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'OL VI
NOVEMBER. 1931
NO.
��npxrp
SYRIAN WORLD
Tublished monthly except July and August
by
THE SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESS
104 Greenwich St., 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 lork,
N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879.
VOL. VI. NO. 3
NOVEMBER, 1931
=•=
CONTENTS
The Coming Generation of Syrian Leaders
SALLOUM
A.
3
MOKARZEL
Affluence, (a Poem)
9
EDNA
K.
SALOOMEY
The Deeper Pain
10
KAHLIL GIBRAN
Conditions in the Near East __
__
11
BAYARD DODGE
True Arabian Tales
The Slave Girl Whom the Grand Vizier Could
Not Buy.
14
�CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Poetry, Edited by
BARBARA YOUNG
Soil, by JOHN STERLING HANEY
New Poetry
To Our Lyric Poets
Rubaiyat Au-Tayeb, by AMIN BEDER
Ode, by THOMAS ASA
A Moslem Saint of Damascus
H. I.
.....
j8
19
2n
........
22
23
24
26
KATIBAH
Books Received
-,,
Seek and You Shall Find (a Short Story)
32
By
CHARLES
J.
SASSEN
Our Younger Generation
30
Edited by A.
HAKIM
Conflicting Standards in the Syrian Home in
America
Youth Speaks
Beyond the Sun ,(a Poem)
38
,,
43
BARBARA YOUNG
New Egyptian Minister in A merica
44
The Traveler's Cloak, (a Poem)
47
DR. SALIM
Y.
ALKAZIN
Editorial Comment
AQ
Political Developments in Syria
TQ
Syrian World News Section
53
i
�SALLOUM A. MOKARZEL, Editor
VOL. VI. NO. 3
NOVEMBER, 1931
The Coming Generation of Syrian
Leaders
BREAKING THE BOUNDS OF AGE-LONG TRADITIONS
THEY SEEK TO LEAD THROUGH ENLIGHTENED
AND CONSTRUCTIVE EFFORTS.
By
SALLOUM
A.
MOKARZEL
ALTHOUGH the French might be partly responsible for the
of
pet
" ^? ^
°f °Utl°°kthat
°" Some
their
pet traditions
traditions, itr ,s, nevertheless,
incontestable
these youths
themselves have by their own process of reasoning reached the mo
mentous conclusions that are now carrying them^n the crest o,
aTX mWnal ^f0^^ ^ A of Syria and Sbano,
are becoming practical. They are seriously applying themselves to
oe Sft a"d aPP1,Cat]°" of methods that/in comparison withIheir
age-old traditions, might well be considered revolutionary^ What
» more significant ,s that this change of outlook is evident not only
among the masses but also amone
the classes Th7\ A
'
nrfinlN, kL-,'
..
r
, to
classes, the leaders are
actually blazing the way for this renaissance which augurs such a
nght future for the country. Enlightened leadership may wel
^considered an almost accomplished fact not in the very disTant
Where it had been the time-honored tradition to rely upon
anmaintain family prestige on the old accepted lines of hered tarv
leadership and authority, the scions of the nobility, so-ca led are
fitting themselves by industry in the acquisition of the technica
�4
THE SYRIAN WORLD
knowledge and training to improve their own conditions and those
of their followers. This radical transformation in viewpoint I was
able to observe in three widely separated sections, but with unmistakable signs of a singleness of purpose.
* * * *
Early in August, 1929, while visiting Latakia, capital of the
Alaouite State of Syria, I met Emir Muneer, son of Emir Jaber AlAbbas, President of the Legislative Council of the State and hereditary chieftain of the whole Alaouite nation by virtue of his being the
head of the principal clan in the country. It was through this meeting that my interest was first aroused as to the attitude and disposition of the younger generation of leaders in the country. The
aspirations and ambitions of the young man were a revelation.
Yes, he would succeed his father as the leader of his people. Such
was his hereditary privilege which he would not dream of relinquishing. But he would by all means justify his claim by enlightened leadership. The country is in a state of an ephocal transition
and transformation. Its population is almost completely homogeneous and its land is capable of great productivity. Its resources
must be exploited and husbanded and its political rights maintained.
Hence his sense of prime duty to equip himself for the task of true
leadership—leadership that would guarantee his people their rights
and privileges. And to that end he was taking up the study of international law.
It was a voluntary task he had set for himself, and he was determined to carry it through. He positively will not follow it as a
profession because he was amply independent in his own right.
But it was for the purpose of protecting his people in their rights
that he was foregoing a life of ease for one of study and research.
Already he has graduated from the law school of the Syrian University in Damascus and was now going to Paris for further study.
He was to be in Paris that very year.
Muneer Al-Abbas is in his early twenties but observes the
strict tenets of his religion, indulging neither in smoking nor in
drinking, but for all other appearances he does not differ from the
well-dressed Parisian of the boulevards.
Unlike some others, he was not reticent in giving his political
views. He believes in the necessity of the mandate and in a policy
of understanding and cooperation with the French. Independent
political actions, he also was frank to state, will not be productive
until the country achieves a decided improvement in its economic
�NOVEMBER, 1931
and social status. He entertains
no delusions as to the actual need
of the people in this respect, and
his self-imposed task is to safeguard the rights of the country
during this period of transition.
*
*
*
Another young Syrian leader
is iimir Hasan Al-Atrash, scion
of the psincipal Atrash dan in
Jebel Druze and the titular leader of the country. I met him in
Sueida, capital of the mountain
Syrian state and found him to be
equally determined as to his future ambitions. Although a faction of his people is still nominally at war wit,* the French, he believes that war is destruction if
not actually hell, and he would
apply himself to practical, constructive methods for improving
the conditions of the country.
Am- since agriculture is the principal industry in Jebel Druze,
Emir Muneer A I- Abbas
he is engaged in the conduct of
agricultural experiments on a Young Hereditary Leader of the
large scale on his vast lands near
Alaouites Who is Studying
Sueida. He has already bought
International Lazv.
several tractors and other modern
farm implements which, once he proves their value, he will recom
mend for general use in the country. The topography of TeTl
Druze and its individual agricultural problems wouJdseem to^u!
before reaching a decisi
^hXlinr/r'r
-~ &
metnoa or kind of machinery is most suitable
Lmir Hassan Al-Atrash also is in his early twenties
He
makes no secret of the fact that his literary properties are Tot
that
TFMTZE
to nis particular problems.
k6en
TJ-t
SS
m what Swith
Like his people,
he is endowed
ttlrl°f C°Ur^e Whkh b°rders °« recklessness ATL en
gaged in the war against the French in its earlier stages but came to
realize that the interest of the country would be b'e 'served by a
�6
THE SYRIAN WORLD
policy of understanding. Hence his present relations of amity and
cooperation with the French.
To one who had only book knowledge of Jebel Druze and its
people and rulers, the natural expectation was to see a prince in full
panoply and brilliant entourage moving about in state among his
subjects, especially that Druze princes in their forlorn mountain
still rule according to accepted feudal practices. Not so, however,
was the appearance of the young Atrash prince. The charger gave
way to the speedier and more reliable and comfortable automobile;
the flowing bedouin robes to European attire and the costly and
pompous entourage to a single attendant. Democracy and the spirit
of sportsmanship went further with our young Emir—he himself
was always at the wheel and his attendant did not appear in livery
or bear any outward mark of difference from his master.
The night my companions and I spent in Sueida we were, together with the Emir, guests for dinner at a Christian notable's
house. The Emir appeared not to have the least consciousness of
rank. He doffed his coat and rolled up his shirt sleeves and sat
to the board in the accepted native fashion. He is not of the 'Ukkal, and consequently had no scruples about smoking or drinking.
Nor was he unduly prudish. Everybody knows about his youthful
romance with the Jewish dancer which caused him to knock down
the French superintendent of the school he attended in Beirut and
escape over the fence, so why not tell it himself in its true details.
And he did tell it with apparently little remorse, rather with much
relish. It was but a youthful escapade and his view of it was
typically modern.
* * * *
The third promising young leader is in the Lebanon. Although still in his teens he has very decided opinions of his future
career. What if his forebears once were the absolute rulers of
the country and his branch of the family still holds an undisputed
position of leadership. He will deviate from the path of his ancestors and shape for himself a course of his own. Not for him a
life of empty dignity that spells inaction. He will rehabilitate his
fortune by industry and blaze a way of marked economic improvement in the country by the promulgation of modern producing
methods. If he himself, due to his tender age, does not express
himself altogether in such terms, his mother acts as his spokesman
with evident authority, because, in truth, she is the one primarily
responsible for his training along these lines.
�NOVEMBER, 1931
Front Viev> of 'he Palace of Sitt Nazira Janblatt in Lebanon, Which
u the Scene of Much Industrial Activity Along Modern Lines.
Kamal Bey Janblatt, son of Sitt Nazira Janblatt, who is concededly one of the outstanding feminine figures in'the Eas
s
doubly fortunate for being the scion of one of the principal Druze
families in Lebanon and for having such an able and e, lightened
mother to guide his footsteps. Ever since the child's infancy, when
a cruel fate struck down her husband in the discharge of his duties
as the governor of the southern district of Lebanon, she not only
has acted as mentor and guardian to her children but strove to maintain and bolster the position of the family. Nay, she has succeeded
n materially enhancing its prestige and improving its means. And
this despite the restrictions of her social status as a Druze woman.
So much, m fact, has been her success that she is pointed out as a
pioneer in many economic enterprises and a paragon and champion
of the Eastern woman's emancipation.
One of the enterprises of Sitt Nazira was the installation of a
hydroelectric plant utilizing the abundant water brought to her
palace at Mukhtara from a great distance and hitherto gone almost
total y to waste. With the power generated she is now able to run
a mill and a carpentry shop besides illuminating the palace and a
part of the town Her enterprise and energy deserve special treatment which will be given in an independent chapter.
�.la^B-v-f- -J^_
8
THE SYRIAN WORLD
But the mysterious generation of electricity and the wonders
of transformation it has wrought captivated the imagination of her
son who now resolved on seeking a career in electrical engineering.
The boy's mind is completely wrapped in his selected calling. His
mother often sends him in state to attend some official public functions which she, out of deference to her people's traditions, wishes
to avoid, and at which she feels her family should be represented.
But the boy's interest in these ostentatious functions is perfunctory.
His passion is electricity and its application. He even avoids play
to study on the subject.
Sitt Nazira led us from one of the elaborate reception salons
facing the spacious open court into the nursery. And there was the
boy Kamal Bey, unnaturally grave for a boy of twelve, watching
over his younger sister. He appeared to take but a mild interest in his mother's enthusiastic and admiring explanations. Rather it was the attitude of one who resented intrusion on his pet
subject and its being held up to public discussion. The look in his
eyes was more in the nature of an appeal to his mother to spare him
in his chosen profession, but his good breeding forbade any articulate objection.
* * * *
As good fortune would have it, my first visit to Damascus afforded me the opportunity to meet and study a typical young son of
the desert leaders in the person of Emir Fowaz, son of the celebrated Nouri Shalan of the tribe of Rowla. In him, too, were very
evident the signs of the great transformation, but not along the
lines manifested in the others. He was just a colt let loose and he
well acted the part. With a number of Damascene notables we
were having dinner at the roof garden of the Hotel Victoria Annex,
which in appointment and atmosphere is but another edition of a
high-class Parisian cafe. It is reached through a circular hall where
many of the principal social functions of the city are held. That
night it was the scene of a musicale and dance. Men and women
in fashionable evening dress packed the room, among them being a
large representation of foreigners. But there was a solitary figure
in glowing Arab costume who moved about with the nonchalance
of a habitue. A handsome young face protruded from under the
folds of a silken headdress with but a faint trace of a black moustache. Only his patent leather pumps and silk socks indicated a
concession to European dress. He was none other than Emir Fowaz
of the Rowla tribe, and although I did not personally interview him,
�f
WOVE MB ER, 1931
9
I learned from my Damascene companions that he had a town
house in Damascus and is frequently seen at social functions. ' He
once almost caused an unpleasant international incident when, true
to Arab temperament, he fell violently in love with an English
concert dancer and took the shortest cut to possessing her by kidnapping. He ceded her back only after several months of exciting life
of romance in the desert.
But for the present, at least, the nomad Arabs of the desert
do not seem to form an integral part of Syrian life. Nevertheless,
they are beginning to feel the inroads of modern influences, and
if one of their young leaders maintains a city home and engages in
social activities on such a large scale, a change is bound to come into their life. Already they have modernized their methods of
warfare and use automobiles in conducting their raids; other radical
changes will not be long to follow.
* * * *
A change looms on the horizon in Syria. It is bound to prove
more productive, and will surely be highly accelerated, through
the serious efforts of the young leaders who are fitting themselves
constructively for their future tasks.
Affluence
By
EDNA
K.
SALOOMEY
I shall embrace my poverty, and bless
Fate for willing me not the Midas touch.
Thus, am I spared from having to confess
Futility, a craving for death, and such
Desires as satiety brings to men.
When all need is fulfilled, what need to live?
What pleasure shall await to-morrow, then,
If today credit all life has to giver
From the vast depths of Stygian of the dawn.
Man's gratitude for the beauty of the dawn.
�f
'
THE SYRIAN WORLD
The Deeper Pain
By
KAHLIL GIBRAN
Editors Note—Through the courtesy of Barbara Young, li erary
executor of Kahlil Gibran, some of Gibran's original writings in English will be published exclusively in the Syrian Wor'.d from time to
time previous to book publication.The following is the first of the
series.
To burn but not to shine, that is indeed great pain, but to
burn not at all is the greater pain.
To have a full heart and an empty hand is pain indeed,
But to have both heart and hand full, and no one to receive
is greater pain.
To be a cripple at the foot of the mountain of your heart's
desire is a great pain,
But to reach the top of the mountain and find yourself
alone, that is the deeper pain.
To have a song in your spirit but not the voice to sing is to
know great pain,
But to have both the song and the voice, and none to listen,
is the greater pain.
Once I stood, a beggar, at the gate of the temple.
Night veiled all things, and my hand long stretched forth,
was still empty.
At that hour, my friend, I knew pain.
