Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Revolt in Arabia (1917).djvu/48

Rh to all Moslem princes that none of them would be allowed to consider themselves his equal.

Such Moslems as were under Turkish authority were not affected by the Caliphate of their Sultan. The relation of subjects to their rulers in Mohammedan realms not subordinated to Turkey were even less affected; and least of all did the matter signify to those followers of Islam ruled by non-Mohammedans. These are numerous and have steadily increased during the last centuries. An, effective Caliphate, however explained, presupposes the political unity of all the faithful.

The Caliph is the very personification of such unity and is, primarily, the leader of Islam's armies against the foes of the Faith, or he bears a name bereft of all significance. In international life there is no room for mediæval structures, and