The herald., 1922-02-09

prepared by the National Geogrs phic So
ciety, Washington. ID. 81
Though the World war changed the
temporal map of Arabia, raising the
narrow strip of the Hejaz, formerly
Turkish province, into kingdom,
II did not alter the place In the world
of Mecca, chief of the Hejaz cities.
That mystic city under Arab control
still is the center of all MOhammedan
thought and action as 1t was under the
Turks.
The importance Of Mecca Is not due
20 Its resident population Of perhaps
100000, but to the more than 2OO.OOO
pilgrims who visit 1t each year from
every nation Of Islam. Statistics are
hopelessly contradictory and confus-
ing regarding the number of annual
visitors. According TO Turkish official
estimates, in 1907 there were no less
than 2SOOO0 pilgrims. 1t Is a marvel
how so many thousands can find food,
shelter, and, most of all, drink, in
such a desert city.
The religious capital Of Islam, and
now the temporal capital Of the new
kingdom of the Hejaz, affords an in
dex to the growth and strength Of
, Mohammedanism In various parts of
the world, for one can rightly gauge
the strength Of religious fervor in this
great non-Christian faith by the num-
Der of those who go on pilgrimage.
From Java. Bengal, West Africa, Cape
Colony and Russia. as well as from the
most inaccessible provinces Of China,
they come every year and return to
their native land-if' they escape the
hardships of travel-to tell Of the
greatness and glory of their faith,
however much they may have been
disappointed In the actual condition
of the city and its sacred buildings.
When we consider Mecca, Moham-
med's words Of prophecy in the second
chapter of his book seem to have been
literally fulfilled: $50 we have made
you the center of the nations that you
should bear witness to men," The
old pagan pantheon has become the
religious sanctuary and the goal of
uhNttcdi phSiihasC lof ohc-ScNchth VI
the human race.
From Sierra Leone to Canton, and
from Tobolsk to Cape Town, the faith
full spread their PRAYER carpets, build
their houses Tin fulfillment of an i'm
portant tradition, even their out
houses y, and bury their dead orient
ed toward Mecca. II the old world
could be viewed from another planet,
its details disclosed, the observer
would see concentric circles OF living
worshipers covering an overwhelming
area, and one would also see vast
areas Of Moslem cemeteries with ev-
cry grave dug with its main axis to-
ward the sacred city.
lts Mysteries Laid Bare.
Mecca is no longer a yelled city. A
score Of intrepid travellers have I'M
yelled it, From Bartema, Wild and
Joseph Pitts to Burton, Burckhardt,
Hurgronje and Courtellemont, they
took their lives In their hands, herd
ed with strange companions. under
went untold hardships, and by luck or
pluck came scatheless out of this lions
den Of Islam. According to Doughty.
scarcely pilgrimage takes place with
out some persons being put to death
as intruding Christians. An educated
and pious Moslem In Cairo admitted
recently that when he went on pilgrim
age and took pictures Of the city his
life was endangered more than once
by the fanaticism of the inhabitants.
However, there are many who believe
that tie establishment Of the new
Kingdom win mean the removal of re-
strictions against non-Moslems.
The mixture OF races brought about
In Hejas province for so many cen
turtles by the pilgrimages has not been
conducive to morals or good govern
ment. No one who has read the ac-
count Of social life at Mecca, as given
by Hurgronje and other travellers, in
Guiding Moslem pilgrims Themselves.
can doubt the need for social reform
in that city. Mecca is the micrOcosm
Of Islam In its religious life and as
pirations. According to Hurgronje:
ut is Islam. the official religion. which
brings together and amalgamates all
the heterogeneous constituents of Nee
can life. On the other hand, this So
ciety itself YIELDS into chaotic whole
the prejudices and superstitions Of all
nuntries." In other words, Mecca is
sink-hole Of Islam. All witnesses
gree as TO the fragrant immortality
the mosque. Of the sacred city, the
prevalence of the slave trade. the