To the Editor of the *Nommr-DIMNA Darcy NEWS"
Sm—The events in Iraq have astonished the public and bewildered journalists. They do not understand What is happening there and talk about German propaganda. It is not impossible that German propaganda played a part, but then there was certainly no need for much propaganda. because in Iraq it has always been more difficult to main-lain order than to make trouble.
The people there are hopeless! mixed up.
There are to be found (and I speak only of the ori population) Arabs, Turks, Sabians (their language is a mixture of Arabic and Amharic, the Ethiopian language, and they have a religion of their own), Armenians. Jews (the common European language is here English, but of the Jews many speak French), Chaldeans, Assyrians, Persians,' and 1 even met some Druses in Baghdad. "The Druses speak one of the numerous Arabic dialects and have a special religion. a "closed" reli Anyone who is not a true-barr Druse cannot be accepted in tha religion.
Religions are numerous in iraq. There are even Yezedis, devil-worshippers. and it is strange to say that these devil-worshippers are some of the most sympathetic people I have met in my life.
The large majority of the popu-Jation in Iraq is. however, Arab and Mohammedan, but of these Mohammedans (and here is the question), about 80 per cent. are "Shia." only, a minority is "Sunna." The differ ence between Shia and Sunna enormous. They consider each other as abject heretics. Many impartial people (and I am of their opinion) declare that the Shia is not true Mohammedan, true Moslem, The deep difference between Sunna and Shia is little understood by Europeans.
In Baghdad. in British India, in the Netherlands East, Indies I have talked with many Europeans about this question, but even men who might have been expected to therouglly understand the difference knew less than nothing about it Even T. E, Lawrence in his wonder-fel "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" does not clearly mention this important question.
Of this question I will here only one thing: the orthodox Islam (those of the Sunna) is strictly monotheistic (Surate 112 of the Koran); the Shia certainly recognize Allah, but also the twelve "imams." of which the twelfth, the "hidden" imam. is still living in the world, and must there live because without him the world could not exist. He is a kind of second deity. This belief, however. is contradictory to the Koran, God's Word, special Surate 112, the most important of all the Surates, The "Shi-is" have not the right to read the Koran.
This right belongs only to thei priests, The "Sunnis" have not priests and every body can himself read the Koran.
Of the Sunnis. most are puritans the Wahabis, of whom King Ibn Sand, of Hedjaz and Nedjed is the spiritual head.
In Iraq the Shia are in the large majority, the Royal House, however. being Sunna. The Regent of the kingdom of Iraq, a Sunni. went after the revolution to Transjordania where the Emir Abdullah is also a Sunni.
The leader of the revolution. now chief of the revolutionary government of Iraq, Sayyid Rashid Ah Gailani, is a Shia according to hi name and title. The word "Sayyi is more a title than a name and means that the bearer is a descendant of Ah. the son law of Mo-} hammed.
Ah had a great reputation with the Shia, because he was the first of the twelve "imams." In Persia!
(ran), a true Shia country, ai many tens of thousands of "Sayyids but of no one of them is it. likely that he is a descendant of Ah and the Prophet.
All this makes it clear that the revolution in Iraq was caused by the centuries-old differences between Sunna and Shia. Perhaps German propaganda played a part. but this not certain. It is certain only that the Royal House of Iraq could be sure of the sympathy of Great Brit-in. and therefore it is conceivable that the revolutionaries should look to Germany for assistance German propaganda now talks [much about "freedom for the Ai peoples" und proves thereby that, lit does not understand much of the very complex Arab question.
There are in the Arab world still other differences than those between Shia and Sunna. For instance, there jis the difference between nomadic Arabs and settled Arabs, and the two groups hate and despise each other fanatically.
One Arabic language does not exist. One may understand the Arabic of the Koran, but if you speak that language in the "bazaar" (market) of Baghdad,, Damascus. Cairo or Tunis, you might as well speak Norwegian or Hindustani Nobody will understand you. Four years ago I met in Baghdad the Netherlands charge d'affaires in Jeddah. He was a very clever man and could read the Koran as if it were written in his own language, but for travelling in Arab countries he took with him an interpreter
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.