BAR] THl! CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CORNELL UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ITHACA, NEW YORK Cornell University Library BP60 .M67 1906 Mohammedan world of to-day : being paper olin 3 1924 029 154 072 THE MOHAMMEDAN WORLD OF TO-DAY Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029154072 THE MOHAMMEDAN WORLD OF TO-DAY Being papers read at the First Missionary- Conference on behalf of the Mohammedan World held at Cairo April 4th-9th, 1906 Edited by S. M. ZWEMER, F. R. G. S., E. M. WHERRY, D. D. JAMES L. BARTON, D. D. (Reproduction of a very rare Arabic Christian coin from the Crusaders' period, discovered by Rev. W. K. Eddy of Sidon. The inscriptions read: "The B'ather, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God" ; "One God, one Faith, one Baptism." The original is now in the British Museum. The significance of the inscription is evident to the student of history.) The Young People's Missionary Movement NEW YORK ( Copyright, 1906, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY Second Edition ^'y^-Lp-^M'"'''-^' r lf<^fvr^- ■*^* New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue Toronto; 25 Richmond Street, W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street .-Y^-\_J CONTENTS I. Introductory Paper ..... Rev. H. H. Jessup, D. D. II II. Islam in Egypt ...... Rev. Andrew Watson, D. D. 2! III. Islam in West Africa .... Dr. W. R. Miller 4' IV. Islam in Turkey ..... Anatolicus 51 V. Islam in Syria and Palestine Rev. W. K. Eddy 59 VI. Islam in Arabia ...... Rev. J. C. Young, M. D. 79 VII. Islam in Arabia ..... Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D. D. 99 vin. Islam in Persia ...... Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall, M. A., D. D. "3 IX. Islam in Baluchistan .... Rev. A. Duncan Dixey 131 X. Islam in North India .... Rev. E. M. Wherry, D. D. 147 XI. Islam in South India .... Rev. M. G. Goldsmith, M. A. 173 XII. The New Islam in India .... Rev. H. U. Weitbrecht, Ph. D., D. D. 185 XIII. Islam in Sumatra ..... 205 Rev. G. K. Simon 7 8 Contents XIV. Islam in Java ...... 233 Rei). C. Albers, Jr. Rev. J. Ferhoeven, Sr. XV. Islam in Bokhara and Chinese Turkestan . 24I Rev. E. John Lars en XVI. Islam in China ..... 247 Rev. W. Gilbert Walshe, M. A. XVII. How TO Arouse the Church at Home to THE Needs of Islam .... 265 Robert E. Speer, M. A. XVIII. Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Africa ..... 279 Rev. Chas. R. Watson, D. D. XIX. Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Asia with Totals for the En- tire World ..... 289 Rev. S. M. Ziuerner, D. D. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facivg page Pilgrims Around the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque AT Mecca ...... Entrance to the Mosque El Azhar, Cairo A Moslem Convert and Evangelist (Egypt) . Moslems at Prayer (Egypt) .... Mosque of St. Sophia ..... A Woman of Mecca ..... A Typical Arab of Yemen .... Mourners on the Anniversary of Hussein's Death Teheran, Persia ..... 'J'ypes Seen in the Caucasus .... A Moslem Convert, Persia .... Professors and Students, Forman Christian College at Lahore ....... i66 A Moslem Derish (Singing) ..... zzz Mecca Pilgrims from Celebes .... 238 Mecca Pilgrims from Djapara, Java . . . 238 Travelling Derishes from Bokhara . . . 24,). Interior of a Mohammedan Mosque . . . 260 Four Missionary Martyrs of Arabia . . . 272 Title 32 36 36 54 82 14 22 26 MAPS AND STATISTICAL CHARTS Map of Arabia .... Map of Africa .... Statistical Survey of Islam in Africa Map of Asia .... Diagrams of Moslem Population . Statistical Survey of Islam in Africa 9 lOI 282 285 288 292 295 I Introductory Paper Rev. H. H. Jessup, D. D. "The sword of Mohammed and the Korau are the most stub- horn enemies of civilization, liberty and truth which the world has yet known." — Sir M'm. 3Iuir. "And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that be- lieveth that Jesus is the Son of God? " — 1 John 5 : 5. "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Sou that Thy Son may glorify Thee." — John 17 -■ 1. I Introductory Paper Eecently through the courtesy of a mutual friend, I visited the house of a Sheikh, whose fam- ily claims to be the only one in Cairo lineally de- scended from Mohammed. He is a venerable man living in a house hundreds of years old, whose architecture, carvings, inscriptions and decorations, are all expressions of the faith of Islam. But the numerous rooms are unoccupied. The only son, the heir of the lineage, died ten years ago in early manhood, and since then the mother has lived near the Citadel, in order to be near his tomb, given over to inconsolable grief. The aged Sheikh is courteous and affable — a fine specimen of patri- archal dignity. But the shadow of that bereave- ment has not been lightened. The sight of that mansion seemed to take one back through the ages of Islam. And I have been thinking of that mightiest system of monotheism the world has ever known, " shadowing with wings," the great 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, cere- monial, and code of laws, and imbedded itself in 13 14 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the Arabic language like the nummulite fossils 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. Most people are somewhat familiar with the fa- vourable and unfavourable features of this system. They know something of its vast proportions, its prodigious strength, and its power of propagation. But very few even among Christians are aware of the great spiritual needs of Islam. Nor is the Church at large awake to the fact that the Moham- medan world has suffered this destitution because of her past neglect, and that present open doors are a challenge to her faith and faithfulness. These subjects embrace so wide a field that it will be impossible to do more than allude to the salient points. I. The Spiritual DESTiTXTTioisr op Islam (a) In general, Mohammedans need what all men need — salvation through Jesus Christ. They need to /eel their need as lost sinners. This is what they almost universally fail to experience. Their conceit, arising from the old Semitic or Ju- daistic idea of their essential superiority to all other men, is a serious obstacle to their acceptance of the Christian faith. (b) Spiritual hunger and thirst after righteouS' Introductory Paper 15 ness are almost unknown. They regard their cere- monial righteousness as complete, and they are satisfied. Even where spiritual longing for peace with God is felt, there is nothing in Islam to sat- isfy it. Some of the most eminent men in the his- tory of Islam have vainly sought it and died in de- spair. I know of no work in Arabic or English which presents this unsatisfied longing of the Mos- lem heart, more vividly than the Mushah-el Huda ila Sir el Fida — " The Torch of Guidance to the Mystery of Eedemption," by the author of the Bahurat and translated into English by the la- mented Sir William Muir, and published by the Eeligious Tract Society of London. The author quotes from Mohammedan authors accounts of the last hours of the companions of Mohammed, viz. : Abu Bekr, Ali, Muawia, Sofian el Thuri and Omar ibn el Khattab, and their dying utterances of doubt and despair. Abu Bekr said : " This is the day of my release and obtaining of my desert ; if gladness, it will be lasting ; if sorrow, it will never cease." Ali said : " Alas, alas, provision for the journey is small and its risks so dangerous ! " Muawia said to his son Yezid : " When I die, take some of the hair and nails of the prophet and place them upon my eyes and in my mouth and throat ; then spread the prophet's shirt along the coffin ; if anything could bring a blessing this would." And Yezid at his funeral said, " If the Almighty forgive him, it will be because of His i6 The Mohammedan World of To-Day mercy; if He take vengeance upon him, it will be for his transgressions." Sofian el Thuri, as death approached, said : " I am troubled because I am going on a way I know not of, to appear before the Lord whom I have never seen." Omar ibn el Khattab, one of the greatest and best of the Caliphs, was greatly depressed in view of death, and said, "Whom are ye trying to de- ceive ? Had I the whole East and the West, gladly would I give up all, to be delivered from this awful terror that is hanging over me ! Would that I never had existed ! Would that my mother never had borne me ! " The Sufis might be regarded as an exception, but their highest aspiration is reunion with God or absorption into the nature of Him from whom men are but emanations. They are absolute fatalists, denying that man is free in his actions. Their chief occupation is meditation on the unity of God, the Zikr, or repeating the names of God, and ad- vancement in the Tariqa or Journey of life, so as to attain unification with God. Sufisra is regarded as " an adaptation from the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophers." (c) They need to understand that Christians are not their enemies. The wars and conflicts of 1,200 years with Christians, have put them into an atti- tude of political hostility to Christianity. This can only be overcome by patience, kindness and the presentation of Christ as the only Redeemer. Introductory Paper 17 {d) They need the Bible in their own language, and wise Christian literature. This has already been done in most Mohammedan countries. Dur- ing the last year 46,000,000 of pages of the Arabic Scriptures have been printed at the press in Beirut. {e) They need an apostle from their own ranks ; a Mohammedan scholar, enlightened, renewed by God's Spirit, thoroughly converted to faith in Jesus, the Son of Mary, as the only Redeemer, who vrill proclaim that the set time to favour Islam has come and that they are all called to accept Christ. Foreigners cannot do it : " a tree must be cut down by one of its own branches." The Babi {Behai) movement in Persia shows what a tremendous influence one man can exert in breaking up the solidarity of Islam. Let us pray that God will raise up such leaders in Egypt and Arabia, in Syria and India. (/■) They need a clear statement of the Chris- tian doctrine of the Trinity, to disabuse their minds of the misrepresentations and perversions of their teachei's for ages — that Christians believe that God the Father married a wife and begat a Son ; a doctrine which no Christian believes or has ever taught. The metaphysical difficulty of believing the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ's divine and human natures, cannot be solved by reasoning. It is purely a doctrine of Eevelation, and unless aided by the Holy Spirit, no Moslem can accept Jesus Christ as a Divine Saviour. i8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day II. Past Neglect of the Chubch The whole Church of Christ has certainly great neglect to confess: (a) The Church has over- looked Islam, as a negligible quantity. In con- templating the 800,000,000 of heathen and pagans, Islam has been thought to be of secondary im- portance. Only within the last thirty years has the Church found out the prodigious numerical strength of Islam, and its rapid progress in Asia and Africa. (b) Many in the Christian Church have been led to think of Islam as a mild Oriental Uni- tarianism, well enough adapted to Asiatics and Africans, and have been satisfied to let the Moslems alone. This has come about largely through the misrepresentations of men like Bosworth Smith, who would have us believe that Islam has little to learn or gain from Christianity. The evils of polygamy, the harem seclusion of woman, facility of divorce, exclusiveness and hatred of other sects — these and other features have been ignored or defended. Much may be said in approval of Islamic doctrines which are borrowed from Chris- tianity, but vital doctrinal errors, and corrupting social and moral teachings, especially in the degra- dation of woman, are too great to allow any thoughtful Christian to be satisfied with Islam. (c) Another cause of past neglect has been despair. The conversion of Islam has been thought a hopeless task. Christians at home and travellers abroad inquire how many Moslems have Introductory Paper 19 been converted, and say the effort is useless. They have not taken pains to read of 16,000 converted in the East Indies, and 5,000 in India; of such cases as Imad ud Din and Kamil Aietany. We should not despair of success until we have tried, done our best, and persevered patiently in the work. In Turkey, Christians are looked on as the political foes of Islam, and it is difficult for any Mohammedan to receive instruction from an enemy. The present attitude of missionaries in Turkey towards Islam is that of educating the young, distributing the Scriptures, earnestly pray- ing for the day of religious liberty, and trying to exhibit the religion of Christ by living a Christ- like life. III. The Challenge of Open Doges 1. It is a fact not to be ignored or lightly re- garded that almost the only really open doors to reach Islam, are in countries where Moslems are under Christian or non- Moslem rule. The Turkish Empire, Western Arabia, Persia, Turkestan, Af- ghanistan, Tripoli (Africa), and Morocco, under Moslem rule, are virtually sealed against liberty of conscience and belief. On the other hand, in India, the East Indies, Northwest China, Egypt, Tunis, and Algiers, the door may be regarded as open, so that about 140,000,000 are in a measure accessible to the Christian missionary. 2. God has given us many noble examples of the true conversion of Moslems to the evangelical 20 The Mohammedan World of To-Day faith, in India, Persia, Syria and Egypt, — as Kamil of Beirut, Imad ud Din and others of India and Mirza Ibrahim of Tabriz. 3. The increase of the desire for education, especially for the education of girls, in Moslem lands, is very encouraging. However defective the edu- cation may be, it is a great advance when the mothers are able to read.' And the fact that there are 100 Moslem young men in the Syrian Protes- tant College in Beirut, and many in the mission schools of Egypt, is full of hope. 4. The movement for the emancipation of woman in Egypt and elsewhere will, no doubt, extend to other lands. 5. The translation of the Bible into Arabic, and many other languages spoken by Moslems, and the preparation of a growing literature : — El Kindy, El Bakurat, Minar ul Haqq, Mizan %tl Haqq, and other works are also causes for praise and thanks- giving. ' The Moslems of Beirut have nine schools for girls in that one city. II Islam in Egypt Rev. Andrew Watson, D, D. "In Lower Egypt the Moslems form about ninety-eight per cent, of the population, and in Upper Egypt about eighty-eight per cent. " At a glance therefore we can see that the need of the country is the need of the 3Ioslems, and although some consider the best way to reach them, is by working amongst the Christians until the reproach of a nominal Christianity is rolled away, yet we cannot but feel that this and many succeeding generations of our brethren, the followers of the false prophet, must perish without light or possibility of it, if their evangelization await this most desirable consummation." — /. Martin Cleaver. II Islam in Egypt The Mohammedans under Amr Ibn-El-As took Egypt in the year of our Lord 640. Egypt was then a Christian country ruled by a Mukawkas under appointment of the emperor. There was, however, a division among the Christians ; one party siding with the civil ruler ; the other, under the influence of Egyptian national aspirations, was desirous for his overthrow. This division made the entrance of the Arab invaders easy ; indeed, it is generally believed that the national party wel- comed the Mohammedan leader as a means of deliverance from the Imperialists. If they did, it was not long before they had abundant reason for repentance. At the time of the Mohammedan invasion, the Egyptian church had wandered far from the sim- plicity of the Christian religion as taught in the four gospels and the writings of the apostles, and had practically adopted a method of salvation manifestly at variance with the doctrine of salva- tion by free grace, as was the case with nearly all the Christian churches of the East. From the time the Mohammedans added Egypt to their conquests, the defection of Egyptian Christians to Islam began, and it continued all down the cen- turies until the days of Mohammed All; indeed, 23 24 The Mohammedan World of To-Day it cannot be said to have ceased up to the present time, for no year has passed during my residence of forty-four years in the Nile valley without my hearing of several instances of defection. The causes are chiefly, the hope of worldly gain of various kinds, severe and continued persecution, exposure to the cruelty and rapacity of Moslem neighbours, and personal indignities as well as political disabilities of various kinds. Mrs. Butcher in her book on the Egyptian church has told us some of the sad and cruel experiences of the Christians of Egypt under the dominion of Islam. Indeed, it is a wonder that any one bearing a Christian name could have lived here up to the eighteenth century. Before that time, no amount of Christian testimony could condemn a Moham- medan. Christians were not allowed to ride horses, or wear a seal on their finger, or wear a white turban, and, in title deeds conveying prop- erty from or to a Christian, he was described as the " accursed one." But it is not Islam in Egypt in the past of which I write. I write of Islam in Egypt as it exists at the present time. I. Number and Proportion The population of Egypt at the last census, taken some time after the British occupation was : Mohammedans 8,978,775 Christians 730,162 Jews - - . 25,200 Diverse 268 Islam in Egypt 23 This will make the percentage of Moham- medans 92.23, or about thirteen times the num- ber of Christians. The proportion must be much the same at the present time ; any change is likely to be in favour of the Christians. The smallest proportion of Mohammedans is probably to be found in the cities of Alexandria and Cairo and the province of Assiut. II. Social Conditions Speaking generally, this is the saddest phase of my subject. With few exceptions the women are either the slaves or the playthings of the men, and oftenest by far the former. Excluding the highest strata of society, a man generally marries in order to secure a permanent servant for himself and his immediate family relations ; and if the wife does not fill the bill, she is either divorced to make room for another or a second wife is added. A prominent Moslem has said, in conversation, that not more than five per cent, of Mohammedans in Egypt retain the first wife to the day of her death. Divorces are as frequent as they ever were, but in fewer cases is there a plurality of wives. In the homes, the women occupy one part of the house and the men another; generally the men eat first, then the women, and then the serv- ants. Outside of the family circle there is no com- mingling of the sexes, above a certain age, at a common meal or for an evening sociable. Even at funerals and marriages, the separation is strictly 26 The Mohammedan World of To-Day observed. At marriages, both men and women witness the same obscene motions of the danc- ing girls, and listen to the same immoral chant- ing, though from different positions on the premises. Marriages are often legalized when the bride- groom is less than sixteen and the bride less than thirteen, and the arrangements are all made and carried out by their nearest relatives, and some- times in spite of the opposition of one of the couple. At their first marriage the parties can, therefore, have no idea of the responsibilities and cares incident to married life ; it is no wonder that so many are unhappy in their homes. One reason, and perhaps the chief reason, for early marriages is to prevent the youth from falling into vices which are very prevalent and caused no doubt by the reading or relating of vile stories in the hear- ing of children, and by the generally unchaste character of the conversation of the people. The cause of divorce may be anything, and often nothing more than the man's wish to get rid of his wife in order to be able to secure an- other. The legal allowance for divorced women, for even the limited legal time, is often only collected from the man when the woman has powerful friends to plead her cause before the kadi. One of the saddest sights in Eg^'pt is the environs of the kacWs court where divorced women and widows come to plead in vain for justice. The jealousy of Mohammedans for all that pertains Islam in Egypt 27 properly to their religious system, especially as regards the prerogatives of men and their authority over their wives and other female members of the household, has effectually prevented any reforma- tion of the kadi's court. The use of opium and hashish is wide-spread, and in the cities and large towns the use of western intoxicants is becoming more and more common, especially among government officials and servants. I have been told by well-informed Mohammedans that neither learned nor unlearned, rich nor poor, high nor low, regard it as a sin to take opium in some of its forms. III. Political Islam Though Egypt is nominally a part of the Mo- hammedan Empire of the Sultan of Constanti- nople, paying a heavy tribute to the imperial exchequer, yet it has been free to govern itself from the time of Mohammed All until the British occupation in 1882. During its independence under the rule of this energetic prince and his successors, Egypt was governed on Mohammedan principles modified somewhat by European in- fluences proceeding from the western officials em- ployed in many departments of State. Arbitrar^J^ and unjust rule had full sway during the reign of Ismail the first Khedive, and the people were despoiled of money and lands in order to carry out his ambitious designs, and a debt was contracted which still weighs heavily on the people. But 28 The Mohammedan World of To-Day with all his tyranny and extravagance, Ismail initiated enterprises and carried out improvements which have in no small degree benefited the country. Since the British occupation, Islam has governed Egypt only indirectly. The real ruler has been Lord Cromer with his staff of British officials, who plan, direct, restrain, and control in all the de- partments of the government — Finance, Interior, Justice, Public Works, and Public Instruction. Notwithstanding this, Islam has no little influence politically, exercised through the Khedive, his ministers, the executive officials throughout the country, and the press. The Khedive's ministers are all Moslems except one, and all matters of importance are passed upon by them, though pre- pared and presented by the British officials in each department. Certain matters also come up before a consultative assembly, very few of whose mem- bers are Christians. No little power is exerted on the minds of the British authorities by Moham- medan journals, some of which have a very wide circulation. Of course, the ultimate authority rests with the representative of the British government, but it often appears to outsiders that he is especially favourable to Mohammedan interests, paying un- due respect to Moslem prejudices, at the expense of Christian interests. The following item of recent history is an example : The public pleadings in the native courts were on Sunday. This re- Islam in Egypt 29 quired Christian lawyers to be present and pre- vented them from attending their church services. A number of the Christian lawyers waited on the authorities and petitioned them to have these sit- tings on some other day of the week than Sunday or Friday. The arrangement was agreed to, and preparations were set on foot to carry it out, but the Mohammedan papers made such a stir over the matter that it was annulled. It was represented as the Christian holiday and a step towards des- troying the Mohammedan holiday, whereas it was only a just arrangement to allow the Christians employed in the courts the opportunity of attend- ing divine worship, without in the least interfering with the holiday of the Moslems. The influence of Islam is very great in the courts, as the majority of the judges are in almost all cases Mohammedans. The closest inspection is necessary in the interests of justice, especially in cases where one party is Mohammedan and the other of some other religion. I have known several cases of glaring injustice, to one of which I called the attention of the controlling author- ities. A young man had been accustomed to meet with others, some of them Moslems and others Christians, for friendly conversation on religious subjects. As the Koran was often referred to, the young man purchased a copy for his personal use and made annotations on the margin. The book fell into the hands of a Moslem, who took it to the hadi, who advised that a case be presented against 30 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the young man for attempting to change the Koran The case was taken up by the court and the young man was found guilty and sentenced to one year in the penitentiary. He appealed the case and the court of appeal confirmed the judgment. At my instance the higher authorities looked into the matter and found a case of gross injustice, and after four months' imprisonment and ill treatment in prison, the young man was pardoned by the Khedive. Other cases quite as glaring as this have come under my notice. It must be remembered, too, in order to measure the influence of Islam in Egypt, that the executive part of the administration is in the hands of Mo- hammedans : such as governors and deputy-gov- ernors of the provinces, mayors of the chief cities, chief officers of police in the various divisions of the provinces, and nearly all the umdas and sheikhs of the numerous towns and villages. This gives Islam a mighty power even under the British occu- pation, when we remember the amount of prejudice that still remains, and the fact that these Eastern people bring their religion into all the relations of human life and make it a chief reason in the decision of all questions, and a principal moving power in all actions. It is true that when glaring cases of injustice are brought to the notice of the British authorities, they are not slow in righting the wrongs as far as it is possible, but, through fear, it is very seldom that an Egyptian will dare to com- plain of those who oppress them. I do not hesi- Islam in Egypt 31 tate to say that the British occupation instead of weakening Islam has strengthened it. TV. Islam Intellectually It is generally understood that Christians and Jews, in proportion to their numbers, stand higher than Mohammedans in competitive examination, perhaps because in the case of the former the stim- ulus is greater, and the hope of outside help less. There is so much in favour of the latter — the influ- ence of their immense majority, of powerful friends, and the expected favour of the British officials, — that the young Moslem has little fear of failure to secure a position or occupation, even if he does not obtain the best marks, because Christians are not eligible to many of the places in the government service. Moslems as well as Christians have greatly ad- vanced in knowledge and intellectual pursuits dur- ing the last twenty years. It is surprising how many newspapers, daily, weekly and monthly, have been started, and the increase in these journals has been as great perhaps among Moslems as among Christians. The Moeyyid, edited by Sheikh Ali Yusef, is a first class daily, and has a larger circula- tion than any other paper in Egypt. Its leading ar- ticles do not equal, however, in intellectual grasp, or sound reasoning, or useful information, those in the MoTiattam and some other papers edited by Chris- tians, which every Egyptian ought to read. As far as I know, the Mohammedans have no histor 32 The Mohammedan World of To-Day ical and scientific montlily ; certainly none to be compared with the Muktatif, or the Ililal, or the Moliit — all magazines conducted by Christians. The Moslems are behind the Christians on most of the fields of literature. The reason may be found in their home training, and especially in the method of education, by which the memory and not the intellectual powers are developed. It is notorious that the methods used in the Azhar, the great Mo- hammedan university where thousands are yearly enrolled as scholars, have been the very worst, cal- culated indeed to discourage and retard the learner. An attempt was made by the late intelligent Mufti to bring about a reformation, and for a time great hopes were entertained that a new regime would be established, but jealousy, prejudice, and per- sonal antipathy thwarted all the best efforts of this sincere reformer. To complete a course in the Azhar requires about twelve years. The curriculum includes ju- risprudence, theology, exegesis, grammar, syntax, rhetoric, logic and the traditions of Mohammed.'^ The late Mufti added geography, history and chirography. The first order of the learned men receive, be- sides rations of bread, from four pounds to six pounds a month ; the second three pounds ; the third one and a-half pounds. Students receive their bread and some of them a monthly allowance ' Filili, uml ed-din, usul ettafsir, nahu, aarf, halagha, mantah and the hadith. ENTRANCE TO THE MOSQUE EL AZHAR, CAIRO. Islam in Egypt 33 besides, not exceeding three shillings. The chief sheikh of the Azhar receives ninety pounds a month. The proportion of Moslems who can read and write was, at the last census, eight out of a hun- dred. V. Special Developments in Islam The most notable development among Moham- medans in Egypt in recent years is that which was initiated and carried on until his death, by the liberal-minded Mufti, recently deceased and greatly lamented. A man of scholarly intuitions and wide reading, of broad sympathies and worthy impulses, deprecating the ignorance of his co-religionists and their bitter hatred to all who are of another faith, he attempted in many ways to bring about a ref- ormation among them. He occupied various posi- tions of honour and responsibility in the State and in his religious community, and performed the du- ties of these relations with faithfulness and intelli- gence. In the great Mohammedan university, he brought order out of chaos, both in its material af- fairs and its administration, and in the matter and method of instruction. By his intelligence, sim- plicity and earnestness, he attracted many to his lectures in the university. He deprecated the ac- cumulations of tradition, and strove to lead the peo- ple to simpler faith and a more humane service. Through his efforts, the consultative Parliament was transformed from a position of antagonism to 34 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the British administration into more or less friendly cooperation with it. During his last days, he was engaged in an examination of the condition of the religious courts, and in drawing up a scheme of thorough reformation where corruption is rampant. Through him and others, a great impetus has been given to education. Societies have been formed and committees appointed in many places for rais- ing money to establish schools of various grades, partly to prevent the Mohammedan childi'en from attending Christian institutions and partly from a laudable desire to spread knowledge among them, and thus prepare them to improve their worldly prospects. Societies have also been formed in the interests of their religion, and books and tracts have been published and circulated, some attacking the Christian faith, and others in defense of their own faith against the attacks of Christian authors. Contrary to impressions created by some western journals, I have not been able to discover the ex- istence of any Moslem society formed in Egypt for the express purpose of sending men to the interior of Africa or to other lands for the propagation of Islam. yi. Mission "Work Among Moslems 1. The oldest mission in Egypt is the United Presbyterian mission of North America. Its first missionaries arrived on the field in 1854, a few years after the Church Missionary Society had left it. The purpose of the mission was not as Islam in Egypt 35 has been reported in some places, to labour among the various Christian sects especially, but to preach and teach the pure gospel of our Loi'd Jesus Christ to Jews, Moslems and nominal Christians where and when opportunity offered. It so happened that God in His providence opened the door to the Copts, who, it would be easy to prove, were at the time in great ignorance of the Word of God. Instead of beating at the bolted and barred doors of Islam, at a time when there was no religious liberty, the missionaries entered at the open doors of " the lost sheep of Israel." Yet from the very beginning of the mission there were many opportunities of reaching the Moslems indirectly. Through all the history of the mission, many Bibles and other religious books were sold to them, and for many years past, over 2,000 Moslem pupils have attended its schools; last year there were 3,067, of whom 2,446 were boys and 621 girls. Perhaps thirty years ago, the mission published one book on the Mohammedan controversy called Shahadet El- Koran and also a number of small tracts. When El Kindy and Mizan ul Haqq were published in England, the mission circulated many copies of both books in an unobtrusive way. During the more recent years, the four exhaustive volumes of El Hadaya have been published in reply to several books attacking the Christian religion. During the last four years, two evenings a week in Cairo have been devoted to the public discussion of the 36 The Mohammedan World of To-Day various points of difference between Christianity and Islam. These meetings have often been at- tended by large numbers of Mohammedans and opportunity is generally given to one of them to reply. Our physicians at Assiut and Tanta have many opportunities in the homes of the people as well as in the hospitals, to give important testimony to the saving power of the Great Physician. They are often called to treat the sick and suffering in Mohammedan homes. As to results, the mission reports about 140 converts from Mohammedanism during its history. In 1900, there were six ; in 1901, there were also six ; in 1902, there were eight ; in 1903, there were fourteen ; in 1904, there were twelve. Two of these have defected to Islam through the threats of friends and Moslem officials. One of the con- verts is now a successful medical missionary in China. 2. The Church Missionary Society mission to Mohammedans in Egypt was begun in 1882, when Eev. F. A. Klein started work, chiefly educa- tional and literary. A medical department was started in 1889, in which year also, educational work for girls was begun. During the last few years, four branches of work have been distinctly strengthened ; medical work, boys' schools, girls' schools, and evangelistic work in the city and in the villages, in which one h s PS H O « CM a ij Islam in Egypt 37 station is about to be occupied. The whole of this work is directly among Moslems. There are no special difficulties, for probably Egypt is as open as any Mohammedan land in the world and the opportunities are obvious. The methods have been sufficiently suggested by the enumeration of the branches of work. It should be added that evangelistic work comprises preach- ing within doors, visiting, and literary endeavours. There is also a book depot from which books are sold, and in which personal work is done. Tracts on a variety of subjects are distributed and a weekly journal, especially adapted to Moslems, is published. Direct results are the conversion and baptism of some men and some girls — "all too few." The indirect results are the gradual familiarizing of many people and many classes with the ideas of the gospel. 3. There is also a small Dutch mission with its centre at Calioub, about eight miles north of Cairo. It has schools in several places conducted on mission lines and having pupils of various re- ligions. Evangelistic work is carried on in the villages by means of colporteurs. There is also an orphanage for boys in which the children of Mohammedans as well as children of Christians are received. I might mention, too, the schools of the Estab- lished Church of Scotland in Alexandria, and of 38 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the Germaii Church in Cairo, but there is no mis- sionary connected with these efforts, who knows the vernacular, and therefore, no direct worli is done among the Moslems. i. The Egypt General Mission entered Egypt in the year 1898. Its chief object is the conver- sion of Mohammedans. It has its location in the Delta and Suez. It has boys' and girls' schools not only for teaching the truths of Christianity to the pupils, but also as a means of opening the homes for teaching the adults. It also employs itineracy and has regular services on the Sabbath and during the week. Much good work has been done in book depots, where there is free perusal of Arabic books on questions concerning Islam and where there is the best opportunity for informal meetings at night and for pei'sonal work. Scores of Mohammedans have been dealt with in these depots, though but few have made a definite pro- fession of their faith in Christ. There have been several baptisms. The case of a Mohammedan sheikh from Morocco, related in a small tract entitled " The Story of a Moslem Sheikh," is in- tensely interesting and shows us how unexpectedly the Spirit sometimes moves upon souls and brings them to the light and life which are only to be found in Jesus Christ. This mission has also a monthly paper especially adapted to the needs of Moslem readers and circulating widely in Egypt. 