REACHING THE UNREACHED SUDAN BELT: GUINNESS, KUMM AND THE SUDAN-PIONIER-MISSION by CHRISTOF SAUER submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject MISSIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR J REIMER JOINT PROMOTER: DR K FIEDLER NOVEMBER 2001 ************* Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Internatio­ nal Bible Society. "NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society. 2 Summary Reaching the unreached Sudan Belt: Guinness, Kumm and the Sudan-Pionier-Mission by C Sauer Degree: DTh - Doctor of Theology Subject: Missiology Promoter: DrJReimer Joint Promoter: Dr K Fiedler This missiological project seeks to study the role of the Guinnesses and Kumms in reaching the Sudan Belt, particularly through the Sudan-Pionier-Mission (SPM) founded in 1900. The term Sudan Belt referred to Africa between Senegal and Ethiopia, at that period one of the largest areas unreached by Christian missionaries. Grattan Guinness (1835-1910) at that time was the most influential promoter of faith missions for the Sudan. The only initiative based in Germany was the SPM, founded by Guinness, his daughter Lucy (1865-1906), and her German husband Karl Kumm (1874-1930). Kumm has undeservedly been forgotten, and his early biography as a missionary and explorer in the deserts of Egypt is here brought to light again. The early SPM had to struggle against opposition in Germany. Faith missions were considered unnecessary, and missions to Muslims untimely by influential representatives of classical missions. The SPM was seeking to reach the Sudan Belt via the Nile from Aswan. The most promising figure for this venture was the Nubian Samuel Ali Hiseen (1863-1927), who accomplished a scripture colportage tour through Nubia. Unfortunately, he was disregarded by the first German missionary, Johannes Kupfemagel (1866-1937). When the SPM failed to reach the Sudan Belt due to political restrictions, Kumm and the SPM board were divided in their strategies. Kumm planned to pursue a new route via the Niger River, seeking support in Great Britain rather independently. The SPM, holding on to Aswan, dismissed Kumm, and began to decline until it made a new start in 1905, but for a long time remained a local mission work in Upper Egypt. The Sudan United Mission however, founded by the Kumms in 1904, did indeed reach the Sudan Belt. An analysis of the SPM reveals its strengths and weaknesses. The SPM grew out of the Holiness movement and shared the urgency, which made faith missions successful, but also was the SPM's weakness, as it suffered from ill-preparedness. The SPM innovatively gathered together single women from the nobility in a community of service for missions under its chairman, Pastor Theodor Ziemendorff (1837-:1912). Key Terms Missiology; Mission history - Protestant; Interdenominational faith missions; Sudan-Pionier­ Mission; Sudan-United-Mission; Africa; Sudan Belt; Egypt; Aswan; Nubia; Germany; Hessen­ Nassau; Wiesbaden; Osterode am Harz; Great Britain; United States of America; Missionary biography; Henry Grattan Guinness; Lucy E. Guinness; H. Karl W. Kumm; Theodor Ziemen­ dorff; Samuel Ali Hiseen; Gustav Warneck; Missionary objectives; Female missionaries; Indi­ genous missionary workers; Missionary methods; Missionary cooperation; Missionary conflicts; Mission among Muslims 3 Statement of Authorship I declare that Reaching the Unreached Sudan Belt: Guinness, Kumm and the Sudan-Pionier-Mission is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated an__<l acknowledged by means of complete references. ~ V]l ~ 4 Preface In 2000, the Evangeliumsgemeinschaft Mittlerer Osten (EMO) in Germany, which is researched under its earlier name of the Sudan-Pionier-Mission in this thesis, celebrated its centenary. In 2004, the Sudan United Mission, today called Action Partners in Great Britain, and other bran­ ches in several countries will do the same. Both mission agencies were founded to reach the unreached Sudan Belt in the heart of Mrica. The events which led to the founding of these two mission agencies have largely been forgotten today and have been little researched, owing to their international nature. In addition, the source material is spread over Germany, Great Britain and the United States and is not easily accessible to those who are not familiar with both English and German. But it is worthwhile to remember the beginnings of these mission agencies and their founders Grattan Guinness, Lucy Guinness-Kumm and Karl Kumm. In the writing of mission history, these mission promoters and pioneers, as well as the SPM, have received less than their fair share of commentary. Thus, this present study seeks to fill an obvious gap, contributing to a fuller understanding of the development of faith missions in Germany in general and of the historiography of Christian missions in the Sudan Belt in particular. I would like to thank all those who were in some way involved in my lengthy