Boutet, Robert / Ben Mahmoud, Noureddine. Pèlerinage de guerre de l'Afrique du nord aux lieux saints de l'Islam.

€ 1,500.00

Only edition of this rare account of the "North African War Pilgrimage", the Hajj of the year 1940 - the last before the Second World War brought an effective hiatus on the Meccan pilgrimage for two years. Together with the French journalist and ethnographer Robert Boutet, the Moroccan and Tunisian radio journalist and theatre critic Noureddine ben Mahmoud (1914-1990) published the account of his pilgrimage to Mecca, performed between 19 February and 2 March 1940. The book describes the special travel conditions imposed by the war and the struggle for influence by the European powers, who feared that the pilgrimage would serve as a platform for North African separatists under the leadership of King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.

Ben Mahmoud also published on the Saudi press, in particular about the periodical "Um El Qurra", whose editorial staff he visited while in Arabia. Later based in Paris, he became one of the heads of the Mosquée de Paris and the Institut de Paris in 1961.

Covers a little foxed, otherwise fine. Uncut and untrimmed as issued.