The capture of Khartoum and the ransom of priests and Christians.

When Khartoum fell, Lord Wolseley arrested Abd al-Qadir, Haj Sharafi Muhammad, Sharif Sani, Abd al-Qadir Abd al-Karim, Ibrahim al-Najib, Haj Sharafi bin al-Qadi Mod, and some relatives of the Mahdi and the Ansar. He threatened them with death if they did not write to their relative, the Mahdi, asking him to ransom them with the Christian prisoners he held, especially the priests. So they wrote a letter to the Mahdi, saying: "We are threatened with death, but you can save us by ransoming us with the priests and Christians you hold, out of kinship." He replied with a letter in which he said: "The Christians who are with me have embraced Islam and are honored to be with me and to serve me. Those whom Lord Wolseley arrested have joined him, so much so that they are closer to him than to me. They are united in their disbelief." He concluded his letter to his relatives by saying: "You will inevitably fall into our hands and suffer greatly for turning away from the path of God." The letter also severely reprimanded them for their audacity in addressing him with such a request.

When his letter reached Lord Wolseley, he released them from prison, showered them with gifts, and returned them to their homes.

This reminds me, as I am in Omdurman on this day, of what the late Gordon Pasha told me. He said: "I am not trying to get you out of captivity. This incident has deeply saddened me and all the other European prisoners who know that their government will not try to free them unless they are Christians." However, some of my suffering was alleviated by the words of Father Angelo Pasquali.