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THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM 


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THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY 
IN  ISLAM 


ANSWERING  THE  QUESTION  WHY  THERE 

ARE    SO    FEW    MOSLEM   CONVERTS,   AND 

GIVING     EXAMPLES     OF      THEIR      MORAL 

COURAGE   AND    MARTYRDOM 


BY 

SAMUEL    M.    ZWEMER 


MARSHALL     BROTHERS,    LTD, 
LONDON,   EDINBURGH   &   NEW   YORK 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 

by 

Hunt,  Barnard  <S-  Co.,  Ltd., 
Aylesbury. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

PREFACE       . .         7 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS     . .          . .         . .         . .  12 

I.     WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?        . .         . .  13 

II.    THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY . .  31 

III.  How  IT  WORKS       55 

IV.  CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION  75 
V.     HIDDEN  DISCIPLES              . .         . .         . .         . .  103 

VI.    THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA         129 

VII.    BIBLIOGRAPHY          . .         . .         163 


"  The  question  of  apostasy  has  furnished  detractors  of  Islam  a  fruitful 
source  of  alleging  all  kinds  of  barbarities  against  the  Faith  of  Muhammad 
(peace  and  blessings  be  upon  his  holy  soul  /) ,  and  never  was  an  allegation 
more  ill-founded  than  this.  The  habit  which  makes  itself  responsible  for 
laying  such  and  other  baseless  and  highly  unjust  charges  at  the  door  of 
Islam  is  the  psychological  result  of  a  mental  activity  in  which  the  chief 
elements  are  those  of  an  inherent  prejudice  against  Islam  combined  with 
ignorance.  It  is  the  ignorance  of  the  true  and  genuine  Islam  which 
manifests  itself  so  frequently  in  the  Press  and  on  the  platform  of 
Christian  missionary  propaganda  in  so  many  ways  in  which  its  tenets 
are  depicted  in  the  blackest  of  colours." 

"  Islamic  Review,"  November  1916. 


PREFACE. 

THE  story  is  told  that  Damocles,  at  the  court  of  Dionysius  of 
Sicily,  pronounced  the  latter  the  happiest  man  on  earth.  When, 
however,  Damocles  was  permitted  to  sit  on  the  royal  throne, 
he  perceived  a  sword  hanging  by  a  horse-hair  over  his  head. 
The  imagined  felicity  vanished,  and  he  begged  Dionysius  to 
remove  him  from  his  seat  of  peril.  To-day  we  read  of  new 
mandatories,  of  liberty,  and  of  promised  equality  to  minorities 
under  Moslem  rule ;  and  newspapers  assert  that  a  new  era 
has  come  to  the  Near  East.  Economic  development,  in 
tellectual  awakening,  reforms,  constitutions,  parliaments  and 
promises  !  Does  the  sword  of  Damocles,  however,  still  hang 
over  the  head  of  each  convert  from  Islam  to  Christianity  ?  Is 
the  new  Islam  more  tolerant  than  the  old  ?  Will  the  lives  and 
property  of  converts  be  protected,  and  the  rights  of  minorities 
be  respected  ?  This  little  book  is  an  attempt  to  answer  one 
aspect  of  these  large  questions,  which  are  all  of  vital  impor 
tance  to  the  work  of  Christian  Missions. 

Again  and  again  has  European  pressure,  aided  by  a  few 
educated  Orientals,  endeavoured  to  secure  equality  before  the 
law  for  all  religions  and  races  in  the  Near  East.  But  as  often 
as  the  attempt  was  made  it  proved  a  failure,  each  new  failure 
more  ghastly  than  the  last.  The  reason  is  that  the  conscience 
and  the  faith  of  the  most  sincere  and  upright  Moslems  are 
bound  up  with  the  Koran  and  the  Traditions.  Civilization 
cannot  eradicate  deep-seated  convictions.  Rifles  and  iron 
clads,  the  caf 6,  the  theatre,  written  constitutions,  representative 
parliaments ;  none  of  these  reach  far  below  the  surface. 
A  truer  freedom,  a  deeper  religious  experience,  a  higher  life 
than  the  one  supplied  by  their  own  faith,  must  come  before 
Moslems  can  enter  into  the  larger  liberty  which  we  enjoy. 

Dr.  Snouck  Hurgronje,  who  cannot  be  suspected  either  of 
ignorance  or  of  prejudice  in  what  he  writes  on  this  subject, 
says  :  "  The  whole  set  of  laws  which,  according  to  Islam, 


8  PREFACE 

should  regulate  the  relations  between  believers  and  un 
believers,  is  the  most  consequent  elaboration  imaginable  of 
a  mixture  of  religion  and  of  politics  in  their  mediaeval  form. 
That  he  who  possesses  material  power  should  also  dominate 
the  mind  is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  the  possibility 
that  adherents  of  different  religions  could  live  together  as 
citizens  of  the  same  state  and  with  equal  rights  is  excluded. 
Such  was  the  situation  in  the  Middle  Ages  not  only  with 
Mohammedans  :  before  and  even  long  after  the  Reformation 
our  ancestors  did  not  think  very  differently  on  the  matter. 
The  difference  is  chiefly  this,  that  Islam  has  fixed  all  these 
mediaeval  regulations  in  the  form  of  eternal  laws,  so  that 
later  generations,  even  if  their  views  have  changed,  find  it  hard 
to  emancipate  themselves  from  them." l 

Among  the  laws  that  regulate  the  relation  between  the 
Moslem  community  and  those  who  wish  to  leave  it  and  join 
some  other  faith,  is  the  law  of  apostasy.  To  show  what 
this  law  is  ;  how  it  works  in  the  community  and  towards 
the  individual ;  what  effect  it  has  had  on  the  relations  of 
Islam  to  Christianity  ;  and  how  it  is  necessary  to  abrogate 
this  law,  or  modify  it,  that  there  may  be  liberty  of  con 
science  and  freedom  to  confess  Christ — such  is  the  purpose 
of  this  little  book. 

In  its  preparation  we  have  consulted  the  Arabic  sources, 
and  other  literature  given  in  the  bibliography.  We  are  also 
indebted  to  correspondence  received  from  missionary  workers 
in  many  lands  from  Java  and  Western  China,  to  Morocco 
and  Nigeria.  Their  united  testimony  is  the  more  important, 
because  it  covers  so  large  an  area,  and  comes  from  unimpeach 
able  witnesses. 

Recent  Moslem  writers,  especially  those  of  the  Woking 
school,  have  attempted  to  show  that  Islam  always  was  and 
is  now  a  religion  of  tolerance.  They  have  emphasized  the 
one  Koran  text  that  seems  to  inculcate  such  a  doctrine. 
"  Surely  those  who  believe,  and  those  who  are  Jews,  and  the 
Sabaeans,  and  the  Christians — whosoever  believes  in  Allah 
and  the  Last  Day,  and  does  good — they  shall  have  no  fear, 

1  The  Holy  War,  by  Dr.  C.  Snouck  Hurgronje  (Putman,  New  York,  1915), 
pp.  10,  ii. 


PREFACE  9 

neither  shall  they  grieve"  (v :  69).  This  text,  however,  has 
not  proved  a  Magna  Charta  of  liberty  for  minorities  in  any 
Moslem  land,  not  in  Arabia  during  the  seventh  century,  not 
even  in  Egypt  or  India  during  the  twentieth  century. 
Khwajah  Kemal-ud-Din  in  his  recent  book,  India  in  the 
Balance  (p.  136),  says,  "As  to  the  change  of  religion  and  its 
penalty  under  the  Moslem  rule,  there  need  be  no  misgiving. 
In  Islam  there  is  no  penalty  for  apostasy."  Such  a  statement 
is  categorical.  He  goes  on  to  say,  "  Islam  is  not  a  religion 
of  the  sword.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  religion  of  peaceful 
conversion,  tolerant  in  ideal  and  altogether  democratic  in  its 
world  vision.  As  such  it  must  be  judged  by  its  principles  and 
its  laws  and  not  by  their  breach." 

In  the  Islamic  Review  (November  1916)  we  read  :  "It  can 
be  very  safely  asserted  that  Islam  does  not  prescribe  any 
punishment  in  this  world  for  apostasy.  This,  for  very 
obvious  reasons,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  greatest  triumphs 
of  the  True  Religion  of  Allah  have  throughout  lain  in  the  fact 
of  its  being  extremely  rational,  persuasive,  and  human." 
And  (to  quote  one  more  apologist  for  Islam)  Mohammed  Ali, 
M.A.,  in  his  English  translation  of  the  Koran  has  a  footnote 
on  the  subject  of  apostasy,  in  which  he  states  that  "  neither 
here  nor  anywhere  else  in  the  Holy  Koran  is  there  even  a  hint  of 
the  infliction  of  capital  or  any  other  punishment  on  the  apostate." 
While  the  Islamic  Review,  not  satisfied  with  this  special  plea 
regarding  the  Koran,  makes  an  appeal  to  Tradition,  saying 
that  "  the  life  of  the  Holy  Prophet,  whose  each  and  every 
act  has  been  minutely  recorded  by  historians,  likewise  is 
destitute  of  any  direct  or  indirect  reference  which  might  give 
us  any  hint  as  to  the  apostate  having  been  condemned  to  die 
solely  for  his  change  of  faith."  Such  statements  cannot  be 
allowed  to  stand  unchallenged.  This  little  book  may  be 
considered  as  a  presentation  of  the  facts  on  the  other  side  of 
the  question  ;  and  we  leave  the  decision  to  the  candid  reader. 

Cairo,  1924.  S.  M.  ZWEMER. 


SYNOPSIS 

Page 

PREFACE    . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .  7 

Is  Islam  a  religion  of  tolerance  ? — Opinion  of  Islamic  scholars — 
Is  there  no  penalty  for  apostasy  ? — This  book  the  answer. 


CHAPTER  I.     WHY   so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  13 

The  indisputable  fact  that  converts  are  few — Various  reasons 
alleged — The  true  reason  given  is  the  law  of  apostasy — 
Testimony  from  Egypt,  a  convert's  letter — Constantinople 
— Nigeria  —  India  — Algeria  —  Tunisia  — Java —  Sumatra  — 
China. 


CHAPTER  II.    THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY         . .         . .  31 

In  the  Koran — Texts  quoted  and  explained — The  importance 
of  Tradition — How  and  when  collected — Its  authority — 
Traditions  on  how  Mohammed  dealt  with  apostates — Woking 
denies  that  this  Tradition  is  germane — Hanifi  law  regarding 
the  apostate — His  property,  family  and  person — The  death 
penalty — His  children — Maliki  law  according  to  Capt.  F.  H. 
Ruxton — The  law  in  Turkey — How  it  was  modified — Other 
authorities — The  Minhaj-at-Talibin — Summary  in  Al  Mad- 
khal — Marriage  annulled — Act  in  India  to  mitigate  this  law 
of  apostasy — How  the  law  produces  intolerance  towards 
missionaries — In  the  fourteenth  century  at  Trebizond — And 
in  the  nineteenth  century  the  Armenian  Massacres  and 
forced  conversions. 


CHAPTER  III.    How  IT  WORKS         55 

The  law  not  a  dead  letter — Doughty  in  Arabia — A  convert 
threatened  in  East  Arabia — In  Michigan  University — In 
stances  in  Egypt — In  the  Delta  an  inquirer  is  poisoned — 
The  baptism  at  Sanabo — Other  cases  of  persecution  in  Egypt 
— In  Turkey — In  Nigeria — The  martyr  of  Smyrna — Shems 
id-Din — Mirza  Paulos  of  Persia — Use  of  poison  in  North 
Africa — Exporting  converts  from  Syria  to  Egypt — An  Afridi 
lad  stoned  to  death  for  Christ — What  a  girl  convert  suffered 
in  Java — An  Aden  Arab  threatened — Conditions  in  Palestine 
— India — Testimony  of  Sir  S.  K.  Scott-Moncrieff — The 
martyr  of  Afghanistan — A  White  Father  "  passed  for 
martyrdom." 

10 


SYNOPSIS  ii 

Page 

CHAPTER  IV.     CENTURIES    OF    INTOLERANCE    AND 

PERSECUTION . .          . .  75 

Who  were  the  earliest  apostates  ? — Obeidallah  ibn  Jahsh — 
Their  fate — War  declared  against  apostates  after  Mohammed's 
death — What  toleration  of  Christians  meant — Conditions 
imposed  on  those  who  were  tolerated — Laws  to  show 
disability  and  inferiority  —  Gibbon's  summary  —  Toleration 
became  intolerable — Dress  and  social  position  of  Christians 
— Forced  conversion  to  Islam  in  Persia — The  ordinances  of 
Omar — Christians  not  to  hold  office — Persecution  of  the 
Copts  and  its  result — Martrydom  of  Geronimo — A  tragedy 
in  stone — The  burial  permits  given  to  Christians  and  Jews — 
Jihad  and  the  Armenian  Massacres — Religious  assassination 
— Even  among  the  Bahais — Conversions  to  Christianity 
in  all  these  centuries — The  ritual  used — Joseph  Pitts  made 
Moslem  —  His  visit  to  Mecca  — •  Henry  Martyn's  earliest 
convert — "  Whosoever  shall  confess  Me  before  men." 


CHAPTER  V.     HIDDEN  DISCIPLES       103 

Nicodemus  came  by  night — Such  are  found  everywhere  in 
the  world  of  Islam — What  would  you  do  ? — Bible  readers  in 
Arabia — Experience  of  colporteurs  in  Muscat — Albania — 
Teheran — Secret  disciples  in  Egypt — What  about  baptism  ? 
— A  Moslem  convert's  opinion — William  Famison — How  he 
found  Christ — His  letters — His  witness — A  martyr's  death 
in  Cairo — Two  mullahs  from  Turkey — Their  boldness  and 
preaching  before  baptism — Controversy  and  persecution — 
Secret  believers  in  the  Sudan  and  in  Palestine — A  seeker 
after  God  in  Mecca — The  man  who  baptized  himself — The 
Circassian  officer — The  young  woman  of  Meerut — Hidden 
disciples  in  Turkey — The  candy-seller — The  lad  at  school — 
For  ever  with  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  VI.    THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA  . .  129 

Price  of  religious  liberty — Early  proclamations  in  Africa  and 
India — Present  conditions  in  India — The  Dutch  East  Indies 
— Africa — Egypt  under  the  old  laws  and  the  new  Constitution 
— The  long,  long  trail  in  Turkey — Promises  on  paper — 
The  new  Treaties — Whither  do  they  tend  ? — Syria  and 
Palestine  under  Mandates — Persia  under  the  new  government 
— Greater  liberty — Iraq — The  two  areas  of  forbidden  liberty 
in  Africa,  the  Sudan  and  Nigeria — Signs  of  the  dawn  of 
freedom — A  Turkish  testimony — The  judgment  of  history  on 
Islam  and  human  freedom. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY . .         . .          163 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plaster  Cast  of  Geronimo          Frontispiece 

Group  of  Converts  from  Java  .  .          .  .          . .  . .      Facing  page  16 

Facsimile  of  MSS.  Page  from  "  Bukhari  "  . .  . .  ,,           4° 

Facsimile  of  Page  from  a  Standard  Law  Book  .  .  ,,           48 

Facsimile  of  Page  from  "  Muslim,"  vol.  ii,  p.  34  .  .  „           64 

Tomb  of  Geronimo         . .          . .          . .          . .  . .  •»           88 

The  Cathedral  at  Famagusta    .  .          .  .          . .  . .  ,,           96 

"  Medan-Moeslimin  "  (a  Java  Magazine]      ..  ..  „         112 

Makhail  Mansur,  a  Converted  Sheikh  . .          . .  . .  ,,         120 

Staff  of  Mission  Hospital,  Meshed     . .  ,,136 

Mirza  of  Persia  and  Abdullah  of  Syria       . .  . .  ,,         144 

Turkish  Flag  of  Freedom,  1908          ,,         154 


12 


CHAPTER  I. 
WHY    SO    FEW    MOSLEM    CONVERTS? 


"  Those  who  care  for  Christ's  Kingdom  of  God  now  know  for  certain 
that  the  evangelization  of  Moslems  is  possible.  And  they  know,  too,  that 
the  cant  P.  dv  O.  first-class-passenger  axiom  about  the  impossibility  of 
Moslem  conversion  to  Christianity  is  utterly  baseless,  and  has  been 
confuted  by  contrary  fact,  in  almost  all  countries,  again  and  again. 
Conversions  from  Islam  in  the  East  Indies  and  parts  of  Africa  run  into 
tens  of  thousands  :  and  in  other  parts  of  the  Moslem  world,  such  as  India, 
Persia  and  Egypt,  they  are  regular  and  familiar  phenomena,  if  not  yet 
relatively  numerous.  And  reports  which  come  to  hand  of  secret  con 
version  and  secret  inquiry  in  lands  where  the  penalty  for  apostasy  is 
death,  show  what  would  happen  there  too  were  freedom  of  conscience  once 
granted  and  made  efficacious." 

CANON  W.  H.  T.  GAIRDNER  in  "  International 
Review  of  Missions." 


The  Law  of  Apostasy  in  Islam 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ? 

IN  considering  the  task  of  evangelizing  the  Moslem  world 
we  must  record  at  the  same  time  great  sacrificial  effort  and 
apparently  small  visible  result.  Looking  back  to  the  early 
pioneers  such  as  Raymond  Lull  and  Francis  of  Assisi,  or 
down  the  past  century  to  Henry  Martyn's  day,  what  is  there 
to  show  for  all  the  tears  and  blood  save  the  patience  of 
unanswered  prayer.  Like  Simon  Peter,  the  lonely  worker  at 
Tangier  or  Tanta,  at  Adana  or  Aden,  at  Khartoum  or 
Kairwan,  might  well  say,  "  Master,  we  have  toiled  all  night 
and  taken  nothing,  nevertheless,  at  Thy  word  we  will  let 
down  the  net."  A  confession  of  faithfulness — "We  have 
toiled."  A  confession  of  failure — "  We  have  taken  nothing." 
A  confession  of  dauntless  faith — "  Nevertheless  we  will  let 
down  the  net." 

These  three  short  phrases  on  the  lips  of  the  Fisherman- Apostle 
express  actual  conditions  in  the  world  of  Islam.  In  Peter's 
boat  there  doubtless  were  a  few  little  sun-fish  and  some  eels 
entangled  in  the  net,  but  in  fisherman's  vocabulary,  in  the 
parlance  of  the  market-place,  Peter  spoke  the  truth  when  he 
said,  "  Master,  we  have  toiled  all  night  and  taken  nothing." 

It  is  true  that  there  are  converts  from  Islam ;  in  Java 
and  Sumatra,  no  less  than  45,000,  won  by  faithful  preaching 
and  by  witness  for  Christ ;  and  yet  the  Dutch  and  the  German 
missionaries  do  not  think  their  work  very  successful  among 
Mohammedans,  because  among  the  cannibal  tribes,  and 
Animists,  they  have  won  for  Christ  in  less  than  a  century  well- 
nigh  900,000  converts.  In  India,  too,  there  are  thousands  of 
Mohammedan  converts  ;  in  every  field  there  is  some  proof, 
thank  God,  that  the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
also  to  Mohammedans,  and  yet  when  we  report  facts  the 

15 


16  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

paucity  of  converts  in  every  one  of  these  fields  is  the  great 
outstanding  fact. 

Mr.  Findlay  Andrew  writes  from  Western  China  :  "  Islam 
has  been  referred  to,  as  a  challenge  to  Christian  missions  ;  once 
a  Moslem  always  a  Moslem  in  Western  China.  During  the 
past  years  but  few  Moslems  have  been  reached  with  the 
Gospel,  and  after  a  profession  of  faith  been  accepted  as  church 
members  or  enquirers,  the  number  has  been  very  small,  and 
of  those  who  have  got  the  faith  only  about  one  remains  in 
church  fellowship  at  the  time  of  my  writing." 

In  Persia  there  are  beginnings  of  a  movement  toward  Christ 
among  Mohammedans,  and  yet,  after  fifty  years  and  more  of 
missionary  effort,  there  are  fewer  than  300  converts  from  Islam. 

In  Arabia,  where  men  and  women  have  toiled  for  thirty-four 
years,  the  total  number  of  Mohammedan  converts  who  are 
professing  openly  that  they  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  are  His  followers,  is  less  than  the  number  of  years  of  toil 
and  tears  and  patience  and  prayer  poured  out  on  those  desert 
acres. 

Turn  to  Turkey,  and  Dr.  McCallum  testifies  :  "All  our  work 
is  practically  destroyed ;  not  a  single  church  of  Moslem 
converts  in  existence  in  all  the  Turkish  area  after  a  hundred 
years  of  foreign  missions." 

In  North  Africa,  including  Egypt,  Tripoli,  Tunisia,  Algeria 
and  Morocco,  the  total  number  of  Mohammedans  who  profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians  must  still  be  put  at  less  than 
five  hundred. 1 

Many  reasons  are  given  for  the  paucity  of  converts.     Some 

1  "  Although  there  are  438  missionaries  in  Egypt,  and  although  some  of 
the  mission  bodies  are  working  almost  exclusively  for  the  Moslems,  and 
although  there  are  about  19,000  Evangelical  Christians  in  Egypt  with  good 
church  organizations  and  a  well-educated  ministry,  and  although  there  are 
in  the  various  mission  schools  approximately  2,500  Moslem  students 
continuously  receiving  instruction  in  Bible  study,  the  visible  result  of  the 
missionary  work  for  Moslems  is  not  very  great.  At  the  present  time  we 
probably  could  not  point  to  more  than  150  living  converts  from  Islam  in 
Egypt.  If  the  Moslem  converts  were  distributed  among  the  missionary 
workers  there  would  be  about  one  convert  for  every  three  missionaries. 
If  the  comparison  is  made  with  the  Evangelical  Church,  there  would  be  about 
one  for  every  congregation  in  Egypt.  Every  missionary  method  known  to 
man  has  been  tried  and  is  being  tried,  but  until  the  present  neither  the 
missions  nor  the  Evangelical  Church  have  whereof  to  boast  in  the  face  of 
this  great  and  baffling  problem." — Missionary  Survey,  1924. 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  17 

blame  the  church  for  lack  of  faith ;  others  the  missionaries 
for  lack  of  love.  The  reason,  others  say,  is  that  we  have  tried 
to  win  by  controversy  rather  than  by  kindness,  and  our 
difficulty  is  one  of  method.  Again,  we  are  told  that  the  time  is 
not  yet,  the  hour  has  not  struck,  the  harvest  is  not  ripe. 

In  some  cases  hope  deferred  has  made  the  heart  sick. 
"  I  venture  the  opinion,"  wrote  such  an  one,  "  that  Islam 
is  perhaps  reprobate.  Since  the  apostasy  was  subsequent 
to  God's  offer  of  grace  in  Christ,  He  has  withdrawn  them 
from  his  sphere  of  activity.  Perhaps  corporately  Islam  has 
sinned  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  have  toiled  here  two  years, 
living  in  this  Moslem  home,  thinking  and  talking  like  a 
Moslem,  knowing  their  inner  life  as  perhaps  few  do.  Why  is  it, 
I  wonder  ?  To  be  quite  candid,  I  expected  that  coming  here 
in  absolute  simplicity  and  poverty,  living  amongst  them,  as 
near  as  possible  as  I  believe  Paul  did,  without  committees  or 
funds,  I  asked  and  expected  God  to  give  the  increase,  and  yet, 
comparatively  speaking,  we  have  caught  nothing/' 

Now  all  the  reasons  given  above  for  the  meagreness  of 
direct  results  in  work  for  Moslems  have  a  measure  of  truth, 
yet  none  of  them  are  sufficient.  It  is  our  conviction  that 
among  the  many  reasons  for  the  small  number  of  converts 
to  the  Christian  faith  in  Moslem  lands  there  is,  perhaps, 
none  so  important,  and  yet  concerning  which  so  little  is 
accurately  known,  as  the  Moslem  law  regarding  apostates. 
Every  convert  to  Christianity  is  an  apostate  from  Islam, 
and  although  there  have  been  apostates  throughout  all  the 
centuries,  and  we  know  of  cases  even  during  the  life-time 
of  Mohammed  the  Prophet,  the  law  of  apostasy  has  become 
fixed  in  Islam,  and  for  thirteen  centuries  has  exercised  its 
dread,  if  not  its  power,  under  all  conditions  and  in  every  land. 
The  apostate  dies  to  his  faith  and  is  regarded  by  his  family 
as  worse  than  dead. 

What  the  feeling  is  in  Egypt,  for  example,  may  be  judged 
from  the  following  notice  sent  out  on  black-edged  paper  and 
in  a  funereal  envelope,  by  a  Moslem  father,  notifying  his  friends 
of  the  apostasy  of  his  son.  It  was  dated  October  30,  1909, 
and  in  every  respect  resembled  a  polite  and  formal  notice  of 
decease. 


18  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

"  MY  SAD  COMPLAINT. 

"  Whereas  the  Christians  who  belong  to  the  Protestant 
Church  have  officially  recorded  a  disgraceful  act  which  cannot 
be  wiped  out  and  never  shall  be  wiped  out,  by  depriving 
me  of  the  sight  of  my  son,  the  favourite  of  my  heart,  even 
from  a  single  glance  of  his  portrait,  and  he  being  of  the  age 
of  twenty-two  years  and  seventy  days  ending  on  the  day  of 
his  unhappy  marriage,  therefore  let  anyone  who  has  any 
religion,  and  everyone,  whatever  may  be  his  religious  persuasion, 
shrink  back  from  assisting  these  ravening  wolves — especially 
those  who  share  with  them  in  their  joys  on  the  coming  Sunday, 
to-morrow,  in  the  Church  of  Al  Miniya  (which  is  called  the 
Evangelical  Church),  because  they  are  consciously  renewing 
the  age  of  persecution  under  Nero. 

"  (Signed)    M.  ABDULLAH." 

During  the  war  there  was  grave  suspicion  that  a  leading 
Moslem  in  Cairo  deliberately  arranged  to  have  his  son  meet 
with  a  tramway  accident  rather  than  permit  his  public  baptism. 
There  have  been  cases  in  Egypt  of  relatives  sending  those  of 
their  family  who  had  leanings  towards  Christianity  into 
asylums  for  the  insane,  with  the  connivance  of  local  author 
ities.  The  penalty  of  public  confession  in  countries  like  Arabia 
and  Afghanistan  is  well  known. 

Islam,  from  the  earliest  times  and  according  to  the  teaching 
of  the  Koran,  has  always  made  it  extremely  easy  to  enter  the 
Moslem  brotherhood,  and  extremely  difficult  for  those  who 
once  enter  its  fold  to  find  exit.  It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to 
say  that  the  doors  of  this  vast  temple  reared  by  the  Arabian 
Prophet  swing  only  inward,  not  outward.  Like  a  cunning 
trap,  everything  yields  to  the  slightest  pressure  from  without, 
but  these  very  yielding  doors  are  securely  barred  and  barbed 
to  lacerate  those  who  attempt  escape.  Dr.  D.  S.  Margoliouth 
called  attention  to  this  in  his  first  lecture  on  "  The  Early 
Development  of  Mohammedanism  "  i1 

"It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  about  the  Mohammedan  system, 
that  since  the  Migration  it  has  demanded  no  qualifications  for 
admission  to  its  brotherhood.  To  those  who  are  outside  its 

1  The  Early  Development  of  Mohammedanism,  London,  1914,  p-  i. 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  19 

pale  it  in  theory  offers  no  facilities  whatever  for  the  study 
of  its  nature  ;  a  man  must  enroll  himself  as  a  member  first, 
and  then  only  may  he  learn  what  his  obligations  are.  The 
Koran  may  not  be  sold  to  Unbelievers  ;  soldiers  are  advised 
not  to  take  it  with  them  into  hostile  territory  for  fear  the 
Unbeliever  should  get  hold  of  it ;  and  many  a  copy  bears 
upon  it  a  warning  to  Unbelievers,  '  Not  to  be  touched'  Pious 
grammarians  have  refused  to  teach  grammar  to  Jews  or 
Christians,  because  the  rules  are  apt  to  be  illustrated  by  quota 
tions  from  the  sacred  volume.  The  Unbeliever  is  by  one  of  the 
codes  forbidden  to  enter  a  mosque  ;  and  even  when  permission 
is  granted  him  to  do  so,  he  is  an  unwelcome  guest.  The 
crowning  ceremony  of  Islam,  the  Pilgrimage,  may  be  witnessed 
by  no  Unbeliever ;  the  penalty  for  intrusion  is  death. 

"  It  follows  that  such  periods  of  instruction  and  probation 
as  are  enjoined  by  some  other  systems  upon  neophytes  are 
unknown  to  Islam,  and  indeed  there  is  no  occasion  for  them. 
Their  purpose  is  to  test  the  neophyte's  sincerity  in  the  first 
place,  and  his  moral  worthiness  in  the  second.  Against  in 
sincerity  the  system  is  sufficiently  armed  by  the  principle  that 
whosoever  abandons  Islam  forfeits  his  life  ;  there  is  then  little 
danger  of  men  joining  for  some  dishonest  purpose  and  quitting 
the  community  when  that  purpose  has  been  served.  A  Moslem 
who  is  in  peril  of  his  life  may  indeed  simulate  perversion,  and 
no  difficulty  is  made  about  readmitting  the  repentant  pervert ; 
but  where  Islam  can  be  safely  professed  the  pervert  cannot 
legally  hope  to  be  spared.  And  it  follows  from  this  principle 
that  martyrdom  in  Islam  means  something  very  different  from 
what  it  means  to  the  Christian.  The  Christian  martyr  is  the 
man  who  dies  professing  his  faith,  but  not  resisting ;  the 
Moslem  martyr  is  one  who  dies  for  his  faith  on  the  battle 
field  ;  more  often  in  endeavouring  to  force  it  upon  others 
than  in  defending  his  own  exercise  thereof.  For  his  sacred 
book  expressly  permits  him  to  refrain  from  confessing  where 
confession  will  result  in  death  or  torment." 

In  his  history  of  the  American  Mission  in  Egypt  (1854- 
1896)  Dr.  Andrew  Watson  states  that  during  this  period  as 
many  as  seventy-five  Mohammedans  were  baptized,  most  of 
them  from  the  poorer  classes  ;  but  all  of  them  were  subject 


20  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

to  persecution  because  the  idea  of  personal  liberty — freedom 
of  conscience — has  no  place  in  Moslem  law,  whether  religious  or 
civil.  "  To  this  very  day,  relatives  will  bring  about  by  secret 
poisoning  or  other  means  the  death  of  those  whose  Christian 
proclivities  cannot  be  removed  by  arguments  or  by  promises." 
He  mentions  among  others  a  graduate  of  one  of  the  Govern 
ment  colleges  who  became  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Bible 
and  witnessed  for  Christ.  "  Efforts  were  made  to  reclaim  him, 
but  the  learned  men  of  his  former  religion  could  not  stand  before 
his  clear  reasoning  and  strong  arguments.  Force  was  then 
resorted  to,  and  he  was  seized  by  a  mob  and  dragged  to  the 
kadi's  court.  There  he  was  not  only  maltreated,  but,  contrary 
to  law,  imprisoned.  His  goods  were  seized,  his  wife  divorced 
him,  and  he  himself  sent  to  the  Government  hospital  on  the 
plea  that  he  was  insane.  His  arrest  was  promptly  brought  to 
the  attention  of  Her  Majesty's  representative  in  Egypt,  but 
Sharif  Pasha,  the  Prime  Minister,  persuaded  Her  Majesty's 
Consul-General  that  the  young  man's  presence  as  a  converted 
Moslem  would  be  the  cause  of  excitement  and  disturbance 
and  a  possible  religious  mob,  and  he  consented  to  a  temporary 
removal  of  the  young  man  from  the  country,  or  to  what  was 
in  reality  his  banishment  from  his  native  land  ;  and  all  because 
he  had  read  his  Bible,  had  become  convinced  of  its  truth, 
and  dared  to  say  so.  Two  other  persons  from  the  upper 
country,  on  its  becoming  known  that  they  were  attending 
Christian  assemblies,  were  seized,  beaten  and  imprisoned. 
Still  persisting  in  their  adherence  to  the  Christian  faith,  they 
were  sent  to  Cairo  and  kept  in  prison  until,  through  the 
representations  made  to  the  Government  through  Sir  Evelyn 
Baring  (now  Lord  Cromer),  they  were  brought  to  the 
American  Mission  in  Cairo." 

Of  other  cases  we  read  that  they  were  beaten,  imprisoned, 
exiled,  or  in  many  ways  deterred  from  embracing  Christianity 
for  fear  of  social  persecution  and  family  alienations.  Corre 
spondence  received  this  year  (1923)  from  a  score  of  native 
pastors  in  Egypt  seem  to  indicate  that  this  spirit  of  persecution 
and  intolerance  is  almost  as  prevalent  as  it  was  in  the  past. 
Any  revival  of  nationalism  seems  to  result  in  Islamic  pride 
and  manifestations  of  intolerance  toward  minorities. 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  21 

The  following  letter,  written  by  a  Moslem  convert  in  Cairo, 
shows  better  than  any  argument  could  do  the  conditions  that 
obtained  in  Egypt  in  1878.  It  was  written  on  January  2ist 
of  that  year.  The  writer  afterwards  escaped  from  Egypt, 
received  a  medical  education  in  Scotland,  and  has  had  a 
remarkable  career  as  a  medical  missionary  in  China  : — 

"  To  HER  HIGHNESS,  THE  MAHARANEE  DULUP  SINGH. 

"As  your  Highness  is  a  convert  of  the  American  Mission 
School  in  Cairo,  and  as  you  have  much  interest  in  all  who  lovfe 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  this  city  and  in  this  land,  I  wish  to 
take  the  liberty  of  telling  you  of  my  persecutions  since  I 
became  a  Christian  five  months  ago.  I  am  an  Egyptian,  and 
was  a  pupil  in  the  American  School  five  years,  and  also  a 
teacher  the  last  two  years.  My  father  is  a  strict  Mohammedan, 
but  when  I  was  teaching  and  reading  the  Bible  I  found  that 
the  Mohammedan  religion  is  not  the  true  one.  I  searched 
many  months  for  the  true  religion  of  God,  and  read  the  Bible 
very  much,  and  some  other  books  ;  and  when  I  found  that 
Christianity  is  the  true  faith,  I  rejected  my  father's  religion. 

"  Fearing  that  my  father  and  relations  would  murder  me,  I 
intended  to  fly  away  from  their  faces  ;  but  when  I  consulted 
Dr.  Lansing  and  Dr.  Watson,  the  two  missionaries  in  Cairo, 
they  persuaded  me  that  Cairo  would  be  safer  for  me  than 
any  other  place.  So  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  come  to 
Dr.  Lansing's  house  for  protection.  I  sent  letters  to  my  father 
and  brothers  about  the  reason  for  my  leaving  home  and 
embracing  Christianity.  I  wished  very  much  to  show  my  love 
to  Christ  and  to  profess  His  name,  and  so  I  was  soon  baptized 
in  the  Mission  Chapel  by  my  name  Ahmed . 

"  My  brothers  and  friends  and  sheikhs  and  learned  men  came 
often  to  see  me  and  made  much  controversy  with  me,  but  by 
the  help  of  God  I  was  always  victorious,  which  made  them  very 
angry.  For  fear  of  them,  I  never  went  out  excepting  to  teach 
in  the  school,  which  is  only  a  few  steps  from  Dr.  Lansing's 
house,  and  in  a  very  public  place.  They  had  spies  watching 
me  for  several  days,  and  after  five  weeks,  on  coming  home 
one  afternoon,  I  was  surrounded  by  ten  persons,  three  of  them 
being  my  brothers.  They  caught  me,  and  putting  their  hands 


22  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

on  my  mouth  and  eyes,  thrust  me  in  a  closed  carriage  in  a 
very  violent  manner. 

"  There  was  a  cafe  very  near,  and  when  some  men  saw  this 
they  came  forward  to  stop  the  horses  from  going  and  to  help 
me  ;  but  my  uncle,  who  was  standing  near,  called  out  '  Let 
them  alone ;  this  is  by  the  order  of  the  Government.'  They 
took  me  to  my  father's  house,  assuring  me  that  if  I  did  not 
tell  him  that  I  was  a  Mohammedan  when  he  asked  me,  he 
would  kill  me.  I  did  tell  him,  however,  that  I  was  a  Christian, 
and  he  brought  the  most  learned  philosopher  in  Cairo  and  a 
very  learned  man,  and  with  many  others  present  they  talked 
with  me  very  hotly  eight  hours,  until  I  was  sick  and  vomited. 

"After  three  days  of   continued  controversy,  seeing  that   I 
would    not  yield,  they  then  threatened  me  with  immediate 
death  according  to  their  law,  and  in  such  a  way  I  was  certain 
it  would  be  done.     Now    the   great   trial   had  come,  and  I 
began  to  feel  a  little  weak.    They  wrote  a  paper  saying  that 
I   had  returned  home  of  my  own  will  and  also  to  Moham 
medanism,   and  forced  me  to    put    my    name   to   it.     They 
next    took    me    to  the  police   house   and   compelled  me    to 
write   with    my    own    hand  to    the  same  effect.    After  this 
they  took  me  to  the  English  Consulate,  where  I  was  again 
forced  to  say  the  same  thing,  as  my  brothers  were  secretly 
armed  to  kill  me  or  any  one  who  would  defend  me  if  I  did  not 
do  so.    Although  after  all  this  had  been  done  they  knew  I  was 
still  a  Christian  at  heart,  it  was  proclaimed  that  I  had  returned 
to  Mohammedanism,  and  they  made  a  great  feast  to  deceive 
and  to  take  away  the  disgrace  of  the  family.    The  controversy 
still  continued,  and  after  a  month,  when  I  wished  to  have  my 
freedom  and  go  to  teach  in  the  school  they  refused,  I  showed 
them  even  more  strongly  that  I  am  still  a  Christian,  and  insisted 
upon  my  rights.     But  knowing  the  danger  that  I  was  now  in, 
the  Lord  helped  me  to  escape  out  of  their  hands  ;  when  I  again 
sought  refuge  at  Dr.  Lansing's  house,  to  whom  I  am  certainly 
indebted  for  his  kindness  because  of  his  giving  me  to  eat  and 
treatment  as  his  own  beloved  son. 

"  Now  I  wish  to  tell  your  Highness  that  I  am  again  a  prisoner, 
unable  to  go  out  at  all  or  even  to  step  on  the  balcony ;  because 
they  are  so  excited  and  watching  me  night  and  day,  desiring  to 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  23 

quench  their  thirst  with  my  blood,  the  blood  of  the  helpless 
young  Christian.  My  brothers,  according  to  their  law,  often 
assured  me  that  if  they  murdered  me  they  would  be  martyrs 
for  doing  so.  I  thank  God  who  delivered  me  out  of  the 
hands  of  my  Government,  which  I  fully  believe  is  watching 
me  and  allowing  my  relatives  to  do  whatever  they  please  and 
wish,  so  that  I  may  be  destroyed.  Oh,  would  that  God  would 
bring  freedom  and  justice  here  very  soon.  How  dreadful  is 
such  injustice  and  oppression.  How  freedomless  is  this  miserable 
country.  How  many  persecutions  for  embracing  God's  true 
religion  I  have  suffered  I  cannot  tell,  and  how  many  troubles 
I  have  endured.  As  I  have  no  freedom  and  no  prospect  of  liberty 
or  safety,  may  I  ask  your  Highness  to  have  compassion  on 
me ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  of  Justice,  to  help  me  and 
deliver  me  out  of  the  hands  of  such  wicked  and  barbarous 
people. 

"  I  hope  your  Highness  will  excuse  me  for  troubling  you 
so  much ;  but  you  will  see  that  I  am  in  great  distress 
and  need  help.  I  know  that  you  love  Christ  very  much,  and 
also  all  the  people  who  suffer  for  His  sake.  As  you  are  a  friend 
of  Her  Majesty,  the  Good  Queen  of  England,  would  you  do 
me  the  great  favour  to  beseech  her  to  use  her  exalted  power  to 
help  me,  as  I  believe  nothing  else  will  avail.  I  wish  her  to  know, 
also,  that  I  not  only  ask  her  help  for  myself,  but  for  many 
others  who  wish  to  embrace  Christianity,  but  cannot  for  fear  of 
persecution  and  death.  I  am  very  anxious  to  study  the  Holy 
Bible  in  the  theological  school,  that  I  may,  with  the  help  of 
God,  preach  to  the  ignorant  people  in  this  land.  I  do  not  wish 
the  Government  to  hear  of  this  letter  of  your  servant,  lest  it 
should  tear  me  into  pieces.  I  wish  your  Highness  to  pray  for 
me  that  I  may  be  strong  and  endure  much,  and  all  this  help  I 
ask  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  Whose  name  I  have 
suffered  much. 

"  I  am  your  Highness'  most  obedient  and  most  humble 
servant,  etc., 

"A.  F. 

"  P.S. — Since  writing  the  above  this  morning  I  have  received 
a  secret  visit  from  a  true  friend  of  my  family,  whom  I  can  trust, 
begging  me  not  to  leave  this  house,  assuring  me  that  my  life 


24  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

will  not  be  spared.  My  father  has  given  orders  to  my  brothers 
and  all  to  kill  me  if  they  meet  me  and  they  are  watching  me 
constantly.  You  thus  see  my  perilous  state.  May  God  help 
me,  and  shield  me  from  the  power  of  my  many  enemies. 

"A.  F. 
"  Sent  Jan.  2ist,  1878." 

This  letter  is  typical  not  only  of  past  but  of  present  con 
ditions  ;  from  every  part  of  the  Moslem  mission  field  the 
testimony  is  positive  and  accumulative  that  one  of  the  chief 
causes  for  the  paucity  of  converts  and  the  difficulty  of  securing 
public  confessions  on  the  part  of  secret  disciples  is  the 
intimidating  power  of  this  attitude  towards  apostates.  A  mis 
sionary  of  long  experience  in  Egypt  writes  :  "  I  should  say  that 
certainly  the  Moslem  law  on  apostates  seems  to  be  a  very  real 
cause  for  the  hesitation  on  the  part  of  converts  to  pass  over 
from  their  Islamic  connections  to  become  Christians.  I  do  not 
say  that  it  is  a  cause  for  the  paucity  of  converts,  but  rather 
for  the  paucity  of  open  confession  in  a  legal  way.  I  think  we 
have  every  reason  to  be  quite  assured  that,  if  that  law  were 
in  some  way  annulled,  there  would  be  a  very,  very  decided 
change." 

"  I  think  there  can  be  very  little  room  for  doubt,"  writes 
the  Rev.  W.  T.  Fairman,  "  that  the  Moslem  law  concerning 
apostates  is  one  of  the  factors  to  explain  the  paucity  of  converts 
from  Islam  to  Christianity.  Death,  forced  separation  from 
wife  and  family,  loss  of  property  and  legal  rights,  naturally 
cause  many  who  are  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  to 
hesitate  to  profess  faith  in  Christ." 

President  C.  F.  Gates,  of  Robert  College,  Constantinople, 
states  :  "  The  fear  of  death  is  certainly  one  cause  for  the  fewness 
of  converts  from  Islam  to  Christianity.  Every  Moslem  knows 
that  his  life  is  in  danger  if  he  becomes  a  Christian.  I  have 
known  a  good  many  instances  of  Moslems  who  would  secretly 
assert  themselves  as  Christians,  but  would  make  no  open  state 
ment  because  of  the  danger  attending  it." 

Another  missionary  writes  as  follows  :  "As  far  as  Turks  are 
concerned,  the  Moslem  law  of  apostasy  has  been  the  great  cause 
for  the  paucity  of  converts.  I  have  this  on  the  testimony  of 
several  of  my  Turkish  friends.  And  Moslems  who  have  accepted 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  25 

Christianity  here  have  always  felt  that  they  were  endangering 
their  lives  by  doing  so.  Theoretically  the  penalty  of  death  has 
been  abrogated,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  still  exists  in  actual 
practice.  The  only  difference  being  that  before  its  abrogation 
executions  under  this  law  took  place  in  public,  and  now  all 
usually  known  is  that  converts  disappear." 

The  Rev.  William  Miller  once  asked  a  convert  from  Islam 
this  question,  "  Is  the  law  of  apostasy  a  cause  for  the  fewness 
of  converts  ?  "  He  replied,  "  It  is  the  cause  !  "  Mr.  Miller  says, 
"  Persians  know  that  some  years  ago  scores  of  Babis  and 
Bahais  were  killed  in  Yezd  and  elsewhere  for  having  left  Islam  : 
and  there  is  a  universal  fear  that  such  a  fate  may  await  any 
one  who  dares  apostatize.  Bahaism  enjoins  taqiyet  (concealment 
of  faith)  as  a  duty,  but  Christianity  demands  public  confession  ; 
and  hence  in  Persia  it  is  far  easier  to  become  a  Bahai  than  to 
become  a  Christian.  The  law  does  not  prevent  earnest  men 
from  becoming  Christians,  but  it  prevents  many  weaker  seekers 
for  the  truth  from  pressing  on  to  a  thorough  study  of  Christianity. ' ' 

The  same  testimony  comes  from  lands  where  British  or  French 
rule  has  been  established,  and  where  we  might  expect  a  change 
in  the  attitude  toward  the  apostate.  ' '  In  my  Indian  experience, ' ' 
writes  the  Rev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht-Stanton,  D.D.,  "  the  direct 
operation  of  this  law  is  confined  to  the  North-west  Frontier 
and  to  Afghanistan.  Even  in  the  districts  under  British 
administration,  however,  the  spirit  of  the  Moslem  death  penalty 
for  apostasy  is  operative.  The  life  of  Pennell  furnishes  instances. 
Abdu'l  Karim  was  done  to  death  in  British  territory,  and  he 
was  not  the  only  one.  Unquestionably,  the  absence  of  converts 
in  Afghanistan,  and  their  paucity  in  the  North-west  Frontier 
Province,  as  compared  with  the  Central  Punjab,  is  due  to  the 
peril  to  life  and  limb  which  the  convert  suffers  in  the  former, 
but  is  protected  from  in  the  latter." 

"  If  apostasy,  according  to  the  Koran,  is  death,  then  the 
Moslems  of  Algeria  have  no  legal  right  at  present  to  enforce 
such  a  law,"  says  Mr.  Alfred  R.  Shorey.  "Attempts  have  been 
made,  however,  to  poison  converts  and  persecute  them.  A  case 
which  came  directly  under  my  notice  was  that  of  a  young 
Arab  from  Tunisia,  who  was  brought  to  Christ,  I  believe, 
through  Mrs.  Flad  of  Tunis.  The  young  fellow's  relatives  tried 


26  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

to  poison  him.  He  went  to  England  and  found  work  there 
for  a  few  months  ;  and  then  through  the  good  offices  of 
Mrs.  Parker,  wife  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Parker,  City  Temple, 
London,  he  was  sent  to  Canada,  and  finally  became  a  naturalized 
Canadian.  After  twelve  years'  absence  he  returned  to  North 
Africa,  and  went  to  see  his  parents  ;  but  he  was  even  then 
afraid  that  his  father  might  poison  or  kill  him.  Another  case 
was  that  of  a  Kabyle  girl,  a  baptized  Christian,  and  now  married 
to  a  Christian  Kabyle.  She  was  twice  poisoned,  either  through 
jealousy  or  Moslem  fanaticism  ;  probably  through  both,  for  she 
openly  confessed  faith  in  Christ.  The  second  time  she  was 
very  ill,  and  at  death's  door  ;  but  was  raised  up,  we  believe,  in 
answer  to  prayer.  To  my  mind,  the  chief  cause  of  paucity  in 
the  number  of  converts  is  fear  of  persecution  and  lack  of 
moral  courage." 

Mr.  James  L.  Lockhead  writes  as  follows  :  "Algeria  being 
under  French  law,  and  there  being  liberty  of  conscience,  I 
do  not  think  that  we  can  say  that  the  Moslem  law  regarding 
apostates  accounts  for  the  paucity  of  converts.  Yet  there  is 
always  the  deep-rooted  idea  in  every  one  brought  up  in  Islam 
that  to  leave  Islam  for  another  religion  is  an  awful  and  un 
pardonable  sin.  I  do  not  know  of  any  convert  here  who  has 
been  put  to  death  for  his  faith  in  Christ.  This  is  because  Moslems 
are  afraid  of  French  law ;  but  many  of  the  fanatical  Moslems 
would  fain  put  the  converts  to  death  and  have  said  so.  I  was 
walking  on  the  street  in  Tunis  with  Sidi  Elbeddai,  our  Bible 
Depot-keeper  there,  and  two  Moslem  students  from  the  mosque 
passed.  In  passing  they  spat  on  the  ground  as  they  saw 
Sidi  El  Beddai,  and  said,  '  Dog,  son  of  a  dog.'  This  indicated 
their  feelings.  Another  convert  from  Tunis  left  there  a  number 
of  years  ago  for  Canada.  After  an  absence  of  a  few  years  he 
returned  on  a  visit  to  his  parents  who  were  still  in  Tunis. 
He  refused  to  live  with  them,  and  through  fear  of  treachery 
was  very  careful  of  what  food  he  partook.  I  do  not  consider 
that  it  would  be  very  safe  for  one  of  our  converts  to  go  into  a 
country  alone,  or  to  be  much  in  the  Arab  town  after  dark. 
He  could  be  done  away  with,  and  it  would  be  most  difficult  to 
trace  the  culprits.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  case  of  women 
converts,  especially  among  the  middle  or  upper  classes,  is  even 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  27 

more  dangerous.  If  a  woman  convert  took  a  decided  stand  as 
a  Christian  in  the  face  of  fanaticism  she  could  be  disposed  of 
easily." 

We  are  told  that  in  Tunisia  the  Moslem  law  for  apostates 
is  not  directly  a  cause  for  the  paucity  of  converts.  "  I  do 
not  know  that  the  law  has  ever  been  formally  abolished  or 
annulled,"  writes  Mr.  Evan  E.  Short,  "  but  under  French 
protectorate  its  operation  is  unimaginable.  There  is  sometimes, 
however,  a  certain  fear  of  what  the  Moslem  authorities  might 
do,  and  this  hinders  inquirers.  But  the  strong  deterrent  cause 
is  fear  of  family,  social  and  business  boycotting  and  persecution  ; 
which  might  even  bring  about  death." 

