Page:The young Moslem looks at life (1937).djvu/127

 AND RELIGION 113

basic law of the country. Because he was powerful enough to do so, and because there was a large group willing to change their ways, Kamal Ataturk, the president of the Turkish republic, was able to abolish the use of the Turkish fez and introduce European hats, to outlaw the powerful dervish orders and confiscate their property, to bring women out of the harem, to make polygamy illegal, and to abolish Arabic as the mainstay of Turkish culture.

Iran has more recently followed Turkey's lead in breaking away from Moslem customs, traditions and laws, although remaining nominally a Mohammedan country. The Swiss code of laws has replaced the shariat. Marriage and divorce are now civil rather than religious matters. The abolition of the black shroudlike veil for the women and the introduction of Western hats and clothes for the men have been important developments of late. Even Moslem theological education is now taken over by the government Ministry of Public Institutions. To wear a turban the Moslem clergy must now pass a written examination given by the government. In short, in Iran, as in Turkey, the political force of Islam is gone and the people are beginning to question even its religious force.

In Egypt we find the Moslems are divided into two political parties: one the Conservative party, which is prepared to cooperate with the British government in the rule of the country, and the other the Independence party, which works for the complete independence of Egypt.