Dawn of Civilization and Freedom in Turkey as Seen Through Eyes of a Turk
(Within the past year the Turkish empire has been undergoing revolutionary changes. It is now a country of freer people, more enlightened, better educated and more tolerant of religious and personal freedom. The changes since the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid are most marked and worthy of universal comment. The editor of The Times believes that Americans are interested in the growth of freedom and civilization anywhere in the world! and he has had a series of articles prepared telling of the darkness! and dawn of Turkey. Jerjes Barsoom, a member of the Young Turk party and a graduate of the royal military academy of Constantinople, now in America, has written three articles especially for this newspaper about his native country as seen through Turkish eyes.—Editor.)
By Jerjes Barsoom
Member of the Young Turk Party
Americans can necessarily have but a dim idea of the tremendous revolution that has reached a climax and swept a sultan from his throne within the lifetime of a babe a year old. For over thirty years the Young Turk Party, of which I am a member, has been in existence hoping to lead Turkey out of her medieval darkness. And toward this end a step was taken just a year ago about which I will endeavor to bring out some new facts. Before I come to the immediate causes of the overthrow of that demoniacal tyrant, Sultan Abdul, I will paint a few pictures of conditions as they were previously to the bold action of the Young Turks.
Go with me into a village where Mohammedanism has full sway and see dead animals lying in the street until the dogs have devoured all but their bones while little children, destine to live and die without knowledge of books, play in perpetual filth about the dead carcasses. Enter with me one of the shacks of which the village is composed and in the front room you will always find the horses and cows and back of that living room of human beings.
If you happen in at meal time you will find the man of the house seated alone at his meal on the floor with his wives standing motionless in respectful obeisance before him all the time he is eating. Not until he has eaten and left the room may the women eat, and then it is their privilege to gather up what they can of what is left.
Do not think that this domination over the women folk is limited to the peasants. Until I had left my home in Constantinople seven years ago, I had never seen my mother sit down to eat with my father. I have often seen her bow to the ground with her head to the floor at his feet.
But let us have a look at a large into which the influence of Christianity has come. You will immediately be struck by the large number of children with clean faces. Question them and you will find they can read and write, and can not only talk intelligently about Jesus of Nazareth, but can tell you who Geo. Washington was and about New York and Paris and London. In the center of the village you will find a little school and missionary. If it is Sunday you will see the women gathering there with their husbands and children. But that will mean little to you if you do not remember that woman has no part in the Mohammedan religion.
These magnificent mosques that you see in Turkish cities are not for the women, and, according to Turkish law, if one of them enters, the mosque must be razed to the ground. But the men are not only becoming more lenient towards their wives under the influence of Christianity, but they are learning that in other countries even the priests do not hold all the sayso, and that even the men who work at the plow all day long, as they do in America, have something to say in the government.
Sultan Abdul hated the followers of the lowly Jesus, because wherever Christianity gained a foothold in his dominions, Sultan Abdul saw his power and that of the priests, upon whom he relied, rapidly waning. It was for this reason that Abdul ordered the massacres of the Christian converts, which startled the whole world and which will go down in history, giving unjustly to all Turks the reputation of being blood-thirsty butchers.
I say that Abdul ordered the butchery of the Christians, and I say it with the most conclusive proof, about which I shall next proceed to tell you.
(In his next article, Mr. Barsoom will tell about the massacre at Adana and the Young Turk revolt which deposed the sultan from his throne.)
By Jerjes Barsoom
Member of the Young Turk Party
Americans can necessarily have but a dim idea of the tremendous revolution that has reached a climax and swept a sultan from his throne within the lifetime of a babe a year old. For over thirty years the Young Turk Party, of which I am a member, has been in existence hoping to lead Turkey out of her medieval darkness. And toward this end a step was taken just a year ago about which I will endeavor to bring out some new facts. Before I come to the immediate causes of the overthrow of that demoniacal tyrant, Sultan Abdul, I will paint a few pictures of conditions as they were previously to the bold action of the Young Turks.
Go with me into a village where Mohammedanism has full sway and see dead animals lying in the street until the dogs have devoured all but their bones while little children, destine to live and die without knowledge of books, play in perpetual filth about the dead carcasses. Enter with me one of the shacks of which the village is composed and in the front room you will always find the horses and cows and back of that living room of human beings.
If you happen in at meal time you will find the man of the house seated alone at his meal on the floor with his wives standing motionless in respectful obeisance before him all the time he is eating. Not until he has eaten and left the room may the women eat, and then it is their privilege to gather up what they can of what is left.
Do not think that this domination over the women folk is limited to the peasants. Until I had left my home in Constantinople seven years ago, I had never seen my mother sit down to eat with my father. I have often seen her bow to the ground with her head to the floor at his feet.
But let us have a look at a large into which the influence of Christianity has come. You will immediately be struck by the large number of children with clean faces. Question them and you will find they can read and write, and can not only talk intelligently about Jesus of Nazareth, but can tell you who Geo. Washington was and about New York and Paris and London. In the center of the village you will find a little school and missionary. If it is Sunday you will see the women gathering there with their husbands and children. But that will mean little to you if you do not remember that woman has no part in the Mohammedan religion.
These magnificent mosques that you see in Turkish cities are not for the women, and, according to Turkish law, if one of them enters, the mosque must be razed to the ground. But the men are not only becoming more lenient towards their wives under the influence of Christianity, but they are learning that in other countries even the priests do not hold all the sayso, and that even the men who work at the plow all day long, as they do in America, have something to say in the government.
Sultan Abdul hated the followers of the lowly Jesus, because wherever Christianity gained a foothold in his dominions, Sultan Abdul saw his power and that of the priests, upon whom he relied, rapidly waning. It was for this reason that Abdul ordered the massacres of the Christian converts, which startled the whole world and which will go down in history, giving unjustly to all Turks the reputation of being blood-thirsty butchers.
I say that Abdul ordered the butchery of the Christians, and I say it with the most conclusive proof, about which I shall next proceed to tell you.
(In his next article, Mr. Barsoom will tell about the massacre at Adana and the Young Turk revolt which deposed the sultan from his throne.)
"Dawn of Civilization and Freedom in Turkey as Seen Through Eyes of Turk" by Jerjes Barsoom. Source: The Library of Congress