The Mohammedans have commandments as the Christians do. We have ten; they have four or more. One of their commandments is to pray five times a day; another is to give a present to every beggar who asks—it doesn’t matter how little—it may be less than a penny; a third is to fast for a month each year—that’s something like Lent; and a fourth is to make a trip to Mecca some time during their lives. Such a trip is called a pilgrimage, and every Mohammedan, no matter where or how far off he lives, hopes to make a pilgrimage to Mecca some time before he dies. A great Mohammedan king named Aaron the Just once made the trip from Bagdad to Mecca—hundreds of miles—all the way on foot, but as he was a king, the whole way was covered with carpet for him to walk on!
Have you ever seen a “shooting-star” in the sky? Most shooting-stars usually burn up before they reach theground, but some do not. At Mecca there is a mosque and inside this mosque is a black stone called The Kaaba. The Mohammedans say this stone was sent down from heaven, and that may be true, for it is probably a shooting-star that fell to the ground before it burned up. The Mohammedans think, if they kiss this stone, all their sins are forgiven and they will go to Heaven and have a high place there when they die. They say this stone was once white, but it has been turned black by all the sins that have gone into it from the countless kisses of Mohammedans. A railroad one thousand miles long has been built from Damascus to Medina, and there is now a bus line from Medina to Mecca, but this railroad and bus are only for pilgrims, for none but Mohammedans are allowed in either city—Mecca or Medina.

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