A Caliph there
need fear no admonition from Frank ambassadors in virtue of any
capitulations; he would be free to act as the Successor of the Apostle
should, and would breathe the pure air of an unadulterated Islam. A
return, therefore, to Medina or Mecca is the probable future of the
Caliphate.
The importance of Arabia has of late years been fully recognized both at
Constantinople and elsewhere. It has been the sustained policy of Abd
el Hamid at all cost and by whatsoever means to maintain his influence
there; and he knows that without it his spiritual pretensions could have
no secure foundations. Arabia, he perceives, is the main point of the
Caliphal problem; and whether or not the future holder of the office
reside in Hejaz, it is certain that by its tenure alone the Mohammedan
world will judge of his right to be their leader. It will, therefore,
before we go further, be interesting to examine the relations existing
in the past and present between Mecca and the Caliphate, and to
ascertain the position now held by Abd el Hamid in Arabia. On this point
I believe that I can offer information which will be both valuable and
new.
The political constitution of the Moslem Holy Land is one of the most
anomalous in the world.
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