Even  when  our  correspondents  do  not  state  that  the  law 
against  apostates  is  the  cause  of  timidity  in  confessing  Christ, 
they  point  out  that  the  attitude  toward  a  convert  who  has  left 
the  fold  is  one  of  secret,  and  often  open,  hostility.  Miss  I. 
Lilias  Trotter  says  :  "As  to  your  query  about  the  effects  in 
Algeria  of  the  Moslem  law  in  regard  to  converts,  we  do  not 
think  that  it  has  much  to  do  with  their  paucity  and  timidity, 
for  appeal  can  always  be  made  to  the  French  law. 
We  have  known  several  cases  of  threatened  disinheritance, 
and  of  converts  who  have  had  to  relinquish  their  share 
of  income  that  might  have  been  theirs ;  but  their 
affairs  are,  apart  from  Christianity,  so  apt  to  be  in  a 
tangle,  and  the  proceeds  of  property  are  so  difficult  to  obtain 
unless  those  interested  are  on  the  spot,  that  we  have  never 
taken  those  matters  very  seriously ;  and  the  breaking  of 
Ramadan  does  not,  as  a  rule,  involve  more  than  being  hooted 
at  in  the  street.  In  Tunisia  it  is  different  ;  and  we  have 
known  of  two  of  three  cases  of  deliberate  injustice  on  the 
part  of  the  families  of  converts,  from  which  there  seemed  to 
be  no  appeal.  The  latest,  in  this  year,  was  the  case  of  a  North 
Africa  Mission  convert,  who  went  to  his  native  town  to  claim 
his  share  of  his  father's  inheritance,  but  was  violently  opposed 
by  twelve  of  his  relations  on  account  of  his  confession  of 
Christ,  and  was  thrown  into  prison  for  three  days  and  then 
sent  off  empty-handed.  On  his  way  back  to  his  station  in 
another  Tunisian  town,  he  was  again  put  in  prison  for  three 
days  for  breaking  Ramadan.  Here  in  Algeria  our  trouble  is 


28  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

not  so  much  this  open  opposition  as  it  is  the  brain-drugs  or 
probably  hypnotism,  which  are  used  to  '  will '  the  converts 
away  ;  and  if  the  life  in  them  is  weak  and  faltering,  they  are 
often  brought  thus  into  a  paralysed  state  of  soul.  We  believe 
that  three-fourths  of  the  cases  of  backsliding  might  be  traced 
to  this  source,  if  the  full  truth  were  known." 

In  Java  and  in  China,  where  Buddhism  and  Confucianism 
have  largely  modified  the  exclusiveness  and  intolerance  of 
Islam,  we  yet  find  traces  of  the  same  spirit  toward  any 
Moslem  who  abandons  his  faith. 

"  If  I  did  not  know  I  would  myself  be  put  to  death  for  it," 
said  a  Mohammedan  in  Java  to  one  of  his  relations  who 
had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  "  you  would  not  leave 
this  house  alive,  you  wretched  dog  of  a  Christian."1 

Another  instance  is  given  by  Simon,  which  is  pathetic  in  its 
pregnant  significance ;  "  One  of  our  finest  Mohammedan 
Christians  passed  through  a  very  dark  time  for  years.  One 
misfortune  followed  upon  another,  and  he  was  exposed  to 
constant  persecution  at  the  hands  of  his  Mohammedan 
relatives.  At  last  his  wife  also  died  after  the  birth  of  a  child. 
He  could  not  find  a  Christian  wife.  His  Mohammedan 
relations  found  him  a  Mohammedan  woman.  He  could  not 
stand  against  this  great  temptation  ;  he  fell  away.  He,  of 
course,  received  the  wife  only  on  condition  that  he  himself 
became  a  Mohammedan.  He  then  wrote  his  missionary  this 
characteristic  letter  :  '  The  sorrow  God  has  sent  upon  me  is 
too  great,  and  the  temptation  too  severe.  I  cannot  endure. 
I  have  become  a  Mohammedan  that  I  may  again  have  a  wife. 
I  have  received  my  portion  from  God,  like  the  Prodigal  Son. 
I  will  consume  it  with  riotous  living.  The  good  seed  has 
fallen  with  me  among  thorns  and  been  choked  by  them. 
I  am  now  a  lost  sheep,  which  is  lost  in  the  wilderness.  May 
other  Christians  not  imitate  my  conduct.  I  have  not 
become  a  Mohammedan  because  I  really  consider  the  religion 
of  the  Mohammedan  a  good  one.  I  know  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  is  alive  and  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in  heaven. 
Five  of  my  people  have  already  died  as  Christians.  My  purpose 
used  to  be  never  to  be  parted  from  them.  My  prayer  now  is 

1  Progress  and  Arrest  of  Islam  in  Sumatra,  by  Simon,  p.  285. 


WHY  so  FEW  MOSLEM  CONVERTS  ?  29 

that  master  (the  missionary)  and  his  wife  would  help  me  to 
lead  my  wife  over  to  Christianity,  so  that  I,  like  the  Prodigal, 
may  return  from  the  far  country  to  God  our  Father." l 

In  his  recent  book,  The  Crescent  in  North-west  China, 
Mr.  G.  Findlay  Andrew  sums  up  this  baffling  difficulty  in  words 
which  might  be  used  of  other  lands  as  well  as  of  China.  "  Islam 
has  often  been  referred  to  as  the  Challenge  to  Christian 
Missions.  '  Once  a  Hwei-hwei  (Moslem)  always  a  Hwei-hwei ' 
may  rightly  be  said  to  be  a  direct  challenge  to  the  Church 
of  Christ  to-day.  During  the  past  years  a  few  Hwei-hwei 
have  been  reached  with  the  Gospel,  and  after  a  profession  of 
faith  have  been  accepted  either  as  Church  members  or  as 
enquirers.  The  number  has,  however,  been  very  small,  and  of 
those  who  '  have  kept  the  faith  '  only  about  one  remains  in 
Church  fellowship  at  the  time  of  writing.  In  one  station 
in  the  far  west  of  the  province  four  Hwei-hwei  were  baptized 
a  few  years  ago  on  confession  of  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  personal  Saviour.  The  persecution  they  had  to  endure  was 
great,  and  in  some  cases  life  itself  was  threatened.  This 
possibly  was  the  cause  of  their  falling  away  after  having  run 
well  for  a  season." 2 

The  first  Moslem  convert  I  myself  ever  met  was  Kamil 
Abdel  Messieh.  He  found  Christ  in  Syria,  was  baptized  at 
Beirut,  and  was  a  faithful,  brave  pioneer  evangelist  along  the 
coast  of  Arabia  in  our  Mission  (1890-1892).  And  then — the 
law  of  apostasy  was  applied,  and  he  died  of  poison  at 
Busrah,  and  was  buried  in  a  Moslem  grave.  The  story 
of  his  life  was  told  by  Henry  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  in  The  Setting 
of  the  Crescent  and  the  Rising  of  the  Cross  "  (Philadelphia, 
1898).  As  I  pen  these  lines,  thirty-two  years  later,  at  Cairo, 
a  Moslem  student  has  just  left  my  study,  whose  father  turned 
him  out-of-doors  and  threatens  to  kill  him  if  he  continues 
to  read  Christian  books.  He  asked  me,  "  What  shall  I  do 
then  with  the  words  of  our  Master,  '  Whosoever  denies  Me 
before  men '  ?  "  And  then  the  homeless  lad  looked  with 
pitiful  longing  for  an  answer  as  we  prayed  together.  He  knew 
the  Moslem  law  regarding  apostates. 

1  Progress  and  Arrest  of  Islam  in  Sumatra,  by  Simon,  p.  323. 
*  The  Crescent  in  North-west  China,  by  Andrew,  p.  no. 


CHAPTER    II. 
THE    LAW    OF    APOSTASY. 


"  The  grand  vizir  of  Turkey  in  1843,  in  an  official  letter  to  Lord 
Ashley,  stated  :  '  The  laws  of  the  Koran  compel  no  man  to  become  a 
Mussulman,  but  they  are  inexorable  both  as  respects  a  Mussulman  who 
embraces  another  religion,  and  as  respects  a  person  who,  having  of  his 
own  accord  publicly  embraced  Islam,  is  convicted  of  having  renounced 
that  faith.  No  consideration  can  produce  a  commutation  of  the  capital 
punishment  to  which  the  law  condemns  him  without  mercy.'  " 

W.  ST.  CLAIR  TISDALL,  in  Missionary  Review. 


CHAPTER    II. 
THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY. 

IN  this  chapter  we  propose  to  give  the  passages  in  the  Koran 
which  deal  with  apostasy,  together  with  the  interpretation 
of  these  passages  in  standard  commentaries.  Also  to  show 
from  Moslem  Tradition  and  standard  law  books  what  the 
code  of  Islam  is  in  case  of  apostasy,  and  the  penalties  prescribed. 

The  word  apostate  in  Arabic  is  murtadd,  and  one  who 
apostatizes  is  called  man  artadd  'an  dinihi,  i.e.  "  Who  turns 
his  back  on  religion."  Two  words  are  used  for  apostasy  in 
Moslem  law  :  irtidad  and  ridda.  The  latter  term  relates  to 
apostasy  from  Islam  into  unbelief,  kufr ;  the  former,  from 
Islam  to  some  other  religion,  for  example,  Christianity. l  The 
passages  in  the  Koran  dealing  with  apostasy  are  the  chapter 
of  Women,  verse  90 ;  the  chapter  of  the  Table,  verse  59  ; 
and  the  chapter  of  the  Bee,  verse  108,  viz : 

"  Why  are  ye  two  parties  about  the  hypocrites,  when  God 
hath  overturned  them  for  what  they  earned  ?  Do  ye  wish 
to  guide  those  whom  God  hath  led  astray  ?  Whoso  God  hath 
led  astray  ye  shall  not  surely  find  for  him  a  path.  They 
would  fain  that  ye  misbelieve  as  they  misbelieve,  that  ye 
might  be  alike  ;  take  ye  not  patrons  from  among  them  until 
they  too  fight  in  God's  way  ;  but  if  they  turn  their  backs,  then 
seize  them  wheresoever  ye  find  them,  and  take  from  them  neither 
patron  nor  help  "  (IV.  90,  91).  "  O  ye  who  believe  !  Whoso  is 
turned  away  from  his  religion — God  will  bring  (instead)  a  people 
whom  He  loves  and  who  love  Him,  lowly  to  believers,  lofty 
to  unbelievers,  strenuous  in  the  way  of  God,  fearing  not  the 
blame  of  him  who  blames  "  (V.  59). 

It  will  be  sufficient  to  quote  what  the  standard  com 
mentary  of  Baidhawi  says  on  the  first  passage  :  "  Whosoever 
turns  back  from  his  belief  (irtada),  openly  or  secretly,  take  him 
and  kill  him  wheresoever  ye  find  him,  like  any  other  infidel. 

1  Mufradat-fi-gharib-ul-Quran-lil  Sheikh-ar-Raghib ,  p.   191. 
3  33 


34  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Separate  yourself  from  him  altogether.    Do  not  accept  intercession 
in  his  regard." 

All  other  standard  commentaries  agree  with  Beidhawi  in  their 
comment  on  the  verse. 

A  third  Koran  passage  is  the  chapter  on  The  Bee, 
XVI.  108.  In  this  verse  two  types  of  apostates  are  dis 
tinguished  :  those  who  are  compelled  to  apostatize,  on 
whom  judgment  is  lenient ;  and  those  who  apostatize  from 
their  own  free  will.  The  commentaries  on  this  passage,  also, 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  interpretation.  "  Whoso  disbelieves 
in  God  after  having  believed,  unless  it  be  one  who  is 
forced  and  whose  heart  is  quiet  in  the  faith, — but  whoso 
expands  his  breast  to  misbelieve, — on  them  is  wrath  from  God, 
and  for  them  is  mighty  woe  !  That  is  because  they  pre 
ferred  the  love  of  this  world's  life  to  the  next ;  but  verily 
God  guides  not  the  unbelieving  people." 

Perhaps  it  is  a  mistake  to  use  as  our  fourth  reference  Surah 
II.  214,  to  prove  that  apostasy  merits  the  death  penalty.  This 
verse  need  not  be  translated  as  Dr.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  has 
translated  it, x  "  Whosoever  shall  apostatize  from  his  religion, 
let  him  die  for  it,  and  he  is  an  infidel  "  ;  but  correctly, 
"  Whosoever  shall  apostatize  from  his  religion  and  dies, 
he  is  an  infidel/'  And  we  are  not  dependent  on  one  Koran 
text,  but  a  careful  examination  even  of  the  last  passage, 
together  with  the  interpretation  of  the  same,  leaves  no  doubt 
that  according  to  the  commentators  the  Koran  here  also  declares 
the  punishment  for  apostasy  to  be  death. 

The  famous  commentary  of  Al  Khazan  (used  most  exten 
sively  in  the  Mohammedan  University  called  Al  Azhar), 
quotes  from  Malik  ibn  Anas,  Ahmad  ibn  Hanbal  and  others, 
and  gives  this  interpretation  of  the  verse  :  "All  the  deeds  of 
the  apostate  become  null  and  void  in  this  world  and  the  next. 
He  must  be  killed.  His  wife  must  be  separated  from  him  and 
he  has  no  claims  on  any  inheritance  "  (page  155,  vol.  i,  Cairo 
edition).  Ath  Tha'alibi  (788  A.H.),  in  his  commentary  on 
Sura  II,  verse  214,  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  verse  in  question, 
whatever  the  grammatical  construction  may  be,  demands  the 
death  of  the  apostate.  (Cf.  vol.  i,  p.  167,  Algiers  edition,  1323). 

1  Mizan-ul-Haqq,  by  Pfander,  revised  by  Tisdall,  p.  364,  London  1910. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  35 

Finally  the  great  commentary  of  Fakhr-ud-Din-ar-Razi  (vol.  ii, 
p.  220,  lines  17  to  20,  Cairo  edition,  1308)  distinctly  favours 
the  interpretation  of  this  verse  as  given  in  the  translation  by 
Dr.  Tisdall  and  objected  to  by  the  Woking  critics.  He  says 
the  apostate  should  be  killed  and  loses  his  wife  and  heritage. 
Still  it  is  only  fair  to  state  that  the  Arabic  Koran  text  does  not 
necessarily  require  this  rendering,  and  that  Tabari  in  his  com 
mentary  does  not  seem  to  favour  it.  In  Zarkani's  commentary 
on  Al  Muwatta  (vol.  iii,  p.  193)  there  are  many  examples 
given  of  Jews  and  Christians  who  turned  Moslem,  and  when 
they  afterwards  apostatized  were  immediately  killed.  The 
statement  is  made  that  "  change  from  Islam  to  any  religion  what 
ever  requires  the  death  penalty.1'  Al  Nahayat  fi  Gharib  al 
Hadith,  by  Ibn  Athir  (Cairo  edition,  vol.  iv,  p.  38),  gives 
instances  how  the  law  was  applied,  and  defines  when  the 
apostate  becomes  a  Kafir.  And  to  quote,  among  many,  only 
one  Moslem  history  used  as  a  textbook  in  the  secondary  schools 
of  Egypt,  Ibn  Taqtaqi,  in  his  History  called  Al  Fakhri  fil 
Adab  as  Sultaniya  (p.  67,  Cairo  edition,  1317),  says  that  Abu 
Bekr  killed  all  the  apostates  of  Mecca  after  the  death  of 
Mohammed. 

Islamic  law  is  based  in  the  first  instance  on  the  teaching 
of  the  Koran,  but  no  less  on  Moslem  Tradition.  These  two 
primary  sources  then  become  fixed  as  canon  law  by  what  is 
called  general  agreement,  Ijmaa.  All  books  on  canon  law, 
therefore,  include  a  section  on  the  punishment  due  to  apostasy. 
Generally  this  section  is  grouped  with  those  on  other  crimes 
that  demand  corporal  punishment.  These  are  seven  :  rebellion, 
apostasy,  adultery  (on  the  part  of  a  free  woman),  reviling, 
wine-drinking,  theft,  and  highway-robbery.  l 

The  earlier  laws  and  practices  in  regard  to  the  apostate 
from  Islam  were  perhaps  less  rigid  and  less  severe  than  those 
codified  after  the  Moslem  state  extended  its  domain  and 
authority  beyond  Arabia.  Many  of  the  "  Traditions  "  regard 
ing  apostates  were  manufactured  to  express  later  tendencies 
for  which  Divine  authority  and  the  Prophet's  example  were 
needed. 2  Yet  the  manufacture  of  such  Traditions  is  the  more 

1  Cf.  Al  Ghazali's  Wajiz,  vol.  ii,  pp.  164-169  (Cairo  1317). 
1  Cf .   Caetani's  Annali   dell'   Islam  (Introduction),  vol.  i:    340  and   352; 
vol.  ii  :    A.  H.  ii  sec.,  77,  120,  128  ;    vol.  iii  :    A.  H.  14  sec.,  252,  etc. 


36  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

significant  as  they  became  part  of  orthodox  Islam  long  before 
the  laws  were  codified. 

This  great  authoritative  source  of  Moslem  law,  Tradition, 
is  called  in  Arabic  Hadith.  Mark  Twain  once  defined  a 
"  classic  "  as  a  piece  of  literature  which  every  one  talked 
about  but  no  one  had  read.  One  fears  that  this  remark 
would  apply  to  the  Hadith  as  regards  many  who  profess  to 
interpret  Islam,  and  who  are  well  aware  that  the  Koran  is  not 
the  only  source  of  Islamic  theology,  jurisprudence  and  the 
practical  duties  of  daily  life.  These  sources,  indeed,  are  four  ; 
and  among  them  the  Hadith  is  undoubtedly  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Both  in  quantity  and  in  quality  of  interest  and 
of  influence  the  Hadith  collections  surpass  the  Koran.  Ijma'a 
and  Qiyas  also  (i.e.  the  agreement  of  the  learned  as  repre 
senting  the  body  of  believers  and  their  legal  deductions)  are 
based  on  sunnat-an-nabi,  i.e.  the  practice  or  example  of  the 
Prophet  as  recorded  in  Traditions.  What  the  mihrab  (prayer- 
niche)  is  to  the  true  Kibla  Mecca,  that  the  Hadith  is  to  the 
sunnat.  It  is  the  exact  indication  of  what  Mohammed  did 
and  what  has,  therefore,  Divine  approval  and  authority. 

These  collections  of  Traditions  are  as  popular  among  the 
common  people  as  Sheldon's  What  Would  Jesus  Do  P  proved 
popular  as  a  story.  Only  in  the  former  case  it  is  not  religious 
fiction,  but  actual  divine  revelation  (al-wahi-ghair-al-matlu) . 
The  six  standard  collections  are  well  known  by  name,  but 
who  has  read  them  ?  In  the  sixth  century  of  the  Hijra,  Imam 
Hussain  al  Baghawi  prepared  a  careful  and  authoritative 
collection  from  all  of  the  six  standard  books,  and  entitled  it 
Mishkat-ul-Masabih.  This  volume  had  an  enormous  vogue, 
and  is  perhaps  the  best  known  summary  of  the  vast  Moslem 
Talmud.  It  has  been  translated  by  Moslems  into  Persian 
and  other  languages,  and  was  translated  into  English  by 
Captain  Matthews  and  published  at  Calcutta  in  1809.  A  new 
but  greatly  abridged  translation  by  Rev.  William  Goldsack 
appeared  in  1923.  l 

It  is  as  hopeless  to  judge  of  the  real  character  of  Islam 
from  the  Koran  alone,  as  it  is  to  deduce  the  beliefs  and 

1  Christian  Literature  Society  for  India.  Selections  from  Mohammedan 
Traditions.  Translated  from  the  Arabic.  1923  :  Madras. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  37 

practices  of  Christians  in  Mexico  from  the  Pauline  epistles,  or 
of  orthodox  Judaism  from  the  Pentateuch.  There  is  not 
a  single  Moslem  sect  that  looks  to  the  Koran  as  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  The  lock  of  Koran  obscurity  opens 
only  to  the  key  of  Tradition.  The  Hadith  is  at  once  the 
strength  and  the  weakness  of  Islam.  It  reveals  the  real 
Mohammed  and  indicts  him.  Intelligent  Moslems  reverence 
and  yet  dread  the  collections  of  Al-Bukhari  and  Muslim.  The 
untrustworthiness  of  many  of  the  Traditions  and  the  weak 
ness  of  the  whole  as  a  support  of  Islam  only  increases  the 
importance  of  knowing  them. 1 

The  most  celebrated  collection  among  the  six  standard 
works  on  Traditions  is  that  of  Bukhari.  He  devoted  sixteen 
years  to  his  selection  of  seven  thousand  orthodox  Traditions 
out  of  six  hundred  thousand  that  were  current.  In  every 
standard  collection  of  this  sort  we  find  a  special  section 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  apostasy  and  the  treatment  apostates 
received  at  the  hands  of  Mohammed  or  his  companions.  The 
commentaries  on  the  Traditions  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their 
interpretation.  Such  Traditions  in  regard  to  apostates  and 
Mohammed's  estimate  and  treatment  of  them  are  given  in 
both  Bukhari  and  Muslim.  The  two  standard  commentaries 
on  the  former  give  much  additional  information,  and  add  also 
the  comment  on  the  Koran  passages  that  deal  with  apostasy, 
viz.  :  Fath-ul-Bari,  by  Al  Askalani,  vol.  xii,  pp.  89-91  and 
pp.  214-225  (Cairo  edition)  ;  and  'Amdat-ul-Qari,  by  Al  'Aini, 
vol.  xi,  pp.  143-144  and  pp.  230-236.  The  first  section  in 
both  of  these  commentaries  on  the  Hadith  is  entitled,  "  On 
Unbelievers  and  Apostates  who  make  war  on  Islam  "  ;  the 
second  section  in  both  is  entitled,  "  On  the  repentance  of 
Apostates  and  Rebels,  and  when  killing  them  is  incumbent." 
To  begin  with  the  famous  collection  of  forty  Traditions  by 
An-Nawawi,  we  find  the  following  :  "  The  Apostle  of  God 
said  the  blood  of  a  fellow-Moslem  should  never  be  shed 
except  in  three  cases  ;  that  of  the  adulterer,  the  murderer, 

1  Cf.  Professor  Wensinck's  article  in  the  Moslem  World  for  July  1921.  He 
says  :  "  It  is  not  amazing  that  the  canonical  books  of  Tradition — especially 
Bukhari  and  Muslim — in  the  eyes  of  the  community  have  acquired 
a  rank  nearly  as  high  as  the  Koran.  Oaths  are  sworn  on  a  copy  of 
Bukhari  ;  at  times  of  public  calamity  or  danger  the  book  is  read  to  repel 
them  ;  they  are  a  staff  and  weapon  for  Moslems  to  this  day." 


38  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

and  whoever  forsakes  the  religion  of  Islam. "  The  comment 
given  on  this  Tradition  is  as  follows  :  "  The  adulterer  should 
be  stoned  ;  the  murderer,  when  convicted  of  his  crime,  should 
be  killed  with  the  sword ;  but  he  who  departs  from  Islam, 
becoming  disobedient  to  God  and  His  Apostle,  let  him  be  cut 
off  or  crucified  or  destroyed  from  the  earth." 

Other  Traditions  are  given  as  follows  :  "  It  is  related  from 
'Ikrimah  that  he  said,  '  Hypocrites  were  brought  to  'Ali  and 
he  burnt  them/  The  news  of  that  reached  Ibn  'Abbas,  and 
he  said,  '  If  it  had  been  I,  I  would  not  have  burnt  them, 
because  of  the  prohibition  of  the  Apostle  of  God  ;  Do  not 
punish  with  the  punishment  of  God  ;  but  I  would  certainly 
have  killed  them  according  to  the  word  of  the  Apostle  : 
Whosoever  changes  his  religion,  kill  him.' '  — Al  Bukhari. 

"  It  is  related  from  'Ali  that  he  said,  '  I  heard  the  Apostle 
of  God  say  :  There  will  come  forth  a  people  at  the  end  of 
time,  young  in  age  and  foolish  in  vision,  who  will  speak  the 
best  words  in  creation  ;  but  their  faith  will  not  pass  their 
throats.  They  will  pass  through  religion  as  an  arrow  passes 
through  the  thing  hit.  Therefore,  whenever  ye  meet  them,  kill 
them  ;  for  verily  for  whoever  kills  them  there  is  a  reward 
on  the  day  of  resurrection.'  " — Muslim,  and  Al  Bukhari. 

"It  is  related  from  Anas  that  he  said,  'A  band  of  men  of 
the  'Ukl  tribe  came  to  the  Prophet  and  embraced  Islam.  But 
they  fell  ill  at  Madina,  so  the  Prophet  ordered  them  to  go  to 
the  camels  given  in  alms  and  drink  their  urine  and  milk. 
Then  they  did  so  and  regained  their  health.  After  that  they 
apostatized  and  killed  the  keepers  of  the  camels  and  drove  off 
the  camels.  Then  (the  Prophet)  sent  after  them,  and  they 
were  brought  back.  Then  he  cut  off  their  hands  and  feet  and 
put  out  their  eyes.  After  that  he  did  not  staunch  the  bleeding 
until  they  died.'  And  in  another  Tradition  it  runs,  '  drove  nails 
into  their  eye?,.'  And  in  another  Tradition  it  runs,  '  He 
ordered  nails,  and  they  were  made  hot ;  and  he  pierced  them 
with  them.  And  he  cast  them  out  on  to  the  stony  plain. 
And  they  asked  for  a  drink,  but  they  were  not  given  to  drink, 
until  they  died.'  " — Muslim,  and  Al  Bukhari. 1 

We  would  not  quote  such  Traditions  if  it  were  not  necessary 

1  See  facsimile  text  of  the  last  tradition,  opposite  page  40. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  39 

in  order  to  refute  the  statements  of  those  who  constantly  assert 
that  there  is  no  penalty  for  apostasy  in  Islam.  In  one  case 
they  even  base  their  assertion  upon  the  Traditions  above  given. 

For  example,  in  1922  the  Moslems  of  the  Ahmadiya  Sect  in 
Britain  with  headquarters  at  Woking,  circulated  in  the  House 
of  Commons  and  elsewhere  a  paper  dealing  with  apostasy  in 
Islam.  It  consists  of  special  pleading  to  show  that  Islam  has 
always  been  a  religion  of  tolerance,  and  has  protected  minorities 
of  Christians  and  Jews.  The  argument  is  specious  but  not 
convincing.  We  quote  two  paragraphs  :  "In  the  days  of  the 
prophet  all  the  reliable  records  of  his  life  are  silent  on  the 
subject.  There  were  many  apostasies  doubtless,  but  no  one 
was  punished,  for  it  is,  and  has  ever  been,  the  watchword  of 
Islam,  that  there  shall  be  no  compulsion  in  religion." 

"  We,  however,  read  of  the  putting  to  death  of  the  party 
of  'Ukl  in  our  traditions  who,  after  professing  Islam,  feigned 
that  the  climate  of  Medina  was  insalubrious,  and  being  told 
to  go  to  the  place  where  the  herds  of  camels  belonging  to  the 
State  were  grazed,  murdered  the  keepers  and  drove  the  herds 
along  with  them.  They  were  charged  under  the  crime  of  murder 
and  dacoity,  for  which  the  punishment  of  death  has  been 
provided  in  Ch.  v,  verse  33.  This  episode  has  generally  been 
cited  by  the  Quranic  commentators  under  the  verse  which 
ordains  the  death  penalty  for  murder  and  dacoity  ;  and  there 
is  no  other  case  which  can  even  be  twisted  to  show  that  the 
punishment  of  death  was  ever  inflicted  on  apostasy  from  Islam." 

We  leave  the  reader  to  judge  whether  "  this  episode  "  given 
in  every  standard  work  on  Tradition  under  the  head  of 
"Apostates  "  was  recorded  to  illustrate  the  penalty  for  murder 
and  robbery  or  the  penalty  for  apostasy.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  original  intention,  Moslems  themselves  have  con 
sidered  it  an  authoritative  Tradition  for  the  application  of  the 
death  penalty  on  apostates. 

We  turn  now  to  the  various  books  on  jurisprudence  used  in 
Moslem  law  schools. 

One  of  the  most  famous  books  of  Hanafi  Law  is  that  called 
the  Hedaya,  by  Burhan  ed  Din  Ali.  It  was  translated  by 
Charles  Hamilton  by  Order  of  Council  in  Bengal,  and  the  English 
edition  was  printed  in  London  in  1791.  Translations  of  this 


40  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

code  are  found  in  Turkish  and  other  languages.  It  is  used  as 
a  text-book  in  schools  of  law  and  is  authoritative.  We  quote 
from  volume  II,  chapter  ix,  page  225,  "  The  Law  concerning 
Apostates  "  : — 

"  When  a  Mussulman  apostatizes  from  the  faith,  an  exposition 
thereof  is  to  be  laid  before  him  in  such  a  manner  that  if  his 
apostasy  should  have  arisen  from  any  religious  doubts  or  scruples, 
those  may  be  removed.  The  reason  for  laying  an  exposition 
of  the  faith  before  him  is  that  it  is  possible  some  doubts  or  errors 
may  have  arisen  in  his  mind,  which  may  be  removed  by  such 
exposition  ;  and  as  there  are  two  modes  of  repelling  the  sin 
of  apostasy,  namely,  destruction  or  Islam,  and  as  Islam  is 
preferable  to  destruction,  the  evil  is  rather  to  be  removed  by 
means  of  an  exposition  of  the  faith  ;  but  yet  this  exposition  of 
the  faith  is  not  incumbent  (according  to  what  the  learned 
have  remarked  upon  this  head),  since  a  call  to  the  faith  has 
already  reached  the  apostate. 

"An  apostate  is  to  be  imprisoned  for  three  days  ;  within  which 
time,  if  he  returns  to  the  faith,  it  is  well ;  but  if  not,  he  must  be 
slain.  It  is  recorded  in  the  Jam  'a  Sagheerihat  "  an  exposition 
of  the  faith  is  to  be  laid  before  an  apostate,  and  if  he  refuse  the 
faith  he  must  be  slain  "  ;  and  with  respect  to  what  is  above 
stated,  that  "he  is  to  be  imprisoned  for  three  days,"  it  only 
implies  that  if  he  requires  a  delay,  three  days  must  be  granted 
him,  as  such  is  the  term  generally  admitted  and  allowed  for 
the  purpose  of  consideration.  It  is  recorded  from  Hani  fa  and 
Abou  Yusef  that  the  granting  of  a  delay  of  three  days  is  laudable, 
whether  the  apostate  require  it  or  not :  and  it  is  recorded  from 
Shaft  'i  that  it  is  incumbent  on  the  Imam  to  delay  for  three 
days,  and  that  it  is  not  lawful  for  him  to  put  the  apostate  to 
death  before  the  lapse  of  that  time  ;  since  it  is  most  probable 
that  a  Mussulman  will  not  apostatize  but  from  some  doubt  or 
error  arising  in  his  mind  ;  wherefore  some  time  is  necessary  for 
consideration,  and  this  is  fixed  at  three  days.  The  arguments 
of  our  doctors  upon  this  point  are  two-fold.  First,  God  says, 
in  the  Koran,  "  Slay  the  unbeliever,"  without  any  reserve  of  a 
delay  of  three  days  being  granted  to  him  ;  and  the  Prophet  has 
also  said  "  Slay  the  man  who  changes  his  religion,"  without 
mentioning  anything  concerning  a  delay.  Secondly,  an  apostate 


I  M -SIMILE  or  \   MANUSCRIPT  I'AGE  FROM  AL  BUKHARI  ;    telling  how 
Mohammed  treated  Apostates.     (See  page     38    .) 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  41 

is  an  infidel  enemy  who  has  received  a  call  to  the  faith, 
wherefore  he  may  be  slain  upon  the  instant,  without  any 
delay.  An  apostate  is  termed  on  this  occasion  an  infidel  enemy, 
because  he  is  undoubtedly  such  ;  and  he  is  not  protected,  since 
he  has  not  required  a  protection ;  neither  is  he  a  Zimmee,  because 
capitation  tax  has  not  been  accepted  from  him  ;  hence  it  is 
proved  that  he  is  an  infidel  enemy.  It  is  to  be  observed  that, 
in  these  rules,  there  is  no  difference  made  between  an  apostate 
who  is  a  freeman  and  one  who  is  a  slave,  as  the  arguments  upon 
which  they  are  established  apply  equally  to  both  descriptions.  . . . 

If  an  apostate  die  or  be  slain  in  his  apostasy,  his  property 
acquired  during  his  profession  of  the  faith  goes  to  his  heirs  who 
are  Mussulmans,  and  whatever  he  acquired  during  the  apostasy 
is  public  property  of  the  community  of  Mussulmans  ;  that  is, 
it  goes  to  the  public  treasury.  This  is  according  to  Hanifa.  .  .  . 

All  acts  of  an  apostate  with  respect  to  his  property  (such  as 
purchase,  sale,  manumission,  mortgage,  and  gift)  done  during 
his  apostasy  are  suspended  in  their  effect.  If,  therefore,  he 
become  a  Mussulman  those  acts  are  valid  ;  but  if  he  die,  or  be 
slain,  or  desert  into  a  foreign  country,  those  acts  are  null. 

"  If  any  person  kill  an  apostate,  before  an  exposition  of  the 
faith  has  been  laid  open  to  him,  it  is  abominable  (that  is,  it  is 
laudable  to  let  him  continue  unmolested).  Nothing,  however, 
is  incurred  by  the  slayer  ;  because  the  infidelity  of  an  alien 
renders  the  killing  of  him  admissible  ;  and  an  exposition  of  the 
faith,  after  a  call  to  the  faith,  is  not  necessary. 

"  If  a  Mussulman  woman  become  an  apostate,  she  is  not 
put  to  death,  but  is  imprisoned,  until  she  return  to  the  faith. 
Shafei  maintains  that  she  is  to  be  put  to  death  ;  because  of 
the  tradition  before  cited ; — and  also,  because,  as  men  are  put 
to  death  for  apostasy  solely  for  this  reason,  that  it  is  a  crime 
of  great  magnitude,  and  therefore  requires  that  its  punishment 
be  proportionably  severe  (namely,  death] ,  so  the  apostasy  of  a 
woman  being  likewise  (like  that  of  a  man)  a  crime  of  great 
magnitude,  it  follows  that  her  punishment  should  be  the  same 
as  that  of  a  man. l 

1  Hamilton's  Hadaya,  or  Guide  ;  a  Commentary  on  the  Mussulman  Laws, 
vol.  ii,  p.  227.  The  same  laws  are  given  in  all  books  on  fiqh  (jurisprudence). 
E.g.  the  celebrated  manual,  Badayet-ul-Mujtahid,  by  Ibn  Rushdi  Al  Qartabi, 
vol.  ii,  p.  383  (Cairo  edition). 


42  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

"  If  a  husband  and  wife  both  apostatize,  and  desert  to  a 
foreign  country,  and  the  woman  become  pregnant  there,  and 
bring  forth  a  child,  and  to  this  child  another  child  be  afterwards 
born,  and  the  Mussulman  troops  then  subdue  the  territory, 
the  child  and  the  child's  child  both  are  plunder,  and  the 
property  of  the  state  :  the  child  is  so,  because  as  the  apostate 
mother  is  made  a  slave,  her  child  is  so  likewise,  as  a  dependant 
on  her  ;  and  the  child's  child  is  so,  because  he  is  an  original 
infidel  and  an  enemy  ;  and  as  an  original  infidel  is  fee,  or  the 
property  of  the  state,  so  is  he  :  the  woman's  child  may,  more 
over,  be  compelled  to  become  a  Mussulman,  but  not  the  child's 
child.  Hassan  records  from  Haneefa  that  compulsion  may  be 
used  upon  the  child's  child  also,  to  make  him  embrace  the  faith, 
as  a  dependant  of  the  grandfather."  x 

In  an  article  by  Johann  Kresmarik  on  criminal  law  in  Turkey 
(Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  Iviii, 
pp.  69-113)  there  is  one  section  on  "  Irtidad."  He  quotes 
from  a  number  of  Turkish  law  books,  showing  that  their 
interpretation  of  the  law  for  apostasy  is  no  less  severe  than 
that  above  indicated. 

An  excellent  summary  of  the  Moslem  law  of  apostasy  is  given 
by  Juynboll  in  the  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  vol.  i, 
p.  625.  He  refers  to  other  authorities,  especially  :  Matthews' 
Mishcat,  vol.  ii,  p.  177  f. ;  C.  Snouck  Hurgronje,  Indische  Gids, 
1884,  vol.  i,  p.  794  ;  and  El  Dimishqi-Tar garnet  id  Umma  fi 
Ikhtilaf  al  A'imat,  p.  138  (Bulaq  edition,  1300). 

Of  the  four  Orthodox  schools  of  Islam  the  Maliki  sect 
seems  to  be  the  sternest  with  regard  to  apostasy.  According 
to  Captain  F.  H.  Ruxton  : 2 

"  In  Maliki  and  Shaft i'i  Law  the  punishment  is  irrespective 
of  sex,  whilst  in  Hanafi  Law  a  female  apostate  is  to  be  kept 
in  confinement  until  she  recant. 

"Again,  the  Hedaya  speaks  of  the  possibility  or  otherwise  of 
an  apostate  selling  his  property,  of  his  marriage  continuing, 
of  the  validity  of  his  or  her  testamentary  disposition,  whilst 
in  the  Mukhtassar  such  dispositions  are  not  admitted  ;  seeing 
that  the  apostate  is  to  be  put  to  death  on  the  third  day  on 

1  Hamilton's  Hadaya ;  a  Commentary  on  the  Mussulman  Laws,  vol.  ii,  p.  244. 
1  The  Moslem  World,  vol.  hi,  p.  38. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  43 

the  evidence  of  two  witnesses,  whilst  his  or  her  property  is 
forfeited  to  the  Bait-ul-mal,  and  his  or  her  testamentary  dis 
position  becomes  null  and  void. 

"  In  strict  law,  therefore,  a  convert  cannot  exist.  But  though 
in  all  probability  no  European  Power  has  troubled  itself  over 
the  Mohammedan  Law  of  Apostasy,  still  we  know  that  no  man 
could  directly  be  charged  with  the  offence  in  any  Native 
Court.  His  life  is  thus  safeguarded  by  the  Paramount  Powrer  ; 
but  the  convert  himself,  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-men  and  of 
the  law  of  the  country,  remains  an  outlaw." 

He  gives  further  particulars  showing  that  although  the  life 
of  the  convert  may  be  safeguarded  by  European  Powers,  yet 
the  convert  surfers  certain  legal  disabilities,  which  he  has  sum 
marized  as  follows  : — 

"  i.  The  convert's  Moslem  brothers  are  forbidden  to  give 
him  branches  to  be  carried  on  Palm  Sunday ;  to  buy  an 
animal  slaughtered  by  him  ;  to  sell  him  wood  from  which 
a  crucifix  might  be  made,  or  copper  from  which  bells  could  be 
cast ;  to  alienate  a  house  in  order  that  it  may  be  used  as 
a  church.  (Cf.  Ch.  i,  on  the  Use  of  the  Flesh  of  Animals  ; 
Ch.  xiii,  on  Sale.) 

"2.  A  Moslem  is  forbidden  to  lend  or  hire  to  the  convert 
the  services  of  his  slave,  or  to  lend  or  hire  him  an  animal  to 
ride.  A  Moslem  is  forbidden  to  give,  without  payment,  his 
personal  services  to  a  Christian.  (Cf.  Ch.  xxvi,  Commodatum  ; 
Ch.  xxxii,  Hire.) 

"  It  is,  however,  to  be  remarked  that  a  Hubus  ('  endowment  ') 
created  by  a  Christian  in  favour  of  a  church  or  hospital  is 
valid.  (Cf.  Ch.  xxxv,  Hubus.) 

"3.  A  Christian  may  not  bear  witness  against  a  Moslem, 
though  the  latter  may  bear  witness  against  the  former,  under 
the  same  conditions  as  govern  all  evidence.  (Cf.  Ch.  xxxix, 
Evidence.) 

"4.  No  Moslem,  not  even  a  slave,  can  be  put  to  death 
for  the  murder  of  a  Christian.  (Cf.  Ch.  xl,  Homicide.) 

"5-  No  Mohammedan  woman  may  marry  a  Christian. 
(Cf.  Ch.  v,  Marriage.) 

"  6.  Difference  of  religion  is  a  bar  to  inheritance.  (Cf. 
Ch.  iv,  Succession.) 


44  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

"  There  are,  of  course,  many  more  such  disabilities,  but 
none  which  need  be  reckoned  of  practical  importance  under 
present  day  conditions."  So  far  Captain  D.  H.  Ruxton. 

In  Turkey  the  Law  of  Apostasy  was  naturally  the  law  of 
the  courts  for  many  centuries,  until,  on  November  3rd,  1839, 
Sultan  Abdul  Medjid  issued  an  imperial  rescript  named  the 
Hatti  Sherif,  promising  to  protect  the  life,  honour  and  property 
of  all  Ottoman  subjects  irrespective  of  religion.  This  was  a 
great  step  forward.  In  August  1843,  however,  an  Armenian 
youth,  some  twenty  years  of  age,  was  beheaded  in  Constan 
tinople  for  apostasy.  He  had  once  accepted  Islam,  then  left 
the  country ;  later  on  he  returned  to  the  practices  of 
Christianity.  "  In  spite  of  threats  and  promises  he  adhered 
to  his  ancestral  faith,  with  the  above  results.  Sir  Stratford 
de  Redcliffe  did  all  in  his  power  to  save  his  life,  but  without 
success.  This  execution  aroused  the  ambassadors  of  England, 
France,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  who  united  in  a  formal  demand 
upon  the  Sultan  to  abolish  the  death  penalty  for  a  change  of 
religion.  Hitherto  there  had  been  full  liberty  to  change  from 
and  to  all  non-Moslem  religions,  and  for  anyone  to  abandon 
the  faith  of  his  fathers  and  to  embrace  Islam,  but  the  right 
had  been  denied  to  a  Mohammedan  to  depart  from  that  faith. 

"  Under  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  the  before-named 
ambassadors,  led  by  the  British,  the  Sultan,  on  March  2ist, 
1844,  gave  a  written  pledge  as  follows  : — '  The  Sublime  Porte 
engages  to  take  effectual  measures  to  prevent,  henceforward, 
the  persecution  and  putting  to  death  of  the  Christian  who  is 
an  apostate/  Two  days  later  Abdul  Medjid,  in  a  conference 
with  Sir  Stratford,  gave  assurance  '  That  henceforward  neither 
shall  Christianity  be  insulted  in  my  dominions,  nor  shall 
Christians  be  in  any  way  persecuted  for  their  religion.'  " 1 

Later  history  has  shown  how  futile  were  all  these  promises 
and  how  the  spirit  of  the  law  is  interpreted  by  Islam 
triumphing  again  and  again  in  spite  of  all  treaties  and  regu 
lations.  The  recent  Armenian  massacres  were  not  the  killing 
of  apostates,  but  surely  emphasize  the  fact  that  religious 
liberty  does  not  exist  under  Turkish  rule. 

The  Treaty  of  Berlin   (1878,  Art.    2)   states  that  absolute 

1  Daybreak  in  Turkey,  by  James  L.  Barton  (Boston  :  The  Pilgrim  Press)' 
p.  250. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  45 

religious  liberty  is  to  exist  in  all  the  various  territories  men 
tioned  in  the  preceding  articles,  including  the  "  whole  Turkish 
Empire."  The  Sixty-second  Article  begins  :  "  The  Sublime 
Porte,  having  expressed  willingness  to  maintain  the  principle  of 
religious  liberty  and  to  give  it  the  widest  sphere,  the  contracting 
parties  take  cognizance  of  this  spontaneous  declaration." 

"A  high  official  once  told  me,"  writes  Dr.  Barton,  "  that 
Turkey  gives  to  all  her  subjects  the  widest  religious  liberty. 
He  said, '  There  is  the  fullest  liberty  for  the  Armenian  to  become 
a  Catholic,  for  the  Greek  to  become  an  Armenian,  for  the 
Catholic  and  the  Armenian  to  become  Greeks,  for  any  one 
of  them  to  become  Protestants,  or  for  all  to  become  Moham 
medans.  There  is  the  fullest  and  completest  religious  liberty 
for  all  the  subjects  of  this  empire.' 

"  In  response  to  the  question,  '  How  about  liberty  for  the 
Mohammedan  to  become  a  Christian  ?  '  he  replied,  '  That  is 
an  impossibility  in  the  nature  of  the  case.  When  one  has  once 
accepted  Islam  and  become  a  follower  of  the  Prophet,  he  can 
not  change.  There  is  no  power  on  earth  that  can  change  him. 
Whatever  he  may  say  or  claim  cannot  alter  the  fact  that  he 
is  a  Moslem  still  and  must  always  be  such.  It  is,  therefore,  an 
absurdity  to  say  that  a  Moslem  has  the  privilege  of  changing 
his  religion,  for  to  do  so  is  beyond  his  power.'  For  the  last 
forty  years  the  actions  of  the  official  and  influential  Turks  have 
borne  out  this  theory  of  religious  liberty  in  the  Ottoman  empire. 
Every  Moslem  showing  interest  in  Christian  things  takes  his 
life  in  his  hands.  No  protection  can  be  afforded  him  against 
the  false  charges  that  begin  at  once  to  multiply.  His  only  safety 
lies  in  flight." 1 

The  punishment  of  death  is  sometimes  decreed  for  lesser 
offences.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1879  one  of  the  Turkish 
'Ulama,  named  Ahmad,  was  condemned  to  death  for  having 
assisted  Dr.  Koelle,  an  English  clergyman  residing  in  Constanti 
nople,  in  the  translation  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  and 
a  tract  on  "  Christ  the  Word  of  God."  Owing  to  the  urgent 
representations  of  the  British  Ambassador  the  man's  life  was 
spared,  but  he  was  banished  to  the  island  of  Chio.  Canon  Sell 
(Faith  of  Islam,  p.  278)  writes  : 

1  Daybreak  in  Turkey,  by  James  L.  Barton,  pp.  256-7. 


46  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

"  On  January  i6th,  1844,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  wrote  to 
Sir  Stratford  Canning  thus  :  '  The  Christian  Powers  will  not 
endure  that  the  Porte  should  insult  and  trample  on  their  faith, 
by  treating  as  a  criminal  any  person  who  embraces  it.'  All  that 
was  gained  by  this  was  the  publication  by  the  Porte  of  a 
Memorandum  in  the  year  1856,  containing  these  words  :  'As  all 
forms  of  religion  are  and  shall  be  freely  professed  in  the  Ottoman 
dominions,  no  subject  of  His  Majesty  the  Sultan  shall  be 
hindered  in  the  exercise  of  the  religion  that  he  professes,  nor 
shall  he  be  in  any  way  annoyed  on  this  account.  None  shall 
be  compelled  to  change  his  religion/  It  will  be  seen  that  this 
does  not  meet  the  case  of  a  convert  from  Islam,  but  the  British 
Ambassador  advised  the  British  Government  to  be  content  with 
this  statement.  In  a  despatch,  dated  Feb.  i2th,  1856,  he  says  : 
'  The  law  of  the  Koran  is  not  abolished,  it  is  true,  respecting 
renegades,  and  the  Sultan's  Ministers  affirm  that  such  a  stretch 
of  authority  would  exceed  even  His  Majesty's  legal  powers.' 
The  Ambassador  went  on  to  say  that  though  this  is  the  case, 
the  British  Government  could  remonstrate  were  the  Koranic 
law  applied." 

There  are  references  to  the  bearing  of  the  law  of  apostasy 
in  all  Mohammedan  works  on  jurisprudence.  For  example,  we 
find  the  following  regulations  in  a  manual  of  the  law  of  marriage 
from  the  Mukhtasar  of  Sidi  Khalil,  translated  by  A.  D.  Russell, 
a  judge  and  magistrate  in  the  Mohammedan  colony  of  Trinidad, 
South  America.  The  book  is,  therefore,  intended  for  use  as  a 
present-day  manual,  and  does  not  deal  with  conditions  in 
past  centuries. 

"  Section  107.  (Where  separation  is  imperative)  in  con 
sequence  of  the  conversion  of  one  (of  two  spouses),  the 
annulment  of  the  marriage  will  be  without  repudiation. 

"  Section  108.  Contrary  to  the  principle  indicated  in  the 
last  section,  an  irrevocable  repudiation  is  involved  where  separa 
tion  becomes  necessary  owing  to  the  apostasy  of  one  of  the 
spouses.  This  will  be  so  even  where  the  husband  apostatizes 
in  order  to  embrace  his  wife's  faith." 1 

We  read  also  in  Mohammedan  Jurisprudence,  by  'Abd-ur- 
Rahim,  that :  "Apostasy  or  change  of  faith  from  Islam  to 

1  A  Manual  of  the  Law  of  Marriage  from  the  Mukhtasar  of  Sidi  Khali 
(Translated  by  A.  D.  Russell :  London),  pp.  39-40. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  47 

infidelity  places  the  apostate  outside  the  protection  of  law.  The 
law,  however,  by  way  of  indulgence,  gives  the  apostate  a  certain 
locus  poenitentiae." 1  For  instance,  he  will  first  be  asked  to 
conform  to  the  Faith,  and  if  he  entertains  any  doubt,  efforts 
must  be  made  to  remove  it  by  argument.  He  will  be  given  an 
option  of  three  days  to  re-embrace  the  Faith  before  sentence 
is  passed  on  him.  But  since  a  man  loses  the  protection  of  law 
by  the  very  act  of  apostasy,  if  a  Moslem  kills  an  apostate  before 
the  chance  of  re-embracing  the  Faith  has  been  given,  no  penalty 
of  the  law  will  be  incurred,  although  it  will  be  considered  as 
an  improper  act.  According  to  the  two  disciples,  so  long  as 
the  sentence  has  not  been  passed  on  an  apostate  he  will  be 
allowed  to  retain  possession  of  his  property  ;  but  according  to 
Abu  Hanifa,  it  passes  to  his  heirs  at  the  instant  of  apostasy. 

Perhaps  the  most  succinct  account  of  apostasy  is  that  given 
in  the  celebrated  book  Minhaj-at-Talibin,  by  Nawawi.  The 
adherents  of  this  school  of  Shafi'i  number  some  sixty  million 
persons,  of  whom  about  half  are  in  the  Netherlands  Indies, 
and  the  rest  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  the  Hadramaut,  Southern 
India  and  Malaya.  The  manual  from  which  this  account  is 
taken  is  a  standard  work  in  all  of  these  countries  and 
especially  in  Egypt. 2 

"Apostasy  consists  in  the  abjuration  of  Islam,  either 
mentally,  or  by  words,  or  by  acts  incompatible  with  faith. 
As  to  oral  abjuration,  it  matters  little  whether  the  words  are 
said  in  joke,  or  through  a  spirit  of  contradiction,  or  in  good  faith. 
But  before  such  words  can  be  considered  as  a  sign  of  apostasy 
they  must  contain  a  precise  declaration  : 

"  (i)  That    one   does  not  believe   in  the   existence  of  the 
Creator,  or  of  His  apostles  ;  or 

"  (2)  That  Mohammed,  or  one  of  the  other  apostles,  is  an 
imposter  ;   or 

"  (3)  That  one  considers  lawful  what  is  strictly  forbidden 
by  the  ijma ',   e.g.  the  crime  of  fornication  ;    or 

"  (4)  That  one   considers  to  be   forbidden  what  is  lawful 
according  to  the  ijma'. 

