Politically the Caliph at Mecca would of course be less important than
now on the Bosphorus; but religiously he would have a far more assured
footing. Every year the pilgrimage from every part of the world would
visit him, and instead of representing a mere provincial school of
thought, he would then be a true metropolitan for all schools and all
nations.
The Arabian element in Islam would certainly support such a nomination,
and it must be remembered that Arabia extends from Marocco to Bushire;
and so would the Indian and the Malay--indeed every element but the
Turkish, which is day by day becoming of less importance. I have even
heard it affirmed that a Caliphate of the Koreysh at Mecca would go far
towards reconciling the Schismatics, Abadhites, and Shiahs with
orthodoxy; and I have reason to believe that it would so affect the
liberal three-quarters of Wahhabism. To the Shiahs, especially, a
descendant of Ali could not but be acceptable; and to the Arabs of Oman
and Yemen a Caliph of the Koreysh would be at least less repugnant than
a Caliph of the Beni Othman. There certainly have of late years been
symptoms of less bitterness between these schismatics and their old
enemies, the Sunites; and such a change in the conditions of the
Caliphate might conceivably bring about a full reconciliation of all
parties.
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