I LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BP161 .Z973 C.2 ZwEMER^ Samuel Marinus, 1867-1952. ISL^, A CHALLENGE TO FAITH; ISLAM: A CHALLENGE TO FAITH ^^"^^^fA^^^^^ PIONEERS IX MOSLEM LANDS India. Persia, Arabia, Turkey, Syria ^in^Ny^^ ISLAM A CHALLENGE TO FAITH STUDIES ON THE MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION AND THE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE MOHAMMEDAN WORLD FROM THE STANDPOINT OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS BY SAMUEL m/zWEMER, F.R.G.S, SECRETARY, STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT MISSIONARY IN ARABIA NEW YORK STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS 1907 Copyright, 1907, by STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS TO MY WIFE (TvyKoivoovrf piov hv rxfBXi^ei Kai Iv r^ (iao-LXEioL Kai vito/xovy lrj6ov Xpiorov "There are comparative religions, but Christianity is not one of them." — Joseph Parker. "To talk, as some do, as if the religion of the prophet of Arabia were well suited to the Semites, or to the Mogul and Turkish races, or, again, to the Negro, is merely to show one- self culpably ignorant at once of human nature, of Christian truth, and even of Islam itself. Such platitudes will never satisfy anyone who has at heart the highest interests of his fellowmen. "Just as was the case at Rome at the close of one of the great aeons in the world's history, so now among ourselves there are men, priding themselves on their enlightenment and liberality of sentiment, who — as their prototypes worshipped Isis and Se- rapis, or, again, followed Epicurus or Plato, according as the varying fashion of the day might impel them — are ready to call themselves now Agnostics, now Buddhists, and now Mohamme- dans, as the fancy may strike them. Such men may, perhaps, bolster up Islam for a time, and thus, for a time, retard its inevitable downfall. But, in spite of their utmost efforts, the true nature of this religious system will become generally known, and will then be seen to be indefensible. Mohammed is, in ev- ery way, unfitted to be the ideal of a single human being. In spite, therefore, of its many half-truths borrowed from other sys- tems, it is not too much to say that Islam has preserved, in the life and character of its founder, an enduring and ever active principle of degradation and decay." — W. St. Clair Tisdall. PREFACE The churches of Christendom are at last awaking to the fact that one of the great unsolved missionary prob- lems of the Twentieth Century is the evangelization of the Mohammedan world. The Cairo Conference reports, the Haystack Centennial volume, the organization of new missionary societies for work among Moslems, and the recent statements concerning the Moslem peril in West Africa and the Soudan, all carry this message to the churches and the student-world of Christendom. The Cairo Conference appeal, voicing the opinion of many leading missionaries from every Moslem land, was pri- marily a call for trained men from the universities and professional schools. And this appeal, in the words of Mr. John R. Mott, ''has laid upon students as never before the responsibility of reaching the Mohammedan world." But if we are to reach that world with the gospel of Christ we must first know of it and know it. There is no lack of literature on Mohammed and Islam, as is evi- dent from the very extensive bibliography of the subject in all the languages of Europe, not to speak of the litera- ture written by Moslems themselves. But at the same time there is great ignorance even among cultured people of the real character of Mohammed and the real doctrine and moral value of Islam, as well as of its widespread aggressive power as a missionary religion. To present the subject anew, therefore, needs no apology, especially VI 11 PREFACE since much of the best Hterature on Islam is inaccessible to most readers, being in a foreign language. This book lays no claim to originality save in the form in which the results of the labors of others in this wide field are presented. The bibliographies given for each chapter show the sources of information. The purpose of the book is to present Islam as a challenge to the faith and enterprise of the church. It has a message for those who believe the Gospel and believe that the Gos- pel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth — to the Mohammedan no less than to the heathen. Its argument, following the order of the chapters, can be expressed in a single sentence: Islam, the great- est of all the non-Christian religions is not of divine but of human origin (I and II), altho so widely extended (III), and it is wholly inadequate, in spite of much that is true, to meet man's needs intellectually (IV), spiri- tually (V), or morally (VI), as proved by its own his- tory (VII) ; therefore the present condition of Moslem landS; with their unprecedented opportunities and crises (VIII), and the work which has already been accom- plished (IX and X), are a challenge to evangelize the whole Mohammedan world in this generation (XI and XII). Whether the facts presented and the authorities quoted prove the truth of the argument is left to the candid judg- ment of the reader. New York, October, 1907. CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM I Importance of the Subject.— To the statesman and the Chris- tian—Why was Islam triumphant?— The condition of Arabia be- fore Islam — Civilization. Pagan Arabia.— The tribes— The trade routes— The political situation — Roman rule in Mecca. Social Conditions. — The position of women— chivalry — polygamy and marriage — Islam no improvement. Pre-Islamic literature. — The poets — Okatz — The science of writing and its materials. Arabian Polytheism. — Shahristani's testimony — The various re- ligions of Arabia — Sacred places — Sacrifices — The gods — Allah — — General decadence of old religions — Reasons for it. The Jews of Arabia. — Origin — Their colonies and location — How Mohammed could borrow from them — Their legends and stories — How much Islam owes them. Christianity in Arabia Before Islam. — When did it enter? — Early diffusion — Monks — Simon Stylites — The Christians of Yemen — Bishoprics — The martyrs of Nejran — Abraha and his expedition against Mecca — Arabian Christianity — Mohammed not ignorant of Christianity — But he lacked sympathy. The Hanifs — Their name and beliefs — Examples — One of them becomes a Christian. Islam a Composite Religion. — Mohammed the genius who col- lected the material and put new life into the old faiths Page i CHAPTER II MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET OF ISLAM Introductory. — Mohammed's birth, his name and the reasons for his wide influence — What a believing Moslem thinks of it. A Moslem Portrait. — Kamal-ud-Din Ad-Damiri and his book — The pen-portrait of a perfect man — What Aisha and Ali said in regard to his life, character and death. X CONTENTS The factors in Mohammed's Life.— Wis environment — The four ► chief factors— (i) Political factor— The time in which he lived — (2) Religious factor— The Hanifs— (3) The family factor- Power of the Koreish— (4) The genius of Mohammed— Khadi- jah's influence. The First Period of His Life.— Date of birth— Sent out to be nursed — The orphan boy's plaint — His first journey— A shepherd —His mercantile expedition and marriage — First revelations — Early converts — Persecution — Flight of converts to Abyssinia- Death of Khadijah— Akaba— The Flight to Medina. The Second Period. — Change of circumstances and mission — Hostilities against Koreish— Bedr— Its cruelty — Ohod— War against the Jews — Zainab — The campaign of Khaibar — First pil- grimage — Entrance into Mecca— Other expeditions and revolts — Last days — Death of Mohammed. Personal Appearance. — Height — Complexion — Beard — Com- manding presence — Clarke's reference. His Character. — A problem of history — Various opinions — The theory of two periods in his life and character — Sprenger's re- marks on his epileptic fits — His comparison of Mohammed's ca- reer to Goethe's Faust — The question of Mohammed's moral character — The three standards— Mohammed, in the light of the New Testament — The prophet and the pagan code of morals— Margoliouth's opinion of early Moslem morality — Mohammed and his own law — His relation to women — The superabounding sensuality of Mohammed — The sources of our information all Moslem, and therefore in Mohammed's favor. The Apotheosis of Mohammed. — How the portrait of history became idealized— Mohammed's titles — His honor — Place in Heaven — Use of his name — Man made in its image — He holds the keys of Heaven — Is a mediator — The story of the wicked Jew. The Coronation Hymn of Islam. — El Burda — Editions and translations — The author— Story of its composition— Contents- Character — Influence — Source — Object — Was Mohammed a bea- con light? — Mohammed as an example, and his influence. .Page 29 CHAPTER III THE SPREAD OF ISLAM Islam a Missionary Religion. — Max Miiller's classification — A missionary faith from the beginning — Rapid spread — Extent to- day—Its conquest of North Africa — Akba's challenge. Three Periods of Conquest.— The days of the caliphs — World- ly motives in the spread of Islam- More recent advances under the Turks, Moguls and in the present century. Arabia and Syria.— The apostles of the sword— Revolt of the CONTENTS XI Arab tribes after Mohammed's death — Khalid's campaigns — Ara- bia subdued — Syria — Chaldea — The failure of Islam in converting the Christians. Africa. — Three periods of conquest — Egypt invaded — Tripoli — Morocco — Three streams of immigration — Islam in Abyssinia — It crosses the Sahara — Sokoto— Abdul Kadir— The Mahdi — The Senusi dervvishes — Their power and strongholds. Europe. — Islam enters Spain — Italy — The Ottoman Turks in Europe — Physical reasons for limit of northern conquest — Ar- nold's account. Persia and Central Asia. — Battle of Nehavend — Conquest of Persia — Significance for Islam — Bokhara and Turkestan — Present condition — The testimony of a missionary. Cliiua. — An example of propagation without the sword — Early commercial intercourse with Arabia — Wahab bin Kabsha — Mos- lems in Canton — Arab settlements — Character of Islam in China — Present extent and growth — Method of propaganda — Will China become Moslem? India. — Its large Moslem population — How Islam entered — Condition of India in the eighth century — The first invasion — Sindh conquered — Examples of butchery — The invasion from the North in the tenth century — Mahmud, the idol-breaker — Moham- med Baktiyar — The Mogul emperors — Islam in Southern India — Result of conquest. The Malay Archipelago. — Sumatra — The Moluccas — The Phil- ippines as an example of how Islam won its way — Meccan pil- grims in Sumatra — Islam in Java — The Mohammedan peril — A lost opportunity — Islam made its conquest unchallenged. Islam Our Example. — In zeal for the faith — Their preaching and fighting — Mohammed's saying — Contrast of Moslem propo- ganda with Christian — Present-day methods — In Africa — The Moslem sword and ours — We should do more than they. .Page 55 CHAPTER IV THE FAITH OF ISLAM Scope of the chapter — The relation of Moslem faith to practice — The six articles of their creed — Sources of this belief. 1. The Moslem Idea of God. — His Unity— His character— The opinion of Hauri — Of James Freeman Clarke — How distinguished from Judaic and Christian monotheism. 2. The Doctrine of Angels. — Three species of spiritual beings: (a) Angels — Classification — The four archangels — Recording angels — Avenging angels — Guardian angels. XU CONTENTS (b) Jinn — Their nature, power, abode — Cause of superstitions. (c) The devils — Harut and Marut. 3. The Books of God. — Number — Classification — Condition. The Koran — Its size — Chapters — Beauty — Specimen verses — Contents — Its defects. 4. The Prophets of God. — Their number — The six major prophets, or apostles — The minor prophets — Mohammed, accord- ing to history and tradition — Jesus Christ — His birth, miracles, ascension — His return and death. 5. The Day of Judgment. — Resurrection — Paradise — Hell — Signs of the last day. 6. Predestination. — Nature and practical effect of this belief — ■ Omar Khayyam's quatrain — How distinguished from Christian teaching Page 85 CHAPTER V THE PRACTICE OF ISLAM Introductory. — The roots and the branches of Islam — The five pillars of religion — All based on tradition, as well as on the Koran. Tradition. — Immense number of traditions — Authenticity — A specimen tradition — How handed down — How regarded — The five duties : 1. Confession of the Creed. — Its brevity — Its value — Frequency of its use — How it must be repeated — Its effect on the spread of Islam. 2. Prayer. — Moslem prayer distinguished from Christian prayer — Prayer must be in Arabic — Posture in prayer — A praying-com- pass. — Purification as a preliminary to prayer — The use of the toothbrush — Ablutions — Moral purity — Tha proper times for prayer — The contents of a prayer — Special prayers — Vain repeti- tions — The call to prayer. 3. The Month of Fasting. — Origin — Importance — Ramazan — Duration of fast — Its character — Its strictness — Who are exempt — Other fasts, 4. Legal Alms. — Origin of term used — Rate of these alms — To- tal — On whom bestowed — The wonderful hospitality of Moham- med and his followers. 5. The Pilgrimage. — Its influence on Islam — Number of annual pilgrims to Mecca — Route — Summary of the ceremonies — Circum- ambulation of the Kaaba — The prayer — The stoning — The sacri- fice — The veneration of the Black Stone. CONTENTS Xlll The Kaaba and Its Black Stone. — Legend of its origin — Shape and dimensions — The Mosque — Other objects of interest — Early stone-worship in Arabia — The Black Stone an aerolite — On whom the pilgrimage is incumbent — Other places of pilgrimage — Condi- tion of the Sacred Cities. Other Religious Practices. — (a) Circumcision — (b) Feasts — The two chief feast-days — The Feast of Sacrifice — Its origin and character — (c) Jihad, or religious warfare — Taught by the Ko- ran — Attempted apology for this teaching — Marcus Dod's reply — The witness of history — The witness of the Moslem press on this subject — The use of the sword an open question — Saying of Mo- hammed on its use — A Jihad for Jesus Christ Page 99 CHAPTER VI THE ETHICS OF ISLAM The Basis of Moslem Ethics. — Definition — Highest good, vir- tue, and the moral law in Islam. Its Real Character. — Some breadth, but no depth — The moral life consists in externals — No inner struggle — Prohibitions — This form of ethics a retrogression. The Moslem Idea of Sin. — Definition — Classification — Terms used — No distinction between moral and ceremonial law — Exam- ples — Allah not immutably just. .»* Their Lozv Ideal of Character. — Mohammed as ideal of con- duct — Raymund Lull's indictment — Mohammed's idea of truthful- ness — His cruelty — Lying as a fine art. Islam and the Decalogue. — Mohammed's nine commandments — Interpretation of the commandments — Things allowed by Moslem ethics. Polygamy, Divorce, and Slavery. — These are inseparable from Islam — Effect on morals — The privileges of a true believer — ■ Status of women — Marriage. The Slave Trade. — Allowed — Legislated for — Position of a slave — Present-day traffic — Slave market of Mecca — ^Jiddah port of entry. The Social Bankruptcy of Islam. — ''By their fruits ye shall know them" — The Bedouin Arabs on Islam — Result of Islam in Turkey — In the Soudan — In Arabia — Professor Vambery on Mo- hammedan misrule. Moslem Ethics a Plea for Missions. — The testimony of Bos- worth Smith — Superiority of Christian ethics — Our duty to carry it to the Moslem Page 1 19 XIV CONTENTS CHAPTER VII DIVISION, DISINTEGRATION, AND REFORM Why Islam Became Divided. — Contact and conflict with older civilizations — The Aryan against the Semite — The prophet's life as a factor. Number of 5"^r/j.— Classification — Table. The Sunnis. — Their basis of faith — Philosophy — Schools of theology — Difference of the four schools — Books. The ShiaJis. — Their hatred of the orthodox party — Divisions — The Imamate — The Ivlahdi— Effect of this teaching— Other dif- ferences — How extremes meet — Number. Other Sects. — The Ghalias — The Jabariyah — Kadariyah — Wild speculations on the form of God — Disintegration — Pantheistic and other influences — Especially in Persia — Mysticism in Islam. SiiHism. — Origin of the name — Leading doctrines — The perfect man — Sufi poetry — Examples — The story of Imad-ud-Din's ex- perience. The Derivish Orders. — Their power — Obedience to Leadership — Poverty — Journeys — Classification — Orders — Political aim and power. The Bahis and Behais. — A protest against Islam — Real origin — The "Doors" — Mirza Ali Mohammed — His martyrdom — Division of the sect — Significance of Babism — A missionary's opinion on the Behais — Their number — Morality. The Wahahis. — Attempt at reformation — Abd-ul-Wahib — His education — His aim — His method — How is his teaching distin- guished from orthodox Islam? — His conflict ^Jith Arabs, Turks, and British — Was it a reformation? — The verdict of Arabia. Page 135 CHAPTER VIII THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MOSLEM WORLD Islam a World-wide Religion. — Present extent in numbers, area, and languages — The cosmopolitan character of the pilgrim- age at Mecca — Number of pilgrims annually. Numbers. — Estimates, rather than complete census — Various in- dependent estimates of total population — Discrepancy. Geographical Distribution. — In Africa — Alarming increase — Dr. Miller's testimony — Direction of spread in Africa — Islam in Asia and Europe — Lands predominantly Moslem — Islam in India — Bengal — China — The Philippines — Russia. Distribution by Languages. — Arabic — Its extent and influence CONTENTS XV m the Moslem world — Other Moslem languages — Translations of the Koran — Of the Bible in Moslem tongues — The literary lan- guages of Islam. Political Division. — Present condition a proof of God's hand in history — The caliphate in 907 A. D, and to-day — Table of politi- cal division of the Mohammedan world — Moslems under Chris- tian rulers. Present Political Unrest. — Dar-ul-Harb and Dar-ul-Islam — The Zimmis — Cause of unrest — The Mecca pamphlet — The call to re- bellion in the paper, Ez-Zahir — Egypt and India to rise against England — Testimony of Mon. G. Honotaux — Unrest in the Dutch East Indies — Mass-meeting in Calcutta — Is the danger real or is it a political scarecrow? — Policy of European governments to- ward Islam — The British in West Africa — In Egypt — The Dutch in Java. Social Condition of Moslem Lands. — The law of cause and ef- fect operative — Arabia an example of what Islam does for a people, socially and morally — Conditions in other lands — Balu- chistan — Moslem morals in India — In Africa — The slave-market at Mecca. Illiteracy. — Its appalling extent and per cent. — In Tripoli, Egypt, Algiers — In Turkey and Arabia — The system of education in Mecca — The curriculum — Illiteracy in Persia and Baluchistan — Surprising illiteracy among Moslems in India — Superstition and bigotry a result of illiteracy. The Intellectual Awakening. — The new wine and the old wine- skins — The New Islam — Sir Sayad Ahmad of Aligarh — His reforms — Present tendency in India — Aligarh College — Attempted reforms at Cairo — The press and the New Islam — A crisis for the old faith — Mustapha Pasha Kamil's address in London — The future of Islam Page 155 CHAPTER IX MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS A Neglected Problem. — Long neglect and reasons for it — Lull's testimony — Modern neglect illustrated. Early Attitude of the Church. — Islam a foe and a scourge — Mutual hatred — Ignorance of Islam — Alanus de Insulis. John Damascenus and Petrus Venerahilis. — John of Damas- cus and his book on Islam — The books of Petrus, and his method —Results. Raytnund Lull. — His character and attainments — Early life — Conversion — Studies — Preaching — Exile — Martyrdom — Message. Francis Xavier. — His visit to Lahore — Discussions — Apology — Its contents. XVI CONTENTS Henry Martyn and Missions in India. — The influence of Mar- tyn — Outline of his Hfe — Arrival in India — His Journey to Ara- bia and Persia — His translation of the Scriptures — How he pre- sented it — His death — His successors — Work in India after Mar- tyn. Persia and Arabia. — Pfander's work — Other missions — Keith Falconer and Arabia — Present forces. The Turkish Empire. — Well covered with missions — The work for non-Moslems — Original purpose of the Levant missions — What has been accomplished — Indirect results — The Arabic Bible. North Africa. — Earliest efforts in Egypt — The U. P. mission — The C. M. S. — The North Africa mission — Unoccupied regions and multitudes unreached — Darkest Africa, Malaysia. — Work in Sumatra — Results — Java — Large number of converts — Methods Page 185 CHAPTER X METHODS AND RESULTS Methods Used to Reach Moslems. — Faith essential — Its char- acter — The distribution of the Bible — Medical missions — Educa- tional institutions — Preaching — Its method, possibility, character — The place of controversy — Its use and abuse — Table of books — How to deal with inquirers. Results. — Indirect and direct — The strategic centres already oc- cupied — List of Moslem cities which have over 100.000 population — Its significance — Bible translations — Other literature — Converts — In India — Egypt — Persia — Turkey — North Africa — Sumatra's harvest — Eighteen thousand converts in Java — A word from Bok- hara Page 209 CHAPTER XI THE PROBLEM AND THE PERH, The Evangelization of the Mohammedan World. — Mills and the Haystack Band — The difficulties of the problem — Sheikh Abd- uI-Hak's challenge — How we must meet it — The factors in the problem. Occupied and Unoccupied Lands. — Classification of the lands that are Moslem — India and China — The border-marches of Is- lam — Egypt as a strategic centre — The great cities — Unoccupied fields — The Central Soudan — Its area and population — Destitution — Rev. J. Aitkin's testimony — Asia and the unoccupied Moslem CONTENTS XVll fields — Twelve lands unreached — The story of a lost opportunity — Kafiristan — The Philippines — Russia and China — Is it impos- sible ? The Moslem Peril. — Where Islam is on the increase — The dan- ger in West Africa — Testimony of Pastor Wiirz — Baluchistan — Bengal — Mission methods of Moslems in India — Professor Carl Meinhof on the peril in Africa — Uganda an example. Pan-Islamism. — Defined — Its press — Methods — Character, ac- cording to Lord Cromer — Threefold characteristics — Retrograde tendency — Political importance — What of the future? — Dr. Geo. E. Post's words — The parable of the locusts — Wanted Mis- sions Page 223 CHAPTER XII A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Unprecedented Opportunities. — Is there real danger? — Hopeful- ness of the situation — Political division of the Moslem world — Influence of Christian rule — Distances and dangers diminished — The challenge of the press — Literary work for China — Medical missions — Educational opportunities — Especially in Persia — The disintegration of Islam — In India — Various sects and their sig- nificance. The Cairo Conference. — Its origin — Character — Appeal — For more missionaries — Better preparation — The call for women workers to meet a great need — What it will cost. TJie Challenge. — The kind of workers needed — Testimony of the Bishop of Lahore — Of Dr. Wherry — The great need is for volunteers — Christ is waiting — God wills it — "Thy will be done" ' — Islam a challenge to faith Page 243 MAPS Showing Spread of Islam Facing page 56 Showing Present Extent of Islam Facing page 156 Unoccupied Mission Fields in Africa Page 159 Showing Distribution of Moslems in India Page 160 The Soudan Page 205 TABLES Table of Mohammed's Genealogy Facing page 34 Analysis of the Borrowed Elements of Islam. Facing page 86 Analysis of Islam as a System Developed from Its Creed, Facing page 102 Table of Some Arabic Controversial Literature, Facing page 214 General Statistical Survey of Mohammedan Lands, Facing page 166 APPENDICES A. — Chronological Table of Important Events in History OF Islam and of Missions to Moslems Page 259 B. — William Gifford Palgrave's Characterization of Allah Page 263 C. — Thomas Patrick Hughes' Characterization of Mo- hammed Page 265 D. — List of Missionary Societies Working Among Mos- lems Page 268 E. — Select Bibliography for Further Reference and Study Page 270 Index Page 285 xviii ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Pioneers in Moslem Lands Frontispiece Pages from the Koran, in Early Cufic Characters, Facing Page 8 The Kaaba 14 Copies of the Koran Worn by Moslems while Traveling. , 20 Northwestern Part of Mecca and the Sacred Mosque. ... 38 Facsimile Title-page Moslem Tract (Carlyle's Lecture ON Mohammed) 40 Tunis — General View, and Mosque Zebonna 62 Interior of a Mosque in China 70 Moslem Pilgrims from Borneo at Mecca 78 Court of the University Mosque El Azhar, Cairo 90 Fountain in a Mosque, Algiers 104 Plan of the Kaaba 112 Moslem Pilgrims at Mecca from Busrah and Zanzibar 126 Moslem Pilgrims at Mecca from Yemen and Morocco 136 Moslem Pilgrims at Mecca from Bahrein, Bagdad, and K.\- bul 140 Moslem Pilgrims at Mecca from India and Bokhara 164 Egyptian Soldiers Escorting the Mahmal 172 Moslem Day School, Tunis 176 Market Place of Bamum, West Africa 180 Facsimile First Page Manuscript, Pfander's "Balance of Truth" 198 A Mission House, Cairo 204 Bible Society Agents and Colporteurs in Egypt 210 Facsimile (reduced) First Page "Orient and Occident".. 216 Students of Assiut Training College, Egypt 228 Hausa Moslems at Prayer, Kamerun, West Africa 234 Hospital at Bahrein 244 New Method of Reformation in Persia 246 Great Mosque at Delhi 250 XIX "Islam — the mightiest system of monotheism the world has ever known, 'shadowing with wings' the three continents of Asia and Africa, having, in its progress, stamped out of existence tens of thousands of Christian churches and riveted upon 200,000,000 of men its doctrines, polity, ceremonial, and code of laws, and imbedded itself in the Arabic language like the nummulite fos- sils in the ledges of Jebel Mokattam, until it stands to-day like a towering mountain range whose summits are gilded with the light of the great truths of God's existence and unity, and whose foothills run down into the sloughs of polygamy and oppression and degradation of women." — H. H. Jessup. xz THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM "The epigraphic evidence which Dr. Glaser has presented to us shows that the rise of Mohammedanism was not the strange and unique phenomenon it has hitherto been thought to be. It had been prepared for centuries previously. Arabia had for ages been the home of culture and the art of writing, and for about two hundred years before the birth of Mohammed his country- men had been brought into close contact with the Jewish faith. Future research will doubtless explain fully how great was his debt to the Jewish masters of Mecca and the Sabean kingdom of Southern Arabia." — Professor A. H. Sayce, in the Independent. THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM Importance of the Subject. — In order to understand the genesis of Islam, the mightiest. of the non-Christian faiths, we must know something of the condition of Arabia be- fore the birth of Mohammed. Then, perhaps, we shall be able to discover the factors that influenced the hero- prophet, the environment that stirred his genius, and the allied forces which made it possible for him so powerfully to sway the destinies of his own generation and change the current of the empire of all Western Asia and North- ern Africa. To the student of history the wonderful rise and rapid spread of Islam is an epoch in the records of the past; to the diplomat and the statesman Islam is a present-day problem of gigantic proportions and perplexing factors; to Christendom Islam is a challenge of faith that has not yet been met, and a barrier stretching from Persia to Morocco that has not yet been broken down. **To the follower of Christ, and especially to the student of Chris- tian history, Islam possesses a melancholy interest pe- culiar to it among the religions of the world. It alone can claim to have met and vanquished Christianity. Is- lam arose in a region accessible to Christianity, for Mec- ca is only eight hundred miles from Jerusalem, over a road travelled by Mohammed in his youth. It arose at a I 2 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH time when Christianity should have evangeHzed Arabia, for in the six centuries by which the gospel of Christ preceded the creed of Mohammed, Christianity had spread to the borders of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, had revolutionized the greatest empire known to ancient history, and had created a vast literature, and a new learning. Why did it lose in Asia? What were the causes of defeat ? Why was it possible for Mohammed to arise in that age of the world ?"^ When we consider, however, the condition of pagan- ism in Arabia before the rise of Islam, and know some- thing of the large Jewish settlements and of early Chris- tianity in the Peninsula, together with the strategic and unique importance of Mecca as a centre of pilgrimage and commerce long before Mohammed, some of these questions begin to receive an answer. Mohammedan writers divide Arabian history into two periods — that before the advent of their prophet, and that after his mission. The former they name, in accordance with the practice of Mohammed himself, Wakt-el-Jahili- ya, the "Time of Ignorance," or, perhaps better, the "Time of Barbarism" ; the latter is that of Islam, of reve- lation and true religion. Professor Goldziher has shown that the original significance of El Jahiliya was not that of a time of heathen ignorance in the New Testament sense,- but rather a time of rude barbaric ethics in dis- tinction to the civilized code of Islam.^ The term was first used in an ethical sense, but later took on a general meaning. It is not surprising that Moslem writers chose to paint the picture of pagan Arabia as dark as possible, in order ^William A. Shedd, "Islam and the Oriental Churches," 4. 'Acts 17:30. ^I. Goldziher, "Mohammedanische Studien," Vol. I, 220-228, ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 3 that ''the light of God," as the Prophet is called, might appear more bright in contrast. Following these authori- ties Sale and others have given a somewhat wrong im- pression of the state of Arabia in the sixth and seventh centuries. The, commonly accepted idea that Mohammed preached entirely new truth as a prophet of monotheism, and uplifted the Arabs to a higher plane of civilization, is only half true. No part of Arabia has ever reached as high a stage of material civilization under the rule of Islam as Yemen enjoyed under its Christian, Jewish or Pagan dynasties of the Himyarites, as is proved by the monuments of South Arabia. No less an authority than Fresnel has shown that the pre-Islamic Arabs were on a higher moral plane than the Arabs after their conversion to Islam ;^ and Perron contrasts the freedom and the le- gal status of woman prior to Mohammed, with her servile condition under Islam.- Pagan Arabia. — During many centuries before Mo- hammed, the Arabs throughout the Peninsula, except in Yemen, were divided into numerous tribes and clans, bound together by no political tie, but only by a tradi- tional sentiment of unity, which they believed (or feigned to believe) a unity of blood. Each group was a unit and was largely in competition with all the other clans. The Arabs took delight in endless genealogies, and boasted of nothing so much as noble ancestors. In habits some were pastoral and some nomadic; others, like the clans of Mecca and Taif, were traders, and had monopo- lies of the caravan traffic. The immense caravan trade, which brought all the wealth of Ormuz and Ind to Egypt and the Roman Empire, crossed Arabia and left its influ- ^Fresnel, "Lettres snr I'Histoire des Arabes avant I'Islamisme" in Journal Asiat. (1849), 533. 'Perron, "Femmes Arabes avant et depuis rislamisme" (Paris, 1858), 4 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FxMTH ence. A. Sprenger adds this interesting fact at the close of his account of the great caravan routes : "The history of the eadiest commerce is the history of incense, and the land of incense was Arabia."^ The three great routes were the following: from the Persian Gulf through the heart of Arabia to the Jauf and Damascus, with a branch to Mecca; from the Tigris southward along Wady er Rumma to the Jewish settlement in Khaibar; and, the most important of all, the road from Sanaa along the west coast through Mecca, Yathrib, Medina, and Maan to Syria.- The importance of Mecca was first commercial and then religious ; together with Taif it was the halting- place for the caravans from the south, and the depot of the trade from the East. The Arabs had enjoyed, for several thousand years be- fore the Christian era, an almost absolute freedom from foreign dominion or occupation. Neither the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the ancient Persians, nor the Macedonians, in their march of conquest, ever sub- jugated or held any part of Arabia. But before the com- ing of the Prophet the proud freemen of the desert were compelled to bend their necks repeatedly to the yoke of Roman, Abyssinian, and Persian rulers. In A. D. 105 Trajan sent his general, Cornelius Palma, and subdued the Nabathean kingdom of North Arabia. Mesopotamia was conquered, and the eastern coast of the peninsula was completely devastated by the Romans in A. D. 116. Hira yielded to the monarchs of Persia, as Ghassan did to the generals of Rome. 'Tt is remarked, even by a Mo- hammedan writer," says Sir William Muir, "that the de- cadence of the race of Ghassan was preparing the way ^A. Sprenger, "Die Alte Geographic Arabians," last chapter (Berne, 1875). ^See Map, Hubert Grimme, "Mohammed," (Munich, 1904). ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 5 for the glories of the Arabian prophet." In other words, Arabia was being invaded by foreign powers, and the Arabs were being made ready for a poUtical leader to break these yokes and restore the old-time independence. Roman domination asserted itself, even over Mecca, not long before the Hegira. "For shortly after his accession to the throne, A. D. 6io, the Emperor Heraclius nomi- nated Othman, then a convert to Christianity, as gov- ernor of Mecca, recommending him to the Koreishites in an authoritative letter."^ The Abyssinian wars and in- vasions of Arabia during the century preceding Moham- med are better known. ''Their dominion in Yemen," says Ibn Ishak, "lasted seventy-two years, and they were fin- ally driven out by the Persians, at the request of the Arabs." Arabia was thus in a condition of general politi- cal unrest just at the time when Mohammed came to manhood, and the hour was ripe for a political leader, able to unite the Arabs against the non-Arabs, whether Persians, Abyssinians or Greeks.^ Social Conditions. — The position of women in the "Time of Ignorance" was, in some respects, inferior ; but in others far superior to that under Islam. The cruel custom of female infanticide prevailed in many parts of heathen Arabia. This was probably due, in the first in- stance, to poverty or famine, and afterward became a so- cial custom, to limit population. Professor Wilken sug- gests, as a further reason, that wars had tended to an excess of females over males. An Arab poet tells of a niece who refused to leave her husband to whom she was assigned after her capture. Her uncle was so enraged ^S. W. Koelle, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism," 5. 2See chapter on " 'Arab und 'Agam" in "Mohammedanische Studien," Vol. I, 101-147 (Halle. 1889), and A. P. Caussin de Perceval, "Essai sur L'Histoire des Arabes avant I'lslamisme," Vol. I, 214-291. 6 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH that he buried all his daughters alive, and never allowed another one to live. Even one beautiful damsel, who had been saved alive by her mother, was ruthlessly placed in a grave by the father, and her cries stifled with earth. This horrible custom, however, was not usual. We are told of one distinguished pre-Islamic Arab, named Saa- Saa, who tried to put down the practice of ''digging a grave by the side of the bed on which daughters were born."^ The use of the veil was almost unknown in Ara- bia before Islam, nor did the harem system prevail in the days of idolatry. Women had rights, and were respected. In two instances, beside that of Zenobia, we read of Ara- bian queens ruling over their tribes ; and Freytag, in his Arabian proverbs, gives a list of female judges who ex- ercised their office before Islam. According to Noldeke and Grimme,^ the Nabathean and South Arabian coins and inscriptions prove that women held an independent and honorable position ; they built expensive family graves, owned estates, and were independent traders, as, for example, was Khadijah, the wife of Moham- med. There is a genuine spirit of chivalry in the pre-Islamic poetry of Arabia. A woman was never given away by her father in an unequal match nor against her consent. Professor G. A. Wilken has conclusively shown that women had the right, before Mohammed's time, in every case, to choose their own husbands, and cites the case of Khadijah, who offered her hand to Mohammed.^ Even captive women were not kept in slavery, as is evident from the verses of Hatim : ^Sinajet et Tarb fi Tekaddamet el Arab, (Beirut edition). 'Hubert Grimme, "Mohammed," Chap. I. ^G. A. Wilken, "Het Matriarchaat bij de ondc Arabieren" (1884), and a {supplement to the same in answer to his critics (1885, The Hague), ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 7 "They did not give us Taites, their daughters in marriage, But we wooed them against their will with our swords ; And with us captivity brought no abasement. They neither toiled making bread nor made the pot boil, But we mingled them with our women, the noblest. And they bare us fair sons, white of face." Polyandry and polygamy were both practised; the right of divorce belonged to the wife as well as to the husband; temporary marriages were also common. As was natural among a nomad race, the bond was quickly made and easily dissolved. But this was not the case among the Jews and Christians of Yemen and Nejran. Two kinds of marriages were in vogue. The muta'a was a purely personal contract between a man and a woman ; no witnesses were necessary, and the woman did not leave her home or come under the authority of her hus- band ; even the children belonged to the wife. This mar- riage, so frequently described in Arabic poetry, was not considered illicit, but was openly celebrated in verse, and brought no disgrace on the woman. In the other kind of marriage, called nikah, the woman became subject to her husband by capture or purchase. In the latter case the purchase-money was paid to the bride's kin. In later chapters of this book we will see that both these forms of marriage still obtain among the Shiah sect of Moslems. Robertson Smith sums up the position of women in Arabia before Islam, in these words : ''It is very remark- able that, in spite of Mohammed's humane ordinances, the place of women in the family, and in society, has steadily declined under his law. In ancient Arabia we ^ find many proofs that women moved more freely and as- 1 serted themselves more strongly than in the modern East. ' The Arabs themselves recognized that the position of woman had fallen, and it continued still to fall under Is- 8 islam: a challenge to faith lam, because the effect of Mohammed's legislation in fa- vor of women was more than outweighed by the estab- lishment of marriages of dominion as the one legitimate type, and by the gradual loosening of the principle that married women could count on their own kin to stand by them against their husbands."^ Pre-Islamic Literature. — The seven ancient Arabian poems, called Muallakat or Muthahabat, are proof of a golden age of literature, and doubtless are only fragments of a much larger collection. To them we owe much of our knowledge of the early Arabian life and faith. Pal- grave says : "If poor in architectural, Arabia is super- abundantly rich in literary monuments" ; and this is true, even of the "Time of Ignorance." Zuhair, Zarafa, Imru-al Kais, Amru-bin-Kulsum, Al Harith, Antar and Labid furnished the model for later Arabian poetry, and their poems, as we have them, are remarkable for per- fection of form and language. Wellhausen mentions Adi bin Zaid, Abu Daud, Al 'Ascha, and other Christian Arabian poets, of whose poetry only fragments are left, and adds that early Ara- bian Christianity had a marked influence on the pre- Islamic culture through the channel of poetry. The poets were already voicing the cry of Arabia for the unknown God; they were the prophets of the new era.- In addi- tion to poetry, three things were coveted by the Pagan Arabs, and were the object of pride: eloquence, horse- manship and liberal hospitality. There were large com- petitive contests in oratory and poetry at Okatz. Here ^Robertson Smith, "Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia," 100-104. For further information on the position of women in pre-Islamic times among all the Semitic races see a valuable paper, "Woman in the Ancient Hebrew Cult," by Ismar J. Peritz, Ph. D., in The Journal of Biblical Literature (1898), Part II. 2J. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 232, 234 (Berlin, 1897). li^ ^ ^ L ^ ^^- L Surah 59:2-4 i-kO. |l 4)1 ^;, lfe=3 A> .411 L •&=. L. '- — ^- la a) a ';.IL ^ .±sa» ^ Surah 48:1 7-22 Surah 15:39-43 PAGES FROM THE KOKAX IX EARLY CUFIC CHARACTERS ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 9 there was also an annual market which was so large that the line of booths stretched for ten miles between Taif and Nachla; Wellhausen pictures the scene as described by the poets : a crowd of traders, artisans, blacksmiths, horse-doctors, poets, athletes, wine-sellers ; a great gath- ering of the tribes from every quarter, and every sort of friendly competitive contest ; an agricultural fair, an oratorical contest, and a religious camp-meeting com- bined.^ An entire month was given up to these inter- tribal, commercial and social gatherings here and at Mec- ca; an annual truce of God among the warlike nomads. Mohammed was the first Arab that dared make war dur- ing the sacred months, and break the troth of Pagan Arabia. According to Moslem tradition, the science of writing was not known in Mecca until introduced by Harb, father of Abu Soofian, the great opponent of Moham- med, about A. D. 560. But this is evidently an error, for close intercourse existed long before this between Mecca and Yemen through caravan trade, and in Yemen writ- ing was well known for centuries. In another tradition Abd ul Muttalib is said to have written to Medina for help in his younger days, i. e., about 520 A. D. Both Jews and Christians also dwelt in the vicinity of Mecca for two hundred years before the Hegira, and used some form of writing. For writing-materials they had abund- ance of reeds and palm-leaves, as well as the flat, smooth shoulder-blades of the camel. There are many rock in- scriptions in Northern Arabia and monuments in Yemen. The seven great poems are said to have been written in gold on Egyptian silk and suspended in the Kaaba at Mecca. 'J. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 88-91 TO ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Arabian Polytheism. — Concerning the religion of the Arabs, before Islam, the Mohammedan writer, Ash-Shah- ristani, says : "The Arabs of pre-Islamic times may, with reference to religion, be divided into various classes. Some of them denied the Creator, the resurrection and men's return to God, and asserted that Nature possesses in itself the power of bestowing life, but that time de- stroys. Others believed in a Creator and a creation pro- duced by Him out of nothing, but yet denied the resur- rection. Others believed in a Creator and a creation, but denied God's prophets and worshipped false gods, con- cerning whom they believed that in the next world they would become mediators between themselves and God. For these deities they undertook pilgrimages ; they brought votive offerings to them, offered them sacrifices, and approached them with rites and ceremonies. Some things they held to be Divinely permitted, others pro- hibited."! This is an admirable account, altho his silence re- garding the Jews and Christians of Arabia is unac- countable. There is no doubt that Arabia, for two cen- turies before the Hegira, was a refuge for all sorts of religious fugitives, and each band added something to the national stock of religious ideas. There were Sabeans, or Star-worshippers, in the Northwest along the Euphrates ; Zoroastrians came to East Arabia; Jews settled at Khaibar, Medina, and in Yemen. For all Pagan Arabia Mecca was the centre many centuries before Mohammed. Here stood the Kaaba, the Arabian Pantheon, with its three hundred and sixty idols — one for each day in the year. Here the tribes of Hejaz met in annual pilgrim- ^See Arabic original in W. St. Clair Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Qur'an," 36, 37. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM II age, to rub and kiss the Black Stone, to circumambulate the Beit Allah or Bethel of their faith, and to hang por- tions of their garments on the sacred trees. At Nejran a sacred date-plant was the centre of pilgrimage. Every- where in Arabia there were sacred stones, or stone-heaps, where the Arab devotees congregated, to obtain special blessings. The belief in jinn, or genii, was well-nigh uni- versal, but there was a distinction between them and gods. The gods had individuality, while the jinn had not; the gods were worshipped, the jinn were only feared; the god had one form, the jinn appeared in many. All that the Moslem world believes to-day, in regard to jinn, is wholly borrowed from Arabian heathenism. The Arabs were always superstitious, and legends of all sorts clus- ter around every weird desert-rock, gnarled tree, or in- termittent fountain in Arabia. The early Arabs, there- fore, marked off such sacred territory by pillars, or cairns, and considered many things, such as shedding of blood, cutting of trees, killing game, etc., forbidden with- in the enclosure. This is the origin of the Moslem teach- ing about the Haramain, or sacred territories, around Mecca and Medina. Sacrifices were common, but not by fire. The blood of the offering was smeared over the rude stone-altars, and the flesh was eaten by the worshipper. First-fruits were given to the gods, and libations were poured out ; a hair- ofifering formed a part of the ancient pilgrimage; this also is imitated to-day. In fact the whole ceremony of the Moslem pilgrimage to Mecca is taken over from pre- Islamic practice, and is thoroughly pagan.^ ^J. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 68-101. C. Snouck Hurgronje, "Het Mekkaansche Feest." (Leyden, 1880.) W. St. Clair Tisdali. '"The Original Sources *tf the Qur'an," 43-47. 12 islam: a challenge to faith Our present knowledge of the Arabian gods is gained from a work of Ibn al Kelbi, written two hundred years after the Hegira, entitled Kitah-el-Asnam, or the Book of Idols. The work itself is no longer extant, but it is largely quoted in Jakut's ''Geographical Lexicon." The principal idols of Arabia are given below; ten of them are mentioned by name in the Koran.^ Above all these tutelary and "mediator-gods" was the supreme deity, whom they called Allah — o deos, the God. This name occurs very frequently in pre-Islamic poetry, on the inscriptions and in proverbs and personal names. "Altho polytheism had, even in very early times, ^HOBAL, who was in the form of a man, had the place of honor in the Kaaba, He was termed "creator of the heavens and the earth." Dozy identifies him with Baal of Syria, the first part of the name being the Hebrew article. WADD (signifying friendship), worshipped by the Northern Arabs at Duma, but also in the South. SUWAH, an idol in thje form of a woman and worshipped by the Hamdan tribe. YAGHUTH, in the shape of a lion. YA'OOK, in the form of a horse, worshipped in Yemen. Bronze images of this idol are found in ancient tombs. NASR, who was the eagle-god. EL UZZA, identified by some scholars with Venus, worshipped at times under the form of an acacia tree. One of the daughters of Allah according to pagan ideas. ALLAT, the chief idol of the tribe of Thakif, at Taif, who tried to com- promise with Mohammed and promised to accept Islam if he would not destroy their god for three years. The name appears to be the feminine of Allah, and she was considered a daughter of Allah. MANAT, a huge stone worshipped by several tribes as a daughter of Allah. DUWAR, the virgin's idol; young women used to go around it in pro- cession; hence its name. ISAF and NAILA, which stood near Mecca on the hills of Safa and Mirwa; the visitation of these popular shrines is now a part of the Moslem pilgrimage ritual. HABHAB, a large stone on which camels were slaughtered. There are also other idols and shrines mentioned, some of which have since been transformed into sacred places of Islam, each with its appropriate tradi- tion. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 104. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 13 found an entrance into Arabia, yet the belief in the One True God had never entirely faded away from the minds of the people. The most binding agreements between different tribes were confirmed by an oath taken in call- ing on the name of God (Allah) ; and the expression, *An enemy of God,' was deemed the most opprobrious that could be used."^ Wellhausen, in speaking of the gradual disintegration and dissolution of polytheism in Arabia in the century before Mohammed, says : *Tn the sixth and seventh centuries of our era Allah had out- grown the other gods. This is clearly evident from the Koran itself. 'When the pagan Arabs were in real peril they turned to Allah, and not to their tribal gods,' says Mohammed. Also, for the heathen Arabs, Allah was the real possessor of Divinity, and Mohammed can only use the polemic against them that they allow idols to be part- ners of Deity. "^ Ibn Hisham states, on the authority of Ibn Ishak, that the tribes of Kinanah and Koreish, when performing the ceremonies around the Kaaba, used to say: "Lahhaika, AUahuma, we are present in Thy service, O God; Thou hast no partner, except the partner of Thy dread. Thou ownest him and whatsoever he owneth." The meaning is not clear, but the language employed shows the supe- rior position of Allah, who had no equals. The idea of the unity of God was not introduced among the Arabs for the first time by Mohammed. Nor did Mohammed invent the word for the Supreme Deity. The idea was common, and so was the word. Mohammed's own father, who died before his son's birth, was called Abd Allah ; and the Kaaba of Mecca, long before Islam, was known iW. St. Clair Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Qur'an," 31-35. *J. Wellhausen, "Keste Arabischen Heidentums," 217. 14 islam: a challenge to faith as Beit Allah, or House of God. The tribal worship of the ancient Arabs bears much resemblance, therefore, to the saint worship of the Greek and Roman churches, i. e., it was to their mind compatible with a knowledge and acknowledgment of the Supreme Being. Yet, as Well- hausen points out : "In worship Allah often had the last place, those gods being preferred who represented the interests of a particular circle, and fulfilled the private desires of their worshippers. Neither the fear of Allah nor their reverence for the gods had much influence. The chief practical consequence of the great feasts was the observance of a truce in the holy months ; and this, in time, had become mainly an affair of pure practical convenience. In general the disposition of the heathen Arabs, if it is all truly reflected in their poetry, was pro- fane in an unusual degree. The ancient inhabitants of Mecca practised piety essentially as a trade, just as they do now; their trade depended on the feast, and its fair on the inviolability of the Haram and on the truce of the holy months." Not only had the old polytheism lost its force, so that the aged Abu Ubaiha wept on his deathbed at Mecca, for fear the worship of Uzza would be neglected, but the better classes of Mecca and Medina had ceased to believe anything at all.^ The forms of religion were kept up rather for political and commercial reasons than as a matter of faith and conviction.^ And the reason for this decline of paganism is not far to seek. "The religious decay in Arabia, shortly before Islam," says Hirschfeld, "may well be taken in a negative sense, in the sense of the tribes losing the feeling of kinship with the tribal ij. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 220. 2E. H. Palmer, "Translation of the Qur'an," Intro. Vol. I, xv. - " J! .-Ho 'r, > u u O o - J3 ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 1 5 gods. We may express this more concretely by saying that the gods had become gradually more nebulous through the destructive influence exercised for about four hundred years by Jezvish and Christian ideas upon Ara- bian heathenism."'' How did these Jewish and Chris- tian ideas influence the Arabs of Mohammed's time, and Mohammed himself, and to what extent? The Jews of Arabia. — The Jews came to Arabia from the earliest times. Since the days of Solomon the Red Sea was a centre of busy traffic, and the Hebrews had probably located at the trading ports. Dozy finds epi- graphic and other evidence that Jews settled at Mecca as early as the time of David, and that their settlement con- tinued until the fifth century of the Christian era.^ But his monograph on the subject is not altogether convinc- ing. It is certain, however, that the later conquests of Palestine by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans sent waves of Jewish immigration into Ara- bia as far as Yemen. A number of native Arab tribes also embraced Judaism, and at the time of Mohammed we find this people scattered over the peninsula in small compact colonies. Not only were they numerous, but also powerful, especially at Sanaa, Medina, Khaibar and other centres. In Mohammed's time the three large Jewish tribes, called Bni Koraiza, Bni Nadhir, and Bni Kainuka, all dwelling near Medina, were so powerful that, after his arrival there in A. D. 622, he made an offensive and defensive alliance with them. The fact that the Koran refers repeatedly to the Jews, and calls them, as well as the Christians, 'Teople of the Book," shows that they ^Quoted from The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia, the Cradle of Islam," 158. 2R. Dozy, "De Israelieten te Mekka van David's tijd tot op onze tijd- rekening." (Leyden, 1864; German translation, Leipsic, 1864.) l6 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH possessed and used the Old Testament, and that, doubt- less, many of them could read and write. For in Su- rah 2 : 70-73, we read, in reference to the Jews : ''But there are illiterates among them, who are not acquainted with the Book, but with lies only, and have but vague fancies. Woe to those who, with their own hands, tran- scribe the Book corruptly, and then say," etc. Therefore, the others could read. These Jewish colonies, with their teachers and their Talmud, had, for centuries, exerted a strong educational influence toward monotheism. And it is evident, not only from the Koran, but from the earliest Moslem biogra- phies of Mohammed, that he was greatly indebted to Judaism, both for his doctrines and narratives. How early in his life Mohammed came in touch with Jewish teaching, or teachers, is uncertain, but that he obtained his knowledge of Old Testament history from Jews well versed in Talmudic lore is admitted by all students of Islam, and was conclusively shown by Rabbi Abraham Geiger, in his prize essay on the subject.^ The fact that the Jews at Mecca and Medina possessed inspired books, and were undoubtedly descendants of Abraham, whom the Koreish and other tribes claimed as their ancestor, gave them great weight and influence. Native Arabian legends would be made to fit in with Jewish patriarchal stories, and so, as Muir remarks: "By a summary ad- justment the story of Palestine became the story of the Hejaz, the precincts of the Kaaba were hallowed as the scene of Hagar's distress, and the sacred well — Zemzem — as the source of her relief. The pilgrims hastened to ^"Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judentum aufgenommen?" (Wiesbaden, 1833.) English translation of the same under the title, "Judaism and Islam" (Madras, 1898). See also the writings of Hirshfeld, Emmanuel Deutsch, J. M, Arnold and others on this topic. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 1/ and fro between Safa and Marwa, in memory of her hurried steps in search of water. It was Abraham and Ishmael who built the temple, imbedded in it the Black Stone, and established for all Arabia the pilgrimage to Arafat. In imitation of him it was that stones were flung by the pilgrims, as if at Satan, and sacrifices of- fered at Mina, in remembrance of the vicarious sacrifice of Abraham. And so, altho the indigenous (Meccan) rites may have been little, if at all, altered by the adop- tion of Israelitish legends, they came to be received in a totally different light and to be connected in Arab imagi- nation with something of the sanctity of Abraham, the Friend of God."^ For a detailed account of all the words, doctrines, cere- monies and stories that were borrowed from Judaism, adopted by Mohammed, and perpetuated in Islam, the reader is referred to Geiger or Tisdall ; the accompany- ing table gives them in outline.- A careful study of the subject will show that most of the warp and woof of the new religion was taken from the old garment. Islam is nothing more nor less than Judaism plus the apostle- ship of Mohammed. Christianity in Arabia before Islam. — The question how early and from what direction Christianity first en- tered Arabia is difficult to answer. Whatever is known on the subject can be found in Wright's essay.^ Paul spent three years among the Arabs,* and Christianity was introduced in North Arabia very early. Bishops of Bosra, in Northwestern Arabia, are mentioned as having been ^Sir William Muir, "Life of Mahomet," third edition, introduction, xcii-xciii. See also "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 232. ^Appendix B. ^Thomas Wright, "Early Christianity in Arabia." (London, 1855.) *Gal. 1:17. l8 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH present at the Nicene Council (A. D. 325) with five other Arabian bishops. The Arabian historians speak of the tribe of Ghassan as attached to the Christian faith cen- turies before the Hegira. There is no doubt that Christianity was widely diffused in other parts of Arabia at the time of Mohammed. Ac- cording to Caussin de Perceval, who quotes from Arabic writers, Christianity existed among the Bni Taglib of Mesopotamia, the Bni Abd al Kais, the Bni Harith of Nejran, the Bni Ghassan of Syria, and other tribes be- tween Medina and Kufa.^ The picture of the Christian monk in his desert-cell, with his night-lamp and books, keeping vigil, is common in pre-Islamic poetry; and we have already seen that there were also Christian poets in the 'Time of Ignorance." As the Arabs became more intimately connected with the Romans, the progress of Christianity increased. The name of Mavia, an Arabian queen, is mentioned by ecclesiastical writers as a convert to the faith, and it is stated that she invited a Christian bishop, named Moses, to live among her people. An un- fortunate circumstance for the progress of Christianity in North Arabia, however, was its location between the rival powers of Rome and Persia. It was a sort of buffer- state, and suffered in consequence. The Persian mon- archs persecuted the Christian Arabs, and one of their allies — a pagan Arab, called Naaman — forbade all inter- course with Christians, on the part of his subjects. This edict, we are told, was occasioned by the success of the preaching of Simon Stylites, the pillar saint, celebrated in Tennyson's poem.- The progress or even the toler- *A. p. Caussin de Perceval, "Essai sur I'Histoire des Arabes avant I'ls- lamisme." (Paris, 1847 and 1902.) Three vols. ^Thomas Wright, "Early Christianity in Arabia," "j-j. Noldeke, "Sketches from Eastern History" (London, 1892). (Chapter on Simon Stylites. