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/ni/^(ir>^       THE 

(JIOSLEMj  WORLD 

A  quarterly  review  of  current  events,  literature,  and 

thought  among  Mohammedans  and  the  progress 

of  Christian  Missions  in  Moslem  lands 


VOLUME  VIII 


Editor 


The  Rev.  SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER,  D.D.,  F.R.G.S. 

Cairo,  Egypt 

Assistant  Editor 

MISS  E.  I.  M.  BOYD,  M.A. 
London,  England 

Associate  Editors 

CANON  W.  H.  T.  GAIRDNER,  B.A.  REV.  E.  M.  WHERRY,  D.  D. 
MR.  MARSHALL  BROOMHALL       REV.H.U.WEITBRECHT  STANTON 
PROF.  D.  B.  MACDONALD,  D.D.      REV.  F.  WURZ 
REV.  W.  ST.  CLAIR  TISDALL,  D.D.  DR.  J.  W.  GUNNING 

American  CommitteIs 

Dr.  Charles  R.  Watson,  Chairman  Miss  J.  H.  Righter,  Secretary 

Delavan  L.  Pierson,  Vice-Chairman  Rev.  James  L.  Barton,  D.D. 

Alfred  V.  S.  Olcott,  Treasurer  Mrs.  Wm.  Borden 

Mrs.  Wm.  Bancroft  Hill 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 

MISSIONARY  REVIEW  PUBLISHING  CO.,  INC, 

156  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  and 
THE  ARTHUR  H.  CRIST  CO.,  COOPERSTOWN,  NEW  YORK 

1918 


DS 

M7 
v.2> 


The  Moslem  World 


Vol.  VIII  JANUARY,  1918  No.  1 


EDITORIAL 


Islam  in  China 

Last  summer  it  was  our  privilege  to  touch  nine  of  the 
eighteen  provinces  of  China  in  a  visit  to  Moslem  centres, 
and  to  hold  conferences  at  four  of  the  summer-resorts 
where  more  than  two  thousand  missionaries  were  present, 
representing  every  province.  Thus,  through  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  China  Continuation  Committee,  we  were  able 
to  secure  new  information  on  the  problem  of  Islam  in 
China. 

The  early  writings  of  Thiersant,  and  the  latest  work  by 
D'Ollone  (reviewed  in  this  number),  Marshall  Broom- 
hall's  book,  and  James  Hutson's  articles  in  The  National 
Review  of  Shanghai  will  give  any  student  a  good  introduc- 
tion to  the  subject.  But  all  of  these  authors  raise  ques- 
tions that  are  left  unanswered  on  the  missionary  side  of 
the  problem. 

There  is  still  the  widest  disagreement,  for  example, 
regarding  the  numbers  and  the  distribution  of  the  Moslem 
population.  While  Broomhall  puts  it  at  no  less  than  five 
and  no  more  than  ten  million,  D'Ollone  estimates  the 
total  at  only  four  million  or  less  and  a  Japanese  scholar, 
Professor  P.  Y.  Saeki,  gives  reasons  for  putting  it  as  high 
as  twenty  millions.  The  greatest  number  of  Chinese 
Moslems  are  found  in  Kansu,  Shensi,  Chihli,  and  Yunnan; 
but  they  are  scattered  widely  and  important  groups  reside 
nearly  everywhere  at  the  great  centres  of  trafiic.  Moslem 
literature  is  published  at  Peking,  Canton,  Nanking, 
Shanghai,  Tientsin,  Hankow,  Yunnanfu,  and  especially 
at  Chengtu  the  capital  of  Szechwan!    The  extent  of  this 


2  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

literature  and  its  character  is  indicated  by  an  article  in 
this  number  of  our  Quarterly.  In  every  mosque  and 
school  visited  we  found  a  surprising  quantity  and  variety 
of  Arabic,  Persian,  Chinese,  and  bi-lingual  literature. 
Arabic  is  the  sacred  language.  It  is  found  inscribed  on 
every  lintel  in  the  Moslem  quarters  of  Honan;  on  every 
bakery  and  restaurant  is  the  sign  of  the  "kettle  of  purity" 
with  its  Koran  phrase  to  indicate  that  pork  contaminates; 
a  soap  manufacturer  at  Cheng  Chow  advertises  in  Arabic; 
in  Sinkiang,  Arabic-Chinese  coins  still  circulate,  and  an 
Arabic  book  or  calling  card  proved  the  best  letter  of  intro- 
duction everywhere  and  always. 

Christian  literature  for  Moslem  readers  in  Chinese  or 
better  in  Arabic-Chinese  is  very  meagre  but  steps  are  now 
being  taken  by  the  Christian  Literature  Society  to  supply 
this  deficiency.  Alas,  there  is  not  a  single  missionary  in 
all  China  acquainted  with  Arabic  who  devotes  himself  to 
this  work,  and  William  Borden's  high  ambition  and  great 
life-purpose  still  challenge  a  successor  to  volunteer  for  the 
task.  Of  all  Moslem  peoples  the  Chinese  Moslems  are 
most  accessible.  Confucian  ethics  has  torn  the  veil  from 
Moslem  womanhood  in  China  and  prevented  or  restrained 
the  spirit  of  intolerance  so  common  elsewhere.  The 
mosques  and  schools  are  open  to  visitors;  Christian  litera- 
ture and  discussion  are  welcomed.  Their  long  isolation 
from  the  West  and  its  Pan-Islamic  program  and  the  lone- 
liness of  these  monotheists  in  the  midst  of  vast  idolatrous 
masses  incline  them  to  be  friendly  to  the  messengers  of 
Jesus  the  Christ.  In  Shantung  Province  we  learned  that 
there  is  a  new  willingness  to  listen  to  the  Gospel.  During 
a  rebel-robber  scare  in  one  of  the  cities  the  Mohammedans 
hoping  for  immunity  from  attack  ran  up  a  large  flag  on 
their  mosque  with  the  inscription,  "This  is  the  true  Jesus 
Church."  They  said  they  were  not  ashamed  to  confess 
their  great  Prophet  Jesus!  In  Honan  and  Hupeh  there 
have  been  a  number  of  baptisms  and  with  the  exception 
of  Kansu  Province  they  are  everywhere  remarkably 
friendly. 

Surely  such  conditions  and  responsiveness,  such  plastic 
docility  where  we  might  have  expected  granite  opposi- 


EDITORIAL  8 

tion,  constitute  a  call  that  is  at  once  imperative  and 
insistent.  Dr.  Hartmann  of  Berlin  is  known  to  our  readers 
as  no  advocate  of  missions  nor  is  he  prejudiced  in  favor  of 
Christianity  yet  he  wrote  in  The  Encyclopedia  of  Islam  a 
year  before  the  war  as  follows: 

"Although  the  future  of  Islam  in  China  cannot  be  pre- 
cisely defined  at  present,  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  its 
victory  over  the  other  religions  of  the  country  and  ulti- 
mate supremacy  of  the  Muslims  over  the  other  peoples  of 
the  Empire  is  a  mere  dream,  to  follow  which  will  bring 
only  misfortune  and  destruction  upon  the  Muslims.  Even 
if  through  some  unforeseen  chain  of  circumstances  their 
hope  should  be  realised  even  for  a  brief  period,  this  would 
be  a  grave  disaster  to  the  whole  Chinese  Empire.  Islam 
is  not  a  religion  compatible  with  civilisation;  it  is  emphat- 
ically the  bitter  enemy  of  Prankish  culture  and  it  is  this 
which  China  is  about  to  adopt.  If  the  Muslims  should 
attach  themselves  to  some  extent  to  the  party  of  reform, 
two  results  are  possible,  they  will  either  adopt  entirely 
the  new  ideas  and  work  in  unity  with  the  Han  for  a  strong 
regenerated  China  on  an  ethnic  basis  in  which  case  they 
will  do  no  harm,  or  they  will  secretly  cherish  schemes  for 
the  supremacy  of  Islam,  in  which  case  they  will  be  crushed 
without  mercy  as  soon  as  they  are  discovered;  for  Mus- 
lims will  always  form  an  infinitely  small  proportion  of  the 
leaders  of  the  reform  movement.  Nevertheless  the  Chi- 
nese nation  will  be  well  advised  to  keep  a  watch  on  the 
Islamic  elements  in  their  midst  and  particularly  to  prevent 
their  increase  by  the  purchase  of  Chinese  children." 

In  order  that  the  Moslems  of  China  and  the  plans  for 
their  evangelization  may  be  remembered  through  inter- 
cession, we  publish  a  digest  of  the  resolutions  passed  by 
large  bodies  of  missionaries  at  the  summer  conferences  in 
our  notes  on  current  topics.  During  the  year  we  hope  to 
have  other  articles  on  Islam  in  China. 

S.    M.    ZWEMER. 


THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 


SINGAPORE  AS  A  CENTRE  FOR  MOSLEM  WORK 


Being  so  centrally  situated  the  little  island  of  Singapore 
is  the  entrepot  of  all  the  trade  between  Java,  Sumatra, 
Borneo,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Siam,  all  the  islands  of  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  and  Europe.  It  is  here  that  all  the 
large  firms  trading  in  Malaya  have  their  headquarters, 
where  they  receive  European  goods  for  distribution  to 
their  agencies  in  all  the  places  mentioned,  and  likewise 
receive  from  their  agencies  tropical  products  for  shipment 
to  Europe.  Thus,  naturally  from  Singapore  as  a  centre, 
we  find  a  great  fleet,  both  of  steamers  and  sailing  vessels, 
going  to  all  parts  of  the  archipelago,  by  which  the  col- 
porteurs of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  travel, 
and  hundreds  of  cases  of  Scriptures  are  sent  out  year  by 
year  to  the  various  places.  This  being  so,  it  naturally 
follows  that  when  we  look  round  for  a  centre  in  which  to 
place  the  headquarters  of  a  Malay  Mission,  from  which 
all  parts  of  Malaya  are  easily  accessible,  we  at  once  decide 
upon  Singapore. 

It  was  quite  otherwise  when  Islam  was  first  introduced 
into  Malaya  many  centuries  ago,  but  in  those  days  Singa- 
pore did  not  offer  the  advantages  it  does  to-day,  and  we 
must  also  remember  that:  "Those  who  sowed  in  the  Far 
East  the  first  seeds  of  Islam  were  no  zealots,  prepared  to 
sacrifice  life  and  property  for  the  holy  cause,  nor  were  they 
Missionaries  supported  by  funds  raised  in  their  native 
land.  On  the  contrary  these  men  came  hither  to  seek 
their  own  worldly  advantage,  and  the  work  of  conversion 
was  merely  a  secondary  task."  *  This  is  also  proved  by 
others  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  quotation  from 
Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  the  founder  of  Singapore,  who 
wrote  regarding  the  Arab  Sereibs  amongst  the  Sea  Dyaks : 
"They  hold  like  robbers  the  offices  they  obtain  as  syco- 

*  The  Achehnese  by  Dr.  S.  Hurgronje. 

5 


6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

phants,  and  cover  all  with  a  veil  of  religious  hypocrisy." 
And  that  the  Arabs  coming  among  these  people  did  noth 
ing  for  the  cause  of  peace  and  righteousness  is  proved  by 
Sir  Hugh  Low,  who  wrote  of  them  as  follows:  "The  Arab 
Sereibs  .  .  .  scattered  about  amongst  the  tribes  of 
Sarebas  and  Sakarran  (Dyaks),  are  in  a  great  measure 
the  cause  of  the  bad  conduct  of  these  tribes,"  i,e,  with 
reference  to  their  head-hunting  raids  and  piracy.* 

Singapore  is  also  the  centre  of  the  Moslem  world  in 
Malaya,  for  in  the  Straits  Settlements  and  Malay  Penin- 
sula there  are  1,346,000  Malays  according  to  the  census 
taken  in  1911,  added  to  which  we  have  many  Indian  and 
Javanese  Moslems  in  these  parts  working  as  coolies  on 
rubber  plantations,  while  there  are  many  millions  of 
Moslems  in  Java  and  Sumatra,  and  every  river  in  Borneo 
has  its  Malay  settlement.  In  the  April  1913  number  of 
the  Moslem  World  magazine,  I  quoted  the  American 
Missionary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Medan, 
Sumatra  as  having  written:  "Scattered  through  this  vast 
region  are  multitudes  who  have  never  heard  of  Christ, 
but  who  are  rapidly  learning  the  faith  of  the  false  prophet. 
If  things  go  on  at  this  pace  Mohammedanism  will  be  the 
religion  of  Sumatra.  It  is  now  a  race  between  the  Cross 
and  the  Crescent.  The  one  which  gets  to  the  ears  and 
hearts  of  the  people  first  will  be  the  ruling  faith.  What 
will  the  Christian  churches  at  home  do  about  the  matter.?" 

Four  years  later  I  sorrowfully  answer  him  that  the 
Christian  churches  at  home  have  done  nothing  at  all 
about  this  matter,  and  so  it  would  seem  as  if  there  was 
to  be  no  race  at  all  between  the  Cross  and  the  Crescent, 
as  the  Cross  is  a  non-starter,  and  the  churches  at  home 
are  quite  content  to  allow  the  Crescent  to  have  undis- 
puted sway  among  the  Malay  peoples  not  only  in  Suma- 
tra, but  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Malay  Peninsula, 
Straits  Settlements,  Borneo,  and  all  other  Malay  lands. 

The  Mission  to  the  Malays  for  which  I  then  pleaded  in 

*  Islam  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Malaya  from  Southern  India,  but  many 
orthodox  Moslems  (Arabs)  came  to  these  parts  from  Mecca  and  Hadramout  direct  and 
do  so  still,  and  almost  every  Arab  on  arrival  here  pretends  to  be  a  Seyid  or  descendant 
of  Muhammad,  and  on  this  account  as  well  as  from  his  knowledge  of  the  holy  language 
(Arabic),  wields  probably  a  good  deal  more  authority  here  than  he  ever  did  in  his 
native  land. 


1 


SINGAPORE  A  CENTRE  FOR  MOSLEM  WORK        7 

these  pages,  and  have  since  urged  the  starting  of  through 
the  Missionary  Review  of  the  World  and  other  missionary 
papers,  seems  as  far  off  as  ever.  Still,  thanks  to  the  Brit- 
ish and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  Christ  is  not  left  without 
a  witness  in  these  parts,  and  the  increase  in  sales  of  late 
years  in  the  two  principal  Mohammedan  languages  spoken 
in  these  parts  goes  to  prove  how  ready  the  Moslems  here 
are  to  receive  the  Scriptures.  When  I  came  to  Singapore 
from  Persia  in  1908  the  sales  of  Malay  were  7,000  copies, 
and  of  Javanese  4,000  copies  for  the  year.  During  1916 
20,000  Malay  and  45,000  Javanese  books  were  sold,  an 
increase  of  13,000  Malay  and  41,000  Javanese  portions  of 
Scripture.  Then  again,  to  prove  that  this  increase  in  sales 
is  no  flash  in  the  pan,  let  me  compare  our  sales  in  these 
languages  for  the  past  nine  years  1908-1916  with  the  sales 
of  the  previous  nine  years  1899-1907.  The  sales  of  Malay 
from  1899  to  1907  were  112,752  copies,  while  from  1908 
to  1916  they  were  188,294  copies,  an  increase  of  75,542 
copies.  The  sales  of  Javanese  from  1899  to  1907  were 
77,567  copies,  while  from  1908  to  1916  they  were  220,305 
copies,  an  increase  of  142,738  copies.  Besides  the  above 
we  have  sold  a  number  of  Madurese  and  Sudanese  books 
in  Java,  but  as  these  books  are  printed  by  the  N.  B.  S. 
and  supplies  are  not  always  available,  the  sales  in  these 
languages  have  not  risen  much.  Then  again  we  sell  books 
in  Arabic,  Bengali,  Hindustani,  Telugu,  Tamil,  and  Urdu, 
a  great  many  of  which  are  sold  to  Moslems,  but  as  many 
of  them  may  have  been  sold  to  Hindus  or  Buddhists,  I 
have  not  thought  wise  to  include  them  under  the  heading 
of  sales  to  Moslems,  though  one  and  all,  especially  Tamil, 
show  large  increases  during  the  last  nine  years. 

I  think  from  the  foregoing  that  we  can  fairly  claim  that 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  proved  the  value 
of  Singapore  as  a  centre  for  Moslem  work.  The  col- 
porteurs, of  course,  go  to  the  Moslems  living  in  the  most 
out  of  the  way  corners  as  well  as  to  those  in  the  large 
towns.  In  fact,  the  Bible  Society's  Agents  and  Asiatic 
colporteurs  are  the  only  Christian  Missionaries  the  Malay 
ever  comes  in  contact  with,  as  nobody  else  seems  to  think 
the  Malay  has  a  right  to  hear  of  Christ,  the  Saviour. 


8  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Still  it  is  hardly  fair  for  the  church  at  home  to  leave  all 
the  Malay  work  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 
Our  men  in  the  natural  course  of  their  work  are  only 
sowers  of  the  Good  Seed,  and  after  answering  enquiries 
about  the  books  they  sell,  and  witnessing  for  Christ  as 
they  sell  them,  they  must  pass  on  to  sell  in  other  places. 
The  Missionaries  should  follow  to  water  the  seed  sown 
and  to  reap  the  harvest.  Again,  suppose  the  colporteur 
meets  a  Malay  who  is  really  an  earnest  seeker  after  the 
truth  and  is  dissatisfied  with  the  claims  of  a  dead  prophet, 
himself  a  sinner,  there  is  not  a  soul  to  whom  the  col- 
porteur can,  when  leaving  that  place,  refer  this  man  for 
further  instruction  about  the  risen  Christ,  alive  for  ever- 
more, the  sinless  One,  who  died  for  our  sins  and  rose  again 
for  our  justification. 

In  other  places,  or  even  here  in  the  case  of  a  Tamil  or  a 
Chinese,  the  colporteur  can  put  the  enquirer  in  touch  with 
a  Missionary,  but  in  the  case  of  a  Malay  there  is  nobody 
until,  perhaps  years  after,  another  colporteur  comes  along. 
And  then  people  write  about  the  impossibility  of  con- 
verting a  Malay  as  follows:  *'It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  Malay,  ignorant  as  he  usually  is  of  the  details  of  his 
religion,  bases  his  belief  on  logical  considerations  or  on 
philosophical  grounds;  he  believes  in  his  creed  implicitly 
and  blindly,  and  he  thus  escapes  conversion  because  he  is 
never  open  to  any  argument  that  does  not  rest  upon  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Islam."  *  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  the  Malay  *' escapes  conversion"  when  nobody  ever 
tries  to  convert  him.^^ 

Singapore  is  also  the  centre  from  which  the  pilgrims 
from  this  part  of  the  world  start  for  Mecca,  of  whom 
Wilkinson  writes:  "The  Malays  can  at  least  claim  that 
they  send  more  pilgrims  to  Mecca  (in  proportion  to  their 
numbers)  than  are  sent  by  Indians,  Persians,  Moors,  or 
Turks,"  and  each  of  these  pilgrims  on  his  return  makes  it 
more  difiicult  for  the  Christian  Mission  of  the  future,  so 
there  should  be  no  delay  in  starting  it. 

Then  again  we  find  Dr.  Snouck  Hurgronje  stating  that 
the  Moslems  in  this  part  of  the  world  "Looked  up  to  the 

*  Wilkinson's  Malay  Beliefs. 


SINGAPORE  A  CENTRE  FOR  MOSLEM  WORK        9 

free,  active,  and  independent  Caliph,  the  Sultan  of  Tur- 
key," and  surely  his  downfall,  which  must  be  close  at 
hand  now,  must  have  made  a  great  change  in  the  Malay 
outlook.  When  they  are  looking  round  for  another 
Leader  of  the  Faithful  should  not  we  be  pointing  them  to 
Christ?  Wilkinson  wrote  in  1906:  "There  remains  a 
further  question;  what  of  the  future  of  Islam  in  the  Malay 
Peninsula?  .  .  .  The  example  of  the  surrounding 
races  is  beginning  also  to  effect  the  Malays  in  matters  of 
clothing  and  diet,  and  even  as  regards  abstinence  from 
alcoholic  stimulants.  Every  year  brings  additional  laxity 
in  what  the  devouter  Malays  would  consider  essentials  of 
religion." 

Sir  Hugh  Low  wrote:  "I  am  strongly  inclined  to  believe 
that  a  rigid  Turk,  being  set  down  in  their  country,  would 
scarcely  allow  that  they  (the  Malays)  had  a  chance  of 
safely  skating  over  the  narrow  bridge  into  the  paradise  of 
the  Prophet." 

Thus  while  the  church  at  home  takes  no  action  the 
Malay  either  dies  as  he  lived,  a  pseudo  Moslem,  whose 
faith  differs  considerably  from  the  belief  in  the  One  true 
God  of  the  orthodox,  mixed  as  it  is  with  the  worship  of 
Siva  and  the  animistic  beliefs  of  his  forefathers;  or  he 
becomes  a  free  thinker,  and  loses  altogether  what  glimpse 
he  had  of  the  Unity  of  God. 

I  hope  that  what  I  have  written  above  will  go  to  prove 
the  importance  of  Singapore  as  a  centre  for  Moslem  work, 
and  that  the  churches  at  home  will  soon  be  aroused  to 
their  duty  to  the  Malays.  If  only  those  people  in  England 
and  America  who  are  growing  wealthy  through  rubber 
grown  in  Malaya,  of  which  trade  Singapore  is  the  centre, 
were  to  take  this  matter  up,  we  should  soon  have  all  the 
money  needed  wherewith  to  start  a  Mission  to  the  Malays, 
working  from  Singapore  as  a  centre. 

Chas.  E.  G.  Tisdall. 

Agent,  B.  &  F.  Bible  Society,  Singapore. 


THE  THREE  CHARACTER  CLASSIC  FOR 
MOSLEMS 

By  LiEO  Kai  Lien  of  Nanking  * 

(Translated  by  Rev.  F.  J.  M.  Cotter  and  Rev.  K.  L.  Reichelt) 


At  the  beginning  of  creation — before  heaven,  earth  or 
anything,  there  was  a  supreme  being  called  the  true  God, 
who  controlled  the  whole  heaven;  ordered  the  whole  uni- 
verse; divided  light  from  darkness;  evolved  heaven  and 
earth;  set  the  foundations  of  mountains  and  rivers;  called 
into  life  grass  and  trees;  ordained  calamity  and  fortune; 
gave  brilliancy  to  the  sun  and  moon;  and  energized  the 
birds,  beasts  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea.  When  all  was 
finished,  he  then  created  man;  endowed  him  with  wisdom; 
instilled  him  with  a  soul;  and  man  became  the  essence  of 
creation.  Then  He  sent  down  the  Holy  One  to  preach 
the  great  doctrine,  teaching  man  to  understand  the  great 
truth.  Only  when  the  truth  is  understood  is  man  a  man; 
when  it  is  misunderstood  man  is  no  better  than  a  bird. 
You  little  children  on  the  verge  of  understanding,  study 
the  simple,  do  not  think  into  the  deeper  things.  Learn  to 
be  filial  and  obedient  to  your  parents  and  teachers. 
Learn  to  act  properly  before  your  elders  and  the  young 
and  to  distinguish  between  the  higher  and  the  lower. 
Understand  the  principles  of  benevolence  and  culture; 
practice  good  manners  and  propriety;  be  careful  in  word 
and  deed;  watchful  concerning  wrong  doing.  When  you 
have  made  a  little  progress  (in  the  truth)  then  I  will 
teach  you  the  great  doctrine.  When  it  is  hard  to  explain 
the  great  truth  I  will  use  parables. 

The  origin  of  the  truth  comes  from  the  true  God,  but 
it  is  to  be  revealed  by  man.  The  first  principle  of  under- 
standing the  truth  is  to  read  the  doctrine.  In  the  morn- 
ing be  watchful  and  fearful;  in  the  evening  vigilant  and 

*  Printed  in  Chinese  at  Canton,  1903  A.D.    Moslem  Press. 

10 


^Sl 


THREE  CHARACTER  CLASSIC  FOR  MOSLEMS       11 

pious.  Matter  is  not  God.  There  is  only  the  true  God 
and  Mohammed  is  His  prophet.  The  most  important 
thing  about  the  doctrine  is  to  read  the  holy  book  (Koran), 
wherein  are  the  holy  commandments,  the  meaning  of 
which  is  clear.  Everything  has  its  essence  and  the  es- 
sence of  the  holy  book  is  Islam.  When  the  doctrine 
enlightens,  truth  prevails;  when  the  doctrine  is  obscure^ 
lies  prevail.  The  truth  brings  blessedness;  heresy,  harm, 
evil  follow  falsehood.  A  superficial  knowledge  of  the  doc- 
trine leads  to  lack  of  worship,  as  a  lazy  person  causes  the 
ruin  of  his  own  house.  The  holy  one  (Mohammed)  says : 
**  Worship  is  like  a  pillar  which,  when  erect,  supports  the 
house;  when  taken  away  the  house  collapses."  The  beauty 
of  the  doctrine  is  purity ;  good  behaviour  purifies  the  body 
as  auditing  does  one's  wealth.*  The  rule  of  the  doctrine 
is  to  know  the  right  and  the  wrong;  if  a  thing  is  right, 
approach  it;  if  it  is  wrong,  forsake  it.  The  way  of  the 
doctrine  exists  between  fear  and  hope;  fear  of  sinning 
against  God,  and  hope  of  God's  mercy.  The  importance 
of  the  doctrine  is  to  think  of  God  constantly,  from  morn- 
ing until  evening,  without  interruption.  The  surface^  of 
the  doctrine  is  to  know  at  least  what  shame  is,  for  a 
knowledge  of  shame  is  a  branch  of  the  doctrine.  The 
fruit  of  the  doctrine  is  to  observe  fasting,  for  fasting 
eliminates  inner  strife.  The  seed  of  the  doctrine  is  con- 
stant learning  and  practice,  for  only  those  who  are  learned 
are  noble  in  conduct.  Little  children,  you  must  listen 
carefully;  cultivate  learning  and  follow  God's  command- 
ments; for  everyone  must  follow  regardless  of  sex,  indif- 
ferent to  age.  The  leaf  of  the  doctrine  is  to  practice 
watchfulness  when  alone,  for  the  doctrine  may  be  likened 
to  a  naked  body  and  watchfulness  ought  to  be  taken  as 
its  raiment.  The  Koran  says:  "If  you  are  careful  you 
shall  be  prosperous,"  for  what  comes  after  (the  journey 
to  eternity)  depends  upon  watchfulness  as  a  fund.J  The 
marrow  of  the  doctrine  is  to  know  the  destination;  when 
the  destination  is  known,  the  start  is  already  made.  The 
root  of  the  doctrine  is  honesty  in  thought;  if  your  thoughts 

*  Text  is  obscure  here. 

t  Chinese— skin. 

X  Lit.  watchfulness  is  the  expense  account  for  this  journey. 


12  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

are  sincere  you  assist  all  efforts.*  The  dwelling  place  of 
the  doctrine  is  the  heart  of  man,  and  the  heart  of  the 
Moslem  is  the  temple  of  God.  You  are  in  the  doctrine 
and  the  doctrine  is  in  you.  Should  man  ask,  you  can  give 
this  as  an  answer.  "I  live  in  the  doctrine,  and  the  doc- 
trine is  within  me  without  the  least  uncertainty  or  par- 
tiality." 

Should  any  man  ask  you  for  the  doctrine  in  its  nu- 
merous aspects,  you  answer:  **It  has  five  aspects: — 1. 
What  I  follow  is  the  doctrine  of  the  deity.  2.  What  I 
protect  is  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  one.  3.  What  I  listen 
to  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Moslem.  4.  What  I  cast  oflF  is 
evil  doctrine.  5.  What  I  watch  for  is  heresy."  The  body 
of  the  doctrine  is  to  believe  in  the  heart,  the  members  of 
the  doctrine  being  actions  in  life.  Cultivate  in  man  the 
doctrine  of  heaven  and  diligence  in  the  five  aspects. 
Exhaust  the  principles  of  the  way  of  life  and  promote  the 
five  principles  of  man.  Doctrine  is  like  light  in  a  man's 
heart  so  that  man  may  know  God,  who  is  invisible.  When 
you  have  already  explained  the  doctrine  do  not  think 
that  is  the  end;  you  must  expound  clearly  so  that  you 
may  know  God's  principles.  God  is  omnipresent;  with- 
out substance,  form  or  shape,  comparison  or  standard- 
There  is  only  one  God  and  He  is  the  only  power,  God  of 
God,  King  of  Kings;  moves  or  rests  at  will;  causes  life 
or  death;  from  the  beginning  until  now  there  has  been  no 
change.  If  asked  '*Why  are  you  a  Moslem.^"  answer: 
**I  am  a  Moslem  by  the  grace  of  God."  If  again  asked 
**  When  did  you  begin.^"  answer:  **At  the  time  of  the  con- 
tract." "What  is  meant  by  the  time  of  contract .f^" 
Answer:  '*When  in  the  presence  of  God  I  received  His 
teaching."  He  asked  me:  "Am  I  God.^"  I  answered: 
"Yes,  You  evolve  everything  that  has  life  and  bestow 
food  and  raiment."  Those  who  are  disobedient  falsely 
answer  "no."  All  heresy  begins  from  here.  Oh!  Little 
Children,  you  should  realize  this!  These  words  of  in- 
struction should  be  carefully  remembered.  Look  upward 
to  heaven  and  examine  what  is  on  the  earth;  between 
heaven  and  earth,  man  is  the  noblest  work.    The  worth 

*  Lit.  you  assist  10,000  ways  or  fashions. 


THREE  CHARACTER  CLASSIC  FOR  MOSLEMS       13 

of  man  consists  in  his  having  a  soul.  The  soul  serves  as 
a  reflector  of  God  and  a  mirror  of  life. 

God  commands  you  to  do  five  things:  (1)  To  think  of 
Him  constantly  and  to  avoid  evil  thoughts;  (2)  Worship 
five  times  daily  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  cares  of  the 
world;  (3)  To  observe  the  annual  and  monthly  fasts  in 
order  to  check  human  desires  and  lusts;  (4)  The  rich  must 
contribute  of  their  wealth  in  order  to  act  benevolently; 
(5)  To  worship  at  the  mosque,  and  to  examine  the  sin- 
cerity of  your  intentions.  These  five  things  are  not  to  be 
considered  easy,  either  to  the  saints  or  the  common 
people,  the  foolish  or  the  wise.  When  a  child  reaches  the 
seventh  year  he  must  be  taught  in  this.  To  teach  good 
manners  is  the  duty  of  parents  and  teachers.  Upon  reach- 
ing the  fifteenth  year  he  must  himself  take  the  responsi- 
bility and  work  it  out  without  shifting  it  to  any  one  else. 

The  observance  of  worship  is  the  first  commandment, 
as  the  root  of  all  actions  is  to  walk  in  the  true  way,  the 
key  to  heaven,  the  screen  to  passion,  the  spring  that 
washes  away  sin,  and  the  lamp  that  lightens  up  the  tomb. 
As  to  the  rule  of  worship  there  are  six  outward  ceremo- 
nies: (1)  Use  clean  water;  (2)  Wear  clean  clothes;  (3) 
Stand  on  holy  ground;  (4)  Rest  at  the  proper  time; 
(5)  Agree  in  heart  and  mind;  (6)  Face  toward  Mecca. 
In  addition  there  are  six  other  ceremonies  which  are  the 
inner  processes  of  worship:  (1)  Begin  with  the  adoration 
of  God;  (2)  Keep  the  body  upright;  (3)  Chant  the  true 
doctrine;  (4)  In  bowing  retain  a  horizontal  back;  (5) 
Next  let  the  head  strike  the  ground;  (6)  Lastly  conclude 
with  kneeling.  In  all  worship  keep  order  and  silence.  If 
you  make  a  mistake  in  worship  you  must  have  a  washing; 
if  you  skip  one  of  the  ceremonies  you  must  have  a  bath- 
ing. You  must  know  that  there  are  four  regulations  for 
washing:*  (1)  Wash  the  face  beginning  from  the  hair  as 
far  as  the  lower  chin,  then  come  to  the  ears;  if  you  have 
a  heavy  beard  you  must  wash  inside  of  it;  (2)  Wash  the 
hands  as  far  as  the  breast  and  armpits;  (3)  Brushing  the 
head  constitutes  one  of  the  four;  (4)  Wash  the  feet  as  far 
as  the  ankle  bone.     You  must  be  careful;  not  lazy  or 

*  Wudhu'  (Arabic). 


14  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

indiflferent.     You  again  must  know  that  there  are  ten 
rules  for  bathing:*  (1)  Wash  the  hands  to  the  wrist  joints; 
(2)  Call  on  the  name  of  Allah;  (3)  Brush  the  teeth;  (4) 
Flush  out  the  mouth;  (5)  Clean  the  nose;  (6)  Wash  be- 
hind the  ears;  (7)  Wash  the  evacuating  organs;  (8)  Wash 
the  beard;  (9)  Clean  the  finger  nails;  (10)  Every  organ 
must  be  washed  three  times.     These  rules  must  be  fol- 
lowed rigidly  to  avoid  confusion.     There  are  eighteen 
things  which  will  ruin  a  washing:  namely  those  of  the 
bowels,  (1)  Stool,  (2)  Worms,  (3)  Wind;  those  from  the 
kidneys :  (4)  Urine,  (5)  Incontinency  of  urine,  (6)  Blood, 
(7)  Gonorrhoea,  (8)  Smegna,  (9)  Overflow  of  discharge; 
those  which  can  be  easily  seen:  (10)  Blood  and  (11)  Pus, 
(12)  Eczema,   (13)   Vomiting;  those  which  are  hidden: 
(14)  Those  who  are  mentally  unbalanced,  (15)  Those  who 
are  faint,  (16)  Those  who  are  intoxicated,  (17)  Those  who 
cry  out  in  the  middle  of  worship,  (18)  Those  who  sleep 
resting  against  anything.     After  finishing  the  ceremony 
of  washing  you  come  to  the  bathing  of  the  body.     The 
occasions  of  bathing  are  twelve  in  number:  Five  are  com- 
manded by  God;  four  are  holy  practices;  one  is  a  standard 
ceremony;  and  two  are  optional.    (1)  After  masturbation, 
(2)  After  intercourse  of  husband  and  wife,  (3)  After  noc- 
turnal pollution,  (4)  After  menstruation,  (5)  After  deliv- 
ery.   The  above  mentioned  bathings  are  commanded  by 
God.    (6)  On  the  great  day  of  gathering,  (7)  On  the  usual 
meetings,  (8)  On  the  day  of  contract,  (9)  At  the  time  of 
fasting.     These  four  occasions  are  designated  as   holy 
practices.    The  standard  ceremony:  (10)  Bathing  of  the 
dead  body.     (11)  When  the  child  is  young,  (12)  Or  when 
the  obstinate  is  converted;  bathing  or  not  is  optional. 
The  ceremony  of  bathing  has  three  regulations:  (1)  Flush 
out  the  mouth,  (2)  Cleanse  the  nose,  (3)  Bathe  the  whole 
body,  not  missing  any  part.    Haying  passed  through  con- 
finement, follow  the  same  regulations.     At  the  time  of 
confinement  do  not  do  seven  things:  (1)  Do  not  worship, 
(2)  Do  not  fast,  (3)  Do  not  give  alms,  (4)  Do  not  bow 
toward  Mecca,  (5)  Do  not  enter  the  mosque,  (6)  Do  not 
hold  the  Koran,  (7)  Do  not  read  the  rules.     With  the 

♦  Ghu8l  (Arabic). 


THREE  CHARACTER  CLASSIC  FOR  MOSLEMS       15 

exception   of  these,   nothing  is  prohibited.     When  the 
woman  is  clean  she  must  wash  and  bathe. 

All  of  God's  commandments  have  two  ceremonies:  (1) 
the  primary  ceremony,  (2)  and  the  secondary  ceremony. 
The  primary  ceremony  is  the  business  of  all  men.  When 
it  is  neglected  it  has  its  bad  results;  for  example,  fasting 
and  worship,  charitable  aid  and  assistance,  going  up  into 
the  mosque  for  worship,  studying  and  practicing.  The 
secondary  ceremony  demands  a  comprehensive  responsi- 
bility which,  if  followed,  others  are  not  concerned;  such 
as:  the  funeral  ceremony;  consoling  mourners;  answering 
salutations;  visiting  the  sick. 

From  of  old  until  now  there  have  been  124,000  saints 
and  the  doctrine  has  only  partially  been  revealed.  When 
our  great  saint  Mohammed  came  the  doctrine  was  ex- 
pounded in  full,  and  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  revival. 
After  the  saint  returned  to  heaven,  virtuous  men  came 
after  him  such  as:  Abu  Bekr,  Omar,  Othman,  Ali.  These 
four  saints  succeeded  one  another  in  generation.  After 
the  four  saints,  there  lived  the  four  scholars  or  wise  men. 
At  the  head  of  this  class  stand  the  Caliphate  [?].  These 
four  scholars  have  been  respected  by  different  classes  of 
people,  each  class  respecting  one.  There  is  to  be  no  con- 
fusion (about  this  class  respect)  so  as  to  be  one  in  belief. 
The  teachings  of  the  four  scholars  are  all  about  the  holy 
doctrine.  There  is  the  difference  of  simplicity  and  depth, 
with  a  slight  mystery  involved.  What  the  scholars  taught 
they  received  from  the  saints;  what  the  saints  taught  they 
received  from  the  four  angels.*  In  the  angels  of  God  are 
the  germs  of  knowledge,  and  what  God  has  hidden,  man 
cannot  understand.  The  doctrine  is  inexhaustible,  its 
working  principle  eternal.  If  you  are  intelligent  you  can 
understand  all  things.  Little  children,  you  must  learn 
this  thoroughly!    The  beginner  may  stop  here. 

*  Lit.  four  waiters  upon  God. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  IN  A 
MOSLEM  ENVIRONMENT 

A  Sjrmposium  by  Women  Missionaries 


I.  Cairo 
Much  has  been  said,  both  by  Moslem  and  Christian 
writers,  on  the  contrast  between  Christian  and  Moslem 
homes.  The  object  of  this  article  is  to  make  some  sug- 
gestions on  how  a  Christian  home  may  influence  its 
Moslem  neighbours,  with  a  special  view  to  the  work  of 
women  as  home-makers. 

When  a  lady  missionary  marries,  even  in  her  own 
mission  station  circle,  her  loss  as  a  full-time  worker  is  very 
real  and  obvious.  But  might  there  not  be  a  compensating 
gain,  if  the  new  wife  were  assured  that  she  too  has  a 
sphere  of  service,  as  real  if  not  so  obvious.^  If  the  usual 
term  of  "missionary's  wife"  were  exchanged  for  that  of 
"missionary-wife,"  it  would  be  at  once  a  challenge  to 
service  of  all  kinds.  For,  in  these  days  we  all  need  a 
strong  sense  of  vocation,  lest  we  fall  under  the  judgment 
of  Meroz.  Let  the  missionary- wife  then  realise  that  she 
is  called  to  do  what  none  other  can  do:  to  show  forth  the 
beauty  of  a  Christian  home:  in  short  to  live  an  object- 
lesson  (which  others  may  teach  in  theory)  on  the  last  chap- 
ter of  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 

To  this  end,  let  her,  if  possible,  add  to  a  general  mis- 
sionary training  some  knowledge  of  health  matters,  and 
of  housekeeping  (especially  under  local  conditions),  and 
at  least  a  foundation  of  language  study.  Thus,  and  only 
thus,  will  she  be  able,  from  the  very  first,  and  without 
waste  of  time,  to  take  her  place  as  a  worker  in  the  mission, 
and  to  make  the  most  of  her  position  as  a  bride, — for  a 
bride  is  always  sure  of  a  kindly  reception  among  eastern 
women.  For,  after  all,  the  western  woman,  seen  dashing 
about  with  her  bicycle  or  her  tennis-racquet,  must  seem 

16 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  17 

to  an  eastern  woman  almost  as  a  being  from  another 
world :  but  the  same  woman,  as  bride,  wife,  or  mother,  is 
felt  at  once  to  be  a  sister.  At  once  the  common  ground 
is  found  in  the  married  state,  which  in  the  East  is  the  only 
normal  kind  of  life.  And  it  may  be  that  in  children  we 
shall  find  our  most  real  bond :  perhaps  in  terms  of  parent- 
hood East  and  West  may  best  understand  each  other. 
An  Egyptian  expressed  amazement  at  hearing  of  mission- 
aries who  had  sent  to  the  homeland  their  infant  son  on 
health  grounds;  he  said:  "My  wife  would  carry  her  child 
on  her  shoulder  till  he  died  rather  than  send  him  away": 
when  he  knew  it  was  "for  the  work's  sake,"  he  realised 
afresh  the  value  set  on  that  work.  And  often  this  bond 
is  found  to  be  at  its  strongest,  while  the  children  are  very 
young,  and  the  mother's  time  least  of  all  free. 

Granted  the  common  ground  of  home-life,  how  is  the 
contact  to  be  achieved,  without  which  the  most  perfect 
home  will  be  as  a  sealed  book,  beautiful  but  useless.^  To 
some  it  may  well  be  that  the  privacy  of  their  home-life 
is  the  gift  they  are  called  to  lay  on  the  Altar.  For  the  door 
must  be  kept  open:  and  within  must  be  the  open  heart 
and  open  lips  to  welcome  native  guests.  Here,  happily, 
a  little  language  goes  a  long  way,  much  further  than  in 
class-room  or  meeting.  "If  there  be  a  willing  mind,  it  is 
accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath."  One  has  seen 
a  missionary-wife,  new  to  the  country,  radiating  out  her 
almost  silent  welcome  to  a  native  guest.  The  guest  under- 
stood the  language  of  kindness,  and  a  friendship  was 
begun.  Unexpected  calls  at  inconvenient  times  are  apt  to 
spell  interruption,  especially  where  too  full  and  inelastic 
a  programme  is  attempted,  and  there  are  of  course  times 
where  family  duties  have  a  prior  claim.  But  interrup- 
tions may  also  spell  opportunities  for  friendliness  if  not 
for  definite  teaching.  If  the  call  proves  long,  no  offence  is 
felt  if  the  hostess  takes  up  a  bit  of  work,  so  long  as  she 
neither  feels  or  looks  worried !  Or  it  may  be  it  is  children's 
bed-time,  and  the  guest  is  invited  to  come  and  watch:  so 
the  interruption  becomes  an  opportunity  for  a  health- 
demonstration.  The  visitor  is  amazed:  "My  baby  would 
die  if  I  treated  it  so." 


18  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Again,  some  wives  may  be  able  to  entertain  young 
Moslems  known  to  their  husbands,  who  might  never 
otherwise  enter  a  Christian  home.  One  such,  coming  in 
on  the  mother,  surrounded  by  her  boys,  to  whom  she  was 
reading  aloud,  exclaimed,  "This  is  the  first  time  I  ever 
saw  such  a  thing:  when  shall  we  see  it  in  an  Egyptian 
home?"  Tea-parties  to  upper-class  Hareem  ladies  have 
been  tried  with  success,  the  ladies  being  entertained  with 
music  or  a  lantern  talk.  Then  comes  a  good  chance  for 
them  to  see  the  children  under  home-conditions:  ** Those 
are  not  children,  they  are  angels,"  said  an  Arabian  lady, 
at  sight  of  children  neatly  dressed,  and  playing  quietly 
together.  Possibly  a  weekly  day-at-home  for  Hareem 
ladies  would  be  found  suitable,  when  some  western  ladies 
might  also  be  asked  to  come. 

In  some  such  ways,  missionary  homes  may  be  truly 
opened,  and  real  friendships  formed;  while,  best  of  all,  an 
atmosphere  of  friendliness  is  created,  in  which  misunder- 
standings simply  fade  away.     For  instance:  how  often 
easterners  think  that  we  keep  servants  (as  perhaps  they 
do)  in  order  not  to  be  obliged  to  do  anything.    (An  Egyp- 
tian  girl,   speaking   of  the   pleasures   of  holidays,   thus 
described  them:  "I  sit  on  one  divan,  and  when  I  am  tired 
of  it,  I  sit  on  another:  no,  I  do  not  read:  why  should  I.'* 
are  there  not  books  enough  in  school.^    No,  I  never  pick 
flowers,  have  we  not  servants  for  that.^")     But  natives, 
who  have  had  access  to  western  houses,  learn  that  we 
keep  servants  so  as  to  be  free  for  duties  more  important. 
As  a  woman  convert  said  to  a  lady,  **If  you  had  no  serv- 
ants, you  could  not  learn  our  language  or  visit  us."    Our 
guests  too  will  often  be  struck  by  the  common-places  of 
a  Christian  home:  the  husband  and  wife  eating  together: 
the  honour  paid  to  the  wife  by  husband  and  sons:  the 
unity  and  trust,  shown  perhaps  in  a  common  purse,  or 
access  to  each  other's  desks.     But  the  East  is  naturally 
imitative:  and  it  will  depend  largely  on  the  influence  of 
the  wife  whether  imitation  or  inspiration  be  the  result  of 
the  contact:  whether,  e,g,  the  guests  merely  change  their 
style  of  hair-dressing,  or  whether  they  are  inspired  so  to 
look  beneath  the  surface  as  to  learn  that  the  secret  of  the 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  19 

home-life  is  in  its  foundation  on  knowledge,  trust,  and 
love  (not  on  ignorance,  suspicion  or  fear) — the  love  which 
springs  from  the  Love  of  God. 

Another  potent  means  of  contact  is  through  servants. 
These  silent  watchers  of  us  through  all  the  hours  of  our 
day  are  also  our  judges.  If  they  see  us  active,  orderly, 
clean,  thrifty,  faithful  stewards  equally  of  time  and  means, 
kindly,  considerate  to  them  and  their  prejudices  (e.g.  not 
insisting  on  a  Moslem  cook  having  to  cook  bacon) ;  quick 
to  pay  bills  and  so  on;  regular  in  family  prayers,  Sunday- 
keeping  and  Church-going;  what  may  it  not  mean  to 
them  and  to  others,  who  have  often  thought  "The  Eng- 
lish in  Egypt  have  no  religion."  An  old  servant  was 
indignant  to  see  a  small  boy  sent  from  table  for  being 
troublesome:  but,  seeing  him  next  time  behave  like  an 
angel,  he  owned  that  such  treatment  was  best. 

And  lastly,  though  charity  begins  at  home,  let  it  not 
end  there.  The  "open  door"  suggest  also  the  thought 
that  the  wife  goes  out,  as  far  as  she  is  able,  to  pay  calls 
in  native  houses.  Perhaps  she  may  be  asked  to  keep  in 
touch  with  old  school-girls  in  their  own  homes.  After 
several  years  in  the  East,  one  is  convinced  that  no  favour 
or  gift  is  valued  as  highly  as  a  friendly  and  leisurely  call. 
Here  is  a  chance  to  get  to  know  the  children,  and  to  give 
hints  on  matters  of  health.  Or  a  meeting  may  perhaps 
be  gathered,  and  words  will  have  a  double  weight  if  they 
come  charged  with  experience: — "I  have  found  so  and  so 
with  my  children."  Said  one  eastern  woman,  "I  do  like 
that  lady's  lessons:  she  is  a  mother.''  The  Bible  stories 
come  straight  home,  especially  those  of  the  family  lives 
of  the  patriarchs.  Take  the  story  of  Esau  selling  the 
birthright.  "What!  a  great  strong  hunter  said  he  would 
die  because  he  could  not  at  once  eat  a  dish  of  lentils,  our 
cheapest  and  quickest  food:  he  could  have  cooked  some 
for  himself  in  20  minutes.  .  .  .  But  he  had  no  self- 
control;  perhaps  his  mother  had  never  taught  him  the 
meaning  of  No  or  Wait  .  .  .  it  seems  then  that  we 
can't  begin  too  early  to  teach  our  children  .  .  .  well 
we  will  try  to  teach  them  better,  and  we  won't  give  our 


20  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

children  all  they  cry  for,  and  we'll  tell  our  neighbours  too 
what  we  have  learned."     .     .     . 

Nor  let  it  be  thought  for  a  moment  that  the  influence 
will  be  all  on  one  side.  One  is  constantly  learning  from 
eastern  friends,  with  their  kindliness,  generosity,  teach- 
ableness, hospitality.  The  other  day  a  Turkish  lady 
invited  a  couple  of  friends  to  spend  a  few  days  at  her 
coast  house.  The  guests  arrived,  a  party  of  about  seven 
(two  families  and  children)  and  stayed  for  months,  during 
which  time  the  hostess  had  to  provide  a  double  set  of 
meals,  and  was  also  entirely  banished  from  her  own  hus- 
band. At  last,  in  self-defence,  she  broke  the  spell  by 
returning  to  town.  Yet,  when  speaking  of  the  incident, 
she  said  very  simply,  "I  tried  to  make  them  feel  they  were 
welcome,  and  I  tried  to  like  having  them.''  Truly  this  is 
"hospitality  without  grudging,"  nay  with  grace  added. 

In  conclusion :  we  know  that  in  all  Christian  work  a  far 
wider  circle  is  influenced  than  those  actually  won.  So 
was  it  in  the  life  of  Christ.  And  it  may  well  be  that  fore- 
most among  the  influences,  which  prepare  for  the  coming 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  will  be  the  Christian  home. 

Margaret  D.  Gairdner. 

Cairo. 


II.    Egypt 

In  attacking  the  great  forces  of  Islam,  missionaries  have 
called  to  their  aid  many  valuable  weapons.  Medicine 
and  education  have  been  used  to  open  a  way  for  the  dis- 
semination of  the  Word  and  for  the  preaching  of  the 
Cross;  but  perhaps  an  even  stronger  weapon  for  over- 
coming prejudice  has  been  the  unconscious,  but  none  the 
less  powerful,  influence  of  the  home-life  of  the  Christian 
missionary. 

Enter  some  Moslem  village  far  from  Europeans;  dark 
and  suspicious  looks  will  greet  you  as  you  walk  the 
streets.  Nothing  can  be  done  at  first  but  live  down  sus- 
picion. This  you  will  proceed  to  do  quite  simply  by 
setting  your  house  in  order  and  establishing  a  Christian 
home  in  the  homeless  darkness  of  Islam.  Perhaps  a  boy 
has  been  persuaded  to  enter  your  service  as  cook.     You 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  21 

cannot  tie  his  tongue  and  soon  the  whole  village  is  ac- 
quainted with  the  wonderful  doings  of  the  foreigner. 
Your  furniture,  your  meals,  your  habits,  the  very  tones 
of  your  voice  and  your  mistakes  in  Arabic,  nothing  is 
hidden  from  them.  Probably  within  a  year  you  will  be 
the  friend  and  adviser  of  the  whole  community.  Of  course 
storms  of  opposition  will  yet  arise,  stirred  up  by  'lewd 
fellows  of  the  baser  sort,'  but  on  the  whole  you  will  be 
considered  "good  people"  by  the  inhabitants,  and  will 
have  more  visitors  than  you  know  what  to  do  with.  They 
may  not  want  your  Gospel  or  be  ready  to  change  their 
religion,  but  they  will  no  longer  distrust  you,  and  you  can 
say  to  them  practically  what  you  will.  In  this  way  when 
prejudice  has  been  overcome  I  have  been  able  to  institute 
daily  prayers  in  colloquial  Arabic  for  the  servants  and 
any  workmen,  patients,  or  others  who  happened  to  be 
about  in  the  morning.  "It  is  our  custom,"  I  said,  and 
they  knew  it  was  so  and  fell  in  with  it  willingly. 

Nowhere  does  the  influence  of  the  Christian  home  exert 
greater  power  than  among  the  children  of  Moslem  lands. 
Servants  and  guests  are  doubtless  impressed  by  it  but 
their  attitude  towards  us  is  often  that  of  amused  interest. 
They  regard  our  efforts  after  cleanliness  and  order  as  a 
mild  form  of  lunacy,  and  we  ourselves  as  "afllicted  of 
God."  For  a  time  we  had  four  little  Egyptian  boys 
staying  with  us;  each  evening  it  was  my  cook's  business 
to  prepare  hot  water,  a  large  bath  was  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  kitchen  floor,  and  one  by  one  the  children 
had  to  submit  to  a  good  scrubbing  from  me.  Night  gar- 
ments were  donned,  day  clothes  neatly  folded,  each  boy 
had  to  produce  his  own  towel  for  the  occasion.  The  whole 
proceedings  were  considered  most  unnecessary  and  very 
funny  by  the  presiding  genius  of  the  kitchen,  and  I  never 
could  see  that  he  had  the  slightest  desire  to  emulate  our 
passion  for  soap  and  water.  Children,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  quick,  not  only  to  watch,  but  to  imitate.  The  imita- 
tive faculty  is  always  strong  in  a  child.  It  is  here  that 
the  priceless  value  of  boarding-schools  comes  in.  Day 
schools  are  not  to  be  despised,  much  has  been  accom- 
plished through  them;  but  it  is  to  the  boarding-school. 


22  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

just  because  of  its  home  influence,  that  we  look  for  most 
lasting  results. 

Have  you  ever  tried  to  grow  a  delicate  flower  in  the 
heart  of  a  great  city?  Perhaps  it  blooms  and  shows  prom- 
ise and  you  go  to  gather  it  only  to  find  its  petals,  which 
should  be  so  fair,  begrimed  and  soiled.  It  is  impossible  to 
wash  off  the  soot,  the  flower  is  utterly  spoiled.  And  is 
this  not  a  picture  of  the  child  flowers  of  Islam  .^  They  also 
are  soiled  with  the  dirt  of  superstition  and  of  sin.  How 
hard  it  is  through  a  few  hours'  contact  daily  to  counteract 
in  any  lasting  measure  the  evil  influences  that  are  brought 
to  bear  upon  them.  Remove  them,  however,  to  a  Chris- 
tian home,  surround  them  with  wise  and  loving  sympathy, 
and  the  flowers  will  unfold  and  the  blossoms  will  bear 
enduring  fruit.  "Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should 
go  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  Our 
missionaries  dread  holiday  times  for  our  little  boarders. 
Three  weeks  of  the  blighting  influence  of  a  Moslem 
environment  seem  to  undo  months  of  patient  train- 
ing. 

In  closing  come  with  me  for  a  few  moments  to  a 
mission  boarding-school.  It  is  bed  time  and  the  "Sitt" 
is  here  to  tuck  in  the  little  maidens.  Two  are  already 
perched  on  her  knee  and  the  others  are  clinging  about 
her,  disputing,  I  must  confess,  as  to  whose  turn  it  is  to 
sit  next  her.  All  are  settled  happily  at  last  and  then  a 
"little  pillow"  is  given  for  the  children  to  go  to  sleep  on, 
a  verse  on  which  even  tinies  can  rest  and  feel  safe.  A 
heart  to  heart  talk  follows,  then  the  children's  prayers, 
very  simple  and  very  real,  and  then  the  goodnight  kisses. 
Not  once  or  twice  do  the  little  ones  say  "goodnight"; 
over  and  over  again  they  repeat  it — "Goodnight,  O  lady, 
goodnight,  goodnight,"  thus  trying  to  delay  the  depart- 
ure, if  only  for  a  few  moments,  of  her  whom  they  love 
so  much. 

All  is  hushed  now  in  the  dormitory,  eyes  are  closed, 
soft  regular  breathing  tells  of  sleep  that  is  healthy  and 
refreshing;  and  there  is  the  promise  of  a  happy  awakening 
to  a  busy  day  of  lessons  and  work  and  play,  to  a  home-life 
in  which  the  big  and  strong  are  taught  to  help  the  weak, 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  23 

where  everything  that  is  good  and  beautiful  is  fostered, 
and  where  evil  weeds  are  checked  and  rooted  up. 

May  God  multiply  a  hundredfold  such  Christian  homes 
and  their  influence  in  every  Moslem  land. 

J.  B.  Logan. 

Egyj>t 


III.  BusRAH,  Persian  Gulf 
If  we  would  give  to  Moslems  the  opportunity  of  getting 
the  greatest  benefit  from  our  Christian  truths,  we  must 
preach  to  them  by  example  no  less  than  by  precept.  Our 
lives  should  teach  them  that  Christianity  must  be  lived  as 
well  as  believed.  One  of  the  simplest  and  most  attractive 
ways  of  exemplifying  Christian  truth  before  the  eyes  of 
the  Moslems  is  found  in  the  Christian  home.  Had  the 
Oriental  Christians,  who  for  centuries  have  lived  among 
the  Moslems,  realized  this,  there  is  no  telling  what  an 
influence  for  good  they  might  have  exerted,  but  it  is  a 
sad  fact  that  most  of  them  have  not  been  good  examples 
of  Christianity,  and  that  their  home  life  is  in  many  re- 
spects not  much  better  than  that  of  the  Moslems  them- 
selves. And  yet  the  wide  difference  between  the  practices 
of  the  two  religions  is  nowhere  more  clearly  seen  than  in 
the  home.  Mutual  love  and  respect  between  husband 
and  wife,  little  acts  of  courtesy  and  kindness  from  one  to 
the  other,  consideration  and  care  in  time  of  illness,  the 
sharing  of  pleasures  and  burdens,  children  being  taught 
to  honor  their  parents,  and  many  other  things  which  are 
the  order  of  the  day  in  a  real  Christian  home  are  prac- 
tically unknown  in  the  Moslem  homes  of  my  acquaint- 
ance. The  missionary  home  exerts  its  influence  by 
showing  forth  these  things,  and  Moslem  visitors  seeing 
them,  learn  to  realize  that  the  Christian's  home  is  a  far 
more  desirable  place  than  their  own. 

That  there  is  mutual  love  and  respect  between  husband 
and  wife,  instead  of  the  wife  being  in  the  position  of  slave 
to  her  husband,  to  be  beaten  or  divorced  if  he  is  not 
pleased  with  her,  commends  itself  to  Moslem  men  as  well 
as  women.    An  Arab  Sheikh  in  whose  home  a  missionary 


24  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

and  his  wife  spent  a  few  days,  said,  "I  have  never  seen 
anything  nicer  than  the  way  this  man  and  his  wife  Uve 
together.  How  much  happier  we  would  be  if  we  Hved 
hke  that.  Surely  the  Christian's  way  is  better  than  ours. 
But  we  cannot  treat  our  women  with  kindness.  They 
have  to  be  beaten  or  they  will  not  behave." 

A  woman  who  was  making  her  first  visit  in  a  missionary 
home,  after  looking  around  curiously  for  awhile  asked, 
"Are  there  no  other  women .f^"  Upon  being  told  that 
there  were  not,  she  said  in  surprise,  "Has  your  husband 
no  other  wives.^"  "No,"  replied  the  missionary,  "among 
us  it  is  not  the  custom  for  a  man  to  have  more  wives  than 
one."  "But  surely,"  she  said,  "he  will  take  another  wife 
if  you  have  no  children."  "No,"  said  the  friend  who  had 
brought  her,  "he  will  not  take  another  wife  neither  will 
he  divorce  her,  and  he  never  beats  her,  and  he  is  always 
kind  to  her.  When  she  is  sick  he  cares  for  her."  "Ma 
shallah"  (What  has  God  willed)  she  exclaimed,  "What  a 
happy  woman  you  are !  If  we  could  live  like  that  it  would 
be  like  the  Garden  (meaning  Paradise).  But  our  hus- 
bands do  not  care  for  us  in  that  way.  From  the  day  of 
our  marriage  we  dread  the  day  when  another  wife  will  be 
brought  in,  and  we  are  always  threatened  with  divorce, 
and  when  our  husbands  are  angry  they  beat  us."  "Kha- 
dija,"  said  her  friend,  "that  is  the  daily  life  of  Moslem 
women,  but  the  Christian's  homes  are  not  like  that." 
Then  turning  to  the  missionary  she  said,  "There  is  one 
thing  I  greatly  desire  of  Allah  for  my  daughter,  that  He 
will  give  her  a  happy  home  like  yours,  and  a  husband  who 
will  be  as  good  to  her  as  yours  is  to  you." 

Sometimes  it  is  the  quiet  and  rest  of  the  home  that 
appeals.  A  young  man  who  afterwards  became  a  Chris- 
tian used  to  say,  "It  does  me  good  to  come  to  your  house, 
for  it  is  so  restful.  In  our  own  houses  there  is  always 
quarreling  and  fighting  between  the  women."  There  is 
no  doubt  but  that  the  influence  of  our  homes  is  being  felt. 
If  we  can  get  them  to  recognise,  as  some  already  do,  that 
the  good  which  they  see  is  the  fruit  of  Christianity,  and 
that  their  religion  can  produce  nothing  like  it,  we  may 
surely  feel  that  each  missionary  home  can  be  an  effectual 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  25 

door  for  the  entrance  of  the  Gospel.  When  we  reaUze 
the  good  which  may  be  done  by  the  influences  flowing 
out  from  our  home  Hfe,  it  is  well  worth  our  while  to  con- 
sider how  we  may  make  them  stronger.  To  this  end  we 
should  try  to  make  our  homes  accessible  to  more  people; 
not  merely  our  houses  but  our  family  life,  so  that  more 
may  come  under  its  influence.  This  will  sometimes  mean 
the  sacrificing  of  personal  comfort  and  privacy,  but  we 
shall  be  repaid  by  gaining  new  and  strengthening  old 
friendships.  There  is  no  surer  way  of  making  Moslem 
men  and  women  your  friends  than  by  getting  them  into 
your  homes  and  partaking  of  your  "bread  and  salt." 

Also  in  order  to  make  the  influence  of  our  home  life 
stronger  over  Moslems,  we  must  combat  the  tendency  to 
follow  their  custom  in  regard  to  the  position  of  women  in 
the  home.  By  compromising  our  family  life  we  lose  an 
opportunity  of  letting  them  see  a  better  and  a  Christian 
home  life. 

Another  thing  of  importance  is  to  get  the  children  into 
our  homes.  This  is  not  difficult,  as  they  are  usually 
attracted  to  us  and  our  ways.  By  keeping  in  touch  with 
them  we  bring  them  under  the  influence  of  our  homes 
during  the  most  impressionable  period  of  their  lives. 

The  evangelization  of  the  Moslem  world  will  be  has- 
tened according  as  we  increase  the  number  of  true  Chris- 
tian homes  in  their  midst. 

Elizabeth  Cantine. 

Busrah,  Arabia. 


IV.  Kuweit,  Persian  Gulf 
One  sunny  but  cool  afternoon  two  young  Red  Cross 
doctors  made  us  a  surprise  visit  and  we  were  glad  to  see 
them.  As  they  came  into  the  drawing-room  one  gave  a 
low  whistle  and  said,  "How  good  it  is  to  get  into  a  home 
again."  Then  we  began  talking  to  them  about  their  work 
in  the  war.  They  had  just  run  away  from  their  work  for 
a  little  change  and  rest  as  there  seemed  to  be  an  oppor- 
tunity in  between  military  operations  and  they  were  stay- 
ing on  a  small  launch  in  our  harbour.    We  asked  them  to 


«6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

come  again  and  they  said  they  would  indeed  if  their 
launch  stayed  long  enough.  The  next  day  they  dropped 
in  again  and  we  heard  the  same  low  whistle  as  they  came 
in  and  sat  down.  One  said,  **I  had  no  idea  you  mission- 
aries lived  so  comfortably — it  is  good  to  see  pretty  rugs 
on  the  floor."  They  acknowledged  that  they  knew  noth- 
ing about  foreign  missions  and  had  never  given  them  any 
thought.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  expected  to  find  us 
living  in  mat  huts  and  they  laughed  and  said  they  sup- 
posed they  had.  A  little  later  one  of  them  said,  "You  see 
we  have  joined  the  Red  Cross  for  six  months  and  when  our 
time  is  finished  we  may  go  home  or  we  may  stay  on."  I 
said,  "Now  you  see  the  difference  and  why  we  like  to 
have  a  comfortable  home — we  have  joined  for  life  and 
this  is  our  home." 

A  nice  home  means  a  great  deal  to  us  in  Arabia — to 
come  home  from  a  call  in  a  very  dirty  house  to  a  nice 
clean  house  with  all  its  familiar  pretty  things  around  one 
seems  to  revive  and  refresh  one  at  once.  It  is  not  that 
one's  home  must  have  costly  or  valuable  things.  Mis- 
sionaries can  hardly  be  accused  of  that.  But  it  must  be 
clean  and  orderly  and  so  its  value  cannot  be  overestimated 
both  in  regard  to  its  influence  on  the  missionaries  and  on 
the  people  among  whom  they  are  working. 

Let  me  give  you  a  picture  of  the  average  Arab  house. 
One  enters  the  courtyard  and  if  hot  weather  is  at  that 
time  of  the  year  one  finds  the  whole  place  littered  with 
furniture  and  utensils  of  every  description.  Wooden  beds 
or  old  doors  resting  on  old  kerosene  tins,  the  latter  as  a 
makeshift  for  beds;  the  bedding  being  rolled  up  at  one 
end  of  the  bedstead.  Over  by  the  well  in  the  corner  are 
the  dishes  used  at  the  previous  meal  waiting  for  a  con- 
venient time  to  be  washed  and  put  in  the  sun.  We  hope, 
however,  to  find  better  conditions  in  the  room  into  which 
we  are  ushered  but  alas!  the  matting  has  not  been  swept 
for  many  days  or  months  and  is  strewn  with  peanut 
shells,  bits  of  bread  and  perhaps  a  discarded  piece  of 
cucumber.  A  rug  is  spread  on  one  side  of  the  room  with 
big  pillows  against  the  wall  and  this  is  the  only  clean  spot 
for  the  missionary  to  sit.    In  one  corner  of  the  room  is  a 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  27 

pile  of  soiled  or  worn  out  clothes  and  when  the  hostess 
serves  tea  she  finds  that  her  tea  cups  have  not  been 
washed  since  the  last  tea  drinking  so  a  little  water  is 
poured  over  them  and  she  quickly  gets  something  from 
that  pile  in  the  corner  to  wipe  them  with.  Many  times 
it  takes  much  grace  and  shutting  of  the  eyes  to  drink  out 
of  them.  There  are  alcoves  in  the  walls  around  the  room 
which  originally  held  bright  coloured  glass  vases  and 
were  the  joy  and  pride  of  the  mother  when  she  was  brought 
to  this  house  as  a  shy  young  bride.  Many  of  the  vases 
have  been  broken  to  pieces,  but  some  not  broken  enough 
to  throw  away,  and  all  are  covered  with  thick  dust. 
Many  other  little  cups  and  bowls  have  climbed  into  the 
alcoves  all  giving  you  a  good  idea  of  what  they  once 
contained.  When  you  leave  the  house  you  wonder  that 
the  death  rate  is  no  higher  than  it  is. 

Now  contrast  the  missionary's  home.  When  our  callers 
first  enter  they  say,  "Mashallah!  How  wonderful  God 
is!"  and  their  exclamation  is  not  because  there  are  chairs 
and  tables,  I  am  sure,  for  everything  is  carefully  exam- 
ined. Even  the  lamp  with  its  glass  bowl  is  a  wonder  and 
my  callers  ask,  "Is  this  really  a  lamp.^  Where  do  you  get 
your  oil,  it  is  not  like  ours."  Perhaps  the  dining  room  is 
more  of  a  wonder  to  them.  They  are  astonished  at  the 
cupboard  full  of  crockery  and  ask  me  if  I  sell  cups  and 
saucers  and  if  I  don't,  couldn't  I  just  sell  them  one  or  two 
as  I  have  so  many.  As  they  turn  away  to  look  at  some- 
thing else  they  say,  "But  how  wonderfully  clean  every- 
thing is.    We  are  really  only  cattle." 

Two  friends  were  calling  one  morning  and  hearing  the 
servant  in  the  next  room  brushing  and  dusting  one  leaned 
towards  me  and  said  "May  God  deliver  you.  Do  tell  us 
how  often  you  have  your  room  swept  and  dusted."  The 
other  woman  passing  her  hand  over  the  carpet  said 
"There  is  nothing  to  sweep  up."  I  well  remember  my 
first  visit  to  this  woman's  house.  It  was  very  much  like 
the  description  given  above  and  how  different  it  is  now. 
First  I  noticed  that  the  cups  and  saucers  were  improving 
and  that  imitation  which  is  the  sincerest  form  of  flattery 
had  gradually  extended  to  the  whole  room.    Her  children 


28  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

have  rather  plain  words  spoken  to  them  which  contain 
references  to  their  ancestors  if  they  throw  their  nutshells 
and  bread  about  the  floor.  I  am  sure  the  husband  finds 
it  a  more  comfortable  place  to  sit  than  in  the  old 
days. 

One  day  we  had  an  Arab  mother  and  her  little  girls  to 
lunch.  It  was  an  Arab  meal,  the  little  girls  sitting  on  the 
floor  and  eating  with  their  hands  while  the  grown-ups 
sat  at  the  table.  All  of  a  sudden  one  little  girl  sprang  up 
and  wiped  her  two  little  greasy  hands  on  my  precious 
white  wall.  We  spoke  to  her  at  once  but  the  deed  was 
done  and  as  she  turned  around  she  said,  "Well  then 
where  shall  I  wipe  them.'^" 

But  the  missionary  home  has  a  wider  and  deeper  influ- 
ence in  a  Moslem  land  and  its  results  cannot  always  be 
seen  in  washed  cups,  etc.  Our  Moslem  sisters  are  inter- 
ested in  our  very  everyday  life.  One  Moslem  friend,  the 
wife  of  a  rich  and  very  religious  man,  was  at  first  very 
cold  and  stiff  towards  me.  Her  two  daughters,  young 
girls  who  had  longings  to  see  something  of  the  outside 
world,  were  admiring  the  lace  and  embroidery  on  my 
clothes  and  were  soundly  rebuked  by  the  mother  for 
having  any  desire  for  the  finery  of  unbelievers.  But  when 
we  became  better  acquainted  and  I  had  answered  many 
questions  about  our  ways  of  wooing  and  marrying  which 
showed  that  they  were  founded  on  love  and  not  on  the 
money  the  parents  could  get  for  their  daughter,  her  line 
of  vision  was  extended.  She  told  me  one  day  that  she 
had  been  telling  her  husband  how  much  she  would  like 
to  take  a  walk  with  him  along  the  seaside  at  sunset  as  my 
husband  and  I  did.  She  gave  an  embarrassed  little  smile 
as  she  pictured  to  herself  her  daring  deed  but  behind  it  all 
was  the  real  desire  for  more  companionship. 

I  was  saying  my  good-byes  in  a  house  one  afternoon 
and  was  pressed  to  stay  longer  but  said  that  I  must  get 
home  as  I  had  not  happened  to  mention  to  my  husband 
that  I  was  going  out.  Hands  were  thrown  up  in  consterna- 
tion and  it  was  suggested  that  I  might  get  a  beating  when 
I  arrived  home  but  when  assured  that  nothing  would 
happen  they  said  it  would  be  wonderful  to  have  a  husband 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  29 

like  that.    But  I  said  "Why  shouldn't  I  go  out,  my  hus- 
band trusts  me." 

Even  the  little  missionary  children  have  their  part  in 
this  great  work  of  winning  Islam  for  Christ.  Their  clean 
skin  and  clothes  are  noticed  at  once  and  as  the  women  see 
them  oftener  they  see  the  love  which  bubbles  up  out  of 
their  eyes  and  hearts  whose  source  is  in  their  Christian 
birth. 

B.  A.  Mylrea. 

Kuweit,  Arabia, 


V.     Tabriz,  Persia 

The  first  Turk  who  ever  spoke  to  me  of  his  wife  by  her 
name,  was  Mousa,  servant  in  a  missionary  home,  who 
said,  "when  I  was  a  Moslem,  I  used  to  pick  up  a  stick  of 
wood  or  anything  handy  and  hit  Fatima  over  the  head, 
but  now  I  am  a  Christian,  I  can't  do  that."  His  naming 
her  struck  me,  as  a  Moslem  generally  calls  his  wife  "My 
child,  my  house,  or  the  mother  of  such  a  child."  The 
children  do  not  say  mother  and  father,  but  the  master, 
the  mistress,  the  older  brother  and  the  great  sister.  They 
appear  to  be  ashamed  of  the  natural  relations  of  life. 

The  family  life  of  even  nominal  Christians  is  much 
above  that  of  the  Moslems,  and  where  the  two  religions 
are  brought  into  close  relation  it  always  makes  a  deep 
impression  on  the  latter  people.  Much  more  is  this  the 
case  where  they  see  genuine  Christianity,  whether  in  the 
case  of  missionaries  or  people  of  the  country. 

The  women  envy  the  security  and  honor  of  the  Chris- 
tian wife.  One  said,  "Your  prophet  has  done  well  by  you, 
but  ours  has  done  very  badly;  when  we  meet  I  shall  have 
words  with  him."  A  young  woman  of  a  noble  and  wealthy 
family  said,  "You  ask  me  if  I  fear  my  husband  will  divorce 
me,  or  take  another  wife  ?  I  think  not ;  he  is  old  and  sickly ; 
it  does  not  seem  likely";  then  she  added  thoughtfully, 
"But  we  never  know." 

The  servants  of  Christian  families  get  to  be  ashamed  of 
polygamy  and  divorce;  in  one  clan,  with  which  I  am 
familiar,  many  of  whose  men  have  served  in  missionary 


30  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

homes,  these  practices  are  rare  and  a  woman  has  been 
heard  to  pride  herself  on  the  security  of  the  wives  of  that 
connection. 

One  of  the  men,  having  lost  his  wife,  was  asked  about 
a  second  marriage;  he  replied,  with  a  reproachful  look, 
**Lady,  I  do  not  expect  to  marry  again;  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian." He  was  told  death  had  dissolved  his  contract,  but 
it  was  not  till  some  years  after,  that  he  took  a  second  wife. 

Another  of  their  men  names  as  one  of  the  chief  attrac- 
tions of  heaven,  the  fact  that  "there  they  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage." 

A.  is  a  Turkish  villager,  who  read  a  New  Testament 
and  was  converted  without  contact  with  other  Christians. 
When  a  missionary  came  into  his  neighborhood  he  made 
himself  known  and  asked  advice  as  to  what  he  should  do. 
He  was  told  to  stay  where  he  was  till  his  life  should  be 
endangered.  When  his  wife  was  taken  from  him  and 
given  to  another  man  and  the  rope  was  placed  on  his  neck 
to  hang  him,  he  fled  to  a  neighboring  Christian  country, 
where  he  found  work  and  safety.  There  I  saw  him  some 
years  ago,  working  as  a  gardener.  Being  aware  of  some 
matrimonial  projects  which  were  on  foot  for  this  eligible 
young  man,  I  questioned  him  on  the  subject.  He  said  he 
had  no  intention  of  marrying,  as  he  feared  he  might  not 
find  the  right  kind  of  a  wife  and  he  did  not  wish  one  who 
would  prove  a  hindrance  and  clog  to  his  spiritual  life.  He 
modestly  remarked,  "It  is  not  that  I  have  not  had  offers; 
some  of  the  best  men  in  our  church  here  have  spoken  to 
me  for  their  girls,  but  it  does  not  seem  best  to  me  to 
marry."  I  believe  also,  as  his  Moslem  wife  was  still 
living,  he  did  not  consider  himself  free  to  contract  a 
marriage  in  her  lifetime.  There  had  been  no  children  and 
her  early  death  released  him  from  this  scruple. 

Five  years  later,  passing  through  his  city,  I  went  in  the 
early  morning,  to  his  little  home,  where  he  cordially 
invited  me  to  take  breakfast. 

Presently  a  bright,  cheerful  young  woman  ran  in,  em- 
braced and  kissed  me,  while  A.  introduced  her  as  his 
German  wife,  Mariam,  saying,  "The  Lord  chose  and  gave 
her  to  me;  we  are  both  devoted  to  Him  and  of  the  same 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  HOME  31 

mind  about  serving  Him."  He  took  a  Turkish  Bible  and 
she  a  Russian  one,  reading  alternately  and  he  prayed; 
then  we  took  breakfast  together. 

Returning  from  Europe  a  few  months  later,  I  again 
visited  the  home;  the  little  wife  was  not  there,  but  in  a 
hospital,  as  their  first  child  had  come  to  them  two  or 
three  days  before.  The  father  was  to  go  on  Sunday  to 
see  his  baby  boy,  and  asked  me  to  accompany  him.  When 
we  reached  Mariam's  white  bed,  before  looking  at  the 
child,  or  even  alluding  to  it,  he  stooped  down,  kissed  his 
wife  and  expressed  his  joy  at  her  safety,  as  any  man 
might,  who  had  behind  him  centuries  of  Christian  ances- 
tors and  years  of  Christian  training. 

They  told  me  they  had  dedicated  this  first-born  child 
to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  hoping  and  praying  he  might 
become  an  evangelist  to  Moslems.  As  we  left  the  build- 
ing, his  pride  and  delight  broke  out:  *'Did  you  ever  see 
such  a  pretty  little  baby  of  this  age.^"  This  is  sometimes 
an  embarrassing  question,  but  I  could  truly  say  the  baby 
was  pretty.  Is  not  this  a  lesson  for  those  who  think  we 
cannot  expect  much  in  the  way  of  results  till  we  get  the 
second  and  third  generations  of  Christian  converts  .^^ 

So  also  of  a  converted  Kurd,  who  had  been  a  fanatical 
hater  of  Christ  and  Christians.  His  heart  was  set  on  a 
girl  of  Oriental  Christian  parentage,  but  the  course  of  true 
love  was  far  from  running  smoothly;  she  was  denied  him 
and  hope  deferred  made  his  heart  sick.  A  missionary 
imprudently  remarked,  *'He  will  soon  get  over  it;  no 
Oriental  can  care  long  for  that  homely  girl."  This  remark 
was  repeated  to  M.  S.;  he  replied  with  dignity,  "I  am  not 
influenced  by  the  physical  attractions  of  R.  It  is  her 
beautiful  soul  that  I  love."  One  is  glad  to  say  that  God 
gave  him  the  desire  of  his  heart,  and  another  Christian 
home  was  established  in  this  country,  which  stands  in 
such  need  of  them. 

A  Christian  Sayyid,  whose  wife  was  bitterly  opposed  to 
his  belief,  once  called  together  the  little  group  of  believers 
to  which  he  belonged,  for  an  all  night  prayermeeting,  that 
his  wife  might  be  converted.  Her  heart  was  changed,  and 
peace  reigned  in  their  home.     One  morning  he  came  to 


82  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

the  school  where  he  gave  lessons,  but  so  sad  that  one  of 
the  ladies  asked  him  what  was  the  matter.  He  replied 
that  in  the  morning  he  had  been  angry  with  his  wife,  and 
had  spoken  to  her  very  unkindly.  *'  O,  you  can  soon  make 
that  right;  tell  her  so  and  ask  her  forgiveness,  which  she 
is  sure  to  grant."  "I  have  already  done  so  and  she  has 
forgiven  me,  but  I  cannot  forgive  myself  for  acting  in  a 
manner  so  unworthy  of  the  name  of  Christian." 

We  thank  our  Lord  for  these  "sweet  first  fruits," 
which  are  an  earnest  of  what  it  will  some  day  mean  for 
**the  wilderness  to  blossom  as  the  rose." 

G.    Y.    HOLLIDAY. 

Tabriz,  Persia. 


THE  MOSLEM  WOMEN  OF  SIANFU,  CHINA 


The  Moslem  section  of  the  city  of  Sianfu,  Shensi  Prov- 
ince, China,  is  compactly  built,  consisting  of  low,  one- 
story  houses,  each  having  one  or  two  small  courtyards. 
Like  the  Chinese,  the  Moslems  live  in  clans,  hence  two, 
three,  or  even  more  score  of  people  are  sometimes  crowded 
together  in  one  of  these  small  abodes,  in  which  lack  of  air 
and  light  make  conditions  insanitary.  The  streets  in  this 
section  of  the  city  are  exceedingly  narrow,  and  are  sepa- 
rated from  the  Chinese  streets  by  large  gates,  which  are 
closed  at  night. 

In  this  environment  the  Sianfu  Moslem  woman  lives 
and  dies.  Her  social  circle  is  very  limited,  since  she  is  not 
permitted  to  leave  this  boundary  until  she  becomes  of  age. 
She  does  not  wear  the  veil,  as  in  Moslem  lands,  but  is 
kept  in  strict  seclusion,  and  in  many  cases,  subject  to 
harsh  and  cruel  treatment  on  the  part  of  husband  and 
sons.  The  Moslem  woman  knows  nothing  about  the 
outer  world;  her  mind  is  considered  below  the  standard 
of  animal  intellect,  hence  she  is  deprived  of  all  education. 
But  despite  this  fact,  she  is  in  general  much  superior  to 
the  Chinese  woman,  for  she  does  not  worship  idols,  but 
lives  in  the  consciousness  of  the  existence  of  a  living  and 
Almighty  God. 

The  illiteracy  of  the  Moslem  woman  here  is  the  cause 
of  much  superstition,  and  she  readily  believes  any  story 
of  this  nature.  For  example,  a  case  came  under  my  ob- 
servation where  a  husband,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  twisted  the 
right  arm  of  his  wife.  Though  in  constant  pain,  she  was 
compelled  to  attend  to  her  household  duties.  Three 
months  later  I  had  occasion  to  examine  her  arm,  and  as 
I  found  that  it  was  not  broken,  I  applied  ointment  and 
bandaged  it  properly,  which  brought  her  relief.  The 
following  day  I  visited  her  again,  and  found  that  the 

33 


84  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

bandage  had  been  torn  off  by  her  husband,  who  had  told 
her  that  the  devil  had  entered  her  arm,  and  for  that  there 
was  no  remedy.  And  with  this  explanation  she  seemed 
contented. 

The  poor,  helpless  Moslem  woman  of  Sianfu  is  ready 
to  welcome  any  change  in  her  sad  and  monotonous  life, 
such  as  a  visit  from  a  missionary,  whom  she  receives 
willingly  and  gladly,  and  makes  her  partake  of  her  hos- 
pitality. 

Let  me  refer  to  another  incident.  While  walking  one 
afternoon  with  a  lady  friend,  we  passed  a  young  Moslem 
woman,  standing  in  the  entrance  of  her  home.  She 
invited  us  to  enter  and  be  seated  in  a  very  nice  guest-hall. 
Before  long  this  hall  was  filled  with  women  and  children, 
all  strangers  to  us.  In  order  to  gain  their  confidence, 
according  to  Chinese  custom,  we  opened  conversation  by 
asking  their  names,  relationship,  etc.  I  had  brought  with 
me  specimens  of  different  kinds  of  needle  work,  in  which 
they  became  greatly  interested,  and  wanted  to  know  how 
these  things  were  made.  I  told  them  that  I  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  and  would  be  happy  to  teach  them.  I 
happened  to  have  some  material  for  work  in  my  handbag 
and  my  friend  commenced  to  teach  a  young  girl  who  was 
particularly  eager  to  learn.  Then  I  noticed  an  old  woman, 
with  a  wicked  expression,  advance  and  whisper  into  the 
ear  of  the  girl,  who  at  once  dropped  her  work  and  ran  off 
frightened  and  did  not  return.  In  a  short  time  a  young 
man  appeared  on  the  scene  and  told  us  that  they  were 
Moslems  and  did  not  permit  their  women  and  girls  to  go 
out.  Next  an  angry  father  entered  and  pulled  his  little 
son  out  of  the  room  by  his  ear.  Finally  an  old  man,  in 
quite  a  rage,  entered  and  came  toward  us — whether  to 
harm  us,  or  not,  I  do  not  know — but  I  greeted  him  kindly 
and  passed  some  sympathetic  remarks  as  to  the  sad  con- 
dition of  his  eyes  (he  suffered  from  a  serious  eye  affliction). 
This  disarmed  him  and  we  quietly  left,  but  not  until  the 
young  woman  who  had  invited  us  took  me  aside  and  said 
**You  must  come  again;  do  not  mind  this." 

These  incidents  may  give  the  reader  a  faint  idea  under 
what  conditions  our  Moslem  sisters  live.    Let  it  bring  us 


MOSLEM  WOMEN  OF    SIANFU,  CHINA  35 

to  our  knees  in  intercession  for  them, — that  He,  who  is 
the  Light  of  the  World,  may  also  shine  into  their  darkened 
hearts  and  circumstances.  Shall  we  not  ask  our  Lord 
what  He  will  have  us  do  for  them?  And  He,  having  told 
us,  may  we  willingly  respond, — whether  it  be  to  give,  to 
go,  or  to  pray, — that  also  these  people  may  call  upon 
His  Name.  Surely  the  problem  is  a  hard  and  difficult 
one,  but  nothing  is  too  complex  for  Him,  who  has  said 
"All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  upon  earth; 
go  ye  therefore — and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always.  The 
harvest  indeed  is  great,  but  the  laborers  are  few." 

"He  was  not  willing  that  any  should  perish; 

Clothed  in  our  flesh  with  its  sorrow  and  pain, 
Came  He  to  seek  the  lost — comfort  the  mourner, 

Heal  the  heart  broken  by  sorrow  and  shame. 
Perishing,  perishing — hark  how  they  call  us; 

Bring  us  your  Saviour!     Oh!  tell  us  of  Him; 
We  are  so  weary,  so  heavily  laden, 

And  with  long  weeping  our  eyes  have  grown  dim." 

Mrs.  J.  E.  Thor. 
Sianfu,  Shensi,  China. 


ACCESSIBILITY  OF  MOSLEMS  IN  SOUTH 
SHEN-SI 


For  centuries  the  overflow  of  Moslem  population  has 
filtered  by  the  old  caravan  routes  across  Central  Asia  into 
the  border  districts  and  provinces  of  the  Chinese  Empire, 
the  largest  communities  being  found  along  the  northern 
and  western  boundaries  and  penetrating  by  well-traversed 
tracts  and  waterways  to  distant  inland  centers.  Outpost 
settlements  are  found  in  most  of  the  busiest  cities  of  the 
land.  In  South  Shensi  large  numbers  reside  at  Si-An, 
Han-Chong  and  Hsing-An.  Like  the  Jews  in  Britain  the 
Moslems  are  given  to  trading,  and  are  seldom  known  as 
farmers.  General  merchandise,  cattle,  hides,  furs,  har- 
ness, medicines  and  banking  occupy  their  chief  attention. 
They  serve  as  butchers  and  veterinary  surgeons  to  the 
life-loving  Chinese,  and  kill  the  donkey,  horse,  mule,-cow, 
camel,  goat  and  sheep  for  food.  The  Buddhists  dislike 
them  for  slaughtering  the  ox,  which  may  contain  the 
migrated  soul  of  some  departed  relative;  the  Taoists  love 
them  not  for  disdaining  roast  pork  and  the  sacrificial  pig. 
"He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me."  If  the  above  text 
applies  to  our  Moslem  friends,  much  blessing  and  good 
must  come  to  this  virile  people  for  their  reception  and 
kindness  to  the  messengers  of  the  gospel.  The  great  mart 
of  Lao  Ho  Kow  was  opened  to  mission  work  through  the 
assistance  of  a  Moslem  Mandarin.  Premises  in  Kan  Suh 
and  Shen  Si  were  let  to  the  hated  foreign  devil  by  Moslem 
landlords  at  an  early  date  when  the  covetous  natives 
feared  such  transactions. 

Protestant  and  Catholic  missionaries  were  rioted  out 
of  Hsing-An  twenty  to  thirty  years  ago,  but  a  Moslem 
military  oflicial  lodged  the  writer  and  his  wife  for  three 
months  and  assisted  to  purchase  property  for  permanent 
residence  later. 

86 


MOSLEMS  IN  SOUTH  SHEN-SI  S7 

During  our  early  evangelistic  efforts,  the  young  Moslem 
roughs  followed  and  destroyed  all  posted  tracts  on  walls 
and  city  gates.  This  the  Mullahs  promptly  forbade  when 
they  found  we  honored  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Many 
called  and  held  long  discussions  about  our  strange  teach- 
ing concerning  Er  Sa  (Jesus)  being  one  with  the  Father. 
We  carry  the  Koran  into  the  preaching  hall,  use  what 
Arabic  words  we  know,  and  the  daily  attendance  invaria- 
bly includes  sons  of  E  Si  Ma  Lieh  (Ishmael).  They,  too, 
are  the  first  to  apply  for  medicine  and  medical  aid;  many 
sad  scenes  and  death  scenes  do  we  witness  when  called  to 
their  homes.  The  last  case  of  an  opium  suicide  was  the 
first  wife  of  a  Moslem  merchant.  She  took  her  own  life 
because  a  younger  concubine  was  brought  into  the  home. 

The  women  and  girls  include  a  visit  to  the  foreign  lady 
as  the  climax  of  a  good  day's  outing  of  liberty,  and  never 
fail  to  welcome  a  return  call  to  themselves.  Moslem 
women  attend  worship  and  their  daughters  attend  classes 
quite  frequently. 

One  forlorn  granny  testified,  saying:  "I  have  lost  hus- 
band, sons  and  grandchildren,  and  am  left  alone;  I  rise 
early  and  cry  to  Er-Sa  (Jesus)  in  the  quiet  of  my  garden 
and  He  comforts  my  heart." 

Another  poor  Moslem  said:  '* Teacher,  I  have  got  it 
here  in  my  heart  and  I  have  kept  it  for  thirteen  years — 
the  beautiful  words  of  Jesus."  A  prosperous  butcher  and 
his  family  were  led  to  Christ  through  hearing  our  Chris- 
tians sing:  "Have  you  been  to  Jesus.^^"  Mr.  Loh,  our 
first  landlord,  lives  to-day,  and  has  been  prospered  of  the 
Lord.     He  is  about  eighty-five  years  old. 

Mr.  Ma  was  the  wealthiest  Moslem  of  the  district,  and 
one  of  the  kindest  and  staunchest  friends  we  ever  had. 
He  assisted  us  in  every  danger,  provided  food  for  our 
journey  during  the  Boxer  flight  and  later  rebellious  out- 
breaks. We  had  many  talks  about  the  claims  of  Jesus, 
sin  and  eternity  of  the  soul.  His  sons  wasted  much  of 
his  wealth  in  opium  and  riotous  living,  and  grief  hastened 
the  old  man's  death.  Four  rams,  without  blemish,  were 
sacrificed  at  his  funeral  as  an  atonement  for  sin. 

Our  Moslems  recently  organized  a  reform  party,  one 


88  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

rule  being  "that  they  should  give  more  honour  to  Er-Sa 
because  it  was  observed  that  the  nations  which  did  so 
became  powerful  and  prosperous."  The  immediate  return 
of  the  Lord  is  a  burning  question  among  Chinese  Moslems 
at  present.  They  say  "it  will  not  be  well  for  them  when 
he  does  come.  He  will  stay  upon  the  earth  for  forty 
years." 

When  talking  with  Mullahs  about  prayer  I  have  chal- 
lenged them  to  pray  to  Allah  for  instruction  and  truth 
about  the  Divinity  of  Jesus.  This  they  are  very  reluctant 
to  do. 

During  a  quarter  of  a  century's  contact  with  followers 
of  Mohammed  I  have  never  met  one  who  could  honestly 
say  he  knew  God  answered  his  prayers. 

Oliver  Burgess. 


PERSONAL  WORK  AMONG  MOSLEMS 


Since  it  has  been  generally  admitted  that  the  Lord's  work 
should  be  pushed  in  the  fields  of  the  greatest  need,  we 
believe  the  time  has  come  when  we  can  say  that  field  or 
these  fields  are  found  in  the  Moslem  world.  Few  among 
the  non-Christian  religions  have  been  so  sadly  disap- 
pointed in  her  hopes  as  she.  A  few  years  ago  she  had  her 
plans  well  in  hand  for  a  Pan  Islamic  movement,  with  the 
Turkish  government  as  its  head.  The  Balkan  War 
showed  her  how  impossible  that  hope  was  with  Turkey  so 
weak.  Her  hopes  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  becoming 
the  prevailing  religion  of  the  world  have  grown  very  small 
these  days.  Then  through  the  teaching  of  the  many 
missionaries  in  Moslem  countries  the  light  has  pene- 
trated to  the  minds  of  thousands  of  these  multitudes, 
creating  a  very  great  doubt  as  to  their  claims  of  Mo- 
hammed being  a  Savior  or  even  a  true  prophet  of  God. 
This,  coupled  with  the  lack  of  any  spiritual  experience  or 
victory  over  sin  in  their  own  lives,  has  brought  them  very 
close  to  the  conviction  that  after  all  this  Babe  of  Bethle- 
hem, He  who  was  a  prophet  from  his  birth,  is  indeed  the 
Christ,  the  Savior  of  the  world.  For  these  the  general 
work  of  preaching  has  done  its  part.  There  is  left  the 
heart  to  heart  talks  by  a  Christian  brother  who  loves  his 
Moslem  brother,  who  can  sympathize  with  him  in  his 
mental  difficulties  and  who  is  himself  a  cleansed  vessel 
touched  with  a  coal  from  off  God's  altar;  who  has  been 
filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  keeps  on  being  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit.  For  one  who  has  studied  the  word  of 
God  and  man  with  the  Holy  Spirit  as  Teacher,  for  such 
a  man  there  is  a  field  now  ripe  for  the  harvest  among  our 
Moslem  brethren  second  to  none  in  the  world.  In  no 
part  of  the  world  has  God  by  His  Providences  so  definitely 
indicated  to  the  church  that  the  crisis  of  the  Moslem  prob- 

39 


40  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

lem  is  approaching,  yea  verily  is  now  at  hand.  "There  is 
a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  which  taken  at  the  flood."  The 
Providential  end  is  attained,  omitted,  and  in  this  case 
what  is  liable  to  result.^  The  hopes  of  success  here  and 
now  are  as  bright  as  the  promises  of  God  if  the  church  is 
aroused.  Otherwise  you  and  I  will  never  see  such  an 
opportunity  again  nor  will  our  generation  enjoy  the  stim- 
ulus of  having  gained  this  victory  for  our  King.  The 
King's  Business  requireth  haste. 

Difficulties 
The  first  and  greatest  difficulty  in  reaching  our  Moslem 
brother  is  the  teaching  which  he  has  received  from  his 
religious  instructors  which  is  for  the  most  part  against 
us  and  our  present  Books,  Tauret  (Law),  Zabur  (Psalms) 
and  Injil  (N.  T.).  Also  as  to  the  Godhead  and  nature 
of  Jesus  Christ.  These  false  conceptions  joined  with  great 
ignorance  and  excessive  bigotry  make  entrenchments  for 
them  which  for  us  to  overcome  is  so  difficult  that  in  com- 
parison the  taking  of  Verdun  by  the  Germans  would  be 
easy.  You  will  notice  that  most  of  our  converts  are  from 
those  of  some  education  and  often  those  best  acquainted 
with  the  Quran.  The  reason  is  not  far  to  hunt.  His 
knowledge  fails  to  bring  assurance  and  opens  up  the  way 
for  you  to  present  the  true  plan  of  salvation  from  the 
Books  they  must  admit  are  inspired.  Another  very  seri- 
ous difficulty  in  the  way  of  reaching  the  Moslem  popula- 
tion is  the  present  and  historic  state  of  the  church.  One 
has  said  that  perhaps  the  greatest  loss  the  Prodigal  Son 
sustained  was  the  loss  of  his  power  to  witness  he  was  of 
good  family  but  how  could  he  get  people  to  believe  him 
so  long  as  he  was  feeding  swine.  So  the  lives  of  our 
Christians  have  failed  to  witness  to  the  power  of  Christ 
to  enable  us  to  live  the  victorious  life.  The  social  diffi- 
culty is  a  great  one  where  most  of  our  converts  are  from 
the  outcastes.  Here  in  my  District  91  per  cent  of  the 
population  are  Mohammedans  and  naturally  they  hold 
the  key  to  the  social  Eden.  They  have  not  been  slow  to 
make  converts  from  their  faith  feel  their  power  in  this 
matter.  A  farmer  in  my  District  some  years  ago  was 
driven  back  through  a  wise  use  of  this  social  power.    His 


PERSONAL  WORK  AMONG  MOSLEMS  41 

son  got  sick  and  died  during  his  illness.  The  neighbors 
held  aloof  nor  did  they  attend  the  funeral.  He  was  left 
with  the  help  of  the  outcaste  Christians  but  after  the 
funeral  the  Mohammedans  came  with  more  than  usual 
expressions  of  sympathy  and  swept  him  back. 

Methods 
There  is  one  element  that  must  be  prominent  in  the 
personal  worker  for  any  class  of  people  but  pre-eminently 
so  in  the  worker  among  Moslems  and  that  is  love.  This 
was  brought  out  very  strongly  in  a  convention  held  a  few 
years  ago  in  Lucknow,  India,  where  all  the  prominent 
speakers,  who  were  converts  from  Mohammedanism,  de- 
clared they  had  not  been  won  through  the  head  but 
through  the  heart.  The  examples  given  were  not  where 
much  money  and  time  were  given  by  the  missionary  but 
simple  acts  of  kindness  which  any  of  us  might  perform 
and  would  perform  naturally  were  our  hearts  surcharged 
with  love  and  sympathy.  One  simple  matter  mentioned 
was  of  a  missionary  who  was  taking  a  pupil  of  the  mission 
school  to  see  an  eye  doctor.  When  it  came  the  time  for 
the  Muhammadan  to  say  his  prayers  the  missionary 
asked  the  pupil  if  he  would  like  to  say  his  prayers  and  he 
replied  that  he  would.  The  missionary  at  once  stopped 
the  camel  and  sat  on  the  roadside  while  the  Muhammadan 
pupil  said  his  prayers.  The  pupil  could  not  help  making 
comparisons  with  his  own  religious  teachers  and  to  their 
discredit.  He  soon  became  a  Christian  and  reported  that 
the  change  began  at  that  roadside  experience.  Another 
illustration  of  what  happens  when  the  love  for  souls 
becomes  a  real  burden:  A  young  missionary  was  learn- 
ing the  language  when  she  got  interested  in  a  young 
girl  in  training  in  the  Hospital  where  this  missionary  was 
staying.  She  could  not  speak  to  her  but  she  took  her 
Bible  and  read  to  her  a  portion  from  it  each  day  as  they 
sat  together  in  the  garden.  One  day  the  missionary  was 
so  overcome  with  the  indifference  of  her  pupil  as  to  her 
own  salvation  that  she  broke  down  and  cried.  The  girl 
finished  her  training  and  left  the  Hospital.  Some  years 
afterward  this  missionary  met  this  girl,  now  a  Christian, 
and  when  asked  what  had  influenced  her  to  decide  for 


42  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Christ  she  repHed,  "your  weeping  over  me  that  day  in 
the  garden."  She  there  learned  that  the  missionary  did 
care  for  her  souL  The  personal  worker  must  convince  the 
one  whom  he  is  trying  to  save  that  he  is  agonizing  for 
his  soul,  otherwise  results  will  be  nil.  Again  the  personal 
worker  must  study  men — my  best  training  for  this  work 
was  as  an  agent  during  my  college  vacations.  How  I 
studied  my  party.  I  had  my  message  all  on  the  point  of 
my  tongue  but  I  knew  this  was  not  enough;  that  there  was 
a  psychological  moment  in  which  my  case  would  be  lost 
or  won.  I  soon  by  careful  observation  and  study  became 
an  expert  in  that  line,  and  the  experience  I  got  in  the 
study  of  men  as  an  agent  has  been  a  great  help  to  me  as 
an  agent  of  a  higher  power,  and  in  behalf  of  more  precious 
goods.    Study  your  man;  it  is  worth  while. 

Your  message  must  be  one  selected  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  whom  all  should  be  brought  in  prayer 
before  you  endeavor  to  give  any  message,  even  should  it 
be  but  an  ejaculatory  prayer  at  the  moment — I  have 
found  great  help  in  this  work  through  the  practice  of 
ejaculatory  prayer  for  help  at  the  moment,  also  in  bazar 
preaching.  You  will  here  need  your  knowledge  of  the 
man  to  enable  you  to  give  a  message  suitable  to  his 
ability.  Paul  in  Acts  28:23  gives  a  very  good  sample  of 
how  our  endeavor  should  be  conducted.  Note  well  the 
method  and  matter  both.  He  expounded  and  testified 
to  them  the  Kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them  concern- 
ing Jesus  from  the  Scriptures;  neither  did  he  seem  hurried 
for  time  nor  apparently  did  he  become  anxious  about  his 
meals  and  hurry  the  meeting  to  a  close. 

How  far  should  you  use  the  Quran  in  driving  home 
your  message  .f^  I  feel  that  we  need  to  be  very  sure  of  our 
guidance  here.  I  find  two  extremes  advocated;  one  says 
you  should  never  use  the  Quran  to  back  up  any  teaching 
for  the  Bible,  lest  the  Moslem  brother  be  led  to  think  the 
Quran  is  looked  upon  as  authority  by  us.  The  other  is  to 
take  your  arguments  all  from  the  Quran  as  some  workers 
did  at  a  religious  fair  in  the  Punjab  some  years  ago. 
When  they  returned  the  Reverend  Mr.  Bateman  said  to 
them,  "my  fellow  workers,  you  preached  the  Quran  well 


PERSONAL  WORK  AMONG  MOSLEMS  43 

to-day."  They  felt,  and  rightly  felt,  that  a  rebuke.  I 
think  we  can  hold  to  no  hard  and  fast  rule  here.  You 
will  go  carefully  and  mildly  at  first  but  as  confidence  is 
gained  and  friendship  grows,  you  can  use  more  freedom 
and  eventually  use  sledge-hammer  blows  on  the  false 
teachings  in  the  Quran. 

Shall  we  debate  with  them.^^  As  a  general  rule  I  would 
say  no,  but  there  are  exceptions  to  this  as  to  other  rules. 
You  should  be  ready  at  all  times  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
faith  within  you  and  on  occasions  give  the  reason,  too, 
and  that  strongly,  but  always  lovingly.  By  taking  the 
lead  in  the  conversation  and  insisting  that  the  other 
party  hear  you  till  you  have  fairly  stated  your  purpose  in 
speaking  with  him  and  keeping  the  conversation  along 
the  line  of  that  purpose,  you  will  avoid  many  useless 
questions.  The  point  that  I  almost  invariably  insist  on 
lately  is  that  my  Moslem  friend  give  the  verse  in  the 
Quran  which  proves  the  statement  he  makes,  ever  refusing 
to  admit  their  traditions  as  a  fit  reply  to  the  verses  of 
inspired  Revelation  which  you  put  forth  from  the  Bible. 

This  cuts  off  at  one  stroke  about  three  fourths  of  their 
stock  in  trade  for  it  is  at  least  true  of  the  Mohammedans 
in  the  Punjab,  that  about  three  fourths  of  what  they 
remember  is  either  tradition  or  stories  written  by  Moham- 
medans, themselves.  The  verse  in  the  Quran  so  often 
quoted  "Do  not  cease  to  hope  for  the  mercy  of  God"  was 
at  one  time  a  verse  very  hard  to  reply  to  satisfactorily. 
Now  I  often  make  it  the  basis  of  my  message  and  appeal, 
stating  that  we  agree  that  we  are  sinners,  that  if  we  ever 
are  saved  it  must  be  by  the  grace  of  God,  but  a  third 
thing  is  necessary.  God  works  through  means.  What 
are  the  means  by  which  God  will  show  His  grace  .^  They 
will  say  Muhammad,  but  the  Quran  and  Tradition  put 
acts  as  the  method  of  salvation.  In  debate  or  conversa- 
tion never  allow  the  Moslem  to  put  you  on  the  defensive 
as  to  the  authority  of  the  Bible  but  insist  that  until  he 
can  present  another  in  the  original  languages  in  which 
there  are  teachings  different  from  the  one  you  hold  in 
your  hand  you  must  consider  his  statement  unproved. 
And  that  famous  statement  in  the  Quran  that  Christ  said 


44  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

a  Prophet  by  name  Ahmad  was  to  come  after  him,  you 
can  consistently  insist  on  their  producing  that  N.  T.  in 
Greek  in  which  that  statement  is  found. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  Son 
of  God.  We  can  show  that  we  are  preaching  the  word  of 
God  and  hence  it  is  their  responsibihty.  We  must  be 
honest  yet  avoid  harshness,  so  should  they  ask  you  if  you 
believe  the  Quran  to  be  the  word  of  God  just  say  frankly 
that,  "I  don't  think  you  should  insist  on  my  answering  a 
question  the  answer  of  which  the  questioner  knows  will 
give  the  hearers  pain."  This  is  usually  sufficient  but  if 
insisted  upon  you  must  be  honest  and  say  for  certain 
reasons  which  you  will  state  kindly  you  cannot  believe 
it  to  be  a  God-sent  Book. 

Another  precaution — ^you  should  be  sure  so  far  as  possi- 
ble that  you  properly  represent  their  thought  when  you 
speak  of  the  teaching  of  the  Quran.  Nothing  will  injure 
your  influence  quicker  than  a  display  of  ignorance  of  the 
popular  interpretation  of  such  passages.  Even  should 
you  think  the  passage  capable  of  another  interpretation, 
first  give  the  accepted  one  then  bring  in  your  own  inter- 
pretation. 

W.  T.  Anderson. 

India. 


RICOLDUS:  A  DOMINICAN  MISSIONARY  TO 

MOSLEMS  IN  THE   THIRTEENTH 

CENTURY* 


On  October  31st,  1517,  Martin  Luther  nailed  his  95 
Theses  to  the  Church  door  at  Wittenberg  and  the  four 
hundredth  anniversary  of  that  birthday  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation  is  being  celebrated  in  many  Lutheran  com- 
munities all  over  the  world  this  year.  Of  special  note  to 
those  interested  in  Moslem  lands  may  well  be  the  Re- 
former's attitude  towards  Islam,  the  more  so  because  in 
the  Fifth  Thesis  there  is  a  definite  referencef  to  the  Turks 
and  we  know  from  several  of  his  other  writings  that  the 
Mohammedan  world  was  one  of  his  deep  and  recurring 
concerns. 

In  1517,  the  Turks  were  on  the  very  threshold  of 
Western  Christendom,  the  Crusade  fever  was  in  the  air 
once  more,  and  only  in  1526  did  the  Battle  of  Mohacz 
turn  the  invaders  eastwards  or  at  least  check  their  ad- 
vance. Luther  was  bound  to  turn  his  attention  to  one  of 
the  burning  questions  of  his  day  and  in  1529  he  published 
his  "  Vom  Kriege  gegen  die  Turken"  and  his  "Heerpredigt 
wider  den  Turken." 

By  his  own  admission  his  information  about  Islam  was 
based  solely  on  two  Latin  works:  the  **Confutatio  Alco- 
rani"  of  Ricoldus,  a  Dominican  monk  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  a  smaller  book,  the  '*Cribratio  Alcorani  of 
Nicolaus  Cusanus."     From  the  study  of  these,  however, 

*  This  article  is  based  on  the  following  studies:  " Muhammedanermission  im  Mit- 
telalter"  by  Pfarrer  A.  Graf  in  the  Evangelisches  Missions-Magazin,  Basel,  Jan.-Feb. 
1916;  "Der  Dominikanermonch  Ricoldus  und  seine  Missionsreise  nach  dem  Orient" 
and  "Luthers  Stellung  zum  Islam  und  seine  Ubersetzung  der  Confutatio  des  Ricol- 
dus," by  Hermann  Barge  in  the  Allgemeine  Missions  Zeitschrift,  Berlin, Jan -Mar.  1916. 

t  "Obschon  sehr  viele  und  zwar  hohe  Herren  von  nichts  anderem  traumen  alsvon 
Kriegen  gegen  den  Tiirken,  so  wollen  sie  doch  nicht  gegen  die  Missetaten  Kriegf  tihren, 
sondern  gegen  die  Rute  der  Missetat,  und  Gott  widerstreben,  der  durch  diese  Rute 
unsre  Missetaten  heimsuchen  will,  deshalb  weil  wir  sie  nicht  heimsuchen." 

45 


46  THE   MOSLEM  WORLD 

Luther  became  deeply  interested  in  the  Koran  itself  and 
for  years  he  entertained  the  hope  of  issuing  a  German 
translation  of  it.  It  proved  too  great  an  undertaking  in 
the  stress  of  all  his  other  work,  but  he  did  publish  a  trans- 
lation of  the  abovementioned  work  by  Ricoldus  in  1542 
under  the  title  '*  Verlegung  des  Alcoran  Bruder  Richardi." 
And  interesting  as  would  be  a  study  of  Luther's  attitude 
towards  Islam  as  we  find  it  in  these  writings,  the  figure  of 
his  master  in  things  Moslem  is  even  more  so.  He  was 
one  of  the  earliest  of  the  great  company  of  Dominican 
Fathers  who  have  been  missionaries  to  the  Moslem  world 
from  the  thirteenth  century  until  our  own  time. 

The  beginnings  of  the  missionary  labours  of  the  Western 
Church  among  Moslems  lie  away  back  in  the  early  days 
of  the  great  Orders  of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  the  life  and  work  of  Raymund 
Lull  have  made  many  familiar  with  the  ideals  of  the 
Franciscans  for  the  evangelisation  of  the  world.  For  he 
received  his  call  to  foreign  missionary  work  in  the  Fran- 
ciscan Church  at  Palma  and  remained  in  close  touch  with 
the  Order.  The  early  Dominican  missionaries  are  perhaps 
less  wellknown,  but  by  1253  Innocent  IV  wrote  of  "his 
dear  sons  the  preaching  friars  who  are  carrying  on  their 
preaching  activities  in  the  lands  of  the  Saracens,  Greeks, 
Bulgars,  Cumanians,  Ethiopians,  Syrians,  Goths,  Jacob- 
ites, Armenians,  Indians,  Tartars,  Hungarians  and  other 
unbelievers  of  the  East."  In  the  second  half  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  the  Dominicans  went  in  large  numbers  to 
the  East.  Many  found  a  martyr's  death,  but  new  mis- 
sionaries soon  took  their  places,  building  monasteries 
right  up  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Mongol  Empire  that  they 
might  gain  a  footing  in  the  interior.  Ricoldus  of  Florence 
was  one  of  these  early  missionaries  to  the  Near  East. 

Of  a  distinguished  family  in  the  district  of  Monte 
Croce,  Ricoldus  went  early  to  Florence  and  in  his  younger 
years  undertook  long  journeys  "to  pursue  those  secular 
studies  which  we  call  the  liberal  arts."  In  1267  he  entered 
the  Dominican  monastery  of  Sancta  Maria  Novella  at 
Florence  and  soon  rose  to  a  position  of  eminence  among 
his  fellow  members  of  the  Order.    After  teaching  for  some 


RICOLDUS:  A  DOMINICAN  MISSIONARY  47 

time  in  the  monasteries  of  Tuscany,  he  returned  to  Flor- 
ence and  made  a  special  name  for  himself  as  a  preacher. 
**He  was  reckoned"  says  his  biographer,  Vincenzio  Fine- 
schi,  *' among  the  most  famous  and  fiery  of  the  spiritual 
orators  of  the  time  and  was  so  popular  that  crowds  came 
to  hear  him."  *  Ricoldus  attacked  the  false  beliefs  of  the 
Florentines  in  miracles  (eccesso  di  devozione  non  ben 
fondata)  and  directed  his  sermons  especially  against  the 
cures  said  to  be  worked  by  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  in  the 
Loggia  of  St.  Michael.  In  his  old  age  Ricoldus  became 
Prior  of  the  monastery  and  exercised  that  office  until 
1317.    He  died  on  October  31st,  1320. 

By  far  the  most  important  event  in  the  life  of  Ricoldus, 
however,  was  his  journey  to  the  East.  Its  date  is  not 
easily  determined,  but  it  cannot  have  been  of  short  dura- 
tion. His  mastery  of  Arabic  and  his  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  Koran  and  commentaries  upon  it  testify  to  years  of 
unremitting  study.  Probably  Ricoldus  began  his  journey 
in  the  eighties  of  the  thirteenth  century  and  it  was  cer- 
tainly closed  in  1301.  For  in  that  year  his  name  appears 
in  a  list  of  witnesses  to  a  Florentine  document  published 
by  Fineschi. 

Ricoldus  wrote  a  full  account  of  his  travels  which  has 
been  edited  by  J.  E.  M.  Laurent  in  the  "  Peregrina tores 
medii  aevi  quatuor."  Leipzig  1864,  pp.  101-141.  As  a 
source  of  our  knowledge  of  the  mediaeval  geography  of 
Palestine  it  is  of  importance,  because  he  gives  an  accurate 
description  of  all  the  places  he  visited.  For  those  actually 
in  Palestine  he  follows  closely  the  current  stories  of  other 
pilgrims  to  the  Holy  Places,  but  the  further  he  gets  away 
from  these  the  more  acute  become  his  own  observations 
and  the  fuller  his  descriptions  of  the  customs,  political 
conditions  and  religious  usages  of  the  peoples  and  sects 
with  which  he  comes  into  contact.  He  visited  most 
remote  districts  which  had  been  hitherto  unoccupied  by 
any  Christian  missionary.  From  Jerusalem  he  went  to 
Tripoli  and  from  thence  to  Armenia  and  on  to  the  Turks 
and  Turcoman  tribes,  across  rough  country  to  Erzerum, 

*  Cf .  V.  Fineschi.    "  Memorie  istoriche,  che  possono  servire  alle  vita  degli  nomini 
illustri  del  Convento  di  S.  Maria  Novella  di  Firenze."    Vol.  I,  pp.  303-340. 


48  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

then  far  into  Persia  and  back  again  to  Mesopotamia  and 
by  way  of  the  ruined  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  to 
Baghdad. 

The  journey  ended  at  Baghdad  and  there  he  acquired 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  Arabic,  the  Koran  and  Koranic 
lore.  Baghdad  had  fallen  from  its  earlier  glory,  having 
been  conquered  by  the  Mongols  in  1258,  but  Ricoldus 
describes  it  as  still  a  city  with  a  very  large  population. 
*' Besides  the  Christians  and  Jews,  who  number  many 
thousands,!  hear  on  good  authority  that  there  are  200,000 
Saracens;  but  all  are  under  the  rule  of  the  Tartars.  The 
Saracens  have  very  large  schools  (studia)  and  distin- 
guished teachers;  here  their  monks  live;  here  their  diflFer- 
ent  sects  consort  together." 

Ricoldus  did  not  meet  with  as  much  difficulty  as  might 
have  been  expected  in  gaining  an  entrance  to  the  Mo- 
hammedan schools  and  in  exchanging  thought  with  the 
Moslem  teachers.  He  himself  says,  "As  we  desired  thor- 
oughly to  understand  the  baseness  (perfidiam)  of  Mo- 
hammed and  intended  to  grapple  with  his  followers  at 
their  headquarters  and  in  the  halls  of  their  University, 
we  had  to  converse  with  them  for  a  time.  They  received 
us,  however,  as  angels  of  God  in  their  schools,  lectures, 
monasteries,  churches  or  mosques  and  houses,  and  we 
thoroughly  studied  their  law  (i.e,  the  Koran)  and  their 
works." 

The  opinion  of  Ricoldus  upon  Islam  differs  according 
as  he  discusses  the  doctrines  of  the  Koran  in  general  or 
the  life  of  the  Saracens  whom  he  met.  His  opinion  of  the 
Koran,  which  is  given  in  his  polemic  against  it,  entitled 
by  a  later  editor  ''Confutatio  Alcorani,"  is  entirely  ad- 
verse. He  indicates  on  the  other  hand  many  praiseworthy 
features  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Baghdad 
moslems.  The  frank  way  in  which  the  Dominican  monk 
emphasises  the  strong  points  in  Islam  as  he  found  it  is 
remarkable.  *'Who  would  not  be  struck,"  he  says,  "by 
the  Saracens'  zeal  for  knowledge,  their  devotion  at  prayer, 
their  benevolence  to  the  poor,  their  reverence  for  the 
Name  of  God  and  for  the  Prophets  and  the  Holy  Places, 
the  dignity  of  their  behaviour,  their  courtesy  to  strangers. 


RICOLDUS:  A  DOMINICAN  MISSIONARY  49 

their  concord  and  love  amongst  themselves."  And  he 
goes  on  to  describe  more  in  detail  how  those  who  come  to 
Baghdad  to  study  are  provided  with  bread  and  water 
from  a  common  fund.  '*That  they  be  at  peace  and  in 
utter  poverty  devote  themselves  to  contemplation  and 
study." 

Ricoldus  writes  from  the  strictly  ecclesiastical  stand- 
point, but  it  would  be  doing  him  an  injustice  to  place  his 
"Confutatio  Alcorani"  on  a  level  with  the  ordinary 
polemical  works  of  the  Mediaeval  Church.  He  had  a 
surprisingly  accurate  knowledge  not  only  of  the  Koran 
itself  but  also  of  Koranic  exegesis.  Of  course  here  and 
there  one  does  find  inaccuracies,  e.g.  '*the  people  of  the 
book"  are  said  to  be  the  Saracens  whereas  the  Koran 
designates  by  the  term  the  Jews  and  Christians.  But 
such  mistakes  are  lost  among  the  multitude  of  correct 
quotations  and  references  which  run  through  the  book. 
Ricoldus  made  himself  acquainted  with  all  the  controver- 
sial subjects  most  frequently  handled  in  the  schools.  He 
knows  all  the  complicated  details  of  Mohammedan  mar- 
riage law.  Details  of  the  life  of  Mohammed  are  familiar 
to  him,  as  also  the  legends  about  his  ascent  to  heaven. 
He  speaks  of  the  recensions  of  the  Koran  and  alludes  to 
the  favour  shown  to  Greek  philosophy  under  the  Abba- 
side  Caliph  Ma'mun  and  the  ensuing  orthodox  reaction 
under  al-Mutawakkil  in  Baghdad.  In  his  book  there  are 
more  than  150  quotations  from  the  Koran  and  with  very 
few  exceptions  the  Suras  from  which  they  are  taken  are 
correctly  given,  as  also  the  sense  of  the  passages. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  book,  in  the  sixteenth  Chapter 
Ricoldus  contrasts  the  sublimeness  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
unsatisfactoriness  of  the  Koran.  "There  is  no  contradic- 
tion to  be  found  in  the  Gospel,"  he  says,  "for  it  is  the 
completion  and  perfection  of  all  other  writings.  More- 
over the  style  of  the  Gospel  will  be  found  to  be  not  metri- 
cal or  rythmical,  but  simple  and  easily  to  be  understood, 
not  by  reason  of  the  plainness  of  those  who  compiled,  but 
for  the  profit  and  upbuilding  of  the  readers,  so  that  it 
can  be  understood  by  every  simple  soul  and  ordinary  man 
(surely  a  remarkable  utterance  from  a  Dominican  monk 


50  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  the  thirteenth  century !) .  It  contains  no  self  praise,  nor 
does  it  employ  abusive  or  illadvised  language  but  only 
the  ordinary,  honest  speech.  Legends  are  entirely  absent 
from  the  Gospel,  and  if  sometimes  parables  are  used  it 
also  gives  the  meaning  of  the  words  used  in  the  parable. 
It  is  in  accord  with  not  only  other  sacred  writings  but  also 
with  the  philosophers  who  have  inculcated  virtue  and 
meditated  on  the  last  end  of  man." 

The  "Confutatio  Alcorani"  was  not  the  only  fruit  of 
Ricoldus'  missionary  journey.  Fineschi  tells  us  he  also 
wrote  a  book  "Contra  Errores  Judseorum"  and  a  "Libel- 
lus  contra  nationes  orien tales,"  containing  counsels  to 
monks  proceeding  to  the  East  as  missionaries.  In  Fine- 
schi's  time  these  works  lay  buried  in  the  monastery  library 
of  Sancta  Maria  Novella;  they  were  not  published.  Of 
the  "Confutatio,"  however,  we  have  seen  there  was  a 
circulation  down  to  the  days  of  Martin  Luther  and  the 
Reformation. 

The  history  of  this  circulation  is  in  itself  interesting, 
being  bound  up  with  the  earlier  days  of  the  Turkish 
menace  against  Europe  in  the  later  stages  of  which  we 
find  Luther  writing  his  treatises  against  Islam.  At  the 
opening  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  Turks  appeared  at 
the  gates  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  and  during  the  first 
half  of  the  century  a  Byzantine  theologian  translated  the 
*'Confutatio  Alcorani"  of  Ricoldus  into  Greek.  This 
translation  was  soon  afterwards  used  by  the  Emperor 
John  VI  Kantakuzenos  (who  reigned  from  1341  to  1355) 
in  his  "Apology  of  Christianity  against  Islam." 

The  Latin  original  was  preserved  in  MSS.  in  a  number 
of  libraries,  but  it  so  happened  that  during  the  next  two 
centuries  it  was  through  the  Greek  translation  rather 
than  the  original  text  that  Ricoldus  continued  to  influence 
thought.  Only  comparatively  long  afterwards,  in  1609, 
was  the  book  published  in  the  original  at  Venice,  and  that 
at  a  time  when  the  altered  political  situation  gave  its 
contents  a  very  different  interest  to  that  which  it  had  had 
in  the  days  of  the  Turkish  peril.  The  printed  edition  of 
the  original  text  fell  therefore  into  almost  complete 
oblivion. 


RICOLDUS:  A  DOMINICAN  MISSIONARY  51 

In  1506,  an  otherwise  unknown  Bartholomseus  Picenus 
brought  out  at  Rome  a  re-translation  of  the  Greek  ver- 
sion of  Demetrius  Cydonius.  On  its  titlepage  the  author's 
name  is  incorrectly  given  as  Ricardus,  instead  of  Ricoldus, 
but  that  his  personality  had  not  been  forgotten  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  several  later  editions  give  the  name  cor- 
rectly as  Ricoldus. 

Bartholomseus  Picenus  dedicates  his  book  to  King  Ferd- 
inand of  Aragon,  greatly  praising  him  in  the  preface  for 
the  expulsion  of  the  unbeliever  from  Spain  and  calling 
upon  him  to  continue  his  laudable  work,  cross  into  Africa 
and  after  delivering  that  region  to  set  himself  to  free 
Jerusalem.  The  appearance  of  this  translation  made  a 
great  impression  as  is  evident  from  the  large  number  of 
editions  through  which  it  passed. 

A  copy  of  one  of  these,  of  poor  appearance,  without 
date  or  place  of  publication,  although  probably  issued  at 
Basel,  and  carelessly  printed  in  several  passages  is  of 
peculiar  interest.  It  was  the  copy  of  the  book  which 
came  into  Martin  Luther's  hands  and  has  his  own  annota- 
tions on  the  margins.  As  has  been  said  it  was  from  this 
book  that  he  drew  practically  all  his  information  about 
the  Mohammedans  and  it  is  the  key  to  all  his  further 

study  of  Islam. 

E.  I.  M.  Boyd. 

Wimbledon,  London,  S,  W, 


ISLAM  IN  THE  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOLS  OF 

EGYPT 

A  Syllabus  of  the  Primary  Course  of  Study 


General  Remarks 

I.  The  object  aimed  at  in  the  reading  of  the  Koran,  and 
in  committing  parts  of  it  to  memory  is  twofold : 

(1)  Dissemination  of  the  spirit  of  religion  in  the  hearts 
of  the  pupils  by  what  they  are  able  to  understand 
when  they  read  really  easy  passages,  and  by  what 
remains  in  their  memory,  the  result  of  which  is 
that,  in  after  times,  they  attain  to  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  truth. 

(2)  Training  of  the  pupils  in  correct  speech,  owing  to 
their  being  habituated  to  clear  articulation  and  to 
producing  the  various  sounds  from  the  right  parts 
of  the  vocal  cavity. 

The  teacher  should  take  the  greatest  pains  to  secure 
correct  memorising  and  perfect  reading.  He  should  see 
that  each  word  is  clearly  spoken,  each  letter  receiving  its 
due  pronunciation  and  proceeding  from  the  right  place. 
Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  correct  pronun- 
ciation of  the  letters. 

II.  The  object  aimed  at  in  the  teaching  of  religion  is 
likewise  twofold: 

(1)  The  gradual  implanting  in  the  hearts  of  the  pupils 
of  a  firm  religious  belief,  and  the  inculcation  of  the 
fact  that  religion  is  a  defence  against  evil  passions, 
and  a  means  of  diverting  the  heart  from  wicked 
desires,  inasmuch  as  it  subdues  evil  thoughts  and 

[The  following  is  the  printed  Syllabus  of  the  Primary  Course  of  Studies  in  the 
Mohammedan  religion  published  by  the  Ministry  of  Education,  1913.  It  is  the  first 
section  of  the  course  of  study  prescribed,  which  also  includes  the  Arabic  Language, 
Penmanship,  History,  Geography,  Arithmetic,  Geometry,  Drawing,  Hygiene,  Trans- 
lation: (a)  English  Language,  (b)  French  Language,  European  Penmanship,  Drill 
and  Physical  Exercises, — Ed.] 

52 


ISLAM  IN  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOLS  OF  EGYPT     53 

exercises  a  restraining  power  upon  the  conscience. 
It  furthermore  controls  man  in  his  hours  of  soli- 
tude, prevents  him  from  falling  into  error,  and 
secures  harmony  and  mutual  help  between  men. 
Lastly,  religion  is  the  spirit  of  righteousness  in  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come,  for  the  love  of  God 
and  his  prophets  is  thereby  rooted  in  the  hearts  of 
men. 

(2)  Habituation  of  the  pupils  from  their  earliest  years 
to  the  performance  of  their  religious  duties  and 
the  acquirement  of  religious  virtues  so  that  the 
practice  of  these  becomes  a  habit  with  them  from 
childhood  upwards  until  religion  becomes  blended 
into  their  hearts  and  united  with  their  souls. 

The  following  points  should  be  attended  to: 

(a)  The  principle  on  which  the  teaching  of  religion 

should  be  based  is  the  presentation  of  it  to  the 
pupils  in  such  a  manner  that  they  shall  be  drawn 
towards  it  by  a  feeling  of  love  and  a  yearning  for 
it,  in  which  case  it  will  become  firmly  established 
in  their  hearts.  This  end  can  only  be  attained  by 
making  the  teaching  strictly  progressive,  adapted 
to  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  pupils,  and  a 
source  of  pleasure  to  them,  all  severity  and  harsh- 
ness being  avoided. 

(b)  The  ritual  of  the  ceremonial  ablutions  and  prayers 
must,  in  the  First  Year,  be  taught  in  a  practical 
manner,  without  attempting  to  explain  the  essen- 
tial and  unessential  parts  of  the  ritual  and  details 
of  a  similar  nature,  all  of  which  are  beyond  the 
comprehension  of  the  pupils.  The  latter  must 
always  be  encouraged  to  perform  the  stated  pray- 
ers, and  one  of  the  teachers  should  lead  them  in 
the  afternoon  and  evening  prayers  at  the  school 
pray  erst  at  ion. 

(c)  An  abbreviated  account  of  the  life  of  the  Prophet 
should  be  given,  sufficient  to  implant  a  love  of  him 
in  the  hearts  of  the  pupils,  and  in  a  form  that  they 
can  understand  and  appreciate,  e,g,,  the  story  of 
his  youth  should  be  given  and  his  virtuous  quali- 


54  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

ties  enumerated.    Such  an  account  should  be  cast 
in  a  simple  mould  and  expressed  in  easy  sentences 
so  as  to  facilitate  its  comprehension  by  the  pupils, 
who  are  not  expected  to  learn  the  account  by  heart. 
Short  stories  illustrative  of  the  Prophet's  virtues 
should  also  be  given  to  the  pupils. 
(d)  The  Koran  should  be  the  source  of  authority  in  the 
teaching  of  doctrines,  ritual,  and  religious  virtues 
in  the  classes  of  the  Third  and  Fourth  years.    This 
end  may  be  attained  by  the  thorough  committal 
to  memory  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  of  the  Koranic 
verses,   and   an  explanation  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher,  in  terms  suited  to  the  intellectual  powers 
of  the  pupils,  of  the  truths  that  are  intended  to  be 
brought  to  light  by  the  verses  learnt. 
With  regard  to  the  work  prescribed  for  the  Third  and 
Fourth  years  it  is  sufficient  to  cause  to  be  learnt  by  heart 
the  verses  quoted  hereafter,  and  to  refer  to  the  authen- 
ticated sayings  of  the  Prophet,  together  with  suitable 
prose  or  poetical  pieces  and  historical  events  bearing  upon 
the  subject. 

Class  of  First  Primary  Year 
The  Koran 
Reading  and  committal  to  memory  of  Suras  1  and  84- 
114  inclusive,  i,e.,  the  Introductory  Chapter  together  with 
the  Chapter  entitled  "The  Rending  Asunder"  and  all 
the  Chapters  that  follow  the  latter.  The  pupils  shall  also 
be  required  to  read  correctly,  from  the  text  provided  for 
their  use,  the  remainder  of  the  First  Section. 

Prayer 
Practical  demonstration  of  the  method  of  performing 
the  ceremonial  ablutions.     The  ordained  prayers,  and 
details  concerning  the  method  of  performing  them. 

The  Life  of  the  Prophet 

A  short  account  of  the  Prophet's  life.    His  name.  His 

father's  name.    The  places  of  his  birth  and  burial.  His 

upbringing  by  his  grandfather  and  paternal  uncle.  His 


ISLAM  IN  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOLS  OF  EGYPT     55 

truthfulness  and  integrity.     The  history  of  his  flight  to 
Medina.    The  year  of  his  death. 

Class  of  Second  Primary  Year 
The  Koran 
Revision  of  the  First  Year  Course. 
Reading  and  committal  to  memory  of  Suras  67-83 
inclusive,  i.e.,  from  the  Chapter  entitled  "The  Kingdom" 
to  that  entitled  "Those  who  give  short  measure  or  short 
weight."    The  pupils  shall  also  be  required  to  read  with 
expression,  from  the  text  provided  for  their  use,  the  Third 
Section. 

Ritual 
Ceremonial  ablutions  and  the  circumstances  that  render 
them   nugatory.      Prayers   and   the   circumstances   that 
render  them  nugatory.     Fasting  and  the  circumstances 
that  render  it  nugatory. 

The  Life  of  the  Prophet 
His  age  at  the  time  when  he  began  his  mission.  The 
object  of  his  mission.  The  treatment  he  received  at  the 
hands  of  his  people  before  and  after  entering  upon  his 
mission.  The  ill-treatment  to  which  his  people  subjected 
him,  his  patience  therewith,  and  his  flight  to  Medina. 
His  truthfulness  and  integrity.  Reference  to  the  story  of 
his  arbitration  in  the  question  of  the  placing  of  the  Black 
stone.  His  self-abnegation  and  humility.  Reference  to 
the  story  of  the  envoys  from  the  Beni  Saad  tribe.  His 
refraining  from  revenge  when  revenge  lay  in  his  power. 
Reference  to  the  events  that  occurred  after  the  capture 
of  Mecca. 

Class  OF  Third  Primary  Year 
Doctrine 
Revision  of  the  work  of  the  two  previous  years.  Dem- 
onstration of  the  fact  that  God  is  the  creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, its  controller  and  disposer  supreme  by  the  exercise 
of  His  power  and  will;  that  He  is  possessed  of  every  per- 
fection; that  He  can  have  no  defects;  that  He  sent  the 


56  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

prophets  to  bring  good  tidings  to  men  and  to  warn  them 
against  evil-doing.  Accounts  of  the  most  famous  miracles 
wrought  by  Moses,  Christ,  and  Mohammed.  The  teach- 
ing of  the  above  doctrines  should  embrace  the  fifty  arti- 
cles of  faith. 

The  Life  of  the  Prophet 
His  genealogy  and  his  own  family. 

Ritual 
Alms-giving  in  general;  detailed  treatment  of  the  ques- 
tion of  giving  alms  in  actual  money.     Congregational 
prayers.    The  prayers  of  the  two  feasts.    Funeral  prayers. 

Moral  Training 
Explanation  of  the  following  virtues,  whose  practice  is 
inferred  from  the  accompanying  verses: 

(1)  Respect    due    to    parents:  "God    hath    ordained 

.     .     ."  as  far  as  *'young." 

(2)  Obedience  due  to  rulers:  **0  ye  who  believe  obey 
God"  to  the  end  of  the  verse. 

(3)  Salutation:  **If  ye  be  saluted     .     .     ."as  far  as 

**He  bringeth  man  to  account." 

(4)  Truthfulness:  "O  ye  who  believe  fear  God  and  be 

of  those  who  are  truthful"  to  the  end  of  the  verse. 

(5)  The  etiquette  of  visiting:  "O  ye  who  believe  enter 
not  houses"  as  far  as  "that  which  ye  hide." 

(6)  Respect  due  to  others,  and  the  prohibition  of  prying 

into  other  people's  affairs  and  backbiting:  "O  ye 
who  believe  mock  not  one  another"  as  far  "merci- 
ful forgiver." 

(7)  Integrity  and  justice:  "Verily  God  doth  command 
you  to  repay  that  with  which  ye  have  been  en- 
trusted" to  the  end  of  the  verse. 

(8)  Giving  right  measures  and  weight:  "Woe  unto 
those  who  give  light  measures  and  weight"  as  far 
as  "the  Lord  of  the  Universe." 

(9)  Swearing:  "Make  not  God  a  subject  of  youroaths." 


ISLAM  IN  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOLS  OF  EGYPT     57 

Traditions 

(1)  The  Koran:  *' Verily  the  Koran  hath  descended 
from  the  Lord  of  the  Universe"  as  far  as  *' Arabic 
of  a  clear  nature." 

(2)  The  judgement  of  God  and  the  Angels,  the  sacred 

books,  and  the  prophets:  "To  God  belongeth  that 
which  is  in  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  if  ye 
reveal  what  is  in  your  hearts"  as  far  as  "Unto  thee 
is  the  return." 

(3)  Paradise  and  the  Angels:  "Verily  those  who  said 

*Our  Lord  is  God'  and  then  became  righteous"  as 
far  as  "Kind  protector." 

(4)  The  Day  of  Judgement,  Paradise,  and  Hell :  "  When 
that  day  cometh  no  one  shall  speak  except  by  His 
permission"  as  far  as  "unceasingly." 

(5)  Genii:  "When  we  sent  unto  thee  a  number  of 
genii"  as  far  as  "painful  punishment." 

(6)  The  Resurrection  of  the  Dead:  "Thou  seest  the 
earth  void  of  life"  as  far  as  "He  raiseth  to  life 
those  who  are  in  the  grave." 

Class  of  Fourth  Primary  Year 

Revision  of  the  work  of  the  previous  years.  Explana- 
tion of  the  following  laws,  which  are  based  upon  the 
Koranic  passages  quoted,  together  with  mention  of  the 
ground  upon  which  are  based  the  articles  of  faith  and 
canons  of  worship  in  harmony  with  what  is  found  in 
books  on  the  Unity  of  God  and  Theological  Jurispru- 
dence:— 

Doctrine 
The  articles  of  faith  embraced  in  the  verse  entitled 
"The  Chair"  and  in  Sura  112,  i.e,,  the  chapter  entitled 
"The  declaration  of  God's  Unity." 

Ritual 

(1)  Cleanliness  and  ablutions:  "O  ye  who  believe, 
when  ye  prepare  to  pray"  as  far  as  "ye  give 
thanks." 

(2)  Prayer  and  alms-giving:  "And  the  believers,  male 


58  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

or  female,  have  mutual  responsibility  one  towards 
the  other"  to  the  end  of  the  verse. 

(3)  The  noon-prayer  of  Friday:  *'0  ye  who  believe* 
when  the  Friday  prayer  is  announced"  to  the  end 
of  the  verse. 

(4)  Fasting:  **0  ye  who  believe,  fasting  is  ordained 
unto  you"  as  far  as  "it  may  be  that  ye  will  give 
thanks." 

(5)  The  Pilgrimage:  "People  owe  to  God  the  duty  of 
performing  the  Pilgrimage"  to  the  end  of  the  verse. 

(6)  Vows — to  whom  one  should  offer  what  he  vows  to 
God's  service,  and  the  object  of  vows  in  a  general 
way. 

(7)  Discussion  of  the  question  of  bearing  false  witness 

(included  under  the  question  of  Truthfulness). 

Commands  and  Prohibitions 

"That  which  the  Prophet  hath  delivered  unto  you, 
accept"  as  far  as  "His  is  a  severe  punishment." 

"Verily  the  believers  prosper"  as  far  as  "Dwell  therein 
eternally." 

Adultery  and  Murder:  "Avoid  adultery"  as  far  as 
"way."  "Do  not  kill  thy  fellow-man"  as  far  as  "with 
justice." 

Usury:  "God  permitteth  buying  and  selling,  but  for- 
biddeth  usury." 

Theft:  "The  thief,  male  or  female"  as  far  as  "God  is 
mighty  and  wise." 

Drinking  and  gambling:  "O  ye  who  believe,  verily  wine 
and  gambling"  as  far  as  "Will  ye  not  cease     .     .     .     .^" 

Eating  the  flesh  of  dead  animals  and  of  the  pig:  "The 
flesh  of  dead  animals  is  forbidden  unto  you"  as  far  as 
"This  is  a  transgression." 

Unjust  seizure  of  property:  "Take  not  the  property  of 
one  another  unjustly"  as  far  as  "knowingly." 

Justice  and  kindness,  especially  in  the  treatment^of  ani- 
mals: "Verily  God  commandeth  justice  and  kindness" 
as  far  as  "it  may  be  that  ye  will  remember." 

Sins  in  general:  "Say,  verily  my  Lord  forbiddeth  all 
vices"  as  far  as  "ye  know  not." 


ISLAM  IN  GOVERNMENT  SCHOOLS  OF  EGYPT     59 

Moral  Training 

(1)  The  advice  of  Loqman  to  his  son:  "When  Loqman 

said"  as  far  as  "Lower  thy  voice." 

(2)  Piety:  "Piety  is  not     .     .     ."  as  far  as  "These  are 
the  pious." 

(3)  Union:  "Chng  all  of  you  to  the  cord  of  God"  as 
far  as  "perchance  ye  may  be  guided." 

(4)  Thrift:  "Give  to  him  who  is  of  kin"  as  far  as 

"grieved." 

(5)  Looking  to  both  worlds:  "Follow  after  the  next 

world  by  sacrificing  some  of  that  which  God  hath 
bestowed  upon  you"  to  the  end. 

(6)  Kind  treatment  to  others:  "Gentleness  and  harsh- 
ness are  not  alike." 

(7)  Equity  in  dealing  with  others:  "O  ye  who  believe, 
show  equity"  to  the  end  of  the  verse. 


A  Map  of  Ceylon 
Showing  the  Location  of  Moslems 


MOSLEMS  IN  CEYLON 

By  a  C.  M.  S.  Missionary 


Many  have  always  considered  Arabia,  Egypt,  Persia, 
Afghanistan,  the  great  African  Sudan,  and  North  India 
the  Mohammedan  lands  of  the  world.  It  is  true  that 
Mohammedanism  ranks  the  lowest  amongst  the  four 
principal  religions  of  Ceylon, — Buddhism,  Hinduism, 
Christianity,  Islam — ^yet  from  a  very  early  date  the  fol- 
lowers of  Mohammed  gained  a  firm  footing  in  the  Island 
which  they  have  retained  ever  since. 

According  to  tradition,  some  Mohammedans,  who  were 
driven  from  Arabia  in  the  eighth  century,  landed  in  Cey- 


MOSLEMS  IN  CEYLON  61 

Ion,  became  settlers,  inter-married,  and  their  descendants 
are  said  to  be  the  "Ceylon  Moors"  of  the  present  day,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  "Coast  Moors,"  who,  as  the  name 
implies,  came  over  from  India  for  purposes  of  trade. 

The  name  "Moor"  was  given  by  the  Portuguese,  and 
is  now  universally  used  here  for  Mohammedans.  The 
Moors  are  great  traders,  and,  according  to  a  proverb, 
found  amongst  both  Sinhalese  and  Tamils,  "There  is  no 
place  where  the  Moorman  and  the  crow  cannot  be  found ! " 

At  the  last  census  the  number  of  Mohammedans  in 
Ceylon  was  given  as  266,625,  this  total  included  the 
Coast  Moors.  Besides  the  Ceylon  and  Coast  Moors, 
there  are  a  large  number  of  Malays  (also  Mohammedans), 
of  whom  some  6,000  are  found  in  Colombo.  They  appear 
to  have  been  originally  brought  over  from  Java  by  the 
Dutch  for  military  service.  A  few  were  men  of  high  rank, 
who  it  is  said  were  banished  from  Java  to  Ceylon  for 
political  reasons.  At  the  capitulation  of  Colombo  to  the 
British  in  1796,  the  Malays  were  the  only  ones  who 
offered  any  resistance;  since  then  years  of  British  rule 
have  made  them  loyal  subjects  of  King  George,  and  it  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  two  descendants  of  a  Malay 
officer,  who  assisted  the  Dutch  in  the  conquest  of  Ceylon, 
were  amongst  the  first  volunteers  to  go  from  this  Island 
to  help  the  British  in  the  present  great  War,  showing  also 
that  the  fighting  instinct  of  the  race  has  by  no  means 
died  out  in  the  long  interval  of  peace. 

A  large  number  of  Malays  are  found  in  the  police  ranks, 
others  are  employed  as  watchmen,  clerks,  domestic  serv- 
ants, etc.  Whilst  calling  themselves  Malays,  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  at  the  last  Census,  the  Malay  Penin- 
sula was  not  once  mentioned  as  the  birthplace  of  any 
Malay,  showing  how  entirely  they  have  become  settlers 
in  Ceylon.  They  show  the  lowest  rate  of  increase  of  any 
race  in  Ceylon,  said  to  be  largely  due  to  the  ravages  of 
phthisis.  Those  acquainted  with  the  slums  of  Colombo 
and  Kandy  can  only  marvel  that  there  are  any  healthy 
inhabitants  to  be  found,  or  that  when  a  case  of  infectious 
disease  occurs,  there  is  any  way  of  preventing  it  from 
becoming  a  widespread  epidemic! 


62  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Judging  from  the  above  mentioned  proverb  it  will  be 
correctly  surmised  that  the  Mohammedans  in  Ceylon 
are  fairly  well  scattered.  Yet  there  are  certain  districts 
where  they  are  particularly  numerous,  viz.,  Chilaw  and 
Puttalam  on  the  west  coast  (the  latter  is  the  only  one 
where  the  followers  of  Islam  predominate),  Batticaloa 
(densely  populated  by  Ceylon  Moors)  on  the  east  coast, 
Galle  on  the  south,  and  Hambantota  on  the  southeast 
coast.  The  Mohammedan  colony  in  Hambantota  claim 
their  descent  from  two  Mawlanas  who  came  from  Bagdad 
(one  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  the  other 
more  recently,  about  sixty  years  ago),  who  are  said  to 
have  married  respectively  a  Ceylon  Moor  and  a  Malay. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  these  special  Mohammedan  settle- 
ments are  all  on  the  coast,  testifying  to  the  fact  that  the 
followers  of  the  Prophet  came  to  Ceylon  as  traders,  not 
as  conquerors,  and  this  may  possibly  be  the  reason  why 
Islam  still  ranks  the  lowest  amongst  the  chief  religions  of 
Ceylon. 

Strange  to  say  there  are  representatives  here  of  almost 
every  important  Mohammedan  sect,  though  by  far  the 
largest  majority  are  Sunnis.  To  workers  acquainted  with 
the  countries  where  Islam  predominates,  the  absence  of 
worshipers  in  the  streets  and  public  places  (except  on  festi- 
vals) would  probably  mark  a  striking  difference.  On 
special  occasions,  however,  the  Maidan  facing  the  sea  is 
thronged  with  Mohammedans,  chiefly  Afghans,  who  may 
be  seen  in  long  rows  standing,  bowing,  kneeling,  pros- 
trating, with  all  the  precision  of  soldiers  on  parade. 
Others  may  be  seen  praying  alone,  or  in  little  groups  of 
twos  and  threes,  but  all  apparently  so  absorbed  in  their 
worship  as  to  be  utterly  oblivious  to  distractions  of  any 
kind — an  example  indeed  to  many  a  Christian! 

Three  festivals  are  observed  during  the  year,  of  which 
the  most  important  is  the  one  at  the  end  of  the  fast  of 
Ramadan,  when  every  Mohammedan  dons  at  least  one 
new  article  of  apparel,  and  there  is  also  much  alms-giving 
at  this  time  of  food  and  clothing,  by  the  richer  Moslems 
to  their  poorer  brethren.  In  common  with  the  Buddhists 
and  Hindus,  the  Mohammedans  claim  a  share  in  the 


MOSLEMS  IN  CEYLON  63 

sacredness  of  Adam's  Peak,  though  there  is  some  doubt 
as  to  the  authenticity  of  facts. 

The  claim  of  education  for  both  sexes  is  becoming 
increasingly  strong.  Amongst  the  Mohammedan  women 
the  percentage  of  literates  is  only  2|  per  cent,  but  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  next  census  will  reveal  a  vast  improve- 
ment, as  the  desire  for  the  education  of  women  grows,  as 
it  is  bound  to  do.  The  only  teaching  which  the  great 
majority  of  Mohammedan  girls  over  ten  years  of  age 
receive,  is  from  the  visits  of  the  missionaries  and  their 
Biblewomen,  who  teach  them  to  read  in  Tamil,  and  in 
some  cases  English  (where  the  pupil  is  a  fluent  reader  of 
the  Vernacular),  and  of  course  this  is  followed  by  a 
Scripture  lesson.  Happy  are  those  children  who  have 
been  allowed  to  attend  a  day  school  after  they  have  fin- 
ished learning  their  appointed  portion  of  the  Koran, 
before  they  reach  the  age  when  it  is  no  longer  deemed 
fitting  for  them  to  leave  their  homes, — although  it  must 
be  mentioned  that  the  Moslem  women  in  Ceylon  have 
more  freedom  than  in  other  countries.  The  need  for  the 
education  of  girls  is  at  present  an  idea  confined  more  or 
less  exclusively  to  the  towns,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
incident. 

At  the  end  of  July,  a  little  school,  in  a  certain  remote 
village,  which  had  been  built  entirely  by  the  Mohamme- 
dans, on  the  condition  that  the  missionaries  provided  a 
teacher,  was  found  packed  with  small  boys,  all  dressed  in 
their  best,  on  the  day  when  the  formal  handing  over  took 
place.  A  plea  that  the  wee  girlies  might  be  allowed  to 
share  in  their  brothers'  advantages  was  met  with  the 
reply,  very  courteous,  but  decided,  that  as  they  were  only 
village  folk  the  girls  needed  to  learn  nothing  beyond  the 
Koran.  So  keen,  however,  was  the  desire  for  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  boys  (no  doubt  accelerated  by  the  present 
requirements  of  government!)  that  when,  owing  to  lack 
of  funds  the  missionary  was  unable  to  supply  their  needs 
at  once,  the  Mohammedans  themselves  procured  a  young 
Christian  teacher,  and  paid  his  salary  for  eight  months 
to  teach  the  three  'Rs'  to  the  rising  generation. 

Owing  to  an  idea  (no  doubt  common  to  followers  of 


64  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Islam  all  over  the  world)  that  no  woman  can  enter  heaven 
except  as  a  wife,  the  proportion  of  unmarried  girls  is 
exceedingly  low,  but  the  Moslems  rank  first  of  all  the 
races  in  Ceylon  in  the  proportion  of  widows  (divorces 
being  included  in  the  list  of  widows) — divorce,  alas!  being 
so  easy  and  so  frequently  practised  for  the  slightest  fault. 

What  is  being  done  for  the  evangelisation  of  these 
266,000  Mohammedans? 

The  answer  is  deplorable, — ^practically  nothing^  in  com- 
parison with  the  need.  The  districts  of  Batticaloa  and 
Puttalam,  where  the  Moslem  population  is  greatest,  are 
almost  untouched,  likewise  Hambantota  and  Chilaw. 

Some  years  ago  there  was  a  Church  Missionary  Society 
station  in  Galle,  but  the  lady  missionary  in  charge  broke 
down,  and  was  sent  home  on  medical  certificate,  never  to 
return, — result,  the  closing  of  the  mission  station,  though 
fortunately  since  then,  a  lady  unconnected  with  any 
missionary  society  is  bravely  endeavouring,  with  the  help 
of  one  or  two  Tamil  Biblewomen,  to  keep  the  Light 
burning. 

With  the  exception  of  two  lady  missionaries,  and  some 
seven  or  eight  Biblewomen  working  under  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  there  are  no  other  workers  of  any 
society  definitely  devoting  themselves  to  work  amongst 
Mohammedans.  Of  course,  there  are  some  boys  and 
girls  to  be  found  in  mission  schools  and  colleges,  espe- 
cially boys,  and  it  is  an  interesting  fact  to  notice  in  passing 
that  these  often  carry  off  the  Scripture  prizes  over  the 
heads  of  the  Christians!  Street  preaching  reaches  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  men,  but  this  is  all. 

The  little  that  has  been  done  has,  however,  not  been 
fruitless,  there  are  many  instances  which  prove  the  truth 
of  the  verse  "The  entrance  of  Thy  word  giveth  light." 
It  is  not  expedient  to  publish  results,  but  some  incidents 
may  perhaps  be  mentioned. 

A  dear  woman,  who  showed  wonderful  aptness  to  learn, 
was  one  day  reading  the  words  "What  think  ye  of 
Christ?"  Her  teacher,  filled  with  sudden  boldness,  asked 
if  that  question  was  put  to  her,  what  would  her  answer 
be?    She  replied  so  glibly  in  the  words  of  the  Bible,  that 


MOSLEMS  IN  CEYLON  65 

fearing  it  was  mere  parrot-like  repetition,  the  teacher 
remarked  that  it  was  very  easy  to  say  words  without 
meaning  anything,  and  asked  whether  she  really  believed 
what  she  said.  The  reply  came,  uttered  in  the  lowest 
whisper,  but  with  a  ring  of  sincerity  that  thrilled  the 
hearts  of  her  hearers,  *'Yes,  I  believe."  Each  visit  to 
that  house  was  a  real  delight,  for  both  husband  and  wife 
were  so  ready  to  listen.  One  day  the  man  insisted  upon 
putting  some  particularly  fragrant  scent  on  the  mission- 
ary's handkerchief;  so  strong  was  the  perfume  that  the 
little  room  was  literally  filled  with  it,  and  the  wife  (who 
had  only  been  taught  about  six  months)  made  the  won- 
derful remark,  that  in  like  manner,  if  the  Lord  Jesus  was 
living  in  our  hearts,  there  would  be  a  fragrance  permeat- 
ing our  lives  which  would  be  manifest  wherever  we  went. 
Not  very  long  after  this  the  dear  woman  became  ill  and 
died,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  those  who  visited  her,  but 
they  believe  she  will  be  found  upon  the  King's  right  Hand 
in  the  last  Great  Day. 

A  good  many  years  ago  a  Moslem  trader  who  had  heard 
something  about  Christianity  in  North  India  came  over 
to  Ceylon.  One  day  he  went  to  a  mission  bungalow  to 
sell  his  goods,  and  the  lady  missionary,  who  had  been  for 
a  time  in  North  India,  got  into  conversation  with  him, 
with  the  result  that  the  man  gratefully  accepted  her 
oflPer  to  teach  him.  For  some  time  he  came  regularly  to 
the  house  for  instruction,  which  he  promptly  imparted  to 
his  wife  at  home,  who  grasped  the  Truth  even  more 
readily  than  her  husband.  As  she  knew  nothing  of  either 
Sinhales  or  Tamil,  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  be  taught 
except  by  her  husband,  but  this  proved  no  hindrance,  for 
when  she  was  finally  examined  with  a  view  to  Baptism, 
her  wonderful  knowledge  showed  plainly  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  Himself  must  have  been  her  Teacher.  Eventually 
the  whole  family  was  baptized,  but  not  in  Ceylon,  and 
ever  since  they  have  continued  faithful. 

Meanwhile  how  many  souls  are  daily  passing  into 
Eternity,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  Christian's  hope. 
Two  missionaries  for  the  thousands  of  Mohammedans  in 
Ceylon! — what  are  they  among  so  many.?     Indeed  were 


66  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

it  not  for  the  knowledge  that  because  of  our  call  to  be 
fellow  workers  with  God,  we  are  alongside  of  unfathom- 
able riches  of  grace  and  power,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
go  on.  Furloughs  hardly  bear  thinking  about,  who  is 
there  to  step  into  the  gap  which  would  be  left,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  vast  amount  of  work  which  should  be  done, 
but  for  lack  of  workers  and  funds  remains  utterly  un- 
touched. 


-THE  FELLOWSHIP  OF  FAITH  FOR  MOSLEMS" 


Two  years  ago  a  little  company  of  those  who  cared  for 
the  Moslems  met  together  to  pray  and  plan  for  the  future. 
One  amongst  them,  John  Martin  Cleaver,  urged  that  we 
should  follow  in  the  steps  of  the  missionaries  to  Moslems 
in  India,  and  form  a  union  amongst  ourselves  on  the  lines 
of  "The  Missionaries  to  Muslims  League."  He  said  that 
this  had  greatly  helped  forward  the  work  in  India,  and 
that  we  had  nothing  of  the  kind  amongst  us  in  England. 
Mr.  Cleaver  proposed  that  we  should  agree  together  on 
the  best  method  of  establishing  a  link  between  the  workers 
at  home  and  the  missionaries  on  the  field.  We  needed 
united  prayer,  but  we  needed  more  than  prayer.  We 
should  be  prepared  for  united  service,  and  especially  in 
the  circulation  of  information,  for  the  purpose  of  arousing 
widespread  interest  in  the  winning  of  Mohammedans  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

Martin  Cleaver,  like  a  wise  master-builder,  laid  the 
foundation  stone,  but  in  one  short  month's  time  he  was 
taken  from  us  and  we  were  left  to  build  the  temple  his 
heart  had  planned.  Before  he  left  us  it  was  proposed  that 
the  name  we  should  bear  should  be  "The  Fellowship  of 
Faith  for  the  Moslems,  in  prayer,  service  and  sacrifice." 
His  last  written  words  were  that  he  felt  the  title  was  God- 
given,  and  added  that  the  measure  of  our  service  would 
be  the  measure  of  our  sacrifice.  His  own  life  was  given 
to  the  cause. 

When  first  the  carrying  out  of  these  resolutions  was 
attempted,  we  looked  round  to  see  who  would  join  us. 
A  letter  in  one  or  two  of  the  religious  papers  and  a  copy 
of  an  address  by  Dr.  Zwemer  on  "The  Fulness  of  Time  in 
the  Moslem  World"  brought  an  immediate  and  wide- 
spread response.  Many  names  were  sent  in  by  those  who 
wished  to  join  ''The  Fellowship  of  Faith  for  the  Moslems." 

67 


66  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

it  not  for  the  knowledge  that  because  of  our  call  to  be 
fellow  workers  with  God,  we  are  alongside  of  unfathom- 
able riches  of  grace  and  power,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
go  on.  Furloughs  hardly  bear  thinking  about,  who  is 
there  to  step  into  the  gap  which  would  be  left,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  vast  amount  of  work  which  should  be  done, 
but  for  lack  of  workers  and  funds  remains  utterly  un- 
touched. 


THE  FELLOWSHIP  OF  FAITH  FOR  MOSLEMS'* 


Two  years  ago  a  little  company  of  those  who  cared  for 
the  Moslems  met  together  to  pray  and  plan  for  the  future. 
One  amongst  them,  John  Martin  Cleaver,  urged  that  we 
should  follow  in  the  steps  of  the  missionaries  to  Moslems 
in  India,  and  form  a  union  amongst  ourselves  on  the  lines 
of  "The  Missionaries  to  Muslims  League."  He  said  that 
this  had  greatly  helped  forward  the  work  in  India,  and 
that  we  had  nothing  of  the  kind  amongst  us  in  England. 
Mr.  Cleaver  proposed  that  we  should  agree  together  on 
the  best  method  of  establishing  a  link  between  the  workers 
at  home  and  the  missionaries  on  the  field.  We  needed 
united  prayer,  but  we  needed  more  than  prayer.  We 
should  be  prepared  for  united  service,  and  especially  in 
the  circulation  of  information,  for  the  purpose  of  arousing 
widespread  interest  in  the  winning  of  Mohammedans  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

Martin  Cleaver,  like  a  wise  master-builder,  laid  the 
foundation  stone,  but  in  one  short  month's  time  he  was 
taken  from  us  and  we  were  left  to  build  the  temple  his 
heart  had  planned.  Before  he  left  us  it  was  proposed  that 
the  name  we  should  bear  should  be  "The  Fellowship  of 
Faith  for  the  Moslems,  in  prayer,  service  and  sacrifice." 
His  last  written  words  were  that  he  felt  the  title  was  God- 
given,  and  added  that  the  measure  of  our  service  would 
be  the  measure  of  our  sacrifice.  His  own  life  was  given 
to  the  cause. 

When  first  the  carrying  out  of  these  resolutions  was 
attempted,  we  looked  round  to  see  who  would  join  us. 
A  letter  in  one  or  two  of  the  religious  papers  and  a  copy 
of  an  address  by  Dr.  Zwemer  on  "The  Fulness  of  Time  in 
the  Moslem  World"  brought  an  immediate  and  wide- 
spread response.  Many  names  were  sent  in  by  those  who 
wished  to  join  ''The  Fellowship  of  Faith  for  the  Moslems." 

67 


68  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Our  first  thought  was  to  pray  for  them,  alone  and 
unitedly.  We  set  apart  days  of  prayer  together,  and  we 
took  up  the  work  of  distributing  information  as  widely 
as  possible.  But  our  outlook  for  the  future  touches  the 
fulfilment  of  our  prayers.  We  would  seek  the  offering  of 
many  lives  for  the  work.  Those  who  have  already  joined 
us  are  scattered  all  over  the  world.  We  have  members  in 
China,  India,  Persia,  Arabia,  Central  Africa,  North, 
South,  East  and  West  Africa,  Russia,  England  and  Amer- 
ica, Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Many  of  these  can  give 
us  valuable  information  touching  the  needs  of  their  par- 
ticular country.  Many  can  contribute  useful  guidance 
for  future  workers.  One  great  need  in  the  homeland  is 
an  increase  in  the  supply  of  qualified  speakers,  able  to 
tell  of  the  present  condition  of  Mohammedan  lands,  and 
to  indicate  lines  of  advance.  A  series  of  handbooks  of 
information  concerning  each  separate  country  and  its 
people  is  greatly  needed.  We  must  sow  the  Christian 
churches  with  information  about  the  Moslem  World,  and 
ever  drawing  together  in  the  fellowship  of  faith,  bring  its 
burden  to  our  Lord. 

Twenty  years  ago  a  cycle  of  prayer  for  Egypt  was 
issued.  In  it  were  the  names  of  all  missionaries  of  every 
society  working  in  that  land.  The  missionary  societies 
were  mentioned,  and  the  character  of  their  work,  whether 
medical,  educational  or  evangelistic.  Many  of  the  mis- 
sionaries adopted  the  plan  of  using  this  cycle  at  their 
daily  family  prayers,  and  by  this  means  began  a  new 
interest  in  the  work  of  their  fellow  missionaries.  They 
were  all  drawn  together  in  faith  for  each  other.  A  year 
or  two  later,  a  similar  cycle  was  prepared  for  Palestine 
and  Syria.  Here  again  the  same  result  followed:  the 
missionaries  of  different  societies  began  to  pray  regularly 
for  each  other's  work,  and  were  drawn  into  closer  rela- 
tionship than  heretofore. 

A  cycle  for  the  countries  of  North  Africa  was  prepared 
by  Miss  Lillias  Trotter,  and  one  for  Turkey  and  Asia 
Minor  by  Mrs.  Constantine.  In  both  instances  a  warm 
welcome  was  given  to  them  by  the  missionaries  whose 
names  were  included  in  the  daily  prayers.    For  the  first 


"THE  FELLOWSHIP  OF  FAITH  FOR  MOSLEMS"    69 

time  many  of  them  became  known  to  each  other.  For 
the  first  time  in  some  instances  the  mission  stations  were 
known  by  name,  and  the  special  work  which  was  under- 
taken at  each  of  them.  Cycles  for  Arabia,  Persia,  and 
India  followed — Miss  Jameson  giving  much  time  and 
effort  in  the  preparation  of  the  last  two.  In  India  the 
workers  amongst  Moslems  only  were  mentioned,  while  in 
the  other  countries  those  who  gave  themselves  to  the 
Armenians,  Nestorians,  and  Copts  were  equally  remem- 
bered. We  may  well  believe  that  the  cycle  for  India 
proved  a  stepping  stone  towards  "the  Missionaries  to 
Muslims  League,"  which  was  founded  at  Lucknow  Con- 
ference in  1911.  And  this  in  turn  led  to  the  forming  of 
"The  Fellowship  of  Faith  for  the  Moslems"  in  1915. 
Each  has  helped  the  other,  and  received  help  from  the 
other.  In  the  meantime,  cycles  for  Northern  and  South- 
ern Central  Africa  were  prepared  by  Mr.  W.  J.  W.  Roome 
and  so  almost  the  whole  Moslem  world  "was  bound  by 
golden  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 

During  war  time  we  have  delayed  to  bring  out  these 
cycles  on  account  of  many  missionaries  being  absent  from 
their  stations,  and  many  stations  being  temporarily  closed, 
but  in  their  place  the  Fellowship  has  sprung  into  existence, 
and  has  kept  the  fire  burning. 

What  do  we  expect  to  accomplish  by  all  this  prayer.? 
"Prayer  moves  the  arm  that  moves  the  world."  As  from 
day  to  day  our  thoughts  are  turned  to  the  Moslems  in 
Cairo,  in  Baghdad,  in  Constantinople;  or  to  some  little 
village  in  Palestine  or  Algiers,  we  believe  that  the  Grace 
of  God  will  touch  those  hearts;  will  find  an  entrance  for 
the  Word  of  Life.  Unknown  to  each  other,  the  one  who 
prays  and  the  one  who  speaks  are  comrades  in  the  fight, 
fellow  labourers  in  God's  Harvestfield. 

Even  as  the  hard  ground  is  ploughed  for  many  days 
before  the  seed  can  be  sown,  and  before  the  showers  that 
water  the  earth  can  bring  forth  its  fruit,  it  may  be  that  we 
too  must  pray  on  during  many  days  for  the  softening  of 
the  hearts  of  the  Moslems  until  they  are  ready  to  receive 
the  words  of  life,  and  drink  in  the  manifold  grace  of  God. 

We  specially  owe  it  to  them  to  pray  at  the  present  time. 


