MOSLEM FESTIVAL IN ENGLAND.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17277, 15 October 1921, Page 11

MOSLEM FESTIVAL IN ENGLAND.

A MOSQUE IN SUBSET. On a well-kept lawn adjoining the only Mohammedan Mosque in tho British Isles, which stands on the outskirts of ,;men of many raoee, in curious gatb, took part in. a ceremony that seemed strange to Western eyes. ' , They were Moslem pilgrims from'all parts of Great Britain wlho had com* to oelebrate the festival of "Eid-i-Bai-which commemorates the ransom of lshraafl with a. ram, and the substitution of animals for iiuman beinp as '' ' "A 1 Salat! A 1 Salat l-*-Como to prayer! Come 10 prayer 1" called the Muezzin in a soft, arresting voioe. Tall, bearded, and tiybaned, he 6tx»od on a carpet laid on the grass in the sbadew of a cluster of pine trees, coding tiho faithfu* to *<h<*ir devotiona. Tho worshippers roee, took off their shoes, and 6tood in long row 3 on the carpet, standing 6tiffly .to attention, and facing east, towards Mecca. Be-1 hind them was a row of English women, wives and friends of the pilgrinw, wh;> 'had embraced the Moslem, faith. j Then the Iman, Mustafa Khan, tall, swarthy Indian, wearing a frock coat and a black l&rkish cap, advanced to the front of trie a&seiablcd throng, and at hie word the worshippers knelt in prayer. Ears anl eyes were touohed in token that t)he pilgrim had shut his or her senses off from. all. communion but thatj with God,* and' at ancrther ' signal- ev6ry | fez and turban, and tho hats of tho | English women at tho back, ► touched ; the groui'd in fervent prostratiens toward Mecca. After tlhis-the Iman de- j livered an address, in whicn .'ho proclaimed the 6upremariy of AUah; ana explained the principles of Islam and the, significance Of the" festival. j In less than half an. hour , the cere-j mony was ovcr ; and -the rejoicings began. The pilgrims embraced each other., and everybody repaired to ■ a meal of curry and rice. . Practically every race under tiho 'sun was represented. There vero Turks in a quaint'mixture of native and Enslisa drefs, -Egyptians in picturesque, garb, Arabs, and dark-skinned Afghanssmall men, these'.' with piercing eyes and ( handsomo beards. A' merchant urince from India, in long flowing roSes, strolled'about;the f rounds chatting with members of tlw yrian delegations. There were a few full-blooded negroes, and American* and Frenchmen, and natives from the Malay States and Baluchistan, and many other parts of the globe. There were one or two native women there as well, and English women dressed in the costumes of the East, and others who wore • frocks. of European cut, but coloured as richlv as an Oriental robe-