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM I9 ance of Christianity in the kingdom of Hirah seems to have been always dependent on the favor of the Khosroes of Persia. Some became Christians as early as 380 A. D. And one of the early converts, Noman Abu Kamus, proved the sincerity of his faith by melting down a golden statue of the Arabian Venus worshipped by his tribe, and distributing the proceeds to the poor. Wright states that many of the tribe followed his example, broke their idols and were baptized. So early was idolatry doomed in North Arabia — long before the appearance of Mohammed. It was in Southwestern Arabia, however, that the Christian faith exerted its greatest power and made larg- est conquest. We learn, from the monuments and in- scriptions of Yemen, how, before the Christian preacher came, monotheism had already displaced polytheism in the cult of the Sabeans.^ The names used for the Su- preme Deity were, many of them, identical with those used later in the Koran. Add to this the large Jewish population, and it becomes evident that the soil was ready for the Christian faith to take root ; altho it is also true that the Jews were often an obstacle to the early spread of Christianity, because of their bitter hostility. The legend that St. Bartholomew preached in Yemen, on his way to India, need not be considered ; nor the more prob- able one of Frumentius and his success as first bishop to Himyar. But history relates that, in the reign of Con- stantius, Theophilus, the deacon of Nicomedia, a zealous Arian, being sent by the Emperor to attend a magnificent embassy to the court of Himyar, prevailed on the Ara- bian king to accept Christianity. He built three churches at Zaphar, Aden and Sanaa, as well as at Hormuz, in the 'Hubert Grimme, "Mohammed," 19-31, ff. 20 islam: a challenge to faith Persian Gulf. No less than four bishoprics were estab- lished. Ibn Khalikan, the Moslem historian, enumerates as Christian tribes the Bahrah, Tanoukh, and Taglab, while in Nejran, north of Yemen, and even in Medina there were Christians. In the year 560 A. D. there was a severe persecution of the Christians in Nejran, insti- gated by the Jews. "Large pits were dug, filled with fuel, and many thousands of monks and virgins were committed to the flames."^ Yet, so firm a hold had the religion of Jesus Christ on the Arabs of Nejran that neither the fires of persecution nor the power of trium- phant Islam in the later centuries could root it out speed- ily. Abbe Hue speaks of Christians in Nejran as late as the tenth century.^ In the year 567 A. D., Abraha, the Christian king of Yemen, built a new cathedral at Sanaa, with the inten- tion of making it the rival of Mecca for the Arab pil- grimage. The church was defiled by pagan Arabs from the North, and then followed the famous expedition of Abraha against Mecca, and his defeat by the Koreish — forever after celebrated in the Koran chapter of "The Elephant."^ Two months after this defeat was born the prophet whose character and career sealed the fate of Christianity in Arabia for many centuries. From this short sketch of Christianity in early Arabia it is evident that Mohammed, like any other intelligent Arab of his day, could not have been wholly ignorant of the Christian faith. The picture of the Christian church of this period (323-692 A. D.) was dark indeed; yet it ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 307-308, following the ac- count given by Wright. 2Abbe Hue, "Christianity in China, Tartary and Tibet," Vol. I, 88. (New York, edition 1857.) ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 308-313. See Moslem Commentators in loco. COriES OF THE KOKAX WORN BY MOSLEMS \VP{EX TRAVELIXC. OR OX PILGRIMAGE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 21 was not without true believers.^ Arabia was full of heresies, and yet we have epigraphic evidence that the real doctrine of the Trinity obtained in Arabia, instead of that which Mohammed asserts the Christians hold. In 1888 Edward Glaser, the explorer, brought from Mareb, the Sabean capital, a copy of an inscription, telling of the suppression of a revolt against the Ethiopic rule then established in Yemen, This inscription, which dates from 542 A. D., opens with the words: ''In the Power of the All Merciful, and His Messiah and the Holy Ghost."^ Whatever may have been the condition or the teaching of Christianity in Arabia, Mohammed came in contact with it all through his life. One of the chief stories he heard in his boyhood was of the Christian invasion from the South, and the defeat of Abraha; later he went to Syria, met monks and passed through the territory of the Christian tribes of Northern Arabia ; after he became a prophet he had as concubine a Christian Coptic wom- an, Miriam, the mother of his darling son, Ibrahim. For good or for ill, Mohammed could not remain wholly ig- norant of Christianity, and therefore it is not surprising to find the evidence of this in Islam.^ The Christian fac- tor cannot be omitted in our study of the origin of Islam. Christian teaching, though often in corrupt form, was one of the sources of the new religion. ^Kurtz writes: "More and more the Church became assimilated and conformed to the world, church discipline grew lax, and moral decay made rapid progress. Passionate contentions, quarrels and schisms among bishops and clergy filled public life also with party strife, animosity and bitterness. . . . Hypocrisy and bigotry took the place of piety among those who strove after something higher, while the masses consoled them- selves with the reflection that every man could not be a monk." — "Church History," Vol. I, 386. ^Hilprecht, "Recent Explorations in Bible Lands," 149- (Article by Professor Fritz Hommel on "Arabia."); Zwemer, "The Moslem Doctrine of God," 27, 90. 3See table of the Borrowed Elements, opposite page 86. 2,2 islam: a challenge to faith But Koelle goes much further than this, and shows negatively how, in Mohammed's own case, "not want of opportunity, but want of sympathy and compatibiHty kept him aloof from the religion of Christ. His first wife introduced him to her Christian cousin; one of his later wives had embraced Christianity in Abyssinia, and the most favored of his concubines was a Christian damsel from the Copts of Egypt. He was acquainted with as- cetic monks, and had dealings with learned bishops of the orthodox church. In those days the reading of the Holy Scriptures in the public services was already au- thoritatively enjoined and universally practised; if he had wished thoroughly to acquaint himself with them, he could easily have done so. But, having no adequate conception of the nature of sin and man's fallen state, he also lacked the faculty of truly appreciating the rem- edy for it which was offered in the Gospel."^ All these considerations have weight in determining the influence of Christianity on the origin of Islam.- The Hanifs. — Besides the Jews and Christians, there were the Hanifs. The term was originally one of re- proach (meaning to limp or walk unevenly, to pretend), and was applied to those who abandoned the worship of the popular deities.^ With the decline of the old pagan- ism, a number of men arose in Medina, Taif and Mecca ^S. W. Koelle, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism," 471, A Moslem convert of El Azhar and a teacher of theology in Cairo holds that in his earliest years of manhood Mohammed was a nominal Christian and offers to prove it on Moslem authorities. See Cairo Conference Reports, Vol. II, 24. *For a further consideration of the Moslem legends, stories and doctrines that were borrowed from Christianity, the reader is referred to Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Qur'an," Chap. IV. ^W. St. Clair Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Quran," 272; Pautz, "Mohammed's Lehre von der OfTenbarung," 15; Hughes' "Dictionary of Islam" gives a different derivation. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 2^ who became convinced of the folly of the old religion, and were seekers after God, altho neither Jewish nor Christian proselytes. That they became numerous and honorable is evident from the Koran use of the term, and from the fact that Abraham the Patriarch is said to have been the first Hanif. Moslem history mentions twelve of Mohammed's companions who belonged to the Hanifs. And from Ibn Ishak, the earliest biographer of Mohammed, we learn what Zeid, Waraka and others of these reformers believed and taught. 'They said, one to another: 'By God ye know that your nation is based upon nothing : truly, they have erred from the religion of their father, Abraham. What is a stone, that we should circle round it? It hears not, nor sees, nor injures, nor benefits. O people, seek for yourselves; for, verily by God, ye are based upon nothing.' Accordingly, they went into different lands, that they might seek Haniiism, the religion of Abraham. Waraka bin Naufal, therefore, became absorbed in Christianity, and he inquired after the Books among those who professed it until he ac- quired some knowledge from the People of the Book. But Ubaidullah bin Jahsh remained in the state of un- certainty in which he was until he became a Moslem. He migrated with the Moslems to Abyssinia . . . and when he arrived there became a Christian, and aban- doned Islam, so that he perished there a Christian."^ This testimony is remarkable. So early was the first convert from Islam to Christianity. And Ibn Ishak tells us he was not only a convert, but a witness. "When he became a Christian he used to dispute with the Compan- ions of the Apostle, who were then in Abyssinia, and say : *We see clearly, and you are yet blinking.' " Would that *"Sirat-ur-Rasul," Vol. I, 76, 77- Quoted by W. St. Clair Tisdall. ^4 ISLAM: A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Mohammed and his companions had accepted the testi- mony of Ubaidullah, and had come to the true Ught of the gospel ! The Hanifs expressed their piety in the words, *'We have surrendered to God" (Islam) ; they prohibited the slaying of female infants ; they acknowledged the unity of God; they rejected all idolatry; they promised a fu- ture garden of delight to the believer, and hell for the wicked ; they used the words Merciful and Forgiving for Deity. Wellhausen states that these Hanifs were not found in Mecca and Medina alone, but that they were everywhere a symptom and an indication of the final dis- solution of paganism and a proof that the soil was ripe for Islam.^ Islam a Composite Religion. — From the condition of Arabia at the time of Mohammed, and the whole relig- ious environment of his day, it is natural that if there was to be a new religion for Arabia it must take account of the existing faiths. It is not at all surprising, there- fore, that the result of a century of critical study by Eu- ropean and American scholars of every school of thought has established the fact that Islam is a composite relig- ion. It is not an invention, but a concoction; there is nothing novel about it, except the genius of Mohammed in mixing old ingredients into a new panacea for human ills, and forcing it down by means of the sword. These heterogeneous elements of Islam were gathered in Arabia at a time when many religions had penetrated the Penin- sula, and the Kaaba was a Pantheon. Unless one has a knowledge of these elements of the "Time of Ignorance," Islam is a problem. Knowing, however, these heathen, Christian, and Jewish factors, Islam is seen to be a per- ij. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," 234. ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF ISLAM 2^ fectly natural and comprehensible development. Its hea- then, Christian and Jewish elements remain, to this day, perfectly recognizable, in spite of thirteen centuries of explanation by the Moslem authorities. And, logically, it was only a step from Hanifism to Islam, if one did not wish to embrace the old historic faiths of Moses or of Christ. The "Time of Ignorance" was a time of spiritual inquiry and seeking after God. But it was also a time of social and political chaos in Western Arabia. Every- thing was ready for a man of genius who could take in the whole situation — social, political, and religious — and form a cosmos. That man was Mohammed. MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET OF ISLAM "It has been truly said that Christianity Is not a religious sys- tem, but a life; that it is Christ. With almost equal truth it may be affirmed that Islam is Mohammed. Certainly his spirit is infused into the religion which he founded, and still animates to an almost incredible extent the hearts of its professors in every Moham.medan land." — IV. St. Clair Tisdall. "The character of Mohammed is a historic problem, and many have been the conjectures as to his motives and designs. Was he an impostor, a fanatic, or an honest man — a very apostle of God?"— T. P. Hughes. "By a fortune absolutely unique in history Mohammed is a threefold founder — of a nation, of an empire and of a religion. . . . Scarcely able to read or write, he was yet the author of a book reverenced to this day by the sixth [seventh] of the whole human race as a miracle of purity of style, of wisdom and of truth."— i^. Bosworth Smith, II MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET Introductory.— About the year 570 A. D., Abdullah, the son of Abd ul Muttalib, a Mecca merchant, went on a trading trip from iVlecca to Medina, and died there. A few months after his death his wife, Amina, gave birth to a boy, who was named Mohammed.^ One hundred years later the name of this Arab, joined to that of the Almighty, was called out from ten thousand minarets five times daily from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic, and his new religion was sweeping everything before it in three continents. What is the explanation of this mar- vel of history ? JNIany theories have been given, and the true explanation of the spread of Islam is probably the sum of all these theories: The weaknesses of the Orien- tal churches ; their corrupt state ; the condition of the Roman and Persian empires ; the easy-going moral char- acter of the new religion ; the power of the sword and of fanaticism ; the great truths of Islam ; the genius of Mo- hammed's successors ; the hope of plunder, and the love of conquest — such are some of the causes given for the ^The name Mohammed was not unknown in pagan times. Ibn Khallikan states that three Arabs bore it in the Time of Ignorance, namely Moham- med bin Snfyan, Mohammed bin Uhaiyah, and Mohammed bin Humran. He adds a story, however, to prove that each of these was so named in honor of the future prophet! (De Slane, "Translation of Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary," Vol. Ill, 620, flF.). 29 30 islam: a challenge to faith growth of the new religion from a minority of one to an immense army of beUevers. Yet none of these theories, nor all of them together, can omit, as the supreme cause of success, the genius of Mohammed. To the believing Moslem this is the whole explanation. And it is simple, because it is supernatural. All things are possible with God, and God sent Mohammed as the last and greatest apostle. A Moslem Portrait of the Prophet. — Here is a descrip- tion of Mohammed, the man and the prophet, by Kamal ud Din ad Damiri (A. D. 1349-1405), who was a theo- logian of the Shafi school, a prolific author and com- mentator, a scientist and a philosopher. The fact that this succinct pen-portrait of the prophet, which we quote, occurs incidentally in his "Dictionary of Zoology" as a digression does not detract from its value to a Mos- lem, and rather adds to it for us:^ ''Mohammed is the most favored of mankind, the most honored of all the apostles, the prophet of mercy, the head or imam of the faithful, the bearer of the banner of praise, the inter- cessor, the holder of high position, the possessor of the River of Paradise, under whose banner the sons of Adam will be on the day of judgment. He is the best of prophets, and his nation is the best of all nations ; his companions are the most excellent of mankind, after the prophets, and his creed is the noblest of all creeds. He performed manifest miracles, and possessed great quali- ties. He was perfect in intellect, and was of noble ori- gin. He had an absolutely graceful form, complete gen- ^The quotation is from Ad Damiri's Hayat ul Hayawan, a zoological lexicon with notes and digressions on the folk lore and history of the Arabs. Translation of Lt. Colonel A, S. G. Jayakar (London, 1906), Vol. I, 88, 89. The work is standard throughout the Arabic world and the pas- sage given occurs at the beginning of his famous digression on the early caliphate under the article, AI Awizz, the Goose! MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 3I ercsity, perfect bravery, excessive humility, useful knowledge, power of performing high actions, perfect fear of God and sublime piety. He was the most elo- quent and the most perfect of mankind in every variety of perfection, and the most distant of men from mean- ness and vices. A poet says of him: 'The Merciful has not yet created one like Mohammed And to the best of my knowledge never will do so.' "Aisha stated that the prophet, when at home, used to serve his household ; he used to pick out the vermin from his cloak, and patch it ; mend his own shoes, and serve himself. He used to give fodder to his camel, swxep the house, tie the camel by the fore leg, eat with the female slave, knead dough with her, and carry his own things from the market. And he used to be constantly in a state of grief and anxiety, and never had any peace of mind. Ali stated that he asked the prophet, regarding his mode of life, and that he replied: ^Knowledge is my capital ; love, my foundation ; desire, my vehicle ; the re- membrance of God, my boon companion; grief, my friend ; knowledge, my arms ; patience, my cloak ; the pleasure of God, my share of plunder; poverty, my dis- tinction ; renunciation of the world, my profession ; faith, my strength ; truth, my interceder ; obedience to God, my sufificiency ; religious war, my nature ; and the refresher of my eye is prayer.' As to his humility, liberality, brav- ery, bashfulness, fellowship, kindness, clemency, mercy, piety, justice, modesty, patience, dignity, trustworthiness and other praiseworthy qualities innumerable, they were all very great. The learned have composed many books regarding his life, his times, his mission, his wars, his qualities, his miracles and his good and amiable actions; ^2 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH to describe even a little of which would take several vol- umes. But that is not our purpose in this book. It is said that his death took place after God had perfected our religion, and completed this blessing for us, at noon on Monday, the 12th of Rabi'-al-Awal, 11 A. H., at the age of sixty-three years. His body was washed by Ali bin Abi Talib, and he was buried in the chamber which he had built for the mother of the faithful, Aisha." Factors in Mohammed's Life. — Whether this naive and beautiful characterization of the prophet will stand the test of Moslem history, we shall see later on. Whatever we may deny Mohammed, we can never deny that he was a man of great talents. But he was not a self- made man. His environment accounts, in large meas- ure, for his might and for his methods as a religious leader. What that environment was we have already seen in part in our study of the origin and sources of Islam. Four factors stand out clearly in the life of Mohammed : There was, first of all, the political factor. The era known as the "year of the elephant" had seen the defeat of the Christian army from Yemen, which came, under Abraha, to attack Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. This victory was, to the young and ardent mind of Moham- med, prophetic of the political future of Mecca, and no doubt his ambition assigned himself the chief place in the coming conflict of Arabia against the Romans and the Persians.^ Next came the religious factor. The times were ripe for religious leadership, and Mecca was already the cen- tre of a new movement. The Hanifs had rejected the ^Ignaz Goldziher, "Mohammedanische Studien," Vol. I, 40-101; S. W. Koelle, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism," first part; S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," Chap. XVI. MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 33 old idolatry, and entertained the hope that a prophet would arise from among them.^ There was material of all sorts at hand to furnish the platform of a new faith ; it only required the builder's genius to call cosmos out of chaos. To succeed in doing this, it would be necessary to reject material also; to construct a com- prehensive religion and a compromising religion, so as to suit Jew, and Christian, and idolater alike.^ In the third place, there was the family factor; or, in other words, the aristocratic standing of Mohammed. He was not a mere ''camel driver." The Koreish were the ruling clan of Mecca ; Mecca was the centre for all Ara- bia; and Mohammed's grandfather, Abd ul Muttalib, was the most influential and powerful man of that aris- tocratic city. The pet-child of Abd ul Muttalib was the orphan boy, Mohammed. Until his eighth year he was under the shelter and favor of this chief man of the Koreish. He learned what it was to be lordly and to exercise power, and he never forgot it. As in the case of so many other great men of history, his environment, his early training, and his wife were the determining personal influences in the character of Mohammed. Finally, the ruling factor was the mind and genius of the man himself. Of attractive personal qualities, beau- tiful countenance, and accomplished in business, he first won the attention and then the heart of a very wealthy widow, Khadijah. Koelle tells us that she was "evidently an Arab lady of strong mind and mature experience, who maintained a decided ascendancy over her husband, and managed him with great wisdom and firmness. This ap- pears from nothing more strikingly than from the very ^S. W. Koelle, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism," 2j. 2J. Wellhausen, "Reste Arabischen Heidentums," (Berlin, 1897), 230-242. 34 islam: a challenge to faith remarkable fact that she succeeded in keeping him from marrying any other wife as long as she lived; though, at her death, when he had long ceased to be a young man, he indulged, without restraint, in the multiplication of wives. But, as Khadijah herself was favorably disposed toward Hanifism, it is highly probable that she exercised her commanding influence over her husband in such a manner as to promote and strengthen his own attachment to the reformatory sect of mono- theists." Mohammed married this woman when he had reached his twenty-fifth year. At the age of forty he began to have his revelations, and to preach his new religion. His first convert, and, perchance, the most ambitious one, was his wife: then Ali and Zeid, his two adopted children; then his friend, the prosperous merchant, Abu Bekr. Such was the nucleus for the new faith. The First Period of His Life} — The exact date of Mohammed's birth is unknown. Caussin de Perceval calculates that the date was August 20, A. D. 570.^ Ac- cording to Sprenger, it was April 13, A. D. 571.^ Soon after his birth, according to Arab custom, he was sent to be nursed by Halimah, a woman of the tribe of Bni Saad, where he remained for a period of two years. In his sixth year Mohammed was taken by his mother to Medina, but on the return journey she fell sick and died. The orphan boy was then taken back to Mecca ^ and put under the care of his grandfather, Abd ul Mut- '■ talib, and when the latter died, two years later, under that of his uncle, Abu Talib. The following beautiful verses ^For his genealogy, see the table opposite. 2A. P. Caussin de Perceval, "Essai sur I'Histoire des Arabes avant I'IsIamisme" (Paris, 1836), Vol. I, 282. ^Aloys Sprenger, "Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammed," Vol. I, 138. TABLE OF M01IAMMJ:DS GENEALOGY THE TRIBE OF KOREISH Glralib Lo vai Kaab Ada Morrah From whom by descent OMAR the 2nd Caliph From vlt Taym 'hom Mohammed's mother Yokdah From whqm Khalid AMINA From whom by descent ABU BEKR, 1st Caiiph Abd Menaf Al Multalib Abd 5hems Naufal Hsrith Zobe Talib Abu Lahib ABDULLAH Abbas Harfza ALI(who MOHAMMED Tarried Fatlmah Mohammed's Daughter) Hassan Hossem Zamab Muhsin l^Sth Caliph) FATIMAH IBRAHIM -,d five other children with Khadijah with Mary the Coptic slave (All except Fatimah died before Mohammed and without issue) MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 35 in the Koran are Mohammed's eloquent reference to this period of his Hfe : "I swear by the splendor of light And by the silence of night That the Lord shall never forsake thee Nor in His hatred take thee; Truly for thee shall be winning Better than all beginning. Soon shall the Lord console thee, grief no longer control thee, And fear no longer cajole thee. Thou wert an orphan-boy, yet the Lord found room for thy head. When thy feet went astray, were they not to the right path led? Did he not find thee poor, yet riches around thee spread ? Then on the orphan-boy, let thy proud foot never tread. And never turn away the beggar who asks for bread, But of the Lord's bounty ever let praise be sung and said."i When twelve years old Mohammed was taken on a mercantile journey as far as Syria. Here first he came in contact with Christians and, according to tradition, met the monk Buhaira. For the rest the youth of Mo- hammed was uneventful, and he was employed, as other lads, in herding sheep and goats. To this he refers in the traditional saying, ''Verily there hath been no prophet who hath not performed the work of a shep- herd." At the age of twenty-five he entered the service of Khadijah, a rich widow of ^lecca, whose caravan of merchandise he attended, and once more visited Busra (near the Jordan), Aleppo and Damascus. As a reward of faithful service he secured her hand in marriage, and lived happily with her. His marriage gave him promi- nence, and he took a leading part in renewing an old federation at Mecca. In his thirty-fifth year he settled ^Surah 93. Translation printed in the Edinburgh Review for July, 1866. Article "Mohammed." It has all the rhyme and beauty of the original. 2,^ ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH a dispute regarding the placing of the Black Stone in re- construction of the Kaaba. When he approached the age of forty he gave his mind to contemplation, and probably composed some of the earlier chapters of the Koran.^ At last he received the call to become a prophet in the cave of Hira, and communicated his vision to his wife, Khadijah, who believed in its validity. After a period of mental depression other revelations followed, and he began to preach. The next two converts were Ali and Zeid, his adopted children; then Abu Bekr, Othman, Talha — until they numbered fifty souls. The hostility of the Meccans was aroused, persecution began, and some fled to Abyssinia. In the sixth year of his mission, Hamza and Omar joined Islam. In the tenth year Khadijah died, and the same year Mohammed negotiated two new marriages. Attempting to convert the people of Taif, he was driven out, but he won over a party of twelve from Medina, who came on pilgrimage and preached the faith on their return. At the next season seventy were ready to take the pledge of allegiance at Akaba. Shortly after Mohammed determined to flee from Mecca to Medina, and this flight dates the Moslem era (622 A. D.). The Second Period. — The flight to Medina changed not only the scene, but the actor and drama. He who at Mecca was the preacher and warner, now becomes the legislator and warrior. This is evident from the Koran chapters revealed after the Hegira. The first year Mohammed built the great mosque and houses for his wives and his followers. The next year he began hostilities against the Koreish of Mecca, and the first pitched battle was fought at Bedr, where his force of ^Surahs 103, 100, i, loi, 95, 104, 92, 91 and 106. MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 37 three hundred and five followers routed the enemy, three times as strong.^ The Koreish, aroused by the defeat at Bedr, advanced upon Medina, defeated the Moslem army at Ohod, and Mohammed himself was seriously wounded. The fourth year of the Hegira, war was waged against the tribe of Asad and the Jews of Bni Nazir; Mohammed also mar- ried a fifth and sixth wife. At the battle of the Ditch he defended Medina against a superior force, and broke up their siege. The next expedition was against the Jews of Bni Koraiza; seven hundred captives were slain, and the women and children sold into slavery.^ Before the close of this year Mohammed married Zainab, the wife of his freed slave and adopted son.^ In the sixth year of the Hegira there were other expeditions against the Jews and idolaters. The same year Mohammed wTOte letters to foreign kings and princes, inviting them to em- brace Islam. In the seventh year of the Hegira Mohammed assem- bled a force of sixteen hundred warriors and marched against the Jewish strongholds at Khaibar; the Jews were subjugated or slain, and there was much booty, in- cluding a new wife — Safiyah — for the prophet. It was during the Khaibar expedition that Mohammed legalized ^The description of the battle by Muir is graphic in all its gruesome details. "Abu Jahl was yet breathing when Abdullah, Mohammed's servant, ran up and, cutting off his head, carried it to his master. 'The head of the enemy of God,' cried Mohammed; 'God, there is no other god but He.' 'There is no other,' said Abdullah, as he cast the bloody head at the Prophet's feet. 'It is more acceptable to me,' cried Mohammed, 'than the choicest camel in all Arabia.' " After the battle Mohammed gave the law in regard to the division of the spoil, one-fifth for the prophet and for the rest share and share alike to all. No quarter was given to the enemy, and even two days after the battle the chief prisoners, among them Okba and Nazir, were slain. ^This massacre is commended in Surah 33, verse 25. sSurah 33:36-38. 38 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH "temporary marriages,"^ altho it is said he afterward abolished the abominable custom. At Khaibar also a Jewess attempted to poison him, but the deed was dis- covered, and she was immediately put to death. After- ward Mohammed made the attempt to perform the sa- cred pilgrimage to the old Pantheon at Mecca, but was turned back. The next year, the eighth of the Hegira, in pursuance of the terms of the truce made at Hodai- biya, he entered Mecca and peacefully performed the ceremonies of the old pagan cult, thus forever perpetu- ating them in Islam. At Mecca he negotiated his last marriage, and through it won Khalid, **the Sword of God," and Omar, "the Valiant," as converts. The army sent under them to Southern Syria met with disaster, and there was also renewed hostility at Mecca. There- fore Mohammed resolved to attack his native city. He approached with ten thousand men, entered Mecca with- out a battle, destroyed the idols in the Kaaba, and ad- ministered the oath of allegiance to the people. When expeditions were sent to subdue the neighboring tribes, and Khalid was guilty of ordering a whole tribe to be slain, Mohammed rebuked him and sent money for the widows and orphans of the slain. The ninth year of the Hegira was the year of deputations, when the various Arabian tribes accepted Islam. Other warlike expedi- tions to Tabuk, Duma and Taif followed. In A. D. 631 Mohammed issued the famous command that, after four years, the Moslems would be absolved from every league or covenant with idolaters, and that thereafter no unbe- liever would be allowed to make the pilgrimage. The same year he had a great sorrow in the death of his little son, Ibrahim. The next year, in great state, he made the ^See Chapter VI of this volume, "^m^^^^^^miifM^m^m MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 39 final pilgrimage, but the excitement and fatigue told on his health, for he was growing infirm. Three danger- ous revolts by rival prophets — Musailimah, Iswad and Tulaiha— broke out in Arabia, which were all subdued, but not until after the death of Mohammed. The proph- et's health grew worse; sixty-three years of checkered life had undermined his iron constitution, and perhaps the poison of Khaibar had left its trace in his system. From his sick-bed he sent out a last expedition, under Osama, against the Roman border ; and, after a final ad- dress from the mosque pulpit, having given alms to the poor and counsel to his followers, he lay down to die on Aisha's lap. Muir, following the oldest Moslem biographers, tells the rest of the story thus: "His strength now rapidly sank. He seemed to be aware that death was drawing near. He called for a pitcher of water and, wxtting his face, prayed thus, *0 Lord, I beseech Thee to assist me in the agonies of death.' Then three times he ejaculated, most earnestly, 'Gabriel, come close to me!' . . . After a little he prayed in a whisper, 'Lord, grant me pardon, and join me to the companionship on high.' Then at intervals : 'Eternity in Paradise ! Pardon ! Yes, the blessed companionship on high.' He stretched himself gently. Then all was still. His head grew heavy on the breast of Aisha. The prophet of Arabia was dead."^ His Personal Appearance. — Mohammed is described in tradition as a man above middle height, of spare fig- ure, as are nearly all the Arabs, commanding presence, massive head, noble brow, jet black hair, and a long bushy beard. His eyes were piercing. Decision marked his every movement, and he always walked rapidly. This ^Sir William Muir, "Life of Mahomet." 40 islam: a challenge 'to faith picture is doubtless reliable, and shows us something of the man of whom the world has never seen contemporane- ous portrait or sculpture. All writers seem to agree that he had the genius to command, and expected obedience from equals as well as inferiors. James Freeman Clarke^ says that to him, more than to any other of whom history makes mention, was given "The monarch mind, the mystery of commanding, The birth-hour gift, the art Napoleon Of wielding, moulding, gathering, welding, banding The hearts of thousands till they moved as one." His Character. — The character of Mohammed is one of the great problems of history. Altho the sources of our information concerning his life and work are all Mohammedan, and the Koran is his book, there is the greatest diversity of opinion among students of history, medanism in the twelfth century, concludes that Mo- hammed was in no sense of the word a prophet;^ while Bosworth Smith and Thomas Carlyle maintain that he was "a very Prophet of God."^ Saiyad Ameer AH suc- ceeds, by clever argument, in eliminating every sensual, harsh and ignorant trait from the character of Moham- med.* In contrast to this, we may read what Hugh Broughton quaintly wrote in 1662: "Now consider this Moamed or Machumed, whom God gave up to a blind mind, an Ishmaelite, being a poor man till he married ^James Freeman Clarke, "Ten Great Religions." ^"Zwei Biicher gegen den Mohammedanismus von Petrus Venerabilis, ins Deutsche iibersetzt von John. Thoma." (Leipsic, 1896, Akademische Buch- handlung.) ^R. Bosworth Smith, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism," 340. *"The Spirit of Islam; or, The Life and Teachings of Mohammed" (Cal- cutta, 1902), 78-85; 102-113, etc. THE HERO AS PROPHET, A LECTURE, BY THOMAS CARLYLE. PUBLISHED BY THS Z^OHAMIVEADAN TRACT AND BOOK DSFOT, PUZrJAB. ^ a h o r 2 : PRINTED AT THE ISLAMLi PRESS. 1893. M. Y. PRB83, (Price per copy two annas.) FACSIMILE TITLE TAtlE OF A MOSLEM TRACT A reprint of Carlyle's essay on Mohammed, published by the New Islam movement in India, indicating the activity of Moslem propaganda 40 MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 4I a widow ; wealthy then and of high countenance, having the falHng sickness and being tormented by the devil, whereby the widow was sorry that she had matched with him. He persuaded her, by himself and others, that his fits were but a trance wherein he talked with the angel Gabriel. So, in time, the impostor was reputed a prophet of God and, from Judaism, Arius, Nestorius, and his own brain, he frameth a doctrine." Not altogether bad for a seventeenth-century synopsis ! In our day the critical labors of Arabic scholars, like Sprenger, Weil, Muir, Koelle, and others, have given us a more correct idea of Mohammed's life and character, but the pendulum is still swinging, and will come to rest probably between the two extremes. Sir ^'"'iliam Muir, Marcus Dods, and others, claim that Mohammed was at first sincere and upright, himself believing in his so- called revelations, but that afterward, intoxicated by success, he used the dignity of his prophetship for per- sonal ends, and was conscious of deceiving the people in some of his later revelations. Koelle finds the key to the first period of Mohammed's life In Khadijah, his first wife, who directed his ambitions and controlled his passions by her maturity and good management. After her death he revealed what he had always been, and gave vent to his hitherto restrained passions. Aloys Sprenger finds the solution of the problem in the epileptic fits to which Mohammed was subject, at least once in his youth, and often in later years : "The fit, after which he assumed his office, was undoubtedly brought on by long- continued and increasing mental excitement, and by his ascetic exercises. We know that he used frequently to fast, and that he sometimes devoted the greater part of the night to prayer. The bias of the Mohammedans is 42 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH to gloss over the aberration of their prophet's mind and his intention to commit suicide. Most of his biogra- phers pass over the transition period in silence. We may, therefore, be justified in stretching the scanty in- formation which we can glean from them to the utmost extent, and in supposing that he was, for some time, a complete maniac, and that the fit after which he assumed his office was a paroxysm of cataleptic insanity. This disease is sometimes accompanied by such interesting psychical phenomena that, even in modern times, it gives rise to many superstitious opinions."^ Aside from the disputed question of Mohammed's sin- cerity, whether in his early career or throughout his life, no one can say that his moral character reached a high standard. It is possible to measure the prophet by three standards, of which two at least would seem to be a fair test : The law of the Pagan Arabs, the law he himself professed to reveal, and the law of the Old and New Testaments, zvhicli he professed to approve and supersede. By the New Testament law of Jesus Christ, who was the last Prophet before Mohammed and whom Mohammed acknowledged as the Word of God, the Ara- bian prophet stands self-condemned. The most cursory examination of his biography proves that he repeatedly broke every precept of the Sermon on the Mount, not only in his private life, hut in his prophetic oifice. And the Koran itself proves that the spirit of Jesus was en- tirely absent from the mind of IMohammed. The Arabs among whom Mohammed was born and grew to manhood also had a law, altho they were idola- ters, slaveholders and polygamists. Even the robbers of the desert who, like Mohammed, lay in wait for cara- ^Aloys Sprenger, "Life of Mohammed," VoL I, 949. (Allahabad, 1851.) MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 43 vans, had a code of honor. Three flagrant breaches of this code stain the character of Mohammed.^ It was quite lawful to marry a captive woman, whose relatives had been slain in battle, but not until three months after their death. Mohammed only waited three days in the case of the Jewess, Safiyah. It was lawful to rob mer- chants, but not pilgrims, on their way to Mecca. Mo- hammed broke this old law, and "revealed a verse" to justify his conduct. In the ''Time of Ignorance" it was incest to marry the wife of an adopted son, even after his decease. The prophet Mohammed fell in love with the lawful wife of his adopted son, Zeid, prevailed on him to divorce her, and then married her immediately ; for this also he had a "special revelation." The latest biographer of Mohammed, Professor D. S. Margoliouth, writes : "Of any moralizing or demoralizing effect which Mohammed's teaching had upon his followers, we can- not speak with precision. When he was at the head of a robber community (in Medina) it is probable that the demoralizing influence began to be felt ; it was then that men who had never broken an oath learned that they might evade their obligations, and that men to whom the blood of the clansmen had been as their own began to shed it with impunity in the cause of God ; and that lying and treachery, in the cause of Islam, received divine ap- proval, hesitation to perjure oneself in that cause being represented as a weakness. It was then, too, that Mos- lems became distinguished by the obscenity of their lan- guage. It was then, too, that the coveting of goods and wives (possessed by unbelievers) was avowed without discouragement from the prophet. "- ^Sir William Muir, "Mahomet"; Sprenger, Koelle, etc. ^D. S. Margoliouth, "Mohammed and the Rise of Islam" (New York and London, 1905), 149. Every statement given is based on original Moslem 44 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH But Mohammed was not only guilty of breaking the old Arab laws, and coming infinitely short of the law of Christ ; he never even kept the laws of which he claimed to be the divinely appointed medium and custodian. When Khadijah died he found his own law, lax as it was, insufficient to restrain his lusts. His followers were to be content with four lawful wives; according to tra- dition, he took to himself eleven lawful wives and two concubines.^ It is impossible to form a just estimate of the character of Mohammed, unless we know some- what of his relations with women. This subject, how- ever, is, of necessity, shrouded from decent eyes, be- cause of the brutality and coarseness of its charac- sources, viz., for this paragraph: Bokhari IV, 90; Musnad IV, 256; Mus- nad IV, 79; Ishak 433, 744; Ibn Saad III, 116, 13, etc. ii. Khadijah. — A rich lady who had been twice married. She remained Mohammed's only wife for twenty-five years. The mother of two sons and four daughters. 2. Saudah.— Widow of Sakran. Married Mohammed two months after death of Khadijah. 3. 'AiSHA. — Daughter of Abu Bekr. Betrothed when seven years old; married at ten. His favorite wife. 4. Juwa[rijah. — Widow of Al Harith. Ransomed for nine ounces of gold by Mohammed. 5. Hafsah. — Daughter of Omar; widow of Khunais. 6. Zainab. — Widow of Mohammed's cousin, Obaidah. 7. Um Salmah. — Widow of Abu Salima, who died in battle. 8. Zainab. — Wife of Mohammed's adopted son, Zaid, who divorced her to please the prophet (Surah 33:36). By Arab law she was unlawful to him. 9. Safiyah. — Widow of a Khaibar chief, who was cruelly put to death. 10. LTm Habibah.— Widow of one of the four Moslems who emigrated to Abyssinia, and there became Christians. 11. Maimunah.— Daughter of El Harith. 12. Mary, the Coptic Slave (concubine).— A Christian slave-girl sent to Mohammed by the Roman governor of Egypt. 13. Rihanah.— A Jewess, whose husband was slain in the massacre of the Bni Koraiza. After the victory trenches were dug across the market-place and, one by one, the male captives, by Mohammed's orders, were beheaded on the brink of the trench and cast into it. The butchery lasted all day, and It needed torchlight to finish it. After dark Rihanah was taken to Mo- hammed's tent.— Ma jma'-ul-Bihar, p. 528; Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam," p. MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 45 ter.^ A recent writer in a leading missionary maga- zine, touching on this subject, says : ''We must pass the matter over, simply noting that there are depths of filth in the prophet's character which may assort well enough with the depraved sensuality of the bulk of his followers, . . . but which are simply loathsome in the eyes of all over whom Christianity, in any measure or degree, has influence." We have no inclination to lift the veil that, in most English biographies, covers the family-life of the prophet of Arabia. But it is only fair to remark that these love-adventures, and the disgusting details of his married life, form a large part of the "lives of the prophet of God," which are the fireside literature of educated Moslems in all lands where Mohammed is the ideal of character and the standard of morality. The list of Mohammed's wives will be a sufficient index to the subject for any student of Arabic liter- ature. Finally, we can only say, with Johnstone: **If it be thought that the judgment passed on the prophet of Arabia is harsh, let it be remembered that the evidence on which it rests comes all from the lips and the pens of his own devoted adherents. The voice of foes or de- tractors of his own time, or of time immediately follow- ing, has not yet reached the ears of later ages. Every- thing that could tend to his glory was eagerly sought out and treasured up by men jealous of his good name ; and everything that might seem to detract therefrom was carefully suppressed. His lightest words were sa- cred to them, his most trifling actions were the example they strove to follow. To them he was the highest and iSee Insan el Ayun, Ibn Ishak, Bokhari, etc. Or Paul de Regla, quota- tions in "El Kitab des Lois Secretes de TAmour." (Paris, 1906.) 46 islam: a challenge to faith most excellent of the creatures of God's hand — last and most perfect of the messengers who declared His will to man. The vast body of tradition which was traced back to the lips of those who had most closely companied with him was jealously sifted and scrutinized, though not tested by the canons of Western criticism; it is on this that our knowledge is founded and our judgment passed. And the followers of the prophet can scarcely complain if, even on such evidence, the verdict of history goes against himj"^ The Apotheosis of Mohammed. — The life and charac- ter of Mohammed, as portrayed by his earliest biogra- phers — Ibn Ishak, Ibn Hisham, Wakidi, and others — is, however, not the present-day conception of the prophet. In the Koran and in these earliest sources Mohammed is thoroughly human and liable to error. Later tradition has changed all that, and made him sinless and almost divine. The two hundred and one titles of honor given him proclaim his apotheosis,^ and orthodox tradition establishes the claim. He is called Light of God, Peace of the World, Glory of the Ages, First of all Creatures, and names yet more lofty and blasphemous. He is at once the sealer and abrogator of all former prophets and revelations. They have not only been succeeded, but also supplanted by Mohammed. No Moslem prays to him, but every Moslem daily prays for him in endless repetition. He is the only powerful intercessor on the day of judgment. Every detail of his early life is at- tributed to divine permission or command, and so the very faults of his character are his endless glory and his ^P. de Lacy Johnstone, "Muhammad and his Power." ^For the list of these lordly names, many of which are similar to those given to God, see Sinajet et Tarb, Beirut edition, or any recent Moslem biography. Zwemer, "Moslem Doctrine of God," 46. MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 47 sign of superiority.^ God favored him above all crea- tures. He dwells in the highest heaven, and is several degrees above Jesus in honor and station. His name is never uttered or written without the addition of a prayer. *'Ya Mohammed" is the open sesame to every door of difficulty — temporal or spiritual. One hears that name in the bazaar and in the street, in the mosque and from the minaret. Sailors sing it while hoisting their sails ; hammals groan it, to raise a burden ; the beggar howls it, to obtain alms ; it is the Bedouin's cry in attacking a caravan; it hushes babes to sleep, as a cradle-song; it is the pillow of the sick, and the last word of the dying; it is written on the door-posts and in their hearts as well as, since eternity, on the throne of God; it is to the de- vout Moslem the name above every name ; grammarians can tell you how its four letters are representative of all the sciences and mysteries by their wonderful combina- tion. The name of Mohammed is the best to give a child, and the best to swear by, for an end of all dis- pute, in a close bargain. In some biographies of Mo- hammed we are solemnly told that God created man in the image of Mohammed's name, as written in Arabic on His throne: >v^ jt viz., M h m d, and that the four postures in prayer are indicative of the four characters in his other name, >>-t>| both of which naive theories seem very plausible to the devout Mos- lem of to-day. The exceeding honor given to Mohammed's name by his followers is only one indication of the place their prophet occupies in their system and holds in their hearts. From the fullness of the heart the mouth ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 185; Ameer AH, "The Spirit of Islam," Arabic quotations, i, no, etc. 48 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH speaketh. Mohammed holds the keys of heaven and hell. No Moslem, however bad his character, will perish fin- ally; no unbeliever, however good his life, can be saved, except through Mohammed. One has only to question the Moslem masses, whether in Morocco or Java, or to read a single volume of 'Traditions," for proof of this statement. Islam denies the need of a mediator or of the incarnation, but it is evident that, in popular thought and in Moslem writings, Mohammed acts as a mediator, zvithout an incarnation, without an atonement, without demand for change of character. For illustration, let this story of the Jew suffice, altho it could be matched with a hundred others equally absurd, yet equally credited : "In the days of the children of Israel there was a sin- ful and flagitious man who, for the space of two hun- dred years, wearied everyone by the enormity of his of- fences. When he died they threw his corpse upon a dunghill, but no sooner had this been done than Gabriel, coming to Moses, said: 'Thus saith the Almighty God, This day My friend has departed from this world, and the people have cast his corpse upon a dunghill. Now let that corpse be dressed and prepared for burial with- out delay : and ye shall speak unto the children of Israel, that they forthwith recite the burial service over his bier if they desire pardon.' Then Moses marveled exceed- ingly, and inquired why forgiveness was required, and God answered: 'The Lord well knoweth all the sins which that sinner hath during these two hundred years committed; and, verily, he never could have been par- doned. But, one day, this wicked man was reading the Torah and, seeing there the name of the blessed Mo- hammed, he wept and pressed the page to his eyes. This MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 49 honor and reverence shown to My beloved was pleasing unto Me, and from the blessed effects of that single act I have blotted out the sins of the whole two hundred years.' Lovers of the blessed Mohammed! rejoice in your hearts, and be assured that love for the holy proph- et, the Lord of creation, is, in every possible condition, the means of salvation."^ The "Coronation Hymn" of Islam. — Among all the books and poems written in praise of Mohammed there is none so popular, or so celebrated, as "the poem of the mantle," ''El Burda." It is the "Coronation Hymn" of the Moslem world and, had Islam music in its public worship, would hold the place among them that "Ail Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" does among Christians. It is read at public festivals, sung by travelling dervishes and printed in books of devotion. It has been translated into nearly all the languages of the Mohammedan world, as well as into Latin, German, French and English. More than thirty commentaries on the poem exist in Arabic, and twenty-one Arabic poets have exercised their in- genuity in poetical paraphrases of the text. One of these books even sets forth the various medical benefits to be derived from the poem when properly transcribed for amulets and charms.- The author of the poem was Sharif ud Din Moham- mad el Busiri, of Berber origin, born in Egypt about I2I2 A. D. His history is obscure, and even the date and place of his death is uncertain. Although he wTote other poetry, his fame is due solely to verses written in ^This story is given on page 3 of a life of Mohammed, published at Agra, in 1852, and also in the book "Insan el Ayun," an authority in Arabia and Egypt. There are many similar tales current; one relates that even Satan has benefit from the coming of Mohammed. ^See references in Brockelmann, "Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur." 50 islam: a challenge to faith praise of Mohammed. The occasion on which he wrote "El Burda" is thus given in his own words: "It hap- pened that I was struck with paralysis on my left side, and besought Allah to cure me. Shortly after I was composing my poem, in honor of the prophet, when he appeared in a vision and passed his blessed hand over my side. The result was a complete cure." Later tra- ditions add that Mohammed also threw his mantle over the poet, and thus the poem received its name. But this part of the story happens to be borrowed from the "Life of Kaab bin Zuhair," a contemporary of the prophet. This man first mocked Mohammed's mission, and after- ward, afraid of vengeance, appeased the prophet by verses in his honor. On this occasion Mohammed for- gave his enemy, and actually gave him a mantle. This precious heirloom is still preserved in Constantinople, according to Moslem authorities. Not only the story of its composition, but the poem it- self resembles the earlier one of Kaab bin Zuhair. The original title of the later production was "The Glitter- ing Galaxy of Stars in Praise of the Best of God's Creatures." It consists of one hundred and seventy-two rhymed couplets in ordinary Arabic metre, full of allite- rations and the play upon words of which Orientals are so fond. It gives a summary of the chief events in Mohammed's life and an abridgment of Moslem beliefs. From its form it can be easily memorized and, naturally, its subject is one of which the pious Moslem never grows weary. The poet wrote long after tradition and orthodoxy had quenched the last spark of historical criticism in the Mohammedan world. If the author had read the Koran or Ibn Hisham with discrimination he would hardly have written: MOHAMMED, THE PROPHET 5I "Vainly would men strive to comprehend The excellence of his mental endowments ! Just as when seen from far of day's bright orb The enormous magnitude is not apparent, But dazzles and confounds the vision Of him who near beholds it." The poem is really an attempt to put Mohammed on a par with Jesus Christ, by attributing to him Christian ideas and gospel miracles. There is no doubt that there were Christian influences moulding the form and fur- nishing the substance of later Mohammedan religious literature. Mohammed's biography, as given by later writers, is a palpable plagiarism and a parody on the life of our Saviour, as given in the gospels.^ The poem of "The Mantle" calls the Mecca camel driver "Prince of both of God's great worlds, That of men and that of genii. Sovereign likewise is he of the two races, Arabians and Barbarians. He is our prophet, who to us prescribeth What we shall do and what we shall avoid. Vast as the sea is his generosity, His designs are as large and long as time." Not only does Mohammed occupy so high a place in creation, but he is the sole hope of the dying, and the only intercessor on the last day; altho this teaching flatly contradicts the Koran. The poet voices the great need of the Moslem for a Saviour from sin when he bursts out with these words: "O thou most excellent of all created beings ! To whom but thee can I flee for refuge In that moment so terrible to every mortal? O Apostle of God, thy glory will not be tarnished By whatsoever aid thou mayest vouchsafe to me In that tremendous day wherein the Mighty Himself shall be manifest as the Avenger." ^See S. W. Koelle, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism." 52 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH It is natural that Mohammed's chief miracle, the matchless Arabic Koran, receives no small praise; in this portion of the poem there are lofty thoughts beau- tifully expressed, but the metaphors again seem bor- rowed from the Bible. The Moslem is told . . . "Therein to read to find a refuge sure Safe from Hell's scorching heat. The refreshing waters of the Book divine Will cool the ardours of the infernal pit." "As in some lofty mountain shines from far, Amid the darkness of a moonless night, A beacon lighted by some kindly hand To lead the traveller to some friendly hearth, So do these oracles irradiate with their beams The gloom and darkness of a sinful world." Alas ! that the only true commentary on these verses is the gloom and darkness that still rest on the sinful Moslem world, and which neither the Koran, with all its literary beauty, nor Mohammed has, in any way, re- moved, but rather increased. A stream cannot rise higher than its source, and this chapter has already shown one of the sources — the chief source — of Islam. The religion which Mohammed founded bears every- where the imprint of his life and character. Mohammed was not only the prophet, but the prophecy of Islam. THE SPREAD OF ISLAM "Let there be no compulsion in religion." — The Koran, Surah 2: 257. "When the holy months shall be past, then slay the polytheists wherever ye find them, and seize them, and besiege them, and lie in ambush for them in every ambuscade. But if they turn Mos- lems, and rise to prayer, and give the legal-alms, let them alone." — The Koran, Surah 9:15. "Thus, from its very inception, Islam has been a missionary religion both in theory and practice, for the life of Mohammed exemplifies the same teaching, and the prophet himself stands at the head of a long series of Moslem missionaries who have won an entrance for their faith into the hearts of unbelievers. More- over, it is not in the cruelties of the persecutor or the fury of the fanatic that we should look for the evidences of the mission- ary spirit of Islam any more than in the exploits of that mythi- cal personage, the Moslem warrior with sword in one hand and the Koran in the other." — T. W. Arnold in The Preaching of Islam. Ill THE SPREAD OF ISLAM Islam a Missionary Religion. — The great religions of the world may be divided into two classes — the non- missionary and the missionary. Judaism, Zoroastrian- ism, Hinduism, for example, are non-missionary, while Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are missionary.^ Islam was such from its very origin. Altho not in the Chris- tian conception of the word ''missionary," yet in zeal for propagating their faith, in world-wide missionary enter- prise and activity, whether by fire and sword or by word of preaching, Islam affords a striking example of how the rank and file in the Moslem army were missionaries of the faith. One hundred years after Mohammed's death his fol- lowers were masters of an empire greater than Rome at the zenith of her power. They were building mosques in China, in Spain, in Persia, and in Southern India! The extent, the rapidity and the method of the early Moslem conquest are a marvellous illustration of their fanatic zeal. Two hundred years after the Hegira Mohammed's name was proclaimed on thousands of minarets from the pillars of Plercules to the Pacific, and from Northern ^T. W. Arnold, "The Preaching of Islam," i. ^55 56 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Turkestan to Ceylon. Only thirteen centuries have passed, and to-day there are over two hundred and thirty million Mohammedans — one-seventh of the population of the globe! Fifty-eight millions in Africa, sixty-two millions in India, thirty millions in China, thirty-five mil- lions in the Malay Archipelago, and one-quarter of a million in the Philippines, not to speak of the lands that are almost wholly Mohammedan in Western Asia. It is easy enough to say that Mohammedanism was propa- gated by the sword. It largely was. But we may well ask, with Carlyle :^ "Where did Mohammed get his sword?" What fires of faith and devotion must have burned in the hearts of the early champions of Islam, to make them gird the sword and fight and die for the new religion ! It swept across Syria, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, like the desert simoon — swift, fierce, impetuous irresistible, destructive — only to be curbed and cooled by the waves of the Atlantic. History tells of Akba, one of their leaders, that he rode his horse far out into the surf, and cried : "Great God ! if I were not stopped by this raging sea, I would go on to the nations of the West, preaching the unity of Thy name and putting to the sword those who would not submit."