are excellent. But when lime, a cheap grade of soda and other adulterants are used the value of the soap is much decreased. For
example, lime makes a soap which is insoluble and hence useless.
It doesn't lather and it doesn't clean.
If good sodium hydroxide and olive oil only are used the
soap is good soap, but it doesn't1 lather as good as soap containing
mixed oils. A relatively small amount of palm oil, cocoa-nut
oil, or castor oil increases the lathering properties. The different
oils make soaps with somewhat different properties. By carefully experimenting with varying proportions of different oils,
the foreign manufacturers have worked out formulas for soap
which vary greatly in solubility, firmness, smoothness of texture,
lathering qualities and lasting properties. The local product
could be considerably improved by mixing other oils with the
olive oil. Most of these other oils come from tropical or semitropical countries, and should be procurable here cheaper than
in Europe and America. The question of introducing a greater
variety of oils in the soap manufacture here is worthy of consideration.
IV. Another point in which foreign soap has the advantage
over much of the local product is in the care with which the
soap is made. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find all sorts
of foreign matter embedded in the cake of soap, such as sticks,
stones, lumps of lime and even nails. This sort of thing is, inex-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
cusable and can be easily avoided with a reasonable amount of
cleanliness and care.
V. The best grades of toilet soap are the so-called "milled"
soaps. Different kinds of soaps are made from different oils.
These are then shaved into small pieces by machinery and after
thorough mixing are put through a mechanical press which compresses the soap and moulds it into the desired .shape. By this
process the soap is rendered of a finer texture and more uniform
throughout.
The local soap is inferior as regards texture because all the
work is done by hand, and hence is not as fine or as uniform.
The introduction of a small amount of machinery for mixing
and moulding the soap would greatly improve it, but this would
scarcely pay in such small factories as most of the existing ones.
Consolidation of several factories into one would make the introduction of machinery profitable.
VI. Another way in which large factories have an advantage over small ones lies in the fact that in large factories it
pays to recover the glycerine which is a by-product in the soap
manufacture. At present this glycerine remains in the soap. It
does no harm, and in fact helps to make the soap less irritating
to the skin. The only reason for extracting it is because it is
valuable. The recovery of the glycerine, however, involves expensive machinery and is out of the question unless several small
factories were to be consolidated, in which case it would be a
profitable undertaking. Large quantities of glycerine are used
for making explosives, besides what is used in the preparation
of medicine.
VII. Local soap is for the most part sold by weight,
whereas foreign soap is sold by the piece. After soap is made'
it loses a good deal of water by evaporation. If a purchaser
buys soap by weight he buys more or less water, and unless he
has had experience he cannot tell how much is soap and how
much is water. To be fair to both buyer and seller the price
must vary with the dryness of the soap. This cannot be accurate, so someone always loses, and it is more often the buyer
than the, seller, because the latter knows more about it. It would
therefore seem to be an advantage to the purchaser to buy his
soap by the cake because then he could be sure how much he
was buying. For this assurance he ought to be willing to pay and
thus the higher price which soap by the piece brings is justified
�<J
: I
The manufacturer gets a little more profit and the purchaser
gets the assurance that he is not paying for water when he thinks
he is buying soap.
. i • • i
VIII. In purchasing soap or any other article it is always
a satisfaction when one can be sure that the article he purchases
is genuine, and the quality is uniform. When a manufacturer
succeeds in establishing a reputation for genuineness and uniformity in his product he has gone a long way towards success.
Thus it is a big asset to both parties. It is because men realize
this that they put their names, or trade-marks on their goods. A
trade-mark is intended to be a guarantee of the good quality of
the article, but it may prove to be an indication of the poor quality rather than the good quality. A soap manufacturer who is
not ready to vouch for the genuineness and uniformity of his
soap would do well to leave his name off because a bad reputation is much worse than no reputaion at all. And when a manufacturer succeeds in establishing a good reputation it is the height
of folly for him to begin to add adulterants to his soap. A
good reputation is a wonderful asset and should be most carefully guarded as it is hard to win and very easy to lose.
What can be done to develop the soap industry in Syria
and Palestine? Along what lines should the efforts of soap
manufacturers be directed?
I. Co-operation:— The soap factories are all small, and
as a result the manufacturers cannot afford to put in improvements which would be possible where large amounts of capital
were at hand. Machinery for the most part does not pay unless
the output of the factory is large. A manufacturer of small
quantities of soap hesitates to put on the market any novelties
in the soap line for fear they will not be popular, whereas a
large firm can much more easily run the risk of failure without
endangering the whole business} in union there is strength.
Consolidation would be a great advantage.
Next best to consolidation would be co-operation between
manufacturers. The first aim for soap manufacturers to set before themselves is to drive out foreign soaps. They cannot hope
to do this by individual effort — it requires team work. The
first step then would seem to get together and lay out a plan of
action. Does it seem strange to suggest that men who are rivals
in business could get together in a friendly and co-operative
spirit to consider their common good? If they can not they
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
must expect their business to shrink as it gradually gives way to
pressure from outside.
II. Different Kinds of Soap:— If the local soap is to drive
the foreign from the market it must be made in more than one
grade. Foreign laundry soap will inevitably win out over local
soap for laundry purposes sooner or later, unless the local soap
can be cheapened. The local soap cannot hope to compete with
the foreign toilet soap unless more care is used in making it.
The local soap attempts to be both a laundry soap and a toilet
soap at the same time, and it falls short of both. Specialization must come.
III. Standardization:— Great improvement could be made
in the local soap if more cleanliness and accuracy were used.
Sticks and stones and all sorts of rubbish have no business in a
cake of soap. Excess of alkali is a great draw-back, particularly
in toilet soap. The use of adulterants cannot be too strongly
condemned.
Standards of purity must be set up and rigidity held to.
Uniformity of product is essential if a soap is to meet the keen
competition of the present day.
IV. Appearance and Form:— Would it not be worthwhile
to try the experiment of putting out soap in small cakes of convenient size and shape, stamped with a neat trade-mark and
wrapped in an attractive paper wrapper or in a cardboard box?
V. The Olive Oil Crop:— The reason for the existence
of the soap business here is the olive culture. The oil is the
main item of expense. In fact business is good or bad depending on the oil crop. The key to the situation is the oil. One
year the crop is good and the next it is poor. A uniform supply
of oil at a reasonable price is essential to the soap business. In
other words the problem is largely an agricultural one.
The yield of olives could doubtless be considerably increased by the introduction of modern scientific methods. If
an olive tree is to bear well it must receive sufficient nourishment
in plant food and water. If the top is allowed to grow too large
for the roots there is a tendency for the olives to start to develop
faster than can be adequately nourished by the available food.
Many will not mature and will fall off as the dry summer weather
advances. The tree exhausts its vitality in an effort to bring its
fruit to maturity. The result is that the following year it has
to devote all its energies to recuperating and bears only a small
*l
�JULY, 1927
9
ll
crop. This situation is unfortunate and results in a smaller
average yearly yield than the tree should produce. One remedy
is to be found in more pruning, so as to prevent the tree from
growing a larger top than its roots can nourish. Another is to
provide more food in the form of fertilizer, and still another
to plant the trees a little further apart. These and similar points
in connection with olive culture should be carefully studied. If
improved methods of cultivation, pruning, etc., were introduced
they should also be accompanied by a reform in the method ot
gathering the olives. Striking the trees to knock off the olives
results in many of the young shoots falling off which would otherwise bear fruit the following year. This is probably not the
principal reason for the poor yield in alternate years at present
but rather undernourishment is the main trouble. However, if
the trees could be adequately nourished then this factor would
assume considerable importance. Picking by hand is far better
than knocking the fruit off by sticks, because in the latter case
many olives are not recovered from the ground, a good many
are trampled on and crushed, and the trees are injured. Hand
picking takes more time and consequently adds to the cost of
labour, but the additional cost of labour would be more than
made up for in increased yield. If the pickers were paid by the
day rather than by the job, there would be no temptation to injure the trees or to be careless in other ways in gathering the
fruit.
.
. .
A question which naturally occurs to one in connection with
the olive oil business is whether the oil is bringing the biggest
possible returns. Olives command higher prices as pickled olives
or as oil than they do as soap. The best grade of olive oil is not
necessary for making soap and it is more profitable to sell the
best grade as an edible oil and preserve only the poorer grades
for making soap. The oil should be pressed out in fractions and
that which is obtained at lower pressures put up in small bottles
ready for the retail market if the highest returns are to be secured A large quantity of good oil is at the present time being
used for making soap, and thus the maximum profit from the
olives is not being realized. Olive culture should be extended
and the oil graded in several qualities. The best grades should
be sold for edible purposes and only the poorer grades used for
the manufacture of soap.
Would not the best way of attacking these problems be
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
through an Association of Oil and Soap manufacturers. The
purpose of such an organization would be to unite the efforts
of the members for the advancement of their common interest,
the development of the oil and soap businesses. They could collect and disseminate information on the best methods of olive
culture, the best form in which to place the oil on the market,
establishing contacts in oil-purchasing countries, the best kinds
of soap to manufacture, finding foreign markets for the local
soap, establishing and maintaining standards of purity for oil
and soap, advertising, developing public sentiment in favour of
using local products, etc. These things cannot be done satisfactorily by individuals; the co-operation of all who would profit
from it is necessary. In this way great progress could be made
which would not only be profitable to the individual producers
but would help greatly in the economic reconstruction of the
country.
AN EFFECTIVE ARGUMENT
Following a drought in Arabia which brought in its wake
great famine and misery, a delegation from some destitute tribes
waited on the ruling Emir, 'Umar Ibn Abdu 'l-'Aziz, and chose
for their spokesman a fearless young man who was eloquent of
speech and direct in his approach.
When in the presence of the Emir, the spokesman, upon
receiving permission to speak, addressed the Emir as follows:
"O Prince of the Faithful: We have suffered from a succession of most desolate years. One year reduced the fat, another wasted the lean, and a third gnawed the bone, while in
your treasury there is a surplus of funds which, if they belong
to us, we should receive the benefit therefrom in this time of
our dire need; and if they belong to God, they should be distributed among His worshipers; and if they belong to you, then
this is the time of all times when you should give alms to the
needy and win the grace of God."
Upon hearing this, the Prince of the Faithful turned to
his advisers and remarked: "Verily, this Arab has worded his
plea in such a manner as to exclude any possibility of excuse.
Let the sufferers be relieved from the surplus of funds in the
treasury."
JU
�WH
13
JULY, 1927
Syrian Folk Songs
ACROSS THE BRIDGE, O COME
Translation by
AMEEN RIHANI
W
^,,-JI ^^-x *»Jj L
L_.'- f*
^v-
Across the bridge, O come,
Beloved, from thy home!
Come let us walk and dream;
In the cool morning roam.
The soft winds kiss her robe,
Al-hobe, al-hobe, al-hobel
Why hasten, my gazelle,
To Dummar's * distant cell?
Beside this crystal spring,
O listen to love's spell.
The soft winds kiss her robe,
Al-hobe, al-hobe, al-hobe!
* Dummar — a Convent.
(In the coming August issue will be 'published a Syrian Folk
Song translated by Gibran K. Gibran.)
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Great Lyric of Al-Farid
Sufiism
AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE
By DR. N. A. KATIBAH
In order fully to understand Ibnu '1-Farid, and to appreciate the significance of his highly impassioned verse, it is necessary to have some conception of the history and tenets of Sunism.
Of course it would be impossible to give this subject adequate
treatment in an introductory note, and I must, therefore, limit
myself to the barest outline.
_
Sunism, (from the Arabic word suf, wool, in reference to
the woolen garments usually worn by its devotees} or, perhaps,
from the word safa, purity) corresponds to mysticism in English,
and, in common with it, treats of the doctrine that the divine
essence may be known by intuition, differing from ordinary sensation and reason. Mystics in general claim that they attain this
insight in visions, trances and ecstasies. During these moments
they are said to be absorbed in, or in union with, the divine spirit.
Briefly recounted, the tenets of Sufiism, or so-called Mohammedan mysticism, as it now stands, are as follows:
1. God alone exists, visible and invisible beings are mere
emanations from Him.
2 Since God is the author of all acts of mankind, man is
not a free agent, and, therefore, there can be no real difference
between good and evil.
,
3 The soul existed before the body in which it is confined,
and its liberation (death) should be man's chief concern in order that it, the soul, may return to the bosom of the Divinity.
4 That religions are matters of indifference — conventional garbs — though some (for instance Islam) are more advantageous than others.
* The germs of this philosophy may be traced back to the
* What follows is adapted from the article on Sunism by R. A. Nicholson in the Encyclop«dia Britannica, 11th edition.
inmwiTTiriaiiiwanimiir ^iwiTiTmninmmiiini a iiMfiiiBiiiiifwm*ii Miiiiiii(ijftiliiiifilfciiWulwwil*ilia<t^ iiiriw*wiriTm
TI
miii MI
MI
I
I
�JULY, 1927
15
life and teachings of the founder of Islam himself, and in this
sense and to this extent, may be said to be latent in Mohammedanism. This is borne out by the trances into which Mohammed
used to fall, the stress he laid upon the efficacy of ascetic exercises, such as prayer, vigils and fasting, and also by certain texts
of the Koran which can be interpreted only in a pantheistic sense.
But, historically speaking, it was not until two centuries later
that Suiiism made itself appreciably felt in Islam. Evidently it
came as a reaction to, and perhaps as a revolt from, the concomitant evils of a cyclonic conquest: murder, internecine wars,
despotic military rule, the unrestrained license and luxury of the
upper classes, and the mechanical piousness of the orthodox creed.
It was, as it were, a passive protest against these, finding expression
in a life of asceticism, quietism, spiritual feeling, and emotional
faith. At its inception, therefore, Sufiism was merely practical
religion — a mode of life; and the Sufis could be recognized
only as Mohammedan "monks" whose spiritual convictions led
them to break their family ties, renounce the vanities of the
world, and wander about from place to place preaching. They
lived by alms or by their own labor. However, these Dervishes
(as they are better known) emphasized certain Koranic terms,
such as dhikr (repetition of the name of the Deity) which they
regarded as superior to the five canonical prayers, and tawakkul
(trust in God) which they interpreted as renunciation of all initiative.
With the spread of rationalism and freethought toward the
end of the second century of the Mohammedan era, (undoubtedly greatly influenced by Christianity, Buddhism and Neoplatonism) Sufiism ventured out into the field of systematized theory.
As such it began to depart radically from the orthodox faith.
But it was, as yet, not strong enough to assert itself openly, and
was forced into adopting covert means and methods to ingratiate
itself with the sympathies of the prevailing faith. About this
time appeared Rabi'a of Basra, the first of a long line of saintly
women, who first set forth the doctrine of mystical love. Henceforward the use of symbolical expressions, borrowed from the
vocabulary of love and wine, became increasingly frequent as a
means of indicating holy mysteries which must not be divulged,
and gave birth to some of the most beautiful poetry in the world.
In the course of the third century Sufiism evolved into a
more decided character. While still retaining its devotional mys-
�1
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16
ticism, it now developed into a speculative and pantheistic movement, essentially anti-Islamic, and rapidly came into conflict with
the orthodox culema.
We cannot dwell long on the sources of this system or its
modus operandi. Suffice it that, at present, it draws upon the
teachings of the Koran, the traditions of the Prophet, and the
sayings of its well-known Sufi teachers. To these Al-Ghazali,
its foremost Arabian exponent, had established that kashf (revelation) and (aql (reason) should also be considered as sources of
fundamental principles of faith. Sufiism expatiates on the discipline of the soul, and describes the process of purgation which
it must undergo before entering on the contemplative life. A
Sufi is a pilgrim journeying towards God and passes through a
series of ascending "stations" maqamat, viz: (1) repentance, (2)
abstinence, (3) renunciation, (4) poverty, (5) patience, (6) trust
in God, (7) acquiescence in the will of God. These lead to a
parallel scale of spiritual feelings (ahwal), such as fear, hope,
love, etc., which terminate in contemplation (mushahadat) and
intuition (yaqin).
The reader of Ibnu '1-Farid's Love Lyric is urged to bear
in mind that the author is a Sufi — in fact the greatest mystic
poet in the Arabian world — and to interpret his language in
the sense that he himself undoubtedly meant it.
THE GREAT LYRIC OF AL-FARID (Continued)
V.
Pretending dullness, seeing me love-smit,
My people say, dissembling wild amaze:
"Alackaday! Unpoised sits his wit!
"Who gave our youth this luckless touch of craze?"
Mere slanderers all! — They would me thus deride,
And gossip low: "His business is with Noam."
— Aye, occupied with her — preoccupied!
Declare it thus abroad and e'en at home.
Care I should all the women now cry, "Fie!
"Name not the one who has our charms deserted,
"Who once in honor moved, but now must lie
"With,fallen crest, his former state inverted?"
;
�'UMAR IBNU 'L-FARID
A conception by Gibran.
;
�99=
�JULY, 1927
Suffice me but one glance of Noam's dear glances,
And naught are Suda's smiles or Juml's advances.
My eyes on other forms I once let fall,
And foreign scales my erring vision blurred;
The earth she touched, I touched my lids withal,
Departed thence the scales and ne'er recurred.
And yet, all know, her glances, light as air —
At will, at random, should these weapons waft —
Alighting, pierce me here and pierce me there:
Poor martyred me! — Each member bears a shaft.
My theme of love for her, though wondrous strange,
Is ancient, constant, true, entire — nay more!
— She knows how deep, how high, how wide its range No "after" can it have and no "before".
Unmatched in love, to me no rival seek,
As she in beauty stands alone, unique.
Entitled to my life is she alway,
And I contented am with my dear lot;
O, let me pine, and let me waste away,
Though able she, I would she cures me not.
A paradox of feelings plays in me:
The more I ail, the more I seem t' improve;
The lower, too, my standing seems to be,
To greater heights its soaring flight doth move.
My suffering for her sake, my keen love-plight,
And all my plaints in truth and meekness made,
Are summed in that I'm vanished to all sight—
Protracted wasting, wasted e'en my shade.
How can my friends my wasted body see,
When lo, not e'en a shadow 's left of me?
Those eyes! — Those lovely, wide,, bewitching eyes —
Have left of me no mortal trace whate'er;
Invisible in form, none me espies,
For I'm dissolved from transient dust to air.
But, ne'ertheless, my spirits if depressed,
With her in mind, to rarer heights would soar;
My soul likewise, to hear her name expressed,
Would mend in virtue ever more and more,
17
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I
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Her love within me flows, and, in my veins,
Commingling with my blood, sustains my breath j
Engrossed by her, her love its sway maintains,
And keeps me charmed in her alone till death.
I would that other lovers taste this bliss,
And live t' enjoy no other love but this.
I
p
VI.
Come, pride thyself, my fellow-lover, pride
In vying for her sake thy life to cede;
Should she accept thy gift, however tried
In yielding it, thou wouldst enjoy thy meed:
Far, far beyond thy dreams 'tis worth the deed.
He who for Noam his soul would not surrender,
And free to give his life be not his creed,
Though all the world be his alone to squander,
A miser he remains — the last of all his gender.
Uneasy jealousy keeps warning me
To keep above reproach her spotless name,
Or I, to every beauty's devotee
(However few or many), would proclaim:
"Desert your paramours, and her acclaim j
"Her name alone would bring you to your knees,
"Her face would set your frigid hearts aflame,
"For, facing her, your conscience she would seize,
"And make you pay your orisons in ecstasies."
VII.
Enwrapped by love, my fettered mind begirt,
A life of ease for misery I sold,
And bade my reason keep its reins inert,
Serene cell-life its curbing vows withhold,
And piousness in cooler hearts grow cold:
I bade them stay away, nor me impugn,
Nor twixt my love and me their counsel hold;
Sincere I kept my heart, from self immune,
So that, alone with her, we might in love commune.
\
�JULY, 1927
19
My eager steps, impatient, speed to greet
The one who seeks our tender cause t' improve;
And, sad at heart, I would as lief not meet
The tongue that censures and maligns my love.
And yet, 'tis strange, I find me quite at ease
When biting liars tattle to and fro',
For this conveys to her how e'en from these
I suffer too — though none need let her know.
And e'en to those whose blame my bosom rips,
I find me drawn to hear her theme discusst;
I love to hear her name, e'en from their lips,
As if our errands carried they in trust:
All ears am I, should they her topic seek;
And fluent tongues become, if I should speak.
VIII.
Now idle gossip, varied and indign,
Suspicious-born and groundless, flies about;
Maligning her, some say her self divine
To me she gave to soothe my heart devout;
Some cast about that I, now gratified,
Should solaced be, and cease to pine and rue.
Misjudged we are; and they ignobly lied.
Unhappy me! — Would that their lies come true!
What hope have I for such a wondrous boon
From her whose attributes belie the hope?
Encastled thus, her will is her's alone,
And for that will's approaches still I grope.
Her word of promise long delays succeed;
And ere she speaks her threat, done is the deed.
IX.
0 promise me thy favor, and delay
Fulfillment of the promise at thy will;
To me a happy love would want a day
That has a morrow's hope its hours to fill,
And on that morn, another morrow's thrill.
1 swear to thee by our enduring vow,
And by our solemn pledge of hand, thou'rt still,
�E—III
THE SYRIAN WORLD
20
(Though absence clouds, or love illumes my brow,)
With me — through every hour within my heart art thou.
X.
Comes there a day, I wonder, when my eyes
Would gaze again on faces I love so?
Comes there a day when our dissevered ties
Again assemble on this earth below?
Are! they indeed now gone, who in my heart
I feel their presence ever here with me?
— My eyes see not their forms, but then, apart,
Their forms my inner eyes arising see.
— Behold I see them now along the road,
A-going slowly on their winding wayj
Anon they stop to pick their night's abode j
Abiding then, within my heart they stay.
And should they e'en forget that I am I,
A tender yearning still my heart would strain;
And should they tire of me, I would but try
To nurse my yearnings and to yearn again.
ON FATALISM
By
IMAM SHAFAY MOHAMMED IBN IDRIS
Translation by J. D. CARLYLE
*
Not always wealth, not always force
A splendid destiny commands j
The lordly vulture gnaws the corse
That rots upon yonder sands.
Nor want, nor weakness still conspires
To bind us to a sordid state j
The fly that with a touch expires
Sips honey from the royal plate.
* The author of this poem was a hermit of Syria, equally celebrated
for his talents and piety. He was son to a prince of Khorasan, and born
about the ninety-'sevnth year of the Hegira. This poem was addressed to
the Ealiph upon his undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca,
�1
21
JULY, 1927
Everybody's Book Shelf
-l—
BOOKS FOR BABIES
By BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
They sat down quietly together after a smile of greeting.
There was an air about the way they settled themselves that
seemed to shut out the world, to declare them lovers. But a
listener who could not see them would have found no clue to
their passion in their casual bantering words.
" 'The time has come—', (1) " the boy began. I call him
'boy' tho he would undoubtedly have claimed a quarter of a century with dignity, had he read my thoughts.
"Oh, if you're going to speak of 'shoes and ships and sealing
wax' (2), how do you like these?" She held forth a slim, trim
foot, newly shod.
He glanced at her bright shoes a moment, shrugged, and
went back to a contemplation of her eyes.
"Admire them—," she commanded, still intent on her slender pumps.
"I'm no 'man Friday' (3) when it comes to compliments,"
he said with a grin.
"You look at me as tho I were the famous 'purple cow', (4)"
she pouted.
"Oh, I don't know about that, it isn't quite that bad, but I
do know you ought to wear a 'curl in the middle of your forehead' (5)."
They laughed together.
I quote this purely imaginary and very pedantic conversation at the beginning o% my article by way of proving that many
of the ordinary phrases in American everyday speech, particularly that of the social variety, can be traced back to the tales and
rhymes that form a part of the background of most middle and
upper class American children. If you are a slave of the question
P'
�...
22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and answer craze see how many of the numbered phrases you
can recognize and place before turning to the end of the article
where they are all identified.
None of them has any serious import, but they are part and
parcel of the speech of our lighter moments and they trip awkwardly from the tongues of those who come upon them late in
life. They form the backbone of a habit of bantering, casual
speech by which many of us disguise our emotions, and are most
useful in the semi-humorous intercourse of day to day living.
But this type of typically American vernacular—and I believe
its possession and facile use distinguishes pretty clearly the American child whose American culture is bred in the bone from the
one who must acquire all his Americanisms from school and comrades-—this vernacular, like charity and good works, has its beginning at home.
It begins when the children are babies, just able to lisp,
and the entranced mother sits the baby gleefully before her and
repeats:
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, bakers' man, (Clapping her
hands together)
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and roll it
And mark it with T (Making a <T' on the palm of
her hand)
And T-O-S-S it in the oven
For baby and me. (Tossing her arms above her head.)
There is jubilation in the family the first time the baby
solemnly pats his pudgy hands together and throws his fat arms
upward in imitation of his mother.
It is of course to Mother Goose, the patron saint of Englishspeaking childhood, that we are indebted for the rhyme quoted
above and for most of the rhymes of babyhood. There has been
much hue and cry of late by, the left wing, the extreme radicals,
in child training against Mother Goose. But I can imagine her
smiling in her pagan paradise and being quite content with the
new army of recruits she gathers as each year's baby crop is harvested, worrying not a whit over her detractors. And until some
new body of folk lore and rhythm fitted to baby lips is gathered,
I fancy Mother Goose is quite secure.
Of course there are almost numberless editions of Mother
.'.
-
..
�JULY, 1927
23
Goose Some of them contain matter that is unquestionably cruel
and crude, and the wise parent will look through the edition he
is buying, choosing one that has been edited with care and with
an eye to attractive pictures and decorations. The linen books
with the standard rhymes, Boy Blue, Little Bo Peep, Simple
Simon, Bye Baby Bunting, Little Miss Muffet Jack and Jill,
are fine for the very young baby people. These books cannot be
torn, they can be washed, and best of all they can be taken to bed
and looked at interminably without a great deal of damage being done.
,
For the two to four year olds there is a charming book published by Raphael Tuck and Sons, called Nursery Rhymes. The
pictures are unusually attractive, and each page is mounted on
boards, strongly bound and able to withstand much rough handling. My smallest son has one of these books and takes it jealously to bed with him each night, tho it could hardly be called
a comfortable bed-fellow.
. u u
But whatever edition you choose for the very first book,
Mother Goose in some form should'be the unquestioned treasure
of every child.
From Mother Goose we progress to the simple tales the
two to four year olds love. Little Black Sambo (Get the edition with the original Helen Bannerman illustrations if you can
afford it. This may also be had in a linen book altho the pictures are rather awful and Black Sambo has a suspiciously
American look about his 'beautiful little red coat); Peter
Rabbit (Be sure to get the Beatrix Potter stories, they are
the best, altho the character of Peter Rabbit occurs in
many other books as well); The Three Little fcttens; The Three
Little Pigs; and The Cock, The Mouse, and The Little Red
Hen (This last to be had in abridged, form as the original story
by Felicite Le Fevre is rather long for very young audiences.)
There are many others, of course, and an hour in the childrens' department of any good book store will leave you almost
bewildered by the wealth of books and pictures offered you in
choosing books for children, however, I would lay down three
cardinal rules: The story should be simply told in good English.
The pictures should have a real decorative value. The elements
of cruelty and horror should be absolutely missing
With Mother Goose and the tribe of Little Black Sambo
and the Little Red Hen for a foundation the day soon arrives
IBHH^BBMMBBMI
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
when fairy tales come into their own. Cinderella, Jack and the
Beanstalk, The Ugly Duckling, The Sleeping Beauty, Snow
White and Rose Red—their name is legion and the choice is
almost endless. But here as in the nursery rhymes and tales it
is well to step warily, weeding out the vicious and the ugly, taking care that the story be one which will not bring nightmares
and bad dreams to the child of tender years.
Almost at the same time the fairy tales are begun may come
a first reading of that great classic of childhood, Alice in Wonderland. I say a first reading, because it is a story which may
be read and re-read, over and over, always with delight for both
reader and listener. I have read it four times in the last eighteen
months to my boys, and I should be afraid to put down how
many times I myself read it as a child for fear I should not be
believed. The older people will have many a chuckle, or for
that matter many a thoughtful moment, over the sly humor of
the book. But toi the child, until he arrives at the age of discretion, it will be only an entrancing tale, one of which he will never tire.
The books I have mentioned so far have been the possession of generations of children. But for the special delight of
the present kingdom of small folk a new minstrel has appeared
to offer us song and story. I refer to A. A. Milne whose "When
We Were Very Young" strikes a new and altogether delightful
note in the literature of childhood. Scarcely less to be praised
is the recently published "Winnie-the-Pooh", the story of a teddy
bear whose whimsical and adventurous doings along with Christopher Robin make lively reading.
I feel this article would be incomplete without some mention of the books which have brought more happiness to my own
children than any others I can mention, altho they have all of
those I have named above and many others as well. But these
particular books are the real treasure of our bookshelf. They
are a collection of stories, rhymes, folk tales, and poems bound
in six volumes and called "My Bookhouse."
"My Bookhouse" has material collected from all over the
world, carefully written and edited for children by an editor
who knows and loves children intimately. The pictures and
decorations are of real artistic value, and I do not believe there
is such a wealth of literary material presented from the child's
own point of view to be found in any other collected set, excel-
�JULY, 1927
25
lent as most of these sets for children are. "My Bookhouse"
is published by the Bookhouse Publishing Company in Chicago
and is not sold in stores. Its price may seem rather a large investment, it sells now I believe for around fifty dollars for the
six volumes, but it can be purchased on the deferred payment
plan, and is well worth buying.
In this article I do not wish to touch on the guidance of
those children who are old enough to read to themselves. If
your editor permits me I shall speak in another article about the
eight-to-twelve books your children should know. I am writing now for the small people who must depend on us for mental
food as they do for meals and clothing. This means of course
reading aloud to the children and cultivating their love/ of books.
With my own family this reading-aloud-hour is just before
bedtime and is an inevitable part of our household schedule. I
wish I might bring home to you the immense joy you can gain
from reading aloud daily to< your children. It is a custom which
will do more to bind you and your children together in a permanent world of imagination and fun and spiritual insight than
any other I can call to mind. I believe with all my heart that
as parents we have no more right to starve the unfolding minds
of our babies than we have to deny them food. In the world of
rhyme and story we meet our children on a plane where we are
equals, where we can all speak the same language, and where
we can at one bound leap the barrier of the heavy years that lie
between us.
Sometime between the second and third year it is time to
begin telling, very simply, the story of Jesus, the Friend and
Brother. There are some splendid stories of His life, written
especially for children, but this is a story which falls so well
from the mothers' own lips, interpreted by her own heart that
I believe it is best told for the first time at least, from memory.
Just now we are getting great pleasure from a book by Frances
E. Boulting called "The Beautiful Childhood". This paints in
the background Jesus' early life in fine vivid colors and is
beautifully written. I recommend, too, the Arthur Mee Children's Bible. This is an edition from the Bible from which all
the tedious genealogies have been removed and only the material left which is suitable for children. What remains is given
in the same words as the King James version and will be found
especially good for reading aloud.
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The library which you choose for your pre-school children
may be as large as your pocketbook and your inclination permit.
But as essentials, as a beginning if you have not already bought
books for the babies, I suggest these five books. I have just
telephoned my book store and can quote prices on good, but
cheap, standard editions.
The Nelson Mother Goose
$2.00
Stories for Little People
1.25
Alice in Wonderland
50
When We Were Very Young
2.00
The Arthur Mee Children's Bible
3.00
Total
$8.75
There you are! For eight dollars and seventy-five cents
and the taking of half an hour a day for reading aloud you can
lay a foundation in American culture the equal of many dollars
spent in later years on preparatory and finishing schools. And
incidentally you will be acquainted yourself with ideas and customs traditionally American.
Every expert in child training will tell you the early years
at home are the formative years. Do not lose them. Buy a
book, and another, and another. They are quite literally worth
their weight in gold many times over in the Americanization of
your babies.
* This book contains Little Black Sambo and most of the nursery tales
mentioned in my article, as well as a number of fairy tales.
(1) Alice in Wonderland.
(2) Alice in Wonderland.
(3) Robinson Crusoe.
(4) Gillette Burgess' Nonsense Rhymes.
(5) Nursery Rhyme.
A MANY-GIFTED ARAB
It is related that Abdullah Ibn Muslim al-Hudhalli competed before the Caliph Al-Mahdi among the Koran reciters
and won a first prize of ten thousand dirhams; then he competed
among the lance throwers and won first prize; then among the
singers and won first prize; then among the story-tellers and
won first prize.
"Never have I seen," said Al-Mahdi to the winner, "so
many gifts represented in one man as God granted to be represented in thee."
_
�27
JULY, 1927
Famous Cities of Syria
Tyre and Sidon
"And Dionysius rejoiced when he beheld the city which
Neptune had bounded with the humid girdle of the sea. And
he beheld what seemed a double wonder, for Tyre lies in the
sea, being bounded by the waves, yet belongs to the land. She
is like a maiden floating motionless, half hidden in the* waters
"Never have I seen more beauty, for the lofty trees murmur
beside the waves. The near-by wood nymph listens to the ocean
nymph speaking in the sea, and the mid-day breeze breathing
from Lebanon on the Tyrian waves, and on the maritime fields,
with the same breath that ripens the fruits, fills the seaman's
sails, at once cooling the brow of the husbandman and filling the
mariner's sails
"O City, famous throughout the world, image of the earth,
figure of heaven, thou holdest the triangular sword-belt of thy
fellow, the sea."
In these beautiful words does the Christian poet of the 5th
century, Nonnus, describe the city of Tyre, which even in his
own days had not lost the laurel of greatness which it had won
in the past history of its heathendom. Tyre and its twin sistercity Sidon are* among the greatest cities not only of Syria, but of
the whole world. They were centres from which a great civilization was propagated in distant lands across the Great Sea.
From Tyre sprang the great city of Carthage, which at one time
challenged Rome and almost won the victory.
So intimate is the history of Tyre with that of Syria that
the word Syria itself is derived from Tyre. In the English form
of the word, this, of course, does not seem likely, but the Arabic
name^ Sur, still retains the Semitic origin from which it is derived, and which easily explains the relation. The Assyrian form
of the name was Sur-ru, the Hebrew Sur, or Sor, while the
Egyptian Dara or Tar and the Greek Turos are nearer to the
English form. The conjecture of Herodotus that Syria is an
abbreviated form of the noun Assyria is not countenanced by
�.* "—
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
serious scholars. Strictly speaking, Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities, and their glory was that of Phoenicia, but to the
world abroad, — to the Greeks in particular, who were, next
to the Phoenicians, the greatest sea-faring people in ancient times,
and some believe even greater, Phoenicia was synonymous to
Syria.
Little of the old splendor of Tyre has remained today to
tell the story of its extensive maritime empire j of the thousands
of merchant ships and war vessels which plied the seas and ventured as far as the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the bounds of the
end of the earth, according to the conception pi the ancients,
the Pillars of Hercules, where today the British heavy guns
guard the narrow strait of Gibraltar.
The present city is almost completely disconnected from its
historic mooring, being so since 1766 when the Mitwalis,
its present population, occupied it. Before that it had been deserted by the Christians after the destruction of Acre by the
Moslems in the 13th century. Tyre had been a Christian stronghold which gave a strong resistance to Saladin, who besieged it
in vain. After the flight of the Christians the1 city was completely destroyed and remained unoccupied until the advent of the
Mitwalis. Comparatively, the modern Tyre is not a great Syrian city, but holds its own as a city of the third rank; Sidon
fared better at the hands of time, and is today a more important
city than its twin-sister. The population of the former is about
5,000, that of the latter being about 15,000.
In its general contour, Tyre differs little today from what
it was thousands of years ago in the days of the Assyrians and
Egyptians. That little difference consists of a narrow: ,neck,
about % of a mile wide, which makes the city look like a man
stretching his head way out into the sea. This neck is an artificial one, and at one time Tyre was an island city. Or, more
strictly, there were two cities, one on the main land called Palae
Tyrus, or old Tyre, and Tyre proper, the island. As the name
implies, Palae Tyrus was supposed to be the more ancient of
the two, but modern scholarship, which is always fond of putting a damper on our cherished traditions, throws doubt on this
one, too, and holds that Palse Tyrus was the more modern of
the two.
The neck of land or "mole" which joins the two cities
goes back to the Greek period, and commemorates one of the
•<&l
�JULY, 1927
'* IB
29
most tragic days in the history of the Queen of the Seas, Tyre.
It is a permanent memorial of a valiant and bitter battle, in
which the Macedonian conqueror was victorious, despite the almost superhuman courage and defiance of the Tyrians. Alexander besieged the city 7 months, during which a mole which
Alexander had constructed to reach the city was destroyed, and
another immediately built in its place. Towers were built on
this mole to enable the Greek soldiers to ram the besieged city
and throw their javelins protected from the darts of the Tyrians.
We quote from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography a succinct description of this historic conquest:
"The Tyrians annoyed the soldiers who manned the towers, by throwing out grappling hooks attached to lines, thus
dragging them down. Nets were used to entangle the hands
of the assailants} masses of red-hot metal were hurled amongst
them, and quantities of heated sand, which, getting between the
interstices of the armour, caused intolerable pain. An attempted assault from the bridges of the towers was repulsed, and does
not appear to have been renewed. But a breach was made in
the walls by battering rams fixed on vessels} and while this was
assaulted by means of ships provided with bridges, simultaneous
attacks were directed against both the harbors. The Phoenician
fleet burst the boom of the Egyptian harbor (the harbor on the
southern side of the city), and took or destroyed the ships within it. The northern harbor, the entrance of which was undefended, was easily taken by the Cyprian fleet. Meanwhile Alexander had entered with his troops through the breach. Provoked
by the long resistance of the Tyrians and the obstinate defense
still maintained from the roofs of the houses, the Macedonian
soldiery set fire to the city and massacred 8,000 of the inhabitants. The remainder, except those who found shelter on board
the Sidonian fleet, were sold into slavery, to the number of 30,000; and 2,000 were crucified in expiation of the murders of
certain Macedonians during the course of the siege. The lives
of the king and chief magistrates were spared."
Thus, after a siege of seven months, Tyre came into the
possession of the Greeks in July of the year 332 B. C.
How old is the history of Tyre?
According to Herodotus, who visited the city about 450
B. C, the priests of the temple of Melkart, the deity of the
Tyrians, told him that their temple was built when their city
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was founded, 2300 years before, which makes the date of the
founding of Tyre, according to the informants of Herodotus,
2750 B. C.
This seems rather likely, for we read in the Tel-Amarna
letters that Tyre was then a great and well-defended city. As
the Tel-Amarna letters were written in the 15th century B. C,
it is only natural to assume that the city must have required a
thousand years to have become a famous city.
The history of Tyre does not differ materially from the
history of other Syrian cities, except that its isolated position
gave it a certain amount of safety from the assaults of the conquerors, and sometimes, as in the case of Alexander, brought
upon its own head the redoubled calamity of their vengeful
wrath.
In one of the latter instances we are told by Josephus that
Tyre resisted Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian king, thirteen
years, from 585 B. C. to 572.
It is of this siege that the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel speaks:
"Behold I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses and with chariots,
and with horsemen, and with a company, and with much people.
He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he
shall make forts against thee, and raise up the buckler against
thee."
Wallace B. Fleming, in his "History of Tyre", dates the
waning of the power and maritime leadership of Tyre to this
long siege, and says that Phoenician leadership passed for a time
to Sidon.
The golden age of Tyre was at the time of King Hiram,
friend and contemporary to King Solomon. It is not necessary
here to repeat the story of the alliance of these two monarchs
since it is fully related in the Bible. At this time the fleet of
Tyre was the greatest and most far-flung in the world, and
Solomon built a fleet of his own with the assistance of Tyrian
shipmen "who had knowledge of the sea."
Tyre was the most prolific city in ancient history in its
colonies. Dr. Fleming declares that "ancient historians credit
Tyre with having founded Sabarth in Africa, Lesser Leptis,
Hamdrumentum", and, according to the same historians, 300
cities on the Mauritanian coast beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
Doubtless, as this historian remarks, this is an exaggeration, but
I
1:
* "
�JULY, 1927
31
it indicates the extent of the commercial and colonial activities
of Tyre.
The most renowned of these colonies, however, was Carthage, the city which challenged Rome in the famous Punic
Wars, and which produced one of the greatest war generals in
the history of the world, Hannibal.
No records, we are told, have come down to us from Carthaginian historians, and but a brief statement, preserved by
Josephus, from Tyrian sources. The most famous account is
that of Virgil, in his Aeneid, Book I.
The Tyrian statement is to the effect that in the seventh
year of Pygmalion, King of Tyre, his sister fled from him and
built the city of Carthage in Lybia.
A longer account is given in Justin Martyr, the Christian
apologist of the 3rd century.
According to this authority, as quoted by Dr. Fleming, when
the king (Matgenus) died he left his son Pygmalion and his
daughter Elissa as joint heirs. "But the people delivered the
rulership to the boy Pygmalion. Elissa married her uncle Acerbas (Sychseus of Virgil), priest of Hercules, whose place was
second only to the king. This man had great but hidden riches.
Through fear of the king he hid his wealth not in buildings but
in the ground. Pygmalion, moved by avarice, slew his uncle.
Elissa was turned against her brother for a long time because
of this crime, but at length she dissimulated her hatred and
planned a secret flight. Certain princes who were in disfavor
with the king entered into league with her." By a clever ruse
Elissa escaped with her followers on board ships, carrying with
her the hidden treasure of her uncle. Her brother Pygmalion
was inclined to follow with a hostile fleet, but, it is said, he was
dissuaded by his mother who told him that she was moved by a
prophetic dream to see that the city was going to be the most
prosperous city of all the world.
The exact date of the founding of Carthage, discounting
the above half-mythical story, is not known. Dr. Fleming scouts
the tradition represented in Virgil that the founding of Carthage
antedates the Trojan war, but does not hesitate to carry it as
far back as the founding of Gades, the modern Cadiz in Spain,
and Utica, by the Tyrians, in the 12th century B. C. The reign
of Pygmalion came about 100 years after that of Hiram, which
makes the two dates not irreconcilably apart.
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Whether in the days of the Tel-Amarna letters, or the
days of the Persian and Greek supremacies, or in the times of
the Romans, Tyre maintained itself, sometimes superceded by
Sidon, as a great maritime city. It was also famous for its industries, chief of which was the dyeing of silk and other cloth
with purple, the famous Tyrian purple, from the murex, a marine gastropod. Pliny tells us that the Tyrians caught the murex
with traps baited by mussels or frogs, and after catching it removed the sack which contained the precious dye while the animal was still alive or after it had been killed by a blow. For
slow death, said Pliny, injured the color. Strabo informs us
that Tyrian purple was acknowledged to be the best, and that
the large number of dyers' workshops in Tyre make residence
in the city "incommodius", referring to the unpleasant smell
which accompanies this industry. So crowded was Tyre in the
days of the Romans that its houses rose frequently to five and
six stories.
Long before the Roman period, Tyre was a leading, perhaps the most leading city, in commerce and industries. When
other cities of Phoenicia, Israel and Syria were in ruins, ravaged
by the Assyrian conquerors, the Prophet Ezekiel chides Tyre
for its pride. He takes up a lamentation against her, but in it
he enumerates the glories of the great city. "Thou, O Tyre,
hast said, 'I am perfect in beauty'. Thy borders are in the heart
of the seas; thy builders have perfected thy beauty." The whole
chapter 27 in which this quotation occurs is worth reading, as
it is, perhaps, the most colorful description of Tyre we have
from ancient contemporary writers.
Tyre remained for a long time under the rule of the Crusaders. William of Tyre describes the siege of the city, then
under Moslem rule, which ended in its surrender in 1124 A. D.
From that time on it remained in the hands of the Franks to the
end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Its archbishopric was given
to William of Tyre, prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
at Jerusalem, "an Englishman reputed for learning and piety."
Beware of laziness or weariness; for if thou wert lazy thou
wouldst have no patience for thy duty; and if thou wert weary,
thou wouldst be impatient with those who have a duty towards
thee.
Al-Ahnaf.
o
c
0*3
fa
o
i—»
U
w
a
H
h
�THE CITY OF SIDON
View of the city and plain of Sidon taken from a cloister on one of the foothills of Southern Lebanon. Sidon is now famous for its orange groves and has lost its prominence as a
commercial seaport.
�THE CITADEL BY THE SEA
) I
The old Crusaders' Fortress built by the sea in Sidon on the ruins
of the former Phoenician quays.
�,
—
A RELIC OF OLD GLORY
..
">
Vf
1
t
Sarcophagus of a Phoenician king, found in the ruins of the old city of
Tyre, on which is in bold relief a Phoenician merchant ship, symbol
of the glory of the two Phoenician sister cities, Tyre and Sidon.
�NMPHHMH
THE BEGINNING OP HER ASCENT
With characteristic Syrian willingness, Anna is not averse to hard work,
and the American "Gents" watches her sympathetically and admiringly.
wiMimitaf sriiffimfwil
�33
JULY, 1927
Why I Wrote a Syrian Play
By
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Author of "Anna Ascends" etc.
The idea of writing "Anna Ascends" came first into my mind
during the winter of 1912, when I met and finally knew very
intimately a Syrian family living in Washington, D. C. Their
family life, their clean way of living impressed me and I decided
that the Americanization of such a race was a big factor in making "the melting pot" one of the greatest nations of history. I
figured here is a people who could read and write probably six
thousand years before the northern "blue eyes". Here is a race
who had a fine culture along with the great Egyptian dynasties,
and as criminology seems to be a statistical fad at the present
writing, here are a people who have less, en ratio, in prisons,
than any other in the world. Hence, I figured, why not write a
Syrian drama, a virgin field, anent the Syrians? I revolved the
subject around in my mind for some years. As a matter of fact,
women stars in the theatrical world pay an author much better
in royalties than male stars and I could not find an actress properly fitted to assume the role I had in mind.
In the spring of 1918, I think it was, I was in Boston and
happened to be strolling down Washington St., one Saturday
night, when I saw a moving picture billed at a small movie house.
I gazed only casually at the lithographs, but the star's name—
and face—attracted me. I went in the theatre and saw the picture and it was terrible, terrible, but the leading woman was
divine. At last, I felt sure, here is the woman to play my Syrian
girl. I left the theatre with my head full of a dozen first acts.
By the time I had walked a block I had a dozen more acts. I
turned into a side street which happened to be called "Beach"
Street and, lo and behold! there before me, in a deep and dingy
cellar was a Syrian restaurant. Considering it good locale and
atmosphere, I entered and ordered a meal. Providence must
have guided me, for there I met Anna Ayyobb, who waited on
me. I fancy I was the only Anglo-Saxon who had ever entered
the place. The proprietor was kind—and Anna was kinder, so
�«f-
34
I
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I checked out of my four-dollar-a-day room at The Adams
House, and took a room over Anna's dining room for three fifty
per week. Anna and I became very fast friends—that friendship
has lasted. She was wild for knowledge. A few cuss words were
her English vocabulary, along with yes and no. With the aid of
Poe's Metamorphosis, the novel Cranford and Gulliver's Travels, (Anna had selected them herself, willy nilly from a book
stall on Scollay Square) I taught her English. Every evening after
the customers had finished their water bottle smokes, we sat in
the kitchen, where Anna absorbed all three books with remarkable
quickness. By the time I had finished my play Anna had a fine
flow of the American language.
When it was time for me to market my play and I was compelled to return to New York to do so, Anna was working in
White's Store. One job led to another, up and up all the time,
until at last she took on the hardest, most worthy and honorable
job of the lot—that of being a wife and a mother and taking her
place in life. She now has four of the most beautiful children
I ever saw and, strange as it may seem, she did marry her boss's
son, just as she did in the play. So, as we have Anna happily
married, we will leave her.
The beautiful and talented star I saw in the very awful picture was Miss Alice Brady. I sent the script to her father, Mr.
William A. Brady, and inside of a week the play had been read,
accepted, contracted for and in rehearsal, and—the rest is history.
AS IN THE PRESENT SO IN THE PAST
Present day judges and juries have no monopoly on partiality to the fair sex. It is related of an Arabic poet that he
had a difference with a comely woman, which was. taken to court.
The judge, seeing the lady fair, decided in her favor, whereupon the poet composed a satire of the judge which in a very
short time was on the tongue of the whole city, and when finally
it reached the ears of the judge he had the poet brought before
him and ordered him flogged.
Modern judges would well like to emulate their illustrious
Arab colleague Ash-Sha'bi, who is the judge in question, if instead of sending the offenders to jail, thereby incurring the risk
of overtaxing present-day detention facilities, they could have
recourse to the simple expedient of flogging.
�,'—
JULY, 1927
331
Anna Ascends
By
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
1
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
?
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
ACT ONE.
Scene represents a Coffee House and general store in the
Syrian Quarter on the lower Westside, New York City— There
is a store counter running on the rake up and down stage at left.
Up extreme left is a ^straight staircase that leads to the sleeping
rooms. The room is four steps down from the street and is entered from up center, through opaque double doors. Windows
are right and left of steps, through which pedestrians can be seen
occasionally walking to and fro. On the windows are painted in
oriental letters the name of the proprietor and his business.
Along the wall at right are four ordinary restaurant tables at
which are four chairs each. Behind the counter are stacked all
kinds of strange dried fruits, nuts, cans of oil, strings of garlic,
Turkish candies, foreign beans and vegetables, cigarettes and
tobacco, etc., etc.
At rise of curtain Said Coury is behind counter setting things
in order after the rush supper hour which has supposedly just
passed. "Gents" is discovered at lower table sipping coffee and
smoking cigarette. He is a young man of about twenty-six, with
a studious face and charming and frank manner. He is a mystery to the habitues of the place, and is generally considered an
absconding clerk in hiding. He is really the scion of a wealthy
uptown family and is spending his time in the Syrian district to
a serious purpose.
SAID COURY—the owner of the place is a small fat Syrian full of good nature and is liked and respected by all his patrons. He is a thorough American and great patriot, continually
declaring his allegiance to the country and he means it. He has
been in the country for eighteen years, yet he speaks with a
strong accent. He has a bitter contempt for his fellow countrymen who have come to America and failed to take out their
naturalization papers and refers to them as foreigners.
�—..-^
36
---
,-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
SAID — More cafe, Gents?
GENTS — If you please. It's excellent.
SAID — (Starts to -prepare coffee) No
JUL
'Mer
such cafe where—
where you come from, Eh?
GENTS — I should say not.
SAID — You aint got La Ha Wish Me (Laham Mishwee)
or Laban or such, where—where you come from, either? No
such good things to eat. La? (no)
GENTS — No such good things, Said.
SAID — And the cigarettes, you like 'em, too?
-GENTS — The best ever.
. SAID — Them cigarettes, they come from my own old deestrict in Syria. The tobac are the finest grown in the world. You
know that?
GENTS — I am sure of it, Said.
SAID — I bet you it are. Rose water this time. (Indicating
coffee)
GENTS — Just a drop or two—and no sugar.
SAID — Das fine. You soon become a real Orential. You
drink arrac pretty soon and smoke Argila.
GENTS — Not a chance of either.
SAID — La? (no)
GENTS — No. That pipe is as strong as a bunco steerer's
nerve and as for that drink, Arrac, there is nothing in this country with the kick.
SAID — So?
GENTS — I tried that Arrac a couple of days ago and it
made me see sights that Barnum never saw.
SAID — Barnum. I member das fella. Fool da people alia
time.
GENTS — Yes, and he made them like it, too.
SAID — (Bringing over coffee) I guess Anna, she fall asleep
in dat store room ovathere.
GENTS — You mean your waitress?
SAID — Yes, I sent her down twenty minute ago to fill an
order for a good customer. I bet now she sits on a oil tin and
studies.
GENTS — Studies what?
SAID — 'Merican books.
Anna's a good girl. Been in
'Merica 'leven month and spek United States nearly lak me.
Study school book alia time. No work, Alia study. But she good
Bette
my r
can't
crool
the '
you
yet.
Der
on t
prol
cent
hon
�JULY, 1927
'Merican.
37
Fine.
GENTS — (As Said places coffee on table) Thank you, Said.
Better giveme a couple of packages of those cigarettes to take to
my rooms.
SAID — You live near here, yes?
GENTS — (Very indifferently) Quite near.
SAID — Out of job, yes?
GENTS — At present, yes.
SAID — All peeple say lots of things 'bout you 'cause dey
can't find nothing 'bout you.
GENTS — I don't care what they say.
SAID — Oh, I know you alia right. Good boy.
GENTS — How do you know I'm good, as you call it?
SAID — Oh, I know da crook when I see. Bunch Derry he
crook—He come in here once in a while. I tell him a crook
the way he looks at Rizzo da cop. Fearfully, you know. Now
you never look at Rizzo. So you no crook.
GENTS — You're right. The Police arn't looking for me—
yet.
SAID — (Crossing and getting the cigarettes) Dat Bunch
Derry, he's a "Duster" they tell me. Bad, bad boy.
GENTS — Don't believe I ever saw him.
SAID — I show you some time. (Brings over cigarettes.)
GENTS — How much, tonight, Said.?
SAID — Sixty-five cents, counting cigarettes.
GENTS — (Producing change) Cheap enough. (Puts money
on table) You evidently haven't as yet heard of the H. C. of L.
SAID — Wats dat?
GENTS — H. C. of L?
SAID — Yas.
GENTS — That means the high cost of living. It's a serious
problem,.
SAID — Oh, I know what das mean. Wid Garlic at eighty
cents a pound.
GENTS — The Garlic market is strong then, at present?
SAID —'
Damn strong.
GENTS — Then the only remedy for that is to use it in
homeopathic doses.
SAID — Homeo—what?
GENTS — Homeopathic—Means small doses.
SAID — Ho-meo-path-ic. I must sprung that on Anna.
�38
JULY,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
GENTS — On
SAID — Yas*
Anna?
Anna, she has a what you call it. 'Merican
word book
Dictioc
Diction
GENTS — Dictionary?
SAID — Das it, das it. Everytime Anna hear a big 'Merican word she look him up in the Diction
GENTS — Dictionary.
SAID — Dictionary.
Tanks. Anna good girl, alia right.
Good 'Merican. She carries flag too. Alia time carries 'Merican
flag.
GENTS — Sort of Georgie Cohen effect, eh?
SAID — Wat? I gas so.
GENTS — Well, she must have the right spirit.
SAID — Did I tell you? Anna, she a good girl. She studies
and some day she be fine 'Merican lady, like you.
GENTS — (Laughs) Like me, eh?
SAID — Yas. No, not dat. You see who I mean?
Mens
and womens mix wit me some time. My tongue goes wrong.
GENTS — Oh, it's all right, Said. Men and women always
have mixed, somehow, since the world began.
SAID — Damfino what you talk. You allus say one thing
and mean odder.
GENTS — Study the dictionary like er
whats her name
Anna and you'll understand me.
SAID — It tak me eighteen minutes to learn how to count
the money when I land in dis country. See, I count change in
eighteen minutes, but I here eighteen years, and can't spek
'Merican.
GENTS — Oh, I think you do very well.
(A man appears on sidewalk through window. He whistles
a soft signal and stands waiting expectantly for someone.)
SAID — (Indicating man on sidewalk) See, looka, Gents,
der das Bunch Derry, now. He whistles for hes pal. (An answering whistle is heard a short distance away.) You hear
Now hes pal come see. Dere up to some fine tricks.
GENTS — Tough looking fellow.
SAID — Tough, very tough, and ver' bad. ("Beauty" Tanner joins Bunch.) Dere, now, I tol' you. Das his pal, Beauty
Tanner.
GENTS — Another fine pug-ugly.
SAID — Das it.
that d
Bi
S;
B
heart...
&
none o
so cut
B
look 1
S
out.
I
Two £
I
one.
glish ?
<
i
drink
)
i
count
Chee
i
Whc
t
now
plea
�—
JULY, 1921
&
(Bunch and Beauty enter quickly and take seats at table
that Gents has vacated.)
BUNCH — Come on whop. Two arrac.
SAID — Don't call me das Wop.
BUNCH — Aw, hell, Ginnie, dago, what your greasy little
heart
.
SAID _ Say now. No trouble I want wid you. I am t
none of dose1 what you call. I'm from da Oreint, not from Italy,
so cut it out. Cut it out. I am an 'Merican.
BEAUTY — No? We thought you was a Eyetalian.
You
look like one.
And as an 'Merican I say cut it
SAID _ Well I ain't
out I ain't any of dose foreigners you call me.
BUNCH — Aw, don't get so peeved. Come on, come on,
Two arrac and put repeat marks on the order.
SAID — Repeat marks?
.
BUNCH — Sure, double O on it. Two kisses instead ot
one. In other words the same. Say can't you understand EnglS
SAID
_ Sure
Dictionary English.
(Pours out four
drinks.)
— Well get a move on.
(Who has moved over to, and is leaning on
counter) Use dispatch, proprietor. The gentlemen are in a hurry.
SAID — Wot gentsmen?
- m
BEAUTY — (to Bunch) That skirt
she aint around?
BuNCH _ Naw, I'll point her out when the time comes.
BEAUTY — Maybe some guy beat us to it?
BUNCH — No chance. As she looks now she don t fit.
Cheese it, here's her boss.
(Said has crossed with the drinks and places them on table.)
Where's your waitress, chief?
SAID — (Suspiciously) Why you ask dat?
BUNCH — Oh, well I see you waiting on table, lnat s all.
safe. Forty cents, please
and
SAID _ She's alright
BUNCH
QENTS
nOW
' BEAUTY — Say do you take us for a couple of crooks?
Just forty cents
SAID _ I don't tak you as nothing
please—and now.
BUNCH — Aw, give the old "can of rancid oil' the money.
BEAUTY — Sure I will. (Hands over change) He s liable
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
40
to stick us with a date pick, if we don't.
BEAUTY — (Indicating Gents) Who's that guy over there?
SAID — Das Gents.
BUNCH — No bull is he?
SAID — How I know. Wot you care. Yar afraid of bull?
BUNCH — I aint afraid of nobody.
SAID — (Crossing to behind counter) Yas, I know you both
var' brave
with women.
(Bunch takes drink with a gulp. Beauty follows suit.)
BEAUTY — Let's beat it and come back.
BUNCH — No. She's up stairs or on an errand or something. Wait a minute. (Business of drinking is repeated) I
want you to see this Moll. She's worth twenty a night to us.
GENTS — (to Said) Wrap me up a pound of pistachio nuts,
Said. I'll come back later for them.
SAID —• I sure will. You'r not going?
GENTS — Just for a few minutes.
BUNCH — Say, young fellow, have a drink?
GENTS — No, thanks. I don't drink.
BUNCH — Wots the matter with you. You ain't sick or
nothing?
GENTS — Not at all. Only I don't drink.
BEAUTY — Then he ain't no bull.
BUNCH — Two bowls of Laban with bread and one of
your bum salads.
SAID — In a minute. Anne will be here and she will get
it from the kitchen.
BUNCH — (to Beauty) Didn't I tell you? She's still here.
(to Said) All right, Chief, take your time. We'll wait.
GENTS (Starts up) I'll return later for the pistachio.
(Three loud raps are heard from the cellar.)
SAID — Das Anna. She is through at last. Look out.
GENTS — What?
SAID — Git away from dare.
(Gents steps few paces to the left and the trap door is pushed by Annans head. She carries a two-gallon olive oil can in
each arm. Strings of garlic are around her neck. A small pocket
dictionary is under the pit of her left arm and a sheet of paper
with an order written on it in Syrian is in her mouth. In her
blouse pocket is a small American flag. She pushes the trap door
up with her head and stands half revealed to the house. She is
'..--.
-
JL
dr
Ai
cat
op
at
fir
wi
to
ha
Sa
th
Ai
Ai
yo
�JULY, 1927
..
' i
i
I
41
dressed in the same costume that she wore on her arrival in
America. And though it is old and -patched, it shows signs of
care and brushing. Bunch grabs Beauty's arm.)
BUNCH — Here she comes. Lamp her now.
ANNA — Here's da Hell Damn order.
(She spits out the order from her mouth before she speaks.)
SAID — Did you' go back home to Syria to fill it?
(Anna pushes the trap door back until it falls all the way
open.) (She struggles to the top.)
GENTS — (Comes quicly down to Anna) Allow me.
(Gently takes cans that are very heavy from her. She looks
at him in a strange, but fascinating manner as it is probably the
first kind act ofered to her since she has been in this country.)
ANNA — Thank you. You kind mans.
GENTS — Rather heavy for a little girl like you.
BUNCH — Well, what do you think of her?
BEAUTY — Great. Slap up that hair of hers. Doll her up
with some glad rags and you have a winner. But she looks hard
to handle.
BUNCH — Naw, they're all easy, if you know how. I'll
have her "on the walk" in a week. You see?
SAID — Two orders of Laban and a salad, Anna.
GENTS — (Who has carried the cans to the counter and
Said prepares to wrap up the order.) Allow me to relieve you of
these. (Takes strings of garlic from her neck.)
ANNA — Thank
again.
SAID — You'll have to get a, crate for dis from the kitchen,
Anna.
BUNCH — Yes, and hurry that order of Laban and salad,
Anna.
ANNA — How you know my name Anna?
BUNCH — Ain't I just heard it four or five times?
ANNA — Well keep on hearing it, but das all.
BEAUTY — Fresh Moll.
BUNCH — I'll knock that out of her.
ANNA — I'll get that box, boss. And da Laban an' salad.
SAID — You weigh dat Garlic Anna. / get the box. Keep
your eye on the drawer, Gents.
GENTS — Of course.
BUNCH — (As Said crosses to door) Rush that order, Chief.
SAID — Sure, yas. (Exits.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
42
— You know what das is? (She refers to the garlic
which she starts to weigh.)
GENTS — It is an edible.
ANNA — A edible? (Takes dictionary from focket) How
you spell das ed-dee-bull?
GENTS — E.D.I.B.L.E. Edible.
ANNA — Waz das mean, edible?
GENTS — Oh, something good to eat.
ANNA — Das a new one. I must remembef das. I see you
lots here, wot your name?
BEAUTY — She'll fall for that dude, sure.
GENTS — They call me Gents.
ANNA — Gents? Was das mean?
GENTS — Oh, it is an abreviation for gentleman.
ANNA — For gentleman? Yes, das true. You gentleman.
I se
a gentleman is a man das gentle, yes?
GENTS — Well, that is about as good a definition as any.
ANNA — Defi
what? What das word mean?
GENTS — A description
an explanation.
ANNA — (Thumbing the book) One word as hard as the
other. But I learn, sure. I learn to be a gentlemans, too.
GENTS — No, you are to be a lady, you know.
BUNCH — (to Beauty) Sure, a walking lady.
GENTS — Of course, you are a lady now, but the more you
learn the better lady you become.
SAID
(Entering with the box) No Laban left. All gone
at supper hour. Can give you a good salad.
BUNCH — (Rises) Aw, never mind, never mind. Lets
beat it, Beaute.
BEAUTY — Aint yer going to broach the jane?
BUNCH — Not with that guy hanging around. I'll come
ANNA
Dciclc.
BEAUTY
— Righto. We've got no chance wid a guy wid a
white collar.
BUNCH — I'll muss it up for him, sometime, if I get a
chance. (Walks over to Anna, who is standing at counter. Gents
is above her. Said has crossed to left of counter.).- Say, I've got
something very important to say to you when there aint nobody
around to butt in on our conversation.
ANNA — Yas? Where you get das word—conversation?
BUNCH — Aw, out of the Journal.
�sss
JULY, 1927
43
ANNA — Was it mean — conversation?
BUNCH — Talk
speil, gift of gab, chewing the rag
ANNA — Chewing das rag. How you spell das conversa-
tion?
BUNCH — Damfino.
ANNA — (Looking through
book) How it starts, with a K
or C?
BUNCH — Don't know.
ANNA — If you don't know
even so little you don't have
much conversation to chew with me. Yas?
BEAUTY — Come on, Bunch.
BUNCH — (Puts his left arm around her waist and brings
his hand dangerously near her left breast.) Sure, I got something swell to tell you.
ANNA — (Looks down at the familiar and disgusting attempt of his hand.) Well, have your hands in your pockets
when you tell it.
BUNCH — Sure, baby doll.
ANNA — Yas, I think you had better put them in your pockets now.
BUNCH — Now don't get peeved.
(He brings his hand
nearer to the danger mark.)
ANNA — Stop das, you.
BUNCH — Aw rats.
GENTS — Better do what the lady tells you.
BUNCH — Aw, go to hell, you.
(He suddenly attempts
to draw Anna close to him. Gents makes a start to stop him, but
Anna takes Bunch's hand in her two, raises it to her mouth and
gives it a vicious bite.) Ouch, my God, don't.
ANNA — You keep 'em in your pockets, yas?
SAID — Get out of here.
BUNCH — Damn you, you little
GENTS — I say. Just a moment.
(Bunch stops dead in
his action and speech.) What were you going to call her?
BUNCH — Aw.
BEAUTY — Hand him one, Bunch.
GENTS — What were you about to call her? Little what?
Little lady, wasn't it? That is what I called her a moment ago.
BEAUTY — (Moves threatenly) Say
SAID — Stay as you are, or I bunch das Argila over das
bean.
(To be continued.)
�f~
JU
THE SYRIAN WORLD
44
The Tournament
by
FUAD AL-BUSTANI.
An account of Lebanese prowess in the 19th century.
Translated from the hook, "In the Days of the Emir",
It was eventide of a springday in the year 1829. The sun
had set in the west, bathing the hilltops of Lebanon with its
golden hue, and spreading over its dales and valleys a sheen of
thin particles, dancing and sparkling on the slanting rays of the
sun, a sheen of exquisite, changing colors of rose, purple and
yellow. Emir Bashir had finished his work and left his "pillar
chamber", the richly decorated diwan in which he transacted
his government affairs, followed by his trail of courtiers at the
head of whom was Mu'alim Butrus Karameh.
The procession went through the harem to the "Eastern
Pavilion", the little annex at the rear of the palace, overlooking
the beautiful valley which extends from Al-Mu'asir to the Mediterranean Sea. In that pavilion the Emir used to hold social
court after his day's work was done. With his nargilah or chibouk before him, he would listen now to the romantic tales of
chivalry from Wihbi Agha al-Jazzini or to choice selections of
poetry from Butrus Karameh, the special poet of the Emir after
the death of Nicola al-Turk.
That night he was listening to some war ballads when one
of the guards at the gate entered and, bowing low before the
Emir, announced that a man from Mardin sought to present
himself to His Excellency.
The Emir nodded, as much as to say "let him come in."
Presently a huge, tall man, with square shoulders and a
large head, topped with a tall turban, filled the doorway. He
had a short, sparse beard, and long, curled moustaches tapering
to a sharp point, terraced on the sides with stocky side-burns.
He bowed, and wrapping his gilt-striped 'aba over; his right arm,
he approached with steady and slow steps.
"May Allah bless thy evening, Excellency," said the man
in an accent which betrayed his Kurdish origin.
"And thine," replied the Emir.
I
�JULY, 1927
45
The man, still standing, continued:
"I am a man from Mardin, my lord, and am known in my
country as Al-Dalati. Allah, may His name be praised, has
granted me supremacy in feats of arms and chivalry over all
my challengers in those districts, and I have come here to challenge in tournament the knights in the service of Thy Excellency."
The Emir listened attentively as he played with the tip of
his beard and scrutinized the man from head to foot. When
the man had finished, the Emir raised his head and said in slow
deliberation:
"To-morrow, Allah willing, we shall see."
Then, calling Salim, his bursar, he told him to take good
care of Al-Dalati, and resumed his smoking.
When Al-Dalati had turned his back and started towards
the door, all realized, as they followed with their eyes the slender legs of this challenging stranger, his light steps, the way
he deftly wrapped his1 caba on his arm, that they were up against
a gallant knight not to be lightly dismissed. The Emir turned
to the captain of his knights and inquired:
"Whom of your men would you send against him, O Wihbi?"
Wihbi was silent for a while as he gazed into space and
stroked his chin as if trying to recall the qualities of each of his
men, then replied:
"What says Your Excellency of 'Ali al-'Imad?"
The Emir paused a little and said:
"Such cake comes not from such dough! O Wihbi. £Ali
is a clever horseman, and dexterous in the tricks of chivalry, but
is not the man for this Mardinite."
Then none is left us but Shaykh Abu Sa'b," put in Wihbi.
"Yes," consented the Emir, "I was first afraid for 'Ali's
life from the Mardinite, but now I am afraid for the Mardinite
from As'ad, lest, if hard-pressed, he would pierce him through
with one of his famous hurls!"
"We will warn him to be careful," said Wihbi.
When Shaykh Abu Sa'b was brought before the Emir, he
was told of the challenge of the Mardinite, and charged to be
careful with him on the field of combat. Abu Sa'b bowed and said:
"By thy head I swear, O Emir, that I will hit him seven
times, and will not touch his body once!"
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Emir smiled contentedly and counseled Abu Sa'b to
rest and be ready for the ordeal.
The sun shone brilliantly on the vast outer midan, the, tournament field, as Al-Dalati and Abu Sa'b approached from a distance towards the Emir, who was with his courtiers, before the
large gate, waiting anxiously for the charge. The Emir remained standing and would not sit on the rich carpets which were
brought out and spread by the servants.
Al-Dalati was leading a grey steed, with a wide breast,
showing beneath the forelock a beautiful, white spot, while Abu
Sa'b lead a bay charger with a graceful narrow body. Shaykh
As'ad Abu Sa'b .wore a Kufite silk head-kerchief, held in place
by a gold-woven 'akal, and its free ends gathered behind his back.
Al-Dalati's headgear was a long, conical turban, of the kind
known by the name of kawook.
Slowly the two approached the dais of the Emir and, bowing to him in greeting and seeking his permission for the combat, in accordance with»the rules of tournament, they returned in
opposite directions. There was complete silence among the spectators, broken by the neighing of the horses, and the shouts of the
two combatants as they closed upon each other in a cloud of dust.
Everyone held his breath, fixing the nearing combatants
with their strained eyes. Presently a thundering voice of warning was heard.
"Your face, O Dalati! Your face, O Dalati!" It was Abu
Sa'b. He had no sooner given this warning than he hurled his
lance, which hissed with a strange noise and hit the kawook of
Al-Dalati broad-side. It flew in the thick of the dust and fell
to the ground.
"Long live Abu Sa'b!" cried the Emir, who had been standing all this time. Then he called for his nargilah and sat down
on a carpet-covered cushion. He resumed his observation of the
tournament as he puffed beamingly at his nargilah.
Again the horsemen parted and again they closed, and for
the second time the kawook of the Mardinite was hurled to the
ground. As this was repeated for the third and fourth times,
the wrath of Al-Dalati knew no bounds. He grit his teeth and,
bellowing like a wounded bull, he charged his opponent, but Abu
Sa'b, like a supple, lithe panther, always managed to be out of
danger of Al-Dalati's lance. Now he would slide beneath his
horse, clinging to his belly, now he would bend paralleled to its
;
�JULY, 1927
47
back with the swiftness of the wind, now he would alight from
his horse, race by its side on foot, then jump on its back again.
After seven charges had been run, and seven times the kawook of Al-Dalati had fallen to the ground, the Mardinite, reverting to his Kurdish, tongue, picked his kawook as he spoke indignantly to Abu-Sa'b:
"Janum, dushman int wahdha-l-kawook?" which, translated,
means:
"My good friend, are you an enemy of this kawookr"
Then he charged with his whole might against Abu Sa'b and
hurled his lance towards him with a might which, if it had hit
him, would havq surely killed him. But Abu Sa'b intercepted it
with his own lance, and Al-Dalati's lance went whizzing on a
tangent and plowed the ground where it struck.
Then, like lightning, Abu Sa'b rode his horse after AlDalati, and as he closed upon him he jumped from his horse to
the back of Al-Dalati and, taking the reins from his hands, led
him captive to the palace of the Emir. When they reached the
gate, Al-Dalati shouted out in submission:
"In all the world there is none like Abu Sa'b."
The Emir smiled and ordered that two prizes be given the
contestants, then, turning to Al-Dalati, he said:
"Go now and recount what you saw of the valor of the
Emir's horsemen."
THE JUSTICE OF TOULOUN
Ahmad Ibn Touloun was the governor of Egypt when his
son 'Abbas had a man brought to trial for having intercepted
one of his female musicians and broken her instrument.
Ibn Touloun asked the offender what prompted him to
his action and he replied: "O Emir, I did so to discourage excesses
which are undermining the people's morals."
"But," retorted Ibn Touloun, "do you not know that 'Abbas is my son and you should respect him at least for my sake?"
"Respect for the laws of Allah should take precedence over
respect for man, no matter how great he may be," replied the
man.
Ibn Touloun reflected for a while in silence, then he said:
"My good man, go and break man-made laws in the upholding
of the laws of Allah as much as you wish, and you will find
in me a staunch defendent of your action."
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
48
Alone7. No, Not Alone
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
(The epic flight of Co I Chas. Lindbergh from New York to Paris was
the inspiration for Dr. N. A. Katibah to write the following poem on the
afternoon of May 21st, 1927, which we are happy to publish as an expression of the feelings of all Syrians in America over the unparalleled air feat
of the intrepid young American which has fired the imagination of the whole
world. Dr. Katibah's poem was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle by
whose courtesy it is here reproduced.)
Editor.
•
Alone? — No, not alone!
A mother's heart in anxious care,
A mighty nation bowed in prayer,
A youthful bosom true and fair,
— My engine's gladsome drone —
All rise above both earth and sea,
And fill this blank eternity;
Sweet voices all, and dear to me,
Ne'er cease to urge me on.
Alone? — No, not alone
I cleave the air with main and might,
And ride upon the wing of night,
And watch the fleeting stars in flight.
Alone? — No, not alone,
Though silence awes my daring heart,
And space eternal plays its part
To chill my hope — behold I start
To hear my engine's drone.
Alone? — No, not alone!
The glorious pen of history,
The voice of men and memory,
A feat of worth and bravery,
And, too, my engine's drone,
Do make me brave both wind and rain,
To lift the Stars and Stripes amain
In glory o'er the clouds to reign
Alone! — Is this alone?
�GARDEN SPOT IN THE UPPER REACHES OF LEBANON
:
<:W
*
f thtk tnwn of Hasroun in Northern Lebanon, almost completely rebuilt in modA panoramic view of the town ot Hasroun, » ""«
„„„.„ rp«nrt and is but a short dis-
�A
NATURAL
WONDER
A natural bridge in Lebanon whose great arch can be judged by comparison with the size of the
man standing on the extreme right.
CD-I" at, tin cr qf.*fl £.» j| rvi
GO
Pt rt rt rf »"i
c* o
Hi
s- o jx" fcr \=r *" gr
�JULY, 1927
49
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY
Measured by ordinary standards, a single year is but a
short span of time in the life of an individual or an enterprise.
A lone candle in the birthday cake can signify not much more
than the implied hope of the parents or the sponsors that the
child or the enterprise shall continue to live and to grow. Where
there is life there is hope, is the popular saying, and hope is in
continual need of being buoyed up and nurtured until the nursling is raised up to maturity.
Not so the case with our yearling "SYRIAN WORLD". We
feel that this publication should not, for many and various reasons, be judged by common standards of age. A year, the first
trying and crucial year, negotiated safely and with a plentiful
reserve of physical stamina and an inexhaustible supply of cheering hope, may well be considered a positive sign of virile maturity. It is proof of the adequacy of the machinery employed for
the production of the publication, as well as of the urgency of
the cause it seeks to serve. It may be truthfully said of it now
that it is on the high road to a career of fuller achievement and
service with a commensurate consciousness of vigor and security.
It is the consensus of opinion that the publication of THE
SYRIAN WORLD was undertaken at the psychological moment.
Undoubtedly many of our leading thinkers had for a long time
reasoned on the necessity of such a publication which would
serve as a vehicle for the dissemination of fuller knowledge
about Syrian history and culture and a means of establishing
points of contact and understanding between the different factions of the race now forced to be gradually drifting apart, and
between our race and other races. Consequently, when the publication made its appearance, the minds were ripe for its reception, and the rallying of our best talent, both in America and
abroad, to its support contributed to render it the scholarly,
dignified informative organ fit to represent our highest racial
traditions and culture. The passing of the first year only served
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
to strengthen our able contributors and collaborators in their
conviction that the publication is deserving of continued encouragement and support, and it is on the strength of this
renewed assurance that we are able to make the promise of
added improvement in the future.
The importance of this attitude on the part of our contributors cannot be sufficiently stressed. In their liberal collaboration, gratuitous all, they are fully contributing their share towards the cause of service to which THE SYRIAN WORLD is
dedicated. We know of no other Syrian literary undertaking
into the support of which has been brought together so much
racial talent of the highest rank. It is the expression of the
consciousness of our intellectual class to the necessity of collective effort in the promotion and service of a worthy public cause.
Our only hope is that the public will awaken to the fuller
appreciation of this fine display of the spirit of public service
.and respond to these efforts in a way to prove that they are more
generally recognized. In other words, this publication which
is intended to serve should be made to reach the maximum number of people for whom the service is intended. Our present
friends who have been witnesses to our past efforts could assist
materially in enlarging the circulation of the publication, thereby
insuring the widening, proportionately, of its sphere of service
and usefulness.
WHAT AILS SYRIAN INDUSTRY?
In his analysis of the problems besetting the soap industry
in Syria, Prof. Harold Close may well be credited with having
discovered the vulnerable points of native industry in general.
He has also prescribed an efficient remedy, and we would recommend, not only to our readers in Syria, but to our readers in
America as well, the careful study of the recommendations embodied in this timely article.
Industry in Syria is still carried on in the haphazard fashion
prevalent from time immemorial. It is crude and primitive and
takes little or no account of the strides being made by its sister
industries in the West. Science in Europe and America has
changed the basis of the old order of things both in manufacture
"".'
.
~ ?m:*c --'.!" mt^«**v.
-< -
/--":—
-
.
�JULY, 1927
51
and management, but in Syria and the East in general the inherited order seems to be governed by an immutable law, and
because no consideration is taken of changing conditions, the inevitable result of total failure in the struggle for supremacy
even in home market would seem to be a foregone conclusion.
In these times of quantity production and intensive
methods, commodities manufactured thousands of miles
away from a given market can be offered to consumers after
payment of transportation costs and custom duties at much less
than they can be produced by home industries. The reason is
all too obvious: it is quantity production by means of machinery
and economy in manufacture and management through collective effort. Both these elements are sadly lacking in Syrian industry.
Inaptitude for co-operation in any form seems to be one
of the great national vices of the Syrians. Hence the limitation
of all enterprises to individual efforts. Even Syrian emigrants
have not yet outgrown this deficiency in their national characteristics, for which reason we strongly urge upon our readers in
America the careful pondering of the recommendations of Prof.
Close.
What also cannot be sufficiently condemned is the apathy
of the Syrians towards home products. For decades preceding
the World War there was manufactured in Lebanon a certain
strong cotton fabric of distinctive design known as "Deema", a
sort of extremely durable gingham, which, while it lasted, proved a steady source of profit both to weaver and trader. But
being a native product, it was of course not good enough for
even those who made it, although the markets of Anatolia and
Greece could not be sufficiently supplied.
Another case in point is that of Syrian silk which, in quality,
ranks even higher than the Italian. Under ordinary circumstances one would expect the Syrian market to be the best customer for the' native product, but the Syrian mind does not seem
to, be able to perceive it in that light.
Only a few years ago the late Naoum Labaky, a sincere
patriot who had studied Western methods and sought to apply
them in his native country, which honored him by electing him
to the presidency of the Legislative Council of Lebanon, initiated
a movement whose ultimate aim was the rehabilitation of the
economic independence of the nation. He advocated pride in
�50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to strengthen our able contributors and collaborators in their
conviction that the publication is deserving of continued encouragement and support, and it is on the strength of this
renewed assurance that we are able to make the promise of
added improvement in the future.
The importance of this attitude on the part of our contributors cannot be sufficiently stressed. In their liberal collaboration, gratuitous all, they are fully contributing their share towards the cause of service to which THE SYRIAN WORLD is
dedicated. We know of no other Syrian literary undertaking
into the support of which has been brought together so much
racial talent of the highest rank. It is the expression of the
consciousness of our intellectual class to the necessity of collective effort in the promotion and service of a worthy public cause.
Our only hope is that the public will awaken to the fuller
appreciation of this fine display of the spirit of public service
and respond to these efforts in a way to prove that they are more
generally recognized. In other words, this publication which
is intended to serve should be made to reach the maximum number of people for whom the service is intended. Our present
friends who have been witnesses to our past efforts could assist
materially in enlarging the circulation of the publication, thereby
insuring the widening, proportionately, of its sphere of service
and usefulness.
WHAT AILS SYRIAN INDUSTRY?
In his analysis of the problems besetting the soap industry
in Syria, Prof. Harold Close may well be credited with having
discovered the vulnerable points of native industry in general,
lie has also prescribed an efficient remedy, and we would recommend, not only to our readers in Syria, but to our readers in
America as well, the careful study of the recommendations embodied in this timely article.
Industry in Syria is still carried on in the haphazard fashion
prevalent from time immemorial. It is crude and primitive and
takes little or no account of the strides being made by its sister
industries in the West. Science in Europe and America has
changed the basis of the old order of things both in manufacture
�f
JULY, 1927
M
51
and management, but in Syria and the East in general the inherited order seems to be governed by an immutable law, and
because no consideration is taken of changing conditions, the inevitable result of total failure in the struggle for supremacy
even in home market would seem to be a foregone conclusion.
In these times of quantity production and intensive
methods, commodities manufactured thousands of miles
away from a given market can be offered to consumers after
payment of transportation costs and custom duties at much less
than they can be produced by home industries. The reason is
all too obvious: it is quantity production by means of machinery
and economy in manufacture and management through collective effort. Both these elements are sadly lacking in Syrian industry.
Inaptitude for co-operation in any form seems to be one
of the great national vices of the Syrians. Hence the limitation
of all enterprises to individual efforts. Even Syrian emigrants
have not yet outgrown this deficiency in their national characteristics, for which reason we strongly urge upon our readers in
America the careful pondering of the recommendations of Prof.
Close.
What also cannot be sufficiently condemned is the apathy
of the Syrians towards home products. For decades preceding
the World War there was manufactured in Lebanon a certain
strong cotton fabric of distinctive design known as "Deema", a
sort of extremely durable gingham, which, while it lasted, proved a steady source of profit both to weaver and trader. But
being a native product, it was of course not good enough for
even those who made it, although the markets of Anatolia and
Greece could not be sufficiently supplied.
Another case in point is that of Syrian silk which, in quality,
ranks even higher than the Italian. Under ordinary circumstances one would expect the Syrian market to be the best customer for the' native product, but the Syrian mind does not seem
to, be able to perceive it in that light.
Only a few years ago the late Naoum Labaky, a sincere
patriot who had studied Western methods and sought to apply
them in his native country, which honored him by electing him
to the presidency of the Legislative Council of Lebanon, initiated
a movement whose ultimate aim was the rehabilitation of the
economic independence of the nation. He advocated pride in
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
manual labor as a principle, and willingness to give preference
to home products as a means. He couched his plea in eloquent
and forceful words, but all his vehemence could not rouse his
countrymen out of their lethargy.
Perhaps when there is a recurrence of advice on native industry from able and sincere foreign specialists, such as that
coming from the American professor, we would be sufficiently
aroused to consideration. And it may be, as a good many observers hold, that the application of new methods will be forthcoming first from the emigrant sons of Syria by virtue of their
fuller appreciation, through more intimate contact, of the benefits derived from the application of modern methods. Progress
in matters political, educational and social are bound to come in
the same manner.
POLITICS AGAIN
Mr. Joseph Mawad of Dallas, Tex., takes exception to our
comment on his letter published in the June issue wherein he
states that there is a "class of Americans who resent the intrusion of any foreigner into the sacred portals of that American
institution—Politics." If any other impression was gained from
our comment we are glad to make the correction. But conceding there is a "class" we entertain serious doubts as to its ability
to shape the course of the whole American nation in the pursuance of such a policy. "Do Syrians in America find their racial
extraction a hindrance to their entry into politics" is a question
that we feel is deserving of an answer, and we again invite our
readers to express themselves on the subject with a view to elucidating the issue.
"SON OF AN IMMIGRANT"
There was pride and sincere exultation ringing throughout
the speech of welcome which Mayor Walker of New York delivered on the occasion of the memorable reception tendered Col.
Charles A. Lindbergh upon his triumphal entry into the metropolitan city on June 13th. The climax of the Mayor's speech
was reached when, moralizing on the readiness of the world,
�JULY, 1921
53
especially the United States, to give honor and distinction in
recognition of worthy achievement, he referred to both himself
and Col. Lindbergh as sons of immigrants. The words of the
Mayor should be an inspiration to every son of an immigrant
and it is with that object in mind that we reproduce them for the
benefit of our readers:
"Here today," said Mayor Walker, "as Chief Magistrate
of this city, the world city, the gateway to America, the gateway
through which peoples from the world have come in the search
for liberty and freedom—and have found it—here today let it
be written and let it be observed that the Chief Magistrate of
this great city, the son of an immigrant, is here to welcome as
the world's greatest hero, another son of an immigrant."
A REMINDER
The management of THE SYRIAN WORLD is anxious to do
everything possible towards facilitating to subscribers the making
of gift subscriptions to their friends. It has inaugurated a policy
of making 20% reduction on all gift subscriptions. The purpose, as alluded to in the remarks on our first anniversary, is
to broaden the field of service by having the publication reach
the maximum number of readers possible. We expect our loyal
friends to respond to this patriotic call.
I
A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR
We welcome to the ranks of our regular contributors the
gifted American writer, Mrs. Barbara Bourjaily, who is so much
in love with Syrians that she married one. Mrs. Bourjaily is
of old American ancestry tracing her forbears to pre-Revolutionary days on both sides of her family. She has done extensive
newspaper work and has published two books, Mother Goose
Secrets and The Mothers' Cook Book. Her's is one of those
well-balanced intellects which is able to make a happy reconciliation between the home and a career, and we feel happy in
giving our readers the assurance that her articles will be found
brimful of entertainment and valuable information.
FOR YOUR SUMMER READING
Have THE SYRIAN WORLD as your companion over the
summer vacation. Write early and advise us where you wish
your copy mailed to and for how long.
�_—
THE SYRIAN WORLD
54
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
THE CASE OF RASHAYYA
We are with the Rashayyans in
the three following demands:
1—In compelling the Druzes to
evacuate Rashayya.
2—In punishing the leaders of the
Druzes, not their rabble.
3—In rebuilding their town and
compensating them for their
losses.
But we are against them in evacuating their home town themselves
for the Druzes to remain in sole
possession. This would be as if the
inhabitants of Ehden, Becharry,
'Ackoura, Deir el Kamar and Jezzine were to decide on evacuating
simply to be out of danger of attacks. We would, therefore, suggest that the Rashayyans return to
their home town, but insist on having it fortified as a frontier outpost,
similar to Verdun, where a strong
Lebanese garrison would be stationed at all times.
Al-Hoda, N. Y., June 20, 1927
THAT SENSITIVE CHORD
The heart of Syria does not beat
except to the tune of the sensitive
chord of sectarianism. That chord
is in Syria of the vitality of the
jugular vein: if it be severed, then
there is immediate danger on the
life of the country. No other deduction could be had from the news we
repeatedly read in the papers of
Syria, that most unhappy of countries through its religions.
Truth has become lost in the Old
Country because sectarianism is 99
per cent, of the volume and patriotism is the remaining 1 per cent.
And pray, what is the benefit of
patriotism in a conglomeration
where each one sees his patriotism
either in his Koran or Bible?
In spite of the prevalence of this
lamentable condition we find many
who blame France for having failed
to bring about the hoped for reform
in Syria, while others accuse the
High Commissioners of either laxity or favoritism or incapacity. The
truth of the matter is that the
trouble lies with ourselves. It is a
trouble that is inherent and chronic,
and it is none other than religious
sectarianism which disposes of our
patriotic hopes, throttles our natural gifts and prostrates the truth
in the nation to be trampled upon
under the feet of abhorrent fanaticism.
As-Sayeh, N. Y., June 6, 1927
mammae-
•
�tJLm
55
JULY, 1927
WHO BROUGHT FRANCE
TO SYRIA?
France's entry into Syria, as well
as England's entry into Palestine,
was by the will and consent of none
other than France and England
themselves. We all know the story
of the secret treaties, or, as the
Americans call them, the Black
Treaties, because they were written
in the darkness of night, by which
the Allies divided the bear's skin
before he was killed and drew up
plans for the division between
themselves of Ottoman territory.
What we see today in Iraq, Palestine and Syria is but the result of
those treaties, and if the occupation
has b:en given the deceiving name
of Mandate or supervision it is not
so in fact. These names are only of
a nature to deceive the peoples governed as well as the United States
which entered the war on the side
of the Allies on the famous points
of Wilson and principally that of
"self-determination".
Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N.Y.,June 9, 1027
replacing the policy of force by that
of understanding with the Syrians
and Lebanese for the preservation
of the prestige of France and the
restitution of the love they formerly held for her.
What thwarted these High Commissioners in their laudable efforts
was the arrogance of the military
party and their associates of the
extremist colonizers. No sooner
would these officials be ready to return to Syria and Lebanon to put
into effect their programs of reform
than they would receive orders to
join their predecessors in the "storage house".
This is what is about to happen
to Ponsot, which is in keeping with
what happened to Gouraud, Weigand and De Jouvenel. This operation shall be repeated until the colonizers succeed in transfornrng the
mandate into a veritable colony at
the opportune moment.
Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N.Y.,June 11,1927
LAME JUSTICE
The mandatory authorities have
apprehended the murderers of Major
WORKING FOR COLONIZATION
Tiney, a Frenchman, and caused
They claim that France is in- them to be tried before a military
nocent of the blood that has been tribunal refusing to listen to their
shed in Syria, and innocent also of plea that they had surrendered
the numerous mistakes committed within the limits insuring amnesty
by her officials and representatives to insurgents.
The Government has done well
one after the other. The excuse
by
taking this stand aga;nst spilthat is offered is that the men who
were sent by France to Syria and lers of innocent blood because it
Lebanon were misfits who jumbled has proved by this action its readithe task entrusted to them. But in ness to deal justice to ruthless culrefutation it may be pointed out prits. But if the murder of one
that upon examination of the rec- person is punished by executing
ords of these officials, and especial- two of his murderers and sentencing
ly the High Commissioners, it be- several other accomplices to life
comes plain that almost everyone terms have we not a right to ask
used to return to Paris to convince the Government the reason for its
his government of the necessity of apparent clemency in dealing with
�56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the sackers of whole towns and the
murderers of the inoffensive inhabitants ruthlessly and by the wholesale?
The Government must be aware
that there was a barbarous massacre of the inhabitants of Rashayya by the Druzes, but what has it
done to bring the murderers to
justice ?
Let those who are in charge of
the government reflect on their actions and how they are pursuing
the murderers of Major Tiney and
overlooking others who are equally
culpable and they will undoubtedly
feel ashamed of their lame justice.
The Syrian Eagle, N.Y., June 7, 1927
FOES RESPECT VALOR
MISAPPLYING CONTRIBUTIONS
The Druzes and Moslems of the
United States have collected $150,000 for the relief of their brethren
who suffered from the Druze revolution. Where did all this money go?
Was it spent in the cause for which
it was collected, or was it spent on
other ends not compatible with that
cause ?
Read the Druze paper, Al-Bayan,
which has published and still publishes long lists of contributors, with
the sums which each contributes.
Did these contributions reach the
sufferers, or were they spent by people whose conscience has been numbed, using it for their selfish, personal
interests ?
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y. Feb. 16, 1927.)
The action of General Valiers in
admiring the valor of his fallen foe,
SYRIAN CULTURE
young Emir Izzedin Jezairy, who fell
martyr in open battle with the
Love of knowledge as not foreign
French is touching to the extreme. to the Syrian race which, in the
The sorrow of this general over the comparatively Dark Ages, held the
loss of the noble Arab hero is am- torch of science and philosophy
ple proof that French generals re- high to the world. It was Syrian
spect heroism in us and appraise at scholars who, in the 8th and 9th
their full worth our valiant young centuries A. D., translated the
men who launch in the struggle for works of Aristotle, Archemides,
the liberty of their country and the Hippocrates and many other Greek
honor of their nation.
philosophers and scientists into
In view of this splendid action Arabic; and it was through Latin
what can the traitors among the translations that Europe became acSyrians have/ to say? Will they de- quainted with Greek learning, and
rive a lesson therefrom and under- thus was the way paved for the Restand that their French masters naissance.
themselves hold in high respect Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N.Y.,June 11,1927
those who oppose their domineering
attitude and unsheathe the sword in
THE LOGICAL SOURCE
their faces? Will they understand
that the French despise the cowards
Having gown the seeds of liberty
and the lowly, and condemn, openly
in Syria, Sultan Pasha Atrash has
and in secret, those who roll their
betaken himself to the desert in
faces in the dust before them, as
search of water to irrigate hig planmany of these traitorg do?
tation.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., June 27, 1927.)
(Aa-Sayeh, N. Y., March 28, 1927.)
�JULY, 1921
THE COMING MASSACRE
57
a cruel massacre which will be
mainly due to the shameful tolerance
of France and the silence and inaction of the Lebanese government.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., June 23, 1927.)
We make this statement in the
fullest spirit of loyalty and disinterestedness and with the object of
presenting a convincing argument,
but we doubt that other than those
who are free from prejudice will
COULD IT BE TRUE
support our view.
Our plain statement is that a
Could it be possible? Has French
massacre of Christians in Lebanon misrule in Syria reached the climax
and Syria is approaching.
which impels it to acts of common
We also wish to go on record that criminality ?
the conspirators who will bring
One could understand the state
about this massacre are the French of mind of French reactionarism
profiteers who receive bribes and which brought about the bloody civil
practice despotism, together with war in Syria; but the human mind
the Lebanese traitors who are wont staggers before the contemplation
to offer bribes so that they may re- of sordid vileness and abysmal wicceive bribes in turn.
kedness implied in the rumor that
It may be said that the mandatory French officials might have been reauthorities could not countenance sponsible for the recent conflagrabloodshed while their military forces tion which consumed about 15 milare the ones who bear the brunt of lion dollars worth of goods in the
the fighting. But to those whoi hold Customs Warehouses on the wharfs
this view we say that the tolerance of Beirut.
shown by the French is the major
Beirut is outside of the, revolution
factor in the coming massacre which zone, and goods stored in the Cusshall be brought about by the rising toms Warehouses belong to proof the Druzes and their accomplices French Syrians as well as to nationagainst the submissive, unsuspecting alists. The only motive behind this
Christians whose former experi- wicked act, if true, is to hide a long
ences in these tragedies seem to record of dishonesty of French offihave availed them naught.
cials in the Customs House. This
The Druzes who have lately de- record, if revealed and subsantiated,
stroyed Rashayya and Kowkaba and would not be surprising; it is permassacred the inhabitants of these fectly congruous with the general
Christian towns are now under the conduct of French officials in Syria,
impression that France is weak and before and after the revolution. But
incompetent and that the policy she the effort to hide petty larceny, said
is now pursuing in dealing with to be committed by these officials,
them gently and meekly is due sole- by the holocaust of stupid criminalily to her fear of their mig'ht and ty, is unconceivable. For the sake of
prowess and great feats of arms. common decency and the reputation
They further believe that the more of human nature we pray that the
they oppose her the more she show- accusation proves false, and that the
ers upon them her favors and be- fire was due to unforeseen natural
stows on them high offices.
causes.
The Christians of Lebanon and
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Hauran may then well prepare for
June 25, 1927.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
About Syria and Syrians
report on methods of preservation
and restoration returned to Damascus early in May and submitted a
On May 12 the Senate of the plan whereby 320 dwelling houses
Lebanese
Republic
unanimously now built within the original conpassed a resolution tendering the fines of the city are to be demolishpeople of the United States its pro- ed and others erected at a considerfound sympathy over the disaster able distance at an approximate
resulting from the Mississipi flood. cost of 11,500 Turkish pounds. It
Mention was made in the resolution is then recommended that excavaof the sympathetic interest shown tion work should begin immediately
by the American Government and to restore the ruins to their original
people in the people of Lebanon dur- state which then would be a great
ing their severe trials both during attraction for tourists from all
and after the war, as well as of the over the world. Already there is
consideration and protection being in Palmyra an up-to-date hotel
enjoyed by Lebanese immigrants in equipped with all modern convenithe United States, which made the ences where overland travelers beLebanese nation "feel as one with tween Syria and Mesopotamia
the American nation in the present stop overnight, because Palmyra
calamity wh;ch has befallen it."
lies about midway between Beirut
Mr. Paul Knabenshue, American and Baghdad along the new autoConsul General in Beirut, made mobile route across the desert.
proper acknowledgment of this ten- Regular passenger service is now
der of sympathy and in his reply maintained between
Syria and
to t)he Lebanese Senate thanked the Mesopotamia, and the restoration of
Lebanese nation in the name of his the ruins of Palmyra should prove
Government for its courteous ac- not only an attraction for more
tion.
tourists, but an inducement for
travelers to spend more time in the
locality inspecting the famous ruins.
THE RUINS OF PALMYRA
LEBANON SYMPATHY WITH
AMERICA OVER FLOOD
Palmyra, the great capital of
queen Zenobia, lying on the edge of
the Syrian Desert to the northeast
of Damascus, has been found in
danger of being gradually engulfed
by the constant encroachment of
the sands of the desert which fact
prompted the Syrian Government
to take immediate steps to save it
from total obliteration.
A commission of experts having
gone to inspect the famous ruins and
CONSIDERATE OF HIS
TARBOUSH BUT NOT
OF
HIS
LIFE
A great conflagration broke out
in the customs warehouses of Beirut in the early morning hours of
May 24 which caused a loss estimated at about fifteen million dollars
and threatened for a time to spread
to the city. The fire, for one thing,
�JULY, 1927
proved that the fire fighting facilities in the city were inadequate.
Already a movement is on foot for
the acquisition of modern apparatus.
Newspaper reports of the fire
picture nearly the whole city turning out to witness the awe-inspiring
scene of huge buildings being enveloped in flames and scores of harbor craft, some laden with inflammable material, being in danger of
catching fire. Amidst this pandemonium an insipient fire was discovered breaking out in a building
adjoining the main warehouse by
the quay. A Syrian spectator, realizing the danger of the spread of
fire, hastened to drag a hose and
effectively ply a stream on the danger spot. While thus engaged and
in the excitement of his work he
felt 'h/'mself in danger of losing his
tarboush and managed to adjust it
with one hand while holding the
hose with the other. Another Syrian, who was wearing a hat, felt
amused at the gesture and remarked, in French, naturally, that the
fire-fighter appeared to be in too
much fear for his headgear, whereupon, a French officer who had been
watching with admiration the efforts of the gallant native gave a
piercing look at the one who had
made the slighting remark and said:
"But does he show any fear of losing his life?"
59
some Damascus papers and ascribed to some of these repatriated
prisoners are full of the most gruesome details. The English Consulate in Damascus took notice of
these rumors and hastened to deny
them, but for some reason or other
they would not down, and some
papers go to the extent of giving
supposedly authentic names of the
prisoners and their home towns in
Syria and Palestine.
Aleph-Ba, a leading daily paper of
Damascus and one of pronounced
liberal tendencies, reports a visit to
its office of one of these repatriated
prisoners whose name it gives in
full and describes as being in such
an emaciated condition as to hardly
be able to walk. It ascribes to hjm
statements to the effect that thousands of Syrian prisoners, taken by
the British while serving in the
Turkish army, were kept in Singapore for the last ten years where
they were put to hard labor and denied permission to communicate
with their home country or the outside world. A large number of these
prisoners, it is stated, perished like
galley slaves at their benches, but
the survivors are being sent iri
small groups to Bassora where they
are set at liberty and told to seek
their way home. The informant of
the paper, the report further states,
asserts that of his group a large
number perished en route through
exhaustion, while those who arrived
in Damascus are seeking aid to re20,000 SYRIANS
PRISONERS OF WAR turn to their home towns in Palestine and other parts of Syria.
One reading the Syrian papers of
From other papers it is learned
late comes across such lurid titles
that
these rumors about Syrian war
as "Twenty Thousand Prisoners
prisoners
spread throughout Syria
Rise from the Dead", "Syrian War
and
Lebanon
like a prairie fire so
Prisoners Kept by English Ten
that
the
inhabitants
of the remotest
Years", and others of similar purhamlet
must
have
heard
of them
port. The details published by
�60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
within a day or two of their ap- of vital statistics in Lebanon, 1,190,pearance. They have, for one thing, 008 unregistered Lebanese emiraised hopes among those whose grants who do not pay taxes which
sons and relatives were drafted in shows, if the figures prove correct,
the Turkish army during the war that there are nearly twice as many
that they might still be alive, and Lebanese emigrants as there are
seekers of information are flocking residents.
into the cities from all directions.
But the veracity of the reports LEBANESE MEMBER OF
CONGRESS IN COLOMBIA
seems to be everywhere questioned.
It is inconceivable, according to the
Al-Hoda of New York reports that
consensus of opinion, that a civiliz- during the election held in Salandar,
ed power like England who is ac- a State of the Republic of Colombia,
credited with the most humane
for a seat in the National Congress,
treatment of prisoners, should em- Dr. Gabriel Tarabay beat his oppoploy such uncivilized methods in the
nents by a large margin and was
treatment of its war prisoners. Othhailed as the youngest member ever
ers doubt that news of the existence
to be elected to the Congress, he
of such a large number of prison- not being over twenty-five years old.
ers could have been kept from the
Dr. Tarabay is of Lebanese desworld for such a length of time.
cent and besides being a physician
of note enjoys a national reputation
for eloquence and forcefulness as a
POPULATION OF LEBANON
public speaker.
What purports to be the result of
an official census was published by
THE CARAVANEERS
a Lebanese paper giving the populaThe Caravaneers of Boston seem
tion of the Lebanese Republic at the
to be traveling in the right direcend of 1926 in religious denomination. They are treking on the road
tions as follows:
to intellectual progress and good
Emigrants
companionship. Last year, as we
Residents paying road leam from a letter of the secretary
taxes
of this organization, Miss Theodora
Moslems—
Scoff, a number of young people
Sunnites
122,189
1,657
organized this club for the purpose
Shiites
101,777
1,327
of promoting better understanding
Druzes
38,940
2,468
between themselves and taking an
Maronites .... 178,257
19,415
active interest in the life of the comGreek Orthodox, 68,539
10,259
munity. Their membership is drawn
Melchjtes
40,414
3,567
from college graduates and students
Protestants ...
3,986
378
who live or go to school in Boston.
Armenians ... 33,538
These young intellectuals are not
Miscellaneous .
6,952
159
ashamed of being identified with
According to this table the total their racial extraction and the enresident population of Lebanon thusiastic spirit they show in prowould amount to 598,852, while moting things that rebound to the
registered emigrant tax payers are benefit of the Syrian race is worthy
to the number of 39,240. There are, of emulation and deserving of the
however, according to the records highest commendation.
�JULY, 1927
A. U. B. FUND REACHES $120,000
Announcement of $120,000 already pledged to the Alumnae Fund
of the American University of Beirut was made by President Bayard
Dodge of the University by cable
from Beirut to the American headquarters of the Near East College
Association, 18 East 41st Street,
New York.
The amount of the fund which is
being raised by Syrian alumni and
friends of the American University
of Beirut was made public at the
exercises of the University when
messages were received from Syrians in all parts of the world reporting pledges. The occasion was
notable as an international gathering. Two thousand people were
present including many alumni as
well as high French and Arab officials.
Ninety-four students, including a
number of women, were graduated
from the University and one hundred fifty-six from the Preparatory School.
The American University of Beirut, which was founded in 1866 by
Dr. Daniel Bliss, is setting educational standards for a large part of
the Near and Middle East. The new
automobile route across the Mesopotamian Desert has brought to it
over two hundred students from
Persia and Iraq and conservative
Moslem communities hitherto untouched by foreign influence.
That the Syrians themselves are
convinced of the value of the University of Beirut is shown by the
response to the Alumnae Fund which
represents the greatest educational
movement in Syrian history. The
fund which is expected to total
$150,000 is for the purpose of establishing and enriching the Oriental
Department of the University.
61
PLANT OF AL-HODA
DAMAGED BY WATER
On the afternoon of Friday, June
24, fire broke out in the bonded
warehouses at 52 Greenwich St.,
New York City, directly in the rear
of the building of Al-Hoda, the
leading Arabic paper in the United
States, and caused such damage to
the plant as to prevent the appearance of the publication for
about a week or ten days. The great
volume of water poured by the firemen on the burning building flooded
its cellar and caused so much pressure as to open a wide breach in
the wall through which it overflew
into the pressroom of Al-Hoda where
it rose to a height of 7 ft., submerged all machinery and damaged all
the paper stock and material. The
loss is believed to be fully covered
by insurance.
Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor and
publisher of Al-Hoda, in a statement mailed to his subscribers,
made the definite promise of resuming publication on or about the
Fourth of July.
A SYRIAN ASSISTANT CITY
ATTORNEY IN TEXAS
The Port Arthur News of Port
Arthur, Tex., in its issue of June 8,
carried on its first page the announcement that Mr. J. B. Holway,
a Syrian and an Arabic poet and
writer of note, had been appointed
assistant city attorney and entered
upon his duties on that date. Mr.
Holway had previously been in the
service of the Federal Government
as Immigration Interpreter and acquitted himself creditably. His appointment to his present position is
proof of ability recognized without
regard to his foreign extraction.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
62
SYRIAN YOUTH WINS
MEDICAL HONORS
Leo A. Elkourie, son of Dr. and
Mrs. H. A. Elkourie, of Birmingham, Ala., has had a remarkable
career while a student at the University of Alabama during the last
five years.
He received his B. S. degree last
year, and this year on account of research work, he received the degree
of M. S. in medicine. To 'him falls
the honor of being the first medical
student to receive the Phi Beta
Kappa honors at the U. of A.
His research work last year conducted under the guidance of Prof.
E. Larson and dealing largely with
the thyroid gland evolved some results which attracted wide attention.
A paper, entitled the "Role of Toxin
in Parathyroid Tetany," was presented before the American Federation of Biological Society in Rochester last April, received the 10
minute consideration which is the
maximum for scientific papers in
this body, which is composed of the
Society of Biological Chemists, the
Psychological Society, the Society
of Experimental Pathology, and the
Society of Experimental Therapeutics.
(The Birmingham News)
Political Developments in Syria
It was definitely announced in the
Temps of Paris that M. Ponsot, the
French High Commissioner in Syria,
would embark on the S. S. Mariette
Pasha for Beirut on June 14. No
intimation was given, however, of
his future plans or policies. M.
Ponsot has succeeded in keeping intimate counsel with himself and it
is expected that immediately upon
his arrival in Syria he will announce
definitely his program which will be
carried out in full as it would embody the maximum concessions
France is willing to give to the Nationalists and map out a comprehensive course for the future administrative policy in the country.
In view of M. Ponsot's reticence,
however, it is idle to conjecture on
the nature of this policy. From some
usually well informed sources it is
learned that the principal recommendations which M. Ponsot made
to the Cabinet and received its sanction thereof are: 1—The convoking
of a General Assembly to determine
the form of government to be adopted for Syria. 2—The authorization
of a plebiscite in the districts ceded
to Lebanon to determine whether
they would prefer their present
status or elect to revert to their
former condition of inclusion in the
Syrian states. 3—The granting of
full amnesty to the revolutionists.
4—All the above, however, to be
conditional on the immediate, complete and unconditional laying down
of arms by the revolutionists.
It should be borne in mind that
the above statement is not official
but bears all the earmarks of being
close to the program brought back
by M. Ponsot to Syria.
If the question of the plebiscite
should be true, it might give rise
to new difficulties in the French
administration of Lebanon.
Already there are signs of growing
dissatisfaction among the Christian
faction which had been hitherto the
staunchest supporter of France. In
a debate on the question of Leba-
/
i
�•JBMMMMM
JULY, 1927
)
\
nese citizenship in the House of
Representatives there was an acrimonious exchange of accusations between Sheikh Al-Kazin, a Maronite
member, and the representative of
the High Commissioner. One of the
remarks of the native member was
to the effect that the Lebanese consider themselves masters of their
own dest'ny and should have the
final and decisive say in such matters as citizenship. He also said,
in reply to a direct question from
the Frenchman, that he made the
above statement in full consciousness of the fact that he was representing his constituency and his coreligionists.
Grumbling against the French in
Mt. Lebanon is assuming more serous proportions. The restriction of
the freedom of the press is being
h-tterly resented. The fire at the
customs warehouses in Beirut, believed to be of incendiary origin and,
according to general belief, designed
to hide the suspected larceny of
French and native officials, has given added impetus to the display of
dissat-'sfaction. And if, as it is expected, Lebanon is to be deprived
of territory it considers falling
within its natural boundaries and
forming an integral part of the
country, then there is fear of the
dissatisfaction culminating in an
open break. An ominous forecast
of such an eventuality was contained ;n the bittor remarks of the Patriarch on the occasion of the visit
of the officers of the French fleet.
MILITARY OPERATIONS
The armed rebellion in Syria may
well be cons;dered to have been
definitely suppressed, judging by the
latest press dispatches. It is reported from London that Sultan Pasha
Atrash, the Druze leader of the revolution, has been exiled to Nejd, a
63
remote district of Arabia under the
rule of Ibn Saoud, while two thousand of his followers surrendered to
the French and were granted full
amnesty.
This information, coming at the
end of June, may be the outcome of
the efforts of the H;gh Commissioner upon his return to Syria. M.
Ponsot sailed from France on the
14th of June and allowing seven
days for passage, he should have
reached Beirut by the 21st, and between that date and the end of the
month must have brought about the
surrender of the Druze rebels and
the exile of their leader.
It 'had been previously known that
the revolutionists were reduced to
dire straits. A special appeal for
funds cabled by the leader to his
sympathizers in America made an
urgent appeal for funds. His exile
to Nejd may be due to his unwillingness to keep up a hopeless struggle
any longer and to his desire to secure amnesty for his followers. The
next mail from Syr,;a should throw
light on these new developments by
which the revolution was brought to
an end.
Previous to this latter information, there were reports in the Syrian press of a severe engagement
between a detachment of seventy
rebels which invaded the Ghuta,
close to Damascus, and a superior
force of native volunteers. The
rebels were commanded by the young
Emir Izzedin Jeza,-ry who stood his
ground in battle with thirty loyal
companions, after the others had deserted him, and met an honorable
death. He was accorded military
honors by the French.
Other than the above, there were
only the usual reports of small bands
of brigands and outlaws operating
in different parts of Syria, especially in the neighborhood of Homs.
�64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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If you are unable to get
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We have a complete line
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We are also agents for
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ARABIAN COFFEE
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1927_07reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 01
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 July
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 01 of The Syrian World published July 1927. The issue opens with an article by Harold Close which discusses the importance of the soap industry in Syria. Following the article there is a Syrian folk song that has been translated by Ameen Rihani. After the folk song there is an article by Dr. N. A. Katibah discussing Sufism which features a depiction of Umar Ibnu 'L-Farid done by Kahlil Gibran. The Syrian cities of Tyre and Sidon are also highlighted in this issue before a play by Harry Chapman Ford. This issue celebrates the publication's one year anniversary. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and more information on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
Harry Chapman Ford
Kahlil Gibran
Music
New York
Sufism
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/ca82395d91056eb353363c863c31f14a.pdf
fc0abec64a6b2aa6a7a3f24d81b4fdee
PDF Text
Text
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SYRIAN WORLD
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��THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
AUGUST, 1927.
No. 2.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Syrian Leadership in Arabic Affairs
DR. PHILIP K.
3
HITTI, PH.
D.
The Falcon and the Nightingale (Poem)
DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
12
Syrian Folk Songs — Three Maiden Lovers
IS
KAHLIL GIBRAN
Famous Cities of Syria — Baalbek, City of the Sun-God
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The Use of Knowledge
14
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19
Haroun Al-Rashid and the Opulent Umayyad
20
Entertainment of Value
26
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CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Everybody's Book Shelf — 77 — What Shall I Ready Mother?
27
BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
Easy Money
35
"Anna Ascends" — Act One—77
36
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Good Disposition
49
Notes and Comments — By
THE EDITOR
50
Spirit of the Syrian Press
53
About Syria and Syrians
57
Political Developments in Syria
63
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Panoramic View of the Ruins of Baalbek
Hajar Al-Hubla
Diagram of Baalbek
General View of Baalbek
View of the South Gate of the Acropolis of Baalbek
Facade of the Temple of Bacchus
A Dramatic Scene in "Anna Ascends"
�<
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 2.
AUGUST, 1927.
Syrian Leadership In Arabic
Affairs
By
PHILIP
K.
HITTI, PH.
D.
Syria and the Syrians constitute the first land and the first
people in Western Asia to step within the threshold of our socalled modern civilization. In this they stand alone, unprecedented.
The invasion of Napoleon in 1799 was the first link in the
chain that resulted in the more or less complete modernization
of the land. The Turks, who were the masters of the Ottoman
Empire to which Syria then belonged, had been for about four
centuries previous to that in Europe, but they were not of Europe.
Not only were the people of Syria the first people in Western Asia to join the procession of modern progress but in the
last century and* a quarter they have achieved more genuine progress, perhaps, than any other people in that whole region. In
Turkey proper and Egypt, the two leading Islamic countries
of the defunct Ottoman Empire of which Syria once formed
a part, the modernizing movement was launched in the early
part of the nineteenth century by rulers: Sultan Mahmud II in
the one case, and Muhammad Ali Pasha in the other. The
Westernizing of the army was the starting point. Under the
present Kemalist regime, the westernizing process is artificially
stimulated, sudden, and dictated from above. How much of
it will prove of permanent value it is not possible at this stage
�ZHE SYRIAN WORLD
to foresee. In Syria, on the other hand, the movement was not
imposed from outside nor directed by governmental agencies.
It was spontaneous and indigenous. It was cultural and social,
neither military nor political.
If Syria were an island as Japan is, instead of being a thoroughfare of nations and a battlefield for invaders and conquerors, it would undoubtedly have been for the Near East as striking an example of progress as Japan is for the Far East.
*
i
*
*
*
The reasons for the remarkable degree of progress attained
by the modern Syrian are not hard to discern. His land is the
central arch in the bridge connecting the Orient with the Occident. As such it was bound to receive the impact of the West
in an intensified and concentrated form. Its strategic geographic position gave it in this respect an advantage which the adjoining lands did not possess to the same extent, and rendered
it in the meantime the main gateway to Central Asia.
Then there is the racial heritage of resourcefulness and
adaptability. The modern Syrian, particularly the Christian
Lebanese who has undoubtedly constituted the most progressive
element of the whole population, is the representative of the
ancient Aramean and Phoenician. This Christian Lebanese element has in recent years supplied the intellectual and commercial leadership not only for the people of Syria but for a great
part of the Levant also. In no other country of Western Asia
does the Christian element constitute such a high percentage of
the population — about thirty-three per cent., one million out
of three millions.
Emigration should be accorded an important place in the
list of agencies that have been working for the transformation
of the land and the development of Syrian leadership. The
emigrant class from Syria has in recent years been recruited
mainly from this same element — the Christian population of
Lebanon. Perpetuating the traditions of their Phoenician ancestors and prompted by the wanderlust and the desire for lucrative
trade, these Syrian emigrants have carried their mercantile activity into almost all the maritime cities of Europe and the two
Americas. In the United States alone there are about a quarter
o£ a million of them and of their descendants. Business is their
loadstar, and in pursuit of it they never hesitate to penetrate
the most remote parts of the globe. No nook of the world escape
�AUGUST', 1927
*
them. Neither Alaska, Australia nor the Philippines is foreign
to their enterprise. In the days of St. Jerome as well as in our
own day "their ambition and love of lucrative trade carry them
to the ends of the world".
It is hardly possible to overestimate the influence which
these emigrants, through their return visits, correspondence and
publications, have exercised over the "folks back home". They
acted as one of the main channels through which new ideas of
social and political relationships have found their way into the
old homeland. Neither Egypt, Iraq, nor Arabia proper has any
such record of emigration to show. These lands have, therefore, been deprived of the stimulating influence which comes
from the contact of their sons with foreign peoples and foreign
civilizations.
Another factor which contributed to giving Syria the position of leadership which it has assumed in the Arabic-speaking
world has been the Catholic and Protestant missionary forces
which for the last hundred years or so have been operating successfully in Syria. Here again the Christian Lebanese, and not
the Druze or Moslem population, have been the chief beneficiary.
In 1921 the American Press of Beirut celebrated its hundredth
anniversary of service for the Arabic-reading world. The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions has today half a dozen high
schools for boys and for girls, and about sixty elementary schools.
The British missions have their own schools running parallel to
these. The Catholic missions, mainly of the Jesuit order, control an elaborate system of lower and higher education, culminating in their well-known Universite de St. Joseph at Beirut.
Their printing press in that same city is perhaps the best equipped in the whole Arabic world. It is estimated that in pre-war
days some 50,000 students in Syria were the beneficiaries o£
French education. One of the strongest educational agencies
in modern Syria has been and still is the American University
of Beirut.
As Beirut was in the Roman times the seat of a school of
law that was the most famous in the ancient world, attracting
students to it from Constantinople, Rome and even Spain, so
is Beirut today with its two universities, six colleges and many
high schools and seminaries the leading educational center in
the whole Orient. With such a record Beirut, which has a population of only a hundred thousand is, comparatively speaking,
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
no less an educational center than is Philadelphia, or even Boston.
The work of Beirut University, together with the work
of the Near East Relief which has in the last few years spent
millions of dollars in Syria for the bringing up of orphans,
mainly Armenian refugees, has made the name of America respected and loved by all the people of the land. That name
stands in the public mind today for benevolence, education and
good will.
1*
i*
*F
*i*
This new orientation, or rather occidentation, is undoubtedly the outstanding fact in the development of contemporaneous
Syria. It started, as we have seen, in the closing years of the
eighteenth century and gave Syria a position of leadership in the
Arabic Levant which it is still holding. The Great War introduced new elements in the situation, and, what is more important, it accelerated the processes of transformation already in
operation. It tied up the destinies of the Arabic world more
indissolubly with French and British interests, and made the
Near East turn its face more than it ever did before towards
the West.
On the intellectual side the process of modernization has
resulted in nothing less than a renaissance, of which Syria is
the center. The French, English and American missionary forces,
which for the last century or so have made it their business to
acquaint the Arabic-speaking peoples with European languages
and philosophy of life and to familiarize them, with the achievements and products of modern industry, science and art, have
started a veritable literary awakening. Native printing presses,
native societies, schools, and other educational institutions have
taken up and carried on the work. Native schools now compete
successfully with the foreign ones. The introduction of the
printing press was in itself an epoch making event. The science
and culture of Europe were thus rendered accessible in translation or adaptation. An Arabic reader may today enjoy in his
own mother tongue the tragedies of Racine, the comedies of
Moliere, the fables of La Fontaine, the Talisman and even the
Iliad of Homer. The last was done into Arabic poetry in 1906
by our famous Lebanese scholar, Suleiman Effendi al-Bustani,
who died two years ago on his visit to New York City. His
rendition was declared by the Athenian Academy the finest translation of that much translated work of Homer. Not only in
�AUGUST, 1927
r
/
7
Syria but in many lands of the Near East today young men and
women, whose fathers and mothers could neither read nor write,
are studying Rousseau and Renan, Darwin and Huxley, and are
delving into Marx and Bergson, Shakespeare and Hugo.
But there was still another mine of knowledge and information which the modern press has mads accessible — the native
Arabic sources. The republication of many classical Arabic works,
which had well-nigh fallen into oblivion; the bringing to light
and life of many dust-covered, moth-eaten manuscripts, and the
dissemination of information relative to the past glories of the
people and the great achievements of their ancestors — all these
rekindled the enthusiasm of the Arabic-speaking peoples for
their own national literature and contributed greatly towards the
development of the consciousness of a national life, the throbs
of which we still feel and hear throughout Iraq, Palestine, Syria
and even Arabia proper.
As an indication of the new intellectual awakening in which
the Syrians have assumed the leading role in the Arabic countries,
consider the Syrian newspaper activity. The two leading daily
newspapers of Egypt, al-Ihram and al-Mokattam, were founded and are still owned and edited by men of Syrian origin. The
two leading magazines of Egypt, and in fact of the whole Arabic
world,- al-Muktataf and al-Hilal, have the same story to tell.
Their editors are graduates of the American University of Beirut. The first newspaper man in Palestine to declare the Zionist
program a menace to Arab nationalism was not a Palestinian
but a Syrian Lebanese whose paper is still issued in the shadow
of Mt. Carmel whose name it bears. The first newspaper in
the whole Arabian peninsula, al-Kibiah, the organ of the Hashimite family and King Hussein, was edited in Mecca by a Moslem Lebanese. Wherever the Syrian emigrant went he carried
with him his culture and his Arabic press. The five Arabic dailies of New York City together with its two Arabic and one
English magazines are the product of his literary proclivities,
as are the two dozen or so dailies in Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro, Buenos Aires and the other leading towns of Latin
America. It is no exaggeration to say that the new literature of
the Arab tongue in science, in history, and in its different aspects
and phases is but the product of Syrian mental activtiy.
When the British occupied Egypt in 1882 they called to
their assistance as teachers, government officials, and special
�"
8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
agents, men trained mainly in the American University of Beirut
(then known as the Syrian Protestant College) to help them
carry on the work of governing and administrating the land.
The newly organized mandatory governments of Palestine and
Iraq have likewise found it necessary to draw upon the same
source for the execution of their functions, especially in the
educational and public health departments. The advisers of
King Feisal in Iraq as well as of Emir Abdullah in Transjordania
have either been men of Syrian origin or trained on Syrian soil.
The torch of modern enlightenment, lit by Syria, was passed on in the latter part of the last century to its neighbor, Egypt.
Egypt, with its larger and more homogeneous population, with
its superior natural resources and wealth, and with its more or
less independent government has in the last two decades made
more rapid strides along the line of scientific and literary progress. But the people of Egypt have always been more attached
to the soil of their land than the people of Syria, and their influence has therefore been hitherto more circumscribed. Students
come by the hundreds every year from Egypt to Syria in quest
of education, but hardly any Syrian youths migrate to Egypt as
students. Syrian intellectuals by the thousands have found in
Egypt a field for the exercise of their activity, but, with the exception of two or three, hardly any Egyptian intellectual has
exercised any perceptible influence over Syrians in modern times.
The influence of Muhammad 'Abdu, the modern Egyptian
Mufti and up-to-date commentator on the Koran, upon thoughtful Syrian Moslems has certainly been great, but the influence
of the Syrian Shumayyil, Sarruf and Zeidan over young Egyptians has been greater.
*
*
*
*
Not only have the Syrians in recent times supplied a large
part of the leadership throughout the Arabic world in progress,
in commerce, in education and in literature but in nationalistic
movements, too.
Of all Arabic lands, Syria is, in many respects, the most
Arabic in sentiment and national feeling. The peoples of Northern Africa have never figured in affairs that are Arabic. Their
Arab culture, like their Arab blood, is too much diluted with
Berber semi-barbarism to be effective along this line. Morocco,
Tunis, Algeria and Tripoli are outside the pale of pan-Arabism.
For the last century and more Arabic Egypt has been under the
1
�I
AUGUST, 1927
i
9
sway of a Turco-Albanian aristocracy. Egypt is Arabic in language but not in sentiment. Palestine was, until the Great War,
the southern part of Syria. And so was Transjordania. The
Syrians even today never think of them except as such. Iraq,
ever since the Abbasid period, has been more or less culturally
dominated by Persian influence. Arabia proper is practically
still where Muhammad left it in the ninth year of the hijrah
when he declared the only cities of Mecca and Medina haram,
not to be defiled by the presence of a Christian.
On the other hand, Syria — with its western shores exposed
to the contagion of occidental and nationalistic theories and its
eastern boundaries inviting fresh Arab settlers from the desert
and from Arabia, with its cities studded with educational institutions and schools and with its adventurous emigrants scattered
all over the civilized world — this contemporaneous Syria has
become the throbbing heart of modern Arabic nationalism.
Altho this land, with its autonomous Lebanon, was under
the old Turkish regime the best governed state of the Ottoman
Empire, yet it was the seat of chronic disturbance and proved to be the Ireland of the Empire. When in 1909 the young
Turks became well installed in Constantinople, the Syrians became the leaders of the movement for decentralization which
threatened to disrupt the whole tottering Empire. The panArab movement, ever since its inception during the World War
as the heir of the deceased pan-Islamic movement, has found in
the Syrians its guiding spirits. With all his gallows and executions in Damascus, Aleih, and Beirut, Jemal Pasha, the modern
Nero of the Young Turkish regime, failed to dampen the zeal
of the intellectual Syrian youth and to keep Syria safe for the
Turks. Thus the Syrian had passed through all the stages of
decentralization and separation to the full consciousness of the
right of self-determination long before President Wilson gave
vogue and currency to those theoretic formulas. And today the
leaders, ardent champions and protagonists of the "Arab-landsfor-the-Arabs" movement, the movement which aims to federate Syria, Palestine, Trans jordania, Mesopotamia and Arabia
into one integral whole are, in general, neither Palestinians,
Mesopotamians nor Arabs but young intellectuals from Damascus, Beirut and Lebanon.
*
*
*
*
Surely the hour has struck in the Arabic-speaking world.
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The unchanging East is changing fast. The hands of the clock
are moving ahead. As in the European renaissance so in this,
the march is from the medievalism of tradition and authority
into an age of discovery, reason and progress. Secularization
and modernization are the great ideals.
In this movement Syria has assumed a position of leadership.
But modernization is by no means an unqualified blessing,
and westernization — no matter how much we wish to flatter
ourselves — is not necessarily a boon. That is why many Syrians of the present generation stand perplexed at the crossing of
the roads. Behind them lies a rich and varied heritage of achievement representing ages past. Ahead of them stand the results
and products of Western civilization with its blessings and curses,
its nationalism, democracy, imperialism, commercialism and progressiveness. What then to preserve of this past inheritance and
what to discard? What to adopt of the Western modes of living
and ideals of life and what to avoid? This is the supreme question which the modern Syrians have to answer.
The present generation has been called upon to perform a
Heraclean task and to solve a problem which never confronted
their ancestors in such an acute form. They are faced with the
task of building a bridge connecting their old inherited civilization with modern Western civilization and spanning a gap of
thousands of years.
The fact that the modern Syrians have succeeded in assuming a position of leadership in the modern Arabic world does
not, however, in itself indicate that they have achieved recognition in international and interracial leadership. Here their niche
is still vacant. Consult a copy of Who's Who in the World and
while you may come across Indian, Japanese and even Filipino
names you will probably not come across any Syrian name.
Look over the files of the leading scientific and learned magazines of Europe and America and you will hardly see a Syrian
contribution. In science, in medicine, in history, in literature,
in the fields of finance, industry and commerce, the Syrian name
is blank. There are no internationally known Syrians today in
any of the fields of human endeavor.
The other day, after addressing a meeting at Vassar College, one in the audience addressed to me a question as to whether there was any Arabic-speaking man who within the last few
&
>
*
�AUGUST, 1927
11
centuries has contributed anything noteworthy to the civilization
of the modern world. I admitted the negative.
But this has not always been the case.
There was a time in which the people of Syria contributed
to the imperishable things of life more than any other people.
The early Syrians were the international carriers of the products
of the civilization of the ancient world. They were the benefactors of mankind in more than one sense. They were the first
to develop, use exclusively, and disseminate the alphabet — declared by some scholars the greatest invention of all time. If
they have done nothing but that it is enough to mark them out
among the greatest races in history. The part which the early
Christian Syrian Fathers played in the evolution and the propagation of the Christian faith it too well known to be dwelt upon
here.
But few of us perhaps realize the role which the mediaeval
people of Syria played in the furtherance of international commerce, culture, and science. During the Umayyad period (660750 A. D.) Damascus was one of the most powerful and enlightened cities in the whole world. The word of the caliph
residing in it was during the latter part of this period obeyed
from the shores of the Atlantic ocean to the slopes of the Himalayas. The so-called Arab conquest of Spain was directed from
Syria and carried out to a great extent by Syrians and Syrian
Arabs. During the Crusades the Franks had little to teach to
those people, but many things to learn from them. In law, in
medicine, in philosophy, in science, in architecture, in agriculture, the Crusaders sat as pupils at the feet of these Easterners.
Witness the Arabic words which at that time and through Spain
found their way into all European languages and which still
testify to the debt which the West owes to the East. There are
no less than five hundred such words in the English language
alone; words in industry — damask, muslin, azure; words in
mathematics — algebra, zero and the Arabic numerals; words
in astronomy — taurus, aldebaran; words in chemistry — alcohol,
alkali, alchemy; and many other words like arsenal, admiral,
tariff, sugar, mattress, candy and so forth. A Spanish scholar
has recently startled the learned world by declaring and showing that Dante — Europe's greatest mediaeval poet — drew in
his composition of the Divine Comedy on the mystic ibn-al'Arabi, and the Syrian poet-philosopher abu-al-'Ala al-Ma'arri.
�mm
**°**^*-
--
-..
THE SYRIAN WORLD
12
His theme was expounded in two recent issues of
AV(
THE SYRIAN
WORLD.
With such a glorious and unparalleled heritage behind,
there is no reason why the modern Syrian, given the proper opportunity, should not do his share for the welfare of humanity
and the service of mankind.
The Falcon and The Nightingale
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
The wise Al-Hilli told one day a tale
About the Falcon and the Nightingale—
(And may we profit by his wisdom ripe,
And his and our sins may Allah wipe!)
"Dark envy kept the Bulbul once awake,
And thus unto the falcon glibly spake:
'What can the mighty king in thee e'er find
To shower his kingly favors on thy kind?
His boon companion thou by night and day,
Thy stool his wrist, though ne'er a blithesome lay
Thy throat can shape, but dumb eternally
Thou livest. Harken to my silvery song,
The joyous measures of my roundelay—
Joy, passing sweet, they bring to old and young,
Dull care and fretfulness they drive away.
Yet lonely and neglected in a cage,
I spend my life a prey to useless rage.'
Then the Falcon, in solemn words and few:
'To each they give his worth! They knew that you
Say but do not, and I say not but do.'"
w
L
�n
AUGUST,1927
Syrian Folk Songs
THREE MAIDEN LOVERS
Translation by KAHLIL GIBRAN
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Three maiden lovers stood by the wine-press.
One longed silently for her lover, who was distant
The second one said, "All will be well."
"Ah, well," said the third, "but is not love God?"
Yester-eve she was reaping with me in the corn,
And in her hair the wind played gaily.
O ye poor, pitiful mate-less things!
Your bread is but thistles and sour grapes, your wine!
My love took her basket to gather the herbs,
And all through the village she sought her mate for a
companion}
And finding him not, she threw down her basket and said,
"Burn thou up, and let thy flames rise, a sacrifice to
God!"
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Cities of Syria
Baalbek j City of the Sun-God
One of the most eloquent, yet pathetic, testimonies to the
glory that was once Syria's may be found in those stupendous
ruins which have held many an archaeologist and traveler enthralled, as if spellbound by their majestic beauty, and which
are known as the ruins of Baalbek. These ruins are, to many a
keen archaeologist, the greatest single group of relics of antiquity
to be found anywhere in the world, not excepting even those of
Egypt, Greece or Italy. Their immensity, their condition of
preservation, the mystery surrounding the origin of their erection and the majesty they still bear in spite of numerous earthquakes and a succession of invasions which were equally devastating and destructive, all tend to prove that the ruins of Baalbek are, among ruins, what Baalbek was in its day among cities,
one of the foremost wonders of the world.
With every new attempt at excavation, new mysteries offer
themselves to be solved and manifold wonders are added to the
long list of what is already written and surmised about these ancient relics. Archaeologists and travelers, for nearly the whole
of the last five hundred years, have been at work attempting to
unravel the mystery surrounding this crowning work of man
along engineering lines in ancient times, and every passing year
only seems to add to the enigma and to lay bare new wonders
before the eyes of an admiring and mystified world.
If Baalbek is not, generally speaking, one of the wonders
of the world, its ruins are surely the most grandiose, the best
preserved and, as one writer describes them, "the most beautiful mass of ruins that man has ever seen and the like of which
he will never behold again."
In what epoch Baalbek was founded and by whom, no historian has as yet claimed to know with any degree of authenticity. And, as in every case where no clear .record has been left
to dispel doubt and forestall conjecture, many a fantastic legend
has sprung in the minds of the public at different ages tending
I
N v
!
�AUGUST, 1927
15
to express the degree of wonder at an incomprehensible feat.
One of the greatest distinctions of the ruins of Baalbek, for instance, is its massive masonry which modern engineering science
has been unable to account for. But to the average man who
ascribes everything beyond his comprehension to supernatural
powers, the quarrying of the great stones now found in one of
the temples of Baalbek and their raising into position with infinite accuracy and precision could be accomplished by none other
than the genii or a race of giants.
; V
Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish rabbi who visited Syria in
the year 1163, hesitated not to state that King Solomon, in building the city, was able to perform this miracle of engineering and
masonry only by invoking the genii, while Arab legends ascribe
the feat to a primeval race of giants. There is still in the quarry
which lies about three-quarters of a mile from the acropolis of
Baalbek, a giant stone measuring thirteen feet wide, fourteen
feet high and seventy-one feet long and would weigh about a
thousand tons. It is called Hajar Al-Hubla, or the stone of the
pregnant woman. Why it was given this appellation it is impossible to state authentically other than to accept the native
legend bearing on it and which shows the degree of superstitious
accounts clustered around the origin of Baalbek. This legend
would have us believe that the giant race which built the great
city handled these great stones, without recourse to instruments,
as easily as we puny folk of today handle weights proportionate
to our strength. This particular stone, for instance, was being
pulled out' of the mother rock by a young woman who happened
to be with child, and as she was taking hold of it under her arm
she heard her baby cry and so dropped her burden in a halfhanging position to the great wonderment of posterity.
Other great stones which have attracted the wonder of
travelers are those which form the second layer of the basement
of the great temple. They are from 24 to 37 feet in length and
nine feet thick. But those which cause the greatest amazement
are the three great stones which are found at the NW. angle of
this building and which became so famous in ancient times that
the temple above them came to be known as the Trilithon. Two
are 60 feet and the third is 62 feet 9 inches in length while
their height is 13 feet and their thickness probably ten feet. They
are not level with the ground but have been raised to a height
of twenty-three feet. How those great stones were ever placed
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
in position is still one of the baffling mysteries of Baalbek. What
enhances this engineering feat is that these three great stones
are so evenly placed, so carefully chiselled, so closely set that
one at first glance cannot realize their immensity and the amount
of engineering skill employed in shaping and placing them. They
are so even and close that one can hardly insert the edge of a
penknife between them. It is the opinion of numerous experts
that they are the largest stones ever handled by man, and that
in an age so remote that it is lost in the dark recesses of time
and not a trace is left of any mechanical means then known to
have aided the engineers in the transportation or placement. It
is therefore surmised that the stones were laboriously and patiently rolled up an artificial embankment by sheer man power
to a point level with their present elevation.
"Look at these stones as long as you will," says Louis Gaston Leary in a graphic description of these stones, "you
can never fully see their bigness. Yet if only one were taken
out of the wall, a space would be left large enough to contain
a Pullman sleeping-car. Each stone, though it seems only of
fitting size for this noble acropolis, weighs as much as a coastwise
steamer. If it were cut up into building blocks a foot thick, it
would provide enough material to face a row of apartment
houses two hundred feet long and six stories high. If it were
sawn into flag-stones an inch thick, it would make a pavement
three feet wide and over six miles in length."
Some chroniclers associate Baalbek with the Baalgad of the
Bible (Josh. XI, 17) but apparently without good reason. Others, principally Arab geographers of the twelfth century, believed that King Solomon, besides building for himself a magnificent palace in Baalbek, built also the larger temple and gave
the whole city as a dowry to Balkis, Queen of Sheba. What
seems to be generally accepted, however, is that Baalbek, known
at one time as Heliopolis Syrian, to distinguish it1 from Heliopolis
yEgypti, its namesake across the Mediterranean, was founded by
a priest colony from the latter city or from Assyria. Its original
name, none the less, was Baalbek and not Heliopolis, the latter
appellation, the Hellenic equivalent of the original name, being
given to it by the Seleucid sovereigns of Syria and continued by
the Romans. After the conquest of Syria by the Arabs in the
seventh century (A. D. 635) the city regained its Semitic, or at
least its Aramean name.
.
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FACADE OF THE TEMPLE OF BACCHUS
This is the lesser of the two great temples of Baalbek and lies to the left of a larger one
known as the Temple of the Sun-God, now in complete ruin.
�VIEW OF THE SOUTH GATE OF THE ACROPOLIS OF BAALBEK
;•
�PANORAMIC
VIEW
OF
THE
RUINS
OF
BAALBEK
This extraordinary picture shows the central group of the famous ruins and was taken recently by a Syrian photographer, F. Askar, with a special camera. To the left may be recognized the remains of the Temple of Bacchus, while the six great columns in the center are all that remains standing of the Temple of the Sun.
An idea of the size of the
columns may be gained by comparison with the human figures standing a little to the right.
DIAGRAM OF BAALBEK
HAJAR AL-HUBLA
The great stone in the quarry of Baalbek known as the Stone of the Pregnant Woman. Its dimensions are 13 feet wide, 14 feet high and 71 feet long. The quarrying, transporting and placing in position of such huge stones in building the temple of Baalbek have forever been the wonder of architects and engineers.
BAALBEK\* \*:
Scale of Yards
\
o so 20 30 <jo 50 60 70 80 \
/toman Work
•,
» Byzantine or tarty ChrttV-aa Work *•
La er Work
: OF STEPS^
�GENERAL VIEW
OF
BAALBEK
There is little to compare between the modern town of Baalbek, shown
in the foreground, and the majestic ruins of the old city, which appear
in the left background.
�AUGUST, 1927
17
The literal meaning of the name Baalbek in the old Syrian
language is the City of the Sun. It derived its name from the
fact that it was a sacerdotal city whose principal temple was dedicated to the worship of the sun, the Osiris of the Egyptians,
and which worship was prevalent in that section of the East
in all ages. The Greeks, however, indifferently attributed the
great temple to Zeus or Apollo. The weight of evidence would
prove that about 200 A. D., the Semitic worship of Baal became popular far beyond the borders of Syria, and the Semitic
sun-god became identified with the Roman Jupiter. The Empress of Septimius Severus was the daughter of a priest of Baal
at Horns, a city in the Syrian plain only sixty miles north of
Baalbek. Her nephew, Varius Avilus Bassanius, also born at
Horns, succeeded to the Roman throne at the death of his cousin
Caracalla in 218 and thereupon assumed the title of "High
Priest of the Sun-God" and erected a temple to that deity on
the Palatine Hill in Rome.
The Walls of Baalbek, so far as they have been traced, occupy a spacej of less than four miles in compass, but it is evident
that these comprise only the sanctuaries within the enclosure. As
they now appear, the courts and temples within this area consist
of the great temple,or that of the Sun; of a smaller temple, or that
of Bacchus, and of a Basilica built by Emperor Constantine upon
his conversion to Christianity in an effort to stamp out the licentious- practices and orgies of debauchery practiced within the precincts of the temple. This church is known as that of Santa Barbara. Then there is the forecourt, or Forum,, built on hexagonal
lines, and the propylas or portico with the great steps leading to
it and now in complete ruin.
One standing on an eminence and viewing the magnificent
ruins that was once Baalbek, the city of the sun-god, cannot but
wonder at how such a great city, a marvel of architecture and
solidity of masonry, could have come to such a sad end. It
would seem, judging by the pains taken in its building, that it
was designed to withstand all attacks of time and ravages of the
elements. Be it Solomon or the priest colony who laid its foundations, what is incontestable is that most of its present remains
are of Roman origin and the Romans could not have despoiled
their own handiwork. Constantine found it to be still the flourishing center of a licentious cult and he made an attempt only to curb
the objectionable practices. Abu Ubaida, the zealous convert to
�mm
18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Islam who was at the head of the Arab armies in their sweep
on Syria, attacked Baalbek after the Moslem capture of Damascus (A. D. 635) and, according to authentic accounts, found it
was "still an opulent city and yielded a rich booty." What, then,
could have brought it to its present sad fate?
Undoubtedly nature had a hand in the work of destruction,
but the hand of man along that line weighed down on the famous
Syrian city much more heavily. In the twelfth century it was
visited by the earthquake three times, and in 1759 another shock
accelerated the work of destruction. But what contributed most
to the damage was the succession of wars with their accompanying
vandalism, desecration and retaliation which have been from
time immemorial the common lot of all Syria. And in the case
of Baalbek, the hand of fate seems to have fallen heaviest. After the Mohammedan conquest of Syria, Baalbek, on account of
its strategic position on a foothill of Anti-Lebanon commanding
approach to the fertile valley of Beka', became a bone of contention between the various Syrian and Egyptian dynasties, and in
748 was sacked with great slaughter. In 1090 it passed to the
Seljuks and in 1134 to Jenghiz Kan. In 1175 it was captured
by Saladin and in 1260 was dismantled by Hulagu. In 1282
Sultan Kalaun made an effort to revive it and used the material
of the old buildings to erect mosques and fortresses. In 1400
Timurlane pillaged it and in 1517 it passed, with the rest of
Syria, to the Ottoman Turks. Since then it went through progressive stages of decay, until all traces of its past grandeur were
in danger of being completely obliterated. To the unappreciative
native, the famous ruins served as a ready quarry for building
material and a village sprang up in the great court of the Temple
of the Sun whose houses were constructed from the material at
hand. Turkish Pashas who admired some of the great columns
of the finest granite had them knocked down to extract the metallic axles contained in them or to use them in new building projects. Iconoclasts who objected to the carvings and statues contributed their share to the work of destruction, and not until 1901
was there any scientific attempt made to salvage and restore the
precious ruins when work along that line was undertaken by the
German Archaeological Institute.
The bibliography on the ruins and the history of Baalbek
is quite extensive and those of our readers who desire fuller information ought to find it readily accessible at any library. It*
�,
I
AUGUST', 1927
19
present importance, however, is confined to its ruins which have
become a great attraction for tourists. Changes in methods of
transportation have divested it of its past mercantile importance,
for at one time it was the third greatest city of Syria, ceding
precedence only to Damascus and Antioch. Its geographic location helped to enhance it as a center of trade because at certain
seasons of the year it was the converging point of the great
caravans passing between the East and the West and served as
a sort of fair for the exchange of goods. In those days of slow
methods of transportation, the central location of Baalbek can
well be appreciated. It is situated on a gentle elevation at tne
N E. extremity of the plain of Beka', about 4000 feet above
sea level, and at a distance of 36 miles from Damascus, 109 from
Palmyra and about 40 miles from either Beirut or Tripoli on
the Mediterranean coast. It can be reached now from either of
the latter cities by automobile in less than three hours. It enjoys an abundance of water supplied from a gushing spring
known, as Ras-El-Ain, or Spring Head.
Under Turkish rule Baalbek was ever attached to the vilayet
of Damascus but since the repartition of the country under
French mandate it was ceded to Mt. Lebanon as being within its
natural boundaries together with the fertile plain of Beka'. Its
present population is about 10,000, seventy-five per cent, of
whom are Moslems and the remainder Christians of various
denominations. It has many religious and educational establishments comprising two Greek Catholic and two Maronite
monasteries, two schools for girls, one Catholic, the other Protestant, and two very old churches, one in the possession of the
Greek Catholics and the other belonging to the Maronites. Its
mosques are numerous but not particularly distinctive. Two
modern hotels have been recently erected for the accommodation of tourists.
THE USE OF KNOWLEDGE
Said the Mohammedan traditionist, Abu Safyan al-Thawri,
to a friend: "Seek knowledge to work thereby, and not to pride
yourself over the ignorant ones, or consume therewith the wealth
of the rich, or exploit the services of the poor."
�20
WE SYRIAN WORLD
Haroun Al-Rashid and The
Opulent Umayyad
An Arabian tale translated from the Arabic original.
Manara, the trusted emissary of more than one of the great
Caliphs, related the following as one of his outstanding experiences while in the service of Haroun Al-Rashid.
While Haroun Al-Rashid, he stated, was in the city of AlKoufa on one of his pilgrimages in the year 186 of Al-Hegira,
there was brought to his knowledge that there was still left in
Damascus a man of the Umayyad dynasty who was possessed of
fabulous wealth and wielded great influence. This Umayyad,
according to these reports, lived in the manner of ruling princes,
having an army of sons and slaves and mercenaries whom he
equipped in full war accoutrements and sent out on frequent
raids to the country of the Christians. He was, furthermore, the
lord of great domains comprising grazing lands, and cultivated
lands, and orchards scattered in a wide area of the fertile oasis
of Damascus known as Al-Ghuta. What enhanced his standing
and influence was his widely known hospitality for which he had
become famous throughout the length and breadth of the land.
A man of such wide influence and power, it was represented to Haroun Al-Rashid, could not but do irreparable damage
to the throne once he chose to seek revenge or to retrieve the
lost power of his fallen family.
Upon hearing this Haroun Al-Rashid was consumed with
rage. He called me to his presence and confided to me the following message and instructions.
"I have called you," he said, "on a matter that has given
me great concern even to the point of banishing from me all
sleep. Now I want you to use all diligence, tact and sagacity in
apprehending this Umayyad and bringing him to me as quickly
as is humanly possible. Already I have ordered prepared for
you all equipment and provisions necessary for the journey, and
you may select for your escort a hundred picked men of my
bodyguard whose endurance and valor have been tested and
proved. You are, furthermore, to travel by way of the desert
�r
AUGUST, 1927
21
on the least frequented road to avoid comment and undue delay.
Take these sealed orders to the governor of Damascus who will
assist you in the carrying out of your mission in case you should
meet with resistence. I am allowing you six days to go and six
days to return. I realize this means hard travel for you and
your men but to me, in my present state of mind, it is the
maximum permissible, and I shall expect you to report to me
on the morning of the thirteenth day without fail. You will
also find in your equipment shackles and chains which you are
to USQ in holding your man prisoner and preventing him all free
movement. You are to ride with him in the same litter and are
never to allow him to wander from your sight for a single instant. Furthermore, you are to record his every motion and
word and report to me on his condition to the minutest detail.
Now go and bear in mind all these instructions with particular
attention to the necessity of haste."
Said Manara:
Immediately thereupon I took leave of the Caliph and
rode with my men our swift hajins, or courier camels, and set
out on the road to Damascus, traveling night and day and halting only for prayers and to give men and animals the most essential rest. On the night of the seventh day I reached the city,
but the gates were closed and I camped without for the night.
But early on the morrow I entered with my men and set my
course directly to the house of the Umayyad, not even taking
time to greet the governor or seek his assistance.
No sooner had I reached the house than I was greeted with
a wondrous sight. Here was a palace and a retinue even surpassing the description given to the Caliph. The guards at the door
made an effort to intercept me but I brushed them aside and
made my way into the inner court. Here I found a large company of men seated around the fountains or by the flower beds
while numerous others were everywhere in the spacious colonnades. They rose and hastened to greet me, and my first question was to ask them if amongst them was the man I wanted.
They answered that they were his children and that he was now
taking his morning bath.
"Hasten him out," I said, "for I have come to him on an
important and urgent mission."
Saying which I immediately proceeded to make the rounds
of the house and inspect its conditions. A great palace truly it
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was and in the most orderly manner and luxurious appointments.
It was not unlike a city throbbing with life and activity. There
were enough men of both relatives and servants to form an
army.
When I returned to the court, the man had not yet emerged from his bath and I was seized with fear and apprehension
lest he should have made his escape. Presently, however, an
old man made his way out of the bathing quarters surrounded
by a large retinue of servants and slaves. He was most venerable
in appearance and I doubted not that he was the man sought.
He proceeded slowly and majestically to his divan and he was
no sooner seated than he recognized and saluted me, asking me
in a somewhat familiar manner about the Prince of the Faithful and his well-being. I felt constrained to answer and did so
in a perfunctory manner wishing to proceed immediately to the
carrying out of my mission. But just at the time I had finished
my curt reply the servants arrived with great trays heaped with
all varieties of fruit and placed them before him and his company. He, however, before proceeding, asked me to join at the
table but I refused. The invitation was not even repeated. After partaking of the fruit, a servant brought him an ewer and
a basin and he washed his hands. He then called for the food
and there was brought to him such an array of trays bearing the
most delectable varieties of foods such as I had not seen but in
the palace of the Prince of the Faithful and on the occasion of
great banquets. As in the former instance, he addressed me by my
first name, in the most familiar and patronizing manner, asking me to join the company, but this time also I unhesitatingly
refused, and, as formerly, the invitation was not repeated. Those
who were in his immediate company were nine of his children
and all showed the utmost respect and veneration for their father.
They ate in the manner of well-bred princes and the servants
went to and fro about their tasks silently and almost stealthily.
They were long at their meal and I began to feel uneasy in my
situation. The servants and guards, learning that I was the emissary of the Caliph, had exhausted every effort in entertaining
and providing my men with all means of comfort, following
the custom of great hospitality practised at the house.
I looked about me and discovered that only five of my
men remained in my immediate company. "Here I am," said I
to myself, "in the house of a formidable prince whose sons and
�fi$tt36*M *
f
AUGUST,1927
2S
slaves and servants are legion, and if he should choose to offer
resistance I shall not be able to control the situation with the
men left to me. I have not reported my mission to the governor
of the city and it is therefore impossible to count on reinforcements. Besides, not an hour can I afford to lose, as the explicit
orders of the Caliph are that I report to him in the city of AlKoufa on the thirteenth day."
Reviewing the situation rapidly in my mind, my uneasiness
grew more tense, especially when I reflected on the indifferent
manner in which the man treated me and observed the slow
method and equanimity of his actions all during the meal. My
anger and impatience were such that it was with great effort
that I could contain myself. Finally the meal came to an end
and the man proceeded to his ablutions, ordered incense and rose
to his prayers. He prayed long and sincerely and I was impressed favorably with the manner and tone of his invocations
and was loathe to interrupt him. At last he emerged from the
Mihrab and advanced towards me in a slow and majestic gait
and asked me the reason of my visit. Whereupon I told him
that I had come on an urgent message from the Prince of the
Faithful and handed him the letter consigned to him. No sooner had he read it than he called together his sons and servants
and presently the great court was filled with men. Again I felt
great apprehension and doubted not that the man intended to
deal with me roughly.
He, however, addressed the gathering in a tone ringing
with earnestness and authority and swore the greatest oaths embracing the things most sacred and revered and threatening divorce and disownment, enjoining his men to repair to their own
quarters so that no two should remain together in any one place
and to undertake no move until they hear from him again.
Following which he invited me to shackle him and I immediately called a blacksmith and had his feet bound. I placed
him irt a litter with me and made haste to leave the city without
even stopping to see the governor. We traveled in silence until
we reached a magnificent orchard in1 Al-Ghuta and the man waxed happy at the sight and began to describe to me the extent^ of
the orchard, its variety of trees and its abundant productivity.
I could not but wonder at his light-heartedness for a man in
his situation but refrained from making any remark.
As we progressed in our journey we came across other or-
�mfirmii
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
chards, and towns, and fertile lands which the man told me in
the most matter-of-fact way that he owned. He showed such
little concern at his condition that I was brought to the point of
exasperation and finally burst out in a torrent of angry remonstration:
"Realize you not," I said, "that you are taken to the Prince
of the Faithful in strict custody because of his fear of your
wealth and influence, and here I hear you continually boasting
of those very things which have brought you to your rue? Verily, your apparent equanimity and indifference is such as to
cause disgust to anyone studying your situation."
I had no sooner finished than the man gave me such a look
of mingled pity and scorn that I felt it cutting through me even
to the marrow of my bones, then he said in that same placid and
self-possessed manner which so aggravated me:
"O Manara, I had taken thee for a man whose intelligence
was above that of the common people for thee to merit the trust
placed by the Caliphs in thee. Now I discover by thy remarks
that thou art bereft of all those qualities which distinguish
the elite from the commoners. Knowest thou not that our fate
lies wholly in the hands of Allah, the All-Knowing, the AllProvident, Who guides our destinies according to a prearranged
plan which follows an immutable course and which no human
power can change or transform? If I be destined to ignominous
treatment at the hands of the Caliph then there is no agency
whether on earth or in heaven, be it of man or of the spirits
of the jinn, which can stay the course of my fate. And if my
destiny is to receive full vindication in the eyes of the Caliph,
then why should I burden myself with unnecessary worry? As
to my own actions, I feel confident that once the Prince of the
Faithful ascertains my innocence and realizes that what has been
reported to him was but the work of jealous enemies, he will
reinstate me in his favor and grant me permission to return to
my family with honor. Such is my trust in the providence of
Allah and the justice of the Caliph. Now as to thyself, O
Manara, I had thought thee a person of wisdom and knowledge,
and hoped thou wouldst be a fit companion and entertainer on
the dreary journey, but realizing my misunderstanding of thee,
I shall not speak to thee a single word until the presence of the
Caliph separates us."
Saying which, my prisoner assumed an attitude of strict in-
\
�AUGUST\ 1927
.(
>
!
*
difference and unconcern throughout the whole of the journey.
Nor did I hear his voice once except on the occasion of reciting
his prayers which he observed in the manner prescribed by the
best Mohammedan traditions.
On the morning of the thirteenth day we came to the outskirts of Al-Koufa and I found that the Caliph had sent out a
reconnoitering party to meet me. His anxiety was such that
minutes seemed to him long as days. I received orders from
the convoy sent out to meet me to proceed directly with my
prisoner to court even before stopping at my house for a bath
and a change of clothes. And once in the presence of Al-Rashid
he commanded me forthwith to proceed with the report of my
experiences.
I began by relating the manner in which I entered the
palace of the Umayyad prisoner and proceeded to describe in
detail the extent of the establishment, the number of attendants,
the great display of wealth, and the unhurried manner in which
the man partook of his meal and rose to his prayers. All throughout this narration I could see the features of the Caliph contract
in a; growing storm of anger, and a vein between his eyes which
showed only on occasions of the greatest provocation began to
beat fast and furiously. I felt certain that he would order the
man beheaded that very instant.
But the Caliph controlled himself sufficiently to listen to
the end of my story. I related how the man gathered his household together and enjoined them from any action in his behalf;
how he willingly and unhesitatingly gave himself up to the
shackles; how he bore his condition light-heartedly and once on
the way began to entertain me with the description of his lands
and properties, and I omitted not to relate to the Caliph the
details of my remarks to him on that occasion and the nature of
his rejoinder.
As I progressed in my narrative thereafter I observed that
the features of the Caliph began to relax and instead of that
intolerant and raging anger with which he appeared to be consumed there came a gradual change to what seemed a sense of
shame, and most surely a feeling of extreme benevolence.
I had no sooner finished than the Caliph rose and sympathetically embraced the prisoner and ordered his shackles knocked
off forthwith. He then invited him to a seat by his side and
conversed with him in the kindest manner.
�2b
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"We have heard news about thee which we are now convinced are the machinations of jealous enemies. Now we want
to do thee honor and make thee compensation. Surely a man
in thy station cannot fail but need some favor from us and this
we are willing to grant immediately thou expressest a wish."
"My only prayer," replied the Umayyad, "is that Allah
grant long life to the Prince of the Faithful and consolidate his
power. Other than that I have nothing to wish for. The agents
of the Caliph have been just and equitable and peace has reigned throughout the land by virtue of his vigilence and uprighteousness, for which conditions we are most appreciative and
thankful. I am the obedient servant of your majesty and immediately you grant me permission I shall want to return to
my family to allay their fears and relate what I witnessed of
your magnanimity."
The Caliph thereupon ordered a convoy to escort the opulent Umayyad to his native city of Damascus in all honor and
loaded him with many gifts.
ENTERTAINMENT OF VALUE
The Caliph Al-Ma'moun was visited one night with insomnia and he called upon one of the court entertainers to distract him in his wakeful hours.
This entertainer was as conscientious as he was witty, and
having heard reports of grave injustice being done to the people, he took it upon himself to subtly break the news to the
Caliph, and related to him the following story:
There was once an owl in Mosul and an owl in Basra. One
day, the Mosul owl sought the hand of the Basra owl's daughter for her son in marriage. The Basra owl would consent to
the match only on condition that the Mosul owl give as dowry
the ruins of one hundred towns and villages. The Mosul owl
was much chagrined by the excess of the demand. "Still," she
said, "if the present governor of Mosul remains in office for
another year, it will be comparatively easy for me to comply
with your demand."
Al-Ma'moun was quick to sense the moral of the story and
it is said that he thenceforth bent every effort to purge government offices of corruption and kept the strictest watch on all
governors of outlying districts.
! l
�27
AUGUST, 1927
Everybody's Book Shelf
—ii—
WHAT SHALL I READ, MOTHER ?
By BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
They have learned to read now, these children of yours.
They have in their possession a key that will unlock the doors
to all manner of treasure, and to piles of trash as well. Just
as you guided their first footsteps, turning them aside from pitfalls, rejoicing as the steps grew stronger and more purposeful,
it now becomes your pleasure and your duty to guide their minds
toward the books that will teach and train and stimulate their
mental growth.
For the material in this article I must draw largely on my
own reading as a child. My boys are not yet at the age where
they read to themselves, and my reading being at present away
from the field of juvenile literature it is more than probable that
I shall not mention recently published books for the eight to
twelve year olds that are by way of becoming standard. So I
suggest that in addition to the books which I am going to discuss,
you consult the manager of the juvenile department in your
book store and the librarian of the children's branch of the public library for other titles.
But before inviting Robinson Crusoe and Peter Pan and
Pilgrim and Heidi and the four Little Women into these pages
I want to make a plea for a bookshelf of their very own for
your children. Every book which I shall mention can be had
from your public library. But there is a feeling about a book
that belongs to the child that never attaches to a book he takes
out on his library card. In proportion to the joy they give, the
price of books is very small. We invariably give each of our
boys a book on his birthday. At Christmas time our lists are
incomplete without the name of a book for each child. Compared with the price of soon outgrown or outworn toys these
lasting gifts of books are the finest things you can provide.
The first book I ever read to myself was Dickens' "Oliver
Twist". We lived in the country on a farm at the time and
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
after my mother had read aloud our supply of nursery rhymes
and fairy tales and I had learned to read to myself I cast about
for something to practice on. I suppose, thinking back to the
reasons for my choice now, it was the red binding of our Dickens set that attracted me. Certainly I knew nothing of Dickens beyond seeing my mother spend many evenings over the
red volumes. But once I had started with Oliver on his sad
wanderings I was unable to leave him, though the path was
tearmarked, and I was vastly puzzled over the to-do made
about his mother's not having a wedding ring. I am not recommending "Oliver Twist" as the first book to be placed in
your child's hands after he has learned to read. But I do feel
that often we continue to feed children on literary pap when
their minds are quite able to digest a full sized book.
I think the first book I shall offer my oldest son when he
is ready to read to himself will be "Robinson Crusoe". This
goes for daughters as well. "Robinson Crusoe", by Daniel
Defoe, is the story of an Englishman who was cast ashore alone
on a desert island. He was able to salvage from the wreck of
his ship enough supplies to support life for a time. After that
he tamed goats, made rude clothing for himself, devised a calendar, planted crops, taught a parrot to speak, captured a savage
whom he named Friday because the capture was made on that
day of the:week, and in general by his own unaided efforts managed to make quite a little paradise of his island. Eventually
he is rescued and returns to civilization. But the story of his
life on the island never wearies the young reader and I feel sure
there is real value, as well as entertainment, in the child's reaction to the problem presented. He may be encouraged to wonder, "What would I do if I were Robinson Crusoe?", and you
may have some very interesting and amusing conversations with
him on this subject.
Probably one of his answers will be "Build a radio set."
For he will of course interpret the story in modern terms. The
book in its original form is very long and the author, through
Crusoe's reflections, makes clear a great many of his own pet
philosophical theories. There are a number of editions from
which this extraneous matter has been removed and you may
buy one of these if you like. On the other hand, most children
will skip blithely over the parts that slow up the story on a first
reading and the second and third readings may yield some men-
�AUGUST, 1921
29
tal progress gleaned from poor Crusoe's long, long thoughts as
the endless days and nights passed over his lonely head.
"Treasure Island", by Robert Louis Stevenson, is another
book of adventure that will lead your child far away from
crowded traffic and canned music to a land of adventure and
daring and piracy on the high seas with a heaped up treasure
at the end of the story. This is the tale of Jim Hawkins, a
simple country boy who joins some of ;the gentry in a hunt for
treasure buried by the evil Captain Flint. Long John Silver
with his hearty wickedness, foiled by Jim the simple rather than
the gentlemen of the party, offers an escape to the imagination
of every child. I wish I might go back to my first reading of
the story. I envy those of you who are about to be thrilled by
it for the first time.
"The Swiss Family Robinson", by Jacob Van Wyss, is another story of adventure where an island becomes the home ofi
an entire family. They make the most delightful of houses for
themselves in a tree and I for one could never understand their
anxiety to leave this country they had discovered, abounding in
cocoanuts and alarums and high adventure.
Adventure of another kind is found in "Pilgrim's Progress",
by John Bunyan. This is the. story of Pilgrim — Everyman —
who left the worldly City of Destruction to find salvation for
his soul. The story is an allegory of the spiritual progress of
mankind, but to the child it is a glorified fairy tale. Pilgrim
falls into the slough of Despond at the very outset of his journey. He is rescued by Hope and proceeds on his path to the
Celestial City. Enroute he is made prisoner by the Giant Despair, he is set upon by the Seven Deadly Sins, he becomes a
spectator of the mad city of Vanity Fair. Only after long and
arduous struggle does he reach the Delectable Mountains and
finally the Celestial City. I recommend that an abridged version of this story be provided for the children. Bunyan was a
religious zealot with a case to prove in writing it. Although he
was captured by the story and much of it moves along in rapid
fashion there are numerous excursions into the hellfire and
damnation gospel of the day which serve no purpose whatever
to the modern child, however valuable they are to the historian.
In this same class are the famous "Voyages to Lilliput and
Brobdingnag" of Jonathan Swift. An abridged edition of this
book is almost a necessity for the young child. Swift was a
�._
30
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
bitter cynic and boldly portrayed the vulgarity and viciousness
of his day in the story. The Lilliputians were a race of pigmies
and the/ Brobdinagians a race of giants. Into these two countries
comes an Englishman of ordinary size — huge to the pigmies,
an insect in the sight of the giants. The edition for children
will present only an older fairy tale which later may be illumined by an explanation of the real purpose of the book if the child
is of an enquiring mind.
These five books all filled with adventure of one kind or
another are particularly suitable for the young reader because
they have no element of love interest whatever. They are sheer
action and sexless and timeless.
Side by side with these may come a first glimpse of romantic love as given in the stories of King Arthur^ Robinhood, The
Cid, Don Quixote, Charlemagne and the heroes of the Norse
Sagas. I think the versions of the King Arthur and Robinhood
stories as written and illustrated by Arthur Pyle are the best.
But that is merely my own personal opinion and there is little
danger of straying from the path of good literature in any edition you buy.
About this time some of the stories from the Arabian
Nights, which many of my readers have been fortunate enough
to read in the original, make a strong appeal. AH Baba and the
Forty Thieves and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp have become English classic tales and the central idea of the Arabian
Nights, a collection of stories told to avert calamity or to divert
the mind, has been used of course in many other literatures.
Marching up from these stories come the Leatherstocking
tales of James Fennimore Cooper. These" have an entirely American background of pioneer times. Leatherstocking or the Scout
or Natty Bumpo as he is variously called is the hero of five books
filled with the daring, the hardship, and the glory of the pioneer days. There is a romantic interest in these stories but it is
subordinate to the lives of the indians, the scouts, the soldiers,
and the vast panorama of newly discovered lands. Daniel Boone,
an historical figure, is supposed to be the character after whom
Cooper fashioned Leatherstocking. The Deerslayer, the Last
of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneer, and The Prairie are the five titles in this group. Everyone of them is intensely interesting, but perhaps the best and most moving of them
is "The Last of the Mohicans".
I
�AUGUST, 1927
SI
The novels of Walter Scott, particularly "Quentin Durward" and "Ivanhoe" are not too advanced for the child of
twelve whose reading has been guided. There are beautifully
illustrated editions of these books to be had for boys and girls
and they are well worth buying.
Earlier than these, however, should come a reading of
"Black Beauty", by Anna Sewell. This is the classic story of a
horse and his trials and tribulations in an automobile-less age.
I read this aloud to my boys not long ago and was interested to
find that it still held charm for them, although their experience
of horses is most limited. Let me say a word here, too, for the
"Little Women" stories of Louisa Alcott. Although these books
were written primarily for girls I am sure that boys of ten to
twelve will not find them tiresome. They are wholesome, full
of fun and pathos and typically American in their picture of
family life at the time of the Civil war.
There are books of Dickens, too, that will interest the child
of this age. "The Old Curiosity Shop", "Oliver Twist", "Little Dorrit", "David Copperfield", Nicholas Nickleby" are all
novels of English life in the nineteenth century. "The Tale
of Two Cities" is a fine exciting story and Sidney Carton and his
great sacrifice will strike chords of sympathy and hero worship
in the child's heart.
Kipling's books for children deserve a whole paragraph to
themselves. "The Just So Stories", "Kim", "Stalky and Company", and the imperishable Jungle Books are a constant joy.
I have already introduced my children to Mowgli and his jungle
friends. Mowgli was a little native boy who was adopted by a
family of wolves in India. He grows up in the jungle, taught
by Baloo the bear and guarded by Bagheera the panther, believing himself to be a wolf. His adventures make deathless
reading for children and grown ups as well. "Rikki Tikki Tav"
which I believe to be one of the finest stories ever written for
children, is found in the second Jungle book, and I can't at this
moment recall a story which I can read over and over with so
much enjoyment.
"Peter Pan and Wendy", by James Barrie, is the whimsical
story of a boy who never grew up. He lives in the Never Never
Land and consorts with pirates and indians and fairies to whom
he introduces the Darling family, Wendy, John and Michael,
the children of mortals. Parents who are interested in child
�jmmm
32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
psychology can learn a great deal of the workings of the child
mind from this story. Altho I have read it aloud to my boys
I believe it belongs to the ten year olds or olders rather than
to the pre-school little people.
So far I have written only of fiction. And with reason,
for fiction as exemplified in the books mentioned above, presents
thq history and culture of many countries and times in digestible
form. Of the thousands of non-fiction books offered for children I select only one for mention. It is "The Story of Mankind", by Hendrik Van Loom. It tells in simple form the story
of the world so far as we know it today. The style is simple,
humorous, spirited and the book presents in thoroughly readable
form the great panorama of human endeavor. I recommend
this to parents, too.
Other bocks of this class will unfold the wonders of science,
astronomy, the stories of various animals, the history of particular countries, the lives of great men and women, all the myriad
interests of humanity for the child mind. You may see and
judge these books for yourselves in a trip to your bookstore.
But so much of this material is presented in school that unless
the child betrays some great interest in a given subject it hardly
seems necessary to fill his bookshelf with this technical sort of
book.
Some children are fortunately born readers. They need
checking rather than urging toward books. Others need the utmost encouragement and sympathy from their parents to induce
them to drink of the "Pierian spring". The wise mother will
see to it! that her child has a comfortable chair, a good light, and
the right book for his reading hours. It is splendid training, too,
for the parents to let the child tell what he has been reading,
giving the story in his own words, commenting on the characters
and motives and explaining his reactions to the various stories.
I do not know at just what age children generally begin
to like poetry. Of course, nursery rhymes are nursed on rhythm
and the very young child responds to the swing of the words.
Some of the child verse of Eugene Field and James Whitcomb
Riley is appealing to children, but much of it was written as
those authors viewed childhood from the vantage of adult years
and lacks the magic touch of understanding. I have had better
success with the simpler nature poems of Shakespeare, extracts
from Longfellow's "Hiawatha" and such poems as tell a defi-
'
nite
�AUGUST, 1927
I
33
nite story.
There are some very good collections of poems for children drawn from many sources and one of these collections belongs in the child's library as a matter of course. But I think
it will rather depend on the individual child as to whether his
taste and inclination will lead him to read poetry with pleasure
or not.
There are two great sources of literary supply for every
child, his home and the library. In the library he may read
widely, voraciously, gobbling up whatever strikes his fancy. At
home he should possess for his very own those books that have
stood the test of time, the books he will want his own children
to read in the generations to come.
A plan that was followed in my own family when we were
growing up was to buy for us not only standard books, but such
books by modern authors as we had read from the library and
liked well enough to want to own. I remember being given
"Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall", "When Knighthood Was
in Flower", "A Bow of Orange Ribbon", "Janice Meredith",
"Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Path", "Lovely Mary", slight
books which I have more or less outgrown now, but which gave
me tremendous pleasure at the time. They were read and reread and then when the time came they took their lesser places
beside my permanent treasures.
I am aware that I have outlined a strong diet for modern
young readers who are nursed along on boy scout stories and
pollyanna books. I have heard it argued that such reading is
better than no reading at all. Perhaps it is, but I am asking you
to provide a training in literary taste and discrimination in the
formative years of your children's lives. And that training cannot be furthered by the easy stories of sentimental theme so
many people feel called upon to write for children.
This lighter reading has its place. It will be found in quantities on the shelves of the library and provides plenty of entertainment of the summer fiction variety. Such periodicals as the
American Boy, St. Nicholas, Youth's Companion, Child Life,
The Junior Home Magazine are full of fine, well written stories
and articles of the children's own milieu. A subscription to any
one of them makes a splendid Christmas or birthday gift and
serves as an introduction to general magazine reading in later
life.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
The cultivation of literary taste and the building of a library, like the growth of a tree, is a slow and time absorbing
matter. I am not pleading for many books for your children's
bookshelves, but I am pleading for some two or three books a
year selected with judgment and shared by father, mother, and
child alike. For, as I have said before, in the kingdom of imagination we meet our children in the land where "time is not",
and we can be fairies and pirates, gods and devils, heroes and
villains, at will.
Appended is a list of books suitable for general reading for
children of every age up to one hundred and one, and beyond if
the span of life endures.
Don Quixote
Cervantes
Robinson Crusoe
Defoe
The Swiss Family Robinson
Van Wyss
Treasure Island
Stevenson
Pilgrim's Progress
Bunyan
Voyage to Lilliput
Swift
Quentin Durward, Kennilworth
Scott
The Leatherstocking Tales
Cooper
Black Beauty
Sewell
Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and others
Dickens
Peter Pan and Wendy
Darrie
Little Women, Little Men, and others
Alcott
The Jungle Books, Just So Stories, others
Kipling
* The Story of Abraham Lincoln
Brooks
Adventures of a Brownie
Craik
Heidi
Spry
Pinnochio
Lorenzinni
King of the Golden River
Ruskin
* East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Thomsen
Sara Crewe, Little Lord Fauntleroy
Burnett
Water Babies
Kingsley
Arabian Nights
Olcott
Merry Adventures of Robinhood, Champions of the
Round Table
Pyle
Dog of Flanders
Ouida
* Shasta of the Wolves
Baker
Mysterious Island
Verne
* Greyfriars Bobby
Atkinson
Westward Ho
Kingsley
�—--i———————^———————
-—
AUGUST, 1927
35
Letters to his Children
Roosevelt
Story of Mankind
Van Loom
Moby Dick
Melville
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Wiggins
Tom Brown's School Days
Hughes
Scottish Chiefs
Porter
Tanglewood Tales
Hawthorne
Honeybee
France
The Uncle Remus Stories
Harris
Books which are starred are books I have not read but include at the recommendation of the New Haven Public Library.
EASY MONEY
!
Pressed by necessity, Urwah Ibn Uzina, an Arab poet,
came to Damascus to seek the favor of the Caliph Hisham Ibn
Abd el-Malek. When he was ushered into his presence and
learning the object of his errand, the Caliph remonstrated with
him saying:
"Art thou not the one who said: 'Why should I go forth
in quest of a livelihood when what by destiny is allotted to me
will eventually come to me without effort?' and now I see that
you have come all the way from Hejaz to Syria seeking assistance?"
Upon hearing this the poet bowed in resignation and said:
"O Prince of the Faithful, you have preached most effectively."
Then, mounting his camel, he set his face in the direction of
Hejaz and would not tarry in Damascus one unnecessary moment.
That night the Caliph could not sleep. He reproached
himself for having turned back, empty-handed, a man of
the tribe of Koreish who had traveled all this distance to seek
his favor, and early on the morrow bid one of his messengers
take two thousand dinars and deliver them to Urwah at his
home in Hejaz. The poet accepted the gift gratefully, but
bade the messenger deliver to the Caliph the following message:
"Are you now satisfied of the truth of my assertion that
whatever by destiny is coming to me eventually finds its way
to my door without my seeking after it?"
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
36
"Anna Ascends"
By
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACT
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in' her and helps her learn better1 English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to forco
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense.
GENTS BUNCH
ACT ONE — II.
(More tensely, yet very quietly) Call her what?
(Rubbing his injured hand with the other) Little
lady.
GENTS — Good. It would be well to always remember that
she is a little lady, especially when I am around.
BUNCH — I get you, Steve.
GENTS — Right. And I'll be around quite some time.
BUNCH — (Backing, a step or two) Little lady, always.
BEAUTY — Say, you going to let this guy get away with
this, YOU, Bunch Derry?
BUNCH — Can that. He's a Bull, sure, even if he doesn't
drink.
ANNA — He's no Bull — das gentleman.
SAID — Beat it out of here or I call Rizzo, das cop.
BUNCH — Sure, we'll vamp. Never mind calling Rizxo.
Put away your little tin whistle.
ANNA — Remember, hands in pocket when conversation rag
chew with me.
BUNCH — (Moving up with Beauty) You'll see me again,
soon.
I
�AUGUST, 1927
ANNA — Sure, Meek.
BEAUTY — Come on,
37
Any olds times.
we're in bad here with no Gat or
nothing.
!
BUNCH — (At door. Beauty on steps above him) I'll see
you later, Anna, — and you'll kiss this hand to make it well.
Like mother use to do.
ANNA — Sure, I kissed it just now, didn't I?
BEAUTY — Come on, come on, you're in wrong.
(They slowly ascend the steps that lead to the street.)
BUNCH — Mind your own damned business, will you.
BEAUTY — I ain't said nothing, have I?
BUNCH — I know what I am talking about.
(They walk
slowly up the street, arguing.)
SAID — Did I tell you das Bunch Derry is a bad, bad boy?
ANNA — He's pig.
GENTS — He'll be back after I'm gone. He said he would.
SAID — You stay here lak a good boy, Gents, 'till I tak
das box to my good customer. I be back in teen-fifth minutes.
GENTS — Certainly.
SAID — Anna, wrap Mr. Gents up a pound of pistachio nuts.
I forget.
ANNA — Yas, boss.
SAID — Help me wid das box. (Gents strains box to Said's
shoulder.)
GENTS — Goo
ing up.
SAID — Das oil is heavy.
GENTS — And the garlic is strong.
SAID — (Staggering up steps) Don't mak me laugh, dis
way. I'll come back soon.
ANNA — What das mean. Das Goo
ing up? (Imitates
Gents.)
GENTS — Going up means to
well to ascend.
ANNA — Going up
to as
cend. Going up
to ascend.
SAID — I should tak dis in home
pack-tri-cal-doses, eh
Gents?
ANNA — (Running up to Said excitedly) Say, boss where
in hell you get dat fine beautiful word?
SAID — Great, ain't it. Ask Gents.
(He exits up front
steps repeating the word.)
ANNA — (Coming down to Gents) Boss, he start to learn
too. All fine words.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
GENTS — Who taught you the words hell and damn?
ANNA — Das the first words I learn.
GENTS — Well they are not fine words and you must
not
say them.
ANNA — No? They seem fine words to me.
GENTS — Do you know what the word "wicked" means?
ANNA — Wicked, yas, means bad, I know that.
GENTS — Well, hell and damn are wicked words. No lady
will say them.
ANNA — Thanks, I say them no more.
GENTS — That's right.
ANNA — I say homeopactic.
(Starts to weigh out nuts.)
You are 'Merican?
GENTS — Oh, yes.
ANNA — I mean real 'Merican? No Ellis Island one.
GENTS — Yes, real A-merican.
ANNA — Real A-merican. Thanks. You know "The Star
Spangled Banner"?
GENTS — I think I could repeat the first verse.
ANNA — Das it. Das it. I been here 'leven months and
I never saw a real 'Merican — A-merican who could go by the
first verse. I know it all. I know it before you. Every bit
of it.
GENTS — Marvelous.
ANNA — (Fishing quickly for her book) Das a new one.
GENTS — You try to learn too many at a time.
ANNA — What else can I do?
GENTS — You ought to get Said to let you get a good job
up town somewhere and then you could hear big words all the
time. In that way they would come easier and your speech
would become more fluent.
ANNA — (Book business) Fluent — Das a
GENTS — Stop. You're exasperating with that
ANNA — (Repeats business) Exasperating
GENTS — Wait. And listen. What is the use looking up
those big words if you do not know the first four or five letters
of them? You will never improve your vocabulary
(She starts to look at book, but he takes it away.)
ANNA — Hell
damn
no, no
excuse, please?
GENTS — Get a job
up town. You'll never learn anything down here.
�AUGUST, 1927
ANNA
— Yas?
39
Why you here den?
You know1 everything
already?
cend.
GENTS
i
As-
— Das it. Anna ascends.
(Gents puts book in his pocket.)
GENTS — That is the true American spirit.
ANNA — Yas. I am a true American. You go back uptown sometime?
GENTS — Yes, very soon.
ANNA — Then you tak me wid you.
GENTS — Take you with me?
ANNA — Yas. I live wid you. I das good cook
Said
say I good girl.
GENTS — But my dear girl. That would be impossible.
ANNA — So?
Why?
GENTS — Well
er
it isn't done in this country.
ANNA — Why?
GENTS — We would have to be married.
ANNA — Oh, is das all? Well I marry you, quick. You
good gentleman
you be gentle to me I know.
GENTS — Why talk nonsense? Why we would have to love
each other.
ANNA — Well now I think das I
GENTS — And to love each other, people must belong to the
same social strata — the same class
ANNA — Yas
I see
Anna must Ascend. (Two ladies
accompanied by driver and footman appear at steps and scan the
front of the store closely.).. See the beautiful ladies. Das strata
and class.
GENTS — Good Lord. Nellie and Bess. (The group descends the steps.)
ANNA — You know das stratas?
GENTS — Yes, my sister and a friend.
BESS — (Entering, followed by Nell and the servants who
stand at the door.).. Here he is, Nell.
NELL — Howard
at last. {They both kiss and hug him.)
ANNA — Hell Damn. (Snaps her fingers as if she had made
a mistake.)
HOWARD (GENTS) — How did you ever find me out?
BESS — Carter saw you last night and followed you to
ANNA
1
— Get a job and go to night school uptown.
�II
WHE SYRIAN WORLD
40
your
er
lodgings
Such an awful place, Howard.
HOWARD — Oh, they are not so bad.
NELL — But your landlady
she could hardly speak English. She directed us here.
HOWARD — My landlady does not even know my name?
BESS — We described you minutely. (Anna starts to feel
in her pocket for her book.)
NELL — She told us you er
dined here. Oh, Howard,
how can you live in close propinquity with such people? (Anna
searches frantically for her book} murmuring the words "minutely" and "propinquity".)
BESS — It is so foreign to your own environment, dear.
(Anna can stand the strain no longer. She goes over to Howard
and gently pulls at his coattails.)
HOWARD — One environment is as good as another, if one
is satisfied.
ANNA — Say, Gents, where das damn book of mine?
BESS — This person addresses you in a familiar manner as
"Gents". Have you entirely lost your identity?
NELL — Gents. Terrible. It really cracks one's teeth.
ANNA — (Awed and in a slightly trembling voice.) Gents,
das book of mine. You have it, yas.
BESS — Oh, Howard, who is this blasphemous female?
ANNA — Blasphemous
Das new and it don't sound right.
HOWARD — That is Anna, the waitress here. That is all
I know about her.
ANNA — Gents, please
NELL — Gents?
ANNA — (Near tears in her embarrassment.) Howard, excuse, please, my dictionary? (He takes it from his pocket and
hands it to her.)
NELL — Dictionary? She crucifies it.
HOWARD — Enough, please. Is it her fault that she does?
BESS — Howard?
HOWARD — Give her soft clothes, rich food and a chance
and she would pass you both in five years. (Anna has backed to
the counter and watches the scene with her precious book hugged
to her breast.) Give her maid service
a good modiste, pleasant surroundings, fresh air and a "chance" and she would soon
be the true type of American womanhood.
ANNA
—.(Brightening) Das me. American woman. See?
»i
Th:
ner
!
ly.
juc
yoi
fin
ter
he;
ho
ex,
tio
�AUGUST, 1927
4i
(She takes out her little flag.)
HOWARD — Let me have that Anna, just for a minute.
Thank you.
ANNA — Much obliged, too.
HOWARD — Do either of you know the "Star Spangled Banner"?
NELL — What nonsense,. Howard.
BESS — Of course we know it.
HOWARD — Well, let's have it.
NELL — Howard, have you gone mad?
HOWARD — Come on now, let's have it.
NELL — Bessie, you repeat it.
BESS — No, you.
HOWARD — Both, together.
BOTH — Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light,
That so proudly
ANNA — Das wrong. What so proudly—not Das so proudHOWARD —
BESS — Oh,
There, you see. How, many stars on this flag?
how we should know? A few dozen, I should
judge.
I
— How many, Anna?
Forty-eight, Gents
Howard.
— (Returns flag.) Thank you, Anna.
Follow
your flag and carry your dictionary and you will soon become a
fine lady—American lady—or should I say—woman.
ANNA — I lak woman better, I think.
HOWARD — It is better. Remember that?
BESS I— Howard, you are humiliating, extremely so.
HOWARD — Not at all, merely just.
BESS — I do not get my patriotism out of a book.
NELL — Nor I from counting stars. (Said appears and enters quickly.)
HOWARD — Neither does this girl.
It comes from her
heart.
SAID — Well, das is done. (Sees women) Slummers.
HOWARD — No, Said, just my sister and a friend. I'll go
home with you.
BESS — You must.
Father is worried. (The servants
exit. Bess, Nell and Howard start up.) You show little affection for your family to disappear and stay away for weeks.
HOWARD
ANNA —
HOWARD
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
HOWARD
— Perhaps it is the lack of affection that sends
me away.
— Lack of affection, Howard. (They move up... Howard has entirely forgotten Anna, who stands in mute despair at
his going. Suddenly as the women start up the steps (Howard
has held the door open for them) Anna cries out with all her
heart.)
ANNA — Gents. (He turns and she beckons tnutely.)
HOWARD — Yes, little lady. (He comes down to her.)
ANNA — Little woman, please, Gents, I like it better.
HOWARD — Of course, Little woman, then.
ANNA — You now go back up town, Gents?
HOWARD — Yes, to see my father. He wants me.
ANNA — You not come back again?
HOWARD — Oh, I'm sure to come back, sometime.
ANNA — How long is das some time?
BESS — (From steps—calling.) Howard, are you coming?
HOWARD — (Starts up) In a minute. (Anna grabs his arm.)
ANNA —> Teach me to spell das word before you go. I lak
it, too.
HOWARD — (Puzzled) What word?
ANNA — Das Affection.
HOWARD — I'm sorry, but it would take up entirely too
much time. The ladies are waiting.
ANNA — Dis woman is waiting to learn the word. Please.
HOWARD — All right. Now listen. Affection. A - F F-E-C-T-I-O-N.
ANNA — Affection.
A-F-F
What was it, Gents?
It's var hard.
NELL — Howard, dear, do come.
HOWARD — Right. I must go, Anna. I'll teach it to you
some other time.
ANNA — Please Gents, you gentleman, be gentle. Teach
me quick.
HOWARD — Here, I have it.
I'll make it easier. (He
takes her arms and turns her to face him. Anna looks attentively up into his smiling face.) Once more. Attention. Affection...
L - O - V - E. Now spell it.
ANNA — Affection
L - O - V - E.
HOWARD — Excellent. Try it again.
ANNA — (Very emotionally) Affection
L- O-V-E.
BESS
No.
�__*
AUGUST, 1927
43
— Will you remember it?
Always, yes. Thanks.
— That's a good girl. (Goes to Said and shakes
his hand) So long, Said. See you soon again, I hope. (To Anna,
hardly glancing her way) Goodbye, Anna. (He goes up and
off, joining his party and they exeunt.)
NELL — (As they exeunt) Howard, dearest, it is so nice to
have you back again. (She takes his arm as they move off.)
SAID — Das lady who calls him "Howard Dearest", he
marry some day — I bet yer.
ANNA — (Who stands dazed at the sudden turn of affairs)
No. He marry no lady. He marry woman, some day.
SAID — (Picks up package of nuts that Anna has previously wrapped) He forget pistachio. War das counter knife? (He
searches the counter and finally picks up a small dangerous looking knife and cuts the string of package dumping the nuts back
in the nut-bin during the following scene. Anna has lost most
of her animation.)
ANNA — He say he come back, sometime.
SAID — I give you your tree dollar tonight, Anna. .
ANNA — Affection
L - O - V - E.
SAID — You hear me, Anna. I give you your wage tonight.
ANNA — Yes, boss.
SAID — How much you save now?
ANNA — (Her hand goes to her bosom where she keeps
her money.) One hundred-two dollar.
SAID — (Takes out old soft leather bag and removes three
dollars.) Here. (She crosses to counter.) Put das away lak a
good girl. Soon you be reech.
ANNA — Thanks. (She removes her money from her bosom and places what he gives her with her original roll, then
replaces it in its hiding place.) Das mak one hundred-five dollar.
Soon I go to school. Uptown school.
SAID — Uptown school?
ANNA — Yes, boss. Uptown school and
uptown job.
SAID — What you mean
uptown job?
ANNA — I lak you boss to let me get a good job uptown,
somewhere and then I could hear big words all the time.
SAID — Yas.
ANNA — In das way they would be easier and my speech
would become more
fluent. I den improve das vocabal-lary.
HOWARD
ANNA —
HOWARD
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
— Hell.
ANNA — Das exasperating wicked word, boss.
SAID — You leave me, Anna?
ANNA — Yes, boss. I am "Going up" jas for a while. I
come back, sometime, lak Gents come back.
SAID — I raise your wage. Two more dollar, Anna.
ANNA — Das fine, boss, but you can't raise me. I so sorry.
You var good to me, but das will not mak me fine A-merican
lady
woman.
SAID — You no go, Anna. Dere is Bunch Derrys, everywhere.
ANNA — Yas. But I know how to tak care myself. When
they get das fresh, I kiss them—on the hand.
SAID — You go to strange people
you no know their
ways.
ANNA — Das why I want to go. To learn their ways. Now
you good boss man. You gentleman
like
like Gents. You
let Anna go and she promise to come back
sometime. Anna
come back, dear boss reech and tak care of you. I go, boss, yas?
SAID — You good girl, Anna. And God will tak care of
you. You go when I get das Faddma girl.
ANNA — You no get das Faddma. She no tak care of you
or the store. I find you nice girl before I go.
SAID — I weel mees you Anna, but I want you to become
a good 'Merican.
ANNA — A-merican, boss.
SAID — A-merican. Dis is a fine country, and you get me
good girl den you go and I be glad for you.
ANNA — Das the true American spirit.
SAID — Mabbe you see Gents uptown?
ANNA — Uptown is a var big place.
SAID — Even so. Dey 'say the world is a small one, after
all. I hear lots of A-mericans say that.
ANNA — (Crosses to tables) I clear up. It's near time to
close, yas? (Rizzo appears and comes down steps.)
SAID — Yas. Here's Meester Rizzo.
Rizzo — (Entering) Hullo, Said Coury.
SAID — Hello, Meester Rizzo.
Rizzo — (To Anna) Hullo, Anna.
ANNA — Hullo, Mr. Rizzo.
SAID — You come to peench me, yas?
(All during this
SAID
tm 11
�AUGUST, 1927
45
scene, Anna is clearing the tables, carrying the dishes back to the
kitchen, putting the -pipes in the right place... Doing it all in a
quick tnanner.)
Rizzo — No, not this time. I'm looking for that "Duster"
Bunch Derry.
ANNA — Going to peench him?.. Das good.
Rizzo — No, I only want to question him. Someone stole
a nice shawl from Ragoub's counter a few minutes ago and Ragoub says that Derry was hanging around with his pal, Beauty
Tanner. You ain't seen 'em, have you?
SAID — Sure. They were both in here not a big while
ago. Bunch, he got fresh with Anna.
ANNA — (Crossing to counter with two pipes.) Das right,
and I kissed him for it.
Rizzo — Well I must look up those two crooks. See you
later. Good luck ,to you, Anna.
SAID — (Goes up to windows and turns out the lights.) I
go play pool with Zackey and Azzerah, Anna. And I tak my
key. You fix latch on door vfore you go up stairs to study.
(After Said has turned off lights the stage is lighted up from
the lamp-post in street and the gas jet on wall back of counter.
Said takes his hat from peg, a box of cigarettes from case and
starts to go.)
ANNA — Hay, dare.
SAID — (Stopping) Eh?
ANNA — You tak cigarettes from case and no pay for them?
SAID — Excuse, please.
(He takes coin from his pocket
and puts it in cash drawer.)
ANNA — How you expect to keep making money, if you
meex up your accounts. I bet that new girl will let you do as
you like.
SAID — No, Anna, I'll remember. Fix my pipe when you
go up stairs.
ANNA — Yas.
SAID — An' bank the fire, too.
ANNA — Sure, boss, I remember everything, when you
don't.
SAID —> (Going out) Das right. Das right. You good girl,
Anna.
ANNA — I know that, too.
�! .» . „,,.
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
— (In Syrian) Goodbye.
ANNA —i (In Syrian) Goodbye.
ANNA — (Starts to place the chairs on tables. Humming a
Syrian love song all the while. She finds a dime on the table
where Gents saty puts it down her bosom. She starts to cross the
counter and stops suddenly. Bunch appears and quickly and silently comes down the steps hiding in the alcove outside.) Affection. L - O - V - E. (She starts up and pulls down shade of\
right window, is about to cross to the other window when Bunch
steps in front of her. He carries a small parcel under his arm.)
BUNCH — Hullo, Anna, I'd said I be back.
ANNA — And I said, "Hear Anna, but don't talk." Miss
Ayyoub, to you.
