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the head of 10,000 men. The city magistrates were obliged to submit to him and the acknowledged him not only as the secular ruler but also the plenipotentiary of the Deity."

We, of course, prefer not to go into a detailed answer to the preceding statement, for say the wise Persians, "Silence is the best answer to foolish talk." Besides, we believe the true facts about Islam and the life of its Prophet of Mercy are known to the writer(s) of What Has Religion Done for Mankind; it's just that he (or they) wished to blackmail our religion, for the sake of his (or their) own cause by distorting facts beyond proportion - an act characteristic of many a religious fanatic.

Another cause of Islam being misunderstood in the West is that too many people, students and teachers of philosophy, theology and history included, look up exclusively[[/italicized]] to such sources of information as the Encyclopedia of Islam, a product of Western and non-Moslem research.

The present executive committee for the new edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam, for instance, consists of the following members: Sir Hamiltion Gibb, of England, chairman; Levy Provencale, of France; Schacht, of Holland; and Stern, of Israel.

"This means," says Mr. Mohammed Aman Hobohm in an article dealing with this subject printed in the September 1955 issue of Voice of Islam, of Karachi, Pakistan, "that among us those whose hands rests th[[e]] supervision of (the second) edition, there is no Moslem orientalist, although qualified Moslem scholars are easily available. Two Jews, namely, Levy Provencale and Stern, occupy an important key position in the committee, the more so as Stern has been appointed the representative and secretary of the chairman."

Another comment on this matter can be found on the editorial page of the said issue of ]Voice of Islam. Says its learned editor:

"...Western scholarship on Islam, as Manifested in the writings of orientalists, has pursued its own pre-planned course from the very beginning. Islamic research was instituted in Western countries not to arrive at truth on the basis of intellectual honesty but to serve ulterior ends. Consequently, the work of the orientalists has been marred throughout with an unscientific malevolence and an intellectual dishonesty which has known no bounds. Of course, there have been certain honorable exceptions too. But they have been so few as to be incapable of changing the course of Orientalistic scholarship.

"Western orientalists have done, and are doing, their utmost for the fulfillment of their anti-Islamic mission. They were not, and they are not, believers in Islam"

To make matters worse, Hollywood movie gods add their own version of "life in Bagdad, Casablanca and Istanbul" to the existing misinterpretation of Islam, thus rendering a sincere, unbiased study and understanding of Islam virtually impossible.

(To be continued in the Next issue of this journal)

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10   MOSLEM WORLD & THE U.S.A.

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The Black Man and Islam

Islam perhaps is the only world religion or "way of life" that has never been identified with any particular race or associated with the concept of "racial superiority". In fact, Moslems, be they Chinese, Moroccans, Indians or Malays, are rarely spoken of as a 'black,' 'brown,' or 'yellow' people. There is absolutely no element of untouchability or caste system among the followers of Islam. Says their holy book the Glorious Koran: "Verily, all believers are brothers."

We cannot admit, however, that the democracy and tolerance of Islam are shared by other major faiths. Not by Christianity anyway.

We know, for instance, that even today, in the year Nineteen Hundred Fifty-Six, Christians of various "nationalities" in many sections of the United States may not worship together in the same church. Americans of Chinese descent must attend a Chinese Christian church; the Syrian-Lebanese-American Christians an Arab Christian church; and black Americans (the so-called "Negroes") have to attend an African or Abyssinian church. The situation in Christian-dominated Africa, of course, is far worse, especially in the Union of South Africa, whose Prime Minister Strijidom is known to believe that the natives of his country, all twelve million of them, are "sons of the scriptural Ham (Joshua 9: 21-27), accursed of God and ordered to be hewers of wood and drawers of water."

Even in other parts of the world the Christians, especially European missionaries of various denominations, have seldom preached freedom-the birthright of man-(so dearly cherished by them at home) and equality in society. They may offer the natives an "abundance in Kingdom of Heaven," but have done little to improve their lot while they are still alive.

It is therefore only natural that the followers of Prophet Mohammed (upon whom be peace), who recognize no petty distinctions between men, should concern themselves with the plight of millions of their kinsfolk around the globe and offer the Message of Islam-the religion of Perfect Brotherhood and Equality- as a solution to the black man's foremost problem.

How can Islam help the black man?

First of all, acceptance of Islam by a black man means that he immediately becomes a full-fledged, bona fide member of the vast Brotherhood of Believers, and no longer remains in a "minority group."

Islam gives him a sense of personal worth and feeling of dignity, for as a beliver in Allah he can pray to Him direct and may seek His mercy, guidance, and forgiveness without the aid of intermediaries (priests). Islam also teaches him not to fear anyone save Allah, for none is more powerful than Him.

As a Moslem, he is free to worship Allah in any mosque in any part of the world, no matter what his "national origin" might be.

He is at liberty to live wherever he

[[image - black & white photograph of a young boy smiling wearing a white shirt and some form of head gear [[cloth?]]]]

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A Moslem lad, native of Saudi Arabia
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AUGUST-SEPT. 1956   11