(From Punch, London.)
TURKEY: "I'm getting a bit fed up with this. I shall kick soon."
AUSTRIA: "Well, I was thinking of lying down."


The issuance by the Sultan of the Fetwa, or proclamation, announcing a holy war, called upon all Mussulmans capable of carrying arms"”and even upon Mussulman women"”to fight against the powers with whom the Sultan was at war. In this manner, according to Constantinople newspapers, the holy war became a duty not only for all Ottoman subjects, but for the 300,000,000 Moslems of the earth. The Turkish newspaper Ikdam called upon the people as follows:
Mussulmans, open your eyes! Grasp your weapons; trust to God. Hurl yourselves with full might against the foe! As the Caliph has said, the Divine help will be with us. Forward! Sons of Islam! There is no longer a difference of nationality; there is no longer a difference of culture. All Mussulmans are united and have but a single wish"”to destroy our foes!

The wording of the Fetwa itself, however, is less fiery in tone than the impassioned newspaper appeal. The Fetwa reads as follows:

Mavi Boncuk

TERMS OF THE FETWA

First Question"”If lands of Islam are subjected to attack by enemies, if danger threatens Islam, must in that case young and old, infantry and mounted men, in all parts of the earth inhabited by Mohammedans, take part in the holy war, with their fortune and their blood, in case the Padisha declares the war to all Mohammedans? Answer"”Yes.

Second Question"”Since Russia, England, France, and other States supporting these three powers against the Islamitic Caliphate have opened hostilities against the Ottoman Empire by means of their warships and their land troops, is it necessary that all Mohammedans also who live in the countries named shall rise against their Government and take part in the holy war? Answer"”Yes.

Third Question"”Under all circumstances, since the attainment of the goal depends upon the participation of all Mohammedans in the holy war, will those who refuse to join in the general uprising be punished for conduct so abhorrent? Answer"”Yes.

Fourth Question"”Mohammedans who live in lands of the enemy may, under threats against their own lives and the lives of their families, be forced to fight against the soldiers of the States of Islam. Can such conduct be punished as forbidden under the Sheriat, and those guilty thereof be regarded as murderers and punished with the fires of hell? Answer"”Yes.

Fifth Question"”Inasmuch as it will be detrimental to the Mohammedan Caliphate of the Mohammedans who live in Russia, France, England, Servia, and Montenegro fight against Germany and Austria-Hungary, which are the saviors of the great Mohammedan Empire, will therefore those who do so be punished with heavy penalties? Answer"”Yes.

MEHMED-RESHAD. On the 22 Djilhidje, 1332 October 29, 1914.

Source:New York Times Current History, A Monthly Magazine/The European War, March 1915