[4]
The _Malekite_ school of religious thought differs widely from the
Hanefite. If the latter has been described as the high Church party of
Islam, this must be described as the low. It is puritanical, fierce in
its dogma, severe in its morals, and those who profess it are
undoubtedly the most fervent, the most fanatical of believers. They
represent more nearly than any other Mussulmans the ancient earnestness
of the Prophet's companions, and the sword in their hand is ever the
sword of God. Piety too, ostensible and sincere, is found everywhere
among the Malekites. Abd el Kader, the soldier saint, is their type;
and holy men by hereditary profession abound among them.
The Malekites believe with earnest faith in things supernatural,
dreaming prophetic dreams, and seeing miracles performed as every-day
occurrences. With the Arabs of Africa, unlike their kinsmen in Arabia
itself, to pray and fast is still a severe duty, and no class of
Mussulmans are more devout on pilgrimage. In Algiers and Morocco it is
as common for a young man of fortune to build a mosque as it is for him
to keep a large stud of horses. To do so poses him in the world, and a
life of prayer is strictly a life of fashion.
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