After seven moons I stood again in the portico of the
temple to tell of Spring in the forest,
And Spring in the heart of a maiden,
And Spring as the beginning of the race,
And behold, there was not one who listened to me.
That was the deeper pain.
-
�D
NOVEMBER, 1931
//
!
Conditions in the Near East
By BAYARD DODGE
President, American University of Beirut
(Excerpts from President Dodge's Annual Report for 1930- -31)
IKE THE rest of the world, the Near East has suffered from
the commercial depression, which has been the principal feature
of the past year. Overland trade through Syria has been cut down,
the tourist business in Egypt and Palestine has been at a low ebb,
and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf have been unable to sell
their pearls.
Persia has been making a heroic effort to introduce a gold
standard of currency, which has envolved such a large readjustment, that the trade of the country has been seriously affected.
Worst of all, there has been such an overproduction of cotton, that
Egypt, the Sudan, 'Iraq and North Syria have endured heavy
financial losses.
Ever since the University was founded, the surrounding districts have been sending thousands of emigrants to the West, and
these adventurers have sent back a constant stream of money to
their relatives in the East. The present economic crisis has stopped
these remittances, with a corresponding share of hardship for many
old parents and unfortunate children. Furthermore, emigration itself has been stopped to such an extent that the- poor can no longer
seek their fortunes in more prosperous parts of the world.
Mankind seems to be learning that war brings poverty and
peace gives prosperity.
Like America, Egypt did not feel the ill results of the war,
while the fighting was going on. The cotton crisis of the past
year has enabled the Egyptians to appreciate what serious readjustments war envolves.
In Syria, 'Iraq and Palestine the situation is very different. A
few weeks ago a friend said to me:—"We Syrians are the luckiest
people in the world; We've alreaciy struck the bottom, so that what
ever happens in other places, we can't go any lower."
The Mosul oil project, the exploitation of Dead Sea chemical
deposits, the new harbor at Haifa, plans for overland railroads to
"'
''
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m
�12
ft
THE SYRIAN WORLD
bind together the Euphrates valley with the Mediterranean the
presence of foreign institutions, and the promotion of new industries are brining new hope for reconstruction.
A spirit of cooperation is springing up between the neighboring
states and in cooperation lies the future of the Near East. Men are
beginning to dream that some day there may be new irrigation systems and new cities, along the Orontes and the two rivers of Mesopotamia, where civilizations once bloomed and populations multiplied.
It was the wars of the Sassanides and the Tartar invasions
that wrought havoc and left behind a wreckage of broken canals
and ruined towns.
Twelve years of peace have already made it possible to develop overland motor routes and to open up new channels of trade
so that it is reasonable to believe that continued security and increased cooperation will result in reconstruction.
t
The Near East is the cradle of our monotheistic faiths. Oriental forms of religion are so old that they have become too much
matters of ceremony and sect, and too little a concern of the spirit
I he University does not wish to increase the confusion by adding
a new sect, but rather to rear up men and women, who are filled
with spiritual enthusiasm and anxious to make religion a bond of
fellowship, rather than a basis for hostility.
The states of the Near East have tried competition and war
tor over five thousand years. They have become so impoverished
that they form a great contrast to the states of the new world which
have developed prosperity as a result of team work. The 'contribution, which it is worth while for America to give to the Levant
is this idea of team work.
The city of Beirut is like the hub of a wheel, to which students
come from a great radius seeking education. Even in the third and
fourth centuries of the Christian era there was a great law school
at Beirut, which drew students from the Mediterranean provinces
and Western Asia. The Roman jurists, Ulpian and Papinian were
professors there. Nonnus, the poet; Saint Gregory of Neocesaria
the Miracle-worker; and the famous Saint Gregory of Naziansus
were students. Two of the professors, Dorotheus and Anatolius,
helped the Emperor Justinian to prepare his code of law
East and West; North and South; Anglo-Saxon and Latin:
Semite and Greek; Muhammedan, Christian and Jew; Roman
i>i
>
�\\
NOVEMBER, 1931
13
£5°liCK aud °rthodox> have
* and still meet on the bridge
g of
land, which joins together Africa, Asia and Europe
PU,t>
the
M r ~SS
chlldren re
ill
Syria haVe SCattered a11 ov
er
tQ study .n ^ ^
d and
thee wo
world
C
aSt
studv\:
Be0m;Cindepr6SSi0n
°f ,thG Pthan
W
study at Beirut
greater numbers
ever *«faS
before. have corned
The first essential for reconstruction in the Orient is to teach
the young men and women that thev cannot catch m, 7 V
of the West by political agitation 'and ^T^ V^ZfZ
working so hard, that they can measure up to theinteU^ at'
tainments of Europe and America
""eiiectual atmic
of
mur sards'
standards of
made the courses
France During
1
haS ad
T^vV
? UniVCrsity
°Pted the ^deNew York State
as minimum requirements
and
in medicine and pharmacy as long asXv are"n
the past year French and British Ictors from
of "he Schqooianof M dtine "^ aSSiStCd Wkh th£ 2-1
S-SS .
inC S
of Europt
' ° ^ f° aSSUre Standards e<iual to those
boundaries will be dead, dogmas Slt^dT^^^
The development of character and of consecration to spi-it
ual things on a campus radiant with friendship and g
good wU 1Ss"
the ideal of a modern university.
'
R ^AtuBeiJUt thTe 1S "° sectariai'1 religious society, but rather a
Brotherhood, in which men of all races and creeds havean eaual
Q
share to join in social service work and common worship
and women stand shoulder to shoulder in /h
f
^
these
"These things shall be,—a loftier race
Than e'er the world hath known will rise
With flame of freedom in their souls,
And light of knowledge in their'eyes."
V
-
"Nation with nation, land with land
_
Unarmed shall live as comrades 'free •
In every heart and brain shall throb
The pulse of one fraternity."
Tn
�14
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I
THE SLAVE GIRL WHOM THE GRAND VIZIER COUID
NOT BUY
\^HEN the caliph Haroun al-Raschid was on one of his visits to
the city of Al-Basra, his famous vizier and boon companion
Jaafar Ibn Yahya the Barmecide, was in his company. Jaafar,
however, could well afford to neglect the business of state and follow his natural bents in seeking his personal pleasure due to the extraordinary confidence he enjoyed with the caliph. So immediatey upon the arrival of the royal caravan to the city Jaafar called
to him Isaac Ibn Ibrahim, the famous singer and entertainer of the
caliph, and bade him seek information concerning a reputedly extraordinary slave girl the fame of whose charm had reached the
capital Baghdad. Isaac enlisted the services of the foremost slave
dealer in the city who readily gave his expert opinion about the unsurpassed qualifications of the girl in question, but added the further information that her master would never consent to exhibiting
her in public, and will let her be seen only in private and at his own
house.
Jaafar, undaunted, said that he would seek her wherever she
might be, be she in a palace or in a hut, in the city or the wilderness,
because his heart was set on viewing her vaunted beauty and hearing
her reputed unexcelled art in singing and playing the <oud He
therefore, immediately ordered that preparations be made for the
visit, and not long thereafter the three parties to the conversation
in disgu.se, were wending their way through the narrow, tortuous
streets of the city towards the house of the girl's master
In one of the poorer sections the slave dealer stopped at the
door of a dilapidated house and knocked. A young man, emanated
in form and with hollow eyes and pallid complexion, reluctantly
it
�NOVEMBER, 1931
that his robe was of a coarl m ,'
-f7 n°tlCed Parti larly
Finally the slave dealer eTvereT* • *"? aPPare»t]y very old
sion and ask to l^Z^ltl
" * ^^ ** miS"
exPre^7oTdgee7;uffel\n°hereP,ly-, **} *? d
h S Way to
room from which^shortly
H a*eirl
T*
'
VVIULIJ, snoruy aft-w
afterwards,
emero-eH
^ ,xrU
-d an
u^
an
*e ntost bLutifultXTwhe ttr £ EZ^faTf iT^
A2X
Ana what
SUCh l0nS
tad
£ t0appear
^ aftCr
""P^onship,in
tad fan
perpetually self-renewing
our relauonsh.p now become exposed to the dans"
of rupture through ageaanger
Never stall I forget that what now appears old was at
at
one time new;
Nor that the house which is now deserted was once
teeming and gay with life;
U? t0 mC
A/T°
,' ^ the dearest that ever trod on soil •
And I m my We, have consumed myself f„ the effort
to make myself worthy of your attention
The girl could proceed no further She t » H • •
• ,
robe, and reentered the inner room For a wh L .T'^ ? ^
-^i^n^tfr-f^SSr
companions waited a reasonable time and the, decided t"" "
robe, and while be V^Sg&SZ^g
5*
�16
THE SYRIAN WORLD
with the light of a strong determination. It was he who broke the
oppressive silence.
"You are my witnesses that I have set her free," he said,
"and that I now take her as my lawfully-wedded wife."
Jaafar was much grieved and disappointed at having lost the
opportunity to purchase this extraordinary slave-girl, but controlled
himself sufficiently to ask the young man the reason for his action.
The latter remarked that his story was a long one, but that he would
be willing to tell it if they were disposed to isten. They readily
assented.
"My father was one of the notables of the city," he began,
"and we lived in great opulence. To this the slave dealer will
testify. My mother had a large number of slave-girls, and because I had access to the hareem quarters I had occasion to mingle
with them all. The girl whom I have just freed was one of them.
She was young, intelligent and vivacious, and as we grew together
I came to love her passionately. We were tutored together
until such time that my mother decided she would give her a
musical education, but because I could not bear parting with her
we took up musical study together. Then came a time when my
mother decided to sell her because of the high price she would
bring, and no sooner I realized her intention than I begged her to
reconsider her decision as I could not bear to live without the girl
who had been my life companion and had now become the very
essence of my existence, and once my mother realized the situation
she readily granted her to me and we lived happily for a number
of years, during which time my father continually begged me to
marry whomsoever I chose of the daughters of the leading men of
the city, but I persistently refused because my heart would countenance no substitute for the slave girl, although my father interpreted my action as one of chastity. And in time my father
died and I came into such wealth that I thought would never be
exhausted, and I spent and squandered foolishly. The inexorable
sequence is the plight in which you now find me, with nothing more
than this single robe which she and I share between us."
The three men appeared transfixed with his story, and particularly did Jaafar feel pity for the gifted girl who was now reduced
to such pitiable circumstances. The young man cast searching looks
on them, as if to learn if they were interested in having him continue his narration, and when they requested him rather impatiently, to proceed, he took up the trend of his story as follows:
"I well realized that the situation could not be borne any furQ
�NOVEMBER, 1931
I
ther, and when I heard that the caliph had come to the city I
broached to her the idea of a sale, explaining that I could not further suffer subjecting her to such wretchedness. But when you
came to negotiate for her purchase and she realized that the hour
of parting was drawing near, she came to me weeping, in the manner in which you have seen her, and reproached me that if I only
reciprocated her feeling I would not be willing to part with her.
" 'But would you be willing to share my misery to such an extent
when you realize to what straits I have been reduced?' I pleaded.
'However, since this is your wish I will free you and marry you
legally,' I hastened to explain.
" 'If your love is true, this is what you should do,' she replied.
And immediately I agreed to free her and take her as my legallywedded wife, to which you are now asked to stand witness.' "
The situation was tensely dramatic, and the three disappointed
visitors made their way silently out of the house.
Said Isaac Ibn Ibrahim. "After having ridden a long way
in silence, I thus addressed Jaafar: 'You, O vizier, whose bounties
have flooded the land and saved many a destitute, will your heart
not take pity on these two lovers now that you have witnessed their
pitiable situation?'
" '1 es,' replied Jaafar, 'but my mind has been completely
distracted by the natural and acquired gifts of the girl.'
"Then turning to the slave dealer he asked; 'How much do
you carry?'
" 'Three hundred thousand dinars,' the latter replied.
" 'Return immediately and give the whole sum to the girl's
master, and bid him come to see me on the morrow,' he ordered."
In giving an account of what followed, Isaac Ibn Ibrahim
said that the young master went into transports of joy over this turn
of fortune, and when he appeared on the following day to express
his gratitude to the vizier, the latter presented him to Haroun AlRaschid, giving a complete account of what had occured, and the
magnanimous caliph was so pleased that he added the young man
to his retinue and made him gifts and grants that insured his happiness forever after.
ma&m
n
17
�smssmm^
18
THE SYRIAN WORLD
I
BARBARA YOUNG,
l°thnVv
the dictionary
a dml f j y
°
° ^
Editor
nin and W nder with a dash
°
>
of
KAHLIL GIBRAN
Poetry is for the ears and not for the eyes.
old custom of the minstrel, the bard, reading or
market-place is one of the lost delights. Today
compares of human beings who still reap a rich
aS,0n Whe
W
^ublXr
The enchanting
chantW in hf
there L small
g rnerbg f"m
" ^^ " ">^ud, if, som"
a
d
the ractice
be
extLZ^noT?
^ ^^
^ if and
Pcriticism-the
"light
be extended
not for i°°
the purposes
of discussion
time is moth-eaten with these two pastimes-but for she^r enjoyment and relaxation. There are certain poets and certain poems
reahPmrem th! S° * t*^ *"* *' ^ * sickening I'd "treshment that.a of actual economic value, notwithstanding the
somewhat general opinion to the contrary. Ahalf hour of 1 tin b*
to certain portions of Brooke or Masefield, Frost or Kipling No"!
or Gibson will add a sense of zest and vigor to the day wtichTe
ati n f the
atd
accelerate?tT
S5 MtS
*" Vibl
° ° not with
^
and accelerates
the H
blood-but
poetry
read" aloud,
the eves
a one for only
^
h „
y ^
& J
y
o± the muse communicated.
�By
JOHN STERLING HANEY
The soil is my mother
J am the child of the mountain
I am the son of the cleft in the rock
MTbr th ndIJn!.0f th£ swifdunning plain
jy sisters are the young vines of the uplands
Heavy with grape.
>/
The soil is my mother,
I shall not fear.
She speakes to me out of thec mnntu, £
^h« ,,Q
r
.
mouths or men
And the fingers of her hands
Are the longings in the heart of the crowds
Her voice is the words of men
When they are silent.