70  THE   MOSLEM  WORLD 

Their  political  power  is  passing  away.  There  must  be  a 
deep  disappointment  in  their  hearts  that  their  prophet 
has  given  them  no  help  or  support,  and  they  have  ceased 
to  expect  it.  How  hard  for  them  to  turn  to  the  Lord  of 
their  enemies.  Nothing  but  a  miracle  can  make  them 
willing  to  acknowledge  our  Christ.  And  yet  that  miracle 
can  be  accomplished  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith 
offered  by  those  who  fain  would  win  them  to  be  brothers 
in  the  family  of  God. 

Our  Fellowship  numbers  now  some  six  or  seven  hundred 
members.  We  have  not  yet  found  out  our  best  means  of 
intercommunication :  circular  letters  are  sent  occasionally. 
War  and  distance  have  made  secretarial  work  somewhat 
disjointed  and  spasmodic.  But  it  is  our  hope  to  conquer 
these  difficulties,  through  finding  friends  who  can  help  us 
in  the  many  different  countries  represented,  and  that  we 
shall  be  guided  into  the  best  and  wisest  methods  of  carry- 
ing out  our  purpose. 

It  may  be  that  "The  Fellowship  of  Faith  for  the  Mos- 
lems" is  to  do  a  specialized  work  akin  to  "The  Student 
Volunteer  Missionary  Movement."  The  Student  Volun- 
teers offer  themselves  to  win  the  whole  world  for  Christ 
in  this  generation.  We  offer  ourselves  to  win  the  Moslems 
for  Christ,  both  those  of  us  who  go,  and  those  of  us  who 
stay.  Our  aim  is  to  help  each  other  in  accomplishing  this 
work. 

Our  leaders  are  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Stileman,  D.D., 
for  many  years  a  C.  M.  S.  missionary  in  Persia;  and  Rev. 
S.  M.  Zwemer,  D.D.,  of  Arabia  and  Egypt.*  The  mem- 
bers meet  from  time  to  time  to  decide  upon  matters 
relating  to  the  fellowship.  At  present  we  seek  only  that 
prayer  should  be  made  continually  for  the  Moslem  World ; 
but  we  hold  ourselves  in  readiness  for  whatever  forward 
movement  our  Heavenly  Leader  and  Commander  may 
plan  for  us.  We  are  only  at  the  beginning  of  this  new 
venture.  It  is  one  in  which  we  set  ourselves  steadfastly 
to  win  the  Moslems  to  Christ,  by  faith  in  our  Faithful  Lord. 

Annie  Van  Sommer. 

*  The  address  of  the  acting  Hon.  Secretary  in  England  is  Miss  Frances  Barnes,  Up- 
hill, Kendal;  in  America,  Mrs.  James  Montgomery,  P.  O.  Box  888,  New  York. 


A  CHINESE   MOSLEM  PRIMER 


While  visiting  important  Moslem  centers  in  the  province 
of  Honan,  we  found  in  nearly  every  one  of  the  day  schools 
kept  in  connection  with  the  mosques  some  Arabic-Chinese 
text  books.  Some  had  been 
copied  by  the  hand  of  the 
teacher  and  were  being 
scrawled  in  grotesque  Ara- 
bic characters  by  young 
Chinese  boys.  In  other 
mosques  we  found  litho- 
graph copies  of  some  of  the 
text  books.  In  every  case 
the  book  was  bilingual  and 
the  fac-simile  page  here  re- 
produced from  a  printed 
copy  will  give  the  readers 
some  idea  how  the  Arabic 
characters  have  been  modi- 
fied in  China.  The  book  is 
entitled  "Back  to  the  True 
Faith  Earnestly"  and  is 
really  a  summary  of  Islamic 

formulas  and  teachings.  It  was  printed,  as  the  title  page 
informs  us,  in  the  third  year  of  the  Republic,  eighth 
month  (  =  1914)  at  Shanghai  in  the  street  of  the  Adorned 
Heart,  near  the  Mohammedan  Mosque. 

A  verbatum  translation  of  the  Arabic  text  will  interest 
those  who  have  to  deal  with  Islam  in  China  and  also 
indicates  the  character  and  tendency  of  the  Primary 
religious  education. 

The  Text 
In  the  name  of  God  the  Merciful,  the  Compassionate. 
Oh  God  bless  Mohammed  and  his  family.    Peace  be  unto 

71 


72  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

you  and  upon  you  be  peace  and  the  Mercy  of  God  and 
His  Blessing. 

A  Word  to  Dispel  Infidelity.  Oh  God,  I  take  refuge  in 
Thee  from  associating  anyone  with  Thee,  and  I  ask  for- 
giveness from  Thee  of  that  which  I  know  or  do  not  know. 
Verily  Thou  are  the  Knower  of  the  Unseen.  And  I  say 
that  there  is  no  God  but  God :  Mohammed  is  the  Apostle 
of  God. 

The  Word  of  Witness.  I  witness  that  there  is  no  God 
but  God  only  and  that  He  has  no  companion  and  I  wit- 
ness that  Mohammed  is  His  Servant  and  His  Apostle. 

A  Good  Word.  There  is  no  God  but  God:  Mohammed 
is  the  Apostle  of  God.  [These  same  words  are  repeated  in 
Persian  beneath  which  is  a  Chinese  text;  it  is  remarkable 
that  in  nearly  all  Moslem  literature  in  China,  Persian  as 
well  as  Arabic  is  used.]  The  glorious  faith.  I  believe  in 
God  as  He  is  in  His  names  and  attributes,  and  I  receive 
all  his  ordinances.  Exposition  of  the  Faith.  I  have 
believed  in  God  and  His  Angels  and  His  Book  and  His 
Apostle  and  the  Last  Day,  and  the  destiny  of  good  and 
evil  from  God  Most  High,  and  the  Resurrection  after  Death. 

A  Word  of  Adoration.  Praise  be  to  God  and  glory  to 
Him  and  there  is  no  god  but  God.  God  is  Great:  there 
is  no  strength  and  no  power  save  in  God  the  High  and  the 
Mighty. 

The  Foundation  of  Faith.  Faith  is  the  confession  by 
the  lips  and  the  belief  in  the  heart.  The  Ordinances  of 
Faith.  Know  that  the  ordinances  of  Faith  consist  of  six 
things,  five  for  this  world  and  one  for  the  other.  As  for 
those  that  concern  this  world,  the  first  is  that  it  is  not 
permitted  for  a  Moslem  to  kill  a  Moslem  without  a  just 
cause;  second,  it  is  not  permitted  for  a  Moslem  to  take 
the  property  of  a  Moslem  unrighteously;  third,  it  is  not 
permitted  for  a  Moslem  to  think  evil  of  a  Moslem;  and 
the  fourth,  it  is  not  permitted  for  a  Moslem  to  transgress 
the  rights  of  a  fellow  Moslem;  and  the  fifth,  it  is  not  per- 
mitted for  a  Moslem  to  take  the  children  of  another 
Moslem  into  bondage.  Now  as  for  that  which  concerns 
the  other  world,  it  is  necessary  for  a  Moslem  to  know 
surely  no  Moslem  shall  forever  abide  in  the  Fire. 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  PRIMER  73 

Conditions  of  the  Faith.  Know  that  the  conditions  of 
the  faith  are  of  six  kinds.  The  first  is  that  thou  shall 
believe  in  the  Unseen,  and  secondly,  that  thou  shalt  know 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  Unseen  belongs  only  to  God; 
the  third  is  that  thou  shalt  count  as  allowable  that  which 
God  has  permitted;  the  fourth  is  that  thou  shalt  count 
as  prohibited  that  which  God  has  forbidden;  the  fifth  is 
that  thou  shalt  stand  in  awe  of  the  punishment  of  God; 
and  the  sixth  is  that  thou  shalt  hope  in  God's  Mercy. 

The  Word  of  Reply  in  the  Grave.  Said  the  Prophet, 
upon  Him  be  praise,  when  a  dead  person  is  buried  there 
come  to  him  two  black  angels  of  fierce  countenance,  one 
of  whom  is  called  Al-Munkar  and  the  other,  Nakir,  and 
they  interrogate  the  servant  according  to  the  following 
words:  ''Who  is  thy  Lord,  and  Who  is  thy  Prophet,  and 
What  is  thy  Religion,  and  What  is  thy  Book,  and  Who  is 
thy  religious  leader,  and  Who  are  thy  Brethren,  and  What 
is  thy  Kibla.^"  Now  if  the  dead  person  belongs  to  the 
Happy  Ones  he  is  able  to  give  a  satisfactory  reply,  saying, 
"My  Lord  is  God,  and  my  Prophet  is  Mohammed,  the 
Apostle  of  God,  and  my  religion  is  Islam,  and  my  book  is 
the  Furqan  (one  of  the  names  of  the  Koran)  and  my  relig- 
ious guide  is  the  Koran,  and  my  brethren  are  the  True 
Believers  and  my  Kibla  is  the  Kaaba."  They  will  say  to 
him:  "Sleep  on  like  the  sleep  of  the  bride,  for  thy  grave 
is  one  of  the  gardens  of  Paradise."  But  if  the  dead  be  one 
of  the  Wretched  Ones,  he  is  not  able  to  answer  correctly 
and  so  they  say  to  him:  "Thou  hast  not  known  and  thou 
hast  not  read,  therefore  thy  grave  is  like  one  of  the  pits 
of  Hell."    And  they  will  torment  him  with  Pillars  of  Fire. 

We  take  refuge  in  God  from  our  Sin.  Written  in  the 
year  of  the  Hijra  1332. 

S.  M.  Z. 


A  CLASSIFIED  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  BOOKS  ON 
ISLAM  IN  CHINESE  AND  CHINESE-ARABIC 

By  Rev.  Chas.  L.  Ogilvie,  M.A. 


The  following  list  of  Mohammedan  books  is  far  from  com- 
plete, but  it  ought  to  stimulate  further  efforts  along  this 
line.  As  far  as  we  can  discover,  the  Mohammedans  have 
no  distributing  centre  in  China  or  book-shops,  where  it 
is  possible  to  secure  their  books.  Many  of  the  older 
works  are  now  out  of  print,  and  the  only  way  one  can 
secure  them  is  to  pick  them  up  here  and  there  at  various 
places.  Some  of  the  publishing  centres  are  Chengtu, 
Chinkiang,  Yunnanfu,  Shanghai,  Tientsin,  Nanking  and 
Peking.  This  Bibliography  is  based  on  D'OUone's  list  in 
'*Recherches  sur  les  Musalmans  Chinois,"  on  the  Bibliog- 
raphy in  Broomhall's  "Islam  in  China,"  on  Dr.  Guiseppe 
Ros'  collection,  and  on  the  books  which  Dr.  Zwemer  and 
the  writer  were  able  to  secure  in  a  recent  tour  of  Honan, 
Chihli  and  other  provinces.  The  Mohammedans  in  many 
places  do  not  seem  to  be  willing  to  furnish  Christians  with 
their  literature. 

I.     Doctrine  and  Liturgy 

1.  Cheng  chiao  chen  chuan.    "A  true  explanation  of  the  correct 

religion."  Preface  to  first  edition  dated  1657.  The  edition 
dated  1873  was  published  in  Chengtu.    Five  volumes. 

2.  Ching  CHEN  TA  HSUEH.     "Great  learning  of  the  Pure  and  True 

Religion."    Reprinted  in  Chengtu  in  1875.    1  vol.  8vo.  72  pp. 

3.  Hsiu  CHEN  MENG  YIN.    "Elementary  introduction  to  the  practice 

of  the  True  Doctrine."    Nanking  1672  A.  D.    1  vol.  8vo. 

4.  Cheng  chiao  hsiu  chen  meng  yin.    "Elementary  introduction 

to  the  practice  of  True  Doctrine  of  the  correct  religion." 
Preface  to  first  edition  dated  1672  A.  D.  The  edition  of  1904 
was  issued  in  Chengtu.    1  vol.  8vo. 

5.  Ching  CHEN  CHiH  NAN.    "Guide  to  the  Pure  and  True  Religion." 

Author,  a  descendant  of  Mohammed  in  45th  generation. 
(Broomhall  says  Ma  Yuan  Ping  of  Yunnan,  1646  A.  D.)  Pub- 
lished in  Yung  Ch'ang  fu,  Yunnan,  1683  A.  D.  Reprinted  in 
Chengtu  1885.    10  vols.  8vo. 

74 


BOOKS  ON  ISLAM  IN  CHINESE  75 

6.  Tien  fang  tienli  tse  yao  chieh.    "Explanation  of  the  funda- 

mentals of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Arabs."  Nanking. 
Original  date  not  given.  Reprinted  in  Yunnanfu  in  1862.  6 
vols.  8vo. 

7.  Tien  fang  hsing  li.     "Philosophy  of  the  Arabs"  or  "Nature 

and  laws  of  Islam."  Original  date  missing.  Reprint  dated 
1863  Yunnan.    6  vols.  8vo. 

8.  Hsing  li  ti  wu  chuan  chu  chieh.     "The  fifth  volume  of  the 

philosophical  commentary."  Talifu,  Yunnan.  Original  date 
not  given.    One  edition  is  dated  1864.    1  vol.  8vo.  46  pp. 

9.  Hsing  li  pen  ching  chu  chieh.     "Commentary  to  the  funda- 

mental canon  of  philosophy."  No  date  given.  Re-edited  in 
1875.    1  vol.  8vo.  200  pp. 

10.  Ta  HUA  TSUNG  kwei.    "  General  tendency  of  cvolutiou."    Original 

date  missing.    Re-edited  in  Chinkiang  1870.    1  vol.  8vo. 

11.  Chias  KUAN  CHIEH  YAO.     "A  sumiuary  of  the  most  important 

articles  of  religion."  Tsiningchou,  Shantung  1678.  Re-edited 
1871.    1  vol.  8vo.  205  pp. 

12.  Tien  fang  wei  chen  yao  lueh.    "A  resume  of  the  fundamentals 

for  the  defence  of  the  true  religion  of  the  Arabs."  Nanking. 
Published  during  reign  of  Ch'ien  lung  1736-1795.  Re-edited  in 
Ch'engtu  1892.    1  vol.  8vo. 

13.  Wu  KUNG  SHiH  Yi.     "Explication  of  the  meaning  of  the  five 

meritorious  acts."  Nanking  1710.  Re-edited  in  Szechwan 
1851.     1  vol.  8vo.  70  pp. 

14.  Kwei  chen  tsung  yi.     "What  it  means  to  return  to  the  True 

Religion."    Reprinted  1878  in  Szechwan.    1  vol.  8vo.  148  pp. 

15.  Ssu  piEN  YAO  TAO  YI  CHIEH.    "  Important  doctriucs  explicated  in 

four  chapters."  1653.  Re-edited  1872  in  Chengtu.  1  vol.  8vo. 
220  pp. 

16.  Tien  fang  jen  chi  hsing  yu.     "Exhortation  to  know  one's 

self."  (According  to  Arab's  religion.)  Author  (Teacher  in 
Wuchang  during  reign  of  Ch'ien  lung  1736-1795.)  Re-edited 
in  Ch'engtu  1898.     1  vol.  8vo.  30  pp. 

17.  Ching  chen  shih  yi.    "Explication  of  the  doubtful  points  in  the 

Pure  and  True  Religion."  First  preface  dated  1738.  Re-edited 
1877.    1  vol.  8vo.  140  pp. 

18.  Chu  tien  ta  tsan  chi  chieh.     "Commentary  on  the  Great 

Praise  and  Prayer."    Translated.    Yunnan.    1  vol.  8vo.  82  pp. 

19.  Chen  KUNG  FA  WEI.    "  Minute  exposition  of  the  true  meritorious 

acts."  Soochow.  Original  date  missing.  Reprinted  1884. 
2  vols.  8vo. 

20.  Tien  fang  san  tzu  ching.    "The  three  character  classic  of  the 

Arabs."  Explained  and  translated.  Szechwan.  Re-edited 
1885.    1  vol.  8vo.  40  pp. 

21.  Tien  fang  jen  yi  pao  chen  ssu  tzu  ching.    "The  four  character 

classic  for  the  recognition  of  the  Precious  Pearl  (God)  of  the 
Arabs."    Author's  date  cf.  22  and  23.    1  vol.  8vo.  34  pp. 

22.  Ssu  TIEN  YAO   hui.     "A  Compendium   of  the  four  Canons." 

Preface  dated  1859.    Re-edited  1898.    4  vols.  8vo. 

23.  Tien  fang  hsing  ming  tsung  chieh.    "The  Aim  of  Life"  (for 

Mohammedans).    Edited  1863.    Reprinted  1898.    8vo.    34  pp. 

24.  Tien  fang  hsin  yuan  meng  yin  ko.    "An  introductory  primer 

in  rhyme  on  origin  of  the  Faith."  Talifu,  Yunnan.  8vo. 
58  pp. 


76  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

25.  Han  yi  tao  hsing  chiu  ching.    "Minute  researches  in  religion 

and    tradition    translated    into    Chinese."      Talifu,  Yunnan. 
Re-edited  in  Chengtu  1901.    1  vol.  8vo.  92  pp. 

26.  Hsing  SHIH  CHEN.    "How  to  revive  the  world."    Talifu,  Yunnan. 

Re-edited  1874  in  Chinkiang.    1  vol.  8vo. 

27.  Ming  TE  CHING.    "Classic  for  the  elucidation  of  virtue."    Author 

unknown.    Re-edited  1899.    1  vol.  8vo.  94  pp. 
Chen  te  ni  wei.    Author  also  unknown. 

28.  Kwei  hsin  chieh  yao.    "Summary  of  Moslem  forms  and  teach- 

ings."    Recent  edition  published  in  Shanghai.    1914.    70  pp. 

29.  Ching  chen  cnti  cheng.    "  The  Correctness  of  the  Pure  and  True 

Religion."    Date  of  publication  and  author  unknown.     1  vol. 

30.  Chu  Li  Tso.    "Collection  of  Moslem  ceremonies." 

31.  Knei  CHEN  YAS  TAS.    "Important  points  connected  with  Truth." 

4  vols.  8vo. 

32.  TsA  HSUEH  TSE  YAO  CHU  CHIEH.     "Commentary  on  the  funda- 

mentals of  general  knowledge."     Date  and  name  of  author 
unknown. 

33.  Chen  kung  fa  yuan.    "An  explanation  of  real  works  of  merit." 

34.  Yu  meng  shih  yi.    "An  explanation  for  the  Blind  and  Seeing." 

Author  Tsin  Peh-ao  of  Peking  1700  A.  D. 

35.  Hui  hui  yao  Ytj.     "Important  points  for  Chinese  Moslems." 

Author  Ma  Fu-tsai. 

36.  Jen  li  chu  yao.    "The  most  Important  Rites  for  Man."    Author 

Ma  Ki-kong. 

37.  Hui  hui  chiao.    "A  talk  on  Islam."    1  vol. 

38.  Yu  MI  CHEN  YUAN.    "Examination  into  the  origin  of  Truth  and 

Error."    Published  in  Peking  1914.    1  vol.  76  pp. 

39.  Mo  an  pi  ha  tai.    "Discourse  on  Love."    Published  in  Tientsin. 

1  vol.  68  pp. 

40.  Han  yi  erh  mu  tai  cnti  an  tse.    "Arabic  terms  transliterated  into 

Chinese  with  their  meanings."    Tientsin.    1332  A.  H.  (1914). 
1  vol.  80  pp. 

41.  Cheng  chiao  chen  chijan.    "A  correct  explanation  of  the  True 

Religion.'!    Published  in  Chengtu  during  reign  of  T'ung  Chih 
(1861-75).    5  vols.  8vo. 

42.  Tien  FANG  SHIH  ching.    "Canon  of  Arabic  poetry."    Published 

in  1891.    3  vols.  8vo. 

43.  Ching  chen  shih  yi.    "The  Explanation  of  the  Pure  and  True." 

44.  Ha  ting  chuan  chi.    "Selections  ^Khating'  or  last  section  of  the 

Koran"  (Arabic).    1  vol.  106  pp. 

45.  Han  wen  ha  ting.    "Selections  from  Koran  in  Chinese."    Pub- 

lished 1882  in  Szechwan.    1  vol.  38  pp. 

46.  Cheng  chiao  yi  mu  hsing.    "One  glance  and  Islam  will  be  re- 

vived."    Szechwan.     Republished  Chengtu  1908.     1  vol.  in 
verse  32  pp. 

47.  Chu  chieh  tsa  hsIjeh.    "Commentary  on  General  Knowledge." 

48.  Chu  chieh  ha  ting.     "Commentary  on  Hating  (see  No.  44)." 

49.  Ching  wen  tsa  HstJEH.    "Book  on  General  Knowledge." 

50.  Ming  yuan  chu  shih.    "Facts  about  the  source  of  knowledge." 

Published  1916.    1  vol. 

51.  Ching  wen  ko  fei.    "Book  on  overcoming  of  evil."    1  vol. 

52.  Ching  chen  chi  meng.    "Prayer  Ritual."    Published  in  Peking. 

53.  Han  wen  tsa  hsueh.    "General  knowledge  in  Chinese." 

54.  CntJ  LI  CHIH  CHENG.    "Reasonable  proofs." 


BOOKS  ON  ISLAM  IN  CHINESE  11 

55.  Tien  fang  meng  tin  ko.     "Introduction  to  Arabian  things." 

Published  in  Chinkiang  1884.     1  vol.  26  pp. 

56.  Chung  ah  chu  hun.     " Chinese- Arabic  rules  about  marriage." 

Pubished  in  Peking  1911.    4  vols. 

57.  Ching  CHEN  CHAi  YAO.     "Important  selections  from  Moslem 

teaching."    Published  1914.    1  vol. 

58.  Wu  KUNG  PI  YAO.    "Sine  qua  non  of  the  Five  Practices."     Pub- 

lished in  Hangchow  during  the  reign  of  T'ung  chih  1861-75. 
1  vol.  186  pp. 

59.  Pao  MING  CHEN  CHING.    "The  real  classic  of  life."     Published  in 

Anwhei  in  Arabic  during  reign  of  Kwang-hsu  1875-1908. 

60.  Jen  li  mengyin  chiao  ko  shu.    "Introduction  to  the  study  of 

rites."    Published  in  1911.    1  vol.  26  pp. 

61.  Li  fa  CHI  Ai.    "Ceremonies  and  laws  that  awaken  love."    Pub- 

lished during  reign  of  T'ung  chih  1861-75.    1  vol.  42  pp. 

62.  Tien  fang  san  tzu  yu  yi.     "The  elementary  three  character 

classic."    No  date  or  name  of  author  given.    1  vol.  32  pp. 

63.  Jen  li  chieh  yao.     "Important  elements  in  the  knowledge  of 

ceremonies."    Published  in  Chinkiang  1875.    1  vol.  26  pp. 

64.  Cntj  LI  MING  YtJAN.     "Analytical  study  of  ceremonies."     Pub- 

lished in  1914  in  Arabic.    1  vol.  88  pp. 

65.  Chieh  iM  t'ung  hsing.    "Laws  that  are  universal."    No  date  or 

name  of  author.    1  vol.  52  pp. 

66.  Mu    MiN    HSUEH    YAO.      "Fundamentals   for  Mohammedans." 

Published  1915  in  Chinese- Arabic.    1  vol.  36  pp. 

II.     Calendars 

67.  TiEN  FANG  LI  FA  TU  (cHEN  pen).    Arabic  calendar  (authorized 

edition).    Talifu,  Yunnan  1851.    Reprint  1896  in  Chengtu. 

68.  Tien  fang  li  yuan.    Sources  of  the  Arabic  calendar.    Yunnan. 

1  vol.  36  pp. 

69.  Chung  hua  min  kuo  chi  mien  li  shu.    "Calendar  for  seventh 

year  of  the  Republic."     Board  of  Education  Peking  1917. 

III.     History  and  Geography 

70.  Ching  chen  chiao  kao.     "Researches  in  the  Moslem  Religion." 

Preface  dated  1720.    Reprinted  1738.    1  vol.  8vo. 

71.  (YtJ  LAN)  TIEN  FANG  CHIH  SHENG  SHIH  LU  NIEN  PU.      "RcCOrd  of 

the  acts  of  the  Prophet  of  Arabia  year  by  year"  (Imperial 
approval).    About  1710.     (Re-edited  1872.     10  vols.     8vo.) 

72.  Hsi  LAI  TSUNG  PU.    "Rccord  of  the  coming  of  the  ancestors  from 

the  West."    Yunnan.    Prefaces  dated  1882.    Re-edited  1899. 
1  vol.  8vo.  28  pp. 

73.  (Tien  fang)  hui  hui  yijan  lai.     "Origin  of  the  Moslems  (the 

Arabs)."    Re-edited  1904.    1  vol.  8vo.  54  pp. 

74.  Tien  fang  huan  yv  shu  yao.     "Important  things  about  the 

World."    Talifu,  Yunnan  1862.    8vo.  32  pp. 

75.  HsiEN  YANG  WANG  FU  TIEN  CHI.     "Mcritorious  acts  of  Prince 

Hsien  Yang,  the  pacificator  of  Yunnan."     Yunnanfu  1684. 
Re-edited  1877.    1  vol.  8vo.  24  pp. 

76.  Chao  CHIN  TU  CHI.     "Rccord  of  audiences  with  the  Emperor." 

1  vol.  46  pp. 


78  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

IV.     Language 

77.  Tien  fang  tzu  mu  chieh  yi.    '*  Explication  of  the  Arabic  alpha- 

bet."   Nanking  1710.    Re-edited  1894.    1  vol.  8vo.  64  pp. 

78.  Chung  ah  wen.    "Chinese  Arabic  Grammar."    No  date  or  name 

of  author  given.    1  vol. 

79.  Ah  la  po  yu  yen  tso  yao.     "Chinese  Arabic  Grammar  and 

Reader."    Published  in  Shanghai.    1  vol. 

80.  Chu  hsueh  ju  men.    "Lessons  in  Arabic."    1  vol.  32  pp. 

V.     Tracts  and  Controversial  Literature 

81.  Pu  PI  PAi  TiAS.    "Criticism  of  100  points  in  Buddhism."    Peking 

1917.    1  vol.  8vo.  34  pp. 

82.  Ho  NAN  hui  chiao  pien  CHEN.    "Discussiou  of  True  Doctrine  by 

the  Mohammedans  of  Honan."    1  vol.  8vo. 

83.  Hui  YEH  HsuiNG  PIEN  Lu.    "Debate  between  Moslems  and  Chris- 

tians in  India."    Translated.    Tientsin  1914.     1  vol.  47  pp. 

84.  Ssu  CHIAO  YAO  Kuo.    "Important  matters  of  the  four  Religions." 

Peking  1908.    1  vol.  38  pp. 

85.  HsiANG  CHIEH  I  MA  Ni.    "A  detailed  explanation  of  the  Faith  of 

Islam."    Peking  1917.    1  vol.  26  pp. 

86.  Wan  chan  chih  ken  yi  wen.     "The  root  of  all  good."    Pub- 

lished in  Peking  1911.    1  vol.  12  pp. 

87.  Ching  CHEN  YEN.    "Words  of  the  Pure  and  True  Religion." 

88.  Hui   chiao  kao.     "Examination   of  Mohammedan  Religion." 

Peking  1917.    1  vol.  34  pp. 

89.  TsuNG  CHiAS  PI  TU.     "Religions  matters  that  are  essential." 

Peking,  no  date.    1  vol.  74  pp. 

90.  Ching  chen  pi  tu.     "That  which  must  be  studied  in  the  Pure 

and  True  Doctrine."    1  vol.  68  pp. 

VI.     Magazines  and  Catalogues 

91.  Pien  li  ming  cheng  yxj  lu.     "Record  of  discussions."     1899. 

1  vol.  82  pp. 

92.  Ching  cheng  hsijeh  li  yi  chu.    "The  theory  of  Islam."    First 

number  published  in  Peking  1916.    Project  abandoned  owing 
to  lack  of  funds. 

93.  Yunnan  ching  chen  jih  pao.    "Yunnan  monthly."    First  num- 

ber 1916.    Project  abandoned  owing  to  lack  of  funds. 

94.  Shanghai  ching  chen  ssu  cheng  hsin  lu.    "Record  of  Moslem 

contributors  in  Shanghai."    1  vol.  338  pp. 

Those  who  are  working  among  Moslems  or  who  have 
more  or  less  intercourse  with  them  may  be  able  to  supple- 
ment the  above  list.  If  so,  the  writer  would  appreciate  it 
if  such  persons  would  send  him  the  names  of  other  books. 
In  this  way  the  bibliography  may  be  improved. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 


The  German  Road  to  the  East:  An  Account  of  the  "Drang  nach 
Osten"  and  of  Teutonic  Aims  in  the  Near  and  Middle  East. 
By  Evans  Lewin,  Librarian  of  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute,  and 
Author  of  "The  Germans  and  Africa."  London:  Wm.  Heine- 
mann.    7s.  6d.  net. 

This  volume  will  come  like  a  revelation  to  the  great  mass  of  its 
readers.  With  a  large  number  of  first  class  authorities  at  his  disposal 
and  a  great  knowledge  of  his  subject,  Mr.  Lewin  reveals  to  us  the 
development  of  one  of  the  most  carefully  planned,  unscrupulous  and 
nefarious  plots  to  obtain  the  empire  of  the  world  ever  conceived  by 
the  human  mind.  He  proves  from  the  writings  and  spoken  utter- 
ances of  German  politicians,  soldiers,  diplomatists,  and  men  of  letters, 
that  the  whole  German  nation  had  been  for  many  years  working  for 
the  realisation  of  a  carefully  thought-out  scheme  for  making  Germany 
the  absolute  owner  of  the  whole  central  tract  of  the  continents  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  together 
with  a  vast  Central  African  Empire,  thus  becoming  in  a  position  to 
dominate  the  rest  of  the  world  and  crush  all  opposition  to  her  arbi- 
trary will.  In  order  to  carry  out  this  plan  it  was  necessary  for  Ger- 
many to  gain  complete  control  over  Turkey  in  Europe  and  Turkey  in 
Asia,  since  only  thus  could  she  obtain  the  expansion  towards  the  East 
which  she  found  absolutely  essential  to  the  creation  of  a  great  Teu- 
tonic Empire.  From  a  religious  as  well  as  from  a  political  point  of 
view  all  readers  of  The  Moslem  World  must  feel  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  history  of  the  rise  and  development  of  this  project,  which  must 
vitally  affect  all  Islamic  countries.  The  making  of  the  Mesopotamian 
Railway  from  the  Levan^  to  the  Persian  Gulf  was  an  extremely  impor- 
tant part  of  the  scheme,  but  it  was  not  an  end  in  itself  but  merely  a 
means  to  the  accomplishment  of  one  of  the  most  ambitious  dreams 
which  ever  entered  the  mind  of  an  unscrupulous  despot. 

Although  German  writers  had  discussed  their  plans  within  their 
own  country  for  many  years,  yet  to  other  countries  they  had  made 
every  possible  effort  to  disguise  their  real  aims.  It  is  nevertheless 
very  strange  that  they  succeeded  in  this  so  thoroughly  as  they  did, 
as  far  at  least  as  England  was  concerned.  France  seems  to  have  been 
more  conscious  of  German  designs.  We  in  England  could  not  believe 
it  possible  for  any  civilised  nation  to  harbour  such  criminal  purposes 
and  to  plot  against  its  neighbours  in  such  a  nefarious  way,  while 
trusted  and  helped  by  them  to  share  freely  in  every  advantage  that 
they  themselves  enjoyed.  In  our  colonies  and  in  Great  Britain  itself, 
just  as  in  the  United  States,  Germans  were  treated  with  the  greatest 
consideration  and  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  our  own  people. 
In  return  for  all  this,  as  we  now  know,  they  intrigued  against  us  in 
every  possible  way.  America,  England,  Ireland,  India,  and  our  over- 
sea Dominions  were  filled  not  only  with  German  spies  but  with  agents 

79 


80  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

employed  to  excite  and  foment  disloyalty  and  treason,  to  take  a 
treacherous  advantage  of  every  opportunity  of  injuring  their  hosts, 
and  to  make  preparations  for  the  subversion  of  the  British  Empire. 
Mr.  Lewin  quotes  Admiral  von  Goetzen  as  saying  in  1898  to  Vice- 
Admiral  Dewey  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  *'In  about  fifteen  years  my  country 
will  have  commenced  its  great  war.  In  two  months  we  shall  be  at 
Paris.  But  this  will  only  be  the  first  step  towards  our  real  end — the 
overthrow  of  England.  Everything  will  happen  at  the  chosen  hour, 
for,  whilst  we  shall  be  ready,  our  enemies  will  not  be  prepared."  In 
a  Pan-German  League  pamphlet  published  in  1895  the  author  re- 
vealed German  designs  very  clearly  in  these  words:  "Without  doubt 
the  Germans  will  not  alone  people  the  new  German  Empire  thus 
constituted;  but  they  alone  will  govern,  they  alone  will  exercise  all 
political  rights:  they  will  serve  in  the  navy  and  in  the  army;  they 
alone  will  be  able  to  acquire  land.  They  will  thus  have,  as  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  the  sentiment  of  being  a  race  of  masters;  nevertheless 
they  will  so  far  condescend  that  the  less  important  work  shall  be  done 
by  foreigners  under  their  domination."  It  hardly  seemed  possible  at 
the  time  to  take  all  this  seriously.  People  in  other  countries  imagined 
that  such  vapourings  were  the  outcome  of  insanity  or  something 
similar.  They  could  not  believe  that  so  sensible  a  people  as  the 
Germans  were  supposed  to  be  could  fancy  that  such  a  scheme  was 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility.  But  events  have  since  proved  that 
Germany  did  really  believe  that  she  could,  by  treachery  and  force  of 
arms,  make  herself  mistress  of  the  world,  and  reduce  all  other  nations 
to  a  state  of  permanent  and  hopeless  slavery.  We  now  see  what  is 
at  issue  between  the  Central  Powers  and  the  Allies,  and  it  has  become 
clear  why,  with  God's  help,  it  is  our  sacred  duty  to  crush  once  and 
for  ever  German  militarism  and  to  secure  men  of  every  nation  the 
right  to  be  free. 

The  first  chapter  of  Mr.  Lewin's  book  deals  with  Germany's  at- 
tempts at  expansion  in  Asia  Minor.  Such  expansion  in  itself  was  a 
thing  which  might  legitimately  be  aimed  at  (by  honest  means,  of 
course),  in  order  to  find  ground  on  which  German  emigrants  might 
live  when  their  numbers  made  it  impossible  to  do  so  within  the  borders 
of  Germany  itself.  It  was  natural  that  their  rulers  should  strive  to 
keep  them  from  forsaking  their  own  nation  and  emigrating  to  coun- 
tries in  the  British  Empire.  Asia  Minor  had  in  great  measure  been 
depopulated  by  Turkish  misrule,  as  had  Mesopotamia:  and  the  Ger- 
mans cannot  be  blamed  for  wishing  to  occupy  both  gradually,  so 
keeping  their  own  emigrants  under  their  flag,  even  were  Turkey  to 
become  politically  and  economically  a  vassal  state  in  the  process. 
But  Mr.  Lewin  shews  that  Germany  aimed  at  more  than  this.  By 
building  a  railway  to  the  Persian  Gulf  through  Mesopotamia,  con- 
nected through  Constantinople  with  Germany,  she  hoped  to  cut  the 
British  Empire  in  two,  to  separate  India  from  Egypt,  to  get  access 
to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and,  by  maintaining  a  powerful  fleet  there,  inter- 
rupt communication  between  India  and  the  rest  of  the  Empire.  She 
aimed  at  conquering  India,  thus  following  Alexander  and  Napoleon 
in  their  projects.  The  Kaiser  wished  to  become  Suzerain  of  Turkey, 
and  as  Protector  of  Islam  to  exercise  influence  over  the  whole  Mu- 
hammadan  world.  This  was  what  was  meant  by  the  position  he 
assumed  and  the  speeches  he  made  at  Jerusalem  and  Damascus  when 
he  paid  a  State  visit  to  Palestine  and  Syria  a  few  years  ago. 

One  of  the  many  mistakes  which  the  Germans  made  was  that  of 
believing  that  the  British  Empire  was  governed  by  the  sword,  and 


BOOK  REVIEWS  81 

that  the  various  countries  composing  it  would  revolt  as  soon  as  an 
opportunity  was  given  them  of  doing  so.  It  was  believed  that  the 
creation  of  a  great  German  fleet,  in  support  of  an  army  of  aggression 
able  to  move  from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf  by  rail,  would 
enable  Germany  to  overthrow  the  power  of  England.  Rohrbach,  as 
quoted  in  pp.  59,  60,  states  this  purpose  very  clearly:  "England  can 
be  attacked  and  mortally  wounded  by  land  from  Europe  only  in  one 
place, — ^Egypt.  The  loss  of  Egypt  would  mean  for  England  not  only 
the  end  of  her  dominion  over  the  Suez  Canal,  and  of  her  connexions 
with  India  and  the  Far  East,  but  would  probably  entail  also  the  loss 
of  her  possessions  in  Central  and  East  Africa.  The  conquest  of  Egypt 
by  a  Muhammadan  Power,  like  Turkey,  would  also  imperil  England's 
hold  over  her  60,000,000  Muhammadan  subjects  in  India,  besides 
being  to  her  prejudice  in  Afghanistan  and  Persia.  Turkey,  however, 
can  never  dream  of  recovering  Egypt  until  she  is  mistress  of  a  devel- 
oped railway  system  in  Asia  Minor  and  Syria  and  until,  through  the 
progress  of  the  Anatolian  Railway  to  Baghdad,  she  is  in  a  position  to 
withstand  an  attack  by  England  upon  Mesopotamia.  .  .  .  The 
policy  of  protecting  Turkey,  which  is  now  pursued  by  Germany,  has 
no  other  object  than  the  desire  to  effect  an  insurance  against  the 
danger  of  a  war  with  England."  It  is  well  that  we  should  understand 
Germany's  purpose  in  all  this  in  order  that  we  may  see  clearly  that  it 
was  necessary  for  our  own  defence  to  take  steps  to  thwart  the  Ger- 
mans, not  in  their  legitimate  efforts  to  expand,  but  in  their  determi- 
nation, by  the  most  treacherous  methods,  to  bring  us  to  ruin. 

Chapter  IV  tells  how  England  acquired  her  rights  in  the  Persian 
Gulf,  which  rights  Germany  plotted  to  filch  away  from  us  in  order  to 
secure  a  port  there  as  the  terminus  of  the  Mesopotamian  Railway, 
and  so  make  it  possible  to  attack  us  in  India.  It  mentions  how  we 
long  ago  made  treaties  with  the  Sheikhs  along  the  Gulf  coasts,  and 
how,  at  great  cost,  we  put  down  the  slave  trade  and  piracy  there,  and 
policed  the  Gulf,  thus  making  it  possible  for  other  nations  as  well  as 
ourselves  to  trade  there  and  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  Long  before  the 
War,  attempts  had  been  made  to  stir  up  enmity  against  England  and 
France  in  the  East,  while  all  the  time  Germany  was  at  peace  with  us 
and  profiting  by  the  Pax  Britannica.  These  efforts  were  extended 
soon  after  the  war  began.  German  agents  in  India,  Afghanistan, 
Egypt,  and  the  Sudan  preached  a  Jihad,  urging  all  Muslims  to  rise 
against  England  under  the  Kaiser's  leadership,  the  latter  being  stated 
(as  by  the  notorious  Dr.  Pugin  in  Persia)  to  have  become  a  convert 
to  Islam.  In  Palestine  some  years  ago  the  Germans  erected  a  wire- 
less installation  and  planted  cannon  secretly  at  the  "Augusta  Vic- 
toria Stiftung"  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  ready  to  be  used  when  the 
war  they  were  preparing  for  broke  out  (pp.  102-103). 

In  Chapters  VI,  VII,  and  VIII,  Mr.  Lewin  relates  the  sad  tale  of 
the  method  in  which  our  mistaken  policy  of  protecting  Turkey, 
through  our  jealousy  and  distrust  of  Russia,  steadily  advanced  the 
progress  of  Germany  in  the  Turkish  Empire.  We  joined  France  in 
opposing  Russia  in  the  Crimea,  and  in  the  Russo-Turkish  wars  that 
followed  we  adopted  the  same  line  of  action.  In  the  Berlin  Congress 
we  enabled  Bismarck  to  triumph  over  the  Slavs.  We  insisted  on 
restoring  Macedonia  to  the  Turks,  when  Russia  had  freed  it  from 
their  yoke.  We  "maintained  the  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire" 
and  prevented  the  partition  of  Turkey  in  Asia.  Britain  insisted  that 
Constantinople,  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bosporus  should  remain  in 
Turkish  hands.     In  conjunction  with  the  other  signatories  of  the 


84  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

acquaintance  with  the  original  is  extremely  slight.*'  This  circum- 
stance reduces  the  effect  of  the  compliment,  for  if  the  judgment  is 
based  on  the  English  translation  by  Growse,  we  have  to  set  against 
it  the  fact  that  this  translation  appears  to  have  attracted  very  little 
attention.  To  the  library  collected  by  Akbar  "probably  no  parallel 
then  existed  or  ever  has  existed  in  the  world."  "Nothing  like  Fath- 
pur-Sikri  ever  was  created  before  or  can  be  created  again."  "Nothing 
at  all  resembling  such  a  work  as  the  Ain-i  Akbari  was  ever  compiled 
in  Asia,  unless,  perhaps,  in  China."  Are  these  sober  statements  of 
fact,  or  has  the  Oriental  hyperbole  somehow  affected  the  style  .^ 

One  hesitates  to  decide  in  favour  of  the  latter  alternative,  not  only 
on  account  of  the  conscientious  research  which  this  book  displays, 
but  because  of  the  evident  fairmindedness  of  the  author.  As  a  retired 
I.  C.  S.  he  might  be  expected  to  compare  the  state  of  India  under 
British  rule  favourably  with  its  condition  under  Akbar;  his  con- 
clusions exhibit  little  enthusiasm.  "I  doubt  if  the  cultivators  were 
better  off  three  centuries  ago  than  they  are  now,  and  it  is  possible 
that  they  may  have  been  less  prosperous."  "Whether  the  urban 
population  of  the  more  important  cities  was  better  off  on  the  whole 
than  the  townspeople  of  the  twentieth  century  are  it  is  hard  to  say. 
I  am  not  able  to  express  any  definite  opinion  on  the  subject."  If 
neither  townsfolk  nor  countryfolk  are  decidedly  the  better  for  British 
rule,  its  blessings  cannot  be  so  great  as  we  are  apt  to  fancy. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  war,  which  has  hit  the  publishing  business 
with  special  severity,  will  not  prevent  this  most  valuable  addition  to 
the  literature  on  India  from  being  widely  circulated. 

D.  S.  Margolioth. 

Eg3rptian  Colloquial  Arabic,  a  conversation  grammar.  By  W.  H. 
T.  Gairdner,  B.  A.  Oxon.;  Church  Missionary  Society,  Egypt; 
Superintendent  of  Arabic  Studies  at  the  Cairo  Study  Centre, 
assisted  by  Sheikh  Kurayyim  Sallam.  Cambridge:  W.  Hefer  & 
Sons  Ltd.    1917.    12s.  6d.    xiv+300  pp. 

The  study  of  modern  spoken  Arabic  has  a  twofold  interest:  one 
that  is  philological  or  theoretical  and  another  that  is  linguistic  or 
practical.  The  former  is  concerned  with  an  understanding  of  the 
materials;  the  latter  with  a  mastery  of  them;  yet  each,  of  course* 
involves  something  of  the  other.  It  is  the  linguistic  or  practical 
interest  which  is  chiefly  felt  by  those  who  are  studying  for  missionary 
service. 

The  number  of  different  dialects  is  very  large;  and  few  of  them  have 
been  treated.  There  is,  e.g.,  nothing  practically  on  the  very  important 
dialects  of  the  Lebanon,  and  nothing  adequate  on  that  of  Beirut; 
while  the  Barbary  coast  and  notably  the  city  of  Cairo,  from  their 
early  and  great  importance,  have  received  more  than  their  share  of 
attention.  It  is  the  dialect  of  the  last  mentioned,  in  fact,  which 
almost  of  necessity  has  to  be  studied  by  everyone  seriously  interested 
in  the  general  subject  of  modern  spoken  Arabic,  whatever  his  ulti- 
mate aim;  not  only  because  of  its  greater  accessibility,  but  also  be- 
cause of  its  wide  diffusion  and  increasing  importance. 


BOOK  REVIEWS  85 

A  *  linguist's'  introduction  to  the  spoken  Arabic  of  Cairo  is  there- 
fore much  needed. 

There  are  a  great  many  books,  as  has  been  said,  on  the  subject. 
Spitta  (1880)  estabhshed  the  grammatical  analysis  of  the  dialect  and 
enunciated  the  doctrine — alas,  not  yet  fully  accepted — ^that  the 
spoken  forms  of  Arabic  are  in  fact  new  languages,  to  be  mastered 
separately  from  the  classical.  But  his  book  is  a  compendium  rather 
than  a  method.  Vollers  (1890)  pubUshed  a  manual,  useful  but  brief. 
Willmore  (1905,  2nd  ed.)  made  accessible  a  great  deal  of  valuable 
material,  in  a  form,  however,  which  is  neither  adapted  to  ready 
reference  nor  to  the  needs  of  the  learner.  Among  the  host  of  inade- 
quate works  is  the  very  carelessly  written  grammar  of  Spiro  (1912), 
whose  excellent  work  in  the  lexicography  of  the  dialect  (1895,  resp. 
1897,  1905)  would  have  seemed  to  promise  something  better. 

None  of  these  were  satisfactory  from  the  standpoint  of  modern 
language  instruction,  which  looked  toward  phonetics  and  pedagogical 
reform. 

It  was  partly  Hamitic  and  African  {e.g.  Meinhof),  partly  'modern 
language'  {e.g.  Sievers,  Victor,  Jespersen,  Passy)  students,*  who 
opened  the  way  for  the  objective  study  of  speech-sounds.  In  the 
hands  of  able  experimenters  {e.g.  Rousselot,  Scripture,  Weeks)  the 
subject  has  been  pursued  in  the  physical  laboratory.  The  fruit  of 
these  labors  has  been  an  increasing  knowledge  of  the  actual  physical 
mechanism  of  speech-sounds,  the  true  basis  of  all  language  study. 

The  'modern  language'  teacher  also  started  the  so-called  reform 
movement  in  teaching  languages.  It  was  felt  that  the  older  methods 
had  imparted  knowledge  about  rather  than  knowledge  of  the  languages 
studied.  It  became  clear  that  the  linguist's  command  ought,  even  for 
the  philologist,  when  possible,  to  precede  his  purely  theoretical  studies. 
Appeal  was  to  be  made  to  the  auditory-motor  rather  than  to  the  visual 
memory.  Phonetic  notation  was  to  be  substituted  for  conventional 
spelling.  Exercises  were  to  consist  of  actual  sentences  in  context, 
and  not  of  monstrosities  and  disconnected  illustrations.  Accidence 
was  to  be  presented  in  concrete  sentences,  and  not  in  tabular  form. 
Rules  of  grammar  were  to  be  deduced  by  the  pupil  or  supplied  by  the 
teacher  in  connection  with  the  sentences.  The  instruction  was,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  be  conducted  in  the  language  studied. 

These  then  were  the  principles  of  the  'reform  movement,'  long 
since  applied  in  Germany,  France  and  England,  and  to  some  extent 
in  the  United  States,  chiefly  to  European  but  also  to  remoter  lan- 
guages. 

The  grammar  which  Canon  Gairdner  has  just  published  attempts 
to  present  the  dialect  of  Cairo — not,  of  course,  as  the  title  would 

*  There  is  no  intention  of  passing  over  Arabists  who,  like  Wallin  (1855)  and  Vollers 
(IX  Intern.  Or.  Cong.),  made  practically  unheeded  observations;  nor  the  early  phone- 
ticians, Brucke  (1856,  1860,  1876)  and  Czermak  (1858),  who  lived  before  their  time! 


86  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

imply,  anything  beyond  that — by  a  method  of  his  own,  in  accordance 
with  *  reform'  principles  and  on  the  basis  of  phonetics,  using  the 
alphabet  of  the  International  Phonetic  Association.  The  author  is 
well  fitted  for  such  a  task  both  by  natural  endowment  and  by  long 
residence  in  the  country.*  The  success  of  his  undertaking  lies, 
naturally,  not  merely  in  the  accurate  presentation  of  well  known 
material,  but  in  the  peculiar  manner  of  that  presentation.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  book  well  justifies  its  existence.  It  is  probably 
the  first  *  reform'  textbook  written  on  any  oriental  language.  It 
contains  the  first  Arabic — perhaps  the  first  Semitic — ^texts  ever 
printed  in  the  alphabet  of  the  International  Phonetic  Association. 
It  means  much,  therefore,  both  for  Arabic  studies  and  phonetic 
studies. 

The  author  has  both  modified  and  enlarged  the  alphabet  of  the 
I.  P.  A.  for  his  special  purposes.  The  enlargement  was  unavoidable, 
and  has  furnished  a  number  of  good  symbols  which  phoneticians  will 
be  glad  to  use.  The  modifications  are  to  be  justified  as  removing 
from  the  texts  two  characters  of  very  frequent  occurrence  which 
offend  the  eye  by  being  respectively  a  capital  and  a  small  capital. 

Thus  [hj  is  used  instead  of  [h]  for  ^  and 

[S]  is  used  instead  of  [q]  for  (^. 

The  new  characters  are  [»  d*  «]  for  {j^  {j^  \^  ]^.  Here  the  uni- 
form principle  has  been  adopted  of  representing  velarization — 
raising  of  the  back  of  the  tongue — by  means  of  a  [^]  placed  within 
the  letter:  i.e.  where  it  is  easily  picked  up  by  the  eye  in  moving 
across  the  page.  Similarly  the  form  of  a-vowel  which  occurs  with 
these  consonants  is  represented  by  [«].  This  is  an  immense  peda- 
gogical gain,    [d]  is  used  for  [a]. 

Lengthened — erroneously  called  'doubled' — consonants  are  rep- 
resented by  the  doubled  consonant,  and  not,  consistently  with  the 
vowels,  by  a  following  [i].  This  is  a  grave  departure  from  principle, 
to  be  justified,  if  at  all,  by  the  superiority  of  eye  over  ear  in  fixing 
the  peculiar  structural  features  of  Arabic. 

Another  concession  to  the  eye  is  the  printing  of  the  obscure  ter- 
minal helping  vowel  as  such  even  when  it  is  accented. 

On  the  other  hand  the  (j  is  correctly  represented  by  [?]  and  not 
by  the  usual  q. 

The  texts  display  a  number  of  very  fine  observations,  some  of 
which  are  unfamiliar.  The  identification  of  [d]  before  [r  x  g],  except 
when  the  latter  are  vowelled  with  [i],  is  remarkable.  Gairdner 
recognizes  the  occurrence  of  both  f«]  and  [z],  as  does  Willmore,  in 
disagreement  with  Spitta. 

*  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  texts  throughout  are  from  the  lips  of  native  Egyptians. 
Otherwise  their  value  would  be  enormously  decreased  in  any  case. 


BOOK  REVIEWS  87 

r"  is  represented  by  [x]  the  voiceless  velar  fricative,  which  it  has 

previously  been  held  to  be,  and  which  it  is  likely  to  be  since  (^  is 
admittedly  a  voiced  velar  fricative  "without  uvular  scrape"  (p.  3). 
But  the  author  states  (p.  3)  that  it  is  heard  "with  uvular  scrape" — 
meaning  undoubtedly  that  it  is  a  voiceless  uvular  fricative.  If  that 
was  meant  the  symbol  [h]  should  have  been  employed. 

Quantities  at  times  seem  incorrect.  Thus  we  see  kaman  and 
tamam  for  kamain  and  tamaim  even  when  not  shortened  by  a  fol- 
lowing consonant  (p.  15  et  passim). 

The  labor  of  writing  down  these  texts  from  dictation  and  of  read- 
ing the  proofs  is  enormous;  and  consistency  is  not  to  be  looked  for 
where  faithful  reproduction  is  the  chief  aim,  and  where  usage  varies 
even  between  individuals.  Undoubtedly  assimilative  velarization  is 
a  variable  phenomenon.  Hence  soi%  lash  and  -soit  sound,  ordinarily 
indistinguishable. 

The  rules  for  sound  changes  are  good.  But  to  p.  14,  note  1  (cf. 
p.  36, 1. 10  f.)  should  be  added:   .    .    .   and  preceded  by  an  open  syllable. 

The  characteristic  Cairene  penultimate  tone  on  short  syllables  is 
explained  as  "probably"  mere  pitch-accent,  without  actual  stress. 
The  matter  should  be  investigated  with  instruments.  But  aside 
from  that,  even  short,  untoned  syllables  can,  of  course,  be  stressed. 

After  a  brief  introduction  on  the  sounds  there  follow  thirty-two 
exercises  in  which  there  is  steady  progress  through  the  grammar  and, 
at  the  same  time,  through  the  conversational  subject  matter.  This 
is  quite  as  well  carried  out  as  in  Marchand's  Deutsches  Lesebuch, 
which  in  this  respect  it  greatly  resembles.  The  exercises  are  entirely 
in  Arabic,  which  is  intended  to  be  the  only  language  used  in  class. 
Opposite  these  are  English  translations — but  not  in  all  cases — ^for 
the  aid  of  the  eye  only,  and  not  to  be  pronounced.  This  feature  has 
been  applied  in  the  Cortina  grammars  of  Italian  and  German.  Ex- 
planations are  given  in  footnotes;  there  are  no  vocabularies.  The 
chain  of  progressive  exercises  is  interrupted  by  an  explanatory 
'intermezzo'  and  several  sections  of  *  general  conversation.'  There 
are  frequent  supplementary  tables  of  paradigms  which,  however, 
consist  of  complete  sentences.  A  grammatical  index  brings  together 
all  the  materials  for  reference.  At  about  the  middle  of  the  exercises 
begins  the  transition  to  the  Arabic  reader,  which  may  be  studied  from 
that  point  onward  along  with  the  exercises.  Then  follow  six  'skeleton 
conversations'  in  which  the  pupil  is  led  into  deeper  water. 

The  freshness  and  vigor  of  the  sentences  is  remarkable.  Most  of 
the  anecdotes  and  dialogues  are  strongly  Cairene.  The  reader,  which 
follows  and  which  has  a  vocabulary  instead  of  a  parallel  translation, 
contains,  among  other  things,  some  useful  selections  from  the  Bible 
and  some  models  of  doctrinal  discussion.  These  are  free  from  taint 
of  the  classical  idiom. 


88  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

There  are  many  opponents  of  serious  instruction  in  the  vernacular; 
many  also  who  from  eye-mindedness  or  other  cause  are  unable  to 
learn  languages  in  the  new  way.  But  an  increasing  number  will  find 
the  new  way  to  be  the  most  thorough  road  to  mastery;  and  these  will 
undoubtedly  be  saved  much  labor  by  Canon  Gairdner*s  book. 

A  word  should  be  added:  This  book  and  others  of  its  kind  ought  to 
be  studied  aloud. 

In  addition  to  the  errata  given  by  the  author  the  following  have 
been  casually  noticed : 


3,  1.  18 

read  uvula 

for  uvular 

13,  "  13 

"     [r] 

"   broken  type 

21,"    5 

"     <Jdri:a§r 

"   ^dridar 

47,"    3  a. 

i.     «     but 

"  broken  type 

77,  "  28 

"     PaS'timak 

"    Paf'timak 

117,"    5 

"    axdffi 

"   axdffi 

142,  "  14 

"    repented 

"  repeated 

184,  "  30 

"    the  hospital 

269,"    3  a.  i.     "     VIII  "   VII 

Opinions  might  differ  as  to  the  choice  of  English  in  the  transla- 
tions. It  is,  and  rightly  so,  extremely  colloquial.  But  p.  22,  11.  12, 
14  biggest  of  these  twOy  p.  24,  1.  7  Yes,  I  understand  fine,  p.  134,  1.  9 
to  get  spent,  etc.  are  what  the  Egyptians  call  katiir  xazlif  ?awi! 

W.  H.  Worrell. 


The  Spoken  Arabic  of  Mesopotamia.  By  the  Rev.  John  Van  Ess, 
M.A.  (American  Mission,  Basrah).  Compiled  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  territory  of  Irag  in  British  occupation.  Oxford 
University  Press.    4s.  6d. 

As  the  title  indicates  and  as  the  author  tells  in  his  preface,  the  book 
has  been  compiled  to  assist  the  reader  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the 
spoken  Arabic  of  Mesopotamia.  Only  so  much  of  the  literary  lan- 
guage has  been  inserted  as  is  required  by  those  who  prefer  thus  to 
approach  the  colloquial.  The  work  has  two  distinct  parts:  pp.  8-120 
contain  the  elementary  rules  of  grammar  and  some  useful  exercises 
likely  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  the  beginner  the  practical  use  of  these 
rules;  pp.  120-256  are  devoted  to  an  English- Arabic  vocabulary. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  writer  is  good.  After  setting  forth  the 
general  principles  underlying  a  grammatical  division  he  inserts  the 
series  of  what  is  termed  "Word  list,"  followed  by  three  identical 
exercises;  the  first  is  in  vulgar  Arabic  and  in  Roman  characters;  the 
second  embodies  the  translation  of  the  same  sentences  into  English; 
and  the  third,  which  is  in  Arabic  characters,  gives  the  rendering  of 
the  same  phrases  into  a  better  Arabic.  The  choice  of  sentences  used 
in  the  exercises  is  very  happy,  and  the  order  of  their  grammatical 
position  very  useful. 

The  book  would  be  more  profitable  if  its  reader  takes  notice  of  some 
remarks  which  we  would  allow  ourselves  to  make. 

(a)  There  are  some  misprints,  explicable  by  the  distance  separating 
the  author  from  the  Oxford  University  Press;  they  are  generally 


BOOK  REVIEWS  89 

confined  to  the  dots  of  graphically  similar  letters;  the  following  are 
the  most  striking: 


P. 

118  (1.    1) 

mahanan 

for 

majj&nan 

p. 

116  (1.  16) 

Ba'dAd 

for 

Baghdad 

p. 

103  (I.  12) 

binth 

for 

bint 

p. 

99  (1.    1) 

'erdan 

for 

'eiESdan 

p. 

97  (I.  18) 

e-nakhla 

for 

en-nakhla 

p. 

68  (1.  26) 

tashak 

for 

tadhak 

p. 

63  (1.  17) 

bamd 

for 

ba'd 

p. 

61  (1.  18) 

Kuthub 

for 

Kutub 

p. 

46  (1.    1) 

itab 

for 

iktab 

p. 

46  (1.  11) 

hal 

for 

wasal 

p. 

23  (1.  19) 

an^jtn 

for 

fan&jtn 

p. 

2  (1.  23) 

baigh 

for 

bai' 

e  are  here  and  there  some 

inexactitudes  such 

P. 

116  (1.  17) 

ba'ldan 

for 

ba'ldun 

P. 

68  (1.  24) 

ja'ul-'askar 

for 

W 

P. 

61  (1.20) 

ithnai 

for 

ithna 

P. 

45  (1.  28) 

ilal  Baghdad 

for 

ila  Baghd&d 

P. 

31  (1.  25) 

maktub 

for 

maktuban 

P.  25  (1.  8)  and  p.  24  (1.  8)  b^'is     for        ba's 

(c)  There  are  also  some  general  renderings  which  seem  to  be 
somewhat  objectionable : 

P.  112  (11.  20  and  28)  the  relative  elledhi  is  otiose.  P.  97  (1.  74)  the 
sentence  "There  are  many  lepers  in  Basrah*'  is  translated  redun- 
dantly by  the  particle  dku  and  the  verb  wsijid.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  similar  sentences  on  pp.  63  and  97.  Pp.  67-8  (1.  23)  the 
repetition  of  the  word  horse  is  useless  for  all  purposes.  The  reading 
of  dhumma  instead  of  dhamma  throughout  the  work  is  likewise 
awkward. 

The  above  remarks  refer  to  Part  I:  Grammar  and  Exercise.  I  read 
some  pages  of  the  vocabulary  and  found  that  its  indications  were 
very  accurate.  Occasionally  some  other  Arabic  words  might  have 
been  added;  ex.  gr.  as  a  rendering  of  carpet  the  word  mahfura  would 
have  been  appropriate. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  these  imperfections  can  impair  the  use- 
fulness of  a  painstaking  work.  The  best  guarantee  for  its  accuracy  is 
that  it  has  been  seen  through  the  press  by  Dr.  L.  W.  King  of  the 
British  Museum.  The  long  stay  of  the  author  in  Mesopotamia 
entitles  him  to  write  on  a  language  which  he  is  continually  using  in 
his  daily  work  with  an  authority  to  which  an  outsider  cannot  lay 
claim;  he  knows  his  language  well,  and  the  student  is  safe  in  following 
him. 

A.   MiNGANA. 

Recherches  sur  les  Musulmans  Chinois  par  Le  Commandant  D' 
OUone,  Le  Capitaine  De  Fleurelle,  Le  Capitaine  Lepage,  Le 
Lieutenant  De  Boyve;  etudes  de  A.  Vissiere  Consul  General  de 
France,  Professeur  a  I'Ecole  des  Langues  Orientales  vivantes; 
Notes  de  E.  Blochet  Attache  a  la  Bibliotheque  nationale,  et  de 
Divers  Savants.    8vo.  470  pp.    Paris:  Ernest  Leroux.     1911. 

The  student  of  Islam  owes  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  French 
scholars  and  travellers  who  for  the  past  fifty  years  and  more  have 


90  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

made  a  thorough  study  of  Islam  in  French  North  Africa,  Indo  China, 
and  especially,  through  the  Mission  D'OUone,  in  Western  China. 
The  volume  referred  to  below  is  the  first  of  nine  monographs  on  the 
subject  of  Islam  in  China,  and  may  therefore  be  considered  as  merely 
an  introductory  study  of  the  subject.  Of  the  other  volumes,  some 
are  still  in  preparation  and  others  in  the  press.  They  consist  of 
inscriptions,  photographs,  historic  documents,  geographical  papers, 
and  a  special  volume  on  the  ethnography  and  anthropology  of  the 
non-Chinese  races  found  in  Western  China.  We  make  our  apology 
for  this  tardy  review  of  Vol.  I. 

The  French  Scientific  Mission  entered  Western  China  by  way  of 
Tonkin  and  began  their  investigations  in  Yunnan,  travelling  through 
this  province  eastward  as  far  as  Wangmou,  westward  as  far  as  Makai, 
and  then  going  northward  along  the  borders  of  Tibet  to  Chengtu  in 
Szechwan.  From  there  they  passed  through  Kansu  Province,  follow- 
ing the  Hoangho  River  to  Peking.  The  book  deals  chiefly  with  the 
Moslems  of  Yunnan,  Szechwan,  Kansu,  and  Chinese  Turkestan.  The 
Moslem  population  of  Yunnan  is  estimated  as  not  more  than  250,000, 
and  it  is  clear  from  the  description  given  that  the  power  of  Islam  has 
waned.  Formerly  there  were  even  printing  establishments  where 
the  Arabic  Koran  was  published,  but  at  present  such  books  are 
imported.  Ancestor  worship  is  common  among  the  Moslems.  They 
are  not  strict  in  regard  to  ablutions,  are  ignorant  of  the  Khalifate, 
and  belong  to  the  "old  Islam"  party  which  has  not  adopted  saint 
worship.  One  hundred  and  sixty  pages  are  devoted  to  documents 
regarding  Seyyid  Ed  jell  Omar,  who  was  the  apostle  of  Yunnan,  and 
whose  tomb  has  an  interesting  Arabic  as  well  as  Chinese  inscription. 
He  came  to  Yunnan  in  1274  A.D.,  and  his  descendants  are  still  proud 
of  their  lineage.  A  full  biography  is  given,  and  also  the  translation 
of  a  Chinese  account  of  the  engineering  and  irrigation  work  carried 
out  by  this  great  Moslem  leader.  The  chapter  on  Szechwan  intro- 
duces us  to  the  so-called  "new  religion"  of  the  Moslems  in  China,  and 
the  author  proves  conclusively  that  the  new  Islam  here  signifies 
adherence  to  Sufi  teaching,  tinged  perhaps  with  Shiah  influence. 
Generally  speaking,  therefore,  we  may  say  that  the  old  Islam  in  China 
is  of  the  Wahabi  (Arabian)  type  (they  abstain  from  tobacco  as  well 
as  opium)  while  the  new  religion  is  Persian  and  Turkish  in  its  charac- 
ter. The  most  interesting  fact  in  regard  to  Szechwan  is  that  Chengtu, 
the  capital,  is  the  chief  center  of  Moslem  printing  for  all  China.  The 
author  states  that  nearly  all  the  books  on  Islam,  which  the  mission 
found  in  China,  were  printed  at  Chengtu.  The  Ahongs  here  have  a 
good  knowledge  of  Persian  as  well  as  of  Arabic.  The  Moslem  popula- 
tion of  this  province  is  put  at  400,000.  A  full  account  is  given  of  the 
history  of  Islam  in  Kansu,  and  the  strategic  importance  of  this  prov- 
ince clearly  pointed  out.  Hochow  was  once  the  most  important  center 
for  Islam,  but  since  the  rebellions  it  has  lost  its  prestige.  The  Moslem 
population  of  West  China  has  constantly  been  in  revolt.  In  1648- 
1649  Kansu  Province  rebelled.  In  1757  Turkestan,  in  1783  Kansu. 
From  1820-1828  there  was  rebeUion  again  in  Kansu  and  Turkestan; 
in  1855-1873  in  Yunnan;  1862-1877  in  Shensi  and  Kansu,  and  again 
in  1895  in  Kansu.  It  is  in  the  Province  of  Kansu  that  saintworship 
is  as  common  as  it  is  in  the  Levant.  The  whole  literature  of  Moslems 
here  shows  Sufi  influence.  A  most  interesting  analysis  is  given  of  the 
Moslem  works  secured  by  the  mission.  These  are  all  in  Chinese, 
although  in  many  of  them  we  find  the  Arabic  character  used  for  the 
explanation  of  technical  terms,  and  include  not  only  doctrinal  and 


BOOK   REVIEWS  91 

liturgical  works,  but  books  on  the  Moslem  calendar,  history,  geog- 
raphy, and  the  Arabic  language.  A  number  of  Persian  manuscripts 
were  found  in  Kansu.  A  catalogue  is  given  of  a  Moslem  library  at 
Peking,  and  a  list  of  the  Arabic  and  Turkish  journals  which  have 
readers  in  China. 

The  following  are  the  conclusions  reached  by  Capt.  D'Ollone  in  his 
great  work  (pages  429  to  440).  The  number  of  Muslims  in  China 
has,  he  thinks,  been  greatly  overestimated.  All  the  figures  given 
hitherto  are  merely  suppositions.  There  are  no  official  statistics. 
The  lowest  number  for  the  whole  of  China  is  put  at  four  millions. 
Yet  contradicting  his  earlier  statement  given  above,  he  approves  of 
the  estimate  made  by  Major  Davies  after  special  study  of  Yunan, 
that  the  Moslems  there  are  about  3  per  cent  of  the  population,  and 
therefore  number  800,000.  The  second  point  he  makes  clear  is  that, 
contrary  to  the  usual  opinion,  the  Moslems  are  not  physically  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  other  Chinese  in  most  of  the  provinces.  Most 
of  them  no  longer  show  trace  of  Turkish  or  Arab  blood,  but  are  pure 
Chinese.  Adult  conversions  are  not  infrequent.  Moslem  army 
officials  convert  many  of  their  soldiers.  He  says:  "We  encountered 
many  Mohammedans  who  were  recent  converts  to  Islam.  It  is  the 
more  remarkable  that  Chinese  should  be  converted  to  Islam  when 
we  remember  that  this  religion  forbids  pork,  alcohol,  tobacco  and 
opium — the  very  things  of  which  the  Chinese  are  so  fond."  His  con- 
clusion is  that  the  Chinese  mind  is  profoundly  affected  by  religion 
and  capable  of  making  large  sacrifices  for  the  truth.  This  has  con- 
siderable bearing  on  the  future  of  Islam.  He  believes  that  the  prog- 
ress of  Islam  in  China  depends  on  the  position  which  leading  Moslems 
will  occupy  in  the  government.  The  day  when  any  Moslem  should 
become  master  of  a  province  the  majority  of  the  population  would  not 
be  slow  in  becoming  Moslem,  and  if  the  chances  of  a  revolution  should 
put  a  Mohammedan  ruler  on  the  throne,  there  would  not  be  many 
generations  before  the  great  part  of  the  empire  would  adopt  Islam. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  the  government  continues  to  practice  a  policy 
of  adroitly  dissimulated  opposition  which  does  not  permit  any  Mos- 
lem to  rise  high,  then  the  number  of  Moslems  might  still  increase  by 
reason  of  mixed  marriages  and  the  adoption  of  orphan  children,  but 
this  would  be  so  gradual  as  not  to  bring  any  important  change  in  the 
present  situation. 

To-day  the  chief  trait  of  Islam  in  China  is  the  absolute  lack  of 
organization.  The  local  communities  seem  to  be  perfectly  independ- 
ent of  each  other.  They  do  not  recognize  any  central  authority, 
neither  in  the  empire  nor  in  the  Moslem  world.  The  existence  of  a 
Khalif  is  ignored.  Even  if  the  Sharif  of  Mecca  is  considered  the  most 
venerable  of  Moslem  priests,  no  authority  is  recognized  in  him.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  so-called  old  religion  of  Islam,  he  says.  There 
are  new  forms  of  Islamism  flourishing  in  Kansu,  with  ramifications  in 
Shensi,  Schewan  and  Yunan.  These  sects  distinguish  themselves  by 
saint-worship  and  recognize  leaders  appointed  of  God.  They  seem 
to  be  affiliated  with  the  Derwish  Orders  of  the  Levant,  especially  the 
Qaderia.  Finally  the  number  of  Persian  books  which  he  saw  indicates 
a  growing  Shiah  influence.  "Nothing  is  more  incorrect,"  he  says, 
"than  to  speak  of  the  profound  ignorance  of  the  Moslems  of  China 
as  regards  Arabic.  The  priests  not  only  publish  many  books  in 
Chinese,  but  possess  and  read  important  works  in  Arabic,  Persian 
and  Turkish."  The  complete  ignorance  of  the  masses  is  not  denied. 
Sufism  seems  to  be  on  the  increase.    The  following  points,  he  says. 


92  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

need  careful  investigation,  but  could  only  be  learned  by  one  who  was 
a  thorough  Arabic  and  Chinese  scholar.  He  who  studies  Islam  in 
China  should  not  only  know  Arabic,  but  the  Moslem  religion  and  its 
various  sects  and  brotherhoods.    We  should  investigate,  therefore: 

(1)  Number  of  Moslems.  This  ought  not  to  be  difficult  as  the 
Moslems  are  not  dispersed  or  unknown  by  their  neighbors.  They  are 
always  grouped  in  communities  of  which  everyone  knows.  These 
communities,  moreover,  are  generally  on  the  oldest  routes  of  travel 
for  the  Moslems  are  merchants  and  caravan  leaders,  rather  than 
farmers.  It  is,  therefore,  possible  to  visit  all  their  communities.  One 
could  easily  learn  from  the  missionaries,  the  Mandarins,  and  more 
especially,  from  other  Moslems,  where  these  centres  are,  without 
losing  time  in  searching. 

(2)  In  each  place  it  is  important  to  secure  copies  of  all  inscriptions 
(which  are  numerous)  regarding  the  date  of  Moslem  entrance,  and 
the  principal  events.  One  should  also  make  a  list  of  the  Arabic,  Per- 
sian and  Chinese  books  possessed  by  the  Ahongs.  The  list  published 
by  Capt.  D'OUone  may  serve  as  a  point  of  departure.  Every  Ahong 
has  at  least  a  dozen  of  such  books;  the  richer  among  them  have  more 
than  a  hundred.  One  can  in  this  way  almost  mechanically  estimate 
the  intellectual  strength  of  Islam  in  a  particular  locality. 

(3)  We  need  a  translation,  at  least  a  summary  of  the  principal 
Chinese  works  on  Islam. 

(4)  We  need  a  careful  investigation  of  the  influence  of  Confucianism 
and  local  superstitions.  In  other  words, — how  has  Moslem  creed 
and  life  been  modified? 

(5)  We  need  statistics  as  to  Moslem  education;  their  schools 
primary  and  higher;  their  courses  of  study. 

(6)  Finally  we  need  a  list  of  the  native  Moslem  Mandarins  and  of 
distinguished  Moslems,  whether  through  wealth  or  learning  or  social 
position  in  China.  From  them  we  must  try  to  secure  their  genealogy 
in  order  that  in  this  way  the  history  of  Islam  in  China  may  be  verified. 

"This  problem  may  seem  very  large.  In  point  of  fact  it  is  not,'*  he 
writes.  *T  believe  it  would  be  possible  for  a  traveller  to  visit  all  the 
Moslem  communities  of  China,  with  some  insignificant  exceptions, 
and  remain  two  or  three  weeks  in  the  important  centres,  and  two  or 
three  days  in  the  less  important  ones,  and  yet  be  able  to  complete  this 
task  in  two  years.  He  should,  however,  be  accompanied  by  a  Moslem 
from  the  West  and  by  two  Chinese  Mohammedans,  one  an  Ahong  if 
possible,  the  other  a  literary  scholar."  Will  the  missionaries  in  China 
after  a  careful  study  of  this  important  work,  take  up  the  challenge  of 
investigation  or  will  it,  by  default,  go  to  another  scientific  mission? 

S.    M.    ZWEMER. 

An  Urdu  Manual  of  the  Phonetic,  Inductive  or  Direct  Method.  By 
Thomas  F.  Cummings,  D.D.  Published  by  the  Sialkot  Mission 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America,  1916. 

This  is  the  second  and  revised  edition  of  a  manual  specially  pre- 
pared for  missionaries,  and,  therefore,  wisely  based  on  the  Gospel  of 
John,  together  with  the  necessary  terms  in  daily  use.  The  author 
and  his  method  are  well  known.  Forty  pages  are  devoted  to  a  study 
of  phonetics.  Then  follow  eighty-six  progressive  lessons,  all  in  Ro- 
manized character.  The  appendix  has  a  brief  sketch  of  Urdu  Gram- 
mar principles.  The  author  believes  thoroughly  in  his  method.  The 
best  testimony  to  the  value  of  the  book  is  its  successful  use  in  North 
India. 


BOOK  REVIEWS  93 

An  Exhaustive  Discussion  on  Polygamy,  Pardah  System,  Divorce  and 
Slavery,  in  Islam,  Dr.  Karl  Kumm^s  Attack  on  the  Holy  Quran. 
By  M.  Mohammad  Timur.  The  Sword  as  Wielded  by  Islam 
and  Christianity.  A  Comparison.  By  Maulvi  Mohammad  Ali, 
M.A.  Published  by  The  Mohammadan  Tract  &  Book  Depot, 
Punjab,  Lahore. 

Our  readers  are  acquainted  with  The  Mohammadan  Tract  &  Book 
Depot  of  the  Punjab,  through  an  article  written  for  our  Quarterly, 
Vol.  I.  The  above  are  recent  publications  and  show  that  in  spite  of 
the  War, — perhaps  because  of  its  issues,  the  Mohammadan  Press 
continues  active  on  apologetic  lines.  It  is  not  encouraging,  however, 
to  find  a  treatise  of  nearly  two  hundred  pages  in  English  for  educated 
Mohammadan  readers,  in  defense  of  polygamy.  We  had  supposed 
that  the  day  for  this  kind  of  apologetic  was  passed.  The  author,  who 
remains  anonymous,  takes  up  the  discussion  on  social  and  medical 
lines,  and  tries  to  prove  his  case.  He  naturally  finds  some  material 
in  his  favor  in  the  stories  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  and  some  of 
the  church  fathers,  as  well  as  the  poet,  John  Milton.  Polygamy  in 
Islam  is  defended  on  general  grounds,  while  that  of  the  Prophet  is 
justified  for  special  reasons.  Not  only  have  we  an  apology  for  these 
practices,  but  the  whole  of  the  pardah  system  is  painted  in  such 
pleasant  colors  that  one  would  imagine  the  writer  had  never  entered 
a  Moslem  home. 

M.  Mohammad  Timur  takes  up  the  cudgels  against  Dr.  Kumm. 
He  says: 

"It  is  grievous  to  find  that  men  to  Dr.  Karl  Kumm's  pretensions  should 
be  so  ignorant  of  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Quran  as  to  declare  to  the  world 
at  large  that  the  essence  of  its  teachings  is  to  kill  or  enslave  the  infidel.  If 
the  whole  world  had  possessed  that  sort  of  intelligence  which  Dr.  Kumm 
appears  to  possess,  it  would  have  been  vain  to  make  any  attempt  to  refute 
the  charge  which  he  has  brought  against  the  Holy  Quran.  But  we  think 
better  of  our  readers  and  believe  that  there  are  many  among  them  that  will 
appreciate  the  truth.  So  we  will  lay  before  them  the  passages  to  which  Dr. 
Kumm  refers,  and  every  really  intelligent  man  will  see  that  the  greatest 
injustice  has  been  done  to  the  Holy  Quran  by  Dr.  Kumm  who  observes  that 
the  essence  of  its  teachings  is  "Fight  the  infidel  and  enslave  him  or  bring 
him  low." 

The  argument  is  not  new,  but  his  conclusions  are  none  the  less 
utterly  unhistorical,  for  he  claims  that  Moslem  wars  were  always  in 
self  protection  and  never  aggressive.  The  Old  Testament  again  does 
duty  to  show  that  the  wars  of  Jehovah  were  more  severe  than  those 
of  Mohammad. 

The  third  pamphlet  deals  with  the  same  subject,  but  is  altogether 
more  clever  in  its  argument.  Immediately  before  his  arrest  and 
crucifixion,  the  author  says  we  find  Christ  directing  his  disciples  to 
provide  themselves  with  swords.  This  injunction  must  be  taken  as 
the  final  expression  of  his  mind.  In  order  to  show  to  what  length 
present  writers  will  go  in  their  own  interpretation  of  the  Gospel,  we 
quote  a  paragraph: 

It  was  with  one  of  these  swords  that  Peter  soon  afterwards  cut  off  the  ear 
of  one  of  the  multitude  which  had  come  to  arrest  him.  This  was  the  only 
use  to  which  one  of  the  two  swords  was  put.  Probably  some  more  blood 
would  have  been  shed  had  not  Jesus,  on  perceiving  a  great  number  of  men 
"with  swords  and  staves"  and  seeing  his  party  in  danger  in  case  a  struggle 
ensued,  pacified  the  mob  by  ordering  Peter  to  sheathe  his  sword.  It  is  prob- 
able that  Jesus  was  at  first  under  the  impression  that  taking  him  for  an  ordi- 
nary preacher,  the  authorities  would  send  one  or  two  men  for  his  arrest,  and 


94  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

accordingly  he  had  prepared  himself  to  meet  the  situation.  Hence  he  ex- 
pressed his  wonder  when  he  saw  so  many  well-armed  men  who  could  easily 
overcome  any  resistance  that  his  disciples  could  make,  and  exclaimed:  "Be 
ye  come  out,  as  against  a  thief,  with  swords  and  staves?'*  (Luk.  xxii:52). 
Of  course  it  was  quite  advisable  on  the  part  of  Jesus  to  give  up  his  deter- 
mination at  the  last  moment,  but  the  difficulty  is  that  as  a  prophet  his  word 
regarding  the  sufficiency  of  two  swords  did  not  prove  true.  How  is  this 
difficulty  to  be  solved.'^  I  hope  some  of  our  Christian  friends  would  try  to 
solve  it.  I  may  however  mention  here  that  history  presents  another  instance 
of  a  great  victory  having  been  won  with  two  swords.  It  was  the  victory  won 
at  the  field  of  Badr  by  the  Holy  Prophet  with  313  companions  only  who  are 
said  to  have  possessed  only  two  swords.  The  enemy  numbered  over  a  thou- 
sand strong  and  they  had  among  them  Arab  warriors  of  great  renown.  The 
Muslim  Society  was  in  danger  of  utter  destruction,  for  among  the  313  the 
majority  had  never  seen  the  field  of  battle  before.  But  since  it  was  a  question 
of  life  and  death  for  the  Muslim  Society,  therefore  they  had  come  into  the 
field  to  defend  themselves  and  their  Holy  Prophet  trusting  in  God  only  for 
their  victory.  But  though  two  swords  did  not  prove  sufficient  for  Jesus  and 
his  apostles,  they  wrought  wonderful  deeds  in  the  case  of  our  Holy  Prophet 
and  his  companions.  Was  Jesus  prophetically  thinking  of  the  swords  of  one 
greater  than  himself  when  he  said:  '*It  is  enough!"  Or  did  it  happen  that 
he  had  a  vision  in  which  he  saw  two  swords  gaining  a  complete  victory  with 
the  assistance  of  God?  for  the  prophets  of  God  are  sometimes  made  to  wit- 
ness events  which  happen  hundreds  of  years  afterwards. 

Gibbon  and  other  writers  are  quoted  to  show  how  often  Christians 
took  up  the  sword,  and  how  their  cruelties  toward  Moslems  equalled, 
if  not  surpassed,  those  perpetrated  by  Moslems  on  Christians.  The 
present  war  is  not  referred  to. 

The  Panjab,  Northwest  Frontier  Province  and  Kashmir.  By  Sir 
James  Douie,  M.A.,  K.C.S.I.  Cambridge  University  Press, 
London,  1916. 
This  view  of  Northwest  India,  sweeping  over  a  territory  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million  square  miles  is  given  by  one  who  has  spent  thirty- 
five  years  of  service  there  first  as  district  officer  and  last  as  officiating 
lieutenant-governor.  The  view  seems  to  be  accurate;  certainly  it  is 
kaleidoscopic.  Scenes  of  the  Himalayan  mountain  ramparts,  "the 
abode  of  eternal  snow,"  where  the  peaks  suggest  organ  pipes,  so  ver- 
tical are  the  ridges,  so  jagged  the  ascending  outlines.  "And  each 
pipe  is  painted  a  different  color,"  glimpses  of  golden  temples,  por- 
traits of  courageous  Maharajas  who  are  now  helping  to  hold  up  Brit- 
ain's right  arm,  examples  of  native  art,  photographs  of  Black  Bucks 
and  Yaks,  scrupulously  designed  maps  representing  mountain 
ranges,  rainfall  and  irrigation  systems — all  these,  and  more,  are 
flashed  before  you  briefly  but  vividly. 

A.  H.  H. 

L'Alerte  au  Desert.  By  Magali-Boisnard.  Paris:  Librairie  Perrin 
&  Cie.  35,  Quai  des  Grands-Augustins.  Pp.  334.  1916.  3  frs. 
50. 

Mme.  Magali-Boisnard  who  has  been  brought  up  to  live  the  Arab 
life  among  the  Arabs  of  Algeria,  spent  recently  three  years  in  the 
Sahara  and  came  back  "toute  vibrante  du  souffle  de  la  guerre." 
She  gives  us  this  bright  little  book  composed  of  a  series  of  interesting 
sketches  of  life  in  the  Sahara  during  1914-1916. 

She  tells  of  the  things  she  heard  and  saw  as  she  went  about  from 
place  to  place  doing  her  bit  of  service  for  the  old  country  in  speaking 
the  word  that  was  to  right  the  error  or  to  explain  that  which  puzzled 


BOOK  REVIEWS  95 

the  natives.  Everywhere  she  met  with  marks  of  their  faithfulness 
to  and  trust  in  the  old  country. 

**I1  y  a  longtemps  que  nous  avons  pris  I'habitude  de  la  j&delite." 
"Que  Dieu  fortifie  la  puissance  de  la  France."     "La  France  est  bonne." 

At  times  she  heard  them  express  their  feelings  toward  the  Turks, 
as  in  the  following  sentences:  "Nous  servions  les  Turcs,  mais  nous 
avons  prefere  aimer  la  France."  "Quels  Arabes  de  race  voudraient 
pactiser  avec  les  Turcs."  "Les  Croyants  ont  battu  les  Turcs!  Et 
sur  le  tombeau  d'Ali  et  sur  celui  d*El  Hussein  ils  ont  jure  haine  et 
mort  aux  egares,  esclaves  infames  de  I'AUemand  infame!" 

P.  J.  DUPRE. 

The  Birth  of  Mormonism.  By  John  Quincy  Adams,  D.D.,  Boston: 
The  Gorham  Press.  Pp.  106.  Price  $L00  net.  1916. 
The  writer  of  this  book  is  a  university  man  who  has  had  experience 
in  historical  investigation.  The  book  does  not  deal  with  the  teach- 
ing of  Mormonism  but  with  its  origin.  A  short  synopsis  of  the  lives 
of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  his  associates  in  the  production  of  Mor- 
monism are  here  given  with  fidelity  and  sufficient  fullness.  The 
author  says,  "Just  now  it  is  said  that  Mormon  missionaries  are  at- 
tempting the  wholesale  conversion  of  women  in  countries  where  war 
is  leaving  them  in  the  great  majority."  Here  this  monstrous  system 
is  traced  to  its  origin  namely,  Yankee  cunning  and  deceit  among  a 
superstitious  people.  It  is  a  sordid,  well  nigh  incredible  story, 
without  one  redeeming  feature.  That  such  a  deception  was  played 
in  the  nineteenth  century  and  among  a  community  which  at  least 
was  far  in  advance  of  the  Arabs  in  the  seventh  century  throws  con- 
siderable light  on  the  origin  of  Islam.  The  appendix  gives  a  list  of 
original  documents  on  which  this  study  is  based. 

S.  M.  Z. 

Archaeology  and  the  Bible.    By  George  A.  Barton,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

American  Sunday  School  Union,  1816  Chestnut  Street,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.  Pp.461.  8vo.  1917.  By  mail  $2.25. 
A  popular  encyclopedic  hand-book  on  the  subject  by  one  who  may 
be  considered  an  authority.  The  writer's  aim  is  well  expressed  in 
the  Introduction:  "In  three  chapters  the  archaeology,  history  and 
civilization  of  Egypt,  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  the  Hittites  are 
briefly  treated,  together  with  the  discoveries  which  especially  inter- 
est the  Biblical  student.  These  are  the  three  great  civilizations 
which  preceded  the  Israelitish.  A  much  more  detailed  treatment 
is  given  to  Palestine,  to  which  Chapters  IV-XIV  of  Part  I  are  devoted. 
In  the  last  chapter  of  Part  I  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  present 
the  discoveries  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor  which  throw  light  on  the 
New  Testament.  In  Part  II  the  texts,  Babylonian,  Greek,  Egyptian, 
Hebrew,  Moabitish,  Phoenician,  Aramaic,  Assyrian,  and  Latin, 
which  bear  on  the  Bible,  are  translated.  They  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  the  Biblical  books  which  they  illuminate.  Each  translation 
is  accompanied  by  a  brief  discussion  in  which  its  chief  bearing  on  the 
Bible  is  pointed  out."  The  discussions,  however,  are  too  brief  to  be 
other  than  popular;  the  arrangement  of  the  material  might  be  im- 
proved; the  index  is  rather  meagre  and  the  numerous  illustrations  are 
unfortunately  bound  up  together  at  the  end  of  the  volume.  But  the 
missionary  to  Moslems  will  find  here  in  compact  form  a  wealth  of 
apologetic  for  the  truth  of  the  Bible  records. 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 


96  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Guide  Book  to  Childhood.  By  William  Byron  Forbush,  Ph.D. 
Philadelphia:  George  W.  Jacobs  &  Co.     Pp.557.     $2.50.     1916. 

The  childhood  problem  is  fundamental  in  the  evangelisation  of 
Moslem  lands.  Every  mission  school  throughout  the  whole  area  is 
face  to  face  with  it.  Although  this  book  is  written  for  Christian 
parents  it  has  a  real  message  for  those  who  are  helping  childhood  in 
non-Christian  land, — ^where  parental  training  leaves  so  much  to  be 
desired.  The  volume  is  encyclopedic  but  has  a  good  index  and  a  very 
full  bibliography  of  over  100  pages.  The  author  is  well-known  as  a 
student  of  child-life  in  America. 

The  book  consists  of  two  parts,  theory  and  practice:  Part  I  dis- 
cusses the  development  of  the  child  physically,  mentally,  and  morally; 
Part  II  answers  the  questions  that  arise  with  parents  concerning  the 
wise  direction  of  that  development.  There  are  charts  covering  each 
year  from  birth  to  maturity,  indicating  the  child's  physical  needs 
and  care,  his  interests,  his  activities,  his  capacity  for  learning,  his 
social  needs,  his  mental  sense,  his  character  and  his  behaviour.  Help- 
ful suggestions  are  given  as  to  stories,  books,  plays,  games,  and  home 
occupations.  Blank  pages  are  supplied  so  that  each  mother  may  keep 
a  record  of  her  own  child's  development.  The  latter  part  of  the  book 
consists  of  several  hundred  answers  to  questions  asked  by  parents 
as  they  meet  their  daily  problems.  The  facts  are  presented  in  Dr. 
Forbush's  usual  lucid  style. 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS 

Digest  of  Findings  at  Four  Missionary  Conferences  on  the  Moslem 

Problem  in  China 


1.  Accessibility 

We  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  has  never  had  the  prominence 
given  to  it  that  is  its  due:  Dr.  Zwemer's  visit  enables  him  to  cor- 
roborate fully  a  conclusion  which  many  of  us  have  come  to,  from  what 
we  have  heard  and  read,  viz.,  that  Chinese  Moslems  are  more  acces- 
sible to  Christian  work  and  workers  than  their  co-religionists  in  any 
other  land. 

2.  Survey 

That  in  the  opinion  of  this  conference,  to  effectively  deal  with  the 
problem  of  Chinese  Mohammedans  it  is  essential  that  fuller  and  more 
accurate  information  should  be  obtained  than  is  at  present  available, 
and  we  would  strongly  recommend  to  the  China  Continuation  Com- 
mittee that  the  Committee  on  Survey  and  Occupation  be  asked  to 
include  this  in  the  purview  of  that  Committee,  as  an  object  of  great 
and  urgent  importance. 

3.  Organization 

That  we  consider  the  question  of  reaching  Chinese  Moslems  of  such 
importance  as  to  necessitate  the  appointment  of  a  strong  permanent 
committee  of  the  China  Continuation  Committee.  That  for  this 
committee  and  for  this  work  there  should  be  at  least  one  national 
secretary  set  apart,  and  we  would  strongly  urge  the  China  Continua- 
tion Committee  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  services  of  a  suitable  man. 
That  in  addition  missions  centering  in  Yunnan,  Kansuh,  and  Peking 
should  be  approached  by  the  China  Continuation  Committee  to 
appoint  Arabic  speaking  missionaries  for  special  work  amongst  the 
Moslems  of  those  districts.  That  where  possible,  in  strong  Moham- 
medan centres,  missions  should  be  asked  to  set  apart  missionaries 
who  would  give  whole  or  part  time  to  the  local  work  of  reaching 
Moslems. 

4.  Literature 

That  we  strongly  recommend  to  the  China  Continuation  Com- 
mittee the  desirability  at  the  present  time  of  paying  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  preparation  and  dissemination  of  literature  for  Chinese 
Moslems  and  as  helps  for  Christian  workers  in  reaching  Moslems. 
That  a  central  book  depot  for  Christian  literature  for  Chinese  Mos- 
lems should  be  arranged  for,  where  full  stocks  of  any  available  litera- 
ture may  be  obtained,  and  that  lists  and  prices  of  such  should  be 
issued  without  delay.  It  is  very  desirable  that  Arabic  Bibles  and 
Testaments  be  kept  in  stock  in  this  depot.  That  it  is  most  necessary 
to  have  a  glossary  of  Chinese  terms  prepared  and  circulated  at  the 
earliest  opportunity,  giving  Mohammedan  and  Chinese  equivalents, 
and  if  possible  their  English  names  as  well.  That  the  China  Con- 
tinuation Committee  be  asked  to  take  steps  to  secure  the  translation 
of  the  Koran  into  Chinese,  to  be  published  with  Christian  annota- 
tions and  references.    That  Dr.  Zwemer  be  requested  to  prepare  two 

97 


98  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

pamphlets,  one  for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  to  the  Chinese 
Church  regarding  Mohammedanism,  and  to  stimulate  Christians  for 
service  for  Mohammedans:  the  other  on  "Methods  of  Approach  to 
Chinese  Moslems,"  particularly  for  missionaries,  but  also  to  be 
translated  into  Chinese  for  the  benefit  of  Chinese  Christian  workers. 
That  in  the  preparation  of  literature  we  would  refer  the  following  to 
the  China  Continuation  Committee  as  being  particularly  needed: 
(1)  Bi-lingual  editions  (Arabic  and  Mandarin)  of  the  Gospels,  par- 
ticularly the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  John,  and  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. (2)  Gospel  portions  and  the  New  Testament,  with  footnotes 
giving  Mohammedan  terms.  (3)  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  in  the 
form  of  a  bi-lingual  tract.  (4)  A  book  in  Chinese  similar  to  Dr. 
Tisdall's  "Mohammedan  Objections  to  Christianity,"  giving  concise 
answers  to  objections  raised  by  Chinese  Moslems. 

Moonlight  Gospel  Meeting  at  Singapore 

The  Malaysia  Conference  Report,  1917,  tells  of  an  interesting  work 
among  Malay  women.  A  monthly  moonlight  meeting  at  Fairfield 
has  brought  in  girls  and  mothers  and  grandmothers  who  would  not 
otherwise  get  out  to  a  Christian  meeting.  A  number  of  our  old  girls 
have  read  through  "Plajaran  Derihal  Isa  Almaseh"  (Lessons  about 
Jesus  Christ).  One  girl  wrote  me  a  note  saying,  *T  read  it  often  to 
my  aunts";  another,  a  young  man,  said:  "My  wife  and  mother-in- 
law  are  enjoying  their  reading  of  Tlajaran  Derihal  Isa  Almaseh'  in 
the  evenings."  This  mother-in-law  could  not  read  Malay  a  year  ago, 
and  thought  she  could  not  understand  it  well.  But  she  very  quickly 
took  to  it,  when  she  got  books  and  a  little  help,  for  when  she  was  a 
little  girl  she  attended  our  Telok  Ayer  school  for  a  year.  There  are 
phases  of  house  to  house  visitation  that  are  very  discouraging,  for 
instance,  to  come  in  and  find  several  or  all  the  women  deeply  engaged 
in  gambling.  But,  they  say  we  do  not  want  the  young  women  to 
learn  to  play.  We  are  old  and  can  do  nothing  else.  They  are  help- 
lessly in  bondage  to  it.  We  need  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  intercession 
to  fall  upon  the  Christian  native  people  as  well  as  upon  the  mission- 
aries, that  shall  bring  down  from  heaven  such  a  spirit  of  conviction 
for  sin  that  they  must  seek  the  Saviour. 

A  Chinese  Christian  Colony  in  Penang 

The  Chinese  race  is  doubtless  destined  of  God  to  be  one  of  the  chief 
agencies  for  the  evangelization  of  Malaysia.  The  immigration  of 
Chinese  into  the  Malay  States,  Java  and  Sumatra  is  steadily  increas- 
ing. An  interesting  experiment  is  being  conducted  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  on  these  lines  at  Penang.    We  read  in  their  report : 

"Ten  years  ago  the  Mission  entered  into  an  agreement  by  which 
at  government  expense  Dr.  Leuring  of  our  Mission  went  to  Foochow, 
China,  and  brought  down  about  four  hundred  Chinese  Christians. 
The  government  gave  to  each  of  these  men  three  acres  of  land,  helped 
them  to  build  their  houses,  and  fed  them  for  six  months.  They  cleared 
the  jungle  and  planted  rubber.  The  colony  has  grown  until  at  present 
it  numbers  about  three  hundred  souls.  The  people  are  becoming  well- 
to-do,  and  the  old  attap  huts  are  giving  place  to  substantial  frame 
houses.  The  old  settlers  have  taken  up  large  pieces  of  land  and  some 
of  them  can  almost  be  considered  as  rich  men.  The  government  is 
now  laying  out  a  town  in  the  midst  of  the  settlement  and  purposes 
to  metal  all  the  streets. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  99 

"The  opportunity  for  both  extensive  and  intensive  development  on 
the  Penang  District  is  very  great.  Already  four  lines  of  railway  reach 
out  from  Medan  into  the  hinterland  where  material  development  is 
taking  place  with  almost  marvellous  rapidity.  The  whole  east  coast 
of  Sumatra  is  open  for  evangelism,  and  we  are  the  only  society  operat- 
ing in  this  region. 

"Within  a  few  years  the  railway  from  Singapore  through  to  Bang- 
kok will  be  open  for  traffic.  With  the  opening  of  the  road  there  will 
be  a  flow  of  population  into  this  region." 

Islam  and  the  Gospel  in  Java 

The  Rev.  H.  B.  Man  sell  writes  concerning  the  importance  of  work 
for  women  in  Java  and  its  glorious  opportunities,  and  calls  his  church, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  of  America,  to  a  more  vigorous  policy  as 
regards  the  Moslem  population.  Nowhere  in  the  Moslem  world,  he 
says,  is  womanhood  so  accessible:  seclusion  within  a  zenana  is  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule  in  Java.  Moreover  the  one  small 
residency  in  which  the  ladies  have  workers  contains  more  women  and 
girls  than  the  whole  Malay  Peninsula  while  the  island  of  Java  has 
seventeen  times  as  many;  these  all  need  the  message  of  Him  who  sat 
by  Samaria's  well  to  tell  of  living  water  for  thirsty  souls. 

Having  spent  a  year  studying  the  situation  it  seems  advisable  to 
state  some  of  the  conclusions  to  which  conditions  have  led  me. 

The  first  is  that  if  we  continue  our  present  policy  we  will  in  some 
measure  reach  the  300,000  Chinese  but  we  will  never  appreciably 
affect  the  thirty-odd  millions  of  Mohammedans.  In  British  territory 
the  growing  predominance  in  numbers  of  the  Chinese  and  Indians, 
their  readiness  to  accept  Christianity,  and  our  lack  of  adequate 
financial  resources  may  justify  a  neglect  of  the  Mohammedan  prob- 
lem; but  in  Netherlands  India  and  especially  in  Java  that  is  the 
missionary  problem.  We  cannot  seriously  consider  evangelising  Java 
unless  we  intend  to  grapple  with  this  the  greatest  opponent  of  our 
faith. 

We  must  also  recognise  that  in  spite  of  all  the  good  and  faithful 
efforts  put  into  this  field  no  great  ingathering  from  Islam  has  been 
secured  by  any  society.  The  victories  in  Battakland,  in  Minnehassa, 
in  Amboyna  and  elsewhere  have  been  among  animistic  peoples  not 
yet  converted  to  Islam.  These  victories  while  useful  in  preventing 
the  spread  of  Mohammedanism  do  not  shake  its  hold  on  the  millions 
who  already  bow  toward  Mecca.  To  win  these  calls  for  siege  work 
running  through  many  years. 

A  Mission  Hospital  in  Borneo  Named  for  the  Moslem  Sultan 

In  the  last  report  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  Borneo, 
we  read: 

"At  Sambas  we  have  been  given  the  site  for  a  hospital.  Pledges 
amounting  to  F5,000  have  been  made  locally  and  plans  are  now  being 
drawn  by  Mr.  Bakveld,  the  government  architect  at  Pontianak.  As 
soon  as  they  are  ready  application  will  be  made  to  government  for  a 
building  subsidy.  The  local  officials  have  given  us  every  encourage- 
ment and  as  the  nearest  doctor  is  50  long  Borneo  miles  away  our 
chances  ought  to  be  good.  The  Sultan  personally  favours  our  plans 
and  will  support  us  in  seeking  gifts  among  the  Malays.  In  com- 
memoration of  his  fifty-year  jubilee  the  name  proposed  is  the  "Sultan 
Safioedin  Hospital." 


100  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

**Last  year  the  hope  was  expressed  that  we  would  be  able  to  place 
teachers  in  schools  for  Dyaks  in  West  Borneo.  During  the  year  a 
subsidy  has  been  secured  for  our  school  at  Bengkayang;  we  have 
placed  teachers  at  Patengahan  and  at  Loemar  in  schools  financed  by 
government.  More  teachers  can  be  placed  if  we  can  get  them.  By 
this  means  we  have  an  opportunity  to  reach  the  pagan  Dyaks  at  a 
minimum  of  expense  to  the  mission.  If  they  do  not  get  Christian 
teachers  now  they  will  become  Mohammedans  before  this  generation 
passes  away;  in  that  case  their  evangelisation  will  be  tenfold  more 
difficult  and  many  fold  more  expensive.  Now  they  are  open  and 
accessible." 

A  Visit  to  a  Moslem  Book  Shop  in  Colombo 

It  was  my  privilege,  on  my  way  to  China,  to  study  Islamln  Colombo. 
The  Moslems  here  form  only  a  small  part  of  the  population,  but  exert 
an  influence  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  numbers.  They  control  the 
number  of  trades  and  several  have  considerable  wealth.  A  large 
mosque  has  recently  been  erected,  and  there  are  several  older  mosques. 
Opposite  the  new  mosque  is  the  leading  book  shop  and  the  Hameedia 
Press  (No.  92  2nd  Cross  St.).  I  was  somewhat  surprised  to  find  on 
sale  here  not  only  Moslem  literature  in  Urdu,  Tamil  and  Malay,  but 
a  considerable  selection  of  standard  Arabic  works,  all  from  the  Cairo 
Press.  In  the  rear  of  the  premises  there  is  a  Lithograph  Press,  on 
which  they  were  printing  a  large  edition  of  a  Derwish  manual  of  the 
Naqshabandi  Order.  This  was  printed  in  Arabic  and  Tamil,  the 
Tamil  of  course  in  the  Arabic  character.  I  also  found  editions  of  the 
"Burda"  and  other  poems  in  praise  of  Mohammed.  The  Moslem 
Press  certainly  shows  enterprise  in  issuing  these  interlinear,  bilingual 
propositions  of  their  faith.  Is  there  no  suggestion  here  for  the  Bible 
Societies  to  prepare  books  for  Moslems  in  Tamil- Arabic?  The  editor 
of  the  press  at  Colombo  assured  me  that  the  Tamil  Moslem  children 
and  their  women  folk  were  taught  the  Arabic  character,  and  read  all 
their  religious  books  in  it. 

S.  M.  Z. 

As  Others  See  Us 

An  experienced  zenana  worker  in  India  tells  us  how  the  women 
regard  her  work  by  describing  it  as  they  see  it. 

*T  am  a  Muhammadan  woman,  and  I've  lived  in  Bhadaghar  all  my 
life.  The  other  day,  when  I  was  husking  the  rice,  I  heard  my  little 
brother  call,  'Mem,  mem,  the  mem-sahib  is  coming.'  I  had  never 
seen  a  mem-sahib  before,  but  had  heard  they  were  quite  different  from 
us,  and  now's  my  opportunity.  How  queer  one  looks.  She's  got  a 
topee  on  her  head,  but  it  is  quite  different  from  the  kind  our  men 
wear.  My  mother  thought  she  was  a  man.  I  thought  she  might  be 
one,  too,  but  when  mother  said  that,  my  brother  said,  *Get  out  of  it, 
it  is  a  woman.'  We  called  all  the  women  from  the  houses  near  by, 
and  we  all  sat  in  a  semi-circle  around  her. 

'*She  had  a  box  in  her  hand,  and  we  all  wondered  what  was  inside. 
I  asked,  and  found  out  there  were  books.  So  we  asked  her  to  read 
one.  She  read  a  bit,  and  then  began  to  talk  to  us  about  Allah.  How- 
ever, we  were  more  interested  in  her  and  her  hair  and  clothes.  She 
does  not  put  oil  on  her  hair  because  it  spoils  her  topee,  but  I  don't 
like  the  look  of  it.  It  is  tied  up  into  a  bob,  and  when  we  wanted  to 
take  it  down  she  objected,  and  said  it  was  not  their  rule  to  take  down 
their  hair  before  people.    She  then  said  something  about  sin,  and  that 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  101 

to  tell  lies  was  sin;  but  how  in  the  world  are  we  going  to  get  on  if  we 
don't  tell  lies?  However,  that's  not  sin  to  us.  If  we  don't  fast  or  say 
prayers,  that's  sin  to  us,  and  the  other  doesn't  matter  much. 

"Then  my  aunt  asked  her  if  she  was  married.  'No,'  she  said. 
How  astonishing!  I  wonder  why.  Why,  that's  sin,  I  am  sure.  She 
says  it  is  not  sin  not  to  be  married.    Fancy  not  being  married! 

"Then  she  said  something  about  offering  sacrifices  for  sin,  and  that 
as  we  sin  so  we  must  be  punished.  I  asked  if  she  had  got  a  father  and 
mother,  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and  if  they  were  married,  and  she 
said  she  had.    She  can't  be  very  fond  of  them  to  leave  them. 

"Then  we  all  had  an  argument  about  different  things  we  had  heard 
about  the  mem-sahibs. 

"After  awhile  she  said  something  about  Isa  Nabi  (Jesus),  and 
that  He  sacrificed  His  life  for  everybody;  but  that  can't  be  true, 
because  He  never  died.  He  went  straight  to  heaven.  A  woman  from 
another  house  said,  however,  that  some  Muhammadans  of  the  Qadi- 
ani  sect  know  that  He  died.  The  mem-sahib  said  that  He  died,  and 
rose  again  the  third  day.  It's  wonderful,  but  anyhow  we  don't  want 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  their  religion.    Why,  they  eat  pork! 

"The  maul  vies  tell  us  not  to  believe  what  they  say.  Anyway,  she's 
a  woman,  so  what  does  she  know?  After  a  bit  she  sang  a  hymn,  and 
then  got  up  and  went  away.  I  hope  she  will  come  again.  It's  very 
interesting  to  see  what  she's  got  on.  It's  very  queer,  and  we  don't 
see  very  much,  and  I've  got  lots  more  questions  to  ask  her." 

Missionaries  to  Muslims  League 

The  origin  of  this  confidential  circle  of  workers  in  India  is  known 
to  most  of  our  readers.  The  membership  of  the  League  is  not  large, 
but  that  is  its  very  source  of  strength,  because  the  bond  of  union 
established  is  one  of  faith  and  prayer  and  sympathy.  For  five  years 
it  has  concentrated  thought  and  effort  on  the  problem  in  India,  and 
doubtless  stimulated  many  outside  of  its  membership.  The  present 
secretary  is  the  Rev.  John  Takle,  Brahmanbria,  Bengal. 

The  Nadvatul  Ulama  in  Madras 

The  "Nudvatul  Ulama"  was  initiated  in  1894  in  North  India  and 
its  annual  meetings  have  been  held  in  Cawnpore,  Lucknow,  Bareilly, 
Meerut,  Shahjahanpur,  Patna,  Madras  and  Calcutta.  This  year  the 
sixteenth  session  of  the  "Assembly  of  Moslem  Theologians"  as  its 
name  may  be  translated,  was  held  again  in  Madras  in  an  elegant 
pandal  in  the  People's  Park  on  April  7  to  9. 

One  of  the  primary  objects  of  the  organization  is  to  encourage  the 
study  of  Arabic.  One  of  the  speakers  said,  "All  our  Sacred  literature 
inclusive  of  the  Holy  Koran,  the  Traditions,  and  the  sayings  of  the 
Holy  Prophet  (may  the  choicest  blessings  of  Allah  rest  on  him),  all 
our  scientific,  philosophical,  literary  and  historical  writings  being  in 
the  Arabic  language,  every  Moslem  considers  it  a  personal  concern 
to  cherish  Arabic  as  a  living  language."  Another  object  of  the 
Nudvat  Ulama  is  the  Pan-Islamic  one  of  joining  the  Sunni,  Shiah 
and  Wahabi  sects,  but  it  is  probable  that  there  was  not  a  single  Shiah 
attending  the  conference. 

At  the  instance  of  Moulvi  Abdul-Majid  (Madras),  editor  of  the 
Daily  Koumi  Report,  a  proposal  asking  the  Government  to  grant 
permission  to  give  religious  instructions  to  the  Musalman  students  in 
Government  and  aided  institutions  within  regular  school  hours  and 
to  allow  Musalman  students  in  Missionary  schools  to  withdraw  from 


102  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

their  classes  during  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  was  introduced  and  led 
to  a  long  discussion.  Opinion  being  divided  on  the  subject,  the 
President  suggested  that  it  be  referred  back  to  the  Committee  for 
further  consideration.  Before  the  conclusion  of  the  first  sitting,  the 
President  moved  a  resolution  acknowledging  the  services  of  the 
British  government  to  India  and  enjoining  profound  loyalty  on  the 
part  of  the  people.    This  was  adopted  with  enthusiastic  cheers. 

In  welcoming  the  delegates  to  Madras  the  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Abdur 
Rahim  made  the  following  striking  remarks: 

"The  Nadwat-ul-Ulema  would,  I  believe,  like  to  revive  if  possible, 
something  of  the  old  Islamic  driving  power.  With  that  object  in 
view,  the  first  problem  before  the  Nadwat-ul-Ulema  is  to  ascertain 
correctly  the  essential  nature  of  that  spiritual  force  by  eliminating 
the  more  or  less  accidental  properties  which,  however  valuable  they 
might  be  as  adjuncts,  must  not  be  mixed  up  with  the  true  essence  of 
Islam.  The  two  great  services  which  Islam  has  rendered  to  humanity 
were,  firstly,  to  emancipate  human  intellect  from  the  benumbing 
influence  of  fetichism  and  superstition,  and  secondly,  to  teach  and 
enforce,  by  practical  laws,  the  sense  of  brotherhood  and  equality  of 
rights  among  mankind. 

"As  regards  the  former,  the  rapid  growth  of  rationalism  in  the 
modern  times  had  obscured  from  our  view  the  first  great  contribu- 
tion made  by  Islam  in  this  respect.  But  we  are  not  concerned  now 
with  the  contemplation  of  past  achievements;  the  business  which  you 
have  at  hand  is  to  make  a  serious  and  candid  investigation  into  the 
question  whether  the  Mussulmans  themselves  are  not  at  the  present 
day  the  victims  of  a  paralysing  influence  similar  in  character  though 
not  in  name  to  the  image  worship  of  the  old  world.  It  cannot  truth- 
fully be  denied  that  the  spirit  of  enquiry  has  been  dead  among  the 
Mussulmans  for  at  least  300  years.  Intellectually  they  have  been 
living  all  this  time  on  the  remote  past.  There  can  be  little  chance  for 
the  progress  of  a  people  who  thus  shut  their  eyes  to  the  facts  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  times,  their  actual  environment  and  surroundings 
and  attempt  to  shape  their  lives  on  the  letter  of  the  utterances  of 
men  who  lived  a  thousand  years  ago  and  who,  even  in  their  wildest 
flights  of  imagination,  could  not  have  anticipated  the  conditions  of 
life  in  the  20th  century.  The  conclusion  has  forced  itself  upon  most 
thoughtful  men  that  we  have  lost  the  freedom  of  thought  and  out- 
look which  was  the  most  valuable  asset  of  original  Islam,  and  no 
greater  problem  faces  you  than  how  best  to  restore  it  to  the  com- 
munity. Freedom  of  thought  and  outlook  is,  to  my  mind  inseparable 
concomitant  of  Islam,  and  without  it  Islam  cannot  be  expected  to 
contribute  much  to  the  amelioration  of  the  community. 

"Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  cohesive  power  of  Islam  is  in  effective 
operation  at  the  present  day.  Even  the  extreme  opponents  of  our 
religion  do  not  deny  that  its  teachings  are  in  a  remarkable  degree 
directed  to  the  promotion  of  solidarity  among  its  followers." 

The  New  Testament  for  the  Quzaqs 

Chinese  Turkestan  or  the  New  Province,  as  the  Chinese  call  it,  is 
the  bit  of  China  which  stretches  westward  into  Central  Asia.  It  is 
the  meeting  place  of  many  tribes  and  the  home  of  a  numerous  and 
polyglot  population.  The  majority  of  the  people  are  Moslems,  and 
among  them  have  to  be  counted  the  Quzaqs. 

For  this  people  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Hunter,  the  pioneer  missionary  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission  in  Sinkiang,  assisted  by  Mr.  Mather  his 


NOTES  ON   CURRENT  TOPICS  103 

colleague,  is  now  translating  the  New  Testament.  St.  Mark  is  already 
issued  in  a  tentative  form,  St.  Luke  is  translated,  and  other  books  are 
in  a  forward  state.  The  British  &  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  promised 
to  publish  this  translation,  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the  long  delay  of 
proofreading,  hope  to  reproduce  the  MSS.,  which  will  be  carefully 
written  by  a  Quzaq  Mullah,  by  photolithography. 

The  Quzaq  language,  Mr.  Hunter  says,  is  one  of  the  many  Turki 
dialects,  though  there  are  marked  differences  in  spelling,  in  vocabu- 
lary, and  in  grammar.  The  Arabic  character  is  used,  and  written 
mostly  in  the  ordinary  Turki  way,  and  only  a  few  characters  have 
special  forms. 

With  regard  to  the  Quzaqs  themselves,  Mr.  Hunter  thinks  them  to 
be  a  strong,  healthy,  and  intelligent  race,  and  not  at  all  deserving  of 
the  bad  character  the  Chinese  give  them.  *'When  I  first  came  to 
Turkestan,"  he  writes,  "the  terrible  stories  I  heard  made  me  believe 
that  they  were  all  thieves  and  robbers,  so  that  when  travelling  alone 
in  the  mountains  I  did  not  care  to  meet  them.  Now  I  feel  far  safer 
in  the  mountains  with  the  Quzaqs  than  I  do  in  the  plains  where  there 
are  Chinese  and  Tongan  Mohammedans.  When  left  to  themselves 
they  have  not  shown  any  opposition  to  the  Gospel,  nor  do  they  de- 
stroy and  burn  our  books  as  the  Turki  Chant 'eo  often  do.  They  also 
seem  to  be  much  cleaner  morally  than  the  other  Turks,  and  mostly 
free  from  strong  drink,  hemp  and  opium." 

The  Quzaq  tribes,  of  which  there  are  a  considerable  number,  are 
pretty  widely  scattered.  They  are  found  all  over  the  steppes  from 
the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  Altai  mountains,  and  of  late  years 
there  appears  to  have  been  a  special  migration  eastward,  for  the 
Quzaqs  now  abound  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Tienshan  range 
and  in  Zungaria.  It  is  with  these  Eastern  or  Altai  Quzaqs  that  Mr. 
Hunter  has  now  come  into  close  contact.  Their  speech  has  naturally 
been  influenced  by  their  wanderings,  and  these  Eastern  Quzaqs  now 
use  some  Mongol  words;  but  on  the  whole  Mr.  Hunter  thinks  they 
mostly  speak  "the  pure  old  Turki  language."  At  any  rate  their 
speech  is  not  so  mixed  with  Persian  and  Arabic  words  as  the  speech 
of  the  Sart  or  Chant'eo  Turki.  The  language  is  full  and  usable  and 
they  have  something  of  a  literature,  mostly  poems. 

Galvanizing  Islam  in  London 

The  eflfort  made  to  advertise  and  propagate  Islam  in  the  capitol  of 
the  British  Empire,  draws  together  into  one  fellowship  the  orthodox 
and  the  heterodox  in  the  ranks  of  Islam  itself,  as  well  as  those  English- 
men w^hose  only  religion  is  a  vague  theism  and  whose  admiration  for 
Islam  is  in  direct  proportion  to  their  ignorance  of  its  real  character. 
The  following  account  of  a  meeting  of  the  Central  Islam  Society  is 
typical. 

"A  very  successful  meeting  of  the  Central  Islamic  Society  was  held 
at  the  Eustace  Miles  Restaurant  last  Friday.  Among  those  present 
were  Prince  Abdul  Karim  of  Sachchin  (President) ;  Kamal-uddin,  in 
the  chair;  Lord  Headley,  Mr.  Pickthall,  Hon.  Mr.  Abbas  Ali  Baig, 
Mr.  Yusuf  Ali,  Princess  Ourouseff,  Syed  Ehsan  el-Bakry  (Egypt), 
Mr.  Kaderbhoy,  and  Mr.  Irfan  Ali.  Letters  of  regret  at  being  unable 
to  attend  were  received  from  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  and  others. 

*Tn  opening  the  meeting,  Mr.  Kidwai  said  that  the  Society  was 
founded  in  1886;  it  had  several  objects,  but  the  one  in  furtherance  of 
which  social  functions  were  held  and  lectures  delivered  was  to  remove 
misconceptions  with  regard  to  Islam  and  Moslems.    The  Society  was 


104  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Islamic,  but  not  exclusive,  and  persons  of  all  religions  could  join  it 
as  associates. 

"Lord  Headley,  the  lecturer,  confined  himself  to  pointing  out  the 
points  of  difference  and  of  similarity  between  Christianity  and  Islam. 
But  Khwaja  Kamal-uddin  very  convincingly  explained  that  Islam 
recognised  all  the  Prophets,  whether  Krishna,  Buddha,  Confucius, 
Moses  or  Jesus,  and  thus  every  religion  was  a  sister  to  Islam.  Islam 
proclaimed  that  every  nation  and  every  country  has  received  Prophets 
and  revelations,  and  all  religions  contained  noble  principles.  The 
claim  of  Islam  was  only  this:  that  while  other  revealed  books  have 
been  corrupted  by  the  advance  of  time,  the  book  of  Islam  was  intact, 
and  summed  up  all  the  truths  of  all  the  religions;  so  that  it  could  be 
said  that  of  all  the  sister  religions  Islam  only  had  succeeded  in  pre- 
serving her  features  and  character. 

"Mr.  Yusuf  Ali,  who  was  received  with  cheers,  pointed  out  that 
the  three  characteristics  of  Islam  were:  (1)  The  destruction  of 
idolatry,  by  which  he  meant  all  the  emblems  of  superstition,  conceit, 
falsehood,  passion,  etc.;  (2)  the  destruction  of  privileges  and  vested 
interests,  as  that  of  priesthood  and  sex  superiority;  (3)  the  destruc- 
tion of  colour  and  race  prejudices. 

Dr.  Abbas  Ali  Baig,  in  a  forcible  speech,  showed  how  Christianity 
had  been  influenced  by  Pagan  ideas,  and  how  Islam  was  misrepre- 
sented with  regard  to  polygamy,  thus  making  it  difficult  for  the 
people  of  the  two  sister  religions  to  come  near  to  one  another.*' 

Government  Gifts  to  Moslems  in  Mesopotamia 

Whether  the  news  published  in  India  regarding  the  "good  work"  of 
the  British  government  for  Moslems  is  intended  solely  to  please  the 
Mohammedans  of  India,  or  whether  it  indicates  a  future  government 
policy,  remains  to  be  seen.  We  give  the  facts  as  they  were  published 
in  the  Calcutta  Press: 

"The  following  good  works  were  carried  out  by  the  British  govern- 
ment for  the  month  of  Ramadhan  in  Mesopotamia: 

"New  lamps  and  matting  were  provided  in  all  the  principal  mosques 
for  the  express  purpose  of  worship  in  Ramadhan. 

"In  view  of  the  great  rise  in  the  expenses  of  living  (mainly  owing 
to  the  war)  the  pay  of  Imams  and  mosque  servants,  which  was  last 
fixed  by  the  Turkish  Waqf  Department,  was  raised  by  25  per  cent, 
the  increase  being  timed  to  coincide  with  the  beginning  of  Ramadhan. 
The  comparatively  highly  paid  Imam  of  the  Dawasir  Mosque  was 
alone  excepted. 

"The  improvements  which  had  been  sanctioned  in  the  mosque  of 
Maqam  Ali  at  an  expenditure  of  Rs.  2,571  were  completed  and  passed 
on  May  12th.  The  room  used  for  ablutions  was  rebuilt  and  enlarged, 
the  water  pipes  relaid  and  three  large  water  tanks  with  taps  and  a 
cement  trough  for  ceremonial  ablutions  were  erected.  The  water 
tanks  and  trough  were  much  appreciated.  New  latrines  were  built  on 
Waqf  land  immediately  outside  the  mosque  enclosure.  Certain  small 
repairs  in  the  main  mosque  building  and  minaret  were  undertaken. 

"The  provision  of  matting  and  lamps  immediately  before  Ramad- 
han was  customary  in  Turkish  times,  but  repairs  and  improvements 
in  the  buildings  were  very  rarely  executed  and  the  Maqam  Ali  Mosque 
was  in  a  disgraceful  state.  It  is  highly  improbable  that  such  a  measure 
as  the  raising  of  salaries  to  meet  a  rise  in  the  cost  of  living  would  have 
been  possible  under  the  Turkish  administration  as  the  Ministry  of 
Auqaf  would  have  absorbed  the  available  mosques." 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  105 

The  British  Army  and  the  Holy  Carpet 

The  following  account  of  the  ceremony  in  connection  with  the 
departure  last  year  of  the  kiswa  curtain  which  is  sent  annually  from 
Cairo  to  Mecca,  appeared  in  the  near  East,  and  shows  how  the  French 
and  British  governments  are  in  favor  with  the  authorities  of  the 
Hajaz : 

"The  final  ceremony  in  connection  with  the  departure  of  the  Holy 
Carpet  for  Mecca  took  place  on  Thursday  amid  unwonted  pomp  and 
circumstance.  H.H.  the  Sultan  came  up  specially  from  Alexandria  in 
order  to  preside  over  the  ceremony;  General  Sir  Archibald  Murray 
was  present  with  his  staff;  Moslem  Indian  troops  assisted  the  Egyp- 
tian Army  to  line  the  route;  and  Indian  officers  were  among  the  guests 
who  watched  the  ceremony  from  the  steps  of  the  Mastaba.  All  these 
features,  added  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  the  Mecca 
Pilgrimage  is  taking  place  this  year,  combined  to  give  to  the  occasion 
an  importance  and  an  interest  that  have  not  attached  to  it  for  very 
many  years.  The  scene  in  the  square,  which,  together  with  the 
approaches,  was  thronged  with  crowds  of  Egyptians,  Europeans,  and 
a  great  number  of  khaki-clad  spectators,  was  most  picturesque;  and 
everything  passed  off  without  a  hitch  and  in  a  most  dignified  manner. 
The  'Mahmal'  and  its  attendants  left  by  special  train  the  next  morn- 
ing for  Suez,  where  it  embarked  on  the  steamer  chartered  by  the 
Egyptian  government.  By  this  time  it  must  have  reached  Jeddah, 
whence  it  has  to  proceed  overland  to  Mecca.  It  is  due  to  arrive  there 
in  time  to  permit  the  pilgrims  to  perform  the  various  religious  duties 
which  have  to  precede  the  celebration  of  the  feast  of  Kourban  Bairam, 
which  starts  on  October  7.  Many  more  pilgrims  than  were  at  first 
expected  are  making  the  pilgrimage  this  year.  Well  over  1,000 
Egyptians  have  left  for  Jeddah,  whilst  a  convoy  of  about  700  Alge- 
rians and  Moroccans  has  just  passed  through  the  Canal  on  its  way  to 
Jeddah.  The  latter  are  accompanied  by  a  *French  Mission,'  con- 
sisting of  prominent  chiefs  and  officers  specially  selected  by  the 
French  Government." 

Mohammedans  and  the  Second  Advent 

Pastor  Ernst  Lohmann  has  published  in  Heilig  dem  Herrn  an 
account  of  his  recent  experiences  in  Asia  Minor,  under  the  caption 
of  'Tshmael  also  Inquires  after  Christ." 

"Wherever  I  went,"  he  says,  "the  greatest  interest  was  observed 
when  I  spoke  on  the  Gospel.  In  many  cases  Moslems  asked  permis- 
sion to  be  present  at  my  meetings  for  Christians.  One  day  I  wished 
to  take  the  ferry  across  the  Euphrates,  but  could  not.  Leading 
Mohammedans  hung  to  me,  and  begged  me  to  tell  them  about  Jesus. 
So  there  we  sat  by  the  waters  of  Babylon,  not  hanging  our  harps  on 
the  willows,  but  singing  hymns  to  Christ,  Who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to 
come.  What  a  longing  for  salvation  did  I  observe!  I  must  say  that 
in  spite  of  our  richly  blessed  conferences,  I  have  not  found  so  deep  an 
interest  in  Europe.    It  is  as  if  the  veil  were  being  torn  away. 

"What  is  now  the  most  burning  question  in  the  Orient?  The 
Second  Advent  of  Christ.  How  many  times  have  I  been  asked: 
*What  does  your  Holy  Book  say  about  it?'  At  present  the  most 
widely  distributed  book  in  Turkey  is  a  Turkish  tract,  written  by  a 
devout  Mohammedan,  which  is  read  everywhere  with  great  interest. 
Its  contents  are  as  follows: 

"  'The  present  war  will  wage  for  six  years.  Then  a  great  power 
will  come  and  take  Constantinople.     Following  this  there  will  be  a 


106  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

rallying  of  all  Moslems  and  a  speedy  victory.  This,  however,  will  be 
short,  for  the  Antichrist  will  come — enemy  of  both  Christian,  Jew,^ 
and  Moslem.  His  rule  will  endure  forty  days,  and  will  be  the  most 
dreadful  which  the  believers  have  ever  experienced.  But  then  will 
Jesus  come,  and  establish  a  kingdom  of  peace  for  forty  years.* 

"I  have  been  literally  stormed  with  questions:  *When  will  Jesus 
come.'^*  *What  does  the  Bible  teach  concerning  this?*  *Have  you  no 
suspicion,  no  suggestion,  no  hint,  no  feeling  that  He  is  near?'  '* 

Islam  in  Fiji 

The  Rev.  F.  L.  Nunn  writes : 

"We  are  up  against  the  Muhammadan  problem  here  in  Fiji.  A 
society  for  the  propagation  of  Islam  is  in  existence.  Schools  are  being 
established  in  order  to  prevent  Muhammadan  and  other  Indian 
children  from  coming  under  the  influence  of  our  mission  schools.  We 
recently  baptised  a  convert  from  Islam.  He  is  a  young  man  who  for 
two  years,  he  says,  was  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit.  This  evil  spirit, 
so  the  maul  vie  told  him,  was  a  *pir,'  named  Ghazi  Mir,  and  was  to 
be  worshipped  in  order  to  secure  his  help  and  favour.  The  man  at 
times  would  suddenly  become  unconscious,  and  would  answer  ques- 
tions of  anyone  while  in  that  state.  This,  of  course,  was  the  *pir,* 
who  spoke  through  him  without  his  knowledge.  The  maulvies  in- 
structed him  to  wear  certain  charms,  and  to  burn  incense  and  offer 
up  flour,  sugar,  etc.,  before  an  iron  trident,  which  was  part  of  a  ban- 
ner,  the  ensign  of  the  saint.  The  man  was  greatly  distressed  by  this 
*Shaitan,'  as  he  himself  termed  the  possession,  but  the  maulvies  could 
give  him  no  relief. 

"Our  mission  catechist  found  him  in  this  state,  and  advised  him  to 
pray  to  Jesus  Christ  and  trust  only  in  Him  for  deliverance.  Then  he 
had  a  vision  which  turned  his  thoughts  completely  to  Christ,  and 
caused  him  to  decide  to  embrace  Christianity.  The  Muhammadans, 
hearing  of  his  change  of  views,  came  to  persuade  him  not  to  become 
a  Christian,  because  Christianity  was  a  bad  religion.  He,  however, 
stood  firm  in  his  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christ,  and  two  or  three 
months  afterwards  was  baptised.  Since  his  vision  and  his  conversion 
he  has  been  entirely  free  from  the  *pir*  possession,  and  this  he  attrib- 
utes to  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  His  conversion  has  been 
a  set-back  to  the  Muhammadan  cause,  because  he  brought  his  masters 
much  gain  by  his  soothsaying." 

The  Future  of  Palestine 

This  is  not  the  time  for  speculation  as  to  the  territorial  or  com- 
mercial gains  which  may  come  to  the  British  Empire  as  the  result  of 
the  war.  The  less  we  say  or  think  about  the  profits  which  we  may 
make  out  of  the  war,  the  more  certain  we  are  to  carry  our  Allies, 
including  America,  and  the  great  Dominions  with  us  to  the  end.  We 
did  not  go  to  war  for  the  sake  of  territory  or  trade,  as  the  Germans 
falsely  pretend,  and  our  disinterested  aims  have  been  generally  recog- 
nized by  the  world.  The  good  impression  which  we  created  at  the 
outset  must  not  be  weakened  now  by  indiscreet  and  unauthorized 
conjectures  as  to  the  profits  which  we  are  going  to  set  against  our 
terrible  losses  in  the  fight  for  liberty.  A  flagrant  example  of  the 
speculations  which  we  dislike  appears  in  the  New  Europe  of  last  week. 
The  unnamed  author  of  an  article  on  "Great  Britain,  Palestine,  and 
the  Jews"  assumes  that  the  appearance  of  General  Murray's  army  at 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  107 

the  gates  of  Gaza  implies  our  intention  to  conquer  Palestine  and  to 
keep  it.  "We  are  not,"  he  says,  "gathering  up  Palestine  as  material 
for  bargaining  at  the  Peace  Conference."  Having  imputed  this 
policy  to  our  government,  without  any  warrant,  he  defends  it  on 
strategical  grounds.  The  Turkish  threats  against  the  Suez  Canal 
have  amounted  to  little  in  this  war,  but  have  shown  that  the  desert 
is  no  longer  a  barrier  to  armies,  and  that  a  great  military  Power  hold- 
ing Palestine  might  cause  us  serious  concern  for  the  safety  of  our  main 
Imperial  route  to  India  and  Australia.  We  cannot,  therefore,  let 
Turkey  retain  Palestine,  as  "the  Turkey  of  the  future  will  be  a  tool 
of  Germany."  Indeed,  "we  cannot  allow  any  great  military  Power 
other  than  ourselves  in  Palestine."  We  are  told  bluntly  that  "French 
interests  in  Palestine" — as  distinguished  from  Syria — -"are  of  the 
most  exiguous  character,"  but  that  "Palestine  is  a  vital  need  of 
British  Imperial  strategy."  In  fact,  in  the  author's  conception,  the 
"great  natural  fortress"  of  the  Holy  Land  might  serve  as  "a  central 
military  reservoir  for  the  whole  Empire."  But  a  British  Palestine 
must  be  a  Jewish  Palestine,  and  thus  we  are  led  up  to  the  idea  that 
the  Jews  are  to  go  back  to  Canaan  and  establish  a  self-governing 
Jewry  under  the  British  flag. 

We  may  say  at  once  that  this  article  in  the  New  Europe  does  not 
represent  any  body  of  opinion  in  this  country.  We  know  nothing  of 
General  Murray's  mihtary  plans,  but  it  is  obviously  absurd  to  sup- 
pose that  wherever  our  armies  go,  there  they  must  and  will  remain. 
German  propagandists  have  used  that  ridiculous  argument  to  alarm 
Allies  and  neutrals,  but  it  has  not  imposed  on  the  most  credulous. 
We  have  never  met  any  serious  person  who  thought  that  the  posses- 
sion of  Palestine  was  necessary  to  the  defence  of  the  Suez  Canal  or 
that  it  was  desirable  on  other  grounds.  The  Sinai  Desert  has  not 
indeed  proved  an  impassable  barrier  to  would-be  invaders  of  Egypt, 
any  more  than  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Hittites  or  the  Assyrians,  and 
we,  like  Napoleon,  have  crossed  it  to  attack  the  Turks  in  Palestine. 
But  a  belt  of  almost  waterless  wastes  a  hundred  miles  across  is  a  far 
better  defence  than  most  frontiers  have,  and  even  in  these  days,  with 
railways  and  pipe-lines  and  aeroplanes  at  a  general's  command,  the 
Sinai  Desert  is  a  very  awkward  obstacle  to  overcome  in  face  of  a  well- 
armed  and  vigilant  defending  force.  We  should  need  a  good  deal  of 
evidence  to  convince  us  that  the  Suez  Canal  would  be  more  easily 
and  cheaply  defended  by  holding  the  mountains  from  Mount  Carmel 
to  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  hills  of  Judaea  than  by  watching  the 
few  tracks  across  the  Sinai  Desert.  Besides,  there  is  not  the  least 
likelihood  that  Turkey  will  remain  after  the  war  either  a  vassal  of 
Germany  or  the  ruler  of  Palestine.  The  German  hold  over  the  Turk 
must  be  shaken  off,  and  the  Turkish  misrule  of  subject-races  like  the 
Arabs  and  Syrians  must  cease,  or  we  shall  not  have  won  the  war. 
The  alleged  military  necessity  for  annexing  Palestine  is  thus  disposed 
of.  On  other  grounds  the  project  is  wholly  objectionable.  Within 
the  British  Empire  we  have  already  a  sufficiency  of  Dependencies,  of 
undeveloped  or  half -developed  lands  inhabited  by  alien  and  back- 
ward races.  Our  responsibilities  in  this  field  are  stupendous  already 
and  must  not  lightly  be  increased.  The  problem  of  the  Dependencies 
perplexes  every  one  who  tries  to  think  out  a  scheme  for  the  closer 
organization  of  the  Empire,  and  it  would  be  tempting  Providence  to 
add  unduly  to  the  number  and  variety  of  such  possessions.  We  may 
have  to  assume  the  duty  of  restoring  Mesopotamia  to  something  like 
its  old  prosperity,  as  we  have  done  in  similar  circumstances  in  Egypt, 


108  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

but  the  prospect,  though  full  of  romantic  possibilities,  is  not  by  any 
means  to  be  welcomed.  For  us  to  undertake  such  a  task  in  Palestine 
would  be  sheer  madness.  We  can  expend  all  our  spare  capital  in 
developing  Nigeria  or  East  Africa  far  more  profitably  than  in  trying 
to  make  long-neglected  Palestine  flow  with  milk  and  honey  once 
again  after  many  centuries.  And  from  the  political  standpoint 
annexing  Palestine  would  be  like  putting  one's  hand  into  a  wasps' 
nest.  The  question  of  the  Holy  Places  is  still  as  thorny  as  ever  it  was. 
Young  readers  of  history  smile  when  they  are  told  that  the  Crimean 
War  was  caused  by  a  dispute  over  a  key  and  a  star,  but  they  are 
wrong  if  they  think  that  the  sentiments  then  so  rudely  excited  are 
dead  beyond  recall.  Our  French  friends  have  never  forgotten  that 
Francis  I.  was  recognized  in  1535  by  Solyman  the  Magnificent  as 
sole  protector  of  the  Latins  in  Turkey,  and  the  French  Roman 
Catholics  have  never  ceased  to  maintain  the  ancient  Franciscan 
convents  in  Jerusalem  and  to  contend  for  their  time-honoured  priv- 
ileges at  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  They  would,  we  are  sure,  be  deeply 
hurt,  even  if  they  were  too  polite  to  admit  it,  by  any  proposal  on  our 
part  to  annex  the  Holy  Land.  Russia  and  the  Greek  Church  as  a 
whole  are  profoundly  interested  also  in  Jerusalem,  and  so  are  the 
Syrians  and  the  Arabs  as  well  as  the  Jews.  It  is  impossible  for  any 
sober  statesman  to  treat  a  country  like  Palestine,  the  focus  ,of  so  much 
ancient  religious  and  historic  feeling,  as  if  it  were  a  tract  of  tropical 
Africa,  to  be  annexed  at  will  on  the  flimsiest  of  pseudo-military 
grounds. 

The  proposal  to  colonize  Palestine  with  Jews  stands  on  a  different 
footing.  Though  by  no  means  new,  it  seems  to  us  entirely  commend- 
able. The  Zionists  have  been  working  at  the  scheme  for  twenty  or 
thirty  years,  with  help  from  the  Rothschilds,  and  the  late  Baron 
Hirsch  apparently  intended  his  millions  to  be  devoted  to  the  coloni- 
zation of  Palestine  on  a  large  scale  by  the  Jews  from  the  Russian  Pale 
and  from  Rumania. 

The  existence  of  an  isolated  Jewish  State  would  be  precarious.  It 
must  have  behind  it  some  Christian  Power  or  Powers,  or  it  would 
become  as  bad  a  centre  of  political  intrigues  as  Turkey  or  Morocco 
or  Persia.  Yet,  as  we  have  said,  the  question  of  the  Holy  Places 
involves  so  much  religious  and  national  jealousy  that  we  could  not 
become  their  protector,  and  probably  no  other  European  Power 
alone  could  do  so  with  safety.  It  seems  to  us  that  America  has  here 
a  great  opportunity  for  rendering  a  service  to  Europe  and  the  East. 
She  might  very  well  undertake  the  task  of  protecting  the  Jewish 
Republic  of  Palestine — a  neutral  international  Republic  in  which  no 
Power  was  unduly  favoured  to  the  exclusion  of  others — just  as  she 
has  fulfilled  the  task  of  protecting  the  Republics  of  Cuba  and  Panama. 
America  would  excite  no  jealousy.  She  is  on  the  best  of  terms  with 
all  the  Allies,  and  is  universally  respected  outside  Germany.  Her 
medical  missionaries  have  for  many  years  pervaded  Asiatic  Turkey 
from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  have  won  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  the  many  races.  America  has  no  political  aims  to  serve 
in  the  Near  East.  Her  assumption  of  a  protectorate  would  simply  be 
a  guarantee  that  the  little  Palestine  Republic  would  have  no  external 
enemy  to  fear  and  would  be  required  to  maintain  an  honest  and 
competent  administration.  Many  conflicting  and  irreconcilable  ambi- 
tions would  thus  be  stilled  for  ever,  and  Christians,  Jews,  and  Mos- 
lems alike  could  visit  peacefully  the  sacred  places  which  have  an 
eternal  appeal  for  mankind. — The  Spectator. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  109 

The  Freedom  of  Africa  After  the  War 

Mr.  Duse  Mohammed  makes  a  strong  plea  in  his  paper  The  African 
Times  and  Orient  RevieWy  March  1917,  for  native  rights  after  the  war. 
He  thinks  with  truth  that  the  little  peoples  of  Africa  and  Asia  have 
shown  great  courage  on  the  battlefield  and  have  done  their  part  for 
the  Empire,  therefore  they  should  have  recognition  at  the  time  of 
reconstruction.  He  says,  "We  are  forced  to  observe  that  the  once 
despised  black  man  is  coming  to  the  front  in  the  battle  for  freedom, 
and  the  freedom  which  he  helps  to  win  for  the  white  man  must  also 
be  meted  out  to  him  when  the  day  of  reckoning  arrives.  Therefore, 
again  we  say,  patience,  ye  men  of  India!  Patience,  ye  men  of  Africa! 
The  God  of  Justice  who  looks  down  upon  your  glorious  achievements 
will  see  to  it  that  you  are  adequately  rewarded.  *God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves,'  runs  the  old  adage.  In  helping  the  British 
Empire  and  the  French  Republic  in  the  hour  of  need  you  are  helping 
yourselves  to  a  freedom  which  cannot  be  denied  you  and  to  a  glory 
which  shall  be  engraved  upon  the  brazen  tablets  of  fame  which  the 
rains  of  ages  shall  not  wash  away.  *Acquit  yourselves  as  men^  and 
in  so  doing  you  will  show  your  great  deserving  to  be  treated  as  men 
and  Citizens  of  the  French  Republic  and  of  the  British  Empire." 

The  Need  of  Women  Missionaries  to  Moslem  Women 

The  Rev.  C.  G.  Wilson,  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society,  recently  emphasized  an  appeal  for  more  women  missionaries 
among  Moslems  by  the  following  incident : 

"One  of  the  most  vivid  memories  I  have  of  India  gathers  about  a 
student  in  Serampur  College,  one  of  our  most  earnest  and  intelligent 
men — a  convert  from  Islam.  He  had  withstood  every  kind  of  hostile 
persecution  and  the  persuasion  of  his  friends  to  induce  him  to  forsake 
Christ.  But  at  last  his  heart  was  broken  by  hearing  that  preparations 
were  being  made  for  the  divorce  and  remarriage  of  his  wife.  She 
had  refused  all  his  appeals  to  join  him  as  a  Christian;  and  to  save  her 
and  himself  from  the  shame  of  divorce  he  went  back  to  his  Moslem 
honie.  I  was  but  a  young  married  man  myself  then,  and  had  never 
realized  that  conversion  to  Christ  may,  and  often  does,  involve  dissolu- 
tion of  marriage.  We  cannot  too  early  or  too  earnestly  seek  to  win 
the  women." — The  Heraldy  June  1917. 

Arabic  Christian  Literature 

Mr.  Arthur  T.  Upson,  Superintendent  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press, 
writes:  "The  Rev.  Stephen  Trowbridge,  the  Near  East  representative 
of  the  World's  Sunday  School  Association,  has  already  issued  ten 
publications.  Two  of  these  were  issued  in  partnership  with  the  Nile 
Mission  Press,  but  in  general  the  outstanding  feature  of  his  publishing 
is  the  issue  of  pamphlets  designed  to  teach  the  teacher  to  teach.  It 
is  only  when  one  rejoices  in  the  present  supply  that  one  realises  how 
great  was  the  former  need. 

"The  C.  M.  S.  (Egypt)  has  continued  its  work,  and  two  of  Canon 
Gairdner's  booklets  have  been  published  in  English  by  the  Christian 
Literature  Society  (Madras)  and  in  Arabic  by  himself  in  Cairo.  In 
addition,  he  has  sent  to  press  a  large  number  of  *Portionettes,'  which 
will  soon  be  issued. 

"The  recent  report  of  the  American  Christian  Literature  Society  for 
Moslems  informs  us  that  three  books  for  Moslems  have  been  printed 


no  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

and  distributed.  The  third  of  these,  namely,  *Many  Infallible  Proofs,  * 
by  the  late  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  should  be  very  useful  among  Moslems. 
Under  its  old  name  of  the  New  York  Committee  of  the  Nile  Mission 
Press,  this  society  had  done  much  before,  but  hopes  to  do  more  yet. 

"A  Russian  lady  during  the  time  of  enforced  retirement  has  pre- 
pared not  less  than  twelve  MSS.  in  the  Sart  language.  Most  of  these 
are  translations  from  N.  M.  P.  publications,  but  one  called  by  her 
*  Words  of  Life,  *  and  running  to  140  pages  of  MS.,  is  a  Beirut  book. 
Then  again  Miss  I.  L.  Trotter  of  Algiers  has  begun  a  two  colour 
series  of  tracts  for  women  and  children  at  the  N.  M.  P.,  Cairo,  while 
Miss  Haworth  and  other  helpers  have  been  producing  stories  and 
other  publications,  and  the  influence  of  the  late  Miss  Marston  of 
India  is  still  spreading  through  the  Arabic  translations  of  her  stories. 
The  Nile  Mission  Press  has  continued  to  work  in  spite  of  the  war. 
Thirty  months  ago  we  had  130  pubUcations :  we  now  have  220  or  an 
increase  of  seventy  per  cent !  Some  47  of  these  have  been  published 
between  March  1916  and  March  1917  and  include  adaptations  (or 
originals)  of  books  by  Prof.  Fleming,  Dr.  Beardslee,  Dr.  Zwemer, 
Dr.  F.  B.  Meyer,  etc.  In  addition,  our  committee  have  thought  this 
to  be  a  fitting  moment  for  ^lengthening  cords*  as  well  as  'strengthening 
stakes'  and  have  sent  us  an  experienced  lady  worker  to  organize  the 
children's  department." 


STATEMENT    OF   THE    OWNERSHIP,    MANAGEMENT,    CIRCULATION,    ETC.,    OF 
THE   MOSLEM   WORLD 

Published  quarterly  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  required  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  29,  1912. 
Name  of  Stockholdeks  ok  Officers.  Post  Office  Address. 

Editor,  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  Cairo,  Egypt. 

Managing  Editor,  E.  I.  M.  Boyd,  London,  England. 

Business  Manager,  D.  L.  Pierson,  156  Fifth  Ave.,  N.  Y.  City. 

Publisher,  The  Missionary  Review  Pub.  Co.,  Inc.,  10  Depot  St.,  Concord,  N.  H. 

Owners  (if  corporation,  give  names  and  addresses  of  stockholders  holding  1  per  cent  or  more  of  the 

total  amount  of  stock).    Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  Cairo,  Egypt. 
Known  bondholders,  mortgagees,  and  other  security  holders,  holding  1  per  cent  or  more  of  total 

amount  of  bonds,  mortgages,  or  other  securities.    None. 
The  Missionary  Review  Publishing  Company,  Inc. 

DELAVAN  L.  PIERSON,  Business  Manager. 
Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  27th  day  of  September,  1917. 

CAROLINE  BAHR,  Notary  Public 
Term  expires  March  30,  1918. 
Form  3526. 


The  Moslem  World 


Vol.  VIII  APRIL,  1918  No.  2 


EDITORIAL 


The  Printed  Page 

We  are  glad  to  present  to  our  readers  in  this  number  a 
report  of  the  work  of  the  American  Christian  Literature 
Society  for  Moslems,  which  for  a  number  of  years  has 
co-operated  closely  with  the  Nile  Mission  Press  and  other 
agencies  in  the  preparation  and  circulation  of  Christian 
literature  and  has,  through  its  members,  done  so  much 
for  this  Quarterly  in  these  trying  days  of  the  war. 

The  power  of  the  printed  page  as  an  evangelistic  agency 
has  not  yet  been  realized:  although  it  is  obvious  that  it 
can  never  be  a  substitute  for  the  living  voice,  it  is  often 
true  that  the  message  in  this  form  is  more  persuasive, 
more  permanent  and  reaches  a  larger  audience  than  that 
spoken  by  human  lips.  The  printed  page  is  the  ubiquitous 
missionary  and  the  printed  message  has  often  entered 
closed  lands  and  penetrated  into  the  most  secluded  vil- 
lages. Twenty  years  ago  a  missionary  in  Arabia  received 
an  order  for  the  Bible,  a  Commentary,  and  a  Concord- 
ance from  Mecca  itself.  In  many  lands  the  post  office 
has  become  an  evangelistic  agency.  It  carries  Christian 
literature  unobtrusively  into  the  homes  of  all  classes,  and 
those  who  have  tried  this  method  are  enthusiastic  regard- 
ing its  effectiveness  and  comparative  economy.  Our 
readers  know  of  the  strength,  the  enterprise  and  the 
growth  of  the  Moslem  Press  in  recent  years,  especially  in 
Egypt,  Persia  and  Russia.  Attention  is  called  in  this 
number  to  the  extent  of  the  Turkish  Press  and  its  power 
in  binding  together  the  Turkish  races. 


112  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Experiments  made  in  Egypt  on  a  small  scale  have,  even 
during  the  days  of  war,  shown  that  it  is  possible  to  use 
the  newspapers  of  the  Near  East  to  get  a  hearing  for  the 
Gospel  Message.  What  has  been  done  on  these  lines,  and 
on  a  large  scale,  in  Japan  and  China  might  also  well  be 
attempted,  at  least  in  a  measure,  for  Moslems. 

"The  Apostle  Paul  at  Athens,"  says  Dr.  Albertus 
Pieters,  ''disputed  in  the  market  daily,  because  the  mar- 
ket place  was  where  the  Athenians  congregated  to  do 
their  buying  and  selling,  and  to  discuss  questions  of  public 
interest.  This  is  not  done  in  the  market  place  nowadays, 
either  in  America,  or  in  Japan,  but  in  the  newspapers. 
Not  to  speak  of  public  discussion,  which  goes  without 
saying,  the  very  buying  and  selling  are  done  in  the  papers, 
for  the  most  difficult  and  essential  part  of  the  salesman's 
work,  that  of  inducing  the  customer  to  desire  his  wares, 
is  done  in  the  newspapers."  We  must  induce  those  who 
have  no  interest  in  the  Gospel  message  to  read  the  book 
by  advertising  its  contents,  and  compel  men  to  answer  the 
question,  "What  think  ye  of  the  Christ.'^"  by  facing  them 
with  the  facts  of  His  life  and  death  and  resurrection  power. 
Much  has  been  written  on  the  importance  of  the  Chris- 
tian press,  but  nothing  is  more  interesting  and  up  to  date 
than  some  passages  in  the  old  classic,  Bunyan's  The  Holy 
War.  Everything  he  says  in  that  book  regarding  Ear- 
gate  and  Eye-gate  is  suggestive.  For  example,  what 
could  better  describe  the  battle  of  the  Press  in  Cairo : — 

"I  saw  the  battering  rams,  and  how  they  played 
To  beat  ope  Ear-gate,  and  I  was  afraid, 
Not  only  Ear-gate,  but  the  very  town 
Would  by  those  battering  rams  be  beaten  down. 
I  saw  the  fights,  and  heard  the  captains  shout, 
And  in  each  battle  saw  who  faced  about : 
I  saw  who  wounded  were,  and  who  were  slain; 
And  who  when  dead  would  come  to  life  again." 

Of  the  Moslem  world  in  general  as  of  the  human  heart 
in  particular,  we  may  truly  say,  that  "Lord  Willbewill 
took  special  care  that  the  gates  should  be  secured  with 
double  guards,  double  bolts,  and  double  locks  and  bars. 
And  that  Ear-gate  (especially)  might  the  better  be  looked 


EDITORIAL  113 

to,  for  that  was  the  gate  which  the  King's  forces  sought 
most  to  enter;  so  he  made  one  old  Mr.  Prejudice  (an 
angry  and  ill-conditioned  fellow)  captain  of  the  ward  at 
that  gate,  and  put  under  his  power  sixty  men,  called 
Deaf -men;  men  advantageous  for  that  service,  forasmuch 
as  they  mattered  no  words  of  the  captains,  nor  of  their 
soldiers."  But  afterwards  in  the  allegory,  the  city  of 
Man-soul  is  taken  through  Ear-gate  and  Eye-gate,  Mr. 
Prejudice  is  kicked  and  tumbled  down  in  the  dirt  and 
'*from  Ear-gate  the  street  ran  straight  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Recorder":  for  faith  cometh  by  hearing  and  hearing  by 
the  Word  of  God. 

It  is  a  remarkable  testimony  to  the  power  of  the  printed 
page  that  nearly  all  the  enquirers  in  Moslem  lands  have 
first  been  led  to  Christ  by  means  of  a  book  or  tract.  It  is 
because  of  this  that  every  missionary  should  try  to  be  a 
colporteur  and  tract  distributor.  Neither  poverty  of 
purse  nor  pride  of  position  nor  prejudice  against  this 
method  because  it  is  sometimes  abused,  should  prevent 
him  from  having  at  hand  in  his  pocket  and  reception 
room  an  adequate  quantity  and  variety  of  Christian  lit- 
erature. This  method  of  approach  is  open  to  all,  and  if  it 
is  followed  with  sympathy,  it  is  everywhere  welcomed. 

Because  of  the  neglect  of  the  printed  page  by  so  many 
societies  and  workers,  we  need  prayer  that  new  writers 
may  be  raised  up  of  God,  that  funds  and  leisure  may  be 
found  to  make  present  workers  more  effective;  that  the 
message  of  the  printed  page  may  be  a  tongue  of  fire,  and 
that  all  that  is  written  may  be  founded  on  first  hand 
Oriental  experience,  not  on  translations  of  incidents  and 
stories  from  the  West.  Above  all,  we  need  to  hold  before  us 
the  real  aim  of  Christian  literature :  it  is  to  quicken  hearts 
and  build  up  character.  There  has  been  enough  literature 
of  the  controversial  type,  destructively  critical  of  Islam. 
These  books  were  useful  in  their  day  and  still  have  a 
place,  and  an  important  place,  as  the  plough-share  for 
the  sowing  of  th-  Truth;  but  a  new  era  calls  for  a  new 
program.  We  need  a  careful  survey  of  the  real  desiderata 
and  a  larger  co-operation  between  Western  Asia  and 
North  Africa  after  the  war.     The  Arabic  speaking  lands 


114  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

are  practically  a  unit  as  regards  the  character  of  Utera- 
ture  required.  Whether  this  Hterature  should  be  in 
classical  Arabic  or  in  the  various  vernaculars  is  really  a 
subordinate  question.  We  need  a  vision  of  the  whole 
task.  Now  is  the  opportunity  to  break  away  from  old 
precedents  in  the  preparation  and  distribution  of  litera- 
ture, if  they  have  been  based  upon  old  prejudices.  There 
are  new  ways  for  presenting  the  one  and  only  Gospel. 
The  war  has  taught  us  many  lessons,  but  none  more 
clearly  than  the  power  of  the  Press.  The  article  in  this 
number  on  *'The  Holy  War  that  Failed"  shows  how  the 
Press  was  used  for  intrigue  and  to  sow  sedition.  It  has 
also  been  used  with  telling  effect  to  instruct  and  enlighten 
the  masses  concerning  the  real  issues  of  the  war,  to  awaken 
a  sense  of  loyalty  and  arouse  a  spirit  of  sacrifice.  In  this 
respect  Rudyard  Kipling  is  also  among  the  prophets. 
Has  he  not  said: 

"The  Pope  may  launch  his  Interdict, 

The  Union  its  decree: 
But  the  bubble  is  blown  and  the  bubble  is  pricked 

By  Us  and  such  as  We; 
Remember  the  battle  and  stand  aside 

While  thrones  and  powers  confess 
That  King  over  all  the  children  of  Pride 

Is  the  Press — the  Press — ^the  Press!" 

S.   M.   ZWEMER. 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  AND  MISSIONARY 
ENDEAVOUR 


The  vast  regions  of  Central  Asia,  whence  came  Attila  and 
the  Huns  of  former  ages,  whence  came  Jenghiz  Khan 
with  his  hordes  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  whence 
came  Tamerlane  in  the  fourteenth,  conqueror  of  all  ever 
before  conquered  by  Hun  or  Tatar  and  driver  of  chariots 
drawn  by  dethroned  kings  in  place  of  horses,  are  the 
home  of  millions  of  the  Turko-Tatar  peoples.  They 
belong  to  the  Ural-Altaic  family,  better  known  and  more 
highly  developed  members  of  which  are  the  Finns  and 
the  Hungarians.  At  the  present  time,  these  peoples  and 
those  whom  they  have  tatarised  extend  from  the  central 
provinces  of  European  Russia  and  the  borders  of  Siberia 
on  the  north  to  the  boundaries  of  Afghanistan,  Persia, 
and  Mesopotamia  on  the  south,  and  from  Mongolia  and 
Tibet  on  the  east  to  the  Balkan  States  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean on  the  west.  Their  number,  according  to  estimates 
based  on  the  Russian  census  of  1897,  is  at  present  about 
twenty  millions  for  Russia  and,  so  far  as  one  can  tell, 
about  ten  millions  for  Turkey  itself,  making  a  total  of 
thirty  millions,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  population  of 
the  United  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  1910  or  two- 
thirds  that  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  1911. 

This  population  of  thirty  millions  is  distributed  roughly 
as  follows:  (1)  About  five  millions  in  the  provinces  of 
European  Russia,  chiefly  in  Ufa,  Kazan,  Orenburg, 
Samara,  Vyatka,  Perm,  and  the  Crimea,  equivalent  to 
the  population  of  New  York  City  in  1910  or  Scotland  in 
1911;  (2)  approximately  two  and  a  half  millions  in  the 
Caucasus  (for  here  many  Moslems  are  of  other  races), 
equivalent  to  the  population  of  Indiana  in  1910  or  greater 
than  that  of  Wales  a  year  later;  (3)  more  than  three 
millions  in  the  Trans-Caspian  province  and  the  provinces 

115 


116  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  the  Steppes,  equivalent  to  the  population  of  Missouri 
or  twice  that  of  Philadelphia  in  1910;  (4)  about  nine 
millions  in  Turkestan,  which  is  greater  than  the  popula- 
tion of  New  York  State  in  1910  and  twice  that  of  Ireland 
in  1911.  If  we  add  to  this  Moslem  population,  nearly  all 
of  which  is  under  direct  Russian  rule,  the  Moslem  peoples 
of  Bokhara,  Khiva,  Persia,  and  the  occupied  regions  of 
Turkey,  we  have  a  total  of  not  far  from  thirty  million 
Moslems  under  the  direct  control  or  influence  of  Russia. 

The  percentage  of  the  Moslem  population  varies  greatly 
in  different  parts  of  Russia.  In  European  Russia,  the 
province  of  Ufa  leads  with  a  percentage  of  50;  then  come 
Astrakhan  with  31,  Kazan  with  29,  Orenburg  with  23,  the 
Taurida  (in  which  is  the  Crimea)  with  13,  and  Samara 
with  10.  In  all  the  other  provinces  of  European  Russia 
the  percentage  is  less  than  10.  In  the  Caucasus,  the  per- 
centage in  the  various  provinces  varies  from  four  or  five 
to  94  and  averages  about  one-third.  In  the  provinces  of 
the  Steppes  and  in  the  Trans-Caspian  district  the  Mos- 
lems number  four-fifths  of  the  total  population.  In  Rus- 
sian Turkestan  only  three  persons  out  of  a  hundred,  if 
the  Russian  figures  of  1897  are  trustworthy,  are  not 
Moslems.  Russian  immigration  may  have  decreased  the 
Moslem  percentage  somewhat  since  that  time,  but  it  is 
yet  safe  to  assert  that  more  than  90  per  cent  of  the  people 
of  Russian  Turkestan  are  Moslems.  In  Siberia,  the  high- 
est percentage  is  in  Tobolsk  province,  with  four  and  a 
half.  In  Khiva  and  Bokhara  it  is  estimated  that  four  out 
of  every  five  are  followers  of  the  Prophet  of  Arabia.  It 
should  be  noted  that  these  proportions  are  for  all  Moslems, 
and  not  merely  for  Turko-Tatars. 

The  thirty  millions  of  Turko-Tatars  are  known  by 
various  names,  live  under  widely  varying  conditions,  and 
are  of  both  high  and  low  degrees  of  culture.  Most  of  them 
are  Moslems,  but  a  few  have  become  Christians,  while 
still  a  few  others  have  remained  pagans.  In  the  following 
paragraphs  the  names  and  numbers  of  the  chief  members 
of  the  race  are  indicated. 

(1)  The  Tatars  number  more  than  five  million  and  live 
chiefly  in  the  valley  of  the  Volga  and  its  tributaries,  in 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  117 

the  Crimea,  and  in  the  Caucasus;  there  are  also  a  few  in 
Siberia.  Of  the  Turko-Tatar  peoples  they  are  the  most 
advanced  in  civilisation.  They  are  Moslems  of  the  mis- 
sionary type,  and  those  peoples  converted  by  them  are 
proud  to  change  their  name  to  that  of  Tatar.  The  most 
important  of  the  peoples  converted  to  Islam,  from  a  sort 
of  paganism,  and  tatarised  are  the  Bashkirs,  numbering 
about  two  million  and  living  near  and  among  the  Tatars 
in  Perm,  Ufa,  and  Orenburg. 

(2)  The  Kirghiz  are  more  numerous  than  the  Tatars 
and  live,  for  the  most  part,  on  the  Steppes  of  Asiatic 
Russia  between  the  Ural  and  the  Chinese  frontier  and  in 
the  eastern  part  of  European  Russia  to  the  north  of  the 
Caspian.  They  are  nomads,  though  it  is,  or  was,  the 
policy  of  Russia  to  lead  them  to  adopt  a  settled  mode  of 
life.  They  are  not  a  very  intelligent  people,  and  so  have 
not  readily  taken  hold  of  the  advantages  offered  by  former 
Russian  policy;  yet  they  must  have  been  intelligent 
enough  to  see  the  policy  of  Russification  therein.  Not 
many  decades  ago  they  were  pagans,  but  now  are  Moslems 
of  a  sort,  having  retained  many  of  their  pagan  notions 
and  practices.  Because  they  are  nomadic,  their  women 
have  a  greater  degree  of  freedom  and  mingle  with  men 
more  than  women  in  most  Moslem  countries  are  accus- 
tomed to  do. 

(3)  The  Sarts  number  about  a  million  and  a  half  and 
inhabit  Bokhara,  Samarkand,  and  other  parts  of  Central 
Asia.  The  term  is  not  really  indicative  of  race,  but  is 
political  and  is  used  by  Russia  to  denote  the  Turkish 
speaking  urban  population.  The  Sarts  are  a  settled, 
peaceful  people,  often  engaged  in  trade,  and  so  have 
welcomed  the  law  and  order  of  Russian  rule  and  have 
profited  thereby. 

(4)  The  Uzbegs  are  about  as  numerous  as  the  Sarts, 
and  live  in  Turkestan.  Like  Sart,  the  term  Uzbeg  is 
political  and  is  used  to  denote  a  variety  of  mixed  races, 
mostly  Turkish.  They  are  farmers,  but,  unlike  the 
Kirghiz,  are  not  nomads.  Both  the  Uzbegs  and  the 
Sarts  are  Moslems. 

(5)  The  Turkmans  number  less  than  half  a  million,  are 


118  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  many  kinds,  and  inhabit  the  regions  between  the 
Caspian  and  the  Oxus.  They  are  also  found  in  parts  of 
the  Caucasus  and  in  Turkey.    They  are  nomadic  Moslems. 

(6)  The  Uighurs  are  a  Turkish  race  and  live  in  Chinese 
Turkestan  and  along  the  border  between  it  and  Russian 
Turkestan.  They  have  not  migrated,  but  are  the  de- 
scendants of  the  old  Turkish  races  of  those  regions.  They 
hold  the  faith  of  Islam  in  a  country  in  which  and  round 
about  which  paganism  flourishes.  Nobody  knows  how 
numerous  they  are;  there  may  be  as  many  as  a  million. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  distant  Chinese  Turkestan 
many  of  the  place-names  are  the  same  as  those  in  Asia 
Minor,  Macedonia,  and  other  places  where  the  Turk  is  or 
has  been. 

(7)  The  Osmanli  Turks  of  the  Turkish  Empire  number 
about  ten  millions.  The  term  is  not  ethnic,  but  political 
and  linguistic;  for  it  includes  all  sorts  of  mixed  peoples  of 
the  Empire  who  are  Moslems  and  speak  Turkish.  Many 
of  them  are  greatly  mixed  with  the  former  Christian  races 
of  Asia  Minor,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  they  scarcely 
resemble  their  supposed  relatives  of  Central  Asia. 