1  Mohammedan  Jurisprudence,  by  Abd-ur-Rahim  (Thacker  &  Co.  :  Calcutta, 
19").  p.  253. 

*  Minhaj-at-Talibin  :  a  Manual  of  Mohammedan  Law  according  to  the 
School  of  Shafi'i,  by  Nawawi,  from  the  French  Edition  of  A.  W.  C.  van  den 
Berg,  by  E.  C.  Howard,  District  Judge,  Singapore.  London  :  Thacker,  1914. 


48  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

"  (5)  That  one  is  not  obliged  to  follow  the  precepts  of  the 
ijma',  as  well  positive  as  negative  ;  or 

"  (6)  That  one  intends  shortly  to  change  one's  religion ; 
or  that  one  has  doubts  upon  the  subject  of  the 
truth  of  Islam,  etc." 

"As  to  acts,  these  are  not  considered  to  be  incompatible 
with  faith,  unless  they  show  a  clear  indication  of  a  mockery 
or  denial  of  religion,  as,  e.g.  throwing  the  Koran  upon  a  muck 
heap  or  prostrating  oneself  before  an  idol,  or  worshipping  the 
sun.  No  account  is  taken  of  the  apostasy  of  a  minor  or  a 
lunatic,  nor  of  acts  committed  under  violent  compulsion. 
Even  where  the  guilty  person,  after  pronouncing  the  words 
or  committing  the  acts,  becomes  mad,  he  may  not  be  put  to 
death  until  he  has  recovered  his  sanity.  This  favour,  however, 
does  not,  according  to  our  school,  extend  to  the  case  of  drunken 
ness.  Apostasy,  and  a  declaration  of  having  returned  from  one's 
errors,  pronounced  by  a  drunken  person,  have  the  ordinary 
legal  consequences. 

"  Witnesses  need  not  recount  in  all  their  details  the  facts  that 
constitute  apostasy  ;  they  may  confine  themselves  to  affirming 
that  the  guilty  person  is  an  apostate.  Other  authorities  are  of 
the  contrary  opinion ;  but  the  majority  go  so  far  as  to  make 
no  account  of  the  mere  denial  of  the  accused,  even  where  the 
assertions  of  the  witnesses  are  made  in  general  terms.  But 
where,  on  the  other  hand,  the  accused  declares  that  he  acted 
under  compulsion,  and  the  circumstances  render  this  assertion 
plausible,  e.g.  if  he  has  been  kept  a  prisoner  by  infidels,  he- 
has  a  presumption  in  his  favour,  provided  he  takes  an  oath ; 
but  this  presumption  does  not  arise  in  the  absence  of  such 
circumstances.  Only  where  the  two  witnesses  required  by  law 
do  not  declare  that  '  the  accused  is  apostate/  but  that  '  the 
words  pronounced  by  him  are  words  implying  apostasy/  and 
the  accused  then  maintain  that  he  only  pronounced  them 
under  compulsion,  the  presumption  is  in  his  favour,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  give  more  detailed  explanations. 
Where,  after  the  death  of  an  individual  whose  faith  has  never 
been  suspected,  one  of  his  sons  who  are  both  Moslems  declares 
that  his  father  abjured  Islam  and  died  impenitent,  and  adds 
the  cause  of  the  apostasy,  this  son  alone  is  excluded  from  the 


FACSIMILE  OFMSS.  PAGE  FROM  STANDARD  WORK  ENTITLED  "  HUJJAT-AL-UMMA 

FI  IKHTILAF-AL-'IMA,"  by  Abi  Abdullah  Mohammed  Al  Ouraishi,  A.M.  145°: 

prescribing  the  death  penalty  for  apostasv. 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  49 

succession,  and  his  portion  escheats  to  the  State  as  a  tax  ; 
but  his  deposition  has  no  effect  upon  the  rights  of  his  co- 
inheritors.  The  same  rule  applies  also  where  the  cause  of  the 
crime  is  not  mentioned  and  the  son  limits  himself  to  saying 
that  his  father  died  apostate. 

"An  attempt  should  be  made  to  induce  the  apostate  to  return 
from  his  or  her  errors,  though  according  to  one  authority  this 
is  only  a  commendable  proceeding.  The  exhortation  should 
take  place  immediately,  or,  according  to  one  jurist,  in  the 
first  three  days  ;  and  if  it  is  of  no  effect,  the  guilty  man  or 
woman  should  be  put  to  death.  Where,  on  the  contrary,  the 
guilty  party  returns  from  his  or  her  errors,  this  conversion 
must  be  accepted  as  sincere,  and  the  converted  person  left  alone  ; 
unless,  according  to  some  authorities,  he  has  embraced  an  occult 
religion  such  as  the  Zend,  whose  adherents,  while  professing 
Islam,  are  none  the  less  infidels  in  their  heart,  or  some  doctrine 
admitting  of  a  mystic  or  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  Koran. 

"  The  child  of  an  apostate  remains  a  Moslem,  without  regard 
to  the  time  of  its  conception,  or  to  one  of  its  parents  remaining 
a  Moslem  or  not.  One  authority,  however,  considers  the  child 
whose  father  and  mother  have  abjured  the  faith  to  be  an  apos 
tate,  while  another  considers  such  a  child  to  be  by  origin  an 
infidel.  (The  child  should  be  considered  as  an  apostate. 
This  is  what  the  jurists  of  Irak  have  handed  down  to  us  as  the 
universally  accepted  theory.) 

"As  to  the  ownership  of  the  property  of  an  apostate  dead  in 
impenitence,  it  remains  in  suspense,  i.e.  the  law  considers  it 
as  lost  from  the  moment  of  abjuration  of  the  faith  ;  but  in  case 
of  repentance  it  is  considered  never  to  have  been  lost.  How 
ever,  there  are  several  other  theories  upon  the  subject,  though 
all  authorities  agree  that  debts  contracted  before  apostasy,  as 
well  as  the  personal  maintenance  of  the  apostate  during  the 
period  of  exhortation,  are  charges  upon  the  estate.  It  is 
the  same  with  any  damages  due  in  consequence  of  pecuniary 
prejudice  caused  to  other  persons,  the  maintenance  of  his  wives, 
whose  marriage  remains  in  suspense,  and  the  maintenance  of 
his  descendant  or  descendants.  Where  it  is  admitted  that 
ownership  remains  in  suspense,  the  same  principle  must  be 
applied  to  dispositions  subsequent  to  apostasy,  in  so  far  as 


5o  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

they  are  capable  of  being  suspended,  such  an  enfranchisement 
by  will,  and  legacies,  which  all  remain  intact  where  the 
exhortation  is  successful,  though  not  otherwise.  On  the  other 
hand,  dispositions  which,  by  their  very  nature,  do  not  admit 
of  such  suspension,  such  as  sale,  pledging,  gift,  and  enfranchise 
ment  by  contract,  are  null  and  void  ab  initio,  though  Shafi'i, 
in  his  first  period,  wished  to  leave  them  in  suspense.  All 
authorities,  however,  are  agreed  that  an  apostate's  property 
may  in  no  case  be  left  at  his  disposition,  but  must  be  deposited 
in  charge  of  some  person  of  irreproachable  character.  But 
a  female  slave  may  not  be  so  entrusted  to  a  man  ;  she  must 
be  entrusted  to  some  trustworthy  woman.  An  apostate's 
property  must  be  leased  out,  and  it  is  to  the  court  that  his 
slave  undergoing  enfranchisement  by  contract  should  make  his 
periodical  payments." 

So  far  the  legal  text-books  of  Islam.  Observe,  however, 
that  all  the  above  laws  regarding  apostasy  are  based  in  the 
first  instance,  as  we  have  seen,  on  the  Koran  itself,  which  to  all 
Mohammedans  is  the  unalterable,  eternal  Word  of  God.  The 
matter  is  summed  up  very  briefly  in  the  famous  book  Al 
Madkhal,  of  Mohammed  Al  Abdari  Ibn  Hadj,  vol.  ii,  p.  a8i 
(Cairo  edition),  where  we  read  : 

"As  for  apostates,  it  is  permitted  to  kill  them  by  facing 
them  or  coming  upon  them  from  behind,  just  as  in  the  case  of 
polytheists.  Secondly,  their  blood  if  shed  brings  no  vengeance. 
Thirdly,  their  property  is  the  spoil  of  true  believers.  Fourthly, 
their  marriage  ties  become  null  and  void." 

Thus  far  we  have  given  the  opinion  of  orthodox  juriscults, 
all  of  them  belonging  to  the  Sunni  school.  This  sect  embraces 
the  vast  majority  of  Moslems  everywhere.  In  Persia,  parts  of 
India  and  Mesopotamia,  however,  the  Shi 'ah  sect  are  in  the 
majority,  and  number  altogether  about  fifteen  millions.  In 
their  law  books  the  law  of  apostasy  is  no  less  severe.  We  read  : 
"  Every  individual  of  the  male  sex  who,  born  in  the  religion 
of  Islam,  apostatizes,  no  longer  enjoys  the  protection  of  Islam, 
but  is  ipso  facto  condemned  to  death.  His  wife  should  be 
separated  from  him ;  and  his  property  is  confiscate.  .  .  . 

"  The  woman  guilty  of  apostasy  is  not  punished  with 
death,  even  if  she  was  born  in  the  Moslem  faith,  but  she  is 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  51 

condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  and  is  to  be  beaten 
with  rods  at  the  hours  of  prayer.  .  .  . 

"A  child  born  of  a  heretic  after  the  apostasy  of  the  father, 
and  of  a  Mohammedan  mother,  shares  equally  with  those 
whose  birth  preceded  the  apostasy  of  the  father.  The  child 
descended  from  a  heretic  father  and  mother,  and  conceived 
after  the  apostasy,  is  subject  to  the  same  conditions  as  his 
parents  ;  and  if  he  is  assassinated,  the  murderer  cannot  be 
punished  by  the  law  of  retaliation." 1 

Regarding  marriage  disabilities  we  find  the  following  regula 
tions  laid  down  as  present-day  principles  of  Mohammedan 
law,  applicable  to  all  Moslems  in  British  India.  We  quote 
from  Principles  of  Mohammedan  Law,  by  Faiz  Badruddin 
Tyabji,  M.A.,  published  at  Bombay,  1913  :— 

"Subject  to  Act  XXI,  of  1850,  where  either  party 
apostatizes  from  Islam,  the  marriage  becomes  null  and  void. 

"  Where  a  marriage  is  made  void  by  the  apostasy  of  the 
husband,  if  it  has  been  consummated,  the  wife  is  entitled  to 
the  whole  of  her  mahr  (dowry)  ;  if  it  has  not  been  con 
summated,  she  is  entitled  to  half  of  the  mahr. 

"  The  wife  is  entitled  to  no  part  of  the  mahr  where  the 
marriage  becomes  void  by  her  apostasy. 

"  If  both  parties  apostatize  together  and  come  back  to 
Islam,  the  marriage  is  re-established." 

The  Act  of  1850  referred  to  is  given  in  the  same  Law 
Book,  and  is  entitled  the  Caste  Disabilities  Removal  Act 
(p.  30).  In  it  the  following  clause  was  inserted  to  establish 
certain  rights  for  apostates  in  India  : — 

"  So  much  of  any  law  or  usage  now  in  force  within  the 
territories  subject  to  the  government  of  the  East  India 
Company  as  inflicts  on  any  person  forfeiture  of  rights  or 
property  or  may  be  held  in  any  way  to  impair  or  affect  any 
right  of  inheritance,  by  reason  of  his  or  her  renouncing,  or 
having  been  excluded  from,  the  communion  of  any  religion, 
or  being  deprived  of  caste,  shall  cease  to  be  enforced  as  law 
in  the  Courts  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  in  the  Courts 
established  by  Royal  Charter  within  the  said  territories." 

This  provision    introduced  into  the  Law  Courts  of    India, 

1  Droit  Musulman  ;  Recueil  de  Lois  concernant  Les  Musulntans  Schyites, 
by  A.  Querry,  vol.  ii,  pp.  528-533.  Paris  :  1872. 


52  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

does  not  yet,  however,  obtain  in  Turkey,  Egypt,  Syria, 
Palestine,  Persia,  Arabia,  nor  in  any  country  under  the  old 
Moslem  law.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  under  the  new  mandatories 
such  provision  will  be  made  as  would  definitely  declare  the 
abrogation  of  the  law  of  apostasy  above  described  as  regards 
personal  rights,  property  rights  and  marriage.  Until  these 
laws,  characterized  by  a  high  court  in  the  Madras  Presidency 
as  being  contrary  to  "  justice,  equity,  and  good  conscience," 
are  removed,  we  cannot  expect  Moslems  in  large  numbers  to 
face  the  consequences  of  apostasy,  even  if  they  are  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

In  regard  to  the  present  situation  and  the  need  of  urging 
special  corrective  legislation,  we  may  quote  the  words  of  the 
Rev.  Canon  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner.  What  he  says  in  regard  to 
Egypt  may  be  said  of  Persia,  Syria,  and  the  entire  Near  East. 

"  It  is  submitted  that  to  secure  in  Egypt  the  same  level  of 
elementary  personal  freedom  which  is  considered  a  necessary 
minimum  in  civilized  countries,  a  further  modification  of 
existing  law  and  usage  is  still  necessary.  For  example  : 

"  (a)  Conversions  from  Christianity  to  Mohammedanism  are 
registered  officially,  and  the  new  status  of  the  convert  is  thus 
established.  But  there  is  no  way  of  securing  the  registration 
and  recognition  of  at  least  equally  mature  and  considered  con 
versions  to  Christianity,  whose  status  is  thus  exceedingly  un 
satisfactory,  vis-a-vis  the  Government,  the  law,  and  the  public. 

"  (b)  A  convert,  on  being  baptized,  especially  if  he  changes 
his  name,  as  he  is  morally  obliged  to,  is  deprived  of  his 
patrimony,  and  that  not  only  when  there  is  a  special  clause 
in  the  family  trust  which  secured  the  property  to  orthodox 
Mohammedans  exclusively,  but  also  where  there  is  no  such 
clause,  i.e.  where  the  family  property  is  divided  in  the  normal 
way.  It  is  even  doubtful  whether  a  convert  could  secure 
the  probate  of  a  special  legacy  in  his  favour,  except  by 
virtually  declaring  himself  a  Moslem  when  doing  so  and  in 
order  to  do  so. 

"  (c)  A  woman  has  no  power  to  change  her  faith  in  Egypt. 
If  unmarried,  her  person  can  be  claimed  by  her  father  or 
guardian  ;  and  if  married,  by  her  husband,  and  the  British- 
officered  police  will  execute  the  order  of  the  Moslem  court  to 


THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY.  53 

this  effect.  She  then  disappears  from  view,  and  every  form  of 
pressure  is  applied  to  make  her  actually  or  virtually  recant,  and 
oblige  her  to  live  an  actually  or  virtually  Mohammedan  life." 

The  law  in  regard  to  apostasy  is  doubtless  one  of  the  chief 
factors  in  Moslem  intolerance  towards  those  who  produce 
apostates,  e.g.  missionaries.  From  the  time  of  the  earliest 
convert  to  Christianity,  Obeidallah  Ibn  Jahsh  (who  was  also 
the  first  missionary,  and  of  whose  conversion  and  subsequent 
persecution  in  Abyssinia  we  will  speak  later),  until  the  Middle 
Ages  the  record  is  one  of  constant,  continued  intolerance  and 
persecution.  All  of  Raymond  Lull's  converts  were  put  to 
death,  and  he  himself  suffered  martyrdom.  These  pages  of 
mission  history  are  wet  with  tears  and  blood. 

In  some  missionary  letters  from  Franciscans  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  found  in  MSS.  in  the  library  at  Cambridge,  we  read 
this  thrilling  account  : l 

"  You  will  know  that  there  perished  lately  in  the  city  of 
Trebizond  Brothers  Anthony  of  Milan,  Monald  of  Ancona,  and 
Ferdinand  (perhaps  a  mistake  for  Francis)  of  Petriolo,  who 
especially  (as  all  the  brothers  bear  witness)  in  Lent  (?),  and  in 
the  presence  of  Qadi  (as  the  bishop  or  prelate  is  called),  and  of 
all  the  people  giving  sight  to  a  blind  man,  and  very  often  dis 
crediting  Mohommet  and  his  law,  are  brought  to  the  square  or 
Maydan  where,  after  sentence  had  been  pronounced  and  they 
did  not  cease  to  preach,  all  cried  out,  '  Let  all  who  despise 
our  law  and  hold  our  prophets  as  cheap  as  mud  be  put  to  death/ 
And  when  they  were  most  cruelly  pricked  with  swords  and 
spears,  they  said,  '  This  way  of  salvation  is  the  joy  of  inward 
delight  to  us.'  On  their  knees,  and  wounded  with  many  blows 
they  were  at  length  beheaded  and  torn  limb  from  limb,  and  their 
limbs  were  carried  and  hung  up  about  the  towers  and  walls 
of  the  city.  But  some  of  them,  bought  by  the  merchants  or 
stolen,  were  brought  back  to  us.  A  Saracen,  too,  who  had  pity 
on  them  tried  to  dissuade  the  butchers  from  so  much  cruelty,  but 
he  was  instantly  killed.  And  an  Armenian  priest  who  seemed 
friendly  to  the  martyrs  was  whipped  through  the  whole  city 
with  a  [an  animal's]  head  tied  round  his  neck." 

That  was  in  the  fourteenth  century.    On  Feb.  I2th,  1916,  in 

1  The  East  and  West,  "  Fourteenth-Century  Missionary  Letters,"  A.  C. 
Moule,  p.  357,  Oct.,  1921. 


54  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

the  same  locality  and  according  to  the  same  principle  of 
intolerance,  similar  cruelty  was  perpetrated  (Report  of  Viscount 
Bryce  on  the  Armenian  Atrocities,  p.  158)  :  "  Dr.  Shimmun  was 
in  the  village  of  Spurghan  when  the  Turks  attacked  the  place. 
He  was  among  those  who  took  refuge  on  a  mountain  near  the 
lake.  He  was  captured  and  told  that  since  he  had  been  a 
good  doctor  and  had  helped  the  wounded  they  would  not  kill 
him,  but  that  he  must  accept  the  Mohammedan  faith.  He  refused, 
as  about  all  Christians  did.  They  poured  oil  on  him  and  before 
applying  the  torch,  they  gave  him  another  chance  to  forsake  his 
religion.  Again  he  refused,  and  they  set  his  clothes  on  fire. 
While  he  was  running  in  agony  from  the  flames,  the  Turks  shot 
him  several  times.  After  he  fell  to  the  ground  unconscious, 
they  hacked  his  head  off.  Mr.  Allen,  an  American  missionary, 
who  went  from  village  to  village  burying  the  victims  of  this 
butchery  at  Urumia,  found  the  body  of  Shimmun  half-eaten 
by  dogs." 

And  what  is  the  law  of  apostasy  to-day  ?  The  following  letter 
has  recently  come  from  a  correspondent  in  Constantinople  : — 

"A  rather  sad  thing  happened  over  here  the  other  day. 
While  Dr.  Zwemer  was  in  Smyrna  (1920)  he  succeeded  in 
getting  a  Mohammedan  to  stand  up  and  confess  Christ.  I  have 
forgotten  what  the  young  fellow's  name  is.  Of  course,  the 
Turks  got  hold  of  it,  and  the  other  day  an  article  appeared  in 
one  of  the  papers  which  was  signed  by  this  same  boy,  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  had  not  made  a  confession  of  any 
kind,  but  on  the  contrary  he  was  a  stronger  Mohammedan 
than  ever.  One  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  men  went  to  call  on  him  to 
find  out  what  was  the  matter,  and,  lo  and  behold,  he  was 
not  to  be  found  !  A  thorough  investigation  has  been  conducted, 
and  it  has  been  found  that  the  poor  fellow  has  been  killed, 
and  that  this  article  appeared  after  his  death.  You  can 
see  that  it  is  a  rather  risky  thing  for  any  Mohammedan  to 
give  up  his  faith,  especially  in  public." 

The  spirit  of  Islam  has  not  changed  since  the  days  of  Omar. 
Then,  as  now,  a  convert  to  Christianity  was  outlawed,  and  ran 
the  risk  of  assassination.  If  the  law  of  apostasy  intimidates 
the  fearful  or  timid,  it  is  also  a  challenge  to  brave  men  and 
women  to  heroism  and  sacrifice.  We  will  see  how  it  works. 


CHAPTER    III. 
HOW    IT    WORKS. 


55 


'  Why  did  you  take  off  the  white  turban  from  your  fez  ?  Why  have 
you  ceased  being  an  "  imam  "  ?  '  Shemseddin  replied,  '  Because  I  am  a 
Christian.' 

"  For  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  he  was  questioned,  and  as  the  case 
went  on  the  crowd  increased.  His  answers  were  clear,  distinct,  gentle, 
unequivocal.  '  You  may  kill  me,'  said  he,  'you  may  slay  me  in  any  way 
you  please  ;  you  may  make  me  a  slave,  but  my  heart  is  freed.  I  see  in 
Islam  many  plants  not  of  God's  planting,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  I  want 
to  do  all  I  can  to  root  them  up.  I  see  a  great  building,  very  high,  very 
glorious,  built  by  force,  but  no  heart  or  soul  in  it.  Some  day  it  will  fall 
down  and  destroy  those  who  occupy  it.'  ' 

S.  RALPH  HARLOW,  in  Student  Witnesses  for  Christ. 


CHAPTER    III. 
How   IT   WORKS. 

THE  law  of  apostasy  as  outlined  in  our  last  chapter  is  not  a 
dead  letter.  It  is  known  to  all  Moslems  from  their  youth  up,  if 
not  in  its  detail  of  legal  penalties,  yet  in  its  power  of  producing 
an  attitude  bitterly  hostile  toward  converts  to  Christianity. 
What  else  could  such  a  law  produce  except  a  fanatic  attitude 
toward  all  who  are  not  Moslems  ?  The  more  Mohammedan  a 
country  or  a  community,  the  more  does  it  despise  the  Christian. 
Those  who  have  wandered  in  Arabia  in  the  tracks  of 
C.  M.  Doughty  recognize  the  picture  he  gives  of  the  Arab's 
attitude  toward  the  Nasrany.  "  'Allah  curse  the  Yahud  and 
Nasara.'  Some  of  the  camelmen  said,  '  Thou  wast  safe  in  thine 
own  country,  thou  mightest  have  continued  there ;  but  since 
thou  art  come  into  the  land  of  the  Moslemin,  God  has  delivered 
thee  into  our  hands  to  die — so  perish  all  the  Nasara  !  and  be 
burned  in  hell  with  your  father,  Sheytan.'  " l 

Apostates  from  Islam  run  grave  risks  in  Arabia.  Even  to 
this  day  in  the  coast  towns,  where  the  Moslem  law  is  not  allowed 
to  operate,  this  desire  to  kill  a  convert  remains,  and  it  must 
be  guarded  against. 

'  I  shall  certainly  shoot  my  brother  with  this  revolver  if  I 
ever  see  him  going  to  the  Christians'  Sunday  afternoon  service  ! ' 
So  declared  recently  the  brother  of  one  of  the  converts  baptized 
in  Basrah  in  1920.  '  Oh,  please  stay  away  from  the  church 
service,  so  that  your  brother  will  not  carry  out  his  threat,'  the 
convert's  mother  pleaded  with  him.  '  You  say  your  new  religion 
is  a  religion  of  love,'  she  continued  ;  '  you  will  not  show  love  if 
you  give  your  brother  a  chance  to  kill  you.'  For  her  sake  he 
stayed  away  some  Sundays  until  his  brother  went  to  India. 
His  mother  finally  became  convinced  that  he  was  in  very  truth 
determined  to  remain  a  Christian,  and  her  visits  to  him  have 
become  less  frequent.  Recently  she  said,  '  It  would  be  a  feast- 

1  Wanderings  in  Arabia,  by  C.  M.  Doughty  (London :  Duckworth),  vol.  ii, 
p.  279. 

57 


58  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

day  for  me  if  you  would  only  say,  "  Secretly,  I'm  a  Moslem." 
He  replied,  '  It  would  be  a  feast-day  for  me  if  I  could  only  hear 
you  say,  "  I'm  a  Christian,  but  secretly."  '  There's  no  doubt 
of  it,'  she  declared,  '  you  are  indeed  a  Christian.'  Callers  come 
to  the  hospital  just  to  look  at  this  convert,  and  to  see  how  his 
change  of  religion  has  changed  his  appearance.  Two  Arabs 
from  the  interior  came  once  while  he  was  taking  a  noon-day  nap. 
'  Where  is  he  ?  Where  is  he  ? '  they  asked.  A  patient  uncovered 
our  friend's  face.  '  Here  he  is,'  he  said.  '  But  he  still  looks 
like  a  man  ! '  they  exclaimed.  '  What  did  you  expect  to  find  ? ' 
they  were  asked,  but  they  hastened  away  without  answering. 
Children  point  him  out  to  each  other  as  they  pass  the  hospital 
and  see  him  on  one  of  the  benches,  and  they  all  curse  him 
with  expert  tongues."1 

It  is  a  long  call  from  the  East  Coast  of  Arabia  to  the  University 
of  Michigan  in  the  United  States,  but  the  sword  of  Damocles 
that  threatens  and  intimidates  every  convert  hangs  there,  too, 
as  by  a  thread.  A  few  years  ago  I  met  an  Indian  Moslem 
student  at  the  University,  who  was  eager  for  baptism,  and  had 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  New  Testament ;  but,  said  he, 
"  I  am  afraid  to  confess  Christ  publicly  because  of  my  father 
in  the  Punjab.  The  arm  of  Islam,"  he  continued,  "  is  long 
and  cruel,  and  I  do  not  know  what  might  happen  to  me  if  my 
father  heard  that  I  had  denied  his  faith  and  trampled  on  my 
long  heritage  as  a  Moslem." 

From  every  mission  field  there  are  abundant  illustrations  of 
how  this  law  of  the  apostate  works  to  intimidate,  and  leads  to 
persecution  where  it  does  not  actually  end  in  the  death  of  the 
convert.  Dr.  R.  S.  McClanahan  says :  "Although  I  cannot 
give  many  instances  of  those  who  have  really  suffered  because 
of  this  law,  yet  I  know  of  one  young  man  who  became  a 
Christian  in  the  Delta  some  years  ago,  who,  after  being  baptized 
at  Alexandria  and  becoming  an  official  in  the  postal  department, 
has  been  having  all  kinds  of  difficulty  placed  in  his  way  because 
of  his  being  unable  to  prove  this  change  which  he  has  made. 
The  Christians  who  have  known  him  since  childhood  are 
intimidated  and  afraid  to  testify  that  he  changed  his  name  from 
Abd  el  Majid  to  Abd  el  Masih ;  and  the  Moslems  in  his  village 

1  Neglected  Arabia.    Quarterly  Report  for  1922. 


How  IT  WORKS.  59 

in  the  Delta  of  course  will  never  testify  to  the  change.  The 
government  officials,  hiding  behind  some  formality,  are  trying 
to  prevent  him  from  holding  his  regular  standing  by  raising 
the  question  as  to  whether  Abd  el  Masih  is  the  identical  Abd 
el  Majid  whose  name  appeared  in  certain  credentials  which  he 
received  for  successful  work  during  the  war." 

Another  missionary  in  Egypt  states,  regarding  a  visit  made 
some  years  ago  to  a  village  near  Denshawi  in  the  Menoufieh 
province  :  "I  visited  this  village  to  meet  with  a  tailor  there 
who  was  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  was  asking  for  help  in 
solving  difficulties  which  had  arisen  during  his  reading.  It  was 
impossible  to  have  a  private  talk  with  him,  and  the  visit  issued 
in  a  very  interesting  discussion  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  of 
over  thirty  persons,  shut  up  in  the  little  tailor  shop  in  the 
centre  of  the  village  ;  the  tailor  himself,  at  my  suggestion, 
being  the  spokesman.  Shortly  after  my  visit  the  notorious 
Denshawi  troubles  took  place,  and  during  the  confusion  and 
disorder  which  ensued,  and  whilst  the  officials  were  engrossed 
in  the  trial,  the  Omdeh  of  the  village  gave  the  tailor  a  cup  of 
coffee.  He  died  almost  immediately  afterwards,  and  was  quietly 
buried  and  forgotten.  As  I  was  leaving  after  the  discussion 
at  which  the  Omdeh  had  been  present,  he  said  in  my  hearing 
'  No  one  in  this  village  has  ever  become  a  Christian,  and  I  will 
see  to  it  that  no  one  ever  does.'  It  seems  to  me  that  there 
can  be  only  one  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  incident. 
This  man  was  not  a  convert,  but  simply  an  enquirer.  If  this 
was  done  with  an  enquirer,  what  would  be  done  when  time 
and  opportunity  afforded  a  chance  to  enforce  Islamic  law 
against  a  convert  ?  " 

Both  these  incidents  are  comparatively  recent ;  and  the  spirit 
of  Islam  has  not  changed,  although  there  has  been  much 
shouting  for  liberty,  freedom  and  independence.  The  pastors 
of  the  evangelical  churches  are  themselves  intimidated  by  threats 
when  they  baptize  Moslem  converts  in  Egypt. 

"At  the  winter  meeting  of  the  Assiout  Presbytery,  February 
1922,"  writes  W.  T.  Fairman,  "  the  pastor  of  Sanabo  presented 

a  request  from  a  man  called  Mohammed  F for  baptism 

for  himself  and  his  little  daughter.  The  pastor  said  that  in  his 
opinion  this  man  was  a  true  believer.  He  had  been  attending 


60  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

church  for  some  four  years  and  had  asked  for  baptism  several 
times,  but  had  always  been  put  off.      Presbytery  appointed 
a  committee   of   two,   the  pastor    and    myself,    to    examine 
this  man,  and  advise  what  action  should  be  taken.    Although 
he  was  an  unlettered  man,  I  found  that  he  was  well  grounded 
in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  in  no  uncertain   tones 
could  speak  of  a  real  spiritual  experience.      The  pastor  gave 
him  a  very  good  character,  and  said  he  had  no  doubts  concern 
ing  him.     We  reported  to  Presbytery  that  in  our  opinion  this 
was  an  undoubted  convert,  and  advised  his  baptism.     At  the 
close  of  that  session  he  and  his  little  daughter  were  baptized. 
The  man  was  a  widower,  and  the  daughter  was  placed  in  the 
orphanage  at  Assiout  by  her  father  and  the  pastor.    Presbytery 
then  dismissed,  and  the  man  went  away.     He  wrote  to  his 
relatives  at  Sanabo,  informing  them  of  what  he  had  done,  and 
telling  them  it  was  of  no  use  for  them  to  say  anything  ;  he  had 
made  up  his  mind,  had  acted,  and  it  was  irrevocable.    If  they 
wished  to  see  him,  they  could  visit  him  at  Mallawi.     They 
went  to  Mallawi,  but  he  had  gone  and  no  one  knew  where. 
They  immediately  went  to  the  pastor  and  threatened  to  beat 
him  to  death  if  he  did  not  disclose  the  man's  whereabouts. 
The  pastor  said  he  could  not  do  so  ;    then  the  relatives  of 
the  convert  insisted  on  his  going  with  them  to  the  orphanage 
and  asking  for  the  girl.    He  first  denied  any  knowledge  of  her 
whereabouts,  but  finally  went  with  them,  and  the  girl  was 
handed  over.    They  then  said,  '  Since  you  knew  where  the  girl 
was  you  must  know  where  the  man  is.'    And  although  they 
threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  did  not  tell,  he  insisted  that  he  did 
not  know,  and  said  that  he  had  no  further  responsibility  as  the 
man  was  of  full  age,  and  not  a  child.     But  he  was  so  alarmed 
that  he  left  the  town  and  the  church,  taking  his  wife  and 
family  with  him.     Finally  the   convert   was   found  by  the 
authorities  and  arrested  at  Deirout ;  but  when  he  was  con 
fronted  by  the  relatives  and  the  Kadi,  he  stood  firm  and  refused 
to  recant.      What  has  happened  since  then,  I  do  not  know. 
The  pastor  on  my  advice  returned  to  his  church  and  is  still  there." 
The  following  instances  of  persecution  are  found  in  the  reports 
of  the  Egypt  General  Mission  (1903-1922)  :  "A  father  saw  his 
son  reading  the  Bible,  and  taking  it  from  him  consigned  it  to 


How  IT  WORKS.  61 

the  flames,  and  attempted  to  fatally  injure  the  boy  by  throwing 
him  over  the  balusters.  Later  the  lad  received  a  second  copy 
of  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  a  tract  which  for  weeks  he  carried 
hidden  in  his  pocket.  When  the  father  finally  chanced  to  see 
it,  he  gave  the  boy  a  cruelly  severe  beating,  and  continued 
his  ill-treatment  until  his  son  was  forced  to  leave  home."  Of 
another  convert  we  read  that  he  was  beaten  daily  with  a  native 
whip,  and  only  those  who  have  seen  them  know  what  they 
are  like.  Since  he  remained  obdurate,  burning  pieces  of  wood 
were  brought  and  placed  red  hot  on  his  body  to  force  him  to 
recant,  but  it  was  all  of  no  avail.  He  said,  "  Kill  me,  and  I 
will  go  straight  to  be  with  Jesus."  Some  of  his  companions 
suffered  in  a  similar  way.  In  one  case  the  father  decided  to  kill 
his  son,  so  he  poured  paraffin  oil  all  over  him,  and  was  just 
going  to  light  it  when  an  uncle  came  in  and  pleaded  for  the 
life  of  the  son.  The  father  listened  to  the  appeal,  and  banished 
his  son  from  his  house  and  home  for  ever. 

In  1912  a  storm  of  persecution  arose  against  A.  T—  — . 
His  clothes  were  taken  away,  his  Bible  burnt.  His  father 
attempted  to  poison  him.  His  uncle  shot  him,  the  bullet 
entering  his  leg.  His  father  told  him  to  make  his  choice  between 
his  fortune  (some  £2,000)  and  his  faith,  and  with  the  chief 
men  of  the  village  actually  entered  his  private  apartments  in 
the  house  (his  harem,  or  wife's  rooms),  a  terrible  insult  in 
Islam,  to  search  for  incriminating  papers.  Twice  attempts 
were  made  to  poison  him  ;  twice  they  attempted  by  bribes  and 
threats  to  make  his  wife  unfaithful  to  him.  The  whole  story 
of  this  man  is  one  of  loneliness,  poverty  and  contempt,  cheer 
fully  borne  for  Christ. 

In  1923  a  young  man  in  one  of  the  villages  of  the  Delta 
accepted  Christ  and  secured  work  as  a  cook.  "At  home  his 
Testament  was  burned,  and  his  brothers  made  it  very  unpleasant 
for  him  ;  but  that  was  as  nothing  compared  to  the  storm  which 
broke  over  him  when,  after  due  preparation,  he  decided  to  go 
forward  and  openly  confess  Christ  in  baptism.  Relatives  from 
far  and  near  gathered  at  his  home,  threatening  and  cursing 
him  :  a  cousin,  who  had  been  in  jail,  said  that  even  if  he  hid 
in  a  fortress  of  brass  he  would  get  him  out  and  kill  him. 
Under  the  threats  and  hatred  the  young  man's  courage  failed, 


62  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

and  he  promised  not  to  be  baptized  then.  Three  times  he 
has  now  come  to  the  point  of  being  baptized,  and  through 
fear  has  withdrawn  each  time.  His  brothers,  who  have  often 
heard  the  Gospel,  are  dead  against  him — his  own  mother,  who 
really  loves  him,  would  rather  see  him  dead  than  baptized."1 

If  this  is  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Egypt  to-day  we  cannot 
expect  greater  liberty  in  Turkey.  Our  correspondents  write 
of  converts  who  were  imprisoned  and  after  their  imprisonment 
utterly  disappeared.  This  was  the  fate  of  twenty  men  and 
women  from  the  Cesar ea  district  some  few  years  ago.  "  The 
attitude  at  present  instead  of  being  more  tolerant  is  more 
strict  and  merciless.  The  Nationalist  Government  is  composed 
for  the  most  part  of  men  who  are  not  religious  at  all.  They 
are  using  Islam  as  a  means  to  accomplish  the  ends  being 
pursued  by  the  Pan-Islamic  movement.  In  the  territories 
under  the  Greek  and  Allied  occupation  there  has  been  an 
unusual  freedom  during  the  last  three  years,  but  in  Anatolia 
this  period  has  already  closed,  and  it  will  probably  be  closed 
in  Constantinople  very  soon,  and  the  law  against  apostasy  will 
be  rigidly  enforced.  How  long  this  state  of  things  may  continue, 
no  one  can  say.  It  may  not  last  very  long.  Many  believe  the 
attempt  will  be  made  to  punish  with  death  any  Moselm  who 
should  become  a  Christian." 

President  C.  F.  Gates,  of  Robert  College,  writes  :  "I  have 
known  instances  of  converts  who  suffered  because  of  the 
fanaticism  of  their  co-religionists.  For  example,  while  I  was 
in  Mardin,  a  Moslem  became  a  Christian  and  was  sent  to  Mecca. 
He  was  there  kept  in  confinement,  but  one  evening  he  stepped 
out  of  doors  and  was  shot.  In  Smyrna  a  Moslem  became  a 
Christian,  and  two  years  later  was  stabbed.  One  of  my  former 
students  became  a  Christian  and  was  tracked  down  as  he  was 
about  to  take  a  steamer  to  leave  the  country,  and  sent  back 
under  guard  expecting  a  sentence  of  death.  He,  however, 
managed  to  escape,  and  is  still  alive.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 

1  Miss  M.  Cay,  of  Shubra  Zanga,  Egypt,  also  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that,  although  the  law  regarding  apostates  cannot  be  legally  enforced  in 
Egypt,  the  people  in  the  country  villages  are  chiefly  afraid  of  their  own 
relatives  and  neighbours,  who  apply  the  law  indirectly  ;  for,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  "  they  generally  accuse  the  convert  falsely  of  something  that  has  no 
apparent  connection  with  religion,  in  the  hope  of  getting  him  severely 
punished  under  the  criminal  code." 


How  IT  WORKS.  63 

that  converts  to  Christianity  from  Islam  are  liable  to  be  killed, 
not  by  judicial  condemnation  and  execution,  but  by  secret 
assassination  or  by  mob  violence." 

The  Rev.  S.  Ralph  Harlow,  in  his  Student  Witnesses  for  Christ, 
tells  the  story  of  Shemseddin,  who  was  a  convert  at  the  college 
near  Smyrna,  and  who  suffered  grave  persecution.  "  In  the 
life  of  our  campus  Shemseddin 's  influence  was  wonderful.  His 
conversion  marked  a  turning-point  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
college,  and  Greek  and  Armenian  boys  who  bore  the  name  of 
Christian,  but  to  whom  Christianity  had  been  of  little  real  value 
as  an  influence  in  their  lives,  now  stopped  to  inquire  as  to  the 
hidden  power  of  their  own  faith. 

"  Shemseddin  was  the  first  student  in  the  college  to  sign  the 
Student  Volunteer  declaration.  For  two  years  he  continued 
thus  to  bear  witness  to  Christ  as  Lord.  His  daily  words  and 
acts  were  indeed  a  Gospel  written  in  flesh  and  blood. 

"And  now  (1921)  from  across  the  water  comes  this  word  : 
that  outside  the  walls  of  Smyrna  his  body  has  been  found, 
stabbed  in  many  places.  Just  how  he  died,  who  killed  him, 
those  in  Smyrna  have  never  been  able  to  determine.  But  one 
thing  we  do  know,  that  only  his  earthly  body  was  struck  by 
the  knives  of  the  murderers,  and  that  his  spirit,  clad  in  the 
armour  of  God,  went  to  meet  his  Captain  face  to  face." 

Under  British  rule  in  Nigeria  no  death  sentence  can  be  passed 
on  any  convert  from  Islam,  but  some  years  ago  this  was  not 
the  case.  "  In  Kano,"  says  Dr.  Walter  R.  Miller,  "  about 
twenty  years  before  our  advent  a  Mullah  who  had  been  to 
Mecca  heard  the  Gospel  while  passing  through  Egypt ;  and, 
although  only  feebly  understanding  it,  had  apparently  been 
impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  the  personality  of  Christ.  He 
returned  to  Kano  and  preached  what  he  knew.  He  was  then 
tortured  and  died,  refusing  to  give  up  what  he  believed. 
Nearly  thirty  years  later,  as  a  direct  sequence  of  this,  many  of 
his  disciples  who  had  fled  came  under  the  sound  of  the  Gospel. 
To  make  a  long  story  short,  a  little  Christian  village  was  started 
here,  a  community  of  over  one  hundred  and  thirty  souls  lived 
under  Christian  law  and  teaching,  and  many  were  baptized. 
Sleeping  sickness  has,  during  the  last  four  years,  nearly 
annihilated  this  little  community.  I  cannot  say  that  there  is 


64  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

any  change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  Moslems  here.  I  believe, 
nay  I  have  proof,  that  were  the  British  power  removed,  every 
Christian  would  be  executed  at  once.  It  is  an  anomaly  that 
the  British  government  prevents  a  Christian  inheriting  from  his 
Moslem  father,  even  though  the  latter  and  his  son  have  con 
tinued  to  live  in  most  friendly  relations." 

We  are  told  that  conditions  in  Persia  have  changed  radically 
in  the  last  twenty  years.  The  constitution  has  resulted  in  more 
liberty  of  thought  and  action.  The  police  department  now 
handles  many  matters  which  the  Mullahs  formerly  attended 
to,  and  safeguards  converts  from  mob  violence  and  the 
fanaticism  of  individual  ecclesiastics.  The  fact  that  converts 
are  under  the  wing  of  foreign  missionaries  often  makes  the 
multitude  fear  to  touch  them,  as  they  suppose  such  apostates 
receive  some  sort  of  political  protection  from  them. 

A  few  years  ago  conditions  were  different.  All  of  the  early 
converts  faced  persecution,  and  some  were  put  to  death. 

From  this  land  comes  the  story  of  Mirza  Paulos,  a  Moham 
medan  priest,  who  was  converted  to  Christianity.  After  his 
conversion  he  was  subjected  by  the  Moslem  ecclesiastics  to  all 
sorts  of  indignities  and  punishments.  "At  last,  finding  that  not 
chains  nor  torture  could  move  him,  he  was  cast  into  the  streets 
almost  naked  and  told  to  be  gone,  and  on  pain  of  death  never 
to  go  near  the  missionaries  again.  Paulos  went  straight  to 
the  man  who  had  baptized  him  and  said,  bruised  and  torn  as 
he  was,  '  Sahib,  I  have  thought  that  I  was  one  of  Christ's  sheep 
but,  now  that  He  has  counted  me  worthy  to  thus  suffer  for 
Him,  I  know  I  am.'  Bearing  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus  on 
his  body,  despoiled  of  all  his  worldly  goods  for  the  sake  of  his 
faith,  despised  as  an  outcast  by  his  race,  Paulos  tried  in 
different  ways  to  earn  his  daily  bread.  His  children  began  to 
sell  fruit  on  the  streets,  but,  being  recognized,  their  fruit  was 
considered  polluted  by  the  touch  of  a  Christian's  child. 
Finally,  with  wife  and  children,  Paulos  forsook  the  city  which 
had  always  been  his  home,  in  which  he  had  been  respected 
and  honoured  ;  and,  after  some  months,  arrived  in  Teheran, 
where  for  five  years  he  lived — sometimes  in  distress  and  need, 
sometimes  in  persecution,  always  in  poverty  :  but  never  once 
thinking  of  return  to  the  faith  which  would  reward  him  with 


FACSIMILE     OF    THE    TEXT     IN     THE    STANDARD    COLLECTION    OF 
TRADITIONS  BY    MUSLIM  ;    telling    how    Mohammed    tortured   the 

earliest    Apostates. 

This  is  Page  Thirty-four  from  Volume  Two,  Chapter  on  the  Apostate  : 
Muslim,  Cairo  Edition. 


How  IT  WORKS.  65 

position  and  comparative  wealth.  He  seldom  referred  to  what 
he  endured,  but  said  :  '  I  do  not  like  to  speak  of  these  things 
as  suffering.  Compared  with  the  sufferings  of  my  Lord  they  are 
nothing.  I  cease  not  to  praise  and  thank  Him  that  He  has 
made  known  His  salvation  to  me.'  " l 

From  North  Africa  word  comes  that  although  persecution 
according  to  the  law  of  apostasy  does  not  exist  openly,  all  those 
who  turn  from  Islam  to  Christ  suffer  from  their  relatives  such 
nagging  or  bullying  or  coaxing  that  one  often  sees  "  a  look  of 
dumb  agony  over  the  severance  of  family  ties." 

One  correspondent  goes  on  to  say  :  "  We  feel  that  the  danger 
that  they  run  here  is  of  a  worse  order.  All  around  them  is 
the  risk  of  brain  drugs  and  spells  and  hypnotism,  and  we  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  seeming 
backsliding  of  converts  may  be  traced  to  these  combined 
influences  ;  for  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  spells  (i.e.  definite 
Satanic  influences  invoked  and  brought  to  bear)  have  their 
part  in  the  havoc  wrought.  As  regards  the  physical  side  of 
the  attempts  ;  we  think,  from  comparing  notes  on  symptoms 
with  a  missionary  from  India,  that  datura  is  largely  used  for 
drugging.  Whatever  the  drug  may  be,  it  is  well  known  in 
their  domestic  intrigues,  and  can  be  administered  unnoticed 
in  food  or  drink.  It  seems  to  excite  the  emotions  and  paralyses 
the  will  power.  According  to  the  description  that  we  have  had 
from  one  poor  soul  after  another,  a  great  darkness  comes  down 
over  their  spirits,  and  lasts  for  several  months  before  it  wears 
away,  and  they  feel  meantime  that  they  cannot  come  near  us 
or  have  anything  to  do  with  us. 

"  We  have  just  now  a  girl  convert  in  one  of  our  stations  who 
walked  faithfully  with  Christ  for  years,  but  fell  last  spring  under 
the  power  of  a  sorcerer  woman  who  was,  we  believe,  sent  by 
the  girl's  elder  brother  to  live  in  the  house  on  purpose  to  turn 
her  from  us  ;  and  suddenly  she  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
us.  '  She  knows  all  my  thoughts  to  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
and  I  have  to  do  as  she  tells  me ' — that  was  her  explanation 
for  refusing  all  intercourse.  In  answer  to  prayer  the  woman 
was  got  out  of  the  house,  but  the  cloud  on  the  girl's  spirit  is 
only  now  beginning  to  lift.  Another  story  conies  to  mind 

1  S.  M.  Jordan,  in  The  Indian  Witness,  Nov.  8th,  1906. 
5 


66  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

that  may  seem  to  some  incredible,  but  it  was  told  me  by  the 
missionary  concerned,  who  fought  and  died  in  the  ranks  of  the 
North  Africa  Mission  with  a  passion  for  souls  that  few  have 
shared.  One  of  the  converts  in  her  solitary  station  was  a 
young  fellow  of  good  family.  All  went  well  with  him  for  a 
time,  then  suddenly  he  left  off  coming  to  the  Mission  House, 
and  all  touch  was  lost  except  round  by  heaven.  The  winter 
came,  and  the  workers  were  clearing  out  the  fireplace  when  they 
caught  sight  of  this  man's  name  on  a  bit  of  paper.  They 
smoothed  it  out  and  deciphered  it.  It  proved  to  be  a  charm 
written  to  prevent  his  setting  foot  in  the  house  or  having 
anything  to  do  with  the  missionaries.  They  prayed  in  the 
Name  of  Jesus  that  the  evil  spell  might  be  broken,  and  burned 
the  paper.  Within  an  hour  the  convert  was  back  in  that  room, 
bowed  in  broken-hearted  confession  to  God  of  his  backsliding. 
Later  on  he  told  the  missionary  that  he  knew  he  had  been 
drugged,  and  that  he  had  shrunk  with  a  shrinking  that 
amounted  to  hatred  from  the  thought  of  going  near  them." 

These  remarkable  experiences  are  paralleled  by  similar 
experiences  in  East  Arabia,  where  drugs  and  sorcery  are  often 
used  to  influence  those  who  are  turning  away  from  Islam. 

Dr.  F.  Harper  writes  that  in  such  cases  the  chief  mischief 
in  Egypt  is  done  by  a  drug  called  manzoul,  which  contains 
mostly  Indian  hemp  (Canabis  Indica).  Datura  has  an  astrin 
gent  action,  and  is  used  for  the  same  purpose — to  increase 
sexual  passion. 

Dr.  Henry  H.  Jessup,  in  giving  an  account  of  fifty- three 
years  spent  as  a  missionary  in  Syria,  states  that  he  baptized  no 
fewer  than  thirty  Moslems,  and  had  knowledge  of  between 
forty  and  fifty  converts  ;  but  the  great  majority  had  to  flee 
the  country  for  fear  of  persecution. 

