We are particularly happy to present here a series of addresses given in December at the Theological Seminary by Doctor Zwemer (D.D., F.R.G.S., LL.D.), noted authority on Islam, author of more than a score of books on Mohammedanism, and for many years a missionary to the Mohammedan world. Islam is unquestionably the greatest problem confronting the Christian church today, the supreme barrier to the consummation of the gospel commission. This first address brings the great problem before us in panoramic survey. It will be followed by "The Challenge of the Daybreak in Islam," "The Battle of the Books," and "The Christology of Islam." Stenographically reported, these addresses are released with the author's consent—the first to appear in our denominational Press from this distinguished authority.--Editor
In the study of comparative religions, we must first recognize the fact that among the many religions of mankind, Islam stands forth as one of three great missionary faiths that have crossed oceans and continents, the other two being Buddhism and Christianity. Second, we must add that Islam is the only religion that has defeated Christianity in North Africa and Western Asia, and is today the most baffling of all missionary problems. A third reason for the importance of understanding this religion is that it vitally concerns present-day politics. The front page of the daily press tells of Islamic unrest in North Africa, Palestine, India, and Northwest China. And there is not a single European government which does not consider Islam a major problem in its diplomacy—as witness the recent assertion of Benito Mussolini, "I am the protector of 250,000,000 Mohammedans."
Finally, this religion is the only non-Christian faith that has a periodical literature in the languages of Europe. Not only are there scientific magazines published by Oriental scholars on Islam in German, Italian, French, and English, but the Moslems themselves are using these languages for propaganda.
Long ago, Doctor Becker pointed out the unity of this problem and its wide implications. But the longer we study it, the more complex and difficult it appears. One is reminded of the story of the Scotch professor who drew two concentric circles on the blackboard, and then stated to his class: "Gentlemen, the smaller the diameter of your knowledge, the smaller the circumference of your ignorance ; the larger the diameter of your knowledge, the larger the circumference of your ignorance." The fact is that often the more we think we know about Islam, the less we really know. The problem of Islam is sevenfold.
I. A Historical Problem.—Why Islam? This question includes the more difficult problem of Mohammed's place in history, and the providential reasons for the rise and growth of this great non-Christian system. There have been various replies, as we all know. Some boldly and baldly assert that Mohammed is the antichrist, that his system is a direct antithesis of Christianity, and therefore Mohammed himself was not a prophet of God, but a tool of the evil one. On the other hand, Sir William Muir and many other scholars believe that Mohammed was at the outset a sincere seeker after truth and a messenger of monotheism to the pagan Arabs. Afterwards, when he gained power and influence, he succumbed to temptation and invented revelations to justify his own conduct.
Again, there are those who say that Mohammed was always in his character what he revealed himself to be afterward in his life. Some say that he was the victim of psychopathic derangement—that he was sex mad. This theory has been held by disciples of the Freudian school. At the other extreme, there are writers who say, with Carlisle, that he was a true prophet of God from the outset—that his faults were the faults of his age. Whatever may be the conclusion to which one comes, however, the question of the rise of Islam remains a historical problem, because this religion was in no sense a preparation for Christianity- but was a retrogression.
2. A Statistical Problem.—The statistical problem is not as easy as appears at first thought. How many Moslems are there, and what is their present-day distribution?. There is no doubt but that their numbers are still increasing, and that the total number is perhaps one seventh of the human race, or about 250,000,000. It is their distribution in so many lands and among all races that is astonishing.
To begin with, note the Western Hemisphere. There are 25,000 immigrant Moslems in the United States and Mexico. They have periodicals published in Chicago and New York, with small mosques in a number of centers. In South America there are 250,000, chiefly in British and Dutch Guiana, Trinidad, and Brazil. But these are mere fractions on the outskirts of the world of Islam. In Europe there are large- numbers of Moslems in London, Paris, and Berlin, and a total of more than 3,500,000 in Southeastern Europe. As for Africa, one third of the total population is Moslem. This includes the entire north coast, the east coast as far as Zanzibar, together with large groups in South Africa and on the west coast—a total of nearly 50,000,000.
But Asia, where Islam had its rise, naturally has the largest Moslem population. The two chief centers are India. with nearly 80,000,000 Mohammedans, and the Dutch East Indies, with 50,000,000 more. Generally speaking, all of Western Asia and Central Asia are solidly Mohammedan. In China there are 12,000,000, in the Philippine Islands over 500,000. In every part of Asia there is the Moslem problem, except in Korea and perhaps Siam.