6. The North African Missioii was begun in 1892, and has for its special, though not sole ob- Islam in Egypt 39 ject the conversion of Mohammedans. At present it has its centres in Alexandria and Shabin El- Kom. Three missionaries labour at the former place and two at the latter. The means adopted have been for the most part schools for boys and for girls, in which the gospel is regularly taught. Bible women are also employed to visit the women in their homes and read to them as opportunity offers. There are also meetings in the evening during the week for the study of the Word and prayer. The missionaries have made system- atic visitation of Mohammedans in the Protestant hospital in Alexandria, and they have visited the villages for evangelistic work and the circulation of the Scriptures and religious tracts. Five Mo- hammedans, having made a public profession of their faith in Christ, have been baptized, while many have been instructed in the way of salva- tion, but have not taken a stand for Christ. VII. Difficulties of the Missions In Egypt there is only one special difficulty in missions to Moslems, and that is to find employ- ment for the converts, as the Mohammedan com- munity always boycotts the converts, and the family disowns and casts them out of their homes. Generally Mohammedan relatives, however near, prefer to see their friends die rather than to see them become Christians. Ill Islam in West Africa Dr. W. R. Miller " Possibly most important of all the features of the problem presented by Islam is its organized aggressiveness. Islam in its African stronghold is a growing and virile force." — Wilson S. Naylor. Ill Islam in West Africa The population of West Africa, similarly to that of the Eastern Sudan during the time of the Mah- di's and Khalifa's rule, has suffered terribly from the fiendish oppression, internecine fighting and slave raiding which always accompany these out- bursts of Mohammedan energy. Hence all statis- tics and estimates of population made by travellers during the early Yictorian period are wholly un- reliable now. It is impossible, at least at present, even roughly to estimate {e. g., in the Hausa states), what the population is, but I should seriously doubt whether it is one-half — probably nearer one- third — of that recorded by Clapperton or Earth. I base this surmise, principally on observations, both of myself and of government officers travel- ling in the great states of Zaria, ISTupe, and Ada- ma wa where the most appalling barbarities perhaps ever perpetrated in the slave traflic have been com- mitted for now more than sixty years. "When the great Fulani dynasty was founded by the conquests of Othman Shefu Dan Hodin, for some years afterwards war was made on all the heathen, and some Mohammedan states, until a large part of the "West and Central Sudan was con- quered and incorporated into the Fulani Empire, 43 44 The Mohammedan World of To-Day including a large part of the Yoruba country in the south (the Ilorin Province now Mohammedan), Adamawa and Bornu in the east, Gando and part of the French Sudan in the west, and part of the Tuareg and Zinder country in the north. Within twenty years after these conquests, and soon after the death of the founder, the lust for gain, slaves and power, took the place of the religious Jehad, and the wars degenerated into the merest man- hunting slave-raids, in no way worthy of being called religious wars. These have been kept up until four years ago when the complete subjuga- tion of the country under Sir F. Lugard put an end to them. As a result of these wars Islam was more firmly established in the great states of Kano, Zamfara, Socoto, Gobir, Gando, Katsena, Hadeja and Katagum, where already the conquered had been partially followers of Islam : Ilorin, Nupe and Borgu were later subjugated and Islam stamped on them in a very debased form. Except in the big walled cities and capitals, however, very little progress was made in the heathen states of Zaria, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kontagora, etc. To-day we find these lands dotted over with cities where all are Mohammedans, but a large part of the village country is still pagan, or is only nominally Moslem. For here the pagan tribes entrenched themselves in forests and rocks, and although in many cases willing to pay tribute in order to avoid constant raids, they never became followers of the prophet. Mohammedan Sects. There is but little trace of Islam in West Africa 45 divisions amongst the Mohammedans of "West Africa. The emissaries of the strong dervish or- ders from Morocco, who were mostly responsible in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and on- wards for the introduction of Islam, were probably content with teaching the simpler tenets of the faith. Although the main mass undoubtedly are Sunnis, it is questionable whether any but a few of the leading Moulvis (or " Mallams ") know much of the controversy. The Senoussi influence has been small or nil ; and the followers of the "Wahabis are probably confined to some of the more fanatical and devoted Fulani families as the Tijanis. They all recognize the Sultan of Turkey as supreme, but the devotion, veneration, almost worship of 0th- man the founder of this dynasty have invested the emperors of Socoto with a sanctity so great that, being nearer, they quite overshadow the greater, but more distant, Turkish ruler. Probably now, if the British government, which is supreme in all the principal Mohammedan states of "West Africa with which this paper is concerned, were to adhere to a true neutrality, *. e., entire prohibition of, or total removal of all obstacles to, the free preaching of both Christianity and Islam, the latter would not make much further progress in north and south Nigeria. So great is the hatred of the pagans towards all propagators of Islam, on account of the cruelty of past years, that were there sufficient Christian missionaries any struggle would be principally a duel between heathenism 46 The Mohammedan World of To-Day and Christianity, where Islam was not already es tablished. But the woes which follow and have followed in the track of Islam will soon be forgiven and forgotten, and a peaceful Islam under British rule, free to proselytize while Christian mission- aries are hampered, will be a greater power. The British government does not take that atti- tude. While professing to be purely neutral, it forgets that the Mohammedan has been, and is, the aggressive invader in all this country, once pagan ; and it allows the Moslem a free hand to go anywhere and spread his faith. The objection that will, I know, be raised to this is, "Not so, the British government gives both Moslem and Christian a free field amongst heathen, but refuses to allow attempts at proselytizing by Christians amongst Moslems." It is easy to see how to answer this contention, but this does not lie within the scope of this paper. The scarcity of money for administrating the countries, and the difficulties in obtaining men (for the bad climate renders it impossible to rule directly by white men) causes the administration largely to be left in the hands of Mohammedan Emirs. These men while ruthless, cruel tyrants are nevertheless rulers in the sense that they can command men in numbers and keep up some form of power and authority. The government seeing this, and also the disintegrating influences of a tribal heathenism, becomes involved in backing up Islam politically, and inevitably religiously also. Islam in West Africa 47 Repairing broken down mosques by order, sub- scriptions to Moiiammedan feasts, forcible circum- cision of heatlien soldiers on enlistment, etc., etc., are some of the ways in which the general trend is indicated. It has been seen that the chief set of iniluences which brought Islam to West Africa were Moslem missions from Morocco and the more universal Jehad by the Fulanis. A constant influence has also emanated from Egypt and Tripoli through trade, returning pilgrims from Mecca, and mission- aries from these countries of Islam. Islam seems to be spreading in Lagos, the Yoruba country. Sierra Leone and the French Sudan ; 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 add strength finally to Islam. Still the number of Moslems is undoubtedly increasing greatly. Islam and Christianity between them are spoiling heath- enism and will probably divide the pagan peoples in less than fifty years. All Moslems are of course taught Arabic and in all the Hausa States, in towns, and large villages there are a multitude of schools where the Koran and later the traditions and chief works, classical and legendary of Islam are taught. As, however, trading and agriculture chiefly occupy the people, the majority of boys leave school at fourteen years, and become utterly ignorant and illiterate. They are given no education but a mere recital of the 48 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Suras of the Koran after learning the Arabic al- phabet. A percentage however continue. In the large towns, however, perhaps about three per cent, or a little more, continue their studies, and these really become Arabic students, reading any Arabic writings with ease. The absence of printed matter with them is an obstacle, but after a while the more intelligent surmount this, and can read and translate fairly well the Testament, or any sim- ple new work in Arabic. The effect of this illiteracy is, of course, to make the social condition low. Arts, building, literature, culture, and crafts are, generally speaking, neg- lected. Yet who hasnot heard of Kano and Zaria leather? The work of these people in leather, iron, brass, etc., is admired by Europeans. The intelligence of the Hausa in the great cities is proverbial, and one feels with them as if in converse with an Arab rather than a negro. The lack of all home life ; the utter prostitution of virtue ; the total disregard of morals, all these have brought moral ruin to the people and made West Africa a seething sink of gross iniquity. Woman, although allowed much more freedom than in North Africa, is neverthe- less the " thing " of men ; polygamy of course is the law ; only lack of wealth prevents men from having four wives and as many concubines as pos- sible. Divorce for anything is possible ; a quarrel, sickness, infirmity, poverty, or worse. The young- est girls are taught the worst vices ; no one is in- Islam in West Africa 49 nocent, none pure. Boys and girls grow up in the densest atmosphiere of sin, where there is hardly a redeeming feature, and this all under the strictest adherence to the outward laws of Islam. The whited sepulchre is full of bones. Immo- rality of every sort is rife and there is little shame ; adultery and fornication are not reduced through men having many wives. It is rare to find a woman past the prime of life living with her husband. One would therefore expect to find that progress is ruled out, and that the glance is backward, not forward, to " the things our fathers knew and did." The inevitable fruits of a slave ridden land, laziness, oppression, dirt, have fallen upon West Africa, and only where Christianity, as in Sierra Leone, Lagos, etc., has had a long time to affect the character and condition, do we see progress. Islam has not and will not in West Africa do any- thing for progress. A very significant change has perceptibly come over the Moslem in West Africa and is apparent to a careful observer. From triumphant arrogance he has come to have a haunting fear and a cringing subservience. The overthrow of the Fulani power is probably one of the greatest blows to Islam in the world, next to the recovery of the Egyptian Sudan, if not even greater than that. The one hope left is the Mahdi who of course is always coming and never comes, or comes and is annihi- lated ; but meanwhile an air of frightened expect- ancy and even a tendency to see what Christianity 50 The Mohammedan World of To-Day may have to say regarding the end of the world seems to have prevailed. I believe the time is ripe for a tremendous propaganda to a broken spirited but still proud people. I think missionaries gen- erally in West Africa will agree that this has been the change of the last few, say ten or five years, and that it is chiefly political, but fraught with great possibilities spiritually. IV Islam in Turkey Anatolicus "Turkey skillfully and systematically represses what Chris- tian nations make it their business to nurture in all mankind as manhood. In her cities there are magnificent palaces for her sultans and her favourites. But one looks in vain through her realm for statues of public benefactors. Not a book in any lan- guage can cross her borders without permission of public ofBcera. Art is scorned. Education is bound. Freedom is a crime. The tax gatherer is omnipotent. Law is a farce. Turkey has prisons instead of public halls for the education of her people. — The Con- gregaiionalist, April 8, 1897. IV Islam in Turkey The ruling race of the Ottoman Empire has been Mohammedan from its origin. Indeed the Seljuk Turks, from whom the Ottomans sprang, were Mohammedans from their origin among the Turkoman tribes of Central Asia. We can hardly trace them farther back than the eleventh century A. D., and it was at least a century earlier that all those tribes of "West Central and "Western Asia embraced Islam. The religion of the Ottoman Turks, is not, like that of some other tribes to be mentioned hereafter, a composite cultus. The hereditary faith is Sunni Islam, pure and simple ; and as a hereditary faith, its hold upon the people is unchallenged, except by those professed Mohammedans, the various sects of Dervishes which flourish in all Mohammedan countries. These form a disintegrating element, which may well excite the anxious solicitude of faithful Mohammedans, although they furnish lit- tle cause of hope to Christian missionaries. The vast majority of the Ottoman people, who number about twelve million souls, are doubtless sincere believers in the Koran as the veritable word of God, and in Mohammed as the last and greatest prophet and apostle of God. Of course 53 54 The Mohammedan World of To-Day this belief does not arise from intelligent individual conviction, but, on the one hand, from the power of a hereditary faith and a splendid history, but- tressed by those magnificent monuments of their faith, the great mosques of their former and present capital cities, and, on the other, from the simple, reverent, unadventurous habit of mind of the Ottoman people. They are not sceptical by nature, and they are taught that scepticism con- cerning the teachings of religion, and the authority of their prophet is a mortal sin. The assumption of the sacred honour and functions of the Caliphate by the Ottoman House four centuries ago — an assumption fully accepted in Turkey, and never effectively challenged, even if not cordially accepted, outside of Turkey — has, no doubt, held the Ottoman people to their heredi- tary faith with hooks of steel. The Ottoman Power has been tolerant of the faith and forms of worship of subject Christian races, but the Christianity and the Christian life with which the Turks have been familiar all their lives, until evangelical Christianity gained a foot- hold among them, have had a natural tendency to repel, not to attract them to the Christian faith. There is an ingenuousness about the Turk, when you find him in his Anatolian home, which is not only winning in itself ; it is full of promise for the future, full of encouragement to Christian mis- sionaries. One distinctive feature of Islam in Turkey — and Islam in Turkey 55 this applies to nearly all Moslem races in the Ottoman Empire except the Arabs — is that the Turk does not know the language of his sacred book. The Koran is as much a sealed book to the Turk as the Bible is to the peasant Roman Catholic of Central Europe. He knows, even if he is a peasant, many Arabic words and phrases, but although he may read the Koran, he cannot understand it ; and it is, to the Mohammedan, a greater impiety to attempt to translate the Koran from the Arabic, than it was, till recent years, in the eyes of the faithful but ignorant Romanist to translate the Latin Bible into French or German. This ignorance of Arabic is a fact even among the more or less educated Turks of the capital and the coast cities. It is very rare to find one who can read Arabic intelligently, and who speaks it correctly. Some years ago, when K Effendi, a learned Arab Kurd, who had embraced Chris- tianity, was called before the highest Mohammedan court, his perfect knowledge of Arabic, of the Koran and of Mohammedan law and traditions completely confounded and silenced those who would have been his judges. It is now many years that the Bible is accessible to Turks in their own language, and in a form which is intelligible and acceptable to them ; and the fact that they buy thousands of copies of Scripture portions every year shows that they appreciate the facility put in their way for reading a sacred book and understanding it. 56 The Mohammedan World of To-Day What was said above concerning Islam as the hereditary faith of the Ottoman Turk does not hold true of the other Moslem races of Turkey. Kurds, Circassians, Albanians — nearly half as many, all together, as the Turks — are, at best, but half Mohammedan. To a large extent the pro- fession of Islam by Kurds and Circassians is purely outward and formal, while their esoteric faith is a mixture of Mohammedanism, Christianity and heathenism. In grouping and generalization we cannot go farther than the statement just made. Take the Kurds alone. There is almost infinite variety in their religious beliefs and superstitions. It is well known that there are whole villages among them ready to declare themselves Chris- tians, could they be assured of protection in so doing. The Moslem Albanians — somewhat more than half the race — are more bigoted and violent Mohammedans than the Turks, just as the Janis- saries, likewise of Christian origin, who were com- pelled from childhood to embrace Islam, out- Heroded Herod in the fanaticism of their anti- Christian zeal. With the exception of the Albanians, Islam has, in all the centuries of the reign of the Ottoman Power over these lands, made very slight gains from the Christian races. The number of Greek, Armenian, Bulgarian, Eoumanian, Servian, Bos- nian or Montenegrin Mohammedans is insignificant. Of these seven races, for hundreds of years under Moslem sway, the number to-day free from Otto- Islam in Turkey 57 man control is nearly equal to the entire popula- tion, Moslem and Christian, now directly under Turkish domination. The Turks are largely an agricultural and peasant population, and among them polygamy and concubinage are rare. Among Turks of wealth in the capital, the coast cities and the capitals of provinces, both polygamy and con- cubinage are common. Slavery also exists, though veiled. In those centres social morality is low, and it is doubtful if the marked relaxation, in recent years of the rigidity of law and custom touching the seclusion of women has, as yet, bet- tered woman's condition, except where the desire for the education of girls has begun to work a rad- ical change in the popular conception of what con- stitutes woman's position in society. It is difficult to give even an approximate statement concerning the percentage of illiteracy among Moslems in Turkey. Till very recent years Turks able to read were less than ten per cent, of the population ; women able to read, perhaps two per cent., and among Kurds and Circassians still less. But in the capital and chief cities of the empire great progress has lately been made, even among Mos- lems, in what may, by courtesy, be called general education. In these centres the percentage of illiteracy among Turks — men — would probably not exceed forty per cent., while of women under forty years of age we might fairly estimate the percentage of illiteracy as under sixty per cent. V Islam in Syria and Palestine Rev. W. K. Eddy Islam in Syria and Palestine The population of these districts is about, and possibly somewhat over, two million. Exactness is impossible, for the Moslems strive to conceal numbers in order to escape conscription, and Chris- tians do the same to lighten the military poll tax. In some districts no accurate census has been at- tempted till lately, and the returns of the last census are not yet available. In Mt. Lebanon we must depend upon the official figures of 1863. I give therefore official figures and also estimated ones nearer the truth. Vilayet of Syria Moslems and Drazes All Christians Official 260,034 44,058 Estimated 304,092 350, OOO Vilayet of Beirut Moslems Christians 262,834 68,325 331,159 375,000 Mt. Lebanon Moslems and Drnzes Christians 19,520 90,278 109,798 200,000 Jerusalem District Moslems Christians 50,000 25,000 75,000 75,000 As the figures given are for males alone, we 6i 62 The Mohammedan World of To-Day double them for the total population, and add Jews 100,000, foreigners 50,000 of all nationali- ties. Moslems are seventy-two per cent, and Chris- tians twenty-eight per cent, of the totals thus given. The social condition of Moslems is below that of the Christians and far from ideal. The tenets of Islam and the customs of the East combine to degrade woman. In the cities she is a household drudge with uncertain tenure of office, and in the country districts, an unpaid labourer. Entitled to only one-eighth of her husband's estate after his death, she is tempted to sell household stores to accumulate a fund for use in case of being divorced or widowed. Some cripple their husbands finan- cially that another wife may not be added to the harem. An absence of home life leads men to spend their leisure together in coffee houses. Thus they miss the refining influence of women and their thoughts are sensual and conversation gross. Children are welcomed and loved but not well cared for; so that infant mortality is much higher than among Christians. The indifl:erence of Mos- lems to vaccination, and carelessness as to proper precautions in times of epidemic is largely due to their belief in fate. Children are not well trained and apt to grow up willful and passionate. An intelligent Moslem said to me, "We cannotpros- per, for our wives are too ignorant to train prop- Islam in Syria and Palestine 63 erly our cbiklren or care for our homes as they should." Early marriages are the rule and the social evil is rare ; but unnatural vice is common and hardly rep- robated. The seclusion of women is more strictly enforced in towns than in villages, and cases of marital infidelity are not frequent. While women are not allowed to go to the mosques they are faithful to hours of prayer in their homes. Their influence is conservative and acts to restrain any liberalism which men from their freer contact with Christians might favour. Men are of three grades : (1) Those who from superficial education or contact with others are so lax as to be practically skeptics. (2) Those who are trained and educated as religious fanatics. (3) The great mass of peasants and the Bedouin who know little beyond the fact that being true believers in God and His apostle, they should de- spise all others. Among the better class there is a growing sentiment against polygamy and reckless divorce as injurious to the social order. Politics are unknown in the sense that leads different civil parties to strive to control govern- ment policy or that gives rise to divergent views as to the best methods for improving the condi- tion of the people. To run for office is to run for Constantinople, bribe influential persons in the palace, and then to work the position thus secured for all that it is worth. Promotion is legally and officially regulated by 64 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the eiEciency shown in collecting and increasing the Imperial revenues, but practically by paying a higher sum than the rival applicant. There are no indications of the presence of the " Young Turk " secret organization, but there is a growing discontent with the present regime. This is caused (1) by individual dissatisfaction with in- justice, increased taxation and harsh military serv- ice ; (2) by the racial ambition of Arabic-speaking Moslems who regard the Turk as a barbarian and of doubtful orthodoxy, and are restive under Turkish rule which allots them few positions, civil or military. Many Arabs wish the Caliphate as- sumed by one of their race and would bring the capital of Islam near if not into Arabia, its cradle. This politico-religious aspiration is ascribed to Midhat Pasha and has been fostered, since his day, by pamphlets widely scattered and by secret societies. (3) Discontent also results from impo- tent rage at the waning political power of Islam under Turkish leadership. Moslem supremacy has been lost in Mt. Lebanon, in most European prov- inces, in part of Asia Minor, in Cyprus, Crete, Egypt, and is now imperilled in North Africa. (4r) Another cause of discontent is realization of the fact that universal corruption is sapping the vitality of the empire and dissipating its resources. (5) To these causes is added knowledge that other lands have secured improved material conditions and equable justice without interference with re- ligious observances. This embitters by contrast Islam in Syria and Palestine 65 their present situation. Emigration, whicii has taken tens of thousands of Christians from Syria, has lately begun to draw from the Moslems. The letters of the absent and the influence of those who have returned are factors of unrest. That any or all of these elements of political ferment will produce any revolt is improbable. No leader could expect success with an unarmed and poor set of followers nor could he unify and harmonize hostile sects. Moslems, as a rule, are inferior in mental equip- ment to the Christians who at the Crusades and later have gained new vigour from intermarriage with Europeans and are naturally bright and com- mercially keen. There is a difference also between the Moslems of Syria and those in Palestine, wholly in favour of the former. Besides, Moslems are handicapped by defective early training, inferior educational advantages, military conscription, and early mar- riages. To remedy this relative backwardness, the Turk- ish government has worked with surprising energy and success. It has opened many schools even in villages and has supported officially the schools of a Moslem organization known as El Khaireyeh as- signing to them lands and property for support. In cities there are schools of a higher grade called Eushdeyeh, also military academies from which chosen cadets are sent to Constantinople. Govern- ment is now building an industrial school in Beirut 66 The Mohammedan World of To-Day to which the Christians of Sidon city alone are called upon to pay an extra exaction of 20,000 piastres (over $800). A few years ago an addition was made to the land tax in support of the department of Educa- tion. Thus Christians by regular and irregular imposts help to educate the Moslem. "While it is easy to criticise the curricula of these schools and prove the defective training of the teachers and above all to condemn the low moral standards and practices of these institutions, we must, in all fairness, acknowledge that great ad- vance has been made in twenty-five years. Formerly a few schools were taught by blind or cripple sheikhs who trained boys to repeat aloud passages from the Koran till committed to memory. Advanced learning Avas then confined to the in- tricacies of Arabic grammar and the casuistries of the ceremonial law. Even girls' schools have been opened and with the plainer elements of education various kinds of needlework are taught. The ob- ject of the government is twofold : (1) To instill the tenets of Islam into children. (2) By teaching Turkish to bind the Arabs more to the ruling race. Stringent orders are periodically issued that no Moslem youth be allowed to attend Christian schools while Moslem graduates from government schools are rewarded by obtaining the official posi- tions formerly held by Christians. This action of the government was forced upon it by the fact that Christians had many educational facilities afforded Islam in Syria and Palestine 67 by various missionary societies. Broad generaliza- tions are not usually accurate, but it is safe to note that Syrians are not much given to reading or home study, and only their keen interest in political changes stimulates them to read the newspapers. The contact of Islam with Christian churches began in Syria and Palestine with a bloody war of conquest. Christians were killed in large num- bers ; according to Arab historians 70,000 were slain at the battle of Pella. Churches were ruined or turned into mosques and populous cities were destroyed, many never to be repopulated. Islam ruled by a trinity — the sword, the Arabic language, and contemptuous hatred of the unbeliever. A bitter enmity was thus engendered which the Crusades aggravated. Since then Christians have turned to Europe with hopes of deliverance from bondage, and have lent themselves as tools to scheming diplomacy. As a result the Moslem re- gards his Christian neighbour not only from a re- ligious standpoint as an infidel, but politically as a disloyal subject from whom treachery is to be feared. So bitter is this antagonism that few Ori- ental Christians care to preach the gospel to Mos- lems, and even Protestants share this sentiment. Between Islam and the Christian churches there is a middle wall of partition which only faith work- ing in love can break down. Islam as a system, not having elements of prog- ress within itself, has not developed. The Arabic language of Mohammed's time has changed little. 68 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the religion less. Ideas which were fused into a system by the fiery zeal of the founder have be- come cold in the mould of the Koran. It extends as drifting sand does and grows by addition and not by inner life-development. (1) In some places there are orders of dervishes ; e. g., the whirling dervishes of Tripoli, Syria. (2) Local associations of men, withoutinterfering with their daily occupations, meet at night under the leadership of a sheikh and chant parts of the Koran, lists of divine attributes and prayers. Then forming a circle they sway in ordered movements to the exciting accompaniment of drums, cymbals and tomtoms till worked up into a nervous ecstasy. Such associations are the nurseries of fanatical zeal and the revival efforts of religious frenzy. They figure with green banners in religious processions but have no doctrinal or moral import. (3) The only reform attempted in Syria by any organized movement, that I know of, was that of the Shathleyeh. This came into prominence soon after 1880. Its leader was a sheikh living near Acre; dissatisfied with the formalism of Islam and influenced by a study of the New Testament he aimed at a thorough reform of a spiritual nature. He convinced some friends by his earnestness, and they became fellow workers. Gradually circles of inquirers were formed in various cities. These reformers did not separate themselves from other Moslems and strictly cannot be called a sect. The main principles taught were Islam in Syria and Palestine 69 the lad welling of God's spirit in every man and hence the brotherhood of men, and the spirituality of God's worship. The chief duties inculcated were great humility before God, love for fellow men, and zealous propagation of vital reform. Two methods of propagandism were used, (a) The formation of circles of inquirers, where a com- petent teacher initiated them into the truth and led them from one stage of enlightenment to a. higher. The New Testament was often used as a text-book, and the disciples were told to ponder religious truth not as it appeals to a worldly mind but as revealed bj'^ the illumination of the spirit. (Jj) These disciples were sent oat as were the sev- enty by our Lord to visit towns and villages and to instruct even the peasants by personal conver- sation and evening gatherings. The reformers not only showed a surprising lib- erality of doctrine, but also a readiness to adopt methods at variance with Eastern customs. A gifted woman, wife of a sheikh, was allowed. to go to towns and cities instructing women and even addressing men. Talking freely with an American missionary she told how she had been called of God to this service and said, "A spiritually minded Christian is nearer to me as a brother than a car- nally minded Moslem." A local leader who called himself Peter because, being a fisherman, he had heard the call of Christ and obeyed, told of his band of inquirers studying the Bible, and before me spoke of " God as the creator of the world, Christ 70 The Mohammedan World of To-Day as the redemption of the world, and the Holy Spirit as the sanctifier of mankind." His brother at first opposed and then believed and was known as Paul. Both Peter and Paul are still alive. A noteworthy feature of the teaching was that the authority and personality of Mohammed were quietly ignored. His name was not mentioned at the funeral of a sheikh of their number, nor did I hear the expression " Mohammed Apostle of God " once used. The practical effects of this reform were to draw those reached by it into friendly re- lations with Christians and to stimulate a study of the New Testament. The subsequent history of this reform has not fulfilled the bright hopes of its beginnings. The good seed fell on many hard- trodden paths and stony fields, but found little good ground. The reaction from legalism and formalism led some into Pantheism, with the logical consequences of denying the personality of God and of obliterating all distinction between good and evil. Charges of immoral practices at their evening gatherings remind us of sim- ilar accusations brought against the early Chris- tians. Another cause of the failure of this reform was the action of the government which wisely did not persecute them but gave the leaders official positions, granted their sons scholarships in Moslem schools, and forbade further propagandism. Thus spirituality was killed, and we hear little of the reform now, but in many hearts lie germs of the Islam in Syria and Palestine 71 truth taught, which may spring up under more favourable conditions. All missionary bodies working in Syria and Palestine, except those for the Jews, which do not use the Arabic language, are working directly and indirectly for the conversion of Moslems. None are so unwise as to proclaim this object ostenta- tiously, nor so rash as to make direct attack on Islam, arousing mob violence and calling forth governmental prohibitions. Bible and Tract Societies, churches, schools and hospitals offer their advantages to all alike. One school for girls is named the St. George Moslem School, but is generally known by the name of its late founder Miss Taylor. It receives only non- Christian pupils. Some years ago Mr. "Van Tassel attempted evangelistic work among the Bedouin near Hums, but his work was stopped by the gov- ernment. Mr. Forder has worked among the Bedouin or half settled Arabs on the southeastern bounds of Palestine. Many others are working also whose work is not exclusively and solely directed towards the Mohammedans. It is a common remark that each one regards his field as the most difficult. Without making this claim, and leaving out of consideration the diffi- culties common to all evangelistic work among Moslems we note those peculiar to the land under consideration. (1) Probably no other part of the world has within such narrow confines so many religions / 2 The Mohammedan World of To-Daj apart in sympathy and social life ; for, in addition to well-known religions, there are some not found elsewhere ; viz., the Druzes, Isniailiyeh, Ansaireyeh, Maronites, and Samaritans. Underlying all nom- inal beliefs is the broad foundation of ancient Semitic heathenism ; this is shown by the popular worship of spirits dwelling in trees, caves, and on mountain tops. The favour of these spirits is sought by prayers, vows and sacrifices. Base su- perstition thus reinforces a more intelligent bigotry. (2) This being a holy land there is a keen rivalry for the possession of sacred sites and shrines ; and the Moslem suspects the Christian as well as the Jew of trying to recover lost ground. (3) In many lands politics and religion are closely intertwined, but here they are twain made one. Every movement which in the remotest de- gree can affect the political world moves electric- ally through Islam and either arouses their fanat- ical hopes or moves them to sullen revenge. (4) Volumes might be written of the Turkish Government as a hindrance, but as the subject is unspeakable it will be left to the intelligence of each one to supply what is lacking. Opportunities are closely related to the diffi- culties and are often found to be the obstacles themselves when conquered. (1) The general tone of the people is reverently religious if not spiritual. Fanatical bigotry be- comes, when converted, earnest consecration. Greetings, popular expressions, introductions to Islam in Syria and Palestine 73 books, letters, etc., are full of pious terms. The topic of religion is a familiar one in conversation, and even the question of personal religion if wisely treated is not resented. (2) The fact that Moslems abhor the use of pictures, images, and crucifixes, in worship, and that they reject priestly absolution, and that auric- ular confession for their women is impossible, makes them more open to evangelical influences than to any other. Some have said, " If we be- come Christians we shall be Protestants." (3) An opportunity is afforded in the general belief that Jesus will come. Jews await their Messiah ; the Druzes look for their Messiah, and the expectation of some Moslems is contained in an answer to the question, " Are you satisfied with the spiritual life of Islam ? " which was, " I am not ; but we look for a reformer — a Mahdi, and our ablest learned men tell us he will be Isa (Jesus)." These vague hopes, mistaken and imperfect as some of them are, point to Christ as the hope of non-Christians, and give a bond of unity to all re- ligious aspirations. The agency which would naturally come first, in any discussion of methods used, we omit wholly. Open air services, public discussions, etc., are illegal. Since we are discussing not the best, but actual methods, we mention : (1) Bible distribution. As Islam rests upon the alleged divine authority of the Koran it dis- tinguishes between religions " of a book " and those 74 The Mohammedan World of To-Day which have no revealed canon of faith and pi'ao- tice. Evangelical Christianity honours God's vt^ord and offers it freely to Moslems, who respect it while they do not accept it as the final revelation. When the Scriptures are read to them, their atti- tude is respectful. Neai'ly all are ready to re- ceive, and many to purchase a Bible. The favourite parts are Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs and strange to say, the Gospel of St. John. In a village near Tyre I saw a Shiite reading the Bible, who, when asked why he read a Christian's book, replied earnestly, " I have never found anything which scours sin from my heart as this does." Even among the Bedouin some are found who can and will read the Scriptures. (2) Generally, and especially in new districts, the medical work is the second agency. Christ in I^azareth could do no mighty work because of their unbelief save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk and healed them. This has often been the experience of His servants since. He who in Christ's service can say " take up thy bed and walk," may also add, and in His blood thy sins are forgiven thee. Good is done if only one out of ten healed returns to give God the glory and to re- ceive a higher blessing. A Circassian, who had watched for hours the medical service of poor suf- ferers, said to me, " This is wonderful ; we have nothing like it in our religion." Throughout Syria and Palestine are hospitals and dispensaries much frequented by Moslems. This form of work Islam in Syria and Palestine 75 is less opposed by the government than any other. (3) Education is another method. Circumstances have pressed this agency to great prominence, and if the conditions of work were the same here as elsewhere we should say that an undue propor- tion of labour and expense was devoted to educa- tion. Day schools, boarding institutions, and col- leges welcome Moslem pupils. It is a tribute to the superior advantages of these institutions that in spite of .much opposition so many non-Chris- tians are found in them. In the day schools of the Sidon field last year these numbered about two hundred and fifty. In three years the Moslem pupils in the college have increased from forty-five to ninety-eight, but part of this growth is due to the influx of Moham- medans from Egypt. As Bible study is an essen- tial part of every curriculum, and the Scriptures a text-book, both seeds of truth and printed pages are carried to many Moslem homes. A Moham- medan asked me to thank the teachers of a day school for what they had done for his daughter who before her death repeated beautiful verses and sang sweet hymns. On the other hand an official in Beirut lately published a pamphlet vilely abusive of all Moslems who send their children to Christian schools. His attack was ably answered by liberal Moslem writers. (4) "Work among Mohammedan women through house to house visits and special meetings. Such 76 The Mohammedan World of To-Day work is being faithfully conducted by consecrated ladies aided by trained Bible readers. Eeports vary as to freedom of access and the readiness of such women to receive the gospel. Such work is in some places contemptuously ignored, in some welcomed, and in some, as in Safed and Sidon, the meetings for Moslem women have become the object of government opposition. A Catholic priest said to me, " What a wonderful change has taken place in among Moslem women. So many of them speak of Jesus as Lord and Messiah." (5) Distribution of literature especially adapted to enlighten Moslems and written in an acceptable style. What are the results ? An inscription in mosaic centuries ago dedicated a church in Jerusalem " to the martyrs whose names the Lord alone knows." There are results of work among Moslems known to the Lord alone. David was not blessed in num- bering his people. Statistics as to the number of adult baptisms of Moslems are not available. The total is not large, but larger than many think. Some have left their native land ; some are not, and others are spared to honour Christ by con- fession and service. Again there is a larger num- ber (1) of secret believers who fear persecution and death ; (2) of fair-minded inquirers who are students of the Book; (3) of those whose beliefs and character have been influenced by Chris- tianity. Another result is a clearer conception of Christianity in its purity and spirituality of Islam in Syria and Palestine 77 belief and recognition of its beneficent influ- ences. Finally, the main result of what has been done is the apparent completion of the work of prepara- tion: (1) An Arabic Bible, pure in diction and ac- ceptable in form. (2) Native workers trained. (3) The machinery of work, if we may so desig- nate churches built, schools established, hospitals opened, presses at work, and a Christian literature prepared. Now has come the time to work for new results. When in answer to strong faith and earnest prayer God in His own appointed time sends His spirit with power from on high then will results already achieved be multiplied many fold. And to His name shall be the glory. VI Islam in Arabia Rev. J. C. Young, M. D. "When the Koran and Mecca shall have disappeared from Arabia, then, and then, only, can we expect to see the Arab as- sume that place in the ranks of civilization from which Moham- med and his book have more than any other cause long held him back." — William Gifford Palgrave. VI Islam in Arabia The social condition of Arabia is exactly what might be expected in a country where the women are almost wholly uneducated and are looked upon as mere animals whose sole purpose in life is to bear children for the husband, cook his food and fear his frown. Polygamy is common, especially among the religious class and those connected with a mosque. Divorce is easy and often the slightest excuse is deemed sufficient reason for getting rid of a wife. Once I told a man who brought his wife to our dispensary that there was abso- lutely no hope for her recovery from a non-in- fectious disease of nutrition, but that if she was carefully dieted she would probably live for several months. He thanked me most profoundly, and that very day divorced his wife, promising to pay up her dowry at the rate of one rupee a week. Scores of similar cases might be mentioned, but I content myself with saying that I scarcely know one man above thirty years of age who has not been married two or three times. True love be- tween husband and wife is rarely seen in South Arabia and in this my experience corresponds with that of the Eev. John Van Ess in Busrah, who says that " family life lacks stability and mothers 82 The Mohammedan World of To-Day often train their sons to spit at their father and use vituperative language to hira, as such acquire- ments are considered to give evidence of a manly spirit." He also states that among the nomad Arabs and those under Patriarchal government polygamy is the invariable rule, one sheikh hav- ing more than forty wives and not knowing many of his own children. He also travelled with a man who bartered his wife for a rifle ; the transaction being looked upon as perfectly legitimate and the bargain a good one for both sides. Among the Shiites in Kerbela and Nejf tem- porary marriages are common for a week, a month, or a longer period. The contract and familiarity end with the time limit, except there be offspring from the temporary union, when the man would be expected to support the child till the age of seven. I am glad however to be able to state that both in Aden and Sheikh Othman there are parents who begin to think of educating their daughters ; and from the Kev. James Cautine I hear that this is being done in Oman, where the colporteurs say that they sell more books to women than to men, and that in native schools women are often the only teachers. These are remarkably hopeful signs; and I think we may venture to expect that the day is not far distant when the female sex will insist on being treated as human beings, and in doing so, will elevate both male and female, old and young. D H Ui O u J < Q 2 CQ Di W 2; < o O U w u u w o !g S o Islam in Arabia 83 Monogamy would, to a large extent, do away with prostitution and that more unnatural vice so common in every Mohammedan country. When first I went to Arabia, it was common in our village. Politically the whole of Arabia may be said to be in a state of unrest. In the Yemen, the Turks have once more got the upper hand and the crushed but not wholly subdued Arabs have been compelled to nurse the wrongs they would fain avenge. Great tracts of country have been laid waste and everything spells ruin where once the hardy peasant sowed his grain and reaped his fields. Because of neglect to repair it, a dam built on the Euphrates at a cost of 80,000 Turkish pounds is useless, leaving that great river, even in the spring flood, a very little stream, while the whole of the surrounding country is turned into a marsh. For 200 miles along the Euphrates to its junction with the Tigris, the whole stretch of country is little more than a dismal swamp, through which a stream runs too shallow to float any steamer. Consequently only light draught sailboats are found on the river, in which travellers are afraid to venture because the inhabitants of the marshes, having become robbers, kill the crews and rob the passing boats. The Turkish ofiicials wink at the matter, while a few thousand pounds ex- pended on drainage would render the land arable and make the river safe for traffic. The Rev. John Yan Ess, who was the first 84 The Mohammedan World of To-Day foreigner in modern times to cross the great triangle bounded by the Tigris, the Euphrates and Shatt el Hai, says that, owing to Turkish misrule, this vast tract of land, inhabited by the savage and bloodthirsty Ma'adan Arabs, who live by piracy, has become utterly waste, although less than a day's journe}'^ from the governor's head- quarters. The people there, .and in every part of Arabia under Turkish rule, have reason to fear the emissaries of the government, as the tax collector comes down and takes away most, if not all, the crops which the peasant has toiled hard to raise. Consequently peasant and shepherd alike often leave everything in the officer's hands, and turn their attention to robbery and pillage. Such a result must be expected in a land where offices with only a nominal salary attached to them are openly sold to the highest bidder, it being fully understood that the recipient thereof will not only open his hands for bribes to live upon, but also for favours with which to pay old debts and make provision for the time when he shall be no longer steward. From the first he recognizes the fact that such a time will surely come, as the term of his office depends upon his ability to satisfy the caprice or greed of the man above him in rank. When I was in Hodeidah some years ago, the town swarmed with starved soldiery waiting for vessels to take them back to Turkey. The poor fellows were in rags and in a most unsanitary con- dition ; but as an insurrection broke out some dis- Islam in Arabia 85 taiice from the town, these men, whose time had expired nearly two years before, were armed, given a little food and sent away to stamp out the rebellion. Three days after we saw many of them that had been wounded in battle brought back in open boats and deposited like bales of cloth on the shore, where they lay for hours in a scorching sun till a little donkey-cart was brought to pick them up and take them to the hospital, if the dirty shanty to which they were taken could be called by that name. Throughout Arabia military