"
These words deeply moved the hearts of all present. Every sentence
alluded to the most weighty of the Moslem beliefs; the meshes of the net
with which Halil had taken their souls captive were composed of the very
essentials of their religious and political system, so they could but
put their hands to their breasts, bow down before him, and say:
"Command us and we will obey!"
Then Halil, with the inspiration of a seer, addressed the men before
him.
"Woe to us if we believe that the days of threatening are still far off!
Woe to us if we believe that the sins which will ruin the nation of
Osman have not yet been committed! While our ancestors dwelt in tents of
skin, half the world feared our name, but since the nation of Osman has
strutted about in silk and velvet it has become a laughing-stock to its
enemies. Our great men grow gardens in their palaces; they pass their
days in the embraces of women, drinking wine, and listening to music;
they loathe the battlefield, and oh, horrible! they blaspheme the name
of Allah. If among the Giaours, blasphemers of God are to be found, I
marvel not thereat, for their minds are corrupted by the multitude of
this world's knowledge; but how can a Mussulman raise his head against
God--a Mussulman who has never learnt anything in his life save to
glorify His Name? And what are we to think when on the eve of the Feast
of Halwet we hear a Sheik, a descendant of the family of the Prophet, a
Sheik before whom the people bow reverently when they meet him in the
street--what are we to think, I say, when we hear this Sheik say before
the great men of the palace all drunk with wine: 'There is no Allah, or
if there is an Allah he is not almighty; for if he were almighty he
would have prevented me from saying, there is no Allah!'"
A cry of horror arose from the assembled Mussulmans which only after a
while died away in an angry murmur like a gradually departing gust of
wind.
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