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Newspaper article on 'Wahabeeism' [‎1r] (1/2)

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The record is made up of 1 folio. It was created in 1866. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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7 Ifflppi BPt l^'i I*m
is in tbis respact. Thelilth requstfor
■tea scale o,' pensions meets with a
pusal.
I a question which nob only interests the
or all fche Indian Services, but one
affecting the popularity of these ser-
aapable of exercising an important in-
n the class of men who recruit them. At
when an Englishman elects for an Indian
ae knows that he has a quarter of a cen-
3 e before him, and in many departments
. longer period. This feeling, more than
aer we believe, tends to make Indian ser-
ipopular with highly educated men at home,
iparation, so far as regards friends, parents
he cherished associations of early life is
»lete, and many men shrink from lettino-
• sons enter on a career, from which they can
p® . 0 P?„ t0 witness their return. We be
here, as the Qovermncnt has doubtless ,
in its eye. These AYahabees-we furl
■ a i • T 8 incurr ed the displt.
of the officials in all the Mahomedau towns which
hey have visited, and it is added that they were
turned out of the Holy City of Mecca itself by
must 0r br ! Shllrreef - That Wahabee
."^^asant object to an orthodox
lahoraedan is quite intelligible ; and that the
in j 0 of heretics into a city where-
should h 10 j aa , reigned in tranquillity,
should be succeeded by a commotion, k
perfeotly natural ; and if such disturbances
ere the only results of endeavours made to
propagate the new creed, we should allow the
lil-p^ 61 " 611 -j'j settle their disputes as they
iked, provided they did not interfere with
had S" COm . rort ' and safety of others who
had nothing_ in common with them. But
TWO STEAMB
3 that, if some arrangement could be madp 111 col nmon wit! _
granting a moderate pension after fifteen years' These mendo P f art 'T this is J 106 tb e case
hoe it would do more to bring good men to charmi^ „ m e " plate anything near so
lia than all the exhortations of the Times It r v ^ ■ S i'- eon^ersion of souls in the ordina-
[uld be a gain to Government in another^spect L^he • bbodand 6 " 86 , 0 ^^ ^ Tbe y bo1 ""g
. -N^oman who wasrising intheprofession would I nf™! ^ scalp school, and when they
"t ^ just as the lucrative appointmenTs n t L not To" mn.,^ d dl ^P^they mean recruits!
.were about toopento him, unless from ill-health I to serve God and the Prophet
Ve are aware that a pension on medical eertifi; ly and thfTA' h'^ lab0Urs0 inoessanfc -
c an be obtained at that period, but there are be of that ohnnvi^ Government happens to
many f orma and d of ^ llness( which r ^are ^ 0 ^afc obno X1 ou8 persuasion, and a large pro-
life irksome without incapacitating a man for tion of iV^nhW 7 H!? 0 lm Portant propor-
work. T.ok f.v, Q s . . n Ior tion ot its subjects, are of the same way ofthink-
an ing it is as well that these men should be closely
u he | watched, and f„i; ue cioseiy
— ~7~,"* -AVAMHij oj vivuna co thi
one year more, which has killed more English-
men in India than the sword or pestilence, would
° 0b , h . av ? re , m ai ne d till too late, had he not known
that he had already been kept so long as to render
him useless at home. At present. Government
only loosens its hold on its servants, when thev
are become utterly incapable of doing more for it
Men who have plenty of vigour after fifteen years'
nUhf 0 wu 0 f mething for themselves at home,
although the Indian climate renders them com
paratively useless here, are compelled to drag on
zz ffzs s^srsirsiK s-j
the necessity of finding highly paid offices for
men who have no longer either health of body or
vigour of mind to discharge their duties It
bo a sarn to the public, and in some pn«P=,
a very acceptaWo boon to tho ■ 3
TSION
guns (not
:ht round
the lofty
the Tagu
valley of
losited at
alet near
lying on
A guard
; the writ,.
•.them. Upon
'tea letters is
he Kale-oom,
. ushee basho
ter says means
^d marauders,
low of Tongsoo
loo in the year
f us to think of,
speedily go into
vVell, good bye.
is march out of
rtnight."— Id.
iNER.
kc. 30)
ies at tbe Town
fet harmoniously,
p Calcutta Trades
and Mr. Lazarus
20 gentlemen sat
ie invited guests
H. Sandeman,
1. Dowleans, Esq.,
Fenwick, S. B. J.
, J. A. Crawford,
B. Boberts, Esq.,
tc. &o.. Some
uring the even-
ome good glee-
The Town Band
■ hour at which
le possibility of
EMORIAL.
ier 30.)
