To the Baitor of the "Norni-Civa, Daiy News"
Sin-~The events in Iraq have as: tonished the public and bewildered Journalists. "They do not understand what is happening there and_talle about German propaganda. Tt is not Impossible that German propaganda played a part, but then there was €erlainly no. heed: for much "pro-Poyanda, because in Iraq' It has' a ways been more difteult to malnain order than to make trouble. The People there are hopelessly mixed: up. There are to be found (and T speak only of the original population) Arabs. "Turks, "Kurds. Sablons (heir Janguago isa mixture "of Arable and Amharic, the Ethiopian language, and they have a religion of their own), Armenians. Tews (ihe common European" Tan-quote is here English, but of, the ews many speak. French), Chale deans; "Assyrians, "Persians, " and. 1 even" met some Druses in Baghdad. The Druses speak one of the numer~ ous Arable" dialects and have a Special religion, a. "closed" religion. Anyone whois" nbt a true-born Druse cannot be accepted in that religion, Religions are numerous in. traq, There are even Yezedis, devil-wor the most sympathetic people T have met in my life, 'The large majority of the popu: ation in Traq is, however, Arab and Mohammedan, but of these Mohammedans {and' here' is the question) about 8 per cent. are "Shia." only a minority is "Suna." The qifference between Shia and Sunha is enormous. They consider each other a8 abject heretics, Many impartial people (and Tam of their opinion) Aeclare that the Shia is not true Mohammedan, true Moslem.
The deep difference between Sunnn and Shia is little understood by Europeans. In. Baghdad, in British India, in the Netherlands East Indies T have talked with many Europeans about this question, but even men who might have been expected to thoroughly understand the difference Knew less than nothing about it. Even 'T. E, Lawrence in his wonder ful "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" a not clearly mention this important question.
Of this question 1 wilt here say only one thing: the orthodox Islam (those of the Sunna) ip strictly. monotheistic (Surate 112 of the Koran Shin 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.
Is'a Kind of second deity. This Het, 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 be-Jongs only to their 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 Nodjed is the spiritual head.
In Iraq the Shin are in the large majority, the Royal House, however. being Suna, The Regent of the Kingdom of Iraq, a Sunni, went after the revolution to Transjordania, where the Bir Abdullah is also a Sunni.
The leader of the revolution, now chief of the revolutionary government of Iraq, Soyyid Rashid Alt Gallani, is a Shia according to his name and title. The word "Sayyi is more a title than a name and means that the bearer is a descend ant of All, the son-in-law of Mohammed, All_hod a great, reputation with the Shia, because he was the frst of the twelve "imams." In Persia (ran), a true Shia country, are many tens of thousands of "Sayyids," but of no one of them is it Ikely that he is n descendant of AN and the Prophet.
All this makes it clear that the revolution. In Traq was caused by the centuries-old differences between Sunna and Shia, Perhaps German propaganda played a part, but this {ig not certain. It fs certain only that the Royal House of Iraq could be sure of the sympathy of Great Britain, and therefore it Is conceivable that the revolutionaries should look to Germany for assistance.
German propaganda now talks much about "freedom for the Arab peoples and proves thereby ahet it-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 the difference between nomadic Arabs and settled Arabs, and the two groups hate and despise each other fanatically.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.