DOCUMENTS EE LATINO TO EOYPT. 
181 
upon Saint Sophia and other temples dedicated to the worship of the 
true God, in order to convert them into churches devoted to the 
profane exercise of their perverted religion. 
[Signed), 
One who prays for you, the poor Seyyid Khalil Bekri, whom God 
[pardon ! 
One who prays for you, the poor Mustafa Sawi, whom God pardon ! 
&c. &c. &c.” 
On the 22nd Dec. a very remarkable Proclamation was issued on 
the same subject by Buonaparte himself. 
“Is there anyone so blind as not to see that Fate itself directs all 
my actions ? Is there anyone so incredulous as to doubt that, in this 
vast universe, everything is ruled by Fate ? The day will 
come when the world will see clearly that all my acts are ordered from 
above, and that the power of man cannot prevail against me. ;;i 
Buonaparte’s Syrian expedition lasted from 11th Feb. to the begin¬ 
ning of June, 1799. On his return to Egypt, the Diwan of Cairo 
published a manifesto from which the following in an extract;— 
“The French General has assured us that he likes Musselmans, 
loves the Prophet . . . and is well acquainted with the Qur’an, 
which he studies daily with attention. . . We know that it is his 
intention to build a Mosque unrivalled in grandeur, and to embrace 
the religion of Islam.” 1 2 3 
This passage may read like a page of the f Arabian Nights/ but the 
statement of the Diwan in regard to the Mosque was based upon an 
actual promise given by Buonaparte. On the llth Nov., 1800 (24th 
Jumada II., 1215, A.H.) they addressed a letter to him in which, after 
complimenting him on the success of the Marengo campaign, they 
implored him to fulfil that promise. 3 
Y, 
A letter from the Shereef of Mecca, preserved by Sacy, shows that 
Buonaparte had written complaining that pilgrims on their way to the 
Holy Shrine did not receive proper protection from Mecca against the 
Bedouins. The object of this letter, of course, was to display his zeal 
for Islam before the Shereef, and to gain his good graces thereby. But 
the good will of the Shereef was far more likely to be won by another 
letter which appealed directly to his pocket. “The road from Suez 
to Cairo is safe for caravans,” wrote Buonaparte, “and we have 
materially reduced the dues and taxes on imports. Make known these 
facts to the Arab merchants and stimulate trade between the two 
countries” (Miot). The Shereef did so, and with a close eye to 
business. On the I9th March, M. Poussielgue, .the Administrator 
General of Finance, wrote to Buonaparte in Syria:—“"The Shereef 
requests us to forward the usual annual purse. The total amounts to 
1 Miot, p. 106. 
2 lb. 
3 “ Traduction litberale de la letbre ecribe . . . . joar les mem bres du Diwan de K.aire, Sfc., 
par A. I. Sitvestre de Sacy; Paris, 1801. 
