ABSTRACT
Prayer, as an outward act of religion, is not practised by the pure Bedouins ; and, even in those tribes which have become tainted with the Mahometanism of the towns, it is reserved chiefly for the eyes and ears of strangers. The Shammar, alone of all the noble tribes we visited, possessed a mollah; and his duties with them were in no way of a priestly character. The reason of his presence at all must be looked for in the semi-Turkish character of their late Sheykh, Sfuk,—whose son, Faris, though a man of the noblest birth, and the highest character^ still recites his prayers daily. With this almost single exception, the practice of religion may be taken as the sure index of low morality in a tribe. The degraded fellahin of Irak are fanatically Shia and conform to most of the Mahometan rules. Among the Anazeh I do not remember having noticed an instance of prayer.