(8)  There  are  various  other  less  important  Moslem 
members  of  the  Turko-Tatar  race,  such  as  the  Kizil- 
Bashes  (Red-Heads)  in  Asia  Minor,  the  Azerbaijanis  of 
Persia  and  parts  of  the  Caucasus,  and  the  Kara-Kalpaks 
(Black-Caps)  in  Turkestan.  None  of  them  numbers  more 
than  a  few  hundred  thousands. 

(9)  There  may  yet  remain  in  the  Balkan  States  and 
under  Austrian  rule  as  many  as  a  million  people  who  call 
themselves  Turks,  speak  some  sort  of  Turkish,  and  follow 
the  Prophet  of  Arabia.  Ever  since  the  losses  and  defeats 
of  Turkey  in  these  regions  in  recent  years,  their  Turkish 
inhabitants  have  been  trecking  back  to  Constantinople 
and  Asia  Minor,  and  consequently  are  not  so  numerous 
as  they  once  were. 

(10)  Besides  all  these  Moslem  members  of  the  Turko- 
Tatar  race,  there  are  also  a  few  nominally  Christian 
Turko-Tatars.  The  most  important  among  them  are 
the  Yakuts  of  eastern  Siberia,  who  number  about  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  and  the  Chuvashes  of  the  eastern 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  119 

provinces  of  European  Russia,  who  number  about  a 
million.  Though  baptised,  both  races  are  little  removed 
from  heathenism  in  their  religious  beliefs  and  practices. 
The  Chuvashes,  owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  Tatars, 
have  been  subject  to  their  Moslem  propaganda,  but  have 
not  gone  over  to  Islam  in  any  considerable  numbers 
except  in  the  more  remote  districts. 

In  addition  to  these  various  Turko-Tatars,  there  are  in 
Russia  many  branches  of  the  Finnish  race,  not  living  in 
Finland  but  in  other  parts  of  Russia,  who  belong  to  the 
same  great  family  as  the  Turko-Tatars, — that  is,  the 
Ural-Altaic.  The  Votiaks,  the  Cheramisses,  and  the 
Mordva  are  chief  among  these  and  number  about  three 
millions.  In  point  of  fact,  most  of  them  are  pagan, 
whether  baptised  or  converts  to  Islam,  which  is  gaining 
ground  among  the  first  two  but  not  among  the  Mordva. 

The  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  Russia  is  about  fifty, 
and  that  of  Moslems  living  there  is  said  to  be  about  the 
same;  but  in  some  districts  their  percentage  of  literacy  is 
said  to  be  even  higher  than  that  of  their  Russian  neigh- 
bours. The  nomads  are  naturally  the  most  illiterate, 
while  the  Tatars  of  Kazan  and  other  European  provinces 
are  well  advanced  in  education,  civilisation,  and  culture, 
some  even  of  their  women  having  entered  professional 
life.  The  Moslems  of  Central  Asia  were  very  chary  of 
accepting  the  sort  of  education  provided  for  them  by  the 
old  regime  in  Russia,  because  its  purpose  was  Russifica- 
tion,  which  of  course  then  also  meant  Christianisation  of 
a  sort  that  would  commend  itself  very  little  more  to  the 
Protestant  than  to  the  Moslem. 

The  languages  of  the  Turko-Tatars,  as  well  as  those  of 
other  members  of  the  Ural-Altaic  family,  are  character- 
ised by  certain  peculiarities.  Among  these  are  agglutina- 
tion, by  which  particles  denoting  person,  number,  time, 
cause,  negation,  necessity,  impossibility,  reciprocity,  etc., 
are  added  to  an  unchanging  root  almost  without  limit; 
vowel  harmony,  in  which  front  vowels  follow  front  vowels 
and  back  vowels  follow  back  vowels ;  a  lack  of  connectives, 
most  of  those  now  in  use  being  borrowed  from  Arabic 
and  Persian;  richness  of  the  verb,  so  that  there  are  some- 


120  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

thing  like  twenty-five  thousand  forms  possible  to  one 
verb  in  Ottoman  Turkish. 

Wherever  Islam  has  gone,  these  languages  are  ordina- 
rily written  in  Arabic  characters,  and  contain  thousands 
of  Arabic  and  Persian  words.  Yet  in  origin  and  grammar 
and  as  spoken  by  the  common  people  they  are  as  different 
from  Arabic  as  Arabic  is  from  English.  Their  sounds  can 
be  only  imperfectly  represented  by  Arabic  characters,  so 
that  the  spelling  of  Ottoman  Turkish  is  as  irregular  and 
unphonetic  as  that  of  English.  With  some  such  modifi- 
cations as  are  used  for  Hungarian  or  Czechish,  the  Latin 
alphabet  is  much  to  be  preferred  for  the  Turkish  lan- 
guages; but  most  Turkish  religious  leaders  would  cer- 
tainly look  upon  such  a  proposition  as  an  effort  to  under- 
mine Islam.  For  the  benefit  of  Christians  who  speak 
Turkish,  the  Turkish  languages  are  also  written  in  Rus- 
sian, Armenian,  and,  worst  of  all,  Greek  characters. 
Naturally,  the  ideal  is  a  phonetic  alphabet. 

Among  the  various  Turkish  languages  and  dialects,  the 
following  five  are  of  most  importance  as  literary  languages : 
(1)  Osmanli,  used  in  Turkey,  the  Caucasus,  and  the 
Crimea  (but  the  spoken  language  of  the  Crimea  is  a  form 
of  Tatar);  (2)  Kazan-Tatar,  in  European  Russia  and, 
because  of  the  high  position  of  the  Tatars,  also  in  parts  of 
Asiatic  Russia;  (3)  Kirghiz,  among  the  Kirghiz;  (4)  Jag- 
hatai,  in  Central  Asia;  (5)  Azerbaijan,  in  northern  Persia 
and  parts  of  the  Caucasus.  Azerbaijan  is  largely  influ- 
enced by  Osmanli;  Kazan-Tatar  is  also  influenced  by 
Osmanli  and,  to  a  less  degree,  by  Russian.  Though  he 
would  have  difficulty  in  understanding  the  various  spoken 
dialects,  an  educated  man  able  to  read  any  one  of  the 
literary  languages  would  have  little  difficulty  in  reading 
any  other  one.  Even  in  the  case  of  the  spoken  languages, 
it  is  the  testimony  of  Prof.  Huntington  (Pulse  of  Asia,  p. 
106)  that  he,  after  having  learned  a  little  Turkish  in 
Turkey  was  able  to  get  along  without  an  interpreter  in 
all  ordinary  matters  of  life  among  the  Kirghiz  near  the 
border  of  Chinese  Turkestan.  I  have  before  me  a  paper 
printed  in  Samarkand,  and  find  it  so  like  Osmanli  Turkish 
that  there  is  little  difficulty  in  reading  it;  in  fact,  the 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  121 

sentences  are  usually  shorter  and  the  vocabulary  simpler. 
In  recent  years  the  Pan-Turanian  (All-Turkish)  move- 
ment has  done  much  to  eliminate  the  differences  among 
the  literary  languages  and  to  make  their  vocabularies 
simpler  and  more  alike. 

The  various  Turkish  languages  and  dialects  possess  a 
fascinating  literature  of  folklore  and  song,  humorous, 
lyrical,  martial,  historical  and  what-not.  Such  literature, 
being  in  the  language  of  the  common  people,  is  free  from 
the  large  Arabic  and  Persian  element  found  in  the  lit- 
erary languages.  And  because  it  is  in  the  language  of 
the  common  people  and  ancient  in  origin,  there  is  less 
variation  among  the  versions  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Crimea, 
the  Volga  regions,  and  Central  Asia  than  one  might  at 
first  suppose.  I  have  seen  a  few  of  the  songs  as  quoted  in 
various  dialects  in  Der  Islam  (Band  IV,  pp.  137-138) 
that  so  resemble  the  ordinary  Turkish  of  Asia  Minor  that 
there  is  scarcely  any  difficulty  in  understanding  them. 
This  literature  of  the  common  people  deserves  to  be 
studied  if  we  are  to  attain  anything  like  an  adequate 
understanding  of  their  inner  life  and  thought,  for  therein 
are  contained  their  ideas  of  natural  phenomena,  their 
superstitions,  and  an  indication  of  their  intellectual  and 
spiritual  status,  desires,  and  needs. 

In  addition  to  this  literature  of  the  common  people, 
there  exists  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  literature  of 
a  higher  type,  especially  in  Tatar  and  Osmanli.  In  the 
case  of  the  latter,  we  may  divide  its  literature  into  three 
periods.  The  first  is  the  period  of  the  imitation  of  Per- 
sian; both  prose  and  poetry  are  full  of  Persian  words  and 
ideas,  so  full,  in  fact,  that  a  modern  Turk  of  good  educa- 
tion can  scarcely  understand  the  writings  of  a  century 
ago.  Fortunately,  this  period  ended  shortly  after  the 
middle  of  the  last  century,  when  the  second  period,  that 
of  the  imitation  of  European,  and  especially  French, 
literature  began.  The  result  has  been  greater  simplicity 
and  clearness,  accompanied  by  the  greater  use  of  the 
Turkish  and  better  known  Arabic  and  other  foreign  words. 
Most  of  the  reformers  were  obliged  by  the  then  dominant 
absolutism  and  conservatism  of  Turkish  policy  to  live  as 


122  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

exiles  in  Europe  and  Egypt,  with  a  price  upon  their  heads> 
but  on  account  of  their  Hberal  and  reforming  ideas  and 
tendencies  in  poHtics  rather  than  on  account  of  their 
desire  to  change  the  language.  With  the  Revolution  of 
1908  they  came  into  their  own.  Indeed  the  Revolution 
was  caused  by  a  group  of  writers  who  had  long  been 
champions  and  exiles  of  liberty  and  reform,  and  some  of 
them  even  martyrs.  They  and  their  successors  are 
responsible  for  what  may  be  called  a  third  period  in 
Ottoman  literature  which  is  in  reality  an  outgrowth  of 
the  second.  The  present  period  is  characterised  by  the 
quantity  of  its  productions,  by  numerous  translations, 
not  always  of  the  most  desirable  sort,  by  efforts  to  pro- 
vide material  for  the  study  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and 
other  aspects  of  modern  life,  and  by  an  exceedingly  strong 
patriotic,  and  Pan-Turanian  spirit.  Under  this  influence 
the  language  has  been  and  is  still  being  simplified  and  an 
increasing  number  of  common  Turkish  words  is  being 
used. 

These  remarks  on  the  literature  of  the  Turks  lead  to  a 
consideration  of  their  press  and  periodical  publications. 
First,  let  us  consider  the  Turkish  Moslem  press  of  Russia. 
The  two  chief  centres  are  the  cities  of  Kazan  and  Oren- 
burg; then  come  other  places  such  as  Ufa,  Troitsk,  Baku, 
and  Tiflis.  There  seem  to  be  very  few  papers  printed  in 
Turkestan,  though  I  believe  Russia  has  been  responsible 
for  one  at  Tashkent  and  I  have  a  copy  of  Ayina  {The 
Mirror)  lithographed  at  Samarkand.  Those  published  in 
the  great  centres  already  referred  to  can  be  easily  sent  by 
mail  to  the  provinces  of  Turkestan  and  the  Steppes.  This 
is  the  case  with  the  Vakt  {Times),  which  is  published  at 
Orenburg  and  read  among  the  Moslems  of  Siberia. 

In  1912,  according  to  official  figures,  there  were  among 
Moslems  in  Russia  19  periodicals,  23  presses,  and  194 
libraries.  By  the  close  of  1914,  the  number  of  periodicals 
had  increased  to  25.  The  total  number  of  publications 
for  1914  was  631.  Yet,  according  to  the  Revue  du  Monde 
Musulman  (XXVI,  pp.  218-220),  these  figures  are  not 
very  reliable,  and  the  total  number  of  publications  must 
have  been  very  much  greater. 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  123 

All  sorts  of  subjects  are  included.  The  most  important 
are  religion,  poetry,  history,  geography,  the  theatre,  and 
children's  books.  The  Zemstvo  of  Ufa  published  in  1913, 
works  on  agriculture,  hygiene,  and  Islam  and  school- 
books  in  Tatar  and  Chuvash.  In  order  that  the  reader 
may  gain  a  more  definite  idea  of  the  newspapers  and 
periodicals  published  in  Turkish  languages  in  Russia,  the 
names  and  contents  of  two  of  the  most  important  are 
indicated  herewith:  (1)  Vakt  {Times),  published  four 
times  a  week  at  Orenburg  since  1906  in  literary  Kazan- 
Tatar;  contains  telegrams,  news  about  Moslem  activities 
in  and  out  of  Russia,  and  articles  and  information  on 
such  questions  as  religion,  art,  literature,  economics, 
sociology,  and  politics;  reading  paper  for  Moslems  out- 
side of  the  Crimea  and  the  Caucasus.  (^)  Tarjuman 
(Interpreter,  Guide),  published  daily  at  Baghcha-Sarai  in 
the  Crimea  in  simplified  Osmanli  by  Isma'il  Bey  Gas- 
prinski  (before  his  death  in  1913);  a  strong  advocate  of 
reformed  Islam  and  Pan-Turanianism ;  deals  with  all  kinds 
of  literary,  religious,  social,  and  political  questions,  a 
powerful  paper.  Other  papers,  the  purpose  of  which  is 
often  indicated  by  their  names,  are  as  follows:  Din  va 
Ma'ishat  {Religion  and  Life),  published  weekly  at  Oren- 
burg in  Tatar;  Ilor  Eil  {The  Country,  The  Nation),  pub- 
lished at  Petrograd  and  of  advanced  and  nationalistic 
tendencies;  Hukuk  va  Hay  at  {Rights  and  Life),  published 
fortnightly  at  Kazan  in  Tatar  and  Russian  and  dealing 
with  the  serious  questions  of  philosophy,  religion,  et 
cetera;  Ak  Yol  {The  White  Way),  published  in  Tatar,  a 
children's  magazine;  Mu'allim  {The  Teacher),  a  pedagog- 
ical and  educational  review  published  fortnightly  at  Oren- 
burg; Maktab  {The  School),  an  educational  paper  pub- 
lished at  Kazan;  Iktisad  {Economics)  an  agricultural, 
industrial,  and  commercial  review  published  monthly  at 
Samara;  Mulla  Nasraddin,  a  humorous  weekly  published 
in  Azerbaijan  Turkish  at  Baku;  two  in  Samarkand;  one 
at  Medara;  one  at  Tomsk;  one  at  Astrakhan;  others  in 
other  places  or  in  places  already  mentioned. 

It  is  significant  of  the  Turkish  press  in  Russia  that  it 
deals  with  such  a  variety  of  subjects,  that  it  is  so  numer- 


124  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

ous  and  powerful,  that  it  is  so  few  in  numbers  among  the 
millions  of  people  in  Turkestan  and  the  Steppes,  and 
that  it  is,  or  was,  so  strongly  Pan-Turanian  in  character. 
Whether  this  Pan-Turanian  feeling  will  continue  in  New 
Russia  or  whether  the  press  will  be  more  loyally  Russian 
remains  to  be  seen.  We  may  at  least  expect  the  Pan- 
Turanianism  to  be  less  political  and  separatist,  because 
the  two  greatest  reasons  for  the  political  character  of  the 
Pan-Turanian  movement  were  the  policy  of  Russifica- 
tion  followed  by  the  old  regime  and  the  prestige  of  Turkey 
and  because  these  two  factors  are  likely  to  remain  non- 
existent after  the  war. 

Passing  from  the  Russian  press  to  that  of  Turkey,  we 
find,  under  the  Young  Turks,  greater  variety  and  free- 
dom and  a  stronger  spirit  of  nationalism.  Of  the  dozen 
daily  Turkish  newspapers  appearing  in  Constantinople 
in  1914,  half  that  number  had  a  circulation  of  more  than 
eight  thousand,  the  highest  being  that  of  the  Sabah 
(Morning)  with  twenty  thousand.  Other  languages,  such 
as  Armenian,  Greek,  French,  and  German,  brought  the 
number  of  dailies  up  to  thirty.  Of  the  sixty  or  seventy 
periodicals  appearing  in  Constantinople  in  1914,  about 
thirty  were  Turkish.  In  the  same  year,  from  ninety  to 
one  hundred  newspapers  and  periodicals  made  their 
appearance  in  the  provinces;  the  number  printed  in 
Turkish  is  unknown,  but  was  perhaps  about  fifty,  many 
of  them  being  Government  publications.  The  number  of 
publications  in  Turkey  is  very  uncertain  and  constantly 
changing.  Even  in  times  of  peace,  many  of  them  have 
only  a  short  tenure  of  life.  Since  the  war  began,  the 
leading  papers  have  been  appearing  very  often  in  only 
two  pages  and  others  have  been  obliged  to  cease  publica- 
tion altogether. 

The  newspapers  that  I  have  seen,  especially  the  Tanin 
and  the  Ikdam,  are  up-to-date  in  their  news  service  and 
contain  leading  articles  that  would  do  credit  to  any 
paper,  though  the  point  of  view  is  by  no  means  always 
just  what  commends  itself  to  us.  I  have  examined  eight- 
een periodicals  in  the  Sultaniya  Library  in  Cairo  that 
were  published  in  Constantinople  in  the  summer  of  1914. 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  125 

Their  nature  and  range  may  be  indicated  by  the  following 
brief  notes  on  some  of  them,  the  translation  of  the  name 
sometimes  being  sufficient:  The  Review  of  Islam,  fort- 
nightly, in  simplified  Turkish,  progressive.  Young  Turk; 
The  Sufi  Journal,  weekly,  dealing  with  mysticism,  relig- 
ion, morals,  literature,  et  cetera;  Caricature,  a  weekly 
humorous  publication,  often  very  coarse;  National  De- 
fence, in  Turkish,  French,  and  German,  most  of  the  con- 
tributors being  Germans  and  Austrians ;  The  Young  Engi- 
neer; Mathematics;  Industry;  The  Clinic;  Journal  of  Agri- 
culture and  Commerce;  Review  of  the  Society  for  Ottoman 
History;  Educational  Review,  fortnightly,  excellent;  two 
or  three  general  weekly  reviews  of  the  American  Outlook 
or  Independent  type,  illustrated  and  containing  poetry 
and  plays;  two  very  fine  magazines  for  women.  The 
Ladies'  World  and  Prudence  (or  Modesty),  managed  by 
women  and  containing  pictures,  poetry,  plays,  and  prac- 
tical articles  on  such  subjects  as  the  care  of  children,  the 
nursing  of  the  sick,  and  the  care  of  the  home.  A  few 
other  magazines  and  many  newspapers  from  Constanti- 
nople are  also  to  be  found  in  the  Cairo  Library.  It  is 
significant  that  most  of  these  magazines  have  been 
founded  since  the  Revolution  in  Turkey,  and  many  of 
them  as  recently  as  1910  and  1912. 

For  political  considerations,  the  most  pronounced  Pan- 
Turanian  papers  and  magazines  are  not  to  be  found  in 
the  Cairo  Library.  One  of  these  is  the  Gihan-i-Islam 
{World  of  Islam),  published  weekly  at  Constantinople  in 
Turkish,  Arabic,  and  Hindustani,  eight  pages  for  each 
language.  It  is  strongly  Pan-Islamic  and  Germanophile, 
as  all  papers  in  Turkey  now  must  be  in  order  to  appear 
at  all.  Perhaps  the  most  famous  of  the  Pan-Turanian 
papers  is  the  Turk  Yurdu  {The  Turkish  Home,  or  Domain), 
founded  in  1911.  Its  motto  is,  '*For  the  welfare  of  the 
Turk."  It  is  Pan-Turanian,  not  merely  Ottoman,  in 
point  of  view.  Among  the  contributors  are  many  of  the 
Young  Turk  leaders  and  not  a  few  Tatars  and  other  Rus- 
sian Turks.  Though  many  of  the  Pan-Turanian  aims, 
methods,  and  statements  are  wild  and  fantastic,  we  must 
remember  that  such  a  movement,  in  view  of  what  has 


126  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

happened  in  other  countries  and  among  other  races,  is 
but  natural  and  is  likely  to  be  all  the  more  pronounced 
where  it  has  been  stifled  by  autocratic  and  despotic 
government,  as  it  was  in  Turkey  before  the  Revolution. 

The  Turkish  newspapers  and  periodicals,  in  Turkey  as 
well  as  in  Russia,  in  addition  to  revealing  the  birth  of 
strong  national  feeling,  show  the  remarkable  awakening 
and  progress  that  have  come  to  Turkish  women.  The 
number  of  magazines  for  women  and  of  women  writers^ 
their  increasing  education  and  entrance  into  the  work  of 
society  (for  there  are  now  Turkish  women  who  are  nurses, 
doctors,  teachers,  and,  in  Russia,  even  lawyers)  are  signs 
full  of  promise  for  the  future.  One  of  the  Constantinople 
women's  magazines  has  a  staff  of  twelve  women,  whose 
group  photograph  appeared  in  one  of  the  issues  a  few 
years  ago.  The  same  magazine  also  published  the  picture 
of  the  first  Turkish  woman  aviator.  Some  of  the  Young 
Turk  papers  are  anti-feminist,  but  the  large  majority  are 
"pro,"  and  many  number  women  among  their  contribu- 
tors. Before  the  war,  there  were  three  leading  societies 
for  women  in  Constantinople,  all  of  which  had  among 
their  members  able  writers,  teachers,  reformers,  and 
patriots.  In  1914,  250  women  attended  lectures  at  the 
University  of  Constantinople,  their  studies  being  chiefly 
Nursing,  Hygiene,  and  Domestic  Science.  Especially  in 
the  European  parts  of  Russia,  Tatar  women  are  active  in 
education,  attend  the  Universities  in  considerable  num- 
bers, and  are  beginning  to  enter  the  vocations  and  pro- 
fessions as  women  do  in  other  civilised  countries. 

When  we  contrast  the  present  position  of  women  with 
that  of  a  few  years  ago,  the  present  active  and  influential 
press  and  literature  with  the  almost  entire  absence  of  such 
in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  present  condition 
of  education  and  growing  enlightenment  with  the  igno- 
rance of  fifty  years  ago,  and  especially  the  recent  birth  and 
growth  of  national  sentiment  with  the  total  lack  of  it  a 
few  decades  ago,  we  must  marvel  that  so  much  has  been 
done  and  ought  to  be  moved  with  a  desire  to  help.  Before 
the  war,  some  of  the  leaders  of  Turkish  nationalism  aimed 
at  the   chimerical  plan   of  uniting  under  one  political 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  127 

sovereignty  all  the  Turkish  races  of  Russia  and  Turkey 
and  at  the  Ottomanisation  of  all  the  other  elements  in 
Turkey.  During  the  war,  goaded  on  by  their  German 
masters,  they  have  attempted  the  destruction  of  the  non- 
Turkish  elements  within  the  Empire.  But  it  would  be  a 
mistake  to  look  upon  nationalism  as  wrong  and  in  need 
of  stamping  out  by  force  of  conquest;  rather  it  is  for  the 
Christian  part  of  the  world  to  see  to  it  that  national 
spirit,  whether  in  Turkey  or  elsewhere,  is  brought  into 
subjection  to  the  ideals  and  practices  of  democracy  and 
Christianity.  If  this  can  ever  be  done,  the  horrors  that 
have  been  seen  in  Turkey  as  a  result  of  a  selfish  nation- 
alism will  never  be  repeated,  and  the  Turkish  national 
spirit,  like  the  national  spirit  of  America,  France,  and 
Britain,  which  is  so  largely  democratic  and  so  much 
imbued  with  the  influence  of  Christianity,  will  be  a  force 
for  righteousness  and  service  to  the  race.  In  any  case, 
the  duty  of  Christian  churches  and  people  is  plain  and 
their  opportunity  and  responsibility  great  beyond  meas- 
ure. 

Owing  to  the  former  Russian  prohibition  of  Protestant 
missions  and  to  the  exceeding  great  difficulties  in  the  way 
in  Turkey,  no  great  amount  of  mission  work  primarily 
intended  for  the  Turkish  peoples  has  yet  been  attempted. 
However,  a  very  good  beginning  has  been  made  in  the 
matter  of  Bible  translation,  but  other  Christian  literature 
is  not  very  plentiful.  In  Osmanli  Turkish,  so  far  as  I  can 
discover,  the  works  thus  far  published  are  the  Bible  and 
Scripture  portions,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  Mizan-ul-Haqq  {Balance  of  Truth),  tracts  by 
Dr.  Herrick  and  others  of  the  American  Mission  in  Tur- 
key, khutbas  by  the  Nile  Mission  Press  of  Cairo,  and 
various  publications  by  the  German  Orient  Mission  at 
Philippopolis,  Bulgaria,  written  by  a  converted  Turk.  This 
same  Turk  spent  five  years  in  Turkestan  and  translated 
the  New  Testament  into  the  classic  Turkish  of  Kashghar. 
The  Scriptures  have  also  been  translated  into  Azerbaijan 
Turkish  and  distributed  by  the  Swedish  Mission  of  Tiflis 
and  the  Presbyterian  Mission  in  northern  Persia.  Before 
the  Lucknow  Conference,  nine  thousand  Bibles  were  said 


128  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

to  have  been  distributed  to  Ottoman  Turks.  Great 
numbers  of  books  and  pamphlets  have  been  printed  in 
Turkey  for  Turkish-speaking  Armenians.  Unfortunately, 
these  are  in  Armenian  characters,  and  so  are  of  no  use  in 
work  among  Turks. 

Most  of  the  translation  work  and  production  of  Chris- 
tian literature  for  the  Turko-Tatars  of  Russia  has  been 
done  by  the  celebrated  Orientalist,  Ilminski  (died  Dec. 
27,  1891),  and  his  friends  and  successors.  He  used  a 
modification  of  the  Russian  alphabet  for  the  languages 
that  are  customarily  written  in  Arabic  characters.  His 
work  has  been  successful  in  preventing  the  spread  of 
Moslem  proselytising  among  the  aboriginal  races  of  Russia 
rather  than  in  the  conversion  of  Moslems  themselves. 
During  the  thirty  years  of  his  activity,  he  was  responsible 
for  the  production  of  177  different  works.  From  the  time 
of  his  death  until  1910,  according  to  an  article  on  the 
Moslems  in  Russia  in  the  first  number  of  The  Moslem 
World,  the  Translations  Committee,  which  continued 
his  work,  had  brought  the  total  of  works  produced  up  to 
850  or  900.  The  chief  languages  in  which  these  works 
were  printed  are  Chuvash  with  249,  Tatar  with  168, 
Cheremis  with  84,  Votiak  with  64,  Kirghiz  with  39,  Rus- 
sian with  34,  and  Mordva  with  23;  there  were  also  a  few 
productions  in  such  languages  as  Altai,  Buryat,  Yakut, 
and  Bashkir.  The  whole  Bible  by  1910  had  been  trans- 
lated into  Tatar,  Bashkir,  Cheremise,  Votiak,  Yakut  and 
Mordva;  there  were  also  Scripture  portions  in  the  same 
languages.  In  the  other  languages  only  parts  of  the  Bible 
had  been  published.  Other  than  Scripture  the  publica- 
tions included  Prayer  Books,  parts  of  the  Church  service, 
tracts  and  religious  books,  school  books,  and  elementary 
treatises  on  agriculture,  history,  hygiene,  etc.  Other 
agencies  have  also  helped  in  the  translation  of  Scripture 
into  some  of  the  minor  dialects  of  Russia. 

All  this  translation  and  linguistic  work  has  been  done 
under  the  Russian  Church.  In  1908,  this  Church  had  in 
all  400  missionaries  in  124  districts  and  700  schools.  Since 
its  work  is  largely  among  the  aboriginal  races,  it  comes 
into  contact  with  Islam.    Not  many  Moslems,  however, — 


THE  TURKISH  RACES  129 

an  average  of  only  ten  or  fifteen  a  year  since  1897, — have 
been  converted;  on  the  other  hand,  Islam  in  that  time 
has  gained  some  fifty  thousand  converts  from  the  aborig- 
inal tribes,  and  is  an  organised,  energetic,  missionary 
force. 

If  Protestant  missionaries  are  admitted  into  Russia  and 
real  religious  liberty  comes  both  there  and  in  Turkey,  we 
may  hope  to  see  some  such  results  among  Moslems  as  we 
have  already  seen  in  India  and  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 
As  an  indication  of  what  may  happen  in  Turkey  if  real 
religious  liberty  comes  there,  we  should  remember  the 
success  of  the  early  workers  in  Constantinople  when 
religious  liberty  was  supposed  to  exist  for  a  time.  Be- 
tween 1858  and  1864  fifteen  or  twenty  Turks  were  bap- 
tised and  the  work  seemed  to  promise  well.  Then  the 
Government  seized  Christian  books,  closed  the  shops, 
drove  the  missionaries  from  their  houses,  and  persecuted 
the  converts.  Thereafter  the  work  was  of  little  avail,  and 
so  most  missionary  work  has  since  been  carried  on  among 
the  nominally  Christian  races  of  the  Empire.  Yet  count- 
less Turks  have  been  reached  by  the  schools,  the  hospitals, 
the  relief  work,  and  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures; 
but  more  important  has  been  their  personal  contact  with 
the  missionaries  themselves.  Yet  lack  of  genuine  relig- 
ious liberty  and  fear  of  death  have  prevented  all  but  a 
very  few  from  taking  upon  themselves  the  name  of 
Christian. 

At  the  present  time,  the  political  future  of  Turkey  is 
uncertain  and  the  condition  of  Russia  is  unsettled.  But 
whatever  happens,  the  people  and  their  language  will 
remain  and  the  need  and  opportunity  for  Christian  work 
will  be  greater  than  ever,  whether  it  be  in  the  individual, 
or  the  community,  or  the  race,  the  groping  after  reform 
and  civilisation  will  have  been  in  vain  unless  both  indi- 
viduals and  the  nation  attain  or  strive  to  attain  in  thought, 
ideals,  and  practice  that  which  is  at  the  heart  of  true 
democracy  and  civilisation, — the  life  and  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  All  this  is  equally  true  of  the  hosts  of  Russia, 
Moslems  and  non-Moslems  alike.  And  if  the  future  of 
the  Turkish  peoples  and  their  neighbors  is  to  be  free  from 


130  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

bitterness  and  strife  and  if  it  is  to  show  forth  their  un- 
reaHsed  potentiaUties  for  good,  they  must  come  in  time 
to  be  dominated  by  the  force  of  the  master  personahty  of 
the  universe. 

The  duty,  then,  of  the  Christian  Churches  and  peoples 
of  America,  Britain,  and  the  rest  of  the  world  is  clear.  As 
early  as  possible,  accurate  information  concerning  all  the 
Turkish  peoples,  places,  conditions,  and  problems  should 
be  obtained,  a  great  conference  such  as  that  at  Panama 
should  be  held,  and  plans  should  be  made  for  the  occupa- 
tion in  force  of  all  strategic  centres  by  well-equipped 
medical,  evangelistic,  educational,  and  industrial  workers. 
The  need  and  the  opportunity  will  be  beyond  measure; 
our  faith,  daring,  and  activity  must  be  no  less  and  must 
be  worthy  of  Him  from  Whom  we  have  received  our  com- 
mission and  Whom  we  serve. 

Isaac  N.  Camp. 

Cairo,  July  1917. 

Bibliography  of  Sources  Used  in  Preparation 

1.  Revue  du  Monde  Musulman.     Especially  for  articles  on  Pan- 
Turanianism,  The  Press,  and  Moslems  in  Russia. 

2.  Der  Islam.    Articles  on  the  press,  book  reviews,  and  information 
on  folklore  and  the  literature  of  the  people. 

3.  Die  Welt  des  Islams.    Articles  on  the  press  in  Turkey,  the  reform 

movement  among  women,  and  education. 

4.  The  Moslem  World.    Especially  the  article  in  the  first  number 

(Jan.,  1911)  on  Moslems  in  Russia. 

5.  "Encyclopaedia   Britannica.'*     Articles  on   Russia,   Turkestan, 
Turkey,  Turkish  Languages  and  Races,  Statistics,  etc. 

6.  "Statesman's  Year  Book.'*    Statistics. 

7.  "World  Statistics  of  Christian  Missions."     Work  of  Orthodox 
Church. 

8.  "World  Atlas  of  Christian  Missions."    Work  of  Orthodox  Church. 

9.  Stephen  Graham,  "Through  Russian  Central  Asia." 

10.  Huntington,  "The  Pulse  of  Asia." 

11.  Vambery,  "Western  Culture  in  Eastern  Lands." 

13.  Richter,  "History  of  Protestant  Missions  in  the  Near  East." 

14.  Reports  of  Bible  Societies  and  American  Board. 

15.  Various  Turkish  newspapers  and  magazines. 


THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  MISSION  TO 
AFGHANISTAN 


The  pioneer  missionaries  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church  began  their  work  at  Lodiana,  which  was  the  north- 
western station  of  the  British  East  Indian  Company's 
possessions  in  India.  Here  was  located  the  army  with 
its  cantonment  and  the  Pohtical  agent.  Here  too  were 
resident  the  Afghan  refugees,  the  bhnd  king  Zaman  Shah 
with  a  considerable  number  of  his  relatives.  Here  too 
was  Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  another  Princely  refugee. 

It  was  natural  that  the  missionaries  should  have  their 
minds  directed  toward  Afghanistan  as  a  Muslim  land  soon 
to  be  opened  up  to  evangelistic  effort.  When,  later  on 
(1837),  the  English  Government  in  India,  with  their 
Sikh  neighbors,  formed  an  expedition  to  invade  Afghan- 
istan and  to  restore  to  his  throne  Shah  Shuja,  the  way 
seemed  to  be  open.  Accordingly  a  colporteur  was  sent 
along  with  the  army  with  a  supply  of  scriptures  in  the 
Persian  language,  the  court  language  in  Cabul.  The 
colporteur  was  promptly  arrested  and  deported  and  his 
scriptures  distributed  among  the  Ameers  for  safe  keeping. 
The  Gospel  being  a  sacred  book  it  was  not  thought  right 
to  destroy  it,  and  yet  it  would  not  do  to  allow  it  to  be  read 
by  the  common  people.  Soon  after  the  close  of  that  un- 
fortunate war,  a  proposal  was  made  by  Major  Couran  of 
the  English  army  to  the  American  missionaries  to  estab- 
lish a  mission  in  Afghanistan.  The  way  for  this  had  been 
opened  by  the  conquest  of  the  Punjab  and  the  occupation 
of  Peshawur,  the  city  which  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Khaibur  Pass.  Major  Couran  offered  £5000  to  meet  the 
initial  expense  of  the  mission.  After  much  correspond- 
ence with  the  Board  of  Missions  in  New  York,  a  mission- 
ary was  sent  out  as  the  pioneer  of  this  mission  to  the 
Afghans. 

This  missionary  was  a  remarkable  man,  the  Rev.  Isidor 

isi 


132  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Loewenthal,  a  convert  from  Judaism,  a  profound  scholar, 
a  master  of  the  classical  languages  of  Europe  as  well  as  of 
Hebrew  and  its  cognate  languages  Arabic  and  Chaldee. 
The  mission  had  arranged  for  Mr.  Loewenthal  to  begin 
his  work  of  language  study  at  Rawul  Pindi,  where  he 
undertook  the  study  of  Persian  and  Urdu.  As  soon  as 
a  suitable  house  could  be  secured  in  Peshawur,  he  went 
there  with  a  view  to  learning  the  vernacular  Pashtu,  the 
ordinary  language  of  the  people,  and  also  to  determine 
upon  the  place  he  would  occupy  in  Afghanistan. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Church  Missionary  Society  had 
also  undertaken  missionary  work  at  Peshawur  with  special 
purpose  of  entering  into  Afghanistan.  Accordingly  Colo- 
nel Martin  of  the  Church  of  England  Mission  at  Pesha- 
wur wrote  to  Mr.  Loewenthal  inviting  him  to  join  hands 
with  them  in  the  prosecution  of  their  common  work  "so 
far  as  his  relations  to  the  Mission  and  his  own  views  of 
duty  would  warrant"  with  the  understanding  that  he 
should  regard  Peshawur  as  a  station  of  his  mission  and 
that  he  should  be  free  to  leave  the  plains  for  the  cooler 
climate  of  the  mountains  in  the  hot  weather;  Mr.  Loe- 
wenthal co-operated  with  the  Church  Mission,  especially 
in  the  work  of  Bible  translation. 

Some  effort  had  been  made  in  the  way  of  producing  a 
translation  of  portions  of  the  Bible  into  the  Pashtu  lan- 
guage by  Dr.  Leyden,  Professor  of  the  Hindustani  lan- 
guage in  the  College  of  Fort  William,  Calcutta.  In  1811 
he  had  finished  a  translation  of  the  Gospels  of  St.  Matthew 
and  St.  Mark,  but  his  death  brought  this  work  to  a  close. 
The  Baptist  missionaries  at  Serampore  then  took  up  the 
work.  They  employed  the  Indian  translators,  who  had 
worked  for  Dr.  Leyden.  They  completed  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  which  was  printed  at  Serampore  in 
1818,  of  1000  copies  printed,  the  bulk  remained  in  the 
depository  at  Serampore ;  a  few  copies  found  their  way  into 
European  libraries;  and  some  doubtless  reached  Afghan- 
istan through  the  Lohani  merchants.  The  American 
missionaries  at  Lodiana  undertook  to  distribute  some  of 
these.  The  Peshawur  missionaries  were  unable  to  make 
much  use  of  this  version  because  of  numerous  mistrans- 


AMERICAN  MISSION  TO  AFGHANISTAN  133 

lations  and  serious  errors.  The  Rev.  Robert  Clark  of  the 
Peshawur  Mission  sent  eleven  chapters  of  St.  John  to  be 
lithographed  at  the  Agra  Orphan  Press,  and  with  it  Cap- 
tain H.  James'  translation  of  St.  Luke;  but  both  of  these 
MSS.  disappeared  in  the  general  wreck  of  the  Agra  Press 
during  the  Mutiny. 

The  Serampore  missionaries  printed  the  Pentateuch  in 
Pashtu  in  18^1  and  in  1832  they  issued  an  edition  of  the 
Historical  books,  1000  each.  Excepting  a  few  copies  in 
European  libraries  there  seems  to  be  no  trace  of  these 
books  anywhere.  These  facts,  however,  illustrate  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  new  mission  to  the  Afghans. 
The  question  arose  whether  it  were  worth  while  to  pro- 
duce a  new  version  of  the  Bible  in  Pashtu.  Some  mis- 
sionaries thought  that  the  Persian  language  would  be  the 
best  medium  by  which  the  literate  people  of  Afghanistan 
might  be  reached.  Mr.  Loewenthal's  investigation  led 
him  to  an  entirely  different  conclusion.  He  discovered 
the  existence  of  an  extensive  literature  in  the  vernacular 
(Pashtu),  "consisting  not  only  of  original  compositions, 
but  also  numerous  translations  of  various  popular  Persian 
and  Arabic  authors."  He  also  made  known  the  fact  that 
at  that  time  nearly  all  the  women  were  able  to  read  Pashtu, 
and  Pashtu  only.  The  need  of  a  vernacular  version  of 
the  scriptures  was  therefore  very  evident. 

A  serious  difficulty  had  now  to  be  faced.  The  ver- 
naculars of  Afghanistan  differ  greatly,  so  that  a  man  who 
speaks  Pashtu  in  one  quarter  can  hardly  understand  the 
people  in  another.  For  this  reason  it  was  most  important 
that  the  translation  of  the  Bible  should  be  made  in  that 
dialect  which  could  be  used  by  at  least  a  considerable 
number  of  people.  Mr.  Loewenthal  constantly  yearned 
for  an  opportunity  to  travel  in  Afghanistan.  He  made 
earnest  appeals  to  his  mission  for  permission  to  undertake 
such  a  journey,  but  the  permission  was  refused.  He, 
however,  set  himself  to  learn  the  language  and  became 
proficient  in  its  use.  He  then  undertook  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  from  the  original  Greek  in  which 
he  was  an  adept.  In  this  work  he  was  in  no  way  hindered 
by  the  Sepoy  rebellion.     He  preached  in  the  bazars  of 


134  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Peshawur  and  sometimes  visited  villages  in  the  regions 
nearby.  Mr.  Loewenthal  had  made  a  study  of  the  prob- 
lems which  confronted  the  men  who  would  evangelize 
the  Muslims  of  Afghanistan.  I  shall  here  quote  a  pas- 
sage from  one  of  his  reports  dealing  with  this  subject. 

"He  who  would  undertake  the  glorious  task  of  giving 
the  Afghans  the  beginning  of  a  real  literature,  of  a  Chris- 
tian literature,  who  would  undertake  to  translate  the 
Bible  for  them,  would  first  have  to  ascertain  the  most 
prevalent,  the  purest,  intrinsically  and  extrinsically  the 
most  worthy,  the  best  understood  dialect,  and  not  rest 
satisfied  with  translating  into  the  language  of  the  frontier. 
Frontier  dialects  are  always  mongrel  and  inferior.  ''An 
additional  task  will  be  his,  who  shall  endeavor  to  bring 
the  Afghans  to  Christ,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
religious  treatises  or  tracts.  He  will  probably  find  it 
highly  advisable,  if  not  actually  necessary,  to  compose 
them  in  the  form  of  verse  and  rhyme.  There  seems  to  be 
a  period  in  the  history  of  every  nation,  when  prose  cannot 
live,  when  the  distinction  between  prose  and  poetry  is  un- 
known, and  the  instructors  of  a  people  can  only  speak  to 
them  in  measured  language;  when  prose  to  them  is  prosy 
and  rhyme  reason.  So  it  is  with  the  Afghans  of  this  day: 
there  are  prose  works  in  their  language,  historical  and 
religious,  but  while  these  are  merely  read  by  some  learned 
men  here  and  there,  the  works  in  verse  are  extremely 
popular  among  all  classes,  and  are  recited  and  sung  on 
roads  and  streets  by  old  and  young." 

''Viewing  the  peculiar  natm*e  of  this  enterprise  it  is 
impossible  to  resist  the  conviction  how  entirely  the  work 
of  missions  is  the  work  of  the  Lord.  He  must  appoint  the 
men  for  it;  He  must  endue  them  with  the  needed  quali- 
fications; and  He  must  open  the  door  of  faith." 

"The  peculiar  nature  of  the  difficulties  with  which  this 
mission  for  some  time  to  come  will  have  to  contend,  ap- 
pears to  demand  two  men  at  least,  of  robust  health  and 
strong  constitution;  health  and  constitution  that  have 
been  tried  and  found  full  weight;  with  mind  not  dried  up 
in  the  study  and  spirits  not  evaporated  by  high  pressure; 
let  the  system  be  but  sound,  and  the  theology  need  not  be 


AMERICAN  MISSION  TO  AFGHANISTAN  135 

so  profound.  They  must  be  able  to  stand  the  scorching 
sun  and  the  stifling  simoon,  as  well  as  intense  cold;  they 
must  be  able  to  make  daily  marches  of  from  25  to  30 
miles  either  on  foot  or  on  camels,  as  water  is  scarce;  and 
they  could  not  well  travel  except  with  caravans  of  mer- 
chants, who  do  not  make  such  long  marches;  they  must 
be  willing  to  live  for  weeks  with  no  other  protection  from 
atmospheric  influences  but  the  canvas  walls  and  roof  of 
their  tents;  they  must  be  willing  to  forego  that  prime 
luxury  of  Christian  civilization  cleanliness,  and  not  wash 
more  than  once  a  week,  nor  be  of  a  sanguinary  disposition 
towards  the  lower  orders  of  creation;  for  nothing  alienates 
an  Afghan  so  much,  nothing  seems  to  make  him  more 
inaccessible,  than  customs  different  from  his  own,  es- 
pecially if  they  be  harmless,  or  still  more,  if  they  be  good 
and  useful.  Let  them  be  able  to  handle  a  gun,  for  often 
their  dinner  will  depend  upon  their  skill  as  sportsmen;  and 
an  Afghan  respects  an  armed  man  much  more  than  an 
unarmed  one.  Let  them  possess  some  knowledge  of 
medicine  and  carry  with  them  a  good  supply  of  the  com- 
monest remedies.  And  flnally,  to  their  love  of  souls  and 
zeal  for  God,  they  must  add  an  entire  willingness  to  lay 
down  their  lives ;  and  that  not  merely  in  that  general  sense 
in  which  missionaries  are  said  to  go  forth  with  their  lives 
in  their  hands;  for  having  once  left  the  British  territory, 
surrounded  as  they  then  will  be  by  political  fanatics, 
religious  zealots,  and  the  most  blood-thirsty  robbers,  the 
likelihood,  humanly  speaking,  is  small  of  their  ever  seeing 
their  friends  again." 

These  words  set  forth  the  ideal  of  the  man  whom 
Loewenthal  set  before  himself.  He  had  deliberately 
entered  upon  the  mission  of  a  dangerous  service,  more  than 
once  he  sought  permission  to  go  beyond  the  border  line. 
His  visits  to  the  Peshawur  Bazar  and  the  near  by  villages 
were  always  made  in  peril  of  his  life.  More  than  one 
European  fell  a  victim  to  the  fanatic's  knife. 

The  brilliant  career  of  this  devoted  man  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  close  on  the  27th  of  April  1864.  Mr.  Loe- 
wenthal suffered  from  excruciating  pains  in  his  head  and 
frequently  sought  relief  by  walking  in  the  veranda  of  his 


136  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

house,  or  in  the  garden  outside.  On  the  night  of  his 
death  he  was  thus  engaged,  when  he  was  shot  down  by 
his  Afghan  watchman.  His  death  was  instantaneous. 
No  one  knew  why  the  deed  was  done,  save  the  watchman, 
who  reported  the  deed  saying  he  had  mistaken  his  master 
for  a  thief.  The  man  was  given  the  benefit  of  a  doubt 
and  escaped  punishment. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Loewenthal  led  the  American  Mis- 
sionaries to  abandon  their  mission  to  the  Afghans.  The 
Church  Missionary  Society,  with  which  he  had  co-op- 
erated continued  the  work.  Mr.  Loewenthal's  manu- 
scripts and  much  of  his  hbrary  were  made  over  to  the  mis- 
sionaries of  Peshawur.  His  Uterary  work  culminating  in 
the  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  Pashtu,  remain 
as  a  memorial  to  his  service  in  the  Army  of  the  Lord. 
"He  being  dead  yet  speaketh." 

His  fellow  missionaries  erected  a  memorial  tablet  over 
his  tomb  which  bears  the  following  inscription : 

ERECTED 

To  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Isidor  Loewenthal,  mission- 
ary of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  who  translated 
the  New  Testament  into  Pashtu  and  was  shot  by  his 
chaukedar  April  £7th  1864. 

"I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the 
Power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 
Rom.  1: 16. 

E.  M.  Wherry. 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  GRAVE  OF  AL  GHAZZALI 


Professor  Macdonald  of  Hartford  characterizes  Mo- 
hammed Al  GhazzaU  as  the  greatest  Mohammedan 
theologian.  Professor  Browne  says,  ''He  did  more  than 
any  one  else  to  bring  an  end  to  the  reign  of  philosophy 
in  Islam,  and  to  set  up  in  its  stead  a  devotional  mysticism 
which  is  at  once  the  highest  expression  and  the  clearest 
limitation  of  the  orthodox  Mohammedan  doctrine."  Ac- 
cording to  the  Kitab  al  Shams  (the  Book  of  the  Sun),  the 
Persian  authority  that  I  have  at  hand,  ''Mohammed  ibn 
Mohammed  ibn  Mohammed  ibn  Ahmad  Al  Ghazzali, 
an  Asharite,  a  Shafi'ite,  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of 
the  world.  He  was  the  author  of  remarkable  books  and 
scholarly  treatises," 

Nevertheless,  after  nearly  two  years  residence  in 
Meshed,  which  lies  only  sixteen  miles  from  ancient  Tus, 
the  birthplace  of  Al  Ghazzali,  I  am  willing  to  hazard  the 
statement  that  it  is  easier  to  get  an  intelligent  answer 
from  Mohammedans  round  about  Meshed  concerning  the 
life  and  work  of  the  apostle  Paul  than  it  is  to  get  a  corre- 
spondingly accurate  answer  concerning  the  teachings  or 
achievements  of  Al  Ghazzali.  The  reason  is  that  Al 
Ghazzali  has  been  forgotten.  His  books  were  written  in 
Arabic  and  are  read  here  by  a  very  narrow  circle.  I  have 
before  me  a  list  of  eighty-five  of  his  works  that  have  been 
collected  in  Cairo,  but  as  far  as  I  can  learn  by  investiga- 
tion here,  none  of  them  are  now  available  in  Persian, 
whereas  in  the  course  of  this  article  I  hope  to  show  how 
it  is  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  fanatical  Mohammedan 
province  of  Khorasan  have  acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  to  know  something  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

After  a  brilliant  literary  career  that  took  him  among 
the  most  learned  and  influential  circles  of  Baghdad  and 
Nishapur,  Mecca,  Jerusalem  and  Damascus,  Al  Ghazzali 
returned  to  Tus,  where  he  carried  on  his  writing  until  he 

137 


138  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

died  in  1111  A.D.,  so  it  is  about  806  years  since  his  tomb- 
stone was  laid  in  Tus. 

In  connection  with  village  itinerating  in  the  vicinity  of 
Meshed  it  was  my  privilege  to  visit  the  ruins  of  Tus  and 
to  find  and  identify  the  tombstone  of  Mohammed  Al 
Ghazzali.  In  the  words  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Frazer,  who  made 
this  trip  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  "on  the  way  from 
Meshed,  we  passed  the  large  village  of  Khoshmaitee 
about  half  way."  But  instead  of  passing  this  village  we 
stopped  there  for  a  night,  and  preached  and  sold  five 
copies  of  Scripture.  The  next  morning,  as  we  approached 
Tus,  we  saw  the  ruins  of  its  mud  walls  in  the  distance,  and 
our  caravan  slowly  wended  its  way  toward  them.  These 
walls  enclose  an  area  about  one  mile  square.  On  the  site 
of  the  old  city  we  saw  sheep  and  camels  grazing  and  oxen 
pulling  the  plough. 

In  investigating  what  remains  of  the  ancient  ruins  we 
walked  through  one  of  the  holes  in  the  Northeast  wall  and 
went  straight  for  the  fort,  the  commanding  position  of 
which  had  attracted  our  attention.  We  found  it  sur- 
rounded on  all  four  sides  by  a  moat  and  a  wall.  A  large 
courtyard  lies  within,  and  in  this  courtyard  were  growing 
the  best  watermelons  we  have  eaten  in  Persia  and  Khar- 
buseh  (a  variety  of  canteloupe)  of  no  mean  quality.  The 
walls  of  the  fort  proper  are  now  standing  in  four  gigantic 
corner-fragments  of  a  fortification  that  once  afforded  con- 
siderable protection.  The  enclosed  area  is  forty  yards 
square,  but  there  is  a  protruding  circular  tower  at  each 
of  the  four  corners.  In  the  midst  of  the  debris  of  bricks 
within  these  old  walls,  we  found  interesting  fragments  of 
pottery  and  felt  keenly  the  desire  to  see  what  pick  or 
shovel  and  patience  might  reveal  concerning  this  ancient 
city,  that  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Arabs  in  650  A.D. 
and  was  destroyed  in  the  Mongol  invasion  of  1220  A.D. 

Beyond  the  western  wall  of  the  fort  was  a  second  pro- 
tected courtyard.  This  we  passed  as  we  went  to  the  large 
bridge  that  lies  outside  the  southwest  gate.  The  stream 
that  it  spans  is  called  the  Kashaf  Rud  and  flows  into  the 
Hari  Rud  of  Afghanistan.  This  bridge  is  on  a  caravan 
road  that  continues  its  course  diagonally  across  the  city. 


A  VISIT  TO  THE   GRAVE  OF  AL  GHAZZALI       139 

Alongside  the  main  road,  which  is  still  in  use,  is  the 
most  outstanding  feature  of  the  present  ruined  city,  the 
old  shrine.  According  to  the  Kitab  al  Shams,  this  shrine 
was  built  originally  by  Jamshid,  the  most  famous  of  the 
legendary  monarchs  of  Persia,  the  same  Jamshid  who  is 
credited  with  the  building  of  Persepolis,  the  introduction 
of  the  solar  year,  and  the  accidental  discovery  of  wine. 
Later  the  shrine  of  Tus  was  rebuilt  by  Nasr,  the  governor 
of  Khorasan  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  A.D. 

When  we  reached  the  shrine  and  entered  it,  we  sur- 
prised a  band  of  grave  robbers,  who  had  opened  the  two 
graves  within,  which  were  marked  by  large  gravestones. 
They  found  nothing  but  bones  whereas  they  had  hoped 
for  treasure. 

But  where  was  the  tomb  of  Ghazzali.^^  The  villagers 
could  tell  us  nothing.  The  two  tombstones  inside  the 
shrine  were  inscribed  with  other  and  more  recent  names. 
We  located  another  grave  north  of  the  city,  marked  with 
a  large  stone,  but  it  also  was  too  recent  by  several  cen- 
turies. At  last,  however,  we  found  that  one  of  them  was 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  a  Ghazzali  who  was  called 
Abu  Hamid.  A  hasty  and  unsuccessful  effort  appears  to 
have  been  made  to  cut  off  the  part  of  the  stone  which 
bears  Ghazzali 's  name.  This  happened  approximately 
five  hundred  years  later,  when  the  stone  was  used  to  mark 
the  grave  of  a  certain  Hadji  Mohammed  who  died  1007 
A.H. 

The  evidence  on  the  tombstone  as  to  the  spelling  of  the 
name  of  the  great  theologian  and  mystic  is  that  it  should 
be  spelled  Ghazzali  rather  than  Ghazali.  The  tashdeed 
is  clearly  seen  on  the  rubbing. 

To  many  of  the  readers  of  The  Moslem  World  the 
interesting  facts  concerning  the  history  of  Tus  and  the 
biography  of  Al  Ghazzali  are  accessible  in  Professor  Jack- 
son's *'From  Constantinople  to  the  Home  of  Omar 
Khayyam,"  in  Sykes  "History  of  Persia,"  or  Macdon- 
ald's  article  on  Ghazzali  in  the  new  Encyclopedia  of  Islam. 
The  best  modern  Persian  authority  is  the  Kitab  al  Shams 
by  Mohammed  Hasan  Khan. 

The  particular   observation  I   wish   to   make   in  this 


140  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

article  is  that  while  the  books  of  Ghazzali  are  being  for- 
gotten by  the  Shiah  Mohammedans  the  Bible  is  being 
sold  widely  in  Eastern  Persia. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the  American  Pres- 
byterian Mission  in  Khorasan,  with  the  sacred  city  of 
Meshed  as  a  base,  24,363  copies  of  Scripture  have  been 
sold.  On  tours  throughout  the  province  during  the  past 
year  the  sales  amounted  to  1,630  copies. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  new  mission  hospital  in  Meshed 
less  than  two  years  ago,  7,208  Scriptures  have  been  sold 
to  the  patients  and  their  friends  by  the  missionaries  in 
charge  of  evangelistic  work  in  the  waiting  rooms,  and 
during  the  last  year  1,795  copies  have  been  sold  directly 
into  Afghanistan. 

DwiGHT  M.  Donaldson. 

Meshed,  Persia. 


THE  BAB   IL  METAWALLI 


Saint  worship  has  long  held  a  prominent  place  in  the 
heart  of  popular  Islam,  being  practised  in  many  different 
forms  and  places,  as  those  resident  or  travelling  in  Moslem 
countries  can  testify  from  even  superficial  observation. 
It  is,  however,  only  the  missionary  with  his  closer  knowl- 
edge of  Moslem  thought  who  realises  to  what  an  extent 
this  worship  of  saints  extends  and  how  it  practically 
affects  the  life  of  the  people. 

It  is  rather  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  precise  Moslem 
idea  of  the  power  of  departed  and  existing  saints,  to  be 
invoked  either  as  intercessors  for  the  faithful  with  the 
Almighty  and  all-Transcendent  Allah,  or  by  virtue  of 
their  saintliness  and  reputation,  having  in  themselves 
inherent  power  to  help  all  who  call  upon  them. 

A  famous  modern  authority  on  Islam  says,*  ''the  de- 
vout Moslem  believes  .  .  .  that  there  is  a  great 
invisible  organisation  of  saints,  a  kind  of  spiritual  board 
of  administration,  which  under  Allah  is  managing  the 
affairs  of  the  world.  That  board  has  a  head  which  is 
called  the  Qutb  or  axis.  He  is  supposed  to  be  the  greatest 
saint  of  his  time,  and  he  lives  generally  invisible.  There 
are  certain  places  in  the  Moslem  world  that  he  peculiarly 
haunts  and  these  places  are  visited  by  those  who  would 
pray  to  him  and  ask  his  intercession."  One  of  the  most 
famous  of  these  dwelling  places  is  the  subject  of  the  pres- 
ent article  and  one  of  the  chief  gates  in  the  ancient  wall 
of  the  city  of  Cairo. 

These  saints  of  Islam  are  a  class  of  person  superior  to 
human  beings  and  endued  with  extraordinary  faith  and 
the  power  of  working  miracles  according  to  their  degree 
of  faith.  Their  existence  is  vouched  for  on  the  following 
passage  from  the  Koran — "Verily,  on  the  favourites  of 

*  Aspects  of  Islam.     Macdonald.     p.  204. 
3  141 


142  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

God  no  fear  shall  come,  nor  shall  they  grieve"  *  and  the 
name  "Wali"  (pi.  awHya)  means  friend  or  favourite  and 
is  the  name  by  which  a  saint  is  popularly  designated. 

Of  those  already  departed  particular  veneration  is  paid 
to  their  tombs  and  special  days  set  apart  in  the  Moslem 
Calendar  called  Mulids,  when  the  pious  visit  the  tombs, 
bringing  offerings  and  sometimes  flowers  and  palm  leaves 
with  which  to  decorate  them.  In  some  cases  zikrs  are 
held  by  the  dervishes  of  the  particular  fraternity  to  which 
the  wali  belonged,  the  Koran  is  recited  and  prayers  are 
repeated  and  the  visitors  return  home  firmly  convinced 
of  having  benefited  much  thereby. f 

The  writer  of  this  article  once  came  across  the  tomb  of 
a  certain  Wali  called  Sheikh  ^Ytinus,  outside  the  wall  of 
the  old  city  of  Cairo,  and  which  is  regularly  visited  by 
women  on  Fridays  in  the  hope  of  being  cured  of  disease. 
The  visit  did  not  consist  in  more  than  sitting  round  the 
tomb  for  an  hour  or  so,  and  those  who  were  suJBficiently 
enlightened  reciting  prayers  and  portions  of  the  Koran. 

The  office  of  Qutb  or  chief  of  the  saintly  hierarchy  is 
usually  held  by  some  one  eligible  to  such  an  exalted  posi- 
tion by  his  sanctity  of  life  but  unknown  to  the  world.  He 
has  various  dwelling  places,  the  chief  of  these  being  the 

*  Sura  10.63. 

t  "The  tombs  and  cenotaphs  or  shrines  of  saints  are  visited  by  numerous  persons, 
and  on  frequent  occasions;  most  commonly  on  a  particular  day  of  the  week.  The 
object  of  the  visitor,  in  general,  is  to  perform  some  meritorious  act,  such  as  taking  bread 
or  other  food,  or  money,  for  the  poor  or  distributing  water  to  the  thirsty,  on  account 
of  the  saint  to  increase  his  rewards  in  heaven,  and  at  the  same  time  to  draw  down  a 
blessing  on  himself;  or  to  perform  a  sacrifice  of  a  sheep,  goat,  calf,  or  other  animal, 
which  he  has  vowed  to  offer,  if  blessed  with  some  specific  object  of  desire,  or  to  obtain 
general  blessings;  or  to  implore  the  saint's  intercession  in  some  case  of  need.  The  flesh 
of  the  devoted  animal  is  given  to  the  poor.  The  visitors  also  often  take  with  them 
palm-branches,  or  sprigs  of  myrtle,  or  roses  or  other  flowers,  to  lay  upon  the  monu- 
ment, as  they  do  when  they  visit  the  tombs  of  their  relations.  The  visitor  walks  round 
the  monument  or  its  enclosure,  from  left  to  right,  or  with  his  left  side  towards  it  (as 
the  pilgrims  do  round  the  Kaaba)  sometimes  pausing  to  touch  its  four  angles  or  corners 
with  his  right  hand,  which  he  then  kisses;  and  recites  the  opening  chapter  of  the  Koran 
(the  Fatha)  standing  before  one  or  each  of  its  four  sides.  Some  visitors  repeat  the 
chapter  of  Ya-seen  also  or  employ  a  person  to  recite  this,  or  even  the  whole  Koran  for 
hire.  The  reciter  afterwards  declares  that  he  transfers  the  merit  of  this  work  to  the 
soul  of  the  deceased  saint.  Any  private  petition  the  visitor  offers  up  on  his  own  ac- 
count, imploring  a  favourable  answer  for  the  sake  of  the  saint,  or  through  his  inter- 
cession; holding  his  hands  before  his  face  like  an  open  book,  and  then  drawing  them 
down  his  face.  Many  a  visitor  on  entering  the  tomb,  kisses  the  threshold,  or  touches 
it  with  his  right  hand  which  he  then  kisses;  and  on  passing  by  it,  persons  often  touch 
the  window,  and  then  kiss  the  hand  thus  honoured." 


THE  BAB  IL  METAWALLI  148 

roof  of  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca,  where  he  is  supposed  to  give 
out  the  call  to  prayer  at  midnight — *'0  Thou  most  merci- 
ful of  those  who  show  mercy,"  which  cry  is  taken  up  and 
repeated  by  the  muezzins  of  the  mosques.  His  next  most 
favourite  abiding  place  is  behind  the  eastern  door  of  the 
Bab  Zuweylah  in  Cairo,  which  door  is  never  shut  and 
behind  which  is  said  to  be  a  niche  the  abode  of  the  Qutb. 
This  gate  known  popularly  as  the  Bab  il  Metawalli  ( =  the 
one  in  charge  of  all  the  Walis)  was  originally  built  by 
Gawhar,  the  famous  Fatimid  general,  who  under  the 
Caliph  il  Mo'izz  accomplished  the  conquest  of  Egypt  in 
the  year  969  A.D.  Situated  in  the  southern  wall  of  the 
city,  it  used  to  consist  of  a  double  arch,  through  one 
called  the  Gate  of  the  Arch  the  Caliph  used  to  make  his 
triumphal  entry  into  the  city.  The  other  arch  was  con- 
sidered unlucky  and  no  one  would  go  under  it;  now  this 
second  gate  no  longer  exists.  About  one  hundred  years 
later  the  walls  of  Cairo  were  rebuilt  by  order  of  the  Caliph 
il  Mustansir,  as  also  the  principal  gates.  The  three 
largest  of  these,  viz.,  the  Bab  il  Futuh  and  the  Bab  in 
Nasr  in  the  Northern  wall  and  the  Bab  Zuweylah  in  the 
south  were  built  by  three  brothers,  probably  Syrian 
Christians  of  Edessa,  and  the  last  became  famous  as  a 
masterpiece,  unrivalled  for  the  size  of  its  doors  and  the 
massiveness  of  the  towers  which  defended  it.  An  old 
legend  states  that  the  leaves  of  this  gate  revolved  on 
pivots  stuck  in  glass  disks.  These  towers  were  removed 
early  in  the  twelfth  century  by  the  Circassian  Caliph 
who  built  the  twin  minarets  of  his  fine  mosque  on  the  old 
wall  above  the  Bab  Zuweylah,  the  mosque  itself  being 
situated  just  inside.  This  Bab  il  Metawalli  has  had  an 
evil  reputation  all  down  the  centuries  as  just  outside  was 
the  place  for  the  execution  of  criminals,  political  and 
otherwise,  and  many  a  gory  scene  has  been  enacted  there 
of  hanging  and  beheading  by  the  order  of  one  or  other  of 
the  despotic  rulers  of  medieval  Cairo. 

At  the  present  time  the  gate  is  much  revered  by  the 
orthodox  Moslem  as  the  dwelling  place  of  the  Qutb  whose 
intercession  is  all-prevailing  to  cure  disease.  The  true 
believer  when  afilicted  with  a  headache  will  come  to  the 


144  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

gate  and  say  '*  Ya  Shayyal  il  hum  til,  shtl  himli"  (=0  thou 
Bearer  of  burdens,  take  away  my  burden  from  me);  he 
will  then  pluck  out  a  hair  from  his  head,  tie  it  on  to  one 
of  the  many  nails  with  which  the  gate  is  studded  as  a 
reminder  to  the  saint  to  pray  for  him,  and  will  go  home 
completely  cured  (?). 

So  also  the  suflFerer  from  toothache,  though  after  the 
extraction  of  the  offending  tooth  he  will  hang  it  up 
similarly,  will  attribute  his  release  from  pain  not  to  the 
departure  of  the  tooth  but  to  the  all-powerful  Metawalli. 
A  nail  driven  into  the  door  plus  the  help  of  the  saint 
invoked  has  also  the  same  magical  effect  to  drive  away 
the  pains  and  aches  that  human  flesh  is  heir  to.  Now  at 
the  time  of  writing  the  old  door  is  profusely  studded  with 
nails,  and  hung  with  pieces  of  dirty  rags,  old  teeth,  hair, 
etc.,  all  touching  reminders  to  the  wali  of  the  faithful 
who  have  invoked  his  aid  to  cure  them  of  their  diseases. 

One  hardly  ever  passes  through  this  gate  without  seeing 
either  sheikhs  (studying  perhaps  at  the  Al  Azhar  Univer- 
sity), or  tradesmen,  poor  mothers  with  sickly  looking 
babies,  sometimes  even  efendis  educated  in  Government 
schools  stopping  on  their  way  to  murmur  the  prayer  for 
healing,  and  then  passing  on  firmly  convinced  that  the 
desired  help  has  been  given. 

And  surely  such  a  sight,  after  nearly  twenty  centuries 
of  Christianity,  will  only  serve  as  a  greater  incentive  to 
every  Christian  missionary  to  preach  the  true  Gospel  of 
Healing  by  Faith  in  Him,  the  Great  Healer  who  "Him- 
self took  our  infirmities  and  bare  our  sicknesses,"  and 
bring  these  thousands  of  needy  Moslems  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  that  Life,  which  was,  and  is,  and  ever  shall  be  the 
Light  of  men  of  every  race  and  nation  on  earth. 

Helen  M.  Harrison. 


SAINT  JASON  OF  THE   CAUCASUS* 


The  Kartveli  or  Georgians  belong  to  one  of  the  earliest 
Christian  Churches,  who,  persecuted,  impoverished  and 
assassinated  by  both  Persians  and  Turks,  not  to  mention 
the  Cherkess  and  the  Kurds,  withstood  the  Mussulmans 
in  spite  of  all,  were  never  Islamized,  and  are  as  good  and 
earnest  Christians  to-day  as  they  were  in  the  fourth 
century. 

When  at  the  beginning  of  last  century,  their  last  kings 
and  independent  princelets  realized  that  they  could  not 
hold  out  any  more  against  the  destructive  hatred  of 
Mussulmans  assailing  them  on  all  sides,  they  asked  the 
Russians  to  help  them.  Ever  since  Christianity  came  to 
Russia,  some  six  centuries  after  their  own  conversion, 
the  Georgians  had  known  of  the  millions  upon  millions 
of  Russians  to  the  north  of  them  who  were  their  brothers 
in  faith.  Since  then  the  two  nations  have  become  broth- 
ers politically  also,  and  have  worked  in  all  the  other  re- 
gions of  human  life  more  or  less  peacefully. 

But  the  slaughter  of  Christians  by  the  Mussulmans! 
They  did  it  century  in  and  century  out,  sometimes  for 
gain,  sometimes  for  revenge;  at  other  times  it  would  al- 
most seem  as  if  they  did  it  merely  out  of  sport.  There 
were  no  Lord  Bryce  investigating  commissions  then  to 
report  Georgian  horrors  as  Armenian  horrors  have  been 
reported. 

Mzhet,  the  ancient  capital  of  Georgia,  has  been  plun- 
dered and  demolished  time  and  again.  And  in  the 
thickly  wooded  hills  miles  around  the  ruins  of  churches, 
unburied  human  skeletons  had  been  very  commonly 
found  as  recently  as  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  At  the  approach  of  the  Mussulmans  the  vil- 
lagers hastened  out  of  their  valleys  up  to  the  stronghold 
of  churches  built  partly  against  and  partly  in  the  solid 

*  Reprinted  by  permission  from  an  article  in  the  Constructive  Quarterly. 

145 


146  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

rock  of  the  ledges.  Here  they  weathered  the  storm, 
while  their  homes  were  being  burned  and  pillaged,  and 
went  back  patiently  to  their  sheep,  their  fruit  gardens 
and  their  fields  of  maize,  if  they  were  lucky.  If  they 
were  not — well,  sudden  death  was  frequent  and  varied  in 
those  days.  Hence  the  sun-bleached,  wind-dried  human 
bones  found  here  and  there  in  the  wilderness.  Hence 
also  the  silent  ruins  of  monasteries,  whose  brotherhoods, 
together  with  the  villagers  they  always  were  ready  to 
shelter  in  time  of  need,  had  been  massacred  to  a  man, 
whose  priests  died  at  the  altars  with  the  holy  chalice  in 
their  hands. 

There  are  many  such  ruins  in  the  land  of  my  child- 
hood, some  of  them  so  difficult  of  access,  the  steep  moun- 
tain paths  being  strewn  with  huge  boulders  and  over- 
grown with  dense  creepers  and  thorns,  that  we  only 
knew  of  them.  Others  were  within  possible  reach  of  the 
sturdy  little  legs  of  mountain-bred  children. 

There  we  had  been  taken  on  occasions  half  picnic,  half 
pilgrimage  as  soon  as  we  had  outgrown  the  baby  stage. 

Sometimes  Jason  went  with  us.  Jason  was  Georgian 
and  knew  but  a  few  words  of  Russian.  But  this  pre- 
sented no  difficulty  to  our  intercourse.  Jason  could 
smile  very  nicely  to  children;  the  corners  of  his  fine 
dark  eyes  wrinkled  in  a  most  kindly  way,  and  his 
teeth  glistened  as  if  in  confirmation  of  the  theory  that 
people  who  use  no  metal  when  cooking  or  eating 
stand  a  better  chance  with  their  teeth.  In  the  steep- 
est places,  or  in  crossing  frisky  little  mountain  torrents, 
Jason  also  could  carry  us,  sometimes  me,  sometimes  my 
sister,  sometimes  the  two  of  us,  one  on  each  shoulder. 
He  was  a  very  old  man  when  we  knew  him,  for  there 
was  a  story  current  about  his  father  and  himself,  as  a 
growing  boy,  which  dealt  with  conditions  and  ways  in 
the  Caucasus  before  the  Russians  came.  After  the 
lapse  of  all  this  time,  I  cannot  tell  Jason's  story  very 
consecutively,  but  I  remember  clearly  that  we  were 
told  that  in  his  boyhood,  during  one  of  the  Mussulman 
raids,  his  beautiful  sisters  had  been  taken  to  be  sold  into 
the  harems  of  Constantinople,  his  little  brothers  had  all 


SAINT  JASON  OF  THE  CAUCASUS  147 

been  killed  in  a  most  merciless  way,  and  his  mother 
became  insane,  having  seen  her  little  children  brained. 
Jason  alone  survived.  After  this  his  father  had  lived  for 
revenge  only.  Homeless  and  lawless,  in  war  or  by  soli- 
tary exploit,  the  man  made  the  killing  of  Mussulmans 
the  purpose  of  his  life.  And  every  time  he  had  killed  one 
he  came  back  to  his  tumble-down  hut,  where  his  insane 
wife  still  lived,  a  charge  on  the  village  headman  and  the 
priest  of  their  church.  He  came  back  bringing  the  hands 
of  his  fallen  enemy;  he  always  cut  them  off  at  the  wrist 
of  the  dead  man.  Scores  of  these  were  nailed  on  the  walls 
of  the  hut,  and  stayed  there  decayed  or  decaying.  Little 
Jason  always  went  with  his  father  and  became  of  great 
assistance  to  him,  growing  into  a  handsome  and  sturdy 
youngster,  skilled  in  the  art  of  fighting  and  hard  of  heart. 
While  taking  his  grim  revenge  on  the  slayers  of  his  chil- 
dren, Jason's  father  remained  a  good  Christian,  a  good 
Orthodox  believer  in  his  own  opinion,  and  Jason  was 
brought  up  in  the  same  belief.  Church  festivals,  saints' 
days,  religious  processions,  Jason  always  attended  them, 
and  a  fine  figure  he  must  have  cut  at  them,  I  feel  sure, 
when  I  think  what  a  handsome  old  man  he  was  and  how 
graceful  was  his  beautifully  built,  powerful  body,  when  I, 
a  fair-haired  child  of  a  northern  race  travelled  on  his 
mighty  shoulder,  knowing  nothing  of  his  grim  antecedents 
and  caring  less. 

People  who  had  known  Jason  a  long  time  said  he  never 
spoke  of  himself;  still  some  shreds  of  rumour,  at  least, 
could  not  be  kept  from  trailing  into  our  nursery  after 
this  unusual  personality.  The  change  of  heart  came  to 
Jason  when  he  was  a  middle-aged  man,  and  in  this  way. 
The  long  forgotten  grave  containing  the  undecayed  re- 
mains of  a  great  saint  of  God  had  been  recovered, — 
somehow,  it  seems  to  me,  it  was  that  of  St.  Antonios  of 
Martcobi.  Great  multitudes  of  people  came  to  the  cere- 
mony of  consecration,  and  Jason  drifted  along  with  them. 
A  solemn  liturgy  and  Te  Deum  were  sung,  the  unde- 
cayed remains  of  the  saint  were  deposited  with  much 
pomp  in  a  bronze  coffin  in  a  new  stone  vault,  and  above 
in  the  chapel  the  people  pressed,  according  to  the  cus- 


148  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

torn  of  the  Eastern  Church,  to  kiss  the  image  of  the 
saint,  and  Jason  drifted  along  too.  But  when  bending 
over  the  image  Jason  prepared  to  kiss  the  hand  of  the 
holy  old  man,  he  could  not  do  it:  the  hands  of  the  painted 
image  were  cut  off  at  the  wrists.  But  the  true  change  of 
heart  began  to  work  only  when  Jason  realized  that  all 
the  others  could  and  did  kiss  the  saint's  hand,  that  they 
were  cut  off  for  him  only.  From  that  day  on  for  Jason 
the  hands  of  all  the  images,  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  saints 
and  angels,  were  cut  off  at  the  wrists  in  all  the  churches 
to  which  he  became  irresistibly  drawn.  He  understood 
it  as  a  sign  of  his  own  un worthiness,  for  '*if  you  love  them 
that  love  you  what  reward  have  ye?  But  I  say  unto 
you  ...  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  pray  for 
them  that  despitefuUy  use  you  and  persecute  you." 
That  was  true  Christianity!  And  as  vehemently  as  he 
had  in  his  youth  helped  his  father's  revengefulness,  he 
now  in  his  maturity  sought  the  forgiveness  of  God,  first 
for  his  father,  by  that  time  long  dead,  and  then  for  him- 
self. 

How,  by  what  sacrifice,  what  self-imposed  discipline, 
what  nightly  vigil  and  ardent  prayers, — ^I  do  not  know, 
but  I  am  quite  certain  that  Jason  obtained  forgiveness 
and  in  his  old  age,  at  least,  was  at  peace." 

Vera  Vladimirovna  Johnston. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE   CONVERT  FROM 

ISLAM 


Problems  connected  with  converts  from  Islam  may  be 
divided  into  two  categories.  Spiritual  and  Social.  The 
spiritual  problems  are  those  of  training  in  the  knowledge 
and  practice  of  Christian  Truth;  that  is  the  presentation 
of  spiritual  truths  so  as  to  be  known  not  merely  as  an 
intellectual  science,  but  as  a  moral  force  transforming 
human  life  in  every  department.  Side  by  side  with  this 
are  problems  arising  from  the  constitution  of  a  native 
Church,  and  questions  of  discipline  including  the  attitude 
to  be  adopted  with  regard  to  Divorce,  Re-marriage,  and 
Polygamous  marriages, — questions  apparently  easy  to  be 
disposed  of,  but  actually  more  complicated  than  they 
appear. 

A  study  of  experiences  oii  various  Mission  Stations 
leads  one  to  the  conclusion  that  the  discussion  of  these 
problems  is  necessary  in  order  that  we  might  decide  upon 
a  more  or  less  common  basis  of  action.  Perhaps  the  best 
way  of  studying  these  matters  would  be  to  examine  par- 
ticular cases  which  have  already  occurred,  a  course  which 
at  some  future  time  could  easily  be  adopted. 

These  problems  of  discipline  are  intimately  connected 
with  the  social  problems,  which  in  turn  may  be  divided 
into  two  orders:  the  Domestic,  and  the  Economic.  The 
domestic  problem  consists  in  the  building  up  of  a  Chris- 
tian home-life.  This  includes  questions  relating  to  hus- 
band and  wife,  parents  and  children,  the  enfranchisement 
and  education  of  women,  mixed  marriages  of  Moslem  and 
Christian,  native  and  European,  fasts,  feasts,  customs 
relating  to  births,  circumcision,  marriages,  deaths,  burials, 
and  the  numerous  other  ways  in  which  Islam  is  inter- 
woven into  the  fabric  of  the  Moslem  social  order.  In  the 
fight  with  Islam  it  is  to  these  matters  which  are  external 
and  accidental  as  much  as  to  the  internal  and  elemental 

149 


150  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

question  of  faith  that  attention  must  ultimately  be  di- 
rected. The  difficulty  does  not  arise  so  much  from  the 
attachment  of  the  convert  to  the  Moslem  social  order, — 
much  of  which  he  will  of  necessity  discard  in  relinquishing 
his  old  faith — as  from  the  influence  and  claims  on  the 
convert  of  his  Moslem  relations;  and  not  only  his  kins- 
men, but  relatives  by  marriage,  business  associates,  and 
the  men  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  in  the  market, 
cafe,  and  the  public  meeting  place. 

It  is  here  that  we  meet  the  economic  problem  since  the 
solution  of  the  domestic  problem  involves  the  solving  of 
the  economic;  for  if  the  convert  were  financially  inde- 
pendent of  his  Moslem  compatriots  he  would  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  work  out  his  own  salvation  albeit  with  fear  and 
trembling.  What  we  have  to  fear  is  not  so  much  the 
violent  persecution  leading  to  bloodshed  and  death,  as 
the  "continual  dropping  of  water  which  wears  away  the 
stone,"  the  constant  and  wearing  friction  of  petty  perse- 
cution. The  convert  from  Islam,  unable  to  escape  the 
old  social  order,  has  sought  for  economic  reasons  to  com- 
promise and  propitiate  his  Moslem  relatives  by  adhering 
to  the  old  customs  whilst  accepting  the  new  faith.  His 
divided  interests  have  too  long  hindered  progress  and 
arrested  the  natural  development  of  Christian  Life  in  its 
domestic  and  social  aspects.  The  deadweight  of  custom 
and  tradition  must  be  removed.  This  will  only  be  accom- 
plished when  the  economic  problem  is  faced  and  com- 
passed. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  all  these  problems  are  intimately 
connected.  Christian  teaching  must  eventually  be  rein- 
forced by  disciplinary  action;  and  both  are  related  to  the 
social  problem  in  either  its  domestic  or  economic  aspects. 
To  attempt  to  solve  the  spiritual  problenis  while  neglect- 
ing the  social  is  like, — to  use  a  military  figure — the  front 
line  of  an  army  capturing  positions  which  the  second  line 
does  not  move  up  to  hold  so  that  a  further  advance  may 
be  made.  Hence  the  necessity  of  issuing  a  call  for  a 
second  line  to  advance  and  fortify  the  positions  already 
captured,  by  establishing  a  new  social  order  among  the 
converts  from  Islam. 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  CONVERT  FROM  ISLAM       151 

The  end  of  the  World  War  will  increase  the  urgency  of 
this  economic  problem.  Among  the  thousands  of  young 
North  Africans  who  have  served  in  the  army  or  auxiliary 
services  of  France  are  quite  a  number  of  converts  and 
enquirers  who  have  kept  in  contact  with  the  Missionaries 
by  correspondence.  What  is  to  be  done  with  these  men 
on  their  return?  If  they  are  to  contribute  to  the  upbuild- 
ing of  a  Christian  Society  suitable  occupations  must  be 
found  for  them,  otherwise  the  fullest  advantage  will  not 
be  taken  of  their  enlarged  experience.  At  the  same  time, 
while  the  end  of  the  war  will,  by  the  return  of  these  men, 
in  a  measure  intensify  the  problem,  it  will  also  offer,  in 
part  at  least,  its  solution  by  the  provision  of  new  workers 
who  might  form  the  second  line  of  advance.  For,  may  no 
reinforcements  for  the  mission  field  be  drawn  from  the 
ranks  of  the  Christian  soldiers,  who,  having  undergone 
new  experiences  and  acquired  new  tastes  will  have  thus 
been  fitted  for  Christian  Service  abroad.^ 

The  leaders  of  the  nations  at  war  are  already  consider- 
ing the  problem  of  demobilisation,  and  are  accordingly 
making  their  plans.  Should  not  we  as  leaders  in  the  fight 
against  Islam  make  plans  ahead,  in  order  to  be  prepared 
to  take  full  advantage  of  the  unique  opportunities  which 
will  be  afforded  after  the  war  for  fortifying  our  positions 
in  view  of  a  new  offensive. 

The  development  of  missionary  work  may  be  divided 
into  three  stages,  each  of  which  is  marked  by  a  difference 
in  the  focal  point  of  public  attention. 

The  first  is  when  the  message  of  the  missionary  is  the 
subject  of  consideration;  and  curiosity  asks:  What  is  the 
foreigner's  message.^    Is  it  worthy  of  a  hearing? 

The  second  is  when  the  missionary  himself  is  the  object 
of  attention,  curiosity  then  deepens  to  interest.  The 
message  is  satisfactory,  but  does  the  missionary  practice 
what  he  preaches?  Is  his  teaching  that  of  an  idle  dreamer 
or  is  it  practicable? 

The  order  of  these  two  stages  may  be  and  is  sometimes 
reversed,  and  the  conduct  of  the  missionary  will  awaken 
interest  in  his  teaching;  but  whatever  the  order,  if  the 
questions  relating  to  the  missionary  and  his  message  are 


152  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

answered  favorably,  a  group  of  enquirers  will  gather 
around  him;  some  of  whom  will  become  converts.  The 
work  will  then  enter  upon  the  third  stage  of  its  develop- 
ment, when  the  public  eye  will  be  directed  to  the  convert 
rather  than  to  the  missionary.  This  third  stage  is  the 
critical  one,  and  the  whole  future  of  the  work  depends 
upon  the  answers  which  the  new  enquirers  will  find  in  the 
experience  and  conduct  of  the  convert.  It  is  compre- 
hensible that  the  foreigner  should  be  able  to  live  up  to 
his  religion,  the  question  is,  can  the  native  live  up  to  it 
if  he  adopts  it.^  Can  he  become  a  Christian  and  live  the 
Christian  life  among  his  fellow  natives?  Can  he  live  in 
the  old  environment  and  yet  not  be  of  it.^  Can  the  rules 
of  the  new  faith  be  applied  to  native  life  in  the  home  and 
in  society  .f^  Or  does  the  change  of  faith  mean  such  a 
social  as  well  as  moral  upheaval  as  renders  it  impractica- 
ble .^^  Do  the  claims  of  Christ  so  conflict  with  the  rules  of 
the  social  order  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  leave  the  old 
environment  in  order  to  establish  a  new  social  order? 

The  enquirer  may  not  formulate  these  questions  him- 
self, but  if  the  missionary  puts  himself  in  the  place  of  the 
enquirer  he  will  see  that  upon  the  answers  furnished  by 
experience  to  such  questions  depends  the  whole  future  of 
the  work  and  if  it  is  proved  by  experience  that  the  dead- 
weight of  Moslem  tradition  and  custom  and  character 
hold  down  the  convert  to  the  low  level  of  the  old  life,  then 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Christian  Church  to  see  that 
such  opportunities  are  afforded  him  as  to  give  the  new 
faith  a  fair  trial ;  for  we  must  remember  that  it  is  not  only 
the  convert  who  is  on  trial  but  the  Christian  faith  in  the 
convert. 

It  is  of  little  use  to  theorise  about  these  matters,  the 
answers  to  the  above  questions  must  be  furnished  by 
experience;  and  experience  proves  that  in  most  cases,  for 
there  are  exceptions,  such  measures  must  be  taken  to 
protect  and  develop  the  new  life  in  the  convert  as  to 
involve  a  change  of  environment  as  well  as  of  heart.  In 
other  words  we  have  to  face  the  reconstruction  of  the 
social  order  as  well  as  of  the  religious  life. 

The  Moslem  religion  is  an  essential  part  of  the  fabric 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  CONVERT  FROM  ISLAM       153 

of  the  Moslem  social  order;  and  from  birth  to  death  in 
all  life's  relations,  the  yoke  of  Islam  rests  upon  the  necks 
of  those  who  live  the  social  life  of  its  adherents.  Only  a 
hypocrite  can  live  this  life  without  being  a  Moslem.  The 
claims  of  Christ  conflict  with  those  of  Mohammed  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave  and  as  no  man  can  serve  two 
masters,  the  convert  must  cut  himself  off  more  or  less 
from  his  old  environment.     (2  Cor.  6.) 

Moreover  this  is  not  always  a  question  of  choice  to  be 
decided  upon  by  the  convert  or  the  missionary.  The  man 
who  lives  up  to  his  new  faith,  and  who  seeks  to  apply  it 
to  all  life's  relationships,  will  soon  find  himself  cut  off 
from  the  old  environment  by  being  boycotted,  ostracised, 
driven  out  and  disowned.  In  a  more  enlightened  commu- 
nity he  may  find  a  faction  who  will  champion  his  cause, 
and  secure  him  certain  rights  and  privileges;  he  may  be 
protected  by  his  Government  from  violent  persecution; 
but  as  long  as  he  remains  in  the  old  environment  he  will 
always  be  exposed  to  danger;  and  that  is  more  to  be  feared 
than  that  which  threatens  physical  suffering  or  material 
loss  because  more  dangerous  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  In 
any  case,  whether  it  be  to  receive  the  outcast,  or  to  give 
protection  from  the  insidious  perils  that  threaten  to  dwarf 
the  soul  life  of  the  convert,  the  responsibility  to  make 
suitable  provision  for  either  or  both  of  these  needs  is 
indisputably  that  of  the  Christia'n  Church. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  work  the  missionary's  need  of 
domestic  and  other  helpers  furnishes  openijngs  for  the 
first  converts.  The  needs,  however,  are  not  elastic,  and 
sooner  or  later  the  number  of  converts  will  exceed  the 
demand  for  labour.  Then  commences  the  problem: 
What  are  we  to  do  with  the  surplus  .^^ 

It  may  be  suggested  that  there  is  plenty  of  room  for 
evangelists  and  colporteurs,  and  that  all  the  converts 
could  be  thus  employed.  The  number  who  can  be  en- 
gaged in  these  capacities  in  Kabylia,  with  which  this  paper 
is  especially  concerned,  is  comparatively  small;  the  ma- 
jority have  not  sufficient  education  to  follow  a  course  of 
training  as  evangelists,  and  it  is  found  difficult,  and  in 
many  cases  impossible  for  native  evangelists  unaccom- 


154  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

panied  by  Europeans,  to  obtain  an  entrance  into  villages 
where  they  are  unknown.  Colportage  work  also  is  limited 
as,  owing  to  readers  being  few,  the  demand  for  books  is 
small. 

Again  it  may  be  suggested  that  converts  may  be  en- 
couraged to  set  up  in  business.  Experience  proves  that  to 
throw  them  on  their  own  resources  is  to  expose  them  anew 
to  the  old  temptations,  for  their  adversaries  will  not  hesi- 
tate to  do  all  in  their  power  to  compromise  them;  and  if 
they  are  induced  to  enter  into  business  partnership  with 
Moslems,  the  shipwreck  of  their  testimony  is  even  more 
certain. 

The  convert  needs  the  constant  moral  support  of  the 
missionary's  presence  and  example,  as  well  as  his  spiritual 
instruction;  and  this  involves  more  or  less  regular  employ- 
ment which  could  only  be  provided  by  the  establishment 
of  industrial  branches. 

Industrial  branches  of  mission  work  have  been  in  opera- 
tion in  one  or  two  centres  for  some  years,  and  have  met 
with  such  a  measure  of  success  as  not  only  to  justify  their 
existence  but  also  to  encourage  the  extension  of  the  move- 
ment. They  have,  however,  proved  that  if  they  are  not 
to  be  a  burden  on  the  missionary  and  on  mission  funds, 
they  should  be  managed  by  people  of  business  habits  and 
training,  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  trade  or  pro- 
fession concerned.  If  the  missionary,  who  can  only  give 
his  divided  attention  to  the  industrial  branch,  and  who 
has  only  such  knowledge  of  the  trade  as  he  has  acquired 
on  the  field  can  make  such  an  adjunct  to  his  spiritual 
work  worth  while,  what  could  not  be  done  by  the  conse- 
crated activities  of  Christian  men  and  women  who  would 
devote  their  business  abilities  and  technical  talents  to 
the  solution  of  this  pressing  problem  .^^ 

Have  the  possibilities  of  the  mission  field  as  a  sphere  of 
activity  for  the  Christian  artisan  been  sufficiently  made 
known?  Has  the  investment  of  consecrated  capital  in 
industrial  missions,  earning  little  dividends  in  cash  but 
big  dividends  in  souls  been  suflGiciently  canvassed.^^  Has 
it  been  suggested  to  the  retired  Christian  business  man  to 
combine  his  love  of  travel  with  the  examination  of  the 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  CONVERT  FROM  ISLAM       155 

mission  field  as  offering  him  recreation  for  himself  in 
creating,  or  helping  to  create  a  new  social  order  in  the 
Moslem  World? 

The  missionary  may  not  feel  called  to  *' leave  the  Word 
of  God  to  serve  tables,"  neither  may  he  afford  to  give 
time  and  strength  to  providing  for  the  material  welfare 
of  the  converts;  but  a  clear  call  can  be  issued  to  those 
who  are  better  qualified  to  grapple  with  and  solve  these 
problems. 

The  openings  offered  in  the  North  African  mission  field 
for  industrial  work  may  be  roughly  divided  into  two 
categories:  utilitarian  and  profitable.  These  two  classes 
of  work  offer  opportunities  to  two  different  classes  of  men. 
The  utilitarian  includes  trades  or  occupations  which  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  people  themselves,  such  as  the 
building  trade  and  its  allied  branches  of  carpentry  and 
smithing;  agricultural  employments  including  the  olive  oil 
industry.  The  profitable  would  include  the  manufacture 
of  articles  for  sale  in  the  great  seaports  to  tourists  and 
others,  and  for  export  trade ;  such  as  carpets,  carved  wood- 
work, metal  ware,  fancy  leather  goods,  etc. 

The  utilitarian  would  offer  employment  for  the  lower 
classes  and  those  of  little  education,  whilst  the  more 
intelligent  could  be  employed  in  the  arts  and  handicrafts 
section. 

The  aim  would  be  to  give  the  convert  or  serious  en- 
quirer such  a  knowledge  of  his  trade  or  occupation,  and 
to  inspire  him  with  such  a  zeal  for  doing  his  work  well, 
that  he  would  by  his  superiority  command  employment 
in  the  open  market;  or  to  equip  him  with  such  superior 
implements  for  his  trade  as  would  give  him  an  advantage 
over  his  Moslem  competitors. 

The  greatest  possible  advantage  would  be  taken  of  the 
opportunities  and  facilities  offered  by  the  locality  in 
which  the  mission  station  is  situated.  Where  land  is 
cheap  and  readily  obtainable  agriculture  could  be  under- 
taken; and,  in  this  case,  effort  should  be  directed  towards 
improved  methods  of  work,  both  by  the  provision  of 
better  implements  and  a  more  scientific  cropping  of  the 
land. 


156  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

In  a  progressive  neighbourhood  where  secular  educa- 
tion has  been  provided,  and  the  younger  men  have  trav- 
elled, working  in  European  centres  or  even  abroad,  there 
will  be  an  increasing  demand  for  better  houses;  and  some 
articles  of  simple  furniture. 

Other  neighbourhoods  may  already  have  metal  or  wood- 
work industries,  which  could  be  developed  if  better  equip- 
ment were  provided;  for  the  natives  show  much  taste  in 
designing  but  lack  ability  in  execution,  chiefly  in  conse- 
quence of  inferior  equipment.  And  if  they  without  a 
work-bench,  planing  up  their  wood  by  holding  it  on  the 
ground  by  their  foot,  and  without  the  means  of  finishing 
off  well  the  articles  they  make,  can  nevertheless  earn  a 
good  living,  with  a  well  equipped  work-shop,  and  some 
technical  training,  articles  of  furniture  could  be  produced 
which  would  fetch  big  prices  in  the  best  markets. 

The  development  of  the  wool  industry,  carpets,  rugs, 
coverings,  etc.,  offers  big  opportunities  for  work  amongst 
women  and  girls;  and  would  provide  one  of  the  quickest 
and  surest  methods  of  educating  and  elevating  them. 
The  fancy  leather  trade  also  is  a  promising  sphere  of 
employment  which  might  be  exploited  in  the  interests  of 
native  converts,  and  the  cause  of  Christ. 

By  such  a  training  as  this  the  convert  would  be  helped 
to  a  state  of  independence  such  as  would  free  him  to  a 
great  extent  from  the  power  and  influence  of  his  old 
associates,  without  draining  the  exchequer  of  funds  con- 
tributed especially  for  spiritual  work,  and  without  the 
pauperising  influence  of  indiscriminate  charity.  It  would 
also  create  amidst  the  Moslems  an  intelligent  and  pro- 
gressive Christian  element  which  by  superior  skill,  greater 
zeal,  and  honest  dealings  would  recommend  the  Gospel 
as  an  uplifting  force. 

Due  provision,  of  course,  would  be  made  for  giving 
moral  and  religious,  as  well  as  technical  instruction;  ever 
keeping  in  view  the  objective  of  building  up  a  Christian 
community,  having,  at  its  heart,  a  native  church;  and, 
as  its  ideal,  the  evangelisation  of  its  own  people  at  its 
own  expense. 

That  is   a  precious   story  the  parable  of  the   Good 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  CONVERT  FROM  ISLAM       157 

Samaritan,  teaching  us  the  wondrous  grace  and  sympathy 
of  our  Lord;  yet  may  we  not  also  deduct  from  it  the 
neglected  lesson  of  the  practical  duties  of  the  Christian 
Church?  For  on  the  morrow  of  the  man's  salvation,  the 
noble  benefactor  committed  him  to  the  charge  of  the 
keeper  of  the  inn,  with  the  tender  injunction  "take  care 
of  him."  Our  Lord's  earthly  life  was  strictly  in  con- 
formity with  this  parable,  and  reveals  his  present  heavenly 
attitude.  The  responsibilities  which  were  uniquely  His, 
He  faithfully  fulfilled;  but  He  always  recognised  and 
pointed  out  the  responsibilities  of  others  and  of  His 
followers.  Thus  in  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  five  thousand 
it  was  His  to  perform  the  miracle  of  supply,  but  to  His 
disciples  was  left  the  duty  of  administration.  When  at 
the  bedside  of  the  Ruler's  daughter,  who  lay  dead.  He 
alone  could  speak  the  life  giving  word,  but  that  done, 
"Take  care  of  her"  expresses  the  spirit  of  His  injunction 
that  something  should  be  given  her  to  eat.  So  also  in  the 
case  of  Lazarus,  the  command  He  gave  with  reference  to 
the  risen  man  "loose  him  and  let  him  go,"  expresses  for 
all  time  the  responsibility  of  His  Church  to  new  born 
souls;  and  if  from  any  sepulchre  of  false  and  faulty  relig- 
ion, the  binding  relics  of  the  dark  prison  may  be  seen 
upon  those  who  have  heard  their  Lord's  commanding 
voice,  surely  its  name  is  "Islam,"  and  it  is  ours  to  dis- 
cover the  means  of  unloosing  the  winding  sheet  of  custom 
and  tradition,  that  so  we  may  assist  the  Moslem  Lazarus 
to  experience  in  full  the  declaration  of  Christ:  "If  the  Son 
shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed." 

Thos.  J.  P.  Warren. 
Djemaa  Sahredjy  Kahylia, 
Tazmalt. 


THE  LONELINESS  OF  THE  CONVERT 


**I  HAVE  been  a  Christian  now  for  twenty  years.  Yet 
I  cannot  say  that  I  have  a  single  intimate  friend  among 
the  Christians."  Such  was  the  starthng  and  pathetic 
statement  made  to  the  writer  by  a  prominent  convert  from 
Islam. 

We  knew  as  a  matter  of  course  that  he  had  no  intimate 
friendships  among  his  former  co-religionists,  though 
many  of  them  respected  him  for  his  force  and  manliness 
of  character;  that  in  all  the  years  since  his  baptism,  he 
had  not  ventured  to  visit  his  home  town  or  relatives, 
some  of  whom  had  sought  his  life  when  he  became  a 
Christian;  that  he  knew  himself  an  outcast  to  his  own  kin 
and  former  friends;  but  that  he  had  found  no  compen- 
sating friendships  and  fellowships  within  the  Christian 
Church  and  community,  we  were  not  prepared  to  hear. 

In  fact,  we  knew  that  he  was  highly  respected  by  a 
large  number  of  Christians,  and  on  terms  of  pleasant 
fellowship  with  them.  We  had  every  reason  to  believe 
them  sincere  friends  of  his.  Yet  it  was  evident  that  he 
felt,  justly  or  unjustly,  that  he  had  neyer  been  taken  into 
their  inner  circle.  They  were  friends,  but  with  a  reserva- 
tion. In  fact,  one  of  them  had  been  heard  to  say  one  day, 
"Who  knows  but  he  may  yet  go  back?"  Thus,  cast  ofif 
by  one  community,  the  other  had  not  taken  him  to  its 
heart.  And  while  outwardly  cheerful  and  companionable, 
his  soul  nursed  a  hidden,  and  it  may  well  be  at  times,  a 
bitter  loneliness. 

Was  he  right .f^  And  if  so,  was  his  case  typical.^  I  fear 
these  questions  must  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Not 
a  little  may  be  said  in  explanation  and  extenuation  of  the 
Eastern  Christian's  attitude  toward  the  Moslem  convert. 
The  iron  heel  of  Moslem  oppression  and  the  bitter  sting 
of  Moslem  scorn  have  been  felt  too  long  not  to  have  left 

158 


THE  LONELINESS  OF  THE  CONVERT  159 

a  heritage  of  hatred  and  fear  that  cannot  be  uprooted  in 
a  day.  They  belong  to  the  memory  of  long,  black  cen- 
turies. Then  it  must  be  remembered  that  not  a  few  con- 
verts who  promised  well  have  proven  bitter  disappoint- 
ments. Sometimes  they  have  taken  Christian  wives 
only  to  desert  them  and  the  children  they  have  borne 
and  return  to  Islam.  We  must  not  blame  the  Church 
too  much  if  she  forgets  at  such  times  her  own  share  of 
responsibility  for  this  defection;  or  if  she  lets  her  thought 
dwell  more  on  the  backsliders  than  on  the  greater  num- 
ber who  have  remained  true.  Then  has  she  not,  alas, 
too  often  seen  some  of  her  own  number  go  over  to  Islam, 
when  almost  invariably  sordid  or  fleshly  motives  were 
apparent.^  So,  to  distrust  motives  for  a  change  of  relig- 
ion becomes  natural.  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to 
some  who  professed  belief  in  Him  because  "he  knew  all 
men"  and  '*knew  what  was  in  man."  And  His  people 
living  in  Moslem  lands  often  fail  to  open  their  arms  to 
such  for  the  opposite  reason — ^because  they  do  not  know 
what  is  in  man. 

Yet  no  one  will  say  that  all  this  is  as  it  should  be.  Any 
heart  that  knows  how  to  sympathize  must  ache  for  the 
convert  in  his  sense  of  isolation.  It  is  easy  to  call  up 
their  faces — ^haunting  faces — in  the  midst  of  Christian 
congregations,  with  a  trace  of  undefined  wistfulness  that 
tells  us  they  do  not  feel  themselves  wholly  a  part  of  the 
worshipping  throng.  This  is  even  more  apparent  as  we 
come  upon  them  standing  somewhat  apart  from  the  re- 
tiring congregation.  The  Church  of  Christ  has  become 
their  spiritual  home;  yet  they  do  not  feel  quite  at  home. 

It  is  not  solely  the  attitude  of  the  Christians  that  ac- 
counts for  this.  It  is  partly  in  the  convert  himself.  He 
is  somehow  different  from  thfem.  He  has  a  diffigrfent 
vocabulary,  different  modes  of  thought,  different  view- 
points and  customs.  Even  his  clothes  and  facial  char- 
acteristics often  differ  from  theirs.  Then  there  may  be 
on  his  own  part  almost  unconsciously  a  measure  of  aloof- 
ness. Perhaps  he  too  does  not  forget  at  once  that  he 
came  from  the  ruling  class,  from  the  noble  of  the  land; 
and  a  tinge  of  condescension  creeps  into  his  spirit  and 


160  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

bearing  that  does  not  by  any  means  make  for  friendship 
with  his  new-found  brethren. 

We  have  not  said  much  of  his  poignant  separation  from 
his  own  flesh  and  blood — ^it  may  be,  wife  and  children 
torn  from  him,  of  his  forfeiture  of  property  rights  and  the 
poverty  and  struggle  that  often  ensue,  of  the  social  ostra- 
cism and  derision  to  which  he  is  almost  inevitably  sub- 
jected, even  if  his  life  itself  is  not  in  jeopardy.  All  this 
is  taken  for  granted.  And  God  knows  it  is  not  for  a 
moment  to  be  lightly  thought  of.  Yet  in  the  long  run, 
we  venture  to  think,  his  greater  cross  and  greater  danger, 
at  least  in  lands  where  there  is  a  Christian  Church  of 
non-Moslem  origin,  may  often  prove  to  be  his  sense  of 
separation  from  the  heart  of  the  Christian  community, 
his  loneliness  of  soul  for  want  of  the  human  fellowship 
that  should  be  his.  Danger,  we  said,  because  nothing 
is  so  likely  to  lead  one  to  lower  the  standards  of  his  life 
as  the  thought  that  no  one  cares.  And  knowing  as  the 
convert  does  that  any  time  he  returns  to  Islam  with  the 
merest  lip  profession,  he  may  have  all  the  friends  he  wants, 
the  sense  of  friendlessness  becomes  to  him  a  real  peril. 

How  is  this  to  be  remedied?  First,  the  convert  him- 
seK  must  be  helped  to  the  right  attitude.  He  may  need 
to  be  reminded  that  it  is  primarily  to  Christ  Himself  he 
has  been  united  and  only  secondarily  to  His  Church.  It 
is  on  the  fellowship  of  Christ  he  is  to  depend  for  his  soul's 
satisfaction.  Yet  the  closer  he  draws  to  Christ,  the  more 
surely  will  he  be  drawn  near  to  Christ's  true  followers. 
And  their  fellowship  is  to  be  so  prized  by  him  for  what 
he  may  both  gain  and  give  thereby,  that  he  will  earnestly, 
prayerfully  seek  to  put  away  on  his  part  everything  that 
might  prove  a  barrier  to  real  soul  union  with  Christ's 
people.  In  what  remains  of  loneliness  after  all  is  done, 
it  is  for  him  to  know  that  he  is  filling  up  that  which  was 
behind  in  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  For  who  was  ever  so 
lonely  as  the  Man  of  Sorrows? 

And  as  for  those  who  should  be  his  friends,  so  mani- 
festly and  so  meaningfully  that  he  cannot  doubt  it, 
whether  they  be  missionaries  or  native  Christians,  we 
may  well  pray  for  them  a  baptism  of  that  love  which  cast- 


THE  LONELINESS  OF  THE  CONVERT  161 

eth  out  fear  and  doubt,  distrust  and  suspicion,  that  be- 
lieveth  all  things  and  hopeth  all  things,  the  love  that 
never  faileth  even  though  the  convert  slip  and  retrace 
his  steps.  Such  love  can  come  only  from  the  heart  of 
the  Christ  Himself,  who  having  loved  His  Own,  loved 
them  unto  the  end,  and  never  lost  His  faith  in  them,  de- 
spite the  disappointment  and  heartache  they  must  often 
have  caused  Him. 

There  is,  indeed,  no  royal  road  to  the  relations  sought. 
Jesus,  as  someone  has  said,  "invents  no  special  methods — 
a  loving  heart  will  hit  the  method  needed  in  the  particular 
case,"  a  loving  heart  led  by  His  Spirit.  Yet  much  may 
be  done  by  beguiUng  the  Christian  brethren  into  deeds 
of  kindly  service  for  individual  converts,  especially  the 
service  of  intercession,  and  begetting  in  them  a  sense 
of  personal  responsibility  for  their  steadfastness  and  de- 
velopment. 

This  problem  of  the  Moslem  convert  does  not  stand 
alone.  Paul  met  it  with  his  Gentile  converts  long  ago; 
and  we  meet  it  with  the  Jewish  converts  of  to-day.  The 
great  apostle  himself  met  it  in  his  personal  experience. 
May  God  raise  up  from  His  Church  many  a  Barnabas  to 
befriend  the  lonely  convert,  to  stand  sponsor  for  him 
when  others  look  askance,  and  to  induct  him  into  the 
largest  service.  Then  shall  we  the  sooner  have  our  Pauls 
from  among  them. 

James  G.  Hunt. 

Cambridge,  N.  Y. 


ISLAM  IN  PAGAN  AFRICA 


The  brilliant  author  of  A  New  Map  of  Africa  gives  us 
indeed  a  present  day  political  map  of  the  dark  continent, 
but  he  does  not  include  in  its  features  the  great  force 
which  more  than  any  others  has  made  it  what  it  is  to-day, 
Christian  missions.  That  task  is  left  to  others  who  have 
with  patient  and  deep  experience,  step  by  step,  measured 
out  the  different  sections  of  Africa  with  their  daily  toil  of 
wearisome  marches.  Of  these  is  Rev.  J.  Du  Plessis,  pro- 
fessor in  the  Theological  seminary  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  South  Africa.  Because  he  is  African,  he  tells 
us,  everything  African  is  of  the  highest  interest  to  him 
and  so  he  started  out  in  the  autumn  of  1913  to  visit  "the 
vast  continent  with  special  attention  to  its  mission  fields." 

The  resulting  book,  Thrice  Through  the  Dark  Continent,'* 
is  a  most  entertaining  book  of  travel,  for  the  author  has 
the  gift  of  making  vivid  to  the  reader  what  he  himself 
sees  and  experiences.  He  introduces  to  us  people  of  many 
tribes  and  every  stage  of  development,  and  missionaries 
of  different  nations  and  types,  doing  many  kinds  of  work. 
We  see  them  in  the  midst  of  their  daily  tasks  as  he  arrives 
unexpectedly  at  their  doors  and  the  results  of  their  labours 
in  Christianized  men  and  women  and  communities. 

To  us,  however,  the  great  value  of  Prof.  Du  Plessis' 
book  consists  of  the  way  in  which  he  makes  us  see  and 
feel  the  challenge  of  Islam  in  Central  Africa.  He  begins 
his  journey  on  the  west  coast.  In  his  very  first  stopping 
place,  Ashanti  land,  he  says  in  spite  of  the  results  of 
mission  work  which  gladdens  the  heart,  "  upon  the  horizon 
looms  an  imminent  danger,  and  that  danger  is  Moham- 
medanism. There  are  thirty  thousand  Mohammedans 
among  a  population  of  not  more  than  three  hundred 
thousand  Ashanti — a  population  of  one  in  ten.    Islam  at 

*  Thrice  through  the  Dark  Continent,  by  Rev.  J.  Du  Plessis,  B.A.,  B.D.,  pp.  350. 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  London,  1917. 

162 


ISLAM  IN  PAGAN  AFRICA  163 

present  is  passive,  and  is  undertaking  no  active  propa- 
ganda. But  as  soon  as  it  commences  to  proselytise  in 
earnest,  there  is  a  strong  likelihood  that  the  whole 
heathen  population  will  adopt  the  religion  of  the  Prophet 
of  Mecca."  **  Within  a  generation,  unless  the  Christian 
Church  is  alive  to  its  responsibility,  the  banner  of  the 
Crescent  will  wave  over  the  forests  and  fields  of  the  Ash- 
anti  country."  Thus  at  the  beginning  he  sets  the  case 
clearly  before  us. 

Later  he  gives  the  following  vivid  picture  of  the  method 
of  Moslem  propaganda: — "Exigencies  of  space  forbid  me 
to  show,  as  I  would  like,  in  some  detail,  by  what  easy  and 
natural  processes  Islam  lays  its  blighting  touch  upon  a 
young  and  virile  pagan  tribe.  The  Mohammedan  pedlar, 
with  his  two  or  three  donkey-loads  of  Hausa  cloth  and 
leather  goods,  and  of  Manchester  prints,  beads,  mirrors 
and  knives,  arrives  at  a  pagan  village  and  deposits  him- 
self and  his  goods  under  the  guests'  tree.  Communica- 
tions are  conducted  through  the  medium  of  Hausa  or 
Fulani,  or,  if  the  village  be  off  the  main  track,  and  corre- 
spondingly backward  and  primitive,  by  means  of  an 
interpreter.  The  trader  announces  his  intention  of  '  sitting 
down'  at  the  place  for  two  or  three  days.  He  then  opens 
his  packs,  and  propitiates  the  chief  by  the  gift  of  two  or 
three  articles  of  small  intrinsic  value  but  great  local  worth. 
Business  at  first  is  slow,  but  after  the  fears  and  suspicions 
of  the  villagers  have  been  laid  at  rest,  it  becomes  exceed- 
ingly brisk.  In  three  days'  time  the  pedlar  ties  up  his 
loads  and  departs,  richer  by  a  few  score  of  fowls,  a  couple 
of  dozen  goats,  and  it  may  be  a  purseful  of  coins  also. 
Two  months  later  he  reappears,  and  is  welcomed  as  an 
old  acquaintance.  The  chief  treats  him  more  generously 
and  is  rewarded  with  more  generous  gifts,  which  may  now 
take  the  form  of  a  riga  (upper  robe),  a  tarbtish  or  a  turban, 
and  a  verse  from  the  holy  Koran,  which  is  worn  round 
the  neck  as  a  charm.  The  native  chief  has  now  adopted 
the  Mohammedan  dress.  The  first  stage  of  his  trans- 
formation from  pagan  to  Moslem  is  complete.  At  the 
next  visit  of  the  trader,  the  chief  will  watch  him  at  his 
ablutions  and  his  prayers,  and  try  to  imitate  him.    This 


164  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

is  the  second  stage.  Subsequently  he  will  ask  to  be 
taught  to  repeat  one  or  two  Hausa  prayers.  The  words 
may  be  incomprehensible  but  what  of  that.^^  Does  not 
the  whole  of  religion  consist  of  mysterious  words  and 
cabalistic  signs  .^  And  thus  the  transforming  process 
reaches  its  swift  conclusion.  The  chief  himself,  whose 
*  conversion '  to  Islam  is  but  skin  deep,  may  not  be  a  very 
sincere  and  convinced  believer,  but  his  children  will  be 
more  than  sincere — they  will  be  fanatical.  The  chief  and 
his  family  being  won,  the  subjection  of  the  whole  tribe  to 
the  authority  of  the  Prophet  is  but  a  matter  of  time.  And 
thus  does  Islam  extend  and  consolidate  its  influence  in 
the  lands  of  the  Sudan." 

The  reasons  for  the  Moslem  advance  are  clear.  It  is 
partly  as  we  have  often  heard,  because  of  the  zeal  of  the 
ordinary  Moslem  trader,  whose  coming  to  a  village  is 
pictured  above.  By  his  faithful  and  public  practice  of 
the  rules  of  his  religion  he  arouses  interest  and  admira- 
tion. Prof.  Du  Plessis  tells  an  amusing  incident  of  a 
fellow  traveler  when  the  train  stopped  for  water  one  day: 
"A  Mohammedan  descended  from  the  coach  adjoining 
my  own,  removed  his  sandals  and  began  to  repeat  his 
prayers.  Presently  the  locomotive,  having  drunk  its  fill 
of  water,  began  to  move  slowly  forward.  Oblivious  to 
the  train's  motion,  the  Mohammedan  remained  absorbed 
in  his  devotions.  When  the  coaches  were  already  in 
pretty  swift  movement,  a  friendly  bystander  touched  the 
absent  minded  worshipper  on  the  shoulder.  The  latter 
sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  his  sandals,  dashed  after  the 
retreating  train,  and  swung  himself  on  board  with  aston- 
ishing agihty.  A  roar  of  laughter  greeted  the  close  of  this 
wayside  comedy;  but  I  pondered  on  the  deeper  meaning 
of  the  incident  and  recognized  in  the  abstracted  Moslem 
an  earnestness  and  an  absorption  which  tend  insensibly 
but  inevitably  to  propagate  Mohammedanism."  He  goes 
on  to  speak  of  the  publicity  with  which  the  Moslem  per- 
forms his  ablutions,  which  are  due,  everybody  knows, 
not  *'to  any  exaggerated  love  of  cleanliness  and  cold 
water,  but  are  the  ceremonial  washings  prescribed  by  the 
Koran.    Insensibly  again  the  impression  produced  on  the 


ISLAM  IN  PAGAN  AFRICA  165 

mind  of  the  onlooker  is:  'Here  is  a  man  to  whom  his 
rehgion  is  worth  something,  and  who  for  the  sake  of  his 
faith  is  ready  for  deeds  of  self-abnegation  and  self- 
sacrifice.'  " 

Then  the  Moslem  seems  farther  advanced  in  culture 
than  the  pagan  villager.  For  one  thing  at  least,  he  is  a 
traveller,  he  knows  the  world,  and  he  impresses  accord- 
ingly the  pagan  who  has  never  been  out  of  sight  of  his 
own  hills  and  forest.  He  never  fails  in  self-confidence  and 
a  sense  of  his  own  high  position  as  a  "believer"  and  he 
makes  the  demands  that  are  due  to  a  representative  of 
the  prophet.  And  the  Moslem  washes  himself  and  wears 
clothes,  which  to  the  heathen  may  be  troublesome  and 
personally  undesirable,  yet  are  signs  of  higher  social 
position. 

Even  the  government  official  is  influenced  by  all  this 
appearance  of  culture,  as  the  following  picture  will  show: 
— "Near  Walikale  I  travelled  on  one  occasion  through  a 
series  of  neatly  constructed  towns.  As  I  entered  one  of 
these  a  tall,  shaven  man  in  a  flowing  white  garment 
approached  me,  who  in  appearance  and  manners  formed 
a  strong  contrast  to  the  ordinary  type  of  unclothed  native 
chiefs.  On  his  head  he  wore  a  white  turban,  and  his  feet 
rested  on  the  peculiar  wooden  sandal  affected  by  Moham- 
medans, which  we  know  in  South  Africa  as  Icaparrangs. 
I  gave  him  to  understand  that  I  wanted  to  purchase  eggs, 
and  he  accordingly  conducted  me  to  his  house,  and 
courteously  invited  me  to  be  seated  on  his  stoep  (i,e,, 
verandah).  This  stoep  was  covered  with  mats  and  skins, 
and  I  perceived  that  it  was  also  the  household  shrine, 
where  the  chief  recited  his  prayers  and  performed  his 
ceremonial  washings.  We  finished  our  transaction;  I  paid 
my  money,  and  departed  with  the  eggs  tied  up  in  my 
handkerchief,  the  loadsmen  being  far  behind,  and  I  having 
no  other  safe  place  in  which  to  bestow  my  purchases. 
After  dealing  with  a  man  so  polite  and  intelligent  as  this 
man  was,  I  can  quite  understand,  though  I  cannot  justify, 
the  position  of  a  Government  that  says  in  effect,  'The 
Mohammedans  stand  at  a  much  higher  level  than  the 
ignorant  and  suspicious  natives;  they  represent  a  higher 


166  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

stage  of  culture  and  religion;  and  it  were  far  better  to  take 
away  all  authority  from  the  stupid  native,  and  entrust  it 
to  an  intelligent  Mohammedan.'  The  reasoning,  however, 
is  fallacious.  So  reasoned  Stanley,  when  he  appointed 
the  shifty,  greedy,  and  unscrupulous  Tippoo-Tib  as  gov- 
ernor of  the  Falls,  and  prepared  a  harvest  whose  bitter 
fruit  the  Congo  Government  is  still  reaping  to-day." 

Our  author,  naturally,  does  not  give  us  a  scientific 
treatise  on  the  advance  of  Islam  in  Central  Africa.  In 
fact  his  whole  discussion  of  this  problem  is  contained  in 
less  than  a  dozen  pages  scattered  through  the  first  half 
of  the  volume.  It  is  only  by  watching  his  itinerary  that 
we  discover  that  east  from  Ashantiland,  through  Nigeria, 
northern  Kamerun,  and  Southeast  through  French  Equa- 
torial Africa  to  Uganda  and  also  in  east  Belgian  Congo 
does  he  find  the  Moslem  menace.  It  is  just  that  great 
region  from  Nigeria  to  Uganda, — ^which  is  the  "crown 
and  glory  of  African  Missions,"  where  there  "are  distinct 
signs  that  the  Mohammedan  prestige  is  steadily  crumb- 
ling,— ^where  the  mission  stations  are  pitiably  few.  Of 
one  tribe  he  says,  "this  great  tribe  (the  Azande)  that 
extends  all  over  North  Congoland,  and  overflows  into 
French  territory  and  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan,  is  still 
practically  unevangelised.  In  the  approaching  conflict 
between  Christianity  and  Islam  it  occupies  a  position  of 
the  highest  strategic  value,  lying  as  it  does  between  the 
most  advanced  outposts  of  both  forces.  It  is  a  very 
populous  tribe;  its  language  is  widely  understood;  among 
adjacent  tribes  its  prestige  stands  very  high.  The  Azande 
are  undoubtedly  a  people  worth  winning."  Elsewhere  he 
tells  of  the  smoke  of  countless  villages  whose  "peoples  are 
self-contained:  they  are  able  to  supply  their  own  needs. 
They  ask  nothing  of  European  civilisation,  thankful 
though  they  are  that  settled  government  prevails,  and 
that  slave-raiding  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  .  .  .  All 
they  need  is  the  Gospel.  For  that  they  are  waiting,  as  it 
were  with  uplifted  heads  and  outstretched  arms.  Mo- 
hammedanism stands  ready  to  swallow  them  up.  Mo- 
hammedan emissaries  are  now  knocking  at  the  doors  of 
these  nations,   hitherto  inaccessible,   but  now  open  to 


ISLAM  IN  PAGAN  AFRICA  167 

trade,  commerce,  and  religion.  They  are  nations  that  are 
well  worth  winning.  Christianised,  they  would  act  as  a 
powerful  bulwark  to  stay  the  spreading  wave  of  Moham- 
medanism: Moslemised,  they  would  impart  greater  im- 
petus to  that  wave.  The  Church  of  Christ  to-day  stands 
before  a  piercing  call  to  action,  a  solemn  duty  to  act 
decisively  and  immediately,  and  a  grave  responsibility  if 
she  evade  or  postpone  action." 

That  is  Prof.  Du  Plessis'  most  urgent  message:  shall 
we  heed  it? 

Ethel  W.  Putney. 

Cairo,  Egypt, 


AS-SUFUR— "The  Unveiled" 
(A  weekly  newspaper  for  Moslem  women) 


In  an  introduction  to  the  third  year  of  its  publication  the 
object  of  this  Cairo  paper  is  stated  to  be  "the  call  to 
improvement  and  advancement,  and  the  freedom  which 
is  at  the  foundation  of  all  improvement  and  advance- 
ment." Distinctly  a  paper  written  by  Moslems  for 
Moslems,  it  shows  a  diversity  of  interest  and  desire  for 
wider  culture  most  refreshing  to  meet.  We  find  articles 
covering  a  wide  range  of  thought:  Social  matters,  topics 
of  the  day,  educational  articles,  translations,  poetry  and 
fiction,  all  find  their  place,  while  the  leader  each  week 
deals  with  a  large  variety  of  subjects. 

Appealing  more  particularly  to  women  are  a  series  of 
pupcrc  ^^  home  nursing  by  a  lady  doctor,  dealing  espe- 
cially with  the  preparation  and  cooking  of  food  for  the 
sick.  One  cannot,  however,  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the 
insistence  on  matters  that  are  taken  for  granted  in  even 
the  simplest  of  Western  homes.  The  light  thrown  on  the 
prevailing  treatment,  or  rather  lack  of  treatment,  given 
by  the  average  Egyptian  woman  to  the  sick  in  her  home 
is  not  altogether  pleasing. 

A  series  of  five  articles  by  the  Editor  on  "Marriage" 
among  various  classes  of  the  community  is  very  instruc- 
tive and  very  saddening.  The  almost  universal  unhappi- 
ness  in  Egyptian  Moslem  homes  is  here  fully  acknowl- 
edged, and  accounted  for  by  lack  of  intercourse  among 
the  young  people,  lack  of  equal  education,  and  ignoble 
motives  for  marriage.  The  writer  considers  that  a 
happy  upshot  to  any*  marriage  is  an  exception,  unless  in 
the  case  of  the  poorer  country  people,  where  husband  and 
wife  have  lived  and  worked  side  by  side  from  childhood, 
and  hence  have  a  common  interest.  The  description  he 
gives,  however,  of  the  wife's  share  of  the  responsibilities 

168 


AS-SUFUR  169 

shows  her  even  then  to  be  the  overdriven  slave  of  the 
man,  as,  besides  taking  her  full  half  of  the  field  work,  she 
has  the  care  of  house  and  children  on  her  shoulders.  The 
only  other  kind  of  marriage  in  which  previous  acquaint- 
ance is  possible,  that  between  near  relations,  is  found  to 
fail  because,  wherever  each  pictures  the  other  to  be  as 
congenial  a  companion  as  in  childhood  the  boy  has  gone 
ahead  in  his  education  and  general  outlook;  while  the 
girl  shut  up  in  the  house,  has  forgotten  what  little  she  did 
know,  and  has  become  an  empty  headed  gossip.  The 
remedy  for  the  whole  trouble  is  considered  to  be  in 
education  for  the  girl  as  well  as  the  boy  and  a  certain 
amount,  at  least,  of  intercourse  between  the  sexes,  after 
as  well  as  during  childhood. 

Pathos  is  added  to  the  whole  by  a  letter  from  a  Mostem 
lady  describing  her  own  miserable  married  life  in  which 
she  ascribes  all  the  blame  to  the  determination  of  her 
relatives  to  marry  her  against  her  will  for  money.  Her 
remedy  is  to  allow  the  bride  her  say  in  the  choice  of  her 
husband;  as  she  truly  says,  "It  is  the  girl  who  has  to 
spend  her  days  with  her  husband,  not  the  parents." 

It  is  suggestive  that  an  article  on  "The  Moslem 
Woman"  has  been  allowed  to  appear  at  all;  while  yet 
another  deals  with  the  case  of  a  young  Egyptian  lady, 
who  upon  sitting  twice  for  a  certain  public  examination, 
and  passing  it,  was  not  allowed  to  hold  her  certificate 
because  of  her  sex. 

The  schemes  of  the  Ministry  of  Education  as  regards 
the  extension  of  primary  education  are  dealt  with  sym- 
pathetically and  carefully:  while  the  establishment  and 
aims  of  the  Academy  of  Arabic  language  receive  a  good 
deal  of  notice.  The  difficulty  of  foreign  names  for  new 
inventions  is  discussed,  and  it  is  pointed  out  that  attempts 
to  improve  the  purity  of  the  language  will  be  of  little 
permanent  value  so  long  as  the  spoken  and  written 
Arabic  of  Egypt  remain  as  at  present  practically  two 
different  languages. 

Dealing  with  Education  there  is  a  translation  from 
English  on  the  Principles  of  Education;  as  well  as  an 
article  on  the  dependence  of  knowledge  on  Ethics.    This 


170  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

points  out  that  while  Ethical  training  without  increase  of 
Knowledge  is  one-sided,  Knowledge  without  the  Ethical 
training  is  very  dangerous.  Both  are  needed  as  comple- 
mentary the  one  to  the  other. 

Of  actual  information  there  is  a  fair  amount.  The 
influence  of  Darwin  on  the  Modern  Study  of  Geography 
is  discussed,  and  an  outline  given  of  his  theory  of  "the 
Origin  of  Species." 

Several  papers  on  Biology  deal  with  the  nature  of 
protoplasm  and  the  cellular  organisation,  also  the  various 
ways  in  which  life  manifests  itself. 

One  article  describes  the  conditions  of  life  in  the 
tundras  (or  deserts);  and  another  outlines  the  laws  regu- 
lating the  various  winds;  while  yet  another  traces  the 
origin  of  various  handicrafts  to  accidental  discoveries  or 
actions  of  primitive  man. 

Turning  to  another  department  of  knowledge,  we  find 
a  translation  from  the  French  of  the  history  of  the  city 
of  Cairo,  and  an  article  tracing  the  development  of  our 
present  complex  civilization  with  its  multifarious  class 
distinctions  from  the  "simple  life"  of  mankind  in  its 
infancy.  This  article  also  gives  some  information  as  to 
the  life  and  customs  of  the  early  Egyptians,  and  points 
out  the  value  of  historical  study. 

Somewhat  more  abstruse  is  an  abstract  on  "Positivism" 
written  in  a  lucid  style  by  a  Persian  Moslem,  and  men- 
tioning its  chief  exponents.  Elsewhere  is  a  translation 
giving  an  abstract  of  Nietsche's  Philosophy  and  an  out- 
line of  his  life. 

Happenings  of  the  day  are  not  ignored:  there  is  an 
account  of  "peace  talk"  in  Paris  in  May,  1917,  and  a 
discussion  of  the  Government's  action  in  confiscating 
arms  throughout  Egypt,  with  a  correspondence  about  it. 
Also  a  note  on  the  Russian  Revolution,  rejoicing  in  the 
spirit  of  freedom  therein  exemplified,  and  advocating 
education  as  a  means  to  the  development  of  the  same 
spirit  in  Egypt. 

A  large  portion  of  the  paper  is  devoted  to  literature, 
poetry,  essays,  etc.,  and  criticisms  of  these:  the  endeavour 
apparently  being  to  encourage  the  attempts  of  young 


AS-SUFUR  171 

authors,  and  develop  a  pure  style  by  pointing  out  the 
characteristics  of  good  poetry. 

Finally,  in  the  section  devoted  to  Fiction,  we  have 
various  short  stories,  and  a  continued  story  entitled 
"Hero"  with  a  historical  prologue.  This  appears  to  be 
adopted  and  very  much  abridged  from  Sienkewicz's 
''Quo  Vadisr 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  sketch  of  its  contents 
that  the  paper  attempts  to  widen  the  outlook  of  Moslem 
ladies  and  to  arouse  their  interest  in  both  theoretical  and 
practical  culture,  while  at  the  same  time  speaking  in  no 
measured  terms  of  their  disabilities  and  cramped  condi- 
tions under  the  present  regime.  Whether  education  will 
do  the  work  expected  from  it  in  the  Emancipation  of 
Moslem  Womanhood  may  be  disputed — ^for  Islam  is 
Islam  whether  it  goes  in  the  camel  hair  cloak  and  sandals 
of  the  Bedouin  or  the  European  garb  of  the  Effendi;  and 
Islam  to  Mohammed  and  all  his  followers  implied  the 
inferiority  and  subjection  of  womankind.  But  as  a  means 
to  a  higher  end  this  paper  is  a  welcome  sign,  for  we  trust 
that  Education  will  eventually  result  in  a  profound  dis- 
satisfaction with  Islam,  and  a  search  for  that  light  to  be 
found  only  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

But — "How  shall  they  hear  without  a  Preacher".^ 

M.  Reeves  Palmer. 


THE  HOLY  WAR  THAT  FAILED 


It  is  well  known  that  before  the  beginning  of  the  present 
war  and  throughout  its  earlier  stages  there  was  an  active 
German  propaganda  in  all  Moslem  lands  with  the  object 
of  stirring  up  religious  prejudice  and  provoking  a  religious 
warfare  against  the  "infidels,"  so-called,  of  British  and 
French  colonial  possessions.  In  some  places  this  effort 
was  made  through  public  proclamation,  as,  for  example, 
in  Turkey.  But  it  was  chiefly  through  printed  documents 
that  the  attempt  to  create  a  holy  war  was  made.  In  the 
Bulletin  Mensuel  du  ComitS  de  VAsie  Frangaise  (April- 
June,  1917),  published  at  Paris,  there  is  an  interesting 
article  on  the  subject  from  which  we  glean  the  following 
facts : 

"In  the  autumn  of  1916,"  writes  Mr.  Marin,  "the 
pilgrims  found  in  Mecca  a  manifesto  written  in  Arabic 
and  published  previously  to  the  war,  attacking  France, 
saying  that  French  newspapers  had  revealed  her  intention 
to  destroy  Mohammedan  holy  places  and  to  carry  away 
into  the  Louvre  museum,  the  Black  Stone  of  Mecca  and 
the  remains  of  the  Prophet." 

When  war  was  declared,  Germany  launched  out  against 
the  Allies,  in  the  whole  world,  an  active  propaganda  which 
surprises  one  at  first  by  the  abundance  of  its  resources, 
the  ingenuity  and  the  variety  of  its  means  and  the  popu- 
larity of  its  working. 

Pamphlets  in  all  languages,  both  European  and  Oriental 
have  been  scattered  all  over  the  world.  Holland,  Scan- 
dinavia, Spain,  the  United  States,  South  America,  all 
were  first  flooded  with  them;  then,  unsuccessful  attempts 
were  made  to  introduce  them  into  Africa  and  Asia. 

This  German  propaganda  took  every  imaginable  form: 
tracts,  pamphlets,  treatises,  maps,  newspapers,  telegrams, 
calendars,  plays,  songs,  films.  Huge  sums  of  money  were 
spent    in    their    editing,    distributing    and    producing. 

172 


THE  HOLY  WAR  THAT  FAILED  173 

Naturally,  such  efforts  were  intended  to  reach  especially 
the  Moslem  subjects  of  the  Entente  and  of  the  neutral 
countries  of  the  East.  The  former  interested  Germany 
particularly  as  their  revolt  might  deprive  the  Allies  of 
native  soldiers  and  also  it  might  be  a  means  of  keeping 
from  the  front  troops  needed  to  repress  such  revolts.  As 
she  could  not  make  use  of  the  seas  to  carry  her  literature 
to  Africa  and  Eastern  Asia,  she  did  it  through  Spain, 
Turkey,  San  Francisco  and  the  Philippines.  In  Spain  the 
German  propaganda  was  carried  on  by  the  Ambassador 
of  Germany  in  Madrid  who  recruited  his  agents  among 
German  settlers  in  the  country.  His  headquarters  were 
in  Barcelona.  From  this  point  tracts  were  put  on  board 
central  vessels.  They  were  written  in  Arabic,  Turkish, 
Persian,  Hindustani,  Punjabi,  Malay,  Chinese,  Anamite, 
Siamese,  etc.  Their  aim  was  to  preach  to  the  natives  a 
revolt  against  their  oppressors  whether  English,  or  French, 
or  Russian,  and  even  Dutch  and  'Ho  boast  of  the  invinci- 
bility of  Germany,  who  was  born  the  defender  of  Islam 
and  the  protector  of  the  Moslems  all  over  the  world." 

These  tracts  were  sent  to  Siam,  this  being  a  convenient 
spot  because  of  its  neutrality  and  of  its  geographical 
situation.  From  there  they  reached  Burmah,  India, 
Indo-China,  China  and  Turkestan.  The  literature  sent 
to  the  Philippines  and  San  Francisco  was  to  be  distrib- 
uted in  the  Far  East. 

In  order  to  cause  disturbances  in  India,  messengers 
started  from  Turkey  and  through  Persia  and  Afghanistan 
made  their  way  to  the  Indian  Moslems  in  the  name  of 
their  Sultan  of  Stambul  saying  that  the  British  were 
causing  them  to  repeat  the  so-called  crimes  of  England 
against  Islam.  They  encouraged  the  Moslems  everywhere 
to  rise  against  the  British  and  to  refuse  to  fight  the  Sultan 
and  his  faithful  Ally  '*  Hadji  Guillaume,  whose  pilgrimage 
to  Jerusalem  they  remembered  and  who  being  a  descend- 
ant of  one  of  Mohammed's  sisters  pretended  to  be  a 
Christian  in  order  to  keep  his  power  over  his  subjects  but 
with  the  desire  and  the  certainty  of  bringing  them  soon 
to  the  faith  of  the  Prophet.  Until  that  glorious  day,  the 
Moslems  were  to  write  to  the  Hindus  in  order  to  avail 


174  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

themselves  of  the  great  opportunity  that  they  have  to 
free  India  from  the  British  yoke." 

Stories  of  this  character  were  written  for  the  mass  of 
the  people,  more  subtle  ones  were  addressed  to  the 
*' elite"  in  the  form  of  curious  pamphlets  in  Hindustani^ 
Punjabi,  Bengali,  all  cleverly  written  as  well  as  printed 
and  all  attacking  **the  injustice  of  the  crimes  of  England, 
showing  her  defeat  that  was  bound  to  be  under  the  blows 
of  the  pious  Germany." 

Similar  pamphlets  were  sent  on  to  the  Malay  Peninsula 
and  to  the  Straits  Settlements  in  order  to  overthrow  the 
rule  of  the  infidel  and  to  obey  the  Khalif  of  Constanti- 
nople. In  Persia,  Germany  assailed  both  the  British  and 
the  Russian  Imperialism  and  pointed  out  the  advantages 
that  the  Shah  might  derive  for  the  safeguard  of  his  em- 
pire, if  he  was  allied  with  the  "Incomparable  Germany^ 
the  protector  of  Islam  who  had  never  tried  to  take  Mo- 
hammedan lands." 

Germany  tried  to  gain  to  her  cause  the  Malays  of  Indo- 
China  and  the  Moslems  of  Yunnan  in  China  against 
France. 

Further  one  finds  traces  of  Germany's  doings  in  revolts 
of  the  Malays  and  Javanese  of  the  Dutch  Indies. 

As  Germany  could  not  make  her  way  to  North  Africa 
by  the  sea  on  account  of  the  fleet  of  the  Entente,  she 
tried  to  penetrate  by  the  South;  through  Abyssinia  she 
sent  money,  munitions,  Turkish  oflScers  and  considerable 
presents  to  the  Senussi  in  order  to  rouse  the  Sudan  and 
thus  cause  trouble  to  the  Italians  in  Tripoli. 

The  German  propaganda  failed  completely  in  Tunis, 
Algeria  and  Morocco,  crowds  of  Arabs  and  Berbers  of 
these  countries  enlisted  under  the  French  colours  in  spite 
of  the  many  pamphlets  written  in  Arabic  and  sent  from 
Madrid,  Seville  and  Malaga,  during  the  whole  of  1915  and 
part  of  1916. 

We  give  below  a  list  of  some  of  the  tracts  collected  by 
Mr.  Cabaton,  professor  of  the  ''Ecole  des  Langues  Orien- 
tales."  They  have  a  twofold  aim:  First,  to  stir  up  the 
hatred  of  the  Moslem  for  the  Entente  by  manufacturing 
crimes  committed  against  Moslems  and  pointing  out  the 


THE  HOLY  WAR  THAT  FAILED  175 

continual  defeat  of  our  troops  in  the  European  war; 
Second,  to  awaken  admiration  for  Germany  as  the  pro- 
tector and  friend  of  Islam,  victorious  amidst  all. 

The  inevitable  conclusion  was  that  "all  the  Moslem 
world  under  the  dominion  of  the  Allies  and  those  who 
were  independent,  ought,  under  penalty  of  failing  in  their 
religious  duty  to  adhere  to  the  Jihad,  the  holy  war, 
declared  by  the  Sultan  of  Constantinople,  Khalif  and 
Commander  of  the  believers.  They  are  sure  of  final 
success  owing  to  the  protection  of  Invincible  Germany." 
The  list  reads: 

a)  Tracts  G^n:6raux  s'adressant  1  tous  les  Musulmans. 

1. — At'Takim  as-Sanawi  al-Awwal  li-ahamm  Hawddith  al-Harb  al- 
Hddzir.  [Premieres  ephemerides  annuelles,  pour  les  principaux  even- 
ements  de  la  guerre  actuelle  (du  debut  de  la  guerre  a  la  fin  de  juillet 
1915).]    Arabe.     In-8°,  50  pages. 

2. — Athdr  hddhihi'l-Harh.  [Les  consequences  de  cette  guerre.] 
Arabe.  Feuille  volante  in-4°  de  2  pages,  sur  papier  rose,  signee  Ibn 
El-Hosein.  Cette  guerre  n'ouvrira-t-elle  pas  les  yeux  aux  musulmans 
molestes  et  opprimes? 

3. — Bay  an  Hdmm  li-Alam  al-Isldm.  [Expose  important  pour  le 
monde  de  ITsIam.]  Arabe.  In-16, 15  pages,  brochure  d'As'ad  Sahib, 
chef  des  Nakchbendiya  et  successeur  de  son  oncle  Khdiid,  a  Damas. 
Cette  brochure  est  la  troisieme  d'une  serie  dite  As-Sirr  Al-Matwi 
"Le  Secret  enveloppe."  Imp.  A'^-Nairaki,  1333/1915.  Mysticisme 
et  panislamisme  au  service  de  TAUemagne. 

4. — Al-Fadhdi'  Ar-Rousiya.  [Les  atrocites  russes  (a  Memel).] 
Arabe.  In-4°,  13  pages. — Recits  de  soi-disant  atrocites  russes  lors 
de  la  prise  de  Memel,  avec  d'horribles  illustrations  de  "massacres" 
si  exagerees  qu'elles  risquent  d'aller  contre  leur  but. 

5. — Al-Adl.  [La  Justice.]  Journal  arabe  "independant,"  biheb- 
domadaire,  public  a  Constantinople  et  "qui  sert  la  nation,  la  societe, 
le  gouvernement." 

h)  Tracts  plus  Specialeivient  Destinj^s  aux  Sujets  Musul- 
mans DE  L'Angleterre. 

lis  ont  meme  esprit  et  m^me  valeur  que  ceux  destines  aux  musul- 
mans d'Egypte. 

1. — Khithdb  maftouh  ild  'l-Mister  Asquith,  rdis  Wizdrat  Ingliterrd. 
[Lettre  ouverte  a  M.  Asquith,  president  du  Conseil  des  ministres 
d'Angleterre.]  Arabe  in-8°,  4  pages,  par  Mohammed  Fehmi,  presi- 
dent du  Comite  permanent  de  la  Jeune-Egypte  en  Europe  (Geneve, 
14  septembre  1915).  Cette  lettre  rappelle  les  promesses  faites  par 
les  Anglais  d'evacuer  I'Egypte. 


176  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

2. — Moukdrana  bain  Migr  wa  'l-Beldjik  Tagrihdt  Ingliterrd  'dm 
1882-19U  M{ilddiya.)  [Rapprochement  entre  TEgypte  et  la  Bel- 
gique.  Les  explications  de  TAngleterre  pendant  les  annees  1882- 
1914  de  J.  C]  Arabe.  Imprime  a  Berlin,  le  l®""  juillet  1915,  pe  it 
in-8°,  18  pages.  Par  le  D^  Mangour  Moustafa  Rif'at. — ^A  la  fin, 
adresse  de  I'auteur:  Hotel  Deutscher  Kaiser,  Berlin  S.  W. — Critique 
des  declarations  officielles  du  gouvernement  anglais. 

3. — Qahifa  men  tdrikh  Ingliterrd  fi-Migr  ,  .  .  Lest  we  forget 
.  .  .  A  page  from  the  history  of  ike  English  in  Egypt.  Mai  1915. 
Arabe  (8  pages),  anglais  (4  pages).  In-4°  oblong,  6  vues  de  Texecu- 
tion  des  condamnes  de  Denchawai  (Delta  du  Nil)  et  un  portrait  de 
Moustafa  Kamel  pacha.    C'est  Texploitation  de  I'incident  de  1895. 

[On  se  souvient  que,  pour  certains  esprits,  "Denchawaisme*'  devint 
a  cet  epoque  synonyme  de  joug  etranger  et  que,  suivant  le  mot  d'un 
leader  jeune-egyptien  "c'est  a  Denchawai'  que  TArbre  de  la  Liberte 
de  I'Egypte  musulmane  a  ses  racines  profondes."  Toute  une  littera- 
ture  populaire  s*est  alors  echafaudee  sur  ce  fait;  il  en  subsiste  encore 
en  arabe  un  drame,  "I'Affaire  de  Denchawai,*'  par  Hasan  Mer'yl,  et 
un  roman,  "La  Vierge  de  Denchawai,"  par  Mahmoud  Taher  Hacy 
(A.  C.).] 

4. — Al-Haydt  al-Iklizddiya  al-Almdniya  ithnd'  al-Harh  al-hddzira. 
[La  vie  economique  de  I'Allemagne  dans  la  guerre  actuelle.]  Arabe 
in-8°,  72  pages;  les  14  dernieres  occupees  par  des  illustrations  rela- 
tives a  la  vie  economique  de  I'Allemagne.  Par  All  Al-'Idanl  Al- 
Migrl. — Preface  (Le  triomphe  de  I'Allemagne  ne  fait  aucun  doute). — 
I.  Ampleur  de  la  vie  economique  en  AUemagne. — II.  La  lutte  eco- 
nomique de  I'Angleterre  contre  I'Allemagne. — HI.  Les  initiatives  du 
gouvernement  allemand  touchant  la  vie  economique,  pendant  la 
guerre. — IV.  L'industrie  allemande  pendant  la  guerre. — Une  figure 
represente  au  moyen  de  soldats  de  pays  et  de  tallies  divers,  le  nombre 
de  prisonniers  faits  aux  Allies  par  les  Allemands  jusqu'au  28  juillet 
1915;  il  indiquait  un  total  de  1.900.000.  Des  graphiques  montrent 
quelle  est  la  fortune  de  I'Allemagne  et  de  ses  ennemis.  Epigraphe: 
"Quiconque  possede  est  envie  et  I'envieux  n'est  pas  le  maitre." 

II  existe  de  cet  opuscule  des  traductions  en  turc,  persan,  hin- 
doustani,  pandjabi,  chinois,  malais,  etc. 

5. — F achat  al-Ingliz  fi  al-Irdk.  [Echec  des  Anglais  en  Mesopo- 
tamie.]    Arabe.    Feuille  volante. 

c)  Tracts  de  meme  but  £dit6s  1  la  fois  en  arabe,  persan, 

TURC  et  HINDOUSTANI. 

1. — Al-Harh  al-Amma  Mousawara.  [La  guerre  mondiale  illus- 
tree.]  Arabe,  persan,  turc  et  hindoustani.  In-4°  oblong,  56  pages. 
Legende  des  planches  en  allemand,  espagnol,  frangais,  portugais  et 
anglais;  tables  en  arabe,  persan,  turc  et  hindoustani.  A  la  fin: 
"Album  de  la  grande  guerre.  Edition  pour  I'Orient  publiee  par 
Deutscher  Uberseedienst  Transocean,  G.  M.  B.  H.,  BerHn  W.,  et 


THE  HOLY  WAR  THAT  FAH^ED  177 

Nachrichtenstelle  fur  den  Orient,  Berlin  W.  50,  Tauentzienstrasse 
19a." — ^Paralt  tons  les  mois. 

2. — Madjmou'  khasdir  oustoul  al-Angliz  wdkd  V-Fransis  imam 
Madhik  ad-Dardanil  hatta  nihdyat  chahr  mayou.  [Pertes  subies  par 
les  flottes  anglaise  et  frangaise  devant  les  Dardanelles,  jusqu'a  la  fin 
de  mai  1915.]  Arabe,  persan,  turc  et  hindoustani.  In-4°  oblong,  11 
pages.  Vues  de  vaisseaux  detruits  avec  un  texte  explicatif  dans  les 
langues  ci-dessus. 

3. — Khouldgd  wdk'd. — Denchawdy  Hadisesinin  Khouldgase,  [Resume 
de  Taffaire  de  Denshawai.]  Arabe,  persan,  turc,  hindoustani.  In-4° 
oblong,  12  pages,  6  planches  avec  texte  explicatif  en  turc,  arabe,  etc. ; 
le  tout  deja  utilise  pour  "Une  page  de  Thistoire  des  Anglais  en 
Egypte"  indique  plus  haut. 

d)  Tracts  en  langues  de  l'Inde  contre  nos  alliiSs  anglais. 

En  ce  qui  concerne  Tlnde,  les  pamphletaires  se  trouvent  genes: 
les  musulmans  hindous  ont  ete  des  longtemps,  a  titre  de  minorite 
malgre  leur  nombre  de  Q5  millions,  Tobjet  des  faveurs  anglaises. 
Aussi  on  expose  surtout  les  soi-disant  "crimes"  des  Anglais  contre  la 
masse  hindouiste,  leur  administration  egoiste,  qui  empeche  I'lnde  de 
developper  son  industrie;  on  revele  les  defaites  qu*ils  ont  subies  en 
Mesopotamie  et  Europe;  le  triomphe  inevitable  et  deja  "kolossal" 
de  TAUemagne  qui  remporte  constamment  des  victoires,  a  fait  dejjl 
des  millions  de  prisonniers  et  dont  I'industrie,  les  finances  sont  plus 
prosperes  que  jamais. 

Conclusion:  musulmans  et  hindouistes  doivent  s'unir  pour  liberer 
rinde  avec  Tappui  de  I'AUemagne;  leur  avenir  est  en  leurs  mains. 

A  still  longer  list  is  given  of  general  pamphlets  addressed 
to  the  Mohammedans  of  Persia,  Central  Asia,  and  China. 
All  of  a  similar  character  to  those  mentioned  above.  A 
vast  collection  of  intrigue  propagandism  which  fortu- 
nately failed  to  reach  those  for  whom  it  was  intended  and 
even  when  it  was  read  failed  to  produce  the  desired  effect. 
It  is  hard  to  deny  that  Germany  had  for  aim  to  rouse 
against  the  Allies  all  their  Mohammedan  subjects.  This 
propaganda  was  worked  out  on  a  large  scale  with  method 
and  unwearying  energy  from  the  beginning  and  even 
before  the  war.  It  has  been  very  expensive  and  has 
completely  failed  as  she  had  not  reckoned  with  the  loyalty 
of  the  colonies  to  their  rulers. 

F.    J.    DUPRE. 

Cairo,  Egypt, 


THE  AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 
SOCIETY  FOR  MOSLEMS 


There  are  some  things  which  Missionary  Societies  have 
found  they  can  do  better  unitedly  than  independently. 
One  of  these  is  the  production  and  distribution  of  Chris- 
tian literature. 

In  1910,  through  the  zeal  and  initiative  of  Dr.  Samuel 
M.  Zwemer,  a  group  of  friends  were  brought  together 
for  consultation  and  prayer,  with  a  view  to  providing 
an  American  base  for  the  Nile  Mission  Press  of  London, 
with  which  Dr.  Zwemer  was  actively  connected.  This 
group  organized  "The  New  York  Auxiliary  of  the  Nile 
Mission  Press."  The  policy  during  the  first  few  years 
of  the  life  of  the  organization  was  to  make  special  appeal 
on  behalf  of  specific  objects  of  need  connected  with  the 
life  and  work  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press  of  London.  Per- 
haps the  most  distinct  work  done  was  the  securing  of 
$29,200  for  the  building  in  Cairo  which  the  Nile  Mission 
Press  now  uses  as  its  headquarters  in  Egypt.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  however,  contributions  were  obtained  for 
the  current  budget  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press,  and  in  this 
activity  the  New  York  Auxiliary  was  associated  with  a 
similar  Auxiliary  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania. 

As  time  elapsed,  and  the  contacts  of  the  Auxiliary 
multiplied,  an  earnest  desire  manifested  itself  among 
donors  for  an  independent  American  organization  which 
might  make  a  stronger  appeal  to  American  givers,  and 
which  might  also  widen  the  scope  of  its  services  so  as  to 
co-operate  directly  with  agencies  producing  and  distrib- 
uting literature  in  other  Moslem  areas  than  Egypt. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  in  1915,  the  American  Christian 
Literature  Society  for  Moslems  (alphabetically  referred 
to  as  the  A.  C.  L.  S.  M.)  was  organized  and  incorporated. 
The  new  organization  continues,  however,  in  sympathetic 
relationship  with  the  Nile  Mission  Press  of  London,  and 

178 


AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  SOCIETY   179 

serves  as  a  channel  for  contributions  from  America  to 
England.  On  its  Board  of  Managers  are  representatives 
of  at  least  five  different  churches  and  missionary  bodies, 
so  that  the  interdenominational  and  union  character  of 
the  organization  is  well  established. 

The  Society's  methods  of  work  are  simple  and  safe. 
For  the  guidance  of  the  Board  of  Managers  in  the  making 
of  appropriations,  Advisory  Committees  are  formed  in 
the  areas  in  which  it  is  desired  to  work.  These  commit- 
tees are  made  up  of  representatives  of  missions  operat- 
ing within  the  missionary  areas  and  serve  to  acquaint 
the  American  society  with  the  needs  of  these  fields  and 
the  mature  judgment  of  these  missions.  The  activities 
in  America  which  aim  at  collecting  funds  and  adminis- 
tering the  interests  of  the  Society  are  for  the  present 
wholly  of  a  volunteer  character  and  the  successes  achieved 
have  depended  for  the  most  part  upon  a  group  of  friends 
in  New  York  who  have  contributed  time  and  thought  to 
the  activities  of  the  Society  and  the  hospitality  of  their 
homes  to  group  meetings  or  larger  meetings  at  which  the 
Society's  work  was  presented.  Prayer  Circles  have  been 
formed  at  a  number  of  points,  and  there  are  strong  Aux- 
iliaries at  other  points  co-operating  in  extending  interest 
and  support.  The  treasurer  of  the  Society  is  Mrs.  E.  E. 
Olcott  (322  West  75th  Street,  New  York  City)  and  the 
corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Montgomery  (P.  O. 
Box  888,  New  York  City). 

During  1917  the  Society's  activities  centred  in  Egypt. 
Through  its  Advisory  Committee,  publication  of  litera- 
ture such  as  the  following  was  promoted:  ''The  Sinless- 
ness  of  the  Prophets,"  "Bible  Exposition  Series,"  **E1 
Hadaya,"  "Choice  Sermons,"  "Character  of  Jesus," 
"Fact  of  Christ,"  "Many  Infallible  Proofs,"  and  "Marks 
of  a  Man." 

Through  the  co-operation  of  the  Society  a  gift  of  $2,000 
was  secured  from  the  Milton  Stewart  Evangelistic  Fund 
for  the  publication  of  Dr.  Torrey's  book,  "What  the  Bible 
Teaches,"  and  a  number  of  tracts.  This  contribution  was 
sent  direct  to  Cairo  and  does  not  appear  in  the  Treasurer's 
Report,  a  summary  of  which  is  as  follows : 


180  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

REPORT  OF  TREASURER 

January  Ist-December  31st,  1917 
Receipts 

January  1,  1917,  Balance  in  hand. $152.82 

For  General  Fund: 

From  Memberships  Fees  and  Donations 1,995.94 

For  Nile  Mission  Press,  London: 

Legacy  of  William  W.  Borden $17,062.50 

Pittsburgh  Committee 129 .  00 

Designated  Gifts 30.00 

17,221.50 

Specials 24.90 

Total $19,395.16 

Disbursements 

Investment  of  Life  Memberships $200 .  00 

To  Nile  Mission  Press,  London 17,321 .50 

Advisory  Committee,  Cairo 1,450.00 

Home  Expenses,  printing,  postage,  adv.,  etc 125.58 

Specials 27.50 

$19,124.58 
Balance  on  hand  December  31,  1917 270 .  58 

Total $19,395.16 


During  1918  the  Society  plans  to  extend  its  activities 
to  two  new  spheres  in  so  far  as  its  resources  will  permit. 
First,  China.  This  decision  followed  immediately  upon 
the  visit  of  Dr.  Zwemer,  the  Society's  original  founder,  to 
China.  What  significance  has  attached  to  that  epoch  mak- 
ing visit,  readers  of  The  Moslem  World  all  know.  The 
attention  of  the  missionary  forces  in  China  has  been  turned 
to  what  is  not  so  much  a  peril  as  a  rare  opportunity — 
a  hitherto  undeveloped  opportunity — of  winning  Chinese 
Moslems  to  Christ.  Into  this  field,  whose  first  require- 
ments lie  along  the  line  of  Christian  literature,  the  Ameri- 
can Christian  Literature  Society  for  Moslems  desires  to 
enter  in  co-operation  with  other  stronger  agencies. 

The  other  field  into  which  the  Society  wishes  to  enter, 
at  least  in  a  co-operative  way,  is  that  of  Moslem  child- 
hood. Islam  has  cruelly  shortened  childhood  days. 
It  has  thrust  boys  and  girls  all  too  soon  into  the  responsi- 


AMERICAN  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  SOCIETY   181 

bilities  and  realities  of  adult  life.  But  under  western 
and  especially  Christian  influence,  this  period  of  childhood 
is  being  extended.  It  needs  enriching.  This  calls  for 
Christian  literature  especially  adapted  to  children. 

Reasons  for  a  Forward  Movement 

Some  of  the  considerations  which  have  stirred  the  So- 
ciety deeply  and  which  figure  in  its  plans  for  a  marked 
forward  movement  at  this  time  were  gathered  up  in  an 
address  given  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society,  held 
in  New  York  on  January  24th.  Among  these  considera- 
tions are  the  following: 

The  power  of  the  Turk  is  waning.  This  is  an  historical 
fact  which  places  a  new  significance  upon  the  opportu- 
nity for  freedom  of  thought  within  the  Moslem  world. 
The  Turk  is  retreating.  It  is  not  the  beginning,  it  is  the 
finish  of  his  retreat,  thank  God !  Across  the  past  century 
Mohammedan  political  power  has  been  disintegrating, 
but  Turkish  rule  vanished  from  Egypt  with  the  begin- 
ning of  this  war  when  a  British  Protectorate  was  declared. 
From  Mesopotamia  and  Persia  the  Turk  is  also  with- 
drawing. These  are  great  movements  of  God.  What  a 
Christmas  last  Christmas  (1917)  was,  with  Jerusalem  and 
dear  little  Bethlehem  in  the  hands  of  Christian  nations 
again!  The  Turk  is  retreating;  he  is  altogether  out  of 
Africa.  Do  you  realize  that.f^  He  is  almost  out  of  Eu- 
rope and  because  his  power  is  waning  a  new  day  of  free- 
dom in  thought-life  and  in  religious  life  is  dawning. 
This  is  a  challenge  for  a  forward  movement  in  the  pro- 
duction of  Christian  literature. 

The  horizon  of  Islam  is  broadening.  Few  there  are  who 
realize  how  wonderfully  this  war  is  being  used  to  broaden 
the  thought-life  of  Islam.  From  Algeria  and  Tunisia, 
from  Egypt  and  India  thousands  of  Moslems  have  gone 
to  France  to  serve  either  in  the  native  battalions  or  in 
the  fighting  ranks.  As  these  go  back  to  their  homes  in 
the  hinterlands  of  Africa,  in  the  remote  villages  of  India, 
they  will  tell  the  story  of  how  they  went  over  the  great 
waters,  how  they  saw  the  white  man's  houses  rising  to 
the  very  heavens,  and  how  his  great  cities  are  spread  out 


182  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

like  the  forests  of  Africa.  And  as  they  talk,  and  talk, 
and  talk, — as  they  undoubtedly  will — the  horizons  of 
Mohammedanism  that  were  hitherto  so  contracted  and 
narrow,  so  hedged  in  by  ignorance  and  prejudice,  will  be 
pushed  back  and  broadened  as  they  never  have  been  be- 
fore. With  this  broadening  of  the  horizon  of  Islam,  a 
new  opportunity  develops  for  Christian  literature. 

The  influence  of  Christianity  is  penetrating.  The  other 
day  a  cablegram  appeared  in  the  public  press  telling  of 
the  continued  operation  during  the  war  of  Robert  Col- 
lege at  Constantinople  and  the  Woman's  College  on  the 
Bosphorus  and  stating  frankly  that  the  children  of  lead- 
ing families  in  Turkey  were  in  attendance.  It  is  a  fact 
that  we  are  recognizing  on  every  hand,  that  the  influence 
of  Christianity  is  penetrating  into  every  circle  of  Moham- 
medan life.  The  old  days  of  Islam  have  passed.  A  new 
day  has  dawned  and  it  calls  for  Christian  literature. 

The  alignment  of  Mohammedanism  is  changing.  The 
sword  of  Islam  has  been  broken,  but  this  does  not  mean 
the  disappearance  of  the  Moslem  faith.  It  simply  means 
a  new  alignment.  The  old  argument  of  force  is  ruled  out, 
but  a  new  argument  has  appeared,  the  argument  of  reason. 
The  centre  of  influence  in  the  Mohammedan  world  has 
shifted  from  the  political  centre  at  Constantinople  to  the 
intellectual  centre  at  Cairo.  Because  of  all  this,  the 
printed  page  gains  a  new  significance.  Christian  litera- 
ture takes  on  a  new  value. 

Lastly,  the  ^promises  of  God  are  challenging.  We  do 
not  despair  of  the  Moslem  world.  We  believe  God  is 
going  to  save  the  Moslem  world,  save  its  peoples  from  all 
those  influences  that  have  been  their  sorrow  and  their 
disgrace.  Our  eyes  are  seeing  the  very  things  for  which 
men  of  faith  have  long  waited  and  for  which  women  of 
prayer  have  long  interceded.  In  the  proposed  advance  of 
this  campaign  of  love  the  promises  of  God  bulk  large. 
Because  we  have  these  promises  and  because  they  chal- 
lenge us  to  great  expectations  within  the  Moslem  world, 
we  must  attempt  great  things  along  the  lines  of  Christian 
literature  for  this  Moslem  world  that  it  may  be  saved. 

Charles  R.  Watson. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS 


Reform  Movements  Impotent  without  Christianity 

The  Rev.  J.  L.  Macintyre  writes  in  his  interesting  paper  on  move- 
ments toward  social  and  moral  reform  in  the  Church  Missionary 
Review^  showing  that  these  movements  have  an  essential  weakness 
and  limitation  because  of  their  fundamental  error  in  attacking  the 
external  results  and  not  the  evil  within.  "They  lack  the  driving 
power  and  confidence,"  he  says,  "which  come  naturally  from  faith 
in  God.  Many  educated  Moslems  of  to-day  are  feeling  that  the 
seclusion  of  their  womenkind  is  a  mistake  and  an  effectual  bar  to 
national  progress,  and  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  abolish  the  veil 
with  all  its  attendant  consequences.  There  is  great  danger  though 
that  the  liberty  may  soon  degenerate  into  license,  and  they  do  not 
realize  that  what  is  needed  is  a  fundamentally  different  conception  of 
the  relationship  of  men  to  women;  a  conception  which  with  its  at- 
tendant responsibilities  is  quite  foreign  to  the  Koran  and  can  be  found 
only  in  Christ.  At  the  time  of  the  revolution  in  Turkey  the  Com- 
mittee of  Union  and  Progress  put  forth  a  most  enlightened  programme 
of  liberty  and  equality  and  reform,  yet  under  their  regime  the  mas- 
sacre of  their  Armenian  fellow-subjects  has  been  far  more  awful  and 
far-reaching  than  ever  took  place  before.  The  real  cause  of  all  the 
wrongs  done  by  man  to  his  fellow-men  is  that  his  heart  is  estranged 
from  God,  and  until  a  right  relationship  between  man  and  God  is 
established,  these  evils  will  never  be  abolished.  These  movements 
may  prepare  the  way  of  the  Kingdom;  they  are  certainly  an  evidence 
that  God  is  touching  the  hearts  of  men;  but  they  leave  the  funda- 
mentals untouched,  and  at  best  can  only  prepare  the  ground  for  the 
sowing  of  the  good  seed.  Thank  God  we  know  the  only  sure  remedy 
for  all  the  misery  that  man's  lust  and  cruelty  and  selfishness  works 
in  the  world,  and  that  we  are  ambassadors  for  Him  Who  came  to 
proclaim  deliverance  to  the  captives  and  to  set  at  liberty  them  that 
are  bound.*' 

Singapore:  As  Strategic  Centre 

In  considering  the  question  as  to  the  most  important  centre  from 
which  to  influence  Mohammedanism  throughout  Malaysia  the  first 
thing  to  be  decided  is: — Which  of  all  the  races  in  the  Malay  Archi- 
pelago is  exercising  the  strongest  influence  for  spreading  the  doctrines 
and  practice  of  the  faith,  and  for  inducing  the  races  which  are  still 
pagan  to  become  Moslems? 