I am one with my fellowmen,
It cannot be otherwise.
All men are one with me,
The soil is our mother.
I and they shall return to her
They and I shall lie down together
When she calls.
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
New Poetry
"PRELUDES FOR MEMNON" by Conrad Aiken, (Scribl
ners, $2.50) is a book for a small company of the elect It is a
volume of some fifty-odd cantos which record with minute and
meticulous detail the daring intellectual adventure into a realm far
beyond the region of intellect. The poet-has not hesitated, as indeed why should he? to plunge into the labyrinths of the soul's
darkness seeking to pierce its gloom. The theme of the work seems
to be clearly stated in the following stanza:
"What did you see?
—I saw myself and God.
I saw the ruin in which godhead lives:
Shapeless and vast: the strewn wreck of the world:
Sadness unplumbed: misery without bound.
Wailing I heard, but also I heard joy.
Wreckage I saw, but also I saw flowers.
Hatred I saw, but also I saw love.
And thus, I saw myself.
—And this alone?
—And this alone awaits you, when you dare
To that sheer verge where horrors hang, and tremble
Against the falling rock; and, looking down,
Search the dark kingdom. It is to self you come,—
And that is God. It is the seed of seeds:
Seed for disastrous and immortal worlds."
Here is unequivocal and final pronouncement of the poet's
philosophy of life. It is a splendid and sweeping gesture The
great self of man is the supreme self. There is no mistaking the
clarity and the definiteness here. Unfortunately, this clarity does
not prevail throughout the length of the poem. Mr Aiken is a
master of subtleties that often rise up and defeat the communication
or his thought. There is too often a wordiness that amounts almost to incoherence, as if the poet were over-intoxicated with his
own ecstasy. The steed that he has mounted appears frequently
to run away with the rider.
There are passages in which we perceive the poet's meaning
not because of his fabulous expression but in spite of it: they seem
to struggle for breath, to wrestle for release.
%
*
�NOVEMBER, 1931
21
^^arealso
^
fpurepoetry;pureth
la„gl^ed:fhere "" ^ «- - *- which are not poetry
in my
The world centripetal—"
And these:
'What is a symbol? t* » +u~ t
pS shar
To clutch a paper tha 1 WS m the
L St°°
P
wind
It is the Wnf
i"
in the W
Light?^ corset?* , "<' ^
lf
^
'"
IS
£
&££*
t
* * ** of^thea
waning fire. There is ^aSS
,
T
h
friend befo
cerned with a Tale of ZeX^'
**,*" P°Cm is
nat morL
sons.
than our paltry three dimenConrad Aiken's is a powerful nen T^
•
the poet himself is
not
e^TlyZn^d
The ran th 0^P"d'
ck
and
"'"'"^ °tbm
* -reives
d he burdock
a
^ht
r'C
e: th
"'
P
And all that welcomes rain"" ' he Sp°tted st°
.
th
°»8h
�20
THE SYRIAN WORLD
New Poetry
"PRELUDES FOR MEMNON" by Conrad Aiken, (Scribner's, $2.50) is a book for a small company of the elect. It is a
volume of some fifty-odd cantos which record with minute and
meticulous detail the daring intellectual adventure into a realm far
beyond the region of intellect. The poet has not hesitated, as indeed why should her to plunge into the labyrinths of the soul's
darkness seeking to pierce its gloom. The theme of the work seems
to be clearly stated in the following stanza:
"What did you see?
—I saw myself and God.
I saw the ruin in which godhead lives:
Shapeless and vast: the strewn wreck of the world:
Sadness unplumbed: misery without bound.
Wailing I heard, but also I heard joy.
Wreckage I saw, but also I saw flowers.
Hatred I saw, but also I saw love.
And thus, I saw myself.
—And this alone?
—And this alone awaits you, when you dare
To that sheer verge where horrors hang, and tremble
Against the falling rock; and, looking down,
Search the dark kingdom. It is to self you come,—
And that is God. It is the seed of seeds:
Seed for disastrous and immortal worlds."
Here is unequivocal and final pronouncement of the poet's
philosophy of life. It is a splendid and sweeping gesture. The
great self of man is the supreme self. There is no mistaking the
clarity and the definiteness here. Unfortunately, this clarity does
not prevail throughout the length of the poem. Mr. Aiken is a
master of subtleties that often rise up and defeat the communication
of his thought. There is too often a wordiness that amounts almost to incoherence, as if the poet were over-intoxicated with his
own ecstasy. The steed that he has mounted appears frequently
to run away with the rider.
There are passages in which we perceive the poet's meaning
not because of his fabulous expression but in spite of it: they seem
to struggle for breath, to wrestle for release.
�KOVEMBER, 1931
21
Yet there are also passages of pure poetry,
pure thought
"Then came I to the shoreless shore of time
J* here never summer was nor any tree,
£or sound of water, nor sweet light of sun
"y-tWngand the shoreXo£b?
Above, around, below, and in my heart."
language" f
"" ""* *« *S
lhe world centripetal
And these:
Aese
** are not poetry in any
"
"What is a symbol? it is the 'man stoops sharp
To dutch a paper that blows in the wind- P
S bendi
in th wi
LhL
rOCUS
'«with
<= »<V
the
laght, S^l
that breaks
on \
the water
waves
'the
Wing, that <aeh,eve in the gust unexpected.' >
review^ V ££ bS «SS% ^ to ,he <°°ls °f *.
waning fire. There L^^^tiTeV ,! tr *""" ^ '
cerned w,th a Tale of somewhat mo^tha!
U1 ^r
our L rv SfJ? ^
sions.
paltiy three dimen- !
he dipTt^'y^ SSi?* .««• - -* in the ink
reason of overw^i ,g such w rds as "l? ""ST*"." T^ *
Ventricle ..5ometmKsHy oterltklaSn'0"
'"^
meanmg^t^on5:^ LrfiXbf d°7f *"* ** *e
"Beloved, let us once more praise the rain.
-Let us discover some new alphabet, .
The r 'S ^ °fuen, PI"aised' and be ou^lves
The ia,n, the chick-weed, and the burdock leaf
. lhe green-white privet flower < »,«
*I J '
And all that wdcoLTJ ' "* SP°"ed stone>
�22
THE SYRIAN WORLD
"Forget the proud in wisdom, those who fear
To know the things they do. We are the sons
Of that bright eight that knows no turning back;
We the prometheans who never die j
The crucified who scorn their crucifixion,
Because we know our fate was in ourselves.
We are the Jesus and the Judas, too."
To Our Lyric Poets
The world that listens to John Masefield, poet laureate of
England, embraces a vaster population than the world that listens
to plain John Masefield, poet.
It is a good and gracious event when a man who has wise and
wholesome recommendations to make to a people, finally achieves
the eminence from which he may be heard. What he says from the
heights is precisely what he had been saying in the valley of his
quieter days; but now the faces are upturned to his face, and they
wait for his lightest word, who were before, fully occupied with
their own words.
To The New York Times Herbert W. Horwill, writes from
.London :
"John Masefield suggests that there is a fine opportunity waiting for some of our enterprising young poets to-start poetry entertainments in London. According to his plan, poetrv written especially for the purpose would be read aloud in small halls
The
poets would be writing directly for their public, and this would re-suit in vigorous, vital work. They would have the advantage of
seeing its effect on an audience—an invaluable guide which is denied
entirely to the man who writes for books."
_ _ Why not this plan also for young American poets of Syrian
origin t
'
�NOVEMBER, 1931
23
Rubaiyat Au- Tayeb
Translated from the Arabic
1
By
AMIN BEDER
«-»- \f Y, %_^ ^
u Cj Vj
^ ^vi
^ ur ^, ^, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
i-
v
u
^ ^
I neither blame the hand of fate, nor praise
The urgent guest who steals awa our days
It wants but little till we shall pass on
From earth to earth, for life is but a maze
Entongis.this life. ...the sages know
And yet the,r wisdom melts like April- snow
AnW 7 S02n/°rget 'tS witcheries arc false'
And Lo! we find them actors in the show.
\\—^Vl Uj|
tj*
C53
fjL-5"
cT
'iT uij
High aspiration is for thee a pest,
My soul, if thou be greedy in thy quest,
A A t YriY IS the one «"* suffers mostAnd 'neath the curse of sickness it must rest'.
;-ix« cT
Beauty that's false is surely in the lead,
Endeared to women like a noble steed1 o me the real appears a golden trait •
No dye nor paint will enter in my creed
>
^
�m**
24
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Ode
{From BOOK ON NATURE)
By
THOMAS ASA
Thou hast reclaimed the world's lost loveliness
0 wand ring dryad from Pierian bow'rs —
Revived rich beauty with thy soft caress
Imparted sweet perfume to scentless flow'rs
And stirred the dormant zephyrs with thy laughterRestored the music of the sylvan streams —
1 hy time today, and not the morrow or thereafter
No crude awak'nings in this life of dreams.
Ah! would I soon forget the world of men,
Io follow thee where'er thou mayest lead:
And through thine eyes divine the woodland ken,
And with my lips drink deep thy sacred mead
i-ead thou my spirit to thy safe retreat,
Show me what mortal eyes have never seen:
Reveal the secret of those silent feet
That walk the carpets of the woods unseen—
And now the sun has gone its wonted way
Teft o er the hours to twilight and the night,
And soon the earth in dreamless slumber lay
lo wake again but with the morning light— '
But in that mystic region of no sleepBut in that fabled realm of life unseen,
Which from the world its hidden borders keep,
And vanishes within the forest green
Beneath the drooping lilacs lost in sleep,
1 he woodland elves a noiseless revel hold
Arch schemers they, how sharp the vigil keep!
I hat no intruders might their sight behold.
Oh how delightful was that moonlit glade
Where reigned Queen Titania with her tr'ain,
And on her vernal throne of Flora's shade
Unseen by men, and ever thus remain.
�NOVEMBER, 1931
Fresh as the dew-drop on the morning rose,
basr as bright Hesper in the evening sky,—
And would thine eyes but for a moment close,
And all the world of beauty then would die
bam would I make my presence known to thee,
O wondrous queen of this sweet land I see
Now through the woodland sounds a trumpet note
lJear to the fairy queen it seemed to be
Might I have known it issued from Love's throat,
When came King Oberon his queen to seel
Immortal ruler of a cherished race'
With thy fair queen in lasting glory spend
Unnumbered days within this favored place
Ldemc peace and gladness without end
And never may the toll of future doom
find thee, sweet Myrtle, weeping dewy tears,
As thine oblatwn to the saddened gloom
Of crumbling Eros shrines that Venus rears ' '
And there bright Phoebe through the swaying eaves
Illumes with its soft gleam, the sylvan throne:
And with the faint rustle of Autumn leaves
Gentle Zephyrus sings its soothing moan
All this have seen, but not with earthly eyes
Hut m the inmost regions of the mind'
Where dwells the impish Genie of surmise,
Which rues the thoughts and wishes of mankind
Long shall I rove the verdant fields of thought
By gliding-streams of Love and Beauty steep '
My inward soul, until old age has brought
Me to the verge of unawak'ning sleep
*>
i
25
�-.IT' . I,U,III.U
/
26
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A Moslem Saint of Damascus
. AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE INTO THE DAILY ROUTINE
OF LIFE OF THE FOREMOST MOSLEM
TRADITIONIST OF THE AGE
• By H. I.
KATIBAH
JF SOMEONE had met you on the street and told you: "Meet
brother AbeJafd, just coming out from his lectures at the Priory
of Maisoncelle", or just as casually: "Let me present you to Saint
Ansdm, celebrated schoolman and author of the Proslogion » you
would realize something of the surprise which was mine when I
was presented, two years ago last summer in Damascus, to "the
Greatest Traditionist, Our Master Badr-Ud-Din al-Hasani.
For I had always associated a traditionist in my mind with
musty tomes of yellowed leaves and with the misty past of Moslem
history when both schoolmen and traditionists ruled the dav and
were influential figures in the world in which they moved.
As I pored over some ancient Moslem hagiographv such as arf frUTu°USre,7v.yah' °r Kitab ul-Luma'> or ^rned the rich pages
of the Ihya of al-Ghazzali, the vivid descriptions of the lives the
manners and idiosyncrasies of those spiritual paragons and ponderous
pundits of Moslem learning seemed to conjure them to life in my
imagination, and their quaint figures rose to meet me through those
yellowed leaves from the glamorous past to which they had receded.
'
Vaguely I realized that there were such men still living today
Somewhere m Mecca, in Baghdad, in Samarkand, in Kerbala, in
Nishabur and in Damascus itself, solitary men in their silent meditations were still saying their wirds, (devotions) or squatting on a
worn out mat reading their Qoran with a gentle sway of their bodies
Just as I knew that here and there in the moss-covered monasteries
o± Europe there were still monks whose outward appearance and
daily habits remind us of the days of St. Francis of Assisi and of
1 homas Aquinas, but I had met in person neither the former nor
the latter and they had remained in the world of my mental visions
enveloped by their aura of mystery and antiquated charm
-1
�—
NOVEMBER, 1931
27
It was therefore with some justifiable thrill and flutter th*t
ot'of rSfiedtthr0U^
DamaSCUS after an
^senceSIte
to meet in person
one who V "a '
Z£t7£%^T ^
"-
lbMalik A?i ^Modern ?"*>" a celeb^ed successor of
Sw^oStnlfcl
,anbaJ-' Abu-Ha"ifa -d the rest of
0skm tradltl0
nnn,W 1 !l •
^
ts and theologians. He was
to the Pope m the world of Christendom. Slmnite Moslems re
cognize no ultimate source of authority, save the Goran S
S
the
a,id
^ to *?
*» °l of
^life
"^
on of Haet
and their
their application
the "*
exigencies
from generation^
generat.on lies m the hands of the .radMonun, amo./whom Bad ?
