RELIGIOUS,   ARTISTIC
AND   LITERARY   SKETCH
 

Religions. — The religion of the Arabs, Berbers and Arabianised negroes

The prophet Mohammed founded this religion, towards A. D. 622; it is
based on a revealed book, the Koran, and the Prophet's words, the whole
forming the Sunna, also termed Hadifs.

The Koran proclaims monotheism, pure and undefiled. The definition :
" There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Prophet "; the five daily
prayers: morning, midday, twilight, sunset, evening; payment of the " zekkat"
ot" tax for the purification of property, diurnal fasting during tlie month of the
Ramadan; the pilgrimage to Mecca, when possible : these are the five essential
obligations of this religion, to which may be added abstention from the use of
pork and fermented drink.

The Siinna deals with a quantity of secondary questions; it is a guide in
all circumstances of life.

The Moroccan Moslems belong to the Malekite form of worship, one of the
four orthodox rites of Isltani.

There is properly speaking no Moslem clergy. All believers are equal. Each
is his own priest and abl(j to. communicate directly with God. However the
Prophets—-Mohammed being the last — are the Elect, the Chosen of God.
If there are actually no min,isi(;ers, tli^re are Monitors, who are listened to and
obeyed. The Kaid, who passes sentences in, the pretorium, is an influential
personage, as much in religious questions as in legal matters. When he is an
eminent man, he may assume the role of Mufti, i e , settle a legal point, or a
religious one. The Alem teachsCs dogma, cind the law in the Mosque, where the
Khalib -preaches on Fridays. The-?i^<?7tt leads the prayers, the MuekJnt fixes the
precise hour of the Evening Service, the Muezzin calls the Faihfulto prayer,
the Hezzab calls them to, the recitation of the Koran. As a matter of fact, the
last two are considered only aa vServants of the Mosque.

Besides these more or, less important personages, there are others whose
influence is sometimes very great with the adepts who frequent their Zauias.
or monasteries : the MarabouM or Sheikhs:, heads of brotherhoods. These com¬
plicate Islam, by the mystic do.ctrin^es they propagate and which constitute
SuFiSM. To the religious obligations mentioned above, they have added
the strict observance of certain rules; as well as ipeditation and ecstasy
which, according to them, can raise man as high as divinity and even ident¬
ity him with God. The accession of a soul to such a state is made possible
by different means, tarikas, which have given birth to as many sects. In
this respect, Morocco seems to have been very productive.

The best known sects are the Haussa, disciples of Sidi Mohammed Ben
Aissa, buried at Mequinez, at the beginning of the xvi c.; those affiliatedprac-
tise dishevelled dances, eat raw meat, Barbary opuntias, scorpions, bits of
glass, etc.; the Hamadsha, followers of Sidi Ali Ben Hamdush (end of the
XVII c); the Deghughai called after Sidi Ahmed Ed DeghGghi, a pupil of
the latter (tombs in the Zerhiin), whose disciples injure their scalps with hat-