'XX/7 Vernacular Newspapers & periodicals, Extracts from & Pan-Islamism.' [‎14r] (27/70)

fame and reputation. Therefore, it is necessary for the ulema, before they
proceed in such a matter, to obtain the consent and co-operation of the whole
of their class, so that no one may have the courage to do anything in opposition
to it. A strong power is required to enforce such an order. No one can deny
that the answer to the query in this matter is based on common sense and is
comprehensible to every Muslim child with any intelligence. In fact, this
answer has not elucidated anything that was not already known to the nation;
but of course the object of the Muslim High Priests is that the matter should
not remain confined to words only, but that it should take a practical shape.
It is an admitted fact that, according to international law and existing
treaties with other Powers, the Persian Government is unable to enforce such
an order, and the power of the ulema depends on the support of the people
for whom it is difficult to obey such an order with sincerity unless they see
that the ulema themselves and their families and adherents have personally
given up the use of articles of foreign manufacture.
We now come to the real point. Supposing that all the ulema unite and
the whole nation follow them in this matter, the question is can we succeed in
such a scheme or not ?
In our opinion, and in the opinion of all acquainted with the exigencies of
the times, it is impossible for this order to be thoroughly carried out by the
general public without the preliminary steps which are necessary to be taken
in such matters ; if the importation into Persia of cloths and stuffs of foreign
manufacture ceases at once, Persian men will remain without shrouds and
Persian women in nudity, and they will be reduced to a savage state. Persia
itself cannot provide the luxuries and necessaries of life according to the
present day requirements of the civilised Persians, and it is necessary to import
everything from foreign countries. It is impossible to suddenly give up the
use of those articles, as it is not possible to arrange to produce them forthwith
in Persia. The cloths manufactured in Persia are limited, and though they
are of very fine quality and strong texture, they are not turned out in sufficient
quantities to meet all requirements, and are moreover very expensive. The pre
sent outturn of the whole of Persia in cloths and stuffs is not even sufficient
for a month’s requirements of the population of Persia. In former days the
outturn was much higher and the taste of the Persians was different. One
tunic was considered sufficient for the use of several generations; but now one
person requires several tunics a year, and it is not possible to make the people
go backwards and revert to the old state of affairs.
It is, therefore, necessary “ first to dig a well and then to steal a minaret”,
or, in other words, steps should be taken at first to supply locally the require
ments of the nation, without putting them to any inconvenience, and then to
prevent the entry of foreign goods into Persia. In that case also it will not be
necessary to declare foreign goods as haram (forbidden). As soon as Persia
can produce locally made articles cheaper than goods of European manu
facture, the entry of the latter in the country will become haram (forbidden)
by itself, as Europeans consider it haram (forbidden) to suffer any loss in
trade.
We ought to devise some plan to enable us to compete with our neigh
bours on equal terms. At present our rivals are going in railway trains, while
we are riding lame donkeys: our neighbours possess Krupp guns and magazine
rifles, while we have only wooden sticks and double edged swords: our
European rivals have weaving mills worked by steam, while we do not possess
even hand-looms: we cannot turn out a couple of yards of country cloth in a
day, while our European rivals can produce two hundred-thousand yards of
fine long cloth per diem. It is evident that until we can procure what our
rivals already have, we cannot compete with them; and until we can supply
our own wants according to the requirements of the times, no one can prevent
the entry into Persia of goods of foreign manufacture of which the people
stand in need.
You have tied me up to a plank in midstream.
Still you teil me to be careful and not to wet my clothes.