- Tarik, finding no lands to the west, crossed over the straits into Spain, and named its promontory Jebel Tarik (the mountain of Tarik), Gibraltar — an everlasting monument to his mis- sionary zeal. Three Periods of Conquest. — The spread of Islam may be chronologically divided into three periods, and the dates when Islam entered the lands where it is now pre- ^Thomas Carlyle, in "Heroes and Hero Worship," The Hero as Prophet. ^Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 57 dominant fall into three groups. Like Christianity, we may say Islam has had its apostolic, medieval and mod- ern missions. The first period is from the death of Mo- hammed, 632 A. D. to 800 A. D. ; a later period, under the Ottomans and Moguls, 1280 A. D. to 1480 A. D. ; and lastly the modern spread of Islam, from 1780 A. D. and on, through the Wahabi revival and the Derwish movements in Africa. During the first period, the days of the early caliphs, fire and sword carried Islam triumphant throughout all Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, and, by more peaceful means, as far as Canton and Western China. All these regions had received the faith, and it had become deeply rooted before the year 1000 A. D., while Christianity was put under tribute and oppression, as in Asia Minor and Egypt, or entirely swept away, as in Arabia itself, by the tornado power of the new relig- ion in its political conquest. That worldly motives played a considerable part in the early conversion of these lands cannot be doubted, and is admitted even by Moslem historians. When, for ex- ample, the Arabs of the pathless desert, who fed on ''lo- custs and wild honey," once tasted the delicacies of civi- lization in Syria and reveled in the luxurious palaces of the Khosroes, they said : "By Allah, even if we cared not to fight for the cause of God, yet we could not but wish to contend for and enjoy these, leaving distress and hun- ger henceforth to others. "^ The second chapter of Moslem conquest began with the rise of the Ottoman Turks and the IMoguls of India. During this period Afghanistan, Turkestan, India, Java ^The Moslem historian, Et Tabari, attributes these words to Khalid. "Al Kindy," 85; C. R. Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 53. 58 islam: a challenge to faith and the Malay Archipelago, with Servia and Bosnia in Europe, were more or less "converted" to Islam. Lastly, we can chronicle the modern missionary efforts of Islam by those apostles of fanaticism, the Derwish orders in Africa, by the Oman Arabs in their slave-raids, by the disciples of the Cairo University, or by returning Meccan pilgrims. Their work has been chiefly in Africa, but also in Russia, the Malay Archipelago, the Philip- pines, and even among the Finns of the Volga.^ Within the narrow limits of this chapter no attempt is made to give the history of Moslem empires or dynas- ties, nor the rise, decline and fall of the early caliphate; but the story of the spread of the Moslem faith is told in brief outline, following the great geographical areas now under its sway. Arabia and Syria. — Whatever may have been the method of propagating Islam in the later centuries, his- tory leaves no doubt that its world-conquest began with the sword. Mohammed, before his death, had announced, as a prophecy, that ''wars for the spread of Islam would never cease until the anti-Christ appeared."^ And just before he fell sick the prophet had given orders for an expedition to the Syrian border. The great commission of the apostle of Islam was "to slay the polytheists wher- ever ye find them" — and no sooner was Abu Bekr pro- claimed Caliph than the faithful hastened to fulfil the command. The army of invasion which was to carry the Moslem standard into Syria was ordered to advance. El Wakidi, the historian, leaves no doubt of the purpose of their errand, and of how they executed it. He says: "With the well-known cry of Ya Mansur Umit! — Strike, ^See the synchronological table in T. W. Arnold, "Preaching of Islam," 389; also 204, 324, etc. =Sir William Muir, "Life of Mahomet," "Vol. IV, 204. THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 59 O ye conquerors ! — they slew all who opposed them, and carried off the remainder into captivity. They burned the villages, the fields of standing corn, and the groves of palm, and behind them there went up, as it were, a whirlwind of fire and smoke. "^ Abu Bekr, in his address to the people, emphasized the fact, as well he might, that the very existence of the new religion now depended on aggressive warfare. ''When a people leaveth off to fight in the ways of the Lord," said he, ''the Lord also casteth off that people." But Islam had so little real grip on the Arabs themselves that, on Mohammed's death, the Bedouin tribes, with one accord, fell away from Islam and all the prophet's work in Arabia had to be done over again. Medina and Mecca alone remained true to their faith.2 Al Kindi, in his apology, states that the Arab tribes started aside, like a broken bow, and were only brought back gradually to hold fast to Islam by one inducement or another, "by kindly treatment, persuasion and craft, by fear and the terror of the sword, by the prospect of power and wealth, and by the lusts and pleasures of this life."2 When Osama had returned victorious from the Syrian conquest eleven diff"erent expeditions were sent by Abu Bekr against the apostate tribes throughout Arabia. Muir observes that but for the simple faith and energy of Abu Bekr himself "Islam would have melted away in compromise with the Bedouin tribes, or, likelier still, have perished in the throes if its birth."'* It took over a year of hard fighting against obstinate resistance to "convert" i"Kitab el Wakidi," 139; Muir, IV, 298. ^C. R. Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 52. 3"A1 Kindy," 135, quoted in Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 52. *Sir William Muir, "The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline and Fall," 14. 6o ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the Arabs of the Peninsula, altho they have ever since been true to Islam. Khalid, the Sword of Allah, was sent out against the rebel prophets, Toleiha and Mosei- lama. The first battle was with Toleiha, and the armies met at Bozakha. Victory came to the Moslems after a hard-fought field. The expedition against the Bni Te- mim, who occupied the plateau near the Persian Gulf, was also successful, and in the bloody battle of "the Garden of Death" Khalid overcame the forces of Mosei- lama. The Moslems lost twelve hundred men in the hand- to-hand slaughter, but Khalid, a true son of Islam, sig- nalized his victory by wedding a captive maid on the field of battle. When Abu Bekr heard of it, he wrote him a letter sprinkled with blood: *'By my life! thou art a pretty fellow, living thus at thine ease. Thou weddest a damsel while the ground beneath the nuptial couch is yet moistened with the blood of twelve hundred."^ Such were the early missionaries of Islam. While Khalid was busy in Northern and Central Ara- bia, other similar campaigns were in progress in Bahrein and Oman. In the spring of 633 A. D., Yemen was sub- dued, and finally Hadramaut also submitted to the rule of the caliph and the religion of the prophet. In 634 the victorious Moslems, under Khalid, took Damascus. In 636 they utterly defeated the Persians at Kadesia, and the same year drove Heraclius out of Syria. Jerusalem fell the next year, and the conquest of Syria was then completed. Chaldea also was subdued by Khalid after the fashion of all these early and haughty champions of the faith. To Hormuz, the satrap of the fertile delta region, Kha- lid wrote: "Accept the faith, and thou art safe; else pay ^Sir William Muir, "The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline and Fall." THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 6l tribute, thou and thy people ; which, if thou refusest, thou shalt have thyself to blame. A people is already on thee, loving death, even as thou lovest life." He refused to submit, and in the Battle of the Chains another province was added to the Arab dominions. Mohammed himself had so completely confused the functions of prophet and politician, warrior and preacher, that it is not surprising his successors knew no distinction between the word of Allah and the sword of Allah in the propagating of their faith. Yet the most remarkable fact in the spread of Islam is that political sway was not altogether synony- mous with religious conversion. When Islam triumphed in Asia Minor, Christianity was dominant among the peoples speaking Greek, Armenian and Syriac, and these peoples, after twelve centuries of contact and conflict with Islam, are still Christian. The spread of Islam was not wholly a triumph. The victory more than once re- mained to the vanquished, and Islam often failed to win allegiance where it won subjection. Dr. William A. Shedd, in writing of this, says: "We are, perhaps, apt to forget this failure of Islam, the failure to attract and convert peoples who have lived for twelve and a half centuries under Moslem rule, accessible to the efforts of Mohammedan teachers, with material gain on the side of Islam : and yet to-day they are more averse to Islam than ever. It would be difficult to point out any similar failure of Christianity in its whole history."^ Africa. — The spread of Islam in Africa began in 638 A. D. and still continues. Bonet-Maury points out that there were three periods in the conflict for Africa. In the first, 638-1050 A. D., the Arabs, by rapid military conquest, overran the Mediterranean littoral from Egypt ^W. A. Shedd, "Islam and the Oriental Churches," 150. 62 islam: a challenge to faith to Morocco, where the stubborn resistance of the Berbers and especially discord among the Moslem rulers pre- vented wider conquest until the tenth century. During the second period, from 1050-1750, Morocco, the Sahara region, and the Western Soudan became Moslem, and the desire for conquest was, no doubt, provoked, in part, as a reaction against the Christian crusades. The third period, 1750- 1900, was that of the revival of Islam and its spread through the Mahdi movement and the Derwish orders."^ While Khalid carried the Moslem banner to victory in Syria and Western Persia, Amru-ibn-el-As, with equal furor, invaded Egypt. Within two years (640 A. D.) Alexandria was taken, and Egypt became a dependency, like Syria and Chaldea. In 647 the armies moved west- ward, and within thirty years the victorious Moslems had reached the Atlantic Ocean and were preparing to cross over into Spain. It is impossible to give here, even in summary, the story of these campaigns. The political vic- tory was often an easy one, because the Christians were divided. In Egypt one party, the Copts, welcomed the Mohammedan invaders as a means of deliverance from the orthodox Christian Miikawkas. However, they soon had abundant reason to regret it,^ and the religious vic- tory of Islam was only partial, for there are still to-day in Egypt 600,000 Copts. Abdullah invaded Tripoli in 647 A. D. ; Akba pene- trated to Mauritania in 6yy A. D. ; yet their bloody vic- tories were largely valueless to Islam, because Christian civilization fought for its very life. It was not until ^G. Bonet-Maury, "L'Islamisme et Le Christianisme en Afrique" (Paris, 1906), 67, 68; 226-249. ^Dr. A. Watson, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 23. w o , tn Ap Z 5 o i> .. i "h - ^ ^ •■" o r; C -J &1 THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 6^ 754 A. D. that, by the conversion of the Christian "in- fidels," tribute was abohshed.^ Ibn Khaldun, the Mos- lem historian, states that those formerly Christians apos- tatized from Islam fourteen times.^ The Arabs, in their later efforts at "conversion," whether for trade, conquest or slave-raids, entered Africa from three different sides. These three streams of Mos- lem immigration and conquest were as follows: From Egypt they went westward as far as Lake Chad; from the northwest of Africa they came down to Lake Chad and the Niger region; and from Zanzibar the slave- dealers opened the way for Islam as far as the Great Lakes. As early as the year 740 A. D. an Arab immigration brought Islam to Abyssinia, but the Swaheli tribes were not converted until 1700 by the Oman traders of Zanzi- bar. The period of the greatest Arab immigration was that following the Crusades and, therefore, the mission- ary expansion of Islam in North Central Africa falls be- tween the years 1095 ^.nd 1300. Islam crossed the Sa- hara about the year 1200.^ Its progress was slow, but irresistible. In 1775 Othman, a Fulah of Gober, made a pilgrim- age to Mecca, became imbued with the Wahabi desire for reform and conquest, returned and, transforming herdsmen into warriors, built up a strong Moslem em- pire at Sokoto. His power extended from the Atlantic to Lake Chad, and from the Binwe river to the Sahara.* From 1835 to 1853 Mohammed Othman of Mecca was a zealous propagandist of Islam in Kordo and Senaar, where many tribes were still pagan, and the order of *T, \V. Arnold, "Preaching of Islam," 103-111; F. P. Noble, "Redemption of Africa," Vol. I, 47. ^jbid, Vol. I, 49. ''Ibid, Vol. I, 49. *Ibid, Vol. I, 53. Arnold, "Preaching of Islam," 265-268. 64 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Derwishes he founded still carries on his work. In West Africa the Kadiriya and Tijani orders have been active propagandists as traders and missionaries. From 1832 to 1847 Abd ul Kader, poet and statesman, and a devout Algerian Moslem, strove to recall the Arabs of North Africa to the duty of preaching Islam, and a little later the Mahdist movement in the Egyptian Soudan extended the faith with fire and sword against the ''infidels" and lukewarm believers. But the latest and strongest Moslem missionary force in Africa is that of the Senusi brotherhood, the Jesuits of Islam. Of their rise, power and progress there are many and often conflicting accounts.^ Noble gives the following summary: "In 1843 Senusi, an Algerian sheikh, driven from Mec- ca on account of his pure life and principles, took refuge temporarily at Benghazi, on the Barkan coast. After founding military monasteries here, his order having arisen in 1837, he withdrew (1855) to Jarabub. . . . Altho within the western boundary of Egypt, and only one hundred and fifty miles from the Mediterranean, it lies on a borderland of the Libyan plateau, where no Egyptian khedive, no Turkish sultan exercises authority. Here is the true head of modern Islam's hostile move- ment against the giaour or infidel. It became such partly through its almost central position for African propa- ganda and through remoteness from European interfer- ence, but chiefly from Wahabi fanaticism and reaction. Senusi and, since 1859, his son developed their projects 'Compare, for example, the account of G. Bonet-Maury in his "L'lslam- isme et Le Christianisme en Afrique" with the interesting story of Arthur Silva White, "From Sphinx to Oracle; Through the Libyan Desert to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon" (London, 1899). The book gives an ac- count of his visit to the Senusi centre Siwa, near Jarabub, their capital. Other writers on the subject are Duveyrier and Kinn. THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 65 in secrecy. The sheikh is the undisputed head of the sect, bhndly obeyed by the monastic orders of the Mos- lem world. The brethren are all in his hands as the corpse in those of the undertaker. The Senusi brother- hood is the Jesuit order of Islam. The monks regard the Senusi sheikh as the well-guided one, the true Mahdi to restore the Moslem power. Outwardly the Senusiya pro- fess to aspire to no political aim. Their ideal goal con- sists in the federation of the orthodox religious orders into one theocratic body, independent of secular author- ity. They discountenance violence. To Mohammedans in districts under Christian sway they recommend not re- volt, but withdrawal to Senusi convents. None the less, despite this ostensible condemnation of political agita- tion, the Senusiya aim at absolute independence. Their houses, at once church and school, arsenal and hospital, are found in the Libyan oases, Fezzan, Tripoli and Al- geria, in Senegambia, the Soudan and Somalia."^ Europe. — Islam entered Europe very early. In 648 the Arabs crossed into Spain; in 711 they established their rule, and they and their descendants remained there for eight centuries until, in 1502, an edict of Ferdinand and Isabella forbade the exercise of the Mohammedan re- ligion. Cyprus fell into the hands of the Saracens in 648, Rhodes five years later, while Constantinople itself was fruitlessly besieged in 668 and again in 716. Sixteen years later the battle of Tours set a limit to the Saracen conquests in Western Europe. However, in 823, Crete became Moslem, and Sicily in 878, while in 846 Rome was partially sacked by the Arabs and only saved by the bravery of Leo the Fourth.- In spite of their failure ^F. P. Noble, "Redemption of Africa," Vol. I, 54, 55. Compare also Bonet- Maury, "L'Islamisme," 245-263. *C. R. Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 58. 66 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH to take Rome, the Moslems gained a foothold in South- ern Italy, and were not driven out until 1058. At the end of the thirteenth century Islam again at- tempted the conquest of Europe under the Ottoman Turks. *'By the middle of the fourteenth century they had made good their footing in Europe. Thrace, Bul- garia, Wallachia, Servia were rapidly and thoroughly conquered., and by the end of the century Greece had be- come a Turkish province, and in 1453 the fall of Con- stantinople sealed the doom of the Eastern Empire. Sev- enty-six years later the unsuccessful siege of Vienna formed the high-water mark of Moslem conquest in that direction."^ From that day until now Turkish rule and the Moslem faith have lost power in Europe. At pres- ent, while there are one hundred and sixty-nine million Moslems in Asia and nearly sixty millions in Africa, there are only five millions in Europe. Perhaps there is a physical reason for the limit of Moslem conquest to- ward the North. In the lands of ice and snow and short- ened nights and days, the prayer-ritual is well-nigh im- possible, and the fast becomes a crushing yoke.- Gibbon tells us that the Tartars of Azoph and Astrakhan used to object to the prayer-ritual, because it was impossible in their latitude, and tried, therefore, to dissuade the Turks from attempting further conquest in that direc- tion.^ *C. R. Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 126. 'Ibn Batuta, who went to Bulgai", a city in Siberia, to witness the short nights, says: "When I was saying the prayer of sunset in that place, which happened in the month of Ramadhan, I hasted; nevertheless, the time of evening prayer came on. This hastily repeated, I prayed the mid- night prayer and the one termed El Witr, but was overtaken by the dawn!"— Haines, "Islam," 59. ^Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," viii, 48. For a more detailed and interesting, although a one-sided account of the spread pf Islam during the period of Ottoman supremacy among the Christian THE SPREAD OF ISLAM 67 Persia and Central Asia. — The entrance of Islam into Persia began with the Saracen invasion under KhaUd, and was completed during the caliphate of Omar. At the bloody battle of Nehavend, 642 A. D., when thirty thousand Persian dead were left on the field, and eighty thousand refugees slain, the fate of Persia was decided.^ Then, one after another, the various provinces were con- quered — Fars, Kerman, Makran, Sejestan, Khorasan, Azerbijan — and converted to Islam. ''But the people would, ever and anon, rise again in rebellion, and it was long before the invaders could subside into a settled life, or feel secure away from the protection of settled garri- sons. But the privileges enjoyed by the professors of the faith were so great that the adherents of Zoroastrian wor- ship were not long able to resist the attraction ; by de- grees the Persian race came over, in name at least, to the dominant creed and, in the end, opposition ceased. The notices of Zoroastrian families and of Fire temples destroyed in after reigns show indeed that in many quar- ters the conversion was slow and partial."^ Yet it was sure and certain. The conquest of Persia was of the greatest significance for the future of Islam. Here for many centuries Mohammedan literature had its greatest impulse and glory, while the Aryan mind contributed to the Semitic faith poetry, philosophy and science. But Persia also became the mother of heresies and schisms, as we shall see later, and so was a source of weakness to Islam. nations in Europe, the reader is referred to Arnold, "The Preaching of Islam," Chapter VI. ^Sir William Muir, "The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline and Fall," 179. ^Ibid, 181. Contrast with the historical facts in Muir the account given by Arnold and his remark: "That this widespread conversion was not due to force or violence is evidenced by the toleration extended to those who still cling to their ancestral faith," 179. The italics are mine. 68 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH From Persia Islam spread to Central Asia. As early as 666 A. D. it had reached Balk, and in 672 the Sara- cens attacked Bokhara. The conquest was not an easy one, and the invaders were repulsed. In 704 Kuteiba, the Arab conqueror, appeared on the scene, and is said to have advanced even as far as Turfan, on the extreme border of Eastern Turkestan, imposing Islam as he went.^ We read that Bokhara was conquered and "con- verted" three times, only to revolt and relapse until the strongest measures were taken to establish the new re- ligion. Every Bokharist, Vambery tells us, had to share his dwelling with a Moslem Arab, and those who prayed and fasted, like good Moslems, were rewarded with money .^ Finally the city was wholly given over to the Arabs, and a little later Samarkand experienced the same fate. From Bokhara as a centre, Islam spread gradually by coercion or persuasion, by preaching or by the sword, in all directions throughout Afghanistan, Turkestan and Chinese Tartary for a period of two hundred years. When Marco Polo crossed these countries (1271-1294) he found Islam nearly everywhere dominant.^ But as late as the fifteenth century an Arab of Damascus was a preacher of Islam to the pagan tribes of Tunganis who lived between Ilia and Khamil. He was brought as a prisoner-of-war by Timur, and was so zealous for the faith that thousands were converted.* Sometimes, also, Islam was spread by the influence or example of kings and princes who became Moslems and set the fashion for their court and their subjects. So Togoudar Ogoul, when he ascended the throne of Turkestan, renounced *P. D'Abry de Thiersant, "La Mahometisme en Chine," Vol. I, 257. ^A. Vambery, "Bokhara" (1873), 26. ^C. R. Haines, "Islam as a Missionary Religion," 86. i: !. , .1 , i!, ■ ■-, . *'- r;i._'-. > .1-1 m:; atones, sacrifice, running Polygamy. ! ' ■ ■ ■ :.\. Ceremoiiuil ■ I Cosmogony— I Im- .ini.-i. nt -l-.n. - . I l!.- . rH: Ih. ■■_-■■ over hell, the Sirat. Paradis^lLs cli:ir;ic'tcr— tlit- tiuun-s-pii.nka> ul Av«.v.Ut. Doctrine of Jimi and tlicir various kinds. E.\urcism uf Jinn. CSurah 113, 114.) The use of the rosary. (See Hughes' "Dictionary of Islam.") Words that represent ^ Taboot (ark) ; Torah Oaw); Eden; Gehi leas and Doctrines; iig to the di\nsi abbi Geiger.) Arabia just be- nd ( Vn j Rabbi, Ahbar '(teachers) ; Sakinat=Shekin I Unity of God. Views of Life: Use of "inshallah" , Cain, Enoch; the fabulous thir I n cLir.^;^\„A T J. Noah— theflood—EberfHud)— Isaac, Islunael, Joseph. Cf. Ko V\ccord^^toR«m^- Abraham-his idolatry-Ninirod's oven-Phnra)MoT^^hrfabS'Sted''S'Km''^^ '°"' "^ " " (Jethro (Shuaib);Saul (Taloot); Goliath (Jilooti; andfioiomon especially. Cf.Talmud. Reference for New Testament— Tnj!I—fZarIi;iria.s, John, Gabriel). Respect for religious teachfr-^: tli" !\"riit r-f-rpnces to priests and monlis. Jesus Christ — His names- W^ ;! ■ : ' >. 1. - . :it of God, etc. — Puerile miracles. —Denial of crucifixion , -l. The Virgin— Her sinlessiiL" - liawari," an -(46i/««ntan word meaning "pure ones." - Wrong ideas of the Trillil^- A 1 , : . .v ...r, heretical sects. '"' "■ '^'- ' ' ' ■" uderof the horns," "Lokman" (.'Esop.). Christian L A fast mor Alms-giving as an essential part of t i worship. i" Arabia the Cradle of hlam THE FAITH OF ISLAM 87 nipotence are His chief attributes, while His character is impersonal — that of a Monad. The Christian truth, that ''God is love," is to the learned Moslem blasphemy and to the ignorant an enigma. "Islam," says Palgrave, "is the Pantheism of Force." Johannes Hauri, in his classical study of Islam, says:^ "What Mohammed tells of God's omnipotence, omniscience, justice, goodness and mercy sounds, for the most part, very well indeed and might easily awaken the idea that there is no real dif- ference between his God and the God of Christianity. But Mohammed's monotheism was just as much a de- ^ parture from true monotheism as the polytheistic ideas \ prevalent in the corrupt Oriental churches. Moham- I med's idea of God is out and out deistic. God and the / world are in exclusive, external and eternal opposition.^ And James Freeman Clarke calls it the "worst form of monotheism," and sums up the distinction thus: "Islam saw God, but not man ; saw the claims of deity, but not the rights of humanity; saw authority, but failed to see freedom — therefore hardened into despotism, stiffened into formalism, and sank into death. . . . Moham- med teaches a God above us ; Moses teaches a God above us, and yet zvith us; Jesus Christ teaches God above us, God with us, and God in us."^ 2. The Doctrine of Angels. — The Moslems assert their belief in three species of spiritual beings, viz., angels, jinn, and devils. This belief is not theoretical, but is intensely practical, and touches everyday life at many points. (a) Angels are very numerous, were created out of light, and are endowed with life, speech, and reason. Of ^"Der Islam in seinem Einfluss auf das Leben seiner Bekenner," 44, 45. (Leyden.) sjames Freeman Clarke, "Ten Great Religions," Vol. II, 68. 88 islam: a challenge to faith the four archangels, Gabriel reveals truth, Michael Is patron of the Jews, Israfil will sound the last trump, and Israil is the angel of death. Angels are inferior to the prophets.^ There are two recording angels for each per- son, who write down his good and his ill. Therefore Mohammed enjoined his people not to spit in front, or on the right, but on the left, as on that side stands the recording angel of evil.- Munkar and Nakir are two black angels, with blue eyes, who interrogate men after burial in the grave, and mete out terrible blows to those whose replies prove them not Moslems. Therefore, at a funeral, parting instructions are given the deceased in the grave. The Koran seems to teach that angels inter- cede for men.^ The names of guardian angels are used in exorcism ; eight special angels support Allah's throne ; and nineteen have charge of hell-fires. (b) Jinn, or genii, are either good or evil. They were created from fire, are of diverse shapes, marry and propagate, and. are mortal. The Koran and orthodox Moslem theology are full of teaching about their origin, office, power, and destiny. One needs only to read the ''Arabian Nights" to get an idea of the effect of this belief on life and morals. No pious Moslem to-day doubts that they exist, nor that Solomon sealed some of them up in brass bottles ! In Arabia, Persia, and Morocco they tell stories of everyday Moslem life and encounters with jinn that rival the tales of Sheherzade to the King. The chief abode of jinn is in the mountains of Kaf, which encompass the world; they also frequent baths, wells, ruined houses, etc. For fear of jinn millions of the ignorant in Moslem lands are, all their lifetime, sub- ject to bondage. This article of their creed is the mother *Surah 2:32. ^Mishkat, Book 4, Chapter 8. ^Surah 42:3. THE FATTH OF ISLAM 89 of a thousand foolish and degrading superstitions, yet it can never be abandoned without doing violence to the Koran. Read, for example. Surahs 46 and ^2, which tell how the jinn listened to Mohammed's preaching and were converted to Islam. (c) The devil (Sheitan, or Iblis) has a proper name — Azazil. He was expelled from Eden for refusal to pros- trate before Adam when God commanded it.^ His demo- nic host is numerous and terrible. Noteworthy among them are Harut and Marut, two evil spirits which teach men sorcery at Babylon. J. The Books of God. — Islam is decidedly a bookish religion, for Moslems believe that God "sent down" one hundred and four sacred books. Their doctrine of inspi- ration is mechanical. Adam received ten books; Seth, fifty; Enoch, thirty; and Abraham, ten; all of these are utterly lost. The four books that remain are the Torah (Law), which came to Moses; the Zabur (Psalms), which David received; the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus, and the Koran. The Koran is uncreated and eternal; to deny this is rank heresy. And while the three other books are highly spoken of in the Koran, they now exist, Mos- lems say, only in a corrupted form, and their precepts have been abrogated by the final book to the last prophet, Mohammed. This is the belief of all orthodox Moslems. Thousands of Mohammedans now, however, say the Bible is not corrupted, and read it willingly and gladly. The Koran. — This book is considered by Moslems the great standing miracle of their prophet, and it is a re- markable production. It is a little smaller than the New Testament in bulk, and has one hundred and fourteen chapters, bearing fanciful titles borrowed from some ^Surah j-.i^iy. 90 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH word or phrase in the chapter, e. g., the Cow, the Bee, Women, Spoils, the Ant, the Spider, Smoke, the Pen, etc. The book has no chronological order, logical se- quence, or rhetorical climax. Its jumbled verses throw together, piecemeal, fact and fancy, laws and legends, prayers and imprecations. It is unintelligible without a commentary, even for a Moslem. Moslems regard it as supreme in beauty of style and language, and miraculous in its origin, contents, and authority. From the Arab's literary standpoint it is, indeed, a remarkable book. Its musical jingle and cadence are charming, and, at times, highly poetical ideas are clothed in sublime language. The first chapter and the so-called verse of the "Throne" are striking examples: THE OPENING CHAPTER "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds ! The Compassionate, the Merciful ! King of the Day of Judgment ! Thee do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help ! Guide Thou us on the right path ! The path of those to whom Thou art gracious ! Not of those with whom Thou art angered, nor of those who go astray." THE VERSE OF THE THRONE. "God ! there is no God but He ; the living, the Eternal. Slumber doth not overtake Him, neither sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on the earth. Who shall intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is between their hands and behind them; And they can not encompass aught of His knowledge except as He please. His throne is as wide as the heavens and the earth. The preservation of both is no weariness unto Him. He is the high, the mighty." O trt O O s: 6 (« ■ — c X > i; ^ 2 9 *^ .7: THE FAITH OF ISLAM 9I The great bulk of the Koran is either legislative or legendary; the book consists of laws and stories. The former relate entirely to subjects which engrossed the Arabs of Mohammed's day — the laws of inheritance, the relation of the sexes, the law of retaliation, etc. — and this part of the book has a local character. The stories, on the other hand, go back to Adam and the patriarchs, take in several unknown Arabian prophets or leaders, tell of Jesus Christ, Moses and Solomon, and do not venture beyond Jewish territory, except to mention Alexander the Great and Lokman (.^sop). The defects of its teaching are many: (a) It is full of historical errors ; (b) it contains monstrous fables ; (c) it teaches a false cosmogony; (d) it is full of su- perstitions; (e) it perpetuates slavery, polygamy, di- vorce, religious intolerance, the seclusion and degrada- tion of women, and it petrifies social life. All this, how- ever, is of minor importance compared with the fact that the Koran ever keeps the supreme question of sal- vation from sin in the background, and offers no doc- trine of redemption or atonement by sacrifice. In this respect the Koran is inferior to the sacred books of ancient Egypt, India, an China, though, unlike them, it is monotheistic. It cannot be compared with the Old or the New Testament. 4. The Major and Minor Prophets. — According to Moslem writers, a prophet is one w^ho is directly in- spired by God, while an apostle is one entrusted with a special mission. Mohammed is related to have said that there were 124,000 prophets (anbiya) and 315 apos- tles (rusul). Six of the latter are designated by special titles, and are the major prophets of Islam. They are as follows: Adam is the chosen of God; Noah, the 92 islam: a challenge to faith preacher of God; Abraham, the friend of God; Moses, the spokesman of God; Jesus, the word of God; and Mohammed, the apostle of God. In addition to this com- mon title, Mohammed has two hundred and one other names and titles of honor by which he is known among the faithful. Their devotion to him is intense and sin- cere. Only twenty-two others — minor prophets — are men- tioned in the Koran besides these six, altho the host of prophets is so large. They are: Idris (Enoch), Hud (Heber), Salih (Methusaleh), Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Aaron, Shuaib (Jethro), Zacharias, John the Baptist, David, Solomon, Elias, Elijah, Job, Jonah, Ezra, Lokman (^sop, Balaam?), Zu'1-Kifl (Isaiah or Obadiah?), and Zu'l Karnain (Alexander the Great). The account of these prophets is confused, yet we must give credit to some Moslem commentators for doubting whether Lokman and Alexander were really prophets ! Moslems say that they make no distinction between the prophets, but love and reverence them all. Mohammed, however, supersedes all, supplants all in the hearts and lives of his followers. The Mohammed of history and the Mohammed of Moslem tradition are two different persons. In the Ko- ran Mohammed is thoroughly human and liable to er- ror. He is now, because of the traditional halo which surrounds him, considered to have had a pre-existence before creation, to have been perfectly sinless, and he is the only powerful intercessor on the Day of Judgment. He is the standard of character and the model of con- duct. Every detail of his early life is surrounded with fantastical miracles which prove his divine commission. Even the evil in his life is attributed to God's permis- THE FAITH OF ISLAM 93 sion or command, so that his very faults of character become his endless glory and the signs of his superiority, e. g., his polygamy and cruel wars are interpreted as special privileges. He dwells in the highest heaven and is several degrees above Jesus, our Saviour, in honor and station. His name is never uttered or written with- out the addition of a prayer. Yet, a calm and critical study of his life proves him to have been an ambitious and sensual enthusiast, who did not scruple to break nearly every precept of the moral law to further his own ends.^ What Moslems Believe Concerning Jesus Christ. — A Christian studying the faith of Islam soon learns not only that Christ has no place in the Moslem idea of God, as they deny the Trinity, but that the portrait of our Sav- iour, as given in the Koran and in tradition, is a sad caricature. According to Moslem teaching, Jesus was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary; He spoke while still a babe in the cradle; performed many puerile mir- acles in His youth ; healed the sick and raised the dead when He reached manhood. He was specially com- missioned to confirm the Law and reveal the Gospel. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit (Gabriel). He foretold another prophet, whose name should be Ah- med (Mohammed). They believe that Jesus was, by de- ception and substitution, saved from crucifixion and taken to heaven, and that He is now in one of the in- ferior stages of celestial bliss ; that He will come again at the last day, slay anti-Christ, kill all the swine, break the Cross, and remove the poll-tax from infidels. He will reign as a just King for forty-five years, marry and ^See Muir, Koelle, Sprenger and Weil, the earliest Moslem biography by Ibn Hisham and also Chapter II in this volume. 94 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH leave children, then die and be buried near Mohammed at Aledina. The place of His future grave is already marked out between the graves of Omar and Fa- timah/ 5. The Day of Judgment. — This occupies a large place in the creed and the Koran. It is called the Day of Resurrection, of Separation, of Reckoning, or simply the Hour. Most graphic and terrible descriptions portray the terrors of that day. Moslems believe in a literal resurrection of the body from a living principle which resides in the os sacrum. This bone will be impregnated by a forty-days' rain before the resurrection takes place. The souls of martyrs for the faith, however, remain, after death, in the crops of green birds which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of Paradise. - Moslems believe also in an everlasting life of physical joys, or physical tortures. The Moslem paradise, in the words of the Koran, is "2. garden of delight, . . . with couches and ewers, and a cup of flowing wine; their brows ache not from it, nor fails the sense; theirs shall be the Houris, . . . ever virgins." What com- mentators say on these texts is often unfit for transla- tion. The orthodox interpretation is literal, and so was that of Mohammed, because the traditions give minute particulars of the sanitary laws of heaven, as well as of its sexual delights. According to Al Ghazzali^ (A. H. 450), Mohammed said: "The believer in Paradise will marry five hundred houris, four thousand virgins and eight thousand di- vorced women." Al Ghazzali is one of the greatest theolo- gians of Islam, and no orthodox Moslem would dispute ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 49. -Surah 3:163. "iv, 337. THE FAITH OF ISLAM 95 his statement. In this very connection GhazzaU quotes the words, "things which eye saw not and which did not enter into the heart of man !"^ The Moslem hell is sevenfold, and "each portal has its party." All the wealth of Arabic vocabulary is exhausted in describing the terrors of the lost, and Dante's "Infer- no" is a summer-garden compared with the Jehennom of Islam. It is terribly hot, its fuel are men and stones, its drink liquid pus, the clothes of the inhabitants burn- ing pitch, while serpents and scorpions sting their vic- tims. Connected with the Day of Judgment are the signs of its approach, viz., the coming of the anti-Christ (Daj- jal), the return of Jesus as a Moslem prince, the rising of the sun in the West, the war of Gog and Magog, etc. 6. Predestination. — This last article is the keystone in the arch of IMoslem faith. It is the only philosophy of Islam, and the most fertile article of the creed in its ef- fects on everyday life. As in the Christian church, this doctrine has been fiercely discussed, but what might be called ultra-Calvinism has carried the day. The termi- nology of their teaching is Calvinistic, but its practical effect is pure fatalism. Most Moslem sects "deny all free-agency in man, and say that man is necessarily con- strained by the force of God's eternal and immutable de- cree to act as he does." God wills both good and evil; there is no escaping from the caprice of His decree. Re- ligion is Islam, i. e., resignation. Fatalism has paralyzed progress. Hope perishes under the weight of this iron bondage; injustice and social decay are stoically ac- cepted ; no man bears the burden of another. Hauri and Osborn show, in their' study of this subject, how its blasting and deadening influence is felt in every Moslem iGhazzali, IV, 338. 96 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH land. Omar Khayyam voices the sentiment of milhons when he writes : " 'Tis all a chequer-board of nights and days Where Destiny with men for pieces plays. Hither and thither moves and mates and slays, And one by one back in the closet lays." To the Moslem, God's will is certain, arbitrary, irre- sistible, and inevitable before any event transpires. To the Christian, God's will is secret until He reveals it; when He does we feel the imperative of duty. Were a Moslem to pray to Allah "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," he would be guilty of folly, if not of blasphemy. An archangel and a murderer, a devil and a gnat equally execute the will and purpose of Allah every moment of their existence. As He wills, and be- cause He wills, they are what they are, and continue what they are. No wonder that this article of the Moslem faith has left no place for progress in the lands under Moham- medan rule. For, as Canon Sell says: "It is this dark fatalism which, whatever the Koran may teach on the subject, is the ruling principle in all Moslem countries. It is this which makes all Mohammedan nations decay." THE RITUAL OF ISLAM "The five pillars of the Mohammedan faith are all broken reeds by the solemn test of age-long experience, because their creed is only a half-truth, and its 'pure monotheism' does not satisfy the soul's need of a mediator and an atonement for sin. Their pray- ers are formal and vain repetitions, without demanding or pro- ducing holiness in the one that uses them. Their fasting is pro- ductive of two distinct evils wherever observed; it manufactures an unlimited number of hypocrites who profess to keep the fast and do not do so and, in the second place, the reaction which occurs at sunset of every night of Ramazan tends to produce revelling and dissipation of the lowest and most degrading type. Their almsgiving stimulates indolence, and has produced that acme of social parasites — the derwish or fakir. Finally their pil- grimages to Mecca, Medina, and Kerbela are a public scandal even to Moslem morality, so that the holy cities are hotbeds of vice and plague-spots in the body politic." — Missionary Review of the World, October, 1898. V THE RITUAL OF ISLAM The Religion of Good Works. — While everyone who confesses the faith of Islam is a Moslem or true believer, yet it is incumbent on all who believe to show their faith by outward observance of the religious duties of Islam. The preceding chapter dealt with the theoretical part of Islam, called Iman. This treats of its practical require- ments, called Din. That told of faith, this of works. In Moslem phraseology, the former is also called 'Ilm-ul- Usool, or science of the roots of religion ; the latter 'Ilm- ul-Feroo'a, or science of the branches of religion. While, generally speaking, Islam means resignation to the will of God, Mohammed stated that it was, especially, to be submissive to His will in the observance of five duties. These five duties merit reward and are called "the pil- lars," or foundation, of religion. Their pious observance is the mark of a true Moslem ; to break loose from any one of them is to be in peril of damnation. J^Iohammed said : ''A Moslem is one who is resigned and obedient to God's will, and ( i ) hears zvitness that there is no god but God, and that Mohammed is His Apostle; and (2) is steadfast in prayer; and (3) gives zakat (legal alms) ; and (4) fasts in the month of Ramazan ; and (5) makes a pilgrim- age to Mecca, if he have the means. "^ Before we give a ^T. P. Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam," 220. 99 lOO ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH summary of these five duties, it is necessary to understand something of what Moslems mean by Tradition, because all the details of these duties are in accord with the ex- ample and precept of the Prophet, altho in substance they are mentioned in the Koran. The Traditions. — The Traditions of Islam are called Hadith, or Simnat-en-nebi. The former term means "that-which-is-related" ; the latter signifies the custom, habit or usage of the Prophet. They supplement and interpret the Koran, and have therefore exercised tre- mendous power on Moslem thought and life from the early days of Islam with ever-growing force. There are one thousand four hundred and sixty-five collections of Traditions in existence, but only six of them are counted classical or standard by the orthodox school. The six authors of the classical collections were ''higher critics" in a measure and attempted to sift the chaff from the wheat according to their way of thinking. Abu Daood, one of their number, states in his massive work that he received as trustworthy only four thousand and eight hun- dred traditions out of five hundred thousand. And yet after this careful selection he says he has given ''those which seem to be authentic and those which are nearly so." For many of the details of their daily religious practice, and for nearly all of their jurisprudence, Moslems depend on Tradition. Here is a specimen of the traditions which will indicate the way in which all of them are recorded by a chain of witnesses : A Specimen Tradition. — "Abu Kuraib said to us that Ibrahim ibn Jusef ibn Abi Ishak said to us, from his father, from Abu Ishak, from Tulata ibn Musarif, that he said, I have heard from Abd-ur-Rahman ibn Ausajah THE RITUAL OF ISLAM lOI that he said, I have heard from Bara ibn Azib that he said, I have heard that the Prophet said, whoever shall give in charity a milch-cow, or a piece of silver, or a leathern bottle of water, it shall be equal to the freeing of a slave." From this sample it is evident that in Islam the genuine- ness of a Tradition depends on the chain of narrators and their trustworthy character. Nearly all tradition was orally handed down and its authority necessarily depends on the memory of those who handed it down. Yet there is no doubt that these ''collections of recollections" re- corded two centuries after Mohammed's death contain much that is reliable concerning the life and practice of the Prophet and his companions. ''That the collectors of Tradition," says Muir, "rendered an important service to Islam and even to history cannot be doubted." The table opposite page 86 gives the list of the six orthodox author- ities on Tradition. The Traditions have high authority in Islam. "An orthodox Moslem places the Gospels in the same rank as the Hadith; that is, he looks upon them as a record of what Jesus said and did, handed down to us by His companions."^ There is not a single Moslem sect that looks to the Koran as the only rule of faith and practice. It is well to remember this when superficial students of comparative religion tell us that the Mohammedan re- ligion is all contained in the Koran. Who seeks to un- derstand what Islam is from the Koran alone will succeed about as well as one who should draw his ideas of Roman Catholicism in Mexico from the New Testament. The five chief duties of a pious Moslem are carefully described in these collections of tradition and leave no IE. Sell, "The Faith of Islam." 102 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH doubt as to the importance of each duty if the believer would be assured of eternal salvation. The first of the five pillars of religion, according to the Koran and Tra- dition, is Confession. I. The Confession of the Creed. — It is the shortest creed in the world, has been oftener repeated, and has perhaps had more power over those that uttered it than any other. The creed is so brief that it has needed no revision for thirteen centuries. It is taught to infants and whispered in the ears of the dying. Five times a day it rings out in the call to prayer in the whole Moslem world : ''La-ilaha-illa-llahu; Muhanifnadu-Rasidu-allah." 'There is no god but God; Mohammed is the apostle of God." It is related in Tradition that the Prophet said, ''Whosoever recites this creed shall receive rewards equal to the emancipating of ten slaves and shall have one hun- dred good deeds put to his account and one hundred of his sins shall be blotted out, and the words shall be a pro- tection from the devil." On every occasion this creed is repeated by the believer. It is the key to every door of difficulty. It is the watchword of Islam. These words they inscribe on their banners and on their door-posts. They appear on all the early coins of the caliphs. This creed of seven Arabic words rings out in every Moslem village from the Philippines to Morocco. One hears it in the bazaar and the street and the mosque ; it is a battle- cry and a cradle-song, an exclamation of delight and a funeral dirge. There is no doubt that this continual, public repetition of a creed has been a source of strength to Islam for ages, as well as a stimulus to fanaticism ; wit- ness the use of this creed by the Derwish orders in their nightly meetings. When anyone is converted to Islam he or she is re- ANALYSIS OF I3L.\M AS A SYSTEM DEVELOPED FROM ITS CREED. TUG DOCTRINE OF GOD ■■PantheiBm of Forct I Deification of a ; (Athbal) "but Allah.-' above the moral. of neoationa "He i: THE DOCTRINE OF REVELATION; To Adam — ten books I AH r These nre highly e The Of thes _,ja Twenty dailyjincluding:— < 3 Fasting (month of iPraii facing the Kiblah (Mecca) Praiaeand ConfeflBion— the Salaam, erbela (Meshed All, etc.), (Shiaha) (SuDnat-«l-fa'il) (example) Verbally handed f A. The Sunnite Trad , ._ -^.--, down from (collected and record Records of what Mohammed enjoined I mouth to mouth J following six auth L (Sunnat-et-ta m) ( icense ot sects. ^^ ^^^ ^^_^^ Tr!Ler tlie arch is from the Koran, and reads: "And wash your forearms and your feet as far as the ankles." 104 THE RITUAL OF ISLAM IO5 cerning my people I would have commanded them to burn incense at night and to use the toothbrush before every prayer. This is a sure tradition. — Shuraib said, I asked Ayesha what the Prophet (on him be prayers and peace) first did on entering a house, and she said, He used a toothbrush. Huthaifa relates that the Prophet (on him be prayers and peace) when he got up for night prayers would brush his teeth with a miszvak. . . . Ayub said, The Prophet (on him be prayers and peace) said. On four things all the prophets of former times agreed : Saluta- tion, circumcision, perfumes and the use of the tooth- brush. . . . Ayesha said, The Prophet would not lie down at night nor in the day and rise again without using the toothbrush before washing for prayers. She said, The Prophet would take the toothbrush and then give it to me to wash and then use it. Then I would use it and wash it and return it to him. . . . Abu Imam say that the Prophet (on him be prayers and peace) said, Gabriel never came to me except he commanded me to use tlie toothbrush. Ayesha said. The Prophet (on him be prayers and peace) said. The prayer after using a toothbrush is better than the prayer without, seventy-fold . . . "^ The book from which this is quoted is accepted by all orthodox Mohammedans of North Africa, the Levant and India as one of the highest authorities on piety. All Moslem books on Practical Theology (Fiqh) contain page after page, which cannot be given here, of most minute and often obscene and disgusting explanations on what constitutes impurity and defilement. Altho in theory it is mentioned, in practice moral purity as a preparation for prayer is never alluded to, nor does the Koran allude to it. After proper purification and lustration according iMishkat, Book 111, On Purification, Part 3. io6 islam: a challenge to faith to the degree of ceremonial uncleanness or the particular practice of his sect, the Moslem is ready for prayer. Or- dinary purification always includes washing various parts of the body three times, according to fourteen rules. The Five Proper Times for Prayer are at dawn, just after high noon, two hours before sunset, at sunset, and again two hours after. It is forbidden to say morning prayers after the sun is risen. Posture is of prime importance, and includes facing the Kibla, i.e., Mecca, as well as a series of prostrations and genuflections more easily imitated than described. The words repeated during this exercise consist of Koran phrases and short chapters, which include praise, confession and a prayer for guidance. Often the chap- ters chosen have no connection with the topic of prayer. Personal private petitions are allowed after the liturgical prayers, but they are not common. The least departure from the rule in purification, posture or method of prayer nullifies its effect, and the worshipper must begin over again. Special prayer is obligatory at an eclipse of the sun or moon and on the two Moslem festivals. It has been calculated that a pious Moslem repeats the same form of prayer at least seventy-five times a day ! The Call to Prayer heard from minarets five times daily in all Moslem lands is as follows. The muezzin cries it in a loud voice and always in the Arabic language : '*God is most great ! God is most great ! God is most great ! I testify that there is no god but God ! I testify that there is no god but God ! I testify that Mohammed is the Apostle of God ! I testify that Mohammed is the Apostle of God ! Come to prayer ! Come to prayer ! Come to prosperity ! Come to prosperity ! God is most great ! God is most great ! There is no god but God !" THE RITUAL OF ISLAM lO/ In the call to early morning prayer the words "prayer is better than sleep" are added twice after the call to prosperity.^ 3. The Month of Fasting. — This was probably bor- rowed by Mohammed from the Christian Lent. There are many traditions that tell how important fasting is. Let one suffice : "Every good act that a man does shall receive from ten to seven hundred rewards, but the re- wards of fasting are beyond bounds, for fasting is for God alone and He will give its rewards." The chief Moslem fast is that of the month of Ramazan. This is the ninth month of the Moslem year, but because they have a lunar calendar it can occur at any season. At present Ramazan corresponds to December, and the days are short. On the other hand, the fast is extremely hard upon the laboring classes when, by the changes of the lunar calendar, it falls in the heat of summer, when the days are long. Even then it is forbidden to drink a drop of water or take a morsel of food. Yet it is a fact that Mohammedans, rich and poor, spend more on food in that month than in any other month of the year ; and it is also true that physicians have a run of patients with troubles from indigestion at the close of this religious fast ! The explanation is simple. Although the fast ex- tends over one lunar month, it only begins at dawn and ends at sunset each day. During the whole night it is usual to indulge in pleasure, feasting and dinner parties. This makes clear what Mohammed meant when he said that "God w^ould make the fast an ease and not a diffi- culty." The hours during which fasting is prescribed are to be ^For further details of the prayer-ritual, see F. A. Klein, "The Religion of Islam," 120-156. ioS ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH sacredly observed. Not only is there total abstinence from food and drink, but bathing, smoking, taking snuff, smelling a flower and the use of medicine are prohibited. I have even heard Moslem jurists discuss whether hypo- dermic medication was allowed during the fast period. In Eastern Arabia the use of an eye-lotion even is con- sidered as equivalent to breaking the fast. The law pro- vides, however, that infants, idiots, the sick, and the aged are exempted from observing this fast. Voluntary fasting on certain other days is also very common in imitation of the Prophet's example. It is cus- tomary for the pious to spend the hours of Ramazan in reading the Koran or the Traditions. Mohammed said : "He who forsakes the fast of Ramazan becomes an in- fidel, whom to deprive of his wealth and his life is law- ful."^ 4. Zakat, or Legal Alms. — This pillar of religion, like all the others, rests rather upon the authority of tradition than upon the precepts of the Koran, since every detail in its observance is borrowed from the example of the Prophet himself. In its primi- tive sense the word zakat means purification, and it was applied to legal alms, or the poor-rate, since the gift of a portion of one's gain or property would purify, or sanc- tify, the remainder. These compulsory alms were in the early days of Islam collected by the religious tax-gath- erer, as they are still in some Mohammedan countries. Where Moslems are under Christian rule, however, the rate is paid out by each Mohammedan according to his own conscience. The rate varies greatly, and the differ- ent sects disagree as to what was the practice of the Prophet. Moreover, it is difficult to find a precedent in ^F. A. Klein, "The Religion of Islam," 164. THE RITUAL OF ISLAM lOQ the customs of pastoral Arabia for the present methods of acquiring and holding property in lands touched by civili- zation. The greatest details are given, e.g., regarding zakat on camels, but there is no precedent for zakat on city lots or on railway bonds! One-fortieth of the total income is about the usual rate. The tithe of the Old Tes- tament was a much larger portion and was supplemented by many free-will offerings. Charitable offerings are also common in Islam, but, generally speaking, the Mos- lem who gives his zakat is satisfied that he has fulfilled all righteousness. There are seven classes to whom this legal alms may be given, viz., the poor, the homeless, the tax-collector, slaves, debtors, those engaged in fighting for Islam, and wayfaring travellers. The wonderful and cheerful hospitality of so many Moslem peoples finds here, in part, its religious ground and explanation. It is a religious duty to be hospitable. IMohammed excelled in this Semitic virtue himself, and left a noble example to his followers. Arabia is a land without hotels, but with lavish hospitality nearly everywhere. 5. The Pilgrimage. — The pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca is not only one of the pillars of the religion of Islam, but it has proved one of the strongest bonds of union and has always exercised a tremendous influence as a missionary agency. Even to-day the pilgrims who return from Mecca to their native villages in Java, India and West Africa are fanatical ambassadors of the greatness and glory of Islam. From an ethical standpoint, the Mecca pilgrimage, with its superstitious and childish ritual, is a blot upon Moham- medan monotneism. But as a great magnet to draw the Moslem world together w^ith an annual and ever-widening esprit de corps, the Mecca pilgrimage is without a rival. The number of pilgrims that come to Mecca varies from no islam: a challenge to faith year to year ; although Tradition says that it is always 72,- 000, the angels completing any deficiency in the number of earthly pilgrims! The vast majority arrive by sea from Egypt, India and the Malay archipelago. The pil- grim caravan from Syria and Arabia by land is growing smaller every year, for the roads are very unsafe. It will probably increase again on the completion of the Hejaz railway from Damascus to Mecca. All told, from sixty to ninety thousand pilgrims reach Mecca at the time of the Hajj. For the details of the pilgrimage one must read Burck- hardt, Burton, or other of the dozen travellers who have risked their lives in visiting the forbidden cities of Islam. In brief, the ceremonies are as follows : After donning the garb of a pilgrim and performing the legal ablutions, the Hajji visits the sacred mosque and kisses the Black Stone. He then runs around the Kaaba seven times — thrice very rapidly and four times slowly — in imitation of the motions of the planets. Next he offers a prayer : "O Allah, Lord of the Ancient House, free my neck from hell-fire and preserve me from every evil deed ; make me contented with the daily food Thou givest me, and bless me in all Thou hast granted." At *'the place of Abra- ham" he also prays ; he drinks water from the sacred well of Zemzem and again kisses the Black Stone. Then the pilgrim runs between the hills of Safa and Marwa. He visits Mina and Arafat, a few miles from Mecca, and at the latter place listens to a sermon. On his return he stops at Mina and stones three pillars of masonry known as the "Great Devil," "the middle pillar," and the "first one" with seven small pebbles. Finally there is the sacri- fice of a sheep or other animal as the climax of the pil- grim's task. Snouck Hurgronje and Dozy have given THE RITUAL OF ISLAM III US the philosophical origin of these strange ceremonies in their monographs.