conscription is rigidly carried out except on the payment of fifty pounds as ransom ; but in this, as in everything else, bribery is common, for Mr. Van Ess says, " I am personally acquainted with a Turkish doctor who has become rich by declaring men drawn for military service to be physically unfit. As the said medico has an itching palm, a dead conscience, and the hunger of a crab, he has to be bribed by the same conscript for many years." The old confederation of tribes in Mesopotamia seems to have been broken up except in name. Most of the sheikhs have been pensioned or given the title of Pasha and told to keep quiet even when their flocks and herds are taken for supplies to feed the troops. A few tribes are still up in arms and follow a life of brigandage or keep up their martial spirit with intertribal warfare. There are two tribes on the Euphrates which annually lose hundreds of men in such a strife, the primal 86 The Mohammedan World of To-Day cause of which was a quarrel over a fish eight years ago. Bahrein is a British Protectorate and conse- quently there is much greater freedom than there used to be when first the Arabian Mission began work in the island. Hassa is a Turkish province holding rather an anomalous position as it is separated both by sea and land from other Turkish territory. Conse- quently a much larger military force is required to keep it in proper subjection than if it were possible to march troops from the surrounding district. The Pirate Coast and Oman are much influenced by their nearness to India, consequently towns both large and prosperous are found all along the coast. In Nejd, a peace has been patched up but I fear that it is only temporary, since the heredi- tary hatred between Ibn Saud and Ibn Eashid sooner or later will be manifested in the same way as year after year in the past. In the Hadramaut there is quietness for the present ; but as the sheikh of Makulla still feels galled by his late defeat, one fears that it is not likely to last, and the probability is that for many years no other than a medical mission can hope to settle in that country. The intellectual condition, on the whole, is of a high order, except that there is lack of ambition and applicative power. When however these faculties are aroused, an Arab is able to hold his own with most of the Eastern races and I have Islam in Arabia 87 often been surprised with the sharpness of an Arab's intelligence and the grasp that he takes of the subject in hand. As a rule, however, there is little ambition to learn anything more than how to read the Koran, write a short letter, and do simple arithmetic. In the Persian Gulf nearly fifteen per cent, of those who dwell in towns can read and write ; but among the tribes two per cent, is a high figure. This is partly owing to the fact that in some towns the Turkish Government provides free education, teaching such subjects as physiology, algebra, physical and political geography, the elements of physics, and Turkish, Persian, Arabic and French. But very few except the merchant class and those study- ing theology ever stay longer at school than to learn to read the Koran. This is the case even in Oman, where the Abadhi sect of Islam pre- vails, and illiteracy is comparatively speaking uncommon even among women. As there is practically no native church in Arabia, one can scarcely speak of Islam's atti- tude towards it, although in Aden and the sur- rounding districts there have been many perver- sions from the Latin and Abyssinian church owing to the pressure put upon nominally Christian traders in MakuUa by the Sultan, and on the working men in Aden and Sheikh Othman by their fellow workmen. Many Abyssinians and Gallas, in order to avoid this persecution, call themselves by Moslem names when they come to 88 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Aden to work and revert to their old names when they leave Aden. The first time I went to a village in the interior, I had to pay a large sum of money for a few hours shelter from the sun. The next time a guard was put round our tents when we went to the village to prevent our having intercourse with the people. But the third time the chief men came over to bid us welcome, and sat with us day after day discussing the great questions of sin and salvation. Then when we left they gave us a hearty send-off, begged us to hasten back again, and tied a basket of fowls to the pack camel's load as a present for the doctor. On the whole then, one can say that as a rule the Moslem here is not bitterly antagonistic to Protestant Christianity, although he fears it more than he does those corrupted forms in which the images of Mary and the other saints play such an important part that may offend his convictions. Of special developments in Islam, I can say little. In the Aden district and neighbouring coun- tries there are none, unless one mentions a grow- ing carelessness towards any and every form of religion, together with a tendency towards rank infidelity which I heard more of in Hodeidah than in Aden. "Wahabism, Suflsm, and the other minor sects are practically unknown in South Arabia nowadays, but when one goes up among the mountains tribes, he finds worship of dead saints and similar superstitions very common. A TYPICAL ARAB OF YEMEN Islam in Arabia 89 In one village I found that all sheikhs' graves had a headstone in which there was a place for a light and a receptacle for the food which the devotees bring and offer to the dead saint for his intercession. Even in Sheikh Othman, while the children's heads are usually shaved there is always a little lock left on the crown that is devoted to the Waly (Saint) and kept there until the boy's marriage day. Then he slaughters a sheep, prays to the Waly, has his head shaved, and gives a present to the Sheikh for the upkeep of the Waly''s tomb. There are now four different societies at work in Arabia and at least three others that are act- ing indirectly. The oldest society is the Church Missionary Society which broke ground at Bagdad in the year 1882, carrying on the work as a branch of its Persian Mission. This was a natural develop- ment because Bagdad is close to the sacred places of the Shiite Mohammedans, to which people annually flock from all parts of Persia. In 1887 medical mission work was begun and in 1898 the connection with the Persian Mission was dissolved, the independent mission being called the Turkish Arabia Mission. Two years later Mosul was oc- cupied as a branch station near the site of ancient Nineveh. Like its two sister missions the Church Mission- ary Society has suffered much from the unhealthi- ness of the region and has consecrated its work with the lives of those who died in harness. QO The Mohammedan World of To-Day " Though God buries His worlcers, He still carries on His work," and in Bagdad there are four mis- sionaries at work. In Mosul there are also four missionaries. In the year 1885 the Hon. Ion Keith Falconer, third son of the late Earl of Kintore, went out to Aden to see if he could start a mission thei'e. The following year saw him back with a fully qualified medical man to assist him. Before he could do much more than settle down to work, however, the Lord called him to higher service, and his place vsras taken by others. The mission he founded has ever since been carried on in his name by the Free Church of Scotland (now called the United Free Church) which has also erected a church, called the Keith-Falconer Memorial Presbyterian Church, in Steamer Point, for the Presbyterian soldiers stationed there. The staff at present consists of two ordained medical missionaries. The third society to take the field was the Arabian Mission of the Eeformed Church in America. This society was organized in 1889, and Busrah was occupied in 1891, Muscat in 1893 and Bahrein in 1892, as stations of that mission. The missionary force consists of five missionaries, two of them with their wives, and two unmarried mis- sionary women at Bahrein (two of the missionaries being physicians), and one medical missionary and his wife, who is also a physician, two ordained missionaries, and one unmarried missionarv woman Islam in Arabia 91 at Busrah. Nasariyeh on the Euphrates, and Am- ara on the Tigris are occupied as out stations. Three j'ears ago the National Church of Den- mark began a mission at MakuUa but its mission- ary was expelled by the Sultan, and while he was waiting for a way to be opened into Hadramaut, it was agreed that a portion of the work in Sheikh Othman should be carried on by the Danish Church, a plan which has now worked harmoniously for more than two years. The societies working indirectly are : The British and Foreign Bible Society in Aden, Bagdad, Busrah, etc. ; the Ameri- can Bible Society in the Persian Gulf ; the Bible Lands Mission Aid Society, which aids by cash appropriations. Special Difficulties or Opportunities Under the British government one has no special difficulties to contend with, but the case is different immediately Turkish territory is entered. Throughout Turkish Arabia bazaar preaching and open discussion are forbidden. In and around Aden there is no restriction, although one has always to be careful not to offend the susceptibilities of the people by using strong language. Even if converts were thus gained, life would be made unbearable for them in a way that no government could prevent. For many years, in any case, converts must expect persecution, but an honest, earnest Christian life would, through time, be freed therefrom and open the way for others to follow. 92 The Mohammedan World of To-Day In Turkish Arabia military conscription often makes men feign to be inquirers in the hope that they will be helped to flee the country. It is very hard to distinguish the false from the true, when both appear to be anxiously seeking the truth. The Eev. James Cantine says that in Oman there are special difficulties : " The scattered population, the poverty of the people, and their notable licen- tiousness, as well as interference with work inland by occasional tribal warfare." Every mission in Arabia too has the following difficulties to contend with ; viz. (1) A hot and unhealthy climate without any near place to which the missionary could go in order to rest and re- cruit after fever. (2) The great expense of keep- ing up a mission. As a rule prices are twice or thrice what they are in India, and assistants, col- porteurs and evangelists require to have at least three times the pay that is given in India. In Turkish Arabia, too, all medical men are re- quired to proceed to Constantinople and pass an examination there either in Turkish or French be- fore they are allowed to practice as medical mis- sionaries. Special opportunities for work are: The mis- sion stations are so located that there are very few districts in Arabia which cannot be reached through indirect channels. Every village of any size at one time or another sends its representative to Bagdad, Busrah, Bahrein, Muscat or Aden, while from far in the interior sick ones are brought to Islam in Arabia 93 the mission hospitals and dispensaries for treat- ment and so give the missionaries an opportunity of reaching places that they could never hope to visit in person. In East Arabia, now, the missionaries are sure of a warm welcome wherever they go, and places that but a few years ago were closed are now open for the gospel. In Southeast Arabia the Rev. James Cantine says there is " an almost universally cordial reception inland, and in large coast towns the people are not at all fanatical. There is prac- tically no interference from the Sultan " (of Oman). " Work among the soldier class," says the Eev. John Yan Ess, "presents two prime advantages : it finds a field peculiarly fallow because of the loneliness of the soldier's life, and the constant shifting of regiments carries the gospel into regions closed to colportage." It is impossible to tabulate the results of faithful work in these different parts of Arabia ; but all of us must rejoice that first fruits have been gathered in from every field, although not from every sta- tion. Prejudices have been broken down and now there is not only a tolerance of Christian teaching, but a real interest in and a better appreciation of true Christianity. Several thousand scriptures are sold every year along with very many educational works and not a few religious papers and contro- versial tracts are given to the people on their way to the interior. In Sheikh Othman, where the at- tendances at the dispensary have risen from two 94 The Mohammedan World of To-Day thousand to above forty thousand, we are about to erect a hospital ; and an application has been made to government for a site on which to build mission premises at Dthala, a place nearly 100 miles north of Aden and just on the border of Turkish ter- ritory. From the very first the Keith-Falconer Mission had a fully qualified medical missionary on its staff, and experience taught the other societies the necessity for healing the sick as well as preaching the gospel. Consequently now there are dispen- saries and rudimentary or properly built hospitals in Mosul, Bagdad, Busrah, Bahrein and Sheikh Othman, Aden, while from each of these centres the medical missionaries go out on tour and pave the way for evangelistic effort and colportage. All of these medical missions are known far and near, and sometimes draw patients hundreds even thousands of miles for treatment. That at Sheikh Othman has had patients coming (and bringing let- ters with them from old patients) from farther north than Mecca and Medina, from Abyssinia, Somaliland and Hadramaut. I am told that at Bahrein, Busrah and Bagdad, patients from the in- land Riadh and Hail are frequent. Under the head of educational work I not only include the keeping open of a school in which Bible instruction is given synchronously with secular education, but also efforts to educate the moral sense and create within the children higher desires and nobler aspirations than any of them Islam in Arabia 95 possess. Very few Moslem children have any sense of modesty as we understand the word, and it is our duty to awaken this, if we can, and also to show them the real distinction between truth and falsehood, while we make plain to them the necessity of being honest with God. All Moslem children come to our schools with certain precon- ceived ideas and religious beliefs, which we should aim to get rid of without injuring the faith of the scholar. I have found that a strong light cast upon a properly made and properly placed globe has had a spendid educational effect on both old Moslems and young, for it shows that the com- mand to keep Kamadhan is not of God, since in certain countries it could not be obeyed. This can usually be done in the routine work of the day, and for this reason, if for no other, I think it is always advisable in teaching geography to have at least one globe in the school. A statistical map is also helpful, showing the countries that are Moslem and those that are Christian, and how Protestant Christian countries have flourished while Moslem countries have decayed. The magic lantern or stereopticon is largely used in some parts of Arabia ; for though Moslems say that "angels never enter a house where there are pictures or dogs," the average Moslem of the present day will gaze with wonder on, and be quickly attracted to a lantern lecture. Experi- ence has, however, taught me that nude or semi- nude figures should never be shown on the screen 96 The Mohammedan World of To-Day and rarely if ever should a fanciful representation of our Saviour be shown. From such pictures as the children of Israel crossing the Jordan, Joseph before Pharoah, Euth declining to leave Naomi and Solomon pronouncing judgment, the conver- sation can be so turned that " a good word for Jesus" may be spoken. At any rate lantern dem- onstrations please the people and make them more friendly with the missionary, opening up a way for both man and message. In all the missions in Arabia the colporteur is to be seen at work, and every year several thou- sand copies of God's word in whole or in part, are sold by those who carry the books from house to house. A shop too in the village or town where the missionary dwells is usually rented as a book- shop and discussion-room into which all are in- vited, quietly to read the newspapers and religious periodicals placed there. Our experience is that this room should be made as attractive as possible, and that no effort should be made to force the conversation into a religious groove until the stranger has learned to trust the one who speaks. Bazaar preaching may be carried on but our experience is that far more good is done by per- sonal dealings with individuals than in speaking to multitudes. This brings me to say that all the different methods named must be kept subordinate to real evangelistic work. For nothing but the " Man of God " thoroughly alive with the love of God has ever been the agent of real missionary Islam in Arabia 97 conquest, and rarely if ever has there been any other instrument in his hand than the Word of God, although surgical operations, medical attend- ance, school lessons, kindly interference on behalf of the oppressed, and a warm interest in the people's welfare, may have tended to clear, and in my opinion often, have cleared the way for the man and his message. Consequently in all the missions these are used as auxiliaries. VII Islam in Arabia {The Wahabis) Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D. D. "It surely is not without a purpose that this wide-spread and powerful race [the Arabs] has been kept these four thousand years, unsubdued and undegeuerate, preserving still the vigour and simplicity of its character. It is certainly capable of a great future ; and as certainly a great future lies before it. It may be among the last peoples of Southwestern Asia to yield to the transforming influences of Christianity and a Christian civiliza- tion. But to those influences it will assuredly yield in the full- ness of time." — Edson L. Clark, VII Islam in Arabia In writing on this land the first difficulty, and one that can hardly be avoided, is that we must deal so largely with unknown quantities. Not only from a geographical but also from a religious point of view the great peninsula still awaits ex- ploration. The latest authority on this subject, David George Hogarth, F.R.G.S., writes in his book, The Penetration of Arabia : " From certain scientific points of view hardly anything in Arabia is known. Not a hundredth part of the peninsula has been mathematically sur- veyed ; the altitude of scarcely a single point even on the littoral has been fixed by an exact process, and we depend on little more than guesses for all points in the interior. . . . Between the inner- most points reached by Europeans in their at- tempts to penetrate it intervenes a dark space of 650 miles span from north to south, and 850 from west to east. This unseen area covers considerably more than half a million square miles, or not much less than half the whole superficies of Arabia." Of the real condition of this part of the penin sula we are therefore in ignorance except for hear- say and native report. The Dahna may hold semi-pagan tribes of Arabs or remnants of ab- 102 The Mohammedan World of To-Day origines like the Shikhuh in northern Oman. Arabia was not always a Mohammedan land, nor is it wholly a Mohammedan land to-day. There are Jews in Yemen and Irak to the number of at least 150,000, while in the Busrah and Bagdad vilayets there are 12,850 oriental Christians. Whether the semi-pagan tribes of eastern Ha- dramaut, who on the testimony of travellers know nothing of Islam except the name of Mohammed, are to be counted as Moslems is an open question. Taking the boundary of Arabia on the north as the thirtieth parallel of latitude the area of the country is a million of square miles. This large region, according to the careful estimates of Dr. Hubert Jansen, has a population of 6,290,860 ; he estimates that of these 6,153,193 are Moslems.'^ Of this number 1,184,500 are in Turkish Arabia in the Provinces of Hejaz, Yemen, and Hassa, 3,500,000 in Independent Arabia, and 1,606,360 in what Jansen calls Arabia under British pro- tection — i. e., Aden, Bahrein, and Oman. In my opinion these estimates are not wide of the truth. All four of the orthodox sects of Islam are represented in Arabia. In the Turkish provinces the Hanafis ; in Yemen there are many Shafis ; in the interior Malekis and Hanbalis. The Shiah sect is found on the east coast, and is strong in Mesopotamia; while the Abadhi sect, of Shiah origin, is found in many parts of Oman. The one sect, however, which is distinctly ' Verlreituug des Mama. Berlin, 1897. Islam in Arabia 103 Arabian, and because of its vast and lasting in- fluence worthy of special note, is that of the Wahabis. To study their origin, history, tenets and influence is to have a good insight into Islam as it is to-day in Arabia. The rise of innumerable heresies as the result of philosophical speculation, the spread of mysti- cism among the learned classes, and the return to many heathen superstitions on the part of the masses, made Islam ripe for reform at the middle of the eighteenth century. Add to this that there was a general decadence of morals under the Ottoman Caliphate, and that there had been a lull in Moslem conquest. Except for a temporary revival of missionary activity on the part of the Moslems of China and the spread of Islam among the Barbarj'' Tartars, the eighteenth century saw little advance for the Crescent. Instead of con- quest there was controversy. The germs of idolatry left by Mohammed in his system bore fruit also in Arabia. Saint-worship became com- mon. The Shiahs had made Kerbela the rival of Mecca and Medina as a place of pilgrimage. There were local shrines of holy men near every village, and stone and tree-worship were not at all uncommon. The whole world of thought was honeycombed with superstitions, and the old-time simplicity of morals and life had given way to luxury and sensuality. Burckhardt testifies re- garding Mecca itself (which has always been to the pious Moslem the cynosure of his faith) that, just 104 The Mohammedan World of To-Day before the time of the Wahabi reformation, de- bauchery was fearfully common, and that harlotry and even unnatural vices were perpetrated openly in the sacred city. Almsgiving had grown obso- lete ; justice was neither swift nor impartial ; effeminacy had displaced the martial spirit ; and the conduct of the pilgrim-caravans was scandalous in the extreme. Such was the condition of Arabia when Mo- hammed Bin Abd ul Wahab bin Musherrif was born at Wasit in Nejd, 1691 A. d. Before his death this great reformer, earnest as Luther, and zealous as Cromwell, saw his doctrines accepted and his laws obeyed from the Persian Gulf to the Yemen frontier. As a result of his teaching there sprang up in the short space of fifty years not only a new, widely extended, and important Mos- lem sect, but an independent and powerful state. Abd ul Wahab was a whirlwind of puritan- ism against the prevailing apostasy of the Moslems of his day. His sect was a protest against idolatry and superstition. It stood for no new teaching, but was a call back to the original Islam. It was an honest attempt at an Arabian reformation which was intended to ropristinate the entire Moslem world. Yet, so far from giving a pro- gressive impulse to Moslem thought, it has proved the most reactionary element in the history of Islam. In the year 17-iO, the preacher of reform made an alliance with the powerful Arab chief, Mo- Islam in Arabia 105 hammed bin Saud, and then the religious warfare for the truth began. To give the history in detail of the rise of the Wahabi state, and its bloody conflicts, first with the Arabs and afterwards against the Turks and the Egyptians, as well as the histoiy of the two British campaigns from India against the Wahabi pirates of Oman, is impossible in the narrow limits of this paper. A brief account and a list of the literature on this subject can be found in the Journal of the Victoria Institute for 1901. Because Wahabi teaching has modified Islam all over the Arabian peninsula, and still exercises a mighty influence on thought and politics, it is im- portant to note on what points a thoroughgoing Wahabi differs from an orthodox Moslem : 1. They do not receive the dogmatic decisions of the four Imams, reject Ijina'a, i. e., the unani- mous consent of the theologians, and profess to hold the right of private judgment in interpreting the Koran. 2. Their monotheism is absolute. Prayers may not be offered in the name of any prophet, wali, or saint. Palgrave's famous description of Allah is a true picture of the Wahabi doctrine of God. They are fatalists. 3. Together with this absolute monotheism they are accused, and not without reason, of having crude and anthropomorphic ideas of deity. They understand the words, " sitting " and " Hand of God " in a strictly literal sense. lo6 The Mohammedan World of To-Day 4. They hold that Mohammed cannot intercede now, but that he may on the last day. In this they differ from all other Moslem sects. 5. They think it wrong to build cupolas over graves, or to honour the dead by illuminations or the visiting of tombs, etc. 6. They are accused of holding that certain portions of the original Koran were abstracted by Othman out of envy when he had made his recen- sion superseding all other copies.^ 7. They observe only four festivals in the calendar year. 8. They forbid the use of the rosary, and count the names of God and their prayers on the knuckles of the hand instead. 9. In the matter of dress they advocate sim- plicity. All silk, jewels, silver and gold, and other than Arabian dress are an abomination to God and to His prophet. 10. All drugs that benumb or stupefy, and especially tobacco, are strictly forbidden and put under the category of greater sins. The weed is known by the name of " the shameful " or by a still worse and untranslatable epithet which im- plies a purely Satanic origin for the plant. 11. "Wahabi mosques are built with the greatest simplicity, and no minarets are allowed nor orna- ment in the place of prayer. 12. The sect lays great stress on the doctrine of JiJiad or religious warfare. To fight for the ' See Badger'a History of Oman, pp. 252, 253. Islam in Arabia 107 faith with carnal weapons is a command of God never to be abrogated. In all their bloody battles they never were known to grant quarter to a Tui-k. They keep Mohammed's precept diligently, " Kill the unbelievers wherever ye find them." A careful survey of these and other points of difference leaves no doubt of the reactionary char- acter of this reform movement. It is an advance backward and progress towards an imjpasse. And yet if ever a reform had promise of success it was the "Wahabi revival in Arabia. Mohammed bin Abd ul Wahab understood the strength and the weakness of Islam as no one before him did. Saud the founder of the Wahabi state was a great man. Though at the head of a powerful military govern- ment, he appears never (outside the laws of relig- ion) to have encroached upon the legitimate freedom of his subjects. The great principle of separating the judicial from the executive branch of government he understood not only, but faith- fully carried out. The "Wahabi judges of those days were noted for their impartiality ; they were so well paid from the public treasury that they did not need bribes for bread. Robbery met with the swift old-time punishment of chopping off the hand of the culprit. "We are told, " The people lay down to sleep at night with no fear that their cattle would be stolen in the morning; and a single merchant with his camel load of wares could travel in safety from the Persian Gulf to the Eed Sea." To-day even a well-armed caravan dares to travel io8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day only by daylight through Turkish Hassa and Yemen. Public education had no mean place in the Wahabi state. Schools were everywhere estab- lished and teachers sent even to the Bedouins ; and although instruction was very elementary, its wide-spread results are apparent in Nejd and Yemama to this day. Of the influence of the "Wahabi revival on Islam in India and in Africa and on the rise of the mod- ern Moslem Brotherhoods there is no space here to write. In Arabia the chief strongholds of the sect are along the coast of the Persian Gulf in Oman and in 'Ajman and the Wady Doasir. In the lat- ter place they still preserve all their old-time be- liefs and fanaticism so as to be a proverb among the Arabs. The effect of the Wahabi movement has influ- enced all Arabian thought. It has built a wall of fanaticism around the old "Wahabi states, and post- poned the opening of doors to civilization and Christianity in that part of the peninsula. On the other hand some positive and negative results of the revival have, I think, favoured Christian missions. Islam in its primitive teaching is nearer the truth than Islam with all its added superstitions and ad- ditions of a later date. The Koran can more easily be made our ally in the battle for the gospel than the interpretations of the four Imams. My deal- ings with the "Wahabis have impressed me with Islam in Arabia 109 their accessibility on sj>iritual lines, once the way- is opened to their hearts. Negatively, Wahabism is a strong argument that Islam, even when reformed into its original prin- ciples and practices, has no power to save a people or introduce permanent progress. There is no bet- ter polemic against Islam than a presentation of the present intellectual, social, and moral condition of Arabia. Cradled at Mecca, fostered at Medina, and reformed in the Nejd, the creed of Islam has had indisputed possession of the peninsula almost since its birth. 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 conflict with cultured paganism, and there is no doubt that in both cases there were and are mutual concessions arid 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 everywhere ; while polygamy and divorce are fear- fully common. The conscience is petrified ; legal- ity is the highest form of worship ; virtue is to be like the prophet Mohammed. Intellectually there has been scant progress since "the time of igno- rance " when all the Arab 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 no The Mohammedan World of To-Day the name of education in even the larger towns. Kufa, which was once the Oxford of Arabia, now h^s one day school with twelve pupils ; Fatalism, the philosophy of the masses, has paralyzed prog- ress, and injustice is often stoically accepted. Cruelty is common, lying is a fine art, and robbery a science. Islam and the Wahabis have made the noble, free-hearted and hospitable Arabs hostile to Christians and wary of all strangers. Doughty and Palgrave, who both crossed the heart of Arabia, have given it as their verdict that there is no hope for this land in Islam. It has been tried zealously for thirteen hundred years and piteously failed. As regards the future of Islam in Arabia there are three factors. The old independent spirit in Nejd and Yemen, not to omit even Hejaz, is rest- less under the rule of Turkey. Eebellion has be- come chronic and threatens to be revolution. The proposed railway from Damascus to Mecca and the south is really a challenge to the other powers on the part of the Sultan to keep hands off Arabia. But the railway, when opened, may prove an open door to more than Turkish troops. This long and never ending conflict between the Arab and the Turk in Arabia is the first factor of the future problem. The second and more important factor is British policy in Arabia. That the whole country owes an immense debt to Great Britain in the past I Islam in Arabia 1 1 1 have shown elsewhere.^ To the outside observer there seems no doubt that her policy is aggressive in the hinterland of Aden, and that all the Arabs welcome it. On the littoral of Hadramaut and Oman, British influence is the only preserver of the peace, and her gunboats alone prevent piracy. In the Persian Gulf British prestige is gaining ground slowly but surely. "What is the aim of British policy in Arabia ? He who can answer that ques- tion can read the future of a large part of the dark peninsula. The third factor is Christian missions. "While it is inevitable that the advent of "Western civiliza- tion through British commerce and politics will modify Moslem thought even in Arabia as it has in India and Egypt, it is not to be taken for granted that either of these harbingers of progress are necessarily in conflict with Islam. But Christian missions exist to propagate Christianity. They have only recently entered Arabia, and yet the re- sults prove their efficiency and potency to a degree above the hopes of many. The United Free Church of Scotland has a very strong medical mis- sion at Sheikh Othman, a school for Moslem chil- dren, and does itinerating inland. The medical work of the Church Missionary Society Mission at Bagdad is known far inland in the villages and cities of Nejd, and has already borne rich spiritual fruit after years of self-denying toil in relieving ' The Cradle of Islam, pp. 218-232. 1 1 2 The Mohammedan World of To-Day suffering. Their school at Bagdad has 150 pupils. The American Mission in the Persian Gulf has six- teen missionaries with three stations and three out. stations. Over 4,000 Scriptures were sold last year to Moslems and 31,355 patients treated at our two dispensaries. Seventy -five per cent, of these were Moslems. At Bahrein there is a fully equipped mission hospital, and we ai-e building a chapel and school. In each of these three missions there have been converts and baptisms. The outlook for mis- sions in Arabia may demand a strong faith and a zeal that knows no discouragement, but it is de- cidedly hopeful, and is growing more hopeful year by year. For obvious reasons it would be unwise to give further details of missions in a land still so largely under the power of the Koran and its in- tolerant spirit. VIII Islam in Persia Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall, M. A., D.D. "What testimony moreover conld be so cogent as this to the inadequacy of Islam to meet the wants of the soul ? Mohammed refused to believe in a crucified Christ, but his followers trust to the cleansing power of tears shed for his murdered grandson. Do not these frantic cries call for the gospel of the Cross ? " — Wm. A. Shedd, D. D. VIII Islam in Persia Ever since the Arabian conquest of Persia, about the year 640 of our era, the dominant re- ligion of the country has been the Mohammedan, which was established by the sword. The Shiah form of Islam became supreme in the country during the tenth century. Although the Sunni faith was declared the religion of Persia under Nadir Shah in 1T36, yet Agha Mohammed, the founder of the present Qajar dynasty restored the supremacy of the Shiah faith in 1796. There is no such thing as a census in Persia and hence it is impossible to form accurate estimates of the population. Lord Curzon believes that it is between eight and ten millions. Of these some 750,000 or 800,000 are said to be Sunnis, though I consider this estimate too high. The Behais claim to number 1,000,000 adherents, and are certainly very numerous. There are some 10,000 Parsis, chiefly in Yezd and Kerman ; about 20,000 Jews in Ispahan, Teheran, Hamadan and other large cities; 53,000 Armenians in the Armenian prov- inces and in Julfa (new) and its neighbourhood, and 30,000 JSTestorians about Urmia. All the rest of the population are nominally Shiites, though the Bakhtiyaris and the nomad tribes know little "5 11 6 The Mohammedan World of To-Day of Islam, and the educated classes are mostly Sufi free-thinkers. The leading sects are the Ismailis, the Ali-Ilahis (especially among the Kurds), the Akhbaris and the Shaikhis. It is from the latter sect that the Babis and Behais sprang. The Babis are now few in number, most of them having become followers of the Baha. The social condition of Moslems in Persia can- not be said to be a high one. "Women hold a very low position and have few rights. They are closely veiled when they go abroad, even in the lowest classes, except among the nomad tribes, whose women enjoy much greater liberty. Religiously, few privileges are granted them. They are not encouraged to attend service in the mosques, but in some instances have their own small places of worship. I have heard of a case in which a woman acted as the Imam to a small gathering of her own sex. The well-known Mohammedan law of polygamy and divorce holds in Persia as in other Mohammedan lands and hence a woman has prac- tically no social rights. Jealousy frequently leads to murder and suicide on the part of woman. Men have been known to murder their wives with im- punity and with hardly an effort to conceal their guilt, and that for no crime even alleged. In case of adultery, the husband and his wife's male rela- tives not infrequently punish the guilty woman with death. Of course adultery on the husband's part goes unpunished. For murdering her hus- band, a woman was crucified and then strangled Islam in Persia 117 in Ispahan during my residence in Persia. Mar- riage often takes place when the girl is seven or nine years of age, in accordance with Mohammed's example in his marriage with Ayesha. The evil results of this are well known. The muta'ah (called in Persia sigheh) system of temporary mar- riages prevails under religious sanction among the Shiites, in accordance with traditions which they accept and the Sunnis reject. Hence at Qum and other " holy " cities to which crowds of pilgrims resort there are large numbers of women who have devoted themselves to this kind of life, the Mullas and Mujtahids there draw a large part of their income from the fees they receive for cele- brating these temporary marriages. It is rare to find a woman who can read. It is hardly neces- sary to point out that such treatment of women has tended to the moral and social degradation of the other sex. Immorality is one of the great vices of Persia. Lying has been elevated to the dignity of a fine art, owing to the doctrine of Kitman-ud-din which is held by the Shiah relig- ious community. The Behais are far superior in morality to the mass of the Moslems of Persia. Except when the first wife has no children, a man is not allowed a second wife during her lifetime. Even under these circumstances, he is not thought of highly should he take a second wife. Divorce is permitted only for a wife's adultery. The Behais profess to place the Old and New Testaments on the same level as I J 8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the Koran and their own books. They are more liberal in their views with regard to women's edu- cation, and some Behai women have risen high in the esteem of the members of the sect. Some have become Behai missionaries to their own sect. There is no political liberty in Persia. The peo- ple are not allowed to take any part in politics. The Shah is an absolute monarch and his decrees are the secular law of the country, the only secular law in force. The religious law of Islam is put in force by the Mullas, so far as they have power and deem it safe to do so. At times the secular rulers have to yield to them and there is always a great distrust of one another between the religious and the secular authorities. Although two systems of law are in force, justice is not to be obtained under either. Every important position under govern- ment is sold year by year. No Persian subject's life or property is secure. Oppression is found everywhere ; tyranny and injustice are so common as to occasion no surprise. But in these and other respects Persia resembles most other Mohammedan countries. There are no public works. The coun- try is steadily retrograding towards barbarism, though European influence in some slight degree tends in another direction. The people are intelligent and capable but there is no national system of education. The propor- tion of those who can read and write is very small and even men in high position have but an imper- fect knowledge of orthography. Even the Mullas Islam in Persia 119 know but little of Arabic, and nothing of any other language but their vernacular. The secular authorities are not anxious for the education of their subjects, and the Mullas fear education lest their people should " become infidels." Modern Persian literature is scanty and inferior. Yet the people themselves have great respect for learning, and take delight in hearing a book of any kind read aloud. This affords a great opening for the circulation of the Bible and of Christian literature in general. The language is copious and well adapted for the dissemination of Christian truth. One of the greatest obstacles to the spread of the gospel, however, is the great ignorance of the peo- ple at large. " Orthodox " Mohammedanism whether Shiite or Sunni, has alwa^^s been opposed to intellectual progress, since it has been felt that such progress would be fatal to Islam. The relation in which Islam in Persia stands to Christianity is that of unceasing opposition. The Koranic law which dooms to death any Moslem who embraces any other religion is in force, theo- retically at least. The late Shah of Persia at dif- ferent times published three edicts in favour of re- ligious toleration, but the Mullas compelled them to be virtually annulled, since they said that no one could repeal the Divine law above referred to. But of recent years the spread of belief in the gospel has resulted in the falling into abeyance of this Koranic law, at least to a great extent. The Moslems of Persia believe Christianity, as it exists 120 The Mohammedan World of To-Day at present, to be an idolatrous and corrupt system of religion. They hold that the gospel has been repealed by the " descent " of the Koran upon Mohammed, and fancy that our Bible has been willfully corrupted both by Jews and Christians. We are accused of worshipping three Gods. Their knowledge of Christianity has, until comparatively recently, been in large measure derived from the commentators on the Koran, and from what they have seen of the worship of the Oriental and Eoraan Churches. But Protestant missionaries of the American Presbyterian Church and of the Church Missionary Society have already to some extent succeeded in showing them that Evangel- ical Christianity is not idolatrous. Hence the Persians are gradually coming to make a distinc- tion between the two kinds of Christianity with which they have thus become acquainted ; and their attitude towards us has now become much more favourable. Of course those who know any- thing of the gospel are well aware that Islam is in many respects antagonistic to it, and feel that one or the other must perish. There is not, however, nearly so strong an attachment to Islam in Persia as in India and Arabia. As a religion it is far less suited to the Aryan, than to the Semitic mind. Many Persians are well aware that the religion was forced upon their ancestors at the point of the sword by the Arabs, their hereditary foes. The influence of the Sufi philosophers and poets, like the author of the Masnavi, has also been ex- Islam in Persia 12 x erted in the direction of destroying faith in Islam. Ali is practically more revered than Mohammed, and in his name not a few ideas have been intro- duced which are very different from ordinary Mohammedan beliefs. The opposition between the secular and the religious authorities tends to prevent the former from seconding, with any zeal, the efforts of the latter to stamp out Chris- tianity. All these matters have to be considered in attempting to define the attitude of Moslems in Persia towards the Christian faith. The greatest event in the recent religious history of the country is the rise of the Babi or as we may now call it the Behai, faith. The Behais, gen- erally speaking, are more or less friendly towards Christians, being themselves liable to persecution. Their use of the Bible has done much to spread a knowledge of parts at least of it in Persia. A spirit of enquiry has thus also been produced and this favoui's the cause of the gospel. Missions to Moslems in Peksia The Church Missionary Society, though its work in Persia began later than that of the American Presbyterians, has always aimed at direct work for the conversion of the Moham- medans. The American missionaries, at first and for a considerable time, devoted themselves rather to direct evangelistic work among the Nesto- rians and Armenians, hoping that they would thus indirectly reach the Moslems. At first doubtless 122 The Mohammedan World of To-Day this was the only possible method of proceeding. For a considerable number of years, however, they too have been labouring openly among the Moslems. Beside there is the " Orient Mission '' of Dr. Lepsius. The Archbishop of Canterbury's " Assyrian Mission " has laboured to raise the ISTes- torian clergy and has endeavoured rather to pre- serve that ancient church, and prevent its mem- bers from leaving it to join the American Pres- byterians or the Roman Catholics, than to do work among the Moslems either directly or in- directly. Recently, the Russian Church has won a large accession to its ranks from among the ISTes. torians ; but they do not try to make converts from the Moslems. Nor do the Roman Catholics. Every one knows of Henry Marty n's eleven months in Shiraz in 1811, which was the first pub- lication of the gospel in the country since the Mohammedan conquest. The Rev. Dr. Pfander of the Basel Missionary Society first arrived in Persia in 1829, but was soon expelled. