In May 1910, Hedley Cole Vickers Churchward — now known throughout Muslim circles as Mahmoud Mobarek — embarked on one of the most remarkable journeys of his time: a pilgrimage from Johannesburg to the Holy City of Mecca. This was not only a personal act of devotion but a historical first. As Eric Rosenthal later recorded in From Drury Lane to Mecca (1931, pp. 51–52), “he was the first Englishman by birth and conviction to make the pilgrimage in the open, without disguise, recognised by all as a Muslim.”
At the dawn of the twentieth century, few Europeans had seen Mecca, and even fewer had done so lawfully. Those who attempted to penetrate the holy precincts often resorted to deception. Churchward, however, went openly, bearing the name and the faith he had lived for nearly a decade. His preparations, detailed in letters and later recollections, reveal both spiritual resolve and logistical complexity.
Departure from South Africa
Churchward left Johannesburg in the spring of 1910, boarding a train to Durban before sailing eastward toward Bombay aboard the SS Clan MacKenzie. From there, he transferred to the SS Islamic, a weathered pilgrim steamer bound for the Red Sea. (Rosenthal, pp. 54–55) The ship, captained by a Scotsman and armed against pirates, carried a thousand passengers — Indians, Malays, and Arabs — packed on deck beneath the blazing tropical sun. He described the voyage as “a floating village of prayer and endurance.”
Halley’s Comet, visible that spring, hung in the sky above the Indian Ocean. Churchward wrote: “The heavens themselves seemed to herald our approach to God’s house.” (Murad, 2010) His tone, simultaneously artistic and devotional, conveys both awe and exhaustion. Days were measured by the rhythm of prayer, punctuated by the thrum of engines and the salt of the sea.
Arrival in the Red Sea
After a fortnight, the Islamic reached the Sudanese port of Suakin, a coral-built Ottoman station. There, Churchward disembarked briefly to visit the British Consul, who — unaware of his Muslim identity — advised him against attempting to enter Mecca, warning that “the Arabs will not admit an Englishman beyond Jeddah.” (Rosenthal, p. 57)
Mahmoud listened politely but persisted. His official document, signed by the Qadi of Egypt and the Shaykh al-Islam Mehmet Jemaluddin Efendi, authorised him to undertake the pilgrimage. With this “religious passport” in hand, he re-boarded the vessel and continued northward through the Red Sea, reciting verses from the Qur’an with his fellow passengers.
Landing at Jeddah
The Islamic anchored off Jeddah after nearly four weeks at sea. The harbour shimmered in the heat; coral houses lined the shore, their carved wooden balconies — mashrabiya — filtering the desert light. Here, he encountered Ottoman customs officials and presented his authorisations. They were astonished but respectful. As Rosenthal writes (p. 59): “He was treated with formal courtesy, and the gate of Mecca was opened to him without obstruction.”
In Jeddah he contacted the wakil (agent) of Sharifa Zain Wali, a wealthy Meccan woman who managed a network of mutawwif — licensed guides who arranged lodging and rites for foreign pilgrims. Following custom, he remitted his funds to her representative, who provided him with transport and companions for the inland journey. That evening, beneath a sky alive with stars and the pale tail of the comet, the party set out across the desert.
The Road to Mecca
Churchward’s account of the road between Jeddah and Mecca remains one of the earliest European descriptions written by a lawful pilgrim. “Against the stars,” he wrote, “I saw rock faces; we seemed to be trotting through a kind of canyon. Saving the fall of our donkeys’ feet there was nothing to be heard, not even a jackal.” (Rosenthal, p. 61)
Suddenly, gunfire echoed through the hills. “Bang! Explosions rang from some place high in the dark hills … The growing brightness showed a very picturesque old building, a kind of tower several hundred feet above the road. From the steep path some fez-adorned figures ran down. They wore uniforms and held guns in their hands.” (ibid.) The Ottoman guards explained that they had repelled a band of desert raiders — a common hazard of the pilgrimage routes in that era.