^ The whole pilgrimage is, in the words of Kuenen, "a fragment of incomprehensible heathenism taken up undigested into Islam." And as regards the veneration for the Black Stone, there is a tradition that the Caliph Omar remarked: **By God, I know that thou art only a stone and canst grant no benefit or do no harm. And had I not known that the Prophet kissed thee I would not have done it." The Kaaba and Its Black Stone. — These merit at least a paragraph, since they are the centre toward which, as toward the shrine of their religion, the prayers and pil- grim-journeys of millions have gravitated for thirteen centuries. The story goes that when Adam and Eve fell from Paradise, Adam landed on a mountain in Ceylon and Eve fell at Jiddah, on the western coast of Arabia. (Jiddah signifies ^'grandmother.") After a hundred years of wandering they met near Mecca and here Allah constructed for them a tabernacle on the site of the pres- ent Kaaba. He put in its foundation the famous stone, once whiter than snow, but since turned black by the kisses of pilgrims. The name Kaaba means a cube ; but the building is not built true to line and is in fact an unequal trapezium.^ Because of its location in a hollow and its black-cloth covering, these inequalities are not apparent to the eye. The Kaaba proper stands in an oblong space 250 paces ^Snouck Hurgronje, "Het Mekkaansche Feest" (Leyden, 1880). Dozy, "De Israelieten te Mekka van David's tijd enz" (Haarlem, 1864). These are in the Dutch language, and contain matter nowhere else accessible, as far as the author is aware. -Its measurements, according to AH Bey, are 37 ft. 2 in., 31 ft. 7 in., 38 ft. 4 in., 29 ft. and its height is 34 ft. 4 in. The student could con- struct a model from these measurements, Burton's full description, and Hurgronje's photographs. 112 islam: a challenge to faith long by 200 broad. This open space is surrounded by colonnades used for schools and as the general rendez- vous of pilgrims. It is in turn surrounded by the outer temple wall, with its nineteen gates and six minarets. The Mosque is of much more recent date than the Kaaba, which was well known as an idolatrous Arabian shrine long before the time of JNlohammed. The Sacred Mosque and its Kaaba contain the following treasures : the Black Stone, the well of Zemzem, the great pulpit, the staircase and the Kubattein, or two small mosques of Saab and Abbas. The remainder of the space is occupied by pave- ments and gravel arranged to accommodate and distin- guish the four orthodox sects in their devotions. (See Plan of the Mosque, opposite.) The Black Stone is undoubtedly the oldest treasure of Mecca. Stone-worship was an Arabian form of idolatry in very ancient times, and relics of it remain in many parts of the Peninsula. Maximus Tyrius wrote in the second century, "The Arabians pay homage to I know not what god, which they represent by a quadrangular stone.'' The Guebars, or ancient Persians, assert that the Black Stone was an emblem of Saturn and was left in the Kaaba by Mahabad. It is probably an aerolite and owes its rep- utation to its fall from the sky. Moslem historians do not deny that it was an object of worship before Islam, but they escape the moral difficulty and justify their Prophet by further traditions about its origin and miracu- lous character. The Mecca pilgrimage is incumbent on every free Mos- ?em, male or female, who is of age and has sufficient means for the journey. Many of them, unwilling to un- dergo the hardship of the journey, engage a substitute, and thus purchase the merit for themselves. Most Mos- Itak Ibrahim oif TlioTaibnOste Bab el Zajt or Ball clJUharah Uab <■' Abliaa Gat t\ Nahi Qak t\ Sainu PLAN OF KAAF.A THE RITUAL OF ISLAM II3 lems also visit the tomb of Mohammed at Medina and claim the Prophet's authority for this added merit. The Shiah Moslems visit Kerbela and Meshad AH, where their martyr-saints are buried. Pilgrimages to tombs of local saints and ancient prophets, to '*foot-prints" of the Apostle, or to graves of his companions are exceedingly common. But none of these pilgrimages equal in merit that to the House of God in Mecca. In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the two sacred cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, are hotbeds of every form of immor- ality, and, by the witness of Moslems themselves, sink- holes of iniquity and dens of robbers.^ Other Religious Practices. — In addition to what is said about these ''five pillars" of the faith, a word is necessary regarding certain other Moslem practices, if we are to complete the sketch of every-day religion. (a) Circumcision, although not once alluded to in the Koran, is the initiative rite among all Moslems every- where, and in that respect it corresponds somewhat to baptism. Its performance is attended with religious fes- tivities, and its omission is equivalent to a denial of the faith. Its observance is founded upon tradition, i.e., the custom of Mohammed. The abominable practice of fe- male circumcision (mutilation) is common in many Mos- lem lands, and is also founded on the precept of Mo- hammed.^ (b) Feasts and Festivals. — The two great feast days of Islam are the 'Idu-l-Fitr, or the first day after Ramazan, when the long fast is broken, and the 'Id-ul-Acha, or Bairam, the great feast, which is the Feast of Sacrifice. The first of these feasts is especially a time for rejoic- es. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 30-52. 2F. A. Klein "The Religion of Islam," 131. 114 islam: a challenge to faith ing and alms-giving. Special public prayer is held and a sermon delivered to the vast assemblies in the open air. All wear their best dress, generally new clothing, and even the women don all their jewels while they celebrate the feast in the Zenana or the Harem with amusements and indulgences. The Feast of Sacrifice is observed by animal sacrifices in addition, and these are really a part of the rite of the Meccan pilgrimage, but the feast is simultaneously cele- brated everywhere. It is held in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac, or, as the Mos- lems believe, Ishmael. It is a notable fact and an enigma that while Mo- hammed professed to abrogate the Jewish ritual and ignored the doctrine of an atonement, even denying the fact of our Saviour's crucifixion, he yet made the Day of Sacrifice the great central festival of his religion. (c) Jihad. — It is unaccountable why this greatest force in Islam, religious warfare, or Jihad, is not mentioned as a pillar of religion. A religious war against infidels is a duty plainly taught by the Koran and by tradition, e.g. : ''Kill those who join other gods w4th God, wherever ye shall find them."^ And a dozen other passages com- mand believers to make war, to kill, and to fight in the path of God. Some apologists for Islam — T. W. Arnold, Saiyad Ameer Ali, and others — attempt to avoid the fact of an appeal to use the sword by interpreting these pas- sages in a semi-spiritual way, and they even try to make Jihad mean a sort of Christian Endeavor Society for propagating Islam ! To this Marcus Dods replies : **The man must shut his eyes to the broadest and most con- spicuous facts of the history of Islam who denies that ^Surah 9:5. THE RITUAL OF ISLAM II5 the sword has been the great means of propagating this rehgion. Until Mohammed appealed to the sword his faith made very little way." The history of the Wahabis in the nineteenth century, the Armenian massacres, the Mahdis of the Soudan and of Somali-land, and the almost universal hope among Moslems to use the power of the sword again — all these are proofs that Jihad is one of the religious forces of Mohammedanism which Christendom cannot afford to ignore. The sword is in its sheath, but the giant still wears it at his side, and it has never been rusty. Only last year the Arabic paper, Ec-Zahir, published in Egypt, said: "Has the time not come yet when uniting the suppressed wailings of India with our own groans and sighs in Egypt, we should say to each other, Come, let us be one, following the Divine words, 'V^ictory be- longs to the united forces' ? Certainly the time has come when we, India and Egypt, should cut and tear asunder the ties of the yoke imposed on us by the English." On the other hand, Mohammed Husain, the editor of a paper at Lahore, wrote a Treatise on Jihad (1893), stating: "The present treatise on the question of Jihad has been compiled for two reasons. My first object is that the IMohammedans, ignorant of the texts bearing on Jihad and the conditions of Islam, may become acquainted with them, and that they may not labor under the misappre- hension that it is their religious duty to wage war against another people solely because that people is opposed to Islam. Thus they, by ascertaining the fixed conditions and texts, may be saved forever from rebellion, and may not sacrifice their lives and property fruitlessly nor un- justly shed the blood of others. My second object is that non-Mohammedans and the government under whose Ii6 islam: a challenge to faith protection the Mohammedans Hve, may not suspect Mohammedans of thinking that it is lawful for us to fight against non-Mohammedans, or that it is our duty to interfere with the life and property of others, or that we are bound to convert others forcibly to Mohammedanism, or to spread Islam by means of the sword." So the question of "religion and the sword" is still an open one among Moslems. It must needs be so long as they obey the Koran and Tradition, for Mohammed said : ''He who dies and has not fought for the religion of Islam, nor has even said in his heart, 'Would to God I were a champion that could die in the road of God,' is even as a hypocrite." And again, still more forcibly: "The fire of hell shall not touch the legs of him who is covered with the dust of battle in the road of God." In spite of cruelty, bloodshed, dissension and deceit, the story of the Moslem conquest with the sword of Jihad is full of heroism and inspiration. If so much was done in the name of Mohammed, what should we not dare do in the name of Jesus Christ, with- out carnal w-eapons, to carry Plis gospel and the practical precepts of His religion to every Moslem people, who are groaning under the intolerable burden of the "five pil- lars" of practice, a yoke which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. THE ETHICS OF ISLAM "Mohammedanism is held, by many who have to live under its shadow, to be the most degraded religion, morally, in the world. We speak of it as superior to the other religions, be- cause of its monotheistic faith, but I would rather believe in ten pure gods than in one God who would have for His supreme prophet and representative a man with Mohammed's moral char- acter. Missionaries from India will tell you that the actual mor- al conditions to be found among Mohammedans there are more terrible than those to be found among the pantheistic Hindus themselves, and the late Dr. Cochran, of Persia, a man who had unsurpassed opportunities for seeing the inner life of Moham- medan men, told me, toward the close of his life, that he could not say, out of his long and intimate acquaintance as a doctor with the men of Persia, that he had ever met one pure-hearted or pure-lived adult man among the Mohammedans of Persia. Can a religion of immorality, or moral inferiority, meet the needs of struggling men?" — Robert E. Speer. VI THE ETHICS OF ISLAM Basis of Moslem Ethics, — Martensen defines Christian ethics as **the science of morals conditioned by Christian- ity." If we use the same definition for Mohammedan ethics, we already know from the two previous chapters what articles of faith and religious conceptions of duty are behind the moral-teaching of Islam and fundamental to it. The three fundamental concepts of Christian ethics are all of them challenged by the teaching of Islam. The Mohammedan idea of the Highest Good, of Virtue and of the Moral Law are not in accord with those of Chris- tianity. 'The highest good is the very outwardly and very sensuously conceived happiness of the individual." Ideal virtue is to be found through imitation of Mo- hammed. And the moral law is practically abrogated because of loose views as to its real character, its teach- ing and finality. Its Real Character. — "Islam," says Adolph Wuttke, in his system of ethics, "finds its place in the history of the religious and moral spirit not as a vital organic member, but as violently interrupting the course of this history, and which is to be regarded as an attempt of heathenism to maintain itself erect under an outward monotheistic form against Christianity. 119 120 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH ''The ethics of Islam bear the character of an out- wardly and crudely conceived doctrine of righteousness ; conscientiousness in the sphere of the social relations, faithfulness to conviction and to one's word, and the bringing of an action into relation to God, are its bright points ; but there is a lack of heart-depth, of a basing of the moral in love. The highest good is the very out- wardly and very sensuously conceived happiness of the individual. The potency of sin is not recognized ; evil is only an individual, not an historical power ; hence there is no need of redemption, but only of personal works on the basis of prophetic instruction ; Mohammed is only a teacher, not an atoner. God and man remain strictly external to, and separate from, each other; God — no less individually conceived of than man — comes into no real communion with man ; and man, as moral, acts not as influenced by such a communion, but only as an isolated individual. . . . Man has nothing to receive from God but the Word, and nothing to do for God but good works ; of inner sanctification there is no thought; the essential point is simply to let the per se good nature of man manifest itself in works ; there is no inner struggle in order to attain to the true life, no peni- tence-struggle against inner sinfulness; and instead of true humility we find only proud work-righteousness. To the natural propensities of man there is consequently but little refused — nothing but the enjoyment of wine, of swine-flesh, of blood, of strangled animals, and of games of chance, and this, too, for insuf^cient (assigned) rea- sons. The merely individual character of the morality manifests itself especially in the low conception that is formed of marriage, in which polygamy is expressly con- ceded, woman degraded to a very low position, and the THE ETHICS OF ISLAM 121 dissolution of the marriage bond placed in the unlimited discretion of the man ; there hence results a very super- ficial view of the family in general ; the moral community- life is conceived of throughout in a very crude manner. Unquestionably this form of ethics is not an advancing on the part of humanity, but a guilty retrograding from that which had already been attained."^ After this philosophical summary of the real character of Mohammedan Ethics, an account of its practical teach- ing and effect will make the picture more vivid, altho still darker. The Moslem Idea of Sin. — Moslem doctors define sin as "a conscious act of a responsible being against known law." Wherefore sins of ignorance and of childhood are not reckoned as real sin. They divide sin into "great" and ''little" sins. Some say there are seven great sins : idolatry, murder, false charge of adultery, wasting the substance of orphans, taking interest on money, desertion from Jihad and disobedience to parents ! Others say there are seventeen, and include wine-drinking, witchcraft and perjury among them. Mohammed himself said : 'The greatest of sins before God is that you call another like unto the God who created you, or that you murder your child from an idea that it will eat your victuals, or that you commit adultery with your neighbor's wife."- All sins except ''great" ones are easily forgiven, as God is merciful and clement. The words permitted {hallal) and forbidden (haram) have superseded the terms for guilt and transgression. Nothing is right or wrong by nature, but becomes such by the fiat of the Almighty. What Allah or his Prophet forbids is sin, even should he forbid ^Adolf Wuttke, "Christian Ethics," Vol. I, 172. 2Mishkat, Book I, Chap. 2. 122 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH what seems right to the conscience. What Allah allows is not sin and cannot be sin at the time He allows it, though it may have been before or after. One has only to argue the matter of polygamy with any intelligent Moslem to have the above statement confirmed. There is no clear distinction between the ceremonial and the moral law implied in the Koran. It is as great an offence to pray with unwashed hands as to tell a lie, and "pious" Moslems, who nightly break the seventh commandment (even according to their own lax interpretation of it) will shrink from a tin of English meat, for fear they be defiled eating swine's flesh. The lack of all distinction between the ceremonial and the moral law is very evi- dent in the traditional sayings of Mohammed, which are, of course, at the basis of ethics. Take one example: ''The Prophet, upon whom be prayers and peace, said. One dirhcm of usury which a man takes knowing it to be so is more grievous than thirty-six fornications, and who- soever has done so is worthy of hell-fire."^ One cannot read the Koran without coming to the con- clusion that according to its teaching Allah himself does not appear hound by any standard of justice. For ex- ample, the worship of the creature is heinous to the Mos- lem mind, yet Allah punished Satan for not being willing to worship Adam.^ Allah is merciful in winking at the sins of His favorites (the prophets and those who fight His battles), but is the quick avenger of all infidels and idolaters. The moral law changes according to times and circumstances. God can do what He pleases. The Koran often asserts this. Not only physically but morally He is almighty, in the Moslem sense of the word. Allah, the ^S. M. Zwemer, "Moslem Doctrine of God," 52, ^Surah 2:28-31. THE ETHICS OF ISLAM 123 Koran says, is the best plotter. Allah mocks and deceives. Allah "makes it easy'' for those who follow Mohammed.^ The Low Ideal of Character in Islam. — A stream can- not rise higher than its source ; a tower cannot be broader than its foundation. The measure of the moral stature of Mohammed is the source and foundation of all moral ideals in Islam. His conduct is the standard of character. We need not be surprised, therefore, that the ethical standard is so low. Raymund Lull, the first missionary to Moslems, used to show in his bold preaching that Mohammed had none of the seven cardinal virtues and was guilty of the seven deadly sins ; he doubtless went too far. But it would not be difficult to show that pride, lust, envy and anger were prominent traits in the Prophet's character. To read the pages of Muir or Koelle or Sprenger is convincing.- ^Surahs 8:29; 3:53: 27:51; 86:15; 16:4; 14:15; 9:51- ^The following instances, taken from Koelle, "Mohammed and Moham- medanism," are sufficient proof: "The first to fall as victims of Mohammed's vengeance were some indi- viduals of the Jewish persuasion who had made themselves obnoxious above others by attacking him in verse. He managed to produce an impression amongst the people that he would like to be rid of them. The hint was read- ily taken up by persons anxious to ingratiate themselves in the prophet's favor. The gifted woman, Asma, and the hoary poet, Abu Afak, were both murdered in their sleep: the former while slumbering on her bed, with an infant in her arms; the latter whilst lying, for coolness' sake, in an open verandah. No one dared to molest the assassin of either of these victims; for it was no secret that the foul deeds had been approved by the prophet, and that he had treated the perpetrators with marked favor." (P. i6g.) Another instance is as follows: "One of their more influential Rabbis was Kab Ibn Ashraf, who had looked favorably upon Mohammed, till he changed the Kibla from Jerusalem to Mecca. Then he became his de- cided opponent, attacking him and his religion in verse, and working against him in various ways. He was first to fall as a victim to Moham- med's vindictiveness. The prophet despatched four men, amongst them Kab's own foster-brother, to assassinate him, and sanctioned beforehand sny lie or stratagem which they might see fit to employ, so as to lure him aside. It was dark when they arrived at his house, and he was al- ready in bed; but they cunningly prevailed upon him to come out to them, and when they had him alone in the dark they foully murdered him. 124 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH And to take another example, what did Mohammed teach regarding truthfulness? There are two authenti- cated sayings of his given in the traditions on the subject of lying: "When a servant of God tells a lie, his guar- dian angels move away to the distance of a mile because of the badness of its smell." That seems a characteristic denunciation ; but the other saying contradicts it : "Verily a lie is allowable in three cases — to women, to reconcile friends, and in war."^ The dastardly assassination," says Muir, "of his political and religious opponents, coun- tenanced and frequently directed as they were in all their cruel and perfidious details by Mohammed himself, leaves a dark and indelible blot upon his character." With Mohammed remained up, to await their return; and when they showed him Kab's head, he commended their deed, and praised Allah. But on the following morning, when the assassination had become generally known, the Jews, as Ibn Ishak informs us, were struck with terror, and none of them regarded his life safe any longer." (P. 172.) Further on we read: "But, some time before it was actually carried out, the inhabitants of Khaibar were horrified by one of the dastardly assassina- tions to which Mohammed did not scruple to stoop, for the purposes of revenge. The victim selected this time was Sallam, a leading man of the Beni Nadhir who, after the expulsion of the tribe from Medina, had set- tled in Khaibar and enjoyed great influence there. He was accused of having had a hand in stirring up the Meccans to the war in which they laid siege to Medina. Mohammed never had any difficulty in finding, amongst his followers, willing tools for executing such secret missions. Ibn Ishak mentions it as one of the Divine favors to Mohammed, that 'the two tribes of the Awsites and Khazrajites were as jealous about his head as two male camels.' Accordingly, as the former had assassinated Kab bin Ashraf, the latter aspired after an equal distinction, and asked the prophet's permission, which was gladly given, to do away with Sallam. Five Khazrajites, one of whom Mohammed had appointed chief for the oc- casion, reached Khaibar after dark and, professing to have come for the purpose of buying corn, were admitted to Sallam's upper apartment, where he was already lying on his bed. But, as soon as they had him thus in their power, they fell upon him with their daggers and massacred the de- fenceless man, without the slightest shame or compunction. By the time the startled Jews came to see what had happened, the assassins had de- camped and were on their v/ay to their master, to receive his thanks." (P. 179.) 'S. M. Zwemer, "Moslem Doctrines of God," 41. El Hidayah, Vol. IV, 81, THE ETHICS OF ISLAM 12$ such a prophet it is no wonder that among his followers and imitators "truth-telling is one of the lost arts," and that perjury is too common to be noticed. Since I\Io- hammed gathered ideas and stories from the Jews of Medina and palmed them off as a new revelation from God, it is no wonder that Arabian literature teems with all sorts of plagiarisms,^ or that one of the early authori- ties of Islam laid down the canon that it is justifiable to lie in praise of the Prophet. In regard to the Mohamme- dans of Persia, Dr. St. Clair Tisdall says: "Lying has been elevated to the dignity of a fine art, owing to the doctrine of Kitman-tid-din, wdiich is held by the Shiah religious community. "- Islam and the Decalogue. — According to a remarkable tradition,^ Mohammed was contused as to the number and character of the commandments given Moses. "A Jew came to the Prophet and asked him about the nine (sic) w^onders wdiich appeared by the hand of Moses. The Prophet said : "Do not associate anything with God, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not take an innocent before the king to be killed, do not prac- tice magic, do not take interest, do not accuse an innocent woman of adultery, do not run away in battle, and espe- cially for you, O Jews, not to work on the Sabbath." The lax and immoral interpretation by Moslem theolo- gians of the Third, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth commandments of the decalogue are very evident. But that interpretation is based on the Koran itself, which is full of the vain use of God's name and needless oaths, wdiich permits murder in Jihad, which allows polygamy, divorce and the capture of slaves. How Mohammed re- ^See Brockelmann, "Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur," Introduction. 2''The Mohammedan World of To-day," 117. 3Mishkat, Book I, Chap. II, Part II. 126 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH garded the Tenth commandment is plain from the story of Zainab/ There are certain things which the ethics of Islam allow of which it is also necessary to write. They exist not in spite of Islam, but because of Islam and beeause of the teaching of its Sacred Book. Polygamy, Divorce and Slavery. — These three evils are so closely intertv/ined with the Mohammedan religion — its book and its Prophet — that they can never be wholly abandoned without doing violence to the teaching of the Koran and the example of Mohammed. In Moslem books of theology, jurisprudence and ethics there are long chap- ters on each of these subjects. Nor can there be the least doubt that polygamy and slavery have had a tre- mendous power in the spread and grasp of Islam. It is the testimony of history that the slave-traders of Zanzi- bar were also the missionaries of Islam, in darkest Africa ; and the last census report of Bengal states that the in- crease of the Mohammedan population there is due, not to conversions from Hinduism, but to polygamy and con- cubinage as open doors into a higher caste for submerged Hindu womanhood. We must also consider that the loose moral code of Islam is ever an attraction to the un- regenerate. It is impossible to give here, even in outline, the true character, extent and effect of these three * 'religious in- stitutions" of Islam. A Moslem who lives up to his privileges and who follows the example of "the saints" in his calendar can have four wives and any number of slave-concubines ; can divorce at his pleasure ; he can re- marry his divorced wives by a special though abominable arrangement ; and, in addition to all this, if he belong to 'See Surah 33:37. i^^\i\^ THE ETHICS OF ISLAM 12/ the Shiah sect he can contract marriages for fun (Metaa), which are temporary. As Robert E. Speer said at the Student Volunteer con- vention at Nashville, 1906: *'The very chapter in the Mohammedan Bible which deals with the legal status of woman, and which provides that every Mohammedan may have four legal wives, and as many concubines or slave girls as his right hand can hold, goes by the title in the Koran itself of The Cow'."^ Altho, of course, the title of the chapter was not given it for that reason. The degrading views held as regards the whole mar- riage relation are summed up by Ghazzali when he says : ''Marriage is a kind of slavery, for the wife becomes the slave (rakeek) of her husband, and it is her duty abso- lutely to obey him in everything he requires of her except in what is contrary to the laws of Islam." Wife-beating is allowed by the Koran, and the method and limitations are explained by the laws of religion.^ The Slave-Trade. — Arabia, the cradle of Islam, is still a centre of the slave-trade, and, according to the Koran, slavery and the slave-trade are divine institutions. Some Moslem apologists of the present day contend that Mo- hammed looked upon the custom as temporary in its na- ture ; but slavery is so interwoven with the laws of mar- riage, of sale, of inheritance, and with the whole social fabric, that its abolition strikes at the foundations of their legal code. Whenever and wherever Moslem rulers have agreed to the abolition or suppression of the slave-trade they have acted contrary to the privileges of their relig- ion in consenting to obey the laws of humanity. From ^In Turkey the word "cow" is actually applied to women by the Mos- lems. "Our Moslem Sisters/' 198. 2See F. A. Klein, "The Religion of Islam," 190; and Moslem Commen- taries on Surah 4:38. 128 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the Koran we learn^ that all male and female slaves taken as plunder in war are the lawful property of the master, that the master has power to take to himself any female slave, either married or single, as his chattel ; that the position of a slave is as helpless as that of the stone idols of old Arabia; and that, while a man can do as he pleases with his property, slaves should be treated kindly and granted freedom when able to purchase it. Slave- traffic is not only allowed, but legislated for by Moham- medan law and made sacred by the example of the Prophet.- in Moslem books of law the same rules apply to the sale of animals and slaves. In 1898 the late J. Theodore Bent wrote respecting the slave-trade in the Red Sea : "The west coast of the Red Sea is in portions still much given to slave-trading. From Suez down to Ras Benas the coast is pretty well protected by government boats, which cruise about and seize dhows suspected of traffic in human flesh, but south of this, until the area of Suakin is reached, slave-trading is still active- ly carried on. The transport is done in dhows from the Arabian coast, which come over to the coral reefs of the western side ostensibly for pearl fishing. At certain sea- sons of the year slave-traders in caravans come down from the derwish territory in the Nile valley, and the petty Bedouin sheiks on the Red Sea littoral connive at and assist them in the work." Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje describes the public slave- market at ]\Iecca in full swing every day during his visit. It is located near Bab Derebah and the holy mosque, and open to everybody. Altho he himself apologizes for the traffic, and calls the anti-slavery crusade a swindle, he yet ^Surahs 4:3; 28:40; 23-49; 16:77; 30:27; 24:33, etc. ^Mishkat, Book XIII, Chap. 20. THE ETHICS OF ISLAM 129 confesses to all the horrible details in the sale of female slaves, and the mutilation of male slaves for the markets. Eunuchs are plentiful, and are specially imported to act as guards for mosques; they can be bought for $120 apiece.^ The explorer, Charles M. Doughty, who spent years in the interior of /Arabia, wrote : "Jiddah is the staple town of African slavery for the Turkish empire ; Jiddah, where are Prankish Consuls. But you shall find these worthies, in the pallid solitude of their palaces, affecting (great Heaven!) the simplicity of new-born babes; they will tell you they are not aware of it! . . . But I say again in your ingenuous ears, Jiddah is the staple town of the Turkish slavery, or all the Moslems are liars. . . . I told them we had a treaty with the Sultan to suppress slavery. "Dog," cries the fellow, "thou liar — are there not thousands of slaves at Jiddah that every day are bought and sold? Wherefore, thou dog, be they not all made free if thou say est sooth ?"- The Social Bankruptcy of Islam. — A system forever handicapped in any effort toward social progress by the incubus of such gigantic evils, sanctioned in their Prophet's life and in his book, could not escape social bankruptcy. Islam has been on trial for thirteen cen- turies. "By their fruits ye shall know them." It has often been asserted that Islam is the proper re- ligion for Arabia. The miserable, half-starved, ignorant but canny Bedouins now say: "Mohammed's religion can never have been intended for us ; it demands ablution, but we have no water; fasting, but we always fast; almsgiv- ing, but we have no money; pilgrimage, but Allah is everywhere." Islam has had fair trial in other than des- i"Mekka." Vol. II, 15-24. ^-^j^j-abia Deserta," Vol. II, last chapter. 130 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH ert lands. For five hundred years it has been supreme in Turkey, the fairest and richest portion of the Old World. And what is the result? The Mohammedan population has decreased ; the treasury is bankrupt ; progress is blocked ; ''instead of wealth, universal poverty ; instead of comeliness, rags; instead of commerce, beggary — a fail- ure greater and more absolute than history can elsewhere present."^ In regard to what Islam has done and can do in Africa, the recent testimony of Canon Robinson is conclusive. Writing of Mohammedanism in the central Soudan, he says : ''Moreover, if it be true, as it probably is to some ex- tent, that Mohammedanism has helped forward the Hausas in the path of civilization, the assistance rendered here, as in every other country subject to Mohammedan rule, is by no means an unmixed good. Mohammedan progress is progress up an impasse; it enables converts to advance a certain distance, only to check their further progress by an impassable wall of blind prejudice and ignorance. We cannot have a better proof of this state- ment than the progress, or rather, want of progress, in Arabia, the home of Mohammedanism, during the last thousand years. Palgrave, who spent the greater part of his life among Mohammedans, and who was so far in sympathy with them that on more than one occasion he conducted service for them in their mosques, speaking of Arabia, says: 'When the Koran and Mecca shall have disappeared from Arabia, then, and only then, can we expect to see the Arab assume that place in the ranks of civilization from which Mohammed and his book have, more than any other cause, long held him back.' " ^Cyrus Hamlin, "Five Hundred Years of Islam in Turkey." American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1888. THE ETHICS OF ISLAM I3I And Professor A. Vambery, speaking of the impossi- bility of political independence for Egypt, says: *'I am the last to wish to blacken the leaders of Mohammedan society, but I beg leave to ask : Does there exist a Moham- medan government where the deep-seated evil of tyranny, anarchy, misrule and utter collapse does not offer the most appalling picture of human caducity?"^ Moslem Ethics a Plea for Missions. — When Canon Taylor and Dr. Blyden, some years ago, published their extravagant glorifications of Islam, Mr. R. Bosworth Smith accused them of plagiarism from his life of Mo- hammed, and subsequently, in an address before the fel- lows of Zion's College, on February 21, 1888, he said: "The resemblances between the two creeds are indeed many and striking, as I have implied throughout; but if I may once more quote a few words which I have used elsewhere in dealing with this question, the contrasts are even more striking than the resemblances. The religion of Christ contains whole fields of morality and whole realms of thought which are all but outside the religion of Mohammed. It opens humility,- purity of heart, for- '^The Nineteenth Century for October, 1906. 2The following account of Moslems at prayer is typical: "Personal pride, which, like blood in the body, runs through all the veins of the mind of Mohammedanism, which sets the soul of a Sultan in the twisted frame of a beggar at a street corner, is not cast off in the act of adoration. These Arabs humbled themselves in the body. Their foreheads touched the stones. By their attitudes they seemed as if they wished to make them- selves even v/ith the ground, to shrink into the space occupied by a grain of sand. Yet they were proud in the presence of Allah, as if the firmness of their belief in him and his right dealing, the fury of their contempt and hatred for those who looked not toward Mecca nor regarded Rama- zan, gave them a patent of nobility. Despite their genuflections they were all as men who knew, and never forgot, that on them was conferred the right to keep on their head-covering in the presence of their King. With unclosed eyes they looked God full in the face. Their dull and growling murmur had the majesty of thunder rolling tbrowgh the sky."— "The Garden of Allah," 153. 132 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH giveness of injuries, sacrifice of self, to man's moral na- ture ; it gives scope for toleration, development, boundless progress to his mind; its motive power is stronger, even as a friend is better than a king, and love higher than obedience. Its realised ideals in the various paths of human greatness have been more commanding, more many-sided, more holy, as Averroes is helozv Neivton, Harun belozv Alfred, and AH below St. Paul. Finally, the ideal life of all, is far more elevating, far more ma- jestic, far more inspiring, even as the life of the founder of Mohammedanism is below the life of the Founder of Christianity. If, then, we believe Christianity to be truer and purer in itself than Islam and than any other religion, we m.ust needs wish others to be partakers of it ; and the efforts to propagate it is thrice blessed — it blesses him that offers no less than him who accepts it ; nay, it often blesses him who accepts it not."^ And so the most famous apologist for Islam himself pleads for missions to the Mohammedan world on the ground of its ethical needs. ^Quoted by F. F. Ellinwood in "Oriental Religions and Christianity," 218. For further statements concerning the social results of the ethics of Is- lam consult Dennis, "Christian Missions and Social Progress," Vol. I, 389- 3QI and 446-448. DIVISION, DISINTEGRATION AND REFORM "We stand in the midst of a great world of wrecked religions. Heresy after heresy has shot schism upon schism through what we used to look upon as a solid mass of Mohammedanism, and all the other non-Christian religions are attempting, in greater or less degree, to transform themselves beneath our eyes. They are confessing, every one of them, their inadequacy to meet the needs of men." — Robert E. Speer, in the "Non-Christian Relig- ions Inadequate to Meet the Needs of Men," an address at the Student Volunteer Convention, Nashville, 1906. "Verily, it will happen to my people even as it did to the Children of Israel. The Children of Israel were divided into seventy-two sects, and my people will be divided into seventy- three. Every one of these sects will go to hell, except one sect." — Mohammed (Mishkat, Book I, chap. 6, part 2). VII DIVISION, DISINTEGRATION AND REFORM Why Islam Became Divided. — In the Koran there was given to Moslems a rehgion, but no reUgious system. It was all accepted by the first believers without asking questions of the how and why. But when once Islam left the deserts of Arabia and conquered Syria and Per- sia and the regions beyond, the conquerors were faced by a fully formed Christian belief and by Zoroastrian and Brahmanic thought. It is true that the Arabs assumed everywhere the lead- ing position. They were a military aristocracy, and the proof of it is the fact that conquered nations with an old and superior civilization accepted the language of their conquerors. But when the new converts in Persia and Syria interpreted the new religion and began to write its dogmatics, the rise of dispute and the multiplication of divisions was inevitable. The new wine of Aryan thought and philosophy burst the leathern bottles of the Semitic creed. As Sir Lewis Pelly remarks : 'Though the per- sonal history of Ali and his sons was the exciting cause of the Shiah schism, its predisposing cause lies far deeper in the impassable ethnological gulf which separates the Aryan and Semitic races. "^ i"The Miracle Play of Hassan and Husain," Introduction, xvi. (London, 1879-) 136 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH It is evident from the saying of Mohammed, quoted on the page facing this chapter, that he himself anticipated division among his followers, for in his own family jeal- ousies and rivalries were already preparing the way for the first great schism. The story of Ayesha, Moham- med's daughter, as given by Muir, is a striking example. She died fifty-eight years after the Hegira. Ntimher of Moslem Sects. — The number of Moslem sects has far exceeded the prediction of Mohammed, for they are more in number and variety than those of the Christian religion. Several of the sects, especially the orthodox Sunnis, arrogate to themselves the title of Najiyah, or "those who are being saved." Most of them agree with the dictum of the Prophet that there is no sal- vation for heretics ; while for rancor, bitterness, hatred and bloodshed the sad divisions of Christendom are far outmatched by the history of sects in Islam. Sheikh Abd ul Kader says there are no less than one hundred and fifty sects in Islam ;^ others, like the author of Ghiyas-nl- Lugliat, have been very careful to so prepare a list of all the Moslem sects as to tally exactly with Mohammed's prophecy that they would number seventy-three ! By this artificial classification there are six divisions, of twelve sects each, from which one can choose a way of de- struction, and the seventy-third (that of the author) is the path of Najiyah, or salvation. The table on page 138 gives the chief Moslem sects and their relation one to another. The S minis.. — This sect far outnumbers all others to- day, and was also the most influential in the history of Islam. The Sunnis, as their name imports, are the fol- ^T. P. Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam," 569. ? < DIVISIOX, DISINTEGRATION AND REFORM 1 37 lowers of tradition and the foes of all innovation. To them the Koran was the Procrustean bed for the human intellect. Everything was measured by it and by ortho- dox tradition. Especially on the doctrine of predestina- tion they were opposed to all compromise. When we consider the deadening influence of their doctrine of fatal- ism, it is not surprising that they are opposed to all new philosophy. The attainments of the Arabs in philosophy have been greatly overrated; they were translators and transmitters of the Greek philosophy, and whatever was added to Plato and Aristotle came not from the side of orthodoxy, but was entirely the work of heretics such as Averroes, Aifarabi and Avicenna.^ The philosopher of the Sunnis is Al Ghazzali, and the result of his work was the complete triumph of unphilo- sophical orthodoxy. So utterly barren of ideas and op- posed to all reason did this orthodoxy become that Sprenger sarcastically remarks concerning it: ''The Moslem student marveled neither at the acuteness nor yet at the audacity of his master ; he marveled rather at the wisdom of God, which could draw forth such myste- rious interpretations. Theology, in fact, had now made such happy progress that men looked on common sense as a mere human attribute — the reverse being that zvhich zuas expected from Deity!" The Sunni sect has four orthodox schools of theology and jurisprudence, founded by the four great doctors, Abu Hanifa, Ibn Malik, As Shafi and Ibn Hanbal. The^e agree in essentials, but differ in their interpretation of ceremonial laws and are more or less rigid. Generally speaking, central Asia, northern India and the Turks everywhere are Haniiite; lower Egypt, southern India ^Ueberweg, "History of Philosophy," Vol. I, 405. 138 islam: a challenge to faith and the Malay archipelago are Shailte; upper Egypt and north Africa are Malikite; while the sect of Hanbalites exists only in central and eastern Arabia. All of them agree on the Faith and Practice set forth in Qiapters IV and V. But the four schools have disputes over unimportant trivialities, such as whether one should first wash the wrist or the elbow before prayer, whether a cat can be allowed to enter a mosque, etc. Each of these four ortho- dox sects has its special place of prayer around the Kaaba at Mecca. A very mountain of voluminous literature on jurisprudence and tradition proves the literary activity of the disciples of these four orthodox fathers. Scrihen- diim est seems to have been their motto ! The Shiahs. — These are the partisans of the house of AH and they assert that he should have been the first of the caliphs after Mohammed's death. So great is their hatred toward the earlier caliphs that on one of their fes- tivals three images of dough filled with honey are made to represent Abu Bekr, Omar and Othman, which are then stuck with knives and the honey is sipped as typical of the blood of the usurping caliphs ! The festival is named Ghadir, from the place in Arabia where their tra- ditions say Mohammed declared Ali his rightful suc- cessor. There are thirty-two subdivisions of the Shiah sect, and the most important are given in the table. ^ The chief iTABLE OF CHIEF MOSLEM SECTS I. The Sunnis, or Orthodox Sect, divided into four schools of jurispru- dence, with date of the death of their founders: 1. Hanafis, 767 A. D. 2. Shafts, 820 A. D. 3. Malakis, 795 A. D. 4. Hanbalis, 855 A. D. From this school arose the Puritan Refor- mation under the Wahatis. (1787 A. D.) DIVISION, DISINTEGRATION AND REFORM 1 39 point of difference between the Shiahs and Sunnis is the doctrine of the Imamate. This consists in the behef that the "Hght of iMohammed" descended to AH and from him passed to the true Imams or reUgious leaders. The Imam is the successor of the Prophet, he is free from all sin and his authority is infallible. The Imam is the Vicar of God on earth. There have been twelve regular Imams ac- cording to Shiah belief. The last of the twelve Imams, Abu el Kasim, is supposed to be still alive, though hidden from view. He is the Mahdi, or expected Guide, ''who will fill the earth with justice, even though it be covered with tyranny." This expected Mahdi has always been the life and the hope of Moslem fanaticism and faith. "The whole of the Shiah doctrine of the Imamate," says Canon Sell, "seems to show that there is in the human heart a natural desire for some Mediator — some Word of the Father who shall reveal Him to His children. At first sight it would seem as if this dogma might to some extent reconcile the thoughtful Shiah to the Christian doctrine of the incarnation and mediation of Jesus Christ, to His office as the perfect revealer of God's will and as our Guide in life ; but it is not so. The mystic lore con- nected with Shiah doctrine has sapped the foundation of moral life and vigor. A system of religious reservation, too, is a fundamental part of the system. It thus becomes 2. The Mu'taztlis, the followers of Wasil-ibn'Ata (no A. H.), the first teacher of scholastic divinity among Moslems. His method of inter- pretation is partly adopted by the "New Islam" of India and Egypt. 3. The Sifatis, who held the contrary opinions of the Mu'tazilis. 4. The Kharijis, or Aliens, who revolted from AH. 5. The Shiahs, or the followers of Ali, divided into: 1. Imamis, who belive in the twelve Imams. 2. Zaidis. the followers of Zaid as one of the Imams. 3. Ismailis, the followers of Ismail. "The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan" (Lalla Rookh), Babek, "the Old Man of the Mountains," the Assassins, and the Car* mathians all came from this branch. 140 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH impossible to place dependence on what a Shiah may pro- fess, as pious frauds are legalized by his system of re- ligion. If he becomes a mystic, he looks upon the cere- monial and moral law as restrictions imposed by an Al- mighty Power. The advent of the Mahdi is the good time when all such restrictions shall be removed, when the utmost freedom shall be allowed. Thus the moral sense in many cases becomes deadened to an extent such as those who are not in daily contact with these people can hardly credit."^ The Shiahs also differ fron.. the Sunnis in the following points : They still possess Mujtahids, or enlightened doc- tors of the law, whose interpretation is final ; they observe the Moharram ceremonies and then have a sort of mira- cle-play to commemorate the death of Hassan and Husain, the sons of Ali; they also allow Miita'a, or temporary marriages, and differ in liturgical practice and in civil law from the orthodox on many points. ''With the Shiahs extremes meet," says Mr. Wilfred S. Blunt. "No Moslems more readily adapt themselves to the superficial atheisms of Europe than do the Persians, and none are more ardently devout, as all who have wit- nessed the miracle-play of the two Imams will be obliged to admit. Extremes, too, of morality are seen, fierce asceticisms and gross licentiousness. By no sect of Islam is the duty of a pilgrimage more religiously observed or the prayers and ablutions required by their rule per- formed with a stricter ritual. But the very pilgrims who go on foot to Mecca scruple not to drink wine there, and Persian morality is everywhere a by-word."^ The Shiah sect does not number much over twelve mil- ^E. Sell, "The Faith of Islam." 2"Future of Islam," quoted in Hughes' "Dictionary of Islam," 579. DIVISION, DISINTEGR-\TION AND REFORM 14! lion. Outside of Persia they are found chiefly in Mes- opotamia and India, with a few in Syria and Afghanistan. Other Sects. — The Ghana sect of Shiahs exceeded all bounds in their veneration for their Imams, and raised them to deity. The Abadiyah hold Ali alone to have been divine, and practically worship him as such. Among the subdivisions of the Khavvariji sect there are those "who believe that God is indifferent to the actions of men as if He were in a state of sleep." Others who re- quire a complete bath five times a day before prayer is considered legal ! Another sect holds that there is no punishment for sin, and still another holds the transmi- gration of souls ! The Jabariyah sect, with its twelve minor divisions, deny free-will. Some of them say "that inasmuch as God doeth everything and everything is of God, man cannot be made responsible for either good or evil." The many sects of Kadariyahs, on the contrary, assert free-will and some go so far as to teach "that the actions of men are of no consequence, whether they be good or evil." All sorts of heretical sects sprang up because of specu- lation on the being and attributes of Allah. Orthodox Moslems were greatly averse to the doctrine of the Incar- nation, yet there w^as much absurd teaching about the form of Allah. "Some went so far as to ascribe to Him all the bodily members together, wath the exception of the beard and other privileges of oriental manhood."^ What a contrast to the wild speculations or ignorant groping for light on such topics by Moslem authors are the words of St. John : "No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him."- Or of Jesus Christ ^T. J. De Boer, "Philosophy of Islam," 44. -John i:iS. 142 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Himself: "The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. ^ Disintegration. — In addition to all these divisions on doctrinal and party lines Islam has suffered disintegration for centuries through pantheism, rationalism, and asceti- cism, which at various times and in various ways swept through all the sects alike, and exerted a powerful influ- ence everywhere, without producing permanent reform or progress. "Christian heresies, Greek philosophy, oriental, and Aryan mysticism made short work with the Shiah divis- ion; and altho the Persians have furnished Islam with only ten million votaries at its most flourishing period (hardly more than one-twentieth in all), yet it has had from the earliest times more antagonizing and heretical sects than all the rest of the world of Islam put together. Mohammedan rationalism has always found its home in Persia."^ And so also Mohammedan mysticism found its cradle in Persia, altho according to learned orientalists its ideas are mainly borrowed from Indian philosophy of the Vedanta school. Suiiism. — From the earliest days of Islam there has ex- isted among Moslems a kind of mysticism in protest against the barren formalism of its ritual and the dead orthodoxy of its dogma. Those who followed this system were called Sufis.^ »John 4:23, 24. *H. W. Hulbert, "The Philosophical Disintegration of Islam," in Bihli- otheca Sacra, January, 1899. •The word is severally derived: From suf (wool), because they wore a woolen garment; or from eha'is an American missionary in Per- sia writes : "They are not more open to the gospel than the Moslems. In fact, many consider them less so, for although they profess to accept the whole Bible, yet by their allegorical interpretation and denial of all miracles they effectually change its meaning. Having incorpo- rated into their books some of the moral precepts of Christ and having adopted a semi-Christian vocabulary, they delight to discourse at length on love, on a tree being known by its fruits, and on kindred themes ; but having left out Christ, the centre, they have missed the essential thing, and novv' in Persia are notorious as being religious in word rather than in deed. In fact, many of them are simply irreligious rationalists. By neither Moslem, Jew nor Christian are they considered morally superior to the Moslems, while in some respects they are rightly judged less so. They have grossly exaggerated the number of their converts, so that Moslems now say of them that the Bahai claims for a convert every man who speaks to him on the street. The outside figure for all Persia is 200,- 000, with all probability that half that number is nearer the truth. The one promising aspect of the movement is that it is an opening wedge making for religious lib- erty."i The JValiabis. — The rise of this remarkable movement in Islam cannot be called the birth of a new sect. They themselves do not consider it so. It was an honest at- tempt to reform or renew Islam on radical lines ; an en- deavor to return to the golden days by setting back the hands of the clock. But, like every other attempt to re- form Islam, it failed signally and piteously. Mohammed bin Abd ul Wahab was born at Ayinah, in ^S. M. Jordan, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 129. 150 islam: a challenge to faith Nejd, in 1691. Carefully instructed by his father in the tenets of Islam according to the school of Hanbali, the strictest of the four great sects, Abd ul Wahab visited the schools of Mecca, Busrah and Bagdad, to increase his learning. At Medina, too, he absorbed the learning of the Moslem divines and soaked himself in the "six cor- rect books" of Traditions. In his travels he had observed the laxity of faith and practice which had crept in, es- pecially among the Turks and the Arabs of the large cities. He tried to distinguish between the essential ele- ments of Islam and its later additions, some of which seemed to him to savor of gross idolatry and worldliness. What most offended the rigid monotheism of his philoso- phy was the almost universal visitation of shrines, invo- cation of saints, and the honor paid at the tomb of Mo- hammed. The use of the rosary, of jewels, silk, gold, silver, wine and tobacco, were all abominations to be eschewed. These were indications of the great need for reform. The earlier teaching of the companions of the Prophet had been set aside or overlaid by later teaching. Even the four orthodox schools had departed from the pure faith by allowing pilgrimage to Medina, by multi- plying festivals and philosophizing about the nature of Allah. Therefore it was that Abd ul Wahab not only preached reform, but proclaimed himself the leader of a new jihad. His teaching was based on the Koran and the early traditions ; his sword was found in the desert of Arabia and his followers fought, as did the companions of the Prophet, to destroy all infidels. The movement is chiefly distinguished from the ortho- dox system in the following particulars : I. The Wahabis reject Ijma, or the agreement of later interpreters. DIVISION, DISINTEGRATION AND REFORM ISI 2. They offer no prayer to prophet, wah, or saint, nor visit their tombs for that purpose. 3. They say Mohammed is not yet an mtercessor, al though at the last day he will be. 4. They forbid women to visit the graves of the dead, c They allow only four festivals. 6 They do not celebrate Mohammed's birthday. 7. They use their knuckles for prayer-countmg, and not rosaries. , ., 8 Thev strictlv forbid the use of silk, gold, silver ornaments, tobacco, music, opium, and every luxury of the Orient, except perfume and women. g They have anthropomorphic ideas of GodJ)y stm lyHteral interpretation of the Koran texts about His '^''' Tht; wLt^aci, or religious war, is not out of date, but incumbent on believers everywhere. II They condemn minarets, tombstones and every thing that was not in use during the first years of Islam *There is no doubt that Abd ul Wahab hone^^ y^^j^^^ bring about a reform, and that m many of the po nts enumerated his reform was strictly a return to primitive Islam But it was too radical to last. It took no count o? modern civilization and the ten centuries that had modified the character of the city Arabs not to speak o those outside of Arabia. It is impossible here to give even the outline of the rise of the Wahabi state, its bloody conflicts with the Arabs, the Turks and the Eng^.sh, and the final collapse of Wahabi empire in Arabia. The story can be read elsewhere. The Wahabi reformation resembled the Refonnation in Europe (with which it has been often compared) in on^^ tiiree respects. It was iconoclastic and waged war 152 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH against every form of saint-worship. It acknowledged the right of private judgment and demanded a return to primitive beHefs. It was fruitful in results beyond its own horizon. But it is very doubtful whether Blunt does not go too far when he says : ''Wahabiism has produced a real de- sire for reform, if not reform itself, among Moslems. Islam is no longer asleep, and were another and a wiser Abd ul Wahab to appear, not as a heretic, but in the body of the orthodox sect, he might play the part of a Loyola or Borromeo with success.''^ The present intellectual, social and moral condition of the old Wahabi empire, Central Arabia, is sufficient com- mentary on the fact that even a Reformed Islam cannot save or elevate a people. There is no hope, for Arabia at least, in Islam. It has been tried for thirteen hundred years and signally failed. The Wahabis and their history only emphasize the fact. Nor has there been a permanent moral or social reformation of Islam in any land since the day of its origin. It is a hopeless system. ^In the "Future of Islam," quoted in Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam," 662. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MOSLEM WORLD "The number of the followers of Mohammed is, I believe, still larger than that of the followers of Christ (in Protestant lands) : in Europe it is steadily dwindling; in America Islam is little known; large tracts of Asia are entirely under its sway; and in Africa it is not only dominant, bi:t shows a tendency to gain ground. And if it could serve as a half-way house between paganism and Christianity, its extension might be regarded with- out dismay; but experience shows that there are no such half- way houses ; the road from darkness to light must be unbroken ; a half-way house is a bar to progress, because the force that should have lasted to the end of the journey is not there re- cruited, but broken and exhausted. There is this further terrible difficulty in facing Islam, that it represents itself as an advance on the Christian system." — D. S. Margoliouth, Laudian Professor of Arabic at Oxford. VIII THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MOSLEM WORLD A World-wide Religion. — If we regard numbers, Islam is perhaps the mightiest of all the non-Christian religions ; as regards its geographical distribution, it is the only re- ligion beside Christianity which holds a world-empire of hearts in its grasp; and its wonderful and rapid spread proves beyond a doubt that it is a great missionary re- ligion and aims at world-conquest. Mohammed's word has been fulhlled : "So we have made you the centre of the nations, that you should bear witness to men."