no idea of going so soon. However, it is all right. Anything that has
been prayed over as much as your decisions at Busrah, must have been
directed of God, and I have been under His orders for some time....
I have had two or three fevers, but they are small affairs, sick one
day and well the next. No further news. I can only add my thankfulness
to God for the way He has led me through the last two months and for
giving me a share from the beginning in actual mission-work.... Many
thanks for the report. I can learn a great deal from it to help out my
ignorance. I do feel like a baby before this great work but, as the
darkies used to sing the Lord is ‘inching me along.’ ...
“Pray for me that I may have wisdom and grace to carry this business
through. I want it settled right.”
To his Auburn friends he wrote this in a characteristic letter:
“You ask what I think of it now that I am on the spot. First: that the
need has not been exaggerated, and that Mohammedanism is as bad as it
is painted. Second: that we have a splendid fighting chance here in
Arabia, and the land is open enough so that we can enter if we will.
If a man never got beyond the Bahrein Islands he would have a parish
of 50,000 souls. Third: that on account of the ignorance of the people
they must be taught by word of mouth and therefore if we are to reach
them all, we must have many helpers. Fourth: that I am glad I came to
Arabia, and that to me has been given a part in this struggle. I do
firmly believe that the strength of Islam has been overestimated, and
that if ever the Church can be induced to throw her full weight against
it, it will be found an easier conquest than we imagine—_not but what
it will cost lives_, it has always been so, but I do believe that Islam
is doomed.”
Little did he think, perhaps, _whose_ life it would first cost. Will
his call be heeded and will the Church, will you, help to throw the
whole weight of your prayers against Islam? “Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die it abideth alone, but if it die it
bringeth forth much fruit.”
“The seed must die before the corn appears
Out of the ground in blade and fruitful ears.
Low have those ears before the sickle lain,
Ere thou canst treasure up the golden grain.
The grain is crushed before the bread is made;
And the bread broke ere life to man conveyed.
Oh, be content to die, to be laid low,
And to be crushed, and to be broken so,
If thou upon God’s table may be bread,
Life-giving food for souls an hungered.”
XXXV
PROBLEMS OF THE ARABIAN FIELD
“A word as to the task your mission attempts. It is to me the
hardest in the whole mission-field. To conquer Mohammedanism is to
capture Satan’s throne and I think it involves the greatest conflict
Christianity has ever known. In attacking Arabia you aim at the
citadel of supreme error occupied by the last enemy that shall bow to
the kingship of Christ.”—_Rev. W. A. Essery_, Hon. Secretary of the
Turkish Mission Aid Society.
“While the difficulties in the way of missionary work in lands under
Mohammedan rule may well appear to the eye of sense most formidable,
this meeting is firmly persuaded, that, so long as the door of access
to individual Mohammedans is open, so long it is the clear and
bounden duty of the Church of Christ to make use of its opportunities
for delivering the gospel message to them, in full expectation
that the power of the Holy Spirit will, in God’s good time, have
a signal manifestation in the triumph of Christianity in those
lands.”—_Resolution of the Church Missionary Society_, May 1st, 1888.
The problem of missionary work in Arabia is twofold: (1) the general
problem of Mohammedanism as a political-religious system which Arabia
has in common with all Moslem lands; and (2) the special problems or
difficulties which pertain to Arabia in particular.
The general problem of missions to Moslems is too vast and important to
be treated here. Dr. George Smith says that “the great work to which
the providence of God summons the church in the second century of
modern missions is that of evangelizing the Mohammedans.” It is _the_
missionary problem of the future. Dr. H. H. Jessup, who speaks of it as
“a work of surpassing difficulty, which will require a new baptism of
apostolic wisdom and energy, faith and love” gives the elements of the
problem in his book.[150] As unfavorable features he enumerates, (1)
the union of the temporal and spiritual power, (2) the divorce between
morality and religion, (3) Ishmaelitic intolerance, (4) destruction of
true family life, (5) the degradation of woman, (6) gross immorality,
(7) untruthfulness, (8) misrepresentation of Christian doctrine, and
(9) the aggressive spirit of Islam. Among the favorable features he
names: (1) belief in the unity of God, (2) reverence for the Old
and New Testament, (3) and for Christ, (4) hatred of idolatry, (5)
abstinence from intoxicating drink, (6) the growing influence of
Christian nations, (7) the universal belief of the Moslems that in the
latter days there will be a universal apostasy from Islam. In some
respects the problem has changed since Dr. Jessup’s book was written
but in its main outlines it remains the same.
