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THE KING’S BUSINESS
caps or suspended by a string around their necks. For headache the talib (or charm- writer) draws a square on a piece o f paper around the sides o f which he writes: “ To heal him in his sufferings, God gives to man one o f His names.” Across the mid dle is written, “ It is Mohammed.” Inside the square is written, “ By His power this thing is a sacred ark.” One is left to imagine what this means, but if the- piece o f paper is carefully folded and sewed into a piece o f stuff on to the fez cap the wearer is said to be free from headache. An illustration o f the strength of the enemy with which Christianity must con tend for the conquest o f Africa—Islam—is seen in one station in the Sudan, where there are four missionaries, as compared with 700 Arab traders, at work.
ment, and it is said that now no one goes to church. They are being overtaken by madness or melancholia. “ Few people are aware o f the gross su perstition which exists among the Moslems,” writes a mission worker in Tunis.'. “ So many think that because the followers of the false prophet h^ve taken the name of believers ..they, have a real faith and trust in God, relying upon Him alone. Such is not The case, for from the highly educated Mohammedan to the most ignorant, all believe in demons, evil spirits, the, evil eye, sorcery, etc. O f course, against'these'some charm must be employed. Thèse charms take various forms. Amulets have been used in all generations, and the Moslems have the greatest faith in them. You will see them sewed on to the children’s , fez
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