Page 93 - Protestant Missionary Activity in the Arabian Gulf

77

dynamic figures as ”Dhayif Allah,” who after ten years in

the field had quietly slipped first to Cairo and then hack

to the United States, where he limited his involvement with

the Arabian Mission to such activities a3 missionary recruit­

ment and fund raising. Zwemer had quite frankly become frus­

trated by the Arabian Mission’s failure to secure converts.

His later books, such as Islam., a Challenge to Paith and The

Disintegration of Islam, although they demonstrate a good

scholarly knowledge of the Arab world, stand in marked contrast

with John Van Ess’s and Paul Harrison's works in that they re-

veal no sympathy or love for the Muslim as a Muslim or for
160
Muslim society.

Reverend Edwin M. Luidens, reminiscing about his early
years in Bahrain in the late 1940's, described his discourage­

ment at the lack of success in converting Muslims. Although

he had come to Arabia fully aware of the historical record

of evangelistic failure, yet his first six months were still

trying ones. But mass conversions or easy conversions were

not posssible in Arabia, Dr. Paul Harrison had counseled him.

You first have to win the people’s respect and trust and

come to understand the Arab viewpoint and way of life. As

Dr. Luidens later came to see it, this empathy was based on

a time-consuming relationship of close acquaintance‘and

mutual respect. Paradoxically, it was only after he had

internalised the Muslim outlook and no longer felt himself

to be a Chrisitian trying to convert a Muslim, that he was

able to be effective as a missionary. It was-the reference