THE SPREAD OF MAHOMETANISM THROUGHOUT THE WORLD—SHALL WE ALL BOW DOWN TO ISLAM?
“While there is so much alarm among Christians over the assaults upon Christianity in Christian countries, and while Christianity is hardly making any progress in what are called heathen countries, the ancient and aggressive Mahometan religion has, within recent times, been making extraordinary progress in various parts of Asia and Africa. It is penetrating into Africa, not only from the Mahometan States in the north, ranging from Morocco to Egypt, but from Zanzibar and Mozambique, on the Eastern coast; from Upper and Lower Guinea, on the Western coast, and from several points in the South. We infer, from accounts recently published on the subject, that before the close of the present century, paganism will almost wholly disappear from Africa, and that, ‘from the center to the sea,’ Mahometanism will take its place. Mahometan propagandists display wonderful fervor in proclaiming their doctrines throughout Africa, and the people welcome the faith of Islam as a divine revelation, whole tribes frequently being converted in a day. Mahometanism is certainly a great improvement upon the debasing fetishism which prevailed over the greater part of Africa, for it announces the unity of a God and the moral government of the world.” “But Mahometanism is winning still greater masses of converts in the densely populated countries of the East Indies. ‘Year after year,’ said the London Times a few days ago, ‘Islam is converting hundreds of thousands of our Indian subjects, and especially the natives of Bengal, to the faith of the Koran. This conversion, too, not now accomplished at the sword’s point, but in the peaceful shadow of British rule, works a marvellous transformation in the very inmost nature of the converted, and they assume with their faith a hardihood which would make them dangerous enemies and priceless allies.’ It would further seem, from an article on the subject in the Pall Mall Gazette, that these ‘converts are low-caste Hindoos, who embrace the Koran to escape the degradation of their position.’” “This single fact gives interesting proof of one way in which Mahometanism will elevate the people of the East Indies. Wherever it prevails, it obliterates the caste system by which the Hindoo masses are degraded; but at the same time also gives them a religion vastly superior to any which has ever grown up in India. Considering that the greater part of the East Indies is under the control of the Christian British Government, and that a number of Christian missionaries have labored there for a century past, and that the Bible is freely distributed, and that the Government influence is on the Christian side in a great variety of ways, it may seem strange that the people should be turning to Mahometanism rather than to Christianity; but there are doubtless reasons for their preference of the one over the other. The fact that Mahometanism permits polygamy does not seem to be one of these reasons; for the poor masses who are embracing Mahometanism do not trouble themselves with polygamy.” “For some years past there has been a strong movement toward Mahometanism in Western China, among the Buddhists; but the Chinese Government has opposed it by persecution and massacre, on the pretended ground that it is of a political and rebellious nature, and some 40,000 Mahometans were recently slaughtered in the Province of Tunnan. In Africa, the converts to the new faith display great fervor and enthusiasm, and there are many scenes witnessed among tribes like those we are familiar with at camp-meetings in this country; but in the Indies, the people seem to turn to it in an undemonstrative way. A striking proof of this is the fact that the British rulers of Bengal had no idea of the amazing growth of Mahometanism there till the census was taken last year, when they were surprised to learn that 21,000,000, or nearly one-third of the population of the whole province, were Mahometans—the greater part of them converted to it within recent times.” “Not for ages has the spread of Mahometanism been so extensive and so rapid as it is at this time. It is not many centuries since Mahometanism threatened to take possession of all Europe, and establish the authority of the Koran over its whole population, by the power of the sword. It was a long and fearful struggle from the time Charles Martel drove the hosts of the prophet from France till the times of the Cid in Spain, and onward till the triumph of John Sobieski, at Vienna. The military conquests of Mahometanism were brought to an end; and the decay in the warlike fanaticism of the prophet’s followers was succeeded by a period of religious stupor among Mahometans everywhere. But the system is reviving its strength in Africa, and everywhere, and bids fair to win more by moral conquest than it ever won by military force.” “It was the ordinary estimate, a few years ago, that there were in the whole world about 100,000,000 adherents to Mahometanism. But we are disposed to believe, after studying the facts brought to us from Bengal and other provinces of India, from Western and Northern China, and from the whole surface of the African continent, that we would not go too high in estimating the Mahometan population of the globe, at this time, at 200,000,000.” “In connection with this subject, we may notice the rather curious fact that there seems to be a revival of literary interest in Mahometanism in Great Britain and other European countries. Within a few months, two, if not three, new lives of the prophet by Mahometan authors have been published in London; and, besides these, several works defensive of Islamism or explanatory of the Koran, have also been issued by the London publishers. It may be that Mahometanism is about to get a hold in Western Europe also. There are loud complaints from England of the growth of disbelief in Christianity, and there are similar complaints from Germany, Spain, Italy, and Austria. If a few bold Mahometan leaders should appear, crying out, in their bewildering enthusiasm, ‘There is one God!’ there is no telling what effect they might have upon the unbelieving generation.” “Had it not been for the Christian struggle against Mahometan inroads, kept up till the close of the seventeenth century, the faith of the prophet would doubtless at this time have prevailed in London and Paris, as well as in Madrid and Vienna; and, in such case, in the course of things, this country would also have been Mahometan. Should Mahometanism gain possession of Africa and Asia by moral means, it will pretty surely appear as a moral force in Europe, and we may expect that the reflux of it will be felt here. The cry of the Muezzin, the fervor of the Moolah, and the dance of the Dervishes may not be unfamiliar in this country a century hence. The Mahometan faith is to-day spreading more rapidly over the world than any other faith.”—Cincinnati Commercial.