Wilson-Apostle To Islam.pdf - Radical Truth

88 Apostle to Islam In the La!1d of the Pyramids 89
the Synod but sailed later in the month for England and the continent and
was back in Egypt by September.
Of his work at the oldest and greatest of the rvIoslem universities the missionary
\vrote:
I'The .-\zhar, ahvays considered as a center of fanaticism and intolerar.ce r
has in recent years opened its doors not only to tourists and visitors willing
to pay four piastres for a ticket and to don the yellow leather slippers, lest
they defile the sanctuary; today they welcome missionaries. 11)" earliest attempt
to preach the gospel in the Azhar \vas some six years ago in company
\vith a learned Egyptian convert, J\lfikhail l\Iansoor~ \vho knew many of the
professors, as a former student, and they were polite to us both: but it \vas a
cold politeness ,vith no response to our message, and with very little respect
for Christianity. However J at a second and third visit we were able to piace
in the library of this great T}ni .....ersity a large Arabic reference Bi~le: together
,vith a complete commentary, a concordance and Eible dictionary.
This gift pr0\7ed the emering wedge, and in succeding years I ha.....e made
many friends. Scarcely a week goes by when I am in Cairo without visiting
the l\.zhaT, either alone or in company with tourists, missionaries and studdents
of our theological seminary. To such a degree have I \von the friendship
of many of the teachers that they greet me warmly on arrival allowing
me to sit and 'listen in' at their lectures: and in one case even made no objection
when I interfered with a case of corporal punishment where a teacher
\vas beating a pupil unmercifully. This man is now my warm friend.
OlDuring the past few months I have found a responsiveness which is mOSt
encouraging. A number of teachers expressed a desire to possess copies of
the Bible, and through the courtesy of the American Bible Society and their
agent, we were able to place nearly a dozen copies in the hands of the professors,
and over 150 copies of Matthew's Gospel in the hands of students attending
the lectures.
"In the court of the blind I have many friends, and it is pathetic to watch
how they eagerly approach me when I come to wish them greetings. No
class in Egypt is more in need of the gospel than these blind or open-eyed
blind leaders of the blind. Steeped in Mohammedan learning, but ignorant
of any righteousness save that according to the law, the gospel is to them indeed
a strange message. However, the isolation of this group of people is
broken into by the daily press. One may see those who are not blind reading
the newspapers even during lesson periods.
"In the book-selling quarter just outside of the Azhar, copies of French
novels translated into Arabic, and scientific literature of the modem type is
also on sale and finds eager purchasers. Some of these book shops even
handle the Scriptures. Controversial works against Christianity, however l
nearly all originate within the precincts of this University. It is therefore
the more encouraging to find fanaticism decreaslng and a friendly response
to the presentation of the principles of Christianity and its teaching.
lIThe American t:niversity in Cairo has recently begun an extension course
giving popular lectures on hygiene and other subjects. The result was a
gathering of 400 ?Ioslem sheikhs from the 'Azhar, in the Assembly Hall of
the American University at 'Cairo, February 24, 1925. The occasion was the
exhibition of an educational film on the origin of life and the sex problem l
treated from a Christian standpoint. Surely \vhen so large a number are
v.·iIling to come to a Christian institution for an extra-curriculu..il lecture,
when numbers of them attend the meetings at Y.:\l,C.A. and hundreds are
reading the Scriptures, ...ve are facing a new day of opportunity and a new
responsibility of intercession."
It was in this great Mohammedan University that an incident occurred
which occasioned no little publicity, misunderstanding and discussion. There
have been so many versions of the story that we have asked Dr. H. E. Philips
of the l.-nited Presbyterian 1.fission to recount the facts in the case and also
a sequel which is not generally known. It should be remembered in the first
place that there 'vas a great deal of feeling in Cairo at this time as a re02ction
against the Jerusalem Conference of Christian forces.
"Throughout Dr. Zwemer's ministry in Egypt he was wry diligent in the
distribution of tracts and being a man with many friends he was a frequent
visitor to the great University ...o\l-Azhar. \Vhen he \vas in the University
going and coming among the students and professors he frequently gave
away tracts or portions of Scripture. The teachers finally protested against
this and asked the government to forbid such distribution. Under these conditions
it seemed better to Zwemer to stop giving out tracts in the University.
However, one day \vhen he was taking some friends through this great
ilIohammedan school one of the young men on his way to cL~ss spoke to Dr.
Zwemer and asked him if he had any tracts with him. He felt in his pocket
and found he had four and these he gave to the student who continued on
his way to class and distributed the four tracts among his fellow students.
"It happened that the professor of this particular class was a very fanatical
man and having seen what was done he sprang up from his seat on the floor
and grabbed these tracts and tore them to pieces and gave the men a severe
scolding for having anything to do with this man. The matter was reported
to the officials and was taken up with the British government and Dr. Zwemer
was called on the carpet. The result for the moment was that Dr. Zwemer
was asked to leave the country for a season; which he proceeded to do by
taking a boat from Port Said to Cyprus and by returning two weeks later on
the same boat to Egypt. So far as I know that was the end of the matter for
Dr. Zwemer.
"But there is a sequel that should not be missed and it is this: One night
a Mohammedan Sudanese sheikh came to my house for discussion. He was
a student in the university and his history in a word was this: His own
father was a Mohammedan qadi (judge) in the Sudan and there were three
boys in the family - two of whom were already graduates of AI Azhar