Only  one  answer  seems  possible  to  that  question.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  population  of  the  little  island  of  Java  is  probably  not 
less  than  seven-eighths  of  the  entire  population  of  the  East  Indies, 
and  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  island  (Javanese,  Sudanese  and 
Madurese)  provide  by  far  the  largest  number  of  those  who  go  from 
Malaysia  to  perform  the  pilgrimage  at  Mecca,  yet  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  people  of  Java  have  never  been  the  most  influential 
Mohammedans  in  this  part  of  the  world.    History  shows  that  Islam 

183 


184  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

has  been  spread  throughout  Malaysia  not  by  the  people  of  Java,  but 
by  the  Malays  of  the  East  coast  of  Sumatra  and  the  Malay  Peninsula. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Mohammedan  invasion  the  most  powerful 
kingdoms  in  the  Northern  part  of  Malaysia  were  Acheen,  Pasai,  Haru, 
and  other  places  of  North  Sumatra,  and  Malacca  and  Kedah  on  the 
Malay  Peninsula.  Manjapahit  was  the  only  really  strong  Moham- 
medan power  in  the  South,  and  its  influence  was  not  to  be  compared 
with  that  of  the  numerous  Malay  kingdoms,  which  extended  as  far 
South  as  Bentan  (now  Riau),  Indragiri,  Jambi,  and  even  Balembang, 
though  Javanese  influence  was  always  strong  at  the  latter  place.  The 
great  founder  of  Singapore,  Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  writing  nearly  a 
hundred  years  ago  says,  "The  Arab  sheikhs  and  sayidsy  whatever 
doctrines  they  failed  to  inculcate,  never  neglected  to  enforce  the 
merit  of  plundering  and  massacring  the  infidels;  an  abominable  tenet, 
which  has  tended  more  than  any  other  doctrine  of  the  Koran  to  the 
propagation  of  this  religion."  He  further  states  that,  at  the  time  he 
wrote,  the  Malay  chiefs  were  constantly  engaged  in  warlike  and 
piratical  expeditions,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Arab  traders,  in 
which  they  made  slaves  of  all  captives  and  the  survivors  of  the  crews 
of  those  vessels  which  fell  into  their  hands.  As  the  result  of  such 
expeditions,  Malay  communities  speaking  the  pure  Malay  language, 
as  it  was  then  and  still  is  spoken  on  both  shores  of  the  Straits  of 
Malacca,  were  established  even  as  far  as  the  North  and  West  coasts 
of  Borneo,  as  far  South  as  Banjermasin,  along  the  east  coast  of  the 
Malay  Peninsula,  and  as  far  North  as  Cambodia.  Undoubtedly  it 
was  the  Malay  race  from  East  Sumatra  and  the  Malay  Peninsula 
that  carried  the  sword  of  Allah  through  the  entire  Archipelago,  and 
was  mainly  instrumental  in  converting  the  weaker  and  less  venture- 
some tribes  to  the  religion  of  Mohammed.  It  is  also  a  remarkable 
fact  that  even  to  the  present  day  the  common  expression  for  becoming 
a  convert  to  Islam  is  "masok  Malayu,"  that  is,  to  become  a  Malay. 

To-day  the  Malay-speaking  Malays  have  still  the  strongest  influ- 
ence for  Mohammedanism  everywhere  in  Malaysia,  and  the  Malay 
language,  spoken  in  its  greatest  purity  in  the  Southern  part  of  the 
Peninsula,  and  called  by  the  Dutch  the  Riau-Lingga,  dialect  of  Malay, 
is  the  literary  language  of  Islam  for  the  entire  Archipelago.  The 
Malay  kingdoms  of  Sumatra  and  Borneo  have  lost  a  good  deal  of 
their  former  power,  and  the  strongest  and  most  influential  Malay 
rulers  at  the  present  time  are  those  under  British  protection  on  the 
Malay  peninsula.  In  the  Dutch  area  the  Mohammedan  rulers  do  not 
appear  to  have  the  same  prestige  that  they  enjoy  under  British  pat- 
ronage, and  this  is  probably  one  reason  why  the  centre  of  Moham- 
medan influence  in  Malaysia  must  be  looked  for  in  the  British  area, 
and  why  Singapore,  being  the  seat  of  British  government  in  Malaysia, 
is  politically  the  most  important  centre. 

Moreover  the  geographical  position  of  Singapore  makes  it  the  great 
centre  of  trade  and  commerce  for  both  the  British  and  Dutch  areas. 
It  is  the  great  collecting  and  distributing  centre  for  the  trade  of  the 
entire  Archipelago.  An  immense  number  of  steamships  and  sailing 
vessels  trade  between  Singapore  and  all  parts  of  the  Peninsula  and 
surrounding  islands.  Singapore  is  the  centre  of  the  pilgrim  traffic, 
for  nearly  every  steamer  which  carries  the  pilgrims  to  Mecca  starts 
from  this  point,  and  it  is  here  that  they  disembark  on  their  return. 
Here  we  may  come  in  contact  with  men  of  every  race  in  the  sur- 
rounding islands,  and  the  census  returns  show  that  large  numbers  of 
Javanese,  Boyans,  and  even  Bugis  from  distant  Celebes  are  perma- 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  185 

nently  resident  here.  Singapore  is  undoubtedly  the  most  cosmopoli- 
tan city  in  Malaysia.  It  also  seems  to  be  the  centre  of  the  Moham- 
medan literary  propaganda  for  the  Dutch  Indies  as  well  as  for  the 
British  area,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  other  place  in 
Malaysia  where  so  many  Malay  books,  pamphlets  and  newspapers 
in  the  Arabic  character  are  being  printed  and  published.  In  the  Dutch 
Indies  the  newspapers  are  printed  for  the  most  part  in  the  roman 
characters,  and  their  influence  is  not  by  any  means  exclusively  Mo- 
hammedan, for  many,  perhaps  most  of  them,  are  printed  and  pub- 
lished and  read  principally  by  the  Chinese. 

In  view  of  all  these  circumstances  one  can  hardly  avoid  the  con- 
clusion that  it  is  in  Singapore  that  the  great  conflict  between  Chris- 
tianity and  Mohammedanism  will  centre.  No  doubt  more  converts 
from  Islam  may  be  won  in  either  Java  or  Sumatra.  This  has  been 
abundantly  proved  by  the  success  of  the  Dutch  and  German  mission- 
aries who  have  really  seriously  grappled  with  this  great  task  which 
now  confronts  the  Christian  Church,  for  they  can  count  their  con- 
verts by  the  thousand,  whereas  the  Malays  boast  that  none  of  their 
race  have  ever  become  Christians,  though  this  is  not  literally  true, 
for  a  few  individuals  here  and  there  have  actually  been  baptized.  In 
spite  of  the  diflSculties,  however,  it  would  be  a  tactical  blunder  to 
shrink  from  the  attempt  to  meet  Mohammedanism  in  Malaysia  at 
its  strongest  point,  and  we  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to 
provide  at  such  a  strategic  centre  as  Singapore  an  adequate  equip- 
ment for  the  conflict  which  must  decide  the  superior  claims  of  Chris- 
tianity to  meet  the  spiritual  and  moral  needs  of  the  men  and  women 
of  every  race  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  to  set  the  standards  of 
personal  and  national  righteousness  for  the  entire  human  race.  Let 
us  pray  that  those  who  are  able  to  do  large  things  for  the  Kingdom 
of  God  will  not  fail  to  provide  the  financial  support  needed  for  this 
enterprise. 

W.  G.  Shellabear. 


Good  News  from  Java 

We  learn  from  our  missionary  correspondent  that  there  is  increased 
interest  among  the  Moslems  at  Solo  (Java)  in  the  Gospel.  She  says: 
"Everywhere  we  find  open  doors.  Last  year  we  baptized  65  adults 
and  children.  This  year  the  number  up  till  now  is  48.  We  have 
Communion  services  four  times  a  year,  and  baptisms  as  a  rule  just 
before.  That  means  that  there  will  be  two  more  occasions  for  bap- 
tism of  adults  this  year. 

The  trouble  just  now  is,  that  the  cost  of  our  station,  because  of 
its  success,  is  rapidly  increasing.  Also,  as  there  is  an  increasing  need 
of  schools  (Dutch  schools)  for  the  Javanese,  we  are  opening  as  quickly 
as  possible  a  number  of  schools  here,  some  for  boarders,  as  the  mis- 
sionary influence  in  a  boarding  school  is  so  much  more  effective. 

Mohammedan  propaganda  is  increasing  here.  The  other  day  we 
had  two  Mohammedans  from  British  India.  They  came  to  us  for  a 
Malay-English  New  Testament,  as  they  wanted  to  learn  the  Malay 
language.  They  were  acquainted  with  Bible  stories,  and  told  me  that 
they  did  not  consider  the  people  here  Mohammedans.  They  had  a 
good  occasion  to  make  their  observations,  as  we  are  in  the  month  of 
fasting,  and  the  most  striking  feature  is,  that  everywhere  in  the 
streets  the  whole  day  long  you  see  people  eating  and  drinking. 
There  is  a  small  minority  who  are  fasting.    I  myself  have  met  some 


186  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  them.  But  they  are  really  an  exception.  What  an  important 
thing  it  would  be  if  the  two  millions  of  Solo  (Solo  is  by  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  Javanese  people  considered  as  **The  City"  of  Java) 
could  get  to  know  the  Gospel  message  in  the  next  few  years,  before 
it  is  too  late.    This  place  is  one  of  the  strategic  points  of  Java." 

Government  Education  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies 

From  the  Singapore  Free  Press  we  take  this  tribute  to  the  excellent 
work  done  by  the  Dutch  Government  on  the  lines  of  practical  edu- 
cation. The  editor  deprecates  education  of  natives  in  the  Malay 
States  unless  it  be  combined  with  industrial  training.  He  then  goes 
on  to  say: 

"We  have  before  us  the  Year  Book  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies, 
a  useful  publication  in  English  from  which  to  judge  of  what  the 
Government  of  the  great  adjoining  Colony  is  doing.  In  the  chapter 
on  education,  it  is  stated  that  in  schools  for  Europeans  the  curricu- 
lum is  kept  up  to  the  standard  of  similar  institutions  in  Holland,  so 
as  to  enable  the  pupils  without  difficulty  to  continue  their  studies  in 
Europe.  Roughly  speaking  that  is  what  we  try  to  do  in  this  Colony. 
In  the  Netherlands  Indies  there  are  also  secondary  schools  for  general 
education,  and  technical  schools.  The  government  has  established 
a  school  of  trades  and  handicrafts,  where  metal  working  and  carpen- 
try are  among  the  subjects  taught.  These  schools  are  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  impecunious  European  scholars.  There  are  also  native  schools 
of  arts  and  crafts,  and  in  three  of  the  most  important  towns  of  Java 
the  Government  has  established  schools  for  artificers,  taking  about 
two  hundred  pupils  each,  the  course  of  training  lasting  from  three  to 
four  years,  *and  the  skilled  artisan  who  has  received  his  training  at 
one  of  these  institutions  easily  finds  employment,  either  at  Govern- 
ment works,  or  at  private  industrial  enterprises.'  " 

Malay,  a  Leading  Vernacular  of  the  World 

The  "Bulletin"  of  the  School  of  Oriental  Studies  in  London  has 
issued  its  first  number  and  amongst  other  valuable  contributions  it 
publishes  summaries  of  public  lectures  delivered  at  the  School  during 
1917.  One  given  by  Mr.  C.  O.  Blagden  on  February  7th  presents  a 
number  of  interesting  features  in  Malay,  which  he  claims  is  "one  of 
the  leading  vernaculars  of  the  world"  and  which  interests  us  as  the 
language  of  millions  of  Mohammedans  in  the  Middle  East. 

"It  is  a  leading  member  of  a  vast  family  of  languages,  commonly 
styled  the  Austronesian,  or  Malayo-Polynesian,  or  Oceanic  family, 
which  is  of  Asiatic  origin,  but  has  an  almost  entirely  insular  domain. 
.  .  .  Among  the  Indonesians,  the  Malays  must  be  distinguished 
from  the  Javanese,  Dayaks,  Filipinos,  etc. ;  these  are  cousins  of  the 
Malays,  but  they  are  not  Malays  any  more  than  Frenchmen  are 
Italians.  The  homeland  of  the  true  Malay  and  of  his  language  is  the 
eastern  half  of  Central  Sumatra.  .  .  .  The  Standard  Malay  has 
spread  far  and  wide.  Coming  from  the  eastern  coastlands  of  Central 
Sumatra,  the  Malays  colonised  the  Malay  Peninsula  not  less  than 
about  seven  centuries  ago,  but  even  now  they  have  not  occupied  the 
whole  of  the  interior.  .  .  .  Further,  the  Malays  settled  along 
the  shores  of  Borneo,  subduing  or  assimilating  the  Dayaks  of  that 
island,  but  only  along  the  coastline.  They  also  established  themselves 
in  many  other  places  as  traders,  and  their  comparatively  simple 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  187 

language  became  in  time  the  lingua  franca  of  the  whole  Archipelago 
south  of  the  larger  islands  of  the  Philippine  group.     .     .     . 

"The  form  of  Malay  which  does  duty  as  a  lingua  franca  is  apt  to 
be  much  influenced  by  the  various  local  languages  with  which  it  has 
to  compete,  and  has  adopted  many  loan  words  from  them;  so  in  Java, 
words  from  Javanese,  Sundanese  and  Balinese,  etc.  But  even  the 
Malay  of  the  Malays  themselves  contains  a  considerable  percentage 
of  loan  words,  for  the  race  has  been  in  contact  with  strangers  for 
centuries.  These  words  are  mainly  from  Sanskrit,  Persian  and  Arabic, 
and  point  to  two  successive  eras  of  foreign  influence;  the  first  Indian, 
introducing  Hinduism  and  Buddhism,  the  second  Muhammadan, 
mainly  from  Southern  Arabia.  A  certain  number  of  Javanese  and 
Tamil  words  have  also  come  in,  as  well  as  a  few  from  Hindustani  and 
Chinese,  and  (since  the  16th  century)  from  Portuguese,  Dutch  and 
English.  The  flow  of  Arabic  words  into  Malay  is  still  going  on,  being 
entirely  at  the  option  of  individual  scholars,  whose  piety  or  pedantry 
may  prompt  them  to  make  an  unnecessarily  large  use  of  them. 
Malays,  being  all  Muhammadans,  are,  of  course,  familiar  with  a 
number  of  Arabic  words  in  common  use  in  their  prayers.  But  a  good 
many  other  Arabic  words  have  been  quite  assimilated  to  Malay,  and 
are  not,  as  a  rule,  pronounced  in  the  Arabic  fashion,  which  indeed 
Malays  find  it  very  hard  to  follow. 

"In  spite  of  all  this  foreign  element,  the  Malay  language  remains 
fundamentally  Indonesian  in  its  phonetics,  morphological  structure 
and  syntax;  the  amount  of  the  foreign  element  must  not  be  over- 
rated, for  though  the  foreign  words  are  often  important,  and  some  of 
them  are  very  frequently  used,  their  percentage  to  the  whole  vocabu- 
lary is  very  small. 

"The  chief  difficulties  in  learning  Malay  consist  in  remembering  a 
large  number  of  words,  for  it  has  a  large  vocabulary;  in  the  correct 
use  of  its  morphological  system  of  affixes,  i.e.,  a  limited  number  of 
syllables  having  no  separate  existence  but  capable  of  being  prefixed 
or  suffixed  in  certain  cases  to  the  simple,  unextended  word  (which 
otherwise  suffers  no  change) ;  and  in  a  thorough  grasp  of  the  syntacti- 
cal structure  of  the  language." 

Arabic  Literature  in  Java 

De  Locomotief  of  Java  reports  increased  importation  of  Arabic  books 
into  Java  from  Cairo,  Arabia  and  Singapore.  In  the  year  1916 
Arabic  books  to  the  value  of  over  ten  thousand  guilders  were  imported 
at  Samarang  alone.  The  Ahmadiah  sect  in  India  is  also  active  at 
present  in  spreading  its  literature  throughout  Java  and  organizing  a 
campaign  of  propagandism.  The  Office  Musulman  International  at 
Lausanne,  Switzerland,  is  also  covering  Malaysia  with  its  propagan- 
dism. Some  of  this  may  be  purely  religious  but  as  the  head  of  this 
international  bureau  and  many  of  his  associates  belong  to  the  ex- 
Khedive's  party  of  Egypt  we  suspect  much  of  it  is  political  in  its 
character.  In  Sumatra  a  much  larger  quantity  of  Turkish  literature 
from  Turkey  has  recently  been  imported. 

The  Study  of  Arabic  by  Englishmen 

In  a  public  lecture  on  March  14th,  1917,  at  the  School  of  Oriental 
Studies  in  London,  Dr.  T.  W.  Arnold,  CLE.,  strongly  urged  the 
wider  study  of  Arabic  among  Englishmen.  "It  seems  strange,"  he 
said,  "that  living  under  such  favourable  conditions  for  acquiring  a 


188  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

knowledge  of  Arabic,  so  few  Englishmen  whose  work  carries  them  to 
the  East  care  to  do  so.  I  have  not  in  mind  so  much  professional 
students,  members  of  academic  bodies;  but  what  this  country  needs 
is  more  amateurs,  men  who  take  up  the  study  of  the  language  for 
the  love  of  it,  out  of  a  feeling  of  personal  interest  unconnected  with 
any  professional  occupation.  ...  It  may  seem  strange  to  call 
Lane  an  amateur,  but  I  use  it  as  a  term  of  honour  for  the  student  who 
pursues  his  particular  branch  of  learning  apart  from  any  academic 
centre.  .  .  .  Now  Lane's  works — his  great  Lexicon  and  his 
*  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians' — are  monuments 
of  erudition  that  are  unsurpassed  in  any  language  of  Europe.  .  .  . 
I  might  mention  the  names  of  a  number  of  lesser  lights,  but  what  we 
need  is  a  larger  circle  of  students  working  at  and  interested  in 
Arabic." 

Dr.  Arnold  went  on  to  discuss  some  of  the  special  opportunities 
which  there  are  for  pioneer  work  on  the  dialects  of  living  Arabic. 
"The  work  of  Mr.  Willmore  has  removed  from  English  scholarship 
the  disgrace  of  having  neglected  the  study  of  living  forms  of  Arabic 
speech.  But  in  so  vast  a  field  for  activity  it  stands  alone,  and  that 
too  where  Englishmen  have  had  such  unequalled  opportunities. 
.  .  .  The  same  kind  of  work  has  to  be  done  as  has  been  accom- 
plished in  this  country  with  such  interesting  results  by  the  Dialect 
Society.  It  has  only  recently  come  to  be  recognised  that  the  various 
Arabic  dialects  are  not  debased  forms  of  classical  Arabic,  but  have 
lived  an  independent  life  of  their  own,  preserving  often  (especially  in 
their  morphology)  early  characteristics  which  can  be  traced  back 
beyond  the  time  when  reverence  for  the  Qur'an  caused  the  dialect 
in  which  it  was  written  to  become  the  established  medium  of  literary 
expression. 

"The  amazing  fact  is  that  these  many  forms  of  Arabic  dialect 
should  have  maintained  a  continuous  life,  side  by  side  with  so  power- 
ful a  literary  tradition.  In  Syria,  for  instance.  Von  Kremer  main- 
tained that  almost  every  town  and  village  had  a  separate  dialect; 
this  is  no  doubt  an  exaggeration,  but  it  is  easy  to  distinguish  four 
main  divisions  of  the  Syrian  dialect.  .  .  .In  Baghdad  it  is  possi- 
ble to  distinguish  even  between  the  forms  of  speech  that  prevail  in 
different  quarters  of  the  city,  and  as  many  as  six  dialects  may  be 
enumerated.  .  .  .  Apart  from  the  historical  basis  for  the  differ- 
ences between  the  dialects  spoken  by  Jews,  Christians,  Bedouins  and 
other  Muhammadans,  there  are  the  various  foreign  influences  that 
have  profoundly  modified  the  daily  vocabulary:  Persians,  Afghans, 
Indians,  Kurds  and  Turks  have  variously  affected  the  common  speech 
of  the  quarters  of  the  city  they  frequent  or  have  settled  in.  The  study 
of  the  Arabic  dialects,  therefore,  is  hedged  about  with  peculiar  diffi- 
culties, and  there  is  room  for  the  labour  of  any  number  of  investi- 
gators.    .     .     . 

"The  student  of  Arabic  literature  must  then  turn  from  the  dialects 
to  the  classical  language.  And  what  an  attraction  there  is  in  this 
literature  of  thirteen  centuries  that  touches  on  every  theme  of  human 
thought  and  activity!  There  is  hardly  any  subject  within  the  whole 
range  of  human  interests  to  which  some  part  of  Arabic  literature  has 
not  made  its  contribution;  and  it  possesses  characteristics  peculiar  to 
itself  which  vindicate  for  it  a  very  special  place  among  the  literatures 
of  the  world, — and  this  expressed  through  the  medium  of  a  language 
of  a  marvellous  subtlety." 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  189 

Why  the  Holy  War  Failed 

The  Rev.  John  Van  Ess  of  Busrah  contributes  an  interesting  article 
to  Neglected  Arabia  on  this  subject  and  gives  five  reasons  why  the 
attempt  to  stir  up  the  Arabian  troops  to  a  holy  war  failed.  We  sum- 
marise : 

"1.  Islam  has  become  too  materialistic  to  respond  to  a  high  spirit- 
ual call.  Only  once  in  the  life  of  Islam  has  she  reached  that  height. 
The  efforts  of  the  Wahabis  in  Nejd  in  the  early  nineteenth  century 
were  an  abortion  except  locally.  The  opportunism  of  Mohammed 
himself  has  entered  into  the  very  fibre  of  the  Mohammedan,  and  the 
promise  of  high  price  for  grain,  sheep  and  dates,  when  the  British 
should  arrive  filled  the  whole  horizon  of  the  Mesopotamia  Arabs  at 
least. 

"2.  Islam  lacks  the  courage  of  the  initiative.  True  enough,  Mos- 
lems are  missionaries  for  their  faith  everywhere,  but  it  is  not  the 
activity  of  initiative  but  the  momentum  of  habit,  or  rather  the  result 
of  their  testimony  which,  be  it  said,  is  the  strong  point  of  their  faith, 
and  one  by  which  we  might  do  well  to  profit.  Save  in  Central  Africa, 
Islam  is  on  the  defensive — placed  so  by  Christian  missions — and  in 
Arabia  we  hear  everywhere  from  Moslem  lips,  *each  according  to  his 
faith — and  Allah  knows.'  The  Germans,  however,  keenly  discerning 
this  lack  of  initiative,  tried  to  supply  the  same  by  organising  mas- 
sacres with  the  hope  of  whetting  the  Moslem  taste  of  blood.  When  a 
German  Consul  General  was  asked  how  he  could  thus  betray  human 
confidence,  he  said:  *When  my  Government  orders,  I  am  but  a 
machine.' 

*'The  Englishmen  who  were  interned  at  Bagdad  and  were  sent 
across  country  and  later  released,  told  Mr.  Van  Ess  personally  of 
having  seen  German  officers  with  'Holy  War'  inscribed  on  their 
military  caps. 

"3.  Fear  of  the  oncoming  Christian,  Shades  of  Mohammed!  And 
yet  I  know  that  one  whole  evening  a  large  gathering  of  leading  Mos- 
lems in  Ashar,  a  suburb  of  Busrah,  discussed  the  advisability  of 
enlisting  in  the  Jihad,  and  the  argument  that  dissuaded  them  was  the 
severe  punishment  that  would  be  meted  out  by  the  British  when 
they  should  arrive. 

"4.  But  the  most  gratifying  reason  was  the  feeling  of  fraternity 
between  Moslems  and  Christians.  We  missionaries  openly,  even  in 
the  Hamidian  regime,  proclaimed  our  love  for  the  Moslem  but  our 
abhorrence  for  Islam.  We  were  made  objects  of  scurrilous  editorials 
in  the  native  press,  of  violent  fetwas  by  leading  ulema.  Yet  when 
the  dark  days  came,  the  girls'  school  was  closed,  not  because  there 
were  no  girls,  but  because  every  foot  of  the  mile  which  my  wife 
travelled  daily  to  the  school  was  fraught  with  danger  from  flying 
bullets.  Three  of  our  evangelists  were  excused  from  military  service 
because  they  were  readers  in  the  church,  which  everybody  knew 
existed  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  Moslems.  Every  day  the  hospital 
was  full  and  the  clinic  was  crowded.  And  during  the  reign  of  terror 
after  the  Turks  had  evacuated  the  city  and  before  the  British  came 
in,  Arabs  even  brought  us  loot  as  a  present! 

*'  5.  Deep  down  in  the  hearts  of  Moslems  is  the  conviction  that  the 
*last  days'  have  come  and  that  the  crescent  is  waning.  Did  not 
Mohammed  himself  say,  *  This  (my)  religion  began  as  a  strange  thing 
and  shall  return  and  become  a  strange  thing  even  as  it  began.'  They 
feel,  even  though  they  do  not  in  so  many  words  understand  the 


1»0  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

inevitability  of  victory  on  the  part  of  Him  who  said,  *I  have  over- 
come the  world.*" 

The  New  Flag  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Hedjaz 

A  new  flag  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Hedjaz  as  described  in  Al  Kibla 
and  as  we  saw  it  over  the  public  buildings  in  Jiddah  during  a  recent 
visit  is  quite  different  from  any  flag  the  Arabs  have  ever  carried  in 
battle.  It  has  no  inscription  and  no  symbol.  It  consists  of  a  red 
wedge  with  the  broadest  end  toward  the  flag  pole  about  one  third 
of  the  way  across  the  field;  the  remainder  of  which  is  divided  into 
three  equal  parallel  stripes,  black,  green  and  red.  No  particular 
significance  is  attached  to  these  colors  save  that  all  of  them  have  had 
their  use  in  the  history  of  Islam  by  different  factions  and  periods. 
Green  of  course  is  generally  considered  the  sacred  color. 

In  Quweit  there  is  also  a  new  flag  at  the  sheikh*s  palace.  The  star 
and  crescent  of  Islam,  as  Sheikh  Mubarak  used  to  describe  it,  or  of 
Turkey  as  the  Ottoman  oflScials  claimed,  is  replaced  by  a  red  flag 
with  the  simple  word  "Kuweit,"  in  white  on  it.  This  indication  of 
independence  is  a  part  of  the  separation  of  nearly  all  Arabia  from 
Turkish  claim  or  authority. 

The  Turanian  Movement 

In  the  Times,  January  4th,  1918,  there  was  an  interesting  article  on 
the  origin  of  the  Pan-Turanian  Movement  from  which  we  quote  the 
following  as  supplementing  the  article  in  our  present  issue  on  "the 
Turkish  Races  and  Missionary  Endeavour": — 

"The  Turkish  national  movement  is  similar  in  kind  to  the  earlier 
movements  of  other  nationalities  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.  It  draws 
its  intellectual  inspiration  from  Europe,  like  them,  and  is  at  the  same 
time  a  spontaneous  phenomenon.  In  Europe  the  Magyars,  Serbs, 
Greeks,  Rumans  and  Bulgars  have  extricated  themselves  from  the 
Ottoman  chrysalis  in  tiu-n,  and  now  it  is  the  turn  of  the  Turks  in 
Anatolia.  For  the  Turks  too  have  been  a  subject  people.  The  orig- 
inal Ottoman  principality  comprised  only  a  tiny  portion  of  the  Ana- 
tolian Peninsula.  The  rest  belonged  to  independent  Turkish  States, 
which  offered  a  more  stubborn  resistance  than  the  Balkans  to  the 
Ottoman  conquest.  It  made  little  difference  that  in  Anatolia  con- 
querors and  conquered  were  of  the  same  religion  and  speech  for  the 
Ottoman  Empire  in  its  first  phase  was  the  antithesis  of  a  national 
State.  It  was  a  military  dynasty  and  a  cosmopolitan  administration 
and  the  only  privilege  it  accorded  the  Anatolian  Turks  was  to  spill 
their  blood  on  the  Danube  and  in  Yemen  especially  since  the  early 
nineteenth  century,  when  conscription  was  substituted  for  the  Chris- 
tian-descended Janissary  standing  army,  the  blood  tax  has  been 
levied  from  the  Turks  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  other  nationalities 
of  the  Empire. 

"The  Turkish  national  movement  began  after  the  Ottoman  Revo- 
lution of  1908,  and  its  aim  was  to  raise  this  people — at  once  the 
mainstay  and  the  victim  of  Ottoman  Imperialism — to  a  better  con- 
dition. Like  most  national  movements  in  Europe,  it  started  from  the 
linguistic  side.  Osmanli  Turkish,  the  official  and  literary  language 
of  the  Ottoman  State,  was  as  remote  from  the  Turkish  of  the  Anato- 
lian peasantry  as  the  Stambuli  Effendis  were  from  the  peasants 
themselves.  It  was  saturated  with  Persian  and  Arabic  words  and 
idioms  and  the  Nationalists  agitated  for  the  expulsion  of  these  from 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  191 

the  language  and  the  restoration  of  Turkish  equivalents.  This  *pure 
Turkish'  campaign  was  followed  by  efforts  in  favour  of  primary 
education,  the  emancipation  of  women  and  the  improvement  of  the 
peasant's  economic  condition.  It  was  a  genuine  social  revival,  like 
those  which  had  previously  accompanied  the  liberation  of  the  Bulgars 
or  the  Greeks,  and,  if  left  to  itself,  it  might  have  led  to  equally  bene- 
ficial results.  Unfortunately  it  took  a  different  turn  after  the  Balkan 
War. 

"The  new  national  feeling,  while  it  made  the  Turks  conscious  of 
their  difference  from  Persians  and  Arabs,  also  reminded  them  of  their 
kinship  with  other  Turkish  peoples,  for  no  less  than  70  per  cent  of 
the  Turkish-speaking  population  of  the  world  is  to  be  found  outside 
the  Ottoman  frontiers.  This  Pan-Turkism  was  as  natural  a  corollary 
of  Turkish  nationalism  as  Pan-Slavism  was  of  the  separate  nation- 
ality movement  among  Russians,  Jugo-Slavs  and  Czechs,  but  at  the 
same  time  the  conception  of  it  was  an  importation  from  Europe. 

"The  Turkish  nationalists  had  no  intellectual  background  of  their 
own;  they  were  largely  influenced  by  a  single  book  from  the  pen  of  a 
French  Orientalist,  M.  Leon  Cahun,  which  happened  to  pass  through 
their  hands;  and  to  label  their  new  discovery  of  Pan-Turkish  kinship 
they  borrowed  a  European  scientific  term.  From  *  Turan,''  the  name 
in  Persian  mediaeval  epic  for  the  Central  Asiatic  steppes,  European 
philologists  had  coined  the  word  *  Turanian,'  to  denote  the  *  agglu- 
tinative' group  of  languages  in  North  eastern  Europe,  Hungary  and 
Asia.  The  Pan-Turkish  enthusiasts  seized  upon  the  appellation  for 
themselves.  .  .  .  Then  came  the  Balkan  War,  and  the  Pan- 
Turanian,  like  the  Pan-Islamic,  movement  was  converted  into  a 
political  weapon  by  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress." 

Our  Duty  to  Palestine 

In  the  November  Church  Missionary  Gleaner ^  a  writer  who  has  had 
many  years'  experience  among  Mohammedans,  in  an  article  on 
"Palestine  Before  the  War  and  After,"  says: — 

"What  attitude  is  the  Church  going  to  adopt  after  the  war  is  over 
towards  Palestine,  the  *  Cradle  of  Christianity'?  If  she  is  as  luke- 
warm in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  and  leaves  her  task  to  a  Church 
that  hates  the  Moslem  and  does  not  believe  in  the  possibility  of  his 
conversion,  or  points  to  the  paucity  of  past  baptisms  and  says  the 
game  is  not  worth  the  candle,  the  very  hope  the  war  gives  will  be 
dashed  to  the  ground.  It  cannot  be!  The  land  of  Bethlehem,  and 
Nazareth,  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  of  the  victory  over  the  tomb 
and  the  Ascension  from  Olivet,  is  of  such  strategical  importance  to 
the  Church  that  she  dare  not  allow  the  Crescent  to  hold  undisputed 
sway  over  the  Cross.  I  can  well  imagine  a  Moslem  of  Africa,  of 
India,  of  China,  saying:  *  Why  the  very  land  of  your  religion's  incep- 
tion bows  before  our  Prophet!'  Is  it  not  a  reproach  to  the  Church 
that  such  a  statement  should  be  possible?" 

Islam  After  the  War 

Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  in  a  message  to  missionaries  in  India 
puts  the  issue  clearly  between  Islam  and  Christianity  in  their  mutual 
relations  and  shows  that  this  will  not  be  changed  after  the  war  and 
that  through  our  message,  our  mission  and  the  passion  of  Christ  for 
our  Moslem  brethren  it  will  not  be  changed  by  the  issues  of  the  war. 

"It  is  monotheism  without  the  Christ  of  God;  and  therefore  with- 


192  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

out  the  God  of  Christ.  For  though  a  certain  character,  called  Jesus 
Christ,  is  mentioned,  that  character  is  totally  devoid  of  interest;  it 
is  lost  in  the  crowd;  overtopped  by  more  dominant  personalities, 
more  important  Messengers;  it  was  not  the  eternal  Beloved;  did  not 
institute  that  feast  of  the  broken  bread  and  the  poured-out  wine;  did 
not  for  love's  sake  lay  down  life;  did  not  shed  blood;  did  not  die  nor 
rise  again;  did  not  ascend  to  the  right  hand  of  Power,  to  perpetual 
intercession  and  dynamic  life  for  men.  Thus  the  Koran,  and  thus 
every  Muhammadan  book  and  every  Muhammadan  believer  from 
the  days  of  the  Arabian  till  to-day. 

"Speaking  dispassionately  then,  speaking  without  cant,  honestly 
and  with  decency  of  clear  thinking  in  the  light  of  plain  facts,  can 
these  two  things — ^that  great  Assertion  and  this  great  Denial — be 
reconciled?  Is  the  name  of  our  Father  which  is  in  Heaven  equally 
hallowed,  and  His  will  equally  done,  in  the  solemn  assertion  and  the 
solemn  repudiation  of  these  things? 

"It  cannot  be  so,  and  it  is  not  so. 

"Apologists  both  in  Christendom  and  Islam  would  have  us  believe 
that  equally  both  systems  have  come  to  stay  (presumably,  therefore, 
that  both  are  equally  true),  and  that  we  should  settle  down  to  the 
thought  that  the  two  sister-religions  should  and  will  pursue  their 
respective  tracks  in  the  civilising  of  humanity. 

"We  are  not  called  on,  it  is  true,  to  say  what  may  be  the  purpose 
of  God  for  Islam  in  His  world  to-day,  now  that  it  is  in  being  in  the 
midst  of  the  nations.  Divine  Providence  had  a  task  for  the  Roman 
Empire  even  when  it  was  working  against  the  Church  of  God,  and 
when  that  Church  was  silently  working  to  subdue  that  Empire  to 
Christ.  In  the  same  way,  the  Church  leaves  to  Divine  Providence  to 
assign  to  Islam  its  historic  task,  while  looking  forward  with  clear 
vision  and  marching  forward  with  unhesitating  feet  to  the  bringing  of 
Islam  into  the  obedience  of  Christ;  when  it  will  not  abandon  but  re- 
read its  own  name,  *  Surrender,'  and  find  that  it  means  *  Surrender  to 
Allah  and  to  His  own  Messiah.'  Are  we  clear  about  this?  Islam  on 
its  side  is  perfectly  clear-sighted  about  these  questions.  It  is  work- 
ing ceaselessly,  and  we  know  that  every  convert  won  is  not  only 
hopelessly  lost  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  but  sets  himself  immediately 
into  an  attitude  of  considered  antagonism — except  at  coalition  public 
meetings  in  London,  the  object  of  which,  however,  is  wholly  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  Islam.  Thus  sacred  duty  and  logical  inevitable- 
ness  coincide,  as  they  are  always  sure  to  do. 

"The  universal  breaking  up  caused  by  this  war  will  assuredly  bring 
new  opportunities  and  many  increased  facilities.  Yet,  the  difficulties 
of  the  task  of  bringing  Islam  into  the  obedience  of  God's  Christ  will 
be  as  great  as  ever  they  were.  The  new  opportunities  will  not  lessen 
the  spiritual  and  intrinsic  difficulties :  they  will  simply  make  possible 
new  approaches.  To  the  great  Assertion  the  great  Denial  will  still 
bring  the  great  Refusal;  for  here  we  are  dealing  with  spiritual,  not 
political,  facts.  Nothing,  again,  is  to  be  hoped  from  internal  reform — 
the  spread  of  a  sort  of  Protestant  Reformation — in  Islam;  for,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  by  precisely  these  educated  persons  and  reformers 
that  anti-Christian  religious  movements  are  fostered  and  Islamic 
propagation  movements  initiated.  The  more  tradition  is  given  up, 
the  greater  will  be  the  prominence  given  to  the  Koran.  And  this 
*  shortening  of  the  lines'  and  surrender  of  very  easily  assaulted  posi- 
tions may,  in  truth,  only  prove  a  strength  to  Islam. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  193 

The  One  Hope 

"Therefore,  not  in  anything  human  whatsoever  must  hope  be  put 
for  the  task  of  achieving  the  apparently  impossible;  neither  might  nor 
power — political;  nor  gold  nor  silver — material;  nor  new  possibilities 
of  successful  argumentation — philosophical;  but 

"  *0  Israel,  hope  in  the  Lord,  from  this  time  forth  and  for  ever 
more.' 

"In  the  Lord,  the  Lord's  Christ,  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  (these  three 
are  one)." 

The  Political  Failure  of  Islam 

An  able  article  on  this  subject  appeared  recently  in  The  Social 
Reform  Advocate  of  India  by  Professor  Homersham  Cox  which  seems 
to  have  aroused  interest  in  certain  centres  of  Mohammedan  thought. 
The  New  Era,  the  Mohammedan  weekly  recently  started  in  Luck- 
now,  while  admitting  the  fact  of  the  failure  of  Islam  as  a  secular  force 
refuses  to  accept  the  explanations  passed  in  review  by  the  learned 
Professor.  This  paper  is  inclined  to  attribute  the  political  failure  of 
Islam  not  to  overreligiousness,  nor  to  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  law, 
nor  to  the  worldliness  of  the  Mohammedans,  but  to  the  dead  weight 
of  convention  preventing  the  spirit  of  the  creed  from  working  itself 
out  to  full  advantage  in  the  social  and  political  life  of  the  Moham- 
medans. 

Educational  Progress  in  India 

A  new  Moslem  college  has  been  established  in  Madras  Presidency 
at  Vaniambadi  and  the  Islamia  College  at  Peshawar  is  vying  with 
the  one  at  Lahore  in  its  ambitious  program  for  Moslem  higher  edu- 
cation. There  are  plans  on  foot  for  a  new  Moslem  University  at 
Hyderabad,  Deccan  and  also  in  other  centres  the  leaders  of  educa- 
tion are  stirring  their  backward  community  to  remove  the  reproach 
of  ignorance  and  illiteracy  which  still  rests  so  heavily  on  the  Moslem 
population.  The  moral  ideals  of  this  modern  educational  movement 
are  well  expressed  by  Principal  Henry  Martin,  M.A.,  of  the  Islamia 
College,  Lahore,  in  the  Students'  Hand-book  for  1917.  After  em- 
phasizing the  need  of  earnestness,  diligence,  politeness,  and  so  forth, 
he  writes:  "Thirdly,  you  should  remember  that  this  is  a  Moham- 
medan College  and  most  of  you  are  Mohammedan  students.  It  is 
not  enough  to  be  called  a  Mussulman  and  to  profess  the  faith  of 
Islam.  Profession  is  nothing  without  character  and  conduct.  You 
have  to  try  daily  to  live  up  to  the  ideal  of  conduct  held  up  before  you 
in  the  Holy  Quran  and  in  the  life  of  your  Prophet.  If  you  do  this 
you  will  be  not  only  good  Muslems  but  true  gentlemen  and  good  men." 
We  wish  that  all  British  principals  and  professors  in  these  Moslem 
colleges  would  read  something  of  Islam  in  its  original  documentary 
sources  before  unreservedly  holding  up  such  ideals  as  sufficient. 

The  Ben-I-Israel  of  Afghanistan 

In  a  paper  read  by  Sir  Thomas  H.  Holdich,  K.C.M.G.,  before  the 
Indian  Section  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Arts,  the  lecturer  described 
the  home  of  the  Ben-i-Israel,  who,  he  said,  belong  to  (if  they  do  not 
comprise)  those  Durani  clans  who  established  themselves  as  the 
dominant  power  in  Afghanistan  after  the  death  of  the  great  Persian 
ruler.  Nadir  Shah,  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  a  well-watered 
and  fertile  land,  bright  and  warm  with  sunshine  in  summer  and 


194  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

wrapped  in  the  snowy  mantle  of  an  Eastern  Switzerland  in  winter. 
The  Ben-i-Israel  are  all  Mohammedans,  of  the  Sunni  sect,  and  there 
are  certain  curious  traces  of  Levitical  ritual  in  some  of  their  observ- 
ances. They  maintain  that  they  originally  came  from  Asia  Minor, 
and  they  are  undoubtedly  immigrants  from  the  West.  They  possess 
in  a  very  marked  degree  the  Hebraic  cast  of  feature  and  character; 
but  the  lecturer  emphasised  the  necessity  of  distinguishing  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Israelite.  The  Afghan  hates  the  Yahudi,  or  Jew. 
Referring  to  the  name  Kabul,  Sir  Thomas  said  that  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  identifying  it  with  that  of  a  well-known  place  mentioned 
by  travellers  in  Palestine  and  one  of  the  cities  given  by  Solomon  to 
Hiram.  The  identity  of  a  place-name  in  localities  so  widely  separated 
as  Syria  and  Afghanistan  was  at  least  curious,  if  not  significant. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  know  how  the  Ben-i-Israel  could  have 
reached  the  Kabul  valley  from  Armenia,  or  from  any  other  district 
"beyond  the  Euphrates,"  to  which  they  were  originally  carried  cap- 
tive. There  was  a  time  when,  across  the  width  of  Persia,  by  at  least 
two  world-old  high  roads,  the  slow  caravans  passed  and  repassed 
from  Central  Asia  and  India  to  Syria  and  the  West.  Then  came  the 
sweeping  hordes  of  the  Northeast,  to  interpose  a  barbaric  wedge 
which  practically  shut  the  main  gates  of  the  Eastern  trade,  and  the 
sea-borne  trade  sprang  into  existence.  Now,  again,  there  appears  in 
the  not  very  remote  future  the  chance  of  a  revival  of  that  old-world 
honoured  overland  trade  which  existed  before  the  days  of  Israel. 
Who  could  well  doubt  that  the  centre  of  conflicting  interest  in  the 
present  war  is  trending  towards  Constantinople  (with  all  it  stands  for 
in  the  Mediterranean,  in  Egypt,  in  Asia  Minor,  Mesopotamia,  and 
ultimately  in  Persia)  as  the  final  issue  to  be  fought  to  a  finish  between 
Germany  and  Russia?  Two  notable  events  had  lately  been  recorded 
in  the  progress  of  Eastern  affairs  bearing  directly  on  this  important 
question  of  overhead  communications:  the  first  railway  had  been 
opened  in  Persia,  and  the  Taurus  had  been  pierced  by  the  Germans. 
The  rights  of  the  highways  through  Persia,  if  not  Persia  herself,  had 
become  the  desire  of  Western  nations,  and  we  heard  loudly-expressed 
political  aspirations  for  the  open  "road  to  the  East."  What  did  "the 
East"  mean?  Did  it  mean  Persia  and  Central  Asia,  or  did  it  mean 
Afghanistan,  India,  and  China — or  all  of  them?  Sir  Thomas  thought 
we  might  take  it  that  it  meant  India  directly,  and  the  rest  ultimately. 

Dr.  Moses  Gaster  (Chief  Rabbi  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
Jews)  said  that  he  remembered  a  lecture  over  which  Lord  Reay 
presided  some  years  ago,  when  pictures  of  Pathans  were  shown,  and 
one  might  have  thought  they  were  Jews  who  had  walked  out  of  the 
ghettos  of  Russia.  We  knew  from  Josephus  that  large  numbers  of 
Jews  lived  beyond  the  Euphrates  in  ancient  times,  and  there  was  a 
legend  of  a  Jewish  traveller  who,  in  the  ninth  century,  visited  various 
Jewish  tribes  in  that  part  of  the  world.  Apparently  he  started  from 
the  coast  of  India,  or  the  Persian  Gulf,  went  to  the  North,  skirted 
the  Black  Sea,  touched  Southern  Russia,  and  walked  back  through 
Syria  to  Ethiopia.  Several  centuries  later  the  same  story  appeared 
in  Europe  as  the  legend  of  Prester  John,  very  little  being  changed  but 
the  name.  Later  than  this  story  of  the  early  Hebrew  traveller  was  a 
very  ancient  Persian  document,  written  in  Hebrew  characters,  which 
had  been  discovered  in  the  Treasury  of  Egypt.  It  was  dated  about 
1020,  and  came  from  Jews  living  in  India  close  to  the  Afghan  border. 
Then  there  was  in  mediseval  times  a  big  colony  of  Jews  in  India,  to 
whom  the  other  Jews  refused  recognition,  because  of  some  peculiar 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  195 

customs,  they  having  become  more  or  less  assimilated  with  the  local 
population.  Another  link  in  the  tradition  was  furnished  by  the 
black  Jews  of  Cochin,  who  had  still  further  changed. 

Colonel  Yate  said  that  nobody  who  had  lived  with  the  Afghans, 
as  he  had  done,  week  by  week  and  month  by  month,  would  doubt 
that  they  were  bona-fide  Israelites.  He  had  ridden  with  them  all 
day,  fed  with  them,  sat  up  by  the  camp  fire  talking  with  them,  and 
found  that  they  firmly  believed  they  were  Ben-i-Israel.  He  did  not 
see  why  people  who  had  no  great  personal  dealings  with  Afghanistan 
should  doubt  their  statement.  He  congratulated  Sir  Thomas  Holdich 
on  his  Biblical  knowledge;  he  (Colonel  Yate)  had  not  previously 
known  that  the  word  Kabul  was  in  the  Bible  at  all.  We  had  seen 
recent  references  to  an  Armenian  settlement  in  Persia  300  years  old, 
where  the  settlers  had  given  their  habitation  the  name  of  the  place 
they  had  come  from,  and  it  was  certainly  possible  that  Israelites  who 
had  been  deported  beyond  the  Euphrates  and  had  wandered  for 
centuries,  when  they  settled  down  in  Afghanistan  would  give  their 
new  settlement  the  name  of  the  city  from  which  they  had  originally 
come.  Sir  Thomas  Holdich  had  opened  up  vast  possibilities  for  the 
future.  He  agreed  that  the  Ben-i-Israel  were  the  dominating  tribe 
of  the  great  kingdom  holding  the  gates  of  their  enemies — the  great 
passage  of  the  Hindu  Khoosh  both  east  and  west.  He  looked  upon 
the  Amir  of  Afghanistan  as  a  real  warden  of  our  marches.  The  Amir 
had  been  a  most  faithful  ally  throughout  the  war  and  had  kept  the 
whole  country  quiet. 

On  the  Northwest  Frontier 

The  mission  hospital  at  Dera  Ismail  Khan  has  a  branch  hospital 
at  Taak,  forty-two  miles  to  the  northwest,  in  the  direction  of  Gumal 
Pass  into  Afghanistan.  The  doctor  in  charge,  Dr.  N.  Williams,  is 
both  son  and  successor  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Williams,  whose  influence 
among  the  tribesmen  was  very  great.  Of  the  son  it  is  said  that  to 
him  Jesus  Christ  is  the  freshest  and  most  real  of  realities.  Dr.  J.  F. 
Richardson  writes:  "I  have  never  yet  met  any  European  Christian 
for  whom  I  could  feel  greater  admiration;  and  I  am  sure  my  predeces- 
sors here  and  the  thousands  of  wild  trans-frontier  and  local  friends  of 
his  would  express  the  same  opinions  with  regard  to  him." 

Among  the  workers  at  the  Bannu  medical  mission  in  1916  was  a 
young  Pathan,  who  was  attracted  to  Christ  by  the  kindness  and 
teaching  he  received  in  the  Peshawar  C.  M.  S.  hospital.  He  is  an 
Afridi  and  was  a  mullah  and  for  the  last  year  he  has  been  working 
in  the  hospital  as  a  dresser. 

A  Mohammedan  College  for  South  India 

"The  generosity  of  His  Highness  the  Nizam  of  Haiderabad  will 
enable  the  Mohammedan  community  of  South  India  to  have  a  well- 
equipped  College  at  Vaniyambadi.  His  Highness  has  promised  a 
building  grant  of  Rs.  25,000  and  a  recurring  monthly  grant  of  Rs. 
1,000  for  five  years,  so  that  the  financial  stability  of  the  college  might 
be  placed  on  a  firm  foundation.  It  is  therefore  entirely  in  the  fitness 
of  things  that  the  Mussalman  leaders,  among  whom  must  be  men- 
tioned such  well-known  gentlemen  as  the  Hon'ble  Mr.  Yakub  Hasan 
and  Nawab  Ghulam  Ahmed  Kalami  should  have  decided  to  associate 
the  Nizam's  name  with  the  proposed  College.  The  circumstances  we 
have  mentioned  undoubtedly  render  it  appropriate  that  the  proposed 


196  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

institution  should  be  called  the  *  Oosmania  College/  But  the  proposal 
seems  to  have  given  great  umbrage  to  a  small  clique  of  wealthy- 
individuals  who  are  led  (or  misled)  by  the  fanatical  Mullahs  and  who 
dislike  the  idea  of  the  Nizam^s  name  being  perpetuated  in  connection 
with  the  proposed  College.  The  Mullahs  like  the  Hindu  Pandits  are 
fossils  of  an  unnatural  type  and  like  the  latter  are  utterly  out  of  touch 
with  the  progressive  tendencies  of  the  times.  The  value  to  be  at- 
tached to  the  Mullah's  opposition  can  be  readily  understood  when  it 
is  mentioned  that  they  opposed  bitterly  the  late  Sir  Syed  Ahmed 
Khan's  efforts  to  promote  English  education  among  his  co-religion- 
ists on  the  curious  ground  that  education  on  modern  lines  is  preju- 
dicial to  Islam  as  though  that  religion  (as  it  has  been  well  remarked) 
rests  on  such  tottering  foundations  that  they  would  be  undermined 
by  a  study  of  philosophy  and  science.  We  hope  that  this  petty  squab- 
ble will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past  and  that  the  leading  men  of  the 
community  will  devote  their  entire  energy  to  the  more  important  and 
enduring  task  of  advancing  the  cause  of  education  among  the  South 
Indian  Mussulman  youths. — United  India  and  Native  States. 

A  Cairo  Moslem  Preaching  Christ|in  Bombay 

Dr.  L.  Joshi  writes  in  the  C.M.S.  Review:  "We  were  surprised  one 
night  by  an  Arab  merchant  of  Cairo  bringing  to  us  a  Hindu  lad,  asking 
us  to  take  care  of  him  as  he  had  nobody  in  Bombay. 

"Quite  a  large  number  of  people  have  come  to  us  for  discussion  and 
inquiry.  One  incident  is  worth  relating.  One  evening,  while  the 
Arab  merchant  above,  was  conversing  with  us  and  telling  of  his 
friendship  with  our  missionaries  in  Cairo,  two  Bohra  gentlemen  came 
in  (this  was  their  third  visit  to  us).  We  all  retired  into  our  parish 
hall.  The  Bohras  brought  with  them  poems  to  prove  that  even 
Mohammed  and  other  Mohammedan  saints  had  to  pray  to  Christ 
when  in  great  difficulties.  To  our  great  surprise  the  Arab  gentleman 
proved  to  them  from  the  Koran  that  there  was  no  other  Saviour  but 
Christ.  A  Sunni  preaching  Christ  to  Shiahs  in  a  Christian  hall!  He 
said  to  them  that  if  it  was  not  for  the  danger  of  his  being  cut  to  pieces 
at  Cairo,  he  himself  would  have  boldly  accepted  Christ.  A  few  days 
later  the  Arab  gentleman  came  again,  and  gave  a  donation  of  Rs.  10 
to  our  converts'  home.   Truly  such  faith  was  not  found  even  in  Israel ! ' * 

News  from  Kansuh 

"Hardly  a  day  ever  passes,"  writes  the  Rev.  H.  French  Ridley, 
"without  some  Moslems  coming  into  our  guest  room.  It  is  very  few 
that  begin  to  argue  when  I  am  present,  though  sometimes  they  tackle 
our  old  door-keeper  an  earnest  old  soul  of  76.  Many  of  them  have 
heard  far  more  of  the  Gospel  than  the  Koran  and  often  pass  remarks 
which  show  how  the  Gospel  is  working  its  way  round  their  thoughts 
for  often  their  remarks  are  contradictory  to  the  Koran.  I  believe 
that  they  are  in  their  hearts  secret  believers.  The  advent  of  the 
present  General  has  strengthened  the  local  position  of  the  Moslems 
considerably.  He  has  been  here  three  and  a  half  years  and  during 
this  time  they  have  built  a  fine  mosque  destroyed  during  the  rebellion 
and  which  was  lying  waste  until  the  coming  of  the  present  General. 
The  Ahungs  have  exerted  once  more  power  and  for  over  a  year  they 
have  compelled  the  women  to  wear  cloth  hoods.  They  are  hoods  not 
veils  for  they  do  not  cover  their  faces.  The  General  is  a  native  of 
Hochow  and  scores  of  Ahungs  have  come  from  Hochow  and  have 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  197 

gone  to  Moslem  villages  and  usurped  the  positions  of  the  local  Ahongs 
thus  causing  much  friction.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  usurpation 
taken  place  that  it  is  fermenting  trouble.  Some  have  said  that  if  the 
General  was  removed  from  his  office  here  and  went  elsewhere  the 
people  would  rise  up  and  turn  out  all  the  usurping  Ahungs  and  in 
some  cases  they  might  not  get  away  with  their  lives.  The  General 
may  know  nothing  of  the  dissatisfaction.  It  is  the  fear  of  the  General 
and  his  Hochow  soldiers  that  keep  the  people  quiet.  These  Ahungs 
have  been  thrust  upon  the  people  against  their  will  and  they  have  to 
provide  for  them  and  most  of  them  are  accompanied  by  a  few  mullahs 
all  to  be  supported  by  the  village.  The  General  himself,  is  a  very 
cheerful,  open-hearted,  homely  man,  but  is  surrounded  by  a  large 
place  hunting  crew,  all  Moslems  from  Hochow. 

"The  European  war  is  not  affecting  the  Moslems  here  very  much. 
There  are  a  few  who  like  to  get  all  the  information  they  can  about 
the  progress  of  the  war,  but  they  are  a  very  small  minority;  the 
majority  are  utterly  indifferent." 

Has  Arabia  a  Future? 

Frances  Healey  writing  in  the  Outlook  on  the  new  kingdom  of 
Arabia  says:  "Can  it  live.'^  People  ask,  if  the  Arabs  can  govern 
themselves,  why  have  they  not  made  a  nation  before?  Why  has  this 
race  stood  still  for  so  many  centuries?  Here  are  two  reasons:  First, 
Although  the  Arab  sheikh  of  to-day,  save  for  coffee  and  gunpowder 
lives  as  Abraham  lived  four  thousand  years  ago,  this  is  no  sign  of 
racial  degeneracy.  To  wring  a  bare  living  from  the  desert  is  cruelly 
hard,  and  a  man's  energies  are  used  up  in  mere  daily  existence.  That 
the  Arabs  can  develop  nationally  when  the  hard  struggle  of  their 
lives  is  lightened  has  been  proved  by  the  Moors  in  North  Africa  and 
Spain.  Theirs  is  a  young  race, — although  so  old, — not  a  degenerate. 
The  second  reason  is  their  religion.  Islam — submissive — stamps  its 
marks  on  all  believers.  Islam  is  pure  fatalism,  deadening  to  initiative. 
It  is  a  fact  that  in  riding  through  the  country  it  is  perfectly  possible 
to  tell  a  Moslem  from  a  Christian  Bedoui  simply  by  his  expression. 
The  Bedouin  are  bound  down  by  these  two  conditions.  If  one  or  the 
other  of  the  chords  is  broken,  they  can  rise,  but  the  two  tie  a  Gordian 
knot  which  holds  them  fast. 

"The  Arabs — I  am  speaking,  not  of  the  town  Arabs,  but  of  the 
Bedouin  as  I,  their  prisoner,  saw  and  knew  them — the  Arabs  are  by 
nature  chivalrous  and  kind  to  friends  and  guests,  both  men  and 
women.  If  the  life  of  their  women  is  hard,  it  is  because  natural  con- 
ditions make  it  so,  and  not  because  of  man's  cruelty.  In  a  country, 
where  highway  robbery  is  an  honest  profession  it  is  a  dire  insult  to 
say  of  a  man, '  He  robbed  women ! '  Hospitality  is  a  common  virtue — 
a  lavish  hospitality  that  frequently  reduces  a  sheikh  to  penury.  I 
have  never  heard  a  story  of  Bedouin  custom,  chivalry,  or  delicacy  so 
romantic  and  picturesque  that  it  could  not  be  duplicated  or  equalled 
in  the  desert  to-day. 

"I  was  a  prisoner  to  these  people  in  danger  and  hardships,  at  a 
time  when  passions  ran  high  and  life  and  death  walked  hand  in  hand, 
but  my  memories  of  them  are  not  of  cruelties  and  brutalities,  but  of 
the  courtesy  of  the  men,  who  gave  the  old  mother  of  their  sheikh  the 
place  of  honor  in  the  tent  when  she  called  on  us;  of  the  tender  care 
of  a  man  too  old  to  fight  for  a  tiny  baby  that  he  nursed  in  his  arms  all 
day  while  its  mother  went  into  the  city  to  mourn  a  slain  relative; 


198  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  the  petting  and  kisses  a  hot-headed  young  warrior  gave  a  frolic- 
some kid;  of  the  habitual  generosity  that  made  any  man  to  whom  we 
gave  an  orange  or  a  bowl  of  food  divide  it  with  all  others  present. 
Last,  but  not  least,  of  the  indescribably  dear  homliness  and  contents 
I  found  in  the  woman's  half  of  a  tent,  where  the  young  wife  sat  baking 
bread  for  her  husband's  supper,  while  her  baby,  an  exquisite  ivory 
Buddha,  sat  unwinking  beside  her,  and  her  husband  played  with  two 
frolicsome  kids  that  nibbled  his  fingers  and  beard  while  he  waited." 

Railways  in  Morocco 

In  connection  with  the  Bill  now  before  the  French  Parliament  for 
the  construction  of  the  railway  between  Tangiers  and  Fez,  it  is  of 
some  interest  to  note  that  there  already  exist  773  kilometres  of  rail- 
way in  Morocco.  These  are  lines  actually  working  and  exclusive  of 
railways  under  construction.  All  the  lines  now  working  are  narrow 
guage  (60  centimetres,  or  two  ft.  gauge)  military  railways,  which 
owing  to  diplomatic  conventions  with  Germany,  could  not  be  used  for 
civilian  or  ordinary  traffic,  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1914. 
France,  however,  considers  herself  free  from  all  diplomatic  conven- 
tions made  with  Germany,  and  all  lines  are  now  open  to  ordinary 
traffic.  The  following  places  are  now  linked  up  by  narrow-gauge 
lines : — 

Rabat  to  Casablanca,  90  kilometres;  Sale  to  Fez,  246  kilometres; 
Taza  to  Oudjda,  235  kilometres;  Casablanca  to  Caid-Tounsi  (towards 
the  south),  153  kilometres;  Ber-Rechid  to  Ben  Ahmed  (in  the  direc- 
tion of  Oued-Zem),  49  kilometres;  total,  773  kilometres.  The  traffic 
receipts  per  kilometre  for  the  whole  of  1916  varied  between  £740  and 
£935.  The  proposed  Tangiers  Fez  line  is  to  be  of  normal  gauge.  The 
French  Government  proposes  to  give  a  concession  for  the  whole  of 
the  normal  guage  lines  (altogether  1,080  kilometres)  to  a  private 
consortium. 

A  New  Day  for  Morocco 

Captain  A.  J.  A.  Douglas  (Cameron  Highlanders)  in  his  account  of 
his  two  journeys  in  the  High  Atlas  of  Southern  Morocco,  undertaken  in 
the  spring  of  1911  and  1912,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Geographical 
Society  in  April  2,  1917  says  in  conclusion: 

"I  would  wish  to  point  out  what  an  extremely  valuable  asset 
Morocco  will  be  to  our  gallant  Allies,  the  French,  when  they  have 
time  after  the  war  to  devote  their  energies  to  its  development.  The 
climate  of  the  coast  is  ideal,  with  the  temperature  seldom  over  seventy 
degrees  in  the  summer  or  under  sixty  degrees  in  the  winter.  There  is 
a  sufficient  rainfall;  and  the  crops  even  under  native  methods  are 
surprisingly  rich.  Under  proper  cultivation  and  in  the  hands  of 
French  agriculturists  so  famous  for  their  skill  the  mlderness  will 
blossom  like  a  rose  and  this  country  may  well  become  one  of  the 
granaries  of  the  world.  Up  to  now  the  system  of  native  government 
has  always  retarded  and  in  fact  almost  prevented  any  development. 
If  a  native  became  too  rich  and  prosperous  he  was  promptly  robbed 
by  the  neighbouring  Kaids,  who  in  their  turn  were  robbed  by  the 
Sultan,  and  there  was  therefore  no  incentive  to  progress.  Under 
French  protection  all  this  will  be  changed.  There  are  also  undoubt- 
edly large  deposits  of  copper  and  other  minerals  in  the  mountains  as 
yet  unworked.  The  one  great  defect  is  the  want  of  a  good  harbour 
on  the  Atlantic  coast. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  199 

"Already  the  old  order  is  changing,  and  plunged  though  she  is  into 
the  greatest  war  in  history,  fighting  for  her  very  existence,  with  the 
enemy  hordes  at  her  gate,  the  great  Republic  has  yet  all  this  time 
been  steadily  increasing  and  extending  her  influence.  A  light  railway 
from  the  coast  to  Morocco  city  is  under  construction,  and  other 
schemes  for  railway  development  are  on  foot.  There  is  now  a  good 
road  from  Mogador  to  Marrakesh,  with  a  motor  service;  and  the  old 
days  in  Mogador  itself  have  passed  away.  The  streets  have  been 
paved  and  sidewalks  provided,  and  beside  the  principal  mosque  is  a 
large  open-air  cafe.  So  the  process  will  go  on;  but  to  those  who  have 
known  the  old  regime  there  will  come  a  pang  almost  of  regret  that 
this  land  of  mystery  and  romance  must,  under  a  settled  government, 
inevitably  shed  something  of  its  glamour. 

"It  is  not  hard  to  foresee  that  in  years  to  come,  under  a  firm  and 
wise  government,  Morocco  with  all  her  splendid  natural  advantages 
will  come  into  her  own;  and  although  there  may  still  be  much  hard 
fighting  and  bloodshed,  the  Atlantic  coast  may  some  day  be  a  second 
Riviera  where,  under  sunny  skies  and  surrounded  by  beautiful 
flowers,  tourists  from  Europe  may  forget  the  harsh  winter  climate  of 
their  native  lands." 

Chinese  Moslems 

In  these  days  when  the  Mohammedan  question  in  China  is  being 
discussed,  the  following  lines  from  Mr.  T.  Darlington  will  be  read 
with  special  interest:  He  writes  from  Wanhsien,  Szechwan. 

"Whilst  in  many  places,  especially  in  the  province  of  Kansu,  the 
Mohammedans  have  risen  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  Gospel, 
there  are  other  places  where  a  general  spirit  of  enquiry  is  abroad 
amongst  these  people  and  a  willingness  to  discuss  the  claims  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  I  returned  here  to  find  the  Mullahs  in  this  city  quite 
friendly  in  their  attitude  toward  us.  On  more  than  one  occasion  they 
have,  together  with  their  sons,  come  along  to  inquire  about  the  truth. 
The  son  of  one  man,  who  can  speak  a  little  English,  requested  the 
loan  of  an  English-Chinese  New  Testament.  May  I  ask  you  to  pray 
that  the  Life-giving  Word  may  in  great  power  and  conviction  come 
upon  his  heart  and  transform  him  into  a  real  believer  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  It  is  indeed  a  cause  for  thanksgiving  to  God,  when  one 
considers  this  man's  attitude  of  violent  opposition  to  the  Gospel  five 
years  ago.  Some  of  our  good  friends  have  kindly  furnished  us  with 
Gospel  literature  in  Arabic,  so  this  is  now  freely  distributed  amongst 
these  people." 

Smart  Advertising  in  India 

The  Qadiani  sect  as  we  learn  from  Mr.  Takle  of  Bengal  is  doing 
smart  things  in  the  way  of  advertising.  The  ordinary  Indian  stamped 
post  card  sells  at  one  pice  (a  farthing),  but  the  Ahmadiyas  are  selling 
them  three  for  a  pice.  The  space  for  writing  has  been  reduced  by  one 
half,  for  they  have  printed  short,  crisp  statements  concerning  their 
phase  of  Islam  on  both  sides  of  the  card.  We  have  seen  only  those 
printed  in  Mussulmani-Bengali. 

On  the  address  side  the  following  appears: — " Islam  is  the  only  pure 
and  live  religion  in  the  world.  Its  book,  the  Qur'an,  has  been  kept 
uncorrupted,  while  the  books  of  other  faiths  have  been  distorted. 
Only  in  Islam  have  great  souls  appeared  to  blot  out  the  superstitions 
of  religion  which  have  accumulated  through  the  sins  of  humanity.  In 
these  last  days  the  one  expected  by  all  peoples  of  all  religions  has  come 


200  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

in  Islam.  The  name  of  that  promised  Messiah,  Mahdi,  or  Avatar,  is 
Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad." 

On  the  other  side  we  are  treated  to  a  description  of  the  Mirza's 
wonderful  work: — "The  uprooting  of  infidelity;  the  destruction  of 
the  enemies  of  Islam;  proving  the  worthlessness  of  Christianity,  and 
the  superiority  of  Islam  over  all  other  faiths.  He  performed  many 
miracles;  his  prophecies  were  fulfilled.  The  truth  concerning  himself 
was  proved  on  many  occasions;  in  1894,  when  the  eclipse  of  the  sun 
and  moon  took  place;  in  1883,  when  the  sign  of  fire  in  the  eastern 
sky  was  seen,  which  things  he  had  forecasted." 

Is  there  not  a  lesson  for  us  in  this  eagerness  to  spread  the  "new" 
Islam?  Our  Lord  said,  "The  sons  of  this  world  are,  in  their  own  age> 
wiser  than  the  sons  of  light." 

Islam  in  Nyasaland 

Like  the  stone  in  the  pool,  the  religious  influence  that  Muhammad 
flung  into  the  sea  of  humanity  thirteen  centuries  ago  at  Mecca  still 
continues  to  send  its  rings  ever  farther  and  farther  from  that  centre. 
For  if  you  take  a  map  of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  and  mark  on  it 
the  extent  of  Islam,  you  will  find  the  outer  circle  cutting  the  Eastern 
Archipelago  (Western  China),  the  southeast  of  Europe,  and  the 
regions  round  the  south  end  of  Lake  Nyasa.  Hence  Nyasaland  is 
so  truly  on  the  outer  ring  of  Islam  that  the  boundary  practically 
runs  between  Blantyre  and  Zomba.  Round  Blantyre  and  south  of 
it  we  find  a  few  Moslems  here  and  there.  Round  Zomba  they  are  in 
evidence,  and  north  of  Zomba,  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  Nyasa,  they 
swarm.  We  therefore  experience  here  the  lappings  of  the  first  waves 
of  the  rising  tide  of  Islam  that  is  steadily  advancing  all  over  Africa. 
Islam,  in  the  sphere  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  Mission,  presents 
itself  not  as  a  local  item  of  religious  belief,  but  the  challenge,  where 
two  empires  meet,  as  to  whether  that  of  Muhammad  or  that  of 
Christ  is  to  prevail. 

Locally,  Christianity  has  entered  Nyasaland  via  the  Zambezi  and 
Shire  rivers.  Islam  has  followed  the  old  slave  routes  from  Zanzibar 
inland.  At  the  south  end  of  the  Lake,  where  these  routes  meet,  Islam 
is  thickest,  and  the  Universities'  Mission  of  the  Church  of  England, 
there  established,  has  the  hardest  task  of  all.  Owing  to  these  being 
the  lines  of  penetration,  our  two  southern  stations,  Blantyre  and 
Mlanje,  experience  but  little  of  Islam,  while  Zomba  and  Domasi  meet 
it  everywhere.  So  far  it  has  been  largely  confined  to  the  Yao  tribe, 
the  Yao  Moslems  trying  to  pretend  that  it  is  their  national  faith;  but 
quite  recently  Nyanja  people  too  have  embraced  it.  The  little  native 
rising  of  1915  which  made  some  thoughtless  Europeans  condemn 
Missions  in  general,  made  many  natives  take  up  Islam,  lest  the 
faintest  suspicion  of  being  influenced  by  Missions  might  land  them  in 
the  same  difficulties  as  the  rioters.  This,  however,  is  but  a  passing 
ripple  of  feeling.  The  real  issue  is  that  Providence  has  so  placed  our 
work  that  we  are  up  against  the  outmost  edge  of  the  Moslem  advance 
that  both  consciously  and  unconsciously  makes  for  world  dominion. 

The  leading  doctrine  of  Islam,  that  God  is  one,  the  native  accepts 
without  demur,  never  having  believed  anything  else.  No  nearer  to 
him,  however,  does  God  become  by  his  turning  Moslem.  Moslem 
customs  are  adopted  as  being  the  commands  of  God,  no  question 
being  asked  as  to  the  purpose  or  aim  of  these  commands.  God  has 
decreed  that  men  must  only  eat  lawful  flesh  that  has  had  its  throat 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  201 

cut  by  a  Moslem.  Men  must  pray,  or  rather  repeat  prayers,  in  the 
Arabic  tongue.  They  must  wash  before  prayer,  so  the  mosque  has 
sometimes  a  small  pond  or  streamlet  beside  it,  while  elsewhere  the 
worshipper  comes  to  prayers  with  a  tea-kettle.  With  this  he  pours 
water  over  his  feet  before  entering  the  mosque.  Polygamy,  itself  a 
native  practice,  is  legalised.  People  partly  instructed  read  off  (in  a 
sing-song  voice)  Koranic  texts  written  on  boards,  with  or  without 
giving  any  translation.  Teachers  conduct  prayers  and  give  addresses. 
Koranic  texts  are  written  on  paper,  from  which  the  ink  is  then  washed, 
and  the  resulting  liquid  is  used  as  a  medicine  to  cure  sickness,  or  as  a 
charm  to  separate  a  man  and  his  wife  or  perform  some  other  doubtful 
purpose.  Thus  Islam  presents  itself  here  as  a  series  of  practices  that 
appeal  to  the  African  because  they  make  no  moral  demand.  The 
hardest  custom  is  that  of  fasting  from  food  and  drink  during  daylight 
hours  in  the  month  of  Ramazan,  which  varies  according  to  the  lunar 
year.  This,  too,  is  in  keeping  with  native  ways  of  thought,  for  pro- 
hibited meats,  ceremonies  performed  on  the  body,  mysterious  rites, 
charms,  unintelligible  words  all  find  an  echo  in  ancient  custom,  and 
come  very  close  to  the  old  religion.  True  religious  feeling  undoubt- 
edly exists  in  some,  but  in  the  large  majority  of  cases  the  motive  is 
rather  that  of  a  society  that  practices  a  cult.  Fear  is  the  power  that 
commands  obedience  to  the  supposed  divine  commands,  for  leprosy, 
death  or  other  afflictions  will  surely  befall  the  Moslem  who  eats  a 
hen  that  had  its  neck  twisted.  The  idea  of  having  a  religion  that 
owes  nothing  to  the  white  man  obtains  on  the  Lake  shore.  Else- 
where a  Moslem  fashion  sets  in,  and  numbers  follow  the  crowd. 

According  to  the  Christian  standard  of  religious  value,  Islam  here 
yields  little.  A  Moslem  teacher  admitted  that  it  was  powerless  to 
change  a  bad  man  into  a  good  one,  and  did  not  try.  It  was  equally 
powerless,  he  confessed,  to  improve  character  by  means  of  food  laws 
and  other  external  rites,  for  a  man  who  lied  and  cheated  before 
Ramazan  did  the  same  afterwards,  and  to  stop  eating  field-mice  never 
stopped  any  one  coveting  his  neighbour's  property.  God,  Who  to  a 
heathen  is  a  reality  but  of  unknown  character,  remains  the  same  to  a 
Moslem,  unless  His  character  suffers  by  His  being  made  the  author 
of  unreasonable  commands.  The  life  and  doings  of  Muhammad  him- 
self are  unknown.  The  old  character,  fears,  and  motives  remain  the 
same.  Seriousness,  holiness,  the  gravity  of  big  issues,  none  of  these 
suggests  itself  in  the  common  attitude  of  a  Moslem.  The  people  who 
become  Moslems  for  the  most  part  merely  add  on  new  and  interesting 
customs  to  their  old  ways  without  receiving  any  inner  cleansing  or 
learning  to  know  God  personally. 

To  approach  Moslems  here  is  easy,  for  there  is  little  fanaticism,  if 
any,  and  they  tend  rather  to  apologise  for  themselves  on  the  score 
that  they  are  as  good  as  Christians.  For  in  this  country  the  native 
mind  has  long  ago  accepted  Reformed  Christian  teaching  and  practice 
as  the  standard  for  anything  that  calls  itself  a  religion,  so  that  any 
other  faith  must  justify  itself  in  a  comparison  with  that  standard. 
Round  the  Lake  perhaps  other  feelings  prevail,  but  that  is  the  wide- 
spread attitude  wherever  the  ground  has  been  well  occupied  by 
Reformed  Missions.  An  illustration  of  this  openness  of  view  was 
afforded  near  Zomba  recently  when  a  Moslem  native  was  eager  to 
hand  over  his  garden  ground  as  a  site  for  a  native  brick  church.  Being 
thus  accessible,  the  Moslem  is  open  to  the  ordinary  missionary  activ- 
ities of  preaching  and  of  village  school,  and  there  is  a  steady  trickle 
of  converts  from  their  ranks.    Recent  experiments  in  direct  discus- 


202  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

sion  suggest  that  more  results  may  be  obtained  that  way  than  in  the 
past,  for  the  most  elementary  explanations  concerning  the  facts  of 
Christ,  of  Muhammad,  of  real  prayer,  of  the  need  of  the  heart  for 
cleansing  and  so  on  leave  the  Moslem,  be  he  teacher  or  follower,  with 
hardly  an  argument.  Realising  their  inability  to  reply,  some  are 
leaving  Islam,  and  others  feel  that  for  them  its  days  may  be  num- 
bered. Strongest  of  all,  of  course,  is  the  influence  of  native  Chris- 
tians living  changed  lives,  and  equally  strong  as  a  deterrent  force  is 
the  sight  of  Christians  trying  to  blend  a  Christian  profession  with 
tippling  or  other  recognised  forms  of  sin. 

The  Christians,  once  they  try  to  win  Moslems,  feel  their  need  of  a 
truer  life  among  themselves  and  of  a  clearer  grasp  of  Bible  truth. 
For  the  sake  of  the  Moslems,  therefore,  as  well,  as  for  their  own  sakes, 
it  must  be  our  aim,  who  are  set  to  work  on  the  confines  of  Islam  and 
advancing  Christianity,  to  help  Christians  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the 
revealed  Word  and  a  more  pronounced  witness  in  character,  at  the 
same  time  helping  and  encouraging  them  to  reason  with  Moslems  and 
lead  them  to  Christ.  Like  many  in  the  home  land  who  admit  the 
need  of  the  actual  heathen  for  the  Gospel  but  question  the  necessity 
of  reaching  Moslems,  native  Christians  are  often  eager  to  evangelise 
the  villages  of  heathen,  while  treating  Moslems  as  people  who  have 
taken  a  religious  stand  and  can  never  be  influenced  again.  The  work 
is  difficult,  but  the  all-Africa  aspect  emphasises  its  urgency.  Know- 
ing, as  every  Christian  does,  that  ultimately  we  shall  win  under 
Christ,  we  hear  this  growing  call  to  the  life-power  of  the  native  Church, 
and  pray  that  we  may  go  in  and  conquer  now. — Blantyre  **Life  and 
Workr 

Proposed  Cathedral  in  Cairo 

In  Memory  of  Lord  Cromer,  Lord  Kitchener,  and  of  all  the  men  of 
the  Imperial  Forces  who  died  in  Egypt,  Gallipoli,  and  Palestine  a 
Cathedral  is  to  be  built  in  Cairo.  A  magnificent  site  has  been  given 
by  His  Highness  the  Sultan  and  the  Council  of  ministers  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Government.  His  Highness  the  Sultan  has  also  generously  made 
a  contribution  of  L.E.  1,000  to  the  Building  Fund.  The  new  loca- 
tion is  many  times  larger  than  the  site  on  which  the  old  church  stands, 
covering  nearly  eight  acres  near  the  centre  of  Cairo,  on  the  main  road 
leading  to  the  Nile  bridge  and  the  Pyramids.  It  is  hoped  that  the 
new  school  for  British  children,  already  opened  in  rented  premises, 
may  also  be  erected  on  the  new  site. 

Cairo  Study  Centre 

The  third  report  of  the  Cairo  Study  Centre  just  issued  and  to  be 
obtained  from  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  C.  M.  S.,  Cairo,  shows  that 
since  the  starting  of  the  Cairo  Study  Centre,  in  1913,  fifty  students 
have  passed  through,  or  are  still  studying  under  its  auspices.  They 
belonged  to  the  following  societies: — 


Church  Missionary  Society 

15 

American  Mission 

12 

Egypt  General  Mission 

12 

World's  Sunday  School  Association 

2 

Y.W.C.A. 

1 

Special 

2 

From  India 

1 

"     Norway 

1 

NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  203 

From  Sweden  1 

"     Palestine  (C.M.S.)  1 

"     Syria  (B.S.M.)  2 

50 

At  first,  lectures  in  Arabic  and  Islam  were  both  held  weekly  through 
the  term.  But  this  plan  was  found  to  involve  a  good  deal  of  strain 
on  the  students,  and  another  was  substituted  which  has  worked  much 
better,  namely,  that  for  a  fortnight  during  each  term  all  language 
work  is  suspended,  and  the  whole  of  the  time  and  energies  of  the 
students  are  given  up  to  Islamic  subjects. 

The  lectures  in  Arabic  are  exclusively  for  students  who  are  taking 
the  full  C.S.C.  course;  but  those  in  Islam  may  be  attended  by  all  who 
pay  the  enrolment  fee  of  P.T.  20  and  who  undertake  to  study  for  the 
lectures  and  attend  them  regularly. 

Only  accredited  workers  of  missionary  societies  are  admitted  as 
full-time  students  of  the  C.S.C. 

For  the  classes  in  Islam  and  Arabic  those  interested  can  consult 
the  Report.  In  Arabic  the  classes  include  both  colloquial  and  classi- 
cal under  native  teachers  with  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  as  Superin- 
tendent. For  advanced  study  the  following  subjects  have  been 
suggested: — 

The  Koran: — topical. 

The  Traditions: — with  commentary. 

The  Biographies: — Ibn  Hishdm;  al  Halabt. 

Al  Ghazdli: — Opuscula.     The  Ihyd. 

Ibn  Khaldun: — Selections  from  the  Muqaddama. 

Mystic  Theology: — ar  Risdla  al  Qushairiyya:  Ibn  *  Arabics  Al  FutAh^t 

el-Makkiya. 
Scholastic  Theology: — A  main,  with  commentary. 
Criticism  of  the  same: — Averroes,  Opuscula. 
Poetry: — al  Hamasa — with  commentary. 
Modern  Islamic  life: — Hadtth  *isa  bni  Hishdm. 
Modern  Islamic  Journalism: — e.gr.,  al  Mandr. 
The  Mohammedan  Controversy,  pro  and  con. 
Christian  Theology,  etc.,  in  Arabic. 

The  Moslem  Mission  in  England 

The  issue  between  Christianity  and  Islam  is  a  practical  one,  for 
the  very  existence  of  Islam  is  based  on  its  claim  to  supersede  Chris- 
tianity, as  well  as  other  religions.  In  the  Mission  Field  the  Moslem 
emissary  attacks  Christian  converts,  whether  from  his  own  or  other 
religions,  and  occasionally  brings  them  over.  In  the  Near  East, 
including  Abyssinia,  there  is  a  constant  leakage  from  the  Christian 
Church  to  Islam,  largely  no  doubt  from  secular  influences,  but  also 
to  some  extent  through  persuasion.  The  contact  with  Christianity 
and  its  culture,  and  the  decay  of  the  political  power  of  Islam,  lead 
the  modern  Moslem  to  lay  greater  stress  than  before  on  the  spiritual 
aspect  of  his  religion,  and  seeing  Christian  missionary  effort  among 
Moslems  of  India  and  other  lands,  he  has  endeavoured  to  do  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  proselytising  English  people.  Some  twenty-five 
years  ago  there  was  a  so-called  Moslem  Mission  in  Liverpool,  headed 
by  a  pervert  named  W.  H.  Quilliam.  His  character  was  unsatisfac- 
tory, and  the  movement  petered  out.     (See  Moslem  World,  April 


204  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

1914,  pages  195  ff .)  Recently,  however,  in  1912,  a  Punjabi  Moham- 
medan— Khwaja  Kamalud  Din — Pleader  of  the  Chief  Court  of  La- 
hore, started  a  Moslem  Mission  to  England,  first  at  Richmond,  and 
subsequently  in  a  Mosque  erected  for  the  benefit  of  Indians  visiting 
England  by  the  late  Dr.  Lightner  at  Woking.  The  Khwaja  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Forman  Christian  College,  Lahore,  and  when  he  left 
India  he  entrusted  his  son  to  the  guardianship  of  the  Principal  of 
that  College  in  preference  to  his  own  relatives;  this,  however,  did  not 
prevent  him  from  undertaking  a  determined  and  sometimes  bitter 
campaign  against  missionary  effort  and  Christian  teaching.  The 
means  of  propaganda  consist  of  a  monthly  magazine  in  English, 
entitled  the  Islamic  Review^  in  which  articles  are  published  contain- 
ing attacks  on  Christianity  and  glorification  of  Mohammed  and  the 
Moslem  religion.  Some  of  them  are  by  perverts  bearing  English 
names.  These,  generally  speaking,  were  more  or  less  Unitarians 
before  they  nominally  accepted  Islam.  This  was  emphatically  the 
case  with  Lord  Headley,  whose  perversion  aroused  considerable 
notice  in  1914.  His  subsequent  scandalous  conduct  has  led  to  his 
being  dropped  by  his  fellow  Moslems,  though  a  very  coarse  booklet 
which  he  wrote,  entitled  "A  Western  Awakening  to  Islam,"  is  still 
circulated  by  them.  Services  are  regularly  held  in  the  Woking  Mosque 
on  Sundays  at  church-time.  The  building  is  a  small  one  and  the 
attendance  of  outsiders,  other  than  Asiatics,  is  small,  but  a  certain 
number  of  people,  occording  to  the  Islamic  Review  several  scores,  all 
told,  have  professed  Islam.  How  many  of  these  afterwards  went 
back,  we  are  not  told.  In  one  case  recently,  the  wife  of  a  pervert  who 
had  joined  the  Army  received  a  letter  from  him  dated  Cairo,  in  which 
he  stated  that  having  seen  what  Islam  was  in  its  native  haunts,  he 
was  determined  to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it,  and  hoped  that 
she  would  take  the  same  course.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  keep  up 
a  Sunday  School  for  children,  and  to  organise  lectures  in  the  Uni- 
versities in  London  and  elsewhere.  The  leader  has  set  on  foot  a  new 
English  translation  of  the  Koran,  intended  to  meet  modern  notions, 
and  in  it  he  comments  upon  the  text  after  the  manner  of  Christian 
divines,  in  a  style  entirely  different  from  that  of  Moslem  theologians, 
with  their  constant  reference  to  the  traditions  and  Mohammedan 
authorities. 

The  form  of  Islam  which  is  propagated  in  the  Woking  Mission  is 
very  far  from  being  the  accepted  orthodox  kind.  The  leader  is  a 
member  of  a  sect  known  as  Ahmadiya,  founded  by  a  Punjabi  teacher 
some  thirty  years  ago.  It  represents  an  endeavour  to  reconcile  Islam 
to  a  certain  extent  with  modern  thought,  so  as  to  turn  the  edge  of  the 
chief  objections  to  it  on  the  part  of  Christians.  Islam  is  represented 
as  the  religion  of  toleration  and  as  being  the  rational  form  of  religion 
best  suited  to  the  enlightenment  of  the  20th  century.  The  idea  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  which  is  utterly  contrary  to  the  teaching  of 
Mohammed,  is  frequently  brought  in.  Polygamy  is  represented  as 
temporary  and  partial,  as  a  concession  to  the  needs  of  human  nature. 
The  existence  of  slavery  in  Islam  is  bluntly  denied.  In  its  propa- 
ganda, as  already  shown.  Christian  methods  are  plentifully  adopted. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  counteract  the  Mission  on  the  spot. 
Tracts  have  been  written  to  explain  what  Islam  really  teaches,  and 
what  the  position  of  womanhood  in  Islam  is,  for  these  reformers 
boldly  maintain  that  Islam  has  improved  the  condition  of  woman- 
hood.   Christian  laymen,  both  English  and  Indian,  have  from  time 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  205 

to  time  attended  the  lectures  at  the  Mosque  and  helped  to  expose 
the  fallacies  that  are  being  taught. 

This  Mission  plainly  shows  that  the  Moslem  is  not  content  to 
adopt  a  passive  attitude  towards  Christianity.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  also  bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  Christian  ideals,  such  as  the 
Fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  purity  of  family  life,  have  penetrated 
the  mind  of  the  Moslem,  and  this  is  an  encouragement  to  us  to  go  on 
in  the  assurance  that  if  the  witness  of  the  Church  be  faithful,  the 
Gospel  will  have  deeper  and  more  far-reaching  effects. — Dr.  Weit- 
brecht  Stanton  in  The  Epiphany,  Calcutta. 

The  Late  Canon  Sterling,  M.A.,  M.B.,  B.Sc,  Durh. 

A  large  circle  who,  within  recent  years,  have  been  associated  with 
Palestine  and  Syria  will  learn  with  sorrow  that  Captain  Sterling, 
R.A.M.C.,  passed  away  in  London  on  October  16th  after  a  painful 
illness.  Robert  Sterling  was  a  man  of  varied  gifts  and  extraordinary 
energy.  After  taking  his  arts'  course  and  being  ordained,  he  elected  to 
pursue  further  studies  at  Durham  University  with  a  view  to  medical 
mission  work.  In  these  medical  studies,  although  carried  on  while  he 
was  doing  regular  clerical  duties,  he  greatly  distinguished  himself. 
In  1892  he  was  sent  by  the  C.M.S.  to  Gaza,  where  he  gained  an 
ever-increasing  influence  among  the  people  of  that  city  and  the  whole 
district  around  by  his  surgical  skill.  While  immersed  in  this  work, 
together  with  the  clerical  supervision  of  the  mission  station — duties 
which  would  have  absorbed  all  the  energy  of  most  men  in  such  a  hot 
climate — ^he  found  time  to  acquire  a  quite  unusual  mastery  of  Arabic, 
so  that  he  was  not  only  able  to  speak  and  preach  with  fluency,  but 
he  also  published  two  books,  "A  Grammar  of  the  Arabic  Language," 
which  has  for  long  been  used  as  a  text-book  at  Oxford  University, 
and  "Arabic  and  English  Idioms."  During  the  twenty-two  years 
that  Dr.  Sterling  was  associated  with  this  station  he  greatly  extended 
the  work;  he  rebuilt  the  hospital,  making  it  the  chief  surgical  centre 
in  the  whole  district,  and  he  made  regular  itinerating  tours,  reaching 
as  far  south  as  El  Arish.  His  influence  among  the  people  of  the  land 
was  unique,  and  he  will  be  remembered  for  many  years  to  come.  The 
late  Bishop  Blyth,  as  a  recognition  of  his  appreciation  of  his  work, 
made  him  an  Hon.  Canon  of  St.  George's  Collegiate  Church,  Jeru- 
salem. Soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  Dr.  Sterling  joined  the 
R.A.M.C.  as  lieutenant,  and  after  a  year  was  made  captain.  Though 
considerably  over  the  ordinary  military  age  for  foreign  service  with 
the  R.A.M.C.  he  was,  by  his  own  request,  transferred,  after  a  period 
of  service  at  home,  to  the  Palestine  front,  where  his  knowledge  of  the 
land  and  the  people  was  of  considerable  value  to  the  military  authori- 
ties. Before  he  was  finally  invalided  home  he  had  -the  melancholy 
satisfaction  of  viewing  his  old  home  in  Gaza  from  a  high  point  within 
the  British  lines. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 


Education  in  £g3rpt.    By  Amin  Sami  Pasha.   Al-Maarif  Press.    Cairo, 
1917.    Price  L.E.  1  ($5). 

I 

The  veteran  author  of  this  book  is  fully  qualified  to  speak  on  the 
subject  of  education  in  the  country,  having  passed  all  his  life  until 
lately  in  the  service  of  the  Ministry  of  Education,  the  last  post  he 
occupied  being  that  of  principal  of  one  of  the  most  important  Govern- 
ment schools.  On  his  retirement  from  service  he  was  appointed  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislative  Assembly  as  it  was  considered  that  the  experi- 
ence of  education  he  had  during  his  long  official  career  would  be  most 
useful  to  our  Parliament. 

But  these  introductory  words  convey  nothing  to  the  reader's  mind 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  work  Sami  Pasha  has  done.  It  is  not  a  report 
similar  to  those  which  Government  departments  bring  out  every 
year,  for  no  report  so  voluminous  has  ever  been  published  by  any  of 
them.  Nor  is  it  only  an  account  of  the  advance  education  has  made 
in  Egypt  during  the  last  thirty,  or  even  forty,  years.  It  is  a  history 
of  all  that  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  education  since  the  days  of 
the  great  Mohammed  Ali,  enriched  with  such  vast  and  varied  details, 
statistics  and  illustrations  that  it  is  a  wonder  the  author  has  ever 
been  able  to  collate  them. 

In  an  introductory  chapter  he  has  given  us  a  short  account  of  edu- 
cation after  the  Moslem  conquest.  According  to  Al-Makrisi,  whom 
he  quotes,  there  were  in  Cairo  in  the  beginning  of  the  Ayubite  dy- 
nasty, i.e.,  in  1171  A.D.,  till  the  end  of  the  Ghuri  dynasty  in  1516, 
no  less  than  155  schools,  some  of  which  were  attached  to  mosques. 
In  most  of  these  schools  there  were  valuable  collections  of  books. 

Coming  to  more  modern  times  the  author  speaks  of  education  in 
the  days  of  Mohamed  Ali,  when  the  dawn  of  enlightenment  began  to 
break  over  the  country.  The  first  of  these  schools,  we  learn,  were 
opened  in  1816,  and  it  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  in  September  1820 
that  great  ruler  gave  orders  for  the  appointment  of  a  clergyman  to 
the  post  of  teacher  of  Italian  and  geometry,  which  lessons  in  that 
language  were  the  first  given  in  the  country  in  a  foreign  tongue. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  quote  in  detail  the  various  schools  opened 
by  the  Government  at  that  time,  but  the  writer  must  not  omit  to 
say  that  the  number  of  pupils  then  was  7,730,  and  their  education 
cost  L.E.  46,784  a  year,  not  an  insignificant  sum  considering  the 
revenue  of  the  country. 

II 

So  much  as  regards  the  education  of  boys.  That  of  girls  was  natur- 
ally less  successful.  This  fact  obliged  Mohamed  Ali,  who  was  deter- 
mined that  education  must  also  be  spread  among  the  weaker  sex,  to 
give  orders  in  1831  for  the  purchase  of  ten  Sudanese  girls  with  the 
object  of  having  them  taught  midwifery  in  Clot  Bey's  school.  Two 
eunuchs  were  also  admitted  to  this  school  to  study  medicine  and 
surgery. 

206 


BOOK  REVIEWS  207 

From  education  to  printing-presses  is  a  short  cry.  The  Bulac 
printing-press  we  are  told  was  estabUshed  in  1821,  and  it  was  there 
that  the  school-books  on  the  various  sciences  were  printed. 

As  for  private  schools  the  author  says  that  the  first  established  in 
the  country  was  that  of  the  Armenians  which  opened  its  doors  in 
1828.  In  1854  the  American  Missionaries  and  the  Freres  opened  their 
boys*  schools,  and  a  year  later  the  Coptic  Orthodox  school  in  Ezbekia 
opened  its  doors.  In  1856  the  American  Missionaries  opened  their 
first  girls'  school,  and  three  years  later  the  Italian  Franciscans  fol- 
lowed their  example.  As  for  the  newspapers,  the  only  organ  in  those 
days  was  the  Italian  Tribuna. 

So  far  as  regards  Cairo  and  Alexandria.  Education,  however,  had 
not  yet  extended  to  the  provinces.  In  1867  the  Ministry  of  Finance 
informed  the  Ministry  of  Education  that  the  Khedive  Ismail  had 
dedicated  the  revenues  of  10,000  feddans  of  land  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  school  in  each  mudiria. 

The  author  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  spread  of  education  in  the 
country,  stating  the  name  of  each  school  and  in  some  instances  thfe 
names  of  the  teachers,  the  programmes  of  instruction  and  the  number 
of  students,  besides  a  mass  of  official  documents  relative  to  the 
subject,  until  he  brings  us  to  the  present  time. 

In  a  highly  interesting  list  he  gives  us  the  names  of  all  the  Ministers 
and  under-secretaries  of  education  to  the  present  day,  with  the  dates 
of  their  appointment,  the  budget  for  each  year,  the  number  of  schools 
and  their  students  of  both  sexes.  He  has  done  still  better,  for  he  gives 
us  the  photographs  of  all  the  Ministers  of  Education  from  the  very 
first,  a  certain  Lewa  Mustapha  Mukhtar  Pasha,  to  the  last,  the 
present  holder  of  the  post. 

Ill 

The  second  part  of  the  book  is  principally  made  up  of  appendices 
and  tables,  the  latter  of  which  are  in  both  Arabic  and  English,  giving 
detailed  statistics  of  the  schools  all  over  the  country,  to  obtain  and 
put  which  together  is  a  stupendous  work  even  for  an  official  of  the 
Ministry  of  Education.  As  specimens  of  these  tables  mention  may 
be  made  of  that  giving  the  number  of  boys  and  girls  in  Government 
and  provincial  council  schools  in  1913-14,  that  giving  the  number  of 
kuttabs  and  their  students,  that  showing  the  distribution  of  Egyptian 
and  foreign  students  among  the  various  schools,  kuttabs,  mosques, 
and  other  religious  institutions,  that  showing  the  population  of  each 
governorate  and  province  in  the  country,  the  number  of  children  of 
educative  age  between  the  ages  of  7  and  15  years,  the  actual  number 
of  pupils  receiving  instruction,  etc. 

In  one  of  the  appendices  the  Pasha  shows  us  how  Egypt  stands 
with  regard  to  other  countries  in  the  matter  of  education.  In  a  com- 
parative table  he  tells  us  that  Switzerland  spends  L.E.  1.955  on  each 
pupil  in  its  elementary  schools,  Canada  L.E.  2.069,  Australia  L.E. 
3.75,  France  1.680,  Russia  L.E.  1.081  while  Egypt  spends  378  mil- 
liemes  only. 

IV 

But  this  is  not  all,  for  in  a  special  appendix  the  author  tells  us  all 
about  instruction  in  the  mosques  and  in  another  he  gives  us  the  plans 
of  primary  schools  as  suggested  by  the  Tanzim  commission  of  the 
Ministry  of  Education  in  December  1880,  and  among  the  illustra- 
tions of  which  the  book  abounds  are  the  pictures  of  the  first  students 
sent  to  Europe  by  the  great  Mohamed  Ali,  all  of  whom  occupied  later 


208  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

in  life  high  and  responsible  posts  under  the  Government  or  distin- 
guished themselves  by  some  particularly  notable  services. 

This,  as  briefly  as  possible,  is  the  purport  of  the  contents  of  this 
great  work,  the  most  important  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the 
history  of  modern  education  in  Egypt,  and  the  learned  author  is  to 
be  congratulated  on  the  excellent  results  of  the  extensive  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  the  wide  researches  he  has  made  and  his  patience  in 
putting  together  such  a  collection  of  statistics.  This  book  ought  to 
be  found  in  the  library  of  every  person  engaged  in  education  or  who 
takes  an  interest  in  it. 

Spiro  Bet. 

Year  Book  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies.  Edition  1916.  Compiled 
by  the  Sub-Department  of  Industry  and  Commerce,  Buiten- 
zorg,  Java.    P.  233. 

The  aim  of  this  beautifully  illustrated  handbook  is  to  present  in 
compact  form,  in  English  and  Dutch  editions  the  mass  of  material 
collected  on  the  natural  resources,  agricultural  commerce,  education 
and  statistics  of  the  population  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  which 
include  Java,  Sumatra,  Borneo,  Celebes,  and  Dutch  New  Guinea. 
The  total  population  is  given  as  37,020,460  of  which  29,715,908  are 
found  in  Java.  The  growth  of  the  population  has  been  phenomenal, 
as  in  1865  it  was  only  fourteen  million  for  all  the  colonies.  The 
foreign  population  in  1905  included  over  half  a  million  Chinese  and 
nearly  30,000  Arabs — mostly  from  Hadramaut.  There  are  chapters 
on  the  flora  and  fauna,  on  legislation,  finance,  railways  and  industrial 
development.  Our  readers,  however,  will  be  most  interested  in 
Education  and  Medical  Service  by  the  Dutch  Government  among 
this  large  Moslem  population.  We  read:  "Next  to  the  care  for  the 
education  of  the  comparatively  small  number  of  European  children, 
the  Government  has  to  meet  the  ever  increasing  demand  for  educa- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  natives.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  only  the 
higher  classes  of  natives  which  had  to  be  considered,  but  nowadays 
even  among  the  masses,  a  strong  desire  for  education  on  European 
lines,  and  more  especially  for  acquiring  the  Dutch  language,  is  notice- 
able. In  order  to  satisfy  this  desire,  the  reorganization  of  the  ele- 
mentary education  has  been  energetically  taken  in  hand.  In  conse- 
quence, the  curriculum  of  many  primary  native  schools,  in  which 
originally  only  native  languages  were  taught,  has  been  revised,  so 
that  now  Dutch  is  the  medium  employed  in  teaching.  (The  so-called 
^HoUandsch  Inlandsche  scholen.')  Next  to  the  elementary,  due  at- 
tention has  also  been  paid  to  secondary  and  professional  education 
of  the  native. 

"In  1909  a  law  school  for  natives  was  established,  and  in  1913  a 
second  medical  college  was  built.  .  .  .  Previous  to  1909,  an 
agricultural  school,  a  school  for  veterinary  surgery  and  several  schools 
for  trades  and  handicrafts  were  already  in  existence." 

In  regard  to  Secondary  Schools  we  learn  that  a  law  school  was 
established  in  1909,  "as  an  experiment,  to  enable  its  students,  after 
they  have  gone  through  some  additional  practical  training,  to  qualify 
as  judges  of  the  native  courts.  Up  to  a  short  time  ago  the  judge 
presiding  over  a  'Landraad*  or  native  court  had  to  be  a  European, 
but  as  the  native  judge  is  naturally  in  closer  touch  with  the  popula- 
tion, and  can  more  readily  understand  its  ways,  customs  and  lan- 
guage, it  was  considered  advantageous  to  break  with  the  old  system, 
and  to  throw  open  this  career  to  young  men  of  native  blood. 


BOOK  REVIEWS  209 

"The  training  of  the  school  lasts  for  six  years,  of  which  three  are 
devoted  to  the  general  education,  and  three  to  the  study  of  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  law.  The  aim  of  the  school,  however,  is  not  only  to 
make  capable  lawyers  of  its  students,  but  also  to  develop  their  char- 
acter and  to  provide  them  with  a  good  moral  training.  With  this 
end  in  view,  a  boarding  establishment  is  run  in  connection  with  the 
school,  where  proper  supervision  can  be  exercised  and  where  the 
ethical  education  cannot  be  counteracted  by  possible  baneful  influ- 
ences." 

There  are  also  seven  training  schools  for  civil  servants,  six  normal 
schools  and  a  school  for  * 'headman'*  of  the  tribes  at  Tondano. 

Of  mission  schools  the  Year  Book  specially  mentions  those  for 
technical  training.  *Tn  Java  there  are  four  subsidized  mission  schools 
where  carpentry,  metal  working  (smithery)  and,  in  the  case  of  one 
establishment,  the  trades  of  the  tinsmith  and  the  bookbinder  are 
taught.  Instruction  is  given  by  native  or  Chinese  foremen  under  the 
supervision  of  a  mission  teacher.  The  results  obtained  by  these 
schools  must  be  considered  to  be  satisfactory,  for  the  young  men 
whom  they  have  trained  find  reasonably  well  paid  work.  In  Java 
there  exists,  in  addition,  an  institution  which,  although  subsidized 
by  the  Government,  is  not  run  by  missionaries. 

"In  the  outlying  possessions  there  are  several  mission  schools  on 
larger  subsidies;  there  are  two  large,  and  three  small  schools  where 
carpentry,  smithery,  the  manufacture  of  tin  articles,  carriage  build- 
ing, book  binding  and  printing  are  taught.  Expert  tuition,  however, 
is  wanting." 

One  is  not  surprised  to  read  also  of  the  splendid  work  done  by  the 
Civil  Medical  service  in  preventing  or  stamping  out  epidemics  in  the 
establishment  of  hospitals  and  free  dispensaries  and  the  care  of  the 
insane  in  two  large  asylums  which  accommodate  2,500  patients. 

S.  M.  Z. 

The  Malay  Peninsula:  A  record  of  British  Progress  in  the  Middle 
East  by  Arnold  Wright  and  Thomas  H.  Reid.  P.  352.  T. 
Fisher  Unwin,  London.    2nd  Edition. 

This  book  gives  the  story  of  two  British  empire-builders — Francis 
Light  "who  found  Penang  a  jungle  and  left  it  a  garden,"  and  Sir 
Thomas  Stamford  Raffles,  the  founder  of  Singapore  in  1819.  One 
half  of  the  chapters  deal  with  the  dawn  of  British  power  in  Malaya 
and  the  struggle  with  the  Dutch  for  colonial  possession  and  prestige 
up  to  the  time  when  British  influence  gradually  extended  over  the 
whole  area  now  covered  by  the  Federated  and  the  non-Federated 
States.  The  remainder  of  the  book  describes  the  railways,  com- 
merce, mining,  rubber  and  agricultural  industries.  One  brief  chap- 
ter, the  least  satisfactory,  tells  of  Malay  manners  and  customs  but 
says  nothing  whatever  of  the  religion  of  the  people,  Islam.  Nor  is 
any  mention  made  of  Christian  missions,  or  even  of  present-day 
government  education.  The  outlook  is  entirely  materialistic.  Yet 
we  are  glad  to  learn  that  as  early  as  1822  Raffles  "devoted  his  earnest 
attention  to  the  moral  well-being  of  the  community  and  framed  a 
scheme  for  the  education  of  Chinese  and  Malay  youth."  The  prac- 
tical outcome  of  which  was  the  foundation  of  the  famous  Singapore 
Institute.  The  treaties  made  with  the  Federated  States  in  1874 
embodied  as  one  of  its  main  principles  this  article: 

"That  the  Sultan  receive  and  provide  a  suitable  residence  for  a 
British  officer,  to  be  called  Resident,  who  shall  be  accredited  to  his 


210  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Court,  and  whose  advice  must  be  asked  and  acted  upon  in  all  ques- 
tions other  than  those  touching  Malay  religion  and  customs."  One 
is  surprised  to  learn  that  present-day  officials  sometimes  appeal  to  it 
as  sufficient  ground  for  discouraging  missionary  effort!  The  far- 
reaching  benefit  of  British  rule  and  occupation  is  evident  everywhere 
in  a  marvellous  commercial  prosperity,  loyalty  to  the  government, 
the  great  development  of  new  industries  and  a  network  of  railways 
and  highways  in  what  was  once  a  pathless  jungle.  Instead  of  inter- 
necine conflict  and  piracy  the  land  now  enjoys  peace  and  opulent 
prosperity.  Will  the  apostles  of  tin  and  rubber  displace  Allah  and 
his  Prophet?  Or  is  there  a  future  here  also  for  the  King  of  Kings  and 
the  message  of  His  Gospel? 

The  book  tells  the  story  of  how  the  government  monopoly  in  opium 
arose  and  justifies  this  suicidal  policy.  In  1906  over  53  per  cent  of 
the  total  revenue  came  from  opium.  "Strong  as  were  the  influences, 
philanthropic  and  political,  running  at  the  time  in  favour  of  prohi- 
bition, the  authorities,  in  the  face  of  a  report  of  this  character,  could 
not  take  an  extreme  line.  The  proposals  of  the  Commission,  com- 
mended as  they  were  alike  by  common  sense  and  expediency,  were 
adopted  in  toto.  Without  loss  of  time,  the  new  Department  has 
brought  into  existence  with  Mr.  F.  M.  Baddeley  as  its  head,  and  on 
January  1,  1910,  the  direct  sale  of  the  drug  by  Government  com- 
menced. .  .  .  The  growing  scarcity  of  opium  shipped  at  Cal- 
cutta led  the  department  to  look  to  Persia  for  supplies.  The  results 
of  experiments  with  opium  from  this  quarter  were  so  successful  that 
in  future  a  considerable  importation  will  be  made  from  the  Gulf. 
Thus  it  appears  highly  probable  that  the  suppression  of  opium  culti- 
vation in  India  will  not  mean  the  disuse  of  the  drug  but  merely  a 
change  of  venue  in  the  cultivation. 

The  department  having  gone  into  the  opium  business  does  the 
thing  thoroughly.  The  drug  is  put  up  into  neat  packages  or  pots 
bearing  the  Government  stamp.  In  Singapore  alone  during  1910 
packages  totalling  48,020,958  and  pots  numbering  422,990  were  sent 
out.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  Singapore  is  a  great  entrepot 
for  the  opium  trade,  and  that  by  no  means  all  this  quantity  was 
intended  for  consumption  in  the  Colony.'* 

S.  M.  Z. 

The  Women  of  Egypt.  By  Elizabeth  Cooper.  Hurst  and  Blackett, 
Ltd.    London.    1914.    Pp.  376. 

Mrs.  Cooper  presents  a  very  interesting  study  of  her  subject,  show- 
ing that  slowly  but  surely  the  lot  of  Egyptian  women  is  improving. 
The  prejudice  against  feminine  education  is  passing  away,  promising 
a  certain  amount  of  freedom  from  the  bondage  of  life  in  the  Harem. 

The  writer  has  gathered  her  information  through  her  friendship 
with  Egyptian  women  of  various  classes,  including  the  Bedouin.  She 
has  visited  girls'  schools,  missions,  and  hospitals  and  has  learned 
much  from  those  who  have  looked  upon  the  women  of  Egypt  from 
the  point  of  view  of  her  moral  and  religious  development. 

In  a  chapter  on  "Religion"  we  are  told  that  the  reason  the  women 
do  not  attend  prayers  in  the  mosques  was  because  the  prophet  had 
said  that  prayers  from  women  were  better  said  in  private  than  in  a 
public  place.  The  Egyptian  woman  therefore  performs  her  devo- 
tional exercises  in  the  Harem.  The  positions  required  in  prayer  are 
very  difficult  for  women  and  the  religion  of  Mohammed  seems  to  be 
a  man*s  religion. 


BOOK  REVIEWS  211 

A  Sheikh,  in  answer  to  persistent  inquiries  as  to  the  view  of  Islam 
regarding  the  reward  of  women  in  paradise,  at  last  replied  vaguely, 
**0h,  they  have  a  place  to  themselves,"  and  upon  further  request  for 
a  more  definite  statement  replied,  "Why,  they  have  a  comfortable 
place  where  they  may  sit  around  and  talk,  and  talk,  and  talk!" 

In  one  chapter  Mrs.  Cooper  considers  the  work  of  Christian  mis- 
sions in  Egypt  paying  a  tribute  to  the  part  missionaries  are  playing 
in  the  general  uplift  of  the  people.  Comment  is  made  on  the  attitude 
of  the  government  of  the  country  which  tends  to  favor  Islam  at  the 
expense  of  the  Christians.  Her  appreciation  of  the  work  of  the 
missionary  is  expressed  as  follows: — 

"One  is  convinced  that  the  Christian  missionary  has  been  the 
pioneer  who  has  opened  new  pathways  in  the  field  of  education,  and 
caused  the  youth  of  Egypt  to  demand  a  higher  learning  throughout 
the  land." 

H.  E.  E.  Hayes. 

**The  Foundation  of  Modem  Religion."  A  study  in  the  Task  and 
Contribution  of  the  Mediaeval  Church.  By  Herbert  B.  Work- 
man, D.D.,  LL.D.  PubHshed  by  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.  Price 
$1.25. 

This  volume,  which  comprises  the  Cole  Lectures  for  1916  at  Van- 
derbilt  University,  would  be  of  greater  value  for  scholars  if  an  index 
had  been  provided.  To  the  students  of  Islam  the  chapter  "The 
Dawning  of  the  Missionary  Consciousness"  is  useful,  especially  pages 
92  to  99.  No  mention  is  made  of  Raymund  Lull,  though  Lull's 
period  is  covered  in  the  paragraphs  on  the  Conversion  of  Central 
Europe  and  Russia  to  the  Christian  faith.  This  section  is  summed 
up  in  these  words: — 

"In  Western  Europe  the  victory  of  the  Cross  over  the  heathen 
was  complete.  But  in  the  East  the  future  of  the  Muslim,  and  the 
recovery  by  the  Church  of  the  conquests  of  the  Crescent  is  still  a 
problem  of  the  future."  This  chapter  closes  with  a  striking  allusion 
to  the  ancient  inscription  carved  on  the  bronze  gates  of  St.  Sophia 
in  Constantinople,  declaring  that  "Jesus  Christ  Conquers."  These 
words  of  faith  and  valour  which  might  well  serve  as  the  watchword 
for  a  Student  Volunteer  Convention  of  to-day  have  been  left  un- 
touched through  all  these  centuries,  while  from  the  Turkish  minarets 
the  declaration  has  resounded  that  Mohammed  is  the  Prophet  of  God. 

Let  us  pray  with  renewed  fervour  that  that  majestic  church  may 
be  restored  to  its  rightful  Lord. 

Stephen  Trowbridge. 

The  Geography  and  Geology  of  West-Central  Sinai.  By  John  Ball, 
Ph.D.,  D.Sc.  Cairo:  Government  Press.  P.  219.  Price:  P.  T. 
30  ($1.50).    1916. 

This  monograph  by  the  Survey  Department  of  Egypt  is  of  interest 
to  our  readers  only  because  of  a  description  given  of  the  Bedouin 
tribes  which  are  Moslem  and  whose  condition  of  extreme  poverty 
and  ignorance  is  full  of  pathos.  They  seem  to  have  many  noble 
qualities.  "Notwithstanding  their  frequent  disputes  among  them- 
selves" says  Mr.  Ball,  "the  people  appear  to  be  tolerably  honest  and 
fair  to  each  other  in  their  final  decisions.  No  case  of  theft  in  either 
tribe  came  under  my  notice."  The  maps  and  illustrations  are  ex- 
cellent. 


212  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 


The  Mythical  Interpretation  of  the  Gospels.  Critical  Studies  in  the 
Historical  Narratives.  By  Thomas  James  Thorburn,  D.D., 
LL.D.  New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  P.  356.  Appendix. 
Index.    $1.50  Net.    1916. 

Our  readers  will  remember  a  review  of  a  book  by  Mohammed  Tanir 
of  Beirut,  that  appeared  in  The  Moslem  World,  Vol.  iii,  page 
197,  in  which  he  pointed  out  the  alleged  Pagan  elements  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  It  is  because  of  such  books  based  upon  the  writings  of 
rationalists  in  Europe  that  we  whose  work  is  among  Moslems  wel- 
come the  present  volume.  The  Mythical  Interpretation  of  the  Gos- 
pels, as  it  may  be  termed,  is,  it  should  be  widely  known,  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  the  theory  that  our  present  four  canonical  Gospels  are 
in  no  sense  whatever  what  we  nowadays  mean  by  the  term  "historical 
documents." 

The  learned  author  shows  that  previous  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  mythical  hypothesis  was  practically  unknown.  To  the 
Christians  of  the  early  centuries  the  personality  of  Jesus  Christ  was 
absolutely  distinguished  from  all  the  mythologies  and  nature- worship 
of  the  heathen  round  about  them.  This  fact  is  indisputable.  In  the 
Jewish  Talmuds  also  Jesus  Christ  and  the  records  of  his  life  and 
teaching  have  undoubted  historical  acknowledgment,  while  the  Pagan 
Romans  and  Greeks  considered  the  Christian  system  wholly  unlike 
and  absolutely  opposed  to  the  stories  of  the  heroes  and  gods  of  their 
myths.  "These  three  primary  facts  are  beyond  dispute,  and  all 
three  taken  together  form,  in  the  opinion  of  the  present  writer,  a 
great  and  a  priori  obstacle  to  any  modern  scheme  that  can  be  devised 
for  the  mythicising  of  the  story  of  the  Christian  religion  or  the  person 
of  its  Founder." 

The  author  deals  in  detail  with  all  the  supposed  arguments  of  Pro- 
fessor Drews,  Mr.  J.  M.  Robertson  and  Professor  W.  B.  Smith. 
Replying  to  them  in  regard  to  the  Virgin  birth  he  says:  "The  con- 
clusion of  the  whole  matter  therefore,  up  to  the  present  time,  may 
thus  be  stated:  The  Gospel  story  of  the  conception  and  birth — 
whether  it  be  historical  or  otherwise — presupposes  a  peculiar  case  of 
true  parthenogenesis,  the  idea  of  which  has  not  been  borrowed  from 
either  Jewish  or  Gentile  sources." 

The  book  contains  a  mass  of  material  and  argument  on  every  part 
of  the  gospel  that  has  been  called  in  question;  especially  full  are  the 
chapters  regarding  the  trial  and  death  of  Jesus.  The  gospel  narra- 
tives were  called  into  serious  question  by  Professor  Drews  in  his  book 
The  Christ  Myth.  Our  author  shows  conclusively  that  the  whole 
hypothesis  is  elaborate  bosh,  and,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Schweitzer 
that  these  myth  writers  "make  a  rather  extravagant  use  of  the  privi- 
lege of  standing  outside  the  ranks  of  scientific  theology.  Their 
imagination  leaps  with  playful  elegance  over  obstacles  of  fact,  and 
enables  them  to  discover  everywhere  the  pre-Christian  Jesus  whom 
their  souls  desire,  even  in  places  where  an  ordinary  intelligence  can 
find  no  trace  of  it." 

This  book  should  be  in  the  library  of  those  who  meet  Moslems  of 
the  rationalist  school  that  they  may  shut  the  mouths  of  gainsayers 
and  give  an  answer  to  those  who  try  to  escape  the  fact  of  the  Christ 
by  calling  Him  a  fiction. 

S.   M.   ZWEMER. 


CORRESPONDENCE 


Concerning  Moslems  in  Malaya 
Dear  Dr.  Zwemer: 

I  fear  that  your  visit  to  Penang  and  Singapore  will  lead  to  the 
impression  that  nothing  is  being  done  for  Moslems.  British  Malay- 
sia is  rapidly  becoming  a  region  peopled  and  owned  by  the  Chinese; 
before  the  war  the  annual  immigration  of  Chinese  was  over  250,000. 
The  great  demand  on  their  part  for  education  in  English  and  their 
willingness  to  bear  their  full  share  of  the  expense  both  caused  and 
justified  the  large  efforts  made  in  that  direction.  Then  a  noticeable 
percentage  of  the  immigrant  Chinese  are  Christians,  otherwise  the 
proportion  of  Christian  Chinese  in  the  Census  area  of  British  Malay- 
sia would  hardly  reach  three  times  that  of  China  itself.  Similarly 
among  the  immigrants  from  British  India,  over  100,000  a  year,  a 
large  percentage  of  Christians  are  found.  The  census  taken  in  1911 
revealed  the  high  proportion  of  609  compared  with  123  in  10,000  for 
India  itself.  So  far  as  British  Malaysia  is  concerned  it  seems  inevi- 
table that  the  Peninsula  and  Borneo  will  be  filled  up  by  immigrants 
from  China  and  British  India  and  that  the  Mohammedan  Malay 
will  in  a  short  time,  and  throughout  the  whole  region,  be  a  weak 
third  among  the  peoples.  That  is  the  relative  position  of  the  Malay 
already  in  the  state  of  Selangor  on  the  Peninsula. 

That  explains,  to  some  extent,  the  comparative  neglect  of  any 
work  for  Malays;  funds  and  strength  are  largely  employed  in  work 
for  the  Chinese  and  Indians  who,  themselves,  contribute  far  more 
than  is  derived  from  the  home  base.  Nevertheless  I  hope  you  will 
have  noted  that  the  mission  to  which  I  belong  has  devoted  the  serv- 
ices of  Dr.  Shell abear,  our  senior  missionary,  very  largely  to  work 
for  Malays.  The  revised  Malay  Bible  is  only  one  of  his  contributions 
to  that  work.  But  the  bulk  of  our  efforts  for  Moslems  and  for  those 
who  will  become  Moslems  if  not  evangelized  speedily  is  found  in 
Netherlands  India.  Our  work  is  carried  on  here  in  Java,  in  West 
Borneo  and  at  Meden  and  Palembang  on  Sumatra. 

In  West  Borneo  part  of  the  work  is  directed  toward  the  considerable 
settled  Chinese  population,  which  is  very  responsive;  but  during  the 
last  few  years  an  opening  has  also  been  secured  for  work  among  the 
pagan  Dayaks.  The  government  is  opening  schools  using  the  Malay 
language,  but,  having  difficulties  in  securing  teachers,  they  gladly 
accept  Christian  Battaks  which  we  can  secure  from  Sumatra.  Last 
year  the  Dayaks  of  one  village  cast  away  their  idols  and  over  twenty 
enrolled  themselves  for  Christian  instruction  preparatory  to  member- 
ship. One  of  the  aims  for  the  approaching  Centenary  of  our  church 
is  the  support  of  a  missionary  solely  for  this  work.  The  government, 
for  political  reasons,  is  quite  willing  that  the  Dayaks  be  Christianized 
and  will  favour  our  work  as  much  as  possible.  When  you  think  of 
West  Borneo,  pray  that  this  opportunity  be  utilized.  There  are  not 
many  ten  thousands  of  Dayaks  in  that  territory  but  they  are  all 
easily  approached  now  and  willing  to  learn.    If  they  are  Islamized 

213 


214  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

all  that  ease  of  access  will  be  lost.  I  may  add  that,  except  for  the 
Roman  Catholics,  we  are  the  only  Christian  body  at  work  in  West 
Borneo. 

In  South  Sumatra  we  do  not  have  even  the  Roman  Catholics  to 
share  the  burden  in  any  way.  The  only  worker  besides  the  five  we 
have  there  is  the  dominie  of  the  Government  service  at  Palembang 
and  his  services  are  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  European  and 
Eurasian  population.  We  have  been  there  for  some  eight  years  but 
this  is  the  first  year  in  which  we  have  had  a  missionary  there,  and  he 
has  to  earn  his  salary  by  teaching  in  the  school  and  giving  private 
lessons  in  English.  His  last  letter  tells  of  giving  the  Eighth  of  Romans 
as  a  lesson  in  English  to  a  young  Dutchman  and  getting  a  dollar 
(American)  an  hour  for  doing  it.  He  finds  that  the  eight  years  of 
devoted  work  by  a  splendid  band  of  British  Indian  young  men  has 
opened  homes  everywhere  to  the  Christian  message,  even  Malay  and 
Arab  homes  open  to  him.  Now  to  keep  that  missionary  there  this 
year  we  are  sinking  the  savings  of  several  years  of  these  Indian  young 
men  and  I  do  not  know  where  the  money  for  next  year  is  to  come  from. 
We  are  striving  both  to  get  it  by  effort  and  by  prayer  because  there 
is  an  opportunity  that  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  The  southern  end 
of  Sumatra  with  Palembang  (population  70,000),  is  a  region  as  large 
as  Ohio  and  Indiana  combined  and  has  over  a  million  souls  for  whom 
the  whole  Christian  world  provides  just  one  Dutch  Dominie,  one 
American,  one  ordained  Indian  and  three  unordained  workers;  of 
these  the  government  supports  the  first  and  the  others  secure  their 
support  by  fulfilling  the  eleventh  commandment  of  English  and 
American  missionaries, — '*Go  everywhere  teaching  the  English  lan- 
guage." It  comes  the  nearest  possible  to  trying  to  make  a  people 
support  those  who  would  convert  them  to  Christianity  that  I  know 
of.    And  imagine  attempting  that  in  a  land  essentially  Moslem. 

On  this  island  we  are  far  from  alone;  but  that  does  not  mean  a  lack 
of  need.  The  most  western  residency  of  Java,  Bantam,  the  first  point 
of  European  contact  with  the  East  Indies,  a  residency  with  over  a 
million  souls,  is  without  a  missionary  and  has  only  one  small  native 
church.  Here  and  there  victories  have  been  won  in  Java,  enough  to 
show  that  the  people  are  not  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Gospel  and  yet 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  attitude  of  Islam  is  tolerant  not  so  much 
because  of  the  power  of  the  Dutch  government  as  because  Islam  is 
half  contemptuously  indifferent.  Christianity  has  not  yet  secured 
the  compliment  of  real  persecution.  So  far  as  I  can  ascertain  there 
are  about  30,000  native  and  Chinese  Christians  here.  The  Chinese 
and  Christians  who  come  from  outlying  islands  and  are  direct  con- 
verts from  paganism  to  Christianity  would  account  for  at  least  5,000 
and  still  others  are  Christians  because  of  material  advantages,  e.g., 
those  at  Depok  who  hold  their  land  because  many  years  ago  a  Chris- 
tian Dutchman  freed  his  slaves  and  left  his  great  estate  to  them  and 
their  descendants  who  are  Christians.  The  last  census,  taken  in  1905, 
gives  Java  a  population  in  excess  of  thirty  millions  and  over  98  per 
cent  are  Moslems  and  less  than  1/10  of  1  per  cent,  excluding  Euro- 
peans, are  Christian.  No  wonder  Islam  exhibits  little  fear  in  view 
of  such  results  after  more  than  three  centuries  of  contact  with  Europe. 

But  the  outlook  is  not  without  signs  of  promise.  Islam  is  not 
aggressive  in  Java.  The  present  upheaval  of  the  world  is  not  with- 
out its  influence.  A  few  months  back  a  Malay  who  had  been  to  Mecca 
twice,  drove  the  motor  car  which  carried  me  across  Banka.  The 
conversation  turned  to  the  war  and  he  betrayed  a  feeling  of  uneasi- 


CORRESPONDENCE  215 

ness  regarding  its  effect  on  Islam.  There  was  in  his  talk  a  note  that 
seemed  to  imply  that  Islam  had  a  hard  choice  in  choosing  between 
a  Sultan  at  Constantinople,  biit  controlled  by  Berlin,  and  a  king  at 
Mecca,  who  was  dependent  on  the  support  of  England  and  France. 
The  failure  of  Pan  Islam  as  a  political  force,  the  loss  of  hope  that 
something  might  enable  Islam  here  to  throw  off  the  rule  of  Holland's 
Christian  queen,  the  prompt  suppression  of  revolts  such  as  that  in 
Djamdi  residency,  Sumatra,  last  year,  do  not  impart  a  feeUng  of 
confidence  in  Islam  and  its  future. 

The  attitude  of  the  government  here  is  another  sign  of  promise. 
•Government  officials  seem  to  have  the  view  that  any  leaven  which 
has  a  disintegrating  influence  on  Islam  or  which  prevents  pagan 
tribes  from  adopting  that  faith  is  helping  government  to  guard  against 
any  united  revolt  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Hence  by  most  officials, 
and  especially  by  those  in  the  more  responsible  positions  encourage- 
ment is  given  to  mission  work.  The  lines  most  pushed  are  educa- 
tional and  medical  because  they  appeal  most  to  the  official  mind 
because  it  is  difficult  for  exception  to  be  taken  to  government  encour- 
agement of  such  efforts.  The  government  is  rapidly  developing  the 
educational  work  in  its  own  schools,  especially  the  Dutch-native  and 
Dutch-Chinese  schools.  Attention  is  also  being  given  to  other  native 
tongues  besides  Malay.  All  of  this  both  by  spreading  information 
and  so  revealing  the  ignorance  of  Islam,  by  creating  a  reading  public, 
and  so  making  possible  evangelization  by  the  printed  page,  helps 
forward  our  work.  The  liberal  subsidies  offered  to  approved  mission 
hospital  projects, — ^three-fourths  of  the  building  costs  and  a  larger 
proportion  of  the  annual  charges — opens  up  the  possibility  of  large 
self-supporting  medical  work  comparable  to  the  educational  work  in 
British  Malaysia  and  far  better  suited  to  the  needs  of  mission  work 
among  Moslems.  If  the  missions  in  Netherlands  India  avail  them- 
selves of  this  providential  opportunity  they  can  in  a  most  effective 
way  present  the  contrast  between  the  heart  of  mercy  of  our  God  and 
the  indifference  to  human  suffering  and  need  in  the  God  of  Islam. 
From  the  revelation  of  compassion  in  the  ministering  hands  to  the 
revelation  of  the  infinite  pity  which  "spared  not  His  own  Son  but 
delivered  Him  up  for  us  all"  is  not  a  long  step.  The  Methodist 
Mission  is  this  year  putting  up  its  first  hospital  toward  which  we  have 
received  over  43,000  guilders,  more  than  $17,000  from  the  Dutch 
Government.  We  hope  to  build  other  hospitals  not  only  in  Java  but 
also  in  the  other  fields  in  which  we  are  at  work. 

Then  while  the  number  of  native  Christians  is  unsatisfactorily 
small,  there  are  enough  to  provide  a  considerable  body  of  native 
workers  and  there  is  a  growing  desire  on  the  part  of  the  missions  to 
use  and  trust  these  workers.  My  own  mission  is  perhaps  as  much 
open  to  the  charge  of  forcing  forward  the  development  of  native 
workers  as  the  Dutch  are  to  the  charge  of  holding  them  back.  But 
it  seems  to  me  a  sign  of  promise  that  only  a  few  weeks  ago  the  West 
Java  Mission  ordained  one  of  its  native  workers  and  that  the  first 
act  following  his  ordination  was  the  baptism  of  a  large  number  from 
the  village  in  which  the  man  had  been  working. 

The  immigration  of  Chinese  and  Indians  is  a  growing  factor  in  the 
life  of  this  part  of  the  world.  If  I  mistake  not  the  half  century  of 
peace  which  will  follow  the  final  close  of  this  war  will  witness  migra- 
tions from  China  and  India  which  will  fill  up  the  uninhabited  por- 
tions of  Borneo,  Sumatra,  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  perhaps  reach 
even  as  far  East  as  New  Guinea.    No  small  proportion  of  Christians 


216  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

will  be  found  among  these  moving  millions, — more  millions  than 
flowed  from  Europe  to  America,  because  China  and  India  can  each 
supply  as  many  as  Europe  spared  to  people  America.  These  Chris- 
tians among  these  immigrants  have  an  influence  out  of  proportion  to 
their  numbers  and  enable  one  to  believe  that  with  wise  guidance  and 
moderate  financial  support  from  America  and  Europe  Christianity 
may  become  the  dominant  religion  here  within  that  half  century. 
Meanwhile  Java  is  almost  certain  to  send  a  stream  of  people  to  mingle 
with  these  others  and  to  be  moved  by  all  the  forces  which  will  be  work- 
ing here.  Socially,  economically  and  even  in  religion  the  old  com- 
binations are  breaking  up  and  the  elements  are  being  freed  in  a  nas- 
cent condition  ready  to  form  new  combinations.  That  represents 
Christianity's  opportunity  to  determine  the  character  of  the  civiliza- 
tion forming  here  even  now.  The  ten  years  I  have  spent  in  British 
Malaysia  and  Dutch  East  India  convince  me  that  the  contest  is  not 
between  Mohammed,  Confucius,  Buddha,  the  gods  of  India  and  our 
Lord  but  between  the  materialistic  forces  of  modern  life  and  the  One 
manifestly  set  forth  crucified  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  The  Moslems 
imdoubtedly  represent  the  most  difficult  and  at  present  by  far  the 
most  numerous  element  to  be  won;  but  He  can  and  will  win  with 
them  if  Christendom  will  give,  not  as  it  can,  for  its  resources  are  far 
beyond  the  needs,  but  as  it  ought,  of  men,  women  and  money,  and  if 
we  on  the  field  faithfully  lift  Him  up. 

This  is  a  rather  long  letter  and  has  been  written  under  the  dis- 
advantages of  travelling;  may  it  help  you  to  a  deeper  interest  in 
Malaysia  and  lead  to  a  visit  from  you  at  no  distant  date. 

Yours  sincerely, 

H.  B.  Mansell. 

M.  E.  Mission,  Java. 

Proposed  Index  to  the  Sunni  Traditions 

1.  All  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  collections  of 
Arab  traditions  know  how  difficult  it  is,  among  these  vast  complica- 
tions, to  trace,  even  approximately,  references  to  any  given  subject. 
The  arrangement  of  subject-matter  in  the  various  collections  has 
been  made  from  very  different  points  of  view,  yet  none  of  the  methods 
which  have  been  followed  serves  effectively  to  guide  our  researches. 

2.  This  difficulty  might  be  remedied  by  condensing  the  matter  into 
a  summary  in  which  all  repetitions  would  be  avoided.  But  to  say 
nothing  of  other  objections  to  which  such  a  r^sum6  would  be  open, 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  take  into  account  the  many  variants 
which  occur  and  are  often  of  great  importance. 

3.  It  will  be  impossible  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  collections  of 
traditions  until  we  have  at  our  disposal  an  alphabetical  index  con- 
taining every  characteristic  word,  under  which  will  be  found  the 
kindred  words  necessary  for  rapid  reference.  Naturally  such  an 
index  must  be  of  considerable  dimensions  and  its  compilation  must 
occupy  several  years. 

4.  Further  it  will  be  necessary  to  index  under  the  following  head- 
ings: (a)  The  isnad;  (b)  Proper  names  found  in  the  matn;  (c)  Geo- 
graphical names;  (d)  Citations  of  verses  of  the  Koran.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  indexing  of  the  proper  names  which  figure  in  the  isnad 
presents  difficulties  which  would  outweigh  its  practical  value,  so  that 
it  would  seem  better  to  put  off  such  an  undertaking  until  a  suitable 
method  should  have  been  found. 


CORRESPONDENCE  217 

5.  The  indexes  must  embrace,  besides  the  six  so-called  canonical 
collections,  the  Mosnad  of  Darimi,  the  Mosnad  of  Ahmad,  the  Mo- 
watta  and  the  ancient  traditions  found  in  the  commentaries  of 
Qastallani,  Nawawi  and  Zorkani. 

6.  With  regard  to  works  already  pubhshed,  the  following  editions 
might  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  indexes:  the  edition  of  Bokhari  by 
Krehl,  continued  by  JuynboU;  the  edition  of  Moslim,  with  the  com- 
mentary by  Nawawi  (Cairo,  1283.  5  vols.) ;  the  edition  of  Abu  Daud 
in  two  volumes  (Cairo,  1280) ;  the  edition  of  Tirmidi  in  two  volumes 
(Cairo,  1292);  the  edition  of  Al  Nasai  with  the  commentary  by 
Soyuti  (Cairo,  1312.  2  vols.) ;  the  edition  of  Ahmad  in  six  volumes 
(Cairo,  1313) ;  the  edition  of  the  Mowatta,  with  the  commentary  by 
Zorkani  (Cairo.  1279.  4  vols.) ;  the  edition  of  Qastallani  in  two  vol- 
umes (Bulaq,  1288). 

The  works  of  Darimi  and  Ibn  Maja  not  having  yet  been  satisfac- 
torily edited.  Professor  Snouck  Hurgronje  has  most  kindly  offered  to 
undertake  their  publication  provided  that  the  MSS.  on  which  they 
are  founded  are  available  as  a  basis  for  critical  edition. 

7.  The  six  so-called  canonical  collections,  as  well  as  from  those  of 
Darimi,  will  have  to  show  the  chapter  and  the  number  of  the  bab  or 
of  the  tradition,  following  the  method  of  scholars  who  quote  Bokhari. 
Quotations  from  the  other  works  should  indicate  volume,  page  and 
Hne. 

8.  The  system  of  transcription  as  used  in  the  Encyclopedic  de 
ITslam  might  be  employed. 

9.  Dr.  Juynboll  announces  that  he  is  willing  to  start  on  the  abstract 
of  the  fourth  part  of  Bokhari.  I  myself  will  undertake  the  first  part 
of  the  same  author.  We  shall  no  doubt  find  fellow-students  who  will 
be  good  enough  to  enter  into  collaboration  with  us. 

10.  The  completion  of  the  whole  work  will  take  at  least  ten  years. 
In  the  meantime  Semitists  who  may  wish  for  information  on  any  of 
the  works  quoted,  may  apply  to  the  compilers,  as  soon  as  the  required 
indexes  exist  in  manuscript. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  the  opinions  and  advice  of  Semitists  on 
the  undertaking  outlined  above. 

(signed)     A.  J.  Wensinck. 
Leiden,  July  16,  1916. 

[The  above  is  a  translation  of  a  communication  which  appeared  in 
the  Journal  Asiatiquey  Onzieme  Serie,  tome  VII,  and  is  published  by 
the  kind  permission  of  the  Editor  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  School  of 
Oriental  Studies,  London.] 


SURVEY  OF  RECENT  PERIODICALS 


I.  GENERAL 

The  Study  of  Arabic.  T.  W.  Arnold,  CLE.  Bulletin  of  the  School 
of  Oriental  StudieSy  London.     1917. 

An  abstract  of  a  public  lecture  given  at  the  School  on  March  14th, 
1917.  It  urges  the  need  for  a  much  larger  circle  of  students  working 
at  and  interested  in  Arabic  among  those  Englishmen  whose  work  car- 
ries them  to  the  East.  The  need  for  pioneer  work  on  dialects  of 
spoken  Arabic  is  specially  emphasised. 

Malay.  C.  C.  Blagden.  Bulletin  of  the  School  of  Oriental  Studies, 
London.     1917. 

An  abstract  of  a  public  lecture  on  Malay  as  one  of  the  leading 
vernaculars  of  the  world,  given  at  the  School  on  February  7th,  1917. 

A  New  Spirit  Toward  a  New  Moslem  World.  Rev.  S.  M.  Zwemer. 
Chinese  Recorder,  Shanghai.     October  1917. 

An  urgent  appeal  in  face  of  the  present  situation. 

n.  SOURCES   OF  ISLAM  IN  ARABIA 

in.  HISTORY  OF  ISLAM  UP  TELL  RECENT  TIMES 

IV.  KORAN,  TRADITIONS,  THEOLOGY,  ETC 

Muhammad  in  the  Qur'an.  Rev.  J.  C.  Matthew,  B.D.  The  Indian 
Interpreter,  Poona.     July  1917. 

A  study  of  the  Qur'an  following  the  three  periods  of  the  Prophet's 
life:  (1)  his  search  after  truth;  (2)  his  struggle  with  opponents;  (3) 
his  triumph. 

A  Classified  Bibliography  of  Books  on  Islam  in  Chinese  and  Chinese- 
Arabic.  Chas.  L.  Ogilvie  and  S.  M.  Zwemer.  Chinese  Recorder, 
Shanghai.     October  1917. 

Based  on  D'OUone's  list  in  Recherches  sur  les  Musulmans  Chinois, 
on  the  Bibliography  in  BroomhalFs  "  Islam  in  China,"  on  Dr.  Guiseppe 
Ros'  collection  and  on  books  collected  by  the  compilers  on  their  tour 
in  Honan,  Chihli  and  other  provinces  during  1917.  The  list  gives  the 
titles  in  Chinese  and  English  with  a  few  notes  to  indicate  the  contents 
and  date  of  publication. 

Appunti  Descrittivi  e  Critici  su  Alcuni  Manoscritti  Arabi  di  Conten- 
tenuto  Storico.  G.  Gabrieli.  Rendiconti  delta  Reale  Accademia 
dei  Lincei,  Roma.     Agosto  1917. 

218 


SURVEY  OF  RECENT  PERIODICALS  219 

V.  RELIGIOUS  AND   SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  ISLAM 

The  Chinese  Moslem  Standpoint.  Jas.  Hutson.  Chinese  Recorder, 
Shanghai.     October  1917. 

A  summary  of  what  Chinese  Moslems  believe,  reprinted  from  the 
National  RevieWy  Shanghai.    October  24,  1910. 

The  Three  Character  Chinese  for  Moslems.  Lieo  Kai  Lien,  of 
Nanking.  Translated  by  Rev.  F.  J.  M.  Cotter  and  Rev.  L. 
Reichelt. 

A  Chinese  Moslem  Primer.  Chinese  Recorder,  Shanghai.  October 
1917. 

The  verbatim  translation  of  the  Arabic  text,  with  one  specimen 
page.  Shows  the  characteristic  tendency  of  primary  religious  edu- 
cation. 

Medical  Ideas  in  Arabia.  Paul  W.  Harrison,  M.D.  Christian  In- 
telligencer, New  York.    June  27,  1917. 

A  popular  sketch. 

The  Lot  of  Women  in  Arabia.  Miss  C.  B.  Kellein.  Christian  InteUi- 
gencer.  New  York.    July  11,  1917. 

VI.  POLITICAL  RELATIONSHIPS 

Tm-key,  Russia  and  Islam.  The  Round  Table,  London.  December 
1917. 

A  study  of  the  Pan-Turanian  Movement  and  the  possibilities  of 
the  present  Turkish  policy  with  regard  to  the  Moslems  in  Russia. 
**Just  as  autocratic  Russia  freed  the  Slav  and  Christian  peoples  in  the 
Balkans  from  Turkish  tyranny,  so  now  they  (the  military  oligarchs  of 
Turkey,  apt  pupils  of  their  Prussian  masters)  dream  of  *  freeing '  the 
Turkish-speaking  and  Mohammedan  peoples  from  democratic  Russia." 
Sections  V  and  VI  on  "The  Mohammedans  and  Turks  in  Russia" 
and  "The  Political  Attitude  of  the  Russian  Mohammedans"  are  of 
special  value.  Section  VII  "The  Prospects  of  Turkish  Irredentism" 
shows  that  "the  potentialities  of  the  future  are  different  in  the  different 
groups;  but  the  determining  factor  may  possibly  be  the  attitude  of 
the  Tatars  of  Kazan.  .  .  .  Their  printing  presses  have  spread 
their  influence  widely  throughout  the  Mohammedan  world.  .  .  . 
They  have  been  under  Russian  government  for  more  than  300  years 
and  the  barrier  between  Islam  and  Christianity  has  been  broken  down 
more  successfully  here  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world."  If,  however, 
the  Russian  Government  does  not  hold  the  conglomeration  of  peoples 
together  which  have  made  up  the  Russian  Empire,  "The  outlook 
would  be  grave.  .  .  .  Vast  regions  between  the  Indian  frontier 
and  Europe  would  return  to  chaos  and  the  initiative  there  would  pass 
into  Ottoman  hands." 

The  Turanian  Movement.     The  Times.    January  4,  1918. 

An  account  of  the  rise  of  the  Pan-Turanian  Movement,  showing 
that  it  was  originally  "a  genuine  social  revival  like  those  which  have 
previously  accompanied  the  liberation  of  the  Bulgars  and  the  Greeks, 
and,  if  left  to  itself,  might  have  led  to  equally  beneficient  results." 
Unhappily  it  was  converted  into  a  political  weapon  of  the  Committee 
of  Union  and  Progress. 


mo  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Jerusalem  Delivered.  Walter  Sichel.  Nineteenth  Century y  London. 
January  1918. 

An  appreciation  of  the  present  situation  in  Palestine  and  warn- 
ing home  politicians  of  the  sensitiveness  of  Mohammedan  sus- 
ceptibilities in  different  parts  of  the  British  Empire.  "Let  us  beware 
of  a  House-of-Commons  Downing  Street  in  Jerusalem  nor  forget 
that  the  due  apportionment  by  treaty  of  the  wardship  of  its  shrines 
afforded  the  pretext — the  apple  of  discord — ^for  the  Crimean  War.** 

VII.  HISTORY  OF  MOHAMMEDAN  MISSIONS 

Eine  Hoffnung  auf  Tiirkenbekehrung  im  Reformations- Jahrhundert. 
H.  Pfisterer.  Evangelisehes  Missions-Magazin,  Basel,  Novem- 
ber 1917. 

A  discussion  of  the  historical  authenticity  of  the  events  narrated  in 
a  letter  sent  by  the  Reutlinger  Reformers,  M.  Alber  and  J.  Schradin 
in  1540  to  M.  Sturmlin,  court  physician  to  Count  Ultich  of  Wurtem- 
berg.  The  letter  describes  the  conversion  to  Christianity  of  a  num- 
ber of  Mohammedan  priests  at  Constantinople  and  the  authors* 
hopes  are  raised  as  to  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity  in  the  East. 

Karl  Gottlieb  Pfander.  Pfarrer  F.  Laroche.  Evangelisehes  Missions- 
Magaziny  Basel.     December  1917. 

An  interesting  biography  and  summary  of  his  chief  writings  as  a 
missionary  to  Moslems. 

A  Vacation  Visit  to  China.  S.  M.  Zwemer.  Blessed  be  Egypt.  Jan- 
uary 1918. 

An  account  of  a  visit  during  the  summer  of  1917  to  investigate  the 
prospects  of  a  forward  movement  in  evangelist  work  among  the 
Moslems  of  China. 

The  Call  of  the  hour.  F.  Herbert  Rhodes.  Chinese  Recorder, 
Shanghai.     October  1917. 

An  appeal  especially  to  missionaries  already  in  China  for  more  work 
among  Moslems.  Christian  reading  rooms  and  specialised  effort  to 
reach  Chinese  mullahs  are  emphasised. 

Preaching  Christ  in  a  Chinese  Mosque.  Charles  L.  Ogilvie.  Chinese 
Recorder,  Shanghai.     October  1917. 

An  account  of  a  visit  paid  by  the  writer  with  Dr.  Zwemer  to  a 
mosque  in  Honan. 

Moslems  in  Kansu.  Mark  E.  Botham.  China's  Millions.  Janu- 
ary 18. 

An  account  of  a  visit  to  Hochow,  "probably  the  largest  Moslem 
centre  in  Kansu.'* 

Prayers  of  a  Quarter  of  a  Century  answered.  L.  J.  Shafer.  Chris- 
tian Intelligencer,  New  York.    November  21,  1917. 

Concerning  a  visit  to  Riadh,  in  the  interior  of  Arabia,  the  capital  of 
Ibn  Saoud. 


The  Moslem  World 


VOL.  VIII  JULY,  1918  NO.  3 

THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN 


As  you  enter  the  Mosque  of  Ibn  Tulun  your  mind 
travels  back  a  thousand  years,  and  you  stand  in  imagina- 
tion within  the  great  new  building,  white  and  beautiful, 
with  its  lace-like  ornaments,  crisp  and  clear,  just  as  it 
left  the  hands  of  the  architect  and  his  co-operators;  you 
hear  a  murmur  of  prayers  and  you  see  the  vast  area 
thronged  with  the  white  turbanned  forms  of  men,  bare- 
footed and  with  bowed  heads  paying  reverent  homage 
to  "Allah,  the  compassionate,  the  merciful." 

The  building  of  the  mosque  was  begun  in  the  year  A. 
D.  876,  or  according  to  a  table  given  in  Stanley  Lane- 
Poole's  "Cairo,"  in  the  year  263  of  the  Hegira,  that  is 
to  say,  early  in  the  Mohammedan  era.  We  can  fix  the 
time  by  remembering  that  King  Alfred  reigned  from 
871  to  901. 

Ahmed  Ibn  Tulun  had  not  been  in  office  as  governor 
more  than  a  few  years  when  he  ordered  the  building 
of  the  mosque,  partly  because  the  original  mosque  of 
Amr,  being  of  narrow  dimensions,  had  become 
far  too  small  for  the  number  of  worshippers,  and  partly, 
because  he  was  a  promoter  of  buildings,  and  considered 
that  a  great  mosque  in  Fostat  would  add  to  the  "dignity" 
of  Egypt.* 

Now  the  character  of  the  man  who  ordered  the  build- 
ing of  this  great  mosque  so  soon  after  taking  office  and 
while  he  was  conquering  Syria,  is  comparable  in  its 
better  elements  to  that  of  one  whose  loss,  two  years  ago, 
the  whole  British  Empire  mourns.  He  was  a  man  who 
knew  what  he  wanted  and  carried  out  his  plans  with 
determination. 

Of  Ibn  Tulun,  Sir  William  Muir,  in  his  Caliphate, 

*  It  is  true  that  Al  Makrizy  the  Arab  historian,  who  lired  about  A.  D.  1420,  speaks 
of  a  mosque  called  the  Mosque  of  the  Camp,  but  of  this  there  is  no  trace.  It  is  a 
pity  there  is  no  English  translation  of  the  generally  accurate  Al  Makrizy. 

221 


222  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

writes  thus:  "A  wise  and  able  ruler,  the  land  flourished 
under  his  government  as  it  had  never  done  before.  The 
revenues  instead  of  passing  to  Baghdad,  were  expended 
in  public  works  at  home;  buildings,  canals,  and  charities 
were  the  object  of  his  care";  and  Lane-Poole  says  that 
one  of  his  chief  aims  was  ^'to  give  the  fellahin  better 
security  in  their  land."  This  was  exactly  the  aim  of 
Lord  Kitchener  in  his  Five-Feddan  law. 

Ahmed  did  not  appear  to  have  any  committee,  but 
he  had  no  sooner  given  the  order  to  build,  than  he  found 
himself  deeply  perplexed  and  had  to  have  consultations 
with  at  least  his  architects  and  masons.  So  great  a 
mosque  would  require  some  three  hundred  of  columns, 
to  obtain  which,  in  the  usual  manner,  would  necessitate 
the  wholesale  destruction  of  churches  and  other  buildings 
which  had  columns  as  a  part  of  their  structure;  but  Tbn 
Tulun  was  politic,  as  well  as  a  man  acquainted  with 
the  arts  and  learning  of  his  day  and,  although  he  could 
be  ruthless  when  he  deemed  necessity  demanded  it,  he 
promptly  vetoed  the  destruction  of  other  buildings  in 
order  that  he  might  be  supplied  with  material  to  build 
his  own  grand  mosque.  Herein  he  showed  both  political 
and  religious  wisdom;  but  what  was  to  be  done? 

It  was  at  this  point  that  news  of  the  governor's  dilemma 
came  to  the  ears  of  an  architect,  a  Copt  who  was  languish- 
ing in  prison.  He,  too,  was  a  man  of  parts  and,  longing 
to  be  at  work  again,  conceived  the  idea  of  building 
a  mosque  in  brick  and  declared  that  he  would  dispense 
with  columns  but  would  support  his  arches  on  brick 
piers.  But  he  stipulated  that  four  small  columns  should 
be  found  for  the  Mihrab  or  praying  niche.  Word  was 
sent  to  the  great  governor,  who  ordered  the  architect's 
release  and  set  him  to  work  on  his  plans.  Ahmed  was 
satisfied  with  the  design  and  provided  100,000  dinars  for 
the  building,  a  sum  equal  to  about  £100,000  of  to-day 
and  paid  the  architect,  beforehand,  ten  per  cent  on  the 
outlay  or  £10,000.  Having  completed  the  building  in 
about  two  years,  the  fair-minded  governor  gave  him, 
beside  all  this,  as  recorded  in  Lane-Poole's  ^'History  of 
Egypt,"  ^'a  handsome  allowance  for  life." 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  223 

The  site  chosen  for  the  mosque  was  nearly  one  mile  and 
three  quarters  from  the  only  mosque,  (save  the  camp 
mosque)  that  of  Amr,  then  existing  in  a  north-easterly  di- 
rection and  about  nine-hundred  yards  due  west  from  the 
high  salient  of  the  Mokattam  hills  on  which,  at  a  later 
date,  Sal-ah-al-Din  built  his  citadel.  The  ground  was 
high,  an  undulating  rocky  continuation  of  the  foot  of  the 
citadel  spur,  affording  an  excellent  rock  bottom,  above  the 
infiltrations  of  the  waters  of  the  Nile  for  the  foundations 
of  the  walls.  This,  together  with  the  solidity  of  the 
brickwork,  accounts  for  the  comparative  soundness  of  the 
walls  after  eleven  hundred  years. 

By  courtesy  of  Mr.  Patricola,  architect  to  the  Comtte 
de  Conservation  des  Monuments  de  VArt  Arahe,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  take  levels  of  the  foundations  and  find 
that  the  rock  surface  has  a  fall  from  east  to  west  of  17  ft., 
6  in.    The  foundations  ever3rwhere  go  down  to  the  rock. 

The  area  taken  up  by  the  mosque  and  its  precincts  is 
nearly  a  true  square,  measuring  about  530  feet  by  533 
/eet  and  containing  over  six  and  a  half  acres  of  land.  At 
first  the  building  was  surrounded  by  cleared  ground, 
access  being  had  to  it  by  several  doorways  in  each  of 
the  surrounding  walls,  and,  later,  streets  were  formed  on 
each  of  the  four  sides,  along  which  we  can  picture  the 
youthful  but  grave  looking  governor  proceeding  from  his 
palace  hard  by,  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  attended  by  his 
hundred  gaily-clad-men-at-arms,  astride  their  richly 
caparisoned  horses. 

The  plan  of  the  mosque  was  arranged  as  follows: 
Imagine  a  large  inner  court  measuring  302  feet  by  300 
feet,  nearly  square;  in  the  middle  of  this  court  stands 
the  ^^fountain,"  46%  feet  by  41%  feet.  The  court  is 
surrounded  by  covered  arcades  (called  liwans,  oratories, 
aisles,  or  places  of  devotion).  There  are  five  on  the 
south-eastern  side  and  these,  with  the  Mihrab  on  the 
outer  wall  facing  Mecca,  formed  the  sanctuary;  on  each 
of  the  other  three  sides  there  were  two  arcades. 
Thus  the  mosque  has  a  central  court  of  two  acres,  and 
abutting  it  arcades  covering  two  and  one-third  acres — a 


224  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

great  place  for  religious  gatherings,  indicative  of  the 
spacious  times  inaugurated  by  the  son  of  Tulun. 

In  designing  a  building  which  was  to  be  materialised 
out  of  the  black  clay  of  the  borders  of  the  Nile  and  the 
nodules  of  gypsum  about  the  quarries  of  Tourah  and 
Massarah,  much  artistic  power  was  shown.  These  were 
the  simple  materials  which  the  architect  saw  as  he  lay 
in  the  darkness  of  his  prison,  and  saw  them  fashioning 
themselves  into  his  fine,  originally  designed,  yet  simple 
building.  The  bricks  were  made  near  at  hand  and  burnt 
into  a  deep  red  color.  The  foundations  were  laid  on 
the  rock  as  stated.  The  thick  walls  and  stout  piers  were 
built  and  the  arches  were  turned  in  rather  thick  mortar 
joints,  somewhat  irregular  at  times  betokening  a  certain 
amount  of  hurry.  The  brick  bond  was  what  we  call 
"English  bond",  but  really  old  Egyptian,  for  it  was 
a  method  of  bricklaying  practiced  many  thousands  of 
years  before  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  columnar 
idea  was  not  lost  sight  of ;  the  designer  saw  that  a  great 
rectangular  pier  with  sharp  corners  would  look  heavy, 
so  at  each  corner  the  courses  of  bricks  were  shaped  and 
formed  into  engaged  columns  making,  with  the  body  of 
the  pier,  a  homogeneous  whole  and  herein  the  architect, 
as  in  other  details,  showed  true  artistic  power,  for  there 
was  much  more  art  in  his  able  manipulation  of  brick, 
than  there  was  in  his  subsequently  applied  ornaments 
of  gypsum,  good  and  of  artistic  proportions  though  that 
was.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  architect's  ornament 
was  frank,  it  was  not  applied  as  a  pretence  for  stone  or 
marble. 

There  are  two  minarets,  the  principal  one  being  in 
the  north-western  outer  court  and  a  small  one  on  the 
eastern  corner  of  the  mosque. 

The  building  is  about  fifteen  minutes'  walk  from  the 
tramway  station  at  the  Citadel,  or  it  can  be  pleasantly 
reached  from  Mohammed  Aly  street,  through  Helmia, 
Siufia  and  Rokbia  streets,  in  continuation  of  one  another. 
Reaching  Tilun  street  at  right  angles  you  turn  to  the  right 
and  walk  on  until  you  come  to  Watawit  street,  where 
you  turn  to  the  right  again  and  you  are  soon  at  the 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  225 

Steps  to  the  mosque,  at  the  end  of  a  short  blind  alley. 
The  streets  here  named  are  very  interesting,  both  in  old 
buildings,  shops  and  work  places,  affording  a  picture 
of  the  industrial  Cairene  life  of  to-day,  which  has 
continued,  with  probably  but  little  alteration,  since  the 
once  high  class  residential  quarter  became  the  quarter 
of  workingmen  and  shopkeepers  a  few  centuries  ago. 

Having  reached  the  blind  alley,  glance  at  the  old 
stone-built  houses  adjoining  the  entrance,  the  one  on 
the  right  is  the  most  interesting,  being  a  good  specimen 
of  mediaeval  domestic  and  gives  an  idea  of  the  class  of 
residential  house  that  was  built  in  the  middle  ages.  To 
see  this  house  properly,  you  must  enter  its  court  yard 
through  a  dark  passage,  and  then  go  up  into  the  two 
"salons",  having  good,  decorated  woodwork  in  ceilings 
and  niches.  This  house  might  have  been  the  residence 
of  the  Chief  Sheikh  of  the  Mosque. 

Now  mount  the  steps  to  the  mosque  and  enter  the  door 
at  the  top  which  opens  at  the  south-eastern  end  of  the 
outer  courts.  On  the  right  is  the  north-eastern  curtain 
wall,  with  houses  built  against  the  outer  side. of  the  greater 
part  of  it.  On  the  left  is  the  north-eastern  wall  of  the 
mosque.  At  the  end  of  the  vista  of  the  fore-court  is 
the  old  well  of  the  mosque,  about  16  metres  deep,  with 
its  broken  sakieh  wheels  near  by.  Note  the  top  of 
curtain  wall.  It  has  an  interesting,  deep,  open-work 
parapet  or  cresting  in  brick,  which,  while  the  design 
is  not  good,  shows  a  power  in  the  manipulation  of  brick. 
Look  at  the  elevation  of  the  mosque  on  your  left,  with 
its  round,  star-like  ornaments,  its  windows,  niches  and  a 
parapet  similar  to  that  of  the  curtain  wall. 

Now  cross  the  court  diagonally  to  the  wide,  doorless 
portal  of  the  mosque.  Go  up  the  few  steps,  stand  on 
the  top  step  and  look  up  to  the  soffit  or  ceiling  of  the 
doorway,  still  in  its  place.  It  is  made  probably  of 
Lebanon  wood,  two  inches  thick,  framed  in  several 
widths,  and  skilfully  tongued  together  and  well  carved 
in  a  pannelled  pattern,  with  very  conventional  floria- 
tions.  Note  particularly  the  holes  about  three  inches 
in  diameter  at  either  end.     In   these  holes  the  wood 


226  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

pivots  of  the  great  doors  originally  turned.  There  are 
three  more  of  these  soffits.  The  ornament  though 
similar  in  design,  is  quite  different  from  the  plaster  orna- 
ment; it  shows  the  feeling  of  the  wood-carver  as  contra- 
distinguished from  that  of  the  modeller  in  plaster.  A 
good  piece  of  ornamental  joinery  of  ancient  times. 

From  this  inner  entrance,  walking  straight  on  between 
the  arcading,  and  passing  four  arches,  one  comes  on  the 
left  to  a  very  ornate  but  shallow  niche  in  gypsum 
modelled  against  the  south-east  (Mecca-facing)  wall  of 
the  mosque.  This  is  not  the  principal  niche.  It  was 
built  later  to  commemorate  the  lady  (sttt)  Nafisa.  It 
has  inscriptions  and,  like  four  other  niches  built  against 
some  of  the  sancutary  piers  on  either  side  of  the  sanctuary 
or  principal  mihrab,  is  one  of  the  supplementary  praying 
niches  added  at  a  later  date.  Some  of  these  niches 
are  much  dilapidated,  but  their  ornament  and  the  varied 
character  of  their  lettering  are  interesting. 

Further  on  is  a  door  leading  to  a  dark  room  of  no 
interest.  In  the  middle  of  the  wall  one  comes  to  the 
mihrab  or  principal  praying  niche.  It  is  also  called  the 
kibla  which  means  that  it  gives  the  direction  toward 
Mecca.  This  niche  should  be  carefully  noted.  It  is 
the  original  and  has  been  repaired  more  than  once. 
Lane-Poole  says  in  a  note  in  his  Cairo  that  ''El  Afdal 
built  a  mihrab  in  1904,"  but  that  may  mean  one  of  those 
mentioned  above.  The  niche  juts  out  at  the  back  from 
the  main  wall.  The  plan  is  semi-circular,  somewhat 
deeper  than  usual ;  it  is  flanked  by  two  marble  columns 
on  either  side  with  finely  carved  capitals  of  Byzantine 
character,  probably  taken  from  some  pre-existing  build- 
ing. Up  to  a  height  of  nearly  nine  feet  the  niche  is 
lined  with  red,  green,  white  and  black  marble  in  narrow 
widths,  set  in  pleasing  patterns  emphasized  by  little 
fillets,  with  rounded  edges  slightly  projecting.  Above 
the  lining  comes  a  band  of  gold  mosaic,  twenty-two 
inches  wide,  containing  an  Arabic  inscription  (in  a 
character  later  than  the  Kufic),  in  black — ''There  is 
no  God  but  God  and  Mohammed  is  his  Prophet."  The 
inscription  is  very  well  done  (now  somewhat  broken)  and 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  227 

is  relieved  with  ornaments  and  points  in  red,  green,  white 
and  pearl,  the  whole  is  bordered  with  a  guilloche  orna- 
ment, having  pearl  roundels.  Above  the  inscription  is  a 
semi  dome,  lined  with  thin  boards  and  ornamented  in 
colour.  This,  while  the  shape  is  good,  is  an  indifferent 
piece  of  work  and  makes  a  poor  substitute  for  the  mosaic 
that  was,  probably,  intended  but  left  unfinished  like  many 
other  old  works  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere.  The  bold,  now 
partly  broken,  plastered  ornament,  surrounding  the  niche, 
shows  by  patches  of  colour,  that  it  was  at  one  time  painted 
and  had  a  character  given  to  it  which  it  now  lacks. 
From  this  point  lift  up  your  eyes  to  another  inscrip- 
tion, beautifully  carved  in  raised  Kufic  characters  in 
wood.  The  reading  being  the  same  as  in  the  mosaic 
inscriptions  below.  Above  this  comes  a  large,  painted 
ornamental  panel,  probably  intended  for  painted  in- 
scriptions though  none  are  now  visible  and  its  Persian- 
like ornament  is  indistinct.  Above  this  again  runs  a 
cornice  or  shallow  gorge-and-roll  in  gypsum  ornamented 
in  relief  and  above  this  again  a  wood  fascia  in  three 
boards,  two  feet  eight  inches  wide,  the  middle  board  of 
which  is  carved  with  Koranic  texts  in  raised  Kufic  letters 
similar  to  that  described  above.  Note  especially  here, 
that  the  ornamental  gypsum  gorge,  the  wide  wood  fascias 
and  the  Kufic  inscriptions  were  at  one  time  continued 
all  round  the  walls  of  the  mosque.  These  long  lengths 
of  finely  carved  inscriptions  are  probably  unique  in  their 
extent  as  ornament.  '  In  all  probability  they  measured, 
at  one  time,  no  less  than  8187  feet.  Besides  this  the 
greater  number  of  "the  128  windows  had  inscriptions 
around  them,  many  of  them  still  extant. 

Above  the  wood  fascia  is  the  roof  described  later. 
Rising  through  the  roof  over  the  praying  niche,  is  a 
domed  lantern,  the  only  roof-light  in  the  mosque, 
designed  to  illuminate  the  niche  and  its  inscription.  It 
is  square  in  plan  and  constructed  in  timber  with  stalac- 
tite supports  to  the  circular  dome.  Its  windows  have 
colored  glass.  It  is  probably  a  later  construction  and 
has  been  repaired  quite  recently. 

Adjoining  the  niche  is  the  minhar  or  pulpit.     This 


228  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

is  a  kind  of  box  open  on  one  side,  the  floor  of  which, 
approaching  by  a  stair-case,  stands  about  twelve  feet 
above  the  mosque  floor.  It  is  placed  with  its  back  to  the 
wall  and  the  steps  jut  out  at  right  angles  to  it,  into  the 
mosque — an  awkward  position  for  the  preacher  who, 
in  facing  the  congregation,  has  to  speak  over  the  steps, 
but  this  is  the  usual  position.  The  pulpit  is  an  elaborate 
piece  of  the  craft  of  the  joiner  and  carver  in  the  13th 
century  A.  D.  It  must  be  seen  and  the  fine  original 
part  of  the  work  must  be  closely  looked  at  to  be  appreci- 
ated. It  has  been  faithfully  repaired  by  the  committee 
for  the  preservation  of  Arab  mounments.  Over  the 
doorway  to  the  pulpit  is  carved  an  inscription  stat- 
ing that  it  was  made  in  Damascus  in  the  year  of 
the  Hegira  696  A.  D.  1278  and  presented  to  the 
mosque  by  Al  Malek  el  Mangour.  The  original  timber 
is  cedar. 

Near  the  pulpit  is  an  opening  in  the  wall,  having  a 
very  dilapidated  old  door  with  its  wood  pivots  still 
swinging  in  their  old  sockets.  Through  this  door  you 
enter  some  roofless  rooms,  the  inner  one  is  at  the  back 
of  the  niche.  Still  in  position  are  the  remains  of  an 
elaborate  painted  ceiling,  the  most  interesting  part  being 
several  corbels  carved  to  represent  huge  locusts;  they 
are  the  only  approach  to  a  graven  image  of  any  living 
thing  to  be  found  even  within  the  precincts  of  the  mosque. 
I  have  never  seen  any  visitors  going  into  these  rooms.  By 
way  of  this  doorway  it  is  said  that  Ahmed  entered  the 
mosque  in  time  of  prayer. 

