y among its followers. With the
Jew, the Mohammedan has been strictly forbidden to make money by the
use of money. And though they find ways of evading this law, to some
extent, the ideal which they have before them is a restraint and a
blessing in a land where the usurer is a ubiquitous curse, because of
his rapacity and the expertness with which he draws the common people
into his net and leads millions to financial loss and ruin.

The supreme place given in this faith to the duty of almsgiving, and
the effective way with which it is carried out among its members, is
another praise-worthy feature. At the time of their political rule and
extensive sway there was a well-known tax whose purpose was to carry
relief to the poor and the suffering. And Mohammedans feel to-day that
there is hardly a religious duty which is more sacred and carries with
it more of reward than that of distributing alms to the poor. Far more
than Christianity has it given importance and distinction to this as a
special form of its religious activity.

Moreover, its command to observe the five seasons of daily prayer is
important, with a view to maintaining and enforcing the ordinary forms
and observances of a living faith. Many a time have I been impressed
with the way Mohammedans, in this land, faithfully and boldly observe
this rule and privilege of their faith by spreading their mats in
most unexpected places, even in the presence of gaping crowds, and
prostrating themselves in prayer with their faces Mecca-ward as a
proof of their sincerity and as a testimony to the power of their
religion.

But there is nothing in which Islam exerts a more salutary influence in
this caste-ridden land than in its attitude toward this monster evil of
Hinduism. Islam is neither founded upon race, colour, nor nationality.
It has been well said that in Islam "all believers belong to the highest
caste." It recognizes to the full the brotherhood of all the members of
its faith. Even its slaves have been exalted to its throne and have
achieved highest distinction. The last census correctly says: "On its
social side, the religion of Mohammed is equally opposed to the Hindu
scheme of a hierarchy of castes, an elaborate stratification of society
based upon subtle distinctions of food, dress, drink, marriage, and
ceremonial usage. In the sight of God and of His Prophet all followers
of Islam are equal. In India, however, caste is in the air; its
contagion has spread