BUNCH — (Takes off his cap with a sweeping bow.) Miss
Anna Ayyoub, I have come back.
ANNA — For me to kiss your hand again, mebbe, yas?
BUNCH — (Rubs hand which he has bandaged.) Now that's
all right. I was a little raw in my method. That's all. I'll be
more careful next time.
ANNA — You be more careful this time.
BUNCH — I'll be a regular Romeo.
I'm stuck on you,
Anna
Miss Ayyoub.
ANNA — You better go. I now close up.
BUNCH — I want to talk with you.
ANNA — Too late. Come around when the boss is here.
He go play pool now.
BUNCH — (Laughs knowingly.) Sure, I know. I saw him
go. That's the reason that I want to see you—alone.
ANNA — Get out, I say.
BUNCH — Say, what's eating you?
I try to shine up to
you in a level way and you put me out?
ANNA — Das where you belong—out.
BUNCH — Say, you want a swell job. And meet a lot of
rich guys? Swell guys like that dude, Gents?
ANNA — Gents no dude. He's gentleman.
BUNCH — Well I know plenty that look like him. You
want to meet them?
ANNA — No, I meet one. Das would be plenty.
BUNCH — Then I introduce you to jest one.
ANNA — Ner mind. I met one already.
BUNCH. — I know one that will give you $20.00 jest to sit
AUG
SAID
of fin
i
]
duds.
spoke
try it
end c
you a
going
with
�AUGUST, 1927
47
with him at Brenner's and have a drink. Twenty Dollars.
ANNA — You talk lak fool.
BUNCH — I got a present for you, Anna.
ANNA — Yas?
I watch you closer then. (Unwraps parcel and shows shawl.)
BUNCH — Ain't that a darb of a rag?
ANNA — Where you get das?
BUNCH — It'll look swell on you.
ANNA — Yas? I think it would look most swelliest on Ragoub's counter.
BUNCH — Try it on?
ANNA — You steal das.
BUNCH — Aw no, I bought it for you. I'll buy you lots
of fine things, too.
ANNA — Yas, like you buy das shawl.
BUNCH — Aw, I did buy it, I tell you. I'll get you swell
duds. Jooelry and everything, if you meet that swell guy I
spoke about.
ANNA — I tol' you.
BUNCH.— (Takes a step nearer) Here, try this on.
ANNA — Keep away.
BUNCH — (Steps nearer) Ah, Anna.
ANNA — Say you, I keel you once you touch me.
BUNCH — Here, catch. (He tosses her the shawl.) Now
try it on.
ANNA — (Catching shawl) No, I won't try it on. I give
it to Mr. Rizzo, the cop. He was here looking for you not long
ago.
BUNCH — Well, he's not here now. He's up at the other
end of his beat.
ANNA — But he'll come back.
BUNCH — But not in time. Get me?
ANNA — Oh, yas, in plenty time.
BUNCH — Not in time to save you, you damn little wench.
ANNA — What you mean?
BUNCH — I mean that I am going to take from you what
you are willing to give to that uptown dude.
ANNA — I say, what you mean?
BUNCH — I mean that when I'm through with you, you're
going to be damn anxious to sit at the table and have a drink
with that guy with the $20.00. Now do you get me?
�mm
THE SYRIAN WORLD
4S
ANNA — I
BUNCH —
no 'fraid of you.
And when you get that twenty, you are going
to bring it to me or I'll beat hell out of you.
ANNA — Keep away
Rat.
BUNCH — Rat, sure. And I am going to bite. (He grabs
her. Standing with feet wide apart he holds her in a vise like
grip, close to his body— His arms being around her he has her
arms pinned tight to her sides. Therefore she can only move
her head and legs. All during the following lines of Bunch's
she kicks violently at his shins..- Tries to keep her face away
from his, but is too frightened to make an outcry.) Now, you
listen, to me, you little cat. You're going to work for me. You
understand. Keep still, damn you, or I'll trim you, quick. I'll
take you out every day, every night, you hear? (He presses his
face to hers, when suddenly she goes limp in his arms and is still.
He laughs. Lifts her up and faces up stage. Rizzo appears and
stops at window street. Bunch swiftly carries Anna to left of
counter and puts her on the floor out of the line of vision of
Rizzo. He then crawls on his hands and knees along side of the
counter, so as not to be seen by the officer until he reaches the
window. Slowly his hand reaches the shade cord and slower still
he pulls down the shade. He then moves to the doors and pulls
the shade down slowly on each door.)
(During all this business, Anna comes to her senses. She
struggles to her feet. To help herself her left hand reaches up
to grab the counter for support and falls on the counter knife
with which Said cut the cord, earlier in ihd act. She is quite well
balanced and fairly poised when Bunch finishes his work. He
rushes to her.) Now I'll start your education, baby. (Her back
is towards him as he rushes down stage to grab her. Both her
arms are on the counter for support. The knife she holds tightly in both hands. As he nears her, she turns swiftly and as he
grabs her in his arms as before" he runs directly by his own force
into the knife,> which Anna holds rigid.
Note — All during the struggle Anna has unconsciously retained
the shawl and when she grabbed the knife the shawl wrapped itself around the handle.
Bunch gives a low cry of fright, pain and surprise. His tone
is pitious from now on.) Oh, my God, Oh, my God. Now you
done. Now you done it.
ANNA — (Quiet tmi low) I tol' you I keel you.
•
--
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GO
a
z,m
o
GO
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<
w
W
CO
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a
�A DRAMATIC SCENE IN "ANNA ASCENDS"
Anna, the Syrian girl who has been in America only a short time, prides herself in her knowledge of the Star Spangled Banner to the delight of her American admirer.
�i I!
:' ' '
'.": ! - sS^KHiFS. JBn^s&i.' UVr* < >
�r~
AUGUST, 1927
49
BUNCH — (His arms and hands tightly hug his left side.
He sways unsteadily and his knees begin to tremble. He whines.)
Oh, my God. I'm tired, I'm tir
(He sways from side to
side and then sinks to his knees and fitches forward on his face.)
Anna moves to above the fallen man and after a moment's
pause, she drops the knife and shawl on the body. She then
crosses herself. Looks at the man once more. Runs to behind
counter. Gets her own shawl. Comes again to the body. And
works herself up to a great feeling of repulsion and relief. She
shows no remorse for saving her honor. She spits on the man
and with eyes on him always she backs slowly to the door, first
saying "Dog". Her back bumps the door before she realizes that
she is anywhere near it. Her left hand feels for the knob.)
You drag me down. Anna Ascends. (She opens the door and
slips out silently.)
CURTAIN.
<
GOOD DISPOSITION
(A selection from the book of "The Morals of the World and
of Religion" by the famous Arab Imam and Cadi,
Abu-l-Hasan al-Mawardi.)
It is related of the Prophet (may Allah praise and exalt
him) that he said: "God has chosen Islam as a religion for you.
Honor it, therefore, with good disposition and generosity, for it
will never be complete without these two."
And said al-Ahnaf Ibn Kais: "Shall I tell you of the worst
of ailments?"
They said, "yes." He said: "It is evil disposition, and a foul tongue."
And said one of the wise men: "He
whose disposition has become evil, his livelihood becomes constrained," and the cause for this is apparent.
And said one of
the eloquent ones: "He who is of good disposition is at rest with
himself and at peace with others; while he who is of evil disposition finds he is in' trouble with others and at odds with himself."
Said the poet:
"If a people's disposition is not expansive,
Even the wide open spaces would be too compact for them."
When a man's disposition is good his friends multiply and
his enemies diminish j difficult affairs become easy for him, and
hardened hearts soften for him. It is related of the Prophet
that he said: "A good disposition and a good neighbor build up
homes and lengthen one's age."
�50
THE SYRIAN WOULD
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
There are certain subjects
which every editor loves to
dwell upon, foremost among
which are occasional heart-toheart talks with his family of
readers, especially when the
publication is of the nature of
THE SYRIAN WORLD whose
readers really constitute one
large, close family even if its
membership is scattered all
over the world.
Why these intimate talks are
pleasing is because there exists
between the readers of this
publication that close kinship of
race, that community of interests, that similarity of conditions
which truly binds in an intimate and strong spirit of brotherhood. We have readers in
Canada as well as in the United
States, in Australia and New
Zealand as well as in Africa
and Liberia, in South America
as well as in Syria and Egypt,
and all these, although so widely scattered, are brought together through the medium of
THE SYRIAN WORLD to sympathize one with the other, to
take interest in each other's
joys or sorrows as behooves the
members of one large family
who were driven to seek better
fortunes in different lands but
never lost sympathy with, or
interest in, those spiritual family bonds which are dear to the
hearts of all.
When, therefore, we indulge
in intimate talks with our readers, it is not unlike holding a
family council where all barriers of formality and conventionality are let down and the
atmosphere of the council room
is permeated with the consciousness of true family congenialityThose of our American readers who are sufficiently interested in our affairs to follow our
developments and activities are
naturally welcome to our inner
circles, and we may venture to
hope that through their sympathetic interest a fuller and more
enduring understanding of the
true qualities of the Syrian race
will be brought about.
The primal motive of Syrian immigration was economic.
Some there are whose emigration was forced by religious,
political, or other conditions,
but the overwhelming majority
sought in other lands the opportunities for the betterment
of their economic conditions
�———^
51
AUGUST, 1927
cated class should consider
themselves under the strongest
moral obligation to stamp out
The dominant factor in the the practice.
lives of the Syrian immigrants
has been, therefore, the accumulation of wealth. As is the
case with every group of peoUpon THE SYRIAN WORLD
ple, only few attained fortunes, entering on its second year, we
although the proportion of received numerous testimonials
those of independent fortunes of the highest appreciation and
may be larger among Syrians commendation from a host of
than among most other races. our friends all over the land.
Those few appreciate the value Throughout all these letters
of a broader scholastic educa- there is evident a tone of the
tion and are affording their highest satisfaction for the
children every opportunity for magazine as it now stands. To
the acquisition of knowledge. these intellectuals THE SYRIAN
It is to be feared that the ma- WORLD should reflect the high
jority of the second generation, cultural standards of the race
however, .are not afforded the and should be maintained along
opportunity to take full advan- the line followed during its first
tage of even the free educa- year. To a large number of
tional system available to all in these readers THE SYRIAN
most countries, especially the WORLD, in many respects,
United States. One is inclined ranks amongst the highest pubto believe that this class of Syr- lications of its class in the Enians still adheres to the old tra- glish language.
But, on the other hand, we
dition that the best there is in
America is the opportunity it have had many discontinuances
affords for making money. The of subscriptions for the plainly
children are consequently not stated reason that the publicaonly discouraged in their aspira- tion, as at present conducted,
tions towards higher education, was too erudite, and, in plain
but are considered mere tools language, "above our underfor helping the family attain standing". It is evident that
better circumstances and are un- this class of readers has imbibscrupulously put to work im- ed too fully at the fountain of
mediately upon reaching legal popular literature. We would
working age. This is a lament- like to gather again these stray
able condition and should be readers to the fold but loathe
•trongly discouraged. Our edu- to lower the standard of the
which their mother
could not supply.
country
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
publication on that account.
Are there any new features
that 'would attract this class,
which we presume is quite numerous, and which may prove
in the future extremely valuable to the race if adequately informed, by the employment
of the proper methods of approach r
We are planning several
new features to which we are
now giving careful study, but
would prefer to hold a symposium on the subject first. Our
readers are cordially invited to
give us their opinions in true
"family council" fashion, and
their communications will be
treated in strict confidence if
they so state.
After
all, THE SYRIAN
may be considered in
the nature of a pioneering experiment which may be expected to pass through many evolutionary stages, but shall never
be abandoned. Although undertaken on purely personal
initiative, it has fully proven
it fitness to live and its ability
to serve its chosen mission.
More active support on the
part of those who approve of
the plan and policy of the magazine cannot fail, however, to
enlarge its scope of service and
usefulness.
WORLD
Although of a literary nature primarily, THE SYRIAN
WORLD has inaugurated many
departments
which
should
make a strong appeal for popularity. "Anna Ascends" is a
fiction serial of the highest order and the moral theme it
brings out should constitute the
strongest inducement for the
young Syrian generation to
peruse it. There are also the
"Readers' Forum" and the
news section appearing under
the title "About Syria and Syrians". In the case of the latter
we are covering the world in
news of interest about the Syrians and their activities. The
Readers' Forum is at all times
open for the discussion of all
Syrian problems of whatever
nature. We would like to see
this department serve its purpose more fully and to that end
we invite our readers to express
themselves on all serious topics
that present themselves to them.
We are refraining from publishing letters of appreciation
and commendation although
the generous expressions of our
readers on that subject are none
the less appreciated.
Our readers are also cordially invited to send in news of all
events of general interest about
Syrians in their localities.
�AUGUST, 1927
53
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
CRITICISM OF FRENCH
REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD
Most of the small French representatives abroad are weak-willed,
or inclined to be so in the choice
of their proteges and friends so that
they may be in congenial company
and be able to masquerade in a cloak
of authority and power. In Morocco,
Tunis, Algeria and Tonkin they have
pursued the2 same policy and assumed the same false front as they are
now doing in Syria and Lebanon,
and the only result has been to
besmirch the glories of their heroes,
and bring injury to the fair name
of France. This policy has revealed at times such weak spots in the
French as to often border on fatal
results. These small French officials
are sapping the foundation of French
prestige abroad which has been laid
by the devoted and unselfish efforts
of the truly great Frenchmen at
great pains and sacrifices. They are
doing that through their petty methods and in pursuit of their own
selfish ends which renders them susceptible to believe the pusillanimous
praise offered to them. France, it
seems, is still incapable of bringing
itself to the point where it can emulate the policy of England and Ger-
many in making a thorough investigation into the record of all wouldbe friends before placing implicit
confidence in them. It has also shown
deplorable inaptitude in gaining the
good-will of other nations by manifesting interest in the general welfare of those nations instead of the
welfare of one or two individuals.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., July 22, 1927)
THE REVOLUTION AND
THE REVOLUTIONISTS
The revolution is honorable if
those who undertake it prove to be
honorable in the methods employed
and the objects aimed at. It is unhonorable if those who are at its
helm are working for ulterior selfish
motives which are neither of the
warp nor the woof of an honest revolution.
We wish to declare that we are
adherents and supporters of the
honest revolution, but we will not
support a revolution at the head of
which we know men who invoke
their country and their countrymen
simply to gain an office, or obtain
personal revenge for an old rancor.
These we have known to be dishonest in their claims and aspirations
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and we are therefore prompted to
judge the whole revolutionary movement as such because the turbid
spring cannot flow clear waters.
The only revolutionists who were
true to the cause were those unfortunates who joined the ranks of the
fighting forces and offered the supreme sacrifice only in furtherance
of the selfish ends of the leaders.
Our proof of the dishonesty of
those leaders is that they are now,
when the revolution has come to an
end, disclaiming their old principles
and adopting and professing new
ones simply because they seek to
bolster their tottering prestige for
which purpose they assume a different role according to changes of
circumstances and conditions.
(As-Sayeh, N.Y., July 18, 1927)
STRANGERS TO THEIR
COUNTRY
No better illustration can be had
of the perfidy and injustice of the
powers than that given by the
Treaty of Lausanne which places innumerable obstacles in the way of
the Palestinian immigrant wishing
to return to his own country and
family while the Jew, a foreigner,
who had never set foot on the soil
of Palestine before, finds not the
slightest difficulty or those conditions which are termed in the English language as "red tape".
These same conditions hold true
of Syria where the immigrant son
of the country is beset with alJ
forms of difficulties while the
Armenian foreigners are welcomed
with open arms.
This is a condition to which we
call the attention of the native societies in the land of our immigration in the hope that the matter will
»
be taken up witlh foreign ministries
of London and Paris, or, as a last
resort, with the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations.
(Al-Bayan, N.Y., July 11, 1927)
M. PONSOT EXAMINES
THE CASE OF RASHAYTA
It is reported that M. Ponsot,
upon his return to Syria, has given
special attention to the study of the
case of Rashayya and was seen at
one time examining the map of the
town most carefully.
This is a sign of interest which
is welcome. But in our estimation
the case of Rashayya is so plain and
evident that it requires no study.
Are there not ruins in Rashayya?
then who is the one that caused
them? If those responsible are your
French soldiers then you yourselves
should make reparation. If, on the
other hand, those who caused all
this destruction are the barbarian
revolutionists, then why delay exacting reparation from them? And,
finally, if you wish to use extreme
leniency in dealing with the revolutionists for any purpose of your
own, it is but right that you assume
the responsibility of reparation
yourself.
Fear not a recurrence of a revolutionary outbreak if you deal out justice and visit due punishment on criminals; rather, it is meet for you to
fear the turning of public opinion
against you if you employ undue
tolerance, disregard the rights of
the oppressed while setting at liberty the oppressors and criminals, and,
finally, while you heap honors on the
aggressors and prove thereby that
you fear their might.
What Syria is in need ef most
today is a policy of just and deter-
�AUGUST, 1927
mined force. We therefore ask you,
M. High Commissioner, to bring into use that firmness upon which
alone depends the rehabilitation and
the progress of the country.
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y., July 21, 1927)
I
55
the existence of Syria. This is the
only proper course of action for every
newspaper and every patriot devoted
to the cause of his country. Successive events have proved that in following this course we were fighting
injustice, oppression, arrogance and
unscrupulous colonization. The whole
ACQUAINTING AMERICA
world and even all sane and imparWITH LEBANON
tial people in France itself have
testified to the fact that France has
Most of what is being written
about the beauties of Lebanon as a transgressed on the spirit and the
letter of the mandate and that she
summer resort is done with the obhad
been in Syria even more oppresject of inducing the Egyptians to
sive than she had been in her backspend their summer vacations there.
ward colonies. Now, however, she
We are inclined to believe, however,
that a little expenditure of money is making an effort to correct her
and effort to advertise Lebanon in mistakes, and this may be construAmerica would not be amiss. The ed as an actual admission on her
Lebanon government is squandering part of her former crimes against
vast sums of money on many use- that helpless country (Syria) which
less things and it would seem only had no crime other than her love
fitting for her to extend an invita- for liberty, her trust in the fairness
tion to an American newspaper com- of liberty-loving nations and her
mission to visit its mountain and dependence on the promises of the
have an opportunity to witness its diplomatic representatives of those
nations.
wonderful natural beauties and de(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y..
scribe them to their readers.
And our wealthy class! There are
July 22, 1927)
any number of them who, during the
summer months, spend as much
money to send their families to
A DECLARATION OF POLICY
places not far from New York as
would be sufficient to defray the exThis newspaper is proud to depenses of travel for their families
clare its independence from any poliboth for going and return. Is it not
tical affiliation, which is to say that
meet, therefore, for them to send
it is not bound to any individual
their families during the summer to
anywhere in the world or in receipt
beautiful Lebanon?
of subsidy or remuneration from
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
any political party or government.
July 21, 1927)
All subsidies and decorations which
have been offered to it have been
uniformly refused while it has
WHY WE OPPOSE
spent, in conjunction with the LebaTHE MANDATE
non League of Progress, tens of
We have fought and shall continue thousands of dollars in the service
to fight the mandate so long as it of the old country and the Allied
continues to constitute a danger to cause during the war, and up to the
�56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
present time these two forces are ly follows that all that which has
still continuing their efforts along been said in praise of the French
former lines, namely, to secure the was only lies applied to liars.
independence of Lebanon under the
It may be the contention of some
protection and tutelage of France,
that
this criticism, coming as it does
inasmuch as the United States has,
from
former friends of France, is
definitely refused to take over the
directed
not at France but at its
mandate.
agents
and
officials in Syria. These,
We believe France to be the logicof
course,
it
may be further conal European power to guide Lebanon
tended,
are
subject
to removal. But
in the path of progress and freedom.
in
refutation
of
this
poor logic let
We believe that to come to an
it
be
understood
that
the French
understanding with a power who is
officials
in
Syria
are,
after
all, only
a model of present-day civilization
Frenchmen
who
receive
their
inis far superior to an understanding
structions
and
orders
from
Paris
with a race whose only boast is of
a past civilization of which only the and follow a set policy laid down
name remains. If we were to ad- for them by their statesmen in the
here to everything ancient then we French capital.
If they be liars, it is because
should more reasonably invoke the
civilization of the Phoenicians, the Paris itself lies.
Assyrians, the Babylonians, the
If they steal, it is because Paris
Persians, the Chinese, the Egypt- has sent them.
ians, the Greeks, the Romans and
If they foment discord, it is beothers which would mean that we cause Paris so decrees.
are simply going backwards.
If they disregard promises and
We believe that Lebanon should be
trifle with covenants, let it be reindependent of its neighbors and
membered that Clemenceau was the
that the so-called Syrian unity is
first to do that while he was Prebut a nightmare in the present inmier! The written promises he gave
tolerant condition of the country
to the Patriarch while the latter
and will not become a pleasant
was the accredited representative of
dream until there is a cessation of
all the people of Lebanon proved not
bloodshed, and other abhorrable acts
to be worth the paper they were
of violence and barbarism which written on.
prove the predominence of the baser
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
animal instincts in the people immeJuly 19, 1927.)
diately they feel free from any restricting influence.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., July 21, 1927)
RESULT OF THE REVOLUTION
TROUBLE AT THE SOURCE
Because some of the staunchest
supporters of France have now reversed their stand and are criticising
the actions of the French, it natural-
The demands of the Syrian revolutionists continued to contract until
they settled finally on the single demand of asking for amnesty.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., July 25, 1927)
�AUGUST, 1927
57
About Syria and Syrians
YAKUB SARRUF, PUBLISHER,
DIES IN EGYPT
The death on July 10 in Cairo,
Egypt, of Dr. Yakub Sarruf, publisher, scholar and one of the pioneers of the literary and scientific
renaissance of the Arabic-speaking
world, was announced by a cable
dispatch from Bayard Dodge, president of the American University of
Beirut to the headquarters of the
Near East Colleges in New York.
Dr. Sarruf is claimed by the
American University to have been
it3 most prominent alumnus, having
graduated from that institution in
the first class to complete the course
of Arts and Sciences in 1870. After
engaging in the publication business
in Beirut for some time he moved
to Egypt where, in company with
Mr. Faris Nimr, he established the
scientific review "Al-Muktataf" and
the newspaper "Al-Mukattam", both
of which are now recognized as the
leading publications of their class
in the Arabic world. Only last year
there was celebrated in Egypt the
fiftieth anniversary of the publication of "Al-Muktataf" in the Valley
of the Nile, an occasion which was
held under the auspices of His Majesty King Fuad and attended by
delegates from all parts of the
Arabic-speaking world. Dr. Sarruf
was, further, a member of the Royal
Asiatic Society of England and the
author of many scientific works.
Dr. Sarruf was born in Hasbayya,
Syria, in 1851. He moved to Egypt
in 1885 and while having interest in
many publishing enterprises both in
Egypt and the Sudan most of 'his
efforts were devoted to the service
of the cause of science through his
monthly review "Al-Muktataf" of
which he retained active editorship
until the last.
THE EARTHQUAKE
IN PALESTINE
Palestine, that part of Syria
known as the Holy Land, was visited on July 12 by a severe earthquake
which caused, according to first reports, damage to property valued at
over a million and a half dollars and
claimed a toll in human lives estimated at about five 'hundred dead
and a thousand injured.
The shock traveled from West to
East and from North to South, and
it was felt in Egypt and Transjordania but not in the northern sections of Syria and Lebanon.
Many historic buildings were
damaged, among which were the
Dome of the Rock, otherwise the
great Mosque of Omar, and the
Basilica of Bethlehem, together with
many other churches and institutions including some buildings of the
Hebrew University and the Government house on the Mount of Olives.
The damage to private dwellings
and business property was much
greater in extent.
News of the disaster was learned
from both press dispatches and
from private cables to Palestinians
in America. The latter were appealed
to for urgent help, and they immediately rose to the occasion and
formed a committee for the collection of relief funds whose address
ia in care of Mr. Peter George.
Woolworth Building, New York City.
�58
It is gratifying to see that all Syrian
newspapers in New York, regardless
of their political affiliations, rallied
to the support of this movement.
DR. ALKAZIN'S PLAY
STAGED BY SCHOOL
Wadeh Coriaty, a young Syrian
high school student in Fall River,
Mass., is so fond of his Syrian World
that whenever he receives it he carries it about with him and reads it
at every opportunity. When he received his March number he took it
with him to school and felt proud in
showing it to his teachers. His teachers were seized with great admiration for the literary quality of the
publication. The result was that
they elected to stage the one-act
play, "The Stranger", by Dr. Salim
Y. Alkazin, published in that issue,
as their school's yearly dramatic
production. It was staged with great
effect and was enjoyed and admired
by everybody.
Young Coriaty also drew on the
material of The Syrian World for a
talk he gave on the Arabic sources
of Dante based on the articles published under that title by Dr. Philip
K. Hitti. The Syrian student, we are
assured, never felt prouder in his
life than when he realized the extent
of the educational contribution he
was able to give on these occasions
to his Alma Mater.
ABUNDANT CROP OF
YOUNG INTELLECTUALS
Of a single Syrian family in the
United States, that of the Rashids,
which is to be found mostly in the
States o| Illinois, Iowa, the Dakotas
and Michigan, sixteen young men
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and women graduated this year
from high schools, colleges and universities. About that many receive
the honor almost every year.
Among this year's crop of the
Rashid graduates was Mjss Josephine Naman Rashid of Kewanee,
111. In her graduation address 3he
stressed the necessity of education
to both males and females among
the Syrians and thanked her parents
for the interest shown in her educational pursuits. She also, had some
timely remarks to make about gifts
and their respective values. Although she had been the recipient
of many tokens of love and felicitations on many occasions, and especially on the occasion of her graduation, the one gift which appealed to
her as being of most value, she said,
was that made her by her uncle,
Mr. S. M. Rashid, consisting of a
subscription to The Syrian World.
We are assured that in making this
statement she was intensely sincere.
SYRIAN GIRL WINS HIGH
SCHOLASTIC HONORS
In its issue of June 1, the Morning
News Review of Florence, S. C,
carried on its first page a picture
of the talented young Syrian girl,
Miss Florence Nofal, of that city]
together with the following account
of her' past record and future intentions which it gives us pleasure to
reprint herewith. It is gratifying
to note how Syrian individuals, by
their achievements,, bring credit and
honor to their race.
"Miss Florence Nofal," says the
Morning News Review, "daughter
of Mrs. Joseph Nofal, of Florence,
has brought honor to herself, her
family and the city for whom she
was named, in being adjudged one
�r
AUGUST, 1927
39
of two high honor itudents at her eral of the flag association, of the
graduation from Converse College. honor tftiat has been conferred upon
'"Miss Florence' is tihe title that him. The following citation accomthis fair daughter deserves without panies the medal:
"'Mr. A. B. Saleeby: As a loyal
contest, it is hers by right of conquest in a larger field with much citizen of the republic he has rencompetition. Not satisfied just to dered meritorious service to the flag
get by, Miss Nofal delved deep into of our country through his helpful
the realm of social and economic and sympathetic co-operation with
the United States Flag Association,
science.
"In spite of the exacting require- which co-operation has resulted in
Living
Flags
ments of honor work she also found the forming of
time for many and varied college ac- amongst Syrian-American citizens
tivities. She has served as president of North Carolina, thereby promotof the International Relations Club; ing reverence for the flag of the
business manager of the college an- United States and bringing into
nual; directress of the Philosophian greater appreciation the ideal, traSociety, and also on the staff of the ditions, institutions and principles
college publications. She was a mem- for which the flag stands.'"
ber of the Alpha Sigma and Gamma S'gma societies.
" 'Mis Florence' has just begun
her education. After a three months' AMERICANIZATION MOVEMENT
AMONG THE SYRIANS
tour of the educational centers of
Europe, Miss Nofal will enter the
"The Syrian-American ConfraUniversity of Pennsylvania to prepare for the degree of bachelor of ternity", we learn through a communication from Mr. Ellis Khoury,
law."
Secretary, has just been organized
in Grand Rapids, Mich. Its purpose,
as published in several American
A SYRIAN HONORED
local papers, copies of which were
FOR PATRIOTIC SERVICES
sent to us, is "to inculcate and impress
the doctrines of Americanism
The Evening Post of Salisbury,
N. C, published the following ac- upon, and to make better citizens of,
count in its issue of July 21st which the Syrian people; to create the
spirit of brotherhood and unity rewe are glad to reproduce:
"A. B. Saleeby. of this city, head gardless of religion or creed, in the
of the Saleeby Distributing Compa- Syrian colony of Grand Rapids and
ny, has been awarded the Patriotic its environs; to uplift the Syrian
Service Medal by the executive com- name and make the Syrian people
mittee of the United States Flag of Grand Rapids and vicinity good
Association, the national headquar- representative citizens of the United
ters of which are in Washington, States."
The organization gave a play in
and of wh'ch President Coolidge is
honorary president; Elihu Root, Arabic which was largely attended
president. Mr. Saleeby has just been and was favorably commented upon
notified by Colonel James A. MOBS, by many American papers of tha
U. S. Army, retired, director gen- city.
�60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
SYRIAN BOY WINS
ORATORICAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
A Syrian lad of sixteen, Louis
Dakil, of McAlester, Okla., is now
the oratorical champion of Irs state
for 1927. This honor was won by
him in a contest held at the University of Oklahoma which was open
to all. The Syrians of that state
are proud of their champion and
'have ample reason to be so.
Young Dakil is a graduate of the
McAlester High School and is entering this year the University of
Oklahoma to take up the study of
medicine. He had previously engaged in numerous oratorical contests
and
uniformly won
distinctive
honors.
LEBANON BANK IN
NEW HEADQUARTERS
The Lebanon National Bank of
New York will open its new headquarters at Fifth Avenue and ThirtySecond Street for the transaction of
business on Monday, August 15th.
The new building, located in the
heart of tha midtown business district, has undergone extensive alterations and is a fit home for this
the largest and most creditable
Syrian business enterprises
in
America.
What is of equal importance is
that the old home of the Lebanon
National Bank, located at 59 Washington Street, will be maintained as
a branch bank for the accommodation and service of clients in the
downtown section of the city.
SYRIAN MUSIC TEACHER GIVES
SUCCESSFUL CONCERT
YOUNG GENERATION
HELPS BUILD CHURCH
The Shreveport Times of Shreveport, La., gives an interesting acMiss Rose Corey of Terre Haute,
count of the mus:cal concert given Indiana, advises us that the young
by the talented Syrian music teacher generation of the Syrian community
of that city, Miss Louise Yazbeck. in 'that city are helping whole-heartWe had occasion to refer before to edly in raising funds for the erecthe recognition Miss Yazbeck is re- tion of the church which the initiaceiving among lovers of music in tive of the Rev. Anthony Bashir has
that part of the country in apprecia- made possible in that city. Readers
tion of 'her ability, so that last year of The Syrian World will remember
she was appointed chairman of the our previously published account of
local committee for music week and the surprising literary fecundity of
there was developed a strong de- this Syrian missionary in America,
mand for the broadcasting of her and we are now pleased to say that
concerts over the radio. What is his talent and ability in the missionmore pleasing is that Miss Yazbeck ary field are proving to be equally
is making a serious effort at inter- as fertile. The rallying of the young
preting to her American audiences generation in Terre Haute to the
the charms of the music of the support of the Church project is in
Orient, and it is gratifying to learn itself testimony to the enthusiasm
tjiat in that endeavor she is meeting infused in the community by this acwith considerable success.
tive missionary.
�AUGUST, 1927
LAWRENCE RESPONSIBLE FOR
DISASTER IN SYRIA
61
"Recalling Lawrence's request to
General Allenby for 200,000 sovereigns with which to convince and
control his converts, the writer says:
" 'The official history, when it
appears, will perhaps tell the world
how many hundred thousand sovereigns were needed monthly to feed
the languid fires of Arab nationalism. We do know, however, that
when the golden stream that flowed
freely from the British Treasury to
the Sherifian family and thence
much less freely to the Bedouin it
was a signal to break up the Arab
revolt so painfully fostered.'
"The attack concludes by referring to the end of Lawrence's Arab
Bureau in Cairo in 1920 as "dying
unregretted, having helped His Majesty's Government to adopt a policy which brought disaster to the
people of Syria, disillusionment. to
the Arabs of Palestine and ruin to
the Hedjaz."
"Lawrence is now serving as a
private in the Air Force in India."
So, after all, it was not the superhuman genius of Col. Lawrence
which aroused the Arabs of the
desert to revolt against the Turks
and won them to the causa of the
Allies. If we are to believe a London critic supposed to be a high
British official in the Orient, it was
British gold more than anything
else which was responsible for the
performance of the miracle, and
if Col. Lawrence was responsible for
anything at all it was in his having
helped His Majesty's Government
to bring disaster to the people whom
•he claimed to be serving, as well as
despair and remorse to his own
people.
In a special cable dispatch to the
New York Times under date of
July 23, we are advised that "a
fierce attack upon 'Lawrence of
Arabia' is contained in the current
issue of the Central Asian Journal,
the organ of the Central Asian Society in London, signed with the initials 'A. T. W.,' which are said to
be those of a high British official AIR MAIL BETWEEN
in the Orient, who has spent most
FRANCE AND SYRIA
of his life in the midst of British
politics in the East.
The press of Beirut reports that
"The writer," continues the dis- M. Ponsot has concluded an agreepatch, "reviewing Lowell Thomas's ment with an aerial navigation combook "With Lawrence in Arabia" pany for the transport of mail beand Lawrence's "Revolt in the Des- tween France and Syria. "Lisanert", calls the letter the work of a ul-Hal" of Beirut comments that
pardonably vain man rather than with this arrangement it will be posof one who has created a myth sible for the people of Syria to read
with enormous modesty and charac- the French papers on the very second
terizes the former as the work of day of their publication. FurtherLawrence's chief press agent.
more, "the Syrian and Lebanese
" 'For the estrangement of Anglo- press will not thereafter depend on
French relations in the Middle East Egyptian papers as a source of inand the present deplorable condition formation on world developments
in Syria, Lawrence more than any because the French papers will begin
other man is responsible,' he writes. to reach Syria in quicker time."
�«*
62
MOHAMMEDAN WOMAN
STUDYING IN AMERICA
The first Mohammedan woman
to come to America to study medicine is now in New York taking a
summer preparatory course before
entering a medical college. The girl
in question is Miss Sanieh Habboub
who comes from, Beirut and has had
the moral courage to break centuries-old traditions to travel abroad,
alone, and seek a profession which
in all ages has been heretofore confined to men.
Dr. R. Taki Deen, a prominent
Syrian physician of New York, is
our authority for the above statement. Himself born a Druze, he is
enthusiastic over the prospects of
a Mohammedan girl studying medicine to practice her profession
among the extremely modest women
of the East. "I have no doubt,"
says Dr. Deen, "that she will make
a success among her people who, by
the way, are in need of the services
of such a girl with broad views and
thought."
DANTE RAISES A
STORM IN BRAZIL,
The Arabic newspaper Abu '1Haul, (The Sphinx) published in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, has been waging
a vigorous campaign against the activities of Mr. Tofiq Corban, a Syrian, who is lecturing in, that South
American country on the Arabic
sources of Dante.
What Mr. Corban is claiming does
not vary from what our eminent
scholar, Dr. Philip Hitti, has stated
in a series of articles published in
recent issues of The Syrian World
and based on the findings of the
learned Orientalist, Prof. Miguel
Aain of Madrid. No storm was raised in Amiri« ov«r th« publication
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the supposedly disparaging statements of Dante. Not so, however,
is the case in Brazil, where the Syrian paper referred to unhesitatingly
expresses the fear that such criticism of Dante, coming from a Syrian,
is bound to alienate the sympathies
of the large Italian colony in that
country and arouse them to acts of
retaliation against the Syrians. The
commercial relations between Syrians and Italians in Brazil, claims
the newspaper, are very extensive
and the resentment of the Italians
to the attacks on the literary standing of the great poet whom they
idolize is bound to prove disastrous
to the Syrians.
SYRIAN WOMAN
PHILANTHROPIST
IN EGYPT
The greatest Syrian philanthropist
of the present age, according to the
Men's and Women's Review of Cairo,
in a statement appearing in the
April issue of that publication, is
Madame Helen Siage, whose total
contributions to the cause of charity and education already run above
a hundred thousand dollars. Her
latest benefaction was her creation
of a trust fund of $50,000 for the
erection and maintenance of a school
in Alexandria the cornerstone of
which was laid in the presence of
many notables and men of literary
distinction.
What is of equal importance, according to the account of the review above quoted, is that another
Syrian woman of independent means
has volunteered to direct the school
simply through her love for the promotion of the cause of education
and was instrumental by her example in having many other Syrian
women similarly situated to emulat*
her •xampk.
�AUGUST,1927
63
Political Developments in Syria
M. Henri Ponsot, French High
Commissioner in Syria, arrived in
Beirut June 21st as previously announced. Acting on his expressed
wish, the local government refrained
from any ostentatious display as
was the custom in the reception of
former High Commissioners. M.
Ponsot immediately repaired to his
official residence and denied himself
to all callers except the few high
officials with whom he wanted to
take up the questions involved in
the carrying out of his program of
reforms. He still adheres to his
policy of extreme reticence, but the
country seems to1 be reaping the reward of its patience by the results
which have now begun to appear in
the complete pacification of the
troubled sections and the return of
normalcy.
Up to the present, M. Ponsot has
not made public announcement of
his complete program. He is proceeding to carry it out in sections
without recourse to press-agent methods. His emissaries are scouring
the country making agreements with
the chieftains and paving the way
for the introduction of the proposed
reforms. Those approached, however, are bound to secrecy, and although there had been manifested a
strong spirit of impatience at M.
Ponsot's methods heretofore, now
the people are beginning to see by
actual results that the Hig'h Commssioner was going quietly about his
business in planning what he thought
best for the interest of the country.
The plan of the Commissioner on
th« unification of Syria haa not been
known in detail but is supposed to
comprise the application of the principle of federation to the whole
country with the exception of Mt.
Lebanon. In the latter country,
drastic measures of economy and
governmental reform are being resorted to, chief among which is the
formation of one general legislative
assembly to replace the present upper and lower houses which have
been found to be a useless prodigality at the expenses of the taxpayers.
The armed revolution in Syria
has definitely come to an end notwithstanding the statements of some
revolutionary sympathizers to the
contrary. Even such a staunch supporter of the revolution as Al-Mukattam, the leading Arabic paper of
Egypt, admits that the French are
now in complete control of the situation and places the blame for this
turn of events on the co-operation
the English in Palestine gave the
French in Syria by declaring martial
law in Transjordania where Sultan
Pasha Atrash and his loyal supporters took refuge and sought to harass
the French by guerilla tactics. Sultan Pasha Atrash, according to this
same newspaper, has now retired to
a distant place in Arabia under the
jurisdiction of Ibn Saoud where, it
states, he is assured of enjoying
true Arab hospitality and protection. All other minor leaders have
offered their submission to take advantage of the terms of the amnesty
which was made to include all rebels with the single exception of
Sultan Pasha and two other*.
�Mil
64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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WHAT HAPPENED TO ANNA?
ANNA is the Syrian immigrant girl who, upon landing
in America, discovered herself in lower Washington Street,
New York, but wanted to "ascend".
Read her wonderful story now being published serially in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
Follow this virtuous, determined and intelligent Syrian
girl in her defense of her honor and her struggle for success.
Learn what became of her when she was under the
illusion that she was a fugitive from justice for a fancied
murder, and what was the climax of her secret love for the
wealthy, educated and socially prominent young American
who had espoused her cause.
"ANNA ASCENDS", by the well-known American
author and playwright, Harry Chapman Ford, was staged on
Broadway and had a successful run of a whole season with
the famous American stage and screen star Alice Brady appearing in the stellar role. The play was later filmed for
the screen. It was never published in book form. Your
only chance to read this gripping love story eulogizing the
Syrian girl is by following it in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
"ANNA ASCENDS" is being published in its original
form to preserve all its color and dramatic interest.
A limited number of back issues of THE SYRIAN WORLD
containing former instalments of "Anna Ascends" are still
available to new subscribers.
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AAAAAAAAA'WMWWMWMMk I
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1927_08reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 02
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 August
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 02 of The Syrian World published August 1927. The issue opens with an article by Philip K. Hitti that discusses Syrian leadership in Arabic Affairs. This article is followed by a poem by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin and more Syrian Folk Songs translated by Kahlil Gibran. The famous city featured in this issue is Baalbek. The play by Harry Chapman Ford which began in the previous issue is continued. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and more on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Harry Chapman Ford
Kahlil Gibran
Music
New York
Philip Khuri Hitti
Salim Alkazin
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/c6e9aee875d0a0f97053d365501c0294.pdf
c943ef7129e0e01267a1ebf1e0c9b977
PDF Text
Text
��.
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
T
GREENWICH STREET, A EW' YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
SEPTEMBER, 1927
No. 3.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Agricultural Situation in Syria
PROF. J. FORREST
3
CRAWFORD
The Generosity of Hatem
Syrian Folk Songs — Tafta Hindi
9
10
AMEEN RIHANI
I
The Future of Syrian-Americans
REV. W. A. MANSUR
//
The Sanctity of Asylum Among the Arabs
18
The Incompatible Four
21
Famous Cities of Syria—Palmyra, Queen of the Desert
22
Things Wasted
27
�CONTENTS (Continued)
*
PAGE
Everybody's book Shelf—III—Some Good American
Novels
28
BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
Bushru's Encounter With the Lion
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
32
The Truly Great
34
"Anna Ascends" (A Play) —Act Two—1
35
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
The Book-Bazaar of Cordova
45
Notes and Comments — By
47
THE EDITOR
Spirit of the Syrian Press
49
About Syria and Syrians
53
Political Developments in Syria
59
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Agricultural Methods in Syria
A Caravan in the Desert
Motor-Busses in the Syrian Deseit
The Avenue of Columns in Palmyra
Temple of the Sun in Palmyra
Tourists at Palmyra
i
HI
�THE
!(
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 3.
SEPTEMBER, 1927
The Agricultural Situation
In Syria
By PROF. J. FORREST CRAWFORD,
of the American University of Beirut.
PART I.
Probably a good many of you have heard people say, as I
have, that one of the chief needs of Syria is to have her agriculture well developed. Like so many wise remarks, it is an
easy thing to say, but just saying it does not necessarily prove
that it is true, and even if it were so, merely saying it does not
really help to bring it into effect. Yet isn't there really some
truth in the statement seeing that we hear it from so many people these days? And are there not some ways in which it can
really be brought about? These are the questions to which I
would like to call your attention in this article, for in finding
their correct answer lies one of the chief factors that govern the
future economic development of Syria.
To answer either of these questions satisfactorily, it will be
very advisable to briefly summarize the existing agricultural conditions in Syria, for then we can. better understand the difficulties
of the problem, and how best to meet them.
Syria is preeminently an agricultural country. Well over
half of her total population of 2,500,000 people are employed
directly in agricultural pursuits. And this is quite as it should
be, for her natural geographical location puts her in an important
central position in the Near East, and her climatic conditions,
added to her peculiar geological and topographical formation,
fit her well for her diversified agrarian development.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
And yet, notwithstanding this, the agricultural development
of Syria has in most respects remained in a very backward condition in recent years, not having changed materially from the systems and methods employed by farmers many hundreds of years
ago. But small wonder it is that no more progress has been
made when one investigates the social, economic and political
conditions which have prevailed in the Near East for centuries.
In recent years, however, all these conditions have gradually been undergoing changes, which should, in time, have a marked effect upon the general industrial and economic conditions of
the country, especially if they are fully understood and directed
along the right lines.
Two of the various factors which are influencing agricultural production in this country at the present time, are more or
less natural factors, and are, therefore, relatively permanent and
unchangeable. These are, first, the geographical distribution of
cultivated areas, and second, the climatic and moisture conditions
pertaining to these areas. Even though both of these factors
can be little changed by man, yet both of them influence agricultural development in a very marked degree, and should, therefore, be clearly kept in mind when discussing agricultural problems.
(2) The Geographical Distribution of Cultivated Areas:—
The total surface area of Syria under the French mandate in
1925 was approximately 16,000,000 hectares, of which not much
over one quarter is capable of cultivation, because of the extensive western mountain ranges and the barren expanse of the
eastern desert. To understand the agricultural conditions in this
cultivated, area it is most convenient to divide it into the following regions: (a) the coastal plain, (b) the maritime mountain
ranges, (c) the central depression with its accompanying valleys
and (d) the eastern plateau, which is the connecting link with
the Syrian desert. Each of these regions has its own agricultural
problems which are slightly different from those of the other
regions, and it is partly due to the presence of these numerous
differences with their marked contrasts, all within an area as
small as that of Syria, that the agricultural development of the
country has been so slow.
(a) The Coastal Plain:— The narrow western coastal strip
enjoys a distinctly subtropical climate where such crop as cotton,
sugar-cane and citrous fruits all do well, provided the moisture
i
I
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
5
conditions are favorable. The soils of this area are mostly alluvial in origin, except for a few sandy sections of marine origin.
The alluvial portion is clayey in character and in general rather
fertile except where depleted through long periods of faulty
cultivation, as has so often been the case. This narrow coastal
plain shows a much higher percentage of cultivated land than do
the other three regions. This is because the natural moisture
conditions are more favorable here, leading to a greater density
of population than elsewhere.
(b) The Maritime Mountain Ranges:— The maritime mountain ranges which form the eastern boundary of the coastal plain
consist of the Southern Amanus mountains back of Alexandretta,
the mountains of the Alouite District back of Latakia, and the
massive Lebanon range back of Tripoli, Beirut and Sidon. These
mountains, running north and south, have a temperate maritime
climate on the western slopes, and except in the steepest portions, are well covered with terraces which have been the immemorial method in the Near East for preserving the surface soil.
In the Lebanon mountains the highest ridges are on the eastern
sides with abrupt, steep eastern slopes, and long rolling western
slopes draining to the sea through many precipitous valleys. The
mountains in northern Syria are of a lower average height, with
their main ridges in general next to the coastal plain, and their
eastern, more' rolling slopes draining towards the Orontes valley.
In general the mountain soil is badly leached out, and much of
the surface has been badly eroded since the destruction of the
once extensive forests.
(c) The Central Depression:— Directly east of the maritime
ranges lies a long, fertile valley forming the beds of two of the
largest Syrian rivers, the Orontes and the Litani. In parts the
valley is narrow, while in others it opens out into broad plains
as the Antioch plain, the Horns plain and parts of the Bika'.
Most of the soil of this central depression is deep alluvial slit
loam which is naturally extremely fertile giving a very large
crop wherever some form of irrigation is carried on. Even in
these fertile plains unfortunately a large proportion of the land
is not cultivated at all, or at best only at intermittent periods.
Not very different from this central depression, and for
our purposes to be grouped with it, are the two other big valleyplains of the Euphrates and the Barada rivers, the latter of
which irrigates the Damascus region. Both of these plains are
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
very fertile, the amount of their agricultural development depending upon the extension of irrigation.
(d) The Eastern Plateau:— Forming the eastern border of
the central depression lies the last agricultural division of Syrian territory, a heterogeneous area, which for lack of a more accurate name, may be called the Eastern Plateau. The actual
plateau land in the north forms the Aleppo region, with its rolling surface gradually falling as it extends eastward from a
height of over 300 metres to the well-watered valley of the
Euphrates. More to the south it forms the upland extension
of the fertile Horns plain reaching out to the desert region
itself.
Between this region and the next cultivable plateau to the
south, lies the mountainous country of the Anti-Lebanon ranges,
whose dry farming problems in all but the irrigated valleys are
mosfi similar to those of the rest of the eastern plateau. To the
south of the Damascus plain the plateau flattens out in part again
into the broad expanse of the Hauran with its rich dark volcanic
soil. On both sides of this important expanse lie mountainous
regions, the Joulan hills on the west and the more noteworthy
and prominent Jebel Druze to the east. The bleak impossible
rugged outcrop of basaltic rock, called the Leja, with its northern extension of the Safa district, covering a total of some 350
square miles, lies immediately to the north of the fertile Druze
mountains. The rest of the eastern plateau area falls in the
uncultivated region known as the Syrian Desert.
The following table taken largely from Government reports,
helps to bring out more strongly the total areas in each political
division of the country as well as emphasizing the vast area capable of cultivation which at present is not cultivated:
TABLE I.
Distribution of Land by Areas
Total area of Syria about
16,000,000 Hectares
Total cultivable area about
4,000,000
"
Cultivated Area by Districts (approximately)
Aleppo
368,000
"
Damascus
349,000
"
Lebanon
200,000
"
Alaouite
160,000
"
Alexandretta
183,000
"
TOTAL:
1,260,000
"
�Ml
SEPTEMBER, 1927
7
(2) Climate and Moisture Conditions:—
Throughout all of these agricultural zones in Syria, the
climate is characterized by a dry hot summer in marked contrast
with a damp cool winter. The coastal zone has a subtropical temperature in summer with usually no rain, but a damp sea breeze
nearly every evening, while in winter the temperature rarely
falls to freezing point, and the rainfall is heavy, averaging about
36 inches around Beirut.
In the mountainous zone the temperature varies somewhat
with the height, averaging a rather cool pleasant summer, and
a cool winter with snow on all the higher ridges. As to rainfall,
the western slopes are well supplied in winter with eastern slopes
receiving much less, while in summer both slopes receive practically no rain, although the western slopes are frequently bathed
in mist.
The weather of the central depression also has quite a range
in season. It has a distinctly cold winter with some snowand a
moderate rainfall most years, and some years a heavy rain and
snowfall. In summer the temperature of this zone generally
warms up in the daytime till it becomes quite disagreeable in
many places. There is no rain during the summer, but in the
northern regions where the maritime range is somewhat lower in
altitude, a fair amount of dew falls on the central plain greatly
aiding the summer crop.
The climatic conditions of the Damascus plain are very
similar to those just mentioned except that the rainfall is much
less (averaging about 10 inches) and the air is distinctly drier.
In the eastern plateau region the rain becomes still less, in
most parts not exceeding 6 or 8 inches. Here the winters are
relatively dry and cold, while the summers are dry and hot.
Fortunately in the region of Hauran, the south winds crossing
Palestine bring a very heavy dew in spring and summer, which
helps make the Hauran a great wheat region, earning for itself
the name of the granary of Syria.
Because of these varying moisture conditions, it is quite natural that the irrigation of the four zones should differ considerably. Due to the meagre rainfall of the eastern plateau region
the water supply there is too small to allow for any extensive
irrigation. But in the central depression, the condition is quite
different. Irrigation is carried on to a limited extent along all
the water cqurses (especially in the Damascus plain), although
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in all of these areas much more extensive irrigation could be
practiced as shown in the following table. Especially is this true
of the valley and plateau land bordering on the Euphrates river,
where rather extensive irrigation schemes are now under contemplation.
In both the maritime range and the coastal plain zone considerably larger area could also be profitably irrigated from the
numerous mountain streams, much of the water of which is at
present lost in the sea.
TABLE II.
Distribution of Irrigated Lands
Area
Damascus
Aleppo
Lebanon
Alaouite
Alexandretta
\
Land now Irrigated
45,000 Hectares
13,000
"
8,000
"
5}000
"
3,000
"
TOTAL:
74,000
"
Estimated land capable of irrigation, 300,000 Hectares.
Along with the problem of extending the cultivated land,
by increasing irrigation, comes the problem of reclaiming swamp
land for cultivation through proper drainage. With this aim,
plans are being made to drain the large Ammulc swamp as well
as several of the smaller ones along the coastal plain, and considerable other areas could also be reclaimed by the application of
systematic methods.
Now besides both of these two above mentioned natural
factors of climate and geographical distribution, there are two
social factors which have played an even more important part in
preventing the improvement of Syrian agriculture. Like so many
social factors these two agricultural factors have become so deeply engrained into the life of the people (especially the farmers)
that they have been practically adopted as the social custom or social law by which the rural population lives. These social factors
are first, the prevailing systems of land tenure, and second, the
customary methods of farm operation. Both of these methods were
developed into their modern form back in the time when all innovation was regarded as sinful, and the introduction of anything
new was socially forbidden. This being the case, it is quite na-
•j9p: f»m*.,zw*r*y - —
(V
�«
I \
\
AGRICULTURAL METHODS IN SYRIA
i
I
Although farming is the principal occupation of the people of Syria, they still adhere to the old methods of
biblical times and plow their fields by oxen as shown in
this photograph.
�A CARAVAN IN THE DESERT
I
The long train of men and beasts is here shown trekking
across the vast stretch of sand beset with continual danger. This slow method of transportation goes ill
with our fast times.
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
9
tural that any agricultural improvements requiring changes would
be looked upon with suspicion, and would only be very slowly
adopted by the people. Farmers in all countries are conservative, and in this country they are no exception to the rule, and
even out-do many other countries in their conservatism.
THE GENEROSITY OF HATEM
Hatem, of the tribe of Tai, was reputed to be the most
generous among Arabs. The story of how he slaughtered his
mare to feed the hungry tribe at the height of famine in a year
of drought is common knowledge and was related in detail in
a previous issue. But one of the rare stories told about his excessive generosity is the following:
A company of Arabs comprising a mixed delegation from
the tribes of Beni Asad and Beni Kais sent to wait on the King
Al-Na£man, stopped on their way to pay a visit to Hatem and deliver to him a message of thanks' and eulogy from their chieftains.
They recited to him several poems in praise of his fine qualitites
composed by their eminent poets, but refrained from asking him
any reward for fear of taxing his magnanimity. They did, however, express the wish of receiving a small favor which they felt
they were constrained to make considering some unexpected development: One of their company had lost his mount during
the journey and they would like to have him accommodated.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hatem made the man a
gift of his own mare. A slave girl of Hatem, seeing the company about to depart, secured the foal of the mare with her
girdle to prevent him from following his mother, but the foal
broke his bonds and took off in pursuit. Hatem was quick in his decision. "Whatever follows you is yours," he shouted to the departing horsemen. While he was thus speaking the slave girl
had taken off in pursuit of the foal in an attempt to overtake
him, seeing which Hatem again shouted: "By the honor of the
Arabs, the slave girl is yours, too."
Said AL-KHALIL: "Sciences are like locks and questions are
the keys thereof."
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
10
Syrian Folk Songs
TAFTA HINDI *
Translation by AMEEN RIHANI
Tafta Hindi, tafta Hindi,
Chiffon, silk and satin rare!
Open for me, O young maiden,
My heart's pining for the fair.
The fair young maid who heard me calling,
Came responding with a smile;
And quickly opened, sweetly saying,
"Enter, please, and rest a while."
* Indian Taffeta.
4
<~~a
\—>
J
AftiJ
J
WORTH OF KNOWLEDGE
Said MA'ADH IBN JABAL: "Seek knowledge, for learning
is a good deed before God; to disclose it is praise, to seek it
is worship, to teach it is charity."
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
ft
11
The Future of Syrian-Americans
By
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR
The future physical, mental, spiritual, social and progressive character of Syrian-Americans depends largely on the spirit
of the pioneer fathers; racial inheritance and environment, and
present day training and outlook of the Syrian-American generation. Formerly Syrian immigrants thought in terms of their
native land, a temporal sojourn, economic independence, and
an early return to the homeland. A new situation was brought
on by the decision to make America a permanent home. The
writer, like many others, is interested in the future of the Syrian people in America. Shall they be as the proverbial "lost
ten tribes"? Shall they be swallowed up by other races numerically superior? Shall they be destroyed through race destroying
factors in the modern social order? Or, shall the present Syrian-American generation realize its racial self-consciousness, bring
about a healthy adjustment to the new situation, and enhance
the renaissance of the Syrian spirit in all its glory in the future
Syrian-American? The following reflections may help bring
about some creative and co-operative thinking on the future of
our race in America.
V
It is vital to future Syrian-American character that the present Syrian-American generation realize the meaning of the new
situation.
The character, progress, and destiny of future Syrian-Americans' are in the making today. Heretofore, thought, time, energy were directed toward the homeland, now we must direct our
attention toward the preservation, progress, and future of our
race in, America. Syrian-American thinkers in philosophy, sociology, and race relations realize the magnitude of this problem.
Syrians are very few among America's millions. Under modern
conditions peoples may rise and fall in a generation. Modern
governments employ the most erudite scholarship in science, history, religion, psychology, sociology, engineering, economics,
ethics and propaganda. Also greed, hate, revenge, intolerance
and prejudice.
We Syrian-Americans owe it to America, to our ancestors, and
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to posterity to be and become the best Americans possible. The
present Syrian-American generation is1 a link between the pioneer
fathers and those who shall know the pioneers only in name.
Syrian-Americans are thinking in terms of their adopted country, the future of Syrian youth, and the development of most
desirable character in, for, and by posterity. They realize the
meaning, importance and seriousness of the new situation. Indeed it was to the service of the Syrian-American generation
that THE SYRIAN WORLD was established. "The idea of this
publication," said the editor in the first issue, "was conceived
in the spirit of service to the Syrian-American generation." ( Tulv,
VJ
1926.)
"
I am filled with high hopes for the future of the Syrian
people in America because of the quality and success of Syrian
youth. Sam Johnson said to Boswell: "Sir, young men have
more virtue than old men; they have more generous sentiments
in every respect." Francis Bacon said: "And yet the invention
of young men is more lively than that of old} and imaginations
stream into their minds better, and, as it were, more divinely."
And H. G. Wells is right, "No conqueror can make the multitude different from what it is; no statesman can carry the world's
affairs beyond the ideas and capacities of the generation of adults
with which he deals; but teachers—I use the word in the widest
sense—can do more than conqueror or statesman; they can create
a new vision and liberate the latent powers of our kind." For
"Where there is no vision, the people perish." The great need
of our Syrian youth is vision. Reflection upon the future of Syrians in America will feed the mind of Syrian youth, stretch out
the horizon of their vision, encourage their efforts, and free the
latent racial talents of our race.
There is a growing understanding, appreciation, and assertion of the place of Syria's soil and soul by the rising Syrian generation.
The knowledge of the history of Syria's soil is essential to
the development of the Syrian soul in America. The knowledge
of Syria's history, culture, literature, and racial talents are vital
to the progress of our race in America and elsewhere. This will
enable Syrians to know themselves better, rise among their fellows, and command the respect of other races. Things Syrian,
physical, mental, spiritual and otherwise are indigenous to Syria's soil. The progress of the Syrian soul abroad will ever draw
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
13
inspiration from the homeland.
A right appreciation of the geography of the Syrian soul
must include the study of Syria's soil. The geography of the
Syrian soil, in a sense, is the geography of the Syrian character.
"From the conditions of the frontier life," says Frederick J.
Turner in The Frontier in American History" came intellectual
traits of profound importance. * * * The result is that to the
frontier the American intellect owes its striking characteristics.
That coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and acquistivenessj that practical, inventive turn of mind, quick to find
expedients} that masterful grasp of material things, lacking in
the artistic but powerful to effect great ends; that restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism, working for good and
for evil, and withal that buoyancy and exuberance which comes
with freedom—these are the traits of the frontier, or traits called
out elsewhere because of the existence of the frontier."
A hunger for the knowledge of Syrian history is gripping
our Syrian youth. It is a healthy sign and prophetic of much
good. To know the Syrian one must study the map, geography
and history of Syria and her surrounding nations. Syria is centrally located in the ancient world. Its topographical features
are essential. Syria is a bridge, a highway, between Asia, Africa
and Europe. Ancient, medieval and modern conquerors made
it a battlefield and a market. Syrians repeatedly survived their
conquerors. "To understand, appreciate, and judge the science,
the religion, the art, the moral ideals of today," says John Herman Randall in The Making of the Modem Mind, "it is imperative to understand those great achievements in the past of
mankind that have created the home in which man's spirit now
moves." This is specifically true of Syria and Syrian character.
Syrian character, racial talent, and energy are the product and
survival of both Syria's culture and of those surrounding nations
which periodically conquered and ruled Syria.
Intelligent understanding, adoption, and practice of America's ideals, customs, and points of view are fundamental to the
progress of Syrian-Americans.
It is imperative that Syrians possess true and intelligent
ideas of what makes one American. Much passes for Americanism that, is imitation. It is refreshing to drink in the real thing.
"You are a foreigner," said one to me. "God didn't ask me
about where I was to be born, did he ask you?" disarmed and
�^ ",
14
1 "' "
THE SYRIAN WORLD
enlightened him. Roosevelt said, "I wish to1 be distinctly understood on one point. Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction and purpose, not of creed or birthplace."
America's ideals are compatible with Syrian nature, ideals,
and aspirations, whether they be religious, educational, political,
or racial. In a South Dakota newspaper the following appeared
as my definition of "Who Is An American?" An American
stands for direct self-government by free elections and by a free
people. He stands for citizenship based on free, self-chosen,
and voluntary allegiance. He stands for leadership chosen by
the people and to whom authority has been delegated by them.
He stands for the principles of freedom, equality, justice, humanity. He believes in the ideal of service for the welfare of
the nation. He upholds the freedom of religion, the press and
assembly which is in keeping with the nation's welfare. He believes in the ultimate triumph of moral conviction in the onward
march of humanity. He stands for open and sincere diplomacy.
He stands ready to defend the fundamental human rights. He
stands ready to defend the independence and freedom of the
United States.
The modern Syrians, descendents of ancient Phoenicians,
are finding themselves through America's golden opportunity.
The American point of view is freeing the latent powers of our
race. The renaissance of the Syrian intellect is going on. Syrian thinking, feeling, willing, and doing are showing themselves
in splendid achievement. The American point of view is rejuvenating the Syrian mind and is a boon to worthy endeavor.
Therefore we must dominate our thinking with America's
ideals with an eye to the future of our race. Lawyers for Karl
Klausen, newly made American, showed how he could evade
army service. "If America wants Karl Klausen," he said, "it
can have him. When Karl Klausen came to America he came
all." Syrian-Americans interested in the future and unborn
Syrian generations in America "came all". They have put America first, above their native land. It is only logical and right that
it be so. They have put America first in their political thinking. They have nothing to fear from the politician who wields
the "race peril" slogan j the shallow propagandist who seeks to
save "civilization" j nor from the modern crusader who waves
the flag of "prejudice and intolerance". Syrian-Americans realize
the complex nature of America and believe there is room only for
i
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
15
one flag, one language, one patriotism. This means the welfare
of America first, also the welfare of the world. It means the
greatest welfare for the future of the Syrians in America.
A worthy modern philosophy of life is an imperative factor
for making life worth living, race progress, and world betterment.
Syrian-Americans are giving the highest meaning to life,
a healthy tendency to future Syrian-Americans, and improving
the world through racial contributions, Chauncey M. Depew
said that the blues were hereditary in his family. His father
and grandfather died of the blues. "I think life is worth living
because I decided long ago to think that way." Syria and Syrians were shackled for generations. Now the Syrian spirit is
free. The Syrian nation is born again. There is coming into
Syrian thought and life an inner illumination of the intellect,
a resurrection of race genius for religious, moral and practical
values, and a transfiguration of life in everyday experience.
The materialistic philosophy of life is destructive. Clothing itself in modern achievements abused and ran riot with them.
Knudson, in Present Tendencies in Religious Thought, says:
Science, the belief in progress, and the socio-economic interest—
these, then, are the outstanding characteristics of the modern
thought world. Together they tend to form a unified system.
The dynamic of the system is found in the belief in progress
through human effort} the goal is determined by the socio-economic interest} and the means of attainment are furnished by
science. * * * These three forces constitute a kind of religion
or substitute for religion." Humanity, like the Prodigal Son,
is returning to the worthier and spiritual philosophy of life.
Conditions led Edison to say: "We need a new conception
of the moral values of life. We need to get away from the
craze for rapid wealth—and to stop measuring the standards
of a man by his money." Selfishness, pride, contempt for others, contentment through sensuous enjoyments and possessions,
cheapen life, and tend civilizations and races to decay.
The spiritual and altruistic philosophy of life is bearing
splendid fruit among Syrian-Americans. Elihu Root said: "It
may not be. a more intelligent world than it was 2000 years ago,
but it is a kinder world." Kindness is said to be a mark of the
highest civilized life. A recent editorial in THE SYRIAN WORLD
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
on "Syrian Philanthropy" is indicative of the rapid rise of the
Syrian race among Western nations. The judgment is true and
prophetic. "We may safely claim now that we have reached
the stage where we have lost sight of our initial motives in emigrating and are beginning to respond more rapidly to our higher
impulses in our conception of the true aims of life."
Fellow Syrian-Americans, let us courageously answer the
challenge to our generation. Let us remember that the people
are great who strive after nobility of character} show fearlessness, self-sacrifice, and devotion to some great cause; and aim
at constructive work of a permanent character for humanity.
And if a man feel before the bar of God and his own integrity,
that he has used his powers to the best possible purpose, that he
has earned an honest living by useful labor, that he has made
those around him happy, that he has added to the sum total of
public virtue, there is no happiness, nor honor, for him greater
this side of the grave.
A progressive constructive policy in social living in a changing social order is essential to the development of high character
in the future Syrian-Americans.
The ability to make the change from the old to the new
social order is the practical test and proof of the genius of a race.
The Syrian-American has already vindicated his superiority within the lifetime of the pioneer fathers. The transition problems
are still perplexing both adult and youth. Syrian intelligence
has been quick to realize the nature of modern youth, the constantly changing social conditions under the mechanical industrial revolution, the developing power of education, and the
awakened powers of man over nature's forces. The nature of
these social problems, the difficulties surrounding them, and the
methods to meet them should be made subject to intelligent
study and criticism for the benefit of Syrian youth. Adaptability
through intelligent and sympathetic understanding is one of the
talents of our race.
Syrian students of sociology, realizing the dangers of modern social life, feel it a duty to inform, instruct, warn and lead
Syrian-Americans in social living toward self-preservation, happiness and progress.
Eternal vigilance is also the price of health, happiness, race
progress and civilization. William Dudley Foulke enumerates
ten destructive factors of civilization in an article on "The De-
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
n
cline of Modern Civilization" in the Times' Current History:
The relaxation of family ties, lack of discipline in the education of the young, decline of religion, drift of population to the
city, spread of lawlessness, revival of intolerance, apathy toward
public measures, and increase of taxation.
My knowledge and observation of various people in industrial centers and agricultural sections suggest the following counsels. First, obey the laws of the land, vote and pay your taxes.
Second, Guard your health according to the best methods in
hygiene and medicine. Third, Modernize the home. Fourth,
Constantly educate yourself: the head, heart and hand. Fifth,
Keep in touch with God that you may live happily with man
and beast. Sixth, Be thrifty in youth and you will be independent in old age. Seventh, Do the best with what talents Providence has endowed you, be honest, mind your own business, and
don't worry. This is true riches, happiness and heaven on earth.
The quality of the future Syrian-American depends on the
predominance of the morally dominated educated classes and
the fecundity of the superior stocks. "From the biological point
of view," says E. B. Reuter in Population Problems, "the problem of the superior is the problem of their fecundity: the problem of increasing the birth rate of the superior family strains."
But the belief in superiority is not innate, but the result of education. A morally dominated education, therefore, is the real
determinant of superiority, happiness and race progress.
Permanent progress can be made only when people make a
corresponding religious and moral progress to keep up with material prosperity. Charles A. Ellwood is right in saying: "If
men can live together successfully only by taking into account
and observing the laws of a moral world, then there must be a
moral ground of human life and the universe. It (history)
teaches how nation after nation has gone down because it did
not live rightly. It shows that the beginning of this decay is
nearly always to be found in the private conduct and intimate
personal relations of individuals." Moral living backed by religious sanctions will assure the Syrian-American of today of race
preservation and progress, success and happiness, and high character and glorious achievement by the future Syrian-Americans.
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Sanctity of Asylum Among
The Arabs
An Authentic Arabian Story
The sanctity of the tradition of asylum among the Arabs
is nowhere better illustrated than in the following account which
has been amply authenticated by contemporary and trustworthy
historians. The scene was in Al-Koufa, the first capital of the
great Abbaside dynasty of which the illustrious Haroun Al-Rashid was the fifth Caliph, and the author of the account is none
other than one of the principals of the drama, a prince of the
Umayyad dynasty whose members the Abbasides pursued with
relentless fury until they had exterminated them almost to a man.
When such a fierce passion for revenge obtains among a certain race of men, it is all the more surprising to see to what extent they are able to control their passion under the trying ordeal
of fulfilling the exacting dictates of the tradition of asylum.
Under certain circumstances, as it proved to be in this case, the
one seeking refuge may be the murderer of the host's own father, and to be able to- live up to the strict obligations of the tradition and govern the primitive passions of a wild and unruly
nature must needs require a superhuman effort.
Nevertheless, the tradition enjoyed so much observance
among the settled and nomadic branches of the Arab race that
it became one of their chief characteristics. Every Arab homq or
tent was a sanctuary where the refugee enjoyed protection to the
fullest extent of the host's ability, even at the risk of the loss of
property and life. There are known cases where a false accusation was lodged against an Arab chieftain of holding in trust
property belonging to some defeated rival of a powerful clan,
and upon being called upon to surrender the trust went to war
in defense of the right of asylum and would not even resort to
the simple expedient of denying the truth of the accusation. A
notable case is that of Al-Samou'al, the powerful Jewish Arab
chief and lord of a famous castle who held out in a long siege
memorable in the annals of Arab chivalry and saw his own son
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
19
fall in the gallant defense but would not surrender a quantity
of arms entrusted to him for safekeeping by one whose status
was not more than that of a chance acquaintance. The great epic
poem of Al-Samou'al in extolling this deed of his stands out in
a class all its, own among Arabic classics.
The extraordinary experience of the Umayyad prince is related in dramatic form by the sheik Taki El-Deen El-Hamowi
in his book "Thamarat El-Awraq", or the Fruits of Leaves. In
a short' introductory note the author states that Al-Abbas, founder of the Abbaside dynasty, in spite of his unyielding attitude towards the Umayyads, was induced to grant amnesty to a certain
young Umayyad prince, Ibrahim Ibn Suleiman Ibn Abdelmalek
and attach him to his court. This prince was a man of charming
personality and well versed in Arabic letters and history. One
day, the Caliph Al-Abbas being in a happy mood, he asked the
Umayyad prince to entertain him with an account of the most
extraordinary experience that befell him during the period of
his flight and hiding. Whereupon Ibrahim related to the Caliph
and the court the following story:
"I had been in hiding in Al-Hira," he said, "in a house in
the farthest end of the city overlooking the desert. One day,
as I was strolling on the roof, I noticed emerging from Al-Koufa
a detachment of cavalry bearing black standards. I was seized
with great fear as I felt no doubt that these men were out to
search for me, and acting on the impulse of the moment, I left
the house and came directly to Al-Koufa seeking refuge from
the searching parties of the Prince of the Faithful, and this in
spite of the fact that in the city I had not a single friend. For
a long time I wandered aimlessly not knowing where to direct
my steps, until I came to a gate leading to a spacious court and
a great mansion. Every indication' tended to show that the place
was that of a powerful man and the open door seemed to extend
to me an invitation to enter, which I did. Immediately following me entered a man of serious and venerable mien surrounded
by a large company of slaves and followers, all mounted and
fully armed. Upon seeing me, he inquired the reason for my
presence in his house and I made, haste to reply that I was in
fear for my life and had sought asylum in the sanctuary of his
domain.
"The treatment I received at the hands of this host, O
Prince of the Faithful, was in conformity with the highest tradi-
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tions of hospitality among the Arabs. He took me into his house
and assigned to me a room adjoining the living quarters of his
harem and ordered me provided with all necessities of food and
comfort. During all this time not a single question did he ask
me about my personal matters or what caused me to be in fear
for my life. But one peculiarity of his daily routine I observed
which aroused my curiosity. He was in the habit of riding out,
fully armed, with a company of his slaves and followers, every
day, not missing a single day. This could not be for any raid
or search for booty, and later, having become on more or less
intimate relations with my host and protector, I ventured one
day to ask him the reason for his daily sallies.
" 'Now that thou hast asked the question,' he said 'I will
inform thee that Ibrahim Ibn Suleiman, the Umayyad, has killed
my father, while information has reached me that he is now in
hiding and I have vowed that not a day shall I let pass by without engaging in a search for him to avenge my father's death.'
"At this statement of my host and protector, O Prince of
the Faithful, I was filled with consternation and dismay. I
could not help but bewail my fate which had driven me into the
very house of the man seeking my life. But having enjoyed
the hospitality and protection of my host for such a long time,
I resigned myself to my fate and decided to reveal my identity
to him. Whereupon I asked him his name and that of his father and was convinced beyond the peradventure of doubt that
I was the one responsible for having his father executed. Then
I addressed him saying:
" 'My generous host, I am under a heavy debt of gratitude
to thee for the hospitality and protection thou hast given me,
and in recognition thereof I feel constrained to save thee any
further pains of search by informing thee of the whereabouts
of thy enemy.'
"Upon hearing my remarks, the man's eyes shone with a
strange fire as he realized that his prey was now about to fall
under his clutches and that he could avenge himself at last for
the murder whose perpetrator he had been seeking for so long,
and he asked me impatiently to make haste and inform him of
the whereabouts of his enemy.
"During all this scene I was able to maintain perfect composure and I deliberately and coolly said to him, 'I am Ibrahim
Ibn Suleiman, the murederer of thy father, and it is now within
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
21
thy power to avenge thyself on me for thy father's death.'
"The look of disappointment which came over my host was
as great as his passion for revenge was fierce, but he immediately controlled himself and said to me:
" I fancy thou art a man who has wearied of a life beset
with continual fear and in desperation has sought relief in death.
As for myself, I shall not permit myself to harm thee while
thou art in such a state of unbalanced judgment.'
"But I assured the man that such was not my reason for
thus exposing myself to the danger of death at his hands, and
by relating to him the circumstances of his father's death, even
to the minutest details, I convinced him that I was in full possession of my reason.
"At hearing this the man's eyes became red with fury and
it was with much effort that he was able to maintain control over
himself. For a long time he remained silent, apparently in a
great conflict with his thoughts, but finally he raised his head
and with a voice choked with emotion, said to me:
" 'Now that thou hast revealed thyself to me, I can but
say that thou shalt meet with my father at the throne of an
equitable judge who will meet on thee proper punishment. As
for myself, I shall not soil my honor and betray my pledged
word by permitting harm to befall thee when thou art in my
house and under my protection. Depart then forthwith from
my presence, for I am not sure of my continued ability to hold
myself in check from injuring thee.'
"Saying which the man gave me a thousand gold pieces to
assist me in my flight, but though I refused to take the money, I
made haste to depart from the house in which I had met with
such a strange experience.
"This man, O Prince of the Faithful, is the most magnanimous person I have met with the exception of thyself."
THE INCOMPATIBLE FOUR
No liar can be trusted.
No envious one can be content.
No knave can be gallant.
And no ill-tempered person can achieve leadership.
(From the Arabic.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
Famous Cities of Syria
Palmyra, Queen of the Desert
The great Syrian city that once defied the might of Rome
and later the power of Islam in the latter's zenith of power,
may yet regain some of its former importance and opulence, if
not its political and strategic influence, now that the automobile
has superseded the camel as a means of conveyance across the
great stretch of the Syrian Desert. For it must be remembered
that Palmyra owed its importance and wealth, nay, its very existence, to the fact that it was the great entrepot of trade, the natural starting point of caravans between East and West across
the inhospitable desert sands. As a merchant city of the first magnitude it grew extremely rich from taxes it levied on passing
caravans and from the customs it imposed on the exchange of
goods. Several other factors contributed to enhance its importance and add to its wealth and influence, so that by the middle
of the third century of our era it challenged even the power of
Rome, and in an unequal but extremely gallant trial at arms it
blazoned a glorious chapter in history under the masterly genius
of its queenj Zenobia.
Palmyra is the Greek and Latin name of this famous Syrian city, but among its Semitic inhabitants and neighbors it is
called Tadmor. In both cases the meaning of the name is the
same, signifying a palm, and the appelation was undoubtedly
derived from the location of the city which is in a fertile oasis
abounding with palm trees and situated on the fringe of the
Syrian Desert between Syria and Iraq. It is about one hundred
and fifty miles northeast of Damascus.
Its earliest mention in the Bible is in Chron. VIII, 5 where
"Tadmor in the wilderness" is said to have been built by Solomon.
The Arab geographer, Ibn Yaqut, ridicules this theory and
ascribes its1 origin to the fact that everything beyond the comprehension of ancients, especially that which furnished cause for
wonderment, was traced in some manner or other to Solomon
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
23
and the jinn. Ibn Yaqut, however, makes mention of an equally
improbable myth in his account of the Arab conquest of the city.
Mirwan Ibn Ahmad, according to his account, sacked the city
when its inhabitants revolted and ordered it destroyed. As a
further act of reprisal, he had his cavalry ride over the dead
bodies of the defenders and mutilate them. While his army
was thus engaged, he noticed a mound which he ordered dug up,
and presently there was uncovered a mortuary chamber "whose
mortar was as fresh as if it had been applied that very hour".
Upon removing a great slab which marked the entrance, the
mummified body of a woman of dazzling beauty and extreme
bulk was found resplendent in seventy robes of the richest silk.
Her seven braided tresses were secured to her anklets and tied
to one was a gold plate bearing this inscription: "I am Tadmur,
daughter of Hassan. Accursed be he who molests me in my
resting place."
The inference is that the city was built by and named after
this Arab queen whose genealogy is traced directly to Noah in
only eight generations.
No sooner did Mirwan make the discovery, the legend continues, than he ordered the tomb restored to its original condition without removing or disturbing the least thing in it, but
the curse followed him with deadly persistence, and only three
days later he was overthrown and put to death by his enemy
Abdullah Ibn Ali and with him ended the Umayyad dynasty
in Syria which had borne the standard of Islam to a larger domain than the Roman empire had ever reached at the height
of its power.
There is no doubt in the minds of responsible historians
and scholars that the original founders of Palmyra were Arabs.
It is conceded that it was in existence long before the time of
Solomon. Furthermore, Solomon could not have built it or
contributed materially to its growth because it was his policy to
encourage the Red Sea trade to the Mediterranean ports through
his own country, which policy would render it extremely improbable that he should favor the distant caravan route by way
of Tadmor which was beyond his domains. The most plausible
assumption is that the Arabian tribes, in their forward movement
following the overthrow of the ancient nationalities of Syria
by the Chaldean empire, gradually overran the oasis and acquired settled habits. Being naturally averse to agriculture, they,
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
however, took full advantage of the favorable geographical location of the settlement to exploit it as a trading post and make it
a converging point for caravans. As organizers of trading expeditions and purveyors of convoys for caravans they proved
themselves extremely able, and soon their city assumed a position
of importance and affluence which later excited the cupidity of
Mark Anthony who raided and plundered it in the year 41 B. C,
under the pretext of quelling an incipient revolt. The population, however, saved themselves by timely flight across the Euphrates which is at a distance of five days march from the city,
proving thereby that even up to that time they had not completely shaken off the mobility of their nomadic nature.
Palmyra was not only a commercial city but a religious center as well. The ruins of the Temple of the Sun are the outstanding archaeological remains of the city. Some scholars place
it in the same category as Mecca in both considerations, for in
each polytheism was practiced and this for the avowed reason
of furthering the interests of commerce. The nobility of each
city was interested mainly in the peaceful conduct of trading
caravans, and in order to placate and humor the naturally militant nomad Arab tribes, they furnished them with all the gods
they cared for in their worship. Hence Palmyra was, like Mecca,
a neutral meeting ground where all could come and enjoy the
free exercise of their religious practices.
The chief ornamental characteristic of Palmyra was its
avenue of columns. This started from the great Temple of the
Sun and extended for about 1,240 yards. It derives its name
from the fact that it is lined with uniform columns along its
entire length, each column rising to a height of fifty-five feet
and supporting statues projecting from brackets at the top of
each. These columns, which at one time numbered 750, are
commonly known as monuments because such was the original
purpose of their erection. Each marked a signal civic achievement by some enterprising or promient citizen, and the custom
proved a great stimulus to the citizens in undertaking public
deeds worthy of commemoration in this fashion. Usually these
deeds were of a commercial nature such as was compatible with
the principal occupation of vthe citizenry. The organization of a
great commercial expedition or the safe conduct of a large trading caravan were, for instance, signal achievements worthy of
commemoration to posterity.
�MOTOR-BUSSES IN THE SYRIAN DESERT
One of the comfortable motor-busses of American make transporting passengers between Syria and Iraq across the Syrian Desert. This photograph shows a halt in front of Zenobia's Temple near Palmyra.
A motor-bus in the Syrian Desert with a patrol of camel police.
(Photos by courtesy "Commerce Reports")
�mmmmmmmBmrnmrnmBmBBBaau^
THE AVENUE OF COLUMNS IN PALMYRA
Starting from a great triumphal arch in front of the Temple of the Sun the Avenue of Columns
formed the most conspicuous architectural feature of Palmyra. This photograph shows the present
condition of the great arch.
TEMPLE OF THE SUN IN PALMYRA
�TEMPLE OF THE SUN IN PALMYRA
A side view of the ruins of the great Temple of the Sun in Palmyra from which radiated the collonnaded streets of the city.
�_;_'__
1
TOURISTS AT PALMYRA
This photograph, taken before the introduction of automotive transportation in the Syrian Desert,
shows a company of tourists on camel back viewing the ruins of Palmyra.
SS^ ^3'* § 33 »'l'g*B?| | Og-3 S-^ig
B*H g 3^ B^g-g 2-3l 3-8,1 ft
�H
SEPTEMBER, 1927
25
The golden age of Palmyra came to it in the second and
third centuries of our era when Rome had asserted its power
over the East and on the overthrow of the Nabathean kingdom
of Petra in 105 A. D. Palmyra was left without a commercial
rival in the overland trade between East and West. Pliny computes that in that period the yearly imports to Rome of silks,
jewels, pearls, perfumes and the like, which were the chief luxuries of the ancient world amounted to not less than three quarters of a million in English money, or about $3,750,000,.00. All
these had to come through the desert route by caravan from the
Persian Gulf by way of Palmyra which levied a high duty on
both imports and exports and played the role of a relentless
profiteer as well as could any well-organized monopoly in modern times. Even the water and the salt, it is stated, were doled
out to transient merchants at almost prohibitive prices; but the
proceeds, it must be said in justice to the Palmyrenes, were used
in all honesty for civic improvements of the city.
Palmyra was for centuries content with its status as a commercial center and judiciously avoided being drawn into the wars
which raged for a long time between the Roman Empire of the
West and the Parthian Empire of the East. It had, nevertheless, a well-equipped army of defense, and its corps of archers
was especially famous and at one time some detachments of this
body served with great distinction in the Roman expeditions in
Gaul and elsewhere. But a time came when the Palmyrenes
aspired to complete political independence. Odenathus (Odhainat) the leader of Palmyrene aristocracy, was secretly engaged
in organizing a revolt when a Roman officer secured his assassination. He left two sons, the elder, called Hairan, appears in an
inscription of 251 A. D., as "headman" of the Palmyrenes. But
it was the second son, Odenathus, who was to play the leading
role in avenging his father's death against the might of Rome.
He spent his youth in the mountains and deserts and, by diligent
and constant efforts, gained the good will of the nomad tribes
who were to prove his chief asset in his later successes. By leading a strenuous life and following the chase he prepared himself
for the physical hardships of a sustained military campaign, and
when the opportunity presented itself to him he was prompt to
avail himself of it. This was at the critical stage of Aurelian's
campaign against Sapor when the Roman legions were all but
cut to pieces by the Persian monarch. Odenathus sent an embassy
�:.-
-.-
*""
26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
with appropriate gifts to Sapor, but the latter disdained them,
at which Odenathus was deeply offended and joined hands with
the Romans as a matter of policy. Rome in her day of disaster
could not afford to be as proud as the Persian and welcomed the
Palmyrene's proffer of assistance. Odenathus achieved victory
after victory and overran not only Syria but Armenia and Egypt
as well. All this he did, however, under the shallow pretext of
supporting the cause of Rome. But once his authority was established, he proclaimed himself king and had money struck in his
own name. This action enraged Aurelian who had by this time
succeeded in establishing the unity of the West and he lost no
time in marching back at the head of his victorious army against
the rebellious East. Odenathus was assassinated in Emesa,
which is the modern Horns, and only his wife Zenobia was left
to oppose all the might of Rome. But Zenobia proved to be
equal to the task — Aurelian himself ascribes to her the chief
merit of her husband's earlier successes. She is described as the
most famous heroine of antiquity and one to whom there Is hardly to be found an equal in her organizing ability, military and
administrative genius, linguistic accomplishments, personal charm
and physical endurance.
Zenobia's armies met the advancing forces of Aurelian first
at Antioch and then at Emesa and in both cases suffered disaster,
but she made light of these defeats because almost all who fell
in the two battles were Romans serving in her army. This is
taken by historians to prove that the war was one of races inasmuch as Zenobia cared little if her Roman recruits were decimated so long as her Arab regulars were spared. As a further proof
of this fact it is stated that the fallahins of Palestine, being Semitic, fought the Palmyrenes determinedly under the Roman
standards, while the people of Antioch and other cities of the
Syrian littoral chafed under the rule of the Arabs of Palmyra
whom they considered barbarians.
Zenobia's military resourcefulness strained Aurelian's skill
to the utmost, and when the famous' queen was at the end of her
resources she attempted to flee across the Euphrates but was overtaken and captured by the light horse of the Romans and formed a part of Aurelian's triumphal return to Rome. There Zenobia, according to authentic accounts, was treated with the utmost
deference and consideration until her death.
The fall of Zenobia may be placed in the year 272. A year
�I
SEPTEMBER, 1927
27
later Palmyra was again in revolt, but on the approach of Aurelian it yielded without a, battle. The city was then destroyed and
th? population put to the sword.
Palmyra never afterwards regained its former importance.
With the advent of Islam the work of destruction was completed
as has been previously mentioned until it had sunk to a mere
hamlet of a few houses huddled in the great court of the Temple
of the Sun.
What the future holds for Palmyra it is difficult to prophecy,
but in the light of recent developments it may not be long before
it regains something of its former importance due to its geographical location. The desert route between Asia Minor and
the East has been found the shortest and most convenient for
both passenger and freight traffic owing to the development of
motor transport. Already several lines of motor buses are in
regular operation between Beirut and Damascus and Baghdad. By this direct line it is possible to travel from the Mediterranean to the capital of Iraq comfortably in approximately thirty
hours. The halting place is naturally at Palmyra where already
a modern hotel has been erected for the accommodation of travellers. Trade and travel between East and West is constantly on
the increase j transportation facilities will naturally increase in
proportion. Iraq, Persia, India and all central Asiatic countries
are brought weeks nearer to Europe by this direct overland route.
It may be reasonably expected, therefore, that Palmyra being the starting point of the long desert journey, this once flourishing capital of the great queen Zenobia will again become the
magnet of a caravan trade of a different order and of quicker
and more prosperous results.
THINGS WASTED
Said Al-Ahnaf: Five things are wasted and serve no purpose:
A lighted lamp in the sun.
Rainfall in a swamp.
Beauty with the blind.
Delectable food offered to one who is not hungry.
And the word of God in the bosom of the tyrant.
�mnHHMGk"-
.
28
-;
.:,-.
::>'.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Everybody's Book Shelf
By BARBARA WEBB BOURJAILY
—Ill—
SOME GOOD AMERICAN NOVELS
While I was making notes for this article I picked up in
the library in New Haven a book by C. Alphonso Smith titled,
"What Can Literature Do For Me?" The chapter headings
which are designed to answer the question asked in the title are
a fine summary of what good reading may be expected to do
for any individual who pursues it both for enjoyment and instruction. I quote them, both in the hope that you will want
to read this particular book, and because they may serve to convince you that more of your time should be spent in reading.
Here they are—remember that they answer the question, "What
Can Literature Do For Me?"
I. It Can Give You an Outlet.
II. It Can Keep Before You the Vision of the Ideal.
III. It Can Give You a Better Knowledge of Human Nature.
IV. It Can Restore the Past to You.
V. It Can Show You the Glory of the Commonplace.
VI. It Can Give You the Mastery of Your Own Language.
This particular article will concern itself only with fine
American novels. I chose novels, passing by the field of American poetry, essay, and biography, because all fiction, if it is enduring, is the interpretation of national life, manners and customs. Even though the subject matter may be laid in other
lands and other times, the American author is constrained by
his. early environment to express a more or less national outlook
on life. And when his theme deals with American characters,
scenes and problems, you will find in his work a deeper understanding of the heart of our country's progress than in all the
books of fact you may read.
It is true, of course, that any great novel passes easily the
)
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
29
barriers of time and place. In it will be found an account of
world-wide problems—problems which exist in every civilization, every country. But the working out of these problems will
reveal the peculiar characteristics and outlook of Americans on
life and will give to those in search of true American culture
the key to our own individual reactions and mental and spiritual
responses.
The early American settlers were a sternly repressed race.
Particularly did they repress their emotions, regarding them as
the sources of evil conduct, distrusting them, and refusing them
outlet. But even in those harsh Puritan days there were human
beings whose emotions carried them into transgression of the conventions and whose later lives were a long expiation of their hot
youth fulness. Against the drab Puritan background of early
New England Nathaniel Hawthorne has laid his rich and colorful drama of "The Scarlet Letter."
Moving in the religious and superstitious customs and manners of the Pilgrim fathers Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingsworth, and the Rev. Mr. Dinsmore work out the consequences
of their acts. The story is simple, as all great stories are simple,
Hester Prynne is branded with the scarlet letter, "A", when she
gives birth to an illegitimate child and steadfastly refuses to reveal the name of her child's father. Hester, although she had
been married in England years before, has long supported herself alone in the New England colony by her fine needlework.
Discharged from prison for her crime of adultery she takes her
child, whom she has given the fantastic name of Pearl, and continues to live as before. Her husband, Roger Chillingsworth,
arrives and demands that she name the father of Pearl. Hester
refuses and Roger sets himself the task of ferreting out the guilty man and exacting punishment.
Beloved and revered for his good works, his godly life,
his chastisement of all fleshly desires in himself, the Rev. Mr.
Dinnsdale is the last man in the colony whom anyone would suspect of being Pearl's father. How his own remorse, the subtle
persecution of Chillingsworth, and Hester's own blameless and
useful life operate to completion of this drama of retribution
must be read in the book. Those of you who have read it know
what scant justice this bold description does for "The Scarlet
Letter". It is New England to the core, and yet a book for all
time. I have given it this much space because it is regarded by
�— "" — .
30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
many critics as the greatest American novel yet written. It is
most assuredly the greatest novel of our early colonial life and
should take first place on any reading list designed to give you
an insight into Puritan character.
There are of course many ways in which to set about reading the great American novels. In this article I shall mention
in their order books that deal with successive periods of American history. "The Scarlet Letter" comes first, not only in point
of greatness, but also because it is laid against a true historic
background of early life in New England.
A group of books which record another angle of pioneer
times I have mentioned in a preceding article. They are the
"Leatherstocking Tales", of James Fennimore Cooper. Marching a little closer to our times we come upon the host of books
written with the Revolutionary War for a setting. I cannot
think of one that compares in artistry with either "The Scarlet
Letter" or the "Leatherstocking Tales", but there are numerous
novels which; are entertaining and well written. One of the best
is "Drums", a realistic story of the Revolution by a contemporary, James Boyd. The glamor of romance has not been allowed
to hide the reality of war in "Drums", and it affords as complete
a picture of its particular period as any book I know.
Years ago, when I was a small girl, I read "Janice Meredith",, whose author, Paul Leicester Ford, has drawn the picture
of a beautiful and high spirited girl who becomes a pawn between the Tories and the Patriots of 1776. It is a fascinating
book crammed full of adventure and entertainment and well
worth reading. "Richard Carvel", by Winston Churchill, is a
third novel of the Revolution that has given me pleasure.
Passing along toward the Civil War period we come upon
another really great book, "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. This is a short novel, telling no particular story,
but vibrant in every line with the reality of war and its affect
upon the mind and spirit of a young boy. "The Red Badge of
Courage" is a masterpiece and the man who wrote it a genius
doomed to a brief and tragic life. Incidentally, though I had
meant to mention only novels in this article, let me urge you to
read the life of Stephen Crane by Thomas Beer. I know of few
biographies which equal it, nor of any which can give more
pleasure.
"The Long Roll" and "Cease Firing" are two long novels
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
31
of the Civil War period which present a panoramic glimpse of
those terrible four years.
The richest development of the novel in our country has
come about since the Civil War. Mark Twain, William Dean
Howells, Thomas Nelson Page, Edith Wharton, Theodore
Dreiser, Willa Cather, all artists of the first rank have lived or
are living in the twentieth century. Their product has been
rich and varied and has concerned itself with no particular period.
In the list which follows I am including, as in my former
articles, only those books which I have read myself. A few of
them I shall mark "must", meaning by that that these are the
books which should be familiar to all Americans. Others may
be read for enjoyment only, although my own conviction is that
deep happiness may be obtained from the reading of many, many
books which are neither great, nor always good.
The Scarlet Letter — Must
The Man Without a Country
Rise of Silas Lapham — Must
Huckleberry Finn — Must
Tom Sawer — Must
Last of the Mohicans — Must
Other Leatherstocking Tales
The Virginian
Janice Meredith
Richard Carvel
The Crisis
Drums
Portrait of a Lady
Penrod
The Red Badge of Courage —
Must
Ethan Frome — Must
My Antonia — Must
The Financier
Java Head
Call of the Wild
The Harbor
Old Gentleman of the Black
Stock
The Time of Man
Luck of Roaring Camp
Poe's Short Stories
The Four Million
This list has been culled from memory for I did no new
reading of novels in preparation for this article. As I made the
list I felt a throb of—homesickness is as nearly as I can come
to describing it, — for the days when I might spend hours upon
hours reading. Each name as it went down had its own associations. May I hope that those of you who read any single book
from this list may feel the same joy and interest in the hours
spent with Tom Sawyer, or Ellen of "The Time of Man", or
young Penrod, or Janice Meredith of the slim ankles, or Henry
of the "Red Badge of Courage", that I have felt?
It would give me great pleasure to believe so.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
32
Bushnts Encounter With The Lion
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
(Bushr Ibn 'Awana was as eminent a poet as he was a brave warrior
in pre-Islamic times. He was asked as a dowry by the parents of Ins
bride the head of a fierce lion who had terrorized the tribes of the neighborhood and defied all attempts to rid the countryside of his menace. Bushr
rode out to meet the king of beasts alone, and as his mount reared and
stumbled, he advanced to the encounter on foot. His poem describing the
exploit is a masterly gem of Arabic literature ably rendered into English
Edlton
by Dr. Katibah.)
O, Fatima! Were you but there,
By rising mounds beset,
When lo, a lion from his lair
Your brother, Bushru, met,
You would have seen with your own eye
A duel lacking fear —
A maned prince a prince defy
— A lion meet his peer.
He cocked with pride to see my steed
Bestartled off his course;
I shouted to the shuddering reed,
"Death come to thee, my horse!
"Let then my feet but reach the ground
Alack for thee, alack!
Methinks the ground is firm and sound,
— Aye, firmer than thy back."
And to the beast: — his weapons now
All bristling out and bare,
His savage visage and his brow
One fixed and wrathful glare,
One paw begins to clasp and claw,
His malice pent to keep,
And forward crawls the other paw
To make the fatal leap;
\
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
Each anxious claw and sharpened tusk
Apointing out with ire,
His eyes agleaming in the dusk —
Two glowing balls of fire;
— While in my right the keen of blade,
Athirsting death to deal,
Still bore the marks that death had made
And left upon its steel —
"Come, lion, come, my warning heed,
Go seek thee other meat;
If thou art bent on me to feed
Thou'lt find me gall to eat.
"Heardst not what havoc this, my hand,
In Kazima's wide plain,
Had wreaked upon that vaunted band,
When Amru I had slain?"
He deemed th' advice but sly deceipt
To chill his fire withal;
My brave recital, a conceit
That had no truth at all.
He charged at me, and charged did I —
Two lions of one aim:
Dire death to deal, but not to die,
With vengeance all aflame.
Out came my sword, with it a gleam
Before his burning sight;
Methought that ribboned streak did seem
A flash that ripped the night.
Down came the sword of wide renown
And through his ribs it slashed;
Lo, steeped in blood he crumbled down
— A mighty structure crashed!
•
33
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
SE1
One single blow of my keen sword
Unseamed him clear in two,
Whereas he was a single lord
Before that blow him slew.
Said I to him: "I hate to kill
A kinsman peer of minej
Reluctant was my heart, but still
Uncommon rash was thine.
"Thou soughtest what no one but thee
Had ever sought before;
My patience strained and chafed in me
And could withhold no more.
"But sorrow not, my freeman brave,
A freeman hast defied,
Who brooks no insult, slight or grave,
— And freeman hast thou died."
THE TRULY GREAT
A lowly informer sent a petition to Yahya, the great Barmacide vizier of Haroun Al-Rashid, advising him that a foreign
merchant had died in the city of Baghdad leaving a beautiful
slave-girl, an infant child, and a vast fortune which he, the vizier,
should be the logical heir thereto.
Yahya returned the petition after having written on its
margin the following remarks:
"As to the deceased, may Allah have compassion on him;
and as to the slave-girl, may Allah safeguard and protect her;
and as to the wealth, may Allah preserve and increase it; and as
to the informer, may the curse of Allah fall upon him."
Mo'awyah once asked Omar Ibn El-Aas, "What is the extent of your statesmanship?"
Omar replied: "I have never engaged in any affair but discovered an outlet therefrom."
But Mo'awyah said: "As for myself, I have never yet engaged in a matter from which I sought an outlet."
Com
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�SEPTEMBER, 1927
"Anna Ascends
35
ll
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACT
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Genta
takes interest in' her and helps her learn better English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to forct
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his (hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurns
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
ACT TWO — I.
Scene represents the private office of Henry Fisk, a newspaper and magazine publisher. There is a door which leads to
other offices. Book cases with books of rare bindings abound the
walls. The room is furnished with massive mahogany furniture
and deep red plush. On the desk is a costly humidor, with spirit
lamp, ash tray, heavy writing set all in bronze, several documents
and a rare book or two. There are also eight or ten of the "Latest" books, fiction, science, biography, poetry, etc., etc. A light
single chair is above desk and is used by the ftpS^St secretary to
take dictation. The entire atmosphere is heavy, dignified, but in
extremely fine state.
�36
THE SYRIAN V/ORLD
At rise of curtain Henry Fisk is discovered dictating letters
to Miss Bird, his private secretary. He is a man in the early
fifties, of very gentle but. firm manner. A thorough business man,
yet very humane, withal.
Miss Bird is a very pretty woman of about twenty-six, severely, yet very becomingly dressed. She gives the impression of
great wholesomeness and common sense.
As the curtain rises Mr. Fisk is in the middle of a letter.
He begins to talk just before the curtain starts.
FISK — (Dictating.) Therefore, my dear sir, it is impossible
for us to give a review of your work? before the next issue of the
"Digest". Mr. Dowles, our reviewer, has your book in hand
and will give it his immediate attention. With very best regards,
I am,
(To Miss Bird.) One more letter, Miss Bird, and then you
are fired
for good.
Miss B. — Yes, Mr. Fisk. (Smiles.)
FISK — Yes. Only one more letter shall I ever dictate to
you, and then I will say "bless you, my children" and speed you
on your way. You are getting a fine boy in young Brandt and
I know you will be happy.
Miss B. — Thank you, Mr. Fisk. I will be happy. Though
I have been very happy here, too.
FISK — A good secretary is hard to find. I hope your successor is good.
Miss B. — I am sure she is.
FISK — Well, you ought to be able to judge. You know
her well, do you not?
Miss B. — Ihave been acquainted with her for over a year
and I feel sure that she will not disappoint you.
FISK — Excellent.
Miss B. — Her command of English is infinitely better
than mine, although she has only been in this country not quite
four years.
FISK — Foreigner, then?
Miss B. — Yes, sir, yet she speaks with only a slight accent.
I do not know her native country, though I surmise she hails
from the Balkans. Then again she may be an Oriental. I do
not know. S/^e has never told me anything about her native
land and of course I cannot ask her.
FISK — As long as she proves herself efficient I will be
�fcfa
SEPTEMBER, 1927
37
content. (Picks up two books from desk.) Here is the letter,
Miss Bird. (Dictates.)
Morris and Lloyd
1114 Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia.
Gentlemen:—
I have before me a semi-economical-fictional work — (To
Miss Bird.) I think that is the proper way to describe it. (Dictates.) Economical-fictional work entitled "Anna Ascends", Author unknown. This work is, by far, the best of its class published during the last ten years and if you would be so gracious,
I would be pleased if you would give me the name of the author,
in order that I !may satisfy the appeals of hundreds of my subscribers. It is indeed a wonderful work, really worthy of a Conrad or a Poe. With all good wishes, I am, yours, very truly.
(To Miss Bird.) I do hope they will furnish me with that
author's name, but I doubt that they even know it.
Miss B. — New best seller, Mr. Fisk?
FISK — Yes, and a dandy. Story of an emigrant young
girl, who comes to this country and fights her way, unscathed to
the top. The writer claims that ninety-eight per cent, of the
foreign girls who go wrong after landing in this country are
forced there through lack of proper protection during that vital
stage, namely, the first two years they are here, when they are
learning the language and ways.
Miss B. — It is quite true that if a little more attention and
protection were afforded them, a great percentage of them would
be saved.
FISK. — That is true. Howard, a few years ago disappeared on one of his mad adventures and lived some weeks in one
of the low quarters down town. When we found him he said
he had been studying the ways and means of helping young foreign born girls. He always claimed practically to the letter just
what this book claims. Now, Miss Bird, you have taken your
last dictation, as I said before, but I am not going to fire you
until you type the letters. I will, however, give you a little
wedding present from the firm in appreciation of your services,
etc., etc. You know the old, long winded speech? Well, consider it said. (Hands her cheque.)
Miss B. — Thank you so much, Mr. Fisk. I hardly know...
FISK. — Get out of here and type those letters, young lady,
�TTrrin
THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
or I will refuse to fire you.
Miss B. — Mr. Howard will be home today? I would
like to1 see him before I go.
FISK — Yes, home today after eight months in Alaska, on
God only knows what kind of an errand. He will stop here before going to the house. You can see him then.
Miss B. — Yes, sir.
FISK — Your successor is due when?
Miss B. —; At one o'clock, Mr. Fisk.
FISK — I have given orders for her to report to me as soon
as she arrives.
Miss B. — Is that all, Mr. Fisk?
— Yes, thank you. (Miss B. exits... Fisk pishes button. Takes up telephone, speaks.) My daugter and Miss Braham will be here in a moment or two, Sparkes. See that they
come in this room at once. (Enters John Stead. Young man of
about twenty-eight.) Hello, John, what's the trouble?
JOHN — I'm playing office boy for you. William has gone
to lunch.
FISK — I wanted him to get me some cigars. But never
mind, now. He can get them later. I expect Bess here in a
moment or two. Hang around and you may get a chance to
see her.
JOHN — Just crazy to.
FISK — How is the course of true love running?
JOHN — Just as true as ever. We had a fine scrap two evenings ago.
FISK — Yes?
JOHN — Yep. She thinks I ought to get a better job. Now
I am here working for you at twenty-one dollars a week and
Pop allows me three hundred. I only went to work to please
her and now she says that I have a sinecure here and am laying
down on the job.
FISK — Well, my dear lad, you are certainly not giving
me twenty-one dollars' worth of work— not one dollar's worth.
JOHN — Oh, well, I know that, but I might as well "sting"
my future father-in-law as anyone else.
FISK — What does Bess want you to do now?
JOHN — She thinks I should take some manual job. Sweat
of my brow, red shirt, over-alls and all that sort of thing, you
know.
FISK
�_
SEPTEMBER, 1927
39
pISK _ Well the Subway isn't finished up town yet.
jOHN
I'll put my foot down today, when I see her.
pISK _ That's the way to talk. Remember that a man
should be the master in his own house.
JOHN — I'll remember it all right, but that is as far as I'll
ever get. (Phone bell rings.)
FISK — (In phone.) Yes? (pause) Oh, yes, let her come
right in. (To John) You'll have to excuse me now, John. 1
am sorry I can't help you in your love affairs, I've a new secretary coming. Miss Bird is leaving today, you know.
JOHN — Yes, sir. (Starts up and as he opens the door
Sparkes enters and ushers in Anna Ayyoub, now known as Anne
Adams. She wears a trim neat business suit and carries herself
in a well poised and easy manner _ Save for a slight accent she
shows little of her former self. Fisk rises respectfully and bows.)
SPARKES — Miss Adams, Mr. Fisk. (John exits.)
pISK _ Thank you, Sparkes. (Sparkes exits.) Be seated,
Miss Adams.
ANNA _ Thank you.
,
(He waits for her to sit, then reseats
— You come highly recommended, Miss Adams, but
I should like to ask you a few questions.
ANNA — Yes, sir.
pISKL _ It will save us both a great deal of time, and perhaps much embarrassment.
.
ANNA — I will be glad to answer any questions that you
mav ask, Mr. Fisk.
JUT
FISK — (Picks up sheet of paper.) By your record here 1
see that you were employed by Stilson & Quade up to three
weeks ago. Why did you leave them?
ANNA — I did not leave. I was discharged.
Discharged? May I ask why?
FlsK _ Indeed?
I bit Mr. Stilson, the senior memANNA _ Certainly, sir.
ber, on the hand.
FISK — What? Bit him on
ANNA — Yes, sir.
FISK — God bless me, daughter, how and why did you
"FISK
CVCT
ANNA - It is an old habit of mine, Mr. Fisk, that I cannot
cure myself of. I have bit as many as eleven men during the
last two years. (Fisk unconsciously rubs hts hand.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
FISK
ous girl.
— You do not look like a
ANNA
— I am neither.
er
cannibal
a vici-
Each and every man I bit tried to
kiss me.
FISK — Kiss you!
Ah, I see. You were only protecting
yourself, eh?
ANNA — Exactly, Mr. Fisk. They all have the same method of procedure, and I have the same method of protection.
FISK — Just so. You bite their hand.
ANNA — Yes, sir. It is most convenient
and effective.
FISK — Well, young lady, you need have no fear of anyone in this firm giving you a chance of making a meal of his
hand.
ANNA — Thank you, Mr. Fisk. I will not regret to lose
the habit.
FISK — Just so. Just so.
(Resumes scrutiny of record.)
Before holding your secretarial position with Stilson & Quade,
you were employed by a firm of box makers, namely, Hughes
& Co. Did you lose your position there through your
er
cannibalistic tendencies?
ANNA — Yes, sir, the foreman, this time.
FISK — And so on down the list, I suppose?
A NNA — Yes, sir, a hand bite has been my nemesis, always.
FISK — Good little girl. (Knock at door.) Come in. (William enters with cigars.)
WILLIAM — Cigars, Mr. Fisk. I knew you would run out
of them, so I got them during lunch.
FISK — You are a very attentive boy, William. That is
why I keep you. This is Miss Adams, our new secretary. Don't
try to kiss her if you value your digets.
WILL — (Vaguely.) Yes, Mam.
FISK — (Takes one copy of "Anna Ascends" from desk.)
Give this book to Mr. Dowles and tell him to review it in his
best possible manner.
WILL — (Takes book and goes up stage.) There ain't a
chance in de woirld of 'me trying to kiss the lady, boss, but gosh,
how i'd like to. (Exits quickly.)
FISK — You seem doomed to your Nemesis.
ANNA — I'll kiss the dear little, man, someday. There are
kisses and kisses. (Enters Miss Bird.)
Miss B. — Here are the letters, Mr. Fisk. (To Anna.)
�i-
SEPTEMBER, 1927
41
Howdo.
ANNA — Howdo.
FISK — Thank you,
Miss Bird. You need not send that
letter to Morris & Lloyd, the Philadelphia publishers. I shall
phone them. (Miss B. puts letters on desk. Fisk looks them
over in a hurried manner, selects one and tears it up. Takes up
phone.) You show Miss Adams her room and her filing record,
Miss Bird.
Miss B. — Certainly, sir. This way, Miss Adams.
FISK — (In phone.) Give me Long Distance. (To Miss B.)
She might as well go over her records now. (In phone.) No, no.
Long Distance, please.
Miss B. — (Pointing room.) That is the conference room,
there. Three buzzers to bring you. Two buzzers for this room.
ANNA — Yes, I see.
FISK — Long distance?
(Girls exeunt.)
Miss B. — (As they exeunt.) This is your private office.
FISK — I want Morris & Lloyd, book publishers, Philadelphia. Yes, Mr. Morris I wish, to speak to. The other member
of the firm is dead. Will you rush that through for me? Thank
you. Yes, you have it right. Morris & Lloyd. Thank you. This
is Henry Fisk & Co. Thank you, again. (Bess and Nell enter,
followed by John.)
BESS — Howard not here, father?
FISK — No, was it too much trouble to go to the train to
meet him?
BESS — Not at all. But he did not take the trouble to wire
what train he arrived on.
FISK — Hullo, Nellie, I fancy you are glad that the boy
is coming home. He'll look rather rough. He has been working in a1 lumber camp, I believe.
JOHN — That should please his sister, at any rate.
BESS — Yes, and a few splinters in your hand would do you
no harm.
JOHN — Getting ink on them suits me just as well.
BESS — Well, let me remark that it does not suit me.
FISK — Now here.
If you wish to quarrel, go into the
conference room and fight it out there. It is sound proof, made
that way for our directors' meetings.
NELL — Do you think that Howard will be here soon?
BESS — His wire of yesterday only said, "Will arrive to-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
42
I
morrow. n
NELL — Most uncertain man»
FISK — Yes, in more ways than
sending telegrams. John,
you take Bess into the- directors' room and see if you two cannot
come to some definite conclusion of what she wishes you to do.
Whether she wants you to be a stevedore or a coal heaver. I
want to talk to Nellie.
BESS — Oh, I suppose I must. Come on, Lord Dundreary.
JOHN — (As they move off.) Why do you persist in my
working, when I can work the Governor, Bess dear?
BESS — That kind of work is too easy for you. Working
other people.
JOHN — Now, Bess, be reasonable. (They exeunt.)
FISK — I am glad, Nellie, that you mentioned the fact that
Howard is so uncertain. Before your father died, he exacted a
promise from me that I would bring you and Howard together,
if possible. And I have done everything in my power to do so.
Now tell, like a good girl, what is the matter.
NELL — The matter? Well, Uncle Hen, I call you Uncle
Hen, as I did when I was a little tot. I simply do not fit into
Howard's scheme of things. That's all.
FISK — And why? You are both of good families, both
of whom are wealthy, why in the name of common sense do not
you two young fools make a match of it?
NELL — I told you why. I have done my best. I've always liked Howard, but he just can't see me. (Laughs lightly.)
Rather hard on one's vanity. I admit, it piques me.
FISK — I'll talk to that young man when he comes in. It
is time that he stopped jumping hither and thither, turned and
twisted, by silly whims of his own. It is time that he settled
down.
NELL — He never* will, I am afraid.
pISK — Well, by jiminy, he will. Or I'll know the reason
why. I had a family when I was his age. And if he does not
feel, inclined to woo you, it must be someone else. I'm for Mr.
Roosevelt, every time.
NELL — Very indelicate remark, Uncle Hen. But I promise you that this time I'll go right after him.
FISK — Good. And see that you get him. It was your father's wish and it is mine. Remember that?
NELL — Trust me.
.
...
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
43
— I suppose John and Bessie have squabbled enough.
Will you join them, daughter, I have some work to do.
NELL — Yes, Uncle Hen.
(As she crosses.)
FISK — There is another couple I can't seem to get going
right. I am an awful poor match-maker, it seems.
NELL — Oh, those two will come out all right. They fight
all the time.
FISK — Perhaps that is a hopeful sign.
NELL — Oh, it's positive, Uncle Hen. (Enters Sparkes.)
FISK — Well, Allen?
SPARKES — Shall we illustrate that special of Keene's, Mr.
Fisk?
FISK — Oh, yes.
SPARKES — Was that Nellie Van Hosen who just entered
the directors' room?
FISK — Yes. Why?
SPARKES — Oh, nothing in particular, except that I am
very much interested in her.
FISK — Indeed? This ofnce is getting to be a regular matrimonial bureau. You don't mean to say that you
you
SPARKES — I certainly am.
FISK — Well, hands off there, my boy. I've got her picked for Howard, and I might add that the lady's inclination run
in that direction, too.
SPARKES — Oh, I'm well aware of that. That is why I
keep back.
FISK —< Sorry, my boy, but her father, you know, I promised, if I could. If I can't, then your chance, you know
er
What am I talking about?
SPARKES — I really do not know, sir, but I understand you
just the same. And I thank you.
FISK — You don't know what I am talking about, yet you
understand me? That is as much fool talk as mine. Howard
will be here today and will have his chance. If he throws it away,
then, you start on your mad career of love making.
SPARKES — Thank you, sir.
FISK — Do not thank me. I am certainly making a mess
of it. Get that Keene article set up at once.
SPARKES — Yes, sir. (Goes up again.) I'll see to the form
at once. (Exits.)
FISK
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
FISK — Right. (Miss Bird and Anna enter.) Everything
all settled?
Miss B. — Yes, Mr. Fisk. Miss Adams will study her files
while I go to lunch. I will then come back to bid goodbye to
the folks and see that she is clear as to her other duties.
FISK — Very easy filing system, Miss Adams?
ANNA — Oh, very. And small in volume, I believe.
FISK — Yes, it contains only my personal correspondence.
Miss B. — I'll be back very soon, Mr. Fisk. (Goes up.)
I'll see you again:before I leave, Miss Adams. (Exits.)
FISK — (Picks up reference paper.) Miss Adams?
ANNA — Yes, sir.
FISK — Previous to your employment by Hughes & Co.,
where did you work? You don't object to my questions?
ANNA — Not at all, sir. I worked in several department
stores, laundries, as a house maid, and my first position in this
country was in a restaurant, down town. It was the only happy
job
I say job, because that is what it was. It was the only
happy job I ever held.
FISK — Why did you leave it?
ANNA — My biting propensity first came to the surface
there.
FISK — The boss, this time, too?
ANNA — No, a customer.
FISK — If you were so happy there, then why did you
leave?
ANNA — (Slightly perplexed.) Well
I
er
I wished to better myself, to receive good schooling
to mingle with
educated people
well
to ascend.
FISK — (Picks up remaining copy of book.) Quite a remarkable coincidence. This book describes in sequence yet in a
narrative way all the facts you have mentioned. Corresponding
almost exactly.
ANNA — Indeed, sir. What book?
FISK — This. (He hands her the book.) Do you know the
work?
ANNA — Yes, I know it.
FISK — You have read it, then?
ANNA — Oh, many, many times.
FISK. — Do you not think that it coincides with your life?
ANNA — It has been remarked by several people that it is
�I
SEPTEMBER, 1927
45
the exact prototype.
FISK — And you believe this girl, Anna, went through all
these remarkable experiences
er
clean
unscathed?
ANNA — I am sure of it.
FISK — Another strange coincidence is that she bears the
same name, Anna.
ANNA — There are many Annas, and just as many young
girls who have had the same sort of experiences.
FISK — But they did not have such a fortunate ending to
their story as Anna, did they?
ANNA — Many of them did not, no. But I do not believe
Anna's story is finished with this book. She has reached her ambition, but not her happiness. We must not forget that.
FISK — Yes, yes, I remember. You know that
(Pointing to book, which Anna holds.) Well.
ANNA — Very well.
FISK — I wish I knew the author's name.
ANNA — Of what consequence would that be to you, Mr.
Fisk?
(To be continued.)
The Book-Razaar of Cordova
(An unusual interest in old Arabic literature has been revived in Egypt where the daily papers are featuring articles on the
study of old Arab poets and writers in the light of modern criticism. The following article, which is chosen for its quaint description and its intimate details of those distant times, is translated for the readers of THE SYRIAN WORLD from Wadi-l-Nil,
an Egyptian newspaper published in Cairo.) — EDITOR.
The book bazaar in Cordova, Spain, at the time of the Arab
occupation, was the nearest thing in those days to a museum in
which were displayed many valuable antiques, and many rare
books and manuscripts. In its general appearance the bazaar was
composed of two rows of large and small shops, built on the
same style as the old public fountain-houses (sabeel) of Egypt.
Each shop was separate, with a tree or two planted by its side,
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
while in front of the shop was a little .wooden mastaba, or raised
platform. The owner would be squatted in the center of his
shop in which no light penetrates, except from a little shaft near
a latticed window.
These quaint shops often contained some of the most precious manuscripts — old copies of the Koran, famous letters of
the caliphs, of poets and learned men of Andalusia, Persia and
Egypt. A collector in those days would often come across a letter in the hand-writing of Haroun al-Rashid, or some Koranic
verses written on parchment in the hand of Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
an essay in the hand of Abd-ul-Hamid, the Writer, or a copy
of Kalila-wa-Dumna in the hand of its translator, Ibn-ul-Mukaffa<.
It was also possible to come across .a silken band belonging
to some famous bygone singer or literary woman, on which was
painted some selection of poetry in the hand of the singer or that
of some famous poet. For so fond of poetry were people in
those days that they had it 'painted on their clothes and bands, as
well as on walls. Some of the slave-girls had their faces, breasts
or arms decorated with lines of poetry, which showed under the
transparency of their silken raiment.
The book bazaars of Cordova were among the most crowded of all bazaars, and people came to visit them from every
quarter of Andalusia and the East. Famous men of learning
and men of letters flocked to Cordova from Fez, Damascus,
Baghdad or Cairo to pay pilgrimage to those famous libraries and
museums combined. The Andalusians of those days excelled in
copying, and in the art of book binding, often emulating one another in illuminations with which they decorated their books. The
book trade was a prosperous one.
The literary men and poets of Cordova, when not in the
stoas of the mosques, or in private houses, would be found on the
mastabas of the book sellers.
In general, the people of Andalusia were the best connoisseurs in literature and fine arts in those days.
An Arab was once told: "So and So is a fool but in good
wordly circumstances," and he quickly replied: "Happy is he,
for he is the perfect man."
MMMMNIIMB^
f
�47
SEPTEMBER, 1927
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
We trust that the enthusiasm
and optimism of the Rev. W.
A. Mansur will prove contagious. He is full of hope for
the future of the Syrian-American. We all are, for that matter. It was a good reminder on
the part of the author to quote
the opening paragraph of our
foreword in launching THE
SYRIAN WORLD, to the effect
that the idea of this publication
was conceived in the spirit of
service to the Syrian-American
generation. The, Rev. Mansur
also gives forth some timely
and pertinent suggestions, and
we would urge all those who
have the interest of the race at
heart to give proper consideration to the reflections embodied
in his ably written article.
It is a well worn out platitude, however, that theory and
practice are, altogether different
matters. In the first year of
our publication of THE SYRIAN
WORLD, we have had ample
occasion to study the cross currents of thought among the
Syrian-American
generation.
To any other but a staunch believer in' the future of the race,
arousing the young generation
out of their indifference to their
racial heritage and ethnological
background would seem all but
a hopeless task. We, however,
wish to be classed with the
hopefully optimistic. True, the
task has all the earmarks of a
hard, uphill struggle, but this
is all the more reason why one
should redouble his efforts and
buoy his hopes in an attempt to
vindicate the honesty of his
convictions.
Our experience has been that
those appreciating work along
this line are the educated and
cultured class, always hopelessly in the minority. From these
has come such encouragement
as would give heart to any wavering will. There is compensation sufficient in working for,
and with, such an intelligent
and appreciative body of men
and women. But the support
of this class has, so far, proven
insufficient. It is a painful admission to make, but sooner or
later the truth must be known.
THE SYRIAN WORLD has, so
far, been carried on at continual
loss to the publisher. This, it
must be admitted, may be due
in part to the literary standard
the publication has been striving to maintain. It has had for
�48
its aim the reflection of the best
that is in the race. It has striven to be a fit medium for bringing out to a critical world those
masterly literary efforts of our
best talent many of whom enjoy a tremendous following
among the English - reading
public, even a world-wide reputation. The support of a learned body of men such as the
professors of the American
University of Beirut, as well as
other professors and orientalists
from many leading American
universities, has also been enlisted to contribute to our Syrian-American generation the
benefit of their seasoned studies
and observations on all matters
touching on their land of origin. The choicest treasures of
Arab literature are also made
readily accessible to them. Still
and withal, the response does
not seem commensurate with
the expenditure of effort.
We fear that the mass of our
people are, in a large measure,
still subject to the influence of
their original purposes in emigrating. The main factors governing their lives are materialistic and the offspring is naturally reared in an atmosphere
incongenial to the healthy
growth of cultural aspirations.
Still further, any literary activities indulged in are, under the
above conditions, confined to
THE SYRIAN WORLD
literature of the dime novel
variety or current scandals.
While discussing this problem with a highly -cultured Syrian woman, her frank advice to
us was to give readers what
they want if therein lay the
only assurance of popular support. Another adviser would
have us be liberal with the publication of "saucy stories". We
believe, however, that that
would immediately fhrow us
out of our class and would be
neither acceptable to our present readers, nor fit to make the
publication a proper representative of the best Syrian culture.
The only solution, therefore,
is for the appreciative minority
to exert its influence over the
indifferent majority to the end
that the latter's interest would
be gradually aroused. A good
deal of missionary work is necessary, but we believe this
should be done in the general
interest of the race.
It may be also appropos to
state that several new important
nnovations and features are under plan for THE SYRIAN
WORLD, but it would interest
us immensely to learn the opinions of our readers on the subject. We again extend those
interested an invitation to give
us the benefit of their reactions
which will be treated confidentially if so desired.
i
�——
49
SEPTEMBER, 1927
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoimic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will tak«
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
SYRIA'S NEEDED REVOLUTION
God knows, as well as those who
see with clear vision, that our country is in need of many things which
take priority over independence. It
is in need of a commercial, industrial republic much more than it
needs a political, republic. It is in
need of an economic government
much more than it needs a ministerial government with all its paraphernalia and trappings of offices
and executive and legislative bodies.
Nevertheless, there are those among
the over-anxious, the malcontents
and pseudo-patriots who clamor for
political independence with the least
regard for all the other vital necessities of Syria as if these were absolutely superfluous.
Syria, to be sure, is in need of
independence, but this need does not
take second or third or even fourth
rank among the primary, vital necessities indispensable to existence.
The invalid needs elementary treatment first, then care during the
period of convalescence, and thereafter it would be possible for his
relatives to concern themselves
about his marriage. Such is exactly
the case of Syria who is chronically
sick educationally and economically,
politically and administratively, in
its physical being as well as in its
social being.
*** Before we wage was against
France with all its might with the
idea of driving her out of our country, let us well ponder our deplorable condition for us to realize that
the effort we waste in fighting
France is but a gamble with the
lives of the people and the political
fortunes of the nation.lt is also meet
for us to consider the consequences
that are bound to follow on the
withdrawal of France from Syria
granting that an armed revolution
does prove successful in ejecting
France by force. There are many
who fear that in such an eventuality
there is bound to follow a fratricidal war in which the arms of the
Syrians will be ruthlessly used
against each other. Those who entertain such fears seem to produce
ample proofs of an incontrovertible
nature on the ill designs of the Syrians against themselves.
The armed revolution in Syria has
now come to an end, and it is our
sincere hope that in its place will
be born in the spirit of the Syrians
a desire for an economic revolution
which will awaken them out of their
lethargy so that they may be able
�==
THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
to deflect the growing tide of foreign competition on the resources of
their country. In this they may
count on the active support of their
emigrant kin who can provide the
motherland with such a wealth of
expert knowledge in commerce and
industry, as well as in finance and
management, as would soon raise
Syria to the rank of progressive nations once the two forces are joined.
This is extremely feasible unless the
stay-at-homes still look upon the
emigrants as they do upon the proverbial milch cow, being satisfied
with the mere financial contributions of various natures which they
receive from them.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Aug. 11, 1927.)
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
AMERICA
There seems to be left little doubt
that whatever funds are sent from
America to the motherland are partly, or mostly, garnered by the everhungry Moloch of greed. The apparent reason is that the stay-athomes firmly believe that they have
a right to a share of what the industrious and thrifty emigrant gains
with infinite pains.
We are publishing today a report
appearing in the respectable Egyptian paper Al-Ahram bearing on the
funds collected for the ostensible
purpose of aiding the Syrian revolution and the manner in which these
funds were used.
There is not the least doubt that
the trustees of the contributions
collected to aid the cause of the Riffian Abdel Krim and the Hauranian
Sultan Atrash have misappropriated
the funds. It is also certain that
those who were deceived by the
promises of their leaders got the
worst end of the bargain while they
were the ones who suffered and
fought and died in the defense of a
cause the true aim of which they
were in complete ignorance. The
total amount of moneys collected
reached a hundred thousand English
pounds, or a half-million dollars, of
which only a fifth, or possibly a
fourth, reached those for whom they
were originally intended.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Aug. 29, 1927.)
WHY THE COLLECTIONS?
The Druze revolution has been
finally suppressed and most of the
revolutionists have now returned to
their homes with the exception of
an insignificant few.
Nevertheless, we find that those
trafficking in that revolution, be they
in America or Egypt, continue to
collect contributions under the guise
of prosecuting the revolution. This,
to all appearances, is the height of
ignorance and folly.
A reporter of the Beirut paper
Lisan-Ul-Hal has interviewed Moteb
Bey Atrash, one of the leaders of
the Druze revolution who has surrendered to the French authorities,
and learned from him that all that
was received by the revolutionists
from the funds collected in their
name in North and South America
and all other countries where Druze
emigrants are found does not exceed
forty thousand dollars, while the
total amount collected is not less
than three hundred thousand dollars.
Can those who are collecting these
contributions convince us that the
funds received are reaching the parties for whom they are intended?
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., Aug. 13, 1927.)
�I
51
SEPTEMBER 1927
THE STORY OF RASHAYYA
i
\\
Times and men have not changed,
nor has the earth deviated from its
orbit. Those are the same men who
were in the habit of contradicting
us in everything we said, while now
they repeat to us our former declarations as if they were altogether
new.
Today animosities have somewhat
subsided and people are returning
to reason. With this psychological
change we find that our former detractors are agreeing with us that
it was the French who sacrificed
Rashayya and its inhabitants on the
altar of their stupid diplomacy;
that it was the soldiers of the French
who committed the reported atrocities; and that it was the guns of
the French which laid waste the
once thriving town which causes
everyone witnessing it to lament it
as did Jeremiah over the ruins of
Jerusalem.
We used to say to the people of
Rashayya, "Why not publish the
actual facts about your case to the
civilized world?" and their uniform
answer was that such a course would
antagonize the High Commissariat
and the Mandatory Power. But now
the facts which the Rashayyites
were reluctant in publishing have become a matter of common knowledge, and the reparations which they
were in the hope of receiving have
turned into penalties imposed on
them in the form of arms and in
the appropriation of funds forwarded to them from abroad for purposes
of relief. What have the Rashayyites now to fear so long as all they
had once feared has befallen them?
A FORLORN HOPE
Regardless of all the hopes of the
Syrian and Lebanese papers and of
the length of their comment on the
intentions of M. Ponsot, we are still
of the opinion that Syria will fare
at his hands no better than it has
fared at the hands of former High
Commissioners.
If actual hostilities in Syria have
ceased due to Anglo-French co-operation, or if the revolution has been
quelled, according to the claims of
the French, then why does not the
High Commissioner declare the unity
of Syria and proclaim general amnesty and have his government concern itself with the enactment of
the great reforms of which it has
been boasting for so long and of
which we have not seen so far the
least trace. Indeed, if the mandate
over Syria' were in the hands of any
other power, even if she be of the
smallest, she could have accomplished many of the economic projects
of which Syria stands in the most
urgent need in her aspiration to attain civic and material progress.
France has been in Syria for a
number of years, but during this
period what has she accomplished
in the way of works of public benefit. Unless we consider as such her
having divided the country into
small states and raised partitions
between the inhabitants of the same
house such as the frontiers that
would be traced between peoples of
different race and language. Otherwise, where are the railroads she
has laid or planned; the ports she
has opened; the highways she has
built; the public institutions she has
erected; the mines she has prospectMeraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y., ed for; etc., etc.?
Aug. 12, 1927.)
Rather, France has brought on the
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
country ruin instead of prosperity;
has robbed her of her wealth instead of bringing new wealth to her;
has taken her gold and substituted
for it paper currency, and, what may
be the greatest project she has undertaken was her having imported
the Armenians and the Circassians
by the hundreds of thousands to engage with the natives in a cut-throat
competition on what is, at best, but
a scant existence.
M. Ponsot has returned emptyhanded of all that could conform
with the national aspirations of the
Syrians. The revolutonists have
realized that the change of High
Commissioners is not unlike seeking shelter in the storm from under
one tree to another. They have decided, therefore, not to lay down
their arms in spite of the conspiracy of the French and English authorities against them. They have,
rather, retired to a place outside of
the Syrian border where they shall
abide their opportunity to again assault the usurpers and wage a new
revolt against the French which will
compel the latter to change their
tactics and grant the Syrian nation
its lawful demands.
and whoever differs with him in religious belief is fit only to be discarded or fought until he is converted
to the Mohammedan religion...
This is the race whom some
Christians extol and in the interest
of whom they declare themselves in
favor of an Arab unity in Syria as
well as in other countries of the
East speaking the Arabic language!
If these misguided ones only applied
reason they would soon discover that
the greatest blow to the culture of
the Syrians is to amalgamate them
with the Arabs who are simply fanatic bedouins steeper in ignorance.
As proof of the above it is only
necessary to mention that the highest religious authorities of the Arabs
is, up to present time, undecided on
whether to permit or prohibit the
use of modern inventions such as the
telegraph and telephone, merely because "the Prophet made no mention of such things in his Book"!
Is this, then, the nation which can
be trusted to create a civilized government and make such laws as
would guide any country on the road
of uplift and progress?
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y., Aug. 12, 1927.)
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Aug. 12, 1927.)
SUMMER DREAMS
FANATICISM OF THE ARABS
O you who clamor to have the
Arabs rule over all Arabic-speaking
countries, we have had enough of
your boasting of the Arabs and
their virtues. The majority of the
Arabs of today are fanatics, and
there are a goodly number of them
who are barbarians. Furthermore,
all that the Arab understands of his
Arabicism is that he is a Moslem,
Sultan Pasha Atrash dreams of
returning to Syria,
The President of the Lebanon
Republic dreams of issuing a decree
without consultation with the French
High Commissariat.
The Lebanese people dream of an
unrestricted Constitution.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Aug. 22, 1927.)
i':
�—
SEPEEMBERy 1927
53
About Syria and Syrians
THE AUTOMOBILE IN
h
when private purchasers began to
THE SYRIAN DESERT buy cars the sentiment was general
that the American product was peCrossing the Syrian Desert in culiary adapted to th needs of this
luxurious, comfortable and steady region. Today these territories that
motor-busses, mostly of American were formerly under Turkish rule
make, has now superseded the long may be regarded as much an Amerand tedious journey across the long ican market as any outside of the
stretch of burning sands on swaying Western Hemisphere, 85 to 90 per
camels. The trip from Damascus to cent, of the passenger cars, trucks
Baghdad is now accomplished in and busses registered in these couna little more than a day, whereas tries, outside Turkey, being of
formerly it took weeks and some- American origin.
times months, not to mention the
In almost all Syria and Palesdangers and hardships besetting the tine there are now modern roads
traveler on the way. Most of this suitable for automobiles, the Enchange, according to an article pre- glish and French occupation authorpared by Mr. G. E. Haynes, of the ities having made special efforts
Automotive Division of the Bureau along road building, but in the desof Foreign and Domestic Commerce ert it has been discovered that the
and published in a recent issue of nature of the terrain permits of auCommerce Reports, has taken place tomobile travel without the necessiin Syria during the short period fol- ty of building roads. The ground
lowing the World War.
is firm except in certain rainy peAccording to information and riods, and the flat expanse of the
statistics compiled by the agents of desert making it possible for highthe Department of Commerce, the powered automobiles to travel at
registration of motor vehicles in their utmost speed. In the broad,
Syria as of January 1, 1927, was limitless desert there is no fear of
3,854 passenger cars, 39 busses and congestion, nor are there any traffic
268 trucks, totalling 4,162, while in regulations. Now and then, however,
Palestine the total number of motor a detachment of desert police may
vehicles is 1,950, and in Iraq 2,524. be encountered whose function is
"As a result of the use of Amer- to protect the automobile caravans
ican cars and trucks by the Allied from marauding bedouins. These
forces," states Mr. Haynes, "their patrols are mounted on fast camels
characteristics of ruggedness and and they have come to make themdependability became thoroughly im- selves respected among the desert
pressed on users, both actual and gentry.
potential. The motor vehicles used
The regular automobile route beby our various relief missions for tween Beirut and Baghdad runs
several years after the stoppage of through Baalbek, Damascus and
hostilities aided in crystallizing this Palmyra, the latter being the last
impression. The net result was that stop before crossing the desert and
�THE SYRIAN WORLD >
54
the resting station for the night.
The potentialities of developing the
desert route between East and West
for both passenger and freight
traffic are immense.
NEW HOME OF THE
LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
eral Reserve System.
The new location of the Lebanon
National is most convenient to our
ever-growing business
establishments in the midtown section of the
city, while its old banking house at
59 Washington Street is still maintained as a branch for the accommodation of its patrons in the downtown district.
The Officers and Board of Directors are all men of sound judgment
and extensive business experience.
A valuable addition to the executive
force of the bank is Mr. William J.
Large who has to hia credit a banking record of twenty-five years and
who, for many years, was Federal
Bank Examiner.
The Lebanon National is our outstanding institution in America and
its very existence materially enhances the prestige of the race. It
is deserving of our concerted support to the same degree that it is
worthy of our pride.
The steady growth of the Lebanon National Bank of New York
has fully vindicated the optimistic
forecasts of its sponsors. Within
the five years of its existence it has
doubled its capital and surplus and
more than quadrupled the amount
of its deposits. Let us hope that
its continuous rapid growth under
the able guidance of its organizer
and president, Mr. J. A. Mandour,
will ultimately bring it within the
rank of the foremost financial institutions of the city.
The Lebanon National Bank is now
quartered in its beautiful new building at the corner of Fifth Avenue
and Thirty-Second Street. The ceremonies attending the opening of the
new headquarters on August 15th
were befitting the memorable occasion, scores of friends of the institution coming to inspect the building and expressing their good wishes
in the form of floral offerings. But
what was more significant was the
fact that one hundred and twentyfive new accounts were opened with
our bank on the opening day, which
is sufficient testimony to the confidence placed in the strength of the
institution.
The Lebanon National has also
been made a depository of tfhe City
of New York, having also been for
some years past a depository of
the State of New York and of the
United States, and ever since its
foundation a member of the Fed-
TRADE REVIVAL IN SYRIA
A resumption of normal buying
has been reported following the period of inactivity owing to disturbed
conditions. Imports of cotton goods
during the first quarter of 1917
were rather heavy, in contrast to
average purchases of other commodities; the latter were not in proportion to the recent unusually active retail trade. The rise of Italian
exchange, on which currency a good
proportion of the commitments were
based* however, had an unsettling
effect on the trade most concerned
in the cotton goods market, and
created a difficult situation in the
credit market.
(Commercial Reports.)
\
/
*
�SEPTEMBER, 1927
«
-,
THE PASSING AWAY OF
TWO SYRIAN PIONEERS
*
1
I
I
During the month of August two
Syrians who had distinguished
themselves as pioneers among the
Syrian-Americans in their different
occupations breathed their last.
Rashid Simon was the first Syrian salesman to go out on the road.
It required courage on his part to
undertake the step because of the
manner in which Syrian business
in America had been conducted up
to that time. Syrian business houses,
catering only to the peddling trade,
had been in the habit of waiting
for the customers to call on them.
Then came a time when the peddlers began to cover a larger radius
in their wanderings, calling to replenish their stock less frequently
or not at all, and the Syrian merchants of New York took a cue
from American business and decided
to send out salesmen. Rashid Simon was the first to blaze the way.
Assad Libbus was another pioneer in a different line. To him fell
the honor of being the first operator of the Linotype when it was
adapted to the Arabic language in
1911 and was put in operation in
the printing establishment of AlHoda in New York. Syrian publication methods at that time followed closely along the antiquated methods of Syrian business, and to
have the courage to invest in a
Linotype machine marked an epoch
in the industry. Assad Libbus, with
his keen intelligence and deft fingers, proved to the satisfaction of
the dubious that the machine could
be operated as economically and
rapidly as its sister machine using
English type. It was mainly through
his intelligent operation, therefore,
55
that the Linotype came later to be
adopted by practically all Syrian
publishing houses in the United
States, which step marked a revolution in the publishing industry
int America and through this advantage placed the Syrian papers set
up on the Linotype in a class by
their own in the Arabic-speaking
world.
CREATING A NEW ARABIA
IN AMERICA
Early this month one of the direct
steamers of the Fabre Line between
New York and Beirut carried an
interesting passenger sailing for
Syria. Carl R. Razwan, connoisseur
and lover of Arabian horses, is
making the trip which will take
him to the Syrian Desert in the interest of purchasing Arabian horses
and all equipment necessary to
create a New Arabia in California.
He has now a large stock of horses
of pure Arabian breed, but it is his
ambitious plan to establish what
would be an exact prototype of an
Arab encampment in America. He
has in this project the financial
backing of powerful American interests, and is of the belief that the
introduction to America of a sort
of life which is as close as can be
imagined to mother nature will
prove a success in a comparatively
short itme.
Mr. Razwan is of German descent, but his great love for Arabian
horses prompted him to change his
name from Carl R. Schmidt to
Carl R. Razwan, after the name of
one of his beloved horses. He has
grown up with Arabian horses and
at one time played a part with the
late Rudolph Valentino in the latter's famous picture, "The Son of
the Sheik".
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
56
LEGALIZING GAMBLING
IN .LEBANON
class hotel at Bhersaf, in the neighborhood of Beirut, having three hundred rooms and an equal number of
baths. The company pledged itself
to undertake building operations
immediately it was guaranteed the
gambling charter. It also promised
to make the hostelry the first link
in a long chain of similar establishments with which the beautiful hills
of Lebanon would be crowned. Now
that the gambling bill has been passed we may expect to hear soon of
the inauguration of this project.
The Land of Lebanon promises to
be another Monte Carlo, Parliament
having passed a law in July sanctioning gambling under certain restrictions.
For the two past years the question as to whether or not to permit
gambling as a means of promoting
the summer resort industry had
been the cause of a fierce controversy in the little republic. The authorities., of all the religious denominations were solidly opposed to it.
Several
popular
demonstrations
were organized to protest against
it. A petition was presented to the
Government signed by thousands of
the notables o? the country opposing the passage of the gambling bill,
but the majority in Parliament
thought otherwise.
The grounds on which the bill
passed is that to officially sanction
gambling and restrict it to certain
places contains the seeds of less evil
than to have gambling rampant all
over the country. Furthermore, to
prohibit gambling! is to repress personal liberty!
But the real reason is that, first,
the depleted Lebanese Treasury is
in dire need of being replenished
and, second, certain foreign financial interests have made their building of a string of fine hotels in
Lebanon conditional on their being
allowed to conduct games of chance.
So this was the chance for Lebanon
to attract foreign capital and thereby attract the tourist trade. It loathed to miss the opportunity.
Last year an Anglo-Egyptian company, capitalized at several hundred
thousand dollars, offered the Lebanese Government to build a first-
A PROSPEROUS SUMMER
FOR LEBANON
Statistics on the exodus of Egyptians to summer resorts in foreign
countries show that the total number leaving the country is well over
forty thousands of whom fifteen
thousands went to Lebanon, the others going to different countries in
Europe. The average expense per
capita of these Egyptians abroad is
placed at 60 Egyptian pounds in
Lebanon and at 100 Egyptian pounds
iH Europe, for the season.
The influx into Lebanon of Easterners and Europeans seeking the
benefits of its invigorating climate
has been larger this year than in
any year past, and this, it is hoped,
will bring a corresponding amount
of prosperity to the country. The
last two years had been extremely
lean for the hotel men of Lebanon
owing to the dearth of visitors due
to the prevalence of the revolution.
An active propaganda has been inaugurated to demonstrate abroad the
benefits of summering in Lebanon
which, in many respeets, is considered superior to Switzerland.
�57
SEPTEMBER, 1927
BEIRUT SHUTS DOWN IN
PROTEST AGAINST TAXES
By what has all the appearances
of being a spontaneous movement,
the merchants of Beirut voluntarily
shut down their shops on Aug. 11
tying up all trade activities as a
measure of protest against the further increase in taxation. It was
further rumored that the real purpose of the demonstration was to
force out the present government
which has repeatedly turned the
deaf ear to all demands for
economy in administration. But the
leaders of the movement denied any
such intentions and their good faith
seems to be borne out by the fact
that the participants comprise all
merchants of consequence of all
denominations.
Following the shut-down a delegation of newspaper men and business
men sought to wait upon the President of the Republic in an effort to
urge him to action on the matter,
but he refused them the courtesy of
an audience before resumption of
business in the city. The delegation
later had an audience with the Prime
Minister who urged upon them advising the people to return to their
occupations. The government prohibited street gatherings and sent
out a large force of police and Spahis to prevent any collection of
crowds. What lent an ominous
aspect to the situation was the ordering out of tanks fully manned
to take a position in the square
facing the Ministry of Justice and
later to patrol the streets of the
city. The latest mail arriving from
Beirut, as this is written, indicates
that the "strike against taxation"
waa still in force.
ASK HADDAD: HE KNOWS
Our esteemed neighbor, the New
York World, deems fit to copy from
the Willimantic (Conn.) Chronicle,
in its issue of Aug. 12, the following news item which The Syrian
World is glad to reproduce.
Here is the item:
The St. George Society of the
Syrian Orthodox Church has chosen
the following officers for the ensuing
year: Judge Otto B. Robinson and
Frank P. Fenton, Honorary Advisors; Joseph Haddad and William A.
Haddad Superintendents; Shaheen
Haddad, Treasurer; Joseph Haddad,
Secretary; James M. Haddad, Assistant Secretary; Church Committee, Salim S. Haddad, Chairman;
Joseph Haddad, Moses Haddad, William A. Haddad, Seleme S. Haddad
and James M. Haddad; Financial
Committee, Shaheen Haddad, Chairman, and Solomon Haddad; Service
Committee, Moses R. Haddad, Chairman; Nicholas Haddad, Richard
Haddad, Louis G. Haddad, Peter
Haddad and Saleme Haddad.
SYRIANS
IN
SHANGHAI
Like their forefathers the Phoenicians who sailed from Tyre and
Sidon to explore the farthest shores
of the world, establishing their
trading colonies on what was then
the distant shores of France and the
British Isles, so are the Syrians of
today blazing a way for the promotion of trade that promises to equal
the exploits of their ancestors.
Already the Syrians are in every
country of the Globe and faring
quite well as merchants and traders.
One of their latest objectives was
Shanghai where they went to promote the hand-made lace and em-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
broidery industry. Syrian business
houses by the score now have commercial representatives in that faroff Chinese city.
But the Syrians seem to be alive
to the necessity of organizing to the
end that their interests may be better protected and served. A report
from Shanghai reaching New York
with a late mail is to the effect that
members of the Syrian colony in
Shanghai have organized a club of
their own on June 21 and elected the
following officers: Ellis T. Basha,
president, — A. N. Attyeh, vicepresident, — P. M. Boutross, treasurer, — William Awad, secretary.
The full membership of the club
is as follows: E. N. Atiyeh, general
manager, Alex J. Hamrah & Co.,
Inc.; N. S. Katen, member, Katen &
Katen; P. M. Boutross, member
Boutross Bros.; George Awad, member Nicola Awad & Son; T. B. Bardwil, member, N. B. Bardwil Bros.;
S. Gattas, general manager, Mabarak Bros.; H. Boshi, general manager, Shalom & Co.; N. Zahar, general manager, Jose E. Balesh &
Bros.; Fred Mussalem, general manager, Macksoud Importing Co.;
Anice Mogabgab, general manager,
Saydah & Saydah, Inc.; F. S. Samara, general manager, Georges Bros.;
Fred Haddad, general manager,
Katen & Katen; Wm. A. Lian, member, Lian Bros.; B. Ontra, member,
Ontra & Ontra; W. M. Salamy,
member, T. K. Malouf & Co.;
George Bardwil, member, Bardwil
Bros.; George Alexander Safrashyan, general manager, Elias Mallouk
& Bro.; David Malhame, member,
Malhame Bros.; G. S. Macksoud,
member, Macksoud Importing Co.
'.!
•^
SYRIANS OBJECT
TO PROSTITUTION
Jedaidat Marj'ioun is one of the
large and prosperous towns which
have come within the boundaries of
Greater Lebanon under the latest
political adjustment of the frontiers
between the coastal republic and
the interior State of Syria. By reason of its strategic location on the
border, the French authorities planned to make it a military station
and equip it with a strong garrison.
To this plan the inhabitants had no
objection as they are strong supporters of law and order. But a
rumor went abroad that the authorities were considering a proposition
to set aside a certain quarter of the
town for the accommodation of public women at the solicitation of tihe
soldiery.
Immediately the populace was up in arms and filed
strong petitions of protest with the
authorities against carrying out
such a plan. Their moral standards and traditions, they stated,
would revolt against considering
such a flagrant breach of public
decency. The religious authorities
also took up the fight and through
the relentless efforts of the Orthodox Metropolitan, Theodosius Bourjaily, a promise was exacted from
Gen. Gamelin, commander of tJhe
army of the East, that the wishes
of th population will be strictly adhered to.
FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE
By a decree of the French High
Commissioner, all agricultural machinery coming to Syria will be admitted free of duty. Coming under
the same category are all insecticides and; other preparations for the
extermination of vegetable pests as
well as serums for bovine diseases.
;
:-:-
: „
-
�mm
fl '
SEPTEMBER, 1927
59
Political Developments in Syria
PONSOT SPEAKS
The long awaited report of M.
Ponsot, French High Commissioner
in Syria, has at last been given out
to an anxious world. After a lapse
of nine months since his appointment to office,, M. Ponsot was expected to perform a miracle of administrative reform, especially that
he had observed the strictest silence
during all this time and had traveled extensively in Syria and spent
several months in France going over
the political grounds and ostensibly
preparing himself for the issuance
of a dictum that would prove final
in settling the Syrian crisis. The
report, although containing something concrete in the way of promising definite reform measures, still
does not contain anything radical
nor is it supposed to meet all, or
the major part of, the demands of
the Syrian Nationalists. It tends to
assert, on the contrary, the oft expressed attitude of France in the
administration of Syria under the
terms of the mandate as has been
repeatedly emphasized by former
High Commissioners. Ultimate independence is promised Syria by M.
Ponsot, which is nothing new, and
the present status of the administrative and judicial machinery of
the country remains the same. The
only ray of hope appearing through
the mist of the High Commissioner's voluminous report is that the
economic development of the country will receive for the present his
concentrated attention. A sort of
federal council of the several Syrian States will be established which
will have jurisdiction in matters of
national defense and in the promotion of the national welfare, but
this council shall function under the
direct supervision of the mandatory
power. Lebanon is understood to
retain its autonomous status, but it
shall be incorporated in the general
scheme of federation under what is
assumed will be definite reservations. An open invitation is contained in the High Commissioner's
report for the Syrian emigrants to
return and assist in the task of
rehabilitating the country.
FRANCE'S POLICY DEFINED
The report, or statement, of M.
Ponsot as given out officially to the
Syrian press by his diplomatic secretary embodies six clauses which
may be summarized as follows:
1 — Inasmuch as France is in
Syria by a mandate from the League
of Nations for a definite purpose
which she is endeavoring to carry
out, it is altogether impertinent and
irrelevent to discuss the possibility
of her withdrawal from carrying
out this obligation. France has ever
been conscious of the fact that the
peoples of the Near East enumerated in clause 22 of the Treaty
of Versailles enjoy a superior degree of progress necessitating special consideration. In applying herself to the task of fulfilling the
mandate, France has been ever anxious to realize the aspirations of
these nationalities, but the interpretation of these aspirations has
met so far with such difficulties as
to retard and prevent a clearer is-
�60
sue. France, however, is not losing
sight of her original and firm purpose and is now applying herself
to the task of maintaining law and
order which are the foundation of
all true progress, to the end that
these aspirations shall be realized
providing they do not militate with
the rights of the minority and prove
contrary to the general interest of
the country at large.
^
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the immediate establishment
local governments.
of
2 — The general administrative
policy of France in Syria shall continue along the lines defined by M.
de Jouvenel and approved by the
league of Nations. This policy,
touching on the relations of the
mandatory power and the peoples
entrusted to its guidance, must be
clearly defined in the proposed Constitution. This constitution is to be
worked out by the parties interested
themselves; i. e., by the States of
Syria who, during eight years of
effort, have proven themselves capable of taking care of their own internal affairs with the object of removing all internal differences and
making agreements on all matters
of common interest. The mandatory power will use every effort in
the promotion of this work and act
only in the capacity of arbiter in
the differences and misunderstandings that may arise, taking matters
in its own hands only When every
conciliatory effort had failed.
4 — Law and order have now been
restored within all the countries
covered by the mandate, France
having spent great efforts towards
realizing this object with the intention of asserting her fixed resolve
of carrying out to a successful conclusion her great task and establishing firm amicable relations with
the mandated territories. This result
must be perpetuated by the maintenance of whole-hearted co-operation
between, the different native governments themselves, politically, administratively, economically and financially. These governments will
also be required to assist in the
common task of preserving law and
order as, otherwise, the results expected from all these efforts would
be in jeopardy. This should not be
taken to mean that France is to
shirk her responsibility in the defense of the country. Rather, France
shall always be alive to her responsibility in this matter before the
League of Nations, but she expects
the natives to share in the task of
national defense and preservation of
order to the extent that whatever
reduction is made in the forces of
occupation would be fully met by
a corresponding increase in the
forces of the local governments and
the national militia.
3 — In every section of the country where law and order have been
established there have been created
local governments functioning under
full native authority with the advice and under the supervision of
the mandatory power. Where such
conditions have not obtained heretofore it is but necessary to comply
with the prescribed conditions for
5 — The establishment of order
will accelerate the economic development of the country and prove a
great incentive for the return of
emigrants to the motherland. By
putting into effect a constructive
economic program, a larger measure
of co-operation between France and
the native States will be made possible and more effective. The gen-
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_
SEPTEMBER, 1927
eral economic improvement throughout the world will undoubtedly have
its effect on the East, and the High
Commissioner has been able to ascertain during his stay in France
that French financial interests are
in a position to give substantial assistance to Syria and Lebanon.
6 — There are many matters of
common interest between the Syrian States covered by the mandate,
and the serious differences which
have arisen at times over these
matters, do not take in consideration
certain overwhelming facts. In order to protect the common weal,
the High Commissariat will reserve
to itself the right of acting in these
matters of general concern until
such time as the native States are
able to create competent bodies to
take over the responsibility.
The world today is moving more
and more towards co-operation and
it is not in the interest of the nations of the East to seek progress
through a narrow policy of division.
The mandatory power will bend
every effort towards bringing about
the desired co-operation between
the States entrusted to its care and
guidance, and these States shall
have the opportunity of working towards harmony and co-operation
through the functioning of the Federal Council. The mandatory power
will promote and encourage every
effort along this line and the desired results will depend on the disposition of the different States and
the action of time. The mandate,
by virtue of its own nature, is not
intended to be permanent nor does
it seek renewal. The solution of the
Syrian problem along this line
should be the object of all concerned.
Impatience will only retard a successful issue of the problem, while
61
the resort to force will detract
from the most justifiable demands.
France, in carrying out the mission
entrusted to her by assisting Syria
and Lebanon to achieve gradual
progress as two independent States,
is acting in conformity with its
traditions of liberty which no one
can doubt, and in this task she shall
not waver nor draw back.
NATIONALISTS DISAPPOINTED
The Syrian Nationalists express
great disappointment at the report
of M. Ponsot which they had expected would come nearer granting
their demands. According to some
reports, there is a movement on
foot to issue a call for a national
conference to discuss the situation.
The Nationalists are nonplussed at
the reiteration by M. Ponsot of
France's intention to maintain her
former status in Syria while they
had expected a larger measure of
independent government. They are
also surprised at the silence of the
report on such vital matters as
giving Syria a direct outlet to the
sea, the right of foreign diplomatic
representation, the organizing of a
national army, the setting of a time
limit for France's occupation of
Syria, the convoking of a national
assembly and other nationalist demands. They believe the announced
policy of M. Ponsot as another effort
in the way of a trial government in
Syria, and it is their intention to
prosecute the agitation for the realization of their full demands.
A report comes from Egypt that
the Syrian-Palestinian Committee
which is credited with the direction
of the revolutionary movement in
Syria is preparing a counter-statement to the report of M. Ponsot
embodying a new appeal for the resumption of an armed revolution.
�62
THE FEDERAL COUNCIL OF
THE SYRIAN STATES
THE SYRIAN WORLD
POLITICAL FEUDS
LEAD TO BLOODSHED
Great interest has been manifestFeeling is running high in Syria
ed in the powers of the Federal as a result of the political feuds
Council referred to in the report of that have been simmering ever since
M. Ponsot. Although no official ex- France took over the mandate over
planation could be (had on the mat- the country arid blighted the hopes
ter either from M. Ponsot or from of King Feisul and his partisans in
his diplomatic secretary, it was establishing an Arab kingdom. Ever
learned from well-informed quarters since the revolution and the setting
that this council will follow closely up of a provisional government unon the lines of the Federal Coun- der the presidency of Ahmad Nami
cil of Switzerland, having jurisdic- Bey, the Damad, or son-in-law of
tion in all matters of common in- the sultan, the nationalist faction
terest between the different States. has been waging a relentless war
It will issue currency, control the against the Damad because of his
national army, regulate and super- conciliatory policy towards the
vise the Posts and Telegraphs and French. The papers have been as
act as an intermediary between the loud in their denunciation of him
native governments and the manda- as the strict censorship would pertory power. Its members will be mit, and the savage attack by a
paid each by the State he represents stranger on the journalist Abi-1and France will be represented in Hoda Elyafi in Damascus on July 26
it by either one third or one fourth was laid at his door. Another naof the membership. It is also hint- tionalist journalist, Najib Rais, was
ed that the constitutional changes also attacked the following day
being' introduced in the Lebanon Re- while visiting his wounded colleague.
public are meant only to pave the
The Syrian papers are making
way for the representation of the much capital out of these attacks,
Republic in the proposed council. but the supporters of the President
Lebanon has been complaining bit- defend him vigorously and attempt
terly of late of sinecures and superto prove his innocence by demonfluous offices, and if more offices
were to be created to further drain strating his high regard for jourthe depleted Treasury, dire conse- nalists, even though they be his enequences are bound to follow. Al- mies. Only lately, it is recalled, when
ready a general shut-down by all Mohammed Kurd Ali, publisher of
the merchants of the city of Beirut
Al-Muktabas and president of the
has been resorted to as a means of
Arab
Academy of Science of Daprotest against the heaviness of
taxes. It is, therefore, proposed to mascus, died, the Damad, although
combine the two present houses of the deceased had been one of his
Parliament in Lebanon into one body staunchest enemies, contributed liostensibly for the purpose of payberally towards defraying the exing the members of the new National Council out of funds from the penses of his funeral and volunteered to bulid a tomb for him out of
present budget.
his personal funds.
H
�,
SEPTEMBER, 1927
INDEX OF VOL. I FREE
: '
A complete index of Volume I of THE SYRIAN WORLD comprising the twelve issues published
between July, 1926 and June, 1927, will be, mailed free to any of our subscribers who wishes to
have his copies bound. Missing numbers will be
supplied, if available, at the cost of $1.00 per
copy.
Subscribers wishing us to have their copies
bound and gold stamped on the cover and back
will be accommodated at the cost of $3.50 per
volume plus postage.
A LIMITED NUMBER
OF BOUND VOLUMES
I l\
A few complete volumes of the first year of
THE SYRIAN WORLD have been bound and are
available at the price of $10.00 per volume. The
binding is in a heavy, dark green cloth cover
stamped in gold on both front and back. The
volumes are bound with index. Orders will be
filled in the order received in view of the iimited
number on hand.
63
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64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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WHAT HAPPENED TO ANNA?
ANNA is the Syrian immigrant girl who, upon landing
in America, discovered herself in lower Washington Street,
New York, but wanted to "ascend".
Read her wonderful story now being published serially in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
By sub;
Enter
VOL.
Follow this virtuous, determined and intelligent Syrian
girl in her defense of her honor and her struggle for success.
Learn what became of her when she was under the
illusion that she was a fugitive from justice for a fancied
murder, and what was the climax of her secret love for the
wealthy, educated and socially prominent young American
who had espoused her cause.
A Pu
"ANNA ASCENDS", by the well-known American
author and playwright, Harry Chapman Ford, was staged on
Broadway and had a successful run of a whole season with
the famous American stage and screen star Alice Brady appearing in the stellar role. The play was later filmed for
the screen. It was never published in book form. Your
only chance to read this gripping love story eulogizing the
Syrian girl is by following it in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
Befoi
"ANNA ASCENDS" is being published in its original
form to preserve all its color and dramatic interest.
The
A limited number of back issues of THE SYRIAN WORLD
containing former instalments of "Anna Ascends" are still
available to new subscribers.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
Access Rights
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1927_09reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 03
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 September
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 03 of The Syrian World published September 1927. The issue opens with an article by Prof J. Forrest Crawford on the Agricultural Situation in Syria. It is followed by more translated Syrian folk songs. There is an article addressed to Future Syrian-Americans by Rev. W. A. Mansur. The famous Syrian city featured in this issue is Palmyra. The play by Harry Chapman Ford is also continued before the section with notes and comments from the editor. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and more on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Agriculture
Harry Chapman Ford
Music
New York
Reverend W.A. Mansur
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/d6eba4672a18dac015c8037847b09f8d.pdf
bdfbbec46621e7967596b3cbb710b5c7
PDF Text
Text
f
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c,
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
OCTOBER, 1927
No. 4.
CONTENTS
PAGE
A Pilgrimage to Byblos
3
AMEEN RIHANI
The Tzvo Hermits
10
G. K. GlBRAN
The Agricultural Situation in Syria — Part II
PROF. J. FORREST CRAWFORD
//
Before We Part (a poem)
19
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
The Son of Haroun Al-Rashid—A True Arabian Tale
20
The Adieu (a poem)
J. D.
28
CARLYLE
�CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Famous Cities of Syria — Byblos, City of Adonis
29
"Anna Ascends" — (A Play) — Act Two—II
33
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Choice Arabian Tales:—
Rare Presence of Mind
45
The Test of Friendship
46
Reward and Punishment
47
Notes and Comments—By
THE EDITOR
Bayard Dodge
48
The End of an Experiment
49
Our Bulwark
49
Readers' Forum
57
Sprit of the Syrian Press
53
About Syria and Syrians
57
Political Developments in Syria
62
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Panoramic View of Byblos
The Fortress of Byblos
Relics of Old Glory in Byblos
Astartey Phoenician Goddess of Love and Productivity
A City Gate in Byblos
Sarcophagus of King Ahiram
Two Illustrations of "Anna Ascends"
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SYRIAN WORLD
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OCTOBER, 1927
��SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
OCTOBER, 1927
No. 4.
A Pilgrimage to Byblos
By
AMEEN RIHANI
*
Let Urashlim and Mecca wait,
And China stew in her own juice;
This way the 'pilgrim staff, tho late,
Of Christian, Mussulman and Druse.
1
I
But before we took up the staff, we were quarreling about
the road. Not the road of the pilgrimage, however, but that of
the Young Turks of the New Era. In the, cafe facing Al-Munsheiyah, which had just been baptized Place de PUnion,—the
prosiness of the times is become even in the East a shibboleth of
progress,—my friends were engaged in animated discussion as
to whether the devil, who goes by many names, was not the one
and only Sultan who could never be deposed.
Sheikh Abd'ur-Ruhman, a truth-seeker and distiller of essences, altho doffing the garment of his religion, continued to
wear a black jubbah over his European trousers, and a white
turban. A compromise this between the East and the West, as
between Reason and Faith. For tho he was beginning to have
some lively doubts about the inspiration of the Koran, he still
clung to the spirit of Mohammed's message to the world. A
fine Arabic scholar, which means he is also a versifier; hating the
Turks because, while professing the Mohammedan religion, they
* The author wrote this account of his pilgrimage while on a former
visit to Syria, following the declaration of the Constitution in Turkey.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
would not deign to learn Arabic. This crime against the classic
beauty of the Book he could never forgive.
Sheikh Atta, a Sufi and horse dealer, is a descendant of the
Nabi and he values his green turban more than he does the Dastur (Constitution). He has a supreme contempt for everything
that does not bear upon its face the seal of mystery. Even a
horse-shoe, to ihim, is a symbol of some sort,—a symbol which
represents a divine idea in the life of mankind. And he hated
the Turks, because, as. he said, they were Europeanizing, vulgarizing Asia.
The third of my friends, Izzuddin, an Arab maniac and
flaneur, was the most picturesque and riotous of the three, both
in sentiment and in dress. To assert the lofty Arabism of his
spirit he wore an Arab costume of flaming red, red from his
boots to the heavy cord pressed over the kufeyiah on his head.
And this was the color of his hatred for the Turks. He served
a week in gaol for repeating one day in the presence of some
Turkish soldier the famous couplet of the desert Arabs:
"Three things naught but evil work,—
The vermin, the locust, and the Turk."
And Izzuddin is a Druse, who had burned the book of his
esoteric creed on his way to Europe. "If there be any truth in
this theory of transmigration," he would say, "I accept it only
on condition that I be reborn in Paris, not in Pekin."
And your honest scribe, reader, in his prosaic European habit, squared this picturesque circle, but did not square with all
its views. Hence our dispute before we started on our pilgrimage, not to the holy places of our fathers, but to a tomb which
to us,—except, of course, Sheikh Attar,—was indeed sacred.
It was in the season of the jasmines and Persian lilacs. The
beautiful gardens of Beyrouth, hidden behind huge walls, dun
and gray, wafted to us their sweet and varied scents, as we passed
through the dusty and crowded streets, to whose noise and traffic
a Belgian Company has added a Tramway. On the bridge outside the city, a flower boy offered us some sprigs of blossoming
Persian lilacs and bouquets of jasmine. Izzuddin bought enough
for us all, and taking his large silk handkerchief from his pocket,
asked the boy to soak it in water. Whereupon, he wraps the flowers in it, and places them in his saddle-bag. A happy thought,
I mused, for which he deserves to dress like an Arab Emir. If
�OCTOBER, 1927
we were tourists the dragoman would have insisted on our visiting the Church of St. George hard by, where the valorous Saint,
tradition has it, did the terrible Dragon to death. Nor did we
tarry at Dog River, my friends being men of ideas and ideals,
and paleology for such hath no charms. Nor, indeed, hath it
for me, except when the poetry of the perennial spirit of Nature
flowers around the sculptures and monuments. The tourists, on
their way to or from Damascus, stopping at Beyrouth for a few
days, never venture beyond this river. And what is there to see
here, except the huge and imposing promontory, can be of interest only to archaeologists. Yet they come, these gentle people of
the cork-hat and Guide Book, and after hearing the dragoman
garbling his Text and lisping of the triumphs and defeats of Assyrian and Egyptian Kings, they go back with a sense of having
deciphered the palimpest and solved the riddle.
Beyond Dog River to the North are the verdant slopes
which rise gently from the coast to hide Ghazir from view.
There, on those sacred hills, crowned all around with convents
and churches, Renan and his sister worked on the Life of Jesus.
From those heights he could encompass not only the fruitful
plains of rationalism but the flowering'gardens of piety as well.
Here be a sky which can soften the hardest logic; here be an
atmosphere which can mellow the bitterest thoughts. I do not
think the rational spirit of the Life of Jesus would have been so
sweetly pious and poetic had not Renan lived for a while among
these hills. Here, as in the Life of Jesus, are whisperings divine,
even among the barren cliffs, even beneath the inexorable logic
of it all.
The terminal of the Lebanon Railway is at Maameltein,
which is at the base of the hill. As we enter the town, the legend, "American School for Girls," dispelled the surprise which
the tune of a piano did give us. And as we passed out of it, the
echoes of a hymn which the girls were singing made in our ears
delectable music. The coast here is desolate, but not dreary.
To our right on the verdant hilltops are convents and terraced
homes; to our left the cerulean blue of the Mediterranean is palpitating under the ardent rays of the Syrian sun. And yonder
in that wide strip of shining shawl, through the little sand islands,
so to speak, the sweet water of the hills makes its way to the sea.
But more refreshing than these is the fig grove which is hidden
behind a knoll. We come to it, after trotting around the cape,
�/
6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
'/
and find the women with their red baskets and long hooked staffs
picking the fruits of the season. As we pass by, a sweet wildeyed lass, her! hair tied in a kerchief which suggested the bathing
girl of the summer resorts of the civilized world, greeted us
and offered her basket, saying, " Be so kind to eat of the figs."
And Izzuddin, who is more chivalrous than any of us, dismounted anon, took out of the saddle-bag a bouquet of jasmines and
gave it to her, saying, "May thy days be ever as white
as these, and as sweet." She bounded with joy as she smelt the
flowers, insisted on our taking the basket of figs with us, left it,
billah, on the road-side, and, flourishing the bouquet of jasmines
over her head, hied away like an antelope.
We cross the bridge beneath which the River Adonis of the
Ancients, now called Nahr Ibrahim, debouching from thick hedges
of reeds and rushes, tumultuously races to the sea. And under
a shed of pine boughs near the river is a dingy dukkan (store)
and a resting place for travelers and muleteers. Here one can
refresh himself with arak which the Syrians call the milk of the
virgin, or even with German or American beer, or better still
with the sweet cool water of the spring which rises in the grotto
of Afka, among the high hills, where the Romans had built a
temple to Venus. Around the ruins of that temple to-day, are
the habitations and fields of Nusereyieh, or Ansaries, who still
retain somewhat of the Nature-worship of their ancestors, the
Greeks. Some scholars say the Arabs, but this is not the place
to dispute the question.
We are not far now from Byblos; the coast is not so desolate. Here are villages, even silk factories, or filatures. And
from one of these, before the red disc of the sun had sunk in
the serene blue of the Mediterranean, rose a chant as delectable
as the distant hidden voices of sirens. The factory girls were
chanting the litany before the close of the day's labor. "Kyrieeleison, Christe-eleison," rose the melodious voice of the leader
through the whirl of silk wheels, and a chorus of a hundred girls
drowned the harsh voice of machinery, repeating the invocation.
From the lips of the laboring children of Allah, at the close of
their day's work, this was beautiful, inspiring to hear. And on
a knoll, not far from the filature, is a monastery of one of the
many Lebanon orders of monks, from the chapel of which rose
the doleful Syriac strains of vespers. We could hear both and
simultaneously as we entered into Byblos. "The harbinger of
'
i
�OCZOBER, 1927
I
dusk," Abd'ur-Ruhman called the chant of monks. "A serenade
to eternal night," said Izzuddin. And both chants, as they melted in the atmosphere around us, ebbing and flowing, suggested
to me a struggle between zTe Deum and a Miserere. Indeed,
the Lebanon'peasant still labors in joy, raising from her heart a
chant of contentment, of thankfulness, of triumph, while reeling
the silk from the cocoons. And the Lebanon monk, let it here
be said, labors in sorrow only at vespers. He is glum, lugubrious,
funereal, only when he chants.
We are in ancient Byblos. The towering fortress near the
sea makes the clutter of terraced homes look like a heap of cliffs
and boulders. Here, the sea-daring Phoenicians, who were as
strenuous and practical as are the Americans to-day, hammered
at the door of invention and thought, and, entering, discovered
tnt Jphabet, the numerals, the murex from which they obtained
the famous Tyrian purple, and many other things not mentioned
in Sanchoniathon or Baedeker.
In the citadel is the home and the court of the mudir, or
District Magistrate. It is also a sort of caravansery for his tenants
and friends, as for those who come to him with letters of introduction. Thither we wend our way, ignorant of the fact that we
were of neither of the classes mentioned. But my friends, Izzuddin in his gorgeous Arab costume, and Abd'ur-Ruhman in his
black jubbah and white turban, commanded the respect of the
zabty, or officer in zouave uniform, at the gate. We were shown up
to the top loft, after mounting a high and winding flight of stairs,
dark, dingy, cold, and in one of the loopholes of the citadel about
thirty-five' feet deep, which is used as a huge sitting-room with
divans, we were received by his Excellency as courteously as if
we were spies from Yieldiz. One zabty was ordered to look after our horses; another to prepare the inevitable narghileh. And
at table, Excellency made us understand that the chicken, an
old raw-boned hen who no longer deserved her oats, I mused,
was done in our honor, since he, being a right Maronite ate not
on Friday but mujadderah, which is a mess of lentils cooked in
olive oil. And the following day, he insisted on our remaining
his guests. He showed us through the citadel himself, and graciously requested us to attend his court. Strange disputes are
heard here, on which he delivers, Solomon-like, strange decisions.
In the afternoon we walk to Amschit, which is only a few
miles from Byblos, up a gently sloping hill. In these diggings the
�8
THE SYRIMN WORLD
antiquarian digs for his treasures. And the exquisite tear bottles
which; are found here, are sold on Fifth Avenue for what would
buy in these mountains a mulberry patch and a tfeit (booth or
one-room house) to boot. On entering the town, we stop before
a fine white-stone, pink-gabled mansion to inquire about the tomb
of Henriette Renan. The Khawaja who was sitting on the porch
invited us to a sherbet and inquired of Sheikh AbdAur-Ruhman,
to whom he showed particular attention, even deference, (the
turban and jubbah are responsible for this) as to how the Dastur
(Constitution) is faring, and whether the equality principle would
not affect the agricultural interests of the country. Abd'ur-Ruhman tried to prove to mine host that it would not, but luckily he
was interrupted by the servant who came out with the sherbets.
This servant, who was once a distinguished citizen of Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, pointed me out to his master in a most amusing
manner, as one who had been in America. And the master thereupon exclaimed, "That is the land of promise. Come in, and I
will show you what I have in my house from that country."
We enter into a spacious marble-hall, in the centre of which
is a mahogany roll-top desk, made, I suppose, in Buffalo. We
pass to the dining room among the native furniture of which,
two Morris chairs come all the way from Grand Rapids, obtrude
their presence. And in the kitchen our host points out the American stove, "on which," said he, "we can prepare a banquet of
twenty different dishes. But this is not all. The best must come
last."
And so it did; for in the bath-room, not tiled, but marbled
with choice slabs from Italy, we behold, O America, thine inimitable porcelain bath-tub.
"Allah's great!" exclaimed Sheikh Abd'ur-Ruhman. And
so did I.
Now, Madame, on seeing the strangers is curious to know
who they are. So the erstwhile distinguished citizen of Bethlehem, Pennsyslvania, whispers into the ear of mine host. And
accordingly we are invited into the salon, where Madame, with
a company of friends, is smoking the ubiquitous narghileh. She
rises in deference to Sheikh Abd-ur-Ruhman (I myself was often
tempted to put on a jubbah and a turban); but no sooner learns
she of our pilgrimage than she sits down again, puffs at her narghileh, blows the aromatic smoke in the face of the sheikh, surveys us from top to toe, and inquires in a haughty tone, saying,
II I
I
1
�..
/
i
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~
OCTOBER, 1927
9
"And are you like those idiot Franje (Europeans) who come
here and take with them a handful of dust or some pebbles from
around the tomb? And is she so important, this woman, that
people come from beyond the seas to visit her dust? No doubt
she was like her brother, who did not know God, who was, as
Father Nahouche assures us, a rank infidel."
Saying which, she claps for the servant and orders him to
"Take these people to the cemetery" and point out the vault of
the Toubeyiahs where the remains of Henriette were laid.
Before this square vault, severely plain, the surroundings
of which now hunger for a flower, a blade of grass, Ernest Renan shed his tears of love and hope. A large oak throws over
the tomb in the morning an ample shadow, and in the afternoon
the shade of the palms below tries in vain to kiss its sacred dust.
They are planted too far, and the sun, even in the last interval
of the setting, seems helpless. The shadow only reaches the door
of the church, near which is the vault.
Here Henriette was laid amid the chanting of the Maronite priests. For Renan admired the service, lugubrious tho it
be, of the Maronite Church. And he believed that these holy
men in black robes were worthy of saying the last word for the
dead.
The sprigs of Persian lilac flowers we laid at the door of
the vault. And Izzuddin, taking up a handful of dust, presses
therein his lips, and says, "When the people of my country can
see the flowers that shall bloom in this handful of dust, what
great women then we shall have and what noble sisters!"
And Abd'ur-Rahman, with a tear in his eye: "And only
when our harem is blessed with such sublime souls will the cradle
give us a new generation, a new race. Khadijah and Henriette,
blessed be the Joins that bore you, and thrice blessed the children
of your magnanimous spirit!"
It was, indeed, a touching scene. Abd'ur-Rahman, the Mohammedan, waters with his tears the dust in which Izzuddin the
Druse plants the seeds of his love. And a Christian kisses them
both for making the pilgrimage.
"Noble sentiment is the mother of truth," said Abd-ur-Ruhman, as we walked back to Byblos.
"And a pious feeling of love for the princes and princesses
of truth," said Izzuddin, "is the highest and noblest manifestation of the spirit."
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
And I, on our way back to Beyrouth —
Let Urashlim and Mecca wait,
And China stew in her own juicej
This way the pilgrim staff, tho late,
Of Christian, Mussulman and Druse.
The Two Hermits
By G. K. GIBRAN
Upon a lonely mountain, there lived two hermits who worshipped God and loved one another.
Now these two hermits had one earthen bowl, and this was
their only possession.
One day, an evil spirit entered into the heart of the older
hermit and he came to the younger and said, "It is long that we
have lived together. The time has come for us to part. Let us
divide our possessions."
Then the younger hermit was saddened and he said, ' It
grieves me, Brother, that thou shouldst leave me. But if thou
must needs go, so be it", and he brought the earthen bowl and
gave it to him, saying, "We cannot divide it, Brother, let it be
thine."
.
Then the older hermit said, "Chanty I will not accept. 1
will take nothing but mine own. It must be divided."
And, the younger one said, "If the bowl be broken, of what
use would it be to thee or to me? If it be thy pleasure, let us
rather cast a lot."
. .
But the older hermit said again, "I will have but justice
and mine own, and I will not trust justice and mine own to vain
chance. The bowl must be divided."
Then the younger hermit could reason no further and he
said, "If it be indeed thy will, and if even so thou wouldst have
it, let us now break the bowl."
But the face of the older hermit grew exceeding dark, and
he cried, "O thou cursed coward, thou wouldst not fight!"
�OCT.OBER, 1927
The Agricultural Situation
In Syria
By
\
PROF.
J.
FORREST CRAWFORD
of the American University of Beirut.
PART II.
\
1
In a country where agricultural operations are as old as they
are in Syria, and where so many political and religious controversies have taken place, and where, as we have seen, the geographic conditions of the country are as varied, it is not surprising to find several systems of land tenure existing. There are
the lands individually owned and operated by small proprietors
as in a good share of the Lebanon region. Then there are the
large holdings of land owned by the various religious organizations, or "wakf" land. In a few parts of the country there still
remains some village-owned land where annual communal distribution of the area is still practised. And lastly, there are the
large landed estates which include a large proportion of the land
of the principal agricultural areas, such as in the central depression, the eastern plateau, and much of the coastal plain. The
conservative methods employed on the wakf lands and on the
estates of the large land owners have always retarded the agricultural development of Syria. Twenty years ago, government
statistics show that as high as 70 to 80 per cent, of all the agricultural land was held under these two systems of land tenure,
and even to this day this percentage is not very much changed.
In recent times, however, conditions have gradually changed so that some of the large landed estates are gradually being
divided up among smaller land-owners and farmers. If the Syrian revolution has no other good results, it at least is helping
to break down the feudal authority and influence in certain areas
as around Damascus, in the Hauran and Jebel Druze, and in
parts of the Lebanon. And fortunately so, for the social conditions fostered by these systems of land tenure have prevented
the operation of the natural tendencies favorable to agricultural
development.
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
They have especially thwarted the growth of private initiative which is so fundamental to all economic progress, and
which has been the cause for most of the industrial and agricultural development of the Occident. Where the actual workers
of the land have no individual interest in the land itself, they
naturally fail to develop any tendency to improve its agricultural conditions. And one can hardly blame them, for as the
land is not really theirs, they see no advantage in spending any
time and money towards building up the soil when they know
that the* landlord will get most of the benefits by it.
For many reasons the landlords also are very slow at making any improvements under these systems of land tenure. Some
of them are contented with what returns they are getting from
the land at present, and care not to try to increase them. Others are unable to trust their workers to carry out what improvements they would like to make, and for lack of compentent foremen, therefore, do nothing towards improvement. Others are
afraid that if the fellaheen benefit by the general improvement
of the land, they will no longer be willing to work for such low
returns, and, therefore, deliberately prevent improvements from
being introduced. Still others, and perhaps this group includes
the majority, are simply ignorant of the great possibilities of
agricultural improvement. They are blind to the personal benefits to themselves which would result from these improvements.
We thus see how agricultural development in Syria is bound
to be slow as long as these systems of land tenure remain unimproved, for the continuance of them is the main cause for the
present defective methods of farm operation.
(3) Methods of Farm Operation:—
In describing the methods employed in Syrian agriculture
we must bear in mind the types of farming, the labor supply,
and the equipment and machinery used, for under the influence
of these three factors, the existing methods have been developed. As to the types of agriculture, by far the most extensive is
the dry farming system of grain production. The system fits
in well with the communal grazing system where the livestock
is pastured in the earlier part of the year on the uncultivated
land, and then after the harvest, on the cultivated fields. The
migratory nomadic flocks of the desert also use the grain fields
in the border regions after the harvest is over. Dry farming
!
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�—-
OCTOBER, 1927
13
and pasturage, these form the two chief types of agricultural activity in the eastern plateau, and very largely so in the central
region also. In the latter, also, considerable areas are under irrigation. In the rest of Syria general diversified agriculture is
the rule except where local conditions of irrigation, climate and
soil, have led to the development and increase of more specialized forms of field crops and fruits.
Im
I
Fruit raising, especially in irrigated regions, is rather extensively practised in the central depression, in the Damascus
plain, in the valleys of the maritime range, and also to a considerable extent along the coastal plains. Especially is this true
around the wide towns where the raising of vegetables has been
quite widely developed. Vine culture is also very extensive in
several of the regions, both the dry farming and the irrigated
methods being practised acording to district. The cultivation of
mulberry trees for the silk industry is naturally included here,
and is confined mainly to the mountainous region and to the
coastal plain. The culture of hemp is fairly extensively developed as an irrigated fibre crop around Damascus and Aleppo,
while cotton and tobacco are raised quite extensively as a non-irrigated crop. The former is grown especially around Idlib,
south-west of Aleppo, and the latter throughout the Lebanon
and especially around Latakia. In a few places they have been
able to irrigate the cotton, and the government at present is doing considerable experimenting and planning to try and increase
this type of cotton culture.
These above mentioned lines of agriculture are the most extensively followed in, Syria. Unfortunately, they are all lacking
in any constructive way of maintaining soil fertility, and thus
developing a permanent system of agricultural production. Even
in connection with livestock farming, the manure is largely lost
for agricultural purposes, either through the migratory grazing
or through being used as a source of fuel.
For the successful development of most of these types of
agriculture, the present supply of labor is quite inadequate, especially with the existing types of machinery. Except in the immediate neighborhood of the larger towns, the only supply of
labor is that of the fellaheens living in the scattered villages
throughout the land. This is more or less inevitable owing to
the absence of a floating supply of labor, due to the limited industrial development of Syria, and to the inability of most small
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
farmers to pay a living wage for adult labor. In many parts of
the larger plains and valleys even the extensive crop such as
wheat and barley could be greatly extended were a larger labor
supply available, and so naturally the more intensive crop as cotton and tobacco are somewhat limited in the extent of their production because of the defective labor supply.
And unfortunately the existing forms of farm implements
do not in the least compensate for the labor shortage, for they
are very primitive, doing only mediocre work and doing even
that very slowly. Take the matter of plowing, for instance, and
the preparation of the land for sowing. All this is done, as a
general rule, by a yoke of oxen pulling a simple wooden plow
with a light metal plowshare attached. To acomplish anything
like the result that a good modern plow would give, the land
must be plowed three or four times, and even then the result is
not quite the same.
Of course it is certainly true that in such
places as the steep rocky mountain sides, the native ox-plow is
much better suited than the foreign heavy plow, but that is no
argument for the native plow still being used on the larger, more
level and more productive areas. Then the harvesting method
of using the sickle is naturally a very slow and laborious way
of gathering in the crop, while the old threshing-floor system of
threshing out the grain is very tedious, and extremely wasteful
of human labor.
Taking Syria as a whole, there is really a great need for the
introduction and adaptation of better agricultural implements although possibly of a slightly different type from most of our
western machinery, and better adapted to the needs of the country. This improvement in itself would greatly help to solve
the farm labor problem, athough of course it brings in a new
problem, namely^ that of training farm labor how to use and
care for such machinery. Along with some constructive system
of soil management for the maintenance of soil fertility, better
machinery would soon bring about paying results.
The last method of agricultural operation to be mentioned
in which Syrian agriculture has failed to be progressive within
recent times, has been the lack of any constructive system of reforestation. On the contrary, the destruction of existing trees
has, until perhaps the last couple of years, been on the steady
increase. And the uncontrolled cutting of younger trees along
with the ravages of the numerous flocks of, goats have effectively
<
�OCTOBER, 1927
\ll <
(M\
\
15
prevented many of the best fitted areas from naturally reforesting themselves.
The possibilities of reforestation in Syria are enormous, and
the beneficial results therefrom would be great. Not only would
the trees hold the soil from eroding, allow much more absorption and retention of water by the soil, and add more humus to
the soil itself, but they would in time furnish plenty of wood for
the carpenters' use and for fuel, as charcoal and wood, and also
many other economic products 5 as, for example, bark for tanning, and carob (kharrub) pods for food and fodder.
For all these reasons and for many others, including the
scenic and climatic effects on the country, the much-neglected
problem of reforestation should, by all means, be vigorously undertaken.
The following statistics pertaining to lands and crops are
given as a helpful summary to the previous discussion, and not
as a complete survey of Syrian agriculture. The fact that accurate detailed statistics are unobtainable makes it advisable to limit the statements to the few tables given herewith. The Government Department of Agriculture is, as yet, somewhat new and
loosely organized and has not been able to systematically collect
and tabulate complete or accurate records. It is true that there
is a Minister of agriculture in each governmental state, with his
representatives and secretaries and trained agricultural inspectors
in each large agricultural region. This organization is doing its
best to collect statistics, start museums, and encourage farmers in
general. The agricultural department has secured the passage
of several good laws such as the regulations about forestation
and taxation, the edict reopening the agricultural bank and the
projected development of new agricultural schools besides the
old one at Salamiyyah and the little new school at Latakia. The
former of these two schools is being reorganized with better
equipment, and may accomplish good results in the future if it
continues to be developed. As yet the agricultural department
from which most of the following statistics come, either directly
or indirectly, is unfortunately not quite strong enough or well
enough organized to really put through all their own schemes
of improvement.
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
TABLE
I.
Distribution of Land by Areas.
Total area of Syria about
Total cultivable area about
16,000,000 Hectares
4,000,000
"
Cultivated Area by Districts.
Aleppo
368,000 Hectares
Damascus
349,000
"
Lebanon
200,000
"
Alaouite
160,000
"
Alexandretta
183,000
"
II.
Distribution of Irrigated Lands.
TABLE
Damascus
Aleppo
Lebanon
Alaouite
Alexandretta
45,000 Hectares
13,000
"
8,000
"
5,000
"
3,000
"
Total land now irrigated
Land capable of irrigation
TABLE
74,000
300,000
1
"
"
if:
III.
Distribution and Area of Alain Crops in Hectares
Crop
Wheat
Barley
Sorghum
Corn
Hemp
Cotton
Lentils
Sesame
Tobacco
Aleppo
200,000
110,000
5,800
280
200
36,000
20,000
12,000
Damascus
Lebanon
Alaouite
158,000
47,000
26,000
45,000
25,000
15,000
10,000
133,000
20,000
11,000
920
152
13,000
100
700
1,500
114
2,000
Alexandretta
28,000
8,000
1,500
2,000
2,000
600
520
/
M
�r^w^'-
OCTOBER, 1927
17
TABLE
IV.
Value of Agricultural Products in 1925 in Gold Francs.
Cereals, fruits, legumes
Tobacco, cotton, hemp
Olives
Grapes
Silk worms
Oranges and lemons
Other fruit trees
Animal products (meat, wool, hides)
Forests
Poultry and Agriculture
450,000,000
10,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
30,000,000
15,000,000
15,000,000
15,000,000
5,000,000
20,000,000
Total
605,000,000
Tables I & II largely from Consular reports.
CONCLUSION
i\
After this brief review of the more important factors affecting Syrian agriculture we may be better able to give an answer
to our first two introductory questions. As to the first one about
whether Syria needs any development of her agriculture, I think
the answer is more or less obvious when we consider the economic
importance of agriculture to the country, and the existing status
of the factors affecting its development. If the productive power of Syria is to be improved, there is no question that one of the
most basic ways will be increasing the economic returns from
agricultural operations, whether this be done by increasing the
amount of the products, or by increasing the quality of the products, or by a combination of both.
The second question is the more difficult to answer satisfactorily, for it is a good deal more complicated and involves
so many other factors. As we have seen the two most changeable factors are the so-called social factors or those dependent
on the conditions of society. So it is to these factors that we
should look for possible changes that will lead to agricultural
progress.
The first factor involves more social reform than economic
change, so perhaps the best statement that could be made in a
brief paper like this, is to say that any improvement which would
bring about an increase in the personal initiative and interest of
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the actual farmers would be very effective in developing agricultural operations.
The problem of improving the methods of operation, naturally falls under two heads, first, the problem of improving
existing types and methods of farm operation, and second, that
of developing and introducing new and better types and methods.
As to the first problem, there are several points at which
improvement could be made. The existing methods of farm
operations in handling the soil, the crop and the livestock are far
from being scientifically profitable. A more constructive system
of farm management could undoubtedly be developed and adopted whereby the present evils of soil erosion, soil leeching and
soil defection could largely be checked and replaced by a more
permanent system of developing soil fertility. A better choice
of crops with a well-planned system of crop relation would help
materially in this effort. Still more could be done to improve
the quality of existing farm products by better irrigation and
drainage schemes and better methods of cultivation.
Moreover, both plants and animals could be improved by
systematic selection and breeding. All this would necessitate
the keeping of regular records and the formation of uniform
standards for crops and animals to a much greater degree than
has been done in the past. No one at present can tell the exact
total yearly yield of milk and fat of the various breeds of cattle
or sheep or goats of the country, or the total annual yields per
hectare, of the grain and forage under the different systems of
soil management.
With the establishment of better standards, better markets
will come into existence, which will automatically lead to better
methods of marketing and transportation.
With all these suggestions about the needs of more profitable methods of farm operation, it must not be forgotten that
some of the existing methods, which at first seem to be absurd,
are really very well adapted to local conditions, though many
are imperfect and wasteful and others are actually harmful.
Most of these latter methods are the result of superstition and
ignorance j and the best way to replace them with better methods,
is by educating the farmers to understand the why and wherefore
of the various operations. This means that some kind of education is necessary, either through schools or through demonstration farms or through agricultural extension service, with rep-
OC'TjL
resent
I
ing b<
the m
agricu
demoi
and a
farms
1
simila
initiat
gover
encou
�OCTOBER, 1927
19
resentatives in each section of the land.
In solving the second problem of developing and introducing better types of plants and animals into Syrian agriculture,
the most help will come from the development of constructive
agricultural organizations. These should include the schools, the
demonstration farms and the extension service mentioned above
and also such farms as nuseries, seed farms and experimental
farms.
For the successful development of any of these or other
similar organizations, capital, good management and the right
initiative will be necessary; and, above all, a strong constructive
government programme that will maintain general security and
encourage public investment.
Before We Part
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
O stay, and let the aching heart
Relate its tale before we part
Then follow thy desire.
The peoples round for springtide long—
For with it comes the flower and song
That heart and brain inspire—
But my springtide, when in thine eye
Love's sacred flame for me leaps high
To set my soul on fire.
Or is that flame now burning low?
Am I denied its cheerful glow
And of its warmth bereft?
If part we must, then ere we go,
From thy sweet-bitter lips would know
What hope for me is left!
And on thy side, my heart what place
Doth hold? The right—a seat of grace,
Or is it on the left?
�I
20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Son of Haroun Al-Rashid
Jt TRUE ARABIAN TALE
translated from the Arabic original.
To the people of the West, more especially to the innumerable hosts of admirers of the Famous Arabian Nights, Haroun
Al-Rashid is the personification of oriental magnanimity of
character and ostentatious splendour and regal pomp. To some
he is but a mythical character around whose personality the fecundity of oriental imagination has woven the delicate
and fanciful threads of the inimitable Arabian Nights.
But to historians he is not only real, but one in whom a great
many of the virtues and vices ascribed to the legendary character were found in actuality. It was with his reign that the golden
age of the Abbaside dynasty in Baghdad saw its dawn, and the
report of his personal benefactions and his going about in disguise in the obscurity of the night through the poorer sections
of the capital, as well as the revelry and the ill-concealed licentiousness prevailing at his court, were not without foundation in
fact.
But the great era of true advancement in literature, in the
sciences and in all matters that count for real progress were fostered by, and found their greatest patron in the person of, the
son and successor of Haroun Al-Rashid, the illustrious Caliph
Al-Ma'moun, whose reign extended over a period of twenty
years and ended with an untimely death at the age of forty-nine.
It was not, however, without contest that Al-Ma'moun
came into power. At the very outset his authority was challenged by his paternal uncle Ibrahim Ibn Al-Mahdi who, not having conceded the right of succession to Al-Ma'moun, claimed
the Caliphate for himself and established his court in the city
of Al-Rai. For one year, eleven months and twelve days, he
held out against the Caliph and harassed his agents while the
latter displayed such forbearance as to cause some of his advisers
to comment that his patience was liable to be misinterpreted as
weakness. Finally the Caliph could tolerate the situation no
longer and, calling together a great army, he set out by forced
marches to besiege his uncle in his capital. Ibrahim was defeated
in a spirited engagement and the city capitulated to Al-Ma'-
i)
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�"!
OCTOBER, 1927
21
moun, whereupon Ibrahim sought safety in flight to escape the
wrath of his victorious nephew.