Under  an  arch  of  the  second  arcade  in  front  of  the 
praying  niche  is  the  dikka.  Nearly  opposite  the  mihrah 
is  a  large  portion  of  the  marble  slab  on  which  was  carved 
in  Kufic  character  Koranic  texts  and  the  founder's  in- 
scription and  date,  the  latter  remaining  intact.  A  photo- 
graph of  the  inscription  with  the  date  A.  D.  879  is  given 
in  Lane- Poole's  History  of  Egypt  (middle  ages),  also  in 
Mr.  Corbet's  book  on  the  mosque.  This  date  conflicts 
with  some  other  dates,  but  it  is  probably  the  date  of  the 
opening  or  consecration  of  the  building. 

The  arcades.     The  original  171  arches  have  been  re- 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  229 

duced  to  158  with  a  corresponding  number  of  piers. 
This  was  caused  by  the  removal  of  the  fifth  outer  arcade 
of  the  sanctuary,  after  damage  from  an  earthquake  early 
in  the  last  century,  (1814). 

The  arcades  are  "pointed"  or  "Gothic"  and  they  prove 
that  this  form  of  arch  was  commonly  used  in  Arab 
architecture  some  two  hundred  years  before  it  became 
common  in  Europe.  They  are  well  formed,  have  a 
slight  inward  turn  and  spring  clear  from  a  bold,  support- 
ing pier  without  the  ugly  tie  so  often  met  with  in 
Arab  work. 

The  engaged  columns,  at  the  corners  of  the  piers  are 
ornamented  with  floriated  capitals  and  square  moulded 
abaci  and  the  bases  are  of  a  more  pleasing  form  than 
is  usual  in  Arabic  work.  They  are  composed  of  a  low 
panelled  die  with  three  roll  mouldings  at  the  junction 
between  the  die  and  the  shaft.  These  bases  may  have 
been  added  in  the  13th  century.  Very  few  of  them  re- 
main and  they  should  be  looked  for  near  the  praying 
niche.  The  faces  or  archivolts  of  the  arches  are  of  the 
same  ancient  Egyptian,  gorge-and-roll  pattern,  as  the 
horizontal  cornice  mouldings  already  described,  but 
somewhat  shallower,  and  ornamented  in  bold,  very  con- 
ventionalised floriations.  The  pattern  is  always  or  nearly 
the  same,  but  there  is  a  good  deal  of  diflference  in  the 
use  of  the  spatula,  or  modelling  tool,  by  the  various 
modellers,  some  of  whom  have  endeavoured  to  make  the 
fronds  bend  outwards  as  if  moved  by  the  wind,  while 
others  have  worked  flatly  and  without  imagination.  Not 
only  were  the  perpendicular  faces  or  archivolts  of  the 
arches  ornamented  but  the  soffits  or  under  sides  of  the 
arches  were  also  elaborately  enriched  with  geometrical 
patterns,  filled  in  with  leaves  and  bordered  with  several 
lines  of  interesting  design.  The  original  finish  of  the 
arches  gave  them  a  very  rich  appearance.  But  only 
a  little  of  the  soffit  ornament  remains.  Unfortunately, 
repairs  to  the  ornament  were  done  by  covering  it  up  with 
plaster  or  destroying  it.  In  making  this  statement,  it 
should  be  understood  that  the  preservation  of  the  remains 
of  an  ornament,  not  its  ^V^j/or^a'on""  is  meant  hy'' repairs" 


230  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

It  should  also  be  admitted  that  the  covering  up  process 
did  preserve  some  of  the  ornaments,  bits  of  which  may 
be  observed  just  showing  under  the  broken  patches  of 
the  later  plaster.  The  little  that  remains  of  this  soffit 
ornament  is  to  be  seen  on  the  outer  arches  of  the  south- 
west arcades,  where  one  half  of  the  soffit  of  an  arch  is 
nearly  complete  and  three  others  have  parts  in  position. 
The  patterns  are  all  different,  but  enough  remains  for 
a  sympathetic  observer  to  make  a  complete  and  very 
rich  picture  of  the  whole  of  the  series  of  arcades  as  they 
appeared  when  new. 

The  openings  made  between  the  haunches  of  the 
arches  should  be  looked  at  carefully.  They  serve  three 
purposes;  that  is,  to  diffuse  light,  to  lessen  the  weight  on 
the  piers  and  to  give  elegance  to  the  design.  These  are 
ornamented  with  colonettes  and  richly  designed  archi- 
volts,  the  ornament  of  which  is  often  exceedingly  pleasing 
and  varied.  Above  the  arches  everywhere  runs  the 
ornamental  gorge-and-roll  moulding  or  cornice  and  over 
that  the  painted  fascia  boards  and  Kufic  inscriptions, 
the  whole  elevation  forming  a  pleasant  composition. 

Some  of  the  original,  or  at  least,  very  early  timber 
roof  remains.  It  was  well  built  of  beams  none  too  strong, 
boarded  over  from  the  earth,  lime  and  slab  floor  above. 
The  beams  and  the  spaces  between  them  are  lined  with 
panelling  of  a  bold  design,  thus  forming  a  deeply  coffered 
ceiling.  The  whole  was  painted  and  deeply  enriched 
with  Persian-like  line  and  floral  ornament,  white  and 
red  predominating.  Parts  of  this  painted  work  may 
still  be  seen,  and  may  date  from  the  repairing  of  the 
mosque  in  the  13th  century.  The  ends  of  the  beams 
rest  on  shallow  corbels,  one  and  only  one,  of  those  that 
remain  has  been  carved.  It  looks  as  if  it  were  a  sample 
of  what  might  have  added  to  the  richness  of  the  work. 
It  is  curious  that  there  are  no  wood  mouldings,  bevell- 
ings  taking  their  places. 

In  the  outer  walls  of  the  mosque  are  arched  windows, 
placed  very  high  and  opposite  the  opening  in  the  arcades ; 
they  are  filled  with  grills  of  gypsum  in  geometrical 
patterns  interspersed  occasionally  with  the  fleur-de-lis. 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  231 

The  original  grills,  possibly  not  older  than  the  13th 
century,  are  of  very  intricate  and  often  pleasing  patterns, 

Having  contemplated  the  arches  and  windows  you 
walk  across  the  court  yards  to  the  principal  minaret, 
which,  in  many  ways  is  a  singular  building,  quite  unlike 
the  usual  ornate  kind.  It  is  built  within  the  thick  curtain 
wall  on  the  north-western  side  and  some  distance  from 
the  north-west  wall  of  the  mosque,  to  which  it  is  attached 
by  an  arched  bridge,  giving  access  from  the  minaret 
to  the  flat  roofs  over  the  arcades.  Before  mount- 
ing the  steps  of  the  minaret  in  the  usual  way,  take 
note  generally  of  the  architecture  of  the  minaret  and 
its  bridge.  The  style  is  quite  different  from  the  mosque. 
The  arches  are  of  the  round,  pronounced  horse-shoe 
type.  The  work  seems  to  be  later  and  is  of  stone  with 
but  a  small  admixture  of  brick  in  the  lower  plain  walls. 

Standing  under  the  bridge  and  looking  up  and  at  both 
ends  of  it,  one  notes  the  barrel  vaulting  of  the  bridge, 
the  thrust  of  which  is  contrary  to  that  of  the  horse-shoe 
arches,  but  the  longitudinal  bearing  is  lessened  very 
cleverly  by  corbelling  the  pilasters  over  which  runs  a 
cornice  of  two  orders  of  concave  mouldings.  It  is  an 
interesting  piece  of  architectural  composition  in  stone, 
though  now  frayed  and  chipped.  A  proof  that  the 
bridge  was  not  built  at  the  same  time  as  the  mosque  is 
afforded  by  the  awkward  way  in  which  it  cuts  into  one 
of  the  windows. 

The  minaret  is  built  in  three  stages:  the  first  is  rect- 
angular, 28  feet  by  28  feet  and  67  feet  high,  a  solid 
mass  of  32,900  cubic  feet  of  masonry  above  ground. 
This  mass  is  relieved  by  four  blank  widows  of  two  open- 
ings, divided  by  twisted  marble  colonettes  and  spanned 
with  horse-shoe  arches.  Above  the  rectangular  stage  is 
a  similarly  built  unrelieved  circular  stage  20  feet 
in  diameter  and  29  feet  high.  Up  to  this  stage 
the  staircase  winds  its  way  externally  by  171  steps. 
The  platforms  of  these  two  stages,  would  take  the 
place  of  the  usual  balconies,  whence  the  muezzin 
calls  the  faithful  to  prayer.  Above  the  circular  stage 
rises  the  octagonal  open-work  stage,  within  which  is 


232  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

another  series  of  15  steps.  The  whole  of  the  octagonal 
stage  seems  to  have  been  rebuilt  in  recent  times.  The 
total  height  is  130  feet  and  as  the  minaret  stands  on  high 
ground,  the  view  obtained  from  its  summit  of  Cairo  and 
its  surroundings  is  well  worth  the  exercise  of  going  up. 

On  the  way  down  from  the  minaret,  one  should  cross 
the  bridge  to  the  roof  of  the  mosque  to  take  note  of  the 
little  secondary  minaret  on  the  south  east  corner.  This 
was  erected  for  the  convenience  of  the  muezzin's  call 
to  prayer  from  that  point.  Walking  around  the  parapet 
one  observes  the  encroachments  made  by  builders  on  the 
grounds  of  the  mosque. 

Near  the  south-west  corner,  on  looking  between  the 
interstices  of  the  open-work  parapet,  the  remains  of  a 
good  sized  room,  built  in  ashlar  masonry,  may  be  seen. 
At  one  time  the  room  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the 
mosque,  an  addition.  It  was  well  built,  and  has  remains 
of  some  interesting  timber  stalactite  corbelling,  part  of 
a  wood  ceiling.  A  large,  walled  up  doorway  from  this 
room  faces  Sharea  Ziadah.  The  room  may  have  been 
a  library  or  school. 

At  the  foot  of  the  minaret,  toward  the  north-west 
are  the  dilapidated  remains  of  four  rooms.  The  larger 
room,  the  roof  of  which  was  supported  by  two  rows  of 
columns  of  Cairo  stone,  was  built  as  a  supplementary 
mosque,  as  the  dismantled  praying  niche  plainly  proves. 

One  of  the  compartments  is  a  shrine  to  the  memory 
of  Sheikh  Booshi,  whose  tomb  is  still  in  its  place,  a 
wooden  erection  covered  with  faded  cloth,  with  a  dusty 
green  turban  on  a  post  at  the  head.  The  shrine  is  in 
a  dilapidated  condition.  Its  door  and  parts  of  the  roof 
and  of  the  adjoining,  broken  roofs  have  been  repaired, 
to  somebody's  shame  be  it  said,  with  pieces  of  the  Kufic 
inscription  boards  that  had  become  accidentally  dis- 
lodged or  torn  from  their  places  in  the  mosque,  so  care- 
less were  the  former  custodians  of  the  mosque  of  their 
heritage.  The  worshippers  at  the  shrine  of  Sheikh 
Booshi  are  few,  if  any,  in  these  days. 

Beyond  these  crumbling  buildings  and  further  west, 
is  another  interesting  tumble-down  building— the  sani- 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TULUN  233 

tary  and  ablutionary  court  of  the  ancient  mosque.  It 
has  the  appearance  of  great  age  and  may  be  coeval  with 
the  mosque.  It  is  rectangular  in  plan,  measuring  about 
42  feet  by  35  feet.  In  the  center  is  a  large  reservoir  at 
each  of  the  four  corners  of  which  are  built  up  stone 
columns,  with  slightly  moulded  bases  and  caps.  These 
columns  at  one  time  supported  a  roof,  some  of  the  beams 
of  which  remain.  At  the  four  angles  of  the  reservoir  are 
semi-circular,  backed  seat  cut  in  stone.  Around  the 
reservoir  is  a  gangway  abutting  on  which  are  the  remains 
of  twenty  water  closets.  The  place  is  full  of  dust  and  re- 
fuse, is  used  in  fact  as  a  dustbin  for  the  house  built  against 
its  back. 

From  this  point  you  turn  back  and  walk  under  the 
bridge  adjoining  the  minaret.  You  look  at  the  barri- 
caded door  in  the  curtain  wall  near  the  minaret  and  you 
continue  to  the  old  well  and  sakieh  already  mentioned. 

You  now  retrace  your  steps  and  enter  the  central  court 
again.  You  look  at  the  building  in  the  center  called  the 
^'fountain."  The  building  is  lofty  and  stone  built,  ex- 
cepting the  arches  and  dome  which  are  of  brick;  it  is 
rectangular  in  plan,  the  dimensions  have  already  been 
given.  On  each  of  its  four  sides  are  large  pointed 
arches.  The  gathering-in,  from  the  square  from  the 
circular,  for  the  dome  is  interestingly  done,  save  that 
wood  is  used  in  place  of  stone  for  corbelling.  There 
are  inscriptions  just  below  and  in  the  center  of  the  dome. 
There  are  window  openings  on  each  side  of  the  build- 
ing which,  from  remains  in  one  of  them,  may  have 
been  once  glazed  with  colored  glass. 

As  to  the  general  design  of  the  mosque,  it  is  that  of 
the  earliest  type;  that  is  to  say,  a  large  central  court  with 
covered  parts  on  four  sides  supported  by  arcades;  the 
side  deemed  the  most  holy,  that  towards  Mecca,  having 
at  least,  double  in  the  number  of  arcades;  on  the  other 
side,  with  a  niche  in  the  outer  wall,  the  plan  recalls  the 
hypostile  courts  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  design  is 
simple  and  good.  Its  great  interest  lies  in  the  original- 
ity of  the  designer  in  adopting  brick  as  his  building 
material  throughout,  in  its  solidity,  and  in  its  series  of 


234  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

early  pointed  arches.  The  modelled  ornament  in 
gypsum  gave  the  well  formed  and  proportionate  brick- 
work a  very  rich  appearance.  And  when  the  whole  was 
white  and  new — relieved  with  touches  of  delicate  color, 
the  coffered  ceiling  in  like  manner,  lighted  up  and  the 
Kufic  inscriptions  standing  out  boldly  from  its  tinted 
background,  and  the  marbles  and  mosaics  of  the  niche 
were  new,  the  whole  building  must  have  been  pleasant 
to  look  upon. 

As  to  the  character  of  the  ornamentation,  it  is  difficult 
to  trace  the  origin  of  the  modelled  forms.  If  the  living 
plant,  foliage  or  fruit  inspired  the  modeller  and  carver, 
then  their  conventionalisation  was  carried  to  the  point  of 
excess.  By  close  scrutiny,  however,  one  may  discern 
vine  leaves,  grapes,  trefoil,  acanthus,  lotus,  and  the  fleur- 
de-lis.  The  ornament  of  the  smaller  arches  and  windows 
is  the  more  interesting  in  that  the  patterns  run  more 
freely.  But  the  carved  Kufic  inscription  in  wood  is  the 
finest  piece  of  ornamental  work  in  the  whole  building. 
It  does  what  all  ornaments  do  whenever  possible,  it  tells 
a  tale  or  teaches  a  lesson. 

The  building  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  one,  not 
only  by  reason  of  its  age,  but  also  because  of  its  design 
and  the  manner  of  the  execution  of  its  details.  The 
lesson  which  the  building  carries  to  architects  and  the 
promoters  of  good  building  is  sincerity.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  the  building  which  it  is  desirable  to  copy.  I  say 
this  emphatically,  for  today  the  copyist  is  the  bane  of 
good  architecture.  The  architect  of  the  mosque  of  Ibn 
Tulun  was  not  a  copyist,  he  used  his  common  material 
sincerely,  and  made  it  serve  its  ends  in  the  production  of 
an  original  work  based  on  an  ancient  plan.  True  he 
covered  over  his  work  with  plaster  and  ornamented  its 
principal  features  with  gypsum,  but  nowhere  did  he 
wish  observers  to  believe  that  his  plaster  was  other  than 
plaster.  He  did  not  try,  by  the  tricks  of  color  and 
jointing,  to  make  us  believe  that  he  had  wrought  his 
building  in  stone  or  marble. 

Robert  Williams,  F.  R.  I.  B.  A. 
Cairo,  Egypt. 


LAHORE  AS  A  MOSLEM  CENTRE 


For  one  who  would  know  Islam  in  India  a  period  of 
residence  in  Lahore  is  of  the  first  importance.  Lahore 
can  fairly  claim  the  distinction  of  being  the  chief 
Moslem  centre  in  India,  historically,  geographically, 
politically  and  religiously.  Only  Delhi  might  dispute 
its  title  of  distinction  as  the  seat  of  a  vanished  Moslem 
splendour  that  lives  today  only  in  monuments  of  marble 
and  in  the  devoted  memories  of  the  faithful;  but  Delhi 
was  nearer  the  circumferance  of  a  circle  of  which 
Lahore  was  the  inevitable  centre.  Each  successive 
wave  of  invasion  which  poured  through  the  narrow 
Khaibar  Pass,  and  spread  out  on  the  plains  below 
found  Lahore  blocking  the  path  to  plunder-laden 
kingdoms  to  the  South  and  East.  It  was  ever  the  key 
to  Hindustan,  the  hilt  of  the  sword  of  conquest. 

Held  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  world,  be- 
cause of  the  antiquity  of  the  documents  in  which  it  is 
mentioned,  it  has  been  through  its  long  history  the  chief 
city  of  the  Land  of  the  Five  Rivers,*  which  has  been 
the  melting-pot  of  the  races  of  India,  from  the  distant 
time  of  the  first  Aryan  migrations  across  the  Indus  down 
to  the  present  day,  when,  in  the  justly  celebrated  Kash- 
miri bazaar,  one  encounters  stray  Afghans,  Kashmiris 
and  Pathans,  Afridis,  Mohmans  and  Mahsuds,  rubbing 
elbows  with  their  Moslem  brothers  from  the  southern 
Panjab  and  from  the  regions  to  the  south  and  east. 

The  Mohammedan  history  of  Lahore  begins  with  its 
conquest  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century  when  all  the  ancient  Hindu  temples 
and  landmarks  appear  to  have  been  razed  to  the  ground. 
This  unworthy  achievement  is  attributed  to  the  first 
Mohammedan  governor  of  Lahore,  Aiyaz,  considered 
by  Moslems  to  be  the  real  founder.  By  them  his  tomb 
is  still  pointed  out  with  veneration. 

•  The  word  "Panjab"  means   "Five  Rivers." 

235 


236  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

It  was  under  the  Moguls  that  Lahore,  together  with 
Delhi  and  Agra,  attained  its  greatest  glory.  Babar  con- 
structed splendid  roads  and  planted  fruit-trees.  Akbar 
rebuilt  the  city  walls,  to  a  height  of  thirty  feet,  and 
erected  the  palace,  whose  foundations  still  remain,  within 
the  fort  which  occupies  the  north-east  corner  of  the  old 
walled  city.  Jahangir  built  a  magnificent  mosque  and 
the  Tripolia  Bazaar,  both  afterward  demolished  by  the 
Sikhs,  and  the  white  mausolem  of  the  beautiful  Anarkali 
of  tragic  memory.  Shah  Jahan,  "the  builder,"  erected 
the  mausoleum  for  Jahangir  at  Shahdara,  dug  the  Ravi 
canal  and  laid  out  the  famous  Shalimar  gardens  for  the 
use  of  the  ladies  of  his  harem,  of  whom  the  chief  was 
Arjumand  Banu  Begun  whose  mausolem  at  Agra,  the 
incomparable  Taj  Mahal,  is  renowned  the  world  over. 
Aarangzeb's  principal  contribution  to  the  artistic  glory 
of  Lahore  was  the  Jama  Masjid,  called  the  Badshahi 
Masjid,  patterned  after  the  Masjid  of  Ali  Walid  in 
Mecca.  Under  Aarangzeb  the  decline  of  Lahore  began, 
and  it  continued  under  the  Sikhs  who  stripped  the  orna- 
ments from  Mohammedan  tombs  and  temples  in  order 
to  adorn  therewith  their  glittering  Golden  Temple  at 
Amritsar.  Today  under  the  British  government  costly 
efforts  are  being  made  to  restore  and  preserve  the  greatest 
of  these  monuments  of  a  halcyon  past. 

The  importance  of  Lahore  as  a  Moslem  centre,  from 
the  geographical  standpoint,  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
capital  of  the  most  thickly  populated  Mohammedan 
province  in  British  India.  More  than  one-half  of  the 
population  of  the  Panjab  (to  be  exact  12,275,477  out 
of  24,186,750,  according  to  the  191 1  census)  is  Moslem, 
but  the  proportion  would  be  much  higher  if  the  Kangra 
and  Simla  districts,  only  about  five  per  cent  Moslem, 
were  excluded.  In  the  western  half  of  the  Panjab  the 
percentage  of  Mohammedans  is  above  eighty  per  cent 
and  in  the  centre,  where  Lahore  is  situated,  it  runs  from 
sixty  to  seventy-five  per  cent.  Of  the  total  population  of 
Lahore  itself  (228,489)  the  number  of  Moslems  (129,- 
301)  is  greater  than  the  total  of  Hindus,  Sikhs,  Chris- 
tians and  Jains,  which  follow  in  the  order  named.     In 


LAHORE  AS  A  MOSLEM  CENTER  237 

Peshawar  and  in  Lahore  there  are  flourishing  Moham- 
medan colleges,  aflSliated  to  the  University  of  the  Panjab, 
not  to  mention  the  Mohammedan  students  in  the  several 
Christian  colleges — in  Peshawar,  Sialkot,  Rawalpindi, 
Delhi  and  Lahore,  of  whom  no  less  than  180  are  study- 
ing in  the  Forman  Christian  College,  Lahore. 

Politically  the  influence  of  Lahore  is  of  great  impor- 
tance. Aligarh  is  still  the  head-quarters  of  the  dwindl- 
ing party  that  clings  to  the  Syed  Ahmad  Khan  tradition 
of  non-interference  in  politics  and  emphasis  on  educa- 
tion united  with  a  rationalistic  type  of  religion.  Even 
there,  however,  there  are  evidences  of  divided  counsels, 
as  shown,  for  instance,  in  the  controversy  over  the  pro- 
jected Moslem  university.  Lucknow  is  the  chief  centre 
of  the  Moslem  league  party  which  at  the  present  time 
has  made  common  cause  with  the  Indian  National  Con- 
gress in  demanding  of  the  British  Government  a  larger 
measure  of  home  rule  for  India.  Several  prominent 
members  of  this  party  have,  on  account  of  their  political 
activities,  been  interned  since  early  in  the  war,  and  at 
present  the  league  is  urging  on  Government  the  desir- 
ability of  their  release.  Neither  Aligarh  nor  Lucknow, 
however,  are  centres  of  large  and  important  Moslem 
districts.  Lahore  is  the  headquarters  of  no  national 
party,  but  it  reflects  the  sentiments  and  influences  the 
opinions  of  the  great  Moslem  province  of  which  it  is 
the  capital.  Hence  in  Lahore  one  moves  in  a  political 
atmosphere  in  which  all  parties  are  clashing,  and  new 
parties  are  frequently  forming.  Today  there  are  two 
important  parties,  one  conservative,  another  radical,  and 
a  third,  of  growing  influence,  which  is  less  cautious  than 
the  Aligarh  group  and  less  extreme  than  the  Moslem 
League  party.  The  conservative  body  is  the  Panjab 
Moslem  Association  whose  secretary,  Mian  Mohammed 
Shafi,  is  also  general  secretary  of  the  'recently  formed 
All-India  Moslem  Association  which,  in  sympathy  with 
the  Aligarh  position,  "aims  to  devote  itself  to  the  tra- 
ditional Moslem  policy  of  safeguarding  and  advancing 
Moslem  interest."  Lahore  may  soon  become  the  all- 
India   headquarters   of   this   Association.     The   radical 


238  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

society  is  the  provincial  branch  of  the  All-India  Moslem 
League  and  has  as  its  secretary  Fazl-i-Husain  who,  like 
Mian  Mohammed  Shafi,  is  a  leading  Lahore  barrister. 
The  influence  of  this  group  is  rapidly  increasing  while 
that  of  Mian  Mohammed  Shafi's  party  is  waning.  Both 
of  these  leagues  have  branches  in  several  cities  of  the 
province. 

A  fourth  society,  in  part  political,  the  Anjuman  Ishaat- 
i-Islam,  the  political  and  rationalistic  branch  of  the 
Almadiyas  since  the  split  described  in  a  previous  issue  of 
The  Moslem  World,*  has  its  head-quarters  in  Lahore 
and  has  recently  established  a  residential  high  school 
and  a  "Senior  Cambridge  Local  College",  at  which 
regular  instruction  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  is  being 
given  by  a  Christian  missionary.  At  present  the  news- 
papers are  not  allowed  to  discuss  the  political  issues 
arising  out  of  the  war,  and  the  Sitara  Subah,  the  successor 
of  the  defunct  Zemindar,  edited  by  the  brilliant  writer 
of  Urdu,  Maulvi  Zafar  Ali  Khan,  (who  with  the  editor 
of  the  late  Conrade  of  Delhi,  represented  and  expressed 
the  extreme  of  pro-Turkish  sentiment  three  years  ago), 
is  now  engaged  in  no  less  violent  religious  controversy. 
At  this  time  it  is  launching  its  invectives  against  the 
Ahmadiya  sect.  There  are  about  half  a  dozen  important 
Moslem  periodicals  in  Lahore,  representing  various 
political  and  religious  views,  of  which  one.  The  Observer, 
is  in  English. 

Coming  to  the  more  strictly  religious  phase  of  the 
Mohammedanism  of  Lahore  we  find  two  Anjumans  of 
long  standing  in  addition  to  the  more  recent  Anjuman 
Ishaat-i-Islam  of  the  reformed  Ahmadiyas,  to  which 
reference  has  just  been  made.  The  older  of  these,  the 
Anjuman  Himayat-i-Islam,  has  been  the  orthodox  reli- 
gious society  of  Islam  in  India  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  and  is  the  influential  first  parent  of  many 
such  societies  in  India,  as  well  as  possessing  numerous 
branches  in  the  Panjab.  The  growingly  successful 
Islamia  College  and  the, two  Islamia  High  Schools,  in 
Lahore,  are  under  its  aegis  and  it  is  seeking  in  many 

*  The  Ahmadiyah  Movement  Today,  by  H.  A.  Walter,  Moslem  World  VI  p.  66. 


LAHORE  AS  A  MOSLEM  CENTER  239 

ways  to  promote  education  and  humanitarian  and  reli- 
gious ideals  among  Indian  Moslems.  Members  of  this 
anjuman  are  agitating  the  foundation  of  a  new  Anjuman 
Ishaat-i-Islam  for  the  propagation  of  Moslem  missionary 
work  in  the  Pan  jab. 

The  present  missionary  activity  of  the  anjuman  centres 
in  the  ^^Mohammedan  Tract  and  Book  Depot,"  some  of 
whose  English  books  haye  been  described  in  Mr.  Mc- 
Neile's  article  in  The  Moslem  World.*  There  have 
been  no  later  additions  to  the  sixty-seven  books  in  the  list 
which  Mr.  McNeile  saw  in  19 14,  and  when  we  visited 
the  head-quarters  recently  we  noted  a  large  stock  of  these 
books  in  hand.  The  books  first  named  on  the  list  are 
those  written  by  western  apologists  for  Islam,  J.  Daven- 
port, Mohammed  Alexander  Webb,  S.  Urban  Hamid 
Snow  and  W.  H.  Quilliam.  Mr.  Snow's  ''Prayer  Book 
for  Moslems/'  although  repudiated  by  reputable  Mos- 
lems, we  understand  is  still  for  sale.  It  is  a  weird  and 
intolerable  jumble  of  the  Koran,  the  Church  of  England 
Prayer  Book  and  Revised  Christian  hymnody,  with  a 
woeful  admixture  of  Mr.  Snow's  own  handiwork,  of 
which  this  is  a  sample : 

''How  many  Lord  of  late  are  grown, 

The  troubles  of  our  peace; 
In  Liverpool"^  they  hourly  rise, 

So  does  their  rage  increase, 
Insulting  us  our  souls  upbraid  ; 

And  Him  whom  we  adore; 
.For  Ahmed,  Koran  and  Islam 

They  say  we'll  have  no  more. 
But  victory  to  the  Lord  belongs, 

He  only  can  defend. 
His  blessing  he  extends  to  all 

That  on  His  power  depend." 

The  following  two  verses  of  another  hymn  illustrate 
both  the  spirit  of  the  author  and  the  character  of  his 
verse  : 

"If  God  the  Moslems  whom  He  loves, 

For  trial  does  correct. 
What  must  the  Christians  and  the  Jews, 

Whom  He  abhors,  expect? 

*  A  Mohammedan  Tract  Society.     Vol.  IV.     p.  185. 

t  Referring   to    Mr.    Quilliam's    mission    at    lyiverpool.     See    Dr.    Weitbreckt's    article. 
The  Moslem  World,  Vol.  V,  p.   195. 


240  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Snares,  fire  and  brimstone  on  their  heads, 

Shall  in  one  tempest  shower; 
This  dreadful  mixture  his  revenge. 

Into  their  cup  shall  pour." 

We  have  never  been  partial  to  "Greenland's  icy  moun- 
tains," with  its  unfortunate  reference  to  a  non-existent 
"coral  strand,"  but  we  prefer  it  to  Mr.  Snow's  version : 

"From  England's  wintry  climate, 

From  China's  picturesque  land, 
And  Africa's  sun-burnt  brunettes 

Look  up  and  hold  their  hand. 
From  Transvaal  and  from  Burma 

Comes  forth  an  earnest  strain, 
They  call  us  to  deliver 

Their  lands  from  error's  chain." 

We  have  quoted  these  verses  because  they  illustrate 
so  well  the  reductio  ad  absurdum  to  which  those  western 
religious  adventurers  are  driven  who  attempt  to  fuse 
their  poorly  assimilated  Christian  inheritance  with  a 
Mohammedanism  which  they  glorify  without  under- 
standing. 

The  secretary  of  the  Tract  Society,  which  prints  books 
in  Arabic,  Persian  and  the  various  North  India  vernacu- 
lars, as  well  as  in  English,  is  Maulvi  Karam  Baksh,  and 
the  secretary  of  the  anjuman  is  Haji  Shams  ud  Din. 
This  is  the  premier  Moslem  religious  book  society  of 
India  and  sends  its  output  to  all  parts  of  the  Indian 
Empire  although  a  few  of  its  books  are  sent  out  of  the 
country. 

The  Anjuman  Islamia,  the  third  Mohammedan  reli- 
gious body  in  Lahore,  represents  the  old  school  divines, 
and  corresponds  on  to  the  Nadwat  ul  Ulama  with  head- 
quarters in  Lucknow.  In  its  theological  Seminary  reli- 
gious instruction  in  Arabic  and  Mohammedan  law,  tra- 
ditions and  Koranic  commentary,  on  the  old  lines,  is 
imparted.  The  Society  also  has  oversight  of  the  princi- 
pal mosques  of  the  city.  The  secretary  of  this  body  for 
many  years  has  been  Qazi  Salim  Ullah.  Its  influence 
seems  to  be  waning  to-day.  Mention  should  also  be 
made  of  the  Intercollegiate  Muslim  Association,  com- 
posed of  college  students  and  recent  graduates,  the  limited 


LAHORE  AS  A  MOSLEM  CENTER  241 

activities   of  which   are   patterned   after   the   Students' 
Christian  Association. 

All  that  has  been  written  thus  far  relates  to  the  Sunni 
wing  of  Islam.  Lahore  is  only  second  to  Lucknow  as 
a  center  of  Shiah  Mohammedanism,  as  anyone  who  has 
spent  a  Muharram  season  in  the  city  can  testify.  It 
is  the  home  of  the  very  influential  Qazl  Baksh  family, 
which  includes  several  Shiah  leaders  of  nation-wide 
prominence. 

These  are  momentous  days  for  Islam  in  India,  on 
whom  many  problems  are  pressing — of  whom  many 
questions  are  demanding  an  answer.  Is  Pan-Islamism  a 
wholly  dead  issue?  Shall  Islam  in  India  join  hands 
with  its  age-long  rival,  Hinduism,  in  a  political  program 
which  puts  India  before  Islam,  even  as  the  Young  Turks 
placed  Turkey  first  and  Islam  second  in  their  hearts? 
Is  rationalism  to  win  the  day  over  against  belief  in 
Islam  as  a  revealed  religion,  as  the  split  in  the  Ahmadiya 
movement  and  the  trend  in  the  Working  Mission  in  Eng- 
land might  seem  to  indicate?  Is  Mohammed  to  be 
defended,  or  glorified,  or  offered  to  mankind  as  the  prac- 
tical leader  whom  this  war-stained,  matter-of-fact  world 
needs?  And  just  emerging  over  the  horizon,  suspected 
at  present  by  only  a  few  of  the  leaders,  are  the  problems 
raised  by  the  higher  critical  labors  of  scholars  like 
Lammens  and  Caetani,  in  the  West,  which  threaten 
seriously  to  undermine  not  now  the  moral  character  but 
the  very  historic  personality,  in  any  full  and  real  sense> 
of  the  Prophet  of  Islam.  The  influence  of  the  Moslems 
of  Lahore  in  answering  these  urgent  questions  for  Indian 
Islam  generally  is  certain  to  be  of  increasing  importance 
in  the  years  to  come. 

Howard  A.  Walter. 

India. 

*  A  Moslem  Mission  to  England  by  H.  V.   W.   Stanton.     The  Moslem   World,   Vol. 
IV,  p.  195. 


SOME  NON-CONFORMING  TURKS 


Any  great  institution  founded  on  force  will  be  sure 
to  develope  among  its  followers  groups  whose  loyalty  is 
that  of  the  lip  and  not  of  the  heart.  The  historical 
policy  of  Islam  is  expressed  in  the  formula,  "Koran, 
tribute  or  sword."  Wherever,  therefore,  such  a  system 
prevails  one  would  expect  to  find  sects  and  parties  who 
have  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword  by  adopting  just 
enough  of  Islam  to  serve  them  as  a  decorative  protec- 
tion. The  Alevi  Turks  of  Asia  Minor  are  such  a  non- 
conforming sect  in  the  heart  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 

One  should  remember  that  in  the  Orient  religious 
affiliations  have  ever  been  stronger  than  political.  Men 
feel  themselves  to  be  one  when  their  worship  is  one, 
and  hold  as  aliens  those  who  live  next  door,  if  their 
creed  and  ritual  are  different.  They  intermarry  only  among 
those  with  whom  they  pray:  they  respect  the  author- 
ity of  Governments  because  they  must,  but  they  welcome 
the  orders  of  their  priests  because  they  want  to.  A  re- 
ligious ban  is  more  dreaded  than  legal  penalties.  Spirit- 
ual dues  are  more  cheerfully  rendered  than  tithes  to  the 
reigning  Caesar.  Of  course,  the  religious  and  political 
structure  rpay  be  identical  on  a  strictly  theocratic  theory, 
and  then  there  is  no  question  of  a  clash  or  a  preference 
between  authorities.  To  the  ordinary  Oriental  his 
Government  ought  to  represent  his  God.  If  by  some 
chance  his  faith  differs  from  the  standard  form  of 
Orthoxdoxy,  his  sect  may  be  tolerated  publicly,  or  he 
may  belong  to  some  cult  which  tenaciously  maintains  its 
existence  with  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  secrecy.  In  the 
East,  according  to  the  common  custom,  a  person  in- 
herits his  religious  connection  from  his  parents  much 
as  he  inherits  his  name  or  his  color,  maintains  his  relig- 
ious status  unchanged  to  the  end,  renders  prime  alle- 
giance to  his  sect  and  gives  his  left-over  enthusiasm  to  his 
country. 

242 


SOME  NON-CONFORMING  TURKS  243 

Now  the  Alevi  Turks  are  unorthodox  Moslems.  They 
are  the  spiritual  flock  of  Ali,  the  fourth  Caliph.  They 
reject  the  Sunna  of  orthodox  Mohammedanism  and  are 
regarded  as  Shiite  heretics.  The  name  "Redhead"  is 
flung  at  them  in  contempt  by  their  more  righteous  neigh- 
bors, and  they  retort  by  calling  the  latter  "Devil-wor- 
shippers." This  line  of  cleavage  among  the  Turks  is 
vital  and  significant 

Ali,  the  Moslem  saint  and  warrior,  was  a  near  relative 
of  the  Prophet  Mohammed,  both  by  blood  and  by 
marriage.  He  was  one  of  the  sagest  councillors  and 
strongest  lieutenants  of  the  first  Moslem  state,  fourth 
Caliph  and  almost  chosen  first.  Later  he  was  deposed 
from  his  high  office  by  the  warfare  and  intrigue  of  rival 
and  hostile  parties,  and  later  suffered  assassination,  as  did 
also  his  sons  Hassan  and  Husseyn.  He  also  was  probably 
the  most  commanding  single  personality  in  the  Moham- 
medan world  of  the  first  generation.  The  figure  of  Ali 
was  one  to  conjure  with  among  religious  zealots,  whose 
information  was  derived  largely  from  hearsay  and  whose 
passions  were  deep  and  abiding.  His  party  gained  and 
retained  the  ascendency  in  some  countries,  notably 
Persia ;  elsewhere  it  has  lived  on  with  varying  local  forms 
and  adaptations,  in  quasi  concealment.  Many  of  the 
Kurds  we  are  told,  some  Arabs,  and  some  Albanians  and 
others,  belong  to  this  sect,  as  do  the  Alevi  Turks.  In 
general  the  Arabs  as  the  thinking  head,  and  the  Turks 
as  the  sword  arm  of  Islam  treat  the  Alevi  sectaries 
with  varying  degrees  of  toleration  and  disdain. 

The  Alevis,  as  a  people,  are  pitiably  ignorant,  decep- 
tive and  superstitious.  They  are  agricultural  or  pastoral 
folks,  living  near  to  nature  and  in  close  sympathy  with 
her  changing  moods  and  seasons.  They  reside  for  the 
most  part  in  separate  villages  and  seem  to  seek  only  to  be 
let  alone.  They  love  the  fertile  plains  and  upland  pastures 
of  Antolia  with  its  clear  streams  running  among  the 
hills,  its  wholesome  climate,  its  abundance  of  nourishing 
food,  and  its  prevailingly  cloudless  sky  of  Mediterranean 
blue.  Socially  they  are  a  class  inferior  and  apart. 
Government  officers   show    them   scant   recognition   in 


244  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

making  up  the  lists  of  civil  ofBcials,  but  they  render 
their  full  quota  of  recruits  for  the  Turkish  army  and  pay 
taxes  with  none  to  intercede  in  their  behalf.  They  lead 
the  simple  life,  a  life  often  hard  and  coarse,  but  many 
of  them  are  clean  and  wholesome  persons.  They  know 
little  of  commerce  and  have  little  of  luxury  in  their 
houses  of  uncut  stone  or  sun-dried  brick.  The  men, 
often  assisted  by  the  women  in  the  fields,  raise  most  of 
what  is  placed  on  their  tables,  and  the  women  often 
assisted  by  the  men,  weave  and  sew  and  knit  most  of 
what  they  wear.  For  a  table  gratifying  to  a  traveler, 
or  lodging  restful  to  the  weary,  commend  me  to  the 
patriarchal  establishment  of  a  well-to-do  Alevi  Turk  or 
to  one  of  the  shrines  sacred  to  his  sect. 

These  Alevi  Turks  probably  come  nearest  to  repre- 
senting the  original  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor  with  a 
minimum  of  blood  brought  by  invaders.  The  present 
culture  rests  on  earlier  strata,  the  earliest  of  which  that 
can  be  distinguished  is  the  Hittite.  Whether  under 
Roman  power,  or  Byzantine  or  Turkish,  how  many  times 
soever  conquered  by  invading  hosts,  many  of  the  people 
of  Asia  Minor  have  lived  on,  carrying  with  them  what 
they  had  been  under  the  former  regime,  with  a  protec- 
tive coloring  adopted  in  recognition  of  the  power  that 
for  the  time  holds  sway. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  Alevi  Turks  repre- 
sent a  Christian  heritage  in  contrast  with  the  Moham- 
medanism brought  twenty  generations  ago  by  invading 
Turks.  The  theory  is  that  in  the  hour  of  agony  they 
went  over  as  a  tribe  of  people  in  order  to  save  their 
lives,  and  adopted  enough  of  Mohammedanism  to  secure 
toleration.  They  have  been  granted  life,  if  not  much 
liberty  and  with  but  limited  happiness.  By  preference 
they  have  no  mosques,  though  in  some  villages  the 
Government  has  forced  their  erection.  Even  then  the 
buildings  are  commonly  unused.  The  call  to  prayer  is 
frequently  omitted  unless  Sunnite  believers  are  within 
earshot.  They  reject  the  Mohammedan  permission  of 
polygamy  unless  the  first  wife  is  barren,  but  allow  the 
use  of  wine  in  common  with  Jews  and  Christians  in  the 


SOME  NON-CONFORMING  TURKS  245 

Orient.  They  refuse  to  eat  the  meat  of  hares  accord- 
ing to  the  la\v  of  Moses  but  not  of  Islam.  And  it  is 
a  very  significant  fact  that,  as  always  alleged,  a  woman 
making  bread  draws  two  strokes  on  the  top  of  the  dough 
which  form  a  cross  upon  the  staff  of  life,  though  every 
tribute  to  the  cross  is  strenuously  avoided  by  regular 
Moslems.  Nor  do  Alevi  women  veil  themselves  before 
Christian  men,  though  they  do  wear  the  veil  in  the 
presence  of  true  Turks. 

There  is  a  legend  that  when  the  great  Ali  was  slain 
by  persecutors,  his  head  by  some  chance  fell  into  the 
hands  of  a  Christian  priest  and  was  by  him  protected. 
The  persecutors  demanded  the  head  that  they  might 
abuse  and  gloat  over  it,  but  the  priest  refused  to  sur- 
render it,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  members  of 
his  family  cut  off  his  wife's  head,  that  of  his  third  son, 
his  second,  and  his  first  born,  and  offered  these  succes- 
sively as  a  ransom  for  the  head  of  Ali.  The  degree  of 
truth  or  error  in  this  story  is  not  worth  discussing,  but 
wherever  it  is  told  from  father  to  son,  as  they  chop  wood 
or  herd  sheep  together,  or  when  it  is  related  by  a  grand- 
sire  to  a  group  around  the  winter  fire,  it  has  a  very  deep 
significance.  It  shows  that  the  Alevi  Turks,  camouflage 
Moslems,  hold  that  in  the  hour  of  agony  for  their  great 
hero,  he  was  slain  by  typical  Moslems,  while  Christians 
gave  their  life  blood  in  his  behalf,  and  their  own  heart 
strings  tug  toward  Christians. 

The  Alevis  observe  among  themselves  a  sacramental 
meal,  which  is  very  commonly  believed  to  be  a  perverted 
form  of  the  Lord's  supper.  At  certain  seasons  their 
dedes  or  priests  make  the  rounds  of  their  village  com- 
munities. The  occasion  is  one  of  great  importance  for 
these  simple  people,  sins  are  confessed  and  absolved, 
transgressors  receive  punishment,  quarrels  are  settled, 
and  the  sacramental  supper  is  observed  with  much 
secrecy.  Guards  are  placed  around  the  village,  around 
the  house,  and  at  the  door  of  the  room.  The  dede  ad- 
dresses his  congregation  inculcating  the  common  virtues 
and  explaining  their  sacred  ceremonies.  The  communi- 
cants approach  on  their  knees  and  they  partake  of  bread 


246  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

and  wine  together.  It  is  at  least  possible  that  this  cere- 
mony is  a  heritage  from  forefathers  of  Christian  name 
and  faith. 

Some  Alevi  Turks  retain  traditions  of  Christian  an- 
cestors; sometimes  they  anticipate  intermarriage  with 
Christians,  which  is  the  most  definite  way  that  they  know 
of  recognizing  a  real  kinship.  They  sometimes  say,  "He 
who  was  revealed  to  you  as  Jesus  was  revealed  to  us  as 
Ali",  or  again,  addressing  Christians,  say,  "Less  than  the 
thickness  of  an  onion  skin  separates  you  from  us."  When 
the  question  of  a  line-up  between  Moslems  and  Chris- 
tians compels  attention,  the  seeking  for  sympathy,  the 
need  for  friendship,  on  the  part  of  those  whose 
camouflage  coloring  makes  them  look  like  typical  Turks, 
should  not  be  forgotten. 

A  new  wave  of  hope  ran  through  the  peoples  of  Turkey 
with  the  new  regime  of  1908.  Not  long  after  that  as  a 
representative  Alevi  was  calling  at  my  house  one  day 
he  said,  "They  have  given  us  a  new  regime,  but  who 
are  the  men  that  are  to  administer  it?  Nine-tenths  of 
the  office  holders  are  just  the  same  set  that  we  had  before. 
I  liken  them  to  a  serpent  that  is  wriggling  along  a  road 
and  finds  his  way  blocked  by  two  rocks  with  only  a 
narrow  passage  between  them.  He  cannot  stop  or  turn 
back  or  get  around.  He  must  squeeze  through  the  nar- 
row passage  and  he  manages  to  do  it,  even  though  he 
peels  a  coating  of  skin  off  in  the  process,  but  when  he 
gets  out  on  the  other  side,  he  is  the  same  old  snake." 

The  sacred  sentiment  and  religious  bond  among  the 
Alevis  has  not  counted  for  much  in  public  affairs 
hitherto.  Such  organization  as  they  possess  is  chiefly 
represented  by  the  Hadj  Bek  Tash  Tekye  in  central 
Asia  Minor.  This  is  the  headquarters  of  a  dervish 
system  that  may  be  compared  with  the  monasticism  of 
European  countries.  This  Tekye  or  monastery  has  above 
a  hundred  affiliated  Tekyes  and  each  is  the  spiritual 
center  for  a  large  village  population.  The  Hadji  Bek 
Tash  authorities  wield  very  great  power  over  their 
people,  though  for  the  most  part  they  have  not  used 
it  in  public  ways.     A  few  years  ago,  however,  the  central 


SOME  NON-CONFORMING  TURKS  247 

government  wished  to  reduce  the  influence  of  this 
imperium  in  imperio  and  demanded  that  the  deeds  of 
their  monastic  properties  be  submitted  to  the  administra- 
tion at  Constantinople.  The  feudal  Alevi  chieftain,  how- 
ever, submitted  copies  only  of  his  deeds  and  sent  out 
word  to  all  his  retainers  to  be  ready  for  an  insurrection, 
and  the  central  government  concluded  not  to  press  matters 
further.  Such  a  clan  only  asks  to  be  let  alone,  but  would 
make  trouble  if  infringement  of  their  established  rights 
was  attempted. 

No  accurate  estimate  of  the  number  of  "Redhead" 
Turks  can  be  made,  but  they  are  certainly  many.  They 
probably  comprise  twenty  per  cent  or  more  of  those  who 
are  classed  as  Turks.  Omitting  from  the  present  calcula- 
tion, Arabia,  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  Palestine  and  Armenia, 
none  of  which  is  truly  Turkish,  the  real  Turkey  which 
remains  contains  a  population  of  about  12,000,000.  Some 
3,000,000  belong  to  various  Christian  nationalities. 
There  are  perhaps  1,000,000  to  2,000,000  Kurds,  Circas- 
sians and  other  Non-Turkish  Moslems.  If  then  there 
are  2,000,000  Alevis,  the  Orthodox  Moslem  Turks  num- 
ber some  6,000,000,  about  one-half  of  the  whole  popula- 
tion. Several  years  ago  the  Albanians  got  done  with 
the  Turkish  Administration,  and  turned  to  the  West  for 
sympathy  and  guidance.  Since  the  war  began  the  Arab 
world  has  done  the  same  thing.  The  Alevi  Turks,  not 
to  speak  now  of  the  other  common  Turks,  would  welcome 
an  opportunity  to  make  the  same  change:  are  they  to 
have  the  chance? 

Those  rumors  of  impending  events  in  Turkey,  which 
anticipated  the  "deportation"  of  Armenians  and  similar 
treatment  for  the  Greeks  and  other  Christians  of  the 
empire,  carried  the  foreboding  that  the  next  step  taken 
by  the  governing  clique  would  force  the  Alevi  Turks  to 
abandon  their  Moslem  nonconformity.  The  purpose  of 
the  "Party  of  Union  and  Progress"  is  alleged  to  be 
to  create  a  uniform  state,  one  in  Turkish  nationality, 
and  one  in  Moslem  Orthodoxy.  These  facts  and  condi- 
tions in  Turkey,  these  affinities  and  sympathies  on  the  part 
of  so  many  who  are  reckoned  as  Turks,  when  in  reality 


248  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 


their  religious  bond  is  but  a  subterfuge,  the  hopes  and 
aims  and  needs  of  such  members  of  our  oppressed  fellow 
human  race  deserve  to  be  known  and  remembered.  The 
welfare  of  the  people,  and  of  all  the  people,  of  that  suffer- 
ing country  should  be  kept  in  mind. 

George  E.  White. 

Marsovan,  Turkey. 


mm 


THE  APPROACH  TO  MUSLIM  MYSTICISM 


Since  in  Bengal  a  new  interest  has  been  aroused  in 
the  Fakirs,  we  think  it  well  to  invite  attention  to  the 
unique  opportunity  of  attempting  to  reach  these  people 
and  others  whose  breath  of  life  is  some  form  of  mysticism. 
Our  earliest  impression  of  the  Fakir  was  that  of  a  relig- 
ious fanatic,  who  swallowed  knives  and  practised  all 
manner  of  cunning  begging  tricks  for  a  living.  Probably 
the  7,817  Fakirs  recorded  as  the  total  of  that  class  in 
the  last  Census  Report  of  Bengal,  belong  to  that  type. 
But  in  the  Province  there  must  be  millions  who,  without 
claiming  the  name,  talk  a  higher  or  mystical  form  of 
Fakirism  every  day  of  their  lives.  This  form  of  belief 
is  really  Sufism  adapted  to  the  average  illiterate  Muham- 
madan  villager,  with  certain  accretions  drawn  from  the 
teaching  and  practices  of  the  Hindu  yoga  system. 

The  importance  of  this  mystical  and  spiritual  move- 
ment in  Islam,  affecting  as  it  does  all  Muslim  lands,  is 
very  great.  It  is  a  phase  of  the  revolt  against  the  liter- 
alism and  traditionalism  of  orthodoxy.  At  the  same  time 
it  reveals  the  need  of  the  human  heart,  it  displays  spiritual 
instinct,  aspiration  for  God,  desire  for  perfection,  and 
hope  for  the  future. 

And  such  a  revolt  is  not  peculiar  to  Islam;  at  periods 
there  have  been  similar  movements  in  Christendom, 
especially  in  the  Roman  Catholic  communion.  There 
have  been  those  in  both  East  and  West  who  have  been 
dissatisfied  with  cold  ceremonialism,  and  have  turned 
to  a  burning  flame  of  love  and  devotion,  lit  at  the  fire 
of  Divine  Love.  Amid  the  encircling  gloom  they  have 
caught  a  ray  of  mystic  light  that  has  burned  with  in- 
creasing brightness  the  more  they  have  entered  into  the 
experience  of  pure  contemplative  quietude.  To  such 
mystic  souls  the  genuflexions  of  the  mosque,  temple  and 
church  have  but  little  significance,  since  the  temple  of  the 

249 


250  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

heart  has  become  the  dwelling-place  of  their  object  of 
devotion  and  worship.     As  Rumi  says — 

"The  only  true  mosque  is  that  in  the  hearts  of  the  Saints. 
The  mosque  that  is  built  in  the  hearts  of  the  saints 
Is  the  place  of  worship  for  all,  for  God  dwells  there." 

Further,  the  faulty  recital  of  texts,  prayers  and  creeds 
is  now  never  a  hindrance  or  a  dread,  since  the  heart 
dwells  not  on  the  use  or  misuse  of  words,  but  on  a  rich 
experience  of  loving  understanding  with  whom  it  lives 
and  moves  and  has  its  being. 

Is  this  a  too  idealistic  picture  of  the  Christian  mystic? 
I  think  not.  Is  the  same  possible  in  the  Muslim  mystic? 
The  writings  and  sayings  of  Al-Ghazali,  Rabi'a,  Al- 
Junaid,  Rumi,  and  a  host  of  Sufis,  Darwishes  and  Fakirs 
would  lead  one  to  believe  that  they  had  remarkable  in- 
stinct, and  their  religious  experience  was  not  unlike 
that  of  many  Christian  mystics.  In  fact,  the  likeness 
is  so  marked  that  Von  Kremer  says,  ''The  mysticism  of 
Islam  and  Christendom  have  many  points  of  contact, 
and  by  mysticism  perhaps  will  be  first  bridged  the  wide 
gulf  which  separates  Islam  from  Christendom." 

The  practical  man  of  the  West  will  urge  many  ob- 
jections against  all  forms  of  mysticism.  He  sees  only 
a  certain  tendency  to  pantheism  and  a  weakening  of  the 
will  and  sense  of  moral  responsibility;  he  points  to  an 
unhealthy  subjectivity  and  an  ideal  of  life  based  on 
egoism.  With  Swami  Vivekananda,  he  says,  ''These 
creepy  things — these  mysticisms  are  generally  weaken- 
ing." But  in  saying  that,  all  is  not  said.  In  a  book, 
written  by  experts,  on  "The  Vital  Forces  of  Christanity 
and  Islam,"  much  is  made  of  Muslim  mysticism. 
Articles  by  the  Rev.  Professors  Macdonald  and  Siraj- 
ud-Din  and  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Shedd  endorse  the  conten- 
tion of  Canon  Gairdner,  of  Cairo,  when  he  says — "The 
hold  which  mysticism  has  upon  Muslims,  and  the  reality 
of  the  part  it  plays  in  their  religious  lives,  cannot  be 
exaggerated.  The  subject  demands  more  careful  and 
detailed  study  than  it  has  yet  received.  .  .  .  The  real 
attraction  which  mysticism  has  for  Muhammadans  is  a 
call  to  the  Christian  Church.     If  mysticism  had  at  first 


THE  APPROACH  TO  MUSLIM  MYSTICISM        251 

some  difficulty  in  finding  its  way  into  the  Muslim  scheme, 
no  such  difficulty  existed  in  Christianity,  for  which  the 
two  words,  en  Christo,  enshrined  a  divine  mysticism  in 
the  heart  of  religion  from  the  very  outset,  and  which 
was  unembarrassed  by  the  formal  rigidities  of  Islam.  Do 
not  these  facts  constitute  a  call  to  the  Christian  Church 
more  deeply  to  experience  all  that  lies  en  Christo,  and 
further  to  attempt  to  interpret  and  preach  that  experience 
to  Muhammadans?  Let  Christian  Sufism  appeal  to  the 
heart  of  the  Sufism  of  Islam." 

This  spiritual  revolt  against  a  cold  formalism,  ration- 
alism and  traditionalism  in  the  Islam  that  preaches  a 
lonely,  inaccessible,  unfeeling  deity,  is  spreading  every- 
where. At  the  Lucknow  Conference,  one  of  the  most 
striking  statements  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Ahmad  Shah, 
when  he  said,  concerning  India:  "If  you  carefully  ex- 
amine the  religious  books  written  or  translated  by 
Muslims,  you  will  find  seventy-five  per  cent  are  on 
Sufism."  This  shows  amazing  growth  of  a  spirit  or 
attitude  really  foreign  to  the  Shari'at.  When  in 
Colombo,  Dr.  Zwemer  wrote:  "All  the  Muslims  of 
Ceylon  seem  to  be  Sunni,  and  most  of  them  belong  to 
two  of  the  Darwish  Orders.  The  Muslim  pi-ess  is  very 
active,  and  is  publishing  in  Tamil-Arabic  a  considerable 
quantity  of  Sufi  literature."  Then  from  Dr.  Zwemer's 
researches  in  China  it  was  found  that  the  Province  of 
Honan  has  a  large  and  influential  Muhammadan  popula- 
tion, and  ^^The  type  of  Muhammad anism  prevalent  in 
the  province  is  Sufiism,  which  ought  to  make  its  adherents 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  the  spiritual  claims  of  the 
Gospel,  and  very  accessible  to  the  Christian  Messengers/' 

In  Bengal,  the  terms  Fakir,  Darwish  and  Sufi  are 
often  used  synonymously.  All  three  classes  are  inter- 
related, they  have  many  ideas  in  common.  The  thing 
to  remember  is  this:  that  in  other  countries  less  under 
foreign  control,  the  Darwish  has  developed  his  emotion- 
alism along  political  and  martial  lines,  whereas  in  India 
the  greater  the  strength  given  to  the  Fakir,  or  Darwish 
movement,  the  more  it  must  run  in  the  mystico-religious 
groove.     It  is  well  within  the  mark  to  say  that  in  Bengal 


252  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

quite  two-thirds  of  its  25  million  Muhammadans  belong 
to  one  or  other  of  the  five  following  Darwish  Orders — 
the  Qadiriyya,  Naqshbandiyya,  Muzaddadiyya,  Chis- 
tiyya  and  Muhammadiyya.  The  last  two  had  their 
origin  in  India,  the  last  being  a  special  product  of  Bengal, 
and  therefore  the  most  popular  of  all  the  Orders  with  the 
Muslims  of  the  Province.  It  does  not  follow  that  all 
are  therefore  pronounced  Mystics.  There  is  a  passage 
in  the  Hanafi  law  to  the  effect  that  it  is  obligatory  for 
every  Muslim  to  become  initiated  into  one  or  other  of 
the  various  Orders.  Although  he  may  follow  only  the 
teaching  of  one,  he  must  honour  them  all. 

Now  in  regard  to  our  approach  to  Fakir,  Darwish 
or  Sufi,  it  is  possible  to  throw  out  in  bold  relief  that  teach- 
ing which  gives  many  points  of  contact.  It  is  funda- 
mental, in  both  Christendom  and  Islam,  that  mysticism 
assumes  man  to  be  an  exile  from  home  and  longing  to 
get  back  again.  He  has  suffered  a  fall  away  from  God, 
but  longs  to  be  united  to  him  again.  Phraseology  is 
similar;  methods  for  attaining  the  goal  are  also  to  some 
extent  similar.  Their  aim  is  to  reach  through  the  seen 
and  temporal  to  the  unseen  and  eternal,  but  the  veils  of 
selfishness '  cloud  the  vision  and  blind  the  soul.  The 
removal  of  these  veils  is  imperative,  if  renewed  and  per- 
fect vision  would  be  obtained.  And  the  demand  in  all 
forms  of  mysticism  is  for  a  very  definite  spiritual  ex- 
perience. 

The  process  is  as  follows:  a  man  sets  out  to  advance 
as  a  traveller  (salik),  by  slow  stages  {maqamat)  on  a 
journey  (safar)  along  the  mystic  way  (tariqat)  to  union 
with  the  only  Real  Self.  (The  early  Christians  looked 
on  our  Faith  as  "the  Way.")  The  Sufi  traveller  must 
first  seek  guidance  of  a  director,  who  is  called  Murshid, 
Shaikh  or  Pir,  and  must  submit  himself  wholly  to 
him,  the  ideal  life  being  absolute  conformity  to  the  will 
of  the  Shaikh.  This  is  common  to  all  Orders.  A  Cal- 
cutta leader  of  the  Chistiyya  Order  says:  "In  the  first 
stage  the  disciple  is  expected  to  love  and  look  to  the 
Shaikh  as  his  all  in  all.  He  acts,  talks  and  prays  like 
the  Shaikh;  he  eats,  drinks  and  walks  like  the  Shaikh, 


THE  APPROACH  TO  MUSLIM  MYSTICISM        253 

and  constantly  meditates  upon  him.  Having  been,  by 
this  process,  spiritually  transformed  into  the  Shaikh, 
the  student  (murid)  is  spiritually  introduced  to  the 
Prophet."  All  the  Orders  agree'  that,  "As  a  corpse  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  washers,  so  must  the  disciple  be  in 
the  hands  of  the  Shaikh." 

But  many  have  gone  further;  in  fact,  it  is  becoming 
popular  for  the  adoration  of  the  master  to  take  the  place 
of  the  worship  of  God.  And  in  the  teaching  of  Fakirs, 
Darwishes  and  Sufis  there  is  an  amazing  number  of  ideas 
concerning  incarnation  and  mediation.  The  Pir  is  re- 
garded as  a  bridge  between  the  finite  and  the  Infinite, 
and  a  sure  and  certain  mediating  agency. 

Rumi,  in  the  Masnavi,  says — 

"Come  under  the  shadow  of  the  man  of  reason  (Pir). 
Thou  canst  not  find  it  in  the  road  of  the  traditionists. 
That  man  enjoys  close  proximity  to  Allah. 
Turn  not  away  from  obedience  to  him  in  any  wise. 
Having  chosen  this  Director  be  submissive  to  him. 
His  hand  is  none  other  than  the  grasjp  of  Allah." 

Who  Other  than  Christ  is  the  outstretched  hand  of  a 
loving  Father!  At  the  back  of  the  Sufi  doctrine  of  the 
Pir  or  Shaikh  is  surely  the  belief  that  God  can  manifest 
Himself  in  some  person.  Does  it  not  show,  too,  the  crav- 
ing of  the  human  heart  to  see  the  Divine  Image  perfectly 
developed  in  some  human  life?  The  necessity  for  the 
Pir  to  be  perfect  as  a  Guide  to  the  Divine  Love  and 
wisdom,  would  lead  one  to  suppose  this. 

Having  determined  to  surrender  himself  wholly  to 
the  control  of  the  Shaikh  or  Pir,  the  one  entering  upon 
the  mystic  way  must  realize  that  sin  is  a  hindrance  to 
progress.  Hence  in  every  real  Muslim  mystic  there  is 
an  experience,  often  very  deep,  of  a  change  of  attitude 
towards  God  and  religion.  It  invariably  means  a  crisis 
or  crises.  It  is  a  conversion  like  that  experienced  by 
Rabindranath  Tagore  when,  in  a  street  in  Calcutta,  "the 
whole  world  became  one  glorious  music,  one  wonder- 
ful rhythm."  There  are  stories  of  many  such  spiritual 
crises  in  Islam,  the  most  noteworthy  being  that  of  Al 
Ghazali,  the  most  famous  Muslim  theologian,  who  by  the 
study  of  the  philosophers  was  convinced  intellectually 


254  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

concerning  God,  Inspiration  and  the  Last  Judgment,  but 
failed  utterly  to  come  into  touch  with  that  inner  light 
and  spiritual  power  which  intuitively  he  felt  it  should 
be  his  joy  to  possess. 

He  underwent  a  definite  conversion  to  mystical  views 
of  God.  He  soughft  the  light  which  illuminates  the 
threshold  of  all  knowledge.  For  a  time  he  could  not 
surrender  himself,  but  at  last  the  day  arrived  when  he 
said,  "On  the  one  side  the  world  kept  me  bound  to  my 
post  (his  secular  employment)  in  the  chains  of  covetous- 
ness,  on  the  other  side  the  voice  of  religion  cried  to  me 
^up !  up  r  thy  life  is  nearing  its  end,  and  thou  hast  a  long 
journey  to  make.  All  thy  pretended  knowledge  is  nought 
but  falsehood  and  fantasy.  It  thou  dost  not  think  now 
of  thy  salvation,  when  wilt  thou  think  of  it?  If  thou 
dost  not  break  thy  chains  to-day,  when  wilt  thou  break 
them?"  {Confessions  of  Al  Ghazali,  by  Field,  pp. 
43-4.)  Al  Ghazali's  striking  spiritual  crisis  is  used  by 
Prof.  W.  James  to  illustrate  his  thesis  that  conversion 
is  a  psychological  fact. 

The  struggle  was  long  and  severe.  His  great  hin- 
drance to  victory  was  his  passion  for  his  profession.  He 
had  an  over  mastering  love  for  his  work  of  research  and 
teaching.  He  says,  "I  probed  the  motives  of  my  teach- 
ing and  found  that,  in  place  of  being  sincerely  conse- 
crated to  God,  it  was  only  actuated  by  a  vain  desire  of 
honour  and  reputation.  I  perceived  that  I  was  on  the 
edge  of  the  abyss,  and  that  without  an  immediate  con- 
version I  should  be  doomed  to  eternal  fire."  Like 
Muhammad  and  many  another  Muslim,  he  had  an 
awful  dread  of  "the  Fire,"  and  fear  has  influenced  per- 
haps most  of  the  spiritual  crises  among  the  Muslim 
mystics. 

The  conversion,  according  to  Sufism,  is  made  complete 
by  three  definite  stages:  (i)  Repentance;  (2)  Renunci- 
ation; (3)  Poverty.  They  correspond  to  "the  Purgative 
Way"  of  Christian  mysticism. 

Repentance  {Tauba)  the  best  Sufis  would  describe 
as  "the  awakening  of  the  soul  from  the  slumber  of  heed- 
lessness, so  that  the  sinner  becomes  aware  of  his  evil  ways 


THE  APPROACH  TO  MUSLIM  MYSTICISM        255 

and  feels  contrition  for  past  disobedience.  He  is  not 
truly  penitent,  however,  unless  he  at  once  abandons  the 
sin  or  sins  of  which  he  is  conscious,  and  firmly  resolves 
that  he  will  never  return  to  these  sins  in  the  future.  If 
he  should  fail  to  keep  his  vow,  he  must  again  turn  to 
God,  whose  mercy  is  infinite.  The  convert  must  also, 
as  far  as  lies  in  his  power,  satisfy  all  those  whom  he 
has   injured"    {The  Mystics   of  Islam,  Nicholson,    pp. 

30-0  • 

The  point  of  contact  is  almost  complete,  but  we  have 

the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  repentant  heart  and 
His  regenerative  energy  in  the  life,  of  which  Muslims 
are  ignorant.  At  the  same  time,  Muslim  mystics  have 
always  felt  and  taught  that  there  must  be  a  work  of 
God  in  the  soul.  They  say  the  Qur'an  teaches  this  in 
the  text,  "Whosoever  shall  strive  for  Our  sake.  We  shall 
guide  him  into  our  ways  (XXIX,  69).  Rabi'a,  the 
noted  woman  mystic  of  Islam,  used  to  say,  "If  He  shall 
turn  towards  thee,  thou  wilt  turn  towards  Him."  The 
purifying,  then,  even  with  Sufis,  is  the  co-operative  action 
of  man's  repentance  and  God's  influence  in  the  soul. 

Renunciation  and  poverty,  from  the  earliest  days  of 
Islam,  have  been  understood  to  mean  the  ascetic  life, 
the  forsaking  of  worldly  goods,  prosperity  and  reputa- 
tion, as  a  sure  means  of  gaining  a  spiritual  attitude  that 
will  gain  salvation.  The  Darwish  dons  the  muraqqa' 
at  (the  patched  frock),  and  goes  through  a  long  severe 
discipline  in  fasts  and  nights  of  meditation  on  the  Unity 
of  God  for  the  controlling  of  self.  Christian  mystics 
have  tried  exactly  the  same  methods,  although  many 
found  them  injurious.  Ignatius  Loyola  found  that  after 
fasting  beyond  a  certain  point  the  body  could  not  digest 
the  simplest  food,  so  he  forbade  all  such  excesses  among 
his  followers,  but  not  until  he  himself  was  ruined  in 
health. 

The  first  steps,  therefore,  in  the  Purgative  way  of  the 
mystic  is  repentance  and  the  embracing  of  poverty  in 
order  to  become  detached  from  worldly  frivolities.  He 
delights  in  such  names  as  Fakir  (poor  man),  or  Darwish 
(mendicant),  or  Sufi  (coarse  wool-wearer).     And  these 


256  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

terms  mean  to  the  mystic  that  he,  by  adopting  them, 
is  stripped  of  every  thought  or  wish  that  would  divert 
his  mind  from  God.  In  line  with  this  we  have  our 
Lord's  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  etc.,  a  concious- 
ness  of  moral  and  spiritual  defect,  which  produces  that 
sense  of  humility,  lowliness  and  dependance  upon  the 
Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  spiritual  gift  which  will 
help  men  in  the  blessed  life. 

The  reason  for  the  mortification,  renunciation  and 
asceticism  in  the  Muslim  system  is  based  on  the  fact 
that  man's  worst  enemy  is  his  nafs,  which  Sufis  and 
Fakirs  interpret  to  be  the  evil  self,  or  what  St.  Paul 
terms  "the  flesh."  Many  a  Muslim  in  Bengal  will  tell 
you  how  troubled  he  is  that  he  is  quite  unable  to  over- 
come this  evil  thing.  It  was  interesting  to  read  in  the 
account  of  the  Christian  movement  among  the  Fakirs  of 
Jessore,  how  the  Pir  was  largely  influenced  and  drawn 
to  Christianity  by  a  little  book  called  The  Mirror  of  the 
Heart.  It  is  a  book  that  depicts  most  graphically  the 
animals,  birds  and  reptiles  that  usurp  the  place  of  the 
Lord  of  Love  in  the  heart,  figures  the  Muslim  mystic 
is  accustomed  to,  and  goes  on  to  tell  how  the  Holy  Spirit 
came  and  swept  it  clean. 

Then  the  Muslim  mystics  have  the  way  of  Illumina- 
tion and  Ecstasy.  And  much  is  made  of  Dhikr  (some- 
times spelt  Zikr),  a  kind  of  litany.  It  is  based  on  a 
text  in  the  Qur'an,  that  enjoins  "the  remembering  Allah" 
constantly.  Dr.  Macdonald  says,  "By  reciting  in  rapid 
cadence  and  with  physical  movements  and  breathings 
such  religious  phrases  as  the  confession  of  faith, 
doxologies,  pious  ejaculations,  etc.,  they  work  themselves 
up  into  a  steady  religious  frenzy,  or  else  cast  themselves 
into  a  hypnotic  coma."  In  his  book,  Aspects  of  Islam, 
the  doctor  tells  how  he  attended  a  Dhikr  service  of  one 
of  the  Darwish  Orders  in  Cairo.  He  was  impressed 
with  the  religious  reality  in  the  service;  a  devotional 
spirit  characterised  the  whole  proceedings.  And  it  was 
not  something  got  up  for  the  occasion,  but  the  religious 
life  of  the  Darwishes  week  by  week. 

And  this  form  of  worship  is  coming  to  be  an  essential 


THE  APPROACH  TO  MUSLIM  MYSTICISM        257 

part  of  Muslim  life.  Canon  Gairdner  says  that  the  bulk 
of  the  Muslim  population  of  Egypt  have  Sufism  for 
their  religion,  and  Sufism  is  represented  in  the  Dhikr, 
It  helps  to  produce  by  physical  means  the  ecstasy  so 
necessary  to  illumination. 

But  true  mystical  purity,  which  partakes  of  the  nature 
of  angels,  cannot  be  understood  without  knowledge 
(ma'rifat)  and  love  {'ishq).  These  words  are  always 
on  the  lips  of  the  Fakirs  and  other  Muslim  mystics. 
Too  many  pretend  to  know  their  meaning  long  before 
they  have  made  any  progress  along  the  Purgative  Way. 
But  since  it  is  a  sign  of  advancement,  men  delight  to 
talk  of  gnosis  and  love,  which  are  practically  the  same 
thing.  The  literature  of  the  Sufis  is  saturated  with  ideas 
of  love,  for  the  knowledge  of  God  has  its  roots  in  love. 

We  got  some  idea  of  the  advancement  made  by  the 
best  Sufis  in  the  doctrine  of  divine  love  by  the  study  of 
a  Muslim  sermon  on  the  Love  of  God,  preached  at 
Baghdad  over  800  years  ago  by  Al-Ghazali.  Here  are 
a  few  quotations  taken  from  a  translation  that  appeared 
in  The  East  and  West,  for  July,  1910 — 

"God  alone  is  really  worthy  of  love,  and  where  he  is  not  loved 
He  is  not  known.  Love  of  God  is  aroused  by  contemplation  of  the 
attributes  of  God.  Happiness  in  heaven  depends  upon  love  of  God, 
for  the  very  essence  of  the  future  life  is  to  arrive  at  God  as  at  an 
object  of  desire  long  aimed  at  and  attained  through  countless  obstacles. 
But  if  in  a  man's  heart  there  has  been  growing  up  a  love  of  that  which  is 
opposed  to  God,  the  conditions  of  the  next  life  will  be  altogether 
alien  to  him.  The  signs  of  love  of  God  are:  (i)  No  dislike  of  the 
thought  of  death,  which  will  be  the  meeting  of  a  Friend.  (2)  Will- 
ingness to  sacrifice  one's  own  will  to  the  will  of  God.  (3)  Constant 
effortless  remembrance  of  God.  (4)  Love  of  the  Qur'an,  of  Muham- 
mad, of  men  and  of  all  God  has  created.  (5)  Desire  of  privacy  for 
devotion.  (6)  Ease  of  worship.  (7)  Love  of  the  followers  of  God 
and  hatred  of  infidels.  The  greatest  obtacle  to  love  of  God  is  selfish- 
ness— ambition  and  pride  also  form  an  impassible  veil  between  God  and 
man." 

While  there  are  many  such  beautiful  utterances  to  be 
found  in  the  mystical  literature  of  Islam,  there  are  other 
passages  given  in  poetic  pictures  and  allegories  which  are 
repellant  to  a  Christian.  Not  knowing  the  perfect  Christ 
as  the  Revelation  and  concrete  example  of  divine  Love, 
not    understanding    his    character,    words    and    works. 


258  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

to  be  compelled  by  that  love,  to  whom  shall  these 
mystics  go?  Muhammad  is  no  standard  of  perfec- 
tion. They  fall  back  on  examples  of  human  love, 
sometimes  high  and  lofty  in  sentiment,  but  more 
often  erotic  in  the  extreme.  They  picture  the  soul 
in  relation  to  God  as  a  lover  to  his  Beloved,  where  love 
binds  them  into  one.  They  also  use  such  figures  as 
tavern,  meaning  place  of  worship,  "wine,"  signifying 
love  of  God,  and  "the  old  man  of  the  Tavern"  as  the 
spiritual  guide.  (In  the  use  of  these  figures,  Omar 
Khayyam  and  Hafiz  are  notorious.)  "Drink  wine  that 
it  may  set  you  free  from  yourself."  By  that  these  mystics 
mean,  "Lose  your  phenomenal  self  in  the  rapture  of 
divine  contemplation." 

The  ideas  and  phraseology  of  such  men  have  been 
know  to  make  many  a  pantheist,  hypocrite,  drunkard  and 
sensupHst,  but  there  are  others  who  have  been  led  along 
a  higher  road  to  some  conception  of  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God.  And  all  the  way  much  thought  is  given 
to  such  important  subjects  as  the  divided  will,  the  en- 
slaved self,  the  inner  spiritual  jihad,  the  inner  voice, 
the  need  for  heart  purity  and  the  vision  of  the  unseen. 

The  Unitive  State,  or  end  of  the  journey,  as  Nicholson 
says,  "Is  the  culmination  of  the  simplifying  process  by 
which  the  soul  is  gradually  isolated  from  all  that  is 
foreign  to  itself,  from  all  that  is  not  God  .  .  .  Deifica- 
tion, in  short,  is  the  Muslim  mystic's  ultima  Thule/^ 

So  while  Muslim  mysticism  begins  hopefully,  it  ends 
hopelessly.  It  is  nothing  but  the  Hindu's  idea  of  absorp- 
tion. It  is  really  the  annihilation  of  personality,  whereas 
Christianity  teaches  union  with  God,  which  is  a  perfect 
union  of  persons.  Not  that  man's  will  is  obliterated, 
but  it  has  come  into  perfect  accord  and  action  with  the 
divine  will — a  real  moral  affinity,  exemplified  fully  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

J.  Takle. 
Brahmanbaria,  India, 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  CONCEPTION  OF 
SAINTSHIP 


(The  following  are  extracts  taken  from  some  examination  papers 
sent  in  by  students  of  the  Cairo  Study  Centre,  after  a  course  of  lectures 
given  by  Mr.  George  Swan,  entitled  "An  Introduction  to  the  Study 
of  Mohammedan  Mysticism,"  in  reply  to  a  question  as  to  wherein  lay 
the  fundamental  errors  in  the  Mohammedan  conception  of  Saintship. 
The  lectures  had  been  provocative  of  thought  rather  than  a  full  state- 
ment and  the  questions  set  with  the  object  of  discovering  how  far 
they  had  been  successful  therein.     Ed.) 

All  non-Christian  faiths  that  have  a  definite  conception 
of  saintship  differ  from  Christianity  in  one  respect  at 
least.  To  Christianity,  as  our  Lord  showed,  it  is  not  an 
abnormal  thing,  it  is  normal. 

But  to  go  behind  this  statement,  we  can  see  that  the 
Christian  conception  of  saintship  has  its  roots  in  the 
fundamental  difference  between  Christianity  and  any 
other  faith.  For  surely  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  any 
human  being  can  be  a  saint  by  his  own  efforts  towards 
piety,  devotion,  renunciation,  powers  of  miracle  working, 
ecstacy  in  worship ;  asceticism  and  so  on.  These  things 
must  be  worthless  without  the  God-given  spirit  of  holi- 
ness and  how  can  any  true  Moslem  realize  this?  For 
Christian  saintship  simply  means  the  living  in  Com- 
munion of  Spirit  with  the  Father,  even  as  the  Son 
always  did;  and  saintliness  is  a  human  word  which  we 
use  when  we  try  to  express  an  inexpressible  thing,  the 
dwelling  of  God's  spirit  in  a  man,  '^Because  ye  are 
sons — God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your 
hearts   ..." 

Now  all  this  seems  far  enough  from  the  subject  of  the 
Moslem  conception  of  Saintship.  But  I  think  we  see 
from  it  that  the  human  inipulse  towards  holiness  which 
manifests  itself  in  abstinence,  devotion,  contemplation  of 
the  invisible,  meditation,  etc.,  is  only  of  any  use  when  it 
is  met  by  the  Divine  impulse,  which  fills  it  and  uses  it 

259 


26o  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

as  a  vehicle.  Such  a  meeting  takes  place  from  time  to 
time  on  a  great  scale;  such  was  the  case  with  John  the 
Baptist;  we  have  seen  it  on  a  smaller  scale  since  then. 
God  does  use  this,  as  he  uses  all  human  means  of  religious 
expression.  And  in  so  far  as  it  is  used  by  Him  it  is  a 
glorious  and  a  good  thing.  But  it  is  not  all  there  is  of 
saintship  and  here  a  comparison  of  the  methods  of  our 
Lord  and  those  of  John  the  Baptist  is  very  helpful  and 
suggestive. 

There  is  no  need  to  point  out  fundamental  errors  in 
a  ^'Saintship"  which  has  degenerated  from  a  desire  to 
be  holy  into  a  desire  to  be  considered  holy  (think  of  our 
Lord's  plain  words  to  the  hypocrites)  and  still  less  need 
with  regard  to  those  who  use  "saintship"  as  a  cloak  to 
mask  evil  things. 

There  is  food  for  thought  in  the  fact  that  certain  races 
have  this  quality  of  so-called  mysticism  more  or  less 
strongly  developed ;  and  that,  especially  in  India,  where 
it  reaches  its  highest  development,  one  must  be  careful 
to  distinguish  how  much  of  it  is  racial,  temperamental, 
part  of  their  atmosphere,  as  it  were,  part  of  their  spirit's 
way  of  expressing  itself,  how  much  of  it  really  something 
to  be  rejected  and  how  much  is  something  to  be  caught 
hold  of  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

J.  M.  S-M. 
*      *      * 

The  first  fundamental  error  must  be  "the  Way"  itself, 
seeing  there  is  but  one  appointed  "Way"  to  God.  The 
one  mediator  between  God  and  man — even  the  man 
Christ  Jesus. 

Their  "Way"  says  nothing  about  living  one's  ordinary 
life  in  the  world.  Its  doctrine  is  too  esoteric ;  attainable 
only  by  the  few.  The  three  stages  are :  ( i )  Purgative — 
The  killing  of  desire  for  all  but  God ;  (2)  Illuminative — 
Gradual  enlightment  of  the  soul;  (3)  Unitive — Gradual 
absorption  into  the  Deity.  Contrast  with  this  the  Chris- 
tian "Way"  and  the  Christian  life.  The  way  through 
Jesus  Christ  the  life — loving  God  with  all  the  heart  and 
one's  neighbor  as  oneself. 

Some  mystics  held  that  the  body,  being  material,  was 


MOHAMMEDAN  CONCEPTION  OF  SAINTSHIP    261 

essentialj^y  evil  and  formidable  and  therefore  might  be 
given  license  to  do  as  it  would.  Contrast  St.  PauFs 
'^make  your  bodies  instruments  of  righteousness."  And, 
^'Your  bodies  are  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Their 
conception  of  God  was  based  largely  on  fear.  The  way 
of  approach  is  therefore  hard  and  tortuous  and  holiness 
was  with  a  view  to  escaping  the  torments  of  hell.  The 
unitive  stage  meant  the  loss  of  personality  and  even 
individuality.  Compare  the  saying  of  one  mystic,  ''God 
is  I,"  or  ''I  am  the  Truth,"  leading  to  the  gross  pantheism. 

With  a  view  to  assisting  the  soul  to  return  to  the  God 
from  whence  it  came,  artificial  means,  such  as  self-hyp- 
notism and  the  Zikr  are  freely  used. 

Those  who  have  the  way  are  considerd  as  holy  beyond 
compare,  and  this  leads  to  charlatanism  and  fraud;  such 
holy  men  are  freed  from  all  laws  of  restraint  incumbent 
upon  other  men,  while  others  buy  access  to  God  or  become 
holy  by  proxy. 

A.  J.  M. 

*      *      * 

Many  of  the  early  Moslem  saints  believed  that  the 
first  essential  towards  becoming  a  saint  consisted  in  re- 
nouncing all  the  affairs  and  interests  of  the  world  and 
concentrating  all  desire  on  God  alone.  This  extreme 
otherworldliness  carried  with  it  a  concentration  on  the 
self,  an  introspectiveness,  so  that  all  their  intellectual  life 
was  of  a  subjective  character.  The  objective  study  of  the 
outside  world  was  neglected  and  men  went  far  astray 
following  their  devices  because  they  argued  from  in- 
correct premises.  Another  grave  error  was  that  a  seeker 
put  himself  slavishly  and  absolutely  under  the  direction 
of  his  teacher  who  completely  controlled  all  his  actions 
and,  in  fact,  usurped  the  place  of  conscience  and  of  God 
Himself  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  disciple.  There 
was  no  scope  left  for  the  leading  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
All  the  exercises  and  instruction  to  the  disciple  were 
directed  towards  producing  a  state  of  ecstacy,  under 
which  it  was  believed  the  veil  of  the  flesh  was  removed 
and  the  ecstatic  saw  into  the  verities  of  eternal  things. 
This  training  involved  the  giving  up  of  personality,  the 


262  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

cessation  of  all  reasoned  thought,  indeed  the  deliberate 
ruining  of  all  that  we  consider  valuable  in  Christian 
character. 

The  whole  business  of  saintship  was  only  for  the 
favoured  few,  and  the  early  Sufis  especially  were  very 
exclusive  and  esoteric ;  only  a  very  few  could  ever  hope 
to  reach  the  state  of  ecstacy,  that  is,  could  come  into 
touch  with  the  spiritual  world  where  God's  will  is  to 
be  found  out.  When  we  contrast  these  ideas  with  the 
Christian  ideals  we  see  how  far  short  they  fall. 

In  Christianity  we  have  a  Saintship  open  to  all  who 
will;  a  full  active  life  in  the  world  (though  not  of  it) 
freely  sharing  the  life  of  God  in  Jesus  in  Whom  we 
live  and  He  in  us.  Who  is  the  vine  and  we  His  branches 
with  His  life  in  us.  And  we  have  one  meditator  between 
God  and  man,  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily.  Contrast  with  this  the  long  line  of 
intermediaries  in  the  dervish  systems. 

The  idea  of  the  ''Karamaf  of  the  Auliya  is  a  very 
important  one  practically  in  the  Moslem  conception  of 
saintship.  The  absence  of  a  critical  attitude  in  Islam 
has  made  possible  the  hopeless  jumble  of  absurd,  in- 
credible "wonders"  mixed  with  a  smaller  number  of 
genuine  "wonders."  These  holy  men  having  power  of 
working  wonders  are  consequently  feared  and  served 
and  often  worshipped  by  the  common  people.  Thus  is 
diverted  from  God  much  of  the  honour  He  alone  should 
have.  The  Moslem  Saint  is  not  one  who  has  won  the 
victory  over  sinful  human  nature  by  battling  with  temp- 
tations; but  has  simply  dropped  all  worldly  things  to 
seek  for  his  own  individual  salvation  which  in  the  end 
turns  out  to  be  absorption  into  the  Great  Spirit. 

J.  E.  B. 


NORTH  AFRICA  MISSIONS   IN  WAR  TIME 


Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  world  war,  brought  home 
to  North  Africa  so  rudely  by  the  bombardment,  without 
declaration  of  war  or  warning  of  coast  cities  by  the 
German  war-ships  ^'Goeben"  and  "Breslau,"  ordinary 
prudence  required  in  such  a  field  as  North  Africa  an 
alert  waiting  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries, 
the  relinquishing  of  aggressive  evangelistic  and  colport- 
age  work  and  in  some  cases  even  the  class  work  among 
children,  and  the  exercise  of  the  greatest  tact  in  whatever 
activities  were  continued. 

Reactionary  and  hostile  forces  doubtless  have  been 
persistently  active,  though  in  diminishing  degree,  in 
places  producing  a  difficult  general  situation,  and  here 
and  there  adversely  effecting  promising  missionary  work. 
The  ranging  of  Turkey  on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers 
made  the  position  of  the  Moslems  more  difficult.  But 
there  appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  as  the  objects  and 
ideals  of  the  opposing  belligerents  in  general  and  of 
France  in  particular  have  been  more  clearly  defined  and 
understood,  and  as  the  war  has  progressed,  this  influence 
has  waned  considerably  and  that  the  indigenous  popu- 
lations are  more  loyal  to  France  than  even  before  the 
war. 

The  development  of  the  policy  of  the  conscription  of 
native  men  caused  a  restlessness  and  uneasiness  among  the 
people  making  all  classes  of  adults,  for  the  time  being  at 
least,  more  difficult  of  access;  while  at  the  same  time  the 
large  number  of  young  men  thus  taken  for  military  service 
and  the  recruiting  of  others  for  industrial  and  agricul- 
tural work  in  France,  soon  reduced  the  number  of  the 
class  most  accessible. 

A  number  of  French  missionaries  as  well  as  of  Native 
workers  have  been  mobilized,  thus  reducing  seriously  the 

263 


264  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

various  staffs.  The  majority  of  the  missionaries  in 
charge  being,  however,  British  or  American,  their  num- 
ber has  not  been  greatly  diminished. 

Present  Position  and  Encouragements 

It  should  be  recorded  v^ith  great  appreciation  that  in 
spite  of  the  extremely  grave  problems  confronting  them, 
the  Governments  have  given  the  missionaries  all  the 
liberty  of  action  which  reasonably  could  have  been  ex- 
pected. Indeed,  in  Algeria  the  Government  by  accept- 
ing the  declaration,  under  the  French  law  of  associa- 
tions, of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  has  accorded  to  it  a  legal  status  in 
Algeria.  In  Tunisia,  where  associations  must  be  author- 
ized by  a  special  decree  of  the  Bey,  a  branch  of  the 
same  Board  has  thus  been  authorized. 

On  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  after  the  first  brief 
period,  during  which  the  question  was  mooted  as  to 
whether  the  war  would  not  bring  disaster  to  mission 
work  in  this  field,  adjustment  was  progressively  made 
to  war  conditions,  and  it  has  been  possible  by  faithful 
and  tactful  effort  to  hold  fast  in  general  to  what  had  been 
won,  and  even  to  make  encouraging  advances  here  and 
there.  The  latter  is  particularly  true  of  the  work  among 
the  Berbers  of  Kabylia,  perhaps  the  most  promising 
field  for  work  among  Moslems. 

The  outstanding  encouraging  fact  is  that  the  children 
have  continued  to  be  accessible.  In  the  first  place  in 
the  Evangelistic-Classes  and  Sunday-Schools.  Miss  I. 
Lilas  Trotter  writes: 

"The  street  doors  in  the  native  houses  of  Tunisia  have 
for  the  most  part  three  knockers;  one  on  each  side,  up 
above  the  centers  of  the  nail  studded  decorations;  the 
third  below,  on  the  right  hand  panel,  for  the  brown  hands 
of  the  children.  .  .  .  The  children  are  coming  fear- 
lessly and  joyously  as  ever.  Surely  the  Good  Shepherd 
of  the  little  ones  will  heed  the  faltering  knocks  on  the 
low-down  knocker,  for  as  with  the  Man  at  the  Gate  in 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  'I  am  willing  with  all  my  heart, 
said  he.'  " 


NORTH  AFRICA  MISSIONS  IN  WAR  TIME        265 

This  represents,  with  certain  exceptions,  the  situation 
as  to  this  branch  of  work  over  the  whole  field. 

In  the  second  place,  war  conditions  have  given  to  the 
"Homes  for  Children"  an  unprecented  opportunity  to 
receive  Moslem  children.  In  the  several  Homes  for 
Children  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  there  are 
approximately  a  hundred  Arab  and  Kabyle  children,  of 
whom  thirty  odd  are  girls.  Both  at  Algiers  and  Con- 
stantine  the  Boys'  Homes  have  waiting  lists,  and  the 
lack  of  funds  has  compelled  the  refusing  of  a  considerable 
number  of  children  who  have  been  presented  without 
solicitation.     Rev.  Percy  Smith  has  truly  said  that: 

"It  is  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  that  Moslem 
North  Africa  has  ever  offered  to  the  Christian  Church. 
We  shall  be  neglecting  a  distinct  call  of  God  if  we  do 
not  step  into  this  open  door,  and  seek  to  save  the  children 
for  Christ." 

There  appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  were  funds  avail- 
able for  the  making  of  a  definite  effort  to  seek  such  chil- 
dren, the  numbers  could  be  increased  rapidly  and 
indefinitely — and  there  opens  up  a  vista  full  of  promise 
for  the  establishment  in  the  near  future  of  a  well  taught, 
stable  and  witnessing  Arab  and  Berber  Christian  com- 
munity, as  well  as  a  trained,  reliable  and  efficient  in- 
digenous working  force. 

As  to  literature,  through  the  financial  help  given  by 
the  World's  Sunday  School  Association,  the  Algiers 
Mission  Band  has  published  a  numberi  of  illustrated 
tracts  prepared  by  Miss  Trotter,  in  the  modern  Arabic 
and  several  bi-lingual  tracts  in  the  same  and  French; 
the  North  Africa  Mission  a  Scriptural  Catechism 
in  Kabyle  by  Mr.  Eugene  Cuendet,  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  some  illustrated  tracts  and  a  collec- 
tion of  hymns  in  modern  Arabic,  all  by  the  Rev.  Percy 
Smith,  B.  D.  (Lond.).  Mr.  Smith  has  other  tracts,  a 
large  number  of  additional  hymns  and  other  matter,  as 
well  as  five  of  Paul's  Epistles  and  a  third  of  the  Psalms 
ready  in  manuscript,  in  the  modern  Arabic;  Mr.  Cuendet 
is  at  work  on  an  enlarged  edition  of  the  Kabyle  Hymn 
Book,  and  the  Rev.  J.  T.  C.  Blackmore  is  preparing 


266  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

needed  literature  for  the  needs  of  the  growing  work 
in  Kabylia.  In  this  as  in  all  departments,  the  paucity 
of  missionaries  prevents  more  rapid  progress. 

Perhaps  no  non-Christian  population  is  being  so  pro- 
foundly changed  by  the  war  as  the  Berbers  and  Arabs 
of  North  Africa,  particularly  in  Algeria  and  Tunisia. 
For  years  Berber  young  men  from  the  tribes  of  Kabylia 
have  been  going  abroad  to  seek  their  fortune,  some  to 
America.  The  reflex  influence  of  this  in  their  villages 
is  noticeable.  From  the  striking  vantage  point  of  Fort 
National  scores  of  Kabyle  villages  and  towns  dotting 
the  beautiful  mountain  tops  can  be  seen,  and  in  several 
of  them  new  style  houses  are  visible,  which  witness  to 
this  new  leaven  of  change  slowly  working  among  a  section 
of  the  Kabyles. 

But  now  that  the  French  Government  has  extended 
war  conscription  to  both  Arabs  and  Berbers,  the  young 
men  have  gone  and  are  going  by  tens  of  thousands  from 
the  towns,  the  mountains,  the  plains  and  the  brooding 
Sahara.  The  proportion  of  the  population  thus  re- 
cruited is  doubtless  greater  than  any  similar  population 
in  the  world.  I  have  seen  them  gathering  outside  the 
walls  of  old  Kairwan,  the  Moslem  holy  city  of  Tunisia, 
simple  nomads  in  flowing  earth-stained  garments,  the 
women  wailing  them  as  already  dead.  I  have  seen 
sturdy  mountaineers,  sedentary  townsmen,  loose-limbed 
herdsmen  and  stolid  farmers  on  their  way  to  the  training 
centers  in  all  their  uncouthness,  mobs  without  the  first 
idea  of  order  or  of  discipline.  A  course  of  intensive 
training,  and  soon  these  same  men  swing  past  alert,  dis- 
ciplined, keen  soldiers  of  the  modern  type. 

In  Europe  and  the  Near-East  they  fraternize  with 
French,  British,  and  now  American  soldiers.  Their 
world  has  become  an  altogether  new  world,  their  horizon 
can  never  again  be  limited  to  the  old  one,  their  thoughts 
can  no  longer  run  in  the  former  narrow  channels,  their 
ideals  have  escaped  the  old  bounds — they  are  changed 
men,  changed  for  good  and  all ! 

Alongside  this  military  conscription  tens  of  other 
thousands  have  been  recruited  as  already  indicated,  for 


NORTH  AFRICA  MISSIONS  IN  WAR  TIME        267 

industrial  and  agricultural  work  in  France.  These  do 
not  receive  military  training,  but  they  come  more  im- 
mediately into  contract  with  European  sccial  and  labor 
conditions,  and  in  their  turn  are  radically  changed  in 
the  process.  The  increased  earnings  of  the  latter  class 
and  the  family  allowances  granted  to  the  former,  make 
possible  for  the  families  a  style  of  living  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  new  conceptions. 

Added  to  the  forces  already  disintegrating  Moham- 
medanism in  North  Africa,  and  the  other  events  of  the 
world  war,  these  new  conditions  have  jostled  the  inertia 
of  ages  into  movement,  the  apathy  of  Islam  into  the  be- 
ginnings of  interest;  they  have  rudely  shocked  and  even 
shattered  in  large  part  exclusiveness,  tradition,  prejudice 
and  fanaticism.  It  appears  certain  that  the  effects  will 
be  cumulative,  increasing  as  men  come  home  on  leave 
or  are  discharged  through  wounds  or  other  causes,  and 
culminating  when  at  the  end  of  the  war  these  many 
thousands  of  changed  men  return  to  their  nomad  tents, 
their  mountain  villages,  their  olive  and  fig  groves,  their 
desert  oases,  their  herds  and  their  farms. 

A  year  ago  it  appeared  that  the  time  was  not  yet 
when  missionary  advantage  could  be  taken  of  these 
radical  changes.  But  it  is  upon  us  now,  an  opportunity 
unparalleled  in  work  among  Moslems — and  we  are  not 
ready  for  it!  Immediate  action  is  necessary  if  we  are 
not  to  fail  to  meet  this  great  challenge  of  God  for  a  vic- 
torious work. 

New  missionaries  are  urgently  needed  for  the  Arab 
as  for  the  Kabyle  work.  They  should  undergo  intensive 
training,  for  in  this  field  more  training  is  needed  than 
in  most  others. 

This  is  a  difficult  work,  most  of  it  that  of  siege  or 
trench.  The  present  stations  are  illy  equipped  either 
for  the  current  work  or  as  to  suitable  properties,  or  for  the 
wider  flung  evangelistic  campaign  to  which  we  are  called. 
Suitable  and  adequate  equipment  should  be  provided. 

The  unparalled  opportunity  of  securing  children  for 
the  existing  HoMES  should  be  followed  up,  and  new 
Homes  established.     From  such  Homes  will  be  founded 


268  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

as  cannot  for  many  years  be  done  otherwise,  Christian 
families  and  homes,  that  most  convincing  of  all  evidences 
among  this  people  of  the  power  of  Christ. 

Indigenous  workers  should  be  raised  up  and  trained. 
For  this  Training  Schools  for  Workers  are  necessary, 
to  be  recruited  largely  from  the  Homes.  In  propor- 
tion as  this  is  done  will  the  general  evangelistic  campaign 
become  possible.  Missionaries  alone  are  incapable  of 
producing  the  results  desired,  and  at  the  same  time  are 
the  most  expensive  element  in  missionary  work. 

Literature  suited  for  the  aggressive  evangelistic  cam- 
paign in  general  and  for  work  among  children  in  par- 
ticular, on  the  one  hand;  and  for  the  needs  of  a  young 
but  progressing  Christian  Church  and  also  for  the  train- 
ing of  workers,  on  the  other,  must  be  prepared  and  put 
in  circulation. 

I  believe  I  am  expressing  the  general  missionary  sen- 
timent in  North  Africa  that,  while  we  do  not  under- 
estimate the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  and  the  hard 
trials  to  be  endured,  we  are  confident  that  with  these 
needs  and  equipment  supplied,  if  our  work  be  conducted 
in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  with  the  means  which  He 
is  ever  ready  to  provide,  the  Great  Captain  of  our  Sal- 
vation will  give  us  days  of  victory  and  of  great  triumph 
for  His  cause. 

Edwin  F.  Frease. 

Les  T our e lies,  El-Biar,  Algiers, 


ISLAM  IN  FRENCH   INDO-CHINA* 


According  to  the  census  of  1905,  the  number  of  Moslems 
in  French  Indo-China  was  232,000,  over  one-half  of 
which  are  Chams  and  the  others  Malays.  This  is  only 
a  small  proportion  out  of  a  total  population  of  nearly 
12,000,000.  Islam  may  have  come  into  Indo-China  dur- 
ing the  tenth  to  the  fourteenth  centuries  by  the  Arab  and 
Persian  merchants  when  there  was  a  universal  movement 
to  spread  Islamism,  or  it  may  have  been  introduced 
toward  the  end  of  this  period  when  Malays  migrated 
into  Indo-China. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  Indo-China  was  early  known 
to  the  Arabs,  since  India  and  China  traded  with  the 
Arabs  as  early  as  the  seventh  century,  and  at  that  time 
every  Moslem  merchant  was  a  missionary  of  Islam. 

Moslems  of  Indo-China  may  be  divided  into  two 
groups:  the  native  Chams  and  the  Malays  who  mi- 
grated into  and  conquered  Champa.  The  former  are 
also  called  Bants — they  were  the  first  to  adopt  Islam 
although  not  in  its  purest  form. 

The  Malays  are  almost  as  numerous  as  the  Chams 
and  are  scattered  all  over  the  peninsula,  except  in 
Annam,  Laos,  Tonkin.  They  are  to  be  found  in  Saigon, 
Cholon,  Chaudoc  and  Tay-Ninh  (Cochinchina)  ;  at 
Phnom-Penh,  Kampong-Luong,  Kampong-Cham,  Kam- 
pot,  Pursat,  etc.,  in  Cambodia.  They  prefer  the  large 
centers,  and  many  occupy  important  positions  in  com- 
merce. 

They  resemble  other  Malays  in  type  and  inspire  mis- 
trust rather  than  confidence.  They  are  cruel  and  often 
inhospitable,  but  quick  and  intelligent. 

The  Malays  of  Indo-China,  like  those  of  Malaysia, 

*  The  following  notes  are  based  upon  two  articles  which  appeared  in  the  Revue  du 
Monde  Musulman  some  years  ago,  but  as  they  deal  with  one  of  the  still  unoccupied 
mission  fields,  and  with  a  type  of  Moslem  not  generally  known,  we  think  they  will 
interest  our  readers. 

269 


270  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

are  Shafiites.  But  there  are  traces  of  animism  and 
Hindouism.  They  have  the  Koran  and  the  tafsirs  or 
Malay  commentaries,  also  a  Catechism  of  Abu  Laith 
al-Samarkandi,  very  common  in  Java  and  Malaysia,  is 
often  to  be  found  in  their  hands :  it  is  an  orthodox  resume 
of  the  essentials  of  their  creed.  All  those  who  can  afford 
it  go  on  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  and  sometimes  even  send 
substitutes.  In  accordance  with  the  rites  of  their  faith 
they  do  not  touch  the  flesh  of  swine,  dog,  tortoise, 
elephant,  etc.  They  do  not  drink  strong  liquors.  As 
early  as  sixteen  young  men  may  become  imams.  The 
men  chosen  for  this  office  are  of  ancient  families  and  form 
a  caste  by  themselves,  while  their  daughters  are  specially 
brought  up  and  reserved  as  their  wives. 

Their  greatest  marabouts  (saints)  are  as  often  as  not 
venerated  among  the  Buddhists  of  Cambodia  as  among 
the  Moslems  themselves. 

Certain  women  among  the  Malays  and  Chams,  known 
by  the  latter  under  the  name  of  riji  (holding  office) 
participate  in  sacred  rites:  they  repeat  their  prayers 
twice  a  day;  they  are  dressed  in  white  garments  and  go 
through  certain  ceremonies  prior  to  doing  so.  This  may 
be  traced  back  to  certain  practices  that  took  place  among 
the  Brahminist  Chams  in  Annam. 

The  mosques  are  built  of  wood  on  raised  ground 
and  consist  of  large  empty  rooms  except  at  one  end  where 
sacks  are  hung  on  the  wall  in  which  are  kept  the  prayer 
mats  of  the  worshippers.  A  huge  drum  attached  to 
the  wall  painted  red,  may  be  seen  on  the  left  of  the  en- 
trance. This  is  used  to  call  to  prayer.  Outside  is  a  small 
basin  for  ablution. 

In  these  mosques  the  imams  are  taught  to  read  Arabic 
and  children  are  taught  the  Arabic  character. 

When  a  Malay  dies  his  body  is  washed  with  a  con- 
coction made  of  the  leaves  of  the  jujube,  then  in  pure 
water,  after  which  the  corpse  is  wrapped  in  linen  and 
place  on  a  bier.  In  the  grave  the  head  is  made  to  face 
toward  Mecca,  after  which  the  body  is  covered  with 
earth  and  branches  of  trees  to  keep  away  wild  beasts. 

The  Chams  are  not  a  very  intelligent  race,  although 


ISLAM  IN  FRENCH  INDO-CHINA  271 

it  appears  they  must  have  been  so  when  they  were  still 
independent.  Their  villages  are  generally  situated  near 
the  sea  and  under  the  pretext  that  "the  shadow  of  trees 
on  their  houses  brings  misfortune"  they  grow  no  trees, 
etc.,  in  their  neighborhood. 

The  men  wear  a  lion-cloth  and  a  long  vest;  the  women 
wear  the  same  thing  in  different  colors,  and  over  this  a 
long  tunic.  The  hair  is  worn  long,  both  by  men  and 
women ;  gathered  up  in  a  knot  in  the  case  of  the  women 
and  tied  round  by  the  turban  in  the  case  of  the  men. 

In  Cambodia  the  hair  is  worn  short  and  the  head 
covered  with  a  little  white  fez ;  the  women  wear  a  shawl 
or  other  covering. 

Women  ornament  their  ears  with  rings  made  of  pre- 
cious metals  or  brass,  while  the  poor  wear  colored  threads 
in  default  of  jewelry. 

They  are  kind,  hospitable,  soon  make  friends  with 
strangers  and  talk  with  the  vivacity  of  children.  They 
do  not  care  for  improvement,  and  if  asked  why,  answer: 
"This  has  been  good  enough  for  our  fathers  and  it  is 
good  enough  for  us." 

Some  are  Brahmins  (although  Brahminism  here  does 
not  resemble  Brahminism  in  India)  and  yet  profess 
Islam,  but  in  such  a  degenerated  form  and  so  full  of 
superstitions  that  it  can  hardly  be  recognized. 

There  Brahmin  Chams  are  called  "Chams  jat  (jata= 
race)  or  "Chams  of  caste" — by  the  Moslems  they  are 
called  Chams  Kafirs,  that  is.  Infidel  Chams,  because  they 
do  not  accept  the  Prophet  Mohammed.  Moslem  Chams 
are  called  Banis  or  "Sons  of  the  Religion"  or  Chams  of 
Islam.  The  Brahminists  compose  two-thirds  of  the 
population  and  the  Banis  the  other  third,  altogether  about 
ten  thousand  souls.  In  Cambodia  all  the  Chams  are 
Moslem. 

Tradition  says  that  Islam  was  brought  to  the  Chams 
by  Patenta  Ali,  son-in-law  of  Mohammed,  but  there 
is  more  reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  introduced  by  mer- 
chants who  traded  with  them  in  the  eleventh  century. 

In  Annam  Islam  has  been  filled  with  strange  supersti- 
tions.    "Alwahuk  (the  uncreated  God)  sits  on  the  fore- 


272  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

head;  Olwah  (Allah  the  Creator  of  Mohammed)  on  the 
right  eyebrow;  Abraham  on  the  right  eye;  Hassan  on 
the  left  nostril;  Hussein  on  the  right  nostril;  Eve  on 
the  left  ear ;  Adam  on  the  right." 

In  the  book  Sitdik  Svatthik  Sikariya  we  learn  that  in 
Mohammed's  heaven  there  are  seven  stages.  In  the  hell 
of  the  Chams  there  are  also  seven  stages  or  regions; 
nothing  that  this  book  says  may  be  gainsaid. 

The  Order  of  priests  is  as  follows:  i.  Po  Gru  Ong 
Guru — spiritual  master  or  teacher;  2.  the  Imams;  3. 
the  Khatibs,  who  are  charged  with  the  lecturing  at  the 
mosques;  4.  the  modin  or  muezzin;  the  Achar  or  spirit- 
ual guide  and  attaches  of  the  mosques. 

Moslem  priests  have  their  heads  completely  shaved. 
They  wear  a  fez  and  around  that  a  turban  with  fringes 
of  red  and  gold  and  brown,  the  length  of  the  fringe 
indicating  the  order  of  the  priest.  They  are  generally 
dressed  in  white. 

The  Imams  not  only  do  not  understand  Arabic  but 
cannot  even  read  it.  They  learn  by  heart,  however,  the 
suras  of  the  Koran  and  the  Arabic  prayers.  When  using 
these  they  make  their  own  pronounciation,  e.  g. — 

Cham:    Abih  similla  hyor  rah  monyor  rah  himik 
/.  e. — 

in  Arabic:     Bi-'smi  'llahi  Vrahmani  Vrahim. 

Cham:     aulahu  akkabar;  la  ilaha  illauwahuk. 
Arabic:    Allahu  akbar;  la  ilaha  ilia  'llah. 

When  asked  what  suras  of  the  Koran  they  were 
repeating  they  answered  "We  recite  what  our  fathers 
recited  before  us!"  The  rare  copies  of  the  Koran  that 
one  comes  across  are  very  incorrect  and  badly  written, 
the  text  being  frequently  interrupted  by  extra-Koranic 
prayers.  The  word  Koran  itself  is  seldom  used,  but 
there  are  many  others  used  instead :  tapuk  Asalam  i.e.,  the 
book  of  Islam;  tapuk  Mohammed,  tapuk  nobi  Moham- 
med i.e.,  the  book  of  the  prophet  Mohammed;  kitab 
alamadu  i.  e.,  the  book  of  merit;  tapuk  cakardy  i.e.,  relig- 
ious treatise. 

The  fast  of  the  month  Ramvon  (ramadhan  or  Bulan 
ok,  month  of  fasting,  is  observed  by  the  mass  during  three 


ISLAM  IN  FRENCH  INDO-CHINA  273 

days  only!  the  imams  keep  the  whole  month.  Those 
who  are  very  devout  remain  in  the  mosque  and  for  the 
period  of  one  month  they  do  not  step  over  the  threshold 
of  the  mosque,  except  to  make  their  ablutions.  Some 
even  prepare  basins  with  water  for  this  object  in  the 
rear  of  the  mosque.  The  mosque  is  simply  a  hut  with 
the  walls  and  roof  made  of  bamboo  sticks,  always  facing 
towards  Mecca.  It  contains  some  mats  for  prayers 
which  are  hung  from  the  ceiling  when  not  in  use.  At 
one  end  is  the  minbar  or  pulpit,  which  is  seldom  used, 
and  behind  this  the  mosque  is  hung  with  white  sheets. 

Every  Friday  (jumat)  the  imams  of  all  ranks  assemble 
at  the  mosque  to  read  some  passages  from  the  Koran. 
When  the  ceremony  is  completed  the  whole  assembly 
partakes  of  food,  rice  liberally  sprinkled,  in  the  case  of 
the  faithful  if  not  the  priests,  with  alcohol! 

This  is  not  the  only  Moslem  law  that  the  Banis  permit 
themselves  to  break.  They  are  also  not  over  particular 
about  the  ablutions  ordained  in  Islam.  They  know  noth- 
ing more  than  the  mispronounced  names  of  the  five 
prayers. 

1.  cabahik  (Arabic — sabah)   or    "prayer  of  dawn." 

2.  vahcarik        "  zuhr)   or  "noon  prayer." 

3.  asarik  "  'asr)   or  "afternoon  praper." 

4.  mogarip  "    maghrib)   or  "evening  prayer." 

5.  ihsa  "  'asha)   or  "night  prayer." 
Islamism  among  the  Chams  is  contaminated  by  heathen 

practices.  If  they  adore  Allah  and  pray  for  his  prophet 
they  do  not  find  it  wrong  to  invoke  Po  Yang  or  other 
divinities  of  the  old  faith,  and  to  offer  them  sacrifices. 
Many  animistic  practices  prevail. 

Although  marriages  take  place  between  Brahmins  and 
Moslems  the  children  follow  the  religion  of  the  mothers. 
The  most  fraternal  tolerance  reigns  not  only  between  the 
faithful  themselves  but  even  among  the  priests  of  both 
religions.  Only  in  the  case  of  a  Brahmin  funeral  the 
imams  keep  away,  and  this  aversion  that  they  have  for 
a  Brahmin  corpse  is  due,  according  to  the  old  traditions, 
to  the  fact  that  they  alone  were  allowed  to  approach  near 
the  deathbeds  of  the  Chams'  queens  and  were  charged 


274  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

with  the  ceremonies,  etc.,  of  the  burial,  and  their  presence 
always  brought  misfortune. 

If  the  Banis  (Moslems)  worship  Po  Yang,  the  Hindus 
on  their  part  have  put  Allah  and  his  Prophet  into  their 
pantheon.  Both  detest  the  flesh  of  the  pig,  and  the 
Banis  no  more  than  the  Brahminists  dare  raise  cows. 

Both  Brahmins  and  Moslems  believe  in  black  magic, 
sorcery,  and  evil  spirits.  Villages  have  been  stripped  of 
every  green  thing  because  of  a  fear  that  "the  shadow  of 
a  living  tree  might  bring  misfortune." 

When  a  house  is  to  be  built  a  series  of  rites  are  gone 
through  so  as  to  prevent  misfortune  from  coming  to  the 
owner.  Amulets  are  placed  under  the  pillars  supporting 
a  house,  on  the  Northeast  side,  at  the  same  time  prayers 
being  offered.  The  master  of  the  house  dare  not  lie  down 
until  a  sacrifice  is  offered  on  the  place  where  he  will 
sleep.  And  if  an  accident  happens  it  is  of  course  due  to 
the  evil  spirits  in  the  air. 

The  Chams,  like  the  Malays  and  the  Javanese,  will 
never  undertake  anything  without  finding  a  propitious 
day  or  hour.  .  ' 

When  a  child  is  born  an  old  woman  lights  a  fire  which 
is  kept  up  seven  days,  she  ties  threads  of  cotton  round 
and  round  the  hearth-stone  and  lights  a  candle  at  one  end 
to  keep  away  evil  spirits.  When  the  family  gets  up  in 
the  morning  she  goes  out  and  carries  away  the  ashes  in 
a  cup  on  the  top  of  which  is  placed  a  piece  of  betel-nut. 
With  the  Brahmins  the  ceremony  closes  with  a  sacrifice 
to  the  gods,  but  not  so  with  the  Chams. 

At  the  age  of  six  months  the  child  receives  a  name. 
The  following  names  are  "good."  Perfume,  Peace, 
Happiness,  Joy,  for  the  children  who  have  been  born 
sound;  the  "bad"  names  are:  Dog,  Cat,  etc.,  for  the 
child  that  has  been  born  a  cripple  or  where  the  mother 
died  at  birth,  etc.  The  "bad"  name  is  given  to  ward  off 
the  evil  spirits  that  desire  the  death  of  the  child.  If  the 
child  reaches  the  age  of  twelve  the  iiame  is'  changed. 

Boys  and  girls  are  married  at  fifteen  and  sixteen 
but  not  earlier. 

The  condition  of  the  women  in  Chams  and  Annam 


ISLAM  IN  FRENCH  INDO-CHINA  275 

is  not  very  degraded,  and  her  authority  in  the  home  is 
felt. 

Although  the  Banis  do  not  ignore  the  law  that  allows 
four  wives  they  do  not  often  follow  it  as  they  are  poor. 

The  funeral  ritual  is  much  less  complicated  among  the 
Moslems  than  among  the  Hindus,  yet  it  is  full  of  ani- 
mism. A  special  book  teaches  what  must  be  done  when 
there  is  a  death  in  the  house.  Before  going  to  inform 
the  imam  a  man  must  purify  himself  by  a  bath.  Then 
the  imam  throws  a  little  water  into  the  mouth  of  the 
dead.  A  hole  is  then  dug  and  the  dead  covered  with 
a  sheet  and  let  down  into  it.  Before  this  is  done  the 
assistants  of  the  imam  wash  the  feet  of  the  dead  and 
then  squat  down  beside  it,  a  candle  being  lit  beforehand. 
The  imam  throws  some  wood  into  a  sort  of  oven  and 
lights  it  with  the  candle  and  then  prays. 

The  head  of  the  house  makes  some  tea  and  cake,  to 
drink  and  eat.  He  then  picks  up  the  shroud  and  wraps 
the  dead  in  it.  The  imams  meanwhile  recite  passages 
from  the  Book  (the  Koran)  and  prostrate  themselves 
three  times. 

The  youngest  and  oldest  brothers  spill  three  cups  of 
water  on  the  dead  and  then  cover  his  head  with  a  new 
turban.  A  stretcher  is  then  made  covered  with  white 
sheets  and  four  men  are  called  to  carry  it.  Halfway  on 
the  road  to  the  cemetery  the  imams  stop  the  bier  and 
again  wash  the  face,  mouth,  feet  and  hands  of  the  dead. 
A  plate  (made  of  straw)  is  placed  on  the  bier.  Arrived 
at  the  grave  four  imams  and  eight  bearers  officiate.  The 
bier  is  lowered  and  the  dead  is  struck  five  times,  .twice 
near  the  feet,  twice  on  the  hands,  and  once  on  the  head. 
Then  the  body  is  lowered,  the  head  facing  Mecca,  the 
straw  plate  being  buried  with  it,  and  all  is  covered  with 
earth. 

A  meal  is  then  served  consisting  of  rice,  fish  and 
chicken.  The  man  who  officiates  has  a  plate  of  salted  fish 
given  him,  and  while  he  eats  he  reads  verses  from  the 
Koran. 

The  three  following  days  the  same  meal  is  served, 


276  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

then  after  a  lapse  of  seven  days,  then  after  ten  days,  after 
a  month,  and  again  after  a  month  and  ten  days. 

By  this  ceremony  the  man  who  dies  passes  into  swarvak 
(heaven) .  All  these  rites  do  not  resemble  those  of  ortho- 
dox Islam,  especially  as  food  and  prayers  are  later  offered 
to  Po  Yang  on  the  grave  of  the  dead  and  a  year  later  the 
bones  and  jewelry  of  the  dead  are  transported  and  buried 
in  a  tree  in  some  place  which  the  Moslems  consider 
holy. 

The  Chams  of  Cambodia  are  altogether  a  different 
people.  They  immigrated  in  the  fifteenth  century  and 
number  about  90,000,  forming  a  people  by  themselves. 
They  have  kept  to  their  customs  and  language,  but  have 
adopted  Islam.  Their  women  are  clever  at  silk  spinning. 
They  are  different  from  the  Annams  in  the  sense  that  they 
are  not  afraid  of  the  "shadows  of  the  trees  falling  on  their 
houses"  and  plant  trees,  rice,  indigo,  cotton,  and  bring 
up  cows,  etc.,  but  never  pigs.  They  worship  no  one  but 
Allah ;  pray  the  five  prayers,  do  the  prescribed  ablutions, 
do  not  eat  pork  and  do  not  drink  wine.  If  anyone  is 
caught  drinking  strong  drink  he  is  reported  to  the  imams. 
On  Fridays  they  do  not  pray  until  there  are  least 
forty  men  in  the  mosque.  The  chief  of  the  clergy  is 
called  mophati  (or  mufti)  under  him  comes  the  tuh  kalik, 
the  rajak  kalik  and  the  tuan  pake.  The  first  two  are 
also  magistrates,  qadi,  and  the  last  judge  or  faqih.  All 
four  are  very  much  respected,  and  have  spiritual  author- 
ity over  the  people.  Drunkenness,  etc.,  is  severely 
punished  by  them  and  offering  to  idols  is  punished  by 
excommunication. 

The  principle  feasts  are : 
Ramwon    (Ramadhan)    fixed  on  by  the  priests  which 

closes  with  a  few  days  feasting. 
Bulan  ok  haji,  "month  of  fasting  of  the  pilgrims,"  or 

bulan   Ovlwah   the  month  of  Allah  which  comes 

three  months  after  Ramadhan. 
Surah,  The  Flight.     This  feast  is  in  memory  of  the  time 

when  Mohammed  fled  to  Medinah,  and  consists  of 

two  days  of  fasting. 
Tap  at  (contrition)  or  feast  of  repentance. 


ISLAM  IN  FRENCH  INDO-CHINA  277 

Tamat  (finish  up)  this  feast  is  for  the  young  man  who 

has  finished  his  theological  studies. 
Molot  (cutting  of  the  hair).  This  takes  place  between 
the  years  3  and  13.  Dressed  in  his  best  clothes 
the  child  is  presented  to  the  imam  who  cuts  a  lock 
of  the  child's  hair  and  the  child  then  receives  its 
religious  name.     This  name  is  not  used  in  daily  life. 

Although  the  religion  of  the  Gamboge  Malays  is  much 
purer  than  that  of  the  Moslems  of  Annam,  traces  can  still 
be  found  of  animism  and  Hinduism. 

Saint  worship  under  the  name  kramat  is  common. 
To  these  worthy  ancestors  sacrifices  are  offered  and 
prayers.  Each  family  also  has  a  sacred  animal  which  is 
addressed  only  in  the  most  respectful  terms  and  whose 
power  is  greatly  feared. 

They  believe  in  "jin  asslam"  or  Moslem  jinn,  called 
thus  to  justify  their  religious  scruples!  They  believe  too 
in  black  magic  and  sorcery.  Sorcerers  get  their  power  in 
secret  by  going  to  a  forest  and  sacrificing  a  black  cock. 
When  a  woman  has  red  eyes  and  a  face  that  changes 
color  then  all  beware  for  she  is  a  sorceress.  When  a 
woman  becomes  possessed  of  a  jinn  her  husband  generally 
kills  her  in  secret  unless  she  can  save  herself  by  throw- 
ing a  charm  over  him. 

The  year  for  their  calendar  has  twelve  lunar  months, 
the  first  ten  are  numbered  according  to  their  order,  and 
the  two  last  are  called  Pwoc  and  Mak.  The  week  has 
seven  days,  each  day  is  called  after  a  planet.  Each  day 
is  divided  into  twelve  hours  and  not  into  twenty-four. 
The  night  has  five  watches  or  periods. 

The  Chams  are  allowed  three  wives  if  they  are  rich 
enough  to  keep  them.  A  slave  is  allowed  two  wives 
only. 

In  Annam  the  Moslems  are  weak  and  their  religion 
is  in  no  danger  of  spreading.  The  Moslems  or  Chams 
of  Cambodia  are  stronger  in  spite  of  high  infant  mortality 
and  are  increasing  in  number. 

L.  S.  R. 


SERPENT  WORSHIP  AND  ISLAM  IN  EGYPT 


In  spite  of  the  exclusiveness  of  Islam,  and  the  fact  that 
Egypt  is  the  intellectual  center  of  the  system,  traces  of  the 
serpent  worship  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  are  still  to  be 
found,  and  in  one  case  it  is  practiced  with  the  sanction 
of  the  Moslem  faith. 

The  superstitious  idea  that  every  house  has  a  serpent 
guardian  is  pretty  general  throughout  the  country,  and 
many  families  still  provide  a  bowl  of  milk  for  their  ser- 
pent protector,  believing  calamity  would  come  upon  them 
if  the  serpent  were  neglected.  This  is  undoubtedly  a 
survival  of  the  ancient  belief  that  the  serpent  was  the 
child  of  the  earth — ^the  oldest  inhabitant  of  the  land,  and 
guardian  of  the  ground. 

The  serpent  is  used  very  frequently  by  sorcerers  in 
their  incantations,  and  also  in  the  preparation  of  medi- 
cines and  philtres,  which  are  used  for  the  cure  of  physical 
and  emotional  disturbances  suffered  by  their  clients. 

The  religious  sanction  given  to  serpent  worship,  occurs 
in  the  case  of  Sheikh  Heridi  whose  tomb  or  shrine,  with 
that  of  his  wife,  is  to  be  seen  in  the  mountains  of  Upper 
Egypt  some  distance  from  the  town  of  Akhmin.  Sheikh 
Heridi  is  really  a  serpent  supposed  to  occupy  one  of  the 
tombs.  The  birthday  festival  of  this  serpent  saint  takes 
place  during  the  month  following  Ramadhan,  and  lasts 
about  eight  days.  This  festival  is  attended  by  crowds 
of  devotees,  including  large  numbers  of  sailors  who  en- 
camp round  about  the  shrine  during  the  festivities. 

At  other  times  pilgrimages  on  behalf  of  those  suffering 
from  certain  ailments  are  made  to  the  sacred  tomb. 
Professor  Sayce  in  an  article  on  the  subject  published 
in  the  ''Contemporary  Review'^  for  October,  1893  quotes 
at  length  from  various  travellers  who  have  mentioned 
the  serpent  saint  of  Islam  in  their  writings.  The  first 
writer — Paul  Lucas — who  travelled  in  the  East  by  order 

278 


SERPENT  WORSHIP  AND  ISLAM  IN  EGYPT        279 

of  Louis  XIV  in  1714,  in  one  of  his  books  gives  a  de- 
scription of  the  worship  of  the  serpent  by  Moslems,  and 
records  instances  of  its  miraculous  powers.  His  story 
was  discredited  in  France,  so  in  order  to  confirm  what 
he  had  heard  he  decided  to  visit  the  shrine  himself. 
Near  Tahta  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  certain  Bey, 
who  sent  for  the  Dervish  saint  with  whom  the  serpent 
was  living.  The  Dervish  came  bringing  the  serpent 
with  him.  The  Bey  took  the  creature  which  Lucas 
declares  was  of  normal  size  and  very  tame,  and  placed 
it  in  his  breast.  The  Bey  and  the  Dervish  then  told 
Lucas  many  stories  of  the  snake's  miraculous  power,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  of  which  was  the  story  of  a 
woman  of  Akhmin.  She  had  suffered  from  paralysis 
for  eight  years  and  could  find  no  cure.  She  begged 
her  friend  to  carry  her  to  the  shrine  of  the  serpent-saint 
where  she  believed  she  would  be  healed.  At  last  her 
friends  consented  to  take  her.  A  rough  litter  was  made 
and  the  journey  commenced.  While  the  bearers  were 
resting  on  the  way,  a  snake  was  seen  to  crawl  into  the 
litter.  The  men,  fearing  that  it  was  sent  to  punish  the 
woman  for  some  sin,  ran  away.  After  a  time  they  came 
back  and  saw  the  snake  crawl  away,  and  found  the 
woman  quite  cured  of  the  disease. 

When  several  stories  had  been  told,  the  Dervish  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  return  to  the  shrine.  The  Bey  said  he 
wished  to  keep  the  serpent  for  a  few  days :  but  the  Der- 
vish said  that  it  had  already  got  back  to  the  shrine.  The 
Bey  searched  high  and  low  for  it,  and  failing  to  find 
it,  sent  a  messenger  with  the  Dervish  to  find  out  whether 
the  creature  had  really  got  back.  Half  an  hour  later 
the  messenger  returned  saying  that  the  serpent  had  indeed 
got  back  to  its  shrine,  and  had  advanced  about  twenty 
steps  to  meet  the  Dervish! 

Another  quotation  is  from  a  book  by  Norden,  the 
Dane,  who  sailed  up  the  Nile  in  1737.  Norden  tells  us 
that  the  Arabs  believed  that  God  by  special  favor  trans- 
formed the  dead  Sheikh  Heridi,  who  was  buried  in  the 
place  where  the  serpent  lived,  into  a  serpent  which  could 
never  die,  and  which  had  the  power  of  curing  certain 


28o  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

maladies,  and  of  granting  favors  to  all  who  implored 
for  them  and  made  sacrifices  to  the  saint.  They  belieyed 
that  it  made  some  distinction  between  rich  and  poor. 
If  a  rich  man  desired  its  presence,  it  graciously  attended 
with  but  little  persuasion,  but  a  poor  person  who  needed 
its  ministration  had  to  promise  to  recompense  the  serpent 
for  its  trouble.  It  was  necessary  too,  that  intercession 
on  behalf  of  a  poor  person  should  be  made  by  a  virgin  of 
spotless  character,  on  whose  bosom  the  spirit  would  con- 
descend to  be  carried  to  the  sufferer.  If  during  the 
performance  of  a  miracle  a  Christian  or  other  infidel 
should  appear  the  snake  would  immediately  disappear. 
If  the  creature  should  be  cut  to  pieces,  the  pieces  would 
straighten  and  unite  again  because  it  was  eternal. 

The  Christians  declared  the  saint  to  be  really  a  demon 
who  was  allowed  by  God  to  deceive  the  ignorant.  And 
they  had  a  tradition  that  it  was  to  this  place  the  angel 
Raphael  banished  the  devil  Asmodens  mentioned  in  the 
book  of  Tobit. 

Thomas  Legh,  who  journeyed  up  the  Nile  in  1812 
makes  mention  of  the  miracles  of  Sheikh  Heridi.  And 
in  1822  Sir  Frederick  Henniker  described  the  district 
in  which  the  shrine  is  built,  and  speaks  of  the  veneration 
the  Arabs  have  for  the  serpent. 

Professor  Sayce  then  describes  in  detail  the  immediate 
surroundings  of  the  two  domed  shrines,  one  of  which 
belongs  to  the  wife  of  the  serpent.  Near  the  shrine 
is  a  cleft  of  the  rock  which  was  probably  the  grotto 
inhabited  by  the  saint  before  the  shrine  was  erected. 

Sheikh  Heridi  occupies  as  high  a  place  in  the  esteem 
of  the  native  today,  as  he  did  in  the  days  of  Paul  Lucas, 
and  Norden.  His  birthday  festival  is  attended  by 
crowds  of  devoted  believers.  Many  stories  are  still 
told  of  the  miraculous  powers  of  the  saint,  who  is 
declared  to  be  a  serpent  as  "thick  as  a  man's  thigh."  If 
treated  with  irreverence  or  disrespect,  it  breathes  fire 
into  the  face  of  the  offender  who  forthwith  dies.  It 
is  as  jealous  of  its  ''wife's''  good  name ;  those  who  show 
her  disrespect  are  also  put  to  death  by  the  saint.  The 
belief  that  if  the  serpent  is  hacked  to  pieces  each  piece 


SERPENT  WORSHIP  AND  ISLAM  IN  EGYPT        281 

will  rejoin,  still  survives,  and  it  is  held  that  any  one 
clever  enough  to  note  the  place  w^here  the  blood  flowed 
would  become  wealthy,  because  there  he  would  find  gold. 

The  professor  points  out  that  Sheikh  Heridi  may  be 
regarded  as  the  successor  of  Agathodaemon — the  ancient 
serpent  god  of  healing.  Belief  in  his  miraculous  powers 
is  as  strong  today  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Rameses  or 
Ptolemies.  The  name  only  is  changed.  The  modern 
Moslem  who  attends  the  mulid  of  the  "saint"  and  im- 
plores assistance  or  blessing,  is  scarcely  to  be  distin- 
guished from  his  ancient  ancestor  who  worshipped  the 
serpent  god. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  quarry  through  which  pilgrims 
have  to  pass  on  their  way  to  the  shrine,  Professor  Sayce 
discovered  engraved  in  large  Greek  letters  in  the  stone 
the  words  En'  afaqo,  which,  he  says,  indicate  that  during 
the  Greek  period,  the  place  was  sacred,  and  that  a  divinity 
must  have  been  worshipped  here.  It  may  be  safely 
assumed  that  that  divinity  was  none  other  than  the  sacred 
serpent  Sheikh  Heridi  under  another  name. 

In  spite  of  their  intolerant  policy,  and  bitter  exclu- 
siveness  Islam  has  failed  to  root  out  the  influence  of  the 
old  paganism ;  she  does  not  bring  enlightenment  to  those 
who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

Bibliography 

"Serpent  worship  in  ancient  and  modern  Egypt."     By  Professor  A.  H. 

Sayc^.     "Contemporary  Review,"  October,  1893. 
In  this  article  the  Professor  quotes  from  the  following  books — 

1.  "Voyage  du  Sieur  Paul  Lucas,  fait  en  MDCCXIV 

dans  la  Turquie,  etc." 

2.  "Voyage    d'Egypte    et    de    Nubie."      Frederic-Louis 

Norden,  1795  A.  D. 

3.  "Narrative  of   a  Journey  in   Egypt,   etc."     Thomas 

Legh,  1814  A.  D. 

4.  "Notes  during  a  Visit  in  Egypt,"  etc.     Sir  Fred  F. 

Henniker,  1823  A.  D. 

H.  E.  E.  Hayes. 

Havre,  France. 

The  subject  is  also  briefly  treated  in  "The  Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt." 
Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  1913  A.  D. 


1 


THE  BORDEN  MEMORIAL  HOSPITAL  IN  ^^ 

CHINA 


To  UNDERSTAND  the  scope  of  our  work  in  this  hospital 
it  will  be  well  to  survey  the  district  of  Kansu,  which 
contains  about  twelve  million  people.  The  province 
consists  mostly  of  rounded  earth  hills,  cultivated  almost 
to  the  summits  in  the  short  hot  summer,  but  bare  and 
yellow  in  the  winter  time — a  time  of  intense  frost  but 
bright  sunshine.  The  monotony  of  these  hills  is  broken 
by  two  other  characteristic  features — the  one,  valleys 
that  are  watered,  wooded  and  populous,  compared  with 
the  sparse  population  of  the  hill  lands;  the  other,  rocky 
mountains  with  pine  and  birch  and  poplar  woods,  and 
everywhere  flowers.  Among  these  mountains  wild  beasts 
are  also  found.  Thus  neither  are  those  quite  wrong 
who  call  Kansu  a  waste  of  ugly  yellow  earth,  nor  are  those 
utterly  mistaken  who  find  here  some  of  the  prettiest 
scenery  in  China. 

Once  Kansu  was  the  border  land.  The  Tartars,  lords 
of  the  soil,  were  for  the  most  part  unable  to  withstand  the 
impact  of  the  higher  civilization  of  the  Chinese  who 
came  up  the  valleys  and  settled  down  as  farmers.  The 
Tartars  were  either  forced  out  or  absorbed,  with  the 
exception  of  a  hilly  district  where  they  have  preserved 
their  own  individuality  and  speech  by  adopting  Moham- 
medanism. These  ^'East  Countryside  Moslems"  then, 
may  be  looked  on  perhaps  as  true  natives.  Possibly  their 
presence  near  to  the  beautiful  strath  of  Hochow  has 
exercised  an  influence  in  bringing  the  "foreign"  or  Arab 
Persian  Moslem  to  that  district,  where  now  perhaps 
they  form  forty  per  cent  of  the  population,  the  rest  being 
Chinese.  Another  famous  element  is  the  "Sala" — 
fierce  men  of  a  strange  tongue  that  moved  down  centuries 
ago  to  a  district  round  Hsuin-hua  wedged  in  between  the 
Chinese  and  the  Moslems. 

282 


THE  BORDEN  MEMORIAL  HOSPITAL  IN  CHINA  283 

But  question  as  to  the  origin  of  these  elements  in  the 
population  of  Kansu  is  of  less  consequence  to  us  here 
than  the  ever  acute  one  of  race  hatred — Moslem  versus 
Chinese.  The  latter  hates  the  Moslem  as  a  turbulent 
treacherous  foreigner — a  thief  who  has  stolen  from  him 
some  of  the  fairest  of  the  land.  While  the  Moslem 
hates  and  despises  the  Chinese,  whose  authority  he  would 
easily  throw  off,  were  it  not  for  the  weight  of  the  other 
seventeen  provinces  of  China  lying  beyond  the  mountains 
to  the  Southeast. 

"Moslems  are  pigs!"  was  the  taunt  hurled  at  us  by 
a  country  woman  the  other  day  who  mistook  the  preachers 
perhaps  for  Moslems.  And  the  strange  spectacle  is  pre- 
sented of  warlike  Moslems  compelled  by  force  of  cir- 
cumstances to  outcheat  and  outmanoevre  the  despised 
Chinese.  Can  a  people  be  both  truculent  and  servile, 
at  once  the  bottom  and  the  top  dog?  By  race  wars 
the  Moslems  have  been  cowed  but  not  conquered — com- 
pelled mostly  to  live  in  settlements  outside  the  cities 
for  fear  of  treacherous  attack,  and  for  this  cause  as  well 
as  for  their  own  convenience,  Moslem  colonies  have 
sprung  up,  most  comparable  to  the  Jewish  colonies  in 
PauPs  day. 

The  Moslems  for  the  most  part  speak  only  Chinese 
(except  for  the  Tartar  and  Sala  who  in  addition  have 
their  own  talk)  but  they  do  not  read  it  as  a  rule.  Some 
can  read  Arabic  but  very  few  can  explain  it,  so  that 
often  neither  Arabic  nor  Chinese  books  are  of  use  to 
them.  They  are  divided  into  sects  "Heu-Huan"  and  at 
present  we  have  in  prison  in  this  city  one  of  them  who 
has  been  giving  himself  out  as  Jesus. 

The  missions  working  in  Kansu  are  the  Christian  and 
Missionary  Alliance  and  the  China  Inland  Mission. 
The  work  in  every  station  is  mostly  Chinese.  Lanchow, 
the  provincial  capital  is  three  days'  journey  from 
Hochow  and  has  a  Moslem  population  of  5,000  in  four 
main  clusters  in  the  different  suburbs  of  the  city.  The 
hospital  is  built  in  memory  of  the  late  William  Borden, 
who  had  hoped  to  work  among  Kansu  Moslems  himself, 
but  died  in  Egypt  on  his  way  out. 


284  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  hospital  consists  of  a  main  two  storied  building, 
for  out-patients  and  operations,  and  a  number  of  in- 
patient pavilions,  those  for  men  and  for  women  being 
separated  from  each  other  by  the  doctors'  houses.  There 
is  a  special  Moslem  block  both  in  the  men's  and  women's 
sides,  with  kitchens  where  Moslem  cooking  can  be  done. 
About  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  patients  are  Chinese, 
and  twenty  per  cent  are  Moslem,  with  a  few  Turks, 
Tibetans,  and  other  foreigners.  Patients  come  from  many 
distant  places — five,  ten  and  fifteen  days'  journey  away, 
some  traveling  all  the  way  solely  to  see  the  doctor.  The 
people  show  an  increasing  disposition  to  trust  us  for 
operations,  and  among  all  classes  we  have  some  friends — 
officials,  soldiers,  students,  merchants,  and  farmers. 
There  is  accommodation  for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
patients,  but  it  will  be  some  time  before  all  the  beds  are 
needed. 

The  staff  consists  of  two  medical  men,  two  nurses,  with 
twelve  student  helpers  and  four  girls  training  to  be 
nurses. 

As  to  spiritual  results — we  observe  that  the  Chinese 
are  more  easily  approached  and  more  receptive  than  the 
Moslems.  Yet  several  Moslems  have  already  made  ap- 
parently sincere  profession  of  faith  while  in  hospital. 
One  was  a  Mullah,  a  leper,  living  two  days'  journey 
away ;  another  a  young  widow.  Some  show  much  inter- 
est for  a  time,  and  then  the  interest  seems  to  wither  away. 
Others  regard  a  courteous  assent  to  all  we  preach  as  a 
means  of  obtaining  healing  of  disease.  We  know  only 
of  one  Moslem  convert  in  Kansu  who  has  remained 
staunch,  and  have  heard  of  one  Chinese  convert  who  has 
become  a  Moslem.  On  the  whole,  the  Moslem  work 
here  is  beset  with  difficulties  and  needs  much  prayer — 
and  blood — and  tears — if  the  Moslems  of  Kansu  are  to 
be  saved. 

George  E.  King,  M.  D. 

Lanchowfu,  China, 


WHAT  STYLE  OF  LANGUAGE  FOR  OUR 
LITERATURE? 

(A  plea  for  Simple,  Correct  Arabic.) 


Two  ARTICLES  have  recently  appeared  in  The  Mosleai 
World  from  the  pen  of  my  old  friend,  Rev.  Percy  Smith, 
B.  D.,  as  a  plea  for  the  publication  of  evangelical  litera- 
ture in  w^hat  he  calls  ^^Vulgar  Arabic."  I  am  glad  he 
does  not  call  it  "Colloquial,"  for  if  that  term  be  taken 
to  denote  merely  language  "understanded  of  the  people" 
then  many  of  us  would  vote  solidly  for  it;  unfortunately 
it  is  often  used  to  mean  "slang,"  and  that  is  where  he  and 
we  part  company.  Throughout  the  following  remarks 
Mr.  Smith's  "Vulgar  Arabic"  will  be  taken  to  mean 
what  the  native  Christians  of  Egypt  laughingly  call 
"Mush-mush  language,"  i.e.  that  in  which  the  negative  is 
rendered  by  "mush." 

Now  we  do  not  deny  that  quite  an  important  minority 
of  missionaries  (and  others)  in  Egypt  and  Syria  hold 
the  view  so  well  expounded  by  Mr.  Smith.  But,  had 
they  been  in  the  majority,  even,  that  would  not  have 
altered  the  fact  that  the  Arabic-writing  peoples  of  these 
two  lands  are  dead  against  them,  and  as  Mr.  Smith  says, 
'^It  is  the  people  that  rule/^ 

In  proceeding  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment, I  cannot  attempt  to  follow  my  old  friend  in  his 
excursus  into  the  "Comparative  Grammar  of  Semitic 
Languages" ;  being  merely  a  practical  Arabic  writer  and 
publisher,  my  arguments  must  be  based  upon  such 
matter-of-fact  things  as  today's  paper  and  today's  book- 
shop. 

It  is  only  fair  to  recognise,  however,  that  the  situation 
in  Egypt  and  Syria  can  by  no  means  be  judged  by  what 
my  friend  knows  of  Algeria,  Tunis,  etc.,  any  more  than 
I  can  judge  of  these  countries  from  what  I  know  of  the 

285 


286  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

case  here.  As  the  Arabic  proverb  says,  "Sahibul-bait 
adra  bima  fihi"  (The  occupier  of  the  house  knows  best 
what  is  in  it). 

In  the  first  MOSLEM  WORLD  article  (IV  1:59)  the 
writer  used  strong  language  when  he  said :  "It  seems 
to  me  that  those  who  oppose  translations  of  the  Scriptures 
and  the  publication  of  other  literature  in  the  modern 
Arabic  dialects  are  following  the  policy  of  Rome  in 
withholding  the  Word  of  Life  from  the  people  in  their 
own  tongue."  He  has  not  exactly  impugned  our  motive, 
otherwise  one  would  have  replied  "Honi  soit  qui  mal  y 
pense!"  But  that  is  not  to  say  that  we  admit  that  slang 
speech  is  the  '^own  tongue"  of  the  people,  i.  e.,  the  lan- 
guage in  which  their  own  books  are  written! 

In  order  to  explain  exactly  where  one  stands,  perhaps 
one  had  better  classify  the  possible  ways  of  writing  a 
book  under  four  divisions  and  then  comment  upon  each. 
We  will  call  them  "High,"  "Broad,"  "Bi-lingual"  and 
"Simple,"  and  after  explaining  why  we  object  to  the 
first  three,  the  appeal  will  be  on  behalf  of  the  last  of  the 
four. 

I.  ^'High''  Language,  By  this  is  meant  not  merely 
sentences  which  are  correct  grammatically  (in  high- 
flown  Quranic  mould)  but  out-of-the-way  vocabulary, 
such  as  causes  the  reader  to  turn  up  his  lexicon.  One 
need  not  go  far  to  seek  for  examples.  Take  almost  any 
educational  primer;  at  the  very  beginning  will  be  found 
the  definition  of  the  term  (a  bad  method,  educationally) 
to  which  are  added  the  words  "lughatan  wastilahan" 
(linguistically  and  conventionally),  a  phrase  that  nearly 
breaks  the  heart  of  a  young  student.  All  such  things 
should  be  ruled  out  of  court  except  when  one  is  writing 
for  sheiks  and  others  of  that  ilk. 

For  a  Beyrut  example,  take  the  first  sentence  of  the 
Arabic  translation  of  "The  Pilgrim's  Progress"  ''Fasta- 
zhlaleu  bihV^  (so  I  sought  shelter  there).  In  the  next 
line  he  speaks  of  "Sinatu-n-naum"  (the  year  of  sleep — 
whatever  that  may  mean).  Now,  as  these  books  are 
usually  printed  unvowelled,  the  young  student  is  certain 
to  read :  "Sanatu-n-naum"  (the  year  of  sleep) !     But  was 


STYLE  OF  LANGUAGE  FOR  OUR  LITERATURE    287 

this  stilted  language  the  kind  of  thing  the  ''Immortal 
Dreamer"  wrote  down  ?     Never  1     Listen  to  the  original ! 

"As  I  walked  through  the  wilderness  of  this  world, 
I  lighted  on  a  certain  place  where  was  a  den,  and  laid 
me  down  in  that  place  to  sleep ;  and,  as  I  slept,  I  dreamed 
a  dream.  I  dreamed,  and  behold  I  saw  a  man  clothed 
with  rags  standing  in  a  certain  place,  with  his  face  from 
his  own  house,  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  a  great  burden 
upon  his  back." 

Possibly  someone  may  ask  if  we  have  not  published 
a  book  at  the  N.  M.  P.  in  "flowery"  language,  called 
"Quranic  Discussions."  That  is  quite  true,  but  let  me 
say,  firstly,  that  all  the  hard  words  are  explained  in 
copious  footnotes;  secondly,  that  not  only  the  name  of 
the  book  but  also  the  list  of  contents  gives  ample  warn- 
ing to  the  reader  that  the  book  is  specially  written  for 
those  educated  up  to  the  "sheikh"  standard;  further, 
that  throughout  this  particular  book  its  writer  is  dis- 
cussing the  exegesis  of  Quranic  passages!  In  any  case, 
out  of  our  own  260  Nile  Mission  Press  publications, 
not  10%  are  for  this  class  of  reader,  and  even  those  are 
being  revised  with  a  view  to  simplification  where  pos- 
sible. 

2.  ''Broad/'  or  ''vulgar''  or  "slang,"  This  meets  with 
more  opposition  than  any  of  the  others.  None  of  the 
300  mission-schools  of  Egypt  teach  their  children  to  read 
in  it  now,  merely  because  the  parents  (Christian  as  well 
as  Muslim)  will  not  tolerate  it!  They  say,  "Our  chil- 
dren talk  slang  in  the  street  free  of  all  charge :  what  we 
pay  fees  to  you  for  is  to  teach  them  the  proper  language." 
One  Gospel  (St.  Luke)  has  been  issued  in  this  vulgar 
tongue;  we  printed  2000  copies  of  it  some  ten  years  ago, 
but  there  was  never  any  demand  for  it,  and  the  agent 
of  the  B.  &  F.  B.  S.  informed  me  that  the  Egypt  Gen- 
eral Mission,  to  whom  the  making  of  the  translation 
had  been  a  labour  of  love,  had  now  taken  over  the  re- 
mainder of  the  edition.  I  have  recently  learned,  pri- 
vately, that  if  and  when  the  E.  G.  M.  prepare  another, 
this  new  one  will  not  be  printed  for  the  people  at  all  but 
some  copies  will  be  struck  off  for  the  lady-workers  to 


288  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

take  with  them  when  themselves  reading  to  illiterate 
women.  For  such  an  object  one  can  only  invoke  God's 
blessing  upon  them;  the  case  is  altogether  exceptional, 
and,  further,  a  thing  that  is  never  printed  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  any  vogue  as  published  literature,  and 
therefore  does  not  really  come  within  the  point  of  view 
of  this  article. 

Then,  again,  as  to  Professor  Macdonald's  much-quoted 
remark  about  over-hearing  a  sheikh  say  Mush  kida — 
well,  what  of  it?  There  are  several  exceptionally  famous 
phrases  which  will  often  drop  out,  perhaps  unconsciously, 
in  the  midst  of  a  sermon  or  address,  and  one  can  have 
nothing  but  commendation  for  the  sheikh  who  suddenly 
dropped  from  the  "drowsy"  style  of  narrative,  usual  to 
the  very  "drowsy"  subject  of  Canon  Law,  to  a  short  in- 
terrogative phrase,  which,  one  would  judge,  was  intended 
to  wake-up  his  class.  But,  in  any  case,  the  man  was  not 
writing  a  book. 

But  do  people  realise  the  strength  of  the  opposition 
made  by  Egyptian  Christians  (of  whom  there  are  nearly 
a  million)  to  the  scheme,  advocated  by  foreigners  now 
and  again,  for  publishing  Scriptures  and  religious  books 
in  the  slang  language  (mush-mush)  ?  When  I  wrote  to 
the  editorial  staff  of  the  Bible  Society  asking  whether 
they  accepted  two  axioms  in  Bible-translation:  (i) 
that  God's  Word  should  be  understood  by  the  people, 
and  (2)  also  respected  by  the  people;  the  object  in  view 
was  merely  to  represent  the  view-point  of  the  community 
of  40,000  Protestants — 12,000  of  whom  are  communi- 
cants— who  are  very  insistent  that  even  spoken  addresses 
should  be  in  "Lugha  Mutawassita"  (middle  language), 
and  who  would  never,  of  their  own  free-will,  agree 
to  books  being  printed  in  Egyptian  slang.  Not  that  there 
are  no  books  in  that  patois,  there  are,  and  that  is  exactly 
why  Christians  cannot  bear  for  God's  Word  to  be  in 
the  same,  for  such  books,  without  exception,  conform 
to  certain  recognized  laws,  they  are  (a)  indecent,  (b) 
"comic"  in  a  way,  (c)  not  to  be  obtained  from  any  re- 
spectable bookshop  I 

I  have  just  rung  up  the  proprietor  of  Al-Hilal  Library 


STYLE  OF  LANGUAGE  FOR  OUR  LITERATURE    289 

and  asked  him  how  many  of  the  2,400  Arabic  works  in 
his  catalogue  could  be  had  in  ''Lugha  Ammiya"  (Vulgar 
Tongue).  He  replied  at  once  that  he  happened  to  have 
had  by  him  for  several  years  past  some  copies  of  a  defunct 
magazine  called  Al-Ghazzala  (The  Gazelle),  but  noth- 
ing else  whatever;  as  to  his  2,400  books,  why  of  course 
they  were  in  Arabic ;  but  if  we  must  have  "Ammiya  things 
then  we  would  have  to  go  and  buy  on  the  street  pave- 
ment, for  such  things  could  not  be  found  in  bookshops." 
(A  Muslim  bolstering  Islam?  Not  at  all,  he  is  a  Syrian 
Christian  trading  in  Egypt,  who  has  learned  by  long 
experience  that  he  has  to  supply  what  the  people  de- 
mand, for  ''It  is  the  people  that  rule/'  Why  should 
we  go  directly  against  the  stream  of  public  opinion,  wast- 
ing precious  effort,  time  and  money  on  what  the  people 
will  not  accept?) 

3.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  publish  one  or  two 
short  portions  of  Scripture,  having  the  Beirut  version  in 
one  column  and  a  new  "vulgar"  translation  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  This  does  not  seem  to  have  satisfied  anyone; 
and  to  occupy  double  space,  during  the  present  paper 
famine  with  its  1000  or  2000%  increase  in  cost,  is  quite 
out  of  the  question. 

4.  I  would  like  to  direct  earnest  attention  to  the 
Simple  Style.  Mr.  Smith  has  quoted  the  late  Dr. 
Moulton,  the  famous  Biblical  Scholar,  as  saying:  "The 
Holy  Ghost  spoke  absolutely  in  the  language  of  the 
people,"  and  our  only  possible  reply  is,  "Unquestion- 
ably every  missionary  should  do  the  same." 

Visiting  the  large  American  Mission  Evangelical 
Church  at  Assiut  in  September,  1916,  I  greatly  enjoyed 
the  excellent  sermon  preached  by  the  pastor — a  capable 
man  and  for  twenty  years  pastor  of  a  church  of  700 
to  800  communicants — and  at  my  request  he  wrote  it 
out  for  publication.  I  was  told  by  some  of  the  mission- 
aries that  he  used  Colloquial  in  preaching,  but  he  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  merely  colloquial  in  the  matter  of 
using  the  vocabulary  of  everyday  life  (exactly  as  our 
Master  did  by  the  lake-shore). 

For    forty   years    the   American    Mission    in    Egypt 


1290  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

(United  Presbyterian)  used  a  Metrical  Version  of  the 
Psalms  which  was  above  the  people,  but  a  few  years 
ago  they  set  out  to  make  an  entirely  new  version  in  al- 
together simpler  language,  and  even  with  choruses  as 
simple  as  Salvation  Army  ones,  but  not  in  "slang."  We 
had  the  privilege  of  printing  and  binding  three  large 
editions,  and  I  am  absolutely  sure  that  the  thousands 
of  pounds  (and  the  years  of  labour)  spent  on  this  work 
have  been  splendidly  invested. 

As  an  example  of  simple,  yet  correct  style,  let  us  open  a 
volume  of  Spurgeon's  Sermons,  absolutely  at  random  and 
quote  a  few  words : 

"He  does  not  gad  about  to  go  and  hear  this  and  that, 
but  he  knows  what  has  saved  his  soul,  and  he  holds  fast 
the  form  of  sound  words.     The  young  man  is  safe." 

Notice  that  Spurgeon's  simplicity  does  not  prevent 
correctness  of  style  and  nicety  of  taste.  What  can  be 
more  beautiful  than  the  following  from  another  page, 
also  opened  at  random: 

"  Tear  Not'  is  a  plant  which  grows  very  plentifully 
in  God's  garden.  If  you  look  through  the  lily  beds  of 
Scripture  you  will  continually  find  by  the  side  of  other 
flowers  the  sweet  Tear  Nots'  peering  out  from  their 
hiding-places  of  green  leaves." 

Now  this  is  the  kind  of  thing  to  appeal  to  the  Arabic 
reader — beautiful  similes  with  simple  words.  In  the 
course  of  years  of  intimate  contact  with  the  people,  (I 
have  slept  in  native  houses  as  many  as  22  nights  in  a 
single  month)  many  suggestions  have  been  discussed  but 
never  yet  has  a  native  Christian  asked  for  the  "Vulgar 
Arabic." 

To  turn  to  a  non-ecclesiastical  source;  the  need  of 
simplicity  is  recognized  by  M.  Clement  Huart,  Professor 
at  the  "Ecole  des  Langues  Orientales"  of  Paris,  who 
wrote  as  follows  in  the  closing  sentences  of  his  "History 
of  Arabic  Literature" — 

"The  Arabic  tongue  with  its  skilfully  composed  gram- 
mar, is  sufficiently  malleable  to  enable  it  to  express 
modern  thought,  and  at  the  same  time  to  supply  the 
whole  of  the  Moslem  East  with  the  new  technical  terms 


STYLE  OF  LANGUAGE  FOR  OUR  LITERATURE    291 

in  chemistry,  medicine  and  most  sciences.  The  path  one 
would  fain  see  the  writer  of  the  future  tread  is  that  ofi 
the  search  for  limpidity  and  simplicity  of  expression. 
Once  these  are  attained,  a  brilliant  career  may  be  pre- 
dicted for  Arabic  Literature,  which  like  Islam  itself, 
will  endure  for  many  an  age  to  come."     (My  italics.) 

There  is  still,  however,  one  misconception  to  be  cleared 
away  from  the  minds  of  several  people  who  have  spoken 
and  written  as  though  Arabic  (in  its  written  form) 
were,  like  Latin,  merely  a  corpse  dressed  up  for  exhibi- 
tion by  interested  ecclesiastical  authorities!  Even  so 
learned  and  exact  a  writer  as  Prof.  Macdonald  has  said: 

"Dead  languages  can  never  be  evoked  to  living  use, 
however  strong  our  spells  or  firm  our  purpose.  They 
will  only  walk  as  ghosts  among  us  and  blast  and  thwart 
our  labours."     (Aspects  of  Islam,     p.  321.) 

Now  that  would  have  been  very  much  to  the  point  if 
written  Arabic  had  been  a  dead  language!  But  it 
happens  to  be  very  much  alivel  !  A  vigorous  staff  is 
at  work  in  a  special  department  of  the  Egyptian  Minis- 
try of  Education  producing  textbooks,  for  all  subjects, 
in  Written  Arabic. 

But  it  may  be  argued  that  school-books  are  apt  to  be 
as  dry-as-dust  as  the  bookmen  who  produce  them.  If 
so,  let  us  look  farther  afield.  It  would  be  very  interest- 
ing to  hear  (from  those  who  imagine  that  Arabic  and 
Latin  are  in  the  same  condition)  how  many  daily  news- 
papers were  published  entirely  in  Latin  in  Italy  at  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  War  (1914)!  !  As  to  Egypt, 
the  following  list,  extracted  from  a  larger  one  in 
Zwemer's  "Distinction  of  Islam,"  p.  158,  is  eloquent  test- 
mony  to  the  fact  that  Written  Arabic  is  not  only  alive 
but  pulsating  wth  energy. 

"An  impartial  obsenrer  migkt  suppose  that  tkere  is  hardly  any  nation  in  Europe 
that  has  a  stronger  incentive  to  Icam  Arabic  that  the  English  .  .  .  their  position  ia 
Egypt,  where  Arabic  is  a  living  tongue,  where  the  press  pours  out  an  increasing  stream 
of  publications  ..."  (T.  W.  Arnold,  C.  I.  E-,  M.  A.,  Utt.  D.,  in  Th0  Bulletin 
of  the  London  School  of  Oriental  Studies. — Our  Italics.) 

List  of  Arabic  Daily  Newspapers  published  in  Egypt 
before  the  War.  (Some  of  these  have  died  since  the 
War  began,  but  that  will  not  affect  the  question  of  the 


292  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

language  used.  About  half  of  them  are  flourishing  to- 
day.) 

AI-Mukattam.  Al-Jareda.                        AI-Ahali. 

Al-Mu'ayyad.  Al-Afkar.                         Al-Akhbar. 

Al-Ahram.  Al-Mahrusa.                    Al-'Alam. 

Al-Watan.  Misr-el-Fatat.                   Al-Liwa. 

Misr.  Wadi-n-Nil.                     Ash-Sha'b. 

In  Written  Arabic 15 

In  Colloquial  Arabic o 


Total  15 

Arabic  Weeklies,  Monthlies,  etc,  (The  list  includes 
two  series  of  novels,  but  that  will  not  effect  our  question 
of  the  language  used.) 

In  Written  Arabic 46 

In  Slang  (Indecent  Comics) ....     3 


49 

As  to  the  amount  of  serial  reading-matter  consumed 
in  the  one  country  of  Egypt,  the  P.  O.  reports  that  it 
delivered,  during  19 17,  local  periodicals  to  the  number 
of  6,976,000  and  sent  abroad  1,202,000.  This  refers  to 
newspapers,  etc.,  published  in  Egypt  only. 

Only  five  or  six  "Colloquial"  papers  were  started  (to 
my  knowledge)  during  the  past  20  years  and  none  of 
them  lived  long,  being  suppressed  by  the  Government 
or  dropped  for  various  reasons.  They  were  all  slangy 
and  indecent  and  "supposed  to  be"  comicl 

In  1 91 2,  Socrates  Bey  Spiro  (the  complier  of  a  widely- 
used  Egyptian  Colloquial  Dictionary)  suggested  in  the 
preface  to  his  new  Grammar  that  two  Colloquial  daily 
papers  should  be  started  as  an  experiment,  one  in  Cairo 
and  one  in  Alexandria.  Even  after  allowing  for  the 
War,  the  simple  fact  remains  that  nothing  was  done: 
such  proposals  always  fall  upon  deaf  ears.  Why  is  this? 
Merely  because  the  people  do  not  want  such  things, 
which  are  entirely  "foreign"  to  their  taste  and  ideas. 
What  need  is  there  for  any  of  us  to  try  to  force  upon 
the  people  printed  books  and  papers  in  a  written  language 
they  either,  cannot,  or  will  not,  tolerate? 

A  Suggestion,  It  would  not  be  at  all  impossible  for 
a  few  literary  missionaries  to  meet  a  few  Egyptian  and 


STYLE  OF  LANGUAGE  FOR  OUR  LITERATURE    293 

Syrian  Scholars  (not  Algerian,  for  conditions  vary  so 
greatly)  to  discuss  the  possibility  of  further  simplifica- 
tion of  the  language.  Some  day  (perhaps  eight  or  ten 
years  hence)  we  may  be  able  to  issue  a  few  books  in  a 
"Middle  Language,"  somewhat  analogous  to  present- 
day  Hebrew.  (I  cannot  admit  that  Hebrew  is  equiva- 
lent to  our  "Mush-mush"  slang.)  Here  are  a  few 
suggestions  which  might,  perhaps,  in  turn  suggest  others : 

(a)  Feminine  Plural  of  the  verb  to  be  replaced  by 
Common  Gender  Plural; 

(b)  The  case-vowels  (perhaps  also  the  final  nun  of 
Al-Mudari')  might  be  dropped  altogether; 

(c)  But  no  shin  (at  the  end  of  the  verbs)  and  no 
mush-mush.  Other  points  would  come  up  and  the  com- 
mencement would  be  but  a  tentative  one.  One  is  always 
ready  to  receive  suggestions. 

Mr.  Smith  quotes  Renan,  who  says: 

^^ There  existed  an  ancient  language,  richer  and  more 
synthetic  than  the  vulgar  tongue,  less  regulated  than  the 
literary  form  of  the  language,  out  of  which  the  two  forms 
have  developed  in  opposite  ways/' 

Now  that  is  what  I  call  the  ''Middle  Language''  and 
that  is  what  I  hope  to  see  revived  some  day.  Who  will 
co-operate  in  this? 

In  the  meantime,  much  may  be  done  by  way  of  insist- 
ing upon  greater  simplicity.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
make  a  strong  point  of  this  in  my  own  Arabic  grammar 
course,  "Arabic  Simplified."  In  the  course  of  the  first 
150  lessons  I  have,  as  far  as  possible,  used  only  words  of 
every  day  occurrence.  The  last  fifty  lessons  could  not 
be  conformed  to  this  rule,  for  they  were  translated  from 
a  Government  Grammar. 

The  following  extract  from  our  N.  M.  P.  "Regula- 
tions" as  to  MSS  offered  for  publication,  whether  by 
our  own  staff  or  by  outside  helpers  may  be  of  interest: 

I.  Do  not  be  too  literal,  think  of  the  idiom  of  the 
language  you  are  translating  into,  more  than  the  one  you 
are  translating  from.  (Let  your  Arabic  translation  read 
like  free,  original  Arabic,  with  Oriental  proverbs,  not 
Western  ones.) 


294  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  translate  all  the  meaning,  do  not 
leave  out  important  points. 

3.  Choose  the  middle  path  between  the  profuse  style 
which  writes  twenty  words  where  ten  would  do,  and  the 
"clever"  style  of  condensed  epigrammatic  writing. 
(Epigram  is  clever  in  original  writing,  better  not  at- 
tempt it  in  translating.) 

4.  If  an  allusion  is  not  likely  to  be  understood  by  the 
reader,  a  simple  footnote  is  allowable. 

5.  Write  in  clear,  correct  language  but  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  books  for  educated  students)  use  simple  words 
that  everybody  understands. 

The  matter  of  simplicity  is  of  intense  importance,  since 
our  message,  dealing  as  it  does  with  eternal  verities,  is 
literally  one  of  "life  and  death."  Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  have  to  put  it  in  a  palatable  form,  for  if  it  be  not  ac- 
cepted by  the  people,  we  labour  in  vain. 

Arthur  T.  Upson. 

Cairo. 


THE  SUDAN  UNITED  MISSION  AND  ISLAM 


When  the  Chairman  of  Commission  I  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Conference  (Dr.  Robson)  closed  his  address  at 
that  conference  with  the  words :  "The  very  first  thing  that 
requires  to  be  done,  if  Africa  is  to  be  won  for  Christ, 
is  to  carry  a  strong  missionary  force  right  across  the 
centre  of  Africa  to  bar  the  advance  of  the  Moslem,"  he 
voiced  the  plan  of  the  Sudan  United  Mission,  a  union 
organisation  that  grew  out  of  the  Sudan  Pioneer  Mission 
(founded  in  January,  1900,  at  Assuan  on  the  upper  Nile) . 

For  hundreds  of  years  the  pagan  tribes  of  the  Central 
African  Ironstone  Plateau,  a  park-land  lying  between 
the  Sahara  and  the  Hylaea  Belt  of  the  Congo  and  the 
West  Coast,  had  either  been  the  happy  hunting  ground 
of  the  Moslem  slave  raiders,  or  at  the  point  of  their 
poisoned  spears  and  arrows  in  inaccessible  mountains 
and  swamps  they  had  maintained  their  independence  and 
their  fetish  worship. 

