le
to-day as ever. There is also a sect of mystics known as Sufis.

In the seventeenth century a new sect of Purists was formed in Arabia.
They reject the glosses of _Immams_, will not accept the authority of
the Sultan, and make light of the great Prophet himself. They are a
fanatical sect and delight in proclaiming _jihad_, or holy war,
against the infidels. These are the Wahabbis. This sect was introduced
to India by Sayad Ahmed Shah, and it has gained many converts. It is
largely a movement toward reforming the faith from within. In spirit,
it is not very unlike the movement of the fanatics known as Ghazis,
whose zeal burns against all infidels, especially those of the
European Christian type.

III

_What is the Character of the Mohammedan Population in India?_

It will be interesting to appraise them largely by comparing them with
the Hindu population which surrounds them. Generally speaking, they
are morally on a level with their neighbours. In South India,
especially, it is difficult to discriminate between the ethical
standards which obtain among Mohammedans and Hindus. In both cases
they are low and unworthy. This is unexpected, as Islam has always
stood for a worthy ethical standing, while Hinduism has, from time
immemorial, divorced morality from piety. Nevertheless, it is a fact
that those who have passed on from Hinduism to Mohammedanism have
rarely ascended in the ethical standard of life.

The personal habits of the Indian Mussulman are not clean, to say the
least of them. In this they are a contrast to the Brahmans, and to
some other high-class Hindus, whose ceremonial ablutions are many. In
South India, the Mohammedan is described by a vernacular expression
which is as uncomplimentary as it is filthy, and which is intended to
classify them among the lowest in their habits. When cholera and
similar epidemics prevail in the regions with which I am familiar, the
Mohammedan, with the Pariah, on account of unclean habits, becomes the
first victim of its ravages.

Add to this their strong belief in fate, which leads them, during
these epidemics, to neglect or to decline the use of medical remedies.
Many a Muslim perishes during such times because of his fatalistic
convictions.

They are also among the most ignorant of all classes in India. While,
in the total population of the land, hardly more than 5 per cent are,
in any sense, literate, the Mohammedans, as a class, have only 3 per
cent. And of t