intellectual living in exile in Cairo, took note
in his newspaper column of two very different
African dictators in October 1906.//
Şereffedin Mağmumi
El Menbehi click here for a previous TNT report
mentioning this former Moroccan War Minister.
Sultan Abdülaziz (a.k.a. Mulai Abd al-Aziz IV)
I'm Thinking That...
"Türk" Newspaper: 13 October 1906
The situation regarding the former War Minister of Marakesh,
El Menbehi, is really ridiculously tragic. The political lies the
poor fellow told during his haj trip have come back to haunt
him in a big way.
With his eastern-style diplomacy, El Menbehi has brought
down the wrath of his ruler upon himself. As soon as he
arrived back in Tangiers all of his goods and property were
seized by order of the Sultan without any legal proceedings
whatsoever because he revealed state secrets to the outside
world. All of his kith and kin were arrested and jailed
in a travesty of justice. And although he sought asylum with
the English embassy, rather than being given even moral
support he was handcuffed under military guard and handed
over to the Sultan. He will either be thrown in the dungeon
or he will disappear on the way there. So isn't it right to say
that his lies cost him dearly?
Too bad! We must feel sorry for the both the ruler and the
minister in Morocco. This most beautiful and important part
of Africa, where seven or eight million Moslems live, is in
rapid decline. The reason is the ignorance of the populace,
the state's tyranny and oppression, and the dissipation of a
ruler who is the victim of his own desires.
The rule of law has been abandoned and matters left to the
whim and wish of the Sultan. Public security is non-existant
and this lack of order has engendered devolution and anxiety,
poverty and indigence. This consequence is an immutable fact,
whether it happens in the East or the West.
Emperor Menelik II (a.k.a. Sahle Miriam)
God only knows that in a country where life and existence are
surrendered to the whim and wish of one person, all sorts of
things will happen. But in the mountains of Ethiopia, an
Abyssinian ruler named Menelik has used his intellect, his love
for his people and an inclination for excellence and progress to
guide a wild and barefoot populace toward civilization. He has
also given notice to external aggressors like Italy and its army
that he will defend Ethiopia's independence before the world.
By bringing in craftsmen and industry experts from abroad he
is enlightening his people, building roads, railroads, postal
facilities and even a telephone line from the capital to the coast,
a distance of 20-30 days overland (such a thing does not yet
exist in our own Istanbul). Menelik is succeeding in improving
and civilizing his country, as a great empire rises from nothing
in the east of Africa.
Yet, in the Atlas Mountains of the far west, in a place that is
nose-to-nose with Europe, a Sultan named Molla Abdülaziz
gathers minstrels and jokers from every direction by means of
of his personal officials so he can revel in merrymaking. And
although there are no roads for cars in the country, the Sultan
has brought bicycles and automobiles into his palace garden for
races attended by a flock of girls.
Since the money the Sultan has obtained for his dissolute
behavior by pillaging his subjects' possessions doesn't suffice,
he has been forced to borrow money from Europe at high
interest rates. In turn, the states and provinces have rebelled.
Those who set foot out of the capital are kidnapped to the
mountains by brigands who cannot be chastened. France
has now begun to bring Gendarmerie troops from Algeria to
Tangiers to restore order. Debtors have taken over the
customs administration and the French army is gradually
encroaching on Moroccan territory through the border from
Algeria.
In Morocco there is neither an army nor a navy, nor postal
and municipal services, nor education. There are no civilized
organizations nor any provisions for social support. Molla
Abdülazziz thinks that he can prolong his enjoyment under
silk tents with the goods and property he seized from El
Menbehi. In short, a great ancient empire is disintegrating and
its populace is being annihilated because of one person. A
good lesson for all of us.
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