The Chaliphate - Muir - The Search For Mecca

A.D. 656-7] "THE ^,RE^' Mri.E OF SYRIA" 237
as between 'All and Mu'awiya, was now virtually for the A. II. 36.
crown; and many looked to "the grey mule of Syria" as lAiiTnd
having the better chance. A possible solution la\', no MuTiwiya in
doubt, in the erection of Syria into an independent kingdom antaeon
side by side with that of Al-'Irak and Persia. But the
disintegration of the Caliphate was an idea which had as
yet hardly entered into the minds of the Faithful. The
unity of Islam, established by the precedent of the quarter
of a century, was still, and long continued to be, the ruling
sentiment of the nation.
ism.