and the Ministry of Education started an "Institute of Terminology,"
"Conservatoire," and "Writing and Translation Committee." The
translation of foreign masterpieces as an incentive to a new national
literature was in the programme of Ziya Bey's society, the _Yeni Hayat_
(New Life). Their most cherished plan was to translate the Koran and the
Friday Sermon, to have the Khutba (Prayer for the Caliph) recited in
Turkish, and to remove the Arabic texts from the walls of the mosques[5];
the eyes and ears of Turkish Moslems were to be saved from the
contamination of an anti-national language; but the campaign against
Arabic passed over into an attack upon Islam.

"The Turkish Nationalists," Tekin Alp explains, "have made great efforts
to nationalise religion itself, and to give it the impress of the
Turkish national spirit. This idea was zealously supported by a
fortnightly periodical, and one of the noblest tasks undertaken by it
has been the translation of the Koran into Turkish. This is a reform of
the greatest importance. It is well known that the translation of the
Koran has hitherto been considered a sin. The Nationalists have cut
themselves off from this superstitious prejudice and have had three
translations made, the above-mentioned and two others."

On this issue the Nationalists broke a lance with the _Islamjis_, or
"clericals," as Tekin Alp prefers to call them.

"Because it is written in the Koran that Islam knows no nationalities,
but only Believers, the _Islamjis_ thought that to occupy oneself with
national questions was to act against the interests and principles of
Islam itself.... According to the Nationalists, the pronouncement in the
Koran was directed exclusively against the very frequent dissensions of
clans and parties in the various Arab races." (A sneer which is meant to