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions began work at Urmia in 1835, its mis- sionaries directing their attention almost entirely to the ISTestorians. Tabriz, Teheran, Hamadan and other stations have since been occupied and much blessing has attended their noble and de- voted labours. The Church Missionary Society in 1875 formally adopted the work begun in Julfa, near Ispahan, by the Rev. Robert (now Canon) Bruce in 1869. Its work has now greatly ex- VlTES Seen in the Caucasus. Islam in Persia 123 tended and stations have been occupied at Ispahan, Yezd, Kirman and Shiraz. The London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews also has stations at Teheran and Ispahan. Invalua- ble work is also being done by the British and Foreign and the American Bible Societies. Mission work in Persia among Moslems presents both difficulties and opportunities of a special kind. Of the former something has been said above. The ignorance of the people, the bigotry of the MuUas, and the presence of corrupt and idolatrous forms of Christianity (such as those which by repelling Mohammed himself in his earlier days of religious earnestness, had a great deal to do with the rise of Islam) are all serious obstacles to overcome. The want of religious liberty and the danger of persecution, though this has lessened of late years, make it difficult for us to preach the gospel freely in some places, and deter converts and enquirers from coming forward as they would otherwise do. The doctrine of Kitman-ud-din, which is taught to all Shiites, and is in a slightly modified form accepted by the Behais also, is popular, and believers have some- times asked to be allowed to adopt Christianity with the same permission to deny or conceal their faith in order to save life and property. This tendency has been firmly and successfully resisted, but it is one of the difficulties peculiar to work in Persia. The law which renders English sub- jects liable to be sent out of the country by their 124 The Mohammedan World of To-Day consular authorities, if accused of any conduct calculated to cause offense to the religious feelings of Moslems, has once or twice been held in ter- rorem over missionaries, and its terms are so vague that it would not be easy to prove innocence, how- ever false the charge might be. Attempts have actually been made under this law to interfere with the work of American and English mission- aries, but these have not been successful for long. There is at present a partiality for Islam, in con- tradistinction to most other non-Christian faiths, to be met with among people in England, and this does not assist us in our work in Persia. "We have not many Europeans in the country and hence the scandal caused by the evil lives of pro- fessing Christians does not injure our work to nearly the same extent as is the case in many countries. We are not allowed, generally speak- ing, to erect churches, to preach in the open air or to publish controversial literature. In many places the Mullas, in some the civil authorities, have opposed our opening schools for Moslem boys. There are many other restrictions of a similar kind, all of which are of the nature of difflculties ; but we define difficulties as " things to be overcome" and believe that Christ Jesus can enable us to do all things according to His own will. The opportunities and encouragements which are afforded for prosecuting the work of the preaching of the gospel in Persia are now very Islam in Persia 123 considerable, perhaps at the present day greater than in any other Mohammedan country. This, however, has been the case only during the last few years. When I succeeded Dr. Bruce as secre- tary of the Church Missionary Society Persia and Bagdad mission in 1S92, it was considered impos- sible for any Persian to be baptized without almost absolute certainty that he would be put to death. Some of our first converts after that were actually sentenced to death, and others were in the very greatest danger. But for years past the persecu tion has been lessening. "We attribute this largely to the work of medical missions, which have, in addition to more direct results, proved to even our most bigoted opponents that Christianity pro- duces love and good works. It is not too much to say that missionaries are more popular now in Persia than are any other foreigners. For many years Julfa was the only station which the Church Missionary Society could get permission to occupy. It required years of effort to establish o«r work even in the neighbouring city of Ispahan. To one city, the capital of a province, we have since been warmly invited by the prince governor, and in other places we have been welcomed. It is hardly too much to say that the whole country is open to evangelistic effort, in itinerating and medical mission work especially. Among the direct results of mission work may be reckoned the opening up of the country at large to the gospel. Converts have not yet been very 1 26 The Mohammedan World of To-Day numerous, but there are small native Christian communities containing Persian converts, male and female, at every Church Missionary Society station and probably at every station of our American brethren, too. As no attempt is made to gather converts into such centres, but each man, when baptized, is urged to return to his home and there let his light shine before men, there are converts scattered in many other parts of the country. It would not be safe as yet for a Persian convert to be ordained, and the Church Missionary Society missionaries, following the ex- ample of our missionaries in Uganda, have decided to pay no Persian catechists for evangelizing their own countrymen. But all the more on this ac- count does the gospel spread through the volun- tary efforts of those who have themselves found life and peace in Christ. Their happiness and their changed lives produce a great effect on those who know them. Thus the influence of the gospel is spreading from day to day and prejudice is dying down. For years past the MuUas have been be- wailing the fact that, as they say, " the venom of Christianity is spreading throughout the land," and they confess that Islam is doomed. At one time they used to preach the necessity of murdering both missionaries and converts as the only way to prevent the steady advance of the gospel, but this is much more rarely done now. Besides those who have been baptized, a considerable number of persons are known to us as secret believers, and A MOSLEM CONVERT, PERSIA. Islam in Persia 127 we hear of many who are intellectually convinced and who would probably come forward for bap- tism were religious liberty firmly established in Persia. Thus not only have direct results already been evident but the indirect are still more clear and full of hope and encouragement. That the Church Missionary Society at least fully realizes this, is clear from the very considerable and steady increase in the number of missionaries during the past thirteen years. Among the most important methods used in spreading the gospel are the following : 1. Med- ical missions, with male and female doctors and trained nurses. 2. Itinerating. 3. Women's work among the women. 4. Visiting Persians who are friendly, receiving return visits from them, and in all such intercourse plainly and lovingly preaching Christ. 5. Services in missionaries' houses. 6. Friendly discussions with those who come to argue with and try to confute us. This is done lovingly on our part ; great patience and courtesy are shown ; care is taken to say nothing to hurt the feelings of our opponents, and an attempt is made to show how any truths that are half concealed in Islam are fully manifested in the gospel of Christ. Bitter controversy is carefully avoided. 7. Circulation of the Bible, nearly wholly by sale. 8. Literary work, publication and circulation of tracts and books in Persian. This is greatly aided by the establishment of the Henry Martyn Memorial Press at Julfa. 9. Careful teaching and 128 The Mohammedan World of To-Day testing of enquirers and the preparation of candi- dates for baptism. [Conditions vary in different parts of Persia. This is seen from the two paragraphs here ap- pended to Dr. St. Clair Tisdall's scholarly article. The first of these paragraphs is written by the Eev. S. Wilson, and the second by the Eev. S. M. Jordan, both missionaries of the American Pres- byterian Board and both long acquainted with northern Persia. — Eds.] (a) A number of things might be mentioned in addition to the above, and new phases of the work which have developed in the six years since Dr. Tisdall left Persia. One of the most striking is the opportunity now afforded for education of Moslems. Dr. Tisdall, while mentioning in the last section nine ways of reaching Moslems, omits the school, virhereas that is now one of the most hopeful means. For example in Teheran the mis- sion school, which two years ago had forty or fifty Moslem boys, last year had one hundred and fifteen Moslem pupils, receiving regular Bible instruction and attending the religious services of the school. In Tabriz the Moslem pupils in the Memorial Training, Theological Schools, of which I am principal, have increased in three years from three to fifty. These Moslems are sons of officials and nobles of both cities, whose coming to our schools gives assurance that there will be no inter- Islam in Persia i2g ference with them. The same is true in Urmia, where, even in the midst of the excitement due to the demand for the punishment of the murderers of Kev. Mr. Labaree, a special school for Moslem boys was opened with an attendance of fifty. The school for girls in Urmia has an attendance of thirty-five, and that of Teheran of twenty-five Moslem girls who have broken through the re- straints of the harem to seek an education under Christian influence. These facts are indications of our large increase of liberty and of opportunity for Moslem work. (h) So far as I know, none of the missionaries of Northern Persia share Dr. St. Clair Tisdall's opinion that the Behais are more open to the gospel than Moslems. In fact many consider them much 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 now in Persia they 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 130 The Mohammedan World of To-Day in some respect they rightly are judged less so. Up to some five years ago they professed to be seekers of the truth wherever found. Since that time the Behais in Teheran, at least, have been warned to have nothing to do with the missionaries. They have grossly exaggerated the number of their converts so that the Moslems now say of them that the Behai claims for a convert every man who speaks to him on the street ! I know that they have so claimed two of our missionaries. In Teheran there are not more than 10,000 to 15,000, while the outside figure for all Persia is 200,000, with the probability that half that num- ber is nearer the truth. The one promising aspect of the movement is that it is an opening wedge, making for religious liberty and a disturber of unquestioning faith in Islam. Many of those stirred up by Behais to seek for truth outside of Islam are not satisfied with the mere husk of the letter which the Behais teach and so continue to seek for the spirit which can be found only in Christianity. The increase of numbers in our schools is in part due to the fact that many Moslem jmrents prefer that their children come under Christian rather than Behai influence, which is rife in other schools of the capital, for we are honestly open in our methods whilst they are the reverse. IX Islam in Baluchistan Rev. A. Duncan Dixey IX Islam in Baluchistan ^ Baluchistan has a population of 1,050,000, not including Makran, western Sinjrani or Kharan. The last two districts lie near the Sentan boundary and are largely desert. With the exception of a few Hindu Banyans who live in the larger centres, all the inhabitants of Baluchistan are Mohammedans. These Hindus are well thought of by their neighbours and in the old days of raids the Moslems made it a rule not to attack women, children or Hindus. The real inhabitants of Baluchistan are all Sunnis. The Shiahs are represented by Hazaras (of Mongolian race) who in recent years have come into British territory to escape the oppression and cruelty to which they were subjected in Afghan- istan.^ Baluchistan is not united in government, for there are four different areas under different con- ' Compiled partly from personal experience of three years' itineration among Pathans, Baluchis, and Brahnis, and from the Census Report of Mr. Hughes-Buller. ^ Mr. Hughes-Buller thinks that there are indications that both Baluchis and Brahuis were at one time Shiahs ; Baluchistan, in old days, having been a province of Persia, Shiah influence must have been felt. 133 134 The Mohammedan World of To-Day trol ; viz., British territory, Administered territory. Tribal areas, and Kelat territory. The first two divisions are really one, since they are governed by British agents and the laws are practically the same as in India. The government is, of course, neutral on religious questions, but occasionally in- dividual agents seem to favour Islam by support- ing schools in which the Koran is taught. The government has occasionally given assistance to the medical work of the missionaries, and agents have sometimes shown much sympathy with the work of the mission. The Khan of Kelat is an independent Moham- medan chief, who ranks high among the princes of India. In his own country he is nominally su- preme, but is kept under control by a British po- litical agent. In general, law and order reign, and violent crimes are not numerous. The govern- ment, according to native law and custom, is tem- pered to some extent by the influence of Islam. Although orders have been given that armed es- corts should accompany one when itinerating, there is not much danger in Kelat from fanaticism. Preaching, in the ordinary sense, is not, however, considered advisable. The Tribal areas are occupied by- wild tribes of Baluchis, who are practically independent ; but are kept from fighting and crimes of violence by oc- casional visits of a political agent, and by subsidies which are withheld in case of the least disturbance. The chief deterrent to crime seems to be, however Islam in Baluchistan 135 the fear of the British Government, of whose power the tribes have had unpleasant experience when expeditions have been sent against thera. These tribes are all fanatical Moslems, and the life of a convert to Christ would notbesafeamonffthera. O Preaching is not allowed, so that at present the only means of reaching the tribes is through med- ical work. The government has arranged to furnish an escort to those visiting these tribes and the peo- ple themselves have requested me never to leave camp without some one to accompany me. The exact period at which the tribes of Baluchistan first came into contact with Moham- medanism must remain buried in obscurity. It is probable, however, that they did so early in the Mohammedan era. Seistan, which touches the western border of the province, was conquered a,s early as 31 a. h., and about 665 (44 A. H.) Muhallat, son of Abu Safra brought the countries of Kabul and Zabul under submission. In 714 Mohammed, son of Kasim, set out from Shiraz to conquer Sind, and on his way passed Makran. In the tenth century a certain writer mentions that the Governor of Khozdar (near the present village of Kelat) was Muin bin Ahmed, and that the Khuiba was read in the name of the Caliph only. Early graves in Baluchistan do not point the di- rection of Mecca, showing, probably, that the early inhabitants were Zoroastrians. I believe that the number of Moslems is increasing, as many lives must have been saved owing to the cessation of 136 The Mohammedan World of To-Day tribal wars, looting, and raids during the last fifteen to twenty years, and the gradual intro- duction of law and order under the British Govern- ment. Immigration and peace have also brought about settlement in many districts at one period uninhabited. At the same time many Baluchis have gone to Sind and the Punjab, finding it im- possible to live among the barren mountains and sandy deserts of Baluchistan without recourse to looting. Although the Brahui people are perhaps the most numerous, yet as they do not all use the Brahui language, many speaking Persian, Ba- luchi, and Sindhi, Pushtu probably stands numer- ically first among the languages, and then Brahui, Baluchi, Sindhi, and Persian. Urdu is understood by nearly all chiefs and by many Hindu Banyans and is rapidly spreading in places where the people come in contact with the government. Persian is evidently the favourite language of the upper classes, and almost every man who makes pretense to education will usually include Persian as one of his accomplishments. Yery few, even of the MuUas, really understand Arabic. The government report says that the bulk of the population has received and is receiving no education whatever. Even those few who learn the Koran do not understand its meaning. A few sons of chiefs may have received some instruction in Urdu and Persian, and a few have been trained to be Mullas by being sent to Kandahar to Islam in Baluchistan 137 finish their education. The government has es- 'tablished schools in several centres, and occasion- ally these are attended by Pathans, but the Hindus seem to predominate; the Banyan evi- dently realizing the importance of education. Outside of the imported population of Hindus and Sikhs living in the two or three government centres, among Mohammedans only 117 per 1,000, and among the women only twenty -three per 1,000 are literate. In many cases even these do not understand what they are reading. In three years we have found only three or four MuUas who were willing or able to answer arguments. The following table, referring to Quetta, the govern- ment centre, where the majority of the imported population live, may be interesting. It shows the proportion per 1,000 of the people who can read. Males. Females. Moslems - 86 - - 17 Christians * - 778 - - 755 Hindus - - 372 - - 64 Sikhs 514 - 191 Polygamy is not very common among the com- mon Moslem people. The purchase of wives being in vogue, poverty prevents the possession of more than one wife, except among the wealthier classes. All the chiefs and many MuUas with ' The only place wliere Christians live in Baluchistan. The Protestant native Christians nearly all belong to the imported population and number about 270. 138 The Mohammedan World of To-Day whom I have come into contact, have possessed more than one wife, and several as many as five or six. The price of girls varies, being highest among Pathans, where, according to reports, there is the greatest paucity of women. Prices have risen of recent years, as men find they can now claim payment in court, whereas in old days, in many cases, the money was never fully paid up, or one relative perhaps was balanced against another. Concubinage exists more especially among the Baluchi chiefs in districts where the Treaty pro- hibits us from interfering with their women. I know of several chiefs who have thirty, forty, fifty, or sixty women, but whether they all occupy the position of concubines it is difficult to say. Many seem to be domestic slaves, and are often given by the chief to his followers or to male slaves. But from medical experience and reports, it seems that in many cases there is no marriage bond, or it is often broken. "Women stolen from India or enticed away under false pretenses, ap- pear to be living lives of common prostitution in the large villages of the Baluchi chiefs. Many of the tribes in the past were border robbers, and it is only during the last twenty years that their raiding has been stopped. They formerly im- ported slaves, and occasionally on looting expedi- tions they took women away with their other loot. The descendants of these slaves to-day form a numerous body in some of the larger villages, and Islam in Baluchistan 139 many appear to be in a very miserable condition. The children often wear but a few rags and many of them go entirely naked. Different forms of venereal disease are common both among adults and children. The women, both free and slave, are given all the degrading work and bear the heavy burdens, while the men often sit in idleness. Throughout the country both in British territory, in the Kelat State, and the Marri and Bugti Tribal areas are to be found hundreds of Hazara women, who during the late Hazara revolt in Afghanistan, were taken by the Amir from their homes, and sold by Pa- thans all over Baluchistan. In every large village, in some districts, these women are to be found, and every chief possesses numbers of them. Their owners speak of buying them as one might refer to buying cattle. In Kelat State the great blot is the court of the Khan, where vile orgies are enacted, which it is impossible to describe. It is said that some of the boys have died from the treatment received. The first chapter of Romans is a true picture of the conditions existing among Brahuis, Pathans, and Baluchis to-day. Scarcely a day passes but medical experience testifies to the truth of the worst reports. Taking the first 450 cases treated recently on a tour among the Marri and Bugti Baluchis, fourteen per cent, were due to the sensuality of the people. Almost every chief and many Mullas are suffering from the effects of impurity. So many Mullas are 140 The Mohammedan World of To-Day treated at our hospital and on itineration for syphilis, that it is often spoken of as the Mulla's disease. These conditions in some of the villages are no doubt partly due to slavery, many of the slaves being really common prostitutes. The Bazaars which are the outcome of our occupation of the frontier, have also very much to answer for in the spread of venereal disease. Govern- ment reports state that immorality among women is common, and that in spite of the requirements of the Koran with regard to witnesses, death is, ac- cording to the tribal custom of Baluchis and Brahuis, the only punishment for an unfaithful woman and her lover when caught. But to-day a man, in order to secure money, will often accuse his wife of adultery when her only fault may be that she does not please her husband. The death penalty for adultery has been abolished in British territory. The reports say, on the other hand, that among Afghans immorality on the part of a wife is winked at by her husband, and that even when the matter has become a public scandal, the injured husband is generally willing to overlook it on payment of a few rupees and one or two girls. Among Baluchis the feeling in regard to adultery is said to be very severe. From per- sonal experience, however, living among these tribes, in their villages, in their houses and encamp- ments, there seems to be nowhere more open prostitution, than in the capitals of the Baluchi chiefs. Islam in Baluchistan 141 Seclusion of women is not practiced except by the most important Sirdars and chiefs. Here and there, where the people have come more into contact with Indian customs, one finds the system being established, but it is exceptional. The fol- lowing extract on the position of women in Balu- chistan is from the government census report : " Throughout the province, more especially among Afghans and Brahuis, the position of woman is one of extreme degradation. She is not only a mere household drudge but she is the slave of man in all his needs, and her life is one of continual and abject toil. No sooner is a girl fit for work than her parents send her to tend the cattle, and she is compelled to take her part in all the ordinary household duties. Owing to the system of buying wives, in vogue among Afghans, a girl as soon as she reaches nubile age is, for all practical purposes, put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder. Her father discourses in the market on her beauty or ability as a housekeeper, and invites offers from those who desire a wife. Even the more wealthy and more respectable Afghans are not above thus lauding the female wares which they have for sale. Even the be- trothal of girls who are not yet born is frequent. It is also usual for compensation for blood to be ordered to be paid in the shape of girls, some of whom are living whilst others are yet unborn. Woman in Baluchistan is regarded as little more than a chattel or machine. Is it surprising then 142 The Mohammedan World of To-Day to find that woman is considered only as a means for increasing man's comforts or as an object for the gratification of his animal passions ? A wife must not only carry water, prepare food, and at- tend to all ordinary household duties, but she must take flocks out to graze, groom her hus- band's horse, and assist in cultivation. " Among the tribes in Zhob, a married woman must even provide means, by her own labour, for clothing herself, her children, and her husband, from whom she receives no assistance, monetary or otherwise. Among Afghans and their neigh- bours polygamy is only limited by the purchasing ability of the man, and a wife is looked on as a better investment than cattle ; for in a country where drought and scarcity are continually pres- ent, the risk of loss in animals is great, whilst the female offspring of a woman will fetch a high price. Woman's tutelage does not end with widowhood. In the household of a deceased Afghan she is looked on as an asset in the divi- sion of his property. It is no uncommon thing to find a son willing to sell his own mother." ^ As to material progress, " Till 1875," says Sir Herbert Edwards, in a government report, "amid the ebb and flow of might, right, possession, and spoliation, there was no security of life or prop- erty, and practically no communications existed. ' This is from the Census Eeport and is from information ob- tained by government. I can testify to its truth from experience. Conditions among the Baluchis are still worse. Islam in Baluchistan 143 The only way ia which whole tribes were saved from extermination was by the universal custom of never killing women, or boys who had not yet put on trousers." In a recent tour through the Marri and Bugti country, I saw many more thousands of graves than I saw men. These were a strilting testimony to the constant state of war which, till quite re- cently, was ever waged both among themselves and against surrounding tribes. If to-morrow the British Government should withdraw from this province, the tribes would doubtless return to the old condition of continual civil war. To-day, after twenty-five years of the gradual growth of law and order, there is here and there evident improve- ment in the condition of the people. The govern- ment has built a few dispensaries and schools, and there are some 545 miles of metalled roads. But the people have not yet realized the need of effort on their part, and instead of utilizing land and water for systematic cultivation, they seem content to remain on the verge of starvation so long as they can grow a little wheat or millet with a small amount of labour. Even wells for irrigation are neglected where water exists. Brahuis and Baluchis are largely nomadic in their habits, and many Pathans annually move from mountain to plain, or vice versa according to the season of the year, for purposes of trade. To sum up, I will again quote from a govern- ment report : 144 The Mohammedan World of To-Day " When the British entered the country they found a population which had been cut off from the outside world, which led a nomadic existence among vast solitudes of nature, and whose relaxa- tions consisted in continual internecine conflicts. The natural result was a very backward state of civilization, and the country possessed character- istics which differed materially from those of its Indian neighbours. "In twenty-five years this primitive condition has been modified but has not disappeared, and barbarian prejudice and pugnacity are still factors which have to be constantly reckoned with." Many Brahuis and Baluchis among the moun- tains have never even heard of the people called Christians ; but usually after we have been in a district a short time, some Mulla (who is nearly always a Pathan) explains to the people that we are Kafirs (blasphemers of God) and warns the people to avoid us. Brahuis do not appear to be so bigoted, but the reason seems to be that they are not so religiously minded as either Pathans or Baluchis. Among Pathans and Baluchis the stated times of prayer are very generally observed, and the Fast of Ramadhan ; but I have not found that the Brahui is so careful in this respect. Fanatical outrages sometimes take place, more especially among Pathans and Baluchis, but the number is often exaggerated. In four years there have been thirteen such cases known to me. It is necessary to be on one's guard in giving Islam in Baluchistan 145 religious instruction. Afgtians, Baluciiis, and Braiiuis, are all extremely ignorant about their re- ligion, especially the Brahuis. The worship of saints is one of the chief features of their religion, and superstition is a more appropriate term for the ordinary belief of the people than the name of re- ligion. Ordeal by lire still exists, and only last week I had an instance of this brought to my notice. I have seen native liquor in Baluchi vil- lages, which I was told was drunk by Baluchis. The use of hhang is also not uncommon. There have been changes in the attitude of Mos- lems towards Christianity. In Quetta where for ten or fifteen years missionary work has been car- ried on, the wall of prejudice and superstition is gradually being broken down. But outside of Quetta, at present, the attitude of the people gen- erally, when our mission is known, is one of oppo- sition. On several occasions Mullas have told me that it was a pity these dogs of Christians could not be killed. Mission work centres in Quetta, which is the government centre, with 20,000 population besides 60,000 to 80,000 who pass through the city yearly for purposes of trade, etc. Here there are two hospitals, one for men and one for women, a church, two schools, and Zenana work. On the staff are two physicians, one clergyman, one lady physician, and two lady missionaries. X Islam in North India Rev. E. M. Wherry, D. D. ' ' It was first the bad example of the moulvies ; second, the fatal system of modern Purdah, with its restrictions on the intel- lectual development of woman ; thirdly, the constant and silent withdrawal of the most pious and moral Moslems into a life of private prayer and devotion ; and, lastly, the doctrine of necessity that brought about our own downfall. I say it was, in my opinion, these four causes that brought Moslem society down to its present low and degrading level of intellect and character. — A Moslem Prof essor from Aligarh. X Islam in North India Scarcely more than five decades had passed by since the death of Mohammed when the conquer- ing hosts of Islam reached the borders of India. It was in the year 711 a. b. that Mohammed Kasim overran Sindh in the name of Walid I of Damascus. Forty years later the Eajputs succeeded in over- throwing the Moslem power in Sindh and main- tained control for 150 years. But the religion was not disturbed and continued to make material advances even beyond the regions under Moslem sway. Elliot in his History of India tells us of certain Sindhian princes, who became Mohamme- dans at this time, assuming Arab names.^ But all of the earlier invasions of India were characterized as predatory incursions, in which the invaders were more anxious to secure plunder than to convert the infidels. Even as late as the time of the great champion of Islam, Mahmud of Ghazni(1019 a. d.) the " proselyting sword " seems " to have served no other purpose than that of sending infidels to hell."^ Seventeen times did this zealot overrun North India, extending his empire from Persia to ' Elliot, Vol. I, pp. 124, 125. " Arnold's Preaching of Islam, p. 210. 149 150 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the Ganges. During all these centuries, multi- tudes of the people, some to save their lives and property, some to share the honours and booty of the new regime, others to escape the tyranny and contempt of their Hindu rulers, embraced the religion of their conquerors. By intermarriage with these, the foreign Moslems became domiciled in India and the religion became rooted in the soil. Towards the close of the twelfth century (1176-1206) Mohammed Ghori invaded India and set up an Afghan vice-royalty at Delhi under his favourite slave Kutb-ud-din. At the death of his master, Kutb-ud-din established himself as the Sultan of North India with Delhi as his capital. It was at about this time (1206-1288) that another of the great generals of Mohammed Ghori, Bakhti- yar Khan, having conquered Bengal, set himself up as an independent Sultan with his capital at Gaur. The multitudes of low caste aborigines in- habiting this province seem to have welcomed their new rulers, and readily to have accepted the new faith. It was from Delhi and Agra that the various Moslem rulers extended their dominion. Dynas- ties were overthrown amid scenes of war and blood- shed. India was carved up into a number of inde- pendent sovereignties, but during all this turmoil, the religion of the Mohammedans was being estab- lished with greater or lesser success from Afghan- istan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to Cape Coraorin. It was during the period 1525- Islam in North India 151 1T07, when the power of the Moguls became es- tablished throughout India, that the religion of Islam made its most brilliant and extended con- quests. Then it was that those grand monu- ments of art and literature were erected, of which Moslems may well be proud, and which still lend so much lustre to the Moslem rule in India. At the close of the reign of Aurangzeb, the political power of the Moslems rapidly began to wane and eventually gave place to the Christian dominion of Great Britain. Christian conquest brought to all classes religious liberty ; and so the Christians be- came deliverers to the Moslems who were being oppressed by their Hindu and Sikh conquerors. Under the peaceful rule of the Christians, Islam is enabled to reorganize its forces and to propagate its tenets among the people without let or hindrance. The advance which Islam has made in India during its twelve centuries of conquest and mis- sionary effort, may be seen by reference to the census reports for 1901. These show a total Mo- hammedan population aggregating 62,i58,0Y7, be- ing almost one-fourth of the entire population, ex- cluding Burma. Of this immense total, 25,265,342 Moslems belong to Bengal, 10,825,698 to the Pun- jab, 6,731,034 belong to the United Provinces, 1,957,777 to the Northwest Frontier Province, and 339,446 to the Central Provinces. This makes a total of 45,119,297 for North India. The remain- ing 17,339,780 belong to the Deccan, Central, West and South India. When it is noted that Bombay 152 The Mohammedan World of To-Day and Madras together, sum up only 6,227,526 Mo- hammedans, it is clear that a considerable portion of the eleven millions remaining should be reck- oned as belonging to Behar, Rajputana and other States lying within the precincts of North India. May we say in round numbers that the Moslem population of North India aggregates 50,000,000. Moslem Sects The Mohammedans of North India are for the most part Sunnis or Orthodox. The Shiahs do not number more than 5,000,000 for all India. Most of them belong to North India, having their stronghold in Oudh, with headquarters in Luck- now. There are still a few who boast of their faith in Mohammed Ibn Abd ul "Wahhab, but their influence has lost its power and the sect is likely to be reabsorbed into that of the Sunnis. All the ordinary divisions of Islam, based upon the various schools of philosophy and theology, have their place in India, but of these we need not make any special mention. In quite recent years, two movements among Moslems in North India have attracted a great deal of attention and have given rise to two bodies of Moslems which are regarded as sects. One of these bodies was founded by the late Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, K. C. S. I., of Aligarh, known as the New Islam. It is, however, rather a restora- tion of the rationalism of the Mutazillas of the olden time. Its followers are progressive and num- Islam in North India 153 ber among them many of the most learned and in telligent Moslems of North India. The interest- ing feature of the movement is the readiness to give reason a place in the discussion of religious questions. The other sect to which we have referred is that founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Qadian in the Punjab. This sect styles itself as Ahmadiyyah. The founder styles himself as the Mahdi-Messiah of the twentieth century. He claims to be a prophet and the Messiah of the last times. This sect seems to be rather allied to that of the Babis in Persia. Like that of the "New Islam" this movement is regarded by all Moslems, whether Sunni or Shiah, as heretical. The movement has influenced a multitude of educated men, but per- haps this may be accounted for by its offering a refuge for men who can no longer continue with the orthodox schools. Methods of Peopagation of Islam As always elsewhere, so in India the main in- strument in the extension of the faith has been " the Proselyting Sword." For more than ten centuries the power of the sword and the legisla- tion of Mohammedan governments were used with- out restraint to bring unbelievers under the yoke of Islam. This claim is confirmed by a study of the map of India, in the light of the census. The great mass of Mohammedans is found among the inhabitants of North India, especially in the "West- 154 The Mohammedan World of To-Day ern sections and in the regions adjacent to the cen- tres of Moslem government in the united Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The apparent, exception is that of eastern and northern Bengal, where the sword had little to do with proselytism. The ex- ception, however, is only apparent, because the simple aboriginal and Hindu population, like the low caste people of the whole Indian peninsula, had nothing to gain by warring against their Mos- lem conquerors. Nor had they any strong religious principles to defend. On the contrary the Mos- lems came as deliverers from Hindu tyranny and caste contempt, offering them social recognition, and constituting them the recognized cultivators of the lands of which they had been mere serfs under Hindu rule. The purpose of " the prose- lyting sword " was the same whether wielded by a Mahmud of Ghazni or a Bakhtiyar Khan. It meant submission to the rule of Islam and a formal recognition of Allah as God and Mohammed as the prophet of God. A study of the early wars of Islam will convince any one that they were carried on in accord with the command of Mohammed himself. Christians and Jews were required to recognize the supreme control of Islam and pay tribute as the price of peace and liberty to worship God in their own way. All others were required to acknowledge Islam as the true religion and to embrace it by repeating the Kalima? Along with ' The Mohammedan profession of belief in Allah the one God and in Mohammed as the apostle of God. Islam in North India 155 this the new conyei-ts were immediately placed under the instruction of some one who as Mul- lah undertook to impart a knowledge of the es- sential doctrine and practice of Islam. Accord- ingly, the official establishment of the church was always a sequel to the conquest of the state. These Mullas were zealous propagandists, and used every form of influence to make converts of the people. Traders and travellers also zealously spread the faith. Officers of government, whether civil or military, were in a position to advance the interests of Islam. The emoluments of office, landed rights, political and social equality were freely offered as inducements to enter upon the Moslem way of life and immortality. Thus it was that in Bengal and Behar, as well as many other parts of India, the work of proselyting continued even after the sword had been sheathed, and also amid the misfortunes of war. This state of things continues in India at the present time, whereby many converts to Islam are made from among the low castes. Another instrumentality for the propagation of Mohammedanism was the Moslem dervish, who consecrates himself to the one purpose of teaching and preaching Islam. The Moslem historians speak of the work and influence of these men from the days of the first incursion of Moslems into India. By their tact and intelligence they have not only been the shepherds of their scattered co- religionists, or the theological teachers of those 1 56 The Mohammedan World of To-Day who were to become MuUas but by their aus- terities they drew many idolaters to them and per- suaded them to accept Islam as their religion. The influence of such men accounts for the fact that in many places in India the Moslem faith has maintained itself amid persecution and much suffer- ing when in the fortune of war the Moslem power gave way to Hindu rule. This same influence to some extent accounts for the propagation of the faith in India to-day. A more powerful agency is the Anjuman-i-Islam or Moslem Association for the defense and prop- agation of Islam. This society establishes schools and colleges, publishes a considerable literature and supports a band of preachers — in short a mis- sion, equipped to some extent after the pattern of Christian missions. Their great work is to prevent the Christianization of Moslems, and at the same time to secure the apostasy of Christian converts from Islam. This is the preaching of Islam, of which Prof. T. W. Arnold has written so full and so flattering an account. The zeal of the Moslem propaganda is well described in the words of the Apostle Paul : " They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge ; for being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not subjected themselves to the righteousness of God " (Rom. 10 : 2, 3). Islam in North India 157 TuE Condition of Moslems in North India When we consider the fact that for many cen- turies the Moslems held the supreme power in