Hemorragia digestiva baja (Tabla III)

Zwemer’s view of the importance in sharing the gospel to all nations was his motivation in leaving his relatively comfortable life in America to go to the desert of Arabia and all the hardship such endeavour brought. Interestingly, Zwemer’s dedication to Muslim evangelism was in the context of a contradictory perception of Arabia in the west. On the one hand, works such as Arabian Nights excited the imagination of the reader. While on the other hand, damaging news of acts of brutality brought disgust to western ears. As far as evangelism was concerned Missionaries generally preferred to work with nominal Christians and those of no particular faith rather than Muslims, due to the difficulty of seeing converts.102

As a Calvinist and one who upheld the authority of scripture Zwemer was practically in agreement with the protestant view of world evangelism as the fulfilment of the great commission (Matthew 28:19). He believed that there was no salvation found in Islam (John 14:6) and that Muslims should turn to Christianity (Acts 17: 23). We can discern that Zwemer by no means held a liberal theology but rather was critical of work that

100 _{From Unpublished work by Zwemer cited in Wilson, Apostle to Islam, 240.} 101 _{Greenway, Islam and The Cross, xv.}

denied the heart of the Christian truth such as the nature of the atonement and the divinity of Christ. He upheld the conviction that while undertaking missionary work among Muslims one should not shy away from such a doctrine but rather put it at the forefront of one’s proclamation of the gospel.103 It is on such basis Zwemer warns of the error to those not grounded in an in-depth understanding of Christian truth, since they could easily mistake Islam as a simple deviation as Muslim searchers of the truth.104 His outlook towards Muslims is reflected by George Fry who asserts that despite the resistance of Muslims to missionary work, such an endeavour should be carried out since only through faith in Christ’s atoning work could they obtain salvation to eternal life.105

3.3.1. Arabian Mission

Zwemer interest with Arabia started while in Seminary, Dr John G. Lansing’s ill health would hinder him from returning to Damascus and, as he saw it appropriate to pass his mantle to his students, it could be said that Zwemer’s passion for the Muslim world finds its genesis in his classroom.106 Moreover, John R. Mott, addressing the student Volunteer Movement, confirmed his desires to serve on the mission field.107 Hoping to see their vision of evangelism among Muslims in Arabia with the help of Lansing, Zwemer along with James Cantine and Philip Phelps established the Arabian Mission in 1891. Interestingly, no missionary agencies were willing to support the Mission financially, possibly due to the difficult nature of missions in the Islamic world. The vision was to face Islam head on by establishing missions at the heart of Islam in Arabia. Mission centres opened in Basrah, Muscat and Bahrain, which had the scriptural motto ‘O That Ishmael might live before thee’ (Gen 17:18).108 Aiming to propagate the only means of

103 _{Greenway, Islam and The Cross, xvi.} 104 _{Zwemer, Thinking Missions with Christ, 23.} 105 _{Terry, A Suggested Approach to Sunni Muslims, 3.}

106 _{Scudder, The Arabian Mission’s Story, 136. For a detailed account of Zwemer’s mission to Arabia see}

Zwemer, The Golden Milestone: Reminiscences of Pioneer Days Fifty Ago in Arabia.

107 _{Zwemer, The Golden Milestone, 29.}

108 _{Montrose, Christian Missions and Islam, 4-5. Scudder, The Arabian Mission’s Story, 136. Addison, The}

eternal salvation, as they believed it, vis-à-vis the lack of salvation found in Islam.109 Because Islam was the greatest challenge missionaries faced in world evangelism such engagement was seen as an essential part.110 Wilson looks at the challenge Zwemer faced in the Muslim world when reflecting on the fact that Arabia is the hardest mission front Christianity faced. In this regard, Zwemer by no means underestimated the challenge he faced in the mission field, but rather he wanted to face the challenge of Islam head on by applying to the ‘antidote of the Christian Gospel at the very source’ where the Islamic religion finds its genesis, where fanaticism is ripe and where conversion to Christianity is minimal.111