0
tHC mynad
tl world
woHd'overT'
" fsupreme
°f His fo"—«nd admire s
me
over, is most
andJ exalted.
imagine an ordinary two-story buildine- of che un^ ,
Damascus rather dilapidated and its mud pwLg^Toff A
,h OU8h a
MS S« SS3&» "
^*
To one of those cells on the upper floor we ascended the stone
sta,rs and were ushered first to "the man" of Shaykh Badi ud D n
Shaykh Yahya al-Maktabi by name. He was hTspXnt nts
agent his publiast, and occupied a position simila tTthat Gfa
secretary to a great celebrity with us. He was the buffer that stood
between the saintly master and the mundane world
My -nend, an instructor at the American University of Beirut
and myself sought to interview His Eminence, Shaykh Badr ud
Ehn al-Hasam on a burning issue that had agitated nVonly Syria
and the Near East but the whole civilized world. For it was fo
f
S mCr 1929
SfwaUW^Tc T ° r r
'
' -cl thTname
5S MostmSnty^- ** ""* - *« "
�/ iff;
2R
"THE SYRIAN WORLD
v,
We made our mission known to Shaykh Yahya al-Maktabi
an affable gentleman with a typically Semitic face and neatlv
tnmmed
characteristic
dressTf aa M«£
Moi
em el black beard Hej wore the ^
^
r
Igl0US m
d we comed ug
Damascene congeniality of spirit which made us feel that we had
W known the man and had met him on familiar term before
He excused himself and went to another cell on the same row then
mtLas"S Mbr" he„retUnied SSSUrillg
US
** *^*t
minutes uur Master" will receive us o-lirH,,
u
•
i
making Turkish coffee for us S^ ml^cdL
as he requested us to wait until "Our Master" was through wi h
his dors or lecture. He squatted on the mat-covered floor totl v
unfurnished but for a few rush stools, while we sat on a nuple
one ^^^r fete flM ff£
gleaming with reverent pride, "and the rest of his time he spends
between the House of Tradition and the Umayyad Mosque'?
«. h
Lon
^befr,the *" ^" he continued, «heri£ up to
to the Umayyad Mosque, which is only a few paces away to attend
£e dawn prayer with the congregation. AfrJ that he goes to the
House of Tradition and prepares for his lectures which star n he
morning, and at noon he goes out again for prayer at the mosque
Then again he returns to his lectures, and in the afternoon after"
the prayer, a large circle of worshipers forms around himThe ex
pounds to them some topic from the Qoran or Tradi IT Back
again to his lectures he goes, and after the sunset prayer he breaks
his daily fast and immediately afterwards pores olhis books S
long after midnight, when after a few hours of sleep L rises UP
again and so begins another round of daily studies Pand prayer?
Hardly anything else occupies his mind or diverts his atfendon »
The coffee by this time had boiled over and we sipped it be
with age with an innocent ruddy face, almoft child lle Ld a
sparce little white beard. His attire consisted of a shabbybut clean
striped cotton kimbaz, open partly near the neck and held in nlace
with a simple white woolen girdle. A towel was tuckedIk heup
M
it i
�NOVEMBER, 1931
29
name of ^„, •ffl^itS.*' f^
spun socks and native yellow shoes SftZSffi?^^ homeno attendant with him and nobody to SI fc^W W ^ ^
crossed the threshold of the door He ',
Th° had a,ready
Badr-uI-Din al Hasani hW^whS fame for l r "^ S>kh
had spread from China to the'ij, i d sSL^^TS^. ^
Si^'k *** Severs ^ tm lacTtoYah ""an aXi^e^t^X^^ Wa
to move higher to a more^spectabl ^ '*"" ^^
g S
Ws
^
^"
Sun, or ^ammadan'm:^of D^" ** 'I0 "31 ^ °f *«
the Traditions of the ftonnet who
^' *? h'gh CUStodia" °f
Sa d t0 haVe heJd the
harite ulema (dons) SDdZ H
'
Az0
Whe
he dd
a lecture within the pec"cN of ^",1" T^' "
"
'«=red
Moslem world dism s, d h° that highest seat of learning i„ ,he
Palestine in a fewZTl taLT,±
^ °f the tr°"Mes in
religious legalistic ^ MSoiS " "' "^ "
called I'kTao^fwtfto1!^' "^ 3" "eighb°ri"S «*no one has anyrigtito 1, 5
l"V ^ P"bl,C pr°l'ert>' "*kh
use save *Jt£J2^?*^%£& °*£7 f=r
he
-raw ^39^-*
m the past some pci'vi'^in » ^tl^a1*
*«
signify that these privileges sive the ij .
i
,
,» " does not
fang, not even Our M25-OmS £Z T*, ^ "J^ to * No
today, could legalize the noss ,on hv th . "^ f[°m ,lle drad
al-Masjid ul-Aqsa. A M'O te^ "" r caiiphls n'"'5 P*".0'
an opinion on a religious matter Z Z^J^^tJ° *"*
cognized as the sunna (Qoranic law). On
STX&£
�30
THE SYRIAN WORLD
ditions declares that a Waqf is inviolable, from the seventh earth to
the seventh heaven. These latter-day arrangements cannot be concurred in by Moslem jurisprudence."
There was a note of finality to the words of the venerable
shaykh as he rose, excusing himself with the remark that it was
time tor mid-afternoon prayer.
As we bade Shaykh Yahya farewell and left the House of
lradition I could not help but recall another visit which I had made
a tew weeks previously to the summer residence of another religious dignitary, the supreme head of a Christian sect in Lebanon
tor the contrast was so vivid and significant to my mind.
At that other visit we were made to wait about an hour before
His Beatitude finished his breakfast. Then we were bid to stand
in the corridor with others who were also standing and waiting for
the appearance of the supreme religious head. Suddenly a gentle
venerable white-bearded old man, bent with age and walking with
the help of a stick, appeared in the corridor, followed by a train of
dignified bishops and priests.
_
He carried his title of "Saint," one of his official ecclesiastical
titles, as gracefully as he did his scarlet sottana and pelerine, which
he wore. A simple, black, turban-shaped cap, a heavv golden cross
hanging pendant from his neck and a big ring on the'fourth finger
of his right hand completed his informal ecclesiastical vestment
Almost a year after my interview with Shaykh Badr-ud-Din I
was also passing through Damascus. There was a wave of popular
murmur and rumble of resentment against the local native government headed by Shaykh Taj-ud-Din, son of Shaykh Badr-ud-Din
himself. I was discussing the general political situation with a
young nationalist, a modern Mohammedan graduate of the American University of Beirut. Among other things I askfd him
whether the fact that the head of the Syrian government was the
son ot the "Greatest Traditionist" gave him much prestige and influence with the general Mohammedan populace. He said:
"I will answer your question with an incident which I'myself
witnessed:
"Before the war, if you had passed through the Umayyad
Mosque after mid-afternoon prayer, you could have seen no less
*'
I
v
1
h
d
rr
N
iai
Ui
Jis
"P
Pn
To
vi A hle^° S'f hundred Persons in the halaqa (circle) of Shaykh
Badr-ud-Din, listening intentively to his lectures. Recently I passed
through and found only a handful, not more than fifty in number
Inen, as I was going out through the eastern gate I found two religious shaykhs also leaving the mosque, a young man and an elder-
ext<
clue
to :
Pre:
*> >i
�NOVEMBER, 1931
31
Jy °"e- I greeted then, saying:
"The l7eIy0U "0t
in the
Shaykh's circle!"
head rf the august Shaykh, addi",'
artistes-- """ **
dra
«
Y h1s son
^ ""P***-* on the
from the
^
-5oo/'j- Received
(To be revised in
lhe December
^
Printed fiStt^SSrftS^ ^'T *""• "««*
-'ographed by the autho,W. 10th St. New York
Pn " "M"' The
If^fe
"um^ and
G,b
> Studio, Jl
pubhsltd p^ptTf teotsr rh
who was closest to him and is now hi .',
Young ,s tne foremost li^^X ' ra
hith
-° -
V ,he Amerira
"
1 5, eKcutor
"
-
P<>«
Miss
LS
—*- oor sa^rs: sirs ass ^^ASSM^JJ^ * * Oimstead.
.
A dutiful volume on the hLfv / S' 'lluStrated- * 0
an conquest. The author is Prof°J °f S"a '" tbt MacedonUntversrty of Chicago and onetf (T f
"""'^ hist^ * *e
** The present work is „! ; I'T *""*" <"^^
^^^riSSf^ £» * H^haway, New
cJudtng Coolidge and Hoover. The book' h M"" Presid *, ind P
to students of American history Facs.mi
'e inValuab]=
»— - reproduced together ^"pen SSM&S
�32
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Seek and You Shall Find
A EUROPEAN RESIDENT OF BEYROUTH THOUGHT
HE COULD PROVIDE THE NATIVE POLICE WITH
A MYSTERY THEY COULD NOT SOLVE.
(A SHORT STORY)
By
CHARLES
J.
SASSEN
JT WAS a night in the Syrian Springtime, the time of night when
love longings reached their climax and revels were at their peak.
In the brilliantly lit cafes in the Street of the Cat in cosmopolitan
Beyrouth the haunting strains of the urgool tinged all love lilting
sadness. A fitting dirge for the dead—a bouquet to many a blushing bride—the haunting melody rose and fell.
Softly, sweetly pealed the bells of St. Daniel. From afar
came the voice of the Muezzin "La Ilah-a-Illa'l Lah; Wa Muhammad Rasoul Allah". In a room in a house nestling beneath
the tower of St. Daniel on the left and the minarets of the Mosque
on the right, a man lay dead. A neat little hole in the centre of his
forhead denoted the fact that his spirit had not danced out of his
body to the tune of a harp, but to the bang of a bullet.
The Chief of Police of the City of Beyrouth loved a mystery.
in fact, he would prefer being engaged to unravelling an intricate
crime far into the small hours of the coming day to lounging about
at ease in one. of the numerous Cafes on the waterfront, listening
to the throb of the tambouriyat and sipping the milky white arak.
Murders were his hobby, and a strange hobby it was. Nothing delighted him more than to ascertain how, why and when, and lastly
by whom, the foul deed had been committed.
At five o'clock in the afternoon of that day (European time)
i-he Chief of Police sat at his desk—a very puzzled man. A message
had just come over the wires to the effect that at eight o'clock he
should search the house between the church of St. Daniel and the
Mosque of Muhammad. The prolocutor gave no name and laughed
at the Chief's repeated requests for further information.
The Chief had more than half decided to regard the matter
as a joke, when he was interrupted in his reverie by one of his sub-
�»
.
NOVEMBER, 1931
^
ordinates. El Halabie was no ordinary man. Reared in the gutters
of Beyrouth, there was consequently fostered within him a queer
mi ed°P
Y
'-A
I
g
T£St
argUmeiU Was that the
P°or never com-
ed in h the
the
middle1 classes.
l'
' ^
?" I 1UXU1
'y indul^he
-d
the middle
Although
uneducated,
had Vgreat A*
wisdom
for he came of an Arab father.
r,.
Sl ch was the
; '
man who entered the office of the Chief
C iVersati
the fJ^fr °;
wisuom,
a
Tl
m
The
d
°° ^mediately decided to place
the facts of the afternoon before El Halabie with a request for his
opinion on the most advisable course to pursue
fte
t0 hin
"We^
7awhat
'7ating
Vhe meaSre facts the Chief demanded:
Well, and
do you adviser"
"Well » replied El Halabie, "as we have nothing to do this
evening why not visit the house? From what I know Joe Cordova
the wealthy tanner, occupies the place."
^-oruovan
"Good," replied the Chief, "meet me in front of the house
at about eight o'clock."
H.I-K d!Ht/d°Cku ^ SCCOnd the Chief> <^ompanied by El
Halabie, stood on the door step of the house of Joe Cordovan
Lookmg about and over the house the Chief remarked that he
could not notice anything unusual, but as they had come so far hey
nught as well enter the house under some pretext or other He
Whirtv "
H 1 thC d0°r *"«*• After an interval of
abou thnty seconds having received no reply, he knocked againthis time longer and ouder. After an elapse of another thirty
PoTared " II fh W *"* ^
t0 n
°^
T
«» ""accountable silence
Zse were om
T ""^ " ^^ "" the ^ b the
By this time the curiosity of the men had been awakened In
exasperation the Chief turned the handle of the door and to his' surprise found that the door was not locked. With El Halabie at his
thC bnlliantJy lighted
"Yahoo Y^ mt
Pass^e a»d touted
m °a stentor
ft
°
'an voice. Still no reply.
Ibis seems strange," muttered the Chief. "However let
us search the house."
' ie.
Room after room was searched, but though the lights burned
in all the rooms yet no trace of a living occupant could be found
Arnving at the last door the Chief tried the handle, fully expect ng
the door to swing back on its hinges revealing an empty interior
To his surprise the door proved to be locked* Bending^own he
placed his eye to the keyhole, but his vision was impeded by the
key ,n the lock on the inside. The Chief rapped at the door but
�34
THE SYRIAN WORLD
~d:irfeP,y- ? ^hhk^d6dded that > k=y y«
de could
prevent a determined officer of the law from manipulating it In
a farw»4 the lock of the door clicked and El Halabieftraight
reniai ed hrm With a puzzled air he turned to the Chief- "Must
be hoi ed on the mside" he remarked. The Chief merely nodded
After a few moments of indecision the Chief barked- "El Halabie
ZZ£2£££r
and
"
if
*» »» ~* » -r'vSote
fe» A a *], minutcs,E1 Hal*e returned with the disturbing news
hat the window was also locked and the blinds drawn. By thfs time
u ti?orderead
FTHI
lT*J*. ^ * ^ °f -patience
cu aopent0 trHd'abi StrUme"£ ^"T* *«
d^^Mta
forS
r
j , ,
,
open, m Malabie soon returned w rh 3
orS minU0ttr and ^ ^^ °f ^ d- " K*^*
The Chief and El Halabie burst into the room simultaneously
Th room was well furnished after the taste of a European resided
m the East. Numerous beautifully colored and hand worked
dlfaHnd S nY7Pet1 fl0°r- The intnCate workmanst;^
d van and Chesterfield was thrown into bold relief by the light cast
g
by a large electric chandelier in the centre of the room
\ neat' litHe hi
T"^ °f PU/e marWe a man ^ on h back.
foroner c^dd .'VlSl l"*" °f his f°rehead testified ** ^
natural ousel
'
" Pr°n°UnCe the Vei"dict °f death due •»
The two men stood rooted to the spot. The Chief's eaze
retired h°mfthC h°dy,t0 thC Wind°W a"d his bra- -chtifa J
registered the fact that this was locked on the inside. Slowly his
Y
gaze returned to the body, then to El Halabie.