At dawn, the caravan paused for prayer. His guide pointed toward the east and murmured, “Hena al-Haram” — “Here is the Holy Ground.” As they crossed the boundary pillars marking the sacred territory of Mecca, Churchward noted how even the birds appeared tame, “fluttering a few inches from our faces as though conscious of sanctuary.” (p. 63)
Entering the Holy City
After nearly two days’ travel, the caravan reached the outskirts of Mecca. Churchward and his companions lodged in a multi-storey mansion owned by the Sharifa Wali, where they were received with courtesy. “Mubarak! Welcome to my house,” she called from behind a wooden lattice screen. “I replied that I was proud to dwell beneath her roof,” he recalled. “She answered that she was proud of me. ‘The Kafirs make good cheese,’ she added — they must have many cows.” (Rosenthal, p. 65)
This humorous exchange, often quoted by later writers, reveals the warmth and ease with which Mahmoud was received. His presence as an English Muslim fascinated locals, but his humility and fluent Arabic earned respect. That night, he slept beneath the open sky on the roof of the house, lulled by the distant hum of pilgrims reciting prayers.
The Tawaf — Circling the Kaaba
At dawn, his mutawwif led him through narrow alleys toward the Great Mosque. The first sight of the Kaaba — the cube-shaped House of God — overwhelmed him. “I saw it, black and still, yet alive with motion around it. It was not a building but a presence.” (Rosenthal, p. 68)
Performing the tawaf — circling the Kaaba seven times — he joined a tide of humanity: Persians, Indians, Arabs, Africans, and Malays. To him, the sight embodied Islam’s universality, the living proof of the creed he had chosen. “Here there was no Englishman or Egyptian, no rich or poor, only the rhythm of praise.”
He then completed the sa’i — the ritual walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa — and offered prayers at the Station of Abraham. His meticulous artist’s mind recorded every texture: the cool marble beneath his feet, the scent of musk in the air, the shimmer of lamps upon the black silk of the Kiswah. This synaesthetic detail would later make Rosenthal’s retelling one of the most vivid Hajj narratives in English literature.
Five Months in the Hijaz
Churchward remained in the Hijaz for nearly five months, observing the full cycle of the pilgrimage, including the *Arafat* gathering and the symbolic stoning of the pillars at Mina. He also spent weeks sketching architectural details of Mecca’s sacred precincts, later redrawn from memory in Johannesburg. During his stay, he met scholars who discussed theology, mathematics, and astronomy — subjects that fascinated him as intersections of divine order and human reason.
His letters to Cairo describe the pilgrimage as “the union of geometry and grace.” He emphasised that every ritual act, from ablution to circumambulation, reflected cosmic balance. This perception mirrored his lifelong artistic sensibility: pattern as proof of purpose.
Return and Legacy
When Mahmoud Mobarek returned to South Africa in late 1910, he was greeted as a hero by the local Muslim community. Newspapers hailed him as “The First British Guest of Allah” (*IslamicFocus*, 2019). He brought with him drawings, relics, and a renewed sense of vocation. Yet he also carried frailty; years of travel and illness had weakened him. His later correspondence suggests a man fulfilled but spent: “I have seen what no Englishman before me saw with lawful eyes. It is enough.” (Rosenthal, p. 72)
The Hajj of 1910 stands as a milestone — not only in Churchward’s life but in the history of British Islam. It symbolised the convergence of worlds once thought irreconcilable: the imperial and the spiritual, the artist and the believer, the Englishman and the Muslim.
Sources Cited
- Rosenthal, Eric. From Drury Lane to Mecca. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1931.
- Murad, Abdul Hakim. “From Drury Lane to Makkah.” Cambridge Islamic Centre Lecture Series, 2010.
- *IslamicFocus*, “The First British Guest of Allah,” 2019.
- *Rand Daily Mail*, Johannesburg, May 1910.