■s not gained
harles Wood,
preferred, one
oipal Uncove-
l with much
•ule allowing
three months
)f them had
tanding that
1 the Indian
European
,te, likely to
month, and
)ir constitu-
3 compelled
afterwards
bose homes
Iway com-
visit them
lonth, and
.y cut them
as if they
nendation of
is Wood has
ere his con-
)f the peti-
the service
I to choose
id of by the
iracteristic
dsire is not
iv rules, but
ig to their
le to accede
B third and
•e is much
fusal. The
of service
the age
1 that sick
•ds pension
abovenanted
even chiefly,
ild be a fair
igs a man on
an English-
nis country,
s. It is not
vcrnment to
at period of
te European
iction could
3uld be well,
erence ; but
10 invidious,
■vice would
on is made,
i has been
, s generally
(fate, and the
at that period
•ne advantages
ical certificate,
uld count to-
wo years, Sir
rules reduced
on the express
not to count,
accepted the
vil himself of
WAHABEEI8M.
(From the Bengal Hurkaru, Dec. 30.)
We believe that it is now pretty generally
known that Government is busily engaged in
" spotting" all true and faithful Wahabees, and
that its servants are busy " taking notes" in all
directions, which the Government, however, does
not intend to 11 prent." It has been convinced at
last, that the most dangerous, subtle, and per
severing enemy to its existence as a Government
in this country is the principle of Wahabeeism,
It possesses a vitality and strength which neither
legal enactments nor martial laws can reach ; and
as its operations are as silent, and its ramifications
as extensive, as its objects are violent and
villainous, it is satisfactory to know that itsMis-
ciples and admirers are being carefully watched
and registered in the three Presidencies. There
are few men who object to meet a visible and
tangible foe, and Englishmen are the last persons
in the world to be alarmed by the number and
materiel of their enemies ; but there is something
unpleasantly weird and trying in the conviction"
that one is surrounded by plots and
infernal machines without the slio-htest
ability to baffle them or protect himself.
When the mutinies threatened to sweep us
off the face of the land, we rose with the crisis
and met it triumphantly, but circumstances and
conditions are changed when the air is full of
daggers and we know not who holds them. Every
thing then that throws a light on the character
of these Wababees and the nature of their opera
tions, is of use both to Government and the pub
lic. We do not propose to repeat the tale already
so well told by Palgrave and others, of the life,
wanderings, and views of the founder ofthis
bloodthirsty sect ; neither do we desire to trans
port our readers to the snowy heights of Bokhara
and Badakshan, to trace the progress of the new
faith. We only desire to call attention to a peti
tion which, according to a correspondent of the
GarnaMc Telegraph, was presented to the
Governor of Madras in 1850, and which sets
forth in a very clear light the nature of the
efforts which were made in that Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
by Wahabees from the Upper Provinces so long
ago as 1830. The petition sets out with a decla
ration that the Mahomedans of the Carnatic had
always enjoyed under the protection of public
and defined laws, every just and ascertained
civil right with a free exercise of the religious
institutions and domestic usages of their ances
tors, until the arrival from Rampore of aMoulvee
named Mahomed Ally, who secretly made a few
vyml ytes, from amongst the Madras Mahome
dans, to uitj owu opmioiiri. vv e caiv >|v
refrain from commenting on the strong spirit
of proselytism which animates the members
of this new school of Mahomedan theology,
differing in this from all the religions now
known except Christianity. Hindooism and
Boodhism cannot embark on any such work,
as no amount of conviction of the truth
and beauty of those creeds, will enable a man to
enter those fraternities, supposing him to be so
insane as to see any in them. Judaism, beauti
ful in its ruins, was never remarkable for the
possession of that strong regard for the spiritual
interests of those without its pale, as to enter on
any laborious or well- organized eftorts for their
emancipation. Mahomedanism, with all its
passionate fanaticism, is so entirely of this
earth, so gross and coarse in all its elements,
that so divine a principle as sorrow for anothers's
errors and a self sacrificing devotion for his pre
servation^ can find no place in it and live. It has
no objection to scour wildly over provinces,
and force a hateful creed down the throats
of reluctant infidels at the point of the
sword, but the charity which studies the
welfare of another, and resigns much of its
own to ensure it, is to be found in too pure
and etherial a region for Mahomedanism to
reach. Hitherto, then, Christianity has alone
attempted to win a world from error and danger
to peace and safety, by patient disinterestedness
and persuasive kindness. Wahabeesim has ap
parently been studying the fact, and attempting
to imitate the system. Of course it has produc
edone which bears as much resemblance to the
original as Hyperion to a Satyr, but as it answers
its purpose, Wahabeeism is not prepared to
quarrel with it. It has certainly proved effec
tive, for it has honeycombed the earth under
our feet, and run a series of galleries through
the whole of the Bengal Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. and part of
that of Madras. The object of course of these
laboured efforts was to establish a sect, having its
ramifications in every part of the East, which,
on plans being matured, should, in conjunction,
rise and declare a religious war against the
English, and every Hindoo power in India.
