hs rather than betray him, El Sennussi, The
Master, sits serenely apart, sending his orders throughout North Africa.

The influence exerted by the Sennussiya is profound. The local Zawias
are more than mere "lodges." Besides the Mokaddem, or Master, there is
also a "Wekil," or civil governor, and these officers have discretionary
authority not merely over the Zawia members but also over the community
at large--at least, so great is the awe inspired by the Sennussiya
throughout North Africa, that a word from Wekil or Mokaddem is always
listened to and obeyed. Thus, besides the various European colonial
authorities, British, French, or Italian, as the case may be, there
exists an occult government with which the colonial authorities are
careful not to come into conflict.

On their part, the Sennussi are equally careful to avoid a downright
breach with the European Powers. Their long-headed, cautious policy is
truly astonishing. For more than half a century the order has been a
great force, yet it has never risked the supreme adventure. In many of
the fanatic risings which have occurred in various parts of Africa,
local Sennussi have undoubtedly taken part, and the same was true during
the Italian campaign in Tripoli and in the late war, but the order
itself has never officially entered the lists.

In fact, this attitude of mingled cautious reserve and haughty aloofness
is maintained not only towards Christians but also towards the other
powers that be in Islam. The Sennussiya has always kept its absolute
freedom of action. Its relations with the Turks have never been cordial.
Even the wily Abdul Hamid, at the height of his prestige as the champion
of Pan-Islamism, could never get from El Sennussi more than coldly
platonic expressions of approval, and one of Sennussi-el-Mahdi's
favourite remarks was said to have been: "Turks and Christians: I will
break both of them with one and the same stroke." Equally characteristic
was his attitude toward Mahommed Ahmed, the leader of the "Mahdist"
uprising in the Egyptian Sudan. Flushed with victory, Mahommed Ahmed
sent emissaries to El Sennussi, asking his aid. El Sennussi refused,
remarking haughtily: "What have I to do with this fakir from Dongola? Am
I not myself Mahdi if I choose?"

These Fabian tactics do not mean that the Sennussi are idle. Far from
it. On the contrary, they are ceaselessly at work with the spiritual
arms of teaching, discipline, and conversion. The Sennussi