An account of the events that followed is transmitted to us
by the contemporary Arab historian Al-Waqidi who records in
the words of Ibn Al-Mahdi himself an account of his experience
with the Caliph on that eventful day when he fell prisoner into
his hands and doubted not that his fate would be that of all
usurpers and traitors. Al-Waqidi states that he heard the account from the lips of Al-Mahdi himself and recorded it with
utmost faithfulness to detail.
Here is his narration:
1
When Al-Ma'moun entered the city of Al-Rai and set a
prize of a hundred thousand dirhams on my head, I was seized with great fear and fled my palace at the noon hour, roaming
about the city all confused and not knowing where to direct my
steps. When about completely exhausted, I came upon a blind
alley and there felt certain that my doom was sealed. For here
I was standing at the entrance of an alley which permitted of
no egress. And I reflected to myself that if I retraced my steps
I would immediately arouse suspicions, while if I continued I
would be cornered like a prey in a cage and meet an ignominous
end. While thus meditating, I observed a black slave standing
at the entrance of a house in the center of the alley and I resolved to take a last desperate chance. So I advanced with steady
step and asked the slave if he could afford me domicile for a
short space of time, to which he replied in the affirmative and
graciously admitted me to his house.
I was pleasantly surprised upon entering to find the house
furnished in simple style but in the cleanest possible condition.
Only straw mats and leather cushions were in the room, but they
were all immaculate. The manner of my host was most hospitable and inviting, and it was with profuse apologies that he
closed the door and left me alone in the room. In my perturbance of mind, I bethought me that he had heard of the award
placed on my head and had gone forth to inform against me. In
consequence of which apprehension I was, all during his absence,
haunted by the most tormenting fears. Presently he returned
in company of a hammal who was loaded with all provisions
necessary for a sumptuous repast. The bread and meat were
fresh and most inviting. A new pot was brought with the lot.
An earthen water jar and ewers were also included in the pur-
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
chases of the all-providing host. He no sooner relieved the
porter of his burden than he addressed me with the utmost deference and respect explaining that he was a cupper, and that
fearing I would be nauseated by the nature of his profession if
he were to serve me from his own utensils, he had brought me
new, clean service which no other had used or touched.
I had, by that time, grown ravenously hungry and I proceeded to prepare a meal which I enjoyed as I had none other
in all my life. Having finished, the host asked me if I liked
to indulge in some liquor, to which proposition I showed no
aversion, and he brought me a sealed jar and a new cup of crokery and asked me to help myself, which I did, and found the
beverage to be extremely good. While thus engaged, he brought
me a most tempting variety of fruit, all served in new earthen
dishes, and appeared to be so anxious not to leave his hospitality
lacking in the least respect. Having thus waited upon me, he
respectfully asked me if he could sit at a respectable distance and imbue his own liquor to complete his joy of having
me as his guest, to which suggestion I unhesitatingly agreed. He
drank and became even more radiant with joviality. Presently
he rose and drew from a closet a beautifully inlaid 'oud which
he handed to me, saying: "My lord, it is not compatible with my
lowly station to ask thee to play the 'oud and favor thy slave
and servant with a song, but inasmuch as thou hast given me
the great honor of accepting my hospitality, I am prompted to
take advantage of thy condescension. If thou choosest to grant
me this additional favor I will consider myself the happiest of
men, but I shall not press my request, as thy wish is preeminent."
I_was not a little surprised at his request, but instead of
gratifying his desire immediately, I wanted to parry him a while
to prove the extent of his comprehension and I asked him:
"How comes it to thy knowledge that I am an adept at the musical art?" to which he replied with the exclamation: "Allah be
praised! our lord and sovereign is known by his fame much
beyond such a point. Art thou not our Caliph of only yesterday, Ibrahim Ibn Al-Mahdi, on whose head Al-Ma'moun has
placed a prize of a hundred thousand dirhams?"
He no sooner divulged thus my identity than his station
was immediately raised in my estimation. For such a man in
apparently much need and practising what is generally considered an unclean occupation to forego the temptation of the prize
�Mi I
OCTOBER, 1927
*~
23
money and, while affording me shelter and safety in his house,
to treat me with such generosity and consideration was sufficient
to win my complete confidence. Immediately thereupon I took
the musical instrument, tuned it and, considering my condition
of fear and separation from my family, proceeded to sing the
following verses which were the first to occur to my disturbed
mind:
"May He who caused Joseph's reunion with his beloved ones, and raised his standing though captive
and in prison,
Grant us our prayers and bring about the reunion of
our scattered ranks, for Allah, the ruler of the universe, is omnipotent."
Upon hearing this, the slave went into transports of ecstasy.
He was also prompted by his great joy to ask me if I would permit him to give a selection himself, to which request I readily
assented.
He took the 'oud and sang:
i
"To our beloved ones we made complaint that our
night was dragging long, to which complaint they
answered that to them the night was very short.
For speedily to their eyes comes the assuaging power
of sleep, while sleep remains at all times a stranger to our eyes.
When night, the dread of those enthraled by love, approaches, we fear and shudder, while they with
glee and happiness await its coming.
But if, like us, they were to feel the gnawing pangs of
love, they would, like us, experience in their beds
the same restlessness."
So enraptured was I by the consummate exquisiteness of his
art that I felt the room whirling around and all my fears and
apprehensions disappear. I asked him to sing again and he sang:
"She scorns us for our numbers being few, but I retorted that the noble were forever thus,
Why feel disgraced that we in numbers be lacking,
when our neighbor is protected and the neighbor
of the many is not.
�^=r-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A people are we who do not see in death disgrace, if
the tribes of 'Amer and Saloul so look upon it.
Our courting death does shorten the span of our lives,
while their evasion of it renders their lives long."
Such was my rapture at hearing this second song that it
had on me an effect more overpowering than liquor, and soon
after I was engulfed in the oblivion of an intoxicated sleep, not
awaking until after sunset, only to find my mind overwhelmed
with appreciation and wonderment at the generosity and hospitality, gift for entertainment and consummate art of this apparently lowly cupper.
Having collected my thoughts, I rose and washed my face
and then awakened my sleeping host. I was in haste to take
leave as my former fears again recurred to me, but wishing to
reward the fellow as best I could with the means available, I
flung in his lap a pouch filled with gold pieces, being all that I
had carried away in my hasty flight, and promised him more
if security and power were again restored to me.
This caused the slave to give vent to a great outburst of
indignation. "My lord," he said, "men of my lowly station are
only despised by men of thy rank. But can I ever permit myself to take reward for the great privilege which Allah has granted me by receiving thee in my house and having the honor to
serve thee? I swear by Allah that if thou art to repeat this offer,
I shall immediately end my existence."
Impressed by the determined tone of the slave, I reluctantly replaced the gold in my sleeve and proceeded to leave. But
I no sooner reached the door than he importuned me to remain:
"My lord," he pleaded, "thou art much safer here than at any
other place thou mightest seek, while in providing for thee I have
not the least difficulty. Why, then, not tarry here until such
time as Allah is willing to grant thee security?"
The proposition was most acceptable, but I asked the slave
to disburse from the gold which he had refused, to which condition he would not agree. For many days thereafter I remained at his house enjoying a most delightful hospitality with
not a thing lacking, until I tired of my confinement and of my
dependence on this good slave which I came to consider a growing imposition. So one day, when my host had gone out to replenish our provisions, I took advantage of his absence to leave the
house. I affected a feminine disguise with robe and veil, and
*
'»!
�OCTOBER, 1927
iv
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25
was no sooner on the street than I was seized with great fear.
I attempted to cross the bridge but was intercepted by a mounted guard who recognized me and made a dash to seize me. In
desperation, I summoned all my reserve strength and gave him
one impetuous push which sent him and his mount sprawling
on the wet, slippery pavement. Taking advantage ri the commotion that followed, I quickened my pace and succeeded in crossing. Once on the other side I flitted into an alley where I noticed a woman by the door of her house. I lost no time in approaching her.
"O gracious lady," I addressed her, "please grant me asylum as I am in great fear for my life."
"You have come to an abode of safety and hospitality," she
replied, and forthwith conducted me to a secluded and neatlyfurnished chamber and brought me food and refreshments,
meanwhile remarking that I need entertain no fear as no one had
detected my arrival.
It was but a short while thereafter when hard and repeated
knocks were heard at the door. The woman made haste to open
and, to my great astonishment and surprise, the guard whom I
had discomfitted a little while previous entered with clothes disheveled and blood streaming from wounds in his forehead and
hands. The woman, let escape a shrill cry of pained surprise,
asking the man the cause of his predicament. He lamented that
he had just been within reach of wealth by capturing the fugitive Al-Mahdi but the latter had escaped. While she was cleaning and bandaging his wounds he related to her the details of
his experience and I then felt certain that my doom was sealed.
Having attended her husband and prepared his bed, the
woman sought me in my hiding place and asked me if I were
not the man implicated in the episode. I did not deny, but the
good woman allayed my fears and was even more solicitous for
my comfort and well-being than before. For three days I enjoyed her protection and hospitality, at the end of which she
apologetically conveyed to me her fear lest her husband discover
me. She graciously consented that I remain until the fall of
night, at which time I again assumed my feminine disguise and
went out in search of refuge and safety. This time I sought
the house of one of my former maids at court who, upon seeing
me, raised her voice in bewailment and lamentation and was most
profuse in her thanks to Allah for my safety. Presently she
wms
|ij
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�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
left with the ostensible purpose of making purchases at the market for my entertainment. I never felt in all my wandering and
flight more secure than I did in this house after such demonstrations of loyalty. But I had no sooner emitted a sigh of relief
than the house was surrounded by the military, horse and foot,
and I saw Ibrahim of Mosul, commander of the bodyguard of
Al-Ma'moun, burst into the house in person accompanied by the
treacherous maid who pointed me out to him. I was carried in
the same feminine attire in which I had been surprised to the
presence of Al-Ma'moun who called the notables to sit at supreme council for my trial. When I was first ushered into court
I greeted Al-Ma'moun with the customery salutation of the Caliphate, and his stern answer to me was: "May Allah never grant
thee peace, nor life, nor security." But I hastened to rejoin by
saying: "I beg thy gracious indulgence, O Prince of the Faithful. He who is the claimant of revenge has the right o£ choice in
punishment. But pardon is more in conformity with piety. Allah, may His name be exalted, has made thee even superior to
pardon just as He has caused my crime to be above all crimes.
If thou now exactest thy punishment, thou wouldst be exercising
thy right; and if thou grantest pardon it would be by reason of
thy great magnanimity," and I then burst out in the following
extemporaneous verses:
"Grievous is my crime to thee, but in magnanimity thou
art greater,
Exact thy right if thou so wishest, or else forego it and
prove thy mercy.
If I be not noble in my deeds, prove thyself noble in
thine."
Al-Ma'moun raised his head and I again addressed him in
verse acknowledging my guilt and beseeching his pardon.
At the conclusion of my recitation, I noticed that Al-Ma'moun had relented perceptibly, and to me this was the augury
of pardon. But Al-Ma'moun did not give expression to his
feelings in words. Rather he called on his son Abbas, his brother Abou Isaac and all the other notables present to give their
opinion in my case, and they all, without exception, counseled
my execution, their only divergence of opinion being on the method of carrying out the sentence.
Al-Ma'moun, however, seemed not satisfied with their
counsel and he called upon Ahmed Abi Khalid to express his
f
^
e
�^
OCTOBER, 1927
27
opinion, and the latter said: "O Prince of the Faithful, if thou
killest him, such course of action would be in conformity with
common practice as there are many of thy like who have killed
many of his like, but if thou pardonest him, then it could be
truly said that none are to be found like thee who have pardoned
any like him."
At this sage counsel, Al-Ma'moun bent his head low in
deep reflection, then raised it and uttered the poetical quotation:
"They are my kin who killed my brother Amim,
If I were to shoot, I would be the target of my own arrow."
Hearing which I lifted the veil from over my face and let
escape a great shout of jubilation, exclaiming, "Allahu Akbar!
The Prince of the Faithful has spared my life." And Al-Ma'moun said: "O uncle, thou mayest now calm thy fears." And I
replied: "My crime, O Prince of the Faithful, is much graver
than could be attenuated by excuses and thy pardon is much
greater than could be met with adequate thanks."
Al-Ma'moun then ordered all my confiscated property restored to me and said: "O Uncle, thou hast witnessed that my
son and brother have prescribed thy death. What sayest thou
to their counselr" and I replied: "O Prince of the Faithful, they
have uttered sage counsel, but thou hast acted on thy charitable
and generous impulses inherent in thy magnanimous character."
Al-Ma'moun's countenance radiated the reactions of extreme inward relief and joy as he remarked: "O Uncle, thou
hast deadened my rancor by the virility of thy apology," and,
prostrating himself on the ground for what appeared a long
time, he finally raised his head and addressed me saying:
"Knowest thou, O Uncle, why I prostrate myself to Allah?" "Yes," I replied, "thou renderest Him thanks for having
delivered thy enemy into thy hands."
"Not so," said Al-Ma'moun, "it was, rather, to render
thanks to Allah for having prompted me to act as I did in pardoning thee."
Whereupon the Caliph assumed a most intimate attitude
and asked me to relate to him the details of my flight and capture. And I related to him my experience with the cupper, the
guard and his wife, and the maid who betrayed me. The latter
was still waiting at her house expecting to receive the award, and
upon being brought to court the Caliph asked her the reason for
betraying her former master, to which she replied that it was
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
the temptation of money. The Caliph then inquired about her
personal conditions and if she had husband or child, and when
she replied in the negative, he ordered her flogged two hundred
blows and imprisoned for life. The guard and his wife were
then brought in, and when the Caliph learned from the man that
it was the money award he was seeking, he ordered him discharged from his commission and had him take up the loathsome
profession of cupping. But to the guard's wife, the Caliph said:
"Thou art a woman most capable of handling difficult situations.
Thou shalt be henceforth in my palace." And coming finally
to the black slave he addressed him saying: "Thou hast shown
such nobility of character as would necessitate giving thee ample
award." He then gave him possession of the guard's house with
all its contents and granted him an annuity of a thousand gold
pieces for life.
The Adieu
Translated from the Arabic by J. D.
CARLYLE
The boatmen shout: "'Tis time to part,
No longer can we stay."
'Twas when Maimuna taught my heart
How much a glance could say.
With trembling steps to me she came;
"Farewell", she would have cried,
But ere the word her lips could frame
In half-form'd sounds it died.
Then bending down with looks of love,
Her arms she round me flung,
And, as the gale hangs on the grove,
Upon my breast she hung.
My willing arms embraced the maid,
My heart with raptures beat;
While she but wept the more and said,
"Would we had never met'"
S':n..j
/
y
-„
.'SyjM
�OCTOBER, 1927
29
Famous Cities of Syria
Byblos, City of Adonis
I
What is now a modest hamlet on the coast of Mt. Lebanon,
about eight miles north of the city of Beirut, was at one time
the seat of a great kingdom and the center of a religious cult
that swept the whole East and extended its influence over Greece
and Italy as well as other parts of the West. For this little hamlet, known in our day by the name of Jubeil, is none other than
the ancient and famous city of Byblos, where Adonis, the great
male god of love and beauty in classical mythology, was born
and died; where was laid the scene of the great love which
Aphrodite bore for him; where flow the waters of the sacred
river which "still runs red" at a certain season of the year from
being dyed with the blood of Adonis after he had been wounded
by the wild boar he was hunting in the hills of Lebanon. The
name of Adonis was given this river and as such it is known in
Greek mythology. Its modern name, however, is Nahr Ibrahim,
or river Abraham, supposedly named after the first ruling Maronite prince of that part of Lebanon who was the nephew of St.
John Maron, the first Patriarch of the Maronites. The waters
of this river "run red" when in flood during spring, owing to
the geological formation of the hills which dominate its course,
and of this Milton says:
"While smooth Adonis from his native rock,
Ran purple to the sea, suppos'd with blood
Of Thammuz yearly wounded."
i
I
Thammuz is but another name for Adonis. He is known
also by many other names such as Osiris of the Egyptians and
the Baal-Peor of the Moabites (Calmet).
His mention occurs in the Bible in Ezekiel (viii, 14), and is supposed to be,
among the Phoenicians who originated his worship, the personification of the sun who, during part of the year, is absent, or,
as the legend expresses it, "with the goddess of the under world;
during the remainder with Astarte, the regent of the heaven."
Astarte, by the way, is another Phoenician goddess whose main
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
seat of worship was in ancient Byblos, on modern Jubeil, and she
is none other than the Aphrodite of the Greeks and the Venus of
the Romans. She was the female goddess of beauty and love
and productivity. Her worship, or that of her Hellenic prototype, Aphrodite, may be traced directly to the influence of the
early Phoenician traders who settled on Greek shores. The "Venus
and Adonis" of Shakespeare vividly portrays this great love
drama of mythology which was the inspiration of bygone peoples for thousands of years.
The bibliography on ancient mythology is almost unlimited, and it is not the purpose here to go into the different phases
of controversial opinions on the origin and attributes of Eastern
and Western deities. Suffice it to mention that the inspiration
for the conception of the Greek, and, consequently, the Roman
deities thereafter, was Eastern. Adonis was the symbol of nature. He came to life in Spring and returned to the regions of
the; dead in Winter. This was ascribed to a good reason. Adonis
being the son of the Syrian king Theias by his daughter Smyrna
(Myrrha), his beauty charmed the goddess Aphrodite who was
bent on saving his life when his father threatened to kill the
mother of the ill-begotten child. Myrrha was transformed into a tree bearing her name and at the end of ten months, when
Adonis was born, Aphrodite hid him in a box and handed him
over to the care of Persephone, daughter of Zeus and ruler over
the lower world. Persephone later refused to give up Adonis
and upon Aphrodite making appeal to Zeus, he decided that
Adonis should spend a third of the year, with Persephone (Winter, death of vegetation); another with Aphrodite who was the
ruler of the heavens and the giver of life as her Phoenician name,
Astsarte, indicates} and the remaining third Adonis was to have
to himself.
It is plain, therefore, that all Greek mythology had its origin in Eastern roots, as Persephone, who quarreled with Aphrodite over Adonis, was the direct daughter of Zeus who is the
father of the gods. And Adonis' birthplace and the scene of
his death were on the shores of Phoenicia, at the identical spot
where now is situated modern Jubeil in the Lebanon.
The historic importance of this spot cannot be gainsaid.
It is one of the oldest seats of civilization in the world and one
to which the attention of geologists will be directed for a long
time to come in an effort to make it cede some of the mysteries
Mi
\
\l
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OCZOBER, 1927
31
of its hoary age. Already extensive excavations have been undertaken which promise to yield important finds, and the attention of scholars is being directed to it as never before. It is also
bound to become a great attraction for tourists in a reasonably
short time.
For Byblos had been an active seat of civilization, a flourishing center of industry, a strategic military post in the line of
march of, the conquering armies of the East and the West for a
long time after the date of its strongest connection with the worship of Venus and Adonis about fifteen hundred years before
the beginning of the Christian era. It was a city of considerable
importance at the time of Alexander's conquest of the East, "at
which time Enylus, its king, when he learnt that his town was
in the possession of Alexander, came up with his vessels and joined the Macedonian fleet" (Arrian). Byblos seems afterwards to
have fallen into the hands of a petty despot, as Pompey is described as giving it freedom by beheading the tyrant (Strab).
It contains the remains of an ancient Roman theatre. It was
the birthplace of Philon who translated Sanchuniaton into Greek.
The name Philon is still commonly used to our present day as a
first name among the people of the town and its vicinity. It
was of such importance, even in the Middle Ages, as to be a see
L of a bishop. The Crusaders occupied it when they came into
possession of the Syrian coast and fortified it by building a great
citadel and encircling it with a wall about a mile and a half in
1
circumference.
Al-Waqidi, an Arab historian of the thirteenth century, menL tions Jubeil in his geographic dictionary and lays particular stress
on that part of its history contemporaneous with the Crusades
and the Arab conquest of the Syrian coast. "St. Giles, (may
he be accursed by Allah)," he writes, "blockaded Jubeil, and after the lapse of some time opened negotiations with its inhabii tants for their surrender. He pledged himself to touch them
with no harm and reinforced his pledge with the most solemn
oath. On this condition they surrendered to him in the year 596
of the Hegira (1218 A. D.)_, and no sooner was he in possession
of the city than he exacted from them a tribute of 10,000 dinars
and had them sell all their jewelry to raise the amount, thereby
accelerating their flight from the city."
Al-Waqidi further informs us that Jubeil remained in the
possession of the Crusaders until Sultan Saladin wrested it from
-. •
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�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
their hands and established in it a large number of his Kurdish
followers who only ten years later sold it out to the Franks and
its original inhabitants.
Following the French occupation of Syria archaeological
researches were begun on a large scale and many priceless objects
of antique art were found among the ruins. The National Museum of Beirut has set aside a special wing for the antiquities of
Jubeil. In this collection many metal mirrors, statuettes of the
goddess Astarte and coins bearing the likeness of this goddess,
as well as various objects with Egyptian connections are to be
found. It will be remembered that at about the third millenium
B. C. the Egyptians had occasion for frequent intercourse with
the coast of Phoenicia, principally through the port of Jubeil.
Most of their lumber for construction of every description was
imported from the forests of Lebanon through the port of Jubeil. The intimate relation between Egypt and Phoenicia may
be realized by the fact that Isis came to Byblos in search of the
body of Osiris. Isis of Egypt is supposed to be none other than
Aphrodite, or the Astarte of Byblos, Osiris being her husband
and identified with Adonis. Isis of the Egyptians has the same
attributes as those of her Phoenician prototype. She is the goddess of fertility and productivity, a symbol of the rebirth of
nature.
The ruins of old Byblos, as they stand today, are mostly of
Crusaders' origin. As archaeologists dig deeper and deeper they
come across Roman and Phoenician remains. Some fine marble
columns may still be seen standing among the ruins, and sections
of the walls and castles built by the Crusaders are still standing.
Jubeil is reached over a fine motor road from Beirut in
something less than an hour. The plain surrounding it is covered with luxuriant verdure the major part of the year, and one
standing on the acropolis of the promontory projecting into the sea
has an enchanting view of the Lebanon coast both to the north
and to the south, as well as of the majestic Lebanon range. In
the immedate vicinity of Jubeil are also many places of historical
interest.
Said 'Umar Ibn Abdul-'Aziz, the pious Umayyad Caliph,
to a man who had offended him: "Satan had prompted me to
use my authority as a ruler to wreak my vengeance on thee and
bring upon myself what thou wouldst surely receive in the last
day. Begone, may Allah have mercy on thee!"
�PANORAMIC
VIEW
OF
BYBLOS
An extraordinary view of Jubeil, site of the famous Phoenician city of Byblos, taken by the Syrian-American photographer, F. Askar. The hill dominating the town is the site of the
jpolis, or fortress, where recent archa?ologic researches yielded priceless finds, including the sarcophagus of King Ahiram having the oldest alphabetical inscription so far discovered.
acroi
THE FORTRESS OF BYBLOS
Remains of what is supposed to be the Crusaders' fort at Byblos.
chumps are pruned mulberry trees planted in what was once
the court of the fortress.
RELICS OF OLD GLORY IN BYBLOS
The
v*.v
The Phoenician goddess of love and
productivity whose love for Thammuz, or Adonis, had Byblos for its
scene.
Ruins of an old temple in Byblos where extensive excavations
are now under way.
�A CITY GATE IN BYBLOS
SARCOPHAGUS OF KING AHIRAM
This priceless relic was found in the ruins of Byblos. A faint line
running along the massive lid has been declared the oldest specimen
of alphabetical writing in existence. This sarcophagus now reposes in
the National Museum in Beirut.
Parts of the old wall of Byblos, modern Jubeil, are still standing.
The gate illustrated above is the entrance to the main street and
is a relic of the fortificationsn of the Crusaders.
�—_
__
OCTOBER, 1927
"Anna Ascends
33
55
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACTS
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in her and helps her learn better1 English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to force
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess,, sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
> frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurn3
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
In an elaborately furnished office of a large publishing house in uptown New York, the former secretary of Mr. Fisk, head of the firm, is
about to get married and is inducting her successor, Miss Adams, in her
duties. Miss Adams speaks perfect English but with a slight foreign accent. Fisk examines her credentials and discovers that in a short time
she made several changes. She explains that in some cases she was discharged, in others, left of her own will, but always for one reason, namely that of biting men who attempted to kiss her. She relates a personal
story similar in every respect to a newly published book which proved an
instant best-seller and Fisk's suspicions are aroused as to her identity.
Miss Adams parries with him on the question and he resolves to take
other means of satisfying his curiosity. In the meantime Howard, son of
Fisk, returns from an extended trip and meets Anna but does not recognize her and his "interest" in her is evident from the start.
�•*•" •
34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ACT TWO—II.
FISK — Merely to satisfy many of my subscribers. And
to tell the truth I expect to satisfy my own curiosity and inquisitiveness. I hope to find out in a few moments.
ANNA — (Slightly anxious.) Indeed, Mr. Fisk. How?
FISK — (Noncommittal and careless like.) Oh, there are
ways and means.
ANNA — I think I should return and study the files. (She
crosses.)
FISK — That's right, do.
ANNA — I am ready to report for dictation when you need
me, sir.
FISK — Yes. (She exits. Phone bell rings.) Hullo. Yes?
I am waiting. (Pause.) Hullo Morris
Oh, fine
and
you?
that's good. Say, I see that you have turned out a
readable book at last
yes
"Anna Ascends". I am giving
it a corking review in this issue. What?
Who wrote the
blamed thing?
What?
What's that?
you don't know?
Are you spoofing me?
Aha
Yes
Yes
What's the lawyer's name? Tupman? You mean Nat Tup man
I know him well. He's in this building. Yes, I'll get in touch
with him
You don't say. Aha
Thanks, Morris. When
you ever run over to a real town, drop in and see me. Yes
Goodbye. (Hangs up and takes receiver off after a slight pause.)
Connect me
or get.me Nathaniel Tupman, attorney, in this
building. (Hangs up.) (Nell, Bess and John enter and all
move toward the outer entrance.)
BESS — We're starving and are going to luncheon.
NELL — Back in half an hour.
BESS — Besides, Howard is sure to telephone here when
his train arrives. Hold him here until we return and we will
all go home together.
FISK — Where are you going to eat?
JOHN — At Henri's, I think. I am stung.
FISK — (As they go out.) I'll phone you as soon as he get*
here. (Picks up phone receiver as bell rings.)
BESS — All right, father. (They exeunt.)
FISK — (In phone.) This is Harry Fisk. Say, Nat, will
you give me an alphabetical list of your clients
complete
list
Yes. Well, you see, we are getting up in elaborate hro-
�—
OCTOBER, 1927
35
chure to secure more subscribers and wish to mail them to real
people. Yes
Yes
It is going to be a very beautiful pamphlet and as I know your clients are real people, I want their
names. Yes
Certainly
(Pushes button on desk.) I'll
send the boy down for it. Thank you so much. (Enters William.) William, go to the office of Mr. Nathaniel Tupman, in
this building, and ask for the list Mr. Tupman promised me.
Stay there until you get it.
WILLIAM — Yes, sir.
FISK — And bring it to me just as soon as you get it.
WILLIAM — (Going up.) Yes, sir.
FISK — And, William
(William stops.)
WILLIAM — Yes, sir.
FISK — Guard it with your life.
WILLIAM — Yes, sir. (Exits.)
HOWARD — (Outside.) My father here, William?
WILLIAM — Yes, sir.
(As Fisk hears his son's voice, he rises and comes to meet
him.)
HOWARD — (Enters.) Hullo, Pop.
FISK — My boy, my boy.
(They embrace in a chummy
manner, not as father and son, but with the air of good fellowship.) Back at last.
HOWARD — You bet.
pISK — Let me get a good look at you. (Howard turns
around.) My, but you look great.
HOWARD — I feel great. And you're looking fine, too, Pop.
pISK — Never better. Never better. Come, sit down and
let us have a good talk. Your sister and Nellie Van Husen just
went to lunch with John. I told them I would phone when you
came.
HOWARD — So, John is still the ever-faithful.
pISK — Yes, yes, Bess and John are hitting it off beautifully. They are quarrelling all the time. Fancy they will get
spliced very soon.
HOWARD — Good business?
FISK — And you, son? No affairs of the heart
at pressent?
HOWARD — No, Pop. Whole heart and fancy so and so.
pISK _ I think that I mentioned that Nellie Van Husen
is with your sitter to meet you.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
36
HOWARD —
FISK — Just
Yes. How is Nellie?
as beautiful as ever, and whole heart and fan-
cy so and so.
HOWARD — Any love sick swains hanging around her?
FISK — No
You have a clear field, if you want it.
HOWARD — / have a clear field? Why pick on me, Pop?
FISK — It has been my wish for some time that you settle
down, son, and Nellie likes you very much. She is
HOWARD — Aw, now, Pop. I can never get interested in
Nell. Nice girl and all that, but not a serious thought in life
beyond her own self. I'll get married some day, when I meet
the real one. And you can bet I'll know the real one the moment I lay eyes on her.
FISK — You have laid eyes on many
all over the world.
HOWARD — Yes, I know, but I haven't seen her yet.
FISK — Nellie is the
HOWARD — No, Pop, I told you
Not Nellie. I could
not do it even for you.
FISK — I'm sorry, boy.
HOWARD — (Anna enters.) Don't worry, Pop. Some day
I shall meet her. See her and will know, at once. (At the end
of Howard*s speech Anna reaches them.)
ANNA — File thirty-six, in reference to the book, "Hearts
Aflame", is missing, Mr. Fisk.
(NOTE — As Anna enters, she carries an extra heavy record ledger open. Her eyes are glazed to the book until the end
of her line. Then, as Fisk speaks, she lifts her eyes from the
book, only to meet the gaze of Howard, who has turned towards
her on hearing her voice. They hold each other's gaze for a
second or two.)
FISK — Do not worry, Miss Adams, I have that file in the
bottom drawer, here. (Anna, still holding Howard's gaze,
backs away a step or two. Howard shows no sign that he recognizes her as the little waitress he met for a few minutes three
years ago. Anna, of course, knows the man who was kind to her
and whose memory she has ever cherished. Slowly the heavy
ledger slips from her grasp and falls to the floor.)
HOWARD — (Instantly picks up the book, with the same
remark he made to her when he first noticed her in the previous
act— Namely:) Allow me. Rather heavy for a little girl like
you.
i W
�OCTOBER, 1927
37
— (Answers with her first remark she ever made to
him.) Thank you. You are very kind.
FISK — My son, Howard, Miss Adams. (To Howard.)
Miss Adams is Miss Bird's successor.
HOWARD — Oh, I know Miss Adams. (Anna gives a slight
start.) (To Anna.) Were you, not employed in the "outer office"
before I went away?
ANNA — (Showing great relief that he does not recognize
her.) Oh, no.
FISK — Nonsense.
Miss Adams only took up her duties
within the hour.
HOWARD — Strange.
\ could have sworn that you were
with this firm when I went away.
ANNA — Oh, no.
FISK — Never.
HOWARD — (Returns book.) Merely a peculiar twist of
mind, I fancy.
FISK — I'll return to you file thirty-six when I go over
the correspondence of "Hearts Aflame", Miss Adams.
ANNA — Yes, sir. (Starts for door.)
FISK — Please find me the correspondence with Bryant &
Temple, Miss Adams, concerning "Forever and Anon".
ANNA — Yes, Mr. Fisk.
(She exits, with a farting look
at Howard— He, too, watches her until the door closes.)
HOWARD — (With eyes on closed door.) Extraordinary.
FISK — Oh, you have met her somewhere, I guess, and you
do not recall the incident. It will come to you. We have made
no changes in the "outer office". Still have the same young
ladies. (Picks up co-py of "Anna Ascends" and fingers it.) I
wish Tupman would hurry that list.
HOWARD — (Noticing book.) Any good literature turned
out in the last eight months?
FISK — Several good works, and this in particular. (Hands
book to Howard.) Especially this.
HOWARD — "Anna Ascends". Oh, I've read that.
FISK — (Surprised.) Indeed, when?
HOWARD — Oh, I don't know—a couple of years ago, it
seems.
FISK — You never read that work a couple of years ago.
It only came out this month.
HOWARD — No. Is that so? Now, Pop, do you know that
ANNA
�—
38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I could have sworn I read that some time ago?
FISK — What was the story?
HOWARD — Blamed if I know, but the title seems very
familiar.
FISK — Well, you're wrong, because you would forget the
title, long before you would forget the work. In fact you would
never forget it. It is a masterpiece
in every way.
HOWARD — (Handling book.) Unknown author, I see.
FISK — Yes.
HOWARD — I'll glance through it sometime. (Puts book
back on desk.)
FISK — I forgot to phone the girls that you were here.
(Reaches for phone.)
HOWARD — Never mind, Pop. Where are they? I'll go
get them.
FISK — At Henri's, around the block.
HOWARD — (Takes one more look at door and starts up.)
Yes, I know. (Knocks on door and William enters.) Well, William, who are you pulling for now, the Yanks or the Giants?
WILLIAM — For both, this season, Mr. Howard.
HOWARD — (At door, William has passed to desk.) Good.
We'll take in all the games, as we did before I went away.
WILLIAM — Thank you, sir.
HOWARD — I'll bring them at once, Pop.
FISK — All right, son. (Howard exits.)
WILLIAM — Here's the list from Mr. Tupman, Mr. Fisk.
I had to wait some time. (Hands Fisk list.)
FISK — (Scans it carefully.) Good Lord, it can't be.
WILLIAM — What, sir?
FISK — William, did you ever hear of the story about a
man who searched the world over for a certain thing, only to
stumble over it and break his leg when he returned and crossed
the threshold of his own house?
WILLIAM — No, sir.
FISK — Well, I am that man. (Pushes button on desk.)
See that I am not disturbed for the next five minutes.
WILLIAM — (Going up.) Yes, sir.
FISK — I'll be very busy.
WILLIAM — All right, Mr. Fisk. (Exits as Anna enters.)
FISK — Sit down, Miss Adams. I want to have another
talk with you. A very serious and important talk, this time.
u i-
il
�OCTOBER, 1927
39
— f&tt dubiously.) Yes, sir.
—
(Picks up book from desk.) This book — do you
FlSK
know who wrote it? (Anna is silent.) Do you know who wrote
it? (Anna hangs her head.)
ANNA — Yes, sir.
FISK — Who is the author?
.
It would inANNA _ Do not ask me that, Mr. Fisk.
volve
it would be
It would make me break a certain
pledge to
to
...
FISK — Enough, my child, I knoW who wrote it. You did.
ANNA — Mr. Fisk
FISK — Am I right?
ANNA — Yes.
,
.
. ,
t,
My dear little girl, why hide
FlsK — I deduced as much.
your light under a barrel?
.
ANNA — I can't explain. Certain incidents, episodes from
the book, very especially one, that happened, would
would
Oh, Mr. Fisk, how did you ever find me out?
FlSK _ By playing a shabby trick on a friend oi mine
ANNA
-
I
y0UI
1
/
" A^— Mr. Tupman? Why he doesn't even know where
I am. I have not seen him for weeks.
He has $22,000.00 in
FlsK _ Well, you should see him.
royalties waiting for you with the amount growing every minute.
AJTOA _ (Dazed.) $22,000.00?
FlsK _ Don't you know that your book has created one of
the biggest sensations in the literary world in ten years? It will
be a second Tribly.
.
.
(
ANNA - But I never dreamed
I.... I just wrote from
and Mr. Tupman arranged all the details for its
the heart
PU
By "writing from the heart," classics are born. Why
not take all the fame and glory that awaits you?
It is impossible, quite, quite imANNA _ But, I tell you.
possible. You cannot comprehend and I cannot explain it to
you. If the world
certain people ever knew I wrote that
book
it
I
FlsK _ Never mind, my child, if you have a serious reason
for
your
name
the public
tor keeping
keeping
^
^from
^^
^ ^.
ft ^ neyer ^
FE«X
known.
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
— It will never be known. Your secret is safe with
me. (He rises and comes to below desk... Anna rises and comes
to his side.)
ANNA — Thank you, sir.
FISK — (Laughs.) It will be our secret. I suppose, now
that you know you are rich, you will not want to stay in your
present position?
ANNA — I want to stay more than ever. I found that out
a few minutes ago, when
FISK — We will keep the secret and you will write another
book.
ANNA — I have one nearly finished, now.
FISK — That's fine.
ANNA — Mr. Fisk, you must not tell anyone that I have
all that money.
FISK — Of course not.
ANNA — $22,000.00!
That is a great deal of money to
make for telling the truth. What will I do with it all?
FISK — Let Mr. Tupman invest it for you. You will have
more
m
uch more very soon and if your second book is as
successful as the first you will be independent for life.
ANNA — I am sure it will be more successful, for Anna finds
happiness in the sequel.
FISK — When do you expect to finish it?
ANNA — That depends.
FISK — Which means?
ANNA — When / find happiness.
FISK — I see. You have realized your ambition but your
happiness you have yet to find.
ANNA >— Yes, Mr. Fisk. When I find my happiness, so
likewise does Anna.
FISK
FISK — I hope, for your sake and
ANNA —i If it does, I feel that I
FISK — Why?
ness
Anna's, that it comes soon.
have no right to grasp it.
— I cannot explain but I have no right to happiYet.
ANNA
—- Do not be foolish. If happiness comes to you suddenly, take it. (Howard enters quickly.)
HOWARD — William said that you were not to be disturbed, but I knew that you wouldn't mind me, Pop. The folks are
not at Henri's.
FISK
O
w
fa
o
5
H
K
(A
W
i
�THE RETURN OF HOWARD
Howard,
you dear boy, it is so nice to have you back again.
tiowara, you
(<Anna Ascends»
�W*i
MM
NOT YET RECOGNIZED!
Allow me.
Rather heavy for a little girl like you.
A scene from "Anna Ascends".
,
**.
rr
a
ST
3
>S
!-»
o
&• a. or tit.
.,8 2 3.
o
r>
�o_w—
OCTOBER, 1927
41
— Perhaps they changed their minds and went to Martin's. I'll go out and look them up and get a bite, myself. Wait
here, son. Miss Adams, in the lower right hand drawer of my
desk is the correspondence on the book "Hearts Aflame". Take
it and place it on file again.
ANNA — Yes, Mr. Fisk. (She gets letters from drawer.)
pISK — if the girls come back while I am absent tell them
to wait and we will motor home together.
HOWARD — I'll hold them, Pop. (Fisk exits. ^ Anna starts
in an uncertain manner for her room.) Please, Miss
er
Adams. Just a moment. (Anna step nervously.)
ANNA — Yes.
HOWARD — Haven't we met somewhere before today?
ANNA — Perhaps, like ships that pass in the night.
HOWARD — No, I do not mean in that way.
ANNA — Hardly any other way.
HOWARD — It seems we have met at some very formal
function. A banquet, or something of that sort.
ANNA — No, at no banquet, I never attended one.
HOWARD — Well, at some little informal dinner?
At a
mutual friend's?
ANNA — Oh, yes, I am sure of that. I never attended a
banquet, but I have been present at many, many dinners.
HOWARD — Then it was at one of those that I met you.
ANNA — Oh, I am sure of it. It was at one of those dinners.
.
HOWARD — But I am of the impression that 1 met you at
several of them. Not one dinner.
ANNA — No doubt you met me at several, but you only
noticed me at one.
HOWARD — I am quite sure that I not only noticed you,
but I was deeply impressed.
ANNA — Yes?
Impressed? So much so that you hardly
remember the place of meeting.
HOWARD — Places mean nothing, environment means nothing, the time means nothing to me. It is the memory of a face
that counts.
ANNA — My face impressed you, then?
HOWARD — You impressed me.
ANNA — (Nervously.) I think I had better replace this hie.
HOWARD — Please don't go.
FISK
�-*"
—_i
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
— But my work.
HOWARD — Is it so pressing?
(She hesitates.) You speak
with a slight accent. Surely we have not met abroad?
ANNA — No, I think not.
HOWARD — It will all come to me, I am sure. I could not
have been so impressed and not, at some time, recall where and
when we met.
ANNA — Yes?
HOWARD — Miss Adams, we met in Italy?
ANNA — I am not Italian.
HOWARD — Where were you born?
ANNA — Not in America.
HOWARD — Pardon my persistence, but the thought bothers me.
ANNA — Why not say that we met at a dinner
some
foreign dinner, here in New York? Will not that satisfy your
curiosity?
HOWARD — Yes, I suppose so, but it is not my curiosity.
It is my interest.
ANNA — Is not that the same thing? The words are synonymous.
HOWARD — Not in this instance.
ANNA — What does it matter where and when we met? As
long as we belong to the "same class, the same social strata".
HOWARD — That is true. And we met today for keeps,
anyhow, didn't we?
ANNA — Certainly, so why worry about a thing that is past?
HOWARD — I won't. (Comes nearer.) I hope to meet you
often, little lady.
ANNA — Yes? Please say woman, I like it better.
HOWARD — Say
ANNA — (Quickly.) There is something about the word
lady I do not like. It recalls the phrase "perfect lady."
HOWARD — It seems to me that we have had all this pro
and con before, but I fancy I'm mistaken. As I was about meeting you somewhere.
ANNA — What does it matter? We are here.
HOWARD — You bet.
(Voices are heard.) Here are the
folks. You'll let me talk to you again, if I behave myself. (He
laughs boyishly.)
ANNA — Of course, you are a gentleman. (Hovwrd looks
ANNA
puzzled.
ill talkin
FlSK
BESS
Howard,
NEI
tance.) 1
again.
AN-
Fis
NE
FIS
He
W
natti an
H<
Jo
importa
Fi
Bi
Jc
f
§
F
H
talk to
A
is
F
na.) I
in oft<
P
I
up im
you'll
erenct
�OCTOBER, 1927
4S
puzzled. Fisk, Bess, Nell, John and William enter. They are
ill talking at once.)
pISK — I found them at Martin's.
BESS — (Running down to her brother and kisstng htm.)
Howard, Howard.
NELL — (Comes down and kisses him, much to his reluctance.) Howard, you dear boy. It is so nice to have you back
again.
ANNA — (Standing apart.) Hell, damn.
FISK — Doesn't he look great?
NELL — Adorable.
pISK _ That's it, Nell, keep it up.
HOWARD — Are we all ready to start for home?
WILLIAM — There's a game today, Mr. Howard. Cincinnatti and the Giants.
HOWARD — Not today, William. Maybe tomorrow.
JOHN — I can't leave the office. I've
ehem
some
important work to do.
FISK — What?
BESS — He must be ill. Oh, John.
TOHN _ I know it is a shock, Bess, but it's true.
pISK< _ You all had your lunch but I'm hungry. Come in.
HOWARD — (Crossing down to Anna.)
I'll come in and
talk to you tomorrow, if you will let me.
I'll be glad, if I am not busy.
ANNA _ Do.
NELL (Taking notice.) We are going, Howard dear.
HOWARD - (Very indifferently.) Oh, all right. (To Anna.) I'll take a chance on your being idle sometime. I 11 clrop
in often during the day.
NELL — Howard, dear.
HOWARD - Go to the car, folks, I'll catch up. (Nell goes
up impatiently. There is a general move to the door.) Perhaps
you'll give me your lunch hour. (This last line with all the deference in the world.)
ANNA _ In a week or two, maybe, but not tomorrow.
HOWARD — Excuse me
I
meant na
_
ANNA — (Quickly and smiling.) I know. Please join your
Dartv
its
. embarrassing to
HOWARD — I'm off. (Goes up quickly. All have passed out,
Nell the last, giving the pair a hard look.) No ball game for me
tomorrow, William, I've a better game to attend, but I'll stand
�44
THE SYRIAN WORi
treat for the week, William.
WILLIAM — Thank you, Mr. Howard.
any other game that's better'n Base-ball.
OTOBER
But I don't knc^
— Wait until you are a little older, William, an~
youllknow. (Exits. After the ensemble are off William stand*
m a nervous manner watching Anna. Anna comes center.)
HOWARD
When
ashid, wa
id ever m
"The :
abi', "was
YCS mam
1-Mansur
know^^^ ~~ N°' mam
'
°h> g0sh' y°u
g to the
ANNA — I surmise from your cryptic words that you
do
7
ited.
want the kiss.
"Whe
WILLIAM — (Gulping and stammering.) Well
er
im saying
Mam
it won't hurt me none.
'Bring
ANNA — You shall have it, William, you shall have it, but
The r
you must work for it.
'Art t
WILLIAM — Aw, I knew there was a catch to it.
Jmayyads
ANNA — No, all you have to do is to spell affection for me.
The (
WILLIAM — That's easy. Aff
Eff
Doggorn
if I
&
'Artt
can spell it.
'No,'
ANNA — I'll teach you, William. Now, attention
Af'Then
fection, LOVE.
I
f
the
Un
WILLIAM — Say, that ain't
TheC
ANNA — Oh, yes it is, William
you want the kiss, don't
*
ith
to an;
x
your
f 'The
WILLIAM — You bet.
ee
of all ]
ANNA — Well, spell as I gave it.
reasury o:
WILLIAM — Affection, LOVE.
The :
ANNA — Good boy. Once more.
'Ther
WILLIAM — Aw, rats. Affection, LOVE.
,at
the I
rcL ANNf T ^emember *
always. Here's your kiss
iinted by
(d/ie grabs the boy and kisses him impulsively.)
'•rent sou
WILLIAM — (Out of breath.) Oh, Gosh.
Agaii
ANNA — (Suddenly.) Here, now bite my hand
id
a
pro]
WILLIAM — WOT?
'O R
ANNA — Bite my hand, hard.
tever con
WILLIAM — Say, you're nutty. (He rushes off.)
o the ma
ANNA - (Happily.) Affection, LOVE. (Dreamily.)
t for the*
He said he'd come back.
(To be continued.)
'By i
:.z lNNt "^ William> come here- (He slowly comes on a line
wtth her.) Do you want that kiss now?
WILLIAM — No, mam.
ANNA — Are you sure you don't?
�-1
OTOBER, 1927
Choice Arabian Tales
in
-
1
ndi I
tne
do
)Ut
le.
I
ii't
')
45
ip-
IC
:
.
RARE PRESENCE OF MIND
When Al-Rabi' Ibn Yahya, the Arab vizier of Haroun Alashid, was asked who was the most present-minded man he
id ever met, he related the following story:
"The most present-minded man I have ever met," said Alabi', "was a man of Kufa who was brought before the Caliph
1-Mansur on an accusation of holding in trust wealth belongg to the Umayyads, whom the 'Abbaside Caliph had extermiited.
"When the accused man appeared, Al-Mansur commanded
im saying:
'Bring forth the trusts of the Umayyads!'
The man cooly replied:
'Art thou, O Prince of the Faithful, the legal heir of the
Jmayyads?'
The Caliph said, 'No.'
'Art thou, then, their trustee?', again asked the Kufite.
'No,' said the Caliph.
'Then under what pretext dost thou demand of me the trust
f the Umayyads?'
The Caliph bowed his head in contemplation, thinking whatThen raising his head he said:
vith to answer the Kufite.
I 'The sons of Umayya betrayed the Moslems, and as a truse of all Moslems, I have right in demanding restoration to the
reasury of the Moslems of all that belonged to them.'
The Kufite was not to be confuted. He replied:
'There is one thing more, and that is to produce evidence
at the Umayyad wealth entrusted to me is of that which is
inted by treachery, for the Umayyads had wealth from dif'•rent sources.'
Again Al-Mansur bowed in contemplation, but, failing to
r
Jid a proper rebuttal, he turned to me and said:
'O Rabi', release this man, for, by Allah, I swear I have
tever conversed with a man like him before.' Then, turning
o the man, he said: 'Ask what is thy need that we may fulfill
I t for thee.'
'By Allah,' replied the man, 'I request nothing more thin
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLL
to be allowed to send a letter to my folks whose hearts are sorely troubled and are anxious to hear about my case.,
When the man's request was granted, he turned to the
Caliph and said:
'O Prince of the Faithful, I have none of the trusts ol
the Umayyads, but I beg of thee to bring me together with mj
accuser.'
The Caliph was even more surprised at this declaratioi
and said to the man: 'Why then didst thou not deny the charge
in the first place?'
'Because,' said the man, 'this is more to the point. For had
I denied thou wouldst not have believed it.'
The Caliph then commanded that the accuser of the Kufite
be brought forth, and when he came, the Kufite recognized him
as a slave who had fled from him, after he had stolen three
thousand dinars. And when the slave was pressed he admitted
his guilt, saying that he accused his master with the object of
thwarting him for pursuing him.
Then Al-Mansur asked the Kufite to forgive his slave,
saying: 'Count his guilt in my favor.'
The Kufite complied with the request, adding: 'I have
also given him his freedom for thy sake, O Prince of the Faithful, for this is but little in the way of reward of him who was
the means of my coming to thy presence, and of receiving at thy
hands such undeserved praise.'
THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP
The famous Arab historian Al-Waqidi related the follow-!
ing story to illustrate the extent to which sincere friends go in
helping one another when in need. He said:
I had two friends, one of whom was a Hashimite, am
we were all in friendship as one soul. One day, when poverty!
had pressed hard on me, my wife said to me: 'My lord, we cai
manage to bear the dire straits of poverty, but my heart is ton
in sorrow at the sight of our children when they see the neigh1-j
bors' children jubilant and attired in new dresses for the feast.
For their sake, go out and manage to get some money that wej
may spend on dresses for them.'
Finding that her plea was for a good reason, my heart)
wu touched. I sat to think of some way to secure the money
�OCTOBER, 1927
47
when I suddenly remembered my Hashimite friend. Immediately" I wrote him to send me what he could dispose of, and he
sent me a bag of one thousand dirhams. I had scarcely received
the money when my other friend wrote asking for a similar
loan from me. I could not resist him, and sent the very bag
which the Hashimite had sent me. Then I went to the mosque,
ashamed to encounter my wife. But when I entered my home
and told her what had happened she rebuked me not.
Presently my Hashimite friend came with the same bag
of gold, still sealed as I had received it.
'Tell me the truth about this bag,' insisted my friend. 1
then told him how after, I had received it my other friend asked
me to send him some money and I sent him the same bag. The
Hashimite smiled as he related:
'By Allah, yea by Allah I swear, that when you asked my
help I had nothing at home but this bag of gold which I sent
you So after I sent it to you I wrote our common friend to
send me some money, and behold he sent me back my own bag.
Seeing then that we three have but this one bag in common, let
us divide it between us.'
Saying which, the Hashimite took out one hundred dirhams and gave them to my wife, and divided the rest amongst
us three, each receiving 300 dirhams.
',.,__.
.
This story reached the ear of the Caliph Al-Ma'moun, who
sent for me and asked me to repeat it. When I did, he was
greatly pleased and, calling my two friends, rewarded each one
of us with two thousand dinars, and my wife with one thousand
dinars.
REWARD AND PUNISHMENT
An 'ingenious man appeared before Haroun Al-Rashid and
asked permission to demonstrate his ability. Upon being granted permission, he produced a number of needles and, placing
one on the ground, proceeded to drop the others from his full
height and they would all strike the eye of the needle placed on
the ground without a single miss. Haroun Al-Rashid ordered
the man flogged a hundred blows and given a hundred dinars,
and upon being asked the reason for his having combined punishment and reward, the Caliph replied: "I have rewarded him for
his ingenuity, and punished him so that he may desist from wasting his extraordinary gifts on what is wholly superfluous.
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
BAYARD DODGE
With characteristic modesty,
President Bayard Dodge of the
American University of Beirut expounds the mission and
the record of achievement of
the great educational institution
in Syria of which he is the
head with not a single reference
to himself. He is simply "connected" with the University. "It
is my fortune to work in an
American institution" serving
Syria and the countries of the
Near East in general. When
reference is made to the fact
that the French Government
had decorated two members of
the faculty during the past
year, he studiously avoids mention of himself being one of
the two. Yet Bayard Dodge
personally, and the Dodge family in general, have done
more for Syria in their support
of the American University of
Beirut than any other person
or group. Bayard Dodge shared during the World War the
privations and hardships of the
Syrian people as did no other
American or European of nis
wealth and class. The Dodge
children in Beirut even went
without shoes and were restrict-
ed to scant food rations, while
the late Cleveland H. Dodge,
father of Bayard, was in New
York contributing millions towards the purchase of clothing
and food for needy Syrians.
Yet President Dodge proves
that his love for Syrians has
not been exhausted; that his
educational mission to them
has not been fully accomplished j that his work for reconstruction and for "manufacturing" men and women fired with
lofty ideals and trained with
scientific methods has still a
long course to run. And he
consequently chooses to devote
his talents, his energy, his
knowledge, to their service as a
head "worker" in the American University of Beirut. This,
indeed, is a proof of devotion
of rare occurrence, especially in
that it is coming from the millionaire son of a millionaire
father and undertaken wholly
and purely on altruistic motives.
Nor is Pres. Dodge seeking
exemption from his self-imposed responsibilities while in
America. Rather, he is here
working even harder for the
promotion of the work which
is filling his life and, besides,
u
�OCTOBER, 1927
49
mission to make considering the
nature of the service intended
by the .enterprising newspaper.
The fault must lie either with
the newspaper itself in not having furnished service of the
right kind, or with the reading
public which did not appreciate
the value of the service rendered. It is cause for pity that
this pioneering effort should
have run such a short course.
Future attempts of this nature
are bound to be studied more
carefully and provided for
more fully so as not to spell
discredit on the Syrian press by
abrupt abandonment after only
THE END OF AN
EXPERIMENT a short existence.
performing all the exacting
duties of the ambassador of
good-will and understanding
that he truly is. The Syrians
of America have cause^ for jubilation in again meeting the
man who is doing so much for
their country, and the dinner
they are giving in his honor on
November 10 in New York is
but a small1 testimonial of their
feeling of gratitude for the
modest, efficient-and big-hearted educator and benefactor of
their country.
+
u
1
v
We had the pleasure to anOUR BULWARK
nounce in a former issue or
THE SYRIAN WORLD that MerIt is a sign of a healthy soaat-Ul-Gharb, a Syrian daily
of New York, had introduced cial condition for the Syrian
a novel and interesting feature young folks to establish socieby publishing a weekly page in ties of their own. It is also a
sign of intelligent understandEnglish for the benefit of the
Syrian-American generation. It ing on the part of the parents
grieves us now to learn that not to thrust themselves in the
this experiment has come to an affairs, of their youth and insist
untimely end. For two con- on managing things their own,
secutive weeks Meraat-Ul- old way. There is a chasm, beGharb has appeared minus the tween the old and the new
English page, and although which has to be carefully bridged by mutual tolerance. For
the paper itself has made no
the young generation it is hard
specific reference to the fact, it
to fathom the conventional,
was learned from well-informed sources that the experiment decorous methods of conduct
did not meet with sufficient which their elders have inheritpopular support to warrant its ed from a country steeped in
the traditions of countless
continuance. It is a painful ad-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
centuries. The elders, quite na- social activities leading to coturally, will look askance at any operation among their youth.
breach of their accepted order This is the best method for
of etiquette in conduct. Mod- hoi-ding together the scattered
ernism has been thrust on them fragments of the Syrian race.
too suddenly and not by de- It should gladden the hearts of
grees. Even a moderate exer- the elders merely to see their
cise of independent action on youth come together with unthe part of their children they flagging spirit and without
are liable to characterize as in- shame and unite on working
for a common cause.
subordination and rebellion
In the news section of this
What it is necessary for the
parents to realize is that condi- issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD
tions
and surroundings in there is reported the formation
America are totally different recently of two organizations
from those obtaining in their of the young Syrian generation
motherland. Changing times in two 'widely separated cities,
must also be taken into consid- each striving to attain a comeration. Appreciation of all mendable object. Undoubtedly,
these differences is essential to there are scores of such organbring about a proper under- izations of our youth throughstanding between the two ele- out the land, some of which
ments.
we had occasion to refer to at
This moveThe young folks should not different times
ment
should
by
all
means be
be ridiculed or discouraged in
any of their legitimate efforts. encouraged, not hampered. It
Coming together in a social may prove to be the nucleus
club, a| fraternal or a benevolent of a nation-wide movement
society is a most 'laudable un- for the unification of the race
dertaking. In the management in what is bound to become a
or conduct of such an organiza- great force for good both for
tion the older generation should the race and for the nation of
not meddle or interfere. The which it constitutes a racial
younger generation is better unit. Such a national organizaschooled in parliamentary pro- tion would be our best medium
cedure and more capable of un- for bringing out the best that
derstanding its own mind. The is in us and using it to the best
parents, if they value their advantage. It depends mostly
traditions and wish to see, what on our proper appreciation of
is best in them perpetuated, the latent possibilities of our
should encourage all forms of youth.
i
�OCTOBER, 1927
51
Readers' Forum
ers are historians, housewives, merchants and students and many othEditor, The Syrian World,
ers. It is a huge and difficult task
Paradoxical as it may sound, your
to please them all.
editorial in the September World is
Persons interested in the arts are
in itself a possible solution of the
in the minority. A magazine of such
problem therein described. You have a public nature must cater to the
permitted your readers to share the
majority. I do not agree with you
burden, and I feel that if you will that the majority of our people are
permit them to share in a wider material and have deplorable tastes.
sense that you will have fulfilled all They are of the earthy earth. It
your expectations. I think that may be difficult for the World to be
originally it was your hope to create of the earthy earth, but the struggle
a unity among us all and to make
is worth while. Stoop to the other
us think and know worthwhile
fellow's level, and you will find that
things. I believe that the ideals
he will meet you half way.
which prompted you to publish the
May we have articles on modern
magazine may be realized without
problems
of society? If you will
doing so at your expense.
refer to the index of any number of
You seem to regret that so many
the Forum magazine, you will more
readers demand "snappy" stories.
clearly understand what I mean.
If "snappy" means the trashy literThe articles of "Ibn El-Khoury",
ature of which there is plenty offerMiss
Attiyeh; the story by Mr.
ed on the market, I would say that
Catzeflis;
Dr. M. Shadid's letter; all
the World should go out of existence
these
and
many others were splenrather than offer such stuff. However, if "snappy" means a bit of did.
Do you not think that a contest
airy, fairy, nonsensical romance,
might
be a good thing to make your
then please give us some now and
readers
take more interest? There
then. Whether we are young or old,
are
a
variety
of worth while subjects
philosophers or laborers, we all need
which
might
be offered for the dif}
the fun of romancing.
ferent
elements.
The prize should
The World, must fill all our needs.
be
of
second
importance.
Let your
It must be a versatile magazine
readers
do
some
of
the
work
for a
L*
which can meet the requirements of
change.
such varied tastes as your readers
I know well that I know little, if
undoubtedly have. We have only one
anything,
about conducting a magamagazine and we want it to be a
zine.
Still,
I find courage to expresg
little like the Forum, World's Work,
myself
because
I am sincerely anxLiterary Digest, Ladies' Home Jourious
that
the
World
flourish. Those
nal, Youth's Companion... in fact,
of
us
who
are
not
learned
in Arabic
it must have the finest attributes of
and
anxious
to
know
ourselves
have
all the finest magazines on the
long
been
destitute
for
want
of a
American market. A colossal undermagazine.
I
think
that
you
will
taking? Indeed it is. Your readCONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTIONS
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
thousand years ago. We boast of
the present man and not of what
our great great grandfathers used
to be.Articles like Dr. Hitti's and lectures like his and other Lebanese
ASKS FOR ADDED FEATURES
whom I have heard ever cause the
Editor, The Syrian World,
question that was asked of Dr. Hitti
In response to your invitation for when he lectured at Vassar College.
opinions from readers, I think that "What has the Lebanese of today
your policy of presenting only the contributed to the modern world?"
highest literature to represent the
It is action this present world
Syrian culture is commendable. needs. What good is all the educaHowever, by this method, you are tion in the world for the Lebanese
bound to reach only the minority. I when he is lashed with his donkey
certainly would not suggest that you with the whip of a common French
cheapen the tone of your publica- soldier, as I saw it done more than
tion by catering to popular demand once?
to gain support, but I do not think
People are praying for love, unity
it would be amiss to add a fea- and harmony. If the Syrian deture or two that will be of sole ap- nounces publicly the Palestinian and
peal to the average mind of the Transjordanian who are his neighSyrian-American youth whom it is bors and brothers, how could he exyour desire to reach and to whom pect the American to love and rethe present reading matter alone spect him? Why not work together
might prove a trifle "heavy". Grad- constructively on a higher plane
ually, the young folks should come than jeers and criticism!
to appreciate the wonderful backIt is only my love and zeal that
ground offered by this magazine.
urge me to write this. Your purpose
I think your "forum" or "letters for this magazine is great and high,
to the editor" idea, as well as prize so why not encourage articles that
contests might stimulate interest.
are more constructive and uplifting;
Marie Hanna.
articles that create harmony and put
Akron, Ohio.
pep and courage in the new generation to do something for their country, to save her from charity and
PROPER WAY OF APPROACH!
foreign jeers and domination, to rise
Editor, The Syrian World,
when the occasion comes and help
Rather late to express my opinion those who were brave to fight for
about the August number of The their country and freedom, be they
Syrian World, but better late than Druzes or others, and not deceitfulnever.
ly conspire with the enemy with the
The poem of the "Falcon and the result that they are looked upon
Nightingale" is superb and ought to worse than ever. Action, action is
be a golden lesson for the Syrians. what makes men, otherwise, it is
This is an age of activity and not "To each they give his worth! They
of sentiment. People are admired
knew that you
and respected for what they are now Say but do not, and I say not but do."
and not for what they used to be a N. Y. G.
Edma Belmont.
if
find a splendid response to your call.
Edna K. Saloomey.
Bridgeport, Conn.
>>
�53
OCTOBER, 1927
111
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
80,000 ARMENIANS IN SYRIA
'
f-
Hi
What can be the cause of the
world's sympathy for the Armenians?
Ever since Gladstone created the
Armenian question we find this race
disappear and then reappear in
greater numbers. They are, so to
speak, like the Jews of Russia who
are represented in works of fiction
as having been exterminated but
who are still found to be in full
possession of authority, even to the
point of wielding dictatorial powers.
The recent news from Geneva reporting the announcement made at
the Golden Rule dinner that the Armenians now in Syria and Lebanon
are to remain there as permanent
residents discloses several interesting facts. It is made plain that the
missionaries help the Armenians
with their influence as well as with
their millions; that the League of
Nations is influenced by those who
work for the interest of the Armenians; that France has taken the
Armenians under her special protection and is building homes for them
in Lebanon while the sufferers of
Southern Lebanon are without shelter; that the High Commissioner
has assured the Armenians of lands
and financial loans to help them establish themselves in Syria.
Under the circumstances, we wish
to ask: Have not the Lebanese and
Syrians a more rightful claim than
the Armenians and Frenchmen to
these promised lands and loans?
If sympathy is to be lavished, why
not begin with the nearest of kin,
as the French have a mandate not
over the Armenians, but over the
Lebanese and Syrians?
Everything now seems to be for
the Armenians: the orphanages, the
contributions and donations and all
that is needed or desired. This is
a policy we believe in, but only after such time when Lebanon and
Syria are in no further need of assistance. And if the High Commissioner is not pleased with such an
attitude, we would suggest that he
remove the Armenians to his own
beautiful France.
After all, the whole trouble seems
to lie with the natives themselves
who are capable only of complaining and are too weak to act.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1927.)
ARTIFICIAL CALM
The calm now obtaining in Syria
is of an artificial nature. The French,
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
following a war which lasted two
years, have succeeded in creating
this semblance of quiet so that it
may serve them as a subterfuge before the League of Nations and the
civilized world.
Through fear that their claim
would be branded as a lie by the
press of Syria and Lebanon, they
have suppressed the papers, especially the fearless ones.
But the Mandates Commission in
Geneva is well aware of the fact
that the French lie in their reports.
Even the French themselves are
conscious of the fact that they only
deceive themselves and the world in
their claims about conditions in
Syria.
The Syrians, whose fearlessness
and courage increase in inverse ratio to tyranny and oppression, cannot be calm in spite of outward appearances. They are more conscious
now of their progress than they
were heretofore, and the more they
become so the more they become
jealous of their right to liberty and
equality with other men.
The French cannot prolong this
superficial calm because it is unnatural. It is a thin veneer which the
Syrian people will remove as soon
as its hands are unshackled. Nay,
even France may tear off this flimsy
cover once she realizes that souls
of free men cannot be won over by
a policy of terrorism and oppression.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Sept. 9, 1927.)
THE GREAT POWERS AND
THE LEAGUE
We have often criticised the Great
Powers in the League of Nations,
such as England and France, and
accused them of shaping the policy
of the League in the manner most
favorable to their own interests.
They have opposed universal peace
because it is not in conformity with
their unreasonable and aggressive
policies of expansion. It is they who
prevented the Mandates Commission
from conducting an investigation into the grievances of the nations under mandate, such as Syria, because
such an investigation will only disclose their corrupt practices and intentions and prove to the world that
instead of reforming they have
heaped on those countries additional misfortunes.
France, who boasts of being the
mother of liberty, has suppressed
free speech in Syria and placed iron
shackles on the press in an effort to
thwart it from laying bare actual
conditions. This same accusation applies to England who, it is true, has
established law and order and accomplished many reforms, but, nevertheless, has not given the people
their legal rights, nor has she heard
their grievances or relieved them of
the competition of the Jews. She
has, on the contrary, acted as one
who is legal owner of the land and
not as one who is trustee of a people
in the role of a minor needing guidance and protection.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Sept. 13, 1927.)
CAUSE OF THE DRUSE REVOLT
It has now become evident that
the Druze revolution was inspired
neither by motives of patriotism,
nor reform, nor independence, nor
pride. Its flames were fanned by
some lazy malcontents who sought
this as the most convenient means
to gain some small, despicable personal ends.
Those who read between the lines
�I
OCTOBER, 1927
can well discern the implied cause
of the Druze revolt from the statement of Mr. Chamberlin following
his agreement with M. Briand. England is anxious to have France resume relations of friendship with
king Faisul because the latter is one
of the gatekeepers of England in the
East. England, therefore, secretly
supported Faisul so that the latter
may secretly support the Druzes.
The Druzes were the tools of the
Bolshevists who used them to harass
France. England condoned this action covertly because it was on apparent amicable terms with the Bolshevists and sought to deal out
trouble aplenty to France to prevent
her from hampering her (England)
in her designs. But when England
had her dispute with the Bolshevists
she sought the aid of France against
them and used every means to placate her. This had been her policy
with the Riff revolt against France
also, and it naturally follows that
the Druze revolt was never undertaken for the lofty and disinterested
motives that were first claimed for
it.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Sept. 21, 1927.)
A MONARCHY, NOT A REPUBLIC
No stronger proof could be required of the prevalence of religious fanaticism and bigotry in
Syria than that contained in the
declarations of the leaders of the
Syrian Nationalist movement and the
influentials in the Syrian nation, to
the effect that they favor the establishment of a monarchy in Syria at
the head of which would be a descendant of the Prophet.
We have alluded before to statements of some Syrian leaders expressing their conviction that this
would be the best solution of the
55
existing Syrian problem. We wish
to refer now to a statement by Ata
Bey Ayoubi, published following the
issuance of the declaration of the
High Commissioner, in which he
advocates openly the monarchical
form of government for Syria with
the proviso that the king be selected from across the border, meaning
that the king should be either from
Iraq, Transjordania, or the Hedjaz,
and be of the family of the Prophet.
Such is the religious fanaticism of
the Syrian Mohammedans.
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y.,Sept. 24, 1927.)
NECESSITY FOR SCHOOLS
We are of the firm belief tfhat
Syrian churches in the United States
will be short-lived if they are not
flanked by Arabic schools.
Who among the students of our
present conditions will deny the fact
that not only our churches, but our
newspapers as well, will not live for
over a quarter of a century if schools
for teaching Arabic are not established in every Syrian community
large enough to support a church
and a school.
We are willing to lend every assistance possible in the way of encouraging the establishment of
Arabic schools because our occupation requires that we keep alive the
language in which we write and
keep it free from impurities and
defects.
Furthermore, we are of the belief
that it is of prime importance to
preserve the spiritual strength of
the Syrian-Lebanese nation, and inasmuch as the schools are the guardians of the churches which in
turn are the source of that strength,
it becomes necessary for us to encourage the establishment of schools
and to lend all possible support
�56
to those conducting them.
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., Sept. 16, 1927.)
CHANGE OF COMMISSIONERS
A High Commissioner departs
and another arrives while we look
into the face of each in tlhe hope
of discovering a change, but only
too soon discover that the change of
High Commissioners does not alter
the basic mandatory policy of
Trance in Syria. Rather it is only
our ignorance of the truth which
makes us see a difference in the
new High Commissioner for a time.
Foreigners in the East are much
more able than its own people. They
no sooner occupy a place than they
study carefully the psychology of
its inhabitants and get to know
them better than they know themselves. For this reason we find the
East ever struggling impotently
while the West, which rules the
East, stands imperturbed in the
midst of the apparent turmoil wearing a benign smile not unlike that
of the Sphinx which mocks of the
passing tempest. The reason for this
indifference is that the West has for
a long time been convinced that
Eastern uprisings are but harmless
storms that run their prescribed
course and when their temporary
fury is wasted all is calm and serene
again just as if nothing had taken
place.
Indeed, these are storms and not
revolutions. It is a travesty on good
judgment to call the Syrian drama,
which had its beginning in the Druze
mountain, a revolution, while it was
no more than a storm which took
its toll in lives and in destruction
of property and passed out just as if
it had never existed. The only sufferers are the natives who paid a heavy
price for the experiment, while
THE SYRIAN WORLD
foreigners are even at present as
they were in the past, following their
set policy in Syria, wearing the
smile of the Sphinx which mocks of
the passing storm.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1927.)
HYPOCRISY IN DIPLOMACY
In our opinion, M. Briand is an
arch-hypocrite who professes what
he believes not, and who shams piety
and humanitarianism while at heart
he is a convinced militarist. If he
were not thus he would at least
back up his professions of humanitarianism by a little action in the
way of taking the initiative in reducing armaments.
His
humanitarianism
should
especially be manifest in curbing
those French officials entrusted with
the carrying out of the mandate in
Syria who unravel knotty problems
by means of the sword and deal
with vital questions by the use of
explosives which they hurl from
ifae air on innocent and inoffensive
non-combatants.
Why does not Briand say the
word that will put a stop to the
atrocities of the French officials in
Syria? Nay, why does he not consent to sending a mixed commission
to investigate the charges lodged
with the League of Nations against
the French in
Syria,
charges
which, had they been brought to the
attention of the tyrant Abdul Hamid, would have caused him to put
an end to the motives of complaint.
We only wish that some Syrian
leader would translate these remarks
into the language of M. Briand and
have them published in a French
paper in the hope that the French
Foreign Minister will read them
and learn the opinion which the
Syrians hold of him.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1927.)
�MJ»—
-
"
"-
OCTOBER, 1927
57
About Syria and Syrians
by aviation authorities as one of the
greatest feats of the air.
But what may further interest
our readers in this connection is that
First and only Syrian to engage in
the biplane Air King is the entry of
manufacture of aeroplanes.
a Syrian in the great air race between New York and Spokane. He
Newspaper readers will recall the
is Mr. C. A. Tannous, president of
valiant fight of the aviator Steve
the National Airways System of LoLacey in bringing his biplane Air
max, 111., which manufactures the
King back to Roosevelt field, L. I.,
Air King biplane. He was in New
on Sept. 22, after having developed
York to witness the start of the
motor trouble on his attempted flight
race and although his pilot insisted
in the New York-Spokane Air Derby.
on making another attempt he preAlthough the aviator had to bring
vailed upon him to give up.
back his ship and give up the atThe National Airways System is
tempt, his fight in bringing the plane
the only concern manufacturing comsafely to earth in what was describmercial aeroplanes in the State of
ed by experts as a perfect landing
Illinois. It was formed through the
was hailed as an unparalleled air
initiative of our countryman, Mr.
achievement. Lacey had made a
Tannous, who is the president and
beautiful take off and was well
largest stock holder. Already it is
across the Hudson River, having
manufacturing aeroplanes at the
passed safely over New York, when
rate of 100 a year, selling for $2,100
he developed motor trouble. He deeach. The demand has been increascided to lighten the load of his biing at such a rapid rate that addiplane and opened the emergency
tional ground has been acquired for
valve of the forward gasoline tanks,
the erection of a new factory.
but the drift of air from the proMr. Tannous may well claim the
peller drove the fluid into the cockdistinction of being the first, and,
pit and filled it to a depth of four
so far, the only Syrian engaged in
inches in a short time. The pilot
the manufacture of aeroplanes. We
and his mechanic were almost overknow of some Syrian aviators but
come with the poisonous vapor but
not of aeroplane manufacturers othLacey gamely stuck to his post. His
er than Mr. Tannous. It certainly
hands and feet were numb and it
requires courage to embark on the
was only by following the motions
risks of such an infant industry.
of his mechanic who was leaning
The Syrian World is glad to make
over the edge to get the benefit of
this discovery and to announce it to
the fresh air that he was able to
its readers. Such news of daring
direct the course of the plane.
and initiative cannot be but stimuHow he was able, while in that
lating.
semi-conscious condition, to navigate
It may be added that Mr. Tannous
the Air King over New York and
is the publisher of the Lomax
bring it safely to earth was hailed
SYRIAN HAS ENTRY
IN GREAT AIR DERBY
t
1M
�--^
\T
58
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Searchlight, the weekly newspaper
of the Illinois town which is identified with his manufacturing and commercial activities and in the civic
life of which he has made himself
a factor of pronounced influence.
PRES. DODGE EXPOUNDS
MISSION OF A. U. B.
President Bayard Dodge of the
American University of Beirut is in
New York for what may be a furlough of a year. He is here with
his family, and his homecoming has
been the occasion of great rejoicing
among his host of friends both
Americans and Syrians. They are
planning a dinner in his honor to be
given at the Hotel Commodore on
November 10.
President Dodge is one of the finest ambassadors of good-will between America and the East. He
has devoted his life to the service
of Syrians and other Eastern races
in what they are most in need of—
education. He could have perpetuated the tradition of the Dodge family by continuing its donations and
benefactions showered on the American University of Beirut and other
American institutions of learning in
the Near East, but he has chosen
to do that and even more. He has
selected to serve the cause of education not only through his financial
assistance, but by the devotion of
his talents and ability in taking up
the active duties of President of the
American University of Beirut and
choosing to live among the people
he seeks to benefit. President Dodge
is today about the best loved foreigner in Syria.
In a letter to the press on the
mission, activities and progress of
the American University of Beirut.
MMM
Pres. Dodge has given expression
to the ideals guiding 'him in presiding over the destinities of the great
educational institution on the shore
of the Mediterranean. "I am 'connected'," he says modestly, "with
the American University of Beirut,
which is helping with reconstruction, by giving young men and women scientific training, and by raising academic standards to those of
the West... Last year 35 students
were in training as teachers. Entrance requirements have been made
so difficult that private and government schools in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, the Sudan and Ethiopa are improving their work so as to fit their
students for college entrance. What
these countries need more than
money is a supply of men and
women, fired with lofty ideals and
trained with scientific methods. It
is my fortune to work in an American institution that is manufacturing such men and women."
"The American University of
Beirut," he continues, "is an institution sixty-one years old which represents no sect or program of proselytism, but seeks to create international goodwill. On the teaching
and administrative force there are
209 persons. Only 69 are Americans; 86 are Syrians; 6 English;
3 Canadian; 14 Armenian; 8 French;
2 Swiss; 5 Greek; 4 Palestinian; 8
Russian; and one from Austria, New
Zealand, Persia, and Poland. This
same group numbers 7 Moslems; 9
Druzes; 1 Bahai; 2 Jews; 14 Catholics; 124 Protestants; and 52 from
the Greek and Armenian Churches.
Salaries, duties and rank are fixed
because of personal ability, independently of race and sect.
"Three British dependencies, and
also the Prince Regent of Ethiopia,
�OCTOBER, 1927
support students at the University.
Two members of the Faculty have
been decorated by the French Government during the past year. Doctors from the French Army, British
colonial service, and universities at
Cairo and Damascus have accepted
invitations to help the Faculty conduct examinations. The Faculty help
the Government of Palestine to conduct Government examinations. One
of my jobs is to appoint doctors for
the Sudan army and civil service.
"Although students are not obliged to attend chapel, many hundred
Moslems, Christians and Jews do
attend regularly.
"During the past year, there were
649 pupils in the elementary and
secondary schools, and 691 in the
schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Arts & Sciences.
Over half of them were non-Christians. 220 of them came across the
Palmyra desert from Iraq and Persia. 206 came from Palestine, 98
from Egypt, 140 were Armenians,
and the others came from a variety
of places as far distant as South
Africa and Brazil."
ft
59
the new bishop by his friends and
admirers both in the United State*
and Canada.
PROGRESSIVE SYRIAN YOUNG
WOMEN FORM SOCIETY
Indicative of the spirit of the
young Syrian generation in America is the creation of offices in the
clubs and societies of the young
folks unheard of before among the
older generation. Miss Olga Andrews, of Pittsburgh, Pa., writes
that she has been appointed "publicity director" of the Young Women's Aid Society of that city "organized for the purpose of establishing good-fellowship among its
members and furthering the interest
of St. George Syrian Orthodox
Church of Pittsburgh." Although
the society is but six months old, it
has undertaken its work with characteristic youthful enthusiasm and
vigor. Miss Andrews writes that
the older generation was quite discouraging in its attitude at first,
but when the young society overcame all obstacles and conducted
first a card party at one of the
leading hotels of the city, and then
A SYRIAN ORTHODOX BISHOP
a dance which were both well atFOR CANADA
tended and yielded much more reThe Rt. Rev. Aftimos Ofeish, sults than anticipated, the former
archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox attitude of discouragement and toleOhurch of America, presided, on rant indifference was gradually reSept. 11, at a ceremony held at St. placed by whole-hearted co-operaNicholas' Cathedral in Brooklyn tion. Now the society is planning
during which the Rev. Emmanuel a masquerade ball which it feels cerAbo-Hatab was consecrated bishop tain will meet with much greater
for the Orthodox Syrians of Canada successs.
This society of Syrian young wowith a see in Montreal.
men
in Pittsburgh has a roll of fifFollowing the religious ceremony
teen
members who are bent on doa banquet was held in the hall of
ing
something
of value and going
the Cathedral marked by a great
about
it
their
own
way. Their motto
flourish of oratory expressive of the
is
"Esta
Perpetua".
good wishes of the congregation to
�- -.-.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A LEADER IN HIS CLUB
Supplementing our account of the
formation of a club by the Syrian
residents of Shanghai, China, published in the September issue of The
Syrian World, it pleases us to state
now that "Mr. Buddy Ontra, a member of Mssrs. Ontra and Ontra of
New York, exporters of embroidered art linens", was referred to by
the Shanghai Times of July 3 as
being "a leader in the American
Lace and Embroidery Association of
China", better known as "The Rose
and Leaf Club".
A SYRIAN CASE OF
LEPROSY IN CALIF.
glad to publish an account of the
scholastic achievement of this young
Syrian as sent to us by Miss Olga
Elkouri of Detroit, Michigan.
"Dr. Macksood," says Miss Elkouri, "came from Syria at the age
of 13 and entered the first grade,
completing the grades school in two
years. He later entered High School
and college completing both in seven
years and taking up philosophy, languages and sciences—Latin, French,
Italian, Greek, German; chemistry,
physics, etc. He obtained his M. D.
degree from Loyola University for
having the highest scholastic honors of any graduate in 1927 amongst
all graduating doctors and he also
holds the key from the Phi Chi International
Medical
Fraternity,
which has 52 chapters in Class A
of Medical Schools. Dr. Macksood
is but 26 years old and is now serving his internship in Chicago."
"A tragedy in real life," states a
despatch from Stockton, Cal., to Los
Angeles papers, "was disclosed here
when Dr. John H. Sippy, head of
the San Joaquim health district,
found a young Syrian woman, mother of three children, affected with
SYRIANS OF LOS ANGELES
leprosy."
HAVE PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY
"The patient," the despatch further states, "was ordered immeAlthough not quite a year old, the
diately to a leprosarium in LouisiSyrian Young Men's Society of Los
ana. Her husband, according to Dr.
Angeles, Cal., has ingratiated itself
Sippy, begged to be allowed to acin the good esteem of the communicompany his wife. When he was
ty by the excellent work it has been
refused permission, he purchased a doing.
ticket to ride in another car on the
The purpose of the society, we are
same train, so that he might walk
informed, "is to facilitate friendship
before her window at each station
among the young Syrian generation
to let her know he was near."
and to maintain the traditional customs of our forefathers... The creaSYRIAN PHYSICIAN
tion of a social atmosphere among
the young Syrian generation in orGRADUATES WITH
HIGH HONORS der to invite and strengthen family
ties..."
Dr. Joseph A. Macksood has gradOutstanding among the achieveuated this year from the Loyola ments of the society is the estabMedical School with a scholastic re- lishment of a free night school for
cord which spells high credit both
teaching Arabic which has been so
for himself and his race. We are
well attended that increased facili-
�lrn«nf-i«-.
61
OCTOBER, 1927
REGULAR AIR PASSENGER
SERVICE IN THE EAST
ties were required shortly after its
opening.
PARDON FOR DOTY,
SESERTER IN SYRIA
-
The Arabic press of Beirut reports that the Kirm Company, a
native concern, has announced the
completion of plans for the inauguration of a regular passenger air
line between Beirut and Cairo, and
between Beirut and Baghdad.
The announcement contains the
further information that the company 'has ordered from the United
States two large passenger planes
for use on the two new routes. The
Lebanese licensed pilot, Joseph
Akar, is to be in charge of one of
the American planes.
Bennet J. Doty, who last year was
court-martialed and sentenced by
the French in Syria to serve a term
of eight years for desertion in the
face of the enemy, has been granted pardon through the good offices
of the American Legion, according
to despatches from Paris on Sept.
27.
Doty is an American who had
seen service in Europe with the
A. E. F. He enlisted in the French
Foreign Legion to engage in the LEBANESE CHILD
war with Abdel Krim. He claims
WINS BEAUTY PRIZE
that he was sent to Syria instead.
A children's beauty contest was
There he admits that he "met anheld
in Waterbury. Conn., under the
other one just as good, Sultan Atauspices
of the Chamber of Comrash". With several others he demerce
in
which entrants from all
serted but was recaptured and
over
the
State
participated. The
court-martialed. It was only through
winner
of
the
first
prize was Adele,
the strongest representations that he
daughter
of
Mr.
and
Mrs. Tannous
was saved from being executed.
Zachia
of
Ehden,
in
Mt. Lebanon
He told a correspondent of the Asand
a
resident
of
Waterbury.
The
sociated Press that his "momentary
winner
was
dressed
in
the
style
of
desertion" was caused not by cowthe
Statue
of
Liberty
and
draped
ardice but by acute homesickness.
with an American flag. She is not
yet four years old.
$500,000 FOR ROADS
The ministry of Public Works in
the State of Syria announces the
appropriation of £100,000, or, approximately, half a million dollars, for
the construction and repair of roads
in the State of Syria proper as the
initial move in carrying out the
construction program of M. Ponsot.
The main expenditure will be on the
road leading to Baghdad in the
South and on those connecting with
Horns and Hama to the North.
MAYOR OF DETROIT
SPEAKS TO SYRIANS
The Arabic newspaper "Liberty",
published in Detroit, reports that
on Sept. 18, Mayor John Smith of
Detroit paid a special visit to the
society of St. John Maron at its
meeting rooms and addressed the
members and the many other Syrians
present on civic topics.
The Syrians of Detroit are numerous and have made themselves a
�62
THE SYRIAN WORLD
power in business there, but now,
through the efforts of their progressive organizations, they are awakening to their civic duties and taking a
live interest in politics.
REBUILDING RASHAYYA
A representative commission of
laymen has been holding conferences
with officials of the Lebanese Government with a view to providing
ways and means for rebuilding Rashayya and repatriating its destitute inhabitants. It was tentatively agreed that a sum of 20,000,000
francs be set aside for reconstruction purposes. Active in these efforts are the Rt. Rev. Bourjaily and
Fares Gantous.
The case of Rashayya has remained, ever since the destruction of the
once thriving town by the Druze
rebels, a painful thorn in the side
of the Lebanese Government. The
destitute condition of the Rashayyites who bore the brunt of the revolutionary fury for no other reason
than their refusal to join hands
with the revolutionists has ever been
cited as a proof of the neglect of
the French authorities in Syria. The
Rashayyites have been holding out
for full reparation, and, in spite of
the extremities to which they have
been reduced, have refused to return to their ruined homes until
their demands are fully granted.
Political Developments in Syria
The outstanding political development of the month in Syria has
been the bending of energies to give
shape to the proposed new National
Army, called by some the National
Militia, recommended by M. Ponsot
in his program. The States of Syria,
as well as the Republic of Lebanon,
are to join forces in the formation
of this military unit whose maintenance is to be borne by all, 43 per
cent, of the expenses falling on Lebanon. This move, while previously
advocated by the Syrian Nationalists, has now aroused considerable
opposition by reason of the heavy
additional burden it is bound to lay
on impoverished Syria. The annual expenses of such an army, it is
claimed, may amount to 10,000,000
francs or more, and this would not
b» in the interest of Syria but rath-
er in the interest of the mandatory
power which would be relieved of
any further heavy appropriations for
its Syrian army of occupation. M.
Ponsot, it is claimed, was able to
win the approval of the parliament
of his country in making new appropriations only on his promise to
reduce the military expenses in
Syria to a minimum during the
year. It is proposed, therefore, to
create the Syrian army so that it
may replace the French forces and
gradually reduce them to no more
than 15,000. The Syrians, however,
claim that such would not constitute
a concession on a national demand
because the proposed army will be
officered by the French and remain
in a subservient capacity.
The opponents of this scheme
claim that Iraq has offered strenu-
\
�OCTOBER, 1927
63
ous objection to raising a national membership instead of an upper and
army of more than 4,000, as that a lower house as at present. It is
would relieve England of the neces- further proposed to decrease the
sity of defraying the cost of the ministries and place all other bumandate. The Syrian Nationalists reaus on a more economical basis.
are putting forth similar objection.
What has caused a storm of proThey also wonder at the reason for test in Beirut is the wholesale suppressing into execution such a clause pression by the government of paof the reform program which en- pers breathing the least criticism
tails so much expense for Syria, of its personnel or policy. In not
while other admittedly more urgent more than a fortnight eight leading
needs of the country are neglected. papers were dealt with summarily
They are now clamoring for econ- in this manner. None were allowed
omic reforms which will accelerate the right of trial or defense, and
the rehabilitation of the country in as a consequence, public opinion
preference to providing for its mili- has been aroused to such an extent
that a certain paper went so far as
tary needs.
The French High Commissioner, to call for the deposition of the govhowever, appears to be proceeding ernment.
It was erroneously reported in
with his program without regard to
objections. He has made a partial earlier despatches that the law legaltour of the country and conferred izing gambling in Lebanon with cerwith government officials and lead- tain restrictions, had been passed.
ers, but refrained from issuing any It now transpires that the governfurther statement or amplifying the ment, while favoring its passage,
one already issued. In other words, thought it wiser not to press it to
he has again assumed his former a vote in the face of the strong
reticent; attitude while concentrating popular opposition which developed.
all his efforts on translating his
The armed revolution has admitprogram into action.
tedly come to an end. A rather unIn Beirut, the capital of the Leb- pleasant aftermath is the controveranon Republic, the agitation for the sy raging among former leaders of
reduction of taxes which culminated the revolution over the disposition
in the shut-down of the city has of funds intended for the prosecusomewhat subsided. The President tion of the struggle or the relief of
of the Republic has given satisfac- war victims. Some rather promitory promises to look into the nent military leaders openly accuse
grievances of the business men and the Syrian-Palestinian Committee,
already Parliament has taken up in charge of raising funds from
discussion of the matter. It appears home and abroad, with headquarters
that a compromise will be reached in Jerusalem, of misappropriating
reducing the proposed new taxes funds and leaving the forces in the
but maintaining them at a level field to suffer and thereby lose the
much above those prevailing dur- war. It's a case of having lost the
fight and wanting to place the blame
ing Turkish occupation.
somewhere.
The accusations and
A further move for economy will
counter-accusations
finding their
be to amend the Constitution so that
the Legislative body will consist way into print do not form wholeof only on« house with restricted some reading.
�64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
2$
INDEX OF VOL. I FREE
A complete index of Volume I of THE SYRIAN WORLD comprising the twelve issues published
between July, 1926 and June, 1927, will be, mailed free to any of our subscribers who wishes to
have his copies bound. Missing numbers will be
supplied, if available, at the cost of $1.00 per
copy.
Subscribers wishing us to have their copies
bound and gold stamped on the cover and back
will be accommodated at the cost of $3.50 per
volume plus postage.
A LIMITED NUMBER
OF BOUND VOLUMES
A few complete volumes of the first year of
THE SYRIAN WORLD have been bound and are
available at the price of $10.00 per volume. The
binding is in a heavy, dark green cloth cover
stamped in gold on both front and back. The
volumes are bound with index. Orders will be
filled in the order received in view of the limited
number on hand.
<sz
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1927_10reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 04
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 October
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 04 of The Syrian World published October 1927. The issue opens with a travel journal entry by Ameen Rihani on his Pilgrimage to Byblos. Following it is a continuation of the Agricultural Situation in Syria (by Prof. J. Forrest Crawford). The famous Syrian city featured in this issue is Bylbos, and after its inclusion there is a continuation of the play by Harry Chapman Ford. The issue concludes with the reader’s forum and excerpts from the Arab press. Lastly there is another update on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Agriculture
Ameen Rihani
Harry Chapman Ford
New York
Syria
Travel
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/dd1ac48e7a0a11dfbaa51d248f7390f0.pdf
b4637acc757e12a1681f96e26ada65cb
PDF Text
Text
'%.
R
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So 2V27t
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
m
1
NOVEMBER, 1927
S3
19
��2BE
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
I By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c
Enteted as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
NOVEMBER, 1927.
No. 5.
CONTENTS
PAGE
History of the Syrians in New York
SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL
3
Double Use
13
The Role of Microorganisms in Life and the Industries
14
GEORGE KNAYSI
The Degree of Motherly Love .'.
16
Famous Cities of Syria — Aleppo, City of Abraham
17
Al-Hajjaj and the Bedouin
20
The Great Scandal
21
IBN EL-KHOURY
The Argument that Prevailed
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
29
.
�.,.,,
« «
,!
I.
"
I
CONTENTS (Continued)
The Stars
(Poem)
AMEEN RIHANI
"Anna Ascends" (Play)
31
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
An Unwelcome Gift
AQ
The (AUmys Revenge
AI
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Arab Proverbs
.46
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Readers' Forum
AJ
51
About Syria and Syrians
cp
Political Developments in Syria
cj
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
A Picturesque View of Aleppo
Panoramic View of Aleppo
Certificate of Award
A Syrian Factory
A Syrian Lace House
Pioneer Rug Merchant
Headquarters of a Syrian Bank
L_
A Syrian Business House
�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
NOVEMBER, 1927.
No. 5.
History of The Syrians In
New York
By SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL *
Romance in business is not dead. It thrives today in the
aee of steel and steam and under the shadows of towering Manhattan skyscrapers as it ever did when the first Phoenician ventured across the billowy main in his wind-driven galleon laden
wTth toe spces of the East and the industrial products of Sidon
2L T^re? Curiously enough, the men supplying this element
of rornance in American business are the direct descendants of
toe Phoenicians of old, and their contributions to *<*^*
country in the principal role they are now playing, promise to
srTd forth as their outstanding achievement in the world of toc£y and to win for them the enviable place that was once en'^l^J^t^ a business romance than the record
of , penn less, almost illiterate immigrant who in the course of
a decide rises from the humble rank of a peddler to the exalted
poskbnof an international merchant prince directing from his
SETS New York the humming industries he controls across the
^t" ofSh the Atlantic and the Pacific? M~J-=T
claim representation in every country on the face of the globe
TP
here he goes he is an emissary for the promotion of
e
of benefits through trade
^SX^^Sw «
* Reprinted from the New York American of October 3, 1927.
-
�M3^»
4
assaur
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The narrow confines of the country from which they set out on
their quest of fortune made it possible for all Syrian emigrants
to claim the closeness of almost a family relationship, each hearing or knowing about the other if not actually acquainted with
or related to him, and now that they have scattered in every part
of the globe they have taken advantage of this relationship for
the promotion of world-wide business intercourse amongst themselves.
The Syrians of New York, particularly during and since the
World War, were the controlling and directing minds of this
great world movement. Their friends from every country appealed to them for a supply of American goods which they alone
could provide. The Syrian merchant in every country of South
America, Asia, Africa and Australia thus became the distributor
of the products of the United States. The Syrian peddler carried these goods in some instances to places where no white man
had set foot before.
But the Syrian's contribution to America goes beyond this.
It is in his creative and directing ability that one recognizes his
genius. This former peddler is actually producing fine works
of art in addition to the rare works he is importing. He has helped develop in the American people an appreciation of the finer
things in the decorative and useful arts and placed these things
within the reach of the average person. The enterprising commercial spirit of the Syrian may be credited with the introduction of many articles of household use or personal adornment
which have come to be classed as staple necessities.
In order to fully appreciate the magnitude of the Syrians'
achievement in the field of commerce one has to have an elementary understanding of their historical background and ethnological attributes as well as of the heavy handicaps under which
they labored when they first sought the hospitality of these
shores. A rapid glance at these past factors will serve to show
the extent of benefit this racial unit in our cosmopolitan makeup
is bound to bring to its adopted country as, it becomes more acclimated to its surroundings and is able to avail itself more fully
of its present opportunities for the freer display and exercise of
its latent abilities.
The Syrians in America are the direct descendants of the
famous Phoenicians whose imperishable legacy to the advancement of mankind was the development of the art of navigation
i
�J^m
NOVEMBER, 1927
5
^sefr thTerat 3h£££ a/d splendor through which
thC
"caTt Turks in the early part of the sixteenth JJJ
turylhc hSS L the country under their heavy- tad 1w*
tury wno nc
victorious banners of the allied
deliverance came %££**t ^ Turks lasted for over four
eC n
° Tultasnthenondition when news began to filter into the
la„d "onlful opportunities awaiting the m— and
^T; fo
nd 'rtLtlf of adventure and to arouse
were the nrst to respunu. «
remote ancestors.
themselves to the ~2~*^£SZSZ break away
The early emigrants must have strugg
from centuries-old ^«;j0nl^lll odds with the
stood ready to defend in allpast »V
had
greatest determination, especially since the reiig
b
always proved a centre.ling force in h life of ttal*. »
Christian who loved the.soil and tte
subsistenCe, but
I
•"— *"-; L't^To tomountain had enabled him
Tre^Tth ages to defend himself against his aggressive
throughout the ages w i*c*
relieious freedom,
neighbors and thereby main,- "-«^£K%£ emiThe first Lebanese emigrant, in other wo c^ tne
y
grant, was consequently sorely tried in tamnj^^ cr<!ed
love was as deeply rooted in his soul ^ relig
itself. By this statement
*>*« *MT5l. man of the
£tt i«fiC5 ^sacrificed from time
ILmemoSl as a ghastly holocaust in rebgious wars.
i
�-——
6
-
—
THE SYRIAN WORLD
But in coming to this decision there was in the mind of the
first Syrian emigrant a stipulation, a mental reservation. He
would come to America only for a brief stay and upon making
his fortune — only a moderate one, of course, — he would return to his beloved hometown overlooking the magestic cedars
of Lebanon, or to the land through which flow the waters of
the sacred river Jordan, or to the romantic charm of Damascus,
the oldest city in the world. But this, happily, did not prove to
be the actual outcome. Instead of returning himself he began
to urge his relatives and friends to come and settle, so that now
we find the Syrians not only a steady element in the American
compound, but a most valuable one whose, loyalty and faithfulness went through the test of fire during the World War and
emerged without a scar or a blemish.
New York was the first port of landing for almost all Syrian immigrants into the United States. Because their immigration movement did not gain momentum until about 1880, the
Syrians did not find it convenient to come to other ports of the
country, although a few entered by way of Boston and Philadelphia. And New York proved to be from the outset the greatest
Syrian center in the New World, not only in numbers but in its
leadership in culture, in commerce and in its influence on the destinies and welfare of the Syrian race both at home and abroad.
The Syrian population of New York numbers 30,000, which is
about 10% of the total number of Syrians in the United States,
but this comparatively small community radiates its influence to
almost every section of the world. It has made itself a power
in certain branches of industrial and commercial activities of the
great metropolis in spite of its small numerical representation.
It is one of the most law-abiding elements and consequently one
of the most constructive. It has helped plant the love of America in the hearts of millions of peoples speaking the common
Arabic language, and it has proven its gratitude and loyalty to
its adopted country by responding in vastly more than its proportionate quota to the appeal of the government either for financial aid or for man power in times of national crises.
When the Syrians first came to New York they had everything against them except their inherent resourcefulness and business ability. Of capital and experience or training they had
none, and of any knowledge of the English language they were
utterly destitute. So they made capital of their native and in-
,.
:
!;i
�NOVEMBER, 1927
herited ability and faced the world with deep courage and high
hopes They started as peddlers of religious goods because they
hTwith Je business perspicacity brought a stock^ ^ous
objects with them from the r native country, the^Holy .Land •
Ki,t it took them very little time to discover other articles or
frad s me of Ihich tney began to import and others; to~
facture. Thus were laid the foundations of the great business
establishments which now have their ramifications extending to
all sections of the globe.
One of the great lines which Syrian business enterprise has
discovered and introduced to the American market, and still
kgely controls, although it has become a staple in decorative
S is that of the Madeira embroideries. Syrian insight was
Quick to perceive the potentialities of this article and having firs
SSSk. from native manufacturers, Syrian importers
proceed^ very soon to establish their own ^^ym
in some instances thousands of operatives. The industry^ was
thus organized and conducted on systematic lines and the prices
reduced" to such popular levels that these fine art linens were
made available to all American homes.
Then too, there are the finer linens and laces imported from
Ttalv France Belgium and now from China, in which the Syr-
1
^ Sgu ed hX S Hans of New York control the
mlnufacture andI importation of 80% of the Madeira embro,-
deHefrnd^out ^^%Jt^S> a^d aces
»
I
S^^.^* -^*^ factors in
?' nTh Hnnies An idea of the extent of Synan representation
°t5iTMTOI these firms, by the way, have direct representa-
�•J • -
*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tion in Italy, Madeira, Japan and the Philippines. Here is the
imposing roster of the firms represented: ALX J Hamrah &
Co. Katen & Katen Boutross Bros., Nicola Awad & Son N B
h.v. I" Cemm nth6r lineS,°f bdustry the Syrians of New York
have been equal y successful and influential. In the manuWe
of kimonos, for instance, they were the pioneers and are "tilHhe
acknowledged leaders. Such firms as Macksoud Bros A Bam
dadCo
°Uakad lC°"
- ^
trade°"in every
dty-dof coH t
NaSmlla C
K
HT
t£S5SZSS3KT
—
also ^rt^ta^tta fist far
e
y
spicuously identified itself with this industry. A group of five
brothers several first cousins and an army of distanfcouLs have
along chain of factories in New York operating on novel ties In
this line supplying the national market. The firm of N P &
J. Trabulsi was once styled "King" of the knit goods industry
Only a few years ago when sweaters were in vofue, one out of
firmof F 7K H ^ " 5^
Y
°*
WaS
°f
their
ke
^
m th^goot i^tdry!nd * *"* ~ * ^^
Where the Syrians also exhibit great strength is in the im
portation of Oriental Rugs and Carpets. The firm of N Tadross & Co. was the pioneer among the Syrians in this line. Now
8
im 0rtin
theckv
^
g *Bros
—
inn the
city mosH
mostly ^W**
on Fifth Avenue. ^
Bardwil
Bros,P Atiyeh
Samara Bros, Haddad Bros, A. Sleyman and any number of
other brothers and individual men of Syrian birth JZtm
be found among the large New York importing firms uppS
the American market with this inimitable product of the Orient
Going down to Washington Street in lower Manha tan
where some restaurants and coffee houses and stores packed with
Oriental groceries are reminiscent of the days when this street
was the center of Syrian activities in the great Metropolis one
will encounter truly typical Eastern bazaars** th s ght'of whi^h
�A SYRIAN BUSINESS HOUSE
.
i
The Bardwil Bros. Buildin? on Fifth Ave., typical of the progress of Syrian business enterprise in New York.
I
�—————
A
SYRIAN
LACE HOUSE
The show room of the firm of Alex. J. Hamrah Co., on Fifth Ave., New York.
'->v
»$;»«».
niwmiu.Aivii^o
^l
"
""*
�inc snow room oi me nrm oi .viex. j. namran in., on rum Ave., ,>ew iorK.
TV
Av,, at 32nd St., acquired and occupied by the Lebanon Nat.ona
The building located on Fifth
Washington St. as a branch.
Bank while maintaining its first location on
�riOJNJSJbJK RUG MERCHANT
Show room of the Oriental Rus firm of N. Tadross & Co. The founder is the first from the left,
now ably conducted by the widow, Mrs. Lydia Tadross.
the business is
�CERTIFICATE OF AWARD
THE
MAYORS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL DEFENSE
HAS CONFERRED UPON THE
IERICANS OF SYRIAN OKiGIN
OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
4
THE SECOND PRIZE
. A SILVER MEDAL
G1VEN
BY THE JOAN OK ARC STATUE COMM'TT"
AND AWARDED FOR THEIR NATIONAL DIsfLAY
IN
THE FOREIGN BORN PAGEANT PARADE
INDEPENDENCE DAY
\q 18
COMMITTEE ON PAGEANTRY AND
;1'.\ YORK
1 W* %
-'^
FOR THE COMMITTEE ON
.AND DECORATION
The Syrians
v
IHF MAV1KS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAI
AHIS
of New York were awarded Second Prze in the Foreign-Born
Pageant Parade in 1918.
r
�..
,.,.«,. ...
-
,_._
A SYRIAN FACTORY
Sectional view of the machinery producing knit novelty fabrics in the Mills of N. P., & J. Trabulsi
ilu
13 £L
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2
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2
E±. !^ M
tr c P
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a 8 ^8 8
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oo >y
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KS *1 n> Li- rr u n
C/)
rp P
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oo
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P
H->
p
n
£. D"* ^"* &••"
o
�^..-^gBKlMI^BMW^jgpWWBBWWlPfEWP^^
-
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.--— .-" ,.
-„.,,,- ,,, ,, ^
,,„
.
!
|I1I —
1
NOVEMBER, 1927
-
_
9
one is transported on the magic carpet of imagination to the scene
of the Arabian Nights and the wonderful exploits of Haroun AlRashid. In the establishments of Cassatly and Sahadi, one can
feast one's eyes on the exquisite inlaid work of the Damascene
artisans in an infinite variety of both useful and ornamental articles. The importation of these goods is constantly on the increase as the American public begins to appreciate their indescribable charm, and it may be again through the enterprise of
the Syrian merchant of New York that Oriental objects of art
will find a definite place in the American home, just as the Oriental "Cozy Corner" or "Turkish Den" was of old.
Also in the lower section of Manhattan, Syrian enterprise
has worked a miracle by transforming the short stretch of Rector
Street between Greenwich and West into a magnet for shoppers
in quest of fine linens and laces at retail. Perhaps the shopper
does not stop to observe the existence of one of the strangest
aspects of contrast to be found anywhere in the big city — how
exquisitely appointed little shops bearing all the earmarks of
Fifth Avenue establishments are topped by ramshackled onestory buildings or dilapidated old five-story tenement houses taken over and remodeled by Syrian business enterprise!
In the line of organized finance, the Syrian is beginning to
make himself felt even in such a market as that of New York
City and in the shadow of such a mighty money center as that
of Wall Street. Five years ago, through the initiative of J. A.
Mandour, the Lebanon National Bank was established at 59
Washington Street. Now the headquarters of this financial institution, wholly controlled and directed by Syrians, are in its
new luxurious home on Fifth Avenue at Thirty-Second Street.
Another banking firm and prominent real estate concern is that
of D. J. Faour & Bros., on Washington Street. This house is
ranked among the most ably and conservatively managed institutions of its class in the city. The Faour Brothers are among
the early arrivals in New York and they point with pride to their
record of achievement after having started from what was practically "a hole in the wall" in dingy little Morris Street.
But this has not been by any means all the Syrian's contribution to his adopted country. The Syrian community of New
York may well be taken as an example of all other communities
although in some respects it enjoys certain distinctions which cannot be claimed by all others. In general, however, what is said
�-,..
J0
».
J„. .1.«.»
TO£ SYRIAN WORLD
of the Syrians of New York applies to all sister communities.
They are law-abiding and industrious. Their subscriptions to
the Liberty Loans were much above their proportionate quota.
They have no divided loyalty although they are sensitive to their
racial traditions and generous in the help of the mother country
on humanitarian grounds. Wherever there is a community large
enough to permit the undertaking, the Syrians have formed Syrian-American clubs for the fostering of American patriotic ideals
and preparing the newcomers for citizenship. The form which
they all follow is that of the American Syrian Federation of
New York which is an amalgamation of the two hitherto principal general associations, joined for the purpose of furthering
Americanization work. The spirit of the new organization may
be best illustrated by the fact that it has thrust the burdens of
the presidency in the last election on the shoulders of a young
American-born lawyer of Syrian parentage, Joseph W. Ferris,
whose organizing ability is equalled only by his devotion to
American ideals. The organization is planning a national campaign for making still better Americans of all Syrians all over
the country through civic organization and education.
In 1918 the Syrians of New York, through co-operative action of their societies, played a conspicuous part in the Liberty
Loan parade which represented the contributions and aspirations
of the different racial elements in America. Their float "Liberated Syria" won second prize and the award of the silver medal.
Other Syrian societies of New York number about twentyfive, most of which are dedicated to general activities, as the
Syrian Ladies' Aid Society which is philanthropic; the Syrian
Educational Society, which, as its name indicates, is educational
and has for its object the giving of scholarships to deserving Syrian students in the higher institutions of learning in America, and
the Lebanon League of Progress whose object is political and
is devoted to the propagation of the American principle of political freedom and reform in the Mt. Lebanon. The Damascus
Lodge of the Masonic Fraternity is exclusively Syrian.
In the religious domain, almost all Christian denominations
are represented in the Syrian community of greater New York.
Brooklyn is the seat of two Greek Orthodox bishoprics, one Greek
Catholic parish, one Maronite parish and one Protestant congregation. While in Manhattan one Maronite church and one Greek
Catholic church are within one block of each other on lower
�1
NOVEMBER, 1927
I
U
'
Washington Street.
In the intellectual field the Syrian community of New York
stands out as the unchallenged leader in the United States and
a potent factor in intellectual progress throughout the Arabicspeaking world. For decades the Syrian Press of America was
published exclusively in New York and on it depended all Syrians throughout the country. Only lately have two local papers
made their appearance, one in Lawrence, Mass., and the other in
Detroit, Michigan, both cities having large Syrian communities,
but they could not make any inroads on the circulation and influence of the New York newspapers. There are now five Syrian
dailies in New York: Al-Hoda, Meraat-Ul-Gharb, Ash-Shaab,
Al-Nesr, and Al-Bayan and one semi-weekly — As-Sayeh. There
is also one Arabic monthly magazine, Character; and one English
magazine, The Syrian World.
What may be claimed for the Syrian Press of New York
is that it has inaugurated what is bound to be a revolutionary
movement in the Arabic-speaking world by the adaptation of the
Linotype composing machine. The enterprising editor of AlHoda, N. A. Mokarzel, set the pace by first installing an Arabic
Linotype some fifteen years ago. It was the first to be used in
the world. Now all the Syrian papers of New York use the
Linotype exclusively, and its introduction into the Arabic-speaking countries may be the forerunner of incalculable changes in
the whole make-up of the East, for which the Arabic-speaking^
millions will have the courageous initiative of the press ot the
Syrian community of New York to thank later.
In other fields of intellectual endeavor the Syrians of New
York can point with pride to certain of their number some of
whom have attained national and international prominence and
laid the indelible stamp of their personality on the mtellectua
life of the country. Kahlil Gibran, author of "The Prophet
and many other works of similar nature, stands in the foremost
rank "The Prophet" has been translated into more than nineteen' languages. Gibran, besides, is an artist of note.
Prof Philip K. Hitti, author, scholar and historian, is another of our outstanding men in the intellectual field. Formerly of
the American University of Beirut and now of Princeton University he is a member of many learned bodies both in the United
States and abroad, such as the American Historical Association,
The American Oriental Society, The Linguistic Society of Amer-
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ica, The Arab Academy of Damascus, and many others, His
principal work in English is "The Syrians in America".
Ameen Rihani, author, poet, traveler, literateur and diplomat, is another shining example of what the opportunities of
America and the atmosphere of New York can produce out of
native Syrian talent. His book, "Khalid", tells the story. Rihani is now traveling in the East attempting to realize his great
ambition of bringing about Arab unity. He is a personal friend
of Ibn Saoud, now the strongest Arab potentate, and has published a book on the "Kings of Arabia", part of which appeared lately
in a series of articles in "ASIA".
Nicola Macksoud is an artist of note specializing in miniatures, while Prof. Alex. Maloof is translating the subtlety of
Eastern music to American lovers of the art of the great god
Pan. His recorded compositions, as well as his periodical broadcasting, bring joy to the hearts of many thousands.
Neither are the Syrians of New York inactive in the professions. Walking along Clinton Street in Brooklyn, one reads
the names of more than a dozen Syrian physicians within less
than three blocks. Dr. R. Baddour, dean of the corps. Dr. F.
I. Shatara, a noted surgeon and author j Dr. A. A. Khairallah,
Dr. R. G. Haddad, Dr. N. Barbour, who is the diplomatic representative of the Lebanese Republic in America, and many others, while of dentists within the same radius, we count Dr. Salim
Y. Alkazin, Dr. N. A. Katibah, both of whom are noted literateurs and poets, Dr. H. S. Rasi, etc. Of lawyers, also, the numerically small Syrian community of New York counts another
dozen, their dean being George A. Ferris who has seen distinguished practice for over fifteen years. Among them are Joseph
W. Ferris, President of the American Syrian Federation, Peter
George, Edward J. Leon, and others.
Considering their' comparatively recent immigration and
their early handicaps, together with their comparatively small
number, the Syrians of New York cannot claim to have made
any impress either on the political fortunes of the city or on its
other general activities. They have, nevertheless, been gradually working to the point where their noble instincts will begin to
assert themselves. Only recently, Cardinal Hayes pinned on
the breasts of the brothers Abdallah and Simon Barsa and on
George Mouakad and A. Khayata a special decoration bestowed
on them by the Pope for a special benefaction. Word had reach-
'- .
NOVEA
�1
13
NOVEMBER, 1927
ed them of the great need in their native city of Damascus of
an orphanage for boys and another for girls. They underwrote
the two institutions and equipped them completely. Kahlil Gibran and Salim Mallouk have each given numerous scholarships
ift the American University of Beirut and in other Syrian institutions of learning. N. A. Mokarzel, editor of Al-Hoda, has,
besides his personal donations to worthy causes, been instrumental in the collection of hundreds of thousands of dollars from
the Syrians of New York and America at large for the alleviation of the sufferings of destitute Syrians on numerous occasions.
Mrs. Marie El-Khoury has donated thousands of dollars for
divers worthy causes, principally education. Miss Sumayeh Attiyeh is a national speaker on the Chautauqua Circuit.
The Syrians of New York were allotted the largest quota
of any Syrian community in America in the subscriptions for the
fund of the American University of Beirut and they responded
to the call with alacrity.
On the whole, considering their size and means and the
tardiness of their arrival, the Syrians of New York have so far
made a commendable showing. They are bound to be heard
from to a far greater extent in the future.
DOUBLE USE
Wassif, a Turkish wali, or governor, of Damascus, was once
taken sick. One of his intimate Arab friends, Mohammed Ibn
Abdel Malek, came to visit him and brought him great cheer and
comfort by his witticisms and anecdotes.
A short time after, Mohammed was stricken with illness
and the wali came to visit him. Finding his store of anecdotes
insufficient and his Arabic inadequate, he said to his friend:
"Beloved Mohammed, I am a stranger to thy tongue and
its subtleties, and I am at a loss how to comfort thee. Pray, then,
recall what thou hast told me on the occasion of thy visit to me
under similar circumstances and apply it to thyself."
The company present found what the wali had said to be
a model of gracefulness.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
14
The Role of Microorganisms In
Life and the Industries
By
GEORGE KNAYSI
*
Instructor in Bacteriology,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Microorganisms are associated in the popular mind with
the capacity of producing disease. This property possessed by
a limited number of microorganisms has overshadowed the vital
role they play in nature, not as destroyers of life but as essential agents without which life becomes impossible.
Man and animals are dependent for their subsistence on
green plants which are capable of manufacturing their own food
from substances absorbed from the air through the leaves, or
from the soil through the roots. It is, therefore, easy to see how
in a very short time the available nutrients, especially those present in the soil, become depleted and locked up in living and dead
animal and plant tissues and their waste products, if it were not
for the ceaseless activities of microorganisms which have the ability of breaking down the various organic compounds, utilizing
the energy liberated and some of the products of decomposition,
while the other products are returned into the soil and into the
air in forms available again to green plants. This cycle of trans-
* This is the first of a series of articles by Mr. Knaysi treating with
one of the most vital problems confronting Syria in view of the fact that
it is primarily an agricultural country. Mr. Knaysi is eminently qualified
for the discussion of the problem because of his advantageous position as
instructor in bacteriology at Cornell which is reputed to have the best
equipped and conducted college of agriculture in America. Mr. Knaysi had
the distinction, during his undergraduate years in Cornell, to receive the
"Alumni Prize" which is given to the student who in his junior year has
the highest standing. Previous to his coming to the United States he had
studied engineering at the "Ecole Francaise d'Ingenieurs" in Beirut. He
also took up other studies in Paris. His intimate knowledge of conditions
in Syria, combined with his technical experience in America, should lend
much practical value to his observations and recommendations.
Editor.
�MM
NOVEMBER, 1927
15
formation of the simple, available substances into more complex
forms and the resimplification of the latter by the action of microorganisms is going on continuously and is a necessary condition for the continuation of all forms of life.
The importance of microorganisms in agriculture results
chiefly from their general biological function as agents of simplification. Dead plant and animal tissues and other organic products are gradually decomposed and transformed into compounds
available to agricultural plants. There are also bacteria which
can fix the nitrogen of the air either directly or in association
with certain plants as is the case with the legume bacteria which
live in the roots of those plants forming nodules and enhance
their growth because of the large amount of nitrogen they fix.
Such bacteria have been isolated by soil bacteriologists and cultures of any of them are sent to the farmer on application to
his experiment station, with adequate directions for use. To such
an associative action the clovers and other legumes owe their soil
amending property. There are also bacteria which can act directly on sulphur and iron minerals changing those elements into
forms which can be utilized by the plants. It is, therefore, safe
to make the statement that the problem of soil fertility is to a
large extent a bacteriological problem.
Besides their relation to soil fertility, microorganisms play
very important roles in agriculture as |31ant and animal pathogens,
and in the destruction of agricultural products in storage, so that
the problem of control is often a problem for microbiologists,
while silage, an important food for farm animals, consists essentially of plant tissues, fermented by microorganisms in the absence of the air.
Regarding the industrial importance of microorganisms I
may say that all ordinary alcoholic drinks are products of fermentation carried on by microorganisms. In the dairy industry
cheese ripening is mainly the work of microorganisms, and the
varieties of cheese are the results of the predominance of the
various species brought about by the method of manufacturing.
Sour milk drinks, including our delicious leben, are nothing more
than milk fermented by particular species of microorganisms.
Several billions of bacteria may be present in each cubic centimeter of such drinks. In this connection I may mention acidophilus milk which, when authentic, has invaluable therapeutic
properties and is considered to be an agent for the prolongation
�r
16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
-
'I i
of life. Sauerkraut is another food product that we owe to the
activities of microorganisms, and vinegar is also a product of
fermentation.
Aside from the use of microorganisms for the preparation
of foods and drinks, the chemical industries are utilizing them
for the preparation and purification of many chemicals. Acetone
and glycerin, which are used extensively in the manufacture of
explosives, were prepared during the war in certain countries
mostly by fermenting certain carbohydrates by some specific microorganisms under suitable conditions. Indigo used to be made
by fermenting the indigo plant with a known bacterium. And
finally oxalic, acetic, lactic, citric acid and alcohol are mainly products of fermentation.
The relation of microorganisms to public health is too well
known to be dwelt upon in the present article.
Microorganisms are moreover of considerable scientific interest. Besides their use in chemistry as indicators, the simplicity
of their structure makes them very suitable for observation and
experimentation, and many of the problems of biology would
have remained unsolved if it were not for microorganisms.
There are also other phases of microbiology. The object
of this article is merely to call the readers' attention to the existence of the most important ones. In subsequent articles I hope
to be able to discuss more fully some of those phases and their
applications to our social welfare and our best economic development. I shall also be glad to supply any additional information
that any of the readers may wish to obtain.
O
>
<
THE DEGREE OF MOTHERLY LOVE
An Arab woman was asked: "Whom of your children do
you love best?" and she replied:
All children under the same circumstances enjoy the same
degree of motherly love. But under different circumstances my
greater love goes to the sick child until he becomes well, to the
absent child until he returns, and to the young child until he
grows.
1
}).
�-„
PANORAMIC VIEW OF ALEPPO
:
°%fe
The great mound, partly artificial, and surrounded by a deep moat., is the most conspicuous teature
in the topography of this ancient Syrian city.
�A
PICTURESQUE
VIEW
OF
ALEPPO
The two principal mosques of the city and a part of the citadel are shown in this view. The cave
in which Father Abraham hid his sheep is by the mosque in the foreground.
^ m'<">
P
i —
o
a
�NOVEMBER, 1927
17
Famous Cities of Syria
Aleppo, City of Abraham
I
When, in 1920, Syria was seething with political disturbances
in the difficult period of transition following the World War,
the city of Aleppo advanced a strong claim1 to the right of precedence in rank over all other cities of Syria. The advantages
of location, of economic resources, of a larger population were
all invoked in pressing her claim to be the central seat of government. King Faisal of Syria, it was asserted at the time, considered seriously the question of choice of a capital before deciding
finally in favor of Damascus. This seeming setback to the aspirations of Aleppo created a rift between the northern and the
Southern districts of the country the effects of which may be felt
to the present day.
But at that time conditions were more favorable to the case
of Aleppo. The rich district of Cilicia had not been ceded by
France to Turkey, nor had there been raised a tariff wall between the regions of central Asia Minor and Syria calculated to
deprive Aleppo of her distinction of being the great emporium
of Northern Syria. The wave of prosperity following the close
of the World War had made this Syrian city conscious of its importance and it felt itself amply justified in its claim to become
the capital of all the country which is under French mandate.
Notwithstanding all these setbacks, Aleppo remains one of
the leading cities of Syria both in economic importance and in
the extent of its population. It derives its wealth chiefly from
agricultural products and from being the central market of the
surrounding districts for the exchange and exportation of wool,
pistachios, and some native manufactures. There was a time
when a serious effort was undertaken to make Aleppo not only
the emporium of all Northern Syria, but of that whole section
of Asia Minor bordering on the Mediterranean as well as Mesopotamia, Persia, Arabia and other Asiatic countries. It was in
1841 that the British Euphrates expedition studied the project
of connecting Aleppo with the sea by steamer through the near-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
est point of the Euphrates river, but they gave up the attempt
for financial and political reasons. The proposition, however,
was not definitely abandoned until after the discovery of the
Red Sea route to India and the opening of the Suez Canal.
The population of Aleppo is about 150,000. While under
Turkish rule it was the capital of a vilayat to which it gave
its name, but now it is included in the State of Syria. It stands
on both banks of the Kuwaik, a small river which dries up in
Summer. But in spite of its lack of irrigation facilities it is surrounded by fertile plains and orchards and gardens. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes its climate as "cold, dry and healthy despite the prevalence of the famous 'Aleppo Button', a
swelling which appears either on the face or hands, and breaks
into an ulcer which lasts a year and leaves a permanent scar. It
has been ascribed to a fly, to the water and to other causes, but it
is not peculiar to Aleppo, being rife also in Aintab, Bagdad, etc."
The ethymological derivation of the name Aleppo is distinctly Arabic. In this language it is called Halab, or Halep, and
was mentioned by Strabo. During the reign of the Seleucids
it was given the Macedonian name of Boroea by Seleucus Nicator, and continued to be known by this Greek name until the
conquest of northern Syria by the Arabs under Abu 'Ubeida in
63 8 A. D., when it again resumed its former name.
The Arab geographer Yaqut, in his explanation of how Halab came to be known by this name, takes us back to the time
when Abraham made the site of the city his headquarters. Arabic, Hebrew, or Syriac must have been the language of the locality at the time, but in all probability it was the first. Abraham
was a charitable man and gave freely to the poor. He had only
his products as a herdsman to give. So he established the custom of milking his flock on a regular day of the week and donating
the milk to the poor. This grew to be an institution. The people
of the neighborhood began to look forward to the day with anxious anticipation, and as the hour of milking approached they
would ask one another, "Has he milked?" In Arabic this would
be expressed by the single word "Halab" in the interrogative
tone. The announcement that Abraham had begun to milk
would be the signal for the countryside to flock to the appointed
place. This in time came to be known as Halab, the exact name
it bears today.
In support of this contention, it is pointed out that the
�NOVEMBER, 1927
19
great mound which is so conspicuous in the topography of the
city, was the exact spot where Abraham offered his sacrifices to
God. On this hillock there are two old Christian churches one
of which is supposed to be erected over the cave which Abraham
used as a fold. The place is highly revered by Christians and
Mohammedans alike as none seem to entertain any doubts as to
the authenticity of the legend.
Among other interesting details in the history of Halab Yaqut mentions that one of the two Christian churches contains a
genuine relic of St. John the Baptist — a piece of the skull;
that a great shrine] for Ali is by the gate of Al-Janan commemorating his apparition to a certain pious Moslem; that in the
Mosque of Gouth, close by the gate of Iraq, an original manuscript in the handwriting of Ali is still preserved; that outside
the gate of the Jews there is a sacred stone which is equally revered by Christians, Mohammedans and Jews. Offerings are
made to this stone at regular intervals when thousands of devotees turn out en masse to pay homage to it, bathing it with
rose water and other aromatic fluids. The legend ascribed to
this stone is that it marks the grave of a famous prophet of antiquity, but who this prophet is is not stated.
Aleppo, like Antioch, suffered severely from earthquakes.
Late in the 12th century it was visited by a terrible shock which
almost razed it to the ground. King Al-Zaher, son of the famous Saladin, who had chosen Aleppo for his capital, undertook
to rebuild it on an extensive scale, giving particular attention to
the citadel around which he dug a moat reaching the water level.
He also caused the mound on which the citadel stands to be rounded artificially and would have, according to Arab historians, lavished immense sums on other improvements had not death overtaken him. In 1822 Aleppo suffered another frightful earthquake followed by one equally as severe in 1830.
The Crusaders attacked Aleppo in 1124 but never occupied
it From 1183 until the Tatar invasion in 1260 it was held by
Saladin and his successors. Thereafter it was held by the Mameluks until the Ottomans wrested it from them in their general
conquest of Syria in 1517. They retained it until the Allied
occupation of Syria in 1918, except during the short period it
was held by Ibrahim Pasha, the Egyptian, during his ill-fated
expedition into the country in 1839.
_
Aleppo, like other sections of Syria, suffered in the general
�mmmm
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.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
massacres of the Christians in 1850 and 1862. Particularly in
this city were these massacres accompanied by great destruction
of property. This, perhaps, is due to the fact that Aleppo is too
far removed in the interior to have come under the influence of
foreign intervention.
AL-HAJJAJ AND THE BEDOUIN
On one of his journeys, the great Al-Hajjaj once sought
the hospitable shade and coolness of an oasis and ordered his
meal. The day was one of torrid heat and the Emir felt grateful for the boon of coolness and bounty and had his attendants
seek some stranger to share with him his good fortune as an act
of thankfulness to Allah. His courriers searched the country
around until they came across a wandering Bedouin who carried
no food and had a single mantle as his whole equipment of clothing. He was hailed into the presence of the Emir.
Said Al-Hajjaj to the guest: "O brother Arab, join us and
keep us company at the meal."
But the Bedouin replied: "O generous Emir, I have been
extended a previous invitation and have accepted."
The conversation between Emir and Bedouin thereafter
ran as follows:
—Pray, who may be the one who has invited thee?
—He is the all-merciful Allah, may His name be exalted,
who has enjoined me to fast on this day and I am, therefore, not
partaking of any food.
—Thou fastest on such a torrid day?
—I fast in fear of a day which is incomparably hotter.
—But eat today and fast tomorrow.
—And does the Emir guarantee me life until the morrow?
—This is beyond my power.
—How, then, dost thou ask me to forego the certainty of
the present for the uncertainty of the future?
—The meal is delicious.
—Neither thy baker nor thy cook has given the food the
wholesomeness of its flavor. It is only health that makes one
relish his meal.
"Never," said Al-Hajjaj, "have I seen the like of this day."
�21
NOVEMBER, 1927
>
The Great Scandal
i
By
f
IBN EL-KHOURY
It was dusk of a mid-August day with a northern breeze
blowing from the direction of snow-capped Sannin impregnating
the air with a delightful freshness. The men of the village had
spent a strenuous day gathering the grape crop and carrying it
in large crates on their backs from the vineyard to the wine press.
They had now gathered at the square facing the <Ain, or public
Spring, for their daily club meeting. The keeper of the khan
had provided them with low stools under his primitively designed shed consisting of a canopy of dry boughs supported by undressed posts. Such sheds in Mt. Lebanon are temporary Summer contrivances designed merely to afford protection from the
heat of the sun by day and the heavy humidity of the dew at night.
Guarding against rain is never taken into consideration in this land
of perfectly clear skies and dependably fair weather during five
months of the year. Atmospheric changes never afford a topic
of discussion to the inhabitants of Lebanon.
The gathering company comprised men of all ages and all
local occupations. The muleteer sat beside the sheik, or the magistrate of the village, with perfect absence of all consciousness
of rank The rich man who owned seven houses on an equal
number of farms, and whose real estate operations had grown to
the extent of investing in a tract of land in a neighboring village,
was chatting pleasantly with one of his tenant farmers. Ihey
were dressed in the native sirwal, or large, baggy trousers, and
had on heavy studded boots which defy wear. Only a comparatively young man with a short beard as black as the wing of
the raven was in flowing ecclesiastical garb. He had only recently returned from Rome where he had been sent by the bishop
to study for the priesthood and was still unordained. He appeared intensely interested and amused but confined most of his
attention to the only person in European clothes, a son of a local
farmer who was home on his vacation from the college he was
attending in Beyrouth.
.
Along the road running below the raised mastaba ot the
khan the women folk of the village had formed into a line
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
awaiting their turn to fill their earthen jars at the spring. Girls
in their early teens were there with jars of a capacity of a few
gallons, while sturdy lasses and robust matrons sported jars that
would challenge the strength of the stoutest men of the village.
In the cool hours of the evening the women folk, by common
agreement, seek the Spring for the next day's supply of water.
It matters not that because they come all at once they have to
wait a while longer for their turn. A little gossip is always in
order on this occasion among the older women, while the shy
maidens steal a glance at times at the mastaba above to see whether Beshara, or Melhem, or Habib had come to join the company
of men. Mahbouba or Aziza always betrays herself hopelessly at the sight of the beloved one by a flush of deep crimson.
That day attendance at the open-air evening club of the
village was unusually large by reason of the arrival of the weekly mail. A few letters had reached some townsfolk from their
relatives in America. This, of course was not of a nature to affect
the welfare of the whole community. What was of major importance to these villagers was to keep informed on the political situation in the country and abroad. The appointment to office of
certain politicians arouses among them a lively discussion as to
the merits of the, incumbents and the various means they sought
to gain their ends. Some will tell you with all the seriousness
of one who has access to the most intimate affairs of these big
men of the country that the Kaim-Makam, or district governor,
has spent over five hundred gold pounds to gain the appointment to an office whose annual stipend is but one hundred and
twenty gold pounds j while the Mudeer, or county magistrate,
whose pay is much less, took the desperate course of mortgaging
his valuable orchard in the coastal plain to secure his appointment.
At these meetings the political developments of Europe
are weighed and discussed with a display of great interest and
seriousness.
Since Lebanon was enjoying an autonomous
form of government under a special guarantee of six interested
European Powers, the political relations of these powers amongst
themselves, as well as with other powers, were naturally a cause
of special concern for the Lebanese. Partisan lines were drawn
very sharply and discussions and controversies would at times be
indulged in with great animation. To hean these simple Lebanese
folk weighing the actions and moves of the chancelleries of Eu-
NOVEM
�_
NOVEMBER, 1927
2S
rope would give one the impression that their chief interest in life
was not the storing of sufficient wheat and wine and dried rigs
to last them through the winter months, but to censure or approve
the doings of diplomats and shape the political destinies of the
On this particular occasion, however, the discussion of the
villagers revolved around a social question which appeared to
have in it all the elements of the morals of the family, the sanctity of the home, the pristine purity of religion and the integrity of the state. To anyone watching the expression of their
faces as they progressed in the conversation and each stiffened
his back awaiting an opening to express his opinion or accentuate a point, the vital importance of the question was unmistakable Only the Rome-educated seminarian and the Beyrouth
college'youth maintained an attitude of poise and serenity.
By the nickering light of a lantern hung on one of the posts
the professional reader began to read aloud to the company from
the newspaper arriving that day and borrowed for the evening
from th2 priest. It was a paper published by a foreign religious
oX engaged in missionary and educational work in the country.
The relilious stamp was all over it. Its motto was the quota
tion, «Y% shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
freC
'It was the time-honored custom for the reader to begin
with the beginning of the journal, from the very top of the page.
!nd so it was that for perhaps the five-hundredth time in his career he read the date, the name of the paper and the rate of subscriptln until he reached the editorial which, following European
ouSsdc methods, is published on the front page This very
article, so it proved, supplied the topic of discussion f°^heeven
ins and monopolized the argumentative power of the assembly
to the exclusion of everything else. It was, in fact a serious
rf^WchXw the fire'of the editorial pen It could not fail
to SvTite repercussion throughout the land and arouse the slumberinghamlets of the mountain into unprecedented heights of
animated indignation.
.
Solemnly, and without displaying the least emotion, the
reader announed the caption: "The Great Scandal". One could
see that the words had immediate effect The men looked at
each other with questioning glances as if to inquire what_ this
great scandal COuld be. Coming from such a conservative jour-
�^r"
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
nal the caption mush necessarily have ominous portent. Some
straightened in their seats in anxious anticipation while others
leaned forward eagerly and cupped their ears so as not to miss
a word.
The reader, intuitively sensed the dramatic possibility of the
situation and prepared himself for his best form of delivery.
He cleared his throat as he cast a rapid glance of surveyal at
the gathering, then quickly took up his task. He read in Arabic:
"Deliver us, O Lord, from Satan and his infernal ways. No
sooner do we think our country rid of an evil than we find it
threatened with another and more serious one. Just as if it did
not suffice our dear country to be bereaved of its children who
are risking their precious lives on the tempestuous seas and migrating in a continuous stream to distant foreign lands, that we
are now being threatened with an influx of so-called "modern
customs" which are synonymous to immorality and whose stench
endangers to contaminate the pure atmosphere of our dear mountain hollowed by countless centuries of unshaken faith and observance of the sacred traditions of the glorious ancestors."
The reader had delivered the whole of the long sentence
with a single breath. It mattered not that his ungrammatical
rendition caused a smile of indulgence to play around the lips
of the college student who prided himself on the purity of his
Arabic. The important business was to impart the meaning of
the words to the listeners who were mostly illiterate and who considered the efforts of the reader a feat of no mean quality. He,
on his part, was proud of his long record of usefulness in this
enlightening and educational capacity and would tolerate criticism from no one. He took another look over his paper at the
faces of the listeners, and finding their extreme eagerness unabated again cleared his throat and proceeded:
"The new scourge that is undermining the very life of the
country is the, adaptation by our wealthy class of the sinister customs of those elements of Europe steeped in moral depravity.
God forbid that these modern vices strangle with their deadly
tentacles our old, cherished virtues. Now it is gambling, the
dissipator of wealth; then it is the new form of dancing, where
men and women are locked together in embrace and execute in
public repulsive motions and gyrations in utter disregard of pudency and decency; and still further, it is the low-cut, shortlength dresses which expose those parts of the woman's body
�NOVEMBER, 1927
25
which God ordained that they be hid so as to deliver men from
temptation for the salvation of their imperishable souls These
flagrant transgressions of public morality should not be permitted to exist in our dear country. They are destructive of the
traditional and highly-prized modesty in our womanhood. Every
ma7in whose veins runs the blood of honorable manhood should
eXaust every effort in combating such tendencies towards deputy and immorality to the end that our dear country will
never again witness a repetition of the great scandal which took
^kce the other night at Saufar and in which most of our leading
families were involved."
Here the reader stopped. He had need to mop the big
drops of perspiration which bore testimony to his energetic ei?ortPs He wo'uld have again paused long enough to study the
faces of his audience and ascertain the effect of his delivery.
Everyone, however, had by this time grown "jW^rTSTthat no interruption would be countenanced. They all were an
xious for the climax, for the discovery of the nature of the great
scandal which threatened to sap the foundations of the coun
try And with one accord, with one common impulse, they hurled at him in chorus the command to «kammd — nmsh.
He was quick to respond.
„., ,,
„A
"This condition is outrageous. Our fair land has witnessed
last Sunday night an orgy of licentious indulgences of the soiled modern customs which registers a shame on the name of
ou country and causes a blot on its cherished honor We could
not believe'that such degradation was possible ^ °^f
among such as our people. But we haye learned the facts trom
uTmpSeachable sources - from honorable men who heard the
description of the affair from the very mouths of eye witnesses icSStidpants in the orgy who considered their invitation to
it a badge of distinction, albeit to every man of sound reasoning
it is but a badge of shame.
"The officers of the French fleet visiting in our waters were
entertained that night by what they call a masquerade ball whde
in truth such is only extreme vice masquerading under the name
j
of Xmodem social diversion. Our wealthiest families a, has been
previously mentioned, were there represen ed. The women ap
peared in all forms of eccentric and ridiculous dresses, some beFnTin costumes which would cause the most brazen actresses to
blusL if they were to be seen in them, while some men appeared
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
in the costumes of clowns, striped and hung with noisy rattles,
quite in harmony with their immature intellects, only that they
are depraved.
"They entered the grand ball room in pairs, each woman
being on the arm of a man. They danced until they were tired
and then took a respite to rest and indulge in drink. They did
not dance each man with his wife but seemed to take pleasure in
seeking strange company. How could they, besides, identify
one another when they were all wearing masks, which in itself
is a mark of shame.
"This condition continued until midnight. The dancers were
then reeling more than ever, stimulated by intoxication of liquor
and still more by unholy, base, sensual feelings. God-fearing
men would welcome the approach of a new day with thankfulness in their hearts and prayers on their lips to the Lord who
grants them a further extension of life. Not so, however, was
the case with these immoral degenerates who await the dividing
hour for a further indulgence in their detestable modern customs. Forgive us, O Lord, for having to dwell so long on this
loathsome subject whose very mention no doubt offends Thee,
but we consider it our sacred duty to warn our clean-minded countrymen of the perils of these modern customs, a work which, no
doubt also, is bound to please Thee, and with Thy help the forces
of good will prevail in the end over the forces of evil.
"Now what do our dear readers imagine happened at the
stroke of midnight at this fad of a masquerade ball imported
from abroad? We are sure to shock them by telling the truth,
but! the truth must be told to serve as a stern warning.
"The large hall in which the. ball was held had been flooded with light so that the night was converted into day. But at
the given hour of midnight — O horror! O shame! O great
scandal! — at that hour the great hall was suddenly plunged
into complete darkness. This did not happen by accident but by
deliberate design and intent. The orchestra did not cease playing and the dancers did not cease dancing. They were not afraid
because that was exactly what they expected and had been waiting for. The orchestra, on the contrary, struck a livelier air and
the dancers redoubled their energy. Now one could no more
see human forms gliding on the polished floor but could only
hear the rhythmic tramp of feet, the swish of clothes and the
labored breathing and sighs of men and women from all sections
�NOVEMBER, 1927
27
of the floor. God alone and the participants know what took
place during the hour and a half that this condition lasted, but
these impious men must soon discover that the eye of God pierces
the veil of darkness and records against them every act they strive
to hide from the sight of their fellow men."
Here the reader appeared to be perceptibly tired and stopped to take a rest. He was not urged as formerly to continue
because the story had reached its climax. It was evident that the
whole company approved of the stand of the paper and condemned the infiltration of such ultra-modern customs into the
country. "Scandalous, horrifying, degrading, depraved, blasphemous, shameful," were some of the adjectives applied to the description of the masquerade ball, as expressing the listeners feelings They all believed implicitly every statement made by the
paper and shared in its opinion of it to the fullest extent.
But these simple Lebanese villagers had a practical turn of
mind Having overcome their first impression of astonishment
and horror, they proceeded to discuss means for arresting the
spread of the evil influence of modern European customs
Said an old man who had joined the forces of Joseph Bey
Karam, the famous Lebanese leader who directed the armed revolution against Daoud Pasha, the first Mutasarref! or Lebanon
under the new form of European guarantee: "Such evils could
not have taken place during the lifetime of the Bey. He was
a pious man who would never engage in battle before invoking
the blessing of the Holy Virgin. Had he lived today he would
have gone directly to the Saraya and demanded that a stop be
put to such shameful practices which offend God and imperil
the safety of the country. Otherwise, he would have incited the
population to another uprising."
"For my part," said a middle-aged man whose opinion was
held highly by the townspeople, "I must admit that times are
fast changing. What the Bey could have done in his day cannot
be done in our day. Such an evil cannot be treated with force
but must be dealt with by stern authority. If his beatitude, our Patriarch, together with the other patriarchs, were to issue an encyclical threatening with excommunication anyone taking part in
such shameful practices, none would further dare patronize them.
I know that the Patriarch can accomplish what he wishes, once
he uses firm authority."
.
"The Patriarch is influential, no doubt," opined a third,
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
"but he is also a wise man and has able counselors, and he would
not commit himself to such a move if there existed the least
doubt as to his complete, success. You know that the freemasons
have openly defied him and nominated a candidate of their own
for the Mejlis in opposition of the one he favors. Naturally,
they would resent his intrusion in such matters and seize on his
interference as a pretext to undermine his prestige. What, however, would be in my opinion the logical course of procedure
under the circumstances would be to petition the Mejlis for legislative action to prohibit gambling in the Casino at Saufar and
ban the offensive form of European dancing from being conducted in 'public, particularly when the lights are out. The Mejlis,
once the matter is called to his attention by popular agitation,
could not help but take favorable action. The Mohammedan
and Druze members will not oppose the Christians in a matter
of this nature."
In the heat of the discussion, no one was paying attention
to the seminarian and the college student who seemed to be holding a debate on the question all their own.
"I^believe, the account of the paper to be grossly exaggerated," said the student. "This seems evident from the way it tried
to work up the climax and inject its own opinion in the news
narration to play on the feelings of the readers."
"I quite agree with you," replied the seminarian. "All the
years I was in Rome I never heard that the lights at masquerade
balls were extinguished for an hour and a half at a time."
"We see the mote in our brother's eye but not the beam in
our own," continued the college student whose sympathies were
decidedly Western by virtue of having been sent by his father
to a liberal institution which does not consider it blasphemous
to teach English, the language of the Protestants. "We of the
East condone everything if it is camouflaged under the name
of religion. Why, even to our present day, there is in, our country a religious sect which indulges in frightful orgies as an annual religious festival. You surely know of the Ismailites and
their practices. What are our masquerade balls compared to
their licentious indulgences?"
"But, my friend," replied the seminarian, "has not our Lord
said: 'Woe unto him through whom offences come.' "
When the discussion had about reached the saturation point,
a middle-aged man who had refrained from expressing an opi-
�29
NOVEMBER, 1927
nion, took out his rosary which everyone knew was a sign for his
imminent departure, for he made no secret of the fact that he
recited-his prayers while on his way home so as to lose no time
in retiring. His was a well developed sense of economy in time
as well as in other things.
Due to the particular importance of the subject under discussion at this evening's session, however, he was asked to give
an °P^1°^e
nQt the g.ft of fluency like most 0f
you," he said,
"but if the Holy Virgin should be pleased to grant mean overabundant crop next season, I vow to make her an offering of
two full iars of wine for the conversion to the straight path ot
those who are introducing the crooked ways of Europe to our
country."
THE ARGUMENT THAT PREVAILED
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
A disgruntled Arab chieftain, at a gathering in a friend's
house argued to justify his irreconcilable attitude toward another ch'ef tain who was once a bosom friend of his, but who intentionally or unintentionally had brought upon himself his friend s
keen displeasure. The host, a poet of note, remonstrated with
the aggrieved man, but to no avail. The latter emphatically refused to yield, and to strengthen his contention closed by quoting a famous poet:
« 'Should hate the heart's affection once o'ertake^
Like broken glass, unmended stays the break.''
"Thou misquotest our poet," at once replied the host. "The
lines run as follows:
" 'Should hate the heart's affection once o'ertake,
A worthy nature nobly mends the breach j
Like broken glass, unmended stays the break
Of hearts ignoble far below our reach.'5
"By Allah I" shouted the chieftain. "For the sake of this
ingenious interpolation, I will make it up with my friend.
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Stars
By
AMEEN RIHANI
*
One night, in deepest gloom, I asked the stars,
Wakeful and tremulous in veils of mist:—
"Are you like me? What is it then that mars
Your calmness? is it parting or a tryst?
"Wandering distraught along the Milky Way,
Without a hope, a purpose, or a guide,
Like thirsty doves that hover in dismay
Around forbidden pools at eventide.
"There is a sorrow in your wistful glance
That sends its arrow through the heart of night,
And in your alabaster orbs, Romance,
Its tears dissembles in a stream of light.
"What are you? Ancient wounds or mouths of grief
In the infinity of the unknown?
What are you? Do you also find relief
In weeping? Are you also world-ward blown?
A
"Do you, too, weep, O Stars?"
"In sooth, Alas!
Deep gulfs between us yawn, and in. the nude
Infinities of darkness we are bound
To incommunicable solitude.
"The gulfs of separation are of old;
Be not deceived that our lights seem so near
Unto each other; — In loneliness we fold
Our nights, though boon companions we appear.
"Wasted our light! In vain it travels far;
In vain our sighs are mooned, our tears empearled;
In vain
"
"I understand, O stars, you are
The spirits of the poets of the world."
* Translated from the Arabic original of Dr. Elias Fayad.
t\
�NOVEMBER, 1927
31
"Anna Ascends"
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACTS
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in her and helps her learn better English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to force
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess, sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurns
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
In an elaborately furnished office of a large publishing house in uptown New York, the former secretary of Mr. Fisk, head of the firm, is
about to get married and is inducting her successor, Miss Adams, in her
duties. Miss Adams speaks perfect English but with a slight foreign accent Fisk examines her credentials and discovers that in a short time
she made several changes. She explains that in some cases she was discharged in others, left of her own will, but always for one reason, namely that of biting men who attempted to kiss her. She relates a personal
story similar in every respect to a newly published book which proved an
instant best-seller and Fisk's suspicions are aroused as to her identity.
Miss Adams parries with him on the question and he resolves to take
other means of satisfying his curiosity. In the meantime Howard, son of
Fisk returns from an extended trip and meets Anna but does not recognize her and his "interest" in her is evident from the start.
Through a clever piece of detective work Fisk discovers that Miss
Adams is the author of the book whirh had created a literary sensation
�.<
"*
am
I
32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and in a confidential conversation with her prevails on her to reveal her
identity. He also informs her that she had become rich on her royalties.
Howard returns and tries hard to recall where he had met Miss Adams before, but she is relieved that he does not recognize her as the Syrian waitress in the Washington St. restaurant. He makes a date to see her the
next day. Meanwhile Howard's sister and fiancee return and all leave together. Upon being left alone Anna calls the office boy William and has
him enact an old scene she had with Howard by having him spell the word
affection and pronounce it LOVE. Anna then gives the boy the promised
kiss and is happy at the thought that Howard will come back.
ACT THREE—I.
Scene represents the summer home of the Fisks at Irvington-on-the-Hudson. The room is elaborately furnished, but in
no way is it over done. It is about nine o'clock in the evening,
just after a very late dinner. The gentlemen are in full evening
clothes and the ladies, too, in ultra-evening dress. The whole
scene or act is the direct antithesis to the first.
At rise of curtain, Fisk, John and Allen are discovered lounging in easy chairs smoking. The two younger men are smoking
cigarettes, Fisk a cigar.
FISK — How are you getting along with your new job,
John?
JOHN — Great. I was fired this morning.
FISK — Have you told Bess?
JOHN — Not as yet. And I do not think that I will tell
her.
FISK — No?
JOHN — No. And I wish you would keep mum about it
until after the wedding. It is certain that even she can't fire
me, then.
ALLEN — You forget that the matrimonial laws are quite
as elastic as the labor laws.
FISK — Yes, but it costs considerable more to lose a marriage job.
JOHN — Both in time and money. But marriage is one
job I expect to hold for life.
ALLEN — Where's Howard?
FISK — (Chuckles.) Nell coralled him and took him out
on the river.
JOHN — Rather indelicate of her, I say. Anybody with
�NOVEMBER, 1927
33
half an eye can see that he is mad over Miss Adams.
ALLEN — Yes, and I'd stake my life that Miss Adams is
quite as mad over Howard.
FISK — Well, why shouldn't they go mad over each other?
Say, we're gossiping here like an old women's tea party. What
do you say to a three cornered game of billiards?
JOHN — I'd like to have a Scotch first.
FISK — Well, you'll get it yourself. There isn't a servant
in the house, except the third man, and he's busy in the kitchen.
JOHN — (Moves towards door.) Start a game of three
cushion caroom between you. I'll be out some time. I'll have
to gather enough courage to face Bess about both jobs. (Exits.)
' ALLEN — I think I'll have a Scotch, too.
FISK — Go to it. But I never saw you take a drink before.
Anything the matter?
ALLEN — Nothing much, but I am going to apply for an
important job, too, and /'// need a little courage myself.
FISK — Holy smoke, you're not going to leave the firm?
ALLEN — Not much. Not 'till you fire me. But I am going
to ask Nell Van Housen to marry me. Some months ago you
advised me to stand clear, that you had her picked for Howard.
Now I'm going to take my turn.
FISK — Well, I fancy you're right. Howard seems hopeless, though Nell is ready and anxious enough.
ALLEN — Yet, I may have a chance. At any rate I intend
to take one.
FISK — If a woman can't get what she wants, she will generally take what she can get. Good luck to you, my boy.
ALLEN — Then you don't mind if I join John for the
moment, do you?
FISK — No. Get around about three high ones and you
will be primed for any ordeal. (Allen starts out.)
ALLEN — I'll go after her just as soon as they return from
the river.
FISK — I'll knock the balls around and practice up on you.
ALLEN — All right, sir, I'll be just long enough to gather
three high ones. (Exits.)
FISK — Better make it four and play safe.
ALLEN — (Off door.) Thanks for the advice. Four it is.
ANNA — (Enters. She still has a slight accent. She is dressed in an ultra-fashionable evening gown and has on, just enough
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
expensive jewelry to be in good taste.) Hullo, boss mans.
FISK — Well, my dear, you talk just like the wife of our
Syrian gardener. She always addresses me as "Boss man".
ANNA — I fancy I picked up the expression from her.
FISK — See here, Anna, daughter, when do you intend to
finish the sequel of "Anna Ascends"?
ANNA — Some months ago, I told you that I would finish
it when I realized happiness.
FISK — Well, you have realized happiness. You seem very
fond of Howard, and I know he is yours, if you only but crook
your finger.
ANNA — I have realized happiness in Howard, yet I cannot
take it.
FISK — Pray, why?
ANNA — That I cannot explain.
FISK — Why all this unnecessary mystery about yourself?
Why do you still persist in keeping from the world the fact that
you created such a wonderful novel?
ANNA — You cannot understand. Nor, as I said before,
I can explain to you.
FISK — But, Anna, soon people will begin to doubt you.
They will begin to wonder where all your finery comes from.
ANNA — Let them. So long as my secret is safe, I care
not.
FISK — (Goes to her and takes her by the arms and turns
her gently to face him.) Anna, little girl, look at me. (Her
eyes meet his gaze.).. You trust old Henry Fisk, don't you?
ANNA — Oh, absolutely, from my heart.
FISK — You have never committed a wrong?
ANNA — Don't ask me.
FISK — You have never committed a moral wrong. I am
not asking you, I am declaring it.
ANNA — Thanks, oh, thanks, but I cannot answer.
FISK — Why?
ANNA — Oh, dear Mr. Fisk, because I do not know.
FISK — But I know, like Anna in your book, you've "come
through clean".
ANNA — Yes, oh, yes.
FISK — I know that
I know that. (Pats her on the head
in a fatherly manner.) Take your happiness from Howard. It
is my sincerest wish.
A
f]
�NOVEMBER, 1927
35
— I mustn't
not now
not now.
pISK _ Do not give up that happiness for some fault that
is known only in your own heart.
ANNA — Heaven knows it, too.
FISK — And forgives it, I am sure.
ALLEN — (Enters.) 1 raised the limit on you one, and gathered in five instead of four.
pISK — Then you'll win out with her sure.
ANNA — With whom?
FISK — (In a loud whisper.) Nell.
ALLEN — Gosh, I fell queer.
JOHN — (Enters.) I am surprised at you, bparkes. He s
an awful lush, folks. (To Fisk.) He's a regular old topper.
Think you ought to fire him.
FISK
I'll leave that for someone else to do. .tie knows
his business. (To Anna.) I am going to trim these two youngsters in a game of billiards, come on and see me do it.
ALLEN — It can't be done. The world couldn't beat me
ANNA
now.
.
— (To Anna.) Coming, dear?
ANNA _ No, thanks, if you don't mind. The cigar smoke,
you know
(The three men move towards right. Fisk lagging.)
ALLEN — (Going off.) /'ll play you fellows with one hand
FISK
tonight.
.„ i
— (Following him off.) Oh, you're spitted. ^ _
(To Anna.) Grasp your happiness before it is too
late. He is out on the river with Nell Van Housen Time and
tide
and love wait for no man
or woman. (Exits right
As soon as the men are off, Anna runs up to the balustrade and
looks over the river. She evidently spies the couple as she says
in pantomime and with the same gesture she used m the previous
acts "Hell damn". This must be a distinct and easily remembered movement. She starts down the steps as Bess enters from
JOHN
FISK
ng
BESS — Anna, dear, where are all the servants, do you know?
I must have the marquis taken down at once. It may rain tonight. Where is this third man? I haven't laid eyes on him
as yet.
— Neither have I.
_
Father is entirely too easy with the servants. 1 hree
BESS
of them at least should be here to guard the house, with all my
ANNA
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
wedding gifts in there.
ANNA — I do not think there is any cause for anxiety, dear.
BESS — (Starts left.) Pll find him and order the marquis
down. You'll excuse me, dear.
ANNA — (Comes down to table right off couchy takes book
up and lounges on couch, which hides her completely from right
of stage.) Certainly, dear. (As Bess is about to, exit she runs directly into Bunch.)
BESS — You are the new third man?
BUNCH — (Who has entered from left, in a silent way.
He is dressed in a modified uniform. Anna is engrossed by this
time in her book.) Yes, mam.
BESS — I was about to look for you. Will you please take
down the marquis? And place it in the little tool-house, back
of the garage. You can reach it by going past the balcony.
BUNCH — (Points up and of right.) That way. Yes, mam.
I know. (He starts up.)
BESS — That will be all tonight. Yates will give you your
orders, no doubt, in the morning.
BUNCH — He has already, Mam. (Exits through window
and off right.)
BESS — And I'll give John a new job, too, I'll make a private detective out of him, this time. (Starts right.)
(After a moment's pause, Howard and Nell enter from balcony left. Howard has on a sweater over his dinner coat. Nell
carries light cloak. They have evidently been quarreling. Nell
enters first, Howard follows protesting.)
NELL — Nonsense.
HOWARD — Not at all. Don't you remember the time that
Bess and you found me in a Syrian restaurant about three years
ago, after I had been away for weeks?
NELL — Yes.
HOWARD — Well, that is one of the places I am to visit
tomorrow.
NELL — (Starts for door right.) An engagement that is
very easily broken. And you would probably do it for anyone
else but me.
HOWARD — Oh, Nell
NELL — Enough, please.
(Exits right. Howard, with a
movement of impatience, turns and starts left. As he reaches on
line with couch he espies Anna. His impatience turns to smiles.)
t
�-
NOVEMBER, 1927
HOWARD
ANNA —
— Hullo, you.
I heard. Evesdropping, you know.
27
-
1 m awtul-
' HOWARD — (Coming down to her and leaning over couch.)
Oh, that's all right. Ido not care if the whole world heard me
say anything to any woman
any woman, but YOU.
ANNA — (Rises and comes t& below couch.) Howard, don't
begin that again.
HOWARD — Why is it, Anna, that whenever I become a
little
well, you know
you always try to evade the
er
issue?
ANNA — There is no issue.
HOWARD — Subject, then. Subject of my heart.
ANNA — Because it is hopeless.
HOWARD — You believe I love you, don't you?
(She ts
silent.) Don't you?
ANNA — Yes.
HOWARD — Then why fight me off?
ANNA — Perhaps it is because I do not love you.
HOWARD — (He comes very close to her.)
Anna, dear,
I have never laid so much as a finger on you. Look up into my
eyes. (She does so.) Do you love me?
ANNA — (A very slight -pause.) No.
HOWARD — (He takes hold of her arms. She averts her
head.) Do you love me? Look at me. (She looks up again.)
Do you?
ANNA — Howard, please.
HOWARD — (Intensely.) Tell me.
ANNA—Please.
,,777
• L* \
HOWARD — (He takes her in his arms and holds her tight.)
Tell me. Tell me. Tell me.
_
ANNA — (Gathering up all her waning strength.) JNo. 1
must say no. No. No
No.
_
_
HOWARD — (He gives her a long impassioned kiss.) lou
do.
You do.
ANNA — Yes, yes. (She returns his kiss and while they are
in this position he strokes her hair and says softly.)
HOWARD — When will you marry me?
ANNA
(Realizes that she has the stain of a supposed murder on her soul, she pushes him away.) Never.
HOWARD — What?.
�-
';'
NOVE1
THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
ANNA — Never,
HOWARD — (He
He
A>
Where
H
that yo
Ai
Howar
H
and I 1*
vent y<
A
ard, sc
laws o
never.
takes her in his arms again and kisses her.)
When?
ANNA — Never, never, never. (The kissing business is repeated and Nell enters.)
NELL — (Laughs lightly.) Am I de trop?
(They separate.) Have I accidentally discovered a liason?
HOWARD — It is no liason. I am making love to my future, wife. It has been done often before, you know.
NELL —i And the happy event, when is it to take place?
ANNA — Never.
NELL — Do the young lady's people know of it?
HOWARD — What does it matter?
NELL — Do you know of the young lady's people?
HOWARD — What does that matter, either?
NELL — But doesn't it matter who she is, what she is and
where she comes from?
HOWARD — I do not care.
NELL — Ask her, and then perhaps you will care.
HOWARD — Enough.
NELL — Ask her. Ask her where she gets all the finery,
the jewelry on her fingers. Ask her, too, if it is from a private
secretary's salary of thirty-five dollars a week.
ANNA — I worked for it all.
NELL — Well, prove it.
You force your way into this
house with lies, deceit and questionable references and try to
ANNA — I force my way nowhere. And Mr. Fisk is mistaken. I am not going to marry him.
HOWARD — Anna.
ANNA — I am not going to marry him. And I have told
him so.
NELL — Of course you are not going to marry him. There
are other ways known to women of mystery to secure such things.
(Points to Anna.)
1
HOWARD — You've said enough. Please leave us.
NELL — Certainly, with pleasure. (Starts for right.) I
am sorry, Howard. I am very sorry that I have to be so
so
straightforward, but it was only to save you. (As she exits
right, Howard stands facing Anna who is left center.- He is faying no attention to the remarks of Nell. Anna stands with eyes
downcast.)
t
it was
A
answe
I
her ft
]
it. (
burgl
/ 1
Anna
the s
Sc(
have
f
ton:
wa^
�S9
NOVEMBER, 1927
— Anna dear, what can prevent me marrying you?
(Indicates dress.)
ANNA _ Something that is on my mind.
Where did all these come from?
HOWARD - I do not know. I do not care. I only know
that vou came by them honestly
right.
HOWARD
ANNA
- fGo« /<> A** a** *** ^ * * f f ^
Howard, dear Howard. I wish I could tell you, but I can t.
HOWARD — I know that woman's insinuations are wrong
and I know, too,.that there is nothing wrong in your lite to prevent you marrying me.
ANNA _ (She leaves him and goes to below couch.) Howard, tome years ago I did something, something that, by the
hws of man, I would be put in jail for.
HOWARD - If you did anything against the laws of man,
i, was forced upon you. Therefore, it was justifiable^
Then I w.U
ANNA - Some day it will all come out nght.
^HoT;
her
- I'll wait, dear, and I will win, too.
f^eren,e,^
(Bess and
^ ^^
o£
it (To Howard.) Oh, Howard, your sister is afratd that some
bursar will pay us a visit and steal the weddmg presents.
BESS — There are some valuable things m that room. ( To
Anna.) Anna, dear, will you come with me and help me lock up
the silver?
.
ST-/SiSWir S-S. Allen's job and have
a Scotch.
r
— Just a moment, father.
FISK — Oh, it's "father" this time, instead of Pop.
You
have a favor to ask. How much do you want?
HOWARD - No, no, no. The biggest favor of my life.
pISK _ It is yours. What is it?
HOWARD - I have just asked Anna to marry me.
FISK — Yes, I know. We knew you would.
HOWARD
a
f
u„WAnr,
1
We?
Who?
£«- Oh, Anna and I.
'^^HOWARD
Way
*
FISK
- Is that so?
.
,
We were only speaking about it
Well, she has refused me
- Yes, I know that, too.
in a
I think I know just when
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
she will accept you. But I do not know why she puts you off.
HOWARD — She told me why she puts me off.
FISK — What is the reason, son?
HOWARD — That is a secret, Pop.
FISK — Well, it is a secret, too, when she will accept you.
HOWARD — Nell Van Housen broke in on us and made
some very caustic and brutal remarks about how Anna dresses
and lives so well on thirty-five a week.
FISK — Don't let that worry you, she made it all in a wonderful way. And that is a secret, too.
HOWARD — It never worried me. Say, Pop, you seem to
have lots of secrets with Anna.
FISK — (Chuckles.) Indeed I have. But I am just crazy
to get them off my* chest.
HOWARD — She says she loves me, but can't marry me.
That's a new one on me.
FISK — I tell you, don't let it worry you. Wait.
HOWARD — Yes, that is what Anna says. Wait.
FISK — Well, trust her.
HOWARD — Oh, I do, I do. But, Pop, you are anxious
for me to get married, aren't you?
FISK — Certainly, my boy, if it will keep you at home.
HOWARD — Well, use your secrets with Anna to hurry it
along, will you?
FISK — Can't be done. Can't be done.
HOWARD — Can't be done?
FISK — No, you must have patience.
(To be continued,.)
AN UNWELCOME GIFT
A district governor under Mirwan Al-Ja'di, the last of the
Umayyad dynasty, made him a gift of a black male slave. The
king acknowledged the gift in the following terse note:
"If thou couldst have found a number less than one, and
a color worse than black, thou wouldst have surely chosen them
to make me a present therewith."
/
�r
NOVEMBER, 1927
4i:
The Alim's Revenge
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
It was during my railroading days in the delta of the Nile
for "The Egyptian Delta Railway Co."
Duty called me one summer afternoon to a small village
called Baltan, on the Tawfiqieh canal at little over three miles
to the south of Benha, the town once famous for its honey and
for the mound of an old city in its vicinity. In the National
Museum at Cairo, the visitor will see a beautiful red granite bust
of Julius Ceasar which was found at Benha. At Benha also the
Alexandria tracks join those of Isma'ilieh, whence they proceed
as one to Cairo. Hence a visitor to Egypt, whether he lands at
Alexandria or at Port Said, must pass thru Benha on his way to
Cairo. So much for Benha.
As I was saying, duty called me to Baltan. My business
with the station master was soon ended, and with it ended my
endurance of the fierce heat. The station was a one-story frame
building on the bank of the canal, unprotected from the deadly
shafts of the Egyptian summer sun. The water of the canal
looked inviting and forbidding at the same time—it looked cooling, to be sure, but it was muddy also. Try another proposition,
said I to myself. Behind the station were the fields, and then
the village with its low houses almost hid from view by high
trees. In one of the fields I espied a "saqieh."
Now, to a reader thousands of miles from Egypt, a "saqieh n
is a simple, primitive water-wheel, turned by a cow or some other
domestic animal, an instrument, which, when turned, lifts from
a well the water by means of which alone, the fields are enabled
to show any signs of life at all. But to me on that hot afternoon,
a "saqieh" was an oasis. I have no doubt that my feelings at
that moment were akin to those of the Arab when, after losing
all hope of finding water and consequently life, he sees before
him the long fingers of the stately palms pointing to the cool
shade and refreshing water below.
The saqieh was hid from view by a cluster of trees, but I
knew by the groans of the wheels under their heavy load of jars
and water that the patient cow was marching round and round,
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and the cooling water was being poured into the stone trough,
whence it proceeds to the field.
I crossed the field and approached the saqieh as quickly as
possible. There in the cool shade of the trees, enjoying the cool
waves of air caused by the falling water, I found half a dozen
old men from the village.
A quaint assembly! Three score years was the average age.
One was stretched full length on the ground with a sun dried
brick for a pillow, another was drawing mystic circles in the dust
with a small stick, one was rolling a cigarette, another was rearranging the folds of his white turban—and all were listening to
a patriarch who, with the fingers of his right hand in his hoary
beard, was saying something which he, however, cut short as I
approached.
I am not a Mohammedan, but, and in order to find grace
in the eyes of the ancient assembly, I saluted as an orthodox believer would salute, "Assalam 'aleikom (peace be unto you!)",
said I, and sure enough, a better salutation, as the Quraan orders
came in return. "And unto you be peace and the mercy of Allah
and His blessing."
What more does a mortal need or wish for?
I bathed my hands and face in the water and, greatly refreshed, arranged a seat as near the water as possible. No questions were asked and, evidently, all took me for a passenger
awaiting the arrival of a train.
Men, on whose backs time has kneaded his dough and baked
his bread, are a book between whose covers the thinker finds a
theme, the artist a charming subject, the so-called man of the
world and, above all, the young, a guide. It was an interesting
"book" that I found around that saqieh. These people were rustic in their ways and appearance, simple in their philosophy, original in their mode of reasoning, but a book, withal, and a book
of wisdom.
In due form I solicited their pardon for intruding on their
privacy and interrupting their chat and begged the speaker to
continue where he had let off, adding "perchance, I may be allowed to gather from your venerable lips the ripe fruits of knowledge and wisdom."
Thus persuaded, the kindly old man smiled and resumed his
speech.
"As I was saying before the Efendi's arrival, there are
�NOVEMBER, 1927
'
43
mountains of wisdom in it. But, mark me, the question is this:
how can a man become a hammer, how is he to know whether
he is a hammer or an anvil? Says the proverb, and truly enough,
'Kiss the hand that thou cannot bite and pray that it might be
broken', but—let me tell you a story.
"Once upon a time a certain sheikh in the country sent his
only son to Cairo to study in the Azher. 'There', thought this
sheik, 'my son, will, gather all the knowledge of Islam, the beauties of the Arabic tongue, and learn the ways of those godly men
who are in charge of that largest and oldest of all universities.'
"Ten years were spent in mosque, and to tell the truth,
never a day passed of the three hundred and sixty-five of each
year, on which that young man did not learn something—"
' "Something good or bad?" interrupted the old man of the
cigarette with a smile.
"Good, of course!" snapped the speaker with a wave of the
hand. "At the end of the tenth year, our young man walked out
of the door of the Azher, a turbaned 'Alim—high, credentials in
his pocket and a large store of knowledge in his head—, and
turned his face towards home and parents.
"They had no railways in those days, and it took the student
days and days to reach his home. But before this came to pass,
he happened to be on a Friday morning in a small village like
ours. 'I will rest here today,' said he to himself, 'and offer^my
Friday prayers in the mosque, and hear the Khateeb preach.'
"And so he did. Along with the men of the village he
entered the mosque; and the prescribed prayers having been said,
the Khateeb ascended the pulpit.
"Now, this Khateeb happened to be a simple man; yet he
was good enough for a simple community. He could repeat the
Quraan (as he ought to do) from one end to the other without
a single mistake or omission, but this was the limit of his knowledge of the rules of the language. Poor man, he was not a graduate
of the Azher' Good hearted and loving, zealous and kind, he
was the idol of the village. He taught the village boys the Quraan and wrote the documents for their elders—what more is required of a village Khateeb, eh?
"Well, the Khateeb ascended the pulpit, repeated the Besmelet' (In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful!)
and the 'Hemdelet' (Praise be unto God the Lord of the universe, etc.), and then began a sermon. But, alas! not less than a
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
dozen grammatical errors were committed before fifty words
were uttered. In the eyes of a young 'Alim fresh from the Azher, proud of his knowledeg and ability, not rid yet of the book's
monotonous routine, this was an unpardonable sin. Such ignorance could be tolerated in a country school master in his schoolhouse, but not in a Khateeb on the pulpit of a mosque—may Allah forgive him!
"Our young 'Alim was beside himself j he jumped to the
pulpit, and every one could see the fire of indignation in the
sincere eyes. Everybody recognized the garb and address of the
student of the Azher, and every eye was opened to its fullest
extent with surprise and expectation.
" 'Fools that you are!' cried he, 'how dare you tax the patience of Allah by allowing this blasphemous old babbler to stand
on this holy pulpit and poison your ears with his outlandish jargon, his barbarous language and wild tongue?'
"I was told, friends, that he proceeded no farther, for the
congregation rushed in a body to the pulpit, carried the young
man out of the mosque and escorted him out of the village with
kicks and blows by no means gentle or friendly. Why, excepting the blessed prophet and his noble successors, this Khateeb was
the holiest, the most learned and the best man in the world in
the eyes and consideration of his parishioners. It was madness
to beard the lion in his den!
"In due time the young 'Alim reached home—but in what
condition? Ask me not about it; neither ask me about the surprise and the astonishment of the father. He, however, was told
of the adventure which, to the indignation of the son, was to the
older man a cause for great amusement and mirth.
" 'My boy,' finally said the father, 'I find that you have
learned nothing in the Azher. Go back, my boy, to your sheikh
(professor) and make him acquainted with your adventure, tell
him that I have sent you back for a more complete education.'
"To make a long story short," said the old man after a
pause, "our young man reached the Azher without running into
any fresh trouble. His sheikh laughed heartily on hearing the
story and spoke to his charge in this manner: 'My boy, your father did right in sending you back to me. You were right, my
boy, in resenting the errors of the Khateeb, you acted the part
of a true and zealous Moslem, but you did not act your part in
the proper and wise way. I have nothing for you within these
Go!
�NOVEMBER, 1927
!
I
I
'45
walls except a bed during the night. All the rest of your time
must be spent on the streets, in the bazaars, in the markets, in
the coffee houses, among the donkey boys. Watch him who
smokes the Hasheesh and mark his words and actions, listen to the
clerk in the shop drive a bargain, study the farmer with his cage
full of chickens and the man of the city with silk robe and white
turban} follow the dervish thru the streets, and note the 'Alim
with his meek looks and humble ways. A) gale, my boy, will extinguish a candle, but it will add to the fury of a conflagration.
Go!' and the astonished student went.
"At the end of a year and as Allah would have it, the young
'Alim found himself on a Friday near the same village. He
readily joined the procession and entered the mosque for prayer.
In due course and form the prayers were repeated and then the
same old Khateeb ascended the pulpit. The 'Besmelet' and
'Hemdelet' were repeated correctly enough, but when the sermon was reached, the speaker showed no signs of improvement
whatever. But our 'Alim kept his seat and listened so intently
that an observer would have imagined that the young man's
salvation depended on every word uttered.
"The sermon was ended; but before the Khateeb could descend from the pulpit, and while a deep silence of admiration and
devotion reigned, the young Azherian solemnly ascended the pulpit. This time he mentioned Allah as was appropriate and praised Him in an impressive way, and then began: 'Brethren, allow
me as a graduate of the Azher to congratulate you for and commend to you the ability of this venerable man. I envy you the
privilege of listening to him week after week. A holy man he
is, in truth, for the words that he has uttered are the words of
a chosen one. May Allah almighty be merciful to him, and may
the prophet (over him may Allah pray, to him may Allah send
peace!) prepare a mansion in paradise for him. Reverend sir,
grant me a boon, I pray. Grant me one of your sacred hairs to
carry around my body as a blessed charm, as a talisman by the
virtue of which I might be able to ward off evil and the Shaitan
(satan).'
"Saying this he solemnly, with bent head and folded arms
approached the old man, then, with the most respectful of attitudes, he put out his hand and plucked out one of the hairs of
the Khateeb's white beard. This he kissed and thrust in the folds
i of his turban.
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"There was a mighty rush for the pulpit, hundreds of hands
were stretched to the head ofi the old Khateeb, hairs were pulled
by the handful; every man wanted one for himself and one for
every membeil of his family. In less time than it takes to tell it
the poor old man was stripped of every hair in his head. Was
he angered? By no means. His face was covered with blood,
to be sure, but there was on it a smile of joy and ecstasy. Moreover, the young man was royally feasted by the parishioners and
escorted from the village with gifts.
"Aye, neighbors, while every man's fate is written on his
brow, and while man cannot create an opportunity, yet Allah has
given him the power to see it when it appears, and in many cases,
the power to twist and shape it to meet his wishes and bring him
the coveted result. What is your, opinion, Brother Ali?"
I did not stop to hear Ali's opinion; I saluted and ran across
the field to catch my train.
ARAB PROVERBS
Your true brother is he who helps you with his gold and
not with his assertion of relationship.
With patience you are bound to conquer.
By giving alms you will increase your wealth.
The enemy of man is his stomach.
The boon of life is in worthy deeds.
Man's misfortune comes from his tongue.
Pulchritude is a great boon, but affability is equally as precious.
Retrieve in your old age what you have missed in your youth.
Preciousness of speech is in its brevity.
Take a companion and he is your equal.
�47
NOVEMBER, 1927
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Ed?tor.
ARE SYRIA AND LEBANON
SO MUCH CHATTEL?
J
There are rumors afloat that
France may cede Syria to Italy.
When newspapers mention Syria,
they mean it, of course, to include
Lebanon, because the two countries
are inseparable twins. This to us is
a vital question and we do not hesitate to give our opinion on it and
declare that the rumors must be unfounded as we cannot believe that
France would treat Syria and Lebonon as so much chattel for the following reasons:
1—The Syrians and Lebanese are
net slaves, nor is their country offered at public auction.
2—The Syrians and Lebanese have
chosen France as their adviser and
guide as proof of their faith in her.
If, consequently, she were to neglect
and discard them now that they are
in most need of her, such action
would constitute a gross breach of
trust, nay, even treason, which
France never committed before in
all her history, even from the time
she was still known under the name
of Gaul.
3—For France to give up Lebanon
and Syria would cast a reflection on
her statesmen,, her military leaders
and her army, while we know from
both the ancient and modern history of France that she never forfeits her honor, no matter what the
sacrifice.
4—Lebanon is to France another
Gibraltar not only in a small area
or a certain pass, but in the whole
of Asia. It is doubtful if France
would commit the mistake of giving
up this stronghold as she has done
once before by relinquishing her
hold on Egypt.
5—By withdrawing from Syria
and Lebanon France would be exposing the safety of the Christians
whose protector she has been ever
since the Crusades, nay, even as far
back as the days of Charlemagne
and Haroun Al-Rashid.
6—Many Allied Powers sought to
win the favor of Syria and Lebanon
after the war but the two countries
declared their choice to be for
France. Now if France should give
up her mandate such action would
be a victory for Mussolini and for
England. The least effect of such
a policy would be to irreparably
undermine the prestige of France
and embolden Morocco, Algeria and
Tunis to revolt. There could be no
interpretation of her withdrawal
�. mmm
48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
from Syria other than that she failed to suppress a minor revolt of
some unorganized bands, and her
helplessness to deal with a revolution undertaken by a well-organized
army would be taken as a matter of
course. Even in the Senegal there
are hundreds of thousands of welldisciplined soldiers.
7—We are inclined to believe that
these reports about France's future
intentions are groundless and circulated by her enemies to hurt her
in her prestige, but that France will
remain loyal to her trust.
8—If, as a matter of supposition,
it becomes necessary to change mandatories, then it is the incontestable
right of the Syrians themselves to
chose their own mandatory. What
is certain is that not one in a hundred would want Italy to replace
France as mandatory over Syria and
Lebanon.
9—If France wishes to withdraw
from Syria and Lebanon at all, then
we are in favor of again approaching the United States for accepting
the mandate.
10—In summing up, we would repeat that all of the above is more
or less in the nature of conjecture
and that we earnestly hope that
France will act on her principles of
"Liberty, Fraternity and Equality",
and discard her former vacillation
and indecision which her enemies interpreted as weakness. It would also
be well for her to put a stop to the
corruption of her minor officials
which has created this chaotic political situation.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Oct. 21, 1927.)
ALL ARE WILLING
EXCEPT THE BRIDE
Among our popular proverbs is
the following: "There is no smoke
without fire."
The Arabs also say: "There is no
news but must have some foundation."
Now we are in a position to verify
the truth of both adages in what was
reported lately by the London correspondents of the New York Evening Post and of the Sun. The proposition that Spain withdraw from
Morocco and France from Syria now
seems almost an accomplished fact.
When, about a year ago or a little
over, the rumor that France was to
withdraw from Syria gained circulation, itj was stated by competent observers that France herself had
launched this rumor for the effect
it would have on the Syrians by
striking fear in their hearts and
driving them to cling to her. She
also hoped to prompt them by this
means to co-operate with her and
desist from demanding from her
their usurped rights.
The truth of the matter, however,
appears to be other than what people
generally supposed. France seems
to have reached the end of her resources in treating the Syrian question because the basis on which she
sought a solution is utterly false.
The French, besides, upon assuming
the responsibility of the mandate
over Syria, had imagined things that
did not exist. They considered the
country a mere colony even before
occupying it under the terms of the
mandate. It was to them another
Morocco, notwithstanding the many
differences of geographical location,
of psychology and of civilization.
Consequently, they inflicted heavy
losses on themselves and on others.
N0VEMI
Now let x,
new deal.
What is c
gain, France
will not los
ways on the
gain. But \
tion in these
What can b
tage?
We will i
considered, j
of diplomat
to dictation
may shape <
consent. T
by this tim
weakness
thwart the
our country
fact that i
ments were
would not h
difficulties i
date.
Chamberl
feet in evei
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', to the heai
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her happim
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There can
such is the
A REPl
May the
old Turkis
Lebanon!
was to ap
certain fa
regard to
�NOVEMBER, 1927
49
the avowed reason that such families were the acknowledged leaders
of the country. Now, however, the
same order prevails without regard
even to the rank of the families.
There are in the sham Lebanese
Republic two houses of Parliament—
the Senate and the House of Representatives. In each of these there
are to be found brothers and first
cousins holding memberships and
draining the resources of the country
with no apparent benefit other than
to provide sinecures for men who are
otherwise without occupation. There
is no precedent in the Legislatures
of civilized nations where the brother sits with the brother, or the cousin with the cousin in the same body,
be it judicial or legislative, other
than Lebanon.
Italy herself has not resorted in
its administration of Tripoli to the
means employed by France in Syria
and Lebanon.
>
What we have been witnessing so
far of the work of the French High
Commissioners is a continuous circular motion around the same point.
We are fed at first on alluring promises, but all these empty words are
pricked in the end like a bubble.
The only Commissioner who held out
any real promise of reform was General Serrail, but his rashness and
irascibility brought about the Syrian revolution which has not abated
to the present time. Ponsot was
thought to have some wisdom behind
his silence, but all his efforts proved
that the only suggestion he could
offer was the combining of the two
A REPUBLIC OF RELATIVES
Houses of the Lebanese Parliament
May the mercy of God be on the into one body. This is both ridiculold Turkish regime in Syria and ous and shameful. The proper course
Lebanon! For the old accepted rule would have been for him to annul
was to appoint to office members of the appointed upper House and to
certain families and clans without vest the legislative power in the
regard to fitness and propriety for elective body or the House of Rep-
Now let us cast a glance on tihe
new deal.
What is certain is that Italy will
gain, France will benefit and Spain
will not lose, while England is always on the better end of every bargain. But we... where is our position in these negotiations and deals ?
What can be our benefit or advantage?
We will never consent to being
considered, just pawns in the hands
of diplomats. We will not submit
to dictation by the Powers that they
may shape our destinies without our
consent. The Powers have learned
by this time that in spite of our
weakness we have the power to
thwart the designs of colonists in
our country. Proof of which is the
fact that if the post-war arrangements were to our liking France
would not have met with her present
difficulties in carrying out her mandate.
Chamberlain's arrangement is perfect in every detail. It is beautiful
in the eyes of England and beloved
to the heart of France. It is also
dear to the soul of Mussolini. But
all these suitors, in spite of their
beauty and wealth and power, do
not suit the bride! The reason is
obvious. Not one of them cares for
her happiness but each considers her
a ready prey and a coveted prize.
There can be no world peace while
such is the psychology of diplomats.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.
Oct. 26, 1927.)
�'
50
resentatives and thereby save the
taxpayers undue expenditures of
sinecures to the end that they would
not have to resort to the extreme
means of shutting down the city in
protest against heavy and unnecessary taxation.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y.)
ST. COLUMBUS
The United States celebrates every
year on the twelfth of October a
holiday in honor of Columbus. This
holiday is of recent origin and except
for the government bureaus few
people observe it. We, this year,
were among the non-celebrants. By
force of habit and pressure of business we found ourselves at the office
at the regular time. But for some
reason or other the spirit of Columbus was hovering over us. We let
drop the pen and gave ourselves up
to contemplation. Very soon we fancied we saw Columbus as a great
saint with a halo around his head
such as the painters picture the common run of saints.
And why shouldn't Columbus be
a saint ? Why could we not call him
the patron saint of the Immigrants ?
Had not Columbus fallen martyr
to his principles?
Had he not suffered persecution
and torture and ridicule because of
his great dream?
Had he not performed miracles ?
What greater miracle could there
be than his having roused the indolent from their lethargy and firing
them with ambition to cross the
ocean and court danger in search of
wealth? These same ones who come
to America penniless achieve great
riches by dint of hard work. If these
same ones were to put as much effort in work while at home as they
do abroad they would attain the
same results. They would not then
be in need of undertaking dangerous
THE SYRIAN WORLD
journeys. But these are only some
of the miracles of St. Columbus.
Nevertheless, Columbus is still
subject even in America to the insults and curses of these who fail.
How often do we hear the words
repeated, "Damn the religion of Columbus"? As if the religion of
Columbus was other than supreme
ambition, revolt against myths and
superstitions, and longing for the
unknown.
We should, rather, all be followers of the religion of Columbus.
We should all declare Columbus a
great prophet.
Let Moses, Jesus and Mohammed
remain enthroned on their exalted
prophetic pedestals in the Old World.
But we should follow in the footsteps of Columbus, the prophet of
the New World.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Oct. 13, 1927.)
PARTIALITY TO ARMENIANS
The Lebanese Government has begun building operations in the new
Armenian quarter on the outskirts
of Beirut. This is a rank travesty
on right and decency, and an outrage
to humanity. For where could justice be found in the action of the
government which neglects its own
suffering nationals and deals out its
bounty to incoming strangers?
Those who know the number of native sufferers are much surprised
that they do not receive the attention of the government when their
plight is much worse than that of
the refugee Armenians. The Lebanese Government complains that it
has not sufficient funds to rebuild
Rashayya and help its destitute inhabitants. It claims that the official
lottery it undertook to hold in their
behalf proved unsuccessful. Still we
find it helping the Armenians with
an open hand. (Syrian Eagle, N.Y.)
JOVEM.
A VOICE
Editor, The
!
i>
Though
have beer
aspects of
Syrian Wo
previous ki
And to thi
would othe
it brings i
ai realizati
take stock
better ther
ment. Thi
dam built i
ing and d<
Hitherto
tremendou
individual
past. For
many yeai
in New Z
the name
know wha
when the i
the matte
diffident i
cerning t
selves the
of course
thing mm
***The
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Church j
the kind
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***I m
telling yi
ed readi:
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�'51
NOVEMBER, 1927
Readers' Forum
A VOICE FROM NEW ZEALAND
Editor, The Syrian World,
Pi
Though born in New Zealand, I
have been familiar with many
aspects of, our national life, but The
Syrian World has consolidated my
previous knowledge and added to it.
And to those of our people who
would otherwise be outside the pale,
it brings a sense of consciousness,
of realization. They are enabled to
take stock of their place in life to
better themselves and their environment. The Syrian World is like a
dam built across a river for conserving and developing useful energy.
Hitherto there must have been a
tremendous waste of concerted and
individual racial idealism on our
past. For instance, it does not seem
many years since our country people
in New Zealand seemed to balk at
the name "Syrian". Many did not
know what to really call themselves
when the enquiring stranger brought
the matter up and they would be
diffident about saying much concerning their race. Among themselves they would be "Awlad Arab",
of course. Now they have something more definite to go by.
***The picture "Anna Ascends" I
chanced to see by accident in Christ
Church just two years ago. It is
the kind of material one is glad to
see and the author of the play is to
be congratulated. You could not have
done better than reproduce the play
in your columns.
***I must not go further without
telling you how much I have enjoyed reading The Syrian World and
about the high standards maintained. It is an unusual production; I
have never seen anything like it. I
suppose you are continually devising
new schemes for improving it, but
I would not bother much about that
—It's good enough as it is. Most
sponsors of a new publication would
apologize that their effort is modest
and will grow like a child—bigger
and better. There is no need to wish
your magazine a better standard,
only a bigger circulation.
C. Assid Corban, M. D., Ch. B.
Kihikihi, New Zealand.
THE IDEA OF MIXED CLUBS
Editor, The Syrian World,
To our invitation to get into communication with other Syrian organization in the country, published
some time ago in The Syrian World,
we have received many letters on
various subjects from all over the
United States.
It was extremely gratifying to us
to establish contact with Syrian organizations in widely separated
points and to learn that The Syrian
World covers the country so fully.
Most of the correspondence received was from individuals rather than
clubs. Practically every inquiry we
had showed that the writer could not
comprehend how it was possible for
us to organize a club composed of
both sexes without objection from
our parents. Many advised us that
they were living in populous Syrian
centers but that somehow or other
the Syrians failed to band themselves together.
For the Good Fellows Club.
Joseph H. Campbell.
Tyler, Texas,
�"
'52
THE SYRIAN WORL
tl
n
About Syria and Syrians
HONORING TWO SYRIAN
PROFESSORS OF ARABIC
On the twenty-second of October
the Syrian Educational Society of
New York held a banquet at the
Hotel Astor in celebration of the
golden jubilee of two Syrian professors who have spent fifty years
each in teaching the Arabic language in Beirut. Prof. Abdullah
Bistany and Prof. Jabr Dumit are
the veterans honored, the first being
connected with the College de la Sagesse and the second with the American University of Beirut. Their
jubilee is being celebrated in all
parts of the Arabic-speaking world
and throughout North and South
America wherever there are large
Syrian colonies.
The banquet in New York was well
attended by former pupils and
friends of the two teachers. President Nasib Kalaf of the Syrian Educational Society made the opening
address and then ceded the chair to
Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor of AlHoda and dean of the Syrian newspaper corps of New York. The
speakers of the evening included
Joseph Khoury, editor of Ash-Shaab;
Rev. Anis Baroody; Rev. Mansour
Stephan; Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin; and
Dr. R. T. Deen.
GIFT OF SYRIANS
TO BRAZILIAN NATION
There is now being erected in the
great plaza facing the Industrial
Building in Rio de Janeiro, capital
of Brazil, a great monument which
the Brazilian papers describe as "the
most magnificent work of art of its
kind in the country."
This monument, consisting of a
shaft which will rise to the full
height of the building facing it and
surrounded by a number of symbolical statues, is the gift of the Syrians of Brazil to the Brazilian nation on the occasion of the hundredth
anniversary of the country's independence. Its erection was made
possible by the successful campaign
waged for the collection of subscriptions by the enterprising newspaper
the Sphinx, and it will represent,
when completed, the crowning work
of one of the best known Italian
sculptors with whom the Syrians of
Brazil contracted for the work.
'
ISLAM IN AMERICA
An interesting news item published by the Beirut newspaper LisanUl-Hal, and ascribed to an unnamed
American magazine, makes the unqualified assertion that the religion
of Islam has so increased lately in
the United States that there is
"hardly a single city or town that
has no Mohammedan society composed mostly of American converts."
A survey of the situation is reported to have been made by a certain Jesuit father, also unnamed.
Particular emphasis is laid on the
point that "seventy prominent Americans are conducting active propaganda to spread Islam throughout
the United States, having established national headquarters and erected
a lofty mosque."
�NOVEMBER, 1927
AL-HODA OPENS FREE SCHOOL
Al-Hoda, the Syrian daily newspaper of New York, announces its
readiness to reopen this year its
free evening school for teaching
Arabic, English and French.
Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor of AlHoda, in commenting editorially on
the subject, emphasizes the fact that
tuition and books are absolutely free,
and even promises all pupils free
subscription to his paper while in attendance. His only stipulation is that
enrollment in each class be no less
than ten.
DIRECTOR OF LEBANON
NATL BANK HONORED
/!
>
I
Over a thousand guests gathered
at the Hotel Astor on Oct. 29 to take
part in a testimonial of friendship
and admiration for the Hon. George
A. Colgan, one of the prominent
Democratic leaders of Brooklyn and
a director of the Lebanon National
Bank. The Hon. James J. Walker,
Mayor of New York City, and many
other prominent Democratic leaders
spoke of the high esteem in which
Mr. Colgan is held by his many
friends, and of the extent to Which
they appreciated his work. The Lebanon National Bank had a table reserved at the banquet at which were
seated many of the directors as well
as other guests including both Americans and Syrians.
It should be most gratifying to
Syrians to witness the rapid growth
of their bank ant its constantly increasing power and influence, although it is but five years old. Its
officers and directors are not only
men of wide banking experience, but
of extensive personal influence and
popularity.
53
NEW YORK ATTRACTS
BEST SYRIAN TALENT
Sami Shawa, the famous Syrian
violinist, arrived in New York in
October for a few months' visit to
the United States. His reception by
his admirers and friends was most
enthusiastic, his fame having preceded him through newspaper accounts of his success and the medium
of his phonographic records. He is
to hold a concert on November 5 at
the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Mr. Shawa is one of the organizers of the Conservatory of Music in
Cairo and one of the foremost exponents of Arab music in its pure,
classical form. His art is held in
high favor in the East and he enjoys the special patronage of His
Majesty King Fuad of Egypt. His
concert in New York will be under
the auspices of His Excellency Assal
Bey, the Egyptian Consul.
A recent arrival back in New York
after a two years' stay in Syria and
Egypt is Mr. Anis Fuleihan, the
gifted Syrian pianist who received
his musical education in the United
States. While abroad our young
pianist gave several concerts at the
American University of Beirut and
elsewhere in Syria and Egypt.
SYRIAN ORPHANAGE
CLOSES ITS DOORS
The Syrian Orphanage, one of the
foremost humanitarian Syrian undertakings in America, had to close
its doors in October of this year due
to lack of funds.
This announcement was made by
the semi-weekly newspaper As-Sayeh, published in New York and in
close touch with the Rt. Rev. Aftimios Ofeish, Syrian Orthodox Arch-
�54
bishop of North America, who was
the founder of the orphanage.
The number of inmates in this institution had, before it closed, reached forty-four. The founder resorted
to all possible means of economy in
a desperate effort to keep the orphans
together, but the response to his appeals, according to As-Sayeh, was
not sufficient to maintain the institution and the founder found himself
forced to give up. The paper making
the announcement lauds the untiring
zeal of the Archbishop and mercilessly lashes the Syrians for their
failure to provide for its continuance.
SYRIAN PHYSICIAN MAKES
VALUABLE EXPERIMENTS
A Syrian physician is well on the
road to being one of the greatest
benefactors of the farmers of New
Zealand. He is Dr. C. Assid Corban,
a member of the staff of the Mental
Hospital in Kihikihi who is now engaged in conducting an investigation
on the possible therapeutic applications of "tutin", the active principle
of the poisonous tutu plant of New
Zealand which has caused the death
of tens of thousands of cattle and
other stock in that country in the
past. Dr. Corban tried the effects
of the poison on himself many times
recently, in addition to being one of
tjhe first to use it in medicine. He
had not learned until lately that just
one other New Zealand experimentator had tried the poison on himself
beforei, and that was in 1880. The
experiment proved abortive and the
doctor nearly killed himself although
he used the dried extract. Our Dr.
Corban, however, has experienced no
ill effects of the poison. He is the
first, as far as is known, to have
tried the active principle in known
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tfOVEM
doses on himself.
Dr. Corban, in conducting his investigation, circularized the press of
the Dominion and met with the most
favorable response. His work was
highly praised by all and we learn
that he has sufficient data to produce
a book on the subject, while he plans
to use his own observations as material for another work.
tuTes in tl
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tainly his
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would be
MOTION PICTURES IN ARABIA
The Arabic East is a medley of
contrasts. While one section, notably Syria, is going the way of
modernism a little too fast for healthy absorption, other sections are
still living under the conditions
which obtained several thousands of
years ago and still remain obdurate
against permitting the infiltration of
foreign or modern influences.