The  first  Mohammedan  invaders  were  Arabs  and 
Moors,  and  latterly  Nubians  and  Fulanis.  Certain  dis- 
tricts of  the  plateau-land,  such  as  Dar-Ferit,  Dar-Runga, 
and  the  Middle  Shari,  have  repeatedly  been  subjected 
to  slave  raids  and  become  almost  denuded  of  human 
game,  while  the  more  vigorous  fighting  tribes  of  the 
Dar-Nuba,  the  great  swamps  of  the  Upper  Nile,  the 
Lower  Shari,  Adamawa,  Southern  Bornu,  and  the 
Murchison  Range  in  Northern  Nigeria,  have  effectively 
resisted  the  inroads  of  their  Mohammedan  enemies. 

With  the  occupation  by  the  European  powers  of  the 
Central  African  plateau  region  (commonly  known  as 
the  Sudan)  within  the  last  twenty  years,  slave  raiding 
there  has  come  to  an  end.  Roads  have  been  built  from 
the  Upper  Nile  to  the  Upper  Congo,  from  the  Shari 
to  the  Mobangi,  from  the  Benue  to  the  Shari,  and  from 

295 


296  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

the  Guinea  Coast  to  Lake  Chad.  Railroads  are  about 
to  follow  the  line  of  some  of  these  highways.  On  all 
the  navigable  rivers,  the  White  Nile,  the  Sobat,  the 
Gazelle  River,  the  Mobangi,  the  Shari,  the  Benue  and 
the  Upper  Niger,  steamers,  barges,  and  balliniers  ply 
regularly,  and  are  used  freely  by  Nubian,  Hausa,  and 
Fulani  traders,  and  every  single  one  of  these  traders  is 
a  Mahommedan  propagandist.  The  Mahommedan 
trader  is  a  persona  grata  with  the  governments,  and  for 
the  lack  of  Christian  teachers,  the  pagan  child-people  are 
now  rapidly  going  over  to  Mahommedanism.  It  is  be- 
lieved by  those  most  competent  to  judge  that  should  this 
advance  of  Mahommedanism  not  be  met,  and  the  strong 
fighting  tribes  of  Central  Africa  be  won  over  to  Islam,  the 
weaker  tribes  of  the  Coast  Region  and  the  Congo  will 
probably  follow,  and  even  peoples  among  whom  Chris- 
tion  missionaries  have  worked  for  years. 

The  realisation  of  this  state  of  things  led  to  the  organi- 
sation of  the  Sudan  United  Mission,  as  none  of  the  great 
Protestant  foreign  missionary  societies  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  United  Presbyterian  Board  of  the  U.  S.  A.  and 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  Great  Britain)  felt 
themselves  able  to  do  anything  to  meet  this  crisis.  To 
appreciate  the  greatness  of  the  task  one  needs  to  remem- 
ber that  from  Timbuctoo,  the  capital  of  the  Western 
Sudan,  to  the  borders  of  Abyssinia  in  the  Eastern  Sudan, 
is  a  distance  of  3,000  miles,  as  far  as  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco. 

The  secretaries  of  all  the  Protestant  foreign  mission- 
ary societies  of  Great  Britain  that  could  not  see  their 
way  to  initiate  new  missionary  enterprise  in  the  Sudan 
signed  a  resolution  in  1914  to  the  effect  that  they  would 
welcome  a  union  mission  under  their  joint  control,  in 
which  members  of  their  denominations  might  interest 
themselves.  On  June  15th,  1904,  the  new  mission  was 
organised,  and  the  denominations  given  at  a  later  date 
the  right  to  appoint  representative  directors  on  the  union 
board.  Of  this  right  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  England,  the  Baptist 
Church  of  England,  the  Congregational  Church  of  Eng- 


THE  SUDAN  UNITED  MISSION  AND  ISLAM      297 

land,  and  the  Calvinistic  Methodist  Church  of  Wales 
have  availed  themselves. 

In  1906  a  branch  of  the  mission  was  formed  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  in  1907  in  South  Africa,  in  191 1  in  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand,  and  in  191 2  in  Denmark. 

The  work  of  the  mission  is  to  carry  out  the  plan  of 
the  Edinburgh  Conference.  It  seeks  to  do  this  in  two 
ways:  firstly,  by  acting  as  a  bureau  of  information  for 
any  Christian  Church  body  prepared  to  undertake  work 
in  one  of  the  districts  of  the  Sudan.  Several  such  bodies 
have  either  begun  work  or  are  planning  work — the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  South  Africa,  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  of  the  U.  S.  A.,  the  Swedish 
Lutheran  Church  of  the  U.  S.  A.  And,  secondly,  the 
Sudan  United  Mission  acts  as  a  union  missionary  board 
for  various  denominations  unable  to  go  into  the  Sudan 
to  work  independently. 

Some  sixty  missionaries  are  now  supported  by  that 
society,  doing  missionary  work  in  Northern  Nigeria 
among  the  Bassa,  the  Munchi,  the  Hausas,  the  Jukun, 
the  Yergum,  the  Burum,  the  Arago,  the  Chamba,  the 
Igbira  and  the  Bachama,  and  in  the  Anglo-Egyptian 
Sudan  among  the  Shilluks  and  Dinkas.  Plans  are  laid 
for  the  advance  of  the  Eastern  Sudan  Branch  of  the 
mission  towards  the  west,  and  of  the  Western  Branch 
towards  the  east.  The  Lucy  Memorial  Freed  Slaves 
Home  in  Northern  Nigeria,  an  institution  of  the  Sudan 
United  Mission  has  the  sanction,  sympathy  and  support 
of  the  British  Government.  Indeed  the  mission  has  had 
no  difficulty  with  the  representatives  of  European  govern- 
ments, who  have  invariably  been  friendly.  At  Wukari 
in  Northern  Nigeria,  the  mission  has  had  for  the  last 
three  years  a  seminary  for  the  training  of  native  teachers 
and  evangelists. 

Besides  the  work  of  the  Sudan  United  Mission,  the 
following  Christian  agencies  are  at  work  in  the  Sudan: 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  Northern  Nigeria 
and  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan  with  some  twenty-five 
missionaries,  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  three 
stations  in  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan  with  some  fifteen 


298  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

workers,  the  Sudan  Interior  Mission,  a  Canadian  enter- 
prise occupying  four  provinces  in  Northern  Nigeria,  the 
Mennonite  Brethren  at  two  stations  in  the  same  country, 
and  the  Roman  Catholics  in  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan, 
on  the  Mobangi,  and  at  two  stations  in  Northern  Nigeria. 
No  Christian  missionary  work  is  as  yet  done  in  Bornu 
(seven  tribes) ,  in  Adamawa  (four  tribes) ,  or  in  the  Shari- 
Chad  Protectorate  (ten  tribes).  There  are  also  in  the 
Anglo-Eg^tian  Sudan,  in  the  Nile  and  Gazelle  River 
Provinces  several  unreached  tribes,  and  a  few  in  North- 
ern Nigeria. 

H.  K.  W.  KUMM. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS 


Moslem  Reform  in  Egypt 

In  1895  THE  Ministry  of  the  Interior  attempted  certain  reforms  in 
popular  Islam  without  much  result.  The  agitation  was  directed  against 
certain  pagan  practices  and  moralities  connected  with  Islam  home 
life  and  worship.  This  year  the  government  has  again  taken  up  the 
matter  through  Al-Azhar  and  we  read  in  Al-Ahram  that  the  Ministry 
of  the  Interior  has  called  the  attention  of  the  Mudirs  and  Governors 
to  the  innovations  and  habits  contrary  to  canon  law  and  against 
public  morality  spoken  of  in  the  circular  letter  of  February  19,  1895, 
issued  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the  Ulema  of  Al-Azhar, 
This  innovations  and  habits  are:  (i)  Zaffet  El-far  (the  Procession 
of  the  Rat;  (2)  women  going  out  of  doors  to  mulids  (fairs)  wearing 
men's  clothes  and  in  a  disgraceful  manner;  (3)  Moslem  women  danc- 
ing or  singing  in  public  streets,  and  cafes;  (4)  women  public-mourners 
in  houses  of  mourning;  and  celebration  of  the  zar  in  houses  and  ceme- 
teries ;  ( 5 )  reciting  the  Koran  in  public  streets,  as  well  as  reciting  it  in 
houses  and  ceremonies  which  are  followed  by  singing;  (6)  the  habit 
of  some  of  the  followers  of  certain  religious  sects  of  eating  fire  and 
glass,  and  playing  with  serpents;  (7)  improperly  mentioning  the  name 
of  God,  and  beating  drums  and  other  instruments  in  mosques  with  the 
banners  of  certain  sects;  (8)  the  acts  of  those  who  pretend  to  be  saints, 
which  acts  are  contrary  to  public  morals  and  do  not  lead  to  the  respect  of 
religion. 

As  for  the  formalities  to  be  taken  in  the  above  cases,  they  are 
either  explained  in  administrative  regulations  or  in  the  native  penal 
code. 

New  Methods  After  the  War 

We  quote  with  approval  a  paragraph  from  an  editorial  in  The 
Chinese  Recorder,  If  there  is  one  thing  we  commend  in  work  among 
Moslems  it  is  a  new  method  of  approach  and  an  over-hauling  of  our 
present  institutional  work  to  meet  new  conditions  of  evangelism: 

"As  we  listen  to  the  conversation  of  some  of  our  brethren  engaged 
in  different  phases  of  work,  we  sometimes  wonder  whether  the  same 
principle  does  not  apply  to  the  use  of  methods  of  mission  work;  that 
is,  there  seem  to  be  some  who,  when  they  start  a  line  of  thought  or  a 
method  of  mission  work,  appear  to  have  a  set  towards  the  main- 
taining of  that  thought  and  method  indefinitely.  Yet  if  we  find 
that  any  method  or  any  idea  when  followed  out  for  a  greater  or 
lesser  length  of  time  does  not  produce  any  noticeable  results,  it  should 
be  questioned;  and  no  method  should  be  adhered  to  simply  because  it 
is  traditional." 

Harrington  Emerson,  an  efficiency  expert,  is  quoted  in  the  Rochester 
(N.  Y.)  Record  of  May  1917,  as  preaching  the  doctrine,  emphasized 
more  or  less  by  all  such  experts,  that  "Wherever  we  find  an  old  method 
of  doing  a  thing  the  chances  are  a  hundred  to  one  that  it  could  be  done 
in  a  better  way."     Progress  is  only  attained  by  the  improvement  of 

299 


300  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

methods.  Booker  T.  Washington  (quoted  in  the  October  number  of 
the  Educational  Review)  once  said:  "The  leader,  the  exceptional 
person,  is  never  satisfied  with  the  old  way  of  doing  things."  In  any 
event,  as  missionaries,  we  should  always  be  on  the  lookout  for  the 
best  way  of  doing  things,  no  matter  how  many  traditional  schemes 
may  thus  be  "scrapped." 

A  New  Prophet  in  Liberia 

The  African  World  quoting  from  the  Sierra  Leone  Weekly  News, 
gives  currency  to  a  report  of  a  religious  movement  among  the  tribes 
in  Liberia.  A  prophet  from  the  Serikule  tribe  in  the  Sudan  has 
visited  the  republic,  who  claims  to  be  inspired  to  preach  salvation  and 
hope  for  his  race.  He  has  destroyed  many  juju  and  devil  bushes  and 
established  fifteen  mosques,  and  he  is  said  to  be  seeking  the  permission 
of  the  Liberian  Government  to  build  a  mosque  in  every  town  and 
village  in  the  country. 

British  Government  and  Islam 

The  writer  of  Indian  Notes  in  The  Church  Missionary  Review  sends 
a  clear  warning  on  this  subject  in  a  recent  issue.  He  shows  that  where 
Jehad  (religious  war)  has  become  impossible  Islam  now  is  penetrating 
in  Africa  by  peaceable  methods. 

"In  spite  of  F.  D.  Maurice's  severe  dictum  that  'Mohammedanism 
can  thrive  only  while  it  is  aiming  at  conquest,'  the  wisest  leaders 
in  Islam  have  probably  come  to  the  conclusion  that  'peaceful  penetration' 
is  preferable  to  attempts  to  use  arms.  And  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  British  Government,  by  what  I  cannot  but  think  a  mistaken 
policy,  actually  favours  such  penetration  in  large  tracts  of  Central 
Africa  by  enforcements  of  the  Pax  Britannica,  while  appointing  numbers 
of  Mohammedan  officials  who,  under  the  aegis  of  British  authority, 
extend  the  influence  of  Islam  among  pagan  tribes.  How  many  years 
it  will  take  our  rulers  to  recognize  the  folly  of  making  possible  this 
peaceful  jehad  who  can  say?" 

Mohammedan  Modernism 

One  of  the  broadest  and  most  striking  facts  about  Christianity  as 
developed  throughout  the  world  is  the  enormous  influence  which  it 
exerts  on  the  morality  of  other  religions  which  will  still  obtain  alle- 
giance from  large  populations,  especially  in  Asia.  This  is  the 
general  theme  of  J.  S.  Dennis's  invaluable  work  on  Christian  Missions 
and  Social  Progress;  but  what  is  needed  is  that  Christian  apologists 
both  in  speaking  and  writing  should  make  more  habitual  use  of  the 
facts  which  such  writers  so  convincingly  urge.  The  influence  of  Chris- 
tian thought — mainly  perhaps  through  Christian  missions — may  be 
noticed  in  several  ways  even  among  Mohammedans  who  by  their  creed 
are  placed  in  singular  difficulty  as  to  the  reception  of  progressive  and 
ameliorative  thought.  The  orthodox  Mohammedan  is  shut  up  to  the 
four  corners  of  a  book  written  nearly  thirteen  hundred  years  ago — a 
book  which  unfortunately  for  its  adherents  makes  claim  to  be 
superior  to  the  Bible.  Yet  so  strong  is  the  illumination  of  Christian 
ethics  which  reaches  and  in  great  measure  permeates  Mohammedan 
thought  at  the  present  day,  that  many  educated  adherents  of  Islam 
preserve  their  loyalty  only  by  allowing  themselves  an  extremely  ration- 
alistic style  of  interpretation  when  considering  the  commands  of  their 
Prophet.     The  very  strenuousness  of  their  attempts  to  explain  away  the 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  301 

natural  sense  of  the  original  Arabic  is  the  measure  of  the  homage 
extorted  by  the  manifest  superiority  of  Christian  ethics  from  the  follow- 
ers of  a  system  which  they  perhaps  recognise  as  inferior,  though  the 
circumstances  of  birth  and  social  training  forbid  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  fact.  Striking  instances  of  this  are  found  for  example  in 
reference  to  marriage,  to  the  promises  made  to  the  faithful  as  to  the 
enjoyments  in  paradise,  and  to  the  precept  of  jehad  or  religious  war.  It 
has  been  argued  in  these  latter  days,  when  the  pure  ethic  of  our 
Christianity  permeates  more  and  more  the  mass  of  the  world's  general 
thought,  in  opposition,  as  it  seems  to  us,  to  the  plain  sense  of  the  Koran, 
that  Mohammed  advocated  monogamy;  it  is  also  urged  in  equally  plain 
contradiction  of  unmistakable  words  that  the  houris  of  Paradise  arc 
to  be  interpreted  figuratively,  and  once  again  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  jehad  or  religious  war  inculcated  in  the  Koran.  As  Christians,  of 
course,  we  must  welcome  such  modern  interpretation  as  showing  how 
necessary  even  Mohammedans  feel  it  to  be  to  use  (though  they  do  not 
acknowledge  its  source)  the  light  which  comes  from  the  True  Light, 
but  it  seems  advisable  to  restate  from  time  to  time  facts  which  are 
unfamiliar  to  a  good  many  readers." 

A  Moslem  Seeker  in  Dacca 

Kurreem  (the  gracious)  is  an  elderly  man,  of  humble  position,  and 
keeps  a  tiny  shop.  He  is  one  of  those  who  are  growing  dissatisfied 
both  with  their  prophet  and  their  book.  His  business  not  being  large 
he  finds  leisure  for  reading  and  reflection.  It  was  while  so  engaged 
that  one  of  our  evangelists  first  found  him.  Since  then  he  has  invari- 
ably shown  himself  glad  to  converse  about  the  things  of  God.  I  well 
remember  how  during  one  of  these  visits  he  unwittingly  taught  me  a 
lesson  of  more  humble  reliance  upon  God.  We  were  occupied  with 
some  aspect  of  religion,  when  a  customer  intruded  upon  our  talk. 
With  singular  politeness  Kurreem  besought  the  customer  to  excuse  him 
that  day  as  he  was  busy!  I  was  about  to  remonstrate  with  my  friend, 
when  he  raised  his  hand,  and,  on  the  departure  of  the  customer,  said: 
"My  good  friend,  we  are  engaged  in  business  much  more  serious  than  a 
sale.  God  knows  my  needs,  and  should  He  think  well.  He  will  send  that 
man  to  me  again."  There  you  have  an  insight  into  his  character.  He 
is  a  seeker  after  God,  and  this  seeking  is  with  him  a  matter  of  deep 
concern. 

He  has  never  resented  our  talk  about  Christ  and  not  once  has  any 
bitterness  entered  into  his  speech  as  we  have  considered  together  the 
claims  of  the  Saviour.  At  his  time  of  life  Kurreem  might  have  been  a 
bigoted  opponent  of  the  Gospel,  like  hosts  of  his  co-religionists. 

Before  I  left  India  Kurreem  assured  me  that  he  had  not  only  read 
the  Gospels  with  which  we  had  supplied  him,  but  has  derived  much 
comfort  from  them.  This  is  not  to  say  that  all  his  Moslem  prejudices 
have  been  removed,  but  we  hear  very  much  less  of  them  than  we  do  of 
praise  and  admiration  for  the  beauty  of  Christ's  teaching,  and  for  the 
noble  example  of  Christ's  life;  and  he  has  begged  us  to  pray  to  God 
for  him.     A  Moslem  asks  prayer  of  a  Christian! 

The   Christian. 

Islam  and  Christianity 

The  Rev.  H.  G.  Harding  draws  attention  to  the  Moslem  problem  in 
the  Church  Missionary  Review,  Aug.,  191 7,  and  calls  it  The  Battle- 
field of  the  Ages,     He  said:  "The  real  diflficulty  is  that  the  Church  of 


302  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Christ  does  not  realize  the  vital  character  of  the  conflict  with  Islam. 
She  realizes  the  danger  to-day  no  more  than  she  did  in  the  year  632. 
We  think  of  Islam  as  one  among  many  old  world  religions  hastening  to 
inevitable  extinction  before  the  advance  of  knowledge  and  civilization. 
We  think  of  it  as  a  religion  founded  and  extended  solely  by  the  sword, 
and  with  the  dwindling  of  Mohammedan  temporal  power  are  content  to 
believe  that  all  danger  to  our  Faith  is  past.  We  forget  that  to-day  no 
error  can  be,  if  indeed  it  ever  has  been,  successfully  propagated  by  physi- 
cal force  alone.  The  real  danger  is  and  always  has  been  the  vital  energy 
of  Islam,  and  its  determined  aspiration  after  universal  dominion.  Islam 
is  the  "Germany"  of  world  religions. 

To  sum  up.  Two  great  religions  contend  for  the  world-wide 
obedience  of  mankind,  and  neither  can  rest  content  with  anything  less. 
Islam  has  in  the  past  been  strong  enough  to  defeat  the  Christian 
Church  in  her  own  strongholds;  it  is  extending  to-day  at  a  rate  which 
is  the  surest  evidence  of  unimpaired  vitality,  and  the  Church  is  doing  but 
little  to  check  its  progress.  Yet  the  results  of  missionary  effort  in 
India  and  elsewhere  show  that  before  aggressive  spiritual  Christanity 
Islam  can  never  stand.  Upon  the  ancient  battlefield,  never  utterly 
abandoned  by  the  Church,  she  may  yet  win  a  victory  that  shall  wipe 
out  the  memory  of  past  defeats.  Here  the  political  supremacy  of 
Islam  is  slipping  away,  new  possibilities  are  opening,  and  by  a  bold  and 
vigorous  effort  in  Palestine  now,  Christianity  might  produce  spiritual 
results  which  would  have  a  far-reaching  effect  on  the  future  of  the 
struggle." 

The   Bible  in   Kermanshah 

Writing  from  his  station  at  Kermanshah,  well  within  the  Persian  bor- 
der, the  Rev.  F.  M.  Stead,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  gives  a 
vivid  glimpse  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  Bible  distribution  since  the  war 
began:  "We  have  seen  three  military  evacuations  and  occupations.  We 
have  seen  Kermanshah  turned  into  a  training  camp  for  Kurdish  cavalry 
and  Persian  infantry.  We  have  seen  here  the  concentration  of  des- 
perate and  angered  tribes,  driven  from  position  after  position  till  they 
fell  back  grudgingly  to  this  district.  We  have  seen  Russians  and  Turks 
fighting  at  our  doors.  We  have  seen  burning  villages ;  homeless  women 
and  children;  many  sick,  wounded,  dying,  dead — a  little  of  the  havoc 
and  horror  of  war.  But  through  it  all  we  have  been  able  to  put  the 
Word  of  God  into  the  hands  of  war-worn  men,  and  our  hearts  have 
been  comforted. 

When  the  Russians  were  in  Kermanshah  a  colporteur  ventured  on 
a  trip  to  the  Lurs  in  the  hills  of  the  Pusht-i-Kub.  He  had  several 
narrow  escapes  of  being  robbed  among  those  merry-hearted  but  pre- 
datory tribesmen;  his  sales  were  small,  but  apparently  he  broke  fresh 
ground  among  the  descendents  of  an  ancient  race,  whose  speech  became 
the  language  of  the  Zendavesta. 

Strangely  enough,  while  the  Turkish  flag  floated  over  the  city — 
from  July  i,  1916,  to  March  11,  191 7 — the  colporteurs  were  more 
successful  by  1,900  copies  than  they  had  ever  been  before  in  the  same 
space  of  time;  and  when  one  of  them,  the  grandson  of  a  wealthy 
Jewish  merchant,  was  cast  into  prison  on  false  charges  (a  Persian 
device  for  extorting  money),  an  appeal  to  the  Turkish  commander 
secured  his  release.  In  November  the  usual  Bible  journeys  were  for- 
bidden by  the  Persian  officials  on  pretence  that  the  men  might  aid 
communication  with  the  Russians.     Their  efforts  were  confined  to  the 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  303 

city,  and  continued  to  prosper  until  the  stock  of  cheap  books  was 
exhausted. 

In  the  spring  of  191 7  the  Russian  troops  again  entered  Kermanshah. 
A  month  later  a  case  of  scriptures  was  forwarded  from  Hamadan,  where 
they  had  lain  during  the  Turkish  occupation.  Its  contents  included 
sixty-seven  Russian  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  Psalms,  which  were  eagerly 
welcomed  by  the  soldiers.  In  the  hospital  the  patients  left  their  beds 
and  came  limping  with  cries  of  joy  as  the  colporteur  entered  the  ward. 
In  the  main  barracks  a  Cossack — a  man  of  violence  trying  to  take 
heaven  by  force — began  to  beat  the  Bibleman  because  he  could  not  have 
a  free  copy,  but  comrades  interposed,  and  the  price  of  the  book  was 
collected. 

Meanwhile,  far  away  in  the  north-west,  missionaries  were  at  work 
on  the  high  plateau  where  summer  rings  Tabriz  with  walled  gardens 
of  fruit-blossom,  but  where  under  the  deepest  of  blue  skies  snow  lies 
for  about  four  months  in  the  year.  From  Teheran  colporteurs  trekked 
among  the  villagers  and  southward  beyond  the  Valley  of  the  Angel 
of  Death  to  the  cornfields  and  glittering  domes  of  Kum  and  to  Kashan, 
the  city  of  skilful  potters  and  weavers  of  wood  and  silk. 

Bible   Circulation  in   Persia 

Mr.  Canton  says:  ''The  total  distribution  of  the  Scriptures  in  our 
Persian  Agency  last  year  amounted  to  32,829  volumes,  the  highest  fig- 
ure reached  since  1905,  and  nearly  8,500  copies  beyond  the  average  of 
the  last  five  intervening  years.  Trade  routes  are  blocked;  supplies  of 
fresh  editions  are  hard  to  obtain;  war-fare,  brigandage  and  violence 
are  rife  'but  still  the  work  goes  on.'  " 

Khorassan  and  the  Bible 

From  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  we  learn  of  the  progress 
of  the  Kingdom  in  Khorassan. 

Most  people  in  our  days  have  left  ofJ  reading  the  poetry  of  Thomas 
Moore;  but  a  century  ago  he  was  almost  as  popular  in  England  as 
Byron ;  and  his  "Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorassan"  had  familiarized  English- 
men with  the  name  of  that  province  in  northern  Persia. 

The  city  of  Meshed,  which  is  the  capital  of  Khorassan,  is  a  famous 
place  of  pilgrimage  for  Moslems.  It  is  also  the  headquarters  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Mission.  Our  friend  and  fellow-worker,  Dr. 
L.  F.  Esselstyn,  the  senior  missionary  at  Meshed,  is  enthusiastic  in 
distributing  the  Scriptures,  and  he  sends  us  once  again  a  vivid  sketch 
of  the  way  in  which  our  Society's  editions  are  spreading  God's  mes- 
sage among  the  people  in  Khorassan. 

In  the  autumn  of  191 5  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  station 
received  reinforcements,  and  just  before  Christmas  Dr.  J.  W.  Cook 
opened  a  mission  hospital  in  Meshed  with  ten  beds.  Down  to  the 
end  of  June  191 6,  Dr.  Cook  had  treated  over  17,000  patients,  nearly 
all  of  them  at  the  hospital  in  Meshed.  This  has  furnished  a  great 
opportunity  of  selling  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  hospital  waiting 
room. 

Owing  to  political  conditions  in  Persia  and  to  the  activity  of  high- 
way robbers  along  the  roads  leading  into  Meshed,  a  mistaken  impres- 
sion went  abroad  that  the  city  itself  had  been  constantly  in  a  danger- 
ous state  of  disorder.  As  a  result,  not  nearly  so  many  pilgrims  or 
Afghans  have  come  to  Meshed  in  191 6  as  in  ordinary  years.  Never- 
theless we   have  had   motley  crowds   at  the  hospital;  these   consisted 


304  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

not  only  of  residents  in  the  city — Moslems,  Jews,  Armenians,  Rus- 
sians, and  other  foreigners — but  included  large  numbers  of  persons 
from  all  parts  of  Persia,  as  well  as  strangers  from  the  cities  of  Turkes- 
tan— like  Merv,  Bokhara,  Samarkand — from  places  in  Afghanistan — 
such  as  Kabul,  Balkh,  Herat,  and  Kandahar — and  even  from  India. 

Our  waiting-room  has  been  used  by  a  good  m^ny  men  as  a  reading- 
room  where  they  can  come  and  sit  quietly  and  read  the  Bible  for 
hours  at  a  time.  Others  come,  not  to  see  the  doctor,  but  simply  to  buy 
books. 

A  tradesman  in  Meshed  came  in  and  said:  "Some  people  who  have 
bought  your  books  have  talked  about  them  a  great  deal  at  my  shop 
and  I  want  to  buy  one."     He  purchased  a  Persian  Testament. 

Here  is  a  case  of  special  interest.  A  man  was  successfully  operated 
on  for  cataract.  Before  the  operation  I  had  sold  him  a  copy  of  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel.  A  few  days  later  his  wife  brought  the  Gospel 
back  and  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Cook,  saying  that  some  one  had  given  it  to 
her  husband,  but  he  did  not  want  it.  So  the  book  was  put  aside  on 
a  shelf.  Later  on,  however,  the  man  himself  came  one  Sunday  morning 
before  church,  bringing  a  little  basket  of  eggs  as  a  present  for  Dr. 
Cook,  and  saying  that  he  had  come  to  try  and  thank  the  wonderful 
doctor  for  restoring  his  sight.  Then  he  enquired  about  his  book:  he 
said  that  his  wife  had  found  it,  and  had  told  him  it  was  a  bad  book 
for  him  to  read,  and  while  his  eyes  were  bandaged  she  had  taken  it 
from  him  and  returned  it.  But  he  had  heard  it  read  aloud  in  our 
waiting-room,  and  he  knew  that  it  was  not  a  bad  book,  and  now  that 
he  could  see  once  more,  he  wanted  to  read  it;  so  I  gave  him  back  the 
Gospel,  and  he  stayed  to  our  service. 

One  morning  a  man  said  to  me:  **Men  are  amazed  because  all 
these  books  are  being  sold  in  Meshed.  There  is  at  least  one  book  in 
every  house.  Why  are  you  selling  them?  What  is  your  purpose?" 
I  pressed  home  on  him  the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  bought  a 
book  for  himself. 

A  Moslem  student  from  one  of  the  colleges  round  the  shrine  at 
Meshed  has  come  to  the  hospital  repeatedly  for  medical  treatment. 
He  has  bought  a  Bible,  attended  our  services,  and  shown  great  inter- 
est. Another  man,  who  had  spent  many  years  as  a  water-carrier  at 
the  famous  Moslem  shrine  in  Kerbela,  came  to  the  hospital  daily  for 
some  time.  I  sold  him  a  Gospel  and  had  many  Christian  conversa- 
tions with  him. 

Thus  from  Meshed  we  are  distributing  the  Scriptures  all  over  Persia, 
and  sending  them  across  the  border  into  Afghanistan,  where  Christian 
missionaries  are  barred  out. 

The  Christian  Sabbath  in  Egypt 

The  following  interesting  remarks  were  made  by  the  editor  of  the 
Wadi  el  Nil,  a  Moslem  paper  published  in  Egypt,  which  itself  always 
appears  on  Friday  and  takes  a  holiday  on  Sunday. 

"Islam  has  fixed  no  particular  day  for  rest,  but  it  urged  that  the 
time  for  midday  prayer  on  Friday  should  be  devoted  to  prayers.  After 
prayers  Moslems  are  instructed  to  seek  profits  'and  mention  Allah 
repeatedly  that  you  may  succeed.'  Islam  is  thus  the  religion  of  work, 
and  work  has  been  made  a  part  of  its  rules  for  which  heavenly 
reward  is  promised.  'Work  for  your  worldly  life  as  if  you  were 
made  to  live  eternally,  and  work  for  your  soul  as  if  you  were 
destined    to    die    tomorrow.'      However,     Islam    has    ordered     rest 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  305 

to  be  given  to  the  human  machine  and  this  amounts  to  giving 
time  for  individual  rest  on  any  day  of  the  week.  But  public 
habits  sometimes  take  the  form  of  religious  rules  within  certain 
limits  and  this  may  be  called  in  the  sheria  a  'favorable  innovation' 
.  .  .  The  President  of  the  Egyptian  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  said 
to  have  been  asked  to  make  a  proposal  to  the  Chamber  to  fix  Friday  as 
the  week's  closing  day  for  native  merchants  insterd  of  Sunday,  and 
when  the  proposal  was  discussed  at  a  recent  meeting,  the  chairman 
pointed  out  tthat  there  were  some  difficulties  preventing  the  taking 
of  that  step.  He  said  that  foreign  firms  and  European  banks  usually 
close  on  Sunday  and  the  native  trading  establishments  are  closely  con- 
nected with  those  firms  in  transactions,  so  if  they  closed  on  Friday 
and  opened  on  Sunday,  their  Sunday  work  would  lack  activity.  This 
is  a  poor  argument  on  the  part  of  the  Egyptian  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
which  ought  not  to  have  been  made,  for  it  shows  that,  while  there  are 
mutual  transactions  between  native  and  foreign  circles,  the  majority  of 
trading  people — the  Egyptians  in  Egypt — rely  essentially  on  foreign 
establishments  to  such  an  extent  that  they  find  themselves  obliged 
to  follow  foreigners  in  choosing  their  holiday,  lest  the  Egyptian  market 
lose  its  activity  when  the  foreign  markets  close.  Why  should  we 
accept  this  vassalage  and  not  draw  the  other  establishments  to  our 
sphere  in  this  respect  and  make  them  feel  the  absence  of  our  trans- 
actions on  our  day  of  rest?  Surely  the  banks  and  all  leading  foreign 
firms  have  vital  transactions  with  Government  departments  and  Egyp- 
tian circles,  and  there  is  no  reason  why,  while  such  establishments 
consent  to  stop  working  with  the  Government  on  Friday,  we  should 
insist  on  giving  them  work  that  day,  thus  opposing  the  official  arrange- 
ments that  correspond  with  our  national  customs." 

Moslems  and  Turks 

Under  the  above  heading,  one  who  signs  himself  an  "Arab  Towns- 
man" discusses  in  Al-Kawkab  (Cairo),  of  February  20,  the  reasons 
why  the  Arabs  and  the  Moslems  have  acquiesced  for  so  many  centuries 
in  Turkish  rule.  He  argues  that  one  of  the  reasons  could  be  found 
in  the  persistent  hope  that  sooner  or  later  the  Turks  would  follow- 
the  lead  of  European  Constitutional  Powers  and  adopt  their  system 
of  government.  Another  reason  was  that  Turkey  was  the  only  great 
Mohammedan  Power  which  represented  Islam  in  the  face  of  the  world. 
It  was  considered  that  the  downfall  of  the  Turkish  Empire  would 
be  detrimental  to  Islam.  Mohammedans  in  Turkey  bowed  their 
heads  to  Turkish  tyranny  for  the  sake  of  their  religion,  while  Moslems 
who  lived  under  the  equitable  rule  of  a  foreign  Power  and  those  who 
had  gained  their  independence,  like  the  peoples  of  North  Africa,  the 
Persians  and  the  Afghans,  did  not  realise  the  iniquity  of  Turkish 
rule. 

When  the  Revolution  of  1908  broke  out  and  the  Constitution  was 
proclaimed,  all  the  races  of  the  Turkish  Empire  welcomed  the  event 
and  celebrated  the  occasion  as  the  dawn  of  a  new  era.  Their  enthu- 
siasm was  soon  to  change  to  bitter  disappointment.  They  found  that 
the  Unionist  programme  was  to  establish  the  supremacy  of  the  Turks 
over  the  other  races  of  the  Empire,  especially  the  Arabs.  During  the 
present  war  the  Turks  cast  off  the  last  simulacrum  of  restraint  and 
decided  to  turkify,  degrade,  and  crush  all  other  elements  under  their 
rule.  The  evil  culminated  in  their  endeavour  to  destroy  Islam  and 
induce   their   Mohammedan   subjects   to   revert   to   paganism   and   the 


3o6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

worship  of  the  White  Wolf,  as  is  amply  proved  by  their  books  and 
sundry  publications.  Having  failed  to  subjugate  the  Arabs  to  their 
evil  designs,  and  having  no  European  Power  to  stay  their  hands,  they 
inaugurated  a  regime  of  terror,  spoliation,  and  murder. 

Good  News  from  Arabia 

Bordering  on  the  battling  nations,  Arabia,  more  than  any  other  of 
our  fields,  has  felt  the  impact  of  the  great  war.  It  is  a  matter  of 
relief,  however,  to  know  that  at  the  present  time  none  of  the  stations 
report  the  war  as  a  factor  in  the  approachability  of  the  people,  though 
it  has  greatly  reduced  the  number  of  native  helpers,  owing  to  the 
stoppage  of  supplies  from  central  and  eastern  Turkey,  and  their  greatly 
increased  cost.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Mission  anticipates  happy  results 
from  this  war.  It  is  hoped  and  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  the  whole 
Mesopotamian  Valley,  as  far  north  as  Bagdad,  shall  come  under  the 
domination  of  a  Christian  government,  and  that  by  the  withdrawal  from 
Arabia  of  intolerant  Turkish  authority,  and  the  probable  treaty  en- 
gagements between  the  inland  tribes  and  the  government  of  India,  the 
whole  of  the  neglected  peninsula  shall  be  opened  to  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  was  the  hope  and  the  ideal  of  the  founders,  and  it 
looks  as  though  it  might  be  realized.  Compelled  to  labor  with  reduced 
forces,  caused  by  necessary  furloughs,  and  hampered  by  war  infringe- 
ments, the  work  of  the  year  nevertheless  was  carried  on  with  great 
vigor  and  calls  for  devout  gratitude  to  God.  Would  you  know  the 
caliber  of  the  men  and  women  in  that  far-away  and  so  long  neglected 
country,  listen  to  their  appeal,  "We  feel  our  own  insufficiency  and  need 
for  divine  help  through  prayer,  our  own  and  the  intercessory  prayer  of 
believers.  We  would  not  in  any  way  make  light  of  our  needs  for 
reinforcements,  but  all  our  needs  for  men  and  women  and  money 
and  equipment  pale  before  our  need  of  Him  who  alone  is  able  to 
bring  in  the  Kingdom  of  Arabia." 

Moslem   Controversy   in   China 

It  appears  that  a  new  era  in  the  relationship  of  Christianity  to  Mos- 
lems in  China  is  at  hand,  and  one  indication  of  this  is  the  appearance  of 
Moslem  replies  to  Christianity.  We  have  seen  one  which  purports  to 
be  a  verbatim  account  of  a  public  controversy  in  India.  It  was  sub- 
mitted to  us  with  the  query,  "Should  anything  be  done  to  answer 
it?"  It  was  decided  not  to  notice  the  work.  We  now  have  another 
work  prepared  by  a  Honan  Moslem  named  Hsu  Yu-i.  By  the  imprint 
on  the  title  page  it  appears  that  a  Kansu  Mohammedan  named  Ma 
has  printed  the  book  for  the  third  time  at  his  own  expense.  Evidently 
the  book  is  intended  for  free  distribution.  It  consists  of  13  leaves 
divided  into  four  parts :  ( i )  The  Catechism  of  Mohammedanism,  con- 
sisting of  17  questions;  (2)  Replies  to  criticisms  on  Mohammedanism; 
(3)  The  Mohammedan  version  of  Christianity;  (4)  The  description 
of  the  crucifixion  of  Judas  instead  of  Chrigt  who  is  said  to  have  escaped 
to  Heaven. 

It  appears  that  Dr.  MacGillivray's  book  on  "Mohammedanism" 
and  Dr.  Richard's  "Nathan,  the  Wise"  found  their  way  into  the 
hands  of  some  Shanghai  Moslems  in  the  Mosque  inside  the  Old  North 
Gate.  Three  of  them  called  on  Dr.  Richard,  and  evidently  got  false 
ideas  from  his  remarks.  At  any  rate  they  represent  him  in  his  preface 
as  saying  that  Dr.  MacGillivray's  book  is  very  erroneous,  and  Moslems 


I 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  307 

ought  to  reply  to  it.  The  Christian  Literature  Society  and  the  Inter- 
national Institute  are  mentioned  in  the  preface  as  causing  trouble  and 
two  letters  had  been  received  from  Chef 00  complaining  that  the  Chris- 
tians were  attacking  the  Moslem  Faith.  In  this  connection  there  is  an 
outrageous  assertion  that  our  books  are  as  bad  as  the  notorious 
"Death-blow  to  Corrupt  Doctrine."  The  usual  Mohammedan  argu- 
ments against  Christianity  are  here  supplemented  by  a  defence  of 
Mohammed's  nine  wives  on  the  ground  that  there  are  nine 
heavens,  nine  grades  of  men,  men  have  nine  orifices,  etc.  It 
is  evident  that  the  writer  of  this  book  knows  nothing  of  modern 
culture,  and  still  believes  that  the  Koran  came  straight  from  Heaven. 
The  Christian  accounts  of  Christ's  life  are  still  asserted  to  be  inventions 
and  corruptions  of  the  disciples,  and  all  this,  notwithstanding  the  results 
of  modern  Biblical  criticism  and  study  of  MSS.  The  Moslems  still 
believe  that  the  old  Arabs  who  told  Mohammed  the  Koranic  version 
of  Christianity  are  more  to  be  believed  than  the  almost  illimitable  mass 
of  diplomatic  evidence  as  to  the  real  teachings  and  acts  of  Jesus.  Mr. 
Macllvaine  in  the  early  days  argued  with  them  in  Tsinanfu  and  wrote 
a  book  which  as  controversy  is  still  high  grade.  One  doubts,  how- 
ever, whether  much  is  gained  by  polemics.  If  a  Chinese  version  of  the 
Koran  were  produced  with  the  Arabic  above  it,  it  would  be  then  possi- 
ble for  the  Moslems  to  put  that  alongside  of  the  New  Testament.  This 
is  all  that  Christians  desire. 

M. 

Loyalty  to  Great  Britain  in  the  Sudan 

Among  the  most  remarkable  addresses  delivered  during  the  war 
was  that  by  Sheikh  Idris  Mahjub  at  a  meeting  of  natives  of  Sukkot 
Markez,  Haifa  Province: 

The  object  of  our  meeting  to-day  is  to  consider  the  question  of  con- 
tributions for  the  assistance  of  the  Red  Cross  Society  (for  the  wounded 
in  the  war)  and  for  the  Lord  Kitchener  Sudan  Memorial  Fund. 

Brethren,  we  often  hear  about  the  great  war  which  is  now  raging 
whilst  we  are  ourselves  living  in  perfect  security  and  peace  under  the 
protection  of  our  present  Government.  We  have  not  felt  any  of  the 
suffering  which  most  of  the  nations  are  now  undergoing.  These  nations 
are  sacrificing  their  lives  and  property  to  protect  their  homes  and  to 
support  their  governments,  whilst  in  the  Sudan  our  Government  has 
not  called  upon  us  either  to  send  our  men  to  fight  or  to  contribute 
our  money  for  the  war  expenses;  on  the  contrary,  our  gracious  govern- 
ment has  from  time  to  time  postponed  the  collection  of  taxes  due  to 
her,  and  which  are  her  right,  owing  to  some  distress  in  which  we  are 
found.  In  addition  our  government  grants  us  loans  to  extend  our 
cultivation  and  gives  free  grants  of  money  and  provisions  to  the  poor. 

Brethren,  it  is  impossible  to  expect  such  compassions  and  such  merciful 
treatment  from  any  other  except  our  just  government,  especially  in 
the  present  circumstances.  Be  assured,  however,  that  any  contributions 
which  we  give  for  such  benevolent  purposes  as  the  above  are  of  no 
material  importance  to  the  government  who  could,  instead  of  that, 
press  us  for  her  rights  which  have  not  yet  been  paid  and  which  sums 
amount  to  a  very  large  figure. 

Mr.  Tippetts,  the  Governor  of  Haifa,  has  told  me  to  convey  to  all 
the  natives  that  the  government  wishes  each  one  of  them  to  understand 
fully  that  any  such  contributions  should  be  done  by  the  full  consent 
and  free  will  of  the  individual,  but  I   add  that  humanity  makes  it 


3o8  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

our  duty  to  associate  with  the  government  as  far  as  our  means  permit 
in  the  following: 

1.  To  assist  the  wounded  heroes  who  are  sacrificing  their  lives  in 
our  defence. 

2.  To  help  in  the  erection  of  the  memorial  for  the  great  leader,  Lord 
Kitchener,  who  had  done  so  much  for  the  Sudan,  apart  from  the 
benefits  which  this  school  would  produce  to  the  Sudan. 

3.  In  acknowledgment  of  the  numerous  benefits  accruing  to  us 
from  the  government  in  order  to  express  our  loyalty  to  the  British 
rule  in  the  same  manner  as  did  other  Mohammedans  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  British  Empire  who  one  and  all  are  exerting  their  utmost 
to  express  their  full  obedience  and  sincere  loyalty.  Let  us  follow  in 
their  footsteps. 

Swearing  on  the  Koran 

Whether  this  is  sanctioned  by  the  Moslem  faith  or  not  was  recently 
called  into  question  in  the  courts  of  Bengal.  We  read  in  The  English- 
man, Calcutta : 

A  religious  controversy  of  some  importance  relating  to  the  propriety  of 
swearing  on  the  Koran  in  a  court  of  law  was  raised  on  Friday  at  the 
Court  of  Mr.  Keays,  Second  Presidency  Magistrate,  in  connection  with 
the  prosecution  of  a  Peshwari  for  unlawful  possession  of  seven  seers  of 
opium.  The  accused  challenged  the  Excise  Inspector  and  a  Head 
Constable  both  of  whom  are  Mohammedans  if  they  were  prepared  to 
swear  on  the  Koran  that  he  was  found  in  actual  possession  of  the 
opium.  The  former  witness  stated  that  not  being  attired  in  clean 
clothing  he  could  not  touch  the  Koran.  The  Head  Constable  refused 
to  swear  on  the  Koran  as  it  was  against  the  tenets  of  his  religion.  Mr. 
Guha,  vakil  for  the  Crown  cited  an  instance  in  which  some  years  ago 
Justice  Norris  allowed  an  oath  to  be  taken  on  the  God  Salgram  the 
idol  of  which  was  produced  in  Court  and  a  Bengali  editor  who  wrote 
strongly  against  such  a  procedure  was  prosecuted  for  contempt  of  Court. 
Mr.  Guha  contended  that  such  practices  should  be  discouraged,  as 
swearing  on  the  Koran  was  against  the  tenets  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  The  trial  was  then  proceeded  with.  Other  witnesses  being 
examined  the  case  was  adjourned. 

A  Moslem  Saint  Who  Could  not  Sin 

The  Morocco  Correspondent  writes  in  the  London  Times : 

When  a  descendant  of  a  great  Moslem  saint  whose  tomb  is  one  of 
the  glories  of  Baghdad  came  to  Fez  there  was  quite  a  stir  amongst 
the  religious  world,  for  not  only  was  this  personage  possessed  of 
great  hereditary  sanctity,  but  he  brought  with  him  as  well  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  blameless  life  of  devotion. 

Never  did  any  man's  holiness  stand  more  clearly  revealed.  The 
ascetic  countenance,  the  lips  moving  ever  in  silent  prayer,  the  rotating 
beads  of  his  rosary  that  never  ceased  running  through  his  tapering 
fingers,  the  downcast  eyes  more  than  half  hidden  in  the  shade  of  the 
soft  draperies  of  his  "haik,"  with  their  lids  stained  dark  blue  with 
"kohl" — all  spoke  of  his  blameless  life  and  before  he  had  been  in  Fez 
above  two  or  three  days  he  was  known  in  the  city  as  "the  man  who 
could  not  sin." 

It  was  on  the  fourth  day  of  his  visit — for  he  had  spent  the  first 
two  in  seclusion  and  prayer  and  had  been  received  by  the  Sultan  on 
the  third — that    he    was    invited    to    take    his    midday    meal    in    the 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  309 

palace  of  the  Sultan's  uncle,  a  man  of  high  reputation  and  attainments. 
To  meet  "the  holy  man"  the  host  had  invited  a  score  of  his  relatives 
and  high  dignitaries  of  the  town — the  flower  of  the  Fez  aristocracy. 

Even  more  sedate  than  usual  was  this  entertainment,  to  which, 
as  is  customary,  the  guests  arrived  before  the  hour,  to  allow  time 
for  the  intricate  and  prolonged  course  of  tea-drinking  which  precedes 
every  meal  in  Fez.  Nor  did  the  "holy  man's"  attitude  tend  to 
enliven  the  party,  for  he  paid  little  attention  to  anyone  or  anything, 
and  sat  in  silent  recitation  of  prayers  and  passages  from  sacred  writings. 
When  he  was  addressed  he  replied  in  monosyllables,  without  raising 
his  head. 

A  desultory  conversation  among  the  other  guests  turned,  as  so  many 
conversations  did  at  that  time — it  was  just  before  the  French  occupation 
of  Morocco — on  the  subject  of  the  intentions  of  the  European  Powers. 
The  Sultan's  uncle  gave  an  account,  interposed  with  many  religious  ex- 
clamations of  a  visit  of  a  Representative  of who  had  just  left  the 

Moorish  Court.     He  finished  his  long  address  with  these  words : 

"It  is  clear,  O  my  lords  and  brethren,  that  while  Allah  has  bestowed 
upon  us  truth  and  learning,  wisdom  and  righteousness,  Satan  has  granted 
exceeding  skill  to  the  infidel — ^which  will  avail  him  nothing,  as  his 
soul  is  lost.  The  Ambassador  himself  gave  me  an  object  which  is 
admirable  nothwithstanding  its  origin ;"  and  with  this  he  produced  from 
voluminous  folds  of  his  raiment  an  immense  gold  watch;  one  of  those 
watches  that  do  everything^strike,  repeat,  show  the  phases  of  the 
moon,  tell  the  days  of  the  month  and  the  week,  and  even  possess,  hidden 
away  in  their  complicated  works,  a  diminutive  musical  box. 

"God  is  great !"  breathed  the  guests  as  the  host  explained  the  wonders 
of  his  new  acquisition.  Other  watches  appeared  from  beneath  the  flow- 
ing robes  of  the  company,  but  none  could  compete  with  this  prodigy 
of  watches,  which  with  the  more  humble  timepieces  was  passed  from 
hand  to  hand  for  inspection  and  admiration. 

Conversation  became  general ;  every  man  seemed  to  have  a  watch  story 
to  tell,  except  the  guest  of  the  day,  who  sat  ever  with  downcast  eyes. 
To  him  all  this  was  worldliness. 

Tea-drinking  came  to  an  end,  and  half  a  dozen  slaves  hurried  in, 
swept  up  the  crumbs  of  the  almond  cakes,  collected  the  little  tea  cups 
on  the  great  trays,  and  carried  out  the  "samorass,"  the  incense  burners, 
and  all  the  other  articles  which  form  part  and  parcel  of  a  tea  party  in  Fez. 
Then  they  rearranged  the  pillows  on  the  low  divans,  straightened  the 
carpets,  and  sprinkled  the  guests  with  rose-water  out  of  long-necked 
silver  sprinklers. 

It  was  then  that  it  was  discovered  that  the  great  gold  watch  had 
disappeared !  Those  of  the  other  guests  were  there,  spread  about  on  the 
divan  and  carpet,  but  this  prince  of  timepieces  had  gone. 

There  was  consternation  among  the  guests — all  but  two.  For 
the  "holy  man"  seemed  to  take  a  very  distant  interest  in  what  was 
passing,  while  the  owner  of  the  watch  hastened  to  reassure  his  friends. 

"One  of  the  slaves  has  taken  it,"  he  said,  "so  it  cannot  leave  the 
house.  Think  no  more  of  it.  A  Christian  gave  it  to  me,  but  Allah 
will  restore  it.  Think  no  more  of  it — and,  indeed,  it  is  the  hour  of  the 
midday  prayer,"  and  rising  he  led  the  way  into  the  sunlit  courtyard, 
where,  having  performed  their  ablutions,  the  guests  formed  themselves 
into  two  lines,  one  behind  the  other.  Then  the  "holy  man,"  as  "Imam," 
took  his  place  a  little  in  front  of  the  centre  of  the  first  line,  and  the 
whole  company  began  their  prayers  and  prostrations.  In  union  fell 
the  cry  of  "Allah  Akbar"  as  together  they  rose  to  their  feet  or  bowed 


310  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

their  foreheads  to  the  marble  floor.  Next,  crosslegged,  each  with  hi? 
rosary  in  his  hand,  they  sat  in  silent  meditation,  and  the  face  of  the  saint 
seemed  illuminated  by  the  depth  of  his  devotion  and  the  accumulated 
holiness  of  his  blameless  life. 

Then  clear  in  the  silence  of  the  sunlit  courtyard  from  the  depths  of 
the  robes  of  "the  man  who  could  not  sin,"  the  great  gold  watch  struck 
twelve  and  played  Weber's  last  valse! 

A  Moslem  Argument  on  the  Death  of  Christ 

On  the  2 1st  of  April  the  editor  of  the  Moslem  paper  Es-Sa'ika 
("The  Thunderbolt")  published  an  article  under  the  title  Good  Friday 
which  ran  as  follows: 

"What  would  you  say,"  said  a  witty  friend,  "if  two  persons  came  to 
you  carrying  a  shrouded  corpse  between  them,  and  one  of  them 
voluntarily  says  to  you:  *I  have  killed  this  man  because  he  did  so  and 
so.'  And  the  other  says,  *I  am  the  avenger  of  blood.  I  have  seen 
this  man  strike  him  dead  with  my  own  eyes.'  Is  there  any  doubt 
after  that  that  there  was  a  murder,  that  the  one  is  a  murderer  and 
the  other  the  avenger  of  blood?" 

"No  doubt,"  said  I,  "if  the  criminal  himself  confesses  it  and  his  crime 
is  confirmed  by  the  avenger  of  blood  and  proved  by  the  corpse  of 
the  murdered." 

"To-day  is  Good  Friday,"  continued  my  friend,  "It  is  in  com- 
memoration of  the  day  on  which  Christ  was  crucified.  You  arc  aware 
that  two  thousand  years  ago  the  Jews  had  shown  hostility  to  Christ 
and  had  crucified  him.  The  Christians  confirm  the  claim.  No  one 
contradicted  the  fact  until  six  centuries  later  when  Islam  came  and 
denied  the  crucifixion  protesting  that  it  was  not  Christ  himself  who  had 
been  crucified  but  another.  I  hope  you  have  not  forgotten  the  judgment 
you  gave  in  connection  with  the  two  persons  whom  I  mentioned  at  the 
beginning  of  our  conversation.  Now  what  have  you  to  say  to  this?" 
And  not  finding  an  answer  I  kept  silent. 

This  conversation  with  my  friend  reminds  me  of  a  Christian  priest 
Christoferos  Gebara  who  came  to  Egypt  many  years  ago.  This  man 
wanted  to  combine  the  three  religions,  Judaism,  Christianity  and  Islam, 
he  believed  Moses,  Jesus  and  Mohammed  were  prophets;  he  was 
Moslem  in  everything  except  the  question  of  the  crucifixion.  He 
used  to  interpret  the  Qoranic  text  in  regard  to  this  question  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  it  agree  with  the  texts  in  the  Bible  that  state  the  death 
of  Jesus  before  his  ascension.  However,  Gebara  was  neither  favored 
by  Jews,  Christians  nor  Moslems  and  at  his  death  they  refused  to 
have  him  buried  in  their  cemeteries.  But  when  a  wise  Christian 
stated  his  conviction  that  he  had  repented  before  his  death  they  allowed 
him  Christian  burial.  When  the  late  great  Imam,  Sheikh  Mohammad 
Abdu  was  asked  what  was  his  opinion  about  the  man  he  said:  "He  was 
a  Moslem  because  he  believed  in  the  foundations  of  Islam  although 
he  was  disobedient  to  the  law  since  he  did  not  believe  what  was 
accepted  by  all  Moslems  regarding  their  denial  of  the  crucifixion." 

I  think  if  the  Imam  was  asked  again  he  would  answer  that  there 
are  men  who  find  it  easier  to  disagree  with  authority  than  to  deny 
historical  facts. 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  311 

Mohamet  V  Superseded* 

The  great  news  of  the  day  is  sent  to  us  from  Mecca,  the  capital 
of  Islam,  and  seat  of  the  Grand  Sherif.  It  is  the  question  of  suppress- 
ing the  name  of  Mahomet  V,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  from  the  Friday 
"Khoutbe"  in  all  the  mosques  of  the  Hedjaz. 

This  decisive  event  vv^hich  marks  the  definite  separation  between 
Mecca  and  Constantinople,  has  been  expected  and  demanded  during  the 
several  past  months.  As  a  prelude  to  the  realization  of  the  general 
desire  of  the  Arab  world  in  this  regard,  a  declaration  was  made  on 
the  4th  of  February,  191 7,  by  Heusein  I  in  a  proclamation  stigmatiz- 
ing the  action  of  the  Young  Turks  at  Medina  as  sacrilegious  in  the 
following  words: 

"We  announce  to  the  Musulmans,  still  submissive  to  the  Turks 
and  specially  to  the  army  and  its'  chiefs,  that,  in  default  of  an  in- 
surrection on  their  part,  having  for  its  object  the  overthrow  of  the 
Turanian  Government,  and  a  declaration  of  separation  between  them 
and  it,  we  consider  as  definitely  destroyed  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  the 
renaissance  of  Islam  in  Turkey,  and  the  renewing  of  those  ancient 
bonds  of  its  people. 

The  first  act  in  accomplishing  this  by  us  was  the  suppression  of  the 
name  of  Sultan  from  the  Friday  "Khoutbe,"  which  we  have  preserved 
to  the  present  time  out  of  respect  for  his  ancestors,  and  in  the  hope 
of  seeing  the  advent  one  day  of  those  who  might  rescue  the  Empire 
from  this  gang  of  usurping  young  Turks." 

The  war  which  has  been  carried  on  victoriously  for  22  months  by 
the  King  of  the  Arabs,  has  become  a  national  struggle  against  all  Turks. 
The  "local  incident",  as  it  was  characterized  lately  in  a  communique 
issued  by  the  Ottoman  Legation  at  Berne,  presents  an  international 
problem  of  the  highest  importance,  and  causes  the  greatest  anxiety 
to  the  rulers  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  They  endeavor  to  conciliate 
the  "Arab  rebels",  expressing  cordial  sentiments.  They  promise  "pater- 
nal" pardon  to  the  Grand  Sherif  and  his  partisans.  One  of  their 
leading  propagandists,  in  a  semi-official  interview  issuing  from  Berlin, 
has  declared  that  the  Arabs  desire  and  should  have  a  change  in  the 
Turkish  government  system  for  their  country.  A  little  later,  the 
same  personage — by  what  order  is  well  known — declared  to  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  at  Stamboul,  the  right  of  the  Arab  peoples  to  a  liberal 
regime. 

But  these  Arabs,  whose  civilization  has  flourished  in  the  past  from 
Spain  to  India,  and  whose  immortal  history,  characterized  by  a  nobility 
and  grandeur,  has  come  down  through  the  ages,  are  too  wise  to  be  caught 
in  a  trap  so  gross.  They  know  too  well  the  Turks,  who  during  six 
centuries  have  never  ceased  to  oppress  and  to  endeavor  to  stifle  in 
them  those  national  and  patriotic  sentiments  which  will  no  longer 
submit  to  the  tyrannical  domination  of  Constantinople.  The  Turks 
and  their  companions  endeavor  to  give  a  false  color  to  the  Arab  move- 
ment, by  accusing  its  promoters  of  submission  to  England.  "English 
gold"  is  their  great  battle  cry.  According  to  them,  the  Grand  Sherif 
has  sold  the  sacred  places  of  Islam  to  Government  at  London,  and 
the  Arab  Army  subsists  on  "British  pennies." 

Nothing  could  be  more  absurd.  The  Arab  movement  is  not  fiction. 
The  roots  are  deep  in  the  soul  of  the  nation,  and  the  Grand  Sherif 
and  his  troops  are  only  the  faithful  interpreters  of  the  popular  senti- 

♦  Translation  from  Tribune  de  Geneve,  April  2,  1918. 


312  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

merits.     The  interference  of  strangers  in  the  affairs  of  the  Hcdjaz  is 
set  forth  in  the  following  words: 

"If  we  have  expelled  the  Turks  from  our  territory,"  writes  "AI- 
Kible,"  of  Mecca,  the  organ  of  the  Grand  Sherif,  "it  is  that  they 
have  considered  us  as  strangers,  and  that  they  do  not  recognize  our 
traditions.  How  can  we  accept  the  supremacy  of  other  non-Arab 
powers?  It  is  well  that  we  have  prepared  the  revolt  and  drawn  the 
fire.  No  person,  stranger  to  our  race,  can  take  part.  We  are  ready 
to  consult  the  Entente  Powers,  but  insist  that  they  do  not  mix  in  our 
affairs.  At  the  same  time  we  desire  their  assistance  because  there  are 
certain  questions  which  are  common  to  them  and  us." 

On  the  other  hand  the  English  Government  was  forward  to  publish 
in  London  and  Cairo,  on  July,  1916,  a  declaration  in  which  it  was 
expressly  said,  "According  to  the  principle  invariable  in  British  politics, 
the  sacred  places  of  Islam  must  remain  in  the  hands  of  an  independent 
Musulman  power."  This  point  of  view  was  equally  adhered  to  by 
all  the  diplomats  of  the  Entente.  As  to  the  rest,  the  Army  of 
the  Hedjaz,  numbering  more  than  100,000  men,  is  composed  of  im- 
portant elements — volunteers — coming  from  all  the  countries  of  the 
Islamic  world.  It  is  not  a  question,  therefore,  of  forming  an  army 
under  the  auspices  of  England.  England  does  not  cease  to  show  to 
the  young  Arab  Kingdom  proofs  of  sympathy  and  desire  for  its  success. 
She  has  also  announced  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  in  a  significant 
despatch  from  General  Allenby,  addressed  to  King  Heusein  as  the 
Supreme  Sovereign  of  Islam. 

There  cannot  be  too  much  emphasis  put  on  the  point  that  the  Arab 
movement  is  essentially  national.  Its  principle  aim  is  the  unity  of  the 
nation.  In  this  regard  the  following  portion  of  a  letter  addressed 
to  us  by  the  King  Heusein  I  is  characteristic.  "The  sole  cause  of 
our  movement,"  writes  His  Majesty,  "is  found  in  the  desire  to  safe- 
guard the  unity  of  our  nation,  without  distinction  of  belief  and  opinion. 
Such  alone  is  our  final  aim." 

The  only  point  of  discussion  was  precisely  this  of  continuing  the 
mention  of  the  name  of  Mohamet  V  in  the  Friday  service.  This 
strange  name  being  proscribed,  the  Arab  movement  becomes  hence- 
forth coherent  and  beyond  question. 

(Signed)    Aly  El-Ghaiaty. 


BOOK  REVIEW 


**The  Tropics :  their  Resources,  People  and  Future." 

Knock,  C.  E.,  F.  R.  G.  S.     Grant  Richards,  Ltd.     London.     16/0 
net. 

The  Author  of  this  admirable  and  most  instructive  volume  is  already 
well  know  as  the  writer  of  ''The  Andes  and  the  Amazon,"  "The 
Great  Pacific  Coast"  and  other  works.  His  own  extensive  travels 
enable  him  to  speak  with  a  certain  degree  of  personal  knowledge  of  many 
of  the  numerous  countries  of  which  he  writes.  Some  idea  of  the  extent 
of  the  field  which  this  single  book  covers  may  be  gained  by  remember- 
ing that  it  purports  to  be  "a  description  of  the  Tropical  Lands  of 
Africa,  Asia,  Central  and  South  America,  Australasia  and  the  Pacific; 
their  natural  products,  scenery,  inhabitants  and  industries,  and  the 
possibilities  of  their  future  development."  This  is  a  stupendous  task 
for  any  one  man  to  undertake ;  yet  we  are  not  sure  that  his  readers  will 
agree  with  us  that  Mr.  Enock  has  done  it  as  well  as  possible.  His  style, 
too,  is  good  and  interesting,  and  he  carries  his  readers  along  with  him 
almost  as  if  he  were  writing  a  novel  or  a  tale  of  travel  and  adventure. 
The  64  illustrations  and  maps  which  are  freely  distributed  throughout 
the  volume,  though  naturally  not  all  of  equal  excellence  and  imoortance, 
add  very  much  to  the  value  of  the  work. 

Mr.  Enock  is  animated  by  a  noble  purpose  in  writing  this  book. 
His  aim  is  to  originate  a  new  philanthropic  Science,  that  of  "Con- 
structive Human  Geography,"  or  the  science  of  corporate  living  on  the 
Earth.  This  Science  "will  seek  the  way  by  which  the  reaction  or 
adjustment  of  mankind  to  its  topographical  and  economic  environment 
may  be  brought  about.  ...  It  finds  the  economic  and  industrial  life  like 
the  world  at  variance  with  its  surroundings."  Hence  the  new  Science 
aims  at  surveying,  in  the  first  place,  the  present  conditions  of  the  life  of 
the  peoples  of  the  world  and  investigating  the  natural  resources,  human 
and  material,  of  the  various  countries  in  which  they  live.  Then  the  con- 
structive part  of  the  Science  endeavours  to  discover  "how  a  balance 
may  be  brought  about  between  these  natural  resources  ...  of  the 
globe  and  the  human  element  which  inhabits  it."  In  this  matter 
ethics  and  humanity  are  concerned  even  more  deeply  than  commerce  and 
economics.  The  study  of  these  matters  should  prevent  any  one  section 
of  the  human  race  from  exploiting  a  people  inferior  to  itself  in  material 
strength  or  degree  of  civilisation,  and  to  encourage  all  to  work  together 
for  their  common  advantage  thus  securing  justice  for  all,  and  making  it 
evident  that,  even  on  the  lowest  ground,  honest  and  fair  play  are 
more  profitable  than  the  policy  so  generally  pursued  now-a-days  of 
treating  the  "lower  races"  as  existing  only  for  the  advantage  of  the 
"higher."  Referring  to  this  latter  point  our  author  well  says:  "We 
have  generally  regarded  many  of  the  tropical  peoples  as  barbarous. 
But  barbarities  have  been  committed  during  the  War  by  one  of  the 
most  advanced  and  Christian  nations — the  Germans — such  as  the  world 
has  probably  never  witnessed  among  Western  people,  or  west  of  Suez. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  coloured  troops  or  adherents  of  Britain  and 

313 


314  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

France  have  comported  themselves  with  dignity  and  restraint.  Morel 
From  India,  from  Fiji,  from  Zanzibar,  from  the  remote  Moslem 
dependency  of  Bornu  in  the  heart  of  Darkest  Africa,  have  come  voices 
spontaneously  raised  in  indignation  of  Teutonic  barbarity."     (p.  xxiii.) 

All  the  chapters  in  the  book  are  full  of  information,  generally  up 
to  date  in  all  important  particulars.  The  account  of  Africa  between 
the  tropics  of  Cancer  and  Capricorn  is  particularly  full  and  goood. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  tropical  America,  where  the  description 
given  of  many  regions  still  but  slightly  known  to  the  world  at  large 
will  be  read  with  great  interest.  This  will  be  deservedly  increased  by 
the  author's  evident  rare  desire  to  give  a  fair  and  impartial  account  of 
the  character  and  capabilities  of  the  various  Native  Races  of  whom 
he  speaks,  and  the  details  which  he  gives  of  their  past  civilisation  in 
some  cases.  The  chapters  on  Arabia  are  of  much  value.  India  is 
much  better  known,  and  hence  it  was  not  necessary  to  go  into  such  full 
details  as  in  regard  to  other  Eastern  lands,  especially  as  only  the 
southern  half  of  the  country  lies  within  the  tropics.  It  is  hardly 
fair  to  say  that  the  country  is  kept  "as  a  preserve  for  the  manufacturing 
output  of  Lancashire,"  but  any  tendency  in  this  direction  should  be 
checked.  Mr.  Enock,  though  stating  the  Indian  assertion  that  famines 
have  been  more  prevalent  in  India  since  British  rule  began  there  than 
they  had  previously  been,  does  not  accept  such  an  erroneous  view. 
He  does  full  justice  to  the  energetic  measures  in  relief  works  and  the 
extension  of  irrigation  and  railway  communication  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  counteract  the  causes  of  famines  and  their  deadly  effects.  Yet 
he  thinks  that  "the  economic  situation  of  India  ...  is  probably  a 
contributing  factor."  We  doubt  this,  but  are  led  to  enquire  whether 
the  encouragement  given  to  devoting  much  of  the  most  fertile  and  best 
irrigated  land  in  the  country  to  the  cultivation  of  opium  had  or  had  not 
anything  to  do  with  the  recurrence  of  famines.  It  is  a  matter  for 
thankfulness  that  at  any  rate  the  opium  trade  with  China  is  now  at 
an  end. I    May  its  growth  soon  be  abolished  in  India  altogether! 

The  concluding  Chapter  on  "The  Future  of  the  Tropics"  is  one  of 
the  most  important  in  the  book.  We  cannot  deal  at  all  adequately 
with  it  here,  but  we  trust  it  will  be  carefully  studied  by  all  who  have 
at  heart  the  happiness  of  their  fellow-creatures.  The  great  question 
regarding  the  Tropics  is:  "Are  the  intelligent  communities  into  whose 
hands  the  control  of  the  backward  coloured  nations  has  been  given 
doing  all  that  modern  intelligence  would  suggest  and  modern  duty 
demand  towards  the  developement  of  these  great  resources  and  the 
advancement  of  the  native  people  of  tropical  lands?"  (p.  431.)  It  is 
impossible  to  answer  this  question  in  the  affirmative  as  yet,  but  the 
spread  of  Missionary  work  is  bringing  nearer  every  day  the  prospect 
of  justice  being  done  to  the  coloured  races  and  their  religious, 
mental  and  moral  elevation.  The  more  truly  the  Christian  Faith 
pervades  the  breasts  of  men  of  more  civilised  nations,  the  more  forci- 
bly will  public  opinion  urge  the  abolition  of  all  oppression  of  coloured 
peoples  and  their  fair  and  humane  treatment.  True  Christianity  alone 
can  overcome  men's  natural  selfishness  and  give  civilised  nations  a 
nobler  aim  than  that  of  making  money  out  of  the  sufferings  of  those 
committed  to  their  charge. 

"When  we  come  to  a  consideration  of  the  part  which  missionary 
work,"  says  Mr.  Enock,  "has  played  in  the  progress  of  the  tropics,  our 
first  consideration  must  be  one  of  gratitude  and  appreciation  of  the 
noble  work  carried  out,  whatever  'economic'  criticism  may  be  directed 
against  it.     These  services  to  mankind  can  never  be  sufficiently  esteemed, 


BOOK  REVIEWS  3i5 

nor  can  they  be  adjudged  by  the  immediate  results  apparent  therefrom. 
Missionaries,  moreover,  have  carried,  not  only  spiritual  but  often 
economic  light  to  the  heathen  of  the  torrid  zone,  and  in  addition  they 
have  done  no  mean  exploratory  and  geographical  work.  ...  In 
British  Africa  the  missionary  has  done  magnificent  work  in  regard  to 
such  matters  as  the  'drink  traffic,'  forced  labour,  the  alienation  of  native 
lands  and  so  forth,  matters  which  even  modern  British  (and  Liberal) 
governments  have  been  obliged  to  compromise  with.  It  may  be,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  future  the  economic  side  of  missionary  work  will  have 
to  be  strongly  developed,  if  the  movement  is  to  hold  its  own,"  (pp. 
446,  447).  A  footnote  points  out  that  the  "Annual  British  contribu- 
tions to  Foreign  Missionary  work  amount  to  £1,800,000;  expenditure 
in  intoxicating  liquors  to  £163,000,000." 

The  value  of  the  book  is  materially  increased  by  a  full  and  carefully 
compiled  Index.  As  a  source  of  information  upon  all  matters,  con- 
nected with  the  tropics  this  work  cannot  easily  be  surpassed. 

It  may  seem  ungrateful,  when  so  much  is  excellent,  to  point  to  a 
few  slight  errors,  in  themselves  of  no  great  consequence.  It  is  in- 
correct, for  instance,  to  identify  "Cush"  of  the  Hebrew  of  Isaiah 
xviii,  I,  with  the  modern  Abyssinia,  as  is  done  in  p.  211.  "Cush" 
in  that  passage,  represents  the  island  of  Meroe,  as  it  was  called  by 
the  Greeks.  Again,  it  is  true  that  "Singapore"  means  "the  city  of  the 
lion,"  as  is  stated  in  p.  279,  but  it  is  a  Hindi,  not  a  Malay  word. 
Doubtless  it  did  not  come  within  the  purpose  of  the  book,  in  speaking 
of  Khartum  (p.  225)  to  call  attention  to  the  injustice  of  excluding 
Christian  teaching  from  the  College — "the  educational  centre  of  the 
Soudan" — erected  in  memory  of  the  great  Christian  hero  Gordon,  to 
whom  the  city  owes  so  much. 

W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall. 

Life  of  Abul  Hamid.      By  Sir  Edwin  Pears.     London:  Constable. 

1917-    365  pp.    6/  net. 
Inside    Constantinople   During    the    Dardanelles    Expedition. 

By   Lewis   Einstein.     London:   John    Murray.     1917.     291    pp. 

6/  net. 
The  Life  of  Abdul  Hamid  has  been  included  in  the  Makers  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century  Series  on  the  principle  that  demolition  is  sometimes 
a  necessary  part  of  construction.  The  information  as  to  religion  and 
ethnography  is  second  hand  and  the  mention  of  commentaries  on  the 
Koran  by  the  immediate  followers  of  the  Prophet  does  not  suggest 
accurate  research;  but  the  author  has  used  his  opportunities  to  give 
us  a  readable  sketch  of  the  greatest  anachronism  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  has  brought  to  light  the  main  features  of  his  career  and  its 
results. 

Abdul  Hamid  was  the  son  of  an  Armenian  mother,  brought  up 
in  dread  of  the  bowstring,  with  no  effective  education  till  he  succeeded 
his  demented  brother,  Murad,  in  1876.  He  had  visited  Paris  once  in 
1867,  but  he  could  converse  in  no  language  save  Turkish  and  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne  9f  Turkey  he  remained  a  self-made  prisoner  in 
his  new  palace  of  Yeldiz,  a  dwelling,  a  fortress  and  a  suburb  of  Con- 
stantinople in  one.  He  was  neither  luxurious  nor  dissolute  in  his 
private  life ;  but  real  friendship  he  seems  never  to  have  known.  He  was 
covetous,  suspicious  and  bent  upon  making  himself  an  absolute  ruler. 
An  ignorant,  isolated  man,  his  chief  idea  of  rule  was  to  act  upon 
the  reports  of  his  innumerable  spies,  whose  journals  were  daily  sub- 
mitted to  him  and  accumulated  into  libraries.     The  resultant  line  of 


3i6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

conduct  was  a  downward  zigzag.  Abdul  Hamid  was  incurably  vacil- 
lating; repeatedly  advancing  great  claims,  and  as  often  receding  when 
he  was  brought  up  against  the  real  facts.  Again  and  again  his  double- 
dealing  in  such  cases  brought  about  the  loss  of  a  province,  as  Crete 
and  Egypt,  but  he  remained  incurable,  till  his  shufflings  in  Macedonia 
brought  about  the  Revolution  of  1908,  followed  by  his  counterplots 
and  deposition  in  1909. 

Sir  Edwin  Pears  shows  how  consistently  Abdul  Hamid  inhibited 
all  ministerial  authority,  but  he  has  not  pointed  out  how  the  eventual 
adoption  of  a  Constitution  for  Turkey  was  positively  prepared  for  in  a 
way  the  borne  aristocrat  little  foresaw.  The  promulgation  of  the  Qa- 
nun  i  Humayun  (Imperial  Code)  was  intended  to  break  the  power  of 
the  Moslem  hierarchy,  who  stood  upon  the  Shari'at  or  Canon  Law  of 
Islam  and  opposed  once  and  again  the  Sultan's  tyrannical  measures. 
The  new  law  was  based  on  the  Code  Napoleon  and  outside  religious 
cases  it  came  to  regularise  the  life  of  the  Empire.  The  Sultan  sub- 
dued his  religious  rival,  but  he  also  undermined  the  theoretic  basis  of 
Moslem  rule  and  accustomed  his  people  to  government  by  a  non-Koranic 
code,  which  was  really  suited  to  constitutional  rule. 

In  one  other  respect  Abdul  Hamid  was  consistent  and  successful. 
The  European  Powers,  at  variance  with  one  another,  dreaded  the 
results  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Turkish  Empire  more  than  they  abhorred 
its  abuses  and  the  Sultan  was  an  adept  in  playing  of?  one  against 
another;  so  it  was  possible  for  the  horrors  of  Bulgaria  in  1876  and  of 
Armenia  in  1894-5  to  take  place  while  the  Concert  of  Europe  wrangled. 
Bulgaria  was  freed  in  1878;  Armenia  has  gone  through  further  agonies 
under  the  constitution  and  the  alliance  with  Germany.  Is  the  hour  of 
release  come,  and  will  the  name  of  Abdul  Hamid,  now  coupled  with  that 
of  Enver  be  to  the  next  generation  of  Armenians  an  evil  dream? 

Mr.  Einstein's  book  carries  us  on  into  the  Great  War.  He  was 
special  agent  at  the  American  Embassy  in  Constantinople  in  1915-1916 
and  he  gives  us  a  diary  narrative  of  happenings  from  the  bombardment 
of  the  Straits  till  he  left  the  city  in  September,  1916,  when  Bulgaria 
was  mobilised.  The  latest  Armenian  agony  is  depicted  with  an  added 
touch  of  horror  in  the  absence  of  religious  fanaticism  in  its  promoters. 
It  was  a  cold-blooded  war  measure  such  at  least  acquiesced  in  by 
the  German  leaders,  but  none  the  less  was  conversion  to  Islam  a  feature 
of  it  and  photographs  are  available  of  the  certificates,  prepared  for  the 
occasion  and  used  in  large  numbers,  of  the  "promotion  to  Islam"  of 
Armenians,  men  and  women,  in  fear  of  rape.  The  Ulama  and  many 
of  the  local  Moslems  were  against  the  massacres,  but  their  protests 
were  overborne.  Mr.  Einstein's  chapters  give  a  vivid  picture  of  daily 
life  amid  the  violent  fluctuations  of  the  war:  the  fatalism  of  the 
people  and  the  mendacity  of  their  rulers,  the  Anglophile  feeling  of  the 
upper  classes  amongst  the  Turks,  the  workings  of  German  policy,  the 
wavering  of  Bulgaria  and  Rumania.  We  are  introduced  to  many  in- 
teresting characters:  the  German  Minister  von  Wangenheim,  the 
Shaikh  ul  Islam,  a  Turkish  Bey  who  is  also  a  dervish,  a  French  ren- 
egade, who  cultivates  the  harem  for  the  sake  of  which  he  apostatized 
and  especially  Enver  Pasha.  He  is  described  as  a  military  failure,  but 
a  competent  and  impartial  administrator,  sustained  by  a  calm  fatalism  at 
the  most  critical  junctures.     The  book  is  a  successful  moving  picture. 

H.  U.  Weitbrecht  Stanton. 

The  Life  of  Mohammed,  the  Prophet  of  Allah. 
The  Paris  Book  Club,  11,  rue  de  Chateaudun,  Paris  (IX').     On 


BOOK  REVIEWS  317 

subscription.  Edition  limited  to  One  Thousand  Copies.  125 
on  Imperial  Japanese  vellum  at  £18  OO  per  copy.  875  on  Hand- 
made paper  at  £8  00  per  copy. 

From  the  Prospectus  of  this  work  in  large  quarto,  we  learn  that  the 
author  Sliman-ben-Ibrahim  with  the  co-operation  of  E.  Dinet,  a  French 
artist,  have  produced  a  Life  of  Mohammed  which  will  at  last  not 
only  idealise  him,  but  put  on  the  latest  gilding.  "After  the  many 
slanderous,  vituperative  lives  of  Mohammed  that  have  appeared  in 
European  lands  during  the  course  of  centuries,  this  book,  divulging 
the  veritable  characteristics  and  triumphs  of  the  mighty  Prophet  of 
Medinah,  will  come  as  a  surprise  and  revelation  to  those  who  have  no 
idea  of  the  truth."  The  work  is  dedicated  by  the  Author-Painter  and 
his  Arab  collaborator  to  the  memory  of  the  valiant  Moslem  soldiers, 
particularly  those  of  France  and  England,  who,  in  the  sacred  cause  of 
Right,  Justice  and  Humanity  have  piously  sacrificed  their  lives  in  the 
great  war  of  the  Nations. 

It  is  not  surprising  to  learn  from  the  prospectus  that  it  was  with 
almost  religious  emotion  that  E.  Dinet  and  Sliman-ben-Ibrahim  resolved 
that  they  would  work  together — Inshallah — (God  willing)  and  re- 
trace the  history  of  the  great  Prophet  whose  memory  they  both  pro- 
foundly revere.  But  we  are  surprised  that  an  ideal  biography,  such 
as  this  is  intended  to  be,  is  professedly  based  upon  the  original  sources. 
We  read  that  "he  has  with  scrupulous  fidelity  set  forth  every  inci- 
dent, relying  on  ancient  texts;  conscientiously  founding  his  statements 
on  the  written  traditions  of  reliable  scribes,  such  as  Ibn  Hisham,  Ibn 
Saad,  Al  Halabi  and  other  trustworthy  authorities.  The  incontest- 
able proof  of  the  narratives,  dating  twelve  centuries  back,  is  that  they  are 
absolutely  identical  with  the  mode  of  living,  sentiments  and  language 
of  the  Moslem  desert  dwellers  nowadays." 

The  thirty- five  colored  plates  leave  nothing  to  be  desired  from  an 
artistic  standpoint.  They  are  reproduced  from  original  paintings  in  oils 
and  the  skill  of  the  Arab  calligrapher  has  been  used  in  the  ornamental 
decorations. 

.  Naturally,  in  a  book  for  Moslems,  the  problem  of  illustrating  Moham- 
med's life  was  difficult.  Our  prospectus  says:  "A  serious  stumbling- 
block  in  illustrating  this  book  is  due  to  the  fact  that  Mohammedans  are 
forbidden  to  reproduce  the  Prophet's  features.  The  artist,  nevertheless, 
thanks  to  the  subtle  method  he  has  adopted,  is  confident  that  he  has 
succeeded  in  shadowing  forth  the  formidable  personality  of  the  Super- 
man of  Arabia." 

"Moslems,  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  have  always  endeavoured  to 
copy  the  ways  and  doings  of  the  Prophet,  in  the  highest  as  well  as 
in  the  most  humble  functions  of  life,  and  such  pious  imitation  is  kept 
up  to  this  very  day.  These  peculiarities,  faithfully  noted  by  the 
artist,  have  inspired  him  for  the  portrayal  of  religious  scenes;  incidents 
in  the  movements  of  nomadic  tribes,  all  disciples  of  the  Prophet;  and 
views  of  the  Hejaz,  his  native  land,  instead  of  giving  a  portrait  that 
must  obviously  have  been  imaginary." 

The  first  chapter  of  the  book,  the  only  one  which  we  have  examined, 
opens  with  an  idealistic  translation  of  Moslem  prayer : 

"A  rosy  ray  lit  up  the  horizon;  the  stars  paled,  and  a  voice  cried  in 
cadence,  in  the  silence  of  dawn: 

"Allah  is  the  greatest!  There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and  Moham- 
med is  the  Prophet  of  Allah!     Come  and  pray!     Come  to  Salvation!'^ 

High  up  above  the  flat  housetops  and  the  palm-trees  of  the  oasis,  the 
last   notes  of  the   Mu'azzin's   call,  wafted   from   the   balcony  of   the 


3i8  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

slender  minaret,  died  away  in  the  infinite  space  of  the  Desert.   .    .    . 

Mohammedans  who  were  still  slumbering,  enwrapped  in  the  white 
folds  of  their  shroudlike  mantles,  sprung  to  their  feet  with  a  start,  like 
dead  men  coming  to  life.  They  hurried  to  fountains  where  they  per- 
formed their  ablutions;  and  then,  with  clean  skins  and  pure  thoughts, 
they  gathered  together  in  long  processions,  elbow  to  elbow,  all  turned 
in  one  direction:  that  of  the  Holy  Ka'bah  of  Makkah  (Mecca). 

To  those  who  are  able  to  invest  £8  Sterling  or  £i8  for  this  glorious 
biography  we  heartily  wish  all  the  pure  thoughts  that  they  can  gather 
from  the  Life  of  Mohammed.  Alas,  we  have  not  found  them  on  every 
page  of  Ibn  Hisham  and  Al  Halabi ! 

S.    M.    ZWEMER. 

The  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  Report  of  the  British  and  Foreign 

Bible  Society.        With  Appendix  and  a  list  of  subscribers  and 

•     benefactors.     191 7-  London.  Price  is.  to  Non-Subscribers,  pp.  5CXD. 

The  Annual  report  of  this  Society  only  needs  a  special  index  to  make 
it  of  intense  interest  to  all  workers  among  Moslems  during  the 
strategic  years  of  the  war,  yet  we  fear  that  the  outside  of  the  Report 
is  more  familiar  to  missionary  readers  than  the  text. 

At  Constantinople  the  Bible  House  has  never  had  to  close  its  doors, 
and  their  agent,  the  Rev.  T.  R.  Hodgson,  has  remained  at  his  post 
with  steadfast  courage  ever  since  the  war  began;  and  the  cir- 
culation has  exceeded  the  average  for  the  past  six  years. 

In  Egypt  the  work  has  been  carried  on  under  many  disadvantages 
and  the  colportage  sales  show  a  decrease.  But  the  witness  for  the  Truth 
through  colporteurs  is  bound  to  tell.     A  convert  from  Islam  writes : 

"A  Syrian  Mohammedan  addressed  me  by  my  Mohammedan  name, 
and  asked  me  what  I  was  selling.  I  answered  that  I  was  selling  the 
Scriptures.  He  asked  whether  I  had  the  Koran,  to  which  I  replied  that 
I  had  only  Bibles.  He  then  inquired  whether  I  was  still  a  Moham- 
medan. I  said,  *'I  am  a  Christian."  Thereupon  he  began  to  curse 
me.  However,  I  made  no  reply,  except  to  thank  him.  Finally,  he 
begged  me  to  forgive  him.  "I  forgive  you,  as  our  book  teaches,"  was 
my  answer.  At  this  he  said,  "I  will  buy  that  book.  Show  me  the  place 
where  it  teaches  forgiveness."  He  bought  the  book,  and  I  showed  him 
the  place. 

The  reports  from  North  Africa  are  also  encouraging  although  in 
Tunis  the  authorities  maintain  their  policy  of  prohibiting  colportage 
and  in  Tripoli  there  were  difficulties  of  communication  through  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  country. 

In  Morocco  the  total  circulation  was  11,816  copies  of  the  Scriptures, 
in  seventeen  languages  and  dialects.  This  exceeds  the  total  for  191 5 
by  2,430  books,  the  chief  increase  being  in  sales  to  Moslems.  Gospels 
were  sold  in  the  great  mosque  at  Fez  in  Morocco  City  and  at  country 
fairs.  How  encouraging  it  is  to  read  of  one  missionary  colporteur 
who  left  Mequinez  and  journeyed  towards  the  south,  visiting  Sidi 
Aiyash,  near  Kenitra,  and  sold  forty  books.  Next  day  in  the  market 
of  Kenitra  Mr.  Enyart — of  the  Gospel  Missionary  Union  of  Kansas — 
sold  one  hundred  Gospels.  He  writes:  *'We  traveled  back  into  Bini 
Ahsin  to  reach  three  markets  close  together;  but  the  rain  set  in  and 
kept  on  for  four  days,  so  that  no  markets  were  held.  On  the  way  home 
we  sold  at  Sidi  Kassem  and  Dar  birAmri.  Altogether  on  this  trip 
we  travelled  some  two  hundred  miles,  and  sold  two  hundred  and  fifty 
Gospels." 

The  work  in  Persia,  although  handicapped  by  the  distressed  state  of 


BOOK  REVIEWS  319 

the  country,  shows  an  increase  in  circulation.  We  read  that  Dr.  Essel- 
styn,  who  acts  for  the  Society  at  Meshed,  circulated  over  6,ooo  in 
eight  months,  an  increase  of  2,204  on  the  previous  year's  sales.  Two 
colporteurs  and  an  assistant  at  Teheran  distributed  6,673  volumes; 
two  colporteurs  at  Tabriz  4,808;  and  one  colporteur  at  Resht  2,172 
copies.     One's  faith  is  strengthened  by  such  a  story  as  the  following: 

"One  day  I  chanced  to  be  reading  the  New  Testament  when  a 
man  came  up  and  asked,  'What  book  are  you  reading?'  *I  am  reading 
the  Injil,'  I  replied.  Then  he  said,  *I  found  my  salvation  through  a 
piece  of  paper.'  'How  was  that?'  I  asked.  'I  had  a  fever  at  one  time,' 
he  said,  'and  a  doctor  gave  me  a  prescription  which  I  sent  to  a  chemist. 
When  I  got  the  metlicine  it  was  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  paper  which  I 
thought  was  part  of  a  newspaper,  so  I  began  to  read  it.  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  it  was  not  what  I  thought,  and  looking  at  the  top  of  the 
papers  learned  that  it  was  a  part  of  a  book  called  The  Gospel  of  St. 
John.  As  I  continued  to  read  I  came  to  the  verse  which  says,  'For 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.* 
These  words  struck  me  as  being  very  strange,  and  I  read  them  over  and 
over  again.  Indeed  I  read  so  often  and  thought  so  much  about  them, 
that  I  forgot  I  had  fever.  Then  I  asked  one  of  my  Christian  friends  if 
he  could  get  me  a  complete  volume  of  the  book.  He  brought  me  a 
Bible,  which  I  now  read  every  day.'  " 

In  Southern  Persia  and  throughout  the  Persian  Empire  the  Bible  has 
had  free  course  and  its  message  has  been  received  by  hungry  hearts  with 
eagerness.  As  regards  India,  such  items  as  the  following  are  suggestive. 
The  circulation  in  Urdu  with  Persian  character  has  increased  by 
28,000;  and  the  reports  from  the  Moslem  provinces  of  India  are  in 
every  case  encouraging. 

The  total  cii-culation  in  Malaya,  which  is  practically  all  Moham- 
medan, was  137,329.  In  Java  it  was  a  record  year,  13,000  more  than 
the  total  in  191 5. 

Arabic  Scriptures  for  Moslems  have  found  many  readers  in  China 
and  were  circulated  also  in  Brazil,  the  Argentine  and  the  West  Indies, 
not  to  speak  of  European  Russia  and  Central  Asia. 

We  advise  all  missionaries  to  Moslems  whose  faith  needs  strengthen- 
ing to  read  the  record  of  this  glorious  year  of  sowing — a  year  in  which 
God's  ploughshare  of  war  is  driving  deep  furrows  among  the  nations. 
Surely  we  may  expect  a  great  harvest. 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 

Rambles  in  Cairo.  By  Mrs.  R.  L.  Devonshire.  The  Sphinx  Print- 
ing Press,  Cairo,  191 7.  Pp.  115.  P.T.  30  ($1.50). 
A  handy,  interesting  and  generally  reliable  guide  to  the  architectural 
monuments  of  Moslem  Cairo.  Originally  the  chapters  appeared  as 
correspondence  in  The  Sphinx  under  the  title  of  '^A  Convalescent  in 
Cairo."  The  book  will  prove  especially  useful  because  of  its  chrono- 
logical tables  and  map ;  but  the  transliteration  is  inconsistently  pedantic. 
The  illustrations  are  first-class. 

L' Orient  Mediterraneen.    Impressions    et   Essais   sur   quelques   ele- 
ments du  probleme  actuel.     Par  Andre  Duboscq.     Perrin  et  Cie, 
Paris,  191 7.    Pp.  168.   2  fr.  50. 
As  the  title  indicates,  the  book  consists  of  impressions  on  present-day 
conditions  in  the  lands  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean.     The  author 
is  a  newspaper-correspondent  who  visited  Palestine  and  Asia  Minor  in 


320  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

1916.  He  shows  how  the  Germans  penetrated  Palestine  by  their  col- 
onies; tells  of  the  Kaiser's  pan-Islamic  dreams  and  his  visit  to  Damas- 
cus ;  and  gives  a  sketch  of  Greece  and  of  the  Italian  colony  in  Tripoli. 

His  reflections  on  Islam  are  not  profound,  but  his  conclusion  of  the 
political  situation  is  reasonable.  "La  civilisation  orientale  fondee  sur 
rislam  est  celle  de  I'immobilite  et  du  fatalisme,  la  civilisation  occi- 
dental issue  du  christianisme,  celle  du  mouvement  et  de  Tesperance. 
Pour  muer  la  premiere  en  la  seconde,  il  faut  trouver  dans  la  collabo- 
ration et  le  travail  un  terrain  d'entente.  Sur  ce  terrain  la  conciliation 
est  possible  entre  I'etat  d'esprit  european  et  Tetat  d'esprit  islamique." 

Two  War  Years  in  Constantinople.      By    Dr.    Harry    Stuermer. 
308  pp.    6s.  net.    Hodder  &  Stoughton.     191 7. 

Dr.  Stuermer  served  in  the  German  army  for  six  months,  after  the 
outbreak  of  war.  On  his  discharge  he  went  early  in  191 5  to  Constanti- 
nople as  correspondent  of  the  Koelnische  Zeitung.  He  left  for  Switzer- 
land at  the  end  of  1916,  and  reached  his  destination  with  diffi- 
culty, having  had  to  burn  his  voluminous  notes  to  escape  arrest.  His 
paper  was  unable,  owing  to  the  censorship,  to  appoint  another  repre- 
sentative. Hence  his  book  is  not,  like  Mr.  Einstein's,  a  consecutive 
narrative,  but  a  series  of  studies,  vivid,  thoughtful  and  arresting  on 
Turkish  policy,  internal  conditions  and  warfare.  The  writer  has  spent 
many  years  in  the  English,  French  and  German  colonies  in  Africa,  and 
is  married  to  a  Czech  lady,  both  factors  in  an  open-minded  judgment. 

His  abandonment  of  the  German  cause  was  finally  brought  about  by 
an  episode  in  the  Armenian  tragedy  in  the  capital  itself.  He  and 
his  wife  had  become  accustomed  to  seeing  bands  of  Armenian  deportees 
arriving  at  the  Police  station  under  the  escort  of  gensdarmes,  but  one  day 
the  lady  passing  by  the  building  "heard  through  the  open  hall  door 
the  agonising  groans  of  a  tortured  being,  a  dull  wailing  like  the 
sound  of  an  animal  being  tormented  to  death.  *An  Armenian,'  she 
was  informed  by  the  people  standing  at  the  door.  The  crowd  was  then 
dispersed  by  a  policeman."  Dr.  Stuermer  is  emphatic  as  to  the  de- 
liberate connivance  of  the  German  authorities  at  these  bestial  war 
measures,  to  which  Enver's  ill-fated  Caucasus  campaign  was  intended 
as  the  strategic  complement.  No  less  strongly  does  he  insist  on  the 
short  sightedness  of  Germany  in  thus  alienating  the  most  progressive 
and  commercially  prosperous  element  in  the  Turkish  empire.  In  the 
matter  of  the  Holy  War  fiasco  he  holds  that  Germany  was  largely 
duped  by  adventurers  who  received  liberal  bribes  for  the  execution  of 
fatuous  intrigues  which  in  some  cases  they  did  not  even  attempt. 

On  the  other  hand  he  considers  that  the  various  measures  of  reform 
initiated  by  the  young  Turks  under  German  guidance  are  "characterized 
by  modern  exactness,  clever  technicality,  and  thoroughness  of  con- 
ception." It  is  curious  that  amid  such  measures  as  reform  of  coinage, 
national  banking  system,  independent  customs  tariff,  and  internal  coloni- 
sation. Dr.  Stuermer  does  not  mention  the  most  important  of  all,  viz. 
educational  reform.  The  whole  trend  of  policy,  however,  is  not,  he 
thinks,  in  the  direction  of  permanent  subservience  to  Germany,  but 
complete  "Turkification"  of  the  country  in  all  its  elements.  The 
Armenian  massacres,  equally  with  the  development  and  resettlement 
of  inner  Anatolia  by  redistributing  "the  properties  of  persons  who  have 
been  transported  elsewhere",  are  steps  in  this  direction,  following  the 
example  of  the  Central  Empires.  Having  failed  in  the  attempt  at 
jihad  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  have  abandoned  the  line 
of   Pan-Islamism,    and   adopted   that   of    Pan-Turanism.     They   hope 


BOOK  REVIEWS  321 

to  unite  the  Turanian  races,  including  themselves,  the  Tartars  and  Tur- 
komans of  the  Russian  dominions,  the  Magyars,  and  the  Bulgars, 
(classed  as  "Slavic  Finno-Tartars" )  in  a  League  of  co-operation  and 
sympathy.  Thus  they  are  not  only  aiming  to  eliminate  the  Armenian 
and  Greek  element,  but  are  also  finally  repelling  the  Arab  and  the 
Syrian,  and  invalidating  the  Ottoman  claim  of  four  hundred  years  to 
the  caliphate  of  Islam.  The  introduction  of  further  civil  legislation, 
establishing  for  instance  civil  marriage,  is  aimed  at  the  separate  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Greek  and  Armenian  patriarchates  which  is  based  upon  the 
difference  between  the  personal  law  of  Moslem  and  Christian,  especially 
in  the  matter  of  marriage,  but  it  also  tends  to  supersede  the  authority  of 
the  Shariat  or  Canon  Law  of  Islam. 

The  author  gives  interesting  portraitures  of  the  three  leaders,  Enver, 
Talaat  and  Djemal  Pashas.  His  book  was  written  before  the  Russian 
debacle,  but  it  nevertheless,  affords  food  for  solid  thought  as  well 
as  vivid  contemporary  interest.  What  has  the  religion  of  Turkey 
to  do  with  all  these  developments  ?  And  what  is  likely  to  be  the  future 
of  Christianity  in  a  nationalistic  Turkey? 

H.  W.  Weitbrecht  Stanton. 

Perfumes  of  Araby.  Life  in  the  Yemen.  By  Lieut.-Col.  Harold 
Jacob,  C.  S.  I.  Martin  Seeker,  London.  Emin  Hindie,  Sharia  Al 
Manakh,  Cairo.     P.T.  35. 

This  book  gives  us  in  fourteen  chapters  pen  pictures  of  Arab  life 
and  character  as  found  in  the  Yemen.  The  book,  the  author  tells 
us,  "is  no  political  sketch."  It  is  a  story  in  which  he  relates  to  the 
reader,  with  many  learned  quotations,  (not  always  translated)  his 
experience  and  intercourse  with  the  natives  of  Aden  and  the  hinter- 
land thereof.  Stories  of  Jinns  (sprites  or  little  devils),  charms,  omens, 
specifs,  fatalism,  the  evil  eye  and  saint  veneration,  the  latter  being 
the  "bed-rock  of  the  religion  of  Al  Yemen,"  abound  in  the  book.  As 
you  read  you  feel  that  the  hardy  hill-men  and  the  sturdy  dalesmen 
of  the  Yemen  are  steeped  in  a  maze  of  superstition.  It  is  true  that 
through  the  teachings  of  Mohammed  they  no  longer  worship  the 
"seventy  and  odd  "deities  of  their  old  religious  cult,  nevertheless,  they 
have  multiplied  charms,  spells  and  omens  which  hold  their  senses  in  thrall 
as  did  the  multiplicity  of  their  gods  in  "the  days  of  their  ignorance." 

"I  regard  the  average  Yemen  woman,"  writes  the  author,  "as  dis- 
tinctly chaste,  and  she  deserves  a  better  husband  than  she  usually  gets. 
Thrifty  and  devoted  to  her  children,  patriotic  and  brave,  she  will  in 
the  fight  follow  behind  the  firing  line  carrying  in  earthen  pots  the 
reserve  of  ammunition,  and  bearing  water  to  quench  the  warrior's 
thirst." 

In  a  chapter  on  healing  called  "Allah's  Rope"  many  extraordinary 
specifics  for  disease  are  mentioned:  "Branding  is  a  very  common 
remedy  for  local  inflammation."  .  .  .  "A  string  tied  round  the  big 
toe  wards  off  rheumatism."  .  .  .  "The  droppings  of  a  raven  are 
found  handy  for  the  treatment  of  quinsy  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
intestines  of  this  bird,  if  administered  in  an  agreeable  form  to  a  child, 
improves  its  memorizing  powers."     Etc.,  etc. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  chapter  is  the  one  named :  "The  strength 
of  the  Hills."  The  Yemen  is  a  hill-country,  with  fertile  plains.  The 
hills  mount  up  to  the  heavens  many  thousands  of  feet  above  sea  level. 
"Al  Yemen,"  says  the  author,  "has  rightly  been  famed  for  the  richness 
of  its  soil."  .  .  .  "The  air  the  Hill-men  breathe  is  invigorating." 
"The  Hills  are  the  best  nurseries  in  which  to  learn  to  pray."     The 


322  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

only  picture  in  the  book  is  given  "by  way  of  illustration"  of  this 
aphorism.  It  was  this  picture  which  attracted  me  to  the  reading  of  the 
book.  It  is  a  whole  story  in  itself,  a  complete  delineation  of  the  relation 
of  the  human  being  to  the  God  who  made  him  in  His  own  image.  If 
there  were  no  word  of  letter-press  in  the  whole  book  and  this  picture 
remained  between  the  covers  and  it  were  entitled:  The  Praying  man, 
alone  with  God  and  His  everlasting  Hills,  it  would  tell  its  tale  and 
would  in  itself,  be  a  "perfume". 

The  sublime  scene  which  the  picture  opens  to  our  imagination  is 
among  the  mountains  of  Arabia.  The  rays  of  the  afternoon  sun,  throw 
their  soft  light  over  the  lowering  sky.  The  mountains  and  theif 
deep  valleys  are  wrapped  in  the  indefinite  light  of  advancing  night, 
like  the  evening  of  the  first  day  when  the  earth  was  void.  In  range 
after  range  the  mountains  sweep  away  in  their  profound  solemnity  to 
the  distant  horizon,  where  their  furthermost  edges  are  tipped  with  a 
pearly  line  from  the  mysterious  light  fading  into  the  beyond.  It  is  the 
after  midday  hour — the  hour  of  prayer,  and  in  all  that  vast  region  no 
soul  is  seen  save  a  solitary  Moslem.  There  stands  the  stalwart  believer 
in  God,  using  his  divested  outer  garment  as  praying  carpet.  His  rifle 
is  laid  on  the  ground ;  his  hands  are  crossed  over  his  breast  as  one  who 
prays,  "Be  merciful  to  me,  O  God."  There  stands  the  only  human 
in  that  awesome  scene,  alone  with  God  and  His  clouds  and  His 
mountains ! 

The  picture  is  a  true  one  of  the  Arab  at  prayer.  It  seems  to  me  to 
be  a  picture  in  little  of  the  need  in  these  warring,  terrible  days — ^that 
the  warriors,  by  praying  and  keeping  their  arms  forever  grounded, 
may  yet  bring  the  world  back  to  God.  Such  as  these  are  some  of  the 
thoughts  engendered  by  a  study  of  Colonel  Jacob's  picture,  in  publish- 
ing which  and  his  interesting  talks  about  the  men,  women  and  children 
of  the  Yemen  he  did  well  and  deserves  our  thanks.  He  does  not 
forget  to  mention  the  excellent  work  done  in  Yemen  by  Doctors  Young 
and  Macrae.  He  also  tells  how  the  British  soldiers,  by  their  good 
nature,  win  the  respect  of  the  Yemeni. 

Robert  Williams. 

A  History  of  India.  By  the  late  Captain  L.  J.  Trotter.  Revised 
Edition  brought  up  to  1911  by  W.  H.  Hutton,  B.  D.  London. 
S.  P.  C.  K.  1 91 7.  pp.  497.  10/6  net. 
This  is  a  large  volume  of  nearly  500  pages,  which  aims  at  the 
ambitious  designs  of  giving  a  History  of  India  "from  the  earliest  time 
to  the  present  day."  It  is  a  revised  edition  brought  down  to  191 1, 
with  two  final  chapters  on  Lord  Curzon  and  on  the  Durbar  of  191 1, 
added  by  the  editor,  the  Archdeacon  of  Northampton,  Fellow  of 
St.  John's  College,  Oxford,  and  Reader  in  Indian  History.  The 
writer  of  the  greater  part  of  the  book,  Captain  Trotter,  was  born  in 
1827  and  died  in  1912.  He  was  a  great  writer,  especially  of  reviews 
on  Indian  subjects.  The  original  book  has  seen  two  previous  editions, 
one  in  1874,  the  second  in  1899,  carrying  the  history  down  to  1898. 
The  style  is  both  concise  and  fascinating.  For  this  reason,  though  it 
may  seem  hopeless  to  compress  such  a  history  into  one  volume,  the  book 
is  never  dull  and  the  reader  is  carried  on  unweariedly  from  chapter 
to  chapter.  The  spelling  and  the  alliteration  of  India  is  on  the  whole 
wisely  done,  following  Sir  W.  Hunter's  rules  and  the  Imperial  Gazetteer 
professedly  throughout.  Words  like  Calcutta  and  Lucknow,  which 
have  by  sheer  custom  won  their  place,  are  left  in  their  usual  but  abnor- 
mal peculiarity,  whilst  almost  all  others  are  reduced  to  rule.     It  is  im- 


BOOK  REVIEWS  323 

possible,  however,  not  to  question  why  such  palpable  breaches  of  rules 
are  allowed  to  remain  as  "Jung"  for  "jang",  "Gofind"  for  **Govind", 
''Kutb"  for  "Qutb,"  ''Moharak"  for  "Mubarak,"  "Khabir"  for  "Ka- 
bir,"  "Kharim"  for  ''Karim,"  "Punjab"  for  "Panjab,"  and  several 
others. 

The  introduction  gives  a  remarkably  concise  outline  of  the  country, 
climate,  peoples  and  religions  of  the  great  peninsula;  and  the  first  chap- 
ter deals  well,  though  all  too  shortly,  with  the  system  of  caste  and  the 
absorbing  power  of  Brahmanism.  In  the  central  period  both  of  the 
Mughal  and  other  dynasties  one  cannot  help  longing  for  a  little  more 
time  to  pause  on  particular  epochs,  especially  comparing  the  graphic 
accounts  and  details  of  De  Bernier's  &  Tavernier's  books.  But  it  is 
an  inevitable  drawback  to  an  attempt  to  give  a  complete  history  of  all 
the  periods  that  you  cannot  linger  on  any  one  however  attractive,  but 
must  be  hurried  on  to  the  next.  Perhaps  this  is  most  apparent  in  the 
last  few  chapters,  which  have  become  in  consequence  hardly  more  than 
a  bare  record  of  acts  of  reform  and  advance  with  periodical  setbacks. 
A  few  instances  of  a  fuller  discussion  on  some  outstanding  events 
would  be  a  welcome  variety  and  a  proof  that  the  author  in  hurrying 
over  details  has  not  done  so  from  any  real  lack  of  knowledge  or  opinion. 
E.  g.  we  could  gladly  bear  with  a  little  fuller  account  of  the  contro- 
versies which  have  raged  round  Warren  Hastings  &  Hodson  of  "Hod- 
son's  Horse" ;  with  more  details  of  the  typical  influence  of  John  Nichol- 
son and  Herbert  Edwards;  with  a  contrast  of  the  policies  of  Lord 
Lytton  and  Lord  Lawrence ;  even  at  the  expense  of  the  omission  of  some 
record  of  events.  The  undercurrents  of  political  feelings  are,  intention- 
ally we  may  suppose,  left  to  be  inferred  from  facts  rather  than  dis- 
cussed. So  also  the  deeper  drifts  of  moral  and  religious  thought  are 
hardly  noticed  after  the  first  introduction.  Still  for  its  purpose,  as 
a  wonderfully  concise  history,  written  in  a  charming  style,  it  is  well 
worth  its  re-issue. 

"G." 
Armenia  and  the  War.      By  A.  P.  Hacobian.     Published  by  Hod- 

der  and  Stoughton.     London.     191 7. 

The  author  of  this  statement  of  Armenia's  case  writes  with  vigor, 
excellent  style  and,  one  must  also  say,  prejudice.  Perhaps,  however, 
if  we  who  criticise  his  violent  championing  of  the  cause  of  Armenian 
nationalism  and  his  bitterness  against  the  Turks  and,  to  a  lesser  degree, 
against  the  European  Powers  who  failed  to  restrain  Turkey,  had 
suffered  as  his  people  have  suffered  from  massacre  and  worse,  we  would 
show  greater  narrowness  and  bitterness  than  he  does.  At  any  rate,  it 
is  well  that  his  cause  should  be  set  forth  to  the  British  and  American 
public.  We  may  not  approve  the  plan  for  reorganization  that  he 
presents;  in  fact  because  of  the  changed  conditions  in  Russia  it  must 
be  seen  by  all  men  now  to  be  impracticable..  But  all  friends  of 
Armenia  and  lovers  of  righteousness  "endorse  his  plea  as  to  the  im- 
portance and  the  urgency  of  the  question  and  the  absolute  necessity" 
that  the  coming  peace  conference  give  this  martyr  nation  the  chance 
for  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness"  that  they  have  been 
denied  under  Turkish  rule. 

E.  M.  Putney. 

Le  Salut  au  Drapeau  published  by  La  Mission  Scientific  du  Maroc. 
1 91 5- 1 6.  pp.  147.  Maison  Ernest  Leroux,  Editor,  28  Rue  Bona- 
parte (Vr).  Subscriptions:  Paris  25  f rs. ;  colonies:  28  frs. ; 
Foreign  subscription  30  frs. 


324  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

This  is  volume  xxxii  of  La  Revue  du  Monde  Musulman  which  has 
during  the  war  greatly  decreased  in  size  and  variety  of  contents.  An 
earlier  contribution  with  the  same  title  appeared  in  French  and  after- 
ward in  English  translation,  with  the  same  object,  namely,  to  collect 
together  the  expressions  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  Moslems  in  West 
Africa  to  the  French  Republic  and  her  Allies.  The  testimonies  of  the 
loyalty  of  the  French  Mohammedans  in  this  volume  are  each  signed  by 
the  different  cadis  and  chiefs  in  West  Africa  including  Senegal,  Faleme, 
Djoloff,  Mauritius,  Nigeria,  Guinea,  the  Ivory  Coasts,  etc.  There 
are  numerous  beautiful  illustrations  from  photographs.  At  the  end 
is  a  list  of  the  men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  and  have  re- 
ceived war  medals,  giving  a  short  description  of  what  they  have  done  to 
deserve  them. 

S.  M.  Z. 

The  Future  of  Palestine. The  Rebirth  of  an  Ancient  People.  By  A. 
M.  Hyamson.  London.  Sidgwick  &  Jackson,  Ltd.  pp.  292. 
Price  10/6  net. 

In  this  volume  the  Jewish  author  describes  in  detail  the  remark- 
able spiritual  and  material  revival  which  Palestine  has  undergone  in 
the  past  thirty-five  years  as  the  result  of  a  Jewish  immigration.  Ac- 
companying the  material  development  of  the  country  there  has  been 
the  re-creation  of  a  Jewish  people  speaking  the  Hebrew  language  in 
a  Jewish  land.  Six  short  chapters  deal  with  the  history  of  Palestine 
under  Roman  and  Moslem  rule.  There  is  also  a  brief  account  of 
the  Crusades.  But  the  author  deals  not  with  the  past  or  present  so 
much  as  the  future  of  Palestine.  We  read  at  length  of  earlier  and  later 
colonization  projects  and  an  account  is  given  of  the  Zionist  Movement. 
The  book  closes  with  a  roseate  glimpse  into  the  educational,  economic 
and  political  future  of  Jews  in  Palestine  after  the  war. 

His  references  to  Islam  and  Moslem  rule  are  fair  and  sympathetic 
but  he  does  not  fail  to  show  that  the  Turk  has  not  befriended  the  Jew 
or  developed  his  land  in  any  way. 

A  good  bibliography,  careful  index,  accurate  maps  and  numerous 
illustrations  do  credit  to  author  and  publisher. 

z. 

Knights  of  Araby.By  Marmaduke  Pickthall.  London:  48  Pall  Mall, 
W.  Collins  Sons  &  Co.,  Ltd.  pp.  381. 
Those  who  have  read  Mr.  Pickthall's  earlier  novel  Said  the  Fisher- 
man, will  give  this  book  a  hearty  welcome.  It  is  a  narrative  of  an 
Arab  feud  in  the  years  1066  to  1120  A.  D.  The  author's  desire  has 
evidently  been  "to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  fact  that 
Moslems,  all  those  centuries  ago,  confronted  the  same  problems  which 
we  face  to-day;  and  made  short  work  of  them."  He  writes  with 
sympathy  as  one  who  has  lived  in  the  East,  yet  he  often  idealizes  Islam. 

F.  S. 

Le  Maroc:  Geographie,  Historie,  mise  en  Valeur.  By  Victor  Pi- 
quet. Paris.  Librairie  Armand  Colin,  pp.  464.  6  fr.  191 7. 
The  contents  are  described  by  the  sub-title.  The  first  six  chapters 
deal  with  the  geography  of  Morocco.  Chapter  eight  is  devoted  to 
the  industrial  resources.  Part  Two  tells  of  the  history  of  Morocco  from 
the  earliest  settlers — the  Berbers — up  to  the  present  time;  Part  Three 
deals  with  Morocco  under  the  French  Protectorate,  the  financial  situa- 
tion, public  works  and  commercial  possibilities.     The  historical  sketch 


BOOK  REVIEWS  325 

of  the  Arab  invasion  and  of  the  Berber  dynasties  followed  by  that  of 
the  Sherifs  from  the  i6th  to  the  19th  century  is  interesting  but  the 
book  is  meagre  in  its  description  of  the  religion  of  the  people.  Although 
chapter  13  deals  with  the  statistics  of  population  the  writer  gives  nothing 
regarding  their  social  and  intellectual  life.  The  bibliography  is  very 
full  and  there  are  four  maps.  The  table  of  contents,  in  the  usual 
French  style,  does  duty  as  an  index.  The  author  expresses  the  hope 
that  France  will  develop  her  new  colony  and  thus  justify  the  annexa- 
tion: 

"Que  le  Francais  n*aille  pas  au  Maroc  en  dilettante  inutile,  en 
conquistador  nourri  de  chimeres,  ou  bien  en  illusionniste  a  la  recherche 
d'une  vie  facile,  mais  s'y  montre  le  travailleur  dont  I'eflort,  uni  aux 
efforts  de  tous,  peut  seul  aboutir  a  la  conquete  economique." 

Z. 

The  Lure  of  Africa.  By  Cornelius  H.  Patton.  16  mo.  Pp.  193. 
New  York:  Missionary  Education  Movement.  191 7. 
Most  searchers  after  the  picturesque  in  Africa  leave  out  North 
Africa  and  the  Moslems  for  they  say  that  these  people  are  too  dis- 
tinctly Arabic,  in  their  culture  if  not  race,  properly  to  belong  to  Africa. 
Dr.  Patton,  however,  in  his  very  readable  book  takes  two  of  the  five 
pictures  in  his  first  chapter  from  Moslem  Cairo  and  semi-Moslem 
Mombasa.  Furthermore,  two  of  his  seven  chapters  are  devoted  en- 
tirely to  Islam — "The  Strongholds  of  Mohammedanism"  and  "Mo- 
hammedanism on  the  March."  Study  classes  for  whom  this  book 
was  written,  will  get  from  this  book  not  only  a  glimpse  of  the  interest 
of  Africa  as  a  whole  and  its  demands  as  a  mission  field  but  also  an 
understanding  of  the  present  state  of  the  great  war  which  Chris- 
tianity and  Islam  are  waging  in  that  continent  for  the  mastery  of  its 
paganism. 

E.  W.  P. 

Croquis  et  Souvenirs  de  la  Nigerie  du  Nord.  By  Isabelle  Vischer. 
Attinger  freres,  Paris.  Pp.  138.  191 7. 
Well  described  in  its  title  as  a  succession  of  impressions  and  snap- 
shots of  this  part  of  Africa.  The  writer  is  filled  with  admiration  and 
love  for  the  people.  She  came  to  Nigeria  with  her  husband  in  1912. 
The  incidents  of  Mohammedan  life  ring  true.  The  style  is  original, 
attractive  and  sometimes  even  poetical,  while  the  illustrations  and 
map  add  to  the  value  of  this  brilliant  sketch. 

France   et   Liban.     Defense     des     interets     frangais     en     Syrie.     By 

Ferdinand    Tyan.      Librairies    Perrin    &    Cie.      Paris,      pp.    92. 

1917.     I  fr.     50. 

A  sketch  of   the   history   of   the   Maronites   going   as    far   back   as 

Charlemagne  and  their  close  connection  with  France  is  given  as  point  of 

departure  for  a  plea  on  behalf  of  closer  relations  after  the  war.     In 

spite  of  the  religious  character  of  the  Maronite  government   at  the 

time  of  the  separation  of  the  State  and  the  Church  in  1905  the  French 

Premier  assured  the  Patriarch  that  France  would  remain  faithful  to  her 

traditions. 

There  is  a  sketch  also  of  the  Druses  and  of  their  relation  to  the 
Maronites. 

F.  J.  DUPRE. 


326  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

"The  Nestorian  Monument  in  China."  By  Prof.  P.  Y.  Saeki. 
S.P.C.K.,  London,  1916.     10/6. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  beginnings  of  Christianty  in  China, 
will  find  in  this  book  a  mine  of  scientific  information  and  novel  sug- 
gestion. It  contains  brief  introductory  notes  and  prefaces  by  Lord 
Williams  Gascoigne  Cecil,  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  and  the  author, — three 
main  parts  dealing  respectively  with  an  Introduction  (161  pages); 
the  Translation  of  the  Inscription  (18  pages),  and  the  Notes  on  the 
Text  (64  pages)  ;  and  in  addition  there  are  22  appendices,  all  but  the 
first  being  in  Chinese,  a  Bibliography,  and  an  excellent  index. 

The  Chinese  character  for  the  names  and  terms  throughout  the  book 
makes  it  doubly  valuable  to  a  reader  familiar  with  the  Chinese  language. 

One  slight  mistake  on  p.  225  should  be  noted,  for  the  Jewish  monu- 
ment at  Kaifenfu  was  erected  in  1489  and  contains  an  inscription 
of  that  date,  as  well  as  on  the  reverse  face  the  inscription  of  15 12. 

By  far  the  most  important  section  is  the  Introduction  which  occu- 
pies exactly  one  half  of  the  book.  In  this  possibly  the  most  interest- 
ing question  dealt  with  is  the  theory  propounded  accounting  for  the 
collapse  of  the  Nestorian  Church  in  China  and  the  startling  rapid 
disappearance  of  the  Christians. 

These  at  one  time  were  both  numerous  and  influential,  and  Nesto- 
rian churches  were  found  in  most  of  the  important  cities  and  towns 
of  the  Empire.     The  three  main  reasons  given  by  Professor  Saeki  for  this 
collapse  are: 
(i)    Failure  to  develope  and  foster  native  agents; 

(2)  Detachment  of  the  Mission  from  the  main  body  of  the  home 
church  after,  and  possibly  on  account  of,  the  ris«  of  Mohamme- 
danism; and 

(3)  Too  much  compromise  with  non-Christian  surroundings. 

One  would  like  to  know  whether  Prof.  Saeiki  would  consider  failure  to 
disseminate  the  Scriptures  also  as  a  reason  for  the  collapse. 

The  question  as  to  what  became  of  the  Nestorians  in  China  is  a 
most  absorbing  one,  and  the  explanation  given  in  this  book  that  they 
became  amalgamated  with  the  Chinese  Mohammedans  one  cannot  but 
feel,  after  following  Prof.  Saeki's  evidence,  is  the  most  plausible  yet 
put  forth. 

He  points  out  first  of  all  that  in  an  Imperial  Edict  issued  845  A.D. 
Nestorians  and  Mohammedans  are  grouped  together,  but  Nestorians 
are  mentioned  first  because  they  were  the  stronger  and  more  influ- 
ential body  of  the  two.  The  persecutions  aimed  at  both  would  tend 
to  draw  them  together.  The  author  says  that  "this  absorption  into 
the  Mohammedan  body  might  have  been  completed  in  the  14th  cen- 
tury through  the  great  persecution  which  Timur,  the  scourge  of 
Asia,"  directed  against  both  Nestorians  and  Mohammedans  in  China 
during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  but  "twenty-one  millions,  or 
more,  of  Mohammedans  in  China  at  the  beginning  of  the  20  cen- 
tury, is  altogether  too  many  to  be  accounted  for  by  their  natural  and 
gradual  increase  in  ten  centuries." 

"After  Timur,  do  we  find  any  Nestorians  in  China?  No!  but  what 
we  do  find  is  the  enormous  number  of  21  millions  of  Mohammedans. 
Why  should  there  be  so  many  Mohammedans  and  yet  no  Nestorians? 
This  question  no  one  can  answer  very  easily.  Our  theory  is  that  the 
stronger   Mohammedan   body  swallowed   up   the   weaker   Nestorians. 

"Unless  that  immense  body  of  Mohammedans  now  in  China  is,  so 
to  speak,  a  metamorphosis  of  the  Nestorians,  who  were  so  influential 
prior  to  the  9th  century,  what  could  have  become  of  them?" 


BOOK  REVIEWS  327 

Incidentally  the  estimated  Moslem  population  of  China,  given  as 
twenty-one  million,  is  interesting  in  view  of  the  varying  estimates 
given  by  different  writers,  but  Prof.  Saeki  asserts  in  a  footnote  that 
"the  general  opinion  among  Japanese  experts  on  the  subject  follows 
the  estimate  given  here,"  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Japanese 
are  at  present  more  likely  to  have  accurate  information  on  this  point 
than  any  others,   not  excepting  even  missionaries  resident  in  China. 

A  corresponding  opinion  held  by  some  that  Chinese  Jews  were  also 
absorbed  by  the  Mohammedans  is  not  touched  upon  by  the  author, 
perhaps  because  there  is  practically  no  evidence  to  support  it  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Nestorians,  the  Jews  having  continued  their  religious 
existence  to  these  present  days,  and  decreased  through  the  very 
gradual  and  prolonged  attrition  they  were  subjected  to  in  their  non- 
theistic  enviroment.  Although  not  only  on  any  apparent  scale  amal- 
gamated with  the  Mohammedans,  there  is  much  to  show  that  the 
Chinese  Jews  have  left  a  very  deep  impress  on  Chinese  Mohamme- 
danism, in  those  matters  where  the  latter  differs  from  that  of  other 
Moslem  lands,  in  social  and  religious  practices.  One  hopes  that  some 
day  Prof.  Saeki  may  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  original 
monument,  and  of  being  able  to  answer  one  or  two  points  of  archae- 
ological interest.  For  instance,  have  the  large  characters  at  the  top 
of  the  stone  not  been  retraced  and  recut  since  the  original  carving? 
It  not,  then  the  stone  has  been  remarkably  well  preserved.  Then, 
too,  regarding  the  little  cross  and  its  surroundings,  which  it  is  evident 
have  not  been  retouched  since  the  stone  was  first  erected.  Prof.  Saeki 
points  out  that  the  cross  is  buttressed  by  a  "Flying  Cloud,"  which 
is  very  significant  as  an  emblem  much  used  in  Chinese  Mohamme- 
danism to  this  very  day,  and  that  the  cross  "resembles  that  on  St. 
Thomas'  tomb  at  Meliapor  in  S.  India,"  but  he  passes  no  remark 
about  the  flame  of  fire  which  forms  the  central  point  at  the  top  of 
the  cross.  The  most  natural  interpretation  is  that  this  flame  of  fire 
overshadowing  the  cross  represents  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  have  in  my 
possession  a  photograph  of  what  purports  to  be  the  oldest  Christian 
cross  in  India,  dating  back  to  the  eighth  century,  and  though  the 
name  is  not  given,  possibly  it  is  a  photograph  of  the  Christian  emblem 
on  St.  Thomas'  tomb.  At  any  rate  it  represents  an  ancient  cross, 
almost  identical  with  that  on  the  Nestorian  moument,  but  above  it 
is  a  Dove,  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  flame  over  the  Nestorian 
Cross. 

The  value  of  Prof.  Saeki's  book  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  brings 
together  in  a  very  readable  form  all  the  information  available  on  the 
subject;  that  it  gives  the  viewpoint  of  an  oriental  scholar  skilled  in 
the  Chinese  written  character,  and  thus  having  access  to  all  available 
Japanese  and  Chinese  documents  bearing  on  the  question ;  and  that 
it  presents  valuable  deductions  and  theories,  which  throw  considera- 
ble light  on  the  practice  and  history  of  the  earliest  known  Christian 
movement  in  China. 

In  addition  it  is  excellently  printed  and  the  S.P.C.K.  are  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  publishing  this  valuable  and  interesting  book. 

Bishop  William  C.  White. 
Kaifengfu,  Honan,  China. 


SURVEY   OF  PERIODICALS 

I.     GENERAL 

The  Caucasus:  Its  People,  History,  Economics  and  Present 
Position.  D.  Ghambashidze.  The  Near  East.  London.  April 
5,  12,  17.     1918. 

A  Pilgrimage  to  Nicaea.  Mary  A.  Poynter.  The  Near  East.  Lon- 
don.    October  19,  191 7;  February  22  and  March  22,  1918. 

IL  SOURCES  OF  ISLAM  IN  ARABIA 

III.  HISTORY  OF  ISLAM  UP  TILL  RECENT  TIMES 

Akbar's  Land  Revenue  System  as  Described  in  the  Ain-i-akbari. 
W.  H.  Moreland  and  A.  Yusuf  Ali.  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society.     London.     January,  191 8. 

An  effort  "to  present  as  nearly  as  possible  a  complete  view  of  the 
theory  of  the  land  revenue  held  at  the  headquarters  of  Akbars  admin- 
istration and  the  practice  of  which  was  prevalent  (but  not  universal) 
in  the  heart  of  the  Empire,  the  plains  of  North  India  from  Sind  to 
Bihar;  we  find  it  also  less  fully  established  in  Malwa,  Ajinir  and 
Gnjerat."  .  .  .  "The  administrative  ideal  is  to  be  found  in  the  regula- 
tion or  zabti  system  under  which  individual  cultivators  were  in  direct 
relations  with  the  revenue  officers,  while  the  functions  of  these  officers 
were  so  paid  as  to  facilitate  superior  control." 

The  Emirate  of  Mecca  Under  the  Turks.  The  Near  East.  March 
8,  1918. 

A  study  of  the  relations  of  London.  Turkish  authority  in  Arabia 
from  the  i6th  century  to  191 6. 

IV.  KORAN,  TRADITIONS,  THEOLOGY,  ETC. 

V.  RELIGIOUS  AND  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  ISLAM 

Native  Education  in  the  Northern  Province  of  Nigeria. 

Judd.     Journal  of  the  African  Society.     London.     October,  191 7. 

A  paper  read  before  the  Society  in  July,  191 7.  (Also  reprinted  in 
The  Lightbearer.     London.     March,   191 8.) 

A  Moslem  View  of  Marriage.  Miss  M.  Reeves  Palmer.  Egypt 
General  Mission  News.     January,  February,  191 8. 

A  summary  of  a  series  of  articles  on  marriage  written  by  a  Moslem 
in  the  Cairo  Moslem  paper  for  women,  As-Sufur,  May  and  June,  191 7. 

328 


SURVEY  OF  PERIODICALS  329 

La  Guerre  et  Sa  Femme  Muculmane  d'Algerie.  Rene  Payot.  Jour- 
nal de  Geneve.  September,  191 7.  (Also  reprinted  in  The 
Women  s  International  Quarterly.     London,  April,  191 8. 

An  account  of  the  effect  of  the  War  on  the  Woman's  Movement 
among  the  Moslem  women  in  Algeria. 

Through  the  Eyes  of  a  New  Comer.  Miss  Constance  E.  Radwick. 
Blessed  be  Egypt.     London.     April,  191 8. 

A  statement  for  the  need  for  Arabic  Christian  literature  for  children 
in  Egypt,  both  for  those  who  have  a  Westernised  schooling  and  those 
who  are  taught  only  in  Arabic  and  the  ways  of  old. 

VI.  POLITICAL  RELATIONSHIP 

The  Russian  Debacle  and  the  East.  Lieut.  Colonel  A.  C.  Yate 
Nineteenth  Gentry.     London.     May,  1 91 8. 

A  discussion  of  the  prospects  of  the  Pan-Turanian  Movement,  in- 
cluding the  possibility  of  a  revolution  of  the  Mohammedans  in  Western 
China  and  the  emergence  of  a  Central  Asian  Empire  carved  out  of 
Russia  and  the  Turkestans. 

Islam  and  the  War.  Sir  Valentine  Chirol.  Quarterly  Review. 
April,  191 8. 

A  discussion  of  the  effect  of  the  War  on  Islam  and  especially  of  the 
failure  of  the  jehad  and ,  Pan-Islamism.  Some  account  is  given  of  the 
Pan-Turanian  Movement,  showing  how  closely  its  aims  and  methods  are 
modelled  upon  those  of  Pan-Germanism.  "The  collapse  of  Russia 
undoubtedly  opens  up  to  Pan-Turanianism  unexpected  possibilities  of 
political  expansion  .  .  .  and  out  of  the  welter  in  Russian  Central 
Asia  there  may  emerge  a  Mohammedan  revival  which  would  draw  both 
the  nomadic  tribesmen  and  the  sedentary  population  of  the  Khanates 
within  the  orbit  of  Turkish  nationalism.  The  effects  might  be  felt 
in  Afghanistan  itself.  .  .  .  The  position  of  the  Middle  East  may 
thus  be  modified  to  our  disadvantage  and  open  up  even  the  borderlands 
of  India  to  Turco-German  aggression.  But  the  alliance  between  Pan- 
Germanism  and  Pan-Turanianism  can  hardly  be  permanent.  .  .  . 
Turkey  cannot  hope  to  ride  both  horses,  Pan-Islamism  and  Pan- 
Turanianism  at  the  same  time." 

Bole  and  the  Ex-Khedive.      Sir   M.    Mcllwraith,   K.    C.    M.    G. 
Fortnightly  Review.     April,  191 8. 
An  account  of  the  part  played  by  the  Ex-Khedive  and  his  satellite 
Saddik  in  the  Bolo  negotiations. 

An  Egyptian  Reformatory.  Coles  Pasha.  The  Near  East.  Lon- 
don.    February  22  and  March  i,  1918. 

The  Work  of  France  in  Morocco.  T.  M.  MacLeod.  Journal  of 
the  African  Society.     January,  191 8. 

A  lecture  based  on  French  sources  given  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society, 
November  2,  191 7. 


330  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

"Tang  Nafuskh"  and  "The  Red  Bread  of  Honour."  Lieut.  Colo- 
nel A.  C.  Yates.  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  January, 
1918. 

Gives  140  lines,  with  the  English  translation,  of  a  Baluch  ballad  of 
about  1000  verses  vt^ritten  some  75  years  ago  by  Didu  Domb  of  Kahan 
on  Major  Clibborn's  expedition  against  the  Marris  in  1840  and  found 
recently  by  E.  A.  C.  Rai  Bahudur  Diw^an  Tamiat  Rai. 

VIL  HISTORY  OF  MOHAMMEDAN  MISSIONS 

American  Colleges  in  Turkey.  Rev.  Jas.  L.  Barton,  D.  D.  Stu- 
dent World.     Nev^r  York.     January,  191 8. 

An  account  of  the  effects  of  the  War  on  the  several  American 
Colleges  in  the  Turkish  Empire.  "While  there  has  been  some  manifest 
attempt  to  curtail  the  w^ork  of  American  intitutions,  they  have  suffered 
most  from  economic  conditions,  from  the  military  demands  and  from 
the  attack  of  the  Turkish  Government  upon  non-Moslem  subjects." 

VIII.  APOLOGETIC,  ETC. 

Translating  a  Great  Book.    A.  T.  Upson.    Blessed  be  Egypt,    April, 

1918. 

Describes  the  vrork  of  translating,  "The  Fact  of  Christ,"  by  Professor 
Carnegie  Simpson  into  Arabic  for  readers  of  the  Near  East  not  neces- 
sarily Christian.  "This  book  met  w^ith  an  instant  demand  and  I 
have  already  had  personal  interviews  with  four  of  the  chief  Bishops  of 
the  Coptic  Orthodox  Church,  who  gladly  accepted  bound  volumes.  I 
have  also  presented  copies  to  several  pastors  and  to  21  theological 
students  of  the  American  Mission." 


The  Moslem  World 


VOL.  Vm  OCTOBER,  1918  NO.  4 


EDITORIAL 


The  Moblization  of  Prayer 

Among  the  by-products  of  the  present  war  may  be 
reckoned  a  return  to  the  use  of  the  military  vocabulary, 
which  timid  friends  of  missions  and  ultra-pacifists  toward 
the  non-Christian  religions  deprecated  in  the  days  of 
peace.  The  use  of  military  terms,  however,  goes  back 
to  the  apostles.  They  borrowed  their  vocabulary  from 
the  arena,  the  battle-field  and  the  Roman  camp.  Face  to 
face  with  the  non-Christian  world,  Paul  wrote,  ^We 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  the  prin- 
cipalities and  against  the  powers,  against  the  world  rulers 
of  this  darkness".  He  spoke  of  the  whole  armor  of  God. 
To  him  missions  was  a  warfare,  not  a  parliament  of  peace. 
Our  hymns  breathe  the  same  spirit.  The  soldiers  of 
Christ  arise,  gird  on  their  armor,  stand  fast,  hold  the 
fort,  or  march  to  victory.  They  do  not  call  for  compro- 
mise with  the  foe,  but  expect  unconditional  surrender  of 
individual  hearts  to  Christ.  They  are  unwilling  to 
divide  empire  with  any  other  human  leader — Christ  must 
have  preeminence  in  all  things.  His  kingdom  is  not 
only  without  end,  but  without  frontier. 

Nevertheless,  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  car- 
nal, but  spiritual.  The  only  sword  that  counts  is  the 
sword  of  the  spirit.  The  patience  of  the  saints  to  which 
our  attention  is  called  in  this  number  of  the  quarterly,  is 
the  patience  of  unanswered  prayer.  In  the  present  crisis 
throughout  Moslem  lands,  especially  in  North  Africa 
and  the  near  East,  we  need  not  so  much  an  increase  of 
workers,  better  equipment  for  Christian  institutions,  or 
larger  gifts  in  the  treasury,  as  the  moblization  of  spiritual 
power  through  prayer.  Without  this  superhuman  lever- 
age the  missionary  load  will  never  be  lifted.     Without 

331 


332  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

intercession,  human  hearts  will  never  yield  allegiance  to 
Christ  and  turn  their  backs  on  Mohammed.  The  war 
has  taught  us  the  lesson  that  we  can  best  advance  on  our 
knees.  "Without  question,"  says  J.  Lovell  Murray,  in 
his  new  book  'The  Call  of  a  World  Task',  "the  supreme 
need  of  the  hour  in  the  world  campaign  of  the  church  is 
the  mobilization  of  our  prayer  resources.  Never  was 
the  call  so  urgent  to  pray  for  all  rulers  in  Moslem  lands, 
that  in  their  desire  for  toleration.  Christian  rulers  may 
not  support  Islam,  but  be  loyal  to  the  name  they  bear. 
We  need  to  pray  with  new  fervor  for  Palestine,  Syria  and 
the  peoples  of  Asia  Minor,  that  under  the  new  govern- 
ments being  formed  they  may  enjoy  freedom  and  mercy. 
What  a  glorious  opportunity  the  work  of  relief  under 
the  Red  Cross  and  other  agencies  affords  for  the  ministry 
of  intercession.  The  Moslems  of  Mesopotamia  and  Turk- 
ish Arabia  are  conscious  of  a  new  freedom.  Shall  we 
not  pray  that  it  may  also  be  a  new  day  of  hope  and  the 
dawn  of  spiritual  liberty  for  these  millions? 

Never  was  there  a  greater  need  for  sympathy  than  at 
present  toward  Persia,  Russia  and  Central  Asia,  suffering 
not  only  the  horror  of  war,  but  the  internal  confusion  of 
anarchy.  There  is  one  agency  that  can  reach  beyond  the 
frontiers  of  these  lands,  an  agency  accessible  to  all,  potent 
beyond  our  imagination — the  power  of  prayer.  Present 
conditions  in  Malaysia,  and  in  India,  not  to  speak  of 
Nigeria  and  Egypt,  are  a  challenge  to  the  church.  The 
moblization  of  prayer  in  these  lands  and  for  these  lands 
may  lead  not  only  to  spiritual  revival,  but  to  decisions  for 
Christ  on  the  part  of  hundreds  and  thousands.  The 
Moslem  world  has  been  shattered.  The  fire,  the  earth- 
quake, the  tornado  have  done  their  work.  Shall  they 
hear  the  still,  small  voice  of  God's  spirit  after  it  all,  be- 
cause of  the  outpouring  of  sacrificial  life  and  constant 
persevering  prayer? 

To  mobilize  is  to  put  in  a  state  of  readiness  for  active 
service.  Shall  we  not  stir  ourselves  up  to  take  hold  of 
God  in  this  supreme  crisis  for  the  world  of  Islam? 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SAINTS 


I  have  in  my  possession  a  small  but  very  much  valued 
book.  It  is  a  copy  of  the  form  of  prayer  which  we 
used  at  the  Theological  College  where  I  was  trained. 
The  principal  of  that  college  gave  it  to  me  as  I  was  leav- 
ing to  be  ordained  a  Deacon,  more  than  twenty-one  years 
ago.  On  the  front  page,  after  writing  my  name  and  his, 
he  added  the  Greek  words  in  the  ninth  verse  of  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  the  Divine: 
"Your  brother  and  partaker  with  you  in  tribulation,  and 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  which  are  in  Jesus."  At 
that  time  I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  ever  take  part  in 
missionary  work.  It  seemed  that  my  call  was  to  a 
particular  kind  of  ministry  amongst  the  men  of  my  own 
country,  and  I  remember  the  principal  explaining  that 
these  words  apply  primarily  to  missionaries,  but  that 
they  should  also  be  true  of  all  ministers  of  Christ. 
Circumstances  led  me,  after  less  than  three  years  in 
England,  to  India,  and  I  began  my  work  in  the  East 
under  a  man  who  at  that  time  was  one  of  the  best  known 
of  missionaries  to  Mohammedans — George  Alfred 
Lefroy — who  had  just  been  called  from  his  work  in  the 
Delhi  Mission,  to  be  Bishop  of  Lahore.  Contact  with 
such  a  person  could  not  but  help  to  inspire  one  with  a 
desire  to  bring  the  message  of  Christ  to  Mohammedans. 
Personally  I  have  had  very  much  less  to  do  with  that 
work  than  I  might  have  wished,  still,  I  have  at  least 
been  able  to  follow  the  work  sympathetically  and  to 
notice  points  in  it.  And  so,  not  with  a  view  to  instruct- 
ing those  who  have  worked  long  and  well  in  the  field, 
but  rather  to  help  if  I  may,  those  who  are  looking  for- 
ward to  their  life's  work  in  bringing  the  Gospel  to 
Moslems,  I  would  like  to  draw  attention  to  one  such 
point — the  patience  of  the  Saints. 

333 


334  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  "Patience"  of  the  Saints  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  six  different  passages  in  the  Apocalypse  is  pri- 
marily the  Patience  which  the  Saints  show  in  times  of 
persecution.  In  the  opening  chapter  and  in  three  of  the 
Letters  to  the  Churches,  the  patience  of  the  saints  is 
commended.  Later  on  we  find  the  patience  of  the 
saints  in  connection  with  the  general  apostasy  (Chap. 
XIII)  when  the  Beast  fights  and  is  allowed  to  over- 
come the  saints.  Here  the  warning  is  given  not  to 
resist  the  persecution  of  the  Anti-Christ.  In  the  next 
chapter  "here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints"  follows  the 
account  of  the  torments  which  God  puts  on  those  who 
have  worshipped  the  Beast.  In  the  great  struggle  with 
the  world-power  lay  the  Church's  opportunity  of  work- 
ing out  her  salvation  through  patient  enduring  in  well 
doing.  She  would  first  suffer  patiently  when  God 
allowed  the  persecutors  to  torment  her,  and  later  when 
He  arose  and  scattered  His  enemies,  her  patience  and 
faith  would  be  seen  to  be  justified. 

There  are  some  of  our  fellow  Christians  in  Moslem 
lands  at  the  present  time  to  whom  is  allotted  the  same 
hard  task.  Think  of  the  Armenian  Christians  during 
the  last  few  years.  Think  of  any  Persian  or  Afghan 
who  is  won  to  the  faith  of  Christ  and  confesses  Him  in 
his  own  country  before  men.  In  such  cases  the  Chris- 
tian of  this  century  has  a  power  against  him  as  tyran- 
nical and  merciless  as  the  power  which  in  the  first  cen- 
tury bade  the  early  disciples  offer  sacrifice  to  the  em- 
peror. The  age  of  the  martyrs  is  not  past  yet.  To  us 
who  live  in  safety  it  should  be  an  inspiring  thought  to 
remember  those  who  even  now  are  ready  to  suffer  the 
loss  of  all  for  Christ's  sake.  And  of  no  people  is  that 
more  true  than  of  converts  from  Islam  who  live  under 
Moslem  Rule.  The  "Patience  of  the  Saints"  is  a  stern 
reality  still. 

But  most  of  those  who  go  out  from  Europe  or  Ameri- 
ca to  bring  the  good  tidings  of  life  to  Moslems  are  free 
from  the  extreme  form  of  persecution  which  besets  many 
a  convert  to  Christ.  Threats  of  violence  are  seldom 
uttered  against  them:  their  work  goes  on  with  a  regu- 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SAINTS  335 

larity  far  different  to  that  of  an  evangelist  in  Symrna  or 
Ephesus  in  the  first  century.  Is  then  "the  Patience  of 
the  Saints"  a  quality  of  which  they  have  no  need?  As- 
suredly they  need  it.  They  not  only  need  it  for  the  sake 
of  their  own  souls,  but  also  there  is  no  quality  which  is 
more  necessary  for,  and  brings  more  success  to,  their 
work  for  the  Master. 

First  on  beginning  work  in  a  Mohammedan  country 
patience  is  needed  in  learning  the  language  of  those  to 
whom  they  bring  their  message.  Many  who  are  filled 
with  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  souls  find  great  difficulty 
in  learning  a  new  language.  From  such  an  one  patience 
is  demanded  from  the  first.  Much  can  be  done  to  help 
beginners  both  in  the  study  of  the  grammar  and  struc- 
ture of  the  language  before  leaving  home,  and  on  arrival 
in  the  field  by  the  language  schools,  which,  thank  God, 
are  being  opened  in  many  places.  But  even  with  those 
helps  most  of  the  work  must  be  done  by  the  learner  him- 
self in  patient  industry.  The  exact  intonation  must  be 
studied  carefully,  the  grammar  has  to  be  learnt  accur- 
ately, the  idioms  of  the  new  language,  so  different  from 
those  of  any  European  language,  have  to  be  observed. 
Whatever  be  the  method,  one  thing  is  essential — patience. 
Then  there  is  the  learning  of  the  method  of  thought  of 
the  race  whose  language  is  being  spoken.  It  is  here  that 
idiom  becomes  so  useful.  Even  from  the  broken  English 
of  men  beginning  to  learn  our  language,  much  help  can 
be  gained,  for  their  mistakes  which  seem  so  grotesque  to 
us,  are  merely  the  literal  translation  into  English,  of 
their  own  idioms.  Such  errors,  while  they  impress 
upon  us  the  idiom  of  the  foreign  language,  should  make 
us  careful  and  humble,  for  probably  we  are  using 
expressions  just  as  foolish  when  we  begin  talking  in  their 
language.  So  there  is  the  necessity  in  the  careful  learn- 
ing of  the  correct  idiomatic  use  of  the  language,  of 
Patience. 

And  during  the  time  that  the  learning  progresses, 
there  comes  the  feeling  of  the  strangeness  of  the  new 
country  and  climate,  and  the  wonder  whether  one  will 
ever  get  used  to  it  or  be  of  any  value.     And  when  the 


336  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

happy  day  comes  that  the  new  comer  has  grasped  some- 
thing of  the  intricacies  of  the  language  and  has  got  over 
the  strangeness  of  the  country  and  the  many  things 
which  irritate  at  first,  it  is  with  great  joy  that  he  feels 
he  is  able  really  to  begin  work.  And  then  he  finds  that 
the  thirst  of  souls  for  God — although  really  a  true  one — 
is  quite  different  to  what  he  expected.  The  non-Chris- 
tian soul  at  times  seems  entirely  indifferent  to  his  own 
salvation,  or,  as  often  is  the  case  of  Moslems,  arrogantly 
certain  that  his  salvation  is  already  assured  and  that  the 
Christian  message  is  foolishness.  Again  the  Saint  (and 
the  term  must  be  used  in  the  wide  New  Testament  sense 
of  a  ^Christian')  has  need  of  patience.  Did  he  himself 
always  realise  the  pre-eminent  importance  of  spiritual 
things  even  as  they  concerned  his  own  soul?  And  yet 
God  dealt  with  him  patiently.  Why  should  he  himself 
not  be  just  as  patient  with  others.  Yes,  and  this  patience 
will  not  only  be  necessary  with  those  outside  the  Chris- 
tian Church  but  also  in  dealing  with  those  who  have 
already  given  up  much  for  Christ,  but  who  are  still  open 
to  the  assaults  of  Satan.  Their  temptations  are  not  the 
same  as  ours:  at  times  we  do  not  understand  the  diffi- 
culties. If  we  are  to  be  of  real  help  to  them  we  must 
very  carefully  try  to  see  their  point  of  view  and  their 
difficulties  so  as  to  raise  them  again  and  not  merely 
depress  and  harden  them  by  denunciation.  Here  too  is 
the  necessity  for  the  patience  of  the  Saints.  Scolding  or 
irritation  will  never  be  effective.  Patience  must  have 
her  perfect  work. 

And  how  productive  of  spiritual  results  is  this 
patience  where  the  Saints  can  show  it?  I  would  like  to 
take  three  instances,  one  of  general  attraction  towards 
Christianity,  and  two  of  definite  conversions.  In  1901 
I  had  the  privilege  of  paying  a  visit  to  Muscat,  in 
Arabia,  to  see  the  grave  of  Bishop  French,  who,  after 
many  years  of  devoted  and  successful  life  in  India,  went 
to  Arabia  in  his  old  age,  and  after  some  months  spent 
in  Muscat,  succumbed  to  the  heat  of  that  barren  spot. 
On  my  return  journey  I  met  an  Arab  trader  who  had 
seen  Bishop  French  during  the  months  he  had  spent  at 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SAINTS  337 

Muscat.  He  had  a  very  high  regard  for  him.  He  did 
not  mention  his  great  learning  or  his  marvelous  indus- 
try or  even  his  simplicity  of  life.  What  struck  him 
more  forcibly  than  these  was  that  when  the  blackguards 
of  the  bazaar  came  about  him  and  abused  him  he  never 
lost  his  temper  or  replied  angrily.  Here  was  the 
Patience  of  a  Saint:  and  even  a  man  who  still  retained 
an  alien  faith  could  not  but  be  deeply  affected  by  it. 

Then  again  among  our  converts  from  Islam  in  North 
India  there  is  one  whose  conversion  was  more  due  to 
patient  love  than  to  anything  else.  Ahmad  Masih 
(as  he  now  is)  was  in  his  Mohammedan  days  brought 
to  Delhi  to  controvert  the  teaching  of  Dr.  Lefroy.  The 
public  disputations  between  the  two  were  many,  and  as 
a  result,  the  Mohammedan  controversialist  began  to  see 
that  Christ  and  not  Mphammed  was  the  true  Prophet 
and  the  only  bringer  of  salvation,  and  after  a  long  and 
severe  struggle  he  was  baptised  and  began  work  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  which  at  first  he  had  opposed. 
As  one  reads  the  story  of  the  long  controversy,  and  of 
his  conversion,  and  subsequent  fall  and  restoration,  there 
is  one  point  which  comes  out  clearly.  The  intellectual 
power  and  earnestness  of  Dr.  Lefroy  were  the  primary 
means  of  bringing  conviction  of  the  truth  to  Ahmad 
Masih;  but  they  were  not  enough.  The  power  which 
brought  him  to  a  confession  of  Christ  and  to  what  was 
possibly  even  harder,  to  repentance  and  humility,  after 
his  fall,  was  the  unceasing  care  of  the  missionary  for 
his  soul.  Here  was  the  patience  of  the  saints  and  it  was 
just  that  patience  which  was  most  effective. 

A  third  instance  is  that  of  Maya  Das,  now  gone  to 
his  rest,  but  for  long  (as  I  have  heard  two  Lieutenant 
Governors  say  in  private  conversation)  a  most  trusted 
servant  of  the  British  Government  in  the  Punjab,  and 
the  head  of  a  Christian  family  which  holds  a  leading 
place  in  that  Province.  The  story  of  his  conversion  is 
told  in  the  lives  of  Bishop  French  and  Rowland  Bate- 
man.  It  is  as  follows:  When  he  was  a  lad  of  sixteen  he 
heard  Mr.  Forman,  the  American  Presbyterian  mission- 
ary, preaching  in  the  bazaar.     He  was  speaking  of  the 


338  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

attractiveness  of  Jesus  as  a  great  argument  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  a  man  across  the  way,  exhibiting  a  per- 
forming monkey,  had  gathered  a  far  greater  crowd. 
The  sharp  young  lad  was  quick  to  notice  it,  and  by 
some  shrewd  remark  about  the  relative  attractiveness 
dispersed  the  missionary's  audience.  Before  departing 
to  search  new  hearers,  the  preacher  laid  his  hand  kindly 
on  the  lad's  shoulder  and  just  said  "Yes,  you  are  very 
clever,  but  there  is  something  more  in  this  than  you  yet 
understand."  The  boy  was  greatly  struck  by  this  dis- 
play of  gentleness  and  next  day  went  to  watch  the  mis- 
sionaries' compound.  Mr.  Newton  was  preparing  to 
go  out  to  preach,  and  through  the  bad  work  of  a  cob- 
bler, a  box  quite  full  of  useful  crockery,  which  he  was 
loading  on  a  camel,  fell  to  the  ground  and  was  com- 
pletely broken,  compelling  him  to  postpone  his  journey 
altogether.  But  he  did  not  lose  his  temper  over  the 
mishap.  And  so  the  lad  went  home  to  ponder  his 
experience,  for  there  was  more  in  it  than  he  yet  under- 
stood. He  joined  the  American  Mission  in  Ferozepore 
and  in  1871  after  a  great  struggle — physical  on  the  part 
of  his  opponents  as  well  as  spiritual — he  was  baptized, 
his  mother  weeping  bitterly  over  this  loss  of  her  son. 
But  his  difficulties  did  not  stop  at  his  baptism:  in  fact 
they  increased  ten-fold.  His  wife  was  a  bigoted  Hindu 
and  so  he  had  not  told  her  of  the  coming  change.  But 
the  fact  of  his  baptism  could  not  be  kept  from  her  and 
at  once  she  went  into  a  fury,  threatened  to  kill  herself, 
and  made  his  life  unbearable.  Under  pressure  from 
her  and  his  mother  he  apostatised  and  went  to  Hardwar 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  wash  his  "sin"  away  in  the  Ganges. 
The  case  seemed  hopeless,  but  it  was  not  so.  Maya  Das 
had  great  trouble  of  heart,  knowing  the  wrong  that  he 
had  done,  but  he  kept  to  his  Hinduism.  Yet  as  he  him- 
self wrote  later,  God  had  prepared  a  special  means  of 
saving  him.  "After  much  effort  and  entreaty  many 
friends  had  become  hopeless  about  me,  but  the  much 
beloved  and  revered  Padri  Bateman  Sahib  had  not  even 
now  let  me  go,  though  in  those  days  I  would  not  meet 
any  Christian.     Padri  Bateman  Sahib  continually  sent 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SAINTS  339 

me  letters  and  eventually  I  promised  that  I  would  see 
him.  So  in  the  hot  weather,  starting  from  Ludiana  on 
a  camel  at  midnight  this  dear  sahib  came  to  me.  When 
we  met  he  embraced  me  and  we  both  shed  tears  and 
prayed  to  God,  and  from  that  time  came  a  change  of 
heart." 

There  is  a  relic  of  that  time — an  envelope  addressed 
to  Maya  Das  in  Ferozepore  by  Rowland  Bateman,  with 
the  endorsement  "If  the  addressee  cannot  be  found,  this 
letter  is  to  be  returned  to  the  writer.  Rev.  R.  Bateman, 
and  not  to  be  opened."  Then  close  beneath,  the  state- 
ment by  the  Postmaster  of  Ferozepore:  "the  addressee 
has  gone  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  holy  Ganges."  This 
meant  public  apostasy.  There  are  two  brief  notes  on 
the  face  of  the  envelope:  "Alas!  Alas!  R.  B.  Just 
received  5/ 10/71"  and  later  a  thanksgiving  "Glory, 
Glory!   Saved,  Saved!  28/10/79." 

There  is  one  point  which  comes  out  very  clearly  all 
through  that  troubled  spiritual  history  of  ten  years — the 
patience  of  the  Saints.  This  it  was  which  first  attracted 
Maya  Das  to  Christ  and  this  eventually  brought  him 
back  to  His  feet  in  penitence,  to  be  from  then  to  the  end 
of  his  life  a  most  faithful  disciple.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  Maya  Das  showed  just  the  same  patience  when 
attacked  by  a  zealous  Mohammedan,  Fath  Mahommed 
(Victory  of  Mohammed)  and  by  that  same  patience 
won  him  to  Christ  so  that  in  deed  as  well  as  in  name  he 
became  Fath  Masih — the  Victory  of  Christ. 

I  do  not  think  that  any  missionary,  and  especially  any 
missionary  to  Islam,  could  at  the  end  of  his  work  wish 
for  any  greater  praise  to  be  written  over  his  grave  than 
these  words  "He  never  lost  patience." 

oiSe  ecTiv  y}  uxoijlovy)  t(ov  aYiov 

W5s  eCTTlV  Y}  U7U0[JL0Vr)  TWV  OfflCOV 

HERE   IS  THE   PATIENCE  OF  THE   SAINTS. 

C.  J.  Singapore. 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM* 


The  fact  that  one-seventh  of  the  human  race  professes 
Islam  not  only  warrants  but  compels  a  careful  study  of 
the  vital  elements  in  the  religion  which  Mohammed  pro- 
claimed. Islam  is  not  moribund  or  quiescent,  but  ag- 
gressive. Its  adherents  are  devoted,  even  fanatical.  It 
has  gripping  power  over  the  human  heart,  it  sways  in- 
numerable lives  along  channels  which  are  by  no  means 
those  of  least  resistance,  it  manifests  a  real  vitality. 
Christianity  cannot  brush  Islam  aside,  but  must  prove 
that  it  deals  more  satisfactorily  with  the  universe.  It 
is  a  duty  of  the  missionary  to  Moslems  to  consider  how 
Christianity  may  best  be  presented  to  them  so  that  it 
may  enlist  their  devotedness  and  their  faithfulness  and 
offer  the  richer  life  of  the  spirit  through  fellowship  with 
the  divine  to  which  Islam  scarcely  aspires.  First  of  all 
he  may  well  consider  what  Christianity  has  to  offer  to 
the  Moslem. 

(i)  An  Emphasis  Upon  the  Ethical  Character  of 
God  and  Upon  the  Real  Nature  of  Sin. — It  is  one  of 
the  great  glories  of  the  Hebrew  people  that  in  their  reli- 
gious thinking  they  came  to  regard  Jehovah,  their  God, 
as  a  Being  essentially  moral,  supremely  holy.  This 
emphasis  on  the  ethical  character  of  God  has  not  taken 
place  in  any  at  all  comparable  degree  in  the  Allah  of  the 
Moslems.  Good  and  evil  for  Islam  are  left  in  an  am- 
biguous position.  At  one  time  they  may  be  treated  as 
though  they  were  realities  in  themselves,  but  at  another 
time  they  are  made  entirely  dependent  upon  the  will 
of  Allah.  In  the  theology  of  Islam  it  is  explicitly  de- 
clared that  good  is  what  Allah  states  to  be  good,  and 

*  This  article  is  a  reprint  by  special  permission  of  pp.  77-89  of  the  Report  of  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparations  on  "The  Presentation  of  Chris- 
tianity to  Moslems."  See  the  review  of  the  Report  in  this  number  of  our  Quarterly. 
We  trust  that  this  extract  will  whet  the  appetite  for  a  thorough  study  of  the  entire  report 
which  is  positively   invaluable  to  every   worker  in   the  field.     Ed. 

340 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     341 

evil  what  he  states  to  be  evil,  and  to  assign  an  essential 
existence  to  good  and  evil  is  heresy.  Islam  goes  beyond 
even  the  most  extreme  historically  Calvinistic  teachings 
in  asserting  that  "Allah  leads  astray  whom  He  wills," 
and  that  "there  is  no  necessity  upon  Him  to  do  that  which 
may  be  the  best  for  the  creature."  Christianity  needs  to 
make  clear  to  the  Moslem  mind  the  essential  inconceiva- 
bility of  such  a  position  with  regard  to  a  being  who  can 
be  called  God,  and  while  asserting  the  absoluteness  of  the 
will  of  God  it  must  assert  also  His  holiness,  justice  and 
truth.  The  missionary  will  grasp  any  opportunity  to 
develop  in  detail  the  Christian  conception  of  our  just 
and  merciful  Heavenly  Father.  He  will  undoubtedly 
encounter  theological  subtleties  in  opposition,  but  he  will 
likewise  find  a  response  in  many  a  Moslem  mind. 

The  assertion  of  the  ethical  character  of  God  makes 
necessary  the  consideration  of  sin  as  a  fact  in  the  world, 
however  it  may  have  entered  the  world.  The  missionary 
will  probably  discover  that  the  Moslem  is  inclined  to 
accept  the  fact  of  sin  and  of  sinfulness  in  man  as  some- 
thing that  is  there  and  cannot  be  helped.  This  is  because 
for  him  sin  is  a  part  of  the  created  nature  of  man,  "Man 
that  is  created  of  clay,  how  can  he  be  aught  but  sinful?" 
The  story  of  the  Fall,  however  interpreted,  has  undoubt- 
edly had  large  ethical  value  in  Christendom  by  reason 
of  its  assumption  that  sin  did  not  inhere  in  the  first 
creation.  Whoever  discusses  sin  with  a  Moslem  should 
acquaint  himself  carefully  with  the  Moslem  doctrine  of 
the  nafs,  which  is  practically  equivalent  to  our  "flesh,"* 
which  must  be  subdued  and  brought  into  acquiescence 
with  and  rest  in  the  will  of  God.  This  is  analogous  to 
the  moral  and  spiritual  transformation  on  which  Christ- 
ianity insists,  and  will  serve  to  open  the  way  to  a  helpful 
discussion  of  the  real  nature  of  sin. 

(2)  The  Conception  of  a  Mediator  Between  God  and 
Man, — It  is  a  striking  paradox  in  Islam  that  its  theology 
labors  to  make  God  really  unknowable  to  man,  while  its 
religious  faith  and  experience  assert  that  God  reveals 
Himself  immediately  to  every  man  who  turns  towards 

>  Macdonald :   "Religious  Attitude."    I^ecture  8. 


342  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Him.  To  the  devout  Moslem  those  two  declarations 
seem  irreconcilable ;  but  Christianity  seeks  to  break  down 
the  theological  conception  of  an  absolute  God  which 
fosters  the  first  conclusion,  and,  by  developing  the  Chris- 
tian Trinity  and  the  mediating  work  of  Christ  as  a  part 
of  that  Trinity,  gives  a  reasonable  basis  for  the  second. 
Again,  the  second,  the  religious  attitude,  is  in  constant 
danger  of  passing  into  a  pantheism  in  which  the  indi- 
vidual loses  his  entity  in  the  Divine.  But  the  Christian 
teaching  of  the  spiritual  union  of  the  believer  with 
Christ,  even  while  fully  retaining  his  own  identity  is  a 
real  solution.  The  yearning  of  the  Modern  mystic  for 
absolute  contact  with  his  Lord  can  be  satisfied,  and  yet 
the  personality  of  both  can  be  saved.  On  the  theological 
side,  also,  Islam  has  tended  towards  pantheism,  because 
of  the  emphasis  which  it  has  laid  upon  the  unique  reality 
of  Allah.  The  world  of  created  things  has,  in  conse- 
quence, tended  to  be  regarded  as  an  unreal,  passing  show. 
But  the  proper  teaching  of  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  sets  forth  a  God  who  is  imminent  in  his  creation, 
but  does  not  absorb  it. 

(3)  The  Thought  of  Man  as  Made  in  God's  Own 
Image. — In  the  Christian  doctrine  that  man  is  made  in 
the  image  of  God  there  is  implied  the  possibility  of  man, 
approximately  yet  sufficiently,  knowing  God.  This  is 
essential  to  all  Christian  thought  and  may  well  be  em- 
phasized with  Moslems.  But  the  missionary  should  also 
know  that  mystical  Islam  teaches  the  same  doctrine  which 
has  been  crystallized  in  a  tradition  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Mohammed.  "Man  was  created  in  the  image  of  Allah" 
{fi  surati-lldh) ,  This,  of  course,  is  in  flat  contradiction 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Difference  as  that  doctrine  is 
commonly  stated  by  the  theologians.  Mystics,  however, 
reply  that  the  Difference  only  affects  the  essence  of  Allah, 
his  dhdt  which  is  absolute  and  unconditioned,  while  that 
of  the  creature  is  finite  and  conditioned. 

(4)  The  Brotherhood  of  All  Men  and  the  Fatherhood 
of  God, — ^With  reference  to  those  distinctive  Christian 
teachings,  also,  we  encounter  another  conflict  between 
Islam's   theory   and   practice.     Theological   and   legal 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     343 

Islam,  on  the  basis  both  of  the  Koran  and  of  tradition 
from  the  prophet,  entirely  reject  the  idea  of  the  brother- 
hood of  all  men.  Scholars  argue  that  men  are  either 
Moslems  or  not.  If  they  are  Moslems  they  are  brothers, 
otherwise  not.  True  friendship  even  between  Moslems 
and  non-Moslems  they  declare  to  be  explicitly  forbidden. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  mystics  of  Islam  accept  and 
reiterate  the  brotherhood  of  men  and  even  the  equality 
before  Allah  of  the  different  faiths.  When  this  last  stage 
of  conviction  has  been  reached,  the  mystic,  of  course,  has 
ceased  to  be  a  Moslem,  but  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  state  where  this  stage  really  begins.  A  similar  situa- 
tion holds  with  reference  to  the  idea  of  the  fatherhood 
of  God.  All  Islam,  theological  and  religious,  refuses 
to  use  the  terms  "Father"  and  "Son"  of  God  and  man, 
but  devout  Islam,  while  not  using  these  expressions,  prac- 
tically implies  them,  and  describes  a  relationship  between 
the  believer  and  his  Lord  that  closely  resembles  that  of 
Christian  sonship.  The  equivalent  iox  these  terms  in  all 
Islam  are  the  words  slave  and  master  {'abd  and  rabb). 
Even  the  thoroughly  devout  Moslem  feels  no  difficulty 
in  describing  himself  as  a  slave  of  Allah,  just  as  Paul 
described  himself  as  the  doulos  of  Christ,  meaning  in 
both  cases  to  indicate  the  acknowledged,  absolute  right 
of  the  Master  to  deal  with  his  servant  as  may  please 
Him,  with,  at  the  same  time,  a  full  reliance  that  that 
dealing  will  be  kindly,  loving  and  just.  But  for  all 
this,  and  however  the  mystic  may  try  by  devout  legend 
and  exegesis  to  put  religious  meaning  into  those  words, 
the  average  Moslem  does  not  think  accordingly. 

