its magic works of Ibn el-Hadj and its Rhama, its magical circle ceremoniously drawn upon the ground, its talismans and its amulets. In this world of Islamic customs and superstitions the usual method of assimilating colonization does not function; in its stead another procedure has to be worked out, bedded upon a real respect for Islam and all its mass of tradition and supported by the living examples of virile men full of energy and loyalty to the best of the European ideals.
The conditions of co-operation and intermingling are very difficult and not to be relied upon as constant, so that the results are frequently quite unexpected on both sides. No one can formulate a general system of procedure for working together, as the conditions are as numerous as are the tribes, sects, Marabouts, magi and other exterior influences. I feel certain that the activities of the white race are most difficult in the Moslem countries, which, though they are entirely uniform in their religious ideology, differ so fantastically in their local traditions and ethnic psychology that one country or locality affords little measure of what may be expected in another. I believe that these difficulties will for a long time continue to hamper Europe—who has up to the present quite inadequately fulfilled her mission in the world—so long as no radical changes take place in the ideology of Islam. Only the living example of the energy, decision and spirit of enterprise of honest and wise European colonists can bring nearer this period of successful union between the two civilizations! nor may their arms be cannon and carbine, but they must be wisdom, strong will and ingrained respect for law.
