Evening star., 1925-12-27
MEDINA IS SACRED
CITY FOR M0S[EMS
Sorne Say Luminous Haze
Hangs Over Town Where
Prophet Is Buried.

Medina Arabia second hest city
IN the world" to millions of Moham-
medans, recently fell to the forces of
Ihn Saud ruler of the fanatical Waha-
his Of central Arabia. The town is
tho subject of the following bulletin
from the Washington headquarters OF
The National Geographic Society:
Mecca and Medina, the two hoy
cities of Islam, have been ia'st i'll
peace first in war. and first in the
religious devotions of Moslems the
world over for IS centuries" says the
bulletin. The fact that Mohammedan
ism was planted in Mecca but made
no growth until transplanted to Me
dina mirrors the physical differences
between the two towns. While Mecca
f. set down in d steppe which Is al.
most desert. and while its inhabi
tants. ever since the place has been
known. have made their livelihood as
merchants (and caravan raiderSl, Me-
dina is situated in an oasis and has
always had strong, agricultural ties.
It's valuable groves produce 1S9 vari-
eties of dates some famous through
out The Near East.
Made by Prophets Flight
Although a town had long existed
on the site of the pre- sent Medina. il
VS. small. and the he=ir2 or hisht
o. Mohammed made Medina almost
truly 4 $ the trek Of the Mormons
mcde Salt Lake City. This moving
day Of Mohammed and his little group
Of Meccan followers Is Of such i'm
portance to Moslems that il was made
their year ! and on it their calendar
L y, -
tho Christian system.
From the year ! to the wear 10
N"hammed lived in Medina where he
dictated his revelations to q scribe
completing the Koran. the Bible Of
Islam. During these 10 wears too. he
conducted. from the Medina base. e.;
petitions Of his militant followers
against Meccans and other Arabians
thus beginning the spread of Moham.
media nism by the sword a practice
that was to remake the map of much
OF the world. From Medina. Mecca
was captured: and because its kabah h
had been the object Of heather pill
Erimmages for ages the city was
made the spiritual center of Moham
mechanism and the old pagan shrine
was dedicated to Allah.
Mohammed's Temporal Capital
Medina remained the tempora
capital and Mohammed continued to
i've there and to preach in the Me
dlna mosque. He died in the year 10
In the house of one of his wives ad-
joining the mosque and was buried
beneath the floor where he died.
SeNenty-nine years later when the
mosque was rebuilt its walls were ex-
tended to include Mohammed's grave.
The presence of this bit of holy ground
within the courtyard Of the Mosque Of
the Prophet and the residence of
Nohammed in the city for the last
10 years of his life are Medina s chief
claims to holiness.
The mosque is not an imposing
structure. Only in it's main gateway
Is there any pretense at decora alton.
In the courtyard. beside the grave of
Mohammed, is that OF Abu Bekr. his
father-in-law and his immediate sue
cessor 6 caliph. Nearby also is the
grave Of Omar, the second caliph after
Mohammed: and at a little distance
is the resting place OF Fatima. the
prophets favorite daughter. The
burial plot of the three caliphs is
surrounded by A high fence of iron
ana brass network SO closely woven
that the streams of pilgrims who file
ny catch only glimpses of the in.
terror Only mosque officials and great
dlSnitaries ever enter the sacred
precincts
Forbidden to n.Moslems.
Medina, like Mecca is forbidden
ground to nonMoslems and before
the World War 1t was actually less
known to the outside world than the
spiritual center of Islam itself. Cap
ture by the British of detailed
Turkish map and photogra phs of the
Cry and the surrounding country
furnished the first authentic informa
Ilon since the making of a sketch by
Burton 40 years before
Medina preserves its invioIabilitv
IN spite of the fact that it is the
terminus of more or less modern
railway. This, the famous pilgrim
railway from Dam sous into the He'd.
Jaz was built by the Turks between
lHoo and 1908, largely with contribu
tens from the faithful. Practical
western diplomats. however saw
marked military value in the line and
their judgment proved to be correct
curing the World War. Because OF
ne road Turkey was able ID ho!d
Medina against the Arab rebellion
until 1919.
Prayer Brokerage" business
.ieiore the war. Medina. like Mecca
pi'I'ted greatly from pilgrims from
al parts Of the MoSiem world Whil.
puiSorN. the trip To Medina WAS vol
uniarN. but gave additional merit
NnaWlnE factor is the assertion h,
-lohammeda nS that one PRAYER of
Tered in the Mosque OF the prophet
y worth Z thousand elsewhere. Re
t"HSe ot this many prayer brokers'
"a" thriving business. receiving fees
rom Instant clients for offering W
Pr NefS in their behalf
Many thousands of pilgrims from
r"fthern Syria and Asia Minor. bound
,"' Mecca. passed through AIe,iin;
tc'au&e ~ the railway. and man,
noe came from Africa because the
ti.% Is especially holy to their sect..
~ &d"ltI"n many of the pilgrims VII.
r1nt directly 10 Mecca made rho nj
dij"nal pilgrimage to the second rnI,
cNN. ami 10 Medina < profit the.f
~9re often tn" more wc:l,thv travellers
hundreds of pilgrims remained i,
.iedina each Year ana it's pre.va,
population WAS exceedingly cosn,,..
pUlitan.
War Caused Decline.
The war greatly injured Medina
The Turkish garrison deported nearly
three-fourthS Of the population d1r
in" the siege by Srabs reducino- il
numhcrs from 46aoH0 to about 10 Ooo
any houses Vera pulled down so
..'.'t their beams might he used for
"motivc fuel. and inroads were
'uF"@ mt" The w uable pa I'm planta
r.'n& near the city for the san. mn
i."Sc.
Medina il 13o miles ipto,d r