Page 150 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

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NUGLUCTHU AKAUIA 7
cussion, but as we noticed that people were nearly always gathered in the
coffee houses, we began going to them. Here we found that the Lord
had set an open door for us.
The coffee house has an important function in the life of the Arab,
especially in Iraq. It is, of course, what it appears to be at first sight: a
loating place for the idle, whether idle from necessity (^ds are so many of
the unemployed in Iraq) or from choice. It is the Arab’s chief place of
recreation, and after work he goes to the coffee house instead of to his
home, and whiles away the hours with backgammon, chess, checkers, or
cards, or in sitting and watching, or listening to the screech of the phono­
graph. The coffee house is also the place for the retailing of news and !
discussion—the debating club of the Arab. Besides this it serves as a :
reception room for many men, as the majority of them live in tiny houses
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THE COFFEE HOUSE—THE DEBATING CLUB OF THE ARAB
and the seclusion of their women makes it impossible" to receive guests d .
at home. Finally, the coffee house is a business office where many im­ i
portant transactions are negotiated and the necessary documents signed.
Here, then, is an ideal field for evangelistic work, and its advantages
have appeared to"us more and more as we have gone on with the work. : *
Here the Arab can be met informally and seen as he really is. Here the ;
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Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can be presented to alL classes of men in
personal conversation—for all classes frequent the coffee houses. Here i
the people are seldom preoccupied, and like the people of Athens are
eager to hear or tell some new thing. Many feel lonely with the loneli­ !
ness that exists in crowds and want something to read or someone with
whom to talk. The Arab's hospitality is another factor which makes the i i ■-
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