Page 381 - Neglected Arabia (1902-1905)

. • V
‘X I
i! f

!;
io

i ■
Moslem doctor in theology. I was glad then I was a Dutchman and
i had learned to sit quietly and listen while the dominie expounded. But
«• the Imam used beautiful Arabic—in fact, he is the only one I have
!
ever heard who can pronounce correctly ail the vowel points.
•i
. Only one disgusting feature, however—he could from talking
. 1
about the sublime attributes of God descend to the lowest depths of
degradation and revel in telling the vilest things—so vile that I would
*. ••. • • •
1 not repeat them even to a man.
At the end of the fourth day he seemed to realize that he was
■i 1 1
■ j losing ground and so he brought
1 16. An ascetic. This ascetic was the cleverest controversialist I
*. ! have ever met among Moslems. He was perfectly at home in the
rules of correct thought and accurate definition, quick to follow up an
: :
advantage and merciless in pressing a conclusion. He could spar for
an opening as skilfully as a campaign orator, and was as wily as only !
i
l
an Oriental can be. But knowing that Islam runs amuck of itself if
I
consistently carried out, I let the ascetic defeat himself, only laying the
bait as he successively came to each trap by occasionally asking a ques­
tion for information. And then, on the ruins of his own merciless
logic God helped me build the simple construction of His Gospel truth.
:
[ The Imam and the ascetic seemed to see it, for they excused themselves
i and left.
* :
17. A Sabean who, strange to say, freely talked of his own religion. !
Bat it is hard to present the Gospel to them, for we can find no start­
1 * ing point, they being so secretive. ii
; \
• ‘I i 18. A middle-aged Arab. A type of the ignorant class. He regaled
i i
(?) me for hours by telling me fables about Christ, asserting they were
all found in the Gospel. Imagine his surprise when asked to find one
A
1 j in the Gospel I offered him.
1 19. A Turkish civil engineer. He was a man of liberal education
-• 1
and decidedly progressive. Had read Voltaire, Rousseau and Renan.
He is outwardly a strict Moslem, but at heart very liberal and pri­
:
■ii
vately denied the duty of pilgrimage to Mecca.
!# 20. A major in the army. He avowed that the Gospel is corrupted,
■i and as evidence adduced the multiplicity of Christian sects, all proving
•i
that each must have a different Gospel. And when I asked whether
1 that would not prove too much and overthrow the Koran as well, see­
1
ing there are so many sects in Islam, he arose in anger and said, ‘‘How

V 1
I
:|
• !
:.i!
r
/
• •*' *,