This material has been provided by Asbury Theological Seminary in good faith of following ethical procedures in its production and end use. The Copyright law of the united States (title 17, United States code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright material. Under certain condition specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to finish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. By using this material, you are consenting to abide by this copyright policy. Any duplication, reproduction, or modification of this material without express written consent from Asbury Theological Seminary and/or the original publisher is prohibited. Contact B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 B.L. Fisher Library’s Digital Content place.asburyseminary.edu Asbury Theological Seminary 205 North Lexington Avenue 800.2ASBURY Wilmore, Kentucky 40390 asburyseminary.edu Abstract of ISLAMIC DA'WA IN KOREA: A STUDY OF KOREANS' RELIGIOUS CONVERSION TO ISLAM TAKING PLACE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Sungsu Park As a missionary religion, Islam has expanded its religious boundaries to the world beyond the Arabian Peninsula since the beginning of Muhammad's religious movement. Muslims first contacted Koreans thirteen hundred years ago in China and then arrived in Korea at the end of the Shilla Dynasty. Throughout a few hundred years of history, Muslims greatly influenced Korean society in such arenas as politics, culture, economics, and even religion. However, ironically, their da'wa movements were not successful because they joined with the colonizing powers of the Yuan dynasty and later the Japanese. Muslims oppressed the Korean people in order to maintain their economic and political power. In this sense, the religion of Islam was not presented as favorable for the Koreans. By the second half of the twentieth century, however, the negative image of Islam began to soften in Korean society as Muslims spontaneously participated in the Korean War as allies and through their active involvement in the rehabilitation of war- devastated Korean society. Through these efforts, Islam has now become a more positive religion to Koreans and has grown. Moreover, foreign and Korean Muslims have developed da'wa methods in order to make Islam a popular religion in Korea. As a result, the rehgion of Islam has become a revival religion in Korea in the twenty-first century. While Korean Christian churches have declined since 1995, the Muslim population in Korea has increased constantly. Particularly in the last decade, numerous Koreans have become interested in and are transferring their religious identities to Islam. My research explores the reasons for these conversions, identifies the characteristics of Korean Muslim converts, and suggests missiological responses for the Korean Church toward the Islamic da'wa movements taking place in Korea. This dissertation is comprised of six chapters. Chapter one introduces the background of this study, the research problem, the assumptions for the research, and methodologies used. Chapter two explores the missionary world of Muslims within etymological, theological, and historical approaches to the missiological term da 'wa. In this chapter, a hypothesis that Islam is a missionary religion is proven. Chapter three chronologically researches the history of Korean Islamic movements. In chapters four and five, I use data analysis comparing the results of antecedent research and identifying the uniqueness of this study. This research shows that Islam is a revivalistic religion in Korea today. In particular, the rate of Korean Christians' conversion to Islam is greater than to other religions, such as Buddhism and Confucianism. These Korean Muslim converts are well- educated and middle class members of Korean society. Their previous religious traditions did not satisfy their spiritual and intellectual thirsts, whereas they found that Korean Muslim communities responded appropriately to their religious needs. Moreover, the converts interviewed in this study reported that their main reason for conversion to Islam was the clarity and simplicity of Islamic theology. For these reasons, these Koreans have transferred their religious identities to Islam DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation, entitled ISLAMIC DA'WA IN KOREA: A STUDY OF KOREANS' RELIGIOUS CONVERSION TO ISLAM TAKING PLACE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Written by Sungsu Park