'Turkish Arabia: Being an Account of an Official Tour in Babylonia, Assyria, and Mesopotamia, 1886-87' [‎31v] (60/72)

44
simple formula "la ildha ilia'I Allah" &c., was not the best preparation. The sense of
repose that had developed itself outside the ever-widening margin of so-called Asiatifc
civilisation was broken in a moment by the cavalcade of Indians in silks and satins,
their horses loaded with tawdry ornaments, which accompanied the local governor's
deputation by way of "Istikbal" or reception. At their head rode Naw5.b Muhammad
Taki Khan, son of an immigrant from the Karnatic, and honorary Agent of our Govern
ment at KarbalcL. On his tact, or rather perhaps on the link he is supposed to form
between the Oudh endowment and its recipients, our influence at Karbali, for the pro
tection of Her Majesty's subjects residing there, partly depends.
Karbala presents a quaint blending of the old world and the new. To the latter
belong the Osmanli barracks and public offices, and broad suburban streets in which
officialdom has built for itself houses. To the former, the dingy u closes" round the
several "minsters" in which the Mujtahids* or masters of the whole body of Muslim divi
nity occupy their ancient family abodes. Chief among these is Abu'l Kdsim, of Persian
lineage, a formidable theologian, holding the hereditary degree of Hujjatu'l Islam, or
one whose interpretation of the obscurest text is final, and heavy with a life's collection
of special learning. Between this personage and the Government of India's Resident
the benefaction of His late Majesty of Oudh keeps up good relations. Waiving the
divinity that hedges spiritual princes, he calls on every opportunity ; bringing with him
his numerous sons. When the visit is returned, he sets out a great display of confec
tionery, shows his library, and even yields to his habitual tendency to impart instruction.
Then there is a half-religious half-secular functionary called the Kilid-ddr, or key-keeper
the Demetrius of Husain's shrine. These and others are the central figures of a religious
and metaphysical circle in its way perhaps unique. Occasional glimpses of it during
the last five years have produced the impression that its members on the whole believe
what they teach, and try to practise what they inculcate. In Europe, and even in India,
the new ideas press so close upon the old, that there is much confusion and it is difficult
to see clearly where we actually are, and what is our firm standing-ground. But Karbald
is a kind of Rome, having no doubt that the religious life is the highest of all, and no
uncertainty as to the road to follow.
The chief incident of the fortnight spent at Karbala was the observance of Her Most
Gracious Majesty's Jubilee, on the day appointed by His
Observance in Karbala or Her -c n ,1 -tr. r t t .i >,1 t V ,
Majesty's Jubilee. Excellency the Viceroy of India, the 16th February.
Owing possibly to the absence of the local governor the
Osmanli element in the town made no sign or response. The official, or ^^-official,
religious community, on the contrary, largely composed of naturalised Persians, came
to congratulate, as did the Persian Consul. To suit visitors the tents that had been sent
out from Baghdad were exchanged that day for one of the best houses in the town,
lent by an Osmanli subject of Persian origin. All day this was thronged. Between
three and four hundred called. After dark it was illuminated by its owner. The
principal Indians also lighted up their homes. Leaving his Osmanli guard or escort outside
the town, the Resident walked at night from street to street, admiring the illuminations.
People who thought him a Turkish officer merely saluted. They who recognised him
were unaffectedly courteous and sympathetic, and except during waves of excitement
Karbala no longer is the dangerous place it once was. At all events, through the hearti
ness of Her Majesty's Indian subjects, on 16th February 1887, a g rea t deal of light-
reflection from afar of the Victorian epoch—fell on some of its darkest places.
Naturally the Indians settled in Karbala are nearly all Shias. The exodus from Oudh
Indian inhabitants preceding and attending annexation, never considerable,
has now almost worn itself out. The few survivors,
such as Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Tajd&r Bhow Begam, widow of the present titular King of Oudh's brother,
the " General Sahib " of pre-mutiny society at Lucknow, keeps up at Karbald in a mummi-
* A " Mujtahid" is, grammatically, one who expends all his strength in any task; technically, one who does
so in the study of God's commandments. Sunnis, favouring more or less the " Presbyterian parity' view, recog
nise no new or modern mujtahids, but only certain great departed teachers answering to our " Fathers." The
more aspiring Shia gives every one the chance of rendering himself, through intense study, a pre-eminent spiritual
guide. Sunni " Mullas," or men of learning, preach in the "Jama," or "Parish Church," every Friday, while
the Shias, on the contrary, having, as is well known, no " established churches," or Jamas, but only masjids, i.e.
praying places, or chapels, and no special Friday " dietstheir mujtahids are teachers in the Socratic, or pro-
fessorial,sense, not preachers; each receiving and instructing his disciples in his own house. Nevertheless Sun-
ni-ism too has its excesses, and between its Mullas, or Shekhs, of the Kaka Ahmad (Kurdi) type, and the mujta
hids of Shiaism the difference lies well beneath the surface.