Page 243 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

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NEGLECTED ARABIA 11

their religion bothers them but little. It is u nut uncommon occurrence
lu liiul among tho modest belongings of u poor patient at the hospital a
well-thumbed copy of some poet., Frequently one comes upon an illiterate
group of servants uud patients listening with rapt attention to some one
reading poetry, poetry which they have heard before so often that they
know it almost by heart and therefore appreciate^0 much the more.
Imagine a group of American workmen or servants listening with rapt
attention to some one reading from Longfellow or Shakespeare l
The above also applies to the more literate Arabs and Persians.
One evening Dr. Harrison and I were invited to attend a sort of house
party held in a castle about fifteen miles from the city. The time was spent
partly in conversation and the sipping of coffee and tea, but the enter­
tainment that was appreciated most was the intoning (of portions of
Arabic poetry.’ Both the reading and the sentiments of the poet were
loudly applauded.
I admit that the intellectual life as described above concerns itself
with the things of the past, witfi things as they have been for hundreds of
years, with the same religion, the same expression of that religion and the ’■
same ancient poets. At the same time, to know the beliefs of one's reli­
gion well, to be acquainted with the history of' that religion and to have
(he capacity to enjoy the ancient poets, both for beauty of language and
loftiness of sentiment, indicate a very real, though possibly limited, in­
tellectual life.
However, there has been amazing intellectual progress among the
literate people of the Island, especially since the war. One measure by
which this can be gauged is the number of papers and magazines read.
Less than fifteen years ago, our bundles of daily Arabic newspapers,-
iiitended for the Bible shop, were conspicuous by their loneliness. The
papers attracted many people to the shop, were eagerly read bv day and
it night were loaned out to some of tho richer merchants, to whom it did
not «ccm to occur that they, too, might subscribe for a paper. But this
? If no longer the status of our papers in Bahrain; their power to attract
* visitors to the shop is very small. For now many mail-bags of news-
s papers arrive with each steamer for a large number of subscribers.
Some of the papers are comparatively local, such as those from Basrah.
Others come from Syria and most of all from Egypt. Though some
[ have an Islamic flavor, few are really religious. Instead,they busy them­
selves mostly with politics, national affairs and world news. Some scruple
not to attack that ancient bulwark of Islam, A1 Azhar University and
ihe erstwhile venerated mullahs in charge. Among the papers are some
comics, which are furtively enjoyed and passed on from hand to hand.
Then there are scientific papers, such as the Hilal and Muktatar, which
are most highly prized and carefully read and pondered. There are also
some subscribers to Arabic publications in New \ ork and Brazil.
They keep up, too, with the modern Arabic writers. When some
time ago Ameen Rihani visited Bahrain, he, though a Christian, was re-
ccived with high honors, because they had seen his articles and poetry
in the papers and some even possessed his books; and when recently a
celebration was planned in Egypt, in honor of the noted Egyptian poet,
Shauky Pasha, the reading public of Bahrain, not to be outdone, sent
him a gift of a gold palm-tree on a base of amber, with bunches of sma