Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-08

declared as justified. All embroideries,
gold or silver ornaments, or jewelry are
! strictly forbidden in the case OF men, but
are permitted 10 wOmea. Tobacco and
coffee are likewise severely prohibited.
Tea is allowed but it must be sweeten-
&c with brown sG-oor and not with
white. for the latter is defled by the
bones Of animals. killed by unbelievers.
which are used to refine it. Members Of
the order are forbidden to spea1. salute,
trade with. or serve either Jews or Chris
tians, and according 10 the pTecepts con-
tanned in a sermon preached in March.
1851, By Hadj Ahmed Ben Bel-KaseD, MOk-
kade1o of the tSwn of Rhat, any Jew or
Christian who IS no longer a rayah-that
is u say. who is no longer subject to a
AOhammeden OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES an
adversary whom it is lawful, nav, whom
IL is necessary, 10 rob and Kill at all times
and IN all places. The members Of the
order who possesses a capital of over IS
pay annually % per cent. thereon into
the tTeas' ~, which receives in addition
vast nations OF cattle. lands, slaves,
anu money. Both the Turkish. Egyp-
tan, and tu1isia1 governments have
teen most lI0eral in granting it subsidies,
lands, ana fiscal lmmunities.
Sidi MOhammed Ben Ali-es-Senoussi,
who, during the las years Of MS life,
used always u hide his face with a veil
lest the brilliancy Of his aspect sLOuld
dazzle his disciples, died few years ago
IN the door Of sanctity. Before his
death he solemnlY proclaimed MS son not
only as his successor as chief OF the order,
but also as the Messiah or Mahdi. Ac-
cord.ng to kOranic tradition. the true
Mahdi was to make his appearance in
the l3O0th year Of the Degira-i. E., A. d.
lSS3-at which date he was to have at
tained his majority. His fathers name
was TO be MOhammed, his mothers Fati-
ma. The present Grand Master Of the
SenOussi fulhlls all these requirements,
and is known throughout the Mussulman
world by the name Of Sidi Mohammed ell
Mahdi. 1t may be urged that since Sc
nOussi claims 10 be the true Mahdi, there
can be no cooperation on his part with
the Soudanese Mahdi, Mohammed
Achmed. This is a mistake. The Koran
distinctly states that several Mahdis will
arise simultaneously with the chief one,
but that they viii all in the end submit
to the latter. 1t is probably with a view
Of verifying this prophecy that the So
the Yemen aid Hediaz, in Syria, as we'll
as in the SOudan.
II native accOunts-the only ones we
have at our dispOsaI-are TO be relied
upon, it would appear that MOhaaet
Achmed no longer claims 10 be the Mahdi,
but rather the principal fOrerunner, the
St. John the Baptist, Of the latter. 1t
must not be forgotten that MOhammed
Achmed belongs to the Sidi Abel X ader-el-
Djilani fraternity, which, as stated above,
Is one Of the most direct affiliations of the
Senoussi. and hence entirely subject and
ObedienJ to the Senoussi el Mahdi. There
is no doubt but that the greater part Of the
Clergy here at Cairo, and especially at the
Ell AZar University, which is the great
centre Of orthodox Islamism, either be-
long 10 the Senoussi or 10 one Of the nu-
merous affiliations Of the order, such as
the Sid ALI Asadheli which is the prin-
cipal school of Mohammedan philosophy.
the Sid Mobammed Ben Aisa, the Sidi
Abd-e!-RahmAn BOu n0berin, the Sidi-el-
Madam, the Derkawa, etc.
One thing at least is certain, that all
who belong to the creed Of MOhammed
are more or less subject 70 the influence
of Senoussi, who teaches that no engage
ment, no oath, however sacred, can be
considered as binding when contracted
with a Christian.