In a report by Mr. James Loder
Park, American Vice-Consul at Aden,
Arabia, dated September 1, 1927,
the following excerpts shooldd be of
especial interest £o our readers
"Arabia has not yet become a
good market for motion pictures,
and the existing demand has not yet
justified the establishment of theaters, except in Aden and its immediate environs. The factor militating against the display of pictures
in the Moslem-ruled countries of
Arabia, such as Hejaz, Asir* Yemen,
and Mokalla, is the opposition of
the rulers to the ideas of pictures
of the human face or form, according to the strict interpretation of
Moslem law, which counts such representations as sacrilegious. Italian
activity in Yemen (southwestern
Arabia) has been marked in the direction of establishing motion pie-
A LE
The G(
Republic
tion of ai
lar to th<
at Dama
a semi-of
direct su
Educatio
appointei
Republic
promote
guage as
to introi
�55
OVEMBER, 1927
ti&es in the coast city of Hodeida,
biit up to the present the consent of
the ruler (the imam) has not been
obtained. He, and even more certainly his northern neighbor, King
lieved to be opposed to motion picIbn Saud of Hejaz and Nejd, are betures, even as they have always been
firmly opposed to paintings, photographs, statues, or other representations of human beings. Arabia, therefore promises to be a difficult market, with the exception of the British
administered Aden
Protectorate,
and the rather liberal Sultan of Mokalla on the southern coast of the
Arabian Peninsula.
"Aden, therefore, is the only part
of Arabia where pictures are actually shown, and up to the present,
they have generally been pictures of
exceedingly common or archaic type,
modern plays being too expensive
for the local public to support. The
result has been weekly exhibitions
of pictures several years old. The
theaters are poorly attended for this
reason. If better films were shown,
and corresponding increases of admission charges were made, there
would be a better attendance."
A LEBANESE SCIENTIFIC
ACADEMY
The Government of the Lebanese
Republic has authorized the formation of an Academy of Science similar to the Arabic Scientific Academy
at Damascus. This body will enjoy
a semi-official status being under the
direct supervision of the Minister of
Education and its members being
appointed by the President of the
Republic. Its foremost object is to
promote the use of the Arabic language as a medium of learning and
to introduce to it modern termino-
logy. Membership will at first be
confined to thirty, but may be increased to forty at the discretion
of the President of the Republic.
No compensation is to be given members until such time as the Minister
of Education sees fit. Foreigners
may be elected to honorary membership.
It is further stated that the Academy will give annual prizes for the
best works answering its purpose.
AUTOMOBILES IN SYRIA
Official figures published in the
Beirut paper Lisan Ul-Hal on the
number of registered automobiles in
Syria and Lebanon as of October 1,
1927, show that the total for the
country is 5,732 distributed as follows :
Damascus
Aleppo
Horns
Hama
Deir Ezzoor
Alooites
Beirut
653
629
101
93
41
215
4,000
Total
5,732
The number for Beirut, it would
seem, must include the whole Lebanese Republic and the cities of the
coast.
LEBANON HONORS
ZAGHLUL PASHA
Upon the death of the great
Egyptian leader, Saad Zaghul Pasha,
the government of the Republic of
Lebanon hastened to express to the
Egyptian nation its sympathy, as
would become a good neighbor and
friend.
�-".'j,'. isiBP^—
-£-
56
Now, however, the government
thinks it has not done enough in
way of honoring the Egyptian leader and it has decided to perpetuate
his name in the capital of the republic by naming one of its principal streets after him. Consequently,
there is now in Beirut Zaghlul
Street, along with those bearing the
names of Allenby, Gouraud and other foreign celebrities.
MOSLEM WOMEN
DISCARD THE VEIL
A certain progressive element
among the educated Mohammedan
women of Syria is conducting a
strong agitation in favor of discarding the "habara", the conventional veil which all Moslem women
are required to wear when appearing in public. In this Syrian women
are following in the footsteps of
their Turkish sisters Who, under the
liberal regime of Mustapha Kamal
Pasha, have adopted all European
customs to the great grief and disapproval of the orthodox Moslems
who see in the movement only a
drift from the tenets of the holy
Koran.
One of the manifestations of these
Syrian progressives was the staging of a public demonstration in
Damascus for the assertion of their
rights. Some leaders of the movement from Beirut visited Damascus,
the stronghold of conservatism in
Syria, and attempted to organize
the public demonstration. News of
their designs reached the authorities
and emissaries were sent to dissuade
them from their purpose. The feminists were obdurate and finally
there were threats of using force.
It should not be inferred that the
Syrian Government is committed to
T//£ SYRIAN WORLD
any special policy in this matter,
but the resentment by the orthodox
Mohammedans against the movement
is so strong that the authorities
feared that disorders and riots
would ensue. There has been since
established a sharp watch on the
leaders of the movement to prevent
the organization of any public demonstration in support of the women's
demands.
Finding their efforts thwarted in
this direction, the leaders are now
planning to wait upon the French
High Commissioner in Beirut to ask
his intercession in the matter. The
determination displayed by the leaders would indicate quick acquiescence
to their demands.
Police authorities in Damascus
have prohibited women from appearing in the streets unveiled and unescorted. A woman who went to the
bazaars in European garb and alone
with the ostensible purpose of doing
her own shopping was taken into
custody and escorted to her home.
This incident has elicited from the
leaders of the movement a statement to the effect that lone women
venturing out in public are bound
to harm the cause. They would prefer instead the organization of a
monster demonstration of at least
cfive hundred women. They declare
that they are now working actively
towards this goal and it would seem
by their determination that the
movement is rapidly gaining momentum.
EGYPTIAN DELEGATE
HONORED BY SYRIANS
The Syrian newspapers of Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paolo, Brazil, describe at great length the several
receptions tendered by the Syrian
m
�I
{NOVEMBER, 1927
(colony of the two cities to Abdul
Rahman Azzam Bey, the Egyptian
idelegate to the industrial conference
held in Brazil last September. The
Syrians seized on this occasion to
demonstrate anew their great love
for their brother Egyptians who
have now achieved political independence and are the leaders in the
Arabic renaissance.
Except for the time official duties
called him elsewhere, Abdul Rahman
Bey was always among the Syrians
who feated him most hospitably and
deluged him with speeches and
poems. The Egyptian delegate expressed unbounded satisfaction at
the progress he witnessed among
the Syrians of Brazil and declared
that the whole Arabic-speaking
world should be proud of their
achievements.
AS IN FRANCE, SO IN SYRIA
The Syrians would want to challenge the French at their own game,
especially When it is a matter of
honor and the valor and courage of
one of the principals is in question.
Syrian newspapers report that on
'57
the 21st of September a Syrian lawyer of Aleppo, Fethalla Sakkal,
challenged the French judge M.
Charaire (?) to a duel following an
insult by the latter to the former
in public. The Syrian lawyer had
been dining with some of his friends
in one of the elite restaurants when
the French judge came in with
some of his friends. The lawyer
sought to speak to the Frenchman
but the latter rebuked him and called him a "dirty Syrian". An invitation to a duel was the inevitable
result but the seconds of both parties decided there was no possible
way for an encounter, as the judge
refused to meet his enemy on the
field of honor.
It would appear that the two men
were at one time bosom friends.
They quarreled for the French reason of "cherchez la femme". Then
it was that the Syrian lawyer never
was able to win a case in the court
of the French judge and he brought
accusations against him to his superiors. Matters then went from
bad to worse until the meeting in
the restaurant attended by the public insult.
Political Developments in Syria
What may be considered the outstanding political development of
the Syrian situation in the past
month is the reported agreement between. France and Italy, through the
good offices of Great Britain, over
Syria and Lebanon.
As reported to the New York
Evening Post and the Sun, Sir Austin Chamberlain was instrumental
in negotiating
an
arrangement
whereby France is to cede the Syiv
ian mandate to Italy in return for
the surrender to her by Spain of the
Spanish zone in Morocco. France,
besides, is to have the promise of
Italy that the latter will not engage
in military adventures in the Balkans and Anatolia. England also
profits by this arrangemnt because
her influence in the Balkans would
be made secure and she would have
�—
58
put an end to the rivalry existing
between France and Italy as a result of their clash of interests in
the countries of the Mediterranean.
This rumor of a Franco-Italian
deal over Syria is not new. About
a year ago it was launched on its
course of publicity from what appeared to be inspired Italian sources
and caused a good deal of uneasiness in Syrian political circles for
a time. France, at that time, had
been in the thick of her war with
the Druzes and the Syrian Nationalists, and she was straining her resources to put down the revolution
while facing a hostile element within its own country. It was then
stated that the rumor was only a
political move designed to scare the
Syrians into accepting France in
preference to Italy who is heartily
hated by the Syrians for the part
she played against Syria during her
war with Turkey.
Other than the first reports about
this new arrangement between the
European Powers concerning Syria
no other news was received as to
the progress of the deal. The first
reports, however, would give us to
understand that the matter has
reached the stage of a fait accompli.
France, we are made to understand,
has despaired of her ability to come
to an understanding with the Syrians and is giving up the task as
a result of complete exhaustion.
She was, to be sure, quite reluctant
in giving her consent to the proposition of surrendering her mandate as
this would be naturally construed
as a sign of weakness and military
impotency. The tempting offer of
getting control over the Spanish
zone in Morocco, however, was too
great and she finally subordinated
sentiment to reason.
How much truth there is to these
THE SYRIAN WORLLf
7^(
I
reports remains to be seen. Som$
of the premises on which the rumoi*
is based are obviously false, as
France has now completely succeeded in putting down the revolution.
How much France fears the recurrence of another outbreak in the
future is another question. This, and
not the war of the last two years,
may have influenced her in consenting to such a deal if the reports
are true.
The reaction of the Syrians and
Lebanese to this reported arrangement cannot yet be known unless
the comment of the Arabic press of
New York be taken as a criterion.
Judged by this standard, neither the
Nationalists nor the Francophile
press would welcome such a change.
The Nationalists, of course, would
want no European interference at
all, and least of all would they want
Italy to replace France.
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Hoda
of New York, hitherto a staunch
supporter of the French mandate,
takes this occasion to again agitate
the question of having the United
States consider the advisability of
taking the mandate over Syria.
THE DRUZE REVOLUTION
Syrian and Egyptian papers supporting the Nationalist cause still
report the existence of insurgent
bands waging guerilla
warfare
against the French in Jebel Druze
and other sections of Syria. But
even these papers admit the fact
that the French have now gained
control of the situation. What seems
to be the hardest task of the French,
however, is the reorganization of the
administration in the Druze mountain. It was reported by some nationalist papers of Egypt that the
French have given the Druzes the
,
�NOVEMBER, 1927
choice of either joining the State of
S$rria or retaining their independence, and that all chose the former
alternative with the exception of a
few leaders who nurse the ambition
of becoming governors. A change
of sentiment, however, came over
those who clamor for union with
Syria when one of the former Druze
revolutionary
leaders
published
scathing accusations against the
Syro-Palestinian
Committee
in
charge of collecting funds for the
revolution and made against the
Mohammedans the open charge that
they played favoritism and failed to
help the Druzes in the prosecution
of their military activities regardless of the consequences. The charges
would have us believe that some
members of the Committee not only
embezzled the liquid funds but went
even to the extreme of appropriating food and surgical supplies intended for the sufferers and the
wounded, and accelerated thereby
the failure of the revolutionary
movement.
Sultan Pasha Atrash, the military
leader of the Druze revolution who,
rather than submit to the French,
escaped to Transjordania with a
band of his loyal followers, is now
in the country of the Arab King, Ibn
Saoud. This king, as has been shown
by revelations of some revolutionary
leaders, had helped the revolutionary
movement in Syria to the amount of
£15,000.
He further proved his
sympathy with the revolution by
granting asylum to its refugee leader, Sultan Pasha Atrash. Now, it
appears, he 'has undergone a change
of heart and has ordered Sultan
Atrash disarmed together with all
his followers. This has been done,
acsording to nationalist sources,
through pressure from the English
59
who appear to be relentlessly pursuing Sultan Atrash inasmuch as
they were also responsible for his
expulsion from Transjordania.
That an agreement had been reached between the English and the
French to harass the remnants of
the Druze revolutionists is beyond
doubt. A report which gained wide
circulation gave the reason for this
agreement the ceding by the French
to their English neighbors of a wide
area of the Jebel Druze district.
The Druzes raised a loud cry in protest over this arrangement as it deprived them of grazing grounds for
their flocks which they considered
indispensable. It would put them,
they stated, in the position of having to cross the border into foreign
country to reach their property.
The rumor, however, was officially
denied by both the French and the
English authorities.
A report from Jaffa, Palestine,
states that the former volunteers
in the Syrian army now refugees in
that city, have held a mass meeting
at which it was resolved that a delegation be sent to wait upon the
head of the Syro-Palestinian revolutionary Committee demanding of
him either to supply them with arms
and ammunition to resume fighting the French, or to guarantee
them and their families adequate
support. Otherwise, it was agreed,
they would surrender to the French
unconditionally.
POLITICAL SITUATION
M. Ponsot, the; French High Commissioner, is making repeated visits
to Damascus and other political centers in the country with the ostensible purpose of placating the leaders and smoothing over the remain-
�/
60
ing difficulties in the way of carrying out his program. He has even
made an extended visit to Jebel
Druze and there supervised the
work of reconstruction and reorganization of the government. While
in Damascus he had a long conference with the provisional President of the State of Syria, and although nothing transpired officially
of their conversation, it was learned on good authority that Syria was
promised a form of government similar to that of Lebanon with a wide
latitude of authority vested in two
houses of parliament. Preparations
are now on foot for convening the
general assembly which is to decide
the fate of the country and the form
of government to be adopted.
A member of the French upper
house, M. Lamairie, visited Syria
recently on what he claimed to be a
pleasure trip pure and simple, but
the Syrians would not consider it
in that light. The visiting senator
paid his respects to the Maronite
Patriarch and to other religious and
civil dignitaries and sought to learn
from them their opinions on the
political situation. He was immediately taken for a special investigator sent to Syria by the government to report on the situation in
that country. Some even connected
him with the reported propaganda
in favor of creating a kingdom out
of Syria or Lebanon to place Prince
George Lutfalla on its throne, especially that there had been rumors
of this Syrian prince spending money
lavishly in Paris in promotion of
his aspirations to royalty. All this,
however, must be taken with more
than one grain of salt as the Syrian
situation seems to remain so hopelessly chaotic that nothing appears
to be more plentiful than the rumor
THE SYRIAN WORLp
i
crop. It was denied that the visiting French senator had any official
capacity while in Syria, and trie
Syrian prince can oe under no such
illusion as the possibility of creating a kingdom either of Syria or
Lebanon for the reason that he is
a Christian and consequently unacceptable to the Mohammedans of
Syria, and a Syrian Nationalist,
which would make him persona non
grata to the Christians of Lebanon.
Lebanon remains in a state of
political uncertainty due to its inability to decide on methods of economy in the conduct of the administration. It was at one time proposed to dispense with one of the
houses of Parliament as a means of
economy, but it is now reported that
this scheme has been abandoned
and other means of raising funds
to balance the budget are being
sought.
Rashayya has been given 500,000,000 francs out of customs revenues
by way of reparation, but the Rashayyans claim that this sum is altogther inadequate to meet their
necessities or repay them for the
property damage done them by the
revolutionists.
What is causing no end of agitation in the country is the government project of building a new quarter for the Armenians in the outskirts of Beirut. Even Egyptian
papers, especially those edited by
Syrians and Lebanese, severely call
the French authorities in Syria to
task for their partiality to the Armenians. The principal cause of
grievance against the Armenian refugees is that they are engaging in
cut-throat competition with the natives and almost monopolizing all
work that is to be had.
�^ATEMENT OP THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION,
JrC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24. 1912.
Of? The Syrian World published monthly at New York, N.Y, for Oct. 1,1927.
STATE OF NEW YORK.
COUNTY OF NEW YORK,
Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the state and county aforesaid,
personally appeared Salloum A. Mokarzel, who, having been duly sworn
according to law, deposes and says that he is the publisher of the The
Syrian World, and that the following is, to the best of his knowledge and
belief, a true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown
in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1921, embodied in
section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this
form, to wit:
1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing
editor, and business managers are:
Name of
Post office address—
Publisher, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
Managing Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street
Business Managers, Salloum Mokarzel
104 Greenwich Street.
2. That the owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its name and address
must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses
of stockholders owning or holding one per cent or more of total amount of
stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a firm, company, or other
unincorporated concern, its name and address, as well as those of each
individual member, must be given.)
Salloum A. Mokarzel 104 Greenwich St.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders
owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages,
or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.) None.
4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of
stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the
company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears
upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation,
en; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's
the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is givfull knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under
which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books
of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other
than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe
that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direct
or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated
by him.
5. That the average number of copies of each issue of this publication
sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers during the six months preceding the date shown above is.
(This information is required from daily publications only.)
S. A. Mokarzel.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this thirtieth day of Sept.. 1927.
[SEAL.]
Salem J. Lutfy.
(My commission expires March 30, 1929,)
�_*J
--
62
THE SYRIAN WORLL
^WW^WWWWWWWWW^WWWWWWRW^WW»¥¥W»W¥¥¥¥¥»¥¥W'»¥»»>f
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v
WHAT HAPPENED TO ANNA?
ANNA is the Syrian immigrant girl who, upon landing
; in America, discovered herself in lower Washington Street,
New York, but wanted to "ascend".
Read her wonderful story now being published serially in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
Follow this virtuous, determined and intelligent Syrian
girl in her defense of her honor and her struggle for success.
Learn what became of her when she was under the
illusion that she was a fugitive from justice for a fancied
murder, and what was the climax of her secret love for the
wealthy, educated and socially prominent young American
who had espoused her cause.
"ANNA ASCENDS", by the well-known American
author and playwright, Harry Chapman Ford, was staged on
Broadway and had a successful run of a whole season with
the famous American stage and screen star Alice Brady appearing in the stellar role. The play was later filmed for
the screen. It was never published in book form. Your
only chance to read this gripping love story eulogizing the
Syrian girl is by following it in THE SYRIAN WORLD.
/
}
"ANNA ASCENDS" is being published in its original
form to preserve all its color and dramatic interest.
A limited number of back issues of THE SYRIAN WORLD
containing former instalments of "Anna Ascends" are still
available to new subscribers.
MMAAMWk^MMMAMMMWNMMlMMWMMMlMMyWMMMWWMWWWM
1
�roVEMBER, 1927
63
fill
INDEX OF VOL. I FREE
A complete index of Volume I of THE SYRIAN WORLD comprising the twelve issues published
between July, 1926 and June, 1927, will be mailed free to any of our subscribers who wishes to
have his copies bound. Missing numbers will be
supplied, if available, at the cost of $1.00 per
copy.
Subscribers wishing us to have their copies
bound and gold stamped on the cover and back
will be accommodated at the cost of $3.50 per
volume plus postage.
A LIMITED NUMBER
OF BOUND VOLUMES
A few complete volumes of the first year of
THE SYRIAN WORLD have been bound and are
available at the price of $10.00 per volume. The
binding is in a heavy, dark green cloth cover
stamped in gold on both front and back. The
volumes are bound with index. Orders will be
filled in the order received in view of the limited
number on hand.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
64
i-Tir^MAT DAW
THE LEBANON NATIONAL
BANK
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DOWNTOWN OFFICE
New York City
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INTEREST DEPARTMENT
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Read carefully the following suggestion:
The principle of thrift is the foundation of character.
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Lincoln said:—
I will study hard and prepare myself, and someday my chance
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Banking by mail is a modern conception of good business. You
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
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The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 05
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1927 November
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Volume 2 Issue 05 of The Syrian World published November 1927. The issue opens with an article by Salloum Mokarzel which discusses the history of Syrians in New York. The next article is The Role of Microorganisms in Life and Industries written by George Knaysi, an instructor of Bacteriology at Cornell. The famous city featured in this issue is Aleppo. There is also a continuation of Harry Chapman Ford's play. The last work is a story by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and political developments in Syria.
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Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
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English
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
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New York Public Library
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Harry Chapman Ford
New York
Salim Alkazin
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/e717cdbbac110cf399a5c6fbe427b1d3.pdf
4d03e9355e6753ddbe8333c28eae02e8
PDF Text
Text
��THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
DECEMBER, 1927
No. 6.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Arabic Words in the English Vocabulary
3
PROF. BYRON SMITH
A Sufi Song (A poem)
7
AMEEN RIHANI
Problems of Syrian Youth in America
REV. W. A. MANSUR
Practical Philosophy
8
12
A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
13
MARY MOKARZEL
When My Sorrow Was Born
G. K. GIBRAN
18
Allah Joins the Extremes!
19
Everlasting Sweets
23
St. George and the Saddle-bags
24
MARIE HANNA
Ma(n and the Caliph
26
�CONTENTS (Continued)
_
To M<? $£#** 0/ "Chinese Gordon" (A poem)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
'
PAGE
27
|
Arab Proverbs
28
Famous Cities of Syria — Horns and Hama
29
The Rebuke (A poem)
7,2
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
"Anna Ascends" (A play)
33
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Dishonesty Discovered
44
Notes and Comments — By
THE EDITOR
45
Readers* Forum
JO
Spirit of the Syrian Press
$g
The Economic Situation in Syria
53
About Syria and Syrians
55
Political Developments in Syria
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
A General View of Bethlehem
Church of the Nativity
Rachel's Tomb
The Dome of the Rock
Water Wheels of the Orontes
Cedars of Lebanon in Winter
Dr. Bayard Dodge
Banquet to President and Mrs. Bayard Dodge
...£/
�<
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 6.
DECEMBER, 1927
Arabic Words In The English
Vocabulary
By
BYRON SMITH
Professor of English in the American University of Beirut.
There are about 450 words in the English language which
have come, from the Arabic. A little less than half of these are
words which are in current use. The rest are words which once
were current but now are obsolete, or words which have never
been adopted into regular use in English but occur in the books
of travellers or reports of English residents in foreign lands. _
Arabic words have entered the English language, either directly from the Arabic or through one or more intermediary languages. Those which came directly from the Arabic form a
larger group, some 130 in number. It is interesting to notice
that nearly all of them are unassimilated words, i. e., words used
by travellers and foreign residents, that have not attained current use) in English. Of those in current use, the majority show
at once their Arabic origin, both by their close resemblance to the
original Arabic, and by their meaning. They embrace such words
as sufi, afreet, jihad, arrack, talisman, etc.
The majority of Arabic words come through the Romance
languages, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. These words
have been modified by assimilation to the characteristics of the
language in question and have usually suffered a further modification in transition to the English. An Arabic word may be
�T.HE SYRIAN WORLD \
/
present simultaneously in all the Romance languages so that
it is difficult to determine from which language it has been borrowed by the English. I had expected to find a larger number
of words from the Spanish than from any of the other Romance
languages, since the long Moorish occupation of Spain contributed a large number of Arabic words to that tongue, but I was
able to count only 22 Arabic words from the Spanish. On the
other hand, the French language has contributed the surprising
total of 140 Arabic words. The explanation of this phenomenon
is two-fold. First, the French has acted as an intermediary language between the Spanish and the English in some cases j and,
secondly, the English language from the Anglo-Saxon period
to the present day has been indebted to the French language
more than to any other modern language for additions to its
vocabulary, so that words from ultimate Arabic origin would be
well represented among the thousands that have crossed the British channel. Eleven Arabic words have come from the Italian
and six from the Portuguese. One word, monsoon, believed to
be from
^j* "season", comes from the Dutch. The other
north European languages, such as German and the Scandinavian
tongues, are not represented at all.
Latin contributed 42 words. Most of them are from Medieval Latin and form a very interesting group, being words connected with the medieval sciences of medicine, mathematics, alchemy, astrology and the like. The words from classical Latin
hardly belong to such a discussion as this, for they are Latin
forms of Greek words of ancient use. It is impossible to say
whether they come from the Arabic or from some other Semitic
source, such as the Aramaic or Hebrew. The only thing known
of their origin is their unquestioned Semitic character.
Some ten Arabic words have come from the Persian and twice
that number from the Turkish. About 40 words have made the
long journey to England by way of India, especially through
the Urdu language. Nearly all of these words are unassimilated, being terms picked up by the English residents through their
contact with the people of India. The Arabic words in the Indian languages reflect the conquest of India by Mahmud of
Ghazni and his successors in the eleventh century.
The dates at which the various Arabic words entered the
English language form an interesting part of our study. Especially in' the early times, the great majority of the foreign words
�\pECEMBER, 1927
!
5
Were added to the spoken vocabulary before they were written
down. It is impossible to judge just when a new word is first
added to the oral vocabulary of a language, but its use in writing can be dated, either exactly or approximately, assuming that
the document in which the word is used is preserved. We may
assume, then, in the majority of cases, a fairly long oral use of
a word before it enters the written vocabulary. The exceptions
would include those unassimikted words which appear only in
written records of travellers or foreign residents, words which
have not been used in common speech.
I had expected to find a large number of Arabic words introduced during and immediately after the period of the Crusades. The first Crusade began in 1096; the last came to an
ignominious end in 1270. The English people have always been
most interested in the Third Crusade, 1189-1192, led by Richard
the Lion-Hearted, king of England. But Richard was really
a Frenchman in nationality and language and it is probable that
he numbered very few Englishmen among his followers.
England was remote from Palestine and though both warriors and pilgrims visited the Holy Land, it is evident that the
culture and the languages of the people of the Near East had
less effect in England than in the countries of the Continent.
This is the probable explanation why, aside from the six words
that appeared in English literature before the time of the Crusades, there are very few in the years immediately following. The
fourteenth century, however, witnessed a large increase in words
from the Arabic, and from that time there has been a steady addition of Arabic words up to the present.
It may be of interest to note the number of Arabic words
added to the English vocabulary in each century. Before the
fourteenth century 17 Arabic words appeared in the comparatively small number of books that have survived from the Old English, or Anglo-Saxon period. In the fourteenth century 55
were added, but only 35 new words in the fifteenth century.
We may account for this falling off by the fact that the fifteenth
century was a time of continuous conflict both in England and
on the Continent. In. England the Wars of the Roses distracted
the attention of men, and hands that might have held the pen
were compelled to take up the sword. It is startling to learn
that only one book of high literary value has survived from the
fifteenth century, Malory's Morte D'Arthur, which tells the
�6
ZHE SYRIAN WORLD',
story of the legendary king, Arthur, and his Knights of the
Round Table. A period which produces no literature cannot >
be expected to employ new words. However, printing was in- \
vented toward the latter part of the century and the first printing press was set up in London by Caxton in 1476. In fact,
Malory's Morte D'Arthur was one of the first books printed in
England and so it was saved from oblivion, for no manuscript
copies of the book have survived.
The sixteenth century marks the beginning of the Renaissance in England under the patronage of Henry VIII, who began his reign in 1509. The second half of the century is filled
with the glorious reign of Queen Elizabeth and marked by the
finest flowering of1 English literary genius. We expect a large increase in the number of new words that appear during this century, and we are able to count 98 for this hundred years, 74 of
which belong to the second half of the century.
In the seventeenth century the Renaissance is at its height
in the opening years when Shakespeare was producing his greatest works. Milton and Dryden carried on the literary tradition
through the rest of the century, while the growth of modern
science, beginning with Bacon in the first quarter of the century,
was a steady and rapid development with which even the events
of the Civil War did not interfere. This period gives us the
largest number of new words from the Arabic, a total of 127
words.
During the eighteenth century 61 new words were adopted,
and 64 words in the nineteenth century. To the best of my
knowledge no new words have come from the Arabic in this first
quarter of the twentieth century.
Various reasons might be given for the large increase of
new words from the Arabic during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, and for the comparatively small number that have
come into the language in the last two centuries. It should be
remembered that comparatively few words in actual current use
in English have come directly from the Arabic, but that most
current words have passed through one or two intermediary languages. The new Arabic terms that came in during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were words that had been domesticated long before in the French or other European languages.
Trace them back to their first use in any European language and
you will find that they came into employment at the time when
�DECEMBER, 1927
7
Arabian science, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine were
the admiration of the world. When Arabia was the teacher of
Europe, her pupils borrowed not only her wisdom but the words
in which that wisdom was expressed. It is a sad but undeniable
fact that the European nations no longer look to the Arabicspeaking peoples for enlightenment, and this state of affairs is
reflected in the word-borrowing of the nations. In confirmation
of this, it is interesting to note that nearly all of the Arabic
words borrowed by English in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries are unassimilated words, travellers' terms that have
not, as yet, been adopted into full current use in writing and
speaking English.
When a new era of culture and enlightenment dawns among
the Arabic-speaking peoples, the other peoples of the world will
again turn to the Near East for knowledge and guidance, and
English and other tongues will be enriched by a new influx of
words of Arabic origin. And who can say that this new era of
enlightenment is not at hand?
A Sufi Song
By
AMEEN RIHANI
My heart's the field I sow for thee,
For thee to water and to reap;
My heart's the house I ope for thee,
For thee to air and dust and sweep j
My heart's the rug I spread for thee,
For thee to dance or rest or sleep;
My heart's the pearls I thread for thee,
For thee to wear or break or keep;
My heart's the sack of magic things, —
Magic carpets, caps and rings —
To bring thee treasures from afar
And from the Deep.
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Problems of Syrian Youth In
America
By
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR.
I.
The problems of Syrian-American youth are important,
critical, perplexing, and of far-reaching influence upon one's self
and posterity. Syrian parents had been living with the hope
of an early return to the homeland. Little thought was given
to the conditions growing about them and in them. A passage
to Syria would have placed them amidst old ideas, customs and
social life. The Great War now marks the dividing line between
the old and the new in Syrian-American thinking. Syrian-Americans awoke to the fact that they had become accustomed to, and
part of, American thought and life, and that a return to the
homeland would be impracticable.
A great number of Syrian immigrants came during the first
half of the first quarter of the twentieth century. The industrial revolution rose to its highest development. Syrian youth,
then in their infancy, received the best of education. They were
living, thinking, endeavoring in terms of American ideals, customs, and point of view. Restrictive immigration laws accelerated the Americanization process and began the real testing of
American ideals of equality, fraternity, liberty.
The problems of Syrian-American youth grow largely out
of this new, unlooked for condition. George A. Coe says in What
Ails Our Youth? that five facts stand out in the environment of
America's youth: the transformation by the increase of man's
control of the forces of nature which commercial enterprises utilize to invent and sell to the young; woman suffrage which created new problems for the young of both sexes; human contacts
which have changed from the domestic to the non-domestic
types; industrial civilization which is ailing and is communicating
its ailments to the young; and the plunging of youth into these
new conditions without having appropriate education thereto.
As long as Syrian-American youth were in their infancy and
childhood the following problems were not felt so keenly. Now
\
�ECEMBER, 1927
i:hat they have reached the age of adolescence they have bristled
lp and suddenly created a serious situation. The following reflections present certain major problems of Syrian-American
'youth, their nature, difficulties, and probable methods of solution.
I. The Problem of Race Prejudice.
The Americanization process is bringing the races into grips
with each other, with American ideals, and with their consequences. Modern race prejudice, born during the Great War,
was fanned to its worst in the history of mankind. The cry to
"assimilate, amalgamate, Americanize" arose with little thought
of its far reaching consequences.
I sympathize with Syrian-American youth because I know
the meaning, suffering, and consequences of race prejudice. I
have seen my crucifiers plan my crucifixion, prepare the cross,
and with hammer and nails crucify me on that cross.
What are the causes of race prejudice? First, IGNORANCE. I was a missionary for nearly two years. The mission, superintendent told of his prejudice toward the Italians. He
saw "those Italians talking so loud and making so many signs
with their hands". IMMIGRATION: When one race moves
onto the land of another race. Grant says in The Passing of a
Great Race that had not millions of foreigners come to America
millions of now unborn Americans would have taken their place.
ENVY and JEALOUSY because of the prosperity of people of
foreign birth. My family was riding with a far off relation of
President Harding. "You see those Germans and Swedes! They
always have money. They are envied". H. G. Wells says in
The Outline of History, "The sole offence of the Carthaginians,
which brought on the third and last Punic War, was that they
continued to trade and prosper". Fictitious and mechanistic science
spurred the belief in race superiority championed by Grant, Stoddard and Wiggam. Shallow thinking based on senseless reasoning.
Edward A. Steiner was travelling toward Washington. He
heard two men discussing the League of Nations. One said,
"I'm going to vote against the League of Nations". "Why?"
asked the other. "Because I don't like the English". "Why
don't you like the English?" "Because I once worked for an
Englishman and he did me dirt. Are you going to vote for it?"
"No," replied the other. "We have no business mixing up with
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLDS
those wops. We are white people."
How shall Syrian-American youth meet race prejudice?'
Remember that no man chose his race, color, creed, or condition
at birth. What a man is at birth is the result of accident or
providence. It's what a man is by choice and achievement that
counts. "The Stoic taught," says Leckey in The History of European Morals, "that virtue alone is good, and that all other
things are indifferent} and from this position inferred that birth,
rank, country, or wealth are the mere accidents of life, and that
virtue 'alone makes one man superior to another".
Remember that the belief in race superiority is not native
to human nature. H. G. Wells quotes James Otis' saying in
1762 that "Ideas of earthly superiority are educational, not innate." Dean Inge says in Outspoken Essays, "The popular estimate of superior and inferior races is thoroughly unchristian and
unscientific, as is the prejudice against a dark skin."
I agree with Roosevelt that "It is a base outrage to oppose
a man because of his religion or birthplace, and all good citizens
will hold such effort in abhorrence." And with Daniel Webster's saying, "It is only shallow minded pretenders who either
make distinguished origin a matter of personal merit or obscure
origin a matter of reproach. Taunt and scoffing at the humble
condition of early life effect nobody but those who are foolish
enough to indulge in them. A man who is not ashamed of himself need not be ashamed of his early conditions." For
"Honor and shame from no condition rise;
Act well your part: there all the honor lies."
77. The Problem of Marriage.
"One of the main problems of Syrian family life in America," says Philip K. Hitti in The Syrians in America, "is that of
how to span the gap between the old-fashioned Arabic-speaking
parents, on the one hand, and the American-born English-speaking children on the other." The various aspects of the marriage
problem grow out of this condition. The patriarchal idea prevailed in Syria as in old Greece and Rome. The family lived
together in the same house and in adjoining houses, and included
the grown-up sons, their wives and children. The father was
in sole control: marriage, education, work and worship.
Adjustment to the American family idea is going on. Demo-
says
\ dene
�\DECEMBER, 1927
11
\cratic relations within the family are increasing. Williamson
says in Problems in American Democracy, "Economic indepen\ dence and social freedom have combined with political emancipation to emphasize the spirit of individualism among women."
Mother now shares with the father in the direction of the home.
Parental authority now rests not on fear but on the affection and
respect of the child.
What practical principles should guide Syrian-American
youth in meeting the marriage problem?
First, let prosperity, not ancestry, dominate your thought
of marriage. William T. Ellis says he learned a lesson of universal success in the Orient. "It is that man's life is best expressed by his descendants. A family is the real fortune. Sons
are success. The East takes long, long views; therefore it regards the family line as of more importance than the individual."
The thought of children, old age, and influence upon one's relations should bar divorce out of our thinking and practice.
Second, remember that marriage is a social sacrament. Current ideas of "free love", "trial marriage", "contract marriage"
and "unmarried unions" are signs of the abnormal. The sanctity
of marriage is traditional with us Syrians, and is a racial virtue.
Third, let there be mutual understanding, sympathy, service, based on a high valuation of each other. Shall money, education, love, family, home, children, beauty, be the motive for
marriage? The answer depends on the individual. Much that
passes for "love" is mere infatuation with a "face", "form", or
"figure". It takes a heap o' living together through all kinds
of weather to appreciate, understand and grow to fruition true
love, and a high valuation of each other. "This high valuation
of persons," says Charles A. Ellwood, "as such, and devotion to
their welfare, is what we mean by 'love'."
Fourth, marriage should not be contemplated unless one is
able to support a family. "Much poverty and misery could be
eliminated," says Williamson in Introduction to Economics, "if
individuals would postpone marriage until they will be able to
support a family decently." Dorothy Dix says, "It takes three
or four times as much to live on when you are married as it does
when you are single." A woman's clothes cost more, a man
can go to where he cannot take his wife, generally there are chil-
�-*
12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
dren, sickness, and unemployment.
Fifth, Shall Syrian-American youth intermarry with other'
races? Thoughts and habits are two things by which most of
life is lived. Syrian-American youth should not take this step
without a vital understanding of the meaning and consequences
of it: on the individuals concerned, their relations, their social
relations to the community, and to their offspring.
Sixth, the sort of a person to marry depends on the sort of
person you are. Young people are fit to marry only when they
are clean and healthy: body, soul, spirit. Never marry on the
grab-bag principle and trust to luck for success.
Seventh, Shall Syrian-American youth marry American-born
Syrians, or those from the homeland? a Syrian youth asked me.
He said, "The more I see of the young lady the more I realize
the differences between us: our ideas and customs." So marry
within your class in ideas and customs. Good intentions should
not, be they ideals, promises or hopes, take the place of good
judgment and the experience of others.
In the second fart of his article which will he published in
the following issue, Rev. Mansur will discuss the problems of
Patriotism, Religion and Education.
PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY
A company of travelers met an apparently very aged Arab
engaged in planting vines, and they stopped to question him.
This was their dialogue:
—How old are you?
—My health is good.
—How much money have you?
—I am not in debt.
—What is the nature of your worries?
—I have no children.
—Who are your enemies?
—I have no relatives.
�13
^DECEMBER, 1927
I A Pilgrimage to The Holy Land
}
By
MARY MOKARZEL
*
Chaque homme a deux patries —
La sienne et la Syrie.
This year, for the annual trip, our school went to Jerusalem. We left Beirut on the seventh of April and returned on
the fourteenth. Our party consisted of twenty-five girls and
three teachers and our principal, Miss Kassab. Having left Beirut at seven o'clock in the morning, we arrived at Jerusalem at
seven in the evening. So we began our sight-seeing the next day.
We decided to go to Bethlehem first and start our visits
with the place where Christ was born. On our way we alighted
from the automobiles to look through the Wise Men's Well,
as it is now called, where the Magi first saw the reflection of the
star that was to lead them to the new-born Saviour. So it is
from this place that we start our imaginary journey with Christ.
A little further on from the Well of the Magi on the opposite roadside is Rachel's Tomb. It is of stone and has a round
dome. Entering we find it very dark and cheerless. From this
point on the opposite mountain-side to the right is a little village,
formerly known as Zelza, but now known as Beit Jala. It is
the birthplace of Saul. No Jews are allowed to enter it. To
our left in the valley below can be seen two green fields. One
is the field in which the Shepherds were sitting when an angel
came and told them of the birth of the Saviour. The field next
to it is the meeting place of Ruth and Naomi.
Looking at the scenery around us we see many beautiful
mountains. Some are barren, some are dotted with olive groves
and others are sprinkled with villages of red-roofed houses. But
on one mountain, that which is higher than the rest and is flattopped, formerly stood the Roman citadel. It commands a good,
* The writer of this article is an American girl of Syrian parentage
who spent two years in Syria attending school and studying conditions of
life in the mother-country of her parents. Her description of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land is. therefore, based on personal observation and should
be of special interest to the Syrian-American generation in that it records
the mental reactions of one of their kind to customs and conditions obtainEditor
ing in the Old World.
-
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
complete view of all Jerusalem and thus was an ideal place for;
a guard.
Driving on, we arrive at Bethlehem in which the first place i
we visit is the Church of the Nativity. It was built in 327 by
the Empress Helena, destroyed by the Moslems in 1236 and
restored again by the Crusaders. This church is built in the shape
of a cross and is divided among four religions: Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Latins, each religion occupying one section
of it as their church. Here is a large marble star which the Bethlehemites believe to be the centre of the earth. Descending a
large stairway, we come to the birthplace of Christ. Over the
exact spot is a silver star on which is written the following words:
"Hie de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus estP Hanging
above and encircling this star are seventeen lamps, seven of which
belong to the Greek Catholics. Until recently there has been
quarreling as to who should have more lamps. There is still
a soldier keeping guard over it.
Next to this place is the manger. It is made of rock and is
also decorated with lamps and candles.
A few steps on we come to another cave in which were
thrown the little children who were massacred by Herod. Over
the place where they were thrown stands an altar over which
hangs a picture showing the babes being killed by the soldiers
while the mothers stood by weeping and imploring. Next to
this cave is a room in which St. Jerome lived for thirty years
engaged in translating the New Testament from Greek to Hebrew. It was in this room that as he was about to die he became afraid and an angel appeared and calmed him. Over his
tomb is a large picture showing him at his lifework.
The whole church of the Nativity is decorated with oriental splendor of gold, silver, brass, and pictures, all of which make
one lose his illusions about the simplicity of the birth of Christ.
For instance: looking at His birthplace and His manger we cannot imagine Him being born here. Because of the existence of
so many religions here in the East there is continual quarreling
and wrangling as to who should own the sacred places and thus
their ideas are contorted and twisted. Perhaps they need another Wise Man to lead them back to unity and peace.
The dress of the Bethlehem women is very picturesque. It
consists of a full skirt, usually red, a high waist and a vest made
of colored cross-stitches made into a beautiful design. They also
�mCEMBER, 1927
15
\krear white veils over their heads. Under these veils the married women wear high hats shaped like a tarboush so one can tell
(at a glance if the woman is married or not.
\
The Bethlehem women are noted for their beauty and from
this comes the belief that the Virgin was beautiful.
The Bethlehemites earn their living by the manufacture of
crosses, rosaries, medals and other holy articles.
Driving on from Bethlehem we come to three pools known
as Solomon's Pools. They hold a quantity of 1,000,000 gallons
of water. If there were no other sources of water these pools
would suffice Jerusalem for seven months, but as it is, there are
two other reservoirs, Aroub and Ain-Fara.
On our way we stop at the place of the Ascension. It is a
high circular room and is noted for its holding of sound. Here
is a square stone on which is imprinted a footstep which is said
to be our Lord's as He was ascending into Heaven.
Perhaps the most notable building in Jerusalem is the
Mosque of Omar. It stands on the Haram. The Haram is a
large area occupying one-sixth of all Jerusalem within the walls.
It consists of many buildings of which this mosque is the greatest. It is also known as the Dome of the Rock because the building is built around the huge rock which has so many traditions
attached to it and which is believed to be suspended-in mid-air.
It was originally the Temple of Solomon. In 638 Omar built
a wooden temple on this site but it was destroyed in the seventh
century and replaced by a much finer one, the present one, by
Abd-el-Malik. It is built in octagonal shape and has four doors,
each facing a cardinal point of the earth. The outside walls are
made of China and marble on which are beautiful mosaic designs with the color blue predominating. These designs are now
being copied by manufacturers of chinaware. On going inside
we are obliged to take off our shoes or else pay two Egyptian
piastres for a huge pair of slippers which are worn over our shoes.
The ceiling forms a most striking part of the mosque, ft is
made of beautiful mosaic, mostly of pure gold worked into pictures and words concerning the legends which are told about the
rock below it. One picture gives it as the rock on which Jacob's
ladder extended to Heaven. It was also the place on which the
temple of Jerrubel and Herod used to stand. There is also another legend told about the little holes in the rock. It is said
that, as Mohammed was going to Heaven on his white steed,
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLll
Al-Burak, he wished to take the rock with him but an angel at.
peared and commanded it to stop. That is how it is suspend^
in mid-air, also the reason given for the existence of the little^
holes which are supposed to be Mohammed's fingerprints.
The rock is surrounded by a high iron railing outside of
which are beautiful marble columns of a dark brown color. We
also noticed the thick carpets on the floor. Placed high on each
wall of the octagon-shaped mosque are three beautiful windows.
They are worked into such lovely colors and dainty designs that
we stood charmed in front of them.
Another thing which attracts our attention is a high sexagone
box. It is of wood and contains six other boxes fitting into each
other. In the innermost one, the guide explains, are three hairs
taken from the Prophet's beard. They are given rose water to
drink every day to preserve them. On Judgment Day, it is believed that these hairs will stretch themselves across to Mt. Zion,
forming a bridge. Everyone will be obliged to cross it, but only
the worthy ones will cross it safely. So we suppose only Moslems will be on Mt. Zion on Judgment Day. Descending to the
cave beneath the rock, we see the altar on which Abraham was
preparing to sacrifice Isaac but was arrested in the act by an angel.
In the middle of the ceiling is a wide hole through which
one can look up and see the ceilingof the mosque. There is also
a hollow place in the ceiling under which Mohammed used to
stand and pray, as he was a tall man.
Opposite the Mosque of Omar stands the Mosque of Aqsa,
smaller and not as beautiful.
In order to see the Jews at the Jews Wailing place we went
on Friday. Then we were able to see them wailing and weeping
for their Haram. It was taken from them by the Moslems years
ago and so their weeping is largely a matter of custom. It is
very comical to see them striking their breasts and crying in loud
voice, but their dress is picturesque. It consists of a long velvet
robe of any color with a silk linking. The hat is a little piece of
the same velvet surrounded by a round piece of fur. They never cut their hair but allow, it to grow and tie it in a knot in back
of their heads and have a little curl in front of each ear.
We then go on to the tomb of David. It is opened for us
by one of his descendants who is now very poor. The Tomb is
in the upper chamber and is guarded by an iron-latticed wall. In
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A GENERAL VIEW OF BETHLEHEM
This photograph was taken from the roof of the Church of the Nativity and represents one of the
clearest views of the little city in Palestine to which the thoughts of the whole Christian world are
turned during the Christmas season.
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CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
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One of the outstanding edifices of Jerusalem, built on the site of the Tem'fjle
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�DECEMBER, 1927
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the lower chamber the Last Supper took place. Here also the
Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles. The stone on which
the Saviour sat is still here.
Going from here we come to the Church of the Dominicans. It is owned by the German Monks and is not quite complete. It is very neat and clean and kept in perfect order by the
monks. It was to this place that St. John brought the Virgin to
live after our Lord's death. In the basement is an altar over
the place where she died.
On Palm Sunday we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is perhaps the most frequented church in Jerusalem because of the innumerable holy and historical places in it. The
most important is the place of the crucifixion. Over the exact
spot is a star above which is a picture made of emblems of tiny
diamonds and rubies. On the left and right of this spot are the
places of the crosses of the thieves. Behind these and high on
the wall is written, three times in diamonds — I. N. R. I.
To the right of these is a bust of the Virgin Mary. It is
encased in glass and covered with precious gems and many pieces
of jewelry. They were given to the church to be placed on the
statue by kings, queens and noblemen. A few steps away we
come to a picture by Murillo of the Christ when taken down
from the cross, with His head being held by the Virgin. Just
Their heads are shown and they bear such lifelike expression
that we stood awed contemplating them. The face of the Virgin is sorrow-lined as she looks down upon the Saviour.
Another important place here is the tomb of Christ. Many
believe it to be here but others believe it is the one discovered
by General Gordon and stands outside the walls. The latter
seems the more likely as it answers in many ways the traditional
description given of the Tomb of Christ.
To obtain permission to see the treasures in the treasurehouse of the church, we were obliged to see the Patriarch who
welcomed us hospitably and gladly granted our request. The
treasures here were also given by the nobility of all Europe.
There are many crowns of gold studded with rare diamonds,
rubies and emeralds. There are also tiaras, crucifixes, swords,
sabres and rare pieces of tapestry, some of which are worked in
tiny pearls.
...
We spent the rest of Sunday in visiting churches tor which
Jerusalem is noted.
�18
TJiE SYRIAN WORLD
The next day we went to Giberius or Gabille. It is noted
for its fishing industry. It is very quiet and peaceful and the
mountains surrounding it together with the sea and green trees
make a most appealing scene. A most interesting place here is
the Socialist Colony. It consists of about fifty young men and
women all working in common. They own a large piece of land
which they are cultivating. Each person is allotted his day's
work and all do the same work in turns. Everything belongs to
everybody, even the children belong to all and know no special,
mother or father.
\
When My Sorrow Was Born
By G. K. GIBRAN
When my Sorrow was born I nursed it with care, and watched over it with loving tenderness.
And my Sorrow grew like all living things, strong and beautiful and full of wondrous delights.
And we loved one another, my Sorrow and I, and we loved
the world about us; for Sorrow had a kindly heart and mine was
kindly with Sorrow.
And when we conversed, my Sorrow and I, our days were
winged and our nights were girdled with dreams! for Sorrow
had an eloquent tongue, and mine was eloquent with Sorrow.
And when we sang together, my Sorrow and I, our neighbours sat at their windows and listened; for our songs were as
deep as the sea and our melodies were full of strange memories.
And when we walked together, my Sorrow and I, people
gazed at us with gentle eyes and wispered with words of exceeding sweetness. And there were those who looked with envy upon us, for Sorrow was a noble thing and I was proud with Sorrow.
But my Sorrow died, like all living things, and alone I am
left to muse and ponder.
And now when I speak my words fall heavily upon my
ears.
And when I sing my songs my neighbours come not to listen.
And when I walk the streets no one looks at me.
Only in my sleep I hear voices saying in pity, "See, there
lies the man whose Sorrow is dead."
t.
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�—
DECEMBER, 1927
IP,
Allah Joins the Extremes!
AN AUTHENTIC ARABIAN TALE.
'
An Arab of the tribe of Assad was fond of telling the following strange tale of one of his experiences.
"One day," he would begin, "when engaged in corralling
my camels which I >had left to graze in the pasture grounds of
our tribe, I found that a number of she-camels were missing. It
was not yet dusk and I determined to follow their tracks without
calling on the tribe for assistance.
"Very soon, however, I found myself lost in the desert
while night was fast beginning to fall. I had not provided myself with provisions or means of defense and the fear for my
safety superseded all anxiety at the loss of my valuable camels.
I. prayed to Allah for deliverance from this grave predicament.
"After having wandered aimlessly for some time, I perceived in the distance a light which I took to be the guiding finger
of Providence directing me to shelter and safety. I walked and
walked until I became very weary, and despair was beginning
to beset my soul. In the vast stretches of the desert, what had
appeared to be so near proved to be miles distant. But somehow
I managed to summon sufficient strength to continue and finally
I reached the camp to which Allah had guided me.
"I chose from among the tents the one which seemed to me
the largest and whose occupants should be the more able to afford
hospitality. I called aloud to give notice of my presence, declaring that I was a stranger who had lost his way and came to
seek shelter and food. Presently there appeared at the door of
the tent a. woman than whom I had not seen one more beautiful
in all my life. She emerged from the dark folds of the tent
as would the dazzling sun breaking through a veil of clouds.
At the sight of her I immediately lost all sense of fear, or hunger, or cold and stood for a while speechless and motionless.
For that woman must surely be the most beautiful in the whole
world.
"Perceiving my predicament, the woman hastened to assure and comfort me. She spoke ,to me in the most hospitable
tone telling me that I was welcome to both shelter and food.
�essa
20
m
(THE SYRIAN WORLD
She bade me enter and had me sit by the welcome warmth of a
glowing fire, while she proceeded to prepare a most sumptuous
meal. And all the time' she entertained me by the most delightful conversation, proving that she was of high birth and well
versed in the traditions of the Arabs.
"The meal over, I heard a commotion outside the tent and
presently a man entered than whom never in'all my life I had
seen one more hideous in his ugliness. Still he entered with the
utmost freedom and consorted with the beautiful woman in terms
of fullest familiarity. He took a seat in the place of honor in
the tent and the woman soon brought to him a child which he
began to caress with fondness. The woman sat beside him and
he inquired of her concerning the guest, motioning to me, and
she replied that I was of the tribe of Assad and had sought hospitality for the night.
"The look of amazement with which I contemplated them,
now that I realized that they were husband and wife, could not
have long escaped the man, and he hastened to satisfy my curiosity.
" 'It appears to me,' he said, 'that you are wondering at our
condition', which fact I readily admitted, even going to the extent of declaring that never in all my life had I heard of any
such union where the man and the woman were of such great
disparity.
" 'I shall not keep you long wondering,' he said, for what
caused your amazement has been the wonder of everyone laying eyes on us. It was by the strangest accident that we came
to be mated, and this strange story is one which I am as fond of
relating as you must be of hearing.
" 'Know then, O brother Arab, that I am a man of the tribe
of Qoda'a. It is through no fault of mine that I was born with
such uncomely features, but men, even of my own family, seemed to loathe me for it and to treat me with the utmost derision
and contempt.
" 'I was the youngest of seven brothers, and instead of being
petted and treated at least with iconsideration, my position seemed to be like that of a slave. I could claim no right or privilege
and my life became as hideous as my face.
" 'One day, our family missed a camel and my brothers ordered me to go forth and search for it. I was then still young
and I protested, but my father came to their support and order-
�DECEMBER, 1927
21
led me out under threat of death. There was no other course
left for me to follow and I left the camp cold and hungry and
with much misgivings in my heart. Death looked to me then
as a blessing and I ventured out in the night fervently praying
that; I would meet with some accident that would rid me of my
miserable existence.
" 'After wandering for a long time I came across an encampment where I found a kindly old woman besides whom sat this
beautiful lady. The latter was full of the vivacity of youth and
consciousness of her beauty. Consequently, the contrast of her
beauty and my ugliness could not fail but excite in her a mischievous sense of humor.
" 'Will you/ she said, 'when the camp is asleep, come into
my tent and grant me the boon of a few hours in your company,
for I have seen no one in all my life who approaches you in
beauty of features and sweetness of speech!'
" 'I cannot describe to you the extent of my mortification at
her cutting sarcasm, and I said to her: 'O gracious and kind lady,
I have been despised and ridiculed all my life even by my own
family. Please, then, spare me any further humiliation at thy
hands.'
" 'Just at that moment her father and seven brothers returned from a tour of inspection of the camp and all having partaken
of a plentiful meal, the lady retired into her tent while the men
laic} themselves about in the open and went to sleep.
" 'Being a stranger, and still laboring under the excitement
of my novel experience, I found myself in time the only one
awake among the company. Furthermore, I discovered myself
brooding over the invitation of the beautiful lady and gradually
bringing myself to the belief that her invitation was not a mocking gest but an earnest solicitation. The temptation in me was
growing stronger and stronger, and, emboldened by the warmth
of my covers and the fullness of the meal, I made my way stealthily into the tent of my enchantress. She, however, seemed to
have forgotten her gest and when she suspected the presence of
someone in the tent she called out to learn who it was. I answered
softly that I was the guest and had come in response to her bidding. Thereupon she flew into extreme rage and hurled curses
and imprecations at me, ordering me out forthwith under penalty of rousing the camp and bringing on me certain death.
" 'There was no mistaking the earnestness of her command
:;.: ,^../:^^:;..,: . .:.^ ': ^-A
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,
�22
®HE SYRIAN WORLD
and I made haste to cover myself with my robe and flee. But
a greater danger lurked at the door when the big shepherd dog
of the lady leaped upon me and caught hold of the end of my
robe. I managed as best I could to ward him off with my staff
and so kept up a running fight with him for some distance until
we both fell into a deep pit.
"'The lady, in the meantime, had suspected my predicament and was fearful of the consequent scandal,in case of discovery and came out alone in search for her dog to quiet him and
bring him back. She came upon us both in the pit and there renewed her severe upraiding of my conduct and said threateningly:
'But for the scandal I would make this pit your grave, and if
now I am willing to save you it is on condition that never must
you set foot on this soil again.'
" 'Saying which she lowered me a rope and pulled with all
her might to raise me from the pit, but when I had about reached the top the ground under her feet gave way and we were
plunged back into the pit together.
" 'At the break of day both the lady and I were missed in
camp and her father and brothers soon traced us to the pit. Their
first impulse was to hack us down with their swords and make
the pit our final grave, but the father finally restrained his sons
by'declaring that he could not conceive of his daughter doing
any wrong. The result was that they raised us together and I
had to face the threats of seven brothers with drawn swords who
but for the restraining commands of the father would have made
short shift of me.
" 'Now 'it was that I was given the greatest surprise of my
life. For the father, with a determined look and without the
least preliminaries, put to me point blank the question: 'Are you
gentleman enough to marry the girl and save her reputation
from being dragged into a scandal?' The promise of life and of
having such a lovely girl for wife had such an effect on me that
I was deprived for a time of the power of speech. When I had
sufficiently recovered I signified my ready assent in no uncertain
terms, and no sooner were we back in camp than we were legally
wedded and the father gave her as dowery fifty young camels,
fifty male slaves and fifty female slaves.
"'Now,' concluded my host, 'I am relating to you the
strange circumstances of our marriage in the very presence of
the, lady who stands ready to corroborate me in every detail'."
-
j
�^DECEMBER, 1927
23
"The story," was the usual conclusion of the narrator, "gave
me even more surprise than the actual witnessing of the principals in the case, and I have been ever since wondering how Allah, in His providence, permits the union of such extreme types
as this most beautiful woman and her excessively hideous husband."
EVERLASTING SWEETS
Translated from the \Arabic.
The vizier Mu'ayyad ud-Deen Al-Kommi was very fond
of sweets.
One day when he was in particularly good mood, he asked
for a certain kind of sweets of which he was singularly fond,
and although the hour was late the whole household bestirred
itself and made of the delicacy a large quantity in a comparatively short time.
The servants having brought the sweets on large trays and
placed them before the vizier, the latter suddenly became very
pensive. He turned to his secretary Ayaz and asked:
"Can you preserve these sweets for me until Judgment
Day?"
Ayaz was nonplussed by the strange question and replied:
"How does my lord expect me to do that, and is such a thing
possible?"
"Yes," said the vizier. "Proceed this very hour to the orphanage of Moussa Al-Jawad and place all these sweets before
the Alawite orphans. They will enjoy them and give me in return such thanks as would preserve these sweets for me until
Judgment Day."
Said Ayaz: "I proceeded forthwith to carry out my orders
followed by a long train of servants carrying the trays of sweets.
It was a little past midnight when we reached the orphanage,
but we entered and roused the inmates and laid the sweets before
them, and one could see by their expressions of delight that their
thankfulness was surely to be transformed on Judgment Day into
more luscious sweets than could ever be manufactured by man."
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
St. George and The Saddle-bags
c/f Tale Based on a Syrian Legend.
By
MARIE HANNA
My mother's early life was spent in El-Kirby, a village
near Damascus of Bible fame. She came to this country with
my father before I was born and in spite of her acquired matterof-factness, I often think that quaint legends, held sacred in the
East, must be tucked away somewhere in her busy mind.
Until I had heard it whispered that there had been a legend
in my family, I had never thought to take up my mother's time
with my questionings. However, the other night, when everyone had gone to bed and mother came into my room to kiss me
good-night, I asked her about it and she told me the following
strange tale.
My great-grandfather, my mother's grandfather on her father's side, was a very pious man. A dyer by trade, he had to
make frequent trips from place to place with his wares, but he
was never known to miss his devotions. He was as well known
to the monasteries that topped the hills of the countryside
through which he must pass, as to his own temple of worship.
He was aided in his solitary journeys by a mule, across the
back of which saddle-bags would be thrown, each one holding
a dye-pot. It took two people to place this burden on the animal's back.
After packing provisions* 'for the trip, great-grandfather
would start out, staff in hand, leading the mule, with the chorus
of well-wishes and God-speed ringing in his ears, from his family and farmers and tradesmen of the village who had come to
see him on his way.
One day he was returning from Zehley to his home in ElKirby. His kinsmen had tried to prevail upon him to put off
his departure for a little while as it was the season of heavy
and unexpected rains.
The day seemed to be quite clear when he started out.
Noon-time found him fatigued and hungry, and though he had
gone a little less than half his journey, he chose a patch of turf
near the roadside, and feeding oats to his mule, threw himself
,
!•
�I
DECEMBER, 1927
25
*
down to rest and to munch at his dry, wafer-like bread, black
olives and fresh white cheese.
Looking into the distance, he noted ominous clouds gathering. It was too late to turn back and there was no place of shelter nearby. He arose to continue his trip, with a prayer in his
heart that the storm would spend itself before he would be
forced to walk into it.
Other than a muddy road, there was no sign that a rain
^aad preceded him, when he came upon the last lap of his journey. At a turn in the road, at a particularly oozy place, the
mule slipped and fell and the saddle-bags with the heavy dyepots in them slid from its back.
"St. George, help me!" exclaimed the man as he hastily
made the sign of the cross three times, in Orthodox fashion.
Night was coming on and he had long since passed human habitations, and\ he had a good way yet to go before reaching home.
He tried to place the saddle-bags back in place, but his effort was quite useless. The mule had regained its footing, and
he was deciding to abandon his wares when he heard a voice
calling, "Are you in trouble?" He looked up and beheld a
man with a long, flowing beard, mounted on a white horse.
"Yes", answered my great-grandfather, and he pointed to
the saddle-bags lying on the ground. As the two men replaced
the luggage, my great-grandfather thanked his benefactor and
wished him the blessings of the Lord, in voluble Oriental fashion.
As the stranger threw himself on his horse, the other man
firmly grasped his staff and gently pulled at the strap about the
mule's head. As they travelled along, my great-grandfather
murmured, "I do not know what I would have done without
your help. I would have had to leave these things here and it
would be a long time before I could get more. Will you tarry
at my home, before continuing on your way?"
Getting no response, the speaker looked up to see that the
stranger and his horse had vanished. He stood with his hand
to his forehead, looking this way and that and finally with a
shrug of his shoulders, he went on, his head bent in revery.
Arriving home, he awoke his household to tell them the
strange happening. Then, and ever after, when he recounted
his experience, he concluded with: "I tell you it was St. George
himself. Oh, if I had only kissed his hand or knelt at his feet!"
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
My mother closed the door of my room as she went out.
My thoughts turned to the picture of St. George in our living
room downstairs and I wondered about all of the fanciful legends that have been woven about the martyr of Cappadocia, until I fell into a dreamless sleep.
To t
ragme
,
MA'N AND THE CALIPH
Translated from the ^Arabic.
Ma'n Ibn Zaida, an Arab chieftain famous for his wisdom
and generosity, came one day to the court of Ja'far, who built
the city of Baghdad, and greeted him with the customary greeting of the Caliphate.
"You appear to have aged," said the Caliph, jestingly.
"Yes," replied Ma'n, "but in the service of the Prince of
the Faithful."
"But you seem to carry yourself well," continued the Caliph.
"Against your enemies, O Prince of the Faithful," was the
quick retort of Ma'n.
"Now," said the Caliph, "which of the two regimes do you
prefer, ours or that of the Umayyads?"
"This is a matter wholly dependent upon yourself, O Prince
of the Faithful," replied Ma'n. "Only if you deal with your
subjects with more justice and afford them more plentifully the
blessings of life will your rule be preferable to that of the Umayyads."
For some time Ja'far bent his head low in reflection, and
with eyes moist with tears finally addressed the venerable Arab
chieftain as follows:
"O Ma'n, it is the will of Allah that you come at this time
to admonish me on the necessity of giving more thought to the
welfare of the people. What you have said is charged with
truth."
/
�' -"'"—"--
I
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1
;
DECEMBER, 1927
27.
To the Spirit of "Chinese Gordon"
By DR. N. A. KATIBAH
'ragment of a long epic composed in the Sudan and later unforI
tunately lost by fire. This song was published
in the London Globe in 1899.
J
/
Flow on, old Nile,
For time will never change thee,
Each wee defile
In sacred hills that range thee
Has tales to tell
How on the sandy banks that cage thee
Aspiring nations rose and fell.
Old Nile, hold on;
Where are the famous sons of glory
Who're dead and gone,
And 'neath thy bed their bones and story
Forgotten lie?
The echo speaks in accents sorry
"Time ne'er remembers their good-bye."
!
Of heroes' fate
Of guns, of armies and their soul
— Gordon the great,
O homeless spirits without goal
Bring news, bring joy;
Or sorrow bring that days might roll,
Excepting none my heart t' annoy.
Gordon, thou man,
Thou soldier of a noble sword,
Whose blade once ran
To kill, to conquer and to ward,
Where canst thou be?
Thou canst not be in Khartoum gored,
Nor fettered there by hand and knee.
�Lightness of heart is better than heaviness of pocket.
The gage of a man's intelligence is in his actions. The gage
of his knowldge is in his speech.
Grief over youth is the misfortune of old age.
'
Birth is the herald of death.
Nothing detracts from the value of man's knowledge like
conceit.
A rich miser is poorer than an open-handed pauper.
To prove your virtue hold your tongue.
Silence is .the ignorant man's salvation.
Thirst for gold is stronger than thirst for water.
Gentleness of speech is the strongest bond of affection.
dise.
A gathering of learned men is one of the pleasures of ParaKeeping evil company is more dangerous than riding the
sea.
The
The clos
the impr
but one
Ho
vided b}
common
the Oroi
tory thn
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been rec
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pronour
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ter whi
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as Em<
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I
�—.—I
1
DECEMBER, 1927
29
f
Famous Cities of Syria
Horns and Hama\
*
These two cities are referred to as the twin cities of Syria.
The close association of their names in speech would give one
the impression that they were only two quarters of one city, or
but one city bearing a dual name.
Horns and Hama, nevertheless, are two distinct places divided by a distance of about thirty miles. What they have in
common, however, is that they are both located in the valley of
the Orontes in Northern Syria, and have gone in their? hoary history through almost the same cycle of prosperity and depression,
cataclysmic wars and periods of resplendent glory, and have now
been reduced to the rank of large inland towns of about 30 and
40 thousand population each.
The geographic location of Horns and Hama gave them a
} pronounced advantage in the military sweep of conquerors
/
through Syria in ancient times. They were considered key cities
the possession of which was necessary to the successful outcome
of any campaign launched from either the East or the West.
Both were Hittite cities whose mention occurs frequently in the
Bible. During the period of Greek and Roman occupation of
Syria they played a conspicuous part. They were flourishing
centers of wealth and culture during the early Arab occupation
and the Crusaders took and held them for a brief period.
Although Horns is not located directly on the Orontes, or
Al-'Asi, water for irrigation from the river is raised by huge water wheels, or Na'ouras, which emit creaks and groans peculiar
to that locality and have been translated into beautiful, music and
sung about in many tender lays by thq Arabs. Horns, known also
as Emessa, is; the more southerly located of the two cities and is
consequently the nearer both to Damascus and to the cities of
the coast. The large lake known by its name which is partly
artificial and formed by the damming of the Orontes is situated
about ten miles; to the south.
The Orontes is the largest river of Syria and runs from
1
�4»
30
WtHE SYRIAN WORLl
south to north. Arab geographers explain that its name,, Al-'Asi
was applied by reason of this contrary course. Other than An
tioch, which is much farther north and is close to the mouth c
the river, Horns and Hama are the only two cities rising alon
the whole length of the Orontes.
Although Hama, being directly on the banks of the Oronte
which is spanned within the city confines by three old but sur
stantial bridges, may claim the advantage in location and the a'
tendant benefits of irrigation, Horns is, on the other hand, th..more important historically for the part it played on many an
occasion of world-wide import. It has the distinction, for instance, of having given Rome an emperor during the zenith of
its power and glory. There had been in Horns a great temple
of Baal, or the Sun-god, whose priests wielded great influence
in shaping the destinies of the empire. In the year 218 A. D.,
the Roman legionaries of Syria, flushed by the consciousness of
their power, raised the young Bassianus, then in his fourteenth
year and archpriest of the temple of Horns, to the imperial dignity. He was known as Emperor Elagabalus or Heliogabalus.
His reign, however, lasted less than four years, because, due to
his excesses and tyranny, he was murdered by his soldiers in
camp while engaged in an effort to appease them, and his body
was dragged in the streets and later ignominiously thrown in the
Tiber. Hence the epithet or nickname Tiberinus, one of the many
applied to the tyrant after his death.
Many historians describe the orgies of this young emperor
as too revolting to be recorded in detail. The Roman public,
it is claimed, would have overlooked the trespasses of the emperor and excused them as youthful pranks and antics which
would be moderated by mature age. But Elagabalus proceeded
to execute in public dances and excesses which he ascribed to the
worship of the Eastern god Baal and which could not be long
tolerated and endured by the Romans. He further aggravated
the citizenry in their fast growing anger and impatience by claiming for his Eastern god priority and superiority over the gods
of Rome, and attempted to use his dictatorial powers to force the
people into recognition of what were considered as preposterous
claims.
This Syrian-born Roman emperor was not, however, of
Syrian descent. He was the son of a noble Roman family and
a cousin once removed of Caracalla. When the latter emperor
DECEM
jras mure
grandmot
where sh<
ad been
jropitiou:
he repoi
There w;
s came i
e was d
The
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dered th
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Ibrahim
lowing 1
�^
DECEMBER, 1927
31i
mis murdered by Macrinus, his maternal aunt, Julia Maesa,
grandmother of Elagabalus, was compelled to move to Syria
where she always pined for the 'imperial splendors to which she
ad been accustomed in Rome. She bided her time and at the
propitious moment circulated among the legionaries of Syria
he report that Elagabalus was the natural son of Caracalla.
"here was immediately a rising in his favor and when Mamns came to Syria at the head of his troops to quell the rebellion
e was defeated and put to death.
The ruins of the great temple of the Sun in Horns, of which
this Roman emperor was at one time archpriest, are still considered the most conspicuous feature of the city. The Arabs had
built a strong citadel on the hill supposed to have been the site
of the temple, and Horns, for that reason, continued to be a
strong military post under both the Arabs and the Turks until
Ibrahim Pasha, the Egyptian, ordered the citadel blown up following his victory over the Ottoman army in the vicinity or the
city, in 1831.
. _
,
, .
Horns and Hama were captured by the Crusaders early in
the 12th century but remained in their hands for the short period of only seven years. Tancred, upon his capture of Hama,
ruthlessly massacred its Isma'iliyeh defenders.
One of the important events in the history of Horns is that
the great battle which sealed the fate of the Syrian national
movement under Queen Zenobia was fought in the immediate
neighborhood of the city. Zenobia was decisively defeated by
Aurdian in this engagement, and although she made good her
escape from the battlefield, she was later captured and taken
prisoner to Rome. Details of this great struggle were given in
the history of Palmyra, capital of Zenobia, and published in a
former issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD.
A further conspicuous and interesting feature of the history of Horns was that upon its capture by the Arabs under Abu
Obeida, one of the generals of 'Omar, the great church of St.
John in the city was divided between the Christians and Moslems. Services were conducted simultaneously by adherents of
the two faiths in separate sections of the same edifice. This arrangement probably lasted until the occupation of Sym by the
Turks in 1517. Not similar, however, was the fate of the principal church of Hama which was occupied by the Arabs under
the same general and at the same time. It was immediately con-
B
�S2
ZHE SYRIAN WORLI
verted into a mosque without any arrangement for the Christian
to enjoy the privilege of worship in the same edifice.
Both Horns and Hama do a thriving business with th'
nomad Arabs prevalent in the vicinity. They export appreciab.1
quantities of cereals, wool and dairy products. Horns, in parti
cular, is the center of a district well planted with mulberry tree
and most of the silk produced is manufactured into substantk
native cloth* of distinctive Oriental design. The use of this dui
able cloth for personal wear and upholstering purposes is gradi
ally finding more favor with the Syrians as an outcome of th<,
campaign to patronize home industries.
Horns and Hama are both located on the main line of the
Beirut-Aleppo railway and are coming to enjoy more and more
the benefits of commerce with the coast cities in their export of
cereals and fruit. Previously, the only modern means of communication had been a carriage road connecting Horns with Tripoli.
The Rebuke
By DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
Oft in the shadow of the night, with conscience heart to heart,
I stand and humbly give it ear,
And this from its cold lips I hear:
"Is this the man thine anxious father planned? Is this the part
For which thy saintly mother prayed, —
For which the corner-stone she laid?"
Then from the dimness of the past, still heavy with the dew
Of dreamy youth, the eyes that were
My guileless own, upon me stare
And say, "Of all the visions fondly nursed, how very few
Remain untarnished by the grime
Of rushing Life and rolling Time!"
And I bend low my head,
And wish that I were dead.
�p
WATER WHEELS OF THE ORONTES
! 1
The great Water Wheels, or Na'ouras, which flank the banks of the river
Orontes and are used to raise water for irrigation purposes
in Horns and Hama.
�CEDARS OF LEBANON IN WINTER
A most extraordinary photograph of the famous cedar grove in Lebanon taken in mid-winter at the
greatest risk. The road to the Cedars is beset with many dangers even in summer, but in winter it is
well-nigh impracticable owing to the deep snow wh ich covers the mountain sides at times to a depth
of 10 or 15 feet. In the background may be seen the tops of some solitary trees -barely ghowing
above the thick blanket of snow.
m tr
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g
�pECEMBER, 1927
33
"Anna Ascends"
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
\
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACTS
a
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
ury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
..or English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, 'honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in her and helps her learn better English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to force
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his 'hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to 'her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess,, sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurns
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
In an elaborately furnished office of a large publishing house in uptown New York, the former secretary of Mr. Fisk, head of the firm, is
about to get married and is inducting her successor, Miss Adams, in her
duties. Miss Adams speaks perfect English but with a slight foreign accent. Fisk examines her credentials and discovers that in a short time
she made several changes. She explains that in some cases she was discharged, in others, left of her own will, but always for one reason, namely that of biting men who attempted to kiss her. She relates a personal
story similar in every respect to a newly published book which proved an
instant best-seller and Fisk's suspicions are aroused as to her identity.
Miss Adams parries with him on the question and he resolves to take
other means of satisfying his curiosity. In the meantime Howard, son of
Fisk, returns from an extended trip and meets Anna but does not recognize her and his "interest" in her is evident from the start.
Through a clever piece of detective work Fisk discovers that Miss
�i
34
THE SYRIAN WORLDL
L
<
Adams is the author of the book which had created a literary sensation,
and in a confidential conversation with her prevails on her to reveal her*1
identity. He also informs her that she had become rich on her royalties.
Howard returns and tries hard to recall where he had met Miss Adams be-/:
fore, but she is relieved that he does not recognize her as the Syrian wait-J
ress in the Washington St. restaurant. He makes a date to see her thenext day. Meanwhile Howard's sister and fiancee return and all leave to-*
gether. Upon being left alone Anna calls the office boy William and has
him enact an old scene she had with Howard by having him spell the word
affection and pronounce it LOVE. Anna then gives the boy the promisee1
kiss and is happy at the thought that Howard will come back.
The next scene is the summer home of the Fisks at Irvington-on-thc,
Hudson, Fisk endeavors to induce Anna to marry Howard, but Anna replit
that although she has realized her happiness in Howard she cannot taP
it for reasons she cannot explain. Anna is later alone with Howard w*
presses his suit to the point where Anna, to escape being forced to give tiv
her secret, tells Howard she does not love him. Nell breaks in and insinuates that Anna could not dress so expensively on the meager salary of a
secretary. Howard appeals to his father who dispells any suspicion directed to Anna and counsels his son to have patience as Anna will surely accept
him at the proper time.
ACT THREE — 2.
— I am going' down town to see your tenant, Said
Coury, tomorrow. He wants some improvements made in the
store. He may have them, can't he?
FISK — Of course.
HOWARD — I'm to see him at two o'clock. (John and Allen enter. Allen carries billiard cue and shows signs of his jive
drinks.)
ALLEN — That was the finest game of pool I ever played.
FISK — Pool, what pool?
JOHN — Oh, he means billiards. There were three balls
on the table, but he evidently saw a dozen.
ALLEN — I did see a dozen
and more. Wonder where
Nell is.? I've something to say to her.
HOWARD — Well, you had better say it quick, because that
load you're carrying will wear off very soon.
ALLEN — If it does, I know where I can get another one.
HOWARD — Nell is in the Blue Room, I think.
ALLEN — I'll stalk her, like the cave man of old. (Starts
right.).. Amongst all those beautiful wedding presents I have a
HOWARD
�DECEMBER, 1927
35
getter chance
the environment, you know. (Exits right.)
HOWARD — Where did he get it?
FISK — From the buffet. Courage to propose to Nell.
HOWARD — Booze has its merits. I hope she accepts him.
jOHN — If she doesn't, he is very liable to use the billiard
*ue on her.
|
HOWARD — (Quietly.) I hope so.
JOHN — What?
HOWARD — I mean, I hope she accepts him. I said it beire, didn't I?
\
FISK — Now I can go and have that highball. Join me,
a.
/s.
JOHN — I'll have a little liquor.
HOWARD — I think I left, the boat house open. (Starts up
to balcony.).. I'll join you later.
FISK — Come on, John, before Allen gets ahead of us. (As
they pass out left.) You know, he is liable to return for more
courage and the booze is limited
(Just as they exeunt, Bunch
enters from right on balcony and comes face to face with Howard at the center window.)
HOWARD — Who are you, the third man?
BUNCH — Yes, sir.
HOWARD — Busy?
BUNCH — No, sir, I have just taken, in the marquis for the
lady.
HOWARD
— Take this bunch of keys and lock the boat
house, please.
BUNCH — Yes, sir. (He takes keys' from Howard, coming
forward to, do so. As the men met only for about two minutes
three years ago they fail to recognize each other. Howard is puzzled, however, and calls the man back.)
HOWARD' — Just a moment, please. (Bunch stops but does
not turn around.)
BUNCH — Yes, sir.
HOWARD — Come here. (Bunch turns and comes reluctantly to Howard.)
BUNCH — Well, sir?
HOWARD — Did you ever work for this family before?
BUNCH — No, sir.
HOWARD — Did you ever meet me before?
BUNCH — Your face is somewhat familiar, but I can't re-
�SYRIAN W0RL1
36
member that I ever saw you before.
HOWARD — (After a moment of thought.).. Give me those
keys. (Bunch hands them back and Howard selects one which htk
hands to Bunch. He pockets the rest.) That is the key to th,
boat house. If I do not see you tonight, return it to Yates in
the morning.
BUNCH — Yes, sir. Is that all, sir?
HOWARD — Yes. (Bunch exits off on balcony. Nell am
Allen enter from right. Howard softly tip-toes off left.)
NELL — Allen, you just sweep me off my feet by yoi
eloquence.
ALLEN — Oh, it is not me, exactly
I had to have cou
age to do it.
NELL — Courage, Allen, you have plenty of it.
ALLEN — I had plenty of it.
NELL — It hasn't left you, has it?
ALLEN — Oh, no. It still lingers. But I will need some
more very soon.
NELL — Well, gather it, dear boy, gather it.
ALLEN — I will. (Starts up left.) Will you excuse me a
minute, Nell? Just a little moment?
NELL — Certainly, Allen, but where are you going?
ALLEN — (At door.) To gather some more courage. (He
starts off and runs directly into Anna, who enters.) I'm in an
awful haste, Miss Adams, but I will be back in a short time to
apologize. (Exits left. Anna discovers Nell and attempts to
leave.)
NELL — Just a moment, please. I wish to talk to you.
ANNA — What is there to say?
NELL — Only this. I have seen you before somewhere,
and, it seems to me, in some questionable situation.
ANNA — Well, you were in the same position, if you saw
me, weren't you?
NELL — You may not be all that I accused you of a short
time ago, but I do know that you are aspiring to be a lady. I
will recall it, and I warn you, I will take no pains to spare you.
ANNA — But you will spare me, now, won't you? I do not
care to listen to you.
NELL — Of course iyou do not, but others will listen to me
at the proper time.
ANNA — You are jealous.
But why have this all over
„
�DECEMBER,
1927
37
-*gain? You have made assertions that I cannot at this time disipprove. I would rather be downright honestly bad than to be
I ike you. There is nothing more to be said.
'
NELL — It is breeding that counts, always. Some day your
%rue character will blossom forth.
\
ANNA — Not as yours did, I hope.
1
NELL — If the glove fits
\ ANNA — Miss Van Housen, the inexorable law of Caste,
ji which you base so much reliance, is as dead these days as the
*vereignty of kings.
* NELL — Oh, you culled that out of a book.
[ ANNA — No, I put it in one.
NELL — I should hate to think that I would be compelled
to rub elbows with a, coal heaver or something of that sort.
ANNA — Well, if anyone should ask me which I preferred
to have around this winter, a lady or a coal heaver, I should pick
the coal heaver.
(Fisk, John and Allen enter from left.)
FISK — (To Allen.).- Take her out on the lawn and get a
definite answer from her.
JOHN — That's it.
FISK — How's your courage, now?
ALLEN — (Puts extended hand to level of chin.) Oh, great.
Up to here.
JOHN — Then, go to it.
ALLEN — Nell, there's a cygnet's nest down by the lily
pond. Will you walk down there with me?
NELL — Of course, Allen dear.
ALLEN — (Takes Nell's arm and talks as they move up
and off left.).. There is something delicately suggestive in a cygnet's nest, you know. The building of the little home, the mating and the little! cyggies that are to come, and
NELL — Allen, you surprise me, saying such a thing, you
ALLEN — It isn't me. It's courage.
FISK — Scotch courage. (Allen and Nell exeunt.) Anna,
daughter, will you motor with Howard and me to the office in
the morning or will you take the train?
ANNA — I'll take the train. I must be at work at eight
thirty.
JOHN — Half past eight. That's the middle of the night.
(Howard and Bess enter left.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLLfc
38
HOWARD —
BESS — Do,
All right, Sis. I'll get it at once.
Howard, please.
FISK — Get what?
HOWARD — My gun.
FISK — What silly
BESS — No, father, there is no room for argument, Howard has promised to sleep in the blue room tonight.
FISK — But what for?
,,
BESS — An ounce of precaution, you know. Besides, I c
not like the looks of that only servant we have in the house, J
HOWARD — I agree with Sis there.
BESS — He's awful looking. Isn't he, Anna?
4
ANNA — I did not notice, dear.
FISK — Well, of all
Four big, healthy men in the house,
who
BESS — Who sleep like the dead.
jOHN — Might as well eliminate Allen. He'll sleep sound
enough.
HOWARD — (Starts right.) Don't worry, Sis.
I'll hang
around your gifts all night.
BESS — (To John.) I suppose it is useless for me to ask
you to do it.
JOHN — Bess dear, if a thief came into the blue room and
I were there, I'd try to hide under one of your Aunt Agatha's
anti-maccassers.
BESS — You're impossible.
JOHN — As a detective, yes. (To Howard, as he is going
of.).- Any decent cigarettes in your room, Hank?
HOWARD — Plenty. Come along.
(Exits right.)
JOHN — Thanks, awfully.
(Exits right.)
BESS — I am going to the blue room this minute and check
off my things. (Goes right.) I suppose John was put on this
earth1 for some good. Everything else was, you know. (Exits
right.)
FISK —-Howard popped the question at last, didn't he?
ANNA — Yes.
FISK — When do you intend to accept him?
ANNA — Maybe tonight. Maybe never.
FISK — The boy will not take that for an answer. He has
told me so.
ANNA — And I have told him that he must take it as an
SBBSB
�"DECEMBER, 1927
39
^answer.
j
i
— Don't break my boy's heart.
— If God is not good to us, it will break both our
i^hearts, but I feel that He will be good to us, sometime. (Allen
'• ^and Nell enter from left through center window.)
NELL — Allen, the cygnet's nest is beautiful.
f
FISK — By God, he did it.
4
ALLEN — Yes, so symbolic of all that is to come. (They
^ome down center arm in arm.)
FISK — Well, is it settled?
a
a,
NELL — Oh, quite.
—. None but the brave deserve the fair.
J ALLEN
NELL — And he was so brave and courageous.
FISK — Yes, I know.
NELL — I am so sorry for Howard, Uncle Hen. But Allen
just swept me off my feet.
FISK — Bless you both. Don't worry about Howard.
ALLEN — (Suddenly.) Excuse me for a moment, I left my
cigarette case on the buffet
I mean in the dining room. (Goes
up left.)
FISK — (Taking out cigarette case.) Here.
ALLEN — Oh, you haven't got what I want. I want case
goods
I mean my good case. (Exits left.)
NELL — I shall admonish him in the morning.
FISK — What for?
NELL — He's tipsy. When he can come to me in his sober
senses and propose, then I may consider it.
FISK — But you have told him that you
NELL — Of course I told him, but I will tell him a lot
more tomorrow. Then he can propose again in a decent way.
ANNA — He won't have the courage tomorrow.
FISK — No, he won't. I'm sure of that. And I'll see that
he gets no more tonight, too. (Starts up left.)
ANNA — (Seeing that she will be left alone with Nell, goes
to right.) I think I will join Bess.
NELL
I'll go and have a talk with that young man, uncle Hen. And I'll take the courage out of him.
FISK — (As he and Nell pass through the door.) Can't be
done, my dear, can't be done. (They exeunt.)
(Whistling is heard of up left and William enters and meets
Bunch center, who has entered at the same time from the opposite
FISK
ANNA
�40
<JLHE SYRIAN WORLBg.
side. Bunch carries a rain coat and cap. As they meet William
speaks.)
WILLIAM — I want to see Mr. Fisk, please.
BUNCH — What name, please?
WILLIAM — Just tell him that his business partner is hert:^
with the goods. He'll understand. (William crosses down rightcenter and Bunch goes to door left.)
BUNCH — (Who has -put cap and coat on chair as he passed it.)-. His business partner?
WILLIAM — You got it.
BUNCH — Yes. I will inform Mr. Fisk.
WILLIAM — Go as far as you like, oP lamb chop. (Bun£
exits right. William looks about him in a furtive manner anu
then takes a jewel case from- his back pocket and waits for Fisk,
who enters right, followed by Bunch.)
FISK — Well, William, here at last.
WILLIAM — Yes, Mr. Fisk.
FISK — Where is it?
WILLIAM — (Handing over jewel case.) Here it is, sir.
All safe and snug.
FISK — (Taking case and opening it.
Bunch watches.)
Good.
WILLIAM — Didn't I tell you that I'd fetch it through all
Okay?
FISK — Yes, William, and you did.
WILLIAM — You bet.
FISK — (Crosses over to desk down extreme left.) Do not
mention this to my daughter. It is to be a surprise for her.
WILLIAM — Not me, Mr. Fisk. I'll be as mum as a tomb.
FISK — (Turns at desk and sees Bunch.) Why are you
waiting?
BUNCH — For orders, sir.
FISK — Brush and cover the billiard table.
BUNCH — Yes, sir.
(He goes to right and exits after a
look.)
WILLIAM — Miss Anna is here, ain't she, Mr. Fisk? (Fisk
puts jewel case in desk and locks it.)
FISK — Oh, yes, oh, yes. (Nell and Allen enter left.)
NELL — Don't you talk to me — you
dissolute inebriate.
(She crosses to steps and goes of center to right.)
ALLEN — If I could pronounce those words I would deny
at
�'DECEMBER, 1927
41
. Deny it em-pha-ti-cally. So I would. (He follows her off.)
NELL — No defense, please.
ALLEN — Oh, Nell, it was only the courage. (They exeunt.)
WILLIAM — Say, he's soused, ain't he?
FISK — (Pocketing keys.) Yep. (Enter Bess and Anna.)
WILLIAM — Good even', Miss Bessie. (Shamefacedly, to
nna.) Good even', Miss Adams.
BOTH GIRLS — Good evening, William.
ANNA — Did you come all the way out here to see me,
jVilliam?
— You bet.
ANNA — I shall reward you at the first opportunity.
\ WILLIAM — (Confused.) Yes, sir.
FISK — Yes, sir?
You want to take another look at the
person you address.
WILLIAM — Yes, Mam
I mean yes, sir. (John enters from right.)
JOHN — How about a rub of whist in the music room? The
four of us?
FISK — Suits me.
BESS — I suppose I must. It will give your brain a little
work, John.
FISK — And you, Anna?
(Starts for the door right.)
ANNA — No, thanks, I'll remain here and entertain William. (Bess exits. John and Fisk follow.)
FISK — I'll get the man to take you down stairs for something to eat, William, if you want it.
WILLIAM — No, thanks, sir.
I stopped at the Automat
before I took the train. (Getting nervous, watching Anna.) I'll
go with you, sir.
ANNA — But, William, you cannot play whist.
WILLIAM — Well, I might.
I ain't never tried
yet.
(Follows Fisk off.)
Anna is left alone on stage. She crosses over to the large
davenport at fireplace, "picks up her magazine that she previously had and nestles down closely and comfortably to read. A
slight pause — and Bunch enters from billiard room. The back
and sides of the couch completely hide Anna from his view. He
stands for a moment listening, then, satisfying himself that the
coast is clear, he suddenly turns off the lights from the switch
on the wall. All lights are out, save the reading lamp which
at
WILLIAM
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
throws a glow over the couch. The room is otherwise illuminat
ed by the moonlight streaming through the large French windows. Anna lets her book rest in her lap and listens expectantly.
Bunch tip-toes down to the desk, draws a small silver-plated jimmy and a handkerchief from his pocket. He places the hand
kerchief on the edge of the desk, quickly puts on a pair of cottot
gloves and with the jimmy on handkerchief pries open the desl
top. He quickly, yet silently, searches until he finds the jewt
case. Removes the necklace with his left hand, replaces the cast
brings down the desk top again, puts the jimmy and handke
chief in his pocket. Then removes gloves and pockets them. Wi'
the necklace in his left hand he turns to go, only to confront A
na who has come down silently to meet him. They face ec
other for a second. As the light is dim, neither recognizes the
other.
ANNA — Bunch Derry.
BUNCH — I don't know you.
_ ANNA — You ought to. We belong to the same line of
business.
BUNCH — Yer kidding me.
ANNA — Take a good look at me.
BUNCH. — (After a look.) Well?
ANNA — Don't you know me?
BUNCH — Naw.
ANNA — Take another look. Do you remember the little
girl you tried to put on
the streets
three years ago?
BUNCH — Aw, I can't remember them all.
ANNA — The girl Anna, in Said Coury's store.
BUNCH — I know.
ANNA —The girl who bit your hand.
BUNCH — Yes, and nearly done for me. Nigh croaked me.
It's Anna all right. So somebody beat me to it after all.
ANNA — Yes.
BUNCH — And made a thief out of you. I wouldn't have
done that.
ANNA — No, you would have been much easier with me,
Bunch, but you must admit I've done well.
BUNCH — You look it.
ANNA —'I'm sorry I stuck you with the knife.
BUNCH — Aw, that's all right. I ain't got no grudge. It's
all in a day's work. Say, you're working 'lone now, ain't yer?
�DECEMBER, 1927
ANNA — (Puzzled.) What?
BUNCH — Yer got no side kick, pal, mate, MAN.
ANNA — No, I'm working 'lone.
BUNCH — Well, what do you say if we pull this
43
job off
together. (Points off right.)- Dere's thousands of sugar in there.
ANNA — I know, I know. That's what I am here for. I
Wk the job as the old man's secretary, three months ago, to get
in on this. / work months ahead.
BUNCH — Say, you are smart.
(Nell and Allen appear
l
nd come through window. They are still quarrelling and pass
t
cross stage as they did at their previous entrance.)
v.
BUNCH — We go in on this, together?
ANNA — Right.
(Bunch is right center. Anna is left of
him. Howard appears at door right. Seen by Anna, but unnoticed by Bunch. All through the following scene, until Bunch discovers Howard, Anna talks in a high pitched strained voice to
convey to Howard the whole situation without letting Bunch
know her object.)
BUNCH — And we'll make a haul of it all. (Howard appears at, door.)
ANNA _ That's it. We'll steal, steal, STEAL.
BUNCH — Aw, don't put it like that. We'll just follow
our profess, that's all.
ANNA — We'll take the necklace, all the silverware, jewelry and everything. (Howard nods' his head, as in understanding
and draws his gun.)
BUNCH — You said it. Now you're talking. And we won t
be caught, neither.
ANNA — (Crossing down left.) I won't be caught.
HOWARD — No, she will do the catching.
(Bunch faces
Howard in a flash.) Don't move. Put up your hands.
BUNCH — Dished, dished by a moll. (To Anna.) I'll get
you for this.
ANNA — Yes, you tried to get me once before.
ALLEN — What's the matter?
HOWARD — This man was about to steal everything in the
house.
pISK — What happened, Anna?
ANNA — A miracle, Mr. Fisk, a wonderful miracle. You
can tell the world our secret now. How these beautiful clothes
were bought. How all my finery was purchased
right. And
�44
T-HE SYRIAN WORLD1
I will promise you the sequel to "Anna Ascends" in a week, Mr.
Fisk, in a week.
FISK — Great.
ANNA — Howard, dear Howard, I will give you your an-"
sewr sometime tomorrow, sometime tomorrow when you least
expect it. Oh, I'm so happy
so happy.
HELL DAMN.;
(She exits quickly.)
(To be continued.)
DISHONESTY DISCOVERED
Translated from the Jtrabic.
A merchant of Baghdad, being called upon to make a long
journey, left a hundred weights of iron in the safekeeping of one
of his friends.
Upon^his return he sought his friend to claim his trust, but f
the latter was emphatic in his assertion that the rats had devoured
the iron so that not the least,trace of it,was left.
"I have often heard," said the merchant, "that rats have a
special appetite for iron, but now my suspicion is confirmed."
The friend was delighted at finding that the merchant had
so readily believed his story and the latter soon after departed
and went his way.
In the street, the merchant came upon the child of his friend
and took him along to his house. The father, missing his child
that night, came of early morning to ask the merchant if perchance he had seen him.
"I surely have," said the merchant. "Yesterday, upon leaving your house, I saw a falcon swoop down upon your son and
carry him along in his talons."
The father of the child raised a great cry and caused a large
crowd to gather, all the while exclaiming: "Has any of you ever
heard of falcons carrying away children in their talons?"
But the merchant coolly remarked: "A land whose rats eat
away a hundred weights of iron must have, falcons that can carry
away not only little children but big elephants."
It was unnecessary to say any more. The dishonest man immediately admitted his guilt and hastened to say supplicatingly:
"/ have eaten your iron and here is its price, now give me back
my son."
�mm
45
DECEMBER, 1927
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
Rev. Dr. K. A. Bishara for supremacy in our Syrian\ takes the editor to task for American communities.
<aving permitted to creep into
The protagonists of the secufjie ethical sanctuary of the lar standard of ethics are strivf agazine a most unworthy sen- ing to smother those influences
s
Vient" published in the No- of the old world, as represented
v
'mber issue in the department in our strong Religious factionof the Spirit of the Syrian Press. alism and intolerance, which,
This "sentiment" was not an they claim, have been chiefly
outpouring of our own moraliz- responsible for our lack of a
ing propensities but a quotation national consciousness. Their
from one' of New York's pa- avowed purpose is to free the
pers which saw fit to comment rising generation of what they
on the meaning of the celebra- believe was the bane of their
While the religious
tion of Columbus Day in Amer- elders.
ica in the manner which appear- leaders interpret these tendened to the Reverend Doctor ir- cies only as an effort to shake
off the restraining influence of
reverent and sacrilegious.
The fact, however, that the religion and bolt their authoriquotation proved so highly con- tyWe would welcome a free
troversial and elicited the strong
and
open discussion of the queschallenge of the Reverend Doctor, is, to us, sufficient justifica- tion involved and pledge ourselves to the same impartial
tion for its publication.
We have given as much pro- policy that has characterized
minence to the refutation as to our conduct of all such controversies in the past.
the offending quotation.
It is obvious that we cannot
To our mind, the editor of
subscribe
to the sentiment of
As-Sayeh who gave expression
to the sentiment, and the Rev. the Rev. Bishara in excluding
Dr. Bishara who finds himself from THE SYRIAN WORLD all
prompted to take exception to matter deemed extraneous to
our publication of it, represent any one class of thought.' What
two divergent schools of we can promise is to give every
thought which are struggling side a fair chance to be heard.
THE
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD;,
This applies to moral as well
The hope exists, however,;
as to social and political discus- that a strong and wise leader sions. Our conduct of the de- will rise to guide his nation in,.
partment "Spirit of the Syrian the path of progress and act a&Press" is a fair indication of our mentor for his neighbors, pro/
impartial attitude in such mat- claiming a sort of Monroe Doc-/:
ters.
trine for the East. And per-/
haps, as has already been done
in single cases, compulsory me t
•THE deductions of Prof. Bythods of reform will be resorte*
ron Smith in the concluding
to to free a nation of its retni'
paragraphs of his article furnish
gressive proclivities. In such i
food for thought to the Arabiceventuality, progress may \ .
speaking peoples. There are
achieved to a degree in confor- •
unmistakable signs that a new
mity with the power and
era of enlightenment in the
strength of the leader and to
Arabic East is at hand, but the
the extent he is able to free
rapidity of progress in the devhimself and his nation from de-c
elopment of the new era is not
predatory European designs.
an easy question to determine.
The whole East, in fact, is
awaking from its lethargic
state of centuries, but the length THE article on the "History of
of time required to rear the
the Syrians in New York,"
complicated machinery of a published'in the November isprogressive state is much be- sue of THE SYRIAN WORLD,
yond the ability of anyone to was prepared by the editor of
compute with any degree of ac- THE SYRIAN WORLD for the
curacy. The masses of the East New York American and pubare in a deplorable state of ig- lished in the latter paper on Ocnorance. They are still influ- tober 3, being the fifth in a seenced by traditions which sadly ries of similar articles on other
lack the element of conformity nationalities represented in the
to modern conditions. Their makeup of the metropolitan
leaders, except in a few isolated population. The article was
cases, lack the broad vision of not intended to cover the hisconstructive statesmanship. The tory and the degree of evoluEast, in fact, is still groping in tion and progress of other Syrsemi-darkness for an object ian communities outside of New
which it is in hope of reaching York.
What complimentary
but finds itself lacking of the references occur in it to other
necessary means.
.
Syrian communities was permit-
�DECEMBER, 1927
I
.2d by the editors of the New I7ROM two distant points of the
t'ork American through courUnited States two letters on
tesy. The original plan was to the same subject reached us
pnfine the article to the treat- about the same time from two
ment of the history and achieve- Syrians engaged in identical stuments of the Syrian community dies but unaware one of the
^f New York alone.
other. Mr. Georges Knaysi,
Those of our friends outside instructor of bacteriology at
jj New York, therefore, who Cornell University, Utica, N.
Y., whose article on the role of
f ry be inclined to interpret our
f-iiparative silence on their microorganisms was published
sending as a deliberate attempt in the preceding issue of THE
v<
our part to deny them due SYRIAN WORLD, writes to inrecognition may well be assured form us that h& is preparing an
article dealing with a "subject
:hat such is not the fact.
which
has not yet received due
With refenrence to this aricle it should interest our read- attention in any discussion of
ers to learn that the inspiration the agricultural situation in
to it and to its sister articles in Syria and, Lebanon, namely the
the whole series came from dairy industry and 'dairy farmSyrian sources. It came about ing." While from the State
through the fact that Jos. W. University of California, whose
Ferris, President of the Amer- farm is located at Davis, Cal.,
ican Syrian Federation, felt Mr. Najib J. Dumit writes that
proud in demonstrating to his he was intensely interested in
friend, Nat. J. Ferber of the the article of Mr. Knaysi on
editorial staff of the New York bacteriology and his reference
American, some of the Syrians' in it to our native leben, as he,
achievements as expounded in Mr. Dumit, is now engaged in
the study of the dairy farming
THE SYRIAN WORLD and in Dr.
Philip K. Hitti's Book, "The with, a view to the introduction
Syrians in America". With the of scientific! methods along that
proverbial reporter's scent for field in Syria.
THE SYRIAN WORLD feels
news value, Mr. Ferber immediately conceived the series on proud of its role as a medium
the contributions to the City of in bringing the two together,
New York of the different, im- as all exchange of ideas on idenmigrant groups, and the articles tical activities is bound to reresulting therefrom have been sult in closer co-operation beappearing in the New York tween those who discover they
are engaged in the same line.
American ever since.
�48
iJTHE SYRIAN WORLD
Readers' Forum
AN OBJECTIONABLE
SENTIMENT
Editor, The Syrian World:
It is because I admire the beauty
of your magazine and the good taste
seasoning almost all its articles
that I cannot but notice with indignation any ugliness marring that
beauty, especially from the moral
viewpoint. In this respect I call your
attention to the following statement
in one of the editorial renditions on
"St. Columbus":
"Let Moses, Mohammed and
Jesus remain on their pedestals
in the Old World, but we will follow the example of St. Columbus
in the New World."
How this unworthy sentiment
crept into the ethical sanctuary of
the magazine I cannot understand.
And what real value have such "clever adages" characteristic of our tencent-novel age, I cannot see.
To call the young readers to forsake Jesus for Columbus and to take
the latter as their exemplary patron
saint is to offer them morally and
spiritually a very low standard indeed.
In the first place Columbus was no
saint in the real sense of the term.
Strictly speaking, the man was
neither Christian nor Mohammedan
nor Jew. He was reared in a hypocritical atmosphere where 'his Jewish parents had embraced institutional Christianity under compulsion — a motive most unworthy
even hv the case of a heathen.
But in the second place, let us
suppose that the man escaped the
duplicity of his cowardly parents un-
scathed, in what sense can he be a
exemplary saint?
Sincerity, honesty and consistency
are the emblems of a holy, pure
hearted man entitled to be designa
ed as "saint". Columbus' person
morality has always been under
cloud. Even in social ethics he v,,
a perfect rogue, devoid of all sei
of equitable honor. He used anot1
less fortunate sailor's charts
reaching islands already discovered,
and then exerted all his efforts to
obliterate all traces of the abovementioned charts so as to claim the
whole honor himself, of which !hi
was subsequently deprived by eternal justice.
Columbus was a great adventurer,
that's all!
In fine, I beg to state that the
statement in question is detrimental to the mental and ethical sensibility of the youth. And I take this
opportunity to register my protest
against it, indicating, at the same
time, that to me it appears peculiarly foreign to the spirit, and sadly inferior to the standard, of your
most excellent magazine.
K. A. Bishara.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
PUTS SYRIANS IN BETTER
STANDING
Editor, The Syrian World:
I read with enthusiasm your "History of the Syrians in New York".
I appreciate your penetrating understanding of the American psychology and your style of making an appeal to this great people on behalf
I
�am.
DECEMBER, 1927
1:
of the Syrians in America. Materif al advancement appeals strongly to
I the rank and file of the Americans
and such articles as yours certainly
feserve to fortify our position in this
country.
N. H. Samra.
^Flint, Mich.
v
HER ONLY REGRET
49
done, was doing. Gave a bird's eye
view of the religions and customs of
the people. The three hundred million Mohammedans, their Koran,
their moral code, and the helping
hand of America. It was a moving
picture of rare interest, and all too
brief."
AN OPINION FROM ABROAD
Editor, The Syrian World,
I cannot tell you enough how
much I and my friends do enjoy
"The Syrian World". I can only
repeat to you my hearty congratulations for having introduced it to
us—all who love Syria.
Each number, as it comes, contains
such interesting articles. I greatly
admire your effort for being able
to offer us such a rich variety of
the best Syrian culture for each
month; and I can fully realize the
sacrifice this costs you. I see you
invite your readers to tell you what
they think. I take the liberty to say
SYRIAN WORLD HELPFUL
that it would be a great pity indeed
Editor, The Syrian World:
should you have "saucy" stories inThe articles of The Syrian World troduced into "The Syrian World",
for I would certainly think "The
have proved most helpful to me.
I was called upon to give a talk Syrian World" would lose much of
to the Kiwanis Club on any interest- its highly appreciated value.
I think if you can maintain the
ing subject that I may choose. As
The Syrian World contains plenty literary standard in the publication
of material on the subject I chose, of "The Syrian World" it will be
it proved very interesting to the better for the future of it, altho
this means a great sacrifice on your
members of the club.
I am enclosing a clipping of our part for the present.
It is astounding really to see how
local paper giving an account of this
little the West knows about the East,
talk.
J- S. Joseph.
how little Europe and America know
Greenwood, Miss.,
Part of the account referred to about Syria and us Syrians. I think
in the Greenwood Commonwealth that "The Syrian World", as it is,
for that reason, will accomplish its
follows:
"Mr. J. S. Joseph brought an ab- mission in the best way desired in
sorbingly interesting message on the long run.
Georgina Schnapp-Michalany.
"America in the Near East". ***
Les
Saars, Switzerland.
He told of the work America has
' The following quotation is taken
from a letter to Dr. Philip Hitti
from Miss Theodora B. Scoff Who is
studying for an M. A. in the University of Boston.
"Your articles in The Syrian World
last year so aroused my interest in
the history of my own people that I
decided to change my course of
study from Modern History to Ancient History. My only regret is
that I did not spend as much time
studying Arabic as I did Modem
Languages."
�50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcos
mic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherevei
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinkingf
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
SHE MUST BE A SEER
When France went to Syria and
Lebanon she was received as the
exalted maiden of Liberty, and Beauty, and Valor, and Lofty Principles.
She undoubtedly went there with,
the best of intentions but soon her
virtues were turned into vices and
although her detractors were legion,
few there were who raised their
criticism on solid reasoning.
The hungry expected her to feed
them, and the needy thought her
there only to succor them.
Religious and political leaders expected her to shower on them her
bounties and place them in lucrative
offices. They also thought her dutybound to support one faction as
against another and to take sides
in their internal differences.
What is more important is that
no constructive program was laid
down by responsible leaders for the
purpose of acquainting the mandatory power with their demands. They
expected her to be a seer able to
discover their secret aspirations
without their making an avowal of
them.
So much for the deficiency of the
Lebanese, but the French also had
their faults.
.
>
Among the officials of the mandatory authorities were some petty
opportunists who saw that the Lebanese offered bribes and they accepted them and practiced all other
forms of corruption as well. They
discovered that the Lebanese were
meek and became inclined to treat
them with disdain. They found that
the emigrant Lebanese were liberal
in their remittances to their folks
at home Who became prodigal in
their expenditures and the French
thought that they had just as much
claim and right to this easy money
as the original recipients.
In all this the French have no
excuse except that they claim that
they are not seers to foresee just
what the Lebanese want and the
nature of their grievances. This is
a passive attitude which could have
no moral justification.
One of the surest means for the
correction of this condition would be
for the Lebanese to appoint an independent, fearless representative in
Paris who would have direct dealings with the French Government
to report on actual conditions and
speak for the progressive element
of the country.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1927.)
i
�51
DECEMBER, 1927
the country a colony or a protectorate? Cannot the Syrians and Lebanese prove to the French Colonial
Party that they are not slaves to
offices and that the only thing they
hold sacred is country and patrotism?i
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.f
Nov. 15, 1927.)
WE DO NOT BLAME
THE FRENCH
We have no blame to direct against
the High Commissariat in Syria, or
the French in general, or the francofjhiles, or the press which burns in- cense to the French and places them
'^n rank with the saints.
No. We do not blame those who
invaded the country horse and foot
coming from the borders of the
Seine, because they are but searching for countries to conquer and
lands to colonize and dooile peoples
to govern and exploit. Thus the
French came to be in Syria and Lebanon where office seekers sell the
country and all patriotism for a
pittance.
Lebanon in its former status enjoyed an autonomous form of government under guarantee of seven
European Powers. But now it is
the prey of one of those powers and
has lost not only its former prerogatives but its happiness and peace.
The sole concern now of the leaders in Lebanon seems to be to grab
offices. The Constitution to them
has become a dead letter through,
their avidity for spoils, the results
being that the Mandatory Power
strengthens its position in proportion to their division and weakness.
Oh! If the members of Parliament were only in their senses they
would forsake their chairs and declare a strike as a warning to the
Mandatory Power that they would
not tolerate any change or amendment to the Constitution of their
country.
We do not blame the High Commissariat because its officials went
to our country under orders to fulfill a mission. And has not Poincare
declared that the object of the
French in going to Syria is to make
THE DANGER SIGN
The two houses of Parliament in
Lebanon were combined in one to
which Sheikh Mohammed Eljesr was
elected president.
The victory of Sheikh Eljesr spells
the beginning of the end of Christian authority in Lebanon—that authority which the Christians won
after the war and which now reverts
to the Mohammedan element.
And do the Syrians and Lebanese
think that usurpation of authority
will stop at this point? It requires
only a little thought for you to come
to the conclusion that this is only
the precursor of amalgamating Lebanon with Syria in a single state
to which will be elected not a president of a republic but, in all probability, a king who will surely be a
descendant of the Prophet.
This has ever been the case with
the Christians of Syria. At the time
when the Moslems were but a email
band invading the country the numerically powerful Christians were
divided upon themselves and permitted their enemies to overcome them
through their petty wranglings. Now
they are enacting the same role only
that they are the helpless minority,
while the. Mandatory Power only
seeks to further its political ends
and disregards all considerations of
a religious nature.
We do not oppose unity. Rather,
we are of its staunchest supporters
S
-
•
' -
.:.-:-.-.. >
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLi
but only on condition that religious
intolerance which has been forever
the curse of the nation, be first eradicated.
(The Syrian Eagle,
N. Y., Nov. 9, 1927.)
FALSE REPORTS
There were reports current in
some Arabic papers lately to the effect that His Majesty King Ibn
Saoud had disarmed the Syrian revolutionists who crossed the borders
into his country. We wish to state
that we are in receipt of authoritative information from Emir Adel
Arslan categorically denying these
false reports. It is obvious that such
rumors are circulated by the supporters of the mandate and the enemies of the revolution to hurt the
cause of our heroes who are still
holding out against the usurpers and
tyrants. The plain intention is to
prevent the emigrants from continuing their financial assistance to
the cause of the revolution and the
suffering families of our heroes. We
would ask all patriots not to lend
credence to these reports and to consider that their sacred duty is to
continue their assistance to their
valiant heroes who have raised the
Syrian name in the estimation of
the world by their stubborn and protracted resistance to the greatest
military power in the world.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Nov. 14, -1927.)
ABOLISHING HOLIDAYS
Mussolini cannot be far from right
in abolishing holidays in Italy. We
only wish that Syria would follow
in the footsteps of the Duce by eliminating holidays during the week.
Syria now has the largest number
of holidays of any country in the
world, consequently we find the
people corrupted by these holidas
so that they now wish that ever
day were a holiday. Even the gov
ernment concurs in celebrating th'
holidays of the different religioi«
denominations to such an extent th.
government officials and employe
spend most of their time in observing the holidays of the Mohammedans, the Christians and the Jews.
Is it too much to hope for the appearance of a Mussolini in Syria
who would, at one stroke, decapitate
the seven-headed holiday dragon and
relieve the country of its depredation?—a Mussolini who would drive
the people vith the iron rod of discipline to productive and fruitful tasks
for their own benefit as well as
that of the country ?
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1927.)
WILL THE PALESTINIANS
TOLERATE SUCH?
A member from the United States
Congress from New York is the
author of a suggestion to issue new
coins and postage stamps for Palestine commemorating the ten years
of Zionist rule in that country.
If Palestine is rich in anything it
is in its historical facts and figures
suitable for such purpose. Now what
will the Palestinians do to stem the
tide of Zionist aggression in their
country? We expect them to rally
to the defense of their rights so
that the Zionists may not monopolize the offices and resources of the
country head and tail.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Nov. 16, 1927.)
Q.—Why was there held in Damascus a fruit exposition?
A.—Because these are the only
finished products being produced
there in the factory of Nature.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1927.)
•
�)ECEMBER, 1927
53
THE ECONOMIC SITUATION
IN SYRIA
!",A review, based on reports from Consuls J. H. Keeley, jr., Damascus; Paul H. Ailing, Beirut; Harry L. Troutman, Aleppo; and other
sources. Published in "Commerce Reports" of Nov. 7, 1927.)
for 1926 are incomplete, but estimates for the Damascus region indicate an improvement over 1925 in
cereals, fruit, nuts and cotton—although reports from the Beirut district show less satisfactory results
for cotton. Production of fresh cocoons during 1926 was estimated to
have been slightly larger than during the preceding year when it totaled 2,900 metric tons; raw wool
was estimated at somewhat over
3,000 metric tons, or about equal to
1925. The livestock industry around
Credit Market Disturbed—Exchange Damascus suffered considerably durLower.
ing the disturbances and heavy losses
The continuation of unsettled con- were also sustained during the
ditions in the southern region during severe winter of 1925-26.
the first half of 1926 resulted in a Government Finances Shows Survirtual suspension of credit operaplus.
tions both by the local banks and
Preliminary results for 1926 indimerchants in Beirut, the merchancate receipts of 8,494,000 Syrian
dise-distributing center. As condipounds and expenditures of 6,670,000
tions became more stable during the
pounds—a surplus of 1,824,000
latter part of the year, however, the
pounds.
demand for various merchandise
The budget for 1927 fixes receipts
from the Damascus area increased
and a less rigid credit policjyre- and expenditures at 1,508,630 Syrian-Lebanese gold pounds (1 gold
vailed.
' "^
The Syrian pound, which is based pound equals 20 gold francs.)
on the French franc, fluctuated wide- Foreign Trade Declines in Value.
ly during the year. The average
Both imports and exports, includfor 1926 was $0,648, as compared
ing
reexports, in 1926 showed a dewith $0,953 for 1925.
crease in dollar value, as compared
Crop Estimate Favorable—Heavy with 1925, while the adverse balance
totaled $23,403,000 as against $24,Losses in Livestock.
Data on agricultural production 617,000 in the previous year.
An economic depression in Syria
prevailed during 1926, but an improvement was noted toward the
close of the year. Exchange depreciated considerably, interest rates
continued high, and credits in the
disturbed area were temporarily
suspended. Preliminary returns of
budget results indicate an excess of
receipts over expenditures. The
volume of foreign trade was smaller
than in 1925, and the trade balance
was again unfavorable.
I
�54
France Leads as Source of Imports.
Among the exports, dried skins,
livestock, fruits and vegetables, and
colonial products showed decreases
in quantity as compared with 1925,
while butter shipments increased.
The lower value of the Syrian pound
during the year was reflected in the
total figures, the quantity showing
only a slight change, while the. total
dollar value was about 20 per cent,
less than in the previous year.
Cereals and cereal products, fruits
and vegetables, and glassware showed the largest decrease in the list
of imports. Other items showed
only slight changes.
Palestine was the chief destination
of exports and reexports from Syria,
taking 16.7 per cent, of total value
in 1926 against 20.3 per cent, in
1925. Egypt was second with 15.3
per cent, and 14.6 per cent, respectively. France was next with 14.7
per cent, and 13.2 per cent., followed
by the United States. Shipments to
Iraq represented 7.1 and 4.1 per cent,
of total value; to Transjordania 6.3
and 4.7 per cent., while those to
Persia showed a large increase over
the previous year.
France led in 1926 as a source of
imports, furnishing 19.9 per cent, of
total value, as compared with 13.7
per cent, in 1925, followed by England with 13.6 per cent, and 16.4
per cent., respectively; Italy with 11
per cent, and 11.5 per cent.; Turkey,
9.5 per cent, and 11.2 per cent.; and
the United States.
Trade With United States Less.
Imports from the United States
amounted to 21,800 metric tons in
1926, valued at 4,609,000 Syrian
pounds ($2,986,630), or 7,3 per cent.
THE SYRIAN WORLlJ
of the total, as against 33,126 tons
valued at 4,219,000 pounds ($4,020,700), or 8.7 per cent., in 1925. This'
decrease is owing principally to
smaller direct imports of petroleum
products, and general stagnation of,(
business, which affected miscellane-,
ous imports from all countries. Oth-/
er commodities imported from the
United States include automobile^
and accessories, agricultural apparatus, and food products.
Exports to the United States in
1926 amounted to 5,670 metric tons
valued at 3,490,100 Syrian pounds
($2,261,580), or 12.8 per cent, of the
total, as compared with 8,320 tons
valued at 2,485,000 pounds ($2,368,200), or 10.8 per cent, in 1925. Exports as declared through the American Consulate were valued at $2,890,000 in 1926 as against $3,927,700 in 1925. The chief exports to
the United States were wool, sausage
casings, licorice root, nuts, etc.
Communications Disturbed — Shipping Decreased.
An important project undertaken
during the year was the construction of a highway between Latakia
iand Aleppo. This highway was
scheduled for completion during the
latter half of 1927. Difficulty was
experienced in maintaining regular
railway service in the southern region of Syria because of disturbed
conditions during the first half of
1926, but a marked improvement was
reported toward the end of the year.
Shipping activity showed little
change from the previous year. A
total of 3,160 vessels of an aggregate tonnage of 1,768,744 visited
Syrian ports in 1926 as against 3,182 and 1, 710,113, respectively, for
1925.
�DECEMBER, 1927
About Syria and Syrians
SYRIANS GIVE DINNER
TO DR. AND MRS. DODGE
What the Syrians of America intended as a fitting testimonial of
their profound affection for Dr.
Bayard Dodge, President of the
American University of Beirut, and
Mrs. Dodge, took the shape of an
elaborate banquet held on the evening of November 10 at the Hotel
Commodore in New York. More than
three hundred alumni of the University and their friends attended, all
but about a score being Syrians.
Mr. Nesib Trabulsi, chairman of
the Alumni Association of New
York, presided. He read cables of
greetings from Egypt, Syria, Palestine and South America, as well as
many telegrams from alumni and
friends in many sections of the
United States.
The keynote sentiment of the occasion was sounded by President
John Grier Hibben of Princeton University under whom
President
Dodge studied as a member of the
class of 1909 at Princeton and who
was one of many presidents of
American universities present at the
dinner. He extolled the pioneer efforts of President Dodge in the
educational field in the East. "But
in this," he said, "he is only representing the effort of America to turn
back the wave of civilization to its
source." President Hibben spoke
hopefully of the possibilities of
modern education for Syria.
work of President Dodge and his
American co-workers in the educational field in Syria denied any intention on their part to Americanize
the Syrians.
"While instilling American principles of efficiency, democracy, sotr'al-mindedness and respect for
labor, President Dodge and the University are not Americanizing the
people," said Dr. Hitti. "They represent the force that is working to
restore Syria to her old glory — the
Syria of the Umayyads when that
land was the most enlightened and
the most cultured land in the world
— the Syria of the Roman period
when Beirut was the seat of a school
of law that attracted students to it
from far-off Constantinople and
distant Spain — the Syria of the
ancient times whose people contributed to the imperishable things of
life more than any other people or
race — the Syria which, especially
because of its inclusion of Phoenicia
and Palestine within its boundaries,
has been of greater significance to
mankind than any other country
of equal size."
Declaring President Dodge to be
"the greatest single force working
for good in the Near East and for
its regeneration," Dr. Hitti expressed
the hope that the alumni of the University would lend their efforts in
the promotion of the cause for which
the President is devoting his life
and energy. "To the extent," said
Dr. Hitti "to which you alumni and
Dr. Philip Hitti of Princeton, a friends of Beirut have shown ingraduate of the American Universi- terest in the work at Beirut, to that
ty of Beirut, while extolling the extent you have been co-workers of
�56
President Dodge in the noble work
he is doing. To the extent to which
you will continue to show interest
in that work, you will continue to
make his work possible."
"For after all," concluded Dr. Hitti, "the Alumni Association, even the
University itself, are not an end in
themselves. Thy are a means to an
end, — the end being the development of the young Syrian manhood
and the ennobling of the Syrian
womanhood. So that the new Syria,
the Syria of the future, may once
more contribute its share to the
civilization of the world and the
welfare of mankind as it has so
richly done in the past."
Characterizing pledges to the Alumni Fund of the American University
of Beirut as an investment in international goodwill, Dr. D. Himadi,
Treasurer of the Alumni Association
of New York, gave a brief sketch
of how the raising of the fund was
conceived. When Bayard Dodge was
inaugurated president, Alumni of the
University came from all sections
of the Near East to attend the ceremonies. On that occasion the raising of the Fund occurred to them
as a fitting expression of their love
and affection for their Alma Mater.
Some thought that $150,000.00 was
too large a sum to be asked of the
Syrians considering the impoverished condition of the country, but the
opinion of those in favor of the
movement prevailed and the amount
was allotted by quotas. "The Egyptian quota of $10,000.00 was oversubscribed in a single evening; the
United States quota of $75,000.00
was pledged and the pledges are
being paid nearly on time; the South
American quota of $15,000.00 is twothirds paid in spite of the business
conditions in Brazil which are below
THE SYRIAN WORLD rj
normal; the Syrian and Palestinian
s
quotas were pledged and partly paid,
but on account of the recent earths
quake in Palestine and the unrest
CO
in Syria no attempt is made to urge (
ir
collection. The three years within
of„
which the money was to be paid expired last June, but the time was extended another year to accommodate
the belated pledges."
Plan to Raise a Million.
The success of the Alumni Association in raising the $150,000.00 has
encouraged it, according to Dr. Himadi, to extend the experiment to
the point of making an attempt to
raise a fund of $1,000,000.00. This,
however, will not be launched until
after the meeting of the Alumni
Council in June, 1928. During this
interval it is the intention of the
Association to sound and measure
the sentiment of their countrymen
for the plan or their objection to it,
if any.
As outlined by Dr. Himadi, the
plan "is to divide the million-dollars
into shares, each having a cash value
of $200.00, and distributing those
shares among graduates, former
students and Syrians and their
friends wherever possible. The thirty
odd branches of the Association will
undertake the distribution in their
respective districts. The shares are
to be payable at the rate of $1.00
per share per month for a period
which has been carefully estimated
at ten and one half years, or 126
months."
President Dodge's Address.
When President Dodge was introduced as the last, but not the least,
speaker, all rose and sang a refrain
of the A. U. B. anthem.
.
•
�/
,i
DR. BAYARD DODGE
President of the American University if Beirut.
I
�BANQUET TO PRESIDENT AND MRS. BAYARD DODGE
Given at the Hotel Commodore, New York, on November 10 by the Alumni, former students
American University of Beirut.
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�57
DECEMBER, 1927
Prefacing his address with some
Sjemi-humorous remarks about bobbed hair, short skirts, motion pictures and co-education in the Near
East, he soon launched on a report
of the activities and achievements
of the American University of Beirut declaring that with the increased demand for education in Syria
and neighboring countries it had
bebn necessary to limit registration
at the American University and to
maintain rigid standards that the
quality of the graduates be maintained at as high a standard as prevaile 1 when the University was
small.
He said: "The Schools of Arts and
Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacy, as
well as the secondary school, received recognition from the Board of
Regents of New York State some
time ago. During the year 1926-27
the School of Dentistry was also
recognized.
"In giving this recognition, the
Regents are so liberal about requirements for study that they do not
hinder the University from making
the work suitable to conditions in
the East. They set definite requirements for academic achievement,
which enabled the University to
dictate terms to tributary schools
and to insist upon standards as high
as those in the West.
"As a result of these high standards, students who transfer to European and American universities
for post-graduate work, find it possible to obtain as favorable treatment as though they had studied in
America. This year, for the first
time, it has been arranged for graduates to enter Oxford and the French
universities without examination,
upon showing their Beirut diplomas."
Co-education in Syria.
"Co-education," he said, "had
worked out better than had been
expected by anyone. It was decidedly an experiment to open the University to women and at first it had
been feared that no Moslem girls
would come to the University. On
the contrary they have come and
public opinion is in favor of co-education. The women students are
treated with the greatest amount of
respect. The only girl in the senior
class last year was elected class
president. One of the women students was elected by the students
last year to address the student
body about raising funds for the
Howard Bliss Memorial and was
listened to with the utmost respect.
One Mohammedan woman from
Egypt is studying at the University
to fit herself for work with the
feminist movement in her own country. The first woman has been
graduated from the School of Pharmacy and this coming year I expect
that a woman will be graduated
from the School of Medicine. Women are eager for education and
throughout the Arabic -s peaking
countries there is a- growing realization of the need for higher education
for women.
"Last year a call came from King
Feisal of Iraq for an American
principal and several assistants to
open a school for girls in Baghdad.
I had little time in which to secure
the necessary teachers for this
school for Mohammedan girls but
was successful in having an American woman released from her work
with the Near East Relief to accept
the principalship. Other teachers
were sent and were most successful
with the school last year and are
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
highly
work."
enthusiastic
about
their
Economic conditions were at a
low ebb when the past college year
began, President Dodge said. "A
serious crisis took place in Egypt
because of inflation of the cotton
market. Extensive immigration and
rapid investment of capital resulted
in great financial depression in Palestine. The recent earthquake will
add to the misery there, although a
splendid harvest may improve conditions in certain places. The Mississipi flood was disastrous for America but it created a demand for
Egyptian cotton, which ended the
crisis and re-established prosperity
in the land of the Nile. Although
many persons sustained severe losses
from the flood at Baghdad a year
ago the past year has been a normal one for Iraq. In Persia there
has been growing financial prosperity under the able leadership of the
new Shah, aided by the American
Financial Commission.
"During the past year official
calls, letters and telegrams have
come from private institutions and
government departments in Syria,
Palestine, Transjordania, Egypt, the
Sudan, Iraq, and Lebanon, asking
for graduates to fill places of responsibility. It has not been possible to fill all of these vacancies
as the demand has been greater
than the supply.
"During the past year, the teaching and administrative staff has been
larger and more cosmopolitan in its
make-up than ever before. Relationships have been constant with
local officials and religious leaders
of lands of the Southern Near East.
It has been possible to realize the
importance of the University as' an
«*^Sc*«r
*^*»*
influence for "peace on earth, goodwill to all mankind." As a scientific]
Western institution, which has a firm
basis of religious faith, the Univer*sity has a great mission to perforn/i
in trying to interpret religion as!
something reasonable and practical
for the more advanced thinkers o\f
our age. Young men pick up the
evils of Western civilization in tjie
cinema theatres, the dance halls,
and popular books of their cities.
They fail to comprehend the noble
elements in Western civilization
which have made it the controlling
force of the modern world.
"During these years of readjustment it is the peculiar opportunity
of the Faculty and of the Alumni to
interpret the highest usages of
Western life so that they can counterbalance the evil influences of
Western life and ennoble the rising
generation of the East.
"In closing I want to tell you how
very much the Trustees appreciate
the support and the interest which
the Alumni and former students
give the University."
New Films from Syria.
At the conclusion of the speeches
some moving picture scenes of Syria
were shown for the first time in
America. They represented views
of the campus of the American University and some native scenes which
depicted only phases of the primitive conditions of life still prevailing in some sections of Syria.
Mr. Alexander Maloof and his orchestra gave the musical entertainment, mostly in Oriental airs.
. .
ft? . ". -,
;
:
" .
.
i
�——
k
59
DECEMBER, 1927
SYRIA CAUSE OF SPLIT
PETWEEN LAWRENCE
AND THE KING
The real cause for Col. Lawrence's rejection of the decorations
and other honors tendered him by
the king of England is Lawrence's
disapproval of England's acquiescence in the taking over of Syria by
the French, according to Associated
Press dispatches from London of
November 18.
This information is contained in
a book, just published, by Lawrence's
friend, Robert Graves, poet and
professor of English literature at
the Egyptian University.
According to the version of the
author, Lawrence came to the conclusion that the Arabs did not receive a square deal. He said they
fought with him because they understood they would be allowed to
keep Damascus and Syria after the
war, but the treaty handed these
over to the French.
;
,\
Graves recites this as Lawrence's
version of what he said to the King
about the honors:
"He explained to the sovereign
that the part he (Lawrence) had
played in the Arab revolt was dishonorable to himself, to his country
and Government. He had, by order,
fed the Arabs with false hopes and
would now be obliged if he might
be quietly relieved of the obligation
to accept honors for succeeding in
his fraud."
Graves before publishing this
asked Lord Stamfordham, King
George's private secretary, to get
permission to print the paragraph.
He received a letter from Lord
Stamfordham saying the King did
not remember that Lawrence's state-
ment was as recorded by Graves,
but that in declining the decorations
Lawrence briefly explained that he
made certain promises to King Feisal, that these were not fulfilled and
consequently he might possibly find
himself fighting against the British
forces in which case it would be obviously wrong to be wearing British
decorations.
Curzon Wept at Conference
The book contains many interesting stories including one telling how
the late Marquis Curzon of Kedleston wept at a post-war Cabinet
meeting held to discuss the Eastern question. Lawrence was present
and in answering a question regarding whether he wished to say anything, said:
"Yes, let's get down to business.
You people don't understand yet the
hole you have put us ail into."
Thereupon Marquis Curzon burst
into tears, great drops rolling down
his cheeks to the accompaniment of
slow sobs. Viscount Cecil, however,
brought him to with the rough interposition: "Now, old man, none of
that." Marquis Curzon wiped his
eyes and the business proceeded.
The first reaction of some
Syrian papers in New York was distinctly hostile to Lawrence's attitude. They claimed that England
used Lawrence as a tool and Syria
as a pawn in her political game in
the East. Their opinion in this instance was similar to that which
they expressed on the occasion of the
rumors of an exchange of territory
between France and Italy when it
was said that France would cede
Syria to Italy in return for a free
hand in Morocco. In both cases it
was said that Syria could not be
�60
THE SYRIAN WORLD \
treated as chattel to be bargained of his early life and later success (
away at will without the consent of was carried over the Associated1
Press wires to all parts of the Unitits people.
In the case of Lawrence of Arabia, ed States.
Nationalist papers showed particuJoe Abraham, according to Brilar bitterness towards England not stow papers, could neither read nor
only because it had given Syria to write either in English or Arabic,,
France after the war, but because it but his keen mind had an uncanny
had been instrumental in bringing capacity for figures. He made his
to an end the latest Druze revolu- fortune mostly in cotton and in oil
tion. They had for some time been lands.
loud in their denunciation of England's policy in refusing asylum to
the remnants of the insurgents who
sought refuge within the jurisdic- SYRIAN ELECTED TO
POLITICAL OFFICE
tion of Transjordania. To learn now
that not only in the past but in the
In what the Passaic News of Nopresent as well England was work- vember 9 describes as one of the
ing in harmony with France for sel- "best organized and hardest camfish interests and not in any spirit paigns in that section of New Jerof true friendship for Arab nations sey for years," a Syrian, Albert
was more than the Nationalists Gorab, a native of Homs, was elected
could endure.
Councilman on the Republican ticket
of Wood Ridge, N. J.
MILLIONAIRE SYRIAN
HONORED AT DEATH
A singular honor was paid a Syrian, the late Joe Abraham, of Bristow, Okla., when the mayor of the
city by proclamation ordered all
business activities in the city suspended for an hour during the progress of the funeral. The Bristow
Daily Record of November 8 carried
the proclamation in heavy black border on its first page and devoted
most of its space to details of funeral
arrangements and the life story of
the dead merchant.
From an itinerary peddler in 1896
when he landed in the United States
with but $10.50 Joe Abraham upon
his death was ranked among the
richest men in Oklahoma. He is
styled by Bristow newspapers as
the "community's outstanding citizen". News of his death and details
Mr. Gorab had served in this capacity during the three years from
1924 to 1926, and rendered such signal services while in office that he
was tendered a vote of thanks, passed unanimously by the Mayor and
Council. The Hasbrouck Heights
Observer of Nov. 10 sums up an appreciation of the character and activities of Mr. Gorab as follows: "It
is generally recognized that the
borough needs men of Mr. Gorab's
calibre; active, unselfish, always accessible and willing at all times to
take off his coat for the borough
in which he has made his home for
the past nine years and in which he
takes so much justifiable pride."
Mr. Gorab makes no secret of the
fact that he is a Syrian and has
in both his political and business
careers brought credit to himself
personally and to his race.
�DECEMBER, 1927
61
| j Political Developments in Syria
I The two outstanding political
developments of the month in Syria
are the meeting in Beirut of what
is styled the Syrian Nationalist Convention and the dissension among
the members of the Syrian Nationalist Committee of Egypt which
came as an aftermath of the armed
insurrection in Syria.
The Palestinian newspaper AlYarmouk, one of the bitterest organs of the Nationalist movement,
admits in its comment on the convocation of the Nationalist Convention in Beirut that the "thinkers of
the Syrian nation have met to frame
a reply to the declaration of M. Ponsot and formulate a plan for future
action, now that the guns of the
fighters have been silenced, in the
hope that prosecution of the demands
of Syria will not cease. It is now a
case where the pen will supersede
the sword in the demand for usurped rights."
The reply framed by the Syrian
Nationalist Convention and referred
to above is couched in the most
conciliatory terms and bears out the
assertion of the newspaper in that
diplomatic methods will henceforth
be used by the Nationalists in coming to an understanding with the
mandatory power. The fact that the
convention was held in Beirut, which
is the residence of the High Commissioner, while showing fearlessness on the part of the delegates
to the convention, tends also to prove
that they are agreed on the employment of peaceful means in pressing
their demands.
The memorandum embodying the
reply of the Nationalists to the declaration of the French High Commissioner in Syria was presented to
him on October 25. It was prepared
at five secret meetings held in Beirut on five successive days immediately preceding its presentation.
The signers comprised delegates
from the principal cities of Syria
both on the coast and in the hinterland. Aleppo, Horns, Hama, Tripoli,
Damascus, Beirut, Saida, were all
represented.
The memorandum sets forth the
complaint of the Nationalists that
the declaration of M. Ponsot was unsatisfactory in some instances and
ambiguous in others. No mention,
for instance, is made of the disposition to give the Syrian nation its
right of freedom in speech, public
meetings and the formation of political parties. Silence was also maintained on such vital issues as martial law, summary deportations, general amnesty and political exiles.
While reference is made to the
Constitution, no definite action has
yet been taken to accelerate it although the Syrian nation has all
along been clamoring for the convocation of the National Assembly.
French interests are claimed by
M. Ponsot to be making every effort
to bring about the economic rehabilitation of Syria, but the High Commissioner fails to make any mention
of the steps being taken to bring
about a betterment of the internal
Syrian markets which cannot be affected by any effort on the part of
�62
French interests.
The memorandum further states
that the Syrians have long been patient in the hope of receiving redress
at the hands of the mandatory power
but that they were driven to take
up arms after being fed on empty
promises for years, and concludes
with: "In calling these matters to
the attention of your Excellency we
are prompted by our desire to determine definitely our political and
economic status so that the efforts
of the nation may be directed to
constructive channels. This is proof
of a concrete desire on our part to
come to an understanding5 with freedom-loving France in the hope of
co-operating with her in working out
the destiny of our country."
mcEi
THE SYRIAN WORLL
one of the reasons for his disagree
ment with other members of th
Committee being his advocacy c
permitting Lebanon to retain its ar
nexed territories while his opponents insist that these territories
should be first restored to Syria.
&
Another incident leading to the
disagreement among members of
the committee is that the European
delegation presented its last memorandum to the League of Nations
on the Syrian question without the
approval or even the knowledge of
the Central Committee. The claim
is advanced that ever since Emir
Shakib Arslan returned from the
United States he showed marked
inclination to act independently of
headquarters.
SPLIT IN RANKS OF
NATIONALISTS
CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT
IN LEBANON
The press of Syria and Egypt
contains news of sensational developments in the Central Syrian Revolutionary Committee with headquarters in Cairo. Some claim that
the underlying difference is the
deep-rooted mistrust existing between Moslems and Christians. Emir
Michel Lutfallah, chairman of the
Committee, is said to have split
with some of his Mohammedan colleagues because of his desire to
come to an amicable understanding
with France on the Syrian question,
while the Moslems refuse to negotiate on any basis other than complete independence of Arabic-speaking nations, under a constitutional
monarchy. Their choice would be
for Ibn Saoud, king of Nejd, to head
tihe confederacy of Arab States.
Emir Lutfallah is accused of temporizing with the French to promote
his personal ambitions in the hope
of becoming prince over Lebanon,
The constitutional controversy in
the Lebanese Republic finally resulted irt the merging of the two houses
of Parliament into one. Sheikh Mohammed Eljesr, former president
of the Senate, was elected president.
This came about only after stubborn
resistence from the party headed by
Moussa Nammour, former president
of the House of Representatives.
While the victor is a Mohammedan
and his opponent a Christian, hisl
election was made possible only by
the support of many Christian members who expected to control the
cabinet. To depose the Ministry it
is necessary for the opposition to
control 31 votes, while the party of
Eljesr is so far restricted to 21.
Opponents of the new president plan
to elect Habeeb Pasha Saad to
head the new ministry in an effort
to balance offices, Saad being a
Christian.
M
L lilllMiiilir
F
|
B
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'iiiiuiiiii
�! 1
63
ECEMBER, 1927
THE APPROPRIATE
CHRISTMAS GIFT
:S
M
YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOUR
FRIEND IS A TOKEN OF THOUGHTFULNESS AND REMEMBRANCE.
MAKE YOUR GIFT ONE THAT
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
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RARE ORIENTAL PERFUMES |
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Beautiful Packages — Medium Size, $3.00.
Large Size, $5.00.
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Special concession on the price as an introductory offer to Syrians
ORIENTA IMPORTING COMPANY
34 WEST 71st STREET
NEW YORK CITY
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THE LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
319 FIFTH AVENUE,
COR. 32ND STREET
DOWNTOWN OFFICE
59 Washington St.,
New York City
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LEGAL DEPOSITORY OF The United States—New York StateNew York City.
MEMBER OF The Federal Reserve Bank—New York State Bankers Association—American Bankers Association.
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Deposits made on or before the ten days of January,
April, July and October, and the third day of any other
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Certificates of Deposit, an attractive short-term investment, if left for six months or longer will bear interest for the full term of deposit, at such rates as may be
agreed upon.
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A bank account is ESSENTIAL and advisable.
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The principle of thrift is the foundation of character.
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I will study hard and prepare myself, and someday my chance
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1927_12reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 06
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1927 December
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 06 of The Syrian World published December 1927. The issue opens with an article by Byron Smith, an English professor, on Arabic words in English vocabulary. Following it is a song by Ameen Rihani, and an article about the Problems of Syrian Youth in America by Rev. W. A. Mansur. Following that is a travel journal by Mary Mokarzel about her pilgrimage to The Holy Land (Jerusalem). The famous cities featured in this issue are Homs and Hama. The last work in this issue is a continuation of the play by Harry Chapman Ford. The issue concludes with the Reader's Forum, excerpts from the Arab press, and an update on the Economic Situation in Syria. This is also followed by an update of the Political Developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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Text/pdf
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Text
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
Harry Chapman Ford
Jerusalem
Music
New York
Reverend W.A. Mansur
Syria
Travel
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/bdeb3d7a14baa28ca848ce18a3f797c4.pdf
5e1f17c44d1a6ae8a3c7dca2beb02861
PDF Text
Text
\
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
I
\
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
. !
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
No. 7.
JANUARY, 1928.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Dreams
3
AMEEN RIHANI
War
KAHLIL GIBRAN
The First Needs of Agriculture in Syria
6
GEORGE KNAYSI
Problems of Syrian Youth in America—II
REV. W. A. MANSUR
Transformation (Poem)
DR. SALIM
9
14
Y.
ALKAZIN
Sparrow and Locust (An Arabian Nights' Story)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
15
Petra Is Mount Sinai
20
From the Arabic
20
�—_
CONTENTS (Continued)
PAG
Matrimonial Problems of Our Young Generation
2
PAUL DEAB
Her Choice (Poem)
25
C. AsSID CORBAN
{
Famous Cities of Syria — Tripoli
.y
On Love (Poem)
2d
J. D.
CARLYLE
Hydroelectric Development in Palestine
JAMES F. HODGSON
27
Things to Avoid
29
a
3Q
Anna Ascends" (Play)
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Arab Proverbs
38
Books and Authors
39
Notes and Comments — By
'
THE EDITOR
43
Readers* Forum
4$
Spirit of the Syrian Press
SO
About Syria and Syrians
54
Political Developments in Syria
61
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
A View of Tripoli
The Jordan
Anna on the Defensive
When the Miracle Happened
�THF
SYRIAN WORLD
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JANUARY, 1928
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SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
JANUARY, 1928.
No. 7.
Dreams
Sy AMEEN RIHANI
And the world will ever dream...
And romance will never lose its magic -power....
In the heart of hidden forces the great dreams of the world
are registered. Nothing of such is forgotten; nothing perishes.
The perfume of the rose rises to the sun; the light of the sun
rocks the cradle of the rose. The dream, not the dreamer, is
always heard. The voice of poetry, not the sigh of the poet, is
registered on the phonographic disc of the universe; and like
the light of the sun, it travels far through the ethereal spaces
of time before it reaches the ear of humanity.
The material voice of the present age, is it not the voice of
the idle fancy of the past? The dreams that were dreams a
thousand years ago, are they not unfolding their reality to-day?
Yea, even the breath of the great dreamers of the world reaches
the heart of the infinite and leaves the impress of human will
and desire on the great path of invisible forces. Everything
must come: nothing that has in it aught of the heart and mind
of humanity, is annihilable.
And the world will ever dream....
And romance will never lose its magic power....
Romance! It stands out even to-day towering above our
intellectual pride as a testimony to the realities of man's dreams
and to the truth of the poetic visions of the soul. Indeed, the
�4
THE SYRIAN WORL1
wildest flights of the Oriental imagination have come back to i
after a lapse of many centuries, have even become the common!
places of everyday life in our Babylons of the West. To ar
Aladin, a Sindbad, an Ali Baba, what were New York but a cit
of magic—an enchanted city built by the Jinn? Even to modi
ern man, even to the sophisticated among the moderns, who ca^
still feel the glamor of romance and experience a momenta/
detachment of the spirit,—rising above the workaday impressio
of things, the vulgarities of convention, the banalities of pars
dox,—but few of the wonders of the imagination can be moi
wonderful than the achievements of science and invention.
And the world will ever dream...
And romance will never lose its magic 'power....
The fabulists of Arabia never dreamt of a power that can
send a message in but a few seconds through thousands of miles
of space on the mysterious wings of the ether. Aladin's lamp
is but a tallow dip of the marvelous compared with the electric
glamor that can be released in a theatre by the little movement
of a key on a switch-board. The Magiq Carpet—behold it in the
monstrous dirigible that will yet roll up the great ocean and
echo above the rolling clouds, and above the realms of the storm,
the romancer's supreme desire. The Rukh Bird, should he come
to life, will readily recognize the aeroplane, who will relate to
him of adventures greater than he had ever experienced over
distant verdant hills and coral sandaled fairy isles. The Magic
Ring? I press a button and lo, I am sped through the streets
of the great city to the Cave of Gems, to the Country of Camphor, to the Valley of Beasts, or to the Land of the Jinn—to a
Museum of Art, a Museum of Natural History, a Zoological
Garden, or to the Cinema. The visionaries of the Arabian
Nights, who discovered populated countries in the depths of the
ocean, never in their visions saw the monsters of steel and electricity rumbling, puffing, growling in the bosom of the earth,
bearing their precious freight through tunnels under water. The
way a modern detective can scent a crime-trail would send a
Hassan or a Delilah to the Jinn for a new code and a more
potential charm against the demons of the underworld.
And the world will ever dream...
And romance will never lose its magic power....
er's
eyes,
�5
JANUARY, 1928
The fanciful is in sooth the forerunner of reason: reason is
„me indeed without the fanciful. Even as the ancients, we live
h-da.y in a world of spirit-forces. The gigantic and marvelous
K the material manifestations of life are the fulfilment of the
dreams that are registered on the hidden tablet of the universe,
^hey are the poetic heights, as it were, in the Epic of Invisible
forces. They are the monuments of the imagination,—the livjg witness to the truth of fable and romance.
Wat
By
KAHLIL GIBRAN
One night a feast was held in the palace, and there came a
man and prostrated himself before the prince, and all the feasters looked upon him; and they saw that one of his eyes was out
and that the empty socket bled. And the prince inquired of him,
"What has befallen you?" And the man replied, "O prince, I
am by profession a thief, and this night, because there was no
moon, I went to rob the money-changer's shop, and as I climbed
in through the window I made a mistake and entered the weaver's shop, and in the dark I ran into the weaver's loom and my
eye was plucked out. And now, O prince, I ask for justice upon
the weaver."
I
Then the prince sent for the weaver and he came, and it was
decreed that one of his eyes should be plucked out.
"O prince," said the weaver, "the decree is just. It is right
that one of my eyes be taken. And yet, alas! both are necessary
to me in order that I may see the two sides of the cloth that I
weave. But I have a neighbour, a cobbler, who has also two
eyes,, and in his trade both eyes are not necessary."
Then the prince sent for the cobbler. And he came.
they took out one ,of the cobbler's two eyes.
And justice was satisfied.
And
�T"-"-"-"""
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The First Needs of Agriculture*
in Syria
By GEORGE KNAYSI
Instructor in Bacteriology, Cornell University, Ithacay N. Y.
The wealth of Syria is not in its subsoil, nor in its wateij
power. Syria is, indeed, fairly poor in both. The wealth ofj
Syria resides in its soil and its perfect climate. When the hopen
of the Syrian as a middle man would have been shattered, an
when other sea ports more fitted than Beirut would have succeeded in diverting a respectable proportion of that city's transactions, the Syrian's only hope will then be the soil, the only
source of true, lasting prosperity. Syria is indeed primarily an<
agricultural country where most of the temperate zone plants can
be grown with undisputed success, and it is undoubtedly one of
the most excellent sections for fruit growing and the perfume
industry on earth.
/
Imagine a soil, sir, to which fertilization, natural or artificial, is practically unknown, to which no "amendments" are
added and on which no rational rotation is followed. Is it not
a marvel that a soil so poorly managed produces any crops at
all!. Syrian agriculture does not give credit to Syrian intelligence
nor to Syrian efforts. The Syrian farmer is a thrifty, hard working man, but Syrian agriculture is primitive in its practices which
have been so ably described by Professor J. Crawford in previous
issues of THE SYRIAN WORLD, and it is indeed a long way behind that of any civilized nation. Syrian agriculture lacks the
capital, and it lacks the modern implements, but more than all
that the real need of Syrian agriculture is science.
It is very difficult to pick a nation which has more admiration for science than the Syrian nation. In spite of the poverty
of the people, dozens of colleges, foreign or native, are taxed
with students to capacity, and the Syrian has learned and is constantly learning. Syria has its able lawyers, its engineers, its
journalists, and especially its poets and historians. The result
of over half a century of American and European tutoring
has given indeed gratifying results, but neither the American nor
the European taught his Syrian pupil how to manage his few
acres, and therefore he still uses the same miniature plough and
JANUA.
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�JANUARY, 1928
"
I pair of oxen similar to that driven by his forefathers hundreds
of year,s ago. But it is not by the poor implements of the Syrian
peasant that I am judging Syrian agriculture. Modern implements, although very desirable, are not indispensable. It is the
Absence of method, the wasting of the land and the lack of rational management that is ruining Syrian agriculture, and the
f
armer is not to blame for it. From the government, to whom
{he farmer looks for active guidance and encouragement, came
nothing but taxation and more taxation still. Indeed if one is
io judge by the results accomplished, one may say that, since the
fVrmistice, the government did not do much for the improvement of the agricultural conditions in Syria and Lebanon. There
/lias been some pioneering work in cotton growing promoted by
ithe mandatory power which is, at the present time, dependent
Aon Egyptian and American cotton, and which is eagerly hoping
$0 find, in any of its colonies, a suitable section for that purpose.
VThe results have received much favorable publicity. Some private trials that I know of in the Houla section, proved to be a
•failure, not because of an unfavorable soil or climate, but because
'of the weevil and the inability of the enterprisers to oppose any
/means of control. The plans of many land-owners are not likely
i.'to be carried through in the near future, because a land-owner^ in
feyria is usually hard pressed, for cash and heavily burdened with
'debts. In this respect it can hardly be said that the government
i* is in a better position. In fact, there was even a talk, when I
was iri Lebanon two years ago, to suppress the ministry of Agriculture as unjustified by the financial condition of the country.
It was to be replaced by a direction of Agriculture. But what is
in a name! A direction, sincere in its purpose and not handicapped by politics, may prove to be of much superior value to
the country. In fact the most productive organ of the Lebanese
Government has been the Direction of Public Works.
Besides the above mentioned few experiments in cotton
growing, there has been also attempts to draft a plan for the
reforestation of the country and some interest in the control
of certain diseases. On paper, that seems to be very good work
for a government of the age and means of the Lebanese Government. To one who is well acquainted with the situation, there
seems no doubt in the ability of our officials for big schemes
which usually seldom go beyond mere technical discussions. Reforestation and disease control have always been hobbies of the
�8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Turkish Government, and, if I remember correctly, many attempts to reforest the western slopes of the Anti-Lebanon have *u<
failed because of the lack of co-operation on, the part of the pea- n
sant, and before such co-operation is secured the peasant must understand his own possibilities and his own shortcomings. There lies
the task of the ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon and in Syria.
Any other start is a false one. What did the Governments of
Lebanon and of Syria do for the agricultural education of the
people? I must confess that I do not know enough the condi-*
tions in Syria because I have been out of the country since 1920,J*;
and when I went back two years ago, the revolution made mee>
abandon a study visit I was planning. I know, however, that1
the old school of Agriculture in Soulaymieh is still functioning^
and I was fortunate enough to meet one of its students. In Le- J
banon, a new agricultural school was opened at Tanail, and sev- Y
eral students were sent by the government to agricultural schools n
in France. Those students were not selected, however, on the • |
basis of merit and promise, but they were mostly sons of influ- f\
ential men and chieftains. Most of them, however, were not y\
able, on their return, to secure positions in the government. As <
to the two above mentioned schools, they are of the very elemen- n
tary type and are very inadequate to turn out the men that both e
Lebanon and Syria need so badly. Extension work which made *
of the American farmer the most scientific farmer in the world ji
;e
is entirely unknown in Lebanon and Syria.
To ignore the financial difficulties of the Lebanese and '
Syrian Governments would be bad faith. I realize their inability to put through big projects, at least for the time being, or to
open first class schools of agriculture. Let us adapt our projects
to our means with a hopeful look to the future. To begin with,
let us make use of those students whom the government took the
trouble to send abroad. A dozen such persons, well organized
and capably coached, should be able to render valuable services
and exert profound influence on the farmer and farming in both
Lebanon and Syria, where agriculture needs honest, competent
and hard working men more than it needs funds and machinery.
It is to an enlightened, thrifty, prosperous and peaceful farmer
that I look when I hope to see my country inhabited by a vigorous and healthy nation.
In my next article, I shall discuss the possibilities of dairy
farming in Syria and Lebanon.
Esse:
| American
[nderstan
hip and
^decision t
imerica,
The
[ghts wii
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�JANUARY, 1928
Problems of Syrian Youth In
It,
America
By
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR
II.
7/7. The Problem of Patriotism.
Essential to the happiness, welfare and progress of SyrianAmerican youth, their posterity and their race, is an intelligent
Understanding of the meaning of American patriotism, citizenhip and government. As immigrants we have made the supreme
'^decision to make America a permanent home. We owe it to
imerica, to ourselves and posterity to become Americans.
The American Republic is founded on fundamental human
eghts without regard for color, creed, race, station or previous
y?ndition. America's principles are coterminous with human free15m, happiness, liberty. Roosevelt said, "Americanism is a matVT of the spirit and of the soul." Americanism expresses hui .anity's yearning for independence and freedom political, relii.ous, educational and otherwise. American patriotism is native
Syrian nature, character, and aspiration,
j What America does not ask is as important as what she
aoes ask of new Americans. She does not ask that you forget
. and not love the land of your early humanity} that you refuse
! to acknowledge your race and your love of your race; that you
feel a sense of shame because of early material poverty; that
you lose your love for the language of the homeland; that you
make no reference to the talents and achievements of your race
and homeland; that you see no beauty in the customs of your
people.
What1 does American patriotism mean? Certainly not party
affiliation. Rather that you put America first in your thinking:
politically, religiously, educationally. That you believe in, uphold, and defend the Constitution of the United States. That
you believe in the "larger Patriotism". Roosevelt said, "The
larger patriotism demands that we refuse to be separated from
one another along lines of class or creed or section or national
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD!
origin} that we judge each American on his merits as a man.,
American patriotism also means that you remember thai
the American nation is composed of immigrants. "The Repub-]
lie of the United States is a nation of immigrants," said Dr. Gee
A. Gordon, "a nation of aliens. *** The only oifference amonAmericans is that some came earlier while others came later, inj
deed as it were yesterday to these shores. The only origim
American is the Indian. This historical fact should be foreve
borne in mind."
The native citizen has in his blood an American inheritance
his instincts have been fed with native food} and is alive only
things American. "We (citizens of foreign birth) ask him,
turn, to read in the story of our migration the struggle of 1
ancestors} we remind him of what we have left behind, whafl
we brought with us, and at what cost we gained our America^
citizenship," said Gordon.
American citizenship stands for "our national unity, oun
national endeavor, our national aspiration." It means an un'
divided allegiance to the Constitution of the United States
That "We let the passion for America cast out the passion foi
Europe." — (Emerson). Speaking of the Flag, Charles H
Hughes said, "It means that you cannot be saved by the valo
and devotion of your ancestors} that to each generation come
its patriotic duty} and that upon your willingness to sacrifice an
endure as those before you have sacrificed and endured rest
the national hope."
It means that Americans vote, pay their taxes, obey the law,
and a country worth living in is a country worth fighting for.
IV. The Problem of Religion.
Religious nature reached its highest under Syrian skies.
Atheism, agnosticism, infidelity, are foreign to Syria and Syrians, be they Mohammedans, Christians, Druzes or Jews. Religion is constitutional and a practical need. Out of human hearts
and experience arose faith in God. Man lived the religious life
and then went about constructing arguments for his beliefs. As
man's knowledge develops, his needs increase, so does God's
revelation.
Syrian religious thinking is open to the new knowledge in
science, education, religion, so long as it is knowledge. Tolerance
*.f religio
eformati
Carried tc
I
Ren
•£rid, "By
he ultirr
s to gra
oes not
yrian-A
uman e
nanism
j Rec
' evitable.
right, "I
in Christ
Christiar
thing, gi
;xpresse:
ability tc
::he Metl
flhist, or
amily (
wands,
' >ut by a
Syr
"jious de
and woi
�J
ANUARY, 1928
U
-.f religious faith and worship are native to Syrian thinking. The
eformation spirit was born in Antioch, Syria, with Paul, and was
Carried to Europe, and, in time, reached America.
$
Remember religion is rooted in man's soul. William James
fiiid, "By being religious we establish ourselves in possession of
ae ultimate reality, at the only points at which reality is given
s to grasp." "There is no real religion," says Knudson, "that
oes not in its faith transcend both nature and humanity." For
yrian-American youth religion cannot be made identical with
uman endeavor, science, humanitarianism, evolutionism, utilirianism, eclecticism, progress, or any ism.
J Reconstruction and restatement of religious beliefs is inevitable. Syrian-American youth need guidance. Rashdall is
fight, "Nor does the recognition of the need of reconstruction
in Christian theology reflect a feeling of dissatisfaction with the
Christian religion." Nor any religion, for religion is a growing
thing, growing with human knowledge and need. Mark Twain
jxpresses a succinct truth in his Christian Science: "It is not the
Ability to reason that makes the Presbyterian, or the Baptist, or
•:he Methodist, or the Catholic, or the Mohammedan, or the Budelhist, or.the Mormon; it is the environment." "A Presbyterian
ramily does not produce Catholic families or other religious
Vands, it produces its own kind; not by intellectual processes,
nit by association."
Syrian-American youth are baffled by the numerous reli\gious denominations: the result of freedom of religious thought
and worship. Shakespeare expresses our amazement in Bassa\
nio's words:
\
"In religion,
What damned error but some sober brow
Will bless it, and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament."
First, believe your beliefs, doubt your doubts. Syrian-American youth receive sufficient religious and moral training at home
to worship God and love mankind.
Second, attend the church of your fathers and do not coquette with other denominations, unless you are capable of adjusting your religious beliefs.
Third, rise above the prejudice and undignified attitude toward you. Back of unamerican attitudes are shallow and igno-
�THE SYRIAN WORLDi
12
rant thinking. Attend religious institutions where you will h
regarded with respect and taken in on equal terms.
Fourth, beware of religious indifference. It blights and of
ten kills the soul. The bedlam of religious voices brings on th
I-don't-care spirit. You owe it to yourself to attend to youi1 1 *
soul's need. Religion was a national and racial inheritance, it i^f 1
becoming a personal matter and based on personal choice an( i 1
achievement.
The separation of church and state is essential to huma
freedom. Syria and Syrians for ages longed for liberties w|
now enjoy. It's ours to tend the gates of liberty. Beware
prejudice, intolerance, ignorance, superstition, autocracy, an
thing which' shackles human hands, hearts, minds. America's conn-l
stitution does not abrogate religious liberty, it requires that free
men shall worship God according to their consciences, and that
government shall derive its authority from the consent of the
governed without coercion: religious, political, educational.
11
I
V. The Problem of Education.
"To prepare us for complete living," said Spencer, "is the
function which education has to discharge." President Wilson
was right in saying: "Surely a man has come to himself only
when he has found the best that is in him, and has satisfied hi<
heart with the highest achievement he is fit for." Therefore
education must not be defined in academic terms as credit hours,
class periods, courses of study, certificates, diplomas, degrees.
Lack of appreciation of education is a great danger to Syrian-American youth. A Chinese official brought his son to an
American school. He was told there was no room for him.
"There is no desk," said the principal. "Ah," said the official,
"I will buy a desk." "But there is no place for a desk." "Well,
then," said the father, "let him stand for a year."
Money, "pull", friends, are not necessary. "Where there's
a will there's a way" will solve many problems. I worked my
way through academy, college, and seminary and know the difficulties. Henry Fawcett, when a young man, through an accident, while hunting with his father, was blinded by a shot through
his father's gun. "Never mind, father," he said, "blindness
shall not interfere with my success in life." He became England's postmaster-general, a member of parliament, and profes-
"'iisMBMBMHBMHHB
1
f
1
�JANUARY, 1928
13
?or of political economy at Cambridge University.
Little schooling is another danger to guard against. The
New York Evening Post says, "Eighty-five per cent, of all children who enter the first grade in school have to go to work before they reach the eighth grade. The average length of schooling in the United States today is less than six years."
Education pays in many ways. Dean Everett W. Lord of
ioston University College of Business Administration says that
n untrained worker in the years between 14 and 60 may earn
bout $45,000} a high school graduate between 18 and 60 may
|urn about $78,000; and a college graduate between 22 and 60
jay earn about $150,000.
Many are the results of education. It develops our capacities, often with a revelation of suspected talents in us. It reveals life in its broader aspects, helping us to live sanely, soberly, successfully. It gives depth to our convictions, and a broader foundation to our faith. It enlarges our minds and hearts,
nultiplying our enjoyment of life. It increases our earning
bower and our capacity for unselfish world-service. It gets us
n touch and possible possession of the treasures of the past.
If you would be educated read good books. Good books
,nspire the mind, enlarge our vision, stimulate ambition. You
vill think, know, and grow in mind and heart. Read biography,
istory, poetry, science, philosophy. If you can read, you have
o excuse for not getting an education. The public library is
".he best university of the common people.
Syrian-American youth are acquitting themselves in splen; did achievement. THE SYRIAN WORLD is reporting evidences of
\ this fact. The Syrian racial intellect matches with the highest
(
of other races. It is free in America and elsewhere to vindicate
its claim to a place of high leadership in religion, education, commerce, science, and otherwise.
Syrian-American youth, I challenge you to the best in your
racial possession. When genealogists sought to link Napoleon
with Rudolph, the founder of the royal house of Austria, he
said, "I am the Rudolph of my race." Let us, Syrian-American
youth, liberate in the New World through America's spirit, ideal,
and opportunity, the Syrian soul to the glory of our race, through
our posterity, and for the progress of America. Through education lies a sure path to glory for Syrian-American youth.
The realization of the problems of Syrian-American youth
�THE SYRIAN W0RL1
14
JANVi
has brought about certain adjustments. It has called for a co
ing together of Syrians from outlying places. It has called f
a literature on Syria and Syrians. It has created a new outloo
on the part of Syrian parents. It has created a new racial so^
darity. It is uniting scattered families through marriage ti
and other social needs. It is laying a foundation for a growin1
Syrian people in America. It will serve to raise the confider
of Syrians in themselves, their children, and their race. It w
give courage to withstand the onslaught of race, color, and ere
prejudice. It will arouse sympathy for fellow Syrians who ha
like problems. It will bring fellow Syrians to the assistance
a distressed worthy Syrian brother, be he Mohammedan, Chr:
ian, Druze or Jew.
The intelligent understanding of certain social problems by
Syrian-American youth, the better methods of their, solution, and
the social racial consciousness that pertains to them, will enlighten
their minds, give them principles for daily living, and strengthen
their minds and hearts as they face the future and success.
Lo
oarro^
,as clos
left hor
dana as
happy,
Or
.face, ar
trayed t
pened t
"S
lAmeer
you in j
Transformation
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
When from my eyes Love's fingers brushed
The scales, things changed their sombre faces;
Now Beauty reigns from every height,
And in the valleys roam the Graces.
When at the shrine of Love I knelt,
And felt his spell upon me creeping,
The world became a field of joy
With hearvest ready for the reaping.
And hate and envy fled apace,
While love for one another
Made every aged man a sire,
And every youth a brother.
i
he cha
o be d
,iever g
Vhen h
Tl
of his v
corner,
"\
row, ru
vance.
"\
"I
Tl
left the
but roa
Su
Caliph'
�tANUARY, 1928
15
Sparrow and Locust
vAn Arabian Nights' Story.
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
Long, long ago, there lived in Bagdad a laborer nicknamed
oarrow, and his wife Locust. Their house, though humble,
,as close to the back of the Caliph's palace. Every day Sparrow
left home before sunrise, and returned after sunset with his bandana as full of provisions as his wages could buy. Both were
happy, and their life was free from clouds.
One day Locust went up on her roof to hang her wash. Her
-face, arms, neck and chest were bare, and her scant clothes betrayed the natural loveliness of her form to the Caliph who happened then to be looking out of one of his windows.
"Such poverty ill befits such beauty," said the astonished
jAmeer to her. "Come and live in my palace, and I will array
you in gold."
1
"Your Majesty!" exclaimed Locust, attempting to hide
he charms that she so unwittingly exposed. "Much as I love
o be dressed in gold, I cannot go to you, as my husband has
„iever given me occasion to grumble."
"Make the occasion," replied His Majesty; "this evening,
rhen he comes home, demand a robe of gold or else divorce."
That evening Sparrow was not greeted by the happy smile
*
of his wife. On entering his room he found her curled up in a
corner, facing the wall.
"What can the matter be with my Locust?" exclaimed Sparrow, rushing to her with open arms.
"Nothing! Nothing!" shouted his wife, checking his advance. "I am tired, tired of this life! I am not happy!"
"Why not happy?"
"I want a robe of gold," she answered, and began to cry.
That night Sparrow could not sleep, and in the morning
left the house, dejectedj he could not or would not go to work,
but roamed at random.
Suddenly he found himself at the open entrance of the
Caliph's palace. From his place in the street he could behold the
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLLi .c.
;
magnificence of the interior. He contemplated the spacious court
paved with marble and shaded with orange and lime trees; th<wj
pillared and arched lewans surrounding the court j and the limJ
pid pond in the middle, into which four ornamented lions' hea
poured their generous supply of water, and from the center
which a fountain shot its crystals high up in the air, to fall agaif
in sparkling gems in the rosy rays of the morning sun.
(
While Sparrow was still absorbed by the splendor of tl
scene, behold the Caliph himself came down one of the marbi
staircases, followed by a beautiful black-eyed damsel. He a*]
proached one of the lions at the pond, took off his ring, tuck;
up his sleeves, and washed his face and hands in the cool wat<
The maid stood motionless a few steps back, but as soon as the
Caliph had done washing, she hastened to hand him the towel
which she carried on her folded arm. The Caliph took it, chucked,
her under the chin, and walked away, forgetting the ring on'
the rim of the pond.
Sparrow's heart beat fast at the thought of becoming sud»
denly rich if he could only get the ring. Twice he dashed for)
ward, and twice was he repulsed by the sentinels at the porta'
Before he could make a third attempt, he saw a flock of gees«
hop up to the edge of the pond. One of them, however, ws
lame and failed several times before she finally gained footir,near the ring, which no sooner did she see than pick up ar<
gulp down. Having drunk, the geese hopped down again ar
waddled away in one continuous caravan.
,
Soon after, the Caliph missed the ring, and, notwithstandii
a most careful search, could not find it. He then sent for his
wise men and magicians, and these, too, failed to discover it.
At this Sparrow received an inspiration; at once he ran away
from the palace shouting: "Magician, wise man, fortune-teller,
seer! Finder of the lost! Discoverer of the hidden! Revealer of mysteries!" He leisurely went hither and thither proclaiming his wisdom and skill, and at last turned his steps to
the palace.
"Fetch that man here!" called out the Caliph as soon as he
could make out the purport of the laborer's shouts. "I have lost
my most precious ring this morning," he resumed, as Sparrow
lay prostrate before him 3 "if you will find it, I will make my
recompense measure up to your hope, but if you fail, you shall
have no time to utter your regrets."
MmHm
on.
�JANUARY, 1928
17
"I am your slave," meekly answered the man. "If it please
•Your Majesty let every soul in the palace pass before me."
The Caliph at once ordered that every one be ready to pass
,£»efore the supposed magician. The harem headed the profession—lovely women whose faces were never before exposed
o men. On lifting the veil from over her face, Sparrow read
esentment in the eyes of the Caliph's favorite wife, who, despite
er earnest protest had to submit to the stranger's scrutiny. Next
ime the servants, then the guards, the stable menials, the horses,
id pets, but the magician kept shaking his head to signify negaon.
"Well, then," said the Caliph, "you are unable to find the
gem!"
"Are there no other living beings in the palace?" asked the
aborer.
"None but the fowls in the fowl-yard," answered one of
':the servants.
"Let these pass before me then."
They were driven before him—ostriches, peacocks, turkeys,
ducks, and geese, and last of all came limping along the lame
•~goose.
"Ha!' exclaimed Sparrow. "Catch that goose!"
It was caught and killed, and the ring was taken out of
ts gizzard.
The Caliph's pleasure was unbounded. "Give free flight to
-/our wish, man!" he said to the magician.
"A robe of gold," answered Sparrow.
"A robe of gold, then," repeated the Caliph, and caused to be
delivered to him his favorite's most resplendent robe, and also
gold coins without measure.
Sparrow went home and laid the robe and money at Locust's feet, and made ready to enjoy life.
Now, a few days later, the Caliph's treasury was robbed, and,
of course, he sent for Sparrow. "Listen, magician," he said,
"my treasury is robbed, and I demand from you either the robbers or your head."
Poor Sparrow knew that all was lost, but why die miserably,
he thought to himself. He mused a moment then said, "I am
Your Majesty's slave, but for this I need forty days' grace and
forty fowls from Your Majesty's yard."
These were granted forthwith.
I
:
�SB
/£
^--- --=r
77/£ SYRIAN WORL1
Sparrow took the fowls home and acquainted his wife with
his impending doom, and with how he intended to cheat fat
by living sumptuously for forty days, each day making awa;
with one of the fowls. Locust submitted to the inevitable, an
the following day killed one of the birds, dressed and cooke
it, and, in the evening, presented it to her husband. He at one
fell to, stripped the bones of all the meat, bunched them up
his hand, and flung them vengefully at the door, saying, "Wifi
this is the first of the forty."
Now, it chanced that the robbers were forty in numbe
Sparrow's fame having already reached them, they sent one
their number to eavesdrop at his door. On hearing the remar!1 1
"Wife, this is the first of the forty," the robber ran to his com
rades, saying, "We are apprehended! We are lost!" and related to them his adventure and Sparrow's pertinent remark^
They doubted him, however, and the next day sent another rot1
ber on the same mission; but the experience of this one in no
wise differed from that of the first, for Sparrow gathered the
bones of the second fowl in his hand, and threw them vehemently at the door shouting, "Wife, this is the second of the forty."
On hearing the report of the second man, the chief of the
band determined to find out the truth for himself. It was 2
great holiday festival in Bagdad, and Sparrow abandoned him
self to pleasure; Locust, too, regaled herself, and, unbidden
killed the fattest fowl of the forty. That evening Sparrow, in rf
toxicated with the revels of the day, but unable to forget hV
doom, roared as he flung the bones at the door, "Wife, O wife!
s
This is the third and the biggest of the forty!"
"Spare our lives, O master!" shouted the chief, breaking
into the house and kneeling before him. "Spare our lives! We
are your humble servants and cannot evade your penetration!
Your wisdom encompasses our villainy! We will return the
gold instantly, but condescend to spare the lives of your slaves!"
"Arise, man!" answered Sparrow with assumed dignity,
"you may as well attempt to escape fate herself as to escape me.
Hence! Bring your comrades and the treasure here, to my
house, without delay!"
The chief left, and Sparrow sent word for two hundred
horsemen to seize the band, and before morning both robbers
and treasure were in the hands of the Caliph. And Sparrow was
accordingly exalted in the Ameer's esteem, receiving further favors and largesses.
rerer,
�'ANUARY, 1928
19
But tha queen, the Caliph's favorite wife, could not be coniliated. That Sparrow had unveiled her face was in itself an
adignity that she would not forgive—let alone the humiliation
iff having been examined like the rest; to have taken away her
^est robe added injury to insult; and now that she had seen
ocust and discovered in her a superior beauty her anger flamed
> and she vowed revenge. Sadness made her pale and jealousy
>bbed her of her appetite.
One morning her maid brought her her usual breakfast of
ilk and honey on a tray and begged her to partake of them.
"I have no appetite for these!" she groaned.
"Has Your Majesty desire for anything else?" asked the
-naid.
"Yes!—Pitch!" she screamed.
The maid dared not disobey, and soon added a plate of
itch to the tray. She had not yet left the queen's presence when
. locust flew into the room chased by a sparrow.
"Catch them!" shouted the queen.
Doors and windows were bolted, a fusillade of pillows, cuions, and slippers followed, and, finally, the fugitives were
ptured and placed on the tray, side by side with the other ares.
"Now, cover the whole tray up!" commanded the queen.
The maid obeyed.
"Now!" shouted Her Majesty approvingly. "Call that
,zzard that he may divine to us what there is under this cover.
Sparrow was at once summoned, and she said to him: "Sorrerer, you have already had a glimpse at our face, and now we
allow you another," at which she unveiled her face to demonstrate her resolution. "We have summoned you here to divine
for us what there is under this cover. We give no fowls and
we grant no respite. Before you leave our presence you must
give a correct answer or lose your head."
Poor Sparrow stood mute. He meditated over his career
as a magician, shrugged his shoulders, pinched his lips, and, unconsciously, gave voice to his thoughts: "The first," he muttered, referring to the incident of the ring, "is plain—white—as
white as milk; the second is sweet—as sweet as honey; but this,
the third, is black—as black as pitch; and Oh, cursed destiny!
Were it not for you, Locust, Sparrow would never have fallen!"
�=:
20
TttE SYRIAN WOR
"An oracle! An oracle!" shouted the queen, pulling o
the cover from over the tray.
Sparrow left the palace a Grand Vizier.
PETRA IS MOUNT SINAI
i
Petra, the famous TransJordanian city immortalized by
poets as the "Rose Red City Half as Old as Time," will have
even greater claim to interest if the research of Dr. Fitleef N
sen of the University Library of Copenhagen is accepted by
chasologists.
Dr. Nielsen claims that Petra, already noted for its buil'
ings and tombs hewn out of beautiful variegated rock, is Mov/
Sinai, and he will present technical evidence on which he bathe claim to the Congress of Orientalists at Oxford next Surr
mer.
Dr. Nielsen claims that Sinai means Moon Mountain, i
the centre of worship of the Moon God "Sin," and he declar
there is no doubt that the primitive Israelite religion develope
out of the ancient Arabian.
The sacred name Yahweh (Jehovah) is found in Nor
Arabian inscriptions as that of the national god, and he was o .
ginally worshiped as the new moon, the Arabian lunar deity, if
Nielsen says.
Petra is the only site in the region of the ancient Edom j
taining traces of the ancient cult such as must have had a place
on Mount Sinai before the time of Moses, and it is still called
Wadi Musa, or Valley of Moses. (N. Y. Times, Nov. 10, 1927.)
,
In tr
be a g<
rriagej
^mber o
iments ai
id daily
;ase in t
M fatht
"he story
pened \N
: is true
An i
' i.sinclinat
,.s conce;
inding ;
,ually, n
i the pa
'] Our
. .a fashic
I of the da
and, abo"v
a parent's
of his owi
most desii
was conce
FROM THE ARABIC
^ts existen
Thai
The calumniator's work of an hour will cause disturbances
the many
that last months.
|equal fra
The benefactor lives even though he may be transported to share bur
"women h
the habitations of the dead.
ties, both
directed t
Vile language is the weapon of rogues.
�r&
ANUARY, 1928
2i
\
of
Matrimonial Problems of Our
Young Generation
I
i
By
PAUL DEAB
In the minds of most Syrian parents of today there seems
be a general criticism of their children's indifference towards
Triage; and much dissatisfaction is voiced over the increasing
^mber of intermarriages with other nationalities. These sen(ments are, certainly, not restricted to Syrian parents; one may
ilr
id daily in journals and magazines statistics indicating a de>v/
;ase in the number of marriages; or the story of an irate Amera'„
*n father who is up in arms against his foreign son-in-law.
air ' "he story of the battle royal between parents, whose wisdom has
pened with age, and their dreaming children is centuries old.
,
: is true of all nationalities, but is here restricted to Syrians.
y
ar
An unwarranted reticence, born of a characteristic Syrian
ipe / ^inclination to discuss openly any matter so vital as marriage,
..s
u concealed to a certain extent this undercurrent of misunderor
inding among parents and their children. There is, however,
o
,ually, no great verbal clash; only a wrongly interpreted silence
Ir |
i the parts of both.
IK i Our young people are harshly criticized for living in modi i | . ,n fashion. Their parents, unmindful of the liberal standards
>lace lof the day, resent their children's freedom of speech, thought,
dledi^nd, above all, action. Less than twenty-five years ago, it was
27.) a parent's prerogative to pass judgment in the matrimonial affair
of his own and other peoples' children. A parent's approval was
most desirable in those days, and in most cases the right of choice
was conceded to the parent. This concession is still existing, but
^ts existence is theoretical.
That the attitude of young people has changed is due to
inces
the many changes in the economic situation, which resulted from
/equal franchise, liberal education, and the obligations for all to
d to share burdens equally during the World War. Young men and
"women have assumed a definite portion of financial responsibilities, both from necessity and from choice. This assumption has
directed their thoughts into many channels. For them, the "world
�—y-
22
THE SYRIAN WORLDi
is full of a number of things" besides marriage, and for a time,
they are so carried away by a multitude of activities as to cause
them to feel that they are actually indifferent to thoughts of t
marriage. Formerly a young woman of eighteen had nothing
to do but marry. Now, she thinks of flying across the Atlantic.
A new situation has been created in the home, as a result o.
young folks' effort to gain economic independence. Not on]
have they becoirie financially independent, but they have, als
been strengthened to act independently.
They choose the
friends, and live their lives as they see fit. They are to be OM
gratulated on their attainments 5 at the same time, they must '
wise enough to understand that their parents will not willing^
relinquish their privilege of talking matrimony to them and o:
making decisions.
Intermarrying with other nationalities is true more ca,
Syrian men than women. We believe it was Schopenhauer, who
described man as a creature who:
"Boasts two soul-sides j one to face the world with,
One to show a woman when he loves her.'*
Schopenhauer need not have restricted his description to man
However, many parents, apparently, agree with him, for they
evince an eagerness to unmask the man who plays prince-charm
ing to their daughter. Sincerity never fears tq reveal its colour,
but hurt vanity and resentment will lead a man, in these circurr
stances, to seek companionship where it is more freely bestowec^
There are many intermarriages which are based on true love, am»
these are "their own excuse for being", as the poet said of beaut;
It is just as fallacious to believe that New York young women are ambitious for material wealth, as it is to believe that all
suitors from New York are budding millionaires. It is just as
wrong to feel that all parents are anxious to unmask a young man
for no reason other than their own personal gain. Not enough
can be said for the exacting manner in which parents treat the
subject of their children's marriage. They are anxious for their
children's happiness, and if only by right of their years, they
should exercise their parental authority. However, as age and
youth have lived different spans of life, their choices will be at
a tangent. We find, therefore, many young people recalcitrant
at the thought of marriage because they find it difficult to act of
their own free will and to abide, simultaneously, by their parents' decision.
pathy,
�\
JANUARY, 1928
23
\
Less reticence and more encouragement of whole-hearted
comradeship among all is much needed. Schopenhauer was a
philosopher and philosophers' minds usually become cynical. We,
who have entrusted into our care the happiness of our children,
:annot fulfill our trust and act cynically. We need to show sympathy, tact and understanding. It lies in the power of parents
0 inspire in their children a desire to gain the best in life without
osing a respect for the best in life; and filial devotion is one of
fe's greatest gifts. Sympathy, not condemnation, will penetrate
he cloak of misunderstanding. We may and should find in the
eart of our young people an ideal, best expressed in the splendid, sincere and exemplary counsel of an American writer, the
late Stuart P. Sherman, who wrote:
"I am filled with tedium and passionate craving. I shall
Se hard to satisfy, for I am thirsty for a deep draught of human
elicity. What I crave is not described or named in physiologies,
x crave beauty, sympathy, sweetness, incentive, perfume, deference, vivacity, wit, cleanness, grace, devotion, caprice, pride, kindness, blitheness, fortitude. I will not look for these things where
1 know they cannot be found nor under conditions in which I
know they cannot be maintained. But if I find them, and where
they thrive, I shall wish to express my joy by some great act
of faith and the hazard of all I hope to be. And I shall not
like the town clerk to be the sole recorder of my discovery and
my faith. I shall wish witnesses, high witnesses, whatever is
august and splendid in the order of the world, to enwheel me
">-ound and bid me welcome to that order."
HER CHOICE
By C.
ASSID CORBAN
Ah! thou light-tipped cigarette,
Set within tight-lipped rosette
Of marble blonde or bronzed brunette,
I criticise you freely.
Too tiny, to my notion,
Is your vapour's violet motion,
Henceforth I'll swear devotion
To a thoroughbred arkhelee!
�m
tap* Tj
2*
THE SYRIAN WORLD 'i
Famous Cities of Syria,
Tripoli
Like most cities of Syria, Tripoli had its place of prominence^]
and interest in both ancient and medieval history. Its advantage-]!
ous location at the northern extremity of Lebanon made it morel
accessible as a seaport than other cities along the Phoenician coasSj
and the natural outlet to the sea of the upper valley of the
Orontes. ^ It enjoys, besides, the advantage of being surroundedJt
by a fertile plain which is capable of producing large quantities' ,/
of fruit for export.
'
Prior to the thirteenth century, Tripoli was located on the
present site of Al-Mena, on a peninsula connected with the mainland by a narrow neck of land and well fortified on all sides. *
In 1289, however, it was taken and destroyed by the Sultan ,
Kalaun of Egypt, and a new city begun on the present site which pis about two miles inland. Al-Meena, or the port, as its name'
indicates, serves as the maritime outlet of the city and could never regain the importance that Tripoli proper once enjoyed. Both;
are still governed as a single municipal unit and their aggregate ..*
population is about 30,000.
\
The Arabic name of Tripoli is Tarabulus, and in the timesi,
of the Greeks and the Romans it was known as Tripolis, or the
triple city. This name was given it by reason of the fact that
during Persian times it was the seat of the federal council of
Tyre, Sidon and Aradus, each of which maintained a separate
quarter in the "triple town". This was the golden age of Tripoli in ancient times, approached only when the Crusaders took
it after a prolonged siege and made it a great export center to
Europe of glass and textiles. There were at that time in the
city 4,000 looms and it was also noted for its paper and sugar
industries.
Tripoli, like other cities of the Syrian littoral, was subject
to the visitations of earthquakes. It was destroyed in 450 and
again in 550 A. D. Following Arab occupation it was a wellknown center of learning, the ruling 'Ammar family having en-
.
�>-,»•
A VIEW OF TRIPOLI
Huddled together around the ancient fort are many houses of modern construction indicating the
growing prosperity of this Syrian city.
2S
MMNMHMi
�JANU
couragi
100,00
times,
T
tion, a
I several
^xercis'
:
amilic
|iairs, ;
,>irthd;
^|ims f
fhese i
r
The historic and sacred river in Palestine the waters of which are to
be utilized in an ambitious hydroelectric development project.
This
view shows the upper course of the river spanned by a Roman bridge.
Beirut
formir
toman
on a s
mount
the ca
tory v,
tonom
vilayei
territo
which
ly a t
of Bei
»ursu<
fcied ii
of a \
to the
daries
plain
sea, w
sectioi
1
in wh
of coi
reasor
to cec
poli a
1
�JANUARY, 1928
I
25
couraged pursuit of knowledge by establishing a library of over
100,000 volumes which was a pretentious undertaking for those
times, considering that all books were in manuscript.
There are in the city several mosques of beautiful construction, one of which is said to contain a priceless relic consisting of
several hairs of the Prophet's beard. It was only through the
exercise of great influence of one of the leading Mohammedan
:
amilies that it was possible to come into possession of these
.' lairs, and the annual festivities attending the celebration of the
irthday of the Prophet attract to Tripoli great throngs of Musms from the surrounding districts owing to the presence of
hese relics.
During Turkish rule in Syria Tripoli was a tributary of
Beirut which was the capital of a vilayet by the same name, and
forming one of the strangest political divisions in the whole Ottoman Empire and perhaps in the world. Beirut city is situated
on a small maritime plain in a central location of the Lebanon
mountain range. It was the capital of the state, or vilayet. But
the capital stood alone flanked on both sides by Lebanese territory which, ever since the disturbances of 1860, was granted autonomy under guarantee of six European powers. Between the
vilayet, which was governed directly by Turkey, and Lebanese
territory with its own governor and gendarmerie and over
which Turkey exercised but nominal suzereinty, there was hardly a thing in common. Lebanon was practically independent
of Beirut and the Turkish authorities of the city could not even
•mrsue a criminal into Lebanese territory although it was hemined in by it on three sides. Nevertheless, Beirut was the capital
of a vast vilayet which extended beyond Lebanon on the South
to the borders of Palestine and on the North almost to the boundaries of Turkish-speaking territory. Tripoli, situated in the
plain extending from the foothills of northern Lebanon to the
sea, was the principal city of the vilayet of Beirut in its northern
section.
In other words, here was a state whose capital was located
in what amounts to foreign territory and having no direct means
of communication with its territory except by sea. The obvious
reason for this strange arrangement was the reluctance of Turkey
to cede any seaports to Lebanon although both Beirut and Tripoli and other coast cities fell within its natural boundaries.
After the French occupation of Syria, however, a different
\
�mm
THE SYRIAN WORLD
26
administrative arrangement was effected whereby not only Beirut
and Tripoli, but Tyre and Sidon, as well as the plain of Beqa£
were ceded to Lebanon as falling within its natural boundaries.
Tripoli, under the new arrangement, was aspiring to become a
great port but found its ambitions checked by the predominance
of interests favoring Beirut. Then came the demand of the interior state of Damascus for an independent outlet to the sea anc
it was openly hinted that Tripoli afforded this natural outlet ir
that it was the city on the coast most accessible to the plain oi
the Orontes and the hinterland. But so far nothing has come
of these efforts of Tripoli to secede from Lebanon although the
agitation to that end has not abated.
The economic possibilities of Tripoli could permit of vast"
development. At present it is connected with Beirut by a steam
tramway and with Horns by a carriage road. It is planned to
push the railroad from the city to a point in the interior where
it would form a junction with the trunk line of Beirut and Aleppo. Docking and storage facilities, however, are still inadequate
in Tripoli, and it is served only by a small line of freight steamers making weekly calls at Al-Meena.
ON LOVE
By the Arab Poet
ABOU ALY
Translation by J. D.
CARLYLE
I never knew a sprightly fair
That was not dear to me,
And freely I my heart could share,
With every one I see.
It is not this or that alone
On whom my choice would fall,
I do not more incline to one
Than I incline to all.
The circle's bounding line are they,
Its circle is my heart,
My ready love the equal ray
That flows to every part.
�J
JANUARY, 1928
27
Hydroelectric Development In
Palestine
By JAMES F. HODGSON
American Commercial Attache in Cairo, Egypt. *
The necessity of importing all its fuel has been the most
serious handicap to the industrial development of Palestine, and
the principal factor in the future economic progress of the country is the Rutenberg project of hydroelectric development.
The Rutenberg plan, which has the official sanction of the
Palestine Government in the form of a concession for 70 years
to the Palestine Electric Corporation (Ltd.), Tel-Aviv, Palestine, calls for the harnessing of the Jordan River at intervals
from its source to the point where it empties into the Dead Sea,
in addition to the utilization of the waters of the Yarmuk River
in the same manner. The first dam will be constructed at the
point where the Jordan River leaves Lake Tiberias (the Sea of
Galilee) with a power house at the town of Abadieh. Between
these two points there is a fall of 40 meters in 8 miles.
The promoters assert that by using the Lake of Tiberias
as a natural reservoir the neighboring country will be insured of
a steady supply of water throughout the year, whereas at present this section usually suffers from drought every year during
the dry season.
High tension lines of 66,000 volts will run from the first
power house to transforming stations located at the main centers
of consumption, where the power will be redistributed over lines
carrying 15,000 volts for the country districts and 6,000 volts
for the towns.
It has been estimated by the promoters that when the first
stage of the development is completed a supply of 70,000,000
kilowat-hours of energy per year will be provided and that consumption, according to the present requirements, will be 20,000,000 kilowat-hours a year, which will leave a considerable surplus
for new industrial enterprises. With the harnessing of the Yar* Reprinted from "Commerce Reports" of December 19, 1927.
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
mule River, it is thought that an additional 60,000,000 kilowathours a year will be developed which will create a still greater
surplus. In the estimate of the consumption of electrical energy
in Palestine, consideration has not been given to the possibility
of such outlets for power as the electrification of the railroads,
which the Government has decided upon in principle in the event
of the successful carrying out of the project. The cost of the
original installation under the Rutenberg plan has been estimated at $4,500,000.
In addition to the hydroelectric development the Rutenberg
scheme also calls for the construction of a system of irrigation
ditches which would convert many large sections of arid land
into farms.
Another phase of the project calls for draining the marshes
in the neighborhood of Huleh, which will make available some
50,000 acres of land for cultivation. However, this reclamation
scheme is only a minor phase of the Jordan River development.
Under the terms of the concession, the country has partial
relief from taxation. During the first 10 years the amortization, depreciation, and reserve shall, for taxing purposes, be
deemed expenses and not profits, and during such period no tax
shall be levied on the profits of the company, unless the profits
shall have been sufficient to pay a cumulative dividend of not
less than 6 per cent., tax free. If any tax is levied on electrical
energy or fuel employed in the production thereof, then the
rates may be accordingly increased. The payment of any customs duties may be deferred until the profits of the company
are sufficient to pay a dividend of not less than 8 per cent., tax
free, and such payments shall then be made in yearly installments
of 5 per cent.
In the event the profits of the company, after deduction
for amortization, depreciation, reserve fund, and taxes, permit a
dividend of 15 per cent., all profits in excess of this amount
revert to the Palestine Government.
The concession not only covers the exclusive utilization of
the Jordan River and Yarmuk River for hydroelectric purposes,
but provides that during its continuance no further concession
may be granted to any other person or company for any of the
following purposes: To construct canals, dams, reservoirs, watercourses, pumping stations, or other works for the generation of
electrical energy from water power j to construct, equip, install.
^. MM
(
�29
JANUARY, 1928
and operate water or fuel or other electric stations j to construct,
equip, install, and operate overhead lines and underground
cables; to install electric lighting in streets, dwellings, and buildings j to supply electric energy for consumption by docks,
wharves, railways, plantations, mills, factories, work-shops, laboratories offices, houses, and by all agricultural, industrial, commercial, and public or private establishments or undertakings of
whatever kind.
The above clauses, however, do not apply unless in each
\ instance the concession shall have first been offered to the com\ pany upon similar terms which shall be fair and reasonable.
But the concession is not to be construed as restricting the construction or operation by the Government or any other person
or company of any telegraph or telephone works.
The company may construct electric tramways and railways
in priority to all others j establish and carry on factories, works,
and undertakings necessary or convenient for the production of
material and machinery required for the concession.
The Government has the right to acquire the property at
the expiration of 37, 47, 57, or 67 years if the company be given
sufficient notice and liberal compensation. The concession, however, cannot expire and the undertaking pass without charge to
the Government until the amortization fund is sufficient to retire
the share capital.
The company which holds the above concession has already
constructed electric-power stations in the cities of Haifa and
Jaffa, which are financially successful.
Although the Rutenberg pro jet appears to be somewhat
ambitious, when one considers the small population and limited
resources of Palestine, reports of engineering experts are to the
effect that the plan is feasible.
THINGS TO AVOID
Said Al-Ghazali: Avoid four things to escape four things.
Avoid envy and you will escape grief. Avoid bad companions
and you ,will escape censure. Avoid sins and you will escape
hell fire. Avoid the accumulation of wealth and you will escape
the enmity of men.
..
^.wfeWB
�30
JANL
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"Anna Ascends
and in
identitj
Howart
fore, bi
ress in
next ds
gether.
him en;
aifectio
55
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
"kiss an
Th
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACTS
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of SaidJ
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his!
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in her and helps her learn better English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to force
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess, sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurns
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
In an elaborately furnished office of a large publishing house in uptown New York, the former secretary of Mr. Fisk, head of the firm, is
about to get married and is inducting her successor, Miss Adams, in her
duties. Miss Adams speaks perfect English but with a slight foreign accent. Fisk examines her credentials and discovers that in a short time
she made several changes. She explains that in some cases she was discharged, in others, left of her own will, but always for one reason, namely that of biting men who attempted to kiss her. She relates a personal
story similar in every respect to a newly published book which proved an
instant best-seller and Fisk's suspicions are aroused as to her identity.
Miss Adams parries with him on the question and he resolves to take
other means of satisfying his curiosity. In the meantime Howard, son of
Fisk, returns from an extended trip and meets Anna but does not recognize her and his "interest" in her is evident from the start.
Through a clever piece of detective work Fisk discovers that Miss
Adams is the author of the book which had created a literary sensation,
m
Hudsor
hat al
t for :
presses
I her sec
ates tl
secreta
ed to A
him at
I with £
'"> that ei
torts t
> pressei
I promis
f arrives
while 1
the roi
who w
had al
.u.until 1
perien
t» hia
on a
cloth,
the g
ner. 1
were
..
sport
mous
low
Engl
�«
\
(.
JANUARY, 1928
31
and in a confidential conversation with her prevails on her to reveal her
identity. He also informs her that she had become rich on her royalties.
Howard returns and tries hard to recall where he had met Miss Adams before, but she is relieved that he does not recognize her as the Syrian waitress in the Washington St. restaurant. He makes a date to see her the
next day. Meanwhile Howard's sister and fiancee return and all leave together. Upon being left alone Anna calls the office boy William and has
him enact an old scene she had with Howard by having him spell the word
affection and pronounce it LOVE. Anna then gives the boy the promised
ikiss and is happy at the thought that Howard will come back.