He acknowledges many individuals who had prepared the ground for mission to Muslims. As we have seen in chapter 2 the manner in which Henry Martyn’s ‘confrontational approach’ influenced him, we discover that Zwemer perceived Martyn to be the first in his current era who had undertaken mission to Muslims. In addition, Major- General F. T. Haig, the first to explore the Arabian Peninsula, and Keith Falconer who followed in his steps to be the guiding pillars in the manner and the place in which the Arabian Mission would be established.112 Nevertheless, Zwemer was clear in the price that was paid for such a mission to be established, since, Keith Falconer and Bishop Thomas Valpy French’s dead in Arabia while labouring to see the greater service of Christian mission to come to pass.113 Furthermore, the sudden death of his assistant Kamil Abdul Masih which was suspected as being due to poisoning by ‘fanatics’ was the first martyr the Mission faced.114 Zwemer was aware of the death penalty implemented on those who leave Islam as agreed in the four Islamic schools of jurisprudence. While the Mission started without the financial backing from the Reformed Church it was later incorporated in to the board of the denomination, since, the mission groundbreaking work in Arabia was such of significance.

109 _{Speer, ‘How to Arouse the Church at Home to the needs of Islam’, 269. Montrose, Christian Missions}

and Islam, 93-4. Werff, Christian Mission to Muslims, 225.

110 _{Scudder, The Arabian Mission’s Story, 149.} 111 _{Wilson, Apostle to Islam, 39.}

112 _{Zwemer, Arabia: Cradle of Islam, 322-331.} 113 _{Zwemer, Arabia: Cradle of Islam, 331.} 114 _{Wilson, Apostle to Islam, 45.}

Interestingly, Missionary endeavour in Arabia was compared with the book of Joshua’s account of possessing the Promised Land.115 Yet Zwemer was clear in the insistence on a ‘Holy War’ not to be a military conquest but one of a spiritual conquest won through prayer.116 It needs to be clarified that he opposes greatly what was perpetrated by the Crusaders since it was not Christ-like to be waging military war, yet points out that their intuition was correct vis-à-vis the conquest of once-Christian land by Muslims. 117

In The Golden Milestone: Reminiscences of Pioneer Days Fifty Years Ago in Arabia, Zwemer along with James Cantine reflected on the fifties year anniversary of their encounter of Arabia and the establishment of Arabian Mission. In view of the difficulty in undertaking such mission in Arabia, it could be asserted that Zwemer’s and Cantine’s mission to be a success.

3.3.2. Bookshop in Arabia

A significant part of the Mission endeavour in the Islamic world was establishing Bookshop. However, Zwemer was aware of the danger of such venture, as exemplified in his opening of a bookshop in Basrah which sold Bibles and tracts; it was censored by the authorities for material which could be offensive to Muslims. At one point people were discouraged from visiting the bookshop by a ‘town crier’; when this failed the mission were ordered to leave town. In reopening the bookstore the sales of Bibles increased significantly as the ‘town crier’ denunciation proved to be a much-needed publicity stunt.118 As a policy for dissemination of the Bible Zwemer stated ‘[d]istributions should be by sale, not by free gift. We prize that which we pay for.’119 The Bible was advertised using Quranic terms to get the attention of by-passers. While Zwemer was in no doubt as to the lack of divine origin of the Quran – which will be explored in great length in Chapter 5 – he was prepared to use Quranic terms as a means of forming a bridge of communicating the gospel. Examples of this are: ‘Come and see. Here is an Arabic

115 _{Zwemer, The Golden Milestone, 138.} 116 _{Zwemer, Islam: A Challenge to Faith, 256.} 117 _{Zwemer, The Golden Milestone, 141-142.} 118 _{Zwemer, The Golden Milestone, 113} 119 _{Zwemer, Islam: A Challenge to Faith, 210.}

Gospel, a portion of the whole Injil of Isa the prophet’. Or ‘You don’t care to read the Holy book because it has been corrupted, you say? How do you know if you have not read it?’120