"  A  Moslem  convert,  Naamet  Ullah,  who  was  converted  in 
1895,  came  to  Beirut  in  the  spring.  He  was  arrested,  thrown 
into  the  army,  and  wrote  me  a  letter  from  the  military  barracks. 
He  was  taken  with  his  regiment  to  Hauran,  where  he  deserted, 
reappeared  in  Beirut,  thence  to  Tripoli,  where  he  took  ship  to 
Egypt,  and  disappeared  from  view."  1 

"  In  June,  1900,  two  men  with  their  wives,  converts  from 

1  Fifty-three  Years  in  Syria,  by  Henry  H.  Jessup,  vol.  ii,  p.  635. 


How  IT  WORKS.  67 

Islam,  passed  through  here,  en  route  for  Egypt.  They  were 
brought  to  accept  Christ  through  their  godly  Protestant  neigh 
bours  in  an  interior  city,  and,  after  long  probation,  were 
received  as  brethren.  We  obtained  passage  for  them  on  a 
steamer  bound  for  Alexandria,  and  they  went  to  their  new  home 
in  Egypt,  where  they  engaged  at  once  in  self-supporting  work 
and  gave  great  satisfaction  by  their  sincerity  and  steadfastness. 
The  old  mother  of  one  of  the  women  insisted  on  coming  with 
them  to  Beirut,  and  after  they  sailed  returned  to  Damascus. 
In  order  to  relieve  the  minds  of  the  brethren  who  sent  them  on 
to  us,  and  who  feared  they  might  be  prevented  from  sailing, 
I  wrote  a  letter  to  one  of  them  as  follows  :  '  The  goods  you 
forwarded  to  us  came  safely,  and  we  shipped  them  to  Egypt  by 
the  Khedivial  steamer,  June  30th,  to  our  business  agent.  The 
large  bale,  which  was  found  too  old  for  shipment,  we  returned 
to  the  Damascus  agent  to  be  forwarded  to  you.  We  have  hopes 
of  great  profit  from  the  portion  sent  to  Egypt.'  ' 

The  reason  for  writing  in  this  commercial  style  was  that  an 
Arabic  letter  giving  the  literal  facts  might  have  been  read  by 
the  postal  police,  and  might  have  brought  some  of  the  parties 
concerned  into  trouble. l 

Mrs.  V.  H.  Starr  of  Peshawar  tells  of  a  Moslem  convert,  a 
lad  of  eighteen,  who  laid  down  his  life  for  Christ.  He  belonged 
to  the  wild  Afghan  tribe  of  the  Afridis,  and  came  to  the  hospital 
for  treatment.  He  remained  as  a  servant,  and  soon  asked  to 
become  a  Christian.  His  father  and  brother  came  down  on 
business  in  1914.  They  were  glad  to  see  their  boy  again,  and  to 
find  him  earning  regular  wages.  As  they  appeared  friendly, 
no  alarm  was  felt.  Soon  after  the  father  asked  permission  to 
have  his  boy  visit  him.  He  was  given  a  day  off ;  and,  dressed 
in  his  best,  and  with  a  happy  smile,  departed.  Evening  came 
and  he  did  not  return.  No  trace  of  the  lad  was  found.  After 
wards  the  truth  came  to  light.  He  had  been  enticed  from  the 
hospital,  and  reproached  with  the  disgrace  brought  on  the 
family  because  he  had  turned  Christian.  There  was  but  one 
alternative,  either  the  new  faith  must  be  given  up,  or  his  life. 
Details  are  unknown,  but  the  fact  is  certain  that  this  Afridi 
lad  was  stoned  to  death  by  his  own  father,  because  for  him 

1  Ibid.,   vol.   ii,   pp.   691-692. 


68  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

there  was  no  alternative.  Perhaps  for  this  little  Stephen  of 
the  twentieth  century  the  heavens  also  opened  and  he  saw  the 
glory  of  God  and  Jesus. 1 

Even  in  Java,  where  the  number  of  converts  from  Islam 
connected  with  the  various  Dutch  missions  is  nearly  thirty 
thousand,  the  spirit  of  persecution  still  exists ;  and  many  a 
convert  finds  that  a  man's  foes  are  those  of  his  own  household. 
In  Het  Zendings  Blad  of  the  Reformed  Church  (October  1923) 
we  find  a  translation  of  a  pathetic  letter  written  by  a  Javanese 
girl  to  her  companions,  from  which  we  translate  these  para 
graphs  :  "  You  know  that  my  brother,  Joseph,  has  been  driven 
away  from  home,  and  that  your  poor  sister  is  all  alone.  I  must 
tell  you  what  happened  to  me  on  Thursday,  May  3ist,  at  two 
o'clock.  My  father  called  me,  and  began  to  talk  as  usual 
against  the  Christian  religion.  Our  conversation  will  not 
interest  you  ;  but  when  I  began  to  cry,  my  father  and  also 
my  mother  began  to  beat  me.  They  dragged  me  to  a  room  in 
the  rear  of  our  house,  and  the  more  I  cried  the  more  angry  they 
became.  Father  struck  me  with  his  sandals  on  my  head  and 
on  my  back,  while  both  my  father  and  my  mother  seized  me 
fast  when  I  tried  to  escape.  Then  my  mother  took  away  my 
bracelets  because  I  pronounced  the  name  of  Christ. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  my  father  said  to  me  ?  He  turned 
to  my  mother,  and  exclaimed,  '  Let  us  kill  her ;  one  daughter 
more  or  less  does  not  matter.'  Again  I  tried  to  escape,  but 
I  was  locked  in  a  small  room.  When  my  father  said,  '  Let  us 
kill  her,'  it  was  no  mere  expression  of  his  lips — he  intended  to 
do  so,  beating  my  head  against  the  hard  walls  and  trying  to 
choke  me.  Then  I  began  to  pray,  and  mother  said,  '  Look  ! 
Look  !  She  is  praying  again.'  Then  my  father  struck  me  on 
my  face  with  his  sandals  ;  and  they  left  me.  I  remembered 
the  story  of  Paul  in  the  dungeon — how,  after  his  beating,  he 
sang  praise  to  God ;  and  I  was  filled  with  a  great  longing  to 
sing.  So  I  sang  softly,  so  that  no  one  might  hear  me,  '  We 
praise  Thee,  Thee  alone  ! ' 

"  At  six  o'clock  I  heard  my  mother  approach,  and  I  said  to 
her,  '  Let  me  out !  '  At  seven  o'clock  father  came,  but  it 
was  only  to  torture  me  with  all  kinds  of  questions — difficult 

1  Mrs.  V.  H.  Starr,  in  The  Moslem  World,  vol.  xi,  p.  80. 


How  IT  WORKS.  69 

questions — which  I  could  not  answer.  After  describing  other 
punishments  which  she  received,  and  the  pain  she  felt  in  her 
body,  the  letter  goes  on  to  say,  'After  I  had  been  crying  for 
an  hour,  mother  opened  the  door,  and  told  me  to  come  and  eat ; 
while  my  father  threatened  to  beat  me  if  I  attempted  to  escape. 
Mother  asked  me  if  I  would  now  cease  to  confess  my  faith  in  the 
Christian  teaching,  but  I  did  not  dare  to  promise  because  my 
deepest  desire  is  to  remain  a  Christian.  They  have  taken 
away  my  Bibles  and  my  books,  and  I  envy  Joseph,  my  brother, 
because  he  has  only  been  driven  away  from  home.' '  This 
took  place  in  Central  Java,  in  connection  with  one  of  the 
Christian  day  schools  for  Moslem  children. 

One  of  the  outstanding  converts  in  Egypt  was  Makhail 
Mansur.  Some  thirty  years  ago  he  completed  his  twelve  years' 
course  in  the  Azhar  University,  and  although  scarcely  twenty 
years  of  age,  had  already  attained  the  rank  of  a  Sheikh.  A 
brilliant  student,  he  was  master  of  the  Arabic  language  and 
literature,  but  had  never  been  in  contact  with  Christianity. 
One  day  he  chanced  upon  a  single  verse  of  Scripture  quoted  in 
an  attack  on  Christianity,  that  gripped  him  irresistibly— 
"  And  this  is  eternal  life,  that  they  should  know  thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent."  Learning 
that  these  words  were  quoted  from  the  Gospel  by  John,  he 
was  eager  to  obtain  a  copy  of  the  book.  With  a  Bible  hidden 
under  his  flowing  robes  he  went  home  and  began  to  read. 
In  telling  of  this  incident  afterwards,  he  said  that  he  never 
stopped  reading  all  the  night.  The  words  of  the  book  burned 
like  fire  in  his  soul.  He  wrestled  with  doubts  and  fears 
and  worked  his  way  through  theological  problems.  Like 
Saul  of  Tarsus  he  saw  all  his  past  life  and  all  his  prospects 
in  ruins  if  he  became  a  Christian.  But  the  decision  was 
made,  and  then  he  sought  baptism.  Fearing  to  confess  his 
faith  in  his  native  town,  and  because  of  delay  and  mis 
understanding,  he  eventually  went  to  a  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  another  town,  and  was  there  baptized.  For  some 
years  he  remained  with  that  church,  teaching  in  their  schools. 
He  was  taken  to  Rome  and  introduced  to  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
But  this  journey,  instead  of  impressing  him  with  the  greatness 
of  Rome,  showed  him  her  weakness.  He  returned  to  the 


70  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Evangelical  church  after  coming  back  to  Egypt,  and  remained 
a  faithful  member  of  that  church  as  long  as  he  lived.  At  first 
he  was  employed  as  a  teacher,  but  he  soon  began  to  exercise  his 
marvellous  power  of  oratory,  and  for  many  years  held  meetings 
for  religious  discussion.  These  meetings  increased  in  size, 
until  no  mission  building  was  large  enough  to  hold  the  crowds, 
almost  wholly  composed  of  Moselms  and  many  of  them  students 
from  the  Azhar.  For  eighteen  years  he  continued  these 
meetings  in  Cairo  twice  a  week.  The  timidity  of  the  early 
days  completely  left  him.  His  Christian  friends  sometimes 
feared  for  his  safety,  but  he  himself  seemed  not  to  know  what 
fear  was.  He  persisted  in  regarding  all  as  his  friends. 
Occasionally  he  received  a  threatening  letter.  And  once  he 
held  up  such  a  letter  in  his  meeting  before  a  dense  crowd,  and 
opening  his  coat,  said,  "  If  anyone  wishes  to  shoot,  I  am  ready, 
but  I  shall  continue,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  preach  Christ's 
Gospel."  He  was  a  man  of  striking  personality,  a  quick  sense  of 
humour  and  a  rare  friendliness  of  manner.  He  died  in  1918. 
How  many  were  definitely  won  through  his  ministry  it  is  not 
easy  to  say,  but  one  of  them  was  his  own  brother,  who  shares 
a  measure  of  his  gifts  and  is  at  present  continuing  his  ministry. 
Both  brothers  are  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that  boldness  to 
confess  Christ  is  the  part  of  wisdom  even  when  dealing  with 
fanatic  Moslems  in  such  a  city  as  Cairo. 

Aden  and  its  hinterland  have  so  long  been  under  British 
rule  (since  1837)  tnat  one  would  expect  the  law  against 
apostates  had  lost  its  power,  but  the  spirit  of  Islam  dies  hard. 
"  Sheikh  Salem,  a  convert,  did  undoubtedly  suffer  from  this 
law,"  writes  Dr.  J.  C.  Young.  "  When  he  was  up  in  Dhala 
with  Captain  Warneford,  as  his  Arabic  secretary,  the  Arabs 
there  held  a  meeting  in  the  mosque.  It  was  openly  declared 
that  he  ought  to  be  put  to  death,  and  he  was  warned  that  his 
life  was  in  danger  ;  so  he  returned  to  Aden,  where  he  was 
safe,  except  from  the  sudden  stab  of  some  frenzied  fanatic, 
of  which  I  am  glad  to  say  there  were  none  in  Aden  at  the  time. 
Although,  only  a  few  weeks  ago  a  large  stone  was  thrown  at  a 
youth  who  was  sitting  on  the  seashore  speaking  to  the  Rev.  C.  J. 
Rasmussen  and  two  of  the  Danish  ladies.  This  lad,  years  ago 
when  only  a  boy  of  twelve,  had  been  attracted  by  Sheikh 


How  IT  WORKS.  71 

Salem's  message  in  our  hospital ;  and  on  his  return  to  Aden 
after  the  war  he  told  the  Danish  missionary  lady  who  was 
dressing  his  foot  that  he  had  heard  the  story  of  the  Gospel 
years  before  and  had  never  lost  the  impression  made  upon 
him  by  the  message." 

In  Palestine  before  the  war,  conditions  were  such  that 
Bishop  Ridley,  who  visited  the  Mission  in  1908,  said  "  Baptism 
of  Moslems  is  not  unknown  in  Palestine,  though  the  converts 
are  relatively  few.  In  some  cases  they  have  been  sent  to 
Egypt  for  safety.  The  baptism  of  a  convert  under  the  Turk 
is  a  signal  for  imprisonment,  and  probably  his  martyrdom  will 
follow.  Despite  treaties,  freedom  of  conscience  is  not  tolerated. 
.  .  .  Not  long  since  a  sheikh  entered  a  mission  school,  dragged 
out  one  of  the  pupils  and  beat  her  almost  to  death.  Among 
those  who  found  Christ  in  the  Jaffa  Hospital  was  an  Afghan, 
but  he  was  shot  at  afterwards  by  a  Moslem,  whom  he  declined 
to  prosecute,  and  he  was  brought  back  to  the  hospital,  where 
he  was  baptized  at  his  own  request  before  he  died."  l 

Although  the  number  of  converts  in  India  has  been  con 
siderable  the  difficulties  they  meet,  even  there,  are  great. 
What  Sir  G.  K.  Scott-Moncrieff  wrote  in  his  valuable  book, 
Eastern  Missions  from  a  Soldier's  Standpoint,  in  1907,  is  still 
largely  true  in  some  parts  of  India.  "  Of  course  the  law  of 
the  land  gives,  as  far  as  it  can  do  so,  religious  liberty,  and  no 
one  can  be  punished  in  a  court  of  justice  on  the  plea  of  con 
version  to  another  faith.  But  let  a  man  once  pass  the  line 
which  divides  respect  for  the  religion  of  the  ruling  race  from 
acceptance  of  its  teaching,  and  he  will  then  find  all  the  power 
of  bigotry  and  persecution  directed  against  him  in  every 
possible  way.  I  know  of  two  cases  where  Christian  sub 
ordinates  in  the  Public  Works,  both  converts  from  Islam, 
were  the  victims  of  cleverly  concocted  conspiracies,  got  up  by 
their  former  co-religionists,  with  evidence  so  skilfully  '  cooked  ' 
as  to  be  on  the  face  of  it  incontrovertible,  and  yet  to  one  who 
knew  the  men  incredible.  Both  conspiracies  were  successful 
in  achieving  the  ruin  of  the  victims.  I  have  known  the  case 
of  a  young  chief,  about  to  be  baptized,  who  was  kidnapped, 

1  History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  by  Eugene  Stock  (London,  1916), 
vol.  iv,  p.  127. 


72  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

stripped  and  beaten,  after  bribes  had  been  found  useless  ; 
and  a  young  Mohammedan  friend  of  mine,  who  was  as  fully 
persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  as  ever  a  man  could  be, 
implored  me  to  take  him  to  England,  there  to  be  baptized, 
for  he  said  that  life  in  his  country  would  be  an  impossibility."  l 

Along  the  northern  border  of  India  Moslem  fanaticism  is 
more  intense.  "  At  Mardan,"  wrote  Dr.  Marie  K.  T.  Hoist, 
"  a  mullah's  daughter  came  to  the  hospital  to  seek  advice  about 
her  eyes.  While  in  the  hospital  she  was  at  first  very  much 
opposed  to  the  teaching,  then  slowly  became  interested,  and 
one  Sunday  afternoon,  when  Bartimeus  was  the  subject  of  the 
lesson  in  the  ward,  she  finally  decided  for  Christ.  How 
marvellously  God  took  possession  of  that  young  girl,  gave  her 
strength  to  leave  all  and  confess  Jesus  in  baptism,  and  how 
later,  when  threatened  with  death  in  her  own  home  across  the 
border,  she  confessed  Christ  without  flinching,  refusing  to 
repeat  the  Kalima,  and  finally  through  a  Mohammedan  woman 
was  helped  to  escape,  might  fill  an  interesting  chapter  in  a 
future  book.  '  Was  it  very  hard  ?  '  the  missionary  asked,  on 
her  return  from  furlough.  '  Yes,  at  first.  I  was  so  lonely. 
Then  flashed  through  my  mind  the  text  you  gave  me  before 
you  left :  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will  give  thee  a 
crown  of  life.'  ' 

The  story  of  Abdul  Karim,  an  Afghan  who  found  Christ  in 
the  C.M.S.  Hospital  at  Quetta,  and  afterwards  joined  Dr.  T.  L. 
Pennell  at  Bannu,  is  radiant  with  the  glory  of  the  martyrs. 
An  apostate  from  Islam,  but  an  Apostle  of  Christ ! 

"  In  the  summer  of  1907  Abdul  Karim  was  taken  with  an 
intense  desire  to  enter  Afghanistan,  and  preach  the  Gospel 
there.  He  crossed  over  the  frontier  at  Chaman,  and  was  seized 
by  some  Afghan  soldiers.  These  finally  brought  him  before 
the  Governor  of  Kandahar.  He  was  offered  rewards  and 
honours  if  he  would  recant  and  accept  Mohammedanism,  and, 
when  he  refused,  he  was  cast  into  prison  loaded  with  eighty 
pounds  of  chains.  He  was  examined  by  H.M.  the  Amir  and 
the  Amir's  brother,  Nasirullah  ;  but  remained  firm  in  his 
confession  of  Christianity. 

"  Finally,  he  was  marched  off  to  Kabul  under  very  painful 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  154-155- 


How  IT  WORKS.  73 

conditions.  As  far  as  could  be  gathered  from  reports  that 
filtered  down  to  India,  he  had  to  walk  loaded  with  chains  and 
with  a  bit  and  bridle  in  his  mouth  from  Kandahar  to  Kabul, 
while  any  Mohammedan  who  met  him  on  the  way  was  to  smite 
him  on  the  cheek  and  pull  a  hair  from  his  beard.  After  reach 
ing  Kabul,  it  was  reported  that  he  died  in  prison  there  ; 
but  another  report,  which  purported  to  be  that  of  an  eye 
witness,  and  seemed  worthy  of  credence,  related  that  he  had 
been  set  at  liberty  in  Kabul,  and  had  set  out  alone  for  India. 

"  On  the  way  the  people  in  a  village  where  he  was  resting 
found  out  who  he  was — probably  one  of  them  had  heard  him 
preaching  in  India — and  they  carried  him  off  to  their  mosque 
to  force  him  to  repeat  the  Mohammedan  Kalimah,  '  There  is  no 
God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  the  Prophet  of  God/  This  is 
the  accepted  formula  of  accepting  Islam,  and  if  a  convert  can  be 
persuaded  to  say  this  publicly,  it  is  regarded  as  his  recantation. 

"  Abdul  Karim  refused.  A  sword  was  then  produced,  and 
his  right  arm  cut  off,  and  he  was  again  ordered  to  repeat  it,  but 
again  refused.  The  left  arm  was  then  severed  in  the  same  way, 
and,  on  his  refusing  the  third  time  his  throat  was  cut.  There 
is  no  doubt  that,  whatever  the  details  of  his  martyrdom  may  be, 
Abdul  Karim  witnessed  faithfully  up  to  the  last  for  his  Saviour 
Christ,  and  died  because  he  would  not  deny  Him." 1 

The  catalogue  of  tortures  endured  because  of  faith  in  God, 
given  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
could  be  paralleled  in  the  lives  of  those  who  have  suffered  for 
Christ  because  they  were  apostates  from  Islam.  Every  one 
who  makes  the  choice  faces  the  possibilities  of  loneliness, 
disinheritance,  persecution  and  even  death.  We  are  reminded 
of  the  story  told  in  the  life  of  Cardinal  Lavigerie.  One  reads 
how  when  he  founded  the  White  Fathers,  that  wonderful 
missionary  society  which  has  had  so  glorious  a  part  in  the  work 
for  the  conversion  of  Africa,  young  men  from  all  over  Europe 
came  to  Algiers  to  beg  for  admission.  They  had  heard  the  call 
to  Africa,  with  its  burning  climate,  its  deserts  and  its  mysteries, 
its  cruel  negroes  and  its  fanatical  mussulmans,  and,  as  soldats 

1  Among  the  Wild  Tribes  of  the  Afghan  Frontier,  by  T.  L.  Pennell  (London, 
iQOQ),  pp-  20V-J94-  This  whole  story  must  be  compared  with  that  given  in 
Chapter  II  regarding  the  treatment  of  the  earliest  apostates  in  Islam.  The 
Afghans  were  doubtless  familiar  with  such  Traditions. 


74  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN   ISLAM. 

d'elite,  were  ready  to  start  for  the  post  of  danger.  On  the 
papers  of  one  young  priest  when  he  presented  them,  the 
Archbishop,  in  place  of  the  usual  formula,  wrote  :  Visum  pro 
martyrio,  "  Passed  for  martyrdom."  "  Read,  do  you  accept 
that  ?  "  he  said,  returning  them.  "  I  came  for  that,"  replied 
the  priest  simply. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND 
PERSECUTION. 


75 


"  Mohammed  did  not  merely  preach  toleration  ;  he  embodied  it  into 
a  law.  To  all  conquered  nations  he  offered  liberty  of  worship.  A  nominal 
tribute  was  the  only  compensation  they  were  required  to  pay  for  the  ob 
servance  and  enjoyment  of  their  faith.  Once  the  tax  or  tribute  was  agreed 
upon,  every  interference  with  their  religion  or  the  liberty  of  conscience 
was  regarded  as  a  direct  contravention  of  the  laws  of  Islam.  Could  so  much 
be  said  of  other  creeds  ?  Proselytism  by  the  sword  was  wholly  contrary 
to  the  instincts  of  Mohammed." 

SEYID  AMEER  ALT,  in  The  Spirit  of  Islam,  p.  175. 

"  Das  Mittel  dessen  sich  Muhammed  bediente  um  die  Herzen  zu 
gewinnen  und  seiner  Lehre  Eingang  zu  verschaffen  war  in  letzter  Instanz 
die  aussere  Gewalt.  Fur  ihn  war  die  Ausbreitung  des  Glaubens  wesentlich 
identisch  mit  den  Kampf  gegen  die  Ungldubigen.  Muhammed  war 
Prophet  und  Despot  in  einer  Person." 

OTTO  PAUTZ,    Mohammeds    Lehre  der  Offenbarung,  p.   283. 


76 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION. 

THE  incidents  recorded  in  the  previous  chapter  show  how  the 
law  of  apostasy  works  in  the  present  day.  It  is  but  the  natural 
outcome — the  outgrowth  of  centuries  of  intolerance  toward 
those  who  leave  the  fold  of  Islam.  The  earliest  apostates, 
some  of  whom  were  converts  to  Christianity  and  suffered 
for  their  apostasy,  were  contemporaries  of  the  Prophet  Moham 
med  himself.  Their  story  is  preserved  for  us  in  two  of  the 
earliest  records,  namely  :  The  Life  of  the  Prophet,  by  Ibn 
Hisham  (died  A.D.  834),  and  the  story  of  Moslem  Conquest,  by 
Al  Baladhuri  (died  A.D.  892).  In  the  latter  volume  we  read  of 
one,  "  abu-'Amir,  who  fled  from  the  face  of  Allah  and  his 
Prophet  to  Makkah  and  thence  to  Syria  where  he  was  converted 
to  Christianity.  Hence  the  text  revealed  by  Allah  :  '  There 
are  some  who  have  built  a  mosque  for  mischief  and  for  infidelity 
and  to  disunite  the  "  Believers,"  and  in  expectation  of  him 
who,  in  time  past,  warred  against  Allah  and  his  Messenger.'  "  l 
Another  interesting  account  is  that  given  of  Mikyas  ibn- 
Subabah  :  "  Numailah  ibn-Abdallah  al-Kinani  killed  Mikyas 
ibn-Subaba-al-Kinani,  the  Prophet  having  announced  that 
whosoever  finds  him  may  kill  him.  The  Prophet  did  this  for 
the  following  reason  :  Mikyas  had  a  brother,  Hashim  ibn- 
Subabah  ibn-Hazm,  who  embraced  Islam  and  witnessed  with 
the  Prophet  the  invasion  made  on  al-Muraisi.  Hashim  was 
mistaken  by  one  of  the  Ansar  for  a  '  polytheist '  and  killed. 
Mikyas  thereupon  came  to  the  Prophet  and  the  Prophet  decreed 
that  the  relatives  of  the  slayer  responsible  for  the  bloodwit 
should  pay  it.  Mikyas  received  the  bloodwit  and  became 
Moslem.  Later  he  attacked  his  brother's  slayer,  slew  him,  and 

1  Futuh  Al-Buldan,  by  Al-Baladhuri,  translated  by  Hitti  (New  York,  1916), 
p.  1 6.  On  the  death  of  Mohammed  many  of  the  Arabs,  even  in  Mecca, 
apostatized  from  Islam.  On  these  also  the  death  penalty  was  mercilessly 
enforced.  Cf.  Ibn  Hisham,  vol.  iii,  p.  104  (Cairo  edition). 

77 


78  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

took  to  flight,  after  which  he  apostatized  from   Islam,  and 
said  : 

'  My  soul  has  been  healed  by  having  him  lie, 

deep  in  the  blood  flowing  from  his  veins  his  clothes  soaked, 
I  took  revenge  on  him  by  force,  leaving  it, 
for  the  leaders  of  banu-an-Najjar,  the  high  in  rank,  to 

pay  his  blood  wit, 
Thereby  I  attained  my  ambition,  and  satisfied  my  ven- 

vengeance, 
and  I  was  the  first  to  forsake  Islam."  1 

But  he  was  not  the  first  to  forsake  Islam.  The  earliest 
convert  from  Islam  to  Christianity,  and  therefore  the  first 
apostate,  was  Obeidallah  Ibn  Jahsh,  who  accompanied  those 
that  fled  from  Mecca  and  went  to  Abyssinia  (Ibn  Hisham, 
vol.  i,  pp.  76  and  in).  The  account  given  by  Ibn  Hisham,  as 
taken  from  Ibn  Ishak,  is  fragmentary,  but  one  can  read  between 
the  lines  how  important  was  the  early  influence  of  Christianity 
on  Islam,  and  how  Moslems  themselves  dared  to  record  that  the 
light  of  Christianity  was  greater  than  the  light  from  the  new 
religion  :  "In  regard  to  Obeidallah  Ibn- Jahsh,  however,  he 
remained  in  uncertainty  until  he  became  a  Moslem  ;  then  he 
fled  with  the  Moslems  to  Abyssinia,  taking  with  him  his  wife, 
Um  Habiba  bint  Abu  Sufyan,  and  she  was  a  Moslem.  But  after 
he  married  her  he  became  a  Christian  and  left  Islam,  so  that 
finally  he  perished  there,  a  Christian.  Ibn  Ishak  says  that 
Mohammed  Ibn  Jafar  told  him  :  '  Obeidallah  Ibn  Jahsh  when 
he  became  a  Christian  used  to  pass  by  the  companions  of  the 
Prophet  (upon  him  be  prayers  and  peace)  while  they  were 
together  in  Abyssinia,  and  say  to  them,  We  can  see  clearly,  but 
you  are  still  blinking  ;  that  is,  we  have  correct  vision  and  you 
are  groping  for  sight,  and  do  not  yet  see  clearly.  The  word  he 
used  is  applied  to  a  puppy,  which  blinks  when  it  desires  to  open 
its  eyes  to  see  things.  The  other  word  he  uses  means  to  see 
very  clearly.'  Ibn  Ishak  goes  on  to  say  that  the  '  Apostle 
of  God  (upon  him  be  prayers  and  peace)  inherited  the  wife  of 
Obeidallah  Ibn  Jahsh,  Um  Habiba  ibn  Ali  Sufyan  ibn  Harb,  and 
paid  400  dinars  dowry  for  her.'  " 2 

1  Futuh  Al-Buldan,  by  Al-Baladhuri,  translated  by  Hitti  (New  York,  1916), 
p.  67. 

8  Moslem  World,  vol.  iii,  pp.  328-329,  quoted  from  Ibn  Hisham,  vol.  i,  p.  76. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.         79 

According  to  Caetani,  Mohammed  had  advised  the  emigration 
to  Abyssinia,  not  to  save  his  people  from  corporal  violence  or 
torture,  but  because  he  feared  they  would  yield  to  pressure  and 
insinuations,  and  forswear  the  faith  of  Islam.  Consequently,  as 
only  a  part  of  the  Moslems  were  going  to  Abyssinia,  we  must 
infer  that  Mohammed  estranged  himself  from  the  disciples 
whom  he  did  not  trust,  and  from  those  who  would  have 
remained  in  the  fatherland  if  they  had  not  been  disposed  to 
yield  to  the  pressure  and  reasoning  of  the  Quraish.  Hence 
their  escape  to  Abyssinia  was  attributed  to  weakness,  and  not 
to  abnegation  and  courage.  The  later  return  of  the  emigrants 
to  Arabia,  therefore,  confirmed  the  fact  that  Mohammed  had 
not  been  successful :  that  nearly  every  emigrant  had  been 
converted  to  Christianity  during  the  long  stay  in  Abyssinia. 

Caetani  gives  the  list  of  names  of  these  emigrants,  and  goes 
on  to  say  that  these  men  were  of  a  more  elevated  spirit  than 
their  kinsmen  ;  and  animated  with  a  nobler  and  more  sincere 
religious  feeling,  could  not  content  themselves  with  the 
Quraish's  clumsy  worship  of  idolatry,  and  aspired  to  find  a 
religion  that  would  better  satisfy  their  conception  of  the 
spiritual  world.  "  Do  you  know,"  they  said  to  one  another, 
"  that  your  folk  do  not  follow  the  true  faith,  and  that  they  have 
falsified  the  religion  of  your  forefather  Abraham  ?  How  can 
we  reverence  a  stone  that  does  not  see  nor  hear,  that  can  be 
of  no  benefit,  nor  do  any  harm  ?  Find  another  faith,  because 
yours  is  worthless.  According  to  tradition,  such  were  the 
opinions  these  men  were  exchanging  among  themselves  ;  and 
since  they  were  all  animated  by  the  same  desire  to  discover 
the  real  faith,  they  decided  to  unite  all  their  efforts  to  introduce 
the  religion  which,  through  ignorance,  had  been  blotted  out 
by  their  ancestors.  These  men  subsequently  repelled  idolatry 
and  abstained  from  eating  the  meat  of  animals  that  had  been 
killed  under  the  pagan  sacrifices.  Afterwards  they  scattered 
all  over  the  world  in  search  of  al-Hanifiyyah  (the  religion  of 
Abraham).  Ibn  Hisham,  p.  143  ;  Al  Halabi,  vol.  i,  pp.  169-170. 

Although  Caetani  criticizes  the  traditions  regarding  the  so- 
called  persecution  in  Mecca,  and  denies  that  there  were  two 
emigrations  to  Abyssinia,  he  admits  the  historicity  of  these 
early  accounts,  especially  that  of  Obeidallah  Ibn  Jahsh. x 

1  Annali  dell'  Islam,  by  Caetani;  Introduction,  sections  180,  271,  277; 
vol.  i,  A.  H.  7,  sections  53,  55,  58,  etc. 


80  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Not  only  were  there  apostates  from  Islam  to  Christianity  in 
Abyssinia,  but  many  of  the  Arabs  themselves  turned  back  to 
their  old  idolatry  after  Mohammed's  death,  and  were  treated 
as  apostates.  War  was  declared  against  them  to  the  knife. 
In  Oman  many  of  them  were  butchered.  "  Certain  women 
at  an-Nujair  having  rejoiced  at  the  death  of  the  Prophet, 
abu-Bakr  wrote  ordering  that  their  hands  and  feet  be  cut  off. 
Among  these  women  were  ath-Thabja  al-Hadramiyah,  and 
Hind,  daughter  of  Yamina,  the  Jewess."  l  Only  by  submitting 
and  paying  tribute  did  any  of  them  save  their  lives.  When  the 
Arabs  of  Bahrain  apostatized  under  the  leadership  of  Al-Hutam, 
war  was  made  upon  them  ;  and  one  of  the  Moslem  poets 
celebrated  the  victory  and  the  death  of  Al-Hutam  as  follows  :  2 

"  We  left  Shuraih  with  the  blood  covering  him 

like  the  fringe  of  a  spotted  Yamanite  garment. 
It  was  we  that  deprived  Um-Ghadban  of  her  son, 

and  broke  our  lance  in  Habtar's  eye. 
It  was  we  that  left  Misma'  prostrate  on  the  ground, 

at  the  mercy  of  hyenas  and  eagles  that  will  attack 
him." 

The  spirit  in  which  the  conversion  of  the  neighbouring 
countries  was  undertaken  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following 
lines,  ascribed  to  'Ali  ibn  Abi  Talib  : — 

'  Our  flowers  are  the  sword  and  dagger : 

Narcissus  and  myrtle  are  nought. 
Our  drink  is  the  blood  of  our  foeman  ; 

Our  goblet  his  skull,  when  we've  fought.'3 

This  is  in  accord  with  the  teaching  of  the  Koran,  as  far  as 
putting  opponents  to  death  is  concerned,  for  in  Surah  v.  27 
it  is  written  :  "  Verily  the  recompense  of  those  who  wage  war 
against  God  and  His  Apostle  and  run  after  evil  in  the  land  is 
that  they  be  slain  or  crucified,  or  that  their  hands  and  their 
feet  be  cut  off  on  opposite  sides,  or  that  they  be  banished  from 
the  land."4 

Although  it  is  true  that  the  Islamic  ideal  of  the  brotherhood 

1  Al-Baladhuri,  p.    155. 

•  Ibid.  p.  128. 

*  As-saifu   wa'l   khanjar   rlhanuna 
'Ufun  'ala  '1  narjis  wa'l  as 
Dam  'adauna  shurabuna 

Wa  jumjumat  ras  al  kas. 

4  Cf.  The  Mizdnu  'I  Haqq  (Balance  of  Truth),  by  the  late  Rev.  C.  G.  Pfander, 
D.D.,  pp.  360,  361. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.        81 

of  all  believers  was  a  powerful  attraction,  and  that  certain 
privileges  were  always  granted  new  converts,  yet  the  condition 
of  the  Christians  did  not  continue  so  tolerable  under  later 
Caliphs  as  during  the  first  century.  T.  W.  Arnold  admits  this, 
although  he  is  a  great  apologist  for  Islam  as  a  religion  of 
tolerance.  (Arnold's  Preaching  of  Islam,  p.  66.) 1  There  was 
no  such  thing  as  real  equality,  either  in  religious  or  civil  affairs. 
To  abandon  Islam  was  treason,  to  abandon  Christianity  for 
Islam  brought  high  privilege,  and  even  pardon  for  past 
offences.  In  civil  affairs  the  Christians  not  only  paid  a  special 
tax,  but  were  subject  to  many  disabilities.  Toleration  by 
Moslem  rulers  was  always  conditioned  on  the  acceptance  of 
an  inferior  status.  (Compare  Shedd's  Islam  and  the  Oriental 
Churches,  pp.  121  and  134.) 

Non-Moslems,  according  to  law,  were  obliged  to  observe  the 
following  rules,  and  they  applied  to  each  individual : 2  "  He 
shall  not  found  churches,  monasteries,  or  religious  establish 
ments,  nor  raise  his  house  so  high  as,  or  higher  than,  the  houses 
of  the  Moslems  ;  nor  ride  horses,  but  only  mules  and  donkeys, 
and  these  even  after  the  manner  of  women  ;  draw  back  and 
give  way  to  Moslems  in  the  thoroughfares ;  wear  clothes 
different  from  those  of  the  Moslems,  or  some  sign  to  distinguish 
him  from  them  ;  have  a  distinctive  mark  when  in  the  public 
baths,  namely,  iron,  tin,  or  copper  bands ;  abstain  from 
drinking  wine  and  eating  pork  ;  not  celebrate  religious  feasts 
publicly  ;  nor  sing  nor  read  aloud  the  text  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  and  not  ring  bells  ;  nor  speak  scornfully  of  God 
or  Mohammed  ;  nor  seek  to  introduce  innovations  into  the 
state,  nor  to  convert  Moslems  ;  nor  enter  mosques  without 
permission  ;  nor  set  foot  upon  the  territory  of  Mecca,  nor  dwell 
in  the  Hedjaz  district."3 

1  "  In  the  interests  of  the  true  believers,  vexatious  conditions  were  sometimes 
imposed  upon  the  non-Muslim  population  (or  dhimmis,  as  they  were  called, 
from  the  compact  of  protection  made  with  tiicm),  with  the  object  of  securing  for 
the  faithful  superior  social  advantages.  Unsuccessful  attempts  \\vn-  made  by 
several  caliphs  to  exc  hide  them  from  the  public  offices.  Decrees  to  this  effect 
were  passed  by  Al  Mutawakkil  (847-861),  Al  Muqtadir  (908-832),  and  in 
Egypt  by  Al  Amir  (1101-1130),  one  of  the  Fatimicl  caliphs,  and  by  the 
Mamluk  Sultans  in  the  fourteenth  century."  Vexatious  conditions — that 
is  a  euphemism  indeed,  for  what  Christians  suffered  for  all  these  long  centuries. 

1  The  Law  Affecting  Foreigners  in  Egypt  as  a  Result  of  the  Capitulations,  by 
James  Harry  Scott  (Edinburgh  :  William  Green  &  Sons,  1908),  pp.  157-158. 

*  Siraj-el-Muluk,  Boulak  Edition,  1289,  p.  229,  the  chapter  on  the  "  Rules 
6 


82  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

In  Gibbon's  History  of  the  Roman  Empire  (vol.  v,  p.  493), 
these  regulations  are  referred  to  in  the  following  terms : 
r<  The  captive  churches  of  the  East  have  been  afflicted  in  every 
age  by  the  avarice  or  bigotry  of  their  rulers  ;  and  the  ordinary 
and  legal  restraints  must  be  offensive  to  the  pride  or  the  zeal 
of  the  Christians.  About  two  hundred  years  after  Mahomet, 
they  were  separated  from  their  fellow  subjects  by  a  turban  or 
girdle  of  a  less  honourable  colour  ;  instead  of  horses  or  mules, 
they  were  condemned  to  ride  on  asses,  in  the  attitude  of  women. 
Their  public  and  private  buildings  were  measured  by  a  diminu 
tive  standard  ;  in  the  streets  or  the  baths,  it  is  their  duty  to 
give  way  or  bow  down  before  the  meanest  of  the  people  ; 
and  their  testimony  is  rejected,  if  it  may  tend  to  the  prejudice 
of  a  true  believer.  The  pomp  of  processions,  the  sound  of 
bells  or  of  psalmody,  is  interdicted  in  their  worship  ;  a  decent 
reverence  for  the  national  faith  is  imposed  on  their  sermons  and 
conversations  ;  and  the  sacrilegious  attempt  to  enter  a  mosque 
or  to  seduce  a  Mussulman  will  not  be  suffered  to  escape  with 
impunity.  £In  a  time,  however,  of  tranquillity  and  injustice,  the 
Christians  have  never  been  compelled  to  renounce  the  Gospel  or 
to  embrace  the  Koran  ;  but  the  punishment  of  death  is  in 
flicted  upon  the  apostates  who  have  professed  and  deserted 
the  law  of  Mahomet." 

These  were  laws  of  toleration,  but  such  toleration  is  the  acme 
of  intolerance  in  its  effect  on  those  tolerated.  We  may  admit 
that  early  Moslems  were  more  tolerant  toward  other  faiths 
than  their  Christian  contemporaries,  and  that  the  history  of 
Christian  Europe  has  many  a  page  of  bitter  religious  perse- 
concerning  Tributaries."  See  also  U.S.A.  Consular  Report,  1881,  p.  32,  note. 
"  There  are  in  Mount  Lebanon  men  still  living  who  remember  when  no 
Christian  dared  to  enter  a  city  of  Syria  when  wearing  white  or  green  clothes, 
for  the  '  Unbelievers  '  were  allowed  to  appear  only  in  dark-coloured  stuffs.  In 
Horns  and  Hamah  the  Christians,  even  down  to  the  year  1874,  when  I  was  there, 
could  not  ring  bells  outside  of  their  churches  ;  in  Beirut  the  first  to  put  up  a 
large  bell  were  the  Capucine  monks,  and  soon  after  that  the  American 
missionaries  in  1830  hung  a  small  church-bell  upon  the  roof  of  their  place  of 
worship.  In  1876  the  prior  of  the  Franciscan  monks  set  up  a  bell,  a  thing  until 
then  unheard  of,  over  the  new  church  which  that  order  had  erected  in  the  city 
of  Aleppo,  but  owing  to  the  Herzegovinian  and  Bosnian  troubles  then  raging, 
and  the  evident  displeasure  of  the  Aleppine  Moslems,  a  large  deputation  of 
influential  Christians  residing  in  Aleppo  begged  of  the  prior  to  take  down  the 
obnoxious  metal,  telling  him  that  it  might  be  the  cause  of  an  onslaught  upon 
all  Christians  in  the  city.  The  prior  wisely  took  it  down." 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.        83 

cution  ;  but  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Shedd  :  "It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  what  was  an  advance  in  the  seventh  century 
is  a  hopeless  barrier  in  the  twentieth,  and  that  active  perse 
cution  in  its  very  nature  must  run  its  course  and  cease,  while 
toleration  is  capable  of  permanency  and  is  for  that  reason  far 
more  dangerous.  The  strong  argument  is  the  true  argument, 
and  Islam  is  condemned  most  conclusively  by  the  fairest 
judgment." 1 

The  regulations  for  Christian  minorities  laid  down  in  the 
Hedaya  are  similar  :  "It  behoves  the  Imam  to  make  a  dis 
tinction  between  Mussulmans  and  Zimmees  in  point  both  of 
dress  and  of  equipage.  It  is  therefore  not  allowable  for 
Zimmees  to  ride  upon  horses,  or  to  use  armour,  or  to  use  the 
same  saddles  and  wear  the  same  garments  or  head-dresses  as 
Mussulmans  ;  and  it  is  written,  in  the  Jama  Sageer,  that 
Zimmees  must  be  directed  to  wear  the  Kisteej  openly,  on  the 
outside  of  their  clothes  (the  Kisteej  is  a  woollen  cord  or  belt 
which  Zimmees  wear  round  their  waists  on  the  outside  of  their 
garments)  ;  and  also,  that  they  must  be  directed,  if  they  ride 
upon  any  animal,  to  provide  themselves  a  saddle  like  the 
panniers  of  an  ass.  .  .  .  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  insignia 
incumbent  upon  them  to  wear  is  a  woollen  rope  or  cord  tied 
round  the  waist,  and  not  a  silken  belt.  It  is  requisite  that  the 
wives  of  Zimmees  be  kept  separate  from  the  wives  of  Mussul 
mans,  both  in  the  public  roads,  and  also  in  the  baths  ;  and  it 
is  also  requisite  that  a  mark  be  set  upon  their  dwellings,  in 
order  that  beggars  who  come  to  their  doors  may  not  pray  for 
them.  The  learned  have  also  remarked  that  it  is  fit  that 
Zimmees  be  not  permitted  to  ride  at  all,  except  in  cases  of 
absolute  necessity  ;  and  if  a  Zimmee  be  then,  of  necessity, 
allowed  to  ride,  he  must  alight  whenever  he  sees  any  Mussul 
mans  assembled  ;  and  if  there  be  a  necessity  for  him  to  use  a 
saddle,  it  must  be  made  in  the  manner  of  the  panniers  of  an 
ass.  Zimmees  of  the  higher  orders  must  also  be  prohibited 
from  wearing  rich  garments."2 

1  Islam  and  the  Oriental  Churches,  by  William  Ambrose  Shedd  (New  York, 
1908),  pp.  136-137. 

a  Hedaya,  book  ix,  chapter  viii  :  "'Zimmees'  is  the  spelling  here  for 
Dhitnmis,  i.e.  non-Moslems  allowed  to  live  in  a  Moslem  state  under  conditions 
of  tribute." 


84  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

And  here  is  a  modern  instance  of  toleration. 

When  Dr.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  was  in  Persia  near  Isfahan,  he  had 
a  Moslem  acquaintance  there  who  dwelt  in  a  neighbouring 
village.  This  Persian  said  to  him  :  "  When  I  was  a  little  boy, 
some  fifty  years  ago,  my  parents  and  I  and  all  the  people  of  our 
village  were  Zoroastrians.  One  day  the  chief  Mujtahid  of 
the  city  of  Isfahan  issued  a  decree,  commanding  us  all  to 
embrace  Islam.  We  petitioned  the  Prince-Governor  of  the 
province,  we  refused  to  change  our  religion,  we  offered  bribes 
to  leading  Moslem  nobles  and  'Ulama.  They  took  our  money, 
but  did  not  help  us  at  all.  The  Mujtahid  gave  us  until  midday 
on  the  following  Friday  to  be  converted,  declaring  that  we 
should  all  be  put  to  death  if  we  did  not  at  that  time  at  latest 
become  Moslems.  That  morning  all  the  lowest  ruffians  from 
the  city  surrounded  our  village,  each  with  some  deadly  weapon 
in  his  hand,  awaiting  the  appointed  hour  to  permit  him  to  begin 
the  work  of  plunder  and  murder.  We  waited  in  vain  until 
it  was  almost  midday,  hoping  that  our  enemy  would  relent. 
As  he  did  not,  just  before  noon  we  all  accepted  Islam,  and  thus 
saved  our  lives."  1 

The  So-called  Ordinances  of  Omar,  or  "  Constitutional 
Rights  "  of  the  non-Moslem  minorities  are  traditionally  said 
to  have  been  the  Covenant  adopted  by  the  Christian  cities 
that  submitted  to  the  Arab  Conquest.  But  none  of  the  earliest 
Mohammedan  historians  give  it,  and  Sir  William  Muir  doubts 
its  authenticity  and  considers  that  it  contains  oppressive 
terms  that  are  more  characteristic  of  later  times  than  of  the 
reign  of  the  tolerant  'Omar.  It  reads  as  follows  :  "In  the 
name  of  God,  the  Merciful,  the  Compassionate  !  This  is  the 
writing  from  the  Christians  of  such  and  such  a  city  to  'Omar 
ibnu-1  Khattab.  When  you  marched  against  us,  we  asked  for 
protection  for  ourselves,  our  families,  our  possessions  and  our 
co-religionists  ;  and  we  made  this  stipulation  with  you,  that 
we  will  not  erect  in  our  city  or  the  suburbs  any  new  monastery, 
church,  cell  or  hermitage  ;  that  we  will  not  repair  any  of  such 
buildings  that  may  fall  into  ruins,  or  renew  those  that  may  be 
situated  in  the  Moslem  quarters  of  the  town  ;  that  we  will 

1  The  Mizdnu  7  Haqq  (Balance  of  Truth),  by  the  late  Rev.  C.  G.  Pfander, 
D.D.,  p.  366.  Tisdall's  revised  edition. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.        85 

not  refuse  the  Moslems  entry  into  our  churches  either  by  night 
or  by  day ;  that  we  will  open  the  gates  wide  to  passengers 
and  travellers  ;  that  we  will  receive  any  Moslem  traveller 
into  our  homes  and  give  him  food  and  lodging  for  three  nights  ; 
that  we  will  not  harbor  any  spy  in  our  churches  or  houses,  or 
conceal  any  enemy  of  the  Moslems  ;  that  we  will  not  teach  our 
children  the  Koran l  ;  that  we  will  not  make  a  show  of  the 
Christian  religion  nor  invite  any  one  to  embrace  it ;  that  we 
will  not  prevent  any  of  our  kinsmen  from  embracing  Islam,  if 
they  so  desire.  That  we  will  honour  the  Moslems  and  rise  up 
in  our  assemblies  when  they  wish  to  take  their  seats  ;  that  we 
will  not  imitate  them  in  our  dress,  either  in  the  cap,  turban, 
sandals,  or  parting  of  the  hair ;  that  we  will  not  make  use  of 
their  expressions  of  speech,  nor  adopt  their  surnames  ;  that 
we  will  not  ride  on  saddles,  nor  gird  on  swords,  nor  take  to 
ourselves  arms  nor  wear  them,  nor  engrave  Arabic  inscriptions 
on  our  rings  ;  that  we  will  not  sell  wine  ;  that  we  will  shave 
the  front  of  our  heads  ;  that  we  will  keep  to  our  own  style  of 
dress,  wherever  we  may  be  ;  that  we  will  wear  girdles  round 
our  waists  ;  that  we  will  not  display  the  cross  upon  our  churches 
nor  display  our  crosses  or  our  sacred  books  in  the  streets  of  the 
Moslems  or  in  their  market  places  ;  that  we  will  not  take  any 
slaves  that  have  already  been  in  the  possession  of  Moslems, 
nor  spy  into  their  houses  ;  and  that  we  will  not  strike  any 
Moslem.  All  this  we  promise  to  observe,  on  behalf  of  ourselves 
and  our  co-religionists,  and  receive  protection  from  you  in 
exchange  ;  and  if  we  violate  any  of  the  conditions  of  this  agreement, 
then  we  forfeit  your  protection  and  you  are  at  liberty  to  treat  us 
as  enemies  and  rebels.''  2 

1  It  is  considered  a  crime  for  any  one  to  handle,  to  read  or  to  learn  the 
Koran  until  he  has  himself  become  a  Moslem.     This  rule  is  still  common  in 
Arabia  and  other  wholly  Moslem  lands. 

2  The  Constitution  of  'Omar.     From  Arnold's  Preaching  of  Islam,  p.  59. 
Compare  also  The  Book  of  Religion  and  Empire,  by  Ali  Tab.'iri  (A.D.  847-861), 
translated  by  A.  Minguna  (Manchester  University,  1923).     This  book  is  by  a 
Christian  rem-gadc,  and  written  at  a  time  when  religious  toleration  had  changed 
into  persecution   at  the   court   of  the   Caliph,    who   is   called    a   "  Hater  of 
Christians."     The  writer  himself  may  have  turned  to  Islam  as  a  relief  from 
such  regulations  as  were  enforced  by  his  patron,  who  "  forbade  the  employ 
ment  of  Christians  in  Government  offices  and  the  display  of  crosses  on  Palm 
Sunday  ;   he  also  gave  orders  that  wooden  figures  of  demons  sli<  uld  I  e  fixed  on 
their  doors,  that  they  should  wear  yellow  cowls,  and  a  zonarion  round  the 
waist,  that  they  should  ride  saddles  with  wooden  stirrups  with  two  gl<  1  <  s 


86  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

A  side  light  is  thrown  on  the  conditions  under  which 
Christians  lived  during  all  these  centuries  by  the  fetwas  or 
religious  decisions  which  exist  regarding  the  appointment  of 
non-Moslems  to  any  office  in  the  Moslem  state.  Such  a  non- 
Moslem  is  always  referred  to  as  a  dhimmi,  or  one  whose  rights 
are  protected  by  the  payment  of  tribute.  The  text  of  such 
documents  showing  the  relation  of  those  who  are  Moham 
medans  to  minorities  is  given  by  Goldziher  l  and  also  by  Belin.  2 
A  more  recent  fetwa  was  discovered  by  Richard  Gottheil  in 
a  library  at  Jerusalem.  The  manuscript  is  probably  of  the 
twelfth  century.  In  answer  to  the  question  whether  Christians 
and  Jews  may  be  appointed  as  official  scribes,  tax-gatherers, 
etc.,  the  following  reply  is  given  :  "To  place  an  infidel  in 
authority  over  a  Moslem  would  never  enter  the  mind  of  one 
who  had  a  '  Sound  heart.'  He  who  does  so  must  be  either 
a  godless  fellow  or  be  ignorant  of  Moslem  law  and  practice." 
He  attempts  to  prove  that  a  dhimmi  is  not  even  to  be  used 
as  a  scribe,  a  money-changer  or  a  butcher,  etc.  ;  citing  pass 
ages  from  the  Koran,  from  traditions  emanating  from  the 
"  companions  "  and  the  "  followers,"  as  well  as  from  learned 
men  in  preceding  generations.  The  verses  cited  from  the 
Koran  are  iv.  143,  140  ;  v.  56,  62.  From  the  Hadith  a  story 
is  told  how  Mohammed  refused  the  aid  of  an  unbeliever  until 
he  had  confessed  his  belief  in  the  new  faith.  A  further  Hadith 
is  cited  :  "  Do  not  obtain  light  from  the  fire  of  idolaters/' 
with  the  usual  explanation,  "  Do  not  consult  them  on  any 
point,"  citing  in  support  of  this  Koran  iii,  114.  The  story 
is  told  of  Abu  Bakr,  how  he  ordered  his  followers  not  to  have 
dealings  with  idolators  who  had  become  Moslems  but  had 
returned  to  then-  idolatry."  3 

The  history  of  the  Coptic  church  in  Egypt  and  that  of  the 
Nestorian  church  in  Persia  is  eloquent  in  its  testimony  to  the 
martyr  spirit  of  these  churches.  In  Persia  Christian  women 
received  a  thousand  lashings  with  thongs  from  a  bull's  hide 


the  saddle,  that  the  men's  clothes  should  have  inserted  a  couple  of 
patches  of  colour  different  from  that  of  the  clothes  themselves,  each  patch  to 
be  four  inches  wide,  and  the  two  patches  were  also  to  be  of  different  colours." 
1  Revue  des  Etudes  Juives,  vol.  xxviii,  p.  75. 