India, especially in the great political and literary centres of North India, we should naturally have expected them to have held a leading position un- der the new regime inaugurated by the British conquest. That such is not the case requires some explanation. The first influence operating against Moslem advancement was the unprogressive char- acter of their religion. Everything is cast in a mould. The mould is believed to have been made upon a Divine pattern in consequence of which the idea of possible development or improvement is, in the nature of the case, impious. Everything nec- essary to Moslem perfection is found in the Koran, the Traditions and the Deliverances of the Mujtahiddin. History proves that the progressive movements of the Caliphs of Bagdad and Cordova, or of the Mogul Emperors of Delhi, were made in spite of the teachings of Orthodox Islam. Ac- cordingly, what was accomplished in the artistic and literary age, that is to say, in the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, was in great measure undone by the fierce repressive measures of Aurangzeb. The empire dissolved with the close of his reign, and the disunited fragments were unable to contend against the onslaught of the Mahrattas in the south and the Sikhs in the north. A long period of internecine warfare and anarchy resulted in breaking up the social and in- 158 The Mohammedan World of To-Day tellectual fabric of the Moslems. Education was limited to the schools of a very few centres and the teaching of the MuUas in the local Musjids. The range of instruction given was that of reading and writing the Arabic character, with a knowl- edge of Persian necessary for the duties of public office. In the higher schools at Delhi, Agra, and Lucknow, education was along the lines of the seven sciences — Language, Logic, Mathematics, Rhetoric, Jurisprudence, Theology and Exegesis. Most of these had relation to the propagation of the religion of Islam. Secular knowledge, espe- cially of science, has always been regarded by orthodox Mohammedans as dangerous to the faith, and for this reason has been discouraged. In the disturbed state of the country in the two centuries preceding the establishment of British rule, the amount of education given, even along these nar- row lines, was naturally very small. At the same time the ignorance of the mass of the Mullas led to extreme narrowness of thought and intense bigotry among the people. This leads up to another influence operating against the social and intellectual progress of Moslems in North India. When the way was be- ing opened up by missionaries to give the people of India the advantages of Western science and knowledge, the Mohammedan Mullas everywhere discouraged the people from sending their chil- dren to mission schools. Only a few of the poorer people were willing to allow their boys to attend Islam in North India 159 the schools, and that when a monthly stipend was given to the pupil. When, later on, the govern- ment undertook to establish a system of public in- struction, and pledged the people that there would be no religious instruction given, many, who had refused to send their boys to the mission schools, were ready to patronize the secular schools of gov- ernment for the sake of the knowledge wiaich would fit for government office. But those who patronized the secular schools formed a small mi- nority, even in the cities, while in the country the mass preferred to bring up their sons to the agri- cultural calling of their fathers, or to induce them to take service in the army or police corps. Thus it came about that schools were for the most part patronized by the Hindu and Christian population rather than by Mohammedans. Con- sequently, the numerous offices, open to those who had acquired the necessary English education, were closed to Moslems, who had refused to qualify for them. Hindus and Christians took the lead. To amend this state of things, and to avoid the sec- ularizing influences of government schools, the Moslems organized numerous schools under the direction of the Anjuman-i-Islam^ the society for the defense of Islam. These schools undertook to impart a knowledge of the English language and of "Western science as taught in the Indian gov- ernment schools, and at the same time to instill into the minds of the pupils a knowledge of the Arabic language and the tenets of Islam. These i6o The Mohammedan World of To-Day schools have rarely exhibited the efficiency of the rival schools, but on the whole, they have done much to advance the social condition of Moslems. They have done much to arouse a more progressive spirit, and while their value to orthodox Moham- medanism may be questioned, they have raised up a class of men who have secured some of the emol- uments of office, and the influence which office and wealth usually bring with them. Perhaps the institution which has done most to further the social and material interests of Mohammedans in North India, is the college at Aligarh, founded by the late Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, who was most liberally aided by Sir William Muir, then lieuten- ant governor of the Northwest Provinces. For a long time this college was discredited by the ortho- dox leaders because of the liberal views of Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, but the liberal spirit bred through English education in mission and govern- ment schools has rapidly grown, so that to-day all educated Mohammedans are proud of their great college, which is likely to become the Moslem University of India. It should be here noted that mission schools should have some of the credit for bringing about this important change in the mate- rial and social life of Moslems. The sons of the weavers, cooks and tailors, who were among the first students of the mission schools in North India, were thereby enabled to secure lucrative positions in the public service, or to become masters in the mission and government schools. Their success Islam in North India 161 naturally inspired others to seek for education in the mission schools. Many Mohammedan parents preferred, and still prefer, to patronize mission, rather than government schools, because they were sure their boys would receive a sound moral and religious training, which they rightly believed to be better than the godless training of the govern- ment schools. They also observed that the supe- rior training of students in mission schools enabled them more readily to secure appointments in the public offices, than the training in the less efficient Moslem schools. Hence it has been found that the alumni of our Christian schools prefer to patronize the mission institutions, and often do so in spite of the pressure brought upon them by their co-relig- ionists. Under these new conditions the Moslem community is making progress in material and social life; while in religious life many are pre- pared to study the claims of Christianity, and some have openly identified themselves with the Christian church. The education received by Moslem youth in North India is for the most part imparted through the Urdu language. Persian is also taught as a second language necessary to a proper knowledge of Urdu. Arabic is taught as a classic. All higher education in the mission and public schools is im- parted through the English language. And yet it remains true that the Moslems speak every lan- guage in India, and many of them can only be reached through a provincial tongue. This is i62 The Mohammedan World of To-Day especially true of the Mohammedans of Bengal, the Punjab, and the Northwest Frontier province. For the reasons already mentioned, illiteracy among Mohammedans is very great, the percentage of lit- erates given by the last census being about 3.27 per cent. In the average village, the adult popu- lation is almost entirely ignorant of even the alphabet. The boys who learn to read in the public schools rarely continue in the callings of their fathers, but find their way into the army, the police or the public office. The various educa- tional institutions are, however, rapidly educating the boys. At the same time there is a growing desire among Mohammedans to educate their wives and daughters. The Mohammedan custom of se- cluding the women in the harem, while not so rigid in India as in Turkey, nevertheless operates against female education. The social and family system is also affected most unfavourably by po- lygamy, divorce, and concubinage, and there is little to induce women to desire education. These customs also affect the moral life of Moslems in India very unfavourably and so stand in the way of racial, material, social, and religious develop- ment. It is not surprising therefore to find some of the most prominent men ready to reform these customs to the extent of abolishing the seclusion of women. Such men also advocate the abolition of polygamy and concubinage, claiming that the ideal of the Koran is monogamy. It goes without saying that these reform movements are in no Islam in North India 163 sense a movement of orthodox Islam, but grow out of the liberalizing influence of "Western education and the impact of Protestant Christianity. But we believe the new Islam has come to stay and that it will continue to draw to itself educated Mohammedans, especially those who have lost faith in the doctrines taught by the orthodox MuUas and Moulvies, and Avho cannot accept the Christian religion. The eccentric movement led by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian in the Punjab has been made a side track for some who had practically abandoned the faith of their fathers, but it gives no promise of permanence. The most that can be said for such movements is that they indicate a growing desire for something better than the religion of Islam can give. Missions to Moslems in Noeth India "We are now prepared to note what has been done towards the evangelization of Moslems in North India. It is just three hundred and seven years since the Jesuit missionary Hieronymo Xavier came to Lahore from Goa in South India and received permission " to teach the Christians," and to live the life of " one of those who have left the world and all its lusts, wealth, and pleasures, with the view of teaching man the way to ever- lasting salvation." The work was mainly accom- plished by private conversation and discussion and by the publication of books. Three books were published, a life of Christ, a life of St. Peter, 164 The Mohammedan World of To-Day and a disquisition on the religion of Islam. Some- thing was done to enlighten the Moslems respect- ing the doctrines of Christianity as taught by the Catholic church. The main points discussed were the mystery of the Trinity in unity, the divinity of Jesus Christ our Lord, the integrity of the Scriptures and the non-abrogation of the same. These books exerted sufficient influence to call forth a Moslem reply entitled. Divine Rays in Eefutation of Christian Error, by A.hmed Ibn Zain-al-abidin. An examination of these books, which have been brought to light by Prof. S. Lee, D. D., M. E. A. S., of the Cambridge University, discloses the fact that the issues of the contro- versy between Moslem and Christian were then practically the same as now. The chief difference lies in the fact that the Protestant missionary does not have to apologize for the idolatrous teaching of the Eoman Catholic Church. The signal failure of Roman Catholic missions among Moslems may be accounted for mainly by this teaching. Un- fortunately the laboured efforts on the part of Ro- man Catholic missionaries to justify Mariolatry, the worship of images and relics of the saints, and the recognition of sacred places, served to mis- represent the pure Christianity of the gospels. The next stage in the efforts of Christians to evangelize Moslems in North India began with the work of Henry Martyn, whose translation of the New Testament into Urdu and Persian laid the foundation for aggressive work among the follow- Islam in North India 165 ers of Islam. He was followed by the Kev. C. G. Pfander who in 1829 was obliged to leave Persia where he had already laboured for some four or five years, writing in the Persian language that noble work The Balance of Truth {Mizan ul Ilaqq.) Coming to India he began his work by translating his book into the Urdu language adding to it The Way of Life {Tariq ul Ilaydt) and the Key to the Mysteries {Miftah^ul-Asrdr). These books led to a long continued controversy with the moulvies of Delhi, Agra and Lucknow. Sev- eral public discussions were held, with the result that many Mohammedans were disturbed in their faith, while a few were led into the Christian church. This controversy was taken up by Chris- tian converts from Islam among whom the most notable are Sayad Mulvie Safdar Ali, Mulvie Imad-ud-din, Sayad Abdulla Athim, E. A. C, the Rev. G. L. Thakur Dass, Babu Ram Chandra, Munshi Mohammed Hanif, Mr. Akbar Masih, Dr. Almad Shah Shaiq, Mulvie Hisam-ud-din, the Rev. Imam Masih, Dr. Barkhurdar Khan and Mulvie Rajjab Ali. Among European writers upon this controversy the following should be mentioned : The Right Rev. Bishop French, the Right Rev. Bishop Lefroy, the Rev. James Wilson, the Rev. J. Smith, Rev. S. Leupolt, the Rev. T. P. Hughes, D. D., Dr. H. Martyn Clark, Rev. C. W. Forman, D. D., Rev. Samuel Knovvles, Rev. Dr. Murray Mitchell, the Rev. G. H. Rouse, D. D., the Rev. J. Bates, the Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall, D. D., the 1 66 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Uev. W. Brodhead, D. D., and the Ee\-. E. M. Wherry, D. D. Among laymen who have added to the literature of the Moslem controversy are Capt. W. E. Aikman and Sir Wm. Muir. Perhaps no writer in modern times has done so much for the controversy with Moslems as the last mentioned writer. Much more might be said as to the litera- ture published in the interest of Moslem evangel- ization, but time forbids any further statement ex- cepting this, that those who have laboured for the translation and revision of the Holy Scriptures into languages read by Mohammedans have placed all workers under obligation. Without the Scrip- tures little could be done to make Moslems ac- quainted with the "former Scriptures" mentioned in the Koran. The first Protestant missionaries in North India and especially in the Northwest Province and the Punjab early found themselves engaged in Moslem evangelization. The ordinary languages of court and commerce were the Persian and the Urdu, the languages of the Mohammedans. Accordingly, we find that among the early converts and members of the churches were a goodly number bearing Moslem names. An examination of the mission re- ports discloses the fact that among the first teachers and preachers were Moslem converts. The story of preaching in the bazaars and chapels invaria- bly includes statements as to the active opposition of Mohammedans. In the schools and colleges established are found enrolled a large number of Islam in North India 167 Mohammedan boys and young men, all of whom were obliged to study the Scriptures, and to listen to addresses and lectures upon Christian faith and life. If we examine the catalogues of the publica- tions of the Book and Tract Societies, we find that the list includes a considerable literature written specially for Moslem readers. And in any ac- count of woman's work in North India, we read of Zenanas visited and Moslem women and chil- dren being taught. The societies engaged in mission work in North India are English, American and Australian. They are the Church Missionary Society, the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Lon- don Missionary Society, the English Baptist Mis- sionary Society, the Church of Scotland's Mission, the Free Church of Scotland, and the United Pres- byterian Church of Scotland Missions (recently united as the United Free Church of Scotland), the American Presbyterian, and the United Presby- terian (American), the Canadian Presbyterian, the American Methodist Episcopal, the Reformed Pres- byterian and the Australian Baptist Missionary Societies. In almost all of the principal cities of North India organized work is being carried on for all classes, and in many ways with special ref- erence to the Mohammedan population. The vil- lages everywhere are visited by Christian evan- gelists and preachers, and many of these villages are Mohammedan. In recent years many missionaries have felt that i68 The Mohammedan World of To-Day some men should be set apart for a special study of Islam in order to be able the better to meet Moslem antagonists. The late Dr. Murdoch, by his facile pen, promoted such specialization, and in consequence several societies have set men apart for this work. This measure will greatly increase the efficiency of this branch of missionary effort. Much will be gained by a change of attitude, for while it is true that the great mass of Indian Mos- lems is as idolatrous as many of the Hindu tribes, still it will not do to approach them as if they were the votaries of an idolatrous religion. Chris- tianity suffers from the stigma of idolatry and superstition, which the Roman Catholic and Greek churches have fastened upon it. It is not the idol- atry and superstition of Islam, that must be met, but its claim to be the only true religion, follow- ing the Christian dispensation, as the last dispen- sation of all. To do this efficiently, the Moslem must be met by men thoroughly trained not only in the languages of the Christian Scriptures, but also in the language of the Koran ; not only in Christian theology and philosophy, but in the phi- losophy and theology of the Moslem MuUas and Mulvies. Men with this kind of training can get the respect of the scholarly men among Moham- medans, and thus touch the centres of influence in the Moslem community. This is what has been planned, and we believe that another generation will see the result and record a great advance in the evangelization of Moslems. Islam in North India 169 The foregoing sketch of missions to Moslems doubtless impresses upon one the thought that India presents a field of missionary labour for Mos- lem evangelization of very unique interest. Unless it be the Dutch East Indies, no other sphere affords to the Christian in this age so many opportunities of approaching the Moslem. It is also evident that no other field has been so widely cultivated. Such being the case, it should be possible to show that in no other field has there been so great suc- cess in winning converts from Islam. The fact that the work done has been thus far general, and so conducted as to approach all classes of the peo- ple, has served to conceal from the ordinary ob- server the real success of the Church in gathering in converts from this particular class. Nor is it possible to learn from the statistics of mission re- ports just how many Mohammedans have been won over to Christianity. There are some facts which will show that the Lord has blessed the work of His servants who have sought to save the Mohammedans. In 1893 the late Mulvie Imad- ud-din, D. D., in a paper read before the Parlia- ment of Eeligions, held at Chicago, gave a list of over fifty Moslem converts, prominent in the mis- sionary work in India. The long list of Indian Christian authors given in this paper, most of whom bear Moslem names, attests the statement of Dr. Imad-ud-din. If we examine the rolls of membership of the churches at Peshawar, Srinagar, and other frontier stations, Lahore, Amritsar, Hoshyarpur, lyo The Mohammedan World of To-Day Ludhiana, Delhi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Krishnagar, etc., we shall be surprised to find how many are of Moslem origin. Perhaps the most stinking indica- tion of the inroads being made upon the Moslem ranks is the increasingly large number of Christian preachers and teachers who were once the follow- ers of Islam. An examination of a few of our mission reports for 1904 shows the following numbers of ministers, catechists, and teachers who carry Moslem names — most of them converts (and the remainder chil- dren of converts) from Islam : American Presbyterian Mission, Punjab 33 American United Presbyterian Mission, Punjab ... 14 The Cambridge Mission, Delhi (S. P. G.) 5 The Methodist Episcopal Mission, North India . 45 The Church of England (C. M. S.), United Province . 15 The English Baptist Mission, North India ... .10 The C. M. S. Punjab and Northwest Frontier Province 39 Church of Scotland's Mission, North India 21 United Free Church Scotland's Mission . ... 12 194 These statistics are incomplete, but they err on the side of understating the facts. They are, however, significant. Indeed there is hardly a Christian community or congregation that does not have some members, who have come in from the ranks of Islam. Every year, too, witnesses further accessions. When the Christian Church in India arises to a proper sense of its duty to Moslems, and presents to them the life and conduct of the true Christian, the number of accessions will become Islam in North India 171 correspondingly great. The great need of the present moment is a pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit. Then we may see presented to Moslems the undeniable miracle of the new creature made in the likeness of Jesus, Son of God and Saviour of the world. XI Islam in South India Rev. M. G. Goldsmith, M. A. "India also shared in the misery and poverty which had befal- len the rest of the Moslem world ; while the political downfall of the Indian Mussulmans about the middle of the last century still further aggravated their sufferings. A darkness, blacker than the Cimmerian darkness itself, pervaded Mussulman society from one end of the country to the other ; and when all other races and communities were advancing in every direction with giant strides, deathlike stagnation, at once the most calm and the most thorough, characterized the life of the Indian Mussul- mans, " — The Anjuman-i-Himayet-i-Mam. XI Islam in South India The Mohammedans of South India form six per cent, of the whole population, and, according to the census report, may be classified as : (a) Immigrants or pure blooded descendants of immigrants. (5) Offspring of immigrant men by Hindu women. (c) Full blooded natives, converted to Islam. 1. The first class are found in all the larger cities, such as Madras, Bangalore, Mysore, Yellore, Masulipatam and Ellore, and throughout the Haidarabad state. They are descendants of those from the north, who first of all at the close of the thirteenth century, invaded the south, and gradually pushed forward their conquests over the greater part of the country. They have not much intermarried with the people they found there, at least not in recent times, and proudly keep up Persian and Arabic as their classical languages and colloquially use a corruption of the Urdu (camp language) which their ancestors invented in Delhi, but adopted in South India as the twin of syntax found in the Dravidian languages, and which is called " Hindustani " to distinguish it from the purer Urdu. Their comparative igno- rance of the Hindu vernaculars has been a hin 175 176 The Mohammedan World of To-Day drance to their getting employment under govern- ment, and has been a problem in the way of their advancement. Their prejudice against the Eng- lish language has been a still more serious ob- stacle, which is bat slowly being overcome during the last forty years. It was considered by the grandfathers of the present generation as likely to imperil their faith, if English (and Christian) literature should be understood and studied. In order to encourage them to join government and aided schools, the educational department gener- ously treated them as a " backward class," with the privilege of paying only half the school fees levied from others. Various governors of Madras and other kindly-hearted officials, have from time to time made special efforts on their behalf, offer- ing them special appointments in the army and civil service. In 1856 the Church Missionary Society was led to take a direct part in Hindustani work by receiving a liberal legacy for the establishment of a special school for Mohammedans. Seringapatara was first thought of, but, owing to its unheal thi- ness, the Mohammedan quarter (Triplicane) of Madras was chosen, and the " Harris High School " for close on fifty years has been doing what it can. It has educated representatives from the dynasties of Chanda Sahib, Tippoo Sahib, and the Carnatic and Karnul families, and some of its students have successfully won good appointments under the Madras and Haidarabad governments. Islam in South India 177 The Sunni Moslems of this class are three times as numerous as the Shiahs. In Masulipatam the old ruling family, now pensioned, is Shiah. The Sunnis belong to the Hanifi sect. In Haidara- bad there are some thousands of Arabs, chiefly employed as household troops to the nobles, drawn from Sheher in Hadraraaut, Arabia. 2. Alongside with this class, are races called (a) Zahhe • and Choliya, found more especially on the southeast Tamil coast. They are said to have come from Iraq, having been driven out in the early part of the eighth century by the tyrant Hajjaj Bin Yusuf, governor of Iraq. They belong to the house of Hashim. Crossing over to India they settled to the east of Cape Comorin. Other accounts describe the Lahhe as having originally been Arab traders who were wrecked on the Indian coast and obliged to settle there. Not understanding the language of the country, they replied " LaMaiTc " by way of assent to the queries of the natives, who therefore gave them the name of Labhe. They now talk Tamil, indicating that they intermarried with the natives and that the children learned Tamil from their mothers; but they a have a peculiar written character of their own which is called Arab-Tamil, being Tamil words written with an adaptation of Arabic char- acters. A convert from them enabled us to put the G-ospel of St. Mark into Arab-Tamil character. As a rule they are rough and uneducated, though industrious as merchants in hides, tailors, etc. 1 78 The Mohammedan World of To-Day The Labhes number 406,793, and other branches of the same race 87,835 more. The Choliyas seem of the same descent, but take up weaving as a trade, and are said not to intermarry with the Lahie. {h) The Navayatis may have come to India about the same time as the Lahhe, but are fair in complexion, aristocratic and well educated. The story about them is that they are natives of Medina, who were caught in the act of tunneling to get into the shrine of the prophet with the ob- ject of carrying off his remains to their own place and there to raise a new shrine for their own benefit. They were in consequence expelled from Arabia. The census report states they are sub- divided into five families : Kureshi, Mehkeri, Chida, Gheas, Mohagir; but they are compara- tively small in number (2,042). (c) The Majnlla (ordinarily pronounced and written Moplas) are on the west coast, with bead- quarters at Cananore, and are a similar race to the Lable. " They do not speak Hindustani, but have a patois of their own. They rarely avail themselves of the advantages of education offered by govern- ment. They are proud, fierce, and bigoted, but physically a finer race than their countrymen on the eastern side ; troublesome withal, to the authorities, and too free in the use of the Mapilla knife, till government some years ago forbade its being worn as a constant appendage." The gov- ernment has tried to utilize their fighting qualities Islam in South India 179 by raising some regiments of them, but their turbulent nature has prevented the experiment from being an unqualified success. They write in the Malayalam language, but have little literature of any kind. Their history dates back to one of their number who visited Mecca and was well treated there, coming back with abundant religious zeal. They are now energetic in propagating Islam, and their numbers have increased from 612,789 in 1871, to 912,920 in 3 901. Some allowance of course must be made for the terrorism inspired amongst their wealthier Hindu neighbours, who must constantly find adhesion to Islam the safest course to avoid molestation. Another means of proselyting, which Hindus state has often been employed all over India, when armed force was not used, was to break the caste of Hindus either by compelling them to eat or drink from the Mos- lems, or by the rougher way of spitting down their throats ! In either of such cases the victims found themselves outcast from their compatriots, and as life under such conditions was intolerable, they would cast in their lot with the Moslems as being the less of two evils. It is thought by some who know the west coast that in a few years the whole of the lower races will become Mohammedan unless they are soon Christianized. The Labbe, Navayati and Mapille and similar (but smaller) branches of Choliyas, Kailan, Marak- kayars, etc. (who probably only reproduce the In- dian idea of caste grafted into Islam), are all i8o The Mohammedan World of To-Day Sunnis and followers of Imam-es-Shafi, while the Sunnis of Class I are followers of Imam-ibn- Ilanifa. The only apparent differences are in minor details : for instance, at a certain point in the daily prayers the Shafi crosses his hands on his chest, while the Hanifite crosses them on his stomach. Again, if the Shafi be interrogated about his faith, he replies, " I am a Moslem, if God wills it " {Insh^ AUahu Ta^ald), which doubt- ful waj' of putting it appears blasphemy [Kufr) to a Hanifite, who would rather reply, " Praise God " {Al hamda lillaK). If praying together in the same mosque, the sect {mashab) of the majority has to be followed for the time being. In the Mysore province, at Channapatam, an off- shoot of the Shiahs called Daire-wate or Mahadvi is found. In the year 1444 (a. h. 847) a man called Sayed Ahmad was born in Gujrat. He claimed to be the expected Mahdi, and preached in the dominions of the Nizam of Haidarabad and other places. He died in 1504 and his followers were driven by persecution into Haidarabad and to the Mysore province. Their watchword was " Imam Mahdi came and went away : he who does not be- lieve this is an infidel." This offended the Sunnis and at the time of Tippoo Sahib, when the Mahda- vis during a certain Ramazan were shouting their watchword through the streets of Seringa patam, they were attacked and put to flight. A few years ago one of them in Haidarabad mortally stabbed the tutor of the Nizam for writing a book against Islam in South India l8l them: so they had to migrate. Lord Harris granted them a settlement in Channapatam. They have many peculiar customs and no regular mosque but only a jamaat-Tchana (assembly room) since they consider India a Dar-ul-IIarh (land of war) and not a Moslem territory. Wahabis exist, known as 'Amil Ml Iladitk, and are not numerous. They are protestants in a quiet way against all modern accretions of superstition. A possible important factor in the future is the sect that follows Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, who called himself the Messiah. Though de- nounced as a heretic by orthodox Moslems, he has thousands of disciples in different parts of India, some of them in Haidarabad city and in some of the districts. The distribution of the Mohammedan population in South India is as follows : Madras Presidency proper 2,467,351 Coorg ■ 13,654 Haidarabad (Deccan) 1,155,750 Cochin and Travancore ... 265,580 Mysore 289,697 Total 4,192,032 The Madras census report (1901) says that the Moslems are nine and one-tenth per cent, more numerous than at the census of 1891, while India Christians have increased nineteen per cent, (and in thirty years ninety-nine per cent, and four or five times as fast as the population generally). Eesults of Christian missions have been very l82 The Mohammedan World of To-Day small. One here and another there has come out of Islam and joined the Christian Church. There have been converts in two or more distinct places, besides many more who have been scattered en- quirers. Hitherto this seems to have been the peculiar feature of the work. The Church Mis- sionary Society has more definitely paid attention to work among Moslems than any other mission, and has had Hindustani missionaries in Madras and Haidarabad ; but one or two of other socie- ties in South India have studied Hindustani with a view of influencing Moslems. Those Moslems who speak Tamil, Telugu, Canarese, or Malayalam, have been to some extent reached by missionaries in those languages ; but it is generally felt that the Moslem requires very different and special dealing. The Church of England Zenana Mission has done a great deal in reaching Moslem women and girls, and some of these have been brought to Christ. One of the earliest converts was in a " Faith Mission " in Panruti. Small Hindustani congregations meet in Bangalore and Haidarabad, and these include a few whose vernacular is Hin- dustani, but who were Hindus by birth. It is a sad fact that many who have been bap- tized have subsequently gone back, or disappeared in a way that seemed to show that they had not " counted the cost." Some such have been hos- tile but in most cases they become unsettled and unhappy. Islam in South India 183 In Haidarabad rich money inducements have always been at hand to encourage apostasy. An anti-Christian society, the Anjuman-i- Islam, was formed thirteen years ago and recorded consider- able numbers of converts from Hinduism and Chris- tianity, but lately it has been said to be defunct. XII The New Islam in India Rev. H. U. Weitbrecht, Ph. D., D. D. "The most notable movement among Indian Moslems is that of the New Islam, founded by Sir Saynd Ahmad Khan of Aligarh. This is, however, merely symptomatic of a much wider move- ment. Educated Moslems everywhere have revolted from the intellectual bondage of orthodoxy. It is, therefore, exceedingly important to carefully study this situation. It is the opening of the door to a rational consideration of the claims of the gospel. It is full of hopefulness."— £. M. Wherry, D. D. XII The New Islam in India The rigidity and unprogressive character of Islam has often been insisted on by Christian writers, and it is true enough that, as a system, it has shown itself singularly insusceptible to the in- fluences of the modern world during the last four centuries. Not that there has been no develop- ment of thought or life in the Moslem community since its primitive age. Far from it ; but all these changes took place within the limits of the Koran and the scholastic philosophy which was accepted as the vehicle of its exposition, and on the basis of a community life which accepted the Shari'at and its ordinances. But the last century saw Islam pass under new conditions and enter a dif- ferent atmosphere, in which her scholastic age has seen the beginning of the end. The discovery of America and of the Cape route to the East at the end of the fifteenth cen- tury diverted the ancient Mediterranean trade routes, thus helping to transfer commerce and colonization into the hands of the nations of Christendom ; and since then the decay of Mohammedan political power in east and west has brought the Moslem nations under the sway of Christian peoples, so that now scarcely more 187 i88 The Mohammedan World of To-Day than a third of the Moslem population of the world realizes the ideal of theocratic rule, which was the original and long-maintained standard of its polity. To these other influences we have to add, in the nineteenth century, the slow, yet progressive effect of direct Christian evangelism. To illustrate what I have said, let me refer briefly to the chief former religious movements in Islam, which have their analogies in the history of the Christian Church. The primitive teachers of Islam, who bade the faithful believe hila haifa, without inquiring how it came about, were soon followed by the professors of Jcalam, i. e., dialectic theology, who, indeed, were indispensable, however much they might be regarded with suspicion, in order to meet the growing heresies and specu- lations. To say nothing of the orthodox dis- puters about free will and fate, and the like, there was the great heresy of the Mutazila or secession, which denied the eternity of the Koran and found favour for a while in the highest places ; and there was the pantheistic Sufism which began with Hallaj in the fourth century a. h. The Mutazila was crushed by the decree issued under the Caliph Mutawakkil in 234 A. h., and the Sufi mysticism was modified and incorporated into Moslem theology by the great divine Ghazzali two centuries later. With him closes the productive period of Mohammedan theology. The Moslem schoolmen, like their Christian fellows Avere Pseudo-Aristotelian philosophers. Babism repre- The New Islam in India 189 sents a modified form of tlie schisms connected with the true Imamate. Wahabism is a Mo- hammedan Puritanism appealing to its scripture to support a sterner orthodoxy and more rigorous standard of life than that of current Islam ; the great religious orders that have grown up since Abd ul Kadir Ghilani (561 a. h.) have built up the religious organization of Islam on the side of monasticism. All these movements, however, were within the limits of the Moslem state. Now the mind of Islam at last has to meet with the thought and culture of the outside world on a basis of equality of civil rights, for the Moslem subject of a Christian state is neither oppressed nor favoured ; he is simply protected and bound by the same law as others. This process is going on to the greatest extent and under the most favourable conditions in British India ; and it is of the development of a new phase of Islam in India that I propose to treat. The Mohammedan population of the world is variously estimated at from 180,000,000 to 210,- 000,000 ; that of India is not far from 60,000,000, *. «., one-third or two-sevenths of the entire Moslem community. When the last great flood of nations burst forth from inner Asia in the later middle ages the Turks turned their faces westward, the Moguls eastward, and to the latter India owed the greatest imperial development which it had seen since Asoka. Following on a series of Pathan and other dynasties since the eleventh century, the 190 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Mogul emperors held India from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, and left it with an ad- ministration and a lingua franca (Urdu), which British rule has only had to develop. Almost a century and a half have passed since the battle of Plassy left the Mogul province of Bengal, grad- ually followed by the rest of India, in the hands of the British power. But during the first 100 years of this time the condition of the Mohamme- dan part of the population of India had not im- proved in anything like the same degree as that of the Hindus, whom only a short while before they had held in subjection. The erstwhile rulers had held back from taking advantage of the education freely offered them, and about the middle of the last century observant ones among them began to notice that in the race for wealth and position they were now far behind their Hindu fellow- subjects. From the perception of this fact the Moslem reform movement in India received the impulse which gave it definite shape. The initi- ation and first leadership of this movement belong indisputably to one man. Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, of Aligarh. This zealous reformer was born in 1817, of a pure-blooded family (as the term Sayed — Lord — implies), of lineal descendants of Moham- med. At the age of twenty-one he entered the civil service of the Northwest Provinces, and in addition to his energy as an officer, he soon de- veloped considerable literary activity. During the troubles of the mutiny Sayed Ahmed rendered The New Islam in India 191 useful service, and was rewarded with promotion. On a visit to England in 1869-70, he was pre- sented to the Queen and the Prince of "Wales, and carefully observed English life and manners, edu- cation and industry. On his return to India Sayad Ahmad started a journal, the Tahzih ul Akhlaq, or Reform of Morals. A collection of essays gath- ered from this forms the chief exposition of his views. He saw that his fellow Moslems in India were in an extremely backward state as compared with their Hindu fellow subjects, in respect both of education and of material progress and of share in administration. Instead of clamouring for gov- ernment patronage, or cursing the change of times, Sayed Ahmed set to preaching that God would help those who helped themselves, and told his co- Moslems that they would deserve to remain im- poverished and slighted unless they set themselves to remedy their own condition by means of edu- cation. Amid all the success and honour that attended his further career, Sayed Ahmed devoted himself consistently to this object. In 1878, he succeeded in starting, with the countenance and liberal assistance of the government, an Anglo- Mohammedan College at Aligarh. From 1879-83 — having been made Knight Commander of the Star of India — Sir Sayed served as a member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council, and later on he was a member of the Provincial Legislature of the Northwest Provinces. In 1886, he set on foot an annual Educational Conference for the Mohamme- 1 92 The Mohammedan World of To-Day dans of India. This and the Aligarh College re- main as the two outstanding fruits of Sir Sayed's life work, the one as an intellectual centre, the other as a focus of practical effort for progressive Islam in India. Over both, and over other varied interests of his community, Sir Sayad watched most sedulously till his much lamented death in 1898. We cannot call Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan a syste- matic reformer. He had a literary, and to some extent a scholarly bent, but unfortunately his en- ergetic pursuit of important practical ends left him no time for a thorough acquisition of the English language, which would have been the best means for attaining those ends ; and this lack effectually prevented him from really taking in hand an in- tellectual reconciliation between modern thought, as such, and the religion of Islam. His intellec- tual starting-point is the backward and impover- ished condition of the Indian Mussulman. If he is to escape from this condition he must give up thoughtless conservatism (taqlid) and take to free- dom of thought {azadi i rei). In some respects Sayed Ahmed resembles the ancient rationalists of Islam ; indeed, his remarks on the Divine at- tributes and their relation to the Divine nature re- minds one not a little of the Mutazilite school ; and like them, he puts forth a modified theory of inspiration ; not every part of a sacred book must be equally inspired, we may acknowledge in it a human element as well as a Divine. But his The New Islam in India 193 thought (system we cannot call it) is more in- fluenced by the conceptions of conscience and nature. Conscience, he says, is the condition of man's character which results from training and reflection. It may rightly be called his true guide and his real prophet. Still, it is liable to mutabil- ity, and needs to be corrected from time to time by historic prophets. To test a prophet we must compare the principles of his teaching with the laws of nature. If it agrees with these we are to accept it, and he quotes with approval the remark of a French writer, that Islam, which lays no claim to miraculous powers on the part of its founder, is the truly rationalistic religion. Mo- hammed, he claims, set forth the Divine unity with the greatest possible clearness and simplicity : first, Unity of Essence, which he promulgated afresh ; second. Unity of Attributes, which the Christians had wrongly hypostatized in their doctrine of the Trinity ; third. Unity of "Worship in the uni- versal and uniform rendering of that devotion which is due to God alone, thus securing the doc- trine of the Unity against all practical encroach- ments through corrupt observances. It is obvious that in trying to delineate a move- ment of this kind, which in many respects resem- bles that of the Broad Church school in England, it is not possible to give statistics of adherents, there being no formal organization into a sect. There are, however, the two organizations already mentioned which represent the reform movement 194 The Mohammedan World of To- Day started by Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan — the Anglo- Mohammedan College at Aligarh, and the annual Mohammedan Educational Conference. The for- mer has passed through some vicissitudes, espe- cially by reason of the embezzlement of a consider- able portion of its endowment fund ; but it has had a series of excellent and able principles in the persons of English university men who have suc- ceeded in impressing something of the ethos of English public school and university life on the alumni of the high school and college. The in- stitution now contains, by the last report, 340 students in the college department, and 36i in the school.