^ Well, was his only comment.
"Murder!" was the laconic reply.
El Halabie tiptoed towards the body and fell on his knees be^
side the prostrate figure. A blotch around the wound showed that
the death weapon had been fired at close range.
"Smell anything?" questioned the Chief
"Burnt powder," answered El Halabie
"Who is he?"
"Joe Cordovan."
tried
tf!rwCaHting ai10t!ier J°0k at the bod^ E1 Halab* rose and
tried the window A close examination of the walls revealed that
the only mode of ingress and egress was through either the door
If
�A(OVEMBER, 1931
:*£?& £jaxjs
rsr
,
,
at£sR. S===. ?a.-3as
Willfully r„ fa'S " t°
°
"« - He
a d
Pped n t0 his k
from a few ,ersonn W
"f8 th/°Ugh ,he Pockets>
Now tnorl^ ]y LTd El Hi r a ¥Pf"! 'UtUre
s
b
« apart
""d-
s fo
Toe SffiteJS" riVettCd 2? °"e Sp0t-the left "-I
He picked it uPp a ,d r T rt^Tff *£" the *"* « «stfeatures as he SSZte^gSg*** "* "^ °» his
it eontamed" ^ "" ^ *"' «*
and
^ shall find," was all
"Who wrote this, I wonder?" asked the Chief
the saS'rejoint C"im"ey' "*?« ** "S
to
*** *">" was
notX ^ 'tfr^^siSI f°U,Hy "*$ "" »" ^ did
would certainly believe you "
""" " ^
in thc
«*
I
* * * *
wen fpp'oinSofficr0;;,:
Frida
rthc chief sat»«** - *
the office ples°«l rec Ld'^TH y'r"'*^!' "' the ~ a *air
Ms eyes and an ar,,,m,c Torkih
' 7'*, his hat tilted °
his lips.
' rUrklsh "Satette dangling iooxly between
c-^«fc^SJSdS* "Vm(
person or persons unknown "
afra d the demise f
;
"* °f "** °r
mUr<fe
°
**
J«/
=
pensefreSed t« Tl^
"* * *? at « "N*^ exadapt over feetg^o 'L^unTXnd" """ "* Withi"
«"•
f> «i
�BBS
1 I
36
THE SYRIAN WORLD
rwTagccounth:tTh" IE? t0Kd° S°
hOUSe
reWdffi
Z^T**?
i elapsed into an attitude
of repose -
P
e
investigation on his
^nt and
The Chief nodded as
and t Vh0Uf?t.ful m°°d E1 Hakbie we'^d his way to the house
Sen e he mfd hm "** *! ^ ^'^ * Headquarters t
silence he made his way to the death room which had not been His .
turbed since the fatal night. He realized that a sear"h woudit
«£ o^1V£d " ^^ himSdf ^" whitXi^
null ^tSTed himfeJf on the divan> lifted hi* ^et on to the table
pulled his hat over his eyes and folded his arms over hi chest An
nour two hours passed and yet no sign or movement from El Ha
t ing I„d Sf th£ r°°m darke-d - • %„ that the sun w s
S
F H,l
-u WaS, Creepin^ stealthiJy over gav Beyrouth
tH U h
f, ame
he re m Kd
anHisJSSS'.lS*
?
T
/
5
"
'
>'
«
' " everbecLT „T T. [
, '"e '^ stillness of the room.
of dlst urb
eves, became glued to the hreplace~he listened
Softlv ever
t0 hiS
thC Peali
follow el SZ
?"voice
'« mueyyin
°f the "ell
St &,e
f
followed
by the far
off
of the
«T »of D.u
rn !i
ad Raso 1
"oat^eltT„d
d
d
^\^*
tnc nrepiace and dropped
on h.s knees in front»££23
of the
h s edhisfeceroimds as
e fe
tts h,.'r d
mlf
° *°•«*"p<n c hi „:
remained m,n V CrePt 7" the grate and i,,t0 the «« He
P
hT at Sudde
,d h" "5L* Setmed Ws neck must b k with
T,t
V ^dden<y he withdrew his hand and regained his feet
tefore
Sed «1°0! O d
d' ^ "f
l^P
th OU8h
y0 **"
be dead 1 ^e grate ad mut
CatLJ' li I r"' t
"
Wy homage."
f
d
Srtnere into tL'street. "' ^ "* ^ » *'
« <^
Deliberately El Halabie seated himself in the office armchair
selected a cigarette and lay back with a sigh of conte," The Chief
being familiar w,th the idiosyncrasies of El Halabie, continued he
perusal of certain uninteresting documents on his desk
- f
A 'I TJ 'lCh'ef' did y°u realize that the room in which
W
^ *e ^ °l 3°rl Cr°rd°Van is absoiutdy -undproof""
driving S
"
""*• "«"*'** What hh -hordinate was
"Chief, listen, and you shall hear of as devilish a trick as ever
MHMaan
�H.OVEMBER, 1931
37
conceived by the mind of man. When in the room th\
realization came to me that no so,,nH f the'°°m
concluded that as the he Ik n«U
J
.u
. long nad Sly drivtole^
a out eight
inches of catapulf
mos
que.
evenm
S
the
1 thereupon
^etT f ^7-
ettSiel* ht"
ail,
S
r:dreedvoiy
ver. The magazine contained one live cartridse anrl rL 1
,."
eontamed an empty cartridge case. FrdnTtiS ifwaTbu^
f
Ut a sim ,e
matter to reconstruct the deed.
P
"Joe Cordovan sat on his heels in fmnt „f ,k
his arm up the flue and withdrawhereZl^ ^J^f
elastic as much as possible he pointed tL k
T1 LStretchmg the
forehead and fired Te fo ce ofthe bul .Tn ?$?. ^ °f his
PUShed him over
his back whilst the reWH
1
°» to
drawi1 U
by the elastic"
^ ^ ^
P the flue
There was a look of elation in the eves of Fl Hoi i :
continued: "Poor Joe Cordovan. He looked l£hS HaLll*fraa \e
thought he would even depart with a ioke He lh "T ^ ^
viding the police of Beyrouth with „ L^ble^^ °f ^
�38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
1
H
(
A.
HAKIM,
Editor
CONFLICTING STANDARDS IN THE SYRIAN HOME
IN AMERICA
REFERENCE was made in the opening remarks of this department to "Two opposing forces—two sets of diametrically different ethical conceptions and standards developing in our social
order, with a hint to the dire results which are bound to follow if
this condition is not treated rationally and in time. It is now the
purpose to amplify this statement and discuss all phases of this
social condition in an effort to devise means of alleviating its evils
and mollifying its effects. The subject, as can readily be seen, has
breadth which does not permit of full treatment in one article The
fundamentals, therefore, must be considered first, and with time
it is the hope of this writer to consider every phase of the conditions
attecting our family life in America.
The fundamentals are mainly cultural, and to a much lesser
degree economic. Old traditions are clashing with conceptions of
both parental authority and filial obligations as well as of moral
standards. The parents make demands to which the children cannot concede, and while this conflict of views brings distress to tlparents it also creates a considerable measure of unstability in the
characters of the children.
Syrian immigration into the United States is comparatively
recent and rarely does it go beyond the second generation The
first immigrants, therefore, are still the dominant factor in our home
Me. And they are imbued with certain ideals of conduct and rules
tor living which it could not be reasonably expected that they should
easily forego and relinquish. These ideals are so dominant in them
that they may be considered a part of their very being, and any dis-
y
�NOVEMBER, 193J
39
turbanee of the order which has governed their lit.
wake untold unhappiness
and* mler^
might
-ry Th?
T^
u dergo J*.
nix
-^'"
itS
{
st01cism
but for them to have complete neace JJTA 1
,
>
and standards must „ot Xl^X^ ^ "^ ^
sufficient gratification tftorfSdS^S^ * "* »', "-If
objective is to live their life aW ,h7
=**"*«. Their ultenor
condueive to happiness
These tJTfcH* COcertain
"CdVe f° be m°St
which have been imrrained i,»u
.
,
standards
ment of which thev cTnever Jl
^ a"d wkhout th<= f"lnll-
*? are .^STSSSS^ feather
imagination to reaLe the antoum ,',f f T"* "° Stretch of th<=
te forego the *£S«K£*&~2
School education seems to !
°f the school. American Public
duality of the chUdT^ ^ prepare hLT^ "*
th
f "**"
as an independent and sepfra^end y No effort' f ^ °f Kfc
and tram him as a unit in the family. Vde ath
t iTf H° 5 J
g
training the Syrian child finds himself at
.7.home
rfa
standard of
ferent influences InsteadI of k
, , J
g totally difentity he is cons dered a„ inte^ W °l ^ UP°n aS "" "'^ndem
The $
withholds notm gfromh ,s hold h^ T',.
*" **»
f the convi
he sacrifices all for h°s chi d ti '
" °
«ion that if
bis old age, the ^ZS&S^BSS •""* f"
will insure him against want. I„ olL7ZnhZY S,md?ds>
first generation count on their MJ
' y "f parents of the
part of the hm
semble throughout life a,n
I,
"*
'h enC
ngthemSelWS to admit tha
changes of cofdkL *'f wt aZt
'
V eWP ! tS shoU,d
their long prevalent standards
'° '
°"
^
lack oTf%pC.?tio8ne':fatnsVmole t" ^ '»— °f **
consider & ^MSA,*^ «££
�.
38
THE SYRIAN WORLD
A.
HAKIM,
Editor
CONFLICTING STANDARDS IN THE SYRIAN HOME
IN AMERICA
h
s
REFERENCE was made in the opening remarks of this department to "Two opposing forces—two sets of diametrically different ethical conceptions and standards developing in our social
order," with a hint to the dire results which are bound to follow if
this condition is not treated rationally and in time. It is now the
purpose to amplify this statement and discuss all phases of this
social condition in an effort to devise means of alleviating its evils
and mollifying its effects. The subject, as can readily be seen, has
breadth which does not permit of full treatment in one article. The
fundamentals, therefore, must be considered first, and with time
it is the hope of this writer to consider every phase of the conditions
affecting our family life in America.
The fundamentals are mainly cultural, and to a much lesser
degree economic. Old traditions are clashing with conceptions of
both parental authority and filial obligations as well as of moral
standards. The parents make demands to which the children cannot concede, and while this conflict of views brings distress to the
parents it also creates a considerable measure of unstability in the
characters of the children.
Syrian immigration into the United States is comparatively
recent and rarely does it go beyond the second generation. The
first immigrants, therefore, are still the dominant factor in our home
life. And they are imbued with certain ideals of conduct and rules
for living which it could not be reasonably expected that they should
easily forego and relinquish. These ideals are so dominant in them
that they may be considered a part of their very being, and any dis-
�ACOVEAfiERyl&ri
39
turbance of the order which has governed their life will bring in its
wake untold unhappiness and misery. Their economic fortunes
might undergo serious changes which they will bear with stoicism
but for them to have complete peace of mind, their ethical codes
and standards must not suffer any radical change.
It takes but little mental effort for any of us to realize what
the older generation values most in life. They have cleaved their
ties with the motherland seeking primarily economic opportunities,
but the realization of their ambitions along this line is not in itself
sufficient gratification of their subconscious motives. Their ulterior
objective is to live their life along the lines they conceive to be most
conducive to happiness. These lines follow certain standards
which have been ingrained in their nature and without the fulfillment of which they can never experience true happiness. Whether
they are totally justified in their reasoning, or rather in their natural inclinations, is beyond the point. The fact is that they were so
born and have so grown and lived, and it requires no stretch of the
imagination to realize the amount of stress this generation must endure to forego the things they consider almost inalienable to their
very nature.
Now this generation of first immigrants builds up homes and
brings forth children who grow under painfully conflicting influences. From early childhood the standards of the home would
seem to be at variance with those of the school. American Public
School education seems to concern itself simply with the individuality of the child, aiming to prepare him for the struggle of life
as an independent and separate entity. No effort is made to treat
and train him as a unit in the family. While against this standard of
training the Syrian child finds himself at home facing totally different influences. Instead of being looked upon as an independent
entity he is considered an integral family unit. The Syrian father
withholds nothing from his child, because of the conviction that if
he sacrifices all for his child and cannot in consequence provide for
his old age, the child, in conformity with Syrian family standards
will insure him against want. In other words, Syrian parents of the
first generation count on their children as part of the family ensemble throughout life, and cannot bring themselves to admit that
changes of conditions of life and economic viewpoints should alter
their lung prevalent standards.
The young generation, on the other hand, because of their
lack of appreciation of, or sympathy for, their parents' viewpoint,
consider these demands in the nature of an imposition. Why, they
"*-"** '
�40
TH'E SYZIAN WORLD
argue, should they be hampered in leading their own lives? It is
the individualistic principle as against that of family obligation and cooperation. It forms one of the most serious problems
of the Syrian-American home.
A phase of this problem is the attempt of parents to enforce
their standard of conduct on the children. Let it be conceded that
from the viewpoint of education the children have by far the greater advantage. Thanks to their parents, it must be remembered,
they were able to profit by the educational facilities generally provided in America and which in the motherland are available only
to a limited few. But be it also remembered that scholarly education is not character, nor culture, nor ethics, nor morals. - And
even when the parents are illiterate this is no justificatioa for disrespect or an attitude of overbearance or impatience. This condition in the Syrian home is a marked one at the present time, and
just where to draw the fine line of distinction in the relations of
parents and children should prove a subject for serious consideration.
But the clash is most serious in the enforcement of the moral
standard. Syrian parents view with unconcealed alarm the tendency
of their children towards so-called modernism, while the children
resent what they term undue and unwarranted interference in their
personal liberty. It is again the conflict of two codes of ethics which
subject the unity of the Syrian-American home to an immense strain.
And perhaps this particular problem is the most virulent and irksome of all.
