World of the Koran: Islam Uber Alles
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of cupping his palms behind his ears, touching the floor with
his forehead and mumbling his prayers, I faced Mecca on my
knees, bent forward in a position that I hoped would be interpreted as respectful. When the prayers were over, I straightened up. This courtesy on my part was not missed by Aboul,
who treated me with increased cordiality thereafter.
Though the prophet Mohammed died in A.D. 632, I found
that at El Azhar his preachments were considered fresh and
applicable today—with absolutely no modifications. The students I saw seemed to have no contact with reality, to recognize no social problems such as Egypt's seventeen million
miserable fellaheen. I watched them copy by hand manuscripts in exquisite Arabic script. They pored over the Koran
to see what Mohammed said about blood transfusion from
Christian to Moslem. Aboul explained to me that Islam is
not only an authoritarian religion, but also both a political
creed and a way of life encompassing the sum total of a Mos