The problem of Arabia as a mission-field can best be studied by
considering in order: the land itself as regards its accessibility; the
climate and other special difficulties; the present missionary force;
the methods suited to the field; and the right men for the work. The
chapters on the geography of the peninsula show how different are the
various provinces and what are the strategic centres in each. It is
generally considered both a good missionary policy and a true apostolic
principle to work out from the _cities_ as centres of population
and influence. This is especially necessary in Arabia where the
population is scattered and largely nomadic. All nomads come to some
city or village for their supplies at frequent intervals or, if they
are independent of a foreign market, they bring their produce to the
cities. This by way of preface.
First, what parts of Arabia are really _accessible_ to missionary
operations? (1) The Sinaitic peninsula with the adjoining coast of
Hejaz nearly as far as Yanbo; the population is mostly Bedouin but a
good centre for work would be the Egyptian quarantine station of Tor
in the Gulf of Suez. (2) Aden and the surrounding region under British
protection, with a population of perhaps 200,000 souls. (3) The entire
south coast from Aden to Makalla and Shehr with its _hinterland_;
this region has been freely visited by explorers and travellers, men
and women; the people are quite friendly and the natural base of
operations would be the town of Makalla. (4) Oman with its coast-towns
and hill-country, everywhere accessible; wherever missionaries have
tried to enter they have met with a welcome above all expectations. (5)
The so-called “pirate-coast” in East Arabia between Ras el Kheima and
Abu Thubi; many villages, all under British subsidy and with resident
native agents. (6) The islands of Bahrein.
All of these regions are outside of _Turkish_ Arabia and are more
or less under the influence of Great Britain so that every kind of
missionary work is possible. No passports are required for travelling;
no special diplomas for the right to practice medicine; no censorship
of books; no official espionage or prohibition of residence.
In Turkish Arabia the case is different, but it would be very incorrect
to say that Turkish Arabia is inaccessible. “The Turks are no doubt,”
as General Haig remarks, “a great obstacle, but we must give them their
due, and admit that they are not nearly so intolerant as some European
States, including Russia.” Only one portion of Turkish Arabia seems, at
present, to be wholly inaccessible, namely, the two sacred cities Mecca
and Medina. At present, we say, for it does not seem possible that
these twin-cities would long remain closed if the church had faith to
approach their doors and were ready to enter.
Other portions of Turkish Arabia are accessible, at least to some
extent. (1) The entire coast of Hejaz is accessible; two cities,
Jiddah, and Hodeidah, are specially suited for medical mission work;
while it is not at all improbable that with proper faith and kindly
tact, the lovely town of Taif, that garden of Mecca, would harbor a
medical missionary. Doughty’s experiences seem to indicate that Taif is
not considered holy ground.[151] (2) Yemen, the Arabia Felix indeed;
with a splendid climate, a superior Arab population, numerous villages
and cities, and with marvellous fertility of soil. Surely these
highlands will not remain forever under the rod of oppression; when the
hour of deliverance comes, every village should have a mission-school
and every city a mission-station. Even now under the Turks work is
possible for the large _Jewish_ population. (3) Hassa with its capital
Hofhoof and Katif on the coast. (4) The vilayets of Busrah and Bagdad.
These four regions in Turkish Arabia are accessible, with three
limitations to missionary-work:—Every missionary must have proper
passports; no medical missionary can practice without a Constantinople
diploma; and no books or Bibles can be sold unless they have been
examined by a censor of the press and bear the seal of the government.
