Algeria from within

by R. V. C. Bodley

As stated before, the first great fundamental point which dominates the whole of Islam and makes it unlike other beliefs is summed up in that word mektoub—“It is written.” Generally speaking, every Mohammedan is a fatalist, and believes that nothing can occur which is not ordained; there is no free will and all is in the hands of Allah. There are, however, certain philosophers who discuss this point and who say that it is wrong to lay every evil action on the back of the mektoub.

For instance, they say that a man who deliberately buys a bottle of wine and drinks it has no right to say that God predestined this. These philosophers are, however, in the minority, and ninety per cent of the Arabs believe that they are powerless to avoid what is fated.

The Arabs say, “When God created the world he took a handful of dust in either hand, cast it to right and to the left. The dust to the right was destined to be people who would always be happy and inherit paradise; the dust to the left only contained woes and eternal damnation.” “God created you, you and all your actions,” Koran Sourate, XXXVII. That is to say that all, good and bad, are decided and determined by the Almighty. Sins are predestined and are divided into two categories, the greater and the lesser. The greater comprise theft, adultery, usury, wine-drinking, false witness. The smaller are the weaknesses of human nature, but, whatever they may be, man is destined to commit them, and nothing can prevent him from so doing.

That is why Arabs take life so calmly, never hurry, or get into unnecessary tempers when things go wrong. They firmly believe that what is written is written, and that no power but God can alter it. Taking them as a whole, it makes them seem very happy, and it would appear to be the only solution to the worries of modern life.

From this point of view are developed many other beliefs, and it is the basis of the strength of the Moslem faith. Mohammed, though a great religious genius and a reformer, was not a theologist, and it is even curious to note the lack of dogma in the Koran. His great merit was the way in which he created a great and living organization. His successors developed the theological side of the matter, but, if one examines the Koran itself, one is struck by the absence of mysticism. It is, in itself, more a book of laws, such as the Old Testament. The whole of the theology is really compressed into two passages occurring in Sourates II. and IV., which, summed up, convey that the true Mohammedan who wishes to be saved must believe in God; the prophets or envoys of God, with Mohammed as the greatest; the angels, the inspired books—that is to say the Bible, with the Koran as the most important; and the Day of Judgment.

They further believe in heaven and hell, which are depicted very roughly as places of happiness and torment. Above hell is a bridge as narrow as a hair and as sharp as a knife-blade, across which the souls of the dead departed must pass to enter heaven. The sinners slip and fall into hell, while the righteous cross safely with the aid of the sheep into heaven. Mankind is divided into three categories—those who deny Mohammedanism are destined to eternal fire; those who believe in one God, but who, being sinners, pass through a state of purgatory before going into Paradise; those few strict Mohammedans who go direct to heaven.

Hell is very hot; there is nothing to eat but dari, the bitter fruit of a thorny desert bush, and only boiling water to drink. Heaven is a glorious garden where youth always remains and where the blessed lie on carpets beside ever-flowing streams beneath the shade of fruit-trees, drinking a delicious wine which does not intoxicate, while young girls, ever virgins, sit beside the water and live in a state of contemplative happiness. In other words, hell is an accentuation of all the hardships of life in the desert, while heaven promises all those things which an Arab has never seen on earth.

Quite apart from the Koran, and apparently contrary to its principles, is the belief in saints. The origin of this cult is difficult to find, as the whole basis of the faith is that there is only one God. It is, however, generally supposed that it is a relic of other religions which existed prior to the spread of Islam. This theory is rather confirmed by the fact that more saints and marabouts exist in North Africa, where the Carthaginians and the Romans held such long sway, than in any other Mohammedan country. Other people will say that the worship of saints is necessary owing to the inexpressible greatness of God—his distance from all things human, which necessitates some kind of intermediary; but this has little foundation to stand on, for even among the most superstitious Mohammedans, who are always invoking some holy man, you will always hear them murmur during their prayer, “There is no God but Allah.”

The veneration of saints is in reality a respect for the life of the person concerned. It may be that his asceticism and his charity have raised him above others; it may be that his exploits in the name of Islam have made him famous; it may merely be the fact that he is easier to visualize than God—the fact remains that he is venerated and that his aid is invoked in times of trouble. But whether he be merely respected as an example of what a true believer should be or whether he be actually called upon as a protector, he is not considered as divine, nor in any way approaching the one and only God.

Apart, however, from what we call superstitions of the actual faith, there are countless others which do not come into the religion, and which, while all have the same origin, differ according to countries.