*  Journal  Asiatique,  1851,  p.  431. 

*  Festschrift  Ignaz  Goldziher,  von  Carl  Bezold  (Strassburg,   1911),  pp.  206 
and  207. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION      87 

to  make  them  apostatize,  but  they  remained  faithful.  In 
Egypt  the  Copts  were  tolerated  under  Moslem  rule,  but  what 
this  tolerance  meant  is  really  one  long  and  sickening  account 
of  horrible  persecution.  As  Fortescue  says  :  "  During  this 
time  enormous  numbers  apostatized.  That  is  not  surprising. 
It  was  so  easy,  during  a  general  massacre  of  Christians,  to 
escape  torture  and  death  by  professing  Islam.  Then  it  was 
death  to  go  back.  The  wonder  is  rather  that  any  Copts  at  all 
kept  the  faith  during  these  hideous  centuries."  l  During  the 
whole  period  of  Moslem  rule,  with  some  brief  respite  under 
certain  governors,  there  were  constant  instances  of  Christian 
massacre  and  wholesale  robbery  of  Coptic  property.  During 
all  this  period  vast  numbers  turned  Mohammedan  to  escape 
massacre  ;  and  because  it  was  death  to  return  to  Christi 
anity,  few  had  the  courage  to  do  it.  So  the  number  of  Copts 
diminished  steadily.  2 

"  In  1389  a  great  procession  of  Copts  who  had  accepted 
Islam  under  fear  of  death  marched  through  Cairo.  Repenting 
of  their  apostasy,  they  now  wished  to  atone  for  it  by  the 
inevitable  consequence  of  returning  to  Christianity.  So  as 
they  marched  they  proclaimed  that  they  believed  in  Christ 
and  renounced  Mohammed.  They  were  seized,  and  all  the  men 
were  beheaded  one  after  another  in  an  open  square  before  the 
women.  But  this  did  not  terrify  the  women  ;  so  they,  too, 
were  all  martyred."3 

The  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  Geronimo  by  the  Pasha  AH, 
a  Calabrian  renegade,  deserves  notice,  partly  as  a  typical 
instance  of  older  Algerian  methods  with  apostates  and  partly 
because  of  its  dramatic  sequel. 

It  was  about  the  year  A.D.  1536  when,  amongst  the  prisoners 
brought  into  Oran  by  the  Spaniards,  after  a  raid  on  some 
troublesome  Arab  tribes,  was  a  boy  of  about  four  years  old. 
With  the  others  he  was  put  up  for  sale  as  a  slave.  He  was 
bought  by  the  Vicar-General,  Juan  Caro,  brought  up  as  a 
Christian,  and  baptized  by  the  name  of  Geronimo.  During  an 

1  The  Lesser  Eastern  Churches,  by  Adrian  Fortescue,  p.  94. 

1  What  conditions  were  even  in  the  nineteenth  century  is  made  clear  by 
Kuriakos  Mikhail  in  his  book.  Copts  and  Moslems  under  British  Control 
(London,  1911). 

'  The  Lesser  Eastern  Churches,  by  Adrian  Fortescue,  p.  247. 


88  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

outbreak  of  plague  in  A.D.  1542,  Geronimo  escaped,  returned 
home,  and  for  some  years  lived  as  a  Mohammedan.  In  May, 
A.D.  1559,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  he  determined  to 
leave  his  home,  to  return  to  Oran,  and  once  more  to  adopt 
Christianity.  He  was  received  by  his  old  master,  Juan  Caro, 
married  to  an  Arab  girl  who  was  also  a  Christian,  and  enrolled 
in  one  of  the  squadrons  called  "  Cuadrillas  de  Campo." 

In  May,  1569,  he  was  sent  from  Oran  with  nine  companions 
to  surprise  a  village  or  Douar  on  the  seashore.  On  this 
expedition  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  couple  of  Tetuan 
brigantines,  and  carried  to  Algiers,  to  be  once  more  sold  as  a 
slave.  When  a  body  of  slaves  was  brought  in,  the  Pasha  had 
a  right  to  choose  one  in  every  ten  for  himself,  and  thus 
Geronimo  passed  into  the  hands  of  Ali.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  induce  him  to  renounce  Christianity  once  more,  and  to  return 
to  Islam,  but  in  vain.  The  Pasha  was  then  engaged  in  building 
a  fort  called  the  Burj-Setti-Takelilt  (named  afterwards,  for 
some  unknown  reason,  "  Le  Fort  des  Vingt-Quatre  Heures  "), 
to  protect  the  water-gate,  Bab-el-Oued,  of  Algiers.  On 
September  i8th,  A.D.  1659,  Geronimo  was  sent  for  and  given 
the  choice  of  either  at  once  renouncing  Christianity,  or  being 
buried  alive  in  one  of  the  great  cases  in  which  blocks  of  concrete 
were  being  made  for  the  construction  of  the  fort. 

But  the  faith  of  Geronimo  was  not  to  be  shaken.  The 
chains  were  then  struck  off  his  legs,  he  was  bound  hand  and 
foot,  and  thrown  into  the  case  of  concrete.  A  Spanish  renegade 
called  Tamango,  who  had  become  a  Moslem  under  the  name 
of  Jaffar,  leapt  in  upon  him,  and  with  his  heavy  mallet 
hammered  him  down  into  the  concrete.  The  block  was  then 
built  up  into  the  north  wall  of  the  fort,  but  its  position  was 
noted  and  remembered  by  "  Michael  of  Navarre,"  a  Christian 
and  a  master  mason,  who  was  making  the  concrete.  The 
facts  were  collected  by  Don  Diego  de  Haedo,  and  printed  in 
his  Topography  of  Algiers. 

In  A.D.  1853  the  French  found  it  necessary  to  remove  the 
fort.  At  half-past  twelve  on  December  27th  of  that  year, 
the  explosion  of  a  mine  split  one  of  the  blocks  of  concrete  and 
revealed  the  bones  of  Geronimo,  which  had  lain  in  their  strange 
tomb  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  The  block  containing 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.        89 

the  bones  has  been  placed  in  the  cathedral,  but  as  the  relics 
have  obstinately  refused  to  work  a  miracle,  the  title  of 
Geronimo  to  be  a  saint  has  not  been  made  good.  "  Ossa 
venerabilis  send  Dei  Geronimi,"  so  runs  the  epitaph. 

A  plaster  cast  taken  of  the  cavity  shows  the  arms  of  Geronimo 
still  bound,  but  in  the  awful  struggles  of  suffocation  his  legs 
had  broken  loose.1  (See  frontispiece). 

There  is  many  another  tragedy  recorded  in  stone  through 
out  the  Near  East ;  many  of  the  churches  were  changed  into 
mosques,  and  costly  mosaics  which  once  proclaimed  the 
Gospel  story  are  now  plastered  over  with  Mohammedan 
inscriptions.  All  of  these  ruins  are  eloquent  though  mute 
witnesses  of  what  centuries  of  persecution  meant  to  the 
Christian  minorities.  Take,  for  example,  the  cathedral  of 
Famagusta,  the  key  of  the  kingdom  of  Venice  and  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  cities  in  Cyprus.  When  the  Turks  besieged 
the  city  in  1571,  Braggadino,  the  brave  Christian  general, 
resisted  to  the  utmost.  Finally  he  surrendered  to  Mustapha 
Pasha,  the  Turkish  commander,  on  honourable  terms.  But 
the  Turk  broke  his  faith,  and  the  handful  of  survivors 
were  massacred.  "  According  to  contemporary  historians 
Marcantonio  Braggadino  was  obliged  to  witness  the  murder 
of  his  chief  officers  '  and  many  times  to  endure  the  pangs  of 
death  before  he  was  released  from  life.'  For  twice  and  thrice 
did  Mustapha  make  Braggadino,  who  showed  no  sign  of  fear, 
stretch  out  his  neck  as  though  he  would  strike  off  his  head, 
but  spared  his  life  and  cut  off  his  ears  and  nose,  and  as  he  lay 
on  the  ground  Mustapha  reviled  him,  cursing  our  Lord  and 
saying :  '  Where  now  is  thy  Christ  that  He  doth  not  help 
you  ?  '  The  general  made  never  an  answer,  but  with  lofty 
patience  awaited  the  end. 

'  Twelve  days  after,  on  a  Friday,  Braggadino  was  led, 
full  of  wounds  which  had  received  no  care,  into  the  presence 
of  Mustapha,  on  the  batteries  built  against  the  city,  and  for 
all  his  weakness  was  made  to  carry  one  basketful  of  earth  up 
and  another  down,  on  each  redoubt,  and  forced  to  kiss  the 

1  Cf.  Cyril  Fletcher  Grant's  Studies  in  North  Africa  (London,  191 2)  pp.  239-240. 
A.  Berbrugger's  Geronimo,  le  Martyr  du  Fort  des  Vingt-Quatre  ffewfs  a 
Alger  (Algiers,  1859). 


go  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

ground  when  he  passed  Mustapha.  Then  he  was  led  to  the 
shore,  set  in  a  slung  seat  and  a  crown  at  his  feet,  and  hoisted 
on  the  yard  of  the  Captain  of  Rhodes,  hung  like  a  stork,  in 
view  of  all  the  Christian  soldiers  on  the  port.  Then  the  noble 
gentleman  was  led  to  the  square,  the  drums  beat,  the  trumpets 
sounded,  and  before  a  great  crowd  they  stripped  him  and  made 
him  sit  amid  every  insult  on  the  grating  of  the  pillory.  Then 
they  stretched  him  on  the  ground  and  brutally  flayed  him  alive. 
With  an  incredible  courage  this  amazing  man  bore  all  with 
great  firmness  .  .  .  never  losing  heart,  but  ever  with  the  sternest 
constancy  reproaching  them  for  their  broken  faith,  with  never 
a  sign  of  wavering  he  commended  himself  to  his  Saviour, 
and  when  the  steel  reached  his  navel  he  gave  up  his  .  .  .  spirit 
to  his  Maker. 

"  The  martyr's  skin  was  then  stuffed  with  straw  and  paraded 
in  the  streets  on  a  cow,  while  the  red  umbrella  under  which 
the  living  Braggadino  had  ridden  out  to  hand  the  keys  in  state 
was  held  over  him  in  mockery.  Finally  it  was  sent  to 
Constantinople  as  a  trophy.  On  its  way  the  gruesome  object 
was  hung  on  a  ship's  yard  and  paraded  round  the  Turkish 
littoral  as  a  spectacle."  1 

Under  the  Ottoman  Turks,  however  (1517-1882),  conditions 
for  Christian  communities  became  somewhat  better,  and 
they  flourished  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  Christians  to  flourish 
under  Moslem  government.  But  that  this  theory  of  govern 
ment  was  one  of  rule  by  the  sword  is  evident  not  only  to  one 
who  studies  the  history  of  minorities,  Jewish  and  Christian,  in 
the  Ottoman  Empire  ;  but  it  is  also  evident  from  the  very 
inscriptions  we  find  on  the  royal  swords  of  all  this  period. 
In  the  Arab  Museum  at  Cairo  there  are  many  specimens  of 
beautiful  swords.  One  of  them  (No.  3595)  dates  from  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  bears  this  inscription,  after  honorific 
titles  : — "  Abu  Nasr  Tuoman  Bey,  Father  of  the  poor  and  of 
Moslems  ;  Slayer  of  unbelievers  and  polytheists  ;  Reviver  of 
justice  throughout  the  world  !  "  Another,  dating  from  the 
eighteenth  century,  belongs  to  a  Turkish  dynasty  and  has  an 
inscription  with  similar  references  to  the  use  of  the  sword 
against  unbelievers.  Throughout  the  entire  Moslem  world, 

1  "  A  Tragedy  in  Stone,"  in  The  Near  East,  October  nth,  1923. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.      91 

with  the  exception  of  such  lands  as  China  where  Islam  made 
no  sword  conquest,  a  wooden  sword  is  in  the  hands  of  every 
preacher  at  the  Friday  service  in  the  mosques.  This  emblem 
is  typical  of  Islam.  It  is  the  visible  symbol  of  that  law  for 
the  infidel  and  the  apostate  which  has  never  been  abrogated 
in  all  the  history  of  Mohammedan  States  except  under  Akbar 
in  India. 

We  are  often  assured  by  educated  Moslems  of  the  present 
day  that  the  treatment  of  Christian  and  Jew  in  Turkey  for  all 
these  centuries  was  one  of  tolerance,  and  that  the  minorities 
lived  in  peace  with  their  Moslem  neighbours.  But  the  treat 
ment  of  their  dead  is  proof  to  the  contrary.  The  following 
account  of  an  historical  document  is  from  an  authoritative  source. 

"  In  what  the  Turks  no  doubt  regard  as  the  happier  days  of 
a  century  ago  non-Moslem  subjects  of  the  Sultan  met  with 
scant  respect  from  the  Faithful  during  their  lives  ;  and  when 
they  were  unfortunate — or  fortunate  ! — enough  to  shuffle  off 
this  mortal  coil,  Moslem  scorn  still  pursued  them.  When  such 
an  one  died  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  special  authorization 
to  bury  him  in  Turkish  soil ;  and  this  had  to  be  procured  by 
the  Church,  or  head  of  the  religion  to  which  he  had  belonged. 
It  would  be  thought  that  such  permission  would  be  accorded 
in  terms  free  from  offence,  but  in  point  of  fact  the  representa 
tives  of  the  Padishah  seem  to  have  gone  out  of  their  way  in 
order  to  make  them  as  brutal  as  possible.  Below  we  give 
specimens  of  such  authorizations,  translated  from  the  Turkish 
of  three  actual  letters  issued  by  the  authorities,  sanctioning 
the  burial  of  an  Orthodox  Christian,  of  an  Armenian,  and  of  a 
Jew,  respectively.  These  were  discovered  by  a  correspondent, 
among  some  treasured  souvenirs  of  an  old  Constantinople 
family.  They  contain  expressions  which  are  highly  objection 
able  ;  but  we  reproduce  them,  in  order  that  our  readers  may 
be  able  to  estimate  more  correctly  the  spirit  which  actuated  the 
'  Proud  Osmanlee  '  of  those  days,  and  which  is  doubtless 
responsible  for  much  of  the  hatred  felt  for  him  to-day  by  the 
peoples  who  were  formerly  under  his  rule. 

"It  will  be  observed  that  the  date  of  the  Letter  of  Authority 
to  the  Armenian  Priest  is  missing  ;  but  our  correspondent 
informs  us  that  the  letter  may  be  regarded  as  having  been 


92  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

written  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  other  two,  or  between  the 
years  in  the  Turkish  Calendar  1223-1239  (A.D.  1808-1824). 

"  The  following  are  translations  from  the  three  letters  : 

"  To  the  Greek  Priest. — O  Thou,  whose  cloak  is'as  black 
as  the  devil,  and  whose  garment  is  the  colour  of  tar,  detestable 
monk,  fat,  filthy,  and  crafty  priest,  who  art  deprived  of  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Jesus  Christ,  take  notice  : 

"  Authorization  has  been  accorded  to  dig  a  grave  and  to  hurl 
inside  the  repulsive  putrid  flesh  (which  even  the  earth  shrinks 
from)  of  the  infidel  Constantin,  who  belonged  to  thy  race  and 
has  just  died. — The  21  Chaban  1223. 

"  To  the  Armenian  Priest. — Thou  who  wearest  the  crown  of 
the  devil,  who  art  clothed  with  a  garment  of  the  colour  of  tar, 
fat,  cunning,  and  filthy  priest,  and  deprived  of  the  divine 
pardon,  here  is  the  object  of  our  present  communication  : 

"  The  infidel,  Kirkor,  who  belonged  to  the  detestable  herd 
that  constitutes  thy  filthy  race,  has  just  died.  It  is  true  that 
the  earth  does  not  wish  to  have  this  pig's  carcase  ;  but  in  order 
to  prevent  its  stink  from  infesting  the  Mussulman  quarter, 
I  order  thee  to  dig  a  grave  immediately,  to  throw  it  inside,  and 
to  beat  down,  without  ceasing,  the  earth  with  which  thou  shalt 
cover  up  this  blasphemous  pig's  hole. 

"  To  the  Jews. — O  thou,  Rabbi  of  the  traitorous  nation, 
which  denies  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  does  not  recognize 
Holy  Moses,  take  notice  : 

"  One  of  the  individuals  of  the  encumbering  herd  of  thy 
community  established  at  Salonika  has  just  rendered  his  soul 
to  the  pitiless  devil,  and  thus  plunged  it  into  the  flames  of  Hell. 

"  The  venerable  Chery  authorizes  thee,  traitorous  Rabbi, 
to  find,  somewhere,  a  latrine,  which  you  will  fill  by  throwing 
into  it  his  stinking  carcase. — The  15  Redjeb,  1239."  1 

Such  was  the  regard  paid  to  minorities,  dead  or  alive,  by 
Islamic  authorities  at  the  beginning  of  the  igth  Century  ! 

In  how  far  the  Armenian  persecutions,  deportations  and 
massacres  were  due  to  the  spirit  of  Jihad  may  be  disputed, 2 
but  no  one  can  read  the  official  documents  on  the  treatment 
of  Armenians  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  without  coming  to  the 
same  conclusion  reached  by  Viscount  Bryce  in  the  preface  of  a 

1  "  Correspondence  from  Turkey,"   in   The  Near  East,   Nov.   24th,    1921. 
*  It  is  not  disputed  by  many  who  have  studied  the  history  of  Islam,     Cf, 
Schulthess,  Die  Machtmittel  de$  J$laws  (Zurich,   1923). 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.      93 

Blue  Book  on  the  subject :  "  The  vast  scale  of  these  massacres 
and  the  pitiless  cruelty  with  which  the  deportations  were 
carried  out  may  seem  to  some  readers  to  throw  doubt  on  the 
authenticity  of  the  narratives.  Can  human  beings  (it  may 
be  asked)  have  perpetrated  such  crimes  on  innocent  women 
and  children  ?  But  a  recollection  of  previous  massacres  will 
show  that  such  crimes  are  part  of  the  long  settled  and  often 
repeated  policy  of  Turkish  rulers.  In  Chios,  nearly  a  century 
ago,  the  Turks  slaughtered  almost  the  whole  Greek  population 
of  the  island.  In  European  Turkey  in  1876  many  thousands  of 
Bulgarians  were  killed  on  the  suspicion  of  an  intended  rising, 
and  the  outrages  committed  on  women  were,  on  a  smaller  scale, 
as  bad  as  those  here  recorded.  In  1895  and  1896  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  Armenian  Christians  were  put  to  death 
by  Abd-ui-Hamid,  many  thousands  of  whom  died  as  martyrs 
to  their  Christian  faith,  by  abjuring  which  they  could  have 
saved  their  lives.  All  these  massacres  are  registered  not  only 
in  the  ordinary  Press  records  of  current  history  but  in  the 
reports  of  British  diplomatic  and  consular  officials  written  at 
the  time.  They  are  as  certain  as  anything  else  that  has 
happened  in  our  day.  There  is,  therefore,  no  antecedent 
improbability  to  be  overcome  before  the  accounts  here  given 
can  be  accepted.  All  that  happened  in  1915  is  in  the  regular 
line  of  Turkish  policy.  The  only  differences  are  in  the  scale  of 
the  present  crimes,  and  in  the  fact  that  the  lingering  sufferings 
of  deportations  in  which  the  deaths  were  as  numerous  as  in 
the  massacres,  and  fell  with  special  severity  upon  the  women, 
have  in  this  latest  instance  been  added.  The  record  of  the 
rulers  of  Turkey  for  the  last  two  or  three  centuries,  from  the 
Sultan  on  his  throne  down  to  the  district  Mutassarif,  is,  taken 
as  a  whole,  an  almost  unbroken  record  of  corruption,  of  in 
justice,  of  an  oppression  which  often  rises  into  hideous  cruelty. 
The  Young  Turks,  when  they  deposed  Abd-ul-Hamid,  came 
forward  as  the  apostles  of  freedom,  promising  equal  rights  and 
equal  treatment  to  all  Ottoman  subjects.  The  facts  here 
recorded  show  how  that  promise  was  kept.  Can  any  one  still 
continue  to  hope  that  the  evils  of  such  a  government  are 
curable  ?  Or  does  the  evidence  contained  in  this  volume 
furnish  the  most  terrible  and  convincing  proof  that  it  can  no 


94  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

longer  be  permitted  to  rule  over  subjects  of  a  different 
faith  ?  "  ! 

The  Armenian  massacres  were  the  disgrace  of  the  igth 
century  no  less  than  of  the  20th.  Each  quarter  of  a  century 
has  been  marked  by  one  infamous  butchery.  In  1822  fifty 
thousand  defenceless  Christian  subjects  were  murdered  on  the 
island  of  Chios.  In  1850  ten  thousand  Nestorians  were 
butchered  in  the  Kurdish  mountains.  In  1860  eleven  thousand 
Maronites  and  Syrians  were  murdered  in  the  Lebanon  and 
Damascus.  In  1876  followed  the  Bulgarian  atrocities  in  which 
the  American  Consul-General  estimated  that  the  number  of 
Bulgarians  killed  by  the  Turks  was  at  least  fifteen  thousand. 
In  1892  there  was  a  slaughter  of  Yezidees  at  Mosul ;  and  of 
Armenian  and  Cretans  there  were  other  butcheries  in  1867  and 
1877.  In  1894  fanaticism  and  intolerance  again  broke  out. 
The  first  blow  fell  at  Sassoun,  where  ten  thousand  Armenians 
were  slain.  There  were  eleven  massacres  in  1895,  and  the 
scenes  of  Sassoun  were  repeated  elsewhere.  "  At  Birejik  the 
soldiers  found  some  twenty  people,  men,  women  and  children, 
who  had  taken  refuge  in  a  cave.  They  dragged  them  out 
and  killed  all  the  men  and  boys,  because  they  would  not  become 
Moslems.  After  cutting  down  one  old  man,  who  had  thus 
refused,  they  put  live  coals  upon  his  body,  and  as  he  was 
writhing  in  torture,  they  held  a  Bible  before  him  and  mockingly 
asked  him  to  read  them  some  of  the  promises  he  had  trusted." 
The  British  Blue  Book  (1896),  is  a  chapter  of  horrors;  one 
ghastly  story  of  rape,  pillage  and  massacres.  Those  who  are 
sceptical  whether  Islam  was  propagated  by  the  sword  have 
only  to  study  the  history  of  the  Armenian  massacres  to  see 
that  the  spirit  of  intolerance  and  hatred  of  unbelievers  and  the 
law  of  Islam  bidding  them  to  humiliate  Christians  and  bring 
them  low  still  prevails. 

In  reply  to  those  who  assert  against  all  evidence  that  these 
Armenian  massacres  were  political  and  not  due  to  religious 
hatred,  hear  what  Dr.  Johannes  Lepsius  says  in  his  report 
of  the  massacres  of  1914-1918. 2 

1  The  Treatment  of  Armenians  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  1915-1916.  Docu 
ments  presented  to  Viscount  Grey  of  Falloden  by  Viscount  Bryce. 

8  Quoted  in  Armenia  :  A  Martyr  Nation,  p.  269.  Cf.  the  original  work  by 
Dr.  Johannes  Lepsius,  Deutschland  und  Armenien,  1914-1918.  Sammlung 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.      95 

"  What  are  the  Armenian  massacres  then  ?  Without 
question  their  origin  was  political ;  or  to  state  it  more  exactly, 
they  were  an  administrative  measure.  But  facts  go  to  prove 
that,  considering  the  character  of  the  Mohammedan  people, 
whose  very  political  passions  are  roused  only  by  religious 
motives,  this  administrative  measure  must  and  did  take  the 
form  of  a  religious  persecution  on  a  gigantic  scale.  Are  we 
then  simply  forbidden  to  speak  of  the  Armenians  as  '  persecuted 
on  account  of  their  religious  belief '  ?  If  so,  there  have  never 
been  any  religious  persecutions  in  the  world ;  for  all  such 
without  exception  have  been  associated  with  political  move 
ments,  and  even  the  death  of  Christ  was  nothing  but  a  political 
event,  for  political  motives  turned  the  balance  at  His 
condemnation. 

"  We  have  lists  before  us  of  559  villages  whose  surviving 
inhabitants  were  converted  to  Islam  with  fire  and  sword  ; 
of  568  churches  thoroughly  pillaged,  destroyed  and  razed  to 
the  ground ;  of  282  Christian  churches  transformed  into 
mosques ;  of  21  Protestant  preachers  and  170  Gregorian 
(Armenian)  priests  who  were,  after  enduring  unspeakable 
tortures,  murdered  on  their  refusal  to  accept  Islam.  We 
repeat,  however,  that  those  figures  express  only  the  extent 
of  our  information,  and  do  not  by  a  long  way  reach  to  the 
extent  of  the  reality.  Is  this  a  religious  persecution  or  is  it 
not  ?  .  .  ." 

The  whole  doctrine  of  Jihad,  or  religious  war  in  Islam, 
indicates  the  spirit  of  intolerance  which,  although  denied  by 
modern  Moslem  writers,  is  at  the  very  heart  of  Islam.  Among 
modern  apologists,  Jihad  is  regarded  as  a  war  in  defence  of  Islam. 
That  this  is  not  correct  has  been  conclusively  shown.  Professor 
D.  B.  Macdonald  says  that  Islam  must  be  completely  made 
over  before  this  doctrine  can  be  eliminated.  (See  article, 
D  jihad,  in  the  Encyclopedia  of  Islam).  The  verse  often  quoted 
to  prove  the  tolerance  of  Islam,  "  Let  there  be  no  compulsion 
in  religion,"  preceded  and  was  abrogated  by  the  verse  of 
the  Sword.  And  the  command  in  ii.  186-7  to  fignt  against 

diplomatischer  aktenstiicke.  (Potsdam,  1919.)  This  work  of  over  540 
pages  is  based  on  official  documents,  and  gives  many  cases  of  forced  con 
version  to  Islam  and  of  the  application  of  the  principles  that  underlie  the 
law  of  apostasy.  E.g.  pp.  35-37,  387,  etc.,  etc. 


96  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

those  who  fight,  but  not  to  transgress  by  attacking  first,  was, 
according  to  Zamakhshari  and  others,  abrogated  by  the 
command,  "  Fight  against  all  the  idolators."  (See  Zamakh 
shari  in  loco  and  article  on  Jihad  by  W.  R.  W.  Gardner  in 
The  Moslem  World.  Vol.  ii.) l 

The  Turkish  massacres,  whatever  may  have  been  their 
immediate  cause,  were  carried  on  in  a  spirit  of  religious  hatred. 
Mr.  Trowbridge,  in  describing  the  massacres  at  Adana, 
April  1909,  says,  "  The  fact  that  Mohammedan  teaching  was 
essentially  at  the  root  of  this  massacre  is  evidenced  in  many 
ways  ;  for  example,  by  the  fact  that  shops  belonging  to  Turks 
were  chalk-marked  '  Islam  '  the  night  before  the  massacre,  so 
as  to  save  them  from  pillage  and  burning.  I  have  a  photo 
graph  of  one  of  the  shops  so  marked  in  Turkish  lettering.  But 
the  most  signal  proof  is  in  the  conspicuous  part  which  the 
mullahs  and  muftis  took  in  the  outrages." 

Not  only  a  spirit  of  intolerance  and  persecution,  but  the 
example  of  religious  assassination  has  worked  like  a  leaven  in 
Moslem  life  and  thought.  Much  is  made  in  these  days  of  the 
new  religion  of  the  Bab  and  its  offspring,  Bahaism  ;  but  even 
this  religion,  which  is  a  decided  advance  compared  with  the  old 
Islam,  does  not  scruple  at  religious  assassination.  In  an 
article  on  this  subject  (Moslem  World,  Vol.  iv,  p.  143),  the  late 
Rev.  S.  G.  Wilson  sums  up  the  evidence  as  follows  :  "  Sayid 
Kamil,  a  Bahai  of  Shiraz,  said  to  Prof.  Browne  with  a  look  of 
supreme  surprise,  '  You  surely  cannot  pretend  to  deny  that  a 
prophet,  who  is  an  incarnation  of  the  Universal  Intelligence, 
has  a  right  to  inflict  death,  openly  or  secretly,  on  those  who 
stubbornly  opposed  him.  A  prophet  is  no  more  to  be  blamed 
for  removing  an  obdurate  opponent  than  a  surgeon  for  an 
amputation  of  a  gangrenous  limb.'  This  opinion  prevailed 
among  the  Bahais.  At  Yezd  they  said,  '  A  divine  messenger 
has  as  much  right  to  kill  and  compel  as  a  surgeon  to  amputate.' 
The  Bahai  missionaries  maintained  that,  '  A  prophet  has  a 
right  to  slay  if  he  knows  it  necessary  ;  if  he  sees  that  the 
slaughter  of  a  few  will  prevent  many  from  going  astray,  he  is 
justified  in  commanding  such  slaughter.  No  one  can  question 

1  That  the  Koran  itself  teaches  such  warfare  is  clearly  shown  by  Obbink, 
De  Heilige  Oorlog  (Brill,  Leiden,  1901). 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND   PERSECUTION.     97 

his  right  to  destroy  the  bodies  of  a  few  that  the  souls  of  many 
may  live.'  A  Bahai  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Frame,  of  Resht,  told 
him  '  without  any  appearance  of  shame,  that  he  paid  so  much 
to  have  a  persecutor  removed.'  In  connection  with  all  the 
above  facts,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  religious  assassination 
has  been  freely  practised  since  the  beginning  of  Islam,  and  that 
the  prophet  Mohammed  gave  it  the  sanction  of  his  example 
on  numerous  occasions." 

In  spite  of  all  these  laws  and  this  spirit  of  intolerance  it  is 
remarkable  that  there  were,  nevertheless,  throughout  all  the 
centuries  conversions  from  Islam  to  Christianity.  Although 
these  conversions  were  not  common,  yet  we  find  in  the  Greek 
orthodox  church  a  regular  ritual  adopted  for  the  acceptance 
of  Moslem  converts  who  apostatized  from  their  religion  and 
entered  or  re-entered  the  fold  of  the  church.  One  of  these 
formulas  of  abjuration  is  given  by  Prof.  Edouard  Montet  in 
the  original  Greek  with  translation.  x  It  is  from  a  manuscript 
supposed  to  date  1281  A.D.,  but  the  text  itself  goes  back  to  the 
ninth  century.  The  ritual  as  given  includes  an  anathema  on 
the  Saracens,  Mohammed  and  the  Caliphs,  the  Koran,  the 
Moslem  paradise,  Moslem  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  other 
doctrines.  One  paragraph  of  this  ritual  is  significant : 
"  J 'anathematise  toutes  les  ordonnances  de  Moamed,  dans 
lesquelles,  insultant  les  Chretiens,  il  les  appelle  des  negateurs, 
des  faiseurs  de  compagnies  et  d'associations,  et  il  excite  les 
Sarrasins  &  les  hair  et  a  les  massacrer,  appelant  voie  de  Dieu 
la  guerre  contre  les  Chretiens  et  nommant  les  Sarrasins  qui 
muerent  dans  une  telle  guerre  des  fils  de  Dieu  dignes  du 
paradis."  Which  shows  that  the  new  convert  from  Islam 
rejected  the  old  method  of  propagandism,  at  least  in  his  open 
and  public  confession. 

Various  instances  of  conversions  are  given,  although  they 
are  scanty,  both  in  the  Christian  and  the  Moslem  records. 
In  one  case  a  Moslem  is  said  to  have  been  converted  by  the 
miraculous  vision  of  a  lamb  in  a  Christian  church  at  the  time 
of  the  Eucharist.  He  was  imprisoned  by  the  Khalifa  Harun 
ur  Rashid  and  after  two  years  was  executed,  a  martyr  to  his 

1  Etudes  Orientates  et  Religieuses,  by  Edouard  Montet  (Geneve,  1917), 
pp.  205-228. 

7 


98  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

faith. 1  Two  other  stories  in  Bar  Hebraeus  may  be  quoted  to 
illustrate  the  incidents  that  would  often  be  connected  with 
conversions.  They  are  such  as  would  be  frequent  whenever 
the  country  was  disturbed,  and  rare  when  the  government 
was  strong,  and  might  easily  be  paralleled  by  modern  instances. 
One  is  that  of  a  girl  living  in  the  twelfth  century  (1159  A.D.) 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mosul,  who  was  betrothed  to  a 
Christian.  Her  father,  born  a  Christian,  had  apostatized  to 
Islam,  the  rest  of  the  family  keeping  their  faith  ;  and  in 
consequence,  opposition  was  made  by  the  Moslems  to  her 
marriage  to  a  Christian.  The  Maphriana,  who  authorized  the 
marriage  ceremony,  was  arrested,  and  the  girl,  of  course,  was 
brought  before  the  authorities.  She  persisted  in  the  profession 
of  faith  in  Christianity.  Finally  her  firmness  and  that  of  the 
Maphriana,  who  had  been  imprisoned  for  forty  days,  triumphed 
in  so  far  that  she  was  not  compelled  to  accept  Islam  ;  but  she 
could  not  remain  in  her  home,  and  ended  her  days  as  a  nun  in 
Jerusalem. 2 

How  conversions  to  Islam  took  place  in  Algiers  in  1678  is 
vividly  related  in  quaint  English  by  Joseph  Pitts,  the  Exeter 
sailor  boy  who  was  taken  prisoner  by  pirates  and  was  the  first 
European  to  visit  Mecca. 

"  We  returned  back  to  Algiers  in  some  small  time  ;  and  a 
little  after  that,  he  carried  me  into  Camp  with  him  ;  and  it  so 
happen'd,  that  his  two  Brothers,  being  Spahys,  or  Troopers, 
were  with  him  in  one  and  the  same  Tent.  His  younger  Brother 
would  be  frequently  (behind  his  Back,  and  sometimes  before 
his  Face)  perswading  me  to  turn  Mahomaten,  and  to  gain  me, 
made  me  large  Offers  ;  but  I  little  regarded  them. 

"  The  eldest  Brother,  who  was  my  chief  Patroon,  I  found, 
was  not  very  fond  of  my  turning  ;  for  he  would  often  threaten 
me,  that  if  I  did  turn  Turk,  and  did  not  learn  my  Book  well, 
-he  would  beat  me  soundly.  But  when  his  younger  Brother, 
who  had  been  so  often  tampering  with  me,  saw  that  no  Argu 
ments  nor  Offers  would  prevail,  he  began  to  lie  very  close  to 
his  Brother  to  force  me  to  turn  ;  and  as  an  Argument,  would 
often  tell  him,  '  That  he  had  been  a  Profligate  and  debauch'd 

1  Bar  Hebraeus,  Syr.  Chron.  p.  132. 

3  Shedd,  Islam  and  the  Oriental  Churches,  pp.  149,  153. 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.       99 

Man  in  his  time,  and  a  Murderer ;  and  that  the  Proselyting 
me  would  be  some  sort  of  an  Atonement  for  his  past  Impieties  ; 
and  flatly  told  him,  that  otherwise  he  would  never  go  to 
Heaven.'  Whereupon  (as  guilty  Men  are  willing  to  lay  hold 
on  every  pretence  to  Happiness,  though  never  so  slight,  and 
groundless)  the  eldest  Brother  endeavoured  to  perswade  me  ; 
and  finding  that  would  not  do,  he  threatened  to  send  me 
hundreds  of  miles  into  the  Country,  where  I  should  never  see 
the  Face  of  any  Christian.  But  rinding  all  these  Methods  to  be 
ineffectual  to  the  End  they  drove  at,  the  two  Brothers  consulted 
together,  and  resolved  upon  Cruelty,  and  Violence,  to  see  what 
that  would  do.  Accordingly,  on  a  certain  day,  when  my 
Patroon  s  Barber  came  to  trim  him,  I  being  there  to  give 
Attendance,  my  Patroon  bid  me  kneel  down  before  him ; 
which  I  did  :  He  then  ordered  the  Barber  to  cut  off  my  Hair 
with  his  Scissars  :  but  I  mistrusting  somewhat  of  their  Design, 
struggled  with  them  ;  but  by  stronger  Force  my  Hair  was  cut 
off,  and  then  the  Barber  went  about  to  shave  my  Head,  my 
Patroon  all  the  while  holding  my  Hands.  I  kept  shaking  my 
Head,  and  he  kept  striking  me  in  the  Face.  After  my  Head, 
with  much  ado,  was  shaved,  my  Patroon  would  have  me  take 
off  my  Clothes,  and  put  on  Turkish  Habit.  I  told  him  plainly 
I  would  not :  Whereupon  I  was  forthwith  hauled  away  to 
another  Tent,  in  which  we  kept  our  Provision  ;  where  were 
two  Men,  viz.,  the  Cook  and  the  Steward  ;  one  of  which  held 
me  while  the  other  stript  me,  and  put  on  me  the  Turkish  Garb. 
I  all  this  while  kept  crying,  and  told  my  Patroon,  that  although 
he  had  chang'd  my  Habit,  yet  he  could  never  change  my 
Heart.  The  Night  following,  before  he  lay  down  to  sleep, 
he  calTd  me,  and  bid  me  kneel  down  by  his  Bed-side,  and  then 
used  Entreaties  that  I  would  gratify  him  in  renouncing  my 
Religion.  I  told  him  it  was  against  my  Conscience,  and  withal, 
desired  him  to  sell  me  and  buy  another  Boy,  who  perhaps  might 
more  easily  be  won  ;  but  as  for  my  part,  I  was  afraid  I  should 
be  everlastingly  damn'd,  if  I  complied  with  his  Request. 
He  told  me,  he  would  pawn  his  Soul  for  mine,  and  many  other 
importunate  Expressions  did  he  use.  At  length  I  desired  him 
to  let  me  go  to  bed,  and  I  would  pray  to  God,  and  if  I  found  any 
better  Reasons  suggested  to  my  mind  than  what  I  then  had, 


ioo  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

to  turn,  by  the  next  Morning,  I  did  not  know  what  I  might  do  ; 
but  if  I  continued  in  the  same  mind  I  was,  I  desired  him  to 
say  no  more  to  me  on  that  Subject.  This  he  agreed  to,  and  so 
I  went  to  Bed.  But  (whatever  ail'd  him)  having  not  Patience 
to  stay  till  the  Morning  for  my  Answer,  he  awoke  me  in  the 
Night,  and  ask'd  me  what  my  Sentiments  now  were.  I  told 
him  they  were  the  same  as  before.  Then  he  took  me  by  the 
Right-hand,  and  endeavoured  to  make  me  hold  up  the  Fore 
finger,  as  they  usually  do  when  they  speak  those  Words,  viz., 
La  Allah  ellallah,  Mohammed  Resul  Allah  (which  initiates  them 
Turks,  as  I  have  related  before)  but  I  did  with  all  my  might 
bend  it  down,  so  that  he  saw  nothing  was  to  be  done  with  me 
without  Violence ;  upon  which  he  presently  call'd  two  of  his 
Servants,  and  commanded  them  to  tie  up  my  Feet  with  a  Rope 
to  the  Post  of  the  Tent ;  and  when  they  had  so  done,  he  with 
a  great  Cudgel  fell  a  beating  of  me  upon  my  bare  Feet.  And 
being  a  very  strong  Man,  and  full  of  Passion,  his  blows  fell 
heavy  indeed  ;  and  the  more  he  beat  me,  the  more  chafed 
and  enraged  he  was,  and  declared,  that  in  short,  if  I  would  not 
turn,  he  would  beat  me  to  Death.  I  roar'd  out  to  feel  the  Pain 
of  his  cruel  Strokes  ;  but  the  more  I  cry'd  the  more  furiously 
he  laid  on  ;  and  to  stop  the  Noise  of  my  crying,  would  stamp 
with  his  Feet  on  my  Mouth  ;  at  which  I  beg'd  him  to  despatch 
me  out  of  the  way  ;  but  he  continued  beating  me.  After  I  had 
endured  this  merciless  Usage  so  long,  till  I  was  ready  to  faint 
and  die  under  it,  and  saw  him  as  mad  and  implacable  as  ever, 
I  beg'd  him  to  forbear,  and  I  would  turn.  And  breathing  a 
while,  but  still  hanging  by  the  Feet,  he  urg'd  me  again  to  speak 
the  Words.  Very  unwilling  I  was,  and  held  him  in  suspense  a 
while  ;  and  at  length  told  him,  that  I  could  not  speak  them. 
At  which  he  was  more  enrag'd  then  before,  and  fell  at  me  again 
in  a  most  barbarous  manner.  After  I  had  received  a  great 
many  Blows  a  second  time,  I  beseech'd  him  to  hold  his  Hand, 
and  gave  him  fresh  hopes  of  my  turning  Mahometan  ;  and  after 
I  had  taken  a  little  more  Breath,  I  told  him  as  before,  I  could 
not  do  what  he  desired.  And  thus  I  held  him  in  suspense 
three,  or  four  times  ;  but  at  last,  seeing  his  Cruelty  towards 
me  insatiable,  unless  I  turn'd,  through  Terrour  I  did  it,  and 
spake  the  Words  as  usual,  holding  up  the  Fore-finger  of  my 


CENTURIES  OF  INTOLERANCE  AND  PERSECUTION.       101 

Right-hand  :  And  presently  I  was  had  away  to  a  Fire,  and 
care  was  taken  to  heal  my  Feet,  (for  they  were  so  beaten, 
that  I  was  not  able  to  go  upon  them  for  several  Days)  and  so 
I  was  put  to  Bed."  l 

The  story  of  Henry  Martyn's  earliest  Moslem  convert  is 
illustration  of  the  swift  application  of  mutilation  according  to 
the  law  of  apostasy  :  "  Sabat  and  Abdallah,  two  Arabs  of 
notable  pedigree,  becoming  friends,  resolved  to  travel  together. 
After  a  visit  to  Mecca  they  went  to  Cabul,  where  Abdallah 
entered  the  service  of  Zeman  Shah,  the  famous  Ameer.  There, 
an  Armenian  lent  him  the  Arabic  Bible,  he  became  a  Christian 
and  he  fled  for  his  life  to  Bokhara.  Sabat  had  preceded  him 
there,  and  at  once  recognized  him  on  the  street.  '  I  had  no 
pity,'  said  Sabat  afterwards.  '  I  delivered  him  up  to  Morad 
Shah,  the  King.  He  was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  abjure 
Christ.  He  refused.  Then  one  of  his  hands  was  cut  off,  and 
again  he  was  pressed  to  recant.  He  made  no  answer,  but 
looked  up  steadfastly  towards  heaven,  like  Stephen,  the  first 
martyr,  his  eyes  streaming  with  tears.  He  looked  at  me,  but 
it  was  with  the  countenance  of  forgiveness.  His  other  hand 
was  then  cut  off.  But  he  never  changed,  and  when  he  bowed 
his  head  to  receive  the  blow  of  death  all  Bokhara  seemed  to 
say,  "  What  new  thing  is  this  ?  "  Remorse  drove  Sabat  to 
long  wanderings,  in  which  he  came  to  Madras,  where  the 
Government  gave  him  the  office  of  mufti,  or  expounder  of  the 
law  of  Islam  in  the  civil  courts.  At  Vizagapatam  he  fell  in 
with  a  copy  of  the  Arabic  New  Testament  as  revised  by 
Solomon  Negri,  and  sent  out  to  India  by  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  in  the  middle  of  last  century. 
He  compared  it  with  the  Koran,  the  truth  fell  on  him  '  like  a 
flood  of  light,'  and  he  sought  baptism  in  Madras  at  the  hands 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerr.  He  was  named  Nathaniel.  He  was  then 
twenty-seven  years  of  age.  When  the  news  reached  his  family 
in  Arabia  his  brother  set  out  to  destroy  him,  and,  disguised  as 
an  Asiatic,  wounded  him  with  a  dagger  as  he  sat  in  his  house  at 
Vizagapatam."2  It  is  the  same  story  in  Arabia,  Turkey, 

1  A  Faithful  A  ccount  of  the  Religion  and  Manners  of  the  Mahometans,  by 
Joseph  Pitts  of  Exon  (London,  1738),  pp.  192-196. 

1  Henry  Martyn,  by  George  Smith  (London,  1892),  pp.  226-227. 


102  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Afghanistan,  Persia,  Algiers,  India — no  mercy  for  the  Apostate 
and  no  equality  or  liberty  for  Christian  minorities. 

As  we  look  back  upon  these  centuries  of  persecution  of  our 
fellow  Christians  the  Nestorians,  the  Armenians,  the  Greeks  and 
the  Copts  we  realize  the  truth  of  our  unity  in  Christ,  and  come 
to  a  similar  conclusion  as  that  reached  by  Adrian  Fortescue,  the 
Roman  Catholic  historian  :  "  In  a  land  ruled  by  Moslems  there 
is  at  bottom  an  essential  solidarity  between  all  Christians. 
These  other  Christians  too  are  children  of  God,  baptized  as  we 
are.  Their  venerable  hierarchies  descend  unbroken  from  the 
old  Eastern  Fathers,  who  are  our  Fathers  too.  When  they 
stand  at  their  liturgies  they  adore  the  same  sacred  Presence 
which  sanctifies  our  altars,  in  their  Communions  they  receive 
the  Gift  that  we  receive.  And  at  least  for  one  thing  we  must 
envy  them,  for  the  glory  of  that  martyr's  crown  they  have  worn 
for  over  a  thousand  years.  We  can  never  forget  that.  During 
all  those  dark  centuries  there  was  not  a  Copt  nor  a  Jacobite,  not 
a  Nestorian  nor  an  Armenian,  who  could  not  have  bought  relief, 
ease,  comfort,  by  denying  Christ  and  turning  Turk.  I  can  think 
of  nothing  else  like  it  in  the  world.  These  poor  forgotten 
rayahs  in  their  pathetic  schisms  for  thirteen  hundred  years  of 
often  ghastly  persecution  kept  their  loyalty  to  Christ.  And 
still  for  His  name  they  bear  patiently  a  servile  state  and  the 
hatred  of  their  tyrants.  Shall  we  call  them  heretics  and 
schismatics  ?  They  are  martyrs  and  sons  of  martyrs.  The  long 
bloodstain  which  is  their  history  must  atone,  more  than  atone, 
for  their  errors  about  Ephesus  and  Chalcedon.  For  who  can 
doubt  that  when  the  end  comes,  when  all  men  are  judged,  their 
glorious  confession  shall  weigh  heavier  than  their  schism  ? 
Who  can  doubt  that  those  unknown  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  will  earn  forgiveness  for  errors  of  which  they  were 
hardly  conscious,  when  they  show  the  wounds  they  bore  for 
Christ  ?  When  that  day  comes  I  think  we  shall  see  that  in 
their  imperfect  Churches  they  were  more  Catholic  than  we 
now  think.  For  there  is  a  promise  to  which  these  Eastern 
Christians  have  more  right  than  we  who  sit  in  comfort  under 
tolerant  governments  :  Qui  me  confessus  fuerit  cor  am  hominibus, 
confitebor  et  ego  eum  cor  am  Patri  meo."  l 

1  The  Lesser  Eastern  Churches,  by  Adrian  Fortescue   (London,  1913). 


CHAPTER    V. 
HIDDEN    DISCIPLES. 


103 


"  And  Naaman  said,  If  not,  yet,  I  pray  thee,  let  there  be  given  to  thy 
servant  two  mules'  burden  of  earth  ;  for  thy  servant  will  henceforth  offer 
neither  burnt- offering  nor  sacrifice  unto  other  gods,  but  unto  Jehovah. 
In  this  thing  Jehovah  pardon  thy  servant ;  when  my  master  goeth  into 
the  House  of  Rimmon  to  worship  there,  and  he  leaneth  on  my  hand,  and 
I  bow  myself  in  the  house  of  Rimmon  :  when  I  bow  myself  in  the  house  of 
Rimmon,  Jehovah  pardon  thy  servant  in  this  thing." 

2  Kings  v.  17,  1 8. 

"  The  same  came  to  Jesus  by  night."  John  iii.  2. 

"Most  blest  believer  he! 

Who  in  that  land  of  darkness  and  blind  eyes 
Thy  long  expected  healing  wings  could  see, 

When  thou   didst  rise; 
And,   what  can  never  more  be  done, 
Did  at  midnight  speak  with  the  sun !  " 

HENRY  VAUGHAN. 


104 


CHAPTER    V. 

HIDDEN   DISCIPLES. 

THERE  must  have  been  others  who  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  as 
well  as  did  Nicodemus  ;  and  in  the  Old  Testament  story  it  is 
evident  that  Naaman  was  not  the  only  one  who  worshipped 
Jehovah,  and  yet  remained  outside  of  the  inner  circle  of  Israel. 
In  all  Mission  fields  the  experience  has  been  similar.  In  the 
days  of  persecution,  of  intolerance,  and  of  open  hostility  toward 
the  religion  of  Christ,  those  who  were  afraid  to  confess  Him 
before  men,  and  yet  believed  in  Him  secretly,  came  by  night. 
Missionaries  among  Moslems  all  testify  to  the  fact  that  under  the 
law  of  apostasy  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  urge  a  convert  to 
make  open  confession,  when  such  open  confession  inevitably 
would  mean  martyrdom.  Here,  for  example,  are  four  recent 
instances  from  one  corner  of  the  great  Moslem  world.  All  of 
them  come  within  the  experience  of  one  worker  ;  and  such 
cases  could  be  multiplied  from  many  fields  : — 

'  This  summer  I  met  X —  -  who  was  educated  in  a  little 
mission  school  on  the  borders  of  the  desert  near  Damascus. 
With  other  Arab  Moslems  he  heard  of  Jesus,  studied  His 
teaching  ;  and  he  is  to-day  a  Christian,  but  not  baptized.  He 
is  looking  for  a  place  to  teach  under  Christian  influences.  He 
has  been  asked  to  go  back  to  his  home  village,  which  he  left 
when  in  danger  ;  but  if  he  does  so  he  will  risk  his  life,  for  he  is 
marked.  So  he  remains  in  Beirut  as  a  silent  believer  waiting 
for  God's  guidance.  Would  you  urge  X—  -  to  return,  confess 
Christ  in  his  own  village,  and  be  ready  to  die  there  ? 

"  In  a  nearby  girls'  school  a  Turkish  woman  came  to  an 
American  teacher  secretly,  asking  her  to  read  a  Book  which  she 
did  not  understand.  It  was  the  Gospel.  After  a  year  she  openly 
confessed  that  Jesus  was  her  Master,  and  said  she  would  become 
a  Christian  if  the  teachers  could  protect  her.  She  did  not  dare 
to  confess  Christ  before  her  own  people,  for  that  would  mean 

105 


io6  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

death  or  suffering.  No  protection  could  be  guaranteed,  and 
she  had  no  money  to  take  her  out  of  the  land.  She  drifted 
back,  was  married  to  a  Turk  ;  and  somewhere  behind  these 
veils  a  Turkish  woman  is  looking  silently  to  the  Master  and 
longing.  What  would  you  have  told  her  ? 