The next scene is the summer home of the Fisks at Irvington-on-theHudson, Fisk endeavors to induce Anna to marry Howard, but Anna replies
hat although she has realized her happiness in Howard she cannot take
t for reasons she cannot explain. Anna is later alone with Howard who
presses his suit to the point where Anna, to escape being forced to give up
? her secret, tells Howard she does not love him. Nell breaks in and insinuates that Anna could not dress so expensively on the meager salary of a
I secretary. Howard appeals to his father who dispells any suspicion directt ed to Anna and counsels his son to have patience as Anna will surely accept
« him at the proper time. Soon after, Anna finds herself alone in the room
with Nell who has designs on Howard, and during the verbal encounter
"l fchat ensues Nell accuses Anna of aspiring to be a lady and the latter re' torts that she is jealous. Howard and his sister enter and the latter expresses apprehension over the safety of her presents and has her brother
| promise to sleep in the room where they are kept. William, the office boy,
arrives with a case of jewels which Fisk commits to a drawer of a desk
J
while Bunch watches. Later when apparently everyone had left Bunch enters
H. the room and forces open the desk to steal thel necklace, not noticing Anna
who was reclining in a large chair. Anna recognizes Bunch as the thug who
had attacked her in the Syrian restaurant and stalls him by conversation
until Howard arrives and the thief is captured. It is then that Anna experiences unbounded relief and promises Howard to give him an answer
to hia question the following day.
ACT FOUR—I.
(Act Four—Same as Act One. The entire shop has taken
on a prosperous look. A telephone has been installed, clean linen
cloths adorn the tables, electric lights have taken place of gas,
the goods behind the counter are in an orderly and uniform manner. White enamel letters have replaced the old yellow ones that
were painted badly on the windows in the first act.)
(At rise—Said and Beauty Tanner are discovered. Said
sports a clean apron, but is in his shirt sleeves and shows an enormous expanse of maroon colored vest, white stiff collar and yellow tie. He is busy behind the counter. He speaks no better
English than he did in the first act. Beauty is dressed in a white
'
—.
"
"
• -
-
*r*-»v«*.
�n'
32
i
THE SYRIAN WORLD
smart waiter's coat and apron and is busy filing the salt cellars,
and tidying up the tables all around. He was caught in the first
draft, saw a year's service in France, and with the help of army
training he has reformed, bringing back a war cross to his credit.)
SAID — One lump of das sugar to customer today, Beauty,
one lump.
BEAUTY — Right.
SAID — Der's been no fighting for over a year, but das war
don't seem to be over yet.
BEAUTY — Well, it's over for me, all right, all right.
SAID — You are a hero, with a war cross.
BEAUTY — I fought because they made me, and I ain't nev
er yet learned why they gave me that medal.
SAID — Don't know, don't know. / know. Eet was all in
de papers, and your picture, Beauty, your picture.
BEAUTY — Wonder where they got it. Out of the gallery,
I guess. It didn't have a number scribbled on it and a side view
besides, did it?
j J
SAID — No, boy. They forgot all about your former bad- \
ness, and I am proud of you, das whole ward das proud of you. * j
(Rizzo appears on walk and comes down to steps into the shop.lt,•
He has now been advanced to detective duty and covers the lojt\
buildings that have sprung up all over the district.)
J I .
BEAUTY — Here comes ol' Rizzo.
i
SAID — Yas.
/
BEAUTY — (Without any fear.) Wonder what he wants
here? (Rizzo enters shop.)
SAID — Howdo, Mr. Rizzo.
BEAUTY — Hi' Chief.
Rizzo — (Looking at Beauty.) Hi'. My what a change,
what a change.
BEAUTY — You said it.
Rizzo — I've got news for you.
BEAUTY — You ain't a-going to pinch me, are yer?
SAID — Das good boy, Beauty, das hero.
Rizzo — Pinch nothing, naw. How long has it been since
you saw your old side kick?
BEAUTY — You mean Bunch Derry?
Rizzo — Yes.
BEAUTY — Not for nearly two years. We don't follow the
\
3
A
S3
a.
ft,
<
X
"]
�Bunch — Dished, dished by a moll.
(To Anna) I'll get you for this.
��\
X
JANUARY, 1928
i
a
I
1
'
•
>
«
f.
same line of business anymore.
Rizzo — Well, he "got his" trying to crack a crib in Irvington-on-the-Hudson last night.
BEAUTY — They croaked him?
Rizzo — No. They got him
with the goods. He's as
good as up for life now. Twenty years at the least.
BEAUTY — Ain't that hell, now. Them crooks all get it,
sooner or later.
Rizzo — (To Said.) They got him in your landlord's home.
SAID — Meester Fisk'ees?
Rizzo — Yes, and with all the family jooelry. He's through
—sure.
BEAUTY — Maybe I ain't glad that I'm a hash slinger. I
tell you, them petty crooks ain't got a chance these days, not a
chance.
SAID — Meester Fiskk'ees son will be here to see me today.
I'll ask him. He only be here three or four time after my little
Anna she disappear, den he come no more.
Rizzo — Did he know Bunch?
SAID — No, I tink not.
Rizzo — Well, it's Bunch Derry all right. The Chief got
it over the phone. (Starts for door.) Just thought I'd drop in
and tell you, Beauty.
BEAUTY — Thanks, but I ain't interested.
SAID — No, Beauty's das good boy. He no "duster" no
re. He's hero.
Rizzo — I'm on a case in the neighborhood and I may drop
in and see you again.
SAID — Sure, Meester Rizzo, come in and have dinner.
Rizzo — (Mounting the steps.) No, I won't sting you for
a dinner. So long.
SAID — Ma' Essalama.
BEAUTY — So long.
(Rizzo exits off left.) (To Said.)
\ You never heard from that Anna, since she disappeared?
}
SAID — Never. My little Anna, she was such a good girl.
BEAUTY — Maybe she's dead.
SAID — Mebbe, but I don't tink das. She tink she kill that
\Bunch Derry and she runs away. Den she 'fraid to come back,
v
BEAUTY — Bunch would never a-squeeled on her.
SAID — I know das, but how Anna know das?
!
BEAUTY — That's true.
L
r
33
�war..
f
^aM
I> I (
\
THE SYRIAN WORLD
34
SAID _ She had one-hundred-five dollar when she runs
away, mebbe she went back to the old country, nearly. _
BEAUTY — Not a chance. If that girl was as wise as she
looked, she stayed in lil' ol' New York. That's the way to fool
the cops. Get as near them as possible and step on their toes.
Then they will apologize. Don't / know?
SAID — Yas, you ought-ter.
BEAUTY — There are only two things that queer a crook s
game. Two F's. Flight and Fear. If you are not afraid of
brass buttons and don't run away, you're safe as a priest. Safer.
SAID — Das Anna girl was 'fraid of nothings.
BEAUTY — Well, she wasn't afraid of Bunch Deny anyhow.
Remember the day she bit his hand?
SAI,- — Yas.
BEAUTY — Well, you can bet your last "roller" that she
thought she croaked him, and if this case of Bunch's gets any
showing in the papers and runs his mug, and she sees it, or even
reads his name, she'll come back, if she is alive.
SAID — I hopes, I hopes. (Phone.) I answer, Beauty. (In
phone.) Hullo — yas
das me. Yas
I send dem
two
o'clock
yas. Goodbye. (To Beauty.) Two gallon oil for
Smith & McNiel's at two o'clock.
BEAUTY — I'll take it over to 'em. (Takes off apron and
coat and gets coat and hat from wall rack.)
SAID — (Gets two one-gallon oil cans from behind counter.)
Here.
BEAUTY — No bill with this?
SAID — No, I charge it.
BEAUTY — (Picks up cans and starts for door.) Right. 1 m
off. (Phone bell rings.)
SAID — (In phone.) Hullo — Yas — Dees ees five seex seex
Rector __ Yas, das me
(Anna appears at top of steps and
peers in shop. She is exquisitely dressed in tailor made sutt and
furs ) Yas indeeds — Yas, Meester Gents
(Anna descends
the steps and enters.) I means Meester Feesk. I wait for you
now. Yas, sar. Goodbye. (Anna's face is well covered by her
hat and furs.)
/
ANNA — You are the proprietor here, my good man?
$AID — (Awed by her wonderful presence.) Yas, Miss,
yas, Miss.
ANNA
.
. .
— I have come to make some inquiries.
\JANU
�\JANUARY, 1928
SAID — Yas, Miss. What
ANNA — I have come for
35
das, Miss?
some data, information, to ask
questions.
— Now, Miss, I gets you.
ANNA — I wish references concerning a servant, parlor maid
and waitress, by the name of Fadma Zackey, do you know her?
SAID — Oh, yas, Miss, I know her, well, ver' well.
ANNA — Is she good?
SAID — She good, yas—for nothing.
ANNA — Then why did you keep her?
SAID — Because all das time I tink my little Anna, she come
back.
ANNA — Little Anna?
SAID — Yas, Miss, das my girl I had 'fore das damn Fadma.
Anna, so sweet, so good an' smart.
ANNA — You liked Anna, then?
SAID — I loved her. My little Anna.
ANNA — Where is she now?
SAID — If I knew where she was she would be here and no
place elses.
ANNA — She left you, then. The girl couldn't have cared
very much for you.
SAID — I knowd
and Anna, she knowd, too.
ANNA — Do you ever expect to get her back again?
SAID — I don't expect, yet I always hope.
ANNA — (Crosses over to tables and inspects them.)
So,
you would not advise me to engage Fadma?
SAID — If you want something jast to hang around the
house, engage her, but if you want what you call a parly maid,
don't.
ANNA — I thank you for the information. I will not engage her.
SAID — No. Don't. (He goes up to end of counter and
opens case, starting to take a package of cigarettes.)
ANNA — Perhaps I may find your Anna.
SAID — No. I tink she dead. (Me comes down to lower
end of counter and breaks open the pack of cigarettes.)
ANNA — (At center. Sharply.) Hey, dare.
SAID — (Dully.) Miss?
ANNA — You tak cigarette from das case and no pay for
'em?
SAID
I
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
36
— How
I
— How you expect to get reech, if you meex up das
accounts like das?
SAID — It's, it's
ANNA — I bet das damn Fadma girl, she let you do as you
lak.
SAID —I (Crossing over as he realizes who she is.) Anna
Anna
My little bab-by
my little girl
You come back....
you come back...to me... to Said... at last... my little girl.... my
good little girl.. you come back
you come back... back... back....
(He breaks down completely.)
ANNA — (Patting his bowed head, tenderly.) Boss mans
mans.
SAID — Anna
Anna
Anna
ANNA — Yes, Anna has come back... at last
come back
rich, to take care of you, as she promised.
SAID — My little Anna
rich. (He looks wp.) Rich and
a fine great lady.
ANNA — A fine woman, I hope
boss mans.
SAID — Where, oh, where you bin all dis times?
ANNA — I've been "going up".
SAID — You left me wid no girl, and I had to tak das damn
Fadma, you know it?
ANNA — Poor Said.
SAID — Why you do das, hay?
ANNA — I was a fugitive from justice, I thought, and I
had grave fears that the authorities might apprehend me.
SAID — App
appre
You spek das English almos'
good as me now.
ANNA — Oh, quite as good, Said.
SAID — Tells me all, my good little girl, tells me all.
ANNA — I'll tell you all, in time. (Looks around the store.)
What girl have you with you now?
SAID — No girl. I got a hero — Beauty Tanner.
T
ANNA — (Alarmed.) W hat? Beauty Tanner, why, his pal...
SAID — Oh, Beauty's all right. He good boy now. Hero
with a war cross. He fight for my country and gets das cross
and has no more badness.
ANNA — But his pal, Bunch Derry was
SAID — They no pals. He ain't seen Bunch in near two
year.
SAID
ANNA
�JANUARY, 1928
37
ANNA — And I do not think he will ever see him again.
(William appears at top of steps, carrying a dress suit case. Anna
sees him.) This is the place, William. Come on in.
WILLIAM — (Entering with a rush.) This is a new district
to me.
ANNA — My foster father, William. Mr. Said Coury.
WILLIAM — Howdo, sir?
SAID — Tanks to meet you.
ANNA — I see you have the case. Was it very heavy?
WILLIAM — Naw, Pd carry a two-ton safe for you, Miss
Anna.
ANNA — I will reward you, William.
WILLIAM — Nix, nix, Miss Anna. Your Pop might
ANNA — (Takes a small case from her bag.) Oh, a new reward this time. For bringing me home from Irvington last
night. (She hands him a very serviceable boy's watch and chain
from the case.) For a good boy.
WILLIAM — (On tha verge of tears.) Aw, Gee. Miss Anna, I
you
SAID — Ain't das fine, now?
WILLIAM — She's an angel. That's what she is.
ANNA — Nonsense. You worked for and earned it.
WILLIAM — Gosh, I near forgot. Mr. Howard has left
I the office in his car.
I
ANNA
— What?
WILLIAM — I took the subway express and beat him to it.
You've got to hustle.
ANNA — (Picks up suit case.) Who has my room?
SAID — Beauty, but he's out.
ANNA — May I use it, Boss mans?
SAID — You do what you lak.
WILLIAM — You gotter hustle, I tell you.
ANNA — Go up and keep watch, William. (William goes
up and stands on steps.) Said, do you think you can guard a secret
for me?
SAID — With all my lives.
ANNA — If the same Anna that left you three years ago
was to come back, do you think that you could let her work here
for a short while and not give her secret away to a living soul?
SAID — I lie lak hell for you.
ANNA — No. All you need say, is that Anna has come
�THE SYRIAN WORLD;
38
back.
Can you do that?
SAID — Sure. Das is the truth. Anna come
WILLIAM — No where in sight.
ANNA — Oh, never mind waiting, William.
back.
Go back to
the office before they miss you.
WILLIAM — Not much. I'm going to the ball game, I am.
(Starts up the steps.) Mr. Fisk, he said I could go. Goodbye.
(Runs off right.)
ANNA — (Picks up suit case.) That boy would rather go to
a ball game than
than kiss me.
SAID — (Looking at suit case.) What you do, Anna?
ANNA — I am going to work for you for about fifteen minutes. (Starts for steps, back of counter.)
SAID — What shall I do with Beauty, when he come back?
ANNA — (Going up stairs.) Oh, send him to the ball game.
SAID — But suppose he no lak das ball game?
ANNA — Then kill him. Anything. (Exits up stairs.)
SAID — Keel him?
ANNA — (Off.) And if you give me away to Gents, I'll
kill you.
SAID — I tell you once, I lie for you lak
ANNA — Never mind, I know.
(To be continued.)
sym
fain
ing
mor
"an
in I
autl
y my,
Arab Proverbs
veir
hav
tion
Rat
A man's modesty covers a multitude of defects.
Solitude is infinitely better than bad companionship.
Inordinate pride is the forerunner of a man's destruction.
Seek safety in fleeing from thyself rather than from the
lion.
)
The wise are never poor.
The rule of a fool is short-lived.
Silence is the best answer to a fool.
�I
fl\m\\
JANUARY, 1928
39
M
Books and Authors
A EULOGY OF THE ARABS
"DESERT WINDS". By
New York. $3.50.
HAFSA
— 386 pp. The Century Co.,
Here is a book that is replete with information not only on
North Africa, but on the whole span of Arab history and civilization ; on Islam and its influence; on the breeding place of the Arab
race, the desert, where the free soul of the Arab still loves to
roam. Perhaps "Desert Winds" is more valuable in its erudite
exposition of Arabic history and culture than in its recording of
the personal observations of the author, although in the latter
field she has in several instances risen to high altitudes of descriptive ability in her treatment of her subject.
The whole book is a panegyric of everything Arab. It is a
symphony of praise with hardly a discordant note, no matter how
faint, to mar or even affect in the least the ensemble of the glowing theme. Islam, as the religion of the Arabs, is treated with
more than sympathy—it is accorded marked deference, and called
"an ideal faith". Every virtue ascribable to religion is stressed
in Islam, but on no single point, not even a minor one, does the
author seem capable of detecting a flaw fit for censure. Polygamy, slavery, and even agression are explained in the sympathetic
vein characteristic of the whole book. The chapter on Islam would
have us discard as a monstrous fallacy the generally accepted notion that the religion of Mohammad was propagated by the sword.
Rather, in the words of the author,
"Bloodshed was never an ideal of Islam: its strongest
appeal has ever been the satisfying completeness of its religion. The new races embraced in the temporal sway of the
Saracens' great domain, accepted its spiritual teachings because of their intrinsic worth."
\
ft
There can be no doubt that Islam must have meant a great
source of spiritual consolation to the heathens whose conception
of deity could not reach the spiritual levels of monotheistic
creeds. But Islam drew in no mean degree on Christianity and
Judaism. Perhaps Mohammad's ideal was one or the other of
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
these great religions which antedated Islam, but for racial and
geographic reasons he could not have the Arabs accept either of
them in its austere and original form. Hence his masterly stroke
of effecting the happy compromise, which, nevertheless, was not
accepted without an astute struggle. The Hijra, or Mohammad's migration, (flight) from Mecca, which, due to its importance, marks the beginning of the Muslim era, is an ever present reminder of the fact that behind the power of Islam was
something besides its intrinsic worth. If only proper cognizance
is taken of the meaning of the word "Islam" which, as the author correctly explains, means surrender, it may readily be conceded that the application may fit other conditions than "surrendering to the guidance of the Divine Will."
But for the character of the book which, far from being a
book of travel, is, in the main, distinctly scholarly, it would not
be necessary to take issue with the author on such matters. But
it is hard to escape the conviction that in attempting to prove
her case she was so far carried away by her enthusiasm that she
appeared to lack the attitude of impartiality. This immediately
prejudices the reader and creates in his mind a doubt as to the
validity of the argument even though the facts may, in the main,
be correct. There is nothing so close to perfection as to preclude
of some sort of criticism, Islam included. Therefore, to have
tempered the narration with some sort of disapproval, no matter
how slight, with Arab manners, Arab culture, or Arab religion,
would have gone far to gain for the author her point insofar as
it would have shown a more judicial state of mind.
Perhaps some excuse for the author's exultation over everything Arab lies in the fact "that she is an American citizen of
distinguished Arab and Spanish descent," as set forth in the
Foreword. This, indeed, would cause all those who, like herself, are of Arab descent, or imbued with Arab culture, to feel
proud of her efforts. For she has succeeded in creating a literary gem, a work of great value to students of Arab history
stamped throughout with signs of marked erudition. But only
because this pride in Arab achievement is commonly shared does
one regret that the cause should suffer by overindulgence in
praise.
The bibliography on which the author has drawn is imposing. She has also adopted the commendable method of explaining Arabic words occurring in her text, although in this she was
�\
\ JANUARY, 1928
41
not uniformly consistent. In but a few instances has her transliteration of Arabic words been incorrect. Her description of
"an Episode in the Kasba" is particularly sympathetic and charming, although the inquisitive reader may well want to learn in
what language the venerable Arab merchant delivered his eloquent discourse to his fair visitor.
"Desert Winds" is profusely illustrated. It should make
a valuable addition to libraries of information on the Arabs and
Islam. For a condensed book of reference it possesses distinct
value. Its chapters on native life in North Africa are replete
•with charm and afford refreshing reading.
S. A. M.
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOS
EGYPT. By GEORGE
352 pp. $5.00.
YOUNG ;
Charles Scribner's Sons, N. Y.
Every Arabic-speaking person is interested in Egypt. It
is the seat of the modern Arabic renaissance and its political fortunes are watched with the greatest interest by all the sixty-mil| lions speaking Arabic in both Asia and Africa. Its successful
f struggle for independence and the fact that it is now the most
* powerful and the most advanced country of the Arabic-speaking
'world tend to increase this interest.
To those who would read the history of Egypt written by
an Englishman in the most sympathetic spirit and defending the
cause of Egypt even against his own country this book by Mr.
Young should be particularly appealing. It is a volume in the
series of "The Modern World" under the editorship of the
Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher and intended to furnish "an intelligent survey of the political, economic, and intellectual forces
which are today moulding the world", and Mr. Young has certainly succeeded in "presenting an understanding of Egypt not
as it was a hundred or even twenty years ago, but as it is today."
In dealing with foreign communities in Egypt, the author
has this interesting passage on the Syrians:
"The Syrian Christians are scarcely less powerful (Than
the Jews). European in their energy and efficiency, they are
wholly Egyptian in their sentiment and association. They have
"
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
even acquired a strong hold over the land and own great estates,
from which many have made large fortunes, like the Lutfallahs.
They have much of the retail trade in their hands, and the multiple shops of the Sednawi family compete successfully with those
of France. In industry the cotton-seed presses of the Abu Shenab family are notable. They are also prominent in the professions, especially in the Press—the Ahram, Mokattam, and other
newspapers having Syrian editors. With such a position, even
though they have of late lost their supremacy in the Civil Service, they can scarcely be considered in need of protection."
A FORTHCOMING BOOK BY RIHANI
Readers of THE SYRIAN WORLD who have been regaled by
the contributions of our eminent author Ameen Rihani, will be
interested to learn that a most interesting work by him entitled
"With the Wahabis in Najd" will soon be placed on the market
by Houghton Mifflin of Boston for the United States and by
Constable and Co. of London for the United Kingdom and Europe.
It gives us pleasure to make this advance announcement of
this book which records the personal experiences of the authoi
during his travels in the heart of Arabia where he enjoyed the
hospitality and protection of Sultan Ibn Saoud and was thereby
enabled to gather first-hand information which it would be difficult for other than a native of the Arabic language to reach. The
reader may well expect to see this book treated in Rihani's matchless style.
OTHER ARABIAN NIGHTS
After having advertised in the Arabic Press of New York
his intentions of publishing a collection of New Arabian Nights
independently, Habeeb Katibah, reporter and special writer on
some American papers, later announced that his book was taken
over for publication by the firm of Charles Scribner's Sons who,
are to issue it as a juvenile book, specially illustrated, and place|
it on the market by the coming Fall season.
\
�.JANUARY, 1928
43
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
opinion of Major Z.
Pechkoff is entitled to more
than passing consideration. In
the first place, there can be no
, doubt as to the honesty of his
conviction. Furthermore, his
keen faculty of observation, added to his long service in the
'French Foreign Legion, and
his serving in many diplomatic
missions of a high and responsible nature qualify him to
speak with authority on French
foreign policy. This wrould apply particularly to his statements on Syria because of his
intimate association with the
problems of the French mandate in that country, whither he
^V went in company with M. Henri Ponsot, the present High
Commissioner, upon the latter's
appointment in 1926. He is,
besides, an author, lecturer, and
close student of world affairs,
and to him fell the honor of
being the official emissary of
France to extend to the American Legion the invitation to
\ hold its convention in Paris.
[
Naturally, Major Pechkoff
would feel chagrined at the accusations hurled by a faction of
the Syrian press at the French
in Syria. He would not speak
of the "policies adopted, most
THE
of which were criticized," but
he would have the critics of
French administration in Syria
assume a fair attitude by alluding to the constructive work so
far accomplished in the country and which for the most part
goes unnoticed and unmentioned. We welcome his own views
on the situation and are glad
to give them publicity.
As for our policy in such matters, it is to maintain a neutral
attitude and present the two
sides of every question with utmost impartiality. We hold that
our first duty is the service of
truth. This would require the
recording of events as they are
reported and opinions as they
are expressed. Such is our conception of impartial, unbiased
public service in the journalistic field. To pursue a different course would, in our judgment, be grossly unethical and
calculated to be dangerously
misleading. Our readers have
a claim on us for the conscientious presentation of facts and
it is our obvious duty to give
them facts as they are, not as
we conceive, them or wish them
to be.
Viewed in this light, the opinion of the Syrian press is a pa-
�mm
44
tent fact in that it determines
the convictions of the editors on political issues affecting
their country. We in THE
SYRIAN WORLD, hold ourselves
responsible to take these facts
as presented and reproduce
them in the nature of news for
the information of those interested in following the reactions
of the Syrian press to vital issues regardless of whether
these reactions indicate a fair
or a distorted conception of the
truth. In this respect, the mission of THE SYRIAN WORLD is
purely educational and to deviate from this course would obviously transform it into a partisan organ.
THE SYRIAN WORLBi
their partisan views. These,
of course, are not seekers of
truth but promoters of special
interests, and to the designs of
such individuals we could not
lend ourselves.
It is gratifying, however, to
note that dissenters from both
sides are frank enough to acquaint us with their grievances.
This in itself is assurance of
their belief in our impartiality
and in our readiness to give
each side a fair hearing. It
would, therefore, seem unnecessary for us to again declare that
we welcome communications on
any public issue in the interest
of registering reactions, rectifying possible misstatements
and arriving at the truth. Our
purpose has been, and shall ever
be, to dedicate this publication
to the dissemination of information which will help establish the truth, to the end that
lasting peace, and constructive
co-operation, will be based on
genuine understanding.
This restatement of policy,
although drawn by the remarks
of Major Pechkoff, is by no
means intended as a reply to
him. In the midst of the rivalries and passions attending the
new order of things in Syria,
we anticipated objections to our
policy from many quarters and
we did not hesitate even from
our initial number to make
plain our stand. This we have
had occasion to reiterate at fre- OUR famous ancestors the
Phoenicians need not turn
quent intervals ever since. We
must admit, however, that Ma- in their graves over the reputed
jor Pechkoff has been far more find in Glozel which threatengenerous in his attitude and ed to shatter their reputation
considerate in his remarks than and undermine the whole strucmany others of our critics who ture of our knowledge concernwould exclude from publication ing the invention and propagaeverything not in harmony with tion of the alphabet. There was
,,'!
i I
(
z
�ANUARY, 1928
45
a time when some eminent richest and almost inexhaustible
scientists of Europe took these field. And, furthermore, there
inds seriously and showed no is hardly a suspicion that the
ittle elation over the fact that "finds" are ever "planted".
C was in Europe, after all, and
We have occasion to thank
not in the East, that man first
the
perpetrators of the Glozel
began to show progress in the
juts of civilization. The finds incident for furnishing this
•onsisted of bones, utensils and new, indirect proof of the great
'Jiicknacks which were suppos- achievements of the Phoenicians
ed to be 10,000 years old and and their invaluable bequest to
which bore, even at that remote the civilization of the world.
ige, signs of comprehensive alphabetical characters. The scientific world, as a result, was divided into two camps—pro- "PHE manner in which our best
talent has rallied to the supGlozelians and anti-Glozelians.
The controversy was finally port of THE SYRIAN WORLD
settled by a report of an inter- is cause for great satisfaction
national committee of scientists and gratification. As many of
stamping the claims of the
Glozelians as false and fraudu- them have expressed it, they
deem the publication a most
ent.
worthy.representative of Syrian
. Throughout the ages this has
culture, and their conviction is
^een the only instance where
a discovery was taken somewhat plainly attested by their generseriously by some eminent ous support.
scientist tending to dispute the
Ameen Rihani has been a
generally accepted facts of hismost liberal contributor. His artory on the subject of the alphabet. While if we turn to ticles are all original material
the East, we find that Egypt, never before published. Aside
Syria, Palestine and Mesopota- from his contribution appearing
i mia are yielding almost every in this issue, we are happy at
day, new and irrefutable proofs our ability to promise our readof what we possess of recorded ers another most interesting arhistory. The discoveries in the
. countries of the Near East can- ticle by him entitled "Gods
j not be classed as rare and iso- and Jinn and a Hall of Fame"
; lated instances. Rather, those which we shall publish in a
countries are the archaeologists' near issue.
Iff!
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD j
Readers' Forum
THE WORK OF FRANCE
IN SYRIA
Major Pechkoff of the Foreign Legion Points out Constructive
Achievements of the Mandatory Power.
My dear Mr. MokarzeL
*** In the course of my conversations with you about things in general and Syria in particular, I gathered the impression that you are
just as keen as I am to serve the
things in the world that bring about
a better understanding between men
and nations.
However, in reading over very attentively your most interesting magazine, "The Syrian World," I have
sometimes felt very sad to see articles or information therein which
did not seem, somehow, to correspond entirely with the sentiments
you have expressed for France and
for what that country has always
stood for throughout the history of
the world. I do not think for a moment that you would wish to say in
your magazine anything that would
be unjust to France. It may be that
your sources of information do not
always give you the actual state of
affairs, in Lebanon and Syria. I wonder if those sources of information
are absolutely free from bias and
are impartial!
Of course, everyone has his own
point of view, and everyone is, perhaps, entitled to his own point of
view. To me what is more important is the intention of people rather
than what they do.. If their inten-
tions are sound and good, and they
work toward the Good, then no matter what mistakes they may make
at one time or another, their pure
intentions will always straighten
out in the end. I thoroughly believe
this, and my faith is based not only
on my great love and affection for
France, but it is also based on the
study and the close observation of
people and facts which I have made,
and upon the experiences I have had
in relation to the Syrian question.
You, being a Syrian — although
you have not lived in Syria since the
World War — can understand better than most people what a terribly
complex situation the Mandatory
Power had to deal with when it accepted the charge given it by the
League of Nations.
To me it is, perhaps, much more
painful than to many others to see
constantly in the Syrian press here
accusations brought forward against *
the Mandatory Power and its representatives. The world in general is
not perfect, and, in particular, among
those sent to Syria and the Lebanon
not everyone was perfect. They may
have misjudged, now and then, people and situations that they had to
meet in this faraway country. But
I can vouch for their good intentions.
And I do not think that any nation
in the world could have gone to Syria
after such a great world-upheaval—
particularly in the East—and have ,
done better than France has done.
And I repeat it again, notwithstanding all that people have thought and
said about the French activities in
Syria and the Lebanon.
I am not speaking about the poli-
I
�47
JANUARY, 1928
I
cies adopted. Mostly, the policies
were criticized. But no one 'has ever
spoken about the constructive work
done throughout the country in spite
of all the difficulties encountered—
difficulties arising from the struggle
between parties, creeds, castes and
clans among the Syrians and Lebanese themselves.
Personally, I have dozens and
dozens of friends who have given
tip all their time and their energy
and their money—who have given
up their lives—in the service of
Syria and the Lebanon, fulfilling
right to the end the mission that
their country had bestowed upon
them. I know and I could cite you
dozens of comrades who went to
the remotest districts of Syria and
the Lebanon, where their wonderful
activity, good humor and capability
helped to meet every situation and
to discern the complex psychology
\of the people with whom they came
in contact. By their work they have
transformed completely entire reThey have helped in the
— gions.
".tracing and building of roads. They
•uave helped to bring about better
methods of cultivating the land.
They have helped to increase the
production of the population, creating a general and common interest
in certain regions. By doing this,
they have eliminated local dissensions and rivalries and jealousies.
Many of my friends are so carried away with their work that, notwithstanding the claims that their
\ respective families make on them,
I they continue with their arduous
tasks. Some have not been back
to France for four, or five years. No
) one has ever heard about them. Of
course, I am not accusing people of
ungratefulness. But if people really knew about the activities of our
young men who went to this far-
away country with the purest hearts
and souls to serve their country and
humanity, they would speak differently about the Mandatory Power
and about France that has assumed,
I repeat again, such a heavy responsibility, such a noble burden,
given her by the League of Nations.
Z. Pechkoff.
New York.
IN DEFENSE OF COLUMBUS
Editor, The Syrian World:
It is rather surprising to read
from the pen of an intellectual Syrian, no less than the learned Rev.
Dr. Bishara, the slander heaped upon
Columbus. Surely no broad-minded
individual, be he a clerical or a layman, will deny Columbus the honor
due him. It seems to me that the
Rev. Bishara, in pointing out the
vulgar expression translated from
one of the Syrian papers, substituted for it a greater evil, if it be
permitted to call it so.
There is no record to show that
the parents of Columbus were Jewish. On the contrary Columbus descended from a line of noblemen as
may be evidenced from the position
his relative Colombo held. This
Colombo was an admiral in the Genoese navy and commanded a squadron that was at war with the pirates of Tunis. To him Columbus
was sent to make his first voyage.
Columbus had two brothers and
one sister who were all given a good
grammar school education. Columbus entered the University of Pavia
where he studied geometry, geography, astronomy and navigation.
He made many trips and at an
early age came to the conclusion
that the world was round, contrary
�m"
48
to religious beliefs. By his measure
ment of the sun's apparent speed
he formed a pretty accurate esti
mate of the size of the globe. Col
umbus, a self-taught philosopher
ascertained just how long it took
the sun to traverse the 2000 miles'
length of the Mediterranean Sea.
From that he inferred the distance
of space over which it would pass
in twenty-four hours. Such problems not only expanded his mind,
but disciplined his reasoning powers, and removed him from the baleful influence of visionary dreams
So we see that Columbus did not
steal any "unfortunate sailor's
charts".
"No particular description of
his personal appearance has descended to us. We simply know that he
was a tall man, of sedate and dignified demeanor, and with no convival
tastes. He was thoughtful, studious,
sensitive and of a deeply religious
nature," said Abbott.
Says the same author, "He was a
man of great simplicity of character
with the organ of veneration strongly developed. He was modest, sensitive, and magnanimous. He was
a natural gentleman, exceedingly
courteous in his bearing and without
a shade of vanity. Intellectually he
certainly stood in the highest rank,
being quite in advance of the philosophy of his times."
It was Columbus' intellect and
personality that drew the friar of
La Rabia convent to his aid. It was
Columbus' new philosophy that made
John of Portugal assemble the
greatest body of learned men Portugal possessed. It was Columbus'
convictions that made Ferdinand
forget the Moors and grant him two
audiences in the presence of Spain's
greatest... Thus we see that Colum-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
bus was not at all what the esteemed Reverend alludes to.
Jamile J. Kanfoush.
Syracuse, N. Y.
Editor, The Syrian World:
May I trespass on the "ethical
sanctuary of your magazine" with
a few unethical remarks regarding .
Dr. Bishara's rather reckless letter i
published in your last issue? The
good Doctor must have had for motive something more than the mere
call of duty to go out of his way .
to insult many of your readers who
believe that Columbus was at least
a Christian and an honorable character. Dr. Bishara's gratuitous
statements do not deserve any refutation beyond a mere denial.
In years gone by, I used to read
with a great deal of pleasure and
profit Dr. Bishara's contributions to
the Arabic press. These were the
good old days when he had not yet
lost that remarkable sense of humor,
that flair for congruity, for which
Lebanese are famous. But lately /
Dr. Bishara's outlook upon life seems
to be colored with a species of pessimism and an utter lack of humor
worthy of a dour Scot; such is the
power of environment!
I shall conclude with this remark:
where on earth did Dr. Bishara dig
up all this unpleasant and startling
information about the Discoverer of
America? And why did he not do
his bounden duty by acquainting the
powers that be at Washington with
Columbus' true character before he
was honored with a national holiday? Do enlightened nations honor
hypocrites, thieves and mere adventurers ?
Anthony Traboulsee.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
IJ
�49
JANUARY, 1928
ST. COLUMBUS AGAIN
The rejoinder of As-Sayeh
t
On the day following Columbus
Day we published an editorial entitled "St. Columbus" which The
Syrian World translated and published in its department of The
Spirit of the Syrian Press.
The Rev. Dr. K. A. Bishara read
>ur remarks and took exception to
*ur designating Columbus as a saint
while he is no prophet but merely
"a son of a Jew," and upraided us
for having counseled leaving Jesus,
•loses and Mohammad enthroned on
their pedestals in the Old World that
we may follow in the footsteps of
Columbus in the New World.
We would much prefer not to
have to write a word on this subject, because we feel that we and
the clergy are in the throes of a
dilemma to which we can find no
.solution. For their part, they are
>rone to consider all liberality in
;hought a trespass on religion, while
;o us it is surprising that we should
witness even in these days any discussion the nature of which would
* indicate that there still exists a
lass of men who cast on opinions
nd matters reactionary glances
iirom behind glasses tempered with
suspicion and doubt.
It would appear to us that the
Rev. Doctor took our remarks on the
subject too seriously, while it is obvious that the nature of the remarks
. permits of a lighter interpretation.
k The Divine would arm himself for
.combat against disrespect for religion and moral turpitude. We certainly admire his moral courage, but
.would suggest that he find fields for
/the exercise of his belligerent prosperities and the display of his
) burning zeal that would be wider
and less restricted than the limited
terrain we can afford him.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Dec. 8, 1927.)
SYRIAN LECTURER
WELL RECEIVED
Editor, The Syrian World:
I had the good fortune the other
day of attending a lecture by Miss
Sumeyeh Attiyeh given at the High
School of this city and which was
well attended. I cannot resist the
temptation of writing to tell you
how proud I felt of this countrywoman when she spoke so entertainingly on Eastern subjects and elicited the praise and admiration of all
her hearers. It was one of those
moments when a Syrian feels proud
of the achievements of one of his
own, and realizing that your worthy
publication is ever ready to give
due recognition to talent and ability, I feel confident that you will
give space to this letter in the hope
that that will act as incentive to
other girls of our race to emulate
the good work of Miss Attiyeh.
Wadiah Rashid Khoury.
Herrin, 111.
MORE NEWS WANTED
Editor, The Syrian World:
It is useless for me to add anything to what you are always receiving about the real need that The
Syrian World is filling for the Syrians at large. I think Dr. C. Assid
Corban of New Zealand has done it
too well to stand repetition. May I
add one suggestion? Let us have
more news (not articles) about agricultural and economic developments
in Syria.
Najib J. Dumit.
University Farm, Davis, Cal.
�r
*
)
rs
THE SYRIAN WORLD
SO
I
Spirit of The Syrian Press
I
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge anc
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opi
ttion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
AN ORIENTALIST IN SYRIA
The Syrian press reports the arrival in Beirut of M. Massillion, the
well-known orientalist, on a commission by the French Government to
study present social conditions in
Syria and Lebanon and establish
a comparison between them now and
what they were in the past, especially in the period immediately preceding the war.
M. Massillion is one of the outstanding savants of France. Not only is he an orientalist and a linguist
but a philosopher whose study is
like a temple of learning wherein
settles the spirit and the atmosphere
of science and erudition.
We have personally known the
scientist Massillion while in Paris.
His is not the generally accepted
Parisian life. Rather, his life is
more like that of a hermit amid the
gayty and splendor of the French
capital. He is the author of several
works of merit on the Arabs in general and the Muslims in particular.
His knowledge of Arabic is profound
and thorough.
We consider the sending by France
of a man of such standing as that
of Massillion to our country an indication of her genuine interest in
the Lebanese. These gifted French
men come to us with hearts anminds set on our disinterested service, and we should consider such instances in the nature of singular
opportunities which we Lebanese
should grasp with alacrity instead
of losing them by continual grumbling and dissatisfaction.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Dec. 20, 1927.).
THE SWORD AND THE SPEAR I
I
One of the most cruel ironies 01
the times is that reported to us by
the Syrian press lately to the effec
that the notorious outlaw, Ta'a
Dandash, entered the Serai, or Cil£
Hall, of Beirut, sporting his sword
in full view of the authorities who
are reported to have received him
with every manifestation of honor;
while on another occasion we are
told that Hamzeh Darwish, the rebel chieftain who made himself the,
outstanding figure of the revolution!
by his cruelty and who later surren-/
dered, performed such feats of
horsemanship and adroitness in;
spear-play that he elicited the high
praise of the French governor of
the Druze mountain.
\.
�!
TANUARY, 1928
It is about time we realize that
the might of the sword and the
lance have long since been on the
wane. In former ages these weapons were considered symbols of
valor used in the defense of right
and in resisting agression. Now
they are but futile toys that we retain for sentimental reasons and as
nementos of past glory. But their
rsefulness has been spent now that
hey have proven utterly ineffective
in the face of cannon and airplane.
They are only the ornaments of
fools. They may be effective only
n dealing with individuals but are
-tterly futile in resisting armies of
great powers.
The sword and the spear have
proven their impotency in the last
revolution, and it behooves us now
to replace them with other and
more effective weapons and discard
those of our leaders whose only qualification is that of physical prowess
^levoid of reasoning and administrative ability. We are of the opinion
hat French officials, in applauding
.-he feats of those who wield the
word and the spear, do so in the
I ainrr they applaud the comedians
\>f the stage.
Modern methods with which we
tould equip ourselves should in-pude education, co-operation and
-Preparedness. Otherwise we should
be content with our condition of
servility.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Dec. 22, 1927.)
MODERN HEROISM
\
{ Banners are flying
and bands
playing and soldiers passing in revew amid great shouts of joy and
apparent enthusiasm.
Where is the scene of these festiv-
51
ities and who are the performers?
The scene is Sueida, capital of the
Druze mountain, and the celebrants
are the French and the Druzes,
enemies of yesterday and friends of
today.
They play and dance and shout.
The French official smiles broadly
to the Druze and the latter overdoes
himself in performing feats of
horsemanship to prove to the French
his prowess and valor.
But the sufferers of the revolution, where are they and to what
extent do they labor under the heavy
load of their misfortunes?
They are rolling in misery while
their complaints whose echoes have
reached the skies go unheeded only
because might, not right, is alone
respected these days.
If Hamzeh Darwish and his like
were under British mandate they
would not dare perform as they did
in this instance after having committed such atrocities against a
defenseless and inoffensive population.
The English deal with the Palestinians with firmness and resoluteness, and at times turn to the complaints of the natives the deaf ear.
Still the Palestinians would countenance no change in the mandatory
power because the English understand the psychology of the people
of the East.
Will the Christians who have so
far borne their ill-treatment with
patience understand that their passiveness will avail them naught so
long as honor and respect are dealt
to those who show feats of valor in
the field, even though that be a field
of ruthlessness and crime, proving
that even now it is only might that
begets right.
(The Syrian Eagle, Dec. 21, 1927.)
�.
1}
52
DISCORD AMONG THE
NATIONALISTS
Discord has been rampant among
the Syrian Nationalists in Egypt.
The breach threatens to become
wider as time goes by.
War has now been declared between Emir Lutfallah and s'heik
Rashid Ridha, former political leaders of the Syrian nationalist movement, and both have now lost the
confidence of those loyal advocates
of the cause who have struggled for
the liberation of their country in
such manner as to register their
deeds on the pages of history in
letters of gold.
The last that we have heard of
their efforts is that they are endeavoring to discover ways and
means for the success of the revolution. But what revolution do they
mean? Is it their revolution against
each other, or is it that revolution
which the enemy has succeeded in
quelling by introducing friction and
dissension in the formerly united
ranks of the Nationalists, and caused them to be divided as the waters
of the Red Sea were divided by
Moses in times past, only to close
on his pursuers and engulf them.
Now the nation which has once
stood solidly behind the Executive
Committee of the revolution has lost
all confidence in it and in all of its
members. Syria, which had once
felt proud of these men, cannot now
but shun them because they have
brought shame on the country and
caused it to appear in a role of extreme weakness. The foreigners who
in the past prohibited the press of
the country from any mention of
the Executive Committee, are now
permitting full and free discussion
of the differences which are rending the Committee with the object
of showing the deplorable state of
THE SYRIAN WORLD]
!
\
Syrian leadership. We do not blame
the foreigners for adopting such a
policy because they discovered a
breach in the ranks of the Nationalists and hastened to avail themselves
of it, but we do blame those responsible for the breach for not
hastening to mend it in the face of
the enemy. We place the blame on
those who seek princely rank an<
leadership—those reactionaries wh>
were in the past placed at the hea
of the fighting ranks and betrayeu
their trust.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Dec. 20, 1927.)
SMOULDERING FIRES
OF THE REVOLUTION
The armed revolution, at the head
of which are Sultan Pasha Atrash
and Emir Adel Arslan, is but like
a smouldering fire.
L
Enemies of the revolution clain
that it has been put down and it
men scattered fleeing either to Pa)
estine and the desert or to Egyp
This they take as evidence that th<
revolution has abated and Fran,
achieved complete victory.
What gives color to the assertior
of the francophile press is that dif
sension has arisen among the lea. ,,
ers of the revolution who are now
divided into two camps, one headed
by Emir Michel Lutfallah and supported by a few adherents, and the
other headed by Sheik Rashid Ridha
to whose standards have rallied the
greater number of the active supporters of the revolution.
I
No, the revolution has not die<ft
and will not die. If the armed re|volution has abated we are confident
that this is but a temporary condition that will soon change. And
if the noise of powder has been
silenced it must be only for a limit-
SjANUA
ed time; i
come to I
be only ti
parations
difference:
the leadei
cloud tha
without c
not but i
lifference:
:ircumsta:
,he enem;
their prop
confidence
tie these
er as w
devotion 1
tion.
We are
the mone
in vain.
.the fire <
factions <
hey are c
-/ould desi
'"tivities. H
Syrians i
loney m
;he revoh
been awa
^evolutioi
t the he;
'mir (SI
o.aeps a
spent the
service oi
This Emi
cow whit
tion of t
would be
^ to China
ii !iis going
1 benefit tc
^onseque:
is directe
jjgenius ar
ith him
sver kep
:he mind
�11
JANUARY, 1928
tA
J
53
\
ed time; and if some warriors have but like the smouldering fire.
come to Palestine or Egypt it must
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Dec. 23, 1927.)
be only to make the necessary preparations for further efforts. The
differences that have arisen between
FRANCE THE COMPASSIONATE
the leaders are but like a summer
cloud that will soon dissipate itself
O you who derisively call France
without causing any harm. We can- the compassionate mother, is not
not but regret, however, that such kindness and compassion better
lifferences should occur under the than perfidy?
:ircumstances, because they furnish
Surely, France is a compassionate
,he enemy with ready weapons for benefactor and has been so from
their propaganda, but we have every earliest history.
confidence that the leaders will setDid she not strike the Arabs untle these differences in such man- der Abdul Rahman, at Poitiers, and
ner as will prove their loyalty and save Europe from their peril through
devotion to the cause of the revolu- the leadership of Charles Martel?
tion.
Did she not crush the Turks and
We are loath to see the blood and turn back their hordes from Europe ?
Did she not help free this great
the money of thousands sacrificed
in vain. If those who are fanning country in which we are, the. United
.the fire of discord among the two States of North America?
Did she not have a helping hand
factions only knew to what extent
hey are driving the combatants they in liberating Greece and most of the
-/ould desist from their pernicious ac- Balkan states?
Did she not prevent the extermitivities. Have they not heard that the
Syrians abroad have given their nation of the Christians—Maronites,
loney most liberally in support of Orthodox, Greek Catholics and Ar;he revolutionary cause? Have they mcnfans, etc.—in the Turkish-Druze
been aware of the activities of the conspiracy in Lebanon and Syria in
Revolutionary Delegation in Europe 1860?
Why, then, do these detractors
t the head of which is the eminent
savagely
attack France in the man'mir (Shakib Arslan) who never
o.aeps a night but afetr having ner of those who have lost their
spent the day in the most unselfish reason? Is it not better to be comservice of the revolutionary cause? passionate and kind and helpful
This Emir is now the guest of Mos- rather than perfidious and deceitcow whither he went at the invita- ful?
Is i/t necessary that all those who
tion of the Soviet Government. He
would be found willing to go even raise their voice in defense of right
i to China if he were assured that should be accused of treason?
We believe and admit that in the
^ Ihis going thither would result in
i menefit to the revolutionary cause. execution of the French mandate in
Consequently, the revolution which Syria and Lebanon there are grounds
js directed by the brains of such a for criticism, but whatever mismanigenius and other leaders associated agement there is it is in our power
th him will not die, but will be to correct with the proper exercise
ver kept alive in the hearts and of tact and sincerity.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Dec. 1, 1927.)
he minds of its supporters. It is
�r~
THE SYRIAN WORLD
54
About Syria and Syrians
GLOZEL FIND A
PRACTICAL JOKE
Under date of Dec. 23, 1927, the
Associated Press carried the following report on the Glozel relics from
its Paris correspondent.
The famous Glozel collection of
"Stone Age" bones, utensils and
knicknacks unearthed three years
ago on a French farm in the Allier
Department has been found by an international committee of scientists
to be a practical' joke perpetrated in
the mid-Victorian era, rather than
the work of ancestral cavemen.
This judgment, coming cruelly at
Christmas time to hopeful archaeologists of the world, was rendered
today by a committee of scientists
from a half dozen countries who
have been scrutinizing the discovery meticulously for weeks.
It had been supposed that the
finding would show that prehistoric
Frenchmen 10,000 years ago used an
alphabet long before Phoenicians
generally are credited with inventing the original A B C's and knew
how to carve love letters on blocks
and sermons in stone.
But now, the disillusioned committee of scientists, who were appointed by the International Scientists' Congress at Amsterdam several months ago, have concluded that
the cravings were done with iron
implements of which there were
none in the Stone Age but of which
there were many in the post-Napoleonic period of the nineteenth century.
Modern Oven and Domestic Bones.
The report, however, concedes
that there might be some ancient
iHIIWMBi.
:
things mixed in the collection, but
rejects the authenticity of the ensemble because many of the discoveries were "non-ancient" articles,'
such as an oven and obviously new<
bones.
i<
The committee decided that theoven which was found was not a
day over 75 years old, that the
"tomb" over Which much enthusiastic comment had been made probably
hadn't even been manufactured whe.
Clemenceau was a boy and that the
teeth and bones had a modern color.
While some of the bones were fossilized, there were many more that,
were not.
Furthermore, certain objects in^
polished stone, including what came'-;,
to be known as the Glozel alphabet*
gave the appearance of 'having beer,
cut with chisels sharpened with
whetstones.
And among all the carvings o
animals there wasn't a single prehistoric monster such as is found in
museums. They were all cows, cats
old gray mares and other moderi
appurtenances to life on a Frenc
^
farm.
SOUTH AMERICA EXCLUDES
SYRIANS AND LEBANESE
The Syrian press features a communique from the French High/
Commissariat announcing that the.!
government of Brazil had given official notice to the French Government
of the action of the Brazilian Hous4
of Representatives excluding Syri-i
ans and Lebanese from admission U.
Brazil.
The communique contained the i
i
\
�JANUARY, 1928
further information that the government of Ecuador had taken similar action.
This would add two more to the
list of Latin American countries
which have passed Syrian exclusion
laws, the others being Mexico and
Panama.
In the case of Mexico a long
statement by the government explaining the exclusion act referred
to the fact that the Syrians were engaged mostly in commercial pursuits detrimental to the interests of
the small shopkeepers of the interior. They were engaged principally in peddling, it was claimed, and
were causing the country stores to
suffer from lack of patronage.
A LITTLE SHOP WITH A
BIG NAME
For many years past there was
established on Fifth Avenue, New
York, a little shop to deal in jewelry and precious stones. It found its
beginning through the enterprise of
a Syrian woman who through sheer
pluck, perseverance and vision transformed her dreams into realities.
4
i
Mrs. Marie El-Khouri, founder
and still the moving spirit in the
management of "The Little Shop of
T. Azeez," is now a national figure
in artistic jewelry creations in
America. Trade, Fashion and Specialty publications such as Vogue,
Women's Wear Daily, and the New
Yorker often feature accounts of
her creations as setting the style in
her line. It is given to few women
\ to achieve their ambition as has
Mrs. El Khouri, in an occupation
which both gratifies the artistic
taste and is amply remunerative
financially at the same time. This
n
55
is all the more reason why this
countrywoman of ours who labored
under the same handicaps as the rest
of us when she first came to this
country and forcefully overcame
them should be congratulated on her
success,
SYRIANS OF NEW YORK
ORGANIZE GOLF CLUB
A group of progressive Syrians
met at the Hotel McAlpin early last
month and decided on a distinctly
novel, almost radical, venture in the
social life of the community. They
have formed a Golf Club and launched it with a membership of over
thirty. The members are all golf
enthusiasts, and to judge by the remarks made at the organization dinner one would hardly recognize in
the speakers those Syrians reputed
to be devotees of only the commercial arts.
A few Syrian golfers had during
the past Summer agreed on tentative plans for organizing the Club
and appointed for the purpose a committee of which Mr. Alexander Hamrah was named chairman. The realization came at the McAlpin dinner
when Mr. George Ferris, dean of.
Syrian attorneys in New York,
and member of several prominent
golf clubs, read the Constitution and
By-Laws, which were approved. Tha
organization was called the Syramar
Golf Club, a name coined from the
term Syrian American with a slight
change for euphony. Balloting for
officers and Board of Governors resulted in the election of Messrs.
Eugene Trabilcy, Pres.; Nat. Mallouf, Vice Pres.; Paul Trabulsi.
Treas., and George Tadross, Secretary. The Board of Governors is
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
56
composed of nine members, three of SYRIAN CO-AUTHOR IN
SCIENTIFIC WORK i
whom are elected for the term of
one year, three for the term of two
years, and three for the term of
three years. Officers are elected Fahim Kouchakji, Possessor of the
I
Chalice of Antioch, Helps Identify
from the Board. Members of the
I
a Famous Copy of the Holy Grail.
Board in the first election include,
besides the officers already mentioned, Messrs. Alexander Hamrah,
The New York Times of Nov. 15
Richard Macksoud, Ferris Saydah,
published
an extensive account of
George Ferris and Nesib Trabulsi.
Active members who were present the researches conducted by the a
at the organization meeting are: eminent archaeologist, Dr. Gustavus
Assad Abood, Aleer Couri, Basil A. Eisen, the results of which will
Couri, Michel Daoud, Sulaiman Da- soon be published in a two-volume .
oud, James Dowaliby, Fred Fans, work under the general title of ?
Joseph Gassoun, Henry Haddad, "Glass". In this, says the paper, Dr.
Elias Hamrah, Suhail Hermos, Rich- Eisen is assisted by Mr. Fahim Kouard Malhame, Shafic Mamary, S. chakji, the well-known collector who
Muneyer, Aziz Saddy, Victor Sam- is himself an authority on antiques
ra, Alfred Saydah, Cecil Saydah, and is the possessor of the celebrat.
James Saydah, George Shamyer, ed Chalice of Antioch.
According
td
this
account,
a
glass
Abdallah Sleyman, John Trabulsi,
cup made in the Middle Ages and i
Kalil Trabulsi.
now
in a private collection in Spain
For some unaccountable reason,
has been identified by Dr. Eisen and »
the club honored the editor of "The
his collaborator as a copy of the cup j
Syrian World" by electing him its
first honorary member, although it which was worshipped as the Holy
is claimed that it is dangerous to Grail in the monastery of Montserrat, Spain, in the colorful rites which
take up golf when a man nears the
fifty-year mark.. Another honorary formed the foundation for Wagner's
member is Mr. George Atiyeh of opera, "Parsifal". It is known as
'the beaker of Montserrat" and was
Portland, Ore.
made, Dr. Eisen believes, in the
Members of the Syramar Golf
thirteenth century.
Club are to be congratulated on
From its form and from other
their encouragement of healthful
evidences Dr. Eisen deduces that it
sports and it is expected that some is a representation of the cup in
real talent in this "ancient and hon- which Joseph of Arimathea, in
orable" game will be exhibited in whose tomb Christ's body was laid
the coming tournament of the Club after the Crucifixion, caught Christ's
which is scheduled for the coming blood as it dripped from the cross.
Spring.
What may be of special interest
in the Constitution of the Syramar
Golf Club is that women are eligible
to membership. So, after all, when
Syrians begin to advance they do so
in broad jumps.
I
Dr. Ei6en pointed out the word
Grail is a relatively loose term applied to several objects connected
with tihe life of Christ, among them
the cup of the Last Supper, the cup
which received Christ's blood and
the plate of the Paschal Lamb. Many
�f V JANUARY, 1928
objects have been and still are cherished in various parts of the world
as being one or another of these
sacred articles.
The meaning of the cup is traced
through the resemblance to the amulets, imitating or typifying objects
connected with the life and death of
Christ, which flooded the Christian
world in the fourth century after
Constantine embraced Christianity.
The ardhseologist's detailed discussion of these amulets dovetails
with an extensive work he published
three years ago on the Chalice of
Antioch, a silver cup found in the
ruins of a church at Antioch in Syria, and now in the possession of Mr.
Kouchakji. This cup was surrounded with an elaborate outer cup of
silver, sculptured with figures portraying Christ and His chief followers and was believed by Dr. Eisen to have been decorated in the
first century, A. D. Concerning this
chalice, Dr. Eisen declares that it
had been revered as a sacred Christian relic soon after the death of
Christ, and the implication was that
it was the cup of the Last Supper,
though this conclusion was not asserted by Dr. Eisen.
57
occasions. The exposition is meant
to give a graphic picture of the
culture and industries of the Orient.
Although it is too early at the
time of the present writing to state
the degree of success of the exposition, it may be noted that only one
tabloid paper of the metropolitan
dailies gives any appreciable amount
of publicity to the exposition, while
the Arabic papers of the city are
manifestly apathetic. Of the five
Arabic dailies only one, Al-Hoda,
has made any mention at all of the
exposition, and that in a tone of disapproval. It claims that the promoter of this enterprise is misrepresenting the true culture of the East
and catering to vulgar appeals.
Women of the East, for instance,
according to Al-Hoda, are not in
the habit of appearing naked to the
waistline, neither do they wear the
tarboush, which is the customary
headgear for men.
As-Sayeh, a semi-weekly Arabic
paper, is more complimentary in its
remarks and liberal in the space it
devotes to the description of activities in the Oriental exposition.
DR. BAROUDI, AUTHOR
ORIENTAL EXPOSITION AT
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Through the enterprise of a Syrian, Mr. Ralph Saliba, an Oriental
exposition was opened at Madison
Square Garden in New York beginning with the second week of December and scheduled to run until the
end of the first week of January.
Governor Smith of New York State
and Mayor Walker of New York
City, as well as many Ambassadors
and Ministers of Eastern countries,
visited the exposition on different
AND LECTURER, DIES
The Rev. Dr. Anis Baroudi, for
many years minister of the Syrian
Protestant Church of Brooklyn, died
on Dec. 5 as a result of an operation for appendicitis.
Dr. Baroudi was a native of Ain
Rummanah, Mt. Lebanon, and received his elementary education in American and English mission schools in
Lebanon and his M. A. degree at the
American University of Beirut. He
was admitted to the ministry at the
McCormick Seminary in Chicago in
1907. He is the author of several
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
books both in Arabic and English,
his principal work in English being
"The Syrian Shepherd". He is,
however, better known as a lecturer
and public speaker and had confined
his activities to New York City and
vicinity. He was asked by Dr. Cadman on a number of occasions to
speak from the pulpit of his church
in Brooklyn.
The death of Dr. Baroudi is a loss
to the Syrian intelligensia in New
York. He is survived by a wife and
two young children.
SYRIAN BOY SCOUTS
STEADY WINNERS
"Troop No. 12 of America, of Olean,
N. Y., under the leadership of their
new scoutmaster Elias Ead," says
the local paper of Olean, "emerged
victorious from the contests of the
Scout rally held in the High School
gymnasium on the night of Dec.
17." This is the second successive
year that this troop wins its laurels
and it is gratifying to learn that
this troop is wholly composed of
American boys of Syrian parentage.
First class Scouts, adds the paper,
who were awarded merit badges by
the court, comprise the following
from Troop No. 12:
John Kneiser, for firemanship and
life saving. Samuel Mansour, firemanship and craftwork in leather.
Francis Harris, civics and first aid.
Joseph Bischalany, swimming and
signalling. John Gabriel, life saving and bird study.
SYRIAN BOY WINS
PRIZE IN CONTEST
"A Constant Reader" of The Syrian World sends us a clipping of
'• . serai.-:
' .'"
Ji maun u
the Peoria (111.) Star reporting that
a Syrian boy of eighteen, John Riya,
had won first prize in a contest conducted by a local theatre in conjunction with the showing of John Barrymore's latest attraction, Don Juan.
The prize winning contest follows:
"John Barrymore for want of a
better term is the 'World's Greatest
Lover'. He is one of the handsomest actors on the screen today. He
combines with this a marked masculinity. He has stolen the hearts of
all that have seen him in 'Beau
Brummel,' 'The Sea Beast,' and now
greatest of all, 'Don Juan.' For here
is the ultimate thrill which the public craves. Love that dares all. Love
that consumes all, and love that
leaps like liquid fire through the
veins of popular fancy. Hence, John
Barrymore is "The lover of all
ages.' "
SYRIAN ORGANIZATION
HAS HIGH IDEALS
"Flower of the East" is the name
of a new Syrian society organized
in Wilkes Barre, Pa., whose purpose
is to work for unity and understanding; uplift the Syrian name; encourage higher education and prompt
the Syrian youth to the desire of
emulating the achievements of their
forefathers.
The officers are: John Gazy, President; Anthony Hashem, Vice President; Philip Cosa; Treasurer; Chas.
Audi, Recording Secretary, and
Nicholas Saba, Corresponding Secretary.
f
i
a
e
rr
if
RECONSTRUCTION IN
t t I
THE DRUZE MOUNTAIN
A prominent traveler recently returned from Jebel Druze, which had
been in revolt against French au-
fc-
�JANUARY, 1928
i
thority in Syria, is reported to have
confirmed previous information to
the effect that the country is now
completely pacified and is well advanced in the work of reconstruction.
Two main highways, he said, now
link Soueida, the capital, with Azru
and Bassora. Work is also proceeding on constructing a network of
roads radiating from Soueida to
every section of the Druze mountain.
Thirteen new private elementary
schools have been opened in addition to the public schools maintained
by the government.
THE SYRIAN PRISONERS
OF SINGAPORE
"
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rfc -
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Vid
511
Notwithstanding the official denial
of the British High Commissioner
of Palestine of the truth of the reports circulated in the Syrian press
touching on the plight of thousands
of Syrian war prisoners still held
in Singapore, all kinds of rumors
are still circulated about these supposed unfortunates.
Now the Syrian press seems to be
digging up information to substantiate reports published earlier concerning this question. Personal accounts by supposedly returned prisoners are given with a wealth of
detail. In most cases, the authors
of the accounts seem to be men who
are pleading for funds to continue
their journey to their home destination.
One of the latest accounts published is purported to be that of an
escaped war prisoner from Iraq who
claims that he was taken as a servant in the household of a British
officer in India who was later transferred to the Sudan and took the
Iraquite with him. Once there, the
59
prisoner came in touch with some
Arabs who advised him to report his
case to his employer's superiors, in
consequence of which action he was
set at liberty. It was months of extreme hardship, he declared, before
he reached Palestine and was there
waiting for an opportunity to continue his way home.
This prisoner places the number
of Arab war prisoners still held in
India at about forty-five thousand,
twenty-two thousand of whom are
Iraquites, eight thousand Syrians
and thirteen thousand Palestinians.
Among the prisoners, he said, were
a few Turks.
All prisoners, he added were kept
under strict guard and put to work
on railroad construction with the
most meager of fare.
THE RETURN OF
THE RASHAYYANS
Rashayya is the town in Greater
Lebanon which was hit hardest by
the last revolution in Syr'a and was
almost completely destroyed.
The Christian population of Rashayya, as our readers will recall,
appealed their case to Paris direct
and to the Pope and the League of
Nations. Their principal demands
were that they be granted complete
reparations and that the Druze
inhabitants of the town, whom they
accuse of being the chief perpetrators of looting, murder and destruction, be made to settle elsewhere.
The agitation centering around the
case of Rashayya caused no little
concern to the mandatory authorities and to the Lebanese Government.
In one of its recent issues, however, Zahle Al Fatat a Lebanese
paper which had identified itself
�r*
60
conspicuously witih the case of Rashayya, announces that a delegation
of fifty notables representing the
refugees of Rashayya had waited
upon the French commissioner in
charge of reparations and assured
him of their gratefulness for the
efforts taken in their behalf and of
the readiness of the majority of the
refugees to return to their homes
as soon as the work of reconstruction permits.
It had been previously announced
by the authorities that the Druze
clan of Al Aryan, who are accused
of the principal acts of cruelty
against their Christian neighbors,
had been ordered to evacuate Rashayya in the interest of peace.
A GREAT IRRIGATION
PROJECT IN SYRIA
A great irrigation project which
would divert the course of the
Orontes (Al-Asi) and reclaim the
vast fertils plains
surrounding
Homs and Hama is announced to be
under consideration by the Mandatory Power in Syria.
According to tentative plans, it is
the purpose to construct a great
dam running from East to West in
the Cattina Lake, south of Homs,
so as to permit of irrigating the
plains. As conditions now stand,
only a restricted area in the immediate neighborhood of Homs and
Hama receive any benefit from the
great volume water running in its
present course. And even this is
done under difficulties inasmuch as
water has to be raised by means of
water wheels.
With the operation of tihe new
irrigation scheme not only the great
plain would be irrigated but it could
be made to yield several crops in-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
stead of the single crop now produced through the limitation of
dependence on rainfall.
In describing the area to be benefited by the new irrigation project*
Lisan Ul Hal says that it is a plain
which is traversed by railroad from
North to South over a distance of
360 kilometers. It could be made
the granary of Syria and is bound
to be a potent factor in deciding
Syrians against emigration.
EX-PRESIDENT OF FRANCE
MILLERAND IN SYRIA
Although coming on a purely private mission, ex-President Millerand
of France was accorded upon his arrival in Beirut on December 6 a
semi-official reception by both the
mandatory authorities and the Lebanese Government. His mission was
ended almost before his arrival, but
the distinguished Frenchman remains for the present in Syria enjoying the hospitality of the people
and the beneficial climate of the
country.
M. Millerand was retained by Najib Bey Sursuq as counsel in the
long pending suit with his brother
Albert Sursuq over the liquidation
of their joint interest in the estate
of their father comprising enormous
realty holdings both in Syria and
Egypt. The Sursuq family is reputed to be the wealthiest in Syria
and one of the wealthiest in the East.
The influence of the older Sursuq
was such that at one time, according
to traditionr he caused the dismissal
of a Turkish wali (governor) appointed to the vilayet of Beirut before he could even unpack his
trunks. The differences between the
two brothers were, therefore, a cause
for concern for all Syria. And when
n
.
�JANUARY, 1928
/
I
V
\
\
3
1
rr
c
one of the brothers gave notice of
his intention to carry the fight to
the bitter end by appointing M. Millerand his attorney, men of influence and prominence in all walks of
life proffered their good offices for
intervention so that no sooner M.
Millerand set foot in Beirut than he
was confronted with the announcement by Mr. Petro Trad, counsel for
Albert Sursuq, that he had effected
a reconciliation.
M. Millerand is now engaged in
drawing with Mr. Trad the details
of the agreement. The ex-President
of France, who is one of the foremost legal minds of the country,
was guaranteed for his services by
Najib Bey Sursuq a fee of one million francs which he will now receive with hardly any effort.
EMIR ABDULLAH
TO BECOME KING
The signing of the new treaty between England and Transjordania,
similar in many respects to that
existing between England and Iraq,
will be attended by great ceremony
in celebration of the newly acquired
independence of the country, according to reports in Arabic papers.
It is further stated that Emir
Abdullah will assume immediately
thereafter the title of king and
journey to England to thank King
61
George in person for England's recognition of the independence of his
country.
Once Emir Abdullah becomes king
two sons of former King Hussein of
Hejaz would have reached regal
rank. Had King Hussein not been
deposed by Ibn Saoud, this branch
of the Hashimite family would have
controlled most of the thrones of
the Arabic-speaking peoples in Asia.
SYRIAN EMIGRANTS RETURNED
Official figures published by the
Bureau of Statistics indicate, according to Lisan Ul Hal, of Beirut,
that returned Syrian and Lebanese
emigrants in the period falling between March and September, 1927,
are double the number of those who
have returned in the same period in
1926 and triple those of 1925.
The paper further states hopefully that conceding the prevalence of
peace and order in the country in
the future, Syrians and Lebanese
who are expected to return to their
native land during the coming year
will be much more in proportion.
This would not indicate that the
tide of emigration from Syria and
Lebanon has receded. The figures,
as may be readily seen, cover the
movement of those who are returning to their homeland but take no
account of those who are leaving.
Political Developments in Syria
\
In a leading article in its issue of
December 17, the semi official French
paper Le Temps comments on a discussion in the Committee of Foreign
affairs of the Senate following a re-
port by one of its members, M. Henri Lemery, on the results of his observations of conditions in Syria and
Lebanon during his recent visit to
these countries. The paper states
�62
frankly that there still exists a Syrian Question although the French
have been in occupation of the mandated territories for over eight years.
It also voices the complaint of the
Syrians and Lebanese loyal to
France, a complaint shared by a
large number of French observers,
that the chaotic condition prevailing
in Syria is due to France's inaction.
It is true that many constructive
projects have been achieved, but
French policy, it is claimed, is still
wanting in the principal field of
granting the mandated country a
stable form of government which
would bring peace and order and accelerate the progress of constructive
efforts.
The policy of the government was
not spared by its critics who hinted
that the armed revolution, although
suppressed on the surface, is far
from being extinct. Both Senator
Lemery and M. Henri de Jouvenel,
former High Commissioner in Syria,
are of the opinion that the situation
is grave in Damascus as well as in
Beirut and that it is in danger of
developing into something more
serious by early Spring.
In the same account we are told
by the French paper that General
Weygand, another of the former
High Commissioners in Syria, has
published an article in the Revue de
France setting forth with eloquence
the reasons that should compel
France to maintain its mandate over
Syria and Lebanon. This obviously
is in reply to those who would countenance ceding these countries to
Italy in return for territorial grants
in North Africa. Gen. Weygand first
enumerates the material advantages
for France in the retention of its
mandate over Syria: Fertility of
soil, importance of maritime ports,
splendor of natural scenery which
^ ^•BBBHfiBHBSESKBHWfiWKflWHET
THE SYRIAN WORLD
could be exploited for summer resort industries and finally he mentions the prestige of France in carrying out her promises and obligations to a nation which placed all
its trust and confidence in her. Both
Gen. Weygand and M. de Jouvenel,
says Le Temps, hold that possession
of Syria, being the port of access to
Asia Minor, can assure for a power
such as France the uncontested mastery over this section of the world
in both the commercial and the economic fields.
What they would have their compatriots understand fully, however,
is that the Syrians and Lebanese,
particularly the latter, awaited with
as much anxiety as the Alsacians
and Lorranians the arrival of the
French to liberate them. For these
people, France had been for centuries the outstanding model of nobility of character and it would be betrayal of trust and hopes to disappoint them.
Many of these statements, of
course, are mere platitudes that
have been mentioned over and again
many a time. But the important
thing brought out by these discussions is the fact that there still exists danger of the recurrence of
armed conflict in Syria by next
Spring. Papers supporting the revolution make strong declarations of
this possibility, and they are publishing frantic appeals to the Syrians of America to lend the necessary financial support by being more
liberal with their contributions. Papers of the opposition, however, are
equally emphatic in their denial of
any such possibility, pointing out
the fact that the main revolutionary
committee has been divided upon itself and that the faction favoring the
continuance of the struggle has lost
the support of the Lutfallahs who
lQ
a
had been
of the
Lutfallal
mentione
derstand
basis of
litical di
attitude
win the
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anon.
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trace hii
k Arab ro
' was furl
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fosters i
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that ha1
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JANUARY, 1928
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63
had been the main financial backers posals at such an early stage. Dr.
of the insurgents. Emir Michel Shahbandar is further accused of
Lutfallah, as has been repeatedly having fled the scene of hostilities
mentioned, is now in favor of an un- because "he was neither a physician,
derstanding with the French on the nor a general, nor a diplomat". These
basis of maintaining the present po- accusations are directed at Dr. Shahlitical divisions of Syria, for which bandar now for having taken a stand
attitude he is accused of seeking to with Emir Lutfallah in the controwin the favor of the French in the versy over the proposed Syrian polihope of being made king over Leb- cy with France. It is stated in some
quarters that for Dr. Shahbandar,
anon.
The rumors circulated about the a Mohammedan, to have sided with
personal ambitions of Emir Lutfal- Lutfallah, a Christian, was more
lah accuse him even of attempting than his colleagues on the committo bribe certain native historians to tee could tolerate or approve. Dr.
trace his family history to the old Shahbandar was last reported to
Arab royal family of Ghassan. It have passed his examinations for
was further published in some Syr- the active practice of medicine in
ian papers that M. Drouen, chief of Egypt and had forsaken meddling in
the Political Bureau in M. Ponsot's politics.
cabinet, had issued a categorical deAnother development in the connial that the French Government troversy centering on the dissension
fosters in any manner the ambitions in the Central Committee is that Ihof the Lutfallahs. He has been too san Bey Jabiry and Emir Shekib
active, it is claimed, in aiding and Arslan, delegated to represent it in
abetting the revolution, causing Europe, had elected to act indepenthereby untold losses in life and dently of the advice of the central
property to be tolerated in the role body in Cairo. This is supposed to
he aspires to play.
have followed on the decision to opThe split among the members of pose the policies of Emir Lutfallah,
the central committee of the Syrian chairman of the Committee. Emir
revolutionary party whose head- Arslan was last reported to have
quarters are in Egypt has brought gone to Moscow on invitation of the
about many an unpleasant revela- Soviet Government to attend the
tion on the management of the re- celebration of its tenth anniversary.
volution and the smouldering ani- He is said to have profited by this
visit to enlist the help of the Soviets
mosities and personal ambitions
that have been behind it. One of for the Syrian revolutionary cause.
these revelations, made in the Syr- While his colleague, Jabiry, when
informed that he had been refused
ian Nationalist press, is that Dr.
permission to reeriter France after
Shahbandar, the one-time admitted
political director of the revolution, his return to Egypt, published a
sarcastic statement to the effect that
was nothing but a coward and a hypocrite. He is accused of having en- he had been in France heretofore
only on the invitation of her govtered into negotiations with the
ernment
whom he accused of dupliFrench during the first two weeks
of the conflict in an effort to win city in dealing with the representatheir favor, but that the French tives of the revolutionary commitwould not listen to any peace pro- tee.
�*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
THE LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
319 FIFTH AVENUE,
COR. 32ND STREET
DOWNTOWN OFFICE
59 Washington St.,
New York City
PUB
LEGAL DEPOSITORY OF The United States—New York StateNew York City.
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*
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We invite the accounts of Individuals, Firms, Corporations, Banks, and Trust Companies j offering all facilities consistent with conservative banking.
INTEREST DEPARTMENT
AT 4%
Deposits made on or before the ten days of January,
April, July and October, and the third day of any other
month, will draw 4% interest from the first of these
months, compounded quarterly.
Certificates of Deposit, an attractive short-term investment, if left for six months or longer will bear interest for the full term of deposit, at such rates as may be
agreed upon.
*
*
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A bank account is ESSENTIAL and advisable.
Read carefully the following suggestion:
The principle of thrift is the foundation of character.
John Dix.
Lincoln said:—
I will study hard and prepare myself, and someday my chance
will come.
Banking by mail is a modern conception of good business. You
can begin at once to enjoy the facilities of our
"Banking by Mail" department.
THE LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
THE BANK OF FRIENDLY CO-OPERATION
319 FIFTH AVE.,
Cor. 32nd St.,
NEW YORK CITY
By subsc
EnteTec
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1928_01reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 07
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 January
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 07 of The Syrian World published January 1928. The issue opens with a piece by Ameen Rihani titled "Dreams," which discusses dreams of the past versus the present. The next work is a short story by Kahlil Gibran titled "War." Following that is another work by George Knaysi that discusses the needs of agriculture in Syria, and a continuation of Rev. W. A. Mansur's "Problems of Syrian Youth in America." Paul Deab's article following a story from Arabian Nights discusses the matrimonial problems of the younger generation. The famous city featured in this issue is Tripoli. Before another excerpt from Harry Chapman Ford's play there is an article that discusses the hydroelectric development of Palestine by James F. Hodgson. The issue concludes with the Reader's Forum and excerpts from the Arab press about Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Harry Chapman Ford
Kahlil Gibran, Ameen Rihani
New York
Palestine
Reverend W.A. Mansur
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/b07828d5834b209c0169b7a63beb929b.pdf
fc86225a6c0bcd2a48582c33ebef5709
PDF Text
Text
T...
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
FEBRUARY, 1928
No. 8.
CONTENTS
\\
PAGE
Syrian Naturalization Question in the United States
JOSEPH W. FERRIS
Earthquakes in Palestine and Syria
3
12
DR. BAILEY WILLIS
The Egyptian Violets
(Poem)
DR. SALIM
17
Y.
ALKAZIN
The Sword of Emir Bashir
18
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
European Greed in the East
21
SIMONE FRANCE
Glimpses of Life in Syria
24
The Syrian Little Elower
24
A Book of Religion
25
�CONTENTS. (Contmued)
(
WIT, WISDOM AND HUMOR
The Way of All Mortals
A Simple Process
2f
2r
A Quick Transformation
p<
The Value of Relationship
Daringl
2
2
Beyond Number
2<?
The Coveted Refrain
2
The Stipulation
On Caution
"Anna Ascends"
(Play)
2<
/
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
i
Arab Proverbs
J
T'.'
i
Notes and Comments — By THE EDITOR
\
Readers* Forum
^
Spirit of the Syrian Press
47
About Syria and Syrians
52
Political Developments in Syria
50
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Masonry in Palestine and Syria
The First and Last Scene
Emir Bashir Shehab
The Sword of Emir Bashir
:
i
���I
THE
|
I I
.
I \
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II. No. 8.
FEBRUARY, 1928
i * t
I
Syrian Naturalization Question
in the United States
CERTAIN LEGAL ASPECTS OF OUR
NATURALIZATION LAWS
By JOSEPH W. FERRIS
Footnotes by DR. PHILIP K. HITTI
PART I.
I
A vital question which confronted the Syrians in the United
States has in all likelihood been finally determined. Considerable discussion had arisen respecting the provisions of our Naturalization Act and its applicability to Syrians, more especially,
Section 2169, Revised Statutes, United States Code, Title, 8, Section 3599, which declared and still declares that the provisions
of the Naturalization, Act "shall apply to aliens being free white
persons, and to aliens of African nativity, and to persons of
African descent".
All others are excluded from the privilege of naturalization
and thereby citizenship.
So far as Syrians are concerned, it has been judicially determined that they fall within one of the classes to whom is accorded the privilege of citizenship.
A resume as brief as possible will be made of the several
cases which discuss the question and of the decisions which settled
it once for all.
IS
�4
EBRUA
THE SYRIAN WORL
— SHAHID CASE —
Unde
ig to the
N heir desce
/ould it r
Prior
,kvhich heL
;
EX-PARTE SHAHID (District Court, South Carolina,
1913, 205 Fed Rep. 812), was perhaps the first case which in
anywise discussed the matter adversely to the eligibility of Syr
ians, but, as will be noted, the decision in that case was no
grounded on the interpretation of the Statute with respect t
"free white persons".
Faras Shahid presented his petition for naturalization in th
IN 1
District Court, Eastern District of South Carolina, before Henry
Georgia, ]
A. M. Smith, District Judge, sitting at Charleston, S. C. Ac
arisen on
cording to his statement he was fifty-nine years old, born i
rom Mt.
Zahle, and a Christian. He wrote his name in Arabic, but coul
I answeri
not read or write English, and spoke and understood Engl J
ly, whicl
very imperfectly. This is illustrated by his answer to the qu ^
e Domi
tion whether he was a polygamist or a disbeliever in organize
ultan of
government, which he answered in the affirmative. He yr
vithin the
unable to understand in English the purport of the questio;
o race ra
asked. His wife and most of his children were still living i \
lid not co
Syria and he desired to be naturalized so as to bring them to th
le world
country.
He c
The Judge, in describing him, said that his color* was a
Turk
that, of walnut or somewhat darker than is the usual mulatto
i
the
ma
one half mixed blood between the white and the mixed races
Of his own volition, the Judge raised the question of whet
er a Syrian of Asiatic birth and descent was entitled to be admit
Thei
ted to citizenship and after discussing the phrase "free whit
Court,
M
persons" said that without determining this question, he woul
f darri was
deny the petition on the ground that Shahid should not be
by race.
mitted upon his own personal disqualifications.
Itention tc
It is interesting to note the trend of the Judge's though)
I he would
with respect to "free white persons" insofar as Syrians were coil
II leave the
cerned.
Low
He was of the opinion that the Statute was most uncertain
nology,
v
ambiguous and difficult both of construction and application. '
ibe classed
him the meaning of "free white persons" was "to be such
, larri was
would naturally have been given to it when used in the fi
j rfree fro
Naturalization Act of 1790".
;
Jong adrr
* A superficial consideration of the color of the face does not in its,
The
constitute a scientific basis for race classification. The effect of the r
5LLIS (
is an element in the case. The Hindus belong to the White Race but
U002).
cause of the semi-tropical climate are darker than Nortih Europeans.
1
V
�11
FEBRUARY,
1928
5
Under his interpretation it would mean all persons belonglg to the European races, then commonly counted as white, and
}i heir descendants. It would not mean the "Caucasian" race nor
/ould it mean the "Aryan" race.
Prior to the Shahid case there had been several decisions
/kvhich held that Syrians were eligible to naturalization.
S
h
— NAJOUR CASE —
IN RE NAJOUR (Circuit Court, Northern District of
Georgia, Dec. 1st, 1909,174 Fed Rep. 735), the question had
arisen on the application of Costa George Najour, who came
rom Mt. Lebanon, near Beirut, and Newman, District Judge,
j answering the objection of the Assistant United States Attorty, which was based upon the fact that Najour was born within
e Dominions of Turkey and was theretofore a subject of the
ultan of Turkey, held that Syrians were "free white persons"
vithin the meaning of the Statute, and that the Statute referred
] o race rather than to color, and that fair or dark complexion
lid not control. He considered the Syrians as belonging to what
ie world recognized as the White race.
He overruled the objection and granted the application.
Turkey, to use the Judge's words, did not "cut any figure
1 the matter".
— MUDARRI CASE —
V
Then there was the case IN RE MUDARRI (Circuit
Court, Massachusetts, Jan. 8th, 1910, 176 Fed Rep. 465). Mudarri was born in Damascus and testified that he was a Syrian
by race. The United States Attorney on the hearing called attention to Mudarri's birthplace and presumed race, stating that
he would neither approve nor oppose naturalization, but would
[leave the allowance thereof to the judgment of the Court.
Lowell, Circuit Judge, after quoting the old writers on Ethnology, who, he said, substantially agreed that Syrians were to
be classed as of the "Caucasian" or "White" race, held that MuI larri was eligible, and was of the opinion that the question was
I
Vfree from considerable doubt". He said that Syrians had been
Jong admitted to citizenship and granted Mudarri's petition.
Thereafter the question again arose in the cause of IN RE
iLLIS (District Court, Oregon, July 11th, 1910, 179 Fed Rep.
1002).
�. —
,
—...
ai
6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
FEBRl
— ELLIS CASE —
Tom Ellis was a Syrian Maronite, who lived near Beirut,
and whom the Judge called a native of the Province of Palestine.
He must have come from Mt. Lebanon.
On the hearing of his application before Wolverton, District Judge, the issue of eligibility was raised. The Court held
that Ellis was of Semitic stock, "a markedly white type of the
race", citing Brinton's Races and People, pp. 99, 105, 132, 167}
Keane's World's People, pp. 307, 310, 335, 337} Beniker's
Races of Man, pp. 4, 23.
From these references, the United States Attorney admitted that Ellis "was a member of what is known as the 'White' or
'Caucasian' race".
The Naturalization officers of the United States did not
contend that Syrians did not belong to the "White" race. Accordingly the Court held that Ellis was a "free white person"
and was entitled to admission to citizenship.
As heretofore stated the question thereafter arose in the
Shahid case, (supra). After the decision in the Shahid case,
there was presented before the same Judge Smith in the District
Court of South Carolina, the application of George Dow for
naturalization. (IN RE DOW, 211 Fed. Rep. 486, February
18th, 1914).
that un
was not
n
was, to
white p
R26, 179
i
H
<
that th<
was wh
althoug
, ticular J
ed the
person':
Europe
Dc
the Stat
tion wa:
Tl
througr
ing in
' TRICI
April 1
— DOW CASE —
Dow was a native of Batroun, Syria, and had performed
all the necessary formalities and was, as the Judge said, "apparently from his intelligence and degree of information, of a
general character entitled to naturalization".
In color, he was said to be "darker than the usual person
of White European descent and of that tinge or sallow appearance which usually accompanies persons of descent other than
purely European".*
The Court referred to its discussion in the case of Shahid,
stating that the personal objections to the admission of Shahid
and upon which rejection was based in that decision, did not apply to Dow. If rejected, he could only be so upon the ground
* Such reasoning is superficial and unscientific. The hair, facial angle,
and cephalic index are very important anthropological considerations—in
addition to the color. Culture, and history should also be considered.
\
Tl
T.
Carolin
tions.
terestin,
Court r
the par
humilia
by the
| they co
\ "White
>
In
the Coi
an Asia
I as conte
utes. .'
m
�I
j
FEBRUARY, 1928
7
that under the Statute, by reason of his nativity and descent, he
was not entitled to be admitted as a citizen of this country.
The Judge went on to answer the question presented, which
was, to use his language, "is a Syrian of Asiatic birth, a free
white person within the meaning of the Statute approved March
26, 1790?"
-.
He held Syrians were not, giving as a basis of his reasoning
ithat the admission of a foreigner to the privilege of citizenship
was wholly a matter for the People of this Country, and that
although Dow may be a free white person, he was not that particular free white person to whom the Act of Congress had donated the privilege of citizenship, and that the term "free white
person" was restricted to persons of European habitancy and
European descent.
Dow, being an Asiatic, did not come within the terms of
the Statute in the Judge's opinion, and accordingly, his application was refused.
This decision raised considerable discussion and controversy
throughout the Syrian communities in the United States, result; ing in an application for a rehearing. (IN RE DOW, DIS' TRICT COURT, SOUTH CAROLINA, 213 Fed Rep. 355,
April 15, 1914).
— REHEARING, DOW CASE —
The various Syrian-American Associations were represented.
T. Moultrie Mordecai, an attorney of Charleston, South
Carolina, appeared for Dow and the Syrian-American Associations. The decision on the application for rehearing is most interesting, and, of course, was rendered by Judge Smith. The
\ Court referred to the deep feeling that had been manifested on
the part of the Syrians, of what had been termed by them the
humiliation inflicted upon them, and the mortification suffered
by the Syrians in America because of the previous decree which
| they construed as deciding that Syrians did not belong to the
"White Race".
In answer to this, he said that such was not the decision of
the Court, and that the decision was that a modern Syrian was
an Asiatic and was thus not included in the term "white persons"
as contained in Section 2169 of the United States Revised Statutes. In his opinion there was no justifiable reason for .either
�.
8
MBStt.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
FEBR
humiliation or mortification; the grant of the privilege of citizenship was purely discretionary with the People of the Country
and that such a privilege should be refused was no real ground
for humiliation because Congress had seen fit in his opinion to
exclude Syrians from a privilege that he said was denied to Chinese, Japanese, Malays, Mongols and American Indians.
It was not a question of a superior or inferior race and the
applicant was excluded only because he was an Asiatic and not a
European. Whether he belonged to the White Race or not was
not decided as not being pertinent to the issues. The arguments
presentel on Dow's behalf, he classified as follows:
spectio
standa
(1) That the term "White persons" in the Statute meant
-persons of the Caucasian Race" and not persons white
in color.
(2) That Dow was a Semitic or a member of one of the
Semitic nations.
I
(3) That the Semitic nations are all members of the
"Caucasian" or white race.
(4) That the matter had been settled in favor of the
Syrians as European Jews had been admitted without
question since the passage of the Statute and that the
Jews were one of the Semitic people.
(5) That the history and position of the Syrians,
their connection through all times with the peoples
to whom the Jewish and Christian peoples owed their
religion, made it inconceivable that the Statute could
be intended to exclude them.
In his attempt to answer these contentions, the Judge reasoned as follows:
The term "White" denoted color. Construed literally, the
Statute might be interpreted to mean such a person as under the
ocular inspection of the Court seemed to be white in color. Did
the standard of white to be adopted by the Judge apply to the
clear white of the Scandinavian or the swarthy olive or brown
of a person from the South of Portugal? Disease and other causes
sometimes cloud and darken the purest skin and lighten the darkest. Therefore, manifestly it would be impossible for a Judge
to determine whether an applicant is a white person by ocular in-
Cau
of t
�—
FEBRUARY, 1928
mmm
9
spection. Besides, no two Judges could agree upon the same
standards or grade of colorization. For these and other similar
reasons the strict "color test" was to be repudiated.
As a substitute some Courts had followed what may be termed the test of Race, viz: the words "white persons" being construed as meaning persons of the "White Race". He then went
on to answer the question, What is the White Race, or What
was known as the White Race in 1790? He said most of the
Courts that had attempted to deal with the question had referred
to the white race as the "Caucasian" Race, and then discussed the
term "Caucasian", citing BLUMENBACH, and quoting HUXLEY
on how Blumenbach came to use the designation "Caucasian".
This quotation is interesting and is as follows:
"0/ all the odd myths that have arisen in the scientific World, the "Caucasian mystery" invented quite
innocently by Blumenbach is the oldest. A Georgian
woman's skull was the handsomest in the collection.
Hence it became his model exemflar of human skulls,
from which all others might be regarded as derivations; and out of this by some strange intellectual hocus-pocus, grew up the notion that the Caucasian man
is the prototype (Adamic} man and his country the
primitive centre of our kind."
Judge Smith then went on to speak about the philological
development leading to the coining of the word "Aryan" taken
from the Vedic or old Sanscrit and Zend, and claimed that the
ethnological and historical absurdity of this development was
apparent.
Under this process of reasoning he reached the conclusion
that there was no such race as the "Caucasian Race" and that
therefore the whole argument based upon the Syrian being one
of the Caucasian race fell to the ground.
In his opinion, not only was the Syrian not a member of the
Caucasian Race but it did not appear to him that a Syrian was
of the Semitic race.
t
In this respect he referred to the history of Syria. Syria,
he said, generally included all that part of Asia lying East of the
Mediterranean Sea, South of the Amanus branch of the Taurus
range of mountains, West of the Arabian or Syrian desert and
North of the boundary of Egypt, — north of a point somewhat
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
over one hundred miles south of Jerusalem.
He then reasoned that an inhabitant of Syria was not necessarily Semitic, referring to the Hittites as possibly a Mongolic
Race* and subsequent thereto, the occupation of various parts of
Syria by people speaking a Semitic tongue, such as the Phoenicians and the Arameans (ancient Syrians) and the Hebrews, and
thereafter, the Persians and the Greeks, and the Mongolian invasion under the dynasty of Jenghis Khan, and finally the
Turksf. He then asks the question, — "Now of what race are
the Syrians?"$ and says that they no longer speak Hittite or
Phoenician or Syriac or Greek, that they spoke Arabic, but that
this did not show them to be Semites, for so do the Berbers and
Moors and Egyptians of North Africa. They did not speak
Aryan or Indo-European j they might be, in his opinion, a mixture of every race that had possessed the Country^ but of what
race, he could not say.
Mere habitancy in a Country by another race is not of itself proof of descent from that race. Thus, there was no known
ocular, microscopic, philological, psychological, or historic test
that could settle the question of the race of the modern Syrian;
but the applicant, and his associates, who appeared as representatives of the Syrians before the Court, were certainly Asiatics in
the sense that they were of Asian nativity or descent and were
not Europeans.
t;
He says that the so-called Semitic races may be superior
races to the so-called Indo-European; that their spiritual and intellectual legacy to the World may be of a higher value, but
that these circumstances did not justify their inclusion with the
latter as one branch to be styled "Caucasian".
As to the claim that the admission of the European Jew
to citizenship would include the admission of the Syrians, as
* The Hittite tribe, which became the focus around which the Hittite
empire developed, is now supposed to have been of Caucasian and not Mongolian race.
f Jenghis Khan and Tamerlane were invading conquerors who swept
over the land but did not colonize it any more than Attila colonized Europe
in the fifth century A. D. Likewise the Turkish blood never flowed in Syrian veins though the Turks were the masters of the land for four centuries.
t They are mixed—like all other peoples—but the basis is undoubtedly
Semitic. The Semitic Arab element was the last one to enter into their
make-up.
I
�__
FEBRUARY, /02£
I
//
both are Semites, he held that a Jew born in Asia was not entitled
to citizenship.
The argument that Christ appeared in the form of a Jew
and spoke the Semitic language, he said, was purely emotional
and without logical sequence.
He thus brushed aside all of the contentions made on Dow's
behalf and decided that "white persons" to the average citizen
of the United States in 1790, meant Europeans and only referred to Europeans, and if the applicant was a member of the peoples who inhabited Europe and therefore regarded as white, he
was entitled to naturalization. If he be otherwise, he was not,
and if he be an Asiatic, whether Chinese, Japanese, Hindoo, parsee, Persian, Mongol, Malay or Syrian, he was not entitled to
the privilege of citizenship or naturalization, no matter what his
fitness otherwise may be.
After having discussed these various questions at great
length, the Judge uses the following words:
"Whether he is of a White race, or whether the modern Syrians are racially or intrinsically free white 'personsy or whether any other Asiatic people is also of
white race is not decided as not pertinent to the issues
of the application. All that the Court decides is that
the applicant, not being of European nativity or descent, is not a white person within the meaning of the
naturalization statute."
In closing, Judge Smith hoped that an appeal would be
taken to settle this most vexed and difficult question.
(What the Syrians did, and what was the final outcome of
this struggle for recognition, will be discussed in the March issue
of THE SYRIAN WORLD.)
FROM THE ARABIC
A man is judged by his speech.
A man is hidden underneath his tongue.
A wise man's wealth is in his knowledge; a fool's wealth is
in his money.
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Earthquakes in Palestine and
Syria
By
DR. BAILEY WILLIS
of Stanford University, California.
A camel stepped. The sand shook. An anthill fell. And
the ants ran about, panic stricken, crying: "The End of the
World is come."
A mountain slipped. The rock trembled. A village crumbled. And men ran about, panic stricken, crying: "Our God
punishes us for our sins. The End of the World is come."
Men who reason not are but as ants. Their houses are
as of sand. Even as the camel passes on, so the Earth and
Moon and Sun roll on in their appointed courses under the Law.
The foolish perish. But the wise build not as of sand. Even
as the bird who weaves her nest firmly, they tie the walls together and live without fear of the trembling foundations.
Palestine and Syria have often been shaken by earthquakes.
The oldest records tell of the destruction of cities, of Sodom
and Gomorrah for instance. Only yesterday we experienced a
similar, though a very much lighter shock. Others have occurred from time to time at frequent intervals during the past 4000
years cf which history tells. What has been, will be. Earthquakes will startle our children and our children's children to
the remotest generation just as surely as the sun will rise and
set, the seasons will come in their turn, or eclipses will darken
the day.
An earthquake is not a strange phenomenon. It is not something unusual. In all the world there are about nine thousand
earthquakes every year. A very few of them shake down villages or one may destroy a city. More of them frighten people.
Most of them occur under the oceans, where we detect them
only because we have instruments that record the vibrations of
the globe.
�[
_____
]
FEBRUARY, 1928
I
f
I
.},
13
So an earthquake is a natural thing. But what is it then?
Has it any connection with volcanos? Yes, sometimes volcanic
explosions make the earth vibrate and so cause little earthquakes.
But no explosion, however violent, is powerful enough to cause
a great earthquake.
What force then is sufficiently powerful? Elastic energy
gathered in rock under very great pressure can be great enough.
We must think of a very large mass of solid rock, a mountain
block, or even a mass as large as all Palestine. We must imagine
the rock to be as elastic as steel. We must realize that it can be
pressed out of shape and may snap back like a steel spring.
To give a well known example: In 1906 northern California was shaken by a severe earthquake. A fissure appeared. It
was not an open crack. It was merely a long straight line in
the earth. It was traced along valleys, over mountains, along
the coast for a distance of 180 miles, nearly 300 kilometers,
or as far as from Beirut to Gaza and beyond. It was found that
trees which stood on the fissure had been split apart. Fences
which crossed it had been broken and the ends had slipped past
one another. They had moved as much as three meters and in
one place as much as seven meters from each other, horizontally.
But the fissure remained closed.
It was thus made evident that two great blocks of rock, at
least 300 kilometers long and probably 50 kilometers deep, had
slipped past each other. Before they slipped they had been
pressed tightly together. In trying to slip they had been pressed out of shape. And in slipping they had sprung back like an
enormous steel spring. Then the earth trembled.
How is it in Syria and Palestine? In the rocks of Lebanon
and Mt. Hermon, as in those about Jerusalem and in Transjordan you can find shells of creatures that lived in the sea. Thus
it is evident that the mountains have been pushed up out of the
sea. They not only have been pushed up, but are still being
pushed up. They are slipping up and up, a very little at a time.
But each time they slip, they snap, they tremble and there is an
earthquake.
Our earliest records of earthquakes in Syria and Palestine
are as ancient as four or five centuries B. C. In the last century the list of greater shocks includes for Syria: 1822 (Aleppo,
Antioch), 1823 (Antioch), 1830 (Aleppo), 1845, 1859, 187273 (Sueidije, Antioch, Aleppo, Beirut) j and for Palestine 1896
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
(Jerusalem, Sea of Gallilee, Haifa), 1900 (Jerusalem, Nazareth, Haifa), 1903 all Palestine and central Syria, 1927 (Ludd,
Ramleh, Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho, Es Salt, Amman).
These different shocks were not equally violent. Considering only the greater ones we may recognize one a century, approximately, and we should expect at least that number of very
severe ones. The minor shocks which have been recorded have,
however, all of them thrown down some houses and have endangered life and property. They may occur once of twice in
the average life of a man. He should guard himself and his
family against them. If he will not, then the administration
should require him to do so. For the danger of one is the danger of all and the public who walk in the street may be crushed
if a wall falls, as the family in the house.
How can we be safe in an earthquake is a question often
asked. The answer is: Live in a safe house. An earthquake
is not dangerous — by itself. It does not hurt a man if the
ground only trembles under his feet. Let him then curse the
man who built the wall.
If that were done 90 per cent, of the people of Syria and
Palestine would be cursing the builders of their houses, for ninety per cent, of the houses are so built that they will fall if struck
by a strong earthquake.
Do you live in a house whose walls consist of rounded or
irregular stones laid in dried mud? If so the walls are very
weak because the mud does not hold the stones firmly together.
When the earth shakes the mud cracks and the stones fall in a
pile inside the house or in the street.
Do you live under a native dome-shaped roof of stones
held in mud? Is there a thick pile of mud, stones and rubbish
over the dome? Then the dome is pushing out sidewise against
the walls. When the earth shakes the weight of the dome will
push the wall out and the dome will fall on your head, while
the wall falls in the street.
Is your dwelling a handsome one with outer and inner
walls of dressed stone, cut into closely fitting blocks, and is the
wall thick. Then you live in a sham house that looks strong
and is not. The smooth facing-stones rest on a sharp edge and
are bedded in dried mud. The space between them is filled
with mud and rubbish. The wall is no stronger than the mud
and you can crumble the mud in your fingers. How can it hold
�FEBRUARY, 1928
15
the weight of the stones when the structure is shaken violently
to and fro with the ground?
Do these weak walls support the floor beams and the roof?
Then the added weight increases the danger of their being crushed and shaken to pieces. How many have died under falling
floors?
Does your house consist of thin walls of cut stone laid up
with mud for cement? Then it is no stronger, if as strong, as
if the stones were laid up closely without the mud. For mud
does not cement stones. It itself is too weak and it does not cling
to them strongly. You think you live in a firmly cemented structure, but an earthquake is likely to show you that it is a pile of
loose blocks.
The great majority of the people of the villages and cities
of Syria and Palestine must answer "Yes" to these questions.
They do live in the buildings so described. What then is to be
done?
Left to themselves the great majority of the population
will do nothing. The careless owner of a house, whether he be
resident or landlord, will take a chance. He thinks the earthquake may not come or that it may not strike his village. The
years pass as the inevitable shock gathers force to strike. When
it does strike the careless man is ruined.
The careful man, be he resident or landlord of a house,
will wish to protect his property and the lives of those who inhabit it. He will examine it to ascertain how it is built. It may
be necessary to cut into the walls. He will consider what weight
the foundations bear and what the walls carry. He will examine the roof, whether it be a dome of stone, or a, truss of wood
or steel. Does it push sidewise?
Having found where the weakness is he will devise means
of strengthening it.
In general the parts of a building need to be tied together.
This is most cheaply and best accomplished with iron rods.
To tie the facing stones on opposite sides of a thick wall
together put short iron bars through the wall at intervals of 3 to
Sit. apart. Put a large washer on each end of the bar and press
it tightly against the wall with a screw nut. Conceal these with
a layer of lime stucco, if necessary.
To tie the opposite walls of a house together run iron bars
through the opposite walls clear through the structure from out-
�'".'
16
""'""'""
"'il
^s^w"
THE SYRIAN WORLD
side to outside and secure them with washers and nuts. These
should be placed at each floor level and 5 to 8 ft. apart.
The channel irons so commonly employed as floor beams
can be used as ties, by boring a hole at the end of each beam and
running a rod through the successive holes from end to end of
the building.
A reinforced concrete course is sometimes placed in a wall,
either as a foundation or as a collar to support the second story.
As a foundation it is excellent. As a collar it does not add as
much to the strength as numerous crossties will, but if combined
with them it is an additional element of safety.
Where rods cannot well be run through a building iron
bands may be placed around it. A band should bend continuously round each corner and the ends of each of four sections should
meet on the sides where they may be drawn together with screws
and nuts. The object is to bind the structure firmly together.
There are one or two commonplace rules of masonry construction which have been forgotten, if they ever were practiced
in Syria and Palestine. When the Pharaoh required the Israelites to make bricks without straw, they rebelled. When a mason is required to lay stone without water, he should rebel. Mortar adheres and sets firmly on a wet stone. Mortar is wasted
on a dry stone for it does not adhere to it. The stone should
be soaked till the water penetrates quarter of an inch.
In good masonry it is always the rule to bond or tie the
whole mass together by breaking joints and by inserting long
stones or headers, which extend through the full thickness of
the wall. This practice should be rigidly adhered to.
To resist an earthquake a masonry wall should be as nearly
monolithic as possible j that is, though it be built of many stones
they should be so firmly cemented that they constitute a single
mass, equally strong everywhere. This is accomplished when
the cement or mortar is as strong as the stone and adheres to
them with as strong a bond. To secure the latter the stones must
be wet. To make mortar as strong as the stone it should consist
of freshly burned (not'airslaked) lime and sharp sand. It should
be no thicker between the stones than is necessary to bed them
firmly. Where stronger mortar is desired it can best be secured
by mixing the lime with one third its volume of cement.
These practical suggestions may help some to improve the
conditions of their old houses or to build more safely. They
�THE SWORD OF EMIR BASHIR
One of the most valuable heirlooms of the Shehab family, a gift to Emir Bashir from Napoleon Bonaparte, now in America.
nm —i
��1
I!
I
1\
FEBRUARY, 1928
17
cannot, however, replace the advice of competent engineers, who
may plan the details of any actual structure.
The problem is so large and its proper execution so important that.it should be made the object of studied, official regulation and rigid supervision.
"Safety first" should be the guiding principle.
The Egyptian triolets
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Not far from the mines where the turquoise
Are found in the earth below,
'Mid the mosses that crown the wildwood,
The fairest violets grow.
A legend is told by the natives
Of how in the days gone by,
A maid left the queen's marble palace,
In the vale to live or die.
She wore on her bosom a lotos,
Fresh from the breast of the Nile,
That seemed to look up her beauty,
And say with a gentle smile,
"Where are you going sweet Seba?"
But she never answered a word,
As she jrouneyed on through the valley.
As swift as a frightened bird.
She died—and out from her beauty,
A bed of rich violets grew;
And deep in the earth beneath her
The turquoise had found its blue.
And forever, and ever and ever,
The violets will cast their bloom,
To veil from the land cf mysteries,
The darkness of Death and gloom!
. $m
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
18
The Sword of Emir Bashir
A Syrian writer's account of how the ruling Prince of Mt. Lebanon came
into possession of the historic sword of Napoleon the Great.
The interesting history of the sword of Emir Bashir Shehab,
the ruling Prince of Mt. Lebanon, goes back to a day in the 18th
century when an officer of the Austrian army named Woermzer
was visiting in Russia and there met an only daughter of a Russian general famed all over the land for her beauty and accomplishments. Due to the rank and the distinguished family of
the Austrian officer, the parents of the Russian beauty hesitated
not at giving their consent to the marriage.
The father of the bride wanted to make his gift to his sonin-law both unique and precious. In the presence of the throng
of distinguished guests at the wedding ceremony he approached
the bridegroom and, holding a sword in his extended hand, gave
utterance to the following words:
"Not a single present could I think of making thee better
than this. Here is a sword that was produced by the master
craftsmen of Russia in the fifteenth century. On one side of the
blade is engraved the picture of the Holy Virgin, and on the
other the picture of the Holy Cross, together with some prayers
which if the owner of the sword recites before engaging in battle,
his victory over his adversary will be assured. Take thee now this
sword, my friend, and may thou carry it to honor and glory and
may the God our Father protect thee from all injury and harm."
The officer took the sword from the hand of his father-inlaw, kissed it reverently, then kissed his bride passionately, and
exclaimed in a voice almost choked with emotion:
"I swear by this sword that never shall I disobey your
wishes, dear father. You shall have occasion to hear of my
deeds while in possession of this sword, but if fortune should
forsake me and I find myself forced to surrender it, I swear by
my faith and by my military honor that never shall I surrender
it but to one who would surpass me in valor and would have
won more favors with the God of war and peace."
*
*
*
*
The year 1797 was a year of bloody wars in which the reac-
Ml
�FEBRUARY, 1928
19
tionary forces of Europe banded together to stem the tide of
danger arising from the French Revolution.
The French army, under the able leadership of Gen. Bonaparte, was not slow in taking tte offensive and carrying the war
to the country of the enemy. Very soon Napoleon had crossed
the Alps and crushed the opposing Austrian army and was at
the gates of the fortified city of "Mantou". It was a spirited
attack and a most determined defense, but the garrison had to
surrender finally to an overwhelming force.
The commander of the Austrian garrison was none other
than the husband of the Russian beauty and the owner of the
historic sword. He had been promoted to the rank of general
and was entrusted by his sovereign with the defense of Mantou.
He sent his priceless sword to the French general Bonaparte
with the following note:
"I have sworn not to surrender this sword but to one who
would surpass me in valor and would have won more favor with
the god of war and peace. Now I have found you to be the man
favored by destiny to vanquish me. Take then my sword and
enter the city."
The year 1799 was another year of bloody wars in which
the battlefield was shifted from the West to the East. Bonaparte, had invaded Egypt with his victorious army, and with that
country as a base overran Palestine and Syria in the hope of establishing an Arab empire over which he would be the supreme
ruler.
But ever-watchful England was closely following the movements of the young French General. She feared his entry into
Syria and took measures to stem the tide of his march. What
she did was to form an alliance with the powerful governor of
Acca (St. John d'Acre), Ahmed El-Jazzar, and place her fleet
and all her other military resources at his disposal.
Napoleon found himself, in consequence, sorely pressed for
a native ally. He searched the field and found that the mountain lion, Emir Bashir Shehab of Lebanon, was the nearest and
bravest. He therefore sent a proposal of alliance to the Emir
of Lebanon and made him a gift of a sword. With the sword
he sent the accompanying note:
"This is the sword which the commander of the Austrian
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
garrison of the fortified city of Mantou surrendered to me at the
time I attacked the city. Take it now, O Prince of the Mountain, as a gift from me in token, of loyalty and friendship. But
make haste to come to my assistance in the siege of Acca, as immediately we take the city you shall be proclaimed king of Lebanon »
The shrewd Lebanese prince, however, promised to enter
an alliance with the great Napoleon only after the latter had
taken the city of Acca. This did not happen and Napoleon had
to retrace his steps to Egypt after having experienced for the
first time the bitter taste of defeat.
Thirty years later the plains of Palestine were overrun by
an invincible army which crossed into the country from Egypt.
The commander of this army was Ibrahim Pasha, son of the
Lord of Egypt, Mohammed Ali the Great, who wished at this
later period to reenact the role in which the great Napoleon
had failed.
No sooner the Egyptian commander took Gazza than he
wrote to his friend Emir Bashir of Mt. Lebanon to be ready to
join him on the march to Damascus. The Emir had entered
into a secret alliance with the Egyptian ruler to join forces at
the proper opportunity which was now at hand. The battle of
Al-Mazza, which preceded the fall of Damascus, found him at
the head of his troops fighting side by side with the invading
Egyptians. The Emir wielded the historic sword of Napoleon
throughout the battle.
Following the victory, Emir Bashir called to him his son
Khalil and entrusted to him the custody of the sword in the
following words:
"This sword, a gift of the great Napoleon, is my most cherished treasure. I have carried it so far to victory but feel that
its mission is not yet done. Take it now as an insignia of your
generalship over my army and fight with it at the side of our
allies until the final victory. This sword is fit only for heroes
and none but heroes have carried it so far."
Emir Khalil carried out the bidding of his father and bore
the sword to victory throughout the battles that followed both
in Syria and Anatolia.
1
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21
Books and Authors
EUROPEAN GREED IN THE EAST
l
\
L'Islam & L'Asie devant I'lmperialisme, by Eugene Jung, 314
pp. Marpon & Cie, Paris, 15 fr.
By
I
U\
'1
SIMONE FRANCE
Inevitably, such a title as "Islam and Asia in the face of
Imperialism" summons to the mind a definite set of thoughts:
in the one hand, the perfect innocence, the passive martyrdom,
the intense suffering of Asiatic races and, on the other hand, the
persistent arrogance and boundless greed of imperialistic European nal'ons. Perhaps it is not doing justice to the profoundly
serious work of M. Jung to delineate as such the tendencies and
characteristics of those peoples of Europe, the Near and Far
Easts which M. Jung presents to us with an abundance of information and a wealth of documents that is enlightening and seemingly convincing. M. Jung, a former Vice-Resident of France
in Tonkin, is well qualified to obtain and present first hand information. Through his intimate contact and associations, he is
able to survey events from a point of vantage that gives him unusual perspective into the psychology of those peoples and the
motived that actuate them. These motives M. Jung ably analyzes
and interprets. But—for there is a but,—while it is generally
recognized that some methods and policies as practiced by the
countries M. Jung bears in mind,—namely France and England,
—should be openly criticised and rigorously condemned, it should
be as generously conceded that other methods and policies have
proved beneficial and valuable, and should be brought as forcibly
into the limelight of public knowledge, for they form the real
contribution of the European nations toward Asia.
Take Syria, for instance. The author wilfully points out the
mistakes committed by the French as evidenced by the actions of
politicians who went to Syria with a total misconceptioa of what
Syria was, who the Syrians were, what the Syrians wanted and
what chances and possibilities there were to bring about a close
co-operation between the mandatory power and the mandated
territory. Also what sort of approach would be more conducive
to a harmonious exchange of viewpoints, to bring about with the
�-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
22
least possible friction efficiency, progress and good-will in the
administration of the mandate in Syria. Very well, mistakes were
perpetrated, errors were made in Syria as the result of officials
misinterpreting their duties and responsibilities: these were the
politicians. But if, unfortunately, some functionaries were sent
to Syria who acted more like petty politicians than responsible
administrators, on the other hand there has been taking place in
/
Syria a tremendous piece of reconstruction, about which little is
ever being said. This consists of roads, waterworks, schools, improvements of agricultural conditions, etc., which is tangible evidence of the will of a mandatory power to conscientiously perform its duties and discharge its obligations. The task of the
historian is to show the two aspects of every situation that his
work may be impartially informative. The constructive aspect
of the French mandate in Syria, however, finds little recognition
in the otherwise valuable and sound book of M. Jung on Islam
and this naturally detracts somewhat from the feeling of the
positiveness of knowledge one derives from 'this scholarly work.
The general idea underlying M. Jung's work is that the
Nations of the East are getting together, not for aggression but
for defense. Religions also are treated, particularly Islam, which
has spread to all parts of the world and could, if harm were
done to it, bring to all great troubles.
M. Jung predicts the rapid renaissance of the Arab World.
He points out the erroneous point of view which attributes to
the Latins scientific, intellectual and moral superiority, whereas
powerful civilizations existed before the Latins which possessed
extraordinary political and social organizations.
Referring1 to the League of Nations, M. Jung expresses the
belief that it is an organization for the protection of the strong
at the expense of the weak.
He does not hesitate to take issue with the English who have
assumed protection of the French in Egypt, a country "where
France is at home by virtue of sentiment, culture and language.
The mission of Ibn Saoud is very well marked for him, i. e.y
the renovation of the Arab World by exploiting all the natural
resources of Arabia,—even were it necessary to call on European
help.
. .
• ,
T7
When it comes to Zionism, M. Jung's opinion is that England will, little by little, forsake the Zionists because it is her
aim and interest to court the friendship of the Arabs. The har-
I
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�FEBRUARY, 1928
m
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23
monious co-operation of the two Semitic races, Arabs and Jews,
would be a real menace to the United Kingdom for it would
bring the development of Arab countries with the financial assistance of the Jewry of the world resulting in political influence
in all capitals due to the Jews' influence.
Mustapha Kemal is decided, according to M. Jung, to exploit
the resources of Turkey, which will give him a chance to
\
escape the clutch of international finance.
To the North of Mosul, a country which remained in the
hands of the Turks, are located rich oil fields. Italy is negotiating for their exploitation, but Turkey is taking all necessary precautions to remain complete master of her wealth.
Though secular, the Turkish Republic, while keeping an
eye on Moslem affairs, is in close relations with Buddhism, and
though accepting Western customs and methods, is remaining in
intimate touch with Asia.
Persia, one of the oldest known kingdoms, has accepted the
railroad project between Teheran and Trebizond which constitutes a serious check to the commercial expansion and economic
homogeny of England. Curiously enough, Persia, the cradle of
the Aryan race, is the only country represented at the League of
Nations belonging to the Islamic world, which counts 400 million souls. A departure from the policy adopted in these last
years in Persia is evidenced by the fact that the American Administrator of the Persian Finance Ministry and some of the assistants have been replaced by German and Swiss advisers.
M. Jung has no kind word for the Soviets whom he openly
accuses of ceaselessly planning worldwide disintegration.
After discussing China, Japan and Russia at some length,
M. Jung then takes up the subject of Syria in the last chapter
of his book. He refers particularly to that period beginning with
1
May, 1926. France, as a great Mediterranean and Islamic Power,
has political and economic interests which require her to have
solid foothold in the Near East, and for these considerations
Syria presents alluring advantages. France, according to M.
Jung, minimized these advantages and undermined her prestige
when she first ceded to Turkey, on two occasions, Syrian territory. Further, it is pointed out, France made the mistake of
insisting on creating a Bank of Issue and imposing on, Syria a depreciated currency similar to hers, thereby draining the gold of
the country and ruining it.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
The keynote of M. Jung is in his advice to France to better
her position in Syria by sending to the country "More Administrators and Fewer Politicians."
GLIMPSES OF LIFE IN SYRIA
Sept Histoires dq Syrie, by Alice Poulleau, 187 pp., 10 fr.
gene Figuiere, Paris.
Eu-
Not all Frenchmen who go to Syria on literary quests return
with the bizarre and offensive. There are many instances where
French writers have treated Syrian themes in the most understanding and sympathetic spirit. They saw with the eyes of
friendship and wrote with the spirit of appreciation. And these
writers, although not always dealing with political subjects, go
far towards creating a true basis of understanding between the
Syrians and the French.
Mile. Alice Poulleau is one of those French authors who
see the beauty and the romance in Syrian life and bring to the
treatment of their subject the comprehension of the true artist.
In her book she gives seven charming stories dealing mostly with
simple, everyday phases of life in Syria, but treated in a manner
that brings out the charm that only the friend among foreigners
can perceive. The scenes are laid not in one city or section of
the country but cover a large area, permitting the reader to form
an idea of life and customs as they exist in different localities.
We have the permission of the author to translate and publish some of these stories which we promise the readers of THE
SYRIAN WORLD to do in the early future.
THE SYRIAN LITTLE FLOWER
Life of Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified, by Rev. Peter F. Sfeir,
Buffalo, N. Y., 48 pp.
Only a few months ago the three Syrian Maronite brothers
Massabiki, who met their martyrdom in Damascus during the
massacres of 1860, were beatified by the Catholic Church. Now
we are in receipt of a little book by the Rev. Peter F. Sfeir, a
Maronite missionary of Buffalo, N. Y., on the "Life of Sister
Mary of Jesus Crucified" whom we are told in the introduction
by the Rev. George A. Crimmen, chaplain of the Carmel of
I
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FEBRUARY, 1928
25
Buffalo "May be expected very soon to be elevated to the honor
of beatification." "The Sacred Congregation of the Rites," we
are informed, "has unanimously decided that in the writings of
the Carmelite Sister, Mary Baouardi, 'The Syrian Little Flower', nothing has been found contrary to the doctrine of the Holy
Church, and that nothing in her life would oppose beatification.
This decision has been approved by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI,
in his decree of the 18th of last May."
The book sets forth in detail the life of this Little Flower
of Syria comparing her favorably to her sister saint the French
Little Flower of Lisieux and gives withal the impression that
soon another Syrian will be raised to the eminence of beatification by the Catholic Church.
A BOOK OF RELIGION
Studies in the Greek Orthodox Church, by Very Rev. Anthony
Bashir, 342 pp.
The campaign to educate the Syrian-American generation
in the traditions, customs and religions of their ancestors seems
to have gained considerable momentum during the last two
years. THE SYRIAN WORLD was undertaken for the purpose
and in the manner already familiar to its readers. Also last year
there was launched by the Most Rev. Aftimius Ofeish, Greek
Orthodox Archbishop of Brooklyn, a monthly magazine in English, the Orthodox Catholic Review, for the declared purpose of
educating the Orthodox youth in America in their mother religion. Due to the inability of the young generation to understand, and to a certain extent, sympathize with their parents' outlook on religious matters, a publication of such a nature was
deemed imperative. And now we have before us a pretentious
book by the Very Rev. Archimandrite Anthony Bashir whose
title, "Studies in the Greek Orthodox Church", plainly indicates
its object. It, is written in English for the benefit of the young
Syrians of the Orthodox faith who are losing touch with their
mother church, and is dedicated by the author to them.
The book is in three parts,, the first dealing with the history
and the several divisions of the Church, the second with the
services and rituals as practiced in this Eastern church, while the
third is a catechism of the faith.
The present address of the author is 442 North 5th St.,
Terre Haute, Ind.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
. Wit, Wisdom and Humor
Culled from Books of Arabic Literature.
THE WAY OF ALL MORTALS
/
Baha' Ud-Deen relates the following about the fool of one
of the Arab villages which he visited:
"This fool," he says, "was an inoffensive sort of creature
who had a special fondness for visiting the graveyard.
"The inhabitants of the village, realizing his mental limitations and eccentricities, paid little attention to his movements.
"One day a stranger visited the town and was surprised to
learn that the Fool spent several hours every day seemingly
communing with the dead. He waited for him to return and
asked him:
"'Whence returnest thou?'
" 'From the camping grounds of a caravan,' he replied.
" 'And what manner of conversation didst thou have with
them?' asked the stranger.
" £I asked them,' replied the Fool, 'When will you depart,'
and they replied, 'Only when you come to join us'"
A SIMPLE PROCESS
A man was once overheard to ask, "Where are they who
renounce the world and seek the hereafter?" and one of his
hearers replied: "O man, simply reverse the order and lay thy
hands on whomsoever thou wishest."
A QUICK TRANSFORMATION
When Arabia was under the domination of the Persians,
Ibn Zorara, an Arab chieftain, sent his chamberlain on a mission
to the court of the great Persian monarch Kisra.
Presenting himself at court, the Arab messenger sent word
to the King that he was but a simple Arab seeking the boon of
JMHHMMHMMK"
�Mj
27
FEBRUARY, 1928
seeing him. He was admitted, and when the King asked him
who he was he replied: "I am the Lord of the Arabs."
"But," protested Kisra, "only a while ago you stated that
you were but a simple Arab,"
"True," replied the messenger. "Such was my status at
that time, but since the King has granted me the boon of an
audience I have become Lord of my race."
The Persian King ordered that the Arab be given his mouthful of pearls.
THE VALUE OF RELATIONSHIP
II
I
An Arab presented himself at the court of Mu'awiyah in
Damascus and said to the chamberlain:
"Tell the Caliph that his brother, of his own father and
mother, wishes to see him."
The chamberlain carried the message and Mu'awiyah was
much surprised, saying that he had no knowledge of the existence of any such close kin to him, but he ordered him admitted.
Once in the presence of the Caliph, Mu'awiyah asked the
man: "What is the degree of your relationship to me?"
And the man replied: "I am your brother by our original
father and mother, Adam and Eve."
"Very well," said Mu'awiyah, "I shall order the custodian
of the treasury to give you a dirham."
"Is this the extent of your munificence to your brother?"
exclaimed the man in surprise.
And Mu'awiyah replied: "My dear brother, if I were to
distribute my wealth equitably among all my relatives who are
descendants of Adam and Eve, you would not receive even this
much."
DARING!
A man was brought before a sultan for a crime he had
committed, and the sultan asked him: "In what manner dare
you face me?" and the culprit replied: "In the same manner I
shall dare face Allah, against Whom I have sinned more grievously, and Whose punishment is infinitely more severe."
The sultan pardoned him.
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
i
BEYOND NUMBER
A fool was asked: "Will you count the fools you know?"
And he replied: "This would be too long a task, but I can
easily count those who are not fools."
THE COVETED REFRAIN
Abou 'l-'Atahiah, a famous Arab poet, stopped at a bookshop and was engaged in reading an anthology of selections from
the works of the foremost contemporary poets of his time, when
he came across a single verse which he admired exceedingly and
repeated several times. It ran thus:
II
%
"Man's soul will not from evil ways refrain
Unless restraint come from within itself."
Abou 'l-'Atahiah asked to whom this verse belonged, and
when informed that it was Abu '1-Nawas', he exclaimed:
"Would that it were mine for half of all my poetry!"
THE STIPULATION
Upon Khakan, a vizier of the Caliph Al-Mu'tassim, being
taken sick, the Caliph wished to prove his great solicitude for
him and went in person to visit him.
Khakan had a bright son by the name of Al-Fathu, and the
Caliph, wishing to engage him in conversation, asked him:
"Which is the better, my house or that of your father?"
The boy replied: "So long as the Prince of the Faithful is
in my father's house it is the better of the two."
ON CAUTION
Said an Arab: Beware of belittling your adversary, for if
you conquer him you will receive no praise, and if he conquer
you you will have no excuse. One who is weak and cautious is
nearer to safety than he who is strong and reckless. Your enemy, no matter how weak, may find a weak spot in you while unguarded and thrust a mortal blow.
i
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FEBRUARY, 1928
29
"Anna Ascends"
By HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS ORIGINALLY
PLAYED ON THE NEW YORK STAGE.
\
1
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING ACTS
Gents, a high-bred American, is discovered in the restaurant of Said
Coury, a congenial Syrian whose true Americanism is far more than his
poor English indicates. The waitress, Anna, is a hard working, honest
girl who continually strives to learn and always carries a dictionary. Gents
takes interest in her and helps her learn better English. Two under-world
characters, Bunch and Beauty, have designs on Anna and plan to force
her into disreputable traffic. They enter the restaurant and Bunch encircles Anna's waist with his arm and moves his hand in a familiar and
disgusting manner to her breast. She bites him viciously and he hurls
curses at her. Gents springs to her defense and forces an apology from
the detractor. Bunch and Beauty leave threatening Anna with revenge.
Two finely dressed American young women, Nell and Bess, sister and fiancee of Howard (Gents), enter the restaurant and are surprised at Howard
frequenting such a haunt. They disdain Anna and Howard proceeds to
prove to them that she is a better American than they are. Howard
leaves with the visitors and presently Rizzo, the cop, enters and announces
that he is looking for Bunch for a recent theft of a shawl. Rizzo departs
and is soon followed by Said, the proprietor, leaving Anna in the restaurant alone. Bunch enters and offers the stolen shawl to Anna who spurns
him and, as he proceeds to use force, she stabs him. Leaving him for
dead, she flees the place in the enveloping darkness of the night.
In an elaborately furnished office of a large publishing house in uptown New York, the former secretary of Mr. Fisk, head of the firm, is
about to get married and is inducting her successor, Miss Adams, in her
duties Miss Adams speaks perfect English but with a slight foreign accent Fisk examines her credentials and discovers that in a short time
she made several Changes. She explains that in some cases she was discharged in others, left of her own will, but always for one reason, namely that of biting men who attempted to kiss her. She relates a personal
story similar in every respect to a newly published book which proved an
instant best-seller and Fisk's suspicions are aroused as to her identity.
Miss Adams parries with him on the question and he resolves to take
other means of satisfying his curiosity. In the meantime Howard, son of
Fisk returns from an extended trip and meets Anna but does not recognize her and his "interest" in her is evident from the start.
Through a clever piece of detective work Fisk discovers that Miss
Adams is the author of the book which had created a literary sensation,
and in a confidential conversation with her prevails on her to reveal her
�II!
' III. Ill
30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
1
n
identity. He also informs her that she had become rich on her royalties.
Howard returns and tries hard to recall where he had met Miss Adams before, but she is relieved that he does not recognize her as the Syrian waitress in the Washington St. restaurant. He makes a date to see her the
next day. Meanwhile Howard's sister and fiancee return and all leave together. Upon being left alone Anna calls the office boy William and has
him enact an old scene she had with Howard by having him spell the word
affection and pronounce it LOVE. Anna then gives the boy the promised
kiss and is happy at the thought that Howard will come back.
The next scene is the summer home of the Fisks at Irvington-on-theHudson, Fisk endeavors to induce Anna to marry Howard, but Anna replies
that although she has realized her happiness in Howard she cannot take
it for reasons she cannot explain. Anna is later alone with Howard who
presses his suit to the point Where Anna, to escape being forced to give up
her secret, tells Howard she does not love him. Nell breaks in and insinuates that Anna could not dress so expensively on the meager salary of a
secretary. Howard appeals to his father who dispells any suspicion directed to Anna and counsels his son to have patience as Anna will surely accept
him at the proper time. Soon after, Anna finds herself alone in the room
with Nell who has designs on Howard, and during the verbal encounter
that ensues Nell accuses Anna of aspiring to be a lady and the latter retorts that she is jealous. Howard and his sister enter and the latter expresses apprehension over the safety of her presents and has her brother
promise to sleep in the room where they are kept. William, the office boy,
arrives with a case of jewels which Fisk commits to a drawer of a desk
while Bunch watches. Later when apparently everyone had left Bunch enters
the room and forces open the desk to steal the! necklace, not noticing Anna
who was reclining in a large chair. Anna recognizes Bunch as the thug who
had attacked her in the Syrian restaurant and stalls him by conversation
until Howard arrives and the thief is captured. It is then that Anna experiences unbounded relief and promises Howard to give him an answer
to hia question the following day.
The scene is then shifted to Khoury's restaurant in Washington St.,
where Anna first met Howard. Beauty Tanner, Bunch's pal, has now completely reformed and is working for Khoury. Rizzo the cop gives out the
news that Bunch was caught red-handed in a new theft and is bound to
be sent to Sing Sing for life. Anna makes her appearance and her former
employer is overjoyed. She discloses to him a scheme whereby she would
again assume her former garb of waitress while everyone in the restaurant would have left. In this well planned setting she awaits the arrival
of Howard.
ACT FOUR — II.
(Beauty returns and enters with a rush.)
SAID — Back so soon?
BEAUTY — Yes. The Sarg was out to lunch, but I'll go
back and find out about Bunch later.
SAID — No, Beauty. You do one of two things. Either*
I'ri
�FEBRUARY, 1928
N
t'
31
you go to the ball game or you get keeled.
BEAUTY — What?
SAID — Take your choice — Ball game or die.
BEAUTY — Say, what's eating you?
SAID — Ain't I said it?
BEAUTY — You give me half holiday? What for?
SAID — Der is a ball game and der is a undertaker, yas?
BEAUTY — Ball game for mine. I ain't ready for Amen
and flowers. But what's the idea?
SAID — You gots me, Beauty. I don't know. But I can
tell you one thing. My Anna's back.
BEAUTY — Oh, I see, I'm fired and you want to let me
down easy.
SAID — I bet I knock you goal wid das Turkish pipe. I
naver fire you.
BEAUTY — Then what the
SAID — You go to das ball gamq or you go to das hell, you
tak your peek.
BEAUTY — So Anna's back, and we were only talking about
her a moment ago. Does she know that Bunch Derry
SAID — I guess she know everything. Anna's a smart girl.
BEAUTY — How does she look?
SAID — Jas lak A-merican lady. Reech lady.
BEAUTY — Well I ain't surprised. We all gotter go forward, or go to jail, one or the other.
SAID — Yas, but you gotter go to das ball game, you remember?
BEAUTY — Plenty of time. Plenty of time.
I've got a
whole hour and a half yet.
SAID — (Allen and Nell appear at steps.) Dar ees no rush
now until supper — no customers, nothing. (Allen and Nell
descend steps.)
BEAUTY — (Grabbing apron and coat.) Ain't there? Here's
a couple now. Swell ones. (Said grabs coat and apron from
him.)
SAID — Go see Heine Zimm strikes out. I tak care of das
customers. (Allen and Nell Enter.)
NELL — Is this the abode of Mr. Said Coury?
SAID —' No, Mam, dis is my store.
ALLEN — But you live here, too, do you not? (Beauty goes
out.)
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
— Yas, sir.
NELL — I knew it. I remember the place well, though I
was only here once with Bess, over three years ago. We came
here looking for Howard. (To Said.) Three years ago you had
a waitress here who spent her time reading a dictionary. Do
you remember her?
SAID — (Looking up stairs.) Oh, yas, Mees, I remember
her.
NELL — The girl who knew the "Star Spangled Banner".
SAID — Yas, das Anna.
NELL — What became of her?
SAID — She here.
NELL — Still here?
ALLEN — There, I told you that you were mistaken.
SAID — Yas, Mees, still here.
ALLEN — Of course.
NELL — I tell you that I recognized her immediately,
when she uttered that terrible profanity last night. It's the same
girl, I tell you.
ALLEN — You only saw her once, for two minutes. Now
if Howard had
NELL — Howard? He is too blind to remember anything.
ALLEN — Oh, well, what is the difference?
SAID — You wish to see das Anna?
NELL — Yes. (Anna unseen by the others appears at door
up stairs, recognizes the group and exits hastily.)
ALLEN — We must hurry if you wish to get to that matinee.
NELL — I only wish to see the girl and make sure.
SAID — I calls her.
(Goes up to steps.) Anna, der ees a
gentlemans and some one else to sees you.
ANNA — (Off left.) Den I come, now.
SAID — Yas.
ANNA — (Coming down.) You hear, Mees, she come, now.
NELL — Thank you. (Anna enters. She has on the conventional oriental veil, which she did not have when she came in
on the group on her previous entrance. Of course she has changed to her dress of the first act.)
SAID — Anna, come here, das lady wants to see you.
ANNA — (Coming down.) Das lady?
NELL — Yes. Remove your veil, please.
SAID
�THE FIRST AND LAST SCENE
In the Syrian restaurant in Washington St., Howard first met Anna
as an illeterate waitress. After but a few years they met again when
she had achieved high literary fame. The climax is a happy marriage.
�MASONRY IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA
Type of domed buildings in Syria and Palestine described in Dr. Baily
Willis' article and declared by him to be veritable death traps
in earthquakes.
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S3
ANNA — I can doos das.
NELL — Why, pray?
ANNA — I gets married tomorrow sure.
SAID — (Scenting that Anna does not wish
to be recognised.)
Das Oriental custom. Bride hide face 'till trouble is over.
ALLEN — Trouble?
SAID — Weddings, I means. Same things.
ANNA — You want me, Mees?
NELL — I do not know just what to
ALLEN — Come on to the matinee. For God's sake look
at it. Do you see anything in her to
NELL — As long as she is still here, I may be mistaken.
But I could have sworn last night
SAID — Oh, she still here.
ANNA — Yas, I here 'till I gets married. Das all, Mees.
ALLEN — Let's go to that matinee. The music may help
my head.
NELL — A little of the dog that bit you would do you more
good than music. Behave yourself and you would not have a
headache.
ANNA — Das young gentlemans got achehead? I feex das.
(To Said.) Arrac, Boss mans.
SAID — (Getting bottle and pouring drink.) Yas, das fine,
ver' fine.
ALLEN — (Dubiously.) It looks like water.
ANNA — You no worry. It doan taste lak water.
NELL — Take it and let us go.
ALLEN — (Taking glass and smelling the contents.)
It
smells great.
ANNA — Eet ees great. (Allen drinks with a gulf.) Das
de way.
— Haw
haw
umph
haw
my God
water
something
quick
Fire
fire
Oh
ANNA — Ain't it great?
ALLEN — Three hells in one
three.
ANNA — You wait a minute and you feel fines.
SAID — Sure.
ANNA — (To Nell.) You tak some, too, yas?
NELL — I? Certainly not. I leave that to unremorseful
topers.
ALLEN — Well, I do feel better.
ALLEN
i
�24
FEBR<
THE SYRIAN WORLD
have tc
ANNA — Das what I
ALLEN — (To Said.)
said. Doan I?
What do I owe you for that furnace
SA
A
fire?
&
SAID —
ALLEN
SAID —
crazy.
No charge.
— No charge?
No more drinks sold.
A
Country gone crazy, clean
— You are very kind. You saved my life.
— Das arrac save many lifes.
NELL — Let's be off.
ALLEN — Goodbye, doctor.
ANNA — Goodbye.
SAID — (Nell and Allen go up stage and mount front steps.)
So long. Remember, I got lots more das arrac.
ALLEN — It takes courage to hit up that stuff.
NELL — (As they exeunt.) Scotch is quite different, isn't
it? It gives you courage, but doesn't take it.
ALLEN — Now, Nell, why bring up a painful subject? It
was only
because I wanted to tell you that
(They pass
up the street.)
SAID — Das veil, Anna? You no getting married?
ANNA. — Oh, yes I am.
SAID — No? When?
ANNA — Today, perhaps. Tomorrow, sure.
SAID — To who, Anna, to who?
ANNA — Gents.
SAID — Gents? Gents? He come here soon, you know it?
He son of my landlord. I find that out when you go away.
ANNA — And I only found it out yesterday.
SAID — When he comes, I congratulate heem. How's das
for a word?
ANNA S— You'll do nothing of the sort.
SAID — No?
ANNA — No.
SAID — But whys?
ANNA — Because he doesn't know that he is going to marry
me.
.
SAID — Anna, you talk foolish, lak das Fadma girl. You
say you marry today mebbe and tomorrow, sure, and den you
say das Gents ain't
ANNA — Leave it all to me. When Gents comes, all you
ALLEN
SAID
&
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do sorr
A
as if I
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see if (
comes
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�FEBRUARY, 1928
35
have to do is to tell him that Anna has come back.
SAID — I say before das I lie lak
ANNA — Yes, yes, but you do not have to.
SAID — Das woman and mans das was here, they know you?
ANNA — Yes — at least they think they do.
SAID — You got me all meexed up in my minds. I bet I
do something wrong when he comes.
ANNA — There is nothing to do but what I told you. Act
as if I had never gone away. Order me about. You know?
SAID — Yas, yas, I try. You can go now in the kitchen and
see if das bay I leaves and kiss-kuss is made. (Gents appears and
comes to steps.)
ANNA — All right, boss mans.
(Sees Howard at steps.)
There he is. Now be careful. If you make a mistake I will
stick you with a knife, like I did Bunch Derry.
SAID — You gots me so 'fraid, I know I make mistake.
ANNA — (At kitchen door.) Don't.
Remember, if you
do
KREESH
(She makes an ominous sound through
her teeth and exits.)
HOWARD — Hullo, Said.
SAID — Meester Fisk. You here, already?
HOWARD — Yes, did I not phone you?
f
SAID — Das right. I disremember.
HOWARD — You want the front of the house repainted?
SAID — Yas, sir.
HOWARD — All right. Father says that it is to be done.
SAID — Thank you, Gents, I mean Meester Feesk.
HOWARD — Oh, let it be Gents, Said.
SAID — Gents. I got big news for you. Big, BIG news.
HOWARD — Indeed?
SAID — Yas, big, big, big NEWS.
HOWARD — Well, well, well, it must be big. What is it?
SAID — (With all the importance in the world.) ANNA.
I
i
If
SHE COME BACK.
HOWARD — Who?
SAID — ANNA.
HOWARD — Anna?
SAID — Yas.
HOWARD — Who is Anna?
SAID — You don't know Anna das use to wait on das tables
here?
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
36
HOWARD
— (Indifferently.) Oh, yes, of course.
How is
she?
SAID — Don't you know?
HOWARD — Said, are you drunk?
SAID — But she wear a veil. And
How should I know?
she get married today
mebbe, tomorrow sure.
HOWARD — Well, that is good news, I am sure. I expect
to get married myself very soon.
SAID — Yas, I know.
HOWARD — What?
SAID — I say, is das so?
HOWARD — Whom is your waitress to marry? Do I know
the gentleman?
SA>D — Yas, I tink you do.
HOWARD — Indeed. Who is he?
SAID— I
I
HOWARD — Well?
SAID — (Starts for kitchen door.) Excuse, Gents. (Calls
through door.) Anna, is das kiss-kuss ready?
ANNA — (Off right.) Yas, boss mans.
SAID — (Crossing to counter.) I mak you a good cup of
Turkish coffee, yas?
HOWARD — Thanks. And I'll take some of those excellent
cigarettes.
ANNA — Kiss-kuss ready to serve. (As she passes Howard
she trips over his feet.) Excuse, please.
ANNA — Tanks.
SAID — You remember das gentlemans, Anna?
ANNA — Oh, yas, das Gents. How are you, Gents?
HOWARD — I'm very well
and you?
ANNA — I'm ver' well, too
and happy.
HOWARD — I remember you, now.
You have discarded
your dictionary and flag.
ANNA — No, I still keep 'em. (She reaches over him> puts
her right arm around his neck and grabs Turkish pipe from table.)
Excuse, please. (She takes pipe over to counter.)
HOWARD — I understand that you are about to be married?
ANNA — Yas yas. Today, perhaps. Tomorrow, sure.
SAID — (Nervously.) Tak das coffee to Meester Gents.
ANNA — Right.
(She takes cup of coffee from Said and
crosses right. She repeats same business with cup as with pipe.)
I
�FEBRUARY, 1928
37
Excuse, please.
1
r
HOWARD — (To Said.)
Her happiness has gone to her
head, evidently.
SAID — Yes, sir. (To Anna, who has crossed back to counter.) Stop das, Anna.
ANNA — (Imperiously to Said.) SUGAR — for das gentlemans, QUICK
or
KREESH
(She repeats the business of her exit.)
SAID — (Handing over the sugar bowl hastily.) Dars rats
in your cellar sure.
ANNA — (Crossing quickly to above Howard.) Sugar, Yas?
HOWARD — If you please. (Anna drops them in the cup,
one at a time, as she talks.)
ANNA — You feel sorry das I get married. Yas?
HOWARD — Oh, no, I feel glad for you.
ANNA — You ain't married yet. No?
HOWARD — Not yet, but some day I
SAID — Hay dere?
ANNA — (Stops sugar business.) What now?
SAID — You want to break me? One lump to a customer,
one lump.
ANNA — All right. (She is above him and reaches over to
take the sugar bowl, which she has placed on the table. The same
business is repeated, as before, but her left arm goes around his
neck this time and her right grabs the bowl.) Excuse, please. (She
crosses to counter with the bowl.)
HOWARD — (Good naturedly.) Football.
SAID — (To Anna, intensely.) You stop das.
ANNA — (Making a stabbing movement with an imaginary
knife.).. KREESH
HOWARD — A package of cigarettes, Said. Any kind that's
good.
ANNA — CIGARETTES
quick, you. (Said quickly
and fearfully gets cigarettes from the. case and reaches way over
to hand them to Anna, in order to keep as far away from her as
possible.)
SAID — (To Anna.) You mak me mak das mistake, soon,
in a minute.
ANNA — (Crossing over to Gents.) Here's das cigarettes,
Gents. (She tears open package and takes one out.) Good cigarettes. (She sticks the cigarette in his mouth.) Excuse, please.
iweEs*Miii«;v*';-.-, .
�jf
1
THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
1
| J
1
fV'
(Same business is repeated when she reaches over to get match
\ f
safe from table.) I give you light, yas?
HOWARD — Thank you. You are very kind — and very
i
i.
strenuous.
ANNA — (Lights match on box, holding match in left hand,
her right arm slides around his neck in an easy way and she leans
against the back of his chair. All this business must be done in a
modest and quick way. Just as quickly and easily as possible to
1
kill any idea of total boldness. As the audience is well aware that
it
they are in love with each other and Howard is in ignorance of
the fact that Anna is Annay the character of Anna will lose nothing of her modesty and sweetness if the business is performed
right.) Tanks. Here is a nice light.
HOWARD — You are wearing a veil?
Is that the reason
you
you
ANNA — (Crossing over to Said.) Yas, dats the reason
I soon gets married.
SAID — Mebbe today. Tomorrow, sure.
ANNA — (Tersely to Said.) Get out!
SAID — Eh?
ANNA — Get out, quick.
SAID — Buts I
ANNA — Go to the ball game or
KREESH
t *
HOWARD — Makes you look more like a fortune teller than
a bride.
ANNA — Dat is. Das it. I tell you fortune. (Said tiptoes
up to windows during the following scene and draws down the
blinds. Then he draws down the blinds of the door and locks
door. Then he tiptoes over to the steps that lead up stairs to the
rooms, stumbling over an empty oil can and making a terrible
racket. He sneaks up the stairs and off leaving the two lovers
alone. All this business of Said's must be over and he must be
off before the vital part of the scene between Howard and Anna
is reached. With a parting smile at the couple. Said closes the
door.)
\
ANNA — You want me to tell you das fortune?
HOWARD — I suppose so. But I know just what you are j
going to say — "I will receive a letter with some money, I will
take a journey by water. Beware of a dark man
"
ANNA — No, no, I tell you a fortune lak you never had before. (She gets Turkish pipe with clean wafer in bowl and car-*
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U
I
�FEBRUARY, 1928
I
I
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I
J
39
ries it over to table, repeating business.) Excuse, please. (She
then gets chair and brings it on a level with his.) I tell you fortune das is true. I tell you all. All you want to know.
HOWARD — That's something you can't do.
ANNA — Oh, yas I can. I tell you anything. (She sits beside him.) Give me your hand. (He does so.)
HOWARD — Don't you want your palm crossed with silver
first? All other fortune tellers do.
ANNA — No. My reward will come later. (She looks at
his hand for a second.) Oh, my. Oh, my, you are in love.
HOWARD — Right.
ANNA — Very much in love.
HOWARD — Doubly right.
ANNA — With a charming young lady.
HOWARD — Yes.
ANNA — (Purposely eulogizing herself.)
With a most
charmenest young lady.
HOWARD — Yes, and again yes.
ANNA — (Continuing her self eulogy.) A beautiful young
lady.
HOWARD — Yes, yes, yes.
ANNA — The most beautifulest in the world.
HOWARD — Wonderful, so true, so true. (He comes back
to earth.) But I know all that. You said you would tell me what
I wanted to know.
ANNA — I tell you anything. Ask me.
HOWARD — Does she love me?
ANNA — Yes.
HOWARD — Does she love me as much as I love her?
ANNA — More. Oh, much more.
HOWARD — Will she marry me?
ANNA — Yes, yes.
HOWARD — When?
ANNA — Perhaps today. Tomorrow, sure.
HOWARD — What is her name?
ANNA — I must look in das hand again. (She takes a look
at his palm.) Dar it is plain as das face on your nose. (She reads.)
N—E—L—L— Nell.
HOWARD — WHAT???
ANNA — (Hastily.) Excuse, please. Mistake.
(She vigorously rubs the palm of his hand.) It's dirt. I try again. Dere
�,e~~*~«
ggj
THE SYRIAN WORLD
it is
I see it
All dere, so clear — A—N—N—A — Anna.
HOWARD — Marvelous
marvelous.
ANNA — I do better.
HOWARD — Yes?
ANNA — Yes. I show her to you.
HOWARD — No?
ANNA — Yas, I say. (She points to howl of pipe.) Look
in dere and soon you see das woman you love and who loves you.
(Howard gazes intently at howl and sees his own reflection. Anna slowly removes her veil as she talks.)
HOWARD — I see nothing but my old phizz.
ANNA — Have patience and she will come beside you to stay
there — for ever. (By this time she has her veil of and tenderly puts her cheeck to his.) Tell me, has she appeared by your
side? (Anna is standing and bending over with her cheek to his.
Howard sees the face in the howl and the truth slowly dawns upon him.) Tell me, I say, is she there? Beside you?
HOWARD — Yes, yes, beside me, forever.
ANNA — Forever. True.
HOWARD — (His left arm steals around her waist and he
draws her down to him. She kneels as he holds her close, and
they are both gazing intently in the bowl.) Forever — forever
and anon.
ANNA — (Dreamily.) Forever and anon.
HOWARD — We will be married at once, dear. Tomorrow,
yes, tomorrow.
ANNA — Tomorrow, perhaps, but TODAY, SURE.
(CURTAIN)
THE END.
Arab Proverbs
To call for action and remain idle is not unlike a bow without a string.
The sweetness of success effaces the bitterness of struggle.
The mistake of the learned man is like the foundering of
a ship—it sinks and causes others to perish with it.
M
�41
FEBRUARY, 1928
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
Tos. W. FERRIS contributes
what may be considered a record of one of the most acute
crises of the Syrians in the United, States. Through the whim of
a certain Southern Judge, the
issue was raised as to the eligibility of Syrians for American
citizenship. The applicant was
judged not by ethnological considerations but by his color, and
color, as it was aptly argued,
may result from many contributory causes not at all related
to racial descent. The Syrians
of America were
piqued
at this slight to their race
and banded together for common defense. That was one of
the rare instances in their history when they brushed aside
their petty causes of difference
and rose in common and with
the, closest approach to unanimity to engage in the task of self
defense. And they won.
J
;/
1
I
It is futile to comment on
the benefits of united action in
the face of a national crisis. But
Syrians may well ponder the
advisability of experimenting
in united effort every once in
a while. They can well realize
that it is not so much to their
credit to work together with a
semblance of harmony under
the driving urge of common
danger, when the shadow of
catastrophe stalks threateningly in their midst. Much credit,
however, would come to them
if they were to undertake the
experiment, not simply to ward
off harm, but purely in the
spirit of striving1 for some benefit. This would be more in the
nature of reaching out for
something constructive under
the urge of conviction rather
than compulsion. It is a poor
compliment for one to arouse
himself only to resist the bad
instead of striving for the good.
We believe the Syrians of
America owe Mr. Ferris full
measure of thanks for the pains
he has taken to lay before them
this interesting chapter of their
history in such a lucid and engaging manner. In these busy
times we are apt to forget, and
to forget quicklyj therefore, to
have our memories refreshed
every once in a while on vital
national issues is a genuine
service.
A
time ago we received
a letter from one of our
subscribers in New Zealand,
Kareem A. Alexander, of WeiSHORT
�42
lington, highly commending the
publication of THE SYRIAN
WORLD and requesting particulars on the fight the Syrians of
America waged to establish
their right to citizenship, as the
Syrians of New Zealand are
now threatened with a similar
situation.
Portions of Mr.
ALEXANDER'S letter are published elsewhere.
We deem it a high privilege
to be able to render such a service to our brothers of New Zealand, and are happy to feel that
in this service we can count on
the support of some of our best
legal talent. The article of Mr.
Jos. W. Ferris will partly fill
this need, and further details
will be cheerfully furnished
once the full particulars of the
bill under consideration in the
Parliament of New Zealand
are supplied. Mr. Ferris, to
whom we have referred the letter from our New Zealand compatriot, has already written for
these details, promising wholehearted and complete co-operation.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
fitness to be incorporated into
the body politic or social of the
different countries, especially
those speaking' the English language.
Now, however, the Syrians
have become a potent economic
factor almost everywhere they
settled. Itj is admitted that they
are law-abiding and industrious, and their success came to
them through fair and lawful
means. But be the means fair
or foul, success gives rise to
jealousies, and where lawful
competition fails to down the
enterprising Syrians, recourse is
had to legislative action as a
last resort.
Our readers will recall that
legislation of this nature has
already been enacted in several
Latin-American countries. It
was at one time threatened in
Australia and was thwarted only by the energetic action of our
compatriots there. The fight
now looming on the horizon in
New Zealand should be watched with special interest as it is
the latest development in what
seems to be a world-wide outburst of antipathy against the
Syrians.
During the early period of
their immigration, the Syrians
were not only few in numbers,
but, owing to their impecunous
state, could make no perceptible
impress on the economic condi- JTARTHQUAKES in Syria and
Palestine take such a heavy
tions of the communities in
toll
in life and property simply
which they settled. Consequently, their presence was tolerated because Syrians do not take the
and no question raised as to their necessary precautions to lessen
4
r
4
3?
�FEBRUARY, 1928
/
)
I
43
their damage, according to Dr. Broadway with Alice Brady, the
Bailey Willis, of Stanford Uni- famous American stage and
versity, Cal., whose article on screen star, appearing in the
the subject is published in this stellar role. That we were able
issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD. to treat our readers to this wonDr. Willis not only gives a his- derful play eulogizing the fine
torical review of earthquakes in qualities of the Syrian girl in
Syria but makes such valuable America was due chiefly to the
practical suggestions as should fine spirit of the author, Mr.
be seriously considered and Harry Chapman Ford, admitgratefully acknowledged by tedly one of the foremost
Syrians. It is gratifying to American admirers of our race.
learn that this article by Dr. We wish to register to him a
Willis is receiving wide publi- word of unqualified appreciacity among the people whom tion.
it is intended to benefit, beDuring the course of its pubcause, aside from its publica- lication, "Anna Ascends" elicittion in THE SYRIAN WORLD in ed from readers many expresthe original English text, it was sions of praise and approval.
also translated into Arabic and An added reason for its apprepublished in AL-KULLYYAH, ciation was the fact that never
the official review' of the Amer- before its publication in THE
ican University of Beirut, SYRIAN WORLD was it available
through the courtesy of whose in printed form. And ever since
editors and the permission of the publication of the first inthe author it was made avail- stallment requests for permisable to our readers.
sion to stage it for local benefits
were reaching the editor from
many sections of the country.
Now it gives us great pleasure
"ANNA ASCENDS"
to announce that Mr. Ford has
.
THE LAST installment of "An- added still another proof of his
na Ascends" is published in friendliness to Syrians by grantthis issue of THE SYRIAN ing the privilege of staging the
WORLD.
We cannot help at play among Syrians for Syrian
this jucture but express a benefits. It should be undercertain feeling of satisfaction stood, however, that the absoat having been able to secure lute right of ownership remains
this play for publication. As invested in him.
We wish to make the further
formerly stated, "Anna Ascends" had a long run on important announcement that
�44
the author of "Anna Ascends"
has consented to write a series
of short stories for THE SYRIAN
WORLD which would have a
special appeal to the SyrianAmerican generation.
"The
Syrian people in this country,"
he avows, "have never received
the true appreciation for their
steadfast and patriotic citizenship," and it is his intention to
present in the form of fiction
some of the outstanding facts
about the Syrians as he has
known them.
of Eugene Jung is
ably reviewed in this issue
of THE SYRIAN WORLD by
Mile. Simone France, a French
student of international affairs.
It is an interesting situation to
find one Frenchman taking issue with another on the question of Syria, and to see, above
all, that the parties to the controversy are about as equally
interested and anxious in arriving at the truth of the situation.
From the statement of Mile.
France, we learn that Mr.
Jung's work is extremely instructive and the contentions of
the author well supported by
documentary evidence. He is
given full credit for the honesty of his convictions and no attempt is made to minimize his
criticism pf France's blunders
""THE BOOK
THE SYRIAN WORLD
FE
in the administration of her
Syrian mandate.
Mile. France, on the other
hand, takes issue with the author for not fully living up to
the ethics of the historian. She
accuses him of giving only one
side of the situation whereas a
judicial pronouncement on the
subject would require fairness
in discussing issues from all
angles.
The. reviewer enumerates certain constructive achievements
which the French have accomplished in Syria and on which
the author maintains complete
silence.
has the
satisfaction of making its columns available; for the complete
and unrestricted discussion of
national issues in a spirit of pure
service and helpfulness. The
controversy has grown so acrimonious in some quarters that
a sedate discussion of the facts,
with equal chance at a hearing
given both sides, should be
most helpful in bringing about
an understanding. At least,
such a course should be helpful in aiding interested observers in getting to the true facts
of the situation for forming an
independent judgment.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
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�FEBRUARY, 1928
(
45
Readers' Forum
EASING THE HISTORIAN'S TASK
My dear Mr. Mokarzel:
I
The Syrian World comes to me every month, and I have been
much interested in it. As a historian, I find it has a double interest.
On the one hand, I admire your brave attempt to keep up the interest
of the Syrians in their ancient 'history, and I hope some time to redeem my promise and send you several articles along th;s line. At
the same time, as an American historian, it has seemed to me that
one of the greatest difficulties to be faced by the future historian of
America is the writing up of the history of its foreign born
citizens. Thanks to your Syrian World, it will be easy for the future
historian to depict the part played by the Syrians and no doubt will
result in their being given their due place in this history.
Yours sincerely,
A. T. OLMSTEAD,
Professor of History, Curator of the Oriental Museum
University of Illinois.
SYRIANS IN OKLAHOMA
UNIVERSITY
Editor, The Syrian World:
Being of Syrian parentage, I wish
to express my appreciation of your
wonderful magazine which has
brought me into contact with the beloved country of my forefathers.
Although I am a student at the
Oklahoma University at Norman,
Okla., and have read numerous interesting pages of Syrian history in
the "Development of Western Civilization", college text by Woodworth,
I find that I obtain more knowledge
on Syrian customs, ideas, literature,
and finance in your magazine.
The Syrian students at Oklahoma
University all take pride in having
the monthly issues of your magazine
forwarded to them from their homes,
and they also delight in telling their
friends about our mother country
"Syria" which once led the world in
commercial and cultural pursuits.
The following are the Syrian students enrolled in the various departments of Okla. University:
Bashara Carl, Norman, Okla.,
School of Geology; Mansur Fred,
Ponca City, Okla., School of Civil
Engineering; Kadane Jack, Frederick, Okla., School of Medicine; Dakil Louis, McAlister, Okla., School
of Theology; Shadid Ruth, Elk City,
Okla., School of Fine Arts; Moussa
Saleemie, Okla. City, Okla., School
of Education; Abraham Lela, Bristow, Okla., School of Education;
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Hamra Nick, Henryetta, Okla.,
School of Business; Khoury Geo.,
Drumright, Okla., School of Business.
Since we have an enrollment of
5,000 in the Okla. University, we feel
quite positive that the advocation
for higher education is coming slow
but sure for the younger Syrian
generation.
Miss Ruth Shadid.
Okla. U., Norman, Okla.
HIGH STANDARD SHOULD BE
CONTINUED
Editor, The Syrian World:
*** It is my sincere hope that you
will continue with the high standard
you have set for The Syrian World.
It is my firm conviction that the
Syrian mind will not long patronize
the shallow standard in literature.
It is the high standard of The Syrian World which will eventually win
the Syrian and enlist his support
and co-operation. The readers and
friends of The Syrian World will
soon appreciate its high quality and
service and open the way to larger
circulation and influence.
I appreciated your article on THE
HISTORY OF THE SYRIANS IN
NEW YORK which appeared in the
November issue. It is instructive,
encouraging and prophetic of the
Syrian's future in America and elsewhere. It was splendidly illustrated.
Rev. W. A. Mansur.
Loretta, Neb.
A SENSE OF DUTY
Editor, The Syrian World:
Mr. C. 0. Snyder of the Williamson High School accidentally saw
The Syrian World with my daughter
Gladys, one of his pupils. After
reading it he expressed for it high
admiration and declared it to be
exceedingly informative and educational. I have asked Mr. Snyder if
he would be interested in receiving
it regularly and he said that The
Syrian World would be the kind of
literature he would enjoy most. I
am therefore asking you to send him
"our magazine" for, a year as a gift
of appreciation from me, as I believe it is the duty of every Syrian
to contribute his share towards the
placing of the interesting information contained in The Syrian World
within reach of interested Americans.
A. J. Bassett.
Williamson, W. Va.
WELL CONCEIVED
I
Editor, The Syrian World:
*** Please accept my sincerest
congratulations on the splendid
manner The Syrian World is being
edited. The illustrations are most
appropriate.
Your
department
"Spirit of the Syrian Press" is particularly well conceived.
Alice Poulleau.
Nolay, Cote d'Or, France.
A LEGAL OPINION
Editor,, The Syrian World:
*** Permit me to add my voice to
that of the many others who feel
that your publication is filling a
niche that we very much need in
the United States.
The matters published between
the covers of the issues of your publication have proven of great interest to me.
Jos. W. Ferris.
New York City.
'J
�47
FEBRUARY, 1928
i.
I
Spirit of The Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcosmic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabic\ speaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
\
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
I with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
1 f
THE RULING PRINCE
OF LEBANON
\
r
,;*
We have been steadfast advocates
of the creation of a principality in
Lebanon, and the election of a
French Prince to rule over it for
life, but with no right of succession.
These demands have formed an integral part of the constitution of
the Lebanon League of Progress
ever since its incorporation in 1911.
We are now confronted with a situation which adds a new interest to
this question. It is apparent that
the Lutfallahs are conducting active
propaganda in the Lebanese press
for the obvious purpose of seating
one of their brothers, Emir George
Lutfallah, on the throne of Lebanon.
Such a move could, and should, never succeed for many reasons, principal among Which is that the Lutfallah family is prominently identified with the last revolution which
has brought so much ruin on Lebanon. Consideration should also be
given to the fact that the Lutfallahs
are not genuinely Lebanese, if a Lebanese should at all be considered
for the post.
On the other hand, there are other Lebanese equally as rich as the
Lutfallahs, principally the Shadids,
who have made overtures to the
French to extend a loan to Lebanon
of half a million Egyptian pounds,
or what is equivalent to $£,500,000,
for an exceedingly long term and
without interest, if they were to be
given the governorship of Lebanon.
Such a sum would go far towards
rehabilitating the shattered finances
of the country and could be used
for any number of reconstruction
projects. The French refused, even
though Count Salim Shadid is a
genuine Lebanese and is known for
his advocacy of the French mandate. Why, then, should the French
acquiesce in the demands of the
Lutfallahs who are reputed to have
spent an amount in excess of a million dollars in support of the lawless
element which brought rape and destruction and death on the country?
For these and similar reasons we
feel that a native son of the country
is not the proper person to ascend
the throne.
Jealousies are too
strongly rooted through religious
and other motives. The natural
solution would then be to create a
principality of Mt. Lebanon over
which would be installed a French
prince. He, of course, would have
�MM
48
FEB1
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to be first thoroughly Lebanized, grant of tangible interests under
giving his allegiance and devotion those heavens?
to Lebanon above any other country.
Syrian soil may be the most saBeing French, however, would nacred and venerable on earth,, but
turally strengthen the friendly relawhat is there of practical value to
tions between the two countries.
the Syrian emigrant on that soil?
It must be borne in mind that we
Has not the Syrian emigrant
advocate such a course only on conprayed
fervently to those heavens
dition that the election of the ruling
prince be made for life in an effort to keep him under their stars, but
to establish a stable regime that his supplication availed him naught?
Has he not mixed the soil of the
would not be subject to the shifting
winds of politics, but the office homeland with his sweat and tears,
should not be hereditary, the right nay, even with his blood, and the
of the family of the incumbent soil refused to yj-ld him the means
ceasing with his death, following the of subsistence?
lines of the religious hierarchies as
Far be it from us to call on the
now practiced in the churches of the Syrian emigrant to forget the counEast.
try of his birth, or to have him
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Jan. 17, 1928.) develop that extreme sense of individualism so that he think of none
but himself.
THE POSITION OF
But we are ofv the firm belief that
THE EMIGRANT the Syrian stay-at-homes have carried matters a little beyond reasonOur brothers in Syria persist in
able limits in their dependence on
looking upon us as an integral part
the emigrants even in the means of
of them. To them it seems beyond
livelihood. If they are in the course
comprehension that we should have
of building a church they appeal to
permanently migrated to another the generosity of the emigrant. If
land and that many of us should
they are threatened with a swarm of
have now been naturalized and forlocusts it is the emigrant's money
ever forsaken our former political
that is imperatively needed to save
allegiance.
the country. If there should be a
This is indeed a sublime senti- drought their first appeal would be
ment. But we wish to remind our to God and to the emigrants. Even
brothers of the homeland that to the if they were to dig a well for drinkemigrants the Old Country has be- ing water they would hasten to cable
come nothing more than a subject the emigrants for financial assistof their dreams and reminiscences. ance!
They love their former homes in
Do our brothers of the homeland
theory, but to all practical purposes
fail to realize that the recurrence
they cannot shake the conviction that
of these appeals on such trivial matthe country of their choice, their
ters will eventually deaden their efreal home, is the country in which
fect? Suppose another catastrophe
they live and prosper.
similar to that of the World War
Syrian heavens may be the clear- were to disrupt means of communiest and the most beautiful in the cation between us, what would they
world, but what has the Syrian emi- do?
since
seems
>
�\
FEBRUARY, 1928
We would add that it is our sincere hope to strengthen the bonds
of ) ^lationship between the Syrians
of the homeland and the emigrants,
and that the latter should continue
their assistance to the former but
according to their own methods and
not the methods of the stay-at-homes
which have proven defective and in
many cases most harmful.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Jan. 13, 1928.
AGITATING THE SYRIAN
QUESTION
49
pretender, (Emir Lutfallah), is not
all Syria, nor will Syria consent to
his crown and promises. If he
claims that he is able to bring an
end to the revolution, such a pretension is wholly false, because he does
not represent the revolutionists nor
has he authority to speak for them.
We know that the Syrian revolutionists have no other accredited
representatives than their European
delegation at the head of which is
the great patriot and eminent prince
(Shekib Arslan), who is actuated by
the most disinterested motives in the
service of his country and is much
more true in his devotion than office
sekers and chasers after thrones.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Jan. 18, 1928.)
After the elapse of eight years
since French occupation, it now
seems that the French Government
and people have begun to realize
that there is a Syrian Question SULTAN PASHA ATRASH
which requires solution by other
REFUSES TO SURRENDER
than the old methods so far emLet not France occupy herself
ployed.
The great patriot, Emir Shekib with the futile task of attempting
Arslan, related to us that before the to win over to her the leaders of the
outbreak of the revolution the Syrian revolution and induce them
French Foreign Office would not lis- to surrender. They shall never be
ten to any representative of the loyal to her, nor surrender in good
Syrian liberals discussing with it faith while she persists in followany of the Syrian demands for in- ing her present lame policy. Those
dependence. All proposals in this who do surrender will do so only
regard had to be made in the form with perfidy and deceit, while a fair
of petitions which were naturally indication of the general feeling of
pigeon-holed. Now, however, thanks the leaders may be had from the irto the Revolution, the attitude of reconcilable, stubborn, attitude of
the French has changed and the the chief leader, Sultan Pasha AtGovernment is often taken to task rash, who refuses to make any comin Parliament for its Syrian poli- promise with the French Mandate
under any circumstances.
cies.
We have often repeated that the
And now that the Syrian Question has taken a new form, especial- Mandatory authorities in Syria have
ly that some factions of our Inde- been following a pernicious policy
pendence Party propose seating one which can result only in harm both
of their members on the throne of to France and to Syria. The proper
Lebanon, we would say that it would course for them to follow would be
be madness on the part of France to practice justice both in their
to consent to such a course. This dealings with the revolutionists as
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
$0
well as with the peaceful elements.
In this manner peaceable citizens
would be assured of protection and
the lawless element would be brought
to realize that crime will be punished with the proper severity.
France is not weak, but her vacillating policy in the East emboldens
her enemies against 'her. This is
all the more lamentable especially
in a country where retrogression,
bigotry and vindictiveness are bound
to be the result of misplaced clemency.
(Syrian Eagle, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1928.)
IN THE DAY'S NEWS
Many news items we come across
in the press of the homeland are
passed over as of no particular importance, just as if they were of
everyday occurrence, while in truth
they should give us food for serious
thought. Others are accorded much
more importance while in fact they
should not deserve but a passing
glance.
We read, for instance, of the debates taking place in Parliament
and are apparently much swayed by
the heat of arguments, overlooking
the fact that all this is but empty
noise, inasmuch as what the High
Commissioner approves of is alone
passed, while all others, no matter
how vital to the interests of the
country, are bound to fail if lacking
this approval. Members of Parliament, in fact, are but pawns in the
hands of the High Commissioner.
A recent news item that should
prompt us to think is the arrival of
M. Millerand, ex-President of France, in Syria as a private attorney
in the Sursuq case. His coming
was hailed with great joy and both
,^.^-
civil officials and religious dignitaries vied with one another to do him
honor. Syrians placed great hopes
in him to help the cause of the
country, as if their destiny were entrusted to him. Undoubtedly he will
leave the country with the most
pleasant recollections of the hospitality with which he was received,
but will laugh to himself over the
obvious simplicity of the Syrians
who apparently fail to realize that
Millerand is now but a plain citizen
who is totally helpless in deciding
governmental policies. Even the
acting President is powerless and
is in such matters at the mercy of
the controlling party. What, then,
can an ex-president do?
Syrians should realize that unless
they rise in common to demand
their rights no reform could be had
in Syria.
Of gratifying import is the news
that the murderer of the priest of
Kawkaba was lately executed. This
indicates that although the government may show leniency to surrendered rebels it is also bent on letting
justice take its course, so that no
criminal may hope to escape punishment for his crimes, especially if
such crimes be committed in a spirit
of fanaticism and revenge against
a minister of religion.
Also of special interest to Syrian
immigrants is the continued drought
in the Old Country which threatens
to bring further hardships on a poor
people not yet relieved from the destruction of the recent revolt. The
immigrants will surely hear from
their relatives on this subject very
soon. It seems to be taken for granted that financial assistance is expected of them, but it may also be
taken for certain that in cases of
real necessity they will not be found
recalcitrant.
I.
�I
•m
•m
51
FEBRUARY, 1928
Another bit of news which will
cause some to laugh, but is bound
to cause genuins anguish to those
who think, is the sad report of what
befell the farmer girl who found a
hand grenade in the field and
brought it home to use as a mallet
with which to pound the meat pulp
for "kibbe". Of course, the grenade
exploded and tore the poor girl to
pieces. But the moral of the case is
that ignorance is still prevalent
among the common people of Syria,
and so long as we use an explosive
bomb for a mallet, bringing destruction upon ourselves, what could be
our benefit from independence which
we do not understand. Surely it will
be more destructive to us than the
bomb which we do not know how
to use.
(As-Sayeh; N. Y., Jan. 16, 1928.)
We conjure them by the sacred spirits of the martyrs to make this convention fruitful and of beneficial results so that we may give the enemy
the bitter taste he deserves. This
action is necessary that the enemy
may not again look at us with derision and say, 'Those of them who
are on the other side were torn by
dissension and failed of any benefit,
while those who are on this side of
the world have also dispersed with
no benefit either to themselves or
to others."
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Jan. 14, 1928.)
THE DETROIT CONVENTION
if.
M*
All eyes are now focused on the
convention of Detroit, called together by the New Syria Party, where
surely the spirit of co-operation will
prevail among the delegates in keeping with the true spirit of patriotism with which the atmosphere of
the place will be impregnated.
The liberals of the country will
here convene to discuss ways and
means for bringing about the general welfare of the country which is
above any other interest or consideration.
We appeal to the delegates at the
Detroit Convention to abide by the
strictest sense of unity and co-operation. We appeal to them to work
together in peace out of respect for
the spirit of the martyrs who died
for the cause of liberty, offering
themselves as sacrifices that the
country may be freed of its bondage.
PROPER CO-OPERATION
IS NECESSARY
The Lebanese of the interior of
the United States, who do not fail
on every occasion to demonstrate
their interest in their mother country, especially in the matters of financial assistance to their relatives
abroad, seem all to show resentment
against the Mandatory Power for
its apparent leniency towards the
criminal rebels by courting their
friendship and even appointing
them to high, offices in spite of their
black record of crimes and atrocities.
In our discussion of conditions
with these compatriots, we have
proved to them that the fault lies
with the Lebanese people themselves
who do not lend the Mandatory
Power the necessary co-operation
in bringing about a betterment of
conditions. The Lebanese seem to
expect France to realize their aspirations, bring to them prosperity
and afford them protection unaided.
But it is an evident truth that if
the landlord does not build himself
all the efforts of the masons will
be in vain.
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y, Jan. 30, 1928.)
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
About Syria and Syrians
SYRIANS OF NEW ZEALAND
FACE CRISIS
To the many other countries seeking to exclude the Syrians or pass
restrictive immigration laws against
them may now be added New Zealand. It is a sad state in which
concentrated efforts on the part of
Syrians oil over the world are required to combat this growing movement against them as a race. The
basic motive for this attitude is the
growing fear against the so-called
menace of the Yellow races who are
termed Asiatics, and Syria being a
part of Asia, Syrians are being included in the general classification.
Where these reasons do not hold
true, the Syrians are being discriminated against mainly for their success in commercial competition.
This would apply particularly to
Latin-American countries.
The new crisis which is now
threatening the Syrians of New
Zealand is similar in many respects
to that which the Syrians of the
United States had to face when the
issue of their eligibility for citizenship was raised a few years ago.
It is to be hoped that our compatriots of New Zealand will be as successful in proving their claims to
fitness as we were in this country.
The Syrian World is in receipt of
a request from Mr. Kareem E. Alexander, of Wellington, N. Z., for data
bearing on the defense the Syrians
of the United States made in the
controversy that was precipitated by
a certain Federal Judge over their
eligibility for citizenship. Our correspondent states that legislation is
now threatened in New Zealand for
their exclusion. Portions of the
letter of Mr. Alexander follow:
"Some time ago a controversy
arose in this country over the status
of Asiatics which resulted in the
introduction of bills in Parliament
for their exclusion. Of course, this
law is primarily directed against the
Chinese, Japanese and Hindoos, and
because the Syrians are from the
continent of Asia, some people find
it hard to pass a law for one section and exempt others.
"We realize that we are facing a
hard, fight, and recollecting that the
Syrians of the United States had to
go through a similar experience not
long since, you would be doing us
a great favor by posting the proceedings of the Court at that time
to us immediately. You will readily
see the importance of the matter
and we feel sure you will not fail
us.
"Permit us also to express our
high appreciation of The Syrian
World for the services it is rendering our race in instructing our young
generations in the history and traditions of the mother country of their
parents. Coming from a stock Which
has made valuable contributions to
civilization, they should be made to
feel that they owe it to their ancestors to live up to their reputation."
As may be learned from the
Editor's Comment, The Syrian World
was able to secure the co-operation
of the able Syrian lawyer of New
York, Mr. Jos. W. Ferris, to review
the several cases tried in the Federal Courts of the United States bearing on the subject, as well as to
�FEBRUARY, 1928
53
promise further assistance upon re- the countries of South America as
well as in Australia and South Africeipt of more particulars.
We are given to understand by ca, but their correspondence with
our New Zealand correspondent that one another goes on uninterrupted.
This is a concrete example of
no definite action has yet been taken
by the Parliament of that country in what emigration has done to the
the matter of Syrian exclusion. It Syrian race.
The present generation may be
should be interesting to follow the
able
for a time to maintain the
developments of the fight of our
family
ties unsevered, but what
compatriots in New Zealand for reabout
the
next generation and the
cognition as to their fitness to be
one
after?
Especially that the transclassed with "free White men".
literation of names is not, among
the Syrians, helpful in tracing the
same origin. The case of the family
to which the three cousins above reUNDER EVERY STAR
ferred to belong may be again taken
Here is an incident that may be as an illustration, for while all these
taken as a true illustration of the three spelled their names uniformstatus of the modern Syrian.
ly, Rayes, they had cousins in the
One day this month, three pros- United States and other parts of the
perous-looking,
wholesome
men world who spelled the same family
came to the office of The Syrian name differently, relying only on
World. They all bore a strong re- the phonetic sound, such as Reis,
semblance to each other. Inquiry Rice and Rais.
disclosed the fact that they were
The Khouris, as well as many
first cousins. They were all return- other family names, may also be
ing together to Syria for a visit. cited as examples of the necessity
Their names are Saad, Geo. H. and of uniformity in the spelling of
Salim Rayes.
family names.
But where did these cousins come
from?
One came from as far north as
Michigan, hailing from Detroit. The DR. TALCOTT WILLIAMS
other came from the central State
WAS BORN IN SYRIA
of Ofro, and the third came from
Dr. Talcott Williams, Director
as far south as Arizona.
Emeritus
of the Columbia UniversiThey had maintained corresponty
School
of Journalism, died at his
dence with one another ever since
home
in
New
York on Jan. 24 at
they came to the country and had
the
age
of
78.
Dr.
Williams was one
now agreed that they should return
of
the
outstanding
public figures in
together to pay a visit to the mothAmerica
and
had
won
for himself
erland. All; however, retain their
especial
recognition
in
the
newspabusiness interests in the United
per profession. When the late JosStates.
Further inquiry revealed the fact eph Pulitzer founded the School of
that these same cousins have many Journalism, Dr. Williams was chosen
other brothers and cousins scattered to carry out the donor's ideas and
all over the world. We were inform- was the active head and director of
ed that they had relatives in all the school from its founding in
�-• *
TO^.,^.^^^^.
'"
54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
1912 to the time of his retirement
in 1919.
Dr. Williams was born at Abeih,
in Mt. Lebanon, Syria. His father,
the Rev. Dr. William Frederick Williams, was a resident American Congregational missionary in Mt. Lebanon. Dr. Williams received his
early education in Beirut and later
came to the United States and graduated from Amherst.
Dr. Williams counted among his
intimate friends many Syrians of
New York. He spoke Arabic fluently and on many occasions, when attending Syrian meetings, he conversed with his Syrian friends in their
native language. He was, besides,
a distinguished authority on Near
Eastern affairs in general.
The Syrians may well mourn the
loss of this eminent American whom
they may rightly claim as one of
their own.
ARMENIANS IN SYRIA
effort on behalf of the Armenians is said to be planned in the
neighborhood of Damascus.
:
What is giving rise to resentment
is that the French not only refuse
to take measures to distribute the
Armenians in small groups in different parts of the country, but insist on appropriations being made
for building independent quarters
for them out of the public funds of
the mandated territory, while the
taxpayers of the country are already driven to the point of desperation.
peace,
ties, th
that al
of revc
The latest development in the situation, according to recent mail
from Syria, is that the mandatory
authorities are advocating the establ;shment of special schools for
Armenians in which teaching would
be given in their own language. For
the present, it is stated, four such
schools are under contemplation,
three in the d'strict of Alexandretta
and one in northern Lebanon. The
Syrian press is loud in its condemnation of this policy which tends to
perpetuate a foreign element within
the country. The concensus of opinion is that the authorities, instead
of segregating the Armenians, should
scatter them in small groups in different parts of the country so that
they may be gradually assimilated.
The seventy-odd thousand Armenians in the Lebanon Republic are
causing a further straining of relations between the mandatory authorities and the Syrians and Lebanese.
The French are accused of favoring
the Armenians and acceding to all
their demands to the detriment of
national interests. In Beirut, according to reports, the Armenians
A SIGN OF PEACE
are segregated in a special quarter
The Syrian press reports the grawhere only their native language is
spoken and papers of their own pub- tifying news that all the fortificalished. The Mandatory Power had tions on the roads leading to Daas all the barricades
sponsored a project for building a mascus, as well
;
permanent, independent quarter for within the c ty, are now being dethe Armenians on the outskirts of molished by the French military.
the city but apparently heeded popUp to last August and Ssptember,
ular objections and refrained from the papers state, French soldiers
prosecuting the scheme. A similar were seen engaged in building these
i
5
!
�55
FEBRUARY, 1928
fortifications with mortar and stone,
showing that, to all appearances,
they were intended to be permanent.
That such a change of policy has
now taken place is hailed as an indication of the return of lasting
peace. The French military authorities, the papers state, must now feel
that all danger from any recurrence
of revolutionary outbreaks in Damascus and the neighboring territory
has now disappeared, making it possible to lessen military precautions.
The press of the State of Syria,
however, takes this occasion to express the hope that soon martial law
would be terminated and the Constitutional Assembly convoked to
lay the foundation of a permanent
form of government for the country.
The standing complaint against
the present High Commissioner is
that he has kept the country in suspense too long, and that the time
elapsed since his appointment is
sufficient for his plans to mature.
EARLY EXCAVATION OF
ANCIENT SYRIAN CITY
;
\
Yale University, according to a
report from New Haven to the New
York Times, has organized an archaeological expedition, in collaboration with the French Academy, to
excavate the ancient City of Dura,
on the Euphrates, which has been
covered by the sand of the desert
for more than 2200 years. The Syrian Government has given permission and excavation will be begun
this Spring. As soon as the work
is begun, Professor Michael I. Rostovtzeff will visit the scene. He is
Sterling Professor of Ancient History and Classical Ardhsology at
Yale and has conducted the negotia-
tions with the French Academy, of
which he is a member. An appropriation from the General Education
Board has made the expedition possible.
The history of the present attempt
to excavate Dura dates from 1920,
when British soldiers stationed on
the middle Euphrates at Salihieh informed Miss Gertrude Bell, noted
Orientalist, of the discovery of some
beautiful frescoes in the ruins of
what had been a fortified city.
ECONOMIC DEPRESSION
IN SYRIA
Syria seems to be passing through
a severe economic crisis which is
widespread over all sections of the
country, whether under English or
French mandate.
In Syria proper and Lebanon, the
unsettled political situation, together
with the drought which caused the
destruction of much of the winter
crops, have added much to the misery of the people. Late reports from
Beirut, however, announce that the
plentiful rainfall of the late season
has saved a portion of the crop and
buoyed somewhat the hopes of the
population.
Palestine, according to the American Consul in Jerusalem, is still
suffering from the effects of the financial crisis, but the situation is
better than at the beginning of
1927 and much better than during
1926. With the approaching tourism
season, he says, and the expectation
of a good orange crop, it is hoped
that money will become easier and
credit facilities extended.
While Palestine draws the major
portion of tourists who are especially desirous of visiting the Holy
Places of Christianity, a larger num-
�-—-
56
ber of tourists are now visiting other sections of Syria having places of
great historic interest. The Syrian
Government was lately advised by
tourist agencies in Egypt that
tourists booked to visit Syria
and Lebanon during the present
season number much above three
thousand. Previously, the tourist
trade had been somewhat deflected
from Syria owing to the revolution,
but now that order has been completely restored, there has been a
return of confidence. Last year, for
instance, summer visitors to Lebanon
were well above fifteen thousand.
Other sources of revenue which
are strongly depended upon to rehabilitate the shattered finances of
the country are the steady remittances of Syrian emigrants. The
American Consul in Jerusalem makes
mention of this fact in his report
to the Department of Commerce in
Washington, while among Syrians
it is roughly estimated that emigrants' remittances to their relatives
in the Old Country run well into the
millions annually.
ANOTHER LIBERAL
MOSLEM KING
Much space has been given in the
American press to the description of
the Afghan King's movements in
Europe. His reception in Rome,
Paris and London constituted so
many stages in a triumphal march
of this Eastern potentate in the
principal countries of the West.
But about the most interesting
account is that of his reception in
Egypt, which is, like Afghanistan,
an independent Moslem kingdom.
King Fouad, of course, received him
at the station and official entertainments and public celebrations were
THE SYRIAN WORLD
such as only Eastern enthusiasm
could develop.
While in Cairo, however, King
Amanullah shocked the Moslem
conservatives and caused intense delight to the liberals by deviating so
much from accepted Moslem traditions as to attend prayer at the
mosque on Friday with a Western
hat. The queen, also, appeared
dressed in the latest Western fashion to the extent of discarding the
veil.
A report had at one time been
circulated in the Egyptian press
that the Afghan Queen was of Syrian descent, her father being the
son of a former Afghan Consul in
Damascus, while her mother was a
full-blooded Syrian. No verification
of this report could be obtained,
however, from any responsible quarter .
King Amanullah, like Mustapha
Kamal Pasha; is of extremely advanced and modern ideas. His example may be of far reaching effect
in changing the attitude of Eastern
peoples, especially those who are of
his own faith, towards Western customs. Not only does he set the example but he also takes the pains
of defending his actions in the most
accepted democratic fashion. A
newspaper account of his reception
of the representatives of the press
in Alexandria runs as follows:
"I wish to thank, through you,
the people of Egypt for the cordial
reception given me while in your
country. The press has been most
generous in its praise of me, but,
in truth, all praise should be given
to my people who, in the first place,
were sufficiently liberty loving to
fight for their independence, and,
in the second place, having gained
their independence, were courageous
enough to defend it.
�'
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FEBRUARY, 1928
"I wish to make a personal observation in the friendliest spirit.
Some Egyptians believe that the
tarboush (fez) is an essential mark
of the Moslem faith. This, in my
opinion, is wholly erroneous. I
would ascribe it in part to malicious
foreign propaganda, for the simple
reason that some foreigners would
want the Moslem to believe that so
long as he wears the tarboush,
Paradise would be made secure for
him no matter how lowly he may
be in his moral or intellectual station. This holds true also in tihe
general matter of dress. The flowing robes of the Egyptian are not
essential in the matter of faith.
What some Egyptians believe now
my own people believed at one time,
too. I have, however, given full
liberty to my subjects to dress in
the manner they please. It is my
firm conviction that a certain form
of dress was never prescribed to a
Moslem. The only qualifications of
the true Moslem are his love for
liberty, justice, truth and equality;
his belief in one God, the Creator,
and his veneration for His Prophet,
Mohammed; and finally, his observance of the obligatory practices of
the faith."
IS IT EXPLOITATION?
i\
I
A Syrian paper publishes the interesting news that a Polish Zionist company has been granted concessions in Southern Lebanon to establish dairy farms on a large scale
and manufacture and sell beer. The
same company, the paper declares,
has found it profitable to raise sugar
beets for the manufacture of sugar
for home consumption. Large quantities of beets could be raised in
the fertile plains of Southern Lebanon and made to yield sugar that
"
57
could be sold for a much lower price
than that of the imported varieties.
Blooded cattle are also being imported for the proper promotion of
the dairy industry.
This same paper upraids the government for granting concessions
to foreign interests which drain the
resources of the country, and takes
the natives to. task as well for occupying themselves with political discussions while wealth is within easy
reach of them and they stand by
idle.
Under the circumstances, it is but
natural to ask if such an arrangement could be properly described
as exploitation.
Of the same nature is another report published in some Syrian papers to the effect that a concession
had been granted to a foreign company for asphalt mining in the district of Latakia. The complaint in
this case being that the exploiting
company had engaged Armenian
laborers in preference to natives.
SYRIA ABODE OF
DEAD ROYALTY
The body of Prince Saif Ud-Deen,
son of the late Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Aziz, who died in Nice a few
months ago, was sent to Damascus
for interment with the permission
of the French Government.
The demonstrations attending the
burial ceremony on Dec. 20 were
most impressive, and many were
seen who wept copiously over the
faded glory of the dynasty that was
once the most powerful in Islam.
Syrian paper? state that the
Turkish Consuls, both in Beirut and
Damascus, made themselves conspicuous by their absence from all
ceremonies attending the burial of
the Ottoman Prince.
�58
A HISTORIC SWORD
COMES TO AMERICA
Readers of The Syrian World are
acquainted with the interesting
legend of the Sword of Emir Bashir
Shehab, once the ruling prince of
Lebanon.
We have learned from Emir Sami
Shehab, a descendent of Emir Bashir, and now a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y., that he was successful
in inducing the owner of the sword,
one of his near relatives, to send
him the sword for display in American museums.
TELEPHONE SERVICE
BETWEEN SYRIA
AND EGYPT
The military commission appointed by the French High Commissioner in Syria to study the proposition
of a telephone line between Syria
and Egypt has submitted a favorable
report stating that both Palestine
and Egypt are ready to co-operate
to any extent required in expediting
the completion of the project. The
Syrian press hails this as a further
link connecting the Arabic-speaking
neighbors of the Near East and
gives expression to the hope that the
service will be inaugurated in the
near future.
SYRIAN WINS SCHOLARSHIP
Local papers of Davenport Iowa,
announce that Alfred Rashid, former high school football star of the
town, and now attending Rollins
College at Winter Park, Fla., has
won a scholarship at the college for
the coming year, having averaged
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I
92 in his studies since entering college in September.
Mr. Rashid, according to the further account of the paper, is captain of the freshmen football team
at Rollins. He established a name
for himself a few days after entering college when he "Volunteered
and gave some of his blood for a
blood transfusion operation which
was performed on a girl in a hospital at Winter Park."
A SKYSCRAPER FOR BEIRUT
A Syrian newspaper of Brazil,
Fata Lubnan, publishes in its issue
of Dec. 24, 1927, what purports to
be a cable despatch from Beirut to
the Syrian press of New York transmitted to a Brazilian paper.
The Syrian paper of Brazil takes
the matter seriously and comments
on it at length in a leading article
in which it accuses France of encouraging Syrians to invest their
capital in home industries which she
proposes later to kill by unfair competition and take over the bankrupt
native industries herself.
Careful inquiry at the offices of
the Syrian papers in New York failed to disclose knowledge of any
such report as that referred to by
the Brazilian paper.
The gist of the report is that a
Syrian Company had been formed
for the erection of an 18 story skyscraper in Beirut, the first five floors
of which would be used for the
manufacture of clothing, while the
rest would be utilized as stock and
show rooms. The most modem
machinery had already been ordered,
it is claimed, from French and Belgian manufacturers.
: V
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FEBRUARY, 1928
Political Developments in Syria
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I
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The State of Syria is still under at the present t me to the revoluUtartial law, the task of administra- tionary party is the growing distion being entrusted to a provision- sension among the leaders over matal government headed by Ahmed ters of policy. The Syro-Palestinian
Committee,
with
Nami Pasha, the Damad. The rees- Revolutionary
tablis'hment of a civil government headquarters in Egypt, appears to
still waits on the decision of M. be all engrossed in its internal difPonsot, the French High Commis- ferences. Long reports are appearsioner, who seems to be marking ing in the Arabic press of Egypt on
time before undertaking such a step. the efforts being taken to compose
Hopes were entertained that upon the differences and restore harmony
his last visit to Damascus in the within the ranks in an attempt to
latter part of December, he would insure co-operation. Announcement
proclaim the termination of martial of a reconciliation on the basis of a
law and permit the convocation of compromise was made lately in one
the General Assembly to decide on of the Egyptian papers supporting
the form of government to be the Syrian Revolution, but the naadopted for the country, but it trans- ture of this understanding was not
pired that the High Commissioner stated.
confined himself on this visit to atAs reported in a signed statement
tending an official banquet and a
of the mediators between the two
review of the troops stationed in the
opposing factions, the main point of
city, after which he decorated the
difference narrowed down to a deCommander in Chief and returned
claration of policy on the territory
to Beirut without making an official
ceded to Lebanon and claimed to bestatement of any kmd.
long to Syria. The mediators are
Some sort of action, however, Ahmad Zaki Pasha and Ihsan Bey
seems to be anticipated in the near Jabiry, the latter one of the accredfuture, as the Syrian press reports ited representatives of the committhat military fortifications in the tee in Europe who returned to Egypt
city of Damascus and along the ostensibly for the purpose of conroads leading to it are being razed ciliating between the oppos'ng facapparently with a view to loosening tions. The signed report states that
the military grip on the country.
Emir Michel Lutfallah, chairman of
No further military operations of the committee held the view that
any consequenc are now reported all action on the disputed territory
to be taking place in the interior of should be held -n abeyance for the
Syria, and it remains to be seen time being until the larger question
how much truth there is in the of defining the status of Syria should
statements of the revolutionary be settled, wtr'le the opposing facparty that military operations will tion maintains an irr-concilable atbe resumed on a much larger scale titude on the quest:on of the ceded
with the coming of Spring.
territory, or at least that part of it
What seems to be of most concern which at one time formed a part of
�II—
60
the vilayet of Damascus.
What compromise has been reached was not made public, but the intermediaries announce that the former action taken by the general
committee in deposing Emir Lutfalla)h from the Presidency has been
rescinded.
Comprised in the charges against
Emir LutfaHah was the direct accusation that he had been negotiating
with the French for making him a
prince over Lebanon. Emir Lutfallah did not make a flat denial of
this charge, but insisted that whatever negotiations he entered into
with the French, whether in the
East or in Paris, were undertaken
with the knowledge and approval
of the Executive Committee of the
Party. He denied being a party to
the overtures his brothers made to
the French respecting the principality of Lebanon.
In Lebanon the ministerial crisis
has resulted in the fall of the old
Ministry and the formation of a new
one under the premiership of Sheik
Bishara Khoury, the former Premier,
but only on his promise to put into
effect a radical program of economy.
This he did by reducing membership in the ministry to three, forcing
each minister to take over the portfolios of two former ones. Among
the new ministers is Dr. Ayoub Tabet, who had been a resident of New
York for several years during the
war.
CONVENTION OF THE
NEW SYRIA PARTY
The third annual convention of
the New Syria Party was held in
Detroit during the week of January
15, and was attended by delegates
from many Eastern and Western
States. This convention, however,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
was not given the publicity accorded
the second convention held last year,
owing to the absence of delegates
from abroad. As reported by the
secretary to the Syrian papers of
New York supporting the Syrian
revolution, the principal decisions
of the convention may be summed
up as follows.
The Party reaffirms its resolve to
support the cause of the revolution
until the country is freed from the
domination of foreign tyrants.
Regret is expressed over the discord which has torn apart the Executive Committee in Egypt, and a
decision to send both factions strongly worded cables of protest and condemnation declaring that the New
Syria Party of America will withhold any support from either faction
until the differences are composed.
The Arabic papers sympathizing
with the revolution are to be given
patronage and support.
Headquarters of the Party will
be moved to New York City inasmuch as five out of the nine members of the general committee are
located there, this body to form the
executive committee of the Party.
The treasurer's report revealed
receipts from all sources of $7,886.54, while expenditures amounted to $7,229.20.
THE TREATY SYRIA WANTS
One of the principal demands of
the Syrian Nationalists is that
France assume towards Syria the
position that England has taken towards Iraq. They would want to
enter into a treaty with France for
a period of thirty years after which
the Mandatory Power would undertake to definitely evacuate the country. In the meantime they would
./
�FEBRUARY, 1928
!
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61
tution which will effect foreign interest or rights, or create any distinction between Iraqis, whatever
their race, religion, or language, in
their rights before the law.
Article 4 — This article provides
for the complete and frank negotiaSyrian Nationalists, in short,
tion between the two parties of all
would enter into a treaty with
external political questions calculatFrance similar to that negotiated
ed to have an influence on their
between England and Iraq. This
common interests.
latter treaty, to be sure, had long
Article 5 — The King of Iraq
been in preparation, but was finally
agrees to put the British High Comsigned on Dec. 14 and its terms anmissioner in a position whereby he
nounced in the British Parliament
will be able to keep his Britannic
on Dec. 20, 1927.