The passport matter is awkward at times but is not an insurmountable
barrier; where the government considers travelling safe, passports are
always given. The medical diploma requirement is not different from
the law of France and other countries; once in possession of such a
diploma, the leverage power of the Christian physician is increased
rather than limited. The third restriction prevents the distribution
of all controversial literature but admits the Bible and many other
Christian books; it is rather burdensome and irritating to one’s
patience but does not shut the door to real missionary work. Every copy
of the Arabic Scriptures printed at Beirut bears the _imprimatur_ of
the Ottoman Government—the sign and seal of the “Caliph” that the Word
of God shall have free course in his tottering empire.
Finally there is the vast interior—Asir, Nejran, Yemama, Nejd,
Jebel Shammar—is that too accessible? The whole region is free from
Ottoman rule and, for the greater part, under one independent prince,
Abd-ul-Aziz, the successor of Ibn Rashid. But for the rest the question
must remain unanswered until a missionary has attempted to enter these
regions and has brought back a report. For travellers the whole of
the interior has proved accessible since the days of Palgrave; and
the presumptive evidence is that a missionary could also penetrate
everywhere even if he were not at first allowed to settle in any of the
towns. I have not the least doubt that a properly qualified medical
missionary with a thorough knowledge of the language would find not
only an open door but a warm welcome in the capital of Nejd or even at
Riad.
Regarding the general accessibility of Arabia, General Haig wrote in
his report as follows: “There is no difficulty then about preaching the
gospel in Arabia if men can be found to face the consequences. The real
difficulty would be the protection of the converts. Most probably they
would be exposed to violence and death. The infant church might be a
martyr church at first, like that of Uganda, but that would not prevent
the spread of the truth or its ultimate triumph.”
The climate of Arabia is, at present, an obstacle to missionary work,
but in the mountain ranges of Oman and Yemen as well as in all the
interior plateau of Nejd a healthful, bracing climate prevails. Now,
alas, while all work is still confined to the coast, we have perhaps
one of the most trying climates in the world. The intense heat of
summer (often 110° Fahrenheit in the shade) is aggravated by the
humidity of the atmosphere, and the dust raised by every wind. In the
winter, from December to March, the winds in the northern part of the
gulf and the Red Sea, are often cold and cutting and although the
temperature is more suited at that time to Europeans and Americans, it
appears to be less healthy for natives. The so-called gulf-fever of the
remittent type is very dangerous and convalescence is at times only
possible by leaving the gulf. Cholera and smallpox are not uncommon.
Ophthalmia is rife. Prickly heat in aggravated form, boils, and all the
insect plagues of Egypt are a cause of suffering in their season.
Moslem fanaticism is not peculiar to Arabia nor is it more intense
or universal here than in any other purely Mohammedan land. The
fanaticism of the Arabs has been grossly exaggerated. The Wahabis
represent the extreme of exclusiveness and prejudice, but even among
them it is possible for a missionary to preach Christ and read the
Bible. Personal violence to the messenger of the gospel has proved in
ten years experience, almost unknown in any part of Arabia visited by
missionaries. Sometimes Bibles and books are collected by a fanatical
Mullah and consigned to the flames or the oblivion of an upper shelf
in his house. The fellows of the baser sort perpetrate insults and
annoyances at times in village-work or refuse hospitality. But we, in
Arabia, have never met with the strong anti-foreign feeling such as
seems to be prevalent, for example, in China. The prejudice is seldom
against the dress or manner or speech of the foreigner; even his
food is considered clean and no Arab would refuse to share his meal
with a Christian traveller. But there _is_ often a strong prejudice
against certain aspects of Christian doctrine, especially if crudely
or unwisely put. In an Arab coffee-shop it would be unsafe as well as
unwise to use the words “Son of God,” “death of Christ,” “Trinity”
etc., without a previous explanation. Yet on the whole the Arabs are
friendly to any stranger or guest and this friendliness is especially
strong toward Englishmen and on the coast, because of the clear
contrast between English and Ottoman or Arab rule. Commerce too with
its general integrity and “the word of an Englishman” has in a sense
been the handmaid of missions by disarming prejudice and opening Arab
eyes to the superiority of western civilization.
From a missionary standpoint the population of Arabia can best be
divided into the illiterate and those who can read. The former class
are in the vast majority and include all the Bedouins with exceedingly
few exceptions. Taking the population at eight million, to say that
one half a million could read would be a large estimate. On this
account work for those who are able to read, by means of colportage and
bookshops, may be too highly rated as to its _extensive_ result; its
_intensive_ value no one will question.