^ The old pagan pantheon at Mecca has become the religious capital and the centre of universal pilgrimage for one- seventh of the human race. Islam in its present extent embraces three continents and counts its believers from Sierra Leone, in Africa, to Canton, in China, and from Tobolsk, Siberia, to Singapore and Java. In Russia Moslems spread their prayer-carpets southward toward Mecca; at Zanzibar they look northward to the Holy City ; in Khansu and Shensi, millions of Chinese Moslems pray toward the west, and in the wade Soudan they look eastward toward the Beit Allah and the Black Stone — a vast Moslem brotherhood. 'Surah ii, Sale's Koran, i6, note. 155 156 islam: a challenge to faith Arabic is the language of the Koran, but there are mil- Hons of IMoslems who cannot understand a single sen- tence of Mohammed's book, for they speak Russian, Turkisli, Persian, Pashtu, Bengali, Urdu, Chinese, Malay, Swahcli, Hausa and other languages. Around the same Kaaba diverse lands and civilization meet every year to profess one religion and repeat the same ritual. On the streets of Mecca one may see drawn together by a com- mon faith the Turkish Effendi in Paris costume, with Constantinople etiquette; the half-naked Bedouin of the desert; the fierce Afghan mountaineer; the Russian trader from the far north ; the almond-eyed Moslem from V^unnan ; the Indian graduate from the Calcutta univer- sities ; Persians, Somalis, Hausas, Javanese, Soudanese, Egyptians, Berbers, Kabyles and Moors. Mecca at the time of the annual pilgrimage has a pilgrim population of about sixty thousand, and among them are representa- tives of every nation under heaven.^ X umbers. — It is manifestly impossible to obtain any- thing better than a careful estimate of the total Moham- medan population of the globe, for so many lands that are prevailingly Moslem have never had a census nor heard of one, and there is great micertainty as to the total popu- lation of large districts in Africa and of the western provinces of China. On the other hand, it is needless to discredit all such statistical estimates or say w^ith Pro- fessor \^ambery: "The rumors current about the un- counted millions in the Dark Continent, in China and in Arabia deserve as much credit as the haphazard numbers of the Mohammedans of Turkey, Persia and Afghanistan ; where up to the present no census has been taken and 'See Blunt's Table of Mecca Pilgrimage in Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 33; Hadji Khan, "With the Pilgrims to Mecca," 168, 225, 226. (John Lane: New York, 1905.) PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 57 where all numerical data rest upon guesswork/'^ The following estimates of the total Moslem population of the world at least prove that independent investigations lead to the belief that there are between two hundred and two hundred and fifty millions who are nominally Moham- medans : "Statesman's Year Book," 1890 203,600,000 Brockhaus, "Convers-Lex... jn," 1894 175,000,000 Hubert Jansen, "Verbreitnng des Islams," 1897 259,680,672 S. M. Zwemer {Missionary Review), 1898 196,491,842 Algemeine Missions Zeitschrift, 1902 175,290,000 H. Wichmann, in Justus Perthes' "Atlas," 1903 240,000,000 William Curtis, in "Syria and Palestine," 1903 300,000,000 Encyclopedia of Missions, 1904 193,550,000 "The Mohammedan World of To-day." (Cairo Con- ference, 1907) 232.966,170 The discrepancy in these estimates depends almost en- tirely on the varying estimates of the number of Moslems in the Soudan and in China. For the rest of the world there seems to be agreement. The most careful and de- tailed statistics can be found in Jansen, and the conserva- tive results obtained in the papers prepared for the Cairo Conference are given in the accompanying table. Geographical Distribution. — To begin with Africa, where Islam has covered the largest area in its conquest and missionary propaganda, the stronghold of Moham- medanism lies along the Mediterranean. North of twenty degrees latitude the Moslems constitute ninety-one per cent, of the total population. Thirty-six per cent, of Africa's entire population is Mohammedan, or nearly fifty-nine million souls out of the whole number, one hundred and sixty-four million. South of the equator there are already over four million Mohammedans and ^In an article on "Pan-Islamism," The Nineteenth Century for October, 1906. -K 158 islam: a challenge to faith in the Congo Free State there are said to be nearly two milHon. The situation in Africa as regards Islam is alarming, and can be summarized in the words of the Rev. Charles R. Watson, D. D. : *'The missionary prob- lem of Africa is not paganism, which fast crumbles away before the Gospel of Christ, but Islam, which resists like adamant the appeals of the herald of the cross. The Christian Church has not yet attacked this problem with the seriousness and earnestness of loving witness which the undertaking requires. When she does, her Lord will glorify His Church and Himself by crowning her efforts with success."^ The accompanying map of Islam in Africa should be carefully studied in connection with the table of statistics. Dr. W. R. Miller, for some years a missionary in West Africa, states that 'Tslam seems to be spreading in Lagos, the Yoruba country, Sierra Leone, and the French Soudan; but in most of these places, as also in the Nupe country, it is of a very low order, and in the presence of a vigorous Christian propaganda it will not finally add strength to Islam. Still the number of Moslems is undoubtedly increasing rapidly. Islam and Christianity between them are spoiling heathenism and will probably divide the pagan peoples in less than fifty years. "2 But unless the Church awakes to the peril of Islam she may once more be defeated in Africa. *'The spread of Islam in Africa is one of the most striking phe- nomena of the nineteenth century and taken in connec- tion with the cultural revival of the Moslem world in Asia is the feature of the situation which is of the gravest import. There are three currents of Mohammedanism which are spreading in Africa, — from the Upper Nile, ^"The Mohammedan World of To-Day," 285. 'Ibid., 47. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 159 from Zanzibar into the Congo region, and lastly up the Niger basin. Christianity, which is only a feeble plant in these regions, is likely to be overwhelmed altogether, just UNOCCUPIED MISSION FIELDS IN AFRICA^ (Dots represent mission stations) as the flourishing North African Church was over- whelmed by the Arabs at an earlier stage of history."- ^This map was prepared by Professor Wilson S. Naylor, and appeared in The Missionary Review of the H'orid for March, 1906. ^Archibald R. Colquhoun, in article on '" Pan-Islam," North American Re- view, June, 1906, 916. i6o ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Islam in Asia and Europe. — Of the total population of the world there are about one hundred and sixty-nine million Moslems in Asia and about five million in Europe. Generally speaking, one-seventh of the total population of MAP SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF MOSLEMS IN INDIA^ Asia, and of the world, is Mohammedan. The following countries in Asia are predominantly and some almost wholly Moslem : Arabia, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Turkestan, Bokhara, Khiva, Persia, Afghanistan, Balu- ^"Census of India," 1901, Vol. I., 383. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD l6l chistan, Java, Sumatra, Celebes and the Southern islands of the Philippine group. In Syria and Armenia the non- Moslem population outnumbers that of Islam. The chief numerical strength of the Mohammedan faith, hozvever, is in India, zvhich has a larger Moslem population than all Africa and far more than the total populations of Arabia, Persia, Egypt and the Turkish Empire combined. By the last census the number of Moslems in India is 62,458,- 077. In Bengal, including Assam, there are 27,076,643, and in the Punjaub, 12,183,345. In the Dutch East Indies there are nearly thirty million Moslems out of a total pop- ulation of thirty-six millions. The number of Moslems in China is variously given from twenty to thirty or even forty millions.^ The largest number is in the province of Kansu, in the extreme northwest, where 8,550,000 are reported. Some 6,500,000 are found in Shensi, in the north, and 3,500,000 in Yunnan, in the extreme south- west. In Peking there are 100,000 IMoslems, and Canton has four mosques. "Mohammedans in China, at least in fifteen out of the eighteen provinces, have become merged in the Chinese population and are hardly distinguishable from their neighbors. They speak the language of the country in which they live and wear its costume; there are some physical features by which they may be differentiated, their cheek bones being generally more prominent and their noses better shaped than the majority of the Chi- nese, and they have a habit of clipping the mustache which the Chinese do not follow. They do not intermarry with the Chinese, but frequently adopt native children into iThe latter number is far too large, but is given by Mon. E. Lamairesse in his "Theologie Musulmane," viii. (Carre: Paris, 1894.) "The States- roan's Year Book" gives 30,000,000. The figures for India are taken from the same source (edition 1907). 1 62 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH their families. They make no attempt to convert their Chinese neighbors, and the rehgious opinions which they hold are, to a great extent, unknown to outsiders."^ In the Philippines there are about 300,000 Moslems ; a German authority puts the number at 420,000.^ The total number of Moslems in the Russian Empire, chiefly in Asia, is given in the "Statesman's Year Book" as 13,906,972, which equals 9.47 per cent, of the total popu- lation, while the Russian Jews number only 3.55 per cent.^ For other lands see the map and appendix. Distribution by Languages. — The sacred language of Islam is Arabic. Mohammed called it the language of the angels. And the Arabic Koran is to this day the text book in all Moslem schools of Turkey, Afghanistan, Java, Sumatra, New Guinea, Russia and China. Arabic is the spoken language not only of Arabia Proper, but forces the linguistic boundary of that peninsula three hundred miles north of Bagdad to Diarbekr and Mardin, and is used all over Syria, Palestine and the whole of Northern Africa. As a written language it has millions of readers in every part of the Moslem world ; and yet to three-fourths of the believers Arabic is a dead language and not understood of the people. Still all public worship and all daily prayer must be in the Arabic tongue. In the Philippine Islands the first chapter of the Arabic Koran is repeated before dawn paints the sky red. The refrain is taken up in Moslem prayers at Pekin and is repeated across the whole of China. It is heard in the *"The Mohammedan World of To-day." Rev. W. Gilbert Walshe, in "Islam in China," 249-264. This account conflicts, however, with that of T. W. Arnold, who says the Moslems form separate communities and in- termarry with the Chinese. See Chap. Ill, 70-72. 2Dr. Ernest Faber, in Zeitschrift des hvangelischen Frotestantischen Mis- sions Vcreins. ""Statesman's Year Book," 1382. (1907.) PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 163 valleys of the Himalayas and on**The Roof of the World." A little later the Persians pronounce these Arabic words, and then across the peninsula the muezzins call the "faithful" to the same prayer. At the waters of the Nile the cry, ''Allahu akbar," is again sounded forth, ever carrying the Arab speech westward across the Soudan, the Sahara and the Barbary States, until it is last heard in the mosques of IMorocco and Rio de Oro. As the speech of the Moslem conquest, the influence of the Arabic language on other tongues and peoples has also been great, ever since the rise of Islam. The Persian language adopted the Arabic alphabet and a large num- ber of Arabic words and phrases, so that, as Renan remarks,^ in some Persian books all the words are Arabic and only the grammar remains in the vernacular. As for Hindustani, three-fourths of its vocabulary consists of Arabic words or Arabic words derived through the Per- sian. The Turkish language also is indebted for many words taken from the Arabic and uses the Arabic alpha- bet. The Malay language, through the Aloslem conquest, was also touched by Arabic influence and likewise adopted its alphabet. In Africa its influence was yet more strong- ly felt. The language extended over all the northern half of the continent and is still growing in use to-day. The geographical nomenclature of the interior is Arabic, and Arabs preceded Livingstone, Stanley and Speke in all their journeys. The languages of the southern Soudan, the Hausa. and even those of Guinea borrowed largely from the Arabic. Europe itself did not escape the in- fluence of the conquering Semitic tongue, as is evident in Spain and Italy. But Islam spread even more rapidly than did the language of the Koran, and in consequence ^Ernest Renan, "Histoire des Langues Semitiques." 164 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the Mohammedan world of to-day is no longer of one speech, but polyglot.^ The Mohammedans, so far from thinking, as some suppose, that the Koran is profaned by a translation, have themselves made translations, but always interlinear ones with the original text, into Per- sian, Urdu, Pushtu, Turkish, Javan, Malayan, and two or three other languages, but such copies of the Koran in two languages are, however, expensive and rare. A table was prepared for the Cairo Conference, show- ing into which languages, spoken by Moslems as their vernaculars, the Bible has been translated in whole or in part. It shows at once the polyglot character of Islam and the splendid array of weapons prepared in God's providence for the spiritual conquest of the Moslem world.- ^An approximate estimate shows that 63,000,000 Moslems speak the rsrn- guages of India; only 45,000,000 speak Arabic as their mother tongue; 32,- 000,000 use African languages other than Arabic; 31,000,000 Moslems in China, Chinese-Turkestan and among the Chinese of Southern Asia speak Chinese; 30,000,000 the languages of the Malay Archipelago; and other mil- lions Turkish Slavonic and Turkish, as indicated on page 166. ^Table showing into which languages, spoken by Moslems as their ver- naculars, the Bible has been translated in whole or in part: 1. Arabic: whole Bible. 2. Persian: whole Bible. 3. Urdu: whole Bible. 4. Turkish — Ottoman: whole Bible. Azarbaijani: whole Bible. Uzbek: four Gospels. Bashkir: four Gospels. Jagatai: St. Matthew. Kalmuk: New Testament. Karass: New Testament. 5. Pashto: whole Bible. 6. Bilochi: portions. 7. Malay — High) Low / portions. 8. Javanese: portions. 9. Kisuahelj; whole Bible. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 65 The chief Hterary languages of Islam next to Arabic are Turkish, Persian, Urdu and Bengali. In all of these languages there is a large Moslem religious literature, dogmatic, apologetic and controversial. Even in Chinese there is a considerable amount of Mohammedan litera- ture. Some works are published under the imprimatur of the Emperor, but a translation of the Koran is not per- mitted.^ Political Divisions. — The present political division of the Mohammedan world is a startling evidence of the finger of God in history and an unpredecented missionary challenge to the churches of Christendom. Once jNloslem empire was co-extensive with I^Ioslem faith. In 907 A. D. the Caliphate of political power included Spain, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Egypt, Asia :\Iinor, Syria, Arabia, Persia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, Baluchistan and the re- gion around the Caspian Sea. To-day the empire of Abdul Hamid, Caliph of all believers, has shrunk to such small proportions that it includes less than sixteen million Moslems and covers only Turkey, Asia IMinor, Tripoli and one-fifth of Arabia. The following table shows the pres- ent division of the Mohammedan population of the world TO. Hausa : portions. 11. Kurdish — Kirmanshahi: four Gospels; also the New Testament in another dia- lect of Kurdish, but printed in Armenian characters. 12. Bengali (:\lusalmani) : portions. 13. Chinese: -.vhole Bible. 14. Ki-ganda: whole Bible. 15. Berber: two Gospels. 16. Kabyle: New Testament. 17. Albanian: New Testament. 18. Kashmiri: whole Bible (but not in Arabic character for Moslems). 19. Gujarati: whole Bible (but not in Arabic character). 20. Punjabi: Bible (parts in Arabic character and in language understood by Aloslems).— "Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems," 87,88. i"The Mohammedan World of To-day." Rev. Gilbert Walslie"s paper on "Islam in China," 260. 1 66 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH as regards governments. It was prepared prior to the Algeciras Conference, and the more recent disturbances which practically make Morocco a protected State: MOHAMMEDAN POPULATION UNDER CHRISTIAN RULE OR PROTECTION Great Britain in Africa 17,920,330 Great Britain in Asia 63,633,783 81,554,113 France in Africa 27,849,580 France in Asia 1,455,238 29,304,818 Germany in Africa 2,572,500 Italy, Portugal and Spain in Africa 722,1^7 The United States in Asia 300,000 The Netherlands in Asia 29,289,440 Russia in Europe and Asia 15,889,420 Other States in Europe ; Greece, etc 1,360^402 Australasia and America 68,000 Grand total 161,060,870 UNDER NON-CHRISTIAN RULERS Africa 2,950,000 Chinese Empire^ 30,000,000 Siam 1,000,000 Formosa 25,500 Total 33,976,500 UNDER TURKISH RULE Europe 2,050,000 Africa 1,250,000 Asia 12,228,800 Total ' 15,528,800 UNDER OTHER MOSLEM RULERS Morocco 5,600,000 Oman and Nej d, etc 3,500,000 Afghanistan 4,500,000 Persia 8,800,000 Total 22,400,000 Grand total 71,905,300 *The latest estimates give 30,000,000 and not 20,000,000 for China. STATISTICAL SURVEY OF THE MOHAMMEDAN WORLD l^EPAHED FOB THE CaIRO CONFERENCE BV ChARLES R. WaTSON AND SaMOEL M. ZwEMER (ReVISED) ATRICA Population Moslems AFRICA Moslems ASIA lopvilation Moslems ASIA 1 Population Moslems M For detail, see Dr. Hubert Jan.en's Kertreili. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 67 This table shows that the balance of political power in the Mohammedan world is in the hands of England, France, Russia and the Netherlands. Each of these Eu- ropean powers is deeply concerned in the future of Islam, since each has more Moslem subjects than there are in the whole Turkish empire. Germany has over two and a half million Mohammedans under her flag in Africa, and she, too, is deeply concerned in the future of Islam. The total number of Mohammedans under the rule or protection of Christian powers is 161,060,870, and it does not require the gift of prophecy to see yet greater future political changes in the Levant, Arabia and Persia than have taken place in Africa during the past two decades, with the result of adding more millions to this number — and to the responsibility of Christian rulers. Present Political Unrest. — Because of the urgent duty of Jihad, or warfare for the spread of Islam, the whole world came to be regarded from the days of the Caliphs, both by the propagandists of the faith and by the rulers of Moslem lands, as divided into two great portions — the Dar-iil-Harh and the Dar-ul-Islam, the territory of war and the territory of Islam. These two divisions, one of which represented the lands of infidels and darkness, the other of true believers and light, were supposed to be in a continual state of open or latent belligerency until Islam should have absorbed the lands of infidelity or made them subject. All works on Moslem law and jurisprudence treat at length of this subject and define the rights of Zirnmis, or non-Moslem subjects, who live under a Mos- lem government.^ Islam contemplated a zvorld-empire, political as zvell as spiritual. iSee article "Zimmi" in Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam." Hamilton, "Hedaya," Vol. II, passim. Shedd, "Islam and the Oriental Churches," 91-139. l68 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH But history has turned the tables, as we have seen, and three- fourths of the two hundred miUions of "true be- Hevers" are now under non-AIosiem rule. In proportion, therefore, as during the past century the political inde- pendence of Moslem countries was threatened or annihi- lated, there arose unrest, envy and open or secret rebellion against non-Moslem rule. The pilgrims meeting at Mecca from distant lands all had the same story to tell — the infidel governments were taking possession of the Mo- hammedan world. Fifty years ago an Arabic pamphlet was sent out by a learned theologian at Mecca, Ahmad al Barzinji al Hasaini, entitled "General Advice to the Kings and Peoples of Islam." It drew attention to the steadily increasing political power of Christian nations, to the crying wrongs and cruelties committed by them against Islam, and pointed out the only way of escape from total destruction.^ About the year 1905 there ap- peared in the Cairo paper, Ez-Zahir, a proclamation to Indians and Egyptians to rise against England, of Vvdiich the following extracts will suffice to show w^hat Egyptian Moslems think of British rule: 'Tt is thus that the English suck the blood of millions of Indians, and when a few years ago the cholera broke out, ravaging the country frightfully, the English, instead of using pre- ventive measures, did nothing to stop the evil. India has become a place of pleasure-trips and sport for the Brit- isher. The Indian chiefs give valuable presents to the visitor, who returns richly laden to his country, parading at the same time the honesty, integrity and incorruptibil- ity of his nation. . . . And then was it not the English Government which appointed Warren Hastings, a most ignorant, corrupt and tyrannical fellow, as ruler over the ^The Nineteenth Century, October, 1906, 548. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 69 whole of India? It was only after numberless complaints of crying injustices had reached the Central Government that he was dismissed from ofiice. Well, such is the manner of acting of the famous, just, civilized and mod- erate English. Happily their policy of infinite treachery and ruse is beginning to burst, and the time of revenge against these insolent, overbearing and haughty oppres- sors has arrived at last. The elongated shadow of the afternoon sun of their power will soon disappear. When His Majesty the King of England, in a speech from the throne, said : 'We shall accord liberty and independence to the people of the Transvaal, in order to facilitate their progress and to secure their attachment to the Crown,' the people of India may well ask, 'Why are similar con- cessions not accorded to India, or are the Indians less capable and less gifted than the South Africans?' And, further, if the English avail themselves of such pretexts, who is the cause of our having remained behind — we, the quiet and obedient people, or the so-called disinterested, magnanimous teacher ? "It is all useless to misrepresent facts, for it is patent that there is no difference between India of to-day and between India of the middle ages, and all higli-sounding statements about our great strides in civilization is but grandiloquent, empty talk. Nobody can deny that tb.e Indians were formerly the great owners of Central Asia ; their culture was predominant, and some of their towns became the centre of learning and knowledge, from which it had spread to the most distant parts of the world. Until quite recently nobody knew scarcely anything about Japan ; but unity, coupled with the firm and resolute in- tention of a handful of men, has produced extraordinary results and vanquished the once much-dreaded power of 170 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the North. Afraid of this wonderful success, proud and haughty Albion had to condescend and to seek the friend- ship and alliance of Japan, which occupies to-day a fore- most rank amongst the great nations of the world, where- as India, having passed one hundred and fifty years under foreign rule, is still in need of instruction and education. This is what we know as the result of British rule in India. Are we not entitled to ask what will become of Egypt under the rule of the same power ; of Egypt, known as the Beauty of the East, the trade centre of the world, and the Lord of the Seas ; of Egypt, whose export has lately risen to a height never attained by India? We consequently ask : Has the time not come yet when, uniting the suppressed wailings of India with our own groans and sighs in Egypt, we should say to each other, 'Come and let us be one, following the divine words, Vic- tory belongs to the united forces'?"^ The former French Minister of the Interior, M. G. Hanotaux, in a series of articles in the Journal de Paris, 1906, spoke of the political menace of Islam in Algiers and the French Soudan as a constant peril not only to French rule, but to Christian civilization. "Dangerous firebrands of discontent are ever smouldering under the resigned surface of these conquered races, which have been often defeated but never discouraged. The relig- ious orders of Islam, failing a political leader for the pres- ent, are yet keeping their powder dry for the day of the great slaughter and the great victory."- The same spirit of unrest obtains in Java and Sumatra, where Dutch rule, altho so favorable to Islam, seems to ^Quoted in full in Professor A. Vambery's article in The Nineteenth Cen- tury, October, 1006. -A synopsis of these important articles appeared in Der Soudan Pionier, Wiesbaden, February, 1907. PRESENT COiNTDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD I7I gall their pride and awaken their desire for autonomy. The editor of the official organ of the Barmen Mission, which has had so much success among the Mohammedans in Sumatra, wrote a few years ago: "We have often been forced to observe that the whole Mohammedan world is connected by secret threads, and that a defeat which Islam suffers in any part of the world, or a triumph which she can claim, either real or fictitious, has its reflex action even on the work of our missionaries in the Mohammedan part of Sumatra. Thus the recent massa- cres in Armenia have filled the Mohammedans in this part of Sumatra with pride. They say to the Christians : 'You see now that the Raja of Stamboul (that is, the Sultan of Constantinople) is the one whom none can withstand; and he will soon come and set Sumatra free, and then we shall do with the Christians as the Turks did with the Armenians.' And it is a fact that a consid- erable number of Mohammedans who were receiving in- struction as candidates for baptism have gone back since the receipt of this news." A mass meeting of Indian Moslems, attended by over four thousand persons, was held in Calcutta on May 20, 1906, to protest against the action of the British Government in the matter of the Egyptian boundary dispute, and in the resolution passed "the Mohammedans of Calcutta express profound regret and dissatisfaction at the unhappy policy which has cul- minated in strained relations between His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan of Turkey, the spiritual head of millions of Mohammedans, and the British Govern- ment."^ This attitude of Moslems to-day toward Christian gov- ernments is sometimes a real danger to their civilizing ^Correspondence, The New York Sun, June 20, 1906. 172 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH efforts, but is more often used by Moslems themselves as a scarecrow for political purposes. And then, through fear of Moslem fanaticism, real or invented, the Chris- tian powers of Europe grant Islam favors and prestige in Asia and Africa which strict neutrality in matters of religion would never countenance and which are not shown to the Christian faith. Here are some striking examples of this short-sighted and un-Christian policy. In West Africa the British Government has become in- volved "in backing up Islam politically and inevitably re- ligiously also. Repairing broken-down mosques, by order, subscriptions to Mohammedan feasts, forcible cir- cumcision of heathen soldiers on enlistment, etc., etc., are some of the ways in which the general trend is indi- cated."^ The British Government, while professing to be neutral, hampers Christian missions, but allows Islam freedom to proselytize. In Egypt the British Govern- ment is especially favorable to Mohammedan interests and pays undue respect to Moslem prejudices at the ex- pense of Christians. There are glaring instances of in- justice against Christians in the courts which, for ex- ample, are also open on Sundays and closed on Fridays.^^ When the Sacred Kiswa, or covering for the Kaaba at Mecca, leaves Cairo, or returns, I was told that British soldiers, as well as native infantry, are drawn up to salute it. And at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum, the Bible has no place, but the Koran is a required text book, and Friday is the weekly holiday. If Moslems could be won over to loyalty by such f avprs and favoritism, surely Java and Sumatra would be an example. The contrary is the case. **The idea of some colonial rulers that ^"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 46, 47. ^Ibid., 29, 30. I « ife*^- t i^^ EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS ESCORTING THE MAHMAL The picture shows some of the :Mosleni population of Cairo at the Pro- cession of the Mahmai, or triumphal camel-litter, which accompanies the Kiswah, or sacred covering of the Kaaba, sent annually from Egypt. I/- PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 73 Mohammedans can be won over to loyalty in a peaceful way has been clearly disproved in Achin. In order to please the Moslems, a splendid mosque was built in Achin by the Dutch Government, but very few Achinese ever come to it."^ The present attitude of the Dutch Colonial Government has wisely been entirely changed. Chris- tianity now finds protection and Islam no unfair favors. "Christian chiefs are given a share in judicial administra- tion, so as to counteract the oppression of the Moslems, and Christian missions desiring to begin work in terri- tories still pagan or threatened with Mohammedan propa- ganda are assisted by the government. "- Social Condition of Moslem Lands. — The present social and moral condition of Mohammedan lands and of Mos- lems in all lands is not such as it is in spite of, but because of, their religion. The law of cause and effect has oper- ated for over a thousand years under every possible natu- ral and political environment, among Semites, Negroes, Aryan races and Slavs. The results are so sadly similar that they form a terrible and unanszverahle indictment of the social and moral zveakness of Islam. There is no better proof of the inadequacy of the religion of Aloham- med than a study of the present intellectual, social and moral condition of Arabia. Cradled at Mecca, fostered at Medina, and reformed in the Nejd, Islam has had un- disputed possession of the entire peninsula for almost thirteen centuries. In other lands, such as Syria and Egypt, it remained in contact with a more or less corrupt form of Christianity, or, as in India and in China, in con- flict with cultured heathenism, and there is no doubt that in both cases there were and are mutual concessions and i"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 212. 2Ibid., 225. 174 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH influences. But in its native Arabian soil the tree planted by the Prophet has grown with wild freedom and brought forth fruit after its kind. As regards morality, Arabia is on a low plane. Slavery and concubinage exist every- where; while polygamy and divorce are fearfully com- mon. Fatalism, the philosophy of the masses, has para- lyzed progress, and injustice is stoically accepted. Bribery is too common to be a crime, lying is a fine art and rob- bery has been reduced to a science. Doughty and Pal- grave, who both crossed the heart of the peninsula, have given it as their verdict that there is no hope for Arabia in Islam. It has been tried zealously for, thirteen hun- dred years and piteously failed. Arabia is only typical of other Moslem lands. Social and moral conditions are no better in Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Tripoli or Morocco. The holy cities of Per- sia are hot-beds of immorality.^ Polygamy and divorce are common. Marriage often takes place when the girl is seven or nine years of age, in accordance with Mohammed's example in the case of Ayesha.^ The low moral condition of Baluchistan and Afghanistan is in- describable. Girls are put up at auction and sold to the highest bidder, while compensation for blood is often ordered paid in yet unborn female children.^ In the Kelat State the vilest orgies are enacted at the court of the Khan, and among the Baluchis immorality is so common among the Moslem clergy that syphilis is spoken of as the Mullah's disease.^ One who has been a missionary for years in India testifies : "However the phenomenon may be accounted for, we, after mixing with iDr. W. St. Clair Tisdall, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 117. 'A. Duncan Dixey, in Ibid., 141. •"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 139, 140. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 75 Hindus and Mohainmedans for nineteen years back, have no hesitation in saying that the latter are as a whole some degrees lower in the social and moral scale than the former."^ Polygamy has not diminished licentiousness in any Moslem land, but everywhere increased it. ''Immorality among African Mohammedans is commonly indescrib- able. It is worse among the Arabs of the intensely Mohammedan countries to the north than it is among the Negro races to the south. "- And to complete the picture of social Islam in the twentieth century, here is a sketch of the slave-market at Mecca — this open slave-market is within a stone's throw of ''the house of God/' at the centre of the Moslem world : "Go there and see for yourself the condition of the human chattels you purchase. You will find them, thanks to the vigilance of British cruisers, less numerous and conse- quently more expensive than they were in former years ; but there they are, flung pell-mell in the open square. . . . The dealer, standing by, cried out: 'Come and buy; the first-fruits of the season, delicate, fresh and green ; come and buy, strong and useful, faithful and hon- est. Come and buy.' The day of sacrifice was past and the richer pilgrims in their brightest robes gathered around. One among them singled out the girl. They entered a booth together. The mother was left behind. One word she uttered, or was it a moan of inarticulate grief? Soon after the girl came back. And the dealer, when the bargain was over, said to the purchaser: T sell you this property of mine, the female slave, Narcis- ij. Vaupban, in Jessup, "Mohammedan IMissionary Problem," 47. The same testimony is given by other missionaries in Bengal and the Punjaub. See also Dennis, "Christian Missions and Social Progress," Vol. I, 91. 'Charles R. Watson, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 284. 176 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH sus, for the sum of forty pounds/ Thus the bargain was dinched. . . . Men slaves could be bought for sums varying from fifteen pounds to forty pounds. The chil- dren in arms were sold with their mothers, an act of mercy; but those that could feed themselves had to take their chance. More often than not they were separated from their mothers, which gave rise to scenes which many a sympathetic pilgrim would willingly forget if he could."^ Illiteracy. — The illiteracy of the Mohammedan world to-day is as surprising as it is appalling. One would think that a religion which almost worships its Sacred Book, and which was once mistress of science and litera- ture, would in its onward sv/eep have enlightened the nations. But facts are stubborn things. Careful inves- tigations show that seventy-five to one hundred per cent, of the Moslems in Africa are unable to read or write. In Tripoli ninety per cent, are illiterate ; in Egypt, eighty- eight per cent. ; in Algiers, over ninety per cent.^ In Turkey conditions have greatly improved and illiteracy is not above forty per cent., while of women it is estimated as under sixty per cent. Among the Kurds and Circas- sians illiteracv is more prevalent.^ In Arabia there has been scant intellectual progress since "the Time of Igno- rance," before Mohammed, when the tribes used to gather at Okatz to compete in poetry and eloquence. The Bedouins are nearly all illiterate, and in spite of the Wahabi revival and the attempt of Turkish officials to open schools, there is little that deserves the name of edu- niarlji Khan, "With the Pilgrims to Mecca: The Great Pilgrimage of A. H. 1319" (A. D. 1902), 306308. *"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 284; and Statistical Tables also, 33- «"Anatolicns" in article on "Islam in Turkey," in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 57. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD \^J cation, even in the large towns. ^ The system of educa- tion at Mecca is typical of that in all Moslem lands not yet influenced by Western civilization and governments. The youth learn to read the Koran, not to understand its meaning, but to drone it out professionally at funerals and feasts, so many chapters for so many shekels. Mod- ern science or history are not even mentioned, much less taught, at even the high-schools of Mecca. Grammar, prosody, caligraphy, Arabian history and the first ele- ments of arithmetic, but chiefly the Koran commentaries and traditions, traditions, traditions, form the curriculum of the Mohammedan college. Those who desire a post- graduate course devote themselves to mysticism (Tassawaf), or join an order of Derwishes, all of whom have their representative sheikhs at Mecca. The method of teaching in the schools of Mecca, which can be taken as an example of the best that Arabia affords, is as fol- lows.^ The child of intellectual promise is first thought his alphabet from a small wooden board on which they are written by the teacher ; slates are unknown. Then he learns the Abjad or numerical value of each letter — a use- less proceeding at present, as the Arabic notation, orig- inally from India, is everywhere in use. After this he learns to write down the ninety-nine names of Allah and to read the first chapter of the Koran ; then he attacks the last two chapters, because they are short. The teacher next urges him through the book, making the pupil read at the top of his voice. The greatest strictness is ob- served as to pronunciation and pauses, but nothing what- ever is said to explain the meaning of the words. Hav- ing thus finished the Koran, that is, read it through once, ^"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 109. -S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia, the Cradle of Islam," 43, 44; and Snouck Hur- gronje, "Mekka," Vol, II, passim. 178 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the pupil takes up the elements of grammar, learning rules by rote, both of sarf (inflection) and nahw (syn- tax). Then follow the liberal sciences, al-mantik (logic), al-htsab (arithmetic), al-jahr (algebra), al-ma'ana wa'l hey an (rhetoric and versification), al-Hkh (jurispru- dence), al-akaid (scholastic theology), at-tafsir (exeget- ics) ilm-nl-usul (science of the sources of Koran inter- pretation), and lastly the very capstone of education, al-ahadith (Traditions). What that capstone includes we have seen in the chapter on the Faith and Prac- tice of Islam. And in all this again Mecca is a typical city. Persia now has a constitution, but it has no national system of education, and ninety per cent, of the popula- tion are illiterate.^ In Baluchistan, according to the British census, only 117 per looo of the Mohammedan m.en and only 23 per 1000 among the women can read.^ But the most surprising, and at the same time the most accurate, statistics of illiteracy are those of India. Ac- cording to the last census, the total of illiterates among the 62,4^8,0/7' Mohammedans of India is the enormous figure of jp,6y4,4pQ, or about p6 per cent.!^ Such wide- spread illiteracy in all lands, and especially prevalent among Moslem women, results in every sort of supersti- tion in the home-life and among the lower and middle classes. Even among the leaders of these blind, intellec- tually, modern science is despised or feared, and every- thing turns, on the Ptolemaic system, round the little world of the Koran. Jinn are exorcised ; witches and the evil- eye avoided by amulets and talismans ; alchemy and as- '"The Mohammedan World of To-day," ii8. Table, 295. 'Ibid.. 137. 'The percentage of literates is given in the census as 3.27 per cent. "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 162. Table, 294. PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD 1 79 trology are studied and patronized; and pagan practices often flourish on the soil of Moslem bigotry.^ It is a dark world. The Intellectual Azvakening. — It has always proved im- possible to put the new wine of free thought and educa- tion into the old wine-skins of Moslem orthodoxy. The history of Moslem dogma proves it. And therefore the recent intellectual awakening of those relatively few Mos- lems who received a liberal education in Syria, Egypt, India or Algiers, whether in government or mission schools, or of those who became enamored of Western civilization, was inevitably an intellectual revolt against the old Islam. This clash of modern life and thought with the medievalism of Al Ghazzali gave birth to the New Islam. Though called by different names in India, the Levant and Egypt, the cause and effect of the movement are the same. The leadership and initiative of the New Islam in India belong to Sir Saiyad Ahmed Khan of Aligarh. After a period of government service and visit to England in 1870, he began by editing a journal called Tahzib id Akhlak, or The Reform of Morals. In 1878 he started an Anglo-Mohammedan College at Aligarh, which has since, through gifts of educated Moslems and government assistance, become the Mohammedan Uni- versity for all India. In 1886 he began an Annual Edu- cational Conference for the Mohammedans of India. Sir Saiyad Ahmed also wrote a Commentary on the Bible, which has doubtless helped to bring some educated Mos- lems to a more intelligent view of the real character and integrity of the Christian Scriptures. But the at- tempt to rationalize Islam and give it new life by a broad ^See Indian Census Reports of Bengal; "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 72, 89, 219, etc. ; Hughes, "Dictionary of Islam," Exorcism and Jinn; and "Our Moslem Sisters," passim. l80 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH interpretation of its theology, has failed. Competent ob- servers in India state that **the movement has practically lapsed into a sort of social and political reform," and that "just at present there is a marked indication, even among educated Moslems, mainly to drift back to the old school of thought."^ The hands of the clock are put back to midnight, altho it strikes the hour of dawn. The institution at Aligarh, however, now contains 340 students in the college department and 364 in the pre- paratory school ; of these eighty-eight are Hindu stu- dents and the rest Mohammedans. But the tone of the college is agnostic rather than Moslem and secular rather than religious. This was the testimony given me by the two resident professors of Moslem theology when I vis- ited the college in 1902, and was also my own impression after meeting the students. In Egypt also there is an intellectual awakening on the part of many educated Moslems. The late liberal-mind- ed Mufti at Cairo attempted to reform Islam and depre- cated the ignorance and bigotry of his co-religionists. He tried to bring order out of chaos in the Azhar University, both in its material affairs and its method of instruction. A great impetus was given to education through his ef- forts. Book and tract societies were started. He even attempted to reform the Moslem courts of law, which are notoriously corrupt. But whether the measures he initiated will be fruitful of permanent result is very doubtful. - Yet the printing-press is carrying these messages of reform and preaching a New Islam wherever Moslem journals of this type find readers. And wherever Mos- »"The New Islam," in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 187-204, ''Andrew Watson, in Ibid., 32, 33. 5 c? PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD l8l lems come into touch with the non-]\IosIem world of the West in its pohtics and commerce, or through Christian missions, there follows the inevitable conflict between the old and the new in the minds of those who dare to think for themselves. Dr. William A. Shedd points out that Islam to-day must meet a new crisis in its history. "It is coming into close contact with modern thought and civilization. It must meet these changed conditions if it is to live, and the question arises whether it can do this or not. History shows that Islam is capable of great things and of flourishing under very varied conditions. It also shows that it has received into its system from the very beginning elements from outside, and it is reasonable to suppose that this process may go on. . . . However, the elements which have entered Islam from outside in the past have not been assimilated. This inability of Islam to assimilate the elements received into it has been made the reason for denying to it the claim to be a univer- sal religion and the argument seems to be thoroughly valid. "^ That the Mohammedans themselves are conscious of this crisis in their religious outlook is evident from the press and the platform wherever these two blessings of a Christian civilization obtain in the Mohammedan world. The following words, spoken by Mustapha Pasha Kami! of Egypt (whom Professor Vambery calls "the actual leader of the anti-English movement on the Nile") before the Pan-Islamic Society at the Criterion Restaurant, Lon- don, in July, 1906, are an illustration : "Tell the people who live the life of animals and are led like dumb driven cattle. Awake ! and realize the true significance of life. ^Kuenen-Hibhert Lectures fiRR^), "Natural Religions and L'^niversal Re- ligions," Lecture I. Quoted in Shedd, "Islam and the Oriental Churches," 87. l82 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Fill the earth and adorn it with results of your labors. Gentlemen, you alone can make them understand the full meaning of life ; nay, you alone can give them life. Has- ten, therefore, with your medicine. O physicians, the patient is in a critical state, and delay spells death. The malady of the Moslem nations is twofold. One I have already alluded to, the other is the absurd belief of mil- lions of people that devotion to Islam is incompatible with progress and enlightenment. They say that our death is more profitable to mankind than our life. The contem- plation of this fills the heart of every educated Moslem and every cultured Oriental with sorrow. It is no use referring them to the glorious pages of our past history. It is no use pointing out to them that we owe allegiance to a liberal faith, which enjoins upon us the search of knowledge from the cradle to the grave. Our decline and fall and present degradation is living proof contradicting your assertion. You must prove it by deeds and not by mere words. The march of events and vicissitudes in the world has proved that the strong current of science and knowledge, alone can give us life and sovereign power. Those who march with the current arrive at the harbor of salvation. Those who go against it are doomed." Will it be possible "to march with the current" and continue to hold the teaching of the Koran and the Tra- ditions? The present condition of the Mohammedan world answers that question emphatically in the nega- tive. And will "marching with the current of science and knowledge" after all ever give the weary, sinful, sor- rowing millions of Islam spiritual peace or lift Moham- medan womanhood and manhood out of their degrada- tion into the glorious inheritance of the Sons of God ? MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS "Sive ergo Mahometicus error haeretico nomine deturpetur; sive gentili aut pagano infametur; agendum contra eum est, scribendum est." . . . "Aggredior vos, non ut nostri ssepe faciunt armis, sed verbis, non vi sed ratione, non odio sed amore." — Petrus Venerabilis, 1 157 A. D. "The time has come for the Church of Christ seriously to consider her duty to this large fraction of our race. It is not to be supposed that a church guided and inspired by an Almighty Leader will neglect a duty simply because it is difficult and calls for faith and fortitude. It is especially foreign to the spirit of American Christianity to slight a task because it is hard, or ignore a question of moral reform or religious responsibility because it looks formidable." — Rev. James S. Dennis, D. D. IX MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS A Neglected Problem.— Islsim dates from the year 622 A. D. The first missionary to the Mohammedans in the annals of the Christian Church was Raymund Lull, who was dragged outside the town of Bugia and stoned to death on June 30, 131 5. Before the time of Lull there was little organized missionary effort in the Church East or West to preach Christ to the Moslem nations. And as far as we know, Lull had no successors, with his spirit, until Henry Martyn's day. Had the spirit of Raymund Lull filled the Church throughout those long centuries of neglect, we would not now speak of more than two hun- dred million unevangelized Moslems. At first the terror of the Saracen and the Turk smoth- ered in every heart even the desire to carry them the Gospel. And when Christendom in Europe recovered from the shock of the Saracen invasion and that of the Turks, its first impulse was to take the sword and by the sword its hosts of Crusaders perished. The Crusades were the reply of Christendom to the challenge of Islam, but the reply was not in the spirit of the gospel. It was Raymund Lull who wrote: "I see many knights going to the Holy Land beyond the seas, and thinking that they can acquire it by force of arms ; but in the end all are destroyed before they attain that which they think to 18; i86 islam: a challenge to faith have. Whence it seems to me that the conquest of the Holy Land ought not to be attempted except in the way in which Thou and Thine apostles acquired it, namely, by love and prayers and the pouring out of tears and blood."^ But his was a voice crying in the wilderness. Even in the sixteenth century, devoted as were the Roman Catholic missionaries who then went forth to the pagan world, there was little to attract and less to wel- come in lands under Moslem rule the men who insti- tuted the inquisition at Goa and intrigued for political power in China and Japan. When the modern missionary revival began in Prot- estant Christendom with Carey, the idea was to carry the Gospel to the heathen and the Mohammedans were neglected. It is true that there has been the work of illustrious pioneers, and wherever Protestant missions came in contact with Islam, whether laboring for the reformation of the Oriental churches or in heathen lands,. a great work of preparation has been accomplished. But the fact remains that no part of the non-Christian world has been so long and so widely neglected as Islam. The task has either appeared so formidable, the obstacles so great or faith has been so weak that one might suppose the Church thought her great commission to evangelize the world did not apply to Mohammedans. There are to-day eighty-eight societies organized for the conversion of the Jews ; but no great missionary society has yet been organized to convert Mohammedans and scarcely a dozen missions are professedly working directly among and for Moslems.^ Many of those who write on world-wide mis- sions or on countries where Islam is widely prevalent ig- »Quoted by S. M. Zwemer in "Raymund Lull," 52. •Bliss, "Encyclopedia of Missions," 496, 846, 847. (Edition 1904.) MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 187 nore the Mohammedan population. Dr. Jones calls his admirable book on India, for example, "India's Problem, Krishna or Christ," and there are not two pages in the whole book on Mohammedanism, while one-fifth of In- dia's population is Moslem.^ Dr. Gustav Warneck, the missionary expert of Germany, does not include missions to Moslems in his plan for evangelization ; and in a recent sumptuous volume of six hundred pages, published in Germany, on the history of Protestant missions, work for Moslems is dismissed in a single paragraph and labeled hopeless.- Early Attitude of the Church. — The reason for this neglect was on the one hand the attitude of the Church toward Islam and on the other that of Islam toward the Church. ''Christendom," says Keller, ''accustomed itself ever since the time of the Crusades to look upon Islam as its most bitter foe and not as a prodigal son to be won back to the Father's house. "^ Centuries before the Cru- sades, Islam was considered a scourge of God for the sins and divisions of the Church, each party considering the Saracens as God's special avenger on their rivals.* There was also the greatest ignorance of the real char- acter of Islam, and the Councils of the Church were so busy with minor matters of the faith that they ignored this gigantic heresy which was sweeping over the lands once Christian. And there was mutual hatred. "Marvel not," wrote Marco Polo, "that the Saracens hate the Christians; for ^Robert E. Speer, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 270. 2Reinbold Gareis, "Geschichte der Evangelische Heidenmission." (Con- stance, 1901.) Eleven maps and over 300 illustrations; yet see page 320 on "Islam." 'A. Keller, "Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen Islam bis zur zeit der Kreuzzuge." (Leipsic, 1896.) *Ibid.. 12. i88 islam: a challenge to faith the accursed law which Mohammed gave them commands them to do all the mischief in their power to all other descriptions of people and especially to Christians; to strip such of their goods and do them all manner of evil. In such fashion the Saracens act throughout the world. "^ Dante voices the common opinion of the West in his day when he puts Mohammed in the deepest hell of his In- ferno and describes his fate in such dreadful language as offends polite ears.- Alanus de Insulis (i 114-1200) wrote a book on Islam, in which he classes Moslems with the Jews and Waldenses! Western Europe, according to Keller, was for a long time ignorant even of the cen- tury in which Mohammed was born, and Hildebert, the Archbishop of Tours, wrote a poem on Mohammed in which he is represented as an apostate from the Orthodox Church, and which contains these lines : "Plus nocet ut nostis ad cuncta domesticus hostis Et res ipsa docet qualiter ille nocet*'' The poem closes with the words: "Musa manum teneat et Mahumet pereat."^ Such efforts surely would not arouse a missionary spirit on behalf of Moslems ! John Damascenus and Petrus Venerabilis. — These two names are worthy of remembrance in the history of mis- sions to Moslems, not because they were missionaries, but because they first studied Islam with sympathy and employed spiritual weapons in defence of the faith against Moslems. They were the first to take up the pen against ^"Marco Polo's Travels." Colonel Yule's edition, Vol. I, 69. ''Gary's edition of Dante's "Divina Comedia," Hell, canto XXVIII, 20-39. *A. Keller, "Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen den Islam," 39, 40. MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 189 the sword, and with Al Kindi^ led the long list of Chris- tian apologists in the Mohammedan controversy through- out the centuries that followed. John of Damascus was by far the ablest theologian of the eighth century and lived in Palestine under the protection of the Saracens to escape the vengeance of the Byzantine Emperor, whom he opposed in a controversy about the worship of images. He died at Jerusalem in 760 A. D. For a considerable time he was employed in the service of the Saracens and known by the Arabic cognomen, Mansur.- Among his less known works is one entitled De Haeresihus, which, among other tractates, contains a dispute between a Moslem and a Christian. ''This treatise," says Keller, who gives interesting extracts from it, "was the armory for all future controversial writings against Islam in the Eastern Church." John of Damascus shows his acquaint- ance with the Koran text and with the early Moslem tra- ditions in regard to its interpretation. He admits the truths of Mohammed's teaching, points out its errors and also the blots on Mohammed's character. The dialogue is evidently intended to instruct Christians how to give "an answer for the hope that is in them." Petrus Venerabilis, whose pregnant words at the head of this chapter show his missionary spirit, belonged to the Benedictine order of monks, and was Abbot of Clugny in the twelfth century, his death occurring in 11 57 A. D. He was distinguished for his learning, liberality and kind- ly spirit, and was the first to translate the Koran into a language of Europe, the Latin, and to study Islam with sympathy and scholarship. He made a plea for the translation of portions of Scripture into the language of ^Sir William Muir, "Apology of Al Kindy"; translated from the Arabic second edition, 1887. See Table opposite page 214. 2Kurtz, "Church History," Vol. I, 2C5. 190 ISLAM: A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the Saracens and in this respect antedated Henry Martyn by seven centuries. This early champion of the Church wrote two remarkable books against Mohammedanism which have recently appeared in a German translation.^ In them he treats at length and with keen insight two main topics, the divine character of the Koran and the question whether Mohammed was a prophet. He shows that the Koran testifies against itself and that we admit the weakness of our Christianity by not defending it against Mohammedan attacks and zvinning Moslems by our proof of its truth. He carefully distinguishes the true and the false in the teaching of Islam and even points out its pagan. Christian, and Jewish elements.^ He expresses regret that he has no time to leave his books and studies and enter upon the conflict in person, but says he will not cease to use his pen. Something must be done to stem the tide of Islam. The Crusades, in his opinion, were a failure ; so he says, *T come to meet the Moslems, not with arms but with words, not by force but by reason, not in hatred but in love." Who shall say that these earliest literary efforts were a failure? On the contrary, we cannot but believe, after reading the Abbot's books, that there were Moslems who accepted Christianity, though their numbers may have been few. As circumstantial evidence we know that in the same century the Eastern Emperor erased from his creed the old anathema against "the god of Mohammed" as likely to offend those Mohammedans who had em- braced or were disposed to embraced Christianity.^ This 'Joh- Thoma, "Zwei Bucher gegen den Muhammedanismus von Petrus Venerabilis." (Leipsic, 1896.) Akademische Buch-handlung. 'A. Keller, "Geisteskampf," etc., 41, 43, etc. 'Sir William Muir, "The Mohammedan Controversy," 4; and Kurtz, "Church History," Vol. I, 267. MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS IQI concession was evidently made because there was a call for it. Raymund Lull. — John of Damascus, Petrus Vener- abilis and others tried to reach Moslems by their pen ; Raymund Lull was the first to go to them in person. They offered arguments; he offered his life. Eugene Stock, formerly editorial secretary of the Church Mis- sionary Society, declares ''there is no more heroic figure in the history of Christendom than that of Raymond Lull, the first and perhaps the greatest missionary to Moham- medans."^ ''Of all the men of his century," another student of missions says, "of whom we know, Raymund Lull w^as most possessed by the love and life of Christ, and most eager, accordingly, to share his possession with the world. It sets forth the greatness of Lull's character the more strikingly to see how sharply he rose above the world and church of his day, anticipating by many cen- turies moral standards, intellectual conceptions, and mis- sionary ambitions to which we have grown only since the Reformation."