Majesty informed of the progress
As an indication to the demands of Iraq and the plans and proposals
of the Syrian Nationalists, it is in- of the Iraqi Government. The High
teresting to know the exact provi- Commissioner will keep the King of
sions of the' Anglo-Iraq treaty. The Iraq informed on all questions
Egyptian paper Al-Kashaf of Cairo, which his Britannic Majesty consipublished on Dec. 19 a summary of ders are calculated to have an inthe Anglo-Iraq treaty which was sub- fluence contrary to the interests of
stantially as announced later in the Iraq or the engagements guaranteed
British Parliament. The summary by the present treaty.
was cabled from Cairo and publishArticle 6 — The subject of this
ed in the Current History of Feb- article i3 the execution of Internaruary. It reads as follows:
tional Conventions regarding the
Article 1 — His Britannic Ma- white slave and drug traffics, illicit
jesty recognizes the Kingdom of trading in arms, commercial equaliIraq as an independent sovereign ty, free transit, navigation, wireless, and aerial navigation, as well
State.
Article 2 — Peace and friendship as the Pact of the League of Nashall exist between His Britannic tions, the Treaty of Lausanne, the
Majesty and the King of Iraq. The Anglo-French Agreement regarding
two high contracting parties engage frontiers and the San Remo Agreethemselves to maintain friendly re- ment regarding petrol.
Article 7 — This article relates
lations, each party doing its utmost
to prevent all illegal actions in his to the execution of the measures
country calculated to have a reper- adopted by the League of Nations
cussion upon the peace and order for fighting disease, including diseases of plants and animals.
of the country.
Article 8 — His Britannic MajesArticle 3 — The King of Iraq assures the execution of these inter- ty will support Iraq's candidature
national engagements which his for admission to the League of NaBritannic Majesty has engaged him- tion in 1932, provided that the presself to execute with regard to Iraq. ent level of progress be maintained
The King of Iraq undertakes to and that things go well in the meanmake no change in the Iraq Consti- time.
have the privilege of membership
in the League of Nations and form
their own national army for the purposes of defense and maintenance of
internal order without outside assistance or interference.
�T
62
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,
~_
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Article 9 — There shall be no
discrimination in Iraq against the
nationals of any member of the
League or of States to which the
King of Iraq has guaranteed similar
rights as to members of the League.
This covers companies constituted
according to the laws of the respective countries, and includes questions concerning commerce, navigation, taxes, the exercise of trades
and professions, and the treatment
of merchant vessels and airships.
The article also provides that there
shall be no discrimination against
the exports or imports of the said
States.
Article 10 — This deals with
British protection of Iraqis in countries where Iraq is not represented.
Article 11 —i A clause safeguarding the validity of existing contracts
between the Iraqi Government and
Britsh officials.
Article 12 — Refers to financial
relations and embodies a new agreement to take the place of the Financial Agreement of March 25, 1924.
Article 13 — A new military
agreement to supersede that of
March 25, 1924.
Article 14 — The existing Judicial
Agreement of March 25, 1924, shall
remain in vigour.
Article 15 — Any dispute as regards the interpretation of the treaty shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article 14 of the Convention of the League if, as indicated on Article 8 of the treaty, Iraq
enters the League of Nations. The
present treaty will supersede the
two treaties of alliance signed in
Bagdad on October 10, 1922, and on
January 18, 1926, respectively.
Article 16 — The present treaty
is operative upon ratification.
isatirte**
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*
DEMAND POLITICAL
RECOGNITION OF LEBANON
Al-Hoda, the Lebanese newspaper of New York, has been agitating lately the question of recognition by the Powers of the new Republic of Lebanon as a separate
political unit independent of Syria,
and wants to enlist in this matter
the assistance of France.
In its issue of Dec. 20, Al-Hoda
publishes the correspondence exchanged between its editor, Mr. N.
A. Mokarzel, and Mr. Paul Claudel,
French Ambassador in Washington,
bearing on this matter. The reply
of the Ambassador is couched in
the most amicable terms and promises to bring all matters submitted
to him to the attention of the Foreign Office.
The principal questions the editor
of Al-Hoda calls attention to are
the following:
Inasmuch as Lebanon has been
granted a definite political status
independent of Syria, recognition
as such should be given it by the
Powers through the mediation of
France.
The immigration quota for Syrians, including the Lebanese, is set
at one hundred in the United States,
whereas if the independence of Lebanon were recognized the Lebanese
would be given a separate quota.
Because there seems to be a general movement in Latin-American
republics against the Syrians and
Lebanese, France should take the
initiative, being the Mandatory Power, to defend the interests of Syrians and Lebanese before the PanAmerican Congress.
Mr. Mokarzel also cabled to the
Lebanese Parliament asking that
representation be made with the
French Government for consideration of the above demands.
I
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FEBRUARY, 1928
HAIEK'S TOURS
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WILL BRING YOU POSTPAID
The twelve issues of the first year of THE SYRIAN WORLD
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*
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Many a profitable hour may be spent with this volume
between articles on history, gems of Arabic literature, bits
of wit, wisdom and humor, a veritable feast of poetry, and
the excellent contributions of our best talent both in America and abroad.
With the acquisition of this volume you will be laying
the cornerstone of an encyclopaedia on Syria covering all
branches of knowledge. It is useful to you now and will
be invaluable to the future generation of Syrians in America. (Read testimonials in Reader's Forum.)
�17
THE SYRIAN WORLD
64
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THE LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
319 FIFTH AVENUE,
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COR. 32ND STREET
DOWNTOWN OFFICE
59 Washington St.,
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LEGAL DEPOSITORY OF The United States—New York StateNew York City.
MEMBER OF The Federal Reserve Bank—New York State Bankers Association—American Bankers Association.
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We invite the accounts of Individuals, Firms, Corporations, Banks, and Trust Companies; offering all facilities consistent with conservative banking.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1928_02reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 08
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 February
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 08 of The Syrian World published February 1928. The issue opens with an article about Syrian naturalization in the United States by Joseph W. Ferris (and footnotes by Dr. Philip K. Hitti). The next article discusses the issue of Earthquakes in Syria and Palestine by Dr. Bailey Willis of Stanford University. Next is a poem by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin titled "The Egyptian Violets." There is also another story about the sword of Emir Bashir. Throughout this issue there are excerpts from several Arabic literature works. There is also a continuation of Harry Chapman Ford's play. The issue concludes with the Reader's Forum, excerpts from the Arab press about Syria, and an update on the political situation in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
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1920s
Harry Chapman Ford
Immigration
New York
Palestine
Philip Khuri Hitti
Poetry-English
Salim Alkazin
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THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
No. 9.
MARCH, 1928.
I
CONTENTS
PAGE
Gods, Jinn and a Hall of Fame
3
AMEEN RIHANI
The Perfect Brother
8
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Development of Dairy Farming in Syria and Lebanon
9
GEORGE KNAYSI
Said a Blade of Grass
11
G. K. GlBRAN
Recent Developments in Palestine
12
To a Female Cup-Bearer (Poem)
J. D. CARLYLE
17
�CONTENTS
(Continued)
PAGE
Syrian Naturalization Question in the United States
JOSEPH W. FERRIS
18
The Ameer and the Palace Maid (Poem)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
24
The Meeting (Short Story)
25
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Arab Proverbs
34
The Clemency of Mu(awiyah
35
Notes and Comments — By
39
THE EDITOR
Spirit of the Syrian Press
43
About Syria and Syrians
48
Political Developments in Syria
56
* «B» »
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Jaffa, Principal Port of Palestine
Tel Aviv, Palestine
The Plain of Al-Bekaa, Lebanon
Costes and Lebrix among Friends
�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
.»
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I
VOL. II.
MARCH, 1928.
No. 9.
Gods, Jinn and a Hall of Fame
Jt Study in the Traditions of the Arabs and Their Mythology
By AMEEN RIHANI
of pre-Islamic Arabia is in keeping with
the temper of its soil, the history of its land, and the romantic
spirit of its people. The invisible world, described in the Arabian
Nights, is reflected in the visible forces of nature, which, to a
desert dweller, are as real in their supernatural attributes as the
weal and woe he experiences under them. The simoom is the
smokeless fire of which the Jinn are born; the columns of sand,
rising and whirling in the shimmering spaces, are the ghosts of
Afrits and Ghouls; the mirage is the sardonic laugh of Iblis;
the oasis is the verdant and bounteous hand of some otherwise
invisible deity; the well or spring in the trackless waste flows
direct from the streams of Paradise; a necropolis, fancied to
have been once the city of a mighty tribe, is transformed into a
habitation of evil giants; the subterranean channels found in AlYaman, which were constructed by one of the extinct civilized
nations of antiquity, are represented in Arabic lore as the underground ways leading to the palace of one of the sovereigns of
the Jinn.
Thus the mythology of pre-Islamic Arabia evolved. Every manifestation of nature had a tribe of spirits, the Jinn, behind it, animating it, urging it forth, giving it destructive or
creative power. Whatever they could not fathom or explain
was a token of the spirits or a guide-post to their land. In pagan
times the Jinn were everywhere. A bedouin once found them
THE MYTHOLOGY
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
in his porridge and took a solemn oath never again to taste of
liquid food. King Solomon, as we shall see, had a deal of trouble
with them. Unlike Arab authors, however, I shall endeavor to
maintain a little chronological order. Later then about King
Solomon.
The gods of Arabia in the days of the Jinn were continually increasing in number; for over each tribe of spirits ruled a
deity, who was not always on good terms with the kings of the
land. They even fought for independence. Hence, the wars
and the treaties of peace with them, which are recorded faithfully and solemnly by the Arab historian. Hence, too, the crowded condition of the Kaaba, which was a kind of divine hall of
fame before the advent of the Prophet. For they were always
adding to their idols, the Arabs, in self-defense or as a means
of further protection; and when they could not conquer in battle a certain Jinn nation, they would get around its supreme ruler
diplomatically and offer him a niche in their hall of fame. Every Arab tribe, in fact, aspired to a place in the Kaaba for its
god or gods. But many of these, be it said to their credit, were
excluded because they were either commonplace local deities or
mere symbols of lust and plunder. Nevertheless, their votaries
argued and fought for their recognition.
Nor does it seem that they were jealous of each other, these
gods. There were no Jehovas or Allahs among them. More
laudable than this divine tolerance, however, was the staunch
fidelity of the Arabs themselves, who were always faithful to
their alliances as well as to the gods of their allies. A delegation of one of the tribes once came to Mecca, walked into the
Kaaba, and took its terra-cotta god away, because the god of their
friendly neighbors was excluded. The Sheikh of another tribe
was once asked what he worshipped. "A god made of dates
dipped in sugar and honey," he replied; "and sometimes we eat
him and make another." Strange that such a god was not more
popular; for the Arab was given a sweet, a very sweet tooth, to
compensate, I suppose, for his bitter tongue. He is as much at
home in a pastry shop as in a quarrel. Although he loves his
smoke, too, and his coffee. I do not remember having ever read
(
of any one in the Divine Conclave of the Kaaba that included
the famous herb and bean, or anything similar to them, in his
scheme of eternal bliss.
But there still remains, in spite of Wahhabism, something
�MHBMI
_
MARCH, 1928
5
of the pagan in the; Arab of to-day—the Arab of the desert who
anticipates a good and generous host in Allah. For is he not a
sort of Super-Sheikh with an inexhaustible supply of tobacco
and coffee and sweetmeats? Of what worth his heaven, if he.
were not? It is the bedouin's boast that if he find no coffee and
sweetmeats, at least, in heaven, when he gets there, he would
leave it anon.
The pre-Islamic Arabs were avowedly pagan and often
grossly material. One of their mighty kings was once warned
by a prophet who preached the doctrine of monotheism, praised
Allah the one and only god, in whose paradise flowed streams
of milk and honey and wine. But the unrepenting and blaspheming Shaddad ibn 'Aad disdained the warnings of the prophet. Apparently, he was on good terms with the Jinn- for he
summoned them to build for him a terrestrial paradise, which
should surpass in magnificence and splendor any paradise to
come. The Jinn obeyed} but Shaddad ibn 'Aad did not live
to enjoy the enchanted fruits of their labor.
The invisible spirit-world was indeed as real, as palpable
to the pagans of Arabia as the visible and material} for in their
legendary history, as later in the Arabian Nights, many wars
with the Jinn are chronicled,—the battles are graphically described. Gradually, half of them were conquered, and they
fought with the Arabs as their allies against the other half.
Hence, the good and the evil Jinn we meet with in legend and
tale and creed—in the chronicles, in the Nights, and in the Koran.
Hence, too, the great service they render to the mighty and wise
of the sovereigns of the world. Sometimes they make a mistake, as in the case of King Shaddad, and regret it. But King
Solomon, uour Lord Sulaiman", was the greatest and wisest of
their masters. He was their patron and their friend. For him,
the good Jinn, by the command of Allah, built the temples of
Syria and the palaces of Al-Yaman. Following is the testimony
of the Koran: (1)
1
!
"And unto Solomon," (Allah is speaking to the
Prophet Muhammad) "did we subject the wind, which
travelled in the morning a month's journey, and a
month's journey in the evening; and we caused a fountain of molten brass to flow for him. And of the Jinn
(1) Surat Saba (Chapter XXXIV). — Rodwell's Translation.
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
were some who worked in his presence by the will of
his Lord
They made for him whatever he pleased
of private chambers, and images, and dishes large as
tanks, and cooking pots that stood firmly."
The fountain of molten brass herein mentioned was built
for King Solomon in the desert,—was carried there, in fact, by
the Jinn. This is corroborated in the Muhammedan Traditions,
or Commentaries of the Koran. The Jinn, say the Commentators, having transported the fountain to the desert beyond the
city named Andalus (Andalusia)—their geographical knowledge
is amazing—built there a great city twelve miles in length and
twelve in breadth around the fountain. Later, one of the Khalifs of Damascus, who must have doubted the words of the corroborating witnesses or suspected them of exaggeration, sent one
of his generals, Musa ibn Nusair, on an archaeological expedition. Musa's report is recorded in the Arabian Nights. That
city in the Sahara is called the City of Brass, and the Commentators did not misrepresent the truth or exaggerate it. Indeed,
Musa returned to the Omaiyad Khalif with material for a most
thrilling story, as well as the material evidence of that enchanted land. He brought back with him a specimen of the bottled
Jinn of King Solomon and mermaids which were preserved, he
tells us, in wooden tanks.
This then is atmosphere and flavor of pre-Islamic Arabic
mythology. It is difficult to see how it can be of either Persian
or Indian origin, as some Orientalists maintain. That it is indigenous is, on the contrary, quite obvious. I have dwelled
briefly on the subject, therefore, only to emphasize the fact that
the mythology of The Nights is the very soul of illusion incarnate in the living agencies of nature,—of scenes and elements
peculiar to the Peninsula. In it also, to the dreamer of the desert, the grandiose is as common as the sand and the infantile is
as marvelous as the sun.
This attitude towards the miraculous and supernatural, vested as with Teutons in the anthropomorphic, ascribing to it human feelings and passions, is as strong to-day as it was in the
past. For the Arabs, like the Celtic people, have always resisted,
and are still to a certain extent resisting, their times j and even
though they wear themselves out in the defense of desperate
causes, they never yield absolutely to a superior power or understanding. They are, as a race, more assimilative than pliable.
J
�—
2SS2
MARCH, 1928
7
What they yield to the outside world is much less than what
they take from it. Their own customs and traditions, for instance, were as binding wherever Arabic was spoken in the times
of the Prophet as they were in Arabia proper. Even a native
conqueror had to adopt the manners and assimilate to a certain
extent the traditions of the conquered tribe.
Thus, when they resisted the Prophet Muhammad and
finally surrendered to Al-Islam, they brought with them into
the new creed something of their pagan mythology, which the
Prophet had to accept. The maleficent and the beneficent Jinn
were, therefore, designated as believers and unbelievers, that is
half of them was converted to Al-Islam while the other half
remained pagan. They themselves testify to this in the Koran,
which devotes to the subject a whole Chapter entitled the Jinn.
Says the Prophet:
"It has been revealed to me that a company of the
Jinn believed and said: 'Verily, we have heard a marvelous discourse (The Koran). It guideth to the
truth; therefore, we believe it*"
«
I
The faithful Commentators, who have written a Sahara of
books on the Koran and the Traditions (Sayings of the Prophet),
must have had a subtle sense of humor or they deemed it their
business to elucidate and instruct in an entertaining manner. The
Prophet Muhammad, they assure us, met the Jinn in person,
addressed them admonishingly, and offered them the alternative
of either Al-Islam or eternal perdition. They also had a penchant for detail, the Commentators, and not a little appreciation
of local color. They would seem, nevertheless, in this particular instance, accurate in their report; for they set down the time
and place of that historical meeting. Those of the Jinn who
hearkened not to the Prophet, who preferred in their perversity
eternal damnation to a new religion, became enemies of those
who accepted Al-Islam, and civil wars among them ensued. Some
of these wars are recorded in Arab history, as I have remarked,
and chronicled in The Book of a Thousand and One Nights. No
spice of Arabia, no miracle of faith or romance could sweeten
the bitter enmity that existed between the Jinn.
For they were not only human—they were Semitic. Their
serenity in the face of danger, their impetuousness in moments
of security, their ghoulish, unearthly passion, their magnanimity,
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
8
self-restraint and self-sacrifice, all the contrarieties of their nature are quite consistent with the flamboyant spirit of the Arabs,
whose fancy, like their faith, is fed upon rhapsodies. The delicate beauty, the soft shadings which characterize the Celtic romances, for instance, are wanting in the climate of Arabia as in
its Koran, its poetry, and its literature.
Every moment, whether under friendly or unfriendly influences, the Arab lives fully, intensely, religiously. For him,
the elemental value of things is never lost. Everything essential to the daily task must necessarily mean life or death. Hence,
the exaggerated vesture of his thoughts, the poetic magnifications of his soul, the humorous impossibilities of his vision. To
a city dweller, what is a flower, what is a star, what is a cup of
water? But to one who has often thirsted in the arid waste, who
was often swept to the verge of the grave by the desert storm,
the flower, in the sheer ecstasy of discovery, becomes a magnificent garden, the trickling brackish spring a flowing stream of
crystal water, and the twinkling little star a radiant but friendly
sun!
i
;
The Perfect Brother
Translation of
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Once I had a brother in Allah, and what made him great
in my eyes, was the smallness of the world in his eyes. He was
beyond the tyranny of his desire, so much so that he did never
covet that which was beyond his reach j and toward that which
was within his reach he was never avaricious. He blamed no
man, so that he would not have to find excuses if found in a
like situation. He never complained of pain until he was cured.
He did whatever he said, and said not what he would not do.
He was never forced to keep silent, though he might be forced
into speech. His eagerness to hear surpassed his desire to be
heard. When confronted by two opposing motives, he sought
to find which was akin to the lower passions, and that he shunned.
Seek ye these principles , and cling to them, and boast of
themj and if ye should fail, know that to gain only the few
is better than to lose all. — Ali.
er.
�.- -
-,
MARCH, 1928
Development of Dairy Farming
In Syria and Lebanon
By
GEORGE KNAYSI
Instructor of Bacteriology, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
In a previous article I have discussed in a very general way
the agricultural situation in Lebanon and Syria. I have shown
that the troubles are, so to speak, physiological in nature and
are due to the wrong functioning of the system as a whole. The
treatment should be supervised by vigilant and competent men
and should consist of educating the farmer in the best methods
of soil management suitable to his conditions. Not until every
thing is functioning well can we think of carrying out ambitious
plans for further development of the country's resources. The
present article is intended to call attention to a type of farming
almost unknown in the East, but which seems to have great possibilities in the agricultural development of our country, namely
dairy farmnig.
By dairy farming is meant those methods of soil management which aim principally at the production of food for dairy
herds which in turn transform part of it into milk. Dairy farming, as I said, is almost unknown in our country where grain
and fruit farming are the predominating types and where milk
is produced as a side line in quantities hardly exceeding the needs
of the farm. The milk producer, in our country, is not the farmer but mainly the shepherd with his numerous goats and sheep.
The dairy cow is relegated into a minor position. But the country can sustain only a limited number of shepherds and that number will naturally decrease as the country is developed, and the
major part of their goats and sheep will have to be fenced in
what becomes virtually a dairy farm. I doubt, however, whether, inside of a fence, any of those romantic creatures can compete with the dairy cow in an essentially unromantic age, and,
sooner or later, that animal will survive which will give the
largest amount of milk with the least possible expenditure, and
I believe that certain good breeds of dairy cows will ultimately
win as milk producers.
�1
10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I know, however, of no actual data to support or invalidate
my statement, and a thorough study should be undertaken on
an experimental basis. The goat may hold its own for certain
purposes, for instance the production of milk for making certain types of native cheese, but on the whole, it can be hardly
doubted that to develop in our country successful dairy sections
requires the importation of efficient breeds of dairy cattle which
snould be fed scientific rations for their maximum production,
and the elaboration of a scheme of soil management in which
the native hay plants should be studied with respect to their
food value and their effect on the soil, and, if necessary, new
plants should be introduced. If then we find a steady outlet
for, the milk produced, nature, which is extremely generous with
Syria and Lebanon, will furnish the rest, namely, good soil, cool
climate and plenty of cold water, factors very important for a
successful dairy farming. Of all the sections I have known in
my various travels, the western slopes of the Anti-Lebanon and
the beautiful plains of Al-Beqa{, the Ccelesyria of the Greeks,
will have my choice for the dairy farms of which I am dreaming and have dreamt for the last few years.
The necessary outlets for the milk produced may be many.
Fluid milk consumption should be encouraged and the public
should learn the advantages of milk in the diet especially when
it can be safely used without boiling. Pasteurization plants will
therefore have to be erected, with adequate means of refrigeration in storage and transportation. Beirut, Zahle and various
Lebanese towns could be easily supplied with a high-grade milk
produced in that marvelous section for dairying which lies near
Zahle. The surplus milk could be easily absorbed by the various dairy industries for the manufacture of butter, condensed,
evaporated and powdered milk, ice-cream, various cheeses, milk
sugar, and finally casein which is now extensively used in various
industries. I must not forget to mention also the various sour
milk drinks including our national laban.
Thanks to the researches conducted in various countries
during the last thirty years, the dairy industries are no more
empirical. Every process has been investigated and many are
now well understood. An example will make things somewhat
clearer: Swiss cheese has always been manufactured in Switzerland. Nobody knew why a duplication of the process of manufacturing in the United States, for instance, did not yield any-
\
�MARCH, 1928
'. 1
1 «
I
11
thing resembling the classical Swiss cheese, with its so-called
"eyes" and its characteristic flavor. Switzerland, therefore, continued to supply the world with its much coveted cheese until
the investigations of Dr. Y. M. Sherman, then at the United
States Department of Agriculture and now head of the Department of Dairy Industry at Cornell University, showed that the
"eyes" of Swiss cheese and its flavor are due to certain bacteria
which live in the absence of air. Dr. Sherman was able to isolate
those bacteria and to grow them in the laboratory. Excellent
Swiss cheese is therefore made in the United States. All the
American manufacturer has to do is to add the "eye" producing
bacteria at a certain stage of the manufacturing process, and he
is more certain of success than the Swiss manufacturer who is
still using his old empirical methods. There is no end to similar
examples.
If such industries could be developed in Syria and Lebanon,
what a source of wealth our people would have.
Let us hope that men and the necessary investments will
soon be available to make out of the country of our fathers the
land that flows with milk and honey that it used to be.
Said a Blade of Grass
By G. K.
GIBRAN
Said a blade of grass to an autumn leaf, "You make such
a noise falling! You scatter all my winter dreams."
i
Said the leaf indignant, "Low-born and low-dwelling!
Songless, peevish thing! You live not in the upper air and you
cannot tell the sound of singing."
Then the autumn leaf lay down upon the earth and slept.
And when spring came she waked again
and she was a blade
of grass.
i
And when it was autumn and her winter sleep was upon
her, and above her through all the air the leaves were falling,
she muttered to herself, "O these autumn leaves! They make
such a noise! They scatter all my winter dreams."
I
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Recent Developments in Palestine
(Based on Reports from American Consul Oscar Heizer, Jerusalem, and Commercial Attache James F. Hodgson, Cairo,
and Published in Commerce Reports of Feb. 20, 1928.)
Although under a different mandate, Palestine, nevertheless, constitutes an integral part of Syria, bound to it by race, language and traditions. The problems of the part, therefore, are the problems of the whole,
and in reprinting the following account of conditions in Palestine by the
Department of Commerce we are acting on our policy of giving accurate
and complete information on all subject of interest affecting Syria as a
whole.
The Editor.
Recent reports from Palestine indicate an improvement
from the crisis that prevailed in 1926 and the greater part of
1927. Industrial activity has increased, and the orange crop is
more satisfactory. The unemployment problem, however^ is
still serious, in spite of the increased industrial needs and relief
afforded through additional requirements of labor for construction work on the new Rutenberg hydroelectric project.
The country had made rapid progress during the period
1921-1925, and the reaction which set in during the latter year
was a natural result of overexpansion. This reaction, however,
has not been without certain beneficial effects. It has eliminated
the less stable factors from the economic structure and has resulted in a general readjustment of the country to its increased
population and changed conditions, thus paving the way there
for further constructive work.
Rapid Growth of Population Caused Inflation—Depression Follows.
The population of Palestine at the end of 1926 was estimated at 890,000, as compared with 737,000 in October, 1922.
This increase demanded an urgent demand for housing and gave
impetus to certain small industries, which provided employment
for many immigrants. When the reaction set in during 1925,
however, the labor released from these activities could not be
absorbed by agriculture, which had not progressed so rapidly as
had industry. Moreover, about this time the immigration into
I
�MARCH, 1928
13
Palestine was at its peak, so that a rather difficult situation developed—unemployment increased, the purchasing power of the
people declined, and industries dependent upon the home market
reduced or ceased operations. This situation marked the beginning of the readjustment that has continued through 1926 and
1927.
Funds from abroad had contributed largely to the rapid
development of the country, so that a diminution of this supply
during the past two years has had an important effect on the
credit situation. Money has been tight and the banks have adopted a very conservative credit policy, a condition that has resulted
in numerous failures of concerns established during the peak
of prosperity. These failures, however, are not an accurate index of general conditions in the country, since these concerns
were the first to feel the effects of depression, whereas the more
stable institutions have been able to survive the reaction.
Budget Position Improved.
A satisfactory condition is noted in the progress of public
finances in Palestine. From a deficit of £E72,000, in the budget
of 1922-23 a surplus of £E187,000 is indicated in the 1926-27
budget, leaving a surplus for the period 1922-1927 estimated at
£E500,000 ($2,500,000).
Large Areas Barren—Research Aids Agriculture.
Of the total area of approximately 9,000 square miles, about
one-third is barren land capable of little, if any, agricultural
development. Fully 1,800 square miles more are of questionable agricultural use. The remainder, an area of somewhat more
than 3,000,000 acres, has definite agricultural possibilities, but
in some large sections irrigation and other more or less expensive
operations are necessary for profitable farming.
The chief development in agriculture has been the settlement of Jewish immigrants under the auspices of the various
organizations. Large sums have been spent for the purchase
of land for settlement purposes, considerable areas of swamp
land have been drained, and agricultural experiment stations
have been established; all this has resulted in the introduction
of new crops. A special study of live stock husbandry has been
undertaken, with a resultant improvement in the care of animals
and their breeding; also, an educational campaign has been
launched for the purpose of introducing modern methods of
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
14
poultry farming. A survey was also made of soil conditions, fertilizer requirements, and underground water supply, with a view
to placing agriculture on a more scientific basis.
Fruit Growing Increases—Oranges Most Valuable Crop.
The climate and soil of Palestine are particularly well
adapted for fruit growing, and its development has received
special attention. Oranges constitute the most successful crop
and their culture has developed rapidly since 1921, with large
increase in acreage planted in 1925 and 1926. In the latter
year oranges represented approximately 44 per cent, of total
export values and a small gain over 1925.
Exact statistics of production are not available, but the following estimates have been made for oranges and lemons combined:
BOXES
1921
1922
1923
830,960 1924
1,234,250 1925
1,365,540 1926
BOXES
1,589,330
2,146,450
1,887,500
Watermelons also constitute an increasingly important item
in the fruit production of Palestine. Other fruits grown in commercial quantities are apricots, figs, plums, and raisins, but their
exports are relatively unimportant.
Wheat, barley, durra, and sesame constitute the major grain
crops of the country. Local production, however, is not sufficient
for domestic needs, and certain quantities are imported regularly. This condition has resulted in an increase of area sown to
grains.
Manufacturing Unimportant—Mineral Resources Limited.
Manufacturing is relatively unimportant in Palestine. A
few industries have been introduced, with varying success; but,
temporarily at least, the lack of raw materials and the absence
of coal for fuel handicap the establishment of manufacturing on
a large scale. The fuel need, however, is expected to be substituted by power from the proposed hydroelectric projects under
the Rutenberg scheme. Among the older and more important
industries of the country may be mentioned flour milling, production of silicate bricks (made of sand and lime), vegetable oils
and soap, cement, wine, cigarettes, etc.
The mineral resources of the country have not been fully
t
�1
MARCH, 1928
15
investigated, but partial surveys indicate that the only potential
mineral wealth is contained in the waters of the Dead Sea. The
deposits of this sea represent a valuable asset from a commerdal
point of view, and negotiations for their exploitation have been
carried on for some time.
Commercial Centers Developing—Rapid Growth of Tel-Aviv.
1
s
Jerusalem, with a population of 70,000, is the capital and
prindpal inland trading center of Palestine. From a commerdal point of view, however, it is not of outstanding importance,
although it is the center of the growing tourist traffic of the Holy
Land. Jaffa, the principal port of the country, is the leading
commerdal dty. It is the center for the export of oranges, and
a number of small industries are located there. An outstanding
handicap is the lack of an adequate harbor; ships are forced to
anchor about a mile offshore in an open roadstead, and the loading and unloading of cargoes is effected by lighters. Jaffa is
connected with Jerusalem by a motor road and by rail.
Haifa (or Caiffa) is another growing port. It commands
the hinterland, with which it is connected by rail} is the terminus
of the Cairo-Kantara-Lydda-Haifa line, and is the center of
many good motor roads that radiate from it. It also lacks a
harbor, but it is estimated that less expense would be involved
in developing this harbor than the one at Jaffa.
Tel-Aviv, the center of the Jewish colonies in Judea, has
grown under the impetus of Jewish immigration from a suburb of Jaffa to a munidpality of 40,000 population. The largest
orange and almond groves and vineyards are located in its vidnity. Until 1925 the expansion of Tel-Aviv was such that the
demand for houses was greatly in excess of the buildings available, and an extensive building program was launched in order
to keep pace with the influx of workers and residents. As a consequence, the dty was greatly overbuilt in antidpation of a permanent inflow of population, and the economic crisis which Palestine has been undergoing since October, 1925, has been particularly acute in the dty of Tel-Aviv.
The development of cheap electric power by the Rutenberg
power plant is expected to be a boon to manufacturers in TelAviv and the surrounding country. Though many of the industries have been shut down on account of the present economic
crisis, it is antidpated that, as the crisis subsides, these will reopen.
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Hydroelectric Project Will Aid Industry.
The Rutenberg plan, which has the official sanction of the
Palestine Government in the form of a concession for 70 years
to the Palestine Electric Corporation (Ltd.), Tel-Aviv, Palestine,
calls for the harnessing of the Jordan River at intervals from
its source to the point where it empties into the Dead Sea, in addition to the utilization of the waters of the Yarmuk River in
the same manner. The first dam will be constructed at the point
where the Jordan River leaves Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee)
with a power house at the town of Abadieh. Between these two
points there is a fall of 40 meters in 8 miles.
It has been estimated that when the first stage of the development is completed a supply of 70,000,000 kilowatt-hours of
energy per year will be provided. As consumption, according to
the present requirements, will be 20,000,000 kilowatt-hours a
year, there will be a considerable surplus for new industrial enterprises.
In addition to the hydroelectric development, the Rutenberg scheme also calls for the construction of a system of irrigation ditches, which would convert many large sections of arid
land into farms.
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Railway Improved—Motor Roads Extended.
The economic development of the country has been accompanied by a general improvement and extension of communications. There has been no new railroad construction of any importance, but the existing roads and rolling stock have been improved considerably. The network of motor roads has been so
extended that good roads are now available to all points of intesest in the country, including Bethlehem, Hebron, Nazareth,
the Sea of Galilee, Nablus, Jericho, the Dead Sea, the River
Jordan, Es-Salt, Amman (Transjordania), Damascus (Syria),
Tyre, Sidon, Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, and Tel-Aviv. The Government's program of road construction anticipates further extension to all centers of population in the country. It is of interest
that of 2,123 motor vehicles registered in 1926, 85 per cent, were
of American make.
The streets in the principal cities, particularly in Jerusalem
and. Jaffa, are .not in satisfactory condition, but contracts have already been let for macadamizing the main thoroughfares. It is
planned to resurface all the city streets in the near future.
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�JAFFA, PRINCIPAL PORT OF PALESTINE
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The open roadstead of Jaffa makes the construction of a modern harbor a more expensive
than the development of the port of Haifa, which is fast gaining on Jaffa. (See Article
Developments in Palestine.)
'
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undertaking
on Recent
�TEL AVIV,
PALESTINE
Center of Zionist colonization activities in Palestine which rose within the last few years from a
mere suburb of Jaffa to a city of 40,000. (See Article on Recent Developments in Palestine.)
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�MARCH,
1928
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Imports Exceed Exports.
The balance of Palestine's foreign trade has been consistently unfavorable, varying in amount between $18,000,000 and
$30,000,000 per annum. It is impossible to state to what extent
this adverse balance is compensated by invisible exports and
money remittances from abroad, as even rough estimates of these
amounts are not available.
Imports consist chiefly of textile goods, wheat flour, government stores, colonial products, automobiles, benzine, and vari <ous manufactured goods. Exports include oranges, soap, watermelons, wines, curios, etc.
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American Sales Well Maintained.
The depression has had a marked effect on general imports j
ithese declined about 20 per cent, in 1926 as compared with 1925,
•and a further decrease is indicated for 1927. Imports from the
United States, nevertheless, have been fairly well maintained,
:and the fact that most of the funds contributed for development
work in Palestine originate in this country should have a favorable effect on this trade. Although Palestine itself has a limited
capacity for absorbing foreign manufactures, it is a valuable field
for the introduction of many products that may ultimately find
a market in the adjoining territory.
To a Female Cup-Bearer
Translated from the Arabic by J. D. CARLYLE
Come, Leila, fill the goblet up,
Reach round the rosy wine,
Think not that we will take the cup
From any hand but thine.
A draught like this 'twere vain to seek,
No grape can such supply;
It steals its tint from Leila's cheek,
Its brightness from her eye.
I;
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syrian Naturalization Question
in the United States
CERTAIN LEGAL ASPECTS OF OUR
NATURALIZATION LAWS
By JOSEPH W. FERRIS
PART II.
The Syrians were most anxious to act on the suggestion of
Judge Smith and they immediately carried their appeal to the
Circuit Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, the title of the case
being DOW vs. UNITED STATES, et al (226 Fed. Rep, 145
Sept. 14, 1915.)
It was argued before Pritchard, Knapp and Woods, Circuit Judges. Woods delivered the opinion of the Court. It was
most intelligent and comprehensive.
After reciting the fact that Dow was denied naturalization
upon the sole ground that a person of Asiatic birth is not a free
white person within the meaning of the naturalization statute,
the learned Judge reviewed the Statute at length, stating that
if it be assumed that the preponderance of the argument was
strongly in favor of the conclusion that in 1790 the popular understanding was that people of European nativity or descent
were white, nevertheless, however, the popular conception of
race division became more distinct as time went on, and that such
a construction in 1790 would not be conclusive to the present
statute, because the legislators of later years could not have supposed that the term "free white persons" would carry the restricted meaning as held by Judge Smith, and that the controlling factor in ascertaining the moving intention should be given
to the words as they stand in the present law. He pointed out
that in addition to the amendments at various times, there was
a repeal and a new statute in 1802, and new statutes in 1824 and
1828 ; that in 1870 there had been vigorous debate on the proposition to amend the law by striking out altogether the limitation
to "free white persons" so that all aliens without regard to race
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MARCH, 1928
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could be naturalized. This proposed amendment was defeated,
but it resulted in the extension of the privilege of naturalization to "aliens of African nativity and African descent". That
in 1873 the report of the Committee on Revision of the Laws
omitted the limiting words "free white persons" and that this
report was adopted and the limitation was thus removed, being,
however, reinstated in 1875j and that certainly after all this
Legislative discussion and reconsideration and enactment, the
present statute must be construed in light of the general opinion
now existing that the inhabitants of a portion of Asia, including
Syria, were to be classified as white persons.
With respect to the argument that Syria and the contiguous
countries of Asia near the Mediterranean had been subject to
many changes in their inhabitants through conquests and other
causes, he held that the consensus of opinion at the time of the
enactment of the Statute now in force was that they were so
closely related to their neighbors, on the European side of the
Mediterranean, that they should be classified as white, and must
necessarily be held to fall within the term "free white persons"
used in the statute.
Reference was made by the Court to the opinion of later
writers who are in accord with Blumenbach that Syrians are to
be classified as white people, citing Pritchard, Natural History
of Man, 1848; Pickering, Races of Man 1851; Figuier, the
Human Race, 1872; Jeffries, Natural History of the Human
Race, 1879; Brinton, Races and People, 1901; Keane, Worlds
Peoples, 1908; and the Dictionary of Races as contained in the
reports of the Immigration Commission, 1911, which says:
"Physically the modern Syrians are of mixed Syrian,
Arabian and even Jewish blood. They belong to the
Semitic branch of the Caucasian race, thus widely differing from their rulers, the Turks, who are in origin
Mongolian."
The Court then held that in accordance with this construction of the Statutes, a large number of Syrians had been naturalized without question and that it was significant in view of these
decisions and this practice of the Courts, that Congress had not
seen fit to change the law.
Thus the decision of Judge Smith in the lower Court was
reversed and Dow's petition for naturalization was granted.
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�THE SYRIAN WORLD
20
The Government did not see fit, and this is regrettable,
to appeal. Nevertheless, the decision of the Circuit Court of
Appeals in the Dow case is unassailable.
It is believed, however, that the question has been decided
for all times by the decision of the United States Supreme Court
in the case of UNITED STATES vs. BHAGAT SINGH,
THIND, 261 U. S. 204, (October Term, 1922).
It is true that in the last mentioned case the question pertained to a Hindoo, nevertheless, the opinion of Mr. Justice
Sutherland, delivered on behalf of the United States Supreme
Court, very pertinently answers any contention such as made by
Judge Smith.
It was held that the words "free white persons" imparted
a racial and not an individual test and were meant to indicate
persons of only what is popularly known as the Caucasian race.
This is in direct contravention of the holding of Judge Smith.
It is further held that the mere ability on the part of an
applicant for naturalization to establish a line of descent from
a Caucasian ancestor did not ipso facto and necessarily conclude
the inquiry. "Caucasian" was a conventional word of much
flexibility as the study of literature dealing with racial questions
disclosed and while it and the words "white person" are treated
as synonymous in some of the cases, yet they were not of identical meaning—idem per idem.
The Court held that the word "Caucasian" not only was
not employed in law but was probably wholly unfamiliar to the
original framers of the Statute in 1790, and that when it was
employed by the Court, they did so solely to ascertain the legislative intent.
The United States Supreme Court then went on to hold
that during the last half century, especially, the word by common usage had acquired a popular meaning, not clearly defined,
to be sure, but sufficiently so to enable the Court to say that this
popular, as distinguished from its scientific, application was of
appreciably narrower scope and that it was in the popular sense
of the word, therefore, that it was employed.
The words "White persons" implied a racial test, but the
term "race" was one which for-the practical purpose of the Statute, must be applied to a group of living persons now possessing
in common the requisite characteristics and not to a group of
persons who were supposed to be or really are descended from
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�MARCH, 1928
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some remote common ancestor, but who, whether they both resemble him to a higher or lower extent, had at any rate ceased
altogether to resemble one another.
The question for determination was not, therefore, whether by speculative processes of ethnological reasoning a probability was presented to the scientific mind that persons had the same
origin, but wether such persons can satisfy the common understanding that they are now the same or sufficiently the same to
justify the interpreters of a statute—written in the words of
common speech for common understanding by unscientific men—
in classifying them together in a statuory category as white persons.
The Court further held that the Aryan theory as a racial
basis seems to be discredited by most, if not all modern writers
on the subject of ethnology, and that the term, Aryan, had to
do with linguistic and not at all physical characteristics and that
it would seem reasonably clear that mere resemblance in language indicating a common linguistic root buried in remotely
ancient soil, is altogether inadequate to prove common racial
origin.
As to the word "Caucasian", the Court said that this was
in scarcely better repute and was' at best a conventional term with
an altogether fortuitous origin, which under scientific manipulation had come to include far more than the unscientific mind
suspected.
It said that the various authorities were irreconcilable as to
what constituted a proper racial division and that, for instance,
Blumenbach had five races; Keane, following Linnaeus, four;
Deniker, twenty-nine; and that the explanation probably is, that
the numerous varieties of mankind run into one another by insensible degrees. Therefore a given group cannot be properly
assigned to any of the enumerated grand racial divisions.
The Court then held that the words "free white persons"
are words of common speech to be interpreted in accordance
with the understanding of the common man, synonymous with
the word "Caucasian" only as that word is popularly understood.
In the conclusion of the United States Supreme Court decision, there appears a very important statement which supports
the interpretation that Syrians fall within the provisions of the
Naturalization Law.
The United States Supreme Court said that it was not with-
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�OOOOE'S SEf
THE SYRIAN WORLD
22
out significance that Congress by the Act of February 5th, 1917,
Chapter 39, Sec. 3, 39 Stat. 874, had now excluded from admission into this Country all natives of Asia within designated
limits of latitude and longitude, including the whole of India.
This, in the opinion of the Court, not only constituted conclusive
evidence of the Congressional attitude of opposition to Asiatic
immigration generally, but was persuasive of a similar attitude
toward Asiatic naturalization as well, since it was not likely that
Congress would be willing to accept as citizens the class of persons whom it rejects as immigrants.
While at first blush this statement might seem to be derogatory to any contention that Syrians fell within the provisions
of the Naturalization Law, yet on inspection of the Act of Congress which is now commonly known as the Restrictive Immigration Act, it will be found that Syrians were not one of the excluded class of immigrants because Syria does not fall within
the designated geographical area, from which immigration is
excluded. To the contrary, a fixed quota was established by
Congress for Syrians.
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— BASHA CASE —
It may be further interesting to note that the same Judge
Smith above referred to, had occasion in 1923, on the application of one F. W. Basha, to again raise the question in face ot
the reversal of his decision in the Dow case. He denied the
petition of Basha, assigning as a reason that the passage of the
Restrictive Immigration Act in 1917 showed an intention on the
part of Congress to exclude Syrians from naturalization.
The writer had occasion to deal with this decision at length
and on an application for a rehearing, it being pointed out that
Syria was not within the restrictive territories, Basha's petition
for naturalization was granted.
The geographical limits as fixed by the Act of Congress
of 1917, insofar as they applied to the present question, are as
follows:
On the West — longitude, 50 degrees east of Greenwich Meridian,
On the East — longitude, 110 degrees east of Greenwich Meridian,
and within these East and West longitudes, south of
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islands not
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�OOOOE'S SERIES OF BASE MAPS AND GRAPHS: ASIA ON LAMBERT'S EQUAL AREA PROJECTION; M0.--2Q5
Fee Cka U» n CHOW**. H«*V CIVH Eennomin. «c Prepared by J P*ul Goodt.
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UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 8, SUB-DIVISION (n)
Unless otherwise provided for by existing treaties, persons who are natives of
islands not possessed by the United States adjacent to the Continent of Asia, situate
south of the twentieth parallel latitude north, west of the one hundred and sixtieth
meridian of longitude east from Greenwich, and north of the tenth parallel of latitude
f
'south, or who are natives of any country, province, or dependency situate on the Continent of Asia west of the one hundred and tenth meridian of longitude east from
Greenwich and east of the fiiftieth meridian longitude east from Greenwich and south
Aof the fiftieth parallel of latitude north, except that portion of said territory situate
between the fiftieth and the sixty-fourth meridians of longitude east from Greenwich
and the twenty-fourth and thirty-eighth parallels of latitude north, and no alien now in
,any way excluded from, or prevented from entering, the United States shall be admitted to the United States.
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:
the fiftieth-degree" bf North latitude, excepting the
. part between-longitude 56 degrees and 64 degrees
East and''Between latitude 24 degrees and 38 degrees
-north.
<!;
Thus we see that no part of Syria extends even anywhere
' near the fiftieth degree East of Greenwich, which is the Western
limit of the barred area of immigration, and is over nve hundred miles outside of the nearest exclusion limit.
In addition the conclusive fact is, that Syria was assigned
a quota under the so-called Restrictive Immigration Act.
It is hoped that the question has been settled once for all
and in closing, it might be best to quote the words of Raymond
F. Christ, Commissioner of Naturalization, who in referring to
Syrians, said:
"/ am sure that such evidences of loyalty and patriotism to the Country can have no other than a highly
stimulating effect * * * upon all other nationalities and
American citizens, as well."
The Ameer and the Palace Maid
by DR. N. A. KATIBAH
Translated from the original Arabic of Abu Nawas
A lass hailed swaying down the palace hall.
Half drunk, half sober, winsome, coy and tall}
Her flowing mantle, now let loose, I won;
Her girdle, too, unguarded, came undone.
I pressed the advantage, veiled by sable night;
"Black night," she scorned, "vouchsafes but blind delight.
Nonplussed, I prayed her bind her love to test;
She sweetly breathed: "Tomorrow thou'rt my guest.
But on the morrow when I sought her graces,
,»
"Daylight," quoth she, "the word of night effaces.
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�MARCH, 1928
25
The Meeting
A SHORT STORY
By
HARRY CHAPMAN FORD
Author of "Anna Ascends" etc.
The mystery is still discussed at Khoury's Coffee House,
where, when in town, it is my wont to have my evening meal.
I refer to the strange and sudden disappearance from the Syrian
Quarter of Froscine Sibyan, "Heavenly Froscine" as she was
called, and she was heavenly—divinely so in every possible way.
Beautiful, very dark brown hair, thick at the roots and reaching
to her knees, crowned an oval madonna-like face with cheeks
that seemed to have been kissed by the rose petals of old Syria.
Eyes as deep and as clear as the old wells in the Coele Valley—
a mouth as warm and as sweet as the summer zephyrs which
play around the slopes of Lebanon, and a body as straight and
as graceful as a date palm. Such was Froscine. "The Spirit of
Syria", I called her, transplanted and flourishing on American
soil.
Yes, the mystery is still frankly wondered at and discussed.
She vanished one day and never a trace of her has been heard
of since. Everybody has his version of the affair. The fat little
oil merchant, the lace man, the doctor, the lawyer and all the
rest, have some sort of theory about it. Perhaps, you, too, have
heard of the case and have your own particular ideas concerning it. But now I feel it time to state that all those ideas and
theories are quite wrong—and the true story of it is known only
to me. I, the Anglo-Saxon, who sat at the corner table and
listened, quite amused, at the arguments and discussions, am the
only living being who has the true story of Froscine, that is,
I am quite sure it is the true story, and I should like to hear
from any of my readers and get their opinion on my tale. They
may deride and scoff at it, but let me say that I have gone to
considerable expense, and I hope not waste of much valuable
time, to prove my case, and I am telling this little story with
the fear that you will call me a superstitious and ignorant fool,
wmmm
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
but I will put the facts before you and you can deduct from
them what you will and come to your own conclusions. I lay
my reputation before you and you can weigh and judge it as
you will weigh and judge the story—not story, no, for the tale
is true.
Before I unfold the matter before you, I will digress for
the moment and mention to you an historical and recorded fact.
It should allay some of the doubt you might entertain when you
have done with the story. Here is one thing I want you to remember before you condemn my narrative as impossible and ridiculous and consign it to the waste paper basket. It is this.
Somewhat over one hundred and fifty years ago, near the
old city of Damascus, the wife of a well-to-do Syrian merchant
bore him twins. These children were linked together by a cartilage or gristlei at the hips, like the well-known Siamese Twins,
but in the case of the Syrian children the attachment was not hopeless and the doctor separated them a few weeks after the birth.
However, the surgeon's knife could not separate their souls and
they grew to manhood linked in heart and soul, never out of
each other's sight and with a strong and beautiful love for each
other. At the proper time these boys were, sent to Paris, France,
to complete their education. This finished, they entered business
there and prospered. The First Consul had been proclaimed
Emperor by the Senatus Consultum and plans were being made
to crush Syria under the iron heel along with other weak countries, when Cadoudal, Pichegru, the two Polignacs and others
entered into a plot against Napoleon with the object in view, viz,
the restoration of the Bourbons. Naturally, the two Syrians entered into the plot, which was discovered and proclamations
placarded their names, in large letters, on every street corner,
accompanied by the word, "Trattres a la Republique". The
brothers were forced to flee for their lives, but with a goodly
sum of gold they escaped in disguise and returned to their native
land, separating, however, to help the escape. They never met
again, but to the end they kept in touch with each other, lived
and died as all men should, leaving families. Of course, they
changed their names to avoid arrest, even in their own land,
the arm of the emperor being long, but when the "murderer
of Europe" was safe at St. Helena, they resumed their family
name again. Now, bear in mind, the name was Sibyan. The
incident I have, quoted above may seem, at the present moment,
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MARCH, 1928
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to be vague and involved to you, but I think it will prove my
story beyond a doubt. Let us get ahead with Froscine.
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Froscine's father had been a very good friend of mine and
at his death, I sort of looked after her, or, I should say, she
positively looked after me. I had a studio in New York at the
time, commuting from my home in the country and arriving
there at nine in the morning, I would work until about three
in the afternoon and then go home. Froscine, who held a very
good stenographer's position, would work for me, part time,
getting to the studio sometime after five in the afternoon and
doing odd jobs for me, such as mailing scripts, recording rejections or acceptances, copying plays and that sort of work. Hence,
I rarely saw her, except on Saturdays when we would meet at
one o'clock and spend the rest of the day together, taking in
two performances at the theatres and having dinner in some
little strange eating place. Those were banner days for us. We
both enjoyed them and the scheme of things might have gone
on to no end had not a fatal thing happened. Froscine fell in
love—fell in love suddenly, and to my mind without cause. It
happened in this wise. One Saturday, as we were about to leave
the studio and go to a show, there was a knock at the door. Froscine answered and on the threshold stood one of the most pleasant and wholesome youths I ever saw. In very perfect English
he stated his business. He was a confectioner. The maker of
sweet cakes of all sorts and was soliciting orders to be delivered
twice a week. Would we please taste his wares? And if we
liked his concoctions, would we give him an order? He lifted
the cover of a strange looking basket and there before us on spotless linen were his creations. I recall now that Froscine wasn't
particularly interested in his sweetmeats. Rather did she look
steadily into his face—and after a few words between them, she
gave me the shock of my life by asking him inside. One could
not help liking the boy. What a smile he had. What a smile.
His body was like that of a Greek God, and he was tall for his
race, very tall. We sampled his wares, and as Froscine used to
boss me unmercifully (and I liked it) she ordered cakes for my
particular diet twice a week.
Suddenly, without rhyme or reason, the two burst into their
native tongue. The conversation waxed fast between them, mak-
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TH£ SYRIAN WORLD
ing Froscine and I quite late for the matinee, but I didn't care,
as they seemed so animated and keen toward each other and from
time to time Froscine would throw me a sentence in English and
put me wise to the trend of their conversation. It seemed, by
a strange chance, that they were of the same name—Sibyan—but
probably in no way related, as their parents came from distinct
districts in Syria.
All things must end but love, and so with their first meeting. Amine, that was the boy's name, had customers to seek and
we had a matinee to see. We parted with him and I did not
see Amine for another week. Not so with Froscine. She told
me she saw him every day. It was a true case of love at first
sight. He was her man and she was his woman. There was
no chance of getting away from that fact for either of them.
Love came into their hearts, love all powerful and conquering.
It was thrust upon them without their seeking and they were
dazed by its strength and beauty. The whole affair was beyond
understanding to me. I had never seen anything like it before
and can never hope to again. It was a love that happens once
in a lifetime—five lifetimes. I haven't the words to express it.
It was beyond adjectives. A gift from God. At first it left
me with rather a chilly void in my heart. Something seemed
to have gone out of my life, because Froscine was giving most
of her time to her boy, but my fears were quite groundless, for
instead of having only her I had them both, and the Trinity, as
we dubbed ourselves, spent many a happy hour together.
Matters progressed smoothly. Amine had over seven hundred customers, (his smile was not to be resisted) and had opened a shop, a little shop tucked away on a side street but well
patronized. They were to be married at once and spend their
honeymoon at the studio. Everything was cut and dried.
The three of us were very happy, when America entered
the World War. That awful war which warped men's souls or
ennobled them. Amine did not wait for the draft. He couldn't
nor would Froscine let him. He enlisted—and God only knows
what it cost the two of them. Life ahead of them so clear and
beautiful, but they never hesitated for a moment, even when I
advised it. The die was cast but they would be married at once,
no matter what happened. Arrangements were rushed and there
was need for it as Amine was called to report and given only
twenty-four hours to do so. Twenty-four hours! They were
I
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�MARCH, 1928
29
married inside of five. Of course I stood up with them. We
returned to the studio where they were to spend the few bridal
hours that were left and I remained only a short time to make
necessary arrangements. I shall never forget those last few hours
I spent with them. They sat together, close, on the big divan,
with the moon shining through the window upon them making
the lovers—mates—appear as one, undivided. The conversation was rather vague to me, outside of the little business matters we had to clear up, but, aside from those, I remember Froscine giving Amine a tiny little cross on a threadlike chain, which
he placed around his wrist, swearing never to remove it. It had
been her mother's. I have, too, a very vivid recollection of a
solemn promise made by Froscine, that, no matter the outcome,
dead or alive, they would seek each other out. A strange vow,
dead or alive. Nothing could part them. God was good. Life
was only life, but love was everything else.
I left them to the few hours they had before he was to go
away. I never saw the boy again. He went away early the next
morning and very soon Froscine and I were back in our regular
routine again with slips of rejections and plays. From the time
Amine went away Froscine wrote to him twice a day. Never a
day was missed and the boy answered in kind. The poor dears
seemed to get a lot of happiness out of life though they were
three thousand miles apart. Absence; the space of ocean wide;
the lonely hours which slowly crept apace could net dim a love
like that, but rather enhanced it, if such a thing were possible.
Days passed into months and the months into years. It seemed
strange to me that the wrorld didn't give up trying during that
harrowing time. It was a surprise to me to see the sun rise every
morning, while such awful things were occurring. Yet men continued to barter and sell. Politicians still lied; men still hated
and loved—and some even laughed. Yet again, some even made
money.
Exactly ten days before the Armistice, I (one of the men
who laughed) had attended a heavy dinner down town, where
heavier wine was served. I tired of it and soon left the place,
which was only around the corner from the studio. A little tipsy
I should call myself, not drunk, but just a trifle too much of
wine, which had gone to my head in the overheated dining room.
Once in the street, tke thought came to me it would be wise,
owing to the several holdups that were occurring at the time,
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
that I had better stop at the studio and leave my platinum cuff
links, watch and chain and other trinkets of considerable value,
before I walked across town to the ferryhouse four blocks away.
I would leave them with a note to Froscine. I fancied how pleased she would be when she discovered I had done something she
would want me to do. Her dear old absent minded guardian
remembering to save his valuables from possible footpads.
I opened the door and walked in. There was no light in
the vestibule. I went into the studio proper and switched on
the lights. God of Heaven, I shall never forget that sight.
Froscine was there sprawled out on the floor: her head and shoulders resting against the heavy brass coal box. Her beautiful
hair in gorgeous disarray about her, seemed to be trying with
modesty to protect her. Her eyes were wide open, staring cold
and lifeless ahead. In her left hand was an official looking
document, which I recognized at once as from the War Department. I had seen enough of them to know.
ShQ did not recognize me, could not answer me. Her whole
body seemed turned to stone. I picked her up and carried her
to the couch, then called a doctor friend of mine. He worked
all night over her and at last brought her to normal.
Did I say normal? No. Back to life but not normal. For
three months the poor girl hovered between life and death.
Silent and still. Never a word from her, but I felt that she
was going to live 5 that she wanted to live—for some serious object—I knew not what. At last, one day, she arose from the
bed and dressed. Still beautiful, even with her deep set eyes,
hollow cheeks and wasted form. A few articles she packed in
a bag, then she turned to me and said:
"I'll go to Amine, now. He needs me."
Instantly, I feared that she intended to do away with herself.
"Don't do anything so foolish, my child." And as gently
as possible I added:
"Amine would not want you to do that."
She smiled at me wanly.
"You mistake me, dear friend. I will do nothing like you
think.
She mused: "What would be the good?"
And she cryptically added: "It won't be long, now, anyway."
"What won't be long?" I asked mystified.
MM
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�MARCH, 1928
si
"They cannot keep us apart. We have promised. I sail
for France. Will
will you see me off?"
There was no use arguing with her. She must sail for
France, and sail she did. I stood on the dock and watched the
ship disappear over the horizon, with the tingle of her warm
and chaste kiss still on my lips. That's the last I ever saw of
Froscine in life and that's the answer to the mystery of her disappearance. But that's not the end of my story.
*
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'•if)
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They reached the brow of the hill—the man and woman—
and reciprocally paused for rest. The man removed the cigarette from his lips and pointed the stained and wet end in a
vague manner towards the fast setting sun and spoke.
"It was there, Madame." He gazed at her keenly, expecting a correction by word or sign concerning the madame, but the
woman remained silent and still. He continued:
"It was there. You observe the stone wall? Oui? You
also see the large grey rock where the wall ends? There is a
brook there. At the end of the rock, reaching the water's edge,
is where—where it happened."
He replaced the cigarette in his mouth, puffing contentedly, as if to convey the impression that his information was given
—his work done and it was now the woman's move. Still she
was silent, her eyes fixed steadily on the spot he had indicated.
The man impatiently continued:
"Night is well on us, Madame—and I have passengers—
a bridal couple, to convey to Messincourt by nine—bridal couples
should not be disappointed with all the happy years before them."
He paused a second for a reply but none came, then he
continued— "We are twelve miles from Sachby—will Madame
be so gracious
" The woman seemed to come to life. She
spoke with a strained voice, "The water's edge—at the rock, you
say?"
"Oui, Madame, but nothing was found of him. Not a
button. The shell struck at his feet. The rest of us had fallen
prone, but not he. As a shell bursts fan-shaped w'e escaped, but
he "
"Take this," she almost whispered. She handed him her
full purse, "There is more than enough. Please go—and thank
you"
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The man looked with surprised pleasure at the small but
well stuffed hand bag and then at the woman.
"But, Madame," he objected, yet secreting it in some mysterious pocket under his smock, "you without
er
but
shall I wait for you?"
The woman's eyes had returned their gaze to the rock. I
will have no use for the gold—or for you. You may return
to Sachby."
"As you say, Madame," returned the man, backing towards
the road they had just left. "If Madame finds herself without accommodations, Jean Richard will no doubt lodge her. That
is he, with his two sisters, working in the field beyond the wall."
She glanced toward the three peasants, hoeing lettuce in
the other field. They were working fast, as the lights were turning to black and grey shadows. She answered the man without
looking at him, "I will need no accommodations," then with a
cryptic smile she added, "Return for me in the morning. I |
shall be somewhere near the rock."
"Oui, Madame." He definitely decided that she was crazy.
Fool, that he had been, himself, not to have suspected before.
This tall, dark woman, dressed entirely in black, who seemed
dead all over, save her burning eyes, which were live enough to
drag the rest of her through life itself. She had sought him
out only that morning at Sachby and without any preliminaries,
asked his name—his company and regiment during the war—
and his part of a small skirmish that had taken place near Sachby.
She had brought a letter from headquarters in Paris, so he had
answered all her questions readily enough. Yes, he had reached
Sedan with the American troops after the Hindenberg line had
been broken. Yes, he, as a Frenchman, had been assigned to
such and such company. One or two Frenchmen had been placed
with each company of American troops, to show them the ropes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. He remembered Amine Sibyan, very well.
Nice boy. Wore a gold cross on a small chain around his wrist.
Yes, he knew exactly where he had been killed, but it was useless for Madame to go there. Nothing was found of him. Was
Madame Amine's sister? Yes, yes, he would convey her to the
spot on the morrow. Not today, Madame, it was too late. Time
for supper, nearly. Yet if Madame insisted he would go_ with
her now, but nothing could be seen in the dusk of the evening—
and it would cost her eighty francs. Petrol was so very dear,
*1
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and there was just enough in the tank to take them to the spot
and back—the spot where Amine Sibyan had so unfortunately
been blown to pieces, ever so little pieces. Not a button was
left of him. Those things would happen. He had seen it occur many times during the war.
And so he had brought this strange and ghostly woman to
the place—and she intended to remain through the night. Very
well, let her, but he intended to hide behind the large Lombardy
Poplar and find out just what crazy thing she was up to. From his
place of concealment he saw the woman descend the hill slowly,
her eyes fixed seemingly on the rock he had indicated. When
she reached the spot, she lifted her face toward the sky, her
arms upraised, too, as if she were praying—or, perhaps, giving
thanks for something—yes, that is what it was, for the next instant she was on her knees at the rock, groping through the grass
with her hands, as if searching for something. This seemed to
the man in hiding to take a long time and he was about to stop
his spying, go to his car and drive back to Sachby and the wedding couple, when suddenly the woman stopped her search. She
sat on the grass, her upper body nesting against the rock. A tired
resignation, yet triumphant attitude, told him that she had been
successful in her search—whatever it was for. She laid there
as still as death. Then the watcher was attracted by the actions
of Jean the peasant and his two sisters. Jean, with a cry, pointed toward the wall in an agitated manner with his hoe and the
girls stood transfixed with awe and fear. They could not see
the woman in black. The watcher was sure of that, because the
wall and rock hid her completely from the lettuce workers, hence,
what was causing the stir in the other field? The two girls,
dropping their implements, backed down the row of lettuce, then
turned and ran, Jean following them at a more dignified gait.
The watcher came from his hiding place to meet them and hailed them cheerfully, so as not to frighten the girls, who seemed
to be at their wits' end. The little group reached him.
"God of Heaven," Jean panted, "but we have just seen
something—saw it with our own eyes." The girls were crying
softly with fright.
"Yes, Monsieur," said the man from Sachby, noncommittingly. "With our own eyes," Jean repeated. "A soldier in an
American uniform and a woman dressed in black appeared from
behind the wall near the old grey rock—appeared, I say, and
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
34
walked toward the sun-strange-strange-they were ghosts,
I am sure, for they walked right into the setting sun and disappeared again." He paused, pearing through the gloom at the
man from Sachby in a threatening manner, as if to dare his disbelief. "Do you believe me? Ask Sophie and Annetta, here.
i
1
They
ThaeVwaltrand rock were now hidden in the darkness of
night. The man did not answer. He turned to the road toward
HlS
^iTeinhTtruth," insisted Jean. "We saw them, arm in
arm, like lovers, young and true lovers, walk into the sun.
The man turned to answer him. "Perhaps your imagination,
or the black bread you eat. Get into my car and I will drive
you to your cotta.ee." So they went their way
The next morning the woman was found dead—just as the
man had seen her last. Her face was so beautiful in death with
a heavenly smile that seemed to promise her so much in^ that
mysterious life that is to come. Nothing was found on the wo"an to identify her, save in her left hand tightly d..sped to
her heart, was a little gold cross on a thread-like chain of gold.
They buried her with it—neath the rock.
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Arab Proverbs
Two things only those who have lost appreciate most: Youth
and Health.
Better be silent until you are asked to speak, than speak
until you are asked to be silent.
The wise man is he who makes his own breast the repository of his secrets.
Poor sight is not so much of a shortcoming when one is
blessed with insight.
To ask for undeserving praise is the worst presumption.
The supposition of the learned man is superior to the assertion of the ignorant one.
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35
The Clemency of Mu'awiyah
His Great Forbearance with Zarqa, the Koufite woman Who
Exhorted the Followers of (Ali to Resist Him.
ADAPTED FROM THE ARABIC.
The years immediately following the death of the Prophet
Mohammed were turbulent days for Islam. The issue of succession led to bloody warfare among his followers even though
they were relentlessly pursuing their ever widening plan of conquest. Mu'awiyah had firmly established himself in Syria and
was formulating his plans for a world empire. He was not only
an able general but a master statesman and administrator. He
contested the right of 'Ali to the Khilafat and resolutely went
to war in defense of his claim. The Day of Saffeen, in which
was waged the great battle which was to decide the issue, witnessed one of the bloodiest, most desperate engagements in the annals of the Arabs. Mu'awiyah won and firmly established his
rule* in Damascus. For nearly a hundred years the dynasty which
he founded was master of the destinies of the Islamic Empire
which had expanded to a larger extent than that of the Roman
Empire at the height of its power. Even during the lifetime
of Mu'awiyah most of the conquests were accomplished.
Following the battle of Saffeen, Mu'awiyah one day called
to him his principal lieutenants and supporters to discuss matters of state. The conversation naturally ran first into reminiscences of the signal victory achieved. Some of those present
were bitter in their denunciation of the instigators of the struggle and those responsible for the continuation of the battle after
the preliminary stages. They all agreed that had it not been
for the impassioned appeal of a certain Koufite woman of the
opposing camp the battle would not have lasted so long or taken such a heavy toll in blood.
"I well recall," said a member of the council, "how this
woman, mounted on a conspicuously red camel, harangued the
enemy and urged him on to battle. She is the Zarqa, daughter
of Adee and hails from Al-Koufa. She was indefatiguable on
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
the day of Saffeen. Wherever the lines of the enemy wavered
she drove her camel to their midst and steadied them. Her
words carried such magic force that the cowards were inspired
by them to new courage, those attempting to flee were turned
back to fight and the scattering ranks of the enemy were held
together so much longer. But for her, the friends of 'Ah would
have never resisted our onslaught for the length of time they
did or caused us so much loss."
All those present who had taken part in the memorable
battle acquiesced in the statement of the speaker, and in reply
to Mu'awiyah's question as to what they would advise should
be done to Zarqa, all favored putting her to death.
But the wise Mu'awiyah was indignant at such counsel.
«Fi on you and your ill advice," he said in reply. "Would you
have me, in the consciousness of my power, wreak vengeance on
a woman because of her loyalty to a doomed cause? Such, by
Allah, shall never be." And Mu'awiyah forthwith summoned
his secretary and dictated a letter to his agent in Al-Kouta ordering, him to have Zarqa sent to him to Damascus with some ot
the principal men of her tribe and that all should be provided
on the way with all possible conveniences of travel. Mu awiyah
was determined to again show the magnanimity of character, the
clemency, the benevolent statesmanship which made his reign
one of the most glorious periods of early Islam.
At the appointed time Zarqa reached Damascus and appeared before Mu'awiyah who greeted her most kindly and inquired after her comfort during the journey. The preliminary courtesies over, he asked her if she knew the reason he had sent tor
her and if she had entertained any fears, to which she replied
that she was at the mercy of the Caliph for him to dispose ot
her in accordance with his conception of justice.
"I have sent for you," said Mu'awiyah, "to ascertain from
vou if you were the woman who rode the red camel in the battle of Saffeen and harangued the followers of 'Ali to fight against
me, causing thereby so much more bloodshed among the faithful'?"
"Truth cannot be denied," replied Zarqa.
"But what prompted you to such an act?" again asked Mu'awiyah. ^^ ^ ^ Faithful," she replied, "the head has
n9w been severed and the body mutilated, so why revive dis-
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�MARCH, 1928
if
cussion in a subject that is only iiabie to cause sorrow and pain?
Just as night succeeds day, so do events succeed one another and
bring about different conditions. Whosoever gives a little thought
to different matters will not fail to discover the reasons thereof."
"What you have stated is all true, O aunt," said Mu'awiyah.
"But I would like, to have you repeat your harangues to the followers of 'Ali on the day of Saffeen. Can you recall them?"
"No," she replied.
"Then let me repeat them as best as I can recall that you
may be the judge of their authenticity. You were heard to say:
'O men, candle light cannot eclipse the sun, nor the rays of the
stars dim the brightness of the moon. You know that the mule
cannot outdistance the fleet horse, and that only iron is strong
enough to break iron. You are now fighting for a sacred and
just cause. Let anyone ask us our stand and we shall tell him
that Truth was seeking its course and has now found it in our
defense of our cause. Now you who claim the distinction of
being Immigrants and the Supporters of the Prophet, can you
not see that Justice has been established and that Truth has prevailed? Can it be that the righteous should be on a parity with
wrongdoers and the believers stand on equality with the unbelievers? To battle, then, in defense of right and justice, and
let your stand be that of men who are not found wanting in
courage! Fear you to be smeared with blood? Why, blood is
the ornamental dye of men just as henna is the ornamental dye
of women. Hold then your ground and let not the cohorts of
usurpation and injustice overcome you, for this is the day that
is pregnant with all the possibilities of the future, after which
there shall be no other day in which to retrieve a lost opportunity!'"
Having thus quoted the woman's words, Mu'awiyah asked
her if the quotation was correct, and upon receiving from her
an affirmative reply he said to her: "By your own admission, O
Zarqa, you have become a partner to 'Ali in all the blood he has
shed."
But to the surprise of Mu'awiyah and all those present, the
woman replied: "May Allah amply reward you, O Prince of
the Faithful, for the extremely good news you have just imparted to me in classing me with 'Ali. Truly, you are the fit
bearer of joyful tidings and the one who knows exactly what
most pleases his guests."
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
38
And upon recovering from his surprise, Mu'awiyah, still
the patient, forbearing, wise ruler he was reputed to be, asked
her: "Have my remarks truly caused you joy, and you would
feel" proud in sharing with 'All all the responsibility of the blood
he has spilled while fighting me, I who now show you such consideration?"
"Aye, by Allah," replied the woman, "your words have
pleased me exceedingly and I only wish that they could be made
" Mu'awiyah would want no more proof of the loyalty of
Zarqa to her chosen cause, but instead of wreaking vengeance on
her he expressed his admiration for her in no uncertain terms.
"By Allah," he said, "I admire more your loyalty to 'Ah after
his death than your love for him when he was alive. State now,
O Zarqa, your wants and they shall be granted."
But Zarqa would not state her wants. She seemed to further aggravate matters by saying that she had vowed not to ask
a favor of anyone save 'Ali.
"But do you know," said Mu'awiyah, "that many of those
who have checked up on your actions advised me to put you to
"Had you followed their advice, O Prince of the Faithful,"
she said, "you would have degraded yourself to their mean natures and lowly station."
_
"This we shall never do," replied the wise Caliph. Rather,
we shall pardon you and grant you our most favored protecL
* At this great display of forbearance, the haughty spirit of
the woman gave way to an expression of extreme gratefulness
and appreciation, and she replied: "O Prince of the Faithful,
this is but another indication of your great magnanimity. It is
only the likes of you who substitute forgiveness for revenge,
who overlook human faults and who give without being asked.
Whereupon, the great Mu'awiyah ordered that the woman
be given money and clothes in large quantities, that she should be
escorted back safely to her home city, that all her tribe be treated with consideration, and that she should be alloted, for lite,
the revenue of a plantation which amounted to sixteen thousand
dirhams annually.
�MARCH, 1928
39
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
A
THE EDITOR
of honest service has the salutary effect of
stimulating the desire to continue, to improve, and to increase.
This about represents our reaction to the many expressions of
approval received over the service being rendered by THE SYRIAN WORLD. It more than repays for the unsatisfactory financial return in the publication of the magazine.
And what is more gratifying
is the fact that appreciation
comes not only from individuals but from public bodies as
well. We can point with pride
to the fact that many organizations and patriotic groups not
only in the United States but
abroad also have shown tangible
proof of their appreciation by
making gift subscriptions to editors, legislators, government
officials and others whom it is
to the interest of Syrians to enlighten on their past history
and present conditions.
But the service of THE SYRIAN WORLD seems to be destined to cover a much wider field
than that confined to its English-speaking readers. The appreciation 'of some Arabic editors of the distinct value of the
original contributions appearing
PPRECIATION
in the publication is what makes
this possible. This is best illustrated in the case of AL-HODA,
the oldest and most widely circulated Arabic paper in America and one of the foremost in
the world. Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor1 of AL-HODA, proves
his appreciation of the quality
of our subject matter by having
whole series of articles translated and republished in his paper,
giving thereby double value to
the service THE SYRIAN WORLD
is rendering.
We point to this fact with a
certain degree of elation because
we see in it proof that our labor
is bearing fruit of a certain
kind. So far we cannot testify
truthfully to receiving the hoped for amount of popular support. It was on that account
that we asked for a referendum
on the question of the subject
matter of the magazine. What
was determined by the replies
was that the policy and purpose
of the publication were overwhelmingly approved by the
educated class, but unfortunately this class, in point of numbers, is proportionately small.
What they can do,—what they
are doing,—is to consider themselves partners in the enterprise
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
countrymen to collective action.
He personally attended the
trial before Judge Smith in
Charleston and had several
private interviews with him.
Now, apropos of the publication in THE SYRIAN WORLD of
a historical review of the case,
Mr. Mokarzel writes reminiscently of an interesting conversation which he had with Judge
Smith on the ethnological qualifications of the Syrians for adJVAR. N. A. MOKARZEL, editor mission to America and their
of AL-HODA, contributes an eligibility for citizenship. On
interesting detail to the history general grounds, Mr. Mokarof the fight which the Syrians of zel reminded the judge that
the United States waged to es- the Syrians were a branch of
tablish their eligibilityf or Amer- the Semitic race and that Christ
can citizenship. As can be de- was a Semite. "Would the
duced from the history of the learned judge, therefore, excase given by Mr. Jos. W. Fer- clude from America the racial
ris, the fight was precipitated by kins of the One who gave to
the obstinacy of Judge Henry America its very religion?"
A. M. Smith in refusing to, adMr. Mokarzel states that
mit that Syrians were free white
persons within the meaning of there was no hesitation on the
the naturalization law. That part of the judge in declaring
was in 1914, and the Syrians emphatically that "If Christ
all over the country were arous- Himself were to apply for cited as never before in their his- izenship he would deny it to
tory to defend their national Him."
Quite a strong statement inhonor. They wanted to prove
deed.
The judge must have
themselves deserving of the
high privilege of becoming made it during the heat of argument in a moment of extreme
Americans.
A leader in the fight at that vexation. We would not at
time was Mr. N. A. Mokarzel. this late moment bring him to
Both through his influential pa- bar; for having delivered himper and by his personal efforts self of an expression so irrehe helped crystallize Syrian sponsible. But it is interesting
public opinion and arouse his to learn the extent of passion
so that financial returns will
make possible the continuation
and the widening of the service
—this service which is considered by them indispensable. In
time, we hope, we shall be able
to announce that the business
side of the enterprise is proving
equal to the appreciation it is
now receiving from the educated class.
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�MARCH, 1928
which prompted the jurist to
assume the attitude which precipitated the controversy. At
that' time there had been no revival of the Ku Klux Klan
movement, but those were the
smouldering fires which were
destined to burst into flame
later.
41
he treats the subject mainly
from the American, Western,
point of view.
We feel sure our readers will
enjoy the short stories of Mr.
Ford as much, or even more,
than they enjoyed his serial,
"Anna Ascends", which was
published in the original play
form as it was given on the
And what
J-JARRY CHAPMAN FORD, who New York stage.
should
be
of
particular
interest
is well known to readers of
is
that
we
have
Mr.
Ford's
THE SYRIAN WORLD, contributes to this issue an original promise to contribute liberally
short story which savors much of these fine stones in the fuof the spiritual and mystical. ture.
We can well imagine that Mr.
Ford's account is not that of QLOZEL and its vicinity have
an actual experience. His fersucceeded in gaining a good
tile imagination as an author deal of publicity. Perhaps the
and playwright may well be American press did not care to
depended upon to supply a plot. publish about the incident conBut it is interesting to study his nected with that French town
trend of mind in the roles he other than the details of the
assigns to the Syrian heroines scientific pontroversy which split
of his plays and stories. He the learned men of Europe into
is always picturing them of two hostile camps. Otherwise
highly intellectual and educa- we would have learned long
tional aspirations. A few im- since some of the reputed causes
aginary circumstances are, of for the perpetration of the
course, necessary to lend at- great hoax.
mosphere and complete the
We now learn from the Syrscheme, as, for instance, in the ian press, which in turn claims
case of the waitress in "Anna to have gained its information
Ascends" and the part time from the European press, that
stenographer in Greenwich Vil- those originally responsible for
lage. But we may be sure that the Glozel incident had carethe author's object is to bring fully engineered the scheme
out the finer intellectual quali- for purposes of publicity. They
ties of the Syrian girl as he has were interested in promoting
come to understand her, albeit the locality as a winter resort,
�"'wmii i
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42
and to add to its many attractions they concocted the scheme
of making it a suitable field
for archaeological research.
If this be true, little did the
sponsors of the move dream
that their scheme would lead to
such a bitter controversy where
scientists of rank are now concerned more in the vindication
of their reputations than in the
intrinsic virtues of the place.
The way matters seem to be
now going, the dispute is bound
to be settled in court.
As descendants of the old
and honorable Phoenicians,
whose great contributions to
civilization are being challenged
by the Glozelians at such a late
hour, we can but assume a policy of watchful waiting.
It
seems/ unnecessary for us to put
up any defense of the claims
of our ancestors, as developments in the Glozel controversy seem to amply take care of
that, the latest development
being that a sudden raid on a
certain farm in Glozel by an
anti-Glozelian savant and seven
officers of the law yielded unmistakable evidence that some
of the discoveries bore inscriptions of very modern origin.
The spurious nature of the finds
is not contested by the Glozelians, but they ascribe it to underhanded methods by their
opponents to discredit them.
So, in the end, both the pros
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and cons are reaching a point
where they will both agree that
beneath the whole affair there
is a streak of fraud.
There is an Arabic adage
that says: "Let pottery break
up itself." The moral of this
is that pottery being fragile,
hollow and possessing no inherent strength, will wreak easy
destruction upon itself when it
collides. This seems to be the
destiny of Glozelian aspirations,
while the claims of the Phoenicians seem to be moulded of
something much more substantial than baked clay.
of economic possibilities in Syria and Lebanon
cannot fail to appreciate the
value of the articles contributed
by our countryman Mr. George
Knaysi, of Cornell University,
and of which the one published
in this issue is the last of the
series. Mr. Knaysi is eminently qualified to give an expert
opinion, and he gives it without reservation, on the possibilities of dairy farming in Syria.
Just as the writer suggests, this
may prove to be a most profitable enterprise for the investment of capital. But technical
knowledge is also required and
that is where the scientific
training of such men as Mr.
Knaysi should prove to be most
valuable.
CTUDENTS
�MARCH, 1928
43
Spirit of the Syrian Press
I
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
HOW
THEY UNDERSTAND
AMERICANISM
in the nation of which he has "become" a part, even though he were
to sew the naturalization certificate
into his skin!
You who have just been invested
with the new cloak of Americanism;
Go to any museum and ascertain
who belittle yourselves and your anfor
yourselves how the Americans
cestors; who mock of your customs
take
so much pains in preserving
and traditions; who make no secret
of your disgust with life and cir- everything Oriental, be it of manucumstances simply because you were scripts, statues, extiles, books, coins
not born in a country other than and all other objects of art. Can
Syria, we ask you to check your you not stand before these relics
speed a little and give matters some and recall that you are the descendants of a people who were the misconsideration.
Tarry, O please tarry a while and sionaries and apostles of civilization
reflect on the folly of your actions, and progress to the whole world
for what you are doing is altogether in their days ? While you who were
foreign to the true spirit of Amer- not able to regain your lost glory
icanism. Can you not realize that have scattered in all parts of the
Americanism which requires the world adopting now the citizenship
renunciation of your former citi- of this country, and then that of
zenship and allegiance does not the other, much like water which
necessarily require that you renounce takes on the color of the vase in
also the virtues of your race and which it is placed.
whatever you have of worthy cusVerily we say unto you, now, totoms and traditions? Can you not morrow and forever, that he who
see that this nation which you so fails to find in the history of a coungreatly admire is composed of noth- try such as Syria sufficient cause
ing less than various racial elements for pride in the face of the whole
extracted from the Old World from world, will not be of much gain to
which you also have come?
Americanism in such a case. Be*** The man who fails to appre- cause every true American is a true
ciate the beauty spots of the nation man, and the true man is he who
of which he "was" a part may nev- loves the beautiful wherever it is
er be expected to detect these spots found. Hence, the Syrian who is
�44
ashamed to proclaim in public his
racial origin will only give cause
to America to be ashamed of him.
Respect yourselves, then, you
who do not understand the true
American spirit either in whole or
in part.
And you may well be sure that
if you are unable to feel proud in
being Syrians you will be equally
unable to feel proud that you are
Americans.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Feb. 14, 1928.
PURITY OF LEBANESE BLOOD
There is a sprinkling of foreign blood in every nation, but the
Lebanese are among those nations
whose blood is purest, and this because of a manifest reason: They
were never in the direct course of
conquerors in their sweep over the
country, but were always at a safe
distance, entrenched in the fastness
of their mountainous strongholds.
Even Alexander the Great would not
attack Lebanon because of the
strength of character of its inhabitants and the resoluteness of their defense of their mountain. The Egyptians, Chaldeans and others followed
the same course in the ebb and tide of
their military movements and were
satisfied at all times to seek their
way along the shores, at the base of
the mountain, refraining from any
attempt at subduing the inhabitants
by a determined pursuit to the summits.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Feb. 23, 1928.)
IN MEMORY OF WASHINGTON
We Orientals mays well profit
of the three outstanding characteristics of Washington: his loyalty,
sacrifice and perseverence.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
How salutary it would be for our
leaders to forget everything but
these three virtues and take them
as their guiding torch in the service
of the nation. Then it would be possible for us to point out the leader
and say: "Behold the Washington
of the East and the honest servant
of his people," instead of simply
saying: "This is the great leader,
the pen and sword wielder... etc."
And well may our pseudo-leaders
remember that it would have been
possible for Washington to have
himself declared king with the right
of succession reposing in his heirs,
but he resolutely refused, while they
only use their avowal of patriotism
as a means for obtaining appointment to office or seeking personal
gain.
They would do well to learn a lesson in nobility of character from
Washington when he wrote on the
occasion of his election to the presidency: "I feel as though I were a
condemned man being led to execution."
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1928.)
THE CHRISTIAN POWERS
FAVOR MOHAMMEDANS
Fidelity to truth compells us to
state that the Christian powers,
without exception, favor the Mohammedans and show extreme solicitude for their interests whether
they be in Syria, Arabia, Russia,
Afghanistan, or any other country.
Christians, therefore, who lull
themselves into the belief that this
or the other of the Christian Powers will give them protection and
champion their interests are laboring under false hopes.
Every one of the Christian Powers
is bent on the promotion of its
I
�MARCH, 1928
own interests and will sell the
cause of the Christians who
place their hopes in her at the cheapest price when it comes to a question
of self interest.
You say that the English protect
the Christians. Pray, can anyone be
blind to the partiality of the English to the Mohammedans? Who,
then, furnished the Druzes with
arms and ammunition in their last
revolt ? Would it have been possible
for the Druzes to procure arms
from outside of Syria had it not
been for the helping hand of the
British?
»1
And the French. Do you think
they are much better than the English in this respect? Study them
in Syria and find out for yourselves
how they sell a thousand Christians
for the mere smile of a Druze or
Moslem leader. Just see how they
treat the notorious Druze rebel, Ali
Oryan, while they turn a deaf ear
to the piteous appeals of the Christian sufferers of Druze barbarities.
The same applies to all other
Christian Powers, including Germany
and Italy, Who can forget the stand
Emperor William took with the Mohammedans ? His words at the tomb
of Saladdin in Damascus in which
he challengd the right of Christians
to remain in Mohammedan countries
are history.
It behooves you, then, O Christians of Syria, to be courageous and
firm in the defense of your national
interests and to place no dependence
upon this or that power because,
as the adage goes, none can better
scratch your skin than your own
nail. And if you do not rise in defense of your own rights your cause
will be surely lost and you will be
facing certain destruction.
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y., Feb. 10, 1928.)
45
OUR STAND IN THE
CONTROVERSY
There remains no further excuse
for us in maintaining silence. AlBayan is with the revolution on an
-ancompromising stand.
Why do some simple-hearted people want us to assume a passive attitude when we find anarchy rampant in the ranks of the revolutionary workers? There is not a mail
from abroad but is filled with circulars from this or that faction each
denouncing the other and blaming
it for the continuation of the controversy.
Now that we have pursued these
circulars and acquainted ourselves
with the causes of dissension among
the ranks of the Nationalists, we
can categorically declare that the
failure of peace negotiations must
be placed directly at the doors of
the Lutfallahs and their followers.
We would not hesitate, therefore,
to declare that complete separation
from these people is imperative.
How long do those who counsel
silence want us to maintain an impartial attitude? They would want
us to suppress the facts from our
readers for fear of arousing the
ire of our enemies. This we shall
not do in the face of all that we
read in the Egyptian press of what
is going on abroad. We declare ourselves unequivocally to be on the
side of those whose say should be
the first in such matters, and they
are those who persevered in the
field incurring daily danger and untold privations, and not those who
live in Egypt and Palestine enjoying all luxuries of life from riding
automobiles to sleeping in silken
beds...
Is it possible that thousands of
valiant patriots should be undergo-
�SSHHB
46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ing the direst privations and the however, that a cable was sent to
constant dangers of warfare in the the Committee from Detroit conveydesert, while others are safely lodg- ing the decision of the New Syria
ed amid the luxuries of civilization, Party in America to revoke its auand that the latter should claim thor zation of Toufic Yazegy to repthat the say is thoirs and the shap- resent it before the Committee.
ing of national policies their privil- (Yazegy was a delegate to the conege? And in face of all that they vention of the New Syria Party in
would have the brazenness of de- Detroit in 1927.) While another
claring that they have deposed the cable communication was sent the
Syrian Delegation in Europe and Committee from Argentine forbidcable the League of Nations that ding Dr. Shahbandar from reprethey would soon send to Europe a senting the Arab National Party of
new delegation to represent the Syr- Argentine so long as there was division in the ranks of the Nationalian Nationalist Party?
Thisr indeed, is more than could ists.
In view of these facts, we find
be borne with honor. It is for this
reason that we cannot agree with ourselves unable to adhere to any
those who would have us maintain policy of silence. We have seen
silence. And why the silence when enough acts of bad faith calculated
news of the dissension between the to bring injury to the Nationalist
Nationalists has covered the earth. cause. We therefore believe it is
To mainta-n silence in view of the our duty to stand by the faction
situation would be construed as rank Which is true to the cause and is
prosecuting the struggle for the
cowardice.
One of the most ridiculous acts liberation of the country. We are
of the Lutfallahs and their clique with the delegation which for years
was their deposition of Sultan Pasha has represented the cause in Europe
Atrash as leader of the Syrian re- competently and honorably and
volution. In one of the statements whech is composed of Emir Shakib
given out by the Syrian Bureau of Arslan, Ihsan Bey Jabiry and Riadh
Information in Cairo, the agency of Boy Sulh. We will not recognize any
the Lutfallahs, we read the follow- other which the Lutfallahs may aping: "The Executive Committee of point to enter into bargaining negothe Syrian Revolutionary Party does tiations with France to the detrinot recognize a man by the name ment of the country. The Lutfallahs
of Sultan Atrash or one by the name have no object in view but to exof Adel Arslan, nor does it recog- ploit the Revolution to their own
nize the existence of the so-called benefit. They would give all the
committee of the revolutionary victims of the Revolution as a price
for a throne in Lebanon.
high command."
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1928.)
In another statement the Bureau
announces that it is in receipt of
WHY IS IMMIGRATION
cable advices from Europe, America
RESTRICTED
and Syria approving the action of
*** It is not conceivable that the
the Committee in revoking the auUnited States should harm itself
thority of the Syrian Delegation in
in order to accommodate the immiEurope to represent it.
grants who are flowing into it from
The facts of the situation are,
ft
)
\
�MARCH, 1928
1/
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en
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128.)
; the
tself
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all parts of the world. Economic
conditions in the country are not
what could be desired, and to permit unrestricted immigration would
only tend to make them worse.
The United States could not be
held to blame for adopting this
policy any more than England,
France, Italy or Germany. We hear
no voice raised in protest against
any of these countries.
Is it not strange that the Syrian,
for instance, should blame the United States for barring him from entry into the country and not blame
his own government or that of the
Mandatory Power which heaps indignities upon him and drives him
out of his own country while letting
down the bars and permitting the
influx of shiftless strangers to come
and establish permanent homes in
the land, as is the case with the
Jews in Palestine and the Armenians in Lebanon?
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
Feb. 8, 1928.)
f
/
.
*
',
AS IN THE EAST,
SO IN THE WEST
Our steamer stopped at Charleston, W. Va., on its way to Jacksonville» Fla. Here the tourist is treated to a strange sight. No sooner
does the ship weigh anchor than the
longshoremen swarm about dancing
the Charleston and vociferously asking for tips. When small change is
thrown to them they scramble for it
like a pack of street urchins. Some
even go to dangerous limits in leaning over the dock to catch a piece
of money thrown to them.
Nothing worse than this is seen
in any of the ports of the East.
Where in the East poverty-stricken urchins clamor for the "bakshish"
we find here in Charleston men who
receive good wages for their day's
47
work stoop to this low level.
Though the subject may seem
trivial, I feel I owe this in defense
of the East against the preposterous
representations of some American
tourists and missionaries who feel
no scruples in exaggerating what
they witness of these superficial incidents in the East with the object
of promoting their own personal interests and creating a market for
their books.
Nations are not judged by their
longshoremen and urchins, nor by
their muleteers, camel-drivers and
even dragomen.
Every nation has its intrinsic
character which should be sought on
its proper throne and in its native
abode, and not in alleys and by-ways,
or in the plains and the forests of
the country.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1928.)
SELF-INTEREST VS.
PATRIOTISM
The clift in the ranks of the Syrian Nationalists, as represented by
the Executive Council of the SyroPalestinian Committee, gives us a
sorry lesson in patriotism as against
self-interest.
Although we differed with this
committee in principle, we had cherished the hope that this might be
the forerunner of a new era in collective action among the Syrians.
It has now become evident that
at the bottom of all these efforts
there was the motive of personal
benefit. Even Emir Shakib Arslan
had proposed terms of a treaty with
France which M. de Jouvenel thought
preposterous. Now we are treated
to some revelations which make us
despair of any such hopes as we
had previously cherished.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y.f Feb. 16, 1928.)
�•—
THE SYRIAN WORLD
48
About Syria and Syrians
he spent visiting historical places
of interest in the city and in the
afternoon attended the military review held in his honor.
President of Republic Takes Part in
Nine o'clock in the evening was
Ceremony at the Syrianthe time set for his visit to the
Lebanese Club.
Syrian-Lebanese Club. He was received at the door by the President,
The Syrian-Lebanese colony of Mr. Naman Turk, and other officers
Santo Domingo feel justly proud of of the organization and escorted to
the distinction of being the only the main reception hall under a
foreign group in that capital to have triumphal arch entwined with AmerColonel Chas. Lindbergh pay them ican, Dominican and Lebanese flags.
a special visit at their club rooms
Ten minutes later the President
while in the city, on Feb. 4. The of the Republic appeared in person
description of the event as given by unannounced and unexpected at the
the secretary of the club and pub- club rooms of the Syrian-Lebanese
lished in some of the Arabic papers Club to the great embarrassment of
of New York runs as follows:
the officers and members who were
Saturday, Feb. 3, word was receiv- profuse In their apologies for not
ed that Col. Lindbergh would take having received the President in
off from San Juan, Porto Rico, for proper ceremony. The President,
Santo Domingo and immediately the however, said that he decided he
capital was astir with preparations would take part in the reception of
for his reception. He arrived on the Syrian-Lebanese colony to Col.
schedule and was welcomed to the Lindbergh in testimony of his percity and country by the President sonal esteem both for the hosts and
of the Republic and high officials of their guest.
the government.
The Club had a special medal
The public celebrations staged struck in honor of Col. Lindbergh
for the visiting King of the Air which was pinned on his breast by
were memorable. When he was es- the president. The medal bore on
corted to the American Legation one side the date of Col. Lindbergh's
there was a procession in his honor visit and on the other the official
in which thousands of young women emblem of the Club, the Cedar of
took part in the most alluring cos- Lebanon. Accompanying the medal
tumes.
was a scroll testifying that the ColNext morning, Col. Lindbergh at- onel was elected an honorary memtended a special service at the old ber of the Club for life.
church of the Holy Virgin which was
In reply to the speeches of welbuilt during the time of Columbus,
come,
Col. Lindbergh said that he
and from there he visited the great
regretted
the limited time of his
landmark which is said to have been
stay
in
the
city but that he heartily
built by Columbus himself for his
appreciated
the demonstration of afresidence. The rest of the forenoon
II
SANTO DOMINGO SYRIANS
WELCOME LINDBERGH
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THE PLAIN
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AL-BEKAA,
LEBANON
Favored by fertility of soil and climatic advantages as the most suitable section of Syria for
dairy farming.
(See Article on Development of Dairy Farming in Syria and Lebanon.)
Jl
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COSTES AND LEBRIX AMONG FRIENDS
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�MARCHy 1928
fection shown him by the Syrians
and Lebanese and that he would carry pleasant recollections of his visit
to them all his life.
The Colonel later attended the
official ball given in his honor by the
government and on the morning of
Monday sped away in the Spirit of
St. Louis in the direction of Haiti.
SYRIANS EVERYWHERE
GREET FRENCH FLIERS
\
"You may quote us unreservedly
that wherever we went we were received most cordially and enthusiastically by the Syrian-Lebanese colonies. We shall never forget their
cordiality and their expressions of
friendship and admiration on every
occasion we met them. I should say
that the Syrians and Lebanese were
more than cordially enthusiastic —
their receptions to us were simply
marvelous."
This was the statement made by
Captain Dieudonne Costes and Lieutenant Joseph Lebrix to a representative of The Syrian World who interviewed them upon their arrival in
New York on their epochal air flight
around the world. The Arabic newspapers of Brazil, Argentine, Uruguay, Mexico and other Latin American countries had published accounts of the reception of the Syrians and Lebanese of those countries to the French fliers, and although the Syrians of New York
did not organize any public demonstration in their honor owing to the
heaviness of their program in the
city, The Syrian World sought to interview them to learn their impression of their receptions by Syrians
and Lebanese in other cities. Their
statement, reproduced above, given
with all the fiery enthusiasm of the
49
French nature, bespoke their earnestness.
The French fliers were presented
with a special medal struck in their
honor by the Syrian-Lebanese colony
of Mexico City, and were feted and
given many tokens of love and admiration by the Syrians of other
countries of South America where
they made stops. In Panama they
were presented with two fine gold
fountain pens.
Syrian papers of South America
state that had it not been for the
limited time at the disposal of the
French world fliers many more testimonials of honor and welcome
would have been shown them.
GIBRAN'S PROPHET
A RELIGIOUS SERVICE
On Lincoln's birthday, Feb. 12,
the church of St Marks on the
Bowerie in New York was crowded
to overflowing for the afternoon
services when, according to previous
announcement, there was to be an
enactment of the scenes of Gibran's
book, The Prophet, The services
were conducted by Dr. Guthrie, the
well-known modernist of the Episcopal Church who has introduced in
his program of church services classical interpretive dancing in defiance
of his superiors. The actor impersonating the Prophet was Mr. Reynolds, while the leader of the group
of female dancers was the daughter
of Dr. Guthrie.
The Prophet is the best known
work of our gifted author and artist, G. K. Gibran. It is ranked among
the best sellers in works of its class.
Rather, according to As-Sayeh, an
Arabic newspaper of New York, it
is considered by some to be Becond
only to the books of revelation in
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
its spiritualistic, mystical and ethical teachings.
The large audience was visibly
moved by the excellence of the interpretation, and at the conclusion
of the performance Mr. Gibran received the hearty congratulations of
his numerous admirers.
a personal friend of Gen. Calles,
President of the Republic, and one
who enjoys the highest esteem of
government officials and the better
class Mexicans.
OLD TYRE SEEKS TO ENLARGE
Tyre, the one-time mistress of
the seas and the commercial capital
of the world in the days of the
AMBITIOUS PLANS OF
Phoenicians, seems now to have outLEBANESE IN MEXICO
grown its old boundaries.
If the new program of the LebaSituated or;ginally on an island
nese Chamber of Commerce in Mexi- connected with the mainland by a
co City is carried through, the Syr- narrow causeway it cannot find
ian-Lebanese colony of Mexico would sufficient room for expansion along
achieve the greatest result of col- modern lines within its ancient conlective effort so far done by any fines. The population, therefore,
similar community in America.
have signed a petition praying the
Al-Khawater, an Arabic paper of Lebanese Government to sell their
Mexico City, is authority for the city the vast dunes along the shore
\\
statement that the Lebanese Cham- which they would reclaim for buildber of Commerce, following the in- ing a new, modern city of Tyre,
duction into office of its new presi- which would follow the lines of a
dent, Mr. Jacob Simon, has announc- Western land development project.
ed that the main features of its new They only ask that the price of the
land be made reasonable inasmuch
program are the following:
as it is now a total waste and of
1—The formation of a special
committee for the promotion and benefit to no one.
The Lebanese press of Beirut reprotection of Syrian-Lebanese comports
that on the 22nd of January
mercial and industrial interests in
a delegation representing the TyriMexico.
ans waited on the President of the
2—The founding of a banking in- Republic as well as on the Minister
stitution which would be affiliated of the Interior and asked that their
w<th the National Bank of Mexico. demands, embodied in a petition
/
3—The publication of a daily news- signed by almost all the inhabitants
paper in both the Arabic and Span- of the city, be given favorable conish languages to defend the Syrians sideration.
and Lebanese in case of attack and
At present the population of
promote a better understanding of Tyre is about twenty thousand, but
them by the Mexican public.
with the revival of civic interest
The newspaper making this an- and pride in their old city they exnouncement adds that the new pres- pect that in a short time it will
ident of the Lebanese Chamber of grow into a flourishing port of
Commerce in the city of Mexico is Southern Lebanon,
;
�MARCH, 1928
NEW ENTERPRISES
GAINING IN SYRIA
Ancient Land Taking New Place
as an Economic Factor in
the Near East
A correspondent of the New York
Times, writing from Jerusalem under date of Jan. 20, gives the following summary of economic conditions
in that part of. Syria covered by the
French mandate.
Slowly but surely, he says, through
the aid of Government and individual enterprise, Syria is taking its
place as an important factor in the
economic development in the Near
East. New industries are being
founded, and the roads and general
condition of transportation are being
constantly improved. Part of the
fund formed from the revenue of
customs, which had been set aside
for the payment of the Ottoman
debt, is now to be used to carry into
effect and extensive scheme of public utility works, mainly road construction and irrigation. Good communication between the principal cities of the French Mandated States
and Iraq, and repair of the already
existing routes are included in the
program of construction that is to
be begun soon. Extensive irrigation schemes are also contemplated.
It is expected that about 25,000,000
francs will be used for these construction and irrigation projects.
Bee-keeping is one of the industries that shows prospects of a
bright future. As yet it is still carried on along primitive lines. Modern hives are practically unknown.
Those in use are usually made of
myrtle or basket work, and sometimes of clay. The largest yield of
51
honey is supplied from the section
around Alexandretta. The rich melliferous flora of the country really
permit of a much larger yield than
is now being obtained, and with the
gradual introduction of modern
methods, a large field for export
can be created.
It has been discovered that most
of the Syrian wheats are of the
hard grain varieties, and are therefore most suitable for the manufacture of macaroni. This industry was
first begun in Syria as far back as
1875, when a small and primitive
workshop was established at Beirut.
The article produced was of an inferior quality. Today, factories for
the manufacture of macaroni, vermicelli, and similar products exist
in Beirut, Damascus and Aleppo.
Although the local product cannot
yet compare with the Italian, nevertheless the quality is constantly
improving, and there is an increasing tendency on the part of residents
to give preference to the local product.
What will serve better than anything else in bringing Syria to the
fore is the increasing development
of the Lebanese Summer resorts.
Mount Lebanon has been found to
be a most desirable Summer place,
and each season brings more and
more visitors, chiefly from Egypt
and Iraq. A Government Tourist
Development Committee has been
appointed, which is looking into the
matter of the improvement of conditions and facilities. It is estimated that about 12,000 tourists visited
the Lebanon last Summer, and with
the aid of an extensive campaign
which is soon to be launched, it is
expected that the results of the
coming season will prove even more
satisfactory.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
and my worship for the Arabic
language would prevent my consenting to take in marriage any other but a Syrian even if I have to
Meraat-Ul-Gharb, an Arabic daily spend my whole life unmarried.
paper of New York, has been con- Second, because the Syrian has the
ducting a contest as to what the highest consideration for his honor
Syrian girl would require of a hus- and loaths by his very nature the
band and what the Syrian man would extremes and excesses of Western
require of a wife. On Feb. 24 the civilization and the many pitfalls
contest was closed and the winners that are lurking in it. He would not,
announced, one from among the men therefore, permit himself or his wife
and one from among the women. The to follow the radical customs of this
winner in the choice of a wife de- civilization which are bound to lead
clared hia preference for the woman to unhappiness and perhaps separawho would retain the modesty, virtion.
tue and home-loving qualities of the
2—I would require that he be a
Eastern girl but who would at the
lover of Syria above all else with no
same time be endowed with sufficient
object in mind other than to work
human qualities to make life worth
for its progress and for its liberaliving with her. His essay could not
tion. He should be alive to this
be described as containing anything
prime duty towards his country realradical.
izing that she expects his assistance
But the girl adjudged the winner
as well as that of all other Syrians.
among the female participants in the
3—He should be well educated,
contest was a certain Miss Najla
imbued with advanced ideas and conwhose reply savors more of a paceding to the woman her inalienable
triotic essay than a discussion of a
rights. He must also be possessed
purely matrimonial problem. The
of the poetic gift and loving music,
judges may have been swayed more
although I would not require him
by these considerations than by the
to possess these gifts to the highest
intrinsic merits of the reply in ardegree. I would by that be assured
riving at their decision. It would be
that he is of a mild and sweet teminteresting to learn the real sentiperament and endowed with a senment of our girls of the SyrianAmerican generation on such a sub- sitive nature.
The young woman then goes on
ject, especially those who have been
to enumerate further requirements in
raised in purely American surroundthe man of her preference which are
ings. Could it be possible that the
prime qualifications of a husband to of a general character.
WHAT SYRIAN GIRL
REQUIRES IN HUSBAND
them would be those which the prize
winner in the Arabic paper gives expression to?
Following are extracts of the conditions which this Syrian girl lays
down as being of prime necessity in
a husband:
1 I want him to be a Syrian for
two reasons. First on patriotic
grounds because my love for Syria
J
LEBANESE PUBLICATIONS
NUMEROUS
Official statistics disclose the surprising fact that in the small Lebanese Republic, with a population
not exceeding six hundred thousand,
there are no less than ninety peri-
?(
�MARCH, 1928
odicals, or at the rate of one publication for about every 6,500 inhabitants.
In the city of Beirut, the capital,
there are 17 daily papers, 23 triweekly papers and 21 monthly magazines, while in the rest of the
country there are 17 weekly or semiweekly newspapers and 12 magazines.
I
il
ii
5
i
Statistics for other parts of Syria
are not available.
Judging by these figures one would
be inclined to believe that the Lebanese are voracious readers. The
fact is that with the exception of
a few old established newspapers
all others are of minor importance
commanding a circulation of hardly
a thousand each. Many of those
published outside of the capital are
in the nature of country papers
whose main dependence is on their
circulation among the town emigrants abroad. And, may it be remembered, there are many unemployed literati who find the publication of a newspaper the easiest profession.
53
Arab families and made many
friends. She also spent some time
on a farm among the Bedouins,
where she was received with great
respect.
Since a Moslem woman cannot
leave her home without the permission of her father, husband or other
male relative, Dr. Essenberg realized that it would be necessary to
win the favor of the men first. This
she succeeded in doing. Her idea of
opening an American school for
girls was received with enthusiasm
by the Arabs. The Moslem men
were especially pleased to hear that
the founder of the school had no intention of taking the veils from the
women or of attacking their religion.
After long, patient waiting permission to open the school came.
Although the rebellions of 1925-26
were a great drawback, because so
many families fled from the city,
nevertheless Dr. Essenberg stuck
bravely to her post, and is now gaining rapid headway in her work. She
already has an enrollment of more
than 100 students.
She has been urged to undertake
similar institutions in other towns
of Syria and Palestine.
MOSLEMS OF SYRIA
EAGER FOR EDUCATION
How an American woman educator ingratiated herself with the Moslems of Damascus and established
there a thriving school for girls is
described by a correspondent of the
New York Times in Jerusalem
writing under date of Feb. 2. The
American woman is Dr. Christina
Essenberg who, according to the
correspondent, in order to better
acquaint herself with the home life
of the people, for the first five
months after her arrival she lived
at the home of a prominent Moslem.
Here she met most of the prominent
/;
(
END OF A HOAX
At last it would seem that the
rumors concerning the existence of
thousands of Arab and Syrian war
prisoners in Singapore, under conditions said to be worse than slavery, have been put to rest. A reputable Syrian merchant of Horns who
recently returned from Singapore
ridiculed the rumors as being utterly
without foundation. He based his
assertion on personal investigations
conducted by himself and other Syrian merchants of Singapore when the
rumors reached them.
�=
=
THE SYRIAN WORLD
54
EGYPTIAN MINISTER
ENTERTAINS OFFICIALLY
Syrian Violinist Plays Before
Distinguished Audience
in Washington.
The society columns of Washington and New York papers of Jan. 29
last carried long reports of the elaborate dinner-entertainment given by
His Excellency the Minister of Egypt
and Mme. Samy Pasha in honor of
Vice-Pres. and Mrs. Dawes the evening previous, and at which the visiting Syrian violinist to America,
Mr. Sami Shawa, gave selections of
Oriental music which were declared
to have met with much favor by the
distinguished audience.
Besides the Vice-President and
Mrs. Dawes, other guests were the
Secretary of the Navy and Mrs.
Curtis D. Wilbur; the Secretary of
Agriculture and Mrs. William M.
Jardine; Senator and Mrs. Hiram
Jones; Senator and Mrs. Royal S.
Copeland; Senator Arthur Capper;
Representative and Mrs. John Q.
Tilson; Representative Edith Nourse
Rogers; Representative and Mrs. Sol.
Bloom; Lady Drummond Hay, of
London; Mrs. Mayo; Mr. and Mrs.
Peter Drury; Mrs. Fitzsimmons; the
Secretary of the Legation, Ramses
Bey Chaffey; the Attache of the
Legation Mr. El-Eissy and Mr. Nour.
Mr. Shawa had been invited to
other receptions of a similar nature
where his recitals were highly appreciated as giving a most favorable
interpretation of Oriental music.
Mr. Shawa has returned to Egypt
the latter part of February, and it
is expected that he will pay another
visit to the United States within the
present year.
LEBANESE OPPOSE
LEGALIZED GAMBLING
Strenuous efforts are being made
by a group of financiers to obtain a
concession for public gambling in
large hotels at different Summer resorts in the mountains of Lebanon,
according to the Jerusalem correspondent of the New York Times.
It appears that several attempts
have been made by a small group
of Parliamentarians to pass a bill
through the Lebanese Parliament
for legalizing gambling, and on each
occasion the bill has been defeated
through the sentiment of the people.
Public opinion is now alarmed,
owing to the attitude of some French
high officials at the Haut-Commissariat, who, notwithstanding the denials of the French representatives
at the League of Nations, appear to
approve of the measure. Only lately
the Secretary General, while acting
as High Commissioner pro tern, as
well as the French representative to
the Lebanese Government tried to
influence Parliament to make gambling legal. The matter is still
pending, however, and with public
opinion so strongly opposed to the
plan that it is believed such concessions will not be granted.
i
w
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE GLOZEL CONTROVERSY
The controversy over the Glozel
relics which are claimed to prove
the discovery of the art of writing
long before the times of the Phoenicians has, according to Paris dispatches of the latter part of February, caused so much bitterness
among two factions of French savonts that definite charges of fraud
in the matter have been taken to
court.
',
I
-*-..-Ji <*SSSBB ' & --'—-• J3SM SmmKStalmmKmttmtSSifi^i**S i
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�MARCH, 1928
I
Dr. Felix Regnault, President of
the Prehistoric Society of France,
declared that the society has given
him full powers to file the complaint
on its behalf. The society has been
discussing this action for the past
three months, he explained, for since
last August it has been fully satisfied that frauds were being perpetrated at Glozel. Finally, being anxious to check the discredit which
discussions of Glozel were bringing
upon French science as well as exploitation of the public, the society
decided on action.
In his recourse to the law, Dr.
Regnault, in company with seven
policemen, raided the Fradin farm
at Glozel and there discovered idols
and other objects which had just
come from the oven and were apparently made by a novice. They also
came across a stone supposed to
have Glozelian inscriptions but which
the owners of the farm said had been
used around the farm for knocking
down nails...
4
1
'
.
I
f
rail communications in Syria, but it
is stated that the French High Commissioner is reserving this right to
the Lebanese Government in the hope
of launching building operations immediately an agreement can be
reached with the government of
Syria on the question of allotment
of costs which are to be drawn from
the joint customs receipts of the
two countries.
Late reports indicate that work
on this important line will begin not
later than Spring of the present
year. It is being represented to the
government of Syria that the new
railroad will be the means of drawing a large number of tourists to the
country who are now prevented from
visiting it by lack of direct communications between Syria and
Egypt and Syria and Europe. The
line will extend along the coast of
Lebanon and connect with the existing lines in Palestine and those of
northern Syria, thus affording the
means of continuous rail travel
from Calais in France to Cairo,
Egypt.
THE TRIPOLI-NACOURA
R. R. IN LEBANON
Will Supply Link for Direct Rail
Communications Between
Europe and Egypt
Si!
55
The Lebanese Government has under advisement the construction of
a Railroad to connect the city of
Tripoli, in the north, and Nacoura
which is one of the southern borders
of the country below Tyre and only
a short distance from Haiffa in Palestine. A group of capitalists known
as the Sursuq-Lutfallah syndicate
is negotiating for the concession of
building and operating the new line
which is considered a vital link in
NEW IMMIGRATION
QUOTA FOR SYRIANS
President Coolidge submitted to
the Senate on Feb. 27 revised figures
for the "national origin" basis on
which immigration quotas would be
founded, beginning with July, 1928.
Under existing law, immigration
quotas after that date are to be fixed
according to tables worked out by
a special committee under the supervision of Secretaries Kellogg, Hoover and James J. Davis.
Such "national origins" estimates
were sent to the Senate in January,
1927, but, after criticism, were withdrawn and on Feb. 27 the President
submitted the revised figures.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
56
Under these figures the Syrian nition of Lebanon. The Lebanese
quota is raised from 100 to 125. press of Beirut reports that the cable
Turkey's quota is raised from 100 had been received and ordered entered in the records of Parliament,
to 233.
Palestine, although geographical- but action on it had been deferred
ly a part of Syria, enjoys a separate until the Mandatory authorities
quota, being given the minimum fig- would have studied the matter.
ure of 100. Previous to the World
War both Syria and Palestine were
SYRIA NATIONAL HOME OF
cited under the general classificaARMENIANS?
tion of Turkey.
The Syrian press reports that the
Readers of The Syrian World will
Commission of the League of Narecall that the Lebanese newspaper
tions studying the conditions of ArAl-Hoda, published in New York
menian refugees in Rumania, BulCity, had advocated that Lebanon be
garia and Greece advises the removassigned a separate quota inasmuch
al of some fifty thousand Armenians
as it is politically indepenednt of
to Syria, Palestine and TransjordaSyria and should be recognized as
nia. A section of the Syrian press
such in making immigration allotcomplains that Armenians already
ments. Al-Hoda has also been agiin the country are more than it can
tating the question of the political
absorb with safety and asks if
recognition of the Lebanese RepubFrance and the League of Nations
lic by the United States and other
wish to make Syria a national home
Powers. No announcement has been
for the Armenians and bring on it
made lately by Al-Hoda of the result
additional economic complications to
of its efforts.
aggravate the conditions which have
It will be recalled that Mr. N. A.
Mokarzel, editor of Al-Hoda, had en- prompted a serious increase in emitered into correspondence with the gration. The fear is expressed that
French Ambassador in Washington the Armenians will soon become not
and also cabled the Lebanese Par- only an economic problem but a
liament on the matter of the recog- political problem as well.
Political Developments in Syria
A New Syrian Government
A special cable dispatch to AlBayan of New York, organ of the
Syrian Nationalist Party in the
United States, carries the announcement that Sheikh Taj Ud-Deen AlHusni, one of the prominent leaders of the Nationalist movement, has
been appointed President of the
State of Syria to succeed Ahmad
Nami Bey, styled the Dmaad, or the
Sultan's son-in-law. The news was
hailed in Nationalist circles as a
signal victory for their cause, because of their opposition to the former president who was accused of
being a tool in the hands of the
French, while the new president is
reputed to be a staunch Nationalist
and one who had formerly refused
the same office except on his own
terms.
BHHMHv-
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�MARCH, 1928
I
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It is impossible at this moment to
set down the exact conditions under
which the new president accepted
office. In Nationalist circles it is
claimed that even since the time of
the former High Commissioner, M.
Henri de Jouvenel, he had held out
for a free hand in the conduct of
the government and for a complete
consent by the French to the Nationalist demands. The latest mail
arriving from Syria indicates that
negotiations were going on between
the former President, Ahmad Nami
Bey and the French High Commissioner, M. Ponsot, but these negotiations were supposed to have for object only the formation of a new
ministry whose personnel would be
more acceptable to the Nationalists
and at the same time be in sympathy with French policy. That the
friend of the French should be removed altogether and replaced by
one who is an outspoken Nationalist would indicate the advent of
something radical in the policy of
France in Syria.
The Syrian Nationalists naturally
hail this as a signal victory to their
cause, and judging by the comment
of their organ in the United States,
they welcome it as a sign of a new
era of peace for Syria. This, after
what the country has gone through
during the critical period of the
revolution, appears to be the paramount desire in the minds of the
Nationalists, especially those who
had been engaged in actual hostilities.
The new President is described as
having a forceful personality who
had long been active in the politics
of his country. He is the son of
the Sheikh Badr Ud-Deen Al-Husni,
head of the Ulemas of Damascus.
During1 the French bombardment of
Damascus he opened his house to
57
refugees and did much to allay the
fears of the population. It is recounted that during the World War,
when Syria was held in the greatest suspicion by the Turks, Jamal
Pasha, the Turkish military Governor, held the elder Sheikh Al-Husni
in the highest veneration and respect and was in the habit of kissing
his hand when greeting him. The
younger Al-Husni, the new Governor of Syria, was then comparatively a young man, but even then he
was of a rebellious character and
would not approve of the Turk's
policy as applied to his country.
Jamal Pasha confided to some of
his friends at the time that this
young man would some day be the
man of the hour in Syria.
If, according to present indications
and to representations of Syrian
Nationalists, the new President of
Syria was able to dictate his own
terms in accepting office, then the
people of Syria are to have free
elections for their National Assembly, complete independence in the
conduct of government with France
supplying advisers only on the approval of the National Government,
and a promise by France to evacuate
the country at the expiration of the
treaty which would be entered into
by France and Syria for a limited
period of time. This is the gist of
the Syrian Nationalist program, and
how much of it has been granted
Syria by France will be more fully
known upon receipt of Syrian mail.
Nationalist Dissension.
The controversy among the executive committee of the Syrian Nationalist Party, with headquarters
in Egypt, is waxing hotter than before. Now echoes of the differences
have been brought to the attention
�5*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of the League of Nations by the act term political agitators and now
of the Lutfallah party which cabled claim to represent the Nationalist
the League that the Committee had cause without incurring the risks of
deposed its former delegation in Eu- battle. In a manifesto signed by
rope and would appoint a new dele- the Druze leaders and generals adgation to represent it in the near dressed principally to their supfuture. This came as the climax of porters in America, they complain
the bitter controversy which all ef- bitterly of the inaction of the Daforts to settle amicably failed. It mascenes and inhabitants of other
was brought about by the accusa- sections of Syria who are now claimtions of some members that the ing to speak for the Nationalists
chairman of the Committee, Emir "while they are engaged in the purLutfallah, had entered into bargain- suit of their business interests both
ing negotiations with the French in Syria and abroad and living in
to effect a compromise on the de- safety and luxury." The manifesto
mands of the Nationalists. He is shows no hesitation on the part of
accused of aspiring to barter the in- the Druzes to claim all the credit
terests of Syria for the throne of for the uprising in Syria for themLebanon. Lebanon, according to the selves, stating that they were the
defenders of Emir Lutfallah, could ones to suffer in lives and property
not be so tempting to a man of such and that the Syrians would not have
aspirations, as the country has al- even attempted to make a show of
ready committed itself to the repub- force had it not been for Druze relican form of government and is now inforcements. The Druzes, it is furstruggling in the most approved ther stated, had destroyed large
democratic fashion for the balancing French armies attempting to invade
of the budget, its latest move in this their mountain before anyone in
direction being its reduction of the other parts of Syria rose to arms.
ministry from seven to three mem- They held out later in the face of
great odds because they were loyal
bers.
As analyzed by some students of to their demands covering Syria as
the situation, the Syrian Nationalists a whole. Even when France offered
have now split into two distinct par- them advantageous terms following
ties, extremists and moderates. The the battle of Mezra'a they turned
faction of Emir Lutfallah, counsel- them down because of their loyalty
ing an amicable understanding with and single-mindedness. For these
the French to win as much as pos- considerations they show bitterness
sible of the Nationalist demands, towards the Syrian Nationalist leadare opposed by the other faction of ers of Damascus who would divert
the Executive Committee who would the financial succor coming from
continue the struggle to the bitter abroad to helping the remnants of
end in spite of the fact that the the Ghuta rebels instead of permitarmed revolution has been suppres- ting such assistance to reach the real
fighters who are now in exile in
sed.
An interesting development in Transjordania. Many instances are
these internal differences is that the cited where Druze revolutionists lost
leaders of the armed forces of the all their property and cattle and had
revolution are now showing extreme to borrow money on their personal
bitterness towards those whom they guarantee to purchase mounts and
I
�MARCH, 1928
H i
\
ammunition. This they mention as
one of their principal grievances because of the dire straits to which
they have been reduced.
On the face of it, this would indicate the appearance of a new element of difference between the
Druzes and their Mohammedan allies in Syria. It would seem that
the revolutionists of Syria are conducting negotiations with France on
terms unacceptable to the Druzes
and without consulting the desires
of the latter. There is also a plain
accusation of tampering with relief
funds because the Druzes emphasize
the fact that they have implicit
confidence in their relief committee
and would want their friends abroad
to place similar confidence in it so
that relief funds would be forthcoming uninterruptedly.
Incidentally, the Druzes state that
their losses in battle during the revolution amounted to three thousand
killed, not including women and children who met their death by causes
directly resulting from the war. The
number of those permanently disabled is also said to be large but
their exact number is not given.
The Situation in Lebanon.
A stormy session was staged in
the Parliament of Lebanon when
the new ministry took office. Dr.
Ayoub Tabet, Minister of the Interior, asked for a vote of confidence
and approval by Parliament of the
Ministry's program* and upon some
members favoring delay in taking
such a vote on the, plea of requiring
an extension of time for the proper
consideration of the program, the
minister threatened to resign and for
three times in quick succession left
his seat with the ministry and resumed his place as a plain member
59
of Parliament. Finally the President
declared a recess during which hurried arrangements were made to insure confidence being granted the
ministry.
Although accused of being a little
too impatient, the new Minister of
tihe Interior is, nevertheless, conceded to be a man of vigorous action
and energy. He is on good terms
with the press which lauds the
measures he plans to introduce for
the quick achievement of needed reform. He has already served notice
that court calendars must be cleared
within two weeks and invited the
public to call directly to his attention any flagrant cases of delayed
justice. He has also put an end to
public begging in the city of Beirut
and ordered all beggars from neighboring countries, such as Transjordania, Syria and Palestine, deported
from Lebanon forthwith.
The country appears to be still
restless under the frequent changes
taking place in the form of government. No sooner was the amendment to the Constitution approved
permitting tihe reduction of the
Council of Ministers from seven to
three than a movement was set
afoot asking for the dissolution of
Parliament in that it has ceased to
be constitutional. Immediately a
counter-petition was circulated accusing the makers of the first petition of pernicious motives and expressing confidence in the existing
republican form of government and
in Parliament. Some claim to see in
this move the hand of some conspirators who aspire to become princes
over Lebanon. The net result of these
moves and counter moves has been
to introduce a new element of uncertainty in the country which adds
to the demoralizing upheavals and
changes of the last few years.
�—-
60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and endangering thereby a future
for the country full of promise. He
specifically refers to actions which
The latest mail reaching us from
in their nature would be incompatiParis furnishes partial details of the
ble with "political realities".
news already received by cable on
The dispatches conveying this inthe change of government in Syria.
formation
were sent from Beirut on
It would seem that conditions in the
Feb.
17,
and
on Feb. 20 other discountry have at last returned to norpatches
reported
that the new Presmal. Ahmad Nami Bey, the Damad,
ident
of
the
Provisional
Government
as already stated, has resigned, beof
Syria
had
in
turn
issued
another
ing succeeded by Sheikh Taj Udproclamation
promising
to
hold
the
Deen Al-Husni as Provisional Govgeneral
elections
for
the
Constituernor of the State of Syria, known
in the political division of the coun- tional Assembly at the earliest postry as the State of Damascus-Alep- sible date and that they would be
po. The French High Commission- conducted with the fullest freedom
er, M. Henri Ponsot, issued a pro- so that a constitution could be forclamation in which most of the na- mulated which would meet the
tionalist demands are granted. He wishes of the country and be in acpromises the early convocation of the cord with the obligations of the
National Assembly under a free Mandatory Power. He also advocates
electoral system and with full liber- the creation of an Interstate Comty to decide on the form of govern- mission to be charged with the regument for the country most acceptable lation of the economic relations beto the electorate, providing it does tween the different States. The new
not conflict with the duties of the Government is also in favor of abolMandatory Government as entrusted ishing the existing system of septo it by the League of Nations. At arate States and would replace it by
the same time, the censorship of the a centralized system of government
press is lifted, martial law abolished which would tend to foster a feeland a general amnesty declared, the ing of unity and cohesion. This, howHigh Commissioner explaining that ever, according to the proclamation,
the Mandatory Power had only should be undertaken in the friendawaited the opportune moment to liest spirit with no resort to coerprove to the people of Syria its good cion so that the ultimate result may
intentions by accelerating the return be achieved through complete wilof normal conditions now that the lingness and conviction. The wishes
armed revolt has been suppressed of the population of the different
and peace established on a stable States will be strictly respected and
basis. While setting no definite date if a general referendum should
for the general elections, the High prove abortive the Mandatory PowCommissioner assures the country er will be made the final arbiter.
The proclamation concludes with
that they will be undertaken as soon
as the proper machinery can be set the expression of the hope that the
Mandatory Power will enter into a
in motion.
There is, however, in the High treaty with Syria defining the mutuCommissioner's proclamation a note al obligations of the two nations
of warning to the Syrians against and setting a definite limit to
abusing their present opportunities France's occupation of the country.
LATEST INFORMATION ON
THE SYRIAN SITUATION
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1928_03reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 09
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 March
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 09 of The Syrian World published March 1928. The first article presented in this issue, written by Ameen Rihani, discusses the traditions of Arabs and their mythology, specifically Gods and Jinn (nature's tribe of spirits). Next is a short story translated by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin. Titled "The Perfect Brother," it is a story that discusses Allah. Next is an informative article by George Knaysi about the development of dairy farming in Syria and Lebanon, a continuation of his discussion on the agricultural situation in the Middle East. Following it is a poem by G.K. Gibran titled "Said a Blade of Grass," a poem about nature and the seasons changing. Following it is an article detailing certain reports on the developments in Palestine specifically industrial, population, economic, and agriculture improvements. Next is part two of the article discussing Syrian naturalization in the United States by Joseph W. Ferris. There is a short story titled "The Meeting," and another story adopted from Arabic called "The Clemency of Mu'awiyah," Second Caliph from the Umayyad clan. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press and political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
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1920s
Ameen Rihani
George Knaysi
Harry Chapman Ford
Kahlil Gibran
New York
Palestine
Poetry-English
Salim Alkazin
-
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Text
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entefed as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under tka act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
No. 10.
APRIL, 1928.
CONTENTS
PAGE
American Orfhanage and Relief Work in Syria
CHARLES V. VICKERY
3
A Friend's Birthday (Poem)
J. D. CARLYLE
8
Christian-Moslem Marriages
9
THE EDITOR
Singing His Golden Song
16
BARBARA YOUNG
in
The Endless Race (Poem)
M. J. NAIMY
17
A Natural Wonder of the East
W. A. WEST
18
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CONTENTS
(Continued)
PAGE
Renunciation (Poem)
22
AMEEN RIHANI
7"/^ Fz>.r/ American School in Damascus
25
ANNA LEILA TAYLOR
Onesided (Poem)
21
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
The Progress of the Syrian Nation
REV. W. A. MANSUR
28
Critics
34
G. K.
The War in Arabia
A
GIBRAN
35
POLITICAL OBSERVER
Arab Proverbs
40
Tragedy in Love (An Authentic Arabian Story)
41
Fives, Sevens and Nines
45
Spirit of the Syrian Press
46
Readers' Forum
51
Political Developments in Syria
52
About Syria and Syrians
S7
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
The Mess Hall of an Orphanage.
A Scene in an American Near East Relief Workshop in Syria.
Antilyas Orphanage of the Near East Relief.
A Scene in the Armenian Refugee Camp near Beirut.
Nahr-El-Kalb.
Where Oriental Art is Supreme.
Sultan Ibn Saoud.
Ex-King Hussein.
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���THF
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 10.
APRIL, 1928.
American Orphanage and Relief
Work in Syria
By
CHARLES
V.
VICKREY
General Secretary, Near East Relief.
In THE SYRIAN WORLD of October, 1926, I reported in some
detail the activities of Near East Relief among the orphanages
that have! dotted the shores of the Mediterranean and the slopes
of the Lebanons since war and deportations and famine brought
their miseries to the Near East. In this article I shall tell of the
changes that have taken place in the work during the last year
and a half.
The Director of the Syria-Palestine Area of Near East Relief, Mr. Charles W. Fowle, returned to America in May, 1927,
after four years' service in Syria. The affairs in the Area have
since been administred by Mr. Milton Brown, Mr. Caleb Flagg,
Mr. Gordon L. Berry, General Secretary of the Near East Association and Mr. Frank March, Business Manager. The Syrian
office is in Beirut, the most convenient center for administration.
The staff consists of twenty-one persons. They are engaged in
all the operations of the Area, which include the management of
orphanages with their academic, vocational and special schools;
the giving of medical care, which includes orphanage supervision,
hospital, clinical, Day Nursery, refugee and maternity service;
child welfare work, largely concerned with the outplacing of orphans in homes; outplacing of "graduates" in industry and with
their supervision for a year or two until they are established be-
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
yond fear of exploitation} friendly connections with graduates
chiefly through the Near East League} and the management of
an industrial work-room for widowed mothers and "ex-orphan"
girls who are taught fine sewing and embroidery which is sold
in the Near East Relief industrial bazaar. A new undertaking
is co-operation with the International Labor Office which is developing plans for putting the refugees on the land.
The policy of Near East Relief during the last two years
has been the gradual reduction of the orphanages as the boys
and girls are outplaced with friends or adopted by families or
grow old enough to go out to earn their living. As the organization's work is with "orphans of the Great War" and as no new
orphans are therefore admitted, the natural decrease has been
sufficient to permit the closing of several institutions without detriment to the children remaining. They have become members
of other orphanage families. The closing of Jubeil for instance
sent the lads there to the orphanages at Sidon Hilltop and Antilyas. Then Sidon Hilltop was closed, the girls were sent to
Ghazir, the boys to Antilyas and the little ones of both sexes to
the Birds' Nest to join the other tiny "birdies" in the villa overlooking the Mediterranean.
These reductions in numbers mean reductions in overhead
expenses, rentals, salaries, and the dozens of matters that are
necessary to the upkeep of institutions. Such constructive reduction is the wisest way of meeting and closing the obligations to
which Near East Relief is committed. No child is in any waydeprived of any aid or succor that has been either actually or by
suggestion promised him, but the demands on the organization's
treasury are lessened at the same time that the contributions of
American donors are becoming less.
The existing stations in Syria are as follows. The orphanage
at Ghazir, whose removal nearer to Beirut was contemplated, was
continued at Ghazir as being more healthful and with a more
liberal water supply for the washing connected with its rug manufacture than at any other spot. This orphanage school specializes
in rug making and at the end of December, 1927, celebrated the
finishing of its 2000th rug. The knottage for 1927 was 261,000,000. During the year 43 bales of rugs were shipped to New
York and to Switzerland, 19% of the* output was sold locally.
A considerable group of older girls, beyond orphanage age, are
to some extent self-supporting through their skill in rug making.
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They live together with a "mairik" and share the household
charges for food and the housekeeper's salary. The Director
in charge of Ghazir is Dr. Jacob Kunzler, who takes a paternal
interest in his charges even to arranging suitable marriages for
those of marriageable age.
The Director of the Ghazir Blind School is Th. Wiesser.
He is meeting with fine success in making the blind children selfreliant. They find their way about with ease. Blind gardeners
are planting willows to provide a supply of material for basketmaking in which craft the fingers of these unfortunate boys and
girls are increasingly skilful. Many other crafts are taught and
the misfortune of blindness is being seen from a new angle.
Hitherto in the Near East the blind have been mendicants} no
other way than begging has seemed to be open to them. Now
they are being taught to be self-reliant and self-supporting and
they will not be a complete liability to a community as they have
been. The musical ability of the blind children is being cultivated and their contributions to programs on days of festivity gives
much pleasure. They are taught to read Braille.
At Antilyas, a few miles nearer Beirut, is an orphanage of
boys. This is situated on the beach which serves as a campus.
The sea provides an opportunity for water sports and for practice in life saving. Antilyas has the usual schools and is strong
in vocational schools. In cabinet making it is especially good,
its products standing up in beauty and in excellence of workmanship with the products of adult craftsmen. This orphanage has
an exceptionally good band in which there is a great demand for
membership. The Director is Milton Brown. He is at present
on sick leave, Mrs. Edith Glanville, Associate Director, taking
his place at the orphanage.
The only orphanage school remaining south of Beirut is the
Birds' Nest on the hill above the city of Sidon. Here are gathered more tiny children than at any other Near East Relief orphanage and a charming sight they make as they sing and recite
and play their kindergarten games to entertain visitors. Small
as they are they are learning many useful things and each child
has its daily tasks, adapted to its strength and making for the
comfort of his fellow-members in the little community. Full
control of Birds' Nest is soon to be taken over by the Danish
Women's Missionary Board and the orphanage will be moved
to Jubeil.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
In Aleppo there is a considerable group of "graduate" Near
East Relief boys and girls whose welfare is under the oversight
of Miss Mary Sill. She is developing activities that aid in selfsupport.
Near Antilyas is the orphanage of St. Gregory which receives a subsidy from Near East Relief. It is under the direction of Pere Paul Aris who reports good health among the lads
in his care and a fine spirit among those who have gone out and
are earning their own way.
In connection with the orphans who have left the orphanage
the activities of the Near East League under the guidance of Mr.
Henry Murphy should be noticed. Chapters of the League
are nourishing in Beirut, Aleppo, Zahle, Alexandretta, Ghazir
and Antilyas. The purpose of the organization is to furnish a
social meeting ground for the young people who are now working independently} to ward off loneliness by providing for
amusement which is furnished by the boys and girls themselves}
to arrange for evening study classes and lectures on health, travel
and other interesting subjects} to make possible opportunities for
musical instruction and practice} to aid in gathering collections
of books for libraries. In Beirut a restaurant has recently been
opened for members of the League. There is a large room where
the lads may spend their leisure time in reading or in playing
games and the whole thing is a fine counter-balance to the cafes
of the city.
The League is invaluable to "graduates" both in cities and
in the smaller towns. It aids the members and they in turn aid
others. They have contributed to the Golden Rule funds for
the aid of needy children whose plight they well know through
their own experiences. A group of "ex-orphan" lads in Palestine saved from their earnings no less a sum than $65 and sent
it to America for the benefit of the flood sufferers in the Mississippi Valley and Vermont. The amount was turned over to the
Red Cross.
In Beirut is an industrial workroom where widowed mothers
with children and "graduate" girls do fine sewing and embroideries for the support of their dependents. Their head is Miss
Dorothy Francis and under her skilled supervision many lovely
things are produced which are sold locally and in New York.
An important feature of the child welfare work done by
Near East Relief is the outplacing of boys and girls among the
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APRIL, 1928
villages of the Lebanons. A constant search is going on for relatives of the Syrian children and for friendly folk who will adopt
or take charge of Armenian children. Scarcely a hamlet through
the mountains but has Near East Relief children among its dwellers. The task of selection is not easy, for in the case of relatives
the relationship must be proven and in other cases living conditions are scrutinized carefully. Then periodical visits are made
to those outplaced youngsters and inspection made. Miss Edna
Steiger is in charge of this work.
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Outplacing in industry is another difficult undertaking. To
place boys and girls in earning jobs when there are many adults
seeking employment is not easy. The youngsters have been carefully trained, however, and they are welcomed as apprentices.
Some have started business on their own account, — a carpenter,
a photographer, a pair of bookbinders among them. Near East
Relief does not leave them to struggle on alone; they receive
protective oversight for some time so that in case of illness or
in case the "job" does not turn out as promised there may be
advice or a change.
The medical service given by Near East Relief is one of
its most important ministrations. In every orphanage the principles of hygiene and sanitation are explained and put into practise and the boys and girls go out into the world equipped with
knowledge and habits that should make each one of them a focus
of influence in the place where he lives. There is medical supervision of every child and each orphanage has its infirmary. An
oculist and a dentist give half time to care of the children.
In Beirut, where are the headquarters of the medical and
nursing service, under Dr. Wilson Dodd, there is a hospital
which attends to the usual sorts of cases and also tries out new
methods of cure such as heliotherapy. Near by is the Clinic
whose applicants are chiefly people from the refugee camp. A
new maternity hut, built by contributions from various civic associations, its medical and nursing service given by Near East
Relief, is situated at a convenient distance.
The Armenian refugee camps near the cities of Beirut,
Aleppo and Alexandretta are a source of danger. Last summer a serious epidemic broke out in the Beirut camp. The infant mortality was 90% during the hot months. Within a few
weeks reports have come of an outbreak of smallpox. The buildings are makeshift, sanitary arrangements are primitive, crowd-
"
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
ing is dangerous in many ways.
To remedy this trouble and if possible wipe out this and
similar plague spots a determined effort is being made. Local
organizations handled the situation for a time. Now the International Labor Office of the League of Nations and the High
Commissioner for Refugees, Dr. Nansen, are co-operating with
the French Mandatory government in developing plans to move
these people to the country and establish them on farming land,
supplying the funds and animals needed to start them. Financial aid will be made in the form of loans which will be returned and used as a revolving fund.
Money to make up this fund is coming in from various
sources. Near East Relief has already made a contribution toward this valuable and lasting work and it is in the budget of
the $6,000,000 fund for which a campaign is now being made
in America.
This campaign for $6,000,000 is now in vigorous operation.
The various activities undertaken by the organization have been
budgeted with extreme care—orphanage, vocational, child welfare, hospital, refugee work. It is hoped that this sum, which
will be sufficient to enable the organization to meet with honor
all its obligations will be colletced within a reasonably short time,
though it will take several more years to complete the tasks to
which Near East Relief is now committed.
A Friend's Birthday
Translated from tha Arabic by J. D. CARLYLE
When born, in tears we saw thee drowned,
While thine assembled friends around,
With smiles their joy confest;
So live, that at thy parting hour,
They may the flood of sorrow pour,
And thou in smiles be drest!
�ANTILYAS ORPHANAGE O F THE NEAR EAST RELIEF
$^i^jt-£A
Hoys are here shown receiving life saving instructions.
�i^apHWMIMMVSWMi
SCENE IN THE ARMENIAN REFUGEE CAMP NEAR BEIRUT
. •«
The Armenians here live under the most unsanitary conditions and constitute a grave menace to the country. The American Near East Reliet
is doing much helpful work in alle viatdng distress in this and similar
camps
�THE MESS HALL OF AN ORPHANAGE
This ,is a converted mill used by the .Near East Relief in its institution
in Juniyeh, now closed.
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A seJKNJK IN AN Aiviftivi^AiN iU/i.t
uAoi
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Here (he children, principally Armenian orphans, ar«> * -'ght useful trades which fit them for sclf-sup^—
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�APRIL, 1928
x <
Christian-Moslem Marriages
Serious Sequel of Problem Manifested in Brazil. — Problem
Peculiarly Syrian-American in Character.
By THE EDITOR
A Brazilian physician traveling in Syria writes a letter to
a newspaper of Rio de Janeiro and immediately the whole Brazilian nation is aroused and the government is forced to take
action. The Syrian residents of Brazil are for a time much
alarmed and call meetings to discuss the situation, and by the
adoption of energetic measures succeed in restoring the shaken
confidence of the Brazilians in the Syrians as a race. But sharp
lines of demarcation have to be drawn and explanations entered
into as to the different religious beliefs of certain classes of Syrians. It was a case where necessity dictated this action in order
that the race as a whole may not be wrongfully judged by certain practices restricted to a particular class. In other words, the
case was one of having to administer a noxious dose so as to better insure effecting a cure.
What was to the credit of the Syrians of Brazil and reacted
to their honor was their prompt and unqualified avowal of the
truth and their establishment of a line of defense which could
but win for them the praise and admiration of the Brazilians.
Iney offered no apologies nor asked meekly for clemency, but
simply exposed the truth in all its nakedness and took steps to
make it known to the Brazilian public which had not been aware
of the actual situation. The amends offered were in the nature
of voluntary retributions to retrieve the honor of the race which
had been jeopardized by the actions of a few individuals.
As adduced from the accounts of the Syrian papers of Brazil, the developments in this latest incident took place in the
following manner.
Dr. Carlos Frank, a prominent Brazilian physician and described as a national figure in the country, learned while traveling in Syria of the existence of a large number of Brazilian
women who were said to be held in virtual bondage by their
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syrian husbands. In the town of Baalbek alone, he was told,
there were no less than seven of these unfortunate women who
were mostly of the educated class, but yet compelled to live
under conditions which were tantamount to slavery, inasmuch as
they were confined to the harems of their husbands who, upon
their return to Syria, reverted to the practice of polygamy. A
native physician was the one to inform the visiting Brazdian
of the sad plight of his countrywomen. He appealed to him to
take the proper steps for their liberation, as they were all anxious to escape the conditions to which they had been reduced
and return to their country.
<
Upon learning these facts, Dr. Frank communicated them
in a letter to the Brazilian press and urged the taking of immediate steps by the government for the repatriation of the uniortunate women. Naturally, the newspapers seized upon the incident to attack the Syrians as a race without making any distinction between their different classes and varying religious customs.
The result was that the Syrians were in danger of being condemned for a great moral wrong of which they were, as a race,
^Ihe immediate result of these disclosures was that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to whose attention the matter was
called in the first place, called upon the Ministry of Justice for
a complete investigation of the circumstances of the case^^preparatory to his taking final action. Instructions were consequently
cabled to the Brazilian Consul in Alexandria Egypt, to make
proper representations with the authorities of Syria for affording due protection to the complaining Brazilian women until
definite action could be taken.
The Syrians of Brazil, in the meantime, had been aroused
to the seriousness of the issue and called a meeting of thenleading men in business and the press for the discussion of the
2„ They commissioned some of their able writers to preoarfarticles for publication in the Brazilian press elucidating
S intrpreting £ its proper light the apparently grave mattWhat they said was the only thing that could be said under the
circumstances, namely, that those particular Syrians who had
ma^d Brazilian women were of the Mohammedan faith
Tmong whom polygamy is a lawful institution. Some were as
Zlogerlc as toVckre that polygamy, even among the, MohammedaS was being gradually discarded, and that those Syrians
�APRIL, 1928
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guilty of the mistreatment of the Brazilian women were not orthodox Mohammedans, but heterodox of the Shiite sect. They
further stated that most Syrians of Brazil were Christians who
could never be accused of such polygamous practices, and that
the Brazilian women who married those Syrian Mohammedans
with full realization of the differences of their religious beliefs
and social customs have none but themselves to blame, as they
were, in most cases, forewarned of the consequences they have
now fallen into.
Nevertheless, the Syrians would not be content with this
logical defense, but wanted to prove to the Brazilian nation that
even though the Brazilian women were alone responsible for
their plight, they, the Syrians, would not want such accusations
to stand against them even though the race in general could not
be held technically responsible. What they did was to propose
to defray all expenses of travel in repatriating the Brazilian
women now in Syria. This was made possible by the generous
action of Mr. Basil Jafet, a leading Syrian merchant and manufacturer of Brazil, who promised to underwrite the whole operation.
This concrete proof of good intention, coupled with the
able defense of the Syrian writers in the native press, was of a
nature to win the admiration of the Brazilians, and the papers
who had been loud in their denunciation of what they called
Syrian moral turpitude immediately changed tone and credited
the Syrians with all their other laudable qualities which they had
so amply proved during their long stay in the country. But the
government was urged, nevertheless, to undertake the proper
legislative measures for the prevention of such occurrences in the
future.
*
*
The problem of intermarriage between Christians and Mohammedans is of comparatively recent development, and is decidedly a one-sided affair, being confined almost exclusively to the
marriage of Mohammedan men to Christian women. Strange
to say, the manifestations of the problem seem to be also exclusively confined to America, there being but rare and isolated instances of intermarriage between the adherents of the two faiths
in the East.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
The roots of the problem lie in the nature of Syrian immigration. Ever since its beginning and up to. the time of fte declaration of the Turkish Constitution in 1908, all emigration from
the Turkish Empire was of the Christian element. In the upper
regions of Asia Minor it was the Armenians who emigrated, and
^Mesopotamia, lying to the southwest, it was the Assyrians
But even these two Christian elements were slow to appreciate
and feel the benefits of emigration because of ^ ^^anee
of establishing contact with the outside world. Furthermore,
ligration from the territories of the Turkish Empire was strictly prohibited and those bent on leaving the country had to do so
surreptitiously and by facing many dangers.
Svria however, was more favorably situated in its geographical position for the encouragement of emigration Located on
the shores of the Mediterranean on the main maritime route between Europe and the East, it had the advantage of coming into
doser and more intimate contact with Western influences By
this means, and in spite of the strict censorship maintained durng the times of the Sultans, the Syrians came to appreciate: eomnaratively early the benefits of emigration. European and Amer^Sonajand educational establishments being ^to more
numerous in Syria than anywhere else in the Turkish Empire
hebed so mUch more to spread knowledge of the opportunities
awaking the industrious and ambitious in foreign countries,
especially America.
What placed the Syrians in a comparatively better advantage to evade the strict vigilance of Turkish authorities against
emigration was that they could embark on a sea voyage more «lv than other inhabitants of more remote sections of the Sultan s
domTmons Egypt was directly across the Mediterranean and *
trsSTnomiSlly considered Turkish territory. £«&£««
Turkish subject to obtain a passport from one section of the Empire to the other entailed no great difficulty, and it soon developed that large numbers of Syrians contracted the disease of travelog to Egypt. So on to Egypt they went, but. onl y'*"****
stLpU point to book passage for the promised land of America.
Even when Syrians bJgan To emigrate in ever increasing numblrs as years went by and their objectives became an open secret
Turkish" officials would do nothing to stem the tide in view of
the secret tax they levied on all emigrants.
.
Sough this emigration movement was wholly Synan, it
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was also almost exclusively Christian and drawn mainly from
the inhabitants of Mt. Lebanon. The Lebanese, while enjoying
more freedom and security in their autonomous mountain than
their Christian neighbors of the plains who were under direct
Turkish rule, were, nevertheless, struggling under the heaviest
economic difficulties due to the limited resources of their country. Consequently, it was but natural for them to seize on everv
opportunity to seek improvement from outside sources. After a
lapse of but a few years the first emigrants returned with tales
of enormous wealth awaiting the industrious in America, and
while at first the movement was confined to certain restricted
localities, it soon spread to the whole country and other
elements of the population, besides the Christians, began to develop the courage to emigrate.
But still there remained a difference between the emigration of the Christians and that of other elements, principally
Druzes and Moslems. Among the Christians the movement,
after its preliminary stages, soon took the form of family migration, the man taking along with him his wife and children or
coming to America first and then sending for them, while among
the Mohammedan denominations the movement was from its
very beginning as it remains today, a strictly male migration.
This is due to the different social and religious customs of the
two elements which, among the Mohammedans, strictly confine
the women to the home and require that even when necessity
compels them to appear in public they can do so only if they are
heavily veiled. One may well judge the rigor with "which these
customs are enforced by the fact that only in later years, and
more patently after the War, are Moslem women developing
the moral courage to demand their social emancipation of which
the first manifestation is the discarding of the veil.
When these facts become clear, it is not difficult to discover
the reason for the marriage problem of Christians and Mohammedans being not only confined to the marriage of Christian
women to Mohammedan men but of being also almost exclusively restricted to America. Cases of such marriages in both North
and South America may be said to run into the thousands, while
in Syria and the East in general they could safely be set as a
few, isolated cases restricted to the more advanced sections of
the country, and here as elsewhere confined also to the union of
Mohammedan men to Christian women.
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
Another peculiarity of the problem is that it is of comparatively recent date. This is due to the fact that Syrian Mohammedan immigration to America did not attain its largest volume
until after the declaration of the Turkish Constitution. > Under
the new regime military service, which had been restricted to
the Turks, became incumbent upon all racial elements ot the
Empire. This made the Syrians and Arabs subject to conscription, a condition from which they had been previously immune
and because of their natural apathy to military service as well
as their traditional fear and hatred of the Turks, their young
men sought escape in emigration.
As can be naturally inferred, the presence of such a large
number of Mohammedans, all young men of military age and
unable to find women of their own race and religion in America,
resulted in their marrying women of other nationalities whom
they encountered on their travels or in their places of settlement.
In some cases the men renounced their original faith and professed Christianity, and where they adhered to their faith they
invariably renounced the principle of polygamy.
No statistics are available on the number of such unions contracted in the United States, but Syrian Mohammedans being
numerically less here than in Latin-American countries of South
America, it is reasonable that the problem should be more in
evidence in these latter countries.
The only apparently authentic information published on
the subiect was that which was reproduced in the June, 1W/
issue of THE'SYRIAN WORLD relative to the intermarriage ot
Christian women and Druze men in the United SWaJta
information came from a Druze source and ^ J*
§?
cover the subiect of intermarriage between Christians and Mohammedans in general. The writer placed American women
maTrTed to Druz'e men at 125 and admitted that divorces^consequent upon such unions "were many for reasons unknown
He
boasted of the fact that "not a single woman ^^
descent, i. e., born of parents who are both Druzes, had married
out ide of her religion," and concluded by exhorting his coreligSs to "return to Syria and there choose mates of their own
See in an effort to preserve the integrity and conserve the purity
of their stocky ^ ^ ^^ polygamy, but their religious
beliefs are much akin to those of the Mohammedans in many
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APRIL, 1928
15
other respects. Divorce, for instance, depends on the mere word
of the husband, but their standard of morality and their respect
for their womankind is conceded to be very high.
Without, however, going into the merits of the different
religious beliefs and moral tenets, the' Syrians are now facing the
actualities of a problem which has reached an acute stage and
assumed an international aspect through the incident of the Brazilian women. In the light of the developments in this case,
it seems but natural that the, Syrians of Brazil should follow the
course indicated in vindication of their honor as a race. Especially should it be considered that most Syrians in all the different
countries of America are Christians who observe the same matrimonial customs and other accepted standards of morality obtaining among Christians anywhere in the world. Such being the
case, it is unfair to condemn the whole race by the actions of a
few individuals.
On the other hand, Nancy Millers are to be found everywhere and in all ages. If they choose to ally themselves to
men whose religious beliefs and social customs differ from their
own, they alone should bear the responsibility of their action.
The only condition is that they be duly forewarned, and if in
spite of their full knowledge of the facts they persist in having
their own way, then the matter becomes one of personal choice
and each case should be treated on its own merits without holding the) race of either of the contracting parties to account or responsibility.
As can be readily seen, a whole race is easily apt to be misjudged by the actions of a few of its individuals. An honest exposition of facts conducive to a. better understanding of special conditions obtaining among different classes of Syrians would, therefore, appear imperative. Circumstances which held the threat
of dire consequences drove the Syrians of Brazil to enter upon
the necessary explanations. It would seem that such action is
necessary on the part of Syrians in other countries before the
problem reaches a similar acute stage.
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Trust: not in the promise of the one who has not in his
heart the .'ear of God.
Ali.
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�THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
Singing His Golden Song
By BARBARA YOUNG
I
And one. came out of the wilderness singing a golden song,
and there was light upon his head.
And in his silken purse were gold and jewels, as much as
a king's ransom.
For he had met one in the wilderness "hen the.caravan
halted,
who ^^J^gf^^^friook upon,
his empty purse a handful ot Dn0nt g
And when the singer laughed and would have none o the
gold and jewels, the travee^presdmn-S-ft ^ mr
my only nches ^ m%^e ^,, s;„g ever in my heart.
rerr'rwtls^fnfforTou S %Ht wLn I am departed
from you."
And each man went his way.
And the singer entered the gate of the city. And he came
singing his golden song, scarce knowing what he sang.
And many loved him and followed him for the song's sake.
But one man followed him for the sake of the silken purse.
And the singer believed in them all, the many and the one,
and he sang.
.
,
of the singer.
,
was
himself. And he went out mto the darkness.
And the singer knew, but taj^«^*
did not
*SffS "ad been a gift from the smger.
«.
�I7
APRIL, 1928
And there was those who saw and understood, and they
said, "This man has stolen your purse, given you for remembrance by that one whom you met in the desert. Go now unto
the judge and he will both restore the purse, and throw the
rogue into prison."
And the singer looked upon them, but he answered nothing.
He only went his way into the wilderness again, singing
his golden song.
X
The Endless Race
By M. J.
NAIMY
Say not, my brother, you have lost the race.
Albeit my feet be fleeter than your feet,
Yet in the trackless voids of Time and Space
Your path and mine invariably meet.
i<y
Swift is the wind, but so's the languid breeze
That gives it birth and sleeps within its breast.
The mother-bird that flutters in the trees
Cannot outfly the fledgelings in the nest.
The mountain stream that hurls in fitful leaps
From rock to rock, its waters cool and clear,
Can reach the distant, ever-silent deeps
No quicker than a dewdrop or a tear.
•
*
j
Come, brother, come. The day is not yet done.
The race goes on relentless as before.
The time to ask who's lost and who has won
Will be when Time and Distance are no more.
Till then let's drown my laughter in your tears
And cast away their soul-benumbing load,
And stride along unmindful of the jeers
Or cheers of those who loiter on the road.
Reprinted from the New York Times of March 14, 1928
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A Natural Wonder of the East
By W. A. WEST
Director of the Freshman School in the
American University of Beirut.
The cave of Nahr-el-Kelb has always been of interest to
the graduates of the A. U. B. Many recall pleasant excursions
up the magnificent gorge of the river to the cave, where the
beautiful scenery outside contrasted with the mystery of the dark
cavern and its unknown waters. Many older graduates no doubt
hTve heard from the lips of Dr. Daniel Bliss stones of that first
party, of which he was a member, which explored more than a
kilometer of the underground passage and returned with remarkable tales of the wonders which they had observed Others must remember the very interesting article published later
by Professor Day, who described, from his own experiences as
well as that of others, the known part of the cave. The present
article is intended to be another chapter in the exploration of
what deserves to be classed as one of the natural wonders of the
Near East.
.
.
.
. .. _.„».
To review briefly the history of explorations in the cave.
Local inhabitants have, of course, always known of the existence
of a cavern of unknown extent, but the first published account
was by a missionary named Thompson, 7^0 v»^ Ae opcmng
in 1836. In 1873 a party consisting of Bliss Maxwell, Hux
ley, and Brigstocke, entered with rafts, and, in the course of sev
erl visits reached a point which is not known to have been pasduS'1927. Processor Day, with several others explored the known part of the cave in 1892, and in 1902 another
party entered. Since that time several explorations have been
Sk, but there is no record of anyone having passed, or indeed
reached, the point attained by the first party.
During the past summer, Dr. Ward arranged an expedition, con isfing of himself, his son Philip, Mr. Forrest Crawford and the writer, while Mrs. Ward accompanied us, and contributed greatly to the success of the undertaking by having a
not meal^eady for us each time we emerged from the chilly
'
�[
f
APRIL, 1928
\
'*,
19
depths of the cavern. Mrs. Ward also entered on one of the
trips, thus having the honor of being the first woman to navigate
the interior. Mr. Henry Glockler also entered at one time.
A good deal of thought was given to the question of boats
or rafts and we finally chose petroleum tin rafts, since these combine the maximum buoyancy with the minimum weight, and had
been found satisfactory by others. A raft of sixteen tins was
fixed upon as being convenient in size, about 1x2 meters, and
sufficient to support three persons. They were made in two sections, of eight tins each, so that they could be taken apart and the
sections transported separately over difficult places. Our success
was mainly due to the fact that these rafts functioned exactly
as intended, and proved themselves well suited to the conditions
encountered, thus they seem to deserve this detailed statement
•
of their construction.
Only a brief summary will be given of the lower cave, and
the easily navigable part of the underground river, since it is
impossible to improve on the excellent description given by Professor Day in his article thirteen years ago. As many will remember, the water comes out of a large cave, near which is a
dry opening which may be entered for some distance. The true
entrance to the inner cave, however, is about 200 meters farther
on, and is much obscured by bushes and rocks. On entering,
down a steep descent, one comes to a level beach of sand and
gravel, in a high, vaulted cave of great size. To the East is a
broad pool of deep, still water, and this continues, almost without visible current, for nearly one kilometer under the mountain.
We launched our rafts and set off on our voyage, but were
stopped after 200 meters by "The Screen", as it is called, a huge
rock which has dropped from the roof into a narrow part of
the channel and completely closed it, the water passing underneath. It is necessary to scramble up and drag everything over,
so we had reason to rejoice at the lightness of our craft. After
passing this obstacle, we paddled on without incident for some
distance, through a succession of great arched domes joined
by lofty hallways. It was as though the floor of a great
k;
church were a lake, and one were sailing on it in utter darkness,
1
. only the roof was usually much higher. We did not neglect to
admire "Maxwell's Column", that fluted stalactite pillar, comparable in size to the columns of Baalbeck, and we wished for
time to explore the lofty galleries, studded with stalagmites, or
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to examine in detail the beautiful or grotesque deposits.
Finally we reached the chamber known as the "Pantheon",
where a large white stalagmite, set or* an island rock in the middle of the channel, stands out strikingly against the dark background. On top of this stalagmite is the bottle left by Dr. Bliss'
party in 1873. In 1892, and again in 1902, it was observed to
be free of deposit, but in the 24 years since that time it has become thickly coated, a very interesting phenomenon. At this
point the channel is somewhat obscured, and it was with some
difficulty that we found the relatively insignificant opening which
gives passage to the next part. A few minutes more of paddling,
and we reached the end of the navigable river, a place which the
first party named "Chaos", where a slope of rough, irregular
rocks comes down to the water and stops further progress.
It is well named Chaos. A jumble of irregular rocks, sloping from near the roof on the right, down to a series of dark
pools on the left; ranging from the size of a man's head to as
big as a small room; some rough and jagged, some smooth and
slippery; in places firmly cemented together with stalagmite deposit, elsewhere entirely loose and unsteady; set with several
large, domed stalagmites, and with one tall pillar reaching the
roof; it surely seemed as though the forces of nature had combined to give a result as confused and fantastic as possible.
We tried several unsuccessful routes before Mr. Crawford
found a way to scramble up the almost perpendicular face of the
mass of rocks from under which the water appeared. After
picking our way over this mass, we found ourselves at the top
of a very steep descent, the cave before us narrowed to a cleft
about three meters in width, but very high, down the bottom of
which the river dashed towards us in a foaming torrent, to vanish under the rocks below. This was "Huxley andBrigstocke
Rapids." We scrambled down, and then along the sides of the
rapids, clinging to projections on the steep rock, and having to
leap across twice, when progress on one side became impracticable.
Finally we reached a broad ledge at the head of the rapids, beyond which the walls were smooth and vertical, but where the
water was smooth and deep. This, we considered, was the furthest point previously reached. Next day, Dr. Ward noticed
an inscription scratched in the rock: "Bliss, Huxley, Bngstocke,
Maxwell, 1873". It was with quite a thrill that we read these
names, half obliterated by the torrents of fifty-three winters.
�APRIL, 1928
21
This confirmed our belief that we had reached the limit of former explorations.
Next day we undertook the task of transporting one of our
rafts, half at a time, over the rocks of Chaos, up one steep slope
and down another, and dragging it up through the rapids. The
distance was perhaps 200 meters; the time consumed, two hours
for each section, or four hours altogether. We advise anyone
who plans to make this trip to practice by working as a hammal
for a week c*r so beforehand. However, the raft was finally assembled on the ledge at the head of the rapids, and we were
ready to launch out into new waters. After proceeding 30 or
40 meters around a bend, we were stopped by a steep, smooth
slope, down which the water rushed in a thin sheet, but by climbing up on a ledge at one side we were able to walk around to
the slope and wade across it, the water being very swift, but less
than ankle-deep. In this way we continued a short distance
along the stream, but were stopped by deep water.
The next day it was necessary to return to Beirut, but Mr.
Crawford and the writer determined to try to push on a little
farther before leaving, since a boat was now available above the
rapids. We managed to drag the raft up the steep slope mentioned above, and continued about 200 meters, sometimes pulling,
sometimes poling or paddling. The water was swift, but smooth,
and usually fairly deep. The channel here was quite different
from the lower lake or the rapids j no longer did we find those
high, gloomy vaults, rather it was a tunnel, six or eight meters
in width, and somewhat less in height, of elliptical cross-section,
running in nearly a straight line. The rock was white and polished, not of the dark color predominant below, but stalactites
were almost entirely absent. At last we reached a chamber of
large dimensions, where a rock as big as a small house had fallen
from the roof, and left only a small opening for the water below. We walked past it at one side, by a narrow cleft, and
were able to see deep, still water and an enticing passage leading on, but we lacked the time necessary to take the boat apart
and transport it across, and so have to leave a question mark at
the end of our record. On returning, we had an exhilarating
run through the swift current of the tunnel, thus compensating
for the labor of working up. A bottle and an inscription await
the coming of the next party to penetrate those dark and mysterious depths.
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It is hoped that this brief account will encourage others to
make the relatively easy trip into the lower lake. The writer
had looked up all the accounts available of previous parties, but
was not at all prepared for the size and magnificence of the spectacles presented. It is truly one of the natural wonders of this
country, and should be more familiar to those who live within
reach of it. Tourists visiting the country from abroad will be
amply compensated for the comparatively easy journey from
Beirut to the cave of Nahr-el-Kelb, the historical Dog River,
only about eight miles north of the city.
Renunciation
By AMEEN RIHANI
At eventide the Pilgrim came
And knocked at the Beloved's door.
"Who's there?" a voice within, "Thy name?"
" 'T is I," he said. — "Then knock no more.
As well ask thou a lodging of the sea, —
There is no room herein for thee and me."
The Pilgrim went again his way
And dwelt with Love upon the shore
Of self-oblivion; and one day
He knocked again at the Beloved's door.
"Who's there?" — "It is thyself," he now replied,
And suddenly the door was opened wide.
I
�APRIL, 1928
23
The First American School In
Damascus
By Miss
ANNA LEILA TAYLOR
*
Damascus, with 225,000 inhabitants, is the largest city of
Syria. About seventy-five per cent, of the inhabitants are Moslems. The city lies about 2,264 feet above the sea and forms
the gateway to the Syrian desert and to Bagdad.
Damascus is undoubtedly one of the oldest living cities of
the world. It is mentioned since Abraham's time. Eleser, the
servant of Abraham, who was sent to Lebanon to find a wife for
Isak, was from Damascus. In the book of Solomon Damascus
is often mentioned. In Damascus were the harems and treasures
of Darius. In Assyrian time the Kingdom of Damascus was
known as Imirisus, and the city, Dimaski. It was here in Damas •
cus where the miraculous conversion of St. Paul took place.
Shortly afterward he preached in the city. In the city wall at
the Bab-Kissan is the window where St. Paul was let down in a
basket at night.
Damascus is known by the Arabs as Esh-Sham or Dimishk.
Since- 634 it has been in the hands of the Arabs and had its most
gloriousi times under the reign of the Omayyads. It was during
that period that the Arabs founded a number of schools of philosophy in Damascus. They were scholars in medicine, astronomy
and mathematics and exhibited much originality in the departments of sciences and arts.
Since the invasion of the Mongols (1400) many of the
scholars and artists were butchered and carried away from Damascus. Since 1516 Damascus has been under the Turkish rule
until the great war when the French became the Mandatory government of Syria and Damascus. The city and country have
* Miss Taylor is a resident of California and a veteran newspaper
correspondent who went to Syria to report on the progress of the revolution in 1925-7. She has returned to America only recently and her account is based on first-hand information.
Editor.
M
I
�24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
suffered much under both governments.
Damascus is noted for its beautiful homes built in the most
luxurious Arab style. The wealthy Arabs are proud of their
ancestral homes built many centuries ago. Some of them were
of huge size like the Palace of Azem with 356 rooms and large
courts, with beautiful mosaics, carvings and arabesques. Kuatly's
house was another one of the rich homes that was very much admired by those few, who had the good fortune of seeing it. Besides the beautiful architecture it was known as one of the most
richly furnished homes with wonderful Damascus furniture and
very old Persian rugs.
Damascus is considered as one of the sacred cities and many
legends of antiquity are connected with it. Adam is supposed to
have lived on the nearby hill. It was there where the body of
the murdered Abel was hidden. Abraham is said to have lived
there once. Even Mohammed is supposed to have been once in
the vicinity of Damascus. Consequently, the city is held sacred
by Moslems and after its partial destruction in October, 1925
many poems and lamentations were written about it by Moslem
writers of all countries.
Damascus is a city for men only. A Moslem woman has
no place in society. Even in the richest homes women walk
quietly like shadows, always afraid to meet a strange man. As
soon as some male visitor appears they hide in the remotest corner of the house. Usually a Moslem woman cannot leave the
house without having the permission of her male relatives, neither can she enter the garden without being heavily veiled. Even
in the presence of her nearest relatives such as father or brothers
she does not dare to sing or dance. There is no restaurant in
Damascus where a Moslem woman can have a meal, not speaking of such luxuries as the theatres, concerts, promenades, etc.
A woman is considered as an ornament of the home and is treated like a slave.
It has not always been that way. During the early period
there were many noted women writers in Damascus, Arab women receiving an equal education with men and taking part in
scientific and philosophical discussions. They have been gradually
subdued until it was considered to be dangerous to educate women at all. However, both men and women are awakening now
to the fact that the country cannot make much progress in future as long as one half of the race is kept in ignorance and
H
ff
*T5
r
T>
V-
�'frf* .
NAHK-KL-KALIS
A short distance above the last bridge, appearing in the background, is (he wonderful cave of the
Dog River, described as a natural wonder of the Near Eeast. .(See Article by W. A. West)
�—
WHERE ORIENTAL ART IS SUPREME
«i
Interior of one of the great palaces of Damascus showing Oriental Art
and conception of luxary at their height. (See Article by M,ss Taylor)
�jim
APRIL, 1928
\
*!
* #
i
25
slavery. The young, educated Arabs begin to demand education for their sisters and daughters and are unsatisfied with their
uneducated wives. Women, too, are becoming more and more
dissatisfied with their present situation and are looking around
to escape the deadly monotony of their lives. But they also
realize that it is very difficult to change old customs and are looking for guidance outside, depending for their education on foreign women until they become ready to take the lead and be independent. At present it would be very difficult for a Moslem
woman to bring about any changes. In the first place, there are not
enough educated women to actually take the lead and, secondly,
a Moslem woman would be very severely criticised if she tried
to introduce any new customs or changes, while a foreigner has
much more freedom and would be more readily forgiven any
possible mistakes that she might make because she is living according to the customs of her country.
The Moslem men and women have a child-like faith in
Americans and in American education and therefore some of the
most progressive Arab women have begged several American
women to come to Damascus to help better the social conditions
of the Moslem women. Finally one American was brave enough
to attempt this work and in 1925 the first American school for
girls was opened in Damascus by Dr. Christine Adamson Essenberg, former professor of the University of California.
She spent the first five months in Damascus as guest of one
of the prominent Arabs, where she had the opportunity to learn
the Arabic language, to get acquainted with the life and customs
of the Arabs and to meet a great number of the better class of
Arab women and to win their love and confidence. Her ideas
concerning her future work were far reaching but after serious
consideration she came to the conclusion that under the very complicated political and social situation the best and safest thing was
to open a school for women of all ages and to make the school
curriculum as flexible and far reaching as possible.
As Damascus is noted for its religious fanaticism and as
she expected to reach as many of the Moslem women as possible
without making them prejudiced against the school, Dr. Essenberg decided to leave out all sectarian religious teaching from
her school curriculum and to follow the plan of the American public school system and in addition to it make the school a social center for the Moslem women. Her ideas were accepted with great
�aasa
26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
enthusiasm by both the Moslem women and men. Special meetings were held by the Arab men and women where the founder
of the school was welcomed and promised all such help as would
be legitimate. Some of the Arab ladies told me that they had
not seen any such enthusiasm and excitement since the last revolution as there was about the new American school. One very
prominent Moslem lady brought her two-year old baby to the
American school saying that this was such an important historical event that she wanted her child to be the first one to be
registered in the school. After that women of all ages came to
register either for special courses or full work. The demands
were so varied from childstudy and painting to fox trot, that it
was impossible to. satisfy all the demands. Every one had great
hopes for the future of the American school. But gradually
dark clouds began to gather over Syria and over the American
school.
. . .£
The war with the Druzes, which seemed so insignificant at
first, began to worry many people. Most of the educated men
of Damascus were imprisoned; others fled the country leaving
behind sadness and distress. Still the women and the remaining
men kept up their interest in the American school. Many villages were burned in the vicinity of Damascus and some of the
dead bodies of the rebels were paraded on the backs of camels
in the streets of Damascus. The Moslem women became very
much intimidated and did not dare to leave their homes. What
a sad outlook for opening a school! Nevertheless the school was
opened in October 1, 1925, and about forty girls gathered in the
school little by little.
They had hardly commenced their work, when on the 18th
of October the French suddenly began bombarding the most
densely populated section of the city and kept this up for 48
hours, destroying about 1200 homes and fifteen mosques. This
bombardment came so unexpectedly that some of the people escaped only in their night gowns, while many were buried in their
burning homes. Many who had been rich before had suddenlybecome poor. After that an exodus took place from Damascus
to Beirut or to the neighboring countries. Men were forbidden
to leave but about thirty thousand women left Damascus. The
American consul even advised the American citizens to leave
Damascus. However, Dr. Essenberg decided to stay in Damascus at her own risk.
V ?!
i
�APRIL, 1928
I
27
The American school was never attacked nor in any danger,
but under the circumstances it had to be closed for a week until
the students began gradually to return. One could not have
chosen a worse' time for opening a school. With the tanks parading in streets and the cannons roaring there is no thought of carrying out the original ideas. All one could do was to keep the
very much frightened girls calm and busy. In spite of the unusual conditions the school may be considered as a success although it has not been self-supporting as previously expected.
It is enough to have students remain loyal to the school. The
smallest number of students have been 25 and many are anxious
to return from Beirut to take up their work again as soon as conditions will improve in Damascus.
Dr. Essenberg is very much loved and respected by the
Arabs of Damascus so that she is always referred to as, "Our
American Lady". Leading men and women of Syria have made
special effort to show her their appreciation. Her work is doing
great credit to America and to the American flag that is flying
over the first American school in the world's oldest living city.
Such work can bring but good fruit and help humanity.
I
\ t
A
Onesided
By
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
O, that upon the sea,
Unchanged, the golden smile
May dwell eternally j
And that its minstrelsy
May evermore beguile
With plaintive melody!
For beauteous is the sea,
When on its burnished breast
It carries hope for me.
�iMttfii
THE SYRIAN WORLD
28
j'l
The Progress of the Syrian Nation
By
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR,
I
i
B. D.
The renaissance of the Syrian nation, race and culture was
brought about by three general factors: emigration, the World
War? and the Syrian Civil War. Emigration brought Syria in
contact with the world; the World War with democracy; and the
Syrian Civil War with Syrian nationalism. The result is a national self-consciousness, a racial solidarity, and a cultural aspiral
' The modern Syrian nation came to self-realization amidst
a world in ferment, nations in crises, and races claiming equal
human rights. Some strive after national or racial independence
or equality. Others strive after economic, political, religious, or
social equality. This is an age of re-adjustment, of reflection
upon a world that ought to be, and of a struggle for self-realization. The question arises as to what shall be the spirit, ideals,
and methods to dominate the Syrian nation today.
This is the plastic age of the modern Syrian nation, lhe
nation that is to be is now in the making. The spirit, goals and
methods of today are creating the nation of tomorrow. 1 he Syrian nation is now awaking to the consciousness of a new and larger
life.
"The rudiments of empire here
Are plastic yet and warm;
The chaos of a mighty world
Is rounding into form."
The Syrian people are gradually adjusting the old to the
new adopting modern methods, and creating a modern nation.
Let it be remembered that civil war is self-exhausting; opposition to world powers, vain; and dumb resignation, suicidal. The
following considerations are meant to set forth certain needs ot
the Syrian nation, suggest modern principles of progress which
will coordinate the nation's ideals and life, and indicate possible
methods for their attainment.
i
�APRIL, 1928
29
/.—Let Culture be the National and Racial Ideal toward National Independence, Freedom and Democracy.
Philip K. Hitti says in THE SYRIANS IN AMERICA, that,
* * * after all, culture, and not a strain of blood, is the determining factor in the identification of a race." This was true of
Greece, Rome and Egypt. It is true today of European nations.
Let the high aspiration for national and racial culture be the
ideal in the making of the Syrian nation.
"But the social life of man has developed many complex
phases not shown by animal social, such as industry, art, government, science, education, morality, and religion," says Charles A.
Ellwood in SOCIOLOGY AND MODERN SOCIAL PROBLEMS. "Collectively these are known as 'culture' (which is the scientific term
for civilization in the broadest sense) and the development of
culture is what distinguishes the social life of man from the
social life of brutes." Let Syrian culture distinguish Syria's civilization from that of all others.
Syria will become autonomous and prosperous through her
national culture. Let Syrian nationalism grip Syria's institutions.
The Syrian nation must not barter its soul away for a mess of
European pottage. Let Syrian character, national temperament,
and national ideals be the mighty defenders, the ferment of continual regeneration, and the spiritual forces which shall exalt the
nation to a place in the sun.
Let Syrians claim cultural recognition, and seek cultural
equality aqd strive for a high place among the nations of the
earth. Let Syrians consider the nature of Syrian culture, the
methods of its attainment, and the dissemination of its benefits
to mankind. Syrian culture will make for the true independence,
freedom, and democracy of the Syrian nation that is to be. Let
Syrian intellect, adaptability, and high ambition be quick to modernize Syria and create thereon a distinctive modern Syrian culture.
l
i
11
<
—True Reform of the Syrian Social Order will Come through
a Gradual Passing of the Older Generations, and the Incoming of the Younger Generations.
True reform fe gradual and is not the result of abrupt social
revolution. There are those who desire immediate changes without
due consideration for the social, moral, economic and religious,
and other habits of the people. Radical changes usually bring dire
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
30
results. The wise course is the conservative-progressive course of
thought, and method. The good in the old order must be preserved while assimilating the new.
"A new generation must come upon the scene, says John
Dewey in HUMAN NATURE AND CONDUCT, "whose habits of
mind have been formed under the new conditions. There is pith
in the saying that important reforms cannot take real effect untd
after a number of influential persons have died." The older
generations with their habits of thought and life must gradually
rive way to the younger generations with their rejuvenated
minds, vigor, expectation and daring for innovations. The old
leadership must give place to the new leadership.
True reform is constructive, it does not destroy. That is
destructive reform which seeks to impose on a generation that
which it is not prepared to take. True reform co-operates witn
The old order whik employing the new knowledge^singAe
new methods, and striving after a higher social order.
lhe
urLT need for a great creative effort has become apparent in
thfaffa rs of mankind," says H. G. Wells in THE SALVAGING OF
Cmu^ioN. Creative effort has gripped the Syrian nation
and ^ to rise to the best in them, to effect social changes in
Svria and to claim the benefits of democracy.
Let the constructive-progressive spirit and the Syrian gen
ius for adaptability dominate the reform of the Syrian social
order True reform is a gradual process in which the old gradually passes away or is eliminated, while the new is being appropriated.
777 —There Must be an Intelligent Permeation of the Masses
' with the True Ideas which Make for National Progress.
"The last century has made more progress than the thousand years preceding it," says Willis Mason West in THE MOT,
WORLD
"In this recent transformation of the wor d, the
three S agents have been democracy, humane senbment
nd saS-nvention." Syrians must incorporate these m*hg
factors into Syrian thinking, feeling and willing. It must be
e^rucrrvee prg
progressive,, and intelligent thinking. Intelligent
constructs
masses>
Leaders
l^nel I he pr n pks or democracy, with a heart for the
S£ and^l theVpose of ameliorating human life by every means possible to science, morals and religion.
I
�APRIL, 1928
31
The Syrian masses must learn to relate their thinking, their
nation, their commerce and their ideals to the rest of mankind.
Syria is no longer isolated. Isolation is deadly. We live in a
socialized world. Syrians must socialize their religion, education, commerce and ideals, as other nations have done and are
doing.
The Syrian nation must learn to control the dynamic spirit
in the modern social order. Shall it express itself in materialism,
imperialism, or idealism? Syria must be protected against the
ravaging forces of western materialism. Materialism having well
nigh destroyed the civilization of the West it is now turning to
the East for new worlds to conquer. Let Syrians beware of the
destructive forces of great wealth, luxury, authority, and religious indifference. Roger Babson says, "We stand at the cross
roads. We must choose between God and Mammon. Materialism is undermining our civilization as it has undermined other
civilizations. Unless we heed the warning in time and get back
to the real fundamentals, we must fall even as the civilizations
of Egypt, Greece and Rome fell — and for the same reason.''
The Syrian nation will make progress to the extent there is true
representative democracy, the forces of nature are harnessed to
serve the nation, and humane sentiment dominates the masses.
IV.—Greater Co-operation will Come through the Spirit of Nationalism, the Revival of Commerce, and the Development
of Great Social Life.
/
\
Good roads, intensified social life, and the diffusion of
knowledge are keys to greater co-operation.
Human co-operation and solidarity are being brought about
through modern transportation. The pack-horse and its kindred means of transportation are being supplanted by the auto,
train, aeroplane. Good roads will help create a new Syria, revolutionize people's thoughts and life and social relation. Good
roads will create a new Syrian commerce, new industries, new
cities and new agriculture. Every mile of good roads in Syria
will do more to modernize Syria than many other efforts combined. The greater the number of motor vehicles sold in Syria
the greater will the demand be for modern roads. An item in
the September issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD says, " * * * the
registration of motor vehicles in Syria as of January 1, 1927,
was 3,854 passenger cars, 39 busses and 268 trucks, totalling
�m
22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
4 162, while in Palestine the total number of motor vehicles is
t;950 and in Iraq, 2,524". The road builder, motor vehicle,
and commerce will compel a greater co-operation in the Syrian
^Nationalism will make for greater co-operation.
National-
ism is a school in which men are led to think «****J£&
alism leads to a conformity of a common mind Nationa ism
S eate a new power in the community which destroys hindrances to the nation's welfare. Nationalism develops a social
urS to attain a higher social life. Nationalism discovers ways
Sthnkmg together, working together, and Irving together
The rise and development of modern commercial enterpr e
will destroy the sectional spirit. "When commerce gradually
Tev vefafter the Dark Ages," says Randall in THE MAKING OF
THE MODERN MIND, "co-operation was absolutely essentia , C£
operation against the local lord and against the perils of the
iou nev" The recrudescence of the sectional spirit, religious
bigotryy,'the continuation of historic feuds, and irrational prejuofes must give way to the spirit of co-operation in the modern
Syrian nadon. Modern education will help destroy much irraSin the thinking that hinders co-operation. Modern commerce, governments, and welfare demand co-operation.
V -The Pattern for Syria's Future National Thinking Must be
' Planted in Syria's Youth, Literature, and Educational Systern.
"The future of any nation," said Roosevelt, "depends upon the molding of the minds and bodies of the younger-generations " Dr. Arnold, the great teacher and father of Matthew
Arnold said, "All who have meditated upon the art of governfngmankTnd have felt that the fate of empires depended on the
ed'cTon of'the young," Rousseau said, "Men and nations can
only be reformed in their youth " Thomas Jefferson said of his
teacher William Small, "He fixed my destiny in life
The
future statesmanship, cultural attainment and P^P^of^
Svrian nation depends on the education of Syria s youth. The
bet^the education of Syria's youth, the better wil be the abili y
of the nation to create and maintain high national ideals, noble
and high national aspiration, develop a greater co-operative spirit,
and rise to the best in the race.
.
Let a high ideal of the Syrian culture, the necessity for co-
1
�APRIL, 1928
I
33
operation, and the welfare of the nation be the patterns of thinking of Syria's youth. Let Syrians believe in their noble destiny. Let
Syrians believe in themselves, in their distinctive civilization, and
in what they can contribute to the world's betterment. "In every age there are chosen peoples," says Edward A. Steiner. "It
was the sense of being a chosen people," says William T. Ellis,
"a set apart nation, a called out company, that imparted deep
seriousness and large purpose to the life of Israel." Let Syrians everywhere, as well as the Syrian nation, realize that Syria
is the motherland of a Syrian Spirit which is to create a SYRIAN WORLD. The Syrian nation must realize its high calling,
impart impulses for its attainment through its youth, and diffuse
its spirit throughout mankind. Let the Syrian nation lay hold
of the keys to Syria's future and prosperity: Syria's youth, literature, and schools. It is what is implanted in Syria's youth that
determines the character, ideals, and prosperity of tomorrow.
Save Syria's youth and you save all, lose Syria's youth and you
lose the past, present, and future.
VI. There Must Develop a Syrian Social Conscience to Create
a Stable Social Order; Foster a Progressive Spirit, and Unite
the People.
An immediate necessity in Syria is the development of a
Syrian social conscience. The social crisis is on everywhere, especially in Syria. In some places it is gradual, in others revolutionary, and in others just beginning. The people are beginning
to claim their rights. The ferment of democracy is everywhere.
The vision of human rights must become the policy of Syria's
statesmen, educationists, economists, industrialists, religionists,
and scientists. "The basis of human right is social welfare," says
Ely and Wicker in ELEMENTARY ECONOMICS. The welfare of
the nation is the basis of a social conscience. For, as Roosevelt
said, "This country will not be a good place for any of us to live
in unless we make it a good place for 'all of us to live in."
A social conscience will help create a stable social order.
Man is a social being. The day for absolute individualism is
gone. Man finds independence, not in absolute independence,
but in mutual dependence. Modern civilization is doing away
with every vestige of isolation. Think of the automobile, railroad, aeroplane, telephone, telegraph, radio and how they have
revolutionized human thought and life. All that stand in the
way of Syria's modernization will be done away with, as is evi-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
V;
it by «he power of the new world life. A social conscience is
^^Z^Zl'^^r^^Jy,
one flag,
mind ana neart iui o.
one soul, and one glorious destiny.
Critics
By G. K. GIBRAN
One nightfall a man «*£^J^c£
sea reached an inn by t ^d^ He^snaou^
^
£££ "e bSde tbtdoor and entered into tbe tnn.
At ridaight, when all were asleep, a thief came and stole
the traveller's horse.
heean to talk.
And the first man said, "How foolish of you to t,e your
h0re
XT\ttecoSndUid, "Still more foolish, without even
h0bb
tVtth<rd"man said, "It is stupid at best to travel to
*he Xdnthhe°rf^h"said, "Only the indolent and the slow of
foot own horses.
. ,
Then tbe traveller was mucb g*£ £ %£%<+
"My friends, because my horseMS -*£gj£^
stnmge,
stole my horse."
*
1
�APRIL, 1928
35
The War in Arabia
I
By A
/
I
POLITICAL OBSERVER
Recent reports from Arabia indicated for a time that another war was threatening in the Near and Middle Easts. TheWahabis, fanatical followers of King Ibn Sabud, were said to
have made attacks simultaneously on the borders of Iraq and
Transjordania. These two countries are ruled by the sons of exKing Hussein of Hejaz, for whom King Ibn Saoud entertains
the bitterest hatred. This enmity is rooted in both religious and
political differences. Not that the rivals are of different religions,
for they are both Mohammedans, but because they are rivals
and contenders for mastery over the destinies or the Arab
and Islamic world. This, indeed, has become a much more valuable stake than it had been before the World War, for ever
since the abolition by the Turks of the Khilafat the Arabs have
again had visions of assuming the enviable office which yields
such great prestige in the Moslem world. The office, however,
requires that the pretender be of sufficient temporal power to lay
rightful claim to the title of Defender of the Faith, and it is
towards acquiring this prerequisite of prestige and power that
the leading kings and sultans of Arabia are now bending their
energies.
In the furtherance of his ambitions along this line, Ibn
Saoud, Sultan of Nejd, declared war on King Hussein of Hejaz
and later on his son and successor King Ali in 1925 and wrested
from them the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, making himself thereby the most conspicuous figure in Islam. Ibn Saoud
is the leader of the fanatic, puritanical Moslem sect called AlIkhwan, or Brethren, who are also known as the Wahabis, or
the followers of Mohammed Abdul Wahab, a religious teacher
who founded the sect in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
Their distinction is that they exact, and also practice, implicit
observance of the spirit and the letter of the Koran and the
Traditions. Whoever deviates from their conception of the
straight and narrow path is a Mushrek, or unbeliever. This applies not only to those outside the pale of the Mohammedan
faith but to those among the Mohammedans who do not con-
�26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
form to their teachings as well. On the strength of his advocacy of pristine purity in Islam, Ibn Saoud naturally lays claim
to the right of leadership in Moslem affairs.
Ibn Saoud has proven himself anxious to uphold his puritanical beliefs on every occasion. Upon entering Mecca after
his defeat of the Hashimite King Hussein, his first official act
was to order destroyed all the paraphernalia which he considered incompatible with Wahabi practices. A great pyre was made
in the central square of the Holy City of nargiles, phonographs
and records, game tables and other means of amusement and the
torch applied to them. Reform, Wahabi fashion, was being enforced with all the force and ferocity of a wild and desperate
desert nature.
Later came further reforms by way of an official edict being promulgated to the effect that most severe punishment would
be meted on whosoever shaved his beard, wore silks, smoked, or
abstained from attending pravers immediately upon the call of
the muezzin. The Wahabis were out to reform the world and
they proceeded to do so in strict observance of all reform movements originating in the Arab Peninsula — by the sword.
This is but one of the reasons all bridges seem to have been
burned in the way of a permanent understanding between the
Wahabis and their opponents. But the political reason, the grand
motive embracing a dream of a world empire that would bind
the whole Mohammedan world by a strong tie of religious solidarity and make it subject to the will of a single head is one of
the peculiar growths of the World War and the resulting dismemberment of the Turkish Empire. It came about in the following manner.
Great Britain and France, under the secret Sykes-Picot treaty of 1916, had reapportioned the possessions of the Turkish
Empire according to their special interests and agreed that Syria
was to go to France, Palestine, Transjordania and Iraq to Britain. When President Wilson, upon the conclusion of the treaty
of Versailles, decreed in altruistic fashion that the principle of
self-determination should apply to conquered enemy territory,
he did not realize what havoc the promulgation of this principle
would cause to his allies who had secretly arranged matters otherwise. England and France would not consent to sending a
commission of inquiry to former Turkish provinces, and the
United States had to send independently its own King-Crane
�I
*
APRIL, 1928
|
j
j
1
^ j*
* /
jj
1
37
Commission which prepared an extensive report. This report
found its way in due time to the State Department, but was
suppressed. Its conclusions did not conform to the arrangements
arrived at by Great Britain and France in their division of the
spoils, and America wanted to keep her hands off European entanglements. Consequently, the secret treaty between the two
contracting European Powers dealing with the Near East remained in force.
But while this arrangement was apparently agreeable to
both parties, England was accused of double-dealing by promising her Arab allies what she had agreed to cede to her French
ally. Syria, according to the treaty, was to be the share of France,
but England entered into secret agreements with Sherif Hussein
of Mecca, who later became King Hussein, to foster his ambitions of becoming the supreme head of a Pan-Arab, Pan-Islamic
movement. To all appearances, he was the ideal man for the
post. He was a direct descendant of the Prophet. He would be
enthroned king over the Arabs in whose possession would be the
two sacred cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. He had many
sons who would be made rulers of neighboring countries and by
their allegiance to him form the nucleus of an Arab empire which
would be under the direct influence of Britain. And Britain, as
everyone knows, takes so much interest in Mohammedan affairs!
Her creation of a genuine Arab kingdom whose titular head
would be the successor of the Prophet would go far towards placating and pacifying her Mohammedan subjects. Furthermore,
Turkey had aligned herself with the Central Powers and it was
good policy to create an opposing force to an enemy. The plan
seemed so smooth that England felt no scruples about making a
promise to the Arabs which did not in all particulars conform
to what she had contracted with her ally, France. Fortune also
seemed to have favored her by the advent of Mustapha Kemal
Pasha and his abolition of the Khilafat which made the claim of
the Arab King on the Holy Places of Islam so much more valid.
Therefore, in pursuance of this plan, General Allenby permitted the Arab contingent of his invading army to be at the
head of the columns entering Syria. Damascus was occupied and
soon thereafter Feisal, son of Hussein, then only an Emir, was
proclaimed king. Syria was to be the principal member of a
great Arab confederation ruled over by the sons of Hussein and
forming the nucleus of a rejuvenated Arab Empire, leading in
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
turn to a great Islamic, world Empire.
France put an end to the ambitions of the Hashimite family in this respect by declaring war on Feisal and causing him to
flee from Syria. England, not to be daunted, created a throne
in Iraq and installed Feisal on it, making at the same time Emir
Abdullah, another son of King Hussein, ruler of Transjordania.
Thus most of the Arabic-speaking world remained under English influence, Egypt, the one other important Arabic-speaking
country in the Near East, being under actual British occupation.
All this happened without reckoning on the potential power of the sultan of Nejd, the Powerful Ibn Saoud, who had been
watching these developments and making preparations to strike
at the first opportune moment. When he finally struck it was
with the powerful arm of the Ikhwan who were wrought into
fury over what they considered desecration of the sacred places
of Arabia. They caused the deposition of King Hussein and
later that of his son King Ali. But we may be sure that if the
rank and file of the Ikhwan warriors were not aware of the ulterior motives behind this war there was one man of extended
vision who contemplated with apprehension the growth of the
influence of the Hashimite family. That man was Ibn Saoud
who, under the pretext of purifying Islam, succeeded at the same
time in purifying Arabia of the prestige of his arch-enemy.
And now there was the growing menace of Iraq becoming
a strong power on the flanks of Ibn Saoud and at the head of
which was a scion of the Hashimite family. Even since October
and November of 1927 there were raids by the Ikhwan on the
borders of Iraq. To be sure, they were represented as irresponsible incursions by a henchman of Ibn Saoud, a certain Arab
chieftain called Feisal ud-Dawish. But eventually King Ibn
Saoud was said to have championed the acts of his subordinate.
It was, according to dispatches, a compulsory move on the part
of Ibn Saoud to save his face. Dispatches concurrently intimated that Britain had for some time discontinued her annual allowance of three hundred thousand dollars to the Arab king
After all, the perennial religious question in the East cannot be left out of the reckoning. If it is not a question of Mohammedans and Christians, then it is a question of Mohammedans or Christians between themselves. In this case the controversy is about one thousand four hundred years old and stiil
going strong among some sects of Mohammedans. The Wa-
�APRIL, 1928
>
39
habis, followers of Ibn Saoud, are orthodox Moslems upholding
the Sunnite sect, while the majority of the inhabitants of Iraq
are Shiite Moslems who, after the lapse of all this time, still
give loyalty and allegiance to Ali in the matter of succession to
the Khilafat. Something of the animosity still obtaining on this
question may be had from the following incident. About a year
ago the Iraqi government called on the American University of
Beirut for the recommendation of a professor of history. A
teacher was sent who was the pupil of a Syrian historian who
did not believe in the Right of Ali. The pupil, of course, followed in the footsteps of his master and gave lectures which he
considered of a purely scholastic nature rendered without prejudice or bias. He published a book treating on the subject, and
because he would not favor Ali, the idol of the Iraqi Shiites,
there was a riot in which the English police had to intervene and
which resulted in about twenty deaths and a large number of
other casualties.
Iraq, according to the classification of the League of Nations, is considered a class A mandate, meaning that it requires
but little supervision in order to become self-governing. Still
it is found to be fertile ground for such controversies dating as
far back as 1400 years. What then could be expected of the
nomads of the desert who still live under the same conditions
which existed during the remote time of Father Abraham?
The Wahabis are just such a people with a good deal of
emphasis. They are fired by religious zeal quite in keeping with
the hot temperature of the scorching sands of the desert. Their
austerity takes of the very nature of their habitat and it should
not be at all surprising that they go to war upon the least representation that their creed was being violated.
