9-th, 2004 - 09: 2   (Posted By: Webmaster)
Mohammed Ahmed - The Mahdi

Mohammed Ahmed--the Mahdi
CONQUEROR OF THE GREAT ENGLISH GENERAL GORDON (1848-1885)

THE MOSLEM who received the greatest veneration in our times is, without doubt, Mohammed Ahmed, "The Mahdi," or Messiah of the Sudan. His followers held him in such esteem that they fought for the water in which he bathed and scraped up the earth over which he walked, keeping it as sacred. And well they might. It was he who freed them from sixty years slavery and cruel taxation by the British and the Egyptians. He defeated every combined British and Egyptian army sent against him, which seemed nothing short of a miracle to his people.

Like Mohammed of old, the Mahdi had very humble beginnings. Born at Khanag, Dongola, Sudan, in 1848, the son of a poor carpenter, he started in life as a house boy in the home of a French merchant at Khartoum. Unusually bright, he could recite whole chapters of the Koran by heart when he was only twelve. He let escape no moment that could be used in study, and as he cleaned his master's house or shined his boots, he had his books by him. Unable at last, however, to tolerate any kind of occupation that did not contribute directly to his goal, he left his French master and arranged with his two brothers, who were as wretchedly poor as himself, to support him while he devoted himself to his studies. At school he was the most brilliant pupil. But his zeal and sincerity got him into trouble. He felt that while numbers of his people lived so wretchedly, others of them should not live luxuriously and wastefully. When his teacher, Mohammed Sherif, gave a feast in celebration of the circumcision of his son at which he was one of the guests, the Mahdi not only refused to touch a morsel of the food but upbraided Mohammed Sherif before all his guests. It was a shame, he said, that those present should be gorging themselves while others of the faith were starving. The guests, which included most of the leading citizens of the town, were horrified at the audacity of the penniless young man, and Mohammed Sherif, beside himself with rage, kicked him into the street. This incident made the Mahdi a marked man and it was only after much pleading that he was admitted into another school. But it had another effect. It made him a hero among the poor of the town. That he had dared to rebuke the rich in their own homes electrified them. Even before that incident, however, they had been impressed with him, especially the women. He was so polite and would help them with their heavy water buckets. Soon it was being said that he was the long expected Messiah who would appear in the year 1300 of Islam, or A.D. 1881. That time was drawing near. Belief in his divine origin increased when it was known that his name was also Mohammed, and that like the Prophet's, his parents' names were Abdulah and Eminah.

The authorities, alarmed at the growing popularity of the Mahdi and the increased discontent among the Sudanese, tried to arrest him, but he escaped and with a few followers went up the Nile to an island 240 miles away where he established himself. To this island now came pilgrims from all parts of the Sudan, who after listening to his fervent prayers would leave more convinced than ever that he was the promised Messiah who would free them from the "Turks," as they called all their oppressors, regardless of race or religion. And so it went until the year 1300 of Islam arrived. On that New Year's Day the Madhi sent his messengers over the land to boldly announce that he was the Promised One. Purify your religion, he bade the people, and await the moment of revelation. The authorities decided that it was time to act. But it would not do to arrest the Mahdi. Accordingly, Raouf Pasha, the governor-general, sent messengers to him, inviting him in most polite language to come to Khartoum to be examined in the Koran to see whether he was really the Expected One. If he so proved to be, all obedience would be given him. The Madhi, seeing the trap, sent back to say, "By the grace of God and his Holy Prophet, I am master in the Sudan. Never shall I come to Khartoum

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