^ Its first graduate was a Hindu student. From 1898-1902 out of 478 Mohammedan grad- uates in India, 116 were from Aligarh College. The promoters have for some years past been moving for the advancement of the college to the status of an Anglo-Mohammedan University. One of them describes the object of the institution as the complete transformation of the present type of MuUa, a consummation devoutly to be wished. As far as one can judge, the tone of the college is somewhat secular though a Mulvi was appointed as " Dean " in 1895. At any rate the College Maga- zine does not record much of the religious side. The members of the cricket team whom I met at Simla in the summer of 1904 gave the impression of cultivated manly young fellows of good breeding. ' These figures include fifty-one and thirty-seven Hindus re- spectively. The New Islam in India 195 The Educational Conference meets annually during the Christmas holidays (the great season for such gatherings in India) for the discussion of educational and social topics, and leads the efforts of progressive Moslems in these directions. One of the most remarkable utterances of its speakers latterly was the speech of the Agha Khan, the leader of the Bora community of Bom- bay, a wealthy mercantile tribe. In his capacity of president, this gentleman spoke very tren- chantly of the chief barriers to progress in the Mos- lem world. These in his opinion were (1) the seclusion of women which results in keeping half the community in ignorance and degradation, and thus hindering the progress of the whole. (2) The spirit of self-aggrandizement, and lack of esprit de corps, preventing efforts for the com- mon good. (3) Fatalism, which acts as a paralyz- ing factor against all healthy initiative and de- velopment. (4) Formalism, with reference to the multitude of unproductive and ignorant persons who encumber the community with pretensions of superior holiness while they are nothing but a burden on its resources. By this he meant, of course the mass of fakirs and keepers of spurious shrines who flourish in idleness on the alms of In- dian Moslems. The Agha Khan appealed urgently for the establishment of an Indian Moslem Uni- versity, begging liberal believers " to consider whether it is not more in accordance with the commands and example of the prophet to help 196 The Mohammedan World of To-Day their Moslem brethren than to undertake pilgrim- ages and celebrate costly anniversaries." Proba- bly the educated mercantile Moslem of Bombay who comes into constant contact with the west- ern world is more advanced in such matters than others, even among his progressive brethren. But at any rate the controversy as to seclusion of women and polygamy is still proceeding with some liveliness. Polygamy is defended by mulvis of the old school with the crudest and coarsest arguments, viewed solely from the side of male rights of enjoyment, while the reformers vindicate the rights of women in a thoroughly modern and almost Christian spirit. Others endeavour to mediate between the two positions; all equally ap- pealing to the Koran. Meanwhile, in Haidarabad (Deccan), Calcutta, and elsewhere, progressive Moslems are in a few cases breaking through the restrictions of custom, and going about with their wives and daughters unveiled, which generally also means in European dress. For men among the progressive section this has become as good as universal : but indeed it has spread far beyond them, and is common among educated men of all classes, nor only among educated ones. The pro- gressive Moslem, however, draws the line at the hat ; and favours the fez, unmindful of the fact that it had a Christian or a heathen origin. In matters of social intercourse the Indian Moslem has, in the lapse of centuries, become strongly imbued with Hindu notions as to common meals The New Islam in India 197 with Christians; this prejudice the progressive have entirely set aside, and not a few others are following them in this ; but there still remain the barriers of habit and of race. ^ The general influence of the reform movement is seen most clearly in literature. Idiomatic translations of the Koran (instead of the baldly literal one of Abd ul Kadir hitherto the only concession to the right of the vernacular reader to understand the sacred book) are being published, e. g., by the well-known novelist and lecturer Mulvi ISTazir Ahmed. The use of fiction to em- body religious and social ideas and to advocate them, is rapidly extending ; and Nawal (novel) has become a recognized Urdu word. The periodical magazine has come to stay, no less than the weekly and daily newspaper ; and periodicals such as the Mahhzan (Treasury ; a monthly literary re- view), the Ohserver, an English weekly news- paper ; the Paisa Ahhiar (Farthing Journal ; a daily newspaper), are quietly and unobtrusively promoting liberal views and broadening the outlook of the Indian Moslem. The proprietor of the last named journal has started a children's paper, the title of which is indicative of the new age. In- stead of a high-flown Arabic or Persian phrase, suggesting as little as possible the nature of the ' The last meeting of the Educational Conference set on foot a training school for female teachers which is being started at Aligarh. ig8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day contents, it has the plain every-day Urdu titlej Hamare Bachche (Our Children). Sir Sayed Ahmed's Commentary on the Bible, though it is merely a fragment of little theological value, has helped to convince the educated Mos- lem that the ordinary view of the Christian Scrip- tures as having been falsified with polemic intent subsequent to the advent of Mohammed is ground- less. Not only is the Bible being read with more open mind than before, but in some instances it is studied and commented upon with some degree of thoughtf ulness. Of one such student an Indian in- formant writes : " By an independent research he passed on from the Koran to the Bible, and from the Bible to the Pentateuch alone, holding the directly inspired portion of the latter {i. e., the parts contain- ing direct utterances of Jehovah) to be the only parts to be accepted as the Word of God, to the exclusion of the rest of the Bible and of all other books." In the opinion of competent Indian observers the rationalism of Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan is not at present being developed. One writes : " As a religious movement it was of a negative nature, and its chief strength lay in denying whatever could not be defended. Having no vitality in it- self it has practically lapsed into a sort of social and political reform movement." Another says, "Just at present, there is a marked indication, even among the educated Mussulmans, mainly to drift back to the old school of thought." He further The New Islam in India 199 mentions as one of the chief symptoms of this tendency the establishment of the Nadioat ul JJlama (College of Divines). It has its headquar- ters at Lucknow, and consists of a number of Mulvis, who come together every year, and are joined very largely by the educated party. They have established a (theological) seminary on a large scale, which aims at being an improvement on the work at Deoband, though on the same lines. They are trying to multiply such institutions elsewhere. A branch has already been established at Shah- jahanpur (in the United Provinces). From the last report to hand of this body it would seem that it suffers much from internal dissensions. In Lahore there is the Anjuman i Naumania, which has succeeded in founding a seminary, at present car- ried on in the Shahi Mosque, and receiving consid- erable support from many Mussulmans who have received a university education ; the results of the reform movement are thus being felt in efforts to provide a more enlightened education for the Mo- hammedan clergy (if we may so call a body of teachers between whom and the " laity " the di- viding line is most indistinct), but without the rationalistic element of Sir Sayed's teaching. It remains to mention one other movement which endeavours to combine modern progress with Moslem orthodoxy. I refer to the sect started by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Qadian in the Punjab. The Ahmadiyya, to adopt the self-chosen style of this new sect, represents the endeavour to find, in 200 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the face of the irresistible advance of modern cul- ture, a via media between the more advanced re- form and an impossible return to the old stand- point. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed is now nearing sev- enty years of age, and his claims to religious lead- ership date from twenty years back. He is, I be- lieve, a man in whom religious zeal and conviction are combined with a very large proportion of per- sonal motives, and there is no doubt that he has employed fraud, if not worse means, for the ac- complishment of his ends. Disquieted by the progress which Christianity was making among Mohammedans of the Central Punjab, he felt that a new prophet was needed ; was he not the man ? However, as Mohammed was the last of the prophets, he could not claim strictly to be a Nabi ; but there is always available for the Mohammedan enthusiast the role of the Mahdi or promised Guide who is to prepare the way for the return of Jesus and the Judgment Day. As John the Baptist was said by Christ to be Elijah the prophet, because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, so the Mirza claims to have come in the spirit and power of the Messiah, and at the same time to be the promised Mahdi. Lately he has added, for the benefit of Hindus, an avatar, the true Krishna redivivus. The Mirza repudiates the traditional doctrines of Jihad and slavery. The latter is intended accord- ing to the Koran to be gradually abolished ; Jihad is not permissible under present circumstances. The New Islam in India 201 Polygamy, veiling of women and divorce, are per- missions or regulations of the inspired legislator, given to prevent worse evils. The Ahmadiyya, like the Arya Samaj, is bitterly anti-Christian, while both are fiercely opposed to each other. It is diiflcult to estimate exactly the number of ad- herents of this sect, but they may be supposed to run into the tens of thousands, of whom a few are educated in the modern sense. The Mirza and his councillors, however, understand the power of the press and of education, and he has established a high school, intended to be developed into a col- lege, and a printing press ; and English and Urdu newspapers are published in Qadian.^ From the bare sketch given so far it is evident that, while Islam in India has begun to feel the stirrings of a new age, yet even its advanced ad- herents have not begun to grapple with modern problems of thought. The rationalism of Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan does not touch such questions as the relations between the objectivity of the supernat- ural and the universality of natural law ; between creation by a Personal God and evolution ; be- tween revelation and the natural origin of re- ligions ; between ethical responsibility and biolog- ical determinism. Much less are the professors of the Nadwat or the graduate followers of the Mirza qualified to do so. Not many years ago a princi- ' Further information about the sect is given in a paper by the Rev. Dr. Griswold in the Proceedings of the Victoria Institute for May, 1905. 202 The Mohammedan World of To-Day pal of the Ah'garh College was conversing with a well-known Urdu author on the change of thought and life that was inevitably coming over Indian Moslems. The conversation ended with the words, spoken by the latter : " Leave us our God ; in all else make us English." A profoundly pathetic saying, which indicates our attitude and duty towards this reform movement. The educated Moslem deserves our sympathy for a double reason. He realizes, as his uneducated brother cannot, with aggravating clearness, the fallen glory of his people from a secular point of view ; and he feels the approach of a tide of intel- lectual innovation, perhaps of destruction, to meet which his religious philosophy offers him but inef- ficient aid. While then, we desire to offer him that revelation of God incarnate in Christ which is the true reconciliation of the transcendent and the immanent Deity in man and in the world, we want to help him to hold fast the fundamental be- liefs common to him and ourselves in the great process of readjustment, so that he may be able to base the conviction of a new power to heal ethical and social deficiencies, on the primary convictions which he already holds, and which are sure to be severely tested when he comes into real contact with modern thought, not merely as a formula, but as an experience. The means to this end which, without disparaging others, I believe we shall find efficient and fruitful, are specially these : The New Islam in India 203 (1) Social intercourse, which is greatly needed in India to bridge over the gulf of race separation. For the promotion of this there is also a favourable opportunity in the case of Moslem students and others in England, and something in this direction is being done. (2) Bible study with individuals or small groups, both as literature and as the guide to life eternal. Specially should this be practiced in con- nection with our missionary colleges. It is the lack of such quiet dealing with men (mainly for lack of time or energy when the obligatory work is done) which prevents us from seeing greater re- sults from the excellent work of those institutions. (3) Systematic lectures by thoroughly qualified men, with carefully arranged openings for discus- sion of difficulties. (4) A more efficient and extended use of the printing press. A considerable number of men of liberal tendencies do not read English with such readiness that they will not prefer an Urdu book or paper if it gives them the information which is found in English books. For these we have maga- zines like Taraqqi, and books such as Dr. Blackie's Bille History, in its Urdu dress, to say nothing of good Christian stories. But the majority, proba- bly, of the progressives will prefer to read English, and the great point is to direct their reading rightly, and, if necessary, or rather if possible, to read with them, for thus opportunity is given also to pray with them. 204 The Mohammedan World of To-Day In all these activities I need not say that Indian Christians are concerned equally with the foreign missionary. Indeed, we have no little cause for thankfulness to God, that some of the.mosteflBcient work (notably in literature) is being done by them. If there is much need for the specialized mission- ary, there is more for the educated Indian Chris- tian inspired with apostolic zeal. XIII Islam in Sumatra Rev. G. K. Simon {Missionary of the Rhenish Missionary Society) " We have often been forced to observe that the whole Moham- medan 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 really or fictitiously, has its reflex action even on the work of our missionaries in the Mohammedan part of Sumatra. Thus the recent massacres 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 with- stand ; and he will soon come and set Sumatra free, and then we shall do with the Christians as the Turks did with the Arme- nians." — Barmen Mission News. XIII Islam in Sumatra {Translated) It has been said that " the Moslem propaganda has accomplished a masterpiece in Indonesia." We may well say that such a masterpiece is in evi- dence on the island of Sumatra, for among its 4,000,000 inhabitants, 3,500,000 profess the religion of Islam. This in itself is assuredly an astonishing result, the more so, as it has not come from regular mis- sionary work ; there is no record of sacrifices and privations, of self-denial or martyrdom in the Mo- hammedan propaganda in this island. The whole movement went on, so to speak, automatically. Traders from the Arab colonies on the coasts of Calabar and Coromandel made their appearance on the east coast of Sumatra, and began to settle there as early as the fourteenth century. They propagated Islam together with their trade. More- over, since the thirteenth century there has been a direct trade connection between North Sumatra and Arabia and this has been aided by the exist- ence of the Mohammedan kingdom of Achin at the northwest extremity of Sumatra. This propaganda is not as yet complete ; there are still Malay tribes in Sumatra who hold with 207 2o8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day tenacity to their ancient heathenism and resist all efiforts to make them Mohammedans. Instances of this are the not very numerous tribe of the Uraneses on the upper course of the river Lema- teng in the middle of the island, between Palem- bang and Benkulen, and the Lus on the borders of the district of Manungkabon, which have almost disappeared. The most successful resistance to the inroads of Islam has been made by the Bataks with exception of their southern tribes. I estimate the Bataks to number 625,000 souls, and that 125,000 of these are Mohammedans. But for a generation past by far the greater part of this people has come under the influence of Prot- estant missions. Some 62,000 Christians have been baptized and oi'ganized into regular congre- gations. In addition to these there are some 10,- 000 catechumens. Apparently Islam is numeric- ally preponderant among the Bataks. But of the remaining 430,000 pagans by far the greater part is more accessible to Christianity than to Islam. Moreover, the Mohammedan portion of the nation is, so to speak, isolated in the southerly district of Mandailing, and we may say that Protestant mis- sions have barred the way of the Moslem propa- ganda in the remaining part of the Batak country, though as yet this is but partially Christianized. Furthermore, our missions have delivered a suc- cessful counter attack on the territories which have already accepted Islam. Thus in Sumatra the ex- tremely successful propaganda of Islam which has Islam in Sumatra 209 been going on for the last five hundred years, has been brought to a standstill by energetic mission- ary work amongst pagans and Moslems. The social condition of Moslems in Sumatra does not differ materially from the general social condition of the Batak nation, which may be de- scribed as favourable. These people are by occu- pation cultivators of rice, and breeders of cattle. It is true that the abolition of swine-breeding, which in other parts of the Batak country is a considerable source of wealth, has caused some loss to the poorer classes among the Moslem Bataks. On the other hand, trade has increased among them. Mohammedan traders dislike trade connections with pagan Bataks and prefer to have as their agents and correspondents those who have come over to Islam. They use them also as ped- lars in the country districts. In general we may say that Islam has brought the people out of isolation. In addition to this the adoption of Islam has enabled many Bataks to get their living tempor- arily or permanently in other lands, and a certain amount of emigration to foreign parts has been going on. In the sixties of the last century the famous tobacco plantations in Deli on the eastern coast of Sumatra were started and the Mohammedan Bataks of Mandailing began to emigrate there in great numbers, becoming traders, shopkeepers, policemen and minor officials. Their social posi- 210 The Mohammedan World of To-Day tion was thereby improved, the more so as it con trasted advantageously with the mass of poor Chinese and Javanese coolies. These people from Mandailing formed a compact and fanatical body of Moslems in their new surroundings, and their presence was a continuous and great danger threat- ening those Bataks of the east coast who were still pagans. On the other hand, through the advent of Islam the social position of women was distinctly de- graded. According to the old law of the Bataks, divorce was subject to penalty and extremely difficult. Cannibals though they were, they re- garded matrimony as in principle a sacred institu- tion. Adultery was punished with death ; in fact the adulterer was eaten ; this being the most dis- graceful form of punishment according to Batak law. In contrast to this the Mohammedan Batak can divorce his wife when he pleases. For the sake of legality three persons must bear witness that the woman has three times quarrelled with her husband, but there is little difSculty in getting witnesses to this effect. It is forbidden to take back a woman who has been divorced. It is espe- cially the religious leaders (the hajis, that is, pil- grims to Mecca ; and the Muallims, that is, teach- ers), who are given to change their wives. Nor do they thereby suffer in authority and esteem. It may be said that the Mohammedan woman has been degraded socially through the Islamic con- ception of marriage in the same degree as the Islam in Sumatra 211 Christian woman in Sumatra has been raised bj the sanctity Christians attach to that institution. It must be acknowledged that Islam has forbidden an ancient abuse in the shape of marriage with the mother-in-law, but it does nothing by way of really abolishing the practice. Islam has not suc- ceeded in banishing Batak women from ordinary social life, as is the case with women in most of its territories. Both Malay and Batak women move about freely among their countrywomen, and popular custom everywhere enforces respect for women. In this respect work in Sumatra is dis- tinctly hopeful. We have here no harem in which the Avomen are carefully secluded from male so- ciety. Thus there are no special hindrances to missionary work among women and girls. The whole island of Sumatra is now under the Dutch Colonial Government. I shall now add a few words as to the political position which the Mohammedan of Sumatra occupies under a Chris- tian government. We may fairly regard it as one of the tasks of missions to make it clear to Colonial governments that Moslems can never become loyal subjects of a Christian power. In Germany especially it seems very difficult to make this understood, as we may see from recent events in the Kamerun colony in Africa. There is a tendency to esteem Islam as a civilizing power, which it is not, or at any rate has ceased to be, and the authorities do not per- ceive that they are cherishing a serpent in their 2 1 2 The Mohammedan World of To-Day bosom. The Dutch Government, during the last thirty years, has gained a more correct insight into the state of things, since it has found by ex- perience that not one of the colonial rebellions has come about without the incitement of the hajis. Besides this the colonial war with Achin, which has lasted for nearly thirty years, has helped to open the eyes of the Dutch. This territory of Achin, at the northwest corner of Sumatra, is to the Mohammedan of that island " a holy land," and the war carried on by its ruler against the Dutch is a holy war ; therefore, say the people, it can never come to an end. Since 1904 we may prac- tically regard Achin as subdued, but this the Mo- hammedan does not believe. Eventually they expect the Baja Stamhoid, that is, the Sultan of Turkey, to drive out all the Dutch. The idea of some colonial rulers that Moham- medans 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 government, but very few Achinese ever come to it. Achin still exercises a strong influence on the great Mohammedan tribes in the east of the island. Even the pagan Batak rulers in those parts hold their lands under title deeds derived from the kingdom of Achin ; and as for the Mo- hammedans, they look to Achin still with the ex- pectation and hope that deliverance from foreign rule will come to them through the interference Islam in Sumatra 213 of the Sultan in Stamboul. During the fighting between the Dutch troops and the wild Karo tribes in the south of Achin, it is believed that many of the great Mohammedan princes on the east coast were assisting the rebels. All this has helped to alter the policy of the government towards Islam. In former years they calmly permitted the Moslems of the coast to usurp more and more the rule over independent Batak tribes. It was all but impossible for inex- perienced Batak chieftains to vindicate their rights in the eyes of the Dutch Government as against clever Mohammedan princes. A great deal of land belonging to them on the east coast of Su- matra was delivered into the hands of Mohamme- dans and thereby Islam was enabled to penetrate far into the interior. Latterly, however, the government has ener- getically resisted these usurpations, which they now see to be disadvantageous to them, owing to the political strength of Islam. Still, the increase of Moslems from among the strong and intelligent mountaineers who come to the coast for an easier livelihood adds to the strength of Islam not a little. The inhabitants of the coast who have become enervated through the climate are strengthened by new blood and Islam receives intelligent dis- ciples. The position of Islam on the western coast of Sumatra is essentially different. This has come about through the historical development of Islam 2 1 4 The Mohammedan World of To-Day in Mandailing. The Europeans came into the country less as conquerors than as liberators from the oppression of Moslem usurpation, and it was natural that the people should at first see in them their best friends. In fact, about the year 1840, the people begged that missionaries might be sent to them, but notwithstanding this they eventually accepted Islam, and the relation of these new Moslems to government is simply that of sub- jection, without sympathy of any kind. There are three chief reasons for this : (1) No mission- ary society was ready to take up the work. (2) The Christian power did indeed come as a liber- ator ; and doubtless the Dutch Colonial Govern- ment did much for the elevation of the people*, but the institution of forced labour and the monopoly of coffee made the people feel keenly that their liberator was also their master. (3) The government itself by means of its minor officials helped to introduce Islam into the country and brought about a rcqiprocliement of the people with the Mohammedans of Mandailing, who regarded the Dutch as their worst enemies. Having ac- cepted Islam the Bataks of Mandailing soon learned to regard the Europeans as a scourge sent upon them by Allah. This inward disposition of Islam is outwardly concealed by a courteous and cringing demeanour towards Europeans. The great chieftains have received salaries from the government and share in the gains from the coffee monopoly ; moreover Islam in Sumatra 215 many of their sons are in government service as minor officials. If we compare Islam on the west coast with that on the east, we may say that the former has accepted subjection to the foreign power without resistance ; whereas the Islam of the east coast is relatively more independent, look- ing for rehabilitation through help from Achin, and secretly endeavouring to maintain independ- ence by intrigues against the government. Political events which have touched Islam in the outside world have been felt among the Moslems of Sumatra. For instance the Russo-Turkish war produced a great depression among them. The Armenian massacres stimulated their fanaticism so much as to produce insolent threats against Chris- tians. The Japanese war has aroused hopes that all Europeans will eventually be expelled. The visit of the German Emperor to the Sultan was regarded as an act of homage, and the present of horses which he brought, as a payment of tribute. The question whether Islam raises the intellectual condition of a nation or not, is answered very dif- ferently according to the estimate entertained of the civilizing power of Islam. The person who goes up from the Mandailing coast into the pagan interior, would be inclined to maintain that Islam has brought the people very considerable intellec- tual progress. On the coast and in Mandailing not a few have been to school, and the whole nation has a wider outlook than the pagans. This knowl- edge however is no result of the adoption of Islam. 2i6 The Mohammedan World of To-Day It is not Islam, but the Dutch Govermneiit, that is to say, a Christian power, which has done much for the elevation of the people by means of schools. When we examine Islam in districts of Sumatra which have not this incentive from without, the intellect of the Moslem community is seen to be below the level of pagan intelligence. What Islam substituted for the old system of ideas among the Bataks has remained an exotic growth. It has brought to them new rites of wor- ship, certain formulas of prayer, a few names of religious offices, all in the garb of unintelligible Arabic words. In addition to this, the laity are taught ad nauseam that their religious leaders and Mecca pilgrims can do all that is necessary for the salvation of their souls. Hierarchical despotism on the part of the leaders and fatalism on the part of the populace are an acute poison for the intel- lect of a nation. To keep the mass in a condi- tion of intellectual stagnation is a principle of Islam. It would be an interesting task, were it not out- side the limits of our subject, to draw out in detail the deep distinction between Christianity and Islam from this side of the question. Christianity does not trample on the ancient notions of the people but it gives something better in their stead. Islam surrounds itself with a halo of mystery, in- comprehensibility and strangeness ; Christianity opens the " book of books " and seeks clearness and truth in its explanation, in its illustration, and in Islam in Sumatra 217 all its teaching, and thereby draws out and strengthens the mental powers of its disciples. This aspect of the work of Christianity in ele- vating the popular intelligence is not without its effect upon Islam. Our Christian schools are open to young Moslems and a certain number attend them. Some have seriously objected to this on the supposition that we thus elevate the Moslems and put weapons in their hands wherewith to fight us, and that we impart to them the fruits of Euro- pean and Christian civilization to which, on their level, they have no right. But it is not the intelli- gent, educated Mohammedan whom we have to fear, so much as the ignorant man who is open to the incitements of fanaticism. The danger which threatens us, is that the Moslem population, hav- ing once imbibed a genuine Arabic education, will thereby be made permanently inaccessible to European culture. Owing, however, to the schools started by government and by the missions, Arabic culture has as yet but little influence on the Mohammedan population. The only Christian body with which Sumatra Moslems come into contact is the adolescent Batak church ; the Protestant Colonial church in Suma- tra is out of account, since the visits of its clergy only extend to European families or communities and are rare at that. All the more lively is the contact between Islam and the Batak Christian community ; nor have efforts been lacking on the part of the Moslems to draw over our people, on 2i8 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the whole unsuccessful. Islam has not succeeded in increasing its boundaries at the expense of churches among the pagans. It only succeeds in making proselytes in certain territories which are still quite pagan. By this I do not mean that Christian converts from Islam never relapse to their old faith. We have to confess that very few Christians who live entirely surrounded by Mo- hammedans are able to hold out against the terror- ism which presses upon them. The Mohammedan simply refuses the Christian immigrant the means of life, shelter, food, or, if he have provisions, cooking utensils to prepare them. The pagan is hospitably entertained, but not the Christian. The opposition of Islam is especially hurtful to Chris- tians on account of the differences which it makes in carrying out church discipline. Disobedient members of the flock, or chieftains who desire li- cense are always ready to threaten that they will go over to Islam if their faults are not overlooked by their Christian pastors. This obstructs the de- velopment of the Christian life, and tests the tact and wisdom of those who have to guide the churches. Certain features deserve mention which have made Islam more particularly attractive to the Batak people, {a) Magic. This has been a chief attraction offered by Islam in our parts. The Arabic Mohammedan doctrine of magic is locally known as ilmu. Teachers of magic are much sought after, and they very generally maintain that Islam in Sumatra 219 it is only the adoption of Islam which has guaran- teed the power of their formulas. They receive considerable payments, and in return for this pro- fess to make their disciples invulnerable, perma- nently strong, and free from the attacks of spirits. They furnish love philtres and amulets to ward off magic. This ilmu to a great extent acts as a com- pensation for certain sacrifices demanded of them by Islam, especially the renunciation of swine's flesh. The Moslems declare that ilmu is a special gift of the grace of God to the faithful, granted by the intercession of Mohammed, to make the heathen understand that Islam is truly sent by God. The fact that Christians are without these gifts of magic is a clear proof that they are not ob- jects of the divine favour. The most highly esteemed of the Moslem leaders carry on the pro- fession of magic. (5) Accommodation of Islam to paganism. We are distinctly against the opinion that the survival of pagan elements in Islam is a hopeful factor in respect to evangelism. We know that magic and belief in spirits exists everywhere among Moslems, more especially in countries where Moslem fanaticism is at its highest, as in Arabia and Egypt. In Sumatra the people have kept to the places of pilgrimage which they used to visit in the pagan period, only bestowing on them Mo- hammedan names. They continue to worship the spirits of their ancestors and the Mohammedan teachers tell the people that the ancestral saint, that is to say the spirit of their chief ancestor, has 220 The Mohammedan World of To-Day already embraced Islam and is earnestly desiring the day when his descendants and worshippers should accept the same religion. The first genera- tion of Moslems without hesitation, on entering the Moslem faith, take with them their entire doc- trine of spirits and sacrifices, nor does anybody put a hindrance in their way. The same person who acted as medium in connection with the spirits of the pagan times, now acts in connection with the Moslem magicians. It is thus quite natural that in cases of sickness and especially of demoniacal possession, the people should use the same magic formulas, and try to drive away the spirits causing disease by the same horrible noises as when they were pagans. Indeed the Moslem teachers are the leaders on such occa- sions, for thereby they maintain their influence over the people. Considerable indulgence is shown even to offenses of a grave nature against the ceremonial law ; if, for instance, a man has eaten swine's flesh he can purify himself by washing with lime and lemon juice. (o) Features common among Batak pagans, which favour the Mohammedan propaganda. The relations of similarity between these systems naturally form a bridge between them. As a pagan the Batak knows something about the being who is good, just, and omnipotent. The conception is vague, and so distorted by his belief in spirits as to be almost unrecognizable. Yet it lives in the Islam in Sumatra 221 souls of the people. Again the Batak knows some- thing of an inevitable fate which it is supposed the human spirit requested from God in a previous existence ; in fact he is a fatalist. Furthermore, the Batak paganism is not without parallels in the Moslem doctrine of another life, of which so much is made in Sumatra. The pagan believes that the spirit continues to live after death only he cannot tell where and how. He only knows that the spirits of great men have a high position in another world. In one dialect of the Bataks we even find a word that designates the condition after death. It is thus easy for Islam to bring in its doctrioe of judgment and heaven and hell; and it is clear that the three chief doctrines of popular Islam, namely, the unity of God, fate, and the day of judgment have points of contact with the pagan belief. The great stress laid upon the doctrine of the future life is perhaps especially used in oppo- sition to Christianity. The latter, intellectually the higher religion, is moreover that of the rulers of the land. But, says the Moslem, it is only in this world that the faithful are inferior in wisdom and position ; in the world to come God will torture the Christians, and burn them in a pit seven times heated, while the Moslem will be blessed. As compared with this doctrine, the doctrine of one God is very much in the background. Even the universal formula " God is great," though repeated daily in prayer, is an unintelligible magical formul? which is esfecialJ'"^ rejQomme?'