^ Raymund Lull was born at Palma, in the Island of Majorca, in 1235, of a distinguished Cata- lonian family, and when of age spent several years at the court of the King of Aragon. He was a court poet, a skilled musician and a gay knight before he became a scholastic philosopher and an ardent missionary to the Mohammedans. The manner of his conversion at the age of thirty-two reminds one of the experiences of Saul on his way to Damascus, and of St. Augustine under the fig-tree at Milan. After his vision of the Christ he sold all his property, gave the money to the poor, and reserved only a scanty allowance for his wife and children. He ^"History of the Church Missionary Society," Vol. I. 'Robert E. Speer, in "Introduction" to Zwemer's "Raymund Lull," xii. 192 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH entered upon a thorough course of study, mastered the Arabic language, using a Saracen slave as teacher, and began his life work at the age of forty. The labor to which he felt called, and for which he gave his life with wonderful perseverance and devotion, was threefold: He devised a philosophical system to persuade non- Christians, especially Moslems, of the truth of Chris- tianity; he established missionary colleges for the study of Oriental languages; and he himself went and preached to the Moslems, sealing his witness with his blood. In his fifty-sixth year, after vain efforts to arouse others to a missionary enterprise on behalf of the Moham- medans, he determined to set out alone and single-handed preach Christ in North Africa. On arriving at Tunis he invited the Moslem literati to a conference. He an- nounced that he had studied the arguments on both sides of the question, and was willing to submit the evidences for Christianity and for Islam to a fair comparison. The challenge was accepted, but the Moslems being worsted in argument, and fanaticism being aroused, Lull was cast into a dungeon by order of the Sultan, and narrowly escaped death. After bitter persecutions he returned to Europe, where he made other missionary journeys. In 1307 he was again on the shores of Africa, and at Bugia, in the market-place, stood up boldly and preached Christ to the Moslem populace. Once again his pleadings were met with violence, and he was flung into a dungeon, where he remained for six months, preaching to those few who came, and befriended only by some merchants of Genoa and Spain, who took pity on the aged missionary of the Cross. Although banished for a second time and with threats MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS I93 against his life if he returned, Lull could not resist the call of the Love that ruled his life. '*He that loves not lives not," said he, "and he that lives by The Life cannot die." So, in 13 14, the veteran of eighty years returned to Africa and to his little bard of Moslem converts. For over ten months he dwelt in hiding, talking and pray- ing with those who had accepted Christ, and trying to win others. Weary of seclusion, he at length came forth into the open market and presented himself to the people as the man whom they had expelled. It was Elijah show- ing himself to a mob of Ahabs. Lull stood before them and threatened them with God's wrath if they still per- sisted in their errors. He pleaded with love, but spoke the whole truth. Filled with fanatic fury at his boldness and unable to reply to his arguments, the populace seized him and dragged him out of the town. There, by the command, or at least the connivance, of the Moslem ruler, he was stoned to death on the 30th of June, 1315.^ And so he became the first martyr missionary to Islam. To be stoned to death while preaching the love of Christ to Mos- lems was the fitting end for such a life. Yet his was a voice crying in the wilderness and his loneliness was the loneliness of leadership when there are none awake to follow. *'One step further," says Dr. George Smith, "but some slight response from his church or his age, and Raymund Lull would have anticipated William Carey by exactly seven centuries." But there was no response. The story of his life and abundant labors in the dark ages is a challenge of faith for us, who live in the light of the twentieth century, to win the whole Mohammedan world for Christ. We have larger opportunity, and far greater resources, and therefore can ^S. M. Zwemer, "Raymund Lull," 143. 194 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH do it if we will. But we, too, must go in the spirit of Raymund Lull and in his Master's name. Francis Xaz'ier. — Toward the close of the sixteenth century another champion of the faith attacked the citadel of Islam. The Society of the Jesuits, under the patron- age of the King of Portugal, sent Francis Xavier from Goa with letters of introduction to the Great Mogul. Xavier visited Lahore, in North India, during the reign of the Emperor Akbar, and after twelve years of resi- dence and study finished his book on Christianity called "A Mirror for Showing the Truth." He presented this apology for the faith to the Emperor Jahangir, Akbar's successor, and held many discussions at the court with the Moslem teachers. From his book (which has been preserved in the library of Queen's College, Cambridge, and translated into English,^ we can see that Xavier was a man of high ability, that he knew the Mohammedan re- ligion thoroughly, but that as a Roman Catholic con- troversialist he is often compelled to leave the strongholds of the Christian faith and defends the outworks of his Church. His skill and subtlety are engaged in arguments to convince Moslems of the reasonableness of honoring relics and of miracles, of prayers for the dead and the worship of images. The book, with all its weaknesses, was strong enough, however, to provoke a Moslem reply twelve years after its appearance." And there is no ^Rev. S. Lee, "Persian Controversies." (Cambridge, 1824.) *Sir William Muir, "The Mohammedan Controversy," 7. Wherry, in "Is- lam and Christianity," gives the following testimony to its character: "It was addressed to Moslems and was dedicated to the Emperor Jahangir, the title bearing these words, 'Address to the Shadow of God, the Asylum of Empire, the great King of Kings, Jahangir. May God perpetuate his king- dom and power.' "An examination of the contents of this book, comprising 800 pages, dis- closes the fact that the main points of contention between Christian and Moslem, in the capital city of the Punjab three centuries ago, were prac- MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS I95 doubt that such discussions and such a book stirred thought in the ranks of Islam, altho we do not read of conversions or baptisms. Henry Martyn and Missions in India. — Again we have to make a leap of centuries in the account of pioneer effort for the evangelization of the Mohammedan world. And while the Church was neglecting the problem, Islam was spreading in all directions and taking root in new lands and among new peoples. Five centuries of inactiv- ity and then the mantle of Raymund Lull fell upon Henry Martyn, saint and scholar, and first modern missionary to the Mohammedans. "His life," says Dr. George Smith, ''is the perpetual heritage of all English-speaking Christendom and of the native churches of India, Arabia, Persia and Anatolia in all time to come.^ Born in 1781 and graduated with the highest academical honor of senior wrangler in 1801, he was ordained in 1803, and arrived in India in 1806 as a chaplain of the East India Company, with his heart on fire to labor for the benighted peoples of the Orient. Before his arrival he had already studied Sanscrit, Persian and Arabic, and afterwards he labored unceasingly by tongue and pen, by preaching and by prayer, ''to burn out for God." In 1808 he completed tically the same as those still discussed in the bazaars and chapels of La- hore to-day. These points are: The mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of the Messiah, the Integrity of the Christian Scriptures, and the ^Moslem claim that the former Scriptures have been abrogated by the Koran. Excepting the portion of this book devoted to the defence of image worship and the reverence bestowed upon relics and saints, the dis- cussions were conducted with considerable ability. On the practical as- pects of the teaching of the Koran, the missionary attacked its immoral teaching in respect to marriage, polygamy and divorce, etc., and repre- sented the facility with which Islam ministers to the desires and passions of men, as like unto the production of a cook, who studies the palate of his master, while the less attractive aspects of Christianity are like unto the bitter of a wholesome medicine." ^George Smith, "Henry Martyn: Saint and Scholar, First Modern Mis- sionary to the Mohammedans, 1787-1812." (New York, 1900.) 196 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH a version of tlie New Testament in Hindustani, and later into other languages of India. With a special desire to reach the Mohammedans he perfected himself in Persian and began a version of the New Testament in that lan- guage. In 181 1 he sailed from Calcutta to Bombay and for the Persian Gulf, partly because of his broken health, but more so, as is evident from his journals, that he might give the Mohammedans of Arabia and Persia the Word of God. On his voyage from Calcutta to Bombay he composed tracts in Arabic, spoke with the Arab sailors and studied the Koran. He stopped at Muscat on April 20th ; and we can tell what his thoughts then were in re- gard to Arabia, for a year earlier he wrote in his diary : 'Tf my life is spared there is no reason why the Arabic should not be done in Arabia and the Persian in Persia. . . . Arabia shall hide me till I come forth with an approved New Testament in Arabic. . . . Will the Government let me go away for three years before the time of my furlough arrives? If not, I must quit the service and I cannot devote my life to a more important work than that of preparing the Arabic Bible."^ He reached Shiraz in June, 181 1, and there revised his Per- sian translation, also holding frequent discussions with the Moslem mullahs. One year after entering Persia he left Shiraz and proceeded to the Shah's camp near Ispa- han, to lay before him the translation he had made. Let him tell us the story in his own words : "June 1 2th I attended the Vizier's levee, when there was a most intemperate and clamorous controversy kept up for an hour or two, eight or ten on one side and I on the other. The Vizier, who set us going first, joined in it latterly, and said, 'You had better say God is God, and ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 318, 319. MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 197 Mohammed is the prophet of God.' I said, 'God is God/ but added, instead of 'Mohammed is the prophet of God,' 'and Jesus is the Son of God.' They had no sooner heard this, which I had avoided bringing forward until then, than they all exclaimed in contempt and anger, 'He is neither born nor begets,' and rose up as if they would have torn me in pieces. One of them said, 'What will you say when your tongue is burned out for this blasphemy?' One of them felt for me a little, and tried to soften the severity of this speech. My book, which I had brought, expecting to present it to the King, lay before Mirza Shufi. As they all arose up, after him, to go, some to the King, and some away, I was afraid they would trample upon the book, so I went in among them to take it up, and wrapped it in a towel before them, w^hile they looked at it and me with supreme contempt. Thus I walked away alone, to pass the rest of the day in heat and dirt. What have I done, thought I, to merit all this scorn ? Nothing, thought I, but bearing testimony to Jesus. I thought over these things in prayer, and found that peace which Christ hath promised to His disciples."^ But his testimony was not wholly in vain, even in those early days. We read of one, at least, who accepted the truth, and, as Martyn himself said: "Even if I never should see a native converted, God may design by my patience and continuance in the word to encourage future missionaries." Only the Last Day will reveal the extent of the influ- ence of this man, w^ho, wath no Christian to tend or com- fort him in his last illness, laid down his life at Tocat on the i6th of October, 1812. He was the first of that noble band of missionaries of the Church Missionary ^George Smith, "Henry Martyn," 466, 467. 198 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Society, Bishop French, Hughes, Elmslie, Wade, Clark, Hooper, Gordon, Bruce, Klein and many others who have emulated him in their endeavor to give the Gospel to the Moslems of India, Persia, Arabia, Afghanistan, Egypt and Africa. For Mohammedan India, Martyn accomplished most. And from the time of Martyn on, many missionaries in India have done definite work for Moslems as well as for Hindus, altho not to as great an extent. Books and tracts were prepared specially to meet Mohammedan ob- jections. Moslem pupils attended the mission-schools, the Scriptures were translated into the other languages used by Moslems, and in more recent years a few mis- sionaries have been set apart specially for this work. The missionary societies which have been specially active are the Church Missionary Society, the Society for the Prop- agation of the Gospel, the London Missionary Society, the Churches of Scotland's Missions, the various Amer- ican Presbyterian Missions, the American Methodist Episcopal Mission and the English and Australian Bap- tist Missions.^ Persia and Arabia. — The next laborer in Persia after Henry Martyn was Karl Gottlieb Pfander, missionary linguist and author, who left so wide and permanent an impression, not only in Persia, but throughout the Mohammedan world, through his celebrated Misan-ul- Hak. This great controversial work has been translated into almost every Moslem language and has aroused more interest and discussion than any book of its char- acter.^ He was sent out by the Basel mission in 1826. Altho only twenty-two years old, he began the study of ^E. M. W'herry, "Islam and Christianity in India." 'For a brief description, see the Table opposite page 214. ^ .o ^l ^ttf-u^ , ^ ^M^^""^- '^^X^ ■ FACSIMIJ.E OF THE FIRST PAGE OF THE ORIGINAL GERMAN MANUSCRIPT OF PFANDER'S "MIZ.\N-UL-IIAK"; OR, "BALANCE OF TRUTH" Original in the Basel Mission }*Iuseum 198 MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 199 three languages, Turkish, Armenian and Persian. In 1829 he went to Bagdad to learn Arabic and two years later to Ispahan. On a missionary journey to the town of Kermanshah, after a discussion with the Alullahs, he came near to winning martyrdom. But God spared his life and he labored on, first in Russia, then in India and finally in Constantinople. Everywhere his tongue and pen were mighty forces in the proclamation of the truth. He died at Richmond-on-the-Thames, Dec. ist, 1865.^ In 1827 Dr. Joseph Wolff visited Persia, and as a result of his writings the American Board determined to begin work among the Nestorians. In 1834 Rev. J. L. Merrick went out under the same Board and attempted work among Moslems, but the way was not open. For many years the work of the American missionaries was en- tirely among the Nestorians. In 1871 this mission came under the Presbyterian Board, and in more recent years there has been work also among Moslems. Some have professed Christ openly and several have suffered martyr- dom, among them Mirza Ibrahim.- In 1869 the Rev. Robert Bruce, of the Church Mission- ary Society, visited Persia, and in 1875 that society began work in Ispahan. Their work has been largely among the Mohammedans. Three other stations, Yezd, Kirman and Shiraz, have been occupied, and the work has been fruitful in results to a remarkable degree. The pioneer missionary to Arabia was Ion Keith-Fal- coner, altho there were efforts made before his time to reach Arabia with the gospel by Dr. John Wilson of Bombay and by the Bible Society.^ The statesmanlike ^r. F. Eppler, "Dr. Karl Gottlieb Pfander, Ein Zeuge der Wahrheit unter den Bekcnnern des Islam." (Basel, 1888.) -Sec sketch of his life in Robert E. Speer, "Men Who Overcame." ''S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 320, 325. ^00 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH explorations oi the coast ot Arabia ana of Yemen by Major-General F. T. Haig, and his plea for a mission, led Keith-Falconer to decide on Arabia and called the attention of others to this neglected peninsula. Keith- Falconer did not live long (dying at Sheikh Othman on May II, 1887, after less than two years' service), but he lived long enough to do what he purposed, "to call atten- tion to Arabia." The United Free Church of Scotland has continued his work at Aden and inland; the Danish Church has recently sent out workers to join their number. These, with the Mission of the Church Missionary Society at Bagdad and the (American) Arabian Mission on the east coast at Busrah, Bahrein and Muscat, are all work- ing directly for Mohammedans and reaching far inland by tours and hospital-service. Arabia has been rich in martyrs. Beside that of Keith-Falconer, it holds as a heritage of promise the graves of Bishop French, Peter J. Zwemer, George E. Stone, Harry J. Wiersum, Dr. Marion Wells Thoms and Mrs. Jessie Vail Bennett. The Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church in Amer- ica, organized in 1889, now has nineteen missionaries on the field, with twenty native helpers, two hospitals and three out-stations.^ The Turkish Empire. — The territory of the Turkish Empire is well covered by mission societies. The Amer- ican Board is the oldest in the field and occupies Euro- pean Turkey, Asia Minor and Eastern Turkey. The Presbyterian Church (North) occupies Syria. The Methodist Episcopal Church has work in Bulgaria, the Reformed Presbyterians in Northern Syria, and the Church Missionary Society occupies Palestine. These ^S. M. Zwemer, "Arabia; the Cradle of Islam," 353-390; Mission Reports and recent numbers of Neglected Arabia, a quarterly issued by the Arabian Mission, 25 East 22A Street. New York City, MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 201 are the chief agencies at work and count a total of 637 foreign missionaries, yet, according to the "Encyclopedia of Missions," "the Church Missionary Society is the only one that has made a special effort to establish mission work distinctively for Mohammedans."^ Until recent years the difficulties of the problem and the terror of the Turk seem to have prevented direct work for Moslems, altho by printing-press, schools, colleges, and hospitals many Mohammedans were reached indirect- ly and sometimes even incidentally. "The missionaries have devoted a relatively small part of their time and strength to the ]\Ioslem work. In Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Persia the greater portion of the energy of the mis- sionaries has been devoted to work for Copts, Maronites, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Nestorians. Apart from the schools (and the number of Mohammedan pupils in schools in Turkey is almost inconsiderably small) com- paratively little has been done. Through medical mis- sionaries many have been accessible and some have been reached, but we do not have, and have not had for years, a systematic and aggressive though tactful and quiet campaign for the evangelization of Moslems."- And one needs only to study the reports of these societies to see how little the Mohammedan problem, for one reason or another, comes to the front. At the Haystack Cen- tennial at Williamstown, Mass., in October, 1906, Dr. James L. Barton said : "This is the first time that the question of missionary work for Moslems has been openly discussed upon the platform of the American Board" ;^ ^"The Encyclopedia of Missions," 755. (1904-) ^Robert E. Speer, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 270. In some of the colleges, however, the number of Moslem students is steadily increasing. 3"The Haystack Centennial Volume," 2S9. (Boston, 1907.) 202 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH and the Jubilee volume of the same society, issued after fifty years of missionary work, has, as far as I could find, no reference to Islam in text or index. Yet the Ameri- can pioneers in the Turkish Empire planned the mission with direct reference to the Moslems. *'We must not calculate too closely the chances of life," wrote Mr. Smith in 1827, and he was sure that the missionary ''would find a prop upon which to rest the lever that will overthrow the whole system of Mohammedan delusion." Dr. Per- kins and Dr. Grant were sent to the Nestorians "to enable the Nestorian church, through the grace of God, to exert a commanding influence in the spiritual regeneration of Asia."^ Perhaps these early ideals were lost sight of, or more probably they were crushed by the later political restrictions and persecutions in Turkey, so that direct work was not attempted or was impossible ; nevertheless much has been accomplished in the face of tremendous difficulty and determined opposition for the future evan- gelization of Moslems. ''Protestant missions have given the entire population the Bible in their own tongue ; have trained hundreds of thousands of readers; published thousands of useful books ; awakened a spirit of inquiry ; set in motion educational institutions in all the sects of all parts of the Empire, compelling the enemies of edu- cation to become its friends, and the most conservative of Orientals to devote mosque and convent property to the founding of schools of learning. It has broken the fet- ters of womanhood. . . . Every evangelical church is a living epistle to the Mohammedans with regard to the true nature of original apostolic Christianity. . . . Encouraged by the spirit of reform and modern progress, even the Mohammedan doctors of Constantinople have ^Robert E. Speer, in "The Mohammedan World of To-day," 271. MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 203 issued orders that all editions of old Alohammedan au- thors which recount the fabulous stories of Moslem saints and Welys are to be expurgated or suppressed and not to be reprinted."^ As a single striking example among hun- dreds of this great though indirect work for the Moslem evangelization, take the Arabic version of the Scriptures by Drs. Eli Smith and Cornelius Van Dyck. This ardu- ous task was begun in 1848 and not finally completed un- til 1865. The completion of this matchless version marked an epoch in missions for the ]\lohammedan world greater than any accession or deposition of Sultans. That Bible made modern missions to Arabia, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli and the /Vrabic-speaking world possible. And it has only begun its conquests. North Africa. — As early as 1825 the Church Mission- ary Society sent a band of five Basel men to Egypt, one of them the famous Samuel Gobat. There were schools and distribution of the Scripture and conversations with thoughtful Copts and Moslems, but the encouragement was small. Mohammedanism appeared unassailable.- The first American missionaries reached Egypt in 1854, and every student of missions knows how their mission has spread along the entire Nile Valley, like a fruitful vine, and grown in numbers, influence and results chiefly among the Copts, but also among jNloslems. For exam- ple, in 1906, over three thousand Moslem pupils attended the schools of the American Mission, and for the past five years meetings for public discussion on the difference between Islam and Christianity have been held twice a week in Cairo. Special literature for Moslems has also been printed and distributed. In 1882 the Church Mis- iH. H. Jessup, in the "Encyclopedia of Missions," 757- sEugene Stock, "History of the Church Missionary Society," Vol. II, i4/>> 204 islam: a challenge to faith sionary Society resumed its work in Egypt and began work directly among Moslems, with encouraging results. In 1880 Mr. George Pearse began investigations in Al- giers which led to the formation of the North Africa Mission. At that time there was not a single Protestant missionary between Alexandria and the Atlantic coast of Morocco, nor southwards from the Mediterranean almost to the Niger and the Congo.^ Now this mission, which works very largely among Moslems, has eighteen sta- tions in Egypt, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers and Morocco, manned by eighty-six missionaries, A hospital and dis- pensary are established at Tangier and a dispensary at Fez. There are also other smaller independent missions working in North Africa and very recently work has be- gun in the Soudan. **But," says an authority on Africa, "for every mis- sionary to the Mohammedans in Africa you can find twenty missionaries to the pagans of Africa and for every convert from Mohammedanism in Africa I think you can find one thousand converts from paganism in Africa. And if this does not prove that the real missionary prob- lem in Africa is Mohammedanism, I scarcely see how that point could be proved at all."^ One-third of the population of Africa is Mohammedan, and yet Moham- medan Africa, though nearest to Europe, is darkest Africa, and has by far the fewest mission stations. Malaysia. — Sumatra and Java are the principal and the typical fields of work for Moslems in Malaysia. A .'Baptist missionary reached Sumatra as early as 1820, and in 1834 Munson and Lyman went out under the American Board, but were brutally murdered. The ^"The Gospel in North Africa," 129. ^Charles R. Watson, at the Nashville Student Volunteer Convention, "Students and the Modern Missionary Crusade," 458. A MISSION HOUSE IX CAIRO In this building are a girls' boarding-school, a bovs' day school, a chapel and a church, and living-rooms of missionaries MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 205 Rhenish Missionary Society entered the field in 1861 and has had marvellous success. Other societies from the Netherlands also labor on the island. Dr. Schreiber, for- merly inspector of the Rhenish Mission, said: ''I do not know if there is any other part of the mission field, with the exception of some parts of Java, where such large numbers of Mohammedans have been won for Christ as among the Battaks of Sumatra."^ The attitude of the MAP OF THE SOUDAN2 Each black square in this map represents one million people; only the shaded squares have been touched by missions. Dutch Government has in recent years greatly changed, and is now favorable to missions. In Sumatra the issue between Christianity and Islam was boldly faced from the ^Harlan P. Beach, "A Geogrraphy and Atlas of Protestant Missions," Vol. I, 193, 194. -From the Missionary Review of the World. 206 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH outset; there was neither fear nor compromise in mis- sion methods, and this fact, together with considerable freedom to preach, perhaps accounts for the great suc- cess in winning converts. Java is the richest and largest of Dutch colonial pos- sessions. Six Dutch missionary societies labor on the island, which has a dense population of 28,746,688; of these 24,270,600 are Moslems. Surely a large and diffi- cult field. Yet by preaching, the sale of Scriptures and medical work nearly twenty thousand Mohammedans have been won over to Christianity in Java — many of them at great cost and under severe persecution. These miracles of grace should encourage the Christian Church to venture out boldly and use every method possible to gain like trophies in all Moslem lands.^ *"The Mohammedan World of To-day," a22-239« METHODS AND RESULTS "If these great things are to be achieved we must pay what it costs. What will be the price? Undoubtedly it involves giv- ing ourselves to the study of missionary problems and strategy with all the thoroughness and tirelessness which have character- ized the intellectual work of those men who have brought most benefit to mankind. It will cost genuine self-denial. In no sphere so much as that of extending the knowledge and sway of Christ is the truth of His own word illustrated, 'Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone ; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.' " — John R. Mott in "The First Two Decades of the Student Volunteer Movement." METHODS AND RESULTS How to reach Moslems. — The Mohammedan mission- ary problem is a challenge to our faith, for it is beset with many difficulties, and there are opinions current, as we have seen, to the effect that missions to the Moslems are fruitless, if not hopeless. Back of all methods, there- fore, we need faith, such faith as dwelt in the pioneer heroes who led the attack against this citadel of error— Raymund Lull, Petrus Venerabilis, Henry Martyn, Pfander and Keith-Falconer. Such faith exhibits itself in the words of a lady missionary in Algiers, Miss L Lilias Trotter: 'Take it at its very worst. They are dead lands and dead souls, blind and cold and stiff in death as no heathen are ; but we who love them see the possibilities of sacrifice, of endurance, of enthusiasm, of life, not yet effaced. Does not the Son of God, who died for them, see these possibilities, too? Do you think He says of the Mohammedan, There is no hope or help for him in his God'? Has He not a challenge, too, for your faith ; the challenge that rolled away the stone from the grave where Lazarus lay? 'Said I not unto thee that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God? Then took they away the stone.' To raise the spiritually dead is the work of the Son of God. But we 209 2IO islam: a challenge to faith are to believe and take away the stone from the place where the dead lay."^ The Bible.— The distribution of God's Word has proved the best method for beginning work in all Moslem lands. It is nearly everywhere permitted. It is strong yet inoffensive. It strikes at the root of Islam by plac- ing the Bible over against the Koran, and the sublime story of the life of Jesus, the Christ, over against the arti- ficial halo that surrounds the life of Mohammed. In this method of work we have immense advantage over Islam. Translations of the Koran into other Moslem languages than Arabic exist, but they are rare, expensive, and are necessarily far inferior to the original in style and force. But the Bible has been translated into nearly every Mohammedan tongue, and is the cheapest and best print- ed book in the Orient ; nor has its beauty or power ever been lost in a good translation. The Arabic Koran is a sealed book to all non- Arabic-speaking races, but the Bible speaks the language of every cradle and every market-place in the Moslem world. Every missionary to Moslems should be a colporteur and every colporteur a missionary. Distributions should be by sale, not by free gift. We prize that which we pay for. Among Mos- lems there are portions of Scriptures which are especially acceptable and therefore effective, viz.. Genesis, Mat- thew's Gospel, John's Gospel and the Psalms. Medical Missions. — These break up the fallow ground of prejudice and fanaticism, are possible nearly every- where, and, when conducted with evangelistic zeal, have proved fruitful in results as has no other agency. The Punjab, Persia and Egypt are examples. Hospitals and ^From one of her missionary leaflets, entitled "A Challenge to Faith." (London), to which the author is indebted for the sub-title of this book. METHODS AND RESULTS 211 dispensary clinics reach the crowded centres, but med- ical missionary touring is essential in sparsely settled countries like Arabia, Persia and Morocco. Educational Institutions. — "To make wrong right, let in the light." From the kindergarten on the veranda of a mission house to the well-equipped university of India, all educational forces, great and small, help to undermine that stupendous rock of ignorance and superstition, Mos- lem tradition. But the work of education is only prepar- atory. The New Islam of India and Egypt is the revolt of the educated mind against traditionalism. We must reach the heart and conscience, or fail. Education is only a means to an end. Preaching. — There are many ways of doing this that are more suitable to Moslems and the Orient than the pulpit or the platform. Preaching in this larger sense includes talking with men by the wayside, or in the coffee-shop, with a group of sailors on deck, or to the Mohammedan postman who brings your letters. The glorious liberty of bazaar preaching is not yet granted in many Moslem lands, nor do Moslems as yet come in large numbers to Christian churches; but that does not mean that there is no opportunity for preachers or preaching. It is well to remember the resolution of the Church Mis- sionary Society, passed as early as 1888: ''While the difficulties in the way of missionary work in lands under Mohammedan rule may well appear to the eye of sense most formidable, this meeting is firmly persuaded, that, so long as the door of access to individual Mohammedans is open, so long it is the clear and bounden duty of the Church of Christ to make use of its opportunities for delivering the Gospel message to them, in full expecta- tion that the power of the Holy Spirit will, in God's good 212 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH time, have a signal manifestation in the triumph of Chris- tianity in those lands." There is no question about the door of access to individual Moslems being open. It is wide open everywhere for men and for women. What single lady missionaries have done and are doing in North Africa and Persia among fanatical villagers proves that there is a loud call for women to preach to their Moslem sisters the unsearchable riches of Christ. Preaching must have for its subject the essentials of Christianity. Preach Christ crucified. Show the reason- ableness of the mysteries of revelation, of the incarnation, and of the Holy Trinity; but never try to explain them by mere philosophy. The problem is to reach, not the intellect, but the heart and conscience, to arouse it from stupor, to show the grandeur of moral courage to the man who is intellectually convinced of the truth. In try- ing to convince the will — that citadel of man's soul — we must follow the line of least resistance. Yet compromise must not take the place of tact. The right angle for the presentation of truth can best be learned by studying the strength and the weakness of Islam. The history of Moslem theology, for example, shows that heterodoxy has nearly always been connected with a strong desire for a mediator. This natural long- ing for an intercessor and an atonement is fully supplied in Christ, our Savior. Again, when Moslems object to the eternal pre-existence of the Word of God as a form of polytheism, point out that orthodox Islam holds the Koran to be eternal and uncreated simply because it is the word of God. Preach to the Moslem, not as a Mos- lem, but as to a man — as a sinner in need of a Savior. There is no use in arousing the picket-guard by firing METHODS AND RESULTS 21 3 blank cartridges before the attack, yet controversy has its place. The Place of Controversy.— T\\2X it has a place, and an important one, in reaching Moslems is evident from the whole history of Mohammedan missions. But the sub- ject is a large one and perplexing, because it is hard to look at things from the Moslem viewpoint. Dr. Tisdall's "Manual of the Leading Mohammedan Objections to Christianity" is indispensable for the missionary, and is a deeply interesting book for all students of missions. Prayerful contact with the Moslem mind will teach one how to use this keen weapon to the best advantage in every special case. There is a large amount of con- troversial literature in many languages. The table oppo- site page 214 shows what there is in the Arabic language. In dealing with inquirers it is helpful to remember three facts and three texts which apply to such cases : There are many secret believers in all Moslem lands of whom the missionary will perhaps never know. Pray for them. *'Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him."^ It is exceedingly difficult, even in countries under Christian rulers, for a Moslem to break away from Islam and confess Christ. Be tender and patient. ''A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory."^ In every possible way encourage public confession of Christ. Living apostles who, freed from the yoke of Islam, preach the gospel with all boldness and are ready to die for Christ, such, and such alone, will vanquish the religion of Islam. "Whosoever, therefore, shall confess iRings xix, 18. ^'Isaiah xlii, 3- 214 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven."^ Some Results of Missions to Moslems. — The results of missionary effort for Moslems, or in Moslem lands, have been direct and indirect. The latter have been far greater than the former and have in God's providence prepared the way for the final assault and the victory. The preliminary work has largely been accomplished. In the first place it is a remarkable fact that when we study the map of the Mohammedan world we see nearly every strategic Moslem centre occupied by Protestant missions. The following cities, each of which has a pop- ulation of over 100,000,2 and a very large Moslem popu- lation, are centres of missionary effort by printing-press, hospital, school or college, and in each of them, directly or indirectly, the gospel reaches Moslems: 'Population Calcutta 1,026,987 Constantinople 1,106,000 Bombay 776,006 Cairo 570,062 Madras 509,346 Haidarabad 448,466 Alexandria 319,766 Teheran 280,000 Lucknovv 264,049 Rangoon 234,881 Damascus 230,000 Delhi 208,575 Lahore 202,964 Smyrna 201,000 ^Matthew x, 32 and 33. 'Figrures of population taken from the "Statesman's Year Book." (1907.) f . CLASSIFIED TABLE OF SOME ARABIC CONTROVERSIAL LITERATURE. DAT. *R«Bic Tni.i: AOTHOt. pZt" c„AUAtT.„.roNTs»rs.BcoP...:TC. Cira, 830 ;.*o?el KiZy. •■AlKMu." (Translated by Sir William Muir.) Arabic. 272. English. 122. Abd el Mes- siah el Kindy at Court of Bagdad" ■ i3L. Kindy. They are both in classical Arabic. The treatment of Islam is very :s« Mi,an-i:l-H„t. •■Balance of Truth." (Transiale,l by Rev. R. II. WeakJey.) EngliTh. 133. Rev. C. G. Missionary. .IriiKc. eZim. C. M. House. London 1867. futes Islam and the claim, of Mohammed M prophet. A good book for those who have leisure and inclination to read a solemn, sohd book, Excel- - .,...,.. •■Sweet First Fmits." (Translated by Sit WlUiam Muir.) Arabic. 242. English, 176. Syrian" Christian. Arabic. London.Cairo. R^j't' London. A .(orj, with a purpose. Delightful reading. The scene is Damascus, and the mostly on the integrity of the Scriptures and the proofs for Christ's divinity. It is eminently suited for neariy all classes of Moslems, All agree to its su- preme value as an apologetic. But it is a little verbose, and might have - Mi^r-cl-H^k. '^-^lEF"- Arabic, 136. English. 100. Syrian °\„gti,h. London.Cairo. I'hTt'rV" ""■ "T^ ," TT "'°i t"\''fi' "' ".i'"'':"^ """ r'l '■' ",'i '°'™s :8»s MakaUl H'l •■Treat.se on Islam.'^ Arabic. 400. English, 80. George Sale Cairo. 'J;: ■^, ■:,::' -;,;,■ , ...,:;--'■="- ;io! i vols. •■Ri5ht CiJance " Vol. I. 320. An Egyptian Christian, American Mi. 'i-:-: :.. i -:::,. ..■^ 1886 .llAIxil Soib el ■■Proof ol Death ol Christ- 80. Abd Is,a. Eng. London. Cairo. C. M. S. Proofs of ChritVa dtalh from prophecy and history. Reasons given for the 1898 H,ula.' -••The Torch of Guidance to Mystery of Redemption.^' 25. Native. LofdonCairo. The sacrifice of lattac made the text of a treatise on Sin and Redemption. Proofs given that Moslem, fear death. J.su. save., A „c.. ^^ 1809 Da-awa d .■OaUtoMos^^stoRcad 40. S.r William 1^ Burkan,, •■The Clear Proof," etc. 43. Native. Cairo. 1S98 Ma™«,., •'Freedom of the Bible 13. Native, Cairo. Sunilar to the above, Wl more freatc. Suitable tor simple-minded. 1897 .'^LnM-cI .Ua-.oo^ etc. Rouse's Tracts for Slohani- medansinArttbiedrcs: from English version. 10 to 15 each. Rev, G, H. Rouse. D. D.. of Bengal. ■&I,!Mad!^'. METHODS AND RESULTS PA^ Population Cawnpore 197,170 Agra 188,022 Ahmadabad 185,889 Tabriz 200,000 Allahabad 172,032 Tunis 250,000 Amritsar 162,429 Howra 157,594 Poona 153,320 Soerabaya (Java) 146,944 Bagdad 145,000 Fez 140,000 Patna 134,785 Aleppo 127,150 Beirut 118,800 Karachi 1 16,663 Many other cities of less population, but not less strategic, are also mission stations. For example, Aden, Muscat, Algiers, Jerusalem, Quetta, Peshawar, Yezd, and so forth. The efforts carried on in all these cities prove that work for Moslems is possible under all conditions and everywhere. Yet at none of these strategic centres are the efforts to reach Moslems at all commensurate with the opportunities. All of these cities are calling for more laborers. Each is a challenge and a vantage point for work among a large Moslem population yet unreached. Another result which we have already mentioned is that the Bible has been translated into nearly every lan- guage spoken by Moslems. Thousands of portions of Scripture are already in use by Moslems and tens of thou- sands of copies are being sold to them every year by col- porteurs and missionaries. The Beirut Press alone has issued over a million volumes of the Arabic Scriptures since it was founded. The" demand for the vernacular 2l6 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Bible in Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and the Turkish Empire is phenomenal. Not only has the Bible been translated and widely dis- tributed, but a large and important body of Christian literature, apologetic and educational, is ready for Mos- lems. This is especially true of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Bengali, the chief literary languages of Islam. The weapons are ready for the conflict.^ And there have been unconditional surrenders. It is an old falsehood widely current even among the ignorant friends of missions, that "it is no use trying to convert Mohammedans," and that there have been no converts from Islam. The fact is, as we have seen, that there was a convert from Islam even before the death of Moham- med !^ And there have been converts ever since in all lands where the gospel was preached to Moslems, al- though not as many as there might have been but for our neglect.^ "The accessions from Islam," says Dr. Wherry, ''es- pecially in Northern India, have been continuous during all the years since the death of Henry Martyn. One here and another there has been added to the Christian Church, so that now, as one looks over the rolls of church membership, he is surprised to find so many converts from Islam, or the children and children's children of such converts. In the north, especially the Punjab, and the Northwest Frontier Province, every congregation has a representation from the Moslem ranks. Some of the churches have a majority of their membership gathered from among the Mussulmans. In a few cases there has been something like a movement among Moslems towards ^"Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems," 79-95. -See page 23. 'W, A. Shedd, "Islam and the Oriental Churches," 148, etc. o = METHODS AND RESULTS 21/ Christianity, and a considerable number have come out at one time. But perhaps the fact which tells most clearly the story of the advance of Christianity among Moslems in India, is this, that among the native pastors and Christian preachers and teachers in North India there are at least two hundred who were once follow^ers of Islam."^ The American Mission in Egypt, although its work has been chiefly among the Copts, reports one hundred and forty baptisms of adult Moslems during its history. In Persia there are Moslem converts at every station of the Church Missionary Society. Even in Arabia and in the Turkish empire there have been converts and martyrs to the faith.2 From North Africa, the latest reports tell us that at almost all the stations there have in past years been some converts. At Fez there is a band of Chris- tians, nine or ten of whom are employed as colporteurs ; at Jemaa Sahrij there is another band, and these meet in two stone halls, one built for men and one for w^omen. xA.t Tangier, Alexandria, Shebin el Kom and Tunis there are also some who regularly meet with the missionaries to partake of the Lord's Supper. During 1906 some thirty IMoslems were converted at Fez, and two men and one woman were baptized. At Algiers a Kabyle young man was baptized and another converted. At Bizerta a man was baptized. At Alexan- dria also, a well educated man, long under instruction since his conversion, was baptized. Several young men were converted at Jemaa Sahrij. At Tripoli a convert of many years' standing died, after long proof of his trust in Christ for salvation and much quiet preaching to ^E. M. Wherry, "Islam and Christianity." '"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 19, 36, 39, 112, 126, 170, etc. 2l8 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Others. At Shebin el Kom, on New Year's eve, ten out of a gathering of eighteen met around the Lord's Table at midnight, and dedicated themselves afresh to God; seven years ago there was not a single convert there. In addition to these pronounced cases, most of whom have had to bear persecution, there are many secret dis- ciples.^ In Sum^atra the Rhenish mission has 6500 converted Moslems, 11 50 catechumens, 80 churches, 5 pastors and 70 lay preachers, while they baptized 153 Mohammedans in 1906. In the district of Si Perok a Christian convert from Islam has become chief in place of a Mohamme- dan.^ In Java there have been still greater numerical results. According to latest statistics there are now living in Java eighteen thousand who have been converted to Christian- ity from Islam and the converts from Islam amount to between three hundred and four hundred adults every year.^ In Bokhara and the Caucasus, where work has only just begun, a number of Moslems have been con- verted and baptized. The testimony of a Moslem pro- fessor in the high school in Bokhara, now a convert, may well close this brief summary of results. Coming from the heart of Asia and of the Mohammedan world, his word is prophetic: "/ am conmnced that Jesus Christ will conquer Mohammed. There is no doubt about it, because Christ is King in heaven and on earth, and His Kingdom ails heaven nozv, and will soon fill the earth."'^ How soon shall it be? Are not the results already attained a ''■North Africa, March, 1907, 34. *"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 222. The Missionary Review of the World, 1907, 395. 8C. Albers and J. Verhoeven at the Cairo Conference, in "The Moham- medan World of To-day," 237. *"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 244. METHODS AND RESULTS 219 challenge to us to look forward with faith in God to far greater results? ^'Hitherto ye have asked nothing in Aly name. Ask and ye shall receive."^ ijohn xvi, 24. THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL "Yet another force that is aggressively our enemy is Moham- medanism. We see it actively spreading over Africa, where Christianity is not progressive. It comes with the Arab-slaver and was identified with the slave traffic. It comes now with a certain racial pride and appeals to the African, because it seems to link him with a great world-empire." — Donald Frazer in "Stu- dents and the Modern Missionary Crusade," p. 207. "Difficulties are not without their advantages. They are not to unnerve us. They are not to be regarded simply as subjects for discussion nor as grounds for scepticism and pessimism. They are not to cause inaction, but rather to intensify activity. They were made to be overcome. Above all they are to create profound distrust in human plans and energy, and to drive us to God."— John R. Mott in "The Evangelization of the World in This Generation," p. 50, XI THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL The Evangelization of the Mohammedan World. — When Samuel J. Mills and his associates met under the shelter of the Haystack one hundred years ago, they were not unmindful of the difficulties of world-wide evangelization nor of the difficulties of reaching Moham- medan lands. Loomis maintained that ''the time was not ripe, and such a movement was premature. If mission- aries were sent they would be murdered, and what was needed was a new crusade before the gospel could be sent to the Turks and Arabs." The others replied that God was always willing to have His kingdom advanced, and that if Christian people would only do their part, God could be relied on to do His. 'We can do it if we will."^ We know now that Loomis was wrong and Mills was right. No Christian army has ever subdued Turkey or Arabia, yet both are mission fields. And surely if one hundred years ago the faith of these men of the Haystack did not stagger at the obstacles, but accepted the chal- lenge, we can do it now if we will. The evangelization of the Mohammedan world, of which we have had glimpses in the foregoing chapters — so great in its ex- tent, so deep in its degradation, so hopeless without the ^Thomas C. Richard, "Samuel J. Mills: Missionary Pathfinder, Pioneer, and Promoter," 30, 31. 223 224 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH gospel — is one of the grandest and most inspiring prob- lems ever undertaken by the Church of Christ. It may be a work of "surpassing difficulty which will require a new baptism of apostolic wisdom and energy, faith and love," and may **tax the intellect, the faith, the wisdom, the zeal and the self-denial of the whole church in every land";^ but, unless Christ's great commission has lost its meaning and His power is insufficient for this undertak- ing, the Mohammedan world must and will be evangel- ized. While other religions and systems of error have fallen before Christian missions, like Dagon before the ark of Jehovah, Islam, like mighty Goliath, defies the armies of the living God and the progress of Christ's kingdom. In three continents it still presents an almost unbroken phalanx, armed with the old proud and aggres- sive spirit of defiance. Only five years ago Sheikh Abd ul Hak, of Bagdad, a Moslem of the old school, wrote an article on behalf of the Pan-Islamic league. It appeared in a French journal and was entitled, "The Final Word of Islam to Europe." From this remarkable, outspoken and doubtless sincere defiance we quote the following paragraph : "For us in the world there are only believers and un- believers ; love, charity, fraternity toward believers ; con- tempt, disgust, hatred and war against unbelievers. Amongst unbelievers the most hateful and criminal are those who, while recognizing God, attribute to Him earth- ly relationships, give Him a son, a mother. Learn then, European observers, that a Christian of no matter what position, from the simple fact that he is a Christian, is in our eyes a blind man fallen from all human dignity. Other ^H. H. Jessup, "The Mohammedan Missionary Problem," Z2, 23. Li. "The Inaccessible Fields of Islam and How to Reach Ihem, ' Dr. James S. Dennis, in Missions at Home and Abroad (Am. fract bociety, New York), THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 22$ infidels have rarely been aggressive toward us. But Christians have in all times shown themselves our bitter- est enemies. . . . The only excuse you offer is that you reproach us with being rebellious against your civiliza- tion. Yes, rebellious, and rebellious till death ! But it is you, and you alone, who are the cause of this. Great God ! are we blind enough not to see the prodigies of your progress? But know. Christian conquerors, that no cal- culation, no treasure, no miracle can ever reconcile us to your impious rule. Know that the mere sight of your flag here is torture to Islam's soul ; your greatest benefits are so many spots sullying our conscience, and our most ardent aspiration and hope is to reach the happy day when we can efface the last vestiges of your accursed empire. '^ In view of such an attitude on the part of some of the leaders of Islam, Christendom must answer the challenge with a new and nobler crusade than that of politics or commerce. The unselfishness of sacrificial love must be manifested in the work of missions that we may win the love of men like Abd-ul-Hak in spite of their hatred toward us. We must "Through the promise on God's pages, Through His work in history's stages, Through the Cross that crowns the ages. Show His love to them." Islam as a religion is doomed to fade away in time be- fore the advance of humanity, civilization and enlighten- ment • but whether its place will be taken by atheism, by some new false religion, or by the faith of Christ, depends, humanly speaking, upon the measure of our devotion to iQuoted in Der ChrisfHche Orient, Vol. IV, 145- (Berlin.) And also, at the time, in other papers from the French original. 226 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH our Lord and our consciousness of the Moslem's need of Him. There are many factors in this great problem of Mos- lem evangelization, each of which is a challenge to faith. Whether we look at the lost opportunities because of neg- lect in the past or turn to the greater opportunities of to- day ; whether we consider the extent of Islam or its char- acter, the problem is so colossal that we are shut up to faith in God. All things are possible to him that believ- eth. *'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days." He can do it if He will, and we can do it with Him. Occupied and Unoccupied Lands. — In the previous chapters we have seen something of the work of missions, direct and indirect, in lands like Egypt, Turkey, India, Sumatra, Java, and Syria, where for many years the Mos- lem populations have come more or less in contact with missions. These lands and others more recently entered may in a sense be considered occupied. Yet there is not a single one of them where the total number of laborers is in any sense adequate to the work of evangelization. In Egypt, for example, only a small fraction of the Mos- lem population is reached in any way by the gospel. The unoccupied lands and regions are those where nothing has yet been done and where there are neither mission stations nor mission workers. Perhaps a more distinctive though not more compre- hensive classification of Moslem lands in relation to Chris- tian missions is that given by Dr. Weitbrecht.^ He groups them into three classes : (i) The lands where Islam is dominant or greatly ^H. U. Weitbrecht, Paper on the Cairo Conference at the Anglican Church Congress. 1906. THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 227 preponderant and has been long established. Such are North Africa, Arabia, Turkey, Persia, and Central Asia, including Afghanistan. In these lands the remnants of the Christian churches, where they exist at all, have been worn out by centuries of oppression, and though they have not abandoned their faith, they do not preach it to Moslems, and almost fear to admit a ^loslem convert. And wherever Moslem rule obtains in these lands there is no liberty to confess Christ, and the life of each convert from Islam is in daily jeopardy. Yet educational, medi- cal and literary work for Moslems has proved possible where it has been tried. All these forms of efifort should be pushed, therefore, to their utmost and new centres rapidly occupied. (2) The lands of ancient pagan civilization, where Islam has been modified by contact with cultured pagan- ism and where Moslems are in the minority. Such are India and China. In India there have been many con- verts, and a considerable literature has been prepared for Moslems, but the unique opportunities for direct mission- ary effort have not been fully met. With the largest Mohammedan population of any country on the globe before them, the missions in India are vitally concerned in the iMohammedan missionary problem and should lead all lands in its solution. In China we have to confess that in view of the appalling pagan population of the Empire special work among its thirty million ^loslems is non- existent.^ (3) The border-marches of Islam in Africa and Ma- laysia. Here we have to do with masses of newly con- verted tribes on the pagan frontiers, where, as Pastor Wiirz shows, "it is often hard to tell just where paganism ^H. O. Dwight, "Blue Book of Missions," S6. (1905.) 225 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH ceases and Islam begins. Those who profess Islam still worship their fetiches and cling to rum."^ In these lands we are face to face with one of the greatest responsibili- ties of the Christian Church, as we shall note later when we consider the JMoslem peril in Africa. Among the countries occupied perhaps the most no- table strategic point is Eg) pt. In lozcer Egypt the Mos- lems form about ninety-eight per cent, of the population and in upper Egypt about eighty-eight per cent. The need of the country is therefore the need of the Moslems.^ Egypt is under British rule and connected by regular rail and steamboat service with distant points in Africa. Cairo is the literary capital of the Mohammedan world, as ]\Iecca is its religious and Constantinople its political capital. ''As rapidly as experts trained in Koranic lore can be educated for the reinforcement of the workers now on the ground, the Christian Church should drive a wedge into this outwork of the great stronghold."^ The strategic centres of Moslem population, given in the last chapter, are also many of them, because of their geographical position, commercial centres, and stand at the cross-roads of international communication between Moslem lands. The importance of massing our spiritual forces here cannot be overestimated. A book sold at Cairo may be read by the camp-fires of the Sahara, in the market-place of Timbuktu or under the very shadow of the Kaaba. Were a strong mission established for the Mohammedans of Bombay, its influence would reach far along the coast of India and to the Moslem traders of ]\Ialabar and Ceylon. These strategic centres are an appeal for immediate reinforcement and a call to come ^"Die Mohammedansche Gefahr in West Afrika," i8. 2"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 22. ^H. O. Dwight, "Blue Book of Missions," 84- (1905.) THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 229 to the help of those who, often single-handed, are fight- ing against fearful odds and still winning the battle inch by inch. And what shall we say of those lands where Moham- m^'s rule has never yet been challenged and where vast areas are without any missionary? Surely, if anywhere in the world,, here is opportunity. The very dangers, loneliness, hardships of such pioneer fields will prove an irresistible attraction to men of heroic stamp. "So near is grandeur to the dust, So close is God to man, When duty whispers, 'Lo ! thou must,' The youth replies, 'I can.' " Beginning with Africa, the following areas are un- occupied by missions. In the Central Soudan,^ one of the most densely populated portions of Africa, are these States (larger some of them than New York, Wisconsin or Ohio) waiting for the gospel : The Land Kordofan Darfur Wadai Bagirmi Kanem Adamawa Bornu Sokoto Gando Nupe The Size of England France ( Italy and \ Ireland r Switzerland I Holland { Belgium I and Tasmania Greece and Denmark Turkey in Europe England Japan Scotland and Ireland Bulgaria Gov'm't British British r French I 1- French I French German and British British British British British Missionaries None None None None i German ^ \ and C y British J None None None 5 C. M. S. workers None 6 Canadian workers. i"The Call of the Soudan," Missioyiary Review of the World, January, 1907. 230 islam: a challenge to faith 'Taking the parallel of latitude that would touch the northern bend of the Niger as the northern limit, and that which would touch the northern bend of the Congo as the southern limit, and modifying these boundaries at either side of the continent so as to omit the mission stations on the West Coast and on the upper courses of the Nile, we find a territory about equal to that of the United States, and far more densely populated, without a single representative of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With a mission station just established by the United Presbyte- rians of America on the Sobat River, of the Upper Nile basin, and with the stations opened by the Church Mis- sionary Society and the United Soudan Mission in the Niger basin, 1500 miles to the west, the situation pre- sented is as if the United States, with her 85,000,000 of people, had one missionary in Maine and another in Texas, and no gospel influence hetzveen."'