The San Francisco call., 1910-03-06
KHEDINE OF EGYPT
GOES ON PILGRIMAGE
Ruler Takes Part in Ceremonies
at Mecca

; The annual Mohammedan pilgrimage
sto Mecca has been made memorial bic
this year by the participation Of the
khedive Of Egypt. Abbas Hilmi is the
first Of his family since the great Me
hemet Ali early in the nineteenth cen
tury TO undertake the journey. The
X ledive was accompanied by his
ther and his aunt. Princess Nazi.
: arge reunue Of Egyptian and Turk
ish soldiers attended him, and more
than 500 camels were reQuisitioned, SO
that Ills progress through the Hedjaz
was truly royal, says the New Haven
Palladium.
. -EYe are told that he recited the
prescribed prisons while walking seven
times around the kaaba. that he kissed
The black stone. drank from the sacred
waters OF Zemzem- the spring that
saved Hagar and Ishmael from dying
Of thirst. that he made the requisite
trips TO Mount Ararat and paid his
tribute TO tie tomb OF the prophet at
Medina. In fact he performed all the
devotions tnat entitIe him to the rank
.of HaGU PpOn mis- return he suffered
the Inconvenience Of the ordinary pill
grim by being detained in quarantine
for fve days AT TebrUk
Although Abbas Hilmi has always
been most scrupuloUs in his observ-
--lncc ef All NOhammedan customs and
has stood nigh in the faith, this pill
Crimag ge VIII have the political effect
II greatly strengthening his influence
in the MOslem world The leaders Of
the faith see in this visit the possi-
rbility Of reforms in the condition of
unrest and disorder prevailing around
Tle holy places as Important as those
brought about by the khediVe's an
cestOr. Mehemet Ali. 1t was Mehemet
Ali who routed the Wahabys. Moslem
fanatics, who opposed pilgrimages and
who for many years made the approach
20 the holy shrines uncertain and peri
lous. The present unsettled conditions
in Mecca arc due TO great extent to
the political rivalry Of factions and
10 the eNtoTtiOnate demands made upon
the pilgrims. At Medina the situation
has been complicated by practically
= civil war between the historic fac
tions Of Ibn Rashid and Ibn Saud, the
Ara bian MOnts CUES and Capulets
Tie khedive's visit is not likely to
add. much 10 our knowledge Of Mecca.
Mecca. in fact. is no longer a city of
mystery. a century ago there existed
but one good description of il, and that
written by a Frenchman who had OBJ
tanned his knowledge second hand from
an African renegade who, crossing in
- Spain. had fallen under the spell of
= Spanish woman He married her and
becsme converted to Christianity, but
later sought to rehabilitate himself in
the Nohammedan faith by making
pilgrimag ge to Mecca. II was from him
that Theven0t got the material for his
book. Since that time Burckhardt
spent three months there: Burton made
hfs adventurous journey, and many
others have entered the sacred city
and returned to tell about ii.
The comparative ease with which
-pilgrima ge is pow accomplished is not
viewed wholly with favor by thought
ful Mohammedans. In the old days the
great hardships and difficulties of the
Undertaking created a bond of union
and sympathy between the widely diff
ferent people OF the faith. Now with
the Idedjajz railroad taking the pill
gripls beyond Medina, with all the
-perls of death from starvation and
thirst removed and with the danger of
assault and robbery reduced to mini
mum, the pilgrims although their num-
ber is greatly increased. accomplish the
journey so easily that il becomes little
more than an excursion. It is feared
that the spirit OF devotion will be
wholly lost when the rich Turk may
do his penance by being whirled in
IN automobile from the shores of the
Red sea up TO the gates of an electric
lighted Mecca.