Wilson-Apostle To Islam.pdf - Radical Truth

CHAPTER EIGHT
A TALE OF TWO CONTINENTS
"Yet another force that is aggressiveiy our antagonist is :VIohammedaDism.
We see it activeiy spreading over Africa, where Christianity is not progressive.
It comes with the Arab·slaver and was identified with the slave traffic.
It comes now with a cena!o. racial pride and appeals to the African,
because it seems to link him with a great world-empire/'
DONALD FRAZER in
Students and tlu Modern ~vJissiol1ary Cr.lSade, p. 207.
''Difficulties are not without their advantages. They are not to unnerve
us. They are Dot to be regarded simply as subjects for discussion nor
as grounds for scepticism and pessimism. They are not to cause inaction,
but rather to intellsify activity. They were made to be overcome. Above
aU they are to create profound distrust in human plans and cnergy~ and
to drive us to God."
]OH:S R. MOTT in
Tlu Evangtlization of tnt World in This Gnuration, p. 50
One of Zwemer's books bore the title "Across the World of Islam." He
Iyas certainly qualified to \vrite such a volume from personal observation. A
large part of his work was enngdistic itineration, not in a local field but on
a \\Todd scale. He was the roving ambassador of good \vill in Christian work
for :l105lems.
\Vith this chapter we begin a section of the biography like a trayel book,
which cowrs journeys to many parts of the world. In the following pages
\ve consider his rather prodigious accomplishments in the two continents of
Europe and Africa during the nineteen twenties. After attendance at 3.
Workers' Conference in Jerusalem in April, 1922, he prepared for a trip
through the il10slem lands south of the :l1editerranean.
I. Mission to North Africa
A visit to the various mission stations of North Africa was planned for
);lay and June, 1922, at the request of Dr. John R. Matt. The purpose of the
visit \vas to make arrangements for subsequent conferences in the area and
the general Jerusalem meeting to be held under the auspices of the International
Missionary Council. The visitor was also to represent the World
Sunday School Association and as field secretary for the American Christian
Literature Society for Moslems would seek to stimulate the publication
and distribution of the Christian message through the printed page. There
was also the definite hope that conferences together might develop better
feeling and more of comity among the various missionary organizations at
work in the territory.
On April 27th the traveling missionary left Port Said for Marsailles and
sailed from that city to reach Algiers on May 5th. After coutact with several
of the missionary leaders there he left by sleeping car for Tunis, where
he arrived at 11 :30 p.m. the next day.
On Sunday, May 7th, Zwemer preached in Tunis twice in Arabic and
once through an interpreter in French. The following day there were visits
to the Methodist Mission and the London Society for the Jews, where he
spoke to 150 children in their orphanage school. He also saw the tomb in
a cemetery at Tunis of John Howard Payne, author of "Home Sweet
Home," whose final resting place thus seems to have been a long way from
home.
That afternoon there was a conference with the workers of the various
missions where he presented the matter of the Jerusalem meeting and dis­
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