.ded ^cir useaftei*; 222 The Mohammedan World of To-Day death in order to procure safe passage for the soul through the hosts of hostile spirits. Missions to Mohammedans in Sumatra Of societies working directly we have three Dutch, and one German in Mandailing (the south- ern Batak country) . The Dutch Mennonite Mission- ary Society has been working in three stations since 1871. It has now about 100 converts. The Nether- lands Missionary Society has a station on the east coast. The Java Committee, also a Dutch Society, has three stations in Northern Mandailing founded in 1860, with about 500 converts. Next to this comes the territory of the German Rhenish Mission- ary Society. Out of thirty-six stations worked by this society, four have converts from amongst the Mohammedans only. Four other stations have mixed congregations. All together these eight stations with sixty-seven out-stations have won about 6,000 converts from the Mohammedans, and now have 1,150 catechumens. In 1895 the Rhenish Mission began work among the tribes on the east coast of Sumatra among whom Islam was tending to spread. The mission stations have been pushed on eastwards from the interior to within a day's march of the coast, and near the coast a certain amount of work is being done amongst Mohamme- dans. Besides these societies, the British and Foreign Bible Society maintains a colporteur in the terri- A MOSLEM DERVISH (SINGING.) Islam in Sumatra 223 tory of the Ehenish Mission who sells Scriptures in Mohammedan as well as in pagan districts. In the sixties of last century the missionary work was much hindered by the unfriendly attitude of the government, which went so far as to forbid or at least delay for months the erection of Christian chapels. The officials were loth to irritate the Moslem population, and the chiefs, who were en- tirely in the hands of the government, were thus encouraged to work against the missions. Another influence in this direction was that of the native subordinate officials, whom government formerly used to select from among Mohammedans only. Besides this for years they gave judicial powers to Mohammedans and Malay chiefs in law-suits among the Bataks. Thus the Christian Batak came more and more under the power of Malays and Moham- medans. This is still the case to a considerable extent on the east coast of Sumatra. Another factor which favours Islam is the wide- spread use of the Malay language in the whole Indian Archipelago. This language is the tongue of the educated Moslem throughout that territory, and its general use gives him easy access to the pagans. Moreover Malay is the language of the courts under the Dutch government, and this of course gives to the pure Malay, who is a Moham- medan, a greater influence than his fellow subjects possess who are unacquainted with the Malay language. It also tends to mark the Malay nation- ality, and the religion of Islam as the chief, if not 224 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the only medium of civilization, education, and culture. The chief hindrance to Christian missions is the influence of the Mecca pilgrims or hajis. These are venerated by the common people as the true leaders of Islam. Amongst them there are people who are entirely illiterate, but there are others, too, whose education is beyond that of the primary schools. Whatever their intellectual equipment, however, they are sworn enemies to Christianity. They have accumulated a mass of stories about the moral corruptions of Christians which' they continually put into circulation. They have almost a weird power over the people, and even seem able to make them shudder before the missionary. In Mandailing their control of the people is increased by the fact that they are largely related to the rul- ing families. The practice of worship is to these hajis a trade. Any instruction or religious knowl- edge has to be heavily paid for. They make fre- quent tours through the country to offer their in- tercessions to such as desire them, and in return for them, they collect large sums. The haji now perceives that Christianity threatens to destroy this convenient means of gain, and thus to relig- ious fanaticism is added the spirit of bitter com- mercial competition. It has to be remembered that many a liaji has borrowed money in order to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. His relatives have probably been working for him, and his journeys among the pagans for the purpose of converting Islam in Sumatra 225 them usually prove very profitable. But Christi- anity is now barring his road and exposing his wiles. No wonder that he is ready to adopt any means to thwart the Christian missionary. The present attitude of the Dutch Colonial Gov- ernment as regards Islam diifers from what it once was. Christianity now finds a protection against the usurpations of Islam. Christian chiefs are given a share in judicial administration 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 propaganda are assisted by the government. Grants in aid of educational and medical work are now made without burdensome restrictions, and individual missionaries who use medicines amongst the people are supplied by government. The au- thorities deem missions a factor in civilization, es- pecially in the matter of education. In regions where Islam is entirely in the ascendant, schools have to be provided by the government at a heavy expense. Yet such schools in Mohammedan terri- tory have not become nearly so popular as the simple mission schools are in Christian territory. This commends missionary education in the eyes of the government, and, although our chief task is the spiritual conquest of Islam, we value the as- sistance thus rendered by the authorities. The most important part of our work is ob- viously the building up of Christian churches among the pagan Bataks. It is this which has 226 The Mohammedan World of To-Day provided the real backbone of the work among Mohammedan Bataks. Our great missionary in- stitutions, the two seminaries for the training of school-teachers, the college for native clerg}', the hospitals, the leper asylum, the Missionary Asso- ciation of Christian Bataks, all have an influence upon the Mohammedan Bataks, and Islam is now conscious that Christianity is a power in the country. From this a further result of great im- portance follows, namely that we can now meet Islam with preachers and other helpers taken from amongst their own number. At first our mission- aries were keenly sensible that natives felt more drawn to the Malay than to the European. "We know to this day that the same situation exists ; but now that we have helpers from amongst the Mohammedans, all can see that Christianity is not merely a European religion, but is suited to natives also. The band of native helpers forms a compact community just as the missionaries do. There are no perceptible differences in doctrine or in practice and this fact is an important element in the superi- ority of Christianity to Islam. The hajis often fight one another bitterly over questions intimately connected with the daily life ; for instance, the cleanness or uncleanness of food. Cases have been known in which the hajis have been brought before the Dutch authorities on charges of false doctrine preferred by brothers of their own faith. But Islam in Sumatra 227 Moslems acknowledge the unity of doctrine amongst the Christian preachers. The future prospects of Islam and Christianity in Sumatra constitute a question of great practical importance. Our position is the reverse of that in Northern Africa, where the complaint is made that the vigorous inland tribes have adopted Islam, while the enervated tribes of the coast remain as a field for Christian missionaries. In Sumatra it is the vigorous inland tribe of the Toba Bataks — that is to say about half the Batak population — which is in the course of accepting Christianity, while far more than half the Moslem Bataks be- long to the enervated coast tribes. Furthermore the natural customs of the Bataks favour Christianity. Islam, by degrading woman and lowering the Batak principles on marriage and divorce, has lost the sympathy of the patriotic Batak who has become conscious that it destroys his national characteristics whereas Christianity develops and ennobles them. A wave of national feeling is at present going through the people and influencing even Mohammedan districts. Pagans often reply to the Mohammedan proselytizer that they desire to be what their fellow tribesmen have become, that is Christians. True there are re- gions where this national feeling is in abeyance, for instance on the east coast. There the native often prefers to be a Malay in modern clothing rather than a pork-eating Batak. This gives Islam 228 The Mohammedan World of To-Day a certain advantage. Clearly it is for missionaries to keep their eyes open and seize opportunities now offering. The direct result of our work among the Mo- hammedans, consists of the 6,500 Christians and 1,150 catechumens who have been gathered in from among them. These Christians are organized into congregations and church life is being developed amongst them. They have about eighty churches and chapels in which, besides the European mis- sionaries, five native pastors and seventy lay preachers trained in our seminaries, are working with the assistance of some sixty leaders. Each congregation is ruled by a session under the presi- dency of the schoolmaster or preacher; and the Christian chiefs of the village are members of this Church session. The zealous participation of these chiefs in the work of the church is a very hopeful sign for our cause. In one circuit for instance out of eighty-one chiefs twenty-five are Christians. The congregations have a regular system of church discipline and collect a portion of their current ex- penses by means of a tax on rice, or in money or in labour. The schools and churches and dwell- ings of the preachers are almost always erected by the congregations. In some cases Mohammedans also contribute to the building in order to have a school in their village. In 1904 the congregations raised a sum of 5,772 marks. In some cases en- dowments have been secured, the interest of which provides for a part of the annual expenditure. Islam in Sumatra 229 Occasionally these are in the form of plantations belonging to the church. The Christianity of our converts from Moham- medanism is without question more deeply con- scientious than that of the churches made up en- tirely of converts from paganism. The congrega- tions are not burdened by many useless members, because friction with Islam has weeded out or kept away inferior elements. Among these Chris- tians are many who still have to suffer continuous oppositions and persecution from their Mohamme- dan relatives. Hence their religious life shows many a ripe fruit. An especially noticeable feature in the once Mo- hammedan Christians is the concentration of their religious life upon Christ. The contrast between Christ and the false prophet, who was a sinful man like ourselves, brings out more strongly belief in the crucified and risen Saviour. They also have more interest in the Christian eschatology than do converts from paganism. Eternity and judgment were truths already impressed upon them. It is a welcome sign of Christian life that these people have already furnished the Church with a number of efiicient helpers. The most noteworthy among these is Pastor Pandita Marcus Siregar, now an old man. He has spent most of his life amidst great privations and hardships among the Mo- hammedan mountain tribe of Bolak, first as a useful evangelist, and afterwards as a trusty assist- ant and councillor of the missionary. He was a 230 The Mohammedan World of To-Day man who rejoiced in his God and was full of love and sympathy with his degraded people. Even the Mohammedans had a high esteem for him. His working days alas are past ! As regards the more indirect results of the work I would mention a change in the disposition of the Moslems. It means a great deal for Islam to con- fess, as a result of the superiority of Christian people, that Christianity really is a religion ; and this makes conversion easier for not a few. There is a strong trend towards Christianity in many Mohammedan circles, and in such cases a small impetus is sufficient to produce a change. This is illustrated by the fact that in the case of marriages it is very usual for the Mohammedan party to ac- cept Christianity. The impetus which was lacking was given by such an occasion. As to the methods used, the usual Sunday sermon, or evening worship, or occasional dis- courses often furnish the occasion for enquiry in the case of Mohammedan visitors who hap- pen to attend our services. Moreover the ordi- nary work of the church in schools, care of souls, etc., has the same effect, and we hardly use any methods for the conversion of Mos- lems which are peculiar to them. Two great influences, however, which react upon them are Christian charitable work and popular education. In Mohammedan districts fifty per cent, of the children in our schools are Mohammedans. Even secular education works in favour of Christianity, Islam in Sumatra 231 for the European knowledge thus imparted bars the way for Arab education. Moreover Moham- medan children in school learn to regard the world with Christian eyes, and it is impossible for the same narrow and fanatical spirit to be devel- oped in them as in orthodox Moslems. Most of the Mohammedan children in our schools volun- tarily receive religious instruction also. It is very difficult to say how far this has direct result ; but at any rate the children receive an impression of Christianity which afterwards must exclude the proud contempt with which Mohammedans gener- ally regard everything that has to do with Chris- tianity. The work of medical missions brings the mis- sionary into continual contact with the Moslem population, and when Mohammedans are willing to take medicines from the accursed Christian this is in itself a result. The leaders of Islam being bj'' profession medicine-men, it is necessary for mis- sionaries to take up medical work, otherwise the sick among their converts would be at once taken to the Mohammedan priest. The charitable work of the missionaries, in which their helpers take part, is a thorn in the flesh of the Moslem leaders. To get out of the difficulty they say that Allah has ordered Christians to give help to Mohamme- dans, acting as their slaves ; but by its contrast with the selfish course of the hajis, the unselfish efforts of the medical mission to heal the sick makes a deep impression on the Mohammedan 232 The Mohammedan World of To- Day world. Thus, while there is no special method in use for evangelizing Mohammedans, every oppor- tunity which offers itself is used. The hospitality used among the Bataks gives an especially good occasion for such efforts, since the missionaries and their helpers are often invited to festivals. If they have to spend a night in villages they are usually the guests of the chief, and the custom of the country demands that after the meal is over the guests should deliver a short speech. On such occasions even Mohammedans are willing to hear Christian truth set forth. We are hampered by the scarcity of suitable native helpers. This prevents us from entering on a more systematic evangelization by the use of native workers. Nevertheless, the Batak Mis- sionary Society, which our Christians formed at the beginning of the century, maintains two evangel- ists for work among Mohammedans. For the present the chief task of the Ehenish Missionary Society must be to bring into the church the mass of pagans as yet untouched by Islam, and, while there is yet time, to send work- ers to regions which are ia danger of being brought over to Mohammedanism. XIV Islam in Java Rev. C. Albers, Jr. Rev. J. Verhoeven, Sr. {Translated^ " We have been too apt to gauge the result of missions among Mohammedans by the meagre returns that have come to us from Turkey. But we must remember that in the Turkish Empire it is a crime agaiuat the State for a Mohammedan to embrace an- other religion. In countries, however, where Islam is not forti- fied by the civil power, the Mohammedans are by no means a hopeless class for Christian workers, and as the political power of the Crescent wanes, which is now rapidly taking place, we exiject to see a turning of the hosts of Islam to the banner of the Cross." —J. H. Wyckoff, D. D. XIV Islam in Java {Translated from the Dutch) The Dutch East Indies are politically divided into: (1) Java and Madura, (2) The other islands, known as the outside possessions. This division suits the purpose of this paper well, because the 4,500,000 inhabitants of this latter division are mostly pagan, except about 25,000 followers of Islam, who live along the coasts of the islands, for trade with the natives. On these islands the gospel is preached only to the heathen. The missionaries complain of the disturbing influence of Moslems in mission work. Nevertheless the gospel has reached Moslems even there, so that there have been more than 3,000 converts from among them. The total number of converts from paganism to Christianity amount to 345,000 Protestants, besides about 30,000 Koman Catholics. The European Protestant workers in these Is- lands are, one hundred and twenty missionaries, and twenty-three assistant preachers or vicars. (These last serve the European church in India, but work also in the congregations of converted natives. They are paid by the Netherland East 235 236 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Indian Government.) There are also two mission, ary phj'sicians, and twelve female helpers, besides a large number of native preachers and teachers. In outlining mission work among the Moslems, we shall mention only Java, which has more than 28,000,000 Mohammedan natives, 280,000 pagan Chinese, and 62,000 European Christians. The island has an area of but 2,388 square miles. In the Moslem part of the island there are about 12,000 persons to the square mile. There are at present working in Java forty-one European missionaries, one assistant preacher, four missionary doctors (one of them a lady), four other female helpers, with about one hundred and fifty native helpers. Formerly the missionaries were compelled by the government to reside and work in the chief towns of the Island only. There it was impossi- ble to work among Moslems. The work is still limited to the Chinese pagans and the Indo-Euro- peans, who are nominal Christians. Although living in the cities, yet the mission- aries have succeeded in organizing many churches in the interior for Moslems. For the last twenty- five years missionaries have been permitted to re- side in the interior and have established numerous stations. Living in the midst of the people they preach the gospel principally by teaching it in the schools, and in dispensaries to which the people come for medical attendance. The average num- ber of missionaries in Java during these twenty- Islam in Java 237 five years who work only among Moslems has been about twenty. According to latest statistics there are now liv- ing there 18,000 who have been converted to Christianity from Mohammedanism, and of Chinese and other pagans of the Orient, about 2,000. Medical assistance to Moslems is generally given in their homes. The government supplies mission- aries with medicines, bandages and the like, at half the list prices. Moslems welcome the assist- ance of the physician, and he thus wins a way for the gospel message by his kindly ministrations. It is difficult to estimate the value of schools as an evangelistic agency. Some of the schools have an industrial department. The government on reasonable conditions subsidizes both departments of school work. Of the 6,000 pupils in the schools, about one-third are girls, and about an equal pro- portion are from Moslem homes. The teachers are almost all native converts. Conversions to Islam are rare in Java, and are usually for some private or sinister motive. The converts from Islam to Christianity amount to from 300 to 400 adults annually. The increase of Mohammedans by birth is re- markable, there being about 400,000 born each year, or one birth to every seventy of total population, while the increase of native Chris- tians is one to forty of the population. Over Java generally, but especially in the west- ern provinces among the Sundanese, one notes the 238 The Mohammedan World of To-Day influence of travelling Arab merchants, who urge prosperous Moslems to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca. These returning as Hajis forever turn the back on Christianity, bringing the villagers more under the charm of Islam. "We know of but two cases of Hajis having been converted and brought to Christ. Converted Mohammedans belong to the less privileged classes of society. It is difficult to change this. Almost all positions of office and trust are closed to Christian natives. The unity and exclusiveness of Mohammedan social life is a hindrance to the progress of Chris- tianity among the 40,000 villages in which the Moslems of the country reside. To you who work and live among Mohammed- ans, it is sufficient to mention the fact that in these villages in Java the Moslem priest is, in vir- tue of the fact that he is a priest, a member of the village council. He suffers direct pecuniary loss every time that a Mohammedan ceases to require his services as priest, and so he influences the coun- cil against the new convert, and in numerous ways, known best to Moslems, has him ostracized and persecuted. Though Java is a very mountainous country, the principal means of subsistence is rice culture. For this much running water is required. Yillages have grown up around a spring or other water source. They have a common interest in it. On account of depletion of the forests the water sup- MECCA PILGRIMS FROM CELEBES. MECCA PILGRIMS FROM DJAPARA, JAVA. Islam in Java 239 ply is decreasing while the population increases. So when in one village of the 40,000 a family be- comes Christian, it is cast out. These cast out families in turn go together and form villages of their own. The missionaries aim to get eligible sites for these new villages, so that converts may enjoy mutual help and encouragement. It is unnecessary to speak of the difficulties of I'eaching Mohammedans with the gospel. Our ex- perience in Java is that Islam with its unscriptural doctrine of God, can never be a bridge over the gulf that separates the heathen from Christianity, nor bring them nearer to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the contrary it is an or- ganized power under the direct influence of Satan, to enable him to destroy the souls of men, turning them away from the Light of the "World, Jesus Christ the Son of God. XV Islam in Bokhara and Chinese Turkestan Rev. E. John Larsen XV Islam in Bokhara and Chinese Turkestan I AM glad of the opportunity to "write a few words about the Moslems in Turkestan and other countries in Central Asia. Statistics show that in the Eussian dominions there are about thirteen million Moslems and in China probably thirty mil- lion. The most of the Moslems of Eussia live on the field where I work. In the Trans-Caucasus, between the Black and Caspian Seas, are 3,000,000 Tartars. In Turkestan, Bokhara, Khiva, and Eus- sian Turkestan, together are about six million. The capital city of Bokhara, which is a state vassal to Eussia, is a stronghold at present for the spir- itual power of Islam in Central Asia. From all Moslem countries in Central Asia young men come for their higher education to the celebrated Mos- lem schools of Bokhara. Generally there are sev- eral thousands of students in these schools. Bok- hara is one of the most interesting cities in the Orient. It is remarkable that a large proportion of the Moslems in the city can read. The reason, I think, is the number of schools. The great Eussian Trans-Caspian railroad through those lands facilitates travel in Central Asia, and we use it. In our work we try to get the Moslems under the influence and power of the 243 244 The Mohammedan World of To-Day gospel of Christ by preaching, conversation, and distribution of the Scriptures. The Bible has shown itself the best missionary among Moslems here. A number of Moslems have been converted and baptized in the Caucasus and in Bokhara. For this we praise the Lord. Many have found a peace and a salvation which they sought in vain in their own religion. Once I remained in Bokhara two months. From our book store in the city, our native helpers distributed the New Testament even among the people of Afghanistan. One old professor in the high school of Bokhara received from us the Bible in Arabic. He was very thank- ful and early in the morning he used to come to visit us for reading, prayer and conversation. One morning he said, " I am convinced that Jesus Christ will conquer Mohammed. There is no doubt about it because Christ is king in heaven and on the earth, and His kingdom fills heaven and will soon fill the earth." Let us pray and work with hope for the future and also remember in prayer the Moslems in Kussia and Central Asia. In November, 1891, the Swedish Missionary Society sent two of its workers to Kashgar in Chinese Turkestan, to see if a mission could be started in "Western China. Pastor J. Awetaranian, who is a converted Mos- lem from Turkey, remained and began work at Kashgar in the service of our society. In the year 1894 Eev. Hogberg was sent to Chinese Turkestan and he is still working in Kashgar. Pastor Awetar- TRAVELING DERVISHES FROM BOKHARA. Islam in Bokhara and Chinese Turkestan 245 anian had in the meantime translated the four gospels into the Turkish dialect spoken in Kash- gar. This the British and Foreign Bible Society printed, sending out two thousand copies for dis- tribution by our mission. Pastor Awetaranian Avent to Sweden in 1897 and afterwards translated the whole ISTew Testament into Kashgar Turkish. This will probably be printed this year. The Swedish Mission has at present seven mis- sionaries in Chinese Turkestan, in the cities of Kashgar and Yarkand. One of the missionaries is a physician and gives all his time to medical work. This year new missionaries will be sent from Sweden to this field and I think Khotan, near the border of Tibet, will be taken up as a third station. In this part of the world the Mos- lems are very ignorant, but several of them have been converted and baptized. The outlook is hopeful for the Moslem Mission and the work among the Chinese population is much blessed. The need is exceedingly urgent in Central Asia and Western China, since these lands have been so long neglected and are so isolated. XVI Islam in China Rev. W. Gilbert Walshe, M. A. " It seems very doubtful whether a body of men who for many centuries have conformed to customs repugnant to the true Moslem can ever become the political force which, it is said, Rus- sia fears they may become or are at all likely to prove a hostile power in the future developments of the Chinese Empire." — Canon Edward Sell. XVI Islam in China The story of Mohammedanism in Ctiina goes back to the days of Mohammed himself ; the in- troduction of the religion into China being attrib- uted by Chinese Mohammedans to Wahab Abi Kabcha, an uncle of the prophet, who was ac- credited as envoy to the Chinese court, and arrived in the country some six years after the Hejira, about 628. This was in the days of the great T'ang dynasty which has been described as " one of the most brilliant epochs in the history of China," and under the auspices of an Emperor (T'ai Tsung) who may be regarded as the most ac- complished in the Chinese annals, — famed alike for " his wisdom and nobleness ; his conquests and good government ; his temperance, cultivated tastes, and patronage of literary men." At this period China was probably the most civilized country in existence, whilst Europe was enveloped in the darkness and degradation of the middle ages. Great schools were, at this time, be- ing established throughout China ; the examination system which has only just been abrogated, after enjoying an unchallenged reign of nearly 1,300 years, was now, for the first time, instituted as the necessary method of entrance upon oificial life ; 249 250 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the confines of the empire were extended to the borders of Persia and the Caspian Sea, and em- braced large territories in Central Asia. The great work to which T'ai Tsung addressed himself was the consolidation of his empire ; and in the process, he was brought into relations with some of the Turkish tribes on his frontier, whom he endeav- oured to propitiate by a policy of concession and religious tolerance. He welcomed scholars of every school of thought who gave promise of contribut- ing something to the literature which he was amassing, and religious professors of many coun- tries flocked to his court. This was an age of toleration. The Nestorian priest, Olopun, was favourably received by the emperor in 635. Some of the Scriptures brought by him were translated in the library of the palace ; and special orders were issued for the propagation of the religion which had thus secured the imperial approval, as we learn from the Nestorian tablet, discovered in 1625 in the city of Chang-an in Shen- si — a monument which was erected in 781, before the close of the same dynasty. It was, then, at a most propitious time that the Mohammedan envoy and his followers arrived in China, and the imperial patronage and conde- scension, afterwards extended to the Nestorians and other foreigners, were enjoyed by the new arri. vals. They visited the emperor at his capital, Si- ngan, in the modern Province of Shen-si, obtained the imperial sanction for the exercise of their re- Islam in China 251 ligion, built in Caaton mosques, and were aug- mented from time to time, by fresh arrivals from Arabia who travelled by caravans through Central Asia, or came by sea to the great ports on the southeast of China. The envoy himself, after a few years' residence in China, retui-ned to Arabia ; but, whether the death of his distinguished nephew, which had taken place in the meantime, made any change in his fortunes, or the glamour of the Farthest East had thrown its spell over him, as in many an instance even in the present unromantic days; or whatever may have been the circumstances which influenced him, we are informed that he returned to China, and ended his days there, about the year 643 ; his tomb being still preserved outside the great North Gate of the city of Canton. Two of the mosques whose erection is attributed to Wahab Abi Kabcha still exist, after many restorations ; and one of them, known as the " Square Pagoda," is an object of special interest to visitors to Canton. The early Mohammedan arrivals in China, it should be remembered, were influenced by motives not entirely religious, and it would appear that commerce was the primary object of their enter- prise ; but it can hardly be supposed that so near a relative of the prophet coming from such scenes as were being enacted in Arabia at the time would be content with permission to worship in his own way, without being allowed to extend his religion 252 The Mohammedan World of To-Day among the " infidels " in whose midst he found himself. "We may suppose that proselytizing was carried on to some extent, judging by the pro- portions to which the Mohammedan community in China grew in the course of time ; but the propa- ganda appears to have lacked much of that vigour which characterized the campaign in Arabia and was exemplified in the later assaults upon the Christian strongholds in Africa and Europe. It seems evident, from the character of the Moham- medans who appeared upon the scene during the years which followed, that everything was subordi- nated to the lust for wealth. This was indicated in their commercial relations; the luxury with which they surrounded themselves ; and the lax morality of their social conditions. There is very little of a missionary character in the fragmentary notices which we have of this period. The Mohammedans who came and went do not seem to have entertained any idea of settling in the country, but returned to their distant homes in due course, having attained the object of their desires, and with little intention of enrolling them- selves in the " ISToble Army of martyrs." The first body of settlers, properly so-called, was a Mohammedan contingent of 4,000 soldiers de- spatched by the Caliph Abu Jafer, in 755, to the assistance of the Emperor Hsuan-Tsung, who was assailed by his favourite commander, A Lo Shan (or ISTgan Luh-Shan), a man of Turkish or Tartar descent, who had been appointed by the emperor to Islam in China 253 lead a vast army against the Turkish and Tartar nations on the Northwest Frontier. The commander-in-chief had, however, other de. signs in view, and in this year (755) proclaimed his independence of the reigning Dynasty, with the result that the emperor was forced to call in the assistance of such mercenaries as the Moslem troops which the Caliph was ready to despatch. These having performed their part with great credit, were allowed to establish themselves in the country and intermarry with the natives. These soldier-colo- nists we may regard as the fathers of the present- day Mohammedan population in China. The merchant class, however, still continued to arrive in large numbers at the seaports, and had their own consuls to defend their interests ; and it is recorded that, on the occasion of a rebellious move- ment at Canton which took place in 850, a vast number of Mohammedans, Jews, Christians and Parsees were massacred by the Chinese authorities ; some 120,000 persons being put to death, of whom, we may suppose, the majority were Moslems. The result of this catastrophe was to discourage the advent of Arab traders during the years that fol- lowed, and we know for a fact that the influence which had so long been exercised by the followers of Islam waned and practically became extinct until the rise of a new dynasty, that of the Mongols, in the beginning of the thirteenth century. With regard to the position of Moslems in China under the T'ang dynasty it may be said that, 254 The Mohammedan World of To-Day although welcomed at first by the broad-minded and tolerant T'ai Tsung, succeeding emperors did not regard the presence of the " foreigner " in their midst with the same equanimity. Active proselytism was, no doubt, discouraged, for such has ever been a cause of offense in Chinese eyes ; as the representative of Confucianism plainly stated at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago : "It is evident that whoever carries under his arm a system of doctrines, and crosses over into the territory of another state for the purpose of gain- ing proselytes, in reality sets up as a higher being than his fellows. By assuming the role of a moral propagandist he cannot escape the imputation that he looks down upon the people and nation as irreligious." The exhibition of a spirit of inde- pendence or national conservatism was strongly deprecated, and continual pressure was exerted with a view to de-nationalize the foreigners, by dis- couraging relations with their ancestral homes ; forbidding the much desired pilgrimages to Mecca, and the introduction of foreign MuUas. The observ- ance of their religious rites was frequently cur- tailed, and the erection of mosques interdicted. So oppressive were these restrictions that many Moslems retired to the Island of Hainan ; a larger number returned to their native lands ; and as has been said, Mohammedanism in China became practically moribund until the rise of the Mongol dynasty under Kublai Khan (1260-1295). This monarch, who became master of the Chinese Em- Islam in China 255 pire in 1280, bad many points in common with the earliest patron of Islam in China, and like him was engaged in the problem of consolidating an em- pire, and harmonizing the discordant elements which were thus brought together. He adopted an attitude of broad toleration towards all religious opinions, and recognizing the military qualities of the Mohammedans in his new territory of Kara Jang, the modern province of Yun-nan, he sought to gain their adherence and assistance. Accord- ingly, he permitted the Moslem Governor Omar, whom he found in office, to retain his position un- der the new regime. The result of this renewed attitude of encouragement was that large numbers of Arabs flocked to China and settled themselves in Fuh-kien, Cheh-kiang, and Kiang-su ; the centre of trade having shifted from Canton to Foochow. The province of Tun-nan became largely Mo- hammedan, and in other provinces individual Moslems were promoted to high office. "We read of Mussulmans who managed the artillery, other compatriots who farmed the taxes, and in later times we find them paramount in matters astro- nomical and astrological. Settlers crowded into Shen-si and Kan-su, and other parts of the empire. It would seem, however, that these new accessions were as little eager to advance the faith of Islam among their pagan neighbours as their predeces- sors had been. Had they possessed but a modicum of the fierce fanatical spirit of their co-religionists in other countries it is more than possible China 256 The Mohammedan World of To-Day would have been, if not Avholly converted to Islam, at all events much more deeply affected by it than the event has proved. The passing of the Mongols, and the restoration of a Chinese line of rulers, brought about a volte- face very similar to that which was witnessed in the days of the T'ang dynasty. It may have been that the Ming dynasty (the new line of rulers) carrying on an almost incessant warfare with the Tartars, could not regard with equanimity the presence of a powerful " third party " in the empire ; a party which by its numerical strength, military character, and independent spirit could not with safety be regarded as a negligible quan- tity. Perhaps the prevailing dislike to the for- eigners who had ruled them for so long fostered the very natural prejudice which was felt with re- gard to other Turks, the common designation of both Tartars and Moslems. Whatever causes may have been operative, we know for a fact that successive ■ proclamations, during this dynasty, served to warn them of the precarious character of their footing in the country, and they were even forced at one time to leave Canton and retire to their ships. The severity of this policy of repres- sion may be illustrated by the fact that, at the present day, 500 years after the date of the first edict of expulsion, there are only some 21,000 Moslems in the whole province of Kwang-tung (Canton), where once they were so numerous ; and only 50,000 in the three southeasterlj'^ provinces of Islam in China 257 Cheh-kiang, Fuh-kien, and Kwang-tung, which were for so long the scenes of their greatest com- mercial activity. It should be borne in mind that of this 50,000, possibly none at all would have sur- vived had their ancestors not compounded for their life by sacrificing their religion. Under the present Manchu dynasty, they seem to have fared little better, and a long-continued system of re- pression and outrage has driven the Moslems of the far west, probably men of a more heroic cast than the traders of the southeast, to revolt and re- taliation. In 1817, as a result of official injustice, intolerance, and murder, the oppressed Moham- medans in the west took up arms against their tor- mentors, and were driven by the Imperialist troops into the fastnesses of the savage tribes on the frontier, with the loss of many of their number. At Mong-Mien another outbreak was induced by the slaughter of more than 16,000 men, women and children, who were murdered like sheep at the instance of the Chinese officials. In 1855 another rebellion in Yun-nan was stimulated by a fearful massacre of Mohammedans, following on a petty quarrel, and was continued for some eighteen years. The British government was approached on behalf of the insurgents (in 1872) but declined to render any assistance. Despairing of success the brave commander Tu-wen-hsin surrendered to the Chinese, having first swallowed a dose of poison. Seventeen of his officers, who were in- vited to partake of a banquet with the Imperialist 258 The Mohammedan World of To-Day leaders, were treacherously beheaded at a given signal, and " Hell was let loose " upon the surviv- ing Moslems, with the result that within three da3'^s, out of the 50,000 inhabitants of the city (Ta-li-fu) and district, some 30,000 were put to the sword. A somewhat similar event took place in Shen-si in 1861, when the Chinese were incited to the massacre of the whole Mohammedan population. The latter took up arms in defense of their lives, and the " rebellion," which extended over an im- mense area, was only suppressed after twelve years' fighting— the Chinese general refusing to stay his hand until the Moslem population in many districts was, practically, annihilated. The province of Shen-si to this day bears scars of the awful punish- ment then inflicted, large tracts of fertile country still lying fallow and waiting for the cultivators who are to succeed the slaughtered myriads. These historical specimens may serve to indicate that, in spite of the Chinese character for religious toleration, any show of independence of thought, or national segregation, or military prowess on the part of the " Barbarians " admitted to reside within the borders of the empire, was regarded with suspicion and rigorously suppressed. At the present moment there are said to be some twenty million Mohammedans in China, the largest number being in Kan-su, in the extreme north- west, where 8,350,000 are reported. Some 6,500,- 000 are said to live in Shen-si in the north, and Islam in China 259 3,500,000 in Yun-nan in the extreme southwest. Thus nearly nineteen millions out of the twenty are to be found in the most distant provinces of the empire, and thus may be said to be practically exiled and kept out of striking distance. The remaining one million, odd, are scattered through- out the other provinces, and therefore rendered innocuous. That such a large number, represent- ing an alien religion, is at all tolerated is due to the fact that 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 neighbours. 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 diiferentiated, their cheek bones being generally more prominent, and their noses better shaped than the majority of the Chinese, 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 their families. They make no attempt to convert their Chinese neigh- bours, and the religious opinions which they hold are, to a great extent, unknown to outsiders. Mosques are to be found in many cities ; in Can- ton alone there are four, but there is apparently little interest taken in the services, which are nomi- nally modelled after the pattern of other Moham- medan countries. The male members of the com- munity seldom attend except during the Eam- 26o The Mohammedan World of To-Day adhan ; and it might be said that, as regards out- ward observances, the distinguishing features of Mohammedans in China are their abstention from idol-worship, and their observance of the prohibi- tion against the eating of pork. In the North, where Moslems are numerous, especially in Peking, where there are said to be 100,000 of them, hawk- ers of cakes, etc., have the characters Hui Hui, the Chinese name for Islam, painted upon the trays they carry, in order to assure Mohammedan pur- chasers that their wares are innocent of pork fat. Other important tenets, such as circumcision, almsgiving and fasting are also observed, but there appears to be an entire absence of that fanaticism, proud exclusiveness, uncompromising orthodoxy, and thirst for proselytism which so distinguish the Moslem in countries nearer home. There is a considerable body of Mohammedan Literature in Chinese ; some works being published under the imprimatur of the emperor ; but the strict law which forbids the translation of the Koran into Chinese, has no doubt had some bearing upon the lack of influence which Islam has exhibited in China, not only as regards its missionary charac- ter, but also in its relation to individuals within the pale. Mohammedans in China, instead of posing as the proud champions of a heaven-sent faith, have consented to the process of absorption which is the common fate of all religious systems in China, the Chinese dragon swallowing all and sundry without apology or effort. One " foreign " Interior of a Mohammedan Mosqub. Islam in China 261 religion after another has disappeared in the process, Nestorianisra, Judaism, Buddhism, Mohammedan- ism, and one might almost add Roman Catholi- cism, for it, too, in its earlier propagation was assim- ilated and passed out of sight. The life has been squeezed out of them ; the exuvice remain. Of JSTestorianism nothing survives but a record, of supreme interest indeed, but altogether unrelated to the present, except as serving to shovr how the earlier Buddhism, and perhaps Taoism had en- riched themselves at the expense of the Christian faith thus introduced. Judaism has nothing to show but a miserable remnant in the city of K'ai- f ung, the burial place of Confucius, in the province of Ho-nan, possessed of some Hebrew manuscripts indeed but unable to read them ; without places of assembly or meetings for worship, and number- ing only some 300 souls, the survivors of a colony some 2,000 years old. Buddhism " has a name to live but is dead," all the essential features of the faith of Sakya Muni having disappeared in the ac- cretions which a too conciliatory attitude on the part of its professors has induced, throughout the long ages of its domicile. Mohammedanism is a thing invertebrate, impersonal ; a social eccentric- ity rather than a vital religious force ; making no effort to extend its "sphere of influence," content with permission to exist in the midst of " infidels," and making no attempt at remonstrance against the customs or beliefs of its neighbours ; submitting to all forms of social observance ; conforming to 262 The Mohammedan World of To-Day all official ceremonies, even to the worship of the imperial tablet as a means to qualifying for office ; consenting to the erection in the mosques of an inscription in letters of gold, in acknowledgment of the imperial patronage, to this effect : " May the emperor reign 10,000 years." In all these ways they suppress national and religious individ- uality, so that in an authoritative pamphlet by a Chinese official it is said, "None can point out who is a Mohammedan ; they do not reside in separate districts," etc. Another writer says, " Islam in China has bent itself to the national ideals, and has become Chinese, not only in habits and manners, but in patriotism and character." Again, as a liv- ing writer puts it, " The Mussulmans in north China are never in the least interfered with be- cause they have the good sense to fall in with pop- ular feeling and let things be." In Canton we are informed " They find no difficulty in going through all the forms of the idolatrous ritual which are re- quired on the part of candidates for office, and can conform to almost all the Chinese customs, except the eating of pork," which, of course, is not a neces- sary part of any Chinese religious or social cere- mony. Cases are not unknown where even this " self-denying ordinance " has been relaxed on occa- sion. In fact the Moslems in China are regarded as no more "foreign" than the Manchu rulers of the country, who, like themselves, do not intermarry with the people, but in other respects are scarcely to be distinguished from the native Chinese. From Islam in China 263 the standpoint of religion they are regarded by the mass of the people in much the same light as the Votaries of the many secret sects found throughout the country, whose doctrines and ceremonials are equally unknown to outsiders and uninteresting. Mohammedans in China are much more ac- cessible to Christian missionaries than in other countries, as the common ground of monotheistic belief invites an attitude of mutual friendliness. But the doctrine of the Son of God is, as else- where, regarded as a difficulty almost insuperable, and a negation of the foundation truth of the Divine Unity. Hence conversions from their number have been somewhat rare. Signs are not lacking, however, of a change to a more receptive mood, as the Truth of Christ is more clearly com- prehended. A remark quoted by Dr. Arthur Smith may be cited in this connection, " One of their Mullas recently made the remark in regard to a mission station in his city, that until it was founded the Mohammedans were like a jar of pure water, but that on the advent of the Jesus relig- ion, the jar had been so stirred with a stick as to make the water appear turbid." By this he meant that in comparison with Chinese religions Moham- medanism made an excellent showing, but that it could not hold its own against Christianity. Amongst Mohammedans in China are found representatives of each of the principal schools, Sunnis and Shiites. But it would appear that the differences between them are not so marked as in 264 The Mohammedan World of To-Day other parts of the world ; perhaps the spirit of compromise and accommodation, which they ex- hibit in their relations with the pagans, may ac- count for the apparent absence of sectarian feel- ing among themselves. With regard to Christian missionary work among Moslems in China, it may be said that there is, at present, no specially organized effort on the part of individuals or societies, and indeed nothing on a large scale has ever been