It may, however, give an idea of the kind of material in tradition which
reformers are looking for, if I quote a document which was being
circulated last spring among the Ulema of the Azhar. It purports to be
the text of the Prophet's first treaty with the Christians of Arabia,
though I do not vouch for its authenticity, and runs as follows:--
"Covenant of God's Apostle, Mohammed, with the Christian people,
their monks and their bishops."--(A.D. 625.)
"Mohammed, the Apostle of God, sent with a message of peace to all
mankind, dictateth the words of this covenant that the cause of God
may be a written document between him and the people of Christ.
"He who keepeth this covenant, let him be called a true Moslem
worthy of the religion of God, and he who departeth from it let him
be called an enemy, be he king or subject, great or small.
"To this have I pledged myself: I will fence in their lands with my
horsemen, and my footmen, and my allies, throughout the world; and
I will care for their safety and the safety of their temples, their
churches, their oratories, and their convents, and the places of
their pilgrimage, wheresoever I shall find them, whether by the
land or by the sea, in the east or in the west, on the mountain or
in the plain, in the desert or in the city.
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