"  A  sixteen  year  old  boy  is  to-day  in  a  mission  school.  His 
Arab  father  has  divorced  the  Turkish  mother.  After  several 
years  of  intimate  contact  with  the  teachers  and  with  the  word 
of  God,  he  has  accepted  the  teachings  of  the  Master.  But  he 
is  not  a  baptized  Christian.  Should  he  confess  openly  to-day, 
he  might  not  be  alive  when  this  letter  reaches  you.  And  he 
is  not  a  Moslem  ;  the  love  of  Christ  has  changed  him.  Silently 
he  lives  a  quiet,  good  life — an  example  of  purity  and  morality 
both  to  Christian  boys  and  Moslem  boys — loved  and  respected 
by  all.  Silently  he  receives  the  life-giving  power  from  the 
Master.  What  would  you  urge  him  to  do  ? 

"  One  of  our  teachers  is  an  elderly  Arab  lady,  called  '  the 
Stranger/  because  she  left  her  own  land  years  ago  to  come  here. 
As  a  girl  she  learned  of  Christ,  accepted  Him,  confessed  Him, 
was  thrown  out  of  the  home  and  found  a  refuge  in  a  mission 
school.  For  thirty  years  she  has  been  a  quiet  faithful  teacher, 
respected  as  a  Christian.  After  the  first  violent  outbreaks 
she  has  suffered  little  persecution  ;  but  in  her  new  home,  where 
her  Moslem  childhood  is  not  known  so  well,  she  quietly  con 
tinues  to  witness  for  Christ."  Such  are  the  problems  that  face 
missionaries  among  Moslems  in  every  land.  Nor  is  their 
solution  as  easy  in  experience  as  it  might  prove  on  paper. 

During  my  early  missionary  experience  in  Arabia  I  remember 
hearing  of  a  company  of  Arabs  in  the  city  of  Hofhuf  in  Hassa, 
who  met  together  night  after  night  to  read  the  Scriptures. 
One  of  them  came  to  our  dispensary  and  showed  a  marvellous 
acquaintance  with  the  contents  and  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament.  He  told  me  that  the  others  in  this  group  were 
also  convinced  that  Jesus  Christ  was  superior  to  Mohammed, 
that  His  character  and  life  were  the  highest  example,  and  that 
He  died  and  rose  again,  a  Living  Saviour.  Yet  to  reveal  the 
existence  of  such  a  group  to  enemies  of  the  Gospel  would 
disperse  them  and  endanger  them. 

The  entrance  of  God's  word  always  gives  light  and  often  gives 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  107 

life.  The  real  pioneer  missionary  is,  in  nearly  every  case,  the 
colporteur,  and  it  is  my  conviction  that  no  Societies  have  been 
so  greatly  used  of  God  in  the  Moslem  world,  both  extensively 
and  intensively,  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  as  have 
the  British  and  Foreign,  and  the  American  Bible  Societies. 
The  changed  attitude  towards  the  Scriptures  and  the  Christian 
Message  has  been  largely  due  to  the  output  and  the  outreach 
of  these  agencies.  In  their  annual  reports  we  often  read  of  a 
number  of  secret  believers  among  Moslems.  In  Muscat,  Arabia, 
"  not  a  few  know  that  the  Gospel  is  true  and  the  only  Word,  but 
few  are  willing  to  make  the  all-surrender,  as  it  involves  too  much 
loss  in  this  world."  l  Regarding  the  Delta  in  Egypt,  we  read 
that  many  of  the  Moslems  purchase  the  Bible  and  are  studying 
it,  searching  for  the  way  of  salvation.  Some  of  them  in  the 
villages  invite  the  colporteurs  to  come  and  explain  to  them 
things  they  have  read  in  the  Bible,  but  could  not  understand  or 
reconcile  with  what  they  had  been  taught. 

A  colporteur  in  Albania  gives  the  following  incidents.  "  One 
day  I  entered  a  coffee-house,  where  I  found  a  Moslem  whom 
I  had  known  for  many  years.  After  the  usual  greetings,  he 
began  to  talk  about  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Gospel. 
He  had  been  a  violent  and  bad  man  in  his  youth,  but  now  in 
his  old  age  he  was  different.  He  spoke  respectfully  about  the 
teachings  and  parables  of  the  Gospels  and  gave  Jesus  Christ 
the  name,  '  Our  Lord,'  although  when  speaking  of  Mohammed 
he  merely  spoke  of  him  as  '  Mohammed.'  The  other  Moslems 
present  listened  to  him  attentively.  I  then  learned  from  him 
that  he  had  bought  a  Turkish  New  Testament  when  he  was  at 
Constantinople.  Some  time  ago  I  met  a  man  in  the  street  with 
a  book  under  his  arm.  I  asked  him  what  it  was.  He  showed 
it  to  me,  and  I  found  it  was  a  New  Testament,  evidently  well 
read,  for  it  was  much  marked.  The  man  said,  '  I  have  had 
this  book  for  many  years,  and  it  is  my  guide  for  the  present 
life  and  also  for  the  future  and  everlasting  one.' " 2  Such 
examples,  which  could  be  multiplied,  show  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  continually  working  through  the  Word  of  God  and  bringing 
men  to  repentance. 

1  Report  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  1923. 

z  Report  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  1923. 


io8  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

In  Persia  a  Moslem  priest  entered  the  Society's  depot  at 
Teheran  seeking  an  English  primer.  As  he  could  not  obtain 
what  he  wanted  he  bought  a  Gospel  in  English.  Later  he 
returned  and  bought  a  Persian  Bible.  A  week  later  he  came 
again  and  said  :  "  For  a  long  time  I  have  been  seeking  the 
truth,  and  I  think  I  have  found  it  now.  Can  this  book  save 
me  ?  "  "  No,"  replied  our  agent,  "  the  book  cannot  save  you, 
but  the  Saviour  can  of  Whom  it  speaks."  A  fortnight  passed 
and  again  he  entered  the  depot.  "  I  have  now  found  what 
I  was  seeking  for,"  he  said,  "  and  I  intend  to  pass  on  to  others 
the  good  news  of  salvation."  A  Persian  Moslem  of  good 
family  made  this  confession  :  "'  The  Injil  (Gospel)  is  the  best 
of  all  books.  I  have  read  it  and  found  that  it  brings  peace  and 
love  and  salvation."1 

Where  thousands  of  copies  of  the  Gospel  are  circulated  every 
year  we  may  well  expect  that  there  are  secret  believers.  The 
Rev.  J.  H.  Boyd,  of  Tanta,  writes  mentioning  six  of  them  ; 
and  says  his  list  could  be  greatly  enlarged.  "  One  in 
Alexandria,  who  was  one  of  the  best  informed  in  the  Scriptures 
of  any  man  I  have  known,  frequently  attended  church,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  let  it  be  known  before  others  that  he  was  a 
Christian.  However,  he  never  dared  make  public  profession. 
Another  is  a  teacher  in  a  government  school  who  freely  con 
fesses  Christ  before  others,  and  hopes  to  be  baptized  soon.  He 
is  a  fine  young  fellow.  Then  there  is  a  telegraph  operator 
who  has  acknowledged  Christ  as  His  Saviour  before  different 
ones,  and  whom  I  believe  to  be  a  saved  man.  A  fourth 
is  a  Sheikh  who  is  attending  one  of  our  village  meetings 
and  is  a  thorough  believer.  He  made  a  beautiful  explanation 
of  the  way  of  salvation  in  a  recent  conversation  with  me  ;  and 
he  also  told  of  an  Azhar  man  who  had  spoken  out  at '  a  mourn 
ing/  calling  upon  all  to  read  the  Bible  as  the  book  of  God,  and 
telling  them  that  it  was  their  loss  not  to  do  so.  Some  of  his 
hearers  wrote  to  the  chancellor  of  the  Azhar,  and  he  was 
dropped  in  the  last  year.  Another  Sheikh,  a  teacher  in  one  of 
our  schools,  speaks  of  himself  as  a  Christian.  He  is  of  good 
family  ;  a  nice,  clean,  straight  fellow.  Christ,  looking  on  him, 
would  love  him  ;  as  would  any  of  His  followers.  Finally,  a  rich 

1  Ibid,  1924. 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  109 

planter  in  a  discussion  before  many  others  on  the  train  acknow 
ledged  the  merits  of  Christianity  ;  then  added,  '  Get  me,  and 
you  will  get  five  hundred  with  me.'  Later  he  vigorously 
protected  another  who  was  being  beaten  for  his  Christian 
tendencies,  and  encouraged  him  to  hold  his  new  faith,  telling 
him  that  he  was  in  the  right  way." 

Here  such  questions  arise  as  conditions  of  baptism.  May 
it  be  privately  administered,  or  must  we  always  insist  on 
public  profession  ?  What  preparation  is  necessary  ?  Are  there 
cases  where  outward  conformity  to  Islamic  customs  or  the 
demands  of  home-life  may  be  countenanced  ?  It  is  difficult  to 
answer  such  questions.  But  when  a  man  has  been  moved  by 
God's  Spirit  and  earnestly  strives  to  enter  in  at  the  strait 
gate,  we  ought  not  to  make  harder  for  him  what  is  already  hard 
enough.  We  ought  not  to  make  demands  of  him  which  accord 
ing  to  the  circumstances  in  which  God  has  placed  him  he  cannot 
fulfil ;  but  look  to  the  main  point,  namely,  faith  in  Christ  and 
prayer-life  in  Him.  We  may  leave  the  incidental  and  external 
for  his  own  conscience.  This  surely  is  the  lesson  of  Elisha's 
reply  to  Naaman,  the  secret  of  his  holy  moderation  in  demands 
for  conformity  to  the  laws  of  Israel.  God  will  complete  His 
work  of  grace.  The  pure  in  heart  will  not  lose  the  vision  once 
granted  them  if  they  continue  to  seek  God. 

Yet  the  problem  remains  difficult  and  requires  much  prayer. 
We  dare  not  forget  the  demands  of  discipleship.  Never  were 
they  put  more  sternly  and  more  plainly  than  by  Christ  Himself. 
"  Whosoever  shall  deny  Me  before  men.  ..."  "  Except  a  man 
forsake  all  that  he  hath  he  cannot  be  My  disciple." 

At  the  first  Missionary  Conference  on  behalf  of  the  Moham 
medan  world,  held  at  Cairo,  April  4-9,  1906,  one  of  the  topics 
discussed  related  to  conditions  of  baptism.  And  although  all 
present  insisted  that  this  holy  rite  should  not  be  administered 
to  those  who  were  simply  intellectually  convinced  of  Christ's 
Deity  and  His  atoning  work,  yet  it  was  felt  that  to  demand  a 
public  confession  involved  enormous  difficulties.  Baptism  in 
private  in  the  presence  of  a  few  friends  seems  to  have  been  the 
practice  in  a  number  of  Missions  where  persecutions  or  possibly 
the  death  penalty  might  prove  the  result  of  public  baptism. 
'  To  baptize  publicly  in  Damascus  or  Teheran  or  Morocco, 


no  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

where  the  government  is  purely  Mohammedan  and  the  popula 
tion  ignorant  and  fanatical,  would  be  a  serious  mistake.  In 
countries  under  Christian  rule,  English,  French,  German  or 
Dutch,  it  may  be  both  safe  and  wise  to  advise  a  convert  to 
profess  Christ  boldly  in  baptism,  as  a  proof  of  his  sincerity  and 
a  testimony  to  others.  The  battle  for  religious  liberty  must  be 
fought  and  won  at  some  time,  but  no  one  can  decide  for  another 
when  that  time  has  come."  1 

A  Moslem  convert  who  was  present  at  the  Conference  above- 
mentioned  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  baptism  should  not  be 
postponed.  It  is  a  means  of  grace.  He  quoted  the  example 
of  Peter  with  the  centurion  and  Philip  with  the  eunuch.  "  I  see 
no  reason  why  a  Moslem  convert  should  not  be  baptized  as 
soon  as  he  professes  his  faith  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  and  a 
divine  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  for  it  is  on  this  ground  that  he 
is  baptized."  2  If  baptism  is  postponed  too  long,  even  the 
missionary  may  regret  it.  There  have  been  instances  where 
this  privilege  was  withheld  for  fear  of  persecution  ;  and  yet 
did  not  prevent  it,  or  even  martyrdom. 

A  few  years  ago  a  young  Egyptian  came  to  my  study  in 
Cairo  and  expressed  his  desire  to  receive  instruction  in  the 
Christian  faith.  He  seemed  bright  and  intelligent  and  appar 
ently  belonged  to  a  good  family,  so  that  he  immediately 
captivated  my  interest.  I  was  the  more  surprised,  therefore, 
when,  on  asking  his  name,  he  pulled  out  his  pocket-book  and 
presented  me  with  a  card  on  which  I  read,  "  William  Famison/' 
I  said  :  "  You  are  not  an  Englishman,  are  you  ?  "  He  said, 
"  No,  but  I  have  changed  my  name  and  wish  to  become  a 
Christian."  He  then  told  me  that  his  father  held  a  good  position 
under  the  Egyptian  Government  and  was  an  enlightened 
Moslem,  but  very  devoted  to  Islam,  and  deeply  grieved  that  his 
son  had  been  reading  Christian  books.  He  first  became 
interested  in  the  message  of  the  Gospel  through  some  of  the 
illustrated  leaflets  of  the  "  Nile  Mission  Press,"  especially  one 
on  "  The  Black  Stone  and  Rock  of  Ages,"  which  he  carried  in 
his  pocket. 

We  had  prayed  together,  and  I  advised  him  to  keep  on  good 

1  Methods  of  Mission  Work  Among  Moslems,  p.  146. 

2  Ibid.  p.  151. 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  in 

terms  with  his  father  if  possible.  This,  he  said,  was  very 
difficult,  and  a  few  weeks  later  he  came  and  told  me  that  an 
attempt  had  been  made  on  his  life  by  his  own  people.  He 
showed  me  a  knife  which  he  was  carrying  to  protect  himself. 
I  read  with  him  that  part  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  which 
speaks  of  loving  our  enemies  and  of  non-resistance,  and  told 
him  it  were  better  to  die  than  to  resist  those  who  attacked  him 
only  for  his  religion.  He  was  persuaded  to  leave  the  knife  with 
me,  and  after  a  few  weeks  said  that  he  had  no  desire  any  more 
to  use  that  kind  of  weapon.  He  faithfully  attended  church 
services  and  made  rapid  progress  in  reading  such  books  as  I 
gave  him.  From  the  outset  he  expressed  his  ambition  to  become 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  said  he  desired  to  win  his  own 
people  to  the  truth.  Constantly,  however,  his  face  had  a 
haunted  look.  He  was  living  at  home  and  had  to  do  his  reading 
and  praying  in  secret.  One  day  he  came  to  me  greatly  excited 
and  said  his  father  had  received  a  letter  which  he  had  also  seen, 
and  of  which  he  gave  me  this  copy  : 

CAIRO,  January  19,  1916. 
"  DEAR  SIR  : 

"  For  the  love  of  Islam  and  Moslems  I  venture  to  tell  you 
that  your  son  is  about  to  become  a  Christian  or  has  already  done 
so,  as  many  assert.  Make  haste,  by  Islam  and  its  prophet,  and 
take  steps  to  bring  your  frivolous  son  back  to  his  religion  or 
else  you  will  expose  him  to  danger,  not  because  we  have  any 
feeling  for  him,  but  because  we  love  our  religion  and  desire  to 
defend  the  honour  of  the  believers.  Make  haste,  by  God,  the 
Koran  and  the  Apostle. 

"  Written  by  a  lover  of  his  religion,  an  ardent  and  severe 
revenger  for  its  sake. 

"  P.S. — (i)  To  be  certain  that  you  receive  this  letter  I  dropped 
it  by  my  hand  into  your  box  during  the  absence  of  the  door 
keeper. 

"  P.S. — (2)  The  relation  that  existed  between  your  son  and 
me  caused  me  to  tell  you  this.  That  you  may  be  assured  that 
I  am  telling  the  truth  I  would  say  that  he  goes  daily  to  the 
house  of  the  accursed  Zwemer.  He  has  gone  to  the  American 
Mission  also  and  spent  a  day  with  the  Theological  students. 


H2  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Then  he  went  out  accompanied  by  a  cursed  Christian,  whose 
name  I  learn  to  be  S —  -  F ." 

After  receiving  this  letter  we  both  felt  that  it  was  the  part 
of  wisdom  that  he  should  leave  Cairo.  I  thought  he  might  find 
work  as  a  teacher  or  tutor  of  the  new  missionaries  at  Assiut, 
and  so,  with  a  glad  heart,  and  yet  with  many  misgivings  as  to 
his  family,  he  left  for  upper  Egypt.  William  was  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  so  I  felt  that,  not  only  according  to  Moslem  law, 
but  in  every  other  way,  he  was  entitled  to  choose  for  himself. 

At  Assiut  he  secured  work  as  teacher,  but  this  did  not  satisfy 
him.  He  tried  to  fit  himself  for  baptism,  was  bold  in  confessing 
Christ  and  made  friends  both  among  Moslems  and  Christians 
in  quite  a  remarkable  way.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  wrote  in 
English  as  follows  (this  letter  is  typical  of  his  style  and  of  what 
he  was  trying  to  do)  : 

ASSIUT  COLLEGE, 

November  5,  1916. 
"  DEAR  DOCTOR  : 

"  I  humbly  ask  apology  for  my  delay  in  answering  your 
last  letter  dated  ist  inst.  There  happened  two  things  that 
depressed  on  my  idle  time.  The  first  concerns  that  Moslem 
whom  you  met  here  in  Church  after  service.  The  second  is  my 
trying  to  find  work  in  the  Oases  whatever  the  temperature 
may  be. 

"  But  as  for  the  Moslem,  I  dare  say  he  is  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  pious  young  men  I  have  ever  seen.  I  accom 
panied  him  to  a  native  cafe  and  there  stayed  from  9.40  a.m. 
until  2  p.m.  In  the  course  of  this  period  we  discussed 
Christianity  and  Islam  until  I  overcame  him  generously.  While 
we  were  talking  he  meditated  a  moment  and  then  stood  up 
quickly  and  asked  to  go  to  a  certain  place  and  come  back  soon. 
After  nearly  five  minutes  he  came  back  accompanying  a  sheikh 

teacher  of  the ,  with  whom  I  conversed  for  nearly  an  hour 

or  more,  in  the  course  of  which  I  prevailed  on  him,  which 
circumstance  caused  him  to  apologize  and  go.  I  am  sorry  to  tell 
you  that  he  asked  me  to  explain  to  him,  but  I  could  hardly 

convince  him  perfectly,  although  I  mentioned and  others  ; 

so  please  explain  the  former  to  me. 

"  Our  Moslem  asked  me  to  pay  him  a  visit  in  his  house  ;  but 


No    H  15  Jul.  1S22  Tahoen  ke  VIII 


MEDAN  MOESLIMIN 

Tempat  goena  menoboeka  soearanja  kaoeca  tnoeslimin  diseloeioeh 
HINDIA    NEDERLAND. 

Keloemr  tl«p-tiap  tanggai  1  d«n  15  boeian  OUancka. 


yanan    3  hoc 
.i>0  Boeat  ioe 


Bajar  let 


K  AT  RAN  CAN. 
Soerat-soerat  karangan  soepoja  dialametkan  pada  Rcdactk.  kcperJoean 

lain-iamnja  soepaja  diaiamatkan  pada  Directie. 
AORES  BUHEAU  MEDAN  MOESLJ MI N  SOLO. 

—^1 


Orang  Boemi*  poetera  Djawa 
29715.908,  jang  berigama  Islam: 
29.605/torang.  Jang  kesasar  dalam 
Kristeu  24,663,  wadjiblah  orang 
Islam  memikirkan  jang  kesasar 
itoe. 


C'OVER    PAGE    OK  A    MALAY   MOM.KM    MAGAZINE,   published    at    Solo,    Java; 

July  i5th,   u)22. 

The  text  reads:  "The  total  population  of  Java  U  29,715,908.  (  >t  tlu->«- 
29,605,000  arc  Moslems;  -'.},'>'».*  hav«»  become  Christians.  We  mu<t  put 
an  end  to  this  apostas\." 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  113 

I  answered  the  purpose  accompanying  the  fellow  who  intro 
duced  the  Moslem  to  you  in  church.  I  found  there  a  junior 
brother  and  two  seniors  as  well  as  a  friend  of  theirs.  We  began 
conversation  about  intercession  and  crucifixion,  but  I  heartily 
thank  God  for  my  victory,  the  circumstance  that  compelled 
the  friend  of  the  opponent  to  strongly  ask  me  to  pay  him  a  visit 
the  next  day  in  his  house  there  in  the  middle  of  the  native 

districts.     You  know  that  that  friend  called  A A — 

invited  my  companion,  L.  D.,  too.  The  next  day  I  called  B — 
and  reminded  him  of  the  promise  but,  alas,  he  refused  for  fear 
of  any  expected  harm  from  those  Moslems  and  so  I  went 
accompanying  God's  Might.  At  5  p.m.  I  was  at  the  door  of 
A.  K.,  who  came  out  and  took  me  into  a  large  room  in  which 
I  found  two  sheikhs,  an  engineer,  another  carrying  the  Bible, 
our  Moslem  of  the  Church  and  his  brother  and  three  other 
Effendies.  I  think  they  are  employees.  I  entered  and  saluted 
them  and  shook  hands  with  every  one.  We  started  from  5  p.m. 
until  10.10  p.m.  We  discussed  nearly  every  fundamental 
point  irregularly  according  to  their  irregular  character.  When 
they  failed,  they  began  to  mock  and  make  fun  of  me  and  my 
false  religion,  as  they  say.  My  Moslem  of  the  Church  cut  the 
conversation  quite  soon  and  rebuked  them,  later  on  they  would 
have  done  wrong.  We  then  separated.  When  I  see  I  will 
tell  you  some  important  things  about  this  meeting.  Now  I  often 
meet  my  Moslem  and  have  many  long  chats  with  him.  In 
reality,  I  love  him  very  much  for  he  is  wise  and  impartial. 

"  Now  let  us  go  back  and  speak  about  me.  You  know  that 
I  have  no  relation  with  anyone  in  Alexandria  as  well  as  with 
that  missionary.  I  am  ready  to  do  any  work,  even  an  inter 
preter,  but  remember  my  will  to  be  a  missionary  and  also  that 
the  school-year  will  be  over  on  the  i8th  inst.  I  can  stay  some 
days  in  Cairo  on  condition  that  I  never  leave  the  room  except 
late  at  night.  Do  you  agree  ?  I  pray  to  God  day  and  night  so 
that  you  may  consider  me  as  one  of  your  humble  boys  and  not 
a  foreigner  come  to  ask  for  refuge  and  help.  Don't  you  know 
that  you  alone  are  my  family,  friends  and  relatives  ?  Oh  ! 
I  beg  you  to  remember  this  please.  I'm  expecting  a  long  letter 
soon. 

"  I  remain,  yours  obediently, 
s  "WM.  FAMISON." 


ii4  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

The  last  paragraph  in  this  letter  requires  a  word  of  explana 
tion.  I  was  hoping  to  find  him  permanent  work  in  Alexandria, 
but  he  preferred  to  be  at  a  greater  distance  from  Cairo. 

When  I  visited  Assiut  in  the  spring  of  1916,  William  was 
delighted  and  welcomed  me  as  a  son  would  a  father.  The 
delight  of  meeting  seemed  to  have  so  excited  him,  however,  that 
early  on  a  Sunday  morning  at  two  o'clock  he  came  running 
from  the  college  building  to  the  place  where  I  was  staying  and 
said  that  he  had  seen  a  vision  (or  had  a  dream)  in  which  Christ 
appeared  to  him  wrapped  in  white,  and  said  :  '  You  must 
preach  to  the  Moslems,"  and  that  he  felt  he  must  come  instantly 
and  tell  me  of  it.  When  he  had  talked  and  prayed  he  slept  in 
my  room,  and  the  next  morning  went  about  his  duties  as  usual ; 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  dream  had  made  a  deep  impres 
sion  upon  his  mind.  As  I  refused  to  give  him  any  financial  aid 
and  always  advised  him  to  work  for  his  own  support,  he  made 
friends  with  one  of  the  Christians  at  Assiut,  and  when  the 
college  closed,  worked,  in  company  with  others,  at  a  Y.M.C.A. 
Canteen  in  the  Kharga  Oasis.  He  wrote  at  that  time  : 

"  I  felt  very  ashamed  of  myself  for  ceasing  writing  to  you 
since  a  long  time,  although  I  have  been  confined  to  bed  exactly 
after  leaving  Assiut.  Can  I  apologize  ?  Am  still  feeling  unwell 
because  of  the  excessive  heat. 

"  I  left  Assiut  on  the  2gth  of  May  for  Markaz  el  Sherika  and 
suffered  the  greatest  trouble  since  then,  especially  in  the  last 
few  days.  I  did  not  hear  from  my  family  for  a  very  long  time 
and  for  this  am  anxious  to  know  all  about  them. 

"  Hoping  to  hear  from  you  soon, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"WILLIAM." 

The  summer  was  indeed  trying  for  one  who  had  been  brought 
up,  as  Egyptian  young  men  are,  without  work,  sitting  in  the 
cafes  and  having  a  "  good  time,"  but  William  never  flinched. 
At  one  time  he  wrote  to  me  : 

"  Everyone  on  this  little  globe  of  earth  is  exposed  to  the 
world's  sufferings  and  temptations,  either  God's  or  devil's ; 
but  the  hero  is  he  who  knows  a  word  called  '  endurance.'  That 
is,  he  must  persist  and  struggle  for  victory.  Life  is  but  strife. 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  115 

"  I  venture  to  say  that  the  success  of  a  man  depends  upon 
temperament  and  faith  notwithstanding  the  sayings  of  others, 
as  no  one  in  the  whole  world  is  able  to  please  all  the  people  of 
the  world. 

"  God  only  knows  how  I  behave,  and  as  long  as  I  pray,  read 
the  Bible,  and  live  a  pure  Christian  daily  life,  I  give  up  almost 
caring  entirely  for  the  different  opinions  of  others.  No  one  can 
point  out  the  right  way  to  God.  If  you  remember  that  I  ever 
disappointed  or  disobeyed  you,  be  sure  that  what  you  heard  is 
true  or  that  I  am  to  blame.  When  I  was  newly  put  into  touch 
with  you,  you  were  a  foreigner  to  me  as  well  as  all  who  are  here. 
The  reason  is  that  you  are  accustomed  to  treat  others  as  sons 
or  brethren." 

Again  he  speaks  of  his  future,  and  of  his  desire  to  find  a  place 
where  he  would  be  safe.  He  wrote  : 

"  In  regard  to  returning  to  Cairo  and  settling  in  it  I  can  tell 
you  plainly  that  this  is  beyond  my  power  as  long  as  I  live  with 
you.  You  know  well  that  I  introduced  myself  to  you  to  shelter 
and  strengthen  me  as  well  as  to  advise  me  ;  for  this  I  started 
to  Assiut,  escaping  persecution.  Then  how  can  I  come  back 
to  Cairo  ?  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  I  must  be  back  at  Cairo 
when  I  am  unable  to  find  a  vacancy  far  away.  In  this  circum 
stance  I  will  be  exposed  to  a  great  many  dangers  the  least  of 
which  to  live  among  a  Mohammedan  family  again,  the  thing 
I  abhor. 

"  Of  course  I  will  yield  and  bear  bitter  persecution  uncom- 
pared  with  the  previous  ;  as  I  am  powerless  to  withstand  such 
fanatic  and  severe  people.  .  .  .  My  religion  or  rather  worship  is 
encircled  in  (i)  Studying  the  Bible,  (2)  Prayer,  (3)  Dealing  with 
others  according  to  the  Bible  ;  notwithstanding  trifles."  (He 
means  contradictions.) 

Finally  he  determined  to  come  to  Cairo.  As  soon  as  he 
arrived  he  went  to  his  father,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  they  were 
reconciled  to  the  fact  that  he  had  become  a  Christian,  for  he 
told  me  that  his  father  had  taken  the  Oath  of  Divorce,  which  is 
one  of  the  strongest  oaths,  that  he  would  not  hurt  his  son  or 
attempt  to  interfere  with  his  attendance  at  Christian  services. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  made  definite  application  to  join 
a  class  of  evangelists  at  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 


n6  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

American  Mission.  He  was  even  anxious  to  enter  the  theo 
logical  classes,  so  keen  was  he  on  devoting  his  life  to  the  work 
of  preaching.  Time  and  again  he  brought  other  Moslems  to 
see  me,  and  was  never  happier  than  when  he  sent  inquirers 
and  we  engaged  in  prayer  together.  Owing  to  the  shortness 
of  his  stay  at  Assiut,  the  pastor  of  the  church  there  had  not 
deemed  it  wise  to  receive  him  for  baptism,  although  this  was 
his  earnest  desire.  There  were  obstacles  in  the  way  to  his  join 
ing  the  regular  seminary  classes.  According  to  ecclesiastical 
order,  it  seemed  almost  an  absurdity  to  have  an  unbaptized 
Moslem,  although  he  professed  to  be  a  Christian,  study  theology. 
I,  therefore,  advised  him  to  wait  another  year  and  to  find  some 
work.  He  made  application  to  one  of  the  government  depart 
ments  and  was  on  the  eve  of  receiving  an  appointment  as 
interpreter  with  the  British  Army  for  Mesopotamia.  On 
November  29  he  came  to  me  with  this  good  news,  and  said  : 
"  Now  you  will  surely  baptize  me  before  I  start  on  my  long 
journey."  I  assured  him  that  I  would.  We  had  prayed 
together,  and  he  left  very  happy.  The  next  news  I  received  was 
through  a  Christian  friend  who  came  on  Saturday  morning, 
December  2,  saying  that  William  had  met  with  a  tramway 
accident.  Street  traffic  in  Cairo  is  often  so  badly  regulated  that 
accidents  are  frequent,  but  we  were  all  shocked  when  we  heard 
the  news.  It  was  confirmed  by  the  newspaper  the  following 
day,  which  stated  that  a  young  student,  aged  21,  was  coming 
down  from  Heliopolis  to  Abbassia  on  Thursday  evening  at 
eight  o'clock.  He  descended  from  the  car  on  the  wrong  side, 
was  hit  by  another  car  coming  from  the  opposite  direction  and 
thrown  on  the  sidewalk  with  bruises  on  his  head.  A  policeman 
arrived  immediately  on  the  spot,  and,  instead  of  calling  for 
assistance,  he  took  the  unfortunate  youth  to  the  police  station 
where  a  full  "  proces  verbal  "  was  made.  From  the  police 
station  the  youth  was  taken  to  the  Cairo  Governorate  to  be 
visited  by  the  medical  officer  of  the  police.  He  had  to  wait 
there  some  time  before  the  doctor  made  his  appearance,  and 
another  cross-examination  followed  similar  to  that  made  at 
the  police  station.  He  was  at  last  sent  home  about  n  p.m., 
without  any  medical  assistance  being  given  him. 

Two  days  after  the   "  accident "   I  received  a  telephone 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  117 

message  from  a  young  Copt,  a  mutual  friend  who  raised  the 
question  whether  William  had  been  killed  in  an  accident  or 
whether  his  death  was  due  to  foul  play.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
give  details,  but  when  we  visited  the  Chief  of  Police,  he  admitted 
that  there  was  every  indication  that  the  "  accident  "  had  been 
arranged  by  those  who  preferred  to  have  him  die  as  a  Moslem 
rather  than  confess  Christ  openly.  During  the  war,  conditions 
were  such  in  Cairo  that  any  further  investigation  of  such  a 
case  would  have  been  unwise.  I  am  convinced  that  William 
Famison  died  a  martyr,  and  that  those  who  had  a  hand  in  his 
death  were  "  foes  of  his  own  household." 

Two  weeks  before  his  death  he  came  to  me  with  a  beautiful 
poem,  written  in  Arabic,  on  the  character  of  Jesus,  which  he 
begged  me  to  print  in  our  Christian  Arabic  paper.  The  short 
story  of  his  life  gives  encouragement.  A  number  of  his  friends 
were  led  to  study  the  Scriptures  through  William's  bold 
witnessing.  Only  two  days  after  the  accident  one  of  his  Moslem 
friends  came  and  gave  me  a  comforting  letter,  as  he  expressed 
it,  to  console  my  heart  at  the  great  loss. 

The  young  men  of  Egypt  were  never  more  ripe  for  personal 
evangelism  than  they  are  to-day  ;  they  have  lost  their  grip 
on  the  old  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  are  both  morally  and 
intellectually  adrift.  Modern  education  is  preparing  the  way 
for  agnosticism  and  unbelief  unless  we  forestall  this  result  by 
the  message  of  the  living  Christ. 

Is  it  not  a  rebuke  to  our  apathy  and  to  the  weakness  of  our 
forces  that  a  Moslem  should  baptize  himself  with  a  new  name 
and  bear  witness  to  Christ  even  before  he  entered  the  circle  of 
missionary  influence  ?  "  Say  not  ye,  there  are  yet  four  months, 
and  then  cometh  the  harvest  ?  Behold,  I  say  unto  you,  lift 
up  your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields  ;  for  they  are  white 
already  to  harvest." 

As  in  Egypt  so  in  Turkey  there  are  seekers  after  God. 

We  owe  the  following  account  of  the  confessions  of  two 
Turkish  mollahs  to  Dr.  Johannes  Lepsius  of  Potsdam,  Germany. 
"  Our  forefathers  sprang  from  the  conqueror  of  Rumelia.  Our 
own  father  left  the  world  and  gave  himself  day  and  night  to 
religious  meditation.  To  him  were  vouchsafed  remarkable 
signs  and  miracles  of  grace.  He  left  us  no  earthly  possessions, 


n8  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

but  we  cannot  thank  him  enough,  for  he  turned  our  course  to 
the  quest  for  truth.  We  are  unmarried,  and  have  never 
engaged  in  worldly  occupations,  having  devoted  ourselves  to 
searching  after  truth. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Lord  God,  King  of  worlds,  Thou  Who  art  lifted  above  time  and 
space,  the  source  of  all  and  in  truth  our  Father,  take  from  our 
eyes  and  from  those  of  Thy  other  children  the  veil  of  deep 
ignorance,  that  our  hearts  may  rejoice  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  which  Thine  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord  Christ,  has 
revealed.  Make  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  men  the  glorious 
teaching  of  Thy  holy  gospel  that  they  all  may  have  a  share  in 
its  blessings  and  may  be  one  in  spirit  and  belief  ;  that  they  may 
live  and  walk  in  the  light  of  Thy  glory.  Amen. 

"  I,  Kuth  Oghlu  Sheikh  Achmed  Keschaf,  was  born  in  1864. 
For  many  years  I  studied  and  then  became  a  soldier.  When 
the  Turkish  troops  were  called  out  against  Greece  I  was 
appointed  chaplain  in  the  second  battalion  of  the  i8th  Regiment 
of  Reserves.  After  the  war  I  returned  home  to  undertake  with 
my  brother  thorough  investigations  as  to  what  the  real  truth 
was.  We  became  convinced  that  it  was  the  religion  of  Christ. 
This  we  freely  preached  among  the  Moslems  of  our  land, 
awakening  their  violent  hostility.  We  were  obliged  to  leave 
our  home  country  and  set  out  for  Arabia.  On  the  journey  my 
brother  preached  for  some  time  in  the  mosques  of  Eskidhe  and 
Gornuldhene. 

"  In  the  Hissar  Mosque  of  Smyrna  he  zealously  taught  the 
holy  gospel.  That  he  could  preach  daily  four  or  five  hours 
without  notes  called  forth  the  greatest  astonishment  and  admira 
tion.  It  was  said  that  such  learning  could  not  be  the  fruit  of 
study,  but  must  be  God-given.  From  all  other  mosques  the 
multitudes  streamed  to  him.  The  other  mollahs  were  envious. 
They  saw  that  his  teaching  would  destroy  the  foundations  of 
Islam,  for  he  exposed  the  weakness  and  falsity  of  the  Koran  in 
a  way  that  proved  its  utter  perversity.  None  of  his  hearers 
could  fail  to  realize  that  Mohammed  was  a  false  prophet,  that 
his  miracles  were  spurious,  that  the  stories  about  his  watering 
the  earth  with  his  fingers  or  splitting  the  moon  were  pure  fables. 
He  set  forth  mighty  proofs  that  neither  the  Koran  nor  Moslem 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  119 

traditions  were  trustworthy.  Then  he  passed  to  the  Moslem 
view  of  Christians.  These  he  said  were  not  Kafirs.  It  was  folly 
and  nonsense  to  hold  them  to  be  lost  souls.  Moslems  must  be 
friendly  with  them,  for  there  were  no  grounds  for  hatred.  The 
New  Testament  was  a  beautiful,  useful  and  holy  book. 

"  Great  numbers,  as  a  consequence  of  this  teaching,  found 
their  faith  in  the  Koran  destroyed.  To  the  numerous  learned 
mollahs  in  his  audience  he  would  turn  with  the  challenge  : 
'  If  my  words  are  false  disprove  them.  Then  you  will  see  how 
many  additional  arguments  against  your  views  I  can  produce.' 
But  they  feared  to  take  up  the  gauntlet  and  many  who  were 
taught  in  modern  knowledge  said,  '  The  words  of  the  young 
Rumelian  preacher  are  true/ 

"  After  a  time  he  was  threatened  by  fanatics.  Then  he 
stopped  preaching.  But  great  crowds  assembled  and  waited 
hours  in  the  hope  of  his  reappearance.  A  fanatic  arose  and 
cried  out :  '  Why  wait  ye  on  this  preacher  ?  Have  ye  not 
heard  all  he  spoke  against  Islam  ?  It  is  written  in  the  books, 
;<  When  the  Lord  of  Time,  Imam  Madhi,  shall  come  then  will 
all  Moslems  in  the  world  unite  and  fall  on  the  Christians." 
Then  there  shall  be  but  one  religion  in  the  world.  But  the 
preacher  denies  all  this.  He  has  taken  away  from  us  our 
courage  and  hope  of  a  future  victory.' 

"  Numerous  refugees  from  Crete,  Russia,  Bulgaria,  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina  were  present  at  the  meetings.  They  said  : 
'  Alas  !  We  have  left  our  homes  because  of  the  Christians, 
enemies  of  our  faith.  We  await  Imam  Mahdi,  sword  in  hand, 
to  lead  us  back  and  to  revenge  us  on  our  enemies.'  Then  arose 
a  Bosnian,  Hadji  Mustafa,  and  cried  out :  '  Where  is  the 
preacher  ?  I  will  hew  him  down  and  send  his  soul  to  hell.' 

'  The  two  brothers  from  Rumelia  are  Kafirs,'  said  a 
Mudarris  (religious  teacher)  from  Magnesia  named  Sabri 
Effendi,  '  and  whoever  denies  it  is  a  Kafir  himself.  They  deny 
that  a  man  named  Judas  took  the  form  of  Jesus  and  was 
crucified  in  His  stead  ;  they  deny  that  Gabriel  in  the  shape  of 
an  Arab  boy  revealed  the  Koran  to  Mohammed  ;  they  deny 
that  Mohammed's  footstep  left  an  imprint  on  a  stone  in 
Jerusalem  ;  they  deny  that  the  earth  is  500  years'  journey  in 
length  and  that  it  is  seven  storied  and  that  oxen  bear  up  these 


120  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

stories.  They  deny  that  in  paradise  are  Huris  and  Ghilman, 
marrying  and  feasting.  They  deny  that  Jesus  in  the  last  day 
will  come  from  heaven,  die,  and  be  buried  in  the  grave  of 
Mohammed.  They  have  said  a  thousand  things  against  the 
Koran  and  are  apostates/ 

"  The  people,  however,  gathered  around  my  brother  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  government,  fearing  a  mass  movement  to 
Christianity,  put  us  on  a  steamer  and  sent  us  to  Mecca  into 
banishment.  But  we  did  not  cease  to  preach  Christ  and  won 
many  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  When  freedom  was  pro 
claimed  we  came  back  to  Salonika.  In  Adrianople  my  brother 
preached  during  the  thirty  days  of  the  Ramadan  (the  Moslem 
Lent),  each  day  for  five  hours  in  the  Altan  Mosque.  In  his 
sermons  he  explained  and  proved  Christian  truth  on  the  grounds 
of  reason  and  science.  Many  were  convinced.  Later  we 
travelled  to  Philippopel  in  Bulgaria,  to  make  open  confession 
of  our  Christian  faith. 

'  We  have,'  writes  the  brother,  '  worked  through  hundreds 
of  books  to  get  at  the  truth.  We  have  examined  every  word  in 
the  Koran  and  the  Hadith  with  the  greatest  care,  and  have 
detected  numberless  errors.  We  saw  that  it  was  wrong  to 
continue  Moslems.  We  have  both  therefore  accepted  Christ. 
We  hope  to  lead  our  people  to  the  same  end  and  are  preparing 
to  publish  much  for  this  purpose.  We  have  seen  in  our  journeys 
in  Rumelia,  Anatolia,  and  Arabia  that  the  Moslem  learned  ones 
have  always  been  put  to  silence.  We  confess  our  weakness,  but 
are  determined  to  work  with  what  we  have  to  wake  the  children 
of  Islam  out  of  error.' 

"  (Signed)  SHEIK  ACHMED  KESCHAF, 

SHEIK  MOHAMMED  NESSENDI." 

A  German  missionary  tells  of  his  experiences  in  the  days 
before  the  world  war  among  Moslems  in  the  Sudan  and  in 
Palestine.  He  enumerates  several  instances  of  "  hidden 
disciples  "  who  dared  not  openly  confess  Christ. 

"  On  a  thirty  days'  missionary  journey  by  camel  through 
two  provinces  of  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan  in  the  autumn  of 

1913,  our  Nubian  evangelist  and  I  arrived  at  K ,  and  were 

heartily  welcomed  by  the  Ma'mur  who  invited  us  to  meet  him 


MAKHAIL    MANSUR. 

A  converted  Moslem  Sheikh,  graduated  from  the  Azhar,  and  for 
tucnty-two  years  a  bold  preacher  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  outspoken  candour 
;md  moral  courage  seemed  to  protect  him  from  persecution,  although  he  was 
often  threatened. 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  121 

and  his  friends  that  evening  at  the  so-called  '  club  '  under  the 
palm  trees.  We  accepted  the  invitation  and  talked  on  religious 
subjects  for  almost  three  hours.  Our  friend,  the  Ma'mur,  was 
most  interested,  as  he  had  studied  religious  and  scientific 
questions.  Finally,  he  told  us  that  he  was  convinced  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  in  a  figurative  way,  and  that  He 
has  become  a  Saviour  of  men  and  of  Moslems.  Then,  while  all 
listened  attentively,  we  sketched  the  whole  life  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  when  we  had  finished,  all  were  deeply  impressed  by  our 

Lord's  life  and  atonement.    When  we  left  K ,  we  gave  the 

Ma'mur  a  New  Testament ;  and  later  he  wrote  us  that  he  had 
studied  it  day  and  night  and  was  confident  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  true  and  only  Light.  Amongst  the  Bishareen  tribe  there 
is  a  mother  and  daughter  who  earn  their  bread  by  keeping 
cattle.  One  day  they  came  to  our  dispensary  at  A —  -  ;  and 
while  the  girl's  eyes  were  being  treated  she  heard  Bible  teaching 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  She  listened  so  attentively  that 
the  following  day,  when  her  turn  came,  she  repeated  the  Bible 
story  she  had  heard  word  for  word.  Later  she  lost  her  eyesight, 
but  her  inner  eyes  were  opened.  By  means  of  Arabic  type  for 
the  blind,  she  learned  to  read  the  Gospel  and  to  give  her 
testimonies  to  patients  in  the  hospital.  She  was  really  a  con 
verted  girl,  but  her  mother  would  never  agree  to  her  baptism 
for  fear  the  tribesmen  would  kill  her.  A  Nubian  Sheikh  of  high 
position,  has  been  coming  regularly  to  our  Mission.  He  is  very 
anxious  to  know  more  about  the  Gospel,  and  has  even  acknow 
ledged  some  of  the  essential  doctrines  ;  but  he  is  a  '  Nicodemus- 
soul '  who  does  not  dare  to  confess  Christ  openly,  as  he  would 
lose  caste.  In  a  little  mountain  village  of  Palestine,  whose 
inhabitants  are  predominantly  Mohammedans,  a  young 
Syrian-Arab  told  us  that  he  had  married  a  Christian  girl  and 
that  he  himself  was  inclined  to  accept  Christ ;  but  that  he  would 
never  dare  to  confess  Him  openly  as  he  feared  the  results  from 
the  bigoted  Moslems  of  his  village." 

More  than  twenty-six  years  ago  I  received  a  letter  written 
in  Mecca  but  post-marked  at  Aden  and  addressed  to  me  at 
Bahrein,  asking  me  to  send  a  Bible  dictionary  and  a  Bible  com 
mentary  to  the  writer  who  lived  in  Mecca  and  whose  brother 
carried  on  business  at  Aden.  Similar  cases  of  the  word  of  God 


122  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

finding  eager  readers  in  isolated  places  are  given  in  the  reports 
of  the  Bible  societies.  In  1914,  Mr.  C.  T.  Hooper,  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  I  made  a  journey  down  the  Red 
Sea  to  Jidda  to  open  a  Bible  depot.  On  our  return  we  landed 
at  Yembo,  the  port  of  Medina.  At  first  there  was  considerable 
difficulty  about  our  landing.  We  were  told  that  Hejaz  was 
sacred  soil  and  no  Christians  were  allowed  to  land.  Suddenly 
one  man  in  the  curious  crowd  that  gathered  around  the  jetty 
interceded  for  us,  and  said,  "  They  shall  land  because  they  are 
my  guests."  He  made  a  way  for  us  through  the  crowded, 
narrow  streets,  invited  us  to  his  home,  and,  after  the  usual  Arab 
hospitality,  said  that  he  was  a  secret  believer  in  Christ.  "  Call 
me  not  Mohammed,"  said  he,  "  my  name  is  Ghergis  "  (George). 
We  said,  "  How  can  your  name  be  Ghergis  when  you  are  of 
Moslem  parentage  and  living  here  among  Mohammedans  ?  " 
He  showed  us  his  Bible,  and  then  told  us  how,  after  reading 
Matthew's  Gospel,  he  had  baptized  himself  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  Christ  before  he  ever  met  a  missionary  or  a 
Christian  worker  !  Afterwards  this  man  proved  his  faith  by 
his  works  ;  not  only  by  kindness  shown  to  strangers,  but  by 
his  willingness  to  distribute  Gospels  and  Christian  books  sent 
to  him  by  post.  During  the  war  we  utterly  lost  trace  of  him. 
I  shall  never  forget  my  experience  with  a  Circassian  officer  in 
the  Turkish  army  who  accompanied  our  caravan  into  the 
interior  of  Arabia  in  1897,  at  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  Hassa. 
During  the  first  halt  on  our  journey  I  was  called  to  see  him,  his 
friends  telling  me  that  he  was  suffering  greatly  from  dysentery. 
I  found  him  nigh  unto  death.  As  soon  as  I  sat  by  his  side,  he 
said,  "  I  am  not  anxious  to  have  you  give  me  remedies  for  my 
disease  because  it  is  too  late  ;  but  I  wish  you  to  show  me  the 
way  Home."  Then,  reaching  under  his  pillow  in  the  tent,  he 
handed  me  an  Arabic  Testament,  which  he  said  he  had  found 
in  the  home  of  one  of  the  Christians  at  the  time  of  one  of  the 
Armenian  massacres.  This  book  had  been  his  constant  com 
panion,  and  he  begged  me  to  read  him  a  message  and  to  offer 
prayer.  His  mother  and  daughter  listened  to  his  confession  and 
were  cordial  in  their  gratitude  to  me.  The  next  morning  there 
was  a  hasty  Moslem  funeral.  The  Imam  of  the  caravan 
muttered  the  usual  prayers,  and  when  we  moved  on,  a  low 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  123 

mound  of  sand  in  the  desert  was  all  that  remained  to  testify  of 
this  secret  believer  in  our  Lord. 

Miss  Dora  J.  Snelson  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at 
Meerut,  India,  gives  the  following  touching  story  of  another 
secret  disciple.  "  One  day  last  year  an  Indian  Christian  lady 
asked  me  to  go  with  her  to  see  a  Mohammedan  neighbour 
whom  she  had  been  visiting,  and  who  was  anxious  to  become  a 
Christian.  When  we  reached  the  house,  we  were  taken  to  a 
room  where  a  beautiful  woman  was  sitting  with  her  brother 
and  his  wife.  After  the  usual  introductions,  the  brother 
explained  the  reason  of  their  wish  to  see  me.  Briefly  told,  his 
story  was  as  follows  :  '  Long  ago,  when  we  lived  in  Lahore,  we 
gave  permission  for  a  Christian  missionary  to  come  to  the  house 
to  teach  my  sister  to  read.  It  was  an  ordinary  thing  ;  many 
girls  were  being  taught  in  this  way.  My  sister  learned  very 
quickly.  After  some  time  we  discovered  to  our  alarm  that  she 
was  taking  too  much  interest  in  the  religious  part  of  her  lessons, 
and  we  forbade  the  visits  of  the  missionary.  But  the  seed  had 
been  sown  only  too  well.  Left  alone,  my  sister's  faith  in  this 
new  religion  only  grew  stronger  and  stronger.  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  She  was  like  a  bit  of  myself,  for  I  had  brought  her 
up.  She  had  been  my  mother's  legacy  to  me  and  my  elder 
brother.  And  now  here  she  was,  practically  a  Christian.  Then 
I  began  persecution.  I  starved  her  ;  I  locked  her  up  for  days 
together.  Look  at  her  now — her  weakness  and  her  loss  of  flesh 
are  due  to  my  treatment  of  her.  But  nothing  shook  her  deter 
mination  to  be  a  Christian.  At  last,  strenuously  as  she  opposed 
it,  we  made  a  marriage  arrangement  for  her,  and  it  was  carried 
out.  But  very  soon  her  husband  returned  her  to  us,  saying  that 
he  did  not  intend  to  keep  her,  as  she  was  a  Christian.  It  was 
an  added  disgrace  to  us  to  have  a  deserted  wife  on  our  hands. 
The  very  intensity  of  our  love  for  our  sister  made  us  renew  our 
persecutions  in  order  to  induce  her  to  come  back  to  her  own 
faith.  But  all  to  no  purpose.  Patiently  she  endured  all  the 
indignity  and  the  ridicule  and  the  suffering.  Months  before 
this  we  had  destroyed  all  her  Christian  books,  so  she  had  nothing 
to  encourage  her  in  this  obstinacy.  Now  I  have  to  own  myself 
beaten.  We  can  fight  no  longer,  and  my  brother  and  I  have 
decided  to  let  her  have  her  way  and  be  admitted  into  your  faith  ; 


124  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

but  on  certain  conditions.  Her  baptism  must  be  kept  as  secret 
as  possible,  so  that  no  further  disgrace  can  attach  itself  to  our 
good  name.  After  she  is  baptized  you  must  not  induce  her  to 
leave  home  ;  she  must  return  and  live  as  usual,  keeping  her 
seclusion  just  as  she  has  always  done.' 

