over, as we have seen, the Qoran itself regarded
Christians as being in possession of divine wisdom, and some reference
both to Christianity and to Judaism was necessary to explain the many
unintelligible passages of the Qoran. Allusions were made to texts and
statements in the Thora and the Gospels, and God was represented as
constantly appealing to earlier revelations of Himself. Thus it was
only natural that interpreters should study these scriptures and ask
counsel of their possessors. Of primary importance was the fact that
both Christians and Jews, and the former in particular, accepted
Muhammedanism by thousands, and formed a new intellectual class of
ability infinitely superior to that of the original Muslims and able
to attract the best elements of the Arab nationality to their
teaching. It was as impossible for these apostate Christians to
abandon their old habits of thought as it was hopeless to expect any
sudden change in the economic conditions under which they lived.
Christian theories of God and the world naturally assumed a Muhammedan
colouring and thus the great process of accommodating Christianity to
Muhammedanism was achieved. The Christian contribution to this end was
made partly directly and partly by teaching, and in the intellectual
as well as in the economic sphere the ultimate ideal was inevitably
dictated by the superior culture of Christianity. The Muhammedans were
thus obliged to accept Christian hypotheses on theological points and
the fundaments of Christian and Muhammedan culture thus become
identical.

I use the term hypotheses, for the reason that the final determination
of the points at issue was by no means identical, wherever the Qoran
definitely contradicted Christian views of morality or social laws.
But in these cases also, Christian ideas were able to impose
themselves upon tradition and to issue in practice, even when opposed
by the actual text of the Qoran. They did not always pass unquestioned
and even on trivial points were obliged to encounter some resistance.
The theory of the Sunday was accepted, but that day was not chosen and
Friday was preferred: meetings for worship were held in imitation of
Christian practice, but attempts to sanctify the day and to proclaim
it a day of rest were forbidden: except for the performance of divine
service, Friday was an ordinary week-day. When, however, the Qoran was
in any sort of harmony with Christianity, the Christian ideas of the
ag