^ And the problem in all this vast region is the problem of Islam. Hear the testimony of the Rev. J. Aitken: *'When I came out in 1898, there were few Mohamme- dans to be seen below Iddah. Now they are everywhere, excepting below Abo, and at the present rate of progress there zvill scarcely he a pagan village on the river hanks hy 1910. Then we shall begin to talk of Mohammedan missions to these people, and anyone who has worked in both heathen and Mohammedan towns knows what that means. "2 If Dr. Kumm's estimates are trustworthy, this great destitute district of the Soudan, one of the most strategic and the most important unoccupied territories in the world, has a population of at least fifty millions. And ^W. S. Naylor, "Unoccupied Mission Fields in Africa," Missionary Review of the World, March, 1906. See map on page 159. '"The Call of the Soudan," Ibid., January, 1907. THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 23I yet only sixteen missionaries are found in the entire area, namely, at Sokoto and Nupe. All of the other lands are destitute. Within twenty years it will be settled whether Islam or Christianity shall be dominant and triumphant. All the indications now are that Islam is fast winning the field.^ Turning from darkest Africa to Asia, we find in this continent a situation hardly less needy and with even greater, because more varied, opportunity. In Asia the following lands and areas of Moslem population are still wholly unreached:^ Estifnated Moslem Population Afghanistan 4,000,000 Baluchistans 750,ooo Hejaz, Hadramaut, Nejd and Hassa (Arabia) 3,500,000 Southern Persia 2,500,000 Russia in Caucasus 2,000,000 Russia in Central Asia 3,000,000 Bokhara* 1,250,000 Khiva 800,000 Mindanao ( Philippines) 250,000 Siberia (East and West) 6,100,000 China (unreached sections) 20,000,000 44,150,000 These unevangelized millions in Asia, all of them under the yoke of Islam, are a challenge to faith, and in some cases a rebuke for the neglect of the church. Kafiristan, one of the five provinces of Afghanistan, is a sad exam- ple. *'It was a sorrowful day for them," writes Colonel ^H. Karl Kumm, "The Soudan." ^''Statesman's Year Book," 1907; and "Blue Book of Missions," 1905. *Has one mission station at Ouetta. *Work just begun at one station. 2^2 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH G. Wingate, ''when by a stroke of the pen in the BritibU Foreign Office eleven years ago their country was brought within the boundaries of Afghanistan. At last the Kafirs were the subjects of the Ameer. In consulta- tion with Ghulam Haider, his commander-in-chief, he de- termined to convert them and bring them into the fold of Islam. The distasteful offices of the mullah were offered at the muzzle of the breech-loader, the rites of the Mo- hammedan belief were enforced upon an unwilling people, mosques took the place of temples, the Koran and the traditions of the Caliphate would be the spiritual regen- eration of the pagan Kafir. Yet twenty-five years ago a message from the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush stirred the Christian Church ; they asked that teachers might be sent to instruct them in the religion of Jesus Christ. It is a sad example of how an opportunity may be lost, for to- day there is imposed between the ambassador for Christ and the eager Kafir the hostile aggression of a Moham- medan power intensely jealous of the entrance of the foreigner."^ The Mohammedans now under the American flag in the Philippine Islands have a special claim on the Amer- ican churches. And who can tell whether tactful, loving labor among them would not be rewarded with a speedy harvest of souls, as was the case among the Battaks of Sumatra? 'The isles shall wait for His law." And who will take up the burden of Islam in Russia and China with a total number of Mohammedans in these two em- pires of over forty millions ? Lastly, there are great and effectual doors to be opened where there are many adversaries — pioneer fields that ^G. Wincrate, "Unevangelized Regions in Central Asia," The Missionary Review of the World, May, 1907. Kafiristan signifies "Land of Unbelievers." THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 233 await heroic faith — in Arabia, in Persia, in Afghanistan, in Central Asia. Nothing is too hard for prayer to ac- compHsh, and Hves laid down in loving service ; the things that are impossible with men are possible with God. "If neither treaties nor frontiers can exclude the pioneers of trade or the artificers of workshops, or the physician and surgeon, how much less should such barriers avail to shut out that Gospel which hath a pathway of its own across the mountain ranges into forbidden territory, mov- ing from heart to heart, in a manner that rulers cannot restrain, and bringing to the sin-sick soul peace and to the weary rest. The Story of the Central Asia Pioneer Mission shows that God is even now leading some to attempt to reach these mid-Asian territories with the gospel."^ The Moslem Peril. — The problem of evangelizing the Moslem peoples of Africa and Asia is not only a vast one and one too long neglected, but an urgent one. Islam is aggressive and is to-day overrunning districts once pagan. Its numbers are increasing in Bengal, Burma, Southern India, the East Indies, West Africa, Uganda, the Congo basin, Abyssinia, and on the Red Sea littoral. On the west coast of Southern India "the Ma- pillas are now energetic in propagating Islam and their numbers have increased from 612,789 in 1871 to 912,920 in 1901."^ In West Africa and Nigeria missionaries speak of a "Mohammedan peril." They say every effort should be made to forestall the entrance of Islam into the border- KI. Wingate, "ITnevang-elized Regions in Central Asia"; also "Story of the Central Asia Pioneer Mission," procurable at the oflfice of the Mission, 2 and 4 Tudor Street, London, E. C. *"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 179. See also article on "Islam and Christian Missions," in The Church Missionary Review for April, 1907. 234 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH lands before his religion renders evangelization tenfold more difficult than it is among African pagans. In West- ern Africa Islam and Christianity between them are spoil- ing heathenism and will probably divide the pagan peo- ples in less than fifty years. ^ Pastor F. Wiirz, secretary of the Basel Mission, in a recent pamphlet, sounds the alarm of this Mohammedan aggression as a peril to the native church. He states that the situation on the Gold Coast is alarming. In one village a native preacher, with his entire congregation, went over to Islam. ''Missions will scarcely be able to prevent the entrance of Islam among a single tribe, much less into large districts. Islam is spreading with the certainty and irresistibleness of a rising tide. The only question is whether it will still be possible for missions to organize Christian churches like breakwaters, able to resist the flood and outweather it, or whether everything will be carried away headlong."^ (See the map opposite page 156.) The Soudan United Mission calls the attention of Christendom to the present crisis in Hausa-land. All the heathen populations of the Central Soudan will go over to Islam unless the Church awakes to its opportunity. It is now or never ; it is Islam or Christ!^ And there are other lands where the crisis is equally acute, though not extended over as large an area as in Africa. In regard to the district of Khelat, in Baluchistan, the Rev. A. D. Dixey testifies that the inhabitants are still only nominal Mohammedans and not bigoted. "They will listen now, but in a few years they will have become fanatical." In Borneo there is a special call for workers among the Dayaks, who are not yet Mohammedan, but are in ^"The Mohammedan World of To-day," 47. '"Die Mohammedansche Gefahr in West Afrika," 24, 25. (Basel, 1904.) »H. Karl Kutnm, "The Soudan." X; '' THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 235 danger of speedily becoming such through the influence of Mohammedan Malays, by whom they are surrounded.^ In India there are to-day a multitude of low-caste people, especially in Bengal, who will shortly become Moslems or Christians. Ten millions in Bengal have become Mos- lems.- On the other hand, Islam itself is alarmed, and in many parts of the world there is a feeling that something must be done to save the faith of the Prophet. In India they are forming Societies for the Defence of Islam ; they are establishing presses for the production of literature to propagate their faith ; they are copying missionary meth- ods and engaging Aloslem preachers to counteract the work of Christian missions. They use the substance of infidel literature from Europe and America and articles on the higher criticism to prove that Christianity is not true and that its leaders are not agreed on the funda- mentals of its teaching.^ What will be the issue if the Mohammedan propagandists in Africa, as well as those in India, begin to use the methods of Christian missions ? The situation is one full of peril to the native church. This aspect of the problem was treated in a masterly paper by Professor Carl Meinhof, of the University of Berlin, at a recent conference.* He shows that every mission in Africa, north of the equator, will be compelled sooner or later to do direct work for Moslems or imperil its very existence. ^Harlan P. Beach, "A Geography and Atlas of Protestant Missions," Vol. I, 192. ^Bishop Warne, "Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems," 27. 8B. R. Barber, of Calcutta, in "Students and the Modern Missionary Crusade," 456. ••"Zwingt uns die Heidenmission Muhammedaner Mission zu treiben?" Vortrag gehalten auf der Eisenacher Gemeinschafts Konfcrenz am 6 Juni, 1906. (Osterwieck-Harz, 1906.) 2'^6 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH A writer in Uganda Notes gives the same testimony : ''Egypt draws perceptibly nearer to Uganda. The most northerly station of the Uganda Mission, at Gondokoro, whither two Baganda evangelists were sent in February, is distant only 112 miles from Bor, where the Soudan party are settled. Lower Egypt is a stronghold of Islam, and the followers of that religion are ever busy carrying their creed southward through Upper Egypt towards the confines of this Protectorate. Many of the Nile tribes have already embraced Islam, though the tribes to the north of our missions in Bunyoro are still heathen. If these tribes are left to accept Mohammedanism before the Gospel is carried to them, the difficulty of our work in these regions will undoubtedly be seriously enhanced. ... As far as Uganda itself is concerned, Islam is, of course, infinitely less a power than it once was, when in the troublous early days of Christianity it threatened to overwhelm the combined heathen and Christian forces arrayed against it. But it is not only from the north that the followers of Islam are threatening an invasion. From the eastern side the railway has brought us into intimate association with coast influence; Swahilis and Arabs coming up the line leave Islamism in their wake, for almost every Moslem is more or less of a missionary of his faith. Would that the same might be said of Christians! Not a few Moslems are holding important positions in Uganda, while the larger number of those in authority in Busoga are, or were till quite recently, also Mohammedans. The followers of the false prophet have a great influence among the natives, which does not give promise of becoming less as time goes on. There is a distinct danger of the Eastern Province becoming nominally Moslem before Christianity has made for THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 237 itself a favorable impression on the minds of the people:'^ Pan-Islainisjn. — Another indication of Moslem activity is the movement known as Pan-Islamism. This term is used by Moslems themselves to describe the political and social combination of all Aloslems throughout the world to defy and to resist the Christian Powers. For several years back the Malumat and the Serz'et, two good and cheap illustrated papers published in Constantinople, have carried on a crusade against all Christian nations that rule ^Mohammedans. In India, in Africa, in the Malay archi- pelago, the faithful are exhorted to hold themselves in readiness for the coming conflict. These papers and others like them, as El Moeyid, at Cairo, take pains to publish all real or alleged cases of oppression practiced upon the followers of Alohammed. The Dutch Govern- ment once prohibited the Malumat, but thousands of copies are still smuggled into the colonies. Associations bearing the name Fan-Islamic are said to exist in Lon- don, Faris, Geneva, the United States and other foreign countries. How far their organization is developed in Moslem lands is uncertain, but there are a dozen publi- cations devoted to their propaganda, six of these appear- ing in Cairo.^ A masterly statement of the real aims and character of Pan-Islamism is found in Lord Cromer's report for igo6." After giving an account of the relation of Egyptian Nationalism to this movement he defines its character thus: 'Tn the first place it means in ^Quoted in The Church Missionary Gleaner, 1906. *See article on "Pan-Islam," by Archibald R. Colquhoun, in North Amer- ican Review, June, 1906, 915. ^''Finances, Administration and Condition of Egypt and the Soudan in 1906." 2^S ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Egypt more or less complete subserviency to the Sul- tan. ... In the second place, Pan-Islamism almost necessarily connotes a recrudescence of racial and re- ligious animosity. Many of its adherents are, I do not doubt, inspired by genuine religious fervor. Others, again, whether from indifference verging on agnosticism, or from political and opportunist motives, or — as I trust may sometimes be the case — from having really assimi- lated modern ideas on the subject of religious toleration, would be willing, were such a course possible, to sepa- rate the political from the religious, and even possibly from the racial issues. If such are their wishes and in- tentions, I entertain very little doubt that they will make them impossible of execution. Unless they can convince the Moslem masses of their militant Islamism, they will fail to arrest their attention or to attract their sympathy. Appeals, either overt or covert, to racial and religious passions are thus a necessity of their existence in order to insure the furtherance of their political programme. *'In the third place, Pan-Islamism almost necessarily connotes an attempt to regenerate Islam on Islamic lines — in other words, to revivify and stereotype in the twen- tieth century the principles laid down more than a thou- sand years ago for the guidance of a primitive society. Those principles involve a recognition of slavery, laws regulating the relations of the sexes which clash with modern ideas, and, which is perhaps more important than all, that crystallization of the civil, criminal and canonical law into one immutable whole, which has so largely con- tributed to arrest the progress of those countries whose populations have embraced the Moslem faith. "^ ^Quoted in article on "Egyptian Nationalism," in The London Times, Thursday, April 4, 1907. THE PROBLEM AND THE PERIL 239 So well agreed are the statesmen of Europe in regard to the power of this movement for evil that Mr. Carl Peters, the well-known African traveler, writing on the political ascendancy of Germany, used these significant, though rash, words : "There is one factor which might fall on our side of the balance and in the case of a world-war might be made useful to us: that factor is, Islam. As Pan-Islamism it could be played against Great Britain as well as against the French Republic ; and if German policy is bold enough, it can fashion the dynamite to blow into the air the rule of the Western Powers from Cape Nun (Mo- rocco) to Calcutta."^ Remembering the career of Abd ul Wahab in Arabia and of the IMahdi at Khartoum, and knowing the present activity of the Senusi Derwish orders, the Pan-Islamites must not be too sure that the spirit they are evoking in the Dark Continent among savage tribes is one that will remain under their control ! Lord Cromer may be right when he says, 'T am sceptical of Pan-Islamism producing any more serious results than sporadic outbursts of fanat- icism.''^ And yet there are latent forces in Islam be- cause of its very character and historic ideals that once let loose may work in a similar way, as they did under Khalid, *'The Sword of God." We must evangelize the Mohammedan world for the sake of Christendom. Lord Cromer goes on to say : "I am quite confident of the power of Europe, should the necessity arise, to deal eflfec- tively with the material, though not with the spiritual, aspects of the miovement."^ 'Quoted in article of Professor Vambery, The Nineteenth Century, October, 1906, 553- 'The London Times, April 4, 1907. 3Ibid. 240 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH The Church of Christ must deal with its spiritual as- pects. We must meet Pan-Islamism with pan-evangelism. "It is a fight for life. We have got to conquer them or they will conquer us," so said Dr. George E. Post, of Beirut College, at the Centenary Missionary Conference. "There are unknown possibilities in that great continent. Who knows what the forces of Central Asia may yet be, stored up for the future ? Hear the parable of the locusts. When the locust appears in the desert he is at home. He is contented usually with its barrenness. He lays his eggs in the sand. He hatches his young and they eat the bitter and unpalatable herbs that grow in the few moist spots of the wilderness ; but, at certain times, under the influence of unknown causes which science cannot fathom, these locusts take upon them to fly over the culti- vated fields and the fair provinces of the Empire. At such a time there is nothing for the farmer to do but to go out and find the places where they have laid their eggs in the soil. They dig a hole a few inches in depth and they deposit a bag containing over a hundred eggs. Every Ggg is a locust and every locust can produce one hundred eggs, and these locusts sweep like a devouring prairie- fire all over the country, leaving nothing but dead vegeta- tion and wailing men behind them. We must go dozvn to the locust's home ; zve must go into Arabia; zve must go into the Soudan; zve must go into Central Asia; and we must Christianize these people or they zvill march over their deserts, and they zvill sweep like a Hre that shall devour our Christianity and destroy it."^ ^"Report of the Centenary Conference on the Protestant Missions of the World, held in London, 1888," Vol. I, 323. A CHALLENGE TO FAITH "Until the present century very little systematic effort seems to have been made. As regards the work of the present century there have been the efforts of magnificent pioneers, but we need something more.'" — Report of Lambeth Conference on Work for Mohammedans (1897). "We should lay siege to the Port Arthurs of the non-Chris- tian world with the undiscourageable purpose to capture them. We should not shrink or falter before such apparently impregna- ble fortresses as the Mohammedan world." — John R. Mott, in address at Student Volunteer Convention, Nashville, 1906. "The Church must awake to her duty toward Islam. Who will wake her and keep her awake unless it be those who have heard the challenge of Islam, and who, going out against her, have found her armor decayed, her weapons antiquated and her children, though proud and reticent, still unhappy?" — Robert E. Speer, at the Cairo Conference. "Perhaps the Church of God has too long tried to win the day by policy and state-craft — and perhaps a little more ham- mer and tongs, reckless, defiant, uncalculating faith would be consummate state-craft." — John Van Ess, missionary in Arabia. XII A CHALLENGE TO FAITH I Unprecedented Opportunities. — The problem and the peril of Islam are a twofold challenge to faith, and not a cause for discouragement. Those who have tried to reach Mohammedans with the Gospel message and who are in the forefront of the fight, do not call for retreat, but for reinforcements and advance. They know that in this mighty conflict we have nothing to fear save our own sloth and inactivity. The battle is the Lord's and the victory will be His also. The love of Jesus Christ, manifested in hospitals, in schools, in tactful preaching, and incarnated in the lives of devoted missionaries, will irresistibly win Moslems and disarm all their fanaticism. It has done so, is doing so, and will do so more and more when the church realizes and seizes her unprecedented opportunities in the IMoslem world. "Altogether the sit- uation as regards work among Mohammedans," says Dr. Rouse, the veteran missionary of Bengal, *'is most in- teresting and encouraging. It would be much more so if I saw any sign of appreciation on the part of the Church of Christ of the special opportunities for missionary work among Mohammedans which are now to be found in all India and elsewhere. Why should we not attack vigor- ously when the enemy is beginning to waver ?"^ ^''Students and the Modern Missionary Crusade," Addresses given at Student Volunteer Convention, Nashville. 457, 458. 243 244 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH The present political division of the Mohammedan world is a startling challenge of opportunity. When we remember Lord Curzon's remark that "the Mohammedan conception of politics is not so much that of a state- church as of a church-state,"^ and recall what we have read of the political power of Islam in the past, we realize how great has been the change in a single century. The map (page 56) shows us how the area of the present Caliphate has dwindled to smaller proportions than it was at the time of Mohammed's death. Over one-half of the Moslem world is now under Christian rule or protection. Christian rule has not always been favor- able for the spread of Christianity, yet it means generally a free press, free speech and liberty to con- fess Christ. Purely Mohammedan rule means an en- slaved press, no freedom of speech and death for the apostate from Islam.. The keys to every gateway in the Moslem world are in the political grasp of Chris- tian powers, with the exception of Mecca and Constan- tinople. Distances and dangers have become less, so that the journey from London to Bagdad can now be accom- plished with less hardship and in less time than it must have taken Lull to go from Paris to Bugia. Henry Martyn spent five long months to reach Shiraz from Cal- cutta ; the same journey can now be made in a fortnight. And without waiting for the completion of the Mecca railway, a missionary could visit the Holy Cities as easily as Lull did Tunis, were the same spirit of martyrdom alive among us that inspired the pioneer of Palma, and were it a wise thing to do so now. Mindful of the polyglot character of Islam and of the ^Persia," Vol. I, 509. A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 245 fact that we have the Bible, at least in part, in every ]\Ioslem tong-ue, what magnificent opportunities there are to-day to establish, enlarge and endow mission presses in the chief Moslem centres of learning and literature ! Those now in existence are overtaxed with work and supported in a half-hearted fashion. They clamor for men and means to meet the demand for books on the part of Mohammedans. Who can estimate the possibili- ties of the Beirut press, or the Nile mission press, for the Arabic-speaking world if either one had a million dol- lars? In the Chinese language there is a large Mohamme- dan literature, but only three little pamphlets have been published so far that are specially adapted to the thirty million Moslems of China. ^ Here is a call for the man with literary tastes and talent for languages. Then there is the world-wide opportunity, even in the most difficult fields, for distribution of the Word of God among Mos- lems by colporteurs and missionaries. Not without reason does the Koran always speak of Christians as *'the people of the Book.'' Ours is the opportunity to prove it by carry- ing tJic Book to every Moslem in the world. W^e can safe- ly leave the verdict on the Book to the Moslem himself. Last year there were issued from the Christian presses at Constantinople and Beirut, in languages read by Moham- medans, over fifty million pages of Christian literature, and these books are not printed for free distribution, but for sale.^ The demand for Christian literature is every- where on the increase. I have myself received an order by mail at Bahrein from a INIoslem at Mecca for an Arabic reference Bible and a concordance, and from the ^"Literature for Moslems," 92, in "Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems." (1907.) -James L. Barton, in "Students and the Modern Missionary Crusade," 442. 246 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Beirut Press they have sent Arabic Scriptures to the Moslems of China. The opportunities for medical mission work among Moslems are very great, because there is a demand for missionary physicians on the part of Aloslems them- selves, and of all the methods adopted by Christian mis- sions in Moslem lands none have been more successful in breaking down prejudices and bringing large numbers of people under the sound of the Gospel. The work at Sheikh Othman, Busrah and Bahrein, in Arabia ; at Ouetta, in Baluchistan, and at Tanta, in Egypt, are ex- amples. Regarding the latter place, Doctor Anna Wat- son reports that ninety per cent, of the cases treated are Moslem women, who come from villages scattered far and wide, untouched by any other missionary agency.^ The medical missionary carries a passport of mercy which will gain admission for the truth everywhere. All of the vast yet unoccupied territory in the Mohammedan world is waiting for the pioneer medical missionary, man or vvoman. In many Moslem lands there are unprecedented oppor- tunities for educational work. The spread of the New Islam, the increase of journalism, the political ambitions of Pan-Islamism, and the march of civilization are all uniting to produce a desire for higher education. Yet while there are seven American mission colleges in the Turkish empire, not including Egypt, Persia, with a pop- ulation of ten million, has not a single missionary college.'-^ Mr. Jordan writes : ''For some years past the Persian Government has ^"Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems," 109. ^S. M. Jordan, "An Unprecedented Opportunity: Wanted, a College for Persia"; a pamphlet. (Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, 1906.) A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 247 been growing liberal and is now seeking to introduce free institutions. The intelligent classes believe that consti- tutional government and Western education will do for Persia what they have done for Japan in the past forty years. Education has become almost a fad, and the Shah professes to be the leader in the movement. They have opened elementary schools for themselves and are seeking help from every source. Last year they brought out five French professors to teach in the Imperial College in Teheran. What that institution amounts to was well summed up by one of these teachers, who replied to my inquiry for its welfare : 'Oh, it is half a pity and half a farce.' Some time ago a son-in-law of the Shah re- marked to one of our missionaries : 'Why do not you Americans build a college in Teheran where w^e Persians can educate our sons?' 'T believe that the world has never seen a greater opportunity to influence a nation at its very centre and help it on the upward path than is presented to us in the Persian capital. It is one of the world's strategic points. Shall we not occupy it with an institution that will be a source of light and civilization and moral uplift for the whole country?" Persia is only a typical case. There are other Moslem lands that are struggling upward, in spite of Islam, toward a constitutional government and free institutions. The addresses made by the Ameer of Afghanistan on his recent visit in India were a plain indication of an intel- lectual daybreak, even beyond the Himalayas. And what an opportunity there must be in India for the ordinary day-school when the census returns tell us that ninety- five per cent, of the Mohammedans of that country are illiterate 1 248 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Tlie disintegration of Islam and the present crisis em- phasize these unprecedented opportunities. From every quarter comes the testimony that the attitude of Moslems generally toward Christianity has changed for the better in the past decade, in spite of the frantic efforts of their political and religious leaders to bring about a reaction.^ In India Islam has abandoned, as untenable, controver- sial positions which were once thought impregnable. In- stead of denying the integrity of the Bible and forbidding its use, they now read it and write commentaries on it. Mighty and irresistible forces are at work in Islam itself to prepare the way for the Gospel. Thousands of Mos- lems have grow^n dissatisfied with their old faith, and of tens of thousands it is true that they are hungering for a living Mediator. The Babis, the Beha'is, the Shathalis, the Sufis, are all examples of this unconscious search for our Redeemer, whom Mohammed and the Koran have so long eclipsed. "Far and wide, though all unknowing, Pants for Thee each human breast; Human tears for Thee are flowing, Human hearts in Thee would rest." The Cairo Conference. — The thought of a world's con- ference to discuss the problems of Moslem evangelization had, no doubt, often occurred to more than one mis- sionary at the front; especially ever since Dr. H. H. Jessup gave the Church an outline of the problem in 1879.^ Yet missionaries felt that at none of the great general missionary conferences since that time had Islam received such breadth of treatment and careful attention ^See "The Mohammedan World of To-day"; also Tables on 284 and 294, column S. 2"The Mohammedan Missionary Problem." (Philadelphia, 1879.) A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 249 as the subject and the crisis demanded. Therefore, after much consultation with missionaries in every Moham- medan land and with missionary authorities in all parts of the world, the Arabian Mission, in 1904, opened cor- respondence with the missions in Egypt, and steps were taken to hold a General Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan world at Cairo. The conference met from April 4th to 9th, 1906, and marked a forward step in missions. The presence of sixty-two representatives from twenty-nine missionary societies in Europe and America, with nearly an equal number of missionary visitors ; the manifest unanimity of spirit in all the dis- cussions ; the printed proceedings of the conference, which for the first time in history give a survey of the field ; and the deeply spiritual character of the gathering — all these lead to the hope that this conference will be used of God as a means of arousing the Christian Church to more energetic and systematic effort for the millions of Islam. The papers read at the conference were in part published under the title, *'The Mohammedan World of To-day," and in part, for prudential reasons, only printed for private circulation.^ An appeal by the con- ference was sent out to the Church at large, and is itself a challenge to faith, coming as it does from men and women who have given of their strength and their service, their love and their life, to evangelize these Mo- hammedan lands. It speaks for itself : "The great needs of more than two hundred million Mohammedans and the present problems of work among them, laid upon the hearts of missionaries in several ^''Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems." Papers read at the Cairo Conference. Privately printed for the use of missionaries. 250 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH countries, led to the assembling of this conference of delegates from missions in Moslem lands, which has been sitting- at Cairo from the 4th to the 9th April, 1906. ''We have been presented with a series of comprehen- sive reviews of the whole Mohammedan world, of its ethnic, social, religious and intellectual conditions, of missionary work thus far accomplished, and of the tasks and problems still presented by it to the Christian Church ; we have considered, though too briefly, some of the chief methods of missionary work among Moham- medans, in preaching, literature, medicine, and upbuild- ing of converts. 'These outstanding facts as to the great needs of the Mohammedan world, the first-fruits of its evangelization, and the openings for a great advance in bringing the Gospel to Moslems, have been borne in upon us as a strong call from God to His Church in the present day. Coming from many Mohammedan and Christian lands, and dealing with varied aspects of Islam, we unitedly and urgently call upon the Christian Church, as repre- sented by her missionary agencies, for a fresh departure in the energy and effectiveness of her work among Mo- hammedans. We ask that it may be strengthened and promoted (i) by setting apart more special laborers and by giving them a specialized training; (2) by organizing more efficiently the production and distribution of litera- ture for Mohammedans; (3) by systematic common ar- rangements for the fresh occupation of important centres, and the more effective working of those already occupied, and for forestalling the entrance of Islam into territories so far pagan. With this view we draw the attention of the Committees and Boards to the volume under publica- tion, embodying the surveys presented to the conference, A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 25 1 and we suggest that action on this basis be considered by the meetings held in each country for interdenominational missionary action. *God wills it, May He enable us to do His will.'"^ The women delegates also published an additional ap- peal, which reads : "We, the women missionaries assembled at the Cairo Conference, would send this appeal on behalf of the women of Moslem lands to all our sisters in the home churches of Great Britain, America, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Hol- land, Australia and New Zealand. "While we have heard with deep thankfulness of many signs of God's blessing on the efforts already put forth, yet we have been appalled at the reports which have been sent in to the conference from all parts of the Moslem world, showing us only too clearly that as yet but a fringe of this great work has been touched. Our hearts have been wrung as we have listened to statements after state- ments of sin and oppression, and have realized something more of the almost unrelieved darkness which reigns in the lives of our Moslem sisters. "First — Through her physical sufferings, such as spring from the evils of child marriage; the unre- ^The appeal was signed, on behalf of the Conference, by the executive committee, as follows: John Giflfen, D.D. (U. P. of N. A.); H. H. Jessup, D.D. (Am. Pres.) ; Milton H. Marshall (N. Africa); Dr. J. S. Tympany (Am. Baptist); Rev. D. M. Thornton, M.A. (C.M.S.) ; Bishop F. W. Warne (M. Episcopal, U.S.A.); E. M. Wherry, D.D. (Am. Pres.); H. U. Weitbrecht, Ph.D., D.D. (C.M.S.) ; Rev. F. Wiirz (Basel Ev. Miss.); S. M. Zwemer, D.D. (Ref. Ch. in Arabia). Representing twenty-nine missionary societies. 252 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Strained power of the men of the family, whether father, brother, husband or son, to beat and abuse her ; her pow- erlessness to escape or plead her own cause; her use of narcotics and stimulants not to be wondered at, to drown her misery. "Second — Her mental sufferings, from ignorance and a sense of inferiority and degradation, from the continual fear of being divorced ; her fear of unseen powers of evil, and of death and the hereafter ; her lack of real love ; the absence of true family life, which blights the home of both parents and children; and her suffering from the jealousy which is inseparable from polygamy. "Third — Her spiritual suffering and anguish of mind, without comfort in the thought of God, Who is to her only a hard master. Whose injustice she unconsciously resents. "We feel that an outcry against the cruelty and injus- tice of men is not the way to meet these evils. There is no remedy but to bring the women to the Lord Jesus, Who died to save them from the curse pronounced upon them as a punishment for sin. We must teach her by love to win her husband's love, and by deserving it to win his respect, believing that God has given to every man the capacity to love his wife. "The number of Moslem women is so vast — not less than one hundred million — that any adequate effort to meet the need must be on a scale far wider than has ever yet been attempted. "We do not suggest new organizations, but that every church and board of missions at present working in Mos- lem lands should take up their own women's branch of the work with an altogether new ideal before them, de- termining to reach the whole world of Moslem women A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 253 in this generation. Eacli part of the women's work being already carried on needs to be widely extended — trained and consecrated women doctors, trained and consecrated women teachers, groups of women workers in the vil- lages, an army of those with love in their hearts, to seek and save the lost. And with the willingness to take up this burden, so long neglected, for the salvation of Mo- hammedan women, even though it may prove a very Cross of Calvary to some of us, we shall hear our Mas- ter's voice afresh, with ringing words of encouragement : 'Have faith in God.' 'For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, ''Be thou re- moved," and "Be thou cast into the sea," and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that these things which He saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatso- ever he saith.' 'Nothing shall be impossible to you.' " The Challenge.— Thtse urgent appeals from living mis- sionaries who form the long, thin line on the forefront of battle against Islam must not fall on deaf ears. They are a challenge to faith and to sacrifice. They are a call for immediate reinforcements, for more laborers and for more efficient preparation in those sent out. To deal effectively with a community professing the religion of the Koran and guided by its highly systematized theology, it should go without saying that we need a body of men in each mission area possessing a competent knowledge of Arabic and Moslem theology, while the rank and file should have a correct acquaintance with the doctrines, duties, facts and customary terminology of Islam. ^ Even in India, according to the Bishop of Lahore, there is "a widespread absence of real acquaintance with ^H. U. Weitbrecht, in The Church Missionary Intelligencer, June, 1906. 254 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH the Mohammedan literature" on the part of missionaries who Hve and labor among Moslems. *'Not infrequently during my years in Delhi," he writes, "when I wanted to refer to some tradition which I knew existed in one of the well-known collections, it was a cause of real pain to me — and, as I thought, a reproach to the missionary cause — that there was scarcely a single missionary, so far as I knew, in upper India to whom I could turn for the needed reference — not more than two or three, indeed, in the whole of India, and to them I sometimes turned in vain. Surely this reproach ought to be wiped away."^ For the evangelization of the Mohammedan world we need, first and most of all men, *'the best men the Church can afford — men who, in the spirit of Henry Martyn, Isidor Loewenthal, Ion Keith-Falconer, Bishop French, Peter Zwemer, and many others gone to their reward, hold not their lives dear; men who carry the burden of these millions of Moslems upon their hearts, and, with Abraham of old, cry out : 'O that Ishmael might live before thee!"- For in the last analysis the evange- lization of the Mohammedan world depends, under God, on a band of picked volunteers prepared to do pioneer work and ready to sacrifice life itself, if need be, to enter and occupy Moslem lands. The call is for volunteers. The missionary boards and societies are taking up the challenge of Islam ;^ will the colleges and universities furnish the men for the work to-day? The time is ripe for a world-wide spiritual crusade for the conquest of Islam. The prophetic dreams of Raymund Lull and of ^G. A. LeFroy, "The Preparation of \Vorkers for Work Among Mos- lems," in "Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems," 223, 224. ^Introduction to "Islam and Christianity in India." ^See J. L. Earton's address at the Haystack Centennial of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 289-296; also Report of the Conference of Mission Boards Secretaries, 1907. A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 255 Henry Martyn await fulfillment. The new century of American foreign missions calls for a new vision of the Moslem world in its strength, its weakness, its needs, its accessibility, its promise, as well as in its antagonism, to Christ, the Son of God. 'Tather, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son." Christ's rightful glory has been given to Mohammed for many ages in these many lands and in millions of hearts. Surely our Saviour Himself is wait- ing to see of the travail of His soul for the Moslem world. God wills it. That was the battle-cry of the old Cru- saders. Yet there was a thousandfold more enthusiasm in the dark ages to wrest an empty sepulchre from the Saracens than there is in our day to bring them the knowledge of a living Saviour. Shall we take up that cry in a nobler crusade with the sword of the spirit? Where Christ was born Mohammed's name is called from minarets five times daily, but where Mohammed was born no Christian dares to enter. America entertained perverts to Islam at a Parliament of Religions, while throughout vast regions of the Mo- hammedan world millions of Moslems have never so much as heard of the incarnation and the atonement of the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. The Holy Land is still in unholy hands, and all Christendom stood gazing while the sword of the Crescent was uplifted in Armenia and Crete, until the uttermost confines of the Moslem world rejoiced at her apathy and impotence. Is this to be the measure of our consecration? Is this the extent of our loyal devotion to the cause of our King ? His place occupied by a usurper and His glory given to another. Shall we not arise and win back the lost king- dom? Missions to Moslems are the only Christian solu- tion of the Eastern question. God wills it. Let our rally- 256 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH ing cry be : ''Every stronghold of Islam for Christ!" Not a war of gunboats, or of diplomacy, but a Holy War with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered. God wills it ; therefore we must do it. God wills it ; therefore He will accomplish it. God wills it; therefore we will ask Him to do it speedily : "Thy Kingdom come ; Thy will be done," throughout the Mohammedan world. "Not in dumb resignation We lift our hands on high, Not like the nerveless fatalist, Content to trust and die; Our faith springs like the eagle That soars to meet the sun, And cries exulting unto Thee : O Lord! Thy will be done!" If Islam is a challenge to faith, faith alone can accept the challenge, and does. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" APPENDICES APPENDIX A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ISLAM AND OF MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS "Facts are the fingers of God. — Dr. A. T. Pier son. A. D. ISLAM A. D. MISSIONS 570. Birth of Mohammed at Mecca. 595. Yemen passes under Persian rule. 610. Mohammed begins his pro- phetic career. 622. The Hegira, or flight of Mo- hammed from Mecca to Me- dina (A.H. i). 62Z. Battle of Bedr. 624. Battle of Ohod. 628. Reputed mission of Abu Kab- sha to China. 630. Mecca entered and conquered. 632. Death of Mohammed. Abu Bekr, first Caliph. 634. Omar, Caliph; Jews and Chris- tians expelled from Arabia. 636. Capture of Jerusalem by the Caliph Omar. 62,7- Conquest of Syria. 638. Kufa and Busrah founded. 640. Capture of Alexandria by- Omar. 642. Conquest of Persia. 644. Othman, Caliph. 661. Ali assassinated. Hassan be- comes Caliph. 662-750. Omayid caliphs at Damas- cus. 710-1492. Mohammedan rule in Spain. 711. Tarik crosses the straits from Africa to Europe, and calls the mountain Jebel Tarik = Gibraltar. 711. Mohammed Kasim overruns Sindh (India) in the name of Walid I of Damascus. 732. Battle of Tours. Europe saved from Islam. 26o ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH A. D. ISLAM 742. First mosque built in North China. 754. Mansur. 756-1258. Abbasid caliphs at Bag dad. 786. Haroun er-Rashid, Caliph of Bagdad. 809. Amin. 813. Mamun. 833. Motasim. Islam spreads into Transoxania. 847. Mutawakkel. 889. Rise of Carmathian sect. 930. Carmathians take Mecca and carry away the Black Stone to Katif. 1000. Islam invades India from the North. 1005. Preaching of Sheikh Ismail at Lahore, India. 1019. Mahmud Ghazni, champion of Islam in India. 1037-1300. Seljuk Turks. 1055. Togrul Beg at Bagdad. 1063. Alp Arslan, Saljukian Turkish prince. 1077. Timbuctoo founded. Islam en- ters Western Soudan. 1169-1193. Saladin. 1 176-1206. Mohammed Ghori con- quers Bengal. 1276. Islam introduced into Malacca, 1299-1326. Reign of Othman, founder of Ottoman dynasty. 1305. Preaching and spread of Islam in the Deccan. 1330. Institution of the Janissaries. 1353. First entrance of the Turks into Europe. 1369-1405. Tamerlane. 1389. Islam begins to spread in Ser- via. 1398. Tamerlane invades India. 1414. Conversion of the King of Bengal. 1450. Missionary activity of Islam in Java begins. 1453. Capture of Constantinople by Mohammed II. 1492. Discovery of America. End of Moslem rule in Spain by de- feat of Boabdil at Granada. 1500. Spread of Islam in Siberia. 1507. The Portuguese take Muscat. 1517. Selim I conquers Egypt and wrests caliphate from Arab line of Koreish for Ottoman sultans. 1525-1707. Mogul empire in India. 1538. Suleiman the Magnificent takes Aden by treachery. 1540. Beginning of Turkish rule in Yemen. 1556. Akbar the Great rules in In* dia. 830. Abd el Messia Al Kindy, a Christian, at the Court of Al Mamun, writes his apology. 1096- 1272. The Crusades. 1315. Raymund Lull, first mission- ary to Moslems, stoned to death at Bugia, Tunis. 1452, Perfection of art of printing by Guttenberg. J596. Xavier holds discussions with the Moslems at Lahore. APPENDIX A 261 A. D. ISLAM 1603. Islam enters Celebes and New Guinea. 1627. Shah Jehan, Mogul ruler in India. 1630. Arabs drive out Turks from Yemen. 1659-1707. Aurangzeb in India. 1683. Final check of Turks at the gates of Vienna by John So- bieski, King of Poland, Sep- tember 12. Eastern Europe saved from Moslem rule. 1691. Mohammed bin Abd ul \Va- hab born. 1739-1761. Afghan Mohammed inva- sion of India, and sack of Delhi. 1740-1780. Wahabi reform spreads over all Southern and Central Arabia, except Oman. 1757. Battle of Plassey. British em- pire in India. 1801. Wahabis invade Bagdad vilayet and sack Kerbela. 1803. Mecca taken by the Wahabis. 1805-1820. British suppress Wahabi piracy in the Persian Gulf. 1820-1847. British treaties with Mos- lem chiefs in Persian Gulf. 1815. Battle of Bessel. Wahabis de- feated. 1826. Wahabi Jihad in India against the Sikhs. 1839. Aden bombarded by British fleet and taken. 1856. End of Crimean War. Treaty of Paris. 1857. Indian (Sepoy) Mutiny. 1S58. Bombardment of Jiddah by British. 1S60. Civil war in the Lebanons. 1806. Henry Martyn reaches India. 1S20. Levi Parsons and Pliny Fiske, first missionaries from Amer- ica, reach Smyrna. 1S22. American Mission Press found- ed in Malta. 1826. Church Missionary Society at- tempts a mission in Egypt. 1S27. Dr. Eli Smith begins transla- tion of the Arabic Bible. 1829. Missionary C. G. Pfander vis- its Persia. 1831. Constantinople occupied by American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions. 1833. American mission begun at Tabriz. 1836. Scriptures published in Graeco- Turkish. 1847. Aintab occupied by American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 1851. Church Missionary Society be- gins mission in Palestine. 1856. Hatti Sherif, or charter of re- ligious freedom, obtained for Turkey. 1S57. Harpoot occupied. 1858. Mardin occupied. i860. Dr. Van Dyck's translation of Arabic New Testament issued. 1862. The Rhenish mission enters Sumatra. 1863. Syrian Protestant College founded at Beirut. 1866. First Girls' Boarding-school, Cairo. 1868. Imad-ud-Din ordained at Am- ritsar. 262 ISLAM A CHALLENGE TO FAITH 1870. Second Turkish invasion of Yemen. 1878. Treaty of Berlin. Independ- ence of Bulgaria. England oc- cupies Cyprus. Reforms prom- ised for Turkey. 1879. Royal Niger Company founded (Britain in Africa). 1881. Rise of the Mahdi near Khar- tum. 1882. Massacre of Europeans at Alexandria. 1882. British occupation of Egypt. 1883. Defeat of Anglo-Egyptian forces by the Mahdi. 1885. Fall of Khartum. Murder of Gordon. 1889. Mahdi invasion of Egypt. 1890. Anglo-French protectorate de- clared over Sahara. 1892. French annex Dahomey and conquer Timbuctoo. 1894. Anglo-French-German delimita- tion of Soudan. 1895. Rebellion of Arabs against the Turks in Yemen. 1894- 1896. Great Armenian massacres. 1896. ^Iassacre at Harpoot. 1898. Fall of the Mahdi. Occupation of the Soudan. 1900. British protectorate declared over Nigeria and Hansa-Land. 1906. The Algeciras Conference re- garding Morocco. 1907. The French Army enters Mo- rocco. (Casablanca.) A. D. MISSIONS i86<5. Cornerstone laid of Robert College at Constantinople. 1869. Rev. Robert Bruce visits Is- pahan, Persia. 1871. Bible House built at Constan- tinople. 1872. Teheran occupied by the Pres- byterian Mission. 1875. Church Missionary Society be- gins mission work in Persia. 1876. Euphrates College established at Harpoot. 1876. Church Missionary Society opens mission at Ispahan, Persia. 1S81. North Africa Mission organ- ized. 1882. Church Missionary Society begins work in Egypt. 1883. Mission work begun at Bag- dad by the Church Missionary Society. 1885. Keith-Falconer begins work at Aden. 1889. The (American) Arabian Mis- sion organized. 1890. James Cautine, first American missionary to Arabia, sails for the field. 1891. Bishop French died at Mus- cat, May 14. 1893. Mirza Ibrahim martyred in Persia. 1906. American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions opens work for Moslems at Mindanao, P. I. 1906. The first general Missionary Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan world held at Cairo. 1907. The Foreign Mission Board, Methodist Episcopal Church, begins work in Algiers. APPENDIX B WILLIAM GIFFORD PALGRAVE'S CHARAC- TERIZATION OF ALLAH "There is no god but God-are words simply tantamount in English to the negation of any deity save one alone; and thus mu?h they certainly mean in Arabic, but they {"^P/^ ^^^^^^ r^°'„! also. Their full sense is not only to deny absolutely and un- reservedly all plurality, whether of nature or o^ P^^f "XJet- Supreme Being, not only to establish the unity of the Unbeget ting and the Unbegot, in all its simp e and ^"^^^^"^^"^^f^^j^V.h: ness, but besides this the words in Arabic and among the Arabs imply that this one Supreme Being is also the only A^ent, the oX Force, and the only Act existing throughout the universe, and leaves to all beings else, matter or spirit, instinct or mtel- Wnce, physical or moral, nothing but pure unconditional pas- siveness alike in movement or in quiescence, m f ^tion or in captivitv. The sole power, the sole motor, movement, energy and deed is "God; the rest is downright inertia and mere mstrumental- ity, from the highest archangel down to the simplest atom o cre- ation Hence, in this one sentence, 'La ilaha ilia Allah, is summed up a system which, for want of a better "am^- ^ "J^^ be permitted to call the Pantheism of Force, or of Act, thus ex clusivelv assigned to God, who absorbs it all, exercises it all, and to Whom alone it can be ascribed whether for preserving or for destroying, for relative evil or for equally relative good I say relatkl because it is clear that, in such a theology, no olace is left for absolute good or evil, reason or extravagance; all is abridged in the autocratical will of the one great Agent: ^ic volo, sic iubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas ; or more signin- cantly still, in Arabic: ^Kama yesha'^^s He wills it,' to quote the constantlv recurring expression of the ^^oran. ,• ,- • 'Thus immeasurably and eternally exalted above, and disbimi- lar from, all creatures which lie leveled before Him on one com- mon plane of instrumentality and inertness, God is One in the totality of omnipotent and omnipresent action, which acknowl- edges no rule, standard or limit, save His own sole and abso- lute will He communicates nothing to His creatures ; for the^r seeming power and act ever remain His alone, and in return He receives nothing from them; for whatever they may be, that they 263 264 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH are in Him, by Him and from Him only. And secondly, no superiority, no distinction, no preeminence can be lawfully claimed by one creature over another in the utter equalization of their unexceptional servitude and abasement ; all are alike tools of the one solitary Force, which employs them to crush or to benefit, to truth or to error, to honor or shame, to happiness or misery, quite independently of their individual fitness, deserts or advantage, and simply because He wills it and as He wills it. "One might, at first sight, think that this tremendous Autocrat, this uncontrolled and unsympathizing Power would be far above anything like passions, desires or inclinations. Yet such is not the case, for He has, with respect to His creatures, one main feeling and source of action, namely, jealousy of them, lest they should perchance attribute to themselves something of what is His alone, and thus encroach on His all-engrossing kingdom. Hence He is ever more ready to punish than to reward, to inflict pain than to bestow pleasure, to ruin than to build. It is His singular satisfaction to make created beings continually feel that they are nothing else than His slaves, His tools, and contempti- ble tools also, that thus they may the better acknowledge His su- periority, and know His power to be above their power. His cun- ning above their cunning. His will above their will. His pride above their pride ; or, rather, that there is no power, cunning, will or pride save His own. But He Himself, sterile in His inacces- sible height, neither loving nor enjoying aught save His own and self-measured decree, without son, companion or counselor, is no less barren for Himself than for His creatures ; and His own barrenness and lone egoism in Himself is the cause and rule of His indifferent and unregarding despotism around. The first note is the key of the whole tune, and the primal idea of God runs through and modifies the whole system and creed that centres in Him. "That the notion here given of the Deity, monstrous and blas- phemous as it may appear, is exactly and literally that which the Koran conveys, or intends to convey, I at present take for granted. But that it indeed is so, no one who has attentively perused and thought over the Arabic text (for there cursory reading, especially in a translation, will not suffice) can hesitate to allow. In fact, every phrase of the preceding sentences, every touch in this odious portrait has been taken, to the best of my ability, word for word, or, at least, meaning for meaning, from 'the Book.' the truest mirror of the mind and scope of its writer. And that such was in reality Mahomet's mind and idea is fully confirmed by the witness-tongue of contemporary tradition. Of this we have many authentic samples : the Saheeh, the commen- taries of Beidhawi, the Mishkat-el-Misabih, and fifty similar works, aft'ord ample testimony on this point." — Quoted in Zwem- er, Moslem Doctrine of God. pp. 65-69 top; Palgrave, Narrative of a Year's Journey through Arabia. APPENDIX C THOMAS PATRICK HUGHES' CHARACTERIZA- TION OF MOHAMMED "The character of Muhammad is a historic problem, and many have been the conjectures as to his motives and designs. Was he an impostor, a fanatic, or an honest man — 'a very prophet of God'? And the problem might have forever remained unsolved had not the prophet himself appealed to the Old and New Tes- taments in proof of his mission. This is the crucial test, estab- lished by the prophet himself. He claimiS to be weighed in the balance with the divine Jesus. "Objection has often been made to the manner in which Chris- tian divines have attacked the private character of Muhammad. Why reject the prophetic mission of Muhammad on account of his private vices, when you receive as inspired the sayings of a Balaam, a David, or a Solomon? Missionaries should not, as a rule, attack the character of Muhammad in dealing with Is- lam ; it rouses opposition, and is an ofifensive line of argument. Still, in forming an estimate of his prophetic claims, we main- tain that the character of ^luhammad is an important considera- tion. We readily admit that bad men have sometimes been, like Balaam and others, the divinely appointed organs of inspiration; but in the case of Muhammad, his professed inspiration sanc- tioned and encouraged his own vices. That which ought to have been the fountain of purity was, in fact, the cover of the prophet's depravity. But how different it is in the case of the true prophet — David — where, in the words of inspiration, he lays bare to public gaze the enormity of his own crimes. The deep contrition of his inmost soul is manifest in every line — T ac- knowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me : against Thee," Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.' "The best defenders of the Arabian prophet are obliged to admit that the matter of Zainab, the wife of Zaid. and again of Mary, the Coptic slave, are 'an indelible stain' upon his mem- ory; that 'he is once or twice untrue to the kind and forgiving disposition of his best nature ; that he is once or twice unrelent- ing in the punishment of his personal enemies ; and that he is 265 2^0 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH guilty even more than once of conniving at the assassination ol inveterate opponents' ; hut they give no satisfactory explanation or apology for all this being done under the supposed sanction of God in the Quran. "In forming an estimate of Muhammad's prophetical preten- sions, it must be remembered that he did not claim to be the founder of a new religion, but merely of a new covenant. He is the last and greatest of all God's prophets. He is sent to con- vert the world to the one true religion which God had before revealed to the five great law-givers — Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus ! The creed of Muhammad, therefore, claims to supersede that of the Lord Jesus. And it is here that we take our stand. We give Muhammad credit as a warrior, as a legis- lator, as a poet, as a man of uncommon genius raising himself, amidst great (Opposition. to the pinnacle of renown; we admit that he is, without doubt, one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen ; but when we consider his claim to supersede the mis- sion of the divine Jesus, we strip him of his borrowed plumes, and reduce him to the condition of an impostor ! For whilst he has adopted and avowed his belief in the sacred books of the Jew, and the Christian, and has given them all the stamp and currency which his authority and influence could impart, he has attempted to rob Christianity of every distinctive truth which it possesses — its Divine Saviour, its Heavenly Comforter, its two Sacraments, its pure code of social morals, its spirit of love and truth — and has written his own refutation and condemnation with his own hand, by professing to confirm the divine oracles which sap the very foundations of his religious system. We follow the prophet in his self-asserted mission from the cave of Hira' to the closing scene, when he dies in the midst of the lamentations of his harim and the contentions of his friends; the visions of Gabriel, the period of mental depression, the contemplated sui- cide, the assumption of the prophetic office, his struggles with Makkan unbelief, his fight to al-Madinah, his triumphant entry into Makkah — and, whilst we wonder at the genius of the hero, we pause at every stage and inquire: 'Is this the apostle of God, whose mission is to claim universal dominion, to the suppression not merely of idolatry, but of Christianity itself?' Then it is that the divine and holy character of Jesus rises to our view, and the inquiring mind sickens at the thought of the beloved, the pure, the lowly Jesus giving place to that of the ambitious, the sensual, the time-serving hero of Arabia. In the study of Islam, the character of Muhammad needs an apology or a defence at every stage ; but in the contemplation of the Christian system, whilst we everywhere read of Jesus, and see the reflection of His image in everything we read, the heart revels in the contempla- tion, the inner pulsations of our spiritual life bound within us at the study of a character so divine, so pure. "We are not insensible to the beauties of the Qur'an as a lite- APPENDIX C 2^^ rary production (although they have, without doubt, been over- rated); but, as \vc admire its conceptions of the Divine nature, its deep and fervent trust in the power of God, its frequent deep moral earnestness, and its sententious wisdom, we would gladly rid ourselves of our recollections of the prophet, his licentious harim, his sanguinary battlefields, his ambitious schemes ; whilst as we peruse the Christian Scriptures we find the grand central charm in the divine character of its Founder. It is the divine character of Jesus which gives fragrance to His words ; it is the divine form of Jesus which shines through all He says or does ; it is the divine life of Jesus which is the great central point in Gospel history. How, then, we ask, can the creed of Muhammad, the son of 'Abdu'llah, supersede and abrogate that of Jesus, the Son of God? And it is a remarkable coincidence that, whilst the founder of Islam died feeling that he had but imperfectly fulfilled his mission, the Founder of Christianity died in the full consciousness that His work was done — 'it is finished.' It was in professing to produce a revelation which should supersede that of Jesus that Muhammad set the seal of his own refutation." — Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism, p. 2; Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, pp. 398 and 399. APPENDIX D LIST OF MISSIONARY SOCIETIES THE PRINCIPAL MISSIONARY SOCIETIES AND BOARDS WORK- ING IN MOSLEM LANDS OR AMONG MOSLEMS, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ARE AS FOLLOWS: American Bible Society (organized, 1816), New York; periodical, Bible So- ciety Record; field, The Levant, Arabia. