to make arabesques. Arabesque is a big word and it really
means an Arab picture. But these pictures of the Arabs (which you find on
the arches of old mosques, in books and on tombstones) are ornaments or
designs made out of the beautifully curved letters of the alphabet. The
old Arab copyists and their sculptors wrote and carved the words of the
Koran, or the names of God, etc., in all sorts of ways to make pictures
_out of words only_, lest they break the law of their prophet. Here are
two examples of how pictures can be made out of letters. You have all
doubtless heard of a "wordless book"; and some of you have books without
words and full of pictures. Here is a picture made out of the Arabic
alphabet, and every curve and dot belongs to the words so curiously
written. I copied them out of an Arabic treatise on penmanship, for you.
The face is not at all pretty, and yet Moslem lads think it is very clever
to bring this likeness of man out of the four names, _Allah, Mohammed,
Ali_ and _Hassan_. These words you notice are written twice, both to the
left and to the right. What a disgrace to the holy name of God to put that
of three Arabs with it in a monograph! It is very sad to hear some Moslems
say that they trust in _these_ people to intercede for them with God. If
you have read what sinful lives these people led when they were the chief
rulers in Arabia, you will almost agree with me in calling this first
picture a Moslem idol.

[Illustration: DESIGNS MADE OUT OF ARABIC WRITING.]

There are many Moslems in Bahrein who have hanging up in their rooms these
monograms or designs. One favourite I have often seen contains only five
names: _Allah, Mohammed, Ali, Hassan and Hussein_. The people who make so
much of these descendants of Mohammed are called _Shiahs_; the other
Moslems who think they are more orthodox are called _Sunnites_.

What do you think of our second picture? Is not the design very pretty for
an embroidery pattern? The motto is written twice; once from the right and
once _backward_ from the left, the same as in the other picture. The words
are taken from the Koran and are as true as they are beautiful. _Man
yattawakil ala Allah fa hooa hasbahoo_; which means, "Whoever trusts in
God will find Him sufficient." That surely contradicts the other picture,
does it not? And yet they are both from the same copy-book. There are many
contradictions in the religion of Mohammed. I only hope that when Christ's
gospel