* * * *
We do not presume to have covered here the entire range of
the problems confronting the Syrian home in America. We have
only alluded to the more pronounced complications, and that in a
general way. Amplification of the infinite details will ensue at another time. What we do hope for, however, is to arouse interest
and insure thought on the subject of our social relations to the end
that a better understanding might be promoted in the Syrian home.
Every family has problems peculiarly its own, whose solution could
come only through the serious consideration of the persons directly
concerned, actuated by a sympathetic and indulgent attitude of
each toward the other's viewpoint. After all, family ties should
be made to endure and they cannot be binding nor permanent unless
based on understanding. It is true that the period of transition
through which we are passing is a difficult one, but will not our
culture prevail in compelling us to hearken to the voice of reason?
�NOVEMBER, 1931
41
Youth Speaks
C
S
W
1
GE A BURN
T^^^ *
ING QUESTION
WITH THIS SOCIALLY-MINDED CORRESPONDENT
Editor's Note—Whatever agitates the minds of our younger generation ve invite them to write to this department about ft unreservedly. The department zvas created for their benefit and of
thts fact they may take full advantage This was the explicit understanding mth the editor in chief without reservations'as to the nature of the communications. The intention is to have the department serve as a public forum to reflect the actual thought of our
youth. 1 he following is the first received.
Dear Mr. Hakim
Q • !tw "IT1 xW'th ',ntereSt that 1 renew my subscribtion to the
Syrian World. Now that I am taking it I want to say tdat I would
not be without it for the simple reason that it is doing me a great
deal of good. I am learning much of our former civilization as
well as of current problems confronting the Syrians both here in
America and m our fatherland. I could go on to say many more
things regarding the benefits I am deriving from this magazine
arid of the great influence of our lost but not forgotten poet, Kahlil
Oibran, but to continue to do so would be to get farther away from
my particular discussion.
I write on the subject of the new department, "The Younger
Generation." My question is: "What is being done to bring The
younger generation together?» In my discussion and correspondence with the younger Syrian-Americans I find they are getting
away from each other instead of coming together. This is much
more evident in the smaller cities as far as I am informed. It seems
that fewer marriages are taking place among the Syrians and that
they are intermarrying with other elements with much more frequency than usual. To illustrate my point, I quote a few lines from
a correspondent in your own state. "Of the bovs ranging from
yr
n
girl at all.
4ge' he Says' "hardl>' ^ of them g° with a Syrian
There is just a couple of them that do. One couple
�42
THE SYRIAN WORLD
were married last week and they had a big wedding. We have a
lot of pretty Syrian girls here who don't even have a fellow. The
Syrian boys and girls don't stick together at all here. Most of the
boys I know go with American girls." These few lines are surely
self-explanatory.
As the saying goes: "There is something rotten in Denmark."
Some force is needed to bring the two groups together. What is it?
I am sure I don't have a solution but from observation I will lay
the greater extent of the blame on the parents. They prohibit their
daughters from going with boys until the latter show serious intentions of mariage. I can say that I certainly admire the girls for their
high standard of morality and ideals. There is nothing more to be
admired than a clean, decent, intelligent, and home-loving Syrian
girl. I can say wonderful things about many of the boys, too.
It is against mental and physical principles to suppress certain
natural emotions. I mean the clean, ideal emotions such as love,
joy, happiness. "The boys, having a much freer latitude than the'
girls, seek company that satisfies these emotions. This results in
the boys marrying American girls. Now what is there left for the
girls to dor They must do the same or become old-maids. If the
youth were taught more about Sex, Love, Courtship, and Marriage,
I think that this dilemma would be more readily solved. I am
now attending a series of lectures on this subject, and I find it of
much benefit. I was given a questionnaire to be used in the compilation of the ideals of the youth of today concerning these problems. Here are the questions.
I. In seeking for a wife would you prefer a home-maker or
a society woman:
II. Do you want a wife who smokes?
III. In seeking a wife would you consider sexual purity on her
part an absolute requisite?
IV. Which ar£ the most essential qualifications of a good
wife—physical beauty or genuine moral character?
V. What criticism in general would you offer of the young
women of your acquaintance?
VI. If you and your fiancee were both employed before marriage, would you want her to continue in her employment
after marriage provided your own income was sufficient to
provide for the home?
VII. If you establish a home of your own, do you want children?
I think that the conventions reported in^the Syrian World as
s-
l'
cc
so
Ii
al
F<
�NOVEMBER, 1931
43
being held in various places are doing wonders in bringing the
WnVS "' '^ th7 " StiH "^ * ** d°"e- * *> -te'som
I have trfed r * reOVerdomS
tters and developing snobbishness.
Up f b yS but have Jacked su
cooTra
• n or perhaps
"T my
* &,
° all° wet. I would like to^ent
cooperation,
plan is
have
ome comment on this problem by both yourself and the readers
If I am cockeyed with my ideas somebody please tell me so. After
all, 1 still retain many Syrian ideals at heart. So help me God!
r ,m
Thomas G. Ember.
T ,
bort Wayne, Ind.
Beyond the Sun
By
BARBARA YOUNG
Behold this vast incalculable ray,
Brighter than stars, more luminous than suns
More distant than all space beyond all space
In its beginning, if indeed there be
Birth or beginning to that principle
Man's mind hath never conjured, nay, nor will,
Perchance, with all his weighty conjuring
This side the glimmering secretive Veil.
Behold this ray, ineffable, informed
Beyond the sun, beyond these measurements
Of skies and firmaments and fashioned voids;
This uncreated, all-creating volt,
This unthought word, this might without a name
That shook Old Chaos into rhyme and rhythm
No single atom looted or laid waste
Unto this hour.
What hath God wrought indeed
Himself, and light and law and life and love.
These from the mist that moves beyond the sun.
The Times, New York.
�-
""
THE SYRIAN WORLD
New Egyptian Minister in America
"HE APPOINTMENT recently of His Excellency Sesostris Sidarouss Pasha as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Egypt to the government of the United States again
focuses public attention on the fact that Egypt is the only sovereign
Arabic-speaking state having diplomatic representation abroad. The
growing national consciousness of Egypt is making her forge ahead
rapidly as the leader among Arabic-speaking countries in the struggle
for world recognition. She also is nobly acquitting herself as the
leader among those countries of the renaissance movement in literature, the arts, and sciences.
This cultural movement the Syrians have had a strong influence in launching and promoting, as Egypt, for over fifty years,
has been the logical field for the display of their talents. The
proximity of Egypt and Syria, and their being bound by a common
language and common traditions, has given rise to the popular
reference to them as the "sister countries."
Abroad these cordial relations seem to manifest themselves as
strongly as they do in the home countries. Everywhere, especially
since the ushering of the era of Egyptian diplomatic representation
in foreign countries, the Syrians, particularly in America, look upon the Egyptian diplomatic representatives as their own in the sense
that they are representatives of a "sister country." The strong
bond of kinship and traditions between them transcends the limitations of time and space.
These bonds of cordiality and co-operation are expected to be
materially strengthened through" the influence of the new Egyptian
Minister at Washington. A man of broad vision and deep understanding, it cannot escape his observation that while Egypt enjoys the
distinction of being the only Arabic-speaking country maintaining
diplomatic representation abroad, the Syrians, at the same time,
form the only Arabic-speaking element in America. The necessity
of co-operation between the two would seem but obvious.
* * * *
> The record of Sesostries Sidarouss Pasha is one of brilliant
achievement. Born in Alexandria, he was educated at St. Andrew's
Scotch School and the Jesuits' College of St. Francis Xavier of his
-
K
<
> !TSfe=
�NOVEMBER, 1931
His Excellency
Sesostris Sidarouss Pasha
Egyptian Minister at Washington
45
�46
THE SYRIAN WORLD
native city. After having obtained his French degrees in Arts with
honors, he took up the study of law in Cairo and in Paris, and received his degree of Doctor of Laws in the latter city.
His first practice was before the Mixed Court of Appeal in
Alexandria as an assistant prosecutor in the office of the Attorney
General. Later he was appointed in the Ministry of Justice in Cairo
as private secretary to the Judical Adviser and secretary to the Committee of Judicial Surveillance.
In 1907, he was selected as Professor of Law at the Royal
Faculty in Cairo where he was given the Chair of Civil Law, in
both the English and the French sections. Later he was also entrusted with the direction of the Faculty, as Vice-Principal.
Asked to join the Diplomatic Service, he was appointed First
Secretary to the Royal Egyptian Legation in Paris in December
1923 and acted at the same time as Charge d'Affaires in Brussels
until December 1924.
In 1922 he was called to the Bench as Judge at the Mixed
Court in Cairo.
He was promoted to the post of Counsellor to the London
legation in 1925 and given charge of the Legation as Charge d'Affaires ad interim.
In September 1929 he left London to take over his post of
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Athens and
Belgrade. In May 1930 he went, in the same capacity, to Brussels
and The Hague, and from August 1930 until August 1931 he was
on a mission in London.
Sidarouss Pasha left England on August 1, 1931 to undertake
his duties in Washington and on August fourteenth he presented to
President Hoover the letters accrediting him as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Egypt to the Government
of the United States of America.
Sidarouss Pasha's services have been recognized not only by
his Government but also by several Foreign Countries. He holds,
among others, the highest Egyptian title, that of "Pasha," as well
as the Egyptian Orders of the Medjedieh and the Nile. He is
bearer of the Grand Cross of the Belgian Crown, of the Greek Order of the Phoenix and of the Yougoslav Order of St. Sava. He
is Commander and Officer of several other Orders: The Royal Victorian Order, St. Gregory the Great, the Legion d'Honneur, the
French Public Instruction, and St. Sylvester.
Sidarouss Pasha is not only a jurist and a diplomat but a writer
and a linguist as well. His Principal publications are: his famous
-
c
I
b
d
K
a
T\
Th-
Th(
�NOVEMBER, 1931
in the ottoma Em
^M^^sr'
" »- ^
"The Personal & S £ , Eg^S "7 2*?*
Legislation."
^eononne Potaque, de Statistique et de
*2aK£ *dtdSS^'wife'a daughter of *< »*
barrisS nel^ Ivatd c2t^' r^*
^
S<fa
»• «
a F^an KlfS^^^ So =£" *
7&? Travelers Cloak
By DR. SALIM Y. ALKAZIN
The traveler:
Kind tailor, through rough and hostile land
• For leagues and leagues Pve wended: '
And my cloak is torn and sorely worn
And would 'twere rightly mended.
Its fabric, you can see, is rare,
And should have met with better care.
The tailor's apprentice:
But master, why, since the gaping harm
1 ou have undone, you turn
Upon him your back? you hide the cloak
Away—why not return
The man his own? Or what I see
A secret of the craft may be!
The tailor:
Perchance of waiting he will grow
Fatigued, forget his cloak and go.
�48
THE SYRIAN WORLD
EDITORIAL COMMENT
^THOUGH we have set a definite plan for the New SYRIAN
VVORLD we do not propose that this plan should be so rigid as
W Uld be
o det^ T^T' 7H?** °
°^ *
«<*° Sri
m
Hence the
f^1?8^ *sPect °* "ew and varied material.
Hence the omission m this 1Ssue of some departments in order to
make room for the other material that does not fall under any pa -
nt e t- r nat!°n; bUt *"*> —rtheless, will be found equa Uy
P 3n
f
be S mewhat dastic
SSfve
i " of
Tant
° of life.
»"* hence indicative of
of .h?/
the freshness
new °currents
* *
READER.? will observe that the working of the arrangement
f
ThercTe
rlTtravel
Iffeatures
"* ^^
° travd
' ^^
^fiction.
1 here are two
m this issue
which
are admittedly
inent
lg Pa, ticularly Mr Katibah
tlTwni L f
r^Ti -
;
-
'* «*-£-
gll> aPPeaJ,Ug t0 b th SchoIar and
Wh e M
Y°Un
'
°
lavman.
While Miss Young is always resourceful in the choice of material
e
ngmal
is
atv
"" ^T
?" °^ ^^
^t
pauaty of
of he°r
her own poetry
m her department.
It is a sense
of *e
medesty
hat is depriving the readers of some of the loftiest poetry of all
^ • *£r JaSt Publ]shed Poem in the New York Times was f a
tured ,„ box form in the Literary Digest of November 14. We have
«IW P
I°Z ,,;dePcndent sources that the Thomas Moult
^est Poems of 1931» prints her "Requiescat" also from the Times,
in the , <;;iJy.p0enl/rom fhe American daily press to be included
*£$£2
We fear we sha11 have t0
«- °- *
bead
-
Fiction is also maintained, an original short story and an Arabian tale appeanng in each issue. But of fiction we premise even
more and we would especially invite that class of stories that shall
touch on our home life in America.
***** *
SOME
readers
med the impression from our anilouncemem
SiXth yC r hat by
-f th" WaH W ORI°Ur
! i
P°Pula
ig the material
D WC ,ntended
J I
}
'
^ lower its standard. They expressed themselves after perusing the two last issues as being pleasantly surprised that such was not the case. The fact is any question
i
�I
NOVEMBER, 1931
49
V
licy so far has been quite wh„k me
mo cumulative substantial results.
We
us
t
will L^f ft
translated
* * * *
^nubbi:;
A
f0l 0W the
,!
.
P
tice of
°« »«ive press, we would
scribers'o V Teremt" ^tT"
*° * we
^
hoWever
do n ^ * ^
Certain pract cesftfftft
'
>
<* P pose to do.
a Dec lift ft I
ft^" Prcss m,Sht be Pardonable owing to
a peculiar psychology. A Syrian subscriber, for instance is ft t„
and* « an insult, induced by lack of confide ft if Jh edtor
were to discontinue sending him the paper even though he igno e
the numerous statements sent him ana fails to make payme, f A
W Sh
tto
FftliTaft'
^aware
' ft?