3. A Political Problem.—As Lord Curzon remarked, Islam is not a state church. It is far worse ; it is the church state. In this clever statement one can read something of the enormous difficulty which European governments face in the administration of areas and countries where Islam is dominant. Although the caliphate has disappeared, the system of Moslem law, the rights of Moslem minorities, and the whole outlook of Moslem communities present constant difficulties to those who seek to govern these countries. It is the political problem that causes unrest in Northern India, Palestine, Egypt, Algiers, and Morocco. According to the Koran, it is contrary to the will of God that Moslems should be under foreign rule. The solidity of the Moslem world is never more evident than when Moslem minorities appeal to the world of Islam against some foreign government.
4. A Social Problem.—Islam is primarily a religion, but it is also a social system based upon the life and customs of Mohammed back in the seventh century. Islamism is a totalitarian state, and therefore its legislation includes every detail of personal and family life and the social structure of society. Such words as polygamy, concubinage, slavery, the degradation of womanhood, illiteracy, and superstition, enfold whole chapters, as it were, regarding social evils and social problems which have the same character in every part of the Moslem world, but which have reached different degrees of solution. The Moslem theory of education, of the place of the child, is in itself a problem for all who are trying to uplift society. There is a vast literature on this single aspect of Islam; namely, Moslem womanhood and childhood. And some of the best books on the subject have been written by Moslem leaders of the new era who advocate the abolition of the veil and the emancipation of womanhood.
5. A Religious Problem.—This, of course, is the primary, the fundamental phase. The social conditions and the political views of Moslems are due to the fact that they are based on "God's revelation"—the Koran. Islam is undoubtedly the greatest of the non-Christian religions in its affirmations. The Moslem creed, when carefully analyzed, includes many of the statements of the Apostles' Creed. And this religion is the only one that gives a high and historical place to Jesus-Christ as a prophet. The eschatology of Islam deals with the future life, the resurrection, the day of judgment, the reward of the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked, in phraseology somewhat similar to that of the Bible. On the other hand, next to its lofty theism, we find a fundamentally defective Christology and a degraded system of ethics. One has only to read the Koran carefully, and the Moslem traditions, to see how wide apart is the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ from that of the Arabian prophet.
At first glance, the two religions may seem to have much in common, but upon closer examination, they differ in every detail. Even the unity of God, as asserted by Mohammed, is not the unity of God as we find it in the Old and New Testaments. Their teaching regarding Jesus Christ denies every cardinal truth of the gospel. Although they assert His virgin birth, their belief is carnal. Although they state that He could work miracles, those miracles are puerile. And they flatly deny the crucifixion, the atonement for sin, the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and His finality as Saviour and Lord. This must never be forgotten.
6. A Missionary Problem.—One could make a strong case for missions to Moslems solely on the social conditions in Moslem lands, and the crying needs of its childhood and womanhood for deliverance. But Islam is a missionary problem in the same sense as Judaism. Mohammedans have a zeal toward God, but not according to knowledge. If the Jew needs the gospel, so does the Moslem. And the question of missionary need is indisputable to those who have lived under the shadow of Islam.
Three words characterize the missionary problem in its historic aspects: neglect, difficulty, paucity of definite results. First, there has been an unaccountable neglect in carrying the gospel to Moslem lands since the rise of Islam. In fact, this religion itself is proof that missions were neglected in Europe. Except for one or two names of individuals, there were no missions to Moslems until the days of Henry Martyn. He may be called "The Modern Pioneer," having before his death translated the gospel into three Moslem languages. Today, there are whole sections of the Christian church that have never attempted missions to Moslem lands, and the unoccupied fields throughout the world are largely Moslem areas or Moslem populations.
A second outstanding feature in the problem is its alleged difficulty. This includes difficulty of approach and inaccessibility because of Moslem fanaticism and intolerance; also the difficulty of proclaiming the gospel message, because of the character of the Moslem, and of the message. The good in this case is the enemy of the best. The Moslem has so much that he feels no need of any further good news. A final difficulty is the difficulty of those who are almost persuaded, as they face the law of apostasy with its cruel provisions against converts.
This brings us to the third factor in the missionary problem: namely, the paucity of definite results. There have been converts from Islam down the centuries, and outstanding martyrs from the days of Raymond Lull, but there are still countries where missions have been carried on for fifty years and more without any organized churches composed of Moslem converts. The total number of converts from Islam in all North Africa is scarcely five hundred. On the other hand, in Java, the Dutch report over 72,000 Moslem converts, and in Persia there is today an indigenous church. The missionary problem of Islamism is the problem of patience—the patience of sincere prayer, the patience and love that will not let them go.
7. A Personal Problem.—When the Christian faces these various aspects of Islamism as a world problem, his only response must be, "What wilt Thou have me to do ?" What is our duty to our Mohammedan neighbors? How long shall we halt between two opinions regarding the necessity and the futility of missions to Moslems?