The petition proceeds to state that the
Moulvee Mahomed Ally paid more than one
visit to Madras, his first beinn; the result of cer
tain instructions received by him when in Cabul.
It does not appear whether he was particularly
successful or not on this occasion; but we are
disposed to conclnde that there must have been
sufficient of an encouraging character in the out
ward aspect of things, for we find the Moulvee
travelling back to Madras, armed, this time, with
formidable works, illustrating and recommending
the new dectrine. These were clandestinely
circulated, and in process of time bore fruit to
an extent, that His Highness, IheKaibMookhtar,
with a view to allay the excitement, invited the
chief Kazee and the two Mooftees of the Sudder
Adawlut, together with other legal and theological
luminaries, to examine minutely the new im
portations, and '' to report whether such were
in strict conformity with the tenets of tbe Maho
medan religion." They were, of course, de
nounced as atrociously heretical; and the new
teacher, thereupon, handed in a document, in
which he pretended to bow before the pronun-
ciamento of this miniature Mahomedan Council.
This, however, did not altogether satisfy the
orthodox party, who appear to have entertained
suspicions that they had a slippery character
to deal with, and rightly concluded that as they
themselves set but little store by truth and fair
dealing, the heretic before them was not likely
to be more strait-laced. He was accordingly
directed to appear in the Mosque on the Friday
following, and there address the assembled
congregation, in denunciation of the new doc
trine, and set forth the nature of the writ
ten declaration which ho had handed in
to the chief Kazee, duly signed and sealed, in
order to allay the excitement which his false
doctrines had caused amongst the Mahomedan
community. "Instead of doing this, however,
Moulvee Mahomed Ally, Rampoorie, in addressing
the assembly, uttered not one word of admission
touching the heterodox doctrines in the book, but,
on the contrary, sounded the praises of its author
in the strongest possible terms." This is what
the world in its usual vulgar phraseology would
call a " sell," and the orthodox party, it is
evident, felt acutely that it was a very uncommon
and complete one, for nothing less than the in
continent despatch of the daring Moulvee from
Madras on board a ship then lying in the roads
saved him from the most horrible pains and
penalties. With his removal in 1836 ended for the
time the excitement that had existed. The editors
of the Jami ool Alcbar, and the Tyceer ool
Alchar, two Hindoostanee journals published
at Madras, are described as converts to the new
faith, and as being sedulously employed in
defaming the orthodox party. Several others
are also mentioned as zealous disciples of the
new creed, but we need not mention their names
cbi
on
beii
had
her t
char,
madt
with
and
cabin
and 1
great
board
on bo£
injuria
to
of the i
of the C
B rough
steamed
fishing
aid of O)
were tra
ly had t
lurk over
Those oi
Dundee a
Harvest (
launched;
of her pa
Fife side,
eeyeral ,m
arrivin j i
steamed
and thr
perate
a little
the ere
taken (
Uunde
Har<
risin
rate
the
exer
gers
one
Mar
wh'
ken
eitl
sav
anc
thi
tug
tio
cee
Du.
rest
maj
to I)
ment
of tin
retun
have i
lisio^
whi
l »e m
ed th
dama
Newc
all Su
Appai
the p(
being
had re
busy
board f
and sh
were s
effecte-
moved
was m
afloa' -
beloi
thrc
Part
on i
"V
nat
the
trai
com
tem
norl
of v
it U
5.3i
sho
sun:
how
viof
Hei
col
spl
thr
mu
gro
non
con
mos
cipi'
the
less
no c
the
to ]
tele«
the
all 1
sem
the
fron
will
loco
W(
to \
to tl
Hea.
ten f
is as
atter.
hurt
on th
and b
on tl
Schoc
the fa
pupil-
knee, a
—seve.
market
David
wound t
limbs,
driver—

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Article printed in a Bombay newspaper, and originally taken from the Bengal Hurkaru , 30 December 1865 regarding the dangers of Wahabeeism [Wahhabism] and concerns over the British Government's attitude towards the potential threat.

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1 folio
Written in
English in Latin script
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Newspaper article on 'Wahabeeism' [‎1r] (1/2), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/64, f 1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100022930961.0x000002> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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