°" the aSSUm
Ptio"will
thfte
refd
tnghsh and are
of American
practices
live
uo who
to them
atftftft'ftftldeci n"t0 dLntime "«P^ -Ci "ft;
k
reft4 for ftfe/ft
ft"
We wU1
«ladIy «««*"
Y
ftrft/of a^lftlftftft^ftfti-^ciaf lefts' £
of their -to^aat1'^.1:
S; r^sftvn ST^ ^ «" -»*- «^
every cty: ^Z^L^ZIt^^T "^ '"
* * * *
. Those who contend with the perennial problem of selecting
Chnstmas g,fts m.ght well consider the propriety of mnkhft ft
ubscnbfons of the Syrian World. Asidefrom being a ge tore 0f
on
ft' ftftrft/fta fift C°meS t0 *« -ipfentftroug
out the year for comparatively a nominal consideration Friends
holidays!
"
WOrU arC
^
t0
*"*
!t in rai d d
"
»
g the ftftg
�50
THE SYRIAN WORLD
Political Developments in Syria
SYRIA AND IRAQ UNDER ONE KING?
King F„isal „ R„e „ n^jprZ** M. Brother A*
fiege„t
,„
Bagdad.
The most sensational rumor to appear so far concerning a possible
solution to the Syrian problem is that
of the plan to create a dual kingdom
of Syria and Iraq with King Faisal
as ruler of both countries established
at Damascus and his brother AH acting as regent in Bagdad. Just how
much truth there is in this rumor it
is impossible at present to determine
because of the abundance of the rumor
crop on the subject of the Syrian
question with no indication of possible materialization. This latest rumor, however, seems to have enjoved
even more vogue than any other and
there are many responsible Syrian
leaders who apparently attach much
credence to it.
During the summer, King Faisal
was in Europe and spent much time
in Paris. High Commissioner Ponsot
was also in Paris, as were many prominent leaders who are not in the
habit of visiting,Europe for their
health. King Faisal had once been
king ,n Syria and owing to his popularity and influence it was commonly
accepted that he was attempting to
help the French solve their problem
m Syria by inducing them to revert
to a monarchical form of government
with his brother former King AH of
Arabia on the throne in Damascus.
The fact that King Faisal is the
better diplomat, plus the fact that
he still has a large following in Syria
where once "he was king, makes the
proposal of establishing him on the
Syrian throne instead of his brother
sound like a more logical solution
i^ngland is represented as favoring
this arrangement despite her rivalry
with France for the preponderance of
influence in the East because of the
stability it would insure for that
part of the Arabic-speaking worid
Especially that King Faisal has won
tangible results from his negotiations
for good will and amity with King
Ibn Saoud of Arabia, who had
forced the abdication of his father
King Al-Husain and later wrested the
throne of Al-Hijaz from his brother
King AH. It will also be remembere]
that King Faisal is a direct descendant of the Prophet and of the line
that had the custody of the holy
places of Islam. While his other brother Emir Abdullah is the ruler of
Trans-Jordania, making it possible,
with the proposed creation of the
dual Kingdom, to form one solid bloc
of homogeneous countries under three
brothers, extending from the Mediterranean shore to the borders of Persia, with the exclusion of the small
strip of Palestine.
All these considerations make the
proposed scheme of the dual monarchy
not only feasible but highly desirable
in the opinion of its proponents. What
would seem to lend weight to there
having been serious discussions of
<~
�NOVEMBER, 1931
\
•
51
such a possibility between the French
authorities and King Faisal is the
reference the latter made to his policy
m Syria during his rule in Damascus
m an official interview he gave to
newspapermen and notables of his
kingdom after his recent return from
Europe. This interview was described
by the correspondents as being in the
nature of a speech from the throne,
ine King's remarks about the Syrian
Situation were to the effect that his
hands were forced to assume the attitude he took towards the French in
1920 and which had such disastrous
results. The Syrians were too impatient, he said, and sought to gain
by force what they could have achieved by patience and a spirit of
conciliation, and this despite the fact
that they were too little equipped for
the military undertaking on which
they embarked.
There are those among the Syrians,
on the other hand, who disapprove
unequivocally of any plan to restore
the Syrian kingdom irrespective of
personalities. A considerable number
of the Nationalist leaders maintain
that Syria has a legal constitution
which declares for a republic, and that
the provisions of this constitution
must be enforced until amended, and
this amendment cannot be under^
taken except by the convocation of
a popular assembly enjoying the same
Powers vested in the Constituent Assembly which first drafted the contitution. Particularly are the Nationalist leaders of Aleppo bitter in
their opposition to any change, because of their professed belief that a
monarchical form of government would
be construed as a step backward for
the country. They further argue that
the French would naturally favor a
king because a single responsible person would lend himself more readily
as a tool in their hand.
In the face of all these rumors no
word has been forthcoming from
French official sources. All that the
natjive press could procure was a
statement by an official of the High
Commissariat who refused to be
quoted under his own name, and who
denied there had been any conversations of a concrete nature between
the French government and King Faisal while the latter was in Paris.
Meanwhile, High
Commissioner
Ponsot, according to the latest reports
of the Syrian press, was still in Paris.
His movements and plans continue as
mysterious as he is reticent. There
had been a report at one time that he
planned to return to Beirut the latter
part of October, but later advices indicated that his return had been delayed until late in November. His
return is naturally awaited with great
interest because of the expected announcement of the solution he might
have reached on the Syrian question.
The expectation is that he will order
new elections for a popular assembly
not only to determine the form of
government to be adopted but also the
relations Syria should assume with
France. This will naturally depend
on the conditions France will lay for
Syria by way of concessions to its
demands for fuller independence.
A logical reason ascribed to the
protracted stay of the High Commissioner in France is his desire to discuss the final arrangements of the
solution of the Syrian question with
Premier Lavale upon the latter's return from Washington.
CONDITIONS IN LEBANON
Lebanon appears satisfied with its
political destiny. Apparently the republic has come to stay and there is
less disposition at present to raise
the queston of union with Syria at
least until Syria is able to determine
�52
THE SYRIAN WORLD
its own political status. What would
seem to occupy most the attention of
the Lebanese at present is their acute
economic problem, with taxes weighing heavily on the people and the
government facing a crisis in attempting to balance the budget.
Emil Eddy, one of the prominent
possible candidates for the Presidency
in the 19S2 elections, has returned
from Paris and categorically denied
the rumors that he had sought,while
in France, to create of Lebanon a
national home for the Christians in
the East by an exchange of population with Syria. It was learned, however, that the French, in whatever
solution they might arrange for the
Syrian problem, are determined to
maintain the status quo in Lebanon,
both in its political institutions and
its geographic boundaries . They are
said to be unwilling to return to Syria
any of the districts formerly attached
to it and since ceded to Lebanon, although they would have no objections
to the formation of a union between
the other Syrian states. For the purpose of accelerating the solution of
the Syrian problem, it is further asserted, they would even be willing to
cede the port of Tripoli to the Syrian
government, but this would represent
the maximum of their concessions.
BEIRUT'S FINEST STREET NAMED FOR EGYPT'S KING.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the accession of His Majesty
King Fuad I to the Egyptian throne,
which faFs on Oct. 9, the Lebanese
government, this year, gave proof of
the growing spirit of good-will between the two peoples by naming the
fnest thoroughfare in its capital for
the King of Egypt. The dedication
ceremonies were attended by the
Prime Minister and many high government officials as well as by representatives of the French Army and
Navy and Civil Administration. The
occasion was hailed by the press as
emphasizing the traditional friendship between the two "sister countries."
The Consul General of Egypt in
Beirut, Muhammad Sary Bey, represented his Majesty the King at the
exercises. He expressed in the name
of his Majesty Egypt's appreciation
of this new gesture of friendship on
the part of the Lebanese and said that
it went far to strengthen the bonds of
brotherly relations between the two
countries. The Syrians and the Lebanese are at home while in Egypt, he
asserted, because they form an in-
alienable part of Egyptian life since
they have played an important role
in accelerating the renaissance movement in the Nile Valley. Such names
as Mutran, Jemail, Zaidan, Ridha,
Rafii, Sarrouf and Barakat, will ever
be remembered as those of men who
have marched in the van of Egypt's
movement of progress. Especially in
the civil administration and in their
early monopoly of the press will the
Syrians and Lebanese be remembered
as having rendered Egypt an invaluable service.
In responding to the address of the
Egyptian spokesman, the mayor of
Beirut appropriately remarked that
the strongest bonds between nations
are those of language, culture and
tradition, and all these conditions
are common property between the peoples of the two sister countries.
Other speakers stressed the point of
Egypt's leadership in the renaissance
movement among the Arabic-speaking
peoples. All agreed that co-operation
between the two peoples was essential
for their continued progress and their
proper recognition among the family
of nations.
-..'
-w* "" -..
„
�NOVEMBER, 1931
53
THE
SYRIAN WORLD
NEWS SECTION
VOL. VI. NO. 3
'PROPHET" OF GIBRAN
IN AMERICAN CHURCH
Impressive Memorial Services and
Dramatic Presentation Given in
St. Mark's in New York.
Gibran Kahlil Gibran, Syrian artist and author and "Poet of the Cedars," was hailed as a true prophet
from the pulpit of the church of St.
Mark's in the Bouwerie in New York
by Rev. William Norman Guthrie the
rector, during the memorial services
given on Sunday afternoon, October
25, as a loving tribute to the memory
of the departed poet. The Church was
packed to overflowing by Gibran's
friends and admirers who had come
from all parts of the city and many
of whom shed copious silent tears
throughout the touching ceremonies
The services consisted of two partsa devotional office composed entirely
of the earlier poetic works of Gibran
read alternately by Dr. Guthrie and
several assistants; and a dramatic presentation of the "Prophet" as devised
by Phoebe Anna Guthrie and presented by her with the assistance of a
carefully selected cast of participants
—dancers, enacters and a reader.
This is the fifth presentation of the
"Prophet" at St. Mark's, but although
not new it assumed prticular significance on this occasion owing to the
NOVEMBER, 1931
recent death of the author. The souls
of the vast audience were touched as
much by the symbolism of the work
as by the memory of the man who has
given the world this masterpiece of
power and beauty. The fact that he
was hailed as true prophet, and the
recurrent presentation of his work as
a self sufficient devotional service
gave rise to the thought that a cult
was m the process of formation around
the work of Gibran, now bound to
take additional momentum since his
demise.
Following the religious ceremony
a reception was held at the rectory
where tea was served. Later in the
evening Miss Laura Williams gave a
recital of Arab songs.
On November 8th, and at the same
church, a further service was held in
memory of Gibran, at which several
oi his unpublished poems were read
by Barbara Young, and following this
five leading American poets paid their
tributes to his spirit, in original contributions.
They were Robert Underwood Johnson, Dean of the Hall of
Fame, New York University, Anna
Hempstead Branch, Director of Cristadora House, Mary Siegrist, William
Griffith, President of the poetry Society of America, and Leonora Speyer.
It is but fitting that we reproduce
the sincere tribute of Dr. Guthrie to
our beloved countryman, as published
in a special leaflet distributed on the
occasion of the presentation of THE
PROPHET. It follows:
�54
THE SYRIAN WORLD
KAHLIL GIBRAN
By Dr. Wiltfam Norman Guthrie
Kahlil Gibran, prophet-poet and
painter from Mount Lebanon, had for
over twelve years moved among us
as one of us. To some he was friend
and comrade, as well as teacher—for
that he always was. Unpedantic and
unassuming, though never falsely modest, naively spontaneous, though
subtly constrained by beauty, in
speach and gesture, he represented to
us an almost racially distinct tradition.
For generations Christian in culture, he yet received his inspiration
and fashioned its expression instinctively in the Arab tongue, of which
the supreme music and magic are forever in the spells and oracles of Mahomet. So a strange gnomic quality,
a thrilling suggestiveness, mystifyingly concrete and logically unseizable, characterize all his utterances
in English.
,Was this the wedding gift of that
union in his soul of two tongues?
Languages of course not only express
but subconsciously impose, even as
deep as the insight and outsight of
the mystic.
He knew other European tongues,
but deliberately chose that of England
for the work of his maturity, which
aimed at a world hearing. Few have
achieved that, as he most certainly
did, while also retaining a provincial
loyalty. And how closeknit is that
earlier following of his, that great
reading public, throughout the Near
East, and even to the borders of China
as well as the heart of India, to Whom
Arabic is the holy tongue!
It was, then, in a four-fold capacity, of Syrian, of Arab singer and
seer, of English-American poet, and
always original illustrator of his
poetic work, that he made so wide
and deep an appeal.
O for a few more years! Not for
exactly the same reasons that we
would have given of our own to Keats.
How cruel, to have Kahlil Gibran arrested by the hand of death, at the
very gate of his Eden, so that he could
not take us with him, past the whirling sword of the cherubim, to the
sacred Tree of Life.
AMERICAN MISSION IN
EAST EDUCATIONAL
So Declares President Dodge of the
A. U. B. at Dinner Given in his
Honor in New York
By H. I. Katibah
Once more President Bayard Dodge
has given1 a clear and unequivocal expresson to the new spirit which
governs and guides the American University of Beirut and other institutions of learning made possible in
the Near East by the generous contributions of American philanthropists and humanitarians.
At a banquet in his honor and that
of Dr. Mary Belles Patrick, President-Emeritus and for fifty-three
years active president of Constantinople Woman's College, fittingly given
at the International House of Columbia Univelsity, New York, on Nov.
16, President Dodge declared that the
new attitude of the American colleges in the Near East has been one
,of cooperation with the peoples of
the respective countries where these
institutions of higher learning are
posted; to make the students who flock
to some of these institutions from all
quarters of the Near East realize their
vast opportunities at home and equip
them with the technical knowledge to
cope with them.
Dr. Dodge emphasized the amazing
speed with which conditions are
t
(
i
1
s
i
E
' C
V
B
S
a.
<> rv
�NOVEMBER, 1931
55
changing in the countries of the Near
nians, representing the six American
East, where formerly time had very
colleges in the Near East. About
little value. The next day the Herald
300 guests were present.
