there. The Law was the conscience of the Moslem. There was no need for change of the customs or rules of society contrary to the Law; in fact, even to suggest that these modern times required the wholesale change and adaptation of Islam was to Mohammed Beg the greatest heresy.
"Somehow," thought he, "these modern times must adjust themselves to Islam and its way of life. That is the real problem for Moslems to face. Making concessions to the West, which cares only for business, money, pleasure and comfort, is not the thing to do. That way lies the destruction of Islam. How one can possibly consider himself a Moslem and at the same time approve of bringing women out of the harem, the abolition of polygamy, the separation of religion and state, and even of doing away with the caliphate, is beyond me. No, one who wishes to reform Islam according to modern ideas cannot be a Moslem, and a true Moslem does not need to be modern, for the law of Islam is all right just as it is."
But Mohammed Beg does not have the last word on this subject. Ask a young Egyptian what he thinks about the matter, and he will present another side of the case. As an adherent of the modernist party in the country of the Nile he will tell you that he supports the position of Sheikh Mohammed Abduh, who is recognized the world over among Moslems as the greatest champion and defender of Islam that these modern times have known. He will declare that he fully believes in the reform of the Moslem educational