Yet  it  is  striking  how  the  Johannine  doctrine  of  sonship 
attracts  the  Moslem  mystic.  In  spite  of  all  his  theo- 
logical objections  to  the  use  of  the  terms  "Father"  and 
"Son"  and  although  they  are  under  the  ban  and  unused 
by  all  Islam,  theological  and  religious,  it  is  precisely  the 
Gospel  of  John  with  its  teaching  of  the  uncreated  Word 
which  most  of  all  appeals  to  him.  Through  its  explicit 
teaching  of  a  universal  brotherhood  and  of  the  divine 
Fatherhood  he  finds  expression  for  conceptions  which 
have  been  long  and  deeply  felt. 


344  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

When,  then,  a  Moslem  has  reached  the  conviction  that 
all  men  are  brothers  and  that  God  is  the  common  Father 
of  all,  he  will  be  ready  for  self-scrificing  service  to  man- 
kind as  a  v^hole  and  will  cease  to  be  indifferent  to  all 
but  fellow  Moslems. 

(5)  Freedom  of  Life  Under  the  Gospel, — When  gen- 
eral revivals  and  individual  conversions  occur  in  Islam — 
and  they  have  occurred  and  do  occur  often — they  are 
almost  always  inspired  by  fear  of  the  hereafter.  It  is 
even  true  in  the  case  of  the  mystical  theologians  of  wide 
and  deep  religious  experience  that  they  have  at  first  been 
driven  to  devotedness  by  the  fear  of  hell  and  have,  there- 
after, felt  constrained  to  live  a  life  apart  from  the  world 
in  order  to  be  able  to  retain  their  religious  attitude.  Of 
course,  there  are  many  sincere  ,  devout  Moslems  who  live 
in  the  every-day  world ;  but  a  profound  religious  ex- 
perience in  Islam  does  not  generally  send  the  recipient 
back  into  the  world  to  live  there  and  to  do  his  part  in  it, 
but  rather  seems  to  warn  him  to  separate  himself  from 
all  that  is  not  specifically  and  clearly  religious.  The 
believing  Moslem  who  lives  and  works  in  the  world  may 
be  said  to  hold  his  faith  in  a  more  formal  way.  The 
dervish  fraternities,  it  is  true,  recognize  the  claims  of 
this  world  by  admitting  tertiaries,  who  live  and  work 
in  the  world  and  yet  are  furnished  by  their  fraternity 
with  the  means  of  devotion  and  of  occasional  retreat. 
Notwithstanding  this  device,  the  division  in  Islam  be- 
tween the  things  of  this  world  (ad-dunya)  and  of  the 
world  to  come  {al-dkhira)  is  deep  and  broad,  and  the 
pious  meddle  with  the  first  only  at  the  risk  of  their  eternal 
damnation. 

To  those  taught  to  accept  this  distinction  the  Christian 
conception  of  the  perfect  freedom  of  the  service  of  Christ 
comes  like  a  breath  of  fresh,  cold  air.  For  in  spite  of  the 
appearance  in  Christendom  of  these  same  phenomena,  the 
reasonableness  of  Christ's  religion  has  never  been  long 
held  under  such  bonds.  The  life  of  Christ  in  the  Gospels, 
and  especially  in  the  Synoptics,  with  its  healthy  contact 
with  all  sides  of  life  and  its  solutions,  reasonable  and  yet 
deep-cutting,  of  the  recurring  problems  of  life,  makes  this 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     345 

freedom  perfectly  evident.  The  mere  reading  of  the 
Gospels  establishes  the  true  significance  of  the  "Kingdom 
of  Heaven."  There  have  not,  of  course,  been  wanting  in 
Christendom  similar  tendencies  towards  separating  the 
two  worlds,  but  they  have  not  dominated  Christian  think- 
ing. 

(6)  Freedom  of  Scientific  Investigation. — A  student 
of  the  history  of  Islam  is  forced  to  note  that  time  and 
again  Moslem  peoples  have  experienced  renaissances  of 
culture,  literary  and  scientific,  which  have  never  endured 
for  very  long.  They  have  always  had  a  certain  forced 
character  and  have  usually  grown  out  of  the  favor 
of  ruling  princes  or  of  dynasties.  The  great  example 
of  this  is,  of  course,  the  period  under  the  early  Abbasids, 
but  they  arose  also  under  the  Fatimids,  and  under  the 
Spanish  Umayyads.  Yet  Islam  has  never  been  able  to 
show  any  definite  thread  of  progress,  one  period  leading 
to  another,  all  being  a  part  of  a  steady  forward  drift. 

The  reason  for  this  regular  stoppage  of  such  revivals 
is  not  entirely  plain.  It  has  been  sought  at  different 
points.  Many  have  explained  it  by  the  predestinarian- 
ism  of  Islam.  But  Protestanism  a  century  ago  was  quite 
as  predestinarian  in  its  theology,  without  abating  its  intel- 
lectual life.  There  is,  however,  a  distinction  to  which 
religious  Islam  has  always  held,  and  which  may  in  part 
be  an  explanation.  It  is  that  between  useful  knowledge 
and  a  knowledge  which  cannot  at  once  show  a  practical 
purpose.  By  useful  knowledge  Islam  means  that  which 
is  useful  either  for  this  world  or  for  that  to  come.  Its 
utilitarianism  has  therefore  a  wide  scope,  but  it  is  still 
utilitarianism.  If  a  Moslem  cannot  show  to  himself  that 
a  study  or  task  or  sport  produces  specifically  useful 
results,  either  for  his  life  here  or  for  his  eternal  salvation, 
then  it  is  held  to  be  better  for  him  to  leave  that  interest 
alone.  This  does  not  mean  the  complete  avoidance  of 
play  or  sport,  because  diversions  can  be  justified  on  the 
ground  of  health  or  of  relaxation,  but  it  does  mean  that 
the  merely  interesting,  the  pursuit  of  disinterested 
curiosity,  should  not  be  cultivated.  In  consequence,  all 
scientific  investigation  has  to  justify  itself  to  Moslems 


346  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

by  the  immediate  production  of  some  useful  result.  The 
early  criticism  in  America  of  Benjamin  Franklin's  ex- 
periments in  electricity  was  exactly  Moslem  in  type. 
No  Moslem  investigator,  however,  seems  to  have  hit  upon 
Franklin's  reply,  "What  is  the  good  of  a  baby?"  The 
scientific  babies  of  Islam  have  been  all  too  few.  The 
Moslem  philosophers  and  scientists  of  early  centuries  were 
often  good  pupils,  learning  eagerly  jfrom  the  Greeks 
and  Indians,  but  they  seldom  added  anything  to  what  they 
learned.  Mediaeval  Europe  undoubtedly  owes  them  a 
debt,  as  the  first  link  with  the  civilization  of  the  Greeks, 
but  not  for  anything  which  they  contributed  of  them- 
selves. 

In  contrast,  the  practical  working  of  Christianity  has 
been  clear.  Christendom,  despite  its  occasional  narrow- 
ness, has  never  really  handicapped  intellectual  lif«  or 
scientific  investigation.  When  European  civilization 
made  its  fresh  beginning  with  the  Renaissance,  intellec- 
tual life  was  fostered  on  all  sides  by  the  Christian  Church. 
There  have  been  conflicts  between  so-called  religion  and 
so-called  science,  but  Christendom  has  always  recognized 
that  the  world  is  a  subject  for  study  in  the  most  absolute 
sense,  and  that  it  is  man's  duty  to  seek  to  fathom  its 
mysteries,  and  to  make  ever  clearer  its  workings  as  those 
of  God.  Islam,  on  the  other  hand  has  tended  to  admonish 
the  faithful  to  take  that  which  Allah  sends  to  them  with- 
out considering  it  too  carefully.  The  world  for  Islam  is 
the  mystery  of  Allah ;  He  only  knows  it  and  can  know  it 
and  it  is  better  for  mankind  to  avoid  too  curious  investiga- 
tions. In  this  one  respect  Christianity  has  a  vital  message 
for  the  best  minds  of  Moslem  countries. 

(7)  The  Right  of  All  to  Education, — The  natural 
result  of  the  tendency  described  in  the  preceding  section 
has  been  to  limit  technical  training  to  the  narrowly  useful, 
and  intellectual  training  to  theology  and  canon  law. 
Consequently  the  secular  sciences  and  their  technical  ap- 
plications have  been  gradually  crowded  out  of  Moslem 
higher  education  and  reduced  to  the  standing  of  arts 
and  crafts.  Still  more  serious  has  been  the  fate  of  pri- 
mary education.     Centering  around  the  study  of  the 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     347 

Koran,  often  in  a  purely  mechanical  fashion,  primary 
training  has  placed  all  its  weight  upon  the  training 
of  the  few  boys  who  have  been  likely  to  go  on  to  univer- 
sity studies,  that  is,  to  become  theological  or  canon 
lawyers.  The  great  mass  of  children  who  look  to  no 
such  distinction  have  been  neglected.  Their  intellectual 
discipline  and  the  development  of  their  powers  seem 
never  to  have  appealed  to  the  Moslem  mind.  The  con- 
ception that  the  intellectual  progress  of  a  people  depends 
on  the  intellectual  stimulus  of  the  masses  from  whom  the 
leaders  must  come  has  played  no  part  in  Islam.  There  is 
no  trace  in  Moslem  literature  of  the  conception  of  the 
essential  dignity  of  the  village  school.  Rather  the  school- 
master is  always  a  butt  for  ridicule.  It  is  true  that  Islam 
has  always  honored  the  learned  man,  whether  a  university 
teacher  or  a  private  scholar,  but  it  has  never  honored 
either  the  life  of  the  common  school  or  its  teacher.  In 
consequence  a  snobbish  spirit  prevails  among  the  learned. 
Like  the  old  Pharisees  they  say,  "This  people  that 
knoweth  not  the  law  is  accursed."  Christianity  has  a 
mighty  appeal  to  the  popular  mind  in  Moslem  lands 
through  its  demonstration  of  the  right  of  all  to  education 
and  of  the  fundamental  importance  of  the  primary  school. 
(8)  The  True  Place  of  Womanhood  in  Life, — ^The 
woman  problem  in  Islam  goes  much  deeper  than  any 
question  of  polygamy,  concubinage  or  divorce.  It  begins 
with  the  attitude  of  Mohammed  himself  towards  women, 
and  works  itself  out  practically  through  the  application 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  imitation  of  the  Prophet.  Moham- 
med's attitude  to  women  was  frankly  sexual.  This  set 
a  tone  for  his  followers,  and  even  stamped  indulgence 
with  religious  approval.  In  consequence  even  asceticism 
in  Islam  has  not  been  extended  to  sex  and  the  place 
of  women  in  Islam  has  been  hopelessly  compromised. 
The  first  generations  of  Islam  witnessed  an  outburst  of 
sexualism;  even  the  decent  reserves  of  language  which 
existed  in  the  old  pre-Moslem  poetry  vanished  after 
Mohammed's  day.  Early  Moslem  writers  noted  this 
fact  with  regret  and  speculated  upon  its  cause.  But  there 
can  be  no  question  that  the  real  cause  was  the  personal 


348  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

example  and  influence  of  Mohammed.  This  fundamen- 
tal question  of  morals  is  one  of  the  most  serious  problems 
that  modern  Islam  faces.  Some  Moslem  apologists  have 
been  driven  to  the  curiously  inverted  conclusion  that  in 
this  matter  Mohammed  is  not  to  be  imitated,  because, 
as  a  prophet,  he  was  not  bound  by  ordinary  rules. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  stress  the  contrast  of  the  Chris- 
tian position  which  recognizes  that  women  are  people 
among  people  in  the  world,  not  existing  simply  because 
of  and  for  their  sex,  and  that  they  should  contribute 
their  distinctive  share  to  social  and  to  public  life.  The 
missionary  cannot  lay  too  great  emphasis  upon  the  edu- 
cation of  girls.  If  true  wives  are  to  be  provided  for  the 
young  men  of  Islam,  it  can  only  be  done  by  educating  the 
girls.  Otherwise  whatever  education  may  be  given  to 
boys  will  be  almost  eliminated  in  social  and  family  re- 
spects by  the  hampering  and  degrading  influence  of  their 
uneducated  wives.  A  very  great  part  of  the  continuity  of 
a  civilization  and  perhaps  the  deepest  and  most  essential 
part  is  carried  by  its  women,  and  until  the  Oriental 
woman  knows  herself  and  has  found  her  proper  place, 
Oriental  civilization  will  be  crippled  and  discontinuous. 

(9)  Christianity  and  Childhood. — Islam  teaches  that 
all  children  are  born  Moslems,  but  afterwards  their 
parents  pervert  them.  This  is  expressed  in  a  tradition 
from  Mohammed :  "Every  infant  is  born  on  God's  plan, 
then  his  parents  make  him  a  Jew  or  a  Christian  or  a 
Magican."*  This  tradition  has  led  to  interminable  dis- 
cussion among  theologians  and  canon  lawyers,  but  reli- 
gious Islam  has  accepted  it  as  meaning  practically  that 
"children  are  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  What  they 
really  understand  by  this  is  that  Islam  is  the  natural 
religion  and  that  the  uncontaminated  human  mind  is 
Moslem.  This,  however,  is  different  from  maintaining 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  best  represented  by  the 
child  mind  and  that  therefore  there  must  be  in  children 
along  with  the  promise  of  the  future  a  unique  dignity  and 
appeal.  At  this  point  appears  Christianity's  real  con- 
tribution to  the  attitude  toward  children  and  child-life. 

(10)  The  Significance  of  Suffering  in  Life. — No  reli- 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     349 

gion  solves  the  problem  of  the  existence  of  suffering  in  a 
world  ruled  by  a  just  and  merciful  God,  but  theological 
Islam  is  perhaps  the  most  relentless  of  all  in  the  un- 
merciful logic  of  its  statements  upon  this  point.  In  some 
forms  it  even  uses  the  problem  of  suffering  to  increase 
the  unknowableness  of  Allah.  The  Koran  calls  him  "the 
most  merciful  of  those  who  show  mercy."  "But,"  says  the 
Moslem  theologian,  "experience  demonstrates  the  absurd- 
ity of  that  statement  in  its  literal  meaning.  Therefore 
these  words  cannot  mean  what  they  would  mean,  if  said  of 
a  man,  and  we  really  do  not  know  what  they  do  mean." 
Christianity,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  so  logical.  It 
admits  the  mystery  and  incorporates  it  in  its  religion 
as  an  essential  part  of  the  experience  of  the  world,  and 
sanctifies  suffering  through  the  suffering  of  its  Founder 
and  the  suffering  even  of  God  in  Him.  Value  and  mean- 
ing are  thus  given  to  suffering  and  it  ceases  to  be  simply 
a  horror,  becoming  a  positive  element  in  life.  It  is  true 
that  we  do  not  know  why  it  is  there,  but  the  whole  drift 
of  Christian  thought,  beginning  with  the  example  of 
Christ,  is  to  accept  it,  to  use  it  and  to  know  that  it  can  be 
accepted  and  used.  The  mystery  of  the  Cross  and  of  the 
suffering  of  our  Lord  thereon  is  part  of  the  great  mystery 
in  the  whole  world,  and  the  example  of  the  patience  and 
strength  of  our  Lord  has  proven  potent  to  deliver  men 
from  the  power  of  sin  and  to  emancipate  them  from  the 
fear  of  suffering.  The  Christian  Church  has  even  taught 
that  men  can  fill  up  the  measure  of  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  and  by  that  means  have  fellowship  with  Him, 
understand  Him  and  do  some  part  for  others  with  Him. 
Suffering,  in  a  word,  in  Christianity  is  not  a  thing  simply 
to  be  endured,  but  to  be  experienced  and  used,  and  in  it 
the  human  and  the  divine  can  come  into  closest  sympathy, 
(ii)  The  Divine  Share  in  Human  Lif e.^In  Islam 
the  Divine  guidance  of  man  is  wrought  through  a  book. 
By  it  Allah  commands,  forbids  and  instructs  mankind.  It 
is  the  word  of  Allah  addressing  man.  Islam  therefore 
very  early  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was  no  ordinary 
book,  but  that  there  lay  in  it  a  mystery  and  that  it,  as  the 
word  of  God  to  mankind,  could  be  said  to  be  uncreated 


350  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

and  eternal.  When,  then,  the  Moslem  recites  it,  hears  it 
or  remembers  it,  it  is  as  though  that  uncreated  word  of 
Allah  was  sounding  in  his  ears.  Nevertheless,  it  is  to 
him  an  unchanging  revelation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  revelation  of  God  to  man  in 
the  Christian  scheme  is  His  coming  in  the  person  of 
Christ,  His  living  among  men  in  the  human  Jesus  and 
His  continual  manifestation  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Com- 
forter, the  interpreter  and  guide  of  life.  Christianity 
recognizes  that  with  the  incarnation  there  began  a  new 
working  of  the  Divine  in  human  life.  Islam  is  still  on 
the  Old  Testament  religious  basis.  God  is  outside  of 
life,  although  constantly  directing  it;  but  in  Christianity 
he  has  had  and  still  has  that  share  in  human  life  that  has 
been  expressed  at  one  time  by  immanence,  which  every 
generation  must  express  for  itself  and  for  which  our 
generation  is  now  seeking  a  word.  It  is  true  that  the 
mystics  of  Islam,  like  the  mystics  of  all  times,  have  come 
very  close  to  this  position,  and  on  the  basis  of  religious 
experience  have  taught  that  the  individual  soul  can  be 
and  is  guided  personally  by  Allah.  This,  however,  is 
in  paradox  with  the  fundamental  theological  position  of 
the  separation  between  Allah  and  his  world,  and  mystical 
Islam  has  found  no  systematic  way  of  solving  this  puzzle. 
But  lacking  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  they  tend  to  sway 
between  pantheism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  intellectual 
agnosticism,  on  the  other.  The  missionary  should  be 
very  sure  that  he  can  state  the  doctrine  of  the  Christian 
Trinity  in  terms  that  will  meet  this  Moslem  need. 

(12)  The  Communion  of  Saints. — As  the  government  of 
the  Moslem  states  became  gradually  infected  with  world- 
liness  the  religiously-minded  in  Islam  withdrew  from 
all  contact  with  it,  regarded  the  taking  of  government 
positions  as  dangerous  for  the  welfare  of  their  souls  and 
doubted  gravely  the  religious  sincerity  and  honesty  of  all 
salaried  government  officials.  There  then  gradually 
grew  up  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  sort  of  heavenly 
board  of  administration.  This  was  the  government  of 
Allah  as  opposed  to  that  of  those  worldly  princes  and 
rulers.    The  members  of  this  heavenly  board  were  be- 


WHAT  CHRISTIANITY  MAY  ADD  TO  ISLAM     351 

lieved  to  be  saints,  alive  and  dead,  who  are  arranged  in 
a  kind  of  hierarchy,  the  head  being  the  link  between  God 
and  the  world  and  the  administrators  being  those  ordin- 
ary-appearing men  who  went  their  way  in  the  ordinary 
walks  of  life,  but  were  really  the  saints  of  Allah.  Those  ^ 
saints  who  had  passed  away  but  were  believed  to  reside  in 
a  personal  sense  in  their  tombs  were  additional  links  be- 
tween God  and  the  world  and  their  intercession  should 
be  sought  and  might  be  hoped  for.  In  this  fashion  Islam 
built  up  in  a  curiously  concrete  bureaucratic,  govern- 
mental form  a  conception  of  the  communion  of  saints 
uniting  both  worlds  in  a  fellowship  of  service  and  con- 
stituting the  real  means  by  which  Allah  administers  the 
world.  A  Moslem  in  trouble  of  any  kind  might  hope 
that  his  trouble  would  be  noticed  and  he  himself  relieved 
by  the  action  of  one  or  another  of  these  functionaries. 
This  is  a  beautiful  conception,  but  it  is  not  so  helpful, 
appealing  or  spiritual  a  conception  as  the  Christian  teach- 
ing of  the  communion  of  saints  uniting  both  worlds  in 
prayer  and  service  and  with  their  prayers  for  each  other  ' 
ever  ascending  before  the  throne  of  God.  The  one  is, 
as  it  were,  a  materialization  of  the  other  and  the  mis- 
sionary should  know  how  to  use  the  Moslem  conception 
to  lead  to  the  broader  and  more  spiritual  Christian  view 
which  covers  all  men  and  is  separated  from  conventional 
machinery. 

Note:  This  valuable  paper  has  been  taken  from  the  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  on  "The  Presentation  of  Christianity 
to  Moslems/'  This  pamphlet,  and  others  of  the  series  on  the  presenta- 
tion of  Christianity  to  adherents  of  non-Christian  religions,  may  be 
secured  at  50  cents  each  from  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation, 
25  Madison  Ave.,  New  York. 


WAS  MOHAMMED  SINCERE  ? 


Few  lives  break  so  completely  in  two  as  does  that  of 
the  Apostle  of  the  Arabs.  The  history  of  Saul  of 
Tarsus  and  of  those  who  have  experienced  catastrophic 
conversions  may  furnish  examples  of  a  kind,  but  in  all 
these,  whether  occurring  inside  of  Islam  or  outside  of 
it,  the  change  wrought  is  invariably  in  an  upward  direc- 
tion, from  bad  to  good,  or  from  good  to  better.  In 
many  instances  it  is  merely  a  change  of  mental  outlook, 
or  even  of  a  religious  opinion.  In  the  case  of  Moham- 
med, on  the  other  hand,  the  alteration,  if  there  was  any, 
was  not  simply  from  good  to  bad,  but  from  the  most 
sublime  devotion  to  the  cause  of  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  truth  to  the  most  cynical  indifference  to  truth  in  any 
form ;  from  the  highest  integrity  and  self-sacrifice  to  the 
depths  of  moral  depravity.  In  this  respect  the  life- 
story  of  the  Prophet  of  Arabia  appears  to  be  without  a 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  biography. 

As  regards  the  earlier  of  the  two  periods  into  which  the 
public  ministry  of  Mohammed  naturally  divides  itself, 
no  reasonable  person  can  doubt  that  he  was  thoroughly 
honest  and  sincere,  both  in  his  doctrine  and  in  his 
belief.  If  he  was  not,  then  it  would  be  difficult  to  point 
to  any  of  the  great  teachers  of  the  human  race  who  was 
so.  There  is,  indeed,  one  incident  in  the  life  of  Mo- 
hammed which  occurred  during  this  period,  which 
might  be  regarded  as  reflecting  upon  the  reality  of  his 
faith.  It  is  accordingly  omitted  by  Ibn  Hisham,  though 
fortunately  retained  by  Tabari  and  Wakidi.  It  is 
described  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Sir  William  Muir's 
Life  of  Mohammed!^  The  Prophet  had  been  laboring 
for  five  years  for  the  conversion  of  his  people,  and  all 
the  result  he  had  to  show  was  some  fifty  souls,  and  of 


(»)  Fourth  edition,  published  by  John  Grant,  Edinburgh,  p.  80  ff. 

352 


WAS  MOHAMMED  SINCERE  353 

these  some  were  nearly  related  to  himself  and  some  were 
slaves.  Over  against  this  he  had  to  set  the  alienation  of 
all  the  rest  of  his  tribe,  including  almost  all  the  principal 
men.  Disheartened  apparently  by  his  ill  success,  he 
went  so  far  as  to  concede  to  the  Meccans  that  the  idols 
which  they  worshipped  were  after  all  supernatural  be- 
ings of  a  kind.  The  text  in  which  he  propounded  this 
doctrine  is  said  to  have  run : 

"What  think  ye  of  Lat,  Ozza,  and  Manat,  the  other 
third?  They  are  exalted  personages,  whose  intercession 
is  indeed  to  be  sought."  The  Koreish  are  said  to  have  at 
once  accepted  these  terms,  and  worshipped  Allah  as  the 
one  supreme  deity,  with  whom  their  idols  acted  as  inter- 
cessors only.  This  was  not  the  result  which  Mohammed 
had  anticipated  would  follow,  and  he  was  much  cha- 
grined. He  lost  no  time  in  publishing  a  second  edition 
of  the  text  in  which  the  latter  part  ran:  '^Is  there  to  you 
the  male  and  to  Him  the  female?  It  were  in  that  case 
an  unfair  division!"  The  result  was  that  the  idolators 
became  more  estranged  than  before. 

This  incident  in  the  career  of  Mohammed  does  not 
seem  to  be,  as  it  is  usually  represented,  of  the  nature  of  a 
lapse  from  the  pure  monotheism  which  was  the  key- 
stone of  the  faith  he  preached,  and  apart  from  which 
there  was  no  reason  for  his  preaching  at  all.  Rather 
it  seems  to  have  been  of  the  nature  of  a  ruse  on  his  part 
to  draw  the  Koreish  into  his  net.  Hitherto  he  had  em- 
ployed only  direct  means  to  convert  his  fellow-tribesmen 
from  their  idolatry  and  polytheism,  threats  and  promises, 
denunciation  and  appeals.  Now,  for  once,  he  was  like 
the  Christian  apostle,  to  use  the  craftiness;  only  the  guile 
of  the  one  "came  off,"  and  that  of  the  other  did  not. 
To  Mohammed  an  idol  was,  as  it  was  to  St.  Paul,  noth- 
ing in  the  world.  If  he  could  but  get  the  Koreish  to 
acknowledge  Allah  as  the  one  and  sole  Eternal,  they 
would  very  quickly  see  that  there  was  no  place  for  any 
other  object  of  worship  for  man.  But  this  is  just  exactly 
what  they  did  not  do.  Even  Mohammed  could  not 
change  average  human  nature ;  and  the  average  religious- 
ly-minded person  is  not  satisfied  with  a  purely  monothe- 


354  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

istic  faith.  He  must  have  some  being  who  will  stand 
half-way  between  the  human  and  Divine,  who  will  act  as 
a  go-between  for  both.  This  person  the  primitive  Chris- 
tian found  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Greek  and  Roman  also  in 
the  saints  and  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  even  the  pious  Mos- 
lem finds  the  same  want  satisfied  in  the  person  of  Mo- 
hammed. There  was  nothing  strange,  therefore,  in  the 
adherents  of  the  ancient  Arabian  worship  conceding  to 
Mohammed  all  that  he  demanded  for  Allah,  as  the  one 
supreme  God,  and  yet  holding  on  to  the  idolatry  and 
polytheism  which  they  inherited  from  their  fathers.  The 
concession  which  Mohammed  made  to  them  therefore 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  at  all  of  the  nature  of  a 
surrender  of  his  position  as  a  pure  monotheist,  but  rather 
a  device  by  which  he  hoped,  while  apparently  yielding, 
to  draw  his  opponents  over  to  his  side. 

Putting  aside,  then,  this  one  incident,  the  whole  of  the 
earlier  part  of  the  life  of  the  Arabian  Prophet  has  noth- 
ing to  show  which  affords  any  just  reason  for  supposing 
that  he  was  anything  but  a  sincere  and  straightforward 
person.  It  is  a  pretty  safe  maxim  that  actions  which  re- 
sult in  loss  to  the  individual,  and  which  are  carried  on 
in  face  of  loss,  are  disinterested  actions.  This  is  especi- 
ally true  in  the  case  of  those  who  claim  to  act  from 
motives  different  from  those  from  which  the  people  of 
the  world  normally  act.  Few  persons  have  lived  upon 
this  earth  who  would  have  less  cause  to  fear  the  appli- 
cation to  himself  of  this  rule  than  would  the  Prophet 
of  Arabia.  One  of  the  practical  work-a-day  maxims 
handed  down  from  Mohammed  is  the  rule  that  of  two 
equally  legitimate  courses  men  should  choose  the  path  of 
less  resistance.  The  whole  of  the  earlier  part  of  his 
own  life  runs  counter  to  this  rule. 

Mohammed  was  a  young  man  and  had  already  estab- 
lished for  himself  a  reputation  for  integrity  and  business 
capacity.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  he  would  not  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  have  been  entrusted  with  the  charge 
of  the  camels  belonging  to  Khadija  which  formed  part 
of  the  Syrian  caravan,  nearly  related  to  him  though  she 
was.     Still  less  would  she  have  set  the  seal  to  her  approval 


WAS  MOHAMMED  SINCERE  355 

of  his  conduct  of  her  business  affairs  by  uniting  herself 
in  marriage  to  a  person  of  no  fortune.  This  union  is 
described  by  Muir  as  happy  and  fortunate,  and  it  says 
much  for  Mohammed,  living  as  he  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  society  such  as  that  of  Mecca,  and  not  having  any  sur- 
viving male  issue,  that  he  remained  faithful  to  the  union 
as  long  as  Khadija  herself  lived.  It  would  be  difficult 
indeed  to  exaggerate  the  influence  for  good  which  this 
lady  exercised  over  Mohammed,  not  only  over  his  pri- 
vate life  but  over  his  prophetic  activity  as  well;  and  the 
loss  of  that  influence  is  perhaps  the  best,  if  not  the  only 
possible,  explanation  of  the  transformation  which  took 
place  in  his  whole  being. 

We  next  meet  Mohammed  some  ten  years  later  in  con- 
nection with  the  affair  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Kaaba. 
Dispute  ran  high  as  to  which  of  the  clans  should  have  the 
honor  of  setting  the  famous  Black  Stone  in  its  place  in 
the  wall.  Favoured  by  a  happy  accident,  the  choice  fell 
upon  Mohammed,  but  it  was  the  more  readily  acquiesced 
in  since  Mohammed  was  already  known  by  the  by-name 
of  Al-Amin,  "the  faithful".  It  was  accordingly  his  hand 
which  guided  the  sacred  emblem  to  its  bed  in  the  wall. 

It  was  not  more  than  three  or  four  years  after  this 
event  that  the  mind  of  Mohammed  began  to  be  possessed 
with  poetic  inspiration.  His  people  were,  indeed  a  nation 
of  heroes  and  poets,  but  their  poetry  was  mostly  born  of 
the  desert.  City  life,  especially  in  Mecca,  did  not  make 
for  poetry,  and  Mohammed's  own  tribe  of  Koreish  were 
in  this  respect  perhaps  more  wanting  than  any.  In  form, 
the  poetry  of  Mohammed  differed  from  that  of  the 
desert  poets  in  that  it  rhymed  but  did  not  scan,  whereas 
theirs  did  both.  In  material  it  differed  from  theirs  in 
that  it  did  not  consist  of  elaborate  descriptions  of  lions 
and  horses  and  camels,  and  of  the  mistress  of  the  poet, 
but  the  verses  of  Mohammed  dealt  in  moral  themes,  and 
finally  crystallized  round  the  two  religious  ideas  of  the 
unity  of  God  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Muir 
gives  the  following  lines  as  among  the  earliest  produc- 
tions of  his  muse : 


356  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

By  the  declining  day  I  swear! 

Verily  man  is  in  the  way  of  ruin: 

Excepting  such  as  possess  faith, 

And  do  the  things  that  are  right 

And  stir  up  one  another  unto  truth  and  steadfastness. 

There  is  as  little  doubt  as  to  the  poetic  inspiration  of 
Mohammed  being  an  objective  reality  as  there  is  of  his 
inability  to  clothe  it  in  proper  metrical  form.  Indeed, 
he  had  no  musical  ear. 

So  long  as  Mohammed  remained  a  poet  pure  and 
simple,  his  fellow-tribesmen  merely  ignored  him.  But 
perhaps  a  poet  can  endure  neglect  less  well  than  any 
other  mortal.  Mohammed  passed  from  poet  to  prophet. 
He  was  no  longer  content  to  publish  glowing  descrip- 
tions of  the  attributes  of  the  one  Creator  and  Ruler  of 
the  world:  he  began  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
battle-line,  and  to  denounce  the  customs  of  his  ancestors 
and  to  cast  ridicule  upon  their  gods.  He  appeared  as  the 
last  of  the  long  line  of  prophets  descended  from  Abra- 
ham, the  prophet  of  the  Arabs  from  their  own  race,  who 
was  sent  by  God  to  restore  among  them  the  lost  faith  of 
the  Patriarch. 

His  authority  and  equipment  for  this  mission  came  to 
him  from  God  Himself,  just  as  it  had  done  to  Abraham 
and  Moses  and  all  the  other  Hebrew  prophets  of  old. 
The  weird  oracles  which  he  poured  into  the  ears  of  his 
tribesmen,  and  which  they  found  it  hopeless  to  place 
in  their  primitive  catalogue  of  literature,  were  delivered 
to  him  by  the  hands  of  the  archangel  Gabriel,  and  were 
in  very  deed  the  words  of  God.  In  all  this  there  is  no 
trace  of  insincerity  or  imposture.  Mohammed's  revela- 
tions came  to  him,  not  he  to  them.  They  were  to  him  a 
source  of  mental  discomfort  and  dread,  as  were  those  of 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  to  them.  They  were  even  followed 
by  physical  exhaustion  and  depression.  He  knew  enough 
of  Hebrew  history  to  be  aware  that  the  prophetic  mission 
usually  ended  in  failure  and  disaster,  and  he  was  quite 
prepared  to  meet  the  prophet's  fate.  Over  and  over 
again  in  the  Koran  he  recounts  the  failures  of  Abraham 
and  Moses,  Salih  and  Hud,  and  anticipates  the  same 


WAS  MOHAMMED  SINCERE  357 

doom  for  himself;  and  during  the  first  period  of  his 
prophetic  activity  his  anticipations  were  realized  to  the 
full.  Yet  he  was  no  more  able  to  refrain  from  preaching 
the  doctrine  which  he  believed  he  was  divinely  com- 
missioned to  deliver  than  was  St.  Paul.  His  converts 
were  few :  on  two  occasions  they  had  to  take  refuge  in  the 
Christian  country  of  Abyssinia:  his  whole  clan  were 
given  the  "boycott"  by  the  rest  of  the  clans  of  Koreish, 
until  they  were  reduced  to  the  greatest  straits,  an  at- 
tempted mission  for  aid  from  the  neighbouring  city  of 
Taif  ended  in  failure;  and  the  death  of  his  wife  and  life- 
long friend  Khadija  and  of  his  protector  Abu  Talib  had 
brought  his  fortunes  and  those  of  his  adherents  to  the 
lowest  ebb.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this  failure  and  disap- 
pointment, it  is  impossible  (with  the  exception  of  the 
incident  noticed  above)  to  point  to  any  inconsistency  or 
wavering  in  the  attitude  of  Mohammed  towards  the 
faith  which  he  preached.  The  greatest  misfortune  of 
all,  however,  for  Mohammed  was  that  it  was  not  his 
fate  at  this  point  to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  life.  Had 
that  been  his  lot  he  would  have  stood  for  all  time  upon 
the  same  level  as  Buddha  and  other  heroes  of  faith. 

But  the  insoluble  riddle  of  the  life  of  Mohammed 
consists  in  how  to  reconcile  the  Mohammed  of  Mecca 
with  the  Mohammed  of  Medina,  where  he  spent  the  last 
ten  years  of  his  life.  In  Mecca  he  was  a  prophet,  in 
Medina  he  was  a  politician.  In  Mecca  he  advocated 
and  consistently  practiced  the  Christian  doctrine  of  non- 
resistance  to  evil,  and  refused  to  have  recourse  to  the  em- 
ployment of  force :  in  Medina  force  was  the  only  remedy 
and  he  had  no  sooner  settled  there  than  he  incurred  the 
greatest  obloquy  which  an  Arab  can  incur  by  making  war 
on  his  own  tribe.  In  Mecca  he  taught  and  let  those  hear 
who  would:  in  Medina  he  made  concessions,  first  to 
gain  over  the  Jews  and,  when  that  became  hopeless,  his 
own  fellow-citizens.  In  Mecca  he  was  poor  and  humble 
both  in  spirit  and  in  conduct:  in  Medina  he  was  one  of  the 
princes  of  the  earth,  and  sent  embassies  to  the  Emperor 
and  the  rulers  of  Persia  and  Egypt.  In  Mecca  his  pri- 
vate life  would  have  been  an  example  to  that  of  the  aver- 


358  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

age  citizen  of  many  Christian  communities:  in  Medina  it 
resembled  that  of  our  own  Henry  VIII  or  some  other  of 
the  monstrosities  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Yet  even  in  this, 
which  is  the  feature  of  his  life  with  which  the  British 
"man  in  the  street"  is  mostly  or  alone  familiar,  he  is  far 
superior  to  his  English  counterpart,  seeing  that  almost 
all  of  the  many  unions  which  he  contracted  were  politi- 
cal in  their  motive. 

Wellhausen,*  indeed,  whose  lamented  death  occurred 
last  winter,  professes  to  see  no  inconsistency  in  the  con- 
duct of  Mohammed  during  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  as 
contrasted  with  the  earlier  and  happier,  if  also  less  pros- 
perous times,  on  the  ground  that  all  through  Mohammed 
had  but  one  aim  in  life,  the  conversion  of  Arabia  to  mono- 
theism. But  this  is  much  as  if  one  should  deny  that  there 
is  any  great  difference  between  the  average  German  citi- 
zen of  today  and  of  a  generation  or  two  ago,  because  al- 
though the  former  seeks  in  cheating  and  thieving  the 
profit  which  his  fathers  sought  in  honest  labour,  still  they 
were  both  aiming  at  the  same  goal :  both  wished  to  grow 
rich.  And  so  it  was  with  Mohammed.  His  aim  all 
through  was  the  banishment  of  idolatry  and  polytheism 
from  the  Arabian  peninsula  and  the  substitution  of  mono- 
theism in  it  place.  But  in  truth  even  the  sincere  fanat- 
ic— and  Mohammed  was  no  fanatic — and  the  astute 
politician  and  opportunist  can  have  no  common  aims. 
And,  if  the  whole  conduct  of  Mohammed  for  the  last 
ten  or  eleven  years  of  his  life  present  a  complete  con- 
trast to  everything  that  went  before,  it  can  only  be  because 
the  underlying  motives  of  all  his  actions  had  changed. 
To  account  for  this  change,  if  change  there  were,  is  the 
most  difficult  problem  which  confronts  the  biographer 
of  Mohammed. 

T.  H.  Weir. 


*  "Das  arabische  Reich  und  sein   Sturz,"  p.   3  f. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER 


Islam,  as  is  well  known,  has  not  only  borrowed  many 
beliefs  and  practices  from  Judaism  and  Christianity  but 
grew  up  in  the  midst  of  Arabian  paganism  and  retained 
pagan  elements  and  superstitions  prevalent  in  Mecca  at 
the  time. 

The  Moslem  creed  of  six  articles,  especially  in  its 
demonology  and  eschatology  shows  these  pagan  sources. 
The  ritual  also  is  not  free  from  old  animistic  practices; 
witness  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  which,  (with  all  its 
grotesque  ceremonies,  is  simply  the  old  Arabian  idolatry 
in  a  badly-fitting  monotheistic  dress.  We  find  pagan  ele- 
ments also  in  their  rules  for  fasting  and  in  the  magical 
use  of  the  confession. 

This  paper,  however,  deals  only  with  one  aspect  of 
the  subject;  namely,  the  pagan  or  animistic  practices  con- 
nected with  Moslem  prayer.  The  subject  was  examined 
in  one  aspect  by  A.  J.  Wensinck*  although  Noldeke  had 
already  made  a  valuable  contribution  in  one  of  his  essays. 
Further  study  of  the  sources  given  and  long  experience  in 
many  Moslem  lands  have  led  to  the  following  observa- 
tions and  conclusions  on  the  subject. 

In  the  preparation  for  the  five  daily  prayers — especially 
in  the  process  of  ablution — the  object  of  the  Moslem 
seems  to  be  to  free  himself  from  everything  that  has 
connection  with  supernatural  powers  or  demons  as  op- 
posed to  the  worship  of  the  one  true  God.  That  is  the 
reason  for  its  supreme  importance.  Wensinck  tells  us 
that  these  beliefs  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  bodily 
purity  as  such,  but  are  intended  to  free  the  worshipper 
from  the  presence  or  the  influence  of  evil  spirits.  It  is 
this  demonic  pollution  which  must  be  removed.  In  two 
traditions  from  Muslim  we  read,  ^'Said  the  Prophet:  If 

*  Der  Islam,  Band  IV,  Animisme  und  Daemonenglaube. 

359 


36o  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

any  of  you  wakens  up  from  sleep  let  him  blow  his  nose 
three  times.  For  the  devil  spends  the  night  in  a  man's 
nostrils.'  "  And  again  "Said  Omar  ibn  el-Khattab  (may 
God  have  mercy  on  him)  ^A  certain  man  performed  ablu- 
tion but  left  a  dry  spot  on  his  foot.  When  the  Prophet 
of  God  saw  it  he  said :  "Go  back  and  wash  better,"  then 
he  returned  and  came  back  to  prayer.  Said  the  Prophet 
of  God:  "If  a  Moslem  servant  of  God  performs  the 
ablution,  when  he  washes  his  face  every  sin  which  his 
face  has  committed  is  taken  away  by  it  with  the  water  or 
with  the  last  drop  of  water.  And  when  he  washes  his 
hands,  the  sins  of  his  hands  are  taken  away  with  the 
water  or  with  the  last  drop  of  the  water.  And  when  he 
washes  his  feet  all  the  sins  which  his  feet  have  committed 
are  taken  away  with  the  water  or  with  the  last  drop  of 
water  until  he  becomes  pure  from  sin  altogether.' " 
Goldziher  has  shown  in  one  of  his  essays  that  according 
to  Semitic  conception  water  drives  away  demons.  Ac- 
cording to  Al-Bokhari  the  washings  before  prayer  should 
always  begin  on  the  right  side  of  the  body  not  on  the 
left.  Another  tradition  gives  the  value  of  the  hairs  of  the 
Prophet  when  they  fell  in  the  washing- vessel.  The  Proph- 
et used  to  wash  his  feet  when  he  wore  sandals  by  simply 
passing  his  hand  over  the  outside  of  the  sandals;  the 
object,  therefore,  cannot  have  been  to  cleanse  impurity 
but  to  ward  off  demons.  Another  tradition  is  given  as 
follows:  according  to  Abd-el-Rahman,  a  man  came  to 
Omar  ibn  el-Khattab  and  said,  "I  am  in  a  state  of  im- 
purity and  cannot  find  water."  Amr  ibn  Yasir  said  to 
Omar  ibn  el-Kattab,  "Do  you  remember  the  day  that  you 
and  I  traveled  together.  You  did  not  make  your 
prayers,  but  I  rolled  myself  in  the  sand  and  prayed. 
When  I  told  the  Prophet  of  this  he  said,  ^That  was 
enough,'  and  so  saying  he  took  some  earth  in  his  hands, 
blew  on  it  and  then  rubbed  his  face  and  hands  with  it."t 
Abd-el-Rahman  was  witness  when  ^Amr  said  to  Omar,' 
"We  were  in  a  detachment  and  we  were  in  a  state  of 
impurity,  etc.  ..."  and  he  uses  the  words :  ''he  spat  on 
his  hands''  instead  of  "he  breathed. "if 

1 1  Les  Traditions  de  Bokhari,  by  O.   Houdas    :   p.   126. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    361 

These  two  traditions  from  Bokhari  also  show  the  value 
ascribed  to  the  animistic  custom  of  blowing  and  spitting. 

There  are  a  number  of  traditions  regarding  spitting 
in  a  mosque.  It  must  never  be  done  in  front  of  anyone, 
nor  to  the  right  hand  but  to  the  left.§  According  to  Anas 
ibn  Malek,  to  spit  in  a  mosque  is  a  sin:  one  may  expiate 
it  by  wiping  up  the  spittle.  Again,  in  entering  a  mosque 
one  must  put  the  right  foot  forward  first  for  fear  of  evil 
consequences.  In  the  same  way  we  are  told  that  a  man 
who  was  carrying  arrows  in  his  hand  entered  a  mosque, 
and  the  Prophet  cried:  "Hold  them  by  the  point."  The 
only  reason  for  this  tradition,  as  is  shown  by  its  connec- 
tion, is  that  the  point  of  the  arrows  or  other  sharp  instru- 
ments might  arouse  Jinn  and  so  damage  the  value  of 
prayer.  We  also  find  traditions  concerning  such  Ani- 
mistic practices  as  crossing  the  fingers  or  the  limbs  at  the 
time  of  prayer.  This  has  to  do  with  the  superstitions 
of  knots,  which  hinder  prayer. 

There  are  many  traditions  which  assert  a  close  relation- 
ship between  sleep  and  the  presence  of  Jinn.  It  is  during 
sleep  that  the  soul,  according  to  animistic  belief,  leaves 
the  body.  Therefore,  one  must  waken  those  who  sleep 
gently,  lest  the  soul  be  prevented  from  returning.  Not 
only  during  sleep  but  during  illness  demons  are  present 
and  in  Egypt  it  is  considered  unfortunate  for  anyone  who 
is  ceremonially  unclean  to  approach  a  patient  suffering 
from  ophthalmia. 

The  Moslem  when  he  prays  is  required,  according  to 
tradition,  to  cover  his  head,  especially  the  back  part  of 
the  skull.  This  according  to  Wensinck  is  also  due  to 
animistic  belief:  for  evil  spirits  enter  the  body  by  this 
way.  Goldziher  has  shown  that  the  name  given  this  part 
of  the  body  {al  qafa)  has  a  close  relation  to  the  kind  of 
poetry  called  Qafiya,  which  originally  meant  a  poem  to 
wound  the  skull,  or  in  other  words,  an  imprecatory  poem. 
It  is  therefore  for  the  dread  of  evil  powers  which  might 
enter  the  brain  that  the  head  must  be  covered  during 
prayer.     References  are  found  to  this  practice  both  in 

§  Bokhari  :  chap.  33.  Cf.  Muslin,  Vol.  1  :  -207 — Arabic  edition;  "No  one  must 
enter  or  approach  a  mosque  if  he  has  eaten  onion,  or  garlic,  because  the  angels  hate 
the   smell    as   much    as    human    beings    do." — Muslin  :  Vol.    I    :    210. 


362  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Moslem  tradition  and  in  the  Talmud,  on  which  they  are 
based.  Again  it  is  noteworthy  that  those  places  which 
are  ritually  unclean,  such  as  closets,  baths,  etc.  are  con- 
sidered the  habitation  of  demons. 

According  to  tradition  a  Moslem  cannot  perform  his 
prayer  without  a  Sutra  or  some  object  placed  between 
himself  and  the  Kibla  in  order,  as  tradition  says,  "that 
nothing  may  harm  him  by  passing  between."  Of  this 
custom  we  speak  later.  The  call  of  the  Muezzin  accord- 
ing to  Al-Bokhari  drives  away  the  demons  and  Satan.  || 
No  one  dares  to  recite  the  Koran,  which  is  a  holy  book, 
without  first  repeating  the  words,  'I  take  refuge  in  God 
against  Satan  the  accursed.'  We  may  add  to  all  this 
what  Mittwoch  has  shown  in  his  book  Zur  Entstehungs- 
geschichte  des  islamischen  Gebets  und  Kultus,  that  the 
Takbir  itself,  one  of  the  elements  of  daily  prayer,  is  a 
cry  against  demons.  The  raising  of  the  hands  during 
prayer  and  the  movement  of  the  forefinger  is  perhaps 
also  to  ward  off  the  spirits  of  the  air,1[  or  it  may  have  a 
connection  with  the  special  prayer  called  Qanut.  Others 
say  that  the  spreading  out  or  the  stretching  forth  of  the 
fingers  and  arms  is  to  prevent  any  idol  or  thing  of  blas- 
phemy being  hidden  between  the  fingers  or  under  the 
arm-pits;  a  ruse  used  formerly  by  the  unbelievers  and 
discovered  by  the  Angel  Gabriel. 

Among  the  Arabs  before  the  time  of  Mohammed  and 
among  Moslems  to-day,  sneezing,  especially  during 
prayer,  is  an  ominous  sign  and  should  be  followed  by  a 
pious  ejaculation.  This  also  is  clearly  animistic.  Among 
the  tribes  of  Malaysia  the  general  belief  is  that  when  one 
sneezes,  the  soul  leaves  the  body.  When  one  sneezes  one 
should  say,  "I  ask  forgiveness  of  God";  when  one  yawns, 
however,  the  breath  (soul)  passes  inward  and  one  says, 
"Praise  be  to  God."     At  the  close  of  the  prayer,  as  is 

II  Bokhari   :  Kitah   al  Adhan   :  Section  iv. 

H  I  am  told  by  my  sheikh  from  al-Azhar  that  according  to  Moslem  tradition  it  is 
bad  luck  (Makruh)  to  drink  water  or  any  liquid  while  one  is  standing.  If,  however, 
one  is  compelled  to  drink  standing  one  should  move  the  big  toe  rap'dly  as  this  will 
ward  off  all  harm.  We  find  here  the  same  superstitious  custom  of  warding  oflF  evil 
spirits  by  moving  the  first  toe  up  and  down  as  that  of  the  finger  at  the  end  of  the 
ritual  prayer- 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    363 

well-known,  the  worshipper  salutes  the  two  angels  on  his 
right  and  left  shoulders. 

Not  only  the  preparations  for  prayer  and  prayer  itself 
but  the  times*  of  prayer  have  a  distinct  connection  with 
animistic  belief.  The  noon-day  prayer  is  never  held  at 
high  noon  but  a  short  time  after  the  sun  reaches  the 
meridian.  Wensinck  points  out  that  this  is  due  to  the 
belief  that  the  sun-god  is  really  a  demon  and  must  not  be 
worshipped  by  the  monotheist.  According  to  al-Bukhari 
the  Prophet  postponed  the  noon-day  prayer  until  after 
high  noon  for  "the  greatest  heat  of  the  day  belongs  to 
the  heat  of  hell."  Nor  is  it  permitted  to  pray  shortly 
after  sunrise  for  "the  sun  rises  between  the  horns  of  the 
devil."  According  to  Abu-Huraira  and  Abdallah  ibn 
^Omar,  the  prophet  of  God  said :  "When  it  is  excessively 
hot  wait  until  it  is  cool  to  make  your  prayers,  for  intense 
heat  comes  from  hell." 

Abu-Dzarr  said:  The  muezzin  of  the  Prophet  had 
called  for  the  noon-prayer.  "Wait  until  it  is  cooler,  wait 
until  it  is  cooler,  or  wait  ..."  said  the  Prophet. 
Then  he  added :  "Great  heat  is  of  hell :  so  when  it  is  ex- 
cessively hot,  wait  until  it  is  cool  then  make  your  pray- 
ers." Abou-Dzarrt  adds :  "And  we  waited  until  we  saw 
the  shadow  declining." 

But  the  most  interesting  thing  of  all  is  the  tradition 
regarding  the  Sutra.  The  word  means  something  that 
covers  or  protects ;  from  what  is  it  a  protection  and  why 
is  it  used?  The  Commentaries  do  not  explain  what  the 
Sutra  really  means  but  it  is  very  clearly  a  protection 
against  demons,  as  is  shown  by  the  tradition  given. | 

According  to  Ibn  Omar,  on  the  feast  day  (when  the 
fast  was  broken)  the  Messenger  of  God  gave  him  an 
order  when  he  went  out  to  bring  him  a  stick  and  to  stick 
it  before  him  and  it  was  before  this  stick  that  he  made 
his  prayers,  while  the  faithful  were  ranged  behind  him. 

*  Prayer  is  forbidden  at  three  particulaar  periods  :  at  high  noon  because  the  devil 
is  then  in  the  ascendant;  when  the  sun  is  rising  because  it  rises  between  the  horns 
of  the  devil,  when  the  sun  is  at  the  setting  becausse  it  sets  between  the  horns  of 
the   devil,     (/bn   Maja  :  Vol.    i,   p.    195). 

t  Al-Bokhari  translated  by  Houdas,   (Paris  1903)   p.   190. 

t  See  Muslim  :  vol.  i,  pp.  190,  193,  194  and  Zarkanfs  Com.  on  aJ-Muwatttut  :  vol.  i,. 
p.   283.     Arabic  texts. 


364  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

He  did  the  same  thing  when  he  traveled  and  it  is  from 
this  that  the  emirs  took  the  custom.  Other  authorities 
say  the  Sutra  of  the  Prophet  was  the  short  spear  or  the 
camel-saddle,  or  his  camel  when  kneeling. § 

A  curious  tradition  is  given  by  Abu  Dawud  on  the 
authority  of  Ibn-'Abbas  who  said,  ''I  think  the  Apostle  of 
God  said,  ^If  one  of  you  prays  without  a  sutra  (a  thing 
set  up  by  a  praying  person)  before  him,  his  prayer  is  apt 
to  be  annulled  by  a  dog,  or  an  ass,  or  a  pig,  or  a  Jew, 
or  a  Magi,  or  a  menstruating  woman;  if  they  pass  before 
him  they  ought  to  be  punished  on  that  account,  with  the 
pelting  of  stones.'  "|| 

Abu-Johaif a  said :  "The  Prophet  went  out  during  the 
heat  of  the  day  and  when  he  came  to  El-Batha  and  prayed 
two  rakas'a  for  the  noon-prayer  and  the  evening  prayer, 
he  stuck  a  pike  before  him  and  made  his  ablutions.  The 
faithful  washed  themselves  with  the  rest  of  the  water.lF 

The  following  tradition  is  most  important  as  it  shows 
what  the  Sutra  originally  meant.  The  reference  to  the 
demon  is  animistic:  "Abu  Salih  es-Sam'an  said:  ^I  saw 
Abu  Sa'id  el-Khodri  one  Friday  make  his  prayers  before 
something  that  separated  him  from  the  crowd.  A  young 
man  of  the  Benu  Abou  Mo'ait  trying  to  pass  before  him, 
Abu  Sa'id  gave  him  a  push  full  on  the  chest.  The  young 
man  looked  round  for  another  way  out  and  not  finding 
any,  he  returned.  Abu  Sa'id  pushed  him  back  still 
more  violently.  The  young  man  cursed  him  and  then 
went  and  told  Merwan  of  Abu  Sa'id's  conduct.  The 
latter  at  this  moment  entered  and  Merwan  said  to  him, 
"What  is  the  matter  with  you,  ^O  Abu  Sa'id,  that  you  thus 
treat  one  of  your  own  religion?'  "I  have  heard  the 
Prophet  pronounce  these  words,"  answered  Abu  Sa'id, 
When  one  of  you  prays,  let  him  place  something  before 
him  which  will  separate  him  from  the  public,  and  if  any- 
one tries  to  pass  between  turn  him  away  and  if  he  refuse 
to  leave  let  him  use  force,  for  it  is  a  demon/  ''*     Muslim 

i  Ibn  Maja  :  vol.   i,   p.    156,   lines   10-12. 
I  Ad-Damiri's   Hoy  at  At-Hayawan  :  vol.   i,   p.    708. 
t  Les  Traductions  Bokhari,   Houdas.   p,    179. 
*  Les  Traductions  Bokhari,  Houdas.  p.  181. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    365 

addsit  "If  any  of  you  pray  do  not  allow  any  one  to  pass 
between  himself  and  the  Sutra  for  it  protects  from  the 
demons." 

The  Sutra  or  object  placed  before  the  one  in  prayer  is 
usually  some  object  such  as  a  stone  or  a  stick  placed  at  a 
certain  distance  from  the  one  praying:  /.  e.,  about  one 
foot  beyond  where  his  head  would  touch  the  ground.  It 
is  also  a  sign  that  none  must  pass  before  him,  but  never 
used  except  by  men  of  mature  years  and  serious  mind, 
and  then  only  in  open  or  public  places,  never  in  a  room 
or  on  a  housetop.  If  stones  are  used  they  must  never 
be  less  than  three,  otherwise  it  would  seem  as  if  the  stone 
were  the  object  of  worship. 

There  are  cases  in  which  passing  before  one  at  prayer 
is  counted  as  sin  either  to  the  pray-er  or  to  the  one  passing, 
i,e, : 

{a)  If  he  who  prays  is  obliged  to  pray  in  the  public 
way,  and  there  is  no  other  way  of  passing  except  before 
him,  there  is  sin  neither  to  the  pray-er  or  to  the  passer-by. 

{b)  If  he  who  prays  chooses  a  public  place  in  pre- 
ference to  one  less  exposed  and  one  passes  in  front  of 
him,  who  could  as  easily  have  gone  behind,  sin  is  ac- 
counted to  both  of  them. 

{c)  If  he  who  prays  chooses  a  public  place  in  pre- 
ference to  one  less  exposed  and  the  one  who  passes  has  no 
choice  but  to  go  in  front  of  him  sin  is  accounted  to  him 
who  prays. 

{d)  If  he  who  prays  chooses  an  unexposed  place  and 
some  one  deliberately  passes  in  front  when  there  is  space 
behind,  sin  is  accounted  to  the  passer-by  and  not  to  him 
who  prays. 

"The  practices  among  the  Shiah  Moslems  differ  in 
some  respects  from  those  of  the  Sunnis,"  says  Miss  Holi- 
day of  Tabriz,  Persia.  "A  Shiah  about  to  pray  takes  his 
place  looking  toward  the  Kibla  at  Mecca;  if  he  be  a  strict 
Moslem  he  lays  before  him  and  nearest  the  Kibla  and 
where  he  can  put  his  forehead  upon  it,  the  Muhr  which 
is  indispensable.  It  generally  consists  of  earth /from 
Kerbela,   compressed  into  a  small   tablet  and   bearing 

t  Muslim  :  vol.   i,   p.    193. 


366  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Arabic  inscriptions ;  it  is  various  in  shape.  If  one  has  not 
this  object,  he  can  use  a  common  stone,  a  piece  of  wood 
or  a  clod  of  earth;  in  the  baths  they  keep  small  pieces 
of  wood  for  the  convenience  of  worshippers.  With  re- 
gard to  wood,  they  say  all  the  trees  in  the  world  came 
from  heaven  and  their  life  is  directly  from  God  so  they 
are  holy  objects.  The  Kerbela  talismans  are  called  "tur- 
bat,"  as  being  made  from  holy  earth  from  the  tomb 
city  of  the  Imam  Hussain.  On  the  side  nearest  him  of 
the  muhr  the  worshipper  lays  a  small  pocket  comb,  then 
next  to  himself  the  rosary. 

Aiter  prayer,  they  point  the  right  forefinger  first  in  the 
direction  of  the  Kibla,  saluting  Mohammed  as  the  Son  of 
Abdullah  and  the  Imam  Hussain  'grandson  of  the  Pro- 
phet, son  of  Fatima,'  then  to  the  east  saluting  Imam 
Riza  as  the  Gareeb,  or  stranger,  at  Meshhed  in  Khorar- 
san,  then  to  the  west,  saluting  the  Imam  Mahdi,  as  the 
Shibi-zaman  or  Lord  of  the  Age.  The  back  is  to  the 
north.     This  looks  like  sun-worship." 

Among  the  customs  which  are  forbidden  during  prayer 
is  that  of  crossing  or  closing  the  fingers.  They  should 
be  held  widely  spread  apart.  We  have  the  following 
tradition  in  Ibn  Maja'.X  "Said  the  Prophet:  'Do  not  put 
your  fingers  close  together  during  prayer.  It  is  also 
forbidden  to  cover  the  mouth  during  prayer.'  "  Another 
tradition  reads  that  the  Apostle  of  God  saw  a  man  who 
had  crossed  his  fingers  during  prayer  or  joined  them 
close  together;  he  approached  him  and  made  him  spread 
his  fingers.  § 

That  the  yawning,  to  which  reference  was  made,  has 
connection  with  spirits  and  demons  is  evident  from  a  tra- 
dition given  in  the  same  paragraph,  namely:  "If  any  of 
you  yawn  let  him  put  his  hand  upon  his  mouth  for  verily 
the  devil  is  laughing  at  him." 

That  the  Moslem  lives  constantly  in  dread  of  evil 
spirits  is  shown  by  other  traditions  regarding  the  prayer 
ritual.  For  example,  we  read  in  the  Sunnan  of  Ibn 
Majajl  that  Mohammed  forbade  prayer  being  made  on 

tVol.  i,  p.  1S8. 
fVol.  i,  p.  158. 
H  Vol.  i,  p.   134. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    367 

or  near  watering  places  of  camels  because  camels  were 
created  like  devils.  It  is  an  old  superstition  that  Satan 
had  a  hand  in  the  creating  of  a  camel ;  the  explanation  is 
given  in  the  commentators.  Again  we  are  told  that 
the  fingers  must  be  spread  so  as  to  afford  no  nestling 
place  for  evil  demons  and  that  therefore  the  method  of 
washing  the  hands  (Takhlil)  consists  in  rubbing  the  out- 
spread fingers  of  both  hands  between  each  other.  {Ibn 
Maja,  Vol.  i,  p.  158;  Nasai,  Vol.  i,  pp.  30,  173,  186-7). 
The  last  reference  is  particularly  important  as  it  shows 
that  Mohammed  inculcated  the  practice  of  moving  the 
first  finger  during  prayer.lT  Undoubtedly  the  practice 
of  combing  the  hair  with  outspread  fingers  ( Takhlil 
esh-Sha'ar)  to  which  al-Bukhari  refers  (Vol.  i,  p.  51) 
has  a  similar  significance. 

We  give  further  references  to  all  these  practices  as 
recorded  in  a  standard  work  on  tradition,  the  Sunnan 
of  An-Nasai.* 

The  niche  in  a  mosque  that  shows  the  direction  in 
which  prayer  is  made  is  called  the  Mihrab,  i.e.  "the 
place  of  fighting,"  or  rather,  the  instrument  by  which  we 
fight  the  demons.'  There  are  many  traditions  concern- 
ing Mohammed^s  struggle  with  afrits  and  Jinn  in  a 
mosque.  The  most  interesting  one  is  given  in  Muslim 
(vol.  i,  p.  240)  :  "Said  the  Apostle  of  God  (on  him  be 
prayers  and  peace),  ^A  certain  demon  of  the  Jinn  attacked 
me  yesterday  in  order  to  stop  my  prayers.  But,  verily, 
God  gave  me  victory  over  him.     I  was  about  to  tie  him 

n  Takhlil  is  not  only  used  of  the  fingers  but  of  tlie  toes  as  well,  there  also  demons 
lurk.     (_See   Sha'arani's  Lawa'ih  al  Anwar  fi  tabakat  al  Ahjar,  p.   26). 

*  That  in  prayer  there  should  be  no  gaps  in  the  ranks  of  the  worshippers  lest 
Satan  come  between.     Nasai   :  vol.  i,  p.   131. 

That  one  should  blow  the  nostrils  three  times  because  they  are  the  abode  of  devils, 
away  the   devil.     Ibid.,   vol.   i,   p.    27. 

The  Prophet  forbade  sleep  in  bath-rooms  because  they  are  the  abode  of  devils. 
Ibid.,  vol.  i,  p.   IS. 

The  Prophet  forbade  facing  the  Kibla  when  fulfilling  a  call  of  nature  for  fear  of 
Satan.     Ibid.,  vol.  i,  p.  IS. 

The  separation  of  the  fingers  (p.  30)  :  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  should  be 
closed  tight  during  prayer  and  of  the  left  hand  spread  out,  but  the  forefinger  should 
remain    straight.     Ibid.,   vol.    i,    p.    186. 

The    forefinger    should    be    bent    when    giving    witness.     Ibid.,    p.    187. 

The   fingers   should   be   moved.     Ibid.,    p.    187. 

To  turn  the  head  around  during  prayer  is  caused  by  the  devil.     Ibid.,  vol.  1,  p.  177. 

(*)  I  am  not  unaware  of  the  explanation  given  regarding  the  etymology  and  signifi- 
cance of  this  word  mihrab  by  Professor  Macdonald  in  The  Moslem  World,  vol.  vii,  no.  2, 
but  the  one  I   give  here  is   the  popular  derivation  and  explanation. 


368  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

to  the  side  of  a  pillar  of  the  pillars  of  the  Mosque  so 
that  ye  might  get  up  in  the  morning  and  behold  him,  all 
of  you,  when  I  remembered  the  prayer  of  my  brother 
Solomon:  "O  Lord,  forgive  me  and  give  me  a  dominion 
such  as  no  one  ever  had,"  and  after  that  God  set  the 
demon  free.'  "  The  Mihrab  in  a  mosque,  I  am  told,  takes 
the  place  of  the  Sutra  outside  of  a  mosque  and  serves  the 
same  purpose. 

The  forming  of  ranks  in  Moslem  prayers  as  they  face 
the  Mihrab,  is  most  important  and  therefore  they  are 
extremely  careful  of  it.  There  are  many  traditions  in 
this  respect  which  can  only  have  relation  to  belief  in 
Jinn.  For  example,  not  only  must  the  worshippers  stand 
in  a  row,  but  in  a  mosque  it  is  considered  most  important 
to  stand  so  close  together  that  nothing  can  possibly  pass 
between.  They  stand  ready  like  soldiers  in  massed  for- 
mation.    Here  is  the  tradition: 

Anas  states  that  the  Prophet  said :  "Observe  your  ranks, 
for  I  can  see  you  from  behind  my  back."  "Each  one  of 
us,"  he  adds,  "put  his  shoulder  in  touch  with  his  neigh- 
bour's and  his  foot  with  that  of  his  neighbour."t  We 
must  add  yet  another  superstition  in  prayer,  viz.  it  is  bad 
luck  to  pray  on  the  left  hand  of  Imam.  Ibn-'Abbas  said : 
"On  a  certain  night  I  made  my  prayers  together  with  the 
Prophet.  As  I  was  placing  myself  on  his  left,  the  Mes- 
senger of  God,  taking  hold  of  me  by  the  back  of  my 
head,  placed  me  on  his  right.  After  having  made  our 
prayers,  he  lay  down  and  rested  until  the  muezzin  came 
to  look  for  him.  Then  he  got  up  and  made  his  prayers 
without  making  his  ablutions/^ If, 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  lifting  of  the  hands  in 
prayer.  This  is  an  important  matter  for  discussion  in 
all  works  on  Fiqh, 

In  the  prayer  called  Kunut,  which  takes  place  during 
and  as  part  of  the  morning  prayer  {Salat)^  the  hands  are 
raised  in  magical  fashion.  Goldziher  believes  the  origi- 
nal signification  of  this  was  a  curse  or  imprecation  on  the 

t  Houdas  Bukhari  (French  Trans.)  p.  243;  See  also  Nasai  :  vol.  i,  p.  173  and 
186-7. 

t  Houdas'  Bukhari   (French  Trans.)   p.  244. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    369 

enemy;  such  was  the  custom  of  the  Arabs.  The 
prophet  cursed  his  enemies.  So  a:lso  did  the  early 
Caliphs.  In  Lane's  Dictionary  (Art.  Qunut)  we 
find  the  present  prayer  given  as  follows:  "O  God. 
verily  we  beg  of  Thee  aid,  and  we  beg  of  Thee  forgive- 
ness. (And  we  believe  in  Thee  and  we  rely  on  Thee, 
and  we  laud  Thee  well),  and  we  will  not  be  unthankful 
to  Thee  for  Thy  favor,  and  we  cast  off  and  forsake  him 
who  disobeys  Thee:  O  God,  Thee  we  worship  and  to 
Thee  we  perform  the  divinely-appointed  act  of  prayer, 
and  prostrate  ourselves;  and  we  are  quick  in  work- 
ing for  Thee  and  in  serving  Thee;  we  hope  for 
Thy  mercy,  and  we  dread  Thy  punishment;  verily  (or 
may)  Thy  punishment  overtake  the  unbelievers."  It  is 
said  of  the  Prophet  that  he  stood  during  a  whole  month 
after  the  prayer  of  daybreak  cursing  the  tribes  of  Rial 
and  Dhakwan.  We  read  in  Al-Muwatta  (Vol  i,  p.  216) 
that  at  the  time  of  the  Qunut  they  used  to  curse  their 
enemies  the  unbelievers  in  the  month  of  Ramadhan. 
Later  on  this  custom  was  modified  or  explained  away. 
Al-Bukhari  even  wrote  a  book  on  the  subject  as  to  when 
the  hands  might  be  lifted  in  prayer. 

There  is  no  doubt  regarding  the  origin  of  the  Qunut 
prayer.  We  read  in  Yusef  as  Safti's  commentary  on 
Ibn  Turki,  a  well-known  book  on  Fiqh  (p.  157)  as  fol- 
lows: "The  reason  for  the  legislation  concerning  the 
Qunut  in  this.  One  day  there  came  to  the  Prophet  cer- 
tain unbelievers  who  pretended  that  they  had  become 
Moslems  and  asked  him  that  he  would  give  them  aid 
from  among  his  Companions  as  a  troop  against  their 
enemies.  So  he  granted  them  seventy  men  from  among 
the  Companions;  when  they  departed  with  them,  how- 
ever, they  took  them  out  to  the  desert  and  killing  them 
threw  them  into  the  well  Mayrah.  This  became  known 
to  the  Prophet  and  he  mistrusted  them  and  was  filled 
with  wrath  and  began  to  curse  them  saying:  "O  God, 
curse  Ra'ala  and  Lahyan  and  Beni  Dhakwan  because 
they  mocked  God  and  his  Apostle.  O  God,  cause  to  come 
down  upon  them  a  famine  like  in  the  days  of  Joseph 
and  help  el-Walid  ibn  el-Walid  and  the  weak  company 


370  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  Mecca."  Then  Gabriel  came  down  to  him  and  told 
him  to  keep  quiet  saying,  "God  did  not  send  you  a  reviler 
and  a  curser  but  verily  he  sent  you  as  a  mercy.  He  did 
not  send  you  as  a  punishment.  The  affair  does  not  con- 
cern you;  for  God  will  either  forgive  them  or  punish 
them.  They  are  the  transgressors.  Then  he  taught 
him  the  Qunut  aforementioned."  i.e.  the  prayer  now 
used. 

In  spite  of  the  assertion  of  God's  unity  there  are  many 
other  things  connected  with  Moslem  prayer  which  re- 
semble pagan  magic  such  as  the  power  through  certain 
words  and  gestures  to  influence  the  Almighty.  These 
practices  were  prevalent  before  Islam.  Professor  Gold- 
ziher  mentions  the  custom  of  incantation  {Manashada) 
similar  to  that  practiced  by  the  heathen  Kahins,  by  cer- 
tain leaders  in  the  early  days  of  Islam — it  was  said  "If  so 
and  so  would  adjure  anything  upon  God  he  would  doubt- 
less obtain  it." 

Not  only  in  formal  prayer  (Salat)  but  also  in  the 
Du'a  (petition)  there  are  magical  practices,  especially 
in  the  prayer  against  eclipse  and  in  the  petitions  for  rain. 
We  are  told  in  Bukhari  that  on  one  occasion  the  Prophet 
while  praying  for  rain  raised  his  hands  so  high  that  one 
could  see  the  white  skin  of  his  arm-pits!  In  the  case  of 
Du'a  therefore,  the  Kibla  is  said  to  be  heaven  itself  and 
not  Mecca. 

Another  gesture  used  in  Du'a  is  the  stroking  of  the 
face,  or  of  the  body  with  the  hands.  This  custom  is 
borrowed  from  the  Prophet  and  also  has  magical  effect. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  the  Prophet  put  his  hands  in 
water  and  washed  his  face  with  them,  repeating  the 
creed. 

Goldziher  refers  especially  to  magical  elements  in  the 
prayer  for  rain.§  Eclipses  of  the  sun  or  moon  were, 
like  excessive  drought,  explained  and  combated  by  the 
pagan  Arabs  in  a  superstitious  manner.  Although  Mo- 
hammed forbade  them  to  recognize  in  such  phenomena 
anything  more  than  special  manifestations  of  the  omni- 

i  See  Bukhari  wko  gives  certain  chapters  on  magical  formulas  to  be  used  on  this 
occasion.     Certain   of   the  companions   of  the   Prophet   were   celebrated   as   rain-makers. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    371 

potence  of  the  Creator,  yet  he  ordained  in  this  case  also 
certain  ritual  prayers,  to  be  continued  as  long  as  the 
eclipse  lasted. 

No  Mohammedan  questions  for  a  moment  that  the 
omnipotence  of  God  reveals  itself  in  these  eclipses — 
indeed  no  doctrines  are  more  popular  than  those  of  the 
omnipotence  of  God  and  predestination — ^yet  in  the  ranks 
of  the  people  all  kinds  of  superstitions  prevail  in 
regard  to  such  phenomena.  In  these  temporary  obscura- 
tions of  sun  and  moon  they  discern  the  action  of  malignant 
spirits  and  do  not  regard  the  performance  of  a  simple 
service  of  prayer  as  a  sufficient  protection.  "In  Acheh, 
as  in  other  Mohammedan  countries,  these  prayers  are 
left  to  the  representatives  of  religion,  the  teungkus  an 
leube's  while  the  people  of  the  gampong  keep  up  a 
mighty  uproar  beating  the  great  drum  of  the  meunasah, 
and  firing  off  guns  and  sometimes  even  cannons  in  order 
to\frighten  away  the  enemies  of  the  sun  and  moon. 
Various  sorts  of  ratebs  are  also  held  in  order  to  relieve 
the  suffering  heavenly  body."|| 

In  Algeria  the  usual  posture  used  in  prayer  for  rain 
is  standing  with  the  elbows  bent  and  palms  turned  up- 
wards. Prayers  for  rain  must  only  be  done  out  of  doors 
and  with  old  clothes  on,  the  burnous  being  worn  inside 
out  to  express  distress  and  need. 

For  eclipse  of  the  sun  a  long  prayer  is  made  standing 
with  hands  down  at  the  side,  fingers  extended,  then  a 
long  prayer  while  hands  are  bent  on  the  knees.  These 
two  positions  are  frequently  repeated. 

In  Yemen,  at  the  first  of  the  year,  if  there  is  a  drought, 
five  cows  are  brought  to  a  special  mosque  and  each  one  in 
turn  is  driven  around  the  mosque  three  times  by  a  huge 
crowd  of  young  men  who  constantly  pray  or  recite  the 
Koran.  In  case  of  an  eclipse,  water  is  put  in  large  trays 
in  the  open  air  and  the  people  peer  into  this  water 
searching  for  the  moon's  reflection  but  in  this  practice 
prayer  is  not  forgotten. 

In  1917  there  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the  moon  visible 
in  Egypt.     As  might  well  be  expected  the  eclipse  greatly 

n  Hurgronje's   The  Achenese,  pp.   285-6. 


372  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

€xcited  the  Egyptian  masses,  who  were  very  much  im- 
pressed by  the  fact  that  it  coincided  with  Ramadan  and 
the  war.  Pans  and  drums  as  well  as  other  noise-making 
appliances  were  beaten  by  them  as  long  as  the  phenom- 
enon was  visible,  and  even  after  its  disappearance,  many 
servants  refused  to  go  to  sleep  on  the  roofs. 

Among  the  Turkish  Moslems  there  is  a  superstition 
regarding  the  value  of  "rain  stones"  called  Yada  Rashi, 
or  in  Persian  Sangi  Yada.  This  superstition  dates  from 
before  their  conversion  to  Islam  but  still  persists  and 
spread  to  Morocco.  In  Tlemcen  the  Moslem  in  time 
of  drought  gather  70,000  pebbles  which  are  put  in  seventy 
sacks;  during  the  night  they  repeat  the  Koran  prayers 
over  everyone  of  these  pebbles  after  which  the  bags  are 
emptied  into  the  wady  with  the  hope  of  rain.lF 

This  service  of  prayer  is  also  occasionally  held  in  Java, 
under  the  name  tstiska;  but  a  more  popular  method  of 
rain-making  is  "giving  the  cat  a  bath,"  which  is  some- 
times accompanied  by  small  processions  and  other  cere- 
monies. "In  Acheh,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,"  says  Dr. 
Snouck  Hurgronje,  "the  actual  custom  no  longer  survives, 
though  it  has  left  traces  of  its  former  existence  in  sundry 
popular  expressions.  ^It  is  very  dry;  we  must  give  the 
cat  a  bath  and  then  we  shall  get  rain'  say  the  padi-planters 
when  their  harvest  threatens  to  fail  through  drought." 

"In  Tunis  and  Tripoli,"  Major  Treamarne  tells  us, 
"if  there  is  no  rain,  and  the  crops  are  being  ruined,  the 
Arabs  go  in  procession  outside  the  city  with  drums  and 
flags,  and  pray  for  rain,. and,  according  to  Haj  Ali,  cows 
are  made  to  urinate  and  the  roofs  of  houses  are  wetted 
with  water  by  the  Arabs  and  Hausas  with  them  as  a 
means  of  bringing  down  rain.  But  if  there  is  no  result 
the  negroes  are  summoned  to  use  their  magic." 

"In  Northern  Nigeria,  amongst  the  Magazawa  of 
Gobir,  the  rain  was  made  to  fall  and  cease  in  the  following 
manner,  according  to  Haj  Ali.  The  rain-makers  were 
nine  in  number  and  would  go  around  with  wooden  clubs 
to  a  tsamiya  (tamarind)  or  a  ganje  (rubber)  tree  near 
the  gate  of  the  town,  and  sacrifice  a  black  bull,  the  blood 

II  Goldziher  in  the  Noldeke  Festscrift,  Zauber  Element e  in  Islamischen  Gebt,  p.  316. 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    373 

being  allowed  to  flow  into  the  roots.  Then  four  pots  of 
giya  (beer)  were  brought,  and  were  drunk  by  the  rain^ 
makers.  After  this  the  eldest  of  the  nine  (Mai-Shibko) 
would  rise,  put  on  the  hide  and  call  out:  "You  Youths, 
You  Youths,  You  Youths,  ask  the  man  (Allah)  to  send 
down  water  for  us,  tell  the  Owner  of  the  Heavens  that 
men  are  dying  here,  ask  him  to  spit  upon  us."  The 
eight  others  would  rise  and  stand  around  the  old  man, 
and  call  out  in  a  loud  voice  what  they  had  been  told  to 
say,  and  add:  "If  you  do  not  send  the  rain  we  will  kill 
this  old  man.  We  are  true  to  you,  see,  we  have  sacrificed 
a  bull  to  you."  Then  brandishing  their  weapons  in  the 
air,  they  would  continue:  "If  you  do  not  send  down 
the  rain  we  will  throw  up  our  clubs  at  you."* 

Regarding  prayers  for  rain  offered  up  by  the  Moham- 
medans in  China  we  glean  the  following  from  La  Revue 
du  Monde  Musulman.  (Vol.  28;  98,  article  by  G. 
Cordier)  :  "A  procession  is  formed  headed  by  the  ahong, 
or  priest,  carrying  three  objects  which  I  will  here  des- 
cribe: 

(i)  A  sack  filled  with  7,000  stones,  very  clean  and 
which  have  been  gathered  from  the  bed  of  some  river 
near  by.  These  may  be  said  to  represent  a  sort  of  rosary 
as  ten  prayers  are  repeated  over  each  stone. 

(2)  A  sword  of  the  shape  employed  in  the  mosques 
but  without  a  sheath.  On  the  handle  of  this  sword  is 
inscribed  the  word  pao-kien,  i.e.  the  "precious  sword," 
and  in  Arabic  the  creed.  This  sword  is  made  of  wood 
and  is  covered  with  inscriptions  in  Arabic  characters  and 
carried  in  a  case  made  of  yellow  linen. 

(3)  A  tablet  made  of  brass.  The  Chinese  call  it 
tch'a  p'ai,  that  is  to  say  the  "Tablet  that  is  planted." 
The  Moslems  call  it  t^ong  F'ai,  "Tablet  of  brass,"  and  in 
Arabic  lukh  nahas.  This  tablet  is  also  covered  with 
Arabic  inscriptions. 

Forty-four  flags  covered  with  quotations  from  the 
Koran  are  also  carried  in  these  processions,  and  as  they 
march,  prayers  are  chanted.  Arriving  at  Hei-long-t'an, 
the  source  of  the  black  dragon,  the  procession  halts  near 

•  The  Ban  of  the  Bori  :  pp.  185,  189. 


374  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

the  basin  called  Etang  du  dragon.  There  a  Moslem 
beats  the  water  with  the  sword  while  the  prayers  are 
continued. 

This  done,  an  ahong  holding  the  brass  tablet  gets  into 
the  water  and  throws  it  in  so  as  to  make  a  fish  come  out 
(others  say  a  water  snake).  When  this  is  caught  they 
place  it  in  some  water  taken  from  the  same  source  and 
carry  it  back  to  the  mosque  and  it  is  kept  there  until  the 
rain  comes  down.  When  this  happens  it  is  taken  back 
to  the  basin  where  it  is  again  thrown  in.f 

In  conclusion  we  may  here  give  four  of  the  short 
final  chapters  of  the  Koran  that  are  used  at  the  time  of  the 
five  daily  prayers  and  contain  references  to  pagan 
practices  current  in  Arabia  before  Islam.  It  is  true 
that  the  beautiful  opening  chapter  of  the  Koran, 
with  its  lofty  theism  and  the  chapter  of  the  Forenoon  with 
its  pathetic  reference  to  Mohammed's  childhood  are 
frequently  on  Moslem  lips.  So  also  is  the  chapter  of 
the  Unity  (112).  But  what  thoughts  a  Moslem  has 
when  he  repeats  the  following  chapters,  if  he  understands 
the  words,  we  may  learn  from  the  commentaries.  After 
reading  what  they  tell  us  there  remains  little  doubt  that 
paganism  entered  Islam  by  the  door  of  the  Koran! 

"In  the  name  of  the  merciful  and  compassionate  God. 

Verily,  we  sent  it  down  on  the  Night  of  Power! 

And  what  shall  make  thee  know  what  the  Night  of 
Power  is? — the  Night  of  Power  is  better  than  a  thous- 
and months! 

The  angels  and  the  Spirit  descend  therein,  by  the  per- 
mission of  their  Lord  with  every  bidding. 

Peace  it  is  until  the  rising  of  the  dawn!"| 

"In  the  name  of  the  merciful  and  compassionate  God. 

By  the  snorting  chargers! 

And  those  who  strike  fire  with  their  hoofs! 


t  "A  few  days  age,"  writes  Miss  H.  E.  lyevermore  of  Tsinchow,  "the  Moslems  had 
a  rain  procession, — a  thing  rarely  known  with  them.  It  is  said  once  before  they  had  one, 
and  the  informer  significantly  adds,  'and  they  revolted  just  after.'  In  this  procession 
there  was  no  noise,  great  order  and  devotion  being  observed.  The  Moslems  walked 
the  streets,  carrying  incense  and  reading  their  incantations.  Two  chairs  containing 
Moslem  sacred  books  were  carried,  whilst  the  priests  had  open  Arabic  Korans  in  their 
hands." 


ANIMISTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  MOSLEM  PRAYER    375 

And  those  who  make  incursions  in  the  morning, 

And  raise  up  dust  therein. 

And  cleave  through  a  host  therein! 

Verily,  man  is  to  his  Lord  ungrateful;  and  verily,  he 
is  a  witness  of  that. 

Verily,  he  is  keen  in  his  love  of  good. 

Does  he  not  know  when  the  tombs  are  exposed,  and 
what  is  in  the  breasts  is  brought  to  light? 

Verily,  thy  Lord  upon  that  day  indeed  is  well  aware. "§ 

"In  the  name  of  the  merciful  and  compassionate  God. 

Say,  *I  seek  refuge  in  the  Lord  of  the  daybreak,  from 
the  evil  of  what  He  has  created ;  and  from  the  evil  of  the 
night  when  it  cometh  on ;  and  from  the  evil  of  the  blowers 
upon  knots;  and  from  the  evil  of  the  envious  when  he 
envies.'  "|| 

"Say,  *I  seek  refuge  in  the  Lord  of  men,  the  King  of 
men,  the  God  of  men,  from  the  evil  of  the  whisperer,  who 
slinks  off,  who  whispers  into  the  hearts  of  men! — from 
jinns  and  men.'  "T 

Samuel  M.  Zwemer. 
Cairo,  Egypt. 

t  5  D  f  The  O«r'on— Part  II.     (Trans,  by  E-  H.  Palmer.     Suras  97,  199.  113,  114.) 


MOSLEMS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS  DURING  THE 

WAR 


There  have  been  two  main  factors  which  have  regulated 
the  attitude  of  the  Mohammedan  population  of  the 
Caucasus  towards  their  Christian  neighbours  during  the 
present  war.  The  first  of  these  insured  their  neutralit}^ 
in  whatever  fighting  that  went  on;  while  the  second 
gave  them  an  opportunity  for  action  directly  the  dis- 
astrous effect  of  the  Russsian  revolution  upon  the  disci- 
pline of  the  country  began  to  be  felt. 

While  Russia  was  still  a  strong  military  power  the 
Tartars  were  helpless  to  assert  themselves.  A  glance  at 
the  map  will  make  this  clear.  Tiflis,  the  central  capital 
of  the  Caucasus,  the  focus  of  the  railway  system,  was 
also  the  centre  of  the  Caucasian  Christian  races.  Both 
Armenians  and  Georgians  met  here.  Northward  from 
Tiflis  the  Georgian  population  extended,  and  southward 
and  eastward  the  Armenian.  The  Tartars  lay  all  round 
with  centralised  populations  at  Baku  and  Elizabethpol 
to  the  east,  Batum  to  the  west,  and  Shusha,  Nakhichivan 
and  Gamerloo  to  the  south-east.  West  and  south-west 
lay  Turkey.  All  the  railways  reaching  Tiflis  came 
through  these  districts  either  from  Russia  on  the  north, 
or  Persia  and  Turkey  in  the  south-west  and  east.  The 
Black  sea  shipping  route  similarly  found  entrance  to  the 
Caucasus  through  the  Tartar  districts  of  Batum. 

This  distribution  makes  both  the  above  factors  bearing 
upon  the  attitude  of  the  Tartars  towards  the  Christians 
clear.  For  while  the  Russians  were  in  force  on  the 
Turkish  and  Persian  fronts  these  Tartars  stood  between 
Christian  powers  within  and  without.  There  were  large 
armed  forces  stationed  in  Tiflis,  more  still  to  the  north 
in  the  southern  cities  of  Russia;  and  on  both  the  Persian 
and  Turkish  frontier  further  hordes  of  soldiers  which 


376 


MOSLEMS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS  DURING  THE  WAR  377 

Russia  could  at  any  time  turn  upon  any  revolts  arising 
within  the  Caucasus.  In  every  direction  the  Tartar 
population  could  only  see  Russian  and  Armenian  and 
Georgian  troops.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  directly  there 
v^ere  taken  away  the  external  powers  of  Christian  Russia, 
and  only  were  left  a  small  centralised  and  little  disciplined 
military  power  of  Armenians  and  Georgians  in  Tifiis 
and  the  neighbouring  Armenian  and  Georgian  districts, 
the  Tartars  immediately  became  the  possessors  of  all  the 
routes  by  which  entrance  and  exit  were  made.  The  rail- 
way from  Russia  must  come  through  Baku  and  Eliza- 
bethpol ;  that  from  Persia  through  Nakhivan  and  Gemer- 
loo;  while  directly  such  places  as  Erzeroom  and  Tri- 
bizond  fell  once  more  to  the  Turk,  the  Osmanli  Moham- 
medans were  there  to  second  any  Tartar  control  in  the 
other  places.  Batum  too  became  a  Tartar  post  for  watch- 
ing the  sea  routes  from  the  west. 

Previous  to  the  Russian  revolution,  that  is  during  the 
first  of  the  above  periods  and  conditions,  there  was  no 
appearance  of  other  than  neutrality  on  the  part  of  the 
Tartar  population.  A  quiet  orderly  state  of  affairs  ex- 
isted in  all  the  Caucasian  towns.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  during  this  time  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
Armenian  refugees  swarmed  into  all  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages, creating  both  an  increase  in  the  Armenian  popula- 
tion, and  a  new  competing  element  in  the  matters  of 
ordinary  living.  But  neither  of  these  effects  could  have 
much  influence  upon  the  Tartars,  for  these  refugees  be- 
came very  scattered,  and  hardly  added  any  Armenian 
military  powers  in  that  the  majority  were  women  and 
children;  and  food  was  always  sufficiently  plentiful  to 
make  possible  a  living  for  the  new  comers  without  re- 
quiring any  stinting  of  the  Tartars'  own  supplies.  Never- 
theless it  was  generally  felt  that  an  under-current  of 
Turkish  and  German  influence  was  in  progress  prepar- 
ing the  Tartars  for  the  possible  coming  of  different  con- 
ditions. There  was  always  a  link  across  the  southern 
borders  through  the  Kurdish  mountaineers  with  the 
Turks  beyond  the  Russian  lines,  and  through  this  means 
there  is  no  doubt  that  every  effort  was  being  made  to 


378  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

bring  about  an  unsettled  condition  amongst  the  Moham- 
medans of  the  Caucasus.  But  above  the  surface  nothing 
was  evident.     Life  went  smoothly  on. 

The  first  Russian  Revolution  came  at  the  beginning 
of  March,  191 7,  sending  its  effects  through  from  the  big 
centres  of  Russia  to  the  Caucasus  immediately.  From 
the  first  the  discipline  of  the  Russian  army  began  to 
weaken.  In  the  Caucasus  however  the  thousands  of  troops 
on  the  two  fronts  remained  at  their  posts,  though  their 
war  spirit  quickly  began  to  vanish.  Fighting  ceased  al- 
together. Supplies  on  the  other  hand  continued  to  be 
poured  through  to  the  forward  bases,  and  vast  piles  of 
every  sort  of  war  material  accumulated  in  the  hands  of 
these  forces.  Then  came  the  absolute  refusal  of  the 
soldiers  to  fight  and  the  Bolshiviki  propaganda  which 
broke  up  the  last  vestiges  of  discipline.  Finally  after 
the  October  revolution  of  the  Bolsheviki  in  Petrograd  the 
whole  fabric  of  army  organisation  went  to  pieces  and  both 
the  Persian  and  Turkish  war  fronts  resolved  themselves 
into  masses  of  men  with  no  ideas  of  patriotism,  or  con- 
cern with  the  local  Caucasus  into  which  they  had  been 
imported  from  Russia.  It  had  been  the  policy  of  the  old 
regime  to  take  the  Armenian  and  Georgian  troops  from 
the  Caucasus  to  the  Riga  front,  and  to  bring  in  their 
places  for  the  Caucasian  defense  the  Russian  moujik 
soldier  from  the  interior. 

It  was  through  this  second  period,  lasting  from  Novem- 
ber, 1917  to  March,  1918  that  the  utter  collapse  of  the 
Russian  army  took  place  and  the  active  propaganda  of 
the  German  and  Turkish  agents  had  undisturbed  sway. 
In  the  beginning  of  December  there  began  the  appalling 
retreat  of  the  Russians  from  the  Persian  and  Turkish 
fronts.  No  word  is  too  strong  to  describe  this  exodus 
which  went  on  day  after  day  in  such  a  way  as  to  show 
how  utterly  the  soldiers  had  ceased  to  care  for  anything 
but  their  own  interests.  Bolshevikism  was  triumphant. 
These  men  were  coming  back  to  take  Russia  for  them- 
selves from  the  discredited  capitalists.  Not  one  /soul 
amongst  these  masses  had  a  thought  for  the  Caucasus  and 
what  would  take  place  on  the  undefended  fronts. 


MOSLEMS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS  DURING  THE  WAR  379 

Under  these  conditions  the  Armenians  endeavoured 
hurriedly  to  meet  the  dangerous  new  situation  by  which 
they  were  faced.  The  whole  of  the  Caucasus  was  being 
thrown  open  to  the  Turks.  With  the  help  of  the  various 
representatives  of  the  Allies  then  in  Tiflis  every  effort 
was  made  to  assist  the  local  peoples  to  form  a  Caucasian 
Government  to  take  charge  of  affairs.  The  traditional 
enmity  between  Armenians  and  Georgians  was  diligently 
centred  upon  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  more 
friendly  state  of  affairs.  The  Tartars  as  an  important 
section  of  the  Caucasian  population  must  be  added  to 
the  ruling  forces.  There  came  about  thus  a  hopeless  at- 
tempt under  the  sudden  clouding  up  of  threatening 
danger  to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable.  But  there  was 
no  alternative.  A  coalition  Government  was  formed. 
The  calling  up  of  men  of  all  sections  for  compulsory 
military  service  was  immediately  decided  upon,  though 
an  important  point  in  this  was  the  attempt  to  limit  the  part 
the  Tartars  were  to  play.  The  Armenians  were  the  lead- 
ing people  in  this  activity.  The  Georgians  showed  them- 
selves half-hearted,  leaning,  in  spite  of  all  endeavours  to 
treat  with  them,  still  to  the  Tartar  side.  But  whatever  the 
results  in  these  directions  of  reconciliation  it  became  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  Armenians  to  drill  and  arm.  Thus 
as  the  Armenians  grew  in  force,  so  the  Georgians  with  the 
same  rights,  and  the  Tartars  in  their  particular  districts 
more  under  cover  from  observation  began  to  collect 
armed  powers.  A  condition  of  tension  gradually  became 
more  and  more  intense. 

It  will  be  seen  that  without  any  encouragement  from 
outside  there  were  reasons  enough  for  the  Tartars  of  the 
Caucasus  to  mobilise  themselves  for  fighting.  The  centre 
of  all  things  lay  in  Tiflis,  at  which  point  all  the  reserve 
military  stores  under  the  old  regime  had  been  collected 
for  dispatch  to  the  various  fronts.  Alexandropol  again 
was  another  such  important  base.  Hence  it  was  that  the 
Armenians  and  Georgians  and  especially  the  latter 
who  practically  held  Alexandropol  for  themselves, 
had  access  to  all  the  equipment  necessary  for  their 
arming,  while   the   Tartars   in   the   surrounding   towns 


38o  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

and  country  had  no  such  opportunities  for  prepara- 
tion. Considering  then  the  danger  to  themselves 
should  the  Armenians  become  masters  of  the  Cau- 
casus the  Tartars  had  every  incentive  to  taken  force- 
ful steps  to  counter  the  Armenian  preparations. 

But  to  just  what  extent  the  Tartars  unaided  from  with- 
out could  have  met  this  situation  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
From  where  were  they  to  obtain  arms,  and  from  where 
the  means  of  purchasing  the  things  they  required?  While 
also  the  question  of  leadership  was  no  mean  factor.  In 
Tiflis  British  and  French  officers  were  behind  the  whole 
of  the  Armenian  movement.  There  was  British  and 
American  money  in  abundance  sent  out  to  them,  for 
their  needs.  Behind  the  Tartars  were  the  agents  from 
Turkey  and  Germany,  and  to  welcome  these  and  even 
send  for  them  would  have  been  the  natural  outcome  of  the 
situation  for  the  Tartars. 

Events  soon  proved  the  presence  of  these  foreign  agents 
behind  the  Tartars.  Not  only  were  there  spread  mani- 
festoes calling  upon  the  Tartars  to  look  to  Turkey  as 
their  natural  home  and  ally,  but  it  became  plain  that 
there  was  an  active  programme  of  organised  action  in  the 
different  places  of  the  Caucasus  to  prove  the  existence  of 
a  real  external  leadership.  The  first  consideration  for 
the  Tartars  was  arms.  At  the  time,  every  piece  of  rail- 
way line  from  the  Turkish  front  and  the  Persian  front 
through  Tiflis  to  Russia  was  blocked  with  the  enormous 
traffic  of  returning  Russian  troops.  With  these  troops 
were  masses  of  military  stores  from  field  guns  down  to 
rifles  and  wagons.  Here  then  was  a  source  of  supply 
for  the  little-armed  Tartars.  As  shown  above,  all  these 
railway  lines  passed  through  Tartar  territory.  There 
thus  soon  began  a  very  carefully  planned  system  of  ob- 
struction along  all  those  portions  of  the  railway  toward 
Russia.  The  trains  were  held  up  and  fired  on.  As 
time  went  on  and  some  success  began  to  be  registered, 
more  and  more  equipment  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Tartars,  the  obstructions  grew  more  serious,  till  finally 
they  became  actually  permanent,  and  the  trains  through 
just  those  more  centralised  Tartar  districts  were  com- 


MOSLEMS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS  DURING  THE  WAR  381 

pelled  to  cease  running.     The  Tartars  had  taken  control. 

This  obstruction,  it  will  be  seen,  was  more  than  a  mere 
method  of  gaining  supplies  from  the  retreating  Russians 
when  success  had  been  fully  registered.  It  meant  as 
well  the  blocking  of  ^all  communication  between  the 
Armenians  at  the  Tiflis  centre  with  the  fronts,  and  the 
congesting  within  the  Caucasian  towns  of  thousands  of 
Bolsheviki  Russian  soldiers  who  had  no  sympathy  what- 
soever with  the  Armenian  national  movements.  Fol- 
lowing the  railway  displacement  came  the  cutting  of 
wires  so  that  in  the  months  of  February  and  March,  191 8, 
the  Caucasus  became  actually  cut  off  from  communica- 
tion with  the  outside  world. 

There  were  thus  given  to  the  Armenians  two  things 
to  accomplish.  Firstly  they  must  root  out  the  Tartar 
control  over  the  lines,  and  secondly  they  must  rid  them- 
selves of  the  Russians.  There  at  the  fronts  were  the 
huge  stores  they  needed  for  any  campaign  against  the 
Turks,  and  so  far  as  the  situation  had  grown  these  stores 
were  falling  to  the  Turks  without  themselves  having 
power  to  get  within  reach  of  them.  There  thus  began 
local  war  between  the  Tartars  and  Armenians.  What 
was  to  have  been  a  Caucasian  campaign  against  the 
Turks,  had  when  March  was  reached  become  a  localised 
internal  war  against  Tartar  villages  and  small  Armenian 
communities.  But  the  Tartars  began  this  war.  It  was 
they  who  first  endeavoured  to  clear  out  from  their  midst 
the  Armenian  village  populations  which  were  gradually 
receiving  arms  from  the  central  government.  This  war- 
fare was  prosecuted  with  great  vigour  and  barbarity. 
Whole  villages  of  either  Armenians  or  Tartars,  as  the  case 
was  would  be  sacked  and  burnt,  till  the  plains  of  the 
Southern  and  Northern  Caucasus  became  marked  daily 
with  clouds  of  ascending  smoke,  and  fleeing  refugees.  It 
is  to  be  noted  that  the  Georgians  in  this  work  sided  and 
assisted  the  Tartars. 

The  final  outcome  of  this  condition  was  the  natural 
linking  up  of  this  Tartar  movement  with  a  similar  rise 
of  the  same  Mohammedan  elements  in  northern  and  west- 
ern Persia.     In  this  the  wider  scheme  and  wider  control 


382  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

more  emphatically  showed  itself.  This  new  Persian  fac- 
tor began  at  the  moment  when  the  localised  Caucasian 
warfare  was  in  full  force.  The  new  movement  arose 
very  suddenly,  and  very  completly.  Within  a  few  days, 
it  seemed,  like  a  gust  of  wind,  the  whole  Azerbaijanis 
peoples  from  Enzelli  on  the  Caspian  to  Tabriz  and  to 
the  Khurdistan  hills  rose  and  threw  over  the  old  control 
of  the  Persian  Shah.  Deputies  came  through  the  Tartar- 
held  line  from  Persia  to  Erivan,  the  last  Armenian  out- 
post; while  at  Baku  on  the  north  the  Tartars  became 
restive  under  the  installed  Russian  Bolshiviki  rule  which 
had  resulted,  from  a  very  great  congestion  of  fleeing 
Russians  in  the  one  town.  A  great  fight  took  place  here 
in  the  middle  of  March  in  which  however  the  Tartars 
were  for  the  time  being  badly  beaten,  but  with  the  fall  of 
Batum  to  the  Turks,  and  the  capture  of  Kars  and  then 
Alexandropol  by  another  force  of  the  Turks,  there  is 
no  doubt  at  all  that  Baku  was  doomed  to  become  the 
possession  of  the  Tartars  in  a  second  struggle.  The  open- 
ing of  the  Volga  gave  the  needed  outlet  back  to  Russia 
for  the  Bolsheviki,  and  the  dwindling  of  their  numbers 
must  inevitably  leave  the  few  remnants  and  the  local 
Armenians  a  prey  to  the  naturally  large  population  of 
Mohammedans.  It  was  the  result  of  the  Tiflis  Arme- 
nians endeavours  to  rid  the  Caucasus,  especially  the  cen- 
tral Armenian  portions,  of  the  Russian  Bolsheviki  which 
had  caused  Baku  to  become  for  the  time  their  chief  rally- 
ing point. 

If  the  above  has  been  a  sufficient  summary  of  the  gen- 
eral conditions  in  the  Caucasus  during  the  period  of  the 
war  it  should  be  possible  to  consider  that  the  movements 
which  finally  developed  as  a  Mohammedan  plan  of  action 
against  the  Christians  came  about  from  two  opposite 
causes.  Firstly  there  was  the  pressure  from  without 
composed  of  propaganda  on  political  lines  to  encourage 
a  linking  up  of  the  national  ideals  of  the  Caucasian 
Tartars  with  the  national  ideals  of  the  Osmanli  Turks; 
while  secondly  there  grew  up  an  internal  condition  re- 
sulting from  the  Armenian  war  preparations  which  com- 
pelled the  Tartars  to  look  to  themselves  and  Turkish 


MOSLEMS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS  DURING  THE  WAR  383 

help  for  their  own  preservation.  I  think,  that  to  those 
of  us  who  were  very  closely  bound  up  with  all  that  was 
going  on  through  these  different  periods,  and  were  closely 
associated  with  both  Tartar  and  Armenian,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  mere  pressure  from  without  would  have  had 
but  small  effect  upon  the  mass  of  the  Mohammedan  peo- 
ples. The  Caucasian  Mohammedans  are  unlike  those 
of  Turkey  in  many  ways.  There  was  a  quietness  and 
contentment  about  them,  and  an  orderly  relation  between 
them  and  the  Armenians  of  the  Caucasus,  which  did  not 
encourage  in  them  a  spirit  of  revolt  unless  their  own  ex- 
isting status  should  become  endangered.  It  is  of  course 
very  difficult  to  fathom  the  unfathomable  Mohammedan. 
But  this  estimate  of  the  Caucasian  Tartar  was  what  those 
of  us  who  lived  amongst  them  felt  to  be  the  most  nearly 
correct,  and  certainly  the  course  of  events  did  not  con- 
tradict our  beliefs.  Eventually  the  Tartar,  without 
doubt,  was  compelled  into  rising  and  siding  as  he  did. 
From  his  point  of  view  the  Armenian  national  movement 
to  arm  was  a  direct  menace  to  his  own  peace  and  exis- 
tence. Moreover  the  progress  of  the  Turks  and  the  rise 
of  the  Azerbaijanis  in  Persia  brought  him  indefinitely 
into  the  very  midst  of  a  Pan-Tartar  movement  which  in- 
evitably must  carry  him  along.  But  undoubtedly  the 
Tartar  of  the  Caucasus  had  never  a  close  affinity  with  the 
Osmanli  Turk,  and  given  other  conditions  would  hardly 
have  chosen  events  to  have  worked  out  exactly  in  this 
way.  The  larger  movement  from  Turkey  finally  envel- 
oped him. 

Thomas  B.  Heald. 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN 
"PRESENCE" 


There  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  January  14, 
1913,  a  Conference  upon  Missionary  Work  for  Moham- 
medans which  was  attended  by  several  score  of  Mission- 
aries, Missionary  Secretaries,  and  others  interested. 
Many  phases  of  work  among  Moslems  were  presented. 
As  part  of  the  discussion  on  Methods  of  Work,  I  ventured 
to  make  the  following  remarks  which  I  now  quote  from 
the  published  Proceedings  of  the  Conference  (Foreign 
Missions  Library,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York). 

"The  Rev.  Harvey  Reeves  Calkins,  of  India:  May  I  add  one 
word,  not  to  discuss  it,  but  to  bring  it  to  your  attention.  It  is,  it 
seems  to  me,  a  vital  point,  and  has  as  yet  received  but  scant  consideration. 
I  refer  to  the  repetition  of  pentecostal  conditions,  now  capable  of  illus- 
tration in  the  Punjab  and  the  United  Provinces,  and,  latterly,  in  parts 
of  South  India.  Here  a  great,  increasing,  and  spiritual  Church  is 
brought  closely  in  contact  with  Mohammedan  neighborhoods  or  Mo- 
hammedan constituencies.  There  may  be  no  direct  effort  to  reach 
Mohammedans  as  such.  Indeed  the  'indirect'  approach  is  immediately 
and  spiritually  'direct',  for- the  Mohammedan,  by  the  very  nature  of 
his  own  inwrought  faith,  is  marvelously  open  to  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  When,  under  revival  conditions,  he  recognizes  the  work- 
ing of  an  unseen  power,  the  appeal  is  to  him  practically  irresistible. 
There  is,  I  think,  a  reason  for  this.  He  is  not  mentally  engaged  in  com- 
bating a  direct  presentation  of  Christian  'teaching',  and  is  therefore 
not  'on  guard.'  He  is  conscious  of  a  supernatural,  and,  to  him,  inexpli- 
cable Presence.  The.  very  habit  of  his  mind  will  compel  him  to  say, 
'It  is  Kismet — fate,'  and  he  will  yield  an  amazed  yet  absolute  obedience. 
I  am  convinced  that  here  is  an  open  door  of  approach  to  Mohammedan 
communities  that  has  not  yet  received  its  full  consideration  in  current 
discussions  of  the  impact  of  Christianity  upon  Islam." 

During  my  furlough  in  America,  now  extended  for 
six  years  in  serving  the  Stewardship  Movement  of  the 
Churches,  I  have  read  eagerly  every  accessible  report  of 
missionary  work  among  Mohammedans,  and  have  sought 
to  keep  in  touch  with  advance  movements.  That  I  have 
seen  no  discussion  of  this  particular  subject  was  due,  it 
seemed  to  me,  to  the  inevitable  crowding  of  my  present 

384 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN  "PRESENCE"  385 

task,  and  to  my  own  failure  to  keep  in  touch  with  late 
developments  in  mission  lands. 

Recently  I  was  in  conversation  with  Dr.  Samuel  M. 
Zwemer,  just  returned  to  America,  and  greedily  received 
late  news  from  the  Mohammedan  \front  as  a  hungry 
soldier  receives  an  unexpected  ration.  I  learned  that 
what  I  have  ventured  to  call  the  "indirect  approach"  to 
the  Mohammedan  mind  has  not  been  discussed  to  any 
degree,  if  at  all,  in  missionary  literature.  "It  is  a  new 
emphasis,"  he  said.  At  Dr.  Zwemer's  request  I  am  mak- 
ing some  extension  and  illustration  of  my  remarks  at  the 
New  York  Missionary  Conference,  though  I  do  so  with  a 
degree  of  diffidence.  A  missionary  in  the  reserves  may 
not  speak  with  such  boldness  as  one  in  the  trenches. 

First  of  all,  a  sordid  historic  background  gives  the 
Pentecostal  approach  to  Mohammedans  a  peculiar  signi- 
ficance. The  Arabian  prophet's  ignorant  reference  to 
our  Lord's  promise  of  the  Comforter  is  a  singular  inver- 
sion of  the  spiritual  appeal.  "Jesus  the  Son  of  Mary 
said,  O  children  of  Israel,  verily  I  am  the  apostle  of  God 
sent  unto  you,  confirming  the  law  which  was  delivered 
before  me,  and  bringing  good  tidings  of  an  apostle  who 
shall  come  after  me,  and  whose  name  shall  be  Ahmed." 
(Sura  LXI  by  Sale.)  Students  of  Islam  will  recall  that 
the  Mohammedan  doctors  not  only  unanimously  interpret 
these  words  of  the  Koran  as  referring  to  the  Paracletos, 
but,  by  a  cunning  change  of  the  Greek  substantive  to 
Periclytos  {the  illustrious  one),  actually  turn  it  into  a 
loose  translation  of  the  name  Ahmed  itself,  one  of  Mo- 
hammed's appellations. 

I  remember  with  what  amazement  I  first  learned  of 
this  blasphemous  interpretation  of  the  most  precious 
Christian  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  was  when  I 
was  reading  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire  and  found  in  the  fiftieth  chapter  what  I  still 
consider  to  be  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  presentations  of 
the  rise  of  Islam — for  the  sufficient  reason  that  the 
Arabian  movement  is  there  kept  related  to  a  complex 
contemporary  history.  The  monstrous  claim  of  Moham- 
med that  he  himself  was  "the  other  Comforter"  seemed 


386  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

to  me,  even  then,  to  be  high  spiritual  challenge  to  the 
missionaries  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  think  this  must  have  been  in  the  background  of  my 
thought  during  my  first  year  in  India.  I  was  pastor  of 
the  Grant  Road  English  Church,  Bombay,  when  a  deep 
revival  spirit  became  manifest  among  the  members.  With 
the  co-operation  of  some  of  the  Bombay  laymen  we  began 
outdoor  meetings  and,  almost  immediately,  found  our- 
selves at  the  center  of  a  unique  movement  which  de- 
veloped into  the  present  Bombay  Hindustani  Church. 
Hindus,  Parsis,  and  Mohammedans  came  from  the  street 
meetings — athough  the  indoor  services  were  entirely  in 
English — and  there  were  a  number  of  conversions  and 
baptisms  from  these  communities.  Among  them  were 
several  intelligent  Mohammedans.  Their  simplicity  in 
confessing  Christ,  and  the  constancy  of  their  testimony, 
I  have  never  forgotten.  The  whole  movement  was  so 
spontaneous  and  natural  that  I  did  not  learn  until  after- 
wards that  some  of  the  older  missionaries  considered  it 
"unusual.'' 

The  "indirect"  method  of  approach  is  illustrated  by 
the  story  of  Ilahi  Baksh  whose  conversion  is  typical  of 
what  I  an?  seeking  to  say.  He  was  of  a  good  Moham- 
medan family  in  the  Punjab  and  had  come  to  Bombay  as 
a  young  merchant.  One  day  he  was  passing  the  Dharam- 
sala  near  Grant  Road  when  he  stopped  to  listen  to  a 
Christian  giving  testimony  at  a  street  meeting.  After 
the  street  meeting  the  Christian  people  entered  the 
Church  and  continued  in  prayer  and  song  and  testimony 
while  Ilahi  Baksh  sat  near  the  door  and  listened.  He 
could  not  understand  all  that  was  spoken  but  the  testimony 
of  a  young  Christian  girl  reached  him  and  filled  him  with 
strange  forebodings — the  girl's  simple  statement  that  she 
had  been  in  great  perplexity  and  distress,  that  she  had 
prayed  to  God  and  He  had  answered  her  and  given  her 
the  desire  of  her  heart.  Nothing  could  have  been  nearer 
the  unchanging  base  of  experimental  Christianity:  a  soul 
in  need,  a  prayer,  God's  answer.  Ilahi  Baksh  was  seized 
with  consternation  and  went  back  to  his  shop  in  sullen 
rage.     (He  used  so  often  to  tell  me  the  story  of  his  con^ 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN  "PRESENCE"  387 

version  that  it  seems  to  have  become  a  vivid  experience  of 
my  own,  although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  had  occurred 
several  years  before,  during  a  similar  revival  at  Grant 
Road  Church  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Bruere.) 

"All  these  years,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  have  prayed 
five  times  every  day,  yet  God  never  has  given  me  an 
answer;  and  here  a  Christian  girl  prays  and  the  answer 
comes  at  once.  I'll  show  these  Christians  that  God  will 
listen  to  a  Mohammedan  as  quickly  as  to  them,  and  give 
an  answer  too!" 

Not  a  seemly  approach,  surely,  to  the  High  and  Holy 
One  I  Yet  God,  Who  is  a  Spirit,  was  present  in  a  Bombay 
chawl  that  day,  and  Ilahi  Baksh  found  Him. 

"I  shut  the  doors  of  my  shop,"  he  told  me,  "and  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life  threw  away  my  Arabic  formulas  and 
prayed  out  of  my  heart;  as  I  prayed  it  was  as  though  a 
Voice  spoke  to  me,  ^You  are  praying  like  a  Christian  and 
you  are  one,'  and  I  fell  on  the  ground  and  melted  like 
wax."  The  next  morning  before  breakfast  he  was  at  the 
Mission  House  asking  for  baptism.  Ilahi  Baksh  found 
Christians  friends  who  enabled  him  to  secure  an  educa- 
tion in  America.  He  returned  to  India  during  my  Grant 
Road  pastorate  and  became  the  leader  of  our  Bombay 
Hindustani  work.  Afterwards  he  was  transferred  to 
Ballia,  in  North  India,  where  he  became  a  notable  Chris- 
tian preacher  and  evangelist.  Cholera  overtook  him  in 
the  midst  of  tender  ministries  among  the  sick  and  dying. 

I  have  memoranda  of  other  Bombay  conversions  among 
Mohammedans,  not  so  striking  as  that  of  Ilahi  Baksh,  but 
illustrating  no  less  perfectly  what  has  seemed  to  me  a 
peculiarly  open  avenue  of  approach  in  reaching  them. 
I  learned  then,  what  missionaries  to  Moslems  fully 
recognized,  that  there  is  a  strain  of  mysticism  in  the  Mo- 
hammedan mind  in  spite  of  his  material  and  often  sensual 
interpretation  of  spritual  truth.  As  for  devout  and  high 
minded  Mohammedans,  they  nearly  always  are  mystics. 

After  three  years  in  Bombay  we  were  stationed  at 
Cawnpore  in  the  Northwest  Provinces.  For  a  number 
of  years  the  work  of  village  and  city  schools,  the  develop- 
ment of  industrial  shops,  and  the  problems  connected  with 


388  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

the  administration  of  an  (important  district  consumed 
my  whole  thought.  It  was  not  until  our  sixth  year  in 
Cawnpore,  the  year  before  our  furlough,  that  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  midst  of  revival  conditions  that  again 
made  possible  observation  and  experience  of  the  direct 
working  of  the  Spirit  of  God  among  Mohammedans. 
We  of  course  had  dealt  with  Mohammedans  in  our 
school  work  and  village  preaching,  but  I  now  am  writing 
of  the  "pentecostal"  approach  that  grows  out  of  a  true 
Christian  revival. 

In  March,  1909,  a  remarkable  spiritual  movement 
swept  through  the  Christian  community  of  Cawnpore  and 
continued  for  three  months  with  increasing  power.  The 
outstanding  mark  of  it  was  prayer.  The  Church  itself 
was  girded  with  strength  and  lifted  to  a  place  of  Christian 
leadership.  Twice  daily  for  ten  weeks  our  great  central 
church  in  the  heart  of  the  native  city  was  packed  with 
people.  The  meetings  were  spontaneous  and  free,  with 
special  emphasis  on  prayer  and  the  preaching  of  the 
Word.  Much  time  was  given  to  song,  praise,  and  testi- 
mony. During  all  those  strenuous  weeks  I  made  exten- 
sive daily  notes,  which  I  have  preserved,  and  from  which 
I  now  gather  a  few  excerpts  bearing  on  the  present 
discussion. 

The  following  entry  describes  a  common  occurrence: 
"I  talked  quietly  on  Matt.  10:28  and  called  for  seekers. 
We  were  singing  Isa  Kaisa  Dost  Piyara  when  I  saw  a 
young  Mohammedan  trying  to  get  his  hand  above  his 
head.  I  smiled  encouragement  and  he  immediately 
stood  up  and  walked  to  the  front.  I  motioned  to  Ishwari 
Pershad  who  took  him  by  the  arm  and  they  kneeled  at 
the  altar  in  prayer  while  I  continued  the  invitation.  I 
then  called  the  altar  service  which  continued  with  con- 
siderable power  while  I  talked  and  prayed  with  the 
seekers.  When  I  reached  the  Mohammedan  he  prayed 
after  me,  but  not  with  great  spirit.  When  I  said,  Xord 
Jesus,  I  am  now  ready  to  be  baptized  in  thy  name,'  he 
halted.  I  looked  up  and  he  said,  ^Tomorrow  I  will  be 
ready.'  I  then  prayed  that  God  would  deepen  conviction 
and  left  him  while  Thomas  John  continued  to  pray  and 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN  "PRESENCE"  389 

talk  with  him.  He  said  he  had  not  had  rest  for  ten 
days  and  could  not  keep  away  from  the  meetings.  Inayat 
Masih  (a  Mohammedan  convert  whom  I  had  baptized 
several  days  before)  sat  back  with  Daftari.  After  the 
service  he  was  talking,  full  of  life  and  spirit,  and  said  he 
wanted  to  learn  Zor  hai  Zor.  Misri  Lai  got  in  front 
of  him  and  Thomas  at  his  left  ear;  they  loaded  him  with 
melody  while  I  lay  back  and  laughed.  Mrs.  —  and 
Miss  —  remained  in  the  gallery  to  pray  with  three  purdah 
women  who  had  been  sitting  through  the  entire  service." 
The  following  was  somewhat  unusual:  "About  8:15 
the  church  was  packed  by  a  large  crowd  of  Moham- 
medans who  came  in  a  body  headed  by  four  moulvies. 
Presently  a  pert  looking  fellow  walked  up  the  aisle  and 
interrupted  Mrs.  —  who  was  reading  in  Isaiah.  She 
bowed  to  him  politely  and  said,  ^Speak,  please,  after  I 
have  finished,'  and  Gulzari  hustled  him  into  a  seat  like  a 
bag  of  bajra!  Then  Mati  Izhaq  and  Gulzari  walked  the 
main  aisle  like  policemen,  it  was  well  done.  Presently 
Benjamin  came  up  and  whispered  to  me  that  a  disturbance 
was  brewing  as  soon  as  the  Bible  reading  was  finished. 
I  told  his  not  to  be  disturbed,  to  sit  perfectly  quiet,  and 
believe  God.  At  the  close  of  the  reading  I  called  on 
Bella  John  to  pray.  While  she  bowed  inside  the  altar 
many  Mohammedans  stood  up,  looked  around,  and  then 
sat  down  again.  Bella  went  on  praying  with  increasing 
power  when  suddenly,  as  though  one  man,  fully  125  or 
150  men  sprang  to  their  feet  and  made  for  the  doors. 
They  ran  as  though  they  had  been  seized  by  panic.  They 
could  not  get  through  the  doorways  quickly  enough  and 
stuck  in  the  aisles.  Bella  finished  and  I  started  the 
Lord's  prayer,  the  Christians  joining.  We  repeated  the 
prayer  three  times  while  the  crowd  got  through  the 
doors.  It  was  an  utter  rout.  As  soon  as  they  were  all 
out  we  started  a  testimony  meeting  and  the  crowd  began 
to  fill  in  again,  by  twos  and  threes.  They  looked  foolish 
as  though  they  could  not  understand  why  they  had  left 
in  the  first  place.  We  had  victorious  Christian  testi- 
monies for  about  fifteen  minutes  and  then  quietly  dis- 
missed." 


390  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  case  of  Inayat  Masih  (his  baptismal  name,  and 
the  only  one  I  seem  to  have  entered  in  my  notes),  to 
whom  reference  already  has  been  made,  is  not  without 
human  interest.  His  conversion  caused  no  comment 
until  it  had  been  heralded  in  the  city.  The  following 
excerpts  cover  about  one  month  and  begin  shortly  after 
his  baptism. 

"Inayat  Masih  came  to  me  at  the  altar  service  and 
wanted  to  know  how  to  pray.  Masih  Charan  who  knelt 
by  him  helped  me  greatly  by  telling  him  that  he  must 
pray  like  a  little  boy  asking  something  from  his  father. 
Inayat  then  wanted  to  know  if  he  should  close  his  eyes 
or  keep  them  open,  and  if  he  should  sit  or  kneel.  I  told 
him  to  kneel  like  the  rest  of  us,  and  to  open  or  shut 
his  eyes,  just  as  he  felt  like  doing,  and  to  pray  out  of 
his  heart  for  the  things  that  he  wanted,  telling  him  of  a 
dozen  things  that  he  might  pray  for.  He  threw  back  his 
head,  opened  his  eyes  wide,  spread  his  hands  in  front  of 
him,  and  began  in  a  strong  clear  voice.  He  prayed  with 
considerable  understanding  for  /^sinners',  for  Moham- 
medans, for  the  whole  city,  and  then  for  Mrs.  — .  We 
all  said  ^Amen!'  Then,  as  I  was  dismissing  the  service 
with  prayer,  he  began  again,  taking  the  words  out  of  my 
mouth  and  repeating  them.  I  smiled  at  him  and  told 
him  to  listen  until  I  had  finished.  When  he  had  become 
quiet  I  went  ahead  and  he  kneeled  in  front  of  me  punctur- 
ing every  sentence  of  mine  with  ^Amin !'  He  is  catching 
on  and  will  learn  very  fast.  .  .  .  Tonight  I  was  dis- 
turbed to  see  Inayat  Masih  sitting  back.  A  number 
of  evil  looking  Mohammedans  were  sitting  near  him. 
After  most  of  the  crowd  had  gone  I  spoke  to  him  to  come 
forward,  but  he  would  not.  I  prayed,  and  when  I  looked 
up,  the  Church  had  again  filled  with  people.  Again  I 
called  Inayat  to  come  and  join  us  at  the  altar  service  and 
he  came.  I  am  disturbed  about  him.  .  .  .  Tonight 
during  the  testimony  meeting  Inayat  Masih  arose  and 
denied  Christ  before  the  people.  As  the  altar  service 
was  in  progress  I  felt  strength  in  my  bones  and  sent  some 
of  the  best  pray-ers,  including  Misri  Lai  and  Shah,  to 
surround  him  and  pray  the  evil  spirit  out  of  him.     What 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN  "PRESENCE"  391 

praying!  He  came  to  the  altar  weeping,  and  the  power 
of  Satan  over  him  seemed  broken.  I  fear  for  him.  He 
is  surrounded  by  badmashes  who  seem  determined  to 
drag  him  back  again.  .  .  .  Tonight  my  conversation 
with  this  young  student  (from  Allahabad  University) 
brought  out  some  interesting  facts.  He  had  talked  to 
Inayat  Masih  in  the  road,  and  afterwards  Inayat  went 
to  him  at  1 1  o'clock  at  night  and  told  him  all  about  his 
experience  'with  the  Christians.'  He  remained  talking  to 
him  until  3  in  the  morning.  Inayat  Masih  told  him — 
and  the  young  fellow  repeated  it  to  me  with  the  utmost 
simplicity — that  he  could  not  resist  the  strange  power 
of  the  meetings  at  Central  Church ;  that  when  the  Chris- 
tians testified  and  prayed  all  his  strength  left  him  and 
he  had  to  come  to  Christ;  that  after  he  confessed  Christ 
and  was  baptized  the  strange  power  remained  with  him 
only  three  days  and  then  began  to  leave  him.  This  testi- 
mony is  to  me  a  blessed  confirmation  of  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Inayat  was  converted.  When  the  light  of 
duty  became  clear  and  persecution  began,  he  wavered  and 
could  not  pay  the  price;  then  the  sharks  got  after  him 
and  denial  followed.  But  it  confirms  me  in  my  con- 
viction that  we  are  on  the  right  line.  The  blessed  part  is 
that  Inayat's  testimony,  in  spite  of  his  falling  away,  has 
strongly  convinced  the  young  man  himself.  He  promised 
to  'meet  me'  in  quiet  prayer  tonight  between  11  and  12 
o'clock.  God  reach  him!"  .  .  .  "This  morning  that 
Mohammedan  student — the  one  Inayat  Masih  talked  to — 
was  at  the  meeting,  sitting  back  with  a  young  Bengali. 
At  the  close  he  said  he  wanted  to  talk  to  me,  and  then 
confessed  that  for  six  days  he  has  been  sick  with  convic- 
tion. He  kneeled  with  me  and  prayed  in  the  name  of 
Jesus.  He  said  he  was  convinced  that  he  must  become 
a  Christian." 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Cawnpore  revival 
was  in  no  sense  an  attempt  to  reach  Mohammedans  as 
such.  The  main  emphasis  of  the  meetings  was  spiritual 
teaching  for  Christian  people.  Nevertheless,  Moham- 
medans crowded  our  services  in  which  they  always  were 
made  to  feel  welcome.     It  was  impossible  to  overlook 


392  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

their  presence,  and  it  would  have  been  folly  not  to  give 
them  some  direct  messages.  I  am  convinced  that  fear  of 
the  rich  and  powerful  Mohammedans  of  Cawnpore  was 
the  one  influence  that  kept  scores  of  them  from  openly 
confessing  Christ,  for  they  seem  utterly  fascinated  by 
the  meetings.  That  many  of  them  made  secret  confes- 
sion I  have  never  doubted.  One  of  the  near-by  mosques 
set  up  a  booth  directly  opposite  the  main  entrance  to 
Central  Church  and  one  or  more  moulvies  were  there 
proclaiming  passages  from  the  Koran,  or  from  Moham- 
medan commentaries,  as  the  people  were  entering  or 
leaving  the  Christian  services.  To  stand  up  against  such 
authority  required  boldness  of  an  extreme  type.  Even 
to  enter  the  Church  was  an  exhibition  of  high  courage. 
We  never  turned  from  Christan  teaching  to  combat  Islam, 
but  whenever  we  did  make  reference  to  Moham- 
medanism we  aimed  a  body  blow.  It  seemed  poor  tactics 
to  side-step  a  straight  issue.  Perhaps  one  or  two  further 
excerpts  from  my  notes  will  be  sufficient  for  the  one 
matter  I  am  seeking  to  illustrate  in  this  article,  namely, 
the  spiritual  impact  of  a  Christian  revival  in  the  midst  of 
Mohammedans. 

"Tonight  was  a  tender,  gentle  meeting.  The  Bible 
reader  was  Rev.  V,  and  the  talk  was  about  the  Redeemed 
in  Heaven.  Mrs.  —  spoke  of  our  little  children  who 
always  are  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  of  the  dear 
little  babies  who  are  in  the  Lamb's  bosom.  It  was  our 
Christian  ^family'  night  and  full  of  melting  love.  In 
the  midst  of  the  testimonies,  at  the  close  of  the  Bible 
reading,  I  drew  a  ^picture'  to  show  the  difference  between 
a  Christian  and  a  Mohammedan  home,  though  I  made  no 
reference  to  Mohammedans  as  such.  I  called  Brother 
Shah  and  Agnes,  Ram  Lai  and  Ruth,  and  Jai  Ram  and 
Bertha,  and  asked  them  to  stand  inside  the  altar  facing 
the  audience.  They  came  quite  obediently  and  stood 
while  all  the  people  looked  at  them.  Agnes  appeared 
particularly  beautiful  as  she  stood  there  beside  her  hus- 
band. Then  I  said  in  a  quiet  voice,  ^Brother  Shah,  I 
am  a  prophet  tonight  and  I  now  give  you  authority  to 
take  a  second  wife,  and  then  a  third  wife,  if  you  so 


MOHAMMEDANS  AND  THE  UNSEEN  "PRESENCE"  393 

desire.'  Poor  Agnes  nearly  sank  into  the  ground,  but 
Shah  was  quick  to  see  what  I  was  driving  at  and  held 
her  closely  by  the  arm.  Then  I  repeated  the  same 
words  to  Ram  Lai  and  Jai  Ram  and  told  them  to  take 
their  seats  again.  The  whole  congregation  seemed  to  be 
shocked,  indeed  I  felt  shocked  myself.  Many  Moham- 
medans were  present.  They  appeared  stunned  and 
stung."  .  .  .  "Today  about  4:30  a  Mohammedan 
gentleman  came  to  see  me  at  the  d after,  Mr.  Abdul  Gaf- 
far,  Thatrai  Bazar,  Chowk.  He  is  an  educated  man, 
studied  law  in  London.  He  wanted  to  talk  to  me  about 
the  ^picture'  which  he  said  I  had  stood  up  before  the 
audience  last  night  at  Central  Church  when  I  told  the 
people  I  was  a  ^prophet'.  The  thing  had  gone  through 
the  city  like  a  sword  1  He  freely  admitted  my  accusa- 
tion— for  he  called  it  that^ — against  Mohammedans  as  a 
class,  but  wanted  me  to  know  that  educated  Moham- 
medans repudiated  polygamy  altogether.  We  had  a 
heart  to  heart  talk  about  Jesus  Christ." 

"Today  the  preachers  and  boys  went  throughout  the 
city  and  distributed  5000  Yih  Wuh  Hau  (N.  B. — The 
reference  here  is  to  ^000  large  green  handbills  contain- 
ing three  words  in  heavy  Arabic  script,  ^This  is  That' 
and  nothing  more.  The  bills  awakened  tremendous  in- 
terest and  caused  many  inquiries,  for  it  was  recognized 
that  they  were  being  distributed  by  Christian  preachers 
and  school  boys.  The  following  day  S^^^  more  bills 
were  distributed  containing  the  full  Scripture,  Acts  2:l6, 
'This  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel,  etc! 
It  was  in  fact  a  public  avowal  and  testimony  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  being  poured  out  upon  the  Cawnpore 
Church  and  was  a  bold  challenge  to  Mohammedans  to 
come  and  see  for  themselves.  This  was  our  only  direct 
attempt  to  reach  Mohammedans  during  the  entire  ten 
weeks  of  special  meetings,)  The  Moulvi  across  the  road 
is  holding  forth  tremendously  and  it  is  evident  that  the 
Mohammedans  are  being  stirred  to  the  core.  Abdul 
Gaffar  was  at  the  morning  meeting.  He  and  Shah  got 
into  a  religious  discussion  for  which  I  am  very  sorry." 
...   "This  evening  was  great!     This  is  That'  did  the 


394  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

business.  The  church  was  packed  and  the  spirit  of  testi- 
mony fell  upon  the  people.  They  talked  and  sang  and 
quoted  poetry,  original  and  otherwise.  Everyone  seemed 
perfectly  free.  It  was  a  'band  wagon'  night  and  every- 
one wanted  to  get  4n' !  Our  Christians  were  joyful  and 
victorious.  When  I  spoke,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  on  me 
with  power.  I  left  the  pulpit  and  went  down  into  the 
audience  where  I  gripped  a  number  of  Mohammedans 
by  the  shoulders  as  I  told  them  solemnly  that  God's  Holy 
Spirit  was  gripping  them  in  their  souls.  Many  seemed 
deeply  impressed  and  some  of  them  bowed  their  heads. 
The  word  has  gone  forth.     Follow  it,  O  Lord." 

A  single  concluding  word  may  not  be  out  of  place. 
The  colossal  world  movements  of  the  past  four  years  have 
shaken  every  Mohammedan  community  from  the  Malay 
archipelago  to  the  Moroccan  villages.  Mohammedans 
everywhere  are  profoundly  disquieted.  They  are  ques- 
toning,  wondering,  waiting.  In  some  districts  Moham- 
medan mass  movements  toward  Christianity  is  the  posi- 
tive expectation  of  informed  missionaries.  Wherever  the 
unseen  Presence  is  made  real  to  them,  without  awakening 
suspicion  that  Christians  are  seeking  to  "convert"  them, 
the  distraught  minds  of  Mohammedans  are  strangely  open 
to  the  divine  Spirit.  Wherever  a  Christian  church  in 
the  midst  of  a  Mohammedan  community  is  ready  to 
wait  on  God,  the  pentecostal  promise  is  ready  to  be  ful- 
filled— "for  to  you  is  the  promise,  and  to  your  children, 
and  to  all  that  are  afar  off." 

Harvey  Reeves  Calkins. 

Chicago  J  Illinois, 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  WOMEN* 


We  noticed  in  the  sixty-sixth  number  of  the  Star — that 
brilliant  paper — an  enquiry  or  explanation,  and  objection 
or  exposition  interchanged  by  its  correspondents.  Among 
them  there  is  an  esteemed  correspondent,  who  writes 
under  the  signature  of  Mohammed  Sa'id. 

We  are  not  of  his  horsemen,  nor  would  we  trespass 
on  his  race-course,  but  the  importance  of  the  subject 
compels  us  to  rush  in — although  by  doing  so  the  Qibla 
certainly  sits  in  judgment  on  itself,  for  does  not  the  poet 
say : 

"The  blood-brother  came  brandishing  a  spear — 
When  lo!  thy  kinsmen  all  have  spears." 

We  will  introduce  our  enquiry  by  mentioning  the  prob- 
lem which  our  excellent  friend  addresses  to  the  illustrious 
Star  on  the  subject  of  the  Instruction  of  Moslem  girls  in 
schools.     He  writes  as  follows: 

"I  have  read  with  care  and  solicitude  what  you  have 
written  about  womankind,  in  which  you  have  said  in  con- 
cluding, 'The  first  stone  placed  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Girls'  School  is  the  first  stone  in  the  building  of  our 
society  and  our  political  and  social  life.' 

"Permit  me  to  say  a  word  on  this  subject.  I  do  not 
deny  that  the  education  of  womankind  is  an  education 
which  should  cause  her  to  be  in  the  future  a  tender 
mother,  and  the  training  of  the  characters  of  her  sons  and 
the  enlightening  of  the  minds  of  her  daughters  is  among 
the  most  important  of  works,  and  one  of  the  chief  points 
in  the  training  of  young  girls  should  be  the  management 
of  the  household,  the  cleanliness  of  the  dwelling  and 
the  care  of  the  health  of  infants.  ^ 

"And  I  further  do  not  deny  that  it  is  imperative  on 
us  to  train  our  young  girls  in  everything  that  will 
profit  the  inhabitants  of  the  hartm,  that  the  secluded 

•Translation  of  an  article  in  the  Qibla,  published  in  Mecca,  Nov.  28,  1917,  133« 
A.  H. 

395 


396  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

lady  may  long  enjoy  health  and  strength  and  prosperity 
of  life.  I  do  not  deny  all  this,  and  yet  have  we  any 
guarantee  that  the  school  will  teach  girls  this  proper 
performance  of  their  household  duties? 

"In  Europe  and  America,  a  school  education  turns 
young  girls  out,  far  from  the  principles  which  the  reli- 
gion of  Islam  has  enjoined.  Among  these  principles 
*there  is  no  convent  system  in  Islam,'  because  the  convent 
idea  is  not  in  agreement  with  human  nature  in  either 
male  or  female.  And  many  of  the  educated  girls  of 
Europe  and  America  perceive  that  marriage  does  not 
agree  with  their  independence  but  rather  fetters  their 
freedom  and  therefore  many  of  them  are  unmarried. 
And  if  a  woman  is  occupied  in  teaching,  or  law,  or  medi- 
cine, or  trade,  she  cannot  be  a  mother.  And  in  the  West 
it  has  become  a  menacing  feature,  shown  by  the  small- 
ness  of  the  birthrate;  because  woman,  whom  God 
created  to  bear  children,  has  become  the  worker  in  the 
state  polity,  and  politics  have  turned  her  mind  from 
marriage. 

"And  what  do  you  want  from  us,  O  our  Schoolmasters! 
in  the  matter  of  the  education  of  our  daughters?  Do  you 
want  them  so  to  learn  that  they  become  like  Western  girls, 
perceiving  that  marriage  and  independence  are  incom- 
patible; and  that  trade  and  law  and  medicine  are  neces- 
sities to  them  as  they  are  to  men?  And  so,  forsaking 
marriage  that  they  should  work  at  these  professions  as  if 
politics  were  their  right  and  their  lawful  employment 
although  they  make  void  the  office  for  which  God  has 
created  them  if  these  are  their  duties?  Or  what  do  you 
want?" 

Then  we  have  the  reply  of  the  illustrious  Star,  and  this 
is  it : 

"This  letter  comes  to  us  from  an  esteemed  writer.  In 
it  he  replies  to  our  treatise  Womankind'.  It  appears  that 
the  writer  is  heedless  of  the  purpose  of  the  education 
of  woman  and  the  mark  at  which  we  are  aiming.  The 
intention  of  our  argument  is  that  it  is  necessary  to  in- 
struct the  woman  in  order  to  enable  her  to  become  a 
mother,  well  versed  in  the  virtues  of  motherhood,  know- 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  WOMEN  397 

ing  her  duties  to  her  children  and  home,  the  requisite 
domestic  economy  and  cleanliness,  and  the  laws  of 
hygiene  and  cookery;  in  order  to  aid  her  in  the  develop- 
ment of  her  powers,  moral  and  mental  so  that  she  may  be 
in  a  position  to  train  the  mental  powers  of  her  sons  from 
their  infancy,  suckling  them  with  the  milk  of  good  and 
estimable  character,  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  true 
and  proper  religion. 

"In  our  next  number  we  shall  give  the  subject  its  de- 
served consideration." 

This  question  and  reply  make  plain  to  all  the  ideal 
which  portrays  to  us  the  great  differences  in  the  customs 
of  the  world  in  its  beliefs  and  conventionalities,  whether 
these  are  peculiar  to  its  social  system,  and  friendly  inter- 
course, or  to  its  conditions  of  living  and  the  rest  of  the 
incidents  of  earning  a  livelihood. 

The  decision  rests  upon  what  is  good  or  on  what  is 
bad,  upon  what  assures  us  in  a  convincing  way.  It  will 
indicate  one  of  the  two  sides  so  as  to  build  on  it  what 
is  truly  profitable,  seeing  that  it  is  certain  that  what  is 
profitable  for  one  country  is  not  necessarily  so  for  an- 
other, but  rather  may  be  the  opposite,  and  this  needs  to  be 
followed  up  with  an  investigation  on  which  we  have 
now  no  space  to  enter. 

And  here  let  us  bring  a  simple  example  on  the  subject, 
viz.  let  us  take  a  boy,  Omar,  or  Sa'id,  who  passes  out  of 
school  holding  the  highest  diplomas  that  he  can  obtain 
with  the  certificates  of  his  professors  in  many  subjects, 
yet  we  find  that  he  cannot  profit  from  these  sciences  to  the 
extent  of  being  able  to  earn  even  so  much  as  a  cup  of 
water,  as  is  abundantly  testified  by  many  of  the  graduates 
from  our  schools,  who  have  attained  that  which  their 
countries  have  no  need  of.  Now,  had  we  left  that  boy 
to  his  own  devices,  to  become  a  camel  driver  or  donkey- 
boy  or  wood-cutter,  with  any  of  these  crafts  he  could  at 
least  have  earned  his  daily  bread.  Yet  withal  from  this 
example  we  cannot  pronounce  these  sciences  bad  in  them- 
selves because  of  this  result.  Seeing  that  though  in  one 
country  this  is  useless,  in  another  it  may  be  profitable 
to  the  people  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word. 


398  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

And  this  logical  conclusion,  together  with  the  words 
of  the  illustrious  Star^  "that  the  education  of  the  mother 
enables  her  to  train  the  mental  powers  of  her  sons  from 
their  infancy,  suckling  them  with  the  milk  of  good  and 
estimable  character  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  true 
land  proper  religion,"  causes  the  careful  investigators 
among  our  Moslems  brethren  to  investigate  thoroughly 
into  the  results  of  modern  schools  since  their  arrival  in 
the  world  of  Islam,  and  their  influence  on  their  beliefs. 
And  here  appears,  speaking  generally,  what  we  have 
pointed  out  of  the  differences  in  the  conventionalities  and 
usages  of  countries.  And  our  aim  in  knocking  at  the 
door  of  this  inquiry  is  to  stir  up  the  concern  of  our  best 
men — those  who  care  for  the  welfare  of  humanity — to  an 
endeavour  which  will  bring  them  to  a  result  by  which 
the  whole  of  the  customs  and  conventions  of  the  world 
will  be  confined  to  a  true  service  of  profit  or  to  the  least 
of  it — the  world.  The  lift  to  every  country  is  that  which 
is  suitable  to  itself  and  on  this  account,  and  seeing  that 
our  subject  of  investigation  into  Womankind  is  bound 
up  with  the  management  of  the  life  of  the  human  family, 
we  find  that  it  is  necessary  to  confine  ourselves  altogether 
to  the  place  of  woman  among  ourselves,  the  Arab  nation, 
and  the  manner  of  her  life  among  her  own  people. 

The  Arab  woman  among  her  own  race  has  her  special 
place,  which  is  evident  to  those  who  have  the  least  un- 
derstanding of  the  history  of  their  life ;  and  if  it  were  not 
for  the  want  of  space  we  would  present  a  true  historical 
treatise  gathered  from  incontrovertible  sources. 

The  most  obvious  fact  with  regard  to  this  is  that  the 
Arab  man  tenaciously  clings  to  the  cherishing  and  honour 
of  his  wife  and  daughter,  sister  and  kinswoman,  and  in- 
deed of  every  woman  of  his  race,  and  stands  keeping 
guard  over  her,  just  as  he  tenaciously  clings  to  his  own 
life  and  keeps  guard  over  that.  And  one  realizes  the 
extent  of  this  too  excessive  care  for  her  and  his  jealousy 
for  her  from  the  fact  that  in  pre-Islamic  times  if  he 
feared  for  his  family,  he  buried  his  daughter  alive,  thus 
guarding  her  good  name  and  honour.  The  one  of  whom 
the  Creator— to  whom  be  glory — said:  "And  when  the 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  WOMEN  399 

girl  who  hath  been  buried  alive  shall  be  asked  for  what 
crime  she  was  put  to  death."  (Surah  "The  Folding  up" 
V.8). 

You  cover  them  (women) !  You  cover  them  in  Islam 
as  is  evident  from  the  names  of  their  clothes  and  all  that 
they  wear.  And  there  is  no  difference  in  this  respect  be- 
tween the  Bedouin  woman  and  the  townswoman.  When 
Islam  came  it  did  away  with  what  it  abrogated,  such  as 
preventing  the  burial  alive  of  girls ;  it  added  that  which  it 
added,  which  things  are  well-known;  and  it  allowed  to 
stay  that  which  it  allowed  to  stay,  and  is  it  not  the 
jealous  care  of  its  womenkind  of  this  class?  And  thus 
there  is  no  need  to  investigate.  We  know  that  this  sense 
which  Islam  has  allowed  to  remain  is  one  of  the  laws 
of  nature  common  to  every  creature,  because  we  see  the 
cock — one  of  the  least  of  the  creatures — jealous  over  his 
hens  keeping  any  strange  cock  from  approaching  them. 
And  he  carries  this  out  as  far  as  he  possibly  can,  hiding 
the  hen  in  a  secret  house  from  the  view  of  any  other 
fowl.  This  is  the  same  with  the  camel,  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  creatures.  The  male  will  never  permit  another 
camel  to  approach  his  mate.  It  is  the  same  with  many 
other  animals. 

Therefore  the  covering  of  womankind  and  her  seclu- 
sion is  in  the  eyes  of  the  noble  Arab,  a  thing  to  be  desired 
for  them,  first  by  the  laws  of  their  nature;  and  second 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Moslem  Arab,  by  the  laws  of  Islam. 
And  some  of  the  Arab  women,  if  a  stranger  finds  them 
by  chance  outside  their  house  their  innate  sense  of  shame 
and  modesty  is  greatly  outraged,  should  they  be  sitting 
on  the  ground,  from  whence  they  can  perceive  no  way  of 
escape  from  his  observation;  or,  should  they  not  be  sit- 
ting they  turn  their  faces  away  from  him — in  spite  of 
being  already  enveloped  within  their  dress  or  veil.  And 
this  is  a  matter  of  necessity  to  them,  and  not  from  choice — 
it  is  because  of  the  veil. 

But  with  regard  to  her  position,  it  is  she  who  takes 
charge  of  the  second  essential  part — the  doings  of  the 
indoor  life  of  her  husband,  her  father  and  brothers  if 
they  have  not  views  of  their  own.     And  she  manages 


400  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

all  this  so  completely  that  she  leaves  to  the  man  nothing 
to  do  in  all  these  indoor  matters  unless  feed  his  horse 
or  something  connected  with  his  animals.  And  we 
must  notice  that  just  as  there  are  degrees  of  intelligence 
in  the  woman  with  regard  to  the  management  and  the  care 
of  everything  within  her  province  so  there  are  in  the  man, 
with  regard  to  the  management  of  his  province  too.  And 
this,  to  our  mind,  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  status  of 
womankind  in  view  of  the  sensibilities  of  the  Moslem 
Arabs.  It  is  confirmed  because  she  has  been  given  in  our 
family  life,  her  share  of  its  doing  and  management.  And 
with  this  view  of  her  position,  there  is  nothing  further 
to  be  sought  with  regard  to  the  Arab  woman— beyond  this 
would  be  an  invasion  of  her  right. 

Now  to  conclude  usefully  we  will  investigate  an  ob- 
jection. Perhaps  one  will  ask  the  reasons  of  the  Arab 
peculiarity  in  confining  their  women  to  this  part,  namely 
the  internal  management.  Our  answer  to  this  will  be 
that  the  Arabs  felt  and  comprehended  the  well-known 
difference  in  the  physical  strength  of  the  two  sexes,  of 
which  many  specialists  have  spoken  and  so  they  have 
given  to  woman  her  position  because  it  is  the  most  suit- 
able to  her.  And  the  simplest  of  all  proofs  of  the  suit- 
ability of  appointing  woman  to  this  sphere  is  the  matter 
of  pregnancy  and  its  consequent  feebleness  and  weakness, 
at  least  from  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  month,  and  the 
time  of  nursing  with  its  testified  influence  on  the  physique, 
not  only  in  the  woman,  but  also  in  the  strongest  of  ani- 
mals, such  as  the  horse  or  camel,  which  it  is  not  possible 
to  make  use  of  during  these  two  periods,  especially  the 
first  of  them.  If  you  expect  work  of  them  you  expose 
them  to  injury.  The  thing  which  we  do  not  consider  pos- 
sible for  a  woman  is  that  she  should  be  a  sailor  or  soldier 
or  builder  or  anything  like  a  profession  involving  arduous 
work.  Nay,  but  even  many  other  occupations  making 
lower  demands  on  her,  however  strong  the  woman  may 
be,  we  could  only  imagine  one  or  two,  at  the  most,  able 
for  them.  And  these  on  the  conditions  which  the  might 
of  the  creator — may  His  name  be  glorified  and  exalted — 
has  ordained  in  His  eternal  wisdom  by  the  appointing  of 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  WOMEN  401 

many  conditions  to  womankind  which  are  of  no  need  to 
mankind. 

With  regard  to  the  veneration  and  honouring  of  the 
woman,  and  the  care  of  her  comfort  in  life  and  the  mind- 
ing of  her  and  the  magnifying  of  her  state  in  the  eyes  of 
Islam  and  the  Arabs  nothing  can  be  laid  against  them. 

And  so  we  have  pointed  out  generally  and  in  detail  the 
position  of  the  woman  in  the  Arab  and  Moslem  social 
order  with  regard  to  her  seclusion — the  veil — and  what 
are  her  rights  in  the  management  of  the  family;  so  now 
let  us  return  to  the  purpose  of  this  investigation  as  to  what 
should  be  the  school  education  of  the  daughter  of  Islam. 

We  say  then,  knowing  that  the  woman  takes  charge  of 
the  man's  indoor  affairs  whether  he  be  her  husband  or 
brother,  let  us  see  to  it  that  the  little  Moslem  girls  enters 
a  practical  and  not  theoretical  school  in  her  second  year, 
that  is  from  the  time  that  she  is  able  to  speak  and  to  begin 
to  comprehend  the  rights  of  things.  For  this  she  will  turn 
to  her  mother,  the  one  who  looks  after  the  indoor  affairs  of 
her  father,  as  her  best  teacher,  and  from  her  she  will  re- 
ceive her  first  practical  lesson  of  good  breeding,  namely 
how  to  nourish  her  sister  or  brother,  looking  after  his 
growth,  and  watching  over  his  life  from  the  time  of  his 
birth  until  his  maturity,  and  school  years  are  completed. 
And  perhaps  that  girl  will  be  her  mother's  sole  assistant 
in  this  work. 

And  when  we  compare  the  physical  health  that  is  the 
outcome  of  this  home  school,  with  that  of  those  who  issue 
from  the  modern  seminary  and  the  lessons  they  learn 
there,  we  find  that  we  can  dispense  with  all  talk — the 
more  so  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  deleterious  ef- 
fects of  the  carbonic  acid  gas  inhaled  by  a  number  of 
pupils  together  in  a  schoolroom!  And  so  too  with  the 
remainder  of  the  affairs  of  household  management,  par- 
ticulars of  which  there  is  no  need  to  mention  here. 

The  Moslem  girl  then  enters  the  school  which  by  its 
natural  program  provides  the  most  important  arts  that 
she  needs  to  acquire  on  a  basis  consistent  with  the  means 
of  her  parent  or  guardian.  And  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  by  such  management  she  has  given  into  her  hands 


402  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

that  spiritual  mutual  affection  which  either  results  in 
the  extinction  of  the  family  or  else  in  the  confirmation 
of  its  life.  Whereas  the  pupils  passing  out  from  the 
modern  school,  wishing  in  everything  to  be  conformed 
to  its  methods,  desiring  to  force  on  their  own  homes  their 
own  theoretical  training  of  arts  and  sciences,  which  things 
they  are  unable  to  accomplish.  And  far  be  it  that  they 
should  be  able  to  do  so !  At  least  seven  out  of  every  ten 
dash  against  and  make  shipwreck  over  this  stumbling- 
block  because  of  the  impossibility  of  their  people's  means 
to  carry  out  such  ideas  and  from  this  begins  the  unhappi- 
ness  of  the  family — the  girl  desiring  to  live  in  her  home 
environment  according  to  the  ideals  of  her  school  lessons 
and  the  parents'  wealth  not  sufficing  for  it!  And  the  in- 
ability to  obtain  the  wherewithal  for  this,  obliges  her  to 
obtain  it  by  any  means  in  her  power  without  considera- 
tion of  the  evil  of  the  roadway  by  which  she  obtains  this 
end.  And  the  result  is  so  well  known  that  we  would 
content  ourselves  without  prolonging  our  enquiry  into 
it. 

And  allied  to  this  subject  is  what  we  have  seen  lately 
in  the  famous  magazine  Freedom,  printed  in  the  town  of 
Tanta,  from  the  pen  of  the  esteemed  Mohammed  Khairat, 
a  lawyer: 

"In  its  opening  article,  the  io6th  issue  of  the  Quibla 
conducts  an  investigation  under  the  title  of  *Blind  Imita- 
tion'. 

"Yes,  we  are  among  the  number  who  adhere  firmly  to 
and  believe  in  the  truth  of  the  words  of  the  Highest 
'Those  who  have  and  those  who  do  not  have  are  not  the 
same.'  But  the  knowledge  of  the  people  must  be  ac- 
cording to  the  ideal  method  which  agrees  with  the  need 
of  a  country  and  its  present  state  of  preparedness  for  them. 
In  brief,  the  foundation  of  Moslem  beliefs  must  first  be 
laid,  and  then  let  knowledge  be  raised  on  it  according  to 
the  improvement  which  has  taken  place  in  its  social 
order,  in  the  direction  of  the  commercial  life,  and  such 
like;  and  not  the  foundation  of  schools  which  desire  to 
turn  out  our  daughters  on  the  model  of  the  city  schools 
of  Geneva,  no,  neither  on  that  of  its  village  schools,  though 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  WOMEN  403 

we  have  no  doubt  that  these  do  not  teach  exactly  the 
curriculum  of  those  of  the  capital.  Otherwise  what  was 
said  of  the  raven  who  desired  to  imitate  the  gait  of  the 
dove  could  be  said  of  us  with  truth,  it  lost  power  of  its 
own  original  walk,  and  could  never  become  like  the 
dove." 

This  is  the  goal  at  which  we  are  setting  ourselves,  and 
this  is  the  disease  which  we  are  trying  to  heal,  by  giving 
each  town  what  it  can  bear  according  to  its  capacity  and 
so  until  we  reach  what  we  have  just  said,  we  would  stir  up 
the  eagerness  of  the  illustrious  Star,  and  its  noble  staff, 
to  that  which  is  still  more  important,  viz :  the  guarding  of 
the  public  wealth. 

Yes,  the  consideration  of  this  is  more  important  than 
the  bringing  up  of  girls,  because  their  very  existence  is 
dependent  upon  this  foundation.  But  let  it  be  realized 
that  by  our  statement  we  do  not  desire  to  deprive  any  of 
the  pupils,  but  we  do  desire  to  point  out  the  evil  of  the 
attempt  and  succeeding  in  it  without  regard  to  the  cor- 
responding increase  of  wealth,  so  that  we  may  prevent 
property  from  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  the  natives. 
That  is  the  only  object  of  our  inquiry.  Nay,  but  we  be- 
lieve that  this  is  the  true  moral  welfare  of  the  life  of  the 
people. 

We  say  this  in  spite  of  what  educationalists  may  have 
agreed  as  to  the  standing  of  such  a  school,  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  pupils  and  daughters  of  Islam,  from 
that  which  would  lead  to  their  falling  into  the  faults  to 
which  we  have  referred  above. 

"Say,  everyone  acteth  after  his  own  manner:  but  your 
Lord  best  knoweth  who  is  most  truly  directed  in  his 
way."     Surah  "The  Night  Journey."    v.  84. 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  TRACT 


The  following  article  is  a  translation  of  a  recent  tract  published  in 
China,  and  gives  us  a  peep  into  the  mind  of  a  Chinese  Moslem,  show- 
ing how  Confucianism  dominates  his  thought.  We  owe  the  transla- 
tion to  the  Rev,  Charles  L.  Ogilvie  of  Peking,  and  its  revision  to 
Mr,  Wang  Chien  t'ang.  The  passages  in  brackets  are  explanatory 
and  supplied  by  the  translator. — Editor. 

I.  Explanation  of  the  meaning  of  Pure  and  True. 
(Moslems  in  China  are  called  The  Pure  and  True 
Society.) 

Our  Islam,  which  has  spread  into  the  East  has  been 
called  Hui  Hui,  also  The  Pure  and  True.  As  to  the 
name,  Hui  Hui,  a  prominent  Moslem,  named  Wang  Tai 
Yii,  explained  it  as  referring  to  the  turning  of  the  body 
and  of  the  heart,  (i.e.  repentance  in  a  double  sense),  but 
with  regard  to  the  name.  Pure  and  True,  it  is  seldom  ex- 
plained.    The  following  is  an  attempt  to  make  it  clear. 

There  are  two  ways  of  looking  at  the  subject:  one  is 
from  the  Divine  standpoint,  according  to  which,  Pure 
and  True  refers  to  the  substance  (body)  of  the  Lord. 
(The  term  used  for  God  throughout  is  "Lord"  rather 
than  Allah,  as  the  pamphlet  is  written  especially  for 
non-Moslems.)  Although  he  created  all  things  and  con- 
trols all  things,  yet  he  is  separate  from  all  things,  having 
no  connection  with  them,  as  the  reflection  in  the  mirror 
or  in  water  is  separate  from  the  body  reflected,  he  is  not 
fastened  on  to  the  outside  of  the  universe,  neither  has 
he  fallen  into  the  middle  of  it.  He  has  not  been  con- 
taminated by  contact  with  created  things,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, is  the  purest  of  the  pure.  All  who  have  a  begin- 
ning and  an  end  must  be  reckoned  as  phantoms,  and  only 
he,  who  is  without  beginning  and  end  is  the  Real.  As 
the  Lord  is  the  source  of  all,  where  can  there  be  any 
beginning  with  him?  And  as  He  is  eternal,  where  can 
there  be  any  end?     He  who  creates  but  does  not  belong 

404 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  TRACT  405 

to  creation  is  the  truest  of  the  true.  All  Moslems  ought 
to  know  that  the  preservation  of  the  Pure  and  True  is  the 
most  important  consideration  for  all  the  Lord's  followers. 

The  other  way  of  looking  at  the  subject  is  from  the 
human  standpoint.  According  to  this  view  "Pure"  re- 
fers to  the  heart.  How  can  the  heart  be  pure?  you  ask. 
Only  by  conforming  to  the  articles  of  faith  as  given  by 
the  Most  Holy  One  (Mohammed).  In  all  one  sees, 
hears,  says  and  does,  one  should  not  allow  any  error  to 
come  into  the  heart.  Just  as  one  washes  his  clothes  to 
make  them  clean,  or  as  a  lapidary  polishes  the  stone  free- 
ing it  from  blemishes,  or  as  one  buries  gold  in  the  dirt  to 
enhance  its  brilliance,  so  should  man  do  with  his  heart. 
Just  as  the  lotus  springs  out  of  mud  and  yet  preserves  its 
original  beauty  in  spite  of  its  surroundings,  so  should  man 
do.  Everything  else  impure,  but  not  I,  that  is  the  style 
of  a  pure  man.  Starting  from  this  condition,  he  can 
gradually  become  proficient  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

If  a  man  is  able  to  please  God  and  forget  himself,  in 
a  perfect  manner  keep  the  covenant  which  he  has  made, 
not  overlooking  his  service  in  a  scramble  for  reputation 
or  wealth,  having  pure  desires  and  correct  ideals,  being 
in  harmony  with  man  and  God,  then  he  may  be  regarded 
as  a  pure  man  of  fine  grade,  the  truest  of  the  true.  We 
must  first  live  in  a  holy  way  if  we  would  possess  a  true 
heart;  in  moments  of  leisure  getting  rid  of  error,  being 
careful  of  one's  self  when  alone,  always  cherishing  sin- 
cerity, and  thus  maintaining  one's  character.  Moreover 
we  should  discharge  our  present  responsibilities,  always 
keeping  our  balance,  not  cursing  heaven  and  not  reviling 
men,  not  leaving  a  thing  half  done  but  steadfastly  bringing 
it  to  completion.  We  should  not  regard  the  present  life 
as  the  real  life,  nor  the  present  death  as  the  real  death. 
We  must  try  to  be  true,  not  deviating  in  the  slightest  from 
the  truth.  Mohammedans  should  know  that  the  keep- 
ing of  these  two  qualities,  pure  and  true,  free  from  stain 
or  error,  is  the  first  duty  of  every  Moslem. 

We  Mohammedans  constantly  fall  short  in  our  observ- 
ance of  that  which  exalts  the  Pure  and  Tru^,  and  also 
in  our  investigations  of  the  truth.     If  the  followers  of  the 


4o6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

prophet  do  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  Pure  and 
True  how  can  they  follow  the  truth  and  do  right?  They 
will  simply  give  outsiders  a  chance  to  despise  them  and 
will  be  thoroughly  ashamed.  For  this  reason,  I  draw 
from  my  limited  experience  these  few  words,  in  the  hope 
that  they  may  benefit  my  fellow  Moslems. 

II.  Explanation  of  Faith  (Iman). 

Formerly  a  friend  asked  me,  "What  is  this  Iman 
(faith)  that  you  speak  about?"  I  replied,  "The  true 
light  of  the  Lord  and  the  sincere  belief  (heart)  of  man, 
but  if  one  has  not  real  belief,  he  cannot  receive  the  true 

light" 

Q.  "By  true  faith  (heart)  do  you  mean  the  heart  of 
flesh?" 

A.  "Not  the  heart  of  flesh.  The  believing  heart  ex- 
isted before  birth.  At  that  moment  all  living  things  are 
pure.     How  could  the  heart  of  flesh  be  like  that?" 

Q.  "Is  the  sincere  heart  the  same  as  Reason,  or  is  it 
Emotion?" 

A.  "Although  it  is  not  Reason,  yet  it  is  found  in  Rea- 
son. We  must  use  our  Reason  to  understand  the  mystery. 
Although  it  is  not  Emotion,  yet  it  stands  upon  the  emo- 
tions. With  the  help  of  emotion  it  grows  strong.  But 
the  emotions  we  speak  of  are  pure,  not  of  the  flesh,  it  is 
an  instructed  emotion.  As  Mencius  said,  *I  understand 
words:  I  take  pains  to  nourish  my  emotions  (great  pas- 
sion-nature) \  The  bad  emotions  cannot  be  placed  in 
the  same  category  with  man's  reason.  Fleshly  emotion 
raises  itself  unexpectedly  and  with  one  stroke  destroys 
the  furniture  of  the  true  heart.  If  man  controls  it,  it 
becomes  like  a  domesticated  horse,  in  which  case  the  bad 
emotion  becomes  a  good  emotion." 

Q.  "As  to  this  believing  heart,  do  all  men  have  it, 
or  is  it  only  the  possession  of  Moslems?" 

A.  "All  men  have  it,  but  the  sages  of  our  religion  alone 
have  preserved  it." 

Q.  "What  proof  have  you  that  all  men  have  it?" 

A.  "The  Divine  will  manifests  itself  in  the  belief  of 
the  heart:  the  Divine  will  and  heredity  are  therefore  the 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  TRACT  407 

same  thing.  All  men  are  creatures  of  heredity  and  that 
which  each  man  receives  is  his  original  nature.  Man's 
original  nature  therefore  comes  by  heredity.  This  is 
recognized  by  all.  But  while  we  speak  of  man's  original 
nature  we  must  remember  that  the  idea  of  free  will 
is  included  in  it,  consequently,  true  faith  is  according 
to  the  desires  of  the  original  nature.  If  the  nature  says, 
remain,  faith  remains;  if,  go,  it  goes.  If  you  nourish 
it,  you  will  preserve  it,  if  you  neglect  it,  you  will  lose  it. 
This  is  just  as  if  the  Lord  had  nothing  to  do  with  it' 
But  if  we  say  that  God  has  nothing  to  do  with  it,  how  is 
he  able  to  know  the  future?  If  we  say  that  God  does 
have  something  to  do  with  it,  how  shall  we  explain 
rewards  and  punishments  without  implying  favoritism? 
Whether  a  man  has  faith  or  not  depends  partly  upon  the 
Lord's  predestination  and  partly  upon  man's  free  will ;  we 
might  also  say  that  the  predestination  is  determined  by  the 
free  will,  and  the  free  will  acts  in  accordance  with  the 
predestination." 

Q.  "Predestination  and  free  will  are  difficult  to  un- 
derstand. Can  you  give  me  an  illustration  in  order  that 
the  ambiguity  may  be  dispelled?" 