"  An  evening  or  two  later  she  came,  and  she  corroborated  all 
that  the  brother  had  told  me,  and  also  revealed  the  depth  of 
her  love  to  her  Saviour.  There  was  no  doubt  that  she  had  been 
deeply  taught  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thus  began  her  definite 
preparation  for  baptism.  Two  or  three  times  she  whispered  : 
'  This  is  the  first  step  ;  I  shall  come  right  out  some  day.'  Her 
brothers  visited  me,  to  insist  that  all  the  arrangements  for  the 
baptism  should  be  as  private  as  possible,  and  they  promised  to 
attend  the  service  themselves.  On  the  day  of  the  baptism  her 
two  brothers  brought  her  in  a  closed  carriage  to  the  school.  The 
brothers  walked  to  our  little  mission  church  and  a  Christian 
friend  went  with  the  sister  and  myself  in  the  carriage.  The 
sister  was  closely  veiled  all  the  time.  She  told  me  that  her 
brothers  were  taking  her  away  that  evening  for  a  visit  to 
relatives,  where  the  lady  of  the  house  was  also  a  secret  believer 
in  Christ.  I  gave  her  the  address  of  our  missionaries  in  the 
place.  I  have  never  seen  her  since  the  day  of  her  baptism. 
She  has  not  returned  to  Meerut,  and  she  has  for  the  time 
being  disappeared.  Is  it  that  God  has  provided  for  her  some 
'  better  thing  '  than  remaining  in  contact  with  us  ?  Some  day 
we  shall  understand."  1 

Giovanni  Papini  says  in  his  wonderful  book,  The  Story  of 
Christ :  "It  was  not  by  chance  that  Jesus  chose  His  first 
followers  among  fishermen.  The  fisherman  who  spends  the 
greater  part  of  his  days  in  solitude  and  encompassed  by  pure 
waters  is  the  man  who  knows  how  to  wait.  He  is  the  man  of 
patience  who  is  not  pressed  for  time  ;  who  casts  his  net  and 
leaves  the  rest  to  the  Almighty."  This  is  the  great  lesson  all 
missionaries  among  Moslems  have  to  learn.  The  patience  of 
unrewarded  toil,  the  patience  of  unanswered  prayer,  the 
patience  of  waiting  for  results  always  invisible  except  to  the  eye 
of  faith.  A  Swedish  lady  who  has  done  brave  pioneer  work 
among  out-cast  Moslem  girls  at  Port  Said,  and  has  gathered 

1  Church  Missionary  Outlook,   September   i,    1922, 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  125 

over  a  hundred  of  them  into  a  Christian  school,  where  some 
confessed  and  afterwards  seemed  to  grow  cold,  hopes  on  : 
"  We  have,  I  believe,  no  real  reason  to  think  that  they  have 
altogether  forsaken  Christ.  There  were  those  in  Israel  who  had 
not  bowed  their  knees  to  Baal — yet  Elijah  did  not  know  them. 
I  am  sorry  I  cannot  tell  you  anything  more  definite.  Personally 
I  have  an  assurance  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  going  to  find  many 
on  that  day  when  He  makes  up  His  jewels." 

Mary  Caroline  Holmes,  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  the 
Near  East,  gives  such  remarkable  testimony  regarding  these 
hidden  disciples  that  we  condense  what  she  wrote  in  the 
Moslem  World  (April,  1923)  on  this  subject.  "  Perhaps  to  many 
it  will  come  as  a  surprise  that  these  hidden  believers  are  in  such 
numbers  that  they  have  an  organization  with  a  supreme  head 
residing  in  a  certain  city,  to  whom  I  once  had  a  letter  of 
introduction,  but  unfortunately  did  not  find  him  at  home 
when  I  called  to  present  it.  But  these  believers  find  each  other 
wherever  they  go  by  means  of  a  key-word  upon  which  I 
stumbled  one  day,  and  which  I  have  used  many  times,  and  thus 
discovered  other  Jesus-lovers  in  Islam.  A  rug  merchant 
exclaimed  at  one  of  their  secret  meetings  which  I  was  invited  to 
attend,  '  Of  a  truth  thou  art  our  sister,'  after  satisfying  himself 
that  I  had  understood  the  very  beautiful  hymn  they  had  sung, 
that  little  group  of  believers  behind  the  locked  door,  all  about 
the  broken  bread  and  poured  out  wine,  symbolic  of  the  sacrifice 
on  Calvary.  '  Thou  art  the  first  to  understand  us.  We  are 
Christian  Christians,'  he  continued  with  a  look  of  conviction 
and  exaltation.  I  sat  in  that  meeting  scarcely  able  to  credit  my 
senses,  and  witnessed  a  fervour  of  devotion  rarely  seen,  an 
orderly  type  of  worship,  hymns,  Christian  hymns  used  only  by 
themselves,  and  sung  from  memory  throbbing  with  love  for 
the  Saviour  of  men.  And  women  were  there,  Moslem  women 
addressed  as  '  sisters  '  and  unveiled  ! 

"  '  Are  there  others  like  you  ?  '  I  queried,  incredulous. 
'  Many,'  was  the  reply.  '  And  where  ?  '  I  next  asked.  '  Every 
where  !  '  was  the  answer.  I  knew  one  of  those  present,  a 
Government  official,  has  been  expelled  from  one  of  their  sacred 
cities,  and  he  was  a  Turk,  because  his  religious  attitude  did  not 
satisfy  every  one.  This  had  happened  some  years  previously, 


126  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

and  he  had  found  his  Saviour  away  up  in  old  Turkestan, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  get  away  from  the  appeal  from  Jesus, 
Who  won  him  in  the  end.  He  came  week  after  week  to  talk 
religion  with  us,  puzzling  me  by  the  very  evident  knowledge  he 
had  of  Christianity  and  of  the  Bible,  for  as  yet  I  had  not  learned 
to  spot  these  hidden  disciples.  But  one  day  when  he  asserted 
there  was  but  one  Nur  al  'alam  (Light  of  the  World),  I  asked, 
'  Do  you  mean  that  as  I  do  ?  You  know  I  believe,  too,  there  is 
but  one  Light  of  the  world,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  '  I  mean 
just  what  you  do/  was  his  simple  answer.  I  once  saw  him  pick 
up  from  the  ground  a  fragment  of  bread  some  careless  hand  had 
dropped,  carefully  wipe  from  it  every  trace  of  soil,  and  then 
reverently  kiss  it,  saying  as  he  did  so, '  I  never  can  see  bread  on 
the  ground  to  be  trodden  under  foot.  Our  Lord  said  of  bread, 
"  This  is  My  body  broken  for  you."  It  is  sacred  to  me.' 

"  And  the  candy-seller  who  lived  among  little  children,  to 
whom  he  sold  his  sweets.  Never  can  I  forget  his  words,  ringing, 
clear,  and  with  strong  conviction  as  he  asked  me,  as  though  to 
satisfy  himself  that  I  was  a  true  believer  in  Jesus, '  Ya  Sitt,  have 
you  ever  seen  Him  ?  '  '  Whom  do  you  mean  ?  '  I  enquired. 
'  Jesus.  Have  you  ever  seen  Him  ?  '  I  knew  I  was  disappoint 
ing  his  simple  faith  when  I  said, '  No,  only  with  the  eye  of  faith/ 
'  No,  no,  not  that  way.  With  these  eyes,  these  eyes  I  have  seen 
Him/  uttered  with  such  conviction,  such  assurance,  that  I  felt, 
somehow,  I  had  missed  something  very  wonderful  in  my 
Christian  experience.  And  he  is  not  alone  in  his  belief  that 
Jesus  visits  these  hidden  believers  in  bodily  presence.  Every 
one  of  them  will  tell  you  that  he  has  had  a  vision  of  the  Christ. 
And  who  am  I  to  say  it  is  not  true  ?  Such  a  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  as  they  have  would  put  many  a  one  to  shame  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  the  Church,  so  to  speak.  The  majority 
of  those  I  have  known  found  Him  through  the  study  of  the 
Word,  and  not  because  of  direct  missionary  activity.  As  an 
example,  take  the  grave,  long-robed  official,  who  as  he  walked 
the  deck  of  a  steamer  on  which  I  was  travelling,  when  he  came 
near  where  I  was  sitting,  without  turning  his  head  or  glancing 
in  my  direction,  quoted  a  verse  from  the  Bible  and  continued 
his  walk.  But  I  understood  and  knew  what  he  wanted,  and 
when  I  saw  him  standing  apart,  waiting,  I  approached  and  made 


HIDDEN  DISCIPLES.  127 

friends  with  him  through  the  Book  ;  and  such  an  exposition  of 
Holy  Scriptures  as  followed,  book,  chapter  and  verse  accurately 
quoted  and  well  understood  by  this  seemingly  devout  Moslem, 
who  in  reality  was  an  ardent  adorer  of  our  Lord.  He  told  me 
that  he  was  sent  as  a  young  man  to  Al  Azhar,  the  great  Moslem 
university  in  Cairo,  where  he  lost  all  faith,  even  in  the  existence 
of  God  Himself.  '  But,'  he  added,  '  I  was  the  most  unhappy  of 
men,  and  finally  I  cleared  my  room  of  everything  but  a  mat 
upon  which  I  seated  myself,  and  raising  imploring  hands  to 
heaven,  I  cried,  "  Oh  God  !  If  there  be  a  God,  reveal  Thyself  to 
me."  Then  I  took  the  Bible,  not  the  Koran,  and  found  not  only 
my  God,  but  my  Saviour  as  well.' 

"  Many  of  these  secret  believers  are  from  the  higher  walks  of 
life,  like  the  two  officials  mentioned,  and  a  Pasha  whom  I  saw 
when  making  a  round  of  calls  during  one  of  the  great  Moslem 
feasts.  There  were  two  brothers  present,  one  a  Pasha,  and 
member  of  the  old  Ottoman  Parliament,  the  other  the  Governor 
of  an  important  province.  The  Pasha,  being  the  elder,  took  the 
lead  in  the  conversation,  and  suddenly  began  to  speak  in  perfect 
English  on  religious  subjects.  There  were  not  less  than  twenty 
other  Moslem  men  present,  all  relatives,  and  the  Pasha  was 
speaking  with  such  earnestness  and  conviction,  that  I  turned 
the  conversation  back  into  the  Arabic  that  the  others  might 
have  the  benefit  of  it,  and  said,  '  You  appear  to  know  our 
Book,'  for  even  in  English  he  had  quoted  freely  from  it.  '  I 
know  it  very  well,'  he  replied.  '  I  have  made  a  profound  study 
of  it,'  mentioning  certain  missionaries  to  whom  he  had  turned 
for  guidance  in  his  studies.  '  You  never  found  anything  bad 
in  it,  did  you  ?  '  I  inquired.  '  On  the  contrary,  I  found  but  one 
theme,  like  a  scarlet  thread,  running  through  the  entire  Book, 
beginning  in  Genesis  and  ending  in  the  third  verse  of  the  Seven 
teenth  Chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  "  And  this 
is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God, 
and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast  sent."  That  is  what  the 
whole  Bible  teaches,  and  to  have  eternal  life  is  to  know  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,'  using  the  Christian  phraseology, 
not  the  Moslem."  Miss  Holmes  finally  tells  of  a  young  lad  who 
learned  to  love  Jesus  at  school,  but  was  restrained  from  any 
public  confession.  "  In  his  second  year  at  college  he  was 


128  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

stricken  with  typhoid  fever,  and  although  he  seemed  to  get 
better,  a  relapse  came  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  he  was 
leaving  us.  He  seemed  to  realize  his  condition,  for  he  prayed 
constantly  to  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his  family,  and  without 
opposition  from  them.  His  mother,  perhaps  the  most  remark 
able  Moslem  women  I  know,  did  say  to  him  once,  but  with  no 
show  of  anger,  '  Oh,  my  son,  pray  to  our  saints.  Pray  to  Ali 
and  Mohammed.'  '  No,  mother/  the  dying  boy  replied, '  I  want 
Jesus  and  Jesus  only.'  When  the  end  came,  he  suddenly  lifted 
his  arms  as  though  welcoming  someone  near  and  dear,  crying, 
'  Yes,  dear  Jesus,  I  see  You.  I  am  coming,'  and  passed  to  be 
for  ever  with  Him  he  had  secretly  loved  and  openly  acknow 
ledged  at  the  last.  And  there  are  those  who  tell  us  no  Moslem 
is  ever  really  converted  !  " 

Do  not  these  hidden  disciples  in  these  many  lands  make  a 
strong  appeal  for  intercession  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA 


129 


"  Western  influence  also  is  responsible  for  the  presence  of  Christian 
missionaries,  and  for  the  abrogation  of  the  death  penalty  to  which 
an  apostate  from  Islam  was  formerly  liable,  both  matters  which  may  be 
explained  by  the  principle  of  toleration,  Ibut  which  seem  to  indicate  a 
pro-Christian  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  Western  powers." 

O'LEARY,  in  Islam  at  the  Cross  Roads. 

"  The  words  of  the  Prophet  are  final ;  There  shall  be  no  interference 
with  their  (Christian)  faith,  or  their  observances  :  nor  any  change  in 
their  rights  and  privileges.  So  runs  the  charter  given  by  the  Prophet 
to  the  Christians  of  the  Najran,  and  its  terms  are  such  as  to  leave  no  shadow 
of  a  right  for  a  Moslem  ruler  to  interfere  with  the  personal  or  religious 
liberty  of  his  non-Moslem  subjects.  The  Turkish  Sultan  cannot  disregard 
this  charter  as  successor  to  the  Prophet  and  I  cannot  conceive  what  these 
much-talked- of  Christian  minorities  can,  in  reason,  demand  from  the 
Turks  more  than  the  rights  and  privileges  that  came  within  the  purview 
of  the  charter." 

KEMAL-UD-DIN,  in  The  Islamic  Review. 


130 


CHAPTER    VI. 
THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA. 

THE  battle  for  religious  liberty,  freedom  of  conscience  and 
worship  has  been  age-long  and  world- wide.  Christianity  itself 
has  suffered  during  this  struggle  ;  witness  the  Inquisition,  the 
Crusades  and  the  persecutions  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  well  as  the 
condition  of  those  countries  nominally  Christian  where  these 
great  blessings  do  not  yet  obtain  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men.  Bacon  in  one  of  his  essays  says  that  there  were  "four  areas 
in  which  it  was  hard  to  reconcile  sovereignty  with  liberty  ; 
namely,  religion,  justice,  counsel  and  treasure."  Christianity 
no  less  than  Islam  has  sometimes  failed  to  solve  the  difficulty. 
Religious  liberty  was  purchased  at  so  great  a  price  in  the  Protes 
tant  lands  of  Europe  and  America  that  the  principle  of  religious 
tolerance  is  one  of  our  most  cherished  ideals.  The  coloured 
races  under  British  rule  in  Africa  remember  the  proclamation 
made  by  Queen  Victoria,  when  a  constitution  was  granted  to 
Natal  in  1842.  "  There  shall  not  in  the  eye  of  the  law  be  any 
distinction  of  persons,  or  disqualification  of  colour,  origin, 
language  or  creed  ;  but  the  protection  of  the  law  in  letter  and 
in  substance  shall  be  extended  to  all  alike."  At  an  earlier  date, 
in  1833,  the  Government  of  India  Act  declared,  "  No  person  by 
reason  of  his  birth,  creed  or  colour  shall  be  disqualified  from 
holding  any  office,"  and  the  Directors  of  the  East  India  Com 
pany  in  transmitting  it  to  their  Agents  in  India,  sent  out 
elaborate  instructions  in  order  that  "  its  full  spirit  and  intention 
might  be  transfused  through  the  whole  system  of  administra 
tion."  And  they  declared  that  they  understood  the  meaning 
of  the  enactment  to  be  that  there  should  be  "  no  governing  caste 
in  India  ;  that  whatever  other  tests  or  qualifications  might  be 
adopted,  distinctions  of  race  or  religion  should  not  be  of  the 
number  ;  that  no  subject  of  the  king,  whether  of  Indian  or 
British  or  mixed  descent  should  be  excluded  from  any  post  in 
the  covenanted  or  uncovenanted  service." 

The  Queen's  proclamation  after  the  Mutiny  in  India  set  forth 


132  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

most  admirably  the  right  attitude  of  Western  governments 
toward  those  of  other  than  the  Christian  faith  ;  "  Firmly  re 
lying  ourselves  on  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  acknowledging 
with  gratitude  the  solace  of  religion,  we  disclaim  alike  the 
right  and  desire  to  impose  our  convictions  on  any  of  our  sub 
jects."  The  terms  of  the  proclamation  proceeded  :  "  We  declare 
it  to  be  our  royal  will  and  pleasure  that  none  be  in  any  wise 
favoured,  none  molested  or  disquieted,  by  reason  of  their 
religious  faith  or  observances,  but  that  all  shall  alike  enjoy  the 
equal  and  impartial  protection  of  the  law  ;  and  we  do  strictly 
charge  and  enjoin  all  those  who  may  be  in  authority  under  us 
that  they  abstain  from  all  interference  with  the  religious  belief 
or  worship  of  any  of  our  subjects  on  pain  of  our  highest  dis 
pleasure.  And  it  is  our  further  will  that,  so  far  as  may  be,  our 
subjects,  of  whatever  race  or  creed,  be  freely  and  impartially 
admitted  to  offices  in  our  service,  the  duties  of  which  they  may 
be  qualified  by  their  education,  ability,  and  integrity  duly  to 
discharge." 

Based  on  these  principles  the  sections  of  Moslem  law  which 
infringe  the  rights  of  those  who  are  no  longer  Moslems,  have  in 
India  been  considered  abrogated.  A  Caste  Disabilities  Removal 
Act  was  passed  in  1850.  It  reads  as  follows  :  "  An  Act  for 
extending  the  principle  of  Section  9,  Regulation  VII  0/1832  of  the 
Bengal  Code,  throughout  the  Territories  subject  to  the  Government 
of  the  East  India  Company. 

"  Whereas  it  is  enacted  by  Section  9,  Regulation  VII,  1832, 
of  the  Bengal  Code,  that  whenever  in  any  civil  suit  the  parties 
to  such  suit  may  be  of  different  persuasions,  when  one  party 
shall  be  of  the  Hindu  and  the  other  of  the  Mohammedan 
persuasions  :  or  when  one  or  more  of  the  parties  to  the  suit 
shall  not  be  either  of  the  Mohammedan  or  Hindu  persuasions  : 
the  laws  of  those  religions  shall  not  be  permitted  to  operate  to 
deprive  such  party  or  parties  of  any  property  to  which,  but  for 
the  operation  of  such  laws,  they  would  have  been  entitled ; 
and  whereas  it  would  be  beneficial  to  extend  the  principle  of 
that  enactment  throughout  the  territories  subject  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  East  India  Company  ;  it  is  enacted  as  follows  : 

"  So  much  of  any  law  or  usage  now  in  force  within  the 
territories  subject  to  the  Government  of  the  East  India  Com- 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  133 

pany,  as  inflicts  on  any  person  forfeiture  of  rights  or  property 
or  may  be  held  in  any  way  to  impair  or  affect  any  right  of 
inheritance,  by  reason  of  his  or  her  renouncing,  or  having  been 
excluded  from,  the  communion  of  any  religion,  or  being 
deprived  of  caste,  shall  cease  to  be  enforced  as  law  in  the  Courts 
of  the  East  India  Company,  and  in  the  Courts  established  by 
Royal  Charter  within  the  said  territories." 

"It  has  been  held  with  reference  to  Bombay  Regulation  IV 
of  1827,  that  the  term  '  caste  '  is  not  restricted  to  Hindus. 
It  comprises  any  well-defined  native  community  governed  for 
certain  internal  purposes  by  its  own  rules  and  regulations. 
Act  XII  of  1887,  Section  37,  mentions  questions  regarding 
caste  amongst  those  which  have  to  be  decided  in  accordance 
with  Mohammedan  law."1  This  Act  should  therefore  leave 
no  question  as  to  the  legal  rights  of  Moslem  converts  in  India. 
The  following  letter,  however,  which  appeared  in  the  Leader 
of  Allahabad,  May  3ist,  1924,  is  interesting  in  this  connection, 
as  it  shows  that  in  the  Native  state  of  Bhopal  the  law  of 
apostasy  is  still  a  power. 

"A  sensation,  initiated  unfortunately  from  Delhi,  has  been 
created  over  a  law  of  apostasy  supposed  to  have  been  recently 
enacted  in  Bhopal,  presumably  for  the  purpose  of  insulating 
the  state  against  the  Shuddhi  movement.  A  week  back  I  was 
in  Bhopal,  and  made  careful  enquiries  into  the  allegations 
appearing  in  the  press.  There  certainly  is  what  may  be  called 
a  law  of  apostasy  in  Bhopal,  but  the  devotees  of  local  antiquities 
who  alone  could  have  dug  it  out  of  its  peaceful  oblivion,  while 
communicating  the  result  of  their  researches  obviously  missed 
to  supplement  the  information  with  the  undoubted  fact  that 
the  law  is  as  old  as  the  state  itself,  and  that  no  single  instance 
of  its  having  been  enforced  can  be  found.  It  is  regrettable 
that  communal  disputes  should  be  introduced  even  into  native 
states.  It  is  especially  unfortunate  that  Bhopal  of  all  states 
should  have  been  singled  out  for  so  much  attention.  Bhopal's 
record  in  the  matter  of  religious  toleration  is  spotless.  There 
are  grants,  not  only  for  mosques,  but  also  for  temples  and 
churches.  Preferential  treatment  of  one  community  at  the 

1  Principles  of  Mohammedan  Law,  by  F.  B.  Tyabji  (Bombay,  1913), 
PP-  30.  3i- 


134  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

expense  of  the  other  is  foreign  to  the  state.  The  relations 
between  the  Hindus  and  Mussulmans  and  the  state  are  worthy 
of  serving  as  an  example  to  us." 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  attitude  of  all  Western 
governments  toward  Islam  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  and 
delicate  problems  of  colonial  politics.  When  the  matter  was 
discussed  at  the  Edinburgh  Missionary  Conference  (1910),  the 
following  resolution,  characterized  by  great  timidity,  was 
passed  :  "  It  is  not  singular  that,  in  the  effort  to  give  to 
Mohammedanism  the  outward  respect  due  to  it  in  a  region 
peopled  by  its  adherents,  the  British  officials  should  sometimes 
'  lean  over  backward.'  But  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion 
that  in  Egypt,  the  Sudan  and  Northern  Nigeria  the  restrictions 
deliberately  laid  upon  Christian  mission  work,  the  deference 
paid  to  Islam  are  excessive,  and  that  a  respectful  remonstrance 
should  be  made  to  the  British  Government  on  the  subject." l 

The  general  policy  of  Western  governments  in  Africa  has  of 
late  been  modified,  and  it  seems  that  where  formerly  Moham 
medanism  was  fostered  under  the  specious  plea  of  toleration 
and  neutrality,  there  will  be  a  change.  The  excessive  deference 
for  Islam  has  not  proved  the  wisest  policy,  even  for  the  secular 
aims  of  governments.  May  we  not  hope  that  even  as  under 
the  new  mandatories  so,  none  the  less  but  rather  more,  in 
every  Colonial  possession  in  Africa  a  more  enlightened  and 
more  generous  policy  will  be  followed,  guaranteeing  not  only 
free  admission  of  missionary  agencies,  but  freedom  of  con 
science  and  of  worship  to  those  who  desire  to  accept 
Christianity. 2 

As  Dr.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  wrote,  "  The  Christian  Churches  of 
the  British  Empire  and  of  the  United  States  have  a  right  to 
demand  that,  if  English  local  Governments  do  not  help  forward 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  at  the  very  least  they  should  no  longer 
be  permitted  to  oppose  it,  or  to  thwart  the  noble  and  self-denying 
efforts  of  our  missionaries,  who  are  devoting  their  lives  to 
obeying  our  Divine  Lord's  last  Command,  and  are  doing  work 
which,  wherever  it  has  been  fairly  tested,  is  acknowledged,  even 

1  Cf.  J.  du  Plessis,  "  Government  and  Islam  in  Africa,"  in  the  Moslem  World, 
vol.  xi,  p.  -2   ff. 

2  Cf .  Article  on  "  The  British  Empire  and  Islam  "  in  The  East  and  the  West, 
April,  1924. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  135 

by  non-Christians,  to  have  produced  the  highest  mental,  moral 
and  spiritual  results."  : 

The  attitude  of  the  Dutch  Government  in  her  extensive 
Colonial  empire  was  once  painfully  neutral  as  regards  Islam,  but 
it  has  been  modified  by  long  experience  until  now  it  offers  a 
high  ideal.  As  early  as  1854  a  law  was  promulgated  granting 
full  religious  liberty.  In  translation,  Articles  119,  120,123  and 
124  read  as  follows  : 

Art.  119. — Every  one  shall  have  complete  freedom  to  confess 
his  religious  beliefs,  subject  to  the  protection  of  society  and  its 
members  against  infringement  of  the  general  ordinances  of  the 
penal  code. 

Art.  120. — All  public  religious  services  within  buildings  or 
enclosed  places  shall  be  permitted  in  so  far  as  these  cause  no 
disturbance  of  the  public  order.  For  public  religious  services 
outside  buildings  and  enclosed  places  the  permission  of  the 
Government  shall  be  required. 

Art.  123. — Christian  teachers,  priests  and  missionaries  must 
be  provided  with  a  special  permission  granted  by  the  Governor- 
General  or  in  his  name  in  order  to  carry  on  their  work  in  any 
particular  part  of  the  Dutch  Indies.  If  the  permission  is  found 
harmful,  or  the  conditions  thereof  are  not  fulfilled,  it  may  be 
withdrawn  by  the  Governor-General. 

Art.  124. — Native  priests  who  do  not  profess  the  Christian 
religion  shall  be  under  supervision  of  the  princes,  rulers  and 
chiefs  in  so  far  as  concerns  the  religion  which  each  of  them 
professes.  These  will  make  sure  that  nothing  is  undertaken  by 
the  priests  which  would  be  inconsistent  with  these  regulations 
and  with  the  ordinances  promulgated  by  the  Governor-General 
or  in  his  name.2 

Under  such  regulations  sixteen  Societies  carry  on  a  successful 
work  among  Moslems,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  convert  is 
protected. 

One  reason  for  the  large  number  of  converts  from  Islam  in 
the  Dutch  East  Indies  is  undoubtedly  the  more  liberal  policy 
of  the  Dutch  Government  in  recent  years.  No  less  than  thirty- 
nine  million  subjects  in  the  Dutch  colonies  profess  the  faith  of 
Mohammed  (that  is,  about  one-sixth  of  the  total  population  of 
the  Moslem  world),  and  there  is  no  other  government,  not  even 
excepting  Great  Britain,  which  has  had  a  larger  experience  with 

1  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  "  Islam  and  National  Responsibility,"  in  the  Moslem 
World,  vol.  v,  p.  29. 

1  Treaties,  Acts  and  Regulations  Relating  to  Missionary  Freedom,  p.  80. 
International  Missionary  Council  (London,  1923). 


136  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

the  Moslem  problem  and  has  from  time  to  time  modified  its 

policy  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  than  has  the 

Dutch  Government.     Dr.  C.  Snouck  Hurgronje,  in  his  book 

Nederland  en  de  Islam, 1  takes  up  the  question  as  to  the  causes 

and  methods  of  the  rapid  spread  of  Islam  in  Malaysia,  and 

concludes  that,  although  the  religious  motive  was  supreme  and 

there  were  economic  and  social  reasons  as  co-operative  factors, 

one  cannot  explain  the  propagation  of  the  Moslem  faith  solely 

on  the  ground  of  the  preaching  of  Islam,  as  does  T.  W.  Arnold, 

nor  as  a  compulsory  economic  movement,  as  do  Dr.  Becker 

and  the  Italian  savant  Caetani ;  the  chief  factor  in  the  spread 

of  Islam  was  the  sword.    "  The  supreme  cause  for  the  spread 

of  the  faith,  both  according  to  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the 

sacred  law,  must  be  found  in  methods  of  forcible  propagandism. 

The  Moslem  law  considers  all  non-Moslems  as  the  enemies  of 

the  great  monarchy  of  Allah,  whose  opposition  to  His  rule — 

which  is  solely  by  Moslems — must  be  broken  down."   In  speaking 

of  the  Moslem  conception  of  the  Dar-ul-Islam  and  the  Dar-ul- 

Harb,  Dr.  Hurgronje  scores  Sir  William  Hunter  and  other  British 

statesmen  for  their  failure  to  understand  the  real  significance 

of  the  question.    The  teaching  of  Jihad,  or  holy  warfare,  does 

not  rest,  as  Professor  Arnold  insists,  on  a  misunderstanding  of 

certain  Koran  texts,  but  it  is  the  teaching  of  all  Moslem  jurists 

for  all  the  past  centuries.    "  The  little  group  of  modern  Moslems 

who  assert  that  Islam  must  only  be  propagated  by  preaching 

and  conviction,  no  more  represents  the  true  teaching  of  their 

religion  in  which  they  were  born,  than  the  modernists  do  the 

Roman  Catholic  Church."2     Dr.  Hurgronje  admits  that  the 

Young  Turks,  and  the  followers  of  the  new  Islam,  desire  nothing 

so  much  as  to  relegate  Jihad  to  the  museum  of  antiquities,  and 

yet  he  makes  clear  that  liberty,  equality  and  fraternity  are 

impossible  under  Islam  to  non-Moslems. 

In  speaking  of  the  relation  of  the  Dutch  Colonial  Govern 
ment  to  Islam,  Dr.  Hurgronje  holds  that  neutrality  as  regards 
dogma  and  the  purely  religious  portion  of  jurisprudence  is  the 
only  safe  policy.  The  Dutch  Government  cannot  afford  to 
discourage  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  even  by  regulations,  in  spite  of 
its  political  and  economic  evils,  and  although  the  sum  of  five 

1  Nederland  en  de  Islam  (Leiden,  1911),  pp.  7,  8,  9,  12,  20  and  60-77. 

2  Idem. 


£   6 

Cfl      4) 


§  £ 


j      b£ 

rK  W 


THE  DAWN   OF  A  NEW  ERA.  137 

million  florins  spent  by  pilgrims  every  year  might  be  used  for  a 
better  object.  As  regards  the  Moslem  law  of  marriage  and 
inheritance,  the  question  is  more  difficult.  A  codification  of 
these  laws  is  undesirable,  as  many  of  them  are  mediaeval  and 
in  direct  opposition  to  modern  civilization  and  culture.  The 
Government  should  therefore  allow  these  laws  either  to  fall 
into  disuse,  or  by  a  process  of  evolution  reach  a  higher  standard. 
Although  advocating  a  policy  of  neutrality  as  regards  the 
Moslem  faith  and  its  jurisprudence,  Dr.  Hurgronje  is  very 
emphatic  in  stating  that  no  form  of  pan-Islamism  should  be 
allowed  expression  in  the  Dutch  colonies.  While  allowing 
freedom  of  worship  to  all  Moslems,  the  government  must 
oppose  all  ideas  of  a  universal  Caliphate  with  political  power, 
or  of  Turkish  intrigue  in  Malaysia.  All  teaching  in  regard  to 
Jihad  and  the  Caliphate  should  be  prohibited  in  Moslem  schools 
as  far  as  possible. 

One  would  imagine  that  with  such  an  able  and  learned 
advocate  for  a  policy  of  strict  neutrality  the  Dutch  Government 
would  never  be  guilty  of  favouritism  ;  and  yet  Mr.  J.  Verhoeven 
points  out  some  articles  and  regulations  of  the  Dutch  Govern 
ment  which  are  directly  opposed  to  the  propagation  of  Christian 
ity  and  favour  Islam,  showing  how  especially  Article  71,  by 
which  the  social  and  religious  affairs  of  the  natives  are  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  Mohammedan  village  priest,  has  hindered 
missions.  He  writes,  that  in  Middle  and  West  Java  particularly, 
individuals  or  families  who  show  any  desire  for  Christian 
instruction  have  again  and  again  lost  their  communal  interests 
in  village  property  because  of  Article  71.  In  the  case  of  a 
widow  who  was  deprived  of  her  legal  rights  to  property  solely 
because  three  of  her  children  had  joined  the  Christian  church, 
the  official  reason  given  was  that  "  No  Christian  can  have  a 
part  in  the  lands  belonging  to  a  Mohammedan  village."  l 

1  Cf.  Orgaan  dcr  Nederlandsche  Zendings  Vereeniging,  Feb.  1911.  Article 
by  J.  Verhoeven  :  He  writes  :  "  Het  vreedzaam  voortwerken  van  de  verheven 
beginselen  van  CHRISTUS  wordt  in  de  binnenlanden  van  Java  her  meest 
bemoeilijkt  door  Art  71  van  ons  Regeeringsreglement.  waarbij  bepaald 
wordt  dat  "  alle  huishoudclijke  bclangen  " — en  deze  omvattcn  u/lc  niaats- 
chappelijke  en  godsdienstige  belangen  van  den  Inlander — moeten  geregeld 
worden  door  het  dorpsbestuur,  waarin  de  Mohammedaansche  dorpspriester 
als  zoodanig  zitting  heeft  en  vooraldoor  zijne  dagelijksche  inkomsten  66k  "  de 
eerste  viool  bespeelt."  Het  wel  en  wee  van  den  vreesachtigen  Inlander 
berust  in  de  hand  van  dit  bestuur,  dat  onmogelijk  kan  gecontroleerd  worden 


138  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  complete  freedom  for  the  person  of 
converts  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  the  law  of  apostasy  has 
become  a  dead  letter.  Would  that  this  were  the  case  in  all 
Moslem  lands  ! 

The  various  treaties,  acts  and  regulations  that  assure  a 
greater  or  less  degree  of  missionary  freedom  in  British  Mandate 
territory  in  Africa,  e.g.  Togoland,  Tanganyika,  The  Cameroons, 
South-west  and  South  Africa,  include  in  their  provisions  a  large 
Moslem  population.  The  same  is  true  of  French  territory  in 
Equatorial  Africa,  and  of  Belgian  and  Portuguese  colonies.  In 
nearly  every  case  missionary  freedon  is  guaranteed,  and  in 
consequence  the  life  and  liberty  of  converts  protected. 1 

While  these  treaties  and  concessions  to  the  rights  of  minorities 
are  a  hopeful  indication  of  a  new  spirit  of  tolerance  and  a  desire 
to  inagurate  religious  freedom,  there  are  still  two  large  areas  in 
Africa  where  the  British  Government  itself  has  not  granted  these 
rights,  either  to  missionaries  or  to  Moslem  converts.  A  mis 
sionary  writes  from  the  Sudan  in  1923  :  "  Outside  of  Khartoum 
and  Omdurman  there  is  practically  no  mission  work  going  on 
among  Moslems.  The  whole  province  of  Dongola,  with  a 
population  of  151,849,  has  no  mission  schools.  During  my 
recent  tour  there  a  Mohammedan  merchant  told  me  he  was 
ready  to  give  a  portion  of  his  land  freely  to  missionaries  if  they 
would  only  start  a  school.  I  believe,  too,  this  is  the  time. 
Being  in  and  out  among  the  people,!  know  full  well  their  feelings 
towards  missionaries.  They  are  ready  to  trust  them  with  the 
care  of  their  children,  and  are  not  objecting  in  any  way  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Christian  faith.  What  blocks  our  entrance  to 
this  region  is  the  statute  of  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Government."  2 
What  is  this  regulation  ? 

"  No  mission  station  is  allowed  to  be  formed  north  of  the  tenth 
parallel  of  latitude  in  any  part  or  district  of  the  Sudan  which  is 
recognized  by  the  Government  as  Moslem  "  (Regulations,  Ch.  xix. 
Sec.  i).  These  conditions  still  hold  to-day,  yet  Sir  Harry 
Johnstone,  writing  in  1919  of  the  missionary  policy  of  the 
Government,  said  :  "  With  regard  to  missionaries  of  Christian- 
door  gebrek  aan  voldoend  aantal  betrouwbare  Europeesche  controleerende 
ambtenaren.  Diep  ingrijpend  is  daarom  het  verschil  in  de  levensom- 
standigheden  van  den  bewoner  van  Particuliere  met  die  van  Gouvernements- 
landen." 

1  Treatise,   etc.,   pp.   24-27,   42,   64,   etc. 

*  Egypt  General  Mission  News,  December,  1923. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  139 

ity — of  all  sects  of  Christianity — we  have  nothing  to  reproach 
ourselves  with  save,  perhaps,  in  Nigeria  and  the  Sudan. 
Throughout  all  our  great  tropical  African  dominions  Christian 
ity  of  a  reasonable  type  has  made  enormous  progress.  At  the 
same  time  Mohammedanism  has  not  been  discouraged  or 
flouted,  and  the  good  elements  in  it  are  perhaps  seen  at  their 
best  in  British  Africa  and  India.  We  must,  however,  sweep 
away  resolutely  the  indefensible  restrictions  on  Christian  mis 
sionaries  which,  I  believe,  still  exists  in  British-governed 
Nigeria  and  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan.  It  was  pretended 
twenty  years  ago  and  less  that  the  entry  and  circulation  of 
Christian  missionaries  in  the  Fula  States  of  Nigeria  and  the 
regions  of  the  Sudan  mainly  inhabited  by  Arabs  might  excite 
displays  of  Islamic  hostility,  and  lead  to  native  revolts.  Such 
fears  were  far-fetched.  In  Africa,  at  any  rate,  there  is  now 
little  or  no  enmity  towards  exponents  of  the  Christian  faith, 
especially  if  they  are  white  men  from  Europe  or  America.  Such 
missionaries  are  usually  acquainted  with  medicine  and  are  apt 
instructors  in  general  education.  The  Moslem  generally  accepts 
them  on  that  basis.  They  may  or  may  not  effect  much  change 
in  his  religious  views  (so  far  as  dogma  is  concerned)  ;  but 
ethically  they  Christianize  him,  and  they  are  a  potent  force  in 
education.  The  real  opposition  to  their  free  movements  and 
presence  in  such  countries  arose  almost  entirely  from  the 
military  governors  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  Foreign  Office  and 
Colonial  Office.  These  earlier  administrators  of  North  Central 
Africa  disliked  the  Christian  missionary  because  he  was  generally 
a  shrewd  person  of  good  and  modern  education,  who  criticised 
maltreatment  of  the  natives,  was  learned  in  law,  and  a  lover  of 
freedom.  All  nonsense  of  this  kind  must  now  be  swept  away."  1 

When  we  study  a  large  scale  map  of  the  Anglo-Egyptian 
Sudan,  and  note  the  imaginary  line  called  the  tenth  parallel  of 
latitude  which  is  supposed  to  set  bounds  to  the  Gospel  and 
"  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  "  by  shutting  out  even  medical 
missions  from  Moslem  tribes  numbering  hundreds  of  thousands, 
"  nonsense  of  this  kind  "  seems  indeed  to  be  inexcusable. 

Egypt  to-day  has  some  religious  freedom.    It  came  by  struggle. 

The  following  paragraph  and  two  letters  tell  the  story  of  the 

1  According  to  recent  Missionary  testimony  the  present  Government 
still  continues  certain  restrictions  on  work  among  Moslems  in  Northern 
Nigeria  and  handicaps  the  progress  of  missions. 


140  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

first  firman  for  religious  toleration  in  Egypt,  which  was  secured 
by  the  United  States  Government  through  President  Abraham 
Lincoln  in  1861  : 1  "  Faris,  the  agent  of  some  missionaries  in 
Upper  Egypt,  told  me,"  says  Dr.  Lansing,  "  of  the  case  of  a 
Coptic  woman  who  had  some  years  before  been  seduced  by  a 
Moslem,  and  who  now  wished  to  return  to  her  old  faith  ;  and 
he  said  that  the  Copts  were  very  anxious  that  he  should  under 
take  her  defence  with  the  Government.  He  asked  what  he 
should  do,  and  I  told  him  that  if  in  a  friendly  way  he  could  do 
anything  with  the  Government  to  secure  her  in  her  return  to  the 
faith  of  her  fathers,  he  might  do  so  ;  but  that  he  must  be  very 
careful  not  to  compromise  himself  or  implicate  us  with  the 
authorities.  He,  however,  went  beyond  his  letter  of  instruc 
tions,  and  four  months  after  it  resulted  in  an  affair  which 
almost  cost  him  his  life,  but  which  made  us  politically  the  first 
men  in  Egypt.  The  following  letters  tell  how  : — 
'ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

to  His  HIGHNESS  MOHAMMED  SAID  PACHA,  Viceroy  of  Egypt 

and  its  Dependencies,  etc. 
'  GREAT  AND  GOOD  FRIEND, 

'  I  have  received  from  Mr.  Thayer,  Consul-General  of  the 
United  States  at  Alexandria,  a  full  account  of  the  liberal, 
enlightened,  and  energetic  proceedings  which,  on  his  complaint, 
you  have  adopted,  in  bringing  to  speedy  and  condign  punish 
ment  the  parties,  subjects  of  your  Highness  in  Upper  Egypt, 
who  were  concerned  in  an  act  of  cruel  persecution  against  Faris, 
an  agent  of  certain  Christian  missionaries  in  Upper  Egypt. 

'  I  pray  your  Highness  to  be  assured  that  these  proceedings, 
at  once  so  prompt  and  so  just,  will  be  regarded  as  a  new  and 
unmistakable  proof  equally  of  your  Highness'  friendship  for 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  firmness,  integrity,  and  wisdom 
with  which  the  Government  of  your  Highness  is  conducted. 

'  Wishing  you  great  prosperity  and  success, 
'  I  am,  your  good  friend, 

'ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
'  Washington,  October  9,  1861. 
'  By  the  President :  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 
'  Secretary  of  State/ 

1  Egypt's  Princes,  by  G.  Lansing.     Philadelphia,  1864,  p.  322  and  pp.  342-343. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  141 

'  To  the  HONOURABLE  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

'  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
'  HONOURABLE  SIR  AND  FRIEND, 

'  Mr.  Thayer,  Consul-General  of  the  United  States  of 
Alexandria,  has  presented  me  the  letter  you  were  pleased  to 
write  me,  expressing  your  feelings  of  satisfaction  for  the  punish 
ment  which  I  have  inflicted  on  some  individuals  guilty  of  evil 
and  cruel  treatment  towards  an  agent  of  certain  Christian 
missionaries  in  Upper  Egypt.  Mr.  Thayer,  who  I  am  happy  to 
say,  entertains  with  me  the  most  friendly  relations,  had  already 
expressed  to  me  the  feelings  of  your  Government. 

'  In  this  case,  honourable  sir  and  friend,  I  have  only  executed 
the  rule  which  I  have  always  endeavoured  to  follow,  in  pro 
tecting  in  an  equal  way,  without  consideration  of  creed,  all 
those  who,  either  by  inclination  or  for  the  fulfilment  of  a  duty, 
sojourn  in  the  country  submitted  to  my  administration. 

'  I  am  profoundly  sensible  of  the  friendly  manner  in  which 
you  express  your  sentiments  both  to  myself  and  to  my  Govern 
ment,  and  I  pray  you,  honourable  sir  and  friend,  to  accept  with 
this  offering  of  my  thanks,  my  sincere  wishes  for  the  success, 
perpetuity,  and  integrity  of  the  American  Union,  which,  I  hope, 
under  your  able  Presidency,  will  soon  see  an  end  of  the  trials 
with  which  the  Almighty  has  been  pleased  to  afflict  it. 
'  Your  most  devoted  friend, 

'  MOHAMMED  SAID. 
'Alexandria,  November  21,  1861.'  ' 

One  must  read  between  the  lines  of  this  interesting  diplomatic 
correspondence,  and  realize  the  condition  of  all  Copts  in  Egypt 
at  the  time  to  understand  the  effect  of  such  a  ruling  on  religious 
liberty.  It  was  the  first  step. 

At  present  Egypt  is  in  a  transition  period.  The  declaration 
of  complete  independence,  the  withdrawal  of  many  important 
advisory  members  from  government  departments,  the  struggle 
between  the  extremist  and  the  moderate  parties  in  the  recent 
elections,  the  uncertainty  of  the  future  relationship  between 
Britain  and  Egypt ;  all  these  indicate  that  the  time  is  not  yet 
for  drawing  any  definite  conclusions  regarding  liberty  for 
converts  or  freedom  of  conscience.  When  the  new  Constitution 


142  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

declares  (Art.  149)  "  Islam  shall  be  the  religion  of  the  State,"  and 
when  the  new  flag  is  of  the  old  green  Mohammedan  shade,  one 
may  be  permitted  to  doubt  the  full  face  value  of  Articles  3,  4, 
12,  13  and  14,  and  yet  hope  that  they  are  the  harbingers  of  real 
liberty.  These  articles  read  as  follows  : — 

Art.  3. — All  Egyptians  shall  be  equal  before  the  law.  They 
shall  have  equal  enjoyment  of  civil  and  political  rights  and  shall 
be  equally  liable  for  public  charges  and  duties  without  any 
distinction  of  race,  language  or  religion.  They  alone  shall  be 
eligible  for  civil,  military  and  public  office  ;  strangers  shall  only 
be  eligible  in  exceptional  cases  to  be  denned  by  law. 

Art.  4. — The  liberty  of  the  individual  shall  be  guaranteed. 

Art.  12. — There  shall  be  absolute  freedom  of  conscience. 

Art.  13. — The  State  shall,  in  conformity  with  established 
custom  in  Egypt,  protect  the  free  exercise  of  all  religion  or  belief, 
on  condition  that  there  shall  be  no  violation  of  public  order  or 
morals. 

Art.  14. — Freedom  of  thought  shall  be  guaranteed.  Within 
the  limits  of  the  law  all  persons  shall  have  the  right  to  express 
freely  their  views  by  word,  writing,  pictures  or  otherwise.1 

Although  the  law  of  apostasy,  as  far  as  it  applies  to  the  life 
of  a  convert  in  Egypt,  may  not  be  publicly  executed  or  enforced 
before  any  court,  other  disabilities  still  obtain.  A  Mohammedan 
lawyer  in  Cairo  answering  an  inquiry  on  this  subject,  expressed 
himself  as  follows  :  "  The  present  law  (1923)  in  Egypt  regarding 
apostates  is  complete  freedom.  Any  one  can  adopt  whatever 
religion  he  desires.  There  are  no  local  laws  concerning  the 
matter,  and  the  old  Mohammedan  laws  in  regard  to  apostasy, 
as  well  as  in  regard  to  other  details,  are  a  dead  letter.  That  is, 
they  have  fallen  into  disuse.  Many  Mohammedans  have  become 
Christians,  and  they  are  actually  delivering  lectures  and 
enjoying  their  full  rights.  In  my  experience  I  know  of  no  one 
who  has  suffered  loss  of  property  or  desertion  by  his  wife 
because  of  a  change  of  religion.  Recent  law  books  do  not 
mention  the  subject."  This  statement  is  optimistic,  and 
illustrates  the  proverb  of  the  wish  becoming  father  to  the 
thought.  A  colleague  of  this  lawyer,  who  is  also  a  practising 
barrister  in  Egypt,  writes  as  follows  :  "As  a  general  principle, 
carefully  followed  by  the  Egyptian  Government  in  all  of  its 

1  Treaties,  Act  and  Regulations  Relating  to  Missionary  Freedom,  p.  104. 
International  Missionary  Council,  London,  1923. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  143 

recent  enactments,  Mohammedan  law  (Hanifi  Code)  is  followed 
out  as  regards  rules  of  succession  and  personal  status  (marriage, 
divorce,  apostasy,  etc.).  Mohammedan  criminal  law  is  entirely 
done  away  with,  and  so  is  the  civil  law  of  obligations  in  general 
and  special  contracts,  e.g.  sale,  lease,  etc.  As  regards  apostasy 
in  particular,  there  is  no  recent  law.  The  old  law  is  followed 
in  the  above  sense,  i.e.  in  inheritance  and  marriage  ;  but  no 
sentence  for  criminal  punishment  could  be  passed  upon  an 
apostate,  because  Egypt  follows  the  recent  penal  code  (since 
1883) ,  which  in  principle  is  almost  textually  borrowed  from  the 
French  penal  code.  This  does  not  punish  apostasy,  and  the 
general  principle  in  modern  penal  law  is  '  no  punishment  unless 
a  crime  is  within  the  law,  i.e.  penal  law.'  A  Moslem  who  deserts 
Islam  loses  the  right  of  inheritance,  as  the  Mohammedan  law  of 
succession  explicitly  states  :  Difference  of  religion  is  a  bar  to 
inheritance.  But  he  does  not  lose  the  property  which  he  owns 
at  the  time  of  apostasy.  The  Mohammedan  law  of  marriage 
holds  here  to-day,  and  the  Mohammedan  wife  of  an  apostate 
has  the  right  to  be  divorced  unless  she  herself  embraces 
Christianity.  The  Mohammedan  law  allows  a  Mohammedan 
to  marry  a  Christian  wife,  but  does  not  allow  a  Mohammedan 
woman  to  marry  a  non-Mohammedan." 

When  these  remaining  civil  disabilities  are  removed  by  special 
enactment,  Egypt  will  have  liberty  and  equality  for  Moslem 
converts. 

The  history  of  religious  toleration  in  Turkey  is  a  long,  long 
trail  of  broken  promises.  As  early  as  1453,  when  Mohammed  II 
captured  Constantinople,  he  issued  an  edict  of  toleration  deter 
mining  the  privileges,  immunities  and  special  franchises  of  the 
Christian  clergy  and  of  Christians.  In  1856  the  famous  Hatti 
Humayoun  declared  that  "  No  one  shall  be  disturbed  or 
annoyed  by  reason  of  the  religion  that  he  professes.  The 
worship  of  all  the  religions  and  creeds  existing  in  Turkey  being 
practised  with  all  liberty,  no  one  shall  be  prevented  from 
exercising  the  religion  that  he  professes.  Each  community  is 
at  liberty  to  establish  schools,  only  the  choice  of  teachers  and 
the  method  of  instruction  being  under  the  inspection  and 
control  of  the  Government."  At  the  Berlin  Congress  in  1878 
the  Turkish  Commissioner  declared  that  "  throughout  the 


144  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

(Ottoman)  Empire  the  most  different  religions  are  professed 
by  millions  of  the  Sultan's  subjects,  and  not  one  has  been 
molested  in  his  belief  or  in  the  exercise  of  his  mode  of  worship. 
The  Imperial  government  is  determined  to  maintain  this 
principle  in  its  full  force,  and  to  give  it  all  the  extension  that 
it  calls  for." 