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (organized, 1810), Boston. Mass.; periodical. Missionary Herald; field, Turkish Empire India. Arabian Mission (organized, 1889), New York; periodicals, Mi,y^zon Field; Neglected Arabia; field, Arabia. Basel Evangelical Missionary Society (1815), Basel, Switzerland; periodical, Der Evangelische Heidenbote; field, West Africa. Bible Lands Missions' Aid Society (1856), London, England; periodical, Star in the East; field, Egypt, Levant, Arabia. Board of Foreign Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church (1889), New York; periodical, I^V or Id-Wide Missions; field, India, Algiers. Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. (1837), New York; periodical. Assembly Herald; field, Syria, Persia, India. Board of Foreign Missions of the United Presbyterian Church of North America (1859), Philadelphia, Pa.; periodical. United Presbyterian Church Record; field, Egypt, India. British and Foreign Bible Society (1804), London, England; periodical, 5i&/^ Society Reporter; field. North Africa, Persia, India, etc. Cambridge Mission to Delhi (1867), Cambridge, England; field, India. Central Morocco Medical Mission (1894), Dennistown, Glasgow, Scotland; field, Morocco. China Inland Mission (1865), Mildmay, London, England; periodical, China's Millions; field, Yunnan Shensi. Christian and Missionary Alliance (1887), New York; periodical. Christian and Missionary Alliance; field, Palestine. Church Missionary Society (1799), Salisbury Square, London, England; pe- riodicals, Church Missionary Gleaner, Mercy and Truth, Church Missionary Review; field, Egypt, Uganda, Persia, Palestine, India, Arabia, East Africa. Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, 27 Chancery Lane, Lon- don, England; periodical, India's IVotnen; 'held, India. Deutsche Orient Mission, near Berlin, Germany; periodical, Der C/trist/ic/ie Orient; field, Bulgaria, Persia. Egypt General Mission (1S98), Belfast, Ireland; periodical, Egypt General Mission News; field. Lower Egypt. Foreign Missions of the United Free Church of Scotland (1900), Edinburgh, Scotland; periodical, United Free Church Record; field, Arabia. 268 APPENDIX D 269 Java Comite (1S55), Amsterdam, Holland; periodical, Geillustrurd Zendings- blad; field, Java. Netherlands Missionary Society (1797)1 Rotterdam, Holland; periodical, Maandbcrichten, Madedeelingen ; field, Java. Netherlands: Union for the Propagation of the Gospel in Egypt (1886), Amsterdam, Holland; field, Egypt. North Africa Mission (1881), London, E. C, England; periodical. North Africa: field, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco. Rhenish Missionary Society, Barmen, Germany; periodical, Missionsblatt Barmen; field, Sumatra. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (1701), London, England; periodicals. The Mission Field, The East and the West; field, East Africa. Southern Morocco Mission (1888), Glasgow, Scotland; periodical. The Reaper; field, Morocco. Soudan Pioneer Mission (1900), Wiesbaden, Germany; periodical, Der Sou- dan Pio7tier; field, Assuan. Universities Mission to Central Africa (1858), London, England; field, Cen- tral Africa. United Soudan Mission ( ), Germantown, Pennsylvania; field, . APPENDIX E SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR REFERENCE AND FURTHER STUDY CHAPTER I On Arabia Before Islam Caussin de Perceval, A. P.— Essai sur I'Histoire des Arabes avant I'lslamisme, pendant I'Epoque de Mahomet, et jusqua la Reduction de toutes les Tribus sous la Loi Musulmaine. 3 vols. Paris, 1902. This is a reprint of the original edition of 1847, and is a mine of infer- mation on the subject; generally reliable and authoritative. Wellhausen, J. — Reste Arabischen Heidentums. Second edi- tion. Berlin, 1897. Critical essays on the idols, the Haj, and the ancient cult of the Arabs, with reference to their literature and the origin of Islam. Grimme, Hubert. — Die Weltgeschichtliche Bedeutung Arabians: Mohammed. Munich, 1904. Gives an account of the Sabean civilization, and shows how much Islam owes to South Arabian monotheism. The map is excellent; there are sixty illustrations. Goldziher, Ignaz. — Mohammedanische Studien. 2 vols. Halle. 1890. Critical essays on the relation between Arabian paganism and Islam, and on Mohammedan tradition. Invaluable to the student, but not easy read- ing. Sale, George. — Preliminary Discourse to the Koran. Printed as Introduction in most editions of Sale's Koran. A brief ac- count and, for the most part, reliable. MuiR, Sir William. — Introduction to his Life of Mahomet. Excellent. ZwEMER, S. M.— Arabia; Cradle of Islam. Chapters XVI and XXIX 270 APPENDIX E 271 On the Sources of Islam Hughes, T. P. — Dictionary of Islam. New York and London, 1885. A reference book of the greatest value for the whole subject, altho writ- ten from an Indian standpoint. For this chapter see articles on Jews, Christianity, and Mecca. Geiger. Rabbi. — Was hat Mohammed aus das Judentum aufgenommen? Wiesbaden, 1833. Translation of the same: Judaism and Islam. Madras, 1898. A prize essay, and full of information on the parallels between the Tal- mud and the Koran. TiSDALL, W. St. Clair. — The Original Sources of the Qur'an. S.P.C.K. London, 1905. The result of many years of study, and the best book on the whole sub- ject. Intensely interesting, and in compact form. Pautz, Otto. — Mohammed's Lehre von der Offenbarung. Leip- zig, i8g8. Contains much new material, and gives references to Moslem writers. Chapter III, on the relation of Islam to ancient paganism and Arabian Christianity, is especially important. For further references, see the footnotes of Pautz. CHAPTER II KoELLE, S. W. — Mohammed and IMohammedanism Critically Considered. London, 1888. By far the best brief biography, and from a missionary standpoint. The book gives a threefold view of Mohammed as seen in the daylight of his- tory, in the moonshine of tradition and in contrast with Jesus Christ, our Saviour. MuiR, Sir William. — Life of Mahomet. 4 vols. London, 1858. Reprinted in abridged form; London, 1897. The best authority in the English language. Exhaustive. Smith, R. Bosvvorth. — Mohammed and Mohammedanism. London, 1876. A strong apology for the prophet, and written in attractive style, but very one-sided. Read with Koelle's book. Sprenger, Aloys. — Das Leben und die Lehre des Moham- med. 3 vols. Berlin, 1865. Also, Life of Mohammed from original sources. Allahabad, 1851. Weil. Gustav. — Das Leben Mohammed. 2 vols. Stuttgart, 1864. Based on the earliest Moslem biography by Ibn Ishak, as found in Ibn Hisham. 2/2 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Ameer, All— The Spirit of Islam; or, The Life and Teach- ings of Mohammed. Calcutta, 1902. Written by an Indian Moslem, Judge of the High Court in Bengal Of considerable literary merit, and perhaps the most clever, though unhistori- cal, apology that could be written by a follower of the New Islam. Marcoliouth, D. S.— Mohammed and the Rise of Islam. Lon- don, 1905. Written by an Oxford professor for the "Heroes of the Nations" series. Neither an apology nor an indictment, but a scholarly and yet popular biography of Mohammed as founder of the Arabian Empire. Well illus- trated, and with good bibliography. The following biographies of Mohammed can also be consulted with profit; nor is the list complete: Sir Walter Raleigh. — The Life and Death of Mahomet. 1637. Gibbon's chapter in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Wellhausen, in Das Arabische Reich und sein Sturz. L. Krehl (1884). — Alohammed. H. Grim me (1892). — Mohammed. Thomas Carlyle. — The Hero as Prophet (in Heroes and Hero- Worship.) Washington Irving (1850).— The Life of Mahomet. George Bush (1844.)— The Life of Mahomet. Marcus Dods, in Mohammed, Buddha, and Christ. 1878. P. De Lacy Johnstone. — Muhammad and His Power. 1901. A. N. Wollaston. — The Sword of Islam. 1905. CHAPTER HI Arnold, T. W. — The Preaching of Islam : A history of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith. Westminster, 1896. The fullest and best account of the spread of Islam from the earliest times until to-day. The author, however, is an apologist for Islam, and tries to show that the sword was not used to any large extent in the propagation of this faith. His arguments are often fallacious. Exhaustive bibliography of nearly three hundred books in many languages. Haines, C. R. — Islam as a Missionary Religion. 1889. A good brief account of the rise and spread of Islam, giving causes of its success. Not quite up to date. Osborn, Major.— Islam under the Arabs. London, 1876. APPENDIX E 273 OsBORN, Major. — Islam under the Khalifs of Bagdad. 1878. These books state the case against Mohammed and Islam very strongly. Good corrective for those who have read Arnold's book. Bonet-Maury, G. — L'Islamisme et le Christianisme en Afrique. Paris, 1906. A splendid monograph on the conflict between Christianity and Islam in Africa from 630 A. D. to the present. Good map. IVluLLER, Dr. a. — Der Islam im Morgen und Abendland. 2 vols. With many maps and beautiful illustrations. Berlin, 1885. The standard work on the history of Arab empire in the E^st and the West. Indispensable to the student of Moslem history. MuiR, Sir William. — The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline and Fall. London, 1897. Best book on the first period of Moslem conquest. Hunter, Sir W. W. — Our Indian Mussulmans. London, 1871. Wherry, E. M. — Islam and Christianity in India and the Far East. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1907. A splendid piece of work; authoritative and up to date. Containing valu- able appendix on the work of the missionary as a preacher to Moslems. De Thiersant, p. D'Abry. — La Mahometisme en Chine. 2 vols. Paris, 1878. The authoritative book on Islam in China. Shedd, W. a. — Islam and the Oriental Churches : Their his- torical relations, Philadelphia, 1904. Covers the period 600-1500 A. D., but deals chiefly with Persia. Im- portant contribution to the history of Moslem propagandism. WoLLASTON, Arthur N. — The Sword of Islam. New York. 1905. A popular account of Islam and the early caliphate. Illustrated. CHAPTER IV On the Whole Chapter Klein, F. A. — The Religion of Islam. London : Trubner & Co., 1906. A scholarly book which gives all the references in the original Arabic, Facts without deductions. Best for missionaries. Sell, E.— The Faith of Islam. Chapter IV. London: Trubner & Co., 1896. Minute and thorough. Valuable for reference. 274 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH TiSDALL, W. St. Clair. — The Original Sources of the Qur'an. S.P.C.K. London, 1905. Traces Moslem beliefs to the original heathen, Zoroastrian, and Jewish sources. Invaluable and compact handbook. On the Moslem Idea of God ZwEMER, S. M.— The Moslem Doctrine of God. A.T.S. New York, 1905. A monograph, from a missionary standpoint. Hauri. — Der Islam in seinem Einfluss auf das Leben seiner Bekenner. Leyden, 1882. Scholarly and unanswerable arguments. Palgrave, W. G. — Narrative of a Year's Journey through Arabia. Vol. I, pp. 365-367- His famous characterization of Allah. A full-length portrait of the God of the Wahabi sect of Islam. Clarke, J. F. — Ten Great Religions. Vol. II, p. 68, etc. Noble, F. P. — The Redemption of Africa. Vol. I, p. 73. On Angels and Jinn The Arabian Nights. (Lane's or Burton's edition.) Hughes, T. P. — Dictionary of Islam. Art. Genii, Angels, etc. Lane. — Manners and Customs of Modern Egyptians. 2 vols. London. On the Koran Sale's Translation for the Introduction ; Palmer's for the text ; Rodwell's for chronological order of the chapters. MuiR, Sir William. — The Coran : Its Composition and Teach- ing. S.P.C.K. London, 1878. A valuable compendium; accurate and brief. Wherry, E. M. — A Comprehensive Commentary on the Qur'an. London, 1882. Very vduable for reference, and has a complete index. On Mohammed (See BibHography of Chapter II.) APPENDIX E 275 On Jesus Christ Hughes. — Dictionary of Islam. Pp. 229-235. ZwEMER, S. M. — Moslem Doctrine of God. Pp. 83-89. Gerock, C. F. — Christologie des Koran. Hamburg, 1839. On Escliatology of Islam Read Chapter X, on the Hell of Islam, in Stanley Lane-Poole's Studies in a Mosque. Klein describes the Moslem paradise, and quotes authorities. Ameer Ali, in The Spirit of Islam. Pp. 227-240. Calcutta, 1902. Gives an apology and attempts to spiritualize or rationalize the orthodox literalism. On Predestination De Vlieger, a. — La Predestination dans la Theologie Musulmane. Leyden, 1902. De Boer, T. J. — History of Philosophy in Islam. London: Luzac & Co., 1903. Gives history of the conflict between the orthodox and rationalistic par- ties in Islam. CHAPTER V On the Whole Chapter Same as for Chapter IV. Also Sale's Preliminary Discourse to his translation of the Koran. Ameer, All — The Spirit of Islam. Part II. Calcutta, 1902. This book explains the practical duties from the standpoint of the New Islam. Lane-Poole. — Studies in a Mosque. London, 1883. Very interesting and reliable account of outward observances. On Tradition Muir, Sir William. — Life of Mahomet. Introduction. KoELLE, S. W. — Mohammed and Mohammedanism. London, 1894. Best account extant. 2y6 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH Pautz. Otto. — Muhammeds Lehre von der Offenbarung quellen- massig untersucht. Leipzig, 1898. Scientific, and full of references to original authorities. On Prayer Hughes. — Dictionary of Islam. (Art. Prayer.) Hamid Snow. — The Prayer-book for Moslems. Lahore: Is- lam.ia Press, 1893. Prayer-book of the New Islam. On Legal Alms Baille, N. B. E. — Mohammedan Law. London, 1869. On the Pilgrimage BuRCKHARDT, J. L. — Travels in Arabia. 2 vols. London, 1830. Burton, R. — Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El Medina and Mecca. London, 1857 and later. As interesting as a novel; accurate and illustrated. To be found in every good library. HuRGRONjE, Snouck. — Mekka, mit bilder Atlas. 2 vols. The Hague, 1888. Encyclopedic. Beautiful quarto photographs of scenes in Mecca. HuRGRONjE, Snouck. — Het Mekkaansche Feest. Leyden, 1880. A philosophical prize paper on the origin of the Pilgrimage ceremonies. On Jihad Speer, R. E. — Missions and Modern History. Vol. II, pp. 441- 384. Revell & Co., 1904. An account of the Armenian massacres. CoLQUHOUN, Archibald R. — Pan-Islam (in North American Review for June, 1906). Also the literature on the Mahdi in the Soudan, in Somali- land, and the present agitation in Morocco. CHAPTER VI On the IV hole Chapter Speer, Robert E. — Missionary Principles and Practice. Chapter XXIV. New York: Revell & Co. Gives a picture of conditions in Persia. APPENDIX E 277 The Mohammedan World of To-day. Chapters II, VI, VII, IX and XIII. New York : Revell & Co. Hauri, Johannes. — Der Islam in seinem Einfluss auf das Leben seiner Bekenner. Leyden, 1880. Authoritative and philosophical. Jessup, H. H.— The Mohammedan Missionary Problem. Phil- adelphia, 1889. Succinct and strong. Hamilton, C. — The Hedaya : A Commentary on Moslem Law. Translated. Edited by Grady. London, 1890. The best text-book on the subject. Gives details of laws on rnarriage, divorce, slave-trade, usury, and the whole subject of criminal and civil law. On Mohammed as an Ideal (See Bibliography of Chapter II.) On Islam and the Decalogue Kellogg's Handbook of Comparative Religion. Pp. 1 16-124. On Polygamy, Divorce and the Degradation of Wom,en Our Moslem Sisters: An account of the conditions of woman- hood in all Moslem lands ; written by missionaries. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1907. Perron. — Femmes Arabs avant et depuis ITslamisme. Paris, 1858. Excellent. Jessup, H. H. — Women of the Arabs. New York, 1874. Interesting, and not yet out of date. De Regla, Paul. — Theologie Musulmane. El Kitab des lois secretes de I'Amour. Translated from the Arabic. Paris, 1906. Reveals all "the hidden depths of Satan" in Mohammedan morals. Any- one who doubts the moral degradation of Islam and its Prophet is referred to books such as this. On Slavery Blyden, E. W. — Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race. Lon- don, 1888. A strong plea for the superiority of Islam in its treatment of the negro. Missionary Reviezu of the World, June, 1899. Article on The Present Centre of the Slave Trade. Hughes. — Dictionary of Islam. Article on Slavery. 278 ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH CHAPTER VII On the Whole Chapter Sell. — The Faith of Islam. Chapter III. Hughes. — Dictionary of Islam. Articles on Sects and on the various sects by name. De Boer^ T. J. — History of Philosophy in Islam. Translated by E. R. Jones. London : Luzac & Co., 1903. Best book on the subject, and very interesting reading. On the Sunnis (All works on Islam, when not specified, describe the teaching of this, the orthodox sect.) On the Shiahs Malcolm. — History of Persia. 2 vols. 1815. Merrick, James L. — The Life and Religion of Mohammed. Boston, 1850. A translation of the Shiah Traditions. Unique and reliable, but rare. On Suiiism Whjnfield, E. H. — Masnavi-i-Manavi, the Spiritual Couplets of Jalal-ud-din. Translated and abridged. London : Trub- ner & Co., 1898. A compendium of Sufi lore and teaching; full of interesting anecdotes and clever stories. A Mohammedan Brought to Christ: Autobiography of the late Rev. Imad-ud-Din, D.D. Twenty-two pages. C.M.S. Lon- don, 1900. A remarkable human document. The Derwish Orders Brown, John P.— The Derwishes, or Oriental Spiritualism. London : Trubner & Co., 1868. The standard work on the subject in English, especially on ritual. Petit, R.. P. Louis.— Les Confreries Musulmanes. Paris Librairie, B. Bloud, 1902. An interesting and brief account; up to date, and with good bibliography. Jansen, Hubert. — Verbreitung des Islams. Berlin, 1897. Gives statistics and location of all the various orders of Derwishes. APPENDIX E 279 On the Babis Speer, R. E. — Missions and Modern History. Vol. I, pp. 118- 182. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1904. A full and fair account, with references and very valuable notes by other authorities. (See also Sell's Faith of Islam.) On the IVahahis ZwEMER. — Arabia, pp. 190-200. Also, The Wahabis : Their Origin, History, Tenets and Influence in Victoria Institute Journal; volume for 1901. Gives complete bibliography and a chronology of Wahabi Empire. CHAPTER VIII On the Whole Chapter The Mohammedan World of To-day. Being papers read at the First Missionary Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan world, held in Cairo April 4 to 9, 1906. New York : Flem- ing H. Revell Company, 1906. Our Moslem Sisters : A cry from lands of darkness ; interpreted by those that heard it. Edited by Annie Van Sommer and Samuel M. Zwemer. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1907. A series of papers, by missionaries, on the condition of women in every Moslem land. Islam and Christianity in India and the Far East. — By Rev. E. M. Wherry, D.D. Lectures delivered before theological seminaries. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1907. Scholarly and up-to-date account of Islam in India, China, and Malaysia. Valuable historical material. Very readable. Statistics of Population and Distribution of Mohammedatu. Jansen, Hubert. — Verbreitung des Islams. Lithographed and issued in pamphlet form. Berlin, 1897. The statistics are exhaustive and, in most cases, reliable. Bibliography is excellent. Government Census Reports of India. The Statesman's Year Book. Encyclopedia of Missions. The Statistical Tables in the Mohammedan World of To-day. See Appendix. 28o ISLAM : A CHALLENGE TO FAITH CHAPTERS IX, X, XI AND XII Before Raymund Lull Keller, A. — Der Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen den Is- lam bis zur zeit der Kreuzziige. Leipzig, 1896. An account of the attitude of the Christian church toward Islam and the early controversial writings up to the time of the Crusades. Valuable bibli- ography. Thoma, Johannes. — Zwei Biicher gegen den Muhammedanis- mus von Petrus Venerabilis. Leipzig, 1896. A translation of the controversial tracts of Petrus Venerabilis from the Latin, with introduction. Steinscheeider, Moritz. — Polemische und Apologetische Litera- teur in Arabischer Sprache Zwischen Muslimen Christen und Juden. Leipzig, 1877. A history of Moslem and Christian controversial writings from the earli- est times. On Raymund Lull Barber, W. T. A. — Raymond Lull, the Illuminated Doctor. A study in medieval missions. London, 1903. ZwEMER, Samuel M. — Raymund Lull, First Missionary to the Moslems. (Full bibliography.) New York, 1902. Andre, Marius. — Le Bienheureux Raymund Lulle. Paris, 1900. These three biographies, appearing almost simultaneously, give a three- fold portrait of Lull : the first of the philosopher, the second of the mis- sionary, and the third of the Roman Catholic saint and martyr. Other Biographies Smith, George. — Henry Martyn, Saint and Scholar, First Mod- ern Missionary to the Mohammedans. 1781-1812. New York (no date). The best life of Henry Martyn. Eppler, Christopf F. — Dr. Karl Gottlieb Pfander ein Zeuge der Wahrheit unter den Bekennern des Islam. Basel, 1900. A brief biography of Pfander, with portrait. Sinker, Robert. — Memorials of the Hon. Ion Keith-Falmoner, M.A., Lake Lord Almoner's professor of Arabic in the Uni- versity of Cambridge and missionary to the Mohammedans of Southern Arabia. Sixth edition. Cambridge, 1890. Birks, Herbert. — Life and Correspondence of Bishop Thomas Valpy French. 2 vols. London, 1895. APPENDIX E 281 Jessup, H. H. — The Setting of the Crescent and the Rising of the Cross; or, Kamil Abdul Messiah. Philadelphia, 1898. The story of a Syrian convert who became a missionary in Arabia. This interesting volume has been translated into German, Dai.ish, and Dutch. AvvETARANiAN, JoHANNES. — Geschichte eines Muhammedaners der Christ Wurde. Deutsche Orient Mission, Berlin. 1905. Autobiography of a Turkish convert now a missionary to Moslems. 1mad-ud-din. — A Mohammedan Brought to Christ : An au- tobiography translated from the Hindustani by the late Rev. R. Clark ; with appendix and notes. London : Church Mis- sionary Society, 1900. Organized Missionary Work RuTHEjFORD, J. and Glenny, Edward H. — The Gospel in North Africa. Story of the North Africa Mission. London, 1900. Watson, Andrew. — The American Mission in Egypt. 1854-1896. Pittsburg, 1898. Watson, Charles R. — Egypt and the Christian Crusade. Phila- delphia, 1907. Hamlin, Cyrus. — Among the Turks. Prime, E. D. G. — Forty Years in the Turkish Empire. Stock, Eugene. — History of the Church Missionary Society. Zwemer, Samuel M. — Arabia, the Cradle of Islam. New York, 1900. Chapters XXX to XXXVI give the history of missions in Arabia. Barton, James L., D.D., and others. — The Mohammedan World of To-day. Being papers read at the First Missionary Con- ference, on behalf of the Mohammedan world, held at Cairo April 4 to 9, 1906. New York, 1906. A symposium on the present conditions and outlook. For further information on these four chapters, consult the general histories of .missions and the reports and periodicals of the societies given in the Appendix. INDEX INDEX Abadiyah, 141. Abbas, 112. Abbe Hue, quoted, 20. Abd Allah, 13. Abd ul Hak, Sheikh, 224, 225. Abdul Hamid, 165. Abd ul Kader, quoted on sects in Islam, 136; strives to recall Arabs of North Africa, 64. Abd ul Kasim, 147. Abdullah, father of Mohammed, 29; invades Tripoli, 62 Abd ul Muttalib, 9, 29, 33. Abd ul Wahab, 239; quoted, 151. Abd ur Rahman ibn Ausajah, 100. Abraha, leads expedition to Mecca, builds cathedral at Sanaa, 20; de- feated at Koreish, 20, 32. Abraham, 16, 17, 89, 92, 114; first Hanif, 23; place of, no. Abu Bekr, convert to Mohammed, 34. 59. 70, 138; proclaimed Caliph, 58; quoted, 60. Abu Daood, 8, 100. Abu el riassan, 147. Abu el Kasim, 139, 147. Abu Hanifa, 137. Abu Huraira, 104. Abu Ishak, loo. Abu Kabsha, 70. Abu Kiiraib, 100. Abu Soofian, 9. Abu Talib, uncle of Mohammed, 34. Abu Ubaiha, 14. Abyssinia, 63. Achin, 173. Adam, 89, 91, in, 122. Aden, 200, 215. Adi bin Zaid, 8. ^sop, 91, 92. Afehans, 74, 156. Afghanistan, 57, 68, 141, 156, 160, 162. 165, 174, 198, 227, 232, 233, 247; esti' mated Moslem population of, 231 Africa, 58, 61, 155, 156, 161, 192, 193 198, 22S, 229, 231, 237; map of un occupied mission fields, 159; Mo hammedan population of, 157, 205 Moslem situation in, 158; north. i> 57. 138, 227; spread of Islam in, 158, 159; west, 233. Agra, population of, 215. Ahmad al Barzinji al Hasaini, 168 Ahmadabad, population of, 215. Ahmed, Sir Saiyad, Khan of Ali- garh, 179. Aisha, 31, 32. Aitken, Rev. J., quoted, 230. Akaba, 36. Akba, words of, 56; penetrates Mauritania^ 62. Akbar, 75; Emperor, 194. Akka, 148. Alanus de Insulis, 188. Albion, 170. Alchemy, 178. Aleppo visited bv Mohammed, 35; population of, 215. Alexander the Great, 91, 92. Alexandria, 217; population of, 214; taken, 62. Alfarabi, 137. Alfred, 132. Al Ghazzali, 179; philosopher of Sunnis, 137; quoted, 94, 95. Algeciras Conference, 166. Algemeine Missions Zeitschrift, 157. Algeria, 65. Algiers, 56, 165, 170, 176, 204, 209, 215 217. Al Hajaj sends expedition to Daibul, 73- Al Harith, 8. Ali, 31, 132, 135, 138, 140; convert of Mohammed, 34. Al Kindi, quoted, 59, 189. Allah, 50, 57, 60, 61, III, 150; not bound by our standard of justice, 122; occurs frequently in pre- Islamic poetry, 12; place and wor- ship of, 14; speculation on at- tributes of, 141; superior position of, 13; winks at sins of his favor- ites, 122; word not invented by Mohammed, 13. Allahabad, population of, 215. Allahu akbar, 163. Alms, legal, 108; to whom given, 109. A Lo Shan, 70. Ameer, 232, 247. America, 249, 251. American Board, 200. Amina, mother of Mohammed, 29; death of. 34. Amritsar, population of, 215. Amru bin Kulsum, 8. 285 286 INDEX Amru ibn el As invades Egypt. 62. Angels, inferior to prophets, 88; in- tercede for men, 88. Antar, 8. Anti-Christ, 95. Arabia, 1-5, 7, 10, 39, 57, 88. 109, no, 127, 135, 138, 150, 151, 156, 160, 161, 165, 167, 174, 176, 196, 198, 200, 203, 211, 217. 22-j, 233, 239, 246; Central and Eastern, 138; East, 10; gods of, source and knowledge of, \2\ history, two periods of, 2; in sixth and seventh centuries, 3; invaded, 4-5; Mission of, 249; no hope for, in Islam, 152; North, 4; Pagan, 2, 3-5; social conditions of, 5; political unrest of, 5; ready for Christian faith, 19; refuge for re- ligious fugitives, 10; rich in mar- tyrs, 200; South, monuments of, 3; Southwestern, 19. Arabic, 195; language of angels; in- fluence of, 162. 163. Arafat, no; pilgrimage to, 17. Aragon, 191. Aristotle, 137. Arius, 41. Armenia, 161. Armenians, 171, 201. Arnold, T. W., 114; quoted, 71, 76. Arabs, 150, 151, 223, 236; always superstitious, ii; Christian, perse- cuted, 18; difficult to hold in alle- giance, 59; freedom from foreign dominion, 4; immigration, period of greatest. 63; in Africa, 63; in China, 70; non-, 5; pre-Islamic, delight in genealogies, 3; pagan on higher moral plane, 3. Aryan races, 173. Ash Shah-ristani, quoted on pre- Islamic religion, 10. Asia, 158, 160, 162, 202, 218; areas of Moslem population unreached, 231; Central, 69, i37. 227,233, 240; Minor, 57, 160. 165; Western, i. Assam, 75. As Shafi, 137. Assyrians, 4, 15. Astrakhan, 66. Aurangzeb, 75. Australia, 251. Averroes, 132, 137. Avicenna, 137. Ayesha, 136. Ayinah, 149. Azazil, 89. Azerbijan converted to Islam, (>t. B Bab, The, 147, 148; executed by Shah of Persia, 148. Bab Derebah, 128. Babis, I47-I49> 248. Babism, protest against Islam, 148. Babylonians, 4. 15. Bagdad, 147, 150, 162, 199, 200, 244; population of, 215. Bahmanid Mohammed I., 74. Bahrein, 60, 200, 245, 246. Bairam, 113. Baktiyar, Mohammed, 75. Balban, 74. Balk, 68. Baluchistan, 160, 165, 174, 246; esti- mated Moslem population of, 231. Bara ibn Azib, loi. Barbary states, 163. Barkan coast, 64. Barmen Mission, organ of, quoted, 171. Barton, Dr. James L., quoted, 201. Basel, 203; mission, 234. Batta tribes, j-j. Battaks, 205, 22,2. Bedouin, 47, 59, 128, 156, 176. Bedr, 36. Beha'is, 147-149, 248. Beha-Ullah, 148. Beirut, population of, 215. Beirut Press, 245, 246. Beit Allah, 11, 14, 155. Bengal, 126, 212,, 235, 243; Moslems in, 161. Benghazi, 64. Bennett, Mrs. Jessie Vail, 200. Bent, J. Theodore, quoted on slave- trade, 128. Berbers, 49, 156. Bethel, 11. Bible, 103, 179, 248; distribution of, 210; in Moslem tongue, 245; Mo- hammedan, 127; translated, 215; translations of, 164; vernacular, de- mand for, 215, 216. Binwe, dj,. Bizerta, 217. Black Stone, 17, 36, no, 112, 155; pre-Islamic, kissing of, 11; story of, in; veneration of, in. Blunt, Wilfred S., quoted on Shiahs, 140, 152. Blyden, Dr., 131. Bni Abd al Kais, 18. Bni Ghassan, 18. Bni Harith, 18. Bni Kainuka, 15. Bni Koraiza, 15, 37. Bni Nadhir, 15. Bni Saad, 34. Bni Taglib, 18. Bokhara, 68, 69, 160, 218; conquered and converted three times, 68; es- timated Moslem population of, 231; present stronghold of Islam in Central Asia, 6g. Bombay, 228; population of, 214. Bonet-Maury, 61. Borneo, 234. Bosnia, 58. Bosra, Bishops of, present at Nicene Council, 17. INDEX 287 British rule, 169, 170. Brockhaus, "Convers-Lexikon," 157. Kroughton, Hugh, quoted, 40, 41. Bruce, Kev. Robert, 198, 199. Buddhism, 55. Bugiu, liJs, 192, 244- Burckhardt, no. Bulgaria, 200; conquered, 66. Jiunna, 79, 233. Burton, no. Busoga, 236. Busrali, 150, 200, 246. Cairo— University, 58, 172, 237; popu- lation of, 214; literary capital of islam, 22'i; conference of 1906, 71, 157, 248-253; appeal of, 249-253; ex- ecutive committee of, 251. Calcutta, 79, 103, 147. 171. 239, 244; population of, 214. Canada, 251. Canton, 69, i55- Carey, 186, 193. Carlyle, 56. Cawnpore, population of, 215. Celebes, 161. Ceylon, in, 228. Chaldea, 62, 73. China, 55, 103, 155, 156, 157, 162, 173, 186, 227, 232; estimated Moslem population of, 231; first body of Arab settlers in, 70; example of peaceful propaganda by Moslem preachers, 69; Moslems in, 161. Chinese Tartary, 68. Christianity, i, 2, 19, 23, 55, 57. 86, 159. 173. 212, 231, 236, 240; advance of, among Moslems, 217, 218; in- troduced into Arabia very early, 17; Mohammedan objections to, 213; one of the sources of Islam, 21; pre-Islamic, 17-22; widely dif- fused in Arabia at time of Mo- hammed, 18. Christians, 9. iS, H9, 171; persecu- tion of, by the Jev/s, 20. Church, early attitude towards Mos- lems, 187, 188. Church Missionary Society, 191, i99, 200, 203, 2n, 229. Circassians, 176. Circumcision, female, practised by Moslems, 113. Clarke, James Freeman, 198; quoted, 40, 87. Clugny, Abbot of, 189. Coins, Nabathean and South Ara- bian, 6. College, Anglo-Mohammedan, 179; Beirut, 240; Gordon Memorial Bible has no place at, 172; Impe rial, 247; Mohammedan, curricu lum of, 177- Congo, 159, 204, 230, 233. Congo Free State, Moslems in, 158 Constantinople, 50, 65. i47. i99. 237, 244, 245; political capital of Islam, 228; population of, 214; Sultan of, Converts, first from Islam to Chris- tianity, 23; from Islam, 216; story of, 144-146. . Copts, 201, 217; in Egypt, 62. Coronation hymn, author of, 49; of Islam sung by derwishes,49; much literature in regard to, 49; story of writing of, 50. "Cow," The, 127. Creed, confession of, 102, 103; one of the chief factors in rapid spread of Islam, 103: use of, 102; use a strength to Islam, 103; watch- word of Islam, 102. Crete becomes Moslem, 65. Cromer, Lord, report of, on Pan- Islamism, 237; quoted, 239. Crusades, 187; Christian reply to challenge of Islam. 185. Curtis, William, in "Syria and Pales- tine," 157- Curzon, Lord, quoted, 244- Cyprus, 148; in the hands of Sara- cens, 65- Dahir, 73- ^ Damascus, 4. 60, 68, no; population of, 214; visited by Mohammed, 35. Danish Church, 200. Dante, 188. Dante's "Inferno," 95. Dar ul Harb, 167. Dar ul Islam, 167. Dayaks, 234. Deccan, 73, 76. Delhi, 74, 254; population of, 214. Denmark, 251. De Thiersant, 71. Derwish orders, 58, 62, 146, 147; in- fluence of, widespread, 147; power- ful factor in present day Islam, 146; used by Sultan, 147. Derwishes, 177; active to-day, 64; thirty-two orders of, 147; ^wo classes of, 147- Dhov/s, 128. Diarbekr, 162. Din, Dr. Imad ud, 99; quoted, 144- 146. Dirhem, 122. Ditch, battle of, 37- Divorce, 126; right of, 7- Dixey, Rev. A. D., 234. Dods, Marcus, 41, 114. Doughty, Chas. M., quoted, 129, i74- Dozv, 15, "o. Dutch Colonial Government, present attitude of, 173. 205, 237- East Indies, 233. Education, at Mecca, 177. 178; cap- stone of, 178; in Persia, 178. INDEX Educational institutions, use of, 21T. Egypt, 3, 56, 57, 61, 63, no, 115, 161, 165, 170, 173, 176, 181, 198, 201, 203, 204, 210, 211, 226. 236, 238, 246; be- comes a dependency, 62; Christian civilization in, 62, 63; lower, 137; lower, Moslem population in, 228; upper, 138. Egyptian, 4, 156, 2ZT. El Burda, 49, 50. El Jahiliya, 2. El Moeyid, 237. Elmslie, 198. El VVakidi, quoted, 58, 59. Emperor Hsuan-Tsung, 70. England, 167, 179; King of, 169. Euphrates, 10. Europe, 192, 249. Evangelization of the Mohammedan world, 22y22(i. Ezelis, 148. Ezra, 92. Ez-Zahir, extracts from, 168; quoted, 115. F Ears converted to Islam, (>■]. Famgusta, 148. Fasting, month of, 107; those ex- empt from, 108; voluntary, 108. Fatimah, 94. Feast of sacrifice, 113, 114. Feasts and festivals, 113. Ferdinand and Isabella, edict of, 65. Fez, 205, 217; population of, 215. Fezzan, 65. Finns, 58. France, 167, 251. French, Bishop, 198, 200, 254. French Minister of Interior, quoted, 170. French Republic, 239. Fresnel, 3. Freytag, 6. 1 G Geiger, Rabbi Abraham, 16, 17. , Geneva, 237. Genii. See Jinn. Germany, 167, 187, 239, 251. Ghadir, 138. Ghalia, 141. Ghassan, 4; tribes of, pre-Islamic, 18. Ghazzali, quoted, 127. ,Ghengis Khan, 70. IChiyas ul Lughat, 136. 'Ghulam Haider, 232. Giaour, 64. ; Gibbon, 86; quoted, 66. Glaser, Edward, 21. Goa, 186, 194. Gobat, Samuel, 203. God, 89; books of, 89; Mohammed's idea of, deistic, 87; Moslem idea of, 86; Moslem conception of, neg- ative, 86, 87; Moslem search after, 144-146; truce of, 9. Gods compared with genii, 11; indi- viduality of, n. Gordon, 198. Goldziher, 2. Grant, 202. Great Britain, 239, 251. Greeks, 5, 15, 201. Grimme, 6. Guebars, 112. H Hafiz, 144. Haidarabad, population of, 214. Haig, F. T., 200. Haines, quoted, ^2, yj. Hajj, no. Hajjaj bin Jusuf, 75. Hamza joins Islam, 36. Hanbali, 150. Hanbalites, 138. Hanifism, 23. Hanifite, 137. Hanifs, 22-24; belief of, 2^; con- vinced of the folly of the old re- ligion, 23; teachings of, 2^; piety of, 24; prevent slaying of female infants, 24. Hanotaux, M. G., quoted, 170. Happer, 71. Haramain, origin of Moslem terch- ing about, 11. Harem, 14, 114; did not prevail be- fore Islam, 6. Harun, 132. Harut, 89. Hassan, 140. Hastings, Warren, 168. Hatim, 6. Hauri, Johannes, 86, 87, 95. Hausa, 163. Hausas, 156. Heber, 92. Hegira, 5, 9, 10, 12, 36, 69, 136; 7th year, 37; 8th year, 38. Hejaz, 16; estimated Moslem popu- lation of, 231; tribes of, 10. Hell, Moslem, 95. Heraclius, Emperor, 5. Hildebert, quoted, 188. Himalayas, 163, 247. Himyar accepts Christianity, 19. Himyarite dynasties in Yemen, 3. Hindu Kush, 232. Hinduism, 55. Hindus, 74, 175. Hindustani, Arabic words in, 163. Hira, 36; yields to Persia, 4. Hirah, 19. Hirschfeld, quoted, 14. Hisb ul bahar, 145. Hodaibiya, 38. Holland, 251. Hooper, 198. Hormuz, 60. Howra, population of, 215. Hud, 92. Hughes, 198. INDEX 289 Hurgronje, Dr. C. Snouck, no, 128. Husain, 140. Husain, Mohammed, quoted, 115. Hypnotism, 146. I Ibn al Kelbi, 12. Ibn Ishak, 5 13, 46; quoted, 23; quoted on Ubaidullah bin Jahsh; witness of, 23. Ibn Hanbal, 137. Ibn Hisham, 13, 46, 50. Ibn Khaldun, 63. Ibn Khalikan, quoted, 20. Ibn Malik, 137. Ibrahim, 21 ; death of, 38. Iddah, 230. Idols of Arabia, list of, 12. Idris, Q2. 'Id ul Azha, 113. 'Idu ul Fitr, 113. Illiteracy of Islam, 176-179. 'Ilm ul Feroo'a, 99. Ilm ul Usool, 99. Imam, 139; doctrine of, 139. Imamate, 139, 147. Imams, 139, 140. I man, 85, 99. Immorality of Moslem priesthood, 174- Imru al Kais, 8. India, 19, 57, no, 115, 141, 161, 170, 173. 174, 179, 198, 211, 226, 227, 235, 237y 243, 254; central, western and southern, 76; condition of country favorable to Saracen invaders, 73; Moslems in, 161, 171; northern, 73, 137; southern, 55, 137, 233; stronghold of Moslems, 72. Indies, Dutch Elast, Moslems in, 161. Indus, 73. Infanticide (female), custom of, 5. Injil, 89. Irak, 75. Isa, 143. Ishmael, 17, 92, 114. Islam, 5, 52, 55, 56, 59, 69, 140, 142, 158, 186, 195, 210, 224, 231; accepted by various Arabian tribes, 38 alarmed, 235; as a religion doomed 225; challenge to the faith, i, 243 255; church's attitude toward, 187 code of, 2; a composite religion not an invention, 24; conquest of time for, 255; coronation hymn of 49; crosses the Sahara, 63; divi sion, anticipated by Mohammed, 136; division, disintegration and reform, 135-152 • early missionaries of, 60; elements of, 86; enters Europe early, 65; enters Central Asia, 68; enters Java, 76; enters Spain, 65; entrance of, into Per- sia, 67; ethics of, 1 19-132; expla- nation of spread of, 29; fair trial of, 129; faith of, 85-96; day of judgment, 94; doctrine of the angels, 87-89; predestination, 95; genesis of, i; geographical de- scription of, 157; a great commis- sion of the apostle of, 58; history of the spread of not without sig- nificance, 78; illiteracy of, 176-179; in Africa, 158; in Asia, 160; in Europe, 160; indications of the dis- integration of, 148; intellectual awakening of, 179-11*2; interest of, 1; introduced in Southern India, 75; Jesuits of, 64; Judaism plus Mohammed, 17; languages of, 156, 162; literary languages of, 165; meaning ot, 99; a missionary re- ligion, 55-58; modern missionary efforts of, 58; most brilliant ad- vance ot, 75; new, 179, 246; failure of, 180; not an invention, 86; not introduced by Koran alone, loi; origin and sources of, 1-25; other sects of, 141; pantheism of force, 87; peril of, not a cause for dis- couragement, 243; philosophy of, 95; plans world empire, 167; po- litical divisions of, 165-167; popu- lation of, 156, 157; power of ex- ample, 78; present extent of, 155; present growth in China, 70, 71 ; present political unrest in, 167; regarded a negligible factor in China, 71 ; religion for Arabia, 129; revival of, 62; ritual of, re- ligion of good works, 99; rule of, 3; result of rule, 130; second at- tempt to conquer Europe, 66; six articles of, 86; social bankruptcy of, 129; societies for the defence of 235; sources of, 86. Spread of, 55-81 : by influence of kings and princes, 69; "Battle of the Chains," 61; Bni Temim, expedition against, 60 ; Damascus taken, 60 ; due to the power of the sword and low moral standards, 78; fall of Jerusa- lem, 60 ; in Arabia and Syria, 58 ; in China, 69; in Europe, 65; in India, 72; in Malay Archipelago, 76; in Persia and Central Asia, 67-69; in west Africa, 233, 234; most re- markable fact, political sway not synonymous with conversion, 61 ; not past history, 77; Yemen sub- jectea,6o. Success in India, 75; stronghold of, 157; system of, 171; three periods of conquest of, 5^58; various elements of, recognizable to this day, 25; world conquest of, begun with sword; 58; a world-wide religion, 155, 156; yielding ground, 248; final word to Europe, 224, 225. Ispahan, 199. Israfil, 88. 290 INDEX Iswad, 39. Italy, 163. J Jabariyah, 141. Jahangir, 75, 194. Takut's "Geographical Lexicon," 12. Jansen, Hubert, "Verbreitung des Islams," 157. Japan, 170, 1S6, 247. Jarabub, 64. Jauf, 4. Java, 48, 57, 79, 147, 155, 161, 162, 164, 170, 172, 205, 218, 226; converts in, 206; population of, 206; present situation in, 77. Jebel, Tarik, 56. Jehan, Shah, 75, 76. Jehennom, 95. Jemaa Sahrij, 217. Jerusalem, 60, 189, 215; distance from Mecca, 1. Jessup, Dr. H. H., 248. Jesuits, 78; Society of, 194. Jesus Christ, 42, 51. 87, 91, 92, 139, 141, 143, 191, 192, 193, 210, 212, 217, 218, 227, 243; Gospel of, 230; love of, 243; Moslem belief concerning, 93; not crucified, 93; public con- fession to be encouraged, 213; re- ligion of, 20, 131, 132, 232. Jethro, 92. ews, 9, 149, 188, 201 ; expedition against, 37; in Arabia, 15-17; nu- merous and povk^erful in time of Mohammed, 15; obstacle to early spread of Christianity, 19; settled in Arabia, 10; settled in Mecca at time of David, 15; societies for the conversion of, 186. Jiddah, iii, 129. Jihad, 151, 167; a new, 150; war against infidels, 114-116. Jinn (genii), 88, 178; belief in uni- versal, II. John Damascenus, 188. John of Damascus, 191. Johnstone, quoted on source of evi- dence against Mohammed, 45. Jones, 187. Jordan, quoted, 246. "Journal of the Asiatic Society," 71. Judaism, 41, 55, 86; embraced by Arabs, 15. K Kaab bin Zuhair, life of, 50; poem of, 50. Kaaba, 9, 13, 16, 32, 36, 86, no, 138, 172, 228; Arabian Pantheon, 10, 24; its Black Stone, in; meaning of, III. Kabyles, 156, 217. Kadariyahs, 64, 141. Kaf, 88. Kafiristan, 231. Kafirs, 232. Karachi, population of, 215. JS.asim, 73. Keane, A. H., 71. Keith-Falconer, Ion, 199, 200, 209, 254- Kelat State, 174. Keller, quoted, 187, 189. Kerbala, 113. Kerman converted to Islam, 67. Kermanshah, 199. Khadijah, 6, 44; favorably disposed to Hanifism, 34; key to the first period of Mohammed's life, 41. Khaibar, 4, 15. Khalid, 38, 60, 62, 67, 239; letter to Hormuz, 60; orders whole tribe slain, 38; rebuked, 38. Khansu, 155. Khartoum, 172, 239. Khawariji, 141. Khedive, 64. Khiva, 69, 160; estimated Moslem population of, 231. Khizar, 143. Khorasan converted to Islam, 67. Khosroes, 57; of Persia, become Christians 380 A. D., 19. Kinanah, tribes of, 13. King of Ternate, 76. Kirman, 199. Kiswa, sacred, 172. Kitab el Asnam, 12. Klein, 198. Koelle, quoted, 22, 41, 123, 136; on character of Khadijah, 33. Koran, The, 15, 19, 23, 35, 36, 40, 46, 50, 51, 52, 79, 80, 85, 86, 88-91, 100, 122, 137, 150, 177, 178, 196, 210, 212, 232, 248; Arabic, sealed book to most Moslems, 210; chapter of "The Elephant," 20; defects of, 91; first translated into Latin, 189; in- ferior to sacred books of other na- tions, 91; in two languages, 164; Moslem translations of, 164; not a religious system in, 135; praised, 52; quoted, 13, 90; titles of, 89; translation of, not permitted in China, 165; uncreated, eternal, 89; unintelligible, 90. Kordo, 63. Koreish, 16, 36; advance on Medina, 27; defeat the Moslems at Ohod, 37; tribes of, 13. Koreishites, 5. Krishna, 187. Kubattein, 112. Kuenen, 111. Kufa, 18. Kumm, 230. Kurds, 176. Kuteiba, 68. Kwangtung, 72. Labid, 8. Laborers, need of, 215, 226. INDEX 291 Lagos, 158. Lahore, 79, 115, 194; Bishop of, quoted, 253; population of, 214. Lake Chad, 63. Laymen's movement in Islam, 80. Leo the Fourth, 65. Levant, 167. Libyan oases, 65. Literature, Mohammedan, in Persia, 67; pre-Islamic, 8, 9. Livingstone, 163. Locusts, parable of, 240. Loewenthal, Isidor, 254. Lokman, 91, 92. London, 181, 2^, 244. Loomis, 221- Loyola, 152. Lucknow, population of, 214. Lull, Raymund. 123, 191-194, 195, 209, 244, 254; compared with Paul, 191; first missionary to Moslems, 191; quoted, 185, 186. Lyall, quoted, 73. Lyman, 204. M Maan, 4. ^Macedonians, 4. Madras, population of, 214. JMahdi, €2, 139, 239. Mahdis of Soudan, 115. Mahdist movement, 64. Mahmud, 74. ]\Iajorca, Island of, 191. Makran converted to Islam, (>j. Malabar, 228. Malay Archipelago, 58, no, 138, 237. Malumat, 2Z'j. Mansur, 189. Mapillas, increase of, 233. Mardin, 162." Mareb, 21. Margoliouth, Prof. D. S., quoted on the demoralizing- effects of Mo- hammed's teachings, 43. Maronites, 201. Marriage, kind of slavery, 127; de- grading, 127; temporary, 7, 127, 140; two kinds in vogue, 7. Martensen, defines Christian ethics, 119. Martyn. Henry, 185, 190, 195-198, 209, 216, 244, 254, 255. Martyr, Lull, 193; pre-Islamic Chris- tian, 20. Marut, 89. Marwa, 17, no. Masnavi, 144. Mr.via converted to Christianity, 18. Maximus Tyrius, quoted, 112. Mecca, 3, 4, 5, 9, 14, 22, 29, 32, 34, 38, 43. lly 78, 79. 1 10, III, 128, 138, 150, 172. 173, 177, 178, 244; centre of Pagan Arabia, 10; centre of pilgrimage, one-seventh of human race, 155; distance from Jerusalem, i; hot-bed of immorality, 113; im- portance of, 4; Moslem pilgrimage to, pre-Islamic practice, 11; on the streets of, 156; pilgrim popu- lation of, 156; pilgrimage to, 109- III ; railway, 244; religious capital of Islam, 228; Mohammed renews hostilities at, 38; true to Islam, 59. Meccan pilgrims, 58. Meccans, hostility of, towards Mo- hammed, 36. Medina, 4, 9, 14, 15, 18, 22, 29, 36, 94, 150, 173; true to Islam, 59. Meinhof, Prof. Carl, 235. Merrick, Rev. J. L., 199. Meshad AH, 113. Mesopotamia, 18, 141, 160; con- quered, 4. Methodist Episcopal Church, 200. Milan, 191. Miller, Dr. W. R., quoted, 158. Mills, Samuel J., 222,. Mina, 17, no. Mindanao (Philippines), estimated Moslem population of, 231. Mirza AH Mohammed, 148. Mirza Ibrahim, 199. Mirza Yahya, 148. Missionaries, call of, must not fall on deaf ears, 253; Catholic, 186; in Persia and Arabia, 198-200; in Sou- dan, 230. Missionary, first, to the Mohamme- dans, 185; revival, 186. Missions, Christian, hindered by the British, 172; Encyclopedia of, quoted, 157, 201; in India, 195; in ^Malaysia, 204-206; in North Africa, 203, 204; in Turkish Empire, 200- 203; medical, opportunities for, 246; methods and results of. 209- 219; pica for. 131; United Soudan, 230; what they imply compared with Moslem attitude, 79. Miswak, 105. ^[izan ul Hak, 198. Mogul Emoire, 75. ;Moguls of India, rise of, 57. Mohammed, i, 2. 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 48, 52, 86, 87, 89, Q2, 99, 104, 107, 210, 218, 27,7, 248; absolves Moslems from league with idolaters, 38; apotheo- sis of, 46-^10; aristocratic standing of, zz; begins to preach, 36; birth of, 29; exact date unknown. 34: builds great mosque. 36; character of, 40-46; confused in functions of prophet with politician and preacher, 61 ; confusion in regard to the decalogue, 125; complete maniac at times, 42; composes early chapters of Koran, 36; dies in Aisha's lap, 39; driven out of Taif, 36; enters Mecca, destroys idols in the Kaaba. 38; epileptic fits of, 41; factors in life of, 32-34; 292 INDEX first Arab to make war in sacred month, 9; first contact with Chris- tians, according to tradition met the monk, Buhaira, 35; first con- vert of, his wife, 34; first con- verts 36; first period of his life, 34-36; first pitched battle of, 36; at first sincere, 41; flees to Medina, 36; final pilgrimage of, 39; formed alliance with Jews, 15; at forty- turns to contemplation, 36; four factors prominent in life of, 32, 33; had dealings with Bishops of the Church, 22; ignorant of man's fall and nature of sin, 22; indebtedness to Christianity, 22; indebted to Judaism, 16; influence of, his wife, Khadijah, 33; importance of name of, 47; Jewess attempts to poison, 38; last marriage, 38; legalized temporary marriages, 37; life af- fairs of, 44; man of genius, 25, 30; man of great talents, 32; marches against Khaibar, 37; married at twenty-five, 34; married to Zainab, 37; marries fifth and sixth wives, 37; marries Khadijah, 35; Moslem portrait of, by Kamal ud Din ad Damiri, 30-32; name of, 30; not an atoner, 120; not wholly ignorant of Christian faith, 20, 21; nursed by Halimah, 34; of history, 92; of later tradition sinless and divine, 45, 46; of tradition above Jesus in honor, 92; personal appearance of, 39; poetical reference to his up-bringing, 35; the prophet, 29-52; quoted, 13, 58, 155; on sin, 121; received call to be a prophet in cave of Hira, 36; received revela- tions at forty, 34; resolves to at- tack Mecca, 38; rival prophets of, 39; second period in life of, 36; seriously wounded, 37; sincerity of, a disputed question, 42; sources of information concerning, 40; spirit of Jesus absent from the mind of, 42; stains on the char- acter of, 43; taken at six to Me- dina, 34; taken under care of his uncle, Abu Talib. 34; takes impor- tant part in renewing old federa- tion at Mecca, 35; at thirty-five settles dispute in regard to loca- tion of Black Stone in reconstruc- tion of Kaaba, 36; titles of honor of, 46; at twenty-five, in service of Khadijah, 35; turned back from Mecca, 38; under care of his grandfather, 34; violates his own laws, 44; visits Busra, Aleppo, Damascus, 35; wars against Asad and Jews of Bni Nazir, 37; wives of, 44; writes letters to foreign kings and princes, 37; youth une- ventful, 35. Mohammed bin Abd ul Wahab, 149- ^ 151- Mohammedan literature, missiona- ries ignorant of, 254. Mohammedan loss of political power, 167. Mohammedan methods in China, 71-72. Mohammedan population, 156, 157. Mohammedan religious literature influenced by Christianity, 51. Jklohammedanism, 115; stronghold of, 157- Mohammedans, 175; under American flag, 232. Moharram ceremonies, 140. Moluccas, 76. Monk, Christian, in pre-Islamic po- etry, 18. Monotheism of Mohammed, a de- parture, 87; displaces polytheism, 19. Moors, 156. Morocco, I, 48, 56, 62, 88, 163, 165, 166, 174, 204, 211. Moseilama, 60. Moslem, 149; aggression, 234; cities occupied by Protestant missions, 214. Moslem conquest, extent of, 55, 56; high-water mark of in Europe, 66; reaction against crusades, 62; rea- son for the limit of, 66. Moslem ethics, basis of, 119; five duties of, 99. Moslems gained foothold in Southern Italy, 66; how to reach, 209; imitat- ing missionary methods, 245; in- creasing in numbers, 233; in Ben- gal 75; in Behar, 75; in Western China, 70; massacre in China, 70; missions among, 1S6; neg- lected, 185-187, 201; number of, in Africa, 66; in Asia, 66; in China, 71; in India, 75; resolutions of, 171; peril, 233-237; reach Atlantic, 62; small number of, in Europe, 66; under Christian rule, 166, 244; world, present condition of, 155- 182; writers, 2. Muallakat, 8. !Muezzin, 106, 163. Mufti, 180. Muir, Sir William, 41, 123, 136; quoted, 4, 16, 59, 124; on the death of Mohammed, 39. Mujtahids, 140. Mukawkas, 62. Multan, 73. Munkar, 88. Munson, 204. Musailimah, 39. Muscat, 196, 200, 215. Mustapha Pasha Kamil, quoted, 181. Muta'a, 140. Mysticism, Aryan, 142; Mohamme- dan, 142. INDEX 293 N Nabathean Kingdom, 4. Nachla, 9. Najiyah, 136. Nakir, 8S. Nehavend, battle of, 67. >>'ejd, 150, 173. Nejran, 7, 11, 18, 20. Nestorians, 199, 201, 202. Nestorius, 41. Netherlands, 167. New Ciuinea, 162. Newton, 132. New Zealand, 251. Niger, 159, 204, 230; region, 63. Nigeria, 233. Nile, 128, 158, 181, 203; tribes, 236; upper, 230. Noble, 86. Noldeke, 6. Noman Abu Kamus melts statue of Venus, 19. Norway, 251. Nupe, 231; country, 158. Occupied and unoccupied lands, 226. Ohod, 37. Okatz, 8, 176. Oman, 60. Oman Arabs, 58; traders, 63. Omar, 38, 94, 138; joins Islam, 36. Omar Khayyam, 96. Ormuz, 3. Osama, 39, 59. Osborn, 86, 95. Othman, 5, 138; pilgrim to Mecca, Ottoman Turks, 66; rise of, 57. Ottomans, 57. Paganism in Arabia, 2; reasons for the decline of, 14. Palgrave, 86, 174; quoted, 87, 130; on pre-Islam, 8. Palestine, 16, 162, 200; conquests of, 15- Palma, Cornelius, 4, 191. Pan-Islamism, 237-240, 246; to be met with Pan-Evangelism, 240. Pantheism. 141. Paradise, Moslem, 94; river of, 30. Paris, 237, 244. Patna, population of, 215. Pearse, George, 204. Peking, Moslems in, 161. Pelly, Sir Lewis, quoted, 135. Perceval, Caussin de, 18; quoted on date of birth, 34. Perkins, 202. Perron, 3. Persia, i, 55, 57, 69, 88, 135, U7, 156, 160, 165, 167, 178, 196, 198, 199, 201, 210, 211, 217, 227, 233, 246, 247; con- quest of, greater significance for future of Islam, 67; education a fad in, 247; fate of. decided, 67; home of Mohammedan rationalism and mysticism, 142; source of weakness to Islam, 67; southern, estimated Moslem population of, 231; western, 62. Persians, 4, 5, 15, "2, 140, 142, 156. 164, 195; defeated at Kadesia, 60. Peshawar, 215. Peters, Carl, quoted, 239. Pfander, Karl Gottlieb, 198, 209. Philippines, 58, 161; Moslems in, 162. Philosophv, Greek, 137; Indian, 142; new, opposed by Sunnis, 137. Pilgrims, no; prayer, 4, no. Pilgrimage, ceremonies of, no; to Mecca prevented, 38; to the tombs of saints, 113. Plato, 137. Polo, Marco, 68, 70, 187. Polygamy, 126; practised, 7; results of, 175; tremendous power in spread of Islam, 126. Polyandry practised, 7. Polytheism. Arabian, 10-15; belief in, pre-Islamic, 13. Poona, population of, 215. Portugal, 78, 194- Post, George E., 240. Prayer, call to, 106; direction of, 104; effect nullified, 106; first re- quirement of correct, 104; five proper times for. 106; importance of posture in. 106; Moslem, vain repetition, 103; persistent and sin- cere, 104; the words of, 106. Preaching, 2n ; subject of, 212; use and methods of, 2n. Presbyterian Church, 200. Prophets, 8, 91- Punjab, 210, 216; Moslems in, 75, 161. Pushtu, 164. Q 8ueen's College, Cambridge, 194. _uetta, 215, 246. Rabi'-al-Awal, 32. Kajputs, 73. Ramazan. 99, 107, 108, 113- Rangoon, population of, 214. Ras Benas, 128. Red Sea, 15, 128, 233. Reformation compared with Wahabi, Reformed Presbvterian Church, 200. Religion, 55, n6; of Mohammed, inadequacy of, 173; pillars of, 99. Renan, 163. Rhenish Missionary Society, 205. Rhodes in the hands of Saracens, 65. Richmond-on-the-Thames, 199. Rio de Oro, 163. 294 INDEX R9binson, quoted on Mohammedan- ism, 130. Rome, 4; sacked by Arabs, 65. Rouse, 243. Russia, 58, 6g, 155, 162, 167, 199, 232; Asiatic, 69; in Caucasus, estimated Moslem population of, 231; in, Central Asia, estimated Moslem population of, 162, 231. Saab, 112. Sa'adi, poems of, 144. Saa-Saa, 6. Sabeans, 19; star-worshippers, 10. Sacrifices, pre-Islamic, without fire, Safa, 17, no. Safiyah, Z7, 43- Sahara, 62, 163, 228. Saiyad Amir Ali, 114. Sale, 3. Salih, 92. Samarkand, 68. Sanaa, 4, 15, 20. Saracen, attack Bokhara, 68; hatred of, for Christians, 187, 188; inva- sion of Persia, 67. Sayyad Sulayman, 71, 72. Schreiber, Dr., quoted on Malaysia, 205. Sejestan converted to Islam, 67. Sell, Canon, quoted on Imamate, 139- Semites, 173. Senegambia, 65. Senusi Brotherhood, driven from ^lecca, 64; latest missionary force of Moslems, 64, 65; origin of, 64; profess to aspire to no political aim, 65. Seyid Amir Ali, 40. Shafite, 138. Shah of Persia, 147, 247; son-in-law, quoted, 247. Shaiki sect, 147. Shathalis, 248. Shebin el Kom, 217, 218. Sheherzade, 88. Shedd, Dr. William A., quoted on spread of Islam in Africa, 61: quoted, 181. Sheikh Abdullah Arif, 76. Sheikh Othman, 246. Shensi, 155. Shiah, 7, 127, 147; Moslems, 113, 1.38- 140, 148; claims of, 138; diflFer from Sunnis, 138, 139; thirty-two sub-divisions of, 138. Shuaib, 92. Siberia, 155; estimated Moslem pop- ulation of, 231. Sicily, 65. Sierra Leone, 155, 158. Simon Stylites, 18. Sin, Moslem idea of, 121. Sind, 73. Sinbads, 69. Singapore, 103, 155. Slave trade, 126, 127, 175. Slavs, 173. Smith, Bosworth, quoted on char- acter of Mohammed, 40, 131. Smith, Dr. Eli, 203. Smith, Dr. George, quoted on Lull, 193; quoted, 195. Smith, Robertson, quoted, 7. Smyrna, population of, 214. Sobat River, 230. Social conditions of Moslem lands, results of, 173-176. Soerabaya (Java), population of, 215. Sokoto, 231; extent of, 63; Moslem empire at, 63. Somali-land, 115. Somalis, 156. Soudan, 62, 65, 80, 103, 155, 157, 163, 240; central, 229; district of, 230; Egyptian, 64; French, 158, 170; population of, 230; western, 79. Soudanese, 156. Spain, 55, 56, 62, 163, 165, 192. Speer, Robert E., 127. Speke, 163. Spice Islands, 76. Sprenger, Aloys, 41, 123; quoted, 4, 137; quoted on date of birth, 34; quoted on epileptic fits of Mo- hammed, 41. Stock, Eugene, 191. Stone, George E., 200. Suez, 128. Sufi teaching, hopelessness of, 144. Sufis, 142, 143, 248. Sufiism, 142-146; leading doctrines of, 142-145; poetry essence of, 144. Sultan, 238; of Ghazni, 74. Sumatra, 76, 77, 161, 162, 170, 171, 172, 205, 226, 232; Rhenish mission in, 218. Sunnat-en-nebi, 100. Sunni, 136-138, 148. Surat Chandra Das, C. I. E., 71. Swaheli tribes, 63, 236. Sweden, 251. Switzerland, 251. Syria, 4, 56, 57, 58, 62, no, 135, 141, i6i, 162, 165, 173, 200, 201, 226. Tabriz, population of, 2x5. Tahzib ul Akhlak, 179. Taif, 4, 9, 22, 36; clans of, 3. Taliclava, 69. Talismans, 178. Tangier, 204, 217. Tanta, 246. Tarik, zeal of, 56. Tartars of Azoph, 66. Taylor, Canon, 131. Teheran, 247; population of, 214. Theophilus, 19. INDEX ^95 Thorns, Dr. Marion Wells, 200. Thrace conquered, 66. Throne, verse of the, 90. Tigris, 4. Tijani, 64. Timbuktu, 228. Timur, 68, 74. Tisdall, Dr. St. Clair, 17, 125, 213. Tobolsk, 155. Tocat, 197. Togoudar Ogoul renounced Chris- tianity, 68, 69. Toleiha, 60. Torah, 48, 89. Tours, battle of, 65. "Traditions," 86; basis of the authority in Islam, 101; genuine- ness of, loi ; meaning of, 100-102. Transmigration of souls, 141. Transoxiana, 69. Transvaal, 169. Treatise on Jihad, 115. Trinity, doctrine of, present in Ara- bia, 21. Tripoli, 56, 65, i6s, 174, 176, 203, 204- Trotter, Miss I. Lilias, quoted, 209. Tulaiha, 39. Tulata ibn Musarif, 100. Tunganis, 68. Tunis, 56, 147, 165, 192, 203, 204, 217, 244; population of, 215. Turfan, 68. Turkestan, 57, 68, 69, 160, 165. Turkey, 130, 156, 161, 162, 176, 201, 226, 227. Turks, 66, 74, 150, 151, 171, 185, 223. U Ubaidullah bin Jahsh becomes Mos- lem, later Christian, 23. Uganda, 233; Islam weakening in, 236; notes, 236; Mission, 236. United Free Church, 200. United States, 237. University, Azhar, 180; Calcutta, 156; Mohammedan, 179; tone of, agnostic, 180. Urdu, 164, 216. Uzza, 14. V Vambery, Prof. A., 68, 156; quoted, 131- Van Dyke, Dr. Cornelius, 203. Veil, use of, unknown before Islaofi, 6. Venerabilis, Petrus, 188-191, 209; quoted, 40. Vienna, siege of, 66. Volga, 58. W Wade, 198. Wady er Rumma, 4. Wahab bin Kabsha sent to China by Mohammed, 69; tomb of, 69. Wahabi, 63, 64; revival, 57. Wahabis, 115, 149-152; points of dif- ference from orthodox Moslems, 150. 151- Wakidi, 46. Wakt-el-Jahiliya, 2. Waldenses, 188. W'allachia conquered, 66. Walshe, Rev. W. Gilbert, 71. Waraka, 23. W'araka Din Naufal, 23. Warneck, Dr. Gustav, 187. Watson, Dr. Anna, 246. Watson, Rev. Charles R., quoted, 158. Weil, 41. Weitbrecht, Dr., 226. VVellhausen, 8, 9; quoted, 14; quoted on dissolution of polytheism, 13. Wherry, Dr., 73, 254; quoted, 75, 216. Wiersum, Harry J., 200. Wilken, Prof. G. A., 5, 6. Wilson, Dr. John, 199. Wingate, Col. G., 232. Witches, 178. Wives, list of Mohammed's, 44. Wolff, Dr. Joseph, 199. Women, condition of, 251-253; had rights and were respected before Islam, 6; not married against con- sent, 6; position of, in Pagan Ara- bia, 5-8; state of, prior to Mo- hammed, 3. Wright, essay of, 17; quoted, 19. Wiirz, Pastor F., 227, 234. Wuttke, Adolph, quoted on Moslem ethics, 119. X Xavier, Francis, 194. Ya Mansur Umit, 58. "Ya Mohammed," 47. Yemen, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 19, 21, 32, 60, 200. Yezd, 199, 215. Yoruba, 158. Yunnan, 71, 156, 161; Moslems in, 70. Zabur, 89. Zacharias, 92. Zakat, 99; meaning of, 108. Zanzibar, 63, 126, 155, 159. Zarafa, 8. Zeid, 23; convert of Mohammed, 34. Zemzem, 16, no; well of, 112. Zenana, 114. Zenobia, 6. Zikr, 143. Zimmis, 167. Zoroastrians, 10, 55, 67. Zubair, 8. Zu'1-Kifl, 92. Zu'1-Karnain, 92. Zwtmer, I'cter J., 200, 254. BP161.Z973C.2 Islam, a challenge to faith; Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1012 00010 3087 DATE DUE gavlord #3523Pl Printed in USA