and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary Dr. Dale F. Walker, Reader ISLAMIC DA'WA IN KOREA: A STUDY OF KOREANS' RELIGIOUS CONVERSION TO ISLAM TAKING PLACE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee Dr. Terry C. Muck, Mentor Dr. Dale F. Walker, Reader By Sungsu Park May 2013 Copyright 2013 Sungsu Park All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1 I. Statement of the Problem 9 II. Assumptions and Questions for Research 9 III. Delimitations of the Study 10 IV. Definition of Key Terms 11 V. Research Methodology 16 A. Analysis of Literature 17 B. Semi-Structured Interview 17 C. Participant Observation 18 VI. Data Analysis 19 VII. Significance of This Research 20 CHAPTER 2: STUDIES OF THE ISLAMIC MISSIOLOGICAL TERM: DA WA 22 I. Etymological Approaches to Da'wa 25 II. Theological Approaches to Da 'wa 32 A. Da 'wa toward Non-Muslims or/and Unfaithful Ones? 32 B. Is Jihad the Qur'anic Method or not? 39 C. Da 'wa in Sufism 48 III. Historical Approaches to Da'wa 53 A. Peaceful Movements of Da'wa in the Early Meccan Period 53 B. Transforming the Da 'wa Strategy from Hijra to Jihad 61 C. The Quiet Revolution for Islamizing the World in the Post-Modem Period 67 a. Immigration 68 b. Education 69 c. The Marginalized 71 d. Mass Media 73 CHAPTER 3: ISLAM IN KOREA 78 I. The First Advent of Islamic Faith in Korea 79 A. Islam in China 79 B. The First Encounter between Muslims and Koreans 84 a. Politics 85 b. Education 86 c. Religious Leaders 86 d. Business 89 e. Marine Trades 91 C. Shilla Portrayed by Ancient Muslims 92 II. The Revival Period of Islamic Faith in Korea 96 A. Islam in the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) 96 B. Islam in the Koryo Dynasty (AD 918- 1392) 100 a. Muslim Politicians 1 02 b. Inter-Marriage 104 c. Business 106 d. Collecting Jewels 107 e. Eungbang 108 C. Muslims' Influence in Korean Society 109 a. Astronomy 109 b. Mathematics 110 c. Wine 110 d. Art Ill ii III. The Dark Age of Islamic Faith in Korea 114 IV. Revitalizing Islam in Korea 117 A. The First Stage: the 1900 - 1910s 117 B. The Second Stage: the 1920 - 1940s 118 C. The Third Stage: the 1950 - 1960s 122 a. Education 127 b. Social Issues 128 c. Publication 130 D. The Fourth Stage: the 1970- 1980s 131 E. The Fifth Stage: the 1990s 136 a. Academics 136 b. Huge Influx of Foreign Muslims 137 c. Stagnation 138 C. The Sixth Stage: the 2000s - Present 139 a. Publication 139 b. Mass Media 141 c. Internet 142 d. Education 144 e. Mosques and Islamic Institutions 148 f. Muslim Du'ah 150 g. Immigrants and Marriage 151 CHAPTER 4: A STUDY OF MOTIFS OF KOREAN MUSLIM CONVERTS 157 I. A Review of Antecedent Studies about Korean Muslim Converts 160 A. The First Study on Conversion Motifs of Korean Muslims in 2002 160 B. The Second Research about Korean Muslims (2006) 163 II. This Study of Korean Converts to Islam in 2012 165 A. Research Methodology 165 B. Analysis of Research of 49 Korean Muslim Converts 167 a. Socio-Demographic Characteristics 167 b. Religious Background of Converts to Islam 173 c. Conversion Process and Motifs 178 iii CHAPTER 5: THE UNIQUENESS OF KOREAN MUSLIM CONVERTS 197 I. Conversion Age 197 A. Young Generation 197 B. Older Korean Muslim Generations I: Converting to Islam over 25 Years Ago 200 C. Older Korean Muslim Generations II: Converting to Islam less than 10 Years Ago 202 II. The Major Conversion Motifs of the Korean Muslims Convert: Intellectual 206 A. The Emphasis on Education in Korea 207 B. The Emphasis on Islam as a Rational Religion 210 a. Open an Islamic Book Center 211 b. Publishing Books 211 c. Using Websites for Intellectual Communication with Non-Muslims 212 d. Inviting Potential Converts to Public Lecture 213 III. Korean Muslim Converts Coming from the Korean Church 213 a. Christianity vs. Islam: Ethics 214 b. Christianity vs. Islam: Theological Clarity 215 c. Christianity vs. Islam: Generosity 218 CHAPTER 6: THE KOREAN CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO ISLAMIC D'WA IN KOREA 221 I. Prepare and Send Professional Missionaries for Reaching Domestic Muslims 232 II. Teaching Islam in Theological Seminaries as a Compulsory Class 236 III. Publishing Literature about Islam for Lay Christian Leaders 238 IV. Recommendations for Further Studies 239 APPENDEX A 241 APPENDEX B 242 BIBLIOGRAPHY 244 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Compare Missiological Paradigms of Islam and Christianity 30 Table 2. The Socio-demographic Factors of Mehmedoglu and Kim's Research 161 Table 3. Interviewees according to Gender 168 Table 4.