Tribune featured in bold letters an
Mr. William Fellowes Morgan preinstance which Dr. Dodge gave to
sided. Musical entertainment for the
illustrate his point, namely that Bedevening was provided by Madame Feouins of the Syrian Desert today carry
dora Corban, styled the Syrian Nighttheir raids by means of Hudsons and
ingale, who sang the Syrian national
Dodges, instead of horses and camels,
anthem in Arabic and some French
giving the chauffeur 25 per cent of
and English operatic selections, and
the booty as his share! Another sign
by the Quarles Sisters, Virginia, Marof this change cited by Dr. Dodge was
guerite and Alice who played the
that whereas formerly very few Turkpiano, the 'cello and the violin.
ish girls attended Constantinople Woman's College, today they form 80
per cent of the student-body.
As usual, Dr. Dodge's speech was SYRIAN BROADCASTING
ACTIVITIES IN AMERICA.
replete with witty and illuminating
remarks. One of these was that apThe first regular commercial Syrplications from Americans of Syrian
ian broadcasting effort which has come
origin, particularly of Brooklyn, for
to our knowledge is that of the Arabadmission to the American University
ian Eastern Broadcasting Co. operatof Beirut have been so numerous that
ing over station W. N. J. in New
the authorities of this University have
York and of which Mr. Salim Ayoub
decided to apply the brakes on them.
is the business manager. The comThe new spirit of the American inpany has engaged the services of
stitutions of learning in the Near
several well-known professional singEast is an antithesis of the spirit with
ers and musicians, whose repertory
which the crusaders, whom he called
embraces the classics as well as modthe most bigoted people that ever
ern popular songs. They can be heard
went to the East, invaded the Holy every Sunday at 9 P. M.
Land to wrest it from the hands of its
Miss Louise Yazbeck of ShreveMoslem possessors. It is also different
port. La. advises us that she believes
from that condescending spirit with
herself to be the first to have broadwhich some Western philanthropists
cast Oriental music in the United
and missionaries approached their
States. Her work was started in
work for the natives. It is, in short,
1924 when radio was still in its inthe American spirit of give and take,
fancy, and she has broadcast not only
of working together for one single
from her home city of Shreveport
aim.
Dr. Dodge would apply the
but from many other Southern and
American spirit of democracy which
Southwestern centers. She now broadallowed each nationality to develop,
casts regularly every Sunday evening
freely its innate culture, and yet
at 10.45 Central Standard time over
molds all in one loyal body when duty
station K. F. K. H. 850 kilocycles,
• calls for common action, to the whole
featuring
an Oriental program and
world.
using principally Prof. Alexander
The banquet itself was an embodiMaloof's compositions. She also makes
ment of this new spirit, for it conregular broadcasts every Thursday,
sisted of alumni of different nationover the same station, giving an Ameralities: Syrians, Greeks, Turks, Armeican program.
�56
THE SYRIAN WORLD
;
SYRIAN RADIO ARTIST
WAHHABIS OF NAJD
KILL ARABIC SCHOLAR.
Press dispatches from Jerusalem
reported on Oct. 27 that the Wahhabi
Arabs had killed the Danish Journalist and Arabic scholar Knud Holmbo
near Amman while he was on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Although the exact reason for the
murder is not made clear by the dispatches, there would seem to be no
doubt that the fanatical Wahhabis resented the insistence of the European
scholar on making the pilgrimage to
their holy city, apparently doubting
the sincerity of his motives in becoming a Moslem.
Mjiss Louise Yazbeck
First to Broadcast an Oriental
Program
Miss Yazbeck is a recognized piano
teacher of high standing in Shreveport,
and lately has been elected
President of the Progressive Music
Club composed of the piano teachers
of the city.
INDIAN SPEAKER
"GUEST OF SYRIANS.
Miss Sumayah Attiyeh, the wellknown Syrian lecturer, invited the
Hindu speaker and companion of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Das Gubta, to
address a meeting held at the Wells
House in Brooklyn Thursday evening
November 19. Miss Attiyeh introduced the visiting Indian in glowing
terms and the latter gave a detailed
and comprehensive account of the private and public life of Gandhi based
on personal knowledge.
Knud Holmbo was but thirty years
fid and, had achieved considerable
distinction as an Arabic scholar. In
Scandinavia he was known as the
Danish Lawrence, and his love for
the Arabs prompted him to take many
adventurous trips in their various
countries. Two years ago 'he made
an automobile expedition to Tripoli
and was arrested by the Italians on
the suspicion of spreading Bolshevist
propaganda because of his open
championship of the Arab cause,
which in Tripoli is interpreted as sedition. He was released only after
persistent diplomatic representations
by the Danish government.
In the summer of this year he was
reported by the Syrian press as having reached Damascus on his contemplated pilgrimage to Mecca. He
openly embraced the Moslem faith and
adopted the name of Ali. Apparently
he could not proceed on his journey
any further than Amman which is the
capital of Transjordania.
The Wahhabis are the fanatical
followers of King Ibn Saoud and are
known as Al-Ikhwan, or the Brethren
•1
<
�NOVEMBER, 1931
57
A STUDY
of
KAHLIL GIBRAN
"The Man from Lebanon"
Barbara Young, the American poet who is now Kahlil Gibran's literary executor, speaks with authority in a 48 page
brochure con^ming his life and work, illustrated with
several hitherto unpublished portraits of the Poet of the
Cedars, and a reproduction of one pen and ink drawing and
one page of original manuscript.
A few copies of the limited first edition, serially numbered and autographed by the author, are still available.
The price for this edition is $2.50.
Owing to the wide interest in the brochure, a second
printing will be necessary. These will not be numbered nor
autographed, and will be procurable at $1.50 the copy.
Checks may be made payable to the Gibran Studio, 5 1
West 10th Street, New York City.
'mUHmmmmSS^mBSBSSSsBSm^SBm
�58
THE SYRIAN WORLD
S A E ENT
/ J ^
x?rF,'?HE.?WNERSHIP- MANAGEMENT. CIRCULATION
•f The Syrian World,
published monthly at New York, N. Y.f Oct. 1, 1931.
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 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 da.ly paper, the
circulation), etc.. of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the
above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, 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 A. Mokarzel,
104 Greenwich Street.
Editor, Salloum A. Mokarzel,
104 Greenwich Street.
Managing Editor, Salloum A. Mokarzel,
104 Greenwich Street.
Business Manager, Cecil J. Badway,
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 Street.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, 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, 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,
the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting is
given; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders wKo 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 14th day of October, 1931
[Seal.]
Edna M. Huckner.
(My commission expires March 30, 1932.)
HHNHHII
�II
1
, 1
59
NOVEMBER, 1931
1
f
Gibran's Message
To Young Americans of SyrianOrigin
By G. K.
1
GIBRAN
Author of f'TAe "Prophet,"
"Jesus the Son of t\/a«,"
Th« Syrun
Syrii World, July. 1*26
I believe in you. and I believe in your destiny.
I believe that you are contributors to this new civilization.
I believe (hat 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 lap 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 1 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 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 1 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 yonr children may not be dependent on the state for support when you are no more.
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 band and raised His messengers.
Young Americans of Syrian origin. I believe in you.
.»A-,t A * A>;>K .*; A .*; A
Ml
FREE TO SYRIAN WORLD SUBSCRIBERS. This beautiful message by
Gibran 13x17 inches, printed in large type on heavy paper with ornamental border suitable for framing. Every PAID subscriber whose term begins
with Sept. 1931 is entitled to a copy, mailed in heavy cardboard tube. Subscribers whose term begins before Sep. 1931 may secure a copy by renewal.
.-—-. '
-
-
—-
�ft*
60
THE SYRIAN WORLD
AUTHENTIC
ORIENTAL RUGS
THE A. SLEYMAN COMPANY, INC.
{276 5th AVENUE
NEW YORK CITY
Phone BOgardus 4-4345
«SSKSESSSSK^SSS
George Haddad
Proprietor
Phone
CHickering 4-8878
ALEXANDRIA RESTAURANT
The new and beautiful uptown Syrian restaurant owned and operated
by a master chef, who summons his long experience to the
art of producing the most delectable Oriental dishes.
Small and large parties catered to
So Conveniently Located
21 WEST 31st STREET,
NEW YORK *
IT IS YOURS
is the only Syrian publication printed
in English, and as such is the organ of the Syrians in America.
You can help it continue and grow by subscribing to it yourself
and inducing others to subscribe.
THE SYRIAN WORLD
PUBLISHER, THE SYRIAN WORLD:
104 Greenwich Street, New York.
You may enter my name as a subscriber to "The Syrian World" for the term of one year, for which I agree to
pay the regular rate of $5.00 upon receipt of the first issue.
Address
City & State
Bft^BgMBais^BHiBmiMmiroM
�NOVEMBER, 1931
61
3S
•it
JERE J. CRONIN
FUNERAL DIRECTOR
MORTUARY CHAPEL
,
Local or Out of Town Funerals Personally Attended to
LADY ATTENDANT
Expense a Matter of Your Own Desire
115 ATLANTIC AVENUE
BROOKLYN, N. Y.
The large amount of business we do permits us to buy caskets
in large quantity which enables us to give the best funerals very
reasonable. We carry a complete line of the very best manufactured
caskets at $45.00 up. We pay no agents to secure funerals for us but
only give the family who has sorrow the very best of service, reverence
and economy. Our aim is to help those who are in trouble at a very
little cost. No charge for use o our services or funeral parlors.
Telephone—MA N 1398-1399-8130-3655
HOW TO BREED MOTHS
Leave your rugs on the floor
with all the dirt and germs
they have collected during the
winter and which home methods cannot remove. Nature
will do the rest.
RESTORATCVE: Call the
THE KOURI CARPET
CLEANING CORPORATION
RUG WASHERS
NEW YORK, N. Y.
10 West 33rd Street
Tel. LOngacre 5-2385
JERSEY CITY, N. J.
552 Johnston Avenue
Tel. Bergen 3-1085
ft»Ttynt»MttMM>TTV^
BH(HBPBHMMHHOHHHHsWsWBHiHHBHBMH
SHEIK
RESTAURANT
A well-appointed Syrian restaurant in the heart of the
Syrian Quarter, in lower Manhattan, where you and your
friends can enjoy the most
delectable
Oriental
meals
amidst the charm of an Oriental atmosphere.
Second Foor for Banquets and
Private Parties
KIRDAHY RESTAURANTS,
Inc.
65 WASHINGTON ST.,
New Yerk
%>ffTf4?fy
v
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�__
__
—_______—_
---,-«»«.
The Arabic
Linotype in
EgyptAlthough the introduction of the Lino-
the very fact that governmental and
type into Arabic-speaking countries
corporate agencies were the first to
is comparatively recent, it is fast gain-
decide in its favor not only proves its
ing in popularity through the gradual
necessity but presages its ultimate
conviction of publishers and printers
general use. Because such agencies
that it is the type-setting machine of
reach their decisions only after thor-
the present and the future. It is not
ough investigation and comparative
only speedy but economical and ef-
study. This can be readily deduced
ficient. As is natural, the government
from the trend of Linotype installa-
and large corporate concerns were the
tions in Egypt which in the last few
first to realize its ultimate savings re-
years have
gardless of the initial investment. And
well-known printing establishments.
included
the following
Agricultural Bank, Cairo
1 Linotype
Government Press, Cairo
2 Linotypes
Egyptian State Railway Press, Cairo ...
2 Linotypes
Imprimerie Misr, Cairo
1 Linotype
MERCENTHALER LINOTYPE COMPANY
Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A.
Cable: LINOTYPE, NEW YORK
/ '
.
V; RDE LINOTYPE
A
MARK
».
0
•
.
.
,,
An illustrated descriptive catalog
the Arabic Linotype sent free
u
P°n request.
of
Representatives in the Principal Cities of the World
LINOTYPE METRO SERIES
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i
Ufcie JUVU V.jJl JIJOJI J
^JOJI Jm VI »^i» -L-i-VI J>'
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MERCENTHALER LINOTYPE COMPANY
Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A.
fy** ij^-lf bal
<L<Vj <u»
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Cable: LINOTYPE, NEW YORK
(•""LINOTYPE -)
_AlaJl JU£ U UJ
Representatives in the Principal Cities of the World
JJid.1 ^Js. i_»_yiuw JZj&j ijulfolj V. ^ *-^->.r- 0* 0^*VI li* ^3 U j5
�VW"
64
THE SYRIAN WORLD
~»o~»»
+» o» <»» +» +»
»
" "
J^U Clio
ATTENTION!
FORWARD!
SAFE!
MARCH ON TO PROGRESS!
START A BANK ACCOUNT
IMMEDIATELY
LET
YOUR
MONEY
Accumulate for Future
NEEDS AND HAPPINESS
INTEREST
4 .%
Ter zAnnum
ON TIME DEPOSITS
FROM
$10.00
UP
Checking accounts may be opened with $200.00 or more
FAOUR BANK
D. J. FAOUR & BROS.
Established 1891
Under Supervision of New York State Banking
Department:.
Ca-pital and Surplus Over $500,000.00
85
WASHINGTON ST.,
NEW YORK CITY
-* -
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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
TSW1931_11reducedWM
Title
A name given to the resource
The Syrian World Volume 06, Issue 03
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1931 November
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 6 Issue 03 of The Syrian World published November 1931. The issue begins with an article by Salloum Mokarzel detailing the coming generation of Syrian leaders. Within his article, Mokarzel comprehensively discusses the changes arising in Syria as a result of French control and a change in thought surrounding what constitutes a leader. This is followed by a poem titled "Affluence" by Edna K. Saloomey. Kahlil Gibran has a work presented next, as will occasionally happen thanks to Barbara Young a literary executor of some of Gibran's works. The work included in this issue is titled "The Deeper Pain." Bayard Dodge is also featured for their work titled "Conditions in the Near East" in which they have taken excerpts from their own annual reports from 1930 to 1931 in order to formulate a research based presentation on the current situation in the East. Barbara Young is featured yet again for her editing work on a number of poems. After a number of literary works by writers Katibah, Charles J. Sassen, A. Hakim, Barbara Young, and Dr. Salim Y. Alkazin, the issue closes with an editorial comment, an update on political developments in Syria, and the Syrian world news section.
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.
1930s
A. Hakim
Barbara Young
Charles J. Sassen
Edna K. Saloomey
Habib I. Katibah
Kahlil Gibran
New York
Poetry-English
Salim Alkazin
Syria