View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository SAMUEL ZWEMER’S MISSIONARY STRATEGY TOWARDS ISLAM by Yohannes Bekele A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, theology and Religion The University of Birmingham December 2012 1 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Samuel Zwemer (1867-1952), known as ‘Apostle to Islam’, was an influential figure in Christian mission to Muslims. He influenced subsequent generation of missionaries to the Muslim world. This thesis will look at his view of Muhammad, the Quran and Islamic reformers. He believed that moving away from Islam implied progress and moving toward Islam equated regress. He used two Muslim reformers; ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Ahmed Khan to argue his point. Zwemer viewed Khan’s engagement with the Christian scripture as a positive case when Muslims would give importance to the Christian scripture. In turn he believed that al-Wahhab’s notion of returning to the Quran and example of Muhammad would have negative outcome for the Muslim world. Contrary to the dominant paradigm of his time that radical Islam was in a dying phase, Zwemer warned the church of the lingering danger of fundamentalist Islam. By exposing readers in his writings to the possible sources of the Quran (e.g. collections of rabbinic Judaism, heretical Christian) and by questioning the prophethood of Muhammad, Zwemer contested the divine origins of Islam. He viewed Islam as a challenge and suggested framework for effective Muslim evangelism. Zwemer’s work is still relevant today for Muslims because it may encourage them to be more self-reflective, and for Christians because they may consider Zwemer’s approach and arguments. 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................5 2. Major Protestant Missionaries to Muslims in the Nineteenth Century ............................11 2.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................11 2.2. Protestant Mission to Muslim..............................................................................................11 2.2.1 Henry Martyn ...............................................................................................................12 2.2.2. Karl G. Pfander............................................................................................................13 2.2.3. William Muir...............................................................................................................14 2.2.4. Thomas Valpy French .................................................................................................15 2.4. Revival of World Mission.....................................................................................................16 2.5. Deferent Methods for an effective Mission to Muslims .......................................................18 2.5.1. Islamic Study...............................................................................................................20 2.5.2. Humanitarian Work .....................................................................................................21 2.5.3. Missionary Cooperation ..............................................................................................22 2.5.4. Evangelism Through The Oriental Churches ..............................................................23 2.5.5. Confrontational Approach ...........................................................................................24 2.6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................27 3. Intellectual Biography of Zwemer ....................................................................................28 3.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................30 3.2. Overview of Zwemer’s Life..................................................................................................30 3.3. Mission to Muslims..............................................................................................................33 3.3.1. Arabian Mission ..........................................................................................................34 3.3.2. Bookshop in Arabia.....................................................................................................36 3.4. The Role of Evangelism in Mission .....................................................................................37 3.4.1. Christian Ecumenism...................................................................................................39 3.4.2. Missionary Conferences ..............................................................................................40 3.5. Zwemer’s Writings...............................................................................................................41 3.5.1. Moslem World.............................................................................................................44 3.5.2. View of Islam ..............................................................................................................45 3.6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................46 4. Zwemer’s Originality with Muhammad ...........................................................................48 4.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................48 3 4.2. Zwemer’s View of Muhammad ............................................................................................48 4.4 Zwemer’s Evaluation of Muhammad....................................................................................51 4.4.1. Muhammad Examined Through Three Criteria...........................................................51 4.4.2. Muhammad Compared with Christ .............................................................................61 4.4.3. Violence in Muhammad’s Life....................................................................................67 4.6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................71 5. Zwemer’s Attitude to and Evaluation of the Quran .........................................................73 5.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................74 5.2.Translation of the Quran ......................................................................................................74 5.3. Style of the Quran ................................................................................................................78 5.4. Content of the Quran ...........................................................................................................80 5.5. Quran against progress .......................................................................................................82 5.6. Quranic witness to Christian Scripture ...............................................................................85 5.7. Sources of the Quran ...........................................................................................................90 5.8. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................96 6. Zwemer’s Assessment of Islamic Reformers .......................................................................99 6.1. Introduction .........................................................................................................................99 6.2. Moving away from Muhammad and the Quran...................................................................99 6.2.1. Moving toward Christ................................................................................................102 6.3. Muslim reformers in line with Christian reformers...........................................................103 6.3.1. Ahmed Khan..............................................................................................................105 6.4. Zwemer and Fundamentalist Reformers............................................................................109 6.4.1. Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab................................................................................110 6.5. Conclusion .........................................................................................................................116 7. Conclusion........................................................................................................................117