After all, the new difficulties in Arabia may be ascribed to
many reasons, each sufficient in itself to be a casus belli among
such a primitive people. But one should not leave out of the
picture the machinations of European diplomacy. For just
as England was responsible to a large extent for engineering the
revolt against France in Syria, it is worth while considering if
France, in her turn, was not responsible in diplomatically fostering this new outburst of the Wahabis against England on the
Iraqi borders. Ibn Saoud, it was at one time stated, had helped
the Syrian revolution with no less than £15,000 in cash. He
was at that time a loyal friend of England. It was later report-
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ed that he had become a stanch friend of France. Can it be
possible that French money is now being used to give England
a little diversion in Iraq, by a reversal of the process, and repayment in kind?
'
\)
Arab Proverbs
Slaves of passions are more despicable than slaves of
bondage.
Insatiable ambition is captivity without ransom.
The enmity of relatives is more poignant than the bites of
scorpions.
The wise man's wealth is in his knowledge, and the fooPs
wealth is in his possessions.
Counsel is the beacon of safety.
Loss of sight is much preferable to loss of mind.
Truth, although little, will confound falsehood, no matter
how plentiful, just as a small fire will consume a pile of wood
no matter how huge.
/ ',
r
Everything in the world is much greater when heard about
than when seen.
Either be a learned conversationalist or a patient listener.
A man's speech is the index of his knowledge.
Improve your behavior the nearer you get to the grave.
Just as humility is a true sign of wisdom, so is conceit a
sure indication of ignorance.
�I
SULTAN IBN SAOUD
The most powerful potentate of Arabia and Conqueror of the Hashjmite
King Hussein. He is the tall man with the staff.
r
�_ _
EX-KING HUSSEIN
/
Head of the Hashimite family and a direct descendant of the Prophet.
He is now in exile in Cyprus.
�APRIL, 1928
41
Tragedy in Love
e/f» Authentic Arabian Story.
Translated from the Original Arabic.
/
i
During the reign of Suleiman Abdul Malek, one of the
Umayyad caliphs of Damascus, there lived in the city of AlBasra a wealthy merchant called Nairn Al-Ghafari who had an
only son brought up in the lap of luxury and refinement, and
whose name was Zarif. The merchant's fortune was such that
he was spared the further necessity of travel, and he centered
all his attention on the care of his son whom he loved more
dearly than life itself. There was not a wish of the youth that
was not gratified, and his numerous servants and slaves were
ever anxious to carry out with alacrity his slightest bidding. He
was, for that reason, the subject of considerable envy, and what
appeared to add to his good fortune was that nature had endowed him with such pulchritude and grace of figure that there
seemed to be nothing wanting to complete the measure of his
happiness.
However, and in spite, of all the enviable advantages which
he enjoyed, the youth conceived one day the rash idea of wanting to embark on a trading expedition. Like the dutiful child
he was, he broached the subject to his father but only met with
discouragement and disapproval. "Why entertain such a mad
undertaking, my son," said the loving parent. "Thou art the
hope and consolation of my life, and all the fruits of my labor
are thine to enjoy to the fullest extent. Thou seest that nothing has been denied thee and if thou departest from me I fear
some harm will overtake thee and send me to my grave shrouded in grief. Pray, then, listen to my counsel and remain with
me until the end of my days so that I may depart this life in
peace of mind and contentment."
But the boy, in the rashness of his youth, remained obdurate and persisted in his insistance until the reluctant father
gave his consent. Consequently, a large and assorted shipment
of the choicest merchandise was collected together and given
to him, and early of a morning he set his face in the direction
1
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
of Bagdad, the enchanted city about which he had heard so much
from his traveler friends.
Once in the great city, Zarif occupied himself above all
with the admiration of the beautiful palaces and the numerous
parks and gardens teeming with life and gaity. He was enraptured wtih his experience and his commercial errand was the
last thing to which he gave a thought. It seemed as if life had
opened for him new avenues of pleasure which had been totally
closed to him in the dull routine of a humdrum existence in AlBasra.
It chanced one day that while passing by the slave market,
he was induced by his companions to enter the enclosure and
witness the proceedings so as to add to his store of experience.
Once within, he saw for the first time in his life the manner of
disposal and the original source of supply of the human material
which filled the harems of the rich men of the country. Lined
around the enclosure were slaves of every color and description j
black Ethiopians like polished ebony; white Circassians like flawless ivory; some of homely appearance but robust of constitution who could be used for menial work, while others of dazzling
beauty who could well grace the palaces of Sultans, and all
destined to be sold off and delivered on the spot to the highest
bidder.
The sight was a novel one to the unsophisticated youth and
he sat for a time watching the proceedings crouched in an inconspicuous corner. Until a maiden was led to the platform whose
surpassing beauty captivated the whole audience and elicited from
them loud exclamations of admiration. Immediately there was
spirited bidding for her possession and her price was being raised
by the tens of thousands of dirhams. And all the while the bidders would be clamoring for opportunities to examine and scrutinize her in order the more to regale their eyes with this exceptional feast of perfect feminine beauty.
But the wily maiden, conscious of her supreme charms, assumed such poses and resorted to such methods as never to gratify the wish of a would-be purchaser in full. She would never
reveal all her body to any one bidder. To this one she showed
a graceful arm, to the other a perfectly moulded leg, and to a
third only one side of a fully budding breast. She had dancing
eyes protected by a perfectly penciled brow of the shape of a
Yamani blade, but whenever a bidder came near closing the deal
�wmm.
APRIL, 1928
43
with her master she would overwhelm him with such a shower
of piercing looks that would have on him the effects of darts
of steel and he would develop sudden reluctance to part with
his money. It was evident that the pretty one would consent
to be sold only to the one who met with her complete favor.
While thus engaged in scrutinizing the bidders her eyes
fell on the youth from Al-Basra whose name, Zarif, well described his comely appearance. Immediately there was a change
in her attitude and she beamed on him with such tender and
warm glances as to leave no doubt of her preference for him.
He could not resist the bewitching twinkle in her eyes and he
forthwith rose and joined the circle of bidders, and it was a
matter of but a few moments when the coveted beauty became
his for a price of a hundred thousand dirhams.
The lad had not expected to come so soon to the realization of such great happiness, and he prepared to celebrate the
occasion that evening with a sumptuous feast to his newly acquired friends. But fate held something unexpected in store
for him—something that he could not forestall, being a stranger
in a strange city.
As it happened, news of the great beauty of the slave girl
fwho was sold in the slave market that day traveled fast among
the men of the city until it had, before evening, reached the ears
of Al-Hajjaj, the atrocious tyrant who was sent by the Caliph
as his agent in Iraq to put down by sword and fire any attempt
at insurrection. Al-Hajjaj had no scruples about the sanctity
of person or property and he sent the commander of the guard
to the youth from Al-Basra with orders to bring to him forthwith the slave girl bought by him that day. In vain did the
enamored youth plead first with the commander of the guard
and then with Al-Hajjaj, and as a climax to his misfortune he
was cast in prison and told that he would not be set at liberty
until he had completely renounced his right of ownership to
the girl.
But Al-Hajjaj, although merciless and unscrupulous, had
a very keen appreciation for his life and it soon dawned upon
him that if the news of his misdeed were to come to the knowledge of the Caliph he could expect no mercy at his hands. Consequently, and in order to remedy matters before it became too
late, he fitted out a great caravan and had the girl sent to Damascus with a message to the Caliph that having found this girl
�H
THE SYRIAN WORLD
whom none but the person of the Caliph deserved, he had presented her to him as a token of his vigilance and loyalty. Needless to say that the girl found great favor in the eyes of the
Caliph.
Soon after, the distracted youth was released from prison
and his first thought was to follow his beloved to Damascus.
There he spent a long time devising means to enter mto communication with her but all to no avail. Until finally he decided on the desperate course of appealing direct to the Caliph, and
he wrote to him saying: "If the Prince of the Faithful will
gratify the wish of a desperate man, I would ask that he permit
his bondmaiden Nohma to sing for me three selections of my
choice, after which he may dispose of my person in the manner
he pleases."
,
Upon receiving the petition the Caliph was greatly enraged,
but later allowed his forbearance to get the mastery over his
anger, and when the officials of the court had departed he ordered both the youth and the girl to be brought to his presence ,
Having been thus brought together again, Zanf asked his
beloved Nohma to sing him in her perfected art a certain^selection from a famous Arab poet-lover, which she did. Zanf went
into such transports of emotion that he lost consciousness.
Upon being revived he asked for another selection and
then for a third, and now that his wish had been gratified and
without waiting for the decision of the Caliph he rushed towards an open window and leaped to the ground below meeting
immediate death.
_
At this turn of affairs the Caliph was much grieved, exclaiming that the youth had too hastily brought on his own end,
for who could conceive of a Caliph exposing a woman of his
harem to the sight of a stranger and then taking her back.
Thereupon the Caliph ordered that the girl be either given
to the heirs of the youth or sold and her price given as alms to
the poor in his memory.
But as the court attendants were leading her out of the
palace, and while crossing a deep moat, the girl wrenched herself free from the grip of her guard, exclaiming:
So must a lover meet his death,
Barren is love unless so set.
�APRIL, 1928
45
And before she could be overtaken and restrained she leaped over the parapet and only her lifeless body was recovered
lying beside that of her youthful lover.
Fives, Sevens and Nines
Kisses are five: a kiss of compassion which is that of the
child; a kiss of consideration which is that of the child's head;
a kiss of respect which is that of the sultan's hand; a kiss of
devotion which is that of the Black Stone, the crucifixes and
the like; and a kiss of passion which is that of women.
*
*
*
Intoxication is five: the intoxication of youth; the intoxication of liquor; the intoxication of wealth; the intoxication of
authority, and the intoxication of love.
J)C
9|€
3|C
Delights are five within five time limits: the delight of a
day which is in drink and boon companionship: the delight of
a week which is in the bath; the delight of a month which is in
the honeymoon; the delight of a year which is in the child, and
the delight of an age which is in the company of loyal friends.
*
*
*
Seven are unstable: the shadow of a cloud; the authority
of the rabble; the love of women; flattery; lying; money,
and inheritances.
*
*
*
Seven pleasures are insatiable: wheat bread; sheep's meat;
cold water; soft robes; perfume; a comfortable bed, and the
sight of the beautiful in whatever form.
*
*
*
Nine are irretrievably wasted: a ladder in a plain; a lamp
in the sunlight; a lock on deserted ruins; cosmetics on a youth;
a crippled peacock; a beautiful woman with a blind man; whispering to a deaf; remonstrance with a lover, and benefaction to
an ingrate.
i
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
46
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microcoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of tihe public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
NEED OF A STRONG
POLITICAL PARTY
Everywhere in the United States
the Lebanese have become convinced
of the necessity of creating a strong
political party which would interest
itself in thj affairs of the mothercountry.
Lebanon, in its position in the
East, has ever been like an isolated
rock amidst surging seas, while Syria
was the actual highway for the passage of contending forces. Lebanon
was never mixed either with the attackers or defenders, being satisfied
with the paramount object of maintaining its freedom. If, however, it
is claimed that Lebanon allied itself
at one time with the Crusaders it
was because the small size of the
mountain required that it should
have then, as it still requires now,
a powerfull ally.
It was the Moslems who first attacked the Christians when they
launched on their policy of conquest
and deprived them of their territories and possessions. If the Christians later declared the Crusades it
was by way of justified retaliation.
The Lebanese are still beset with
all sorts of grave dangers. They
are in more need now than ever of
a strong political organization which
would strive to protect their rights.
Up to the present time they can
claim no such advantage unless the
Lebanon League of Progress be this
needed organization, in which case
we would ask all liberty-loving Lebanese to rally around its banners,
especially because it was founded by
the Lebanese of America who have
come more than ever to appreciate
the blessings of liberty.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., March 13, 1928.)
ARABIAN WAHABIS AND
AMERICAN PROHIBITIONISTS
The American press pictures the
Wahabis as mad zealots who would
not hesitate a moment to wreak
their vengeance on Moslems and
Christians alike once they are given
the opportunity.
In truth, the Wahabis are fired
with extreme fanaticism and it is
but natural that they consider all
who disagree with them in belief
heretics and infidels. If, therefore,
they resort to the use of force
against this tribe or that clan it is
because the belief is deeply rooted
�APRIL, 1928
in their minds that they are doing
so in the interest of true religion.
In this they do not seem to be
exceptional or contrary, for all other peoples in this respect are Wahabis... Even though others do not
use sword and spear for the imposition of their will. The only difference lies in the time and place.
If the Wahabis prohibit the use
of alcohol it is because the Koran
contains explicit references to the
necessity of abstinence and prohibition. But the prohibition of the
Unit°d States, which is sponsored
by a party of Christian ministers
and their adherents, has no valid
excuse for such advocacy in th? teachings of the Christian religion.
American prohibitionists, nevertheless, claim that their policy is the
height and essence of civilization
and when the Wahabis of Arabia,
their peers and equals in the enforcement of prohibition, are mentioned, they turn up their noses
against them in derision and brand
them as barbarians who are yet
away far from civilization.
The paradox of the situation is
that American prohibitionists despise
and deride the Wahabis, and yet
emulate them!
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
March 20, 1928.)
FRANCE AND GEHA
The French High Commissariat
in Syria borrowed for Lebanon the
republican form of government from
France. This was for the ostensible
purpose of gratifying a swollen ambition and proved much like the
fable of tihe crow in emulating the
walk of the partridge. Lebanon,
therefore, had the satisfaction of
enjoying a republic, a presidency, a
47
parliament and a ministry composed
of seven members.
The High Commissariat later discovered that this ridiculous imitation was but a swelling symptom
caused by a dangerous puss which
threatened to reach the heart. It
consequently resorted to the expediency of elimination, beginning with
the abrogation of the Senate and
ending by revoking several ministries. It may follow this action by
making other changes and end finally by substituting the republic for
a principality.
Tlr's reminds us of a well-known
tale reputed to Geha.
Geha, it is related, borrowed from
one of his neighbors a large brass
tray and kept it for several days,
at the end of which he returned it
with a brass plate. Upon the neighbor inquiring about the reason thereof Geha informed him that the tray
had given birth to the plate during
the period of the loan and the offspring was, therefore, his by right.
A short time thereafter Geha
again borrowed the tray and returned it this time with a brass bowl,
giving the same explanation.
But when Geha borrowed the tray
for the third time he made no effort
to return it, and when the neighbor
inquired about the reason for the
delay Geha replied that the tray had
met an untimely death during delivery.
This may not be an exact simile
of what is now happening between
France and Lebanon, but it well affords grounds for some deductions.
We fear that the republic and ministries are but dishes and bowls
which the H'gh Commissariat hands
out to us as decoys, while the freedom of Lebanon is destined to die
in confinement.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., March 19, 1928.)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
48
Lately, there were celebrations of
progress.
The year 1928 is especially au- some minor jubilees in the East,
such as that of Al-Muktataf, Lisanspicious for its large number of
Ul-Hal, Abdullah Bistany, Father
jubilees. Among Westerners we
find that preparations for such cele- Sheiko and others, but we seem to
pass by many other more important
brations are undertaken long in advance in proof of their great inter- occasions.
In Arabic history there are many
est in the achievements of their
events
which should be commemogreat men. No only are these celerated as well as many outstanding
brations launched through personal
initiative, but governments also historical figures whose memory
take great pains to show their in- should be kept alive. Now* if our
terest and support. Men both liv- ancestors have missed the opportunity of celebrating these jubilees
ing and dead are included in the
we who live in this discerning age
honors, and when the event is of
especial significance and importance should make an auspicious beginning
the jubilee is celebrated internation- by celebrating those great events
whose centenaries fall in our
ally.
We of the East, however, let great t'mes. Mention of a few of these
occasions for such celebrations pass events would seem now to be much
by without giving them so much as apropos.
In this year of 1928 A. D. and
a thought. If at all we mention our
1346
of the Hegira, for instance,
great men and celebrated achievemany
jubilees could be celebrated
ments we do so in the manner of
by
the
Arab world. We do not prolip homage. Our governments of
fess
to
be giving herewith a comEgypt, Syria, Iraq and other Arabicplete
list,
but the few mentioned
speaking countries assume towards
may
be
taken
as a fair indication.
such events an attitude of utter unThe
thousandth
year (Hegira) of
concern and indifference. They seem
the
glorious
epoch
of Saif ud-Dawoblivious to the fact that in our past
lat
El-Hamadani.
history there was many an event
The thousandth year (Hegira) of
which either changed the course of
the
epoch of Abdul-Rahman An-Nahistory, contributed to the advance
ser,
during whose time the Arabs
of civilization^ or was the precursor
of Spain reached the zenith of their
of a great era of education and enlightenment. For these considera- progress, Corodova being the fountions, our governments should be the tain head of science, literature and
first to encourage the celebrations invention, giving Europe its first
of jubilees in the hope that the re- taste of advanced knowledge.
The thousandth year (Hegira) of
collection of past glorious achievethe
death of Mas'oudi, the famous
ments will awaken our people from
their present lethargy. For a jubi- Arab historian.
The one thousandth three hunlee is but a manifestation of universal joy, and if a people is not dredth year (Hegira) of the epoch
given the opportunity to rekindle of Mu'awiyah, founder of the famous
its enthusiasm at frequent intervals Umayyad dynasty in Damascus,
its spirit will soon die out and it whose conquests carried the standwill become lagging on the road of ards of the Arabs to India in the
A YEAR OF JUBILEES
\
�I
APRIL, 1928
East and to Europe in the West.
The centenary (A. D.) of Mohammed Ali Pasha, founder of the present ruling dynasty in Egypt and the
patron of Arab literary renaissance
in that country.
These are but a few instances
meant only to remind the forgetful
among whom may be counted the
ministers of education of Arabicspeaking countries.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., March 8, 1928.)
I i
NEW SYRIAN MINISTRY
DISAPPOINTING
Upon receipt of the news of the
appointment of Sheikh Tajeddin AlHassani as head of the provisional
government of Syria we were much
elated and laid in the new president
great hopes, realizing the extent of
his loyalty and patriotism. We were
led to this belief by consideration of
his past record, especially that when
he was once offered the same post
by Gen. Gouraud, he refused it except on condition that he would be
given a free hand in modeling the
government to conform to national
aspirations.
It grieves us now to see by his
declaration, promulgated upon his
taking office, that the policies he
outlines do not differ in the least
from those of his predecessor. Can
it be that this change of mind overtook him upon his last visit to
Paris, or is it that the love of office
made him forget his duties towards
the nation which had loved him only because of his uncompromising
stand on the nationalistic principle?
If the President found it impossible to form a cabinet capable of
safeguarding the interests of the
nation, the proper course for him to
follow would have been the rejec-
i
!
i/
49
tion of, the office, as he had done on
a previous occasion, in the interest
of the cause for which thousands of
the brave sons of Syria have given
up their lives.
As matters now stand, the nation
is tired of having France thus continue to thwart it in the attainment
of its just aspirations. It is a pity
that men in whom the country had
reposed its faith should be the tools
for depriving it of the chance to
reap the benefits of its hard and
sustained efforts in the pursuit of
independence.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., March 14, 1928.)
WHAT THE DRUZES WANT
Who ever expected that the result
of the Syrian revolution would prove
such a fiasco? The French Governor of the Druze Mountain called a
meeting of representatives of the
country and gave them full liberty
to decide on the form of government they prefer. They unhesitatingly decided to remain separate
from the government of Syria and
have no connection whatsoever with
Damascus. It is strange that after
such heavy sacrifices in blood the
Druzes should prefer the old order
and refuse to become a party to
Syrian unity, this unity which was
the principal demand of their leader Sultan Pasha Atrash in fomenting the revolt.
This result certainly proves that
the Druzes have now awakened from
their illusion and realized that the
Syrian Nationalists of Damascus
sought only to make use of them
and deceive them. It is gratifying
to see that finally the Druzes have
come to understand that those were
their true friends who advised them
to come to a peaceable understand-
�• II
| i
50
ing with the French.
Beyond doubt, the Druzes have,
by their display of determination
and valor, enhanced their prestige
in the eyes of the French. But this
moral benefit has been gained at
too heavy a price, because the loss
of seven thousand able-bodied men
out of a Druze population totalling
but a hundred thousand in both
Syria and Lebanon must be deeply
felt. It is a poor consolation for
the Druzes to claim that they are
not sorry for the loss.
The net result of the revolution
is that the Druzes have proven
themselves a belligerent and redoubtable element, but in political
benefits their gains have been nil,
for they themselves now demand a
French governor since they saw
that France was never vindictive
but only sought to teach them a
much-needed lesson.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
them is only the brotherhood of the
Islamic faith?
We shall not revert to the enumeration of the old arguments
which have been so often repeated.
We would refer, however, to recent
accounts published in Mohammedan
papers bearing on the efforts of the
natives of Palestine to thwart the
designs of the Zionists. These accounts leave no doubt that the Moslems consider all efforts creditable
to them. They make plain mention
of the fact and seem to have not the
slightest consideration for the
standing and feelings of other elements.
With such a spirit rampant among
the Moslems, can the Christians be
blamed for fearing them and refusing to associate with them in matters represented as being of national
interest?
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y., March 8, 1928.)
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., March 22, 1928.)
BENEFITS OF THE REVOLUTION
ISLAMIC MOTIVES IN
•
ARAB MOVEMENTS
To those who question the fruits
of the revolution we would say that
It is strange that we are persistent- it has at least proven that the Syrians are a live nation whom the
ly asked to believe that the Pan
Arab movement is primarily a pa- French have learned to respect. But
triotic one, while we s:e cumulative for it feminine honor would be still
proofs every day that it is only mo- as) cheap in Lebanon as it had been
tivated by religious, Islamic consi- in the past. The revolution has
been the cause for granting Lebanon
derot;ins.
Under the guise of patriotism the a republic which, although a farce,
Moslems oppose foreign mandates is nevertheless called a republic inwhUe they would be openly pro- stead of being a French colony outclaiming their preference for every- right.
For these and many other conthing Moslem in all patriotic considerations. Where pray, can there siderations the skeptics should be
be genuine patriotism with the Mos- convinced of the benefits of the
lems when they place denomination- revolution.
al considerations above everything
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., March 27, 1928.)
else and where brotherhood with
�;
APRIL, 1928
V
51
Readers' Forum
CREDIT CLAIMED FOR
DEFENSE OF SYRIANS
•
K;
Editor, The Syrian World:
Being a faithful reader of The
Syrian World, and being especially
interested in all matters pertaining
to immigration whether ancient
or recent, I was very much surprised to observe that the Syrian Young
Men's Society of this City has been
entirely omitted from the chronicles
of the celebrated Dow Case, thoroughly and ably reviewed by Mr.
Jos. W. Ferris.
While the New York papers were
writing about and heatedly discussing the Dow Case, and before any
concrete action was taken by any
one, The Syrian Young Men's Society of this City dispatched the undersigned to Charleston, W. Va.,
where I spent a week and induced
Judge Smith to reopen the case. I
also had a lengthy discussion with
the Judge in the presence of a large
delegation of Charlestonian Syrians.
That historical visit is recorded in
detail in the Charleston papers.
It was the undersigned who, together with a Charleston delegation,
contracted with attorneys to carry
the case to the Appelate Court.
The argument assigned to Mr. N.
A. Mokarzel with reference to
Christ was the identical expression
used by the writer in discussing the
case with Judge Smith and recorded
in the Charleston papers.
My recollection is that the writer's visit antedated Mr. N. A. Mokarzel's visit by several weeks.
In addition, the writer used the
same expression as early as 1907
before the Immigration Committee
at Washington, D. C, when the
Hon. John L. Burnett, an Alabaman
and Chairman of the Immigration
Committee, was bitterly opposing in
Congress the admission of Syrians
into the United States.
Of course it is too readily admitted that Mr. N. A. Mokarzel is fully capable of making expression
which may be classed as masterpieces, and the purpose of this letter is not to detract from whatever
credit is due him, (not one iota),
but for the sake of fairness and in
order to keep the record straight,
let us not omit the valiant and loyal
work done by the Syrian Young
Men's Society of this City. As a
matter of fact, it was this Society
that pioneered the movement to remove the blemish, and it was this
Society that turned the first wheel
of the machinery which finally accomplished the glorious victory
which was achieved for all.
May I say in passing that it is
now the crucial time for every influential Syrian to do his bit by contributing freely to the campaign to
nominate the Hon. Al Smith for
President of the United States.
Even in Alabama, the stronghold of
the Ku Klux Klan, Smith has a
respectable and an effective following. There is an awakening here
which is proving a neutralizing antidote to the poison of strife and
prejudice from which we have suffered perhaps more than any other
state in the union.
Very respectfully,
Dr. H. A. Elkourie.
Birmingham, Ala.
�_____-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
Political Developments in Syria
SYRIAN SITUATION UNDERGOING READJUSTMENT
New Provisional Government Promises Holding General Elections
Within Two Months.
Although there has been a change
of government in Syria, the political
atmosphere seems to be still overcast with clouds of restlessness and
dissatisfaction. It now transpires
that the new President of the provisional government does not enjoy
any great degree of confidence and
support from the Nationalist Party.
He had been held as a model nationalist so long as he opposed the
French, but now that he has accepted office 'with the ostensible
purpose of working in harmony
with them, he has ipso facto
become persona non grata. Some
nationalist organs even accuse
him of compromising with the
French solely in furtherance of his
personal ambitions. The irreconcilables among the Nationalists are
also much dissatisfied with the
whole personnel of the cabinet.
made it plain that the French were
in Syria on a friendly mission, but
that they were there to stay, as they
were honor-bound to carry out the
task entrusted to them by the
League of Nations. Shortly thereafter, the Syrian Nationalists held
their secret convention in Beirut to
formulate a reply to the High Commissioner. Since then political developments were progressing swiftly
but quietly. It was apparent that
the Syrians had finally come to
realize the futility of any attempt
to gain their ends through armed
conflict, and for that reason they
showed considerable moderation in
their reply to the declaration of M.
Ponsot. This move proved to be the
beginning of what promises to be
the end of the drawn out struggle
between the Nationalists and the
Mandatory Power in Syria.
The correspondent further states
The correspondent of the Cairo
paper Al-Ahram in Syria gives the that M. Mogra, the diplomatic Secfollowing details of the negotiations retary of the High Commissioner,
leading to the formation of the new and a former high official of the
French Foreign Office, had been
Provisional Government.
The French High Commissioner, quietly studying the Syrian situaaccording to the account of the cor- tion under instructions from both
respondent, had been patiently wait- his chief and the Quay d'Orsay, with
ing for the opportune moment to a view to arriving at an acceptable
call the Syrians to the realization
solution. Much credit is given this
of an accomplished fact. In his declaration of a few months since, he able secretary by the correspondent.
ti
�53
APRIL, 1928
Ponsot Unbending.
The former Provisional Government of Syria, headed by Ahmad
Nami Bey, the Damad, sensed its
coming doom and made every effort
to effect a compromise. It was represented to the High Commissioner
by the friends of the Damad that
he had carried out his trust under
the most trying conditions, and that
insofar as the proposed change is
not to be fundamental, but merely
a substitution of one provisional
government for another, the Damad
should be kept in power out of deference to his past services and
loyalty.
All arrangements, however, failed to shake the decision of the High
Commissioner although, it is claimed, he had not as yet made definite
arrangements with his successor.
This accounts for the lapse of over
a week between the resignation of
the Damad government and the formation of government! of the Sheikh
Tajeddin Al-Hassani.
The new President was not reluctant in accepting office on this
occasion as he had been on a former
one, but he was sorely tried in forming a ministry that would meet with
the approval of both the Mandatory
authorities and the Nationalist element. The High Commissioner insisted on the appointment of certain
men who were known for their moderation, and although the new government cannot be termed nationalist, it is claimed that it is fully capable of carrying out its limited
mission of convoking the Constitutional Assembly and supervising
the elections.
New Government not Nationalistic.
The Syrian press, as may be expected, is seething with discussions
of this turn in the political situation. There is, however, no unanimity of opinion on whether the
change spells a triumph of the Nationalist cause. Some profess to see
in the move a capitulation by France
to the demands of Syria in that it
promises it a much wider sphere
of freedom than that accorded either Palestine or Iraq, while others
would not be satisfied until France
completely evacuated the country.
Upon assuming office, the new
President issued a manifesto embodying his declaration of policy in
which he called upon the Syrian nation for a display of patience and
moderation until such time as the
constitutional government is created
and begins to function. He advocated a policy of understanding and
co-operation between Syria and the
Mandatory Power, explaining that
only thereby could Syria hope for
a fulfillment of its ambition of being admitted to the membership of
the League of Nations. The President stressed the fact of being in
office temporarily as he hopes that
within two months the Constitutional Assembly would succeed in
formulating the Constitution under
which the de jure government would
function. He also promised that
elections would be held with the
widest latitude of freedom which is
proof in itself of the friendly disposition which the Mandatory Power feels for Syria.
Nationalist's Challenge.
The irreconcilable faction among
the Nationalists takes strong exception to some of the statements of
the new government and places the
latter in the same category as that
of its predecessor. This makes it
plain that the new move of M. Pon-
�54
sot has further split the ranks of
the Nationalists so that now their
capacity for organized and concerted opposition becomes greatly diminished. Signs of dissension had
long since been evident among tine
Nationalists ever since they met
with their decisive reverses in the
field, and this further break in their
ranks would seem to presage the
end of any mass action.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Amnesty not General.
What, however, drew the bitterest
attack from the irreconcilable group
was the application of the terms of
the general amnesty. This, it is
pointed out, was supposed to apply
to all offenses committed previous
to Feb. 17, while in the reservations
to the amnesty many notables are
denied clemency who had never been
tried or convicted. Some of these
In a signed statement published were entrusted at times with reby the General Secretary of the sponsible political missions either by
Syro-Palestinian Committee in Cairo, the government of the Damad or tine
direct charges are made against the French Government itself. They
new government that it is bargain- were, on several occasions, invited
ing away the right of the Syrian to Paris for the discussion of the
nation by entering into some per- Syrian political situation. The plain
manent engagements with the Man- inference is that members of the
datory Power in spite of its provi- Syrian Nationalist Delegation in
sional character. Such, for instance, Europe who had not been extended
is her agreement to the measure of amnesty should have been included
creating the interstate economic under the terms of the supposed
board which the High Commission- general amnesty as proof of tihe
er had proposed. This, tihey claim, good intentions of the Mandatory
implies approval of the present plan Power and the new Syrian Proviof political division of the country sional Government-!
It is pointed out, however, that
which is contrary to Nationalistic
demands aiming at centralization of engagement in revolutionary activiauthority and consolidation of the ties does not constitute a crime, and
the declaration of a general amnesunity of the country.
ty is therefore considered an insult
The government is further criti- to Syrian patriotism. In short, the
cised for not announcing the regu- new provisional government in
lations under which the new elecSyria may be said to have failed
tions to the Constitutional Assem- of its object of reconciling the exbly are to be held. It is taken for
treme Nationalists.
granted that for lack of any definite
In the bill of exceptions to the
statement on the matter the old
general
amnesty many military and
regulations promulgated by Gen.
political
leaders are included, prinWeigand in 1923 will remain in
cipal
among
whom are Sultan Paforce, in which case they would be
sha
Atrash,
Dr. Abdul Rahman
objectionable as permitting too
Shahbandar and
Emir
Shakib
much interference with the liberties
Arslan.
of the Syrian people by the ManAfter the promulgation of the
datory Power, as has been amply amnesty many exiled Syrian Nationdemonstrated by the elections held alists returned to Damascus where
they were welcomed with much popin Lebanon.
�JI
APRIL, 1928
ular enthusiasm.
Although no definite date has been
set for the convocation of the Constitutional Assembly, it is confidently expected that it will be called in
about two months. Active preparations are now on foot for the election of delegates.
Personnel of New Ministry.
\
From a survey of the records of
the members of the new government, it appears that they are all
moderates among whom the President may be said to be the most
radical. On two occasions previously, he refused offers from High
Commissioners to form a provisional
government because of his insistence
on conditions which the French
High Commissioner could not grant.
Sheikh Tajeddin Al-Hassani is a
direct descendant of Abi Bakr, the
closest companion of the Prophet,
and had been, previous to his taking
office, Chief Justice of Mohammedan
law in Damascus.
Other prominent members if his
cabinet are Mohammad Kurd Ali,
a well-known author, journalist and
historian who was appointed minister of education; Jamil Bey Alshi,
who had been Prime Minister of the
Syrian Government following the
battle of Maissalon in which Gen.
Gouraud defeated the Nationalist
Syrian army of King Faisal, and
Subhi Bey Nayyal, who had held
several portfoflios in former ministries.
The personnel of the ministry is
drawn from the several minor
states forming the political unit of
Greater Syria including, besides
Damascus, Aleppo, Horns and Hama.
It is admitted that in the selection
of the ministers prime consideration was given to those who posses-
55
sed political influence so as to insure an orderly election for the Constitutional Assembly, and no attempt was made to select for the
different posts men fitted by education or training to carry out a
technical program of reconstruction.
While these changes are taking
place
in
Damascus, dissension
among the Nationalists abroad
seems to go on unabated. Members of the Executive Committee
of the Syro-Palestinian Party are
still at loggerheads over the right
of Emir Lutfallah to retain the
chairmanship, and finally the leaders of the armed revolt were drawn
into the controversy, Sultan Pasha
Atrash declaring his unqualified support of the faction opposing the
chairman.
It should be recalled that the Lutfallah faction had withdrawn the
credentials of the Syrian delegation in Europe of which Emir Shakib Arslan is a member, but the opposing faction retaliated by outlawing Lutfallah and his supporters and reaffirming their confidence
in Arslan and his colleagues, constituting them their sole representatives and spokesmen.
Druzes Appeal for Funds.
Judging by the public appeals issued by Sultan Pasha Atrash and
his band of loyal followers who are
now in voluntary exile in the desert, the remnant of the revolutionary forces and their families are reduced to dire straits for lack of
proper food clothing and shelter.
The appeals are directed mostly to
the Syrians of America who are
urged not to take account of the
misleading reports about the termination of the revolution, because the
Druze forces are again ready to
�56
take the field as soon as the season
permits the resumption of military
operations.
The Syrian press reports that the
French inspector in Jebel Druze
where the standard of revolt was
first raised, called a meeting of the
accredited leaders of all the districts
of the Mountain for a referendum
as to their desire in joining tihe
state of Syria or retaining their
present form of autonomous government. It is stated that they all
declared for independence, which is
in direct opposition to the professed
aims of the revolution said to be
the establishment of Syria on a basis
of indivisible unity. This is interpreted in some quarters as a further indication of a complete break
between the Syrians and the Druzes.
What would seem to lend color to
this supposition is that some Druze
publicists are now bitterly attacking
prominent Damascene leaders who
were supposed to have taken active
part in the armed struggle. It is
now the claim of the Druzes that
these Syrians even evaded the
slightest skirmishes and were concerned only about their own safety,
living in luxury while the Druzes
gave up their lives in the unequal
struggle.
England Implicated in Revolution.
England appears to be coming in
for her share of the blame in fomenting the Syrian revolution. The
Syrian press reports that when Gen.
Valieres made a trip to Wadi-'lAjam in an effort to effect a reconciliation between the Christian and
Druze elements of the population
he was told by Sheikh Saad Hajale,
chief Sheikh of the Druzes in that
section, that his people were now
ready to live in permanent peace
with their Christian neighbors and
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in unshaken loyalty to the authorities. The Sheikh added that the
Druzes now regret having started
the revolution as they were prompted to it by certain "people" who deserted them in their hour of need.
Upon the General asking the Sheikh
who he meant by his reference the
latter replied that they were the
English.
It was also announced that King
Feisal of Iraq had sent a message
of congratulation to the new head
of the provisional government in
Syria upon his appointment. This is
said to be the first time King Feisal chose to recognize the new regime in Syria after his deposition.
Former rebels are said to be taking advantage of the offer of amnesty in large numbers, but no definite figures are available as to the
total number of those having surrendered so far. w
The Situation in Lebanon.
Following the reorganization of
the ministerial council, the government of Lebanon proceeded to put
into effect certain judicial reforms
by the appointment of mixed courts
and the rearrangement of judicial
districts. As usual, there was a
large element voicing its dissatisfaction with the new measures,
especially because there was considerable reduction in the number of
appointive offices and a shifting of
judicial centers. The loudest in its
objection was the city of Zahle
which saw great harm befalling it
from the decision to transfer the
court of Al-Beka to Baalbek for the
summer session.
Dr. Ayoub Tabet, minister of the
Interior and of Public Health, continues to be the storm center of
politics in the little republic. He
has again threatened the life of the
�APRIL, 192$
new ministry by creating an issue
which he deemed sufficient cause for
him to offer his resignation. In his
character of minister of Public
Health, he was not consulted on some
new health arrangements devised by
the Mandatory authorities regulating
57
passenger traffic between Lebanon
and Palestine, following the appearance of smallpox and the establishment of quarantine He was appeased by the promise of the authorities
to have all such arrangements in
the future passed on by his office.
About Syria and Syrians
RIHANI'S BOOK WELL
RECEIVED IN EUROPE
I
Ameen Rihani's book on "Ibn
Sa'oud of Arabia, His People and
His Land", came off the press in
London at the time when England
thought she had another war on
her hands in Arabia. The Wahabis,
followers of King Ibn Saoud, were
said to have made attacks simultaneously on the borders of Iraq
and Transjordania, both under British mandate, and the British authorities were reported to have sent a
squadron of airplanes to disperse
them. For a time there was great
excitement over these developments
in far-off Arabia, and Col. Lawrence was said to be hastening to
the new theatre of conflict. All of
which made the English take a
great deal of interest in Arabian
affairs.
Just at this psychological moment,
Constable of London, Publishers,
were distributing to the press review copies of the book of our
celebrated author Ameen Rihani
giving account of his personal experiences of his journey in Arabia
and his entertainment for three
weeks by King Ibn Saoud in his
capital, Riadh. The book was taken
up with avidity and accounts of Mr.
Rihani's experiences were transmitted in Associated Press dispatches
to America. For here was something frank, enlightening and timely on the mysterious Arab king
and his people. And the press and
public had our Syrian author to
thank for the wealth of information he gave them on this little
known subject.
What may be remarked is that
the English press saw in the book
proof sufficient that the "Wahabis
are a bloodthirsty people whose
history reeks with blood in every
page", in the words of the Daily
Express, while the French press
takes a totally different viewpoint
of the work, the semi-official Temps
devoting whole columns on its
front page in two successive issues to the review of the book and
finding it "a notable contribution
to our store of knowledge on modern Arabia, whose every page could
be read with pleasure and profit".
Mr. Rihani's American publishers are Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of
Boston who are expected to place
his book on the market in the near
future.
�—op Km
58
BRAZILIAN BAN ON
SYRIAN IMMIGRATION
The Arabic newspaper Fata-Lubnan of Sao Paolo reports that for a
long time the question had been
debated in the Brazilian Parliament
as to whether the Syrians were
desirable as immigrants. The Syrians had many loyal and stanch defenders among the deputies but the
proponents of the exclusion measure
finally won on the ground that the
Syrians were mostly engaged in
commercial pursuits, while the needs
of the country called for agriculturists. The argument was advanced
that although the Syrians were a
very useful element to the country,
their present number should be considered sufficient for the purposes
of promoting trade.
GIFT OF SYRIANS
TO BRAZILIAN NATION
The Sphinx, a Lebanese paper
published in Brazil and the sponsor
of the movement which resulted in
the gift by the Syrians to the Brazilian nation of a monument commemorating the centenary of Brazilian independence, announces that
the base of the monument has already been erected in one of the principal squares of Rio de Janeiro and
that soon the statues will be raised
to position.
The principal unit in the group of
statues, according to the description
of the paper, will represent an Eastern woman bearing a jar of ointment
which she offers to the Brazilian nation, represented by the stately figure of an Indian aborigine. These
two figures will be of a height of
four meters.
Grouped around them will be a
collection of twenty statues, each
THE SYRIAN WORLD
representing a different achievement
of our ancestors, the Phoenicians.
They will be of a height of one to
one-and-a-half meters.
The Syrians and Lebanese of Brazil are making extensive preparations for the presentation ceremonies
which promise to be the most memorable of their kind in the history
of Brazil. The Federal Government,
having approved the sculptor's designs, realized that the monument
will be one of the ornamental landmarks of the city and assigned it to
the square facing the Ministry of
Justice.
The extensive base of the monument is of granite and the statues of
cast bronze.
FIGURES ON FUNDS
FROM AMERICA
The government of Lebanon has
requested all banks and fiscal agencies in the country to furnish it
with complete figures on the funds
sent by the Lebanese in foreign
countries to their relatives in Lebanon during the years 1926 and
1927, together with the names of
the remitters. The object is to help
establish accurately the income and
expenditure of the country.
A similar step has been taken by
the government of Syria.
LEBANESE EMIGRANTS
PROTECTED FROM LOSS
Owing to the losses incurred by
the Lebanese emigrants who upon
arrival at Marseilles are found unadmissible to America, an arrangement has been reached by the Lebanese Government and steamship
companies for the examination of
�.
APRIL, 1928
all outgoing emigrants by a medical
board composed of a representative
from each side, and upon the emigrant being found unadmissible he
is to be returned at the expense of
the steamship company if he holds
a certificate of examination.
MOSLEMS DENOUNCE
MISSIONARY COUNCIL
59
SYRIAN IN AUSTRALIA
RENDERS GOOD SERVICE
Mr. A. A. Alam, Member of the
Legislative Council of Australia and
a resident of New South Wales, who
championed the
cause of the
Syrians when it was tha intention
to exclude them from the country
as not of the white race and helped
win the fight, continues to bring
credit to the Syrian name by signal
national services. His latest success
was in inducing the government to
extend to the farmers a loan of
$5,000,000 to finance buying sheep
and assist them in growing wheat.
The western part of N. S. W. has
just come through a severe drought
and these measures proved very
salutary.
Press dispatches reported the
opening on March 26 of the General
Conference of the International
Missionary Council in Jerusalem.
Delegates to the conference from
all over the world attended and the
natives of the countries of the East
were said to be well represented.
The proceedings of the conference
were reported by the American press
at some length, emphasizing the
fact that it meets on the Mount of
BEIRUT SUFFERS FROM
Olives where Christ delivered the
ECONOMIC DEPRESSION
greatest sermon of all times and
"where Solomon worshiped idols".
Judging from appearances, ecoThere was no mention, however, nonrc conditions in Beirut are in
of the fact that the Palestinian stu- the throes of a depression which is
dents of Al-Azhar, the great Moham- fast developing into a crisis, acmedan University of Cairo, had peti- cording to the Syrian papers pubtioned the British High Commission- lished the early part of March.
er in Palestine objecting strenuous- Merchants are frantically advertisly to "holding such a Christian con- ing special sales to stimulate buying
ference in a country whose inhabi- but disposal of stocks remains very
tants are overwhelmingly Moslems". low. Even the all-night cafas which
The conference should be banned, had been greatly patronized are now
they state, in deference to the senti- closing at 10 o'clock.
ments of the majority and in order
A different picture of conditions
to forever put a stop to tha perni- is given by Mr. Paul H. Ailing,
cious activities of the missionaries American Vice Consul in Beirut, in
who wage one campaign after an- a report to the Department of Comother against the Mohammedan reli- merce
published
in
Commerce
gion in its very home. The peti- Reports of March 12. Mr. Ailing
tioners warn the High Commission- states that economic conditions in
er that failure to act on this demand Syria continued to show improveand end such missionary activi- ment during the second half of 1927.
ties would be frought with the Especially was there an increased
gravest consequences.
demand on motor cars to an extent
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
60
that the dealers had not anticipated.
This was attributed to the influx of
approximately 13,000 visitors and
the ever-growing transdesert traffic.
All local agents, adds the Vice
Consul, are optimistic concerning
the sales prospects of the first six
months of 1928. Agents in Beirut,
who also have the representation of
their manufacturer in Iraq and Persia, are looking forward to a good
year in these countries.
SYRIANS OF NEW YORK
REFUTE SLANDER
Early in March, a whispering campaign was started by some unknown
persons against the shopkeepers of
Rector St. Which has developed into
one of the principal shopping centers of the city for fine embroideries
and laces in which the Syrians specialize.
Reports spread quickly
among the office girls of the district that some girls were found
in the rear of a Syrian lace shop
bound and drugged. Some brave
souls among the girls who> took no
account of the rumors told some
shopkeepers about them. Immediately the Syrian merchants formed an association and engaged a private detective to run down the originator of the false report, but
neither he nor the regular police
sleuths could trace it to any known
source. The prevailing opinion was
that some party with a malignant
motive had started the rumor in an
effort to injure the Syrian trade of
the section. .
The good that came from this
evil incident is that the Syrian merchants were forcibly impressed with
the necessity of collective action
and were prompted to form a regular association for their mutual
protection in the future. All the
metropolitan dailies publis'hed the
account of the vindication of the
Syrian name.
GIFT OF LEBANESE
TO ARGENTINIAN CITY
The Arabic newspaper Al-Ittihadal-Lubnani, published in Buenos
Aires, Argentine, reports that the
Lebanese colony of Babia Blanca
has presented to the city on the occasion of its centenary a beautiful
clock mounted on a marble column
and costing 17,000 pesos. The clock
is to be placed at the main entrance
to the principal park of the city.
NEW CURRENCY IN PALESTINE
Egyptian currency will cease to be
legal tender in Palestine after Mar.
31, 1928, according to a public notice
in the Palestine Official Gazette reported in Commerce Reports. This
order is in accordance with the
original program providing for the
transition of the country from the
Egyptian to an independent currency system. The official introduction
of the new Palestine currency took
place on November 1, 1927.
AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER
Master of Arts, American University graduate, will give private
lessons in Arabic, and also in mathematics and physics. Those interested may communicate with the
office of The Syrian World.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
Access Rights
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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TSW1928_04reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 10
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 April
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 10 of The Syrian World published April 1928. The issue opens with an article by Charles V. Vickrey in which he discusses the American orphanage and relief world in Syria. This article is followed by a poem translated by J.D. Carlyle called "A Friend's Birthday." The next article, written by Salloum Antoun Mokarzel, discusses Christian-Moslem Marriages. Following that are a few more poems and an article that discusses the cave Nahr-el-Kelb by W.A. West. There is an article following it that details the first American school in Damascus by Anna Leila Taylor. Rev. W. A. Mansur continues his discussion to the youth of Syria with an article that discusses the progress of the Syrian Nation. The last main article discusses the War in Arabia. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press, the reader's forum, and the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Education
Marriages
New York
Poems-English
Religion
Reverend W.A. Mansur
Rivers
Syria
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/d88f545c87bdc8b37f7c99e52da8a5c2.pdf
cfeda52746d373a2f67592f34299fef0
PDF Text
Text
�__«
�THF
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
No. 11.
I
MAY, 1928.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Word-Borrowing in English and Words Borrowed from the
A rabic
j
PROF. BYRON SMITH
BeVs Lions (Poem)
§
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Keyserling on the East
A Special Interview.
9
Racial Origins
12
The Bedouin Child (Poem)
13
THEO. WATTS-DUNTON
Cross-Currents in the East
14
THE EDITOR
'-^ -t-r--*"~"----
'~-~~—«——-—— — *--+ -~..,-~~— -:Tt _
�CONTENTS
(Continued)
PAGE
2
War and the Small Nations
^
KAHLIL GIBRAN
24
The Scar (Short Story)
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
Amara and her Master-Lover (Arabian Tale)
SI
Arab Proverbs
JJ
Arabic Newspapers in America
36
An Arab King at Home
40
When I Am Dead (Poem)
43
RAMSAY MOOREHEAD
Spirit of the Syrian Press
44
Readers* Forum
49
Political Developments in Syria
51
Missionaries Among Moslems
53
About Syria and Syrians
55
|
�THE
SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 11.
MAY, 1928
Word-Borrowing in English
AND WORDS BORROWED FROM THE ARABIC *
By
BYRON SMITH
Professor of English in the American University of Beirut.
It is my purpose in this paper to discuss the vocabulary of
the English language, especially in connection with the words
borrowed from the Arabic language.
As new ideas arise in the history of a progressive people,
new words are needed to express these ideas. These new words
may be obtained in three ways, they may be invented, they may
be borrowed from other languages, or old words may be used
in modified form, or in form unchanged, to fit the new meaning. ^
The method of invention belongs historically in an early
period of language development and comparatively few words
enter the English vocabulary in this way in modern times. It
was once believed that our ancestors had a peculiar power, or
gift, of invention which modern man has lost, but we now know
that when the situation demands a new word the word will be
forthcoming. A well known example is the word "kodak" invented by an American manufacturer of cameras who is still living, yet the word is so well-known that it has been adopted into
* In the December, 1927, issue of The Syrian World an article by Prof.
Smith entitled "Arabic Words in the English Vocabulary" was the
first of a series of three articles on the subject of which this is the
second. The third, dealing more specifically with words borrowed
from the Arabic, will appear in a coming issue.
�4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
several foreign languages. A brief study of the advertising
pages of any American magazine will reveal a number of newly
invented words to describe manufactured articles. Most of these
words are doomed to a short existence and early oblivion, a few
of them will find their way into the dictionaries as members of
the vocabulary in good and regular standing.
Old words given a new meaning form a small but important class. In an earlier article I mentioned the word "broadcast", which once denoted the sowing of grain by hand, but now
is used to mean the sending, out of radio impulses in all directions from a distributing center. The great war clothed a number of old words in new meanings. Those of us who were in
Beirut during the war may remember how we were puzzled by
a statement in the newspapers, to the effect that the "tanks" used
by the Allies were not very efficient after all. After a time we
learned that a tank, which once meant a large vessel to contain
water, had come to mean a movable steel fortress, a land battleship. Sometimes a new word is formed by compounding several
old terms. A fine example of this is the word "folklore", made of
the two old English words, "folk" and "lore", and meaning the
study of ancient customs and superstitions. The German language is given to this kind of word formation, adding word to
word, till the result is as long as some sentences. Sometimes
these long words are reduced to useful form by reducing them
to a short word made of the most prominent consonants or sylThe method most favored by the English language for the
increase of its vocabulary is the adoption of foreign words. In
the case of scientific terms, these foreign words are almost invariably of Latin or Greek origin, usually a compound ot two
words One has only to run through the list of words ending
in "-ology", a Greek word meaning "word" or "science", to see
how heavily the scientific vocabulary is loaded with these borrowings from the classical languages.
By these various methods the English vocabulary is increased It has been estimated that 20 new words are added on
the average, every year. But by far the more frequent method
is that of borrowing, from the dead languages of Greece and
Rome, or from living languages of the world at large.
Otto Jesperson (pronounced Yesperson), the great Danish
student of languages, says that in his opinion the English Ian-
�MAY, 1928
guage is decidedly masculine in its characteristics, as opposed to
feminine or infantile. He points to its clearly denned sounds
e
m
d8
haS the
to7ZZ
T^°nofTdany
T
' * * klanguage,
^
number of monosyllables
European
its logical
word order, and, above all, to its vastness ancfwomofW
bulary as evidences of its masculine character. Its vocabulary
I
has th argest number of words of
guile'
-r Women
"guage. m,
I his, says V
Jesperson, is a masculine trait.
as
e fe words than men but
Ltf^ho se c
> -—*« s *
the Fnllfrrf°m °f V0Ca^ulary J^person means the ability of
the English language to borrow words from any source. Any
combinations of sounds that can be pronounced by the English'
enCa
Tat^ome
. T
H l^
'* the ^^
and
beat
home in the
English
language.
If some ^**5
part of a new
word represents a sound that is not known in English, the nearest substitute is accepted in its place. The word "sheikh" has
been used in English since the days of Queen Elizabeth. It firs
appeared in print in 1577, but it remained as an inconspicuous
word
a few ars ago when a
boT^il
^
, mader its appearance. As^^
book with this word for title
English
has no sound corresponding to kh £ the sound of k was substituted and the word "sheek" is now a popular term to describe
a person addicted to violent and unscrupulous love-making
^* Purf^ly no Wuage now spoken on earth has failed to
contribute to the English vocabulary, and many dialects have
supplied new words. When Americans first explored the Indian names of plants and animals were used and many have
survived to the present, as, potato, tobacco, opossum, etc. When
the South Seas were entered by Europeans they brought back
such words as taboo, kangaroo, tattoo, etc.
Turning now to the words contributed to English by the
Arabic language, we find that, though th& Arabic words are much
fewer in number than those borrowed from the languages of
modern Europe, they are, on the other hand, much more numerous than those picked up by explorers in newly discovered
IZv^t V? *'«"****** importance historically in
the light they shed on the connection between Europe and the
Near East from early historical times.
We have first to decide what words we shall consider as
definite contributions to the English vocabulary. We must, first,
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
eliminate proper names and words derived from them. Proper
names include the names of persons and places, with their derived adjectives. Although these proper names and adjectives may
be in familiar use in English, they are not, strictly speaking,
English words, any more than the names of kings and cities
of Europe which would not be included in counting the words
of the English vocabulary.
Another class of Arabic words that must be eliminated is
the names of stars. It is an interesting fact that, while the
groups of stars, or constellations, bear Greek names, the names
of the heroes and heroines of Greek legends, the names of individual stars, for the most part, bear Arabic names, though the
pole star, and several of the brightest stars in the sky, Sirius,
Canopus, etc., bear Greek names. Yet the names of stars are
proper nouns, like the names of persons and of countries, and
they enter into the vocabularies of few but astronomers.
Of Arabic words we shall expect to find no pronouns or
prepositions, as they belong to the early history of a language,
few verbs for they belong to the more native element of any
languages,.and not many adjectives with their corresponding adverbs, but the majority of words will be nouns, the names of
things.
When I began to investigate the word borrowings from the
Arabic I found that no complete list had been compiled and
there were several disagreements in the partial lists that had
been made. This brought up the question of how to go about
the compilation of such a list. The popular method of assuming that an English word is derived from an Arabic word because they look or sound alike, is as trustworthy as the popular
classification, of the bat as a bird because it flies in the air, of the
whale as a fish because it swims in the sea, or of the sponge as
a plant because it grows fast to the rocks below the water. The
only valid method is the historical one, to trace the history of
a word back as far as it is possible to go, to observe when and
by whom it was used in the past, and what forms and meanings
it has taken on in the course of its history.
Fortunately for the student of English words, there is now
in existence a full and accurate history of every word in the
English language. This is the New English Dictionary, also called
the Oxford Dictionary, from the place where it is being written,
and the Murray Dictionary, from the name of its great editor.
-< mm
�MAY, 1928
I
7
This great work, begun a generation ago, is not yet complete,
though only a small part of the last of the alphabet remains to
be published and the literary world is expecting at any time
the announcement of its completion. This historical dictionary,
the only one of its kind in the world, attempts to give the history of every word that has ever been used by any English
writer. Quotations, illustrating every form or use of a word
are given in full, with the name of the author, the date, and the
page reference of the work. Words of English origin are traced
back to their ultimate root, words of foreign origin are traced
back, sometimes through several intermediate languages, to the
word from which they sprung. Because of its scholarly completeness, this dictionary is the' indispensable reference book for every
student of the English language.
It was to this dictionary that I turned when I undertook
to prepare a list of the Arabic words in English. It was obvious
that there was only one way to collect the words, the simple but
laborious method of going through the dictionary, page by page.
Where the New English Dictionary was incomplete, I made
use of other books of reference.
The harvest' that I gathered was smaller than I had expected. I found 217 words in current use, that is, in use as accepted
English words. Some of these are in daily service, such as "jar,"
"sugar," etc. Others such as "realgar," "varan," "naker," "fardel," etc., would defy definition on the part of the average person.
I found 45 obsolete words, words that once had been in
current use but now are buried in the dictionary and forgotten
by living speech. I found 183 unassimilated words, that is,
words, for the most part, picked up by travellers and used in
their travel records, but not really accepted and used generally
by English writers or speakers. Then there was a little group
of ghosts that were both obsolete and unassimilated, still-born
babes born into the English language long ago but never receiving any currency beyond the usage of a few ancient writers.
This collection of about 450 words represents the contribution of the Arabic language to the English language. I do
not claim that it is complete, for I may have overlooked some
words, and others may have been used by English writers that
have not been discovered by the compilers of the dictionary, but
it may stand as a fairly representative list.
ms
�H ..
77/£ SYRIAN WORLD
*
I do not know how many words the New English Dictionary
will contain when it is complete, but I notice that a popular,
one-volume dictionary of the English language, recently published, claims to contain the definition of 400,000 English words.
Assuming that the English language contains at least 400,000
words, we can easily compute the approximate percentage of
words coming from the Arabic.
In another paper I hope to discuss some of the more interesting of these borrowings from the Arabic in the light of the
cultural relations between Western European and Arabian culture.
Bel's Lions
By DR SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
(Instead of thy making a new deluge, let lions apfear and
reduce the number of men. — Ea to Bel in the Chaldean tablets of the deluge.)
But what of him who shuns the jungles wild,
Who stalks, not in the darkness of the night,
But proudly o'er the bosom of the day;
Who snarls, but through a smile benign and bright,
The while his teeth are sunken in his prey;
Who growls, but in melodious tones and mild?
(Lion-strength—Such is the stuff that will succeed,
They say: and we are urged by word and deed
T' embrace the Lion-man's faith and creed.)
Which is Bel's curse, the flood's fell substitute—
The shrinking beast that hides him in his lair,
Or, hunted, starves upon the arid waste?
Lion-strength, inspiring and fair,
How oft, like liberty, the pure and chaste,
Abused, grows shameless, wanton, dissolute!
MMMMMM m
�MAY, 1928
Keyserling on the East
zA Special Interview *
Turning for a brief respite from the subjects more intimately connected with his American lecture tour, Count Herman
Keyserling, the famous German philosopher now in New York,
consented to discuss with the editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD
some of the major problems besetting the East. His observations encompassed the whole of Asia from semi-European Turkey to China and Japan. For the East in general he entertains
the hope of a bright future, but would not commit himself as
to the time this could be achieved. The attainment of this object, he maintains, is dependent upon certain definite conditions
whose fulfillment alone will determine the acceleration or the
protraction of the ultimate inevitable result.
On general grounds, Count Keyserling believes in the ultimate attainment by all classes of the human race of the supreme object they are all striving and struggling for, namely,
the desire to live in happiness and comfort. The coolie of
China is animated by this desire as much as the laborer of Europe and America. To some groups of the same class in different countries this desire may be nearer of attainment than
it is to others, but the urge being equal among all, the process
of evolution from one stage to another until the supreme goal
is reached will continue to supply the onward movement with
continual energy.
The outstanding condition Count Keyserling lays down for
the more rapid advance of the East is the development of Character, as would be expressed in a firm belief among the people
of the East of their ultimate destiny and their will to force its
fulfillment. The Count is an admirer of mass action and a firm
believer in the virtues of discipline. He concedes that the initiative should come from a few leaders with well-grounded, positive authority, but he would not have reform come by decree
as if ordained by divine right, as was the case with the initiation
of reform in Japan. Rather, he is in favor of leadership that
* This interview was published in the Sunday Edition of the N. Y. World
of April 29.
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
derives its authority from public sanction, as exemplified in the
recent case of Turkey under the able leadership of Mustapha
Kamal Pasha.
Amplifying on the subject of Turkey, Count Keyserlmg
gave it as his unqualified conviction that recent developments
in that country are the greatest political evolution in the world
since the federation of the German States into the German Empire. Kamal Pasha is to Count Keyserling the outstanding figure of
the age. The several reform movements he has inaugurated are
without parallel in history both in nature and extent. They are
bound to exercise a far-reaching effect in shaping the course of
affairs in the East, and will undoubtedly stimulate to quicker
action the will of Eastern races to attain their lawful aspirations.
In other words, the Turkish reform movement under the
driving will of Mustapha Kamal Pasha is the greatest incentive
to the acquisition by the people of the East of that primary condition laid down by Count Keyserling for their full development, namely, Character.
Further analyzing the Turkish situation, Count Keyserling
attributed the success of the reform movement in Turkey to two
major causes, the first being enlightened and resolute leadership, and the second orderly submission by the people. Mustapha Kamal, according to Count Keyserling, is especially fortunate in having able lieutenants who share his ideals and work
wholeheartedly with him in carrying out his policies. Such
gigantic upheavals cannot be the work of one man. They were
not so in Russia and cannot be so anywhere else, although the
guiding mind may be single. Among Mustapha Kamal's most
able aides Count Keyserling mentions Ismet Pasha, the formidable diplomat who negotiated the treaty of Sevres and won
his points against the ablest statesmen of Europe.
To the second requisite Count Keyserling attaches no less
importance, for he attributes to the Turkish nation what he
terms one of the finest national characteristics, namely, that orderly submission to authority which is bred of long military discipline. The Turks are a fighting race who came to the country
as invaders and held their conquests against superior numbers
by cohesive action. Their turning of defeat in the last war into
a signal victory is a feat without parallel in military annals.
Count Keyserling concludes that the Turks have character, his
fundamental condition for success, and it is for that reason that
\
'
�MAY, 1923
i
n
they are blazing the way for other Eastern races in the pursuit
of their common goal.
For the Arabs, also, Count Keyserling holds prospects of
a brilliant .future. The Arabs are a hardy race and fiercely independent. What they lack in the way of cohesive action as induced by military discipline is amply counter-balanced by the
intensity of their religious zeal. This, in time, will serve its
purpose of consolidating their ranks and establishing their power, later giving way to a more tolerant attitude which would be
more in keeping with modern thought and action. Already signs
of this rejuvenation are appearing in the disciplinary religious
movement of the Arab King Ibn Saoud. The motive behind
the Wahabi movement, it is true, is religious, but the end is
nationalistic and political. Had it not been for the fact that
the Arabs were in a state of complete isolation in their peninsula,
the, growth of the movement would be exceedingly rapid and its
effect much more far reaching.
Reminded that the Wahabi movement, both in its inception
and its application, is reactionary and retrogressive in that it
seeks to apply to the present age conditions that obtained during the times of the Prophet, Count Keyserling expressed it as
his belief that Islam was as great an evolution in religious thought
and practice as the reformation movement in Christianity. For
the Arabs to advocate the return to the pristine purity of Islam
would be to reduce it to its simpler element and have it revert
to its primary function. The early followers of the Arab Prophet were first actuated by religious motives, but once their creed
was established they turned to the more peaceful methods of
civilization and progress. History may well repeat itself in the
present case also. For Ibn Saoud will first seek to coordinate
his forces by the only expedient at hand which now is religion,
and once the solidarity of the race is established civilization will
be promoted along the accepted lines of modern methods.
Religion shall cease to be a determining factor in the lives
of nations. As men develop more fully the realization of the
primacy of their material well-being over all other considerations, they shall evince less concern over matters which hamper
them in the pursuit of their supreme ambition. This ultimate
state of the human race is inevitable. It shall apply to the East
as well as to any other section of the globe. The process of
evolution will be gradual but positive. When, however, this final
�12
THE SYRIAN WORLD
condition will be reached is beyond the ability of anyone to determine.
Count Keyserling here gave a plain definition of his understanding of the term East. What is popularly called the "mysterious, unfathomable East" is to him not a mystery at all. The
whole world, to a greater or lesser degree, is striving for the
common goal of material well-being as expressed in the desire
to live in the greatest possible safety and comfort. China in
this respect is not different from Russia, and where in the latter
European country some progress has been made towards this
end in one masterly, decisive stroke, in the former Asiatic country a war has been progressing for the last twenty years for the
attainment of the same object. But if the result has been long
in materializing, there should be no doubt of its realization sooner or later.
Count Keyserling would, however, make a clear distinction
between the Near East and the Far East. The latter is the real
and,only East and begins only with India, while the Near East,
or those countries bordering on the Mediterranean basin, are as
much an integral part of the West as any country of Europe.
In speaking of the countries of the Near East and their
ultimate destiny, Count Keyserling delivers a dictum based both
on profound reaspning and intimate association and knowledge.
The German philosopher was in the south-eastern Mediterranean countries only a few years since, and plans another visit
to Turkey, Syria, Egypt and contiguous countries in the opening
months of the coming year.
RACIAL ORIGINS
Commenting on the unveiling of the statue of Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, which was held in New York the past month, the N. Y.
Times recalls the great celebration accorded Kossuth when he arrived in
the city an exile from his country inj 1851. New Yorkers, it states, turned
out in unprecedented numbers to welcome Kossuth, and the papers of the
day record not) only the great public enthusiasm but the speeches delivered
by the leaders of the American nation at the dinners and receptions given
in his honor.
In recalling the speeches made at the press dinner tendered Kossuth,
the Times says editorially in its issue of March 15: "Especially notable
was the speech of Charles A. Dana of The Sun, who thanked God that
we had no exclusive origin but had in our veins 'the blood of a ^thousand
tribes' and in our language a thousand idioms, and insisted that all races
are capable of noble development under noble institutions."
�MAY, 1928
13
Tie Bedouin Child
Among the Bedouins, a father in enumerating his children
never counts his daughters, for a daughter
is considered a disgrace.
Ilyas the prophet, lingering 'neath the moon,
Heard from a tent a child's heart-withering wail ,
Mixt with the message of the nightingale,
And entering, found, sunk in mysterious swoon,
A little maiden dreaming there alone.
She babbled of her father sitting pale
'Neath wings of death - 'mid sights of sorrow and bale,
And pleaded for his life in piteous tone.
"Poor child, plead on," the succoring prophet saith,
While she, with eager lips, like one who tries
To kiss a dream, stretches her arms and cries
To heaven for help, - "Plead on: such pure love-breath
Reaching the Throne, might stay the wings of death,
That in the desert fan thy father's eyes."
The drouth-slain camels lie on every hand;
Seven sons await the morning vultures' claws'Mid empty water-skins and camel-maws
The father sits, the last of all the band.
He mutters, drowsing o'er the moonlit sand,
"Sleep fans my brow; Sleep makes us all pashas;
Or if the wings are death, why, Azreel draws
A childless father from an empty land. "
I
"Nay," saith a voice, "the winds of Azreel's wings
A child's sweet breath hath stilled; so God decrees; " A camel's bell comes tinkling on the breeze,
Filling the Bedouin's brain with bubble of springs
And scent of flowers and shadow of wavering trees
Where, from a tent, a little maiden sings.
Theodore Watts-Dunton.
�*l
THE SYRIAN WORLD
14
Cross-Currents in the East
By
THE EDITOR
A titantic struggle is now being waged in the Moslem world
between the forces of progress and the forces of reaction.
The
conviction of each faction in the vitality of the issues involved is
so deep-rooted that most extraordinary methods of coercion are
being resorted to.
With so much animus and desperation prevalent the final clash cannot be long delayed.
When it comes
there is bound to be such a tremendous upheaval in the NearEast
as will completely change the existing order of things and submurge in one great tidal wave the traditional heritage of the "Unchanging East" . And this cataclysm is inevitable, in spite of the
fact that the main points of difference are neither more nor less
than those existing in the West between fundamentalists and advocates of reform. The animus of the orientals may be trusted to
carry the controversy further than that of verbal debate. Whereas, in the United States, the question of prohibition is disposed of
by legislative methods, in the East, issues of even a less serious
nature will be settled only by recourse to arms.
What makes this struggle particularly ominous is that it is being
waged between the two most powerful factions of the Islamic
world, those representing two distinct nationalities, the Arabs and
the Turks, while the theatre of conflict is so restricted that only the
comparatively small country of Syria separates the two opposing
forces. The Turks, under the leadership of their dictator Mustapha Kamal Pasha, are the protagonists of the reform movement
while the Arabs, whose most powerful potentate is King Ibn Saoud
of Nejd, are being driven by him to uphold the most puritanical
principles of early Islam. Where ultimate victory will rest is not
difficult to guess, for the Turks may be trusted to be launching
their movement in no spirit of enmity to Islam but rather in a
spirit of conformity to the requirements of modern times. As
devout Mohammedans at heart as any that can be found, they also
* This article was published in the "Commonweal", New York, a weekly journal of opinion, in its issue of April 11. It is reprinted with
some additions by special courtesy.
I
�MAY, 1928
15
have an eye on economic development and realize that they can
not well apply methods of a thousand years back or more to the
needs of the twentieth century. The Arabs, on the other hand,
have not come into as close contact with the West as have the
Turks and consequently are not as much affected by modern influences. Hence the possibility of such principles as those advocated by Ibn Saoud and his followers finding so much support. It
seems only a matter of time before the contagion of the modern
spirit will penetrate into Arabia and change the aspect of the situation. When this change will be affected, however, is beyond
the ability of any one to prophesy.
What the Turks have done so far in the way of emulating the
West is too well known to need repetition in detail. Briefly, the
1 urks have torn themselves loose from traditions heretofore considered well-nigh inviolable. Not only in the religious domain,
but in the realm of social and civic reform as well,, they have effected a complete transformation almost overnight. The Caliphate was abolished and left to go begging among the potentates
oi the Mohammedan world, with utter desregard for the prestige
of Islam. Prayers were ordered recited in the native Turkish
language with total indifference to Arabic, the sacred language of
the Koran. Polygamy was no longer tolerated and even personal liberty was invaded by decreeing that the tarboosh, formerly
considered the national headgear, should give way to the European hat. In short, such radical changes were introduced as to make
one standing on the threshold of this transition stare aghast at the
rapidity of the transformation.
Whaty on the other hand, has been the Arab contribution to
the situation? It must be confessed that an earnest effort has long
since been undertaken by an enlighted section of the Arabic-speaking people to foster a movement of reform. This, of course, is
meant to apply to the Mohammedan element of the population.
Of recent instances may be cited the campaign being waged by the
Mohammedan women of Syria to discard the veil, while in Egypt
we know that several decades back such a movement was advocated by the late Kasim Ameen. Now we find Mohammedans
in ever-increasing numbers sending their children to be educated
in the professions in foreign schools both within their respective
countries and abroad. We even have the rare instances of Mohammedan men marrying Christian wives and strictly practising monogamy. In some sections of the Mohammedan East, especially in
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
those sections bordering on the sea and brought into close touch
with western influences, it may be truly said that the same degree
of culture and modernism obtains as can be found anywhere in
Europe or America. But what about the real Arabs, the Arabs of
Arabia, and the masses of Arabic-speaking peoples and others of:
Moslem faith who form the main body of Islam? Are they sympathetic to modernizing influences or even passive in their attitude? Or are they so set against any infraction of their centuriesold traditions as to fight tooth and nail any attempt to swerve
them from their old practices ?
The answer to these queries is only too evident to anyone following the trend of events in the Moslem world, especially that
section of it comprised by the countries of the near East. Par' ticularly in Arabia, the home and the stronghold of Islam, the
Arabs not only live the life they had been leading for innumerable centuries, but they show unmistakable signs of resenting
any change. Any deviation from their prescribed course would
be sure to meet determined opposition on their part.
In support of this contention it does not seem necessary
to carry the reader back decades or even years. The occurrences
of the closing months of the last year are quite sufficient to
demonstrate the facts of the situation. They are little known to
the general reader of American newspapers, but the native Arabic press abounds in news items that shed interesting light on
the situation.
One, for instance, lately reported by news dispatches in the
United States, is the account given by the Cairo correspondent
of the Daily Express of the stringent restrictions laid down to
his subjects by the Arab King Ibn Saoud. This dispatch was,
in turn, based on a consular report of the Egyptian government.
It states that among the things forbidden are smoking, use of
alcoholic liquors, use of perfume, wearing of gold and silver
ornaments and silk garments.
It is further stated that immediately the muezzin's call to
prayer is heard, all must at once abandon what they are doing
and hasten to the mosque, for "prayer is better than work or
sleep".
Shaving of the beard has been decreed a crime for which
both the wielder of the razor and the person shaved shall be
severely punished.
Usury, meetings of men and women, and gathering of re-
MM
i
n
�I
i
MAY, 1928
1?
latives to bewail the dead, also are forbidden.
Ibn Saoud, it must be remembered, is at present the most
powerful of all the kings of Arabia. He was able to reach this
degree of power only through the support of his zealot followers who are known as the Ikhwan, or the brothers, for whom the
bunna is as essential a guide as the Koran, not only in their daily
religious practices, but in all the business of life. Of this group
Ameen Riham, the Syrian author who, through special courtesy
was permitted to visit Riadh, the capital of Ibn Saoud, only
about a year since, wrote as follows:
"What the Prophet Mohammed said and did, from the
broadest rule to the minutest detail of conduct, from the loftiest
to the most frivolous - how, for instance, he prayed and how
t'
*18 beard and his finger-nails — that is the Sunna.
lhe Wahabi lives and dies by it. Everything he says and does
he must be able to justify by the Sunna and the Koran — more
by the Sunna ,n fact, than the Koran. He bows the head only
to Allah — Sunna. He wears no silk garments — Sunna. He
retrains from decorating his mosques — Sunna. He does not
kiss the hand of imam or sultan — Sunna. He associates with
Allah, m his prayers, no prophet or saint or other mortal. Said
the Prophet Mohammed: "Say not 'By the help of Allah and
u y»°ph^'- but Say' 'By the helP of Allah and then the Pro<i mVf- preCept finds its aPP>ation in the daily speech
of the Wahabis. "Were'it not for Allah and then for thee (the
sultan), we should have lost the battle. Writes the master of
ceremonies in his daily list: "So-and-so has arrived and he desires of Allah and then of thee (the sultan) a busht, a zuboun
and some coffee and rice."
^
j
"About the Ikhwan," further states Mr. Rihani, "are related strange, heroic deeds and rare stoic achievements. Also
unspeakable atrocities. The demons of religion, they are called
by some the heroes of Islam, by others. Summoned to a jihad,
they dash forth, hearing and gleaming, sam?m, lamtin—so runs
the traditional cry—seeking the heads of the Mushrekin, frantically fanatical Unitarians, puritan copperheads. And the Sultan Abdul-Aziz is a Cromwell in the sense that he has made
these people and fired them with inextinguishable enthusiasm
for Allah and for Nejd. Their faith, a living, glowing faith,
makes the blood of a Brother fallen in battle sacred m theeyes. Through it they behold Jannat—their paradise; and with
�18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
pious ecstasy they put their fingers in the wound and stain the
edges of their garments. The winds of Jannat are blowing!
Ye seekers, in haste for the sowing! Ye seekers, in haste for
the mowing!"
This, it must be borne in mind, is the account of the Ikhwan by a friend who may be trusted not to have recourse to
exaggeration in describing the creed and the dominant factors
in the life of those Arabs ruled by the king who had tendered
him protection and hospitality.
Quite a contrast, this, to what has taken place in Turkey
only a few hundred miles away, also among followers of the
Arabian Prophet.
Further glimpses of what is agitating the Near East may
be had from other sources as laid open to us by seemingly casual
notices irt the native Arabic press during the last few months.
In their efforts at regeneration in Iraq, over which rules
King Feisal, some Syrian teachers were asked to fill positions
in local schools who had been educated in foreign institutions.
The population of Iraq is predominantly Shiite, or followers of
Ali. A certain teacher, however, saw fit to publish a book in
which he upheld the claim of Mu'awiyah to the Caliphate
against Ali in what he considered a pure contribution to historical
knowledge. Immediately there was an uprising in Bagdad which
resulted in much bloodshed and the offending historian was
finally banished from the country, thanking Allah that he was
able to escape with his life.
Quite recently, also, some enterprising book dealer in Egypt
saw fit to order from Europe a shipment of the Holy Book of
Islam, the Koran, translated in one of the European languages.
The customs authorities of the country would not pass on its
eligibility for entry into a Mohammedan country and referred
the case to the Ministry of Justice which ruled that the book
could not be lawfully admitted and permitted to be sold in
Egypt inasmuch as it is sacrilegious to translate the Koran into
the languages of the infidels.
Egypt, it should be remembered, is one of the most progressive among the Mohammedan countries and surely if the
matter were left to the judgment of the educated class no such
incident would come to pass, but the trouble is not with the educated few but with the masses, who are still swayed by religious
considerations as by no other influence.
I
�v
l
MAY, 1928
• "
*«. !PeQi I d° the Af!*8 resent any missionary effort, and
his not only because they believe in Islam but lore because
n Isl m
both
. 7°
^.^ Sto
Pedal
"***>»
both their
duty andl privilege
uphold
it.
of
Arabia and it is
estineRlertly' ?6 ^ -?aper ^"Yannouk, published in Paln Christkn
S^eral and
1°*^
?**
Nonaries in
nd Th
th Se' f
them who
ar °
Sri"uj
° °
* English in particular, for
heir misrepresentation of conditions" in Arabic-speaking countries. As quoted by this paper, the circular reported to have
been prepared by these missionaries calling for volunteers for
missionary work in Arabia does not seem to be in good taste
nheteSHn ^m rCC W°rds b CallinS M^ammed the False Pro-
m th m
US kngUa e the
and c7lZ f ?f m>
*BUt the
T SCUrril
°
S
******
Str ng P int brou ht
h
paoer
Zt ^
•
°
°
^ °* Y ^e
toTdJffln W I" miSS1TneS Seeking COnVerts are attempting
PrlwMa am°ng thf Very pe°Ple who claim ^e Arabian
Prophet as their own, and take pride in him not only as the
founder of a religion, but as their greatest patriot.
e]lgi
r' k W°Uid Seem' is a sacred
wher?
Precin* to the Arabs
where no foreign influence may be permitted to trespass. No
better illustration of this fact could be cited than the case of the
to^T K rhCharkS Cran/' Wh°Se rePUtati0n ^r fn-dles:
world Re
u £enetTit]?e fartheSt Corners of ^e Arab
Td L 5 S fu V^ hlgh/St CSteem for h^ Philanthropy
and the solicitude he displays for the uplift of the Arab race
His efforts toward assisting Arab students in acquiring education
abroad are much appreciated. Especially do the Mohammed^
elements, particularly of Syria, feel grateful to him for Tc
political agitation he has engineered in their behalf. But when
tters of reli
IT'8 t0
gion he is frankly and plainly told
that his meddling tactics are unwelcome.
A, Z!£
Arab
folI
°r
°
n
g
account
"
of Mr. Crane's recent travels in
taken fr m
°
**
Arabk paper Fztz ,{
~ -
"Much of Mr. Crane's speech to the members of the EastW f?'! Cair° ItCTll haS bccn Pushed in the press,
but the Society may finally deade on publishing this speech in
book form. I have learned, however, from authentic sources
that the trip of Mr Crane to Arabia was undertaken for a
double purpose, the lesser of which is to study the prospects of
the Pan-Arab movement and whether it is possible of realiza-
�J
20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
tion. On this subject Mr. Crane has refused to make any statement to the press.
"The primary object of Mr. Crane, however, was the survey of educational possibilities in Arabia and whether it would
be possible to establish American schools in the coast regions
such as Mr. Crane had established in China out of funds from
American Educational foundations. Of special importance is
the fact that Mr. Crane had an aunt by the name of Gertrude
Crane who died a few months ago and left a fund of one million dollars to be spent on American missionary enterprises in
the East. For this purpose also, Mr. Crane's aunt has set aside
the revenue of some of her rich land holdings. It appears that
Mr. Crane was undertaking to apply the conditions of his aunt's
will to Arabia, but his personal studies and observations in the
districts of Yemen, Asir and Hejaz struck his plans a forceful
blow. The Arab rulers, plainly declared to him that they would
never accept this kind of educational institutions. Where he
received the stunning blow, however, was in Yemen. Here Imam
Yahya absolutely refused even to discuss the subject of Christian schools."
It is true that now that the revolution in Syria has been
suppressed some Syrian leaders are accusing Mr. Crane of having incited them to revolt and then neglected them, withholding
from them, as they claim, the material aid he had promised.
But it may be said with much truth that Mr. Crane is to the
Moslems of the Near East the outstanding figure among their
many European and American friends. And still we find that
when it comes to matters of religion all his prestige and all the
high esteem in which his friends hold him avail naught.
Bearing on Mr. Crane's standing among the Arabs, as well
as on his tactics in gaining their friendship, the following correspondence exchanged between King Ibn Saoud and himself on
the eve of his departure from Arabia may be of special interest.
In justice to Mr. Crane, it may be said that he must have had
3n Arab secretary write the letter for him while he jotted down
his signature on the dotted line, as no matter how much of an
Arabic scholar Mr. Crane could be, he could never have mastered the purely Mohammedan style with which the letter is stamped. But as to the contents of the letter, only Mr. Crane can
tell whether-they conformed to his beliefs or not. Certainly,
the spirit of the letter cannot be much in agreement with the
——
MA
conv
nent
to M:
read:
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1
reply,
Mr. C
�MAY, 1928
2l
convictions of an American, let alone the fact that he is prominently identified with educational and missionary activities
Here is the literal translation of Mr. Crane's letter:
His Majesty King of Hejaz and Sultan of Neid
and its dependencies, Abdul Aziz As-Saoud, Medina.
Before departing from your holy land I beg to
express to your Majesty my deep gratitude for the consideration which I received at the hands of your son
and the men of your government, especially Sayyed
Mohammed Nasif, praying to Allah that He assist you
in the task of unification of the Arabs particularly and
the Moslem in general. We trust that you will regard
with sympathetic eye all those who, striving in the obedience of God, are watching your actions with utmost
interest. Your glorious peoples with their vast desert
in which they are immune against the corruptions of
the outside world, have a sacred mission to perform,
namely that of keeping religion in its pristine purity
and restoring it undefiled to the world.
Sincerely
Dated Rajab, 1345.
(Signed)
Crane.
. **ThZ Amb P°tentate was quick ^ reply, for he despatched
to Mr. Crane an answer to his letter bearing the same date which
read:
Mr. Crane.
I thank you for your good opinion in us and our
people, and am grateful for your noble sentiment of
love towards our nation as well as your solicitude for
its progress. It is an added proof of the purity of your
nature and the sublimity of your ideals. May Allah
exalt the truth and establish it. It is a matter of regret
to me that I did not have the opportunity to meet you
and therefore content myself with wishing you a happy
journey.
(Signed)
The king of Hejaz and the sultan
of Nejd and its dependencies,
Abdul Aziz.
The Arab sultan, as may be seen, is very courteous in his
replyy but he is also very honest and straightforward. For when
Mr. Crane, the American, tells the sultan that he has a sacred
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
mission to perform by keeping ^^.V^^^T^^
the sultan does not disagree with his statement, because
he understands the American's words to apply to Is km andhe
s^ys "amen" to his vows, beseeching Allah to exalt the truth
and e^tabl^ ^^
^
y ^
can be no misunderstanding the nature of the truth that Allah
is called upon to exalt. The Wahabis, as we have seen, are the
pu^tans of Islam, and Ibn Saoud's recent stringent restrictions
le^ve no doubt as to the strictness of their religious views. If,
foTLtance they deem it anatema to shave and wear silks and
Soa^S^muskal instruments, and if, furthermore, they
class evTn Moslems who do not adhere to their beliefs on a panfv with infidels, it should not be hard to judge the degree of
mimlcal attitude they assume towards everything extraneous to
Islam and their narrow comprehension ot it.
Now this sect of Moslems is in absolute control ot Arabia,
and so long as they are in power we can imagine the amount ot
modern reforms that can be tolerated to filter nito the country
Also we can imagine the leniency with which they woidd deal
with matters contrary to their conceptions and belief if their
Tower were to extend outside the limits of their country
A further instructive glimpse of present conditions in Arabia
mav be had from an account of Dr. Wolfgang von Weisl, a German investigator who made a tour of the country in the course
SL year" Slavery, according to him, still flounshes.n Ante.
In this he corroborates recent reports submitted to the League
of Nations on the same subject. He states that no less than two
lusand slaves are imported into Arabia from Abyssinia every
year, in spite of the vigilance of the Powers against the traffic
A human being is still considered in Arabia as so much chattel with a defined market value. Some of the revelations of Dr.
Weisl on the subject are interesting and read like a description
of conditions thousands of years ago:
"King Ibn Saoud has the ambition of creating a whole bair
of slaves * * * Today Ibn Saoud has a bodyguard of
tO^ckecfSves upon who/he can depend under-rfidrcum
stances who are absolutely devoted to him. In Arabia 120 slaves
re^esenTnot only wealth but power also They are the only
represent nuy
If a king is defeated his slaves fall
to thaT*^f the victor and afe divided, like horses and
,
I
i
�MAY, 1928
I
21
dogs. * * * In Arabia the attempt of a woman slave to escape
is punished by death."
Such is Arabia and such are the Arabs of today. The land
of the Prophet is still the isolated stronghold of Islam and the
Arabs its uncompromising defenders. Between Arabia and Turkey is but a stone's throw, judging by modern standards of distance. Yet the, Arabs and the Turks, although of the same religion, remain as distant as the poles.
Ultimately, no doubt, the Arabs are destined to bend to
modern influences and detach themselves from many of their
old traditions. But when this change is to be effected it is not
given anyone to foretell. Arab pride and love for independence,
Arab fatalism and belligerency, Arab passion and desperation,
cannot be questioned. But to what extent these will carry them
in the defense of their traditions and what is to them the immutable prescriptions of Divine revelations, cannot be conjectured.
These factors make the situation extremely dangerous and deserving of the closest attention.
War and the Small Nations
By KAHLIL GIBRAN
Once, high above a/ pasture, where a sheep and a lamb were
grazing, an eagle was circling and gazing hungrily down upon
the lamb. And as he was about to descend and seize his prey,
another eagle appeared and hovered above the sheep and her
young with the same hungry intent. Then the two rivals began
to fight filling the sky with their fierce cries.
The sheep looked up and was much astonished. She turned
to the lamb and said,
"How strange, my child, that these two noble birds should
attack one another. Is not the vast sky large enough for both
of them? Pray, my little one, pray in your heart that God may
make peace between your winged brothers."
And the lamb prayed in his heart.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
24
The Scar
A SHORT STORY
By
DR.
N. A.
KATIBAH
"I must ask you to bear with me," began Moore, as if
addressing the cigar-stand by his side, at which he gazed absentmindedly, and over which he kept tapping the ashes of his cigarette. —"Please bear with me—I mean be indulgent, I mean
well
I do not know how to begin my story. It must have
had a beginning somewhere, sometime—but I know nothing of
that. Even the end—at least the end I must give it—is the only
end you and I must accept. The rest—God forgive me if by
relating it to you I should have unwittingly betrayed any one's
secret:"—
In the year 1897, I found myself in the Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan. A youthful penchant for adventure had prevailed upon
me to join the expedition for the Reconquest of Sudan under
Kitchener—then neither Lord nor Earl.
On the morning of my third day at Wady Haifa, I was
directed to supervise the unloading of railway material—engines,
rails, sleepers, fishplates, etc., from a Nile steamer. They had
not yet had hauling machinery in the Sudan at that time, and
that work was done by convicts.
The morning was calm and sultry—not a breath of air was
stirring. The weather was rendered infinitely more oppressive
by the thick clouds of coal dust that arose from a Nile collier
discharging its cargo immediately to the South of us. Immense
volumes of black clouds rolled heavily upward and listlessly
hung over our heads, raining soot over everything around.
And in the midst of it all, the poor convicts toiled and
strained in sweltering perspiration that was constantly begriming their faces, necks, chests and arms. All was hustle and
bustle, punctuated now and then by a violent outburst of profanity, loud enough to soar over the continuous clanking of
�MAY, 1928
25
working machinery, over the boisterous vociferation of shouting
labor, and over the monotonous rythm of "Yal-la-ho' Yal-laho!" chorused by a couple of hundred lusty convict throats to
lighten their task.
i
I had not yet had time to reconcile myself to life in the
Sudan. The unfavorable impression I had of the place had not
yet had time to wear off, nor were my first experiences in it of
such a nature as to promise immediate mitigation of that impression The burning sun, the barren sandy wastes and dunes,
the muddy water of the Nile, the utter absence of vegetation
except for the miserable attempt at cultivation along the puny
strip of alluvial soil on our side of the river, the black, shiny
skins of the half-naked natives, and the intolerable odor of
grease kneeded into the kinky hair of their women—surely could
not have created a feeling helpful to conciliation. Then again
the heavy toll of cholera among the troops, the harsh discipline
of military life in active service, the necessary restriction of diet
principally to tinned rations, the herding together into one mud
hut of several beings of varied tastes and standards, whose enforced association was determined by the exigences of the moment and by the availability of space, and the thousand-and-one
inconveniences and hardships incident to the initial onrush of a
military expedition in a barbarous tract of African soil—all militated against a nature that had some claim to refinement and
cultivated taste.
It was at that time and under these circumstances that I first
met Mr. Aristidi Panas.
He was standing on a knoll to my left, facing the coal vessel. I cannot forget the contrasting spectacle he made with the
displeasing scene around him—a tall, stalwart man faultlessly
appareled in white duck, strangely silhouetted against the black
volumes of smoke. As I approached him I was struck by his
remarkable strength as evidenced by the pillar-like shape of his
limbs, the breadth of his shoulders, the athletic size of his neck,
and the lion-like manner of carrying his figure. Coming closer
I could not fail to note the noble contour of his profile. The
forehead, nose, mouth and chin seemed to have been molded for
a pattern of beauty and dignity, not unlike Apollo in the general design and much resembling Neptune in address, though his
beard was restricted to the size of the more gallant nineteenth
century imperial.
�n
THE SYRIAN WORLD
26
"Good-morning," I said, negotiating an introduction.
He slowly turned and faced me.
Heavens! — what a gash above his left eye! It was deep—
much deeper than the surface of the bone around it; and curled
upon itself like a huge question-mark the tail of which broke
the continuity of the eyebrow into two equal segments and terminated at the ruined eye below,—the protruding white pupil
serving for the dot. It had already healed. How long?—Who
knows? The valley of the cut was thin and of pinkish hue.
I have since then seen many a wound, scar and mutilation, but
none that impressed me like this one. It was a peculiar scar,
an eloquent scar, a scar that looked you in the eye, that cautioned
you, that whispered: "BEWARE!" Yet it was neither ugly
nor repulsive. It seemed to belong to the face, and did not
mar its dignity and beauty.
"Good-morning," he returned, and, as if to divert my attention from his scar, he added: "Les pauvres diables!" pointing to the convicts.
"How miserable!" I put in.
"Yes," he replied, "I wonder if they have any hope to
live for."
"I wonder, too," I said, "if they had completely forgotten
the many hearts they have so cruelly broken—those of sisters,
mothers and wives!"
Suddenly a frown gathered between his eyes and the scar
turned pale.
«Qh!—I must be off," he said, and abruptly walked away.
*
*
*
Soon Panas' figure became familiar to me. As a matter of
fact, who in the whole camp had not often seen the 'inscrutable
man', alone, cane in hand, brisk, neat and ruddy, taking his
walks along the bank of the Nile to Tewfikieh and back again
before the sun was up.
Of course you understand that the inmates of a military
camp are like fellow passengers on a ship; in both communities
familiarity makes barbarous short cuts, and curiosity often rides
roughshod over one's privacy.
But Mr. Aristidi Panas was no ordinary traveler.
He was one of the very few individuals furnished with a
permit to do business within the walls of the camp. He dealt
in liquors, soda and general merchandise.
"••^^H
�MAY, 1928
man rfcX^^ 2"" °f ^ a Greek by tonality, a
and read Several lan
guages^inc uTnaF
"S?
TJ*" ^
"
g
ghSh Itdlan
Fre
SSy welf
'
^
^-the latter parOf his personal habits all knew that he was an early riser
He generally left hls bed at dawn, drank a couple of raw eS
^br,and[' *«* ««1 ^rted out for hiscustomary wfE
211 £ WhT- he part00k of a social cup of Turkish coffee
b
fnend imi in the iatter
tT
Nii:
x
h
^ man
~ffl
the Nile. By the way,' ^
this s
Dimitri was the' only
known
W
the la
oalle"him°"so
^T'
^ Cndcanncnt
"called him son""' and
in return Dimitri
respectfully uncled
him.
lire coffee finished, Mr. Panas would walk back to his shon
dU ing thC day but indul ed in a
lastin^tTS
^ or
[
'
^
siesta
lastnig until three
later
in the afternoon,
the effectsW
of which
he hastened to shake off by a strong demi-tasse.
He again attended to business between four and six
His days activity having ended, he would have his'vard
swept and sprinkled,and his favorite marble-topped tlble mo^ed
under the large shade-tree. There he would ?sk seekingTace
and inspiration at a bottle of whisky or me***, chasing down
now a green olive, now a bit of cheese, now a radish, now a
staf^
and now a saited
ie
•*** --Ew
^°TimeS at this h°Ur' he Would be seen with a Greek
paper which no sooner would he glance over than fling away In
?orofanstht.°Ut t0 ^ S£rVant' AchmCt' t0 ** k "P and P*
At twelve, midnight, he retired.
K^atUra lly' ^ thLiS °r the ^^ Part of * ^s passed to
me before IT made the
acquaintance of Mr. Panas; and when
iar'as it^nt!0
"" ^ ' f0Und the ****
Shall I tell you of our first tete-a-tete?
wh,n0TnteVe?ing 1 haPPen,ed t0 be Posing'in front-of his place
when I heard someone calling me by name. Turning around
I saw Mr. Panas hastening toward me with open arms
'
You are a strange man,"he exclaimed, "you don't visit
with your.fnends." Then putting his strong aJaround me he
�—
28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
fairly dragged me bodily toward a chair at his table. "Goodness'" he added, "here such a long time and not come to see
Papa Panas! Sit down, man, sit down. Let us kill a couple ot
hours together."
,
It flashed upon my mind then that the man was hungry tor
company and that it would be rude to disappoint him.
I found Mr. Panas a truly well-read gentleman, well-informed and an excellent conversationalist. I was greatly impressed by the depth and extent of his knowledge especially ot
current political events. His keenness of observation and his
logical analysis of conditions in South Africa, in Japan and in
Russia at that time were later fully corroborated by the RussoJapanese and the Boer wars. He spoke with perfect familiarity
about Bryan and the American silver question. And with it all
he did not appear self-conscious of his excellent parts; no attempt was made by him at creating an impression.
I was so fascinated by the charm of his personality and by
the wealth of his knowledge that the time passed by unnoticed.
However, from half past ten on, I made several attempts to
leave, but he would not hear of it, and pleaded with me in that
characteristic oriental whole-heartedness that shamed me and constrained me to stay, even to my disadvantage, lest I should hurt
his feelings by appearing to slight his hospitality. He frequently poured out the contents of my glass as having become stale,
and replenished it from the icebox.
He finally permitted me to leave at midnight.
After that, it was I who sought Mr. Panas' company. But
we were not always alone.
The experience I have just related was only a specimen
of what others, officers as well as civilians, had had. His liberality approximated lavishness, and his hospitality, sacrifice. Sometimes there were as many as ten or a dozen of us each enjoying the sociability of the evening to suit his taste: here a couple
discussing big game hunting, there a trio criticizing the last engagement with the Dervishes, and yonder a few indulging their
fpirituous appetites and rambling about from topic to topic catching their cues here and there or from the confused inspiration
that the volume of liquor invoked. At these gatherings Mr
Panas was in the height of complaisance. His eye sparkled his
face beamed, and a cheerful flow of good spirits radiated from
him to animate us and chase the devils of ennui helter-skelter
i
�MAY, 1928
\
29
to the remotest parts of the earth. An admirable host!
Let me hasten to correct one wrong impression I may have
inadvertently conveyed of this remarkable man. By describing
him as an excellent conversationalist, I, of course, did not intend
to imply that he was talkative. I only wished to say that when
interested he felt at home and discussed his topic fully and
clearly Otherwise, and especially as regards his personal affairs, he was reticent and even distant. But this by no means
marred the charming character of his disposition. All he needed
when the subject was distasteful or uninteresting to him, was a
pleasant digression, a clever interpelation or a dexterous expedient and all was smoothed over to your heart's satisfatcion.
There was, however, one particular theme upon which Mr
lianas was extremely hypersensitive—woman. Let but the remotest reference be made to this subject, and he would immediately withdraw from the company and busy himself about this
or that thing. Sometimes even his scar would turn pale, and
his usual self-mastery and expected sang-froid seemed to desert
him. 1 could then detect the symptoms of a struggle within
him to suppress some perturbed emotion, and in order to prevail
upon it he resorted to whistling. In time, we all learned to respect this peculiar attitude of his mind. Love songs, love affairs
wedding announcements, divorce cases or spicy jokes—in short
any casual reference to the other sex was considered taboo in his
presence. This was not always easy or possible, considering that
most of us were still in the romantic age, and in a military camp
to boot. Hence the occasional 'breaks' that afforded me closer
observation.
Mr. Panas and I took a mutual liking to each other, perhaps because of a seriousness of outlook upon life that both of
us shared Our private conferences grew more frequent and
we were fast becoming—well, amis. I do not know why I am
unwilling to use the English equivalent, friends. Perhaps because the word friend in English connotes, to me at least, a sentiment, an impulse that rushes in and pulls at the heart-stringsnot so amis which, though possibly having the gush, will always
stand aloof and studiedly polite awaiting the formality of an
introduction. I think I can now tell why. It was the scar—that
question-mark of a scar. So long as that scar remained silent
we were only amis.
'
*
*
*
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
One night, when the company were all gathered and Mr.
Panas was unusually pleasant and communicative, in came Dimitri. He was not quite his natural self. There was something
upon his mind that constrained his movements and made him
look both shy and foolish. Of course, Mr. Panas heartily voiced his welcome, but even that failed to dispel the cause of Dimitri's nervousness and timidity. Without further ado, Panas
threw his arm over his friend's shoulder and drew him to his
bosom, and in the most solicitous and paternal manner led him
to a side table and enquired of the cause of his 'son's' embarrassment.
(
Dimitri's account was in a subdued voice and in Greek,
hence, not for us. Presently I noticed Mr. Panas' face turning
pale and the scar on his forehead gleamed like a white satin
ribbon. By and by his hand relinquished its hold on the younger man's shoulder and fell heavily on the table before him.
His handsome features gathered into an expression of painful
despondence. When it was his turn to speak he seemed merely
to give vent to his contempt and repulsion, and finally waved his
friend from his presence in a spasm of utter disgust, as he would
a most loathsome object.
Dimitri was completely crestfallen, and as he passed by us
on his way out, I noticed his eyes were brimming with tears.
At the gate he hesitated, paused and turned back. He looked
appealingly at his friend, but Panas was relentless, and again
waved him out. At this, Dimitri looked at us and sobbed out
in English:
"Say, gentlemen, is it wrong to marry?"
"Marry!" thundered Panas jumping to his feet, his whole
gigantic stature shaking with wrath that almost choked him.
From an ashen color his face suddenly turned crimson, and giving way to the passion that raged in him, he swung tensely to
one side, clenched his fist and violently struck the marble slab
in front of him breaking it into two.
"Ska-ta!" came hissing from between his set teeth.
(To be continued).
Beware of superfluous speech, for it will disclose your defects and give your enemy weapons against you.
(Arabic)
�MAY, 1928
31
dmara and her Master-Lover
zAn Authentic Arabian Tale
Translated from the Arabic Original.
KrJ^X
D
/Td ^-A*8** the celebrated author of the
Abdullah Ibn Ja'far, relates the author was a m»»* A^k
estate in Iraq to enjoy the blessings of peace. L TO still in
the prime of manhood and had fathered uThi/ut
number of concubines either by ^rchat l^ TO ^5
he W men of his
AJ! i , °
ha«m a particular slavePgM called
deft fingers produced from the few strings of the <oud Thl
scenes thus staged m the desert wilderness brought back to Tbn
Ja'far memories of his sumptuous ease at home
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
At last the end of his journey was reached and the master
and his retinue settled in one of the luxurious palaces of Damascus allotted to them by the caliph. But to Ibn Ja'far no business could be sufficiently urgent to deprive him of the pleasure
of Amara's company which to him meant life itself, ^sides,
the congenial atmosphere of the great capital city lent additional charm to the rapturous and consummate art of Amara in both
song and music.
Soon the news of the singular case of Ibn Ja'far and his
slave girl went abroad in the city until it reached the ears ot
Yazid, heir-apparent to the great Mou'awiyah who was noted
for his great love for wine, women and song. And the impetuous Yazid lost no time in launchnig on a new expedition of exploration of new fields of pleasure. He condescended to pay
a personal visit to Ibn Ja'far, and as a marked sign of esteem
for the future caliph the latter had Amara sing and play tor
him Yazid's susceptible disposition was immediately overcome
and he forthwith formed the resolve in his heart that this
supreme enchantress must be his. But he had learned from hiS
sagacious father the great necessity of caution and he decided to
abide his time. Ibn Ja'far, therefore, was permitted to leave
Damascus and return to his home unmolested and unmindful
of the designs of Yazid.
It was not long thereafter that Mou'awiyah died and Yazid
ascended the throne. His first concern was to devise means to
acquire the incomparable slave-girl Amara
He confided his
desire to a few of his most trusted friends and advisers but
they warned him against using forcible methods with such a
powerful chief who was known to have been a great friend oi
his father. Such rash action at the outset of his reign, they
argued, would spell ruin to his administration and create such
an unfavorable impression throughout the land that might be
fraught with the gravest consequences.
But what could not be gained by force had to be secured
by stratagem, and both Yazid and his advisers were incessantly
concocting schemes to win possession of Amara by whatever
means, 4 or foul. Until, finally Yazidperfected the detai
of what to him was an unfailing plan and proceeded to put it
into action.
. . T
.
He first called into consultation an artful Iraqi, a man possessed of great resourcefulness, and confided to him his secret
�MAY, 1928
33
and the details of his plan and trusted him to carry it through
to a successful end.
The Iraqi was of the same country as Ibn Ja'far, and proved to be both an able strategist and an honest and faithful messenger.
Having been given a free hand in the promotion of the
scheme, he first requisitioned a large quantity of merchandise
oi great value and took from the treasury his needs of money
and jewels. Thus amply supplied he equipped a suitable caravan and set out on a journey to Iraq in the guise of a traveling
merchant.
In due time he arrived at the home town of Ibn Ja'far and
hastened to seek his protection and favor and made him gifts of
richly embroidered cloths and precious jewels to the value of a
thousand dinars. Ibn Ja'far was much pleased and showed the
pseudo merchant every sign of consideration, placing him while
in the city under his especial protection.
As the days went by, the agent of Yazid increased his gifts
to Ibn Ja'far in both value and frequency, until he had gained
his complete confidence and was invited by him to join his intimate circle of boon companions. This was to the Iraqi the
very thing he had been wishing as it enabled him to share in
the social pleasures of Ibn Ja'far, to whom, as previously mentioned, no pleasure was complete without the presence of his
favorite Amara.
The Iraqi merchant was the personification of good taste
and gallantry. No sooner had he heard Amara sing her heavenly melodies to the accompaniment of her incomparable 'oud
than he went into the wildest transports of joy and expressed
his unlimited admiration in the most glowing terms.
In his capacity of merchant, however, he could indulge in
e
judging anything and everything by its monetary value, and he
was quick to seize on his opportunity to ask his host the price
of this otherwise priceless slave girl.
"Verily," he said, "I had never suspected the existence of
such matchless art and such consummate grace. And in my capacity of merchant seeking always to ascertain values, I would respectfully ask you what the value of this slave girl is to you."
Ibn Ja'far was quick and decided in his reply: "The value
of Amara to me is no less than that of the caliphate itself."
"I can well appreciate your admiration for this incompar-
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
able jewel," replied the wily merchant. "But to put her on a
parity with the caliphate in value appears to me but an exaggerated figure of speech meant only to indicate the demand of a
very high price. As you well know, I am a merchant who gains
his wealth by the dirham, the smallest monetary denomination,
but if you will sell the girl to me for ten thousand gold pieces
I shall buy her."
fc
On the impulse of the moment Ibn Ja'far said that he
would conclude the bargain for the stipulated amount.
Immediately, and so as to exclude any further exchange
of argument, the merchant left the house of his host and presently returned with the actual gold. Ibn Ja'far was nonplussed
and disconsolate. He remonstrated with the merchant that his promise was only in the nature of a jest and that he would not part
with his beloved for any amount of money, but the merchant
was firm in the demand of his right, claiming that according to
the ethics of merchandising even a jest was a binding contract.
Besides, how could a gentleman in the position of Ibn Ja'far
forfeit his promise and consequently his honor. Of course he,
the merchant, would have to make his grievance public and seek
redress and he would greatly loath the ill repute that would
attach to the integrity of the illustrious and exalted Ibn Ja'far
if the true circumstances of the case were to become known.
By this and similar arguments Ibn Ja'far was shamed into
ceding his beloved slave girl to the supposed merchant, and to
describe the terrible anguish and contrition gnawing at his heart
after parting with her is a task beyond human possibility.
Elated at having successfully carried out his mission, the
agent of the caliph Yazid hastened to carry his prize back to
Damascus. But fate so decreed that upon arriving in the city
he was met with the sad news that the caliph had died and the
merchant found himself in a perplexing dilemma.
In the meantime, he had acquainted Amara with the facts
of the case and treated her as befitted an intended member of
the caliph's harem, and she had veiled and secluded herself
against him. His only alternative under the circumstances, he
bethought, was to lay the facts before the new caliph and await
his decision. Yazid's successor, however, proved to be an upright and virtuous man who would entertain no proposition conceived in such perfidy, and he ordered the merchant to leave
the city with his slave girl forthwith.
4
�! SH
MAY, 1928
35
Facing this further unpleasant turn of affairs, the merchant
again had to make a new decision, and in acquainting Amara
with the new developments, told her that by right she had now
come to belong to him, but that in justice to her he stood ready
to relinquish his right. She was, he admitted, destined to be a
fat ornament for the palaces of kings and princes, and for him to
take an undue advantage of the present turn of fortune would
be a miscarriage of God's will. He therefore would return her
to her old master.
And true to his word, he tarried not in carrying out his
decision. He further made to Ibn Ja£far a complete confession
of all that had transpired and returned Amara to him without
condition or consideration.
Ibn Ja'far was overjoyed beyond measure at the return of
Amara, and when he saw her set foot again within his threshold
he was so overcome with emotion that he fainted in her arms.
Amara, too, was happy at this reunion beyond expression.
And again the sun shone brightly in the life of Ibn Ja'far,
and revelry reigned supreme in his house. Everyday of his life
thereafter was an occasion of great merriment and jubilation,
and he added permanently to the intimate circle of his boon
companions the Iraqi merchant who was the cause of the return
of his happiness.
Arab Proverbs
In this world there is work without an accounting, and in
the other world there is an accounting without work.
Men are reserved for days of trial.
Only the great can develop humility.
Only a fool believes in his infallibility.
God created you free, so why be a slave to greed?
If you do a good deed conceal it, but if a good deed is done
to you publish it.
�36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Arabic Newspapers in America
Although the oldest Arabic-language newspaper in the United States barely exceeds the age of thirty years, a serious discussion has now developed as to whether the Syrian press has not
reached the end of its usefulness. There seems to be a concession in all quarters that the life of Arabic-language newspapers
in America has become very limited, and as this consciousness
takes greater hold on the minds of publishers and editors, serious consideration is being given to the discussion of the future.
Never in the history of the Arabic press has the subject been
more generally and more frequently discussed than at the present time.
Up to a few years ago it was considered unpatriotic, to say
the least, of even intimating the possibility of the extinction
of the Arabic language in the United States. Syrians were reluctant to admit that this last tie binding them sentimentally to
their country of origin should be suffered to be severed. The
World War, with its attendant vicissitudes to their mother country, focused the attention of Syrian immigrants on the fate of
their relatives at home and served to increase the interest which
had been fast waning under the influence of long absence. Political developments abroad, with the fate of Syria continually
held in the balance, served as a further reminder of a country
long held in affection.
It must be admitted that a considerable element of Syrian
immigrants had cherished serious intentions of returning to the
mother country after the World War if conditions were found
favorable to such a move. But the social unrest, political upheavals and depressing economic conditions prevailing soon put
an end to such intentions. The net result is that the Syrians
in the United States are now as determined as never before to
make this country their permanent home.
Naturally, such a determination will bring about the inevitable result of a progressive loss of interest both in the mother language and in all matters pertaining to the mother country,
although the process may be an unconscious one on the part of
the immigrants. A close study of present conditions among Syr-
�fas>...
MAY, 1928
37
ians will not fail to reveal a great psychological change during
the last few years.
What undoubtedly has accelerated this movement is the restrictive immigration law which may be said to have definitely
halted any increase in the numbers of Arabic-speaking elements
in the country. The number of those permitted entry being
limited to one hundred annually, the increase is far exceeded by
the mortality ratio among the older immigrants, and the new generation, being neither born in Syria nor brought up in the Arabic
language, is free from those influences, sentimental or otherwise,
which affect the older generation.
All these considerations make the position of the Arabic
press in the United States increasingly precarious. It is becoming more forcibly evident to editors that their span of existence
as a medium of service is being dangerously restricted. Hence
the serious discussion of the future and the outspoken conviction
that the Arabic language as a medium of speech or writing is
destined to be doomed.
Extracts from the comments of the Syrian press in New
York, all within the limits of a single month, will serve to shed
further light on the subject.
An "observer" writing in Al-Hoda of April 13 states that
it is ominous "that the discussion of the future of Arabic newspapers in the United States has become so frequent of late."
He bases his remarks on the assumption that Arabic should remain a living language in America, but finds an excuse for the
Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians not being able to preserve
their identity in the fact that they are so helplessly few in number and so widely scattered in a country a hundred times larger
than their own. He suggests, however, that the wealthy among
the Syrians support Arabic schools, by a concerted national movement. The papers he would consolidate into two dailies which
should be ample to meet the needs of Arabic readers in the
country.
At the present time, there are six Arabic dailies in New
York, one daily and one semi-weekly in Detroit, Mich., and one
weekly in Lawrence, Mass. And of monthly magazines there
are two in New York and two in Detroit.
More outspoken in its pessimism is the New York paper
Ash-Shaab which says editorially in its issue of April 9, "The
danger to Arabic papers in the United States is becoming more
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
threatening. This is a direct result of the restrictive immigration
law which in time will cause the complete extinction of the Arabic language in the country. It must be conceded that with the
prevalence of such conditions no Arabic newspaper in the United
States will live more than two decades, as by that time there
would not be left a sufficient number of readers to support a publication in the mother language."
Ash-Shaab advocates the establishment of Arabic schools
and takes the Syrian clergy in the United States to task for having neglected this apparently cardinal duty.
For different reasons and by the advocacy of different
methods Meraat-Ul-Gharb, also of New York, urges the necessity of learning Arabic. In its issue of April 11, this paper surveys the expanding fields of American commerce and declares
that the knowledge of Arabic would be most useful to the young
generation of Syrians in following American commercial enterprise in foreign countries. It is now being considered essential,
according to this paper, to teach at least one foreign language,
besides English, in high schools and colleges, and it would be
to the advantage of the Syrians to choose Arabic as that language.
In thus preserving their mother language alive they would be
making an invaluable contribution to America.
This latter suggestion is in conformity with a proposal put
forth by the editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD in an article published in several American trade papers in the latter part of
1918 following the close of the World War. The argument
then advanced was that America was seeking expansion in foreign
markets to provide an outlet for the surplus products of its greatly enlarged industries. The knowledge of foreign languages
would therefore be deemed a necessity in paving the way for
such penetration and the immigrant would become, under the
circumstances, the logical American salesman in his homeland.
America being a newcomer in those markets, it would be difficult
for her to gain a foothold without salesmen trained in the ways
of the different foreign peoples, but its advantage lay in the fact
that among her own sons were men of all nationalities who could
be trusted to carry out the initial work to better advantage.
What is evident from the recent discussions, however, is
that the Arabic papers feel that they are losing hold of their
readers. Even during the war, when all means of communication, let alone immigration, were closed, there was evinced no
�-
MAY, 1928
39
such pessimism nor was there any intimation of the approaching doom. The outburst of fear manifesting itself almost spontaneously at this time would indicate the advent of a new element
in the situation. Can it be that because many newspapers who have
of late taken recourse to the expedient of sending representatives to the interior with a view to increasing their circulation
have discovered a growing apathy among the Arabic reading
public, or is the cause that advanced by the "Observer" when he
inferentially stated that Arabic newspapers were too many and
should be reduced to just two?
What may be explained is that while most of the Arabic
newspapers in the United States are published in New York,
this city is not their only field of circulation. On the contrary,
it may be safely stated that the local circulation of almost every
newspaper does not exceed 10% of the total, and estimating
that another 10 per cent, of the circulation is in foreign countries
Arabic papers are consequently dependent for their existence on
their domestic circulation throughout the United States. In this
larger field they should have about fifty thousand potential readers among a population of approximately 250,000 Syrians. Their
frequent complaints indicate that they are nowhere near realizing any such results.
One of the reasons advanced by the editor of Al-Hoda for
the failure of Arabic newspapers to make marked headway is
the lack, on the part of Syrian editors, of what he terms "personality". This would indicate that among Syrians a newspaper
remains a personal enterprise the personality of whose publisher
is a determining factor in success. In support of his contention
the editor sees no reason why Arabic newspapers should not be
published in leading American cities other than New York. "As
a literary production," he says, "a newspaper should prove a success even if it be published in the wilds of Africa." He makes
this conditional on personality and ability.
Among the comments of the Syrian newspapers on this
question, these latter remarks furnish the only cheerful note and
give hope that although Arabic papers are beset with many hardships and difficulties which some are inclined to interpret as a
sign of approaching doom, there still remains the hope that some
Arabic paper of character and ability will survive, if not as a
local organ, then at least as a literary production of universal
appeal.
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
An Arab King At Home
In advertising a new book on Arabia, a well-known American publishing house makes the statement that "Arabia has
caught the American imagination like a spell".
The statement is essentially true and applies to all classes
of Americans. The popular elements are caught by the spell
of Sheik love stories and Sheik movies conceived in a high-tension spirit of fanciful romance. The intellectual classes are thrilled by the accounts of such exploits as those of Lawrence, Palgrave, Doughty, Burton, Burkhardt, and our own Rihani. This,
undoubtedly, is due to the fact that for countless centuries the
Arabs and their country remained a mystery and every glimpse
at conditions whether in the vast stretches of their trackless deserts, or in their more hospitable oases, provided a cause of interest to the outside world. It may be safely surmised that
many more brave attempts will be made at exploring Arabia,
and the shifting nature of this mysterious peninsula and its inhabitants will continue to supply the world with fresh news and
views of interest.
Such being the case, any new information on Arabia is bound
to be received with avidity. The bedouin in his desert tent attracts
as much curious interest as the ruling potentate in his palace, although, judging by seemingly authentic accounts, there is little
difference in the primitive mode of life of the one or the other.
This morbid curiosity in things Arabian may be partially
satisfied by a recent account published in an Arabic magazine
of Cairo, "Rose Alyousef". The account is woven in a mixture
of politics, war and domesticity, and the information given therein is said to have been supplied by an Arab historian who has
specialized in the study of the more contemporary developments
in the Arab Peninsula.
The salient feature of this new account is that the favorite
wife of King Ibn Saoud, the supreme ruler of Arabia, is the
former wifd of his arch-enemy. Events leading to this singular
development are described as follows:
Between the Saouds, who ruled in Riadh, capital of Nejd,
and their neighbors the Rashids, who ruled in Hail, there was
continual warfare, such as only the Arabs can wage. There was
�-
MAY, 1928
41
not a year but some outbreak plunged the two countries in a
bloody struggle after which each side retired within its own borders to continue preparation for taking up the struggle anew.
Until finally in 1892 Ibn Rashid decisively defeated his enemy,
then Prince Abdul Rahman Faisal, father of the present King
Ibn Saoud, and occupied his capital Riadh, forcing him to flee
for his life and seek refuge in the principality of Koweit on the
Persian Gulf.
At the time of his father's defeat Abdul Aziz Ibn Saoud
was but a child. But as he grew older he developed a fierce
passion for revenge against the arch-enemy of his house, and
in the year 1902 staged a surprise nocturnal attack with a small
band of his loyal followers and succeeded in driving Ibn Rashid
from Riadh.
Thereafter, and all during the World War, Ibn Saoud was
laying his plans and making preparations for the invasion of the
principality of Hail. He succeeded in completely overcoming
his enemy and entering his capital city in 1921 and all the
treasure of the once rich country of his adversary became his.
But Ibn Saoud learned that one of the wives of Ibn Rashid
was a woman of surpassing beauty and intelligence who would
be the crowning prize of any conqueror according to Arabian
ethics, and he made to her proposals of marriage. She, however, adroitly refused by reminding the conqueror of the admonition of the Prophet contained in the following quotation:
"He not only invaded his country but wanted also to usurp his
wives."
A year later Ibn Saoud again repeated his offer of marriage
and this time she accepted. He now has a son by her of whom
he is especially fond.
In this connection Ibn Saoud is said to disclose one of his
most human characteristics. He is described as being equally
affectionate not only to his own son by his new wife, but also to
the latter's half-brother who is the son of his wife by his former enemy. At times, it is said, he takes the two youngsters
on his lap together and caresses them with marked tenderness.
Not only did Ibn Saoud himself "invade" the harem of
his defeated enemy but his two elder sons followed his example
and each took for himself one of the former wives of Ibn Rashid.
Says the historian: "King Ibn Saoud is notoriously polygamous, counting among his wives one Armenian and one Leba-
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
nese, besides the many other concubines which the law permits."
By his legal wives King Ibn Saoud has twenty-seven children, 14 boys and 13 girls. It is stated that on many occasions
he cannot recall the names of some of his offspring.
Of the further characteristics of Ibn Saoud it is stated by
the same authority that this Arab king loves to lead the strenuous life of the bedouin away from all pomp and ostentation.
Force of early habits, it is remarked, still has an unrelenting hold
on him. Never while in his capital Riadh, or anywhere else in
his native country Nejd, does he indulge in the luxury of footwear. Even on such a ceremonial occasion as his victorious en
try into Mecca after his defeat of king Hussein he rode into
the city barefooted.
At times, we are further informed, he conforms to the requirements of modern civilization, especially when he meets
representatives of foreign powers or takes up his residence in
the seacoast town of Jeddah, but once he is back in the desert
he feels himself again in his native element and reverts to the
rigorous life of the bedouin. Under the circumstances, it seems,
he assumes an almost different nature and sets himself up as
the upholder of the faith dealing punishment unmercifully to
all who dare go counter to the Wahabi conception of the true
teaching of the Koran.
This peculiar characteristic of Ibn Saoud, according to the
Egyptian publication, is the original cause of the differences
arising between him and the Egyptian government which caused
the latter to refrain from sending its annual gift to the Kaaba
two years ago and cancel Egyptian pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Egyptian writer further attributes to the Arab king
dictatorial qualities quite different from those supposed to be
attached to his absolutism in power. He takes counsel with his
advisers only in a perfunctory manner and as a matter of form,
but is never swayed by their objections. He is known to listen
patiently to suggestions but his decision, once formed, can never
be altered. His decisions are usually arrived at before any
effort at consultation is made.
It is commonly known that Ibn Saoud is a strict disciplinarian. Once he issues his commands they must be carried out to
the letter and he is known to personally follow the execution
of his orders to the minutest details. One of his strict orders
to his representatives abroad is that no vise should be issued to
�MAY, 1928
43
any foreigner wishing to visit Arabia through the port of Jeddah under any circumstances without his personal sanction and permission. This is interpreted to mean that he is solicitous of affording protection to the foreigners themselves against any hishap
befalling them while in his dominions. The Wahabis are known
to be extremely fanatic, and even unto this day they look upon
their country as sacred ground which would be defiled by the
presence of an infidel.
From other sources, however, it is learned that Ibn Saoud
is extremely democratic. He does not exact from his followers
the outward expressions of obeisance as would an absolute monarch who has the power of dealing death without the formality of a trial. But his Arab subjects are not the type who indulge
in any such manifestations. When they greet him it is by his
first name and the bedouin of the desert who is not sure of his
day's meal speaks to him as he would to an equal. Such is the
nature of desert life which has the tendency of dispensing with
all formality. This utter freedom from conventionality has been
known to be a characteristic of the Arabs from time immemorial,
and it remains as virile now as at any time before. The surroundings of the Arab are known not to have changed for thousands of years, and it is but natural that the Arab's nature should
remain in keeping with his environment.
When I Am Dead
I
11
By RAMSAY MOOREHEAD
When I am dead and nervous hands have thrust
My body downward into careless dust,
Methinks the grave would not suffice to hold
My spirit prisoned in its sunless mold.
Yea! the very thoughts of you would be
The resurrection of the life of me.
I shall be patient in the common grass,
That I might feel your footfalls, should you pass.
I shall be pure and gentle as the dew,
A loving spirit 'round the life of you.
And when your cheeks by perfumed winds are fanned,
It'll be my kiss and you will understand.
But! when some red storm bleared sun has set
I shall be lightning if you dared forget.
j
�—
44
B£a._
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microco*mic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opinion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
BEWARE OF SWINDLERS
There is abroad in the land a certain type of swindlers who prey on
our simple-hearted countrymen and
in many cases escape without being
brought to the bar of justice.
These rogues are usually of the
honey-tongued type, fluent talkers
who represent themselves as collectors for any number of patriotic
and charitable enterprises. They are
parasites in the community who
should be dealt with with all the
rigor of the law.
Their usual method of procedure
is to seek out a prominent member
of the community, one who would
be susceptible ta flattery and convince him by their adroit methods
of the benefit of their supposed
charity. Once their man is convinced, they use him as a wedge to force
their way into other homes and
pocketbooks. Syrians being noted
for their hospitality, the rogue would
be treated as an honored guest.
But when the swindler accomplishes
his ends he leaves his victims to
their sorrow and regret at the loss
of their money, and sometimes many
other valuables, and vanishes from
sight seeking other fields for his
activities.
- :-
'
The depradations of these swindlers have reached such a point
where energetic measures should be
taken immediately to frustrate them.
We would suggest, as a ready and
effective remedy, that Syrian communities firmly refuse to entertain
any proposition coming from a
stranger until it had been thoroughly investigated. To this end each
community should appoint a special
committee of investigation to pass
on the merits of the claims of strangers seeking assistance for any cause
whatever. If, upon investigation, the
cause should be found deserving,
then there would be the weight of
the recommendation of the committee to support it. Otherwise no member of the community would run the
danger of being mulcted out of his
good money.
We believe the suggestion is worthy of the serious consideration of
our countrymen everywhere.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., April 2, 1928.)
I
/
SYRIA ASYLUM OF OUTCASTS
The newspaper "Palestine" reports that the government of Turkey
had ordered deported all prostitutes
and public dancers and that Europ-
�MAYt 1928
',
I
ean and Balkan governments (had
refused them the privilege of entry
into their respective countries, consequently, they decided on seeking
asylum in Egypt and Syria.
This immediately brings to mind
Bismark's famous words: "Woe to
the defeated!"
Defeat should not necessarily be
taken in a military sense. It can
apply to any person or nation in a
helpless state, and with no arms or
other means for self-defense. A
case for illustration is the Syrian
nation whose country has become the
refuge and asylum of outcasts and
persons of questionable character
from all countries. It is evident that
ever since Syria was occupied by
the Allies it became subject to all
sorts of other occupations.
The Zionists have occupied Palestine in defiance of the wish of the
native population.
The Armenians have occupied
Syria and Lebanon and felt themselves lords and masters of the
country.
Missionaries have come to aggravate the occupation and have gone
about their task without mandate or
other authority.
And now we find the country open
to another kind of invasion by prostitutes who have been deported
from other lands and found no better
place of refuge than Syria.
What is more aggravating is that
this class of invaders never becomes
of any consequence until they settle
in Syria. It then develops that the
Powers hasten to their protection
with their armies and navies, and
the whole world becomes extremely
sensitive to their grievances and
solicitous of their well-being, so
that in case one of them is stung
by a bee in Syria such would be
considered a barbarous offense re-
45
quiring redress in the form of burning Syrian cities and towns and
murdering women and children with
poisonous gases!
It seems to us that if conditions
should continue along this line for
ten years longer the children of the
land will continue their exodus by
the tens of thousands every year
and the country will in time become
the home of its foreign elements.
ThoBe of its native sons who would
choose to remain would be decimated either by the sword or by epidemics. And if any of them should
survive they would be in the most
abject state of servility.
Woe, then, to those who are defeated!
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
March 30, 1928.)
NATIONALISTS WIN ELECTIONS
The news just received from the
Syrian Nationalist Committee in
Egypt indicates that the Nationalist
Party has won a signal victory at
the primaries held in Syria on April
12, in spite of the irregularities
which the Minister of the Intrior
committed to hinder the free expression of the will of the people.
This is a most wholesome sign that
the Syrian nation has become conscious of its rights and is electing
the proper men to defend them.
No liberty-loving Syrian immigrant
but rejoices at this welcome news.
We take this occasion to congratulate the Nationalist Party in Syria
upon its success and trust that this
will prove the first step in the way
of accomplishing concrete reforms
which will in the end gain for the
country its lawful demands.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., April 26, 1928.)
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
THE PRINCELY ASPIRANTS
COMPETE AND DON'T GRUMBLE
The native Syrian press abounds
The Daily Express of London pubwith expressions of misgivings over lishes an interview with Habib Bey
Armenian competition in Syria. For
Lutfallah and describes him as an
a long time we have been listening Arab prince who is immensely wealto those wailings of the Syrians thy and a descendant of a royal
who complain that the meagerness
family which ruled in Antioch two
of their resources are not even sufthousand years ago. This is but one
ficient for themselves, while the of the means employed by the LutArmenians who have been thrust on
fallahs to gain a standing among
them come to snatch this miserable
royalty, because this prince knows
pittance from between their hands. in his heart that all the information
Play fair, brothers! You are only he gave in the interview with the
evincing detestable selfishness by
English paper is a tissue of lies.
such complaints. Is it not a fact Under the circumstances we would
that you are migrating to other
like to hear from the pro-colonial
lands and enacting the same role papers about these new fantastic
that you accuse the Armenians of
claims of Lutfallah. Will they dare
playing? Would you not fill the air
to give publicity to this incident, or
with your complaints if the natives
will their fear of losing their subof the countries where you go to sidies prompt them to maintain
seek a living were to accuse you of
silence ? It seems to us that money
unfair competition and close their
covers a multitude of defects.
doors in your faces?
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., April 26, 1928.)
We would call the attention of
our brother Syrians to the latest
statistics on the funds sent by Syrians abroad to their native country.
BETWEEN THE TWO
The government report discloses the
COUNTRIES
fact that millions of dollars have
We are loath to deny the truth
been pouring annually into the country from emigrant sources. Syrian even though it goes against our
papers themselves comment on the journalistic interest. For this infact that, had it not been for these terest is to discourage or to retard
contributions the country would be as much as possible the process of
in the direst straits. How, we ask, amalgamation. But our faithfulness
can we reconcile this with their loud to the cause of public service imcomplaints of the competition of pels us to declare the truth in the
Armenians? If there is sufficient hope of benefiting the public. We,
work in the country for the immi- as Syrian journalists, have but a
grant Armenians to thrive on, why couple of decades more to go at the
were the natives blind to it? The most, because the inevitable result
real trouble, in our opinion, is the of complete amalgamation is fast
inertia of the Syrians who could approaching.
But our particular interest does
make the country yield them ample
not
prevent us from stating that
wealth if they only had the will
our
greatest
curse has been our
to work as do their countrymen in
policy
of
indecision.
Our first imforeign lands.
migrants
lost
many
a
valuable op(As-Sayeh, N. Y., April 25, 1928.)
i!
�1
MAY, 1928
I
•
portunity by not firmly and quickly
making up their minds. They would
engage in those undertakings which
could be speedily liquidated, because
the?r original intention was to remain in the country only a limited
time. Some of them did return, and
after having squandered their gains
decided that for them their country
of choice was better than their country of birth.
It is only lately that the minds
of Syrians seem to have been definitely made up that their destiny
is inalienably bound with this
country. It is well that they come
to this conclusion because in this
country of effort there is no room
for the vacillating and the undecided.
Here there is fearful stress and
competition and only those endowed
with true determination and singleness of purpose can succeed. We
are anxious for our countrymen to
gain their due portion of success and
for that reason enjoin them against
the disastrous consequences of indecision.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., April 11, 1928.)
ARAB VS. SYRIAN
CIVILIZATION
Advocates of Pan-Arabism who
would federate Hejaz, Iraq, Palestine, Transjordania, Syria and Lebanon should realize by this time that
such a dream only occasions derision on the part of liberal thinkers
and men of extended vision. Sincere
students who appreciate the benefits
of modern freedom and liberty contemplate such a move with awe and
apprehension. ,For to them it is obvious that the so-called Arab civilization is as distant from modern
civilization as the East is from the
West, and the people of Syria and
Lebanon have nothing in common
47
with the people of Arabia whether
in customs, principles or psychology.
The present day Arab is an incorrigible fanatic whose principal
concern in life is to fight all those
who do not agree with him in his
religious views. Not so the Syrians
and Lebanese who, in spite of their
factionalism, are well on the way
to modern progress and feel only
coniempt for the primitive condition
in which he finds the Arab.
Take, for instance, Ibn Saoud,
the supreme lord of Arabia today.
Where is his civilization or where
are his principles of which the Arab
could be proud? Can he point with
pride to his fanaticism which urges
him to fight the Iraqi simply because
the latter is of a different religious
denomination ? Or is there any cause
for pride in the Arabs remaining
steeped in their centuries-old conditions which are utterly incompatible with modern requirements?
We are prompted to these remarks
by the speech which Ibn Saoud is
reported to have made to his followers on the occasion of the latest
disturbances in Arabia. In this
speech he urged them to war against
the inhabitants of Iraq, Koweit and
Transjordania "because they had
transgressed against the true teachings of the Koran." He further said
that he had hoped for these Mushrikin a return to the straight path
of Islam but they would not listen
to peaceful reasoning and it therefore becomes necessary to have recourse to the sword.
Now, if Ibn Saoud considers
those who belong to other sects of
Islam itself infidels what could be
his degree of toleration towards
Christians? And these are the
Arabs whom they would want us to
join in a federation.
M" ian Eagle, N. Y., April 9, 1928.)
�—
48
IMMATURITY FOR
INDEPENDENCE
THE SYRIAN WORLD
understanding of such a privilege.
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., April 28, 1928.)
We would be among the first to
ask for Lebanon complete indepen- DEGRADING DEMONSTRATIONS
We are surprised to read in the
dence if such a condition were deemed favorable at the present time. Syrian press accounts of the many
But students of the psychology of demonstrations which every hamlet
the Lebanese realize the fact that and town in the country stages at
they are not yet fit to be the masters the arrival of a governor or any
of their own destiny in political other public official. One would be
matters. The Lebanese, on the oth- inclined to believe that officials had
er hand, are concededly much more no other occupation but to make
advanced than their neighbors the tours of the country, and the popuSyrians whether morally or educa- lation had nothing else to do but
tionally, and if they could not be engage in demonstrations.
Here in New York, the greatest
trusted with complete independence
city
in the world, the President,
and permitted to have absolute conGovernor,
Secretary and other functrol of government without supertionaries
each
of whom has more
vision, how could such liberties be
to
do
than
all
the
officials of Syria
given the Syrians?
put
together,
enters
and leaves the
It may be within the range of
city
without
the
least
ostetnation
possibility for Lebanon, Syria and
the Druze Mountain to form a fed- and the population, whether they
eration of states for common de- know of the visit or not, continue
fense and the promotion of their each at his work.
These vain and senseless demoneconomic interests. But when this
condition will become possible of strations are, perhaps, what attract
realization is conditional on actual the Syrians to public office. They are
proof that both Syrians and Leba- hungry for praise and manifestanese have come to understand the tions of pomp. While here in America only the man's record is counted
true meaning of patriotism.
Now what have our neighbors the as his most eloquent eulogy.
They say that foreigners enter
Syrians shown so far of their unour
country like lambs and leave it
derstanding of tolerance and patriotism that we may deem them fit to like wolves. Is it any wonder when
we find our countrymen there doing
be completely independent?
Where, in other words, is the tan- things at the wrong time and hastengible proof of the readiness of the ing to show servility every time they
Lebanese and Syrians to co-operate are visited by a man of position?
in a true spirit of loyalty for us to Have they forgotten that prodigalisay to France: "Now that we have ty in praise and free-for-all demonproven that we are fit for indepen- strations inspire inordinate dedence we consider your mandate mands? Therefore, when a foreignfrom the League of Nations to guide er finds the people so free and effuus in the shaping of our destiny at sive in rendering him homage he
develops in time contempt for them
an end"?
because
they would have degraded
Every nation has a claim to freethemselves.
dom, but this could not be had un(As-Sayeh, N. Y., April 14, 1928.)
less that nation had proven a true
\
�MAY, 1928
49
Readers' Forum
AN AUTHOR IN
HIS OWN DEFENSE
Eugene Jung, Author of "L'Islam et
l'Asies Devant l'lmperialisme",
Replies to His Critic.
Editor, The Syrian World:
The review of my book, "Islam
and Asia in the Face of Imperialism", by Mile. Simone France appearing in the February issue of
your magazine has interested me
greatly. I always like to know the
exact opinion of my neighbors, but
I believe that the charming writer
of these pages has not encompassed
all the intended meaning of my
book. I would therefore ask her
permission to answer her in the
following.
I am a veteran of diplomacy and
politics, having been in the company of Gambetta ever since the
age of 10. I grew in this atmosphere
under the judicious direction of my
father, General Th. Jung, the universally known historian of "Bonaparte and his Times". Later I was
a resident of the Far East for 17
years and since then have been in
continuous journalistic contact with
the Oriental, Arab and Islamic
worlds. Today, alas, I am 64 years
old!
Well, I do not have to tell that
France had built bridges, roads,
etc., but at prices twice as high as
those proposed in the bids of the
inhabitants.
That is not the question. The
question is much higher and much
more general.
Have we Frenchmen acted according to right and justice? Have we
not brought upon our heads grave
dangers? Are we not dragging
these Arabs of the Orient into the
general system of Asiatic defense?
What must we do to again rally
around us those populations which
only lately held us in the highest
esteem ?
Further, what should Europe and
even America do in the face of these
conditions? It is not sufficient to
speak in a spirit of pan-Americanism and pan-Europeanism, for it is
equally important to speak in a
spirit of pan-humanism. Asia contains more than a billion souls, or
two-thirds of the population of the
earth. Now, should this billion of
human beings be conserved only for
the growing appetite of European
and even American powers?
In grouping all the facts of the
situation in Asia and mixing in with
them the affairs of the mandated
territories I have succeeded in producing an imposing, mass of material
which scares the diplomatic and
political circles and gives much
food for thought. In thus serving
my country I have also served the
cause of the Lebanese, the Syrians,
the Palestinians and the Iraqians,
a cause which can never now be
separated from that of other Asiatic nations.
Let us be just in all matters. This
is the only true program of univer-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
50
sal peace which I have attempted to
A TALE FROM NOAH'S TIME
elaborate by exposing the true facts
in the situation, and this by scrap- Editor, The Syrian World:
ing all the wounds as with a scalIn a haphazard way I met with
pel. This, indeed, is a grievous
this
following Syrian story—hisoperation, whether for the patient
toric
or prehistoric, God alone
or for the one performing the operaknows.
I thought, amid the irregution, but the operation is, neverthelarities
of
these days of Prohibition,
less, necessary.
it
would
be
of beneficial interest to
There is my book which receives,
the
readers
of
our Syrian magazine.
wherever it is understood, a warm
Now
if
Noah
himself
was the first
reception. However, in order to
fully understand its purport, it is to tell this story, we may at least
necessary to profoundly comprehend hope that he closed the episode of
the history of each people, its eco- his slanderous act by saying: Never
nomic necessities, its ethnic possi- again!
When Noah was planting the
bilities, its peculiar mentality, its
particular ambitions, and to have vine, Satan came forth to make a
traveled and seen much, be gifted call.
with an encompassing philosophy and
"What art thou planting?" asked
to have in one a deep feeling and Satan.
love for justice and the exact com"A vineyard," replied Noah.
"What fruit dost thou expect to
prehension of the right.
I trust that Mile. Simone France bring forth?" asked his majesty
will excuse these digressions. I again.
am not the less thankful to her for
"It will yield a fruit that will be
having so minutely read every page. sweet to the taste and make the
Only the grand scheme of the book heart joyous," was Noah's reply.
seems to have escaped her, unless it
"Let us then cultivate the vine
is my own fault that I was unable together, in equal partnership," sugto express myself plainly enough in gested Satan.
Noah assenting to the proposal,
my book.
Satan
departed, returning later with
E. Jung.
Paris, France.
a lamb, which he forthwith killed
and poured its blood upon the roots
P. s. — It never occurred to me
that it was necessary for Syria to of the vine. ;
After a wh le he repeated the
have more administrators and less
same process with the blood of a
politicians, and I have never written anything to that effect. Syria lion.
The blood of an ape he used the
should be—and will be—a free
third time; and lastly, the blood of
country with only a few French tech.
nical advisers chosen by the local a pigBy irrigating the vineyard m this
Syrian authorities. All other French
manner, Satan indicated the four
functionaries must be sent back
stages a man passes who comes unhome. Syria will conclude with us
der
the influence of wine.
a treaty of alliance. Such has always
The first cup makes him act like
been my sentiment and it is my
a lamb—meek and depressed.
hope that the same shall also apply
The second cup makes him bo:sto Lebanon.
r
�MAY, 1928
1
terous, bragging1 of his prowess as
if possessed of a lion's strength.
After the third or fourth cup, he
commences to behave like an ape,
performing all sorts of unsightly
pranks.
And when he reaches the state of
dvunkenness, he behaves... well,
everybody knows how he behaves!
Just a word about the "St. Columbus" controversy:—
For one thing, I am very thankful for the spirit of courtesy mani-
?
iV
fested in it. But, on the whole, I
could not but recollect the anecdote
related about that zealous countryman of ours who championed the
cause of St. Mamah; how in making
a comparison between him and the
other worthies severally, he finally
came to the Almighty, and said:
"Allah is all right, to be sure. But
to compare Him with Mar Mamah
is a pretty thick and clumsy proposition."
Dr. K. A. Bishara.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Political Developments in Syria
NATIONALISTS WIN
SYRIAN ELECTIONS
While Protesting Against Election
Laws, They Agree to Co-operate
With Mandatory Power.
\
51
The elect;ons which took place in
Syria during April gave the Syrian
Nationalist Party an overwhelming
victory. Returns from all over the
country indicated that the Nationalists were swept to victory on the
crest of a popular wave which
smashed all opposition. Details of
the final elections which were held
on April 24 have not yet reached
the United States, but the primaries
which were held on April 10 indicated the trend of popular sentiment.
Furthermore, the popular enthusiasm
wlrich attended the elections and
their freedom from any disorder
caused unbounded elation in the
country which manifested itself in
spontaneous public demonstrations in
the principal cities.
Prior to the elections, the Nationalists held a party convention in
Damascus which was attended by
delegates from Aleppo, Homs, Hama
and other districts. They issued a
manifesto couched in the most re
spectful but firm language setting
forth their grievances and their
hopes. Their principal complaints
were that the High Commissioner,
in his declaration of February 15,
failed to meet the lawful demands
of the Syrian Nationalists by declarSyria a free country having the
right to choose its own form of government and that the proposed treaty between Syria and France would
be entered into as between equals
and for a defined term. Furthermore, the election laws which were
lished later failed to define the
exact status of the delegates to the
Consitutional Assembly or the duration of their incumbency, while the
laws, as promulgated for the present
elections, retained many of the objectionable clauses which endangered the free expression of the will of
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
self a Nationalist, but the Arabic
press reports that he ran on an independent ticket together with many
other members of his cabinet some
of whom were accused of tampering
with the ballot boxes.
The unanimity of the papers, however, in declaring that the elections
in general were free from any irregularity indicated that the government lived up to its promise of noninterference. There was even a report that M. Ponsot personally visited many of the polling places m
Damascus to satisfy himself of the
regularity of the elections.
tions.
The number of voters in Damascus
Another grievance of the Nation- was a fraction over fifty thousand.
alists was the exclusion from gen- Here as elsewhere in Syria, repreeral amnesty of many Syrian lead- sentation is based on the numerical
ers the loss of whose services they proportion of religious denominadeplored because of their ineligibili- tions. It is interesting to discover
ty for office under the terms of the that the next largest faction after
electoral laws.
the Mohammedans whose voters in
With the declaration by their Damascus total 27,012, are the imleaders that they would not advise migrant Armenians who command
boycotting the elections, the Syrians a voting strength of 11,058. The
swarmed to, the polls on election largest element among the native
day and gave their unqualified sup- Christians is the Armenian Catholics
port to the Nationalists. Only minor with 3,051 voters. Minorities which
disturbances took place which, nev- do not control sufficient strength for
ertheless, did not interfere with the independent
representation
are
elections. Full freedom was given grouped together for collective repfor the expression of the popular resentation.
will and only in one instance was
The Druze Mountain did not take
there any complaint of irregularity part in the Syrian elections because
when the Minister of the I^erior in it enjoys an independent government.
Damascus was accused of unlawful Nationalist papeTs disclose the exisinterference to influence the voters. tence of a strong movement of some
While preliminary reports thus Druze elements to join Syria, this
indicated the Nationalist victory m being one of their principal revoluthe provinces, there is intimation tionary demands, but a referendum
Uhat the election was hotly contested held lately in the Mountain proved
in the capital where the Provisional that a safe majority among the
President and many of his ministers Druzes prefer their present state of
were candidates for election. It is independence, although the Nationeven stated that the final count may alists accuse the French in this case
upset the early estimate of Nationof using coercive tactics to intimialist majority in Damascus.
date the Druzes.
The Provisional President is him-
the voters. Principal among these
clauses was that permitting government officials to seek nomination for
office, placing thereby at their disposal all the machinery of the government for the control of the elections. Nevertheless, and as proof of
their trust in the promise of the
High Commissioner, the Nationalists
declared their willingness to take
part in the elections in the hope that
the Constitutional Assembly will enjoy the free exercise of its power
to shape the destiny of its country
to conform to its national aspira-
�I
MAY, 1928
In support of this argument the
Nationalists point to the fact that
the movement for Syrian unity is
gaining strength even in Lebanon,
a delegation from Al-Bekaa having
waited on the Provisional President
of Syria to present a petition signed
by thousands of the inhabitants of
this district requesting a return to
their former status of being under
the jurisdiction of Damascus. The
delegation was composed of three
w
i\ I
53
notables representing the principal
Christian denominations of the district, namely a Maronite, a Greek
Catholic and a Greek Orthodox.
A curious incident attending the
Syrian primaries was that a Greek
Orthodox priest entered the field as
a candidate of his coreligionists in
Horns, but no sooner did his patriarch learn of his action than he ordered him to withdraw.
Missionaries Among Moslems
Cabled reports of the sessions of
the International Missionary Council held in Jerusalem the latter part
of March gave only a faint intimation of the demonstrations staged by
the native Moslems against the
Christian missionaries. Not only did
the Moslems take all possible measures, peaceful and otherwise, to
register their protest against Christian missionary activities in Palestine and other countries of the Near
East, but the native Christians
themselves are said to have joined
their Moslem neighbors in protest in
some instances. This action is interpreted by some to mean that a
live patriotic spirit among Arabicspeaking peoples is superseding religious influences, but by others it
is considered only a sign of fear on
the part of Christians of possible
reprisals by the Moslems against
them for the activities of the missionaries.
For some time past, Arab Moslems have shown growing indignation over attempts at Christian
penetration in their countries. Finding themselves helpless against foreign political designs, they turn to
the only other available method of
protest and vent their anger on the
missionaries. This action is not
restricted to the uneducated masses
but is shared with them to a very
large degree by the educated laymen
and, quite naturally, by the ulemas.
A leading Arabic paper of Cairo,
whose publishers are a product of
American missionary schools, is not
overstating the fact when it declares
that when the Moslems are attacked
in their religion they are touched
on the very thing they consider as
valuable as life itself.
Disturbances attending the holding of the International Missionary
Council in Jerusalem as reported by
the Arabic press of Egypt, Palestine
and Syria are partly as follows:
All missionaries in Transjordania
have been expelled from the country
and delivered under military escort
to the Palestinian authorities. This
action followed on serious uprisings
in As-Salt and other principal towns
of the country which endangered the
lives of the missionaries and forced
the authorities to take action. Still
it is reported that one missionary
had his nose cut off and another one
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
54
most virulent language the Prophet
of his eyes plucked. A surprising
and his mission. Had it not been
feature of this incident is that the for the intervention of the police
native Christians joined their Mosthe appearance of an air squadlem neighbors in objecting to the
ron blood would have flowed in the
presence of the foreign missionaries.
streets of As-Salt like rivers. Now
On the occasion of the annual
we want to admit that free thought
pilgrimage to the grave of Nab, and speech are essential and benefiMoussa, about three thousand pil- cial, but only when they are exererms from Nablus engaged m a cised in conferences of learned men
violent demonstration in the square
and not among people who have
facing the residence of the High
been nursed in their religion with
Commissioner in Jerusalem protesttheir mother's milk and to whom any
ing against the holding of the Mis- attack on their religious beliefs is
sionary Council. Bloodshed was as heinous a crime as an attack on
averted only through energeac ac- their family honor. If, under the
tion by the authorities.
circumstances, our Arab governA certain faction of the Moslem
ment is impotent in putting a stop
inhabitants of Shafa Amir were re- to the pernicious activities of these
ported to have embraced Christianimissionaries, then we would ask the
ty after some differences with other
Mandatory Authorities to take the
factions which, by the way, is a necessary means to eradicate the
common procedure in the East
evil, because if they think the matwhere religion still remains the ter simple they will soon discover
pivot on which revolves all human to their regret that it is most seractivities. Public indignation at this
ious and the fault would be theirs
action, however, seems to have so for having encouraged it by not supawed the converts that they formed
a committee to wait on the Mufti pressing it."
A public demonstration against
of Haifa and assure him that they
the missionaries was held in Gaza
shall ever remain true Moslems bewhere the police wounded four Moslieving in the Prophet, his BOOK, and
lems in attempting to quell the dishis Apostles".
turbance. No sooner news of the
To reproduce the editorial com- incident reached Jerusalem than the
ment of the Moslem press on this
Mohammedan business quarter was
topic would only go to prove tfeeir closed in protest with the approval
unanimity in condemning foreign
of the High Moslem Council.
missionaries. What may be consiThe National Committee of the
dered a fair indication of the genMoslem Young Men's Association in
eral sentiment is the following comEgypt, an organization similar to the
ment of "The People's Voice
ot
Y. M. C. A., upon receiving numerous
Amman:
protests against the International
"American missionaries continue
Missionary Council, sent a stronglytheir penetration in Transjordama
worded cable of protest to the Westleaving in their wake strife and disern Powers against the activities of
sension. The other day they nearly their nationals. Special exception
caused a riot in Ma'an and omy
seems to have been taken to the
three days ago the inhabitants oi
fact that the head of the missionary
As-Salt rose in a body against them
movement is an American and a
when they heard them attack in the
:
�MAY, 1928
55
high executive of the Y. M. C. A.
which the Moslem association had
hoped "would exercise its influence
for religious tolerance instead of
spreading bigotry".
A curious development in the situation is that Moslem opposition to
missionary activities does not ex-
clude even Moslem missionaries.
Arabic papers of Transjordania report that some converts to Wahabism, attempting to spread their newly acquired doctrines, were arrested
and threatened with expulsion if
they persisted in their efforts among
the people of Transjordania.
About Syria and Syrians
EMIGRANT REMITTANCES
IN TWO YEARS
The Bureau of Economics in the
Lebanese government had requested
the principal banks and exchange
houses of the country to furnish it
with exact figures on the remittances
of Lebanese emigrants during the
years 1926 and 1927. Two banks responded immediately giving the following figures:
Through the Syrian-Lebanese Bank
in Beirut.
1926
1927
£38,500
£20,700
$248,700
$254,600
f 3,176,000
f 3,432,600
Through the Bank of Alexander
Haddad in Beirut.
1926 £342,884 $1,619,630
1927 £329,628 $1,565,979
This makes the total of remittances through the government bank
approximately
$2,141,020
and
through the private bank of Alexander Haddad $6,548,169, bringing the
grand total to $8,689,189.
It should be borne in mind that
these sums cover only remittances
through two banks, although it may
be safely stated that these are the
principal ones of the country. An-
other point for consideration is that
they represent remittances from
Lebanese emigrants only and do not
include remittances of Syrians.
What may be further deduced is
that the remittances in English
money come from the English colonies, those in francs from French
colonies, and those in dollars from
the United States.
Commenting on these figures, the
Beirut
newspaper
Lisan-Ul-Hal
points out that they represent only
remittances of the last two years,
while emigrant remittances during
the five years immediately following
the war exceeded by far the above
amounts. The natural and logical
deduction is that that the people of
Lebanon are still supported by revenues from abroad, which does not
show a healthy condition in a country striving for economic independence.
The paper further remarks that
there should be no objection to the
liberal flow of emigrant money into
the counry, but this should be in the
form of capital for investment in
productive enterprises and not for
reckless spending on necessities and
luxuries which should be amply covered by native production.
�u
-~
36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Druzes, was asked to accept £40 as
blood money for her two relatives.
She indignantly refused, saying to
the Commission that if tihey consiFor some time past the Lebanese
dered blood so cheap then why not
authorities have been making every
let
her take the life of the murdereffort to effect a reconciliation beers of her father and brother and
tween the Christians and the Druzes
she would be willing to pay £100
of Southern Lebanon whose old eninstead of £40. When she was told
mity was aggravated by the revoluthat general amnesty would soon be
tionary excesses in 1925. The latest
declared and she would receive no
such attempt to be launched was the
compensation whatever she replied
appointment of a mixed French and
that she would be willing to take
Lebanese Commission in March to
her chances at revenge and later
conduct a final investigation and
receive amnesty rather than accept
bring about a settlement. The Commoney. She was so overcome with
mission discovered that in four
emotion that she had to be led out
towns *he invading Druzes had killed 45 Christians: 22 in Kawkaba; of the room.
7 in Hasbaya; 4 in Abi Camhah and
12 in Rashayya. The Commission
sought to have the relatives of the
CHRISTIANS OF RASHAYYA
victims drop their claims for a conAPPEAL TO POPE
sideration of £20 for each victim,
The Arabic newspaper Al-Basir of
and to that end levied the amount
of the settlement on the Druze popu- Alexandria, Egypt, publishes what
lation which the latter promptly purports to be a copy of the petipaid. But the Christians would not tion which the war sufferers of Rabe satisfied and at first held out shayya sent to His Holiness the
against any settlement in any form, Pope through the Maronite Patrideclaring that the blood of their arch. The petition is a long documurdered relatives could not be pur- ment setting forth in detail the
chased with money. Later it was re- grievances of the Christians of Raported that the Commission explain- shayya and of other southern towns
ed to them that the money was sim- of Lebanon who suffered most durply in the nature of a fine which ing the last revolution and beseachthey could accept as proof of the ing the Holy Father to use his good
guilt of the murderers, while they offices with the Mandatory Power
would be extending pardon to their to give them redress. The petitionenemies out of a spirit of magnani- ers state that although they are
mity. The latest advices are to the mostly adherents of the Orthodox
effect that all claimants had signi- faith, the great solicitude for the
fied their acceptance of the terms welfare of their Orthodox brethren
offered with the exception of one of Russia displayed by the Pope
prompts them to the belief that he
family.
A pathetic scene was enacted dur- will also show the same consideraing the investigation of the Commis- tion in their case. Especially, they
sion when Miss Wadiah Kalil Nasr point out, that the Holy See had
of Kawkaba, whose father and young been from time immemorial the
brother had been killed by the great moral influence for the pro-
CHRISTIANS AND DRUZES
IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
�MAY, 1928
tection of the Christians of the East
regardless of their denominations.
After relating in detail the circumstances of their misfortune, the
petitioners ask the Pope's intercession with the Mandatory Power for
granting them full indemnity for
their property loss and providing
for them safe living quarters where
they would not be further exposed
to the danger of massacre. If, they
state, the authorities insist that they
return to their home town, then
they would ask that the Druzes be
banished from it and other Christian elements from the Druze Mountain who fared just as ill during the
last revolution be substituted for
them. Otherwise they would ask
that the authorities build them a
new town at a safe distance from
their hereditary enemies.
The petition is said to be signed
by the heads of the families of Rashayya and approved by the local
bishops of the different Christian
denominations.
DEFLECTION OF LEBANESE
EMIGRATION TO IRAQ
Mgr. Paul Rizk, an enterprising
Maronite clergyman of Jezzine who
had been a resident of Mexico before his return to his mother country, conceived the idea of deflecting
Lebanese emigration from America
to Iraq and went to the latter country to study conditions and report to
the Lebanese government. His proposition met with much favor in
some quarters and the Iraq government proved sympathetic to the
move. The reasons advanced in
favor of the proposition were that
Iraq was an Arabic-speaking country
57
and offered unequaled prospects for
colonization, while the Lebanese
were industrious and enterprising
and could bring much benefit to
themselves and to the country in
Which they settle.
The Council of Ministers of the
Lebanese government rejected, however, the proposals of Mgr. Rizk on
the ground that they do not favor
Lebanese emigration under whatever
conditions. In support of this contention Dr. Ayoub Tabet, Minister
of the Interior, who had himself
been an emigrant in the United
States at one time, argued that there
were ample resources in the country
if only the people would avail themselves of the opportunities. As an
illustration, he stated that at one
time the government needed a hundred workmen and could find only
Armenian immigrants willing to
work while the natives remained
idle rather than work for the low
wages offered.
PALESTINE ZIONISTS
ANTAGONIZE NATIVES
What is reported by the Damascus
newspaper Aleph Ba as the most
recent Zionist outrage against the
native population of Palestine was
the carnival scenes enacted in Tel
Aviv, the principal Zionist colonial
center situated near Jaffa, during
Holy Week. In this instance, the
Arabic paper reports, the Zionists
not only ridiculed the natives but
sought to mock their principal religious customs and observances.
According to its report, the Zionists made their carnival this year a
mockery of other religions including
Christianity and Islam. They had a
scene representing Christ being
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
58
driven to Calvary by Roman soldiers
who showered blows on Him to the
delight of onlookers. Islam they
ridiculed in the form of a Moslem
funeral where a corpse was borne on
the shoulders of the pallbeares
preceded and followed by a line of
blind men, one leading the other,
shouting in Arabic "La Hah Ilia Allar" (There is no God but Allah").
Coptic rites were also mimicked by
having black-faced monks pound
cymbals and sway in delirium as the
Copts are wont to do in their Easter
celebrations.
The paper comments that the
police witnessed all this without the
least attempt at interference, giving
the natives the impression that the
auhorities were in league with the
Jews against them.
The editor of The Syrian World
was invited to address both gatherings and also extended the courtesy
of acting as chairman.
SYRIANS OF CONNECTICUT
ENJOY HIGH STANDING
On two successive Sundays during
April the Syrians of Connecticut
held two successful entertainments,
the first being on the 22nd. in celebration of the 18th. anniversary of
the American Syrian Society of
Torrington, and the second on the
29th. by the Lebanon American Club
of Waterbury. At both affairs the
mayors of the respective cities together with other high officials attended, and visiting delegations
came from many other Syrian centres in Connecticut, Massachusetts
and New York.
Acting Mayor Fitzgerald of Torrington and Mayor Gilfoil of Waterbury spoke of the Syrians in the
highest terms of praise. They described them as industrious, lawabiding citizens who would be a
credit to any community.
•mm
MHi
SYRIAN DELEGATE TO
SOCIALIST CONVENTION
The Socialist Party of Oklahoma
elected Dr. M. Shadid of Elk City
its delegate to the National Convention of the Party held in New York
City last month. Readers of The
Syrian World will recall this Syrian
physician around whose charges of
social ostracism grew the controversy which was debated in The Syrian
World for several months. It now
develops that Dr. Shadid made the
charges in all good faith and through
profound conviction as he has now
sailed for Syria in company with his
eldest daughter to study conditions
in the mother country with a view
of settling there if the results of his
observations prove favorable. Dr.
Shadid, in his article, advanced the
proposition that Syrian emigrants
should return to their mother land
and help upbuild it now that conditions are more favorable to economic development, and more especially
because in their own country they
would enjoy privileges and amenities
of life that could not be had in other
countries.
LEADER OF REVOLUTION
IN DIRE STRAITS
Persistent reports appeared in the
Arabic press that Sultan Pasha
Atrash, leader of the Druze revolution against the French in Syria,
had negotiated with Sultan Ibn
Saoud for the sale of his arms and
I
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59
ammunition to him in consideration
of £60,000, but the Nationalist press
ridiculed the report on the ground
that the Druze leader is still unshaken in his determination to continue the armed struggle and that
he is making additional purchases
of arms. These same papers, however, make no secret of the fact that
Sultan Pasha Atrash and his band
of loyal followers are in the direst
financial straits and are appealing
to Syrian patriots, especially in
America, to send liberal and immediate contributions.
FIVE THOUSAND
TOURISTS IN LEBANON
The Tourist and Summer Resort
Bureau of the Lebanese government
announced that it had received from
tourist agencies abroad information
to the effect that five thousand tourists had been booked to visit Syria
and Lebanon immediately following
the Easter season.
Other reports reaching the Bureau
indicate that the tourist season
promises to be exceedingly gratifying this year.
LUNHAM & MOORE
INCORPORATED
ESTABLISHED 1882.
l
c
Regular Service to Beirut, Tripoli, Alexandretta,
Aleppo, Acre, Jaffa, etc.
C
S
a
"72
LUNHAM & MOORE, INC.
11 BROADWAY
New York.
WE SHIP GOODS TO ALL PARTS OF
THE WORLD AT LOWEST RATES
^Phone Bowling Green 5900
Cables LUNHAM New York.B
�1
STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION.
ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24.1912.
Of The Syrian World published monthly at New York, N.Y„April 1st, 1928.
STATE OF NEW YORK.
COUNTY OF NEW YORK,
. ^
_
Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the state and county aforesaid,
personally appeared Salloum A. Mokarzel, who, having been duly sworn
according to law, deposes and says that he is the publisher of the The
Syrian World, and that the following is, to the best of his knowledge and
belief a true statement of the ownership, management (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown
in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1921, embodied hi
section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this
form, to wit:
1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing
editor, and business managers are:
Post office address—
Name of—
104 Greenwich Street.
Publisher, Salloum Mokarzel
104
Greenwich Street.
Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104
Greenwich Street.
Managing Editor, Salloum Mokarzel
104
Greenwich Street.
Business Managers, Salloum Mokarzel
2 That the owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its name and address
must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses
of stockholders owning or holding one per cent or more of total amount of
stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a firm, company, or other
unincorporated concern, its name and address, as well as those of each
individual member, must be given.)
Salloum A Mokarzel 104 Greenwich St.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders
owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages,
or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.) None.
4 That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of
stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the
company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears
upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation,
en- also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiantfs
the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is givfull knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under
which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books
of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other
than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe
that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direct
or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated
By su
Entel
VOL
i
Love
Arab
Leba
Arab
7
B^at the average number of copies of each issue of this publication
sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid subscribers during the six months preceding the date shown above is.
(This
information is required from daily publications only.)
v
S. A. MokarzeL
Sworn to and subscribed before me this third day of April, 1928.
[SEAL.]
Salem J. Lutfy.
(My commission expires March 30, 1929.)
\
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
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Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
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1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
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English
Contributor
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Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
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The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
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NS 0002
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This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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TSW1928_05reducedWM
Title
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The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 11
Date
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1928 May
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 11 of The Syrian World published May 1928. The issue opens with another discussion about words borrowed both from Arabic and English by Byron Smith. There is a poem following the article titled "Bel's Lions" by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin. Next is an interview conducted with Count Herman Keyserling by Salloum Mokarzel
the interview primarily focuses on the major problems besetting the East. There is yet another piece by Salloum Mokarzel discussing the process of progress in the Moslem world. Following it are two short stories, one discussing war in small nations by Kahlil Gibran and another called "The Scar" by Dr. N.A. Katibah. The last two articles have no given author. One discusses Arabic Newspapers in America and the second discusses how Arabic figures like King Ibn Saoud are portrayed in American literature. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press, the Reader’s Forum, and political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
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English
Creator
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Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
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New York Public Library
Publisher
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Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
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104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
1929
Ameen Rihani
Dr. George Knaysi
George A. Ferris
Kahlil Gibran
King Hussein of Jordan
Labeebee A. J. Hanna
Mokarzel
Najib A. Katibah
New York
Philip K. Hitti
Salim Alkazin
Salloum Antoun Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
The Syrian World
Usama
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/1390437dae69d5259c8f8aa96be479ea.pdf
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PDF Text
Text
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THF
SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104 GREENWICH
By subscription $5.00 a year.
STREET, NEW YORK,
N. Y.
Single copies 50c.
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. II.
No. 12.
JUNE, 192
CONTENTS
PAGE
Religious Tolerance for Syria's Progress
REV.
W. A.
3
MANSUR
Love (Poem)
//
G. K. GlBRAN
Arabic Words in the English Vocabulary
12
PROF. BYRON SMITH
Lebanon (Poem)
/6
DAVID
L.
WARREN
Arabic as an Asset
77
N. A.
MOKARZEL
�a
t
,um.
CONTENTS
(Continued)
PAGE
Syrians in America
19
J.
RAY JOHNSON
Though but a Tiny Star (Poem)
DR. SALIM
24
Y.
ALKAZIN
The Scar (Short Story)
DR.
25
N. A.
KATIBAH
Spring (Poem)
31
BENJ.
T.
HOFFIZ
Road Building in Syria
32
Book Reviews
36
Rihani's New Book on Arabia.
A Valuable Discovery by a Syrian Scholar.
A Book of Delightful Poetry.
Arab Proverbs
Notes and Comments—By
41
THE EDITOR
42
Facing the Future.
Coming Articles.
Spirit of the Syrian Press
45
Political Developments in Syria
49
About Syria and Syrians
Readers' Forum
51
59
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SYRIAN WORLD
VOL. II.
No. 12.
JUNE, 192*f'
Religious Tolerance For Syria's
Progress
By
REV.
W. A.
MANSUR
Religious tolerance is a primary essential for the unity,
progress, and happiness of the Syrian nation. Syrian leaders
are searching history for the causes, practices, and consequences
of religious intolerance. They are approaching the subject of
religious tolerance with a fund of learning, intelligence, openmindedness, and sympathy.
The editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD, with true insight says,
"Religion seems to be in that country the axis upon which revolve all human activities and with which is inalienably involved the whole social fabric, from the family to the clan,
to the whole nation." Also, "Seemingly political, social and
economic problems may be found, upon a close analysis, to spring
from purely religious differences."
(SYRIAN WORLD, May,
1927.) This constitutes a challenge to Syrian thinkers, leaders,
statesmen, and educators.
These reflections are for the purpose of furthering religious
tolerance in Syria. The religious convictions, moral beliefs, and
modes of worship of all are respected. There is no intention to
attack, undermine, ridicule, or make light of any religion. The
following considerations are based upon the writer's love for
humanity, practical experience, the challenge of history, and a
sympathetic attitude.
Abraham Lincoln said, "Public sentiment is everything.
With public sentiment nothing can fail; without it, nothing can
succeed. Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes
deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He
\
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
makes statutes and decisions possible to be executed." My prayer is that the God of Heaven bless him who "molds public sentiment" by promoting religious tolerance in Syria. Let us think
together, not in the spirit of opposition, disregard, or contempt,
but in the spirit of reasonableness, understanding, discrimination,
appreciation and sympathy.
/. Religious Tolerance Is Based, not on the Accidents of Birth,
Human Coercion, Sanctity of Tradition, but on the Prerequisites of Moral Character, Social Living, and Human
Ha-pfiness.
It is not what a man is by birth that counts, but what he is
by choice, achievement, and character. No man chose his creed,
color, race, or place of birth. God, man or society consulted no
man. Man's condition at birth, in every conceivable way, is
the result of accident or providence. "On the other hand we
shall not," said Herbert Spencer in First Principles, "in
common with the great mass of the unthinking, let our creed be
determined by the mere accident of birth in a particular age of
the earth's surface * * * ". William James said, "As a matter
of fact we find ourselves believing we hardly know how or
why."
The prerequisites of moral character are: freedom and power of accomplishment, human fellowship and co-operation, and
imperfect men in a world of law and order. Human beings
wake up to find themselves like Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin
"Jest grow'd up", and then realize the meaning and power of
heredity, environment and providence.
Lyman Abbott said,
"There can be no virtue without temptation; for virtue is victory over temptation." Coercing a man to believe that which
he cannot intelligently understand, freely choose, or sincerely
believe, merely destroys the human element in him. It is irrational, unjust and detrimental to hold one responsible for what
he cannot help, for being what society's training made him, or
require him to believe or do that which in the nature of things
cannot be done. Human happiness depends on human freedom,
co-operation and personal accomplishment.
II. The Influences of the Growing World Will Inspire New
Vision, Demolish Historic Hindrances, and Create a Sympathetic Spirit.
Svria's new world is a growing world, breathing and throb-
k
ing
�I .
—
JUNE, 1928
5
bing with new life. Syria's old world is dying fast and hard.
Syria's deadly isolation is broken. The World War gave birth
to a new nation with the spirit, ideals, and ambitions of modern
nations.
"The crust of its seclusion," James L. Barton says of the
Near East, "has been broken through, and races dwelling there
are beginning to think in terms of liberty and independence."
The Syrian horizon has been pushed to the ends of the world.
For generations the Syrian horizon was limited to its geographical boundaries. This stifled intellect, narrowed sympathies, and
deadened initiative. The-Syrian nation is now thinking in world
terms, adapting itself to modern methods and point of view,
and growing with the growing world.
The modern tourist visiting "Bible Lands" will help the
cause of religious tolerance. The modern school system will
contribute much. Modern scientific method will add its share.
"The world is one," says H. G. Wells. Modern scientific inventions, and modern conveniences are helping to make it so.
Think of the revolutionary and epoch-making inventions: the
radio, aeroplane, automobile, movie, telephone, telegraph, radiography, television, and telephone and others. Science is supplanting childish notions of nature; reason is taking the place
of tradition; faith is displacing fear; and sympathy is superseding antagonism.
777. The Rise of h. umanity as the Ideal and Test for Human
Thought and Action Marks the New Era for the Syrian
Nation.
The renaissance of the Near Eastern world is now going on.
It is a resurrection of capacity, vigor, and vision. The renaissance is also going on in education, literature, art. The Syrian
mind has bloomed again. It is the springtime of the modern Syrian race and nation. The Syrian people are thinking for themselves, but with others.
There is a passion in Syria for humanity. The diffusion of
knowledge will accelerate it. Syrians are thinking in terms of
the dignity of man; in the spirit of criticism of the ideals, beliefs
and practices of the past; and in terms of the new social order.
In the light of modern science, men are saying, to use the words
of Randall in The Making of the Modem Mind, "Judged by
the standard of the simplicity, order, rationality, and usefulness
of the system of nature. What is it worth? WHAT in it is
�I
6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
reasonable? What earthly good does it contain?"
There is a religion common to all men that is based on
the worth, reasonableness, goodness, and humanity of it to all
men everywhere. George A. Dorsey says in Why We Behave
Like Human Beings, "What is vitally more important is that
I live as an honest human being who acknowledges responsibilities and obligations, who plays the game like a thoroughbred,
who does not whine and does not cheat, and who believes that
there is room in this world for many creeds but for only one
religion." The humanitarian spirit abolished slavery, created
temperance crusades, emancipated women and children, produced political and industrial democracy and achieved a social conscience. The humane spirit will bring on religious tolerance in
Syria.
IV. The Spirit of Nationalism Will Abolish Religious Intolerance, Geographic Barriers, and Historic Feuds.
The spirit of true nationalism will minimize and finally
abolish religious intolerance. Ancient and modern nations have
tried many ways. Karl H. Von Wiegand, writing from India,
says, "But, should the religious conflicts be ended which now
absorb all attention, and unity between Hindus and Moslems be
established, startling developments could come in India within
the next few years."
Syrian nationalism is the better way toward Syrian unity
and religious tolerance. E. Stanley Jones says in The Christ of
the Indian Road, "I was talking to two of the followers of
Mahatma Gandhi one day when I said, 'My brothers, we must
have unity between the Hindu and the Mohammedan if our
country is ever to be strong and free, but your Hindu-Mohammedan unity is based upon a wrong foundation. You have based
it upon a religious pact, you should base it upon the unchanging
fact that you are all Indians. Upon this you should come together. '" Syrian nationalism will ever remind Syrians, whatever
be their religious beliefs, that they are first of all Syrians j that
Syria's welfare is greater than any religious group j that Syria's
nationalism and freedom depend upon religious tolerance.
V. The Genius of the World Is in Unity in Diversity; Democracy, not Autocracy and Social Law in a World of Individualism.
Unity in diversity is the glory and beauty of creation. The
l
�JUNE, 1928
\
infinite variety of leaves, branches and trunks make a forest.
The shades and modulations of tone compose the harmony of
music. The coherence of the United States lies in its admitted
diversity, its sovereign states rights under the federal union.
Harmony lies in the dedication of talents, personalities and
purposes to the nation's welfare. "In all things purely social,"
said Booker T. Washington, "we can be as separate as the fingers yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress." Let us hold up this spirit and ideal for realizing religious tolerance in Syria. Let every one be faithful to the best
in his religion, dedicate his best to the nation's good, and grant
others like freedom of religion.
Walter Damrosch was broadcasting an interpretation of
Wagner's opera, The Meistersinger.- "He explained," says William L. Stridger, "that the counterpoint was the ability to run
two or three tunes together so that they make one harmonious
whole, while at the same time the musical ear may pick out
each tune in that counterpoint. * * * In the Meistersinger, Wagner had showed them that he could do so by weaving four tunes,
instead of the conventional two oV three, into one counterpoint."
Syrians must learn the counterpoint in religious matters. They
must learn to weave the Christian, Mohammedan, Druze, Jew,
and other religious faiths into one Syrian national counterpoint
for Syria's progress.
VI. Religious Tolerance Is a Mental, Social, and World View
Achieved through a Process of Education.
H. G. Wells, in summing up his book The Salvaging of
Civilization, says, "They are, firstly: that a great change in human conditions has been brought about during the past century,
and secondly, that a vast task of adaptation, which must be initially and fundamentally mental adaptation, has to be undertaken by our race." Syrians must realize that conditions have
changed and are rapidly changing in Syria. That change must
take place in the mind of the nation before religious tolerance
can be experienced. For people think with the minds they have,
not with ours. People are subject to heredity, environment and
training. They see things from their own angle, intellectually,
religiously, morally, and socially. They have a right to their
religious beliefs, as we have to ours.
Tolerance is a social result and means "live and let live, —
harmony for existence." "Throughout history," says Randall
�*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
in The Making of the Modern Mind, "it has always been contact with other civilizations and customs that has produced the
breakdown of a crystallized set of institutions and views and
given men more cosmopolitan and enlightened outlook." The
geographical location of Syria makes it a logical stopping place
for various modern national cultures. The development of complex social life through larger cities, improved roads, greater
transportation, international commerce, modern schools, agriculture, homes and otherwise is a process of national education.
Syria's youth are thinking, playing, and living in terms of tolerance.
VII. Enlightenment Will Reveal Human Limitations, Displace
Bigotry, Prejudice, Ignorance, and Glorify Religious Tolerance.
The greatest enemies of a nation are ignorance, bigotry and
prejudice. Yet men should ever remember they are finite, only
God is infinite. Our human limitations should lead us to religious tolerance.
A missionary had been trying to convert an American Indian. The missionary had arrogated too much knowledge to
himself. This is the way the Indian explained to the missionary. He drew a small circle on the ground and said, "This represents what the Indian knows." He drew a larger circle, "This
represents what the missionary knows." Referring to what lay
beyond the two circles, "You don't know any more about it than
I do." Upon reflection, Syrians, whatever be their fund of knowledge of God, man, and the world, are still engulfed in great
ignorance.
The folly of religious prejudice and intolerance is illustrated by the Bible in Jonah. "Why, then, was the story written, and how did it get into our Bible?" asks Charles E. Jefferson. "The answer is that it was written to show how big a fool
a man can make of himself when he is full of religious prejudices, and how mean and contemptible a man can be and at the
same time think that he is a very good man. The story was
placed in the Bible because for thousands of years the world will
need to be warned against racial and religious bigotry, and will
need to be reminded of the amazing breadth of God's love."
Dante said, "Give light and the people will find their way."
Knowledge will bring intelligence. Enlightened consciences will
create a sympathetic spirit. Religious tolerance is one of the
\
�JUNE, 1928
9
highest attainments of the human mind, and is prophetic of the
highest social order.
VIII. The Practical Test, The Expanding World, and the Rise
of Democracy Are Ushering in a Tolerant Attitude toward
All Religions.
The modern man's philosophy of religion, life, government are creating a tolerant attitude toward all religions. Science
is subjecting nature to stern tests. Education is experimented
with that the best methods may be discovered. The practical
test is applied to religion that that which is of national and universal good may be utilized.
The practical testing of all religions is now going on in
Syria. "Everywhere in the world the war has brought a demand
for a new count of the meaning and value of religious faith,"
says William H. Hall in The Near East, the Cross Roads of the
World. "Streams of new life from all directions are already
beginning to pour over the barriers now forever broken down
and are about to flow across these ancient lands. This new life
of commerce, politics, industry, and education cares little for
historic creeds and ancient rites. If these things, by their divisions, hinder the progress of the new day, they will be swept
aside; if they aid in a co-operation that upbuilds, they will have
a larger place in reconstructing the old life." The practical test
is the final test of any religious belief, moral conviction, or social
custom. "By their fruits ye shall know them." Whatever be
the claim, authority, finality, or superiority of a religion, it is
its humanity, usefulness, democracy, and welfare that will endear it to human hearts.
IX. Social Salvation Demands Religious Tolerance for National
Harmony, a Progressive Social Order, and Making a Living.
The student of economic, social and political life sees the
trend toward a social order dominated by the mechanical and
industrial revolution. Social salvation is the keynote of modern
civilized life. Tolerance is a social necessity, there is no alternative. "In the growing world of modern science," says Randall in The Making of the Modern Mind, "religion has come to
place less and less emphasis on the merely personal salvation
of the individual and his attainment of some future heaven,
and has increasingly sought to direct man's spiritual energies to
the building of the kingdom of God upon earth."
jtt.j.>, a* ,. -- *-. -s -t&ws&a
�10
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The great body of Syrian workers will unite, despite religious differences, to strengthen demands for better wages, to
share the enjoyment of the things of life, and to withstand competition of capital and labor within and without the nation.
Natachee, American Indian, says to Hugh Edwards, in
Harold Bell Wright's The Mine with the Iron Door, "Under
certain circumstances every man is a devil. Change the circumstances and the devil becomes something else." Edwards
saved the life of Natachee, his enemy. Natachee saved Edward's sweetheart. Syria's conditions are changing fast. The
changing circumstances are rapidly making away with intolerance, bigotry, prejudice. There is a rising tide of national harmony, stable social order, and making a living. Syrians are no
longer to be separated by geographic barriers, religious intolerance, and historic feuds. They are being united by the needs
of the new social order toward nationalism, to withstand exploitation, for the realization of Syria's ambitions.
X. Religious Tolerance Is Based on the Belief that God Is
Omnipotent, that There Is Truth in All Religions, that It
Is a Religious Necessity.
Tolerant people believe God is all-powerful, wise and good.
They believe truth is eternal and shall prevail. They would
give truth the best chance of prevailing, believing half-truths
will vanish in the sunlight. There is truth in the statement, "If
God is offended by false beliefs, that is His affair; Locke agreed
with the maxim of Emperor Tiberius, 'If the Gods are insulted,
let them see to it themselves.'"
Tolerant people believe,
"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord".
Religious tolerance is a religious necessity in Syria. It is
necessary in a world with many religions. There are 564 million Christians; 300 million Confucianists and Taoists; 221 million Mohammedans; 210 million Hindus; 158 million Animists; 138 million Buddhists; 25 million Shintoists; 12 million
Jews. Religious tolerance between men of different religions
is necessary to life, liberty, happiness. Syria is a small territory
compared with other countries. A complex social intercourse is
developing fast. There is a growing demand for religious tolerance in Syria.
The dawn of religious tolerance is breaking in Syria as it
is over the world. E. Stanley Jones sat down to an intercaste
dinner in India. Several hundred were present, Mohammed\
h
ai
ft
C£
tf
is
ir
P
ir
Is
P
�11
JUNE, 1928
ans, high-caste Hindus, outcastes, Indian Christians and several
from the West. "I sat between a Mohammedan and an outcaste," he says. "As I sat down the Mohammedan said, 'Well,
thank God we are all down together at last.' " Syria's new dawn
is dispelling the darkness of religious intolerance. It is bringing a vision of a healthy nationalism, a modern social life, and a
prosperous people. Religious tolerance in Syria is already making people say, "Well, thank God we are all down together at
last," to think, plan and work together for Syria and the nation's
progress.
Love
By G. K.
GIBRAN
They say the jackal and the mole
Drink from the self-same stream
Where the lion comes to drink.
And they say the eagle and the vulture
Dig their beaks in the same carcass,
And are at peace, one with the other,
In the presence of the dead thing.
O love, whose lordly hand
Has bridled my desires,
And raised my hunger and my thirst
To dignity and pride,
Let not the strong in me and the constant
Eat the bread or drink the wine
That tempt my weaker self.
Let me rather starve,
And let my heart parch with thirst,
And let me die and perish.
Ere I stretch my hand
To a cup you did not fill,
Or a bowl you did not bless.
.^jV- *::.•
: "- "-
•-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
12
Arabic Words in the English
Vocabulary
By
PROF. BYRON SMITH
Many of the words that the English language borrows from
the Arabic have interesting histories and reveal the contributions
in science, medicine, mathematics, war, etc., that the Arabicspeaking peoples have made to the nations of the West. In fact,
the careful study of all the words of Arabic origin that exist
in the European languages would provide us with a history of
the relations between the Arabs and the Europeans in medieval
European history.
The very word "alchemy" from the Arabic l~-8' t names
a science which is now entirely outgrown but which deserves respect as the parent of chemistry, a word derived from the same
source. Apparently the Arabic word came from a Greek word
meaning "Egypt", the land of "black earth". The art of alchemy was not originated by the Arabs but was learned by them
from the Alexandrians and was brought by them to Europe.
Alchemy is first mentioned in English literature in the writings
of Langland and Gower, at the end of the 14th century.
The word "elixir" has an air of romance about it. It comes
into the English from the medieval Latin, and represents the
Arabic JT-*'VI , which, in turn, may be from the late Greek
"xerion", meaning a drying powder for wounds. "Elixir" has
two distinct meanings in English. The first is the so-called
"philosopher's stone", which might be a solid, a powder, or a
liquid, used to turn lead or some other metal into gold. Much
of the toil of the alchemists was concentrated on this problem.
The literature on the subject is enormous. Perhaps the best
known reference in English literature is the play by Ben Jonson,
the contemporary of Shakespeare, entitled The Alchemist. The
second meaning of "elixir" is to designate an essence to prolong
life or restore youth to the aged. It is first used in this sense
This is the last of a series of three articles on this subject by Professor Smith. The present study in particular should delight the heart of
the philologist. But the Professor's treatment of the subject is so lucid
that it affords pleasant and profitable reading to the average layman,
particularly those familiar with Arabic
Editor.
�JUNE, 1928
\
13
in 1266 by Roger Bacon, the famous English alchemist, not to
be confused with Francis Bacon, the founder of modern science.
It is interesting to note that the search for the "Philosopher's
stone" and for the "elixir of life" is still going on, though modern science is using methods of investigation undreamed of by
the alchemists.
Another science with an Arabic name is "algebra" from
-r^1 . In its earliest English form the word had the meaning
of "the art of setting bones", a meaning which is clear to those
who know Arabic, but this surgical meaning is now entirely obsolete.
"Cipher" and "zero" come both from J* . Apparently
the Arabic word goes back to a translation of an Indian Sanskrit
word meaning "empty", for the Arabic numerals came from India. "Cipher" appeared in English about 200 years before
"zero", which came to English from an Italian form "zefiro".
"Nadir" and "zenith" are astronomical terms that came from
J^
and u-'J1 e—« respectively. Chaucer was one of the
first English authors to use both words. Many people do not
realize that Chaucer was not only the first great English poet
but he was also the author of a treatise on the astrolabe, an early
instrument for measuring the altitude of stars.
The algebraic term "surd" is a Latin word meaning "deaf".
It is a translation of the Arabic phrase
r°] >*^ "surd root".
The two anatomical terms, "pia mater" and "dura mater" are
Latin phrases meaning "soft mother" and "hard mother", and
as such are literal translations of the Arabic
^J^ r'
and
<1
1
*^ f' . Such expressions in Arabic follow the idiomatic
genius of the language and are easily understood, but in Latin
and English the meaning is obscure. The mathematical term
"sine" belongs to the same class of translations. In Latin it
means the hanging fold of a garment, and was used to translate
the Arabic word ver in its geometrical use.
"Admiral" is j*& j-' with the second word dropped but
its article retained. This word, one of the earliest to appear in
English, originally meant "prince" or "commander", like the
Arabic ^ . It was not until the middle of the 14th century
that the modern meaning appeared, the commander in chief of
a navy.
The word "magazine" has had a long and honorable career
in the English, language. Coming through the French from the
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
plural form of
6>- it first meant a store house, especially
for military stores. Then it meant military equipment, that is,
the material stored in such a store house, then a wardrobe for
clothes. In 1731 appeared a periodical called "The Gentleman's Magazine", this new use of the word indicating a storehouse of articles interesting to gentlemen. This new metaphor
spread rapidly until today every monthly or quarterly periodical
is called a magazine.
The words "calibre" and "calliper" probably came both from
515
v
meaning, a mould for casting. "Calibre" means the
measurement of the bore of a gun or the diameter of a bullet.
"Calliper" is the name of a kind of compass used to measure
inside or outside diameters. The name was first applied to instruments for measuring bullets and gun bores.
"Assassin", appearing early in the English language, through
the French, brings to mind the stories of the formidable "Old
man of the Mountains" and his murderous uy>^>- who played
such a dramatic part at the time of the Crusades with their secret
methods of murder.
A large number of the words from the Arabic consist of the
names of minerals, plants, animals, and various derived products.
Among minerals we have "alkali" from ^ , "borax" from
<jjy.
"natron" from OJJ* , which, in turn, comes from the
Greek,'and "talc" from J^ , a name which was also applied
to mica and other minerals.
Among plants and plant products are "rice" from -3-> ,
"cotton" from ^ , "sugar" from JS" , and "orange"
from {*»"J* which is derived from a Persian word meaning
pomegranate. "Artichoke" may be derived from ^-**> meaning, the scales of a fish. It probably does not come from J -*V^'
as some authorities say. "Attar" (of roses) is from J>*
"Camphor" is from Jj& . "Alcohol" from >*» first meant
a very fine powder, which corresponds to the Arabic meaning.
"Amber" from JK*
originllay meant the same as the Arabic
word, that is, "ambergris" or "grey amber", that strange and
precious substance found in the interstines of some whales and
used in making perfume. The word "amber" is now used only
to designate the fossil gum of trees.
Other interesting words may be mentioned that do not nt
into any regular system of classification. "Jar", a useful household word, comes from *> . "Lute", a musical instrument,
***&?<
�JUNE, 1928
15
is from ^jJ» . Here the sound of "1" in the article has been
blended with the word. The words "cheese", "checker", "check",
etc. come from the game which the Arabs learned from the
Persians or Indians and introduced into Europe. These words
arise from the phrase ^^ , in English, "check-mate", used
by a player to indicate that his opponent's "king" is "dead" and
the game is over. The word "exchequer" comes from the same
source. Early in English history, when the science of book-keeping was in its infancy, the royal accounts were kept by the aid
of a table divided off into squares like a chess-board, each square
having a definite numerical value. "Alcove" is from
S^>
"Crimson" is from j*j , the name of the insect from which
the crimson color was first made. "Sash" is from <j*\* and
meant first a turban, then a broad girdle around the waist. "Drub"
is probably from *-*j* . Its first use in English occurs in travellers' descriptions of the bastinado as experienced or observed.
It now means a through beating on any part of the body. "Garbel" from J»j* was a commercial term used in Mediterranean
trade. Its first meaning, like the Arabic, was "to sift". Now it
means just the opposite, "to mix, confuse". "Caret" is from
^j? and has two meanings, a weight for precious stones,
and a standard of measurement for gold in 24 degrees. Pure
gold is represented by 24 carets, an alloy containing three-fourths
is called 18 carets. "Tariff" is from <-kj» and meant the multiplication table before it was applied to customs duties. "Hazard", which meant first a game of dice, then chance or venture,
then a perilous action, came, according to William of Tyre, from
the name of a castle in Palestine called "Hasart" by the Crusaders. Probably the Arabic name was Ain Zarba. During a long
siege by the Saracens, the besieged soldiers invented a new game
of dice asi a pastime and called it by the name of the castle.
The word "tabby" meaning a domestic cat, and usually applied to the female cat, has a long and curious history with which
we will bring our discussion to a close. 'Attab < v^ > a great
grandson of Omayya, gave his name to a quarter of the city of
Baghdad. In this quarter striped silk cloth was woven. The
weaving was so excellent that the cloth acquired a wide reputation and in time, whenever striped silk cloth was woven it was
called by the name "attabi". The word came into English through
the Old French in the form "tabby". "Tabby" meaning striped and watered silk cloth, was a symbol of luxury. The poet
�~~
'
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
Herrick and the diarist Pepys, both in the middle of the 17th
century, are among the first English authors to, mention it. Then
some humorist applied the word "tabby" to a striped cat, and
the use was generally adopted. Finally it came to be used of
a cat of any color or combination of colors. Then, since male
cats were usually called Tom-cats, from "Tom", a contraction
of "Thomas", the word "tabby" became restricted to female cats
almost entirely. In this way the illustrious name of 'Attab
travelled from Baghdad to England.
Lebanon
By
DAVID
L.
WARREN
In "The New York Masonic Outlook"
Oh, ancient cedar on the hill,
Whence came those sighs that through you run,
Till branch with branch is never still?
For Lebanon, for Lebanon!
All day you dream of Lebanon;
And when at night the moon is pale
You sigh and pray, like hearts undone,
To stand in that old Syrian vale
Where mists arise, gray, blue, and dun,
To crown the brows of Lebanon.
Throughout the night, throughout the day,
Your dreamings and your broodings shun
This open field, that broad highway,
And turn and yearn toward Lebanon.
Oh, cease your sighing, ancient tree,
And let your dreamings elsewhere run
Lest you should break the heart of me
With all your dreams of that great One
Whose heralding star made dim the sun
That time it shone o'er Lebanon.
., -.- r
�JUNE, 1928
17
Arabic as an Asset
By N. A.
MOKARZEL
Editor of Al-Hoda, Arabic-Language Daily, New York.
]
In all the cities I visited during my travels in the United
States I made special efforts to inquire about our young generation. I must confess that I was seized with grief upon being
told that not only is our young generation ignorant of Arabic but
that it has a decided apathy to it.
This prompts me to the conclusion that the Syrian and Lebanese youth in America are ashamed of their origin and racial
descent. The proof is in the plain fact that they are ashamed
of their language.
It is true that ethnologically the Lebanese is not an Arab,
but then, too, the Belgian is not French and he not only speaks
the French language but is proud of the fact.
We also find that the Jew is not ashamed of his mother
tongue ] that the German is proud of his language, and that the
Frenchman will go to the extreme of fighting in defense of his
medium of speech.
This also holds true of the Englishman, the Russian, the
Swede, the Italian and the Spaniard. The Arabs themselves and
their fellow Easterners of Japan, China and India feel proud of
their languages and use them as a medium of speech with their
fellow nationals or with whomsoever can converse in them. Only
the Lebanese, the Syrian, the Iraqi, and the Palestinian perspire
with shame when necessity compels them to address anyone in
their native tongue.
Whenever I meet an educated Irishman I remind him that
he is of Phoenician descent and he makes no pretense at concealing his pride in the fact, while some of our own countrymen renounce their origin under pretext of having become Americanized. This cannot be a valid reason and those having recourse to
it cannot make proud Americans.
The American nation is a conglomeration of numerous
racial strains, and it is quite the rule to ask of one his genealogical descent. Now suppose these countrymen of ours who are
ashamed of their origin are asked the question point blank. It
�I
"
18
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
stands to reason that because they are not willing to admit their
true origin they must align themselves with some other stock.
This stock may not be as deserving as their own and it would
be to their manifest disadvantage not to have admitted the truth.
In any case they would, by this very act, be despising themselves
and their parents by denying their nationality, their race and
their language.
Grave danger is now threatening our Eastern youth in
America, and if our young generation would only give serious
consideration to the question they would make of the Arabic
language a valuable capital yielding them sufficient compensation both in pleasure and profit.
Anyone combining a knowledge of Arabic and another live
language—be it English, French, Spanish or any other,—has a
better chance of inducing mercantile and manufacturing and
educational interests to employ him in manifold capacities—a
salesman, foreign representative, correspondent, translator, instructor, etc. Nay, he may develop his talent along lines already
followed successfully by a number of Lebanese literary workers
and help translate choice Arabic literature into English or other
languages. This has been meritoriously done by such men as
Chukri Ganem, Gibran K. Gibran, Ameen Rihani, Salloum Mokarzel and others.
Inordinate Westernization is, I repeat, a source of danger
to Lebanon, Syria and the whole of the Near East. Ninety per
cent, of our Westernized youth are of little use either to themselves, their parents or their old and new countries. I would,
however, make a distinction in the case of the young women and
place their proportionate number in that category at only fifty
per cent.
To my mind, the parents are the ones who are mostly at
fault in the existence of this situation. They are negligent in the
matter of properly educating their children and focusing their
attention on this all-important matter. I would even accuse some
parents of criminal negligence in their obvious duty towards race
and family.
Each morning and each svening the Tongue speaks to the
Heart and Mind, saying: "How fare you at this time?" And they
reply: "We will remain in a safe and sound condition if you will
only remain under control."
(Arab saying)
-»?•. --
11
�JUNE, 1928
19
Syrians in America
By J.
>
r
RAY JOHNSON
*
In the shadow of New York's financial district and hemmed
in by the skyreaching structures that have all but squeezed out
of existence the venerable street that bears the name of Washington, is "Little Syria," a neighborhood fragrant of the East, and
a perpetual mystery of the few New Yorkers who know of its
existence.
Washington Street, its ancient buildings ready to give way
before the advancing skyline, is nevertheless a hive of industry,
for here live and work some thousands of that race of men who
seem to find their greatest joy in barter and trade.