The problem of reaching the nomad population is a very serious
one. The data for a correct theory of work among them are yet to
be collected. Experience of work among them has been very limited;
indeed the only work of importance was that of Samuel Van Tassel in
North Arabia. As a class they are less religious than the town or
agricultural Arabs. One who has studied the subject writes: “The Arabs
[Bedouins] remain Mohammedans simply because they know of nothing
better; the Bedouins are Moslems only in name observing the prescribed
forms in the neighborhood of the towns, but speedily casting them aside
on regaining the desert. Yet there are men among them not without
reverent thoughts of the Creator, derived from the contemplation of His
works, thoughts which, according to Palmer, take sometimes the form
of solemn but simple prayer.” The character of missionary work among
this nomad population (perhaps one-fourth or fifth of the population
of the peninsula) will be very similar to that of James Gilmour among
the Mongols; and it will require men of his stamp to carry it on
successfully.
[Illustration: POPULATION TOUCHED BY MISSION EFFORT.
Aden, etc., 100,000.
Bahrein, 60,000.
Muscat, 20,000
Busrah and Bagdad, 520,000
]
_The present missionary force in Arabia is utterly inadequate to supply
the needs even of that small portion of the field they have occupied._
There are only _four_ points on a coast of four thousand miles where
there are missionaries. There is not a single missionary over ten miles
inland from this coast. No missionary has ever crossed the peninsula in
either direction. The total number of foreign missionaries in Arabia,
is less than a dozen—twelve workers, men and women, let us say, for a
population of 8,000,000 souls.
[Illustration: AREA VISITED BY MISSIONARIES.
Aden, etc., 8,000 square miles.
Bahrein, 400 “ “
Muscat, 600 square miles.
Busrah and Bagdad, 71,000 “ “ ]
The Keith Falconer Mission is not as strong in its numbers as when
Keith Falconer died. The Arabian Mission has only recently received
enough reinforcement to man its three stations permanently. There has
been too much of the spirit of experiment instead of the spirit of
enterprise; a corporal’s guard went out to attack the chief citadel
of the enemy. Bishop French was _alone_ when he died at Muscat. The
Arabian Mission waited years before they received reinforcements. What
is the spiritual need of Arabia to-day? Of the total area of the
peninsula only about _one-twelfth_ is in any way touched by missionary
effort. This does not mean that one-twelfth of the area is covered
by mission-stations and touring, but that in some way or other about
one-twelfth of the peninsula is “occupied” by organized mission-work in
its plan and purpose, day by day. As to the proportion of missionaries
to the population _ten men out of eleven have no opportunity in this
neglected country to hear the gospel even if they would_.
The only part of Arabia that is fairly well occupied is the
River-country—that is the two vilayets of Bagdad and Busrah. Here
there are two stations and two out-stations on the rivers; colporteurs
and missionaries regularly visit the larger villages; several native
workers are in regular employ and the Bible Society is active. Yet in
these two vilayets nothing has ever yet been done for the large Bedouin
population, and there are only six foreign missionaries, men and women,
to a population (Turkish census) of 1,050,000 souls.
Looking at Arabia by provinces: Hejaz has no missionary; Yemen (with
the exception of Sheikh Othman and Aden) has no missionary; Hadramaut
has no missionary; Nejd has no missionary; Hassa has no missionary;
Jebel Shammar and all the northern desert have no missionary; Oman has
_one_ missionary. Again, the following towns and cities are accessible,
but have not one witness for Christ: Sana, Hodeidah, Menakha, Zebid,
Damar, Taiz, Ibb, with forty smaller towns in Yemen; Makallah, Shehr,
and Shibam in Hadramaut; Rastak, Someil, Sohar, Sur, Abu Thubi, Dabai,
Sharka and other important towns in Oman; not to speak of the important
towns of Nejd and in Mesopotamia, still without any missionaries and
never visited by an evangelist.
