SENUSSI AND OTHER MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11659, 14 June 1912, Page 6

SENUSSI AND OTHER MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD.

When : aVi Wcasio.ua 1 war despatch Woin Tripoli mentions the Sheik of tll« Seti'ussi. it convoys jit Mo' nieaning U> Ulfcaverage rejitler, hut those Conversant with condition's in North Africa krtow tjiat it' relets t" n powerful secreteiety with a membership sometimes wtimatcd as high as 1.000.000'; fcli&t V jthe SJieik. is 'absolute.chief of this organisation and that it is ; bVit one out of a dozen swk'tios that- rtntaoee' sovfef-nl'

millions of t];e Moslem inhabitants of North Africa. The order of Sidi heri Alf el Sehussi is tho yoiuigcsrt : ;as 'Well lis the largest sind. ttttwt Ssejiloiis 'Of the brotherhoods. uud'ii. <Tc!Sc*¥*ipitt't>\i. of it trill, .servo •'or all, isinco differ ■ principally' Ift having diifYreV.l founders "and stimeVi'lUll different rituals. The foHoWefts of Sidi \usuf el Ransal'K ' for instance, repeat 21) times at each. l)f the five periods of prayer the following formula : "0 God, peace be nnto our lord and roaster Mohainnied,'' while the: adherents of Sidi Mhha mined b'eit vAbderrlianinn sU'ft bound to -mutter at least 3000 times a. day the. Mohammedan declaration of I'aitlr: "There is )ti> Oodbht- God; Molia;,mned is the prophet of Gecl." The Seiiussis one their name to ail Algeria!) lawyer who left tile country mi tile French 'coilqllest aud travelled iii tile Orient-, becoming a disciple !at Me'Cca of Ahmed ben Edris who, lying, designated- him as his'successor. The iV;:l'trine' of Chadhelism taught by Allmcd ben Edris and taken up by his successor consisted in a supposed return to the original purity of Islam and a- general renunciation of the luxuries..of life. "His followers were taught to obey no authority unless it showed itself worthy by propei- observance of the Koran and 1 to have no dealings with. Christian 'or Jew. It was in 1837 that Sidi Mohammed Seniissi founded the brotherhood which bears his name. - '' Appealing stronglvto fanaticism, the Soiiussi order rapidly became the most powerful in North Africa, with headquarters at Jerabub, near the Egyptian, frontier at Tripolitaiiia. and brnncli monasteries all over the country. Tripolitania was at that time, and for the most part is yet a, land wholly out of the course of eivilsation and the Senussis, were as isolated there as the Mormons during their first years ill Utah. • ... •_ The brothers live all over North Africa, following their usual pursuits and wearing no. distinguishing mark save the rosary common to all Moslem secret society men. lii practice th?y are bound unquestionably to obey rill orders sent out by their superiors, to carry all disputes to their religious superiors rather than to courts of law and to pay an annual tax of 2J- per cent, of their capital or. il without capital. to do a corresponding amount of work >on the domains of the brother-

,hocd. The wo!)lth thus poured into tjie various monasteries is l(arg£ly dispensed in alms, which helps further tQ. increase the prestige of the order. On the death of the his son .succeeded him. The order continued to grow, and the now liead.,,in order to he still more remote from civilisation, removed to the oasis of KuTra, deep in the hinterland of Tripoli. The only Furopean who lias ever set foot-ill this stronghold iviij- Gerha'rdt Roblfe, a. German surgeon long attached to the French Foreign Legion. Later he pretended to he !!■ convert to Mohammedanism and during the. seventies made a- series ol' trips through the Sahara, none of which equalled in thrills the one to Kufra. He was exposed almost as soon as lie arrived, and' turned hade with a.' severe bullet wound. The headquarters ' were then moved tew. a. still more distant oasis, hub have Since returned to Kufra. In taking over the brotherhood along with Tripoli Italy, has received, a. passession that makes a white elephant by comparison "swin' like a. useful and. desirable acquisition. Hatred of all unbelievers is one of its princi pal doctrines. It is capable of making a lot of trouble within its territory. The present head of the order, however, seems to be either very wary or else lacking in decision and energy, a. disposition that is traced back two decades to a

crushing defeat which the French inflicted on some of his followers during their occupation of the Sahara. Tiro sheik, it is reported, had started a holy \var to prevent that conquest, but the-

French had been' lighting the Arabs for years and knew exactly how to proceed' -=-a knowledge that the Italians seem not ;to have acquired. The faithful who tried to stop the tide of French aggression were practically annihilated. The sheik has since been cautious ill such matters.

When Italy decreed the annexation nf Tripoli, Tor example, he refused for a Ton;; time to decree another holy war. Most of the Arabs fighting around Trip;:'li from the very beginning were doubtless Seuussis. and, of course they would not have been there if their chief had disapproved; nevertheless, lie refused to come out in open opposition to Italy, despite the pleas of his coreligionists, the Turks, with whom indeed he. has never been on tlie best of terms. Finally the Government at Constantinople sent a delegation to Kufra, with a jewelled sword and other strong argu•nients, including several decorations. The sheik of the Senu.ssi was convinced' that 'the Turks intended to fight to the last ditch and that the Italians had no chance of complete success, so lie was not unwilling to take an energetic part in the campaign. It is understood that lie has left Kufra and established field headquarters nearer the coast. ? : He is a> more formidable enemy in some ways than the Turks. Even if the Italians should get possession of tlio country' it will be a loiig time beforethey establish' a tax-collector at Kufra. .Second in importance among the brotherhoods and perhaps even more influential in the Algerian Sahara is the Tejania. which spilt in two some years ago .because of a quafrel over the succession and thereby lost a good deal of " its power! The principal branch now 'lias its- headquarters at- Tiiggurt, the great centre of caravan roads south of Biskra, and is on terms of.intimacy with the French Government, to which it has been very useful in keeping order among the tribesmen. Sidi Hamid l , the present,head, seems to think that the French have come to stay, and that he can best serve his own ends by cooperation with tliein. 1 This order owns 20,000 palm trees, which bring in a large revenue, mostly used for charity. The headquarters, near Tugart, form a little town, including one of most beautiful mosques in the Sahara, erected over the bones of a former leader, who died three-quarters of a century ago. The best known monastery in Algeria, but now possessed of little influence, is that at Sidi Okba, near' Biskra, where is buried the 'warrior who made the original Mohammedan conquest of Xorth Afrea. in the seventh century. His renown -attracts many pilgrims and tlie mosque is considered! to possess particular sanctity, but 'the brotherhood is anannie.

Of all the Mohammedan societies, perhaps a quarter are friendly to tlio French. who of course nilo .most of North Africa. The rest nre openly or secretly hostile, ami dream of tlio <lay when they will be able- to throw off tho inlidel yoke. Ths "Williamsons, ill their novel' ''The CJolden Silence," have de--1 lifted a fanciful state, of . affairs. _in which the brotherhoods nre preparinp; for war. it is impossible to say that Mich a situation does not actually exist, but the French believe that most of tile plotting expends itself in imitleriujs.