Probably no racial group in America suffers more from misunderstanding than do the Syrians. Who these people are and
whence they came is a question frequently asked, and often incorrectly answered. They are most often confused with the Assyrians from certain regions of Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and
Persia. These Assyrians, variously known as Arameans, Chaldeans and Nestorians, should not be confounded with the inhabitants of modern Syria. Again, the Syrian is classified either as a
Turk or an Arab. Although for four centuries, until the end
of the World War, the Syrian lived under the rule of the Turk,
he is not related to him either racially, Iniguistically or cultural* The writer of this article is the Editor of The Interpreter, organ of
the Foreign Language Information Service in New York, a splendid organization whose aim is "To interpret America to the Immigrant and the
Immigrant to America". This it does in the most sympathetic spirit,
which should be the only spirit guiding movements of this nature. The
Interpreter is read by over ten thousand editors, educators and persons
of high moral influence throughout the United States who are vitally interested in bringing about tfhe homogeneity of the American nation on a
basis of genuine understanding. This article on the Syrians in America
appeared in the May, 1928, issue of The Interpreter and is copied that readers of The Syrian World may realize how and why the Syrians are gradually emerging from the unenviable distinction of being the racial group that
"probably suffers more from misunderstanding than any other."
Editor.
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ly. Neither is he an Arab, although after the advent of Islam
and the Arab occupation of Syria, Arabic became the predominant
language so that today original Aramaic, or Syriac, is preserved
only in a few mountain communities and in the ritual of the Syrian Maronite Church.
The modern Syrians are a mixed Semitic race, according to
Dr. Philip K. Hitti, the remnant of the ancient Phcenician-Canaanite tribes, who entered Syria about 2,500 B. C, the Aramean
Israelite hordes, who came about 1,500 B. C, and the Arabs who
drifted in from the desert. Although a highly mixed race they
are predominantly Semitic and undoubtedly white.
A few years ago the issue was raised in some. Southern courts
as to their eligibility for citizenship, but the decision on appeal
concurred with the verdict of science—that under a complexion
darkened by the sun the Syrians were "free white persons."
The Ancient Homeland.
The homeland of the Syrians includes all that part of Western Asia east of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Taurus
Mountains, west of the Hamad (desert steppe) and north of the
Sinaic peninsula, the entire easternmost shore of the Mediterranean, the mountain ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, the
Holy Land of Palestine, the ancient cities of Beirut, Aleppo,
Antioch, Damascus, and the surrounding territory. All this is
Syria. Throughout the ages this narrow strip of land has been
a highway where three continents met to exchange their merchandise, to merge their civilizations or to clash in war. From
the very dawn of history Syria provided the battlefield and booty
for every conquering empire there was; the Egyptians, Assyrians
and Babylonians, the Persians, Greeks and Macedonians, Romans,
Byzantines, Arabs, Franks and Turks, until finally by the onrush
of General Allenby's troops from Egypt it was wrested from the
grip of Turkey and "mandated" to the victorious Allied Powers
of the West.
Syrian Immigration Recent.
The Syrian immigration to the United States started in the
seventies and attained large proportions in the nineties. Its
stream was stemmed by the restrictive immigration laws which
have limited the number of admissible Syrians to one hundred
�JUNE, 1928
21
a year. As in the case of all immigrants^ it was primarily economic stress that drove them out of their homeland. Syria is not
a rich country and it is economically backward, undeveloped and
neglected. The opening of the Suez Canal and the modern
means of communication eliminated the traditional traders between the Orient and the Occident. The industries are few and
small. The Syrian peasant of the interior can derive from his
small land holding but a scant subsistence, and any ill wind that
brings drought to the fields or phylloxera to the vineyards of
Mount Lebanon, is bound to produce economic disaster. Politically, under Turkish rule, the Syrians in general and the Christians among them in particular were subject to numerous restrictions, not infrequently to persecutions. Many came here to escape military duty. Many more have been attracted by letters
and advice from successful friends and relatives in this country.
In all cases the additional motive was provided by the inveterate
Syrian desire to wander, to migrate, to trade, to buy and to sell.
Trade and religion have been Syria's main contributions to
civilization. Both Judaism and Christianity originated on Syrian
soil with which also the religious history of Islam is closely connected. But religion was not the only thing which the descendants
of Phoenician wanderers and traders had to "sell" to the world.
In the Hellenic epoch, under the Roman Empire as well as
in the Middle Ages, they were the merchants of the Levant and
their mercantile colonies flourished on the shores of the Mediterranean, along the Danube, Rhone and Gironde, in Spain and in
Gaul. The modern Syrian merchants advanced into almost all
the maritime cities of Europe and carried their trade across the
seas to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines,
South America, Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Population Figures Vary.
The census of 1920 gives 51,000 as the number of Syrians
in this country. However, from the reports of the Commissioner
General of Immigration it appears that in twenty years, 18991919, alone, not less than 89,971 Syrians entered the United
States. In his book on "Syrians in America," Dr. Hitti assumes
that there are about 200,000 Syrians, foreign-born and born of
Syrian parents, in this country. The estimates vary as many
Syrians are taken for Turks or Arabs and also because they are
dispersed in small numbers over wide areas. Unlike some other
�_
«w
THE SYRIAN WORLD
22
immigrant groups they do not settle in colonies and even the
"Little Syria" in New York City soon will vanish. Their vocation—trading—causes our Syrian imigrants to scatter throughout
the country and mingle with native buyers and sellers. New
York, Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis,
Philadelphia and San Francisco and the Massachusetts mill
towns—Worcester, Springfield, Fall River, Lowell, New Bedford—have the largest numbers of Syrians. But, according to
their above quoted historian, "hardly a village or town in all
Syria is not today represented by one or more emigrants in the
United States," and on the other hand, "there is not a state in
the Union and hardly a town of five thousand population or
over in which the Syrians are not represented."
Active in Many Fields.
There are a number of Syrian farmers, dairymen and fruit
growers, cotton and tobacco planters in this country, as well as
Syrian professional men and artists. Laborers from Syria work
in American shops and factories; they are most numerous in the
textile mills of New England and New Jersey where they are
known and appreciated as "born silk weavers." But the farms,
industries and professions have absorbed only a small minority
of Syrian immigrants. Commerce is the Syrian's regular sphere
and whenever he can choose his profession he is a trader. As a
rule he starts at the bottom, peddling laces and dry 'goods from
house to house, but there is no Syrian peddler who would not
aspire to become an independent business man and there are not
many who fail. The lace and white goods industry in this country is largely in the hands of American Syrians. In lower Manhattan they have established many big lace and underwear houses
with show rooms on Fifth Avenue and branch offices in other
cities. There is hardly a kimono in America which has not
passed through the hands of a Syrian manufacturer and a Syrian
merchant. They make lace and kimonos in their own manufacturing establishments in New York and vicinity, own silk factories in Patterson and West Hoboken, and import and sell lace,
embroideries, nightgowns, underwear and rugs from Italy,
France, Madeira, the Philippines, Japan and China.
Dispersed throughout the country and in every-day contact
with the native population, the Syrians easily adapt themselves
to American ways, but the first immigrant generation still retains
::
�JUNE, 1928
23
the heritage of Syrian ideas, sentiments and traditions, manners
and customs, virtues and vices. The Syrian family in America
is still a patriarchal institution and the father is revered and obeyed as the head of the family. The "revolt of youth," in this
case of the American-born or Americanized second generation,
is here a problem more acute than in any other immigrant group.
The Syrian leadership in this country is still to a large extent,
that of the priest, the scion of a noble family, a successful business man or—among the Druses and other Mohammedans—the
"sheikh." The social center of our Syrians is the coffee house
where they sip Turkish coffee and smoke the long-tubed "nargileh." In business "bargaining" is the rule and has no limits.
Until the war Syria was not a nation and is now only a
nation in the making. For many centuries the Syrians have been
divided into two hostile camps, Muslims and Christians, each
camp divided against itself. There is an antagonism of long
standing between the Orthodox Mohammedans and the Druses,
and the Christians are split into many denominations. Factionalism has been intensified by the isolation of Syrian communities
and by personal ambitions of local and tribal leaders, and the
religious and tribal feuds have been brought over in the immigrant ship to America.
Split Into Many Groups.
The renaissance of the Syrian nation was brought about by
the World War. The Syrian immigration was particularly active in transmitting to the native country the ideas of democracy
and national self-determination which started the Syrians on the
way to racial self-consciousness and solidarity. Yet, neither the
rise of Syrian nationalism nor the creation of the "states" of
Syria and Lebanon, both administered by France under a mandate, have removed the factionalism and dissensions. The strained relations between the mandatory power and the Syrians and
Lebanese, the disputed questions of the form of government, the
relationship to the new Islamic world, recurrent revolutionary
outbreaks, dissensions in the revolutionary ranks and the general
unrest and dissatisfaction in Syria, produced more splits there
and accentuated the differences among the Syrian immigrant
groups here. Of some fourteen Syrian periodicals in this country six are dailies, each inclining toward a different political or
religious camp.
�•-"• --»"'• '
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Church Has Great Influence.
Religion has drawn the deepest lines of cleavage in the Syrian national community, but at the same time each of the different churches has been the cohesive power for its own membership and has inspired the believers with loyalty, devotion and
solidarity reminiscent of state patriotism. The attachment to
the church of one's birth is with the Syrians a matter both of
religion and deep-rooted social tradition. They are most generous in supporting their churches and pastors and follow their
leadership even in secular matters. There are about one hundred Syrian churches in this country—Maronite, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic. The Maronite Church of Syria goes
back to the times of the apostles and retained its eastern services
and rites even after its affiliation with Rome, during the Crusades ; it celebrates Mass in Syriac and reads the Gospel in Arabic.
The Syrian Greek Orthodox Church is a part of the so-called
eastern communion to which also the Russian and the Greek
churches belong} in its liturgy the Greek language is used which
is also the language of the Syrian Greek Catholic (Unitae)
Church. About 10,000 Druses and Muslims in this country
have preserved the religion of their fathers and five times a day
they turn their faces to the East and repeat: "There is no God
but Allah and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah."
Though But a Tiny Star
By DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
Alone to yonder gloomy sky it clings,
Alone it battles with the wroth expanses, —
Its sickly glow, its pale and slender rays
But reach the cheerless earth in fitful glances —
And yet 'tis still a star!
It can beguile no dreariness, no gloom
Expel j nor light the poor wayfarer's feet,
Nor penetrate into the house of pain.
And yet its meager tale is passing sweet,
Though but a tiny star.
�JUNE, 1928
25
The Scar
A SHORT STORY
By DR. N. A. KATIBAH
(Continued from the May issue.)
bride,^
e
itr retUrned f
sre etS H St US
mate's a home and XL It
» PW
with his
the
"^
^ *-
1 out to coneratui h
and "c^^tsKr
-
completely ignored Sf £»£ frETsT
^ ^ Wh°
& nCe that me
night he would not eet WhL t j J
"aorable
place, but ended his f
,Undred yards of D ifi's
Hote at the emrance "f theCr°naI u '"^ WaIks at L0^
coffeewith his ^^1^,4^^^ £&
| tft tone of ^ form^ =- - £* } £
was ij=3 St uSat fit iffifilSt^
this world ^ri^^S "Tt*" "
int0
V girl Whom he
named Dite, (Deety)
*
At first, the reception of this new claimant to life and its
.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
26
tides excited no special feeling in us. Her advent aroused no
enthuSs^except in the hearts of her affectionate parents We
re eivedThe news as a matter-of-fact occurrence ma matter-of^
fact world. But, no sooner had she begun to look around and
smile than, one by one, we fell for her and yielded her all.
A clean, beautiful, heal*,rduld was D£ «d ^*^
tion was golden and sunny. Those blond curls of hers,those
deep blueses, those long eyelashes, that bud of a mouth and
that soul-gripping expression that innocence alone can give
who consist fhem? Let her but flutter and smdcfor you,
and see what happens to your heart. Stoics to pain I have seen,
but stoics to Dite's baby W"^ we vied ^
each other
Fvervone was fond ot Uite, ana we vicu. W1L1
for her litde favors. How often did I leave my <^«*»
the afternoon, bathed quickly and galloped off to ^e
eh,
coverinTthe mile in record speed and chiding my horse for not
covering uie
,
tf th first one to snatch Dite from
£tS^l^ my shouMers and run down
t h her the whole length of her fathers f^^^
her musical chuckles filled the air with joy! How clear their
distant echoes ring in my ear to this day!
One Sunday afternoon I wanted to have Dite all tomyself and carried her secretly to Loiso's Hotel. After matang
he round of the garden showing her the flowers, the lion and
tlTe mTkeys, I passed through the hall to *e veranda ov.looking the Nile. To my surprise I found Panas there,
seated at a table with his back to me.
A curious idea flashed upon my mind. Panas had never
seen Dite or even heard of her - would she also be taboo, being
a^rl? Between dread and curiosity, I approached him and
t0 k
° Lto-s "he itoked at her, Dite fluttered and smiled, and
Panas' features at once softened into a smile.
"Who is the little angel?" he asked.
"Ask her," I immediately replied.
«m - can you talk, little one?" And he softly chucked
^ Dtag'aint'ttered and smiled and took firm hold of his
finger.
For the first time I saw Panas' eye moisten.
Taking qmck advantage of this unique opportunity, I arose,
--
-
-
�JUNE, 1928
S £*£ ijfe.5-"-. - *.-a. — »
With tears still streaming down their cheeks r.; ;*-,-troduced his friend. Panas extended hi hanf bu^ W L ^
was bent down over his chest avoiding « tading^Lkt
wl ll l^ n° SO°n? had her hand dasPed his, than he quick
y shook her away Completely overwhelmed, he fakerecUo a
ma^can ^ *" ^^ ^ ^ S°bbed
as
onlyTstr0ng
S f ll0Wed by a Season of
Panaf ' St°rm
°
—«ne
Early next morning, Dite, herself a veritable lark f«, .„
early nser, greeted her new friend with her eharaclrist flutter
and smile. Panas, not yet seated after his walk, took her no fn
fas arms, gently pressed the warm soft body to hkh'7 A
closed h.s eyes. This completed her congest of him T* £.
for
of eking to
irf'
Tf !?
^^ :it^:rVe
shade-tree he hastened to her in time to kiss her goodniX Cr'n
ually, too, fas morning visits were extended untilX would nt
thmk of leavmg her till she was due for her bath and Z^ "*
voted to S?
FridayS (the Suda
"
Smd
^> — -tireiy de-
It is impossible for me to give an adequate descrintion of
that devotton that was daily growing deeperld strong^e
He imported for her toys and dolls from Germany silk
hose and embro.dered dresses from France, laces from S and
Belgmm, and raked h,s brains to anticipate her needs and"
\
�- „
,1
THE SYRIAN WORLD
28
tTe wo^ o downThis hands and knees, frisk about and
^ t r^rrrecall one incident which I cann* help
S S^KStes ssfata ft
e„
wh
arms
Panas ^&^S^V^^f
^
w
^cu
J " ; °
lled out
for him, her little legs
t me she ca
^ t ^ed •-^^^fettj*
^dlt
in the air and danced around and around like
,° ^.
WUD
an idol, his ^"dyeai^g for a gm^sr^
last found satisfartion? On»«^fomed ft
^^
int0 „ welling
Sfntf grattata'Tadoration for the very agency that
^ WK that had once seen them, can eve,forget that indescribable expression of contented happiness m Panas face, as that
Dite
�JUNE, 1928
29
h
not
of flesh and blood butfte eTL? ^
f S me 'ethe * «>***
bearing him a divSe me2jt t^fl ° °
> ****
the bSie& te £ £1E tYh ^ A«U int0
b m f W man but
senger come fro heaven forZ
° enqUU
° ° of ' h * m^"
nor acted as though Sd°ne H "
^
«" *her
8 1 heard of M
"go after their introduction He
"^ J *"
*"
tirely passed 0ut SSSlfc*"S^ "" ^ ^ « *
paled hi: srclerenCe t0 W°men " his P— was still taboo. It
fathe^dThetS n^T t ^ £- * «- Her
and forgot his cu^ of coffee A^Z T* *** £* » th°^ht
of her. She was still thsame 1Ms 7*
^ t0 £nquire
WaS dlSpensed with
When in the evening the
or7^
*
'
Panas we
home and consultedhi bottle
of
uT
T"*
»t
b ttle of whlsk
tree.
°
Y under the old shadehe bef^agStte heay;^by **0 T^
°f the ^,
r m He fo
kite's face flushecheeves cW^ "V ^ °° d
PS
and
her breathing E2S^5^*> ' **
^^ «*
i*g. Panas calmly gazed at her £. h TT^, WaS moUnt-
^ng them ^^^^1^ ^
and &£S£&*1*1«|£ ^ely nurse8dUhP;r;
clouded face denoted STLfcSf ff
" frength wilted- >4>
his heart. But ne12 up heroSt'Id ^ W fT^ M
-£- to betray him, e£ept~"^ i^Ttpt
d
S
d
tofrom^ffiSf
lltmeJ
t
r
^
"
have aw
a long wearying sleeo Sht
T? '"
al"ned
gently looked ^<£ZJte*?*±h? T tf P^
up into an angelic little smiJeTndle called TANP ***""*
�r
*"%
THE SYRIAN WORLD
JV
Panas gently wiped her ^^St^^
he
ord
mei
He
pire
and
30
*< 'tCartSioon f3ftW» -n o'clock she
—K- day Panas *** Jg« ^jftS
place
was dosed; ^"J^*^ uncovered head he
F
He reappeared at the burial. vv>
coffin
took his stand by the weeping m*h«r bes.de
P
«
rive totally unaware of the presence ol any
fiS'upo/the Pf .Me f- ^re ^
^
aU
At the conclusion of the olem
g^ ^^ over her
CfJ5K3i^»M*: thrown over the
And, as the last shovelful otcan
arQund
.
bC
, .
_ i-ote rare of Dimitri.
"HeCal^d away much aged and depresse^
^called on him that evening. He was in D ,
^
heartened by ^f^' mroach him and appeared desirous
He beckoned me to approach hi
£
Af
of saying something to me but he .
^ ^ catch %
much effort he managed to whisper
single word.
. • h made another effort, but
He lay back exhausted. Again
with no better success.
iron box m a
A third effort: - this ^^^nted it and moved
corner of the room. 1 -^0j^rTom he signalled me to
it toward him. At the center ottne
^ ^^
stop. He now directed me ^ abc^c ^ - -^
h
and" I bought that down. T
£ete ^
d
? ~^S- at the match case by the door. - I un
derSt0 0
T he first article I saw ^J^^l^J^fft
of a couple in bridal attire ^{f^cd the terrible scar.
Panas in his younger days betore
His bride was a stranger to me.
kcrosenc on the conAtarigndto^.l^^fflatch. The flames
tents of the box and applied the light
flared up.
1
A
4
�JUNE, 1928
31
he JKfcSSrf » ^ * ^ - ^s elbow,
ords of his mystertuT «reer wkh^ "P **? ~ a11 the rec~
ments, emotions, p^S ,
TndTToh
' ^7*"
He kept staring until the last t%T n
n ~ what else-?
Y
fllckered and
pired leaving crackl nVcuruS
k sheets
^
«g
and died out
^ ^^
*** finally glowed
Panas fell back in bed a lifeless corpse
We buried him by Dite's side.
Spring
By BENJ. T. HOFFIZ
ix gl
wf !i;r
:
Who
fills the
thou Kin ma es
^,; bright
J t,
th ith& sJibeam
And crowns the fields with beauty that begufe
Thy glory 1S Edenic which once was man's attires
Wth^f ,fl°WTS' thy goJden ^ do greet
With cheerful smiles and ev'ry morn repeS,
Thy pow'r mfuS1ve everywhere we see
'
Proclaiming freedom, life and gaiety.
r b rdS
mUSiG m the
TheirT
^ i singing
' ?**cheers
'this world*iof care
Their tuneful
The gentle breeze sweeps o'er the hills and dells
Revives the hearts, the gloom of care dispefls
The dazzling stars, a grand celestial view,
In ceaseless sail afloat the ocean blue,
Betake our souls to wondrous realms above,
Where glory reigns with sweet eternal love!
The bounding waves upon the silver lake
In constant toss foe'er to keep awake:
g StrCamS
S ulfuJ h
eful
Our
° hearts
' °Prepone.
tone
Uur Z1
souls, arouse, our^weary
The whole creation in the bloom of life
Adorned with grandeur and in splendour rife
Rejoicing Plays upon my inward strings,
And gladly greets the coming of the Springs
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
52
Road Building in Syria
-D
By v,CE
u ATIING Beirut, with collaboration of
md
s
coX
"ws a &,*£ °*«
V?CB CONSUI. GORDON P. MERRUM, Aleffo.
(From "Commerce Reports" of May 14,1928.)
The following report furnishes i"^0?^^
ways in the territory under French raanctoe£*££>* been
statistics of the various States gM** £££ and the Re-
venlence be termed "national" 8"ndependent of the other,
Each of these States rs more orOess mdepena
and there is no higher «OTe "^y "fPd rectly in the conCommission whtch does not ^»^nd impUment are
struction of roads Koad constr
„overnments or
carried on ^*JJ^1MJ by the French
^'c^t^T^fore ,£^£*ZZ7Z
3RSS SgtS^M*
ous projects are coordinated.
whora thc vari
"
g
Road Mileage.
of which 1,700 are in the Rep«W.c °
;
and 6 kilome-
rof^alt roa/Sthin'the^pubHc of the Lebanon on the
Beirut-Damascus road.
The dass.ncat.on of the
^
.
sections of the
^^
rstivrsaStd #fA fe« I K* °
£
�JUNE, 1928
33
Syria, however, three types of roads are recognized: Those of
"interet general," "interet regional," and "interet local." From
the best official estimates the mileage of these roads is as follows.
Roads of "interet general," 3,478 kilometers; roads of interet regional," 3,430 kilometers; and those of "interet local,"
1,135 kilometers.
New Construction in 1927.
The following table shows the kind and mileage of new
roads constructed in the various States during 1927.
Mileage of roads Constructed in 1927 in Syrian territory under
French mandate
Kind of road
I Republic Syria
| of the (Aleppo |Alaouites| Total
I Lebanon district) j
Material used.
Dirt
Macadam .
Asphalt
10
6
Total
Class of roads.
Interet general
Interet regional
Interet local
Total
250
150
52
250
212
6
16
400
52
468
6
10
185
115
100
52
243
125
100
16
400
52
468
Road Budgets.
Each of the separate States included in the territory under
mandate has its own road budget, but the French High Commission itself has no budgetary provisions for the construction of
highways. The High Commission has recently released to the
State of Syria, but not to the Lebanese Republic, certain funds
obtained from customs duties which had previously been held
as a guaranty of the Ottoman public debt for the share owed to
it by the mandated territory. A considerable portion of these
funds is to be used in the construction of roads in addition to the
normal budgetary provisions.
w
�rnumm
THE SYRIAN WORLD
24
The estimated and proposed expenditures in the State of
Syria under these extraordinary provisions are as follows (conversions of United States currency are on the basis of 20 trench
francs to the Syrian pound):
Proposed extraordinary
road budgets
Jg «—*
\lfq
**" < *»--W00 (^.330)
1930 ZZZZZZZZZZZZ...
250,000 ($965,000)
191,600 ($739,576)
In addition to these extraordinary provisions for the years
noted there will be the normal budgets, which have not yet been
drafted, except for 1927. The normal budgets for that year
for roads in the various States, with the exception of the budget
for the State of Alaouites which is for 1926, were as follows
(conversions to United States currency being on the basis ol 20
French francs to the dollar and averaging -0.6485 to the Syrian
pound paper for 1926 and -3.86 to the Syrian pound gold for
1927):
Republic
of Lebanon for 1927
Normal road budget
P
£Syr. (gold).. 71,900 ($277,534)
State of Syria (for 1927)
do.."....161,813 ($624,598)
State of Alaouites (for 1926)
£Syr. (paper).... 29,813 ($184,177)
It has not been possible to secure data concerning the expenditures made by municipal governments in the construction and
upkeep of roads. On roads of local interest it is the practice
of the Government to accept the labor of near-by townspeople
in lieu of certain taxes. In this way many persons residing in
rural districts give a certain amount of work each year to the
roads in their immediate vicinity.
Sources of Revenue for Road Budgets.
All taxes, from both direct and indirect sources, are paid
into the general treasuries of the various States; from these resources funds are allocated to the departments of the various
governments, including the department of public works in each
State, which has under its control the construction of roads. As
of possible interest, however, there are shown below the principal
�JUNE, 1928
35
sources of revenue from direct taxes of the State of Syria and
the Republic of the Lebanon for the calendar year 1927.
Principal sources of road revenues estimated for 1927 in the
State of Syria and in the Republic of the Lebanon, under
French mandate.
State of Syria
Source
1
Republic of the
Lebanon
Syrian
pounds |Dollars*
Syrian
pounds
Land tax:
Improved property 105,000 405,300
Unimproved
60,000 231,600
Temettu( personal) tax
Tax on animals
Tithes
270,000 1,042,200
Road taxes
37,000 142,820
Taxes on vehicles
8,000
30,880
70,000
52,000
36,900
32,000
52,020
17,500
12,500
Dollars
270,200
200,270
142,434
123,520
195,797
67,550
48,250
* Conversions made at the rate of $3.$6 to the Syrian pound. _
Expenditures on Construction and Maintenance.
In the Lebanese Republic, of the 71,900 Syrian gold pounds
set aside for the 1927 road budget, 53,500 ($206,510) was for
repairs and the remaining 18,400 ($71,024) was for new construction.
Information regarding the proportionate amounts spent for
new roads and for maintenance in the entire State of Syria and
in the State of Alaouites is not available, but in the Syrian district of Aleppo it is estimated that approximately 90 per cent of
the proportionate amount of funds expended for the various
classes of roads is not available.
He who is liberal with his money will reap his reward in
appreciation and esteem j but he who is liberal with his honor
and self-esteem will be rewarded only with contempt.
(Arab proverb)
�L!
3C
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Book Reviews
RIHANI'S NEW BOOK ON ARABIA
Maker of Modern Arabia. The Story of Ibn Saoud. By Ameen
Rihani, 369pp. Illustrated. Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston. $6.00.
No book in English by a Syrian author has created the
world-wide public interest which has attended the publication of
Ameen Rihani's book on Ibn Sa'oud and Arabia. The European
edition of this most timely and interesting book, published in
England under the title of "Ibn Sa'oud, His People and His
Land", preceded the publication of the American edition by several weeks and reviews of it both in English and Continental
papers of the highest rank left no doubt as to its superior quality.
American reviews appearing so far are similarly expressive of the
highest admiration.
Ameen Rihani is eminently qualified for the task he has
undertaken. He combines the rare quality of being an accomplished writer in both Arabic and English. Born in Mt. Lebanon, Syria, he emigrated early in youth to the United States,
and while continuing the pursuit of his studies in Arabic, had
the advantage of acquiring simultaneously an adequate education in English. His high ambition would not, however, be satisfied with school-acquired training, and the results of his efforts
we can behold in many excellent works of poetry and prose
culminating in his latest, and what promises to be his greatest,
literary success.
Aside from his linguistic qualifications, Ameen Rihani had
for long enjoyed a wide reputation as a champion of pan-Arabism. His travels in Arabia were for the ostensible purpose of
promoting this cause. His fame as philosopher, social reformer,
liberal thinker and advocate of Arab unity for purely altruistic
motives and with utter freedom from the religious prejudices
which permeate all manner of activities in the East had preceded
him into the very heart of forbidden and inhospitable Arabia.
Sultan Ibn Sa'oud received him not only as an honored guest
but as a patriot and friend. He sought his enlightened opinions
on many questions of general interest as well as on confidential
�(
4
JUNE, 1928
37
matters of State. Ameen Rihani, the Syrian-American, was the
adviser of the powerful Arab sultan in one of the most momentous treaties concluded between him and the British government.
Sir Percy Cox, the British High Commissioner for Iraq, found
in Riham's presence at Ojair a timely and most welcome help
for the elucidation and expedition of the treaty he concluded
with the Prince who was to become later conqueror of King Hussein, Britain's chief Arab ally at the time.
Such being the personal qualifications of Rihani and the predisposition for his reception in Arabia it was but natural that the
account of his travels in that mysterious land should be exceptionally fascinating in its wealth of intimate detail. He encountered but one difficulty in reaching the country of the Arab
sultan. It was not, as might be presumed, the lack of transportation facilities or the hardships of travel over the vast stretches
of the desert. It was, rather, the persistent attempts of the
English to close in his face all avenues of approach. "The seas
of water and of sand are nothing to the sea of affability and
evasion" with which the English beset his way both before and
after reaching Baghdad. They considered "Ibn Sa'oud's country, in those days, (1922-23) a sort of sanctum sanctorum which
could not be approached by anyone outside of the few who had
access to another sanctum sanctorum on the banks of the Thames
in London". But Ameen Rihani outwitted them and gained his
goal. That he was of service to them later in the negotiation
of the treaty could not be construed as an act of gratitude on his
part} he was more anxious to serve his friend the sultan. The
thrusts and jibes the author directs at the English in describing
the many vicissitudes attending his progress towards Arabia are
most refreshing in their humor and originality. They afford
most pleasant reading—except, perhaps, to the English themselves.
From their very first meeting king and author became
friends. Rihani is most positive in his conviction that Ibn Sa'oud
is the dominating figure of Arabia today. The pen portrait he
has painted of him, with masterly stroke and fidelity to native
color, is instructive and fascinating.
But Rihani has no illusions about Arabia and the Arabs.
He reveals the people and their hitherto more or less mysterious
country with the impartiality of the true scholar. If on account
of Rihani's known sympathy for the Arabs the reader expects
�,»!..» —
38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
to find his book teeming with accounts of splendour associated
with an Arabian Night's atmosphere he is due for a disappointment. On the contrary, the author gives the dispassionate scholarly description of all phases of life and its conditions exactly as
he has seen them. And it cannot be sufficiently stressed that the
opportunity made available to Rihani was enjoyed by none other
before him. During his stay in Ryadh he was the guest of the
sultan and not only assisted at public councils but had the rare
privilege of making an inspection of the sultan's private quarters
in the palace under conduct of the sultan in person. This fact
should not be lost sight of, nor its importance minimized as a hitherto impossible privilege, especially when most other foreign travelers had to enter the country surreptitiously and by recourse to
all sorts of disguises. Rihani's opportunity for close observation
of the intimate details of life in Arabia were therefore unique.
This lends all the more importance to Rihani's book as being
in a class all its own among accounts of travel in Arabia.
Aside from its information value this latest book of our
gifted author is written in his happiest style. Many passages,
notably those written under the enthralling spell of the desert,
are bound to stand out as consummate examples of his exceptional mastery of the English language. And in spite of its
subject, the book may not be dreaded as heavy reading, the author having judiciously injected into it throughout that subtle,
delightful humor which supplies a continuous stimulus to read.
While congratulations are due our countryman author on
the success of his latest book, we cannot suppress a feeling of
pride in him for the permanent niche he has acquired for himself in the hall of fame of writers in English. It would not be
merely a compliment to him, but an appropriate avowal of our
sense of pride in the achievement of one of our own to have
his book in every Syrian home of culture.
We should add that Ameen Rihani has immortalized his
trip to Arabia by another intensely interesting book in Arabic
published in three volumes under the general title of "Kings of
Arabia", for his travels were not confined to Najd, the country
of Ibn Sa'oud, but comprised the whole Arabian Peninsula, he
being the first man to travel over all Arabia and interview all
of its rulers. In Rihani's early travels, King Hussein, then
still in power, came expressly from Mecca to the Port of Jeddah
to greet him and consult with him.
S. A. M.
HW
�I
JUNE, 1928
39
A VALUABLE DISCOVERY BY A SYRIAN SCHOLAR
As-Suyuti's Who's Who in the Fifteenth Century (Arabic). Edited by Dr. Philip K. Hitti, 232pp. Syrian-American Press,
New York, $3.00.
!
Dr. Philip K. Hitti has an overpowering passion for research.
When he was in Syria about three years ago he unearthed a
veritable literary treasure that had been overlooked by the foremost Arabic scholars. Although this work of As-Suyuti ranks
among his best it had escaped notice for over four hundred years,
so that when Dr. Hitti initiated his research for manuscripts of
it he could find only two in existence, one in Leiden and the
other in Cairo. At a considerable expenditure of both money
and labor, Dr. Hitti had the Cairo copy faithfully transcribed
and the Leiden copy photographed for comparison. The published work bears unmistakable marks of his having burned much
midnight oil in collating the data and vesting it with the scholarly aspect with which it is stamped. Dr. Hitti will surely reap
the gratitude of Arabic scholars for the pains he has taken in
reclaiming this valuable work of a famous Arab historian from
oblivion, but as to his success in recovering the capital investment
for the publication of the book we have serious doubts. Such,
alas! seems to be the lot of the Arabic scholar.
The scholarly value of the book is better explained by the
Editor's Note in English which is reproduced herewith.
"This work by the famous Egyptian historian and traditionist, Jalal-ud-Din us-Suyuti (1445-1505 A. D.), is based on
two ancient manuscripts—one in Cairo and the other in Leiden.
Of the five to six hundred books sketched by the pen of this
indefatigable author, whose knowledge was encyclopaedic in its
range and character, this book is one of the few valuable ones
that have hitherto been practically unknown to the world, neither
Brockelmann, Nicholson, Huartj nor Zaidan having ever mentioned it, or referred to the manuscripts, in their histories of
Arabic literature. The Leiden manuscript bears on the cover a
wrong title: "A'yanul-A'yan wa-'Abna* uz-Zaman." The material presented, therefore, is for the first time made accessible
to scholars and to the Arabic-speaking public.
"The book is a collection of 200 brief biographical sketches
of the most distinguished men and women in the Muslim world
who lived in or about the fifteenth century (9th A. H.). The
•
�—
H
THE SYRIAN WORLD
list, alphabetically arranged, includes faqths, sultans, poets,
grammarians, mathematicians, government officials, etc., scattered from Samarqand to Andalusia. The accounts contained reflect the social, religious and political life and institutions in Islam during the latter Mamluk period, and certain accounts can
be found in no other work.
, #
"The editor has collated the data in the two original manuscripts with other contemporaneous sources, made a number of
corrections, suggested some emendations, and added grammatical, historical and geographical notes."
An important feature of this book is that it is the first
scholarly work in Arabic to be set exclusively on the Linotype.
The editor expresses complete satisfaction with the results, lhe
faces comprise several sizes of type and many complications in
Arabic composition which were supposed to be hitherto impossible of execution except in hand type may be found faithfully
executed in the work of the Linotype. This is a decidedly favorable innovation which we trust will be duly considered by other
Arabic scholars.
A BOOK OF DELIGHTFUL POETRY
Keys of Heaven, by Barbara Young.
New York. $2.00.
Fleming H. Revell.
A Review by DR. N. A. KATIBAH
Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, from the
clang and clamor of contending humanity and from the daily
drudgery and materialistic cares of business and finance, Barbara
Young seems to have wrought her Keys of Heaven For in
that retirement-that happy peaceful abode of a truly poetic
nature she seems to have resigned herself to the inspiration,
whisperings and confidences of Nature's varied language, and to
have come to
"An understanding with the stars and night,
And trees, and wind, the hill-top and theisea,
"And stones and dew, and sorrow and delight.
�JUNE, 1928
41
Her book is full of the language of silence, the eloquent
utterings of unexpressed moods and the dulcet notes of unheard
music. Listen to her sing:
"Silence, I understand;
It is my language.
I understand the shadows of leaves,
And what they write upon a moon-lit road
Is plain to me."
4
Happy are they whose susceptible natures can unchain themselves from the shackles and boredom of the monotony of toil
and noise, and join her in those serene flights to that vast temple
of goodwill where the wind, the darkness, the rain, the moon,
the stars, the trees and the rest of Nature's chorus sing their
pious anthems to Beauty which, though all shall pass away, will
reign "for ever and evermore."
The Keys of Heaven is commendable for its feminine sweetness, simplicity and beauty, and for that delicate poetic touch that
beautifies faith by steeping it in a crystal bath of intangible mysticism.
Books reviewed in THE SYRIAN WORLD will be supplied to
readers at the publisher's regular price... Write to the Book Department of THE SYRIAN WORLD and send price with order.
Arab Proverbs
A loyal friend is a second soul and a third eye.
There is no torture like that of envy.
Do not open a door which will be hard for you to close.
The impatient will never find contentment, nor the quicktempered happiness, nor the shiftless a true friend.
True magnanimity is in the suppression of anger.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
42
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By
THE EDITOR
planned for this publication.
This could have been made
V\^ITH this issue THE SYRIAN possible only through adequate
WORLD closes its second financial returns, and these being in a manner disappointing,
year.
With long established publi- a policy of caution had of necescations the advent of an anni- sity to be followed. The whole
versary may not be of much future of the enterprise could
import, for they would have not be compromised by recourse
seen many of its like and proven to desperate expedients, it
their strength and stability by being obvious that a publication
their very age. But in the life which admittedly is a necessity
of a new publication the passing should be continued along its
of every milestone on the way present conservative standard
is of much greater significance rather than be permitted to
and consequently is hailed with flare for a brief period and
a keener feeling of elation. For then, sink into oblivion.
Nevertheless, THE SYRIAN
the very fact would imply endurance, virility and progress. WORLD as it stands is considerIt is an event which gives stim- ed by many amply adequate to
ulus to greater effort and adds meet the needs for which it was
to the sustaining power of hope. established. For us not to be
At this stage in our career, in completely satined with it is but
a field where THE -SYRIAN an expression of a far-reaching
WORLD is a recognized pioneer, ambition for its continued imwe feel that our efforts have • provement.
Those of our faithful readnot been in vain, although, in
ers
who have stanchly stood by
truth, we must admit that not
all our hopes have been pos- us from the beginning are aware
of the sustained effort we have
sible of realization.
We readily make this admis- made in keeping the publication
sion because of the sanguine up to the high, standard set for
nature of the hopes we had it. This standard is to be
cherished of bringing to a more more cultural than popular. A
rapid fruition the many and im- symposium held on these pages
portant improvements we had last year proved conclusively
FACING THE FUTURE
�I
JUNE, 1928
that the educated Syrians wish
this standard maintained. This
we have endeavored to do, but
now at the conclusion of the
second year we again find ourselves facing the same dilemma.
THE SYRIAN WORLD not being a collective enterprise, nor
in any way subsidized by any
individual or organization, nor
the deficit in the cost of its publication underwritten by any
agency, its continuance in its
present or any subsequent form
becomes wholly dependent upon the active and effective support of those who believe in the
adequacy of its service.
A
certain public spirit must be
developed in favor of the publication to the end that it should
be considered more than merely
an optional article of purchase
at its market value. A sense of
pride and an ethnological consciousness should prompt us to
view THE SYRIAN WORLD in its
true role as a racial organ intended to interpret us to ourselves and to others. Under
such a consideration it would be
quite unfair to establish a comparison between it and other
publications of its frequency of
issue and judge the two merely
by a standard of price. We readily admit that whereas many
American monthlies are sold for
a much lower price and have so
much more to give the reader
in the way of general informa-
43
tion, THE SYRIAN WORLD
should be judged by its own
standard in the exclusive and
somewhat restricted field and
by the nature of the service it
is rendering to a particular class
of readers.
Once this point is considered
we believe those of our loyal
friends who are alive to the
necessity of the service will act
on their conviction and undertake a little missionary work
for the publication so that with
the proper co-operation the
service will not only be continued but improved.
We feel no hesitation in publicly discussing the situation because we believe it sufficiently
vital to a large number of our
loyal friends and we owe it
them to make plain the truth.
Furthermore, the publication
being racial in character, Syrians in general should be made
acquainted with the actual progress of this first serious attempt
to interpret them in a cultural
sense. Thus the question becomes one of general interest
with which the whole Syrian
family should be made familiar.
We trust our readers will
give the matter as stated serious
consideration to the end that
each will lend his active cooperation to make their racial
organ the appropriate success
that befits their national pride.
In this retrospective glance
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
at the year ended with this issue, we can but remember with
the kindliest appreciation the
cumulative and, concrete proofs
of support and co-operation by
one class of our people in particular—the literati and intellectuals. They have shown their
approval of the enterprise by
liberal contributions of the most
excellent nature. It has proven
a genuine pleasure to travel this
hazardous road in such cheering
and encouraging company, and
our greatest satisfaction has
been that of supplying the medium through which such meritorious talent has found expression.
We do not wish to convey the
impression that we are facing
our third year with any sense
of fear. The resolve to continue remains as strong now as
it was in the initial stage of the
undertaking. It is only a matter of regret that our progress
has not been accelerated to the
degree we had anticipated. Let
us hope that with the revival of
the proper spirit of race consciousness the coming year will
augur a more promising future.
support THE SYRIAN WORLD
has not so far been lacking, and
it gives us a strong sense of confidence to feel that in this one
respect at least we have the sustained assistance of our ablest
talent.
Of the outstanding contributions for the July issue we
would mention an erudite discussion by Ameen Rihani on the
"Jinn and the Arabian Nights";
an able translation in poetical
form by Dr. N. A. Katibah of
the great Arabic nocturnal love
ode of El-Baha' Zuhair; a comprehensive outline of the history of the Syrians in New Zealand by Dr. C. Assid Corbanj
a delightful pen picture of a
Syrian-American scene touching
on an intimate social problem
by Paul Deab, and many other
contributions of interest.
We can also promise our readers that a host of other able contributors will be regularly heard
from, especially the learned
professors of the American
University of Beirut who have
so far been sponsoring most
liberally the cause for which
this publication stands.
Surely our readers appreciate
not only the excellent quality
COMING ARTICLES
of the material but the wide
COR the next and subsequent range of subjects covered,
issues many contributions of wherein the diversification of
the highest order may be pro- topics supply food for every
mised our readers. In literary taste.
�JUNE, 1928
45
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microco.mic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opi»ion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor
THE PROPER COURSE IN
THE LANGUAGE PROBLEM
It behooves Syrian parents to instill in their American-born children
the love of the Arabic language, but
if such efforts prove fruitless owing
to the incompatibility of the environment, then it becomes necessary
to let the child pursue his own natural course, because the child's
life runs into an altogether different
channel than that of the parents,
and if coercion is resorted to many
ill results may follow which will retard the child's mental development.
The Arabic language is not the
native language of this country and
it is doomed to extinction in the
course of a few decades. It is an
impossible task for us to keep this
language alive up to the second or
third generation. It is fitting, therefore, for those who show such solicitude for Arabic to check their zeal
in that direction and turn it to a
more proper and productive course,
namely that of supporting the literature in which they were reared,
while letting the child follow his
own inclinations in a country native
ta him but not to us.
INSTEAD of forcing upon the
child the study of a language for-
eign to him and which he is bound
to forget sooner or later, it would
be fitting for the parents to inculcate
in their children the love of our
traditional Arabic morals and the
proper respect for their racial descent and origin so that they may be
properly acquainted
with
their
genealogy.
(As-Sayeh, N.Y., May 21, 1928.)
NATIONAL AWAKENING
IN SYRIA
The Syrian nation has proven its
mettle in the last election. There
were those who indulged in pessimistic prophecies as to the dire results that would ensue if Syria were
permitted the free exercise of her
franchise. They unhesitatingly declared that the country throughout
its length and breadth would run
deep with blood. But in this they
were surely mistaken, for the Syrian
nation has proven all what true patriots had claimed for it, and set to
rest once for all the lying contentions of the pessimists who would
serve tflie interests of the foreign invader by picturing their country unfit
for independence.
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The fitness or unfitness of a counFUTILE INSURRECTIONS
try for independence is but a decepThe supremacy of Europe is based
tive formula of the diplomats which
only the feeble minded believe. not upon its numerical strength but
Those who are in possession of their upon its superior civilization. This
political reasoning, however, realize cannot be overcome by sheer brute
that the real test of a nation's fit- strength, and our poor brother
ness can come only after it had ac- Easterners have so far remained untually achieved its independence. willing to understand or admit this
A man cannot be expected to walk fact.
normally like others of his kind
Perhaps the first Eastern leader
if his feet are shackled. Who is the to realize the truth of the situation
man that can swim when his arms is Mahatma Gandhi. He has advo«are bound?
ctted passive resistance to the EngThe Syrian nation has disclosed a lish and counseled the Hindus to regenuine and healthy aspiration for sort not to force but to the developindependence. This aspiration can ment of their intellects so that they
be achieved only through the efforts may wage on 'the English not a
of the nation itself, because the na- battle of fire and steel but one of
tion can realize better than any oth- wits. Whatever his success so far
er its own shortcomings as well as he has at least opened to his countryits possibilities. But it becomes men a wide path for action which if
necessary that the nation be given followed will surely lead to a victory
the proper opportunity to exercise of the Hindus over the English.
its independent powers, and if after
It would be well for the Egypta fair trial it is found wanting then ians to study the Gandhi policy and
there would be opportunities aplen- make a serious effort to develop its
ty for the grabbing powers to step educational and civic possibilities
in and take the reins of government and use them as weapons against
the English instead of resorting to
from its hands.
It stands to reason that a weak brute force. We feel confident that
nation like that of Syria cannot be with the employment of these methexpected to accomplish in a short ods England will soon find herself
time upon achieving independence defeated in the Nile Valley.
what it has taken other nations ages
As for Syria, we have oft repeatto do, but without independence it ed that it could never rid itself
would be impossible for it to accom- of French rule by force. The failure
of the armed revolt of the Druzes
plish anything at all.
But the nation which elicits the amply proves this contention. It is
admiration of the French High Com- now a question of organizing the
missioner for its orderliness at the country for political and industrial
polls, and which gives such undi- progress on a program of co-operavided support to the national cause, tion. The latest news from Syria
is not the kind of nation that should indicates a gratifying orientation to
be subjugated and fettered, nor could this viewpoint, one of the most
it be long held under restriction if pleasing signs being the apparent
resignation to the French of former
force is applied.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb,N.Y.,May 16,1928) Syrian leaders who had advocated
�JUNE, 1928
an uncompromising policy of opposition. Even a die-hard of the type
of Dr. Abdul Rahman Shahbandar,
for instance, having expressed such
a change of policy in his message
of congratulation to the victorious
Nationalists in the last Syrian elections.
We indeed welcome such signs of
rationalism in Syria, for in such a
sane spirit alone could the country
be assured of a prosperous future.
(As-Sayeh, N.Y., May 17, 1928.)
THE RETURN TO REASON
The colonial papers, whether in
our native land or abroad, have exhausted their efforts in deceiving
their readers and drawing a blind
over their eyes to prevent them from
seeing the patriotic, independent
aims of the revolution in their true
light. Now, however, the advancing
armies of truth and reason are putting these papers to an ignoble
flight, so that they find their former positions untenable and are
making desperate efforts to effect an
orderly retreat. Their present tactics are to pave the way for a gradual withdrawal from their former
positions in order to align themselves
with the true patriots. Surely they
could not have withstood much longer the growing condemnation of public opinion. One of the first signs of
this change of policy is the admission by these papers of the benefit
accruing to the country from the
armed revolution. Under the circumstances we can but welcome into
the fold of true patriotism those
errant brothers who had previously
singled us for their vituperation.
(Al-Bayan, N. Y., May 19, 1928.)
47
RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
IN THE EAST
According to reports in the native
Syrian press, the Christian missionaries in Palestine have resorted to
methods which proved obnoxious to
the Moslems. The Moslems, by way
of protest and retaliation, staged
many violent public demonstrations
during the meetings of the International Christian Missionary Conference in Jerusalem. In this no one
interposes an objection, but were the
Moslems satisfied with this method
of protest against the foreign missionaries ?
It is to be regretted that our
brother Moslems began to look not
only upon foreign missionaries but
upon all Christians without exception as enemies of Islam.
In this they have undoubtedly
overstepped the bounds of reason
because they indulged in demonstrations which were reported to be unmistakably directed at Christianity
instead of at missionary activities.
The fanatical motives behind such actions are too dangerous to go unchallenged.
In view of these occurrences could
there be left any doubt as to the
truth of former assertions that religious fanaticism is deeply rooted in
the hearts of the Palestinians, the
Syrians, the Egyptians and all the
Arabs in general? And is it not
folly to permit the termination of
European mandates in Syria, Palestine and other Arabic - speaking
countries while religious fanaticism
takes such a dangerous turn at the
least provocation?
There may be loud cries of patriotic motives behind political demands
in the East, but we may be sure that
this is only a sham and a blind, be-
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
nation will not be complete, however, until the Constitution is formulated guaranteeing the nation
the full control of its destiny. The
Constitution will undoubtedly be of
that character unless the French
IN GRATITUDE TO FRANCE
again take it upon themselves to
undo
the good work of the Syrians
Had it not been for the sword of
and
plunge
the country in its forFrance not a single Christian in
mer
state
of
chaos.
Syria would be alive today. France
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb,
N. Y.,
has been our protector from the
May
15,
1928.)
time of the remotest massacres and
she plays her noble role to the
present day. We are indebted to her
for our very blood. It is only a tes- THE PRINCIPALITY
OF LEBANON
timony of gratitude to ask France
to be in our country.
A number of influential Lebanese
If the United States had accepted papers are still waging a heated
the mandate over our country there controversy over the possibility of
would have been none better. But making a principality of Mt. Lebanon
the United States has refused and and establishing Prince George LutFrance becomes the only logical fallah on its throne. It is patent that
Power for the task.
these discussions are the result of
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., May .5, 1928.) organized propaganda subsidized by
the Prince. But the fact that should
not be lost sight of is that the LebaOUTSTANDING NEWS
FROM SYRIA nese will never countenance a change
The most important occurrences in from the republican form of governSyria at present are the elec- ment. Furthermore, it is inconceivtions for the Constitutional Assem- able that they should consider or acbly, and the most important phase cept as prince or president anyone
of these occurrences is the victory but a native of their own country.
This propaganda for Prince Lutof the Nationalist ticket, comprising the men who had been but a fallah seems to have resolved itself
short time since hounded by the into a money making opportunity
mandatory authorities and their for some political adventurers
spies and who have now been con- whose loyalties veer with every wind.
firmed as the leaders of the nation Many among us are the quack leaders who neither have the ability nor
and the custodians of its destiny.
The Nationalists have achieved the sincerity to support their claims.
their victory not through their Of a truth, our national misfortune
might and money for of these they has not been in the coming of a
have none. It was rather the con- foreign mandate to the country, but
sciousness of the electorate that they rather in these destructive claims of
were in the right which secured for leadership whether in the press, in
them their signal victory over their the political parties, or in the ranks
of the clergy.
opponents.
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., May 24, 1928.)
This self-assertion of the Syrian
cause the true motives are soon uncovered in their proper light upon
the first real test.
(Syrian Eagle, N.Y., May 23, 1928.)
.
�JUNE, 1928
49
Political Developments in Syria
The final elections to the Consti- elections tended to widen the breach
tutional Assembly in Syria took and create bitterness.
place on April 24. The returns all
Success, however, attended the
over the country indicated a land- efforts of the regular Nationalists
slide for the Nationalist ticket which except in some hotly contested diswas hailed with unbounded elation. tricts in Damascus where the govFrench High Commissioner Ponsot ernment was able to bring to bear
was in Damascus for three days extraordinary influence.
personally supervising the course of
The country received the news of
this great experiment in representa- the victory for the nationalist cause
tive government in Syria, and while with great rejoicing. Especially in
there were reports that some med- Damascus were the demonstrations
dling had been attempted on the of the most spontaneous and enpart of some government officials, thusiastic nature. Thousands of
principally the Minister of the In- young men marched in one solid
terior, the elections as a whole took mass to greet and congratulate the
place without any official interference. winners and exact from them solemn
This has helped to create a better promises to stand fast by the defeeling of understanding between mands of the nation. In every case
the Syrians and the mandatory the delegate appeared at the balcony
Power.
of his house and addressed the
There were but two tickets in the throngs making the desired promise
field, that of the government and under oath. One noteworthy phenothat of the Nationalist group. The menon of the great popular enthusurprising development was that siasm was that a group of patriotic
Sheikh Taj Eddin El-Hassani, head women, in defiance of tradition,
of the provisional government, was made their appearance in the streets
a candidate on both tickets. He was of the capital to celebrate the vicchosen for his present post on the tory and rally the men to the supstrength of his Nationalistic affilia- port of the Nationalistic cause.
tions and tendencies, and the confiAccording to early estimates, fuldence the Nationalist party still re- ly eighty per cent, of those possesposes in him was proven by his sing the franchise availed themselves
Choice as the chief candidate of the of it on election day. This average
party. The sentiment of the whole attests the great enthusiasm of the
country being nationalistic, there Syrian people over the new order
would have been but one ticket in of things and bespeaks their fitness
the field if some members of the for representative government.
government had not chosen to launch
The convocation of the Constitua ticket of their own, thereby creat- tional Assembly in Syria was tening the apparent complication. The tatively set for May 12. High Comreported unlawful interference of missioner Ponsot is expected to make
the Minister of the Interior in the the opening address setting forth
�50
the poiicy of France towards Syria.
From well informed sources it is
learned that he will define the authority of the Assembly and indicate
the bounds within which it could
proceed in framing the Constitution.
The reservations which the High;
Commissioner is expected to. make
will rest upon the stipulations of
the mandate given France over
Syria by the League of Nations.
From the same source it was
learned that the Constitutional Assembly will decide on a republican
form of government for the country. When pressed to give a reason
for this choice the official stated that
the country was in no mood to countenance a monarchy or other similar forms of government, because
the Syrians fully realize their fitness
for the exercise of democracy. Furthermore, the people could not agree
on any native Syrian to elevate him
to the throne, and to repose the honor in a foreigner is out of the question.
One of the principal candidates
was asked hi-s opinion on the future
relations of France and Syria in view
of the victory of the Nationalists
and he unequivocally replied that
those were liars and traitors who
claimed that the Syrians were enemies of France or contemplated a
policy of opposition. What the Syrians want, according to this delegate, is that they be given their full
national rights which they would be
anxious to exercise in a spirit of full
co-operation with France. France,
he stated, was in a position to gain
Syria as a stanch and permanent
friend if only slight differences in
policy could be adjusted.
Now that the Syrian elections
have assured the Nationalist Party
control over the Constitutional As-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
sembly, to which the delegates were
elected on the basis of the old Nationalist Program, it is well to recall the principal demands of the
Nationalists as made public in their
final form in June, 1926. These demands include the independence of
Syria by granting it full liberty to
frame its own constitution and take
the proper measure for restoring
its unity; the evacuation of Syria
by the French within a period of
five years during which Syria would
have organized its national army;
and the establishment of France's
relations with Syria on a basis of a
treaty which would be limited to a
term of fifteen years, and other demands of a minor character.
The question of Syria's unity
looms up as the biggest internal
question in the Nationalist program.
This question has now undergone
material modification upon the Nationalists finding their former position concerning it untenable. Their
former understanding of unity was
the restoration of Lebanon to the
body politic of Syria. This restoration
was to include not only those portions of Syrian territory ceded to
Lebanon but Lebanon itself in its former restricted boundaries. Now, however, the accepted definition of tihe
term "Syrian Unity" is that integral
sections of Syria, such as the Druze
Mountain, be included under the
central Syrian government. The
Druze Mountain, like the district of
Alaouites, has been created an independent unit under direct authority of the High Commissariat. One
of the' principal demands of the
Druze revolution was to be permitted
to join the central Syr an government at Damascus. The Druze
Mountain did not participate in the
last Syrian elections.
�JUNE, 1928
51
About Syria and Syrians
FRENCH IN SENEGAL
PERSECUTE THE SYRIANS
The New York Evening Post published in its issue of May 24 the
following copyrighted dispatch from
its Paris correspondent.
"The danger of a Syrian invasion
of French West Africa has reached
a climax. Governor General Carde
has been advised that more than
20,000 Syrian traders are plying
their business in Senegal alone.
"French bankers and traders generally are inviting the local government immediately to apply rigorous
orders for the expulsion of these
undesirables, and, if necessary, promulgate a decree along the same
lines as that recently enforced by the
Liberian Government, running, 'All
Syrian traders carrying on trade
into the interior beyond ports of entry are to return therefrom within
fifteen days. Any Syrian trader
found within such areas at the expiration of that time will suffer
penalties.'"
Commenting on the above dispatch, the Arabic daily paper Meraat-Ul-Gharb of New York, in its issue of May 26, expressed itself as
follows:
Are the French to be ever pursuing us with persecution?
They have crowded us out of our
own country and now they are seeking to expel us from another colony
of liheirs.
They have imported into our country the Armenians, the Senegalese
and the Moroccans and given them
access to whatever remained of our
!
economic resources while none of
them rises to our standard of character or compares with us favorably
in historical background. But the
French insisted on planting them
among us and virtually issued an
ultimatum to us that the presence
of these people in our country was
an absolute necessity, for otherwise
we could achieve no progress.. .and
no development... and no happiness ... We sought our fortunes in
the wilds of Africa and there unfolded the banners of trade which
are the standards of civilization,
and through this means brought the
African savages into touch with products and influences of the modern
world, but what was our reward for
rendering this signal service to ourselves and to civilization ? We were
laid open to the danger of expulsion
by collective action on the part of
French interests on the ground that
we were "undesirables"!
In this manner are the Syrians rewarded for their enterprise. They
are subject to attack and persecution
because they are weak and have not
at their disposal any means of defense. They are hounded in far-off
Senegal by the French because the
French have visited upon them all
kinds of indignities in their own
homeland and found them submissive.
If we were to compute the wealth
acquired by the Syrians in Senegal
from the time they first set foot in
that country to the present day it
would not amount to a fraction of
what some French officials in Syria
have embezzled from customs re-
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
developed for the throwing of a fraternal chain around the globe, with
the thought of the Fatherhood of
God as the center and the Sacred
Volume of the Law as the guiding
inspiration. The new Lodge is named Ibrahim il Khalil (Abraham the
Beloved), and works in the Arabic
language. It made a fine record
during the period of probation in
1927.
"Already our Syrian Lodges —
there are four of them now — are
thinking of forming an independent
Grand Lodge of their own. A petition looking for the approval of New
York toward that end was presented
to us this year as the first step
toward independence and self-government. * * * * * A number of the
Lodges working in Syria and the
Lebanon under other jurisdictions
already have expressed a desire to
FOUR AMERICAN MASONIC
be
part of the new formation.
LODGES IN SYRIA
* * * Indications are that probably
From the New York Masonic Out- within two years or so we shall enlook, organ of the Grand Lodge of joy the privilege of helping constiNew York A. & F. Masons, we learn tute a new and truly Masonic juristhat there are already four lodges diction in the Near East."
established in Syria under charter
The activities of the American
from the American Grand Lodge. Grand Lodge, however, seem to be
The latest Syrian Lodge to be so for the present confined to Syria and
established was that of Damascus Lebanon and avoid interference
as was reported in the December in Palestine because it is being un1927 issue of the Outlook in the fol- der British jurisdiction. That part
lowing account.
of the report touching or. this mat"The constitution of a new Lodge ter states that "The Grand Master
in ancient Damascus, the capital of and Senior Grand Warden conferred
Syria, will be remembered as an at Jerusalem with an old Master
historic event of high significance Mason living in that city, who is a
leader of a group of Masons that
for Freemasonry.
"Damascus, the oldest city in the would like to have New York grant
world, which existed before the days them a dispensation to form a Lodge.
The petition has been pressed by
of Abraham, now has within its con
fines a Lodge established by the correspondence for more than a
Empire State of the New World. year and similar requests from two
Thereby in the traditional homeland other cities of Palestine have also
of the Craft a new start has been JLbeen received and given careful atgiven to that which the ages have tention. It was made clear that
ceipts and through other methods of
extortion during only the last few
years.
Nevertheless, the French in Senegal claim that we have invaded their
colony and want to brand us as undesirables, while their military invasion of our own country which
they have reduced almost to the condition of a colony for the profit of
their rapacious officials they very
innocently overlook. Rather, they
think they are conferring a favor
upon us for so doing.
Verily, those of the Syrians who
champion the cause of the French
in their invasion of our country
have lost the dignity and self-respect
of manhood.
�JUNE, 1928
New York would not depart from
its decision not to start Lodges in
a territory in which the United
Grand Lodge of England already
has established a Masonic center
and where also the Grand Lodge of
Scotland has several Lodges at
work."
SYRIAN ORGANIZATIONS
PLAN FEDERATION
By Edw. B. Karam.
At a conference held in the American House at Pittsfield, Mass., May
6th and 7th, delegations representing Syrian and Lebanese organizations in North Adams, Mass., Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Torrington, Waterbury, New London, Danbury, Ansonia, Conn., and Pittsleld, Mass.,
laid down foundations for what
promises to be a national organization working for the promotion of
Syrian welfare in America.
The prime mover in this splendid
undertaking was the Syrian-American Club of Pittsfield which, at the
celebration of its 15th anniversary
last December, propounded through
its speakers the need for federating
the different organizations into one
solid national body. Encouraged by
the favorable comments of the delegations then present, the Pittsfield
Club decided to "carry on".
With the aid of the public-spirited
Syrian press and otherwise, organizations were informed of the movement and asked to send delegates
to Pittsfield for the purpose of deliberating further on the matter. The
above delegations answered the call.
At 2 P. M., Sunday, May 6th,
Louis N. Massery, President of the
Pittsfield Club, opened the meeting
S3
with an eloquent address, welcoming
the delegates and outlining the work
at hand. He was unanimously elected chairman and the meeting was
called to order.
Out of these deliberations which
continued well into the evening, and
Monday until 3 P. M., a constitution
and by-laws for "The Lebanon-Syrian - American Association" were
drawn up. These are to be submitted to the voting body of the different clubs, and with the promised
support of their respective delegates,
it is hoped that acceptance, and organization at a later date, will be
forthcoming.
The new association will have a
democratic form of government.
Each local unit will maintain its independence in local matters, and be
represented in the national body
which will decide matters of general
interest.
SYRIAN TENOR
WINS SCHOLARSHIP
We copy from the May 3rd issue
of the Musical Courier, New York,
the following item about one of our
promising Syrian singers.
E. Abdo Urban, young Syrian
tenor, won a scholarship given by
Zilpha May Barnes, president and
director of the G. I. S. of New York,
in memory of her father. Mr. Urban and several hundred other students sang for Mrs. Barnes, when
he was awarded a free trial term,
being one of six winners. When the
final try-out occurred, he was chosen
as winner for a year's free tuition.
This was largely due, it is said, because he completely changed hia
vocal method in three months, losing
the squeezed, throaty tone, and
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
5v
gaining round, full tones. He is
twenty-six years old, stands six feet
one inch, and is a true Arabian
type; he came to this country when
a boy of nine, lived in California,
studied and worked in pictures, sang
in the leading theaters, and is well
known on the Pacific Coast as Abdo,
the Arabian Tenor. He was featured at Grauman's Hollywood Egyptian Theater for six months, then
sang minor roles with the Los Angeles Grand Opera Company. Mr.
Urban intends to finish his studies
with Mrs. Barnes, his ambition being to sing grand opera; he has all
the qualifications, speaking six languages.
the matter in the eyes of the Moslems who had learned to look up to
America with special favor.
The reaction of the Egyptian
press to the incident, involving an
American missionary who for forty
years had been he}d in the highest
esteem in Egypt, is reported by the
Egyptian weekly Al-Mosawar, in its
issue of April 27, as follows:
THE ZWEMER INCIDENT
IN AL-AZHAR MOSQUE
Although the Moslems were ever
sensitive to missionary activities, it
may be safely asserted that in latter
years they have become more so
than ever. This may be partly explained by the fact that a new consciousness of both a religious and
a national nature has developed as
a result of the World War. At
any rate, the Moslems are now more
assertive in their objections to Western missionary activities than they
were before.
Cable dispatches in the latter
part of March had referred to an
incident occurring in Egypt which
led to serious disturbances and riots
directed against American missionaries in Egypt. This coincided with
the holding of the International Missionary Council in Palestine and for
that reason had a special significance. That the man involved was
an American added to the gravity of
"The incident of Dr. Samuel M.
Zwemer was the talk of the papers
for the last week because Dr.
Zwemer has been known here for
the last forty years, during which
time he was tolerated by both the
population and the ulema, although
he has always been active in his
missionary efforts to gain converts
to Christianity within his Protestant
faith. This is a manifestation of
great tolerance on the part of the
natives which Dr. Zwemer should
have sufficiently appreciated as not
to abuse it to the point of visiting
Al-Azhar, considered the stronghold
of Islam, and there distribute tracts
and literature embodying a call to
them to embrace his religion.
"No better proof of the ill-advised
action of Dr. Zwemer could be had
than in the attitude which foreign
correspondents in Egypt assumed
towards this incident. They have
altogether ignored it just as if it
had not occurred, while if they had
discovered the least excuse for it
they would have seized on that flimsy pretext as is their wont in everything they report about local happenings whether large or small.
"An analogy to this incident was
drawn by a remark which one of
the natives made to the foreign
press correspondents when he said:
'If you gentlemen want an illustration of the gravity of this incident
�JUNE, 1928
^i?*^ -^,^|%^ .'.y ®$%
I would ask you to imagine a Moslem sheikh entering St. Peter's cathedral in Rome to ask the Catholics
gathered there to embrace Islam.
What, I ask, would be done to
him?'"
PIPE LINE FROM
MOSUL TO TRIPOLI
-
If the reports published in the
Syrian press prove authentic, the
port of Tripoli, in Mt. Lebanon, !3
to become a great shipping and export center for oil.
According to published reports, a
mixed commission of English, American and French engineers had been
surveying since February the possibilities of building a pipe line
from Mosul to one of the Mediterranean ports. It was at one time
taken for granted that the terminus
of this line would be in Haifa which
is under British control. But now
it is claimed to have been learned
from well informed sources that the
engineering commission had decided
in favor of the port of Tripoli which
is in the French mandated territory
The reason given for this decision
was that the cost of construction
and transportation would be a great
deal less to Tripoli than to any other
port.
The proposed pipe line would seem
to immediately solve several problems. In the first place, Tripoli had
long complained of its isolated position because of the charge that the
French retarded its progress in favor of the port of Beirut, where
there is a modern port constructed
by French interests. And in the second place, the decision would solve
a political question which had been
viewed with much alarm by the
Lebanese people. This question arose
out of the clamor of Tripolitans for
joining the State of Syria in the
hope that their port would become
the outlet of the Damascus government to the sea. But now that Tripoli is chosen for the terminus of
the pipe line from Mosul sufficient
business activity would be created
in it to calm the fears of the population over the future.
SYRIAN MEMBER OF
FRENCH AIR MISSION
The Syrian newspaper As-Sayeh
reports that among the members of
the French Air Mission recently arrived in New York and now touring
the United States is a Syrian by the
name of Dr. Alex. Abdelnour.
Dr. Abdelnour was born in Damascus, but after graduating from
the Medical College of Constantinople went to Paris for his postgraduate work. He chose, however,
to live in France and for the last
thirty years has been active in
French politics. He was at one time
elected mayor of the city of Bazeilles
and later became the president of its
aeronautical club. His appointment
on the commission now visiting in
America is in appreciation of his
contributions to the progress of aviation in France.
NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL
DISCOVERIES IN BYBLOS
The French archaeological mission
conducting researches in Byblos,
which is modern Jubeil, has announced making some valuable discoveries
recently in its excavations by the old
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
56
wall of this ancient Phoenician city.
The treasures discovered include
swords, daggers, pins, anklets,
statuettes, scarabs, bowls, a gold
necklace and many other articles of
special geometrical designs. The
excavators also discovered at a
depth of ten meters in the vicinity
of the old city wall traces of old
Phoenician defense works in a splendid condition of preservation which
they declared to date to the third
millenium B. C.
The newspaper Al-Bas'hir, the
Jesuit organ published in Beirut,
states that these recent discoveries
have heartened the archaeologists
and prompted them to redouble their
efforts in the hope of making further and more important ones.
TRANSJORDANIA UNDER
ENGLISH CONTROL
The Nationalist element in Syria
and Palestine is much wrought over
the signing by Emir Abdullah of
the recent treaty with England. According to the report of Ar-Rayat, a
Syrian paper of Beirut, the English
threatened Emir Abdullah with the
fate of his father, ex-King Hussein,
if he refused to sign away the freedom of the country. Another threat
which was used as an effective argument by the English was the possibility of an invasion by Ibn Sa'oud's
hordes. The Emir, so the paper
states, having at heart more his personal interest than that of the country at large, submitted to the demands of the English so that now
Transjordania has come under the
direct jurisdiction of the British
High Commissioner of Palestine.
The paper bemoans the fate of the
Arabs who are reduced to such servility through the impotence of their
leaders.
ARGENTINIAN WOMEN
MARRIED TO SYRIANS
Twenty of them in a Single District
Anxious to Return to their
Native Land.
Readers of The Syrian World will
recall that the Syrians of Brazil
were lately much wrought over the
discovery by a Brazilian traveler in
Syria of a large number of Brazilian
women who bitterly complained of
the ill-treatment by their Syrian husbands. The Syrians of Brazil proposed at the time to defray all the
expenses for the return of these
women to their native country and
formally advised the Brazilian authorities of their disposition in the
matter.
Now, however, it has become
known that not only are there in
Syria Brazilian women who are subjected to this fate, but that as many
Argentinian women are suffering
from the same condition. Furthermore, the Syrian and Egyptian papers have taken up discussion of the
matter and the Brazilian and Argentinian authorities have not been
spared biting criticism for their supposed indifference in face of this
situation.
The latest development in this
connection is a private inquiry conducted by the Arabic paper The
Near East, published in Egypt,
through one of its trusted correspondents in Syria. In the latest issues
f
v.
)
/
.'?:
1 ';;
.
11
�JUNE, 1928
I
!
of this paper to reach the United
States the result of this inquiry is
given covering one district in the
interior of Syria, that of Al-Qalmoon. The report of the correspondent is partly as follows:
"In three villages of this district,
Arsal, Jibbah and Falitah, there are
no less than twenty Argentinian
women who are wives of former Syrian emigrants. These women were
brought over from their native country by their husbands and here made
to do menial work on the farms as
is the custom among the native women. These women are really unfortunate and complain of their
plight to every stranger they happen
to meet in the hope of securing relief from their bondage. I am certain that their case was called to
the attention of the Argentinian
Consul but his excellency seems to
have paid little heed to their complaints, being so adamant as not
even to acknowledge their frequent
petitions. Can there be no means
of relieving these women of their
pitiable condition? I must also make
it plain that these women are not
seeking separation from their husbands, but simply beg the privilege
of being allowed to return to their
native country, especially now that
many of them have become infected
with peculiar diseases such as trachoma and the like..."
The above statement, coming as
a result of what appears to be an
impartial investigation conducted by
a native paper, would picture the
situation as a grave one not alone in
one section but in many sections of
Syria. The comment of the Syrian
newspapers discloses a courageous
attitude towards the unpleasant disclosures, especially when it becomes
known that all the complainants are
wives of men of the Moslem faith.
57
Nevertheless, the matter is not viewed as a sectarian issue but is treated as a national problem which
should be judged on its own merits.
NOMAD ARABS IN SYRIA
A census has been taken of the
various nomadic tribes in the different sections of the Syrian hinterland and their total placed at
623,000. The principal tribes in the
Aleppo district are the Aneze, numbering 35,000 and the Hadideen,
numbering 25,000. While in the
Damascus district the principal tribe
is that of Roula numbering 35,000.
Where the Arabs predominate, however, is in the outlying sections of
Syria, in the district of Deir El-Zoor,
their estimated number in this section being as follows: Tribe of Aqidat, 50,000, tribe of Bousaraya, 24,000; tribe of Shummar, 50,000; tribe
of Befara, 40,000; tribe of Afadelah,
35,000; tribe of Sanja, 40,000; tribe
of Weldah, 35,000; tribe of Khersah,
47,000; tribe of Tai, 25,000.
A peculiar condition of these
tribes is that while they are within
Syrian territory they are not under
the jurisdiction of the Syrian government but come under the direct
authority of the French High Commissioner. There is now a strong
movement, however, to claim for
these tribes the right of representation in the coming Syrian National
Assembly, in which case they would
gradually be brought to submit to
the authority of the Syrian government. The prime mover in these demands, it is stated, is Sherif Heidar,
uncle of King Feisal, Who is represented as wielding great influence
among all these tribes and in the
event of their securing the right of
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
56?
representation will be their logical
choice for a representative.
Sherif Heidar was once mentioned
as a candidate for the throne in
case Syria chose to become a monarchy. Recent developments, however,
indicate a strong Syrian inclination
for a republican form of government.
A NEW SYRIAN
ORTHODOX BISHOP
The Rt. Rev. Archmandrite Safronius Bishara was raised to the rank
of bishop in the newly formed Orthodox Independent Church of North
America in a special service held at
St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn on Sunday, May 27. The officiating dignitaries were the Most Rev.
Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, head of
the church, assisted by Bishop Elia
Deeb of Tyre who is on a visit to
the United States and Bishop Emmanuel Abu Hatab of Montreal,
Canada.
The see of the new bishop will be
in Los Angeles, Cal., and his jurisdiction will extend over all that section of the United States west of
the Mississipi.
An extraordinary feature of the
ceremonies attending the consecration of the new bishop was that the
rites were held in four languages,
Arabic, English, Greek and Russian.
OBSERVING MEMORIAL
DAY IN SYRIA
Syria also has its Memorial Day.
It falls on the 6th of May and is
annually observed with a good deal
of enthusiasm and appropriate ceremonies.
This day in Syria is an outcome
of the World War and is observed
in honor of the Syrian patriots who
were executed by Jemal Pasha, the
Turkish military governor of Syria
during the war period. The martyrs
included Moslems and Christians
and were sentenced to death for their
supposed activities in the promotion
of the Arab cause.
This year the pilgrimage to the
graves of the martyrs assumed the
form of a great patriotic demonstration. Students of the principal colleges of the country sent large delegations to the ceremonies and many
figures of national prominence were
observed among the throngs. Especially was the Damascus delegation
conspicuous
for
its
numerical
strength and its distinguished personnel.
Almost every speaker on this occasion made a strong plea for national independence. The authorities of Beirut, where the graves of
the martyrs are located, offered no
interference.
GENERAL AMNESTY
FOR SYRIAN REBELS
Following the elections held in
Syria during April, general amnesty
was declared for all political offenders, with the single exception of two
revolutionary leaders, Sultan Pasha
Atrash and Emir Adel Arslan.
Specific pardon was understood to
have been issued to the Syrian political leader Dr. Abdul Rahman Shahbandar who was expected to end his
voluntary exile and return from
Egypt to Damascus on the 26th of
May.
�JUNE, 1928
59
Readers' Forum
PIONEERING EFFORTS
WIN COMMENDATION
Dear Mr. Mokarzel,
v i
It is truly a pleasure to receive
and read The Syrian World. Once
a month I enjoy a veritable intellectual feast, when your magazine
comes to hand. I seldom lay it aside
until most of the contents are properly digested.
The field you are pioneering in has
for long been a dreary desert, and
by the grace of Allah alone would
you be able to steer clear of the
Simooms (poisonous winds of the
desert) of financial difficulties.
But while the future of The Syrian World will rest with Allah and
the sense of appreciation and loyalty displayed by its readers, the
Arabic world—in fact the entire
world of cultured humanity—will
ever remember your trail-blazing
efforts to create out of nothing a
medium of disseminating precious
knowledge of the East to the West.
My humble efforts, you may rest assured, will always be directed towards popularizing your publication for tremendous amount of good
which is bound to come from its
services.
T. H. K. Rezmie.
New York City.
(Editor's note—Mr. Rezmie, an
Indo-Afghan Moslem, is an outstanding figure among the educated
Easterners in America. He is especially interested in promoting a
spirit of understanding between East
and West. Like other Eastern intellectuals and literati, he believes
the East has a vast store of hidden
spiritual and cultural riches which
should be made available to the
West. His opinion of The Syrian
World is based on this consideration.)
A NEW SUBSCRIBER
VOICES HIS OPINION
Editor, Syrian World,
I have made a thorough review of
the last few copies of The Syrian
World reaching me and I cannot help
saying that I found it indispensable
to Syrians from the standpoint of
history, literature and education. I
heartily believe that in promoting its
success I or anyone else would be
doing a service to the Syrians in
general and to the future Syrian generation in particular. The good that
can be derived from it, the knowledge
it conveys and the fine spirit it instills cannot be measured in gold.
Edward B. Karam.
Pittsfield, Mass.
OF GENERAL APPEAL
Editor, Syrian World,
I have spent many a profitable
hour with the few copies I had of
The Syrian World. I find your publication most interesting and to my
mind it should have an appeal not
only to Syrians but to everyone interested in the East and in
world
affairs in general.
M. C. Gannelin.
New York City.
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
60
A BOOK YOU SHOULD HAVE
MAKER OF MODERN ARABIA, by Ameen
Rihani has proven a literary sensation. Never before
has a more accurate, extensive and authoritative picture of central Arabia been presented with as much
power. It is an epic of the desert j an up to the minute
"close up" of the cradle of the Arabian race.
The author of this great work is a Syrian of whom
everyone of his countrymen should be proud. A copy
of his book should be found in every Syrian home of
culture.
"Mr. Rihani's picture of the Wahabis is the sort of firsthand authoritative stuff that puts this book above and wholly
outside the range of the usual treatises either of travel, observation or politics."
N. Y. Herald-Tribune.
"The command over the subtleties of our anomalous language revealed in these pages, is uncanny. To read is to enjoy
the pleasure of music. From Ameen Rihani we have what can
scarcely fail to be a final portrait of that formidable chieftain,
Ibn Sa'oud, by right of conquest King of Mecca."
New York Times.
ORDER YOUR COPY FROM THE SYRIAN WORLD
AT THE PUBLISHER'S PRICE
$6.00 postpaid.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
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NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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TSW1928_06reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 02, Issue 12
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 June
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 2 Issue 12 of The Syrian World published June 1928. The issue opens with an article that discusses the importance of religious tolerance for Syria's progress by Rev. W. A. Mansur. Next there is a poem titled "Love" by G.K. Gibran. Following it is a continuation of "Arabic Words in the English Vocabulary" by Prof. Byron Smith, accompanied by another article by N.A. Mokarzel discussing the Arabic language as an asset. The next article by J. Ray Johnson discusses Syrians in America followed by a poem by Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin titled "Though but a Tiny Star." Tthe short story from the May issue titled "The Scar" by Dr. N.A. Katibah is continued. A number of Consuls from Beirut, Damascus, and Aleppo discuss road building in Syria. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press, the reader’s forum, and a continuation of the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
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Text/pdf
Type
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Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Byron Smith
Kahlil Gibran
Najib A. Katibah
New York
Poetry-English
Salim Alkazin
-
https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/files/original/4e1f1303eff054bfb6f45093b08e6095.pdf
2e89df35ece58901dedcb7c3453a883d
PDF Text
Text
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
A
MONTHLY MAGAZINE IN ENGLISH DEALING
WITH SYRIAN AFFAIRS AND ARABIC LITERATURE
ll&
THE JINN OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
AMEEN RIHANI
THE SYRIANS OF NEW ZEALAND
DR. C. ASSID CORBAN
A NOCTURNAL LOVE ODE
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
THE DANCER OF DAPHNE
ALICE FOULLEAU — SIMONE FRANCE
ARABIC AS AN ISSUE
A CHALLENGE TO SYRIAN-AMERICAN YOUTH
DESERT ROUTES BETWEEN SYRIA AND IRAQ
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SYRIA
PH
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THE NEW YORK
POBHC HB!8R!
462275A
ASTOR, LENOX AND
T1LDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE
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SYRIAN WORLD
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL,
Editor.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
J
104
GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK,
By subscription $5.00 a year.
N. Y.
single copies 50c
Entered as second-class matter, June 25, 1926, at the post office at New
York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. III.
No. 1,
JULY, 1928.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Jinn of The Arabian Nights
3
AMEEN RIHANI
A Nocturnal Love Ode (Poem)
DR. N. A. KATIBAH
The Syrians of New Zealand
DR. C. ASSID
g
JQ
CORBAN
Desert Routes Between Syria and Iraq
/G
CONSUL JOHN RANDOLPH
Arab Proverbs
2/
The Mallicks
?7
PAUL DEAB
The Dancer of Daphne
25
ALICE POULLEAU
Translation by
SIMONE FRANCE
�mmmmmmm
mmmmmm*
"SMS
CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Equality of Men
37
The Bitterness of Love
32
MAHBOUB THABIT
Syria (Poem)
\
34
EDWARD
B.
KARAM
Arabic as an Issue
A Challenge to Syrian-American Youth
35
An Open Letter to Mr. N. A. Mokarzel
E. K. SALOOMEY
37
To Speak or not to Speak Arabic
LILA M. MANDOUR
40
Notes and Comments—BY
THE EDITOR
in Its Third Year
A Worthy Community
Contributors to This Issue
THE SYRIAN WORLD
42
43
44
Spirit of the Syrian Press
45
Readers* Forum
/fg
Political Developments in Syria
49
About Syria and Syrians
53
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS ISSUE
Rihani at Home
Scenes of Mythology and Romance
\
\
�'" "
'
THE NEW YORK
^BLIC LIBRARY j
THE
HUJfiW POUNDATi,
SYRIAN WORLD^
VOL. III.
JULY, 1928.
No. 1.
The Jinn of The Arabian Nights
By
AMEEN RIHANI
^Author of "Maker of Modern Arabia", etc.
*
i
I
Is it not strange that he who entered the ancient Kaaba
and struck down with his staff the clay gods of idolatrous Arabia,
could not conquer absolutely their minions the Jinn? Is it not
significant that even a Prophet of God had to compromise with
this imaginary nation, this mysterious world of spirits, and accord it a place in the Muhammedan cosmogony? But some of
the deep and earnest thinkers of our times are resorting, it seems,
to the same tactics of the Prophet Muhammad.
The spirit world, after a lapse of centuries, is coming back
to us, not in the van of romance perhaps, but on the wings of
science. Whether the Great Secret can eventually be fathomed or
not, is another question. It does seem, however, that, like the
imaginary nation of the Jinn, it cannot be absolutely conquered;
and like Muhammad himself, we must take it in and accord it a
place in our scheme of things, no matter how modern our scheme is
and how scientific. For we are still living in a world of hidden
forces and are subject, like the ancients themselves, to the mysterious influences of the Universe. Spiritualism, metaphysics, science,
either of them or all of them combined may yet afford us a
satisfactory explanation; but only romance has hitherto dared
to build a world of the invisible and incorporate it into our own.
In the Koran, as in The Nights, the population of this_ invisible world is built, like human society itself, on class distinction, is divided into categories, into castes. We have first the
Jan, who are the most inferior, the serf-class; the Afrits, who
�4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
are the warriors; the Shaitans, who may be designated as the
upper-middle class; the Ghouls, who are the instruments of
horror and frightfulness, the degenerates; and most powerful,
most terrible, most exclusive of all, the Marids.
They all formed an intermediate world, working now
against the divine will, now against the will of man, frequently,
too, in his favor; and always bringing decision, finality into sway,
imparting grandeur and terror to human events, as well as to
natural phenomena. Born of the smokeless flame, the simoom,
they stand between Light—the Sun—of which the angels are
created, and dust—the Potter's Clay—of which man is made.
According to another authority the Jinn are of four kinds,
following their mode of locomotion;—the walkers, the creepers
or prowlers, the plungers or divers, and the flyers;—those, in
other words, who live in the depth of the sea, those who are
endowed with wings, those who are incarnate with snakes, dogs
and other animals, and those who go from place to place like
mortal man.
"We are seven kings," reply the Servants of the
Enchanted Wand to Hassan in the story of Hassan of
Bassrah, "each ruling over seven tribes of the Jinn of
all conditions, and Satans, and Marids, flyers and divers, dwellers in mountains and wastes and wolds, and
hunters of the seas."
The metamorphosis of the Jinn was often misleading to the
wisest and the best of Muslems; the Prophet himself sometimes
mistook his enemies among them for his friends. Yet, there
were honest believers among them, pious and just, who were
not supposed to suffer any cruelty or unkindness, because of the
iniquity of others. To be therefore on the safe side, to avoid,
in other words, the guilt of injustice to a believer, Muhammad
concluded with them all a treaty of peace, honorable and enduring, for which the Arab historians and commentators have always praised Allah. According to one of the principal clauses
of the treaty, the metamorphosed Jinn were given the benefit
of the doubt; and they were assured of the kind treatment of
a right Muslem, if they did not enter his house or intrude at his
prayer.
For the better guidance of the Faithful, the Commentators
quote the Prophet and illustrate, If a domestic snake, for in-
*
\
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�•anHKMHHMHaMBHHMMHanBBH
—
I
JULY, 1928
*
stance, which perchance is a Jinni and may be a believing Muslem, intrudes at prayer, he should first be asked politely to leave;
if he does not do so forthwith, he must be of the unbelieving who
are not accorded the benefit of the treaty, and he may be killed.
Thus, the killing of a snake sometimes gave rise to nice legal
distinctions and abstruse questions of creed. That is why 'Aishah,
the widow of the Prophet, after killing a snake in her house,
bethought her of the consequences and distributed as alms in
repentance the stipulated sum of blood-money according to the
Islamic law. The snake in question had not intruded upon her
while at prayer, but only happened to be in the rafters and suddenly, when she was undressing, fell on the carpet. But 'Aishah
would have no Jinni, believer or unbeliever, see her en deshabille; nor would she have a believing Jinni in the form of a snake
accuse her on the Day of Judgment of having offended against
the Faith by disregarding the treaty of the Prophet.
Not all the Jinn, however, are devoid of honor and shame.
The behavior of some of them is in fact examplary. In the
story of Abdullah ibn Fadel of The Nights, which is semi-historical, the believing Jinn are so admirably represented that their
virtues, even as reptiles, are rare among mankind. The snake
in this story was once in her human incarnation treated very kindly by Abdullah j and remembering this, even in her degraded
state, she repays him manifold by saving him from drowning
and saving also his wife, whV> had thrown herself after him
into the sea. A snake also saves the life of Zubeidah, the Lady
of Baghdad, and punishes her two wicked sisters, who threw
her and her betrothed in a fit of jealousy into the sea, by transforming them into dogs and delivering them to her to be whipped every day. Such horrible, indescribable forms of poetic
justice are common in The Nights.
Often too we are struck with the cultured and refined manners of the Jinn. Their learning and their artistic attainments
are quite remarkable. In the story of Kamar ez-Zaman a Jinni
quotes Arabic poetry, not indiscriminately, but with a fine sense
of distinction and a rare appreciation of the best. Their inimitable
grace of manner and their gentleness of behavior are to humans
most amazing, bewildering;—the more so because their grotesque
and frightful aspect, their colossal hideousness betokens nothing
so much as immediate and utter destruction. But that is what
makes the Tales so fascinating. The shiver and the deliaous
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
surprise are of a peculiar mechanism, which works rapidly, stunningly, ineffably.
Here, for example, is Hassan of Bassrah on his way back
from the Islands of Waq Waq with his wife and children. He
is happy in having found them and delivered them from destruction j—happy in having escaped with them the dangers of the
Jan country •—happy in the anticipation of seeing again his native
land and rejoining his mother. But lo, a column of smoke darkens the horizon before him and is moving slowly towards him.
As it draws near, his heart shrinks in his breast, drops from it
like a stone. The Islands of Waq Waq were a haven of safety
in comparison to what now confronted him. An Afrit it is—an
Afrit of the biggest, the ugliest, the most frightful:—an Afrit
"with a head like a huge dome and tusks like grapnels and jaws
like a street and nostrils like ewers and ears like leathern bucklers and mouth like a cavern and teeth like pillars of stone and
hands like winnowing forks and legs like masts." What in all
the abodes of horror and pain could be imagined as a more awful,
more fearsome thing of destruction?
But have no fear, O Hassan, and be of good cheer. He
comes not to swallow thee and thy beloved ones, this ogre, this
Afrit. He is getting, to be sure, nearer and nearer. Thou art
within the shadow of his legs, his ankles, his feet! Thou wouldst
not return and run away. He speaks. The sound of his voice
is like a thunderbolt} but his words, Allah be praised, are words
of assurance. He has heard of thine exploits and triumphs, and
he comes as thy servant and slave. He comes to show thee the
way, to offer thee protection, to accompany thee through this
dangerous land, to lead thee back to thy mother-country, thy
mother, and thy home. Giant souls of magnanimity in colossal
forms of frightfulness! Only Romance is capable of such creations.
Nor are the Jinn casual in their nobility. They can pledge
themselves in friendship and be faithful and loyal to the end.
Badi'at el-Jamal, in pledging herself to a mortal, makes him
swear by his religion that he will be true, and warns him that
"whoso betray the other shall fall victim to the wrath of Allah."
She threatens not; but she evinces a sublime assurance in Allah
who will avenge her if she is betrayed. Nothing is more spiritually beautiful in the fiction of humans or Jinn. With them,
too, as with the Arabs, the bond of brotherhood is sacred and
/
4
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5=
I MMB " : I
Mli
JULY, 1928
binding forever. They recognize and uphold in *ls connection
Tu
-JL- of
nf sanctuary,
^nrtuarv We
manyy brilliant and thrilling
the right
vve have
n
^ ^
•
4
t
ST-ELSE.
:rthTbu^n g^Nhl^refuses
smell 01 human*
F
7
SOmetimes develops into a
iTe^nltr^wn S^ Indeed, like their Arab.neighbors
They would do battle to vindicate their sense of loyalty, to make
good a pledge of friendship and brotherhood.
It is not my purpose, however, to picture them as forever
migh y n their benevolence, forever benevolent in their might
NV they are not always and ever absolutely good and pure In
fS the Tinn are Jinn, that is they are creatures who partake of
heWeof angis and mortals. When they -e good therefore they are supremely so, and when they are bad, they are
nnsoeakable That they could inflict the most hideous, the most
eZSg forms of torture upon their enemies, is quite natural
such CrUelti£S
nly
S
"
°
-rr°T
can suggest to a wicked mind. |U
Even in
in thhe
nunishment of the guilty and in wreaking vengeance upon the
C, thTcan not, like the Arabs themselves, ever conceive of
?OTP^
slightest expression
^^What horrible, unspeakable examples we have of this in
Th
Nights.
It ^^^^^^t^
ttZSLT^, roXr wide his chance, must meet
n the enZ not with poetic justice, but with ^»^£
ablv savage. His blood has no more value than that 01 a creep
MTncT even
even mougn
though it
But
ing1 thing,
u is claimed only by vengeance
. chenshT^no-panre is also a part or their creea. mc ±ung«-
ians in romance.
.
It must also be borne in mind that with the Arabs revenge
is a sacrTd duty. "And in their state of civdizafon,' says Burton ^society could not be kept together wtfhout >t » That »
why, in "heir subconsciousness, I suppose, a sense of secunty as
�^_
*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
wordsaStLvnSh °fKh0nT keepS}t aliv€'~that is why, in other
words, they cherish it Jong and ceJebrate it as a virtue The
bJeCt f
f Iinyni°nhaastheM
** *"*«"*
ldom a ° savin
J?' ^
nobiJhy.
f
g
^ "
,
hdd
Wh
*her -^—«
£ grace, is an unmitigated vilJain,
t0 bC a SaCrifice to
^feousness and
V
A Nocturnal Love Od<
#y DR. N. A. KATIBAH
Owing to the readiness with which it can ho on^r, «
^
terpretation, this piece of poetry is popularly attributed t^ SS £"
.
31 8Ch0larS
E1 Baha
vor'o"
^Lr Burini,
ast auIbn-ul-FariSi
Jnt
h0^
vor of tlisTaT
this latter opinion is ^
the fact-that ' Sheikh
noted commentator, had not included it in the great mys'tSs dewln
N. A. K.
While other Jovers can forget,
Or Jove betray without regret
A cherished secret is my Jove/
Known but to me and God above;
—'Tis deepjy set.
As Joves the bird the verdant bough,
My heart doth hover o'er it soj
Its theme is such a sweet refrain:
What happiness!—Yet how frought with pain!
—CouJdst thou but know.
It acts alike to stir my plaint
And wake my thanks without restraint.
Dost marvel at my various state,
A grateful Jover, yet ingrate?
—Tis Jove's attaint.
I
t
�MM
RIHANI AT HOME
•/
t
Upper picture shows the Rihani
for the last five years our eminent
lish and Arabic books. Below,
"Noura", the Nejdian Arab mare
house in Freike, Mt. Lebanon, where
author has been working on his Enga tete-a-tete between the author and
presented to him by King Ibn Sa'oud.
�fHEXBEafiaSBHMMMMHHM
<
**
\.
%
%
y
.
%
.
�MMHPMi
f
)ULY, 1928
Why palpitates my heart in me
When my beloved I hap to see?
—My heart's is home, and him must greet,
And joyful flourish needs must beat,
And be in glee.
With him away my state is then
Proverbial on the tongues of men,
Unlike whate'er they heard or lipped
Save what is penned in precious script
Beyond their ken.
*
No end to thee I see, O night,
Nor has desire an end in sight.
—Drag on, long night—thou faithless giaour,
Whate'er befalls I will endure
—A livelong fight.
My meed in this is soldier's meed
Who fights a holy war indeed}
Whate'er the outcome, all is well,
For thou art dubbed an infidel.
—This is my creed.
A listless vigil keep my eyes,
So do thy stars as they arise.
But happy thou!—Thou hast thy moon;
And act likewise,
y
Would that my loved one grant such boon,
So that my eyes may then compare
Who of the two is beauteous, fair;
—The fairer mine, and gentler born,
The indifference is as plain as morn
—Be thou aware.
�l!
}
*
THE SYRIAN WORLD
10
The Syrians of New Zealand
A Small Community Whose Record Is a Credit
to the Syrian Race.
By
DR.
C.
ASSID CORBAN
Some months ago the Editor of THE SYRIAN WORLD asked
if I would contribute an article on the Syrians of New Zealand,
touching on the history of their immigration, their community
status and other interesting features. I believe such a task
could best be performed by a disinterested outsider, but nevertheless it is a pleasure to set out a few particulars showing sidelights on that small section of the Syrian race that has established
itself in this corner of the Pacific.
In the first place New Zealand consists chiefly of two Islands
of almost equal size, stretching north and south for a thousand
miles in the South Pacific, a thousand miles eastward of Australia. Populated for some five hundred years past by a fine brown
skinned race, the Maoris, it has received a continuous drift of
British and European population for the past century. The British
element now greatly preponderates and controls the destiny of
the Dominion, whose government is on a distinctly democratic
basis. The population is now nearly a million and a half. This
includes about 65,000 Maoris and offspring of both races. The
same political and social status is enjoyed by both, and intermarriage between the pakeha (or white man) and Maori has always
been a recognized procedure. A cosmopolitan population cannot
be said to exist, as a handful of Chinese and Hindoos are the
only Asiatics. There are strong ties between the Old Country
(Britain) and the New, and the prosperity of the latter derived
chiefly from dairy and sheep farming and other agricultural pursuits, is closely associated with the mutual interchange of British
and N. Z. products.
There is a reasonable basis for the theory that the Maoris
originally emigrated from Syria or neighboring lands, and working slowly eastwards through India, South Eastern Asia, and
the Pacific, eventually arrived on our shores. Not a few features
of Maoris customs, language and social institutions seem to suggest an origin from the cradle of the Phoenicians.
\
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mmmmmmmmm
Ml
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7t/L7, 1928
Into this atmosphere, then, has come a handful of the Syrian race, that ceaselessly peregrinating element of humanity that
for ages has not been unwilling to penetrate the far corners of
the earth. Regarding the advent of the Syrians into New Zealand, detailed information of the commencement is a little indefinite. As Syria was not shown as a separate country in the
birth-place statistics until after the War, Syrians cannot be distinguished until the semi-racial classification was adopted from
1916 onwards. However, one can say that the event had its
initiation in the late eighties. Some of the early arrivals came
direct from Syria, but the greater number had first seen something of Australia, where communities were beginning to settle.
Naturally the Australian Continent was more established, more
populated, and offered a larger field for the exercise of the commercial instinct. Then again, Australia being nearer the Homeland provided an easier return for the sons of fortune, if so desired. For the actuating motive of most of the Syrian emigrants
to America was not absent in their brothers going South of the
Line. Those who struck out for New Zealand were no doubt
similarly inclined, but represented quite a few who could see
dimly and without much equivocation, that they would pass the
remainder of their lives in a new sphere. The New Zealand
Syrian immigration has not taken place in waves, but rather in
\
^
P3.n3.n13.
As will be observed from the migration statement (Table 1),
Syrian immigration has not taken place in waves, but rather in
a small steady flow.
V
\
j1 .
i
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*t%-'
1
' -
11
1
lABLJK 1.
NEW ZEALAND
Arrivals distinguished
Arrivals
Year
Males Females
1
8
1897
5
8
1898
20
45
1899
1
3
1900
10
17
1901
4
1902
5
7
1903
1
2
1904
MIGRATION OF SYRIANS
since 1897, departures since 1915:
Depai -tures
Males Females Tota
Total
No Information
9
a
u
13
u
n
65
a
a
4
i€
a
27
a
4
u
a
12
u
a
3
�H
12
THE Sytf/^AT WORLD
Year
1905
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
Males
6
6
17
3
19
16
7
6
12
12
9
2
1
1
1
Arrivals
Females
1
5
8
8
32
29
12
13
13
7
5
3
8
7
1
1
Nil
3
8
3
11
23
18
15
Total
6
6
30
3
32
23
12
9
20
19
9
3
1
2
1
Departures
Males Females Total
No information
1,
Nil
a
u
Nil
4
13
11
19
55
47
27
9
35
5
29
5
12
8
15
9
28
8
5
17
50
14
57
13
17
II. SYRIANS: CENSUS RECORD
1916 census
1921 census
Full blood
262
351
Males Half Blood
5
27
TABLE
Males:
Total
Females:
Full blood
Half blood
267
378
186
6
300
29
Total
Both sexes:
Full blood
Half blood
192
329
448
11
651
56
Total
Mm KKOBW
4
451
maKmammmuuBBSBBPfS.: .
.
.
�13
JULY, 1928
I*/
-
The 1926 census records are not yet complete, so that most
of the statistics here given are from the 1921 census. My thanks
are due to the Government Statistician for the data embodied in
this article.
The 707 Syrians resident in New Zealand in 1921 were
principally in the Otago, Wellington, and Auckland Provincial
districts. Over 70% of the whole resided in the fifteen largest
towns of the Dominion. In other words, the population is reasonably proportionally distributed much the same as are the other inhabitants, as far as locality is concerned. But whereas a
little over 50% of the total population is urban, the fact that
more than two-thirds of the Syrians are located in urban areas
signifies immediately that their activities lie in business spheres
rather than in agricultural pursuits.
While this is so, one must not forget that scores of trades
or occupations are followed. By their very number, the occupations are difficult to reduce to moderate compass. Briefly, however, it may be said that over 50% of all Syrians in gainful pursuits were to be found in commercial occupations, particularly
dealing in textiles, clothing, millinery, etc. The term "commercial" as used here applies strictly to the sale of goods as
distinct from the manufacture.
The industrial status of Syrians may be summarized hereunder (Table 3):—
TABLE
*
III.
Males
27
91
Employer
Working on own account
Relative assisting
94
Wage or salary earner
Not applicable (child, domestic duties, etc.) 166
Total
378
Females
7
10
5
32
275
329
Most of the earlier Syrians necessarily began on a modest
basis, purveying soft goods and fancy goods in various localities
from door to door. Their vicissitudes can scarcely be appreciated
by the younger generation, born into comparatively easy circumstances by having facilities of a home, primary and secondary
education, and other advantages of the average New Zealand
child However, the procedure entailed a first-hand intimate
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
contact with people, and taught them English better than any other schooling method, enabling them to acquire invaluable experience. Many still ply this means of livelihood, but most of
the early comers were quick to ascend as opportunity offered.
Shops and business premises were established with initiative;
and sound businesses attended to almost invariably succeeded.
Nowadays one finds in all the cities and many of the larger
towns evidence of Syrian commercial enterprise. There are
flourishing soft goods and fancy goods establishments, grocery
stores, etc., in unexpected places. Soft goods factories and warehouses read energy into Syrian individuality. One of the largest
jewelry establishments in the Dominion illustrates the ability of
one business man. Two Syrian brothers are proprietors of a
couple of moving picture theatres, and have a stud of trotting
racehorses as a profitable hobby. New Zealand's most famous
vineyards and winemaking concern were established 26 years ago
by a son of the Lebanon, and his "Mount Lebanon Vineyards"
on the outskirts of Auckland City evoke the admiration of visitors from all over the world. One hears of a Syrian contractor
with a well deserved reputation for faithful service from his
employees. Yet again, there are builders and carpenters, in
some instances erecting homes and selling them 5 confectionery
concerns have their followers; it is claimed that one marble bar
establishment run by Syrians is the leading one of its kind in
the country. Less frequently one may come across a Syrian
fruit merchant, or a motor passenger transport proprietor; and
one can discover a professional boxer and a couple of practitioners at the legal bar. I have never yet heard of a Syrian bankrupt
here.
In passing, I cannot emphasise too strongly that the Syrian the world over must grasp one fundamental fact, and mould
his whole life upon it: If Syrians have any claim to distinction or
merit, it has been on a basis of achievement, not idleness. I have
no use for any man, especially a Syrian, who shudders at work.
There is no virtue in thinking we are superior when we may not
need to labor for our bread. In the work of reconstruction of
Syrian life and ideals the world over, no true Syrian, however
leisured, can afford to stand aside. I agree with every word
printed in past columns of THE SYRIAN WORLD preaching the
gospel of the necessity and dignity of all labor.
Of the 707 Syrians resident in New Zealand in 1921, some
: *
'
*
4
X
�15
JULY, 1928
*
624, or 88%, claimed British nationality, 412 by birtj or parentage, 194 by naturalization, and 18 by marriage. The residue,
some 83, chiefly claimed their nationality of origin.
The conjugal condition in 1921 ran as follows:—
T,
TABLE
Never married:—
Married:—
* E.
Widowed:—
Divorced:—
s
IV.
234
206
127
105
13
15
3
2
males
females
males
females
males
females
males
females
In two cases the Civil status was not recorded. Thus the
unmarried are approximately double the number of married, a
circumstance emphasising the large number of the young genera>n
'The census of 1921 shows that 355, or 50% of the707
Syrians were under the age of 19 years. More recent statistics
would probably show an increase in this percentage indicating
the permanency of the Syrian migration to the Dominion, and
the traditional fulfillment of the family instinct.
RELIGION
The Syrian carries his religious tenets wherever he goes,
and in New Zealand he is no less characterized by his beliefs
than elsewhere. Druze or Muhammedan Syrians are unknown
to the Dominion and as the large majority of our people are
Lebanese, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and Greek Catholics, in
the order given are the chief denominations. Naturally, where
less than a thousand Syrians are distributed far and wide, it is
not to be expected that they can maintain churches of their own,
but each element can satisfy itself largely in the facilities provided by existing churches of similar belief. A notable exception is the Greek Orthodox Church built in Dunedin some years
ago, when a priest was able to hold regular services As no Syrian priests have been in the Dominion for a considerable time,
the services have long been abandoned, and it has been suggested
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
16
that the building be offered for use to the Anglican Church,
which incidentally, from many similarities of doctrine, is on a
happy understanding with the Orthodox faith. In fact I have
known several young Orthodox members who have taught Anglican Sunday School Classes.
There are quite a few Greek Orthodox Syrians in New Zealand but Table V. from the 1921 Census apparently designates
these under "other Christians" and possibly "Church of England". It is interesting that of the 56 half-blood Syrians no less
than 52 are Roman Catholics, showing at least that the religious
persuasion of the parents has been a potent factor in the determination of mixed marriages. Where both parties belong to
the same Church, a marriage between a Syrian and a member of
another race appears to be less of a problem than when the union
is of two Syrians of divided belief.
TABLE
I
I
4
I
V.
SYRIANS, RELIGIONS, CENSUS of 1921.
Religion.
Males
Full blood. Half blood.
26
255
Roman Catholic
24
Church of England
1
Presbyterian
2
Methodist
—
Salvation Army
61
Other Christians
8
Object to state
Total
351
27
Females
Full blood. Halfbl.
26
230
12
3
3
4
-
49
2
300
,v
29
From a discussion of religion, it is convenient to proceed to
moral standards. It can safely be said that our community maintains that high standard of social virtue evidenced by the race in
other parts of the world. The traditional concept of marriage
is too firmly ingrained to leave much room for the practice of
vice, and while one has encountered perhaps a couple of cases
of venereal disease it is gratifying that no social problem occasions alarm. Marriages are made "for better or for worse" and
practically no advantage is taken of facilities for severing marital
partnerships. While all Syrians are traditionally partakers of
�,
JULY, 1928
i
I
I)
)
'!
alcoholic beverages, chiefly wine, they are an exceptionally sober
people. Their weakest tendencies lie in the direction of gambling; even here no real evil can be said to exist. Tempting Fate
is instinctive in the Syrian, and his venturesome nature is an asset
in achieving success. The average Syrian is too concerned with
his welfare to hamper his opportunities by undue recklessness.
Criminal offences furnish one index of moral standard.
Information as to nationality is not available in the Returns of
criminal offences, while information as to country of birth is
available only in arrest cases, which represent less than one
third of the total.
Of the distinct persons convicted in arrest cases during the
last five years, those showing Syria as their birthplace were only
10, as follows:
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
U
17
none
3
5
2
none
Offences of a criminal nature are, I believe, unknown, while
most of the breaches of the law are traceable to technical errors.
The Syrian, in short, is a law-abider. I am aware of only one
incident worth mentioning. In a certain city many years ago
there existed a party-feud between two religious elements and it
was droll to hear from one of the participants many years after,
the recounting of valiant exploits with fists and sticks in those
early palmy days. Which incident helps to explain one trait
of racial psychology—he is law-abiding from a sense of citizenship rather than of meekness, while retaining fighting qualities
bequeathed from bellicose ancestors. During the World War
Syrian participants acquitted themselves well, and a Syrian formerly resident in New Zealand was awarded the Victoria Cross
while serving with the Australian Forces.
Matters relating to health always have an appeal to the
Syrian mind—rightly so—for the mere earning of a livelihood
is only part of our life activity. I am greatly tempted to linger
here to tell of an investigation carried out 4 years ago by four
English doctors into the health of the Syrian children in one of
our cities, but this really deserves treatment in a separate article.
I will merely here quote a few lines of the investigators' find-
�19
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ings:—"On the whole one could not but express surprise at the
satisfactory state of affairs in this quarter. We had expected to
find primitive conditions, but instead of dirty houses and inmates
we found carefully kept ropms and reasonably clean mothers
and children. On the whole, the people seemed to be well educated, and took a keen interest in educational and church matters.
All came from the vicinity of Mt. Lebanon". And again, "On
the whole, good health prevailed throughout. One noticeable
feature was the presence in almost every case of good sets of
teeth. These in most cases are attended to regularly, and it is
a treat to see such pearly white dentures
The mouths and
teeth of the children are in better condition than those of their.
New Zealand friends". Concerning personal hygiene it was
stated that "both adults and children are good complexioned.
All are adequately clothed and there was no sign of poverty apparent". Disposition is referred to thus, "We commend the
brightness and cheeriness of the mothers. It is interesting to
contrast the family conditions with those of the Europeans examined in C
St. Here(among the Syrians) families are
large and all are happy. In C
St., families are fewer and
smaller, and the impression given less favourable.
"We are forced to conclude that the spirit of true motherhood and unselfish family devotion is much more apparent in
these foreign people than is among New Zealanders. The children, too, are bright and happy, and to all appearances very
energetic."
Let me conclude with a short extract from the summary:
"We feel confident that these Syrians at any rate are going to be
and have been, useful to the State. We feel it our duty to
strongly contradict the unfounded beliefs that they are a filthy
lawless people. They are clean, healthy, law-abiding citizens'
having apparently high morals and taking keen interest in their
offspring."
The tongue is a tranchant sword whose edge cannot be
trusted; and words are piercing arrows which, once shot, cannot
be retrieved.
(Arabic)
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JULY, 1928
19
Desert Routes Between Syria
and Iraq
American Consul JOHN RANDOLPH, Baghdad, Iraq.
(From "Commerce Reports" of May 21, 1928.)
The centuries-old trade route between the Orient and the
Occident has been motorized. The age-old caravan methods of
transporting travelers and merchandise between Baghdad and
the Mediterranean Sea are being rapidly superseded by the most
modern methods of transport. Journeys that took weeks to complete are now performed in one day.
U
M
Route via Hit or via Kubaisa and Palmyra.
This is the old Zenobia caravan route used more than 1,600
years ago in the days of Queen Zenobia when Palmyra was a
flourishing city. Its use for automobiles was begun in 1924 when
the Eastern Transport Co. ran semi-weekly convoys between
Baghdad and Beirut, via Hit or Kubaisa (12.4miles west of Hit),
and Palmyra and Damascus. During the Druze rebellion in 1925
the route into Damascus became unsafe, and the Eastern Transport Co.'s convoys ran from Palmyra, via Horns and Tripoli,
to Beirut.
\
\\
I
Ramadi-Rutbah-Damascus Route.
The route from Baghdad to Falluja and Ramadi and thence
to Rutbah Wells, Damascus, and Beirut is the shortest route
across the desert to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the route
which the Nairn Transport Co. was the first to use and is the
route now being traversed by all transdesert automobile services.
At the present time about 400 car trips are being made each
month, transporting 2,000 passengers, the mail, and some freight
across the desert.
• ^ -o
A:
The distance from Baghdad to Damascus, via the RamadiRutbah-Damascus route, is about 600 miles and is now being
covered by a transport company in 24 hours, traveling continuously Six-wheel buses of an American make, equipped with
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
If
:
special tanks for water and gasoline, are now used for transportation over this long desert route. Round trips are made bi-weekly.
Ramadi-Rutbah-Amman Route.
This route, via Rutbah Wells to Amman, was made in 1921
by the Royal Air Force, a furrow being turned all the way across
the desert to guide the planes of the British Royal Air Force
in flying from Iraq to Palestine and Egypt. This route is still
used by the Royal Air Force and also now for the regular weekly
air service of the Imperial Airways (Ltd.).
During the disturbances in Syria in 1925 and 1926, when
the Damascus route was closed, automobile convoys of the Nairn
Transport Co. followed the regular route from Baghdad to Rutbah Wells and then ran via Amman to Jerusalem.
This is the route which Iraq, Trans-Jordan, and Palestine
and the British are reported to favor. While the Nairn Transport Co. was using this route the Trans-Jordan Government did
much to improve it and offered to do still more if the company
would undertake to continue to run its convoys via Amman and
Jerusalem after the reopening of the Damascus route, but the
Nairn Transport Co. would not agree because the Amman route
offers much rough going, is hard on cars and tires, and is longer
and less convenient for business.
Alternate Trans-Desert Routes.
In 1926, after abandoning the Amman route, the Nairn
Transport Co. ran its convoys from Rutbah Wells via the "switch
;•
v
9
4
�21
JULY, 1928
road" (made in 1926) to Palmyra and thence via Horns and
Tripoli to Beirut. Still later, when Damascus again became safe
buTthe route between Rutbah Wells and Damascus remained
"convoys traveled for a time via Rutbah Wells and Palmyra and thence to Damascus.
Imp-ovements at Rutbah Wells.
On the Ramadi-Rutbah-Damascus route and on the Ramadi-Rutbah-Amman route, the only water obtainable for some 400
miles is at Rutbah Wells. During the summer months ot the
year, when most other wells in the desert are dry, several thousand Bedouin Arabs and their sheep congregate near Rutbah
Wells The Iraq Government has now replaced its small police
post at Rutbah Wells by a large resthouse with inclosed yards
for automobiles, camels, sheep, etc. Rutbah Wells also has a
wireless station, an ice plant, and a good restaurant where transdesert travelers can breakfast, lunch, or dine or remain over night
if they choose, and where, during the winter rains when the
desert often becomes hopelessly muddy and ^I 8^/" £"
tomobiles, travelers can find shelter for *^.^^^S
words the Iraq Government is now maintaining in Rutbah Wells
Tsafety zone halfway across the desert, which is a great commence to travelers and in large measure adds to the safety of all
desert travel.
Arab Proverbs
Lack of modesty drags many a woe in its wake.
A knowledge unpracticed is like ineffective medicine.
He who boasts of a good deed has no right to claim any
further reward.
He who slanders others in your presence will slander you
in the presence of others.
Beware of the one who praises you above your station.
Some words arc more cutting than sword thrusts.
�*.
22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
t
I
,
Hi
The Mallicks
«
i
A Sympathetic Description of a Familiar Scene in a Refined,
Syrian-American Home.
By PAUL DEAB
The maroon velvet curtains took on a purplish tinge as the
waning sunset scattered its radiance into twilight dusk. The tall,
glistening candlesticks on the Georgian fireplace seemed to take
fire from the flickering sunshine; they glowed and then melted
into the enveloping darkness. In a corner of the room was a piano
whose shiny, mahogany surface testified that loving hands had
cared for it. Nearby on a table were a few sheets of music in
disarray, several books, and a bowl of cinammon carnations. The
furniture was of the Colonial type, with the exception of two
tabourets inset with mother-of-pearl mosaic patterns. On one
tabouret was a brass tray whose scroll designs would delight an
Arabic scholar. These Oriental features seemed to blend with
the Colonial, and gave indications of individual taste.
The room's only occupants, Elias Mallick and his wife,
Aneesa, seemed entirely unaware of the increasing darkness.
Their voices seemed to enhance the quietness of the atmosphere,
so absorbed were they in their conversation. Mrs. Mallick was
the first to realize that another day had passed. She arose from
the spacious divan, and, like a lamplighter making his rounds,
lit one lamp and then another. The warm light shining through
silk and parchment shades seemed to animate the quietness. The
woman's lovely, youthful appearance seemed even more fair in
the lamplight. Although she was the mother of a twenty-year
old daughter and two older married sons, she appeared scarcely
more than thirty. Her husband sat slumped in an armchair by
the fire. He appeared very forbidding j a bulky, inert figure
with gray hair and immobile face.
It was a strange fate which had transplanted these two people from their homes in Lebanon to America. Although their
families had lived in adjacent towns, probably for centuries, it
was here that they first met. They had become a part of the
life around themj had absorbed the very essence of their adopted country, and were as much a part of it as their home was of
them.
IHHPHMHI
*
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�JULY, 1928
23
Mrs. Mallick spoke very tenderly and patiently. She realized that the coming marriage of Louise, their daughter, was
already affecting the routine of their life. "Elias," she said,
"what would you do if Louise were to go far off to the West
as the Farris girl did? You know that this separation is inevitable.
Surely, you do not expect her to be with us all our life, and you
know how unhappy she would be, if she realized how unhappy
you are at her leaving."
"What you say is true," he replied. "And I realize that
you feel as I do about this. If I didn't know that John comes
from a very honorable family, and that he shows great promise,
I don't know what I would do. I would never have given my
approval if I had any misgivings concerning him."
Mrs. Mallick smiled. She knew to what extent Louise had
influenced him into giving his approval. "Elias, are you sorry
that we didn't encourage Louise to consider Peter Khoury's proposal? Mrs. Maloof and Mrs. Tabit, when they were here yesterday, told me that their husbands heard from very reliable
sources that Peter is worth at least two hundred thousand dollars."
"Aneesa, what do you think? Should we have permitted
Louise to marry a man who is nearly twice her age? As long
as she didn't care for him, I have no regrets. It wasn't until he
amassed a little wealth that any one ever heard of his family.
At any rate, who can tell how much money another man has?
If he were married and had children, he might not be able to
spend so lavishly. On the other hand, a bachelor, you know,
should spend his money freely j he won't be able to do that after
he is married."
"Well, I like John. He is seven years older than Louise,
and I think that is about the right difference in age."
"I suppose that if you didn't think so you wouldn't have
married me. Aneesa, the boy shows promise. Besides, my oldest brother knew his father very well, and I have heard him
speak of the family's being noted for its generous hospitality.
When my brother used to make his annual trip from Dair-ElAman to Beirut, he often stopped to visit John's father. I think
that he would have married one of John's aunts, had not my
parents already called his attention to the gracious daughter of
Emir Akbar. The reason that I am certain that John is a good
choice is that his family has been very highly esteemed always."
�mmm
^
24
TtiE SYRIAN WORLt)
"Well, why should you dread Louise's leaving us? She
will not be so far away that we can't visit her at least once a
month. It is only a matter of three hours by train from here
to Northfield. When I think of how I left my parents to come
to America, I wonder how I had the courage to do so. Louise is
older than I was when I came here."
"Aneesa, I don't know why I can't be more optimistic about
it. Don^t you think that life in the old days was much happier,
when children married and lived in the same town as their
parents?"
"What talk! One would think that you didn't want your
children to have all the opportunities wherever they may find
them. We have our two sons and their families in town. If
Louise were our only child, what would you do?"
"Sit Aneesa, as long as the Lord spares them to us, I
shall be content, and..." However, he went no further in his
meditation. An outer door opened, and there was a sound of
scurrying feet and peals of laughter. Louise and John, buoyant
and seemingly unaware of anything but their own happiness,
rushed in. Louise hastily embraced each parent and John became the self-contained, capable* fiance, as he paid his respects.
"Dad, Mother. Oh, what do you think? What do you
think has happened? John, you tell them. No, I will. Dad,
John has been asked to manage his firm's local offices. That
means I'm not going away after all. I asked him to try for
the position."
There was no response. "Aren't you glad?" she asked. The
anxiety in her voice brought her parents suddenly to attention.
Mrs. Mallick beckoned to John to sit beside her. "My children, how could you do that... change all my plans for traveling
to visit you, you dears?"
Mr. Mallick threw away a perfectly good cigarette, and lit
another one. His eyes glistened. He was no longer the dejected, lonely father. He seemed to have become years younger,
as though relieved of a tremendous burden. "And, Louise,'
we'll have none of your modern ideas about independence. You
and John are going to live with us. Your mother and I need
you both. Aneesa, there is much truth in the claims made about
a woman's intuition, but even just wishing hard for a thing will
sometimes bring it true."
.<M
V
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�SCENES OF MYTHOLOGY AND ROMANCE
'/I
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The rushing waters of Daphne in the laurel grove of Romance.
> II'
The Plain of Antioch and towering Mount Cassius.
(Photos by the author of "The Dancer of Daphne.")
��JULY,
25
1928
The Dancer of Daphne
The Reincarnation of Romance in a Famous Scene of
Mythology in the Old Land of Syria.
By ALICE POULLEAU
Translation by SIMONE FRANCE
<
Nobody knew whence she came, this child of the pensive
eyes and fluffy golden hair, whom Youssef, the miller of Daphne,
found by the water mill. She sat on the trunk of a poplar tree
bridging the rushing water; there were flowers in her lap and her
eyes were lost in dreams as if waiting for one who never came.
Whence had she come? That was a mystery that no one
knew. Perhaps from Antioch, along the rough road that winds
through the cool Orontes valley, where phantoms of the pust
haunt half-buried sarcophagi, broken columns and ancient, crumbling walls. Or perhaps from some remote village of the plateau,
within sight of the sparkling Beit-el-Ma cascades and, like Mitia
in the Russian story, had lost herself in wheatfields higher than
her dainty head. Or had she strayed from the ranks of those
picturesque fellahs in their rich crimson vests, bright as their carpets, and their baggy white trousers like those of the Macedonians. Or was she only one of the young children, huddled birdlike by the peasants astride their basket-laden donkeys?
No one ever knew the secret, for she was too young to tell...
Loubna, the kind-hearted wife of the miller, picked up the
child as she would a stray lamb and tenderly laid her on a bed
of sorghum leaves, where she was lulled into slumber by the
murmurs of the water and the cooing of the ring-doves. These
are the only sounds to awaken the echoes of the enchanted valley
where once upon a time the sighing of the flutes fell sweet upon
the scented air.
For days the little girl was aloof and untamed like a gazelle
taken by hunters. Then she yielded to the gentle Loubna with
such sweetness that she was called Wadia.
�26
«
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THE SYRIAN WORLD
She grew with no more effort than the black kid or the
little lamb Fanous that slept at her feet every night, in the mud
hut sheltered by the plane-tree whose leaves were like the five
fingers of Fatma's hand.
In the morning, she awoke to the joyous calls of Aid, the
little blue-shirted fellah, he of the sun-browned skin and strong
fist, who fought with the goats and climbed the slim poplars in
quest of nests. All day they played about upon the rocky footpaths, now trailing branches in their young hands, now imitating
the nimble goats or the fat-tailed sheep that amble along with
the conscious sway of a beautiful woman.
In spring time, they made bouquets of honey suckles and
drank deep of the delicate fragrance of the pretty flowers, then
threw them in the gushing falls and watched them whirl in the
shimmering rainbowed water.
In summer, they slipped into the terraced orchards and
played among the budding pomegranates and the mulberry trees
with their thousand starry blossoms, white and rose, where great
bees hummed, like those that adorn the hieroglyphics at Karnak.
Then with ruddy cheeks and lips like cherries, they ran together
to the dark grove where myrtle and laurel nestle upon the bosom
of the green valley. In this fragrant shadow they toyed with
a small water turtle, and then slept, after the fashion of the
wood-nymphs who dwelt in the sacred wood of Phoibos.
With the advent of the rainy season, when autumn winds
withered the leaves and strew them on the brown path, the children wove large multi-colored trays in the shape of Spartan
shields for their rice and thin bread. They also wove the strange
wheat offerings that festoon the church and the mosque in gratitude for a plenteous harvest and a still better one to come...
Sometimes they let themselves be lost with the adventurous
goats on the slopes of Silpius in search of treasures, bits of mosaic,
sculptured marble, broken vases and amphoras, medals or pieces
of strange money. And, heads together, they puzzled over the
sharp profile of a melek (king) and the mysterious signs that
only Abouna Boulos, the Capucin Father of Antakieh, knew how
to decipher and explain.
Once during a shower, they sought shelter in the ancient
tomb of a "nasrani" (Christian) where Wadia found one of those
little earthen lamps, still bearing the black mark of the flame
that had defied the obliterating effects of centuries. And once
*
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�21
JULY, 1928
they followed their flock up the steep path of Bab-El-Hadeid
along an old canal, and Aid explained that these huge walls
were built by the Jinn. He wondered if it were safe to tarry
there until dark.
So they went down into the deep ravine of the Onopniktes
and climbed the other slope, finding their way towards the modest
"kenisee" (church) of Peter the Apostle, now hidden in the
tall-growing wheat. The church door, rusted and riddled by
Turkish bullets, was shut like that of an abandoned cemetery.
In spite of the sharp thistles and the tall hollyhocks that sprang
from the soil like flowered spears, Wadia and Aid scaled the
wall and found themselves in sight of the humid grotto that once
shielded the first gathering of Christians. But now only a family
of weary sparrows had sought refuge in the ruins, and at their
approach the female circled about and emitted strange cries of
fear. Outside, under the vault of blue, a black-winged vulture
pounced on a helpless sparrow. Aid stoned the brigand which
flew off abandoning to Wadia a lifeless feathered thing that
made her heart sink with despair.
For she was exquisitely sensitive, this little girl who came
from the unknown: The rustle of the foliage, the rumbling of
the wind, the murmur of the water-fall, the shrill cry of the
birds echoed mysterious harmonies to the chant of her soul.
But if Wadia sang with Nature she also danced with Aziza, the
slim-legged goat, and capriciously skipped about to the reed
music of Aid, the shepherd. Neither Wadia nor Aid knew that
they were thus evoking the archaic gestures of ancestors whose
ashes mingled with the clay on which they trod.
*****
One summer day, Wadia tramped alone down the verdant
path along the cascade stream to pluck fresh licorice of hard
stem and juicy root. She tried tuft after tuft with her dull
knife, not content but with the sturdiest shoots. In her aimless
exploration she reached the laurel grove, where, perhaps, the
god still pursues Daphne, the timid virgin, whose habitat is every
tree. But Wadia knew not this legend. She knelt beside a myrtle shrub and thrust her knife into the earth. The stem snapped
and revealed to her, instead of a yellow root, a delicate red tile
that looked exceedingly strange. With the stump of the knife,
she enlarged the hole, scraping the earth with her little fingers
when lo! she drew forth an object that was amazingly beautiful.
�28
THE SYRIAN WORLD
It was an amphora that Wadia had stumbled upon, an
amphora similar to those in the Syracuse museum. She placed
her treasure in the sunlight and its smooth surface became speckled with a thousand golden spots. Wadia rubbed the vase gently
with her veil and there appeared on a light glaze, black silhouettes
of beautiful dancing figures...
Wadia held her breath. Where before had she seen these
graceful beings so different from the ones encountered every
day? Was it in the clouds of heaven that dance about at the
mercy of the winds? Was it in the scintillating water that glances
from rock to rock and twines its spray like strands of hair? Or
else in the mysterious land peopled with the fairies of her childish dreams and the flitting shadows of the sacred woods, whose
memories now crossed her confused mind like a flame that flares
up and dies?
Little Wadia could not understand that a divine spirit had
taken possession of her gentle soul. But, unlike Daphne, she
did not flee the embrace;—rather she abandoned herself to it,
submissive, charmed by the profound beauty and harmony, the
perfect rhythm of the winged dance of the nymphs on the ancient vase...
Her first impulse was that of the miser. Not for a moment
did she intend to divulge the secret of her discovery, either to
her friend Aid, the shepherd, or to Youssef, or even to Loubna.
It would have seemed sacrilegious. But she chose an old tree
that sheltered a bee-hive, buried her treasure in a deep hollow
between the roots and covered it with branches. And from that
moment, it was to her young and divinely innocent soul as a
love secret which she piously cherished.
Time passed and Wadia was still under the spell of the
dancing figures on the vase. In imitation of them, s.he practiced
some light steps. She twisted her slim body and traced with her
long flowing veil delicate arabesques. Sometimes, crowned with
violets she contemplated herself in the limpid pools of the stream
of Daphne just to ascertain if she resembled the picture of her
dreams. Thus she grew to budding womanhood, at once serious
and gay, embellished by the natural graces of modesty.
As the years went by, Loubna, the miller's wife, died, and
Youssef placed Wadia in charge of the household. On market
days she carried to Antioch crates of tomatoes, squash and eggplants astride the she-ass, followed by its frizzled, velvety-skin-
»
�JULY, 1928
*
ned foal. Soon she became known to every cafe proprietor of
the Orontes valley and from her they purchased supplies of fresh
vegetables for their mezzes (meals).
One evening, when Wadia and Aid had tarried longer than
customary at the tavern of Antoun Tawile, they heard a few
chords of Oud and Kanoun (Oriental stringed instruments) and
some muffled sounds of the Derbouke (tambourine). And Wadia
saw through the window, along the river, the illuminated terrace
crowded with people seated at small tables. The detached notes
of the instruments suddenly became attuned in a plaintive, languishing sound that followed an impassioned chorus. And there,
on a raised platform, appeared an ethereal being who made Wadia's heart beat violently.
She was a young woman of classic features and gold-banded
hair. Her white arms emerged from an airy, graceful silk tunic
that touched her knees, half covering, half revealing the body
of a goddess, such as that of Artemis, the huntress. Her bare
feet were laced in leather sandals and her hands held a flexible
stem of rambling roses. She smiled charmingly and began to
dance. Now with a rapid movement she simulated a flight, and
then like a fearless amazone she wielded a spear and hurried
her steps for a merciless struggle. At times, she stopped in her
path feigning fear, and with a delicate gesture she extended her
arms as if offering the flowered branch to some invisible deity.
Or she seemed on a winged flight with her feet barely touching
the earth. Then at other times she impersonated a bacchante
transported with prophetic frenzy, and still at others, a nyiad that
naively expressed the simple joy of life. In turn, she was the
reincarnation of all the little figures of the amphora of Daphne...
Wadia was lost in contemplation and ecstasy- She paid
little attention to the loud calls of Aid, who, near the door, held
with difficulty the she-ass fretting under tether in its impatience
to start home.
For a long time Wadia distilled the new richness of her
life. The house that enchained her with its cares became a turret whence her dreams escaped on ripples of gold and azur.
Then old Youssef, his yellow face ridged like an old apple,
went to his eternal sleep under the rustic tombstone of the open
cemetery amidst the fields.
And Wadia found herself alone, alone as in her early childhood days when she sat on the bridge of the mill and drooped
�."satiSKCT
30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
her wearied head. But no longer did she know her aloneness,
so many were the things that bespoke to her heart. Often she
strolled to the bare peaks of the hills that encompassed the gorge
of Beit-el-Ma and there, from the summit, gazed at the abundant springs that galloped down the rocks with a rumbling like
that of a troop of white-mained horses. And there yonder, the
waters changed into glittering snow-white ribbons that meandered into the jungle-like thicket, and yonder still cascaded turbulently down into the green hollows of the valley. Wadia followed the swift waters from one elevation to another in their
downward course until she saw the torrents of Daphne blow
off in iridescent mist, roll down to the glaucous Orontes and die
in a lonely grave of black sand at Seleucia of Pierie, at the foot
of Mt. Cassius.
All her life was spent in this cool oasis. And the divine
hand that led her to the white ribboned patch of green encased
in stony mountains that her gentle soul might be touched by
Nature, now seemed to lead her thither to other horizons. No
longer could she marry a simple fellow like Aid and, within the
narrow confines of a cabin, extinguish forever the flame that
was burning in her heart. As a protest to such an existence, the
irresistible picture of the rose-garlaned dancer of Antioch dazzled
her troubled mind.
As the days went on, this vision so possessed her that on a
sunny morning she packed her belongings and was soon on the
way to Antioch to apply as a servant at the house of Antoun
Tawile. Her only demand was to be permitted to see Djamile,
the dancer, speak to her, serve her, and perhaps dance with her
after a few lessons.
It took her but a short time to master the most difficult
steps which she imitated with infinite ease and natural grace.
She was made to dance as the clouds were made to roll and the
water to run. She danced for herself without timidity or cocquetishness, simply as a deep and imperative necessity of her
nature.
Thus she danced at Antioch, shrouded in a white tunic,
like one of the Pierides, companions of Phoibos. Then it was
in Aleppo where she appeared in transparent muslins with hips
and breasts encased in silver scales and her forehead swathed
in strings of pearls. Then at Damascus, where she made her
�3t
JULY, 1928
appearance as a voluptuous Persian, bedecked with the jewels
one fancies upon reading the Arabian Nights.
Very soon her fame traveled across mountain and desert.
Beirut, Bagdad and far-away Egypt beckoned her and on her
smooth forehead enthusiastic admirers placed many a gold piece
in accordance with custom.
...
m
Now she lives in a palace and owns famous jewels, but her
most precious treasure onto which she holds as she would a relic,
is a small fragment of an antique vase, where, on a background
of red clay, a company of small, black dancers is outlined: a treasure which an astonished, simple-souled child had at one time
found in the shady laurel grove of Daphne.
I 1
EQUALITY OF MEN
The Arab traditionist Malik Ibn Anas reported the following:
.
r
"A great king once rode in state on a tour of inspection ot
his domains. Everywhere he went large multitudes of his subjects gathered to greet him and engaged in tumultuous demonstrations of welcome to him. Once, however, he observed a
laborer in a field bent on his task unmindful of the great commotion created by the passing of the king. Not even would the
man raise his head to see what there was about or inquire of the
C3.USC.
"The king was therefore seized with curiosity to discover
the reason for the man's action, and he stopped and asked of
the laborer: 'Why hast thou remained at thy work to the exception of all the multitude who came to greet us?'
"And the man replied: 'I once knew a king like yourself
who ruled over this land. He and a pauper died on the same
day and were buried in adjoining graves. During their lifetime
we used to recognize them by their persons, and after they were
dead we recognized them by their graves. But as time went by
the wind blew the earth from their graves and later caused their
bones to become mixed. At that stage I could not distinguish
between pauper and king. Remembering which, I have remained at my task realizing the futility of joining the crowd in looking at you.'"
�——
np
32
W'~
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Bitterness of Love
By
MAHBOUB THABIT
Love came to me when I felt none before.
It found a vacant heart and dwelt for evermore.
(Arabic verse.)
The atmosphere of my existence was as clear as a bride's
mirror. The poise and equanimity of my soul was unruffled
and undisturbed by any undercurrent of violent passion. Life
was to me not unlike the placid waters of an inland lake sheltered from contrary winds by high mountains of decorum and
conventionality rising on every side. 1 was sailing on these
serene waters in my small boat of tempered and moderate ambition, with provisions of hope and courage aboard to last for
the limited crossing to yonder shore looming not far off on the
horizon.
But you came into my life like a raging tempest. Your
passion was not a gentle breeze but a furious hurricane. You
churned the waters into mountainous billows and inflated my
sails to the butstring point.
In the suddenness and fury of the onslaught I lost my
compass. I dipped and rose and was tossed about at the complete mercy of the vengeful elements. The gathering dark
clouds which enveloped me obscured my vision, and my preoccupation turned to the immediate instead of the ultimate and
distant. Horizon there was no more and whatever dark line
appeared in the distance only spelled the dismay of inhospitable
reefs and cliffs towards which my fragile bark seemed as if
being driven to certain destruction.
Rifts in the clouds there were, but they were only flashes
of angry lightning exposing for a moment the terrible desperation of my situation. They were not charged with a single ray
of hope. They were but the visible signs of a flaring, furious
passion which carried destruction in every outburst.
I am still in the midst of the tempest. My bark ships
water fast and lists dangerously, taking at times ominous plunges
into the abysmal depths of despair. And it is only by summoning the last reserve of courage and strength that I am able to
bale and bale and manage to keep afloat.
�=
JULY, 1928
33
Now it has become a matter of survival. Will courage
endure and hope buoy up the ship until such time as the tempest
abates and benign sunshine again sends forth its joyful rays
through the apertures of breaking clouds? What felicity would
be awaiting upon yonder shore of blissful contentment? What
peace and plenty could be experienced in the land of security
and calm?
Pangs I have felt, pangs that have gripped at my heart
like crushing tongs of heavy steel. But this because of my
submission to a cruel fate—of my trust and credulity in a designing adventuress in love. Now my heart, although beating, shall
forever be charred. The talons which sank deeply, mercilessly
into it have been withdrawn with no hurt to them, but leaving
an everlasting hurt in my mangled heart.
The deeper the wound the longer the time for healing,
but despair is the characteristic of the coward and life has ever
been associated with hope. The innocent and the pure of heart,
and honest of purpose, shall find their reward in the bliss of forgetfulness.
O love! How bitter thy sweetness when mixed with a
potion of despair! How crushing thy hand when it reveals cold
steel beneath a flimsy silken covering!
When planted in credulous and receptive hearts thou takest
immediate root and thrivest quickly. In thy early stages thou
art susceptible of easy eradication. But woe to him who allows
thee to grow and sink thy roots deeply into his heart. Thy
roots become one with its sinews, and to uproot thee would be
to mangle his heart to shreds!
Peace is the lot of those who can forget. Feeling may be
deeper in some than it is in others, and he of the deeper feeling
is the one to suffer most and forget less quickly. But forget he
must. Unreciprocated love is a scourge that leaves destruction
in its wake, while speedy forgetfulness is the sign of shallowness which deserves not the reward of stable affection. He who
cannot forget under the circumstances is a helpless victim.
A true feeling of love will leave an indelible impress on
life, but a shallow, superficial, passing fancy dictated by unholy
passion will veer with every wind. It could not and should not
endure, and whatever material signs of it are left should be
mercilessly fed to the lapping tongues of a vengeful fire, even
the ashes scattered to the winds.
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Syria
By EDWARD B. KARAM
Syria! Ye mother, tender and fair,
Once more we'd love to breathe your fragrant air.
In foreign lands, across the great divide,
Your sons are scattered far and wide.
You suffered pain and agony in recent days of strife,
Our heartstrings were breaking while you were fighting
for life!
And now that the storm is most over and the clouds are
clearing away,
We hope you will prosper, in health, in wealth, in every way.
Hold up your head! And look towards the West,
You'll see your boys afar are never at rest
Until the day when they will repeat
The deeds of old, that were replete
With glory, fame, and riches galore!
Happy were those days of yore.
We may swear allegiance to a new country and friend,
To whom in honor we are bound—if bled,
But we're ever ready to lend a helping hand,
To a good, yet needy motherland.
We may be far, but we're ever near,
Distance cannot erase the memory of you, mother dear.
Whosoever gives free rein to his tongue lays himself open
to the loss of his self-respect.
(Arab proverb)
�35
JULY, 1928
Arabic as an Issue
A CHALLENGE TO SYRIAN-AMERICAN YOUTH
Readers of THE SYRIAN WORLD are invited to express
their opinions on this vital qu-estion now agitating
the Arabic press.
Under the title "Arabic as an Asset" we printed in the June
number of THE SYRIAN WORLD an article by Mr. N. A. Mokarzel, editor of Al-Hoda of New York, the oldest Arabic newspaper in the United States, in which he advocated the necessity
of teaching Arabic to the Syrian-American generation, stating
that "during his travels in the United States he was told that
not only is our young generation ignorant of Arabic but that it
has a decided apathy to it." He further held the parents at
fault for the existence of this situation and went so far as to
"even accuse parents of criminal negligence in their obvious
duty towards race and family."
This charge by the dean of Syrian editors in the United
States has so far elicited two replies which are printed herewith.
They both come from intelligent, educated Syrian-American
young women who agree on many points but disagree on others.
One seems to approve of the advisability, if not the necessity, of studying Arabic and gives a detailed account of her efforts to acquire a knowledge of the language; while the other
seems to dismiss any such necessity by issuing the challenge "try
if you can". Both, however, agree on the paucity of available
means of learning the mother language. But their main agreement is on the all-important point that ignorance of language
does not necessarily mean betrayal of race. The precious heritage of racial character and family training, they agree, cannot
be affected by knowledge or ignorance of the mother language.
This brings to a head the discussion on the subject which
has been simmering in the Syrian press for some time. In these
discussions some very plain talk as to the future of Arabic in
�I—
36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
America has been indulged in by some Syrian editors, as may be
gathered from perusal of extracts published in the department
"Spirit of the Syrian Press" in recent issues of THE SYRIAN
WORLD... But the surprising feature of these discussions is that
they were seemingly precipitated by a new survey of social
developments among our Syrian communities throughout the
country. Within the past twelvemonth almost every Syrian
editor of New York made an extended visit to the interior, and
the record of his observations showed plainly the existence of
a new orientation in Syrian thought. The reasons ascribed were
many and varied.
All this, it may be safely presumed, went on unobserved
and unappreciated by the Syrian-American generation who, while
being the cause of all this discussion, were perforce unaware
of its portent owing to their ignorance of Arabic. Now the
matter has been brought home to them pointedly, forcibly.
They are face to face with a problem which they alone can
competently judge. Do they or do they not want to learn Arabic? And if they do learn, granting the availability of the necessary facilities, do they consider the results worthy of the effort?
Can they bring themselves to believe that in acquiring a working knowledge of Arabic they will find a measure of compensation worthy of their time and labor?
Because of the fact that THE SYRIAN WORLD is the only
publication in English devoted to the discussion of Syrian affairs, and consequently the only medium of expression for the
Syrian-American youth, we now lay the question before them
for debate. There are no conditions to entry into the discussion
—everyone is invited to express himself on the question stating
his conviction and the reasons prompting him thereto.
We believe it is to the interest of the race to have this
question thrashed and sifted at this critical stage in our social
transition. We are especially anxious to have our young generation heard in its own behalf. No matter what your opinion
you are invited to express it providing personal recriminations
are avoided and discussion confined to the broader aspects of the
issue. Answers intended for publication in any given number
of THE SYRIAN WORLD should reach the editorial office not
later than the 20th of the month preceding.
EDITOR
�JULY, 1928
37
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR N. A. MOKARZEL
We were very much interested in your article in the June issue of THE SYRIAN WORLD, for we are always interested in whatever may come from your pen. But, we hope that many readers
were affected in the same way as we were by your article, for it
aroused in us unlimited antipathy for the persons who informed
you that the young generation has a decided apathy to Arabic. It
surprises us that you who are so learned and gracious, a recognized
leader and able editor, have so quickly concluded that we arc
ashamed of our origin. You state that "the proof is in the plain
fact that they are ashamed of their language". We would ask
nothing more than that, before you cast us out of your good
graces, you permit us to speak for ourselves, for we need no
spokesmen, nor are there many who can truly sense our sentiments in this matter.
That the majority of us is ignorant of Arabic is neither
our's nor our parents' fault. Many parents came to the United
States at a very young age. They were for this reason prevented
from continuing with their studies abroad or to commence studying here. The women received little if any encouragement to
study, so that not many of the mothers are qualified to teach
their children Arabic, which they would undoubtedly be willing
to do. On the other hand, the fact that many of the parents
speak, read, and write Arabic fluently does not indicate that they
have professional ability. Not many parents have the time or
ability to impart their knowledge to their children.
If parents have not succeeded in teaching their children
Arabic, it is not necessarily because they do not desire to do so.
Nor do they deserve condemnation. They may not have taught
us the language, but they have taught us by the struggles which
they have undergone in an effort to adapt themselves to the ways
of their adopted country, what is of more value than a knowledge
of Arabic. They have taught us the lessons of courage and
truth} of devotion to family and home; of respect to our God
and country. Parents who endow their children with this kind
of knowledge are character builders, and the world is a fine place
for having them. What is decidedly characteristic of Syrian
parents is the effort which they are making to assist their children to maintain sane ideals and ideas in times when there seem
to be no bounds to the freedom which the young generation
is privileged to enjoy. If ever we succeed in tempering our free-
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
dom with their beliefs, we can hold our heads high.
Perhaps it will be contended that all our parents' efforts
have been splendid but this fact will not condone their failure
to teach us Arabic. There are many who would be willing to
have their children taught at schools or by paid instructors. However, it is rarely possible except in large cities, such as New York
or Detroit, to secure instruction. Surprising as it may seem, where
this instruction is available people are disinterested. This may
be due to the fact that the material returns from studying Arabic
are not great enough to warrant the time and cost involved. The
knowledge would be priceless because of the closer contact which
would result between the old and young generations.
You may think that where there is a will there is a way
to secure instruction. When that problem is solved, there is the
matter of securing the necessary literature to be considered. It
is from experience that we discuss this subject. Many, many
years ago a private tutor was secured for us. We studied a primer, and the only other book available was a manual of Christian
doctrine. It may have been that the instructor thought his pupils
needed this kind of learning most, but personally it appeared to
us that this was the only literature available. The course of study
finally consisted of repeatedly declaring a belief in Christian
doctrine.
Unlike the children of other foreign-born parents, we are
not able to study our parents' language at high schools. Very
few colleges offer the subject to us. We attended a certain university purposely to study Arabic. Unfortunately, a prominent
Syrian with whom we hoped to have the privilege of studying,
had left the university. It fell to our lot to study with the head
ofi the department and, lo and behold, we were placed in a class
of prospective rabbis. What did we study? The Koran in Arabic.
As we had neither the ability nor the basic foundation (the transition from the beginner's Christian doctrine manual to the Koran
in classical Arabic was overwhelming) we explained to our professor that we wished to study Arabic, starting with the alphabet
itself. We were transferred to the class of an American professor
who was considered very efficient and who had lived in Syria.
The only word which he spoke which was really intelligible to
us was "leben". With him we studied mainly the verb "to fight",
which we had to conjugate in more ways than we thought fighting could be done. Never was there such an inglorious struggle
�JULY, 1928
en
K
39
as our's to learn the conjugations and to pronounce the word as
the professor pronounced it. Realizing that the attempt was
futile under the circumstances, we ceased "fighting". We have
not been able to purchase a suitable dictionary or reading matter,
although we have repeatedly endeavored to secure these through
reliable sources.
It would appear necessary almost to travel to Syria for a
period of study. Realizing your generous interest and earnest
desire for the young generation to delve into a wealth of knowledge which might be our's had we the key, may we request your
suggestion as to the means for remedying this situation? May
we suggest that it might not be amiss if Arabic journalists devoted some space in their papers to "English-Arabic language lessons". Perhaps the educational societies would be willing to undertake a movement whereby those interested might be extended
an opportunity to be instructed in Arabic, and in turn act as instructors when they are qualified. Many worthwhile movements
are conducted on this basis of "passing on" the instruction to others.
The situation which you find so deplorable may be of too
great magnitude for any possible alteration. However that may
be, we do not want it said, least of all by one whose opinion we
respect so highly, that we are ashamed of our ancestry. As among
all nations, there are people who have not the right sense of
values j who blindly belittle themselves by disregarding the laws
of their government or faith, or by denying their ancestry. There
may be, and undoubtedly are, some among the young generation
who have acted shamefully by denying their origin. But we
know that there have been many who were born in Syria, who
have not even yet become Americans in the true sense, who have
pretended that they are not Syrians. Their pretense was prompted perhaps for reasons of social or financial advancement, of
which neither is as valuable as an honest character. But the majority should not be condemned for the fault of a few heedless
people. If you must accept the statements of others regarding
our ignorance, please do not condemn all with the few. The
young generation deserves your merciful judgment, and the old
generation has proven worthy of the respect of all.
E. K. Saloomey.
Bridgeport, Conn.
�40
THE SYRIAN WORLD
TO SPEAK OR NOT TO SPEAK ARABIC
In the past few years, one hears more and more on all sides
in gatherings of Syrian parents this all too familiar saying: "What
is going to become of the younger generation?" In this modern
world of frank expression, and of the breaking-down of age-old
customs, ideas and manners, it is of little wonder that a parent
views the existing situation with grave concern. As an Americanborn girl I shall try to express as best I can the reactions of the
Syrian-American generation to this question.
The Syrian parent has of late come face to face with numerous perplexing problems as regards the bringing up of his children in this, their adopted country. In trying to unite customs
and ideas of the old world with those of the new, the parents
have reached an impasse where there is no turning back and to
all appearances no avenue of progress—and though every effort
has been brought forth which at heart is really meant for the
future happiness and welfare of the family, the efforts, judged
by present results, have not been altogether encouraging.
The first and no doubt the most important issue before the
Syrian community, and one that raises much dissension wherever
it is discussed, is the Arabic Language:—why it appears to be
slowly dying out; why some of the younger generation seem to
be ashamed of it; why the balance lack a desire to learn it thoroughly, and what is going to be the probable outcome?
The American of Syrian extraction, or, should one say, the
Syrian-American seems to have little or no regard for the Arabic
tongue, apart from the fact that he or she regrets the fact of not
being able to converse to a certain extent in a Syrian gathering.
As far as the Arabic language being a necessity and a factor in
their future financial success, one needs only to try and convince
one of the younger element on the point.
The average young Syrian is not ashamed of the language
of his father—(there are exceptions to every rule) and the
seeming inaptitude for learning it can be traced to many causes.
Sometimes the parents are at fault for not attempting to
teach their children in their early youth, but there are any number of instances where they have taught their children and still
when the children are grown up, Arabic is forgotten. The chief
cause and the most direct one is environment which is mainly
---- --•
.
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----^3
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-
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------
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�,.
JULY, 1928
41.
responsible for the dying out of any mother tongue. For youth
will believe and go on believing that "When in Rome do as
the Romans do." And this same young blood will continually
ask "if I do such and such a thing, is it necessary—is it vital?"
and finally when reaching a decision abides by it, for there is no
determination like that of youth. And one might say here, too,
that the high tension of American life, its hurry and scurry, its
many and interesting fields of endeavor, these and numerous
other reasons are responsible for the decline of a mother tongue.
There is one instance that may be well mentioned. A discussion took place between two Syrian youths as to studying Arabic,
one thinking that it would be advisable to have a slight knowledge
of it and the other stating that though one did deem it advisable
there was no royal road to learning it. Did any ever hear of a
very simple Arabic grammar where not only a young Syrian student but any student was able to obtain a working knowledge of
Arabic? The two finally came to the conclusion that should a
Syrian desire a knowledge of English he was given assistance
on all sides with the best and simplest of text-books, efficient
teachers and plenty of encouragement until it was but a matter
of months before the said Syrian could speak, write and read
English fairly well. Can one say the same for the student with
a keen desire to study Arabic? Where are the efficient teachers,
the simple text books and the indispensable factor of encouragement? In the far distance—Perhaps? Only time will disclose
the answer.
The inevitable result must be that within a period of twenty
years the Arabic language will be practically unknown in America and should such a state come to pass, there is no logical reason for the Syrian father or the Syrian mother to become unnecessarily alarmed, for though the language is forgotten, the true
qualities, the profound respect and loyalty of the average Syrian have been transplanted in the hearts of their American-born
children who will carry on the good work of their fathers before
them. For it has been said that the noble characteristics of a
Syrian or an American of Syrian extraction are inherent and as
eternal as the stars, because a child can never forget its mother,
come what may. Its mind may experience periodical changes or
waverings, but the love planted in its heart can never die.
Lila M. Mandour.
New York.
�u.
42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
NOTES AND COMMENTS
By THE EDITOR
THE SYRIAN WORLD IN ITS THIRD YEAR
\t is the time-honored custom at the beginning of the calendar year to form a new set of resolutions which are usually no
sooner made than broken. The fact in itself indicates a willingness to reform or to improve, and at the same time a weakness in
favor of established habits.
To follow this custom we could, at the beginning of our
third year with the present issue, form any number of highsounding resolutions in the form of promises to our readers.
But we are resolved not to follow this practice for fear of having to follow the rule to the end. We would, in preference, improve where and when we can without advance notice. To be
sure, we have under consideration a number of innovations
which we plan to put into effect immediately we find such a
step feasible, but as much as we wish to refrain from mentioning the matter, we cannot help but repeat that the response
of the Syrians so far to the support of the publication does not
permit, at this stage, of the material improvements we contemplated. It must be borne in mind that THE SYRIAN WORLD,
although serving such a worthy public cause, has been undertaken through personal initiative and is still being maintained
through individual effort, the only appreciable cooperation received and deserving of the highest commendation being the
generous support willingly given by our writers who thus prove
their appreciation of the good cause served by the publication of
the magazine. To this class of our countrymen we owe thanks
in unlimited measure.
What we can promise, however, at this stage in our career,
is to at least maintain the former standard of the publication. We
cannot escape the conviction, together with our leading thinkers
with whom we have discussed the subject, that THE SYRIAN
WORLD has a mission far above the appeal to the masses by
mere recourse to the popular. Its prime mission is to diffuse
constructive knowledge to Americans of Syrian ancestry on the
�warn
w*
43
JULY, 1928
history, culture and achievements of their race, which at the same
time serves the other and equally important purpose of interpreting us properly to Americans and other peoples. THE SYRIAN
WORLD continues to enjoy the distinction of being the only Syrian organ in English, and as such it should be faithful in its interpretation of the race, even at the risk of sacrificing popularity.
This is our paramount resolution, and the only one we permit ourselves to announce on this anniversary. We trust to be
in a position later to announce concrete facts instead of illusionary promises.
A WORTHY COMMUNITY
Dr. C. A. Corban has done ample justice to his subject.
His article on the Syrians of New Zealand is thorough, comprehensive and so treated as to meet the requirements of both the
scholar and the average lay reader. He deserves the thanks of
his countrymen everywhere for the wealth of information he
gives on that fine little Syrian community of which he is a member.
Although few in number, the Syrians of New Zealand typify
those characteristics for which the Syrians the world over are
noted. They are clean, industrious, law-abiding and a distinct
asset to every land in which they settle. They have every reason
to be proud of their record.
It is our hope that this article on the Syrians of New Zealand will be the forerunner of many similar studies of Syrian
communities in all other parts of the world. One of the main
objects of this publication, as stated in its early issues, is to get
the widely scattered Syrians better acquainted with themselves.
They are material of the first quality and the arousing of a little
consciousness in them to that fact will surely tend to a more rapid
development of their abilities. A survey of the achievements
of their several communities will surely assist in bringing about
this consciousness.
We would like to have comprehensive accounts of every
Syrian community in whatever country along the lines of the
present article on the Syrians of New Zealand. As the publication advances in age and is able to add to the number of its
friends its service becomes more thorough and efficient. Dr.
�44
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Corban, in far-off New Zealand, with whom we corresponded on
the subject responded creditably. We are maintaining similar
correspondence with friends in other countries and hope to
be able from time to time to give world-wide information on the
Syrians hitherto unavailable through any other single source.
This, we hope, added to the wealth of historical information published in former issues of THE SYRIAN WORLD, will help
to bring about a complete understanding of the race both from its
past record and contemporary achievements.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
AMEEN RIHANI, noted Syrian patriot, author and
scholar.
DR. N. A. KATIBAH, Arabic and English poet and scholar. Professionally a dentist of Brooklyn, N. Y.
DR. C. ASSID CORBAN, a New Zealand-born Syrian
physician. Specialist at the Government Hospital at
Kihikihi, N. Z.
ALICE POULLEAU, noted French author who had resided in Syria for several years.
SIMONE FRANCE, graduate of the Universite de Paris
and Columbia University of New York and able French
teacher.
PAUL DEAB, a college graduate American-born Syrian.
EDWARD B. KARAM, Syrian lawyer of Pittsfield, Mass.,
active in national movements.
MAHBOUB THABIT, a new contributor having a wellgrounded knowledge of Arabic and English.
K
�45
JULY, 1928
Spirit of the Syrian Press
Under this caption we hope to present from time to time a microeoamic picture of the Arabic press, not only in this country, but wherever
Arabic dailies and magazines reflect the opinions of responsible, thinking
writers who are treating the different problems that confront the Arabicspeaking world from all conceivable angles. Needless to say, we will take
no part in the discussions reproduced, nor assume any responsibility. Our
task will simply consist in selecting, to the best of our knowledge and
with utmost sincerity, what we think is representative of the public opiaion as expressed in these editorials.
Editor.
CONSOLIDATION OF
SYRIAN PRESS
As a nation we can have no hope
of ever achieving independence unless we first prove ourselves capable
of working cooperatively and in a
spirit of unity by forming stock
corporations. This is the concrete
proof of our ability to work for a
general cause instead of being actuated solely by individualistic motives.
We need cooperation or collective
action in all our walks of life and
methods of gain. We are in pressing
need of such cooperation in commerce, in industry, in agriculture and
particularly in our press.
We believe journalism among us
will not thrive, nor the Arabic press
enjoy extended and honorable life,
without cooperation culminating in
consolidation.
Some journalistic minions have
been resorting to unworthy methods
to assure themselves an extended
lease of life. They are inciting their
readers to factionalism and fanaticism of the worst type. This breeds
immeasurable amount of harm, and
will only be avoided if the press is
consolidated into one large, indepen-
dent newspaper-organization catering to the legitimate needs of our
reading public and saving them the
dissensions and the losses to which
they are subject through the present
multiplicity of papers.
It is up to us in the United States
to take the lead in such a worthy
movement, after which we hope to
see a similar movement inaugurated
among our compatriots in Brazil,
Argentina, Mexico and even in Beirut which seems lately to have been
afflicted with a plethora of newspapers.
(Al-Hoda, N. Y., June 16, 1928.)
REACTIONARIES IN SYRIA
A great hue and cry has been raised in Syria over the new book which
the intrepid young Syrian woman,
Nazeera Zein Eddin, has published
advocating the discarding of the veil.
It is a hideous noise because it
emanates from that reactionary faction in the nation which bases its
objections on neither logic nor sense.
They have been carried so far in
their stupidity as to deny to Christians the right of discussing the ques-
�I -*
m iin.ii-
,
THE SYRIAN WORLD
46
tion of discarding the veil among
Moslem women. They accuse Christian writers of unethical conduct
when they touch on this subject.
Even the authoress they place in this
same position because she is a Druze
and not belonging to their orthodox
religion.
How foolish indeed are these reactionary Moslems of Syria. They must
be made to understand that the Moslem woman should be freed not only
of the tradition of the veil but of
the insupportable arrogance and
despotism of the male.
It is. time for these reactionaries
to understand that the condition of
slavery and ignorance in which the
Moslem woman now finds herself
breeds harm not only to the Moslems
but to all other elements of the nation without exception. It becomes,
therefore, the right of every enlightened thinker in the nation, regardless of his creed, to work for her
emancipation.
The condition of the Moslem woman furnished the subject of many
a book in both Europe and America
even before the late Kassim Ameen
thought of writing a single word of
his celebrated book advocating the
discarding of the veil. But these
works were in foreign languages and
so long as they did not find their
way to the sanctuary of the harem
these objectors never uttered a
word.
The worse enemies of the nation
are those who oppose the emancipation of the Moslem woman in particular and the Eastern woman in general from her present condition of
near-slavery.
(Meraat-Ul-Gharb, N. Y.,
June 1?, 1928.)
SYRIA UNFIT FOR
INDEPENDENCE
It appears that Syria is doomed
to a fate of never becoming a homogenous nation. Such seems to be
the will of Providence and the dictate of conditions. And if this state
of things should continue, every faction holding aloof from the other
and placing petty local and factional
considerations above matters of national unity, then Syria has no hope
of ever achieving independence, no
matter how loud may rise the claim
of some misguided visionaries who
think Syria has reached the level
of other advanced nations.
We say that Syria is unfit for independence not because we do not
wish this boon for her but because
we find this condition impossible of
fulfillment in a nation which has
been so cursed with so many denominations and opposing, irreconcilable factions.
Let those who believe that dissensions among us were fostered by the
Turks while in occupation of our
country alter their opinion. Who,
now, is the cause of the differences
that are tearing the country into
almost unrecognizable pieces? We
have no Turks at present, and the
French are unconcerned over matters of denominational differences.
They have left the matter completely to the decision of the people. Our
representatives, then, are the ones
primarily responsible for distributing offices on a religious denominational basis. Those responsible in
the second place for the existence
of this condition are the people who
meekly and blindly follow their leaders in the promotion of their selfish
interests. These leaders are seeking
offices, while the religious hierarchy
of the country seeks to keep up the
JapHHBHHHnMBHHBHMHMHi
�JULY, 1*28
differences in order to bolster its
crumbling influence. In this manner
the country is kept divided and torn
into a thousand factions. This condition is not the fault of the Mandatory Power but of the country itself which holds the solution of its
problems in its own hands if it only
could exercise its powers of discretion by directing its efforts in the
right course.
(As-Sayeh, N. Y., June 18, 1928.)
PAN-ISLAMIC MOVEMENT
Indications of the growing movement towards creating a Pan-Islamic union are accumulating. What the
Moslems claim by way of patriotic
motives cannot be proven. We see
proofs on every side that they are
actuated primarily and solely by
religious considerations.
The Young Men's Moslem Association of Palestine decided, in its last
convention held at Jaffa in May, to
launch a campaign for membership
calling on all Moslems in Syria and
Egypt for assistance. They aim at
making this movement the nucleus
of Moslem unity in the East. Patriotic considerations do not seem
to enter in the slightest degree in
their motives.
In their objections to the treaty
concluded between England and
Transjordania, the Transjordan objectors have appealed to their brother Moslems of Syria and Egypt also
for active assistance, basing their
appeal on the supposition that
Transjordania is an indivisible part
of the Arab Union.
Now what is this Arab Union?
It is nothing but a Moslem federation. This we are better able to
understand in the light of recent
developments. Take, for instance,
(he report on the recent Moslem
47
Congress held at Mecca. We are informed that when King Ibn Sa'oud
received the Kaswa, made this year
in India, he emphatically and unreservedly announced in his formal
speech of acceptance that he is a
Moslem first and an Arab afterward.
This is the king whom it is proposed to place at the head of the
Arab Federation, which we have seen
is but a Moslem union. Now when
the head of such a movement gives
expression to such sentiments what
justice can his subjects of other religious beliefs expect at his hands?
(Syrian Eagle, N. Y., June 20, 1928.)
PUPILS BECOME TEACHERS
In former days, our neighbors the
Syrians and Iraqis envied our political liberties and wished they could
enjoy similar privileges. Lebanon
then was the model country which
its neighbors pointed to as the embodiment of their aspirations.
Now, however, the situation has
been reversed and it is the Lebanese
who envy the Syrians and their other neighbors for their liberties. The
Mandatory Power has come to respect the wishes of the Syrians and
granted them all their legitimate demands. They now have their Constitutoinal Assembly which has been
elected by the free will of the people.
They shall have the privilege of
drafting their own Constitution and
enacting their own laws. While in
Lebanon the Constitution of the
country is not of the making of its
own people. It was thrust upon them
and they had to accept it.
Why, we ask, should not Lebanon
enjoy the same privileges as its
neighbor Syria when it has so far
proven its loyalty to the Mandatory
Power?
(Ash-Shaab, N. Y., June 14,1928,)
�THE SYRIAN WORLD
49
Readers' Forum
A FITTING REPRESENTATIVE
OF SYRIAN CULTURE
Editor, The Syrian World:
I wish to express to you my sincere appreciation of the character of
your magazine. It started with a
high standard and does not relax
therefrom one iota. It is a magazine that is fittingly representative
of the culture of the Syrian people
in the United States and I take
much pride in allowing some of my
American friends to read it. I wish
you continued success.
George A. Ferris.
New York.
(Editor's not: — Mr. Ferris is the
dean of the Syrian legal fraternity
in New York. His expression of
opinion was unsolicited, he being
prompted to it while writing to make
a gift subscription to a friend. We
cannot fail to take notice ' of the
emphasis he places on the "high
standard" of the magazine and consider his remarks a bid for its continuance. This seems to be the sentiment of all our educated class and
we shall continue to bend every effort to live up to their expectations.)
ON PATRONIZING
NATIVE SCHOOLS
Editor, The Syrian World:
Permit me space in your columns
to commend the efforts now being
made by the people of Syria and
Lebanon for the support of their
own native educational institutions.
Previously, as every one of us
knows, almost all schools for higher
learning had been conducted and
controlled by foreigners. Syrians on
that account had to depend on these
schools for the acquisition of knowledge.
<m
BSWJO*
i a*".'
It gives one pleasure to learn that
the Syrians have now become alive
to the necessity of establishing their
own schools. What gives added
satisfaction is that these schools
stand as high as other schools of
their class under foreign supervision.
I would mention as an example the
recently established school in my
native town Jedeidat Marj'ioun.
This school is conducted wholly by
natives under the supervision of
George Naddah and Radhi Dakil.
I believe these pioneers in the
educational field should know that
their efforts are being duly appreciated, and to that end wish to make
their work known to the readers of
The Syrian World.
Shaker F. Dakil.
Sentinel, Okla.
COMMENDING A MOVEMENT
Editor, The Syrian World:
The movement inaugurated at
Pittsfield, Mass., for the federation
of the Syrian Clubs in the United
States is a most commendable one.
Now is the time for us to prove
that we are ready to join in any
public effort that would reflect on
our good name in this wonderful
country we have chosen as our
home. Let us strike while the iron
is hot and not allow this opportunity
for co-operative action pass by without profiting by it in full. The
parable of the old man who called
his sons to him on his deathbed
and bid them break the bundle of
reeds should be a warning to us.
Singly we can be broken one by one,
but united we can hold out and
achieve great deeds.
Alfred E. Scaff, jr.
Haydenville, Mass.
I
�JULY, 1928
49
Political Developments in Syria
With the formal opening of the
Syr;an Constitutional Assembly in
Damascus on June 9, Syria has entered on a new era of both a definite
political status and a basis of understanding with the Mandatory Power.
The Arabic press of Syria and Egypt
is agreed that a feeling of relief permeates the country now that the
Syrian nation, in the consciousness
of its coming into its rights, realizes
the sincerity of France in granting
her the widest possible latitude in
the exercise of control over her own
destiny. Some papers which had been
distinctly critical of the attitude of
France and skeptical of the honesty
of its motives in Syria now feel
constrained to admit that so far
High Commissioner Ponsot has lived up to every pledge he made to
the Syrian nation.
The Constitutional Assembly was
opened with great pomp and ceremony. A large demonstration attended
the arrival of the sixty-nine delegates at the Assembly Building.
What was particularly noticeable
was the indifference bordering on insult which attended the arrival and
departure of Sheikh Tajeddin, President of the Provisional Government and at one time considered by
the Nationalists themselves the man
of the hour in Syria and the saviour
of the Nationalist cause. But this
reversal of feeling for the President
displayed itself more pointedly when
he was denied the courtesy of election to the Presidency of the Assembly. At the formal opening of the
first session the oldest delegate was
invited to preside as temporary
chairman, then Hashim Bey al-Atasi,
delegate of Horns, was elected permanent chairman by a majority of
48. The latter is one of the foremost
Nationalist leaders and had attacked
the provisional President for his vacillating policy. The Assembly was
decidedly controlled by the militant
Nationalists.
The accounts of native papers describe the formalities of the occasion
as a great pageantry of ostentation
and color. The delegates were escorted from their quarters to the
Assembly Building by a wildly enthusiastic, cheering throng. The
delegates themselves offered a picture of splendid coloring, the urban
delegates being in conventional European garb while a large number
of the representatives from rural
communities and the nomad tribes
appeared in their flowing, gorgeously colored native dress. Especially
were the tribal chieftains picturesque
in their appearance, with richly-colored abas, gold-thread ighals and
ornamented daggers and bejeweled
swords. The mere fact that the
motley crowd of delegates was about
to engage in the elementary procedure of the most modern form of
popular government, proceeding to
the occasion in the streets of the
oldest city in the world, contained
in itself the highest element of romance.
The session was formally opened
by the French High Commissioner,
M. Henri Ponsot, in an address in
French, which was translated into
Arabic as he proceeded in its delivery. The Commissioner was brief
i
,<~.
12 ?
*""
ft
�_—
50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
and concise. He assured the dele- later reports than those given above
gates that he would abide by his have yet come by the Syrian mail.
policy of non-interference in their
Previous to the convocation of the
deliberations. They were at perfect Assembly, there were afloat many
liberty to draft the Constitution of rumors as to the form of governtheir country as they wished to ment the Syrians would choose. A
have it. They were the masters of strong movement was observed fatheir own destisy. But owing to this voring the creation of a monarchy
very fact he could not map out a with many candidates proposed for
program of future French policy in the throne. France was even sa;d
Syira nor make any definite pro- to be in favor of such a move but
mises as to any change in status. on condition that a native of her
This depended on the nature of the North-African colon;es be elected;
constitution adopted. Then, howev- while some Syrian advocates of the
er, France would be ready to discuss move were said to favor Sherif Ali
the nature of her new relations with Haidar, and others Prince Faisal,
Syria on a definite basis, but they eldest son of King Ibn Sa'oud. The
could be assured that France was at monarchists may be safely described
all times ready to redeem her honor- as the reactionary Moslem element
able pledges and live up to the h:gh who not only clamor for a king but
duties devolving upon her as the insist on declaring Islam the official
Mandatory Power.
religion of the State. From present
Immediately following his opening indications, however, they seem to
address, the French High Commis- stand little chance of success.
sioner and h;s lieutenants retired
The apparently strong faction,
leaving the meeting in charge of the however, is that favoring a republic,
Syrians. Then Sheikh Tajedd;n, in but even among this faction, it is
his capacity of head of the Provi- claimed, there is a strong element
sional Government and a member of in favor of declaring Islam the offithe Assembly, formally called the cial religion of the State. It is still
meeting to order, and assured the too early to gage the real sentiment
members that there was absolutely of the delegates, but the enlightenno foundation to the rumors about ed element in the nation would even
there being designs to restrict the have recourse to radical measures in
Assembly in its activities and dic- an effort to prove Syria fully fit for
tate its policies. The Syrian nation, a place among advanced nations.
he declared, was now its absolute This is demonstrated by the fact that
master and could proceed with fullest some papers feature a letter sent by
freedom to shape its own destiny and the eminent Syrian author and palay down the foundation of its gov- trot, Ameen Ri'hani, pleading for
ernment. He felt assured that the the election of a Syrian Christian
results could not fail to be gratify- as the first President of the coming
ing when the nation had sent to this republic. He suggests the name of
memorable meeting its foremost pa- Fares Bey Elkhouri as a fit canditriots.
date for the honor.
The business of the meeting then
Fares Bey Elkhouri, it may be rewas taken up and resulted in the membered, was one of the prime
election to the permanent chairman- spirits of the Syrian revolution, and
ship of Hashim Bey Al-Atasi. No was only recently permitted to re-
�—
JULY, 1928
" '
'
———
wamam
51
turn from exile. His name had been lation because they were secured unproposed as a candidate for the Con- der duress; and that any Ministry
stitutional Assembly, but for some that would not abide by this printechnicalities in the electoral law ciple could not lay claim to faithfulthen in force, he was deemed inelig- ness to the Nationalist cause.
What is claimed to be a wellible. He could have become a candidate only as a representative of founded report is that High Commisthe religious minorities, and being sioner Ponsot will go to Paris upon
a Protestant, with the Protestants the adoption of the new Syrian Conso few in number that they could stitution to consult with his governnot claim the right of representa- ment on France's future policy in
tion against other minorities who are Syria. He is said to have toured
more numerous, he was denied the the country in an endeavor to ascerprivilege. Fares Bey Elkhouri later tain the wishes of the population
issued a statement attacking the on the question of their future form
electoral law and reasserting his of government.
loyalty to the Nationalist cause. To
now propose him as a candidate for
THE SITUATION IN LEBANON
the Presidency of the contemplated
What has given rise to a good
Syrian Republic indicates the great
deal
of discussion and holds untold
chasm that divides the different facpossibilities
of political upheavals is
tions of the Syrian nation.
the
caucus
of
the Maronite block in
While these manoeuvres are takthe
Lebanese
Representative
Asseming place in Syria, with not the
slightest mention being made to the bly held in Bekerki at the call of
man who started the Syrian revolu- the Maronite Patriarch. Those prestion, Sultan Pasha Atrash, from his ent at this meeting were bound to
exile on the borders of the desert, secrecy, but what seems to be taken
seems to be watching the political for granted is that the head of the
drama that is being enacted in Da- Maronite Church considered the
mascus and anxiously hoping for present situation in Syria so frought
some turn of fortune that will vin- with dangers threatening the status
dicate his war policy. On the eve quo in Lebanon that he conceived it
of the convocation of the Constitu- his duty to call the members of his
tional Assembly he issued a state- faith in Parliament to a consultation.
ment, almost a challenge, in which It is said that the venerable Patrihe restates the first principles of arch reviewed his work in the inthe revolution and asserts his views terest of the independence of Lebaon certain political questions as non and impressed upon the memthough he still wielded absolute bers of Parliament the necessity of
working together for the preservaauthority.
Foremost among the demands of tion of the advantages gained. The
the revolutionary leader is that Patriarch had at one time gone to
Syria be considered one and indivis- Paris as the representative of all
ible; that the petitions coming from the Lebanese of every religious dethe Druzes of the Hauran Mountain nomination to plead the case of
and favoring the present status of Lebanon before the Allied Council.
Hauran should not be held to repre- Later General Gouraud declared
sent the real sentiment of the popu- Lebanon independent and added to
�52
it that territory which had been a
part of the State of Syria and which
Lebanon claimed to be within its
natural boundaries.
With the outbreak of the Syrian
revolution, however, the Syrian Nationalists advanced as one of their
principal demands the establishment
of Syrian unity. Lebanon, they argued, formed an integral part of
Syrian territory and should join the
federation of Syrian States. Later
this demand was modified so that
for the present at least only the return of the ceded territory is asked.
Now that the Nationalist Party in
Syria has won in the popular elections, the fear that it would insist
on carrying out this program of demanding
territorial
restoration
troubled the Lebanese and culminated, according to reports, in the caucus of the Maronites in Bekerki.
The Maronites, it should be explained, are the largest single element in the Lebanese population.
They were the ones to insist on asking France to come to the country
because of their traditional friendship for the French. Naturally they
would be the ones to inaugurate any
movement for the preservation of
the independence of Lebanon, while
most other Christian elements are
in hearty accord with their policy.
It appears that the calling of the
meeting of the Maronite members
of Parliament in Bekerki on the eve
of the convocation of the Syrian
Constitutional Assembly was for the
purpose of forestalling any action
on the part of the Syrians by giving
this advance warning of the independent stand of the Lebanese.
Another subject said to have been
discussed at this party meeting was
the necessity of the Maronites insisting on the election of one of
their denomination to the Presiden-
THE SYRIAN WORLD
cy of the Republic in the coming
elections. The first President was
of the Greek Orthodox faith while
the Maronites, as stated, are the
largest single denomination in the
country and their acquiescence in
this arrangement was hailed as a
manifest act of tolerance. Nevertheless, representation in Parliament is
still based on denominational considerations and the Maronites claim
that they are within their natural
rights to demand for one of their
own the highest office in the land.
Following the meeting of the Maronites the Moslem members of the
Lebanese Parliament called a caucus
of their own and are said to have
decided on the creation of a new
political party sympathetic to the
principle of Syrian unity. The Moslem element in Lebanon has for long
made no secret of its sympathies
along this line which caused the
Christians growing fears.
As the immediate result of these
moves, the Moslems have launched
a new political party ostensibly for
the purpose of promoting the interests of Syrian unity while the
Maronites announced the formation
of another new party known as the
Lebanese Union. It was feared at
one time that this latter party was
formed by the Maronites for the assertion of their denominational
rights, but it transpired later that
other Christian elements equally anxious for the maintenance of the
principles which the Maronites advocate joined the new party readily.
Briefly, the new parties formed in
Lebanon are but manifestations of
the old spirit of religious differences.
It cannot fail to be observed,
however, that this new phenomenon
of Lebanese politics follows the
developments that have lately taken
place in Syria.
wmmmmmmmmmamm*tik:
':
�53
JULY, 1928
About Syria and Syrians
SYRIANS OF NEW YORK
FETE MEXICAN FLYER
Extend Welcome in Name of
Syrians of America.
Captain Carranza Announces that
Syrians of Mexico Were Liberal
Contributors to Success of
His Flight.
Capt. Emilio Carranza, the Mexican air hero, was enthusiastically
greeted by the Syrians of New York
at a reception held in his honor
Thursday evening, June 28, at the
clubhouse of the American-Syrian
Federation in Brooklyn. Present at
the ceremonies were Hon. James J.
Byrne, President of the Borough of
Brooklyn, Maurice B. Dean, chairman of the Foreign Trade Committee of the Brooklyn Chamber of
Commerce, and many other representative Americans, while the Syrian attendance was about five hundred representative men and women
who responded to invitations.
The building of the AmericanSyrian Federation at 123 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, was gaily decorated with American and Mexican
flags. When Capt. Carranza arrived he was given a rousing welcome.
He was accompanied by his father
and some officials of the Mexican
Consulate and all were escorted by
the Reception Committee to the center platform.
The reception was formally opened by Mr. Albert Macsoud, chairman
of the Reception Committee who
turned the function over to the
President of the Federation, Mr.
Jos. W. Ferris.
Mr. Byrne welcomed the Mexican
air hero in the name of the Borough
of Brooklyn. Then followed Mr.
Dean who dwelt at length on the
benefits accruing from the development of commercial aviation.
For the Syrians the speakers were
Dr. Philip K. Hitti, of Princeton
University, who spoke in English
welcoming the flyer in the name of
the Federation; Salloum A. Mokarzel, editor of The Syrian World, who
was commissioned to make the
Arabic address of welcome and present Capt. Carranza with an illuminated parchment in Arabic poetry
and prose in commemoration of his
visit; and Dr. Elias Musallem who
spoke in English and made the presentation of a similar scroll to Borough President Byrne.
Mr. Jos. W. Ferris, President of
the Federation, then presented Capt.
Carranza with a beautiful engraved
wrist watch in the name of the organization with a few appropriate
remarks on the aviator's triumph
over time and space.
CARRANZA LAUDS SYRIANS
Capt. Carranza is much like Col.
Lindbergh in his modesty and unaffectation. He received the praise
and plaudits of the multitude with
the blush of a child, and at the close
of the ceremonies expressed his
gratitude to the Syrians of both the
United States and Mexico with
undisguised emotion.
"The cost of my plane," he said in
�54
English, "was raised by popular subscription. The Mexicans and all other racial groups contributed twothirds while the Syrians of Mexico
alone contributed the other third."
Following is a free English translation of the Arabic scroll presented
to Capt. Carranza:
"Thou messenger who flew to us on
silver wings,
Welcome art thou who comest to us
with the best of messages,
Thou hast come carrying tokens of
good will,
We hail thee as the representative
of a great nation.
Thou hast builded for thee a throne
of love in every heart,
Much like the immortal throne thou
hast built for thyself in the
shadow of the stars.
In loving tribute
To the Mexican Air Hero who has
cemented the bonds of friendship
between two neighboring republics
and blazed a new highway of communications between nations—
CAPTAIN EMILIO CARRANZA
From the American-Syrian Federation of New York, presented in the
name of the sons of Syria, Lebanon
and Palestine in the United States
on the occasion of his memorable
flight from Mexico, D. F. to Washington, D. C, and in commemoration of his visit to the Clubhouse
of the Federation in Brooklyn,
Thursday evening, June 28th, 1928."
The translation of the scroll presented to the Hon. James J. Byrne,
President of the Borough of Brooklyn, follows:
"To the man who exemplifies by
the nobility of his actions and sublimity of his character the highest
THE SYRIAN WORLD
principles upon which is laid the
foundation of the government of
America,
Hon. James J. Byrne,
President of the Borough of
Brooklyn.
Presented to him by the AmericanSyrian Federation of Brooklyn as an
expression of the gratefulness and
high esteem of the Syrians for this
capable American official of great
'heart and mind who both in his official and private capacities has given proof of his appreciation of their
civic merits."
June 28, 1928.
SYRIAN POET IN OPENING
OF POETRY HOUSE
Through the efforts of Miss Barbara Young the well-known American poetess, a unique institution was
inaugurated in New York on June
7, when a noted assemblage attended
the opening ceremonies of Poetry
House at 12 E. 10th. St.
The House is intended as a meeting place for poets and lovers of
literature. Archbishop Arthur E.
Leighton of Seattle opened the ceremonies with an invocation. Miss
Young explained the history of the
plan, its purposes and how it had
been made possible through the aid
of backers who wished to remain
anonymous. She was followed by
several prominent figures in the literary world, among them Harryot
Holt Day, President of the Women's
Press Club of New York.
Our Syrian poet and author, Kahlil Gibran, had prepared a message
for the occasion which was read at
the opening ceremonies.
An important feature of the cele-
�JULY, 1928
55
bration was the turning on of the
"Eternal Light" in the "Book Room"
of the establishment. Miss young
requested our poet Gibran to perform this ceremony.
are not surprised at this signal honor
accorded him by his classmates and
it gratifies them to learn that his
brilliant qualities are so widely recognized.
GIBRAN WIDELY QUOTED
LEBANON NATIONAL BANK
REMAINS IN SYRIAN CONTROL
The June number of The Interpreter, organ of the Foreign Language Information Service, which is
read by thousands of educators and
editors throughout the country,
reprints from the first number of
The Syrian World Kahlil Gibran's
message "To Young Americans of
Syrian Birth", which Was especially
written for this magazine. Mr. J.
Ray Johnson, editor of The Interpreter, thought there could be no
more fitting recognition of the noble
sentiment expressed in the message
than to reprint it as an indication
of the true motives actuating Americans of foreign extraction.
Gibran is an author of universal
appeal, his book The Prophet having
been translated into twenty-one languages.
DR. ALKAZIN HONORED
BY HIS CLASS
At the tenth reunion of the class
of 1918 of the Harvard School of
Dentistry, held at Cambridge, Mass.,
the latter part of June, Dr. Salim
Y. Alkazin of Brooklyn was presented with a loving cup voted for the
"most respected, most highly esteemed and most popular member of the
class."
The graduates of the class number
56 of whom 48 were present at the
reunion.
The Syrian friends of Dr. Alkazin
Rumors were circulated at one
time which found expression in the
Syrian press, that control of the
Lebanon National Bank of New York
had passed out of Syrian hands. It
is gratifying that these rumors have
been denied in a signed statement
by the President and founder of the
institution, Mr. Joseph Mandour, who
took occasion to reiterate that the
bank would continue to serve the
Syrians along the same helpful lines
and with the same creditable efforts
that have characterized its record of
over five years.
This statement was received with
a feeling of satisfaction and relief
by the Syrians of New York who
see in this institution a bulwark of
Syrian prestige and a concrete proof
of their commercial and financial
progress.
SYRIANS CONTRIBUTE TO
BINGHAMTON HOSPITAL
The Binghamton Sun, a leading
paper of Binghamton, N. Y., publishes in its issue of June 22 a long
list of memorial gifts to the Lourdes
Hospital of that city for which a
fund of $450,000 is being raised.
Second largest among these memorial gifts is that of Massoud and Nassef Ellis, Syrian brothers from Beskinta, Mt. Lebanon, which amounted to $6,000, and went to outfit the
solarium of the hospital.
�56
SYRIAN BAR ASSOCIATION
BEING FORMED
A movement is now under way to
organize a Syrian Bar Association
in the United States, whose definite
object will be drawn up at the first
general convention which will be
called soon. Mr. Jos. W. Ferris of
New York is in charge of the correspondence and the list so far compiled comprises thirty-two Syrian
attorneys in different parts of the
country. Their names are as follows:
Joseph Aboud, New Orleans, La.
Herbert Abraham, Bristow, Okla.
William Aboud, Omaha, Neb.
Emeline Abood, Corpus Christi, Tex.
Frederick P. Alexander, Detroit,
Mich.
Robert I. Azar, Akron, Ohio.
John Boukhater, Los Angeles, Cal.
Mayer George Bashara, Detroit,
Mich.
Mr. David, Jacksonville, Fla.
George A. Ferris, N. Y. C.
Joseph T. Ferris, Newark, N. J.
Emeline E. Ferris, N. Y. C.
Joseph W. Ferris, N. Y. C.
Paul Fakehany, Toledo, Ohio.
Louis A. George, Boston, Mass.
Peter George, N. Y. C.
Charles Hider, Toledo, Ohio.
J. B. Holway, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Edward E. Horany, Bristow, Okla.
Henry King Jawish, Washington,
D. C.
Joseph R. Joseph, Flint, Mich.
Ernest G. Nassar, Pittsburgh, Pa.
George T. Name, Atlantic City, N. J.
Edward J. Leon, N. Y. C.
Mr. Rizk, Jacksonville, Fla.
Albert N. Shahadi, Atlantic City,
N. J.
Elias Shamon, Boston, Mass.
Jesse Saba, Cleveland, Ohio.
H. S. Sareef, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Gabriel Shaidy, Omaha, Neb.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Selim Totah, N. Y. C.
Jack F. Yousephany, Detroit, Mich.
Those knowing of other Syrian attorneys not mentioned in the list
may address Jos. W. Ferris, 291
Broadway, N. Y. City.
FOUR SYRIANS GRADUATE
FROM NOTRE-DAME U.
The Very Rev. Mgr. Michael H.
Abraham writes from Michigan City,
Ind., that he and a large delegation
of Syrians witnessed the commencement exercises at the University of
Notre-Dame held on June 3rd. when
degrees were conferred on four
graduating Syrian young men. Recipients of the scholastic honors were
the following:
Elias George Thomas, of Lorain,
Ohio, Bachelor of Arts.
Martin Joseph Salomon, Clinton,
Mass., Bachelor of Arts.
David Salomon, Windeber, Pa.,
Master of Science.
George Coury, of McCurtain,
Okla., Bachelor of Philosophy.
SYRIAN GIRL EDITOR
OF COLLEGE MAGAZINE
"The graduation of Miss Adele Shibel Pharo from the Birmingham
Southern College on May 29 was a
source of pride to her many friends
and relatives," writes Dr. H. A. Elkhourie of Birmingham, Ala.
He further states that Miss Pharo
was the editor of the literary section of the college magazine and is
a member of the Chi Delta Phi and
the Sigma Sigma Kappa. She received the Comer gold medal at the
commencement exercises for "OutEnglishing" the English themselves
in the words of President Snavely
of the College.
�57
JULY, 1928
HIGH TESTIMONIALS
TO SYRIANS' ABILITY
In a single issue of the Bridgeport Herald, that of June 17, two
Syrian enterprises were featured as
proofs of the Syrians' business ability and integrity.
The Bridgeport Sales Company,
controlled by James J. Leon, a Syrian-American, is given credit for
turning out successful men along
with the manufacture of store fixtures. Mr. Leon is a veteran of the
World War, having served in the
56th. Regiment C. A. C, and is now
Presidnt of the association formed
by the members of the famous regiment. He is a brother of Edward
J. Leon, the lawyer of New York
City.
The Mutual Fur Cutting Co., of
Danbury, Conn., is also featured as
an example of the success of Syrians
in industry. The President of this
company is William Buzaid who was
among the first Syrian settlers in
the city, having come at the invitation of David Charles and N. George
who are said to be Syrian pioneers
in Danbury.
The thrift, industry and civic virtues of the Syrians of Danbury are
highly commended by the paper
which points them out as a model
settlement
among the foreign
groups.
profuse in their praise of the ability
of the Syrian young woman who is
credited with having added a valuable contribution to the city by her
musical talent. Proof of this is the
fact that in compiling the history
of Shreveport, which is now on the
press, she 'has been mentioned among
the leading citizens and her life history given in detail together with
her picture.
During Music Week there was a
pageant called the "Masque of Nations" in which all ancient nations
were represented. In the representation of Assyria there was a portrayal of a wedding scene in which
Miss Yazbeck assumed the role of
the bride and her sister, Mrs. George
Haddad, the role of the queen.
Shreveport papers lauded the ability of both sisters, especially the
Oriental musical selections which
Miss Yazbeck gave on the mandolin
in imitation of the 'oud.
ABILITY OF SYRIAN MUSIC
TEACHER RECOGNIZED
Music Week in Shreveport, La., is
said to have been this year a greater success than it ever was before,
due to the untiring energy and able
leadership of a young Syrian music
teacher, Miss Louise Yazbeck, who
was appointed chairman of the committee.
Shreveport papers were
SYRIAN INDUSTRIAL
ENTERPRISE
It is interesting to learn that the
only electrical bulb manufacturing
plant in all Latin-American Republics is the Aguila Nacional of Mexico
City, opened but a few months ago.
But more interesting is the fact
that this industry is a product of
Syrian business enterprise, being established and controlled by the Simon family which is prominent not
only in the economic activities of the
country but in its political affairs
as well.
Mr. Jacob Simon, President of the
Aguilar Nacional, is now in New
York purchasing additional machinery for increasing the output of this
pioneer enterprise.
�A BOOK YOU SHOULD HAVE
MAKER OF MODERN ARABIA, by Ameen
Rihani has proven a literary sensation. Never before
has a more accurate, extensive and authoritative picture of central Arabia been presented with as much
power. It is an epic of the desert; an up-to-the-minute
"close up" of the cradle of the Arabian race.
The author of this great work is a Syrian of whom
everyone of his countrymen should be proud. A copy
of his book should be found in every Syrian home of
culture.
"Mr. Rihani's picture of the Wahabis is the sort of firsthand authoritative stuff that puts this book above and wholly
outside the ranee of the usual treatises either of travel, observation or politics."
N. Y. Herald-Tribune.
"The command over the subtleties of our anomalous language revealed in these pages, is uncanny. To read is to enjoy
the pleasure of music. From Ameen Rihani we have what can
scarcely fail to be a final portrait of that formidable chieftain,
Ibn Sa'oud, by right of conquest King of Mecca."
New York Times.
ORDER YOUR COPY FROM THE SYRIAN WORLD
AT THE PUBLISHER'S PRICE
$6.00 postpaid.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Newspapers
Description
An account of the resource
<h4>Biographical/Historical Note</h4>
<p>Salloum Mokarzel, a Lebanese American intellectual, founded<em> The Syrian World</em> in 1926. Salloum Mokarzel was the younger brother of Naoum Mokarzel, the publisher of the Arabic-language newspaper <em>Al-Hoda. </em>Together, the Mokarzel brothers ran Al-Hoda Publishing, and in 1909, they published <em>The Syrian Business Directory.</em> </p>
<p>Mokarzel created <em>The Syrian World</em> in order to document and celebrate the culture and history of "Syria." At the time, Syria referred to the modern-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The publication was primarily aimed towards second-generation children of immigrants, but Mokarzel hoped that it would also appeal to the general American public.</p>
<h4>Scope/Content Note</h4>
<p><em>The Syrian World</em> was published between 1926 and 1932 as a journal. In 1932, the format was changed from an academic journal style to a newspaper style, which continued until the periodical's end in 1935. After the death of his brother Naoum, Salloum took over the publication of <em>Al-Hoda.</em></p>
<p>The articles in <em>The Syrian World</em> cover a variety of topics spanning from the practical to the theoretical. Practical subjects include international and domestic travel, historical and contemporary Arabic and Arab-American art and literature, and the mental and physical health and hygiene of immigrants. More theoretical, philosophical, and ideological subjects include ideologies of race, the changing role of women, the formation of Syrian and Lebanese-American societies, and the political and psychological relationships between immigrants and their countries of origin.</p>
<p>All issues of <em>The Syrian World</em> are available, along with full indexes for the first four volumes. For volumes five and six, there are tables of contents at the start of the issues.</p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabs--United States
Arabic periodicals
Newspapers
Arab American Newspapers
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926-1935
Relation
A related resource
<em><a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/41" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Syrian Business Directory</a></em>
<a href="http://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/44" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mokarzel Family Papers</a>
<a href="http://hdl.handle.net/11299/175685" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annotated Index to the Syrian World, 1926-1932</a> at the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center Archives
<a href="https://lebanesestudies.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/collections/show/58" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Al-Hoda Newspapers</em></a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Processed by Claire A. Kempa, 2015-2017. Collection Guide written by Claire A. Kempa, 2017.
Collection Guide updated by Laura Lethers, 2023 August.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NS 0002
Access Rights
Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.
This digital material is provided here for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
TSW1928_07reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 03, Issue 01
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928 July
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 03 Issue 01 of the Syrian World published July 1928. The issue opens with an article titled "The Jinn of the Arabian Nights" by Ameen Rihani. It is followed by a poem called "A Nocturnal Love Ode" by Dr. N. A. Katibah
the piece is translated by Katibah and it is both attributed to Ibn-'ul-Fa-rid or El-Baha' Zuhair. Following it is an article that discusses the Syrians of New Zealand by Dr. C. Assid Corban. There is a continuation from the June issue discussing desert routes between Syria and Iraq written by American Consul John Randolph of Baghdad, Iraq. The next article is titled "The Mallicks" by Paul Deab which is a retelling of a scene from "A Refined Syrian-American Home." Next is a story titled "The Dancer of Daphne" which is retold/translated by Simone France (originally by Alice Poulleau). The last article is titled "Arabic as an Issue" and it is a response to replies given by women to the article N.A. Mokarzel wrote about Arabic as an asset. The issue concludes with excerpts from the Arab press, the Reader's Forum, and more on the political developments in Syria.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arabic literature--History and criticism--Periodicals
Arabs--United States--Periodicals
Lebanese-Americans--United States--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Salloum A. Mokarzel
Syrian-American Press
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New York Public Library
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
104 Greenwich St., New York, NY
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Text/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.
1920s
Ameen Rihani
Iraq
N.A. Katibah
New York
New Zealand