In  spite  of  these  regulations  the  normal  state  of  affairs  in 
Turkey  in  its  bearing  on  missionary  work  and  on  freedom  of 
conscience  was  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  provisions  made. 
A  missionary  wrote  in  1904,  that  "All  the  reforms  introduced 
in  1897  have  proved  absolute  failures,  and  in  the  grimmest 
sense  of  the  word  the  status  quo  has  not  been  affected  by  them." 
The  travel  of  missionaries  was  restricted,  colporteurs  were 
arrested  and  often  imprisoned,  no  building  for  Christian  worship 
might  be  erected  without  official  permission,  and  this  often 
required  years.  A  strict  censorship  of  the  Press  was  exercised. 
All  sorts  of  obstructions  were  put  in  the  way  of  educational 
work.  Even  medical  work  was  limited  by  the  requirement  of 
special  permits  and  examinations  from  those  engaged  in  it. 
There  was  neither  freedom  of  speech  nor  freedom  of  the  Press 
in  Turkey  during  the  reign  of  Abdul  Hamid.  The  convert  from 
Islam  was  murdered  or  fled  to  other  lands.  "  So  many  stories 
of  Turkish  Press  censorship  have  been  told  that  a  quarto  volume 
of  them  might  be  gathered  together.  The  American  Bible 
Society  at  one  time  published  a  revised  edition  of  the  Turkish 
Scriptures  when  a  zealous  censor  demanded  that  such  verses 
as  Proverbs  iv.  14-17  ;  vi.  16-19  ;  xix.  29  ;  xx.  21  ;  xxi.  7  ; 
xxii.  28  ;  xxiv.  15,  16  ;  xxvi.  26,  be  omitted,  as  bearing  too 
pointedly  on  the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  Turkey.  It 
took  some  exertion  to  convince  him  that  the  right  to  publish 
the  Word  of  God  intact  has  been  secured  by  treaty.  The 
editor  of  the  weekly  religious  paper  Avedaper  was  publishing  a 
series  of  articles  about  eschatology,  but  was  forbidden  to  use  the 
word  '  Millennium,'  as  that  seemed  to  intimate  that  there  could 
be  a  more  blessed  period  than  the  reign  of  Abdul  Hamid  II." l 

After  the  revolution  there  were  high  hopes  of  a  coming  dawn 
of  "  liberty,  justice,  equality  and  brotherhood."  These  words 

1  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  Oct.  1904 — "The  Normal  State  of  Affairs 
in  Turkey." 


effiuHl|2.2 

O     •   o         03   C    CX 

•8      C  c?  B  9  a 


8, 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  145 

were  emblazoned  on  banners  and  worn  on  arm-bands  by  the 
crowds  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople.  There  appeared  to  be 
a  sudden  growth  of  most  cordial  relations  between  Moslems  and 
Christians.  The  London  Times,  August  21,  1908,  described  the 
celebrations  at  Beirut  in  the  following  terms  :  "Again  and 
again  the  Moslem  speakers  gave  the  salutation,  '  Es-salaam 
alaikum  ya  akhwaty  '  (Peace  be  upon  you,  O  brethren),  which 
had  been  withheld  from  the  Christians  for  so  many  years  except 
by  all  but  the  most  liberal  and  enlightened  Moslems.  At  one 
place  in  the  streets  was  a  large  inscription  which  expressed  the 
new  spirit  in  a  verse  from  the  Koran  side  by  side  with  a  verse 
from  the  Bible — '  The  deliverance  is  from  God,  and  victory  is 
near  '  ;  '  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.' 
Then  came  a  sentiment  perhaps  never  written  before  in  public 
— '  Long  live  the  Moslem-Christian  brotherhood/  and  below 
it  '  Long  live  liberty.'  It  was  almost  impossible  to  believe  our 
ears  and  eyes.  Then,  at  many  places  and  many  times  during 
the  day,  when  the  people  caught  sight  of  a  Christian  priest  and 
turbaned  Moslem  in  proximity  to  each  other,  they  were  pushed 
into  each  other's  arms  and  made  to  kiss  each  other  !  .  .  .  On 
that  Sunday  the  largest  and  most  remarkable  demonstration 
took  place  in  the  Armenian  church  among  the  bazaars.  The 
commander  of  the  troops  and  many  of  the  officers,  together 
with  the  military  band,  were  present.  The  Bishop,  many  of 
the  priests,  and  many  more  of  the  Moslems  made  fraternal 
speeches,  in  which  all  bewailed  the  awful  events  of  the  present 
reign  in  Armenia,  and  welcomed  the  new  era,  in  which  there  was 
to  be  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  ending  the  so-called 
Armenian  question  for  ever." 

But  the  Armenian  question  was  not  settled.  After  the 
revolution  came  the  tragedy  of  Adana  ;  and  after  Adana,  the 
massacres  and  deportations  of  more  than  a  million  Christians 
in  Turkey  as  a  grim  and  ghastly  comment  on  the  assurance  of 
liberty  and  equality.  One  is  forced  to  the  conclusion  of  Freeman 
in  his  history  of  the  Saracens.  "  To  those  who  expect  to  see  a 
Mohammedan  state  become  tolerant  and  civilized  without 
ceasing  to  be  a  Mohammedan  state,  I  would  again  hold  up  the 
solitary  example  of  the  illustrious  Mogul.  If  European  Turkey, 
or  Asiatic  Turkey,  is  to  be  reformed  from  within,  without  the 
10 


146  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

coercion  of  either  enemies  of  friends,  the  career  of  Akbar  must 
be  the  guiding  star.  Let  the  individual  Mohammedan  have 
the  fullest  equality  with  the  individual  Christian,  but  let  not 
the  individual  Christian  have  to  recognize  a  Mohammedan 
master  as  his  sovereign.  So  long  as  a  Government  remains 
Mohammedan,  so  long  must  it  be  intolerant  at  home  ;  so  long 
will  it  be  restrained  only  by  weakness  from  offering  to  other 
lands  the  old  election  of  '  Koran,  Tribute  or  Sword.'  "l 

Neither  during  the  world  war  nor  since  the  Armistice  has 
there  been  any  semblance  of  religious  liberty  or  freedom  of 
conscience  in  Turkey.  Deportations,  murders,  massacre,  rape, 
pillage — these  do  not  spell  equality  or  fraternity. 

The  Nationalists  under  Mustapha  Kemal  have  now  a  Consti 
tutional  Assembly,  and  the  form  of  a  Turkish  Republic,  but 
the  State  religion  remains  Islam  ;  and  in  the  publication  of 
religious  fetwas  they  have  indicated  that  to  them  also  Moslem 
divine  law  is  superior  to  any  constitution. 2  On  April  20, 1920, 
the  Nationalist  newspaper,  published  at  Brusa,  interspersed 
its  statement  regarding  the  duty  of  all  Nationalists  with 
quotations  from  the  Koran,  and  laid  down  principles  in  this 
fashion  : 

"  i.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  all  Moslems  to  take  up  arms  in 
defence  of  the  Khalifa  when  the  seat  of  the  Khalifa  is  occupied 
by  the  enemy,  when  all  means  of  defence  are  taken  from  the 
Sultan  so  that  he  can  no  longer  defend  the  true  interests  of  the 
nation,  and  when  courts-martial  are  established  in  the  capital 
under  British  laws  ?  Reply  :  Yes. 

"2.  Can  those  who  thus  take  part  in  the  fight  against  the 
enemy  be  stigmatized  as  enemies  of  their  country  and  their 
religion  ?  Reply  :  No. 

"3.  Are  not  those  who  die  in  such  fighting  '  martyrs ' 
(Shuhida),  and  are  not  those  who  survive  '  victors '  (Ghazi)  ? 
Reply:  Yes. 

"  4.  Are  not  all  Moslems  bound  by  the  Holy  Law  under  such 
circumstances  to  assist  in  the  struggle  against  the  enemy  ? 
Reply:  Yes. 

1  Freeman,  History  and  Conquests  of  the  Saracens,  p.  203. 

2  This  was  the  case  before  the  abolition  of  the  Caliphate  and  the  expulsion 
of  the  Caliph.     Whether  the  present  Nationalist  government  will  grant  liberty 
of  worship  and  speech  to  minorities  is  an  open  question. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  147 

"5.  Are  fetwas  issued  by  a  Government  which  is  under  the 
influence  of  the  enemy  binding  under  the  Holy  Law  upon 
Moslems  ?  Reply  :  No." 

Recent  regulations  regarding  foreigners  in  Turkey  and  the 
prohibition  of  Christian  teaching  to  Moslem  pupils  in  Mission 
Schools  do  not  indicate  a  larger  degree  of  liberty  under 
Islamic  Nationalist  Government,  but  rather  a  recrudescence  of 
the  old  spirit. 1 

If  one  could  appeal  to  constitutional  rights  and  to  the 
promises  made  on  paper,  there  might  be  hope  for  the  Christian 
minorities.  But  what  does  the  Turk  care  for  a  "  scrap  of 
paper  "  ? 

The  last  of  all  these  official  documents  in  which  Turkey 
assures  the  world  that  she  will  respect  the  rights  of  minorities 
and  give  religious  liberty  to  all  her  subjects  is  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  signed  at  Lausanne,  July  24, 1923.  The  following  Articles 
are  intended  to  protect  minorities  :— 

Art.  37. — Turkey  undertakes  that  the  stipulations  contained 
in  Articles  38  to  44  shall  be  recognized  as  fundamental  laws,  and 
that  no  law,  no  regulation  nor  official  action  shall  conflict  or 
interfere  with  these  stipulations,  nor  shall  any  law,  regulation 
nor  official  action  prevail  among  them. 

Art.  38. — The  Turkish  Government  undertakes  to  assure  full 
and  complete  protection  of  life  and  liberty  to  all  inhabitants  of 
Turkey  without  distinction  of  birth,  nationality,  language,  race 
or  religion.  All  inhabitants  of  Turkey  shall  be  entitled  to  free 
exercise,  whether  in  public  or  private,  of  any  creed,  religion  or 
belief,  the  observance  of  which  shall  not  be  incompatible  with 
public  order  and  good  morals.  Non-Moslem  minorities  will 
enjoy  full  freedom  of  movement  and  of  emigration,  subject  to 
the  measures  applied,  on  the  whole  or  on  part  of  the  territory,  to 
all  Turkish  nationals,  and  which  may  be  taken  by  the  Turkish 
Government  for  national  defence,  or  for  the  maintenance  of 
public  order. 

Art.  39. — Turkish  nationals  belonging  to  non-Moslem  minori 
ties  will  enjoy  the  same  civil  and  political  rights  as  Moslem.  All 
the  inhabitants  of  Turkey,  without  distinction  of  religion,  shall 
be  equal  before  the  law.  Differences  of  religion,  creed  or  confes 
sion  shall  not  prejudice  any  Turkish  national  in  matters  relating 
to  the  enjoyment  of  civil  or  political  rights,  as,  for  instance, 

1  Cf.  article  by  James  L.  Barton  on  "  The  Present  Status  of  Missionary 
and  Educational  Work  in  Turkey  "  in  the  Homiletic  Review.  January,  1924. 

10* 


148  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

admission  to  public  employments,  functions  and  honours,  or  the 
exercise  of  professions  and  industries.  No  restrictions  shall  be 
imposed  on  the  free  use  by  any  Turkish  national  of  any  language 
in  private  intercourse,  in  commerce,  religion,  in  the  Press,  or  in 
publications  of  any  kind  at  or  public  meetings.  Notwithstanding 
the  existence  of  the  official  language,  adequate  facilities  shall  be 
given  to  Turkish  nationals  of  non-Turkish  speech  for  the  oral 
use  of  their  own  language  before  the  Courts. 1 

We  are  reliably  informed  that  at  Lausanne,  General  Ismet 
Pasha,  the  spokesman  for  the  Turkish  Government  and 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  that  Government,  declared  to 
Ambassador  Child,  as  well  as  to  representatives  of  the  American 
Board,  that  they  desired  American  missionaries,  educators  and 
physicians  to  remain  in  the  country  and  carry  on  their  work 
as  before.  He  went  so  far  as  to  put  into  writing  :  "  I  hope  above 
all  things  that  Americans  will  not  worry  about  the  future  of 
their  educational  and  philanthropic  institutions  in  Turkey. 
We  want  these  institutions  to  stay,  and  have  no  intention  of 
adopting  laws  that  will  embarrass  the  continuation  of  the 
admirable  American  altruistic  work  among  our  people."  The 
same  sentiment  was  expressed  by  Dr.  Fouad  Bey,  a  Turkish 
unofficial  representative,  recently  in  the  United  States. 

The  abolition  of  the  capitulations  was  an  omen  of  sinister 
import.  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  government  in  Turkey 
has  now  gone  a  step  further  in  the  abolition  of  the  Caliphate  as 
a  religious  institution.  Dr.  James  L.  Barton  says  : 2 

"  It  is  impossible  to  measure  the  import  of  the  separation  of 
Church  and  State  by  which  the  religious  establishment  of 
Islam  heads  up  in  the  Caliph  at  Constantinople,  while  the 
affairs  of  State  centre  in  the  Grand  National  Assembly  at 
Angora.  The  Turks  repeatedly  affirmed  at  Lausanne  that 
Church  and  State  were  now  separate,  and  that  there  was 
absolute  religious  freedom  in  Turkey.  It  is  impossible  to 
believe  that  such  a  fundamental  and  even  revolutionary 
change  can  be  practically  perfected  without  a  long  period  of 
trial.  And  yet  the  attempt  is  in  itself  of  startling  significance 
and  may  mean  much  or  little. 

"  The  work  in  Turkey  has  been  swept  as  with  a  besom  of 

1  Treaties,  etc.,  pp.  97  and  98. 

2  The  Problem  of  Turkey  as  the  American  Board  Views  it.     pp.  8,  9,  10. 
Boston,    1922. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  149 

destruction,  but  we  can  even  now  see  tokens  of  new  life  and 
power  and  of  possible  opportunities  not  before  realized.  We 
do  not  attempt  to  explain  the  providences  that  have  produced 
present  political  conditions  ;  they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
human  mind. 

"  We  turn  to  history  for  our  encouragement,  to  the  promises 
for  our  assurance,  to  the  God  of  missions  for  our  spiritual 
equipment,  and  to  the  command  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for 
our  marching  orders. 

'  That  which  is  seen  is  temporal,  but  that  which  is  unseen 
is  eternal.'  " 

The  brief  history  of  constitutional  government  in  Persia 
furnishes  abundant  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  reconciling 
the  old  Mohammedan  law  and  the  new  conditions  ;  and  yet 
every  step  has  been  one  of  progress  for  liberty.  When  the 
new  constitution  was  written  and  prepared  for  adoption,  the 
leaders  prefaced  the  document  with  an  article  definitely 
accepting  the  authority  of  the  religious  law  of  Islam  as  recorded 
in  the  Koran  and  in  the  commentaries  of  Imam  Jaffar.  They 
might  as  well  have  bound  together  the  Jewish  Talmud  and 
the  American  Constitution,  making  the  former  supreme  and 
inviolate.  But  the  reasons  for  this  preface  to  the  constitution 
can  easily  be  understood.  It  was  intended  to  capture  the 
consent  of  the  mullahs  and  the  conservative  party  ;  but  it  will 
prove  impossible  to  apply  the  old  criminal  code  and  the  law 
against  apostasy  in  proportion  as  education  gains  foothold 
and  Western  thought  penetrates  the  masses.  The  old  day  of 
absolute  intolerance,  missionaries  tell  us,  has  gone  for  ever  : 
"  In  1812  Persian  children  in  the  streets  stoned  Henry  Martyn 
until  he  feared  for  his  life.  A  whole  roomful  of  white-bearded 
mullahs,  after  they  had  agreed  to  a  friendly  debate  with  him 
on  religion,  lost  all  their  ecclesiastical  dignity  in  a  mad  attempt 
to  tear  him  to  pieces.  These  same  things  might  have  occurred 
anywhere  in  Persia  twenty  years  ago.  The  law  of  Islam  still 
forbids  close  association  with  infidels,  still  demands  the  death 
of  all  who  leave  its  ranks,  still  bans  pictures  and  every  form 
of  art.  Yet  in  1923,  in  the  city  of  Teheran,  two  missionaries 
talked  earnestly  for  hours  with  a  white-bearded  mullah,  one  of 


150  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

the  leading  ecclesiastics  of  the  city,  and  found  him  sincerely 
interested  in  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  The  conver 
sation  took  place  in  the  home  of  a  high-class  Persian,  known 
openly  as  a  baptized  believer  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  behind  the 
old  mullah,  as  he  talked,  hung  a  large  picture  of  our  Lord  turning 
to  heal  a  suppliant." 

Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer  told  the  story  of  Mirza  Ibrahim,  a 
Mohammedan  of  Khoi,  who  was  publicly  baptized  in  1890  ; 
in  spite  of  the  attempted  dissuasion  and  bribery  of  the  mullahs, 
the  desertion  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  the  loss  of  all  his 
property  according  to  the  Moslem  law  of  apostasy.  While 
preaching,  he  was  arrested  and  taken  before  the  governor,  and 
when  he  was  beaten  and  reviled,  he  only  replied,  as  his  face 
shone,  "  So  was  my  Saviour  beaten."  "After  a  short  imprison 
ment  he  was  removed  to  Tabriz.  As  he  was  led  away  from  the 
prison,  he  solemnly  called  his  fellow-prisoners  to  witness  that 
he  was  free  from  their  blood  if  they  should  reject  the  way  of 
life,  and  '  They  all  rose  with  heavy  chains  on  their  necks  and 
bade  him  go  in  peace,  while  they  prayed  that  his  God  and  the 
Saviour  whom  he  trusted  would  protect  him.'  One  of  the 
Mohammedan  officers  who  had  watched  him,  said  to  the 
Mohammedan  crowd  in  the  yard  :  '  This  is  a  wonderful  man. 
He  is  as  brave  as  a  lion.  A  mullah  has  just  been  trying  to 
convince  him  of  his  error,  but  he  replies  to  everything,  and  the 
mullah  has  gone  away  with  his  head  hanging  down.  He  says 
that  Mohammed  is  not  a  prophet,  and  that  unless  they  can 
prove  that  he  is,  from  the  Holy  Books,  he  will  not  give  up  his 
faith  in  Christ,  even  if  they  cut  off  his  head.'  His  last  request, 
as  he  set  out  for  the  capital  of  the  province,  was  :  *  Pray  for 
me  that  I  may  be  a  witness  for  Christ  before  the  great  of  my 
people.  I  have  no  fear  though  I  know  that  I  shall  die.'  At 
Tabriz  he  was  cast  into  a  dark  dungeon,  chained  to  vile 
criminals,  beaten,  stunned  and  deprived  of  his  clothes  and 
bedding.  One  night,  when  he  witnessed  for  Christ  to  his 
fellow-prisoners,  they  fell  upon  him,  kicked  him,  and  took 
turns  in  choking  him.  His  throat  swelled  so  that  he  could 
scarcely  swallow  or  speak,  and  on  Sunday,  May  14,  1893,  he 
died  from  his  injuries.  When  the  Crown  Prince  was  informed 
of  his  death,  he  asked,  '  How  did  he  die  ?  '  And  the  jailor 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  151 

answered,  '  He  died  like  a  Christian.' '  Now  a  new  day  has 
dawned. 

Holy  Meshed,  once  as  exclusive  as  Mecca  itself,  and  still 
"  the  glory  of  the  Shi' ah  world,"  is  now  a  Mission  station  and  it 
has  a  great  hospital  where  converts  from  Islam  minister  to  the 
people  and  manifest  the  mercy  and  compassion  of  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  Public  baptisms  have  taken  place  in  the  capital 
and  in  many  other  cities  of  Persia  ;  and  in  this  land  we  are 
beginning  to  see  the  signs  of  a  coming  harvest.  The  change 
that  has  taken  place  in  Tabriz  is  even  more  noticeable.  Once 
Mohammedans  were  beaten  for  attending  Sunday  services.  In 
1892  the  government  closed  the  doors  of  the  church  and  school 
on  the  pretence  that  there  was  a  tank  under  the  church  in 
which  to  baptize  converts.  When  the  buildings  were  again 
opened  the  government  forbade  Moslem  women  and  children 
to  enter  the  school  or  the  church.  To-day  in  this  city  there  is 
complete  liberty.  Moslem  newspapers  are  criticizing  the 
Moslem  ecclesiastics,  and  one  of  the  leading  editors  told 
Dr.  Speer  that  there  was  no  hope  for  Persia  until  the  power  of 
Islam  was  shattered.  The  new  Constitution  is  stated  by  a 
leading  Moslem  convert  to  be  "  the  greatest  blow  against  the 
tottering  walls  of  Islam.  I  say  freely  that  Islam  and  the  spirit 
of  constitutional  government  are  incompatible  for  ever."  1  In 
Isfahan  thirteen  Moslems  were  recently  publicly  baptized,  and 
there  was  no  attempt  at  persecution.  Persia  may  prove  to  be 
the  first  Moslem  land  where  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom 
of  speech  will  produce  a  new  nation. 

The  French  mandate  for  Syria  and  the  Lebanon,  of  July  24, 
1922,  also  ensures  "  complete  freedom  of  conscience  and  the  free 
exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship."  (Article  8.)  2  Doubtless  the 

1  Report  on  India  and  Persia.     By  Robert  E.  Speer  and  Russell  Carter. 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  U.S.A.,  1922. 

2  It  reads  :    "  Le  Mandatairc  garantira  a  toute  personne  la  plus  complete 
liberte  de  conscience  ainsi  que  le  libre  exercice  de  toutes  les  formes  de  culte 
compatibles  avec  1'ordre  publique  et  les  bonnes  moeurs.     II  n'y  aura  ine'galite' 
de  traitemcnt  entrcs  les  habitants  de  la  Syrie  et  du  Liban  du  fait  des  differences 
de  race  de  religion  ou  de  langue. 

"  Le  Manclataire  developpera  1'instruction  publique  donne"e  au  moyen  des 
langues  indigenes  en  usage  sur  les  territoires  de  la  Syria  et  du  Liban. 

II  ne  sera  porte  aucune  atteinte  au  droit  des  communaute's  de  conserver 
leurs  ecoles  en  vue  de  1'instruction  et  de  1'education  de  leurs  membres  dans 
leur  propre  langue  a  condition  de  se  conformer  aux  prescriptions  generates  sur 
1'instruction  publique  edictee  par  1'administration." 


152  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

usual  provisions  are  made  for  the  enforcement  of  Moslem  law 
as  relates  to  person  and  property,  but  no  mention  is  made  of 
the  possible  transfer  of  Moslems  to  the  Christian  community, 
nor  as  regards  the  rights  of  those  who  are  thus  transferred. 
The  difficulties  in  Palestine,  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  are  far 
greater,  naturally,  than  they  are  in  the  Philippine  Islands  ; 
but  one  would  like  to  see  provision  made  for  these  countries  in 
such  outspoken  and  unmistakable  language  as  is  found  in 
Article  3  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  U.S.A.,  August  29,  1916.  (This 
Act  applies  also  to  the  more  than  400,000  Mohammedans  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.}  "...  that  no  law  shall  be  passed  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech,  of  the  press,  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  the  Government  for  redress 
or  grievance.  That  no  law  shall  be  made  respecting  an  establish 
ment  of  religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof,  and 
that  the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession 
and  worship,  without  discrimination  or  preference,  shall  for 
ever  be  allowed :  and  no  religious  test  shall  be  required  for 
the  exercise  of  civil  or  political  rights.  No  public  money  or 
property  shall  ever  be  appropriated,  applied,  donated  or  used, 
directly  or  indirectly,  for  the  use,  benefit  or  support  of  any 
sect,  church,  denomination,  sectarian  instruction  or  system  of 
religion,  or  for  the  use,  benefit  or  support  of  any  priest,  preacher, 
minister  or  other  religious  teacher  or  dignitary  as  such.  Con 
tracting  polygamous  or  plural  marriages  hereafter  is  prohibited. 
That  no  law  shall  be  construed  to  permit  polygamous  or  plural 
marriages.  .  .  ."  x  There  is  a  long  road  to  travel  in  Egypt  and 
Syria  before  such  an  act  can  appear  on  the  statute  books  or  be 
enforced  as  law. 

The  Mandate  for  Palestine  declares,  in  Article  15  :    "  The 

Article  X  reads  :  "  Le  Controle  exerce  par  le  Mandataire  sur  les  missions 
religieuses  en  Syrie  at  ail  Liban  se  bornera  au  maintien  de  1'ordre  publique  et 
de  la  bonne  administration  ;  aucune  atteinte  ne  sera  portee  a  la  libre  activite 
des  dites  missions  religieuses. 

"  Les  membres  de  ces  missions  ne  seront  1'objet  d'aucune  me'sure  restrictive 
au  fait  de  leur  nationalite,  pourvu  que  leur  activite  ne  sorte  pas  du  domaine 
religieux. 

"  Les  missions  religieuses  pourront  egalement  s'occuper  d'ceuvres  d'in- 
struction  et  d'assistance  publique  sous  reserve  du  droit  general  de  reglementa- 
tion  et  de  Controle  du  Mandataire  ou  des  Gouvernements  locaux  en  matiere 
d'education  d'instruction  et  d'assistance  publique." — Correspondance  d'Orient 
— October,  1923.  Paris. 

1  Treaties,  Acts,  etc.,  pp.  82. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  153 

Mandatory  shall  see  that  complete  freedom  of  conscience  and 
the  free  exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship,  subject  only  to  the 
maintenance  of  public  order  and  morals,  are  ensured  to  all. 
No  discrimination  of  any  kind  shall  be  made  between  the 
inhabitants  of  Palestine  on  the  ground  of  race,  religion  or 
language.  No  person  shall  be  excluded  from  Palestine  on  the 
sole  ground  of  his  religious  belief."  But  in  Article  52  we  read  : 
"  Moslem  Religious  Courts  shall  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  in 
matters  of  personal  status  of  Moslems  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Law  of  Procedure  of  the  Moslem  Religious 
Courts  of  the  25th  October,  1333  A.H.,  as  amended  by  any 
Ordinance  or  Rules.  They  shall  also  have,  subject  to  the  pro 
visions  of  any  Ordinance  or  of  the  Order  of  the  2oth  December, 
1921,  establishing  a  Supreme  Council  for  Moslem  Religious 
Affairs,  or  of  any  Orders  amending  the  same,  exclusive  juris 
diction  in  cases  of  the  constitution  or  internal  administration 
of  a  Wakf  constituted  for  the  benefit  of  Moslems  before  a 
Moslem  Religious  Court.  There  shall  be  an  appeal  from  the 
Court  of  the  Qadi  to  the  Moslem  Religious  Court  of  Appeal, 
whose  decision  shall  be  final." 

Other  provisions  are  made  for  appeal  to  the  Chief  Justice, 
and  yet,  as  long  as  Moslem  law  obtains,  one  would  like  to  see  a 
definite  provision  made  for  the  case  of  apostates,  in  order  that 
the  provisions  of  Article  83  may  not  prove  a  dead  letter.  In 
this  Article  we  read  that  "  all  persons  in  Palestine  shall  enjoy 
full  liberty  of  conscience."  l 

For  the  difficulties  which  converts  face  in  Palestine  have  not 
been  altogether  removed  because  of  the  British  mandate.  In 
fact,  in  some  respects,  they  have  increased.  The  actual  situa 
tion  is  described  by  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Mortimer,  of  Nablous  : 2 
"  What  are  the  present  prospects  of  winning  converts  from 
Islam  in  Palestine  ?  Is  it  easier  for  a  Moslem  to  become  a 
Christian  under  the  terms  of  the  British  Mandate  than  it  was 
under  the  Turkish  regime  ?  Is  the  law  now  administered 
Ottoman  or  British,  and,  if  the  latter,  is  there  complete 
religious  freedom  ?  The  law,  as  at  present  administered,  is 
neither  wholly  Ottoman  nor  wholly  British,  but  a  compound  of 

1  Cf.  Treaties,  Acts  and  Regulations  Relating  to  Missionary  Freedom.     Inter 
national  Missionary  Council,  London,  1923,  pp.  21-24. 
1  Church  Missionary  Outlook.  1923. 


154  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

the  two.  The  basis  is  still  Ottoman,  but  from  time  to  time,  as 
occasion  arises,  new  ordinances  are  published  from  Govern 
ment  House,  superseding  or  modifying  the  old  order. 

"  When  the  High  Commissioner,  Sir  Herbert  Samuel,  arrived 
in  Palestine  to  take  up  his  post  he  read  publicly  in  Jerusalem 
and  Haifa,  before  representatives  invited  from  the  surrounding 
districts,  a  letter  from  King  George  V  to  the  people  of  Palestine, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  complete  freedom  of  conscience 
was  proclaimed.  This  clause  was  confirmed  by  the  new  consti 
tution  lately  promulgated  after  the  signing  of  the  Mandate. 
Under  the  old  Ottoman  law  any  one  wishing  to  change  his 
religion  was  compelled,  in  order  to  have  the  change  legalized, 
to  submit  to  an  examination  not  exceeding  two  hours  in 
duration  by  the  local  head  of  his  former  religion,  with  a  view 
of  his  being  dissuaded  from  the  step.  In  the  event  of  his  not 
being  dissuaded,  his  change  of  religion  became  legally  recognized 
and  valid. 

"  In  practice,  however,  so  far  as  Palestine  is  concerned,  the 
law  seems  to  have  been  applied  only  in  the  case  of  Moslems 
wishing  to  change  their  creed,  and  not  vice  versa.  In  one  notable 
case  the  result  of  the  '  examination  '  as  announced  was  an 
obvious  falsification  of  the  facts,  and  was  followed  by  the  dis 
appearance  of  the  convert  !  On  the  other  hand,  an  experienced 
missionary  worker  has  related  that  in  Egypt,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  he  has  effectively  claimed  the  right,  under  this  law,  of 
interviewing  would-be  perverts  to  Islam,  and  that  in  most  cases 
he  was  successful,  generally  after  a  few  minutes'  conservation, 
in  dissuading  the  '  pervert '  from  his  intention.  Quite  often 
the  motive  for  the  change  was  not  religious  conviction,  but  the 
desire  to  contract  a  marriage.  A  new  '  ordinance,'  reviving 
this  Ottoman  law,  has  lately  been  published,  with  modifications, 
e.g.  the  arrangements  for  the  '  examination  '  are  to  be  made 
under  the  direction  of  the  local  governor,  generally  an  English 
man,  and  the  ordinance  is,  of  course,  equally  applicable  to 
Moslem,  Jew,  or  Christian. 

"  This  law,  so  long  as  it  is  equitably  administered  (and  the 
supervision  by  an  English  governor  is  a  guarantee  of  fair  play), 
should  be  welcomed  by  the  missionary,  seeing  that  it  affords 
equal  advantages  to  the  heads  of  each  religion.  At  the  same 


THE    FALSE    DAWN    IN    TURKEY. 

A  scarlet  flag,  of  which  thousands  were  sold  on  the  day  of  the  opening 
of  the  Turkish  Parliament,   December   iyth,   1908.     The  inscriptions  read 
"  Brotherhood,    freedom    and    equality."-  -"  Constitutional    Freedom." 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  155 

time  the  would-be  convert  to  Christianity  must  be  possessed 
of  intellectual  conviction  to  face  the  ordeal  of  a  two  hours' 
cross-examination  at  the  hands  of  the  local  mufti,  and  also  of 
courage,  both  moral  and  physical,  having  survived  his  examina 
tion  to  meet  the  obloquy,  not  to  say  persecution,  at  the  hands 
of  his  former  co-religionists,  which  is  fairly  certain  to  follow. 
The  present  attitude  of  the  Arab  population  in  refusing  to 
recognize  the  new  Palestine  Constitution  under  the  British 
Mandate  tends  to  complicate  matters  should  new  cases  of 
conversion  arise  in  the  near  future." 

We  turn  from  Palestine  to  Mesopotamia.  Here  the  outlook 
is  very  hopeful,  and  the  missionaries  look  forward  to  a  day  of 
complete  religious  freedom  after  centuries  of  fanaticism  and 
oppression  toward  Christian  minorities  under  Turkish  rule. 

In  the  treaty  between  His  Britannic  Majesty  and  His  Majesty 
the  King  of  Iraq,  signed  at  Baghdad  on  October  10,  1922,  we 
have  two  Articles  that  grant  religious  and  missionary  freedom 
to  all  in  this  ancient  land  of  the  Caliphate.  Article  3  reads  : 
"  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Iraq  agrees  to  frame  an  Organic  Law 
for  presentation  to  the  Constituent  Assembly  of  Iraq,  and  to  give 
effect  to  the  said  Law,  which  shall  contain  nothing  contrary  to 
the  provisions  of  the  present  Treaty,  and  sha1!  take  account  of 
the  rights,  wishes  and  interests  of  all  populations  inhabiting  Iraq. 
This  Organic  Law  shall  ensure  to  all  complete  freedom  of  con 
science  and  the  free  exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship,  subject 
only  to  the  maintenance  of  public  order  and  morals.  It  shall 
provide  that  no  discrimination  of  any  kind  shall  be  made 
between  the  inhabitants  of  Iraq  on  the  ground  of  race,  religion 
or  language,  and  shall  secure  that  the  right  of  each  community 
to  maintain  its  own  schools  for  the  education  of  its  own 
members  in  its  own  language,  while  conforming  to  such  educa 
tional  requirements  of  a  general  nature  as  the  Government  of 
Iraq  may  impose,  shall  not  be  denied  or  impaired.  It  shall 
prescribe  the  constitutional  procedure,  whether  legislative  or 
executive,  by  which  decisions  will  be  taken  on  all  matters  of 
importance,  including  those  involving  questions  of  fiscal, 
financial  and  military  policy."  And  Article  12  of  the  same 
Treaty  states  :  "No  measure  shall  be  taken  in  Iraq  to  obstruct 
or  interfere  with  missionary  enterprise  or  to  discriminate 


156  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

against  any  missionary  on  the  ground  of  his  religious  belief  or 
nationality,  provided  that  such  enterprise  is  not  prejudicial  to 
public  order  and  good  government."1 

Far  more  important,  however,  than  all  these  promises  of 
liberty,  on  paper,  is  the  rising  tide  of  freedom  in  the  hearts  of 
all  people  in  all  lands,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  old  Islamic  laws. 
Nationalism  has  done  its  work  if  not  always  wisely  yet  most 
thoroughly. 

Our  correspondents  in  many  Mission  fields  are  almost 
unanimous  in  expressing  the  hope  that  we  are  facing  the  dawn 
of  a  new  day  of  liberty.  Although  some  express  this  hope  with 
fear  and  trembling,  especially  those  who  have  had  such  hopes 
disappointed  after  the  proclamation  of  liberty,  fraternity  and 
equality  in  Turkey.  In  the  old  Moslem  lands,  such  as  inner 
Arabia  and  Afghanistan,  there  are  few  signs  of  new  liberty  for 
converts.  The  entrance  of  missionaries  is  forbidden  in  the  Hejaz 
and  across  the  Indian  Afghan  frontier.  In  Tunisia,  according 
to  a  missionary  residing  at  Kairouan,  "  The  old  intolerant 
attitude  still  exists,  though  some  classes  of  Moslems  may  be 
more  tolerant.  As  far  as  French  authority  or  influence  works, 
certainly  it  would  be  on  the  side  of  toleration,  although  the 
French  government  rather  seeks  to  appear  friendly  to  Islam." 

From  Algeria,  however,  a  missionary  writes  :  "  The  attitude 
of  Moslems  towards  Christianity  is  much  more  tolerant  to-day. 
There  is  great  laxity  with  regard  to  the  Moslem  tenets  of 
drinking  wine  and  eating  pork  ;  there  are  many  so-called 
Moslems  who  take  wine  very  freely.  In  fact,  there  is  more 
drunkenness  amongst  Moslems  of  Algeria  than  amongst 
Europeans.  Yet  there  would  still  be  a  deal  of  persecution  for 
any  Moslem  who  dared  to  confess  Christ  in  preference  to 
Mohammed."  In  Persia  they  tell  us  there  have  been  "  radical 
changes  during  the  past  twenty  years."  The  constitution  has 
given  more  liberty  of  thought  and  action,  and  the  police  depart 
ment  now  handles  many  matters  which  formerly  were  brought 
before  the  religious  courts.  It  also  safeguards  converts  from 
mob  violence  and  fanaticism.  As  one  of  the  missionaries 
expresses  it,  "A  better  day  is  coming,  and  the  harvest  is 
beginning  to  be  gathered  in.  There  may  be  bloodshed  yet,  but 
Christ  will  prevail." 

1  Treaties,  etc.,  pp.  95  and  96. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  157 

Another  correspondent,  writing  in  regard  to  the  French 
colonies  in  Africa,  says  :  "  I  do  not  think  one  can  say  that 
there  is  a  more  tolerant  attitude  on  the  part  of  Moslem  authori 
ties  towards  converts  to  Christianity.  They  may  be  more 
tolerant  towards  natives  who  become  naturalized  French 
citizens,  and  who  may  even  go  the  length  of  wearing  a  European 
hat !  That  would  be  explained  as  having  been  done  from  self- 
interest  and  temporarily.  To  renounce  Islam  and  embrace 
Christianity,  and  to  declare  this  openly  is  quite  another  matter 
in  the  eyes  of  Moslems."  In  Egypt,  however,  there  certainly 
is  a  more  tolerant  attitude  toward  converts.  And  yet  mission 
aries  differ  in  their  interpretation  as  to  the  real  reasons  for  this 
changed  attitude.  One  who  has  had  twenty  years'  experience 
in  every  part  of  this  field,  says  :  "  The  full  enforcement  of  the 
law  against  apostasy  is  not  possible  because  of  the  strong 
supervision  of  British  officials.  What  would  and  will  happen 
when  that  supervision  is  withdrawn  remains  to  be  seen.  The 
new  constitution,  with  its  boasted  gift  of  religious  liberty, 
seems  to  me  to  leave  the  question  of  Moslem  converts  where  it 
was."  While  a  more  hopeful  view  is  expressed  by  Dr.  R.  S. 
McClanahan  :  "  That  Moslems  would  be  even  willing  to  inquire, 
to  attend  meetings,  to  make  investigations,  to  buy  the  Scrip 
tures,  and  to  read  them,  and  also  books  of  discussion  on  the 
subject,  that  Christian  missionaries  should  be  given  so  much 
of  a  hearing  in  public  and  in  private  as  they  are,  and  that  many 
leaders  in  the  movement  for  independence  in  the  country  are 
finding  that  liberty  of  conscience  is  an  essential  of  any  liberty 
at  all ;  these  things  certainly  suggest  a  more  tolerant  attitude. 
I  believe  it  is  simply  the  normal  reaction  which  comes  out  of 
all  this  talk  of  liberty  and  independence  and  freedom,  of  which 
the  atmosphere  has  been  full  for  several  years."  There  have 
been  public  baptisms  and  marriages  of  Moslem  converts  ;  in 
one  case  the  officiating  clergyman,  bridegroom  and  parents 
were  all  converts  from  Islam. 

Tolerance  toward  converts  from  Islam  seems  often  to  be  in 
direct  proportion  to  the  proximity  of  foreign  governments  and 
their  influence,  and  the  impact  of  Western  civilization  in 
breaking  down  fanaticism.  This  is  evident,  for  example,  in 
such  cities  as  Aden  and  Constantinople.  "  Undoubtedly  there 


158  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

is  a  more  tolerant  attitude  now  than  there  was  when  I  came 
to  Aden,"  writes  Dr.  J.  C.  Young.  "At  the  morning  service 
the  people  listen  with  attention  and  often  with  real  reverence, 
and  in  the  school  both  Moslem  and  Jewish  scholars  regularly 
join  together  in  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer  every  morning  at 
the  opening  service  before  the  clinic  begins.  The  people  buy 
Scriptures  more  readily  than  they  did.  One  morning  I  sold 
fifteen  copies,  where  a  few  years  ago  not  a  single  copy  would 
have  been  sold  ;  and  I  am  confident  that  as  the  entrance  of 
God's  Word  ever  giveth  light,  the  time  will  come  when  all 
barriers  will  be  swept  away  in  the  flood  of  blessings  that  will 
come  to  Arabia."  And  from  Constantinople,  a  missionary 
writes  :  '  There  is  a  more  tolerant  attitude  due,  perhaps,  in 
part  to  closer  contact  with  the  Western  world  and  to  greater 
publicity.  One  or  two  Moslems  have  become  Christians  here, 
and  are  living  as  Christians.  I  cannot  say  that  they  are  out  of 
danger,  but  they  have  not  as  yet  been  molested.  I  think  we 
should  appeal  to  the  Moslem  world  to  place  their  religion  on  the 
same  basis  as  Christianity  ;  subject  to  criticism  and  investiga 
tion,  with  freedom  for  every  man  to  change  his  faith  under  stress 
of  conviction.  It  is,  however,  difficult  for  such  an  appeal  to 
reach  the  ignorant  masses  among  whom  it  is  considered  as  a 
crime  for  a  Moslem  to  change  his  faith." 

In  some  cases  the  persecution  of  a  convert  and  his  martyrdom 
has  proved  the  truth  of  the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  Except  a  grain 
of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone.  But  if 
it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  Dr.  Walter  R.  Miller  gives 
this  interesting  account  of  what  happened  in  Nigeria.  "About 
twenty  years  before  our  coming,  a  Mallam  of  Kano,  passing 
through  Egypt  from  Mecca,  heard  the  Gospel  ;  and,  only 
feebly  understanding  it,  had  apparently  been  impressed  by  the 
grandeur  of  the  personality  of  Christ.  He  returned  to  Kano 
and  preached  what  he  knew  ;  and  was  tortured  and  killed 
because  he  refused  to  give  up  what  he  believed.  As  a  direct 
consequence  of  this,  nearly  twenty  years  later,  or  possibly  more, 
many  of  his  disciples  who  had  fled  came  under  the  sound  of  the 
Gospel.  A  little  Christian  village  was  started  here,  and  a 
community  of  over  one  hundred  and  thirty  souls  lived  under 
Christian  law  and  teaching,  and  many  were  baptized.  Alas, 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  159 

sleeping  sickness  has,  during  the  last  four  years,  nearly  anni 
hilated  this  little  community  !  "  But  Dr.  Miller  goes  on  to  say, 
"  I  cannot  say  that  there  is  any  change  of  attitude  on  the  part 
of  Moslems  here.  I  believe — nay,  I  have  proof — that  were  the 
British  power  removed,  every  Christian  convert  would  be 
executed  at  once.  It  is  an  anomaly  that  the  British  Government 
prevents  a  Christian  inheriting  from  his  Moslem  father,  even 
though  the  latter  and  his  son  have  been  living  in  most  friendly 
relation  before  the  father's  death." 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  features  in  the  whole  situation  is 
that  educated  Moslems  in  all  lands  are  beginning  to  have  a 
more  liberal  outlook.  They  are  conscious  that  political  liberty 
can  exist  only  where  the  rights  of  minorities  are  respected,  and 
that  Islamic  law  must  be  modified  in  order  to  secure  the  free 
dom  desired.  An  open-minded  Turk  in  conversation  with 
Dr.  W.  Nesbitt  Chambers  at  Adana  expressed  himself  in  terms 
such  as  these  :  "  The  past  six  hundred  years  demonstrate  that 
the  Turks  of  themselves  cannot  make  progress.  The  Magyars, 
the  Roumanians,  the  Bulgarians  and  others,  freed  from 
Turkish  domination,  made  advance.  Compare  Sofia  and 
Adrianople — neighbouring  cities.  If  the  Ulema,  the  Khojas 
and  other  leaders  had  been  men  of  culture  and  education  and 
serious  and  open-minded,  they  would  have  considered  the 
needs  of  the  country  and  would  have  introduced  those  changes 
necessary  for  the  welfare  and  best  interests  of  the  people  of  the 
country  in  all  phases  of  life.  Six  hundred  years  of  this  is 
sufficient.  Now  is  the  time  to  inaugurate  those  movements 
that  will  make  for  the  peace  and  the  best  interests  of  all  the 
people.  .  .  . 

"  Is  it  not  time  for  the  Turkish  race,  possessed  of  excellent 
qualities  that  would  make  for  progress  if  they  had  the  oppor 
tunity  and  were  properly  led,  to  consider  with  deep  seriousness 
this  condition  and  seek  a  remedy  ?  Open  the  windows  and  let  in 
the  light  ! 

"  Must  we  not  admit  that  Islam  is  too  small  a  religion,  too 
circumscribed,  too  formal  ?  Must  we  not  place  the  responsi 
bility  of  our  backwardness,  and  not  only  ours  but  the  backward 
ness  of  Moslem  lands,  at  the  door  of  Islam  ?  We  are  challenged 
for  an  answer.  Should  we  not  seek  the  reason  in  what  appears 


i6o  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

to  be  the  fact,  that  Islam  does  not  furnish  the  high  ideal,  the 
inspiration  to  investigation,  the  desire  for  progress  in  the 
different  phases  of  life,  material,  social  and  spiritual  ? 

'  The  holy  Koran  is  in  a  language  known  to  but  compara 
tively  few  in  the  Moslem  world  ;  the  repetition  of  its  words, 
and  other  religious  exercises  enjoined,  do  not  develop  moral 
excellence,  or,  as  history  shows,  an  impulse  for  progress  and 
human  welfare.  Is  the  assertion  that  the  Koran  supersedes  the 
Gospel  tenable  ?  Is  it  necessary  that  Allah  should  withdraw 
a  revelation  or  substitute  a  different  one  already  given  ?  We 
recognize  Jesus  the  Messiah  of  the  Gospel  as  a  prophet  of  God. 
Let  us  turn  to  what  light  He  may  give  on  the  human  problem. 
Let  that  stand  which  can  give  light  and  a  lead." l 

In  the  Persian  press  a  Moslem  editor  expressed  himself 
regarding  the  need  of  a  new  liberty  as  follows  ("Azad,"  i.e. 
Freedom,  published  at  Tabriz,  Jan.  i,  1922)  :  "  Oh,  Persians 
of  the  Shiah  sect,  either  you  believe  or  you  do  not  believe. 
But  those  who  do  believe,  let  them  give  ear  and  hear  what  I 
am  saying.  How  unworthy  are  those  who  confess  that  Islam 
is  a  religious  system  both  spiritual  and  worldly,  but  who  forget 
that  a  tree  must  be  known  by  its  fruits.  While,  as  you  say, 
this  religion  has  the  happiness  of  this  world  to  offer  as  well  as 
the  coming  world,  yet  in  every  point  all  Moslems  over  the 
world  are  low,  poor,  unclean,  without  civilization,  foolish, 
ignorant  and  in  general  they  are  two  hundred  years  behind 
American  and  European  Christians,  and  even  behind  Zoroas- 
trians.  .  .  .  Refuse  to  tie  yourselves  as  the  followers  all  of  one 
man  and  say  that  his  command  is  the  command  of  God  and  the 
prophet,  and  second  you  can  treat  your  various  tribes  so  that 
they  will  not  be  tools  in  the  hands  of  your  neighbour  nations. 
If  you  do  these  things  I  assure  you  that  your  kingdom  will  be 
great.  Therefore  arise  and  take  your  sword  and  dig  up  all 
those  thorns  which  have  grown  up  around  Mohammed — may 
the  blessing  of  God  be  upon  him  and  his  children — so  that  we 
may  be  blessed  both  in  this  world  and  the  world  to  come. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  any  suggestions  or  any  advice  from 
any  reader  of  this  paper."  2 

1  The  Moslem  World,  vol.  xi.  pp.  232,  233,  234. 

2  Robert  E.  Speer's  Report  on  India  and  Persia,  pp.  381-382. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA.  161 

Not  only  in  Turkey  and  in  Persia,  but  in  Mecca  itself,  voices 
have  been  pleading  for  religious  liberty.  In  1899  a  conference 
was  held,  or  is  supposed  to  have  been  held,  at  Mecca,  on  the 
problem  of  Islam's  decay  and  disintegration.  The  full  report 
of  these  discussions  make  an  interesting  study  of  Islamic 
thought,  and  was  published  at  Cairo  under  the  title,  Um-al-Qura, 
i.e.  "  Mother  of  all  cities,"  Mecca.  Eighty-six  causes  for  the 
decline  and  disintegration  of  Islam  are  noted.  One  of  the 
delegates  said  the  decline  of  Islam  is  due  "  not  to  our  rulers, 
because  they  are  only  selected  by  their  subjects.  What  we 
are,  our  rulers  will  be.  I  believe  that  the  cause  of  our  calamity 
is  the  loss  of  liberty.  We  do  not  know  what  liberty  means, 
because  we  do  not  have  it.  The  one  who  enjoys  it  can  define 
it  thus  :  it  is  the  virtue  by  which  man  is  free  in  word  and  in 
action,  and  in  no  way  or  manner  is  antagonized.  It  must  touch 
several  departments  ;  it  must  advocate  human  rights,  and  hold 
rulers  responsible,  because  they  are  the  representatives  of  the 
public.  They  should  not  hestitate  to  execute  justice,  and  ought 
not  to  be  afraid  in  giving  the  needed  advice.  And  again  there 
must  be  freedom  in  education  and  freedom  in  public  speech  ; 
freedom  of  the  press  and  freedom  in  scientific  discussions. 
And  there  must  be  liberty  in  doing  justice,  so  that  no  one 
should  fear  a  man  who  is  wicked,  treacherous  and  perfidious. 
There  must  be,  above  all,  a  liberty  in  religion,  the  virtue  that 
will  vindicate  the  rights  of  men  and  secure  the  honour  of  the 
family  ;  that  will  encourage  education  and  make  it  thrive. 
Liberty  is  the  soul  of  religion.  Doubtless,  liberty  is  the  dearest 
thing  to  man  after  his  life.  To  lose  it  is  to  banish  hope,  and 
check  labour  ;  to  let  the  soul  expire,  the  laws  die  and  the  rules 
be  transgressed." 

Surely  when  such  voices  are  heard  in  Turkey,  Persia,  and 
even  from  Mecca,  we  may  take  courage.  The  cry  for  national 
independence  includes  far  more  than  a  desire  for  self-govern 
ment.  Islam  itself  must  to-day  face  a  crisis  in  the  hearts  of 
Moslems.  The  character  of  the  Koran,  the  life  of  the  Prophet 
of  Arabia,  and  the  legislation  based  upon  both,  all  conflict  with 
religious  freedom.  Missionaries  and  converts  may  together 
find  strength  in  the  thought  that  Islam  is  being  brought  before 
the  judgment  of  history.  This  judgment  will  be  more  relentless, 


162  THE  LAW  OF  APOSTASY  IN  ISLAM. 

more  searching,  more  just  than  any  private  judgment  could  be. 
It  alone  is  final.  In  this  faith  we  can  rest  and  wait.  Mean 
while,  there  will  arise  in  all  lands  an  ever-increasing  number  of 
converts  from  Islam  who  will  fearlessly  face  the  law  of  apostasy 
because  of  their  love  for  Jesus  Christ. 


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