Arabia is in truth a neglected field, even now. Thus far the work has
been only preliminary; the evangelization of Arabia must yet begin; not
until every province is entered and every one of the strategic points
specified is occupied can we truly speak of Arabia as a mission-field.
Nor is the project visionary. Given the men and the means there is
not the slightest reason why the next decade should not see the entire
peninsula the field for some sort of missionary effort. The doors are
open, or they will open to the knock of faith. God still lives and
works.
Regarding the best methods of mission-work in Arabia the experience
of missionaries in other Moslem lands is of the greatest value. The
story of the Church Missionary Society in the Punjab, that of the
North Africa Mission, and above all the work of the Rhenish Society
in Sumatra should be thoroughly familiar to every Arabian missionary.
Medical missions have their special place and power, but also their
special difficulties in pioneer work like that in Arabia. Surgery is
worth infinitely more than medicine among a people like the Arabs,
where fatalism and neglect of the sick make the science of medicine of
doubtful result in so many cases. “Kill or cure” rather than prolonged
treatment, suits the Moslem palate. But a skillful surgeon with a
Turkish diploma holds the key to every door in the entire peninsula.
There is not one mission-hospital in Arabia! Surely such centres as
Bagdad, Busrah, Bahrein, Sana, Jiddah, Hodeidah and Hofhoof should have
these acknowledged powerful methods of evangelization. At Aden and
Muscat there are Indian Government hospitals.
Educational work is still absent or in its infancy as regards the
Moslem population, so that there are no data from which to formulate
theories as to its success. In some parts of Arabia schools might not
be permitted by the government; everywhere they would necessarily at
the outset be very elementary.
Christian women, as experience has proved both in Yemen and
East Arabia, are welcomed everywhere. With or without medical
qualifications, but with hearts of love and sympathy for the poor, the
suffering and the miserable, they can enter every house or hut. Even
in the black tents of Kedar there are aching hearts and wretched homes
to which the gospel of peace and love can alone bring relief. Lady Ann
Blunt and Mrs. Theodore Bent have proved what women can do in Arabia
for the sake of science; will there be no Christian women who will
penetrate as far inland for the sake of their Saviour?
Colportage is an approved mission-method especially in Arabia, since
the Bible and a full line of educational and religious literature is
ready to our hand from the Syrian and Egyptian missions. In Yemen
this work would be especially useful and practicable, but there it
has scarcely been attempted systematically. The problem is to find
men of the right stamp for the work. Men who are “willing to endure
hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ,” with tact and good temper
and the ability to talk with the simple-minded. Love is worth more than
learning in a colporteur. Good health and a clean Turkish passport
are two other requisites. Even this method of work is in its infancy;
there are many open doors for the Word of God that have never yet been
entered.
Under evangelistic work come the problems of street-preaching, touring,
and the use or abuse of controversy. The best place for preaching at
stations is the mission-house itself, after the example of Paul (Acts
xxviii. 30, 31). On tours or in village-work the _mejlis_ of the sheikh
or the public coffee-shop makes a capital pulpit. In a small hand-book
for missionaries to Moslems by Rev. Arthur Brinckman, now out of
print,[152] I find the following admirable hints on public preaching to
Moslems which apply to Arabia also:
“If possible always address your audience from above. Sitting down is
sometimes better than standing; you are not so likely to get excited,
the attitude is less war-like in appearance. Be with your back to a
wall if possible; there are many reasons for this.
“When drawn into argument, keep on praying that you may speak slowly,
and with effect. When asked a question do not answer quickly—if you
do, you will be looked on as a sharp controversialist only; think
over your answer first, and give it most kindly and slowly. If possible
always quote a passage near the beginning or end of a Koran chapter and
there will be less delay in finding it.”
[Illustration: THE BIBLE SHOP AT BUSRAH.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A NATIVE SHOP.]
The question of the right place of _controversy_ or whether it should
have a place at all in mission-work among Moslems is of the highest
importance. Opinions differ decidedly among those who are pillars
of the truth. The best and briefest argument _against_ the use of
controversy is that given by Spurgeon in one of his early sermons at
New Park Street Chapel.[153] He argues in brief that a missionary is
a witness, not a debater, and is only responsible for proclaiming the
gospel by his lips and by his life.