ABSTRACT
The indifference of the ruling Arabs to matters of religion was notorious, and the sympathies of the devout were enlisted by the hope of a new and reformed Khalifate, which would be loyal to the principles of Islam. The Turkish ascendancy to the Khalifate of Baghdad marked a definitely reactionay and conservative change in Muslim culture, at least in Asia. The anti-Persian development came from the introduction of the Turks as a new and vigorous force from Central Asia. In quite the times some of the liberal Muslims of India have revived the name and call themselves Mu’tazilites: like their predecessors they are seeking to combine the theology of Islam with the teachings of contemporary science, but they have no historical connection with those earlier liberals. So long as the hajj is observed and shared by all Sections of the world of Islam, so long, it seems, the bond of community will be felt.
