What seems so simple and right in this religion is the absence of any sort of intermediary in the shape of priest or minister. The good Mohammedan can observe the whole of his religion from the age of fifteen until he dies without ever setting foot inside a mosque or speaking to an _imam_. The mosques are all very simple indeed, with very little decoration, as pictures and statues are forbidden. The pilgrim who has been to Mecca and Medina is much respected, and has the prefix _hadj_ (pilgrim) attached to his name. Yearly ships from Algiers transport bands of Arabs who have saved up to do this journey. There have been cases of men who have walked all the way across Tripoli and Egypt to perform the rites at the Kaaba and to see the tomb of the Prophet. It would take too long in this book to go into the various divisions or sects which have created themselves in the Mohammedan religion, as in all other faiths. It will suffice to mention some of the main groups: The Sunnites are orthodox; The Shiahs, followers of Ali; The Ibadites, followers of Abd Allah ben Ibad; The Sofrites, followers of Abd Allah ben Sofar; The Kharedjites are dissenters. It was this last form of religion which the Berbers accepted and which is practised to this day in all their centers in Algeria. These groups are divided and subdivided into some seventy sects which it would require years of study to examine, and, unless one is a specialist in this matter, are of little interest to the average traveler. What is interesting, however, is to read a well translated edition of the Koran, with a short life of Mohammed. This will give more insight into the religious side of Arab life than endless treatises on the matter. And it would be a good thing if more of our soldiers who come into contact with the Moslems all over the British Empire were more acquainted with these details. [Illustration: Women in the Cemetery, Algiers] [Illustration: A Beggar Woman] [Illustration: An Arab Tam-Tam Player] At first the French did not grasp the significance of Islam in their North African territories; now that they have, they use it to advantage, and they give absolute liberty on these questions to their subjects. Even the orders of the White Fathers and the White Sisters do nothing to try to convert the Arab. They realize the little good it would do and the general hostility it would create. They therefore set a good example, teach the boys and girls how to work and lead a clean life, and, if one or two lean toward Christianity, they help them; but it is rare, very rare to find converts. The Arab dislikes domination, but he realizes the advantages brought by a civilized race who give him roads, laws, railways, commerce; yet he will not tolerate his private life or religion being encroached upon, and if this liberty is granted him he will accept all the rest.