A.  "Yes,  I  can.  It  is  as  if  we  regarded  wine  as  the 
equivalent  of  the  true  light.  Those  who  drink  the  wine 
are  those  who  receive  the  light.  The  maker  of  the  wine 
suddenly  calls  in  a  loud  voice,  ^the  wine  is  ready,  drink  it, 
there  is  no  limit.'  Those  who  hear  the  cry  are  greatly 
pleased  and  come  dancing  and  singing.  They  drink  the 
wine  and  are  delighted  with  the  taste.  Because  they  do 
not  get  intoxicated  they  keep  on  drinking.  The  one  who 
makes  the  wine  is  like  one  who  has  faith  and  also  desires 
to  help  others  get  it.  Those  who  smell  the  wine  are  in- 
fluenced by  its  delicious  fragrance  to  drink.  This  is  like 
a  man  who  has  a  believing  heart,  and  who  also  prgduces 
faith.  Those  who  do  not  drink  but  push  the  wine  away  be- 
cause they  do  not  like  the  flavor  are  those  who  have  no 
faith,  because  they  reject  it.     There  are  many  who,  on 

•  Note  by  Wang  chicn  t'ang:  This  "as  if"  is  a  very  important  phrase  and  must  not 
be  misunderstood.  To  understand  Iman  one  must  examine  into  it  rery  carefully,  and 
not  simply  read  it  over  in  a  hasty  manner. 


4o8  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

account  of  distance  and  the  multitude,  are  not  able  to 
reach  the  wine,  who  in  their  hearts  know  it  is  something 
they  ought  to  secure.  They  can  do  nothing,  however, 
but  gaze  all  day  long  at  the  door  of  the  wine  room. 
They  neither  secure  the  wine  nor  depart,  but  wait  around 
if  perchance  they  may  drink.  They  are  those  who  have 
true  hearts  and  are  seeking  to  obtain  faith.  Then  there 
are  those  who  hear  about  the  wine  but  run  away  from 
it  as  if  it  were  poison.  They  are  those  who  have  not  a 
sincere  heart  but  are  willing  to  injure  themselves.  They 
do  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  those  who  have 
faith." 

Q.  "As  to  the  relation  between  a  true  heart  and  free 
will,  I  have  learned  a  great  deal,  but  what  sort  of  a  man 
will  he  be  in  actual  life  who  has  received  faith  before 
he  was  born?" 

A.  "Although  our  religion  has  the  five  relations 
(sovereign  and  minister,  father  and  son,  husband  and 
wife,  elder  brother  and  younger  brother,  friend  and 
friend),  the  eight  principles:  (i)  Belief  in  one  God; 
(2)  Knowledge  of  God's  truth  1(3)  Knowledge  that  our 
Most  Holy  Mohammed  is  the  Prophet  of  God;  (4) 
Knowledge  that  the  four  Imams  were  the  Prophet's  suc- 
cessors; (5)  The  doing  of  good  is  commanded;  (6)  The 
doing  of  evil  is  forbidden;  (7)  Avoidance  of  lust;  (8)  To 
return  to  virtue;  customs,  laws,  regulations,  and  all  that 
is  necessary  to  govern  the  relations  of  men,  yet  the  mani- 
festation and  perfection  of  faith  are  found  in  the  adoption 
of  the  creed  that  the  Lord  is  the  only  God,  and  in  the 
conviction  that  there  is  benefit  in  the  sincere  service  of 
God.  Moreover,  this  recognition  and  service  must  be 
with  the  understanding  and  devotion.  Understanding 
and  devotion  are  manifiested  outwardly  in  an  enlightened 
and  virtuous  conduct  day  by  day.  This  is  the  sprouting 
of  faith,  and  on  this  account  man  receives  special  grace 
that  his  character  may  be  developed.  In  this  way  he 
reveals  the  will  of  the  Lord,  purifies  his  own  mature, 
cleanses  his  heart  and  keeps  his  body  in  order.  This  is 
what  we  call  the  outward  manifestation  of  an  inward 
state. 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  TRACT  409' 

But  this  understanding  and  devotion  also  have  an  in- 
ward manifestation,  namely,  in  the  intuition  leading  one 
to  study  the  teachings  of  Mohammed.  Here  we  have  the 
root  of  faith.  Proceeding  from  this  root  we  find  the 
body  kept  in  subjection,  the  heart  cleansed,  the  nature 
purified  and  the  Divine  will  revealed.  This  is  what  we 
call  the  inward  manifestation  of  an  outward  state.  Al- 
though the  ways  of  knowing  are  not  the  same,  yet  they 
all  lead  to  the  knowledge  of  the  one  thing.  And  al- 
though the  ways  of  showing  one's  devotion  are  not  the 
same,  yet  they  all  lead  to  the  same  accomplishment.  Or 
to  put  it  in  another  way,  understanding  and  devotion 
should  not  be  unbalanced,  like  one  foot  trying  to  walk, 
or  one  hand  trying  to  clap ;  they  should  proceed  together 
as  the  arms  and  the  legs  do,  or  as  the  shadow  follows  the 
body.  To  have  the  understanding  without  the  devotion 
to  balance,  it  is  to  have  a  useless  thing,  and  to  have  the 
devotion  without  the  understanding  to  balance  it,  is  to 
have  an  unstable  and  dangerous  thing.  Consequently  I 
say,  understanding  is  the  knowledge  of  that  which  ought 
to  be  performed  and  devotion  is  the  expression  of  that 
which  ought  to  be  known. 

But  the  value  of  understanding  and  devotion  does  not 
lie  simply  in  the  importance  of  recognizing  and  serving 
the  Lord,  but  also  in  the  recognition  of  the  one  who  leads 
us  to  the  Lord,  he  who  is  the  door  that  opens  into  the 
service  of  the  Lord. 

Nevertheless,  if  I  would  make  myself  upright,  I  can- 
not be  ignorant  of  the  errors  of  others.  While  holding 
steadfastly  to  my  own  purpose,  I  learn  the  falsity  of  such 
statements  as  the  following:  that  the  Lord  and  the  universe 
are  the  same  thing,  that  the  Lord  dwells  in  the  universe, 
that  man's  nature  is  the  Lord,  that  Buddha  appears  in 
order  to  preach  the  law,  (Buddhist),  that  the  Lord  is 
three  in  one,  (Christian),  that  the  Three  Pure  Ones  have 
one  essence,  (Taoist),  and  other  kinds  of  wrong  teaching. 
We  all  know  the  wildness  and  incredibility  of  these 
notions  and  we  must  on  no  account  allow  them  to  con- 
fuse our  minds.  If  they  do  not  do  so,  then  faith  can 
have  its  perfect  work  in  us. 


410  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Q.  "What  sort  of  stuff  will  a  man  be  made  of  who  can 
develop  such  faith?" 

A.  "  *  Those  who  having  no  virtue,  develop  it  by  their 
own  energy,  when  advanced  to  a  position  of  dignity  can 
make  the  whole  empire  virtuous.'  (Mencius).  What 
is  the  cause  of  this?  The  true  seed  of  faith  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  planted  in  the  heart  of  a  man  before  he  was 
born.  There  are  true  hearts  and  false  hearts,  like  good 
ground  and  poor  ground.  That  which  is  sown  in  poor 
ground  will  wither  and  die,  and  that  which  is  sown  in 
good  ground  will  grow  and  flourish.  With  the  help  of 
understanding,  the  root  of  faith  will  send  forth  sprouts, 
and  by  devotion  the  plant  will  be  nurtured.  In  leisure 
moments  cherishing  a  believing  heart  and  in  active  mo- 
ments exercising  an  inquiring  mind,  this  should  be  our 
rule,  or  to  use  a  figure,  watering  and  pruning.  In  this  way 
a  man  will  have  life  and  enthusiasm  and  will  bring  forth 
fruit  bearing  seed. 

"  Just  as  true  seed  if  it  finds  its  proper  use  will  bring 
about  a  happy  order  throughout  heaven  and  earth  and 
cause  all  things  to  be  nourished  and  prospered',  (Doctrine 
of  the  Mean),  carrying  out  the  wonderful  purpose  of 
the  Lord,  which  has  been  hidden  in  ages  past  in  the  order 
of  things,  so  it  is  with  truth.  And  putting  the  universe  in 
order  is  the  smallest  part  of  it.  It  also  produced  a  man 
of  faith  who  was  able  to  know  the  essence  of  the  Lord, 
who  was  able  to  please  the  Lord  and  forget  himself,  thus 
changing  the  false  into  the  true.  (The  last  phase  evi- 
dently refers  to  the  purification  of  human  nature.)  Con- 
sequently, those  who  please  God  by  losing  their  lives, 
find  another  life  in  God.  This  sort  of  a  person  out  of  a 
good  heart  reflects  the  light  of  God,  and  the  light  of 
God  on  its  part  gives  light  to  the  believing  heart.  In 
the  long  run  these  two  lights  become  one  and  the  two 
hearts  (man's  and  God's)  become  one.  So  it  is  said,  that 
which  faith  puts  forth  shall  return  to  it  again  (classical 
reference),  faith,  as  it  always  has  done,  hiding  in  the 
being  of  God.  Is  this  not  wonderful?  There  can  be 
nothing  better  than  this.     Confucius  said,  'By  diligence 


A  CHINESE  MOSLEM  TRACT  411 

you  will  make  progress  in  the  truth.'     I  say,  those  who 
can  get  to  this  point  will  find  none  to  surpass  them." 

The  friend  was  very  happy  and  thanked  me  saying, 
"Your  explanation  is  very  true  and  fair,  and  it  is  per- 
fectly consistent.  How  fortunate  that  I  met  you  and 
heard  about  this  matter!  *Even  though  I  should  die 
to-night,  it  would  be  nothing.'  (Confucius.)"  (The 
meaning  is,  having  heard  about  the  truth,  there  is  nothing 
else  of  any  consequence.) 

When  I  heard  these  words  I  was  surprised,  but  happy. 
I  replied  to  him,  "Ah,  my  friend,  you  certainly  have  a 
true  heart  and  are  a  seeker  after  faith.  If  not,  how  could 
you  understand  all  these  things?  Your  ears  are  surely 
attuned  to  truth."  The  friend  said,  "That's  true"  and 
left. 

I  can  never  forget  that  conversation  and  for  that  reason 
I  have  written  it  down  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  do 
not  have  faith. 

Yu  Shao  Chai. 


AL  RIADH,  THE  CAPITAL  OP  NEJD 


The  empire  of  Mohammed  embraces  many  races  and 
extends  to  many  lands.  In  it  are  many  cities  larger  than 
any  in  Arabia.  The  noisy  literary  propaganda  of 
Islam  has  its  center  far  away  in  Egypt,  and  the  fading 
glory  of  its  political  power  has  been  for  many  years  in 
Turkey.  But  the  essence  of  the  strength  of  Islam  is  not 
its  political  power,  nor  its  literature.  The  faith  of 
Mohammed  has  marched  victoriously  through  thirteen 
centuries  and  conquered  every  system  in  its  path,  because 
of  its  unparalleled  grip  on  the  hearts  of  man.  The 
marvel  of  Islam  is  not  the  wasting  of  land  after  land 
with  fire  and  sword  and  license,  but  the  transformation  of 
those  same  lands  into  its  own  fanatical  devotees.  Every 
land  has  a  small  nucleus  of  rpen  whose  primary  interest  in 
life  is  their  religious  faith.  For  that  faith  they  live  and  for 
that  faith  they  would  be  glad  to  die.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
no  system  of  faith  in  the  world  commands  such  intense 
devotion  on  the  part  of  such  a  large  percentage  of  society 
as  Islam.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the  low, 
the  educated  and  the  uneducated,  are  alike  in  this  the 
supreme  devotion  of  their  hearts. 

Now  the  capital  of  Islam's  political  organization  has 
been  for  a  long  time  in  Constantinople.  Where  it  will 
be  after  this  war,  no  one  knows.  The  centre  of  its  small 
store  of  literary  ideas,  and  its  very  large  stores  of  literary 
words  is  in  Cairo,  Egypt,  but  the  empire  of  men's  hearts 
over  which  Mohammed  rules  has  a  different  Capital 
from  either  of  these,  and  that  Capital  is  a  small  city  in 
the  midst  of  the  deserts  of  Arabia  where  the  pleasant 
things  of  this  world  are  hardly  known,  and  where  the 
proud,  austere,  sterile  desert  seems  to  find  its  reflection  in 
the  hearts  of  men  and  in  their  religious  faith. 

It  has  always  been  the  hope  and  the  prayer  of  the 

412 


AL  RIADH,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  NEJD  413 

Arabian  Mission  that  the  way  might  be  opened  for  the 
entrance  of  the  Gospel  into  that  city.  Men  have  prayed 
for  it  at  home  and  worked  for  it  on  the  field,  and  now 
apparently  we  are  beginning  to  see  the  answer.  On  in- 
vitation from  the  chief,  that  city  has  been  visited  by  a 
missionary.  A  medical  visit  of  twenty  days  is  not  a  great 
thing,  but  by  God's  blessing  it  may  easily  be  the  first 
step  toward  the  occupation  of  one  of  the  most  strategic 
points  in  the  whole  empire  of  Islam. 

The  receiving  of  the  invitation  was  no  accident.  It 
meant  much  work  and  some  strategy.  It  was  the  result 
of  the  definite  efforts  of  practically  every  member  of 
our  Medical  staff  for  the  past  ten  years.  We  trust  that 
in  a  far  deeper  sense  it  is  the  fruit  of  the  prayers  of  many 
years  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Some  lessons  may  per- 
haps be  drawn  from  it.  If  an)rwhere  in  the  world  we 
might  have  expected  God's  blessing  to  attend  the  policy 
of  partial  concealment  and  disguise  of  our  evangelistic 
purpose,  it  would  have  been  here.  The  city  we  wanted 
to  enter  was  the  most  bigoted  in  all  Arabia.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  success  so  far  has  come  following  precisely  the 
opposite  plan. 

When  Katif  was  occupied  by  the  Arabs,  there  seemed 
some  chance  for  us  to  enter  it,  and  the  temptation  to 
avoid  the  Katifis  in  the  evangelistic  work  of  the 
Bahrein  Hospital  was  very  strong.  I  remember  how 
after  considerable  struggle  it  was  decided  to  be  absolutely 
as  aggressive  as  possible  with  them  and  to  trust  the  Lord 
as  to  the  result.  That  same  year  we  were  received  into 
Katif  with  a  cordiality  and  heartiness  almost  unique  in 
the  Mission's  hstory.  On  our  first  visit  there  the  Amir 
told  us  to  get  out  of  the  city  if  we  did  not  drop  the  prayer 
services  which  preceded  the  morning  clinics.  We  de- 
clined to  drop  them,  and  he  found  a  way  to  allow  us  to 
remain.  That  fanatical  Wihaba  Mohammedan  has 
become  I  think,  quite  the  warmest  personal  friend  that 
I  have  among  the  Arabs,  and  it  was  his  personal  effort 
that  finally  secured  for  us  the  invitation  to  come  into 
the  Capital  city  for  a  medical  visit.  It  is  a  lesson  that 
some  of  us  apparently  must  be  taught  over  and  over  again, 


414  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

that  the  accomplishment  of  the  difficult  things  in  the 
Kingdom,  depends  on  how  well  our  work  pleases  God, 
and  not  at  all  on  how  well  it  pleases  men. 

The  trip  itself  was  most  interesting.  A  delightful  sail 
of  two  days  took  us  to  Ojeir.  Bin  Saoud,  the  great  chief 
of  Riadh,  rules  and  the  days  of  corrupt  Turkish  officials 
are  over.  An  old  friend  from  Katif  was  in  charge,  and 
it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  meet  him  again.  From  Ojeir 
to  Hassa  is  perhaps  forty  miles,  done  in  one  night  on 
either  donkeys  of  an  unusually  sturdy  breed,  or  on  camels. 
Yellow  sand  drifts,  some  of  them  a  hundred  feet  high 
constitute  practically  the  whole  landscape.  However, 
in  places  where  the  drifting  of  the  sand  has  uncovered 
the  soil  underneath,  fresh  water  can  be  found  only  a 
foot  or  two  from  the  surface.  We  traveled  from  three 
in  the  afternoon  until  sundown  through  these  desolate 
sand  drifts.  Then  when  it  was  time  for  supper,  all  we 
needed  to  do  was  to  hollow  out  a  shallow  basin  in  the 
ground  between  two  drifts,  and  we  had  all  the  fresh 
water  we  wanted. 

Our  first  stop  was  Hassa,  the  paradise  of  Arabia.  The 
graceful  date  palms  against  the  yellow  sand  drifts,  make 
a  wonderfully  beautiful  picture.  Where  all  the  fresh 
water  comes  from  that  makes  Hassa  a  tropical  garden, 
is  more  than  an  ordinary  man  can  imagine.  Certainly 
the  sunbaked  desert  inland  can  hardly  furnish  it.  Date 
gardens  stretch  for  miles  in  every  direction,  and  mar- 
velous to  relate,  the  water  is  so  abundant  that  there  is 
plenty  for  wheat  and  even  rice  in  addition.  Figs  abound 
as  do  pomegrantes,  apples  and  peaches  and  apricots. 
Cantaloupes  are  raised  in  great  profusion.  It  is  the 
garden  spot  of  Arabia.  Seventy  odd  villages  of  various 
sizes  are  scattered  through  the  gardens.  Perhaps  from 
one  to  two  hundred  thousand  people  live  in  them.  The 
inland  Bedouins  come  here  by  thousands  to  do  their 
trading.  They  bring  wool,  and  hides,  and  ghee  or  clari- 
fied butter.  Goats  and  sheep  and  camels  are  sold  also. 
Thursday  is  market  day,  and  then  State  Street  in  Chicago 
can  hardly  surpass  the  Hassa  Bazaar. 

The  Turks  ruled  this  district  for  fifty  years  more  or 


AL  RIADH,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  NEJD  415 

less,  but  they  have  left  hardly  a  trace  except  the  cordial 
hatred  of  everyone.  No  schools  were  founded,  no  better 
ways  of  building  were  introduced.  They  are  gone  now, 
and  in  their  place  sits  the  Amir  of  the  great  chief  of 
Riadh,  a  man  whose  very  name  is  enough  to  strike  terror 
into  the  heart  of  the  most  reckless  Bedouin.  The  city  is 
drastically  but  most  efficiently  governed.  Infractions  of 
the  public  order  are  punished  in  ways  that  make  the 
blood  run  cold,  but  a  more  orderly  city  could  hardly 
be  found  in  America.  In  the  old  days  two  regiments 
and  more  of  Turkish  soldiers  were  not  sufficient  to  keep 
even  the  road  to  Ojeir  open. 

We  stayed  in  Hassa  four  days,  and  then  pushed  on 
toward  the  city  of  the  desert  which  is  the  center  of  the 
political  and  religious  life  of  Arabia.  It  was  mid  sum- 
mer, and  none  of  us  suffered  from  chilblains  or  had  his 
ears  frozen.  Altogether  we  made  a  caravan  of  nine 
camels.  One  of  the  camels  carried  silver,  government 
revenue,  from  Hassa  to  Riadh.  The  value  of  that 
camel's  load  was  somewhere  about  twelve  thousand  dol- 
lars, according  to  reports,  but  it  was  quite  unaccompanied 
by  guards.  So  complete  is  the  safety  of  the  country  under 
its  present  ruler,  Bin  Saoud,  that  this  excited  no  surprise 
or  comment.  Three  camels  carried  the  doctor  and  his 
supplies,  including  an  assistant.  The  remainder  of  the 
caravan  was  made  up  of  five  camels  ridden  by  travelers 
who  happened  to  be  on  their  way  toward  the  same  city 
as  ourselves.  We  rested  for  something  like  three  hours 
at  noon,  for  an  hour  or  thereabouts  at  sundown,  and  for 
perhaps  two  hours  just  before  dawn.  The  rest  of  the 
time  was  spent  in  the  saddle,  for  the  five  days  of  the  trip. 

One  of  my  fellow  travelers  was  greatly  troubled  over 
the  fact  that  I  did  not  join  in  the  daily  prayers  of  the 
caravan.  He  came  to  the  guide  in  great  concern. 
"That  man,"  he  whispered,  "doesn't  pray."  "Oh  well," 
said  his  more  sophisticated  companion,  "Never  mind,  he 
is  on  his  way  to  Bin  Saoud,  and  he  is  a  great  doctor." 
"I  tell  you,"  said  the  old  patriarch,  "that  he  does  not 
pray."  The  old  man  was  greatly  perturbed.  I  am  sure 
he  anticipated  for  the  whole  caravan  a  fate  such  as  Jonah 


4i6  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

brought  to  fellow  travelers.  However,  at  noon  when 
we  were  resting,  I  found  him  trying  to  mend  his  torn 
robe  without  needle  or  thread,  and  I  brought  him  a  fine 
thick  needle,  and  a  long  strong  thread,  and  he  was  de- 
lighted. He  mended  that  hole,  and  various  others  which 
he  discovered.  His  thread  had  to  be  replenished  several 
times,  and  the  matter  of  neglected  prayers  ceased  to 
trouble  his  mind.  I  used  to  give  his  small  boy  who  was 
traveling  with  him,  some  of  my  bread,  and  after  that  I 
had  two  firm  friends  in  the  caravan,  at  least.  In  fact, 
by  the  time  we  reached  Riadh  we  were  all  the  best  of 
friends,  and  parted  with  real  regret. 

There  may  be  countries  in  this  world  more  barren  and 
empty  than  the  deserts  of  central  Arabia,  but  the  dif- 
ference cannot  be  very  great.  For  days  and  days  we 
traveled  and  did  not  see  a  single  individual,  and  the  only 
life  of  any  sort  was  an  occasional  lizard,  one  variety  of 
them  indeed,  a  foot  and  a  half  long.  These  brilliant 
green  creatures  are  considered  a  great  delicacy  by  the  Be- 
douins. My  own  appetite  for  meat  was  not  strong  enough 
to  make  me  care  for  any.  My  assistant,  a  Shiah  Moham- 
medan, was  horrified,  for  such  animals  are  most  unclean 
to  them.  The  Bedouins  caught  one,  and  he  begged  that 
such  a  man  be  not  allowed  to  help  prepare  our  evening 
meal.  There  were  many  lizards  of  smaller  varieties  too, 
and  an  occasional  jereboa,  a  sort  of  mouse  with  long  hind 
legs.     It  was  cooked  and  eaten  with  no  ceremony. 

Most  of  the  country  was  a  rocky  plain,  with  gentle 
slopes,  which  might  perhaps  be  quite  fertile,  if  there 
were  only  a  sufficient  rainfall.  For  parts  of  two  days 
we  traveled  over  a  country  as  black  as  an  asphalt  roof, 
the  earth  underneath  of  solid  rock,  apparently  volcanic  in 
character.  We  spent  nine  hours  in  passing  across  an 
arm  of  the  Great  Dahna  or  sandy  desert  of  inland 
Arabia.  It  was  a  repetition  of  the  road  between  Ojeir 
and  Hassa,  covered  with  enormous  sand  drifts,  but  strange 
to  say,  with  quite  an  abundant  vegetation,  for  the  most 
part  dried  down  by  the  heat  and  the  drought  of  summer. 
In  the  spring  there  is  a  little  rain  which  is  sufficient 
to  nourish  a  really  surprising  amount  of  vegetation.     To 


AL  RIADH,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  NEJD  417 

my  very  great  surprise  there  were  several  varieties  of 
plants  which  were  beautifully  green  even  in  the  middle 
of  an  unusually  hot  summer.  No  water  was  to  be  had 
for  a  hundred  miles  in  any  direction,  even  out  of  wells 
that  may  be  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  yet  this  district 
is  full  of  gazelle.  We  shot  one  and  that  day  we  had 
meat  to  eat.  All  the  water  that  these  animals  get,  must 
come  from  the  few  plants  that  remain  green  throughout 
the  summer.  How  any  plant  can  do  it,  is  a  marvel. 
I  remember  a  beautifully  green  one  with  leaves  not  unlike 
those  of  a  milkweed,  perched  on  the  top  of  a  sand  drift 
fifty  feet  or  more  high.  No  mountains  are  seen  on  the 
trip,  though  in  a  few  places  the  traveling  is  a  little  rough. 
In  summer  from  Hassa  to  Abu  Jaffar  where  the  first 
well  is  found,  is  a  trip  of  three  days  hard  traveling. 
The  remaining  two  days  we  traveled  over  a  country 
where  occasional  wells  are  to  be  found,  and  where  human 
habitations  are  not  entirely  absent. 

We  reached  Riadh  about  midnight,  and  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Arabs  we  slept  outside  the  city  and  entered 
early  in  the  morning.  The  air  is  wonderful  in  that  dry 
desert  country,  and  a  walk  in  the  early  morning  before 
the  sun  has  baked  the  earth  into  submission,  is  better  than 
any  tonic.  We  walked  through  the  city  gates.  It  is  a 
serious  breach  of  etiquette  for  an  ordinary  mortal  to 
ride  under  those  circumstances.  No  one  stopped  us  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  had  reached  the  castle  of  the  chief 
whose  name  is  a  household  word  all  over  Arabia,  and 
around  whom  center  the  affections  and  the  loyalty  of  the 
whole  Wahabi  wing  of  Mohammedanism. 

I  told  the  doorkeeper  who  I  was,  and  asked  him  to  in- 
form the  Chief  that  the  Doctor  from  Bahrein  had  arrived. 

Then  I  sat  down  on  a  seat  opposite  the  door  to  await 
my  invitation  to  enter.  One  of  the  "Brothers,"  a  fanat- 
ically orthodox  religious  order  of  Inland  Arabia,  came 
and  took  his  seat  beside  me.  He  looked  at  me  critically. 
I  wore  Arab  clothes  of  course,  but  he  knew  that  I  was 
no  Arab.  "Do  you  testify  that  there  is  no  god  but 
God",  he  asked  sharply.  I  assured  him  that  I  did.  "Do 
you  testify  that  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God."     I 


4i8  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

told  him  that  I  did  not.  This  however  did  not  seem  to 
distress  him  greatly,  for  this  particular  sect  in  their 
search  for  a  faith  that  shall  be  purely  monotheistic  has 
almost  ceased  to  revere  Mohammed. 

I  went  up  to  see  the  Great  Chief  himself,  then,  a  man 
whose  personality  and  character  stamp  him  as  one  of  the 
world's  kings.  Never  perhaps  since  the  days  of  the 
Prophet  himself  has  Arabia  been  united  as  it  is  now,  and 
no  one  marvels  who  meets  the  man  that  has  united  them. 
I  have  never  been  entertained  by  a  more  courteous  and 
gracious  host  anywhere,  and  have  never  seen,  I  think, 
a  man  of  more  perfect  democracy  of  spirit.  A  small  child 
does  not  fear  to  speak  to  him  and  it  is  only  by  accident 
that  the  elements  in  his  character  and  rule  which  are  like 
iron,  appear.  It  was  by  the  murder  of  relatives  that  he 
gained  his  present  position,  and  it  is  by  a  rule  of  blood 
and  iron  that  he  has  subdued  the  unwilling  Bedouins  so 
that  now  as  the  Arabs  say,  "An  unattended  woman  can  go 
in  safety  across  the  whole  of  Arabia  and  no  one  dares 
even  to  speak  to  her." 

Riadh  is  a  small  city  of  perhaps  ten  thousand  people. 
A  fringe  of  date  gardens  surrounds  it,  but  the  water  for 
these  gardens  must  be  drawn  from  wells  about  ninety 
feet  deep,  so  that  the  profit  is  small.  It  is  Bin  Saoud's 
plan  to  bring  in  oil  engines  after  the  war  is  over,  in  the 
hope  that  their  extent  may  be  greatly  increased.  In 
this  city  men  live  for  the  next  world.  Hundreds  are 
studying  in  the  mosques  to  go  out  as  teachers  among 
the  Bedouin  tribes.  It  is  the  center  of  a  system  of  reli- 
gious education  that  takes  in  every  village  in  Central 
Arabia,  and  imparts  the  rudiments  of  an  education  to 
much  the  larger  part  of  the  male  population  of  the 
various  towns.  Great  efforts  are  being  made  now,  to 
educate  the  Bedouins.  Men  pray  five  time  a  day  in 
Riadh.  In  the  winter  the  roll  is  called  at  early  morning 
prayers,  and  also  at  the  service  in  the  late  evening.  Ab- 
sentees are  beaten  with  twenty  strokes  on  the  following 
day.  In  the  summer,  duties  in  the  date  gardens  and  else- 
where are  considered  a  valid  excuse  for  praying  at  home. 
Only  a  few  years  ago,  a  man  absented  himself  some 


AL  RIADH,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  NEJD  419 

days  from  all  prayers,  and  was  publicly  executed  for  so 
doing.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  one  city  on  this  earth 
where  men  are  more  interested  in  the  next  world  than 
they  are  in  this  one.  Late  dinners  are  unknown.  The 
evening  meal  is  eaten  an  hour  before  sundown  so  that 
there  may  be  time  for  religious  readings  and  exhorta- 
tions before  going  to  bed.  That  is  the  regular  program 
in  the  house  of  the  great  chief  himself. 

We  stayed  in  Riadh  for  twenty  days.  We  were  in- 
vited to  stay  longer,  but  our  stock  of  medicines  was  ex- 
hausted much  sooner  than  we  anticipated.  The  people 
came  in  great  crowds.  Some  days  over  three  hundred 
were  fighting  for  an  entrance.  It  was  impossible  to 
maintain  order,  and  sometimes  the  results  were  interest- 
ing. However,  we  treated  all  that  we  could,  and  next 
time  we  hope  to  take  another  assistant,  and  accomplish 
more.  Even  as  it  was,  the  service  rendered  was  most 
heartily  appreciated. 

We  left  with  a  cordial  invitation  to  come  again.  To 
be  sure,  it  will  require  a  definite  permission  at  a  suitable 
time  next  year,  to  make  that  invitation  of  any  value,  but 
it  indicates,  we  hope,  that  this  preliminary  visit  is  to  be 
the  first  of  many,  and  indeed  eventually  lead  to  a  per- 
manent occupation. 

There  are  not  many  places  in  the  world  more  im- 
portant or  more  difficult  to  occupy  with  the  Gospel. 
The  fact  that  we  have  set  our  feet  inside  of  this  city 
does  not  indicate  that  our  diffculties  are  finished.  We 
have  progressed  a  little  way,  and  now  as  never  before  is 
there  need  for  prayer  that  God  will  work  out  His  pur- 
poses in  that  country.  The  opening  of  Riadh  in  this  pre- 
liminary way  is  a  triumph  of  the  faith  of  those  who  pray 
for  Arabia.  Human  skill  and  energy  had  very  little  to 
do  with  it.  May  we  be  even  more  faithful  and  earnest 
in  the  days  to  come,  that  out  of  the  small  beginnings  of 
today  there  may  come  a  permanent  occupation  of  the 
Capital  City  of  the  empire  of  Mohammed  for  Christ. 

Paul  W.  Harrison. 
Bahrein,  Arabia, 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS 


The  Waqf  Administration  in  Egypt 

In  a  letter  to  the  Westminister  Gazette,  Edward  Atkin  of  Alexan- 
dria, Egypt,  calls  attention  to  the  effect  of  British  rule  on  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Moslem  religious  endowments  called  waqf.  Before 
the  days  of  Kitchener  these  hugh  foundations  were  often  laxly  and 
dishonestly  administered;  now  they  are  under  a  regular  department  of 
the  government.  The  correspondent  writes  as  follows:  "Sir, — ^As 
German  agents  in  Moslem  countries  have,  for  many  years  past,  carried 
on  a  mendacious  campaign  against  British  rule  in  Egypt,  alleging  the 
robbery  of  religious  trusts  by  Britian  "as  the  enemy  oiF  Islam,"  I  have 
taken  the  opportunity,  whilst  here  on  a  short  visit,  to  ascertain,  by 
the  kindness  of  Ahmed  Zaki  Pasha,  Minister  of  Wakfs,  the  figures 
from  the  records  of  the  Ministry  showing  the  material  benefits  which 
have  accrued  to  religious  trusts  by  the  more  efficient  management  of 
estates.  For  brevity  I  have  selected  twenty  years  as  sufficient  for  com- 
parison. The  period  is  1895  to  191 5.  The  figures  are  well  worthy 
of  publication  as  an  absolute  contradiction  of  German  lies.  As  in 
India  so  in  Egypt,  the  trusts  of  Islam  are  scrupulously  devoted  to  the 
uses  of  mosques,  schools,  etc.,  as  ordered  by  decree  of  the  High  Court 
or  designated  in  the  wills  of  pious  founders: 

1895.         1900.         1905.         1910.         1915. 
£  E;.         £  B.         &'£,.         £  E.         £  E. 
REVIENUE  from  estates  administered  by  the 

Ministry  of  Wakfs,  Cairo,  for  religious, 

etc.,     uses 229,719     237,301     361,376     524,151     536,759 

revenue;   from   Aply   Wakfs 142,377     153,579     165,142,325,779     432,661 

EXPENDITURE    on    Mosques,     El-Azhar 

University,    hospitals,    schools    of    theol- 
ogy   and     law,     orphanges,     tombs     of 

venerated     men,      farm     improvements, 

house   property,     repairs    and     building, 

payments   to   beneficiaries   under   wills..   339,273     371,876     501,625     814,161     839,597 
ESTABLISHMENT:       Imams,     Professors, 

Readers,    Muezzins,    teachers,    guardians 

of   tombs,   sextons,   lamp  trimmers,   etc.  893         7,426         8,286         9,618         9,967 

Friendly  Feeling  in  Ceylon 

The  little  Magazine  called  The  Church  of  Christ  in  Ceylon  tells 
us  that  the  Mohammedans  at  Kalugamuwa,  near  Gampola,  have 
handed  over  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  land,  building  and 
furniture  and  a  school  full  of  boys  on  condition  that  the  Society  should 
pay  the  teacher's  salary.  They  had  themselves  appointed  and  paid 
the  salary  of  a  (Christian)  teacher  for  eight  months  but  found  it 
burdensome  to  continue. 

No  Social  Caste  in  Islam 

A  Hindu  paper  makes  the  following  comment  on  the  caste-spirit  of 
some  Christian  churches  and  the  caste-system  of  India  as  compared  with 

420 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  421 

Islam  which  has  never  drawn  the  line  between  rich  and  poor  or  black 
and  white  in  its  public  worship  however  great  the  pride  of  religion  and 
the  degradation  of  women  because  of  sex.  "According  to  the  Mussal- 
man  of  Calcutta  Mohammedans  differ  from  the  Christians  and 
the  Hindus  in  one  important  respect.  The  Christian  nobles  at- 
tend one  church  and  the  Christian  workmen  another;  the 
Christian  aristocrats  resort  to  one  Club  or  Hotel  and  the  Christian 
labourers  to  another.  The  same  rule  is  intensified  in  the  case  of  the 
Hindus.  The  thousand  and  one  castes,  into  which  they  are  divided 
and  sub-divided,  do  not  intermarry,  do  not  interdine,  nay,  do  not  even 
sit  on  the  same  bench,  lest  their  body  and  soul  should  be  contaminated 
by  touch  with  the  'untouchables,'  who  form  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
Hindu  community.  But  the  Mussalmans  are  differently  constituted. 
In  every  village  they  pray  in  the  same  mosque;  in  every  village  or 
town  the  high  and  low  meet  together.  It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that 
there  is  a  more  democratic  spirit  among  Mussalmans  than  in  any  other 
community  including  Christians  although  it  was  the  Founder  of 
Christianity  that  first  taught  'Ye  are  dl  children  of  the  Heavenly 
Father  and  as  such  brethren.*  " 

The  Future  of  Islam  According  to  H.  G.  Wells 

Poets  and  novelists  may  also  be  among  the  prophets,  minor  or  major; 
and  it  will  interest  our  readers  to  know  what  the  author  of  The 
Invisible  King  writes  in  What  is  Coming  concerning  the  great  rival 
of  Christianity.  The  Church  of  Christ  needs  clear  vision  and  firm 
purpose  to  face  the  new  conditions  resulting  from  the  political  collapse 
of  Islam  and  Mr.  Wells  uses  some  arguments  for  his  belief  in  Moslem 
propagandism  that  may  well  be  weighed  before  we  hastily  declare 
them  without  value.     He  writes: 

"A  few  words  of  digression  upon  the  future  of  Islam  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here.  The  idea  of  a  militant  Christendom  has  vanished 
from  the  world.  The  last  pretensions  of  Christian  propaganda  have 
been  buried  in  the  Balkan  trenches.  A  unification  of  Africa  under 
Latin  auspices  carries  with  it  now  no  threat  of  missionary  invasion. 
Africa  will  be  a  fair  field  for  all  religions,  and  the  religion  to  which 
the  negro  will  take  will  be  the  religion  which  best  suits  his  needs. 
That  religion,  we  are  told  by  nearly  everyone  who  has  a  right  to 
speak  on  such  questions,  is  Islam,  and  its  natural  propagandist  is  the 
Arab.     There  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be  a  Frenchified  Arab. 

Both  the  French  and  the  British  have  the  strongest  interest  in  the 
revival  of  Arabic  culture.  Let  the  German  learn  Turkish  if  it  please 
him.  Through  all  Africa  and  Western  Asia  there  is  a  great  to-morrow 
for  a  renascent  Islam  under  Arab  auspices.  Constantinople,  that  venal 
city  of  the  waterways,  sitting  like  Asenath  at  the  ford,  has  corrupted  all 
who  came  to  her;  she  has  been  the  paralysis  of  Islam.  But  the  Islam 
of  the  Turk  is  a  different  thing  from  the  Islam  of  the  Arab.  That 
was  one  of  the  great  progressive  impulses  in  the  world  of  men.  It 
is  our  custom  to  underrate  the  Arab's  contribution  to  civilisation  quite 
absurdly  in  comparison  with  our  debt  to  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek. 
It  is  to  the  initiatives  of  Islamic  culture,  for  example,  that  we  owe  our 
numerals,  the  bulk  of  modern  mathematics,  and  the  science  of  chemistry. 
The  British  have  already  set  themselves  to  the  establishment  of  Islamic 
university  teaching  in  Egypt,  but  that  is  the  mere  first  stroke  of  the 
opening  of  the  mine.  English,  French,  Russian,  Arabic,  Hindustani, 
Spanish,  Italian ;  these  are  the  great  world  languages  that  most  concern 


422  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

the  future  of  civilisation  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Peace  Alliance 
that  impends.  No  country  can  afford  to  neglect  any  of  those  lan- 
guages, but  as  a  matter  of  primary  importance  I  would  say,  for  the 
British,  Hindustani,  for  the  Americans,  Russian  or  Spanish,  for  the 
French  and  Belgians  and  Italians,  Arabic.  These  are  the  directions 
in  which  the  duty  of  understanding  is  most  urgent  for  each  of  these 
peoples,  and  the  path  of  opportunity  plainest. 

The  disposition  to  underrate  temporarily  depressed  nations,  races, 
and  cultures  is  a  most  irrational,  prevalent,  and  mischievous  form  of 
stupidity.  It  distorts  our  entire  outlook  towards  the  future.  The 
British  reader  can  see  its  absurdity  most  easily  when  he  reads 
the  ravings  of  some  patriotic  German  upon  the  superiority  of  the 
"Teuton"  over  the  Italians  and  Greeks — to  whom  we  owe  most  things 
of  importance  in  European  civilisation.  Equally  silly  stuff  is  still  to 
be  read  in  British  and  American  books  about  "Asiatics".  And  was 
there  not  some  fearful  rubbish,  not  only  in  German  but  in  English  and 
French,  about  the  "decadence"  of  France  ?  But  we  are  learning  rapidly. 
When  I  was  a  student  in  London  thirty  years  ago  we  regarded  Japan 
as  a  fantastic  joke;  the  comic  opera,  "The  Mikado"  still  preserves 
that  foolish  phase  for  the  admiration  of  posterity.  And  to-day  there 
is  a  quite  justifiable  tendency  to  ignore  the  quality  of  the  Arab  and  his 
religion.  Islam  is  an  open-air  religion,  noble  and  simple  in  its  broad 
conceptions;  it  is  none  the  less  vital  from  Nigeria  to  China  because 
it  has  sickened  in  the  closeness  of  Constantinople.  The  French,  the 
Italians,  the  British  have  to  reckon  with  Islam  and  the  Arab;  where 
the  continental  deserts  are,  there  the  Arabs  are  and  there  is  Islam; 
their  culture  will  never  be  destroyed  and  replaced  over  these  regions 
by  Europeanism.  The  Allies  who  prepare  the  Peace  of  the  World  have 
to  make  their  peace  with  that.  And  when  I  foreshadow  this  necessary 
liaison  of  the  French  and  Arabic  cultures,  I  am  thinking  not  only  of 
the  Arab  that  is,  but  the  Arab  that  is  to  come.  The  whole  trend  of 
events  in  Asia  Minor,  the  breaking  up  and  decapitation  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  and  the  Euphrates  invasion,  points  to  a  great  revival  of  Mesopo- 
tamia— at  first  under  European  direction.  The  vast  system  of  irrigation 
that  was  destroyed  by  the  Mongol  armies  of  Hulugu  in  the  thirteenth 
century  will  be  restored ;  the  desert  will  again  become  populous.  But  the 
local  type  will  prevail.  The  new  population  of  Mesopotamia  will 
be  neither  European  nor  Indian;  it  will  be  Arabic;  and  with  its  con- 
centration Arabic  will  lay  hold  of  the  printing  press.  A  new  intellec- 
tual movement  in  Islam,  a  renascent  Bagdad,  is  as  inevitable  as  is  1950." 

Prohibition  in  Bhopal 

"All  advocates  of  temperance  must  have  welcomed  with  the  greatest 
pleasure,"  writes  the  Express,  "the  announcement  that  Her  Highness  the 
Begum  of  Bhopal  has  proclaimed  in  her  territory  that  any  Mohammedan 
found  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  or  carrying  liquor  in  his  hand,  or  sitting 
in  a  liquor  shop  should  be  arrested  and  prosecuted  and  sentenced  to 
rigorous  imprisonment  if  found  guilty.  It  is  a  pity  that  Her  Highness 
has  excluded  her  Hindu  subjects  from  the  operation  of  the  measure. 
Drinking  is  as  much  prohibited  by  the  sacred  religion  of  the  Hindus  as 
that  of  the  Mohammedans,  arid  our  ruling  princes  should  set  examples 
for  reform  in  this  direction  in  their  States."  The  measure  has  been 
hailed  by  the  advocates  of  temperance  as  another  indication  of  Her  High- 
ness' anxious  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  her  subjects.  In  a  message 
expressing   gratitude    for   this   action.    Her    Highness*    attention   was 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  423 

drawn  by  the  Amritsar  Temperance  Society  to  the  fact  that  Her 
Highness'  Hindu  subjects  were  excluded  from  the  purview  of  the 
prohibition  order,  and  that  they  were  equally  entitled  to  Her  Highness' 
benevolent  solicitude.  We  understand  that  the  appeal  thus  made  to 
Her  Highness  to  interevene  on  behalf  of  her  Hindu  subjects  has  touched 
a  responsive  chord  in  her  heart,  and  that  she  has  by  a  royal  order 
moved  the  Kayastha  Central  Sabha  to  take  action  in  that  direction. 
This  incidentally  shows  that  the  reason  of  non-inclusion  of  the  Hindus 
in  the  prohibition  order  was  due,  not  to  any  lack  of  interest  or  solicitude 
on  her  part — for  enlightened  Begum  Sahiba  knows  no  such  distinc- 
tions— ^but  a  desire  to  take  the  line  of  least  resistance  in  their  case 
by  moving  them  to  act  on  their  on  initiative.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
desire  of  Her  Highness  to  see  her  Hindu  subjects  act  of  their  own 
accord  in  a  manner  conducive  to  their  best  interest  will  be  deeply 
appreciated  and  acted  upon  by  them." 

Promise  of  Religious  Liberty  in  Palestine 

The  standing  committee  of  conference  of  Missionary  Societies  of 
Great  Britian  and  Ireland  having  addressed  a  memorandum  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  relative  to  the  interests  of  mis- 
sionary societies  working  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  have  received  in 
reply  an  assurance  that  **Mr,  Balfour  has  every  appreciation  of  the 
admirable  cultural  and  philanthropic  work  which  has  been  performed 
by  these  institutions  in  the  past,  and  he  would  consider  it  a  serious 
misfortune  if  their  good  work  were  in  any  way  hampered  or  curtailed 
in  the  future."  The  communication  from  the  Foreign  Office  also 
stated  that  Mr.  Balfour  is  in  complete  sympathy  with  the  points  raised 
by  the  conference,  which  include  full  freedom  for  Christian  propaganda 
in  the  Holy  Land  and  liberty  of  conscience  for  all  inhabitants. 

Bible  Circulation  in  the  Malayan  Agency 

Singapore  is  one  of  the  most  cosmopolitan  centres  in  all  Asia.  The 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Agent  reports  that  "During  191 7  books 
were  circulated  in  33  languages  and  6  diglots.  Javanese,  in  Javanese 
character,  Arabic  character,  and  Romanized,  heads  the  list  this  time 
with  59,073  copies,  an  increase  of  13,896  copies  over  the  figures  of 
1916.  Chinese,  in  character  and  Romanized,  is  second  with  51,287 
copies,  an  increase  of  5,815  copies;  Malay,  in  Arabic  and  Roman 
characters,  is  third  with  27,735  copies,  an  increase  of  6,950  copies,  and 
Tamil  is  fourth  with  12,909  copies,  an  increase  of  1,115  copies. 

"Then  follow  Telugu,  4,620;  English,  2,913;  Malayalam,  2,891; 
Arabic,  1,730,  and  Dutch  with  1,478  copies.  The  sales  of  Telugu, 
English,  and  Arabic  show  an  increase  on  the  figures  of  the  previous 
year. 

"Total  sales  amounted  to  166,571  copies,  which  is  30,402  better  than 
last  year's  total  and  which  is  only  2,800  copies  short  of  the  total  of 
1912,  our  record  year,  but  we  had  5  colporteurs  less  working  last  year." 

An  Appeal  for  Java 

In  no  part  of  the  Mission  field  is  there  a  more  hopeful  outlook 
for  a  harvest  among  Moslems  than  in  Java.  The  American  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  joined  the  older  Dutch  missions  in  this  island 
empire  and  one  of  their  workers  writes  in  the  Malaysia  Message 
pleading  for  reinforcements: 

"Java  is  reported  to  be  the  most  fruitful  field  of  Christian  missions 


424  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

to  Moslems;  yet  out  of  35  million  natives  less  than  35,000  are 
Christians,  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent.  No  other  great  mission  field 
has  such  a  small  percentage  of  Christians  after  three  centuries  of 
Christian  effort.  But  in  no  other  field  do  the  Moslems  form  98  per 
cent  of  the  total  population.  Nowhere  else  has  Islam  achieved  such 
a  missionary  triumph  as  in  Java.  Arriving  there  not  much  before  the 
first  Europeans  it  has  driven  out  the  earlier  Hindu  and  Buddhist 
beliefs  and  has  maintained  itself  against  all  other  faiths.  H  Islam 
be  the  strongest  foe  that  Christanity  has,  then  Java  is  the  field  above 
all  others  to  call  for  strenuous  efforts.  If  we  mean  to  do  anything 
with  this  great  problem  we  must  either  do  it  on  an  adequate  scale 
or  else  limit  our  efforts  to  the  Chinese.  But  now  seems  a  peculiarly 
providential  time  for  going  forward.  The  liberal  government  subsidies 
for  hospital  buildings  and  for  the  maintenance  of  medical  work  place 
in  our  hands  the  best  means  of  first  approaching  Moslems;  the  catas- 
trophe which  has  sucked  the  whole  world  into  its  dreadful  maw  has 
shaken  the  Moslem  world  from  center  to  circumference  and  raised 
doubts  where  before  blind  trust  in  traditional  dogmas  ruled;  finally 
the  Missionary  Centenary  gives  good  grounds  for  hoping  that  the  need- 
ful funds  will  not  be  lacking." 

Germany  and  Islam  in  East  Africa 

A  paper  on  the  South-western  area  of  what  was  German  East 
Africa  appears  in  the  Geographical  Journal  for  March  and  the  author, 
Mr.  Owen  Letcher,  pays  tribute  to  missions — and  to  Christianity. 
What  the  British  Government  has  done  in  Nigeria  and  the  Sudan 
however  recalls  the  proverb  of  the  pot  and  the  kettle.  May  we 
not  hope  that  both  will  be  newly  polished  after  the  war.  Mr.  Letcher 
writes : 

"The  main  industrial  influence  in  the  great  southern  portion  of  the 
country  has  been  that  of  the  missionaries.  Mission  stations  are  plentiful 
throughout  the  whole  southern  territory,  and  round  nearly  every  one  of 
them  a  large  area  of  ground  has  been  intensively  cultivated.  Many  of 
these  mission  stations  are  beautiful  and  show  great  diligence.  Some 
of  their  gardens  are  lovely  in  the  extreme.  The  buildings  are  invariably 
of  brick.  The  Rungwe  Mission,  9  miles  north  of  Neu  Langenburg,  and 
used  as  the  base  for  General  Northey's  force,  has  some  of  the  finest 
buildings  in  the  country. 

"The  attitude  of  the  Imperial  German  Government  towards  religion 
in  their  East  African  possession  has  been  somewhat  perplexing,  in  a 
nation  professing  Christianity.  While  Lutheran  missions  have  received 
support  from  the  Fatherland,  proofs  have  been  obtained  of  the  desire  of 
the  German  Government  to  foster  Mohammedanism  by  every  means  in 
its  power.  Their  reason  for  this  seeming  inconsistency  was  doubtless 
to  imbue  their  Askaris  or  coloured  black-troops  with  the  fanatical  spirit 
of  Islam,  and  to  preach  a  Holy  War  when  the  occasion  arose.  I  do 
not  think  it  is  generally  known  that  at  their  fortified  posts  along  the 
southern  border  they  flew  the  Mohammedan  flag  alongside  the  red, 
black  and  white  of  their  own  nation.   ... 

"Civil  administrations  are  now  beginning  to  cope  with  the  various  pro- 
blems in  the  conquered  territory  which  press  for  solution.  The  unrest 
resulting  from  over  three  years  of  war  in  which  native  soldiers,  officered 
by  whites,  have  been  taught  how  to  kill  white  men  with  modern 
weapons,  is  likely  to  be  not  the  least  of  the  difficulties  that  the  adminis- 
tration will  have  to  face.     Questions  of  religion  also  loom  large.     Many 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  425 

natives  have  deserted  the  Cross  for  the  Crescent  during  the  vrar,  and 
the  whole  subject  of  mission  influence  and  organization  will  have  to  be 
re-considered.  It  is  of  much  interest  to  learn  that  through  the  agency  of 
the  British  Mission  to  the  Vatican,  it  has  just  been  arranged  that  all  the 
missions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  in  German  East  Africa  shall  be 
taken  over  by  missionaries  of  the  same  religion,  but  of  British  origin." 

A  Singapore  Book  Catalogue 

The  power  of  the  press  in  Moslem  lands  is  not  only  measured  by  the 
list  of  periodicals  published  in  such  great  centres  as  Cairo,  Calcutta, 
Bombay,  Constantinople  and  Kazan  but  even  more  by  the  thousands  and 
ten  thousands  of  book-sellers  in  the  world  of  Islam.  A  modest  catalogue 
of  54  pp.  came  to  our  hand  at  the  book-shop  of  Haji  Mohammed 
Siraji,  43  Bussorah  St.,  Singapore,  which  tells  the  story  of  a  demand  and 
supply  in  this  part  of  the  world  that  is  eloquent  as  a  missionary  appeal 
for  the  support  of  Christian  Literature  Societies.  The  catalogue  in- 
cludes books  in  Arabic,  Malay  and  Javanese.  All  of  them  are  Moslem 
books  and  over  one-half  are  printed  in  Cairo.  The  Arabic  list  includes 
3-t4  books  divided  as  follows:  sixteen  editions  of  the  Koran  (some 
printed  at  Kazan,  Russia,  and  others  in  Constantinople  and  Bombay  or 
Cairo)  ;  portions  of  the  Koran  in  digest  for  day-schools;  thirteen  Koran 
commentaries  (one  of  them  in  31  volumes)  ;  six  works  on  Koran 
reading,  tajwid;  a  score  of  standard  traditions;  13  books  on  theology; 
55  on  Shafi'te  jurisprudence  and  5  on  Hanifi  law;  43  on  grammar; 
31  on  mysticism;  7  on  logic;  6  on  Moslem  medicine;  two  score  of 
standard  Moslem  works  on  other  sciences  and  literature  and  finally  37 
books  of  devotion,  zikr  and  prayer. 

We  are  glad  to  note  only  one  distinctively  anti-Christian  book,  the 
Azhdr-ul-  Hak  in  Arabic;  but  there  are  books  of  this  character  in  the 
Malay  and  Javanese  list. 

When  may  we  hope  to  see  a  scientific  survey  of  Moslem  literature 
and  of  the  out-put  of  the  Moslem  press?  Surely  this  is  the  preliminary 
step  to  an  intelligent  and  adequate  policy  for  Christian  Literature 
Societies  in  India  and  the  Near  East. 

A  Matter  of  Orthography 

From  time  to  time  the  editor  has  received  letters  in  regard  to  the 
spelling  of  the  title  of  our  Quarterly  The  Moslem  World  and  the 
name  of  the  Arabian  Prophet  and  his  book.  We  are  not  unwilling  to 
reform  our  spelling,  but  from  the  beginning  of  the  publication  of 
our  Quarterly  we  have  consistently  followed  the  older  spelling  of 
Moslem,  Mohammed  and  Koran.  Technically  the  plea  for  spelling  viz. 
these  words  Muslim,  Muhammad  and  Quran  may  be  correct,  but  there 
are  so  many  systems  of  transliteration  and  they  imply  so  many  technical 
signs,  not  generally  understood  and  not  always  available,  that  our  pub- 
lishers have  hitherto  followed  the  older  spelling  which  has  not  yet 
been  discarded  by  good  authorities.  The  words  referred  to  are  written 
as  we  write  them  in  the  latest  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica, 
The  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  and  the  S chaff -Herzog  (latest  edition),  as 
well  as  in  the  Rules  for  Compositors  of  the  Oxford  Press.  The  same 
spelling  is  used  by  the  following  magazines:  La  Revue  du  Monde 
Musulman,  The  International  Review  of  Missions,  The  Constructive 
Quarterly,  East  and  West,  and  The  Church  Missionary  Review.  So 
that  if  we  err,  we  err  in  good  company. 


426  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  Work  of  France  in  Morocco 

From  time  to  time  there  appear  notices  in  missionary  organs  of  the 
work  of  France  in  Morocco,  and  the  general  treatment  of  the  subject 
given  by  Mr.  J.  M.  MacLeod  in  the  Journal  of  the  African  Society, 
London,  is  welcomed  as  giving  a  background  to  them.  The  work  of 
France  "started  under  most  unfavourable  conditions  and  with  very 
poor  prospects  of  success,  at  any  rate  of  immediate  success,"  but  during 
the  past  six  years  wonders  have  been  wrought.  Mr.  MacLeod  indicates 
the  secret  of  them  as  follows  "The  rule  was  laid  down  that,  however 
strict  might  be  the  control  over  Moorish  officials,  it  must  be  they  and 
they  alone  who  should  deal  directly  with  individual  Moors'  cases  and 
with  the  Moorish  population.  When  the  pacification  of  a  town  or  tribe 
was  undertaken  any  resistance  would,  of  course,  be  overcome  militarily, 
but  the  moment  this  was  effected  suitable  varieties  of  local  experience 
must  be  selected  to  keep  order  and  administer  local  laws  and  customs. 
The  very  column  employed  for  the  pacification  was  to  aim  at  being 
not  a  'pole  of  repulsion'  but  a  'centre  of  attraction'.  All  supplies  were, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  be  bought  from  the  local  natives  and  at  liberal 
rates.  The  site  selected  for  the  permanent  military  post  was  to  be 
that  which  would  be  best  adapted  for  encouraging  and  safeguarding 
local  trade  and  the  most  likely  to  become  the  nucleus  of  a  future  village 
and  town.  The  garrison  were  to  understand  that  their  own  and  their 
district's  safety  was  to  be  found  not  in  their  trenches  but  in  their  legs  and 
eyes.  For  the  lower  ranks  this  meant  constant,  day  and  night,  patrolling 
in  small  parties,  on  a  system  of  ever-extending  radius.  For  the  officers 
it  meant  making  the  friendship  of  every  native  of  the  least  consequence, 
learning  and  mapping  the  topography  of  the  district  in  its  minutest 
details,  acquiring  a  knowledge,  in  short,  of  the  people  and  the  things 
around  them,  which  even  the  oldest  inhabitant  could  not  surpass. 
Lastly,  but  most  important  of  all,  was  instituted  the  Native  Medical 
Assistance  Service.  .  .  .  Out  of  the  French  Loan  of  £6,000,000  to 
Morocco  in  191 4  no  less  than  £400,000  was  assigned  for  this  service." 

After  describing  the  development  of  administrative  institutions,  the 
writer  speaks  of  education.  "The  schools  are  of  all  sorts,  high-class, 
secondary  and  primary  for  European,  kindergarten,  Franco-Arab  schools 
for  boys,  Franco-Arab  schools  for  girls  (teaching  domestic  duties),  tech- 
nical schools  and  workshops,  schools  for  children  of  Sengalese  soldiers, 
and  latterly,  a  secondary  Franco-Arab  school  at  Fez  and  a  College  for 
the  Shilha  (Berber)  language  at  Rabat.  The  pre-existing  Jewish 
schools  receives  subsidies  and  some  supervision.  In  addition,  evening 
classes  for  adults  are  provided  where  required  particularly  for  Arabic. 
These  classes  are  gratuitous  and  open  to  all  French  and  foreign  persons 
and  are  attended  by  officers  and  officials  of  all  ranks  and  often  by 
ladies." 

At  the  close  of  the  paper  sympathetic  mention  is  made  of  the  work 
of  the  British  missionaries  in  Morocco  during  the  past  forty  years. 
"Though  never  other  than  religious  in  intention,  the  political  effect 
of  their  work,  in  presenting  to  the  population  around  them  an  aspect 
of  European  civilisation,  and  in  first  teaching  the  Moors  the  genuine 
value  of  modern  medical  science  would  be  difficult  to  measure.  On  his 
first  coming  to  Fez,  General  Lyantey  noticed  all  this  very  soon.  He 
visited  the  ladies  at  their  work,  addressed  the  patients  and  said  that  so 
highly  had  he  always  valued  such  work — ^which  was  more  than  guns, 
etc. — that  he  was  going  to  make  it  a  prominent  feature  in  his  policy. 
He  then  not  only  made  a  handsome  contribution  to  their  dispensary 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  427 

but  directed  military  and  other  doctors  to  assist  them  at  all  times,  both 
as  regards  severe  native  cases  and  as  regards  themselves,  an  assistance 
which  has  been,  and  is  still,  of  the  greatest  value." 

New  Books  for  Chinese  Moslems 

The  West  China  Religious  Tract  Society  "Chun  king"  has  recently 
published  the  following  tract  for  Moslems,  most  of  them  translations 
from  the  Arabic  (English)  series  of  the  Nile  Mission  Press:  Ali  Khan*s 
Dream,  the  Debt  of  Ibn  Omar,  The  Sinless  Prophet,  The  House  of 
El  Hassan,  The  Weaving  of  Said  the  Weaver,  News  from  a  Far  Land, 
The  Threshold  and  the  Corner,  The  True  Islam,  The  Integrity  of  the. 
Gospel  and  All  Have  Sinned.  We  also  congratulate  the  China  Con- 
tinuation Committee  on  their  proposal  to  publish  the  classic,  "Sweet 
First  Fruits,"  the  well-known  monograph,  "God  in  Islam"  by  Mr. 
Takle  and  "A  Life  of  Mohammed"  in  Chinese.  At  a  meeting  of  that 
committee  it  was  resolved  to  commend  the  publication  of  these  both 
in  Mandarin  and  in  easy  Wenli.  Gradually  the  literature  available 
for  Moslems  in  China  is  increasing  but  the  dearth  in  this  department  is 
still  a  strong  appeal  for  writers  and  funds. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  Bible  Society  will  shortly  be  able  to  publish  one 
or  more  diglot  Gospels  (Arabic-Chinese),  The  number  of  Moslems  in 
China  is  reckoned  to  be  at  least  1 0,000,000  and  there  is  ground  to 
hope  that  rightly  directed  work  amongst  them  will  yield  good  results. 
The  distribution  of  God's  Word  is  the  method  par  excellence  in  all 
Moslem  lands.  It  is  everywhere  permitted.  It  is  simple  and  unoffen- 
sive.  It  strikes  at  the  root  of  Islam  by  placing  the  Bible  over  against 
the  Koran,  and  the  sublime  story  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  the  Christ, 
over  against  the  artificial  halo  that  surrounds  the  biographies  of 
Mohammed.  In  this  method  of  work  we  have  immense  advantage  over 
Islam. 

Overcoming  Difficulties  in  Chinese  Turkestan 

The  preparation  and  printing  of  the  Qazaq  Gospels,  referred  to 
in  our  July  notes,  is  a  story  that  deserves  a  place  in  the  chronicles  of 
the  more  romantic  aspects  of  missionary  work.  To  Mr.  Hunter's  col- 
league we  are  indebted  for  an  account  of  how  the  work  was  done: 

"Mr.  Hunter  has  laboured  heroically  at  the  work.  As  you  know, 
he  has  been  very  weak  and  ill  for  some  time,  but  he  plodded  steadily 
away  in  spite  of  it  all.  He  has  a  very  good  Turki  mullah,  who  takes 
an  interest  in  translation  work,  and  has  lived  for  some  time  amongst 
the  Qazaqs.  He  comes  for  about  three  hours  every  morning  and  the 
two  of  them  work  together,  Mr.  Hunter  being  responsible  for  the  mean- 
ing, and  the  mullah  for  the  grammatical  construction.  When  they 
have  settled  as  to  the  text  the  mullah  writes  it  out  on  two  or  three 
sheets  of  wax-paper,  and  after  dinner  I  usually  help  Mr.  Hunter  to 
print  off  a  few  hundred  copies  from  a  small  mimeograph  machine. 
Then  we  go  out  on  the  street  together  for  about  two  hours,  preaching 
and  book-selling.  Mr.  Hunter  does  not  take  an  evening  meal,  as  he 
sleeps  better  without  it;  so  immediately  on  our  return  he  sets  to  work 
touching  up  the  misprints  and  folding  up  the  sheets,  and  then  spreads 
them  out  in  order  on  a  spare-bedroom  floor.  When  the  printing  is  all 
finished  we  invite  a  Christian  to  come  along  and  help  us;  one  trims 
up  the  pages,  another  cuts  the  edges,  and  the  other  of  us  bores  and 
stiches.  Truly  it  is  a  labour  of  love  as  far  as  Mr.  Hunter  is  concerned^ 
but  it  is  telling  on  him." 


428  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Islam  in  Hainan  Island,  China 

From  a  report  on  Evangelism  in  the  Hainan  News  Letter  (Presby- 
terian) we  learn  that:  "About  three  miles  from  Tam-ngae  is  located  the 
only  Mohammedan  village  in  Hainan.  When  we  left  Kachek  Miss 
Schaeifer  had  kindly  given  us  some  books  for  distribution  among  them. 
We  found  a  large  village,  built  on  a  different  style  from  the  ordinary 
Chinese.  Temples,  long  gowns  and  red  caps  would  no  doubt  have 
made  us  feel  quite  at  home  had  we  been  Turks.  These  people  were 
very  friendly  and  gladly  consented  to  take  us  to  the  temples,  mosques, 
and  other  places  of  interest.  It  happened  that  on  that  day  there  was  a 
funeral,  which  we  also  witnessed.  At  the  grave  there  must  have  been 
several  hundred  people  present.  Perhaps  fifty  men  dressed  in  gowns 
sat  facing  the  grave  and  reading  the  Koran.  These  people  are  of 
Turkish  descent  |and  although  they  have  become  mixed  with  the 
Chinese  there  are  many  upon  whose  face  Turkish  features  are  very 
prominent.  The  books  we  had  were  eagerly  snatched  away  and  many 
people  followed  us  asking  for  more.  We  inquired  and  found  that  no 
attempt  was  being  made  to  propagate  their  doctrines  beyond  the  limits  of 
their  village. 

Bibliander  as  a  Missionary  to  Moslems  (1548) 

One  of  the  lesser  reformers  of  Zurich  was  Prof.  Theodore  Bibliander, 
the  successor  of  Zwingli.  In  a  recent  article  {Foreign  Missions) 
Prof.  J.  I.  Good  gives  a  sketch  of  his  life  from  which  we  glean  the 
following  interesting  information: 

His  name  originally  meant  "bookman."  This  he,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  his  age,  latinized  into  Bibliander.  Like  his  name  he  was  a 
great  lover  of  books — a  great  scholar.  He  was  a  very  learned  man, 
especially  in  Hebrew  and  its  cognate  languages  (which  he  taught), 
though  he  also  knew  Greek  well.  He  was  by  birth  a  Swiss,  having 
been  born  at  Bischofzell  early  in  the  sixteenth  century.  His  education 
was  received  at  Zurich,  where  he  boarded  at  the  table  of  Oswald 
Myconius,  the  school-master  there.  He  also  studied  under  Zwingli 
and  Leo  Juda,  the  two  Reformers  of  Zurich.  At  the  end  of  1525 
he  left  Zurich  for  Basle  so  as  to  complete  his  studies  there  under  Pellican 
and  Ecolampadius,  the  Reformers  of  Basle. 

Three  things  led  him  to  become  interested  in  foreign  missions:  i. 
He  lived  for  a  short  time  in  his  early  life  in  eastern  Germany.  After 
studying  at  Basle  he  became  a  school  teacher.  And  his  first  school  was 
away  over  in  eastern  Germany  at  Liegnitz,  near  Breslau,  whose  prince 
was  then  inclined  toward  Zwinglianism.  Now  that  district  of  Silesia 
was  not  very  far  from  the  Turks;  for  the  Turks  then  controlled 
Hungary  and  were  battling  for  Vienna  until  the  Pole,  John  Sobieski, 
saved  it.  His  nearness  to  the  Turks  made  an  impression  upon  the 
young  teacher,  for  he  refers  to  them  in  a  letter  that  he  wrote  in  1528 
to  his  former  teacher,  Oswald  Myconius. 

He  was  Professor  of  Hebrew,  and  that  led  him  to  become  interested 
in  the  Semitic  languages;  and  so  to  become  interested  in  the  Moham- 
medans, who  spoke  the  Arabic,  the  most  elaborate  of  the  Semitic 
languages. 

Bibliander's  missionary  zeal  revealed  itself  in  two  ways:  i.  He 
wanted  to  go  as  a  missionary  himself — he  wanted  to  go  as  a  missionary 
to  the  Mohammedans  in  1546.  Just  at  that  time,  he  was  quite  un- 
comfortable at  Zurich.     He  was  one  of  the  original  Reformed  who 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  429 

held  with  Zwingli  to  the  universal  atonement — that  is,  that  Christ 
died  for  the  whole  world,  and  not  merely  for  the  elect  as  the  high 
Calvinist  held.  As  these  newer  views  of  high  Calvinism  began 
creeping  into  Zurich,  Bibliander  attacked  them;  and  for  this  he  was 
branded  by  them  as  a  heretic.  He  was  so  universal  in  his  mind 
that  he  not  only  believed  in  universal  atonement,  but  he  also  believed 
in  universal  evangelization,  and  so  wanted  the  Gospel  to  be  preached 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Since  he  was  uncomfortable  in  his  home  in 
Zurich,  he  thought  of  going  as  a  foreign  missionary,  and  he  went  so 
far  as  to  appeal  to  a  friend  in  Augsburg,  Germany,  for  financial  aid  to 
carry  this  out.  This  friend  revealed  his  desire  by  writing  to  Bullinger, 
asking  whether  it  would  be  safe  for  Bibliander  to  go  as  a  missionary  to 
Cairo  or  Alexandria.  But  the  door  did  not  open  for  him  to  go.  There 
was  no  Foreign  Missionary  Board  at  that  time  to  finance  such  an  un- 
dertaking, and  besides  Bullinger,  with  his  wisdom  and  prudence, 
healed  over  the  friction  at  Zurich.  And  so  Bibliander  did  a  second 
thing  for  foreign  missions. 

2.  Since  he  could  not  go  as  a  foreign  missionary,  he  began  writing 
about  foreign  missions.  Two  years  later,  in  1548,  he  published  a 
learned  work  on  "The  Religions  and  Ethics  of  the  Different  Races  and 
Nations."  In  its  appendix  he  took  up  the  question  of  the  conflict 
between  Christians,  Jews,  Mohammedans  and  others.  This  led  him 
to  speak  of  missions  to  the  heathen.  In  1553  ^e  wrote  what  may  be 
called  the  first  real  foreign  missionary  work,  entitled  "On  the  Legiti- 
mate and  Perpetual  Monarchy  of  the  World."  On  its  title  page  were 
significant  promises  as  Ezekiel  I  37:23-6,  the  Messianic  passage  of  the 
Shepherd  of  All,  and  John  10:  6,  "And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are 
not  of  this  fold:  them  also  I  must  bring  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice. 
And  there  shall  be  one  flock  and  one  shepherd."  After  these  promises 
were  the  words,  "To  all  Christians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans,  Bibli- 
ander wishes  grace,  peace,  salvation  to  each  by  the  Lord  God."  The 
work  is  full  of  thoughts  like  these,  which  are  good  foundations  for 
missions:  "God  is  the  Father  of  all.  Men  were  created  for  a  good 
purpose.  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  was  God's  servant.  God  invites  all  to 
fellowship  with  Himself.  God  has  in  Christ  entered  into  a  sure 
covenant  with  all  peoples,"  etc  From  these  principles  he  goes  on  to 
show  to  Christians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans  wherein  they  agree  and 
wherein  they  differ,  and  he  recommended  Christ  as  the  source  of  unity 
and  of  salvation  to  the  nations.  At  the  end  of  the  work  he  indulges, 
like  some  of  the  mystics,  in  some  mathematical  calculations,  as  that 
1553  was  the  thousandth  year  of  the  rise  of  Mohammedanism,  and 
that  year,  according  to  Jewish  reckoning,  was  to  be  the  year  of  its  fall. 
On  this  he  based  his  missionary  hope. 

The  Moslem  World  as  a  Life  Work 

Mr.  H.  A.  Walter,  one  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries  in  India,  re- 
cently gave  a  strong  address  on  this  subject.  His  outline  is  well  worth 
reprinting  because  it  is  an  admirable  presentation  of  the  subject: 

Introduction.  Nature  of  a  missionary  call.  Growing  specialization 
in  missionary  preparation.  Need  of  early  choice  and  thorough  prepara- 
tion if  accepting  challenge  of  Islam.     Its  mighty  appeal. 

I.  Islam,  a  World  Religion.  Not  an  ethnic  faith  simply.  The 
worker  among  Moslems  has  a  world-parish.  Inter-relation  of  all  the 
parts.  Illustrate  by  showing  reaction  on  work  in  India  of  happenings 
among  Moslems  in  China,  Africa,  Arabia,  England.  Broadening 
effect  and  importance  of  these  relationships. 


430  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

2.  Islam,  a  Missionary  Religion,  Never  yet  effectively  checked. 
Early  methods  of  propagation  with  the  sword,  traders  and  travelers. 
Modern  organized  efforts:  Egypt  and  India  (the  Punjab  and  Ben- 
gal).    Power  and  extent  of  Moslem  press. 

3.  Islam,  the  Final  Battleground  of  Christianity,  Not  Krishna, 
Confucius,  or  Buddha,  but  Mohammad  Christ's  final  antagonist — 
came  last  and  claimed  to  be  final  and  supreme.  Contrast  Moham- 
med, in  the  past,  summoning  back  to  primitive  seventh  century  ethics, 
with  Christ,  in  the  future,  summoning  on  to  the  heights  of  moral 
grandeur  none  have  yet  attained.     Which  shall  triumph  ? 

4.  Islam  in  India,  the  most  vital  spot  in  the  Moslem  world  to-day. 
Final  religious  conflict  to  be  in  that  land  of  spiritual  background  and 
heritage.  Islam  least  political,  most  advanced  and  most  accessible 
there.  Actual  results  of  Christian  missions  in  changed  conditions  and 
converts. 

Conclusion.  Small  band  of  Christian  workers  among  Moslems  in 
face  of  gigantic  need  and  challenge. 

Koran  Used  for  Wrapping  Paper 

"Wady  el  Nil." — On  Friday  a  number  of  Egyptian  students  of 
Alexandria  visited  our  offices  in  the  afternoon  and  left  a  letter  to  the 
editor  with  some  sheets  of  the  Koran  obviously  detached  from  an 
edition  of  the  Holy  Book.  The  letter  explained  the  grievance.  The 
students  in  question  went  on  that  day  to  the  Majestic  Bakery,  in 
Boulevard  Ramleh  to  purchase  some  bread,  and  their  attention  was 
soon  attracted  by  a  heap  of  printed  paper  which  they  found  to  be 
parts  of  the  Koran.  The  European  baker  was  using  the  Koran  sheets 
for  wrapping  up  loaves  for  his  clients.  "On  seeing  this,*'  remarked 
the  students  in  their  letter,  "our  blood  boiled  with  anger  and  sadness, 
and  had  we  not  been  traveling  on  the  same  day  we  would  have  managed 
to  remove  the  disgrace."  When  we  got  the  letter,  we  sent  out  a 
delegate  to  see  if  the  report  was  true,  and  our  representative  found 
that  it  was.  But  he  found  that  the  Koran  sheets  had  already  been 
seized  by  the  authorities  and  taken  to  the  Attarin  Kism.  In  the 
evening  our  representative  heard  at  the  Alexandria  Ulema  Board  that 
four  teachers  of  native  schools  under  the  control  of  the  Ministry  of 
Education  had  already  reported  the  same  question  to  the  authorities 
and  brought  the  police  to  the  bakery  to  seize  the  paper.  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  Ulema  Board  also  intervened  and  he  telephoned  to  the 
kism  suggesting  that  the  Koran  sheets  should  be  kept  untouched  until 
a  delegate  from  the  institution  went  in  the  morning  to  examine  the 
matter.  The  edition  of  the  Koran  sold  to  the  baker  as  paper  stuff  bears 
the  name  of  the  publisher  Mohamed  el  Genahi,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Azhar,  in  Cairo.  The  quantity  of  this  sort  of  paper  discovered 
in  the  shop  is  estimated  at  about  400  or  500  okes.  We  shall  see  what 
the  theological  authorities  will  do  to  efface  this  disgrace. 

Islam  and  Insurance 

The  "Akhbar." — (From  a  leader  on  "Insurance  and  Islam,"  com- 
menting on  a  judgment  given  recently  by  the  Alexandria  Mehkemeh 
Sharieh  in  the  case  of  the  Nadouri  family  wakf,  condemning  the 
Nazir  for  having  had  some  of  the  wakf  property  insured  against 
fire.) — ^This  act,  considered  as  one  of  the  causes  for  which  the  Nazir 
of  the  said  wakf  deserved  dismissal,  attracts  special  attention.  Insurance 
is  one  of  the  useful  economic  systems  introduced  into  modern  society, 


NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS  431 

and  it  was  feared  some  time  ago  that  Islam  would  object  to  its  usage, 
when  the  Gresham  Insurance  Company  wrote  to  the  late  Sheikh 
Mohamed  Abdou,  Grand  Mufti  of  Egypt,  asking  him  whether  its 
transactions  were  objectionable  to  the  Sheria.  .  .  .  The  Grand  Mufti 
replied  as  follows:  "If  such  an  agreement  is  contracted  between  that 
man  and  that  company  according  to  the  terms  specified  in  your  letter, 
the  business  is  lawful  from  the  sheri  point  of  view,  and  the  man 
concerned  is  entitled  legally,  after  the  settlement  of  his  instalments 
and  after  the  remunerative  work  done  by  means  of  the  money  paid 
by  him,  to  receive  the  total  amount  of  that  money  together  with  the 
share  of  the  profits  given  to  it,  and  to  bequeath  the  same  to  his 
heirs  if  he  dies  before  he  gets  it."  It  is  obvious  that  there  is  no 
difference  between  life  insurance  and  the  other  kinds  of  insurance 
against  accidents  for  securing  the  values  of  buildings,  animals,  goods, 
and  any  other  thing.  Here  in  Egypt,  we  have  only  profited  by  one  or 
two  kinds  of  insurance,  but  future  progress  will  lead  us  to  have 
different  things  insured,  following  the  footsteps  of  the  people  of  highly 
civilised  countries.  The  recent  judgment  given  by  the  Alexandria 
Sheri  Court,  however,  may  discourage  the  Moslems  of  this  country 
who  form  the  majority  of  the  population,  and  prevent  them  from 
availing  themselves  of  the  most  useful  economic  reform.  By  publishing 
Sheikh  Mohamed  Abdu's  fetwa  here  we  hope  to  clear  up  the  question. 


Alphabetical  Index  to  Arabic  Tradition — Second 
Communication 

1.  After  the  first  communication  the  following  collaborators  have 
joined  the  work :  Dr.  Virginia  De  Bosis,  Rome ;  Professor  J.  Norovitz, 
Frankfort;  Professor  I.  Uratchkowsky,  Petrograd;  Dr.  J.  Pudersca, 
Copenhagen;  Dr.  A.  E.  Schmidt,  Petrograd. 

2.  Contributions  for  the  expenses  of  the  preparation  have  been  sent 
or  promised  by:  the  Utrecht  Society  for  Arts  and  Science;  the  Royal 
Institute  for  the  Philology,  Geography  and  Ethnology  of  Dutch 
India;  Taylor's  Fund  at  Uaarlen;  the  De  Graeje  Fund. 

3.  On  Professor  Snouk  Hurgronje's  advice  the  text  of  Bokhdri, 
according  to  Rastallani's  commentary  has  been  divided  among  the 
collaborators;  so  it  may  be  hoped  that  this  text  will  be  finished  in  a 
few  years. 

4.  Mr.  C.  van  Arndonk  and  Mr.  J.  L.  Palachi  at  Leiden  will  join 
the  work  probably  in  the  course  of  this  year;  other  collaborators  will 
be  gladly  welcomed. 

A.  J.  Wensinch. 
Leiden,  May,  191 8. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 


La  Tunisie.  Par.  J.  L.  de  Lanessan,  ancien  Ministre  de  la  Marine, 
ancien  Gouverneur  general  de  I'lndo-Chine.  Paris.  Alcan.  191 7. 
Pp.  vi,  308. 

The  author  of  this  economic  hand-book  on  Tunisia,  in  the  Biblio- 
theque  d'histoire  contemporaine  is  an  authority  on  colonial  government 
and  a  publicist  of  eminence,  especially  on  naval  affairs.  The  first  edi- 
tion appeared  in  1887,  five  years  after  the  French  protectorate  of 
Tunisia  had  been  established.  It  is,  therefore,  the  product  of  long 
and  careful  studies  in  Tunisia  and  other  French  colonies,  and  M. 
de  Lanessan  often  uses  the  Tunisian  situation  as  a  text  to  state  his 
theory  of  colonial  government  and  development  in  the  broad.  He 
belongs  to  the  newer  school  of  French  administrators,  who  do  not 
see  in  colonies  and  protectorates  fields  for  exploitation  to  the  sole 
advantage  of  the  mother  country;  but,  rather,  peoples  and  countries  to 
be  guided  and  developed  for  their  own  sake.  Thus  and  only  so,  will 
they  be  a  real  help  to  the  mother  country  of  the  Colonists.  The 
tendency,  therefore,  is  away  from  that  excessive  centralization  which 
has  too  much  characterized  French  government.  This  second  edition, 
a  kind  of  "Thirty  Years  After"  of  the  first,  has  been  entirely  recast  and 
rewritten  and  brought  up  to  date  throughout.  It  can  be  heartily  recom- 
mended to  the  student  of  economic  conditions  in  north  Africa,  and 
therefore  to  every  missionary  there.  He  will  find  in  it  a  wealth  of 
detail,  illuminated  by  a  very  sane  and  just  attitude. 

D.  B.  Macdonald. 

Bagdad,  son  chemin  de  fer,  son  importance,  son  avenir. 
fimile  Auble,  ingenieur,  conseilleur,  du  commcerce  exterieur  de  la 
France.     Paris.     "Editions  et  Librairie."     191 7-     Pp.  168. 

The  different  sections  of  this  book  seem  to  have  been  written  at 
different  times,  and  the  first,  on  the  history  of  the  Bagdad  railway  and 
the  Turkish  railways  in  general,  bears  marks  of  having  been  a  popular 
lecture.  But  it  is  also  a  careful  and  clear  study  of  the  whole  matter, 
and  can  be  read  with  advantage.  There  follow  descriptions  of  Bagdad 
the  city  and  the  province,  in  which  the  historic  element  is  negligible; 
but  the  descriptive  excellent.  A  short  chapter  (pp.  81-92)  deals" with 
French  business  interests  in  Syria,  both  imports  and  exports.  The 
next  chapter  (pp.  93-156)  is  the  longest  of  all  and  on  a  subject  evidently 
very  near  to  the  heart  of  the  writer.  It  is  a  detailed  description  of 
the  situation,  numbers,  divisions,  life  and  usages  of  the  nomad  tribes 
of  Mesopotamia,  ending  with  a  few  pathetic  pages  on  their  future,  full 
of  expression  of  hope  that  under  wise  government  guidance  they  may 
be  turned  to  agriculture.  Yet  the  writer  evidently  knows  them 
and  their  life  and  character,  well  and  at  first  hand.  There  are  24 
good  photographs  and  a  sketch-map. 

D.  B.  Macdonald. 

432 


I 


BOOK  REVIEWS  433 

La  question  d' Orient  depuis  ses  origines  jusqu'a  la  grande  guerre. 
Par  Edouard  Driault.     Paris.     Alcan.  191 7.     Pp.  xvi,  432. 

This  seventh  edition  of  a  book  which  has  become  a  classic  on  its 
subject  and  been  awarded  a  prize  by  the  Institute  marks  most  significantly 
how  great  a  change  has  been  produced  by  the  Prussian  collapse.  It  is 
"mise  au  courant  des  derniers  evenements"  but  that  is  only  to  November, 
1 91 6.  In  consequence  the  last  chapter  and  the  conclusion  are  com- 
pletely out  of  drawing.  The  isolated  events,  of  course,  stand  fast,  but 
the  important  elements,  as  they  have  npw  shown  themselves,  are  not 
those  emphasized  here.  Everything  has  been  re-arranged — interests, 
potentialities,  aims,  ambitions,  even  possibilities.  This  comes  out  almost 
ludicrously  in  the  "preface"  by  M.  Gabriel  Monod  which  was  written 
for  a  much  earlier  edition,  in  1898,  and  which  until  now,  in  spite  of  all 
changes,  was  fairly  in  place.  The  Eastern  Question  is  not  now  in  the 
least  what  it  was  in  1898,  or  even  in  19 16.  Yet  this  does  not  in  the 
least  interfere  with  the  historical  value  of  the  first  378  pages  of  the 
book,  or  even  with  its  broad  views.  The  general  subject  is  the  slow 
recoil  of  Islam  and  especially  of  the  Turks.  After  an  introductory 
sketch  (36  pp.)  from  Justinian  and  Heraclius  to  the  xviith.  century, 
linking  up  Byzantium  and  Stamboul,  the  broad  oriental  situation  in  the 
xviiith.  century  in  developed;  then,  Napoleon's  great  plan  and  its 
defeat.  The  second  part  (pp.  104-240)  is  on  the  attempted  reform 
of  Turkey  and  its  gradual  loss  of  territory,  from  18 15  to  1878;  and 
the  third  leads  up  to  the  great  war  (pp.  242-378).  In  this  all  the 
oriental  and  African  elements  are  discussed  and  not  simply  Turkey  and 
its  dependencies:  England,  Russia,  Afghanistan,  and  India;  Persia, 
China  and  Japan;  the  French  and  English  in  Egypt  and  the  Sudan; 
Italy  in  Abyssinia;  France  and  Spain  in  north  Africa.  The  last  pages 
(379-418)  deal  with  the  war.  With  the  limitation  indicated  above, 
the  book  can  be  heartily  recommended.  It  forms  a  volume  of  Alcan's 
Bibliotheque  d'Histoire  contemporaine. 

D.  B.  Macdonald. 

Logia  et  Agrapha  Domini  Jesus  apud  Moslemicos  Scriptores, 
asceticos  praesertim,  usitata,  collegit,  vertit,  notis  instruxit — 
Michael  Asin  et  Palacios.  (Patrologia  Orietalis,  Tome  XIII 
fascicule  3.)     Firmin-Didot  et  Cie,  Paris,  191 7.     Quarto  pp.  102. 

One  in  a  series  of  translations  of  Arabic  works  which  completes  the 
Patrologia,  Greek,  Latin,  and  Syriac  published  earlier.  This  volume 
is  by  the  professor  of  Arabic  at  the  University  of  Madrid  whose  works 
and  Al  Ghazali  in  Spanish  are  well  known  to  Arabists  especially  his 
Algazeli  dogmatica,  moral,  ascetica,  published  at  Zaragoza  in  1901. 
The  present  monograph  is  a  complete  collection  of  all  the  references 
to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  works  of  Al  Ghazali  (especially  the  Ihya)  and 
in  other  Moslem  mystics.  Among  the  one  hundred  and  three  selections 
given,  over  ninety  are  from  the  great  work  of  Al  Ghazali  referred  to, 
while  some  of  them  are  used  in  slightly  different  form  by  other  writers. 

The  plan  followed  is  to  print  first  the  Arabic  text,  followed  by 
critical  notes  on  the  various  readings,  then  the  translation  in  Latin 
and  lastly  brief  comments  regarding  the  source  of  the  "saying"  or 
apocryphal  story.  The  Moslem  World  (October)  had  an  article 
on  the  same  subject  and  the  material  was  grouped  in  the  chronological 
order  of  the  Gospel  story,  although  without  critical  apparatus  or  notes. 
It  was  written  before  the  present  work  came  to  our  notice  and  the 
material,  although  nearly  the  same,  is  here  supplemented  and  elucidated 


434  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

by  constant  references  to  the  commentary  on  the  Ihya  by  Murtadha  al 
Zubeidi  and  careful  comparison  with  other  writers  who  refer  to  Logia 
and  Agrapha  of  'Isa.  In  the  introduction  there  are  valuable  biogra- 
phical references  and  we  strongly  commend  the  work  to  every  student 
of  Islam  especially  those  who  seek  points  of  contact  in  preaching  to 
Moslems.  We  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Roman  Catholic  scholarship 
on  these  lines  which  we  gladly  acknowledge  and  of  the  results  of  which 
Protestant  missionaries  must  not  fail  to  make  full  use. 

S.  M.  Z. 

Etudes  Orientales  et  Religieuses:  Melanges  publics  a  I'occasion 
de  sa  30me  annee  de  professorat — Edouard  Montet ;  preface  de  M. 
le  Professeur  Fulliquet.  Librairie  George  et  Cie,  Geneva,  191 7. 
Pp.  359. 

Professor  Montet  of  the  University  of  Geneva  is  known  to  all 
students  of  Islam  from  his  works  on  Morocco  and  on  Saint  Worship 
in  North  Africa  not  to  mention  his  writings  on  Arabic  and  Hebrew 
grammar  and  O.  T.  criticism.  The  book  just  published  celebrates  his 
professorate  of  thirty  years  and  consists  of  two  distinct  collections  of 
papers  and  essays,  some  of  them  already  published.  One  third  of  the 
contents  deals  with  Israel,  two  thirds  with  Islam.  The  Exodus,  the 
use  of  Elohim  and  Jahveh,  Sacrifice,  the  book  of  Job,  the  canon,  text 
and  earliest  versions  of  the  O.  T. — these  are  some  of  the  topics  discussed 
in  the  first  part.  Under  Islam,  the  first  and  largest  paper  (a  reprint) 
tells  of  the  religious  fraternities  in  Morocco.  The  other  themes  that 
receive  fresh  treatment  are  Saint  Worship;  a  Ritual  used  in  the  Greek 
church  for  Moslems  who  abjure  their  old  faith;  Babism  and  Behaism; 
the  obscure  religion  of  the  Zkara  tribe  in  Morocco;  Fez  the  ville  sainte 
et  ville  savante;  Marrakesh  the  southern  capital ;  the  theatre  in  Moslem 
Persia;  and  finally  a  most  interesting  although  somewhat  one-sided 
study  of  France  in  her  relations  to  Islam  before,  during  and  after 
the  War.  We  entirely  agree  with  Professor  Montet  that  "at  the 
present  hour  and  because  of  the  War  everything  that  touches  Islam  is 
of  primary  interest  to  all  Europeans."  But  our  interest  should  remain 
Christian  as  well  as  scientific  and  we  should  be  no  more  carried  away 
by  a  loudly-professed-loyalty  made  in  France  than  by  "a  Holy  War 
Made  in  Germany."  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  vast  majority  of 
Moslems  in  North  Africa  and  India  remained  loyal  to  the  cause  of 
the  Allies.  But  was  this  the  result  of  economic  and  political  pressure 
or  a  spontaneous  and  religious  conviction  of  the  righteousness  of  our 
cause  ? 

Professor  Montet  says  that  Islam  is  distinguished  (p.  333-335)  not 
only  for  its  monotheism  but  for  its  tolerance:  "C*est  une  religion  en 
principe  et  foncierement  tol'erante"  yet  a  few  paragraphs  later  he  des- 
cribes the  Dar-ul-Islam  and  Dar-ul-Harb  theory  as  anything  but  tolerant 
to  unbelievers  in  the  past  although  he  makes  no  reference  to  the  Armen- 
ian massacres.  In  his  study  of  Islam  in  Morocco  the  author  notes 
symptoms  of  religious  decay  and  disintegration  not  only  but  of  a 
blank  scepticism  even  among  the  masses. 

"Le  Maroc  est  tres  certainement  aujourd'hui  le  pays  classique  de  1' 
orthodox  musulmane,  orthodox  figee  et  mur'ee.  Est-ce  a  dire  que  le 
Maroc  soit,  par  cela  meme,  le  region  religieuse  par  excellence  de 
rislamisme?  Nullement.  A  cote  du  fanatisme  le,  plus  dangereux  et 
des  partiques  superstitieuses  les  plus  vulgaires,  on  y  rencontre  un  indiffer- 
entisme  qui  etonne,  dans  une  pareille  contree,   et  chez  plusieurs   un 


BOOK  REVIEWS  435 

esprit  douteur  et  sceptique  qui  ne  prend  meme  pas  la  peine  de  se 
dissimuler." 

Z. 

The  Jewish  Child:  Its  history,  folk-lore,  biology,  and  sociology,  by 
W.  M.  Feldman,  with  an  introduction  by  Sir  James  Crichton- 
Browne.  London,  191 7.  i2mo.  455  pp.  Balliere,  Tindall  and 
Cox.     10  sh  6d.  net. 

This  volume  professes  to  be  an  exclusive,  comprehensive  and  reliable 
first  hand  account  of  all  the  phrases  and  aspects  of  Jewish  child-life  as 
found  in  the  Bible,  the  Talmud,  and  under  modern  conditions  of  Gentile 
enviroment  and  mixed  marriage.  Over  one-half  of  the  book  however 
deals  with  the  pre-natal  period,  and  therefore  can  only  interest  the 
student  of  heredity  and  embryology.  The  latter  half  introduces  us 
to  folk-lore  and  superstition  connected  with  birth  and  infancy,  the 
religious  ceremonies  of  circumcision  and  naming,  education,  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral,  the  position  of  the  child  in  Jewish  law,  the  care 
for  defective  children,  mortality,  etc.  The  result  is  a  medley  of 
curious  lore,  instructive  and  entertaining  as  well  as  of  considerable 
scientific  value,  but  disappointing  in  its  omissions.  There  are  many 
signs  of  careless  composition  in  needless  repetitions  and  numerous  errata. 
As  Sir  James  Crich ton-Browne  points  out,  etc.  Rabbis  held  that 
heredity  counts  for  nearly  all  and  environment  for  little  in  the  science 
of  biology.  "Nature,"  they  argue,  and  not  nurture  counts.  "But  all 
the  subsequent  chapters  of  the  book  are  devoted  to  insisting  on  the 
potent  effects  of  a  well  ordered  enviroment  on  the  Jewish  child.  The 
author  shows  how  nurture  according  to  Jewish  methods  from  the  ante- 
natal period  up  to  puberty  confers  and  always  has  conferred  signal 
advantages  to  the  Jewish  child." 

In  a  score  of  superstitions  recorded  we  can  find  the  source  from  which 
Islam  borrowed,  namely  the  Talmud.  A  few  examples  may  suffice. 
"As  a  protection  from  miscarriage,  pregnant  women  used  to  wear  an 
amulet  called  eben  tekouma  or  stone  of  preservation."  (Page  114.) 
A  similar  stone  with  a  similar  name  is  used  by  Moslem  women  in  Old 
Cairo  today  for  like  purpose.  The  Moslem  idea  of  a  covenant  made 
with  all  the  souls  of  men  actually  and  individually  present  in  Adam 
and  the  subsequent  pre-natal  history  of  these  souls  and  their  guardian 
angels  is  based  on  the  teaching  of  the  Midrash  (Tanchama  Pikkude  3). 
So  is  the  story  of  the  lame  man  who  helped  the  blind  man  rob  an 
orchard. 

The  contrast  between  Islam  and  Judaism  however  in  the  laws  of 
marriage  purity,  divorce,  child-rights  and  the  education  of  a  child  are 
striking.  There  was  not  only  imitation  but  retrogression.  In  moral 
education  the  Jewish  standards  of  the  Talmud  are  far  higher  in  purity 
of  thought  and  truthfulness  of  speech  than  these  of  Islam. 

z. 

Martyred  Armenia,  by  Fa'iz  El-Ghusein.  C.  Arthur  Pearson,  Ltd. 
London,  191 7.     Pp.  56.     Three  Pence,  net. 

This  pamphlet  translated  from  the  original  Arabic  is  by  a  Bedouin 
Notable  of  Damascus  who  attended  the  Royal  College  at  Constantinople 
and  represented  Huran  in  the  general  assembly  of  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment before  the  war.  He  suffered  imprisonment  and  persecution,  fled 
to  Busrah  and  writes  his  preface  at  Bombay.  The  pamphlet  is  very 
important  because   it  gives   a   full   corroboration  of   Viscount   Bryce's 


436  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

report  already  reviewed  in  this  Quarterly.  The  English  edition  does 
not  give  the  citations  from  the  Koran,  the  traditions  and  instances  from 
Moslem  history  w^hich  the  author  says  show  that  the  Armenian 
massacres  were  contrary  to  the  law  of  Islam.  He  closes  by  saying: 
"It  is  incumbent  for  Moslems  to  declare  themselves  guiltless  of  such 
a  Grovernment,  and  not  to  render  obedience  to  those  who  trample 
underfoot  the  Verses  of  the  Koran  and  the  Traditions  of  the  Prophet, 
and  shed  the  innocent  blood  of  women,  old  men  and  infants,  who  have 
done  no  wrong.  Otherwise  they  make  themselves  accomplices  in  this 
crime,  which  stands  unequalled  in  history." 

Mormonism : 

The  Islam  of  America,  by  Bruce  Kinney,  D.  D.  Re- 
vised and  enlarged  edition.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company.  New 
York.     Pp.  2IO.     Price  $i.oo  net.     1917. 

The  sub-title  of  this  book  arrests  attention  for  it  affords  parallels 
and  contrasts  between  the  rise  of  Mormonism  and  Islam.  Joseph 
Smith,  the  prophet,  said  in  1838,  that  he  "would  tread  down  his  enemies 
and  if  not  let  alone  would  be  a  second  Mohammed  to  his  generation." 
Mormonism  has  also  had  its  Hegira,  makes  much  of  its  sacred  book, 
which  also  is  often  unintelligible  because  of  its  stilted  and  diffuse  style. 
Yet  like  the  Koran,  the  book  of  the  Mormons  is  the  keystone  of  their 
religion ;  it  also  has  glaring  discrepancies  which  are  accounted  for  by  a 
doctrine  of  abrogation.  Its  ethical  code  as  regards  the  seventh  and 
ninth  commandments  of  the  decalogue  remind  one  of  Al  Bokhari.  On 
the  other  hand  the  contrasts  are  no  less  distinct:  the  Moslem  idea  of 
God  is  not  only  higher  than  that  of  Mormonism  (p.  106-111)  but 
Moslems  would  shrink  from  the  blasphemies  here  recorded.  The  book 
is  packed  full  of  information  and  should  make  the  people  of  the  United 
States  sensible  not  only  of  the  disgrace  of  Mormonism  but  of  its  real 
danger. 

Z. 

"Re-Conversion  of  Europe,"      By  Charles  Henry  Robinson,  D.  D. 
London.     Longmans.     640  pp.     191 7.     Price  18/  net. 

To  give  a  general  view  of  this  comprehensive  historical  outline 
is  outside  our  province.  The  general  introduction  touches  points  in 
the  history  of  evangelisation  which  suggest  comparison  between  the 
spread  of  Christianity  and  of  Islam.  The  nominal  conversion  of  Europe 
covered  a  space  of  fourteen  centuries.  The  spread  of  Islam  in  Africa 
has  been  going  on  for  nearly  thirteen  centuries  and  a  large  part  of  the 
continent  is  still  untouched  by  it.  The  former  Lord  Salisbury's  advice 
to  study  strategical  results  and  prospects  with  large  maps  is  applicable 
here.  The  use  of  one  sacred  language  for  Scripture  and  for  worship, 
the  absence  of  any  ideal  of  a  vernacular  literature,  the  influence  of 
religious  orders  in  propaganda  and  teaching,  and  the  use  of  force  in 
conversion  are  among  parallels  which  afford  food  for  thought,  while  they 
run  a  more  or  less  even  course  and  also  when  their  divergence  reveals  the 
inherent  difference  between  the  systems  and  their  ideals. 

The  European  contact  between  Christianity  and  Islam  up  to  the 
fifteenth  century  is  a  sad  spectacle.  Canon  Robinson  touches  upon  the 
Moslem  invasion  of  Spain  and  its  expulsion  after  the  fall  of  Granada 
when  the  Achbishop  first  set  to  instructing  and  persuading  the  remain- 
ing Moors,  not  without  success,  till  Cardinal  Ximenes  ordered  force  to 
be  employed  and  the  deadly  and  deadening  machinery  of  the  inquisition 


BOOK  REVIEWS  437 

was  called  in.  But  in  justice  to  Spain,  her  great  son,  Raymond  Lull, 
two  centuries  earlier,  should  not  be  excluded  from  the  European 
purview,  Canon  Robinson  mentions  the  seminary  in  Lull's  own  island 
of  Majorca,  where  many  Moslems  were  converted  by  him.  The 
history  of  Russian  Islam,  following  on  the  great  Tartar  irruption 
of  the  thirteenth  century  and  efforts  for  their  conversion,  culminating 
in  the  devoted  work  of  Ilminsky  in  our  own  time,  are  touched  upon. 
But  no  mention  is  made  of  Islam  in  Bulgaria  and  other  Balkan  lands, 
nor  Sicily  and  Crete.  In  another  edition  a  short  chapter  summarising 
the  action  and  reaction  of  Islam  in  the  history  of  the  Christianisation 
of  Europe  might  be  preferable  to  the  scattered  notices  now  given. 

H.  U.  Weitbrecht  Stanton. 

Omar  Khayyam.  Faithfully  and  literally  translated  from  the  origi- 
nal Persian  by  John  Pollen.  East  and  West,  Ltd.  London,  191 5. 
16  mo.,  67  pp. 

A  line  for  line  translation  of  the  Quatrams  made  famous  by  Fitz 
Gerald's  and  other  translations.  This  is  concise  and  literal  and  there- 
fore sometimes  obscure  but  always  readable.  The  form  used  is  that 
of  the  four-beat  measure.  Omar  speaks  for  himself  of  the  chequer- 
board  of  life.  We  miss  the  poetic  additions  and  subtractions  of  the 
West — 

"No  metaphor — but  language  proved — 

Play-pieces  we  by  Heaven  are  moved  ; 

Upon  Life's  chess-board  pawns  we  be. 

Pushed  off  into  nonentity." 
There  is  a  brief  foreword  by  "His  Highness"  Aga  Khan,  an  intro- 
duction  which   rather   idealizes   Omar's   life   and   creed,    and   in   the 
appendix  the  author   (who  is  president  of  the  British  Esperanto  As- 
sociation) gives  us  a  rendering  of  part  of  the  poem  in  Esperanto. 

Z. 

Concerning  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  by  William  Cleaver 
Wilkinson.  The  Griffith  and  Rowland  Press,  Philadelphia. 
1916.     Pp.  235. 

The  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  place  emphasis  especially  on  the 
credentials  for  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  the  most  essential  evidence 
of  Christianity.  The  writer's  objective  is  to  meet  that  tendency  to 
unbelief  which  is  often  found  pervading  and  powerful  among  Christian 
people,  and  which,  in  a  very  insidious  way  really  nullifies  faith.  The 
author  has  scarcely  left  a  myth  or  legend  or  possible  "heterodox"  in- 
terpretation of  scriptural  language  concerning  the  resurrection,  without 
attempting  to  jnswer  it.  He  does  this  gracefully  but  often  in  a  way 
which,  to  the  ordinary  reader,  would  be  somewhat  hazy.  There  is 
neither  a  sequence  of  chapters,  nor  clear  and  concise  statements  of  the 
arguments  such  as  would  enable  one  to  grasp  the  contents  of  the  book 
easily.  One  lays  it  down  after  reading  with  a  sense  of  it  being 
compact,  but  obstruse  reasoning  rather  than  a  clear  statement  concerning 
the  unique  personality  of  Christ,  the  reality  of  his  corporeal  resurrection 
and  the  incomparable  beauty  of  the  Risen  Saviour  of  the  World. 

R.  S.  McClenahan. 

Den  Mnhammedanske  Bomeverden.  Af  Samuel  M.  Zwemer 

Missionaer  i  Cairo.  Avtoriseret  (Noget  Forkortet)  Oversattelse 
Med  15  Billeder.  i  Kommission  Hos  O  Loshe,  Kobenhavn.  De 
Forenede  Bogtrykkerior.     Aarhus.     191 7.     Pp.  104. 


438  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

A  Danish  translation,  slightly  abridged,  of  Childhood  in  the  Moslem 
World.  The  work  of  translation  was  done  by  Mrs.  R.  F.  McNeile 
and  the  profit  of  the  sale  goes  to  the  Danish  Orient  Misssion. 
There  is  an  introduction  by  Pastor  Ferd.  Munck  of  Ordrup. 

Russian  and  Nomad      Tales  of  the  Kirghiz  Steppes  by  T.  Nelson 
Fell.     London:  Duckworth  &  Co. 

The  author  was  the  director  of  a  London  Mining  company,  1902 
to  1908,  north  of  Lake  Balkhash  in  the  center  of  the  Siberian  Steppes, 
and  had  therefore  an  opportunity  to  study  life  of  the  Nomads.  He 
writes  interestingly  and  gets  close  to  the  heart  of  the  people,  because 
fond  of  the  Kirghiz,  although  their  life  is  hard  and  full  of  physical 
discomfort.  The  missionary  who  expects  to  be  a  pioneer  among  these 
Moslems  of  the  Steppes  will  learn  by  experience  that  "in  the  summer 
they  lead  a  life  of  enchantment,  for  a  few  months  of  which  most  of 
us  would  barter  our  whole  lives;  but  in  the  winter  they  fly  to  the 
other  extreme  and  lead  a  semi-underground  existence  of  such  physical 
discomfort,  or  even  hardship,  combined  with  odours  of  such  nauseating 
quality,  that  you  feel  that  the  endurance  of  such  conditions  for  twenty- 
four  hours  is  impossible."  .  .  .  **The  building  has  a  floor  of  dirt 
and  walls  of  mud  and  has  never  been  cleansed  since  it  was  built.  The 
room  is  full  of  the  acrid  smoke  of  burning  dung.  Only  a  few  rays 
of  dull  light  pass  through  the  single  pane  of  window  glass.  Unless 
you  had  done  it  yourself,  you  would  be  prepared  to  deny  that  you 
could  possibly  eat  food  prepared  under  such  conditions.  There  is  not 
a  single  rule  or  principle  of  ventilation,  heat,  cold,  cleanliness,  sunlight 
or  nutrition,  which  is  not  broken  sixty  times  in  every  hour  of  every  day 
of  the  seven  months  in  each  year,  by  the  Kirghiz." 

The  writer  has  much  to  say  in  praise  of  Moslem  manners.  They 
do  not  drink  nor  smoke,  chew  nor  spit.  Their  other  homely  virtues 
seem  to  attract  the  stranger.  He  says:  "If  the  Kirghiz  has  learnt  his 
delightful  personal  habits  from  the  teaching  of  Mohammed,  I  can 
only  regret  that  our  western  religions  have  overlooked  these  details." 

Between  the  lines,  however,  one  can  read  that  Moslem  social  life 
leaves  much  to  be  desired.  The  book  is  profusely  illustrated  and  in 
every  way  attractive.    • 

R.  A.  S. 

Cresent  and  Iron  Cross,      by   E.  F.    Benson.     George   H.   Doran 
Company.  New  York.     Pp.  240.     Price,  $1.25. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  books  that  have  appeared  on  the  present 
world-war,  there  are  many  which  do  not  concern  the  missionary  in  his 
task.  Others  he  must  read  if  he  would  understand  the  relation  of  the 
present  war  in  it  origin  and  final  issues  to  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom 
in  the  Near  East.  The  present  volume  belongs  to  this  class.  Mr. 
Benson  describes  the  hideous  oppression  under  which  the  subject  peoples 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire  have  so  long  suffered.  He  goes  fully  into  the 
steps  whereby  Germany  has  secured,  for  the  present,  an  absolute 
dominion  over  Turkey,  and  suggests  the  measures  that  will  be  necessary 
before  the  Allies  can  realise  one  of  their  stated  aims  in  the  war — namely, 
to  free  the  subject  peoples  from  the  cruel  yoke  and  expel  the  Turkish 
Government  from  Constantinople.  His  facts  are  derived  from  a  study 
of  official  documents.  His  style  is  always  interesting,  but  in  his  pas- 
sionate denunciation  of  treachery  and  murder,  his  metaphors  sometimes 
get  sadly  mixed  and  occasionally  inelegant.  He  holds  up  the  old  Turk 
and  the  new  Turk  in  the  light,  not  of  what  they  promised,  but  of  what 


BOOK  REVIEWS  439 

they  did  to  the  non-Moslem  population.  "Whether  the  Young  Turks 
ever  meant  well,  he  says,  or  not,  whether  there  was  or  was  not  a 
grain  of  sincerity  in  this  profession  of  their  policy,  is  a  disputed 
question  .  .  .  They  permitted  (if  they  did  not  arrange)  the  Armenian 
massacres  at  Ad  ana,  and  the  Balance  of  Power  began  faintly  to  wonder 
whether  the  Young  Turks  in  their  deposition  of  Abdul  Hamid  had  not 
slain  an  asp  and  hatched  a  cockatrice."  He  shows  how  the  Young 
Turks  became  a  party  which  had  for  its  main  object  a  system  of 
tyranny  and  murder  such  as  the  world  has  never  seen.  In  this  they 
were  the  pupils  of  Prussia.  We  read  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Union  and  Progress,  **the  formation  of  new  parties  in  the 
Chamber  or  in  the  country  must  be  suppressed  and  the  emergency  of 
new  Liberal  ideas  prevented.  Turkey  must  become  a  really  Moham- 
medan country,  and  Moslem  influence  must  be  preponderant.  Every 
other  religious  propaganda  must  be  suppressed."  In  following  out 
this  program  the  deportation  or  the  massacre  of  the  Armenians  was 
necessary.  The  Nationalist  party  learned  thoroughness  under  the 
tutelage  of  its  Prussian  masters  and  tried  to  fulfill  the  program  of 
Abdul  Hamid,  who  said,  "The  way  to  get  rid  of  the  Armenian 
question  is  to  get  rid  of  the  Armenians".  The  author  gives  reasons  for 
his  conclusion  that  the  male  portion  of  the  Armenian  race  in  the 
Ottoman  Empire  has  practically  ceased  to  exist.  He  describes  the 
horrors  as  well  as  the  heroisms  that  characterized  the  fate  of  Armenia. 
A  German  eye-witness  describes  the  fate  of  these  Christians.  "They 
have  their  eyebrows  plucked  out,  their  breasts  cut  oflF,  their  nails  torn 
oflF;  their  torturers  hew  oflf  their  feet,  or  else  hammer  nails  into  them 
as  they  do  in  shoeing  horses.  This  is  all  done  at  night-time,  in  order 
that  people  may  not  hear  their  screams  and  know  of  their  agony. 
Soldiers  are  stationed  round  the  prisons,  beating  drums  and  blowing 
whistles.  It  is  needless  to  relate  that  many  died  of  these  tortures. 
When  they  die,  the  soldiers  cry,  'Now  let  your  Christ  help  you.'  "— 
and  Christ  did  help  many  of  them  through  the  ministry  of  American 
missionaries,  as  Mr.  Benson  shows.  He  also  shows  the  responsibility 
of  Germany.  She  permitted  them  to  go  on,  when  it  was  in  her  power 
to  stop  them.  "And  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  will  not  wash  clean 
her  hand  from  that  stinking  horror."  If  any  one  doubts  Germany's 
responsibility,  let  him  read  Chapter  V,  which  is  entitled  "Deutschland 
Uber  Allah".  "The  Cresent  and  the  Iron  Cross"  have  been  welded 
into  one.  The  new-born  Turkish  babe  was  taken  from  the  cradle  and 
a  lusty  Teutonic  changling  substituted — "a  great  Prussian  guardsman 
who  shouted  'Deutschland  Uber  Allah'  ".  We  learn  from  this  book 
that  what  was  once  the  Ottoman  Empire  is  now  practically  a  German 
province.  In  matters  naval,  military,  educational,  legal,  industrial, 
financial,  Germany  is  supreme.  But  she  will  not  remain  supreme.  The 
last  chapter  is  prophetic.  It  is  entitled  "Thy  Kingdom  is  Divided" 
and  we  are  shown  the  handwriting  on  the  wall.  God  was  not  allowed 
to  use  the  Concert  of  Europe  to  accomplish  the  liberation  of  the 
oppressed.  Their  cry  was  unheeded.  He  has  now  used  the  confusion 
of  Europe  to  bring  to  pass  His  purpose  and  to  break  the  yoke  of 
murderous  tyranny  forever,  "The  roar  of  battle  still  renders  in- 
audible all  voices  save  its  own,  but  already  the  dusk  begins  to  gather 
over  the  halls  where  sit  the  War-lord  and  those  who,  for  the  realization 
of  their  monstrous  dreams,  loosed  hell  upon  the  world,  ajid  in  the 
growing  dusk  there  begin  to  steal  upon  the  wall  the  letters  of  pale 
flame  that  to  them  portend  the  doom,  and  to  us  give  promise  of  dawn. 
Faintly  they  can  see  the  legend  Mene^  Tekel,  Upharsin"  Z. 


440  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  Presentation  of  Christianity  to  Moslems.  The  Report  of  a 
Committee  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation. 
Pp.  142.  Price  $.50.  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation,  25 
Madison  Avenue,  New  York.     191 8. 

We  call  the  special  attention  of  our  readers  to  this  report,  which 
represents  the  patient  and  painstaking  cooperation  of  more  than  two 
score  professional  students  of  Islam,  secretaries  and  missionaries.  The 
Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  in  America  under  the  chairmanship 
of  President  W.  Douglas  Mackenzie,  D.  D.,  and  with  Rev.  Frank 
K.  Sanders,  Ph.  D.,  as  director,  constituted  five  committees  on  Animism, 
Buddhism,  Confucianism,  Hinduism  and  Mohammedanism.  The 
report  on  Mohammedanism  was  first  prepared  by  Dr.  Charles  R.  Watson, 
chairman  of  the  committee.  Owing  to  his  necessary  absence  from 
America,  the  entire  work  was  carefully  revised,  notably  by  Prof. 
Macdonald  of  Hartford,  which  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject  and 
sympathy  with  the  Moslem  view-point  is  evident  almost  in  every 
paragraph.  The  result  is,  therefore,  a  carefully  worded  concensus  of 
wide-ranging,  expert  opinion. 

The  report  treats  first  of  the  rise  of  Islam,  its  spread  and  present 
extent,  shows  its  social,  political  and  constitutional  development  in 
compact  paragraphs  that  might  well  be  committed  to  memory.  Sec- 
tion IV  and  V  treat  of  the  doctrine  and  the  practice  under  the  usual 
categories.  A  special  section  treats  of  the  theological  development  of 
Islam  and  another  is  on  religious  organization  and  movements. 

In  our  judgment  the  sections  that  follow — IX  to  XII — are  invaluable 
to  the  missionary  among  Moslems.  They  show  what  Christianity  and 
Islam  have  and  do  not  have  in  common,  and  also  indicate  various 
methods  of  approach  to  the  Moslem  heart. 

In  this  number  of  our  Quarterly  we  re-print  Section  IX.  What  a 
treasure  this  report  would  have  been  to  pioneer  workers  in  Moslem 
fields,  who  had  to  grope  their  way  largely  in  the  dark,  and  who  attained 
the  path  only  after  long  stumbling. 

A  course  of  study  is  marked  out  for  different  classes  and  different 
stages  of  preparation.  The  Bibliography  is  very  full,  and  one  need  not 
say,  carefully  selected  and  annotated.  It  was  almost  unavoidable  that 
there  should  be  an  occasional  slip  in  the  proof-reading.  On  page  130 
"Religion  of  the  Crescent"  is  credited  to  Mr.  Takle;  it  should  be 
Dr.  Tisdall.  Mr.  Takle's  book  is  a  small  introductory  volume,  and 
is  entitled  "The  Faith  of  the  Crescent".  Halliday,  Page  122,  should  be 
Holliday. 

Z. 

The  Arab  of  Mesopotamia.  Published  by  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Government  Press,  Busrah.  pp.  200.  Price  i  Rupee.  191 7. 
(Copies  can  also  be  obtained  from  The  Times  of  India,  Bambay.) 

This  little  book  is  a  collection  of  essays  on  subjects  relating  to 
Mesopotamia  and  was  published  by  the  Military  Authorities  at  Busrah. 
It  was  written  by  persons  with  special  knowledge  of  the  subjects  dealt 
with.  Bound  up  in  the  same  volume  is  another  useful  work,  on 
Asiatic  Turkey,  written  at  the  request  of  the  War  Office  during  June 
and  July,  191 7>  and  issued  by  the  author,  Miss  Gertrude  Lothian 
Bell,  from  the  Office  of  the  Civil  Commissioner. 


I 


BOOK  REVIEWS  44i 

Aids  to  the  Study  of  Ki-Swahili.  Four  studies  complied  and  an- 
notated by  Mervyn  W.  H.  Beech,  M.  A.  Examiner  in  Ki-Swahili 
in  the  East  Africa  Protectorate.  London:  Kegan,  Paul,  Trench, 
Triibner  &  Co.     New  York :  E.  T.  Dutton  &  Co. 

Mr.  Beech  has  previously  done  good  linguistic  and  ethnographical 
work  in  The  Tidong  Dialects  of  Borneo  and  The  Suk,  and  his  friends 
who  knew  that  the  present  volume  was  in  preparation  have  been 
looking  forward  impatiently  to  its  appearance,  more  especially  as  there 
is  a  notable  lack  of  annotated  Swahili  reading  books  for  English  stu- 
dents. Biittner's  "Anthologie"  and  Velten's  "Desturi  za  Wasuaheli," 
"Safari  za  Wasuaheli"  and  "Suaheli-Marchen,  too  little  known  in  this 
country  before  the  War,  are  now  practically  unprocurable ;  and  Steere's 
"Swahili  Tales,"  valuable  as  it  is  in  more  ways  than  one,  has  no 
notes  explaining  the  grammatical  difficulties.  In  another  respect,  too, 
Mr.  Beech  has  set  himself  to  remedy  a  deficiency  which  is  no  credit 
to  English  scholarship.  Since  Bishop  Steere's  pamphlet  went  out  of 
print,  we  have  had  no  work  dealing  with  the  application  of  the  Arabic 
script  to  Swahili;  and,  unsatisfactory  as  this  method  of  writing  the 
language  must  always  be,  we  cannot  afford  to  neglect  it  so  long  as 
it  is  used  by  educated  Swahilis  themselves.  There  is  a  growing  desire 
among  young  Swahilis  and  Arabs  to  learn  the  Roman  character,  and 
the  Roman-type  Swahili  books  printed  by  the  S.  P.  C.  K.,  C.  M.  S. 
and  U.  M.  C.  A.  have  a  fairly  large  circulation;  but  the  Arabic  script 
could  not  be  completely  got  rid  of  without  too  violent  a  revolution. 
The  existence  of  numerous  MSS  in  this  character,  some  of  them  of 
considerable  age,  is  also  a  factor  to  be  taken  into  account.  Mr.  Beech's 
remarks  on  this  head  (pp.  3-10)  are  certainly  a  step  in  the  right 
direction,  though  we  should  have  preferred  something  on  the  lines  of 
Veiten's  "Praktische  Anleitung,"  instead  of  passing  at  a  step  from  the 
table  of  characters  to  continuous  texts,  such  as  the  letter  on  p.  13, 
admirably  clear  as  that  is.  It  is  especially  unfortunate,  in  this  section, 
that  the  author  was  unable  to  correct  his  own  proofs,  as  there  are  some 
serious  errors  in  the  Arabic  characters :  e.g.  it  is  not  kha  but  ghain  which 
is  used  by  the  Malays  (and,  pace  Mr.  Beech,  almost  universally  by 
Swahilis)  for  ng;  on  p.  7  the  "nunnation"  is  substituted,  first  for  dhamma 
and  afterwards  for  hamza  (on  p.  9  it  occurs  instead  of  sukun)  ;  while  on 
p.  8  lam-altf  takes  a  curious  form  for  which  we  cannot  account,  and  on 
p.  9  we  have  ghain  for  jim.  These  difficulties  are  avoided  in  the  specimen 
texts  which  have  all  been  lithographed ;  but  the  small  size  of  the  character 
is  in  many  cases  a  drawback.  Mr.  Beech's  own  handwriting  (see  p. 
1 5  and  especially  p.  5 1 )  is  beautifully  clear  and  worthy  of  a  professional 
Koran  scribe. 

The  errata  are  not  confined  to  the  Arabic  script.  On  p.  6,  "p.  15" 
should  be  "p.  13";  on  p.  42  "kittvita"  for  "ki-Mvita"  is  somewhat  per- 
plexing; and  there  are  numerous  other  instances,  hardly  we  suppose  to 
be  avoided  under  the  circumstances. 

The  letters  are  followed  by  a  story  "For  whom  God  has  no  pity  have 
no  pity,"  concerning  a  wicked  blind  man  who  attempted  to  steal 
both  the  wife  and  the  ass  of  his  benefactor.  It  is  to  be  found  in 
Vellen's  "Suaheli-Marchen,"  as  the  second  part  of  No.  30  "Vipofu 
watatu,"  a  version  of  which  (but  without  the  second  part)  is  included 
in  Kibaraka  (U.  M.  C.  A.  Zanzibar.  1894.)  This,  being  intended 
chiefly  as  an  exercise  in  the  character,  is  accompanied  by  the  trans- 
lation only,  without  notes.  Part  II  consists  of  ten  stories  with  trans- 
lation and  notes.  These,  like  the  preceeding  chapters,  are  in  the 
dialect  of  Pemba,  which  seems  to  present  points  of  contact  with  that 


442  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

of  Zanzibar  and  that  of  Mombasa — unless  such  forms  as  tukua 
(chukua)  and  manguu  (miguu)  are  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
the  narrator  (Sherif  Hasan  bin  Aloi)  had  been  long  resident  at 
Mombasa.  An  idiom  we  have  not  met  previously  and  which  may  be 
peculiar  to  Pemba  is  the  use  of  the  negative  si  with  a  noun ;  m-si-chembe 
"he  (who  has)  no  arrow,"  (the  m  being  the  prefix  of  the  first  class), 
m-si-wakwe  "he  (who  has)  not  his  (friends)"  i.e.  who  has  no  friends. 
These  are  formed  on  the  analogy  of  such  verbal  nouns  as  mchunga, 
etc.,  the  verb  "to  have,"  represented  by  na,  being  understood.  These 
examples  occur  in  Part  HI  "Enigmas  and  Aphorisms,"  most  of  the 
latter  being  from  Pemba,  with  a  few  in  the  Mombasa  (Ki-Mvita) 
dialect.  Of  the  enigmas,  on  the  other  hand,  by  far  the  larger  number 
come  from  Mombasa.  These  two  sections  are  highly  important  from 
a  folk-lore  as  well  as  a  linguistic  point  of  view,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  the  concluding  one,  which  consists  of  some  valuable  texts  headed 
"Magic  in  Pemba".  These  should  be  compared  with  Miss  Dora  Abdy's 
paper  on  "Witchcraft  among  the  Wahadimu"  in  the  Journal  of  the 
African  Society,  April,  191 7. 

The  stories  in  the  second  part  are  entitled  "The  Banawari"  and 
"Don't  cast  your  pearls  before  swine"  respectively.  Of  the  latter,  Mr. 
Beech  says  "This  story  having  little  point  as  it  stands,  inclines  me  to 
believe  that  it  is  only  just  so  much  as  the  narrator  remembered  of  an 
old  Arab  story."  It  seems  to  us,  rather,  that  it  is  made  up  by  parts  of 
two  or  more  different  stories,  some  of  which  we  have  come  across  in 
other  connections — e.g.  the  incident  of  the  seven  thieves,  part  of  which 
was  related  to  us,  quite  recently,  by  a  native  of  Zanzibar.  Some  touches, 
such  as  the  "royal  cars,"  which  are  scarcely  Arab,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Pathan,  lead  one  to  suspect  an  Indian  origin  for,  at  any 
rate,  part  of  the  story. 

The  other  tale  illustrates  the  diffusion  of  folklore  in  a  very  striking 
way.  Banawarsi,  which  Mr.  Beech  treats  as  a  common  noun  (it  was 
explained  by  his  Swahili  informant  as  equivalent  to  "a  man  who  has 
always  an  answer  ready,  who  excels  in  repartee")  is  tl\e  name  of  a 
real  historical  character — ^Abu  Nawas,  a  poet  and  jester  at  the  court 
of  Harun  al-Rashid.  He  figures  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  where  various 
diverting,  and  not  always  very  decorous,  adventures  are  set  down  to 
his  credit,  but  gradually  became  a  legendary  figure  to  whom — as  in 
later  times  to  Theodore  Hook,  all  stories  involving  practical  jokes  or 
witty  repartees  were  popularly  attributed.  (Mr.  Marmaduke  Pickthall 
mentions  a  chap-book,  "The  Rare  Things  of  Abu  Nawas,"  as  current 
in  Syria  not  many  years  ago.)^  Several  incidents  related  here  are 
found  also  in  the  collections  of  Biittner  and  Velten,  and  some  are  known 
beyond  the  area  of  Swahili  speech — e.g.  at  Lourenco  Marques,  where 
the  name  Bonawasi  was  not  unnaturally  supposed  by  M.  Junod  (see 
"Chants  et  Contes  des  Baronga")  to  be  a  corruption  of  the  Portuguese 
Bonifacio.  Also  the  Ronga  narrator  conferred  on  the  hero  the  title 
of  Nwachisisana,  which  really  belongs  to  the  Hare,  as  being  (to  the 
Bantu  mind)  the  most  cunning  and  resourceful  of  animals;  and  in 
this  way,  it  is  possible  that  a  further  conclusion  of  identity  has  taken 
place. 

We  cannot  in  all  cases  agree  with  Mr.  Beech's  explanation  of  gram- 
matical constructions,  but  we  owe  him  such  a  debt  of  gratitude  for 
his  book  that  criticism  seems  ungracious,  and  after  all,  none  of  the 
points  seems  to  be  of  great  importance.  We  note  that  he  writes  the 
possessive  particle  of  the  ki-class,  for  the  Pemba  dialect,  as  Kia,  adding 
that  this  is  equivalent  to  the  Zanzibar  cha.     We  suspect  that  he  has 


BOOK  REVIEWS  443 

heard  correctly  in  the  former  case  and  been  mislead  by  current  spelling 
in  the  latter,  for  the  sound  of  the  word,  both  at  Zanzibar  and  Mombasa 
is  nearer  kva  (or  tya;  it  would  be  remembered  by  ca  in  the  International 
Phonetic  Association's  script)  than  cha  (I.  A.  P.  tsa).  The  latter 
sound  is  heard  e.g.  in  chinja  which  at  Mombasa  becomes  tinda.  (On 
the   "palatal  plosive"   C,   see   Noel-Armfield   "General   Phonetics,"   p. 

Mr.  Beech's  introductory  chapter  on  Swahili  traditions  is  interesting; 
but  he  probably  needs  no  warning  against  taking  too  seriously  the 
etymologies  fabricated  by  natives  desirous  of  proving  their  Arab  descent 
and  Asiatic  origin.  The  derivation  of  Kilindini  mentioned  in  note 
3,  p.  xii,  is,  as  he  rightly  remarks,  much  more  probable  than  the  one 
quoted  in  the  text,  but  does  not  notice  that  it  is  equally  applicable  to 
Malindi.  However,  his  main  point,  viz.,  that  there  is  no  aboriginal 
"Swahili"  tribe,  is  beyond  dispute. 

Many  other  points  might  be  taken  up,  did  space  allow.  We  can 
warmly  recommend  the  book  to  students,  and  trust  that  the  author 
may  be  able  in  a  second  edition,  to  remove  the  unavoidable  blemishes 
which  to  some  extent  detract  from  its  value. 

A.  Werner. 

"Materials  for  the  Study  of  the  Bahai  Religion."  Compiled  by 
Edward  G.  Browne,  M.  A.,  M.  B.,  F..  B.  A.,  F.  R.  C.  P.,  Sir 
Thomas  Adams'  Professor  of  Arabic  and  Fellow  of  Pembroke 
College,  Cambridge  University.  Cambridge  University  Press. 
1 91 8.     Price  12/6  net. 

Professor  Browne  is  the  greatest  living  authority  on  the  religion  of 
the  Babis,  or,  as  they  are  now  more  commonly  called,  the  Bahais. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  our  readers  that,  if  we  except  those  who 
are  Orientalists,  the  great  majority  of  us  owe  to  him  almost  all  that 
we  really  know  about  the  history  and  doctrine  of  this  remarkable  faith, 
which  has  sprung  into  existence  in  the  lifetime  of  some  of  us,  and  only 
during  the  last  three  decades  has  become  somewhat  widely  spread,  though 
as  yet  little  understood,  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  There  is  already 
something  of  a  Bahai  literature,  on  a  small  scale,  in  English,  French, 
German  and  Russian,  as  well  as  in  Arabic  and  Persian.  A  considerable 
number  of  ephemeral  publications  dealing  with  the  rival  claimants  to  the 
leadership  of  the  community,  telling  of  their  supposed  perfections,  their 
personal  appearance,  their  manner  of  receiving  Western  admirers,  and 
their  lofty  (not  to  say  blasphemous)  claims,  have  already  appeared  in 
English,  emanating  for  the  most  part  from  the  United  States.  Few, 
if  any,  of  these  are  worthy  of  attention.  They  reveal  to  us  more  of 
the  folly  and  want  of  balance  of  their  writers'  dispositions  than  of  the 
real  tenets  of  Bahaism.  Hence  serious  students  of  a  religious  movement 
which  has  now  attained  considerable  importance,  are  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  Professor  E.  G.  Browne's  books  and  articles,  if  they  desire 
to  gain  a  good  and  reliable  knowledge  of  the  subject.  Even  Oriental 
scholars  themselves  cannot  dispense  with  his  help,  for  he  has  devoted 
more  care  and  attention  to  Babi  and  Bahai  matters  than  probably  any 
other  European  writer.  He  has  also  an  unrivalled  collection  of 
Babi-Bahai  MSS.  in  his  possession,  some  of  which  are  probably  unique. 
Others  of  these  documents  he  has  published  in  their  original  languages, 
some  in  translations.  In  a  word,  he  has  made  the  subject  peculiarly 
his  own,  and  his  opinion  on  any  matter  connected  with  it  is  entitled 
to  the  deepest  consideration  by  everyone  who  desires  to  ascertain  the 
truth  about  this  remarkable  modern  offshoot  or  revival  of  that  strange 


444  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

admixture  of  Mohammedan  with  pagan  ideas  which  in  mediaeval  times 
gave  birth  to  the  sinister  and  awesome  figure  of  the  Sheik hu  *lJabal 
or  "Old  Man  of  the  Mountain." 

Nearly  thirty  years  have  passed  since  the  Professor  visited  Persia, 
in  order  to  come  into  personal  contact  with  the  leaders  of  the  Babi 
movement  in  the  land  of  its  birth.  In  this  his  admirable  knowledge  of 
the  Persian  language  enabled  him  to  succeed.  In  1890  he  paid  visits  to 
Subh-i-Azal  and  to  his  brother  and  rival  Bahau'llah  at  Famagusta 
and  Acre  respectively,  and  he  has  ever  since  then  continued  to  carry 
on  intercourse  with  both  these  great  divisions  of  the  sect.  "Fresh  and 
fuller  materials  for  the  study  of  Babi  history  and  doctrine  have  con- 
tinued to  flow  into  my  hands  through  these  channels,"  he  tells  us,  "until, 
apart  from  what  I  had  utilised  fully  or  in  part  in  previous  publications, 
a  considerable  amount  of  new  and  unpublished  matter  had  accumulated 
in  my  hands.  Much  of  this  matter,  consisting  of  manuscript  and 
printed  documents  in  various  Eastern  and  Western  languages,  could  only 
be  interpreted  in  connection  with  the  correspondence  relating  to  it,  and 
would  inevitably,  I  felt,  be  lost,  if  I  did  not  myself  endeavour  to 
record  it  in  an  intelligible  form,  capable  of  being  used  by  future  stu- 
dents of  this  subject.  Hence  the  origin  of  this  book,  which  .  .  .  will, 
I  believe,  be  of  value  to  anyone  who  shall  in  the  future  desire  to  study 
more  profoundly  a  movement  which,  even  if  its  practical  and  political 
importance  should  prove  to  be  less  than  I  had  once  thought,  will 
always  be  profoundly  interesting  to  students  of  Comparative  Religion 
and  the  history  of  Religious  Evolution." 

These  last  few  words  show  that  the  religion  of  the  Bahais  is,  in  the 
Professor's  opinion,  if  not  a  spent  force,  at  least  one  which  has  per- 
haps reached  the  limit  of  its  influence.  Since  the  War  began,  at  any 
rate,  we  have  heard  less  of  it  than  just  previously,  when  their  ignorance 
of  the  real  nature  of  the  claims  made  by  the  leaders  of  the  religion 
on  their  own  behalf  led  some  well  known  scholars  in  London  and 
Edinburgh,  as  well  as  a  little  later  in  America,  to  invite  'Abdu  'IBaha 
to  pronounce  the  benediction  in  Christian  Churches,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  a  Christian.  It  is  hardly  probable 
that  many  ignorant  people,  with  more  money  than  brains,  will  hence- 
forth become  the  dupes  of  a  Persian  Pseudo-Messiah,  as  was  the 
case  with  some  (Americans  and  French  for  the  most  part)  before  the 
War.  But  in  the  East  it  is  probable  that  the  new  religion  has  come 
to  stay,  until,  at  least,  its  place  is  taken  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Hence  it  is  important  that  all  interested  in  Oriental  faiths  should 
know  its  true  character,  tenets  and  history,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
able  to  afford  help  and  guidance  to  those  who,  failing  to  find 
peace  in  either  Bahau  'llah  or  in  his  rival  or  rivals,  may  be  inclined 
to  seek  it  in  Him  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Life. 

The  contents  of  the  volume  before  us  are  of  varied  interest  and 
importance.  After  an  introduction  dealing  with  the  chief  documents 
and  the  political,  ethical  and  historical  interest  of  the  movement,  there 
comes  an  Epitome  of  Babi  and  Bahai  History  from  Bahau  Ulah's  birth 
on  Nov.  1 2th,  18 1 7  (A.  H.  1233,  2nd  of  Muharram)  up  to  A.  D. 
1898,  translated  from  the  Arabic  of  Mirza  Muhammad  Javad  of 
Qazvin.  Mirza  Javad  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  attempts  made 
by  the  alleged  agents  of  Subh-i-Azal  to  murder  Bahau'  illah,  and  of 
the  "Very  Great  Separation"  {airaslu  7  Akbar)  between  the  brothers 
(Aug.  1867)  which  soon  after  occurred.  The  story  of  the  persecutions 
bravely  endured  by  the  Babis  in  Yezd,  Isfahan  and  elsewhere  's 
simply  told;  nor  do  we  wonder  that  the  sight  of  such  courage  and 


BOOK  REVIEWS  445 

devotion — though,  alas,  in  a  mistaken  cause — should  have  done  so 
much  to  encourage  the  spread  of  the  religion.  On  the  other  hand  the 
Bahais  are  seen  to  be  true  to  their  Islam  'ilian  ancestry  through  the 
murders  w^hich  even  such  a  devoted  adherent  as  Mirza  Javad  men- 
tions as  perpetrated  by  certain  Bahais  on  some  Azalis  at  Acre  in 
January,  1872  (p.  55).  Bahau  'llah's  death  (28th  May,  1892)  caused 
another  split  in  the  Community.  Mirza  Javad  attributes  this  to  "the 
love  of  self  and  seeking  after  supremacy"  of  'Abbas  Afendi,  better 
known  as  'Abdu'l  Baha,  whom  he  accuses  of  concealing  part  of  his 
father's  "Testament"  and  opposing  its  teaching.  For  instance,  Bahau 
'llah  declared  that  no  fresh  "Manifestation"  would  take  place  until  a 
full  thousand  years  after  his  own  "Theophany"  (p.  76)  :  yet  "'Abbas 
Efendi  .  .  .  claimed  such  lofty  stations  and  high  degrees  as  belong 
exclusively  to  Divine  Theophanies,  and  even  proclaimed  in  public  in 
America  that  he  was  the  Messiah  and  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  India 
that  he  was  the  promised  Bahram,"  (p.  77).  Meanwhile  his  younger 
half-brother,  Muhammad  'Ali-Efendi,  (born  in  A.  D.  1853,  whereas 
'Abbas  Efendi  was  born  in  1841),  is  regarded  by  Mirza  Javad  and  the 
smaller  part  of  the  Community  as  Bahau  'llah's  legitimate  successor. 
He  is  not  yet  in  position  to  make  such  lofty  claims  as  the  elder 
brother  does,  but  is  conceived  of  as  "a  finger  that  points  to  his  Master," 
i.e.  Bahau  'illah  (p.  81).  Mirza  Javad  well  points  out  that  'Abbas 
Efendi  encourages  his  followers  to  describe  him  "by  names  and  attri- 
butes proper  only  to  the  Divine  Majesty."  The  writer  then  transcribes 
Ibrahim  George  Khairu  'llah's  account  of  the  propaganda  which  the 
latter  carried  on  in  the  United  States  in  favour  of  'Abbas  Efendi,  until 
he  finally  took  the  side  of  Muhamad  'Ali  Efendi.  This  led  to 
threats  to  assassinate  him  on  the  part  of  emissaries  from  'Abbas 
Efendi,  who  seems  to  recall  to  himself  the  traditions  of  the  fortress  of 
'Alamut  and  the  Dais  sent  forth  thence  to  sweep  from  the  face  of 
the  earth  anyone  whom  the  Sheikhu  '1  Jabal  considered  to  be  a 
dangerous  opponent.  One  main  reason  given  for  Khairu  'llah  re- 
nouncing his  faith  in  'Abbas  Efendi  is  stated  to  have  been  "'Abbas 
Efendi's  claim  to  Divinity,  in  that  he  declared  himself  to  be  the 
Manifestation  of  Service,  which  is  the  greatest  of  the  Divine  Mani- 
festations, and  peculiar  to  the  Father,  the  LORD  of  Hosts  (Jehovah) 
alone.  This  is  the  supreme  limit  of  manifestation,  which  none  claimed 
save  only  His  Holiness  Baha  (to  whom  be  glory),  who  explicitly 
declared  in  numerous  Tablets  that  he  was  the  Servant,  and  the  Visage 
and  Very  Self  of  the  Eternal  Essence.  Again  he  declares  himself 
to  be  the  Enunciator  (mubayyin),  that  is,  God,  as  the  Supreme  Pen 
has  explicitly  declared  in  different  passages.  So  likewise  he  claims 
to  be  the  Centre  of  the  Covenant,  which  is  God  Alone,  Baha,  who 
Himself  covenanted  with  Himself  before  the  creation  of  the  heavens 
and  the  earths  that  man  should  worship  none  save  God  alone,"  (p. 
III).  We  do  not  wonder  that  our  Muslim  friends,  whether  in  Persia 
or  elsewhere,  object  very  much  to  such  blasphemous  claims,  put  forth 
too  in  almost  the  same  language  by  a  succession  of  men,  not  by  any 
means  distinguished  by  special  virtue  or  by  miraculous  power  or 
prophetic  knowledge  of  the  future,  though  we  hope  that  the  vain 
attempt  to  suppress  such  opinions  by  persecution  has  been  finally  given 
up.  Our  astonishment  is,  however,  excited  by  the  fact  that  even  a 
small  number  of  Europeans  and  Americans  should  have  been  so  deluded 
as  to  join  the  Bahai  movement,  for  a  while  at  least.  Possibly  this 
book,  though  not  intended  for  such  a  purpose,  may  enable  some  people 
to  recover  their  senses. 


446  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  great  success  which,  however,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
movement  has  met  with  in  Persia,  and  even  in  Sunni  countries,  may 
be  accounted  for  partly  by  the  fact  that  it  promises  men,  however 
falsely,  what  Orthodox  Islam  cannot  ofifer — a  Deity  who  can  in  part 
at  least  be  known,  and  who  can  be  loved  as  well  as  feared.  The 
Mystics  of  Islam  in  all  ages  have  yearned  for  the  knowledge  of  God. 
Many  have  thought  to  attain  what  they  needed  by  Absorption  or 
Annihilation,  using  these  words  in  their  technical  import.  The  Fol- 
lowers of  'Ali  have  in  many  cases  formed  sects,  such  as  the  'Ali-ilahis, 
distinguished  by  the  belief,  in  some  form  or  other,  that  'Ali  was  an 
Incarnation  or  Manifestation  of  God.  The  atrocities  to  which  certain 
developments  of  this  conception  have  given  rise  are  well  known.  But 
the  rise  and  spread  of  the  Babi-Bahai  movement  bear  witness  to  the 
fact  that  humanity  needs  an  Incarnation  as  the  only  adequate  means  by 
which  it  can  get  really  to  know  God  as  He  is  in  character.  When  the 
True  Incarnation  is  rejected,  the  danger  is  that  the  false  will  be  ac- 
cepted. Imperfect,  often  wicked,  men  are  mistaken  for  Manifestations 
of  God,  because  the  hungry  soul  mistakes  a  stone  for  bread.  But  the 
very  eagerness  with  which  the  delusion  is  welcomed  is  a  proof  of  the 
reality  of  the  hungry  soul's  deep  need.  As  God  has  created  the  need,  it 
is  manifest  that  He  must  also  have  provided  the  means  for  its  full 
satisfaction.  Nay,  is  it  too  much  to  say,  on  the  analogy  of  our  other 
needs,  that  He  has  created  this  spiritual  thirst  for  God,  for  the 
Living  God,  because  He  graciously  desires  to  satisfy  it,  as  we  Christians 
know  that  He  has  satisfied  it  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word 
of  God. 

A  number  of  interesting  notes  on  the  nature  and  method  of  the 
Bahai  propaganda  in  American  form  the  second  section  of  this  book. 
The  third  is  a  very  valuable  collection  of  "Further  notes  on  Babi, 
Azali  and  Bahai  Literature,  Oriental  and  Occidental,  printed  litho- 
graphed and  manuscript."  Then  we  are  given  five  hitherto  unpublished 
contemporary  documents,  Persian  and  English,  relating  to  the  Bab's 
examination  at  Tabriz  in  1848.  These  are  followed  by  an  Austrian 
officer's  account  of  the  cruelties  practised  on  the  Babis  who  suflFered 
the  great  Persecution  of  1852.  After  this  come  hitherto  unpublished 
contemporary  State  papers  bearing  on  the  removal  of  the  Babis  from 
Baghdad  to  Turkey  in  Europe,  dated  May  10,  1862.  The  seventh  section 
deals  with  the  persecution  of  the  Babis  at  Isfahan  and  Yezd  in  1 888-1 891. 
In  section  VIII  we  have  an  account  of  the  Subh-i-Azal's  death,  written 
by  his  son,  Rizvan  'Ali.  Section  IX  contains  a  list  of  the  descendants 
of  Mirza  Buzurg  of  Nur,  the  father  of  Bahau  'llah  and  of  Subh-i-Azal. 
Section  X  adduces  thirty  heretical  doctrines  ascribed  to  the  Babis  in 
Aqa  Muhammad  Taqi's  Ihqdqu  7  Haqq.  The  eleventh  and  last  sec- 
tion is  of  somewhat  pathetic  interest,  containing  selected  poems  by  the 
famous  Qurratu  'Ain  and  Nabil. 

The  book  concludes  with  a  full  Index,  which  greatly  adds  to  its 
value,  and  a  list  of  some  of  Professor  Browne's  other  works,  mostly 
referring  to  Persia  and  Persian  Literature.  There  are  a  number  of 
illustrations,  which  are  not  devoid  of  interest.  But  the  book  is  almost 
indispensable  to  anyone  who  wishes  to  make  a  complete  study  of  the 
Babi-Bahai  religion,  not  only  because  it  is  a  collection  of  "Memoires 
pour  servir  .  .  .  ,"  so  to  speak,  but  also  because  it  informs  the  student 
exactly  where  to  find  all  accessable  information  about  one  of  the 
strangest  and  most  remarkable  of  modern  religious  movements.  Pro- 
fessor Browne,  by  the  publication  of  this  work,  has  added  considerable 
to  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  Orientalists  owe  him. 

W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall. 


SURVEY  OF  RECENT  PERIODICALS 

I.  GENERAL. 

Islam  and  Internationalism.  Dragoman.  Everyman.  London. 
May,  i8;  June,  i;  15;  29.     1918. 

(i)  Introductory.  (2)  Persia  and  Turkey,  more  especially  the 
work  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress.  (3)  The  self-de- 
termination movement  among  the  Arabs  and  the  different  groups  of 
Russian  Moslems.  (4)  The  All-Russian  Conference  of  Moslems, 
May,  191 7. 

II.  SOURCES  OF  ISLAM  IN  ARABIA. 

III.  HISTORY  OF  ISLAM  UP  TILL  RECENT  TIMES. 

Der  Untergang  der  Christlichen  Kirche  in  Nord-Afrika.  I-IV 
Pfarrer  Dr.  L.  E.  Iselin.  Evangelisches  Missions  Magazine. 
Basel.     Feb.-June,  1918. 

An  interesting  historical  survey  from  the  days  of  the  first  evangelisa- 
tion of  North  Africa  till  the  present  time. 

Old  Caravan  Roads  and  Overland  Routes  in  Syria,  Arabia  and 
Mesopotamia.     Fred.  D.  Harford,  C.  V.  C,  F.  R.  G.  S.     Nine- 
teenth Century.     London.     July,  191 8. 

A  survey  of  the  references,  especially  in  English  Literature  through  the 
centuries  to  the  caravan  routes  in  Syria,  Arabia  and  Mesopotamia. 

IV.  KORAN,  TRADITIONS,  THEOLOGY,  ETC. 

V.  RELIGIOUS  AND  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  ISLAM. 

Further  Arabic  Inscriptions  on  Textiles.  A.  R.  Guest.  Journal 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society.  April,  191 8. 
A  description,  illustrated,  of  two  Arabic  inscriptions  (i)  from  a 
Russian  publication  in  Moscow  in  1897,  called  "Coptic  Art:  Coptic 
figured  Textiles."  Date,  A.  H.  365-386.  (2)  a  woven  silk  strip  in 
the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London,  with  the  inscription  re- 
peated four  times,  twice  in  yellow  and  twice  in  white.  The  stuff 
probably  belong  to  the  nth  or  12th  century  and  was  probably  woven 
in  Hither  Asia. 

Les  Marocaines  chez  elles.  Edith  Wharton.  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes.     15  Juin,  1918. 

An  account  of  the  women  of  Fez. 

VL  POLITICAL  RELATIONSHIPS. 

Indian  Politics.    The  Round  Table.     London.     June,  191 8. 

A  statement  of  (I)  The  Political  Record,  (i)  Riots  in  Bihar, 
Sept,  191 7.  (2)  The  Release  of  Mrs.  Besant  and  its  effects.  (3) 
The   Montagu   Mission.     (4)   The   Indian   National   Congress.     (5) 

447 


448  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

The  Princes'  Conference.  (6)  Mr.  Tilak's  Tour  in  Central  India. 
(II)  The  Present  Political  Position  (i.e.  in  March,  1918).  A  sum- 
mary of  the  varieties  of  opinion  in  the  public  services. 

Afghanistan  and  the  German  Threat.  Ikbal    Ali    Shah.      Edin- 
burgh Review.     July,  191 8. 

Three  Visits  tq  Jiddah.    S.  M.  Zwemer.     Church  Missionary  Re- 
view.    London.     June,   1918. 
A  description  of  visits  paid  in  1891,  1913,  191 7.     The  progress  be- 
tween 1 91 3  and  191 7  was  extremely  marked. 

VIL  HISTORY    OF    MOHAMMEDAN    MISSIONS. 

Palestine,  Past,  Present  and  Future.  G.  T.  Manley.  Church  Mis- 
sionary Review.     London.     March,  191 8. 

A  general  historical  survey  showing  the  supreme  difficulty  of  the 
task  of  missionary  work  in  the  Holy  Land.  "To  redeem  the  reproach 
of  the  past,  to  break  down  the  clan  conception  of  religion,  and  to 
win  converts  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus — this  task  puts  our  Chris- 
tianity to  a  severe  qualitative  test,  which  can  only  be  satisfied  as  the 
missionary  witness  be .  preeminently  spiritual." 

Mrs.  J.  E.  Thor.    F.  H.    Rhodes.      Chinese    Recorder.      Shanghai. 
March,   191 8. 

An  obituary  notice  of  a  remarkable  missionary  to  the  women  of 
the  Mohammedan  community  of  Sianfu  and  an  appeal  for  reinforce- 
ments of  both  women  and  men  missionaries  to  the  Moslems  of  China 
in  view  of  the  loss  recently  of  several  such  workers. 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  VIII 


LEADING  ARTICLES 


Accessibility  of  Moslems  in  South  Shensi,  The O.  Burgess  36 

Al  Riadh,  the  Capital  of  Nejd Paul  Harrison,  M.  D.  412 

American   Christian   Literature    Society   for    Moslems,   The 

Charles  R.  Watson  178 

Animistic  Elements  in  Moslem  Prayer S.  M.  Zwemer  359 

Approach  to  Muslim  Mysticism,  The J.  Takle  249 

As-sufur,  the  Unveiled Miss   Reeves   Palmer  169 

Bab-il-Metawalli,  The Miss  H.  M.  Harrison  141 

Borden  Memorial  Hospital  in  China,  The Geo.  E.  King  282 

Chinese  Moslem  Primer,  A S.  M.  Zwemer  71 

Chinese  Moslem  Tract,  A Yu  Shao  Chai  404 

Classified   Bibliography  of  books  on   Islam  in   Chinese   and 

Chinese-Arabic Chas.  L.  Ogilvie  74 

Editorials :     Islam  in  China S  M.  Zwemer  i 

The  Printed  Page S.  M.  Zwemer  1 1 1 

The  Moblization  of  Prayer S.  M.  Zwemer  331 

Education  of  Women,  The Translation  395 

Fellowship  of  Faith  for  Moslems,  The. .  .  .Miss  A.  van  Sommer  67 

First  American  Mission  to  Afghanistan,  The....E.  M.Wherry  131 

Holy  War  that  Failed,  The Miss  F.  J.  Dupre  172 

Influence  of  a  Christian  Home  in  a  Moslem  Environment: 16 

Cairo.         Mrs.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner. 

Egypt.       Mrs.  Gordon  Logan. 

Busrah.     Mrs.  Jas.  Cantine. 

Kuweit.    Mrs.  Mylrea. 

Tabriz.     Miss  G.  Y.  Holliday. 

Islam  in  French  Indo-China "L.  S.  R."  269 

Islam  in  Pagan  Africa Miss  E.  W.  Putney  162 

Islam  in  the  Government  Schools  of  Egypt:  a  Syllabus  of  the 

Primary  Course  of  Study 52 

Lahore  as  a  Moslem  Centre H.  A.  Walter  235 

Loneliness  of  the  Convert,  The Jas.  G.  Hunt  158 

Mohammedans  and  the  Unseen  Presence H.  R.  Calkins  384 

Mohammedan  Conception  of  Saintship,  The 259 

Moslem  in  the  Caucasus  During  the  War,  The.  .Thos.  B.  Heald  376 

Moslem  Women  of  Sianfu,  China,  The Mrs.  J.  E.  Thor  33 

Moslems  of  Ceylon,  The  (with  map) .  .  ."A  C.  M.  S.  Missionary"  60 

Mosque  of  Ibn  Tulun,  The  (illustrated) Robt.  Williams  221 

North  Africa  Missions  in  War  Time Edwin  F.  Frease  263 

Patience  of  the  Saints,  The J.  Ferguson  Davie  333 

Personal  Work  Among  Moslems W.  T.  Anderson  39 

Problem  of  the  Convert  from  Islam,  The.  .  .Thos.  J.  P.  Warren  149 
Ricoldus:   a  Domican   Missionary  to   Moslems   in   the   13th 

Century Mrs.  E.  I.  M.  Boyd  45 

St.  Jason  of  the  Caucasus Miss  V.  V.  Johnston  145 

451 


452  THE  MOSLEM  WORLD 

Serpent  Worship  and  Islam  in  Egypt H.  E.  E.  Hayes  278 

Singapore    as    a    Centre    for    Moslem    Work    (with    map) 

Chas.  E.  G.  Tisdall  4 

Some  Non-conforming  Turks Geo.  E.  White  242 

Sudan  United  Mission,  The H.  K.  W.  Kumm  295 

Three  Character  Classic  for  Moslems,  The Lieo  Kai  Lien  10 

Turkish  Races  and  Missionary  Endeavour,  The Isaac  Camp  115 

Visit  to  the  Grave  of  Al-Ghazzali,  A D.  M.  Donaldson  137 

Was  Mohammed  Sincere? T.  H.  Weir  352 

What  Christianity  May  Add  to  Islam D.  B.  Macdonald  340 

What  Style  of  Language  for  our  Literature? A.  T.  Upson  285 

NOTES  ON  CURRENT  TOPICS 

Appeal  for  Java,  An 423 

Arabic  Christian  Literature 109 

Arabic  Literature  in  Java 187 

As  Others  see  us 100 

Beni-i-Israel  of  Afghanistan 193 

Bible  Circulation  in  Persia 303 

Bible  in  Kermanshah,   The 302 

Bible  Circulation  in  the  Malayan  Agency 423 

Bibliander  as  a  Missionary  to  Moslems 428 

British  Army  and  the  Holy  Carpet,  The 105 

British  Government  and  Islam,  The 300 

Cairo  Moslem  preaching  Christ  in  Bombay,  A 196 

Cairo  Study  Centre,  The 202 

Canon  Sterline,  The  late 205 

Chinese  Christian  Colony  in  Penang,  A 98 

Chinese  Moslems 199 

Christian  Sabbath  in  Egypt,  The 304 

Educational  Progress  in  India 193 

Findings  at  Four  Missionary  Conferences  on  the  Moslem  Problem 

in  China 97 

Freedom  of  Africa  after  the  War,  The 109 

Friendly  Feeling  in  Ceylon 420 

Future  of  Islam  According  to  H.  G.  Wells,  The 421 

Future  of  Palestine,  The 106 

Galvanising  Islam  in  London 103 

Germany  and  Islam  in  East  Africa 424 

Good  News  from  Arabia 306 

Good  News  from  Java 185 

Government  Education  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies 186 

Government  Gifts  to  Moslems  in  Mesopotamia 104 

Has  Arabia  a  Future? 197 

Islam  after  the  War 191 

Islam    and    Christianity    301 

Islam  and  the  Gospel  in  Java 99 

Islam  in  Fiji 106 

Islam  in  Hainan  Island,  China 428 

Islam  and  Insurance 430 

Islam  in  Nyasaland 2CX> 

Khorassan  and  the  Bible 303 

Koran  Used  for  Wrapping  Paper 430 

Loyalty  to  Great  Britain  in  the  Sudan 307 

Malay,  a  leading  Vernacular  of  the  World 186 


INDEX   TO   VOLUME   VIII  453 

Matter  of  Orthography,  A 425 

Missionaries  to  Moslems  League lOi 

Mission  Hospital  in  Borneo  named  for  the  Moslem  Sultan,  A. . . .  99 

Mohamet  V  Superceded 311 

Mohammedan  College  for  South  India 195 

Mohmammedan  Modernism 3CX) 

Mohammedans  and  the  Second  Advent 105 

Moonlight  Gospel  Meeting  at  Singapore 98 

Moslem  Argument  on  the  Death  of  Christ,  A 310 

Moslem  Controversy  in  China 306 

Moslem  Mission  in  England,  The 203 

Moslem  Reform  in  Egypt 299 

Moslem  Saint  who  could  not  sin,  A 308 

Moslem  and  Turks 305 

Moslem  Seeker  in  Dacca,  A 301 

Moslem  World  as  a  Life  Work,  The 429 

Nadvatul  Ulama  in  Madras,  The lOi 

New  Books  for  Chinese  Moslems 427 

Need  of  Women  Missionaries  to  Moslem  Women 109 

New  Day  for  Morocco,  A 198 

New  Flag  of  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz,  The 190 

New  Methods  After  the  War 299 

New  Prophet  in  Liberia,  A 300 

News  from  Kansuh 196 

New  Testament  for  the  Qusaqs,  The 102 

No  Social  Caste  in  Islam 420 

One  Hope,  The 193 

On  the  North  West  Frontier 195 

Our  Duty  to  Palestine 191 

Overcoming  Difficulties  in  Chinese  Turkestan 427 

Political  Failure  of  Islam,  The 193 

Prohibition  in  Bhopal 422 

Promise  of  Religous  Liberty  in  Palestine 423 

Proposed  Cathedral  in  Cairo,  The 202 

Railways  in  Morocco 198 

Reform  Movements  Impotent  without  Christianity 183 

Singapore  Book  Catalogue,  A 425 

Singapore  as  Strategic  Centre 183 

Smart   Advertising   in    India 199 

Study  of  Arabic  by  Englishmen,  The 187 

Swearing  on  the  Koran 308 

Turanian  Movement,  The 190 

Visit  to  a  Moslem  bookshop  in  Colombo,  A lOO 

Waqf  Administration  in  Egypt 420 

Why  the  Holy  War  failed 189 

Work  of  France  in  Morocco,  The 426 

Correspondence : 

Concerning  Moslems  in  Malaya H.  B.  Mansell  213 

Proposed  Index  to  the  Sunni  Traditions. . . .  A.  J.  Wensinck  216 

Survey  of  Recent  Periodicals 2i8,  328 

BOOK  REVIEWS 

Aids  to  the  Study  of  Ki-Swahili Mcrvyn  W.  H.  Beech  441 

Alerte  au  Desert,  L* Magali  Boisnard  94 


454  INDEX  TO  VOLUME  VIII 

Arab  of   Mesopotamia,   The 440 

Archaeology  and  the  Bible Geo.  A.  Barton  95 

Armenia  and  the  War A.   P.   Hacobain  323 

Bagdad Emile  Auble  432 

Birth  of  Mormonism,  The John  Annicy  Adams  95 

Concerning  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God.Wm.  Cleaver  Wilkinson  437 

Crescent  and  the  Iron  Cross E.  F.  Benson  438 

Croquis  et  Souvenirs  de  la  Nigerie  du  Nord I.  Vischer  325 

Den   Muhammedanske   Borneverden 437 

Discussion  on  Polygamy,  Pardah  System,  Divorce  and  Slavery 

in  Islam M.  Mohammad  Timur  93 

Dr.  Kumm's  Attack  on  the  Holy  Koran.  .M.  Mohammad  Timur  93 

Education  in  Egypt. Amin  Sami  Pasha  206 

Egyptian  Colloquial  Arabic W.   H.  T.  Gairdner  84 

Etudes  Orientales  et  Religieuses   Edouard   Montet  434 

Foundation  of  Modern  Religion,  The H.  B.  Workman  211 

Future  of  Palestine,  The .A.  M.  Hyamson  324 

Geography  and  Geology  of  West  Central  Sinai,  The J.  Ball  211 

German  Road  to  the  East,  The Evans  Lewin  79 

Guidebook  to  Childhood Byron  Forbush  96 

History  of  India,  A Capt.  L.  J.  Trotter  322 

Inside    Constantinople    during    the    Dardanelles    Expedition 

Louis  Einstein  315 

Jewish  Child,  The W.  M.  Feldman  435 

Knights  of  Araby M.   Pickthall  324 

La  Question  d'Orient  depuis  ses  Origines  jusqu'a  la  grande 

guerre Edouard   Driault  433 

La  Tunisie J.  L.  de  Lanessan  432 

Life  of  Abdul  Hamid,  The Sir  E.  Pears  315 

Life     of      Mohammed,      the      Prophet     of      Allah,      The 

Sliman-ben-Ibrahim  316 

Lure  of  Africa,  The C.  H.  Patton  325 

Logia  et  Agrapha  Domini  Jesus Michael  Asin  et  Palacios  433 

Malay  Peninsula,  The A.  Wright  and  Thos.  H.  Reid  209 

Maroc:   Geographic,  Historire,  mise  en  valeur,  Le.  . .  .V.  Piquet  324 

Martyred  Armenia Fa'iz  El-Ghusein  435 

Materials  for  the  Study  of  the  Bahai  Religion 443 

Mormonism Bruce  Kinney  436 

Mythical  Interpretation  of  the  Gospels,  The.  .Thos.  J.  Thorburn  212 

Nestorian  Monument  in  China,  The P.  Y.  Saeki  326 

Omar  Khayyam,  Translated  by  John  Pollen 437 

Orient  Mediterraneen,  L' A.  Duboscq  319 

Panjab,   North-West   Frontier   Province  and  Kashmir,   The 

Sir  Jas.  Douie  94 

Perfumes  of  Araby Lieut.  Col.  H.  Jacob  321 

Presentation  of  Christianity  to  Moslems,  The Report  440 

Rambles  in   Cairo 319 

Recherches  sur  les  Musulmans  Chinois  par  le  Commandant 

d'Ollone,   etc A.   Vissiere  89 

113th  Report  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society ,The.  ...  318 

Re-Conversion  of  Europe Charles  Henry  Robinson  436 

Russia  and  Nomad T.  Nelson  Fell  438 

Salut  du  Drapeau,  Le 323 

Spoken  Arabic  of  Mesopotamia,  The John  van  Ess  88 

Sword  as  wielded  by  Islam  and  Christianity,  The 

Maulvi    Mohammed   AH  93 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  VIII 


455 


Tropics:  their  Resources,  People  and  Future,  The. .  .C.  R.  Enock  313 

Two  War  Years  in  Constantinople H.  Stuermer  320 

Women  of  Egypt,  The Eliz.  Cooper  21 1 

Urdu  Manual  of  the  Phonetic,  Inductive  or  Direct  Method 

Thos.    F.    Cummings  92 

Year  Book  of  the  Netherlands  East  Indies 208 


CONTRIBUTORS 


Aly    El-Ghaiaty 311 

Anderson,  W.  T 39 

Boyd,  Miss  E.  I.  M 45 

Burgess,    Oliver 36 

Camp,   Isaac   115 

"C.  M.  S.  Missionary",  A.  .  60 

Calkins,   Harvey   Reeves. .  .  .  384 

Cantine,  Mrs.  Jas 23 

Davie,  J.   Ferguson 333 

Donaldson,  Dwight  M 137 

Dupre,  Miss  F.  J. .  .95,  172,  325 

Frease,  Edvi^in  F 263 

"G"    323 

Gairdner,  Mrs.  W.  H.  T. . .  18 

Harrison,   Miss  H.  M 141 

Harrison,  Paul  W 412 

Hayes,  H.  E.  E 210,  278 

Heald,  Thomas  B 376 

Holliday,  Miss  G.  Y 29 

Hunt,    Jas.    G 158 

Johnston,   Miss  V.  V 145 

King,  Geo.  E 282 

Kumm,  H.  K.  W 295 

Lieo  Kai  Lien 10 

Logan,  Mrs.  Gordon 20 

"L.  S.  R." 269 

Mansell,  H.  B 213 

Margoliouth,   D.   S 83 

Mingana,  Adolf 99 


Mylrea,  Mrs.  G.  Stanley. .  .  25 

Ogilvie,  Chas.  L 74 

Palmer,  Miss  Reeves 168 

Putney,  Miss  E.  W 162,  323 

Shellabear,  W.   G 183 

Sommer,  Miss  A.  van 67 

Spiro   Bey 206 

Stanton,    H.    U.   Weitbrecht 

315,320 

Takle,   J 249 

Thor,  Mrs.  J.  E 33 

Tisdall,  Chas.  E.  G 4 

Tisdall,  W.  St.  Clair. ... 79,  313 

Trowbridge,    Stephen 211 

Upson,  A.  T 285 

Walter,   H.  A 235 

Warren,  Thos.  J.  P 149 

Weir,  T.  H 352 

Watson,  Chas.  R 178 

Wensinck,  A.  J 216 

Wherry,  E.  M 131 

White,  Geo.  E 242 

White,  Bishop  Wm.  C 326 

Williams,    Robt 221,  321 

Worrell,  W.  H 84 

Yu  Shao  Chai 404 

Zwemer,  S.  M 359 

Zwemer,  S.  M i,  7i,  m 

Editorials  and  Book  Reviews. 


T 


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