attempted by Protestant missions. There is, therefore, very little in the way of evidence as to the possibilities of missionary work among them. Such work would require specially qualified agents, and a distinctive literature pre- pared for the use of Mohammedans. In the ab- sence of these, and indeed, of any organized at- tempts to evangelize the Chinese Moslems, it is little wonder that conversions have been few, and that the attitude of Mohammedans towards the gospel is still largely a matter of speculation. If the recognition of these facts alone should lead to the establishment of a mission to Moslems in China, or some more definite effort to evangelize them, this paper will not have been written in vain. XVII How to Arouse the Church at Home to the Needs of Islam Robert E. Speer, M. A. XVII How to Arouse the Church at Home to the Needs of Islam It appears to be assumed in this inquiry that the church is not aroused. That assumption is un- doubtedly just. The Church is not as aroused as it ought to be to any part of its missionary duty, but the two sections of the mission field to which it is least drawn out at present are the Eoman Catholic and the Mohammedan lands. The work in the Roman Catholic countries is somewhat known, because these countries are near the lands which are the source of the missionary effort. But the work in Mohammedan lands is known scarcely at all. The history of missionary effort for Mos- lems in the past is largely an unread history. Raymond Lull's name is the name of a stranger. I have almost never met a Christian minister who knew who Raymond Lull was. Mohammedanism itself is a mystery to the average Christian in America, and even to Christians of far more than average intelligence. They have never read the Koran. They do not know what Mohammed taught or what kind of a man he was, and they have little or no idea of the history of Mohammed- anism or of its doctrinal character and ethical in- 267 268 The Mohammedan World of To-Day fluence. Popular ideas of the Moslem lands and people are grotesque in their crude ignorance. Where Persia lies and what its political character is are almost utterly unknown to ordinary Chris- tians, and of the tangle of races and languages there, of the political and ecclesiastical situation, of the nature of the people and their religious opinions and needs they know nothing. In addition to great general ignorance about Mohammedanism and the Mohammedan lands, the impression prevails that Islam is the next best religion to Christianity in its knowledge of God, and that its adherents are so devoted to it as to be uncon- vertible to the Christian faith. What are the causes of this condition of igno- rance and uninterest ? (1) One cause is the em- bargo laid upon the home workers for missions by missionaries among the Mohammedans. Many of the missionaries are entirely reticent about their work for Moslems, and others who write to their societies or friends at home do so with the ex- plicit injunction that what they write is not to be published or otherwise publicly used. Mission- aries in India working for Moslems usually feel free to write with freedom, and what they write is freely printed ; but missionaries in lands under Moslem rule are very reserved, fearing, of course, the effect of the reports of their work in case they came back to the land where the mission- aries are working. Now without knowledge of the work it is not unnatural that the home How to Arouse the Church at Home 269 churches are not aroused to the promise and obligation of it. They are profoundly interested to-day in Japan and China because they know about these fields and the work that is going on in them. The magazines are full of accounts of the missionary enterprise there. The missionaries come home speaking earnestly and openly of it and summoning the church to her duty. But no such propaganda is carried on in behalf of mis- sions to the Moslems. It is true that there are few missionaries to the Mohammedans in com- parison with the host in Japan and Korea and China, but it is also true that once there were no more in these countries than there are now among Moslems, and that they would not have in- creased as they have, if they had not so persist- ently worked to arouse the home church, and so energetically and openly laid the facts before her and summoned her to her duty. (2) In the second place, even in Moslem lands, or among Moslem people in lands not ruled by Mohammedan governors, the missionaries have devoted a relatively small part of their time and strength to the Moslem work. In Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Persia, the greater portion of the energy of the missionaries 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 270 The Mohammedan World of To-Day missionaries many have been made accessible and some have been reached ; but we do not have and have not had for years a systematic and aggres- sive, though tactful and quiet, campaign for the evangelization of Moslems. It is not the place of this paper to examine this question, but I believe one reason why the Church at home is not aroused is because missions on the field are not aroused to the immediate duty and urgency of the work. Even in India where there is a free field, very few missionaries are special students of the Moham- medan problem. In North India, where there are more Moslems three times over than in the whole Turkish Empire, a small minority of the missiona- ries are specially equipped or endeavour specially to equip themselves to deal with Mohammedans. The Mohammedan issue does not even occur to many missionaries in other parts of India. Dr. Jones calls his admirable book on India, India's Problem, Krishna or Christ, and there are not two pages in the whole book on Mohammedanism. In the Index there are only two references to the religion which holds the allegiance of one fifth of the population of the land. It has been true that the Church at home has been negligent of her duty, but the attention devoted to Islam by missionaries to Mohammedan lands has not always indicated to the home Church that the work was necessary and urgent and feasible. (3) The Oriental Christian Churches are hardly well enough known to the great mass of Chris- How to Arouse the Church at Home 271 tians at home to warrant the idea that the home Churches as a whole are neglecting the Moslems through any idea that the Oriental Churches ought to care for them. Yet this idea may ac- count for some of the neglect of the problem. The early missions to the Oriental Churches were undertaken with a view to reforming them for the sake of the work of evangelization among Mohammedans. Dr. Perkins and Dr. Grant were sent to the Nestorians " to enable the JSTestorian Church through the grace of God to exert a com- manding influence in the spiritual regeneration of Asia" ; and Smith and Dwight planned the mis- sion with direct reference to the Moslems. Mr. Smith was himself greatly drawn to the project. " For myself," he wrote, " I felt a stronger desire to settle among them (the Nestorians) as a mission- ary than among any people I have seen," and though he pointed out that it would be a lonely position with no Europeans near and Constanti- nople eleven hundred miles away by land, and Treb- izond, on the Black Sea, five hundred, and also that it would be very dangerous, yet he added, " "We must not calculate too closely the chances of life," and he was sure that the missionary who should come here would " feel the advantage of his po- sition ; that he has found a prop upon which to rest the lever that will overturn the whole system of Mohammedan delusion, in the centre of which he has fixed himself ; that he is lighting a fire which will shine out upon the corruptions of the 272 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Persian on the one side, and upon the barbarities of the Kurd on the other, until all shall come to be enlightened by its brightness ; and the triumph of faith will crown his labour of love." From the evangelical element created among the Nes- torians and the Gregorian Armenians, some ardent and effective evangelists have gone out among the Moslems and more should go. Perhaps the Church at home would realize more clearly the duty of evangelizing the Moslems and the relation to this duty of the purification of the Oriental Churches, if the use of the Oriental Churches as an evangelizing force among the Mohammedans were made even more of a definite missionary policy by the missions working in Egypt, Turkey and Persia. (4) Not only is there great lack of published missionary news about work for Moslems, but there are too few books which can be put into the hands of home people. There are few enough for the use of missionaries in preparation for the work, but there are fewer still for popular use at home. There was no English biography of Ray- mond Lull until 1902 when two appeared. We have now lives of Lull, Martyn, French, Keith Falconer, Kamil, and Turkish missionaries like Goodell and Hamlin, — but this about repre- sents the list of English biographies. And there is great need of a strong popular book dealing with the whole subject fairly but unswervingly, as FOUR MISSIONARY MARTYRS OF ARABIA How to Arouse the Church at Home 273 Dr. Kellogg has dealt with Buddhism in The Light of Asia and the Light of the World. (5) For, — to suggest one other reason for the Church's neglect — there is a great ignorance of the real doctrine and moral character of Islam. Some think of it as a purely monotheistic system and see no need of attempting to proselytize its followers. Others think of it as next best to Christianity and perhaps the best practicable relig- ion for the Africans and Arabs. Many who have never heard of Mr. Bosworth Smith and who have never so well formed their thoughts, yet feel, with him, that Mohammed was a great and true prophet of God, and that his religion, if not quite as good as Christianit}' is yet a great and good religion and well suited to the needs of a large section of the human race. Those who feel this way never have felt the glowing passion of Christ for souls. But the majority of members of the Church have never felt Christ's love as a passion. Lukewarm towards Him, they are luke- warm towards all the world. Now, on the other hand, there are certain great advantages which we have in endeavouring to awake the Church to a new effort to reach the Moslems. (1) In the first place, it is a hard and dangerous work, and we can accordingly appeal to the courageous and heroic spirit. This is a great gain. To win young men and women, we need only to go to them in behalf of a perilous and 274 The Mohammedan World of To-Day glorious cause. There are, of course, the timid and the fearful, and those who are not timid and fearful themselves are often held back by those who are. But the timid and fearful appeal is futile. It is the call to war, to hard effort which wins the best hearts. There are some who argue that one reason for the small number of men entering the ministry in proportion to the number pressing into medicine and scientific call- ings and business, is found in the financial ease of the way into the ministry and in the mistaken argument advanced for the ministry by some foolish advocates, that it is a position of comfort and social influence and self-respect. This draws no good men. It repels them. They love the difficult and hard thing. The Moslem work can be surpassed by none in its capacity to offer the chance for courage and devotion and sacrifice. (2) In the second place, the attitude of Moham- medanism towards women calls out the most chivalrous instincts of the heart. It presents also a more effective argument in behalf of the evangel- ization of Moslems than the temper of the modern mind finds in behalf of the evangelization of Bud- dhists. Between Christianity and Buddhism, say many, the difference is metaphysical. They are wrong, for Buddhism denies the possibility of a woman's salvation, unless reborn as a man. But in the case of Islam a simple statement of the vile provisions of the Koran regarding woman and di- vorce is enough to silence the opposition to Chris- How to Arouse the Church at Home 275 tian missions to Mohammedans. The Church can be aroused to the duty to evangelize two hundred millions of people who read in their sacred book of the legitimacy of four wives and unnumbered concubines and the righteousness of unlimited di- vorce. (3) Furthermore, the Christian world has well nigh lost patience with the Mohammedan nations. It may be that these nations are what they are because of their racial character even more than because of their religion ; but those who know them best think that their natural qualities are their best qualities, and that their worst qualities are those which spring from their religion. Which- ever view is correct the world admits that the Moslem people need something. They may not want it, but they need it ; and realizing this the Church is accessible to the argument and appeal that she must give it to them. (4) It is the sad feature of Islam that it knows Christ but supersedes and displaces Him. But this very fact constitutes a powerful basis of ap- peal to Christians. Our Lord is annulled, His cross made of none effect, and the glory and purity of the spiritual faith and righteous life which He taught and made possible are beclouded and defiled by the base ideals and practices of the seventh century Arabian civilization incorporated and per- petuated in the Koran. The missionary appeal to the Church in behalf of the Mohammedan world is an appeal to rescue Christ, to regain for Him the 276 The Mohammedan World of To-Day place which is His alone but which another has usurped. No appeal can be made in behalf of mission work among other races more cogent and more convincing than this. We can arouse the Church to the necessity and urgency of work for Moslems, by urging constantly upon her the actual conditions which exist. The occasions of the Church's lack of interest must be dealt with one by one and removed. There should be more good books. Missionaries competent to do so should write on the Mohammedan fields, dealing specifically with the Mohammedan mission- ary problems ; and books on Mohammedanism should be written, fair and just and generous in their views, but also fearless and explicit and out- spoken. The work for the Oriental Churches ■ should be seen by us clearly in its proper relation- ship to the evangelization of the Moslem world, and we should keep this view clearly before the home church and the Oriental Churches themselves. Missions to Moslem peoples should direct their policy towards the end of reaching the Moslems. Effort should not be absorbed in the secondary ac- tivities of the missions while the primary ends are unreached. This will react upon the home church. If the evangelization of the Mohammedans is felt to be a necessary and urgent work by the missions, it will be felt to be so at home. And some way must be found for informing the Church about the work and its successes and disappointments and difficulties. If this cannot be done, if nothing is How to Arouse the Church at Home 277 to be said aloud about work for Moslems, then I do not know how the Church is to be moved or how the missions are to be maintained. You can- not keep up enthusiasm or self-sacrificing zeal over a clandestine enterprise not fed by the intelligent interest and prayers of the Church. The Church must awake to her duty towards Islam. "Who will wake her and keep her wake, unless it be those who have heard the challenge of Islam, and who going out against her have found her armour decayed, her weapons antiquated and her children, though proud and reticent, still un- happy ; stationary or retrogressive in a day of prog- ress and life. Happy are we to have a share in this great movement. "Woe unto us if we are timid and fearful, on one hand, or tactless and impru- dent on the other. "We are those who need wisdom and zeal — the wisdom that will do nothing unwise, the zeal that will not let wisdom be so cautious as to do nothing. a prater O Lord God, to ivhom the sceptre of right be- longeth, lift up Thyself and travel in the great- ness of Thy strength throughout the Mohammedan lands of the East ; because of the anointing of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, as Thy true Prophet, Priest and King, destroy the sword of Islam, and break the yoke of the false prophet Mohammed from off the necks of Egypt, Arabia, Turkey, Persia, and other Moslem lands, that so there may be opened through- out these lands a great door and effectual for the Gospel, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, and the veil upon so many hearts may be removed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen, C. M. S. Cycle of Prayer. XVIII Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Africa Rev. Chas. R. Watson, D. D " Thirteen centuries of continuous African heredity have made Islam native to the continent. This fact is ot tremendous moment. Add to this the numerical strength of Mohammedans in Africa and the problem looms up with gigantic proportions." — W. S. Naylor. XVIII Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Africa From the comparative statistics (placed at the end of this chapter for typographical reasons), a few broad generalizations may be made : 1. Ex- tent. — In point of numbers, Mohammedanism claims thirty-six per cent, of Africa's population, or 58,864,587 souls out of a total population of 163,736,683. Of this Mohammedan population, the over- whelming majority, or 54,790,879, are to be found north of the equator. Of these, again, two-fifths, roughly speaking, are north of twenty degrees north latitude, and three-fifths are south of that latitude. While in actual numbers, there are more Mohammedans between the latitude indicated and the equator than north of that latitude, yet, in proportion to the population of the countries involved, Mohammedanism is far stronger north of twenty degrees north latitude ; for, north of this latitude, the Mohammedans constitute ninety-one per cent, of the population, while between twenty degrees north latitude and the equator, the Mo- hammedan population is only forty-two per cent. 281 282 The Mohammedan World of To-Day of the whole. The stronghold of Mohammedanism in Africa, lies, therefore, along the Mediterranean. 2. Governments. — Grouped according to the governments to which they are subject, we find the African Mohammedans divided as follows : Subject to France 27,849,580 Great Britain 17,920,330 Germany , . 2,572,500 Turkey 1,250,000 Italy 452,177 Portugal 140,000 Spain . ....... 130,000 Independent 8,550,000 It may be said that the European governments generally adopt an attitude of neutrality or toler- ation towards all religions, Mohammedanism among them. Tet it is to be noted that from country after country the report comes that, on political grounds, these nations are led to adopt a policy which specially favours Mohammedanism. 3. Language. — The language areas are very difficult to determine, especially in Africa ; but it may be safely asserted that one-half of the African Mohammedan world is Arabic speaking ; and it may be asserted with considerable emphasis, that acquaintance with Arabic may be taken as a gen- eral measure of the intensity and depth of allegiance to Islam. Where Arabic wanes in Africa, Islam loses in intensity. The Hausa speaking Mohammedans alone seem to form an exception to this rule. 4. Sects. — African Mohammedans are predom- Statistical Survey of Islam in Africa 283 inantly of the Sunni sect ; here and there only, a few Shiites are to be found. Where races have only recently or superficially accepted Moham- medanism, distinctions of sect are not known. In North Africa, however, we find the Malakiya sect of the Sunnis probably in the lead, with the Shaflya sect a close second, while the other sects follow quite in the rear. 5. Date of Entrance. — Along the whole north- ern coast of Africa, from Egypt to Morocco, the appearance of Islam dates back to the conquest wars of the seventh century, 640-665 A. d. The establishment of Islam in this territory was by the sword and by purely religious campaigns. The advance of Islam southward is of far more recent date and its motive has been largely com- mercial. The slave raider and trader have both contributed largely to the extension of Islam southward. In more than one instance (e. g., Gold Coast Protectorate), the pagan tribes were able to resist the encroachments of the Mohammedans until some foreign power coming in actually, even though unintentionally, broke down the resistance of the pagans and laid the country open to the entrance of the Mohammedan. 6. Is Mohammedanism Increasing ? — The ques- tion is usually answered in the negative for North- ern Africa and emphatically in the affirmative for West and East Africa. What has been printed concerning conditions in West-Central Sudan may be equally said of the 284 The Mohammedan World of To-Day Eed Sea littoral, and West Africa : " "When I came out in 1898, there were few Mohammedans to be seen below Idda. Now they are every- where, excepting below Abo, and at the present rate of progress, there will scarcely be a heathen village on the river banks by 1910." 7. Illiteracy. — The illiteracy of the Moham- medan world in Africa is appalling. Seventy-five to one hundred per cent, is the record of illiteracy. 8. Social Conditions. — Polygamy is a regular feature of Mohammedanism in Africa, although it is to be noted that owing to poverty very few are able to practice it. The divorce of the first wife is generally the rule. Concubinage is not so com- mon, and slavery is generally abolished in the Mohammedan Africa, so far as slave raids are concerned ; but this is due solely to the influence of European governments. 9. Morality. — Immorality among African Mo- hammedans is commonly indescribable. It is worse among the Arabs of the intensely Mohammedan countries to the north than it is among the Negro races to the south. 10. The Seclusion of Woman is practiced chiefly in the North, rarely among the negroes. It is naturally observed with more strictness by those who do not have to work for bread. 11. Material Progress. — "With the single ex- ception of the superior Hausa Mohammedans, the Mohammedans of Africa show deterioration and Statistical Survey of Islam in Africa 285 lack of aggressiveness, except in so far as quick- ening is brought through contact with European and "Western nations. 12. The Attitude to Christianity. — This is gen- erally hostile, often fanatical, except when bigotry is weakened under the influence of contact with foreigners. In some regions under French control, atheism has undermined Moslem fervour. 13. Converts. — Accurate figures, showing the number of openly professed conversions from Mohammedanism to Christianity, are not avail- able. Yet careful inquiry would show less than five hundred living converts in Mohammedan Africa north of twenty degrees north latitude out of a population of some twenty-one million Moham- medans. Such a statement proves two things : (a) That the missionary problem 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. (5) That the Christian Church has not yet attacked this problem with the seriousness and earnestness of loving witness which the undertaking requires. When she does this, her Lord will glorify His Church and Himself by crowning her efforts with success. XIX Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Asia with Totals for the Entire World Rev. S. M. Zwemer, D. D ' ' And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times : only on that day they compassed the city seven times." — Joshua 6 : 15. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were com- pasead about seven days." — Hebrews 11 : 30. XIX Statistical and Comparative Survey of Islam in Asia and the Entire World The authorities for the statistics as given at the end of this chapter, are the Statesman's Year Book for 1905, and in some cases estimates sent by government oflBcials or missionaries, carefully compared with those found in recent encyclo- pedias and works of reference. That the total given for the whole Mohammedan world is a fairly accurate estimate will be seen by comparing it with other estimates made in recent years. The discrepancy in these estimates is due generally to disagreement regarding the Moslem population of China and of Central Africa. The total Moslem population of the world was given : Statesman's Year Boole, 1890 203,600,000 Brookhaus' Convers-Lexikon, 1894 . ... 175,000,000 Hubert Jansen's Verbreitung des Islams, 1897, 259,680,672 S. M. Zwemer (Missionary Bevieic), 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 3Iissions, IdOi . . . .193,550,000 The Total NOW Obtained, 1906 . . .232,966,170 Political Divisions. — The political division of the Mohammedan world is a startling evidence of 289 290 The Mohammedan World of To-Day the finger of God in the history of the church and a challenge to our faith because of so many open doors in Moslem lands. It is as follows : Total Mohammedan Population Under Christian Etjle or Protection Great Britain in Africa 17,920,330 Great Britain in Asia 63,633,783 Total 81,554,113 France in Africa ...••• 27,849,580 France in Asia 1,455,238 Total 29,304,818 Germany in Africa . 2,572,500 Italy, Portugal and Spain, in Africa . 722,177 The IJnited 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 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 'The latest estimates give 30,000,000 and not 20,000,000 f 01 China. Statistical Survey of Islam in Asia 291 UNDER OTHER MOSLEM RULERS Morocco 5,600,000 Oman and Nejd, etc 3,500,000 Afghanistan 4,500,000 Persia 8,800,000 Total 22,400,000 This political division of the nearly two hundred and thirty-three million Mohammedans is shown at a glance in the diagram opposite [A]. The Languages Spoken uy Moslems are shown in diagram [B], and it is remarkable that while the Bible has been translated into nearly every lan- guage used by Moslems the Koran speaks only to those who can understand Arabic, less than one- fourth of the Mohammedan world ! This division is only approximate, but the estimate has been made as carefully as possible from the latest data. Moslem Sects. — Islam is not a unit, but is divided into many sects and schools of thought. The Sunni sect is the old orthodox party and has four divisions or schools of theology and juris- prudence. All agree in doctrine, but differ in their interpretation of ceremonial law and the ritual observances of Islam. Generally speaking. Central Asia, Northern India, and the Turks everywhere are Hanifite; lower Egypt, Southern India and the Malay Moslems are Shafite ; upper Egypt and North Africa are Malikite, while the sect of Ilanbalites exists only in central and eastern Arabia. 292 The Mohammedan World of To-Day The Shiah sect exists chiefly ia Persia and India, but the influence of its teachings has pene- trated everywhere and resulted in the philosoph- ical disintegration of Islam. Mysticism (the Dervish orders) and Eationalism (ISTew Islam) are widely prevalent and increasingly powerful move- ments. The approximate division of the Moslem popu- lation according to sects is given in diagram [C] The "Wahabis are included among the Hanbalis in this division, as they generally call themselves by that name even in Arabia. Continental Division. — Of the total Moslem population nearly fifty-nine million are in Africa, one hundred and sixty -nine million in Asia and about five million in Europe. Generally speaking, one- seventh of the total-population of Asia, and of the world, is Mohammedan. The distribution of these millions is shown in the statistical tables and also on the maps of the Mohammedan world. The following large regions are still nearly or wholly unoccupied by Christian missions : Afghanistan 4,000,000 Baluchistan 500,000 Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao . . . 250,000 Southern Persia ... 3,000,000 Southern, Western and Central Arabia 3,000,000 Bornu (Lake Chad) 5,000,000 Wadai (Central Africa) 2,600,000 Baghirmi (Central Africa) 1,500,000 Sokoto and feudatory states 14,000,000 Sahara and French Sudan 10,000,000 Bokhara region . . ...... 2,500,000 Eussia in Caucasus 2,000,000 A. Poli-tical Division of the Moslem World B. Division of the Moslem World by. Languages C. Ap proximate Division of Ihe Moslem World bi) Sects D. Continental Division of the Moslem World Po pulation DIAGRAMS OF MOSLKM POPULATION. Statistical Survey of Islam in Asia 293 Khiva . 700,000 Kussia in Central Asia 3,000,000 Siberia, East aud West 6,100,000 China (unreached sections) 10,000,000 Estimated total of wholly unreached Moslem populations ... . 68,450,000 (That is nearly one-third of the Mohammedan world.) Strategic Centres Occujpied. — The following strategic points (including every important city in the Moslem world of over 100,000 population in the order of population) are already the centres of missionary effort by printing-press, hospital, school or college : Calcutta, Constantinople, Bombay, Cairo, Haidarabad, Alexandria, Teheran, Luck- now, Rangoon, Damascus, Delhi, Lahore, Smyrna, Cawnpore, Agra, Tabriz, Allahabad, Tunis, Bag- dad, Fez, Aleppo, and Beirut. And the efforts there carried on directly or indirectly for Moslems prove that the work is possible under all condi- tions every wliere. But from every one of these centres the call is loud for more labourers. No- where are the efforts at all commensurate with the opportunities. Some Results. — The Bible has been translated into every language of the Mohammedan world, while the Koran speaks only to those who can read Arabic, less than one-fourth of the total popu- lation. A large number of books especially intended for Mohammedans has been prepared in all the chief languages of the Moslem world. Less than a century ago there was not one Protestant 294 The Mohammedan World of To-Day worker in any Moslem land ; at that thne apostasy from Islam meant death to the apostate. Now there are Moslem converts in every land where work has been attempted, fanaticism has decreased and many converted Moslems are preaching the gospel. In North India there are nearly two hundred Christian pastors, catechists or teachers who are converts or the children of converts from Islam. There is hardly a Christian congregation in the Punjab which does not have some members formerly in the ranks of Islam. Thousands of Moslem youth are receiving a Christian edu- cation in Egypt, India, Java and Sumatra. The Beirut Press since its foundation has issued for the American Bible Society, over a million portions of the Arabic Bible. In ten years the attendance at the dispensary of the United Free Church of Scot- land mission, near Aden, rose from 8,000 to 40,000 per annum. Tillages that could not be reached safely in Arabia ten years ago now welcome the missionary. At Julfa, Persia, on Easter Sunday, 1902, seventeen converts from Islam were at the Holy Communion, and this land, with other Mos- lem lands, counts its martyrs to the faith. The late Dr. Imad-ud-din, formerl}^ a Mohammedan and a determined opponent of Christianity, enu- merated 117 Christian converts of distinction in India who forsook Islam for Christ as he did. In Sumatra and Java there are over 24,000 converts organized into churches, and from 200 to 300 con- verts from Islam are baptized annually. The out- Statistical Survey of Islam in Asia Country. ASIA. A. UnderForeign Rule. British Empire, 1. Aden. Perim .... 2. Sokota and Kuria Mnria 3. Bahrein Is. . . 4. British Borneo 5. Ceylon 6. Cyprus 7. Maldiye Is. ..... 21. China and Chinese Turkestan . . 22. Japan and Formosa 23. Korea 24. Siam 25. Nepal 26. Bhutan Total Population. Mohavirne- dans. 41,222 12,000 60,100 200,000 3.578.333 237,022 30,000 426,337,300 46,732,841 8,000,000 9,000,000 5,000,000 30,000 40,000 12,000 60,000 50,000 248,140 51,209 30,000 30,000,000 25,500 1,000,000 1,000 D Governjnent. British British British British British British British Imperial Monarchy Japanese Monarchy Ind'ent States Ind'ent States Language spoken by Moslems. Arabic, Somali Arabic Arabic Malayan Mixed Turkish Indian j- Chinese, Turkish Chinese Korean Chinese ? & Malayan? Indian EUROPE. 1. Turkey . ... 2. Russia in Europe . . 3. Greece, Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria, etc. * 6,130,200 (Statistics 2,050,000 included 1 ,360,402 Monarchy under Asia) Turkish Russian (?) Mostly Turkish AUSTRALIA AND AMERICA Among Chinese population and East Indian coolies in Coast cities there are a number of Moslems. ' 68,000 Indian and Chinese TOTALS FOR THE WORLD. Moslem population. Asia ... 170,623,181 Africa 58,864,587 Europe 2 3,410,402 Australia and America . ... 6S,ooo Total . . . 232,966,170 ' For details see Dr. Hubert Jansen's Verbreitung des Islams. ' Not including Russia which is reckoned with Asia. N Slavery. o Immorality. Seel Common outside of British sphere Nonfe Being abolished None None Domestic slavery exists and there is still a slave market at Mecca Slave trave still ex- ists. Slavery also common Common Domestic slavery common Exists Being abolished Very common Very common Greater than among Hindus. In Baluchistan ap- palling As among other Moslems Greater than among the heathen Battaks Common Con Con Rel: Not, Con! Int Appalling in some sections Very common Very common On par with the heathen Chinese Unc B Cor In Ci Lik 5 Not incluaing Kussia wnicii is recKonea wiin i\sia. Statistical Survey of Islam in Asia 295 looh everywhere is not hopeless, hut hopeful, and the great task to which Christ calls His church at the beginning of the twentieth century is the evangeli- zation of the Mohammedan world. INDEX [&f also table of contents.'^ Abadhi sect, The, 102 Abdul Kadir Ghilani, 186 Abu Bekr, 15 Abu Jafer, Caliph, 252 Abyssinians in Aden, 87 Achin, the " Holy land," 204, 209 Afghans, The, 142 Agriculture in Arabia, 83 Ahmadiyya (^see Quadian) Alexandria, 25 Ali, 15 Aligarh College, 136, 144, 188, 191 Amara, 91 Amr Ibn-el-as, 23 Amulets used in Sumatra, 2ig Anjuman-i-Islam, 140, 143, 172, 181 Arab, The, 100 Arabic language, 145 Arabic language in Africa, 47, 282 Arabic Scriptures, 17 Arab-Tamil dialect, 175 Arab traders in China, 253 Archbishop of Canterbury's Mis- sion in Persia, 122 Armenian evangelists among Moslems, 272 Armenian Massacres, The, 212 Arnold, T. W., 140 Aryan mind and Islam, The, 120 Assiut, 25 Aurangzeb, 135 Awetaranian, Pastor J., 244 Azhar, The, 32 Babis, Babism, 17, Ii5 Bagdad, 89 Bahrein Islands, 86 Balance of Truth, The, 1 64 Baptisms in Persia, 126 Barriers to progress in Moslem world, 192 Bataks, The, 205 Behais, The, 115, 117, 121, 129 Beirut Press, The, 17, 296 Bengal, Islam in, 138 Bhang, use of the drug, 145 Bible distribution, 73, 93, 119, 123 Bible Societies, The, 91 Bible, The, in Turkey, 55 Bible translation, 295 Birth rate among Moslems, 237 Book and Tract Societies, 164 Bosworth, Smith, 18, 273 Brahui people, 136 British law in Persia as regards missions, 123 British occupation of Egypt, 27, British policy in Arabia, no British rule in West Africa, 46 Brotherhoods, Moslem, 108 Bruce, Canon, 122 Caliphate, The, 54, 64 Cantine, James, 82, 92, 93 Canton mosques, 251 Caste broken by Moslem force, 177 Catechumens from Islam, 222 Challenge to overturn Islam, 27 1 Children, sale of unborn, 141 Chinese Moslem literature, 260 Choliyas, 175 Christianity and Islam, 216 Christianity and Islam in China, 263 Christian character of Moslem converts, 229 297 298 Index Christian rule in Moslem lands, 292 Church Missionary Society, 34, 36, 89, 121, 174 Church not aroused, The, 267 Cities of the Moslem world, the chief, 295 Clark, Dr. H. Martyn, 164 Cleaver, J. Martin, 22 Colporteur, The, 96 Commentary on the Bible by a Moslem, 195 Concubinage, 138 Conquest, Moslem, in West Africa, 43 Conquest of India, 133 Conquest of Syria, Moslem, 67 Conscience as defined by a Mos- lem, igo I Controversial books by Moslems, 163 Controversial writers in India, 164 Conversions to Islam, 237 Converts from Islam, 19, 36, 38, 39, 76, 126, 168, 180, 218, 222, 228, 235, 237, 244, 285, 296 Corruption of the Scriptures, 1 19 Cromer, Lord, 28 Cross of Christ made of non ef- fect by Islam, 275 Cruelty in Persia, 1 16 Danish Mission to Arabia, 91 Dar-uI-Harb, 179 Death penalty on convert from Islam, 119 Decay of political power, 184 Defections from Christianity, 24, 180 Deoband, 196 Dervishes, The, 53, 68, 139 Difficulties of work in Syria, 72 Discontent in Syria, 64 Dispensary at Aden, The, 296 Divorce, 25, 207 Doctrine of God, Moslem, 239 Dress of progressive Moslems, 193 Dutch Colonial Governnvent, 208, 216 Educated Moslems of India, 142, 199 Educational Conference, A Mos- lem, 188, 192 Education in Egypt, 32 Edwards, Sir Herbert, 142 Egypt General Mission, 38 Egypt, population of, 24 Elliot's History of India, 133 Emigration from Syria, 65 Evangelization of the whole Mo- hammedan world, 297 Fanaticism, 135, 144, 217 Fanaticism overcome, 88 Fatalism, 132, 192 Forder, in Palestine, 7 1 French, Bishop, 164, 272 Fiilani Empire, 43 Future of Islam, The 1 10, 227 GooDELL, 272 Government attitude in Sumatra, 223 Government schools for Moslems in Sumatra, 225 Grant, Dr., 271 Griswold, the Rev. Dr., 198 Hadramaut, 86, 175 Haji, hajis <^see Mecca) Hamlin, 272 Harris High School, 174 Hassa, a Turkish province, 86 Hindustani language. The, 173 Hodeidah, 84 Hogarth, David George, 101 Hogberg, Pastor, 244 Hopelessness of Islam, The 1 10, 114, 199 Hui-Hui, the Chinese name for Moslems, 260 Ignorance of Islam, The 268 Ijraa'a, 105 Index 299 Illiteracy, 33, 48, 57, 87, 109, "7. 137. 146.284 Imad-ud-Din, 19 Immorality, 49, 104, no, itS Increase of Islam, 135, 179 Indirect results of work, 230, 234 Injustice of courts in Egypt, 30 Inspiration, 195 Intellectual bondage of Islam, 183 Intermarriage of Moslems in China, 259 Islam, its strength, 13 Islam unprogressive, 141 Ismailis, The, 1 16 Ismail, The Khedive, 27 Ispahan, 125 Janissaries, The, 56 Japanese War, The effect of, 212 Jesus, His coming expected, 73 Jews in Arabia, The, 102 Jihad, or religious war, 107 Jordan, S. M., 128 Kadi, the Moslem, 26, 27 Kalima, The, 138 Kamil Aietany, 19, 272 Kandahar, 136 Kashgar, 243 Keith Falconer, Ian, 90, 272 Kerbela, 103 Khan of Kelat, 134 Khiva, 243 Khotan to be occupied, 245 Kitman-ud-Din, 117, 123 Koran, The, 29, 55, 119, 194, 260, 274 Kublai Khan, 254 Kufa and its day-school, 1 10 Kurds, The, 56 Kutb-ud-din, 134 Labbe race, 175 Lagos, spread of Islam in, 47 Lahore, 196 Languages of Baluchistan, 136 Languages of the Mohammedan world, 295 Laws against Christians, 24, 28, 29 Lee, Prof. S., 163 Lefroy, Bishop, 164 Lepsius, Dr., 122 Leupolt, Rev. S., 164 Literature for Chinese Moslems needed, 264 Literature for Moslems, 20, 35, 38, 119, 164, 200 Lugard, Sir F., 44 Lull, Raymund, 272 Ma'adan Arabs, The, 84 Madura, 235 Magic in Sumatra, 218 Mahdi, The, 178, 197 Mahmud of Ghazni, 133 Makran, 1 33 Malay language, The, 223 Manchu dynasty. The, 257 Mandailing, 211 Marriages, early, 117 Marriages in Egypt, 26 Marriages, temporary, 82 Martyn, Henry, 122, 163, 272 Masnavi, The, 120 Massacre of Moslems by the Chi- nese, 257 Material progress of Islam, 284 Mecca and Meccan pilgrims, 47, 80, 102, 224, 238 Medical missions, 36, 74, 93, 94, 231 Mennonite Mission, 222 Mesopotamia, 85 Methods of mission work for Moslems, 127, 200, 230, 236 Military conscription, 85 Mirza Chulam Ahmed, 137, 179, 196 Misrule in Turkey, 52 Missionary Societies working in North India, 166 Missions to Moslems, 34-39, 7 1- 76, 89-96, III, 112, 121-128, 146-155, 222-225, 235-237 Mizan ul Haqq, 35 300 Index Moguls, The, 135 Mohammed Abd-ul-Wahab, 104 Mohammed, Ali, 23, 27 Mohammedan University, A 188 Mohammed, Ghari, 134 Mohammed, Kasim, 133 Morocco, 47 Morocco, convert from, 38 Moslem pupils in schools, 35 Mosul, 89 Muawia, 15 Muir, Sir "William, 15, 144, 164 Mukawkas, 23 Mullahs, The, ignorance of, 142 Mulvi, Nazir Ahmed, 194 Murdoch, Dr., 167 Musbah-el-Huda, 15 Muta'ah or temporary marriage, 117 Mutawakkil, 185 Mutazila heresy. The, 185 Nadwat-ul-Ulama, 196 Nasariyeh, 91 Navayatis, 176 Naylor, Wilson S., 40 Neglect of Mohammedan world, 14, 18, 211, 245, 269, 270, 294 Nestorian tablet, The, 250 Neutrality of government in Balu- chistan, 134 TSle-w Islam, The, 136 Newspapers, Mohammedan, 31 Newspapers in India, 194 North Africa Mission, 38 Olopun, the Nestorian, 250 Oman, education in, 82 Omar ibn el Khattab, 16 Opium-habit, The, 27 Opportunities in Persia, 124 Ordeal by fire, 145 Oriental churches. The, and Islam, 67 Oriental churches, work for, 276 Orient Mission, The, 122 Othman, Shefu Dan Hodin, 43 Pagan elements in Islam, 219, 221 Paganism, inroads of Islam on, 205 Palgrave, William Gifford, So Pandita, Marcus Siregar, 229 Pella, battle of, 67 Perkins, Dr., 271 Persecution of converts, 39, 125 Peter, the reformer, 68 Pfander, Dr., 122 Pilgrims (i^^ Mecca) Plassy, battle of, 187 Political condition of Moslem world, 19, 27, 46, 72, no, 118 Political danger of Islam, The, 208 Political division of Islam in Africa, 282, 292 Politics in Syria, 63 Polygamy, 25, 48, 57, 82, 116, 137. "93. 284 Popularity of missionaries in Persia, 125 Population of the Moslem world, 291 Prayer for the Mohammedan World, A, 278 Preachers of the gospel who are Moslem converts, 169 Prejudice against English lan- guage in India, 174 Presbyterian Mission in Persia, 121 Printing press at Julfa, 127 Printing press at Beirut (see Bei- rut Press) Propagation of Islam, 34 Prostitution in Baluchistan, 140 Protestants in Syria, 73 Purdah, The, a Moslem view of its evils, 132 QuADiAN sect, The, 137, 196 Quetta, 137 Rationalism in Islam, 189 Reformed Church in America, Mission in Arabia, go Index 301 Reforms in Islam, 33, 68, 147 Results of missions in Syria, 76 Results of missions to Moslems, 228 Rhenish Missionary Society, 202, 222 Roads in Baluchistan, 143 Roman Catholic Church and Islam, The, 163 Rouse, Rev. G. H., 164 Saint-worship, 103, 220 Sayed Ahmed Khan, Sir, 144, 187 Sayed Ahmed, of Gujrat, 178 Scarcity of native helpers, 232 Schools for Moslems, 230 Schools in Arabia, Mission, 95 Schools in Persia, 1 28 Schools, Moslem, in Syria, 65 Sects, Moslem, 44, 68, 102, 116, 133. 151-154, 178, 196-198, 263, 282, 293 Seistan, 135 Self-support of converts, 228 Sell, Canon Edward, 247 Senoussis, The, 45 Shabin-el-Kom, 39 Shafts, The, 177 Shathleyeh, The, 68 Shedd, William A., 1 14 Shensi Massacre of Moslems, The, 258 Shensi province, 255 Shiites, The, 82, 115 Sierra Leone, spread of Islam in, 47 Slavery and slave-trade, 57, 138, 283 Smith, Dr. Arthur, 263 Smith and Dwight, 271 Social progress in Sumatra not due to Islam, 212 Sodomy, 139 Sofian el Thuri, 16 Soldiers, Turkish, 84 Spiritual destitution of Islam, 14 Stagnation of Moslem life, 172 Statistics of Islam, 281-297 Stereopticon in Arabia, The, 95 Strategic centres occupied by mis- sions, 295 Strength of Islam in Africa, 280 Sufis, The, 16, 116, 121, 185 Sultan of Turkey, The, 203, 209 Sunday in Egypt, 29 Superstition, Moslem, 72, 89 Sword of Islam, The, 137, 283 Syphilis, called Mullah's disease, 140 Syrian Protestant College, 20 Tabriz schools, 128 Tartars, The, 256 Taylor's, Miss, schools, 71 Terrorism against non-Moslems, 218 Theology, Moslem, 185 Tisdall, Dr. St. Clair, 128, 164 Tobacco, forbidden, 106 Toleration in Persia, 1 19 Tribal warfare, 143 Trinity, Moslem ideas of, 17, 67 Turkey, work in, 19 Turkish rule in Arabia, 83 United Presbyterians, 34 Unity of God, The, 190 Unity of Islam, 203 Unexplored regions in Arabia, lol Unoccupied regions, 294 Urdu language, The, 173, 187 Urgency of the call, 270 Van Ess, John, 81, 84, 85 Van Tassel, work among the Bedouins, 71 Wahab, Abi Kabcha, 249 Wahabis, The, 45, 103-110 Waly's tombs, 89 Weakness of Islam in China, 261 Wilson, Rev. James, 164 Wilson, S., 128 Women, Mohammedan, 25, 48, 62, 76,81, 116, 139, 207 302 Wyckoff, Rev. J. H., 234 Xavier, Hieroneymo, 162 Yarkand, 245 Yezid, 16 " Young Turkish " party, 64 Index Yunnan, 255, 257 Zeal of Moslem propaganda, 140 Zenana Mission, Church of Eng- land, 180 Zhob, tribes of, 142 Zoroastrianism, 135 ^ r