EX-KING OP AFGHANISTAN

few Afghans, even in wicked Kabul City, to flout the
great power which they wielded. That power was now
challenged every day by the rising of a man who was
sacrilegious enough to be modern.

The mullahs had hold of the Afghan from his first
breath. They were inevitable attendants at his birth,
and their ministrations were held to be invaluable for
the safety and care of both child and mother. Through
early life, they exercised the same supervision over the
child, and took care that its mind should be well
grounded in the essential tenets of the Mahomedan
faith, one of the chief clauses of which was of course
a spirit of true reverence for the priests.

They even insisted on taking a close part in the
conduct of their flock's affairs. With a business acumen
that could not have been gained solely in the service of
the Church, they often proved themselves excellent
prophets and advisers on purely secular affairs, and it
may be taken as a certainty that such advice was not
given altogether for the glory of the Lord, but to some
extent for their personal financial betterment.

During the preliminaries to his marriage, the mullahs
were among the closest confidants of the prospective
bridegroom, and since marriage is always akin to business
affairs, there were few times when the local mullah
would fail to arrange for love to follow the wisest course
for the pocket. And naturally enough, at death the
services of the mullahs were once again in demand.

Thus it will be seen that the priests entered into the
lives of the simple warrior-farmers through every stage
of their progress on earth. Such close patronage and
overlordship was bound to result in magnifying their
own importance. The position at that time was that
the mullahs held a grip on the people more powerful
than the Government, aloof and always feared, and were

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