Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Revolt in Arabia (1917).djvu/27

 10 circumstance; the more that confusion reigned in the surrounding Mohammedan realms and the greater the energy manifested by the ruling head of the family, the greater the portion of the Hijaz that came under his authority. The reverse was equally true. The defects of the most respected race of Islam were, to a great extent, the peculiar characteristics of the Mecca branch. They were incapable of carrying out any great undertaking.

The pilgrims, except when escorted by an imposing military force, were pitilessly stripped of their every possession by the Shereef and his satellites. Like the Bedouins through whose territory the hajjis or pilgrims had to pass, who counted all money and property as God-given booty, the Shereefs considered themselves justified in making Allah's guests at Mecca submit to every