research. When my research in the archives of the SPM started in 1992, I was the librarian of the EMO. Professor Niels-Peter Moritzen in Erlangen graciously agreed to supervise the Master's dissertation of this graduate who suddenly had to earn another degree to speed up his acceptance into the ministry, and EMO gave me special leave for the project. When the Lutheran Church in Wtirttemberg, only a few months later, issued my call to the assistant pastorate there, the degree was no longer necessary, and the project had to be put on hold in order to fulfill my duties with EMO. I thank Professor Moritzen for his encouragement to pursue the research later, as a doctorate, even though, owing to his retirement, he was no longer available as supervisor. I am grateful that my teacher and paternal friend of many years, Professor Peter Beyerhaus, Tiibingen, was willing to take me on as a doctoral student in 1994, even though my subject had more of an historical emphasis than was his own preference. His assistant Dr. Werner Neuer gave much encourage­ ment and good advice on historical research and the organization of a dissertation. I valued the bi-annual weekends for the doctoral students of the Institut for Missionswissenschaft very much. I thank the personnel department of the Lutheran Church in Wiirttemberg for giving me a part time position in 1995 and half a year of unpaid leave in 1999, and by so doing allowed me to make progress in my research and writing. I am thankful to my superiors who encouraged me to undertake the necessary travels by allowing a flexible work schedule. After some time it became evident that the source material for the original outline was so voluminous, and consequently time consuming to decipher and to transcribe from outdated hand­ writing, that the scope of my research had to be refocused on the origins of the SPM. When it be­ came apparent that the nature of the source material and the descriptive approach chosen by me would not yield the results expected of a more dogmatic-analytical study, Professor Beyerhaus was very generous to allow me to seek a transfer. I am most thankful that Professor Johannes Reimer agreed to become my promoter and speedily arranged my transfer to the Department of Missiology at UNISA, and that Dr. Klaus Fiedler, who had accompanied my research most intensively from the very beginning by detailed advice and criticism, became the co-promoter. They encouraged my decision to shift then from writing in German to writing in English, in order to present the findings to a wider readership, particularly in Africa, even though English is not my mother tongue. After I finished the first draft in late 1999, the relocation of our family to Africa made the completion of the thesis wait for 2001. I am thankful to my present employer for having given me the opportunity to finalize my thesis as part of my professional duty. In financial terms, my research was made possible through the support of, foremostly, my 5 parents, donations from friends, a bursary and a loan from the Arbeitskreis fiir Evangelikale Theologie, and a bursary from the Arbeitskreis fiir Evangelikale Missiologie. Travels to Egypt and Great Britain were sponsored by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Missionswissenschaft and the Referat fiir Mission und Okumene der Evangelischen Landeskirche in Wiirttemberg. I had the privilege of being included by the North Atlantic Missiology Project in its consultation in Pasa­ dena in 1998, where I could present my research on Grattan Guinness (cf. Sauer: NAMP). I appreciate the cooperation of the libraries and archives which were opened to me, and of the individuals who supplied me with material out of their private collections, who answered my requests and who offered me hospitality on my travels. I have recorded them, where appropriate, in special sections of the bibliography. It was a special privilege to be allowed unreserved access to the archives of EMO, and even to borrow much of the material needed for my research over a lengthy time span. Regina Keinath of the Universitiitsbibliothek Tiibingen helped me privately with library matters and photocopying. The many individuals who have helped me during my research and in my travels are too numerous to name and my heartiest thanks go to all of them. But Dr. Ulrich Ehrbeck and my father, who helped me to transcribe outdated handwriting for countless hours and weeks, deserve special mention. This equally applies to Hannelore Nehls for suggestions on style, David Levey for a professional job in editing the text, to Heinrich Ottinger for overcoming the intricacies of a well known software program and the processing of the layout, to Robert Xeller for implemen­ ting the maps, to Manfred Jung for the layout of the tables, as well as to the volunteers who typed and proofread the texts of the appendix, and to my assistant Inken Behrmann whose first job it was to help me hand in the manuscript on time.